Katawa Shoujo Forums

>Rendezvous<
I step into class, tired but still feeling pretty good. The events of yesterday afternoon had me feeling good all last night, and then again once I woke up. I’m not really sure what to expect, but I’ll figure it out as I go along. Besides, it can’t be that bad, spending time with-

Hisao. He’s sitting in his seat, having gotten here before me, like he always does. But he’s looking at me - waving at me. And suddenly, I’m lost. I manage to wave back, out of habit, but in my mind, I feel like I’m missing some vital information. What have I signed myself up for? What should Hisao and I mean to each other now? Does he already see me as his lover? Am I supposed to be? Should I be different now? Should I be acting like his lover?

I slump down into my seat, worried and confused. So many questions - I thought I’d just ask Hisao what the answers were, but I don’t even know if he knows. Worse, we agreed to meet on Sunday, when we had plenty of time, but that seems so far away...

I don’t know if I’ll make it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Class ended an hour ago. I spent all day preoccupied with questions about Hisao. I couldn’t ask him anything during lunch. I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to talk to him one on one, let alone with Suzu there. So I told him that I wasn’t going to run today, and that he didn’t have to show up for walking. He seemed curious, but accepted it, and now I’m lying in bed, wondering what I’m going to do for the rest of the day, and then the rest of the week.

I briefly consider going to Suzu. She might have some answers, and I’d certainly feel more comfortable talking to her than Hisao right now. I don’t think I can properly explain the situation, though - not only is she not yet privy to a lot of the backstory between Hisao and I, I’d rather keep quiet about dating Hisao, at least for now. I don’t really know how it will all turn out, and don’t want to say one thing only to have it change a few days later. Maybe when I know more. Maybe when I don’t have all these questions. And now we’re back to the beginning.

It occurs to me that, as much as I don’t want to face him, Hisao is probably my best source of information. I should be going to him about all this, but I’ve let my worries get the best of me. I should know better. I should be able to do this. I can’t just avoid him all week. So I won’t. I pick up my phone and quickly send him a message.

<Hey.>

It doesn’t take him long to respond.

<Hey, what’s up?>

I try to find the right words, try to get away with something easy, but quickly decide against it.

<I’m worried.>

It hurts to admit, but it’s true. I am worried, and I need his help. Luckily, he picks up on what I’m talking about.

<About Sunday?>

<Yeah.>

<Want to talk about it?>

Well, that’s what I needed, and here we are. Nothing to do but bite the bullet and accept.

<Sure. Where do you want to meet?>

After a brief delay, and wondering whether I’d rather walk over to his room or wait here in mine, he texts back with an unexpected suggestion.

<How about the wall we sat on during the festival?>

Well, I wasn’t sure about talking outside, but it’s late enough in the afternoon that not many people will be out, and I’m probably being too paranoid about the whole thing anyways.

<Sounds good. I’ll see you there.>

I get up, throw on my shoes, and head outside.

It isn’t too long before I can see my destination - Hisao is already sitting there, since it’s closer to the boys’ dorms. He waves to me, and I wave back, just as unsure as I was this morning, but determined this time.

He grins as I sit down next to him. “You know, if you wanted to talk, we could’ve just gone walking.”

I nod, but remain silent. I’m well aware that I told him I couldn’t make it, and am now changing my mind, but that’s just how things happened to go.

He notices my reaction, or lack thereof. “Sorry. You’re worried. About Sunday.” I nod. “Anything in particular?”

Here comes the tough part. How do I explain all of this? Am I sure it makes sense? What will he think of it? I try my best to put all that out of my mind. I have to talk to him, and it will be tough, but it’s what I have to do.

“Until yesterday, I hadn’t even thought about dating for... a long, long time. I didn’t think about wanting to date people, or people confessing to me, or any of that. I was just a student, going to school and getting by, week to week. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, you asked me out, and suddenly my head was full of questions that I hadn’t even thought about before.”

I rest my head on my hand, trying to dig up all of the little insecurities I’ve been battling today. “How do I really feel about you? Is it enough that I should be dating you? How do I figure that out? Should I be thinking about my future when I think about all this? If I don’t, am I going to screw things up along the way?”

I shake my head. “So then I thought, I’d ask you these questions on Sunday, and we could figure them all out then. But in the meantime, I still don’t know how to feel about you. And what if we get to Sunday and it doesn’t help? What if I need to know all this beforehand?” I turn to Hisao. “Do you understand?”

Hisao takes a moment to let all that sink in. “I... I think I understand. I haven’t really felt the same, but then, I’m on the other end. I made the decision to confess to you, so I kind of got all of this out of the way already.”

“Well if you already went through it, then how did you make your decision? Why did you decide to ask me out?”

He raises an eyebrow, mildly surprised. “Because I like you.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I like you too, but I also like Suzu, and I’m not dating her.”

This gives him pause. He tries to start responding once or twice, but doesn’t get far, realizing after a word or two that he’s gotten it wrong. Finally, he snaps his fingers, heralding a great idea.

“I have a hypothesis.”

Suddenly I’m not so sure that his idea’s that great after all. Trying my best to keep my skepticism at bay, however, I stay quiet, and let him continue.

“When I’m with you, I’m happy. And the closer we are - in terms of how well we know each other, not physically - the happier I’ve been. Getting to know each other has been a fantastic experience for me. Hopefully, you feel the same.”

I suppose that’s true, becoming better friends with him has been enjoyable. I nod, then let him continue.

“Well, with most people, there’s a limit to how close you can get. If you try to get too close, you both become less happy. It’s different for everyone - there are people who can’t stand each other, and there are people who get incredibly close, sharing a lot together. But even those close friends have some things they don’t want to share.”

The mention of ‘close friends’ immediately brings Suzu to mind. It’s hard, but I can remember a few things I decided not to share with her - usually, I’ve told her so. She has some of those, too - it hurts a little sometimes, not being able to help, but it’s her right to keep those things from me, and I can understand why she might. Hell, a week ago, I thought I’d be keeping my late-night runs from her forever.

“My hypothesis,” continues Hisao, “is that you and I have no limit on how close we can get. We can keep discovering more about each other, sharing old secrets or learning new things, and never reach a stopping point.”

At last, I feel like I should say something. “Never? How do you know?” It seems like a stretch to me.

“Well, at the moment, I don’t. It’s just a hypothesis. But there’s only one good way to test a hypothesis - and that is to run an experiment. It’s going to be slow - one step at a time, figuring out whether we can get closer, checking to see how we feel - but if it works, and I’m right, then I think it will be worth it.”

I don’t know how he’s done it - with a science analogy, no less - but suddenly I feel much more confident. We’re not taking a leap - we’re climbing a ladder. We’re going to go slow, step by step. And it’s going to be fun, just like being around each other always is. And if it’s not, the experiment ends, a failure. But maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t have to.

Hisao smiles. “So, to rephrase my question from yesterday: Miki, will you do science with me?”

I laugh, both because of his joke and because I think it worked. Somehow, he answered my questions. Somehow, he stopped me from worrying. Somehow, I’m even more excited about Sunday than I was when I woke up this morning. “Alright, but only if you agree to do the paperwork.”

This gets a chuckle out of Hisao. “If you insist, then I guess I have no choice.”

We sit around for a bit, just enjoying the afternoon, before deciding that we should probably head home. We promise to see each other tomorrow, but something tells me that we’re both thinking a few days ahead.

Hisao waves goodbye, heading for the boys’ dorms, and Suzu and I wave back, heading the opposite direction after our short Saturday tutoring session. I almost yell ‘See you tomorrow!’ to him, but catch myself - Suzu still doesn’t know about our date. I kind of want to say something, but... I guess I’ve got enough on my mind as it is. Besides, by the end of tomorrow, I’ll know more about this whole ‘relationship’ thing. Then, I’ll find some time to talk to Suzu.

Speaking of Suzu, she turns her head to look backwards, as if to check that Hisao hasn’t followed us, then looks up at me with a huge grin on her face. “Don’t tell me you’re some kind of closet sadist now.”

My eyes go wide. “What? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, like you didn’t notice. Every time you called Hisao ‘Science Boy’, he got all embarrassed. You were torturing him back there!”

Right, the nickname. After our heart-to-heart about dating, I started calling Hisao ‘Science Boy’. It sounds innocent enough, especially while he’s tutoring us about chemistry, but to him and me, it’s a reminder of the ‘experiment’ that is our date tomorrow. He did get a little uncomfortable about it, but I think he probably likes it, though he can’t exactly show it when we’re around other people, hence the awkwardness. Anyways.

“Hisao is my friend, and it’s perfectly normal to have a nickname for him. Besides, it’s fitting.”

Suzu scoffs, still grinning. “Oh, he gets a nickname but I don’t? Is he just a better friend to you?”

“Actually, if I remember correctly, you specifically asked me not to call you nicknames.” I put my left arm over Suzu’s shoulders. “Isn’t that right... darling?”

She shudders in disgust, though she’s still smiling. “Eugh, fine, you win. Just never do that again.”

I chuckle, still holding her at my side. “No promises.” Then, something else comes to mind. Something that I probably shouldn’t say, all things considered, but seriously, it’s Suzu, and she’s the best, so why am I even worried? “You have to admit, he does look kind of cute when he’s flustered.”

She thinks on this for a moment. “Ehhh... Okay, a little bit, I’ll give you that.”

“Ha! I knew it.”

Suzu gives me a strange look. “Knew what?”

I give her back the grin she had been giving me. “You’re a closet sadist too.”

She instantly brings her right hand up to cover her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter.

I lean in next to her ear, and whisper, “If you want to join the club, we meet in the student council’s dungeon on Tuesdays.”

This is too much, and she bursts out laughing. It’s not long before it becomes contagious, and I start laughing too, the pair of us guffawing like idiots as we reach the front door of the girls’ dorms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s the day.

I’m up and dressed, wearing a t-shirt and some shorts. I look at myself in the mirror again. I look exactly the same as I did when I checked 5 minutes ago, unsurprisingly.

I take a few deep breaths. I shouldn’t be this nervous. I already figured this all out with Hisao. I’m just heading out to get lunch with him. It’s no big deal.

Try as I might to convince myself, some part of me is still on edge. Even worse, it’s too early to be doing anything about it. Hisao and I texted last night, and agreed to meet up near the front of the school at 11; checking my alarm clock, it’s only 10:12 right now, so I’ve got plenty of time to just stand around feeling nervous. I got up at 9:30, trying to give myself plenty of time to get ready, but apparently I didn’t need that much schedule padding.

After another minute of pacing around doing nothing, I decide that I should head outside. Some fresh air might help calm me down. I can wait by the front of the school, and be there when Hisao shows up.

I double-check that I have everything, then head out. It’s kind of cloudy today, but it doesn’t look like rain, which is nice. Without any direct sunlight, the air is comfortably cool against my skin.

As I approach the front of the school, I look at the benches set up near the front gate, to see if any are free. Instead, however, I see Hisao sitting on one, dressed casually, looking the other way. He looks lost in thought - either that, or just very bored. I decide to head over and see what’s up.

After closing the short gap between us, I sit down next to him, which seems to pull him out of whatever he was thinking, as he turns to look at me. “Oh, Miki, you’re early.”

“So are you.”

“Yeah, I just didn’t really have anything else to do today, so I figured I’d come out here early, since the weather seemed pretty nice.”

I nod. “Same, pretty much.” Of course, that was only half of it. “I was feeling kind of nervous and antsy, too, so I thought I’d come out here to try and calm down.”

Hisao chuckles. “Me too, if I’m honest.” I’m not quite sure what he has to worry about, but then, I guess I don’t really have anything to worry about, either.

After a few seconds of silence, I decide that, if we’re both here, there’s no reason we should be sitting around. “Well, if neither of us has anything to do, why not just head into town now?”

Hisao thinks on this for a moment, then shrugs. “Sure, don’t see why not.” He gets up, and I follow suit, before we both begin walking down the windy road from Yamaku.

On the way down, Hisao and I discussed where to eat. He suggested the Shanghai, and guessed that it would probably be pretty quiet, since it’s still pretty early for lunch. He turned out to be right - there are only a few other people here.

I’ll admit that the Shanghai has a nice atmosphere, especially when it’s this empty - I remember that much from the few times I’ve been here before. The cloud cover outside prevents any harsh sunlight through the large windows, making the small booth we’re directed to more comfortable - Hisao, sitting across from me, certainly looks like he appreciates the cool air. It’s certainly preferable to the heat we had to deal with when we went out to the city.

Hisao folds his hands on the table between us. “So.”

Not really sure what he’s looking for, I respond with “So.”

He looks away for a moment. “I’m the one who proposed this... experiment,” the word makes us both smile, “so I guess I should be the one to start.” He looks back at me, our eyes meeting, and his expression becomes a bit more serious. “My heart.”

I suddenly feel very serious as well. He’s told me a lot about his condition before, but I probably haven’t heard all the details. I almost reflexively tell him that he doesn’t have to tell me anything he doesn’t want to, but catch myself. If he didn’t want to talk about it, he wouldn’t have said anything about it. Besides, he wants to open up to me - and I, of course, want to listen. So, not saying a word, I simply nod, waiting for him to continue.

“A few months ago, I was just an average kid at an average high school. I went to class, did homework, played around with my friends after school - normal stuff. I had never been in a relationship, but then, neither had many of my friends, so I...”

He trails off once he notices someone approaching us. It’s Yuuko - of course, she works here, I vaguely remember that from before. “S-sorry to interrupt, are you ready to order?”

I have to stifle a little bit of laughter at her timing, but manage to make an order nonetheless. “Turkey sandwich, please.” It’s the only thing I remember eating here, and I only ordered it the first time because someone else did, though I forget who. It’s good, but only being able to order one thing does feel a little strange.

Hisao, either much better at concealing his amusement or not seeing the humor in the situation, orders with a straight face. “Do you have a fruit salad?” Yuuko thinks for a moment, then nods. “Okay, I’ll have one of those.”

Yuuko bows, then scurries off to the kitchen with our orders.

Hisao turns back to me, raising an eyebrow. “What was so funny?”

I guess I didn’t manage to stifle my laughter as much as I had hoped. “Just the timing, is all. You start on your personal story, and then suddenly Yuuko pops in.” He seems a bit confused. “Don’t worry about it. Please, continue.”

“Anyways, so I had never had an actual relationship. Then, this past winter, someone left a note in one of my textbooks, telling me to meet them after school.” Interesting - I smirk a little in anticipation. This story’s going in a direction I hadn’t expected.

“It was a girl in my class. Iwanako.” He pauses after the name; clearly it’s important to him. “I didn’t really know her, honestly. I had never really spoken to her before. But suddenly, out of the blue, she confessed to me.” He pauses again - for a moment, I assume it’s because he’s thinking about her confession, but a second later that illusion is broken. “It made my heart race.”

My heart falls into my stomach. “No way.”

He nods. “I collapsed on the spot, with intense pain in my chest. Then, everything went black, and the next thing I knew, I was in hospital.”

I remember a phrase he once told me. “Your first heart attack.”

“Yeah.” Another short silence. “But, after a few months and a couple surgeries, the doctors decided that I could leave the hospital, so long as I was in the right environment. And now I’m here.”

He seems somewhat upbeat - it looks like he feels better about this than I do. Then again, I suppose he’s had time to come to terms with it all. Lots of time, actually: ‘a few months’, at least.

Something comes to mind, and I’m about to ask him about it when Yuuko shows up again with our food. She hands a plate to me and a bowl to Hisao, bows, and then leaves to attend to another table. Anyways, my question.

“So, this girl, uh...”

“Iwanako.”

“Right, Iwanako. What happened to her? You saw her again, right?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s... That’s actually the part that makes me saddest, looking back.” I start to eat my sandwich, still listening intently. Might as well get it finished while he’s talking - I’d actually like to have it done by the time he finishes his story.

He continues, not worried about my chewing. “The first day after I woke up, all of my friends, and Iwanako, came to see me. They brought cards from the entire class, and crowded around my bed, asking me all sorts of questions, trying their best to cheer me up. I would’ve done the same - a few times, we had all gone to see someone who had broken a bone or something.” He sighs. “But I didn’t just have a broken bone. I wasn’t getting better. My condition was permanent. Eventually, they realized, and one by one, they stopped coming to visit.”

With my mouth full of sandwich, an angry, indignant groan is the only way I can express my disapproval. Hisao, however, is quick to defend his old friends. “It wasn’t anything wrong with them - what were they supposed to do, keep visiting me for the rest of our lives? They were used to ‘get well soon’, and that was something I just couldn’t do. So they gave up.”

He looks out the window, up at the clouds. “Iwanako was the last to go. For a long time, weeks, she showed up even when nobody else did. Early on, I wondered if it was because she still loved me. She wouldn’t talk about her confession, though. She never spoke about us, about being in a relationship. We just exchanged pleasantries, made small talk, discussed current events... and eventually, she left too, without a goodbye. She just didn’t turn up one day.” He sighs again, deeply, and looks down at his food. “That was when I realized. She had only stayed out of guilt. She felt responsible, felt like my condition was her fault, and was trying to redeem herself.” He shrugs. “I don’t know why she finally gave up. Maybe she got over it, or maybe she realized her visits weren’t going to change anything.”

He looks up at me. “So that’s... my story. That’s why I’m here.”

I smile, without even trying, at just how much Hisao was able to open up to me. “Thanks. For telling me all this.” I knew a lot about Hisao, but as expected, this extra information has made me feel so much closer to him, and I’m glad for it - this experiment is going well. And, crucially, my sandwich is finished. So, just as Hisao pops a piece of fruit into his mouth, I decide to repay him in kind: “So.”

He looks up from his food. “Hmm?”

“You’ve told me about your heart. Now I think I should tell you about my hand.”

He stops chewing, and I can see, in his eyes, the same thought process I went through a few minutes ago. He realizes how important this is. He instinctively tries to protect me, to tell me that I don’t need to do it, because it might hurt. He stops himself, and considers that I’ve thought it through, that I’ve made a decision. And finally, cautiously, he swallows. “Okay.”

His actions, so much like mine, remind me of our roles as protectors. We’re here for each other. We’re both, simultaneously, the defenders and the defended. And so, as both recompense to my guard and service to my charge, I begin.

“I was a pretty normal kid at my old school, too. Passable grades. Hung out with friends after school. Played in the band, though I was never really that good.” Okay, that much was easy. Now to the hard part. “I lived some distance away from my school, and my parents worked long hours, so I used to cycle to school. It was good exercise, it got me there fast, it never ran late or broke down... It was the right decision.” I pause, and slowly, Hisao’s eyes widen. He’s feeling what I was, just a few minutes ago.

“One day, I was biking to school as usual, sticking to the sidewalk most of the time. I was going past this old brick building when some guy came speeding along behind me. I was used to loud cars coming past, so I didn’t even notice anything until I saw his hood in my peripheral vision, and his front tire came up on the sidewalk. And that’s the last thing I remember.”

I prop my head up with my fist, resting my right elbow on the table. “Apparently he was going too fast, swerved at the last second to try and avoid a car in front of him, and ended up pinning me against the brick wall. Luckily, it was pretty much just my left arm that got badly injured - left leg broken, both legs cut up, and a concussion, but nothing permanent. Except for my left arm. The forearm and upper arm were broken pretty badly, but fixable. My left hand, though... Apparently, it was pretty much in tatters. Wasn’t much to save, even if they could’ve.”

I shrug. “I woke up in hospital without a left hand. The doctors explained everything, and I started trying to come to terms with it all. Spent a few weeks in the hospital, then stayed home for a month while my broken leg and concussion healed. And then I went back to school.” Hisao’s face becomes quizzical, so I elaborate. “With most of my wounds healed, my parents decided I could go back to my old school. My left arm was still in a cast and sling, but it didn’t have a hand on the end of it anyways, so why would it matter? My dad drove me to school, since I couldn’t really bike anymore, and then I was supposed to just get back into the swing of things.

I shake my head. “Of course, it didn’t work. I had been gone for two months, and now that I was back, I was basically missing an entire arm. The doctors said I’d be fine, and my friends said I’d be fine, and my parents thought I was good enough to send back to school, but...” Sigh. “I lasted three days. It was hell, trying to keep up with everyone else - and that was when I could keep up at all. Eventually, I just got left behind. By the end of day two I had told my parents that I couldn’t do it, but they insisted I keep trying. By the end of day three, I wasn’t willing to try anymore. They got in contact with the shrink I had been seeing in the hospital, and he suggested Yamaku, and here I am.”

Hisao thinks on this for a minute, finishing off the last of his food. “You seem to be so good at doing stuff with just one hand now. What was different back then?”

“Mostly just experience, I guess. Of course, having my left arm in a sling meant I couldn’t use it to help, and coming off of a concussion is always tough, but most of all, I just didn’t know how to do stuff with one hand. It took a fair bit of practice to get used to.” That raises an interesting point: “Actually, if I went back now, I could probably fit in at my old school pretty well. But I couldn’t possibly leave Yamaku, after all this time.”

He nods. “And then, the guy who ran into you, he... Did he get punished?”

“Yeah, yeah. Got written up for a bunch of shit and put in jail. Haven’t heard about him since - never really cared to, honestly.” After a second, however, I correct myself. “Well, actually, for the first few days after the accident, I was fucking pissed at him. I wanted so badly to be able to take out my anger on him. But I couldn’t. He got what he deserved. So I ended up being angry in general, since I never got a chance to vent. Took a long time to let that all simmer off.”

Hisao stays silent, his face somber. But, after a short while, he looks me in the eyes again, doing his best to give me a smile. “Thank you.”

Having finished our food and our conversation, we call Yuuko over, figure out how much we owe, pay up, and then head outside. The air is still cool, even without so much as a breeze. I’m about to start walking, but Hisao’s voice catches my attention.

“So, uh... I know I said that this experiment had nothing to do with being close physically, but... Can’t hurt to try, right?” He holds out his left hand.

It takes me a second to realize what he’s getting at, and then I have to try desperately not to grin like an idiot. I reach out and put my hand in his, our palms touching and our fingers clasping around the side. “You’re such a dork.” Even so, I think I feel myself blush a little.

“Ah, but I’m a dork who performs successful experiments, right?”

I laugh. “That you are.” I certainly couldn’t call today anything other than a success.

We start heading back to Yamaku, and after a few steps we rearrange our hands so that our fingers lock. It’s a wonderful sensation - his hand is warm and soft against mine, and occasionally he’ll squeeze my hand lightly, and I’ll squeeze back in reply.

For a long time, we’ve shared our worries. Today, we shared our stories. For now, we’re sharing hands.

There’s no doubt in my mind that, whatever comes next, we’ll share it too.

END ACT 2.

Previous: Coelliptic ~ Next: Layover

“Say, do you want to join Hisao and I during tutoring sessions?

Could be rationalized by Miki just talking sloppily, but: "Hisao and me"

After some intermittent conversation between Hisao and I...

Not rationalizable here...

“Well... You can always come here to talk. Hell, if you told Suzu, she’d...” He pauses. “Actually, you probably couldn’t wake her up at this hour, huh.”

Actually you probably could... Many people with narcolepsy also suffer from insomnia for extended periods of time...

“Okay, so you can’t go to Suzu. But seriously, you can always come here, my room’s completely open to you.”

I'm pretty sure a bit of nighttime running would not be nearly as frowned-upon by the school as spending the nights in the room of an opposite-sex classmate
Then again this could be an elaborate pretext for HIsao to get Miki to visit him at night - in which case I say "well played"

So... Good to see you back! Seems the break didn't hurt your writing at all. Miki's reaction to HIsao's confession was one of the best such scenes I've read in some time, and Hisao's sicence analogy on the wall came close. Good job!

HOLY HOT DAMN is that two revivals in one week!!?!?

Can't say I saw any of this coming, but I'm fucking excited about it all the same! Good shit, good shit, crafty atom!

It seems Miki's curse has a second part; topics of her get revived a long while later .

Reading through this the only issue I had was as others have stated, and the choices part. I I actually ended up reading the bad end twice even after I thought I I did opposite choice.

Hey, it's been almost exactly a month since I last updated! In that time, I've gone through, like I said I would, and fixed/changed a bunch of stuff in Acts 1 and 2. I want Act 3 to be free of any baggage I accidentally created within the past four years, and I want new readers to have the best experience possible, so I've made thirty-some changes, mostly minor, but with some big ones thrown in:

• SUZU'S HOLLYWOOD NARCOLEPSY - I wasn't even aware that this was a thing back when I wrote Act 1. People very quickly made me aware, and Act 2 was much more believable, but Act 1 still treated narcolepsy as basically a disease that caused sudden and inexplicable fainting spells. Well, no more! I've gone back and changed the three chunks of the story where this was a problem - two from "Landfall" and one from "Amends and Amenities".
• OVERT SCISSORLIPS REFERENCES - I love the good old Suzu Route, but people have long expressed disdain for overbearing references to said fic. As a result, I've removed anything that you really needed to have read Scissorlips' work to 'get' - games in dreams, "no secrets", and of course, any instances of "gaylord" have been removed.
• IMPACT-INDUCED AMNESIA - When I wrote "Impact", I completely forgot that Miki had already been to Hisao's room back in "Landfall". I've fixed this, and she now remembers the experience, if not the specifics.
• ME IS THE SUBJECT - Fixed the "I vs. me" errors Mirage found in this most recent batch of scenes.

Other than that, it was all just wording changes to make things flow better - stuff that I had hated the sound of ever since releasing it, but that you probably never noticed, and might not notice now that it's changed. Hopefully, though, these changes will be conducive to a more enjoyable reading experience.

Mirage_GSM wrote:

“Well... You can always come here to talk. Hell, if you told Suzu, she’d...” He pauses. “Actually, you probably couldn’t wake her up at this hour, huh.”

Actually you probably could... Many people with narcolepsy also suffer from insomnia for extended periods of time...

“Okay, so you can’t go to Suzu. But seriously, you can always come here, my room’s completely open to you.”

I'm pretty sure a bit of nighttime running would not be nearly as frowned-upon by the school as spending the nights in the room of an opposite-sex classmate :-)
Then again this could be an elaborate pretext for HIsao to get Miki to visit him at night - in which case I say "well played" :-)

Yeah, both of these are more to do with the characters themselves. Hisao and Miki don't really know how often Suzu's up, or for how long, so they default to "she's often tired". Neither of them know much about the school's rules on these specific cases, either, so Hisao defaults to "you might get into trouble". I would say that they've both heard of other students frequently being in the wrong dorm late at night, though, so getting in trouble for such a thing - while completely possible - might not be something they consider a 'punishable offense'. Just their trains of thought, which aren't necessarily correct.

Hesmiyu wrote:I I actually ended up reading the bad end twice even after I thought I I did opposite choice.

That is a strange issue indeed, though I think I see how you did it. Certainly, the way I handled this decision was not the best - it relies heavily on people using links, since those are the only methods of controlling flow that I have. The only real "solution" to this reliance would be to go back and re-order all of the posts between "Cover" and Lithobraking", which seems a bit drastic, though I won't rule it out.

Mirage_GSM wrote:So... Good to see you back! Seems the break didn't hurt your writing at all. Miki's reaction to HIsao's confession was one of the best such scenes I've read in some time, and Hisao's sicence analogy on the wall came close. Good job!

azumeow wrote:Can't say I saw any of this coming, but I'm fucking excited about it all the same! Good shit, good shit, crafty atom!

I'm glad people enjoyed this past update. Handling the romantic connection between our protagonists is something I had been worried about since day one - in fact, halfway through Act 2, I wondered if I had screwed up by not putting enough emphasis on possible romance. The one thing I didn't want was for the relationship to feel forced, and I put a lot of time into making each decision by each character feel like the 'right choice', so that the whole plot progression felt natural. I've seen fics that just "glued together" the protagonists until they gave in and loved each other - with luck, I have avoided becoming one of them.

Anyways, thank you all so much for your support! I can't give an estimate on when Act 3 will start (especially with my fall semester looming), but I can say that I'm working on it, and have a handful of important ideas laid out. Hope to see you again once they come to fruition!

Well, it's been about a month, and here we are again. My writing has actually gotten a lot faster as of late - since I spend so much time on a college campus not doing very much, I end up with something like 10 hours a week to dedicate to writing, which has greatly increased my pace on this project, as well as on a side project I might be posting on this forum within a month or two. We'll see.

I'm quite interested in what people think about this next chapter. It represents a thematic shift as we head into Act 3, but I don't want it to feel like a thematic shift, I want it to feel exactly like the past two acts. I tried to get some additional opinions on how it felt, but I haven't heard a consensus yet, so I'm interested to know what you think. If you do think it's too jarring a transition, the next two scenes (which I actually have planned out for once) will hopefully make up for it when they come out. Again, though, we'll just have to wait and see ;)

Anyways, mechanics aside, I hope you enjoy this scene! Whether you do or don't, though, feel free to leave a reply - I know this particular forum is becoming a bit quiet with age, so every little response helps.

Act 3: Protectors

>Layover<
As I walk out of the girls’ dorms, I can feel the pleasant afternoon air flow over me. It’s still quite bright out, but late enough in the day that the shadows cast on the path in front of me are noticeably stretched. I watch them as I walk past, tiny spots of light peeking out from between the shadows of individual leaves, until I turn a corner and catch sight of my destination: a short brick wall, on which a brown-haired boy in a t-shirt and shorts is sitting.

Hisao. After our first date yesterday, I honestly thought I’d have trouble getting to sleep, but it turned out not to be an issue. Rather than thinking back and forth about the events of the day, all that really came to mind was the feeling of his hand holding mine as we walked back up to the school. I haven’t felt that happy and relaxed in a long time, which helped me get to sleep pretty quickly.

I’m not sure whether it’s the extra sleep or the thought of spending yesterday with Hisao, but I’ve been upbeat all day. I woke up feeling good, class was a breeze, and then at lunch Hisao asked if I wanted to go walking today, since Suzu didn’t feel like studying. So here we are.

As I approach, he gets up and dusts himself off a bit. “Hey, you ready?”

“Yup. Lead the way!”

He smiles, then starts walking, and I fall into step beside him. We head for the back of the school, towards the route we tried last week. I’m glad Hisao found it; it’s an incredibly pleasant walk. The greenery growing around the path, combined with how quiet it is, creates an air of relaxation.

Of course, walking next to Hisao reminds me of yesterday, and I find myself thinking about grabbing his hand - a notion that only seems more appropriate given how few people are around. Unfortunately, he’s walking on my left, so I don’t really have an easy way of doing so. Before I can consider walking around to his other side, though, he starts a conversation.

“So I’ve been thinking a bit about yesterday.”

“Oh?” That makes two of us, I suppose.

“Yeah, I realized that I didn’t really get a chance to think about the details. Like you saying you were in your old school’s band.”

Well, I can see how he wouldn’t have thought about that one. It’s pretty unimportant, at least relative to the story of losing my hand. But he wants to get closer to me, so I suppose it’s only natural that it crossed his mind later on, and that he might be curious. “Anything in particular you want to know about it?”

“Well... I guess, what was it like?” That’s a broad question. Then again, he doesn’t know anything about it, so maybe broad is the best he can do. I’ll just have to give a broad answer.

“It was fun, for the most part. I wasn’t really that good at it, I just did it so I could be a part of the club. I got to hang out with my friends, and go on field trips or miss class sometimes. Plus, my mother was always saying how good it would look on university applications.”

He chuckles. “My father said the same thing. He signed me up for piano lessons when I was little. It only took a week before we all realized I was never going to be much of a pianist.”

“Not the musical type, then?”

“Oh no, not at all. I like the sound of music, but I couldn’t play an instrument to save my life.” He shakes his head, still smiling. “Speaking of which, what did you play, back at your old school?”

“Flute.” I find myself smiling as well. “There were actually a few of us, and I remember we all had this little rivalry with the piccolos.”

Hisao looks a bit sadder. “So I guess you couldn’t really keep playing after... after the accident.”

“Nah, my flute days were over.” I shrug. “I didn’t mind not being able to play, though. What bothered me was that I couldn’t really be a part of the band anymore. I wanted to see my friends, especially after being out of school for so long, but I couldn’t just show up to band practice without being able to play an instrument... I thought about asking if there was something I could play with one hand, but never got around to it before transferring here.”

Hisao nods, though he still looks a bit down. I briefly try to think of ways to make the story sound more light-hearted, but quickly realize there aren’t any - it’s just not a happy story. It ended on a sad note. But I moved on, in time. I guess that’s how to cheer up this conversation, too, so I try to think of a new topic, and find one easier than expected.

“Speaking of details, you said yesterday that you had some surgery back in the hospital?”

“Yeah, a couple surgeries.”

“Do you have any scars?”

The question seems to catch him off guard, and his expression is oddly blank. After a few seconds of contemplation, he finally speaks up. “Yeah. Well, just one, over my heart. They had to do a lot of work on it.”

“I thought so.” I toss him a sly grin. “You seemed to know your way around the scar on my wrist, so I figured you might have some experience.”

He blushes, evidently thinking about that night. It’s more than a week ago now, but the memory is fresh in my mind, and I’m sure it’s fresh in his, too. Still, once the red clears from his cheeks, he looks even more somber than before. Unwilling to let him stay like this, I try to lighten things up.

“But hey, scars are manly, right?” I tap him playfully on the shoulder with my stump. “It adds to your ‘tough guy’ image!”

I smile, but Hisao doesn’t seem any better for it. He stares at his feet for a moment, before he catches me watching him. “Sorry, it’s just... I’m self-conscious about my scar. It’s not a part of me I like showing off to people.” He chuckles, but it’s dull, as if he’s laughing at himself. “You remember when we met in the nurse’s office, my first week here?”

I nod, but let him continue.

“You probably noticed, but I was mortified that you might see my scar. I was frantically trying to cover it up. That’s how much I worried about it. I still do, sometimes.”

The images of him holding his shirt up to his chest and turning around just to put his shirt on come to mind. I noticed that he was doing it, of course, but I had no idea why. And now I sort of know... but not completely. “Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you so worried about it?”

He sighs. “I guess there are two reasons, really. First, it kind of reminds me of how permanent my condition is. That scar’s going to be with me until the day I die, just like my heart condition.” He looks over at me, searching for my reaction, so I show him a reassuring smile. It was already pretty obvious that his condition was permanent, and that doesn’t bother me - after all, it’s not like my hand’s ever coming back.

He continues. “More importantly, though, it’s a physical marker of my condition, that anyone can see. Most of the time, when people look at me, there’s nothing obviously wrong, but the moment I take my shirt off... It’s like they can read me. Like there’s a big label over my chest that says ‘Broken’.”

That’s a blunt way of putting it, but I know what he means. “Some of us have to wear that label all the time, you know.”

“That’s the worst part. What right do I have to feel bad about this? There are so many people here who can’t hide their conditions, who have to deal with their problems head-on. And yet, I’m the one who’s insecure?” He sighs. “It makes me feel like such a coward.”

He says the words calmly, trailing off as he finishes. He’s not angry, just lost. Forlorn.

I know this Hisao. I’ve seen this face. And every time before, the best I could do was pull him away, distract him from whatever was on his mind. But I know that things have changed. We’ve changed, especially in the past few days. I know I can do more for him, now that we’re closer.

I turn around, arms open wide, and wrap him in a hug. It takes him a moment to stop, so I have to move back a little to avoid smacking into his chest, but soon enough we’re stood still, my arms around him and my head next to his.

As he takes in the situation and begins to return my embrace, wrapping his arms around me to put his hands on my back, I speak softly into his ear. “It’s okay. It’s natural to worry. I used to worry a lot about people seeing me that way too.” He remains silent, and it pushes me to say more. “It’s going to take time, but you’re going to learn how to live with it.” I dig up the word he had used. “You’re not a coward, you just need practice.”

He hugs me tighter for a moment, squeezing me a little to show he understands, then loosens his grip. This gives me an idea, and I take a short step backwards, putting just a bit of distance between us.

His heart would be on his left. That’s my right, which seems fitting - my good side matches up with his bad, like we’re a pair of puzzle pieces. I raise my hand and place it on his chest, smoothing out the fabric of his shirt while searching along it.

It doesn’t take much time to find what I’m looking for; the scar is much closer to the center of his chest than I was expecting, but also longer, and more jagged. Even without seeing it, I can tell it’s a complex one, with multiple ridges where the skin has healed in slightly different places. I feel along its length one more time, trying to commit its size and shape to memory, before looking up at Hisao, who is staring back at me expectantly.

“So... can you feel it?”

“Yeah.”

He grins, though a bit of nervousness seeps into his voice. “Good, I was afraid I’d have to take my shirt off right here and show you.”

His sheepish joke catches me off guard, and I find myself trying to stifle my laughter for a moment before re-establishing eye contact with him. His hands are still around my back, and I almost instinctively move my hand up to his shoulder as he smiles at me, and I find myself smiling in return. I’ve managed to help Hisao - not by running away with him, but by standing and facing the problem together.

Together. The word races around my head just as I notice that we haven’t moved for a few seconds, still looking at each other while in a loose embrace. Each passing second seems to accentuate our position, and how close we are, and suddenly, it occurs to me how close we could be. My eyes briefly flick down to Hisao’s lips, still in a comfortable smile, and I feel my throat tightening up.

Is this... Are we going to kiss?

I’m caught a little off guard; I haven’t thought this far through. And yet, when I think about Hisao, about the comforting feeling of holding his hand or wrapping him in a hug or even just standing close to each other like this...

I want to try.

Ten seconds ago, it had never even crossed my mind, but now I find myself watching Hisao expectantly, waiting for him to lean forward. Or is that my job? I really haven’t thought this through.

Before I can consider the matter any further, Hisao blushes and looks away. After a moment, he inhales, then turns back to face me. “Thank you, Miki. For everything.”

It takes a moment to drag myself back into reality, but eventually I manage to shoot him a grin. “Anytime, Science Boy.”

With that, he removes his hands from my back and slowly begins to walk down the path again. I reflexively follow him, but my thoughts briefly descend into chaos. What was that? I wanted to... to try.

I guess Hisao isn’t quite there yet.

I find myself disappointed, but decide to try and salvage what I can of the situation. A quick look behind me confirms that there’s nobody there. That’s a relief: not only does it mean nobody saw that whole exchange, it also gives me the confidence to reach out and grab Hisao’s hand with mine, almost as if to get revenge. Warm, comfortable, finger-locking revenge.

He looks over at me for a second, as if to confirm that I’m really here. Finding that I am, he smiles, shrugs, and keeps walking, content to have me with him. As much as I’m a little peeved that we missed that opportunity, I can’t even imagine staying mad about it.

After all, we’ll have more chances in the future, I’m sure.

I wake up to a faint, yet distinctly noticeable, buzzing. My eyes still closed as I slowly drag myself into consciousness, I suddenly realize what this sensation probably is. Waking up long before dawn to a faint yet ever-present sensation? It’s almost like a bad rerun.

I brace myself for the pain, but none comes - in fact, the buzzing seems to have stopped completely. After a few seconds of waiting and thankfully getting nothing in return, I open my eyes, and notice a stray light being cast across my room, which would otherwise be pitch-black. Of course, my phone. It must have gotten a message, and vibrated to let me know.

Despite still being half asleep, it’s easy to figure out who could be texting me in the middle of the night: the only person who’s ever texted me in the middle of the night. Sure enough, when I finally get to my phone, it says “Hisao” in big letters on the front. I flip it open and see what he has to say.

<Hey, you awake?>

I smile, and reply the same way he replied to me last time.

<I am now.>

<Sorry.>

<It’s okay. What’s up?>

My brain, of course, does not really think it’s okay. It thinks I should go back to bed. But Hisao deserves my attention.

<Insomnia.>

Makes sense. Hisao’s wide awake over in his room. Well, as much as I want to just lay back down, I should really see if I can help him out. When I was awake in the middle of the night, he let me come over and talk with him, and tried his best to help me with my problem. I really owe him the same in return - moreover, even if I didn’t, I think I’d want to help him anyways. But the point is moot for now.

<Want me to come over?>

I begin to put on my black outfit even as I send the message, knowing what his response is likely to be.

<If you don’t mind...>

I figured as much. Of course, something tells me he knows what my response is going to be too.

<Not at all. See you in a bit!>

I stuff my phone into my pocket and head out the door, the empty hallways seeming very familiar. The lamp-lit school grounds are the same - I’ve been out here more than enough times to be well-acquainted with this scenery.

When I finally make my it to the boys’ dorms and take my sweater off, I can feel myself dragging a little. I might be used to being up late like this, but that’s usually because my phantom pains are keeping me up regardless. Now, there isn’t really any urgent need to stay awake.

Well, that’s not completely true. My reason for staying up is Hisao. I want to help him. I also kind of just want to see him. It’s been nice, spending time together.

I knock on his door as this thought crosses my mind, and shortly afterwards I’m rewarded with the image of him standing just inside the now-open door.

He grins. “Tired?”

“Just a little.” My voice is rough, and probably sounds worse than I actually feel.

“Sorry. You don’t have to be here.”

I scoff as I walk past him, sitting on the edge of his bed and tossing my sweater onto the floor as he closes the door behind me. “Really? After that whole speech about how I shouldn’t feel bad for making you stay up late?”

He chuckles as he walks over and sits down on the bed to my right. “True, true. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Anyways, I know I don’t have to be here. I want to be.” I give him a smile, then yawn. “Even if I also kind of want to be asleep.”

Hisao puts his left hand around my head and carefully pulls it towards himself until it’s resting on his shoulder, and I become acutely aware of how warm he is. When he speaks next, I can feel his neck vibrate a little. “Thank you for wanting to be here more than wanting to be asleep.”

I can’t help but smile. I reach out and put my hand around him, resting it on his other shoulder. I am here to try and help him get to sleep, after all. Being next to him is certainly making me sleepy, so I can only hope the effect is mutual.

Suddenly, I feel his right hand rest on top of mine, and I almost flinch at the sensation. A second later, he starts running his left hand through my hair, which also causes his knuckles to brush lightly against my head. I didn’t think I could get more comfortable, but here’s Hisao with some kind of expert one-two punch.

I can feel myself sinking into him. My head fits perfectly up against his neck and shoulder, and it feels fantastic, as does his hand against my head. He takes a break from going through my hair to gently scratch the back of my neck, slowly moving his upwards onto my scalp. If I weren’t so tired, I might be more surprised that he’s managed to outdo himself twice in the span of a minute - at least, I think it’s been a minute.

My eyes closed, I briefly consider that I should try to stay more awake - after all, I’m here to help Hisao. Then again, he’s the one who started this, so this is what he wants, right? I’m helping him just by being here, in a way. And I’m still going to be here, no matter how tired I get. So I might as well give in to the comfort.

I smile, relishing the feeling of having Hisao here with me. That might just be the best decision I’ve made in a long time.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of the sun on my skin. The rays warm up my legs, my stomach, and my face - with my eyes closed, though, all I can see is a dull glow. In contrast to my front, my back is pleasantly cool, including my hands, which I’m using as a pillow behind my head. To top it all off, I hear a familiar voice to my left.

I turn to face Hisao, but keep my eyes closed. I smile at him, and in return get a chuckle, which seems to mesh with the steady sound of nearby waves.

Before I can bask in this moment any longer, though, a sharp noise permeates the still air. I frown, not sure what to make of it. Maybe it was just a car horn or something.

Half a second later, though, it blares once more, assaulting my ears and attempting to ruin the moment. Across from me, I can feel Hisao becoming uneasy as well. I silently hope that it’s nothing, that maybe it was just-

Nope, there it is a third time. Unable to continue ignoring it, I groan and open my eyes.

The sweet sensations of the beach fade away, and I wake up in bed, early morning sun streaming through the window. After blinking a few times, however, I realize that something feels off. My room feels wrong. As I look around, nothing looks the same, including the alarm clock going off on the nightstand next to me, which luckily falls silent when I hit the large but unfamiliar button on top.

In doing so, I notice a number of pill bottles stacked near it, which causes something to click in my mind: this isn’t my room, it’s Hisao’s. Well, while that explains why it felt so strange, it raises more questions. Why am I here, especially this early? Furthermore, if I’m here, then where’s-

A groan emanates from the floor next to the bed, and I look over to see Hisao, asleep in a t-shirt and shorts, with a blanket sloppily pulled over him. As I begin to wake up properly, my memory returns: Hisao couldn’t sleep last night, so I came over here to see him. We sat on the bed, and he held my hand and played with my hair, and then... nothing. I must’ve fallen asleep. Damn.

Well, no matter where I am, it’s morning, which means classes are going to start soon, so I need to get moving. I push myself up, then sit on the edge of my bed as I try to prepare myself. Looking down, Hisao is still asleep. I guess I silenced his alarm before it did its job. Given that he has classes today too, I should probably wake him up. I nudge him gently in the side a few times with one foot, and after much protesting, he finally opens his eyes.

The moment he clears his eyes, they go wide. “M-Miki, what are...” He sits there for a second, trying to get his brain into gear, before remembering. “Oh, right.” He sits up, then smiles at me. “You fell asleep.”

I grimace. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. It was nice having you here.”

“Still, I feel bad for taking your bed. Why didn’t you just move me onto the floor?”

He shrugs. “Well, you were asleep, so I didn’t really want to move you around too much, especially since you looked so peaceful...”

I blush, and reflexively avert my eyes, which causes them to land on my black sweater, still crumpled on the floor. This reminds me that I still have to get out of here and back to my own room. I stand up, then pick up the sweater and stare at it for a moment. Do I wear it and try to hide myself? No, it wouldn’t do me any good now that it’s light out, and if someone saw me like that I could get into trouble. I’ll just have to carry it back - I tie it around my waist, making sure that only the black fabric is showing. Perfect.

Below me, Hisao looks like he’s about to get up himself, so I offer him my hand. He grabs it and pulls himself up, then wraps me in an unexpected hug, and I can feel his chest expand against mine as he inhales. “Good morning, Miki.”

A bit stunned, I only manage to give an automatic reply. “Good morning, Hisao.” After a bit more thought, I add “Thanks for lending me your bed.”

“Any time.” He chuckles. “Besides, you’re cute when you sleep.”

I’m a little glad that he can’t see my face, because it freezes for a moment, my cheeks feeling warm. A brief silence follows, and I find myself locked in an internal debate. There’s a part of me that knows I should leave soon, both to avoid being seen in the boys’ dorm much and because I still have to get ready for class. The majority of me, however, seems perfectly willing to ignore this fact and stay here with Hisao, especially given the butterflies now running rampant in my stomach. This morning might have been a rollercoaster, but it’s ending on one hell of a high note.

Hisao ends up being the one who breaks our embrace, then puts his hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eye. “I’ll see you in class, okay?”

“Yeah, see you then!” I try to put some energy into my voice, even though I already feel like going back to bed. As he lets me go and I walk out of his room, I realize that it’s going to be a long day.

Luckily for me, Hisao sets his alarm earlier than I do, so there really aren’t many people around to see me leave the boys’ dorms. I should have plenty of time to get ready once I get back to my room.

Once I turn into the hallway leading to my room, however, my heart sinks. Stood there, closing her door, still in her pajamas, is Suzu. She notices me out of the corner of her tired eyes, and turns to face me.

Oh lord, here it comes. She’s going to want to know why I was out just now. I can’t tell her I was just downstairs getting food, I wouldn’t have a sweater and sweatpants for that. And what if she knows I was out all night? She has a spare key to my room, maybe she-

“Morning, Miki.” She doesn’t even wait for me to acknowledge her mumbled greeting before turning and groggily ambling to the bathroom.

Well, there’s that taken care of, I guess. I’m lucky Suzu’s not a morning person.

I head back into my room, then start getting ready for the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suzu is noticeably animated as she sits down to eat lunch with Hisao and me. “Okay, we have to do a study session today. And then the next few days, too.”

Before my tired brain can begin to wonder why, Hisao speaks up. “But it’s Tuesday. Miki has running to do, and I have to walk with her after that.”

Suzu shakes her head. “Nope, that can wait, we need to get studying for this test.”

The word sends off alarms somewhere in the back of my head. “Test? We have a test?”

Suzu turns to look at me incredulously. “Weren’t you listening? Mutou announced it today. It’s on the past 3 chapters!”

I slowly begin to panic, but once again Hisao manages to halt that train of thought with a sigh. “It’s not until next Tuesday. We’ve got a whole week to study.”

Well, that’s lots of time. “A whole week? What’s the big deal, Suzu?”

“It’s a test, we should be...” She groans. “I just really want to get on top of this, okay?”

As she replies, I catch myself yawning, and decide to settle things. “Well, I’m too tired to go running today anyways, so if you guys want to study you can go ahead.”

Hisao nods absentmindedly, understanding what I mean. After all, he’s the one who was there when I fell asleep last night, so he’s well aware that I’m not completely awake today. Suzu thinks on this for a bit longer, but eventually gives in with a shrug, her desire to study overwhelming her desire to include me. “Alright. Hisao, is that okay with you?”

“Sure thing, I’ll meet you in the library after class.”

Suzu takes a deep breath, and seems much more composed for it. “Cool. I’ll see you there.”

It’s not entirely unlike her to worry about tests, but it feels like she’s more frantic now than she has been before. That’s probably just because we’re actually in a study group now, though - before, I assume she just studied on her own, since I never really bothered with it that much. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be prepared, I suppose.

Somehow, though, I’m not worried. I feel like the three of us, working together, could do just about anything.

Previous: Rendezvous ~ Next: Contact Light

It represents a thematic shift as we head into Act 3, but I don't want it to feel like a thematic shift, I want it to feel exactly like the past two acts. I tried to get some additional opinions on how it felt, but I haven't heard a consensus yet, so I'm interested to know what you think. If you do think it's too jarring a transition,...

Not sure what you mean... I didn't feel too much of a tone shift this chapter. Of course it's been over two months since the last chapter, so I might not notice somthing minor.

One thing I found strange was that Miki was the one who was tired at the end when she slept the whole night (with one short interruption) and Hisao was suffering from insomnia and sleeping on the floor.

Haven't read any fics in well over a year, I chose a good one to come back to! I remember reading chapter one the day it was posted, time flies!

Whoops, looks like I never commented on the update on here. I really like the progression we see in these chapters, the interactions feel very real. And I'd have to agree with Mirage there's not much of a tone shift, so don't worry, all is well!

This was really well written and I'm glad I found it.

I like the Bad Ending as well, it didn't depress me like a lot of them tend to do, but I like how it's A) Hisao breaking up and B) fixable, in that the relationship could be repaired (unlikely, but possible). That makes it fairly unique from what I've read.