For Want of a Nail - Misha Route (Updated 11/1/19)

[Mirage_GSM]

Also, we have to keep in mind that the narration of Katawa Shoujo is first person present tense, which rules out some of the tricks you can get away with in a more "traditional" narrative: you either show the scene or part of the scene as it happens, you summarize it, or you don't show it at all. If Hisao shows us a conversation and Shizune isn't saying anything, then she really isn't saying anything, and it's not just that Hisao isn't paying enough attention.

That's not what I meant at all. Of course if she is "saying" something, the narrator will report it. It's likely, though, that he won't notice little gestures or expressions as readily as he notices them with his girlfriend. This can have... consequences. (Let me add that even though I'm one of Prof's proofreaders for this story, this is a speculation based on my own Misha route and not a spoiler for this one. So far I'm as much in the dark about what Prof has planned for Shizune than the rest of you.)

Hold on, that's not entirely true. According to Misha, she and Shizune had been trying to recruit members all the time in the past, only to end up with precious few volunteers who, to make things worse, all gave up rather quickly and left. If that's how well they fared together, I can't really see Shizune faring that much better by herself, and that's quite the understatement.

Well, in this route she definitely has a better motivation to succeed, and that can account for much.
We are not shown what lengths she goes to to find new members. Maybe she realized that bullying will only get her so far and changed her approach? She's certainly not acting her bullying self in this story as much as in the original KS.

[Helbereth]

Maybe she realized that bullying will only get her so far and changed her approach? She's certainly not acting her bullying self in this story as much as in the original KS.

This is what I assumed was happening based on the available evidence. Through observing and interacting with someone who has no bias about the Student Council (Hisao), she realizes her approach has perhaps been flawed. Add to that the budding romance between her colleagues, which she seems to approve of even long before they realized it was happening, and she's put in a situation where she needs to reevaluate her approach to Student Council business. Even if it feels like an emotional leap for her to go from standoffish to more accepting, it's a logical maneuver--tactically sound, and fully within her MO.

[pip25]

Oh look, more discussion.

Thanks for the reply. I understand perfectly that it's simply too early to disclose some of the plot or characterization decisions; I guess I will just have to wait and see. I have to say, though, this paragraph greatly surprised me:

In Shizune's route, for the most part, Misha is a non-entity. In other routes as well. So much so that Misha's lecture in Emi's route is immediately dismissed as her repeating something told her by Shizune. Ostensibly, she plays the role of actual sign language interpreters, and is treated as if she simply doesn't exist. Remember, Hisao spends months hanging out almost exclusively with Misha and Shizune before it occurs to him that Misha is in fact a person.

I simply cannot fathom how you came to this conclusion. Misha a "non-entity", especially in Shizune's route...? Why? O_o Hisao certainly didn't need months to recognize Misha as being her own person: remember when she "tutored" him in sign language right at the beginning? (I'm sure you do, since I recall a scene in this story containing a shout-out to that one. ) You certainly don't ask a "non-entity" to keep the fact that you're learning sign language a secret from Shizune. It is true that the relationship between Misha and Hisao had something of a "friend of a friend" feel to it at first, but that's not the same as Hisao not recognizing that Misha has her own goals and desires that are separate from those of his girlfriend. Some people even arrived to the (obviously exaggerated) conclusion that Misha was more of a protagonist in the route than Shizune (since the latter's character development is more subtle and harder to grasp) which does not point to Misha's character being ignored by the story or the cast at any point.

Misha places her hands on her hips and launches into a speech that would sound more plausible coming from Shizune.

And for the record: the remark you're referring to in Emi's route (quoted above) says only that Hisao feels odd getting chewed out by Misha, as she'd expect such a tone more from Shizune instead of her. But Hisao does not assume that Misha is merely relaying a message from the council president; such a thing would be impossible anyway since the two girls didn't know what went wrong between Hisao and Emi to begin with - which is exactly why Misha asked. The truth is, in fact, the opposite: Hisao is confused because he can differentiate between "Shizune as interpreted by Misha" and Misha herself, and this sounds more like the former to him even though Shizune is not there.

That aside, I am still very much looking forward to see how this story will continue. Act Three, here I come...

That's not what I meant at all. Of course if she is "saying" something, the narrator will report it. It's likely, though, that he won't notice little gestures or expressions as readily as he notices them with his girlfriend. This can have... consequences.

Oh, then I misunderstood you, sorry about that. I certainly agree with the above; I don't think it was the subtle gestures or expressions that were missing though.

[ProfAllister]

I have to say, though, this paragraph greatly surprised me:

In Shizune's route, for the most part, Misha is a non-entity. In other routes as well. So much so that Misha's lecture in Emi's route is immediately dismissed as her repeating something told her by Shizune. Ostensibly, she plays the role of actual sign language interpreters, and is treated as if she simply doesn't exist. Remember, Hisao spends months hanging out almost exclusively with Misha and Shizune before it occurs to him that Misha is in fact a person.

I simply cannot fathom how you came to this conclusion. Misha a "non-entity", especially in Shizune's route...? Why? O_o Hisao certainly didn't need months to recognize Misha as being her own person: remember when she "tutored" him in sign language right at the beginning? (I'm sure you do, since I recall a scene in this story containing a shout-out to that one. ) You certainly don't ask a "non-entity" to keep the fact that you're learning sign language a secret from Shizune. It is true that the relationship between Misha and Hisao had something of a "friend of a friend" feel to it at first, but that's not the same as Hisao not recognizing that Misha has her own goals and desires that are separate from those of his girlfriend. Some people even arrived to the (obviously exaggerated) conclusion that Misha was more of a protagonist in the route than Shizune (since the latter's character development is more subtle and harder to grasp) which does not point to Misha's character being ignored by the story or the cast at any point.

I think you're misreading what I'm saying there. He recognizes that Misha exists, sure, but he doesn't really treat her as a person. He doesn't ask Misha to tutor him - he accepts her offer to tutor him when she expresses concern that he isn't taking his studies seriously. In the entire first half, he treats her as an end to a means. He completely disregards her opinion that he let Shizune know he's learning Sign Language, and then has a bit of a freak out when she uses her own judgment and disrupts his carefully-laid plans. He may concede her existence and motivations on an intellectual level, but it is never reflected in his actions or observations. At least, not before the second half. And it's the second half that people focus on when they argue that Misha's the protagonist. Technically, she's the antagonist, but that's somewhat irrelevant here. The point is that Misha gets sidelined pretty significantly in Shizune's route (kinda like Shizune in this route...) - up until the Student Elections arc, that is, when she comes into her role as the villain.

Misha places her hands on her hips and launches into a speech that would sound more plausible coming from Shizune.

And for the record: the remark you're referring to in Emi's route (quoted above) says only that Hisao feels odd getting chewed out by Misha, as she'd expect such a tone more from Shizune instead of her. But Hisao does not assume that Misha is merely relaying a message from the council president; such a thing would be impossible anyway since the two girls didn't know what went wrong between Hisao and Emi to begin with - which is exactly why Misha asked. The truth is, in fact, the opposite: Hisao is confused because he can differentiate between "Shizune as interpreted by Misha" and Misha herself, and this sounds more like the former to him even though Shizune is not there.

Wrong remark. I'm referring to the OTHER lecture Misha gives Hisao (if you make the wrong choice) which includes the following:

It seems that Misha is channeling Shizune at the moment. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that Shizune gave her a script to follow based on my answer.

Either way, you're missing my point. Even in the case of the former (i.e., what you quoted), and your interpretation, that's the problem right there. Hisao assumes that he knows Misha and Shizune well enough to draw the clear distinction between their personalities. He assumes that Misha drops the bubbly cheerful lines, and Shizune is all seriousness. He may or may not be accurate in that assessment, but it's an artificial distinction based on little more than surface impressions.

Anyway, I should get back to writing, before people yell at me for wasting my valuable time discussing the minutiae of made-up personalities of fake people from a cripple porn game.

[pip25]

I think you're misreading what I'm saying there. He recognizes that Misha exists, sure, but he doesn't really treat her as a person. He doesn't ask Misha to tutor him - he accepts her offer to tutor him when she expresses concern that he isn't taking his studies seriously. In the entire first half, he treats her as an end to a means. He completely disregards her opinion that he let Shizune know he's learning Sign Language, and then has a bit of a freak out when she uses her own judgment and disrupts his carefully-laid plans. He may concede her existence and motivations on an intellectual level, but it is never reflected in his actions or observations. At least, not before the second half. And it's the second half that people focus on when they argue that Misha's the protagonist. Technically, she's the antagonist, but that's somewhat irrelevant here. The point is that Misha gets sidelined pretty significantly in Shizune's route (kinda like Shizune in this route...) - up until the Student Elections arc, that is, when she comes into her role as the villain.

I on the other hand think you're exaggerating here. Carefully laid plans? Hisao was simply feeling insecure "talking" to Shizune until he felt he was ready - a moment that may not have arrived at all if it weren't for Misha. So yes, she was right, but Hisao not listening to her had little to do with his opinion of her. Had anyone else made that suggestion, he would have reacted the same way. (That said, Hisao does underestimate Misha quite a few times, especially in the brains department, even more so in other routes than in Shizune's.) Anyway, calling Misha a villain in the route is a little weird, but I think I understand what you're referring to there.

Wrong remark. I'm referring to the OTHER lecture Misha gives Hisao (if you make the wrong choice) which includes the following: (...)

I stand corrected. It just occurred to me that I never saw Emi's bad ending... well, I don't think I'm in a rush, but it apparently puts me at a disadvantage. Hmm...

He may or may not be accurate in that assessment, but it's an artificial distinction based on little more than surface impressions.

True - I suppose in this route Hisao did not have much of a chance to go beyond surface impressions for the two, so that much is to be expected.

Anyway, I should get back to writing, before people yell at me for wasting my valuable time discussing the minutiae of made-up personalities of fake people from a cripple porn game.

But debating is fun~! ;D ...Well, at least I enjoy doing so... Err... Hey, where did everyone go...?

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(This would actually deserve a second post, because, well, you'll see. XD But double-posting isn't nice, so I guess this huge line will just have to do.)

Okay, so I see now that it was a really stupid idea to review Act Two in itself. XD I've now read what there is to read from Act Three, and... most of the problems I had abruptly disappeared off the face of the Earth. Something mysterious is afoot here. O_o
But seriously, what happened? Either I'm going crazy, or something changed with the writing between the acts. Misha's characterization is better than ever (even though it was pretty good to begin with), Shizune's now suddenly doing things in the story, and the whole plot is also even more enjoyable than ever before.
Well, actually Shizune did made herself scarce twice, but neither occasion felt that forced this time, the first event even turned out to be quite significant in terms of well, "revelations". I may have a suspicion now about why she's doing what she's doing, and if I'm right, it'll be really interesting to see how it will unfold. I see a whole lot of improvement here.
Introducing Keiko and Aoi was, in my opinion, a great idea that ties well into canon while also giving you leg room to do whatever you want with their characters. If some people would join the Student Council and would stick around, it's them. I still find it strange that Shizune somehow did that all by herself (it would have made for a great scene in Act Two!) but their introduction still makes the whole twist from the last arc much easier to swallow.
Did I tell you how much I love the conversations Misha and Hisao have together? Their interactions were pretty good in Act Two, but somehow they still managed to improve. I laughed a whole lot too. Great stuff.
And with that, we arrive to the sudden reconciliation of Lilly and Shizune. I... think I'll try to play things smarter this time and wait to see what comes out of it. As things are, I've spent several seconds staring stupidly at the monitor, but... well, who knows? I have to say though, right now it feels almost like Hisao choosing Misha instead of her was the best thing that could ever happen to Shizune in many ways - but I'm sure things aren't that simple. Again, I'll be interested to see how this plays out.

Aaand... looks like the first bump in the road is slowly materializing before Hisao and Misha. Exciting! Can't wait to read more.

Steven

[ProfAllister]

Damn it.

Damn it damn it damn it.

Insomnia’s a side effect of my heart medication. Well, to be more precise, it’s one of the last men standing in the no-holds-barred battle royale of side effects from my twice-daily cocktail of medications. And I’m okay with that. Usually. It’s annoying, but it doesn’t really cause problems.

Except when it’s keeping me from getting sleep the night before exams.

I go through the usual song and dance of tossing and turning, but, after the first few encounters, you learn to recognize the telltale signs of insomnia rather quickly. It’s mostly just a ritual to fight it out of sheer stubbornness. Much as I’d like it to be otherwise, it’s not something that can be beaten by willpower.

Giving up, I climb out of bed, stagger across the room, and fumble for the light switch. Once the light comes on, I make my way to my desk and pull out my English textbook. If I’m not going to sleep, I may as well make good use of my time.

Studying with Misha has certainly helped my vocabulary, but I still struggle with the grammar. I don’t think I can help it - it all feels so abstract to me. If I could imagine a situation where I’d use the future unreal conditional, I wouldn’t mind so much that I have to learn it.

On to spelling...

I like how there are only 26 characters in English. I’d like it more if there were 26 sounds to go with each of them, or if different combinations didn’t make the same sounds.

“I before E, except after C, or in words that say ‘ay,’ like ‘neighbor’ and ‘weigh?’” That’s a weird rule.

Any further musing is interrupted by a knock at my door. I glance over at the clock. Almost midnight. What on earth could Kenji want this time? He probably needs me to spot him a few hundred yen. If I ignore him, he’ll probably give up. Eventually.

Another knock. I don’t respond. By the third knock, I remember that this is Kenji we’re talking about. I’ll break before he does.

Making my annoyance clear, I call out through the doorway, “Whatever it is, Kenji, it can wait until morning.”

Silence, then I hear the door rattle as the knob is tested from the other side. I left it unlocked, so it provides no resistance. I really should stop doing that if I want Kenji to leave me alone.

The door opens a crack, and I hear a timid voice completely unlike Kenji’s. “What if it isn’t Setou, Hicchan~?”

I jump out of my seat and open the door all the way, finding Misha on the other side. She's still wearing her casual outfit from earlier. “Misha? Why are you here so late? …How are you here so late?”

She’s a far cry from her normal cheerful self, but she still giggles softly at my questions. “Haha~. The security guard let me in. He knows I’m on the Student Council, so he assumed it was official business~.”

There really is no escape from the Student Council, is there? “And you didn’t tell him otherwise?”

She smiles mischievously. “It’s not a lie if you just let them make assumptions~.”

She pauses, then asks in a whisper, “Did I wake you up?”

“Not really,” I admit, “I couldn’t get to sleep, so I’ve just been reading. Why are you still up?”

“Ahaha~, I couldn’t sleep either!” Glancing from side to side uncomfortably, her voice drops back down to a whisper. “Can I come in?”

It’s a bit of an unusual request, but it’s not like there would be any other reason for her to come to my room in the middle of the night. “Uhm, sure.”

Stepping aside, I hold the door open for her, and then push it back closed after she enters. Before I let go of the knob, though, Misha places one hand on top of my own, and uses the other to lock the door.

“So, Hicchan~,” she begins, “you called me Misha this time.”

I shrug. “I still think of you as Misha. Besides, you said you only wanted me to call you Shiina when we were alone. It would be stranger if you stopped being Misha.”

For some reason, she seems to be particularly tickled by this comment. “Ahahaha~, yeah, it would be weird if I stopped being me.”

As she takes note of her surroundings, her eyes come to rest on the books and notes at my desk. With a disappointed frown, she turns back to me. “If you were having trouble with English, you should have told me, Hicchan. It’s not good for anyone if you stay up late because you don’t want to ask for help~.”

“Thanks for your concern, but you have it backwards. I’m studying because I can’t sleep, not the other way around. It’s a side effect of my medications.”

I nod in the direction of my crowded bedside table to make it clear what medications I’m talking about. She must not have paid much attention when she was last here, because I can see her hands and mouth move as she counts out loud to herself. When she finishes, she turns to meet my eyes, her own wide with a mixture of concern and disbelief. “Fifteen? Every day?”

“Twice a day,” I correct her, “Fifteen in the morning, and fifteen before bed.”

Her mouth hangs slightly open, as if she’s having difficulty processing what I just said. After a long pause, she speaks up again, more to herself than to me, “That’s a lot of pills~...”

As she stands there stunned, I move to clean my desk and put my books away. The moment I turn around, however, she catches me in a tight hug. “I know you don’t like to talk about it, Hicchan, but can I ask? Why you need to take all those pills?”

I knew this would come up eventually, and I thought I was prepared for it. But now that the question’s been asked, I hesitate. It was easy enough for me to tell Rin when she was a complete stranger. Why would it be harder to tell Misha, when we’re so close? Or is it harder because we’re so close?

I twist around in her arms until I’m facing her, then I return her embrace with one of my own. Placing my hand on top of her head, I gently press her ear against my chest. “I have an arrhythmia. A heart condition. My pulse isn’t quite right.” Letting out a hollow chuckle, I continue, “I guess you could say that I’m here because of a broken heart.”

I don’t expect her to laugh. It was a terrible joke, anyway. “I can feel it.” She speaks in a tiny voice, so softly that I can barely hear. Pulling her head away, Misha looks up into my eyes. It may be my eyes playing a trick on me, but I almost think I can see tears welling up. “Is it... serious? Can it...?”

She can’t bring herself to ask, but I know what her question is. “It can, if I let it. As long as I take care and stay in shape, the doctors say I can live a long and happy life.”

When they told me that, I found it far from reassuring. But being able to tell someone who cares about me that my heart condition will only likely kill me - rather than definitely - is a good feeling.

“Stay in shape,” she repeats. “So that’s why he had us swimming together...”

She must be referring to the nurse. “I guess so.” Thinking back on it, he’s kind of responsible for the two of us ending up together. “I’m glad he did.”

“I didn’t hurt you, did I? By pushing too hard?”

It makes me smile, just how wrong she is. “No, you’ve been perfect. You would make an excellent personal trainer.”

Blushing, Misha avoids my gaze. “No I wouldn’t. I was just teaching you how to swim. Anyone could do that~.”

“All the same,” I insist, “you did a good job.”

Pulling me into another hug, she buries her face into my chest. “You’re too nice, Hicchan~. You don’t deserve to have something as terrible as arithmetic.”

Her voice is a little muffled, so I can’t quite make out the tone, but I think it’s somewhere between sad and angry. “Arrythmia,” I say, correcting her.

“Yeah. That.” She turns her head to look back up at me. I’ve seen Misha upset before, but it was never as bad as this. It’s hard to believe such an expression could cross her normally happy face. “Hicchan,” she begins, “Can I stay here with you~? Just for tonight?”

I hesitate. I knew that she might ask, but I was kind of hoping she wouldn't. I'd love to have her stay, but it's not, strictly speaking, allowed. A lot easier to get caught, too. Knowing the right thing to do, I take a deep breath, look Misha in the eyes - and cave. "Okay, you can stay."

Her celebration is surprisingly low-key. With a soft smile full of gratitude, she says "thanks" so quietly she may as well be mouthing the word.

Her welcome fully established, she wastes no time in making herself at home. Pushing my books aside - and knocking several things onto the floor in the process - she clears a space on my desk. She then reaches into her ever-present bag and produces a small mirror and a collection of less easily recognizable objects. As she wipes her face with a small cloth circle (to remove makeup?), she begins talking again. "Sorry about being so much trouble, Hicchan~. I have a bad habit of causing people problems, even when I don't want to get in the way..."

While she makes a mess out of my desk, I claim a spot on the edge of my bed as a seat. "It's really not a big deal," I protest. "Friends help each other out. You're my girlfriend, but that doesn't mean you aren't still a friend."

Misha seems struck by my statement and stops what she's doing, staring out straight ahead. "Huh. I never thought about it that way, Hicchan. I like it~."

From where I'm sitting, I can see her face in her portable mirror. Without her makeup, she looks even more exhausted than the already significant amount of fatigue that showed through had led me to expect. How much sleep has she been getting? Or is the better question how much she hasn't been getting?

Shortly after finishing her makeup removal, she puts those tools away and pulls out supplies for contact lens care, along with a glasses case. Rather than start with that, she turns to face me. "Hicchan, there's something I should tell you, so you aren't too surprised when you see it."

I know she's self-conscious about her appearance, but she's making a pretty big deal about something as trivial as the fact that she wears glasses. "Don't worry," I assure her, "I've known about that since we started dating. Remember when Shizune and I came to your room?"

She looks surprised at first, but nods in understanding as she works it out in her head. "You're right, I was wearing my glasses then, wasn't I~? Okay~! That makes this a lot easier!"

Encouraged by this revelation, or rather the lack thereof, Misha begins the ritual of removing her contact lenses. As she does so, she speaks up again. "Since we're talking about that kind of thing, you're probably wondering what my disability is, right?"

I have to admit that she's right, but it feels rude to actually say that. She continues speaking before I get a chance to respond. "You probably got confused when I told Rin that there was nothing wrong with me, but told you that I didn't know what it was like to be at Yamaku without having a disability. I didn't lie to either of you. The truth is that no one knows what's wrong with me. Not even me. Some disabilities are easy to spot - it's not hard to figure out something like missing legs or deafness. Others take time. And tests. I've had doctors poking and prodding me for years now, taking anything unusual and trying to turn it into some condition or other. Until they can confirm something, I'm normal. On paper, at least."

She's trying her best to control her voice, like she doesn't really care, that it's no big deal, but she can't hide the bitterness. It almost feels like she's jealous of the people who are more obviously broken. I can imagine why. I had less than a day to wonder what was wrong with me after my heart attack. She's had years of dealing with that, to say nothing of all the tests she must have endured.

As she finishes up, she turns around in the chair to face me. "I'm sorry the answer wasn't more interesting, Hicchan."

Her glasses are the first thing I notice. The rectangular lenses and gold-colored wire frames make her look... studious? Vulnerable? Whatever it is, it’s certainly not something most people would associate with Misha. I like it, though.

More important, however, is what sits behind the glasses. Hey eyes aren’t gold anymore. They’re a soft bluish green. I guess that’s what she was trying to tell me about. But why would she want to change her eye color?

“Hicchan~? Is something wrong?”

“Huh?” I must have lost focus. “No, I’m just... taking it all in. I didn’t quite expect something like that, I guess.”

This goes for her eye color as well as her disability issues, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“Also,” I admit, “I’m still not quite used to seeing you in glasses. It hasn’t exactly been a common occurrence. They look good on you.”

As expected, a burst of pink rushes to her cheeks. “Ehehehe~, you think so, Hicchan?”

“I do.” With a smile, I decide to push my advantage. “I also think your natural eye color is a good look.”

With surprising speed, she shifts from a flirtatious blush to an unhappy frown. “You also think Shiina’s a good name.”

I have to admit that I was afraid this might happen, but I have to press. The more I learn about her, the more it seems she’s hiding. “I don’t understand. Didn’t you say green is best?”

Misha’s hands drop to her lap, and her gaze soon follows them. “It is, Hicchan. Usually. But not for eyes. Not for my eyes...”

And once again I hit a dead end. If I really wanted to, I could push the matter, but that would probably just upset her even more. So we sit in silence for a few minutes.

Without any warning, Misha jumps to her feet and shouts. “Oh yeah! I almost forgot!”

Running to the pile of bags I left in the corner, she begins fishing through them. After a little rummaging, she triumphantly produces a cylindrical container. “I got you something for your room!”

After accepting the package, I carefully open it and unroll the contents.

It’s a poster. There’s a picture of a hardcover book in the center, and below it, in English, is the word “book.” It’s ridiculous, but somehow incredibly appropriate. Chuckling, I give her a big smile. “It’s perfect. You did a wonderful job, Shiina.”

With another blush, she... tries to hide her face with her hair? That’s a new one. As she peeks out from between her drills, I can see her eyes shining with gratitude. Letting her hair drop, she slowly approaches me. Then, when she’s a few feet away, she drops to her knees and clasps her arms around my stomach.

“You’re not the only one who hates hospitals, Hicchan. Most of the kids here have had to live in those rooms for weeks or months at a time~. None of us like to think about it, but we’ve all been there~.”

Unsure of how to respond, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and hold her close. Snuggled up against my chest, she speaks up. “Hicchan~?”

“Hmmm?”

“I’m starting to feel a little sleepy~. Can I lie down on your bed?”

Seeing how little sleep she’s gotten, I really don’t know how I could refuse. “I guess so. I have a sleeping bag in the closet, so I can-”

“No, Hicchan.” She grips me tighter. “I want to lie down with you.”

Oh. That complicates things. “Lie down with me? You mean lying down and going to sleep, right?”

“If that’s what you want, Hicchan~. If you want to do more...” She bites her lip. “If you want to do more than that, Hicchan... I don’t think I’ll fight you.”

I’m really not comfortable with the way she’s wording things. How am I supposed to respond to something like that? “You don’t sound very keen on that idea, Shiina.”

She pulls her head away from my chest and looks up at me. “I can be interested, if you want me to.”

I can’t quite place her expression. Is she pleading with me? Is she scared? Is this supposed to be some sort of test? “... I think it would be best if we just lie down together.”

“We can do that, Hicchan, if it’s what you want~.”

The decision made, Misha rises to her feet, then gently pushes against my shoulders. “You stay here, Hicchan.”

Stepping a few feet away from the bed, she removes her glasses, which she places on the nightstand among my pill bottles. Then, in a completely unexpected move, she undoes her skirt, which drops to the floor. Surprisingly enough, she was wearing some sort of tight black exercise shorts under her skirt, preserving her modesty from what looked to be an impromptu strip tease.

Her “preparations” made, Misha returns to the bed, climbing up on top of it and positioning herself between me and the wall. Once there, she hooks her arms around my neck and uses her weight to pull me into a reclining position. I struggle a little, which causes her to hold me tighter. I always forget that she’s actually quite strong, and could probably overpower me if she wanted to. “Stay here, Hicchan~.”

“The light’s still on,” I protest.

“Then use the remote.”

I swing my feet up so I’m fully on the bed, then turn around to face Misha. “... the what?”

My evident confusion causes her to chuckle. With an amused grin, she explains. “You take your mobility for granted, Hicchan. For a lot of students here, it’s not easy to get out of bed and walk across the room to turn the lights on or off. So~, all the rooms have a remote control system. It should be in your nightstand drawer.”

I had never bothered opening the nightstand drawer before. I don’t really think of it as a storage space, and didn’t expect it to hold anything. Sure enough, there’s a complicated-looking handheld device in there, along with a user’s manual that’s easily two inches thick.

“Push the button with the light bulb,” Misha suggests. Finding the button - an oversized bulge in the center of the device, I press it. The lights immediately cut out, plunging us into darkness. I return the remote to the drawer, then adjust myself into a seated position. I don’t feel very tired myself, so I’d rather not just lie down staring at the ceiling. Once I stop shifting, Misha wastes no time in latching herself around my waist, placing her head in my lap.

“You really know a lot about this school.”

“Haha~, I should! Shicchan made a special effort to get the Student Council jobs as tour guides for the school. She had us make all new brochures, too~!” Her cheerful response gives way to a dejected sigh. “Seven members quit after that.”

Seven members? “You had that many people?”

“The Student Council was very~ big our first year here.” She sounds like she’s talking about something that happened in the distant past, rather than a year or two ago. “Bit by bit, it got smaller. Shicchan kept working to get the Student Council to do more, and fewer people would show up for meetings. Before long, it was just me, Lilly, and Shicchan. And then Lilly and Shicchan had a big fight, and Lilly left, too. I was just translating for Shicchan, but I feel really bad about some of the things I said to Lilly.”

With another sigh of regret, Misha concludes her story. “Shicchan said it’s better this way. She said that most of the students just wanted “Student Council” on their applications for universities. ‘Better to have a small group that actually cares about what it means to be on the Student Council,’ she said. Even though Shicchan’s right, it was still sad to see so many people leave...”

There’s not much I can say in response, so I just reach down and gently stroke her hair. She coos softly in appreciation, but doesn’t say anything. We spend several minutes in silence like this before she speaks up again.

“Hicchan~?”

“Shiina?”

“You said you were doing this because I’m a friend, right?”

“That is what I said, yes.”

“Would you do the same thing for Shicchan, if she came to you?”

I didn’t take Misha for the jealous type, but, then again, that is the logical conclusion of what I had said. She didn’t sound suspicious or accusatory - only sleepy. But there aren’t many ways to take such a pointed question. “To a point,” I reply. “I’m pretty sure I’d consider sharing a bed to be one of those ‘girlfriends only’ things, but other than that, I think I would.”

“That’s good.” She already sounds like she’s fading rapidly. “‘s nice to know she has a friend like you to look out for her, Hicchan~.”

That’s an odd thing for her best friend to say. From what I’ve learned about Misha, though, it probably means that she isn’t confident in her own abilities. That must be why she’s always putting in that extra effort. “It’s even better that she has a best friend like you, Shiina.”

No response. It feels like her breathing is more regular now. She must have fallen asleep already.

I should let her sleep. She’s earned it.

Act 3 Scene 3 Part 2 | Act 3 Scene 5

[Markus Ramikin]

The truth is that no one knows what's wrong with me. Not even me. Some disabilities are easy to spot - it's not hard to figure out something like missing legs or deafness. Others take time. And tests. I've had doctors poking and prodding me for years now, taking anything unusual and trying to turn it into some condition or other. Until they can confirm something, I'm normal. On paper, at least."

Huh. Am I forgetting something important and need to re-read the rest of the story? Because that don't make sense. How did the doctors even come to think there's something to test for? Are there symptoms, is there an actual reason anyone thinks Misha might have a disability?

[Kurara]

Thanks for the update, this leaves me waiting with bated breath. Hopefully not too long so I don't suffocate in anticipation!

[Mader Levap]

Huh. Am I forgetting something important and need to re-read the rest of the story? Because that don't make sense. How did the doctors even come to think there's something to test for? Are there symptoms, is there an actual reason anyone thinks Misha might have a disability?

I think there are some symptoms that shows something is wrong with her. Note that Misha did not said anything about symptoms, just that doctors are baffled by her.
In real life, there are still some conditions, where reasons are unknown.

[Markus Ramikin]

Note that Misha did not said anything about symptoms, just that doctors are baffled by her.

Yeah, and that's what confuses me. Hisao doesn't even wonder about it, even in his thoughts. "I have a problem and nobody knows what it is". "Well, then how can you tell that you have a problem?" Isn't that the obvious next thought?

By way of example, suppose that I've been undergoing testing because I periodically faint for no apparent reason. I don't seem to have epilepsy, I don't have low blood pressure, I don't have arrhythmia, I don't seem to have this or that or the other thing - nobody can figure out why I faint. And then I'm having a conversation like this. Well, the first thing I'd say, if I wanted to clarify things for a friend/lover, is that I'm prone to fainting, because that's what I actually know about what's wrong with me.

If Misha won't do that, for whatever reason, then Hisao should at least be confused or curious, even if he's too passive to ask out loud. That's why I was wondering if this has already been made clear earlier and I'm just failing to remember.

Does that make sense?

[Atario]

If I could imagine a situation where I’d use the future unreal conditional, I wouldn’t mind so much that I have to learn it.

I see what you did there.

[Mader Levap]

Does that make sense?

Yes, it is now more clear. Misha should at least mention something about symptoms. Even if she avoids it deliberately, you are right that Hisao should wonder about it, at least in thought.

[Bagheera]

If I could imagine a situation where I’d use the future unreal conditional, I wouldn’t mind so much that I have to learn it.

I see what you did there.

I wonder if Hisao would appreciate the irony.

[pip25]

Huh. Am I forgetting something important and need to re-read the rest of the story? Because that don't make sense. How did the doctors even come to think there's something to test for? Are there symptoms, is there an actual reason anyone thinks Misha might have a disability?

Well, we do know that Misha gets dizzy on the stairs. In this story, this is given even greater weight by putting her room to the ground floor of the dorms - so it might be part of some bigger problem (of course it might easily be just a red herring too). Some symptoms are simply not that apparent to the casual observer; Misha had no idea what Hisao's problem was either, until he told her.

As for the chapter, things have started going in an unexpected but interesting direction.
Misha wearing colored contacts was an intriguing idea; I remember seeing an earlier screenshot on the Katawa Shoujo Dev Blog where she indeed had bluish-greenish eyes with a character design that's almost completely the same as her current one. Was this a reference to that?

“If you want to do more than that, Hicchan... I don’t think I’ll fight you.”

This part was really, really unsettling, but in a good way. It gave me some unpleasant but quite fitting flashbacks to the infamous scene in Shizune's route, although this time I don't quite yet understand what made her so depressed. Regardless, great work here.
I'm somewhat surprised the topic of the packages wasn't brought up, considering they are lying right there somewhere in the corner, but maybe we'll be able to get back to that in the next morning or so.

[Mirage_GSM]

If I could imagine a situation where I’d use the future unreal conditional, I wouldn’t mind so much that I have to learn it.

I see what you did there.

That's exactly what I said when I proofread this

Well, we do know that Misha gets dizzy on the stairs.

Please don't get started with this again. That was one line in act 1, and in the context that she and Shizune wanted Hisao to fetch something for them.
Contrast that to the fact that there are plenty of scenes with her on the roof - in at least one of which she's carrying lots of stuff - and that their classroom is on the third floor and she never ever exhibits any problems.