BlackWaltz's One-stop Oneshot Shop (New: 30th Apr 2014)

[Mirage_GSM]

A boy lives with his wealthy family, whom own a zoo.
...
so I can observe Hisao, whom has been roped into working with them.

I've been ruminating on this since I wrote it. I'm sure that both are grammatically correct...

They're not.

[BlackWaltzTheThird]

They're not.

Defeated yet again. I have brought dishonour to my family.

Oh well. It's a learning process.

[griffon8]

I've noticed one error: Hisao did come back to class the afternoon of his first day. Hanako sees Hisao at that point. The relevant scene in the VN is 'In the Nursery'.

Otherwise, this is good, entertaining stuff.

[BlackWaltzTheThird]

The Rumour Mill

Everywhere I went, I heard it. The whispers. Well, that’s how they started off. Just whispers. Inevitably, though, they turned to hushed voices, then casual speech, and sometimes shouting matches.

No one ever took a side. For long, anyway. Whatever story cooked up the most trouble; that’s what they sided with. Then when someone defused it, another, even more outrageous story was circulated. I kept thinking they would reach some kind of upper limit. They kept proving me wrong.

It all started with a single slip of paper, as I understand it. A hastily scrawled note, nearly illegible, dropped from somebody’s pocket or bag in the school building. I don’t know who wrote the note. Maybe no one does. But I do know what the note said.

‘Mikado and Hakamichi are lovers.’

The rumours spread like wildfire, as rumours do. That was when the whispers started. The sideways glances, too. I had no idea what was happening for the first week or so. It wasn’t until almost the end of the second week of ever-present stares that it was brought to my attention.

It was a freshman girl that asked me. She just bounced right on up and said it.

“Did you and the Student Council president have sex?”

I was taken aback. Flabbergasted, even. ‘Did we have sex’? It was a preposterous notion. “Of course we haven’t,” I replied. “Why would you ask that?”

She told me she heard it from a girl in her class. When I pressed her, I found out that that was what all the whispering and staring was about. They were judging me. And Shicchan, too. Shicchan didn’t seem to notice, or even know that anything had happened, but all the attention bothered me.

Still, I put on my usual happy mask and went about my business, trying to be as un-bothered as I possibly could. It was just talk, after all. What harm could come from it? And so I let the kids have their whispers. They’d grow tired of the rumour soon enough, if Shicchan and I didn’t say anything.

It’s like that thing the teachers always tell us about bullying; ‘if you ignore it, they will stop’. So I ignored it, day after day. But the days became weeks, and the weeks became months, and it never stopped. If anything, it only got worse.

Certain students became somewhat confrontational about it. The ‘did they or didn’t they’ talk became ‘they’re using it for attention’ or even ‘they wrote the note themselves’. While there was the odd occasion that someone would stand up for us, they were mercilessly belittled when they did. They joined the crowd out of fear.

Shicchan noticed my ongoing distraction. I couldn’t keep it a secret. I told her about what had been happening. She was furious, of course. I cautioned her against doing anything about it, though. I didn’t want to bring her into it. I cared about her too much to allow her to be hurt by petty high school students.

Shicchan didn’t seem to feel the same way. She smiled, but it wasn’t a real smile. It was one of those smiles that don’t reach your eyes. A sad smile.

Her response was “I understand.” Nothing more, nothing less. It made me feel bad again. We sat in silence for a long time; together, but alone. Eventually, Shicchan told me she would handle it. That she would figure something out, and that I should call it a night.

I couldn’t argue. She picked me up from where I sat and marched me out of the School Council room towards the dorms. Oh, man, if only she’d known what we’d find when we got to my dorm.

My door was covered with huge graffiti, applied with pink paint. ‘Lesbian’… ‘attention-whore’… even a few things in English that I couldn’t understand. If Shicchan was furious before, then this was a whole different level of fury. She was trembling, her face beet-red and hands curled into painfully tight fists.

It surprised me a little that she threw open the door to her own room and ordered me inside. It surprised me more that she left me there and locked the door behind her. In fact, it kind of scared me.

Shicchan didn’t return until late in the night. She looked exhausted. I tried to ask what she had been doing, but she blew me off and climbed into her bed, only acknowledging me long enough to tell me to go to sleep. Difficult as it was to fall asleep with all the thoughts running through my mind, I eventually gave in to slumber.

I was not prepared for what morning brought. Shicchan was pushier than usual, insisting I shower and get into my school uniform and such quickly. Instead of going to class, however, she led me to the auditorium, where all of the population of Yamaku was present. Students, teachers, nursing staff, the works.

Shicchan directed me over to where the rest of our class was seated and told me to stay put while she said her piece. I was more than a little confused; how would Shicchan say her piece without me to translate? More importantly… why?

One of those questions, at least, was answered as Mr Kurosaburo, the sign language teacher, stood at the head of the cohort with Shicchan and began translating for her.

“It has come to Miss Hakamichi’s attention that there has been some unrest among the student body in recent times. It seems that there has been a culture of bullying towards certain students, in the form of slander, defamation and outright harassment. This is not acceptable behaviour at this, or any, school.

“Under the Yamaku code of conduct policy, this kind of behaviour is prohibited. It is unacceptable at any time for a student to feel misrepresented or excluded by their peers; much less on the basis of unfounded and ultimately false information.

“On behalf of the student or students in question, I will say now that all circulated rumours are false. What needs to be done is to improve the way the student body acts towards one another. We trust we will have your co-operation in this matter. That is all.”

When the elderly teacher’s voice stopped, the room was dead silent for naught but a moment. A flurry of gazes – worried, angry, accusatory, and guilty – quickly grew into a sonic boom of chatter. Yet, even with the ambient volume so high, a loud, derisive snort cut through the air like a whip.

“You’re fuckin’ kidding me, right?” Miura said, getting to her feet. “You mean to tell me all this bullshit is for a couple of people spreading some rumours? Real life is a bitch. Grow a thicker skin. You know who you are. You brought this on yourself, you attention-whore.”

As she spoke, her attention turned from addressing the crowd to looking me right in the eyes. Her snide smirk pushed me over the edge. I damn near jumped to my feet and shouted right back at her.

“How did I bring this on myself? How am I an attention-whore? I never did any of these things! All I’ve done is go day-to-day hearing everyone talk shit about me behind my back. If people hate me, then fine, I don’t care! But don’t go making up crap about me and Shicchan just so you can get more people on your side.”

I was surprised by how sharp my voice was. It had none of its usual lilting tone.

“You think I did this?” Miki scoffed. “Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. It doesn’t matter. People dislike you, your stupid Student Council and everything you do. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen and go order McDonalds.”

“I’d be more than happy to leave. I only came to this assembly to sort out this crap. But it seems to me like all you want to do is start fights. You’re only bringing attention to yourself!”

“Ha! I’m the attention-whore, now, am I? Remind me again why we’re in the auditorium, getting lectured about bullying, of all things? Please. No-one was being that bad. It was a bunch of petty insults. Everyone deals with that. There’s no need to shit up a whole school just because your poor widdle feewings got a bit hurt.”

I couldn’t believe it. The sheer dismissiveness of Miura’s words left me speechless. Thankfully, someone else was able to speak up.

“I… I think it wasn’t M-Mikado that ruined anything…” Ikezawa said, getting to her feet as well. “It was the p-people that couldn’t contain themselves. They c-couldn’t just approach the situation with m-maturity.”

Ikezawa visibly flinched as Maeda got to his feet with a loud groan, directing his tirade at her.

“Maturity? Plenty of valid criticisms about the Student Council have been voiced. But as usual, instead of having a civil discussion, they’ve ignored them because we’re all apparently just haters.”

“The treatment that Misses Mikado and Hakamichi received in general is disgusting,” Satou retorted, much to my surprise. “You’re all tearing into them like a pack of rabid dogs. I find it hypocritical that people are laying down holier-than-thou claims, while at the same time acting worse than the person in question.”

“That’s right,” Ibarazaki added, standing up as well. “The Student Council can’t please everyone. There’re a lot of people telling them to fuck off, and a lot wanting to discuss things. That’s the exact problem, and you’re telling me that makes it okay to rip into them?”

Miura’s laughter punctuated the room again.

“Sheesh. Relax, bimbos. So we’re having a bad day. We have good ones too. It isn’t worth losing your shit over.”

“Have you guys even looked at some of the stuff you’re doing? Right now?”

Hearing Tezuka become involved took us all aback.

“Even now I know that someone’s going to respond to me with more shouting or other stuff. Probably. Take a step back and look at yourselves. Don’t hate on someone because they’re different to you or want to express their love for someone else in a different way to you.”

Ikezawa speaking up again was even more of a surprise.

“Y-you guys are destroying what I thought we all had here. This p-place that I thought was full of really c-cool people is really just full of p-people being nice half the time then being as c-cruel and egotistical as the people at m-my old school. Be the b-better person.”

“We’re in a school for hopeless cripples,” Miura sneered. “Why would you expect me to be anything but cruel or egotistical? We’re all the monkeys on society’s backs, and flinging shit is what we do. Stop being an idiot.”

The thunderous ‘WHUMP’ that followed shocked everyone into silence. As if in slow motion, Miura’s body fell sideways, collapsing into a heap in front of a bunch of first-years. Where she previously stood, Shicchan now stood, nursing her clenched fist.

The sudden halt to the argument seemed to shock the staff into action. It only took a minute for all the students to be sheparded off to God-only-knows where. That’s how it came to be that Shicchan and I were dragged into the principal’s office. And that’s how it came to be that we – along with a few others – were expelled from Yamaku Academy.

That was a few months ago. Shicchan and I study elsewhere, now. We never found out what became of the other students involved in the argument that day, nor did we find out who was doing all those nasty things. All I know is that a lot of shit was kicked up for no good reason.

I do wish things could have gone down differently that day, but I can’t change that now. I can only focus on the future, and know that if trouble comes my way, all I have to do is report it and move on. Trying to stand up to bullies only spurs them on to cause more trouble.

But wouldn’t it be great, just once, if we didn’t have to put up with hatred? The world would be a friendlier place.

Reality is so cruel.

==========

I don't particularly care to talk about this one, or to have it proofread. It's not really meant to be good writing. Discuss it if you wish, but I shall not take part.

[Carighan]

Aw. That's... sad. I like how all the "main heroines" are on Shizune's and Misha's side right away, especially that you used Rin for something more than most people use her for.
The only weird thing is how volatile the graffiti seems, since the game takes place in 2007. Ofc I have no clue how the situation for LGBT people is in Japan, but it seemed crass to me.

[Mahorfeus]

Well that escalated quickly.

Not particularly a fan of Huge Bitch Miki or Voice-of-Reason Rin, but the "Reality is cruel" thing really rings true. Unfortunately this kind of shit actually happens.

[Mirage_GSM]

Hm... While I don't think writing the characters 'in character' was very high on the priority list here, it's kind of an achievement that everyone (with the possible exception of Lilly) is portrayed out of character here. Reminds me of kosher's "Madam Lillian" in a way ^^°
Also, I don't really see any reason for Misha to be expelled here, except if she chose to leave with Shizune.

[BlackWaltzTheThird]

Final Gear Solid VII: Pretzel Eater

I see the world a little differently to most people. Or, really, most people see the world a little differently to me. They’re blind to the truth of the world around them. Even with glasses as thick as mine, they still wouldn’t be able to see the danger that lurks around every corner; the fate of the world teetering on the edge of certain doom; the –

Oh, crap, I’m out of milk. And garlic. How can I deliver my badass introductory paragraph without the manliest of foods? All that nutrition, man – it steels the mind and hardens the body. I guess some pretzels are in order, too.

Then it’s decided: you guys sit tight right here while I go and stock up on some man food. I’ll be, like, half an hour, tops. Got it? Sweet. Bee-arr-bee, brosefs.

This is the trickiest part, you know. Gotta get out of the school without being seen. I dunno why they even have a curfew. Seriously… what exactly do they expect people to be doing after hours? Do they actually think people sleep at night? No way! That’s when the feminists are most active, plotting their evil machinations in secret.

Well, it’s mostly secret. I know about them. It’s got to do with the whole ‘seeing the world a little differently’ thing. But we’ll get back to that later. Right now, I gotta focus on ultimate boss levels of stealth and solidness. By shimmying.

Man, I hate shimmying. The word, not the action. The action is cool; it’s what all the pro spies do when they’re being sneaky and shit. But the word… it’s so girly. That’s probably thanks to the feminists. I’d bet my left eye that before they came around, shimmying had a manlier word. I wonder what it was?

Oh, wait, ‘slinking’ was the word I was thinking of. Then what the hell is shimmying? Ah, who cares? It’s probably some lame feminist thing anyway. Slinking is way cooler. It’s like a slinky toy, but with people. Not really. But they’re equally cool.

Anyway, time to get in the elevator. No one ever uses these, except for a couple of cripples in wheelchairs. It’s great. Elevators are the perfect place to adjust your wang without getting dirty looks. And fart. Mmm mmm, savour that manly flavour.

Right; ground floor. Time: twenty-two twenty-two hours. Ha. Awesome. Looks like no one’s in the common room, and reception’s closed for the night. Perfect. No need to slink around now. But… better do it just in case. People might not think I’m manly enough if I just walk outta here like some kind of casual.

Oh, did you think I was going out the front entrance? Hahaha, you’re crazy, man. What do you think I am, suicidal? The snipers would be on me in seconds if I did that. No, I’m gonna use the window in the first floor bathroom. Hopefully no one’s in there.

…Nope, all clear. Let’s do this –

“What the hell are you doing, Kenji?”

“Jesus fuck! Random encounter!”

*****

[A wild Angry Boy appeared!]

[Kenji used ‘Panicked Kick’! It’s super effective!]

[Angry Boy fainted! Angry Boy dropped 800 yen! Kenji gained 45 experience points!]

*****

Fuck yeah, victory pose! Da-da-da-dah, dah, dah, da, da-dah!

Oh, hey, he looks kinda hurt. Why is he rubbing between his legs? Maybe I overdid the victory pose. People usually get pretty butthurt when I do that.

“Kenji, why? Ugh, what’s your problem?”

Wait, is that…

“Hisao? Damn, son, you scared me.”

“You kicked me in the balls, you asshole!”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Listen, I gotta get some stuff from the shops, you want anything?”

“What do you think?”

“Suit yourself. I could have got you some ice, you know.”

“Bite me.”

Man, what’s up his ass? Hisao’s usually a pretty cool guy. Must have gone and got himself tangled up with some kind of girl trouble. Maybe even feminist trouble. Sorry, pal, but I can’t reveal my involvement in the resistance by helping you.

Back to the window. That was easier than last time. My healthy and delicious diet must be working. Now, onto flanking the guards. Gotta peek out from behind this wall to see them… it’s worth the risk of getting spotted. Let’s see… where are they? Engage handoculars!

Gotcha. Two guards, both carrying five-five-sixers and pineapples. First guard: dozing off in front of the dorm courtyard by the mural. Second guard: walking… walking… and now heading to the far side of the medical building. Excellent.

High-speed stealth dash, go go go! Cover in the trees. Approximately one hundred and four metres to the front gate.

Dash! Eighty nine.

Dash, roll, dash! Thirty one.

Oh, shit, second guard is back! Take cover!

Don’t move. Limit breathing. Camo index: 60 percent. Hold… hold… he’s turned around – sprint!

Hahaha, take that, you useless guards – oof! Surprise attack!

*****

[A wild Amazon appeared!]

[Amazon used Demure Look!]

“I’m so sorry. Are you alright?”

[Kenji is paralysed… Kenji used ‘Self-Composure’!]

“I’m fine. No harm done.”

[Amazon used ‘Ara~ Ara~’!]

“My, my, that was some collision. It’s a little unusual to be running around in the evenings, isn’t it?”

[Kenji used ‘Bluff’!]

“I’m just going for a late-night run. Fitness is important for comba– for… your health. Yeah.”

“Is that so…?”

[It’s not very effective!]

[Amazon equipped the ‘Extensible Cane’!]

[Kenji used ‘Scan’! The enemy’s dossier was revealed: Lilly Satou!]

Oh, crap! It’s Satou, that girl from the mafia! Play it cool, Kenji, play it cool…

[Amazon used ‘Graceful Bow’!]

“Well, I’d best be going. I’d be setting a bad example if a class rep like me were to be caught out after hours. Farewell.”

[Kenji used ‘Snide Remark’!]

“Of course. See you later!”

[It’s super effective!]

[Amazon fled! Kenji gained 87 experience points!]

*****

Man that was close. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought that was a boss battle. Usually they have different music. Onwards to the town!

This is the easiest part. This late at night, no one drives on this road. I could have a manly picnic in the middle of the street and no harm would come of it! But there’s no time for that now. No time and no whiskey. Damn, I wish I could buy my own booze. Curse those feminist-drafted age restrictions.

Bleh. It’s also the longest part. There’s nothing worse than big open worlds with nothing in them. If only these dungeons were joined by an overworld instead; that would make things so much easier. Alas, I have to trudge through this empty expanse manually. What’s the point? Curse those Western-made RPGs.

At last, sanctuary. Kind of. I’m pretty sure this is one of those pseudo-towns that look like they’re safe, but really have enemy encounters in them. Better resume stealth mode. And equip a disguise. No one ever suspects the guy wearing the bandanna, am I right?

There it is – the Aura Mart. If this were a game, ‘Aura Mart’ would probably be some kind of blatant, hastily-edited, self-insert name. Well, it would be if it were my game. ‘Kenji Mart’. Has a nice ring to it. It’d totally be the most awesome convenience store in the universe. And you wouldn’t even need ID to buy booze. Paradise.

Hey, no customers. Guess this isn’t one of those pseudo-towns after all. I must have been thinking of a different game. I mean town. Now, to just rustle up these survival goods… sweet, two-for-one milk! Man, this town just gets better and better!

Oh man, I didn’t even think to bring money. Well, I have that ten-thousand yen note, but… you know how it is, man; can’t break a note for less than half its value and all. Unless… hell yeah. Still got that cash that Hisao dropped. Time to pay for this shiznit.

*****

[A wild Jaded Cashier appeared!]

“How are you tonight, sir?”

[Kenji used ‘Item Dump’! The Jaded Cashier became surrounded with goods!]

[Jaded Cashier used ‘Multi-Scan’!]

“That’ll be six hundred yen. Will you be paying by cash or credit?”

[Kenji used ‘Dramatic Cash Withdrawal’!]

“I’ll withdraw cash with my right hand, and write checks with my left! I’ll take a pretzel… AND EAT IT!”

[It’s super effective! It’s a critical hit! The Jaded Cashier is confused!]

[The Jaded Cashier used ‘Customer Disservice’!]

“Right… here’s your receipt, kid. Here’s your complimentary promotional fun-size chocolate bar.”

[It’s super effective!]

“Kid? Chocolate? How dare you!”

[Kenji used ‘Up Yours, Asshole’!]

[Jaded Cashier fainted! Kenji gained 145 experience points! Kenji reached level 9001! Kenji unlocked Limit Break Level 4!]

*****

Awww yeah. Time to head back and gorge on this man food. Ugh… but the mountain road… wait! Quick Travel! Thank you, Western-made RPGs! Ka-poof!

Man, that worked out great! Back at the school’s entrance in record time! Nice thinking, me! But you should have Quick Travelled all the way to my dorm. Those guards are still out in force, and now I can’t even fight. Time for some European Extreme-difficulty sneaking.

Step one: use the side entrance. Behind the medical building. Lots of cover, only one guard. And there he goes, back into the front courtyard like a good predictable unit. It’s as if they’re controlled by some kind of retarded artificial intelligence program.

Step two: Stealth fairy run! I mean manly run! Actually, it’s not really that manly at all. But if I had a beard and or a mullet it would be manly!

Step three: Far side of the medical building. No guards in sight. There usually isn’t, since there are no exits or entrances on this side excepting the pool, which only has indoor patrols. This’ll be easy. I could moonwalk around here undetected. Actually, I’m gonna do that.

Step four: “Billie Jean is not my lover, she’s just a girl who claims that I am the one… but the kid is not my son.”

See, told you. Moonwalking is manly as fuck. Now I just have to get around to the side of the dorm building and get back to my window. It isn’t far, but it’s close to the first guard’s patrol route. If he’s even awake. Well, better safe than sorry, I guess.

Damnit! Bastard is awake! And he’s coming this way! Think of something, quick! Come on… eureka! The chocolate bar! I’ve discovered your true purpose, convenience store give-aways!

[Kenji used Throw! But it missed…]

Bullshit, italic text! I was aiming over there. Look, the guard heard it land!

“Who’s there?”

See? What’d I tell ya?! Now, step five: to get inside before he comes back… hey, why’s the window closed? And what’s with the ominous sounding tunes from the other side? Is some fool staking out my secret entrance? Damnit! But there’s no time to doubt; in I go!

“Montoya…”

*****

[A wild Four-Eyes and Half-Naked Bullhorn appeared!]

Oh shit, this is it. The music. Like I said before – this is a boss battle! Two on one! Hold onto your asses, folks, this is gonna get rough.

[Half-Naked Bullhorn used ‘Freak the Fuck Out’! It alerted Four-Eyes to the situation!]

“Shicchansomeonebrokeintothebathroomhelpme!”

[Four-Eyes used ‘Fast and Furious Signage’! Half-Naked Bullhorn is distracted! It had no effect…]

[Kenji used ‘Scan’! The enemies’ dossiers were revealed: Shizune Hakamichi/Shiina ‘Misha’ Mikado!]

Shit! This must be the girls’ dorm! I’m in big trouble now… the enemy has the home-field advantage! Keep it together, Kenji…

[Half-Naked Bullhorn equipped the ‘Flowery Towel’! It changed into the Angry Bullhorn!]

“Don’t look at me!”

[Four-Eyes used ‘Pimp Slap’!]

[Kenji evaded with ‘Non-specific Anime Dodge’!]

“You’ll have to do better than that, feminist scum!”

[Angry Bullhorn began charging ‘Juggernaut, Bitch’!]

“Get out get out get out!”

[Four-Eyes used ‘Smug Glasses Grab’! Four-Eyes’ intelligence increased!]

[Kenji used ‘Shaman’s Eyes’! But Four-Eyes is immune to eye attacks…]

[Angry Bullhorn used ‘Juggernaut, Bitch’! It’s super effective! It’s a critical hit! Kenji is paralysed!]

[Four-Eyes used ‘Stare Down’! Kenji blocked the attack!]

“You’re done now, feminists. I’m breaking my limit! Watashi wa shinen… SHINENZU!”

[Kenji used ‘Falcon Punch’! It’s a one-hit K-O!]

[Angry Bullhorn fainted! Four-Eyes fled!]

*****

Hey, you fuckers, where’s my experience points? Oh, right. Boss battle. My bad. Man, why do they even do that? It’s not like we suddenly stop needing experience right after a boss battle, you know. Well, time to gee-tee-eff-oh.

Oh hey, Four-Eyes. You want some more? No? That’s what I thought. Wait on; what’s this indicator thingy… ‘Alert’? And that music still hasn’t stopped… Shit! I’ve been discovered! But how? I was wearing my bandanna!

Pfft, of course! Bandanna is infinite ammo! Goddamnit, all this sobriety is impairing my judgement. Leg it! While humming to the alert theme!

Shit, guards! There’s nowhere to go… except out the front doors. I just hope those snipers have popped one too many diazepams, or died of old age… here we go!

Run in zigzags! Duck, weave and turn! Dolphin dive through the door!

Made it. But it’s not over yet. Gotta get to my safehouse. They’ll never find me there. To the elevator! No, wait, elevators are death traps in a chase. To the stairs! I hate stairs. Never mind. Two at a time! Too slow. Three at a time! Too tiring. Back to two at a time! Yeah, good enough.

Boom, my floor! There it is, down the hall… my sanctuary! Almost there…

“What’s going on out here?!”

“Fuck!”

*****

[A wild Angry Boy appeared!]

[Kenji used Falcon Kick! It’s a one-hit K-O!]

[Angry Boy fainted!]

*****

“Kenji… why?!”

“Sorry Hisao, guess you were the weak-as-shit quote-unquote ‘final boss’ they always shoehorn in after the real final boss. I’ll make it up to you one day.”

Finally. Safety. Time for a celebratory milk chug, two litre mode.

Damn, that’s good shit. Good thing they were two-for-one; I’m beat. Now, where was I? Oh, right. Like I was saying, even with glasses as thick as mine, they still wouldn’t be able to see the danger that lurks around every corner; the fate of the world teetering on the edge of certain doom; the –

==========

You might have noticed I’ve been rather inactive recently. Sorry about that. I’ve been feeling creatively drained after some things happened. You can blame that if this little thing didn’t make any sense at all –

“Excuse me? What the hell is this, some kind of retarded post-credits scene? My story ain’t over yet, pal.”

…Sorry about that. This kind of narrative can be a little hard to control sometimes. Especially with characters like Kenji. Still, I couldn’t beat this gem of an idea out of my head, and breaking the fourth wall while throwing away all idea of what constitutes a narrative seemed like the best way to do it –

“Stop that black screen shit, you hear? I haven’t even opened my pretzels yet. How do you expect to tell a story about me without pretzels?”

…And so, Kenji ate his pretzels quietly without interrupting the writer’s afterword. There.

The end. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for reading, folkarinos.

[pip25]

And since this thread has just been updated, I feel absolutely no shame in bumping it with the completely nonconstructive critique that I truly loved "The Game". I had some sort of suspicion that the rest of the girls following Hisao was not something Rin had anticipated, but the ending still gave me a good laugh. Great stuff.

EDIT: And this one is great too!

[Carighan]

I love the way you have written his inner perspective on things.

[BlackWaltzTheThird]

The Purest Form of Love - Chapter 5: First is the Worst
First | Previous | Part 1 | Part 2 | Next

[Emi]

The chill of the morning air, mixed with the self-made wind blowing against me as I run, makes my eyes water. Even though it’s the height of summer, it still takes a long time for the sun’s heat to take effect. It is only by the intensity of my run that I feel warm.

As I round the bend in the track for yet another lap, the sun peeks over the tree- and hill-tops that surround Yamaku Academy. Those first, glorious rays compel me to slow down, if only slightly, to bask in their warmth.

In the distance, I spy a person approaching the track. The glare makes it hard to make out who it is, and shielding my eyes with my hand does little to alleviate it. The person waves cheerfully, so I cut short my lap and make my way over to the mystery visitor.

“Hi,” he begins. “Your name is Emi, right? We had lunch with Lilly and Hanako yesterday.”

“That’s me! So, whatcha doin’ here, Hisao?”

“Oh, uh… the nurse told me to get some light exercise, so… here I am.”

“Here you are,” I repeat, nodding my head in agreement. “Did he give you the line about sending a spy to make sure you showed up?”

“Yeah, he did. How’d you know? Unless… that’s meant to be you?”

I grin, snapping my fingers in mock disappointment. “You got me!”

“Hm,” he hums, as he awkwardly stretches his legs. “I was expecting someone from the nursing staff, to be honest.”

My mock disappointment turns to mock irritation. “What, are you saying I don’t look like I could be a spy?”

“Nah. You seem more like the X-Files type.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Now that I’m here, I guess we’re going to run together, huh?”

“‘Together’? You think you can keep up? Let’s go!”

I take off with renewed energy, as if I hadn’t even ran a single lap. I manage to run the whole track and catch back up to Hisao partway into his second lap, and lap him again as he slows to a walk. Concerned with how laboured his breathing sounds as I pass him, I skid to a stop and turn around.

“Finished already?”

He chokes out a laugh between lungfuls of air. “Heh, yeah. I don’t know how you do it.”

“Practice, I guess. And a lot of determination.”

“That reminds me; Rin? That girl you mentioned? I ran into her yesterday after school.”

That surprises me. What are the odds of a chance meeting only hours after hearing about someone? “Really? How’d that go? Did she try to ‘collect’ you?”

“I get the feeling I’m not the only person she’s tried to ‘collect’”.

“Yup. She asks pretty much anyone she thinks looks ‘interesting’. People usually get annoyed by her.”

Hisao raises an eyebrow questioningly, then smiles. “I thought it was cute. It seemed so… I dunno, nonchalant.”

With Hisao not seeming to want to explain just what he means by that, we walk without speaking for a short while. His eyes trained on the height of the rising sun, Hisao suggests we head to back before we’re late for class. Since I’m already cooled down, and Hisao doesn’t seem up to another lap, I agree.

*****

One more lap. One more lap and he’ll be there. That’s what I tell myself. One more lap, and I’ll come round the bend to see Hisao making his way over to run again. But even I can’t run forever.

With a sigh, I turn off of the track and jog over to the bleachers for my bottle of water. Usually people don’t make it to the second day. I guess Hisao is one of them. Sighing again, I begin walking a lap to cool down.

On the return journey, I notice that someone is waiting for me. It isn’t Hisao, though; it’s someone I wouldn’t have expected to see down at the track.

“Hiya, Hanako! What’re you doin’ out here?”

“Hi, Emi… um, d-did Hisao come by this morning?”

“Nope. Sorry.”

Hanako visibly deflates upon hearing my answer. When she responds, she talks to the ground while fiddling with her hair.

“Oh… when I t-talked to him yesterday, he mentioned that he ran with you. I thought… maybe if I c-came here, I could…”

“Hey, c’mon, don’t pull that face. He’s in your class, right? You’ll see him there!”

Hanako brightens up considerably, smiling shyly and grinding her foot nervously like a little kid caught doing something naughty.

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s n-not the same, though. He would expect to see me in class. Out here…”

I pull a smug face, cupping my chin in my hand with my other hand supporting my elbow.

“Ohoho, I get it. You~ wanted to check him out in his gym clothes!”

“Emi! No, I w-wasn’t – I d-didn’t – I j-just –”

Hanako’s wide-eyed expression and deep blush contradict her protests.

“Hahaha relax, ya big ol’ perv. I’m just messing with ya. I know you really came here to see me in my gym clothes.”

“Oh, right. That’s all I e-ever think about,” Hanako mutters with a smile, rolling her eyes. “Let’s just get b-back before we end up late for class.”

I flash Hanako a huge grin and set about gathering up my belongings, before following her back towards the dorms. Sarcastic or not, Hanako’s comment leaves a warm feeling in my chest.

I have an idea.

“Hey, Hanako…”

*****

Only a minute to go until lunch. He shouldn’t be that hard to miss, but I can’t take that chance. No one escapes the fastest girl on no legs!

The bell rings out its familiar tune and, before anyone else so much as stands, I’m out of the door. The throng in the hallway makes it hard to see, but I manage to spot Hisao walking somewhat lazily out of classroom 3-3.

“Hisao!” I call, waving to get his attention. “I’m going to make you a one-time-only, super-extra special lunch offer!”

“Should I be worried?” Hisao says, interrupting my sales pitch.

“Huh? Why would you be worried? It’s just lunch.”

“I just thought, y’know, since I didn’t show up at the track this morning…”

“Oh, that. That’s okay. I’ll forgive you for sleeping in. So, how ‘bout it?”

“But, I didn’t–” Hisao starts, but he cuts himself off, scratching the back of his head. “Sure. With pleasure.”

“Great! Now, c’mon; to the roof!”

I take Hisao by the hand and lead him to the stairwell and up to the top level. Despite the short distance, my pace seems to have taken its toll on Hisao. I shoot him a concerned look, but he just takes a deep breath and shrugs it off. Not wanting to press him, I shrug myself and push open the door.

Seated at the near corner of the roof, as I had planned, is Hanako. Rin squats next to Hanako, staring intently at the gravel beneath her feet. While I didn’t arrange for her to be here, per se, eating lunch up here has become regular for us, so Rin’s presence comes as no surprise.

Probably having heard our arrival, Hanako looks up and starts to wave me over. When she notices Hisao behind me, she hesitates briefly before recovering and resuming her greeting somewhat more discreetly.

“Hi, Emi… I d-didn’t know Hisao was coming…” she says, a hint of blush on her cheeks.

“That’s okay, neither did I,” Hisao chuckles, taking a seat to the side of Hanako and Rin. “Emi only asked me to join her for lunch a minute ago. I guess I owe her for not turning up to run this morning.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it!” I say, clipping Hisao on the head then seating myself opposite him. “I said I’d forgive you for ‘sleeping in’,” I add, with a wink.

“Yeah… about that –”

“So I guess you do know this person,” Rin interrupts. Since she has conveniently failed to look up from the gravel or otherwise direct her comment, no one really knows who should answer.

After a few seconds of silence, she adds, “Emi. Hisao said you knew him.”

“What, you didn’t believe him?” I challenge.

“There’s a lot of people named Emi. There’s a lot of people that run. It’s possible there could be Emis that run and that aren’t you, right?”

“Yeah, but… at Yamaku? That’s impossible.”

“Improbable.”

“Huh?”

“Improbable. The word you want is ‘improbable’.”

I stare open-mouthed at Rin for several long seconds. Her impassive expression doesn’t even hint at cracking. “You’re improbable,” I mutter in surrender.

“Impossible,” Rin corrects, the tiniest hint of a smile fluttering across her lips. I throw my hands up in exasperation, which elicits a giggle from Hanako.

“Do you guys always talk like this?” Hisao asks, his expression somewhere between amused and bewildered.

The three of us answer simultaneously, our responses blending to a mixture of “like what?”, “not really” and “all the time”.

Hisao chuckles bemusedly, running his hand through his hair. “I see… so, does this ‘extra special lunch offer’ actually come with any lunch?”

Hanako’s eyes go wide with realisation, and she reaches behind herself to extract a plastic bag filled with recycled take out containers.

“Oh, right! Um, h-here… I have it.”

Hisao observes each of the containers with interest as Hanako arranges and opens each one in turn. Even though it was cooked this morning, the mouth-watering smell of each item remains as strong as if it were fresh.
Rin surveys the containers as well, but she wears what seems to be a small frown.

“You didn’t make those fries.”

“No, I… I thought I’d t-try something else this time...” Hanako says, with an apologetic expression.

“That’s too bad. They were fun to eat.”

“You made all this, Hanako? For us?” Hisao asks, sampling some sort of rice dish.

“Um, that’s right. I like c-cooking things, though, so it’s no trouble.”

“Well, it’s delicious!” Hisao asserts, nodding his head for emphasis. “I didn’t realise people here were so creative. Rin’s an artist, you’re a chef…”

I raise my eyebrow questioningly as he trails off. “And? What about me?”

While Hisao stumbles over his answer, Rin quickly pipes up, saying “you’re pretty clever at thinking up ways to get people together” with a smirk.

I shoot Rin an icy glare, but, as usual, it seems to have no effect on her. Hisao, on the other hand, looks a little lost.

“Uh… what exactly does she mean by that?”

“N-nothing! Just a running j-joke we have!” Hanako sputters unconvincingly. “So, um… how did you go with the g-group assignment this morning?”

Luckily, Hisao takes the change of topic in stride, and we go about the rest of lunch discussing various classes and giving Hisao a rundown on their respective teachers.

It pleases me to hear that Hanako’s been working with the girls from the journalism club more often. It almost seems as if she’s interested in joining. On the other hand, I give Hisao my sincerest condolences for having been conned into working with the Student Council.

Rin doesn’t say much more, but what comments she does make cause a few giggles; mostly at my expense. Her offhand mention of the art club prompts a discussion about the clubs at Yamaku, but, before it really gets going, the warning bell rings. Rin, Hisao and I get up to leave, but Hanako remains seated.

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Hisao asks.

“I just have to tidy this up. I’ll be right b-behind you.”

“Here, lemme help you with that,” I offer, stacking two containers together.

“Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you in class,” Hisao says, waving casually as he turns towards the stairwell. “Hey, Rin, wait up!”

Once he’s out of sight, Hanako says “you didn’t need to help me c-clean up, you know.”

“Honestly, I was expecting Hisao to offer to help instead,” I sigh.

“Listen, Emi… I appreciate the h-help and all, but I… I wanna do this on my own. J-just this once.”

“Really? You sure? Like Rin said, I am pretty good at–”

“I’m sure. You’ve given me some g-good advice, but it’s no use if I don’t put it into practice, right? Naomi and Natsume suggested going to the f-festival with Hisao. I’m gonna try that. And if it doesn’t work, well… I’ll try again. And be b-better at it when I do.”

The unexpected weight of Hanako’s words hits me pretty hard. It hurts a lot more than normal for her to reject my help, but, on the other hand…

“You have learned well, young grasshopper,” I say, putting on my best old man impression and bowing formally. “Soon, you will be a master in your own right.”

Hanako bops me on the head with a container, muttering “cut it out” with a smile. “C’mon, let’s get to class already,” she adds, striding confidently towards the stairwell. Smiling widely, I follow her.

*****
First | Previous | Part 1 | Part 2 | Next

[BlackWaltzTheThird]

First | Previous | Part 1 | Part 2 | Next

Feeling refreshed after my shower, I gaze out my dorm room window at the beginnings of a crowd forming in the grounds below. Even this early in the day, it seems like this year’s festival is going to be bigger than ever before.

Despite the heat, the cool breeze blowing in through the window chills my wet hair. Moving away from the window, I discard my towel and put on my favourite outfit; a green singlet over a white top, tan shorts, and knee-high striped socks.

With my hair not wanting to dry off any time soon, I admit defeat and do it up anyway, resolving to let the sun do my job for me. Preparations complete, I open my door to head outside, only to run into Rin.

“Knock knock.”

“Who’s there?” I quip.

“‘There’? I don’t think I know any ‘there’s. Do you? Who is he?”

“What? No, I – what’re you doin’ anyway?”

Rin cocks her head and gazes more vacantly than usual at the space slightly to my left. Her eyes gleam a little, as if she has figured out what she wants to say, but, just as quickly as it appeared, the gleam disappears.

“I forgot.”

I sigh loudly, putting my hand to my head for emphasis.

“C’mon then, maybe if we walk around you’ll remember.”

I make my way downstairs and out of the dorms, with Rin sort of following behind. Her leisurely pace means I have to stop several times for her to catch up. Gosh, walking around the festival with her is gonna be torture.

As we exit the dorm building, I notice the crowd has grown substantially. Amidst the crowd, I notice a dark shock of hair standing alone by Rin’s mural. With a wave, I call out and run over.

“Heya, Hanako! Whatchadoin’?”

Hanako starts slightly, but recovers, returning my greeting with a smile of her own.

“Hi Emi, Rin. Um, I was just w-waiting for someone.”

“By ‘someone’, you mean Hisao, right? Right~? So, he agreed to meet with you, huh?”

“Um… not exactly. He asked me what I was d-doing for the festival, so I said I was free. Then he said he w-wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he wanted to see how Rin’s mural t-turned out since we helped out on it and all so I figured if I waited here he’d show up eventually and then–”

“The mural.”

Once again, Rin’s context-free interruptions leave us dead in our tracks.

“Mister Nomiya wanted me to talk to someone about the mural. I think I have to stay here,” she adds.

“We can wait t-together, then,” Hanako says, with a nod.

The three of us take a seat up against the mural and watch the crowd as we wait. The crowd grows increasingly large as time goes on. A few people stop and examine the mural, but they go about their business pretty quickly.

As the noise of the festival reaches a dull roar with no Hisao in sight, a rumbling in my stomach serves to remind me just how long we’ve been sitting here. The smell of fried food – delicious, unhealthy, fried food – makes my mouth begin to water.

“Alright, I’m getting pretty hungry. Anyone want some lunch?”

“Sure,” Hanako replies. “What is there?”

“I have no idea. But I don’t think there’s gonna be anything healthy.”

“Fine with me! Rin, do you want anything?”

Rin, as usual, shrugs her answer. “Not really.”

“Alright. We’ll be right back. If Hisao shows up, tell him to wait here for us, okay?”

Rin shrugs again, which Hanako and I take to mean ‘yes’. With that, we make our way into the throng.

Rows upon rows of stalls line the grounds. Some offer all kinds of delicious treats, others flog show bags containing God-only-knows-what, and others still sucker people with loaded games in the hope of winning a prize. Sadly, it doesn’t look like there’s anything even remotely non-fattening on offer.

As we push through a particularly thick part of the crowd, I feel Hanako press up close to me and almost grab my arm. Instead, she backs away again and shows a tired smile.

“Crowds still get to ya, huh?” I ask.

“Yeah, a bit. I’m usually okay with it now, b-but sometimes strangers look at me f-funny and I just… freeze up.”

“Ah, don’t worry about them. They’re just not used to being around people as cool as us,” I giggle, with a wink.

Hanako rolls her eyes in response and shifts her attention to a nearby stall. Through the crowd, I can’t quite see what she’s looking at, but the sign looks like it reads ‘Noodles and Soup’. There’s something else underneath, but I can’t make it out at this distance.

Hanako leads me over to the stall, which is a lot bigger than I thought. At least ten people are staffing the stall, including a teacher. Standing at the counter, having just served a customer, is Lilly.

“Hi, Lilly,” Hanako says. I echo the greeting.

“Oh! Good morning!” Lilly chirps, her surprise quickly giving way to her usual formal tone. “I wasn’t expecting to meet you two out here. Are you enjoying the festival?”

“We haven’t really looked at anything, yet,” I reply. “We’re grabbing something for lunch, first.”

“My, my, can I interest you in something from our stall? We’re quite short on ingredients right now but I’m sure we can organise something for you.”

“How about the m-miso soup?” Hanako replies, which Lilly repeats to the boy manning the stove behind her. “Why are you so short on stock, anyway? I thought you had h-heaps of stuff on order.”

“That’s right. However, it would seem that there was a problem and only half of our order was delivered.” Lilly sighs, adding, “We’re working on getting the rest in, but it’s too little too late at this point.”

The boy at the back serves up two bowls of soup, which Lilly in turn passes to us. Hanako pays for both, so I quickly dig in. The flavour is good, if a little weak. I tell Lilly as much, to which she hums proudly.

“That’s lovely to hear, Emi. May I ask where you’ll be off to next?”

“I dunno. We don’t really have anything planned, I guess.”

“Then may I suggest the stall operating out of the clubroom on the first floor? I hear it’s quite popular.”

A stall, indoors? That’s quite unusual. I wonder what it’s for? If it’s a maid café again, I’m gonna…

“Emi? Do you w-want to check it out?”

“Uh… yeah. Why not.”

“Great! We’ll s-see you later, Lilly.” Hanako turns to leave, but stops herself, taking my bowl and handing both to Lilly. “Oh, and here’s your b-bowls back.”

“Thank you very much. Enjoy the festival!”

As we turn away from the stall, I briefly catch the text under the main heading of the stall out of the corner of my eye. For a second, I could swear it reads ‘do not eat – feminist stronghold’, but, that being as ridiculous as it is, I pass it off as a mistake and keep walking.

The crowd thins the closer we get to the main building, though the area is still very populated. Hanako seems to be relieved at the lessened activity. Lilly must have known that it wouldn’t be so crowded here. She’s so caring. That must be why she and Hanako are so close.

Inside, the crowd mostly filters towards a room on the left of the lobby. When we make our way over there, we find that the room has been converted into a photography studio. The sign indicates that it’s a joint effort on the parts of the photography and fashion clubs.

For a price, festival-goers can get commemorative photos taken with their partners, dressed in a selection of yukatas that look to have been made by the fashion club. As if to confirm this, one of the girls from the fashion club – the one with the sandy hair and earrings – approaches Hanako and me. It seems we’ve accidentally ended up at the front of the line.

“Good afternoon. You’re Ikezawa and Ibarazaki, correct? From the year above mine?” she says.

“Yup, that’s us,” I answer. “Enomoto, right? I’ve seen you around a few times.”

“Please, call me Saki. And yes, I believe you have. Though, Miss Ikezawa might be more familiar with me through Lilly, yes?”

Hanako nods her agreement. “Yeah. We worked on some c-class rep earlier this year. I had no idea you were in the f-fashion club.”

“Yes, well, until recently, there wasn’t fashion club to be in. With some of my influence as class representative I managed to reform it; and not a moment too soon, or else we might never have made these yukatas in time.”

An impatient cough from behind us draws an icy glare from Saki, before she turns back to us with a warm smile. The difference is startling.

“I’m very sorry, but we can’t chat forever. Would you like a picture together?”

Hanako and I share a quick glance and silently agree. I pull out my wallet and hand over the correct amount, since Hanako paid for lunch. Saki stows the cash in a money belt around her waist and, with a “right this way, please”, leads us over to a screened off area behind the photo screen.

Several yukatas hang on a rack, behind which are two smaller, makeshift change rooms. Though the selection is, understandably, limited, they seem to have been designed to fit pretty well on most people. Quite an achievement for one club, I gotta hand it to ‘em.

The yukata on the end of the rack catches my eye. It’s a relatively slim-fitting, light-blue number, with a basic floral pattern made to look like it’s climbing a pair of darker blue stripes. I slip it off the rack, and step behind the change room screen.

While I slide off my clothes, a timid voice peeps out from the other change room.

“Um, Emi? A-are we s-supposed to u-undress in here?”

“Yeah. I mean, they wouldn’t need change rooms otherwise, right?”

“Oh. R-right.”

“Why? D’ya need help, or something?” I ask, peeping around the fabric screen.

Hanako squeaks in shock and turns a deep shade of red as she tries in vain to hide behind her discarded shirt. Holding the shirt across her body with one hand, she pushes me back onto my side of the screen with the other.

“Ah, chillax, Hanners. I’m not tryin’ to perv on you or anything. It’s not like I’ve never seen a boob before.”

“You s-scared me! Warn me before you go s-sticking your head in while I’m ch-changing!

“Alright, I’m sorry. C’mon, let’s get this picture over with.”

“O-okay.”

Seconds later, I emerge in my yukata, followed shortly after by Hanako. She looks really… different. The guys would be all over her if she went out like this. The deep purple fabric matches well with her hair, and the crescent moon and cherry blossom pattern makes for a great contrast. She’s stunning.

“You ready?” she asks, still blushing somewhat from before.

“Mmhmm,” I hum, and we make our way around to the camera side of the screen. The girl behind the camera – she’s in Hanako’s class, I think – gets Saki’s attention, who gushes on seeing us all dressed up.

“Oh my, you two look wonderful! Particularly you, Miss Ikezawa. Excellent choice in fashion, I must say. I couldn’t have picked something better, myself! Shall we get started?”

Without even waiting for an answer, Saki leads us over to a seat in front of the camera and sets about posing us within the frame. Saki also takes the chance to tidy Hanako’s fringe, revealing some of her scars. To my surprise, Hanako doesn’t protest.

When she’s satisfied with her work, Saki signals the girl behind the camera and moves out of the shot. With a “3, 2, 1, smile!” the blinding flash goes off and we’re being ushered back behind the screen so they can prepare for the next customers.

Once we’ve changed back into our own clothes, Saki informs us that our photos will be delivered during the week. We thank her, to which she smiles warmly. Just before we leave the makeshift studio, however, Saki stops us short.

“Miss Ikezawa, forgive me if this seems presumptuous, but the fashion club is always looking for more models, if you’d be interested. It does get quite boring fitting our projects to ourselves all the time.”

“Oh, I… I’ll th-think about it. Thanks, Saki.”

“You’re very welcome! Ta-ta~!

Hanako and I exit the room, only to bump into a familiar face standing next in line.

“Haru?” Hanako exclaims.

The girl standing next to him – some blonde bimbo with far too much make-up far too little clothing – turns towards us and looks Hanako up and down with a sneer.

“Haru, baby, do you know this freak?”

Haru stammers something not quite resembling an answer, while nervously fumbling with a half-heart necklace. A matching necklace hangs between his companion’s excessive cleavage. Finally, Haru finds his voice.

“No. I’ve never met her before in my life. Let’s go get our picture taken, before any more of them try anything.”

Bastard! Haru’s bimbo girlfriend leads him into the studio without even paying, while Haru half-heartedly throws an apologetic smile over his shoulder. Too little, too late, you jerk ass.

Hanako looks like she’s been slapped right in the face. I take her hand firmly and near-drag her out of the school building.
Once we’re outside, I sit Hanako down on a bench and crouch down to her eye level.

“You okay?”

It takes Hanako a few seconds to form her reply.

“Yeah. Just… disappointed.”

“Well, forget about him. He’s not worth thinking about.” I offer up a smile, adding, “C’mon, let’s go back to the mural. We’ve been gone a while. Rin’s probably wondering where we are. And Hisao might be there by now.”

Hanako’s response is more vacant than I expected – nothing more than a monotone “okay”. To lighten the mood as we walk, I ask Hanako what she meant earlier when she said that she and Hisao had helped out with Rin’s mural. Her mood seems to improve on hearing my question, and she smiles slightly as she answers.

“The other day, Lilly and Shizune had a f-fight again. They were arguing about festival plans, or something… anyway, Hisao and I st-stood up for Lilly, which she really appreciated. After that, Shizune was m-mostly ignoring Hisao, so we hung out for a while.”

“He made the right choice there, I reckon. So, how does Rin figure into all this?”

“Oh, right. Well, after class, we ended up just walking for a bit and ran into Rin as she was painting her mural. We offered to help her paint it, but she insisted that she paint it herself. So we mixed paints for her instead.”

“Oh come on, that hardly counts as helping.”

“Shush, you, it does count.”

“If you say so~.”

The mural comes into view as we round a stall offering some dodgy-looking dumplings and the line accompanying it. Rin sits against the mural, in precisely the same spot she was before we left, except that now Hisao is seated next to her and they lean against each other, asleep.

Hanako and I approach the sleeping twosome and, crouching, I prod Rin to see just how asleep she is.

“Nope. Out like a light,” I say, standing back up with a stretch. “The fireworks are gonna start soon. Should we wake ‘em?”

“No,” Hanako sighs. “They look c-comfortable. Let’s just go find somewhere with a good v-view.”

“Alright. I know the perfect place!”

*****

“Aw damn it! Someone got here first!”

Nearly invisible in the darkness of the empty track, two people sit, huddled, in the first row of the bleachers. I hesitate for a second, wondering if taking a seat would disturb their privacy, but they notice my vocal arrival and, surprisingly, wave us over.

I can’t make out who the mystery couple is, but, as we approach, Hanako recognises them and bounds over.

“Natsume! Naomi! What’re you two d-doing out here?”

The blonde girl is the first to answer. “Oh hi~ Hanako! Natsume and I were just, uh… we were…”

“Getting a good view of the fireworks,” the brown-haired girl finishes.

“Yeah~! That…! So! How ‘bout you? Who’s your li’l friend?”

“Oh, this is Emi. She’s in c-class 3-4. Emi, this is Natsume and Naomi. They sit next to me in class.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say, bowing slightly. “You girls run the school newspaper, right?”

“Mmhmm! That’s us~!” Naomi replies. “We’ve been trying to get Hanako here in on it as well, but~ she’s so flighty we never get the chance to bring her in!”

Hanako shuffles her feet nervously as she answers. “But, I… I don’t even know w-what to do.”

“You can type up our reports. Digitising things is the hardest part,” Natsume says.

“Yeah~, true? Computers, arthritis and epilepsy don’t mix so well huh~?” Naomi adds.

I find myself becoming affected by Naomi’s infectious enthusiasm. “Sounds great! Hanako, you should give it a shot!”

“Um… o-okay. Yeah. I’ll try it.”

“Yeah~ that’s the spirit! We meet after class pretty much every day, but you probably know that, since we sit next to you~! Hahahaha!”

A high-pitched whining noise and Natsume’s comment of “It’s starting” interrupt Naomi’s snorting laughter. True to her word, the fireworks are starting, and what a sight they are. Hanako and I take a seat next to Naomi and Natsume and turn our eyes skyward.

Fireworks shoot up into the sky like backwards meteors, shattering into thousands of pieces as they hit the heavens, showering the sky with a rain of colour. Each flash temporarily lights up the area around us, and in the fleeting light I see Hanako’s broad smile. But, far from making me feel happy as well, it only fills me with a sense of guilt.

Hanako wanted to spend the festival with Hisao. I promised I’d help her get the guy, even if she decided to do it on her own later. Instead, Hanako spent the day following me around; eating festival food with me; getting dressed up in yukatas with me; taking commemorative photos with me.

And now, she sits beside me, under the fireworks signalling the end of the festival. Me me me me me. Also, for what may as well be the whole time, Hisao has been sitting with Rin. All because I got hungry. Some help I’ve been.

Again I look over to Hanako. My sigh goes unheard thanks to the volume of the fireworks.

I’m sorry I interfered, Hanako.

I’ll make it up to you.

First | Previous | Part 1 | Part 2 | Next

==========

Writing is hard. Well, no, that's wrong. Writing is easy. Knowing what to write is hard. Going by the current post rate, I expect part six will be due sometime around Christmas. I dunno. I think I'm nearing the end of my KS-writing life cycle. I'll try to finish this series, at the very least. Eventually.

[forgetmenot]

Oy, I am crushed beneath the weight of all that subtext.

Hanako seems a little more outgoing than her usual self, but Emi tends to bring that out in people I suppose. I enjoy reading your writing.

“Ah, chillax, Hanners. I’m not tryin’ to perv on you or anything. It’s not like I’ve never seen a boob before.”

Good god, Emi, have some tact.

[RedRover]

Soooo.... Hanako likes Hisao. Hanako and Emi are friends. Hanako and Emi spend day together. Rin and Hisao spend day together. Like in Rin's route, end of act one.

In the beta (or was it alpha?), the story was, according to cpl_crud, that if you began on Hanako's route, and then switched to Rin's route, Hanako went cray-cray and killed both Hisao and Rin. Or something like that.

I'M CALLING IT. NEXT INSTALLMENT IS CRAY-CRAY HANAKO. (Also, if that ditched storyline needs to be spoiler tagged, tell me.)

[BlackWaltzTheThird]

I'M CALLING IT. NEXT INSTALLMENT IS CRAY-CRAY HANAKO.

What?! How did you know?! What are you, some kind of spy? A psychic spy?