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Unfortunately, as it seems with the upcoming holiday (Brady and I both have family to visit) that the next part will be delayed somewhat.

Mohn_Jadden wrote:Unfortunately, as it seems with the upcoming holiday (Brady and I both have family to visit) that the next part will be delayed somewhat.

NOOO I MUST KNOW WHAT I DID NEXT I AM THE KING OF ROMANCE

831KingHisaoNakai wrote:

Mohn_Jadden wrote:Unfortunately, as it seems with the upcoming holiday (Brady and I both have family to visit) that the next part will be delayed somewhat.

NOOO I MUST KNOW WHAT I DID NEXT I AM THE KING OF ROMANCE

Be patient teeny-tiny heart man.

Anyway, Brady and I are going to write some over thanksgiving break, so we should have Part 5 for you guys by the end of that, with Part 6 in the making.

831KingHisaoNakai wrote:

Mohn_Jadden wrote:Unfortunately, as it seems with the upcoming holiday (Brady and I both have family to visit) that the next part will be delayed somewhat.

NOOO I MUST KNOW WHAT I DID NEXT I AM THE KING OF ROMANCE

There is no requesting, even in jest.

Act 2 Part 5: Kármán Line

"Hicchan~."

"Go away."

"Hicchan~.”

"Leave me alone."

"Come on, Hicchan~."

"Hmph, let me sleep."

After staying up to nearly 5:00 AM, and then heading out to run with Emi, the last thing I want is to be woken up when I finally manage to catch some shut eye. Regardless, I can still sense Misha next to me.

Even if I am using my science book as a pillow, its still considerably more comfortable than sitting up and listening to this God awful sub try to make sense of Mutou's handwritten lectures. Maybe if I beg...

Can you go away, please?

"See Hicchan, even Shicchan wants you to get up~!"

I don't care what Shizune wants, leave me alone. I guess I should have been more verbal with my begging.

"Geez, Hicchan, I'll just have to wake..."

Wait, what is she doing?

"...you..."

This is bad!

"I'M UP! I'M UP! YOU DON'T ...have to..."

I shoot my head up, preparing to block or dodge any attack Misha had planned to wake me from my slumber.

Instead, I'm met with the surprised faces of students shocked by the cackling buffoon not one seat over.

I begin to blush, and Misha seems to be at the end of her wits. As much as a pain this is for me, it must be hysterical for her. Laugh it up. We’ll see who’s smiling when we see the results of that exam.

"Wahahahahaha~!" Her cackling might as well be for all intents and purposes, nails on a chalkboard. Thats not a very good thing to wake up to in class, if you ask me.

Her uncontrolled laughter reverberates through the room, causing the once peaceful work environment to become one of chaos and noise. Then again, I can’t recall a class period where she hasn’t laughed.

I slap my hand to my face, wiping my eyes in resignation. I can't believe this. If it wasn't for us having a substitute today, Mutou would have had me hung for sure. I’m pretty sure Mutou stays up as well, but he might actually be doing something productive during that time.

Counting arbitrary points on the ceiling as I try to sleep usually isn’t productive.

I look over at Shizune, who is peering at me over the rims of her glasses, a wide grin spreading across her face. Go on, do your little silent laugh, I dare you.

Then again, for how much I hate this, this is all entirely my fault. Might as well ride it out, instead of fighting it.

Despite this, Shizune maintains her composure, barely, and Misha's cacophonous laughter dies down to an audible giggle.

"Wahaha~! Hicchan we got you~!" She says, always in that sing-song voice of hers. Misha could probably order the execution of thousands of innocent people, and her voice would never stray more from that happy-peppy tune in my ear.

“Alright, alright. Settle down.” The substitute teacher drones forth from the front of the classroom. I think I’ve forgotten his name already. Mr… Sasuke? Well, it was as utterly forgettable as his personality, anyway.

Misha pivots, facing towards the front of the classroom. To my chagrin, she’s still wearing the same smirk as before.

“Sorry, Mr. Yin!” She rings out.

Well, I was completely wrong. It also doesn’t help that I’ve looked into this chapter before Mutou had even began teaching it, so I’m probably as uninvested in this class as I could possibly be. I find myself, once again, glancing toward the clock. 11:53. The bell for lunch should be ringing in about two minutes, and already some students are at the edge of their seats with their things in hand.

The substitute clears his throat, bringing me back to reality, if only for a brief moment. He begins to drone out equations and answers, repeating verbatim what I’ve already studied in the book. At least with Mutou I can stay awake for his lectures. When will this end? He really is teaching until the very last second.

As I try to prevent myself from once again drifting off to sleep, I slip into thoughts of the night prior. I look over at Hiko, noticing that he himself has fallen asleep too, using the underside of his bag as a pillow. I wonder how long he and Keiko were out there on the track. I imagine a while. If I remember correctly, I think he was training for some track meet.

...Who does our school compete with? Other, ordinary high-schools? Or is there just another glorified cripple depository somewhere around here? Maybe we only compete with ourselves?

Just thinking about it makes me more drowsy, and as I begin to set my head down over my book again, something hits me on the head. I look up just as Misha is taking aim with another roll of paper. She throws it, hitting me square in the eye and making me flinch slightly.

I wouldn’t put it above her if it turns out that was the cause of Lilly’s blindness.

“Misha…” I whisper in an annoyed voice.

“What Hicchan~?”

“Stop. Please.”

“I was just trying to get your attention Hicchan~!” She says as she is rolling up another ball of loose leaf paper. I don’t even think the substitute cares about either of us at this point. He seems more preoccupied deciphering Mutou’s handwritten notes at the moment.

What a waste of trees. Then again, it doesn’t look like any of the paper Misha brings ever gets any use anyway. She hardly ever does real work in the class room.

She winds up to throw another paper, lobbing it in my direction and hitting me in the shoulder. Shizune evidently notices the motion, as she quickly turns her head in my direction. As usual, she does nothing to stop it, instead staring at me with that cat-like gaze in her eye.

“You have my attention, Misha.” I sigh, fighting a valiant battle against the weight of my eyelids.

“Promise~?” She reaches for another piece of paper from the inside of her pink and purple binder. Misha, for the love of every deity above, please stop pestering me.

“Promise. Now, what is it that you wanted?”

She frowns, placing the piece of paper back into the key rings and snapping it in place. Thank God it's over. I look over to Shizune who hands Misha a couple of papers. I can see the bright yellow corner of what appears to be an envelope mixed in with the various papers. As soon as they reach her hands, Misha looks at the stack of papers, peering yet again into my private life.

"Misha..."

"Right, right. Sorry Hicchan~!" She says as she hands the stack of papers to me. I take the papers and separate them from the bright yellow envelope. Sure enough 'Hisao Nakai' is writen on the front of the envelope. Who would have written me a letter? I turn it over on its side, but before I can further inspect the letter, Misha chimes in.

“You should check your mail more often Hicchan~!”

As if a siren cry from the heavens above, the lunch bell rings, signaling every student in the room to run out as if a fire broke out. I look over to see Misha still smiling at me.

“Yeah, thanks.” I say, but my voice is drowned out by the sound of the bell and the moving students. Misha waves and then runs off to catch Shizune, who has already nearly made it to the door.

The only one not overly excited about the lunch bell is the teacher, who sits the paper on the top of Mutou’s calendar and sighs, leaning with both hands onto the desk. I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to be the one assigned to decode Mutou’s scribblings either.

I look down, fighting the urge to check the envelope, but now is definitely not the time to be doing so. I stick it in my bag with the rest of my books and folders and head out, slinging the straps over my shoulder as I do so. If I’m lucky I may have enough time to actually eat lunch today.

I head out of the classroom, suddenly barraged by a large number of students in the hallway. I look around, hoping to find a gap in the bodies so that I could merge into the current of students. Finally, a gap emerges, and I am able to join the flow of students heading down to the first floor.

●●●

I dodge yet another student hurrying up the stairs as I find myself on the second floor. If it was even possible, the crowd seems thicker down here. Unfortunately, I can’t help but move in the direction that everyone else is heading in.

How many students do we have here exactly? Is the only reason that we have this many because this is the only kind of school that caters to people like us? In any case, I’d rather focus on not being trampled right about now. I imagine it’s worse for people in wheelchairs.

I drift closer and closer to the edge of the conglomerate, a natural side-effect of crowd dynamics. Eventually, I’m completely pushed out. Immediately, I relish the feeling of not having four people insistent on taking up as much of my personal space as possible.

Still, I wonder where exactly I ended up. Purgatory maybe.

As it turns out, I managed to extricate myself into a corner, benches filled with people line the walls, some of them already beginning to dig into their respective lunches. Even here, there still is an unholy amount of people.

I turn around, observing the not-so silent monolith of students filing past. As hard as I try, there is not a single space that I can squeeze myself back into.

I’m going to be stuck here for awhile.

I sigh, already resigning myself to my fate. I look around, noticing that all the benches are filled with friends chatting among themselves, mostly first and second years. Luckily, I notice a bench that’s only half filled, the only other occupant being a very familiar looking girl with her head stuck in a book.

Wait a second… is that Aoi?

Well, who else could be reading the same book she showed us last night? That, and the grayish-silver hair is a dead-giveaway.

At the moment, she seems pretty enthralled with the book, her face only a few inches off of the page. Must be a good read.

I guess I should go say hello.

I begin to make my way towards her, dodging students left and right in order to avoid another collision in the hallway. Students move their legs as I squeeze past them, and finally I am standing above Aoi.

“Hello, Aoi.”

She looks up, startled before shoving the book back in front of her eyes. She looks down, avoiding any and all eye contact. I guess she really doesn’t want to see me. Is it the way I’m dressed?

“H-hey Hisao. What are you doing here?” She says, keeping the book safely in front of her face again, muffling her voice between the pages.

“Dodging a stampede. The halls are too full, so I’m just gonna wait here ‘till they...er...empty out a bit…what are you doing here?” I ask, not necessarily expecting a full answer.

Why is she hiding her face? Again, Aoi only quickly peers over the edge of her book before shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Even with the short glances I’m getting of her, I still notice that she has her… 'contacts' in.

Maybe she doesn’t want me to be here. Funny, it seems that I’m already pretty used to that sentiment. Other than that, I wonder if I am interrupting something? She didn’t seem to be talking with anyone when I got here…

“Uhh, Hisao? Could you move, just a bit?” She says, making a scooting gesture with her book. The request catches me off guard, but I look around to see if the coast is clear for me to even move a little bit.

“Uhm… sure.” I say as I take a large step to the left. Aoi flinches a bit as I do so, replacing the book back in her face. It feels a bit weird talking to the author’s portrait of an old man with a beard. Then again, this whole situation is pretty strange.

“Err, a bit to the right. You're right.” She says, and again I listen, taking another small step to the right. What is she doing? What am I doing?

“A bit more.” A few tiny steps later, she stops me, carefully peering over the edge of her book and then tentatively placing it on her lap.

“Thanks. Sorry, what were you saying?” She asks, now looking up at me from her seat. I can't help but be taken aback by the whole endeavor, but she obviously wants to move on. Despite all the questions flowing around in my head, again I keep my mouth shut, trying to not invade on her personal life. I have done enough invading for one lifetime, thanks. Regardless, my recent relocation has put me towering over the girl. I am not keen on standing above people like this, but as long as the crowd of students keeps flowing behind us I don’t have much of a choice.

For a moment I consider asking what the whole prior exchange was about, but I decide against it. People have different kinds of reactions to that sort of inquiry, and I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.

“I was asking what you were doing here. Not going to lunch?” I ask again, hoping to get a legitimate answer instead of doing more close ordered drill. She shakes her head, looking over to her right quickly before flinching and looking back at me. Why does she keep doing that? Is something wrong with her eyes?

“Ah, no. I have to go meet someone in a little bit and I was just waiting for the crowds to die down a bit.” Ever so slightly, she attempts to look past me, before squinting and deciding against it. Part of me is curious about who exactly she is meeting, but I’m pretty sure I know better than to just ask her.

“Looks like we’re stuck here.” Aoi finishes.

No kidding. The lines of people couldn’t be going for much longer, could they? My stomach grumbles audibly, and Aoi giggles as I feel a blush spreading across my face. Of course. I must be the most awkward guy in school.

I probably have a reputation around here right now. ‘Hisao: Master of Awkwardness’

“Sorry, haven’t eaten since last night.” I say with a shrug. Finally, the people sitting next to Aoi move out of the way and join the flow of people, and I move to claim their seat. As soon as I move, however, Aoi flinches and yelps slightly, quickly grabbing her book and putting it back into her face.

I’m a dumb ass.

“Are you alright?” I say as I move back to where I was previously, trying to cover up my stupid mistake. Aoi shakes her head slightly, before standing up, her head tilted downward.

“Hey, are you okay?” I ask again, making sure to keep the light behind me, although I doubt I can block the light source any more than it already is now. Light. It explains so much, yet I can't be certain of anything at this point. I remember reading up on some visual disorders while I was in the hospital, after all, there’s not much else you can get your hands on in a hospital. Photophobia was something I should have guessed once I saw the tinted contacts. An intolerance to light could be what causes her to wear those contacts, yet I can't be certain about anything. I try to remember what exactly I read, the words of the novel leaping around in my head before dissipating from my mind, revealing new explanations to Aoi's odd behavior. I look back at her, noticing how she keeps her eyes pointed towards the floor, reaching up and wiping them with her sleeve.

It explains so much, and most of all why she would be here at Yamaku. Again, I find it hard not to feel sorry for her, yet in a school where almost everyone was dealt a bad hand, or heart, or eyes, it seems redundant to pity anyone.

“I’m fine, Hisao.” Aoi says, a disgruntled tone hidden underneath her words. Luckily, I know when to stop pressing an issue.

At least I think so.

I open my mouth to express my apologies before Aoi brings her right arm up, observing a watch fastened around her arm. She frowns slightly before directing her head up toward me, yet still keeping her eyes pointed downward.

“Looks like the hallway has cleared up. I’d better go if I don’t want to be late.” Aoi says, closing her book and putting it into a small, olive green messenger bag. She quickly closes it, the slight crinkling of the velcro emanating from the bag.

“Oh, a-alright. I guess I'll see ya around...” I stutter, still off put by my stupid mistake. I can't believe I did that, yet how could I have known? It's not like I could have pin pointed her reason for being here just by looking at her. I step slowly over to the right, giving Aoi room to move. Aoi manages to give me a quick look before again averting my eyes. She almost looks sorrowful, which I imagine is the exact expression on my face too.

"Hisao..." She stops, still averting her eyes as she slings her petite bag over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry it's just..." She stops again, looking down at the floor. Whatever remorse I felt before is doubled. She sighs, managing yet another peek up at me. Again, the same look of regret shoots across her face, yet fading so quickly that I'm not sure if it was actually there or if I'm just seeing things. If that's the case, I guess I really am the only one not good at hiding my emotions. She smiles lightly, almost out of place in the moment. The crowd of students around us almost seems irrelevant.

She passes by me, the metallic-blue ribbon in her hair swaying as she strides forward. Before she reaches the clearing throng of students, she stops and swivels in place, turning back toward me, still keeping her head downcast.

“Hey, I'm sorry about that, Hisao." Her apology catches me off guard. Sorry? Why should she be sorry?

"No no, it's fine I'm just-" I begin to say, but the bell signalling the last ten minuets of lunch cuts me off. Before I can continue, Aoi smiles again and begins talking.

"I can’t really chat right now. But we’re having lunch again tomorrow I think, if you... er... wanna join us!" Her nose crinkles up a little bit at the awkward proposal.

The change in subject is, again, a bit off putting, but I decide against pushing the issue. Maybe a change in topic is what is need right now anyway. Regardless, they never said I couldn't come have lunch with them again, but I was never formally invited back, even if this isn't necessarily 'formal'. It feels good to finally have a place to go to during lunch.

"Y-Yeah, sure I will!" I say a bit too quickly, and a bit too excitedly. I begin to blush slightly, despite the situation already having been awkward to start with. I hope she doesn't notice my reddening cheeks, but I really am thankful she invited me back. I don't know if I would have joined them on my own or not, and I know for certain I wouldn’t have anywhere else to go.

However, my train of thought is interrupted by the barely muffled laughter emanating from the girl in-front of me. Apparently she did notice, and I begin to chuckle along with her, despite me not even knowing what's so funny. Maybe just the awkward tension...

Her tittering quickly dies down, replaced with her slightly bemused words.

“Yeah, I guess I have a problem with that as well.” She pauses, smirking while adjusting her ribbon slightly. “Well, I'll see you around, Hisao!”

Act 2 Part 5: Kármán Line -continued-

Aoi finishes her sentence with a little wave before turning and walking down the hall, face still tilted toward the tiled floor. With nothing else to do, I find myself watching her as she disappears into the mingling crowds of the school hall.

I sigh, looking around for any indication of the current time. I find my harbinger of responsibility on the adjacent wall, a clock, slightly ticking with every passing second. As if the gods themselves have forsaken me, the clock cruelly shows that I only have but nine minutes left on my lunch break.

Shit.

●●●

My stomach grumbles yet again, reminding me of my haphazard lunch. ‘Haphazard’ as in a flavorless rice-cake and a can of black coffee hastily purchased in the last five minutes of lunch. Sometimes I wonder how I’ve survived up until now. Not only today, but overall. It's funny that I must’ve been hit in the chest hundreds of times, yet a girl asking me out was evidently the straw that broke the camel’s back.

In any case, classes are currently over, and I find myself idling on a bench placed along one of the walls on the third-floor, not quite managing the courage to go back to my dorm and spend the next three hours staring at the stucco ceiling. That, or reading more into the current chapter that Mr. Nobody, the substitute, seems dedicated to make the majority of the class fail.

My thoughts flash back to the conversation I had with Aoi. Judging by the fact she was on the second floor makes me think that she may actually belong there, meaning she'd be in her second year here at Yamaku. It makes sense, I guess. It would explain why I haven’t seen her on the third floor. However, if our conversation from last night was anything to go by, I’m pretty sure she’s much more intelligent than the average third-year. Aoi puts me to shame in the… astrology department? Or is it astronomy? Either way, it just shows how clueless I am on the subject.

I briefly consider making another trip down to the vending machine, but to be honest, all of this faux-starving is probably the only thing keeping me conscious. Though right about now, unconsciousness feels like just the solution to my school-day woes.

Suddenly, my thoughts are broken by the sound of shattering glass emanating behind a partially closed door a bit further down the hallway.

I recognize the room almost immediately as the tea room where I first met Lilly. Despite our recent rocky 'friendship', if you could even call it that, the sound of broken glass piques my curiosity, and I find myself standing up and gravitating towards the cracked door. I wonder if Lilly is even there, or if the disruption was only caused by a random stranger.

I reach the door, and I lean towards the opening, trying to discern the cause of the noise within.

To my relatively small surprise, a familiar blond-haired girl is kneeling down on the floor, lightly picking up what appears to be small fragments of pale porcelain off of the floor. Her fingers feel over the sharp edges of the shattered cup, determining if the damage was critical or not. Needless to say, it was. Shards cover the floor in all directions.

I rap my fingers on the door frame quietly and clear my throat.

"Uh, hey Lilly." I say, waving my hand. It isn’t a split second before I realize the futility, and move my hand to rub the back of my neck. It’s definitely my nervous tic.

"Is everything alright? I heard glass shattering."

At the sound of my voice she turns around completely, narrowing down my location to the door. She pauses for a second in deep thought, her face going blank as she tries to put a name to my voice. She has probably forgotten my-

“Ah, hello Hisao.” She says, ceasing her attempts at scooping up all the broken pieces. I guess not. I gently push the door the rest of the way open, getting a closer look at the damage. Luckily it was only a relatively small teapot.

Before I get the chance to open my mouth, Lilly suddenly cuts me off.

I can sense this becoming a pattern.

“Yes, I believe everything is alright, but could you please help me with this? I seemed to have dropped this while I was tending to the stove." She gestures towards the barely-managed shards of porcelain scattered on the floor. I can see how it’d be difficult for her to clean up messes like this.

Wait… did I just faux-pas again?

“Yeah, sure.” I say, not exactly knowing Lilly’s disposition to me right about now. Might as well help her with the mess, after all, it’d be incredibly rude if I just left now.

I walk over to her with slightly lighter footsteps as to not step on any glass shards and make an even bigger mess. I’m not sure how close I should sit to her, after all, I made the terrible mistake of siding with the other side. Kneeling down, I can already see some shards that even her trained fingertips had missed due to the distance.

I gather the sharp fragments in my hand, taking care not to scratch my fingers with the material. I’ve heard that porcelain is pretty sharp, and I’m not eager to find out first-hand.

Looking over, I see that Lilly is silently observing the broken cup with her hand, passing it over one of the more major cracks. She makes a small sigh, before turning over to me.

“So… we throw it away?” I ask, holding the fragments in my palm.

Lilly nods, extending the hand in which she held the compromised cup. I take it gingerly, wrapping my fingers around the handle. Lilly gestures over to what appears to be a trash-can. I quickly stand up and walk over to it, disposing the shards with a slight 'clink' as it falls to the bottom of the container.

I turn around to see that Lilly has already stood up, and is currently tending to a small brew set on the room's miniature stove.

“Thank you, Hisao.” She says as she dips a finger into the mixture, seemingly satisfied with it’s contents.

"Would you like to stay for tea? Hanako should be coming here shortly as well." She says, moving the remaining tea pot carefully under the nose of the brewing pot and pouring the hot liquid into it. I can't help but be surprised that she would actually invite me to have tea with her, even after I was so rude.

Well, I’m really in no position to decline. Besides, there are a few things I need to address with Lilly. I feel like I still have one more apology left in me after my 'run-ins' with Shizune, Misha, and Emi.

"Yes actually, that would be nice, thanks." I take my seat as Lilly pours two cups of tea, the brown liquid quickly filling the room with a sweet odor.

"Actually, Lilly, there is something I wanted to talk to you about, if you have the time."

She closes her eyes, still keeping her calm demeanor and confident elegance about her. Even so, I can detect that she seems quite interested in my oncoming statement.

"Oh?" She asks, tilting her head slightly. I cringe a bit as I try and form the right words in my head. The brief few seconds of silence it feels like a few hours, and the only ideas I have are bad ones. I sit back in my chair, reminiscing about my walk into town with Lilly and Rin. Lilly saw that I was struggling up the hill, yet I blew her off. I'm not sure if she really needs to know about my...condition, but it would be rude of me not to. Why should I know about her blindness yet she not know about my heart? My inner dilemma only manages to lengthen the silence that has befallen the room.

Screw it.

"I have cardiac Arrhythmia, er, a pretty weird heart condition." I blurt out, not even caring about the effect it may have. Regardless, I decide to carry on. Strong and confident, right? Fake it 'till you make it.

"And... I'm also sorry for leaving you to the wolves of the student council back in the classroom. I wasn't having the smoothest transition here at Yamaku, heh." I mean its not untrue. I have gone around messing up nearly every chance at friendship I got, and I was lucky enough to run into the people that I did.

Shizune, Misha, and Emi were all kind enough to forgive me. Despite this, I can only hope Lilly is the same way.

And if not, the I guess our rather peculiar 'relationship' couldn't get much worse...

"When I first got here, I honestly didn't know how to react around others. I knew that we all had reasons for being here, but I didn't care." I continue, not exactly sure where I am going with the makeshift 'apology'.

"I just sort of ignored other's problems in substitute to sulk about with my own. And I'm sorry that I did that to you too. I feel like I wronged everyone I met here in the first few days, and it's been bugging me ever since I began to think about it." I pause again, not exactly sure how to go about finishing my confession.

"I just wanted to tell you that, I guess. I feel like you had the right to know." I finish, sighing and looking down at my cup. My reflection peers back at me, looking more tired than I ever remember seeing it. These last few weeks haven't been easy by any stretch of the word. My whole life was flipped upside down, and I only made it worse by acting the way I did. I just hope that after today, all will either be fixed or at least mended slightly. At this point it's the only goal I have to work towards aside from not dying.

I look up from the cup to see Lilly frozen to her seat, with what appears to be shock written on her face. I can’t imagine that's what she was expecting to hear.

"I see." She says, furrowing her brow in thought. After a few seconds, she opens her eyes and smiles slightly, taking up her cool demeanor once again. Incredible.

"Hisao, you know you didn't have to tell me this, right? I understand that students here at Yamaku, particularly transfers, may not be willing to open up quite so suddenly." She says, smiling slightly and then taking a sip from her tea cup.

"There is no need to apologize, although I do appreciate it." She sits the tea cup down on the table and reaches to pour another round. Is being addicted to tea a thing? Because I’m pretty sure Lilly is some kind of tea-aholic.

"You aren't angry then?" I ask, genuinely happy that the outcome of the conversation had gone so well. I let out a rather large breath, only now realizing that I had withheld from breathing for her entire response. Lilly giggles mutely, I must’ve not been very subtle with my nervous exhale.

She tilts her head up, again closing her eyes and furrowing her brow. This must be her way of concentrating. I can only imagine what she may be thinking, given that she seems like one of the most intelligent individuals I have ever met.

Well, ‘one’. I’m pretty sure the fact that I can’t even understand what Aoi seems to be a savant in speaks alot about Aoi’s intelligence.

"Do you want to know what I think?"

The question catches me off guard, but before I can respond, she begins talking again.

"There are students in this school who clam up as soon as they enter the campus. Whether out of fear or embarrassment, I do not know, but they refrain from speaking their minds. They bottle it all up, and don't allow others to get close to them. They are among the most troubled individuals in the school."

I can see where she's coming from. None of the others have told me their reasons for being here at Yamaku, and the best guess I have for one of them is that she has a visual disorder, and I'm not even one hundred percent certain about that.

Well, what else could it be? Vampirism?

Regardless, I would imagine a large amount of the students here would like to keep their pasts hidden from others. It’s strange sometimes how different, and yet how similar Yamaku can be to other high schools.

Maybe now I’m learning how to be normal again. Maybe I'm not the only one.

"I had figured that you may wind up joining them, but I am happy to hear that things have changed for the better." She says, again smiling calmly and sipping her tea.

Suddenly though, she tilts her head to the side and closes her eyes, directing her attention towards the door. I look over towards the entrance of the room, and sure enough it begins to slowly crack open, revealing locks of purple hair and a female uniform in the door frame.

"Ah, hello Hanako." I say, waving my hand in a greeting.

Whether consciously or not, the way she’s positioned hides the majority of her facial scars.

"H-hello Hisao, Lilly." She gives a small bow and quietly shuts the door behind her before turning around and standing there silently. I notice that she’s holding a book, but I can’t read the title from here. Hanako stares at me awkwardly for a few moments before blushing and looking down at the floor, nervously toying with the book in her hands. Lilly herself decides to break up the awkward silence.

"Good evening, Hanako. Do you mind if Hisao joins us?" Lilly asks, feeling out for the handle to her teacup.

"N-no, it’s fine." Hanako says nervously, quickly marching over to the cabinet and plucking out another teacup. I can't imagine she is this tense when it is just the two of them. Then again, it does seem like the introduction of anyone who isn't Lilly into a setting tends to put her on edge.

She moves across the room, pausing for a second before nervously making her way over to the table and sitting next to me. At this rate I don't know how easy it will be to commence small talk. I check my watch, revealing it is just after five o'clock. In all honesty I should probably be going soon, but a few more cups of tea probably wouldn't hurt.

Wait… what do I have to do? Stare at my ceiling under the guise that I’m doing something normal people do for five hours?

In any case, the only thing hurting me right now is this silence that has fallen between us. I quickly try and think of something I could possibly start a conversation over.

"So, er, Hanako. How did you do on that test?" I ask to cease the silence. If anything, it only lengthens it as Hanako decides what she should say.

“I d-did… alright.” She says as she reaches for the kettle, beginning to fill up her share of the tea. She seems pretty tight-lipped with her results. Then again, anyone would if I just asked them out of the blue.

Regardless, the test was actually pretty difficult. I guess I should be thankful I don’t have much along the lines of a ‘life’, otherwise I might’ve not pulled an ‘A’ on that test.

I wish I could say that I was as skilled in science as other classes, but if my recent English grades say anything, it’s that I need to spend less time staring at the ceiling and more time studying in the book.

I’m fairly sure the devil himself invented English for every non-speaking person to suffer throughout their high-school days.

I take another sip of the tea, savoring all the overt flavors and all the subtle ones too. I’ll admit it, I’m normally not really a ‘tea person’, but Lilly’s tea is amazing to say the least. Hell, if I had to choose between her tea and coffee, I’d probably go with the former.

Leaning back in my seat, I take the opportunity to stretch out my tense muscles. After all, if the remaining portions in the kettle are anything to go by, I’m going to be here for awhile.

Aside from the various portions of small talk, the next few minutes are spent in silence. Still, it’s nice to sit down and act like a normal person every once in a while. I look down and check my watch, just now noticing how long I have relaxed in the tea room, idly chatting the hour away.

"Well, it's been nice talking to you both, but it's about time for me to leave. I have a bit of work to catch up on" I say, standing up and bowing, not thinking about the futility in the gesture. Lilly nods, placing her now empty tea cup down onto the table top.

"Have a good evening, Hisao." Lilly says, smiling kindly. She sighs, again turning her attention inwards, trying to summon the right words.

"And-"

She pauses, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath.

"-try to stay out of trouble." She finishes, keeping her cool and calm demeanor, yet sporting a significantly weaker smile than before.

I chuckle, thinking back to all the tension in the last few days. It was blind luck that all the people I thought I had wronged were kind enough to forgive me, despite the fact that I probably didn't deserve it.

"No promises." I say. With a small wave, I leave the room, feeling the weight of my guilt lift off my shoulders.

●●●

The fluorescent lighting of the dorm halls is my only comfort as I walk through the common room. Strange, usually theres a group of students or two milling about this room, but now it’s empty.

Normally, I’d be staggering through these halls as a last desperate attempt to reach the respite of my bed, but thanks to my recent classroom naps I’ve gotten most of the exhaustion out of the way.

As it stands, I’m only half-staggering.

Another row of white light brings me to the carpeted stairs, which I begin the normal day-to-day task of trogging up. One particularly annoying tidbit about my shattered heart is the simple fact that climbing stairs is a chore.

I reach the landing near the top, savoring the familiar arrythmic thumping of my heart, the whole reason why I’m here. A short breather, and I’m ready to continue on.

The repeating pattern on the carpet lulls me into the depths of my mind, and it’s not long before I’m reflecting on the day’s events.

Well, Aoi invited me for lunch tomorrow. It stings, but it’s becoming more and more apparent that I’m having trouble stomaching the fact that I have friends now. I dunno, maybe having everyone you’ve ever considered a friend, hell even a potential love-interest, ripped from your grasp due to some stupid underlying-condition bullshit…

...

Yeah, I should calm down. Getting angry over things that happened in the past won’t help me anyway, physically or mentally.

As I walk down the hall, nearing the place where I’ll stare at the wall until I fall unconscious, a sound barely graces my ear-drums. Its a methodical sound, and as I get closer and closer it becomes more apparent that its music.

But from where? The incredibly neglected curious portion of me finally emerges, carrying me further and further down the hall.

It’s a steady drum beat, interspersed with synthetic tones. I think I can hear some vocals, but they’re faint at best. As much as I want to go to my room and faceplant the bed, I can’t help my curiosity.

As it turns out, it looks like the source of the music is much closer to home than I realized. I near my dorm room, noticing the music getting louder and louder. It’s hard to see from here, but I think Kenji’s door is cracked. That must be the source of the music.

Why the hell is he playing music? Doesn’t he know the ‘feminist spies’ are listening?

I stop in-front of his door, wondering how the rest of the hall isn’t out here with me. These paper-thin walls do no favors in muffling sounds, let alone music. I guess it’s only me and Kenji in the male dorm tonight.

That’s actually more foreboding now that I think about it.

Through the door, I can hear the music loud and clear, hardly muffled by the wooden surface. The vocals are still incredibly hard to decipher, I think they’re in another language entirely. English maybe? Why would Kenji be playing a foreign song?

The lyrics are pretty repetitive, and before long I can confirm that I know at least one of the words. It plays in the background as I walk away from the entrance and shut my own dorm room door behind me.

Terrific. It’s barely muffled by the wall. I wouldn’t be surprised if the drywall turned out to be painted rice-paper or something.

I walk to my bed, unbuttoning my shirt and lying down on my bed. The I snatch the English book from my bedside table and flip to the page that I set my half-completed school work was on. I groan, practically resigning myself for the torture to come. I’ve never been very good at English.

I pick up my pencil and begin to work, trying to ignore the song playing in the background. Over and over again I hear the only word I can understand in the language, getting the syllables stuck in my head as I scrawl illegible words onto my paper. The song continues to play, as if it was looped.

"█████████Goodbye█████Goodbye██████████"

First thing next morning I’m going to kill him.

Fuck.
That took forever.
Part Five, never again.
Part Five has been the hardest one to write yet.
In Act 3, when we get to Part Five, we are skipping it.
I don't want to see another 'five' for the rest of my life.
None of that shit.
None of it.
Five is my new un-lucky number.
If my child is born on the fifth I will jump out of the hospital window.
I bet my heart will explode on the fifth.
I bet the apocalypse will start on the fifth.
I bet Hitler was born on May Fifth, 1905 or some shit.
I bet 555 is the real address to hell, not 666.
>Nope.avi

I hope you enjoyed it.
Because I sure as hell didn't.

Yeah. So I guess Brady's mad.

Anyway, sorry that this chapter took so long. We got wrapped up in family obligations and what not. Luckily for you guys we pretty much have the rest of Part 2 planned out, so we can start getting into some better material.

Mohn_Jadden wrote:Yeah. So I guess Brady's mad.

Anyway, sorry that this chapter took so long. We got wrapped up in family obligations and what not. Luckily for you guys we pretty much have the rest of Part 2 planned out, so we can start getting into some better material.

Ahh dont be sorry take ur time we all got a life its not easy being in one place at the same time at least ur not gonna be one of those people that just abandon there story and be gone forever we r grateful that u and ur partner r entertaing us with this awsome story of me and my swag with this new girl that ill soon capture her heart because i am the master of romance plz dont torture me alot in ur story my puny little tiny heart might hnnng!!!!! but no for real i love this story keep up the great work bro

"No promises." I say. With a small wave, I leave the room, feeling the weight of my guilt lift off my shoulders. I bound down the

I think you dropped half a sentence here. There was also an "alot" earlier in the chapter, should be two words.

Nitpicking aside, this was an enjoyable chapter. I definitely feel for poor Aoi though - if her photosensitivity is so bad that she's wincing from the light in the cafeteria then she has it bad. Ouch.

SirKaid wrote:

I think you dropped half a sentence here.

I have no idea how I missed that, but thanks for the call-out! Fixed!

Also, I'll start a scavenger hunt for the illusive 'alot' when I get the chance. I got places to do and things to be.

Or something along those lines.

Decided against stealth posting this time. It was too busy.

Anyways, I suppose if one of the girls is going to forgive Hisao, it's Lilly, so I wasn't to surprised when she did so. She doesn't strike me as the type to hold a grudge.

Also, I like the choice of condition for Aoi(which I still don't know how to pronounce). I've only seen it once before. Of course, I find conditions that affect the senses to be more interesting in general, especially one that isn't very well known. Looking forward to more!

AntonSlavik020 wrote:Decided against stealth posting this time. It was too busy.

Anyways, I suppose if one of the girls is going to forgive Hisao, it's Lilly, so I wasn't to surprised when she did so. She doesn't strike me as the type to hold a grudge.

Also, I like the choice of condition for Aoi(which I still don't know how to pronounce). I've only seen it once before. Of course, I find conditions that affect the senses to be more interesting in general, especially one that isn't very well known. Looking forward to more!

Heh, trust me, neither of us know how to pronounce the name. 'Ay-Oh-Ee'? 'Eyy-Oy'? 'Ah-Oh-Ee'? None of them sound 'right'.

Mohn_Jadden wrote:Heh, trust me, neither of us know how to pronounce the name. 'Ay-Oh-Ee'? 'Eyy-Oy'? 'Ah-Oh-Ee'? None of them sound 'right'.

At first I thought you meant you don't know how to pronounce the condition... ^^°
The last one is close: Click on the Loudspeaker-symbol

Mirage_GSM wrote:Click on the Loudspeaker-symbol

Oh wow I should have thought about that before! Thanks!

And now is the time in which I get really disappointed with myself for not thinking about trying that before...