Katawa Shoujo Forums

Credit goes to /u/OneManArmy77 from the KS subreddit for doing prompt 2 in the Monday Musings.
Was thinking of writing this one-shot for a while but the prompt made me to decide to write it.
I was originally going for something more meta and Matrix parody but came up with this.
I either might continue this if people enjoy this or make this a One-shot thread.
Feedback and criticism are welcome.
Thanks.
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Hanako booted up the computer in the Yamaku library. Once Yuuko ran out of books for Hanako to explore, it was only natural to take her curiosity online. After humming loudly for several minutes, Hanako was able to navigate to Google before punching in a select few key words. An observer might have been able to watch as the usually docile girl contorted her face into some weird mixture of shock, horror, and curiosity.

“P-p-project Katawa Shoujo,” are the words that leave her mouth. She wonders what it means and clicks on the link. Her eyes widen, emotions running through her mind from what was on the screen. A simple sketch of her and four other girls. “L-l-lily! E-emi and Rin too. Even S-shizune. What is all this?” Hanako whispers to herself to keep herself hidden by this surprise.

Suddenly, the lights in the library go out. Hanako jumps from her seat and proceeds to make a dash towards the heavy wooden doors. Try with all her might, she cannot open the doors. She bangs her fist against the solid oak door.

With fear getting to her, she lets out a cry, “Yuuko!! W-w-where are you?!”

Silence. That is her only reply from the still library. The long hair girl breaths become heavy with each passing second. An anxiety attack is starting. Suddenly a familiar voice calls out to Hanako in a calm tone.

“Hanako? Where are you?” the voice calls out, follow by the clacking of a stick.

“L-lily? I’m by the…entrance. I saw something on the…computer that freaked m-me out and the lights w-went out. I’m scared L-lily,” she cries out, tears running down her cheeks.

“Oh dear, what did you see on the computer that made you scared?”

“I saw a picture of m-me, you, Emi,…Rin, and Shizune,” replying as Lilly makes her way to Hanako.

“Oh, a school photo or something?”

“N-n-no. A …drawing of us, that had “P-project Katawa Shoujo” written a-a-above the drawing.”

Lilly approaches the crying girl. Hanako looks up to see Lilly and dashes to hug her friend.

“So you found out?” Lilly asks.

“W-w-what?”

“You weren’t supposed to find out about this, well not yet.”

“L-l-lily, s-s-stop it. You’re scaring me.”

The world begins to fade away to Hanako as she passes out from shock.

“She found out. What should we do about her? … Are you sure about this? She won’t like it once she finds out. … Okay. I’ll meet you there,” Lilly hangs up her phone.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hanako wakes up with her vision blur from the bright lights entering her retina. After a few moments, her vision becomes clears, and notices she is in the Nurse’s office. Lilly is sitting in a chair nearby, reading a book. She looks up and greets her friend.

“Hello.”

“W-w-what happened?”

“You passed out in the library. It’s okay now, you’re in the Nurse’s office.”

“I h-h-had this scary…nightmare Lily. It f-f-felt real.”

Lilly closes her book and walks towards the bed. She leans in to hug her friend and whispers into her ear, “It wasn’t a nightmare. That was real.”

The curtains open and the Nurse walks towards his patient. His usual fox like smile gone and a more serious face is on.

“So Ikezawa found out the truth? Looks like we have no choice but to tell you, or we can simply eliminate you,” laughing at the last part to show he’s joking.

“Why are y-y-you doing this?”

“Ikezawa, what you saw at the library was real. However, this world we live in, is not. This world is a virtual one.”

Hanako looks down, trying to catch her breath from what the Nurse just said. “What?”

“Hanako,” Lilly speaks to her friend. “I know this may sound crazy, but it’s true. I’m not blind, well not at this moment I’m not.”

“And I’m not deaf,” a voice calls out behind the curtains. The owner of the voice walks around the curtain to show herself.

“S-shizune?!” she cries. “What you d-d-doing here?’

“I’m the Student Council President and it is my responsibility that I make sure students are okay at this school,” Shizune answers, her voice still throwing Hanako off guard. “I know this is a scary realization, but we are here to test something for research.”

“Why am I h-h-here?” Hanako questions, still in shock from the news.

“Oh, you don’t remember? That’s okay, we didn’t know why at first. But we simply volunteered to do this,” Lilly answers her friend’s question.

“Yes, we volunteer for this. It might be hard to remember but we chose to be part of this simulation, to see if people can look pass our disabilities and see us as normal people. The sketch you saw was just a concept that a group decided to become a reality so to speak,” Shizune informs.

“Yes, you all don’t actually look like this in the real world, but your personalities are. We had to make sure we found people with distinct personalities to make sure that we can gather enough information for research purposes. We had to make sure all of you could play out your role for a couple of weeks, so we can work out any bugs that might occur,” the Nurse continues for Shizune.

“F-f-for what?”

The Nurse walks towards his desk, fishing out a folder, and walks back to hand it to Hanako. She takes the folder and opens it to see a picture of a brown hair boy with a strand of hair sticking up.

“This boy is coming to this school in about a week. He also volunteered; he is the main subject of this experiment. His role is that he just transferred to this school after having a heart attack. He has been through hell so to speak to, to properly fit the role we want him to. Your three roles, as well as the other two, are to try to make sure he pursues one of you in order for our experiment to undergo.”

“W-w-what if I refuse?” the confuse Hanako asks.

“We kill you and replace you with another Hanako candidate,” the Nurse says in a serious tone.

Hanako eyes widen, emotions going wild from the news of being killed and being use for testing for research. She continues to stare at the picture of the boy. He is pretty cute, she thinks to herself, but quickly brushes off that thought. With emotions running wild, the news of being told to her and the thought of being killed, Hanako looks up to the Nurse.

“I’ll do it,” is all she can muster up.

The Nurse smiles in his fox like grin, “Glad to see you make the right choice. Unfortunately, we will have to wipe away your memory of what you saw today. We can’t risk you telling him this isn’t real and ruining our experiment.”

“What about you two?”

“There is a reason why I am the Student Council President,” Shizune laughs. “I’m the one that has a bigger role to fill than the rest of you when this starts. Lilly as well, so we have to know what’s happening to act accordingly, or else this is a failure. The other two don’t know because they are filling out their roles well. No need to inform them…yet.”

Lilly grabs Hanako’s hand, “Don’t worry. We will all get through this in no time, after running several tests. We have to make sure the boy pursues each of us to gather the information needed.”

“A-a-and if he doesn’t.”

The Nurse flips the pages in the folder to reveal another boy wearing a scarf. “He’s our failsafe. If one you fails to get his attention, this boy here will take him to the roof and simply kill him to restart the simulation.”

“D-d-did he volunteered as well?’ Hanako asks.

The other three laugh at Hanako’s question.

“He is simply a program that we made to make sure the boy cannot make any friends,” the Nurse says. “Besides you girls, the boy and I, everyone else is a program. I’m here to make sure everything goes well and to fix any glitches that may occur. Now that you know more than you should know, I have to give you this shot to make you forget what happened today. Girls, hold her down.”

Lilly grabs Hanako’s right arm and Shizune grabs her left. Hanako struggles and tries to break free but her legs are restrain to the bed. She screams for help but it’s pointless, as no one will hear her besides the people in the room. Tears and sweat begins to soak her shirt by the horror of what is happening.

The Nurse pulls a needle from his coat pocket and walks towards the restraint Hanako. “Sorry Ikezawa, but this is for the best and think of how you will change the world with this experiment. Please understand,” are the last words Hanako hears before the Nurse injects her with the syringe in her pale neck.

Hanako stops struggling and passes out a few seconds after the injection. Lilly and Shizune let go of her.

“So what now,” Lilly asks.

“Leave her here for the night, so I can keep an eye on her. Shizune continue your duty and make sure the other two are doing okay.”

“Yes sir,” Shizune salutes the Nurse before heading out.

“Lilly, you can go as well, but in the morning, I need you to come here so we can make sure Ikezawa doesn’t remember anything that happened today.”

“Okay. Bye sir.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hi, I’m Hisao Nakai. Nice to meet,” the brown hair boy with the strand of hair greets his class with a bow.

“Take your seat by the window. Shizune is the Student Council President and Class Representative. She will help you settle in this school. Any questions you have, go ask her,” Mutou says.

“Yes sir.”

Hanako looks up at the boy and her eyes widen, “I seen this boy before, b-b-but where?”

I wouldn't continue it. I think it stands well enough on it's own.

Another one-shot done in response to the Monday Musings by OneManArmy77 on the subreddit .
This was written about two months ago.
Enjoy.
Thanks.
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Lilly's hands deftly maneuver the cup beneath the kettle's spout as she settles back into the tea room. A skilled observer might have noticed Lilly's nervous ticks, as she sat pensively waiting for the tell-tale knock on the door. A loud thud on the door causes Lilly to flinch, as Misha strolls in unaccompanied.

“Hanako, is that you,” Lilly asks, as she tries to regain her composure.

“Oh, I’m sorry Lilly, I thought this room was empty,” Misha replies with her loud inside voice.

Lilly still hasn’t let her guard down; she knows that when Misha is around, her deaf cousin is present as well. “Shizune is here too, I assume?” she questions while she furrows her brow.

Misha laughs her trademark laugh, but it is different than usual. There is a hint of sadness in it, not noticeable to anyone. Lilly picks up on her sad laugh and knows why Misha is here. “I understand now. Misha, would you like to talk about it? I know we don’t talk much like we use to, but I’m still your friend,” Lilly reassures her pink hair friend in her calm demeanor.

Misha makes her way to the table Lilly is seated, and joins her. “I’m not sure where to begin Lilly; it’s been a rough couple of months.”

“Well I guess it’s best to start from the top,” Lilly suggest. “Oh where are my manners? Would like some tea?”

“I’ll take it with lots of sugar please.”

Lilly feels around for a spare cup with her left hand whilst feeling for the teapot with her right. The way she moves her hands around shows this is second nature for her, as she finds both within seconds and begins to pour out the right amount of tea in the cup. She then begins to feel for the sugar and adds it to the tea.

“It all started during Tanabata,”Misha begins her story. “Hicchan ask Shicchan to be his girlfriend and she said yes. At first I was glad that my two best friends were together. It made me very happy, but…” Misha hesitates for a second. “I liked it before Hicchan learned sigh language because I was able to speak for Shicchan. I felt like I was part of the group. The three of us in the Student Council was the best thing. Especially since we were able to leave a lot of the work to Hicchan. Wahaha~”

Misha laughs at the reminiscence of the times Shizune and her were able to take it easy and put Hisao to work. Lilly joins in with Misha with a courteous laugh of her own. It has been awhile since Misha and Lilly laugh together. As they settle down, Lilly hands Misha her cup of tea.

“Thanks Lilly!~”

“I hope I made it the way you like it. It’s been some time, so tell me if it isn’t like it usually is.”

Misha takes a sip of the tea and her face shows approval. “Lilly, you still know how I like my tea. It’s delicious.~”

“Why thank you Misha, I wasn’t sure if I use enough sugar,” Lilly comments while putting her left hand on her face to show flattery.

Misha smile slowly fades away as she thinks of her story. “But ever since Hicchan learn sign language, I feel like I become useless. He learned it fast and for Shicchan. It’s very romantic but at the same time, I think they are pushing me aside for their love to bloom,” Misha continues as tears begin to form at the corner of her eyes. “I love them both, but lately, I wish Hicchan would have dated someone else,” she cries.

Lilly pulls out her handkerchief and hands it to Misha. She takes it and thanks Lilly before wiping her face. “Do you hate Hisao, Misha? Are you mad that he has Shizune’s attention and you feel like you are being replaced? I know that you have feelings for my cousin and she doesn’t have the same feelings for you,” Lilly begins but is cut off by Misha.

“There’s more.”

“Oh, is there?” Lilly heads pick up, intrigue as there is more to the story.

“I visited Hicchan last night in his room. I offer myself to him.”

Lilly lets out a gasp in response. “Why on Earth would you do such a thing?” Lilly tone becomes serious.

“I knew they had sex at Shicchan’s house the day of the fishing trip. I saw her go into his room that night. It was then, that I knew they were lovers. I asked Hicchan to comfort me last night, so I could follow where Shicchan was. I was always following her before they were together,” Misha cries, tears began to fall down into her cup of tea.

“What did Hisao do, if I may ask?”

“He denied me. I felt heartbroken to be denied by my best friend.”

Misha continues to cry, while Lilly begins to think over the situation. After a few minutes, Lilly face brightens, like she found the response.

“Hisao is being a good friend to deny your advances,” Lilly begins. Misha looks up to Lilly, wiping her tears. “He thinks of you as his best friend, and even though he’s with Shizune, he still cares for you.”

“Why didn’t he help me last night?” Misha shouts. Her loud voice seems as though to shake the walls.

“Misha, would you really enjoy having sex with Hisao? Would you have gotten the same pleasure if you had sex with someone you didn’t love? Would he think the same?” Lilly asks these series of question straight forward.

Misha looks down again, hesitating to find the answers.

“Hisao cares for you, Misha. He didn’t have sex with you, not because of your desperation, but he’s concern for you. Hanako mention to me the other day, that you were acting different in class. She said you left before class started when you saw them walked in together. Hisao also told me that he and Shizune plan a picnic for you but you left them,” Lilly continues, her voice becoming her usual soft spoken tone. “They are both worried for you. And I am worried for you too. I know we don’t talk that much anymore, but I still see you as my friend. I care for you too, Misha,” Lilly says, as she gets up from her seat and walks towards Misha. She puts her arm on Misha’s shoulder.

Misha looks up to Lilly, tears still flowing, “Lilly, you were always there for me when I was rejected by Shizune when I confessed my love to her. You were there for when I cried those restless nights. I never really got to thank you for being there when I was weak, and you’re here for me now that I am weak again.”

Misha hugs Lilly and Lilly is caught off guard, but returns the gesture with a hug of her own. They stay in this position, which feels like an eternity has pass. Eventually they break apart their hug. Lilly’s shirt stain with Misha’s tears. Lilly rubs Misha hair.

“Oh, I see that you got a haircut,” Lilly breaks the silence. “I miss the drills, but you look beautiful with this look.

“Wahaha~!” Misha laughs, her laugh becoming more like it usually was. “Thank you Lilly, I cut it back at Shicchan’s.” “I think it helped me become someone I wanted to always be.”

“Oh, I wish you the best of luck in becoming the beautiful person you were always meant to be. Maybe you will find that special someone to return the feelings you long for,” Lilly assures Misha.

“You always know how to cheer me up, Lillchan! Wahaha~”

Lilly joins Misha in her laughter, “You haven’t called me that since our days in Student Council.”

Misha looks at the clock on the wall. She stands up from her seat, “Thanks a lot Lillchan, but I’m late for meeting Mutou to catch up with my lessons. It was really nice for you to help me out again.”

Lilly smiles, “Don’t mention it, I’m always here for you if you need anything.”

Misha hugs Lilly one more time and Lilly kisses Misha on her forehead. They break their hug again and Misha begins to walk towards the door. “Bye Lillchan!~”

As Misha leaves the room Lilly stands there, reminiscing over the time they spent together on the Student Council. A smile creeps on her face, she doesn’t speak of it much, but she misses those times where it was the three of them. Even if they didn’t see eye to eye, they were always happy to be together, thick and thin. Lilly makes her way back to her seat. “Thank you for being my friend, Shiina,” Lilly speaks out to the empty room.

Holy cow! I'd never considered this scenario before but it's fantastic! Apart from SPaG errors, it's an amazing story. I loved it!

“Oh, I see that you got a haircut,” Lilly breaks the silence.

I really doubt that.

As for the rest...

Well, obviously the story needs a lot of work on the grammar side, but I also don't think Misha would be that open about what happened to anyone nor would Lilly be so quick to offer advice on her sexlife...
I can see Lilly as someone Misha would turn to, but not so fast and not so completely.

Sharp-O wrote:Holy cow! I'd never considered this scenario before but it's fantastic! Apart from SPaG errors, it's an amazing story. I loved it!

Thanks!

Mirage_GSM wrote:Well, obviously the story needs a lot of work on the grammar side, but I also don't think Misha would be that open about what happened to anyone nor would Lilly be so quick to offer advice on her sexlife...
I can see Lilly as someone Misha would turn to, but not so fast and not so completely.

That may be true, but since this was a response to a writing prompt, got to make the point across. I guess you can see this as a scene from a family sitcom, where someone's problem can be solve in a single scene from a family or friend.

Another one shot in response to the Monday Musings from the KS Subreddit.
I also don't remember Hanako's speech pattern, so apologizes in advance if it sounds force along with SPaG issues.
Also a little update on my Molly fanfic. I have the next scene planned out already and written the first part of it. Also have a interlude planned written, but waiting to hear back from my editor. Thanks a lot for your patience and interest in my fanfic.
Thanks.
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Hanako paused, making sure to jot all of her notes down on the legal pad. Her first real scoop since she had joined the Newspaper club and it fell right into her lap. Literally. Hanako paused, wondering if her journalistic rights extended to taking pictures, but decided to snap a shot anyway for posterity’s sake. Hanako was content to walk away and report back until she remembered that an interview would probably serve her article well.

“Come on Hanako, this is your chance to prove to Natsume and Naomi what you can do,” I whisper to myself.

I turn around and approach the old man who runs the shop. He has gray goatee that compliments his gray hair. He looks somewhat intimidating with his vacant stare, but he didn’t mind me taking pictures of his antiques. “E-e-excuse me sir, b-but is it o-okay if I ask…you some questions? It’s for…my school’s newspaper,” I ask shaking the pad in my hand.

“Sure, no problem. Would you like some tea? This is around the time and it would be nice to have some company,” he invites in calm raspy voice.

“I w-w-would like some tea. T-thank you.”

We enter his shop the air inside the place is still. The antiques around the shop have dust on them that seem to be as old as the antiques themselves. I look around again and see the shelf of porcelain dolls that I took a picture of. I think this is the place where Hisao and Lilly bought my gifts and most likely the music box Lilly got.

I follow the old man up to the counter before he walks behind the curtains. He looks back to me and smiles faintly, “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”

“I-it’s not that. W-what about any…customers?”

“I don’t get much of them anymore. You are the first person that came in a couple of days, I think it’ll be alright to have the store unintended.”

He pours the tea in the old teacup. It looks to be an antique tea set being brought to life to be useful once more. He hands me the cup and saucer, and I feel my hands shake trying to be careful not to drop such a delicate piece. He takes a seat across from me, adding sugar to his cup before staring at me. I feel like he’s staring right into me and I begin to feel like he’s looking at my scars. A lot people were staring at me along the way, and I’m surprise I made it this far without freaking out too much. The old man breaks away his stare by taking a sip from his tea. I do the same. The tea is really good. It tastes like one of the flavors Lilly uses when something good has happened. Maybe he had something good happened to him as well.

“I’m sorry for staring at you,” he breaks the silence. “It’s just you look like my daughter and I haven’t seen her in a really long time. The last time I saw her, she was about your age, maybe a little bit younger. I can’t remember, it’s been twenty-three years since she and her mother left.” He looks down at his tea.

“W-w-what happened t-to them, if…I may a-ask?”

He looks up and smiles faintly. “I haven’t talk to anyone about this, but I first opened up this shop forty-five years ago. I open this place with my wife, Rie. We were so happy to finally open our own shop after traveling the world, visiting museums and loving pieces of the old world. We thought we can give these antiques a new home. Rie was the one who love the antiques more than me,” he laughs, as if being hit with nostalgia. “She would stay overnight to dust the shelves and rearrange items for a better feng shui to bring good fortune.”

“Did it ever w-w-work? The…feng shui,” I ask, feeling tense to ask a question in the middle of his story.

He closes his eyes while taking another sip. He thinks over the question and a smile reappears. “I guess it did. Eventually, she became pregnant four years later and gave birth to our daughter Akiko. She was the world for my wife and I. I loved her so much.”

‘W-w-what happened to her?”

“Rie had to stay at home because of her new responsibilities, so I had to watch the store on my own. Business began to slow down and money stopped coming in like it used to. Eventually we had to sell our home to make ends meet. My wife started to become frustrated because I became invested in this shop instead of my family.”

“I-i-it must have been hard for…everyone.”

“She eventually had enough and took Akiko and left me,” he sighs, he eyes droop. “This old man has no more tears to shed sadly. I wanted to help my family by working my ass off to make ends meet, but that was my Achilles heel so to speak.”

“A-a-achilles heel?” I ask. I never heard that phrase before.

“My flaw. Loving my family to make ends meet, I forgot to put them ahead of anything else but this shop was my top priority. When they left me, I moved in this shop to save money. I continued to run this shop because I didn’t have anyone one to come home to.”

“D-do you regret p-putting work ahead of your…family?” finishing up my tea.

He takes the cup and looks at me to see if I want more. I nod my head and he pours me another cup along with a cup for himself. The old man stands up and walks towards a bookshelf. He grabs a picture frame and stares at it for a while. Walking back to the table, he hands me the picture. I grab it and look at it. It’s a picture of a family, most likely his. He and his wife are smiling while holding a little girl above his head. She does kind of look like me.

“Every day, I wish I could go back in time to spend more time with them. One day, Akiko walked into the shop. It took me awhile to recognize her but I was taken aback. I hugged her tightly and didn’t want to let go. I missed her so much. We talked for a little bit before she had to leave. She was leaving Japan to study in Europe. Rie was there as well, but I guess she never forgiven me, and I couldn’t blame her,” he pauses, as if the words are caught in his throat.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.”

“F-for what?”

“For listening to an old man ramble about his sad life. I never had the chance to tell anyone. All of my friends moved on from this world and Rie and Akiko never came back. I hope for the best of them every day, and wish they would walk back inside this store, back into my life.”

“N-no worries,” I reassure him. Hearing his story put me at ease. I never thought someone could be so lonely like me.

“I’m sorry, but we never had the interview,” he mentions.

“Oh! I completely forgot. B-but I think I got everything I wanted t-to know. I-i-is it okay i-if I tell y-your story.”

“I would like that. I hope this would be useful to teach the younger generation that family is important, no matter what.”

We walk out of the antique shop and the old man smiles at me. “You are a very nice person to hear an old man ramble on.”

“T-t-thank you,” is all I could say. I feel my cheeks heat up from his compliment.

“Also, you are a very beautiful girl and I hope that you meet someone special to spend your life with. I know the world can be unforgiving.”

“I-I-I know about that sir.”

He cocks his head for a bit and lets out a dry chuckle, “I’m sorry. I forgot all about your scars.”

I smile before I head back to Yamaku.

“I’m sorry. I forgot all about your scars.”

All my feels. Great job!

What a righteous old dude! Fantastic little piece, Path! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Her first real scoop since she had joined the Newspaper club and it fell right into her lap.

So... What was the scoop she was thinking about in the beginning?

swampie2 wrote:“I’m sorry. I forgot all about your scars.”

All my feels. Great job!

I was trying to have a lighthearted pick me up not induce feels

Sharp-O wrote:What a righteous old dude! Fantastic little piece, Path! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks! I like the antique shop guy. He reminds of an old man who goes to McDonald's by my house everyday. My friends and I wonder what's his story was and he became something of an urban legend to us on what he does for a living I also like when characters tell their story to another character.

Mirage_GSM wrote:

Her first real scoop since she had joined the Newspaper club and it fell right into her lap.

So... What was the scoop she was thinking about in the beginning?

Whatever you want it to be because I honestly can't say or know why it made this idea popped in my head.

So in the beginning she was all excited about some really great scoop, and then she immediately forgot about it in favour of the sob story of some old guy nobody except Hisao and Lilly at her school know, and she's going to try to sell Naomi on printing it in the school newspaper?

Mirage_GSM wrote:So in the beginning she was all excited about some really great scoop, and then she immediately forgot about it in favour of the sob story of some old guy nobody except Hisao and Lilly at her school know, and she's going to try to sell Naomi on printing it in the school newspaper?

Well the first paragraphs of these one-shots are the writing prompts and I get random ideas that popped in my head like the first one-shot I posted. So with this one, I kind hit me that she was getting a scoop of the area of the antique shop is being closed down in favor of building a mall or something. Though now I'm thinking a scoop about the library being vandalize can be a better story now I just get random ideas when I see these prompts, so some are going to be a stretch and seem to not follow the prompt

THere's nothing wrong with working off some random ideas once in a hie, but I think this one needed a bit more thought put into the details. Not knowing what Hanako's scoop was does affect the rest of the story.

Random idea of a story popped in my mind while listening to some music. Though the original plot was different, though the idea was the same, with another idea happening when writing it. Hoping it turned out okay. Feedback and criticism are welcome.

Thanks.



Eyes Without a Face

The last lock makes the familiar “clack” sound as the other fourteen locks that preceded it. Grabbing onto the bronze-colored doorknob, I open it to leave my anti-feminist safe house and out on their territory. I lock the door behind me, but not before setting up my traps. Got to make sure that silent dictator and her pink hair banshee won’t infiltrate it. Can’t let them know what I know about their plans for this so-called school.

I take a few steps forward, before I meet another door in front of me. Hisao might be in there for once and I need to talk to him about some stuff. He hid his money last time I broke into his room, and I need some to restock my whiskey supplies. I ball up my right hand and begin to knock at his door. No reply. I try again. Nothing. Shit, this is bad. Once more. Same as before. They must have gotten him.

“Whatever. I guess I have to use my money to buy the whiskey,” I mumble to myself in the empty hallway. I turn to my left and walk towards the exit.
___________________________________________________

“Here you go kid,” the old man hands me the plastic bag. “Just don’t drink it all once.”

“Yeah, no promises sir. Here’s your cut of the deal,” reaching into my coat pocket, I give him a 1000 yen note.

“Thanks. Have a good one,” he walks away into the late evening.

The sun began to set while I was waiting for this old man to buy me whiskey. It took longer than expected, but I guess it wasn’t in vain. I open up the bag and hold the square shape whiskey bottle up to my face to read the label under the light post I’m leaning against. A brand I haven’t seen in a while. This is one of my favorites. Stuffing it back into the bag along with the other whiskey bottles I manage to get, I make my way back up the hill to enjoy a whiskey dinner.

I begin my hike back up the hill before I hear a familiar voice while passing a building. It makes me stop in my tracks.

“Welcome to the Shanghai! Thank you for stopping by at our restaurant,” the voice welcomes her guests.

I must be imagining things. It can be her. It couldn’t. I thought she only worked at the school’s library? Well it can’t be her. Must be tripping, or maybe it’s the damn feminist trying to lure me out. I can’t let my guard down for anyone, especially her. She’s one of them. I trusted her, but she stole my part of my life and I can’t let that happen again.

Picking up the pace when I reach the bottom of the hill, I can’t stop thinking about her and the times we spent together. The time when we first met at the library, my vision was a lot better than they are now. It must have been her first week there when we first met because she was a nervous wreck. But there was something about our first encounter that felt like those moments in those romance movies. The love at first sight… well now I know it is part of their ways to get unsuspecting guys to fall for them to do their bidding. I was unfortunate to succumb by her, but I guess she was still an amateur because I didn’t fall for such tactics. Then again, I did felt an attraction to her though.

The school sits on top of the hill and I make my way through the giant metal gates. Leaving freedom and back behind enemy lines I go. I have to take extra precaution now, everyone is the enemy now. One false move and I could be in some deep shit. Picking up my pace to reach the boys’ dorm, I suddenly run into something or someone as I see the color pink appear in front of me. Sound of a thud tells me that they hit the floor.

“Sorry. I was in a hurry to my dorm,” I reach out my hand to help them up.

“Well watch where you’re going next…oh, it’s you Setou,” the voice calls out before I hear a familiar laugh. “Wahaha~! It’s good to see that you are still alive. Your attendance has been a concern for your teachers, that they ask the Student Council to check it out,” she grabs my hand. Her hand is soft and pleasant to the touch.

I flinch. Damn this pink hair feminist and her position in this hell hole. Wait! If she is here, then her leader must be here too. That stuck up bitch. She thinks she is too good for anyone to even talk to. “Where is the other one? The so called President?” but she was more of a dictator than anything else.

“Shicchan is busy with other matters,” she replies, but I can’t help but shake off the feeling that she is feeling down. Her voice is as ear shattering as it is usually is when she comes to see Hisao.

“So is it just you then? Well if you want to talk about my absences, it’s because I’ve been sick with a terrible cold and I didn’t want to get my fellow classmates infected.”

“A cold?” she appears in my view again and I take a step back. “Wahaha~! If you were sick, then why haven’t you informed anyone?”

“Because I don’t see it a big deal to inform officials about a common cold,” this women is testing me.

“Well it is good that you are feeling better now. I can expect you to resume class tomorrow then?”

“Yes,” I let out in a groan.

I begin to make my way back to my dorm before I notice something is off. Shit! My bag! I must have dropped it when I ran into that banshee. I turn around before I see pink again.

“You dropped your bag Setou and I was going to return it to you.”

“Thanks. Can I have it now?” sticking out my right hand for the bag.

“I would gladly like to return your bag, however, the Student Council forbids students to possess alcoholic beverages on school campus. I am now force to get rid of this and have to report you to the principal,” she tells me.

“Please don’t do that! I’ll go to class from now on if you give me back my bag.”

“I’m sorry but it is my duty as a member of the Student Council to report this.”

“Fuck you and the Student Council! Especially that stuck up bitch of a president!” letting out my frustration.

Silence, except for the sound of the cicadas in the distance. It feels like an eternity has pass and I feel like I should apologize before this gets any worse.

“Look, I’m sorry for yelling at you but I need my whiskey to help me get through the day. Can you please give me back my bag and forget this ever happen?” trying my best to sound convincing.

“Well I guess I can give you back your bag, as it was rude of me to go through someone’s property without permission. There is one thing I have to ask you to do before I can give you back your “medicine”. Wahaha~!” my ears are overwhelm be her laughter that I have to cover them.

“What is the favor?”

“Share a bottle with me. The Student Council has been having troubles lately and I could use a drink.”

“I guess sharing one bottle is worth it, but where though? My dorm is a not an option for anyone besides me.” I can’t let her get to my plans to stop the feminist.

“How about the roof? I have a key for the main building for Student Council reasons.”

“Okay but try anything funny and I have call of this deal off. I rather face the principal than that cold hearted bitch.”

“Wahaha~!” she pauses. “She can be cruel at times. Well anyway, let’s head out to the roof.”
___________________________________________________

If someone told me that I would be spending my night drinking whiskey with one of the she devils on the rooftop, then I would had to tell kidnap them to extort any reason why they would say such things. But here I am, sharing a bottle with the second in command. I should be on my guard, but for some reason, she is pretty harmless. She hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary, so I feel at ease.

“And Shicchan got real upset and stormed out of the room. Wahaha*hic*ha~!” she slur her words as she finishes her story.

“Bet she was pissed about that for a week.”

“She was. *hic* She keeps bringing it up every time I order soup.”

We sit on the rooftop in silence after her story ends. Sitting side by side, we pass the bottle back and forth like it’s a cigarette. I take a swig and the once burning feeling in my throat fades after each sip. This feels nice in an old familiar way, when I was with her. After bowling we would go back to my dorm and lay in my bed to unwind. How I miss that. How I miss her.

“You have good taste in alcohol,” she breaks the silence.

“I’m surprise that you can hold your liquor, Mikado.”

“Miiiiiiiiiisha. I told you to call me Misha, Kenchan.”

“My name is Kenji. Don’t call me that again, or I have to cut you off.”

“You do that and I’m afraid Shicchan will be all over your ass before you know it.”

Is that a threat? Damn her, but I like her style. She knows when to bend the rules in her favor. If she wasn’t working for one of them, then I could enjoy sharing a drink with her another time. But this is a one-time deal.

“Fine call me whatever you like. Not like this is going to happen again anyway.”

“Why? You’re not having a good time? I’m enjoying this. Shicchan is always by the book to enjoy a little booze. *hic* But you on the other hand, you’re a blast to share a drink. Plus your conspiracy theories are interesting. Especially Shicchan having ties to the Yakuza.”

She scoots closer to me. I fidget in my seat as she rests her head on my shoulder. She must be trying to do something funny and probably did this as a setup to capture me for information.

“What are you doing?” I ask for my own safety.

“It’s getting cold, so I thought *hic* I thought I get closer to you to stay warm,” she grabs the bottle.

Now that she mentions the cold, my hands are getting numb. I rub them to create some heat between them. If I am getting cold just now, then Misha must be freezing, especially in that uniform. I sit up and unbutton my school jacket and hand it her. She grabs it and lays it on her like a blanket. A smile forms on her face as she wraps herself up.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Aren’t you cold?”

“I’m fine. As long as I have my scarf, I should be alright,” I reassure her.

“It’s a nice scarf. Where did you get?” she leans on my shoulder.

“It was a gift.”

“From who?”

“Aren’t you full of questions now?”

“Wahaha~! Well it must be important because you seem to wear it despite the summertime. Was she special to you?”

“Why do you think it was a she?”

“Because I doubt someone would like receiving clothes as gifts from their parents,” she giggles. It’s a change of pace from her usual ear shattering laugh.

I let out a laugh of my own, “Guess you do got a point there. She was special. I met her here at this school. It was at the library where I first met her. She looked lost there that I had to help her out. I’ll never forget that day.”

I continue to think over that faithful encounter in my mind before I am interrupted by a sound. I look down and find the source of the sound. Misha position her head to rest on my lap. I must have been lost in thought because I hadn’t notice her move, but here she is snoring. The last swig must have done it for her. She’s knocked out. I try to wake her up by shaking her gently but it’s futile. Can’t really leave her like this as much as I like to because if I leave now, I might get caught by the school’s guard. That can end badly considering its curfew and I’m drunk. The other reason is if I leave her like this she might rat me out to her boss and I’m a dead man.

Not much of options for me to get out of this. The only best option I have is to get some sleep. Getting into a more comfortable position without disturbing my unlikely drinking partner, I’m left alone on this summer night to the sound of Misha snoring on my lap. I take off my thick frame glasses and let out a sigh. Soon after, alcohol or fatigue takes over my body, as I drift off to sleep.