Katawa Shoujo Forums

"I'm just gonna write this lone one-shot, then get back to my main route and never deviate from it again."
WRONG.
"I can just keep making threads for each new one-shot, and link them all in my signature."
ALSO WRONG.
"Maybe I should scrap this one-shot. After all, I don't really have room for it."
VERY WRONG.

Well, it's been a terribly circuitous route, but I'm finally making a one-shot thread, just like everyone else. Perhaps I should've known this would happen eventually, but my foresight is nothing if not atrocious - luckily, I'm very good at apologizing. So, sorry for the weird format and everything, but better late than never, am I right? Anyways, you're here for the stories (spoilers contain warnings):

• Destroyer - 3,300 words disturbing content
  Takato hatches a plan to woo the love of his life.

• Dark Winter Sky (S8 Submission) - 4,300 words
  The holidays bring a visitor to the Ibarazaki household.

• Dreamy - 23,000 words disturbing content, sexual content
  Hisao spends Sunday with his closest connection at Yamaku.

• Project Blue Curtain (S9 Submission) - 21,000 words
  Emi's strange new job only gets stranger.

• Undercover Journalism (Pairing Contest Submission) - 6,000 words sexual content
  Hanako gets some juicy details about the track team.

• Brief Exchanges (Pairing Contest 2 Submission) - 14,000 words sexual content
  Hisao's weekend is enlightening and terrifying.

• Dead of Night (Pairing Contest 3 Submission) - 500 words
  Yuuko's late-night shopping stokes her imagination.

• The Longest Road (Pairing Contest 4 Submission) - 2,400 words
  Hisao, dealing with relationship issues, gets involved in some much-needed pep talks.

• Someone (Pairing Contest 5 Submission) - 4,400 words
  Miki devises a plan to get Emi out of the funk she's in.

• Someone Part 2 (Pairing Contest 6 Submission) - 3,900 words
  Emi is a hero, even if she doesn't feel like it.

• The Waiting Games (SX Submission) - 4,600 words
  Emi learns to pass the time with a friend.

• Nudge to Nurture (Pairing Contest 7 Submission) - 5,300 words
  Hisao gets advice about his social life from an odd place.

• In the Know (Pairing Contest 8 Submission) - 2,100 words
  Shizune meets with the Satou sisters, who have rather different viewpoints.

• The Slightest Nudge (Pairing Contest 9 Submission) - 2,300 words
  Hanako and Hisao both look to Lilly for guidance, and she obliges.

• Path of Least Resistance (Pairing Contest 10 Submission) - 14,000 words potentially disturbing content
  No matter how powerful they are, the girls of Yamaku still need each other.

• Rising Steam (S11 Submission) - 9,800 words
  Natsume and Naomi, along with Saki and Rika, make plans for the holiday break.

• Disconnection (S12 Submission) - 13,000 words sexual content
  An accident at Yamaku sets the scene for the ride of Kenji's life.

• Worlds Apart (S13 Submission) - 14,000 words potentially disturbing content
  Yamaku's dorms suddenly get much more crowded - but getting out won't be easy.

• Happy With Yourself (S14 Submission) - 3,900 words
  Misha learns how to feel alive, and then some.

Well, here it is - and it’s been a long time coming. Those of you who follow my main route, COM(promise), might have noticed a lack of updates the past few months. This was, for once, intentional: after the most recent chapter, I realized that I wanted to take a little break. I love that story, but spending all of my time on such a small cast of characters, sticking to one storyline, got me into a bit of a rut. I started questioning my own story decisions, because I spent so much time with them that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to see their flaws. This story was, essentially, my way of taking a break. Originally, it was supposed to be a short break, just a little one-shot, but it ran a bit long. 23000 words and seven chapters long.

As well as being a break from the norm, I also wanted to write this story to give myself some more practice. As mentioned, my main route gives me plenty of experience with a small set of characters, but I wanted to branch out a bit. Also, I needed practice with smut (consider this your mature content warning) before moving on with my main route. Not that I think there’ll be any similarities between the two - they’re far too different - but the extra experience couldn’t hurt.

Finally, let me add a brief warning about this story: there are parts of it that don’t make sense on their own, and require the rest of the story to explain them. You might not even know which parts you’ve missed/misunderstood unless you read through to the end. As such, I’d request that you refrain from commenting on the story until you’ve finished it - or at least, if you can’t finish it, let me know in your response where you stopped.

Anyways, with all that out of the way, here’s Dreamy!

1. Noise (this post)
2. Epic
3. Command
4. Serenity
5. Flow
6. Power
7. Surface

Dreamy

1 - Noise
Hisao leaned back, an empty plate in front of him. Across the table, Misha was gobbling down a parfait - she had spent the last 10 minutes telling the story of how she and Shizune had first met, while Hisao slowly ate his food. Now that the story was over, however, Misha could focus on her own food - and focus she did. Hisao, somewhat impressed and moreso amused, took a moment to think over Misha’s story. It had made sense, but it hadn’t explained what he really wanted to know: why Misha was here at Yamaku. Sure, this was only their first date, so he wasn’t exactly expecting to learn all of her deepest secrets, but this one thing in particular had really been bugging him as of late.

Then again, maybe he was overthinking it, as he often did - it was entirely possible that Misha had never told him simply because it wasn’t anything interesting. He considered asking, but before he could entertain the idea further, Misha finished eating. “Ah, that was amazing~! I love the food here.”

Hisao smiled, putting aside the question on his mind. “So, are you glad you came?”

Misha giggled softly, which was uncharacteristic of her, and gave Hisao pause. “Oh Hicchan, you know I don’t care about where we go or what we eat. What’s important,” she said as she leaned forward on the table, “is who you’re with.” Once more, her attitude proved infectious, and Hisao couldn’t help himself from suddenly feeling all fuzzy inside.

Carefully, slowly, he reached across the table and put his right hand on Misha’s left. It was warm and soft, just like Misha herself. Just like he needed her to be. He looked up, into her eyes, and the two of them lost themselves in each other, smiling contentedly, for as long as they could. Unfortunately, their gazes were eventually interrupted by Yuuko, who asked if they were finished, and took their plates when they both nodded. Shortly after, Hisao and Misha got up, still holding hands, and started walking up the hill to Yamaku.

Hisao once again began thinking about Misha - how much was there still to learn about her? Not just why she was here at Yamaku, but her whole personality, as well? Her light giggle earlier had hinted at something Hisao had only caught glimpses of, only dared to imagine for a few moments: the real Misha. Behind the raucous laughter, behind the never-ending smiles and playful attitude, was there... something else? Someone restrained, or even sad? Hisao turned to his right, preparing himself for any possibility, but instead saw only a smiling face, whose smile grew even larger once it noticed he was watching.

“Misha, I never see you anything but happy. Don’t you ever feel... sad? Depressed?”

This caused Misha to furrow her eyebrows in thought. “Well, yeah, sometimes I do get kind of sad.” Her smile quickly returned. “But then I think about my friends, and they make me happy. Especially you!” She took her hand from Hisao, then wrapped both of her arms around one of his, hugging it close to her chest as they walked. “No matter how bad anything gets, if I have you, I know I can make it.”

Her words struck Hisao hard, causing all sorts of feelings to manifest inside of him. Love, of course, was prevalent, but he also found a sense of duty - a desire to protect. If he really could help Misha ward off any ailment, then he would be sure to do so at every opportunity.

Eventually the two of them made it back to Yamaku, Misha still clinging to Hisao. Shortly after crossing through the front gates, they reached a particular junction in the pathway - to their left were the boys’ dorms, and to their right, the girls’. Hisao began to think of how to say goodbye, but was stopped by a tugging on his arm - Misha, a pleading smile on her face, was pulling him with her, towards the girls’ dorm. Hisao didn’t give himself much time to think, but nonetheless came to the conclusion that there wasn’t really any reason not to follow - so he followed.

The walk to Misha’s room wasn’t far, but it seemed to take much longer for Hisao, who grew incredibly nervous as he walked through the girls’ common room. The occasional stray glance or curious eye from the residents of the dorm caught him with Misha on his arm - heading up to her room, no less. Still, he tried his best to maintain a straight face, though he felt his cheeks turning red. Eventually, they turned the final corner, and Misha pointed out two empty rooms on one side of the hall, then Shizune’s and her own on the other. She unlocked hers, and the two of them went inside.

Hisao was somewhat surprised by how much decoration adorned the walls - many posters, each of a different movie, show, or band, plastered the small room, though the only one he recognized was one with the rock group Orange Range on it. The posters seemed to make the room much more vivid, compared to his own drab room back in the other dorm. Hisao realized, however, that while most of the wallspace was covered, one wall remained blank. The wall to his right, which separated this room from Shizune’s, had no decorations on it at all. He tried to think why that might be, but didn’t get very far before Misha’s voice drew his attention. “So, do you like it?”

Hisao looked at Misha to see her sitting on the end of her bed, and he walked over to join her. “Yeah, it feels vibrant. It’s a lot more interesting than my room.”

Misha laughed her loud, characteristic laugh, evidently having recovered from her soft giggle earlier. Hisao wasn’t really sure why she was laughing, but he laughed along, if only a little. Before he finished, however, Misha had leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. She then wrapped her arms around his torso and nuzzled her head into his neck. “Hisao, I really do love you.” Her words echoed through her chest, softly rubbing Hisao’s arm. “And I really do need you, sometimes.”

Hisao, incredibly moved by her words, lifted Misha’s chin until their eyes met. “Misha, you know that I love you too.” They both smiled, then silently came to an accord. Hisao leaned down, and Misha reached up, the two of them closing their eyes. Eventually, their lips met, and they bestowed a soft, slow kiss upon each other.

From the moment it started, Hisao knew that he didn’t want it to end. Luckily for him, he felt Misha put her hands around his head, pulling him closer, fastening them together. In return, Hisao wrapped his arms around Misha, hugging her tightly. After a few seconds like this, Misha gently pushed Hisao backwards, and they both fell onto the bed, Hisao lying on his back with Misha on top of him. Building on the already passionate kiss, their tongues now began to adventure, searching for further pleasure. Just as Hisao thought he was getting used to the situation, Misha reached down and began unbuttoning his shirt.

This made him tense. He wasn’t used to showing people his chest, due to the large scar over his heart. Furthermore, it suddenly dawned on him how far he and Misha had come, which in turn made him wonder how far they were going to go. But, he reasoned, if Misha was going to lead the way, then he would gladly follow. Just as he thought this, Misha undid the last button on Hisao’s shirt, then pulled her head back and smiled at him. “You okay, Hicchan? You seem a bit preoccupied.” Hisao was about to try and explain when Misha opened his shirt, revealing his scar. Hisao tried for a moment to stutter something about his scar, about how he got it, about how ugly it was, but when he looked up at Misha, he found only the same warm smile that he had come to enjoy.

“Don’t worry about your body, Hisao,” Misha whispered into his ear, “it’s amazing.” Hisao blushed, and found himself trying to avoid eye contact. While he wasn’t looking, however, Misha grabbed his right hand and pulled it downwards, onto her stomach, under her skirt, beneath her panties. Hisao’s eyes went wide, and he had no choice but to look back into Misha’s eyes as she nodded, a cheeky grin egging him on. “What are you waiting for~?”

Unable to pass up such a challenge, he put his left hand around Misha’s head and pulled her down into another kiss, while his right hand felt around Misha’s crotch, trying to get its bearings. He was no expert, by any means, but he was nonetheless determined to perform above and beyond Misha’s expectations. So, doing his best to juggle control of his lips and his hand, he began to rub, slowly, deliberately. His hand felt hot, stuffed between Misha and her clothes, but he did his best to ignore it and focus on feeling around before finally, slowly, pushing his middle finger in. Misha hummed pleasantly at the sensation, and Hisao realized that her lips were moving slower - she was having trouble focusing on them. He decided to follow up quickly, moving his finger faster, tracing across Misha’s insides.

It proved an effective strategy, and before long Misha pulled her head back, breaking their second kiss, breathing heavily. Hisao took this opportunity to redouble his efforts, inserting his index finger as well, and before long Misha began moaning. At first, it was soft, but it grew in intensity, grasping at the relative silence that took over when she inhaled. Before Hisao could consider going in for a finishing blow, however, Misha worked up the strength to roll off of him, the two of them disconnecting and lying on their backs. She turned to face him, her smile even wider than before, and began pushing out words between her sharp breaths. “Hicchan... I want more... More than your fingers...”

Hisao stopped to wonder whether he was dreaming. Or perhaps he had died and gone to heaven. Before he could consider this much, however, Misha began fondling the noticeable bulge in his pants, then unbuttoned and unzipped them. Hisao, his movements hurried and awkward, took off his pants and then his underwear, then finally removed his socks as almost an afterthought, leaving him completely naked. He felt embarrassed for a moment, but quickly forgot such petty things when he saw Misha removing her panties and tossing them aside, leaving her exposed on the bed in front of him.

Hisao kneeled over her, his legs to each side of hers, then leaned down and began unbuttoning her shirt, while simultaneously rubbing himself against her. He could see her grow impatient, squirming a little underneath him, but he refused to move any further until he had removed her shirt, and then her bra for good measure. Finally, after leaning in close to her, his hands caressing her breasts, Hisao slowly but firmly thrust into Misha for the first time, and she tightened up around him, a long yell escaping her mouth.

Hisao wondered for a moment whether someone had heard them - after all, that had been fairly loud - but he soon remembered that they were in a pretty good place, all things considered. The only other person living in this hall was Shizune, who was, of course, deaf. Confident that they were safe to be noisy, he carefully pulled back a few inches, then thrust in again, trying his best to judge Misha’s reaction. To his surprise, Misha was smiling, and moaned loudly this time, her eyes closed but her eyelids fluttering.

Pleased that Misha seemed to be handling things well, Hisao started to thrust more, trying to approximate a rhythm, then increase its tempo. Below him, Misha was positively glowing with pleasure, and she began to call out. “Yes! Oh, god, YES Hisao!” Her voice, now almost at shouting level, seemed to pierce Hisao’s head, reverberating between his ears, but he was glad to let it do so. He let every affirmation from Misha fuel him, giving him strength. In turn, Misha grew louder. “FUCK! DO YOU FEEL IT?” she shouted, now louder than Hisao had ever heard her. He wanted to reply to her question, but couldn’t work up the strength - not that Misha left him any room to speak, as her voice continued to echo throughout the room. “YES! YOU HEAR THIS, BITCH?” Her words were becoming harder and harder to handle, each one causing pain in Hisao’s temple that outdid even the pleasure he felt, to the point where he could barely even understand her. “HISAO! YOU FEEL AMAZING INSIDE ME, HISAO!”

This last yell caused Hisao to bring his hands up to his forehead, trying desperately to counter the pain with pressure. When he regained some sense, he noticed that he had stopped thrusting, though he was still buried in Misha. “Hisao?” she asked flatly, not entirely sure why he had stopped. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, although it hurt a little to do so. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just zoned out a bit.”

Misha’s smile returned, and with a vengeance. “Well, since we’re stopped for the moment anyways, why don’t we try shaking things up a bit~?” She wiggled one eyebrow, and Hisao knew he couldn’t say no.

Misha got up, disentangling herself from Hisao, then took his hand and pulled him over to the barren wall behind her bed. She stood with her back against it, then pulled Hisao close, urging him to continue. Hisao carefully placed himself inside Misha again, then braced himself against the wall with both hands before starting to thrust again, from the beginning. Before long, however, he was back up to a good pace, and Misha’s frantic moans began anew. She placed her arms over Hisao’s shoulders, then lifted her legs up and wrapped them around him, leaving her weight held up only by Hisao and the wall behind her, which now jumped a little with every thrust.

Hisao wasn’t sure whether he was strong enough to hold Misha up like this, but any doubt was quickly overcome by pleasure, accompanied by an intense feeling of closeness with Misha. Shortly thereafter, however, her voice picked up again, still incredibly loud. “YES! YES! HARDER, HISAO!” Once again, Hisao’s head was tested by the incredible noise, but he vowed to power through it this time. He would follow. He would protect. And by god, he would finish Misha off, no matter what - almost as soon as he thought this, his test continued, and Misha kept yelling. “FUCK! BET YOU CAN HEAR THIS, CAN’T YOU, BITCH?” Hisao found himself no longer able to interpret Misha’s words - no matter, there was little more she could tell him about what was happening.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hisao began to see the rest of the room vibrate along with his thrusts - was he getting more powerful? “HISAO, FUCK YES, YOU’RE MINE!” As Misha yelled, beyond what Hisao had even thought possible, his vision blurred slightly. The whole room was shaking - not just due to his thrusts, but also because of the sheer energy leaving Misha’s mouth, he was sure. “YOU HEAR THAT, SLUT? HE’S MINE!” Misha took her right arm off of Hisao’s shoulders, formed a fist with her hand, and begin banging on the wall behind her fervently, completely out of time with Hisao’s thrusts, but with great force. “I WIN, YOU DUMB WHORE! I WIN!”

The next time Misha’s fist contacted the wall, Hisao swore that he saw a dent forming - after only a moment, though, he closed his eyes, blocking out the world around him, as he felt himself nearing climax. He worried for a moment, but felt Misha trembling against him, and knew this was the right time. “HISAO! HISAO, I’M-” The words seemed to claw at his ears. “I’M GONNA-” He felt a trickle of liquid run from each ear, but quickly passed it off as sweat, driving himself forwards, his frantic breaths and rapid pulse pounding in his ears, until finally he felt an orgasm run through him, just as Misha let out the loudest sound Hisao had ever heard, which seemed like it would split him in half - until it stopped. He could feel Misha spasming against him, but his tightly-shut eyes saw nothing, and the whole room suddenly seemed incredibly quiet.

Only a moment later, having crested the peak of his climax, he felt his legs wobble, and then give way. His heart, surprisingly, felt fine, but his stomach churned as he fell backwards, away from Misha, and began to panic. He tried desperately to reach out, to grab onto something, to hold Misha once more... but found nothing. In the deep blackness behind his eyelids, he fell faster and faster, worryingly, gut-wrenchingly, until he sensed that the ground was near, sending a final shock through his body. His stomach clenched and his eyes flung open, jolting him awake.

Above him, the ceiling of his room. Beneath him, the mattress of his bed. He sat up, his brain slowly coming to terms with the world around him, trying to remember. His skin was covered in sweat, making him feel very cold, despite the rays of sun shining through his window. He looked over at the clock on his bedside table, and saw that it was already noon - luckily, it was Sunday, so sleeping in wasn’t a problem. Part of him wanted to stay in bed, to sleep through the whole day, but he knew that more sleep wasn’t going to help. There was only one thing that could really make him feel better, and it wasn’t here in his room.

2 - Epic
Shortly after arriving at Yamaku, Hisao had begun to feel sick. His heart wasn’t coping well, but more than that, he often suffered from fatigue and headaches. Waking up in the morning was an incredible chore, and he felt half-dead in the shower. Luckily, getting to class seemed to perk him up, for the most part, and he was able to stay awake in the classroom without much trouble. This carried over into the afternoon most days, but by the evening he could barely keep his eyes open, and he passed out, succumbing to strange and fitful nightmares, before forgetting them all and starting over the next morning.

He had seen Nurse about this almost as soon as it had happened, partly because it made running in the mornings absolutely impossible. After making sure that Hisao was getting enough sleep and eating right, Nurse had decided to try changing medications. It took a lot of paperwork and correspondence from the nearby hospital, but eventually they began to rotate through different pills, some more benign than others. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, Hisao remained chronically under the weather.

There were still a few options remaining, but sometimes Hisao wondered about just giving them all up. The constant fatigue, the endless barrage of side effects from trying a new medication every week, the simple worry of not knowing why this was all happening... it was almost too much for him to bear. That’s where Hanako came in.

One afternoon, after waking up late in the day and deciding that it wasn’t worth attending class, Hisao had made his way to the library, to pass the time with a book. On the way there, however, he had developed a headache, and resolved to pick up a book and then head home. He had walked in, given Yuuko a brief nod as he went past, and headed for the back. His eyes had been clamped shut, trying to fight off the pain, until a strange scent caught his attention - after taking a moment to focus, he had recognized it as the smell of lavender.

Curious, and feeling strangely comfortable, he had opened his eyes to see Hanako sitting on a nearby beanbag, reading. She had seemed unusually calm, though, and it had calmed him in turn - something about seeing her like that, so far removed from the panicky girl he had met before, had made him feel a bit better. It was simple and wholesome, and for a moment he had simply stopped and reveled in the concept.

After a few seconds, though, Hanako had noticed his gaze. She had briefly frozen, like a deer caught in headlights, but then hurriedly tried to hide behind her book. Before Hisao could kick himself for making her nervous, however, she had looked back over, a small and somewhat strained smile on her face. He had taken this as a sign that sitting next to her was okay, and it was - in fact, surprisingly, she had greeted him then, just as she did now.

“H-Hello, Hisao.”

“Hello, Hanako.” Hisao took his usual seat next to her, and opened up his book, taking a deep breath, which filled his lungs with the floral smell that always seemed to lift his spirits. That first time sitting and talking with Hanako, on a day neither of them could find it within themselves to attend class, had taught him that there was no better medicine than having her around. He could feel himself become happier and more animated; some days, he could swear that she even made his heart feel stronger, much as he knew that such a thing was impossible.

That day, he had also learned that Hanako wasn’t as shy as she first seemed - at least, not with him. It wasn’t uncommon for them to discuss books, or even just daily life, during their time together. “Hisao, you’re s-staying over break, right?”

Ah, yes, the break. There were no classes this coming week, and most students used the time to go home and visit their parents. Hisao, however, had chosen not to. “Yeah, I’m staying here, in the dorms. You are too, right?” His question was out of politeness alone - he knew full well that Hanako would be staying here, though she wouldn’t say why.

“Yeah, I’ll be here all w-week.” Hisao had made sure of this well in advance, because he needed her. Going home might have been somewhat relaxing, but he was so dependent on Hanako’s presence, on the way she made him feel, that he couldn’t bear the thought of a week away from her. He had to stay here. There was simply no other option. Thanks to her, he could focus in class, he could enjoy afternoons, he could imagine himself having a future! He was convinced that he could even wake up every morning and go jogging, if only she were there in bed with-

No. Hisao refused to let his mind wander that far. Hanako was crucially, vitally important to him, and he refused to let his own base desires ruin that. This was easier said than done, though - it seemed that, no matter what he tried, thoughts of her seeped in. At first, it was the sweet smell of lavender, but then it was her lilting voice, and then her smiling face, and recently, her whole body. He was almost afraid to let himself daydream, out of fear that he might stumble upon some new aspect of her to fawn over; luckily, if he ever dreamed about her in his sleep, he never remembered it. Still, he did wonder just how long-

“Hisao?”

Hanako’s voice snatched him from his thoughts. “Huh?”

“Are you... okay? You look t-troubled.”

Evidently his worries were showing. “No, no, just... thinking, is all.”

Hanako looked at him for a bit longer - her gaze was surprisingly powerful, when she wanted it to be - but eventually went back to her book. “Okay.”

Hisao did his best to keep reading the book in his hands, but his eyes seemed to be constantly torn away. He found himself looking over at Hanako more often than at the pages in front of him; this wasn’t a bad book, but he just wanted the girl next to him more. No matter how many times he tried to set himself straight, his subconscious couldn’t help but stare, tracing over the contours of that lovely face... Until, that is, her eyes looked over and met his.

Hisao immediately looked away, praying that she hadn’t caught him. “Um... Hisao?”

Oh no. This was it. This was the end. He might as well give up on life now. “Y-Yes?”

“Have you ever... written a s-story before?”

A wave of relief washed over Hisao, his nervous sweat becoming cold against his skin. “Oh, no, I haven’t. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you read a lot... and I find that writing stories is a lot like reading them. They go hand in hand.”

“You’ve written some stories before?”

Hanako blushed, but nodded, which Hisao found incredibly cute.

“That’s really cool! I’ve never thought about it, but I guess you would be a pretty good writer.”

Their eyes met. “Would you like to... to read some of my stories, Hisao?”

“Yeah, absolutely - I’m interested in what they’re like.”

Hanako smiled, then got up. “Okay. I keep them in m-my room, so...”

Hisao first thought that she was going to go and fetch them, and was ready to wait for her to return, but instead she continued to stare, her eyes pleading with him. After a moment, he realized - she was inviting him over. Without even having time to think on it, he impulsively rose to his feet. “Alright, lead the way!” Hanako smiled, and the two of them set off, leaving the library and heading outside.

It was warm and sunny outside, and Hisao found himself feeling good, but nervous. He had never been to the girls’ dorms, let alone inside a girl’s room. Worse, this wasn’t just any girl’s room - he already had trouble ignoring the thought of Hanako when she wasn’t around, he could barely contain himself when she was there, and now the two of them were going to her room together? The mere concept made him break into another nervous sweat. He tried desperately to stop the ideas floating around his brain, to focus on the ground, or the trees, or-

A hand placed gently on his shoulder. He froze, and looked over to see Hanako staring up at him. “Hisao?”

As the initial shock of her touch wore off, Hisao suddenly noticed his heartbeat ringing steadily in his ears. “Y-Yes?”

“Are you... sure you’re feeling okay? You seem so d-distant.”

He couldn’t let her know how nervous he was. He wanted to go with her, to see what she had to show him. Her stories, that is. Nothing else. Nothing else. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, totally fine.” He smiled, hoping it wouldn’t betray his emotions. “It’s just kind of hot out today, is all.”

Hanako smiled back, and a wave of relief washed over Hisao. She believed him. In fact, after looking around for a moment at the school grounds, empty of students now that the break had started, she moved her hand down to his arm, and then began to walk again, with him in tow.

Hisao felt his heartbeat grow even stronger, but it didn’t feel bad - he was still a little nervous, but something about being with Hanako, especially her touch, was keeping him in check. He silently prayed that his heart wouldn’t give him any problems later on. Because he’d be even more nervous in the girls’ dorms. No other reason. No other reason.

A wave of cool air washed over them as they entered the dorms, and Hisao could feel the sweat on his skin begin to dry. Not that he felt cold - on the contrary, he felt very flushed. His nervous heartbeat, rapid but steady, was pumping heat from his core out into the atmosphere, staying on high alert in case something happened. Instead of anything happening, though, he simply followed the tug of Hanako’s hand up the stairs. His eyes kept flicking left and right, vigilantly scanning for any other signs of life, but the building really was almost empty for the break. Even Lilly, Hanako’s usual companion, had gone to visit her family for the week.

After a few sets of stairs - Hisao wasn’t keeping track - they walked along a corridor, quite similar in design to the one outside his own room, before stopping in front of one of the many doors, which Hanako unlocked and swung open. She stepped inside, but held it open for Hisao to follow. He swallowed nervously as he crossed over the threshold and into a room that seemed paradoxically both full and empty: although the walls were rather plain and bare, there wasn’t a single line of sight that didn’t show him something new. Picture frames on the desk, a calendar hanging on the wall, a plush cow standing next to the bed; there was so much interesting stuff, contained within a room that, to the casual observer, looked so simple.

Letting the door swing closed, Hanako walked up to her bed, knelt down, and reached under it, feeling around for a moment before pulling out a notebook, much like the ones they used in class. Holding it close to her chest, she got up, then sat down on her bed. She flipped through some pages before looking back at Hisao, who was still standing by the door, his body rigid, and shaking ever so slightly. “You can sit down, if you want,” she said, motioning towards the chair at her desk.

Hisao nodded, a bit robotically. “Sure, sure, thanks.” He pulled the chair out a bit, then sat down on it, turning his gaze towards the girl in front of him, who cleared her throat, threw a nervous smile at Hisao, and then began to read.

“The sun was only just beginning to set as the Gilded Dispatch, named for the stripes of color that adorned their plated armor, returned home. Sitting atop pale grey horses, they were met by reverent townsfolk, who cheered for the knights as they trotted towards the High Castle, which served as the capital of the Fleur Kingdom.”

It took Hisao until halfway through the second sentence to realize what Hanako was doing - she was reading her story to him. He had come here to see her story, but instead of simply giving it to him to read, she was reading it out loud. This was unexpected, sure, but maybe it was a good choice: this way, she could move at her own pace, and add in extra intonation, and he could just listen to her voice. As he had been thinking this through, she had still been reading.

“... as the Captain of the Dispatch dismounted, then dropped to one knee, bowing his head to the Princess. She was not really a princess anymore, but she couldn’t yet bring herself to accept coronation as queen of the Fleur Dynasty, and so, for the time being, she kept her old title. She stepped forward and placed one hand on the Captain’s shoulder, then spoke, her voice...”

A hand on the shoulder - Hisao thought back to Hanako putting her hand on his shoulder, and then holding his arm. The sensation was incredible. He realized, suddenly, that he had never actually touched Hanako before. Sure, this had only been through his shirt, but still, it seemed a shame for such a momentous occasion, as it were, to go unnoticed. In addition, he noticed, by looking at her lips, that she wasn’t stuttering; she hadn’t stuttered once, as far as he could remember, since starting her story. These two things in quick succession... could it be that Hanako was coming out of her shell? Was he helping her to do so?

These thoughts, combined with the sound of Hanako’s voice and the view of her lips forming each word, of her eyes scanning the text, of her hands turning the pages every now and then... Hisao lost himself in it all. He barely even registered each sentence, and soon the minutes began to fly by faster and faster as the story continued, floating atop the melodious voice of the girl in front of him.

“... the Captain turned, not sure what to expect, but found that the Princess was still awake, waiting for him. She walked over, her nightgown dragging along the floor, and finally, in the quiet of the night, they found themselves alone together.” She paused for a moment, then blushed, and closed her notebook. “I-I think that’s enough for today.”

Hisao slowly came back to his senses, his heartbeat slowly becoming audible again. It was dark outside - he must’ve been here for a few hours, just listening to Hanako talk, though he couldn’t remember very much of what she had said. Still, he didn’t want it to end. “Aww... Are you sure?”

Hanako shrunk down, blushing. She opened her mouth once or twice, but was unable to get the words out. The sight of her being so shy and reserved immediately disarmed Hisao. “It’s fine, you don’t have to-”

“No, no, I’ll...” Hanako swallowed, committing to the decision. “I’ll k-keep reading.” She looked at her notebook for a moment, then stood up. “I’m g-going to shower first, though. It’s getting late.”

Hisao’s mind immediately began to latch onto the thought of Hanako showering, but he did his best to purge those thoughts. “Okay. I’ll wait here until you’re done.” She grabbed some clothes, presumably her pajamas, and then headed for the bathroom at the end of the hall, leaving Hisao alone in her room.

Alone with his thoughts.

Hanako was showering. She was going to head to the bathroom, slowly remove her clothes, then step under the water, lathering herself- no. Stop it. Hisao couldn’t let all that get to him. She was relying on him, trusting him, especially with Lilly gone for the week, leaving the two of them alone, here, together. And, just like that, his mind strayed again. He was about to try and wrestle it back when a shrill scream split the silence.

Before his mind could begin to process what had happened, or consider what he should do about it, Hisao’s body had sprung into action. He jumped up, bounded out of Hanako’s room, sprinted towards the bathroom, and lowered his shoulder to take the impact as he burst through the door, eyes darting wildly until they landed on the lithe frame of a girl sitting on the ground.

Hanako was still wearing her skirt, but her feet and legs were bare, and she only had a bra on top, having already removed her shirt. Hisao could’ve stood there, looking at her gorgeous pale skin, forever, had something else not caught his attention: the smell of lavender. On the floor next to the beautiful girl in front of him, a bottle of shampoo was laying on its side, with a pastel-purple liquid flowing out of it, filling the air with the floral scent he had come to associate with happiness over the past few weeks.

Hisao felt himself begin to think faster, perhaps... better? His spirits soared, and his whole being felt stronger. He looked at Hanako again, and noticed her clutching one ankle with her scarred hand, her face scrunched in pain. She was hurting. He would give anything to help her. And so, slowly, he stepped forward, knelt down, put one arm under her legs and the other against her back, and lifted her up. He carried her out of the bathroom, down the hallway, and into her room, where he sat on the edge of her bed, leaving her sitting on his lap.

As the moment began to wear off, Hisao once again noticed his heartbeat pounding in his ear. That exertion had sent it wild, and it was now beating faster than he had ever heard it. Strangely, it seemed different, almost melodic, as if it were the drums in a high-tempo piece of music. It took him a second to realize why: it was in time. Every beat sounded at precisely the same time after its predecessor, forming a steady rhythm, the likes of which he had never heard before. His focus was torn away from this realization, however, when he felt a hand on his chest.

He looked over at Hanako’s face, which seemed worried, her eyes gazing directly into his own. “Hisao, are you... alright?”

Hisao’s experience over the past few minutes - the thoughts, the adrenaline, the scent and the sound, the feeling of Hanako’s skin pressing into his own, the very sight of her, and now the thought that she cared so much about him, reached a tipping point. No longer capable of maintaining his composure, he put one hand behind her head and pulled her into a deep kiss, trying to put every last drop of emotion into it, praying that his heart remained as gloriously well-behaved as it had been so far.

After quite some time taking in the texture of Hanako’s lips, a small chunk of sanity returned to Hisao, and he forced himself away. His eyes still closed, he berated himself for giving in. Hanako had meant everything to him, but after something like this... He wished, for a moment, that his heart would flutter, would seize, would stop, if only to kill him quickly. Instead, he continued to hear it beating perfectly, a metronome underlying his heavy breaths, as well as those of the girl on his lap. He couldn’t hide forever. He opened his eyes, resigned to his fate.

Strangely, fate seemed to be smiling, as was Hanako. Her eyes were initially a bit dazed, but she quickly brought them back into focus. She spoke, her voice quiet and shy yet also sultry and longing. “Hisao...”

At last, there was no reason left to stop him. At last, he cast off the chains he had shackled himself with. At last, the emotions within Hisao, from the first moment of awe to the last silken thread of lust, sprung forth, as if filling his whole body with warmth and vigor. There would be no more hiding from himself. There would be no further suppression of desire. There would be only him and Hanako, given to each other by chance, bound to each other by choice. And, as his first act of celebration, he threw her down onto the bed, then crawled over her on all fours, their eyes meeting again.

Hanako was surprised, but pleasantly so - her eyelids fluttered, framing a dreamy look that drew Hisao’s lips down towards her own. He tried his best to focus on their kiss, but the pounding in his ears, as well as the intoxicating smell of the long flowing hair beneath him, pushed him further. He moved one hand across Hanako’s chest, tracing the fabric of her bra, before pushing it up towards her collarbone, exposing her breasts.

Hanako gasped, and Hisao took it as a good sign. He pulled his mouth away, then moved it down towards the enticing pair of nipples below him. One breast was bordered by old scars, rough patches of skin that ran all the way down Hanako’s right flank - he went for this one first. He considered taking it slowly, but couldn’t help himself, and instead worked ferociously to pleasure the beautiful girl beneath him.

He moved one hand to fondle Hanako’s other breast, and pinched it lightly between his thumb and index finger, which caused her to moan quietly, which in turn drove Hisao to try even harder. He moved his other hand down to her skirt, gently rubbing across her crotch, feeling the dainty outlines of her panties. He then realized that, with both hands occupied, he was no longer resting on them - he was managing to keep his torso held out in front of him as he kneeled. The odd part was that his abdomen wasn’t under any strain; he could feel it tensing, but there was no dull ache to accompany it.

As this thought washed over him, Hanako moaned, and Hisao knew he had to do more. He wanted to give her more pleasure, to go further. He tried to grab the edge of her skirt and pull it down, but couldn’t get his fingers under the waist of it - it seemed to be hugging her skin much tighter than he had expected. After a few failed attempts, he lashed out in frustration, grabbing it with both hands and pulling. Suddenly, surprisingly, with a distinctive ripping sound, the garment tore like paper, a rift appearing between his fists.

Hanako squealed in shock, but Hisao quickly moved on. Now that her skirt was gone, only her panties remained between him and his quarry. He grabbed them, intending to simply pull them to one side, which seemed like the quickest option - instead, the cloth straps snapped, the whole assembly came cleanly off, and he tossed it to aside.

Hisao sat up, and found that he seemed to tower over the girl beneath him more than he had before. Half an hour ago, he might’ve questioned why his perspective had shifted so much, or why her clothes had been so flimsy, or why his clothes were now torn - but he didn’t notice any of those things. Beneath him, Hanako looked up, her eyes wide in awe. She looked at Hisao, his skin now open to the air, with the same lust she inspired in him. There was no further recourse possible: he steadied himself, searched briefly for the right position, and then thrust inside, the sensation washing over him like a warm shower as a loud moan graced his ears.

With no time spent to savor the moment, Hisao began a steady pace. Moments later, however, he found this pace to be too slow, and sped up. After a few more seconds, he realized he could go even faster, and did so, which only further increased the number of sweet sounds coming from Hanako, and he felt her tighten up. Now, however, he felt that he wasn’t hitting quite as deeply as he could, so he grabbed her thighs and pulled her in time with his thrusts, which seemed to make her clench harder, holding him tighter.

In fact, with every thrust, and every moan, she gripped harder around him. Desperately searching for further pleasure, for a way to get even closer, he put one hand behind Hanako’s back and lifted her up, which added her own weight to each motion - and yet, that weight seemed quite small, almost imperceptible. In the back of his mind, Hisao suddenly felt like the walls of the room were closing in on them, but he paid it no attention - let the walls come, and break themselves upon him.

He felt himself get close, and closed his eyes, trying to focus on prolonging the experience. Had Hanako already climaxed? Well, thought Hisao, if she had, then he’d make sure she did so again. He increased his pace, put more strength into his motions, and he felt his lover grow tighter and tighter, almost strangling him, until he reached his breaking point, and broke down into a few forceful spasms. He threw his head back and produced a deafening roar, a carnal yell that warned everyone for miles around that the strength of his love was unmatched.

Hisao tried desperately to hold Hanako close to himself, to press themselves against each other, but found it impossible - his grip on her failed, as if she had slipped through his fingers, lost in between them. He desperately reached out, clawing for any sign of her, but found nothing besides empty air. Worse, he could no longer smell the scent of lavender, nor see anything besides pitch black. Emotions churned within him, but eventually he settled on regret and loneliness, and simply lay down on his side, waiting for the end.

After a long time being still, so long he could not remember why he had been there in the first place, a shrill sound pierced the silence, and he threw his eyes open to see his alarm clock going off. He quickly shut it off, but was a little surprised at how much effort it took to perform such a simple task. Then again, he remembered, it was early in the morning - he wouldn’t normally have gotten up this early on a Sunday, but the student council had a backlog of paperwork, and as a member, he was expected to help. Or, rather, if he didn’t help, he’d never hear the end of it, even from his girlfriend. With a sigh, Hisao got up and started his day.

3 - Command
Hisao, Shizune, and Misha had spent all day doing paperwork for the student council, trying desperately to finish this set of forms before the imminent deadline. Eventually, exhausted, they had completed their work, and decided to order in food. Misha had gobbled hers down in a flash, then retired to her room for the night, despite the fact that it was quite early in the evening.

Hisao wasn’t too worried about her, though. She was probably dead tired after all of that work. Besides, given how quickly she had eaten her food, he wouldn’t rule out the possibility that she was developing a stomachache. Whatever the reason, he and Shizune were alone together in the student council room.

It had been a strange transition for Hisao, showing up to Yamaku in the middle of the year. Everyone and everything here was so different, himself included. In all the confusion, there had been one constant: the student council had work to do, and they were always happy to have an extra pair of hands. Even better, they were the ones who knew the ins and outs of the school best - including a few loopholes.

It was thus only natural for Hisao to find himself gravitating towards them. They offered quick, easy answers. No questions of morality or in-betweens; the rules were the rules, and you did what they told you to do. And if the rules didn’t say what to do, then you could do whatever you wanted, as long as it didn’t break any rules. On one hand, this meant that the student council could not give Hisao answers about his future, or his friends, or his love life. On the other hand, there was an implication that any problem they couldn’t answer wasn’t really a problem at all - it was more of a rhetorical question, to be considered but not worried about.

This paradoxically strict yet carefree attitude was what had initially drawn him to Shizune. She seemed like she had simply optimized her life, in a way that Hisao had found almost unbelievable. Through hard work and focus, she had managed to just figure it all out. In an attempt to emulate her success, he had tried and tried to have deep conversations with her, but she always cut him off. Assuming it was because she didn’t want to spend time writing, Hisao had asked her to teach him sign language.

Not long after their first few lessons, they had both independently come to the uncomfortable realization that they were attracted to each other. Inevitably, this resulted in reduced communication and more awkward interactions overall, until one day Shizune presented Hisao with an ultimatum, and they agreed that they’d have to handle it together.

As a result, Hisao came to realize that Shizune was not as composed and omnipotent as he had first thought. The whole idea of a romantic relationship was alien to her, perhaps even more so than it was to him. And when she didn’t know how to handle something, she panicked, at least on the inside. Hisao was actually the voice of reason in these cases - a role which he greatly enjoyed performing. Having an upper hand on Shizune was rare, and to be relished. Moreover, it was nothing she would readily admit to Misha, and so the two of them had basically been doing this whole emotional back-and-forth in secret.

But Hisao didn’t mind. Since he was finished with his food, he looked over at Shizune, and felt himself smile. Ever since her confession, having her around calmed him down. It wasn’t too long, though, until she noticed him watching her eat and signed him a question.

[You’re looking at me. Why?]

[You’re cute.]

‘Cute’ was one of the first signs that Hisao had looked up on his own, and perhaps his absolute favorite. Shizune blushed and turned away, causing Hisao to smile wider. Finally, after spending a moment to gather herself, she replied.

[Thank you.]

[You’re welcome.]

Hisao knew that Shizune wasn’t saying what she was thinking. She was usually quite good at taking compliments, but seemingly had no idea how to handle the fact that he loved her. He kept watching her, content to sit there all night, until she noticed again and got an annoyed look on her face.

Making sure that she could see, Hisao signed to her once more. [You’re angry. Cute.]

He certainly wasn’t fluent in sign language yet, but the meaning was clear, and it caused Shizune to pout before finishing the rest of her food and walking over to sit next to him.

[Don’t you get tired of complimenting me?]

[No.]

[Really? Never?]

[You’re never not cute.]

[You’re an idiot.] Again, Hisao could tell that Shizune’s heart wasn’t in it, especially with her cheeks flushed red again.

[You love an idiot. You’re a big idiot.]

Shizune furrowed her eyebrows and rubbed the bridge of her nose. [You are easily the single biggest source of stress in my life, and that’s saying something.]

Hisao chuckled. [Can I fix your stress?]

Shizune squinted, glaring at Hisao. He briefly wondered if he had taken it a bit too far with that implication. Sure enough, Shizune turned around and stormed over to the door. Hisao sighed, then turned to look out the window, waiting for the sound of the door opening and then being slammed shut.

Instead, he heard only the soft “click” of a lock.

Turning to see what was going on, he saw Shizune walking back towards him, a devious grin on her face.

She stopped in front of him, then took up a haughty pose and began to sign. [Of course, it’s only fitting that you help clean up the mess you’ve made.] With that, she stepped forwards and sat on Hisao’s lap, putting her legs on either side of his torso so that they faced each other. He barely had time to come to terms with the situation before Shizune leaned forwards and kissed him.

Hisao could feel the emotion in her lips, and shortly thereafter, her tongue. She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him forward, cementing the two of them together. Hisao loved seeing her come unhinged like this - it was like watching a dam burst. He became acutely aware of the frantic breaths being drawn through her nostrils, and it made him want her even more.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Shizune pulled back, bedraggled but smiling. She pushed her glasses back up onto the bridge of her nose, trying to recover an air of refinement, then stepped back across the room a few steps and looked at Hisao again.

[Get up.]

A fair enough request. Hisao stood up, about two meters from where Shizune was standing.

[Kneel.]

Not as normal a request, but one he was expecting, and had more than enough experience with. He hesitated, staying on his feet, just to make sure that he could. Most of the time, he was willing to let Shizune boss him around - every now and then, however, he would refuse a command, just to make sure that Shizune hadn’t managed to hypnotize him or something.

Shizune, however, was less concerned with his qualms. [NOW.]

Satisfied that he had passed his own test, and now had only Shizune to please, he knelt down, keeping his hands at his sides. In a way, that was how he ‘kept his mouth shut’ - this position meant that he couldn’t sign, and thus forfeited all conversation to Shizune.

The first time they had been through this whole routine, Hisao had wondered if Shizune wanted to physically restrain him. Instead, she was interested in the exact opposite: Hisao was to restrain himself. The way she saw it, force was the least elegant way to exercise power - anyone could tie up anyone else and claim to have power over them, but the truly powerful could keep their opponents controlled without even touching them. That kind of power did not come from physical strength, but from wealth, from virtue, and in this case, from love.

Of course, Hisao also held power over Shizune. He wasn’t interested in restraining her, though; rather, he wanted to watch what she did, to let her run free. What could be more rewarding than seeing what she did with the support he provided her? What greater pleasure could there be than to watch her live out her fantasies with his help? He found himself barely able to contain his anticipation. The look on her face, the way her hands rested on her hips... What was she scheming? What was her plan of attack?

Her first order of business was to carefully remove her shoes, placing them to the side. Hisao figured out pretty quickly what was coming next; sure enough, she reached under her skirt, grabbed her panties with both hands, and then pulled them down along her legs until they were around her ankles. She took her time stepping out of them, sliding one foot out, then the other. Still facing Hisao, she bent down to pick them up, then placed them by her shoes.

Hisao knew that Shizune was trying to tempt him. The glacial nature of the movements, the way she bent towards him so that he couldn’t see her behind, the fact that she was still wearing her skirt and thus still looked, at least on the surface, fully clothed - she was trying to get him to break rank. He wasn’t having it. Not that she hadn’t succeeded in arousing him; just that he had more than enough self-control to keep his impulses from taking over. He was content to stay there and watch her all day.

Having undressed as much as she saw fit, Shizune carefully put one hand behind Hisao’s head and pressed it against her crotch. He could feel the shape of her through the fabric of her skirt; in fact, he was now close enough to be able to smell her. She moved his head around a little, rubbing his nose and cheeks across herself. Hisao briefly wondered if this was what it felt like to be a paintbrush.

After a short time moving Hisao like this, Shizune finally used her other hand to flick the edge of her skirt up and over his head. This left him in a strange sort of twilight, where a dull glow managed to seep through the green fabric and into the tiny pocket of space that contained only his head and Shizune’s hips, thighs, and crotch.

He needed no prodding to get started, opening with a short kiss, as if saying hello. He then set to work, running his tongue up and down in the patterns he had learned Shizune liked best. Of course, she would never tell him such things, but he could still learn by listening to her breathing - sure enough, it wasn’t long before he could hear sharp breaths being drawn above him, occasionally catching in her throat. This was easily his favorite part of the whole ordeal.

Just as Hisao began to feel Shizune’s muscles loosen up, she stepped back, pulling away from him and letting her skirt flop back down, covering her once more. She then leaned forwards and pushed firmly on his shoulders, signalling him to lay back. He moved his hands behind his head, providing a little extra cushioning between his skull and the floor, which he had a hunch he might need.

Shizune had other ideas. [Spread your arms.]

Hisao, not a single stray doubt in his mind, obeyed. He moved his arms apart, though his legs remained together, as if he had been crucified right there on the floor of the student council room. Shizune removed her socks, and then gently laid them across Hisao’s wrists, one at a time. Next, she took her panties from before and laid them over his ankles. She put no force into these actions, but Hisao understood their meaning nonetheless: these were his shackles. He was not to move past their confines, no matter how flimsy and pointless they were. In her usual fashion, Shizune was not truly restraining him; she was simply telling him the rules of the game, and then expecting him to play along.

More than content to continue playing, Hisao remained still as Shizune stepped over him, putting one foot on each side of his head. He spent a moment appreciating the view up her skirt before she knelt down, her calves resting against his upper arms. He didn’t mind - he was perfectly content to stay where he was, and she wasn’t heavy enough to be uncomfortable. She shifted a little, getting her position just right, before lowering her crotch into his face, the inside of her skirt darkening his field of view once more.

Hisao returned to his prior form, doing his best to get more reactions out of Shizune. He felt her legs relax, her thighs and calves pressing into each other on either side of him. As he focused on the motions of his tongue and lips, he noticed her hips rocking back and forth slightly, pushing him closer and then pulling away, if only by a centimeter or so. He worked on matching her rhythm, attempting to create a kind of constructive biological resonance.

Hisao’s efforts were not in vain, as within a minute he could hear Shizune’s breaths begin to increase in both tempo and volume. From under her skirt, he imagined what her face looked like - her cheeks were probably flushed, her eyes closed and her mouth open, taking gasping breaths. These thoughts aroused him, but they were nothing compared to what came next.

From above him, he heard a small moan: Shizune was finally in the ‘vocal’ phase, so preoccupied with their interactions that she couldn’t keep her vocal cords in check. Hisao felt his pants grow taut below the waist, but knew that these moans wouldn’t be a regular thing - Shizune wasn’t fond of these vocalizations, since they were pretty much beyond her control, so she usually slowed down and recomposed herself after each one.

This time, however, Hisao was surprised to hear a second moan follow shortly after the first, and then another. He remained confused until Shizune reached back and began to trace her fingers over the bulge in his pants. He realized as she began to unbuckle his belt: she was doing this on purpose. She knew that he loved this, and she was using it to her advantage. Having come to this conclusion, he was filled with a desire to fight back, to keep the lithe girl above him from winning. And so, just as she pulled his pants down and wrapped one hand around him, he redoubled his efforts, putting more energy into his motions.

Hisao could feel Shizune’s fingers stop and tremble briefly, unsure how exactly to continue. At the same time, her hips lurched forward a bit, pushing forwards into his face. What interested him most, however, was the sharp “Ah!” that escaped her lips. He tried not to think too much about it, but his subconscious would not let it go - it seemed to play in his head over and over, echoing throughout his skull.

“Ah...”

The sound fueled him, and as he closed his eyes, he felt an intense desire to push even further, to exceed himself.

“Ah! Yah...”

He felt that he had been made for this, to deliver pleasure unto his beloved, to flood her very being with this joy.

“Guh... G-good boy...”

It took Hisao a second to process the words, but once he did, his eyes flung open and stared upwards, looking for answers. In their place, he saw only the fabric of Shizune’s skirt, which remained draped over his head. From outside this flimsy barrier, the voice sounded again. “Come on, why’d you stop?”

Hisao had never heard a voice like that before. It was unique, interesting, and somewhat melodious - but there was no doubt that it was coming from directly above him. Entirely unable to comprehend the situation, he tried to pull Shizune’s skirt off of him, to see what was happening, but found his arms still held down by her socks. That option exhausted, he tried to speak, but his mouth was pressed against Shizune’s crotch, preventing him from doing so. Luckily, she noticed. “Oh? Got something to say? Here, let me give you some room.”

She lifted her hips slightly, giving Hisao just an inch of breathing room, and he immediately began to move his lips - but only his breath escaped them. His throat, feeling incredibly tight, could not form words, as if its folds had been glazed over. He tried, desperately, to force out something, anything, but not even a whisper could be heard. After a few seconds of nothing but frantic breathing within his darkened tent, Shizune gave up. “Oh well, if you’re too shy to say anything, then we may as well put that mouth back to work.”

She lowered herself back down, pressing her moist skin into Hisao’s face once more, even as he tried desperately to stop her. He needed to figure out what was going on, to get a hold on the situation, or even just to escape, but all these things eluded him. For a moment he tried to sign to Shizune with his hands, bound though they were, but she didn’t acknowledge him, instead speaking on her own. “You know, I was quite angry with you, but this has really made up for it. Being able to speak is going to make everything so much easier!”

Shizune’s mention of her own impossible voice only confused Hisao further, and with his hands and feet bound, he began arching his back and twisting side to side, trying desperately to escape the strange, incomprehensible prison he had fallen into. Shizune noticed, and chuckled. “Goodness, you’re eager.” She began to slide her hand up and down again, her touch clouding Hisao’s thoughts with exasperating bliss.

Hisao tried to focus on the situation at hand: his girlfriend had somehow stolen his voice, and was now sitting on his face and stroking- He felt his concentration lapse once more as Shizune increased her rhythm. As she did so, he began to buck his hips instinctively, which only increased the sensation flooding his brain. Above him, she pushed herself forwards, pressing herself further into Hisao’s lips, and sighed in contentment.

“You know,” she said, eyes closed, “I’m being incredibly gracious right now. When I think about what you’ve done, it just... It makes me...” Her grip on Hisao tightened, almost becoming painful, before she suddenly let go. Her breath was rapid, the sounds of each inhale and exhale piercing the silence in the room. Eventually, she grabbed Hisao’s erection again, and spoke. “You see, Hisao? I get so worked up, all because of you. And yet, somehow, I manage to keep calm, and even reward you with a gift like this.” Her right hand began stroking up and down, and Hisao felt his mind start to deflate once more.

A droplet of sweat run down Hisao’s forehead, accentuating the now-humid bubble he was trapped in. Shizune began thrusting herself forwards against his face, almost keeping time with the motion of her hand. She began to moan again, though this time while calling out her lover’s name.

“Hisao...”

His chest felt tight, and his nostrils flared, trying their best to suck in enough air.

“Oh, Hisao...”

Hints of a bittersweet taste entered his mouth, but he couldn’t spare the attention to notice them, every neuron in his head choosing instead to focus on Shizune’s hand, even at the cost of ignoring her voice.

“Hisao, I...”

He felt something building up inside of him, and thought for a moment about trying to fight it before what little remaining willpower he had gave way.

“HISAO!”

His body spasmed, still held in place, and what little light had made it through Shizune’s skirt was now blocked by his eyelids, his vision going black as trickles of warm wetness ran down his cheeks.

His brain was on standby, stuck in a loop, until he thought to shut it down and try starting again. Sensations began to come back to him - fabric, warmth, the sound of birds and the glow of the sun, all slowly diffusing into his consciousness. He reflexively moved one hand to cover his face, and found that it was free - but, of course, why shouldn’t it be? He moved his other limbs too, checking that each one was fine, and unsurprisingly, they were.

He opened his eyes, which confirmed that he was laying in bed. Not quite sure why he had thought otherwise, he rubbed his eyes, brushed a cold streak of drool off of his cheek, and sat up. The sun was bright today: fitting for a Sunday, and perhaps a good omen. A sign that, no matter what happened between him and Lilly today, life would go on.

4 - Serenity
Hisao found his relationship with Lilly troubling. It was... imbalanced. The two of them were very different, of course, but that wasn’t always bad - opposites attract, and whatnot. No, Hisao thought as he walked along the path from the boys’ to the girls’ dorms, it wasn’t a problem that they were different. It was a problem that they were unequal.

It was true that many relationships involved inequality from time to time, but they all relied on a net balance. An overall neutrality, with occasional deficits one way or another, but a long-term zero-sum. All of the healthy couples Hisao had known, all his life, had followed this rule. His father had even told him, once, that healthy relationships were all about balance. But he and Lilly were not balanced. There was always more of her. She always managed to come out on top. In fact, she even excelled in her humility, despite having so much to brag about.

This had initially made a relationship with her an incredibly attractive prospect, and Hisao had jumped at the chance. He had often dreamed about finding a kind and beautiful partner, and in Lilly he found what he considered to be the kindest and most beautiful partner there was. He had plenty of faults, but infidelity had never been one of them, had never even crossed his mind, in part because there was no better alternative - he sat atop a peak, the pinnacle of companionship, a grandiose throne from which he saw only those below him.

But Hisao was not fit to be king. That much was clear to him.

The first signs of trouble had been his interactions with Lilly. She was incredibly well-spoken, articulating her thoughts in a way that was both eloquent and unambiguous; Hisao, on the other hand, could spend minutes trying to make a point but never quite reaching it, stammering and stuttering in a futile attempt to buy time. His thoughts were disorganized, appearing to him at random, breaking both his train of thought and the flow of conversation. His manners were no match for his girlfriend’s, and neither was his fashion sense - he tended to wear “utilitarian” clothes, as she had put it. Even her insults, he thought, were elegant and kind.

All of this, however, was just the tip of the iceberg. Warning signs, pointing to a deeper root cause: Hisao just wasn’t a good enough person. He didn’t deserve Lilly. There were others far more fit to wear his crown - in fact, even if there weren’t, he still didn’t think he was worth it. When measured on such a scale, was he really any better than nothing? His mind and body were occasionally useful, but could they ever truly balance out what a nuisance he was? He couldn’t see the future, but he wasn’t about to take any chances. The sooner he freed Lilly from this relationship, the sooner she could spend herself on people who mattered. Hisao took a deep breath, then entered the girls’ dorms. Maybe there would be a new king, or maybe not, but the old tyrant’s reign would not see another dawn.

Of course, Lilly had never let on about any of this. She was too reserved. Too good at making people feel the way they wanted to. The way she had made Hisao feel, even during their relatively short time together, was amazing - but this had surely just been courtesy. She knew how much it would hurt him if they split. She couldn’t bear to disappoint him like that, and thus remained a victim of her own charity. But no longer. Hisao was going on the offensive, taking one for the team. A sacrifice, as it were, though the goddess herself had never asked for it.

Still, although he knew it would be difficult for him to do, Hisao wanted to tell Lilly in person. He couldn’t text her, he didn’t know how to write Braille, and any time he could’ve called her was also a time he could’ve gone to speak with her face-to-face, so there was little argument against it, save for his own discomfort. Besides, she deserved a messenger, not just a message. And so, finally, he raised one fist and knocked on the door of her room.

After a brief pause, he heard her lovely voice on the other side. “Who is it?”

He wondered what the right volume to speak in was. He didn’t want to yell, but they were basically separated by a wall. Then again, her hearing was superb, so normal talking seemed good enough. “It’s Hisao.”

“Oh, come on in!” Hisao put his hand on the doorknob, and steeled himself. Once more, unto the breach.

He hadn’t been sure what to expect, but he was still surprised by what he saw. Lilly was sat on her bed, which wasn’t unusual, but Hanako lay face-down next to her, her arms and head resting on the pillows, dressed in her pajamas. Lilly’s hands moved slowly across Hanako’s back, her fingers making small creases in the fabric that lay across it.

Hisao got the sense that he was intruding, especially given that Hanako was usually so skittish and shy. “Um... Is this a good time? I-I can come back later, if you want.”

“Oh, no, Hanako and I were just about done anyways.” Lilly leaned down, putting her mouth next to Hanako’s ear, and whispered something to her, before sitting back up and patting her on the back. Hanako swung her feet - one bare, but one bandaged - over the edge of the bed, got up, and walked away. Something seemed off about her; she didn’t even acknowledge Hisao as she walked past, her gait looking a bit more robotic than usual. Once Hanako had returned to her own room across the hall, Lilly patted the bed next to her. “Please, come take a seat!”

Hisao walked in, letting the door close behind him, and sat down next to Lilly, whose hands were now folded in her lap. “So...” He didn’t want to jump right into the issue, but had always been bad at small talk. Luckily, he was still curious about what exactly Hanako had been doing. “What was that all about?”

Lilly chuckled, and it made Hisao feel comfortable, but also sad. “I suppose that would’ve looked rather strange. Hanako’s been overwhelmed with stress recently, especially because of her ankle injury, so I offered to do some relaxation exercises with her.”

Hisao raised one eyebrow. “Relaxation exercises? What kind?”

“Oh, nothing too special, just a simple massage combined with some guided meditation.”

Hisao had never heard of ‘guided meditation’, but it did sound relaxing. Furthermore, he hadn’t realized that Hanako had been injured, which made him feel even worse about butting in. “Sorry for interrupting you two.”

“It’s fine, really, we were about to wrap things up regardless.” Lilly shifted herself to sit closer to Hisao. “Besides, I’ve been meaning to bring up these relaxation exercises with you, since you’ve seemed quite stressed as of late.”

She really was too good. Hisao had been stressed, but had been doing his best to keep it hidden - as usual, however, his best had not been enough. Well, the sooner he got this conversation over and done with, the sooner his stress would fade into ordinary gloominess. “I’ve been thinking a lot, recently. About our relationship.”

Lilly gave him a look which was quizzical, yet receptive. “What about it?”

“Well, I... I feel like I haven’t been holding up my end. I haven’t been pulling my weight.”

Lilly smiled. “Is that all? Really, Hisao, you don’t have to worry about that. Relationships aren’t about keeping score, they’re about doing your best to make your partner happy!”

The sight of her smile, combined with such calming words, was disarming - but Hisao knew that he had to keep going, no matter what. “But am I really making you happy? Am I doing enough for you?”

“Of course you are!” Lilly put one hand on Hisao’s shoulder. “You make me happy every day, just by being here.”

Hisao stammered for a moment, then tried again. “I mean, I’m happy to have you around too, but you do so much more for me! You look so beautiful, and your voice is so pleasant, and you’re always so kind, and...”

Lilly had begun to blush, but her voice trembled slightly in concern. “H-Hisao, I-”

“I’m just not good enough for you, Lilly.”

After a brief moment of shock, Lilly leaned over and reached out, wrapping Hisao in a hug. Her head nuzzled into the side of his neck, and her hands pushed into his back. It took him a moment to grasp the situation, but eventually he managed to return her embrace, and felt her body move as she spoke. “Don’t think like that, Hisao. You mean everything to me.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. All you see are your flaws, but I...” She pulled back, and opened her eyes - they were unfocused, as always, but also noticeably wetter than usual. “I can see just how important you are.”

Hisao felt his own eyes grow damp. Lilly was right. She was always right. And if she thought Hisao was worth her love, then that was just how it was. “I’m sorry, Lilly.”

She giggled softly, then put one hand on his face, gently rubbing his cheek. “It’s fine, there’s no need to be sorry. Just as long as I get to keep you.” Hisao suddenly felt guilty, and Lilly picked up on it. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, I just... Well, I originally came here to break up with you.”

She gasped. “What? You-”

“It’s fine, you changed my mind, I was just...” Lilly’s expression hurt Hisao, and he pulled her into a hug, in a desperate attempt to rectify things. “I’m sorry. I was stupid.”

They sat like this for a long time, each feeling the other breathe, before Lilly spoke. “It’s okay. I love you, Hisao.”

“I love you too, Lilly.” He moved his head away, loosening his grip on her, and looked over her face. She was still a little fraught, but overall, relieved. “I guess we could both use some relaxation now, huh.”

She smiled. “Definitely. Would you like to try the exercises I mentioned earlier? They tend to relax me, too.”

“Sure, I don’t see why not.” Hisao sat still for a moment, then realized he had no idea what that entailed. “So, uh... What do we... do?”

“Ah, right. First, you should lie down on the bed, on your stomach, and then do your best to get comfortable. I’ll take it from there.”

Hisao removed his shoes, then swung his legs onto the bed and laid down, on his front, as instructed. He spread his arms out, and turned his head to one side, so that his face wasn’t pressing into the pillow. He shifted each of his limbs a little, making sure that his clothes weren’t bunched up against his skin, and let his head sink into the pillow a little. Finally, he stopped, feeling about as comfortable as he could. “Okay, I’m ready.” For what, he wasn’t sure - but whatever it was, it couldn’t be bad.

“Perfect! Let me just get into position.” Hisao had expected Lilly to sit on the edge of the bed, like she had done with Hanako, but instead she moved, crawling onto the bed, and eventually kneeling down. Her legs straddled his torso, and her rear pressed lightly into his back, which made him feel a bit like he was stretching. “Alright, I’m ready too. Now, before we begin, you should close your eyes - we can open them again when we’re finished.”

Hisao already had one eye closed, since it was pressed into the fabric of the pillow, but he closed the other. “Okay.” He was expecting further instruction from Lilly, but instead, she reached out and put a hand against his head, running one finger over his eyelid.

She giggled. “Just making sure. Alright, now: the first step is breathing.” She placed her palms on his back, one on either side of his spine, and kept them there for a moment. Hisao briefly wondered what he was supposed to do with his breathing - he had done plenty of work on his breath with Nurse, to try and help with his heart condition - but after a moment, Lilly’s hands moved down his back, not quite to his waist. A moment later, they moved up again, and after a second, back down. It took a few cycles like this for Hisao to realize: she was following the rhythm of his breath.

She hadn’t perfectly matched him, though - she was a bit slower, not quite catching the beginning of each movement. Hisao slowed down a little to compensate, focusing on the touch of Lilly’s hands, until he was interrupted by her voice, which was much quieter than before. “Good, very good. We’re going to stay like this for a little while, just focusing on our breathing. In...” Her fingers traced up his back. “... and out.” Back down, once again.

Hisao focused on the connection between Lilly’s hands and his own breaths. It was simple, and easy to follow. Over time, he felt himself grow calm, though he didn’t feel very tired. The back and forth was soothing, and he could their breaths matching up, in harmony. When she spoke again, it was slow, soft enough not to be distracting. “Perfect. We’ve done well, so now we can move on to the next step.”

Lilly leaned forward, moving her face closer to Hisao’s ear, and whispered. “If you could, I’d like you to imagine some rain. Try to focus on each of the sensations. It makes a sound, as thousands of little drops each hit the earth. It has a smell: the scent of wet grass and dirt. If you were to open your mouth, you could taste it. And, of course, as it falls on you, it feels wet, and cold.”

Hisao knew the feeling well - he had been caught in many a storm. At first, it was only his shoulders and head that got wet, but the water slowly soaked everything, making his clothes stick to him, and turning even the wooliest jacket into little more than a damp cloth, eating up his body heat. He liked when it rained, but only if he could watch and listen from inside. When he had to be outside, the rain was an enemy.

Just as he began to feel cold, Lilly spoke again. “It’s not good to stay out in the rain for too long - we could catch a cold. Instead, let’s imagine a small shelter. It’s not very big, but we can fit inside comfortably. We can still hear and smell the rain outside, but it’s not pouring down on us anymore.”

Lilly reached out and put her hands on Hisao’s upper arms, then began to gently massage them, which made him feel much warmer. “Do you feel the warmth, where I touch you? It staves off the cold, for both of us.” She moved her hands towards his forearms, then dragged them back. “If we try, we can get rid of the cold completely.” True to her word, she ran her hands along his arms again, then held his hands, intertwining their fingers, and it felt as though a cozy fire was flickering between them.

“Of course, we can’t really get warm while wearing all these wet clothes. So let’s remove them.” Suddenly, Hisao began to feel the open air - and, in some places, Lilly’s skin - against him. For a moment, he worried, but Lilly’s voice returned to calm him. “It’s okay; it’s just us here. Nobody else will know. We can just stay here and warm up, together.”

With this, Lilly carefully laid herself down, placing her chest against Hisao. He could feel her skin against his, including her breasts, which seemed to have a warm glow about them as they pressed into his back. She laid her legs alongside his own, their calves sharing warmth. Their arms, too, rubbed against each other, and the heat felt like hope - like love.

They laid like this, basking in each other, for quite a while. Hisao had never felt so calm and comfortable, nor had he ever felt this close to Lilly. Eventually, however, she lifted herself off of him. “Hisao, your back is all warmed up, but your front is still cold. Can you turn over for me?”

Wordlessly, Hisao rolled over, his closed eyes now pointed up at the ceiling. Lilly laid herself down, but at an angle: her torso sat atop his, but she kept her legs off to one side. For a moment, Hisao longed for her to touch his legs too, but this thought was overridden when she placed one finger against his erection, and traced along it, first up, then down.

“Can you feel it? You’re especially warm here. When we touch, it feels like joy.” She was right - Hisao felt ecstatic, as if his whole body was flush with golden warmth. To his surprise, this feeling only increased in intensity when Lilly wrapped her hand around him, increasing their contact. “I feel the same way. When I’m near you, when I touch you... It feels glorious. Radiant.”

As if to further her point, Lilly began to stroke up and down. Her other hand caressed Hisao’s face, studying his expression, his skin, his breath. She moved her head to one side, and breathed slowly into his ear. Somewhat to his surprise, their breathing was still in time. This final connection was the most satisfying of all, and he felt his whole body clench - never before had he experienced such a uniform and complete brilliance. As the sensation died down, he heard her voice trail off from a loud moan, and he felt her arms wrap him in a hug, her voice becoming a whisper. “I love you, Hisao.”

He considered replying, but realized he didn’t need to: their emotions were already locked together. Their bodies and their minds laid, entangled, upon their bed. There was no longer a separation between them, in either sense, and it felt as though all discomfort had been eradicated. They were at peace.

This continued for a long time, until Hisao heard the sound of the rain change. It grew sharper in some areas, and softer in others. The smell had changed as well, but the sound was most noticeable. It shifted back and forth, louder, then quieter, until he heard something strange: “Hisao.”

He opened his eyes slowly, wondering who could be calling for him, only to see Emi, dressed in a tank top and running shorts, sitting next to him on the bed. “Come on, Hisao, you- oh, you’re awake! Good morning!”

Hisao mumbled, lifted his head a few inches, then did his best to return the greeting. “G’mornin.”

“It’s about time you got up - you slept forever! It’s almost noon!” The mention of it being so late in the day surprised Hisao, who woke up a bit more. “Anyways, c’mon, get dressed, I have a surprise for you!”

“A surprise?”

“Yup! First we have to hike there, though.”

Of course - with Emi, there was no free lunch, only trials and rewards. Still, although he wasn’t much of a hiker, Hisao could never bring himself to refuse her requests, no matter what they entailed.

5 - Flow
Hisao lagged behind Emi as the two of them made their way through the sparse undergrowth that was scattered around the forest floor. He had initially been quite happy to hike down the hill from Yamaku with Emi, even if it was off of the beaten path. He hadn’t expected to have to trek through the foliage at the bottom, though. He was beginning to doubt that the journey would be worth it.

At that moment, Emi turned around, a smile plastered across her face. “Come on, Hisao! Keep up!” Suddenly, Hisao’s doubts were washed away. No matter how far he had to go, he would be spending the afternoon with Emi. He loved her, with an intensity that had surprised even him. Some would call her childish and brash, but those were just side effects of her being energetic. Besides, she could be serious when she needed to - it’s just that, if she could help it, she never needed to. And really, that wasn’t a bad way to live.

So, as if Emi had beamed him some of her energy, Hisao picked up his pace and stomped over the dirt and detritus with renewed vigor. He had been promised a surprise at the end of all this, and he wasn’t about to give up on it, especially if it involved spending the day with his girlfriend. He was acutely aware of the sweat on his brow, but focused more on his heartbeat - Emi’s exercise regime had certainly improved his health, but he still needed to be careful.

Luckily for him, they soon found what they were looking for: a small clearing in the middle of the forest. Grass covered the ground, but the entire area was bathed in the cool shadow of the surrounding trees, since the sun was already quite low in the sky. Hisao looked around, but no matter the angle, he couldn’t see a single sign of the outside world. Grass at his feet, trees reaching upwards on all sides, and a bright blue sky above.

Emi bounced over to a spot nearer the center of the clearing, then laid out a large blanket, and plopped a small basket on top of it. A picnic. Hisao let himself relax as he walked over and sat down. Later, he would have to worry about the walk back through the forest and up the hill, but for now, he could rest, and eat. Emi produced some simple dishes from out of the basket; what they might have lacked in extravagance, however, they made up for in sheer volume. Emi might not have been the best cook, but she knew her metabolism well, and made sure to bring enough to sate it, plus some for Hisao - or so he hoped.

Emi immediately began to dig in, stuffing her face, while Hisao carefully grabbed a single piece, taking small bites to test the flavor. It wasn’t too bad, all things considered. He certainly wouldn’t mind eating more. As he reached over for another piece, he noticed Emi looking over at him expectantly. “How is it?”

“It’s good. Did you make it?”

Emi’s questioning look flashed into a petawatt smile. “Yeah! It took a little while to get it right, but I wanted to make it absolutely perfect!”

Hisao nodded. “You did a good job.” He grinned. “I wouldn’t mind eating this every day, you know.”

Emi furrowed her brow. “I don’t think I could make this every day.”

Hisao laughed, and ruffled Emi’s hair. “I know, I know. You’re a busy woman.” This brought her spirits back up, and she scooched herself over next to Hisao before leaning on him and continuing to eat.

After more than half of the food was gone, Emi looked up at Hisao, a scheming look on her face. “You know...”

“Hmm?” he replied, his mouth still full.

“I think I could make this every day... If I was your wife.” Hisao blushed, and reflexively averted his eyes, but that didn’t stop Emi from continuing. “I could keep these in the fridge and give them to you before you went to work... Then I could make another batch during the day, and save them for tomorrow.”

“I-I guess you could.” stuttered Hisao, which caused Emi to laugh as she put her arms around him, then looked up into his eyes.

“And every night, when you got home from work, I’d be waiting for you at the door. I’d hug you really tight, and then...” She paused, still staring longingly at Hisao. After a few seconds, he briefly wondered if Emi was waiting for him to do something; before he could finish that thought, though, she rolled her eyes, then grabbed Hisao’s head and pulled it down towards her, pressing their lips together.

Hisao felt his heart rate rise for a moment in surprise, then fall back to near normal once he grasped the situation. He closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of Emi against him, moving his lips to try and complement or capture hers. The sensation relaxed him, and his mind began to drift. Eventually, it came upon the idea that they were sitting within a lush forest - which was open to anyone else.

He pulled away, which caused Emi to pout. “Should we really be doing this here? It’s kind of... exposed.”

Emi giggled. “You worry too much. We’re nowhere near anyone else! Who would even come out here in the middle of a forest?”

“Well, we just did. We can’t be the only ones who know about this place.”

Emi’s lips turned up into a proud smile. “Actually, we are. I found it myself.”

Hisao was surprised. When did she get the chance to go looking through the forest? And more importantly... “Why?”

Emi’s smile changed into a sly grin as she leaned onto Hisao once more. “Well, I wanted somewhere really pretty, but also really secluded, where nobody else could ever find us. Just so that, you know, we could...” She put one hand on Hisao’s chest, then slowly traced down his stomach, over his belt, and onto his pants.

Hisao was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. “Nope. No way. Not out here. It’s not happening.”

Emi groaned. “Come on, what’s the problem? There’s nobody around for at least a mile. There’s no way anyone could see us.” She leaned in, then whispered in his ear. “It’s just you and me.”

Hisao felt his neck tingle as Emi’s breath washed over his ear. The sensation overwhelmed him for a moment, but he quickly regained his resolve. “No, this is still way too open. I mean, look at the sky! What if a helicopter or a plane or something came past?”

Emi chuckled, then took her hands off of Hisao. For a moment, he wondered if he had, somehow, won the argument. This illusion was broken a moment later, when Emi grabbed her shirt and pulled it up and over her head, revealing her bare chest. Hisao only just had time to come to the realization that Emi hadn’t been wearing a bra before she turned around and leaned back against him. “Oh no, my bare breasts! They’re completely exposed to anyone that might fly directly above us! Curse those voyeur pilots!”

Hisao quickly reached his arms around Emi, covering her chest but also pulling her a bit closer. He could feel her skin pressing against his, and her nipples softly poking into his palms. She turned her head to face him, then kissed him again, and he found himself unable to refuse her offer: the sensation of it all had brought his mind to a halt. After a moment of confusion, Emi pulled away, still smiling.

“You know I’ve already won.”

Hisao was about to object, but his mind was once again yanked away by sensation, this time on his crotch. He was hard, and pressing against Emi’s rear. Even through four layers of fabric, he could feel her soft and supple texture, and it seemed to deflate any remaining resistance that he could’ve hoped to cling to. Emi had boisterously declared herself the winner, and as much as Hisao wanted to argue against her assertion, he was simply unable to. Finally, with a sigh, he rolled his eyes and gently began to massage her chest.

Emi gave a contented sigh in return, half because of the sensation and half because she had won over the boy beneath her. She absentmindedly began to grind herself against him, but quickly tired of that, stood up, and pulled down her shorts, revealing that she hadn’t been wearing anything underneath them, either. She dropped them past her prosthetics, then stepped out of them, kicked them to one side, and turned to face Hisao, who was still somewhat in shock. “Well?”

His mind was racing, trying to take in all of Emi, trying to understand what she meant, and trying to prepare his body, in part by quickening his pulse. “W-What?”

Emi rolled her eyes. “I’m standing here naked and you’re still fully clothed! Come on, are we doing this or what?”

His heartbeat becoming faintly audible in his ears, Hisao briefly stuttered something unintelligible, then stood up and began to fumble with his clothes. He undid his belt buckle, unzipped his pants, and pulled them and his boxers down a few inches, just enough to get his erection to spring into view.

Emi, however, didn’t seem impressed. She reached over, grabbed the waist of his pants, and yanked them downwards, leaving his bare legs and crotch in plain view. He froze, scared of being so open, his eyes desperately searching for potential predators, his heart trying to ready itself for both a mad dash away from harm and whatever Emi was planning to do while completely naked. “E-Emi, I-”

She cut him off by pressing her lips to his, which required pulling his head a little, given the height difference. She used one hand to trace over his chest, while the other reached down and began to stroke him. Emi’s touch was surprisingly calming - Hisao felt himself begin to grasp the situation, as if he was coming out of a daze. He focused on their lips, and decided to maintain slow but strong movements, in contrast to Emi’s fervent patterns, which left his lips covered in saliva.

Even as his arousal grew, Hisao felt himself regain control. He certainly wasn’t planning to simply come along for the ride, and used his hands to fondle Emi’s bare buttocks. Surprisingly, however, Emi stopped shortly thereafter, and pulled her face away from his. As he opened his eyes again, she pointed at his shirt. “Come on, this too.”

Hisao blushed, and wrung his hands, still nervous about being any more vulnerable. Emi’s touch had seemed to calm him, but now that she had moved away, and given his own insecurities about his chest, he wasn’t sure he could go this far. Sure, they had come a long way, but even so, he-

He finally noticed Emi. She had walked away from him for a few steps, then spread her legs apart, with her back pointing towards him. Finally, mimicking the stretching they did each morning, she leaned all the way forwards, swinging her torso down until Hisao could see her face between her imitation calves.

“Last chance, boy. Take it or leave it.”

Take it. Always, a hundred times over, forever yes absolutely. With Emi presenting herself so delectably, Hisao didn’t even have a decision to make: he simply grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulled it over his head, and tossed it aside. A worthwhile sacrifice. He realized, upon trying to sprint over to where Emi was splayed, that his pants were still around his ankles - far too impatient to take them off, which would require removing his shoes too, he just waddled towards his girlfriend until he was close enough to grab her rear.

After massaging both cheeks, and gently slapping one, he lined himself up and slowly worked his way inside. Emi always surprised him with her tightness, and today was no different - her flesh pressed tightly into his, and it took him a moment to adjust to the feeling. Once he did, though, the first thing he noticed was his heartbeat. He briefly considered stopping to take a breath, but before he could think much of it, Emi grew impatient and slid herself forwards, then quickly backwards along him, causing him to moan. It sounded a bit odd to his ears, but that was of little import; right now, he needed to focus on the girl in front of him.

He tightened his grip on her behind and began to thrust his hips, and he could hear her breathing get ever so slightly faster, as proof that she was enjoying it. As much as she was, however, Hisao felt his own body react even more, and he realized that he’d need to work harder, unless he wanted to be left behind. It was a silly little game, but he wanted to make Emi moan, or even scream, far louder than himself. To that end, he moved his right hand around to her crotch, and began to play with her, trying to match the movements of his hips.

His tactic worked, and Emi’s voice, which had been held back thus far, suddenly burst out into the open air. The sound made Hisao feel strong, like a gladiator putting his opponent on the defensive, and he started to put more power into his motions. Harder, faster, listening to his girlfriend’s sweet moans-

Echo. The sound was echoing. Opening his eyes wide, Hisao looked around, and remembered where he was: out in the open. Emi’s voice, and his as well, carried up and over the trees, and then off into the distance, up into the heavens or out towards the mountains on the horizon. He suddenly grew very, very afraid - his body was so vulnerable, this place so open, and those screams sounded like they could travel forever, into the next town over and then some. He felt his body grew cold, and then realized that the pleasured moans had stopped, replaced by the erratic, high-pressure sound of his own heartbeat.

He knew what was happening. No longer able to focus on his surroundings, he clutched his chest, and felt pain rush through his torso, down his arms, into his head. He closed his eyes, and tried to breathe deeply, to count slowly, like he had been taught, but it didn’t help. Furthermore, when he opened his eyes again, Emi was standing there, staring at him, her face a solemn mixture of annoyance and pity. Hisao grew more and more afraid: she should’ve been helping him! She was supposed to call an ambulance, to check his pulse, to try and calm him! Instead, she reached out, put one hand on his chest, and pushed.

Hardly able to maintain his balance anyways, Hisao stumbled backwards, tripped over the pants around his ankles, and fell onto his back, knocking his head against the ground beneath him. More pain, more fear, and more heartbeats assaulted him as Emi walked over, knelt down, and put him inside of her once more, reconnecting the two of them as if nothing unusual had transpired. She closed her eyes, smiled, and began to bounce up and down, humming in contentment as the stimulation hit her.

Her slow, playful rhythm seemed to mock the cacophonous pounding in Hisao’s head. His heart was long past overdrive, now desperately trying to fuel its own blazing appetite, even if that meant drowning out the world around him. His lungs began to protest, unable to meet the demands placed on them, but they took one last order before giving in to the madness: they pushed out just enough air for a slow, raspy voice to cry “H-Help...”

This caught Emi’s attention, but also caused her smile to fade into a disappointed frown. She glared at Hisao with an expression that bordered on resentment, then sighed, rolled her eyes, and brought one finger up to her mouth. “Shhhh.”

For a moment, Hisao wondered if he had gone deaf. All of the noise had just... stopped. After a moment, however, he heard the leaves on nearby trees rustling, and a bird singing, and Emi’s legs crunching the blades of grass below them as she shifted her weight. He could still hear, but the overwhelming roar from earlier was simply gone.

His pulse - his pulse was gone.

Just as that thought dawned on him, and his body tried to muster one last burst of adrenaline, Emi leaned forward, placing her hands on his chest. Before Hisao realized what was about to happen, she pushed down, hard, and he felt a shockwave run through him. After another second, she pushed again. Another second. Another push.

With the deafening sound from earlier gone, Hisao could focus, even if that focus was interrupted every second. Another push. Emi was slamming her palms down onto his heart - making it beat. Another push. Each time she did, he could feel the blood flow through his body, staving off the cold. Another push. He noticed that, with each push, Emi’s hips lifted slightly, then slammed back down, stimulating both of them. Another push. Hisao no longer felt out of breath, despite not having breathed in a few seconds - in fact, he felt surprisingly good. Another push.

He could feel himself rubbing against Emi’s insides, and see the contours of her body, shimmering with sweat in the sun. She wasn’t moaning, but with her next push, she bit her lip, and Hisao suddenly found it the most arousing thing he could possibly imagine. His body had been completely limp, but as the edges of his vision began to grow dark, his muscles did their best to spasm in time with the next push. His eyelids grew heavy, but the last thing he saw before they closed completely was Emi’s face, her mouth open in a smile of pure pleasure. One final, blissful shock ran up his spine, tickling the neurons in his brain for just a moment as they began to lay themselves to rest.

After what felt like a long time, Hisao realized he needed to breathe - badly. His diaphragm pulled violently on his lungs, causing him to gasp for air. In his haste, he inhaled a few droplets of saliva, which triggered a coughing fit. After a number of loud coughs, he began to breathe normally again, and opened his eyes to see sunlight streaming through the window of his room. He slowly sat up, his throat still tickling a little, and thought about the day ahead of him.

Well, it was Sunday, so he didn’t have any plans. That was perfect, actually, because it meant he could spend the day doing whatever he wanted, and all he wanted to do was lay in bed and ponder a strange girl named Rin.

6 - Power
As always seemed to be the case, Rin was a mystery.

Normally, these were little mysteries. A sentence that didn’t make sense, or a thoughtful expression. These were the mysteries that Hisao loved - Rin was like a puzzle, and when he managed to solve her, she rewarded him with a smile and a comment of appreciation. For the first week after they met, he had thought that nothing about Rin could really be solved; eventually, however, he solved one tiny mystery, and then another, until he arguably knew her better than anyone else.

Recently, however, Hisao hadn’t been able to focus on the little mysteries. He didn’t keep track, but he was pretty sure that he hadn’t solved one for a few days. How could he? He was completely preoccupied with a much larger mystery, one that left him with no time to himself, let alone anyone else.

In science and math, as he knew, some of the toughest problems could be stated quite easily. His problem was similar: although it had taken him a little while to come up with the right phrasing, it really all came down to one incredibly difficult question:

Did he love Rin?

For most of the time he had known her, such a thing hadn’t even crossed his mind. And yet, once the idea presented itself, he could think of nothing else. If he did love her, then he should at least tell her, certainly. Then she’d probably spend a week thinking about it, just like he had. But, if she eventually came to the conclusion that she loved him back, the payoff could be huge. It might even end up being the most important thing in both of their lives.

But even for such a reward, what was the risk? Rin was his best friend, and he was hers, and they counted on each other every day. What if that all got ruined, just because he asked some stupid question? Worse, what if he didn’t really love Rin, but told her before he was sure? How could he make an objective decision if he knew she was waiting for him? What if he couldn’t bring himself to tell her he didn’t love her, after all of this, and ended up forcing himself into a relationship that he didn’t even want? What if she did the same thing? It could ruin their lives!

And so, with so much to gain and so much to lose, Hisao just stared up at the ceiling, trying to think it through, trying to find an answer he had missed, until someone knocked on the door.

It was a very distinct knock, one that Hisao recognized immediately. It sounded different because it wasn’t really a knock, it was just someone kicking the door in an attempt to emulate a knock. And there was only one person who ever knocked on his door using their feet.

He didn’t really want to talk to Rin right now. He wanted to hear her voice, but he knew that actually having her around would distract him from the very important topic he was trying to consider. Still, he couldn’t leave her out there - just because he was preoccupied didn’t mean he was willing to be rude. So, begrudgingly, he got up and answered the door.

Sure enough, Rin was standing on the other side. “You need to come with me.”

Hisao liked to think that he was prepared for anything when it came to Rin, but somehow she still managed to surprise him. A number of questions popped into his head, but he kept quiet and quickly tried to answer them himself. Why did Rin need him, of all people? It didn’t matter, she needed him, so he’d help; besides, it’s not like he was doing anything important right now anyways. Where were they going? He’d find out, if he followed her. Why was she asking now instead of earlier or later? Not that it mattered, but she probably just had some free time, and so did he, so it was a good match. Content that there weren’t any questions that were both urgent and important, at least that he could think of, Hisao agreed. “Okay.”

He slipped on his shoes, then walked outside and locked his door, by which point Rin had already started down the hall, towards the stairs. Hisao caught up with some long strides, then kept pace with the short red-haired girl. She was walking purposefully, but not quickly, so Hisao gathered that she knew where she wanted to go, but wasn’t in a rush to get there. He was glad - not only was he not a fan of rushing places due to his heart condition, urgency generally meant that something urgent, usually urgently bad, was going on.

They left the boys’ dorms, then walked across campus towards the main academic building. Since there were no classes today, Hisao guessed that they were headed for the art room - either that or the roof, though he was pretty sure that there wasn’t any reason to be on the roof right now.

When they reached the front door of the academic building, Hisao walked ahead and held it open for Rin, who walked past, expressionless. These little jobs were the ones Hisao enjoyed most: Rin was perfectly capable of opening the door herself, but it was easier for her this way. Hisao loved making such small gestures, because although Rin rarely acknowledged them, he knew she noticed them. It was, in some sense, a way of talking to her, but with actions. Kind of like sign language, except the signs were normal things he did every day.

Just as he had guessed, the two of them eventually ended up outside of the art room. Through the window in the door, he could see that there was nobody inside, as was to be expected at this time of day. He opened the door, then held it to let Rin in after him. She immediately started walking towards the back corner of the room, and Hisao followed her, letting the door swing shut behind him. He took a moment to appreciate the afternoon sun streaming through the windows, coloring the school grounds yellow and orange.

Rin stopped at an easel near the back of the room, which was facing away from the door, and Hisao walked around next to her in order to see the painting placed upon it, which immediately caused his eyes to go wide. There, in perfect color and form, were two figures: a boy with scruffy brown hair and a girl with mildly unkempt auburn hair, just like the two staring at the painting. In the painting, however, the two characters were kissing, lips pressed together as the boy held the back of the girl’s head.

A new puzzle, but not a hard one. Hisao’s first instinct was to compliment the painting, to say it looked beautiful or lifelike, but he knew that he wasn’t thinking about the painting, and furthermore, that Rin didn’t want him to. The physical object was never important, no matter how perfect the strokes or how vibrant the color - it was just a vessel for meaning.

Hisao turned from the girl in the painting to look at the girl at his side, who was staring up at him. Her face was almost completely neutral, but Hisao noticed a mote of expectation, of hope, in her eyes. This had to be right. He pushed the endless worrying and possible consequences out of his mind - he was about to solve another puzzle. He put his hands behind her head, just to check his answer, and she nodded slightly.

Finally, he leaned forwards and planted his lips on hers, letting the tension of the last week begin to fade away. The shape and feeling of Rin against him weren’t unexpected, but her motion was. Given how little she used her face for expression, Hisao almost expected her to remain motionless, but happily found the opposite to be true - she seemed more animated now than she ever had before, as if their contact had energized her. He found it almost difficult to keep up with her, having to focus on his own movements over the sensation of hers.

Finally, after a good minute or so, Rin stopped her movements, and Hisao took it as a sign to let go of her. She looked up into his eyes again, staying very close to him, and took a deep breath. “Hisao, please take off my shirt.”

Hisao was stunned for the second time in as many minutes, but quickly felt a pang of common sense bring him back into reality. “We can’t do that here - what if someone saw us?”

Rin maintained a deadpan expression. “The blinds are closed. Nobody can see inside.”

Hisao scoffed, certain that the blinds were open, but when he turned his head to look at them, they were indeed closed. He wasn’t quite sure why he remembered them being open, but evidently he was misremembering. “Fine, what about the door? Anyone could walk in and see us.”

“It’s locked.”

Hisao’s face scrunched up in confusion. He might’ve been wrong about the blinds, but he was the last person through that door, and he definitely hadn’t locked it. “No, it’s not.”

“It is. Go and see.”

Apprehensive of the situation, Hisao walked over to the blank wooden door, put his hand on the handle, and turned - to no avail. The handle stopped, clearly prevented from moving by a lock. Confused, he stared at the handle for a second before shrugging and turning around to see Rin standing in the middle of the room, the various desks and art equipment pushed out of the way to create a small pocket of empty space around her. She tilted her head to one side questioningly, and Hisao couldn’t tell whether she was curious about the door or his answer to her previous request.

He walked over, into the small clearing she had made, and stood in front of her, trying to think about what came next. They were completely cut off from the outside world, and yet, he still had his reservations. Some part of his brain was screaming that this was all wrong, that he couldn’t do something like this, especially not here. The rest of him, however, came to the conclusion that there was only one remaining reason to hold back, and so he put his hands on Rin’s shoulders. “Are you sure?”

Rin nodded, somewhat forcefully, and Hisao’s pulse rose as he knelt down, getting a better view of his hands as they began to work on the buttons of her shirt. He started from the top, slowly opening up a view of her neck, then a tight blue sports bra, and finally her midriff and stomach. After undoing the last button, he stood up, lightly grabbed the shoulders of the shirt, and pulled it off. Rin didn’t seem to mind much, and followed up with another request shortly afterwards. “My bra too, please.”

Hisao blushed, and felt his throat tighten up, but he knew that he couldn’t rightly refuse Rin’s request. “O-Okay.” He stepped closer to her, then put his hands under the bottom edge of her bra, and carefully lifted it up. She raised her rounded upper arms and closed her eyes as he pulled it over her head, leaving her completely topless.

Hisao found himself wanting to stand there, staring, forever. His body felt nervous and tense, but his brain had flipped over into awe, and subsequently an intense feeling of purpose and desire. Still on one knee, he commanded himself to reach out, putting one hand behind Rin’s back, as if to keep her from fading away, and the other on her left breast, which he carefully began to knead with his palm. He looked up to judge her expression, and saw her exhale deeply, her eyes closed. She was satisfied, calm, and that fact alone made him feel gloriously alive, and desperate for more.

Carefully, he tilted his head forwards and pressed his lips onto Rin’s other breast, and although he could no longer see her face, the contented noise she emitted told him everything he needed to know. He closed his eyes and focused on keeping up his motions, hoping to elicit more pleasant noises, but instead heard his name.

“Hisao, my...” spoke Rin, her voice soft. He stopped and looked up, meeting her gaze. “My panties, Hisao. Please.”

Hisao swallowed, sure that his nervousness would overtake him any second. However, unwilling to ignore Rin’s request, he looked down, and strangely found himself face-to-face with her underwear.

“Wait... You were wearing pants before.”

Rin waited for a moment, then shrugged. “Yes, I was. Now I’m not.”

“But...” Something wasn’t right. The blinds, the door, and now this... Rin couldn’t possibly have removed her pants on her own without Hisao noticing... could she? He had been wrong about a lot today. Half an hour ago, he had still been trying to figure out whether he loved Rin or not. He decided that he wouldn’t let himself get in the way of something so incredible.

Resolute, he grabbed the sides of her panties and pulled them down, until they were around Rin’s ankles. She carefully stepped one foot out of them, then the other. Hisao placed the small garment to one side, briefly considering that they’d need to put all their clothes back on once they were done. The moment he looked at Rin’s naked body, however, he was yanked out of the future and into the smooth, supple present.

He reached out and gently ran one index finger up across Rin’s crotch, and was surprised by how wet she was - he couldn’t tell by looking, since it was becoming darker inside as the sun went down, but as he flicked his finger off of Rin’s skin and into the air, he could feel droplets fly off of it. Had she been like this the whole time? She must’ve soaked her panties. Curious, Hisao went to pick them up, only to find out that they weren’t where he had left them. “Wait...”

“Hmm?” Rin was still in a bit of a daze, wishing Hisao would reach out and touch her again.

Instead, he looked around, growing more uneasy with each frantic glance. “I put your panties right here, where...” At this point, he noticed that he couldn’t see any of the other garments he had removed earlier, either. They were nowhere to be found. “Your clothes... Where’d they go?”

“Hisao, it doesn’t-”

“What the hell is happening? First the blinds, then the door, then your clothes, and...” He put his hands to his head, trying to force his brain to compute an answer. Instead, his ears brought him deeper into mystery.

“I’m sorry, Hisao.”

“W-What?”

Rin moved her arms to cover her chest, a nervous expression clouding her face. “I was afraid I’d ruin it like this... I should’ve...” She sighed, and stared at the floor.

Hisao, despite his confusion, felt pangs of guilt. “No, no, you haven’t ruined anything. I’m just... confused, is all.”

Rin cocked her head to one side. “Maybe I can explain?” Hisao wasn’t quite sure how she’d manage to explain all this, but nodded, confident that she’d do it, somehow. “Alright. Lay down, and close your eyes.”

Hisao’s confidence wavered momentarily, but he quickly reassured himself. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for Rin now, this included. He sat down, then laid back, his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes. As soon as he did, he could hear Rin walk towards him, eventually standing above him, before she kneeled down and straddled him. His worrying had made him somewhat more limp, but the feeling of Rin’s rear against his crotch began to bring him back.

“This place doesn’t follow the rules.” Rin leaned forward and exhaled onto Hisao’s chest, the warm air flowing through the fabric of his shirt and spreading over his skin. “Usually, reality is already... working. It doesn’t care what people think.” She exhaled again, but it felt sharper, sending shivers up Hisao’s spine. “But things are different here.”

As Rin continued to breathe deeply onto Hisao’s chest, he momentarily tried to forget the sensations, so that he could formulate a response. “Different? How?”

Rin paused. “Hmm.” After a few moments of thinking, she leaned further forwards, putting her face near Hisao’s, and whispered her response: “It’s like in a painting. The canvas doesn’t have a way it’s ‘supposed’ to be - it’s blank, and we have to decide what we want to do with it.”

“B-but why?”

“Does the painting ever know why it’s been painted? No - only the painter knows why. To the canvas, the painting just is.” She paused, then leaned back a little. “But a painting can still be happy, or sad. Just because it never knows why doesn’t mean it... isn’t.”

She punctuated this statement by placing a kiss on Hisao’s chest, and he was surprised that he could feel the texture of her lips. He opened his eyes and looked down to find that he was no longer wearing a shirt - in fact, he was completely naked, beneath a similarly-clothed Rin. “W-what...” He looked up at her for answers, and for the first time ever, saw her blush profusely.

“See, Hisao, just because we don’t know why things are the way they are doesn’t mean we can’t be happy.”

Hisao stopped for a moment, and thought about it. Why wasn’t he happy? Here he was, with a girl he loved - there was no doubt in his mind about that now - and they were sharing this intimate moment with each other. Furthermore, Rin had proven that, whatever strange occurrences there had been, she had been the one behind them. What was there to worry about, if she had everything under control? Upon realizing this, Hisao smiled, and reached out, placing one hand on Rin’s cheek. “You’re right. I am happy.” In fact, based on what he had learned over the past few minutes, “You make me happy.”

Rin smiled back. “You make me happy too.” She kissed Hisao’s chest again. “You could make me even happier, though...”

Hisao felt himself begin to press into Rin, free of his earlier nervousness and left with only arousal. Here he was, his body pressed into that of his beloved - how could he say no? “Go ahead.”

With some difficulty, Rin sat back up, and positioned herself directly above Hisao. Then, slowly, she lowered herself onto him, her eyes closed. After what felt like an eternity, she stopped, having taken all of him inside of her, and shivered.

Everything seemed to go still for a moment - there was no white noise from within the building, no sounds of nature or distant conversation from outside. Hisao instinctively checked his pulse, but it was normal - in fact, he couldn’t imagine why it wouldn’t be. Ignoring that, he reached out and placed one hand on Rin’s left breast.

She exhaled sharply at the sensation, and a warm glow began to radiate off of her skin, lighting the darkened room. She smiled, and opened her eyes; although her bright green irises remained, the whites of her eyes were no longer white. Instead, complex swirls of color danced: deep navy with flecks of gold, sharp yellow with ebony cracks, vibrant crimson with shimmering lime tendrils... it was as if each eye contained every paint, all mixed together, but none tarnished by the others. Hisao could’ve stared into them forever, but Rin’s voice roused him, albeit from between deep breaths.

“Hisao... I could make anything, whatever I wanted... But all I want is to be here, with you, right now.” She shifted her weight a little, and Hisao felt himself rub against her insides. “There’s nothing in all of eternity that could compare to this.”

Something about that statement made Hisao wonder. “Did you... make me?”

Rin smiled. “No, but you're not far off.”

Not far off? “Wait, what do you-”

“Shhh.” Rin’s pupils, swimming in their seas of color, stared into Hisao’s. “Save all that for later. Right now, let’s focus on this.” She lifted herself up, then dropped her hips back down, causing both of them to moan softly. After the echoes died down, she spoke again, her expression calm and content: “Right now, the painting is just happy.”

Hisao smiled, understanding. He and Rin were here, and even if they didn’t know why, they did know that they were enjoying it. And, if he had anything to say about it, he was going to make her enjoy it even more.

Steadying himself with his arms, he bucked his hips upward slightly, driving himself into Rin, who yelped in surprise before exhaling a shaky breath. She took a moment to regain her senses, then lifted herself up again. Hisao was waiting, and timed his own thrust to match hers, and to his delight, not only did she gasp in surprise, the glow emanating from her grew stronger, shining even brighter.

Before long, they moved again, and the glow increased further - and yet, it was never blinding, or even irritating. As seconds passed, and they threw themselves at each other again and again, the warm rays came to burn like a tiny star, washing out their surroundings, but never obscuring their vision of each other. For a brief moment, Hisao marveled at the raw power at Rin’s disposal, but shortly thereafter he felt her begin to tremble, and realized that he himself couldn’t hold out much longer.

He reached out with one hand and grabbed Rin’s shoulder, willing his fingers to hold onto her, in hope that they might still be touching after the waves of pleasure had finished. Somewhere deep inside, he remembered this feeling, of holding on so tightly to something, and yet still having it stripped away - and that prospect terrified him.

Not Rin. He wouldn’t lose her. He could never let her go. Not after all of this.

As the aftershocks began to fade away, and the room came into focus again, Rin slowly slumped forward onto Hisao, the difference in their heights resulting in her head resting gently on his chest. Her soft cheek pressed into him, and above that, a few strands of her hair. Furthermore, her breath, warm and heavy but growing lighter with each passing second, flowed across him, making him feel incredibly comfortable. Trying his best to return the favor, he put one hand behind Rin’s head and began to run his fingers through her hair, gently rubbing her scalp.

Hisao’s contentment, however, did not last long. Although Rin’s breath was becoming softer, it began to break up into short, quiet sobs, and Hisao felt a wet tear run down onto his skin. Never before had he seen her cry, but now, after a shining, glorious moment, she was breaking down against him. He wanted to believe that they were tears of happiness, but knew that he couldn’t make that assumption. “What’s wrong?”

Rin lifted her head briefly, looking Hisao in the eyes, and he felt a twinge of pity at the sight. After a few more sharp breaths, she laid her head back down and squeezed Hisao’s sides with her arms, as if trying desperately to cling to him. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Relief washed over Hisao the moment he heard Rin’s words, and he returned to slowly stroking her head. “Rin, I promise, I will never, ever leave you.”

Rin looked up into his eyes again, and for a moment he thought that she had stopped crying; unfortunately, it was simply the calm before the storm, and a second later she burst into loud sobbing. Hisao could feel the droplets fall onto his chest, and could hear the sharp breaths and muffled moans, but still he could not understand. He tried to think of the right thing to say, or even the right question to ask, but the words wouldn’t come.

After a few more seconds of confusion, Rin managed to bring her sobbing under control. She took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself, then grunted and pushed herself forwards, so that her head hung directly above Hisao’s. Her messy hair spread out like a patchy halo, still glowing faintly, as if made of the embers left over from her prior conflagration. “Hisao. Thank you, Hisao.”

“Rin, I...” Hisao locked eyes with the girl above him. “I don’t-”

“You don’t understand. I know.” A strange noise came from somewhere outside, but Rin paid it no mind. “I wish I could explain it all. I never wanted to leave you in the dark. But we don’t have much time.”

Hisao suddenly felt very worried - Rin’s statement was nothing if not ominous. “What do you mean?”

No sooner had he asked this question than another noise sounded from outside. This time, however, it was unmistakable: an explosion, much closer than the last. Rin still ignored it, and kept her eyes locked on Hisao’s. “It’s just the way things are here. It’s just how the painting is.”

Hisao began to rack his brain, trying to figure everything out. “B-But the painter can change their painting! Can’t you change it, like you did before?”

Rin smiled, but it was tainted with pity. Another loud bang came from outside, this one close enough to rattle the windows and cast some light through the blinds. Once the echoes had stopped, she continued. “Hisao, if it were up to me, we would live here forever, in each other’s arms. But it’s not. I’m not the painter.” A tear ran down her cheek, and her voice became little more than a whisper. “You are.”

As she spoke those final words, a thunderous crack sounded, and Hisao instinctively clamped his eyelids shut, though plenty of light still made it through. Once his ears stopped ringing, he opened his eyes again, and was shocked at his surroundings.

The blast had shattered the windows, sending shards of glass flying across the room - but none of them had hit him. A pair of wings, their feathers glowing softly like the edge of an eclipse, had sprouted from Rin’s shoulder blades. They encased the duo, like a protective cocoon - but even a cursory glance showed that they were damaged, and small scarlet puddles began to collect on the floor beneath them. Speechless, Hisao just stared at the miraculous girl above him. Strangely, she didn’t look to be in pain; her eyes seemed content, almost sleepy, and her mouth was still turned upwards into a smile.

She leaned forward, putting her lips next to Hisao’s ear, and spoke softly. “Thank you, Hisao. For dreaming of me.”

At last, the final explosion roared through, and Hisao was plunged into blackness. His body and mind were torn to shreds; or, at least, he was sure that they had been. He felt sick, and cold, and was sure that those were the hallmarks of his death - until he remembered that the dead could not feel. No matter how he felt, he was alive. He briefly rejoiced, remembering that there was something worth living for, but that thought was jarred out of his head by the sound of a distant boom.

His eyes shot open, but took a second to adjust - the sky above him was completely black. Beneath him was a gravelly floor, which seemed to be seeping the warmth out of his body. And finally, as he lifted his head a bit, he heard another explosion. He turned to see where it was coming from, and saw a brilliant red firework light up the sky.

7 - Surface
It took Hisao quite a while to figure out where exactly he was: on the roof of the school building. Although it was quite dark out, the grounds below were brightly lit up. In addition to the normal pathway lighting, a number of small paper lanterns, strung up along various wooden booths, flooded Yamaku with soft yellow light.

Of course. Despite the throbbing in his head, he remembered why he was here, just as the last burst of fireworks lit up the sky.

Today was the day of the festival. Students joined their clubs and classes in setting up various booths, and then other students, their families, and even residents of the nearby town could walk around and play games, eat food, and generally have a good time. At least, that was the theory.

Hisao wasn’t part of a club. He was part of a class, but had joined too late in the year to be included in their list of volunteers. It probably wouldn’t have been good for his heart anyways. So, without any obligations, he had hesitantly planned to just walk around and enjoy the festival.

It wasn’t until too late that he had realized the problem. Walking around on his own, these indulgences had seemed... petty. Everyone was there to be with other people. Even from the rooftop, he could see them in groups. Everyone had someone. Everyone except poor little Hisao.

He sighed, but it was drowned out in another noise: the sound of someone yelling. Hisao rolled over to find that the source was Kenji, the boy who lived across from him, who was currently brandishing a broken bottle while yelling at the sky. Maybe he had someone after all.

He felt a little nauseous at the thought. Then again, he felt a little nauseous in general.

After a few more seconds listening to Kenji’s ranting, Hisao tried to get his attention.

“Kenji... KENJI!”

“Huh? What’s up?”

Hisao managed to sit up, though it wasn’t as easy as it should’ve been. “Kenji, can’t you keep it down? You’re hurting my ears.”

Kenji stood still, bewildered, for a moment before nodding. “Of course - anyone could be listening! Good idea, man.”

Hisao groaned, then noticed the smell of alcohol in his nostrils. He was about to chastise Kenji before realizing that it was coming from much closer. He looked down and noticed a wet patch on his shirt.

It all seemed to rush back to him. He had walked around the festival, feeling horrible about himself. Then he remembered that Kenji said he was going to be up on the roof. Figuring that it would at least pass the time, he went to see Kenji, who was already drinking, even though it wasn’t long past noon. And then... A bit of a blur. He must’ve passed out, and woken up just now. It crossed his mind that he should probably head back to his room, to avoid being found up here come morning.

In the meantime, Kenji had begun ranting again, albeit at a much lower volume. Hisao suddenly felt rage build up inside him.

“Damnit, Kenji, can you stop with this conspiracy bullshit?”

“... I don’t follow.”

Hisao put his head in his hands for a moment, trying to compose himself, before replying. “Well, don’t you have anything better to do with your life than sit in your room hiding from half the population?” The moment the words left his mouth, he knew they would anger Kenji, but he didn’t care.

Kenji sat there, bewildered, for a second. Finally, he replied, if not in the manner Hisao had expected. “Of course! You’re completely right!”

“I am?”

“Yes! I can’t just spend my whole life hiding from the menace that threatens us all! I have to be out on the front lines, giving everything I’ve got!”

“Wha- No! Don’t do that!”

Kenji looked elated, contrasting with Hisao’s mortified expression. “It all makes sense! I have to fight this fight myself! I’m the chosen one! I wondered why all of these interconnected lines led to me, but of course they would - I’m at the center of this whole fucking thing!”

Hisao attempted to stand, but just fell back to his knees a moment later. “Kenji, you’re not the-”

“I have to go prepare! I’ve got so much to do! On my honor, I will fulfill my destiny!”

“KENJI!” Hisao was furious at this point, especially given that he couldn’t seem to stand up without toppling back onto the floor a second later. “You’re not fucking special! Neither of us is special! You’re insane, and I’m pathetic, but THAT’S IT!” Kenji began to open his mouth, but Hisao wouldn’t let him finish. “I’ve spent ALL FUCKING WEEK trying to be some kind of half-decent person, making friends or finding a purpose in life or something, but IT DOESN’T WORK! I’m just some shitty excuse for a human, trying desperately to find someone to tell me it’s all okay, or that it’s all worth it, or that they like me for who I am, but they NEVER FUCKING DO!”

Hisao glared at Kenji, daring him to respond. Kenji, of course, couldn’t really see Hisao’s expression anyways. “Wow, man. That’s kind of harsh.”

Completely irate, Hisao couldn’t just let Kenji go unpunished. He willed himself up, managing to stand for a moment, and then commanded his legs to walk over so he could sock Kenji right in the face. He took the first step, putting his right foot forwards, but the ground wasn’t where he expected it to be, and he reflexively stomped his right leg down. This sent him completely off balance, and he found himself stumbling backwards, unable to get his legs to move the way he wanted. After only a few frantic ‘steps’, he reached the edge of the roof, and smashed into the safety fence, which promptly gave way.

As the sensation of freefall began to well up in his stomach, Hisao realized that he remembered this feeling, and he closed his eyes. It hadn’t been too long ago - maybe just a few days? It couldn’t have been more than a week, because he had only been at Yamaku for that long, and it definitely happened here, with a girl he loved.

A girl he loved... Was there one of those here? There were a lot of pretty girls, of course, but had he really found one to start a relationship with? The idea elated him, and in the moment before he hit the ground, the sinking feeling in his stomach felt like butterflies.

END.

*slow clap*
Woooooooooooooow

Excellent. Covered the whole spectrum there, eh?

Thank you for writing this. It's inspiring!

And we'll never know if chapter 8 would have had Hisao waking, confused but unsuspecting, in his parents' house on a snowy February day...

Wow, just... wow. A most excellent piece crafty, well done. I've especially loved your Rin; it matches her character - or, at least, my impression of it - perfectly.

Craftyatom wrote:Also, I needed practice with smut [...] before moving on with my main route.

I think you did well, mostly. I've found Epic to be somewhat uncomfortable (too aggressive for my taste) and Serenity a bit... boring, but the rest was great, especially Power.

brythain wrote: ↑Thu Jun 07, 2018 5:45 amThank you for writing this. It's inspiring!

Now there's an adjective I didn't expect - not entirely sure how you've been inspired, but I'm glad you liked it!

Scroff wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 7:47 amAnd we'll never know if chapter 8 would have had Hisao waking, confused but unsuspecting, in his parents' house on a snowy February day...

Now, I know some people are proponents of the "author is dead" theory, but as I'm still kicking, I'll give you what I took as canon: Hisao dies. Chapter 7 is the real world, and ends with him being completely and unconditionally bereft of life. That said, if someone wants to write a continuation on the premise that he's not, they're more than welcome to!

calcifer wrote: ↑Thu Jun 14, 2018 8:29 amI've especially loved your Rin; it matches her character - or, at least, my impression of it - perfectly.

That's kind of funny, because she's definitely the girl I know the least about. I worked around this by writing each of the girls based on only what Hisao knows from his first week - everything else, his subconscious fills in. I accepted that her characterization might be bad - the "little mysteries to be solved" part definitely didn't feel like it fit her route - but evidently I got something right.

calcifer wrote: ↑Thu Jun 14, 2018 8:29 amI've found Epic to be somewhat uncomfortable (too aggressive for my taste) and Serenity a bit... boring, but the rest was great, especially Power.

I can understand your feelings on those. Serenity was meant to be relaxing (hence the name), but there's a fine line between that and boring. Power was definitely my favorite to write - I actually finished it third, because I was so excited to put it together. I see what you mean about Epic, but I actually considered it one of the "happier" chapters - originally, it was going to be much darker (more like Command, with extra psych horror thrown in), but I realized that that would make the story way too dark overall, so I lightened it up a bit. When I first started working on this idea, I wanted to run wild and do a bunch of gritty, tragic chapters, but over time I realized it should probably be more balanced.

Anyways, I'm glad you all enjoyed - this story took a lot of work, but I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Huge thanks to those who proofread it for me - wouldn't've been nearly as good without you!

Damn, if this is how you practice writing smut, then I'm curious to see the fruits of your effort when you write more

Sat down and read the whole thing - I absolutely loved it. It took me a while to realize I was reading a dream sequence at first, until Misha started screaming quite loudly. Glad I stuck with it though - the first chapter made me definitely want to read the rest.

One of the things I really loved in each of these was how you took subtle nuances from every girl's route or personality and cranked them up to eleven. It was fun to read how you interpreted the things you picked out - especially with Shizune and Rin and those are the two girls that are the most tedious to read about for me.

I also liked how each dream was connected in a larger continuity, with things from previous dreams carrying over into other ones, like Hanako's injury.

I truly envy your ability to write. Great job!

Finally found the time to read this. After your introduction I thought it might be best to wait till I had the time to read it in one go...
I have to say you did a great job conveying the dreamy feeling, especially in the first chapter. From the very beginning the chapter felt off somehow without me being able to put my finger on why.
When Misha got loud that led me to suspect a crackfic at first instead of a dream, but in retrospect it all makes a lot of sense.
For later chapters the effect was not as great because I already knew what to expect, but that's unavoidable.

Hisao dies. Chapter 7 is the real world,

That much I was able to gather from the title of the chapter.

Now there is only one question left to answer: Why is Emi the only one who is a psychopathic murderer?