Black Squares, White Squares.

[HateKitty]

Hello everyone! This will be my first fan work submitted through KS and I hope you all enjoy this menial story.
This story occurs right after the end of the Hanako Good End, and will expand on the relationship between Hanako and Hisao.

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Clack.

The odd purple haired girl sitting across from me sets down a chess piece, her hands lingering on it for a brief moment.

Clack.

I set down my piece with resolute confidence, cornering her defending king into submission.

"Checkmate." I notice her panicking slightly, a slight blush creeping across her face. She self consciously brushes her hair over the right side of her face while her other hand starts sweeping the chess pieces into their respective color bins. Her thick curtain of purple/black hair hides the severe burn scars she has on the right side of her otherwise angelic face. No, the scars only add to her angelic atmosphere as a whole.

"I g-g-guess y-you win again H-H-Hisao..." The purple haired girl dejectedly peeks out from her curtain of hair, "S-s-so, I lost the b-b-bet..."

I can't help but grin.
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Two weeks later, I am putting the finishing touches on both our bags, the suitcases' name cards boldly state
"HANAKO IKEZAWA" and "HISAO NAKAI," with the school emblem of Yamaku High School underneath. I take a light breather, sitting on the steps outside of the school's main entrance. It takes too much out of me to even perform light physical tasks anymore, ever since I have been diagnosed with arrhythmia, a heart condition which prevents me from overexerting myself among other things. Arrhythmia makes living the daily life of an otherwise healthy teenage male extremely difficult.

I start zoning out when my cellphone starts to ring, I check the caller I.D, then promptly flip it open.

"Yeah, I'm outside, all our stuff is packed and tagged for the bus ride."

"Uhm... H-H-Hisao... I don't think I-I-I can do this..."

"Stop being silly and come outside will you? We're going to miss the bus."

"H-H-Hisao wai-!"

I snap the phone off and wait patiently once again near the suit cases. She'll come to me.

I'm always certain of it.
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"Are you still that worried?"

She stares at me with beseeching eyes, the same expression deer have when faced with an immediate future they can't comprehend. I roll our bags through the depot to the waiting area. It doesn't take long for me to find the people that I'm looking for.

A figure breaks from the general crowd of people waiting behind the courtesy line of the depot's pick up area, and runs toward me with another person following close by. As the figure comes closer I can see my mother's frantic and crying face before she nearly knocks me over with the force of her hug, which causes my chest to twinge slightly.

She sobs hysterically while my father catches up to us, who looks away, trying to hide the emotions that are being displayed quite plainly on his face. My mother laments and sobs over the weight I have lost while dorming at Yamaku high. After a few minutes she seems to have her emotions under control and notices the person next to me, who seems like she wants nothing better than to shrink into her own shadow.

"I'm sorry," my mother says, wiping her eyes, "it has been a while since I've seen Hisao. I'm usually never this emotional. You must be?..."

Without warning, the girl next to me draws herself to her full height, and proclaims without a single stutter in her voice:

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Nakai, I am Hisao's girlfriend, Hanako Ikezawa."
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The drive back to my old childhood home is in complete and heavy silence. The same confident Hanako that was in the depot is once again replaced by her shy and demure self. My mother has a slightly strained and seemingly uncomfortable smile on her face. I can sense the bubbling emotions from the passenger and driver side of the car, where my parents are holding their thoughts in check out of politeness to Hanako.

The ride back home is still another few hours, and I can feel the strain the journey put on my body. I reach out with my arm and cover the shoulder of Hanako who was sitting next to me, and pulled her into the nook between my neck and chest. She resists slightly at first, probably ashamed at showing such affection with my parents in such close vicinity, then reluctantly gives in when I softly cover he right hand with my hand. This small gesture has been a signal let her know when I need her the most.

I lose myself in the fragrant scent of her hair, and the slight bumps along the road that rocks the car slightly lulls me to sleep.
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Hanako gently shakes me awake as the sound of crunching gravel brings me to my senses. I see the two story house and medium sizes yard that was the home of my childhood. Although it seems much smaller than I remembered, it still hits me with severe nostalgia. I loosen my grip around Hanako's shoulders allowing her to sit up and stretch, while my father finishes pulling the car into the garage. Hanako still has the beseeching look on her face, realizing that she will have to face my parents yet again.

I smile reassuring at her, rubbing her hand once again, and open the door.

My father wordlessly carries our bags into the house and I can hear his feet thumping up the stairs to my old
room. My mother quickly ushers us both into the sitting room of the house, and starts bustling in the kitchen to prepare us some tea.

"I-I-I don't think your parents l-l-like me H-H-Hisao..." Hanako whispers to me, she's so nervous she is almost doubled up next to me on the couch.

"Well, this is the first time I've brought a girl home, so I couldn't tell you how it usually goes." I wink at her, but the joke does little to ease her anxiety.

My father seems to be finished setting our bags down upstairs, I hear him thumping down the stairs again, his heavy footfalls going into the kitchen, and the hushed tones of a conversation in secret. Suddenly I hear something being smashed against the floor, and my father stomping out into the garage once again. The car starts up then fades away into the distance.

I hear my mom sighing in the kitchen, and the sounds of her sweeping up the china from the floor.

I'm so shocked I can't move, this is the first time I've heard my parents fight, let alone break something out of anger. While growing up, I have never heard my parents even yell at each other, let alone throw something. Sure, there was a few tense dinners here and there but this is the first fight of this magnitude.

I glance over at Hanako, and it seems that she's shocked to the point where she stopped breathing. I start absentmindedly stroking her right hand once again.

My mother comes out of the kitchen with a laden tray, but I instantly notice the creamer is missing from the tray. She asks a few questions, mostly out of politeness, to Hanako, and my mother promptly gives up when she realizes that it takes Hanako a few minutes to stammer out even the simplest of answers.

Before the tense silence settles in again, I tell my mother we grabbed sandwiches on the bus and that we are skipping dinner. My mother nods curtly and doesn't stop us when I lead Hanako up the stairs to my old room, leaving the untouched tea behind. Without even turning on the light switch, I gently push Hanako into my old bed, and flop down next to her. I feel her trembling lightly, I hold her close before sleep envelopes us both.
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[Pata Hikari]

Well that was awkward.

Poor Hanako, poor Hisao.

[CNB]

This seems relevant to my interests.

You might want to consider toning down Hanako's stammer just a tad.

[Guest]

It's ok. Feels like Hanako's closer to the middle of her character arc than the end of it, though.

[gammaraptor]

I think the drop back to her "middle" character was a good effect, kind of makes us feel that Hanako still is changing, she's still transitioning.

[scott1and]

I think Hanako stutters a bit too much here. If you look through Act 1 she doesn't stutter as much as she does here, although it is good that your showing she's nervous with the new experience, I think toning the stutter down would make this a more enjoyable read.

I'm not being mean, just thought you might like some constructive criticism.

[Uliana]

Do agree about toning down the stutter. Hanako doesn't stutter that much in the game, even during the times she was shy towards Hisao. She's more "H-Hello" rather than "H-h-hello".

Still, meet the parents huh? And already not going too well. Would like to see where this story goes