Katawa Yandere - The Entire Lilly Route - Parts 1-4

Katawa Yandere - Lilly Route by Akira!!UjNzln6KLxU  Feb 03 - Apr 02 2012

Title Screen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igXVIc75Crw&feature=youtube

Part 1
Hanako couldn't make today, apparently. You muse to yourself sipping tea in your usual tranquil room. You wouldn't have minded the company, but at the same time, silence has its own benefits as well. You've had nowhere near enough of it for what seems like an eternity. With the hectic festival preparations and that deaf bitch breathing down your neck every five seconds, things have hardly been peaceful. Still, here, for now at least, you have a brief moment of qui- the door creaks open: Misha? No, she wouldn't have eased the door open so much as attempted to break it down. And Hanako would have said something immediately. Setting down you cup with a light clink, you sweetly speak.
"Shizune, if that's you, I will murder your family with a shovel and burn down the hospital you were born in. I will destroy all record that you ever existed so that no one will ever mourn you."
A moment of silence, as per usual with that deaf bi-
"Um... I'm not her... Sorry?" It's a guy's voice. One you don't recognize.
"I'm really sorry if I interrupted anything, I was just lost."
"Oh!" You exclaim, embarrassed at such a blatant lapse in your self-control. "I'm sorry to startle you, it's kind of an inside joke. Please, have a seat."
There's a moment's pause between you last word and the actual sound of movement. That was hardly a proper introduction. Eventually, you hear the chair across from you being pulled out
"So you're a new student, I'm guessing?"
"Yeah, I, uh, just transferred in today."
"Please, have a drink." You say as you straighten, not waiting for him to affirm your request. It's better to save face right now. After a moment of practiced preparations during which you guest doesn't speak, you hand him his cup.
"I'm Lilly, by the way, Lilly Satou."
"Hisao Nakai."
"So, what room were you looking for, then, Hisao?" You speak, trying to demonstrate a laid-back attitude.
"The library, Shizu- Err... I was told it was on this floor."
"I'd be a little wary of listening to what she says all the time if I were you, Just some friendly advice."
"How come?" He asks, though not at all seeming confused; at least partially understanding it.
"That one has an agenda. Always."
"Yeah, I do kind of get that impression of her."
You giggle a bit before sipping your tea.
You exchange small talk for a while - fairly meaningless stuff. Clubs, students, faculty, and the like. He seems nice enough, if somewhat airheaded. He literally knew nothing about Yamaku before he came here. After a while, he awkwardly breaks off.
"Oh, wow, time really has flown."
"Pardon?"
"You can't see he sun sett- oh. Err, it's kind of late. Um, should the library still be open?"
You decide to take a more direct hospitable route and inform him that the school's entire security, nursing, and housing departments are actually staffed entirely by the same guy before producing a wine bottle out of your bag.
 "Um, not sure I should..."
"And why would the library be so much more exciting?"
After a moment's pause, he takes the bottle, and you hear a glugging ended by violent coughing. You take it from him and down an equal amount.
"Lightweight."
"Hey, I'll show you lightweight!" He says before snatching it back and drinking.
"Hey, can I feel you fache?" You ask in a wavering voice.
"Um, shure?" He hics back.
It's a utilitarian thing for you - even drunk you can do it easily. A few practiced finger strokes and you've a very decent feel for what this new guy looks like. Usually though, you stop at that level, intoxicated, you start stroking his cheek.
 This goes on for a few tense seconds before.
"Hey Lilly, I was looking for y-" A voice comes as the door casually swings open. A voice, that stops dead.
"Hey Hanako, wanna join the party?" You ask, waving the bottle in her general direction.
"Lilly, what the- No. Ok, you're spending too much time around Akira."
 In a stiff motion, she jerks you to your feet before leading you out the door.
"Bye Lillyyyy." He calls back. You want to turn and answer, but Hanako is practically dragging you down the stairs, so turning around would likely send you both hurdling down.
"Ok." She begins after having pulled you back to your room. "What the h-h-hell were you thinking?"
She's trying to sound angry, but she just doesn't have it in her. She's more concerned than anything.
"Just a welcoming party." You say, trying to wave off the fact that it really WAS a pretty fucking stupid idea for a blind girl to go get drunk alone with a guy she just met a few hours ago.
 "What'd you think of the new guy, Hisao? I thought he wash decent looking... hic!" You ask, using Hanako's obsession with appearance as a segue out of this topic.
"He looks like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed." She retorts back. "First day and he was edgy all through class."
 "What's wrong with him? Did he say?"
"Nope. He's got all his limbs so something internal? Brain damage, maybe?" She sighs. "Look, forget him and sleep this off. I'll check on you in the morning."
Next day, you wake up slightly later than normal and wind up going to class at an uncomfortably fast pace. Over your shoulder, though, you sense the ultimate monster.
"WAHAHAHA - Class representative! Just who we were looking for!" No mistaking that voice.
As much as it would be an honor to your ancestor, sir Alasdair the Devastator, to savagely annihilate your enemy here, you know that discretion is the better part of valor. Also, you know for a fact that Misha's drills can deflect a shotgun blast. You duck into a classroom totally at random.
"Who's that - is someone there?" A marginally familiar voice calls out, but you don't recognize it. Whoever he is must be blind too. Whatever, they likely saw which way you went. How do you use the classroom and this single human resource?
"I think the student council wants to talk to you outside." You say as calmly as you can.
"Oh great, them. Shit. I knew they'd come for me eventually. Well I WON'T GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!" He roars before charging straight into the door. He then seemingly remembers that modern doors have handles and opens it before charging out of that.
You hear loud shouts from the hallway about how everyone should put on their tinfoil hats. To protect themselves from the Overmind. The sound of walls being punched at awkward angles and bizarre ranting about how this universe is a fictitious website creation. While he does that, you simply walk out of the classroom's back door.
Breathing a sigh of relief, you hear a familiar voice. "Oh, hey Lilly, right?" Hisao again. "What's going on out there?" He asks in a somewhat groggy tone, apparently less used to dealing with hangovers than you.
"Haha, you're even worse off than me, aren't you. Come on, I've got just the thing for that." Together, you make you way back to your usual tea room, doing your best to ignore the frantic screams for humanity to rise up against their Amazon overlords.
Once there "Oh!" Hey Lilly. And... um... h-h-hisssao..." The change in her voice is quite clear.
"Can you give us a minute, Hanako?" You say as sweetly as possible. Even without sight you can tell she must be giving you a somewhat suspicious look. "O-ok." She says before shuffling out of the room.
"Have a" He's already slumped down onto the table. "My, my..." You set about preparing Akira's signature hangover remedy - an insidious branch of scottish alchemy perfected during the middle ages. As the glass before you hisses while the Octopus blood permeates the coffee liqueur, you think it may be best to try and talk to Hisao.
"Hey Hisao." You begin softly. "About what you said, about your family, your classmates, leaving you alone. I realize that must have been hard on you, but you don't need to try and shoulder it all yourself, you know."
A pause, then. "It's more that there's not much for me to shoulder at all, really..." As you pass him the cup, which slightly emits arcane Pict chants as it moves, He begins to tell his story. How his heart stopped. How everyone deserted him, treated him like a pet in a cage. That he got a vague imitation of life back instead of the actual thing.
It's actually a feeling you know - you've felt that same way quite often when you've interacted with others. The sense that pity is just another form of scorn. You've tried so often to present a strong face to counter that perception. Is his supposedly grim face the same? Maybe... just maybe...
"You don't have to be alone, here, you know."
He gives a sign of relief. "Yeah... I'm starting to see that... thanks Lilly." He replies, chugging the slightly screaming liquid. You smile sweetly at him.
"By the way..." He asks as you perk your head up. "Who's your friend? With the purple hair?"

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Part 2
Going through your normal practiced routine of school, you notice Hanako's missed meeting you outside your own classroom at lunchtime. You'd rather not go to class as you've forgotten to complete your festival paperwork, but there seems to be little choice in the matter. This could go a few ways, you could get into a fight with Shizune, pick up Hanako and find out how she's doing, or possibly look around for Hisao, since Hanako did mention they were in the same class.
It's strange that he would be weighing on your mind like this after a while, but the thought is there. At the same time, you certainly don't want to neglect Hanako. And Shizune is unfortunately a part of your life whether you like it or not.
Mentally preparing yourself, you open the door.
"Lilly!" You hear her squeak after you've stepped into the room.
"Hanako? Ready to go?" You ask, barely managing to enunciate the word "go" as she takes your arm. "B-Bye Hisao" you hear her call back as she leads you out of the classroom to your usual tea room.
You stop, Hanako apparently being surprised slightly, but instantly understanding it. "Oh, is Hisao there?"
"Y-yeah. Hey Lilly."
"I-I was talking to him while I waited for y-you to get here."
"Well then." You say, smiling sweetly. "Thank you then, Hisao. And sorry to keep you waiting."
"Oh." He replies, exiting the classroom into the hallway after the two of you. "It's nothing. We get along pretty w-"
CRACK.
You feel as much as hear a massive impact through the air and Hanako emit a terrified squeak.
"Hisao?!" You gasp, listening for him. Asking for him, you hear Hanako give a slight gasp as she doubtless looks over. He doesn't answer you in any way. You can pick up his breathing, but it's labored. Strange, the blow didn't seem that heavy...
"Hey? Do you need me to get a nurse?" You hear a familiar voice ask. Emi's voice. You're about to start yelling at her before you hear Hisao reply in a half whispering tone. "N-no. I'm fine." It's calm. Actually, almost too calm.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
You hear a rummaging from inside the classroom. Followed by a questioning voice. "Hiichan?" Damn, StuCo inbound.
Ignoring Emi, you quickly kneel down to Hisao
"Hey, Hisao? Are you ok? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm fine."
"You're not fine, though, your breathing-" "I'm FINE." He almost yells at you. As you sit there stunned for a moment, you quickly hear him rise up. "Sorry. Seriously, it's nothing..." He apologizes before making a fast exit.
The classroom door opens and Misha/Shizune exit to find you, Emi, and Hanako in the hallway. "What just happened? We heard a clatter."
You ignore Misha (usually a difficult task, but not so much right now), take Hanako by the hand and make a fast escape. You can hear them start grilling Emi in the background for what happened.
Once in your tea room, Hanako takes over your usual job of making the tea while you just sit there in silence for a moment. You run over the event in your mind as best as you're able, but still lack a good idea of what actually happened. You turn towards Hanako's direction, "Hey, Hanako..."
"Why... what..." You stumble over yourself, trying to phrase some all-encompassing question. Hanako can't guess why Hisao would have upset you, so she assumes you're asking about the incident itself.
"Emi came charging around the bend. Slammed into Hisao as he came out in the hallway. He doubled over completely for a minute."
"Was... he alright?" You question before changing your query. "Actually, better question - what did I do? He seemed angry at me."
"Um... i-if I had to guess - I'd say you came off as pitying him... I know you don't like that feeling either." She pauses for a moment, then adds. "Over concern... i-it can b-b-be a little... degrading." She seems a little too invested, actually.
Listening to your friend, you feel utterly horrible about yourself. You know she's right. Maybe you should find him and apologize?
"Anyways, we were gonna go shopping later, weren't we?" She adds in a fairly transparent attempt to change the subject.
"Um... I should find and apologize to Hisao first, I think. Did you see where he headed?"
Hanako sighs. "He looked like he was going to the main entrance, so the dorms maybe?" "Thanks." You answer as you straighten. "Lilly?" Hanako asks, clearly puzzled at why this is such a big thing for you. "Um... nothing." She dismisses her own thought.
Finding your way to the male dorms, you locate Hisao's dorm and knock a couple times. No answer.
"Who's there?" You hear a familiar crazed voice over your shoulder.
"Contraband Inspection. Can you show me your room please?"
"FUCK" The response comes way too quickly. The door slams shut and you can hear a hectic banging as about ten locks click shut. That's weird, do the male dorms have that many?
Answering your own question, your hand automatically tries Hisao's door - it isn't locked at all.
"Hisao?" You call into the room, hearing no response. You ignore the constant stream of muffled banging and profanities behind you and take a step inside.
Bushing around the wall, to get a feel for the environment, you hand touches a bottle, then another, then another. Pill bottles? So many...
Making sure to take only a single pill from a bottle that must have at least sixty, you slip it inside your pocket and turn to head out.
Inside that strange person's room, you can now hear a loud retching sound. Normally, you'd be concerned, but for now you ignore it. You leave the building and retreat back to your own dorms.
Once there, you change into your pajamas and lapse into thought. You now have some way to find out what happened with Hisao. Even if he won't tell you himself, which would, of course, be ideal. You could ask Akira to look that up for you - no way she'd mind it. On the other hand, it is kind of late and you feel bad for just blowing off Hanako like that.
Akira can wait, as of right now, you show try to appear as normal as possible. Exiting your room, you knock on Hanako's door. "Hanako? It's me." You say. Her door couldn't have opened faster if you had kicked it in. "Lilly!" You hear her voice as she hugs you before taking you by the hand and leading you to a seat on her bed.
"I'm sorry for blowing you off like that."
"Oh, don't worry. I'm fine. I actually bumped into Hisao in the Library and told him you were REALLY sorry for what happened."
"You met him in the library?"
"Y-Yeah. I guess I've found a fellow bookworm, hahaha. He said to tell you it's nothing and he was sorry himself for getting mad."
"That's... good." You reply.
You don't discuss that particular topic any more. The rest of your night is dominated by small talk, eventually you leave Hanako to rest and go back to your room. You have difficulty sleeping, though - something about this situation unsettles you. You wake up a good hour before your already fairly early starting time and head to class, enjoying the silence. After taking the cafeteria Soylent Tan Special as your breakfast, you ponder what to do to kill time before class starts.
You decide to head to the roof and make your way up the stairwell. You push through the door and step out, hearing nothing but the wind. You've been told that the roof has a pretty good view, actually, but strangely there's almost never anyone up there. It's puzzling to you.
Stepping out to the ledge, you take a deep breath of fresh air and sigh. After a couple minutes, you become aware of a scraping sound.
"Hello?" You call, turning around. "Wait... don't move yet, that was a good pose." Comes a scratchy-voiced reply. "You can't see me no matter what way you're facing, right? So just keep looking over there."
"... Hello Rin."
"Just give me a second... This is just a gesture sketch. For now." A moment of pause. Then. "IkindofcameupheretomeditatebutIfellasleepandwokeupwithabirdbuildinganestinmyhairwhichIdidntrea
llymindbutEmisaystheycarrysomekindoffluandIdontwanthertobemadsoIshooeditawaybutfeltbadaboutitsoIwaskindofsulkingbeforeyoushowedupandyourhairkindofremindedmeofachocobosoIstarteddrawingyou."
Not knowing how exactly to reply... "I didn't think anyone else was up here."
"There's someone else up here?" She replies, before pausing, as if glancing around. "Oh, right, that's me."
Remembering that Rin mostly works off same logical system as the animaniacs, you decide that trying to talk with her would be a lost cause and simply walk back down. Reaching Hanako's classroom, you stop and straighten your collar before walking in.
"Excuse me?"
"Good morning, Lilly."
"Hisao? Good morning. You're here early."
"Couldn't be helped. The paramedics woke me up breaking down my neighbor's door at four in the morning. Apparently the idiot got it into his head that he was getting raided and ate a jar of magnesium powder, two rolls of electrical tape, and a spool of canon fuse before going into a rant and smashing everything he owned with a crowbar. He's in stable condition though... Well, as stable as he gets."
"Err... I'm 'sorry' to... hear that."
"Well-" Hisao is abruptly cut off by the classroom door imploding.
"Hi Hiichan! And look! It's the class representative!"
"Hi Misha, hey Shizune." Hisao says, seemingly directing the 'Shizune' portion to you.
"Actually, we wanted to talk to you, class rep. Today's the deadline to hand in your festival paperwork. Can we have that now?"
You're not happy that they interrupted your time with Hisao. And in this position, you can't leave the classroom without going right through them.
You can feel the burning urge to take a lunge at Shizune, having a decent fix on her location. No, though, you've already spooked Hisao once with that. Best not to exacerbate that worry.
"There's still time, isn't there?" You state blandly. "I'll get you everything this afternoon."
"Class Rep! We've been handling this same thing for every classroom in the school and we've finished! WAHAHAHA You're not getting lazy again?"
 "..."
"I mean, if you didn't want to do anything you had your chance to hand it over to us. I mean, it's not like the first time you've done that."
 "..."
"I mean, what were you doing with all this time?! Wahahaha Did you need to nursemaid your entire class?!"
"Shizune, chill out." Hisao finally cuts in. "No matter how much you yell - err - have Misha yell, if she doesn't have it right now, she doesn't have it."
"She should have had it!" Shizune redirects to him. "We did!"
"She hasn't been skipping class to do it." He replies vacantly. Something you're noticing is that Hisao's vocal inflexion doesn't really change much. "Besides, if you really need it, wouldn't the smarter thing to do be to let her get to it right now? As it is, you're just wasting everyone's time."
"Erm... Ok! You make a good point, Hiichan!" You have a feeling that was meant to be a reluctant grumble instead of Misha's cheery delivery. "Get to it class rep! We'll need that by five this afternoon."
You walk past them. "You'll have it." You reply, shooting your sweetest smile Hisao's direction as you pass through the door.
You keep reliving that short exchange throughout class. You're getting a better feel for Hisao's personality now. Also... Your phone rings and you quickly step outside to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hey lil' Sis! How's it going?!"
"Akira? I'm in class right now."
"I know, sorry - but I had to get you before lunch. Listen, I'm in Yamaku right now. Long story, but I figured we could try to meet up. You free?"
It's always nice to hang out with Akira, and you could ask her about that pill you took from Hisao's room. On the other hand, you could also try to look for Hisao himself at lunch now that you have a better idea of where he hangs out...
In spite of yourself, you crack a smile. "Sure! I'd love to see you again!"
"Great, I'll wait by the front gate for you! Hahaha"
And with that, the conversation ends. This is actually shaping up to be a really nice day.
After class, you head out to the front gate. "Heyy!" You hear even before you've reached it. A quick series of footsteps and Akira's embraced you. You hug her back, partially out of affection, but also...
"Akira? Have you lost weight?" It's a rhetorical question. She definitely has. And she was pretty slim to begin with.
"Ahaha, a little. Come on, let's do something about that if you're worried." And with that's you've both entered her car and shot down the mountain at a speed that is definitely unsafe.
"So Dad's shipping company's in a bit of a bind. There was apparently some corporate espionage that resulted in the Japanese authorities getting on our case about some black-book shipments into Hokkaido. He's handling the spy on his end, but it's my job to stop the damage they've already done from sinking us."
"Did we do it?"
"Yes. But I'm not about to let a little thing like that stop me." She replies with a chuckle. You believe it. Akira has a knack for being able to do anything once focused. You really envy that mind of steel.
Half-parking, half-crashing the car, Akira hops out and helps you out, not losing a jolt of animation. "So, I'm gonna need to be doing a bit of leg work these next few weeks, and since Yamaku's right on the way, it looks like we'll get to be seeing each other quite a bit more."
"How about you, Lilly? How've you been this last little while?"
"I've been good actually. Hanako sends her love, of course - she's been doing well. And actually, here's... this new guy at school."
"Oho? What's he like?"
"He seems pretty grim a lot, but he has a good heart." Holding onto her arm, you feel Akira's muscles give a slight twitch.
"Although..." You trail off as you two enter the Shanghai and Akira greets Yuuko with a loud 'HEY!'
"The other day he had some kind of an attack."
"Was he ok?"
"He's fine, yes, but I'd like to know what it was and he won't tell me, so, um..."
Sitting down, you pull that single pill out of your pocket and slide it over to Akira. "Can you... find out what that is?"
A split second of silence that seems to last for an eternity, then. "Sure. I can do that. I'm guessing I should be discreet with it, though?"
"Is that a problem?"
"Nope."
As your food (and drinks) arrive. Akira downs her glass in one gulp and calls for another while the conversation lightens up. After a little while, Akira suddenly trailed off. "By the way, that guy. I'm guessing a slightly decaying athletic build, messy hair, about the same height as you?"
"H-how did you-"
"He just walked in the front door and took a glance straight at you. Just behind me, a little to your left."
Casting a wave in the direction Akira indicated as you hide your drink with the other hand, you do indeed hear a "Hey Lilly." You pick up his footsteps a couple seconds later, then-
"So, are you gonna introduce us?" Akira cuts in. "Oh, my my, where did my manners go. Hisao Nakai, this is my sister, Akira Satou."
"Nice to meet you."
"Nakai..." She mumbles. "Likewise."
He seats himself and Akira turns her attention back to you. "So, have you murdered Shizune yet?"
"Ahaha, no, no. I've gripped those first two canes you got me a bit tightly, but that's all." The one that opens into nunchaku and the one that conceals a rapier, to be precise.
"Not the third though?"
"Heavens, no."
"Good. Don't use 'that'."
Speaking with a spectator is never fun since you can't get into specifics. Even blind, you can tell that Hisao must be giving a very confused expression. Akira simply stands up. "Whelp, I've gotta get back to work. Got a bunch of people counting on me"
"So soon?"
"Unfortunately, but don't worry. I'll see you again real soon. For Hanako's birthday if nothing else. Nice to meet you, Hisao."
She head out at her usual unnatural pace, leaving just you and Hisao.
"Ok, Akira reminded me, Hisao. I'm going to be throwing a little party for Hanako's birthday. You seem to be on decent terms with her - is that the case?"
"Hm, oh, yeah, she definitely seemed shy at first, but she's a really nice girl. I like her."
"So then, would you like to join us?"
"I'd love to. Um... Not really sure what to get her, though."
"Don't worry, I haven't picked her out anything yet either. We can do our shopping the day after the festival. Does that work?"
"Of course."
"Great."
You head back to school together, making idle chit-chat. You've already gotten him to agree to two future meetings and as you walk you've also moved on from holding his sleeve to hooking your arm around his and he doesn't seem to mind. A definite good sign. He suddenly comes to a stop, though.
 "... Rin?"
Not wanting to take chances spoiling such a good day, you give a tug on Hisao's arm. "Um... could we please hurry back to the school? Tomorrow's the festival and I've got a bit to prepare for."
 "Oh? You're working the festival tomorrow?" He asks, seemingly forgetting about Rin for a second.
"Yes. We'll be operating a stall." You say as you start taking a few cautious steps to pull him away from the abomination. "Would you like to drop by? Do you have plans?"
"Well, Kenji said he wanted to 'celebrate' with me if he can 'survive the hospital nurses', but eh - he can wait."
"Great! I'll be sure to make you a special dish!"
As the two of you make your way up the mountain, you begin to notice Hisao's breathing growing ragged. Again, there's that nagging feeling in your gut about what's wrong with him.
You figure you'd prefer to find out by virtue of him trusting you, so you give a short tug on his arm, stopping him.
"Hisao? Are you... alright?"
"Huh?" That was the worst feigned surprise you have ever heard.
"Your breathing..."
After a pause, he sighs. "Yeah, it's alright, don't worry. I have a pretty screwed up heart. I had a severe arrhythmia resulting in a bad heart attack a few months ago and wound up here."
He sighs. "It's funny, I was never really in great shape, but now..." He trails off. Gently, you squeeze his hand.
"It's alright. There's no shame in living as you are, even if you're different from everyone around you. EMIYA SHIROU"
He squeezes back for a moment, then takes the lead again. You feel as if this was a superb personal victory to cap off the day.
The next day, you wake up early for the festival and ready yourself. After picking out the right cane, right ribbons, everything, you still have some time to kill before you start setting up the stall. What to do...
You decide you'd better put some extra effort into this cooking thing. You certainly don't want a repeat of Hanako's borderline lethal attempt to make taffy.
Heading into the library, you hear the customary skullbanging greeting of Yuuko. After inquiring for braille cookbooks, you head to that section of the library and flip through. After finding a good one, you begin intensely studying it. After all, it needs to be good. It NEEDS to be...
The next thing you know, several hours have passed and one of the students from your class has burst into the library, yelling at you to get down there because the stand is falling apart without your leadership.

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Part 3
Making haste, you take Hisao's hand in your free hand, your cane in the other, and lead him away from the approaching bestial sound of 'WAHAHA's. If you were to fight StuCo, it would probably be best to do it with no one else present. And you're not sure if you're equipped for it right now anyways.
"So, how have you been finding school?" You ask with a smile.
"I've been settling in. Misha's been trying to teach me some sign and Emi keeps trying to get me to run with her in the mornings."
The faintest twinge of disquiet crosses your mind; you didn't think he'd have made up with Emi so quickly after she nearly killed him, but that's just a bit that's quickly settled. Also you can mentally track Misha's laughter moving further away, a good sign.
"It was a little unsettling when Kenji barricaded off his room and OD'd on a cocktail of gunpowder and Pepto-Bismol but he doesn't seem any different for it. I get the feeling he's not exactly very health-conscious and something spooked him."
He sighs and continues on. Again, a good sign, in the beginning he seemed reluctant to open up.
"I find myself spending the most time around Hanako, really. I got into the habit of reading a lot in the hospital. Um... also, where are we going?" He asks as he seemingly realizes you've been dragging him along without actually telling him why.
"Oh, nowhere actually." You say, telling half the truth - it wasn't so much that you needed to be somewhere as away from those two. "Was there someplace in particular you wanted to go?"
He pauses, as if thinking.
"Hm... Well, I guess I'd like to see how Rin's mural turned out. Also, I haven't seen Hanako around anywhere. Do you know where she'd be in the middle of all this chaos?"
You give his words some thought. Rin gives you headaches, Hanako's likely going to be holed up in the library right now...
"I can't think of where Hanako might be." You reply. "That girl, honestly... She does seem to drift. "
Taking his arm, you lead Hisao towards the school building. "Come on, let's go look for her."
The two of you walk together at a slow pace. Partially because you're not actually trying to get anywhere, but also because you'd rather not put any undue strain on Hisao's heart. Maybe it would be a good idea to research what he told you about himself at some point.
Time flies as you meander through the building, talking about nothing in particular. You mention your foreign looks are due to your scottish heritage and go into a bit of detail about your estrangement from your family. He talks a bit about his former school life, mostly dull stuff, and a little bit about his four-month confinement to a hospital bed, which is actually rather depressing, but you appreciate the openness he's giving you.
Carefully avoiding the library, you eventually 'fail' in your search for Hanako and find yourselves wondering back to the festival grounds. At your suggestion, you both get some tea and find a spot at the park grounds for the fireworks display.
"But how did you know where the best spot would be?" He inquires. "I can guess where they're going off based on the noise. They haven't really changed much about the festival since last year. I brought Hanako that time."
"Really?" He asks as the first loud bang permeates the park.
You stay silent and cautiously nudge closer at every loud bang. By the end of the show you're leaning on his arm and he doesn't seem to notice when your movement took place. It's a nice feeling, really...
"Huh?" Hisao gives a startled noise, suppressing a flush, you pull back slightly. "What?"
"Oh, I thought I saw- err- there was..." A pause, then a contented sigh. "Never mind." A hissing sound followed by a loud series of cackling explosions marks the end of the fireworks show. In the calm afterwards, your ears both ringing, Hisao breaks the silence.
"I wanted to say, thanks, by the way, for being so supportive. Would you, um..." The way this seems to be being set up, you can feel your heart going a mile a minute. "Would it be alright if I joined you for tea like that day?" A bit of a plummet. Not quite what you were expecting.
Regaining your composure, you smile sweetly at him. "It would be my pleasure, Hisao." No other words are exchanged that night. Not quite what you were hoping for, but he's outright stated that he wants to spend time with you. So that's at least a minor victory.
The next morning, roughly two minutes after you wake up, your phone goes off. "H-Hello?" You grumble, suppressing a yawn.
"Hey, hey! How's it going, Lilly!?"
"Oh, good morning, Akira, how are you?"
"Oh, just doing some research."
Meanwhile, in a hotel in Hokkaido, Akira sits at in front of a cluttered desk with various items splayed out all across the bed, desk, and chairs. Before her right now is an empty bottle of Absinthe, a half-full bottle of whiskey, a medical reference dictionary, two derringers, an iPad, a fossil of the first snake to ever shed its skin, three mismatched socks, a manila folder labeled 'Hisao Nakai' complete with a "Confidential" stamp, a braille typewriter, and the Satou family photo album open to a page containing solely pictures of you two. The walls are plastered with maps and photos of Hisao at various stages of his life.
Back in Yamaku. "You know." She adds. "Looking into that thing you wanted."
"Thanks for that Akira." You say, happy that she's apparently taken this matter at least a little seriously. "What did you find out?"
"Oh, this and that." She replies. "It's probably better if we talk this over in person. Did you wanna meet up for lunch later? I should be able to make it down to Yamaku."
"Sure! We can do that."
"Great, see you soon."
And with that, the call ends. You're glad things are moving well on the Hisao front. Still, though, you do feel a little bad for blowing off Hanako like that yesterday.
Checking your clock, you register that you have some time before class starts. You could try to go make it up to her, or you could try to find Hisao before class, since he usually gets there pretty early himself, although that option has a high probability of running into the Student Council.
Dressing yourself for school and selecting your rapier-cane for today, you exit your room and knock on Hanako's door. "Hanako? It's me." A slight ruffling sound can be heard before the door clicks open.
"Lilly..." You hear her mumble as she hugs you. She clings on much longer than used to and now you feel doubly guilty over blowing her off. All for a good cause, though, well, not really, but a necessary cause.
Finally, she releases you from her embrace but keeps a firm hold of your hand and leads you inside at a zombielike pace. You remember that she's not exactly a morning person either.
"I missed you yesterday..." She mumbles.
"Hanako..." You say softly before gently pulling her towards you and hugging her. "I'm sorry. I was showing Hisao around and we never saw you."
"I-I was... in the library." She mutters into your chest.
"Well, that explains it. There wasn't much need to show Hisao that, is there?"
"I-I g-guess not..."
You kiss the top of her head. "I'm sorry if you felt lonely. I'll make it up to you, ok?"
"I-it's ok. You don't need to do anything special. I'll see you at lunch like usual today, right?" Fuck. Less than five minutes after Akira. Why does everything always happen at once? She's comfortable around Akira, so you suppose you could bring her along, but you might not be able to talk about everything you wanted...
"Actually, Akira's coming into town today. Would you like to join us?"
"Um... t-t-there w-won't be another incident like that time with the swords, right?"
"No. She's already promised she won't do that again."
"O-Ok then!" She perks up. "I'll meet you outside your class. We can go together."
Feeling a little better, you leave Hanako to allow her to get ready for school.
Heading to school yourself, you enter the building and eat a cold breakfast of scrambled eggs and Soylent Beige. Across the room, the cafeteria doors are violently blown open.
"WAHAHAHA! Hey Class Rep! Shiichan needs to talk to you!" Again? Is there some evil government satellite that tells her where you are all the time?
You grip your cane in one hand beneath the table and politely nod in the direction of Misha's audible skipping noises.
"And what can I do for the student council?" You ask as they reach you.
"For starters, you can stop stealing our members!" Misha says cheerfully, although you can hear Shizune's hands chopping through the air.
"Beg your pardon?"
"Hiichan! I'm talking about Hiichan!" Comes her reply.
"Again, I don't follow you." You say again in an aloof tone, although this conversation is already taking a sour twist.
"He was this close to joining the Student Council and now he doesn't want to after talking with you!"
"No one's wanted to join the council since Shizune took over. Am I responsible for everyone she's driven away?"
You hear a series of sharp, deep breaths. You hit a nerve and you know it.
"Hey! Don't make Shiichan feel bad!" Misha exclaims. "She was really upset yesterday!"
Upset? About... Hisao? You feel your hand tightening around you cane's grip. The cafeteria's nearly empty now, with most people having either already eaten their breakfast or decided to skip it.
"You think 'you' have some kind of right to Hisao? MONGRELS."
Your rapier flies out of its sheath and makes a rapid arc at Shizune’s head. CRANG. A shiver runs through your body like you've just struck a wall of solid steel as your attack is intercepted by one of Misha's drills. Strengthened by years of alien dyes and forbidden hair gel, their diamond like hardness easily repels your attack. Shizune hasn't moved at all while Misha charges forward. She swings her head down in a skull-bash that shatters the table you were eating at as you narrowly sidestep it.
Channeling the powers of your ancestor, Alasdair the Devastator, you unleash a rapid series of attacks on Misha before she recovers, tears deep gashes in the floor and tables, but every one is intercepted by those demonic drills. Several were definitely outside her field of vision, but those drills seem to move independent of her own will.
Lunging forward, Misha charges you, one of her drills rising to the center of her head like a charging rhinoceros. You hurl yourself out of the way as she smashes through a pillar with a thunderous battle cry of "WAHAHA!"
Coming into a crouch, you mentally begin formulating a series of combat strategies when the first bell rings.
"Um... Shiichan? Didn't Teacher say we couldn't miss anymore class after the festival was over?"
"!!!"
A rapid series of footsteps can be heard as Shizune runs up, grabs Misha, and the two exit the battle-damaged lunchroom. Come to think of it, you shouldn't miss class either. Hisao wouldn't like it if you got detention. Sheathing your sword, you also exit the lunchroom and head to class.
The rest of the morning is largely uneventful. You keep thinking about what Akira might have found. As the lunch bell rings, you step outside and "Lilly!" Hanako's voice strikes you at about the same time she does, half taking your arm and half tackling you. "R-ready to go?" It had occurred to you to go confront StuCo again, but you have Akira and Hanako both waiting on you now and you'd definitely rather not disappoint them again...
"Of course I'm ready. Let's go." You reply. Heading outside, you're greeted by loud "Hey, you two!"
"A-Akira!" Hanako peeps as Akira's strangely timed footsteps approach.
"Hey there, kiddo. This is a nice surprise. Lilly, you look a little ragged."
"Oh, ahahaha, I'm fine - messed up my uniform a little bit this morning. That's all."
"Okay then. Well, time to go."
With that, the three of you pile into Akira's car and blast down the mountain at horrendous speeds. A worry not helped at all that you could have sworn you heard a beer can open at least twice.
"You remember this place, right, guys?" Hanako gives a "y-yeah!" while you simply nod. A small karaoke bar on the edge of town. "A thought it might be nice to hear your singing voice again, Hanako, see if you've improved."
"B-b-but..."
"Oh don't worry, it's deserted at this time of day. You'll be fine. Besides, I'm sure Lilly would like it, too, wouldn't you?"
"I'd love to."
"O-ok." She agrees, perking up with your approval.
You all file in and find your seats while Hanako walks over to the machine and starts picking through songs.
"I didn't expect you'd bring her along..." Akira half-whispers to you, still seemingly fairly cheerful.
"Couldn't be helped. I felt bad about leaving her. Good thinking on your part."
"I aim to please."
"Ok, well, first things first. That drug you gave me was atropine - an alkaloid prescribed in serious cases of bradycardia. Only REALLY serious cases, since giving it to someone with a normal heart rate will make their heart race until it tears itself apart. It was commonly used as a poison in ancient Rome." The last piece of information wasn't really necessary, but Akira likes to show off a bit.
You feel rather unsettled, you had no idea that Hisao's heart problem could be this bad. And that was only one pill from a selection of seventeen...
"Of course, my spoils don't end there, I'm not about to let my darling sister fall for a bum." You move to protest this, but quickly realize the futility of doing so. She continues. "So I went and did some digging on 'Hisao Nakai'."
In the background, Hanako's found a song she likes and start singing along to it very lightly.
"What did you find?" You ask, curious at what Akira could have uncovered.
"Put together a decent personnel file for ya." She responds, sliding an envelope across the table. "I typed everything into Braille format this morning." She adds as you hear her stretch, cracking several bones before signaling for a drink.
You open the file and begin to run your fingers over the braille dots. Akira gives you a summary as you peruse the details.
"Hisao Nakai, age 18, suburbanite, average grades, no history of delinquency or drug abuse. Medical history is way cooler: Severe mitocardial infaction resulting from an undiagnosed congenital defect. His heart basically exploded on him. I looked everywhere in his file but couldn't find a cause." She concludes, sounding a little defeated.
"Isn't medical history confidential?" You ask.
"It's me."
"Fair enough, go on."
"His recovery lasted four months while they basically put the thing back together. They couldn't fix it all the way, though, hence the meds. I've got a full list of everything he's popping in there. During his stay he was suspected of developing Melancholic Depression but never diagnosed."
You're a little concerned Akira would've gone through these kind of lengths on such short notice.
"Akira... are you alright?" You ask as you hear her knocking back her third drink.
"More or less. Mostly just glad to be of help for once." She replies as she affectionately mashes your head a little. "It's a nice change to put my skills to a cause I actually care about."
She calls for another drink, but you put your hand on hers. "Try to take better care of yourself. Please."
She sighs and chuckles. "Alright... point taken. The boytoy keeps telling me the same thing."
Hanako's finished her song and you both clap.
"Encore!" Akira calls out.
"Um... D-do you really w-w-want m-me to?"
"Of course." You reply. "That was lovely." Which isn't actually a lie. It's true that you weren't paying attention to much of it, but the parts you heard were actually quiet nice. Hearing Hanako sing to you definitely makes for a much nicer background than your usual five-second loops of piano music.
"Anything else you'd like?" Akira asks.
"No, it's quite alright, Akira. You've done more than enough." You reassure her, squeezing her hand.
"Glad to be of service." She replies. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call."
And with that, a thoroughly flushed Hanako finishes her song and you both rise up clapping as she skips down to you both.
The rest of lunch is considerably more lighthearted in tone, with Hanako deciding to finish Akira's leftover drink and becoming mildly intoxicated after just one. Whether due to her low tolerance or Akira's choice of proof will never be known. Nonetheless, it's a small source of relief to both of you as she becomes less tense, even if a little awkward when she starts clinging to you and refuses to let go.
After Akira drops you back off, her driving strangely unaffected, you both decide to just take the rest of the day off and retire back to your dorm. While Hanako naps on your bed, you peruse the (likely stolen) files on Hisao. Today, battle lines were drawn and Akira got you what seems like the greatest gift you could have asked from her. Tomorrow, you and Hisao are scheduled to go shopping for Hanako's birthday. Tomorrow you'll see if you can make use of it.

=========================================================================================================================

Part 4
Usually your internal clock is good enough to wake you up on its own, but today the screeching sound of your alarm is what kicks you awake, having stayed up late memorizing Hisao's file. Nonetheless, you're excited for today, so after chugging a cup of tea and a shot of whiskey, you're nice and ready to greet the day.
Selecting a casual outfit (after no small amount of internal debate, since this will be the first time Hisao's seen you in casual attire) and your third cane for today, you slip out of the female dorms.
It's quite early, easily two hours before you were scheduled to meet Hisao - you wanted to slip out before Hanako was awake since your gift-shopping is supposed to be a surprise.
As the cold morning air hits your face, you wonder what you should do to kill time until Hisao awakens.
Deciding that you'll probably not meet anyone interesting wandering around, or at least rationalizing it to yourself that way, you head over to the male dorms.
Finding Hisao's room, you have a seat outside his door and start casting about with your perceptions. The building's mostly silent - most guys at this school are usually quiet, you've noticed, not that you mind it.
Suddenly you detect a series of footsteps coming from the entryway. Remaining still, the footfalls seem unbalanced, staggered - as if a natural walking rhythm was being disrupted.
As they draw closer, you hear a voice call out, "Wait! Is someone there? You can't fool me! I can smell it! I can feel it! Is this an ambush? I'm warning you man! I've got pyrokinetic ninja skills, like that mummy guy from that one show! Show yourself!"
"Don't be alarmed, brethren. I'm undercover, here to bring you a message."
"Oh, thank god, man. I've been waiting for support. What's the passw-"
"Shh! They'll hear us."
"W-Wait what? Who?"
Pausing a moment to remember what Hanako told you the uniforms here look like, you reply in a grave tone. "The order, haven't you heard? They've mastered a new technology that can detect the speech of anyone who's wearing green."
"FUCKSHITJESUS" Comes a frightened reply, immediately compounded by the sound of tearing fabric. You don't wait for it to stop before continuing. "That's not all. There's going to be a bombing this afternoon, you have to get out to the school and trip the alarm system to alert everyone! NOW! Mankind is counting on you!"
"I'm on it sir!" He yells back and turns around, producing a loud crash as he runs straight into the wall.
"Make haste!" You call after him. "And remember to use a scorched earth policy when you hear our signal! It sounds exactly like police sirens!"
"Got it!" And with that, he disappears out the entranceway.
A stirring sound from Hisao's room. The noise seems to have awoken him.
You'd rather start the day off earlier if at all possible, so without missing a beat, you straighten yourself, flatten your clothes, and knock.
"Hisao? It's Lilly."
"O-oh. Give me a sec..."
Inside the room, you can hear a shuffling, and then the door eases open.
"Hey Lilly, you're here early." He's actually fairly coherent for someone who just woke up. So 'morning people' do exist after all...
"Good morning Hisao. I thought I heard you in there."
"I thought I heard, was there... Oh never mind, Kenji's probably just up to something boneheaded again.
'You have no idea, sweetie.' You muse to yourself.
"Give me a sec, I'll get ready."
You sit on his bed while he showers and changes. You've been here before, of course, but it's nice not to have a time limit and even nicer to be invited. Feeling out the room, you realize it's pretty spartan. He hasn't decorated or anything. Just books and pills, really. Sort of a depressing thought.
You detect Hisao's footfalls and turn your head towards him as he comes back through the door. "Sorry about that. I'm ready now. So, where to?"
"Oh, the bus stop. We can catch an earlier one. Also, there's a good place in the city as a breakfast spot."
"Sounds good."
You take his arm and let him lead you to the bus stop. In the still state of an off-day morning, it feels like you two are the only people left in the world. You really like that thought.
Waiting for the bus together is fairly uneventful for the first fifteen minutes or so. Then the school fire alarm goes off.
"What was-"
"Probably just another drill."
That explanation holds until the bus arrives. On the way down the mountain, you hear several sirens and Hisao says he saw a SWAT van hauling up towards Yamaku. You pay it no mind.
Once in the city, you have a bit of fun steering Hisao around for a while. Still, he's probably hungry and so are you, so you don't abuse that power and quickly locate an outdoor cafe.
Setting down, you take a moment to make a mental map of your surroundings - a common habit for blind people.
At the cusp of your hearing, you pick out a familiar voice. "...in ancient Rome the penalty for falling asleep on watch was death." Then a gurgling sound. "You didn't see that, right?" Another familiar voice answers. "I did not see anything." "Good kid."
"Hey Hisao, is Akira anywhere nearby?" You question.
"How can you pick ou- Oh! Yeah, just coming out of that office building, HEY!" He says as he rises.
"Hey you two! Fancy meeting you here!" She calls back, in that same manner. She comes over and joins you two.
"What happened to your jacket?" Hisao asks.
"Oh, er... 'something' spilled on me."
She hastily segues into introducing Hisao to Hiseaki and asks what you two are doing in the city, when you mention Hanako's birthday, her tone goes down a notch.
"Hm, hey, Hisao, can you give us a minute?" Akira says, not waiting for a response before lifting you up. "Folks didn't call you yet?" She asks once you're out of Hisao's earshot.
"No, they didn't. Has something happened?" You ask.
"Kinda." She explains the state of your aunt and conveys the message that you've both been summoned back to Scotland.
"So, yeah. We may have to hold Hanako's party a little bit early."
At this, you make a nose of discontent, which Akira picks up on right away.
"I can try to make some kind of excuse for you, but unfortunately, I can't ignore the summons. So if you prefer I can pick up Hanako for something between the two of us, but I won't be able to make the party proper if you don't wanna move it."
She puts a hand on your shoulder. "Yeah, sorry about that."
This is probably your best ever attempt at reconciling with your family, but on the other hand, your family here might need you. Especially Hanako, given how she was last year. And of course, Hisao...
"Sorry, Akira, but I've got too much going on here right now to just up and leave. I'll seriously owe you if you can get me off the hook." You state as gently as you can.
"Hehe! No worries, you won't owe me anything." She says as she ruffles your hair. "I'm sure I can come up with something."
She actually took that way better than you'd imagined. If anything, she seems cheerier.
"I'll call Hanako and see when she's free. Just keep going as you were."
"Thanks, Akira." You reply, hugging her.
"I won't be able to do much of anything for about a week, but you can still call me, of course. So, how are things?"
"Well, Hisao's been opening up more and more. I think that's a good thing." You mumble that last bit quietly.
"Hehe, aw..." Akira retorts affectionately.
"Although... Well, some others have been getting in my way in some minor ways."
"Shizune?"
"I guess it wasn't that hard a deduction, was it?"
"Well..." Her hand brushes down your arm to your cane. "You didn't use this one, I'm guessing."
"Not yet."
"Don't. At all if you can avoid it." She hugs you and whispers into your ear. "No need to mess up your clothes if you can get someone else to off themselves or each other."
She releases you and then casts her voice over your shoulder. "Hey you two? Ready to go, Hideaki?"
You hadn't heard them approach, fixed as you were on Akira's speech.
"See you guys later! Ahaha!" She departs.
"What was that all about?" Hisao asks, puzzled.
"Oh, well, my aunt's fallen ill, I'm afraid. My family wanted me to return to Scotland, but I declined it."
 "Why?"
You don't answer, after a minute, you change the subject. "So? Did you have any ideas about Hanako?"
"Oh! Yes, actually. While I found this antique shop that had a chess set I thought she might like, also... Eh, never mind." It's his turn to be silent. You'd like to know what 'else' there was, but it's only fair since you just did the same thing.
"Really? What other kinds of things did they have there?" You inquire.
"Dolls, porcelain, instruments, and the like."
"My, my... actually it sounds like you've found something, can you lead me there?"
Taking your arm, Hisao leads you down a couple blocks into a quiet section of the city.
You spend some time picking through the antiques with care, asking Hisao what they're like.
A lovely series of dolls, some stuffed animals, a strange screaming book bound in human skin and bones, pocketwatches, a rack of classic-era dresses in the back, sets of victorian silverware, and the like.
You select a large plush teddy bear and exit with Hisao. Your shopping effectively over, the rest of your day is spent meandering about. It doesn't really matter what you're talking about anymore, so much as just spending time with Hisao.
Upon returning back to school, the state is utter cacophony. As you let Hisao lead you through the gate, you hear sirens, the hiss of fire hoses, lots of yelling, talking, and running around. Suddenly, Hisao stops dead. "Rin?"
"Hm?" You inquire.
"Um... I think Rin's in custody. One sec."
"No, I'll go with you, I'm curious what's going on, too." After all, how could anyone not be?
Together, you push through the crowd. After a minute, at about groin-level, you hear a voice. "Oh, it's Hisao."
"Um... Rin, what the hell happened here?"
"Beats me. A lot of people are asking me that."
"Um... do you have an idea of what happened?"
"I have a lot of ideas. Like that one about the inside-out walrus. But what everyone's saying is that one of the students had a psychotic episode, broke into the art room wearing only a scarf, beat the teacher to death with a crowbar saying he was the antichrist, and set the building on fire... So I guess club is gonna be cancelled tomorrow."
"So, why are they asking YOU about all this?" you ask, feeling a strong surge of pity for whatever police interrogator gets dumped with the task of trying to get logical answers out of Rin.
"Oh, I was in the room."
"You w- So how could you not have a good idea of what happened?" Hisao asks.
"I was taking a nap."
"You... slept through someone getting beaten to death?"
"Apparently."
Realizing that this is getting nowhere, you squeeze Hisao's arm. "We should be on our way."
"Oh, right." He exclaims, remembering that you're both still holding you large packages, he takes yours. "Where to? Where are we gonna put the gifts so Hanako wouldn't find them?"
"Oh, let's go to my room. I think I know where to put them so Hanako won't see."
 "Ok then."
 You make your way across the school grounds, your hearing picking up a series of crazed demands to be released before The Order devours him.
The dorms themselves are mercifully empty, with most of the students being either outside reveling in the school's destruction or inside barricaded against the world. Hanako is likely in the latter category.
Reaching your room, you lead Hisao inside. It occurs to you that this is the first time he's seen your room. It's the same as ever to you, but you can't help but feeling a little anxious since you can't tell how it 'looks'.
"Wow, you keep it clean in here, where do you want these?"
"Oh, that crate by the window is empty, just stick them in there."
A shuffling as Hisao stows the gifts and you move to close the door. After that, you hear the flopping of a paper envelope.
Hisao's folder.
That you left on your nightstand.
"What's this?" He asks with only a passing interest.
Inwardly, you remember that Hisao can't read braille and breathe a huge sigh of relief. If you'd had items in your room instead of paperwork, a mistake like that could have cost you.