script-a4-Shizune

label en_S31:

    "I found out what happened through an email from Shizune on my cell phone. I didn't even notice it until almost 5 PM."

    "It's a bad habit I have, that I frequently forget to check or charge my phone, sometimes for days at a time."

    "So I didn't find out about the accident until almost six hours after it happened."

    "By the time I got to the hospital, it was too late."

    "“Shiina Mikado,” huh? It's kind of funny, that I didn't know your full name until then."

    "I'm a pretty lousy friend."

    "Afterwards, I was asked to answer some questions about Misha to the police. They were going to rule it as a suicide."

    "But that can't be right. The last day that I saw her, she looked so happy."

    "Unless that, too, was a lie."

    "I still refused to believe it. I told them that I refused to believe it. It's not denial, really. It's just that it I'm so sure they were wrong."

    "Despite…"

    "Misha, I was able to defend you at least this once. I hope I did a good job."

    "I'm sorry."

    "…"

    "There was a surprisingly small number of people at the funeral."

    "In the days after, I was able to rationalize it. Bit by bit. I had to."

    "It's the summer, after all. And Misha was pretty sociable, but she really didn't hang out with a lot of people. I think really only Shizune, myself, and Yuuko knew her all that well."

    "Even so, it's depressing."

    "I don't think her parents were there."

    "I haven't seen Shizune since that day."

    "A knock at the door takes me out of my reminescing. I'm grateful to whoever it is for that. Without thinking, I open the door. It's Hideaki. He has a bag on the floor next to him that he picks up when he sees me."

    hh "Good morning."

    hi "Yeah."

    "It's his usual greeting, but his tone is different. I can tell pretty clearly that this is a hollow formality. It's strange seeing him without the intense energy he usually has."

    "I'm grateful to him. He's the one who arranged everything for the funeral."

    hh "How are you holding up?"

    "It's a hard question. What am I supposed to say? How should I answer that? I don't think there is any way for me to respond to it correctly."

    hi "Fine."

    hh "I see."

    hh "How is Shizune?"

    hi "We haven't spoken in a while."

    hh "I see. Would you like to go see her now? That is why I'm here. I thought maybe she could use some cheering up."

    hh "I'm… not really good at that, though. If you could lend me a hand, I would appreciate it. I'm sure she would be happy to see you, too."

    hh "I'm also a little nervous about seeing her by myself. You being there will ease the tension a little. And, obviously, I need you to translate for me."

    hh "We can go whenever you're ready."

    hi "Do you think Shizune would be okay with having visitors? She looked pretty down the last time I saw her."

    "Actually, that would be an understatement."

    hi "So…"

    hh "You're right."

    hh "…"

    hh "Do you know why it was I who made arrangements for Mikado's funeral?"

    "He pauses. I don't know if he expects me to answer him or not."

    hh "It would make more sense if Shizune had done it. Obviously."

    hh "But, it seems like after everything that happened, Shizune has decided to stop doing anything, or even thinking."

    hh "It's weird."

    "I don't think Hideaki has ever seen Shizune like that before."

    hh "I want to cheer her up. Don't you?"

    "That is a pretty simplistic way to look at it. Things aren't that easy. It makes sense for him to be able to say that kind of thing, though. He is Shizune's brother, after all."

    "Shizune would always act like that too, like every obstacle in your way could be easily taken down so long as you tried hard enough. If you kept going constantly, you could overcome anything. I think that was the gist of what she believed."

    "I still can't believe it fully. This time, though, I'll go with it, like always. Just because I have always wanted to believe in something like that."

    hi "Let's go right now, then."

    "Outside it's like nothing has changed. The sun is shining pretty brightly in the sky. Any minute now, I expect Misha to grab me from behind and put her hands over my eyes."

    mi "Surprise~! Guess who~!"

    "…"

    "Heh. I've dealt with it so long that it's kind of become a habit of mine to be on my guard for it. I guess I can stop now, huh?"

    "My eyes are kinda starting to sting."

    hh "Are you alright?"

    "We have to stop for a little while because of me."

    #fade

    "Hideaki knocks on the door to Shizune's room reflexively before trying the knob and finding it unlocked."

    "This is the first time I have been in Shizune's room. It's very plain and utilitarian, although I can see a personal touch here and there."

    "She still has the doll I won for her back then, on top of her desk."

    "When I get close enough for her to notice me, she looks up, and then quickly turns her head away."

    "She is sitting in her bed, back against the wall. There is a box of books beside her that she keeps held to her side."

    "The expression on her face is devoid of emotion, but I can see faint red tinges around her eyes."

    "It really is kind of unsettling seeing her like this."

    hh "Hisao, can you please translate what I say to her?"

    "I don't have the heart to tell him that she won't even look in my direction. I'll try, though. I'll keep moving in front of you if I have to, Shizune."

    hh "Hello, Shizune."

    hh "Are you doing okay?"

    shi "…"

    "Shizune's eyes seem to stare past us, instead of focusing on us. She nods as if to acknowledge our presence, but doesn't lift her hands to greet me at all."

    hi "Hi, Shizune."

    shi "…"

    "She doesn't move from where she is. In fact, the closer we go to her, the smaller she seems to get."

    hh "I have a present for you. It's a laptop computer. I made sure it was a slightly older model, since I know you like old fashioned things."

    hh "We can talk through this."

    shi "…"

    hh "Don't you want to talk to me?"

    "Shizune's hands remain limp at her sides even as Hideaki places the laptop in front of her."

    hh "Shizune, is there anything I can do for you at all?"

    shi "…"

    "Although I'm translating for Hideaki, I hope Shizune realizes that I consider myself to be speaking for the both of us. Unfortunately, it looks like she is actively trying to avoid looking at either of us."

    hh "I came all the way out here to see you. Please… do something. Can you at least look at me?"

    hh "Why won't you answer? I… sort of care."

    hh "…"

    hh "Fine, if you're going to be that way, then I understand completely. I'll be back some other time."

    "After Hideaki leaves, I try to get a response out of her. I at least try to get her to look at me."

    "I'm about as successful as he was."

    "What am I doing? There is nothing I can do right now."

    hi "I'll come back when you're feeling better, okay?"

    "As soon as I leave, I start to regret that I couldn't do something for her. I wasn't able to cheer her up at all. Really, I couldn't do anything at all."

    return

label r_S32:

    #After the scene after this scene, the path splits into good and bad ends

    # I will probably rewrite this scene.

    "I'm going to visit Shizune again today."

    "The last few days, all I've done is sulk. The thought that wouldn't leave me alone for even a second was how Shizune had looked the other day."

    "I guess someone is trying to tell me that I can't just leave things like that. I wanted to do more. I could have done more. I should have been there for her, in some way."

    "I could have even given her a hug. Although maybe that would have been cheesy. I'm not some kind of hero."

    "I'm not good with these kinds of situations. I could really use your help right now, Misha. Of course, that's impossible."

    "Putting on my shoes, I head for Shizune's room again."

    "When I'm standing in front of the door, I freeze. I'm a little afraid. She might not look at me again, and if that happens, I don't know if anything I do will matter. Even if she does look at me, I'm not sure I can face her."

    "Her eyes were always so dark and piercing, filled with the spirit of her life. What will they look like now?"

    "The truth is, I've already been here three times since I first came to visit with Hideaki."

    "The first time, she wouldn't respond to me, no matter what I did. After that, both times, the door was locked."

    "Could it be locked even today?"

    "If you're going to just shut me out like that, Shizune, I don't think I could live with myself."

    "I turn the doorknob, fillwed with a sense of dread that seems almost inexplicable. The door clicks open."

    hi "Hi, Shizune."

    shi "…"

    hi "Are you feeling better?"

    "I almost want to kick myself at how terrible that sounds. What a crappy thing to say."

    "You opened your door again. Didn't you tell me that you never did anything without a reason? Yeah, multiple times. Did you leave your door unlocked because you want someone to talk to?"

    "If that's the case, then answer me, at least once."

    hi "Shizune, please. I'll turn on the laptop. You can type whatever you want to say to me, but please say something."

    "I know that I probably got half of that wrong, but I'm sure she got the message."

    "I press the power switch on the computer and watch as it quietly hums to life in front of her."

    hi "Here you go. It'll just take a second. Can you just talk? A little?"

    hi "I'm worried about you. That's why I'm here. So, please talk to me."

    "At first, I am already about to give up. After all, I've been around her long enough to know that her will is stronger than I could probably dare to guess at. And that means if she doesn't want to talk, then it's all on her terms."

    "Just like always."

    "Then, surprisingly, she pulls the laptop closer to her and starts typing. After a few seconds, she erases what she has been writing and starts to sign."

    shi "Do you know what these are?"

    "Shizune takes out a book from the box at her side. She had this then, too. I take the book from her and look at it. It seems like an ordinary marble notebook, although it's been used quite a bit."

    "I flip through it. Every corner of it is filled with a large, childish handwriting and numerous doodles."

    ssh "These are Misha's."

    "There is little life in her hands as they shakily form words in the air."

    ssh "Read them."

    "It's disrespectful to read a dead person's private journals like this, isn't it?"

    ssh "They were going to throw away everything in her room. I found these."

    ssh "All this time, I never knew. But do you know what cuts me deepest?"

    "She flips through another one of Misha's journals, then points to a line scrawled at the bottom of a page."

    $written_note("I wish I could really speak to Shicchan.")

    "Before I can absorb it, she flips further through it and points at another line."

    $written_note("Shicchan, I wish I could talk to you more freely.")

    $written_note("I wish I could express my feelings better to her.")

    $written_note("They are both so happy. It's hard to keep laughing like this sometimes.")

    $written_note("I wonder if Shicchan loves me.")

    "…"

    hi "What are you saying? There was no way you could have known. And you couldn't have done anything, anyway…"

    ssh "Stop signing. It's not necessary."

    "What does that mean?"

    ssh "I lied."

    ssh "There is a saying that a lot of relationships are built on lies. For me, all my relationships are like that."

    ssh "…"

    ssh "Misha could have talked to me, like a normal girl."

    ssh "I can read lips."

    "My mind stops, half in disbelief."

    hi "Really?"

    "I say it, somehow finding it hard to lift my arms. Shizune nods her head up and down."

    ssh "You are the only one who knows."

    "I want to sit down, but I almost can't feel my legs. If I move even an inch, will I stumble or fall? And if I do, how will she interpret it, with those eyes that never miss a thing?"

    ssh "I started liking you because of the things you said to me."

    ssh "I'm deaf. It's fun to mock a deaf person when they can't hear what you're saying. Even when they are standing right in front of you, they can't understand."

    ssh "It's really funny, isn't it?"

    "For just a second, she drops her guard. Even at a time like this, in such a state, Shizune never fully lowered the wall around her, but just now, I was able to see her past."

    "There's little I know about you. I underatand now, though."

    "Your hands move so sadly, and so bitterly."

    "Like a person speaking from experience."

    ssh "You never said anything bad about me, even though you could have. That is when I started to like you."

    ssh "You spoke to me even when you didn't have to. So I grew to like you."

    ssh "And I love you because you were willing to learn sign language for me. There, you exceeded my expectations, and I was surprised."

    "She smiles very faintly, remembering it."

    ssh "I should have confessed to you. You know that I'm always cautious, though. I was afraid. I led you around for a long time. Misha wrote that she wanted to help me. So she did."

    ssh "I'm a cunning and deceitful woman."

    ssh "Selfish, too."

    ssh "I was even jealous because I thought you might have liked her more than me."

    ssh "Misha did so much for me. I would sometimes wonder if I took her for granted. I'm not good at expressing my emotions."

    ssh "I'm not really good at reading other people's emotions either, am I? Or else I would have seen this coming."

    ssh "If she were here right now, I would tell her how much I loved her as a friend. I'm sorry."

    ssh "I'm really sorry."

    "Tears start forming in the corners of her eyes. She tries hard to hold them back, but I wonder if this time, she still has the strength."

    "Shizune's head is bowed, as if she is awaiting some sort of divine punishment. That's probably exactly how she feels."

    ssh "Do you hate me?"

    "Right now, I can't even process what just happened. I'm numb from shock. There was no way that I could have known, but thinking back, it all makes so much sense."

    "You were right, nothing you do is ever without reason. I get it now. That's how you're able to be so aggressive, launching yourself into the world as fearlessly as you do. And at the same time, you can be so cautious and patient."

    "I always wondered how a person could have that kind of duality."

    "And I'm also a little offended that you played with me in such a way."

    "I still love you, though."

    "Even if I feel emptied out, like a balloon that has lost all the air in it."

    "But that is just shock. Even if right now, I feel like I can't breathe, it's just temporary…"

    hi "I don't hate you."

    "Talking to Shizune with my voice is strange. It's an unfamiliar sensation."

    ssh "You don't care that I lied?"

    "It's not that I don't care. It's just that there is no way to fully adjust to learning something like this. I would need more time. Time to sort it all out. Time I don't have right now, with her looking expectantly at me, trying to read my expression."

    "Were you just too deep in the lie that you thought you could never tell the truth?"

    "And are you that sick of yourself now that you can tell me?"

    "Do you want me to hate you?"

    "I hate it when I have to look so deeply into Shizune's every action. I'm not a mind reader, and sometimes, I think that she wants me to struggle to find out what she's thinking. It's always been that way, hasn't it? Just sometimes more than others."

    "But, at least you told me."

    hi "Hey, are you going to be honest with me from now on? I really like you, even despite all of this. Because of that, I don't like seeing you like this."

    hi "Weren't you supposed to be someone who would become a productive member of society? You said that, didn't you? If it's true, then stop acting like this. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want you to dwell on this forever, too."

    hi "There was no way that you could have known all of this stuff. Now it's too late, but that's no excuse to… punish yourself like this. Is that what this is?"

    hi "If that is how you see it, then, yeah. I don't care if you lied to me."

    hi "Now, you can understand me, can't you? That's good. I can talk to you like I've always wanted to."

    hi "Okay?"

    "She doesn't look convinced."

    hi "The reason I learned sign language is because I wanted to talk to you. Now I can. And it wasn't a waste of my time. I still need it to understand you. And it'll look good on my college application."

    "I smile, hoping she'll return it."

    "Shizune looks down at her hands, twisting her fingers around each other before she replies."

    ssh "You're too understanding."

    hi "It's because I like you."

    ssh "Don't be an idiot. Please leave."

    hi "No."

    "Shizune pulls herself up and starts walking towards me. Does she plan to push me out the door?"

    "I stand my ground, and she continues to walk into me."

    "She stops and presses her head against my chest, as if she's too tired to lift it again. For a second, I'm afraid she'll fall, but she grabs my shoulders and presses herself against me. Her tears are soaking into my shirt."

    "I hug her back."

    "This is the first time that you have ever leaned on me. That means that there is a pretty big responsibility on my shoulders now, doesn't it?"

    "It hurts that you lied to me. I'm not going to do anything stupid because of it, though. I'm… your support now, right?"

    "And you're also supporting me."

    "I'm fine with this."

    "I've always met your expectations before, right? This time, I'll exceed them again."

    return

label en_S33:

    #After this, path splits into good and bad ends

    "I have time now to think about yesterday."

    "In front of Shizune, I was able to put on a brave face, and support her. Now that I'm by myself, though, I can't stop thinking about the things she told me."

    "Even though she deceived me, I can't bring myself to feel angry at her."

    "You really strung me along, waiting for me to ask you out first."

    "Even if you did, I think I always had a feeling that was the case. In fact, when Misha asked me if I liked you or not, I had a feeling that you had put her up to it. That kind of behavior isn't unique to just you."

    "Maybe those weren't the exact circumstances, but I had always thought that it was a possibility in the back of my mind. So, I'm not really surprised."

    "As for that other thing…"

    "I wonder how long you have been pretending that you aren't able to read lips."

    "That, too, was something I had suspected a few times, when I noticed your expression change just slightly, reacting to things you couldn't possibly have heard."

    "Hey… Once, you even told me to shut up. I really should have known."

    "…"

    # 1) If you cheated on Shizune with Misha, this should appear

    if seen_scene("S25h"):

        "I cheated on you, anyway. With that being the case, I wonder if I could ever muster up the will to resent you, as if to say your lie was worse."

    # end detour

    "Even now, I can't shake the feelings of depression that has hung over me since Misha's accident. It's made worse by the fact that I've been reading her journals since yesterday."

    "I'm a pretty quick reader. I'm already up to the parts of her life that I was there to experience with her."

    $written_note("Today, a new student came to school. His name is Hisao Nakai. I'm going to call him Hicchan~! It's more cheerful if everyone has a nickname.")

    $written_note("Shicchan, I'll do my best so you and Hicchan can be together. Anything less would be really selfish. It's more important for Hicchan and Shicchan to be happy than for me to be happy. If my friends are happy, I'll be happy too.")

    $written_note("I don't care if Hicchan replaces me in Shicchan's heart. It might be that there was never a place for me there in the first place.")

    "Did Shizune manage to read this far?"

    "Here's another reason why you should respect the belongings of the dead."

    "I said some harsh things when confronted with the possibility of the accident… having not been an accident."

    "I didn't want to acknowledge the alternative. I still don't. But the more I read, the more that doubt grows in my mind."

    "Was I wrong?"

    "I miss you, Misha. I don't know what to do, or even what to think. And, because you left, Shizune has been different ever since. She blames herself. She hates herself. So, maybe she thinks that it was a suicide."

    "If it was then why couldn't I see it earlier? She was pretty depressed. I should have thought about it."

    "You seemed so happy, though."

    "Right now, I hate every thought going through my mind. I wish I could just stop thinking for a while. Just for a short while. No matter how hard I wish for it, the reprieve never comes."

    "Maybe I should take a walk and get some fresh air to clear my head."

    "I head outside and start walking around the school perimeter, with no real place to go in mind. Circling around once, I stop at the front gate. I could always go to town, but I feel apprehensive about the idea somehow."

    "It's too lively today, maybe…"

    "I need someplace quiet, so I can just think."

    "The most deserted place on a school campus during the summer break is the school itself."

    "I walk through the doors and start roaming through the empty hallways, but it quickly becomes obvious to me that coming here was a mistake. Every door is locked, including the door to the student council room, which is the first one I check."

    "The only place I find open is the library."

    "I start walking amongst the bookshelves, almost tripping once or twice on piles of books scattered here and there. Weird how messy it is today."

    "Hearing footsteps behind me, I turn around and see Yuuko staring at me."

    yu "Welcome! …To the… library? Oh, it's you."

    yu "I'm sorry. Really sorry about that. Hello, Hisao."

    "Did she mix up her jobs just now? That almost cheers me up a little."

    hi "Hi, Yuuko. What are you doing here?"

    yu "I'm the librarian?"

    "Yuuko tenses up, having a very visceral reaction."

    yu "…Am I no longer the librarian? I… I need this job."

    hi "I know, it's just that all the lights are off, and the place seemed empty."

    yu "Um, it's actually… complicated. Someone has been stealing a lot of books from here, and I was okay with it when they were stealing books that we had more than 3 copies of, but…"

    yu "Lately whoever it is has gotten bolder, and, ah, um… stealing books… only one copy of them. I wanted to read some of them… it's… So now, it's personal."

    hi "I see."

    yu "I won't leave until I catch them."

    "Her face reddens upon spilling all this out to me, and I have to check myself to make sure I'm not making a facial expression that she could take the wrong way. If she thinks I'm mocking her, then she might sulk."

    yu "What are you doing here, Hisao?"

    hi "I just wanted to get my mind off things."

    yu "Oh."

    "From the look on her face, I think she knows what I want to get off my mind."

    "Yuuko was one of the few people who attended the funeral. If she wasn't, I think I would have trouble talking to her as freely as I'm doing right now. Kind of a weird thing to share a bond over…"

    hi "Yeah. It's not just about Misha, though. I'm worried about Shizune."

    hi "She seems kind of sick lately."

    yu "Because of…?"

    hi "Yeah. It's pretty obvious that it's because of that. I don't know what she might do. I mean, how she is going to react. I think I was never ready to imagine Shizune being so depressed."

    hi "I can understand this, though. This is really something that isn't… This is not simple."

    yu "Of course not."

    "Her voice is so quiet I almost can't hear it. It's awkward, this conversation, and more than just a little. Tiptoeing around Misha's name like this only accentuates the fact that she's gone. That isn't what I came here for."

    "A thought came to me yesterday, after I was done talking to Shizune, and I don't want to revisit it."

    "Shizune."

    "I have never felt so lost in my life."

    hi "Hey, Yuuko."

    #hi "Shizune…"

    return

label en_choiceS33:
    menu:

        hi "Shizune…"

        "Tell Yuuko about Shizune's ability to lip read.":
            return m1

        "Don't tell her.":
            return m2

label en_S33a:

    "I guess I could tell her."

    hi "I'm glad that you're my friend. I'm glad to hear that. More importantly right now, though… You're Shizune's friend, too, right?"

    "Yuuko looks puzzled."

    hi "Sorry. It's just that I had to try hard to convince Shizune that I don't hate her. But I'm not sure if it really worked. I'm not sure if she has the faith in me I wish she had. It wasn't a lie, but it doesn't matter if she won't believe it."

    hi "So, she might think I hate her. And I'm worried about what she might do if she thinks that."

    "And what would she do? Anything is possible."

    "It's Shizune, after all."

    hi "I guess what I'm asking is, you're not going to resent her for what I say, right?"

    "Stupid question. Obviously a stupid question. She doesn't even know what I'm going to say, and I don't know how she might react. This isn't exactly a small secret, either."

    "I look at Yuuko more closely."

    "She doesn't answer, but considering her personality, I doubt that she would feel any malice towards Shizune. She might even be understanding."

    hi "Shizune can lip read, it seems."

    "I'm afraid to look at her. Ha, being afraid of Yuuko. It's unimaginable."

    yu "Really…"

    yu "Um… How long has she been able to do that?"

    hi "A while."

    yu "Oh…"

    "I start feeling as though I've made a terrible mistake, until Yuuko breaks out into laughter."

    yu "Sorry. I'm sorry. I just remembered that I have said a bunch of things to Shizune because I had to… get them off my chest, and I thought that she can't—um, couldn't—hear me, and I wouldn't have to be embarrassed."

    yu "Now, hearing this, I'm remembering it, and it's…"

    "Her face reddens, but she laughs again, partly out of nervousness, but she seems happy as well."

    yu "We should all go somewhere together some time."

    "She says, after a pause."

    hi "Yeah."

    yu "I am sure Shizune will be okay. If it isn't out of bounds for me to say that."

    yu "What you have just told me just means that you have her trust. Or else you would not know it."

    "Really? The way she looked, it hardly seems as if there was trust motivating her."

    return

label en_S33b:

    #2) Don't tell her

    "It feels like it would be wrong to divulge something that seemed to tear Shizune apart to tell me."

    "And if Yuuko were to feel any differently about Shizune because of me, I don't think I could live with myself."

    hi "Nevermind."

    "Uncertainty tinges her smile."

    yu "Okay…."

    "Yuuko looks down at her lap, composing her thoughts."

    yu "Ah… You and Shizune are a couple, right?"

    hi "Yeah."

    yu "They were always together. Sometimes it was like they were two sides to the same person, I always thought…."

    yu "How she must be feeling is perfectly understandable. I understand."

    hi "It's not that simple."

    hi "She's really stubborn. I guess you know that as well as I do. It's part of why I like her, because it can be cute sometimes. Now, it's an obstacle. I can almost see it. It's like some kind of wall."

    hi "And…"

    return

label en_S33x:

    #end splits

    hi "Do you want to know what I'm afraid of?"

    "A momentary flash of fear in Yuuko's eyes tells me that we share the same concern, and also that she doesn't want to go there. Neither do I."

    "The library is quiet. Disturbingly so. I hear Yuuko sigh after awhile, and it's so loud that it almost startles me."

    hi "I don't know what else I can do for her, other than be there for her."

    hi "Even then, what does that mean? Do I just stand there and talk to her? About what? And, what good is that going to do? I need something more to back it up. Shizune also needs more."

    hi "I think I'm… out of my league on this one."

    yu "You're not going to give up, are you?"

    hi "Give up?"

    "Hearing it makes me a little angry."

    hi "No, of course not. I don't know what to do, but I'm not going to just sit back. That isn't what Shizune would do. That isn't what the responsibility of the survivors is. People who are left behind have a duty, too."

    hi "What she is doing now is wrong, and I hate it."

    hi "Misha is gone."

    "Yuuko flinches visibly at my words and looks as if she might tear up. In that instant, I almost falter."

    hi "Just because of that, she shouldn't be acting like this. I'm just afraid that if I tell her that, she'll just throw back in my face that I'm not qualified to talk to her like that. And, it's true. I'm not."

    hi "…For a while, I thought it would be good to just stop thinking about her, because I didn't want to deal with it. I'm a pretty shoddy friend, huh? Shizune would be right to say a person like that has no right to tell her how she should feel."

    "I feel drained."

    "I wonder if Yuuko hates me right now, but if she does, she is doing a great job of hiding it."

    yu "I think… that it's important to cherish special memories."

    yu "And that we all make mistakes. What is important is… um… What we learn from them, and how we deal with them."

    "She turns bright red and covers her face with her hands."

    hi "That's such a movie line."

    yu "It is? I'm sorry."

    hi "It's a good line."

    yu "I… that is actually where I heard it…."

    hi "Heh."

    "But, she has a point."

    return

label en_s34:

    #This scene is hella short. So short the whole thing might as well be in NVL mode.
    #Yeah that's right a scene with absolutely no sprites or anything

    "I get a call from Hideaki at around nine in the morning. It seems like he's back to his usual self, as calm and formal as ever. Our conversation is brief."

    hi "Hello?"

    hh "Hello. Am I speaking with Hisao Nakai?"

    "Too formal. I'm pretty sure he's well aware that he is, and I feel the urge to be a little bit of a smartass."

    hi "Yes. Yes, you are. After all, this is my personal cell phone."

    hh "Am I calling too early?"

    hi "Not really."

    hh "I see. That is good. I'll be coming by in a couple of hours. Exactly two hours. Do you think that you could go with me to visit Shizune again?"

    hh "Our last conversation was not a conversation at all. I have been thinking since then about what I want to say to her, but I'll need your help again, of course. I'm sorry I have to keep bothering you with it. It's my fault for not learning sign language."

    "That's right, even Hideaki doesn't know Shizune can read lips… The level of commitment she put into hiding her ability is really something."

    "It's possible that the only person who knows is me."

    hi "Yeah, of course. Don't worry about it."

    hh "Thank you."

    hh "How is Shizune?"

    "A lot of ways to answer that question come to mind."

    hi "…She's fine."

    hh "Alright, then."

    "He hangs up the phone."

    "Two hours? I was actually planning on checking up on Shizune today myself, but now, I might as well wait."

    "It still feels weird, having to be so concerned for Shizune. After all, out of the three of us, she was always the one who seemed to actually have a plan for her life. Of course, unexpected things always happen."

    "She was the kind of person who would have taken those into account anyway."

    "I still don't know what I'm going to do with my life. Neither did Misha. I think I look up to Shizune, because of her assertiveness. Maybe I was always attracted to her and her precise, analytical way of looking at things."

    "But it seems like just as I want to change who I am, Shizune was trying to change who she was as well."

    "Now, with the way things are going, I wonder…"

    "I guess the question is: How easy is it for a person to change, when doing so requires you to change everything?"

    "And am I really accomplishing anything by sitting here thinking about this when there is so much more I should be doing?"

    "Especially now, at this important time."

    "I lose track of the passage of time in my thoughts, managing to forget the steady ticking of the clock on my wall. When I notice it again, I see that two hours have passed and then some."

    "I'm weighing the decision to call Hideaki back when the phone starts ringing in my hand."

    hi "Are you here yet?"

    hh "Actually, no."

    "His voice is mechanical and strained."

    hh "I went to see Shizune. She is… very sick. I'm at the hospital right now. I'm very sorry about not telling you this until now. I was panicked."

    "Hideaki is very good at keeping calm, but the news hits me with the feeling of a stone dropping into my stomach, and I wonder just how sick Shizune is that she would need to be hospitalized."

    "How was she taken there? If I had looked out my window at any time, it's possible I could have seen her and maybe done something. I don't even want to consider that possibility right now."

    "I'm already running before I realize that I don't know where the hospital in this town in. Or if there are even more than one."

    "The few people I can find to ask all have the same problem I do, and I only manage to walk around so much before I start feeling out of breath, and I start feeling a dull, stinging pain in my chest pulsing in sync with my heartbeat."

    "It's the final sign telling me to just stop. I don't have my cell phone, and I can see a pay phone, but I don't have any money to use it."

    "I feel like I could throw up."

    "…"

    "There is nothing for me to do but go back to school."

    #scene border removed

    "The hospital where Shizune is staying is almost identical to the one I was in less than a year ago."

    "If anything, it seems even bleaker. I guess hospitals tend to look more depressing when you're healthy and visiting someone who is sick than when you are sick yourself."

    "The room Shizune is staying in is painfully sparse, with nothing adorning the walls but a single overly colorful painting that looks out of place in the barren white room."

    "Shizune looks pale, but still manages to sit up straight when I enter the room, drawing the shirt of her school uniform like a cloak around slim shoulders barely covered by a hospital gown."

    shi "…"

    hi "Hello, Shizune. How are you feeling?"

    "I feel a little sick when I say it, and I'm glad she wasn't able to hear me, because it sounds so hollow that it makes my heart sink."

    "I watch a bead of IV fluid slide down the tube that vanishes behind Shizune, where it is connected to the arm behind her back."

    shi "…"

    "She raises her hands only inches off her bed, and then lowers them again with a second thought."

    hi "Is there something wrong?"

    "When she still doesn't reply, I take a seat in the small chair available to me."

    hi "You can understand me, even if I just talk… It's still kind of a surprise to me. I'm still getting used to it."

    hi "I don't know why you're here, but I guess it's serious. I know how you feel, how you felt about Misha dying. You're sick because of that, aren't you?"

    hi "Shizune, you have to stop dwelling on it. She was my friend, and I miss her so much. I keep expecting her to come out and surprise me like always. So, I guess I'm being presumptuous saying I know how you feel. I really can't."

    hi "…But… You have a future. You're still alive. Didn't you always make a point of showing me how much you could overcome? Your whole life is like that, because that is how you deal with literally everything."

    shi "…"

    hi "People who are left behind also have a duty. Do you understand?"

    shi "…"

    "She still doesn't raise her hands to reply to me. She hasn't signed a single thing to me since I got here."

    hi "Shizune, what are you thinking?"

    "Her eyes are as dark and piercing as ever, but so sad, like dulled jewels."

    hi "Please say something."

    "A feeling of deja-vu. Don't just shut down in front of me. I need more than that. I need you to tell me something, so that I can keep going. So that I know what I'm saying is working."

    "Even if it is false hope, throw me something. Do something more than staring at me."

    "I get up, and Shizune seems to misinterpret it as me wanting to leave. Her left hand rises and stretches out towards me, and I stop."

    hi "What is it?"

    "Her mouth opens slightly, as if to speak, but nothing comes out."

    "Just doing that seems to wear her out, and Shizune lies down again, her head sinking into her pillow."

    "What are you thinking? And why do you keep reaching out to me like that, preventing me from leaving, if you're not going to answer my questions, or tell me anything?."

    "A response, any one, will do. I just want her to say something. Every second that she doesn't, the more I start feeling like it was futile to come here. To have said anything."

    "Shizune is stubborn, even now. Maybe even moreso. If I accomplished anything at all, all it was as strengthening an already immovable will. Shizune, do you want me to live with that kind of guilt?"

    hi "Can I just ask what it is that you want to do? What's your intention?"

    "She shakes her head almost imperceptibly from side to side."

    hi "I…"

    hi "Is this really necessary?"

    shi "…"

    hi "Hey,"

    hi "Are you trying to follow Misha?"

    shi "…"

    hi "Is that really what you want?"

    hi "This is… the only time you have ever followed anyone. At least, that I've seen."

    hi "Please don't. Did you talk to Hideaki?"

    shi "…"

    hi "He's concerned about you. You can see it, can't you? And Yuuko, as well. And me. I didn't even want to think about it until now, the possibility that you want to kill yourself."

    "Shizune's eyes drop down to her lap at my words."

    hi "You're really going to…"

    "If anyone has the will to do something like that, it is her."

    hi "Shizune, do you understand what you are?"

    hi "You're supposed to be Misha's hope. You read her journals. She really loved you. A part of that was because you're so driven, and so intelligent. Now, you're just going to throw that away?"

    hi "She wrote that it's a big world, and it scared her, but she was able to keep going because she knew that the world had amazing people in it. You were one of those people to her. You're supposed to be an amazing person."

    hi "I'm sure that is who you are."

    hi "So this… is depressing."

    shi "…"

    "Can't you see that I just want you to get better? So just give me some kind of sign that my words are getting through."

    "Please."

    "She smiles very sadly."

    hi "I really love you."

    "I try to glean her feelings from the expression on her face, but it's impossible. A person who can hide their ability to lip read for over a decade. That is the kind of person I'm dealing with."

    "I had always thought that at times, I could see Shizune's true feelings behind that calm, oddly striking gaze. If I ever had that ability, it's left me now."

    "I plead with her some more, but it's futile. I try to dry my eyes with a napkin on the table beside me."

    "She continues to smile regretfully, with that horribly obvious fake cheer."

    hi "I don't want to just keep talking to you. Please just say something back."

    shi "…"

    "I'm not getting through to her, I guess."

    hi "I'll be back tomorrow."

    "As I walk towards the door, her left hand trembles and raises itself just a bit. She extends her pinkie finger."

    "A promise?"

    "Her hand reaches out to me once more, and then drops. A wave. I wave goodbye to her, too."

    "Later, I would find out that she died just a few hours after I left."

    "Afterwards, I would hear that she probably didn't raise her arms to communicate with me because she was too weak from dehydration to do even that."

    "But, I know that wasn't it."

    "The reason she didn't raise her arms to answer me was because if she had, even I could have seen the IV tucked into the crease of her elbow that she had pulled out from under her skin."

    "The reason she wouldn't let me come closer was likely because if I had, I would have noticed the spreading stain of IV fluid wetting the hospital mattress."

    "How can anyone living in a first world country die of dehydration? You would have to actively try to do it."

    "Which is exactly what she did…"

    "I didn't even find out until a full day after, because my cell phone had run out of battery power."

    "I was late even in receiving this news."

    "…"

    "I reacted like anyone else would."

    "“I'll be back tomorrow?”"

    "“I'll be back tomorrow?”"

    "Were these my last words to her?"

    "I'm so disgusted with myself."

    "She passed out of my life too quickly, but… I was powerless the whole time. And I was powerless after. Looking back, I see all the things I could have done, or could have done better."

    "So, what was stopping me all those times?"

    "I don't even have the will anymore to do a thing besides look back on the last few months and regret."

    "I knew them for less than a year. When I look back on it with that in mind, the time we spent together just seems even shorter."

    "I didn't even want to join the student council at first."

    "And I took it for granted. I even kind of hated it; Shizune with her ever confident and aggressively playful manner, and Misha's booming laughter and distinct way of speaking."

    "Both of them are gone now."

    "Misha, who was always so happy and smiled so brightly. She had wanted to become a sign language teacher. And Shizune, who always faced the world so aggressively and refused to be denied in everything she died."

    "Their lives could have went somewhere."

    "I hate myself the most because the last time I looked at Shizune, all I did was wave goodbye."

    "Her outstretched hand refuses to leave my memory."

    "Shizune, what did you mean by that? Were you just waving goodbye for the last time?"

    "What did you want from me?"

    "Was it that? Or… Did you expect me to grab your hand, and pull you up out of your sadness?"

    "That was probably it. I had made such a big show of wanting to save you, because I thought I could. I assumed that I could pull at your heart, like you did to me, and you would go back to your old self."

    "As if such a thing is so easy. If you couldn't do it, then what was I trying to accomplish with such a half-assed effort?"

    "You relied on me."

    "It was the first time you truly leaned on me."

    "And I failed."

    "Is this how you felt when that happened to Misha?"

    "I'll spend some time thinking about how to make it up to you."

    return

label en_end_shizunebad:
    # Shizune bad end, after S34
    scene black with dissolve
    centered "~ shizune bad end ~" with dissolve
    return

label en_S36:

    "I get a call from Hideaki at around nine in the morning. It seems like he's back to his usual self, as calm and formal as ever. Our conversation is brief."

    hi "Hello?"

    hh "Hello. Am I speaking with Nakai Hisao?"

    "Too formal. I'm pretty sure he's well aware that he is, and I feel the urge to be a little bit of a smartass."

    hi "Yes. Yes, you are. After all, this is my personal cell phone."

    hh "Am I calling too early?"

    hi "Not really."

    hh "I see. That is good. I'll be coming by in a couple of hours. Exactly two hours. Do you think that you could go with me to visit Shizune again?"

    hh "Our last conversation was not a conversation at all. I have been thinking since then about what I want to say to her, but I'll need your help again, of course. I'm sorry I have to keep bothering you with it. It's my fault for not learning sign language."

    "That's right, even Hideaki doesn't know Shizune can read lips… The level of commitment she put into hiding her ability is really something."

    "It's possible that the only person who knows is me."

    hi "Yeah, of course. Don't worry about it."

    hh "Thank you."

    hh "How is Shizune?"

    "A lot of ways to answer that question come to mind."

    hi "…She's fine."

    hh "Alright, then."

    "He hangs up the phone."

    "Two hours? I was actually planning on checking up on Shizune today myself, but now, I might as well wait."

    "It still feels weird, having to be so concerned for Shizune. After all, out of the three of us, she was always the one who seemed to actually have a plan for her life. Of course, unexpected things always happen."

    "She was the kind of person who would have taken those into account anyway."

    "I still don't know what I'm going to do with my life. Neither did Misha. I think I look up to Shizune, because of her assertiveness. Maybe I was always attracted to her and her precise, analytical way of looking at things."

    "But it seems like just as I want to change who I am, Shizune was trying to change who she was as well."

    "Now, with the way things are going, I wonder…"

    "I guess the question is: How easy is it for a person to change, when doing so requires you to change everything?"

    "And am I really accomplishing anything by sitting here thinking about this when there is so much more I should be doing?"

    "Especially now, at this important time."

    "…"

    "I look at the clock. There is still an hour left. Why am I waiting? I could just go to Shizune right now and see how she is doing. Shouldn't I, anyway?"

    "These past few days, all I have done was think: “What more can I do?”"

    "It's only now that I dare to ask myself what I have actually done. The answer is nothing."

    "So after all I told myself I would do to do more for Shizune, I haven't actually done anything at all. I held her, but didn't say anything to lessen her worries. I observed her, but I didn't make any move to ease her troubles."

    "Even though I thought she might do something terrible."

    "I thought that there was the possibility she could kill herself. And Yuuko apparently thought so, too."

    "Sitting here and waiting won't help. If I'm so worried about her, why did I even leave her alone in the first place? That was a mistake. It really was. But, I'm used to a different Shizune. One I never had to worry about."

    "Did I just want to keep believing in that Shizune? The Shizune that could do anything and would not allow herself to be stopped? I can still remember how she looked under the glow of the fireworks all those weeks ago."

    "That's probably when I started to fall in love with her."

    "Did I just think that that aspect of her personality would break through eventually and, while she wouldn't change back overnight, she would rebuild?"

    "I still think about Misha, so if that is really how it is, then I don't know what to think. It seems so wrong. Shizune and Misha were connected by something more than my tie to either of them."

    "That means that Shizune's wound is that much deeper. You can't even compare the two. Why did I put my hope into such a stupid and ridiculous thought?"

    "Then, I remember something Misha said to me a long time ago."

    mi "So… Please be a good replacement for me, Hicchan."

    "It's funny, the things you remember sometimes. Misha, I have been doing a really terrible job of that."

    "I put on my jacket and head over to Shizune's dorm."

    #some transition

    "When I get to the door, I turn the knob to find it open again. It looks like I've caught Shizune just as she is getting out of bed. When she sees me, she tries to stand up, and then collapses."

    "I run over and try to help her up, but she pushes me away with one hand and, bracing herself against her bed with the other, pulls herself up and back onto the bed."

    "My first instinct is to ask her what's wrong. As soon as I open my mouth, Shizune closes her eyes and decisively shakes her head from side to side, pre-emptively refusing to acknowledge anything like it."

    "I ask anyway. Maybe it's only because she looks so sickly and weak that she answers me."

    ssh "I haven't been eating recently. I'm tired."

    "That's…"

    "You don't skip a couple of meals every few days and then collapse like that."

    "There isn't even the shred of a doubt to cling onto now. Misha's death wasn't an accident. I was wrong about that, and even now, it hurts to think about. Now, it seems like Shizune wants to kill herself."

    "I'd rather fade away from your life after graduation than lose you like this."

    "You're precious to me even if our time together so far as been brief."

    hi "I've heard that sometimes something like this can happen. Someone kills themselves and then it saddens someone else they knew enough so that they kill themselves too. And it might go on from there."

    hi "Is that it, here?"

    "She refuses to answer me."

    ssh "What are you saying?"

    hi "I'm saying that you couldn't starve yourself here unless you were to try."

    shi "…"

    "And that's it, isn't it? You're trying to starve yourself to death? That must take tremendous willpower, which is exactly what she has."

    hi "Shizune, look at me."

    "I grab her by the shoulders and am surprised at how fragile she feels."

    hi "The things that we do affect everyone around us."

    hi "You're so stubborn. It's a good thing, at times, but is this really what you want to apply it to? This is not atoning!"

    "Damn it, stop turning away from me!"

    "If I were to say right now that I need you, would that be selfish?"

    hi "Shizune, I'm finally able to understand how you think."

    hi "No matter what I say, if it's not good enough to really move you, you just won't even bother to respond. After all, you said that is the only benefit to sign language: That you can fully think out what you want to say before you say it."

    shi "…"

    "She smiles softly and nods her head up and down, wavering between happiness that I get it, and regret that it had to go this far before we could finally understand each other."

    hi "Is this really what you want?"

    "Shizune nods again."

    ssh "Do you hate me?"

    hi "No. I don't hate you."

    ssh "You should."

    "I know. I know you want me to hate you."

    hi "Is that also something you want?"

    "She nods again."

    hi "Well… I don't believe it."

    hi "Because this isn't really what you want, isn't it? If you didn't, you would have locked the door… and you would have found a faster way to do it. It's just how you are. You're cautious, and you never do anything without a reason, right?"

    hi "Even this. Even something like this."

    shi "…"

    hi "I'm not going to hate you, Shizune. You relied on me for something for the first time. How am I going to hate you when you rely on me?"

    hi "You live your life with no regrets. I admire that about you. Is that why you want me to hate you? Am I your last regret?"

    ssh "Yes. You're right… About everything. Maybe you're right about everything…"

    ssh "Congratulations."

    hi "Don't say that, this isn't a game, Shizune. That isn't even how you really feel. Stop it."

    ssh "That's right."

    "She allows her body to drop backwards, until only the headboard of her bed behind her is holding her up."

    ssh "What am I supposed to do?"

    ssh "How am I supposed to feel?"

    hi "I don't know, but this is the wrong way to handle it. This is a really terrible way to atone for anything. Misha wouldn't want it. The people who are left behind when someone dies have a duty to keep living their lives, or maybe even try harder."

    hi "I thought that you would get that more than anyone."

    ssh "Everything is my fault."

    hi "It's not!"

    "I shout it a little too passionately and wince."

    hi "It's not. You've read Misha's journals. Don't talk like that. It's not."

    hi "And even if it were, what would this accomplish? It's not going to “even out” anything. What's done is done."

    hi "Everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is how we react to our mistakes, and what we learn from them, and how we use them to grow."

    "I smile to myself. Thanks, Yuuko."

    hi "It was my mistake leaving you alone when I knew that this might have been what you were thinking. I worried about it and I didn't do anything about it. That's why I came here today."

    hi "Because I really hate myself."

    ssh "Me too."

    shi "…"

    ssh "I'm sorry."

    "It's possible that it's only because I'm hoping for it, but I get the feeling that maybe everything now will be okay. That things have at the very least taken a step in that direction."

    "I can believe in it because I know that Shizune, if anyone, has the will to change."

    "Her hand brushes against mine, Shizune's delicate fingers gliding softly across my knuckles, tapping and caressing them."

    hi "I love you."

    # split

    return

label en_S36a:

    #1) If you had sex with Misha way back in S25 and.or said you liked her over Shizune in S14:

    hi "There were times when I thought that I liked Misha more than you. In the end, I was always in love with you. Your words coming out of her."

    ssh "In the beginning, I wondered if I could make your heart waver."

    hi "Heh, that's an interesting choice of words."

    "Is that all that you wanted?"

    return

label en_S36b:

    #2) If you did not:

    hi "I have since that night at the festival."

    hi "I thought; “You're really amazing, Shizune.” Even here, in this tiny town, where I thought I was just being sent because I didn't have a future, where nobody here had a future, you were there. I was able to believe."

    hi "Misha wrote that the world is bigger than she had thought. It scared her. She was able to keep going because she knew there were amazing people in it like you."

    "Shizune, do you understand now?"

    hi "So… Please continue living."

    return

label en_S36x:

    #end split

    "She draws herself closer to me, and doesn't let go for a long time."

    "Only now am I able to appreciate it all. The things I gained this year, and the things I've lost."

    "I pull away from her so I can look into her eyes as I speak to her."

    hi "I'll keep trying to exceed your expectations. I love you. Even though you're always playing with me. I'll play with you. Always."

    hi "Because I love you."

    "Finally, I was able to say it."

    ssh "I love you."

    "Her eyes are so beautiful. Shizune's eyelids close over them peacefully and she wraps her arms around me again."

    "She's still tired, and lets go of me to lie down."

    "Eventually, she falls asleep. I sit beside her until there is a knock at the door, which I notice is still hanging open from earlier. It seems like Hideaki is here."

    "A lot can happen in an hour, I guess."

    "Shizune, when you feel better, when this is all over, I wonder how our lives will move on. I wonder how they might diverge."

    "I still have some months to use for thinking about the future."

    return

label en_S37:

    "I continue to visit Shizune every day, and every time I see her, she seems to regain a little more of her color and her strength."

    "I open the door to her room and this time find her standing there, as if she had been waiting for me."

    ssh "Good morning."

    hi "Morning. You're up early."

    ssh "Is that right? You are all dressed up nicely today, which means you were up even earlier than I was, to shower, get dressed, and then come over here. Who's up early now?"

    hi "Still you."

    "I still haven't gotten completely used to talking to Shizune normally, and find myself signing parts of my responses unconsciously. Once it becomes a habit it's hard to break, apparently."

    "Her teasingly combative manner is back, and I'm happy to see it return. Mostly happy."

    hi "Hey, you're dressed up, too."

    ssh "I know. I was thinking about taking a walk."

    "It's only now that it hits me that Shizune probably hasn't left the dorms in over two weeks, and now that she is healthier, it's starting to bother her to the point where she feels restless enough to want to take a walk just for the sake of taking one."

    hi "Really? I guess since I'm here, I'll go with you."

    ssh "We can race, and I'll win."

    hi "Who knows. Maybe I'll surprise you."

    "I start feeling a strange sense of deja vu, as if I've said those words before."

    "It's funny, Shizune, but the entire time I've known you, I think I've been trying to think of how I could surprise you. I wanted to. I never stopped to wonder why, and I don't think that before today I could have explained it to myself if I did."

    "And I've always wanted to compete with you, but I never thought I would be able to."

    "Was I able to surprise you in the end? I'll do it again."

    "Shizune smiles and starts to sign something, but then stops herself, and lets her hands fall to her sides as she shrugs and then moves behind me, holding the door open for me and beckoning with her free hand for me to step outside."

    "We start walking around the school. The early morning air is crisp and cool, easily one of the things I like best about this school. Wandering aimlessly from location to location, I can see Shizune's gaze consistently going towards the main building."

    "In the end, we wind up in front of it, the last destination on the list. Shizune steps inside and instantly heads to the student council room, as expected."

    "Unlocking the door with her wrongfully gained copy of the keys, she steps inside and takes a seat on the closest desk to her, seeming to get lost in the ambience of the room, staring at the orange-tinted sunlight drifting through the closed blinds."

    ssh "This place as a lot of memories."

    hi "Yeah…"

    ssh "The three of us spent a lot of time here. But, not enough time, maybe."

    "She pauses, taking a minute to clean her fingernails thoughtfully."

    ssh "In the beginning, it was just me here, alone. Even when we had other members, for the two days or so that they stuck around, it was all because of Misha."

    hi "…I think you can be cute, too. Like when you adjust your glasses."

    shi "?"

    "She pushes them up, but more carefully this time, like there is more thought behind the action than usual."

    ssh "Even this, I don't really have to do it. My vision isn't that bad. It's mostly because…"

    ssh "It's noticible. That is all."

    "Everything you do… is so carefully calculated."

    hi "Then, I wonder if you're cuter without your glasses on."

    ssh "Really?"

    hi "Maybe you would be cuter without your glasses."

    shi "…"

    "It feels different in here all of a sudden. The mood has changed."

    ssh "Do you think I'm cuter without my glasses?"

    hi "No. I think you're cuter with them on."

    shi "…"

    "Breathing deeply but slowly, she undoes the buttons of her blouse and slides it off herself, shedding it effortlessly but taking care to put it on the back of a nearby chair so it won't get wrinkled."

    shi "…"

    ssh "…Do I look okay?"

    hi "You look great."

    shi "…"

    "Blushing, she starts moving closer to me, and she takes my hands in hers. Without warning, she twists them behind my back, and her right hand starts snaking towards my groin, tapping the buckle of my belt lightly along the way."

    "I find my breath catching in my throat when I feel her fingers caressing me through the fabric of my pants, which elicits a muted, breathy giggle from her that sounds like a breeze blowing over tall grass."

    "Shizune's hand continues to prod playfully at my crotch as she moves the rest of her body closer and closer, standing on the tips of her toes so that we are level with each other."

    "Her heavy chest heaves against mine, and her other arm is still holding my arms back, twisting them into a shape like a pretzel each time I try to break free, managing to summon up less resistance with each successive attempt."

    "I start feeling heat rising up the back of my neck. As if stoking the fire, Shizune brushes her cheek against mine and breathes softly down my collar, our necks intertwined."

    "Lowering herself so that her feet are flat on the ground again, she starts slowly pulling my necktie loose with her teeth, while continuing to push me backwards."

    "Eventually, I feel the hard edge of a table hit the back of my legs, and I try to keep myself from falling over, but a quick glance at Shizune's face tells me this is exactly what she wanted. With a quick push, she sends me over it."

    "It's the same spacious table we used to sit at months ago doing student council work."

    "My arms are still pinned behind my back, with Shizune on top of me."

    "This isn't like last time. If I speak, I know she'll be able to understand, but I'm at a loss for words right now. Just to be safe, she kisses me, as if she's afraid I'll say something and disrupt her momentum, but I would be crazy to ruin this moment."

    "She suddenly pulls back, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, trying to look as collected and mature as possible even though she is blushing and there is sweat breaking on her face. The sight makes me smile."

    ssh "What's so funny?"

    "Shizune starts smiling as well but it seems she can't resist pursuing it."

    ssh "I should just stop now, and let you simmer in your lust."

    return

label en_S37h:

    "Signing that, she undoes her brassiere and lowers herself back onto my chest, gravity pulling her bare breasts out and onto my chest, where they spill across my shirt, separated from me only by a single thin layer of clothing."

    "Shizune undoes my belt and starts taking off my pants and underwear, a squeal of surprise escaping her lips when my erection shoots up and hits her hand. The sound is so unguarded and unlike Shizune that it makes me even more excited."

    "In one smooth maneuver, she takes off her own skirt and panties, slipping them past her legs and into a neat pile on the floor."

    "Inching her way across the table until her knees are touching my elbows, Shizune starts teasing herself with one hand as the other strokes my cock daintily, taking time to trace along each curve and vein as if she is mapping the surface."

    "Seeming to sense my anticipation, she lowers herself onto me slowly, her face growing redder by the minute as I am enveloped by the hot, moist contours of her vagina."

    "Eventually, she stops once my dick reaches the barrier of her hymen, and then she plunges down on it quickly, drawing herself right up against me in simultaneously, muffling a grunt of discomfort by rubbing her head against the V of my neck."

    shi "!!"

    "I thrust my hips towards her at the sudden sensation of movement, and Shizune fights against me, trying to pin me back down when I manage to pull my arms out from under me in that moment, her hips thrusting back with even greater force in response."

    "The table under us rattles under our combined weight, which drives Shizune to start going faster, her breasts compressed tightly between our bodies, hard nipples rubbing noticibly through my shirt, while her lower half bobs up and down on my penis."

    "I feel like I'm about to blank out from the pleasure as Shizune's canal clamps down tighter and tighter on my rod with each passing second, seeming to undulate as she grinds her crotch against mine harder with each thrust, slowing down only to catch her breath before resuming with double the force."

    "Her breathing turns to panting and I feel her tongue lick the side of my cheek; a misaimed kiss, maybe, but I'm afraid to kiss her back because with her enthusiasm we may bump our heads together."

    hi "Shizune…"

    shi "…nn…"

    "An almost inaudible little moan pierces what is for the most part a thick silence, and Shizune starts pistoning her nether regions quickly, nearing her limits and seeming to want to bring it to an end for both of us with that knowledge in mind."

    shi "…hhh…. mm…"

    "The noises coming from her are like whispers, and would be lost to me if she weren't so close at times that she were letting them out almost right next to my ear, her soft lips and tongue swirling around it while her hips start going faster and faster."

    "My hands now free as Shizune's are busy supporting herself, I reach up to grab Shizune."

    "Shaking her head, she pushes my arms against the table roughly, managing to get out a noise of disapproval in between gasps. Then, she touches her palms to mine and her fingers lock around my hands, intertwining."

    "I can feel myself about to reach the end of my rope and my hips buckle against hers, and Shizune lets out a moan that she quickly tries to stifle as she reaches climax, tightening around my shaft until I shoot my load deep into her."

    "Spent of all her energy, Shizune collapses on top of me, chest heaving with deep breaths. My own head is swimming as I pull out of her, and I barely manage to pick it up for a second before it falls back against the table."

    "The sound of Shizune's contented breathing and the feel of her plentiful breasts moving back and forth across my chest with each sigh grow more arousing with time in the stillness of the student council room, and my erection comes back, slowly growing back to full size between Shizune's inner thighs."

    "Shizune pulls herself off me, letting go of my hands to bring them back up in front of her."

    ssh "You're still excited?"

    ssh "Do you want to go again?"

    "I pick myself up until I'm sitting upright on the edge of the table, feeling a bit silly in my state of undress."

    ssh "It's about give and take."

    "Our hands come together again. If she asking me to take the initiative this time? A part of me wonders if there is more to this than it appears. Is this another test, or something?"

    "The way she leans on me, her fingers linking around mine, give me a feeling like as if she were passing a baton to me in a relay race, her touch warm and gentle as she pushes and pulls at my hands trustingly, reluctant to let go."

    "Standing up, I move myself behind Shizune and guide her to where I was, so that we have changed places, and then bend her over the table, her breasts flattening against it's surface, and she tries to turn her head back to look at me."

    "Tracing a finger around her soft lower folds and the bright pink nub of her clitoris, I plunge in, grabbing onto her hips as I start pumping in and out of her. Shizune's fingernails rake across the surface of the table, holding onto it like a mountain climber scaling a rock wall."

    "She seems more sensitive than before, and a little confused now that she isn't in control, but I can see she is already thinking about how to regain it as she tries to get back her usual composure."

    "My hand glides around the curve of her stockinged thigh and I carefully tease her clitoral bud, almost losing my balance when she reacts strongly, snapping upwards and back into my groin and nearly pushing us both to the floor."

    "Even though I can't see her face, I can tell Shizune is blushing intently."

    "I grab her prominent breasts from behind and fondle them as I've always wanted to. They feel even larger than they appear, and overflow my hands, soft and perfectly shaped."

    "She squirms under me as I flick my fingers over her nipples, twisting at the stimulation and driving herself backwards with each touch."

    shi "nna…"

    shi "…hhh."

    "Her hands writhe across the surface of the table, and grabbing onto it, she hooks her legs around the back of my ankles, pressing us closer together, connecting us even more closely and entrapping me inside her."

    "Her inner walls are so hot and tight, and with her pushing up against me, the friction only increases, sending me over the top."

    shi "…nh!"

    "As soon as I orgasm, I almost fall backwards and barely manage to land on the chair Shizune put her blouse on earlier."

    return

label en_S37x:

    "A dull, throbbing murmur of pain starts in the right side of my chest, fading in and out. Never enough to cause serious worry, but I worry anyway."

    "I guess I should have known better. After all, this is also a physical activity."

    "In front of me, Shizune picks up her skirt and puts it back on, but abandons the effort to fully dress herself there and leans back against the leg of the table pensively."

    "Her eyes dart at me, and I can see that she is thinking about my condition, too. Maybe more than I am myself."

    "Shizune, I want a future with you."

    "Even if it's unrealistic, it's what I want."

    "Before everything that has happened since I met you, I didn't believe I had a future."

    "There's still time before graduation. I can still try my best to get into a good college; something I didn't think was in my grasp when I first came to Yamaku. Something I doubted I would be able to live to see when I was in the hospital."

    "Whatever it takes, since you have become my goal."

    return

label en_S38:

    "Today is my last day at Yamaku."

    "When I first came here, I thought that this short year would feel like an eternity. It felt like I was being cast away into a corner to be forgotten, and, immaturely, that is exactly what I thought."

    "I didn't think there was anything here worth growing attached to. Of course, I was wrong about that."

    "Now, it's like the past year wasn't enough. Just one school year that passed so quickly before my eyes."

    "Yesterday was the last official day of school. When I woke up, I had a hollow feeling in my stomach all the way up to the graduation ceremony, and immediately after it ended, I tried to look for Shizune, but got lost in the crowd."

    "In the end, after seeing my parents again for the first time since I arrived at Yamaku, and after everything was said and done, I wasn't able to even see Shizune yesterday, even after searching all around the school."

    "That is why today is so important. This is the last day I'll be able to see her here."

    "Getting into the dorms is hard, as people are constantly moving in and out of them today, doing some last minute packing and having their final conversations with their friends. If they are going to see each other after today, it'll be hard."

    "Whether they go off to different universities, or just lose touch gradually..."

    "I've resolved to never let that happen, even if Shizune and I won't be going to the same school."

    "I check to see if she's in her room, but someone tells me she hasn't been back since graduation, and my heart skips a beat thinking that maybe she went home early, right after the ceremony. But, there's no point in giving up yet."

    "If she isn't here, there really is just one other place she could be."

    "I open the door to the student council room to find Shizune leaning on her desk, facing the door, almost as if she was waiting for me the whole time. It's happened so many times that there are days when I think that could actually be it."

    "I've gotten used to most of her quirks, though."

    hi "Hi."

    ssh "Hello."

    "She straightens up and adjusts her glasses somberly."

    hi "I was kind of hoping I'd find you here."

    ssh "I was kind of hoping you would find me here, too."

    hi "Heh."

    ssh "I'm sorry I couldn't see you after graduation. I had to sort out some last minute things."

    ssh "I've been offered a job at my father's company. I'll have to work my way up from the bottom, but the starting salary is still very good."

    ssh "Even then, I was thinking that maybe I should just focus 100% on being a full time student. I have enough of my own money to live comfortably in the meantime."

    ssh "I'm still thinking about what I should do."

    hi "It seems like a tough choice to make."

    ssh "It is. But, I've already decided. I'm going to go to school full time. I know that I am qualified for the job, but I don't want anyone to think I'm getting special treatment, or if I advance, that I didn't solely due to my ability."

    ssh "Pride over ambition, this time."

    hi "I don't see it that way. Besides, you would be overextending yourself if you tried to do it all. Sometimes, you're a little too ambitious."

    "Well, a little more than just sometimes."

    "Shizune catches the implication in my face and jabs me in the ribs."

    ssh "Well, then, what are you going to do?"

    hi "Me?"

    hi "I'll go to college, and become a teacher. Physics is my best subject. The most interesting subject to me, anyway. So, I'll teach that. Apparently, the test to actually become a teacher isn't too hard, it's really just about time."

    ssh "It seems like you have it all planned out."

    hi "I've been looking into scholarships. I have a few already."

    hi "What's with that expression? Impressed?"

    "Shizune giggles soundlessly."

    ssh "No."

    ssh "You know, once you plan it out, you're obligated to follow through with it."

    hi "I know."

    ssh "Do you think you have the follow-through?"

    hi "Yeah. Really."

    ssh "Are you sure? Once you say “really,” the standards change. I'll hold you to it."

    hi "Really."

    ssh "Who so hardworking all of a sudden? You weren't like this when I first met you, slacking off all the time. Misha and I had to drag you kicking and screaming to the student council room."

    hi "Hey! I never kicked or screamed."

    hi "Anyway, I have a goal now. You're going to succeed, right? If you're going to hold me to my success, I'm going to hold you to yours. And if you're going to excel in what you do, then, doesn't that mean that I have to as well?"

    ssh "Who said that?"

    hi "Aren't you all about competition?"

    "Shizune smiles cockily and raises an eyebrow."

    ssh "Oh? And who said that?"

    "I'm sure she already knows what I mean. After all, to me, this whole relationship started out as me trying to reach you. Now, I want to be your equal. Maybe even surpass you."

    "You give me drive to go somewhere, and the freedom to let that “somewhere” be wherever I want it to be. I feel alive around you."

    "Shizune's hand overlaps mine."

    hi "You, obviously."

    "I've always been competing with you. At first, I didn't like you very much. I didn't know what you wanted from me. So, all I wanted over you was some small triumph I could call my own to stop you from making an ass of me over and over again."

    "When I started falling in love with you, I stopped thinking of it like that. Maybe at that point, I started to think of it as... flirting."

    "I tell her this, and she looks away, a faint smile appearing on her face, couple with a thoughtful expression. After awhile, she says:"

    ssh "Am I that important to you?"

    "She signs it quite casually, but I can see she is more concerned than she looks."

    hi "Yeah."

    ssh "A person's value is determined by how many people it would take to replace them. To me, you are irreplaceable."

    hi "..."

    hi "You too."

    "Misha said that she was scared that Shizune and her would drift apart after graduation. It's not like the thought hasn't crossed my mind."

    "She really is beautiful. Today more than ever. Maybe it's because right now, I'm already starting to think about how I will feel when I start missing her."

    "The click of a camera's shutter closing brings me out of my thoughts, and I want to smack myself when I realize I don't have a proper camera with me, just what's built into my phone. If I did, I would be able to take a picture of her."

    "It was stupid of me not to think of bringing a camera to graduation. Not just for Shizune, but to capture all the other people and memories I've found here."

    "Fortunately, I spot a fellow graduate halfway across the school grounds walking with a bulky, expensive looking camera in his hands. It's an instant camera, the kind that develops the photo right after you take it."

    "What luck. I didn't even think they made these anymore, and they're rare to start with. I run towards him."

    hi "Hey, can I borrow that, just for a second? Just one quick photo."

    "He groans about how I must be the hundredth person today to ask, but gives it up anyway. I run back to Shizune and hold the camera up."

    hi "Smile!"

    "Shizune shakes her head from side to side."

    hi "You don't like having your picture taken?"

    "Adjusting her glasses matter-of-factly, she signs her reply strongly."

    ssh "I'm afraid it's a lot harder to make me smile for a camera."

    "Her eyes flash mischievously, the golden sunlight reflecting off those two deep, dark blue pools that always seem so curious, and teasingly playful."

    "Another game?"

    hi "Oh, come on."

    "..."

    hi "Well, yeah, I guess it's not like this picture means anything, though."

    hi "Because we are going to see each other again, aren't we?"

    shi "..."

    "She nods."

    hi "I said “really,” so the standards have changed."

    ssh "My expectations have changed."

    hi "My school won't be that far from yours. I'll..."

    "I won't try to do anything. I will do it."

    "I'm not going to let a few miles separate us. I'm going to let something that small take away my resolve to be with her? No way."

    hi "Every weekend. Let's be sure to see each other every weekend."

    ssh "If you're serious, and I'm serious, then a small distance is nothing."

    hi "That's right. We'll make it work, right?"

    ssh "You're so serious. I think I am impressed after all."

    hi "Heh. ...What about marriage?"

    ssh "What about it?"

    "Don't be coy."

    "Shizune pulls the camera down and I feel her delicate lips touch mine. She quickly jumps back before I can kiss her back."

    ssh "Now that you have said that, my expectations have changed again."

    ssh "But, I think that it's possible."

    hi "Kids?"

    ssh "That is also possible."

    ssh "If it's a boy, let's name him..."

    hi "How about something like... Isamu?"

    ssh "Maybe."

    ssh "If it's a girl?"

    hi "Shiina."

    ssh "Okay."

    ssh "It's decided, then."

    ssh "...I'll hold you to it!"

    "Finally, you decided to show me your smile."

    "I lift the camera back up, and take her picture."

    #end

    return

label en_end_shizunegood:
    # Shizune good end, after S38
    scene black with dissolve
    centered "~ shizune good end ~" with dissolve
    return