Author's Notes:

Katawa Shoujo is owned by Four Leaf Studios. I do not own a single thing. This is a non-profit fan-made story. Viewer Discretion is not generally advised.

Tenshi: This may sound common but while I was playing this game, I had the feels! Each story arc was pretty deep, although the one that affected me the most was Rin's arc. But I'm pretty sure you didn't come here to read my ramblings so let's not waste any more time!

Many of my friends used to say that a bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush. Well, not many of them said that but you get the point.

In the end... I probably shouldn't have took it for granted.

My thoughts are interrupted by a sharp jab in my triceps. I turn over to my right to see the attacker. It's Isaac, my brother. I can obviously tell by his short and straight black hair and his green business suit. He always did like green.

"Hey, we're landing soon, look!" He says quietly before pointing to the window beside him. I lean over to look and—through the clouds—I can barely see multiple buildings and patches of green spread out in different locations. Guess it's still early in the morning.

Sitting back down in my seat, I check my pocket watch for the time. After a bit of deciphering with the watch's analog system, the gold accessory revealed that it is only four o'clock in the morning. Guess I didn't have a good night's sleep, but neither did my brother too apparently.

"You all right, Tai? You look a bit groggy." Isaac asks with an uncertain look on his face. I'm not much of a morning person, especially when you're sleeping in a chair for about ten hours. Hell, I'm pretty sure I got a blood clot from this flight.

I nod slowly and absentmindedly before yawning, "Just give me a few seconds to recollect my thoughts." Replying with a firm nod, Issac turns his head to the window while resting his head on his hand. I shake my head briefly and vigorously. It gets me a little dizzy but it woke me up. Probably should have tried the splash of cold water in the face thing, would've been better.

My name's Tai Rychtoven. Now I know that you're probably thinking about my odd and obviously non-Japanese name. I'm half-Irish and half-German. Before you make any assumptions, no I'm not from Ireland or Europe; I was born in the United States—more specifically, Hawaii. I've heard many people claim that it's like a paradise there, but it isn't; it's hot as hell over there and some of the people there are just plain crazy.

I should probably also explain why I'm on a plane as well. First off, my brother and I are headed to Japan, the birth place of anime and manga. Guess it's not really much of a surprise that I would have ended up here, I took many Japanese classes and had to tutor myself through it. Not to mention, my brother and I are pretty much big anime fans. I could name many of the ones I watch, but I'm starting to get sidetracked.

Now as for why I'm leaving is pretty coincidental; My brother's a lawyer—and a pretty honored one at that—and he was offered a position under a large business, whose name escapes me at the moment, by a friend of his. As for me going, well... I got sort of suspended at my previous school.

I'm gonna say this now because I know it's going to come up as a problem sooner or later, but I have a heavy gambling addiction. And I mean HEAVY. My father taught me how to play 'Texas Hold 'Em', and it expanded from there. Unfortunately, my school isn't all for gambling, but they never said we could do it after school. Sometimes I absentmindedly bet things on daily routines like when one of my friends forgets to do their homework, or on what lesson one of my classes are having and how long it takes for most of them to just turn into zombie mode. I guess it gave me comfort to know that I always win the latter against any of my classmates, especially when they try their hardest to listen.

Anyways, one day this big lug—and I mean big as in he could probably bench press a car—decided to challenge me to a match of Texas Hold 'Em, claiming that he was the best at his local casino his family owned. Honestly I never heard of his family or casino ever before, but whatever boosted his self-esteem didn't matter to me.

Most of the students of my high school always knew me as a master of card games or as that quiet nerd. I like to think it's the former but I can't deny the latter. It also didn't help when that cocky brute referred to me as my secondary title. Oh well, joke's on him since I heard that he had flunked about three times. I bet you that the next time I'll see him is when he's passing me my cheeseburger.

So after school we had our little poker match. I would have like to say that it was a close game out of pity for the poor guy, but I won't; I ended up beating him quite easily, with a royal flush as my final hand. Such lucky hands should be rewarded with recognition, but not to this brute, oh no. Instead I get the lovely result of a steroid-induced crybaby accusing me of being a scoundrel to the regulations. Challenging his assumption, I took him up on his accusation, even betting some of my money on it. What can I say, I was arrogant.

With a sinister smile he ordered one of his 'gang'—if you could even call his posse a gang—members to inspect me. Surely enough, they found about five cards inside both of my outer jacket pockets. It didn't take freakin' Sherlock Holmes to deduce that they were planted because the corners of the cards weren't firmly bent like the ones that were in the deck we were using. Of course I told them as much but their thick skulls couldn't comprehend logical speech, so the arrogant brute challenged me to a duel—or a 'scrap' as many of them referred it to.

Most obviously I tried to refuse, but seeing the other 'gang' members starting to circle us made me realize how futile the attempt of a negotiation was, so I had no other choice but to fight. Thanks to some martial art classes, I was able to defend myself and beat him—possibly causing a few broken bones too. Of course his friends would come to help and try to jump me in the middle of the fray, but they were also rewarded with the same gift I gave to the brute. But then, it happened.

What happened then was a bit of a blur but from what some of my friends were saying was that I was having some kind of seizure. I wasn't sure if it was from the heat or dehydration, but my curiosity was satisfied—maybe satisfied isn't the best word, but more like fulfilled—when the doctor told me I had hypoglycemia. It's an interesting word, one I would definitely like to have in my vocabulary. Basically my blood sugar was low, so low to the point I had a seizure and blacked out. The doctor explained this further by saying I have insulinoma, a rare condition for young people to have.

Apparently I had this tumor in my pancreas that secretes insulin, thus dropping my blood sugar level. My body must have gone into shock at the sudden reduction and it got low enough for me to strike into an immediate coma. They also said that I have cancer due to the tumor. Supposedly it was benign until it just had to become malignant during my diet. So now the doctors are probably still scouring to find a cure, but they conducted chemotherapy so I can live a little longer. I know it's not for much longer, but it's something. Not to mention my medication will at least keep me from blacking out.

During my time in that hospital, many came to see me, but it dwindled down over time until it was only my closest friends that would come once or twice a week. Hell, not even my girlfriend came to see me on even day 1.

I should probably explain who she is; she was an old friend from back in elementary. Her name was Naomi. We didn't talk much, but when we saw each other we would engage in small, yet eventful, conversations. She meant so much to me that I started liking her through middle school and early high school. After breaking the friendzone, we finally dated during our 2nd year. She was with me for almost everything, my birthdays, poker matches, and even during our lunch breaks; Heck, she even went to the poker match that the brute and I had. I thought we had something special. But no one ever has the same hand as you.

It only took me a week to figure out she was the one who planted the cards on me, that she was only in it for the money that I would get at these mock tournaments. Not to mention she was probably the one who stole my wallet too. I got so angry at the revelation that I stopped playing cards and started venting my feelings on archery. It's relaxing, peaceful, and very competitive. It was just my kind of game. Speaking of games, I also love playing video games-

The planes sudden landing catches me off-guard and I almost jerk forward from the propulsion. Coming to my senses, I just brace myself in case this plane's going to crash. I don't like gambling with my life.

After taking awhile to get off the plane and get our luggage, we finally make it outside of the airport. It's still pretty early, like around 6-ish, so we decide to try and figure out where the closest car shop is so my brother could buy one to use from now on.

"When do you think the taxi comes by?" Isaac asks me, his eyes still glued to the map.

"Dude, I don't even think the taxi man wakes up this early, especially on a Monday." I retort. I realize that this isn't the best sarcastic response I made, but it was enough to get Issac to chuckle.

"Yeah, no one likes Mondays." Our conversation ends off there as we sit patiently on a bench, waiting for any kind of taxi driver to come up. Issac yawns loudly and smacks his lips before groaning, "I could go for a cup of coffee right now..."

"Really, you're more of a beer person to me." I sarcastically respond, trying to lighten up the boring mood. Although it may seem to be awkward attempts of small talk, it stills interests my brother to enjoy my company. At least, he better enjoy my company.

"You're no worse for wear, Mr. Sake." Issac says as he glares jokingly at me. It's actually kind of true though, I've tried wine quite frequently even though I'm under-aged. But my brother gives me consent since he's the usually the only one who supervises. The strength of beer and liquor was too strong for my tastes, so I stuck with wine. Although my brother prefers the first two.

"It's not like you-" My argument is cut short when my brother's phone rings. He puts up a hand to command me to stop and I abide by the action. It's by then that I notice that we've been talking in English as opposed to Japanese, which is obviously the norm. But that's obviously because Isaac hasn't learned as much Japanese as I did, thus hindering his Japanese vocabulary. Granted he knows quite a few words and phrases, but he definitely can't speak fluent Japanese.

Issac's phone closing catches my attention that he is done with his conversation. As if by impulse I ask him, "Who was it?"

"It was Akira. Akira Satou, remember?" I could barely remember that name, maybe she's a friend? Well obviously, idiot, why else would she have his number? In the end, my brain fails to find any remembrance to that name so I give a shrug.

"Remind me."

"She's a friend of mine? Lawyer? Offered me the job position?" Issac questions, trying to trigger my brain's gears to start working. As if he planned it, I actually remember. She came by the house one day to celebrate my birthday, most likely invited by my brother. In fact, if I remember correctly, she was the reason I got into drinking alcohol. Oh well, I'm gonna have to thank her for that when we meet.

"Yeah I remember, got me interested into drinking. What'd she say?" Remember when I said I don't like gambling with my life, well, drinking alcohol isn't really a gamble for me. That's mostly because I can control myself into drinking moderately... Oh who am I kidding? I just do it because I like to. Helps me vent.

"She's coming by to pick us up. Possibly in a few minutes." At this, Issac folds up his map into a small and barely containable square. He was always on about keeping things neat, so I wouldn't be surprised to find out his whole luggage is like a tetris puzzle.

For about ten minutes, we just sit in silence, occasionally me cracking my knuckles echoing in the air. Naomi was always on about how doing said action would give me arthritis. It makes me chuckle thinking about it since my brother also cracks his knuckles, but it also brings up some memories I don't want to remember. God, I got to stop thinking about the past.

A car veering up towards us catches my attention. In unison, my brother and I stand up, as if the President was in that car. It it only reveals to be a blonde female with red eyes and a black business suit. I can see that her expression is tired, especially since she seems to slouch a little and her eyes are about half-open.

As she approaches us her expression seems to brighten up, with her back straightening up and the slight grin on her face. I recognize this face. It's definitely the face of Akira.

"Yo, Isaac." She says. Surprisingly, she's speaking English. I can't help but open my eyes wide in astonishment. She notices me and starts laughing before punching me playfully in the shoulder. "Surprised to see me again, Tai Chi?" Oh God, not that name again. I had started doing martial arts, like I've already stated before, and Akira was the first to know. Somehow, as I started to tell my friends about me doing martial arts, they always guessed it was Tai Chi first. It was most obviously a joke, and I can't help but think that Akira or Isaac might have started it all.

"More surprised by the fact that you're speaking English." I retort.

"Hey, it's not like I've spoken to you in any other language yet, right?" She jokingly asks. As if to add into the effect, she said it in Japanese. Very clever, but I know your tricks.

"Oh, but you just did." I retort with a cocked eyebrow, waiting for her next move. It's like playing a game of poker with this woman, you never know what she's thinking or what she's up to next.

"Hah! It's good to see you've caught up on your studies." Akira says with a joyous laugh. I turn to see Isaac, whose face is in bewilderment at the sudden kamikaze language switch. I was right to guess his language barrier in Japanese wasn't broken down.

"Yeah, uh, what just happened?" He asks. He probably gave up trying to translate it. Figures.

"Oh nothing, just a quick quiz on Japanese." I say. Diverting my eyes away as if nothing happened. That's when I realized that Akira is holding a paper bag in her hands. I wonder why I didn't hear it before, since now it's making a lot of crinkling noises as she swings it slightly. It may have something to do with the fact that I have my earphones on, but I digress. "Hey is that my birthday present from last year?" I sarcastically inquire. Akira chuckles before raising the bag up to her chest level. It looks quite heavy by the way she raised it.

"Aren't you observant? It's actually a little welcoming gift from me to both of you, but I don't think you would like it very much, huh Isaac?" Once Issac's name was mentioned, he looked as if he was pulled out of a trance.

"Huh? What?" Issac quickly asks, obviously not listening before. Akira and I both chuckle at the reaction. I feel a little bad about it, but then again it's my brother and he probably won't hold it against me.

"Just a little gift from me to the two of you." Akira repeats herself, showing the contents in the bag by expanding the hole for Isaac to see. He peers into the bag, inspecting it for a few seconds before giving a dismissive wave.

"Not really my kind of drink, obviously more for Tai." Isaac says. I bet it's wine. I'd go all in for it. Akira hands me the bag and I take it by the bottom. The bag obviously has a heavy amount of items in it, almost causing me to drop it by the sudden weight. I gotta stop being so careless.

I reach in the bag and feel the neck of a glass bottle. I slowly pull it out, only revealing about half of it out of the bag. Yep, wine. Knew it. I gently place it back in and tightly grasp the bag.

"Heard about your pancreas, thought it might ease your mind for a bit." Akira explains while giving a smile, probably waiting for my reaction. I can't help but feel how funny it is that she gives me alcohol and expects it to ease my condition.

"Ironic, seeing as how it could be my downfall." I jest. It seems a little cynical and pessimistic, but I know Akira can handle more than a joke or two. "But thanks, I'll be sure to finish it."

"I know you will." Akira snickers before turning Isaac, who actually looks as though he didn't space out. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go." Isaac says, his mood apparently brightened. I guess he was able to escape from the zombie faze. I'm just barely out of it; my brain isn't functional enough to formulate an actually witty response. Akira looks over to me to see my approval. I just simply nod before she leads us to her car.

Never have I felt so comfortable in a car before. Except for the sudden pot hole that jolted my senses just a few moments ago. It's like some supernatural force is trying their best to get me sleep deprived. Akira noticed my surprise and laughed. My mind is too groggy to register her outburst, so I absentmindedly stare outside the window, my face almost leaning against it.

Many buildings take up the vision outside, but the sun was still bright enough to make me cringe and back away from the window. I slowly take a look at my pocket watch, my blurry vision still trying to align from the rude awakening. After a few seconds, the watch revealed the time to be nearing 7:45. Damn, we've been here for about an hour now. I look back at Akira, who seems to be rather awake. It's probably because of the coffee that's in the cup holder. Man, coffee. I could use something to heighten my senses right about now.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty!" Akira says with a smile on her face. "From the way you passed out, I'm guessing you didn't have a good night's sleep on the plane?"

"Was about as comfortable as sleeping on a pile of needles." I joke. Oh goodness, not needles. That brings back some painful memories.

"The car or the plane?" Isaac inquires. Isn't it obvious? Does the leather sunk-in chairs not give it away?

"Definitely the car." I jeer. Akira gives out a menacing glare from her rear-view mirror, and my spine tingles as I see it. Probably shouldn't have gambled with this joke.

"If you think so, you're welcome to get out and walk there." Akira's statement chills me a bit. Kind of jarring, even for just a playful insult on a car. Guess she's kind of sensitive about her prizes.

"You know I was just joking right?" I say, trying to salvage the situation. In response, she just chuckles and takes a swig of her coffee.

"Of course I know, I just like scaring you." Akira flashes a devilish smile before taking another gulp. How cruel, but I guess I deserve as much. I just chuckle a bit before turning on my MP3 and turning my gaze to the outside scenery. The buildings outside soon pass by quite quickly before the sight of an iron gate is the only still picture there. I sigh to gain my composure before turning off my MP3 and putting the earphones deep in my pocket. I make sure to put on my black fedora and to take Akira's 'present' before leaving.

I open the door and it turns out I'm actually the last one out. Isaac and Akira are helping each other take out my luggage, which seems rather difficult for the both of them.

"Damn kid, what do you keep in here? Rocks?" Akira grunts as she pulls constantly with Isaac. I can barely stifle a laugh at the sight of both of their frustration. It always was entertaining to see someone getting angry. As much as I want to put kindle into this fire, I can't really think of something that wouldn't make me sound like a jerk.

"Just some supplies that will insure my survival, that's all." That's right, this place is a boarding school, so I'm going to have to end up taking care of myself.

"Speaking of survival..." Isaac says. He slurs the statement before taking his attention back to me. He then tosses a medication bottle towards me. In surprise, I flinch a bit before reaching out towards the bottle, barely catching it. I turn it over to read the label. 'Pop two a day to reduce chance of death.' Dark, but I enjoy some dark humor. I place the medication in the paper bag before saying my thanks.

"Don't forget this either." Isaac threw another medication bottle but this time I catch it with ease. I don't bother reading examining so I just place it in the same bag.

"Gee, how could I forget my life support?" I remark. Isaac just chuckles as he continues to help Akira pull out the large luggage from the trunk. I got to help but Isaac raises his hand in dismissal. "Don't worry, we got this. Why don't you try to open the gate for us?" I nod and make my way to the gate. It's quite large and wide. I stare past it and try to peer as far as I could. The place looked empty. Probably time for class, or maybe it's just too early? Oh well, I wouldn't think otherwise from a school that was for physically disabled students. I then notice that there is a plaque to the left of the gate.

"Yamaku High." I read. I look around to see if there is a lock on the gate that I could open, but while looking I see another person at the gate. It's a guy and he's wearing the same uniform clothing as me. I guess I'm not the only new student here. I'm feeling somewhat social today so I go up to talk to him. He has short and neat brown hair, despite a little strand of hair standing up near the front. He also has brown eyes, almost similar to mines. Hm, from up close, he's pretty short. Or am I just too tall?

"Hey, what's up?" I ask. He turns to my direction and he looks at me in confusion. That's when I noticed I was talking in English. It's going to be a bit troubling to adapt. "Sorry about that, having a bit of trouble assimilating." His expression then changed from confusion to a straight look.

"Oh, you're not from here?" He asks, his eyebrow raised. Surprising to hear him say that, I mean my skin's pretty toned so it should seem fairly obvious. Regardless, I decide to answer his question with formality.

"Nope. Came from the airport just this morning. A new student. The name's Tai Rychtoven." I say, trying to get my introductions out of the way. I take off my fedora and bow like a gentleman. I'm not one for making big and special impressions. His eyes rise in surprise as he hears my surname. It makes me wonder how many students here are going to be able to pronounce my name correctly, only by looking at it. I would wager about only a few.

"Oh, I see. I'm Hisao. Hisao Nakai. Pleasure to meet you, Rychtoven-san... I suppose." He says, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. He seems like a nice fellow. Definitely won't cause any harm even if he wanted to. A nice change of pace.

"Pleasure's all mine, good sir." I say as I place my hat back on my head. At that moment Akira and Isaac come to me, Akira nearly throwing the luggage at me. She gives a frustrated look that is shown by her creeping smile of anger. Great, this is where I die.

"Next time, you're getting your own shit out of the car." She growls. My laughter is somehow contained, but I still give out a pretty amused smile.

"Oh, but there won't be a next time, will there?" I arrogantly jest. Akira seems to take it well by not snapping right then in there. It's just like messing with a shark.

"Better not be." She gives out a sigh, most likely to vent any other pent up frustration before giving a slight smile and turning to Hisao. "So I've seen you've already made friends." I can obviously tell this is a sign for an introduction. I let out a subtle sigh before switching my language to Japanese.

"This is Hisao Nakai. We just met." I say. I can tell he's pretty confused since Akira and I just exchanged English words. But now he seems a little caught off-guard by the sudden change of language again. Hell, it's even hard for me to keep up with.

"Um, hey. Good to meet you..." Hisao trails off, obviously waiting for Akira to say her name.

"Akira. Akira Satou." She then puts a hand on Issac shoulder. "And this is Isaac, Tai's brother." We all find ourselves in silence before I decide to speak up.

"So you're new here too, I'm guessing?" I question while giving a quizzical look. He nods and we find ourselves in silence again. The only thing that makes the sound is the rustling leaves being pushed by the breezy wind. I guess it's what usually happens around the fall time. Akira then rolls up her sleeve a bit and it reveals a watch. She reads it and pulls down her sleeve.

"Well, it's about time we start heading out, so we'll see you later Tai, Hisao." Akira says, also repeating it in English so Isaac could understand.

"Don't forget that you can call us, I'll send you Akira's number over text. Oh, and don't drink all that wine in one sitting, I don't want you to visit you in jail the next time I see you." Isaac says as we both shake hands. He gives a wave to the both of us as Akira leads him back to the car.

"Oh yeah, you're room number is 110! Stay safe, Tai!" She yells before shutting her car door and taking off. Hisao goes to talk with his parents, so I'm just left there by the gate waiting for him.

I can barely make out their conversation in the distance but I can see that their giving their cherished goodbyes. After Hisao's parents leave, he walks to my side. He looks a bit troubled, maybe in anguish. I don't like prying but I ask him anyways.

"What'd they say?" He sighs before giving a somewhat stilted grin.

"Just our goodbyes and my dorm number." I nod and continue the small conversation.

"What's your dorm number?"

"119. You?"

"110." I can't help but feel that this talk is a little forced, but that's kind of the way it is when meeting new people. At least, for me it is. We both turn our gaze to the gate, which isn't opened yet. I managed to find the lock, and it was unlocked, so we're probably free to go in there and into class. I take a look at my pocket watch. It's apparently a quarter pass eight. "When does class start?"

"Eight, I think?" Hisao responds indifferently. I put the watch back in my pocket and grab a hold of my luggage. I turn to Hisao and do my best to give a friendly smile. I can't help but think that I'm not really the smiling type.

"Well we should be off then." I say before pushing the gate slightly, the creaking of it echoing in the air.

Well, this is my new life. No more dumb mock-gambling sessions, no more beautiful lies, and no more masqueraders. I know for a fact that when I opened this gate, I have thrown out the pathetic set of my old life, and that the first step I took in here gave me a new deck, a new life, to start on.