Chapter Two – Heart and Bone

The group made their way to the school's front courtyard, sitting at the same bench that Hisao and Suzu had sat at the night before. Hisao had picked up some noodles from the cafeteria on the way, which seemed a little weak in comparison to the girls' well-prepared meals.

"When do you even find the time to make those?" Hisao couldn't help but ask that question as they popped open their bentos to reveal neatly placed rice balls, roasted pork and vegetables.

"My mom sends mine every week," Natsume explained as she seemed to struggle with breaking apart her chopsticks due to the awkward alignment of her fingers.

Seeing this, Suzu nonchalantly reached over and broke them apart for her. As she handed them back, Natsume nodded in thanks and started to work at her food.

"A friend of mine makes me these every day," Suzu said simply as she began to dig into her meal.

"They must be a good friend if they spend time making you lunch every day." Suzu looked over at Hisao, a piece of pork sticking out of her mouth a bit.

"I guess so," she responded, finishing off the piece of pork.

With that, they ate their lunches in silence. Hisao wasn't particularly hungry, so he finished half of his noodles and set them aside. He then looked over at Suzu, who was practically inhaling her food, and Natsume, who was still trying everything in her power to grab the pork with her chopsticks.

Hisao opened his mouth to comment, but Suzu beat him to it. "I told you before that you should try using a fork," Suzu said without looking up from her food.

Natsume sighed. "You're right, but this is good practice for me," she responded. After a few more moments of trying, she gave up and jabbed one of the chopsticks through a piece of pork, using it like one would use a fork.

When they had all finished, the three students stood and started to make their way back to the school building. However, almost as soon as they got moving, Natsume let out a gasp and fell forward, landing on her hands and knees.

"Natsume?" Hisao couldn't help but show a little concern as he knelt beside her. She sat back and held onto her right knee, an obvious expression of pain on her face.

"If your arthritis is acting up, you should go see the nurse," Suzu said, not alarmed at all. I guess this happens often, Hisao thought...

Natsume nodded and started to move forward in an attempt to stand, though she just ended up sitting back again with a look of pain on her face.

"Suzu, could you help me-" Hisao stopped as he noticed Suzu starting to sway, her eyes closing. Don't even think about it! He stood and shook her shoulders once.

Suzu snapped back to life, at least for a second. "I'm sorry, I need to find a place to nap," she said groggily, turning and walking away.

"Hey-" Hisao stopped when he realized it was pointless. Looking around, there was nobody else nearby that could help.

With a sigh, Hisao turned back towards Natsume. "Can you at least stand on your other leg?" Natsume nodded, and Hisao wrapped his left arm around her right, helping her up. She winced in pain as she stood, but it disappeared as she leaned her weight into Hisao and lifted her leg a bit off the ground.

"Alright, just lean on me til we get there," Hisao said as he put an arm around her and Natsume did the same to him.

As they started to make their way over to the Nurse's office, Hisao glanced over at Natsume. Her knee seemed a little out of alignment, which was obviously due to the arthritis he had just learned that she had. It must be rough having to deal with that, he thought, At least I have a some control over my heart condition.

"If you don't mind me asking..." Natsume looked over at Hisao who pretended to just now look her way. "Why are you here?"

"I..." Hisao trailed off for a moment before continuing, "Have a heart condition." Natsume blinked, obviously wanting some details. "It's not really that bad, it comes up when I have to much adrenaline, or something surprises me."

"Oh, I see," Natsume said as Hisao opened the door to the building and allowed her to step in first. "That doesn't sound so bad."

Hisao sighed. "I know. I'm... kind of worried that it pales in comparison to others."

"I understand," Natsume said, "When I first came here, my arthritis only affected by hands, and I didn't think I deserved to be here." Hisao couldn't help but show his surprise at his feelings being shared. "Then it affected my right eye..." Natsume reached up and touched below her eye. "Now I don't feel so bad."

I don't think I'd want my condition to worsen to feel better, Hisao thought. When they finally reached the Nurse's office, Natsume stopped. "It doesn't feel as bad right now," she told him, setting her right leg on the ground and leaning against the wall.

Hisao nodded and reached for the door, but Natsume put a hand onto the door and stopped him. "Hisao...you really shouldn't feel bad. We're all here for one reason or another. As long as we're all different, it's fine," she said.

"I...guess I'll have to get used to it," Hisao said, nodding to her. "Thanks."

With that, he opened the door and helped Natsume step inside. The Nurse was sitting over at the counter, looking at some bottles of pills and scribbling on a notepad,. When they stepped in, he stopped and turned to them, his usual smile coming onto his face. "Oh, Hisao, Natsume. Is something the matter?"

"Just my knee again," Natsume said with a sigh. The Nurse's smile dropped.

"I see. Take a seat over there, and I'll take a look," he told her. Hisao helped Natsume make her way over to one of the beds in the room. Once she sat, the Nurse turned to Hisao, his smile returning. "Mr. Nakai, have you been exercising like I told you to?"

Hisao was about to lie, but he realized there wasn't any point if Emi would tell him otherwise. "Not really."

The Nurse shook his head. "You can't get better if you don't start now," he told him. Turning to Natsume, he said, "If you and Ms. Kisaki are friends, why don't the both of you start a track running routine? The both of you could really use it." He grinned, and Hisao couldn't tell if that was a joke about weight or he was being serious.

"Um, I just haven't gotten around to it," Natsume said. At least I'm not the only one making excuses, Hisao thought with a small smile.

"I'm sure, I'm sure," The Nurse said, rolling his chair over and sitting down, taking a look at Natsume's knee. "It's definitely starting to drift out of alignment again. It's nothing unusual though. Does it hurt more than usual?" She shook her head. "Good. I can send you off with crutches and some Vicodin, for the pain."

Rolling over to the cabinets, he began to rummage through them for a moment. He eventually came out with a bottle pf ills, and he wrote some things down on a clipboard before rejoining them. "Keep these handy, alright? If you feel drowsy, just stay in bed tomorrow. I'll also allow you to skip the rest of the school day today. I'm sure Hisao would happily bring you your classwork," he said, winking at Hisao.

"Thank you," Natsume said as she took the bottle.

Turning to Hisao, the Nurse asked, "Could you get her back to her room? I'll have to send the crutches up to her later."

Hisao nodded and stood, helping Natsume up again. As they began to leave, the Nurse said after them, "Don't forget the track every morning, Hisao!"


The bell signaling the end of lunch had already chimed by the time they arrived at Natsume's room. Hisao helped open her door and stepped inside.

It was the first time Hisao had been in a girl's dorm-room. It was simple, with tan carpet, a dresser, desk, lamp, bed with pink sheets, and a small closet. "Thank you, Hisao," Natsume told him as he helped her over to her bed.

As she sat, she let out a sigh of relief, stretching out her leg a bit. "Well, I guess I'll bring you our homework later, alright?" Hisao felt a little awkward being in her room, and didn't want anyone to think wrong of it if they walked by.

"Okay...Could you make sure Suzu got to class or not? Knowing her, she could be asleep anywhere," Natsume said.

Hisao nodded and turned, heading out of the room and closing the door behind him.

I guess it felt good to have opened up a little bit to someone, Hisao thought with a slight smile as he started to make his way back to class.


When Hisao entered the classroom, he was greeted with more stares from his classmates, like before. He explained to Mutou about what had happened, and, once again, he simply told Hisao to take his seat. Suzu was also sitting at her desk, dozing off like usual.

Lessons went on normally, and Hisao found himself not really paying much attention. By the time class was over, he had to ask Misha and Shizune about what their homework was, which didn't go quite well.

"Hicchan~! You really need to pay more attention," Misha translated for Shizune, who pushed up on her glasses and gave him a disappointed look.

"Sorry, I just didn't get much sleep," he told them.

"Why not~?" Misha seemed determined to continue asking questions, so Hisao started to place his things into his bag.

"Just busy with homework," he answered, "Guess I let it stack up on me."

Shizune signed a few things, and Misha gave Hisao one of her fake-angry looks. "You really need to get it together Hicchan~!"

"Yeah, I know. I gotta go and give Natsume her homework," he told them, grabbing his bag. "See you tomorrow." Without letting them say anything more, he left the classroom and started to head for the girls' dorm.

Remembering where the room was, Hisao gently knocked on the door. No response. He knocked again, but there was still no response.

"Uh..." a voice came from behind Hisao, making him jump a bit. Turning, he saw a girl who recognized from his class, remembering that she sat in front of Natsume. "What are you doing?"

"I uh, came to give Natsume the homework she missed out on," he explained. Hopefully I'm allowed in the girl's dorm...I have no idea, Hisao thought.

"I saw her leave earlier," the girl told him, "I can give it to her when I hear her come back, if you wish" She tilted her head a bit and gave a small smile, which made Hisao blush slightly.

"S-Sure." Hisao reached into his bag and handed over the pages. "Thanks...You're in my class right? I'm Hisao Nakai."

The girl nodded. "Yes, I remember your name. I'm Misaki Kawana." She extended her hand and Hisao shook it gently. "Have you settled in well?"

"Yeah, I'm still getting used to it," Hisao told her. Misaki brought her hand up and brushed her hair behind her ear in a smooth, delicate movement. As she did this, Hisao took a moment to look at her deep-dark blue hair and eyes that matched it. There was a sort of calming aura about her, and it made Hisao feel relaxed.

"Well, I do hope you find a place here," Misaki said with a smile. "I hope to see you around, Hisao."

"You too," he said. She gave a slight wave, and he returned it before turning and walking away.


With nothing else to do besides homework, Hisao headed for the library to try and find some books that could help keep his brain going and get him to actually start doing his work.

After browsing through the fiction section, he ended up only finding one. This will work, he thought, heading for the counter. However, something caught his eye, and he turned to see none other than Natsume sitting at a table in the reading area, apparently deep into her book.

"Hey," Hisao said as he approached her. She didn't seem at all startled as she looked up at him with groggy eyes.

"Oh, hello Hisao," Natsume said. As if on cue, she yawned and shut her book gently.

"Guess those pills are coming into effect already, aren't they?" Natsume nodded, and Hisao couldn't help but grin at how tired she looked. "I came by your room earlier to give you your homework, but you weren't there. I gave it to Misaki to give you later."

In that moment, Natsume's eyes widened, and she seemed to wake up instantly. "M-Misaki?" There was a dark tone in her voice when she spoke her name, and it took Hisao by surprise.

"Uh...yeah," Hisao said. That look...Perhaps they don't really get along? But then why would Misaki want to give it to her?...

Oh...I guess she might not be getting it after all.

"Do you two not get along?" Hisao didn't want to intrude on anything, but was too intrigued to not ask questions.

Natsume quickly stood out of her chair and grabbed her crutches from nearby. "I have to go," she said simply before she started to leave.

Hisao turned and watched her as she went. Just then, the door to the library opened...And Misaki stepped in.

The calming, kind expression he had seen on Misaki before dropped, only for a second. It became something of disdain, pure hatred as she gazed at Natsume. But when she looked over at Hisao, it returned, as though it had never happened...And he never even noticed.

"There you are, Natsume! I have your homework for you right he-" Misaki moved forward, extending the papers to Natsume, who suddenly struck her hand, sending the pages to the ground.

"Get away from me," Natsume growled. Misaki stood there, frozen, as Natsume limped her way past. When she left, Hisao simply stood there, dumbfounded.

"Do I even want to know what's wrong?" Hisao wasn't sure if he wanted to know or not.

"I...don't know. We used to be such good friends, then she suddenly started to hate me..." Tears started to swell up in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away.

"Well, it could just be because of her condition acting up," Hisao told her, stepping forward and placing a hand on Misaki's shoulder gently for comfort. "Just uh, give her some time."

Misaki nodded and looked up at Hisao. "T-Thank you," she said. Looking over at the clock on the wall, Misaki said, "We have time...Will you take a walk with me, Hisao?"

Of course, right when I wanted to try and get some work done, Hisao thought. "Sure, I need the exercise anyways," he responded.

Forgetting the book he had picked out on the table, Hisao left the library with Misaki.

As they left, Natsume, who was hiding down the hall around the corner, watched them walk off side by side, tears coming to her eyes.

Why?... Why does she do this?

To be continued...

Next Chapter – False Intention

A/N: For those wondering, Suzu will get her own time to shine, I promise. I need to let every character get their story told. Just be patient!~