Tucker knew Rin had fallen ill and there was nothing he was going to do to change it. He decided to go to his art class as he felt like there was nothing he could do. He began to think about how the morning seemed to be lonely without her. He went ahead with his morning, making sure Eleanor was okay and she was going to her classes.
Second period came as Tucker had no one to talk to. Maybe talking to Misha wouldn't be so bad after all. He sat down in his seat before he sighed. Within moments someone sat down next to him.
Katawa Shoujo- School Days
"Hey Tucchan." Misha greeted him. Tucker turned his head to the right to spot Misha and just Misha. Shizune wasn't with her.
"Morning Misha." Tucker greeted her. He looked around to see one of her friends was missing. "Where's Shizune?" Tucker asked. He was so used to seeing the two of them together, but it was just Misha this morning. Misha sighed before she began speaking.
"Shicchan had something to do with another school and will be gone all day." Misha explained to Tucker where she had gone off to. Tucker seemed to nod before looking away, he seemed disheartened, and Misha noticed it. "Is there something that is bothering you?" Misha asked Tucker. She wanted to see what was wrong with him and why he seemed to be acting the way he was. Tucker looked back at Misha before he began speaking.
"Rin's sick with a cold. It feels lonely in the morning without her. I don't think I have spent a morning without having the person to talk to." Tucker began. Misha looked at him as if she felt bad for him. She rested her hand onto Tucker's shoulder before she began speaking again.
"I feel you, not being able to speak to your friend for the time they're gone hurts. Even I feel lonely without Shicchan by my side." Misha began. She smiled again while she looked at Tucker. "Maybe I can be the company you need for now?" Misha asked while she smiled at her friend. Tucker felt up in the air about Misha, but this was a welcome opportunity to make a new friend if this meant trying to find someone new to be by his side. It was just Misha as she was the more tolerable of the two compared to her and Shizune.
"Of course, but I will have to check in with Rin after class today." Tucker decided to make a promise to Misha that he was going to see how his friend was going to do. Misha smiled.
"Do what you need to please, I want to make sure she is okay." Misha told Tucker that he should be able to visit his friend if he needed to. Tucker nodded before he hugged Misha surprisingly in a warm manner.
"Thank you, Misha, I wouldn't forget what you have done." Tucker told Misha that he would be grateful for the interaction he was going to get. Misha nodded back before speaking.
"Remember, if there is something bothering you Tucchan, speak to me personally and we can figure out what is wrong." Misha told Tucker if he had anything that was bothering him, he should speak to Misha about it.
"I'll remember that." Tucker told Misha. She released him as this was definitely something he needed to get used to. Tucker sat back down as the rest of the class trickled in with the teacher. Now came the time that he was waiting for.
Spending the next couple of periods wasn't bad. Tucker was kind of looking forward to speaking with Misha at this point if it was just her. It was their twenty-minute break, so Tucker decided to get some free time and use the school bathroom to relieve himself for a bit. Afterward. He decided to walk down the hallway when he bumped into someone.
"Hello their Tucker." Hanako greeted him. Tucker felt a little nervous that he just walked into Hanako. He dusted himself off before he looked at her. Hanako placed a hand on her eye for a moment before taking it down.
"What is it that you want to talk to me about?" Tucker asked Hanako. Hanako decided to think about it for a moment before she began speaking.
Katawa Shoujo- Lullaby of Open Eyes
"I don't know what you will be doing tomorrow but I wanted you to…" Hanako began. She paused, trying to figure out what she was going to say. Tucker felt confused, wondering what it was that Hanako wanted from him? Did she have a crush on him much like how Rin did the same? He stood there for a couple of moments trying to figure out the right words to say. "Want to spend time at Lilly's dorm? The party is being moved to tomorrow as Lilly has to leave for Scotland." Hanako asked, finally plucking up some courage to speak. Tucker began to think about it. Hanako seemed to stammer a bit in the conversation. He didn't know how he was going to react. The invitation was nice though. After a couple of minutes thinking, Tucker finally began to speak.
"Who else is coming over?" Tucker asked. Hanako looked away for a moment as she tried to remember who else she had invited. She turned back and began to speak.
"Lilly, Akira, Hisao and Eleanor for now." Hanako explained who was going to be at the party. Tucker heard the name of his little sister; she had been invited over and he began to feel a bit warm on the inside. "Eleanor asked as she wanted to see you again as she doesn't see you that much anymore."
"Is Eleanor mad at me?" Tucker asked.
"She's not, but she says that she is starting to miss you. You seem to be drifting more and more." Hanako explained to Tucker that Eleanor was disconnecting from her brother. Tucker nodded and began to speak again.
"Hopefully I should come tomorrow." Tucker told Hanako that he would be attending her party. Hanko smiled a bit as if she had managed to invite someone over.
"Thank you." Hanako told Tucker. She began to walk away as Tucker decided to head to his next class. He didn't want to tell Misha about this assuming she was going to find out and invite herself over.
The classes would go on and conclude that day though Tucker felt like he had a pretty lonely day as both Emi and Rin were sick. At least Natsume and Naomi were able to talk to him for a few minutes though it sadly didn't accomplish much. Having got no text from the nurse, Tucker decided to text Emi her dorm number and figure out where Rin was from there. Emi texted Tucker that Rin was in the dorm next to her. Thankful for the information, Tucker made his way to the dorm room where Rin was. Once he arrived, he approached her dorm before knocking on the door. He stood back wondering if Rin was inside, the School Nurse said she had a cold and didn't want anyone near her out of fear of anyone else catching it.
"It's open." Rin told him though Tucker couldn't see her. Tucker grabbed the door handle and slowly turned it. Once he heard the door locks move, he nudged the door open to see Rin at her desk, only clad in her unbuttoned shirt and her panties. She looked like she was playing a game of some sort on her computer while absorbed into her world where it would be hard to crack the turtle shell open.
Katawa Shoujo- Parity
"Rin, I came over to see you as you weren't in the art studio this morning." Tucker spoke to Rin that he came over to visit her. Rin turned her head to see Tucker had come over to see how she was doing.
"You came for me?" Rin asked while she tried to play her game. It was clear her movements were getting sloppy, and she was having trouble trying to play her game so she was doing it as slowly as she could.
"Yes, I did." Tucker told Rin. He stepped into the room to see what was going on with Rin while Rin was staring at her computer screen and watching it all go by. "Today has been somewhat lonely without you." Tucker admitted, he blushed at the notion that Rin's absence made him feel a little empty on the inside. Rin turned her head as she began speaking next.
"Nobody seems to come and visit me other than my caretaker and Emi." Rin began. "I get the feeling of loneliness from time to time, especially when people just praise me for talent instead of emotion. Whenever someone does that, I want to hide in a corner and tear up as nobody seems to understand me or what I am trying to say."
"I feel what you are thinking about Rin, I felt like I haven't made many friends in my old school either. Eleanor was the social butterfly of the two of us and she had an easy time befriending everyone. I just hung out with Eleanor's friends as if I was like her dad and she'd shoo me away. I know what being truly lonely feels like." Tucker explained to Rin the feeling of not having any friends to express their emotions to. Rin turned her head to Tucker.
"Befriending me wasn't so hard, right?" Rin asked with a small smile to her face. Tucker began to think about it as if he was trying to figure out how to respond to this. He blushed more at the prospect of finding someone who loved him.
I… uh…" Tucker began as he tried to figure out how to respond to this.
"I'm excited for the visit though, even if you seem to be having some form of trouble trying to find the words." Rin smiled before she went ahead and continued playing her game.
"I could have brought you a cookie and a glass of orange juice if that would make you feel better." Tucker tried his best to speak his intention. He looked ahead to see what Rin was playing, it looked a lot like what he was reading and what Rin liked to talk about from time to time. "Hey Rin, what are you playing?" Tucker asked her curiously. Rin scoots over a bit to let Tucker get a bit of a look at the computer screen. It seemed to be similar while Rin was controlling the computerized beast, blowing the whistle occasionally while thundering along the computer-generated map.
"It's called Trainz. It's a sandbox type game where you explore the map in your locomotive, and you can make your own maps. I like sandbox games as it's like painting on the computer. I love this." Rin explained what the game was about. Tucker nodded before they watched, it seemed to be good to be creative, Rin definitely knew how to be creative and if this was something she used to get away from classes and unwind her mind. He could accept it. Tucker looked around to see what else Rin had on her desk. He noticed a bottle of pills that Rin had beside her as well as some water. "It's like the long rainbow fish going by." Rin told Tucker but he ignored her. He picked up the medicine bottle and shook it around, it was partially empty. He turned it over and began reading the ingredients of the pills.
"Active ingredient… Codeine." Tucker said to himself, reading the content of the pill bottle. He noticed that it was partially empty before he turned back to Rin. "You took all of these?" Tucker asked Rin if she was swallowing pills like they were tic-tacs.
"No, yes." Rin began with a contradictory answer. She smiled a little before she continued speaking. "I've been eating them since they're so many of them. They're not so bad and they are good." Rin continued to speak as her head began to spin. "Actually… I feel fine." Rin told Tucker before she continued to roll her head around. Tucker was getting worried.
"Are you okay Rin?" Tucker asked. He looked at Rin to see that her head was spinning, almost as if she was either stretching her neck muscles out or she looked like she was going to pass out. She said she had taken several of the pills and Tucker didn't know if that was supposed to be safe or not.
"I'm fine." Rin began. She was having a hard time concentrating though as if Tucker's voice was buzzing through her head. "What does this buzzing sound feel like? It's like insects are flying around but I can't think of what they were as I'm having trouble thinking straight." Rin began talking to Tucker as if she was feeling dizzy. Tucker began to think of insects that made some sort of buzzing sound.
"Are they bees?" Tucker asked, he thought of bees right off the top of his head, Rin nodded her head from side to side as Tucker got the wrong answer.
"That wasn't what I was thinking about, but I can explain." Rin began. "It's like many of those insect things... or one really big insect thing. With lots of wings. Very much color and everything. What's the word for those? Oh, never mind. I remembered. It's butterflies." Rin told Tucker as she remembered the insects to be butterflies now.
"I was kind of close as both insects are pollinators, but I don't think butterflies buzz like bees." Tucker began. "Is there anything you like about butterflies?" Tucker asked.
"I love butterflies. They are the best animal. Did you see any on your way here Tucker?" Rin asked, she seemed to be happy with how the conversation was going. Tucker began to think of what kind of butterflies he could have seen. He turned his head away before speaking again.
"I'm not familiar with insects, I think we should go somewhere where I can learn more about butterflies." Tucker told Rin that insects were one of those things he was unfamiliar with. Rin paused as she began to think again.
"Hopefully if Misha and Shizune give us a break, we should visit the Satou summer residence and we can look for butterflies there. For now, I think the biggest butterfly in the room is you." Rin seemed to compliment Tucker about it. Tucker backed up a bit and decided to take a look around Rin's room. The faint smell of paint was on the canvases as they seemed to be looking at him. It had pictures of what Rin really liked, even a couple butterflies on dandelions. Was this what Rin enjoyed? He also noticed stacks of paper which contained her sketches that she collected over the years with her time at Yamaku. Without the art, her room would be empty.
"Your room seems nice." Tucker began, he was trying to change the topic of the conversation as he knew that he wanted to make sure Rin didn't continue her advances. Rin stepped back for a moment, and she began to think of what to say next.
"Would you like me to show you the places?" Rin asked. She was still feeling dizzy, but they were standing in her room, and this was the only place she was going to show him. "Oh… I guess I already did." Rin tried her best to laugh at her own joke, but it was clear Tucker wasn't picking up on it.
"Well, we're here." Tucker told Rin that they didn't need to go anywhere else. Rin giggled before she began speaking again.
"I would like to say thank you for visiting me again and I wanted to tell you about this or something else will cross my mind." Rin began speaking again, she rolled her head as it was clear the codeine was getting to her and was going to deliver a knockout punch. Tucker was getting worried for her.
"Rin, I think you should lay down and get some rest, this medicine is trying to put you to sleep." Tucker told Rin. He decided to exit from her game and shut her electronics down. He went over and did his best to carry Rin despite his bad arm cramping him. He laid Rin on the bed while Rin relaxed on the bed, almost as if she was enjoying herself for a while.
"Well, I think this will be farewell for now?" Rin asked if this was going to be true. Tucker looked at Rin as if he was leaving.
"Yes, I think you took way too much cold medication today and that should definitely help you." Tucker sighed. He gathered his belongings and headed for the door. Rin sat up as she had a request for Tucker.
"Wait." Rin began. Tucker turned his head to her. "Can I walk you back to the door? It is something a gentleman would do." Rin suggested. Tucker didn't know what Rin was talking about but assumed she wanted to help him. Tucker was worried that Rin was going to give him her cold.
"Of course." Tucker finally spoke. Rin got up from her bed mechanically and with some difficulty. She stumbled over to Tucker before she grabbed onto him. Tucker meanwhile braced himself, ready to catch Rin in case she fell. Rin stumbled onward as if the codeine was getting the better of her. She stumbled closer to Tucker before feeling like she was ready to fall asleep. Rin finally fell before Tucker's eyes widened; Rin had landed herself on top of Tucker as her heart shaped lips were pressing against his. This must be an accident to Tucker who seemed to be caught off guard. Fool's luck that Rin had kissed him. They would probably both forget about this when Rin recovered from her codeine high. After a moment of awkwardness that was felt by the both of them, Tucker helped Rin push themselves apart before Tucker went over and helped Rin back to her bed. She felt very drowsy and tired. Well, it was worth the try. Tucker pulled out the covers as he guided Rin into her bed. After Rin was in bed, Tucker pulled the covers over her, as if he was saying goodnight to a child. "I hope you get better. It'll be bad if you gave me your cold." Rin was barely awake as the warmth of the covers was over her and she felt like someone tucked her in.
Katawa Shoujo- Aria De l'Etoile
"Tucky?" Rin asked. Tucker turned his head back to Rin as she was trying her best to wake up again. She felt pretty tired and couldn't do much about it. "Thanks again for coming over for a visit." Rin told him. Tucker gathered his belongings before he took a couple of codeine pills with him just in case, he got himself a cold.
"You're very welcome, I think I should hide myself away for the time being in case I get what you have." Tucker suggested to himself though he seemed thankful to the visit with Rin. Rin just snuggled into her covers before she finally fell fast asleep. Tucker opened the door and left the room. Tucker began walking down the hallway and he began to think to himself.
Was Rin like this if it was just him and her? Why was she so warm around him yet cold when they were in class? Was it something genuine? Could it be delicate like the flap of a butterfly's wings? The gentle breeze going through the corridors as the windows were open and the air went in. Tucker tried to think of all of these things. This kiss had to be accidental, he didn't know if it was on purpose that she kissed him or not? He continued to walk down the hallway while thinking that he got no text from the School Nurse about his antibiotics. He didn't know if he should feel happy or miserable with the needles being poked into his elbow. He began heading down the stairs, trying to think. The relationship with Rin was starting to blossom into a flower. He got out the phone and texted Eleanor to check up on her. She responded with a text back a couple moments later. He needed to talk to Rin the next time they bumped into each other about the moment that happened yesterday. Tucker seemed to sneeze before he turned his head to the right to avoid anyone walking near him. He thought he had caught Rin's cold, but he had the pills on him, so he decided to consume them before he continued onward. He just wanted to get back to his dorm.
Tucker arrived back to his dorm after a few minutes though he was beginning to feel drowsy himself. He knew the best thing he needed to do was take a nap in the hope that it would wear off. He laid in his bed and fell fast asleep.
"Hello?" a voice called out. Tucker looked around as if he was still on that train he was dreaming about some time before. He looked to his left to see Rin, smiling as the other passengers were wandering the train. "You seem to have passed out and fell asleep. I want to go take a look around to see what the rest of this serpent looks like." Rin began as the whistle for the engine was heard. Tucker looked to his right to see the crossing flash by him.
"Okay." Tucker told Rin. He got up from his seat and they began to wander around, it seemed like he enjoyed the interior before they got to the back. The space seemed to be somewhat empty except for a couple of the passengers who decided to relax back there. Rin pulled up a seat as she and Tucker began to look out the window.
"Do you enjoy the view going along?" Rin asked as the landscape was disappearing behind them. Tucker seemed to be in awe, the landscape was disappearing behind them, flying along like a bullet through the sky.
"It looks nice, why did you bring me out here?" Tucker asked curiously.
"I like the view out here." Rin answered his question. Tucker seemed to see the landscape pass by, even the occasional train heading in the opposite direction seemed to not bother them at all. "Will you want to hang out with me and drive one of these one day?" Rin asked, the voice seemed to fade on him while he began to think. Everything was once again turning to white almost if he was dreaming about it.
Tucker woke up as he looked at his alarm clock, he had been asleep for a little over four hours and he seemed to knock the cold out of the way and homework he decided to do as tonight was a relatively light workload the teachers had assigned. Once finished, he was thinking about the game Rin was playing and wondered if he could make a club centered around it and who would join. Using what remaining time he had and strength to stay up. He began writing to Misha to see if she could organize a club to make Rin happy. After writing the letter, he folded the letter up and decided to head off to the shower to prepare himself for bed. He was thankful there was no Kenji to bother him and once he was done, he walked back to his dorm after cleaning himself up and decided to head back to bed and sleep for the night. He pulled back on the curtains to see the sun setting a little later that night than the days previously, he thought Summer was around the corner and they'll be let out of Yamaku academy.
He just pulled the covers over his head before falling back asleep. He was still pretty groggy and tired after the encounter with Rin and the nap he just took. Hopefully Misha would allow the greenlighting of the club to look for a day for them to get together.
[A/N]: This chapter is not as dialogue heavy, but Tucker and Rin actually end up kissing for the first time. Neither of them didn't know if this was accidental or intentional, only time will talk about it as this story will continue forward with Tucker proposing to make a new club.
Also, another thing I would want to add is that I'll probably get Act 2 done within a couple more chapters, this one felt like the shorter one of the three, but it will be something that the girls will be able to do together. Anyway, I'm just rambling on, I'll see you then. Goodbye for now.