Saturday morning seemed to come for Tucker and Saturdays seemed to be a welcome surprise. There were no classes, Tucker knew what he had to get done and made his way to the library for the morning to get his homework done as he didn't get the chance to do it yesterday evening with Hanako's party. Tucker opened the door and walked inside. He found Yuuko doing her morning shift and she spotted and greeted Tucker.
Katawa Shoujo- Everyday Fantasy
"Morning Mr. Kagami." Yukko greeted him. Tucker signed himself in before he went off to find a desk to sit down and complete his homework.
"Good morning Yuuko. I sensed you're doing well." Tucker greeted her. He cracked open his book and decided to get to work. It was a relatively quiet and slow morning in the library and Tucker decided to take advantage of the peace. She decided to sit down with Tucker and try her best to strike up a conversation with him.
"How was your night yesterday? Lilly had come over to visit me to tell me a few things and she told me she was heading over to Scotland for a week." Yuuko began. "She told me that you were present for Hanako's birthday."
"It was a nice surprise; I was actually nervous that I didn't get anything for Hanako but Hanako herself told me that me just being there was enough to make her day." Tucker explained to Yuuko how Hanako's birthday went. Yuuko smiled bashfully before she began speaking again.
"That was very sweet of her, I sense she is getting to make more friends." Yuuko explained to Tucker as the latter was doing his homework.
"Yep. She invited me over to Lilly's dorm personally." Tucker added. Yuuko was surprised when she heard about this.
"She invited you over by speaking to you herself?" Yuuko asked. Tucker nodded yes as that was the case, "Looks like Hanako is beginning to make some steps forward in life. She wasn't the most sociable girl when she first joined Yamaku but now, I'm beginning to admire her bravery."
"Will I get to see more of Hanako in the coming days?" Tucker asked if this was going to be the case. Yuuko paused as she began to think about it. After a moment of thinking, she began to speak.
"That is possible. I also got your test results from your English teacher, the one you have in fourth period. Your test results had gotten lost and ended up here, so I decided to give them to you." Yuuko explained to Tucker what happened to his test results. Tucker felt like he was on the edge of a cliff and there was only one feeling he could sense. Death. Death as in the form of a sheet of paper that he had dreaded to see the results of. Yuuko slid the paper forward as Tucker braced for impact to see what the results were going to be. He grabbed the piece of paper and began to read it over.
"72." Tucker began speaking. He took a sigh of relief. He didn't fail the test, but this was the one class he felt nervous over. "This is the one class I seem to struggle with. My other classes are fine, but this is something I can't wrap my head around all that well." Tucker admitted that he was weak in English class despite having what seemed to be a firm grip on it.
"I have had transfer students from English speaking countries come here and there are several books written in English so if you're having some form of struggle, you can borrow a book from me and read it over to familiarize yourself with the language. William is probably the best student when it comes to the subject as he and Lilly always seem to chat in it." Yuuko explained to Tucker. "Lilly told me she was seeing Mrs. Hakamichi as she is sick with a terminal illness that the doctors are trying their best to find a cure to extend her life. That's why she's in Scotland." Tucker didn't seem to mind about this a bit but something else was floating around in his mind.
"When do you think you would want the book back?" Tucker asked, he remembered borrowing a book from Yuuko a few days ago and he wanted to see when she could have it back. Yuuko began to think about it before she began to speak.
"Tuesday of the week after, there is a three-day break coming up and I will be accepting books before then." Yuuko told Tucker that she was taking books back on a particular day before their break was coming up. Tucker nodded with the information that he had received before he finished his homework.
"Well, it was nice chatting with you, thank you for letting me do my work here." Tucker told Yuuko about it as Yuuko smiled a bit.
"I'll be here for the rest of the day so let me know when you want to come back." Yuuko explained to Tucker. Tucker nodded before he got up and left the room. He wanted to see what else he was going to do for the morning. He continued to walk through the hallway as he was thinking about the English test he had. A 72 wasn't that bad but Tucker was thinking he could have done better than that. He continued to walk through the hallway before he bumped into Hanako which he wasn't really suspecting.
Katawa Shoujo- Painful History
"H… hey… Tu… Tucker." Hanako began to speak, she was stuttering a bit though she tried her best to remain confident.
"Ah Hanako, I believe you had a good night's rest." Tucker began. He was busy trying to neatly place the piece of paper into his bag. Hanako smiled a bit as she remained bashful about it. Tucker noticed a visible blush running across her cheeks.
"I did." Hanako told Tucker about it. She tried her best to get rid of the blush she had as she straightened herself out. "I wanted to give you an invite to the rooftop for lunch. It's Lilly's last day at Yamaku before she leaves for Scotland for a week." Hanako decided to invite Tucker over for a special event regarding Lilly. Tucker knew he couldn't let himself be left out for the event, so he decided to take Hanako's offer.
"Of course, I'll come over, you think the others will be there as well?" Tucker asked. Hanako pressed her hands to her chest as she began thinking about it.
"They will." Hanako replied. She gently stuck her hand out with Tucker grabbing it with the good hand he had. They began to walk along gently to the rooftop.
Hanako and Tucker arrived at the rooftop to see Rin laying in the sun and taking in the sight of the clouds.
"Enjoying yourself Rin?" Tucker asked. Rin sat herself up before she looked up at them.
"Yes I am. Misha told me that the club you suggested has been set up a few days ago." Rin told Tucker about it. Tucker nodded with approval, and he seemed curious.
"Who's in it aside from me and you?" Tucker asked Rin if she had any ideas about who had decided to join the club.
"I have joined it." Hanako surprisingly said. Tucker and Rin turned their heads as they were surprised by the announcement.
"You did, was there a reason why?" Tucker asked Hanako. Hanako decided to gather her thoughts for a moment before she began speaking.
"I kind of didn't want to feel left out, much like you." Hanako explained to Tucker. Tucker seemed to notice Hanako trying her best. He then turned his head to Rin.
"Who else is part of the group?" Tucker asked curiously.
"Me, you and Hanako had been accounted for, Misha and Ernest are the ones that'll administer the group and I believe Natsume, Naomi and Molly have also joined the club. So that's about eight in total. Everyone else doesn't seem interested." Rin explained who part of the group was exactly.
"Well, I don't want to sit around and do nothing all day." A voice called out, the three of them turned their heads to see whoever had said that. It was Emi as she had arrived with Lilly, Hisao and Eleanor.
"H… hello Emi." Hanako greeted her as she still felt nervous around her. Emi laughed as they decided to sit around the table.
"How is everyone enjoying their weekend so far?" Lilly asked in a calm and collected demeanor.
"I was just getting my homework done for the day before tomorrow." Tucker began as he had nothing better to do for the morning.
"That's good. Eleanor doesn't do it until the last minute." Hisao teased Tucker, this earned him a look from Eleanor's direction as she began eating her food.
"Did she tell you about this?" Tucker asked Hisao if this was true.
"I learned about that from Lilly." Hisao teased. Hisao felt like he was having a good time for the first time in a long while. "So, what did you get on your English test? I got a 43." Hisao began. Tucker began to remember the number that he got on the test when he visited Yuuko earlier that morning.
"27 backwards." Tucker told Hisao the grade he got. Hisao was a bit confused by this. He didn't know if this was a joke or not.
"Are you sure it's 27 backwards? Is this a joke?" Hisao asked Tucker. Lilly decided to intervene and explain it to Hisao.
"27 backwards is 72 Hisao." Lilly told Hisao. Hisao began to laugh to himself, finally getting the joke, he was surprised that Tucker did well. "Eleanor got a 93 on hers." Hisao was still laughing at the joke before he placed a hand over his chest and began coughing.
"Hisao are you alright?" Lilly asked as she felt her heart jump into her throat, and she was scared. Hisao removed his hand before looking at Lilly, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down.
"I'm alright." Hisao told Lilly as he tried his best to regain his composure. Tucker was trying his best to eat with both arms, but his left arm was in pain while trying to control the fork. It was clear something was wrong with him. "I don't think Tucker is fine though."
"I'm… good." Tucker began, he wanted to seem that he was fine despite his left arm being in pain. Rin turned her head and began speaking.
"Well looks like the butterfly is having trouble flying if its wing has been damaged, I think you need to land Tucker." Rin explained to Tucker to stop using his left arm and have a break. Tucker looked at Rin before dropping his stuff.
"Good thinking Rin, I think you must've saved him or something." Lilly told Rin that her quick thinking must've saved her friend.
"I think his arm is acting up, he just got his injections as of yesterday which was supposed to stop the gangrene from spreading." Rin explained to Lilly what exactly it was supposed to do. "I don't want to take the bandages off as his arm is black."
"Well, it's clear his arm is slowly worsening, I think the antibiotics are slowing the infection down, but I don't think it's a permanent solution." Hisao explained to the group. Hanako curled up, fearful of what they were going to do to Tucker. Emi sat there while eating Tucker's food and Eleanor was doing… basically nothing.
"Let's not try to think of it. Even though I'm blind, I can hear what you're saying, and it'll be gross by the words of it." Lilly decided to put it bluntly. She grabbed the brown lunch paper and decided to fold it into various shapes. "Are there any animals you might be interested in?" Lilly asked. The others looked on as they were pretty skeptical of what Lilly was going to make. She completed Hanako's first before she moved on to Rin.
Katawa Shoujo- Concord
"What did she make?" Tucker asked Hanako what Lilly made for her. Hanako smiled before she began speaking.
"It's a hummingbird. It's delicate like me." Hanako began. Tucker smiled a bit as he was grateful to see what Lilly had made next. Rin got hers as she seemed to be smiling.
"Mine is a butterfly, Lilly's talented and knows that butterflies are awesome." Rin began as if she had enjoyed what her friend had made. Tucker turned his head to see Lilly making Emi's next.
"So, you got a 72 on the English test I heard?" Lilly began while folding up Emi's present.
"Yes, I heard, I was talking to Yuuko about it as English is the class, I seem to struggle with a bit more." Tucker began. Lilly seemed to have her demeanor drop off a bit before she sighed and decided to take a breather. "She mentioned to visit you if I continued to struggle or borrow a book that is written in English to help me get better at it."
"Yuuko tries her best to be helpful, I even get a giggle out of her on occasions as she tells us who we should see if we need help." Lilly began. "The reason why Eleanor got that 93 is the fact that I helped be her study partner. I think you should join up with me sometimes and figure out if we should try learning English together."
"Sounds nice. I see Eleanor is getting along with you and Hisao pretty well." Tucker replied to what Lilly had said. Lilly smiled before she continued to speak.
"Eleanor kind of has a crush on Hisao even if Hisao doesn't want to admit it, when we're not busy, he tells me how the two of them walk together as if Eleanor seemed to be asking him a lot of questions. These questions consist of friends, family, trying to be your full self." Lilly began. "Often when I hear about this, the two of them get along almost if they're like friends." Tucker looked away as if he felt downtrodden about it. "Is something wrong?" Lilly asked as she paused her art. Tucker sighed as he seemed to begin speaking.
"It's about what my parents always said to me growing up." Tucker began. "My father and mother were always very nice around us, but I seemed to not make as many friends as Eleanor growing up. I usually stuck with one friend, and we did stuff most likely back in my old school. My mother would tell me, get out there and make more friends and see what I am capable of. Eleanor on the other hand has many friends but mother told her you should focus on your academics and not what makes you happy all the time."
"Sounds like you two are out of balance and seem to have opposite problems with each other." Lilly asked if this was true. Tucker looked away and nodded without saying a word. "Hey, you're making more friends here for sure." Lilly did her best to try to cheer Tucker up a bit before he looked at her.
"Do you think so?" Tucker asked. Lilly nodded as she was just about done with Emi's present.
"Absolutely, I think I know what Emi got on her English test." Lilly began. Tucker seemed curious to hear about it and wanted to see what she got.
"What did Emi get?" Tucker asked curiously. Lilly finished making Emi's puppy dog and knew how to call her over.
"32." Lilly responded. This drew some response from Emi as she trotted over and stamped her prosthetic legs among the gravel.
"Ah! Evil! Evil evil evil evil!" Emi called out as Tucker seemed to laugh with a bit of amusement.
"Seeing you get a lower score than Hisao kind of amazes me." Tucker seemed to playfully tease Emi. Emi's eyes seemed to go blank.
"Grr." Emi growled at the end of her breath. She looked over to see the puppy as Lilly was folding up more of the paper. Hisao sat next to Tucker. Emi's growl sounded more like a small dog than anything threatening but she definitely left with her prize. Lilly was doing Eleanor's next while looking at Tucker and Hisao.
"I think I did okay on the English test, is a 72, okay?" Tucker asked Hisao if 72 was an okay grade average for a language test.
"I can say it's better than me. 72 is higher than 43." Hisao told Tucker about the test score.
"We haven't heard from Lilly; I know Eleanor got a 93 on that test by Lilly's mention. I don't know if Lilly did better than Eleanor?" Tucker told Hisao. Hisao turned to Lilly as she finished with Eleanor's present.
"Hey Lilly?" Hisao asked. Lilly turned her head to the boys. "What did you get on that English test?" Hisao asked. Lilly cheekily placed her hand to her mouth as she seemed to give off a cheeky giggle.
"100." Lilly told them. Both Tucker and Hisao were amazed. How did she score a perfect grade on it? Now Tucker figured out why Eleanor scored better than he expected her to.
"Thats…" Hisao began as if he tried to figure out what to say. Emi butted in and she began speaking next.
"See! I told you that someone who is part-foreign could get a score that high." Emi called out how Lilly managed to score a perfect grade. Emi paused as no one was buying her on it. "Eh…" Tucker began speaking next.
"You certainly outsmart us all in that test, how are you so good?" Tucker asked Lilly what her secret was. Lilly smiled before she began speaking.
"I grew up with English my entire life, so this test was a breeze. Only reason why Eleanor did so well as I stated before, I helped prepare her for it." Lilly explained how she got that 100 on the test. "We all have our strengths, I'm good at English, Hisao is good at the sciences, Emi is good at running. She managed to beat the runner Miki Miura at the race. I don't do well at any form of chemistry as chemistry is something that I struggle with and math to some extent."
"What am I good at then?" Tucker asked Lilly if she had any ideas what Tucker's biggest strength was. Lilly placed her hand on the bag as she handed Hisao an origami crane. She decided to do Tucker last.
"Based on your grades, you seem to do good all around, English is the only class you seem to struggle with a bit. Only other student who seems to make bets on who can get the better English grade is William and to some extent Ernest. They seem to be the ones that could give me a run for my money." Lilly explained to Tucker that there was nothing to worry about. Tucker sighed as this was some relief.
"You seem to know more than me." Tucker told Lilly. Lilly handed Tucker his present she made for him. Tucker carefully took it and held up in front of his eyes to see. It was an origami cat. "Nice job. How did you learn this?"
"I practice origami to improve my dexterity. I taught myself how to do it." Lilly explained that the cat was small, delicate and yet so precise.
"How did you know it had to be a cat?" Tucker asked as he was curious about it. Hanako walked over and she began speaking next.
"I… I told Lilly about it." Hanako began. Tucker turned his head to include Hanako in the conversation. "I spotted that you have a beautiful Calico that you won at the festival, and I thought you liked cats."
"I do, cats are such amazing creatures, I kind of wanted one growing up, but I wasn't allowed to have any, stuffed cats are just as good." Tucker explained the animal he liked so much. "I won it as a carnival prize when challenging Natsume to a ball racing game."
"Natsume and I spoke to each other as of late." Hanako began. Tucker seemed curious about it.
"What was it about?" Tucker asked. Hanako began to think about it. She turned and she began speaking to Tucker.
"It was about the Newspaper club." Hanako began. "I wanted to see how I would hold up in it as I wanted to get to be part of another club. Natsume has yet to find a date for me to meet up with her." Hanako did her best to explain what club she was going to join. Tucker seemed surprised to hear Natsume's name floating around
"Tell Natsume that my words go to her. I can't wait to see her tomorrow in the game." Tucker told Hanako. Lilly got up as she began to walk away, it was clear lunch was going to end.
"I'm off to get ready to head to Scotland, Shizune has to watch Hideaki for a week. I don't know how excited she'll be and she's probably going to hand him off to Ernest again for the night." Lilly told them as she began to leave. The others began to leave as well as Tucker headed off the roof. Rin however stopped him.
"Hey Tucky?" Rin asked. Tucker turned his head to Rin to see what she needed from him.
"Yes Rin?" Tucker asked.
"Can… Can I see you later? I want to show you something." Rin asked for Tucker to come to her location. Tucker felt curious about it and his curiosity got the better of him.
"Of course, Rin." Tucker told Rin. Rin smiled before she left. Tucker decided to take the cat Lilly made for him and place it in his dorm.
Tucker texted Rin an hour later for her to come over which Rin responded to the invite. Rin was waiting for him by the entrance of the park the school was connected to. They were going to go for a bit of a walk.
"Are you ready to do this?" Rin asked Tucker. Tucker looked at his arm which had seemed to recover a bit.
"I'm ready but don't do anything too heavy." Tucker told Rin. He remembered what the School Nurse told him about the arm he had.
Katawa Shoujo- Stride
Tucker seemed to have made his way with Rin. He was curious to see what Rin had in mind for him, was it the fact that she wanted to show him something. Rin's eyes were wandering in every direction as if she was looking for the spot that she wanted to show Tucker. They continued along through the park as Tucker was paying attention to Rin. Rin then remembered and she began to climb up a hill. Tucker felt nervous about this, but this was something he knew he had to conquer. Following Rin up the hill, he continued to keep an eye on himself and Rin. The day felt hot but at least it wasn't muggy, and the mugginess wasn't good for Tucker's arm.
They continued to walk through the forest as there were many trees that Rin had labeled as they passed, it was her way of remembering landmarks to see where they were going to go. Tucker was trying his best to keep up with Rin as she was still walking at her pace, the temperature seemed to drop as they were pretty much swallowed up by the hungry mouth of the forest and they were heading through the digestive tract. Their feet slither over roots and rocks as the birds chirp and sing through the forest, almost like music to their ears.
Finally, they reached the top of the hill as the gradient seemed to ease out. By the looks of things, no one ever visited this spot of the park. Rin knew it was perfect. Tucker looked around to see the large clearing with trees all around, the town was far below, and Rin knew she had this hilltop all to herself. Tucker was busy catching his breath as it was a long walk. He looked around to see small yellow flowers growing in abundance.
"There's so many of them." Tucker began as he was amazed by this. "There are so many flowers."
"You know what kind? The ones that become white and the seeds fly away on the parachutes?" Rin asked Tucker if he knew what flower she was referring to.
"Yes of course, dandelions. You had some in the picture with the butterfly of yours." Tucker told Rin that the flowers were called Dandelions. Rin nodded before she smiled and continued to speak.
"Nobody knows about this spot except for me, we're up high and no one can sneak up on us." Rin explained to Tucker as it was just them and there would be no one that could claim the spot. "Plus, the school usually doesn't cut the grass here so there are lots of flowers. I can't wait for these to turn white, and we can watch the seeds fly away in the wind." Tucker looked like Rin seemed to be right about it. The delicate yellow flower looked so beautiful as it will turn puffy and white like cotton in a couple of weeks and get its seeds dispersed among the wind. Tucker brushed his fingers against the delicate yellow petals as it kind of reminds him of the time when he was a kid. He looked up at Rin as he was curious to see what was on her mind.
"Is there something you're thinking about?" Tucker asked Rin if there was something on her mind. Rin just smiled and she began speaking.
"I don't think but it's just…" Rin began speaking to Tucker.
Katawa Shoujo- Parity
"No one seemed to clap for you on the first day as I tried to do it for you to make sure you have a warm welcome to Yamaku academy. But since I have no arms, I felt like there was no sound coming out of them as I wanted to see if you wanted to be my friend as I sadly don't have many of those as people don't understand me. I still remember a couple days ago you coming to visit to see how I was doing and how you wanted to give me stuff. I wouldn't mind some oranges as those are awesome. I felt like I've never had a real friend before and the fact that someone came over to take care of me makes my day. I continue to think over the past couple of days of that visit and what happened afterward and the fact that the thing I had completed regretted over those past couple of days is taking all of those pills, but you seemed to be a real friend to me as all the friends I had were paintbrushes and pencils. A friend that helped me when I was going to faint and one that tucked me to sleep. I got to hug you for that Tucky. You seem to be the one person I want to keep for the life ahead even though I don't know what I want to make of my life. I just don't know what I want to do as a hobby." Rin babbled to Tucker about her feelings, it seemed to be falling out of her mouth as Tucker must've found it to be a hard pill to swallow. It was clear much like Tucker, Rin was feeling lonely herself.
"You seem to be alone; much like me." Tucker admitted to Rin about her feelings. Rin paused as she began to think it over.
"I know, Eleanor has no trouble with friends and yet you seem to be one that struggles much like English. No one seems to understand me or what I say." Rin explained to Tucker.
"My family wants me to work on making friends, yet I don't think I remembered how. I can understand you just fine." Tucker tried his best to explain. Rin tried her best to think about when she was walking Tucker out the door, and she had accidentally fallen onto him.
"Hey Tucker, did I fall on you when I was escorting you out of the room?" Rin asked if this was true. Tucker began to think about what Rin was trying to say about it.
"Yeah, but I don't know what happened as I was surprised. I think we kissed." Tucker explained as he began to blush at the prospect of them kissing. Rin lifted her head as she seemed to be surprised at the notion.
"We did?" Rin asked. Tucker nodded with approval before he continued to speak.
"Yeah… on the lips." Tucker explained. Rin began to think about what she was going to say next, and the words began to trickle out of her mouth.
"Tucker." Rin began. She gulped about it, but she knew what she was going to say was genuine, coming from the bottom of her heart. "If I wasn't sick, I would have still kissed you, that kiss… that kiss was intentional." Rin explained to Tucker. Tucker placed a hand on his mouth as if he was surprised.
"You… you mean it?" Tucker asked, there was an awkward silence as Rin did her best to regain her composure.
Katawa Shoujo- Innocence
"Tucker… I do." Rin began. She seemed to look away for a moment before looking back up to see what she had to say to Tucker. Tucker continued to blush. "It seems to me that people often forget I exist just because they don't understand me, they forget my name on the first day as they find me the most boring person they would have talked to, but you seem to be the person who always stuck around and continued to follow me. Like a lamb to its shepherd, a wayward puppy, trying to find its way back home. You were always there."
"Rin I will be completely honest with you, even though I find you weird, there's nothing really wrong with it. You are you and there is no changing that. I don't know how much longer I will be hanging onto my left arm for but when the day comes and the pain goes away completely, I think I would have known what it is like to achieve peace." Tucker explained to Rin that she liked him, and he liked her back.
"I don't know if I can tell the difference between peace and jellyfish to be honest with you, sometimes people are like jellyfish, hard to understand. You seem to be the one person I can understand and enjoy the time to be around." Rin began speaking to Tucker. She stepped closer to him as she seemed to be smiling, she never thought she was going to be happy, the first time in a long while it seems to be for her. Tucker felt her body resting on his as she looked at him in the eyes, their faces mere inches apart from each other. "Tucker, I don't know how I would want to say this but… I love you." Rin's stagnant lake-like green eyes closed as she leaned into Tucker. Tucker hugged her as he attempted to hold her balance. Within moments, their lips connected as Rin was the one who seemed to be taking the lead. Tucker however knew he wanted to stay like this, the day was clear and calm, Rin's warm body resting against his, Tucker ran his hand through Rin's hair as it was soft yet oily to touch. It seemed to be a perfect blend of just the softness that he needed. After a moment, he broke away from Rin as Rin's eyes opened to be looking at Tucker again.
"I wish to hold you like this. We seem to have each other within our grasp even if we can't understand each other all that well." Tucker admitted as Rin rested her chin on Tucker's chest.
"I want to hug you with my feet as you're the one I want." Rin admitted, the plants seemed to sway in the gentle breeze while Tucker began to think of what he wanted from Rin, what seemed to be the best for her. He closed his eyes before he began to think once again.
Tucker felt the sensation that he was no longer being kept in the dark by all of Rin's rambling and her addictions, if he was going to find the light in the darkness, he was going to have to find the way out of there. Following Rin must've been the first step if he was going to head in the right direction, the feeling of having no weight on his shoulders allowed him to float up to the surface for the first time in what seemed to be forever. Tucker knew that the only way he was going to continue onward was if Rin was going to be there to help him every step of the way and he was going to be there for her. He opened his eyes to see Rin standing there, still inches from his face. Tucker blushed happily as it meant that they needed to find their way back down.
Rin began to make her way down the slope as Tucker was a few steps behind her. If this was going to continue on, he thought to himself, he needed to break out of the mold he had on him and follow what his parents wanted him to be. Following the dreams was the way to go for him.
Tucker arrived back at the boy's dorm building as he went to William's dorm to speak to him. He knocked on the door as he waited for a response. The door opened as William was at the entrance.
"You're just in time Tucker, come on in." William greeted him.
Katawa Shoujo- Air Guitar
"Game being held tonight?" Tucker asked William if this was the place to go. William nodded happily as they both walked in.
"You've made it in time, I thought you weren't going to show up." William began. He led Tucker to a table he had set up to see Hisao, Ernest and a little boy who seemed to be dressed in a female student's clothing.
"Yeah, I needed some time to cool off from Rin after a pretty eventful afternoon with her." Tucker began. William sat Tucker down before pouring him a drink for him. Hisao and Ernest looked on as Ernest was curious.
"Eventful, was it good or bad?" Ernest asked curiously.
"It was pretty good." Tucker told Ernest, there was nothing to worry about. He looked at the little boy who was with them as he was curious about him. "Who is me?" Tucker asked curiously. He had never seen him before.
"He's Hideaki Hakamichi, he's Shizune's little brother. I agreed to watch over him until Jigoro comes back from Scotland and with Shizune's hands being tied up, I need to watch over him." Ernest explained to Tucker that he was watching over Hideaki until their father came back.
"Is there a reason you dress like this?" Tucker asked Hideaki.
"It's a matter of choice, I want to be like Shizune except I can hear and be able to speak. "Hideaki began speaking to Tucker. "I was told you're Tucker?"
"Yes I am. I think you'd miss your cousins already?" Tucker asked Hideaki.
"I kind of do, especially Akira who I go with a lot around town, despite me dressing like this, I've always felt comfortable with Akira, going out and enjoying life. That's what there is to it, it's something to be enjoyed." Hideaki explained that he seemed to like whatever life handed him. William passed out two cards to each of the players as Ernest slid Tucker some chips to play. "I'm calling this one." Hideaki told them as he tossed some chips to the center. Ernest seemed to nod before calling the bet. Tucker called it as Hisao turned to Tucker while calling the bet.
"So, what was the eventful afternoon you wanted to explain to me about?" Hisao asked Tucker while William checked, he then dealt out three cards before flipping them over.
"Well Rin had decided to take me to a secret spot where we ended up chatting about what was happening, and she said she was just as lonely as me." Tucker told Hisao. Hideaki had called before Ernest began speaking.
"Well, it seems to be that you find dirty trash and not gold in a junk store, I fold." Ernest pushed his cards to the center as he wasn't going to be calling the bet. Tucker decided to call as he wanted to keep the game going.
"I think Rin seems to be suffering the same problems as you are. Can you tell me more?" Hisao asked Tucker while he called the bet. William decided to raise the pot up a bit.
"Well… me and Rin ended up kissing." Tucker explained before he blushed with embarrassment. Hisao smiled as William dealt the next card.
"Sweet Tucker, did Rin tell you that she loved you?" Hisao asked Tucker. Hideaki called the raised bet before Tucker continued speaking.
"Yes she did.I was surprised she'd tell me that but while we were alone. I began thinking, maybe I should be up for a change." Tucker explained while taking a look at his cards, he then decided to push the cards to the center, folding for the round. Hisao grabbed some chips and nudged them to the center.
"Yeah you should, a little change isn't going to hurt you in the long run, it may feel weird in the beginning but with this revelation coming upon you, this should be a good opportunity to take life the way it is. Maybe you and Rin have a few things in common." Hisao explained to Tucker. William had pushed his cards to the center, folding as well. He then placed the last card down to see who had the winning hand. The cards in the center read 4, 7, Ace, Jack and 2. Hisao was the first to flip the two cards over as he had a Queen and a 7. Hideaki flipped his cards over to reveal an Ace and a Jack.
"Hideaki wins the hand." William told them. Hideaki smiled before heading up.
"I don't know if I think I should be like Jigoro taking a left on a green during Rush Hour. A Rush Hour to get bear livers home to eat." Hideaki told in a joking manner. The cards were reshuffled and redistributed as a small set of chips were in the center. They each began to look at their cards. Tucker had two Kings so he had a pair right off the bat. The table went around with the winner making a bet first, Ernest decided to place his hand in there.
"Hey Hideaki, how did you learn to play cards in the first place?" Hisao asked Hideaki about his game sense.
"Probably with some of the students from Yamaku who were bored, I think I know a few card tricks if it means trying to win a hand at this." Hideaki responded as Tucker placed his bet in.
"How many tricks do you know?" Hisao asked. He placed his bet in and William too. William began to deal three cards onto the table. They were a 9, a King and a 5.
"I would most likely bury the aces below deck and then ask you to fix the engines." Hideaki joked with Hisao as he looked at the cards. He decided to flop. "I folded and there were good cards too." Ernest decided to bet a little more as the circle was coming back around. Tucker had his chance before he began to make his move.
"Raising the pot like the sun." Tucker told them as he nudged more chips to the center. Hisao looked at his cards before knowing this was a fight he couldn't win.
"Fold." Hisao nudged his cards to the center. William decided to raise the bet as if he was going to make things hard, He placed down the fourth card, an 8. Ernest knew this wasn't something he couldn't win.
"Yeah there is no way I'll win this." Ernest decided to fold as if he was going to save his skin. William knew this was all or nothing, he had three matching cards and he didn't know if he was going to bait William into the trap and knock him out early.
"Going all in with the coal." Tucker told them before sliding all of his remaining chips to the center, the others were surprised as Tucker was going to be this risky. William decided to respond as the scene was getting tense, both of them felt some sweat coming down their foreheads as the last card would determine the bet of who was going to win. William flipped down the last card, a 9.
"D'oh." William grumbled as this wasn't the card he needed, he flipped over his cards to reveal a 9 and a 5. Tucker flipped over to reveal the two kings he had from the beginning.
"Looks like you both got full houses but since kings are higher than 9's, Tucker wins the pot." Ernest explained to William that Tucker's cards were stronger than his.
"Well if I'm willing to play all night, then I am going to play it all." Tucker explained. He grabbed the chips from the pot before sliding them all to him.
The game would go on for another few hours as the boys seemed to be enjoying themselves, learning more about themselves, Hideaki's witty comments thrown in, and the overall fun mood of the night. Tucker arrived back at his dorm afterward as it was almost midnight when he finished showering. His long day was supplemented with having fun and getting a gift from Lilly, he was lucky to not fail the English test so that was a plus. He just hoped Lilly was going to be okay when she was in Scotland for the week. He pulled over the covers and thought of only one girl that helped contribute to his happiness of the overall day:
Rin.
End of Act 2.
[A/N]: This chapter was made pretty long as there was a lot of ground to cover in this chapter alone. By the looks of things, the next act will begin as the ship sails onward. There is a lot of stuff that we definitely learned from Rin and its only serving as kindling to the fire. Let's see where this goes.
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