Act 3: Master of Trainz

Eddie Vedder- Society

The growl of two units was heard in the game as Natsume was handling her Sunday of relaxation.

Rin was in another section of the game picking up two boxcars with her locomotive, she was using the experience she had if she was going to come up with more paintings. She began to reverse away after getting her cut.

Hanako meanwhile was handling another part of the game as she relaxed to enjoy the scenery. This seemed to be something she could enjoy. A bubble all for herself.

Rin was still reversing away as she was beginning to sketch out the idea of what her next painting was going to be as her unit reversed along the scenery.

Molly was heading down the sliver-like steel path of the game as she too was taking the Sunday to relax.

Rin was pushing the two boxcars into a shed somewhere as if she wanted to hide these two cars in particular from anyone else.

Misha was cruising along as if this game had given her more space to roam around. She seemed to be enjoying herself.

Rin tucked the boxcars away as if she was satisfied with what she did, she made sure to go slow so she didn't collide into anything which would cause the yellow X marks to pop up. She stopped to observe the progress she had made.

Naomi was heading down another section of the map, Misha had been generous to them to give them what they needed.

Rin had decoupled and decided to reverse away, she went back to sketching as if she had the time on her feet.


The next day would come as Tucker had decided to head to class to discuss the events as of yesterday. Rin had arrived early and was busy painting away on the canvas. Tucker knocked on the door to have it opened by Shinichi who was waiting at the door for him.

"Good morning Mr. Kagami. I sensed you had a good weekend." Shinichi began speaking. He was excited to see Tucker. Tucker walked into the room as he decided to place his belongings down.

"It was a good weekend for sure, we got the club up and running and we had a good first meeting. If there was something I wanted to say for sure, I'm getting closer to Rin as the days go by." Tucker admitted. He was joined in the conversation by Rin who was speaking to him.

"Or rather me getting closer to him. Lilly is gone for the week as she had to visit family in Scotland. We're just going to have to do everything ourselves for the time being until she gets back." Rin explained what happened during the weekend. Shinichi smiled before he took a seat.

"Well, I would say that this week will be business as usual." Shinichi made the statement that this week was going to be like the rest. Just them enjoying their time together while the classes went by.

"That you can say is true Mr. Nomiya." Tucker replied. The rest of the students began to trickle in as class was about to start.

"You're welcome Mr. Kagami." Shinichi politely told him. Shinichi turned to his students as he knew he wanted to give them an easy week for them to work on. "No lessons as of today, we're jumping straight into the art." He told his students as there wasn't going to be any tricks to teach as much as them going in to do their artwork. Tucker grabbed his papers and knew he needed to get his sketches done before he was to color them. Shinichi walked over and sat next to Tucker as if he needed to speak to him about something.

"Oh, hello there, is there something else you want to talk to me about?" Tucker asked Shinichi. Shinichi brushed his chin with his fingers before he began speaking.

"Well, I was talking to Eleanor a couple days ago with Rin about an art gallery called the 22nd corner art gallery, Eleanor was interested in this as she felt like she was going to finally be recognized. Rin however, bowed out of the idea as she knew she wasn't ready for it. I'm still willing to put her canvases on display even if she doesn't show up for the event. I don't know who is better at this point." Shinichi explained to Tucker what exactly happened regarding the event that was coming up. Tucker turned his head curiously as he was looking at Rin who was still painting away at her canvas. Tucker turned his head to Shinichi.

"I don't know either, it's only a matter of time at this point." Tucker told Shinichi about it. Shinichi nodded a bit before he looked at Tucker.

"Okay but if anything happens between you two, tell me about it, I want to see where this will go. And by that, I mean you and your little sister." Shinichi told Tucker. He withdrew to talk to other students before Rin decided to call him over as she wanted to speak to him.

"Hey Tucky?" Rin asked. Tucker turned his head to her as if she was calling him over. Tucker looked at her as he began speaking next.

"Yeah?" Tucker asked.

"I wanted to say that what Shinichi's works weren't correct, he told you that I bowed out of the art gallery event, I just told Mr. Nomiya that I wasn't interested in. At least he's happy that he has your sister as a backup. Eleanor was overjoyed by the decision and sometimes I can't stand her when she's excited." Rin began talking to Tucker about his younger sister and what happened regarding the event. She turned and smiled at Tucker. "At least I have you though." Rin added. Tucker nodded while he continued to sketch.

"Well… at least you have me." Tucker told Rin as if he added on to what she said. Rin smiled as she was putting the finishing touches to her painting. It looked a lot like the game they were playing yesterday, beasts growling along the path almost as if they were snake-like huskies pulling a heavy load of anything imaginable.

"You like it?" Rin asked with a bit of a smile to her face. Tucker looked at Rin as if he was taken away again.

"It's… it's beautiful." Tucker stuttered a bit; he had been blown away. Rin nodded before she looked at him as if she had rediscovered a love for painting. Shinichi walked over before he examined the painting.

"Rin you're an absolute genius, I feel like you've been reborn." Shinichi told Rin as if he had the biggest smile on his face. He picked up the canvas and took it off for it to dry, Rin seemed to beam with pride as if she had created another masterpiece.

"You're certainly getting back into your streak." Tucker tried his best to describe it. Rin looked over before she spoke again.

"It's always good to find inspiration in what you create, if you don't, then your painting would look like someone had scribbled a bunch of colors on it with no meaning." Rin described what it felt like to have inspiration and ideas to get the painting to where it was now. Tucker nodded but before he was able to say anything, the bell rang as it was a signal for class to end for the day, the students had gathered their belongings and headed off to their next class. Tucker was about to head out the door, but Shinichi decided to pull him over for a moment.

"Hey Mr. Kagami, before you go, can I speak to you for a moment?" Shinichi asked as he needed Tucker for a moment. Tucker turned his head to his teacher, wondering what he needed.

"Sure, what is it Mr. Nomiya." Tucker asked. Shinichi adjusted his glasses before Tucker began to speak again. "Am I in trouble?"

"What? No no no no no no. You're not in trouble Mr. Kagami. I just wanted to know what you wanted to do when you graduated from Yamaku academy. Eleanor put down that she wanted to be an artist and I don't blame her. I wanted to ask you about it as I might want to see what your interests are." Shinichi began the conversation by saying that he wanted to see what Tucker had in mind in terms of what his career path was going to be. Tucker began to think it over as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do.

"I wanted to be an engineer like my dad. He says he met my mother in a school similar to this one and he wanted me to take an art class for engineering and I'm still wondering what art has to do with machines?" Tucker asked as he was still curious about this. Shinichi looked away for a moment before he began to speak again.

"You can design the machines you want to make." Shinichi told Tucker. Tucker looked up to his art teacher as he was curious.

"Design? So, you want me to make my own technology?" Tucker asked as he was curious about it.

"Yes. If your dad wants you to succeed, I think you should take his word for it." Shinichi explained to Tucker that he wanted him to pursue what his father had set up for him. He then began to turn and walk to his bag. "I also went to the Shanghai this weekend and I spoke to Yuuko about you and how you seem to be big into engineering stuff and what Rin is also big into. We ended up going to the local bookstore and I decided to get you this." Shinichi pulled out a large book from his bag as it was a present for Tucker. He then tossed it over to Tucker who seemed to have a bit of trouble catching it as he was doing this with one functioning hand. Shinichi nearly rendered him rudderless because of the throw but Tucker was able to catch it.

"A book about machines and locomotives?" Tucker asked while reading the title of the book, the book was big and pretty dense, it nearly knocked him over. Shinichi looked over at him and he began speaking again.

"Read the book and if you find something that interests you, draw it and we can talk about it." Shinichi explained to Tucker if he found anything that caught his interest. Tucker nodded as he placed the book in his bag.

"I will Shinichi, thank you." Tucker told him. Tucker then left the room as the conversation had killed off a good chunk of time, he was worried that he was going to be running late.


Tucker was the last to arrive at his class as his teacher managed to beat him to his next class. Tucker took his seat down and began to write his notes, trying to see what he could do to catch up. This was greeted by a playful look by Shizune and Misha. Tucker knew he had to hold the conversation off until they decided to split into groups. Once they were doing their group work, that was when Tucker decided to speak to Misha and Shizune.

Katawa Shoujo- The Student Council

"Where were you Tucchan?" Misha began. "Shicchan was wondering where you were as you weren't in your usual spot, we thought you were absent from a cold you just had." Shizune began making a few quick hand gestures before Misha began speaking again. "It is also wrong for you to run late like that." Misha told Tucker that tardiness wasn't allowed under any circumstances. Tucker knew he had to explain everything.

"I got held up by my art teacher after the period ended as he wanted to talk to me about something. He asked me what I wanted to become when I grew up and I said I wanted to become an engineer. He decided to give me a book which I have in my bag. The conversation killed more time than what I wanted it to be." Tucker explained why he was late. Shizune made a few quick hand gestures before Misha began speaking again.

"Shicchan thinks having the conversation with the teacher is fine, so you didn't deliberately make yourself run late." Misha explained to Tucker that what he did wasn't entirely his fault. "Promise me that the conversation doesn't end up dragging out or you'll miss your classes." Misha asked Tucker to make a promise to keep conversations straight to the point. If this was made in the beginning, Tucker would have refused but now that he was taking a bit of a liking to Misha and her trying to be helpful, he knew he needed to give in.

"Okay." Tucker sighed. Misha smiled before she began speaking again.

"That's good Tucchan, it's good to keep to a schedule." Misha told Tucker. Tucker nodded as he didn't know if he was going to have to put up with this all week. He was hoping to see Natsume and Naomi again.


Tucker felt a bit annoyed with getting lectured by Shizune to keep to a schedule but Misha's happiness and her not being entirely serious had balanced it out surprisingly. Tucker felt better if it was just Misha that was speaking to him. He continued to walk along the hallway during his break to encounter two faces he was not expected to see.

Katawa Shoujo- Hokabi

"Hello there Tuck." Hisao greeted him. Tucker looked up to see what was going on. Eleanor was standing beside Hisao as she was happy to see her brother. She hugged him out of happiness.

"Hey Eleanor, hey Hisao. Is there something going on today?" Tucker asked them as he wanted to see what was new.

"Eleanor is going to an art gallery if she is to make a name for herself." Hisao began. Tucker remembered what Rin told him about the events that had occurred.

"Yeah, Rin told me earlier this morning. Rin also told me she bowed out of it as she wasn't ready." Tucker also told Hisao about the current situation. Hisao turned his head before he began to think. Eleanor spoke up next.

"I actually spoke to dad about that." Eleanor began. Tucker looked at his younger sister as he wanted to figure out what her reasoning behind all of this was. "He was a little excited though our mom wasn't happy about it. She wanted us to focus on our grades more than anything. Especially me, this gallery event is my shot to success." Eleanor explained to Tucker that the art gallery was her one and only shot to quickly getting recognized.

"And father allowed you to do this?" Tucker asked. He still seemed to be puzzled about all of this.

"Yes. But mother said she wanted me to ditch the gallery event." Eleanor added. Hisao decided to intervene on Tucker's behalf as he began speaking next.

"I think your mother wants you to focus on your academics as Lilly and I are the only ones trying to help you out. That 93 you got was a bit of a fluke, but I don't always believe miracles could happen." Hisao told Eleanor. He then turned to Tucker. "I need to get going, it was nice chatting with you. See you later Tuck." Hisao and Eleanor began to walk away as Tucker looked at them. He wanted to ask Hisao one more question.

"Wait, where's Hanako? I haven't seen her all day." Tucker asked. Hisao briefly paused before he turned and decided to explain it to Tucker.

"Her birthday is today; she's hiding away in her dorm. She doesn't want to talk about what happened." Hisao bluntly told Tucker about Hanako. He turned and followed Eleanor. Tucker felt a bit distraught from this. He didn't know what he wanted to do if he was going to see if Hanako was all right. Tucker decided to make his way to his next class.

Tucker sat down as he didn't know how he was going to handle the topic of Hanako to his friends.

Katawa Shoujo- Cold Iron

Tucker felt like the time was dragging along as he didn't know how he was going to approach it. He wanted to visit Hanako to make sure she was doing all right. Misha sat down next to Tucker as she wanted to see what was wrong.

"Something wrong Tucchan?" Misha asked Tucker if there was something that was bothering him. Tucker turned his head to Misha as it was just her at the moment.

"Yeah, it's about Hanako, I couldn't find her anywhere and I wanted to see how I can approach the topic with her. Hisao said she was hiding in her dorm as her birthday is today." Tucker began. Misha paused as she began to think about how she was going to put it for Tucker. She wanted to sound reasonable about it.

"Hanako is a strange person, I tried to talk to her with Shicchan but Hanako ended up running away from us. I don't know why but Hicchan knew that Hanako lost her parents on her birthday due to a fire when I asked him about it. He said it himself but she's unapproachable when we try talking to her." Misha tried her best to put it in the nicest words she could. Tucker tilted his head as if he was curious about it.

"How should I try approaching it?" Tucker asked. Misha began to think about it for a few seconds before she began speaking.

"Try taking it slow, she's one that doesn't do well with sudden movements." Misha suggested to Tucker on how he should approach Hanako. Lilly and Akira were away in Scotland, so Tucker had no way of contacting them. Or even through Hisao, the one person who can get to call Lilly in a pinch. Shizune walked in as she sat down next to Misha. She was the last student to arrive before the teacher. Tucker sighed; he didn't know how he was going to figure out what to say to Hanako.


Tucker tried to figure out what to say throughout the day and he seemed to be bothered by it. It didn't help the fact that the book that Shinichi gave him weighed a ton. The thought about Hanako could have weighed much more than the book. The final class of the day was wrapping up as Natsume was getting ready to leave when she spotted Tucker as something must've been on his mind. She walked over and sat down next to him.

"Is there something bothering you?" Natsume began. Tucker looked at her as he seemed curious about it.

"Yes, it's about Hanako. I didn't see her today and Hisao told me it was her birthday. I realized this and I want to go visit her. I don't know how I should approach her if it's just me?" Tucker asked. Natsume paused and she decided to think about it.

"Look Tucker, Hanako was very sociable yesterday when we were in that game and I had fun with you, her and Rin. She told me she was going to come today to see if she could join the newspaper club. She didn't show up and I feel a little worried too. Me, Naomi and Molly decided to figure out what the best course of action would be to leave her alone for the time being until she recovered. I wanted to visit her myself, but I was outvoted by the decision." Natsume explained to Tucker that Hanako's emotions can change depending on what was going on with her and what she was feeling. Natsume continued to speak to Tucker. "I don't think a visit will hurt her, but you can tell her that we didn't get to see her, and she'll have to figure out a day to arrange a visit. I, however, can't wait to see you with me and my friends." Natsume told Tucker with a smile. She decided to hug him for a couple of moments, trying to share some of her confidence with him. Tucker was taken off guard by this gesture. If Natsume wanted him to visit her, he knew he needed to.

"Okay, I will do it." Tucker told Natsume that he will check up on Hanako. Natsume smiled before she released herself from Tucker. She then went over and took something from her bag.

"Okay but give Hanako this." Natsume told Tucker it was a few pieces of chocolate; Tucker was surprised they were solid, and they didn't melt. "Giving Hanako something is probably the best way to get her to chat with you, even if it's something small like this."

"I will. Thank you." Tucker told Natsume. Natsume nodded as they both left the class. Tucker turned the other way as Naomi and Molly were waiting outside for their friend. Tucker decided to make his way to the girl's dorm to speak to Hanako.


Tucker arrived at the dorm room where Hanako was located, Natsume had given Tucker the address, so he didn't go roaming around the building and knocking on all of the doors. He felt a couple beads of sweat dripping down his face, he was quite nervous about it. He knocked on the door as he wanted to see if Hanako was available.

"Who is it?" Hanako's meek voice called out. She sounded a bit scared to see who it was. Tucker gulped before he began to speak.

"It's me Tucker Kagami, I came to check on you to see how you are doing." Tucker explained to Hanako that he just wanted to see how she was doing.

Katawa Shoujo- Painful history

The door swung open a crack and peering at the entrance was Hanako as she still didn't know Tucker all that well and even, he seemed to be a little scary. The door closed as Hanako had gotten a good look to see who he was. Tucker was standing there, waiting for Hanako to open the door all the way and let him inside. After a minute or so, the door opened again with Hanako letting Tucker inside.

"Come in." Hanako told Tucker. Tucker walked in as the mood was still tense as if despair was trying to fly out of his lungs. "So, what has brought you t… t… to me?" Hanako asked as if she stuttered a bit. Tucker looked at Hanako who seemed to have locked herself away in her room and wasn't going to go out. He looked around to see the three wooden dolls she had on one of her shelves, the stuffed bear that Lilly gave her and the chess game that looked like it hadn't been opened. Tucker began to think over what Misha had said about taking it slow in terms of approaching the topic and heading at the speed that Hanako was comfortable with.

"I wanted to check up on you, I didn't see you in the hallway today." Tucker began. Hanako gently closed the door behind her as if she was letting Tucker come and visit. Hanako then pulled out a spare chair for Tucker to sit in. He did so as Hanako was sitting at her desk, she felt comfortable with her game. "Natsume said she wanted to see you, but she'll most likely have to reschedule your visit."

"Was it for the newspaper club?" Hanako asked.

"Yes, it was." Tucker told Hanako. He then remembered something he had in his bag. "Oh, Natsume said she wanted me to give you something to make sure you were okay." Tucker began. He reached into his bag and pulled out a few pieces of chocolate for Hanako. He unwrapped a piece and gently placed it into her mouth. Hanako happily took the offer.

"Th… thank you." Hanako responded. Tucker seemed to nod as he began unwrapping another piece for her. Hanako took it and fed herself.

"So how do you like the game, for someone like you we were surprised to see that?" Tucker began. Hanako began to think about it as she was still looking at her computer screen, she was busy eating the chocolate that Tucker had given her.

"It's pretty pleasant. I can chat with others from the safety of my room." Hanako began. She definitely was happy that she was playing it. "Sometimes, it's good to explore the world in it as the time goes by." Hanako explained while she was exploring the game's map in her free time. Tucker looked at her and nodded.

"I guess setting up this club was the right decision?" Tucker asked Hanako. Hanako nodded before she gave a smile.

"That is correct." Hanako told Tucker. Hanako leaned over and hugged him as Tucker decided to hug Hanako back. They stayed like that for a couple of moments before Tucker released Hanako from her grip.

"Well, I need to get going, it was nice seeing you. Hopefully I can stop by again if you need me to." Tucker told Hanako that he would enjoy coming over again for another visit. Hanako nodded to what her friend had to say.

"Take care." Hanako told Tucker about it. Tucker gathered his belongings and left the room; he was definitely going to enjoy himself with what Shinichi had gifted him.


Tucker arrived back at his dorm and wanted to figure out what he wanted to do next. After getting his homework done, he decided to reach in for the book. The book was large and pretty dense by the saying that Tucker was having trouble getting it out with just one hand. He placed the book down before he got to the chapters to see which section, he wanted to look at first. He decided to open the book to where Rin's growing hobby was. When he got to the first page of the said chapter which was in the middle of the book, he found a slip of paper that was labeled for him. Curious to see what it was, Tucker opened the sheet of paper up to see who it was from.

Dear Mr. Kagami.

There is something I want to talk to you about regarding what Rin might be interested in. I had a chat with Mr. Nomiya over the weekend and with Natsume this morning about the club. After much research, I have something I may want to give you as the three-day vacation comes up. I think you should go ahead and explore it. I will give more details regarding it when you come and visit the library when you return that book you borrowed.

Sincerely, Yuuko Shirakawa.

Tucker placed the note down, it was something the librarian wanted to talk to him about. He sensed an opportunity; did she want to talk to him about this? Tucker decided to hold it off for the time being and decided to head off for bed, he knew this was going to be a few busy days ahead so might as well make it worth it. He was going to hang onto the letter. After cleaning himself off and changing, he headed to his bed before shutting the light off. He curled up in his bed before falling asleep. Something big was coming up next week.

[A/N]: Beginning Act 3 and some things are already being established. There will be an event coming up down the line and the club has been established. Hopefully this will be made for something special regarding where this will go. I hope to see you then, let's try hitting 300 views, the time for the winter is coming up.