Author's Note: I'm back, baby! (Yeah that was unnecessary.) I wrote out chapter 6 for you guys, just like I promised :D I will set to work on chapter 7 directly after I upload this chapter, so I'd expect the new chapter tomorrow or the day after ;)

"…of course, my dear boy! You see, I'd completely forgotten that the volunteer should be the one to get paid. That said, you must remember what type of surgery this is. Although it is highly experimental, this is a revolutionary surgery that the participant must give full consent, including a monetary trace that he or she was 100% devoted to this. Since she is already… "handicapped", the legal work that would inconvenience both you and you girlfriend would take years to clear up." Tothen stated. Hisao's face scrunched in anger with each passing sentence.

"Do you… mean to tell me… that not only I have to pay that ludicrous fee, but the whole surgery has a stake apart from my girlfriend's crushing disappointment should it not work out?!" Hisao breathed into the microphone. "Why did you think this would make me happy?"

"My boy…"

"Do not call me 'your boy'." Hisao growled.

"Hisao, let me finish," Tothen adopted a more serious tone, "that was just a side-note. I predict that the chances the surgery will fail are under 10%. The part that will make you happy is the following: if you volunteer to assist me at the hospital for the months leading up to the surgery, I'll give your girlfriend the surgery for free. But only because the nurse is a long-term friend of mine from college, and that I can see that you are very concerned for both her safety. Judging by your concern, I'd predict that you are in a monetary deficit, correct? You want to give this surgery to your girlfriend so desperately but lack the money to make her dream possible. Am I correct?"

Hisao paused and laughed. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry I blew up, it's just that the monetary demand was just… abrupt and was a scary amount of money."

Suddenly, Hisao's breath stopped short. His heart started pumping a dangerous amount of blood through his temples as his brain tried to wrap around what the man had previously said.

"Surgery? Free? Only if I volunteer at the hospital?" Hisao thought to himself.

"You got yourself a deal!" Hisao exclaimed without thinking.

"Pardon?" Tothen asked, slightly confused by Hisao's sudden burst.

"I'll volunteer at your hospital! You nailed the source for my explosion; I want to support my girlfriend in this surgery, and you've just made this possible, despite my previous disrespect. When do you want me to start?"

Dr. Tothen laughed another gut laugh, relieved that he was once again in Hisao's good spirits.

"Tomorrow at 8:00 sharp, my boy! The nurse gave you a folder full of papers and legal documents, correct? The hospital address is scribbled on one of those papers."

"Tomorrow at 8:00 AM it is, sir. I'm looking forward to it."

"As am I!" Tothen exclaimed before Hisao heard the line cut out. Sighing and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Hisao handed the phone back to the nurse, who promptly placed the receiver on the button.

"Hisao?" Lilly's gentle breeze broke the awkward silence like a katana through butter. It was so unexpected that Hisao jolted a bit from the shock. The nurse even jumped a little. Hisao, looking once more into the clouded blue eyes that he'd come to love, reached over and placed his hands over Lilly's, taking them in his own.

She's warm. Hisao thought quickly before responding to Lilly.

"Yes, Lilly?"

"Um, why did you agree to volunteer at a hospital?" Lilly asked, gripping Hisao's hands tighter as her curiosity grew. The nurse's ears perked at the question.

"I'm also curious as to why you suddenly burst out with that. You got a bit dangerous with Tothen over the phone." He stated as he shifted slightly in his seat.

"O-oh. Right, you guys only heard my end of the conversation." Hisao sighed and set to explaining. "Well, he said that if the surgery failed, there'd be a hell of a lot of legal stuff to clear up if we didn't pay the money. That's when I got mad, because he was holding a legal liability over my girlfriend's happiness and safety. But, truth be told, I cut him off before he could finish. The legal charges and liability investigations would only ensue if there was no monetary trace to demonstrate a one-hundred percent cooperation from the prospective party. That's when he brought up what would and did satisfy me: he said that if I volunteered at his hospital everyday until the day of Lilly's surgery, he would do the operation for free."

Lilly's voice hitched and the nurse's eyebrows shot up as a look of disbelief adorned him.

"Hisao…" Lilly stared off at the ground in disbelief. Tears once more welled up in Lilly's eyes as she choked on her next sentence. "The surgery… might actually be p-possible now!"

Hisao and Lilly strolled through the school campus. Lilly, carried by Hisao, yawned into her hand and nestled her head into Hisao's shoulder. She had her arms tucked onto her chest, as if she were praying. (Which was more than likely, seeing as she had been doing so for the past three days since the couple received the news.) Hisao stopped walking and recalled the events of three days prior. He ran through the steps of the wonderful opportunity in his head over and over, but still could not process what had happened since he came to the academy. He and Lilly, a couple joined by fate by their disabilities, became friends accidentally. Hisao chuckled as he remembered the first day he spent with her in the club room. He stayed with her until evening; the crisp, autumn-orange sun shining a beautiful yet soft auburn light onto her. It was at that moment that Hisao noticed how beautiful Lilly truly was. Her wavy hair was held by the black knot at the top, creating her plunging ponytail that swayed with every small movement or the gentlest of breezes. The cloudy blue eyes that searched desperately for a face they could not find, or a world they never knew became familiar and beautiful to Hisao. The initial shock of the clouds covering Lilly's world of sight made Hisao weary, but he could never forget the impact they had on him. So curious, full of hope, life, and potential, yet written in the self-sacrifice and pain that was brought upon the owner. Her eyes were etched by the tears of frustration and denial, carved by the strife and loneliness of being different. Engraved into her eyes were the clouds of life's unfair lotteries, clouds that would rain tears to the surface, to pour and incise her porcelain cheeks with the path of a teardrop to never fade. Clouds that would never disperse, rather create an internal turbulence; a perpetual imbalance within Lilly's body.

Hisao shook his head. Her eyes are amazing… so intricate and illusive. The stories those eyes could write if those clouds just… dispersed.

Hisao scanned the beauty curled in his arms. The rythmetic rise and fall of Lilly's chest hypnotized him, as did the face of the sleeping beauty. She looks so calm and… unbothered when she's asleep. Scanning down her body further, Hisao stopped at her back. Recalling the alluring sight of her naked back, Hisao once more slipped into thought.

He'd never realized how beautiful a woman was, apart from breasts and a pretty face. After seeing all of Lilly, he developed an appreciation for all of a woman's body; especially the back. The way Lilly's spine defined the curve, how her shoulders would tense when her back arched from pleasure. The movement and twisting appealed to Hisao further; how the bare skin would blend perfectly into a perfect canvas when she sat upright. How the lower part of her back would shift and move in accordance to her whims. The lean, toned shoulder blades defining her features further when she stretched after sex. He loved to trace down her back and hear the slight giggles. He loved to gently sway his hands from around her back, to her stomach, and down more to further entice her. He loved to plant kisses down the smooth surface as he warmed her up.

Hisao found himself smiling gently at Lilly, who had recently opened her alluring eyes.

"Something wrong?" Hisao asked his sleeping princess.

"You've stopped?" Lilly was confused. "Do you want me to come down? I'm sorry! I dozed off…"

"No! For the love of Christ please don't come down!" Hisao begged, piquing Lilly's curiosity.

"Oh? Why not?" She asked with a sultry tone.

"I was admiring you. Just… you in general." Hisao chuckled at the blush that spread across Lilly's face.

"Y-you were…" Lilly stammered, surprised that she woke up to hear Hisao say he was admiring her in her sleep. "Dummy." Lilly smiled as the blush grew deeper.

"You're adorable!" Hisao exclaimed as he dug a hand into her side.

"Ahhh!" Lilly started to laugh as Hisao's fingers dug deeper. "Staahp! That tickles!" Lilly cried in laughter.

"You are literally so fucking cute!" Hisao exclaimed. "Hmmm…. I'll have to remember you're ticklish…"

"Y-you!" Lilly blushed the deepest shade of red.

Hisao opened the door to the dorms and escorted Lilly into her room.

"Hey, why is it that every time we have sex, it's in the girls' dorms? I think Hanako has PTSD from the screams she's hearing from this room." Hisao chuckled lightly.

Lilly burst into laughter at Hisao's comment. "H-Hanako! I'd completely forgotten about her!" Lilly wiped a tear from her eye. "You're right! I was wondering why s-she was buy-ing ear- XD – plugs!"

Hisao grabbed his stomach in laughter and started kicking. Lilly, however, had more to say.

"Y-you know when you s-speak dirty, right? Well, get this-" Lilly had to take a solid ten seconds to calm her laughing for what she was about to say. "I f-found Hanako… r-repeating s-some of the phrases you s-s-say!" Hisao started to roll over Lilly's floor, gasping for air as his face turned red from lack of oxygen.

"W-WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD H-HER REPEAT?!" Hisao screamed with his remaining willpower, already dying of laughter.

"Oh, you haven't l-lived until you h-hear in-innocent lil' Hanako say: 'You want it deeper' or 'please strip me! or… or maybe even 'yeah, scream like the little slut you are!'"

At this point, both individuals were laughing to their maximum lung capacity. Hisao was actually surpassing his lung capacity, his laughs returning as wheezes and tears. Lilly was faring no better, outwardly screaming in hilarity as tears caked her face.

"Hey, Hisao…" Lilly tugged at Hisao's dangling sleeve.

"Yeah?"

"I think we need to make a plan." Lilly said.

"A plan? What for?" Hisao inquired.

"Well… for both surgery scenarios. If it works out, and if it doesn't."

Hisao became serious and looked Lilly in the eyes.

"If the surgery works, there is one place I want to take you. Well, truth be told, there are many places that I want to take you to, but this one is special to me. And it may be special to you too."

"Oh? What is this place?"

"The club room where we met. The place where I met my soul mate."

Lilly was a bit shocked. "Of course that's special to me! Idiot!" She playfully poked at Hisao, returning a laugh from her significant other.

"And… if it doesn't work?" Lilly asked fearfully, her eyes hopeful that Hisao's response would be anything except 'I'll leave you.'

"Well that's obvious. I'll l-" Hisao was cut off by Lilly's expression.

"G-go on…" Lilly urged, although she was afraid of what Hisao would say. Why am I this worried? Hisao wouldn't leave me over something like that! For God's sake, Lilly, pull it together! He's in love with you, and you're already blind!

"Like I said, it's obvious. I'll lean close to you and look into your eyes. Then, I'll fall in love with you more every time I see them. Lilly, believe it or not, I have found an unreplaceable beauty in your clouded eyes. A beauty I've grown to love, and a sight for my sore eyes. Your eyes, Lilly, give me hope. They are a huge reason why I haven't…" Hisao stopped himself abruptly.

"Why you haven't…?" Lilly tried to connect the puzzle, then slammed her hand on the table, making a guilty Hisao shrink a little bit. "Why you haven't… what?!"

"Your eyes, along with your support and love have, on more than one occasion, saved me from killing myself. I saw in them inspiration, and a fighter. A fire that persists through rain. A candle refusing to go out in a hurricane. Your strife and struggle made me realize how selfish I was. Before we even started dating, I hated life. After my accident, I found no purpose in my life. I found no… will. But you… you've changed everything for me. You have shown me that life is worth living, no matter how shitty your hand is. You have to play your cards, and you can still play them to success. Trust me, before you slap me, I hate myself for ever wanting to kill myself. In the initial shock of the accident, dying was everything on my mind. What would happen to my family? What is death like? Is there a Heaven or Hell? And finally, why was I born? What purpose does my life serve? But then… I met you and-" Lilly cut Hisao off. She pulled him into a hug, tears welling in her eyes.

"Then I don't have to get the surgery. If I have gotten you through that much without doing anything at all, then I see no logical reason to change."

"No, Lilly. You didn't let me finish. I met you and not only fell in love with every part of you, but also wanted life to deal you a better deck of cards. Lilly, if the surgery fails, I'm not going to leave you or anything. I'll continue to admire those blue clouded eyes that saved me from ending a life that is, in fact living. My life's purpose was to find you. My life's goal now is to let you achieve a dream you've had since you had cognitive ability to think: to help you see. So, if the surgery is a success, you can forget about me not looking to you for inspiration."

Lilly breathed a long-awaited sigh of relief. Everything was now in the open.

"Hisao, I too have some secrets to share with you. Will you listen?" Lilly asked.

"Is that a trick question?" Hisao responded, giving Lilly clearance to ask.

"You see… it's not only I that have been a life-saver for you. I have, on multiple accounts, desired to end my life. Of course, this was the dark time where I was fighting to come to terms with my blindness. I would often cry myself to sleep, and slap myself to stop the tears. I never once cut myself, nor did I ever scream at God to fix me. I was made blind for a purpose, and I think I have found that purpose. For one, that blindness has constituted the woman you have fallen in love with, and I cannot be more grateful that I have met you. When you're not around, I still often cry myself to sleep imagining just how lucky of a girl I am to have you supporting me through a moment of extreme doubt. For another, my blindness has given me appreciation for the small things around me. Each little step, each new floor, each obstacle is a new encounter in life. And finally, my blindness has enabled me to attend this academy, which led me to you. Call me crazy, but that is fate's doing."

"I can see why we're referred to as the 'match made in Heaven'." Hisao responded. "Because we'd still be together even in death."

Lilly wiped a few tears from her cheek as Hisao did the same.

I should be shocked that Lilly wanted to kill herself at some points, but that was a different Lilly, as I was a different Hisao. Those versions of us are dead, replaced by the versions that have accepted their hand and deal with it accordingly. I'm happy that Lilly and I have reached this point in a relationship. This is a massive boost for us. I've learned so much about her, and I'm happy I learned this too. I'm actually useful for somebody. I'm an inspiration as she is to me.

"Can you just turn your head a bit more to the left?" Hisao asked.

"Sure?" Lilly tilted her head until her eyes were level with his, void of the tears they previously inhibited.

"You have the most beautiful eyes." Hisao whispered.

Author's Note: Alrighty! Chapter 6 is done and dusted. I know it took a slightly dark turn at the end, but let's be honest here; nobody recovers from a life changing accident without a few dark thoughts. That aside, chapter 7 will be MUCH brighter and happier. Mini-spoiler alert: there will be a tickle fight :3 SEE YOU NEXT TIME!