The sound of an alarm pulls me out of slumber and into wakefulness. I linger under the covers for a few minutes, gathering energy to rise up while making excuses as for why I haven't.

I wouldn't mind staying here all day, but I do have a purpose for waking up particularly early. With this resolve in mind, I get up, swallow a few experimental pills, and put on the PE uniform.

My condition gives me a minor exception from PE. I don't have to follow the curriculum that all the more normal students do. I just walk around, do some minor therapy. This occasionally gains the interest of my fellow classmates, but I haven't really given up anything important as to my condition, only that I require a myriad of therapies.

And the uniform would be too difficult for me. I wear long sleeves to avoid the multitude of scars crisscrossing them; the PE uniform would offer no such concession.

Walking out to the track delivers a pleasant surprise; I'm not the only one present at the track. Though, given what I knew, this shouldn't be a shock. She slows down on a lap once she catches wind of me.

"Hello...Emi?" I ask as she approaches, a smile on her face.

"Hi...Hisao." She replies, seemingly pleased. "You remembered my name."

I grin. "How could I forget such a blunt introduction?" She has the decency to look vaguely apologetic for a moment before I smile. "Just don't make a habit of it, and I'll be fine."

"Great!" She exclaims. I'm not sure she realized I was joking.

"So you're the Nurse's source, huh?" I ask. "Interesting choice."

"What?" Emi asks, mock-offended. "Are you saying I don't look like I could be a spy?" I consider her.

"Uh...sure. You could make an excellent spy." I lie, adding equivocation on top of it. This seems to make her happy. "So, why are you down here?"

She strikes a dramatic pose. "Training, of course!"

"For track?" I ask, nodding down at her...legs.

"Yup!" She replies. "Hey, you should join up! It's good exercise, you know." I consider this.

"Uh...no thank you. I don't think I'd enjoy running all that much. Walking is more my thing. When you run, you can't really enjoy what's around you."

That's not even considering the risk that sustained running can do to me. Running is actually pretty dangerous for me; if I strain or twist something, the odds of me noticing are terribly low, and I'll keep on running on it, seriously damaging it.

It's one of the major reasons I don't run, but it's true that these risks are substantially lowered with a spotter, and I'm confident the Nurse would argue that the benefits are worth this lowered risk.

She shrugs. "You run to clear your head. You walk to fill your head. I guess it depends on what you want to do. And there's nothing saying you can't do both!"

"Hm..." That's an interesting perspective on life. "I see. I'll be sure to keep that much in mind."

"Great!" Emi says, cheerful. "Are you going to warm up?" I consider this.

"Eh...no." There wouldn't be much point. I don't intend to run that hard.

"Oh no, you should always warm up! Bad Hisao!" She scolds me enthusiastically, but then smiles and leans closer.

"I hate warming up too. Heck, I don't even have to stretch my legs!" As if to confirm her statement she bounces up and down a couple of times, giving a passing impression of standing on a pair of springs. Her leg blades seem to be quite elastic.

"Let's go!" Emi says, happily. And then we're on the track and running. Emi moves fluidly, throwing herself into the run with a sort of wild abandon. With nothing really holding me back, I try my best to keep up after her.

When she notices, she immediately slows her pace, possibly out of concern.

"Tired...already?" I gasp, realizing with a jolt that my breathing is ragged. "Slow down...much more and...I could lap you..."

She grins at me, turning around to run backwards while facing me.

"I'm good! Maybe I should speed up, hm...?" She says, tauntingly.

"Oh...I wouldn't want...you to overexert...yourself." This actually gets her to laugh shortly.

"You're the boss, Hisao. We'll stay at this pace." Then she turns around again, continuing to run.

I round the corner again. This is my fifth lap. My breathing is ragged, coming out in short pants. My heart pounds in my chest.

Is this what it's like to be normal? I can almost trick myself into thinking I can feel the wind whipping around me, sweat pouring down my face.

And then my legs give out on me, and I stumble before collapsing suddenly, catching myself with my hands to avoid crashing into the dirt.

Emi immediately notices, halting to a screech some distance in front of me before quickly making her way back.

"Hisao! Don't die on me, damnit!" I look up as she stops in front of me, looking at me with worried eyes.

"I'm...fine. Just...tripped." Actually, it was a lot worse than that. My legs gave out on me. I couldn't accurately judge my limits and paid the price for it.

"Ouch." She says, wincing, bending over to look at a open cut on my left knee. "Are you really okay? We should at least see the nurse for this." It does look pretty bad.

"Okay." She helps me up, wrapping my arm around her neck to keep myself steady. My legs are shaky, but okay. I do need her help, though.

It's a shame I can't feel her frame, not really. The slight pressure is enough to transmit a small amount of comfort, though, and I enjoy it as we make our way back to the auxiliary building and into the nurse's office.

Emi lets me go in, promising to wait outside. I almost stumble when she lets go, but manage to limp my way inside.

"Nakai? What happened?" He glances down at my knee as I fall heavily onto the closest chair. I must look like a mess, too. I'm pretty sure I'm absolutely covered in sweat.

"Do you happen to...have disinfectant? And...running, did." I'm still trying to catch my breath too. I must have really gone too far.

"Yes, let me patch that up for you. And are you alright? Do I need to write you an excuse note? You seem in pretty bad shape."

"N-No. I think I will be...alright." He hands me a towel, and I begin wiping out the dirt around the wound.

"I see. Can you explain the full story to me? I noticed your limp as you walked in." I wince.

I tell him the whole story though, leaving out nothing. A frown forms on his face before he sighs exasperatedly as I finish my story.

"So, basically, you're an idiot." I nod, meekly, as I finish applying a band-aid to my knee.

"Alright, then. Take it easy for a few days, light exercise only. If you start having mobility issues then I'll have to put you in a wheelchair until your muscles recover. For now, though, take that." He points at an open closet door. A quick glance inside reveals several crutches. I pull one out at random.

"Got it." I reply. "Thanks, Nurse." The shakiness is still there, but I should be okay, even without the crutch. But there's no reason I shouldn't use it.

"Uh-huh. See ya later." I exit, to a worried Emi.

"I'm fine, though I can't do anything too strenuous for a couple days." Now she looks guilty.

"I'm sorry, I should have known-" I shake my head.

If I couldn't figure out my own limits, how the heck is someone else supposed to do that? They're not me. This is just something I have to live with.

"Emi, it's fine. Really, don't worry about it. It's not a big deal at all." I say. "This isn't the first time this has happened, and I'm not even all that hurt." I pat my thigh. She doesn't look very reassured, but she lets it go.

"If you say so..." She really does look sad. I try to reassure her with a smile, but I find it hard in coming.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning." I say. She accepts this as I turn away and walk down the corridor, slightly favoring my right leg.

I quickly shower and change, preparing for school. My leg gives me a few problems, but nothing really, certainly not enough to justify putting me in a wheelchair or something.

I'm still rather early to class, and the school in general. There are only a handful of students lingering about, chatting to each other. Going to class, the hallways are nearly deserted, but there's a familiar figure standing outside of 3-3, looking inside.

"Hello, Lilly." I say cheerfully, and the girl in question turns around.

"Hisao?" She sounds surprised. "Good morning." I step into the classroom, and she follows after me. "Have you seen Hanako today, by any chance?"

"No. She seems to come in only just before the bells ring...or after that. Do you want me to tell her something for you?"

"No, I was just curious. It's a very busy morning today. The festival is coming up soon, and today is the deadline for event registration, budget reports, and any other official paperwork."

I see.

"Hi! Hi!" Misha pops into the room with Shizune, shouting with a loudness that makes Lilly visibly flinch.

"Hi, Hicchan!" Misha says, cheerfully.

"Hello, Misha." I pause, considering several things at once. Lilly and Shizune are rivals; Lilly is blind, Shizune most definitely is not, and Lilly has no way of knowing who has entered the classroom. She probably suspects, but...

"Look, it's the class representative! Hello!" Lilly smiles thinly, probably amused by Misha's use of the word "look".

"Good morning." Lilly says. She seems more guarded than usual.

"You're here early, Shizune." I say, nodding at the deaf girl. Shizune makes several motions with her hands for Misha to translate.

"You were here even earlier than us!" Misha puffs out her cheeks angrily. Does she feel emotions on Shizune's behalf, too?

It's not that weird, though, that Shizune didn't like my comment. She might have misinterpreted that as a challenge, something I don't really want to participate in right now. I carefully sit down as to avoid startling Lilly, who is standing right next to me.

Before I can react further, Shizune makes more signs, reigniting the conversation.

"Class rep! It's a good thing you're here. We have to talk." Misha says, Shizune's sign language intensifying. "The festival is coming up in three days, right? Every other class has already handed in their projected budget reports for their events. Even the first-years! Except you!"

"There is still time to hand it in, isn't there?"

"Today! The deadline is today! You're certainly taking your time, aren't you? If I had it my way, I'd have had all the necessary paperwork days ago, but someone had to say

'the deadline, please extend it!'"

"Yes, that was me. Planning something on this scale is not a small task, and a week is too small a time frame to expect a whole class to work out such a complex issue completely."

"Do you want to know what's harder than distributing the funds for one class' event? Handling the same matter for every class in the school and then some! The one who does that is me!" Misha puts her hands on her hips and stands up straight. Wow, she is really getting into the role. Lilly doesn't look like she's very amused, though.

"Hey, Shizune, aren't you being a little too hard on her? There's still a whole day left." I intervene.

"Please, Hisao. It's alright." Lilly seems happy I'm taking her side, but a bit conflicted that I might not think she can take care of herself.

I see.

"If this is about the budget, then I'm disappointed you think I have forgotten about it. I understand how important it is."

"Then!" Misha exclaims, "Can I have it, please?"

"It's not here right now. I asked two students to take care of it for me. Students from my class." She emphasizes the last sentence much to my surprise. She knows about Shizune and Misha's efforts to rope me into the Student Council?

"It was your responsibility! A budget report isn't something you should just be delegating away; as class rep, it's your job to be on top of things! This kind of proper procedure is really just terrible!"

"They completed it, being capable of doing so, but the students have been sick recently, so they could not come to school and give it back to me. If you want, I will apologize on their behalf for getting sick."

"Okay!" Although Misha misses Lilly's jab entirely, Shizune doesn't, and she seems torn between being offended by Lilly's daring and jumping for joy at the prospect of a challenge.

"Lilly, don't they live here at the school? That's a five minute walk, you know. What could they possibly have that prevents them from taking five minutes out of their busy lives...to drop off something that will affect their entire class!"

Lilly opens her mouth to respond, but Shizune closes the gap between them and starts signing furiously, waving her hands around like an orchestra conductor. Misha tries her best to convey the same passion, but can't seem to lose her normal cheerful tone. The result is interesting and somewhat surreal.

"And what's with that attitude? I said that it's not something you should be delegating away; are you the class representative or aren't you? Tell me the names of those two students, they should have your job if you can't even handle something this simple yourself."

"One form isn't the full extent of what I am supposed to take care of." Lilly's tone is growing slightly impatient, but she is doing a good job of not letting Shizune see how unsettled she is becoming. Shizune, on the other hand, wraps her fingers cheerfully along the edge of her glasses, knowing Lilly can neither hear nor see how excited she is.

"Of course, you do so much, class rep. It must be so difficult being you!" Lilly tightens her lips at Misha's words, clearly understanding the intent behind them even though Misha delivers them without even a hint of the sarcasm which they were meant to have.

It appears that Lilly has had enough and is ready to push back.

"You must be very talented to have finished all your student council duties so quickly that you can track me down to make sure I don't forget my own."

"Are you accusing me of slacking off? It seems like you're confusing me with yourself."

"I don't think so. That would be a very difficult thing for me to do; comparing myself to you."

"You're right, the difference between us is like heaven and hell."

"And it's not hard to guess which one you might represent." Woah. That's a really harsh sentiment. Upon translation, Shizune looks flustered for a moment before settling her gaze on me.

"Hicchan! Don't you slack off either!" Misha says, directing her voice to me.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Aren't you taking part in the festival, Hicchan? Then! I hope you're going to do a lot more to make sure it goes smoothly than this person!"

I freeze.

This - this - this.

This.

Something inside me cracks.

"My apologies." I say icily, standing up stiffly. "As a transfer student, I was not aware that I had these responsibilities in the first place." My voice is sharp enough to cut the air.

"That's right, you shouldn't expect a transfer student to jump right into it on his first week." Lilly taking my side feels oddly comforting, so I decide to repay her by shifting more of Shizune's attention onto me.

"But, since you insist, my most sincere apologies, president. Truly I am sorry for my condition, as it unfortunately interferes with my responsibilities to ensuring that the school festival is a success." Misha freezes halfway in translation, and even Lilly looks shocked.

A low blow? Yes, but I'm not even close to being done.

"This confrontation is petty and ridiculous. Here we are, at a school designed for disabled children, who will struggle to maintain any sort of feasible future. Some of us may not even live past a few years. A narcoleptic girl, falling asleep at the wrong time. A boy with brittle bones, accidentally falling down the stairs. A student with cancer, eventually succumbing to relapse and the damage done by chemotherapy. And here we are, having an argument about...what? Something that is absolutely no one's fault, that has yet to produce any kind of negative consequence. People all around us are suffering and dying, or will soon be dying, and we're having this stupid fight."

"Hicchan…" Misha says, for once quiet. I shake my head.

"I have no problems helping out. Really. I don't. Everyone I've met so far seems nice enough. But I absolutely refuse to participate in this...whatever this is. This is ridiculous. Lilly, if I see Hanako, I'll be sure to tell her that you were looking for her."

"I…" For once, the blonde seems disoriented. I smile sadly.

"Good day to you all." I grab my bag and walk out, leaving silence behind me.