A/N: Here we are with Act 2 (Arc 4). I hope you enjoy!


Waking up after that revelation last night opens my world up to dozens of possibilities. There's so much I can do, now that I'm freed from my own vicious cycle of self-pity and hate.

My feet take me to the bleachers, where I can see Emi waiting on the bleachers, somewhat patiently for me. It's a new sight; normally she's already running along the track.

"Hey, Emi. Are you okay?" I ask, cautiously. I'm not sure how to approach this situation, but she doesn't seem sad like before, just bothered.

Upon seeing me, though, her face clears up into its normal smile, like she doesn't want me to see her expression. I open my mouth to ask about it but recall that everyone, especially people like us, need their privacy respected.

"I'm fine." She says, automatically, though without feeling. The playful grin she sends is a little lopsided, but returns to full force momentarily. It's difficult to ignore coming from the ever-optimistic Emi, but I do my best to move past it.

"Are you going to do your runs today?" I ask. She bobs her head and answers in the affirmative, seemingly back to normal, while hopping carefully down the bleachers. It looks quite dangerous, but she also seems to be quite familiar with the process. I would never dare to do such a thing, even completely healthy. The risk of falling and seriously injuring myself is too high.

But Emi doesn't really seem to care, reaching the bottom without the slightest misstep before deciding to do her stretches. I make my way up to the bleachers to spectate, suitably confused.

What's with her mood? I don't really understand why she seems so bothered today, especially after something like the festival. I would have thought that she would have eaten that kind of thing up. But then again, I'm rushing to conclusions. The reason for her mood might have absolutely nothing to do with the festival.

I recall Rin knowing her, what with that cryptic statement about Emi being pink. Perhaps I should return to that statement once more, and gain clarification. I had brushed it aside as a lost cause earlier, but Rin doesn't regularly follow my expectations. There may be some use to it, after all.

She seems to really be pushing herself today, for some reason I don't entirely understand. Now that I think about it, I didn't even really think about Emi during the festival itself, caught as I was with Lilly, Hanako, and Rin. I didn't really think about Shizune or Misha either; though we're on amicable terms, I certainly don't consider them friends the same way I would Hanako or Lilly.

It occurs to me that I should spend more time around them. They might not be as good friends as the ones I have, but they are kind people nonetheless. I decided to hang around them for a reason, didn't I?

And besides, I feel that I kind of owe the Student Council. I pretty much walked out on them despite readily being in the position to help, and from what I remember of the festival, it was a pretty grand event. I believe that Misha said that they were basically in charge of organizing the whole thing; and judging from their increasingly tired countenances, they could have used the help.

Well, that settles it then. Sometime this week, I will make it my goal to find the Student Council and prostrate myself before them to humbly beg to be useful to them.

The thought is somehow less appealing when I consider that.

I snap myself out of my thoughts to consider Emi, still sprinting around the track. Her face is twisted with a certain grimace, a grim sort of smile as if she knows she's fighting a losing battle...which she is, so to speak. Fit she may be, but she'll never surpass the limits of her body. Eventually, all runs must come to an end.

I consider the scars along my right hand, this particularly jagged one running down the back of my palm.

...never surpass the limits of your body...

I frown, suddenly no longer quite as cheerful. The crutch, a reminder of my weakness, lying innocently against the metal steps. I'm suddenly filled with the urge to throw them down, childishly, but that wouldn't do my healing leg any favors.

And I'm sick of relying on the stupid crutch. The feeling is even worse because on my occasional cheating moments, it feels like my leg is mostly fine; not that I can feel much, anyways, but I can move it without the tightness I associate with strained muscles. It's hardly a new experience, but definitely not an unpleasant one.

Emi's runs eventually end, and I make my way down to the bleachers to greet the returning heroine.

"Something on your mind?" The words bubble up out of my mouth before I can properly stop them. It's because I remember one of the things she first told me.

"You run to clear your head."

She pushed herself so hard today, sweat soaking the front of her shirt and breathing locked into an erratic staccato pattern. Even if I wasn't aware of the other symptoms, I can tell that something's on her mind.

"N-Nah. It's nothing to get worried about." She says. I frown, wanting to protest; that something causing her this much of an issue is definitely cause for concern.

It wasn't even just today, I realize. The last few sessions...she's been pushing herself abnormally hard, if I use the first day as an example. Then again, I never got to see her sprints that day, did I?

But this is just a warmup, isn't it? Exercise. Why does she push herself to such a brutal breaking point, then? She's actually at risk of straining something like I did, and if that happened...

Whatever she's running away from, she can't do it in a wheelchair. That much I know for certain. And even if it causes her temporary relief now, she'll almost certainly regret it later, when she absolutely needs to run but can't.

I almost call her out on it. I really almost do. But I shut my mouth, remembering something from when we first met.

"Are you saying I don't look like I could be a spy?"

Mentally, I grin, almost predatorily.

Turnabout is fair play, right? It's better not to say anything now, but I will certainly be bringing it up with the Nurse. This sneakiness is something new, something I normally wouldn't have come up with, and it kind of thrills me.

For now, though, I have to figure out what to do here, with Emi.

"Alright, then." I give her a nod, and we steadily make our way back to the auxiliary buildings. To my surprise, though, instead of the playful teasing that normally takes up our time, Emi starts off with something else.

"Listen, Hisao...I'm sorry. I really am." Emi says. I blink, my crutch pausing for a second before I use it to keep on moving forward. Her voice is completely devoid of the usual cheer, and it forces me to turn to her, noting the sad look in her eyes.

"Is this about my leg, or...?" I trail off, not entirely sure what she's referencing anymore. The apology feels different than the normal ones that she tried to give me, though I refused to accept any.

"No, not that. I was talking about my mood today. I was being kind of a bitch, wasn't I?" She admits, her face slipping into that depressed state.

I blink, both at the self-deprecating statement and at her language.

"Everyone is entitled to their privacy." I say simply. "I've only known you for a week. I don't expect you to be sharing your deepest secrets with me. We all have our secrets, don't we?"

She nods, grimly. "Too true." The reflected pain in her eyes makes me wonder just what those words are, that she keeps so tightly to her chest.

"Don't worry about it, Emi. I don't take it personally. As long as you don't use that pout of yours. That's cheating."

And just like that, the dark and gloomy tone disappears, her smile returning despite her efforts.

"Imagine if you were on the Student Council." I say, grinning. "Why, you'd get the whole school to join in a fortnight!"

She cringes. It appears that there is a fascinating story behind this, one that I accidentally stumbled upon. "W-Well..."

It's an odd day indeed when Emi Ibarazaki stutters so. I count it as a personal victory in my book.

It's too bad that we're already standing outside the Nurse's offices. Emi quickly rushes in as I playfully glare, temporarily robbed of the tale for the time being.

...

"Another day, Nakai, and you can get off that crutch of yours. You'll still have to keep the activity down, of course, but you will be able to walk uninhibited." The Nurse says, marking something down on a clipboard.

Yes!

"Okay." I say blandly. "But I'm actually here for something more important." He raises a disbelieving eyebrow at me. He knows how much I value being slowed by such things.

"Such as?"

"Well...Emi's been moping around, and I'm not sure why." Upon hearing this, Nurse's cheerful grin disappears.

"You can tell, huh? It must be getting pretty bad..." He says, musing.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I ask, peeved.

"What? Oh. Ibarazaki is used to keeping things up all bottled nice and tight inside, and typically doesn't let it show. The fact that you've noticed means that you're incredibly perceptive or that it's really bad." The Nurse says, his voice suddenly lowered. He completely ignores his intentional(?) faux pas in favor of this analysis.

"Things? Like?" I probe, leaning in. He mimics me.

"Like patient confidentiality." Nurse replies, sagely. I'm tempted to smack the look off his face for that.

"Of course." I say, sighing. "Can you at least tell me if it has something to do with her legs?"

"Her legs?" He asks, intrigued. I nod.

"She's been pushing herself really hard on the track lately. And maybe that's normal for her, but it actually looks kind of dangerous." I say, concerned for her health. "I mean, I get that she's trying to be a faster runner, but she's going to put herself at risk if she keeps it up. And then what?"

"I see." The nurse muses. "Well, here's what I'll do. I'll talk to her, and we'll see where that goes. But, more importantly..." He points at me. "You're probably more likely to get to her."

"Me?" I ask. "Why?"

He gives this sort of smile. "Why, because you're her running partner, of course. You're the one able to watch out for her on the track, so keep a careful eye on her." He smirks. "Though I'm sure you haven't had trouble doing that."

I feel a tingling in my cheeks. "Oh, screw you." I say heatedly.

He smirks. "Oh, do be careful with your word choice. You never know who's listening at the door." He laughs at my scowl as I stand up, annoyed.

"But seriously, though." I turn back to him, impatient. "Thank you for bringing this up with me." Nurse is serious again, so I nod before stepping out.

When I exit into the hall and close the door behind me, Emi is nonchalantly leaning against the rail, conspicuously not meeting my gaze.

"Were you eavesdropping?" I ask, suspicious. She stares into my eyes challengingly.

"Of course not!" Emi replies, heatedly. I give her a disbelieving look.

"Y-Yeah." She admits. I blink. Normally she would pout or something, not...give up so easily. That sense of wrongness buzzes in my mind as I try to figure out what's going wrong.

"I'm fine, really, I am." Emi says. "Thank you for your concern, but I know how to take care of myself too." There's a slight twang to her voice, almost clipped. Anger?

I give her a sad smile, because with each denial it only emphasizes just how much the running girl is hurting. But I don't push it. I can't.

"Alright, Emi." I say quietly, turning away to walk to my class. Before I pass the corridor, though, I stop and turn around, catching her attention. She looks lost and helpless, and I ache to say something, to reaffirm our friendship, anything.

So I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.

"Don't forget, Emi, that I need you here too."

And then I swiftly turn around the corner, without being able to see her expression, hoping that I've said the right thing.