Did someone say three chapters in three days?

Let's get this trainwreck moving.

My third day in Yamaku is, again, sleepless; I'm not too bothered, though. I've gone for six, almost seven, days without sleep, and three is normally the benchmark for me. Sure, I could always take those sleeping pills, but...

No. I need to start taking better care of myself. My carelessness, my drive to keep winning even if it cost me everything, is what landed me here. My mind is still fit, perhaps better than it was before; for the first month or so in the hospital, I couldn't move from my bed, so I read a lot of books during that time. I've always enjoyed the activity, it's just always been secondary to me.

I read almost everything they had. Simplified medical textbooks on bones and organs, math and history texts, and it felt like I'd read the entirety of the fiction section. It didn't matter if they were in English or Japanese; my parents are from America, and I'm fluent in both languages. I read because, even more than my imagination or my music, that was how I could escape the bed-ridden world I was forced to live in.

In any event, I'll take those sleeping pills tonight. Who knows? Maybe I'll change as a person when I get a regular sleep schedule.

I'm skipping class when I find myself up on the roof.

It just feels like something to do, to look up at clouds and let the time wash over me as they pass by. Sort of like my first day here, when that girl...Rin? Yeah, that was her name...when Rin laid down beside me.

Speak of the devil, I think, seeing the armless girl on her back, looking up at the clouds. Wordlessly, I brush away some stray gravel and lay down next to her. The clouds above us are thick, white, and look like bundles of cotton. Farther up, there will be thinner ones, but for the moment they're blocked out by the size of these other ones. Even the sun is hidden, offering greatly appreciated shade on such a hot day.

"Hello." She offers.

"Hey."

"Do you enjoy the view, the one that being on your back gives you?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Just wondering."

A few minutes pass by in comfortable silence, and I find myself actually enjoying Rin's company. Sure, we've only interacted twice, and both of those have been looking at clouds, but her slow speech and placid demeanor are incredibly calming. Other people might look down on her for it, think she's stupid or strange, but I like it. I guess my take on it is that I should give everyone their chance, and Rin deserves that chance as much as anyone else.

"Do you want to be friends?"

She looks at me, a puzzled expression dominating her face, and then it feels like she's searching for words. Finally, she closes her eyes and offers a lopsided smile. "Sure."

I nod. "Okay then."

I faintly hear the lunch bell ring, and a couple minutes later the twin-tailed girl from yesterday is up here as well.

"Hello, Emi."

"Hey, Rin! Wait, who's..." She takes one look at me and gets ready to bolt.

"Me. Yeah. I get the feeling we didn't get introduced very well?"

She calms down, if only slightly.

"My name is James, and you actually saved me yesterday. The Student Council thought it would be fun to press-gang me."

"Oh, them...yeah, I guess I can see why you weren't angry. I was looking for you to try and apologize, say you could come up here to eat lunch with me and Rin! I even made three lunches."

"How thoughtful."

She tosses one to me, sets one down for Rin, and opens up her own. They're very well-prepared, and taste pretty good too; I'm more than ready to forgive someone who can make food this good as an apology.

I realize that that's pretty sad, but I am who I am...and I'd rather be me than someone who isn't me.

Rin's dexterity is amazing to me; after I finish wolfing down my meal, I spend the rest of my time watching her eating. She holds the fork between her toes, scoops up some food, and delivers it to her mouth. Most impressive of all is the speed at which she does it, taking even less time than Emi does. Rin seems to be one of those people who's not only adapted, but thrived, to their disability.

"So how did you two get to know each other?" I ask.

"Someone in the housing department thought we'd go together nicely." Emi answers. "Like socks and shoes, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it." I'd noticed, but hadn't really connected the dots. "Together, you have all of your limbs."

"I have trouble with shirts." Rin says.

"If you didn't," I respond, "I'd be pretty impressed." I really would be, too.

The bell rings, telling us that we need to go back to class. We pack up our things and leave...but, of course, I won't be going. To the library it is, then.

My meditation goes uninterrupted for a long, long time. Finally, though, Hanako asks me something.

"Hmm? Sorry, I didn't hear you very well."

"I...sorry. You've...been there for a long time."

"It's sweet that you're worried, but I'm okay."

She blushes, raising the book to cover her face, and I hold back a laugh that would probably scare her away.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm the one who's over here sitting on the floor staying completely still for hours on end, it'd only be natural to worry." I think so, anyway. Maybe Hanako just worries a lot about other people.

Either option is plausible.

She gets up, then, and leaves. I don't pay it too much attention, though; she's her own person, she'll do what she needs to do.

I leave after another half-hour, or maybe it was an hour? I'm not sure. Either way, I have an apology to make to Miki. Maybe she deserves it, maybe she doesn't, but I shouldn't leave her viewing me the way that she should after last night.

My tired feet lead me to the track field, and I decide to participate. Why not? I may not be the fastest person, but I don't doubt that I have better endurance than most of them.

They're playing a game of soccer, shirts against skins. "Hey, new kid, over here!"

I'm one of the skins, it seems. So much for keeping my scars a secret, then. Stripping myself to the waist, I can feel their eyes looking over me. "What?"

"If it, uh, makes you uncomfortable-"

"I'll be fine. I can play somewhere in the box."

"Okay then, chief. Whatever you say!" He claps me on the back, and I head back to the goal. Surprisingly, Miki is there in a sports bra to preserve whatever modesty the tomboy might have.

"Do you want goalie or defender?" I ask.

"Defender. You have two arms." And I'd get to use them. She's still a little afraid of me, but I guess most of it has passed.

"I'm sorry about last night." I give the words up before the ball comes at me from upfield, and I catch it before punting it back the way it came.

"Apology accepted!" She smiles. "Maybe, sometime, if you really wanna make it up to me-"

"Mhm." I give her a flat look, almost rolling my eyes as I shove a hand out to stop the ball. After it bounces once, I kick it away.

She sticks out her tongue before laughing. "Can you hold it against me for trying?"

"Nah. Not really."

"...I'm gonna head up when the ball comes over. Don't worry about the goal."

"You sure? I mean..."

"Yeah. I'm good enough for it, I think."

True to my word, I signal for someone to switch out with me; from there, I charge down the opposing team. I may not be the greatest soccer player, but with metal bones I'm essentially a tank that can blitz across open terrain. I pass the ball away and open myself up, shooting (and scoring) when I get possession again.

I'm not the greatest, especially since this is a team-oriented sport, but I've always been a physical kind of guy.

"Okay, that's game. It's getting kind of late anyway." One of them says. "Good job, everyone! And...James, was it?"

I nod.

"You're welcome back anytime, and feel free to join whatever team you want; we're open to everyone, but you've got a good sense for sports."

"I was a fighter before I came here." I explain. "Physical stuff is pretty easy for me, and I can learn fast. This was fun."

Miki punches me in the arm, and for a moment I'm reminded of my brother; it's enough for me to tap back lightly.

"Good job, hero."

"To hell with that. I was just tired of staying in one place, that's all."

"Yeah, sure. Not trying to show off to the pretty girl or anything like that."

I raise an eyebrow, but don't disagree; she is good-looking, after all, and I sort of have a thing for tomboys.

"A little self-assured there?"

"I don't hear you denying it."

"I wasn't going to."

"Cute."

"Not me, no."

We've struck up this friendship effortlessly, laughably easily. It's kind of ridiculous, but neither of us is the sort of person it's difficult to be around.

I head off to my room in good spirits, and down the pills that will put me out of my miserable waking state.

I wake up and feel like I have a new lease on life. I go to class, fresh and alert, ready for just about anything that might come.

Unfortunately, that includes the student council. We're told to break up into groups of three, and Hanako leaves class; I'm the odd man out, so I can choose to work alone or make a group of four.

Shizune, I should have known, would never let me work alone. I was so close, too.

Misha seems to be the only one who's having any trouble; I've read over this subject before, while I was bored and in the hospital's library, so I'm flying through it even faster than Shizune or Lilly, who understand but have a little difficulty.

Not my fault that I took advantage of my situation, is it?

Suddenly, I feel...cold. Like my blood's not warm enough, or that-

Oh. Oh, shit. I need to get to the nurse now.

I get up and walk to the teacher; she gives me the go-ahead, and after exiting the classroom I'm charging through hallways or leaping down whole flights of stairs. Once I exit the main building, I'm practically flying across the grounds. Every minute is colder than the last, each breath more shallow; I should have known that pushing myself so hard yesterday, and today, would do something like this. I may be unbeatable in a fight, but I'm not invincible in life, no matter what I might pretend.

This running isn't doing too much good for my condition either, but at the moment it's a necessary evil. My limbs feel heavy, my arms falling to my sides and my head dipping, my legs only keeping speed because it will mean my death if I can't keep the pace.

When I finally reach the nurse's office, I knock once. I don't have the energy to do more.

"I wondered when you'd show up." The nurse said.

I can't even spend the energy to think about what an asshole kind of remark that was, I just roll up my sleeve and let him stick the needle in me.

"Not like I...had much choice." I gasp out, my lungs finally realizing that they can calm down now. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't needed. I hate medicine. I hate relying on any strength but my own. Before I would've come here, I'd have rather died than let something else help me live." The brutal, honest, truth.

"What changed your mind?"

"Metal bones, the fact that they could never dose me right on any medication, and having to pretend I was asleep in the middle of every single surgery they ever did to me."

He frowned. "I'm sorry. That shouldn't have happened."

"Don't worry about it. Pain is what makes people strong, and I've suffered a lot."

"There should have been a note that told you the sleeping medication would affect your blood."

"So does my insomnia, though."

"Yes, it does, but there's a difference in time; you'll need to come here every other day...after dinner. Make sure you eat a lot of meat, and other iron-rich foods. Alternatively, there's supplements, but I doubt you're interested in those."

"I'm not. Eating meat hasn't ever been a problem before."

"Good man. Do you want to spend the night here?"

"I should be fine...I'll come back after dinner, though. Thank you."

"You're welcome, kid. Just doing my job."

After dinner, true to my word, I go back to the nurse's office and receive another transfusion. It's an annoying thing, this reliance on things that aren't "me," but I guess I'll need to get used to it. That doesn't mean I have to enjoy it, but it needs to be done in order for me to stay alive and accomplish any of my goals...not that those are really attainable, anymore, but the thought is still there that they might get done.

Alright. I've decided that, after this, I'll do Rin/Hanako/Miki...but the questions are:

A: in what order?

B: in what style? (complete one route before beginning the next, or do one chapter of each route before doing a second chapter for each route?)

Any input is welcome!