Tucker and Rin woke up the next morning, they were still completely undressed from the previous night. It was starting to get cloudy, and this meant one thing, they needed to get out of there. Rin had her head resting comfortably on Tucker while she yawned.
"Good morning." Rin greeted him. She stretched herself out. Tucker looked around as the place was a little messy, they had taken all the sugar tablets as of last night and this left Rin wanting more. Tucker got up to get himself dressed.
"It's definitely going to suck to be heading back to Yamaku. I always enjoyed it here." Tucker admitted. He got out some fresh clothes and he began to dress himself.
"I know but we should head back to the summer Satou house first to figure out the plan that Lilly has to offer before we can make our move." Rin explained that they needed to find out what Lilly had in mind before they would be able to pack their things and head out. Tucker placed the stuffed cat he had in the bag that he had before zipping it up, all of their dirty clothes were going into Rin's bag and might as well sort it out when they get back to Yamaku. After getting dressed. Tucker walked over to Rin and proceeded to dress her as well.
"Hopefully we can have the rest of the week a good one as there are only two days in this one of classes and the last three are our finals. We should begin studying for those." Tucker explained to Rin about the whole plan. Rin nodded as this was an excellent time to get themselves back on track. Tucker picked up the bags and began to carry them down. Rin followed him. They were going to need to return the keys.
Tucker was returning the hotel keys while Rin was getting the rolls of sugar candy, they purchased the night before as a means of sharing it. Rin definitely purchased a lot of them. Tucker looked on as he got out the last bit of Yen his father had lended to him the night before this. It was probably time for breakfast too. After that, it was time to head to Lilly and figure out the plans.
After breakfast, the two of them were walking along the path to the Satou Summer house. The clouds seem to be pretty upset, big and gray. What was up with them?
"Hey Rin?" Tucker began. Rin looked at him, curious about what he was going to say. "Remember when you said the clouds are gray like this, they were going to cry?" Tucker asked curiously.
"I think I did, why is that?" Rin asked. The first droplet of water hit them; they were starting to get worried as the second droplet managed to hit them. They looked up as this meant only one thing. "Is it going to rain again?" Rin asked as it was an oh come on type of moment. Tucker didn't say a word as the rain began to pour down onto them.
"Well, this sucks as I don't have Yuuko's umbrella on me." Tucker sighed, they were going to have to continue walking all the way to Lilly as the rain battered them, the wind seemed to splash the gush of water onto them. What a great way to start the day off with. At least they could dry off and wait for the rain to pass them when they got to Lilly.
"Walking in the rain isn't fun." Rin admitted. "It's like you're freezing, if there's two things I don't like, it's being cold and wet at the same time." Tucker tried to think about it as they continued to make their way through the rain. He decided to speak about it.
"Yeah… I can agree with you on that. I'm thinking about a hot bath to try to rinse the feeling off of me. Maybe Lilly can give us one when we get to her house." Tucker sighed, a warm bath to get the feeling of the cold off of them. "This rain makes sense as it was kind of hot and muggy yesterday." Tucker admitted.
"Well at least I got to meet your dad, Tucker." Rin admitted that part was what she liked the most. Tucker smiled at the notion as the rain battered them.
"That part was nice." Tucker nodded. The walk continued on as despite getting wet, they were able to try to talk it off and they arrived at the door of the Satou summer house. Tucker walked up and knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal Lilly standing at the doorway.
Katawa Shoujo- Concord
"My my… you two are looking wet today." Lilly explained to Tucker and Rin. Rin shook the water from her hair.
"Yeah, we got rained on when we were heading over from the hotel on our way here. We thought you two had left already and we were going to have to walk the way back." Rin tried her best to explain what happened to them when they were walking over from the hotel. Lilly nodded before she looked at them.
"That's fine. I can do the laundry for you. Let me get you some towels to dry you two off and we can properly pack you guys up." Lilly gently told them that it was fine. She led them inside with her placing the towels down on the Futon. Tucker got out the cat he had with him. His companion he had won, he was going to try his best not to lose it. Lilly walked over after she got the laundry out from the bag. "I'll wash those up with Hisao. I'm going to allow you two to get a hot bath, so you don't develop any colds. I don't want a repeat with codeine." Lilly explained that she was going to allow them to clean themselves, but they better not get sick. Tucker seemed curious by what Lilly said about codeine, did she know about what went on with Rin when she caught Emi's cold. Tucker didn't want to dwell on that fact, but he decided to wait for Lilly to come back and tell him the bathroom was all his. Hisao walked over to see Tucker and decided to sit next to him.
"Hey there Tuck, wet kitten I see." Hisao greeted him. Tucker looked at Hisao as his stuffed cat was dry, but he was the one who was wet.
"Is this a joke about me being a wet kitten?" Tucker asked. Hisao seemed to laugh a bit, he had to explain the joke to him.
"Yeah, that's the punch line, your cat looks dryer than you." Hisao explained. Tucker seemed to giggle along with what Hisao had said. Tucker knew he needed to explain it.
"The rain began pouring on us while we were walking back here and getting caught out in it was no fun. I assume everything is going well for you." Tucker explained before asking Hisao about what happened to him and Rin when they were making their way back here. Hisao nodded while they attempted to relax on the futon.
"I can't say our last day is anything eventful. Lilly does all of our laundry before we leave so we can have clean clothes for when we return to Yamaku." Hisao explained to Tucker. Tucker sighed; this day surely was going to a lazy one while he was drying off. The minutes seem to tick by as they talked about a variety of things, their girls, Hanako and what they had plans for the summer. Then Rin stepped out in dry clothes as this was supposed to be temporary until the laundry was finished. Lilly walked up to Tucker as she decided to speak to him.
"Your bath has been ready for you. I made sure to prepare it for you as I think you would like to get warmed up." Lilly explained to Tucker. Tucker nodded as he made his way to the bathroom.
"Thanks Lilly." Tucker softly told Lilly while he walked over to the bathroom. Lilly smiled before picking up his cat.
"You're welcome, I'll be watching your feline for you while you clean yourself, be sure to send the laundry to the pile so I can clean it for you." Lilly explained to Tucker. Tucker responded with a nod before stepping inside the bathroom.
Katawa Shoujo- Raindrops and Puddles
Tucker's head surfaced; the rain continued to pound the window beside him as the droplets of water ran down the side of the window. He was still wet, but the hot water did him better than being drenched in the rain. Rin had her bath, and it was his turn. He began to reflect on the last few weeks he had been in Yamaku, Rin, the friends he made while attending. Mr. Nomiya breathing down his neck for Rin and Eleanor to do art. Tucker hated to admit that being away from Eleanor seemed to be better than him being with her. He didn't even bother texting her to see how she was holding up. Tucker grabbed a bubble with his right hand before tossing it into the air. Tucker watched as the bubble slowly drifted down.
"I hope Eleanor is in the right state of mind to apologize." Tucker sighed to himself. He hoped that Eleanor admitted she screwed up when it came to the gallery event and decided to drop from it. One person could dream after all. Tucker closed his eyes while trying to think about what he would say next, there was a knock at the door as someone was trying to get in. "Who's there?" Tucker asked.
"It's me, Hanako, I want to talk to you." Hanako explained to Tucker that she wanted to come in and see what Tucker was up to.
"I'm still in the bathtub but you can come in." Tucker told Hanako, the door opened as Hanako slowly stepped inside. She approached Tucker before sitting on the toilet adjacent to him.
"It sucks seeing this is the last day, but did you have fun from yesterday's trip?" Hanako asked. Tucker began to think about what he was going to say.
"Of course, I did. Even though I wanted all of us to show up so we can all experience it together." Tucker explained to Hanako. Hanako smiled before she began speaking again.
"Definitely but I can settle for what I can get." Hanako giggled a little. Tucker sighed before he relaxed his head on the bathtub.
"I'm definitely going to miss this place. The walks to town and back seem to bring peace to an otherwise hectic life. The tranquil wheat fields, the days of playtime. Fields where you can see the horizon. It felt so…" Tucker tried to explain to Hanako that Hokkaido managed to bring back some good memories for them. Hanako began speaking next.
"Peaceful?" Hanako asked Tucker. Tucker sighed before looking at the rain covered window. He looked back at Hanako while she said the word.
"Yeah. Thanks, Hanako." Tucker sighed. Hanako edged closer to the tub and stood next to it.
"You're welcome. I might ask you about the newspaper club and see what they want to do, and we can arrange something between us." Hanako promised to Tucker that she would be doing something as a symbol of their entire friendship and see what they would do. Tucker sighed happily.
"You know where me and Rin will go?" Tucker asked Hanako if she had any clear thoughts." Hanako began to think and after a few minutes, she came to no conclusion.
"I don't really know for sure, but I know something will be coming up. I wish I could bring Natsume and her friends to Hokkaido and show them the hobby shop. I think they would like it." Hanako did her best to explain it to Tucker.
"I think they'll like it too." Tucker smiled with what he said. Hanako clasped her hands together and she began to think, she then remembered something.
"I am just about done with the scrap book we had from yesterday. I want to show it to you when you get out." Hanako explained to Tucker about what she wanted to do afterward. Tucker sat up a bit.
"Okay but promise me you'll get my clean clothes to wear." Tucker told Hanako. "I bet you don't want to see me with anything on."
"Of course." Hanako told Tucker. Then the door opened as Hisao walked in, it was clear he was trying to contain his anger. "Hey, is there something bothering you?" Hanako asked Hisao if he could care to explain it.
"It's Eleanor. She asked when I was going to be back so she could show me her paintings and why I wasn't texting her." Hisao grumbled. Tucker knew his little sister was having a bit of a problem again.
"Oh goodness, is it about art again?" Tucker asked as he didn't want to hear about it.
"Yes, it is." Hisao grumbled. "I tried explaining that she shouldn't be devoting all of her time to such an unhealthy habit, and she snapped at me. I got pretty angry with her, and I told her I was cutting ties with her as she isn't to be trusted. She got upset and pleaded for me not to, but I already did. I probably love Lilly more than her at this point."
"Well, we got to start somewhere?" Hanako asked. Tucker felt confused, did Eleanor really screw up? He hoped she did, and she would want to apologize when they got back to Yamaku.
"I hope cutting ties would be a wakeup call for her. Maybe she'd think twice before destroying herself." Tucker did his best to make a prediction, he was worried that he might be wrong. Hisao sighed as he was growing impatient.
"Can you please finish up so I can have a turn?" Hisao politely asked Tucker if he wanted a turn with the bathtub. Tucker sighed as he couldn't spend all day in here.
"Okay." Tucker softly sighed. He wanted to spend his time in the bathtub. However, with Hisao wanting a turn, he had to give in. Tucker decided to begin washing himself as Hanako and Hisao left the bathroom. He knew he didn't want to hold Hisao up any longer.
After ten minutes, Tucker finished washing himself. He got out of the tub feeling much better about himself. He was in a towel while he walked out of the bathroom to see a set of clean clothes on the futon. Tucker took them and headed off into the bedroom to get himself dressed. Afterward, he sat down with Hanako and Rin. Hanako had the scrapbook completed and was showing Rin about the book she had made. Lilly walked over and placed a hot bowl of noodles for Tucker.
"Here you go, the rain is still pouring, and I wondered if you wanted something to eat." Lilly explained to Tucker thinking he wasn't eating enough while staying at the hotel. Tucker nodded to Lilly.
"Thanks." Tucker explained. He then began to eat; it certainly was better than sitting around and eating nothing. It was pretty good. Hanako scooted her seat closer to Tucker.
"It's finished. I made sure to fill it with stickers and everything." Hanako explained to Tucker. She slid it over to Tucker while the latter pushed the bowl of noodles away from him to prevent him from ruining the book. Tucker flipped through the pages, Hanako surely was good at taking pictures, he wondered, would she make a good photographer? The pages were edited as well with stickers, the photos and the borders that lined the pictures. Tucker began to think that Hanako did a good job with this.
"You've taken many photos of us." Tucker began. He flipped through the pages, feeling completely happy about it.
"I've got the camera from the newspaper club, I decided to practice taking pictures as I'm the one made for snapping the pictures, then I take these pictures for them to get edited and we can put them into the newspaper." Hanako explained how she got the camera in the first place. Tucker nodded while he looked at the pages.
"You've done good." Tucker explained to Hanako. He was impressed, Tucker flipped the page to the mailroom, and he was excited.
"I think I'd have a lot of fun in that room, imagine sorting mail with my feet." Rin explained to them as the mailroom seemed to be fun to her. Tucker and Hanako laughed. "Exploring that caboose and going into the signal room, the mailroom, looking at all of those parts, I really love this."
"Glad I can make this happen." Hanako explained. Lilly stood up and decided that she needed to do something.
"I need to use the bathroom. I'll be back." Lilly told them. She walked over to the bathroom, leaving Tucker, Rin and Hanako alone.
"So, what do you have planned for when the trimester is over?" Hanako asked if they had any ideas about summer break.
"Not that we're aware of." Tucker told Hanako that neither he nor Rin had any plans regarding summer break. Hanako looked down a bit before looking back at them.
"I can arrange something with Natsume, and we can all take one big tour of Japan. Something I wish I want to do as I haven't seen the country, then we can do another big trip somewhere that I don't know about." Hanako explained that they should at least establish a plan and then decide something about what they were going to do.
"Okay. Did Lilly say what time we're going to be heading back to Yamaku?" Tucker asked. Hanako began to think about it, it had taken about nine hours for them to get to Hokkaido and it would be another nine hours back.
"Six in the evening, we couldn't get the early train as we got up late. We'll pack the cat up in the bag where the gifts are so it doesn't get lost, and we can sort the laundry when it's done. We have a couple hours left." Hanako explained that they had some time, not a lot but they might as well pack up and prepare to head back. Tucker looked to his left before looking back.
"I'm surely going to miss this place." Tucker told Hanako. Hanako bowed her head as if she wanted to say:
"Yeah, I'll miss this place too." Hanako told Tucker. Rin was now taking a look at the scrapbook. She too, like Tucker, liked the fact that Hanako had taken many pictures of them.
"I'll begin to pack for you as the dry laundry is done. We might as well try to get everything sorted before we leave." Tucker told Rin, Lilly was probably in the bathroom with Hisao, and they were down two people. Rin nodded.
"Take care." Rin smiled. She continued to look at the book, they were itching to get back to this place.
A schizophrenic run to the station occurred a couple hours later as they needed to get back to the station to catch the train, they feared they were going to miss. They made sure to get everything on them and they had boarded the train before pulling away. The hours would pass as it was now nighttime, the train slowly made its way back to Yamaku with Hanako asleep on Lilly. Hisao looked at the clock on his watch, it was almost midnight and there were still a few more hours on this train. He knew he needed to talk to Lilly.
"So tired..." Hisao said with a yawn. Lilly was rather amused though slightly annoyed.
"And whose fault is that Hisao?" Lilly asked Hisao. Tucker and Rin were both asleep on each other in the seat next to them, keeping a watch over their stuff they had purchased in the hobby shop. Hisao began to think about Lilly's conversations, she really does toe the line between insulting and amusing sometimes, though Hisao managed to wring out a weary smile. He looks back out the window, his reflection just visible on the clear pane. Truth be told, Lilly's perfectly correct. If it weren't for that little interlude a few hours ago, both of them would have a lot more energy. On top of that, they both had to take another bath, very nearly making us late for the train's departure. Hisao knew that he needed to apologize for his folly.
"Yeah, yeah, it was mine. Still, getting into a bath with a guy is a dangerous thing to do." Hisao tried his best to explain why they held up everyone.
"Evidently." Lilly sighed. She held Hanako close to her while Hisao began thinking of something next.
"Sorry. I guess I kind of took advantage of the situation back there." Hisao admitted. He blushed over the statement over what he had to think of. Lily smiled as there was something she had to admit.
"Well... I didn't exactly hate it..." Lilly began. Hisao was surprised by what she said. As she trails off, Hisao looks back to her. His eyes narrow as he sees her slightly reddened cheeks and small grin, her mind obviously elsewhere. Hisao needed to get the truth out of Lilly.
"Say it." Hisao told Lilly that he needed to hear the truth from her. Lilly sighed before she began to speak.
"I... knew the possibility of it happening... was there." Lilly told Hisao. Hisao looked at Lilly as she quite enjoyed it, Hisao looked at Lilly in a rather teasing manner.
"I knew it. You're just as dirty minded as I am." Hisao playfully teased Lilly. He poked her in the nose as this caused her to quickly cough into her free hand, making her disapproval crystal clear.
"That's a rather crude way of putting it." Lilly told Hisao that he seemed to be like her, playful and full of rather dirty thoughts. Hisao was rather amused and Hanako twisted in her arms.
"Oh? And you would suggest?" Hisao asked Lilly if she had any ideas of what she had in her mind. Lilly decided to put it bluntly.
"I merely have a healthy adolescent sex drive." Lilly told her words to Hisao that she liked having as much fun as he did. Hisao smiled in a rather amused way.
"So, in other words, dirty-minded." Hisao told Lilly. Lilly began to think, almost seeming to sense the moment, Hanako mumbles quietly as she furrows her brow in Lilly's lap. Lilly's look of disapproval melts away as she gently smiles and strokes her hand on Hanako's long, dark hair. All Hisao can do is watch. Watch and smile. If someone were to ask him when he fell in love with her, Hisao wouldn't be able to answer. The best he'd be able to come up with is: "it just happened at some point, but I didn't realize it." If someone were to ask him or Tucker why they love their respected girls, though, then they could answer much more easily. "You really love Hanako, don't you?" Hisao asked Lilly as Hanako cuddled up to Lilly. Lilly gives a deep nod, smiling warmly.
"It's a pity we have to return to school. She seemed to relax so much while we were all away." Lilly told Hisao about Hanako. She definitely loved the fact that they were away. Plus, she had fun with both Tucker and Rin. Hisao turned his head to see them both cuddled up with Rin lazily trying to run the stub of her arm through Tucker's hair. Hisao looked back to Lilly about Hanako.
"I wouldn't worry. Hanako's been gaining confidence thanks to you, at least for as long as I've known you two." Hisao did his best to explain that Hanako's growing confidence was mainly because of him and Lilly. Lilly nodded with disapproval as Hisao also left out Tucker and Rin as they had also been Hanako's friends and spent a lot of time with her. Lilly gives a self-deprecating sigh.
"I think I merely provided her with company and support. Since she came to know you, she's opened up much more, even to me." Lilly explained to Hisao about Hanako and how much progress she had made when he first came to Yamaku. Lilly continued to speak. "Tucker has been a welcome addition as she has opened up to him, they make good friends. I'm also surprised with how many friends Tucker is making here." Hisao gets the feeling she's understating her influence on Hanako, especially given that before the two came to know each other, Hanako had no friends to speak of. The friends he'd had in his previous school fulfilled what Hisao had expected of them, for the most part simply being there for idle chatter, but in Hanako and Lilly there really feels to be more to their relationship. A part of him envies it, but another can't ignore the fact that the school year will eventually end. After graduation, Hisao and even Tucker to some extent really have no idea what Hanako will do. This trip has shown them just how much we've all come to depend on one another. Indeed, they're all going to have to make decisions. Maybe that's the reason why, despite their return to school also heralding a return to the normalcy of everyday life, Hisao can't help feeling a little restless.
"On the bright side, it won't take long for the summer holidays to arrive after our exams are finished. We could come back here during the summer holidays if you want." Hisao began. He was wondering about the hobby shop that Hanako visited that he and Lilly couldn't. For a moment she thinks on the notion, her face becoming somewhat distant. Hisao can only guess she's reflecting on all that's happened here.
"That would be... good, I think." Lilly explained to Hisao that was something they were willing to do, possibly with more of Tucker's friends, Natsume, Naomi and Molly come to their mind. Hisao nod approvingly, smiling at her. Summer, together with Lilly. This idea seems like the perfect way to spend their holiday. Hisao gave one last look at Tucker and Rin, the two of them in the best company of each other. Smiling that they had each other. It seemed to be clear that they definitely loved the company of each other.
Neither Tucker nor Hisao were going to be ready when they returned to Yamaku. Things were going to plunge off the deep end.
[A/N]: The next chapter has been completed and they are returning to Yamaku. The boys don't know what is going to happen to them next but when the next few chapters come out, things are going to speed up regarding the club that Tucker, Rin, Hanako and numerous others are in. With this, they should be able to figure out what will happen next. Pay attention to what I say as a bit of a teaser. Anyway, I'm going to let you read this chapter over. See you later.