ACT I: REDUX

Spring's come in like a tidal wave – one day we're finishing junior year of high school, the next we're sitting and sweating in the shade, playing cards to see who's going to make the next snack. April just turned around and though they're quiet now, it feels like it's going to be a cicada summer.

"Hey, Mii-kun, you're not serious about going to a different school for senior year, right?"
I manage to drop my jokers on Todo, but get fed a pair of jacks for my trouble.

"I don't know. Maybe?"

I don't tell them that it's pretty much a foregone conclusion. Once my dad broke down how it can be a prospect for the future, I had to agree. Besides, people aside from these two would never let me live down having to abandon the team.

Jyushi puts down his cards: "No way man, we came so far together, you can't bail on us now."

"Dude, you know I'd ride with you anywhere, but if I didn't jam these jar-bottoms over my eyes, I couldn't see your face across the table."

He doesn't like that. Of the three of us, his heart is furthest down on his sleeve.

"Enough, Jyushi, it's your turn."

Todo to the rescue, as always. I'm gonna miss them… the entire class, actually.

My old man was surprisingly adamant about it. This Yamaku Academy was some kind of small-town paradise for special needs kids like myself – they had all the bells and whistles, and would likely be an easier way into a college of choice, so…

"I'm gonna go get something to eat."

And so he leaves Todo and I alone. We watch our friend as he trots out of the yard and out onto the street.
"He's not taking it well."

"I know, man… I… I know."

He smiles, leaning back into the flimsy plastic chair one bad rainfall from getting brittle enough to snap. It's the green plastic you can get cheap in any furniture shop – those seem to be sold to be used up on a seasonal basis, but I remember the one he's in from when we started high school.

"We'll be fine without you, Mitsuaki."

I know they will, it was never about whether they would be okay. Todo at least has the good grace to pretend otherwise.

"Yeah, it's just one year, and then I'll probably come back for college."
If I get the OU scholarship from the year in Yamaku, chances are we'll see each other again. I hold onto the hope.

"For sure. Jyushi and I are gonna make starter now that you're not there to slow us down anymore."

It's a running joke – we were all in the volleyball club. My eyesight was already deteriorating when I joined, and it got to the point that not even goggles made it possible for me to play.

"Of course," I snicker, knowing full well it's their truancy that will keep them away from any serious competition, "right about when I win my marksmanship championship."

He rolls his eyes.

There's a low breeze – if April is this warm here, it's going to be a nightmare in the summer. The new school is halfway up a mountain, so I reckon it'll be a bit more manageable when summer proper rolls in.

"You're gonna be fine. It's going to be scary, and then it's going to be fine. You'll find a girlfriend and forget all about the old Osaka gang."

He means well, but it comes across mean-spirited.

"C'mon, give me some credit."

He leans forward, but before he can say anything, Jyushi rounds the corner swinging a bright orange grocery bag. It clinks and clatters as he puts it down.

"I got lemon, I got strawberry, and I got betrayer's raspberry pep."

I pop the can open and give my drink a taste: "Can't go wrong with Betrayal raspberry."

"And once again, I will offer you an easy out by way of surrender."

"No way, no way you have the last queen, I know that Mii-kun has it."

The sky has long since gone dark, and the temperature is pleasantly lower. Insects drone through the neighborhood as the sound of evening variety shows and early drinking binges leak through cracked windows; we've long since retreated inside.

"No queens, Jyushi. Todo's crushed us again."

He stares intently at his hand of cards for a bit, then half-heartedly drops a nine.

"Damn. Every single time."

The familiarity of the scene brings a smile to my face. I don't think we can lose this, even if years pass.

It's something about the atmosphere – Osaka is a noisy town, but this is a peaceful suburb-like area. It's picturesque in the way that you can imagine a neighborhood like this one if every city in Japan, maybe some abroad.

And in every one of them, a group of friends on the cusp of a goodbye, playing cards after the promise of summer relented a bit.

"Hey, guys, I just want to-"

"No."

I pointedly blink at him a few times, hoping my outrage at the interruption gets across.

"You're gonna give us a big speech about how you're going to miss this, because you've learned your social cues from shows and movies and it seems appropriate."

"But it's not," Todo adds.

"Be that as it may, I don't think-" I try, only to be cut off again.

"Exactly, you don't think. You're a moron and you'll leave us for senior year, the most important part of our high school life."

I put down my cards, leaning back slightly: "Look…"

"Just shut up and play, dude. There's still a whole bunch of summer left, and we'll take it for all it has."

"And you can have your poignant anime monologue when we see you off to the train station. Besides, you can just write it all out in your diary."

Assholes. It's a journal.

"Heh… fine. By the way, I do have a queen, suck it."

They're right though – there's always going to be enough time to make all those memories we're supposed to make. Get into all the shenanigans we're supposed to.

"Yes you do. I however, have the king."
He plays the king of clubs, and it's game over.
"I'll take my winnings in the form of cash."

We make an overexaggerated gesture of paying out coins – it's just the money we need to split to cover the snack and drink costs for the day, but he revels in the theatre of it.

I wonder if Yamaku has a theatre club, or even a volleyball one. The way I understood it, it's accessible for even heavier impairments, but I didn't really read through either the pamphlet or the website… maybe when I get home tonight.

It's just over a month until break is over and I head out there… guess I'll try and make the most of it.

At the tail end of Katawa Shoujo's fandom peak, this website had a thriving community, with stories everywhere.

It's been over a decade since, and this work is a story that couldn't have been told then. Deviates increasingly from the familiar route around chapter 8.

This is a story for me, but if anyone is still out there, old or new, I hope you enjoy it.