Act 1: Day of running with Emi for first time: Alarm clock (turn off alarm)   go to track club and meet Miki, who remembers Hisao from class and takes him under her wing. Teases Hisao while running, he falls for it, pushes himself and gets heart troubles. Choices: Tell Miki what’s going on (GOOD) or keep it to himself. (NEUTRAL/BAD) Either way it passes  pretty quickly. Miki ends practice: If GOOD she suggests seeing the nurse to make sure he’s okay. Hisao sees the nurse alone, who at first scolds him for missing out on running with Emi, but is relieved to hear you did go running with Miki instead. The nurse gives Hisao a checkup and tells him that running is fine but not to push himself too much. Hisao feels relieved and heads back to the dorms to take a shower. If NEUTRAL/BAD, she won’t address the issue but refuses  to let him keep running for fear of you getting a more severe attack. Miki has her own routine to do, though, so she stays at the track while Hisao heads back to the dorms to take a shower. He runs into Kenji  there, banter is had, Hisao takes a shower. Because he is  keeping  his condition to himself he’s a bit more worried about what effects running might have and resolves to really take it easy.   (important here is setting up the kind of trust Miki and Hisao will have, as well as how Hisao deals with his condition, which seems contingent on how much Miki rubs off on him. Unfortunately similarities with Emi’s route are hard to avoid.)   Hisao goes to class and gets there just in time, after class Shizune and Misha try  to get him to help out with the festival some more,  but Miki bails him out by dragging him out of class. Since Hisao is still new, Miki wants to take him into town and show him around. Before they can leave, they run into Emi, who berates Hisao for skipping out on their practice. Hisao apologizes and says he went running with Miki instead. Emi tells Hisao that he’d be better off training with Yamaku’s BEST runner. Choices: Retort   that this is why he’s having Miki help him. (GOOD) Say he’s still a beginner with crappy stamina,  so ANYONE at the track team should be able to help him for now (NEUTRAL – takes you off Miki route) Agree with Emi (BAD – possible Emi switch?)   If GOOD Miki is pleased by Hisao’s response and will boast to Emi about winning at the upcoming track meet. Emi will stomp off, annoyed that Hisao took Miki’s side and the two head out into town. If NEUTRAL, both Miki and Emi are a little annoyed with Hisao for not taking either side and the two bicker a bit about  the upcoming track meet. -If >=2 with Shizune, Shizune and Misha come out to break up the argument since Emi and Miki are causing a disturbance. Miki and Emi leave Hisao with StuCo. -if not, Miki drags Hisao off to take show him around town.   If BAD, Emi drags Hisao off to get started on a proper diet & exercise plan. SWITCH TO EMI’S PATH   HEADING INTO TOWN. If GOOD: Miki and Hisao go to the grocery store first, Hisao starts picking up food that’s easy to make, Miki suggests some healthier alternatives instead, as well as lots of fruit. She picks up a few things for herself as well, including bandages, thus drawing attention to her disability. Before Hisao can ask, Miki says she wants to show him a teahouse and takes him to the Shanghai. There, the two enjoy some pleasant conversation about Hisao adjusting to Yamaku and Miki sharing her own experiences as a new student to the school. Hisao will finally ask about the bandages again, wanting to know why she keeps it wrapped up like that, since the wound must have healed by now. She’ll  open up a little and say she doesn’t like the word ‘healed’, since it suggests to her that she should have her hand back whole and hale. Because of this, she keeps the stump bandaged up, since at a very basic level it suggests her arm is  still recovering. After this, the two return to Yamaku  with their groceries, Hisao having  a tougher time walking back up the hill than Miki. She teases him about it and wants him to go running with her again, so they can work on rebuilding his stamina. Hisao agrees and the two go their separate ways at the  dorms, agreeing to meet again monday morning, at the same time. Hisao asks if coming earlier is a possibility since it leaves him with only barely enough time to make it to class, but Miki flatly refuses.   If NEUTRAL: Miki and Hisao go to the grocery store, Hisao starts picking up food that’s easy to make, she just lets him buy what he wants. She picks up a few things for herself as well, including bandages, thus drawing attention to her disability. Hisao asks why she’s still getting bandages, but Miki brushes it off by simply saying that the ones she’s wearing still get dirty, especially with how much she works out. Miki makes up an excuse to leave early, leaving Hisao in the store.   Saturday:     After class: Talk to Miki, she says her and some of the guys from the track and field club are going to the park to relax, and invites you to join them. Hisao asks if it's okay for them to bail on that kind of work, but Miki retorts that Hisao isn't exactly helping out either. Hisao justifies that by reminding her he's still the new guy, which makes her laugh and say that that kind of attitude means he'll fit right in. Having nothing better to do, Hisao accepts, they meet with the other guys at the gates Among them is Haruhiko, who's in his class as well. Haruhiko introduces him to the rest of the guys, who are from class 3-1. Having nothing better to do, Hisao accepts, they meet with the other guys at the gates. Hisao is surprised by how accepting the other guys are of him, they seemed to know already that Miki has been helping him with his running and say he’s welcome to join them.   At  the park, they  set out some drinks and Hisao, Miki and the others spend the afternoon talking  about nothing and everything. The guys mention  Kenji and are surprised to learn Hisao lives opposite him, even more so when Hisao admits that overall he doesn’t mind Kenji so much. After that the track meet is brought up, Miki is boasting about  how she’ll definitely beat Emi this  time around. One of the guys points out that to date, Emi has been faster, prompting Hisao to ask if it’s okay for Miki to be spending time on his training. She laughs it off  and teases him a little, saying if he feels that way he should improve enough to keep up with her routine. The sun begins to set and so the group decides to return to Yamaku before it gets dark. The guys walk in front with Miki and Hisao walking side by side behind them. The topic of the festival comes up and Hisao complains about Shizune and Misha’s attempts to rope him in and get him to work for them. Miki is amused and proposes the two of them go to the festival together, since she enjoys his company and this way he’ll have an excuse not to be Shizune’s busybody. Hisao gladly accepts, they set up a time and place and at the dorms they part ways again. After doing his homework Hisao  goes to sleep.   Sunday: Hisao gets ready for the festival but bumps into Kenji when he leaves his room. Kenji asks about Hisao’s plans, Hisao mentions Miki and Kenji freaks out, saying Miki and Emi dominate the track and field club and have turned its other members into their slaves. He warns Hisao not to fall  under Miki’s  spell and barricades himself inside his room to wait out the day.     Hisao heads outside and finds Miki waiting  for him at the agreed location. She’s eager to see everything the students did, as she didn’t help out either. They find the booths with games set up first. They play a few games together, such as the ball toss, during which Miki is quick to turn things into a competition, though Hisao notices she has bad aim. Finally, they reach the hammer hitting game, where people have to hit a rubber target with a large hammer and get a prize if they make the bell ring. Miki demands that they play it, since her overall better condition should give her an advantage, even if Hisao is a guy. Hisao  goes first, but because of the weight of  the hammer, he doesn’t want to swing too violently and so fails to make the bell ring, he looks back at Miki to see her rubbing her left arm and assumes that she’s self-conscious about her missing hand. Miki is up next, at first she extends the wrong arm to take the hammer. She quickly corrects herself, avoiding eye contact with Hisao as if hoping he didn’t notice, and decides to swing using just her right arm. The blow  doesn’t even get half the result Hisao did. Fed up with the game pointing out her shortcomings, she says the crowd is bugging her and leaves, followed by a confused Hisao.   The two wade through the crowd, with Miki heading away from the masses, when Emi spots them and calls out to Hisao. Emi asks if Hisao and Miki are on a date. Hisao considers that Emi might not have forgotten about him taking Miki’s side earlier this week. Miki ignores her and keeps going, dragging Hisao along with him.   They sit down, leaning against a wall and Hisao asks if she’s alright. She says she’s fine, but complains it’s weird for games like the hammer game to be at a school for the disabled, since only a handful of students would be able to play it properly. The two begin comparing their limitations, which quickly devolves into an argument that ends up cheering both of them up again. She says she’s hungry and, feeling prompted, Hisao offers to buy her something to eat.   Hisao and Miki head for the food stands. Initially Hisao wants to get something fried, but Miki refuses, saying she can’t have it because of the upcoming track meet and it would be unfair of  Hisao to have some then. They end up buying something more healthy and see some of the other sights, including Rin’s mural. Neither Miki nor Hisao really get it, but it appeals to them nonetheless. Hisao tries to ask Rin about it but there’s a crowd around her. Instead, he and Miki move on. The sun begins to set and Miki mentions the fireworks. The track club has reserved a spot on the lawn from where they can watch it and after getting some drinks from one of the stalls, Miki and Hisao join them.   The fireworks display starts and Miki and Hisao are sitting next to each other in the lawn. Everybody’s looking up at the colors exploding in the sky. After a while, Hisao can feel Miki lean into him a little. When he looks down she quickly sits up and jokes that she must’ve been feeling a little tired from craning her neck up like that.   Act 2:   Monday: Hisao goes out to the track, he’s a bit early, just enough to bump into Emi. They exchange greetings but Emi cuts it short when Hisao mentions he’s running with Miki again. Hisao guesses that the rivalry between the two means they don’t want to do their  routines simultaneously. Miki arrives a little late, but is her usual self.  She encourages Hisao to run and while it’s still difficult, Hisao does manage to complete the distance they set without incident. Miki is glad about this and suggests that maybe he’ll want to join the track and field club. Hisao declines for the moment, wanting to be in better shape first. After that, Hisao leaves to shower and head for class.   After the run, Hisao bumps into the nurse who was looking for him. He wants to give Hisao a quick check up, to see how his heart is coping with the exercise. The inspection goes just fine, but the nurse comments on Emi being in a foul mood this morning, and that he hopes Hisao isn’t causing it. Hisao is worried for a moment, but the nurse laughs, saying he knows it’s her rivalry with Miki. He recommends that Hisao should try to avoid getting sucked in.     After showering, Hisao enters class to find Miki isn’t there yet. Shizune and Misha use this opportunity to grill Hisao, since they think he and Miki are a couple already. Hisao denies this, Misha seems disappointed but recovers by asking if Hisao likes Miki. Mutou saves him from having to answer that by entering the classroom. Some five to ten minutes after class has started Miki comes rushing in, apologizing with a grin, saying she lost track of time. Mutou warns her about her grades, but other than that doesn’t make a big deal out of it.     Class is uneventful, but when it’s done, Miki waits with Suzu for Hisao to step out of the classroom and asks him if he can do her the favor of helping her with her routine, in particular timing her runs. She jokingly adds that in return, she’ll forgive him if she catches him staring at her. Hisao agrees and meets with her at the track, since she has to escort Suzu back to her room and go change first. He keeps track of her various times and when he shows her, she’s excited to see that her fastest time is also just a few hundredths of a second faster than her personal best. She grabs Hisao in a playful kind of headlock with her left arm and demands he be there from now on, as her good luck charm. She also makes Hisao promise to be there during the race.     Wednesday: Hisao heads for the track after class to help Miki again. As he gets there, she’s talking to someone on the phone and hears Miki’s side of the conversation. Hisao infers from her responses that she’s talking to her mother. Miki angrily hangs up the phone and is surprised to see Hisao there already. Nonetheless her surprise is quickly masked by a determined grin and her routine begins. Hisao notices that she’s pushing herself harder than before, though, running faster overall, but unwilling to stop until she breaks her personal record again. Hisao speculates the phone call may be the cause of her increased fanaticism. He asks about the call, explaining his suspicion. Miki confirms that it was her mother, and that she's been pushing her to do better so she can go to college. Hisao asks if that's really what Miki wants to do, but she dodges the question by saying how she always pictured herself working in her father's business, but that's no longer possible. Noticing her starting to tense up, Hisao drops the issue.   Thursday: Emi is at the track when Miki arrives, Miki instantly taunts Emi. The two argue back and forth,  Emi demanding their agreement be suspended because of the track meet, Miki having none of it and challenges Emi to race right then and there.   Choices: -Ignore them and start your run (NEUTRAL) -Tell Miki to give Emi a break, she is probably just nervous about the race. (GOOD)   If NEUTRAL:   It will take a while for Miki to notice you’ve begun your workout, since she and Emi are still trading blows. Emi is  the first to notice Hisao has started running and tells Miki that at least her protégé has the right idea. With that she leaves, Miki is in a bad mood after that though she hides it as best she can. She pushes Hisao harder than before and as a result, Hisao does run an additional lap, but at the cost of his heart acting up again. It passes slowly, but Miki becomes aware of the mistake she’s made and apologizes before helping Hisao getting to the nurse.   If GOOD:  The two will agree, both of them stating they’d prefer to beat the other with an audience to see it. Hisao begins his run, overseen by Miki. She pushes him to run half a lap extra, which he manages, but he can feel it is his absolute limit and the fear of having another incident puts him on edge.   Hisao and Miki go to the nurse, but Miki leaves immediately to do her own workout. -if Hisao ran a full lap extra the nurse scolds Hisao for being reckless. When Hisao explains the circumstances, the nurse scolds him again, since he had warned him about this sort of thing happening. There is some murmur in his chest, but not enough to cause concern. Nevertheless, Hisao shouldn’t push himself at all the next day. -if Hisao ran half a lap, the nurse warns Hisao to be more cautious, but is glad to hear Hisao realized his absolute limit in time. The examination proves Hisao is doing fine and the nurse sends Hisao on his way with a warning to be sensible about increasing his workout.     After class, Hisao helps Miki again, who has decided she wants to practice her running every day until the track meet. Hisao asks if resting might not be better but Miki shoots him down, saying it’s more important that she beats Emi. Hisao thinks it’s not so much about beating Emi as it is something else. He asks why winning is so important to Miki. She considers the question for a moment and responds it’s to prove to herself that she can. Before Hisao can ask more, she hands him the stopwatch and gets ready to start. Hisao watches Miki closely and can tell she’s wearing out faster than before, and for once she’s grimacing more than she’s smiling after each sprint. Whenever she isn’t running, she’s massaging her left arm. After the final sprint, she quickly excuses herself and hurries back to her room.   Saturday: Hisao does his morning run with Miki, this time there’s no encounter with Emi. Miki is looking more tired than usual, so Hisao resolves to do whatever he can to keep her from running after class.   During class, Hisao is distracted, trying to come up with convincing ways to get Miki to rest. Mutou has to call his attention, the teacher warns him not to slack off. After class, Hisao decides to be assertive, and approaches Miki before she can go off with Suzu to change into her running clothes.   To start, Hisao mentions how he’s noticed she’s been getting more worn out than usual over the past days. Miki can’t deny this and tells him to get to the point, though not unkindly.  Hisao says he wants her to relax before the track meet, and that he’d like to visit the park with her. Miki is surprised and jokes that she wasn’t expecting be asked out by him so soon, sarcastically bemoaning her good looks and charm. Still, she accepts and the two head out down the road after helping Suzu get back to her room.   At the supermarket Hisao buys them a couple of drinks, jokingly insisting that he pay for Miki’s since she’s doing him the favor of accompanying him, which makes Miki laugh enough to keep her from protesting.     They sit down on a bench in the park and for a moment they’re quietly enjoying their drinks, while watching the other people in the park walk by. The two talk for a bit, Hisao asks why Miki keeps escorting Suzu to and from class, to which she answers that Suzu was the first friend she made at Yamaku, and her neighbor in the dorm. She explains Suzu has narcolepsy and because of that, it’s safer for her to have an escort, in case she suffers a sleep attack. Miki then shows an interest in how he’s getting on in school, after close to two weeks. Hisao confesses that he still has some issue with how to treat the other students, since he doesn’t want to come off as rude or insensitive.   (I think he says something to this effect in almost every, if not all, route but I’m not sure)   Miki tells him that though she can’t speak for everyone,  the most important thing to her  is to be genuine and flashes Hisao a smile that he finds hard to place. Miki in turn asks what impression he has of her, the tone is playful but she does seem curious to hear his reply. Hisao thinks for a moment. Choices: -Tell her she’s easy to like (GOOD) -Tell her he likes people like her (NEUTRAL)   If GOOD, Miki will pretend to get upset, accusing Hisao of calling her ‘easy’ and playfully shove his shoulder. She then chuckles and says Hisao’s easy to like too.  After that, there's some silence and Hisao ends up asking about her family just to break his sense of tension. Miki mentions how her father is a mechanic who owns a small garage, while her mother works in an office. Hisao comments on her father's job, saying it's impressive to have the kind of skill to work on cars. Miki grins and says that she used to help her father out a lot and probably knows more about cars than Hisao does. She then asks about his parents as well, since he's mentioned before that they left him to have dinner alone a lot  and Hisao confirms  this, saying they were both working hard, but that he never expressed much interest in the kind of work they did.   If NEUTRAL, Miki will take it as a compliment and say she’s glad Hisao thinks so.       The sun begins to set and so the two return. As they reach the dorms, Miki thanks Hisao for the afternoon, saying it helped clear her head.     Sunday:   Hisao wakes up early and heads out to the track, eager to see Miki again. When he gets there, he spots Misha setting up a table for  the announcer to sit at. Hisao walks over to her to talk for a bit as he waits for Miki to show up. He asks her why she’s setting up the table, when this event is being organized by the track and field club. Misha replies that she’s going to do the announcements, because Shizune thought it a good idea for the student council to be represented at these kinds of events. Hisao suspects that it’s also because Misha wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to be even louder. Misha asks him why he’s here early and Hisao tells her it’s to support Miki. Misha talks to him about Miki for a bit, asking all sorts of questions before finally settling on directly asking him if the two of them are a couple. Hisao denies this. Misha then comments that it’s a good idea for him to support her, given how important the track meet is to her. Hisao agrees, mentioning the rivalry with Emi and how that’s been getting more and more intense the past couple days. Misha acknowledges this, but tells him that’s not why this meet is so important. Since Miki Is a third year, this is her last chance to come in first. It surprises Hisao that he hadn’t considered that yet, even if Miki never brought it up. He spots Miki coming up towards the track in her gym clothes and thanks Misha for the talk before excusing himself.   Hisao meets with Miki and he can tell that she’s tense, nervous even, which is new to Hisao. He tries to make small talk with her, but she’s not in the mood for it and ends up asking him if he can keep an eye on her stuff while she starts her warm-up. Hisao is a little hurt, but tries not to take it personally. He takes a seat on the bleachers and watches Miki stretch, then run a couple of laps. Slowly people start to trickle towards the track and he ends up joined by the same guys he and Miki sat with during the festival. Miki returns to him and asks for the water bottle in her bag.  Her grin has finally returned, it seems the warm-up raised her spirits.   Before long, the track is swarming with people as other runners do their warm-up routines and the bleachers fill out. Hisao spots Rin with a  woman he doesn’t recognize. Misha’s voice blasts through the speakers as she announces the start of the first race and Hisao watches Miki take up a starting position, admiring the natural grace of her body, offset by the determined look on her face. The starter pistol is fired and she takes off, like an arrow. Unfortunately, she loses to Emi and comes in second place. Hisao can see the frustration in her face, but she shakes it off and gets ready for the next race.   The race is over in a flash, and though Miki ran her fastest, she still lost to Emi. And lost the next. Each time she comes in second, each time the frustration becomes more and more visible and then, as quick as the races had been, the relay race ends and Miki again came in second. While the crowd cheers Emi and celebrates her winning so many times, Hisao and the other guys from the track club try to congratulate Miki as well. She angrily shoves her way past them and takes off, followed by Hisao.   He finds her out of sight from the spectators of the track meet and she’s swearing to herself, shaking with impotent rage. Hisao speaks up and surprises her. She tells him to go away but he refuses. Hisao knows she’s upset and that this was more than just a race to her, more even than just a rivalry between her and Emi. He tells her as much, and adds that even if she came in second, she still ran faster than she ever did when he helped her after class. Miki only gets more upset and yells at him that coming in second is no better than last place, it doesn’t change that she lost. She continues, almost pleading, that she trained at least as much as Emi did, that she thought that if she just kept working hard, she’d be able to win, but even the best she’s ever done wasn’t good enough. Hisao tries to tell her that there’s always going to be someone better and that she didn’t lose to any of the other contestants in the races and as tears of rage begin to well up in her eyes, she tells him to shut up. When he tries to continue, she grabs him by the collar and hisses at him he has no idea what she lost back there. She pushes him away and storms off, warning him not to follow her.   Act 3:   It’s the Monday after the track meet. Hisao goes down to the track for his morning run, but Miki isn’t there. Miki doesn’t show up for class either, which worries him. Misha and Shizune approach Hisao before class and Misha grills him about Miki. Hisao tries to dodge the question and Misha and Shizune sign back and forth a bit, only for Misha to look disappointed. She says Shizune thinks that losing to Emi must not sit well with Miki. Hisao agrees, but the conversation has no chance to progress beyond that since Mutou arrives.   The next day, Hisao decides to return to the track, but finds himself alone there again. He still does his run, thinking Miki would scold him otherwise.   She’s absent from class again. He gets increasingly concerned and decides to act. He approaches Suzu after class. Hisao explains his argument with Miki after the track meet and Suzu explains that Miki falls in the category of students who’re still learning to accept their  disability and that Miki instead has been running. She asks Hisao to consider for a moment what it might do to Miki’s confidence if her way of coping with her disability is so decisively proven to not be good enough. She thinks that to Miki, winning at the track meet would have meant that Miki’s way of handling her condition was right.   Choices: -Agree with Suzu (GOOD) -Tell her Miki just needs time. (Miki=0 BAD)   If BAD: Hisao tells Suzu that even if she’s known her for longer, he’s been around Miki long enough to believe that all she needs is time to work things out. Suzu shrugs and leaves the classroom.   The following morning Hisao finally sees Miki again, when she’s waiting for Hisao at the track. She apologizes for her outburst after the track meet and that she wasn’t mad at him. Hisao understands and says he’s glad to see her back, which makes Miki smile a bit.  Training is like it was before, though Miki still seems a little subdued.   If GOOD: Hisao admits Suzu has a point,  especially since she’s known Miki for longer than him, and that he might have been taking the easy way out by assuming she’d be fine on her own. Suzu smiles and gets up, asking him to escort her back to her room, in exchange she’ll show him where Miki’s room is. Suzu talks about her narcolepsy in a surprisingly matter-of-factly way, so much so that Hisao is talking about his heart condition before he even realizes it. Hisao notices she’s much calmer than Miki, more purposeful in her actions and speech.   They get to her dorm without incident and Suzu points out Miki’s door, waiting in her own doorway just long enough to see if Miki lets him in. Miki calls out to go away. Hisao tries again and finally gets her to open the door and Miki is surprised to see him. He’s surprised as well, she seems to have none of her usual energetic qualities. Hisao asks if he can come up and she nods, before walking over to her bed and plopping down. Hisao notices her running clothes have been tossed in a pile in the corner of her room. He asks about them, suggesting they should be washed for her next run. Miki says it doesn’t matter. Hisao asks if she’s going to give up on running now. Miki is surprised by the bluntness of his question and looks torn. She doesn’t answer.   Choices: -Open up (Miki=2 GOOD) -Try to cheer Miki up (Miki<2 NEUTRAL)   -If GOOD: Hisao tells her that they should be able to support each other. Miki tries to say she doesn’t need the help, but Hisao interrupts her. He starts telling about his heart attack, about what caused it, his time in the hospital, how he pushed everyone around him away, even Iwanako, until he was alone. His parents would see him, as would the doctor and nurses, but that wasn’t the same. He mentions how he responded initially to the plan of transferring him into Yamaku, how much he disliked the idea, that even accepting to go there would be a tacit admission that he was weak and needed help. Throughout this, Miki has been quiet, but finally she speaks and says it was the same for her, it felt like she was written off and tucked away in this school. That changed once she got here, though. She saw that the other students were in many cases worse off than her, and that reminded her of what she was still capable of. Likewise, she didn’t have to worry about being pitied by her classmates. To Miki Yamaku was a place that didn’t look at what she was missing, but what had remained and she liked that. She switches the topic to the track meet and as tears begin to well up, she grins and mentions that Emi managed to show that even without her legs she is still the fastest runner around. Miki asks herself aloud what she’s been doing all this time at the school.  Hisao knows it’s a rhetorical question, but he can’t help himself. He tells Miki that she’s helped him reclaim some of his former life by helping him run. He adds that winning or losing a race doesn’t affect his perception of her and that since he owes her now, he’s not going to give up on her and that she shouldn’t either. Miki rubs her eyes and calls him an idiot, asking who ever said anything about giving up. She then quickly kisses his cheek and thanks him for coming to see her.   Miki shows up for Hisao’s morning run the following morning and seems to have refreshed considerably. She teases him a little, saying she’ll punish him if he hasn’t been keeping up on his running, since it’ll make her look bad if her first and only student is slacking off. For the first time since the track meet, his morning run seems to just fly by.   -if NEUTRAL:  Hisao decides running is probably a sore topic for Miki right now, and changes the subject. He does manage to cheer Miki up a little. Before he leaves, he makes Miki promise she'll run with him again the next morning.   The following morning Hisao is happy to be running with Miki again. She's quieter than normal, but Hisao decides she's in better shape than the day before. By the end of their run, Miki manages to smile again, hinting that she's back to pretending she's fine.   If BAD: Hisao tells Suzu that even if she’s known her for longer, he’s been around Miki long enough to believe that all she needs is time to work things out. Suzu shrugs and leaves the classroom. (IGNORANCE FLAG)   The following morning Hisao finally sees Miki again, when she’s waiting for Hisao at the track. She apologizes for her outburst after the track meet and that she wasn’t mad at him. Hisao understands and says he’s glad to see her back, which makes Miki smile a bit.  Training is like it was before, though Miki still seems a little subdued.     After class, Miki leaves to take Suzu back to her room, and Hisao tags along. He mentions to Miki that he’d like to join the track and field club, even if it means he can’t work out with them as much and just takes on a more supporting role, like he had with her sprinting. Miki is happy to hear this and takes him to the track and field club. She explains that the motto of the club is to act to the best of one’s ability, so it’s fine if he doesn’t run as much as others.   NVL:   One day after the t&f club meeting, Hisao returns to his dorm only to bump into Kenji. Kenji asks about his activities, since he’s noticed Hisao is away from his dorm more often. Hisao tells him he joined the Track & Field Club, which freaks Kenji out. Kenji warns him that it’s all a feminist conspiracy that aims to trick students into spending less time on studying, so that men get dumbed down as a result. Hisao brings up that the club is co-ed, but Kenji admonishes him, saying the girls are behind it, running the club like a cult with the captain as their puppet.   Hisao visits the nurse again for a check-up after one of his morning runs and the nurse is impressed by the progress he’s made. He’s glad that Miki’s having a good influence on him. Hisao agrees.     Two weeks pass and Mutou takes Hisao aside. He talks about the end of the year approaching and if Hisao has thought about his future. Hisao is hesitant about this, Mutou suggests a career in science.     One day after taking Suzu to the library, Miki suggests they skip out on going to the track. Since Hisao is more interested in her anyway, he goes along with it. They walk into town and visit the Shanghai. Since she doesn’t have any more upcoming events, she orders herself a big piece of cake. Hisao only orders black coffee. She asks how he’s liking being a member of the club, to which Hisao says he enjoys it. Hisao brings up his conversation with Mutou and says he hasn’t given his future much thought yet.     He asks what Miki wants to do after Yamaku. She admits she hadn’t given it much thought either, since the furthest she plans ahead is when she starts training for a race. Hisao asks if she wants to be a professional athlete. Miki shrugs, dodging the question by joking about how the track meet showed what kind of future that would be. She then adds that for now, her goal is to just make it through Yamaku and when that’s done, she’ll figure out what she wants to do with her life next.   After some time, Mutou takes Hisao aside during one of their classes and warns him that he’s been slipping. Mutou thinks this is a shame since Hisao is smart enough to handle it without much difficulty. This gives Hisao some pause as he thinks back to what Kenji said. Worried that if he thinks Kenji is on to something, he decides he will stay on at the club and somehow manage to improve his academics as well.   During the track and field club meeting Hisao mentions it to Miki and she says he’s still lucky. Mutou had a talk with her as well, only it was far less optimistic, failing was  becoming a very real possibility for her. Hisao gives this some thought and proposes that maybe they should work together for a while. It would allow him to make sure he stays on top of things where Mutou is concerned, while also having the opportunity of tutoring Miki so she’ll pass as well. Miki scoffs at the idea at first, saying she doesn’t care that much about stuff like math to begin with, but Hisao is insistent as he owes her for all the help she’s been giving him with running. Helping her with math would be a decent way to repay the favor in kind. Miki has no counter to this and gives in.   The following evening, Hisao goes to Miki’s room for their tutoring session. Miki answers the door in her school outfit. Miki takes a seat on the bed while Hisao sits at her desk, trying to create some physical  distance between himself and the beauty before him. Eventually Miki stumbles on a math problem she can’t work out though, and Hisao takes a seat next to her on the bed to see which one it is and explain how to solve it. Since they’re both looking at the book on her lap, Hisao has to lean in and catches her scent. Miki seems aware of his attempts to control himself, and looks to be in a similar position.   Choices: -Control yourself (GOOD – Autoselected if good choices made up until now) -Give in to temptation (BAD END – Autoselected if IGNORANCE FLAG)     If BAD: Hisao makes a move and kisses Miki. She initially returns the kiss, but pushes him away after a few seconds, standing up, letting the math book fall to the floor. She looks furious and asks Hisao if this was how he’d planned it. Hisao asks what she’s talking about, not understanding her anger. Miki says that his ‘noble’ intention of helping her with her studies was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt at trying to get lucky with her. Hisao denies this, but Miki won’t hear it. She orders him to leave his room, and continues to yell at him, venting her feelings of betrayal, that she feels manipulated by him. Once Hisao steps outside, she slams the door shut.   The next day, Hisao does his morning run alone. Miki ignores him in class as well as during the track and field club meetings after class. Hisao ends up resigning from the club and dedicates himself to his studies and skips out on his runs more and more often. Hisao realizes that without Miki in his life, he’s back to the same place he was at when he first entered Yamaku.  BAD END   If GOOD: Hisao manages to keep his cool and explains the problem. They handle a few more like that and before long, Miki has the hang of it and is capable of solving them on her own. Still tense, Hisao is glad to see her have made progress and ends their first session. Miki expresses her gratitude towards Hisao for helping her out like this, slyly adding that she’s impressed with how well behaved he is, for a guy invited over to a girl’s bedroom.   The next day after his morning run, Miki thanks him again for helping her out. Hisao is only happy to help and suggests that maybe he can help her during lunch breaks too, though it would mean having lunch together more often. Miki gives it some thought, at first complaining that her lunch break is supposed to be time she shouldn’t have to spend on boring things like math. She gives him  a coy smile, however, and adds that he’ll just have to make sure it won’t be boring.   In class, Mutou has everyone (except for Hanako) do group exercises. Hisao wants to join Miki and Suzu, but Shizune and Misha act quickly and make sure he’s paired with them. They ask him why he was at the girl’s dorm last night. Hisao lets slip that he went to Miki’s room to tutor him, which only makes the StuCo more curious. Misha interprets for Shizune that Hisao should think more carefully before doing things like this, since it’s likely to start rumors. Misha then adds on her own behalf that he’s quite lucky to have been invited over by Miki and asks how intimate they got. Hisao turns red as he tries to explain that nothing happened, but Misha’s laughter drowns him out. Mutou tells Misha to pay attention to the assignment and leave gossip out of his class, thus saving Hisao from the StuCo’s curiosity, but not before Shizune casually hands him a letter. Hisao notices it’s from Iwanako, but since he doesn’t have time to read the letter, he puts it in his bag for the moment, though the sudden communication does shake him a bit.   Before long it’s time for lunch and Miki and Hisao head for the cafeteria. They sit down opposite each other and after eating their average quality food, both take out their math textbooks. Hisao tries to explain the subject matter,  but Iwanako’s letter is still on his mind, so he’s not really into it. Miki starts to get bored and rests her head on her hand, staring at Hisao. He notices and tries to keep his gaze focused on the book, which Miki takes as a challenge. Suddenly Hisao feels something warm and soft brushing against his thigh. Miki is giving him a bemused look and as the object brushes further and further up his thigh, Hisao peeks under the table to see if it’s what he thinks it is. His suspicions are confirmed when he sees Miki’s foot between his legs. Shocked, he looks at Miki and she grins, reminding him that he’s supposed to make sure she doesn’t get bored. Hisao starts to freak out, worried people might see them, but Miki assures him that as long as he doesn’t attract attention, nobody will notice since the place is pretty busy at this time. Hisao at first starts to move his hands under the table to push her foot away, but Miki objects, jokingly threatening to let her foot ‘slip’ if his hands don’t stay on  the table. She then tells him to continue tutoring her. Hisao takes a deep breath, not seeing any better alternative than to give in and play along and picks up where he left off. However, with each sentence he speaks, her foot rubs against his leg more and more, sliding closer to him whenever Miki finds herself understanding how to solve the  problem. For Hisao time seems to just fly by and with her foot as close to his member as it can get without touching, he’s even become eager to get her to understand. Unfortunately for him, the bell rings. Miki sighs dramatically, complaining that he was so close, too. Hisao closes his book, quite certain that his face is on fire. With a  grin, Miki asks if he’s ready to come back to class with her, or if he needs a minute. Embarassed, Hisao tells her to go on ahead.   After class Miki and Hisao arrive at the track meet, where plans are made for the upcoming spring break. Several of the members will stay at Yamaku, Miki and Hisao included, so together they decide to go out to the city during their break to have fun.   After this, Hisao finally returns to his dorm and takes the letter out of his bag. He looks at it for a while, wondering what Iwanako might have to say, since he'd effectively driven her away during his hospital stay. He reads the letter and feels saddened by its confirmation of his school life before Yamaku really being over. He wonders if he should write her a reply, even though Iwanako's writing seems to suggest she neither expects nor wants him to. For the moment, he puts the letter aside and gets started on his homework instead.   Spring break has begun and it’s the day of the trip to the city. The group consists of about 9-10 people including Hisao and Miki. Once they get out of the bus, they gather round and agree to meet up for dinner at a specific restaurant at 6, in case anyone gets separated. For a while Miki and Hisao are content following the others around and taking in the sights, especially since this is Hisao’s first time in the city. Miki eventually pulls him away into a side street and the two continue onwards together, with Miki promising to show him all the good places. At an overpass the two stop for ice  cream and rest on a bench for a bit.  Hisao is nervous, since he wants to confess to her. Miki notices and teases him a little, asking if there’s anything he wants to tell her, since so far whenever they’re away from Yamaku together he has. When Hisao blushes instead of laughing at the joke, she hurriedly changes the subject.   The two spend some more time walking through town and end up visiting a video arcade, where Miki completely dominates when the two play a fighting game. Hisao asks about it, awkwardly pointing out her handicap. Miki explains she used to play these types of games with her brothers a lot, and that you don’t really need a hand to move the stick around. Miki rubs her left arm absentmindedly and their attention rests on her arm for a while, and Miki speaks up again. She says that ever since she transferred into Yamaku, she’s been around people with far worse disabilities on a daily basis, Hisao included. She feels that she can’t complain about missing just a hand, since it would seem selfish to do so when there’s people missing entire limbs, or when people have their lives changed, or even shortened, drastically by their condition. This reminds Hisao of his own arrhythmia and the medication he has to take. Miki then says that even in the face of so many people worse off than her, losing her hand is still a big deal to her. Hisao tries to comfort her by saying he feels that way too sometimes, since his condition doesn’t take away any of his senses or limbs, adding he’d probably not even be able to get dressed singlehandedly. Miki can’t help but grin and playfully asks if he wants her to show him how it’s done.  Before long it’s time to head for the restaurant, however.  The two sit opposite each other and the company of the other TF members keeps Hisao from revisiting the subject. He worries he may have lost his chance. This feeling only intensifies after dinner, since some of the other students are  getting tired and it’s decided that they’ll return to Yamaku. Miki, too, looks a little disappointed.   When they arrive back at the school night has fallen and through a mutual effort of walking as slowly as possible, Miki and Hisao are the last two of the group still outside. Miki turns to him as if to say good night, but in an impulsive moment Hisao takes her by the hand and leads her out to the grassy field where the two had watched the fireworks during the festival. He sits down on the ground, shivering a little because of the cold ground and the cool air, but to his surprise Miki sits down with him almost immediately. She asks why he took her here and Hisao talks about the fireworks they watched. He looks up at the sky, with Miki following her lead, but all they see are stars. The two are quiet for a moment, when Hisao confesses that it was that moment that he’d started to fall for her. He goes on to say that since coming to Yamaku, it’s been her doing that he managed to enjoy  other things than books again. If it hadn’t been for her, he doubts he would have been able to keep running day after day. After that, he took every opportunity to spend time with her and that even tutoring her was in that regard purely selfish act, since it meant he got to be around her, though he soon came to enjoy teaching for its own sake as well. Up until now Miki has been quiet, letting him speak his mind, as a smile curled her lips. She disagrees,  saying all his progress was made by him, she only kept him company. She makes a confession of her own, saying she probably latched on to him so quickly when they first started running, because he was in a similar situation to hers, as opposed to most of the students at Yamaku who’ve already adjusted completely to their disability, either because they were born with it, or because they were young when they became disabled. Under the starry sky their eyes meet. She leans in  to him a little more as if to kiss him, only to playfully push him down on his back. Hisao is surprised and Miki is quick to point out that she’s dropped  hints for some time now and that he took this long to act on them. She grins as Hisao pulls her down towards him and the two kiss until the world around them seems to fade out of existence.   Act 4:   The following Sunday Hisao wakes up feeling pretty good. Even though it’s a Sunday Hisao is getting dressed for his run, in hopes of seeing Miki at the track, when he hears a knock on his door. He’s surprised to see it’s Miki, who apparently had the same idea as him and came to pick him up. His eyes glance over at the collection of pills he has to take, and Hisao quickly grabs his running shoes and steps out into the hallway to put them on. Miki teases him about this, asking if he’s got anything embarrassing in there that he doesn’t want her to see, but Hisao dodges the question. Together they head out to the track.   The run proves to be yet another advancement for Hisao, as he manages to run further than before. Hisao isn’t sure if this is because his stamina improved or Miki is that good a motivator.  He walks another lap to cool down while Miki starts her own routine, which Hisao ends up watching. When she’s finished, the two head back to the dorms together and Hisao asks if she’d like to have a drink in town later. Miki says she still has quite a bit of homework, in order to prepare for the upcoming exams.   Choices: -Propose an impromptu tutor session (GOOD END) -Convince Miki to go for drinks (NEUTRAL END)   If GOOD, Hisao proposes that they have a drink on the rooftop instead then, and if she has any questions he can help her out while they’re there. This suits Miki a lot better.   Later, in the afternoon, Hisao heads up to the rooftop with drinks. He finds a nice spot in the shade and only has to wait a little while for Miki to arrive, who looks annoyed. She loudly complains about how unreasonably difficult her math has gotten and that she barely gets any of it. She tosses the book in Hisao’s lap and sits down next to him, massaging her arm again. He hands her a drink and starts looking through the problems she’s referring to, working out how to best explain them to her.