Author's Note: Hi. I just played this game for the first time recently and was pretty taken aback by how emotional it is. All the routes really got into my head but surprisingly, the ending that haunts me the most is Hanako's bad one, which I saw on YouTube after I was finished with her storyline. I was also intrigued by the realization that, even though it's a hard hitting scene, it's also ambiguous about what happened next. I started to wonder - what would happen to Hisao after such a devastating rejection? Was there any hope they might get past this? One thing led to another and here we are. I hope you all enjoy this story.

"I hate Lilly…and I hate you more than anyone!"

Hisao finally arrived back at his room, after a walk that took twice as long as the typical return trip from the girls dormitories. He didn't really notice the difference after spending the entire trip in a trance as Hanako's furious yells repeated in his head. How could he have messed everything up so badly? There had been warning signs and the hindsight was driving him nuts.

He thought he knew what it was like to have a broken heart following the discovery of his arrhythmia and his transfer to Yamaku. He had no idea.

Once he got inside and shut the door, he cracked. Letting out an anguished yell, he swept everything off his desk, including his medicine canisters. None of them opened upon hitting the floor, which was good because he probably wouldn't be able to sort them all back into their proper cases. With the desk cleared, he brought down both fists as hard as he could.

"God damn it! I just wanted to help you! I just…"

Hisao's tirade was cut short by an onset of loud sobs. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried so hard. He had suppressed the urge plenty of times over the last several months, but this time it forced its way out almost like vomit. When it finally seemed to recede, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Was it a good idea to call Lilly in the state he was in? Probably not. Then again, it was sometime in the late morning in Scotland now, if he remembered the time difference correctly. Waiting until morning would mean calling in the dead of night. She was going through enough dealing with her sick aunt without him interrupting her sleep. He was nervous about calling, but Lilly had to know what was in store for her when she returned to Japan.

After another awkward exchange with her mother, Lilly picked up the phone.

"Hello, Hisao. It's nice to hear from you."

"Hi," Hisao said, his voice trembling. "How are you all holding up?"

"We're doing fine," she said. "But what about you? You sound terrible."

He should have known she would pick up on his feelings immediately, even from thousands of miles away. He wanted to reassure her, but couldn't find the words. "Something happened with Hanako, didn't it?"

At the mention of her name, Hisao began to cry again, not as uncontrollably as a few minutes earlier but still impossible to hide.

"What's wrong?!" Lilly asked. He could imagine her family members noticing her worry and making this whole situation even more awkward for her. He detested himself right now.

"I ruined everything," he said through tears. "I tried to take your advice but it was too late. She hates me."

"Oh Hisao, she doesn't hate you."

"She said she did! And it was pretty convincing. She said I make her feel broken and the worst part is that she's right. I just wanted to protect her. The world's so cruel and she's already been through so much…but she didn't want that and I was too stupid to figure it out on my own! It's all my fault!" He had to stop and focus his efforts on fighting more sobs.

"I'll be back in a few days," Lilly said gently. "We'll sort this all out, I promise."

"Lilly…you should know that…that she sounded angry with you too. I guess she feels like we've both been treating her like a little kid." He stopped short of revealing that Hanako had claimed to hate her too. Hisao couldn't bear to hurt her that way.

Lilly sighed. "I had a feeling. Oh, I wish I had seen this coming sooner. I wish we both had. But she and I have had ups and downs before, so don't concern yourself."

"I…I don't know what to do, but thank you. You've been such a dear friend to me."

"Hang in there, okay? If you need to talk, you can call anytime but I'll be home soon."

"Okay. Goodbye." She returned the farewell and he hung up. He didn't deserve to have such a sweet, kind person in his life. Lilly would be better off without him. Everyone would.

"Hang in there." That didn't sound like a bad idea, except that the ceiling was probably too low. He would have to come up with something else. With his condition, it probably wouldn't be very hard. Laying back on the bed, he had the sensation of sinking into a dark hole. Everything good seemed to drown in creeping darkness. Maybe it really was time to put all this suffering to an end, but not yet. There were a few conversations he wanted to have first.

It took every ounce of determination he had to drag himself out of bed the next morning. He thought about cleaning up the mess next to his desk but concluded that there was no point. As he stepped outside, his next door neighbor Kenji was waiting for him.

"Good morning," Hisao said weakly.

"You sure about that?" Kenji asked. "I heard some…uh, yelling from your room last night. Is everything okay?"

Hisao had been too far gone to consider that possibility before shrieking and trashing his desk. "Just.…down in the dumps."

"Girl trouble? You don't have to answer, I know that's it. This is what they do, man. Reel you in close and then stab you in the back. Then you're so hurt that you don't even notice when they come to take all your rights away."

Normally Hisao had no patience for Kenji's conspiracy theories but he was feeling charitable today. "You're right. I went too deep undercover and fell for my mark. Then she sliced my heart up like a teppanyaki chef."

"I've been there, man. If you need to talk, let me know."

"Thanks," Hisao said. He gave Kenji a friendly pat on the shoulder and left for class. Paying attention to the lecture (something he wasn't always inclined to do) helped create a welcome distraction. It was still impossible not to think of Hanako when her empty seat came into view, but it was the first time he was actually grateful for her poor attendance. Having to face her after the previous day, and having to pretend in front of the class that everything was just fine, would have been unbearable.

At lunch, he made a beeline for Shizune and Misha's table. They would likely disappear for their student council activities this afternoon so now would be the best time to see them. Misha greeted him warmly but Shizune had that familiar analytical look of hers. He was used to that but today it felt especially penetrating.

After some small talk, Misha finally asked the question he was dreading. "How is Hanako doing today? Is she feeling well?"

"Well, actually…." his voice trailed off.

Shizune signed something to Misha while never taking her eyes off him. "Shicchan wants to know what happened…and I do too!"

"Hanako dumped me."

"WHAT?!" Misha slapped the table with her hand before realizing she hadn't yet translated for Shizune. After a moment of shock, she adjusted her glasses and put on a stern face.

"[What are you just sitting around here for? If you love her, fight for her!]"

"I appreciate the sentiment," Hisao said. "But it won't work in this case. The whole reason this happened was because I was…too attentive. Smothering, even."

"[You know her better than I do, but I would be surprised if she didn't come to her senses. After all, without you the only person she ever talks to is Satou.]"

Enough with the flattery already, he wanted to sarcastically remark. Unfortunately, sarcasm often got lost in translation while speaking with Shizune and he didn't come here to pick a fight. Not today.

"I just wanted to thank you both," he said, realizing it must have come off as very abrupt. "You two were my first friends here and meeting you made me feel like I might be okay at Yamaku. I'm really grateful for that."

Misha theatrically put both hands over her heart. "Aww, thank you Hicchan!"

Shizune wasn't signing anything and continued to study Hisao. He was afraid she was going to call him out (sign him out?) any second until the bell mercifully rang and it was time to get back to class. The three of them did more group work but the topic didn't come up again. Hisao figured if Shizune had suspected his motives, she wouldn't stay quiet. Maybe she just wasn't used to being thanked? It certainly seemed like all of her hard work on the student council went unappreciated by most of the school.

On his way out of the classroom, Mutou stopped him and handed him worksheets to give to Hanako. Hisao had seen this coming and wondered how anyone got Hanako's missed work to her before they became friends. It wouldn't be easy to stand outside her door again, knowing that she was inside hating him, but he would do it…just not yet. He had another stop he wanted to make. Wandering outside of the school, he was thankful for the sunny day as he made his way to the track. A few people were running and sure enough, one of them was Emi. Upon getting closer, he saw Rin laying on the grass with her eyes closed. Was she actually asleep? It could be hard to tell with her.

Emi noticed him and slowed down to a jog before making her way onto the grass. "Rin, look who's here!"

Rin sat up slowly, looking a bit like a vampire getting out of a coffin. She turned her head towards Hisao. "Hello."

"So you finally decided to get back in shape, eh?" Emi teased. "Took you long enough, but better late than never!"

"Nah, I just wanted to see you guys. I've missed hanging out."

"You missed us?" Emi replied. "You big dummy, all you ever had to do was come here in the morning or find us on the roof during lunch. But I guess you've been busy."

"Busy with Mystery Toilet Girl," Rin added. Hisao had heard her use this nickname for Hanako once before, in reference to some incident he had never gotten more details on. He had found it distasteful but now there was a mischievous sort of comfort in it.

"Yeah," he said. "Except this time she decided to take a dump on me instead of in the toilet."

Emi laughed. "Eww!"

"You must have needed a long shower," Rin said, completely serious.

"I have a few more laps to do," Emi said. "But if you ever want to spend time together, don't be afraid to ask. Maybe we can take a walk down to the Shanghai."

"Thanks," Hisao said. "Before you go, I just want to let you know how much I admire you. Both of you. The way you two pursue your passions regardless of what obstacles you face is really amazing."

Emi blushed. "I…I don't know what to say."

"Why are you talking like you're gonna die?" Rin asked. Hisao's blood ran cold.

"He's had a bad breakup," Emi said. "He needs to cling to his friends a little bit. That's what happens."

She had really bailed him out. Thankfully, Rin's mind already seemed to be elsewhere. There was one more destination on the agenda before retiring to his room for the night. He knew this would be hard, but it was even harder than he had feared. Walking towards the girls dormitories felt like descending back into Hell. He had kept himself busy today and hadn't thought too much about what happened the last time he was here. The hurt and shame were coming back in full force as he made his way to Hanako's room. Thankfully, it would all be over soon.

He stood outside her door for several moments before working up the nerve to speak. "Hanako, I…I brought you some worksheets from class. I'll just leave them by the door and you can pick them up whenever you want. Also…I won't be in class tomorrow, so if you go, you won't have to worry about seeing me. No sense in both of us falling behind. Okay…bye."

There was no response. Hisao knew there would be no response and was actually a little grateful. He began to slowly walk back down the hall but then stopped. This couldn't be it. This couldn't be the last exchange between them. He ripped a page out of his notebook.

I'm so sorry, Hanako. You're not broken and I hate myself for making you feel that way. You may hate me, but I love you. Goodbye.

Tears fell from his face and stained the page. That was a nice little dramatic flourish, he thought. He couldn't believe he was crying again. She had turned him into such a wimp.

Hisao went to bed early and slept late in the morning. He had made up his mind on how to proceed but he had to wait until after classes had started in order to pull it off. He felt almost like a secret agent as he snuck around the grounds and made his way back to the track. Just as he planned, there was nobody else there.

As he stepped out onto the asphalt, Hisao took a few moments to reflect. Despite how awful he was feeling, yesterday had been nice. Telling everyone what they meant to him was an experience he was thankful for. Better to end things now on such a good note than stick around and inevitably spiral further into depression. They would all get sick of him eventually. He would depend on them too much and they would reject him, just like Hanako. He didn't care to feel that pain again. The pain to come would be downright pleasant compared to that.

After taking a deep breath, he began to sprint down the track. It had been a long time since he let himself move like this. The sudden rush of the wind against his face made him smile. This wasn't a bad way to go at all. Right on cue, his heart began to object. Pushing through the pain, he kept running, trying to keep track of how many laps he had done.

Hisao stumbled onto his hands and knees. It was coming and there was no going back now. Still, he knew this wouldn't be enough to get the job done. Fighting hard against the searing pain in his chest, he stood back up and continued to run. The world began to blur but he kept going, hoping to complete at least one more lap.

He couldn't. Hisao's legs completely gave way and he fell flat on his face. He could barely even move now. This was it. He could tell this was a bad one, hopefully enough to seal the deal. Then he heard a familiar voice cry out.

"Hisao!"

Oh no, he thought as he drifted off. Nobody was supposed to see this.