[A/N]: Hello fellow readers and authors. This is my first Katawa Shoujo Fan Fic, so bear with me.

This is just a little idea I had when replaying Hanako's route. The ending to the route was very satisfying but I realized, really, that was just the beginning. Assuming Hanako and Lilly's routes follow the same general continuity, there are still many things that have yet to play out. This is my interpretation of those events. If you've played Lilly's route, then you can probably guess what's going to happen, albeit with an alternate timeline.

Line breaks indicate that passing of time thing, not where it shows the heart, but when the screen fades to black then the next image while a ticking of a clock sounds. You know what I am talking about.

DISCLAIMER (really it's useless, but…): Katawa Shoujo and everything associated with it © Four Leaf Studios. I own none of it.

I hope you enjoy!

X

"Argh."

I groan as I shift in my bed; the prospect of going to school today does not sound good. The lingering feeling of soft warmth on my lips reminds me of why I feel utterly exhausted. The reason for my exhaustion, however, is something I cannot complain about. In fact, it was one of the best things that has happened to me yet.

Our confrontation at the park yesterday was very emotionally taxing, but well worth it. Hanako and I, in shared grief and happiness, finally began to break the walls between us. We don't fully understand each other, but this is just the beginning. We are still learning about each other and ourselves, and still overcoming the obstacles in our lives. But this is what love is, right?

I groggily open my eyes and the light bleeding through the shades of my room reminds me of the day that I have ahead of me. Having briefly reflected about Hanako's and my relationship, school no longer seems like such a bad idea. The thought of seeing her is enough to energize me a little.

Rubbing my eyes of sleep, I begin my daily routine of getting ready for school.

I breathe a sigh of relief that I did not encounter Kenji as I step out of the boy's dorm. I'm just not in the mood to listen to his ramblings right now.

As I step inside the classroom building, I catch sight of Hanako a little bit ahead of me and my heart skips a beat. Figuratively of course, since my heart skipping a beat is a real danger for me. Just looking at her is enough for me to smile. I call out to her.

"Hey, Hanako!"

Hanako stops and turns to me. A dainty smile appears on her face. "Good morning, Hisao." We continue on our way to class when I catch up with her on her left. "How did you sleep?" she asks.

"I slept like a rock. Yesterday's events were pretty tiring all things considered."

"T-they were."

"How about you?"

"Like a rock," Hanako echoes me. I'm taken by surprise when something lightly grabs me hand but as I look down at it, I find Hanako has taken mine in hers. She gives me such a warm smile that I can't help but return the gesture and I interlock my fingers with hers. It… I'm not used to this kind of casual, intimate contact; however it would be a lie if I said it didn't feel nice. "We have a holiday coming up this weekend." Oh right, we do have a holiday. I had completely forgotten about that. "D-do you have any plans?"

"Actually, you just reminded me we have a holiday to be honest." I pause to think for a moment. I never made any plans this weekend to begin with and now another free day just opened up. "I have no plans to speak of. Why do you ask?"

"I was… just wondering." Something tells me there's more than that, but I let it slide. A brief silence befalls us before Hanako speaks up again. "I hope Lilly returns before the weekend."

"Yeah. Although I'm sure she'll want to return right as the weekend starts and miss the boring old school days, right?" Hanako giggles at my joke.

We reach the classroom and enter together, still holding hands. Just after we do so, I am hit with a sense of déjà vu as I realize this may have been a repeat, albeit on better terms, of yesterday's mistake. Not only does Shizune raise her eyebrow and give us a smirk, but everyone else in the class also has their eyes fixed on both of us. Misha is some how containing herself, but just barely. My gaze meets Miki's, who is smiling from ear to ear and giving us a thumbs up with her right hand.

Hanako grips my hand tightly and freezes, ruing the attention she is receiving. Still, she moves forward after a few seconds and she relaxes her grip on my hand a bit. We reach the center aisle and look to each other. "S-see you," Hanako says.

"Okay." We give each other a wave as we part and sit at our desks. I take one last glance back towards Hanako and she gives me a warm smile, which I return in kind. Considering how much current events are playing out like yesterday's, Mutou will probably be walking in, in 3…

2…

1…

… And some one taps me on the shoulder. Aw crap, that's Shizune isn't it? I slowly turn my head, expecting the worst, and am greeted with my expectation.

"Hi Shizune," I say, trying to be casual. She has a good poker face right now.

"So~" Misha's sing song voice and Shizune's signing makes me tense up a bit. Please don't ask what I think you're about to. "What happened between you and Hanako~?" I let out a disappointed groan. "Just yesterday you two wouldn't look at each other and now you're holding hands."

I give a dramatic sigh. "Listen," I quietly say to appease them, "Hanako and I just had a little, er, conflict two days ago which explains yesterday and we later made up, which explains today. Okay?"

"Made up?" Molly, the girl in front of me, whispers as she turns to us. "I was there, and it was more like made out." I can feel the blood rush to my cheeks. She gives us a wink and playful smile before turning forward again. Dang it Molly!

"Ooh, Hicchan~!" Shizune has not signed anything so I can only assume this is just Misha talking.

"Can we speak later?" I ask a bit sheepishly. "Please?"

Shizune begins to sign again. "But Shicchan… okay. Shicchan says that you're off the hook for now, but she demands you hang out with us later."

"Alright, fine."

As if to punctuate the end of our conversation, Mutou walks into the classroom and immediately begins his lecture.

The bell rings and before I can even start to pack up my things, I am flanked by Shizune and Misha. "Right now?"

"Right now!"

I give a sigh as I prepare to be led off by the Student Council. As soon as I stand, we're headed for the door. Hanako gives me a worried look. The most I can do is give her a weary smile and a shrug before I'm out of the classroom.

We're about ten steps on our journey when the first question comes my way. "Did you really make out with Hanako?"

Since when did these two become so interested in my social life? Anyways, remembering the events of yesterday, Molly was there to see Hanako and I kiss so there's no denying it. "Yeah, I did, but please don't go around telling people."

"Don't worry, Hicchan. We're very trustworthy."

Thinking of Molly, why was she at town during that time anyways? Oh well, I'll have to ask her some other time.

"So~!" Misha translates for Shizune. "You and Hanako are a couple now I take it?"

I nod. "Yes."

"I see." With that, Shizune stops signing and silence follows.

"Where are we going?" I ask after a moment.

"The Student Council Room!" Misha replies with much enthusiasm.

"So is that the new interrogation room?" I joke.

Shizune, with a completely serious face, nods. That… scares me a little. She signs something to Misha.

Something that scares me more is the way Misha speaks. "Some times, information must be… extracted… from certain people." Unlike her usually bubbly and loud way of speaking, her voice is solemn.

I and look back and forth between them, expecting at least Misha to smile to betray that this is a joke. However, both are looking forward and their faces are impassive.

There's no way they're serious… right? "Um… guys?" I say nervously.

"Wahahaha~!" Misha bursts into her trademark laughter and a smile spreads on Shizune's face. I let out a breath of relief. "You should've seen the look on your face Hisao! We got you good!"

I sigh: amusement at my expense. I don't mind it, but considering with whom I am dealing with, I don't want to take it lying down. "You know, considering I have been subject to both of your subversive actions in the past, I wouldn't put it beyond you two to resort to other such unscrupulous tactics."

"Some times one must dirty their hands for the greater good!" Misha, or rather Shizune retorts.

Greater good, huh? Thinking back on the two's thinly veiled attempts to rope me into the Student Council, I think I realize why they kept at it for a while.

I was so sullen and bitter about my life being flipped upside down because of my heart attack and then being sent to a school for the disabled that it was probably unavoidable that my expressions and mannerisms would reflect my feelings. Shizune and Misha must have seen my face and decided I needed some cheering up. And it worked too I suppose; they helped me take the first steps out of the hole I dug myself into.

I should thank them some time.

"So what kind of conflict did you and Hanako get into?" I can't tell who asked that question. "Or are we overstepping our boundaries?" Probably Shizune.

I'd rather not let it be known we had… gotten intimate with each other. "The latter."

"Okay! I suppose the story of your making out~! Is also in the same category?"

"All I'll say is that we both took big steps forward in our lives."

The three of us reach the room and Shizune closes the door behind us. I guess I'm not leaving until they let me go.

"Would you like to play a game of chess?" That was definitely Shizune who asked that.

"Sure." It's a welcome prospect of playing a person other than Hanako at chess. It's an interesting choice of a game though.

Shizune brings out the familiar looking black and white board and pieces and we begin to set up. I'm black, she's white. As Shizune makes the first move, she begins to sign.

"Have you played with Hanako?"

The question catches me off guard. "Uh, yeah. How did you know she plays?"

"We, Shicchan that is, had played a game a while back. Hanako was not bad at all and it was obvious she had played before, but just didn't have the mindset to beat me. You should ask Hanako for details."

"I see. I'm not so sure you can beat her now though. We've both pushed each other to improve our game and she's pretty serious about it now. She has the majority of the wins between us under her belt."

"This should be interesting then~!"

"Especially since I'm determined to win." I am rewarded with a dangerous competitive glint from Shizune's eye. Game on.

The beginning of the game starts out rather ordinarily, but I suddenly find myself on the back foot. Shizune's very aggressive moves catch me off guard and she develops more of her pieces much faster than me. As I attempt to recover, her queen suddenly tears a hole in my defenses. I scramble to stop the onslaught when I see a devious few moves that could turn the tide. I manage to force her queen back on the defensive and I press onwards with my counter attack. In a few more turns, we end up in a stalemate.

"Not bad, Hicchan. You managed to recover from your less than stellar start and beat me back. I won't take it easy on you next game."

I give her a competitive smile. "Good, now I won't have to hold back." Shizune's glint is intensified.

Having gotten a good gauge of each other's play style and skill, things are far more even. The pieces on the board dwindle until it comes down to a tense game where even a loss of a pawn is huge. Just as it looks like I am about to win, Shizune manages to force a stalemate.

Shizune vehemently signs something, and the same emotion is lost when Misha translates it in her bubbly voice. "Again~!"

The next game is pretty much a repeat of the last game but with different moves. Shizune is staring at the chessboard, utterly perplexed at how we had managed to stalemate three times. Her expression is rather comically cute.

"It cannot end like this!" Misha declares dramatically for Shizune. "We are going to play for the victory."

"Play what?"

"The oldest game known to man, upon which the fate of nations has been known to rest: Rock, Paper, Scissors."

What. "Er, okay." I give a shrug and we prepare settle this once and for all.

"Rock," Shizune starts. "Paper. Scissors!"

We reveal our weapon of choice at the same time; we're both rocks.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" We're both rocks again.

"Rock paper scissors!" Now we're both scissors.

Shizune's face is priceless at this point, having no clue as to how neither of us have managed to win at this point, and I barely manage to suppress my laughter. Misha on the other hand has already caught a fit of the giggles. "How about we call it even?"

Shizune frowns at my suggestion. Nevertheless, Misha's translation of her signing is, "Very well~! You are a worthy opponent."

"It was an honor." I take a look at the time and that reminds me the library is closing soon. I still have to return some books. "Hey, I have to go return some books to the library."

"Okay~!"

"I'll be seeing you guys later."

"Yep! And Shizune says thank you for hanging out with us."

"Hey, it was my pleasure." I help clear the chessboard and gather my things. "I kind of forgot how fun you guys could be to hang around." When I reach the door, I decide to jokingly add, "When you're not trying to coerce me into joining the Student Council." Misha sticks her tongue out at me and I just smile back. "See ya."

As gently as I can, I return my books lest I startle Yuuko in the case she's under the counter. Fortunately, there's no reaction.

I take a look around the library from where I stand for no particular reason. It seems like so long ago since I first stepped in here with Lilly. Ah, the nostalgia. Thinking of Lilly, I realize that I myself at least haven't been doing a very good job of keeping in touch with her. I should give her a call tonight.

I turn and begin to head out the door when I hear a familiar voice call my name. "Hisao!" Turning back around, I am greeted by the sight of Hanako, a book in her left hand, giving me a small wave with her right as she catches up to me.

"Hey, Hanako." I'm taken by less surprise this time when she takes hold of my arm in her own, and we head out of the library. "How's it going?"

"It's fine."

"I just had a thought about Lilly, and I realize I haven't really kept in touch with her very well." I only called her once, and that was only to ask for help from Hanako. She must be feeling a bit dejected.

Hanako's eyes widen in realization. "Y-you're right," she says regretfully. "I haven't called her as much as I had wanted. Exams…"

"Yeah," I agree, nodding. "Exams sure are a pain. But yeah, we should call her then."

"Okay."

"I need to get my cell phone from my room."

"Is it okay if I can come with you?"

"Sure. It's actually probably good that you do since you haven't even seen my room yet." Not that it's much different than Hanako's own rather bare room though. It's a good thing I keep it clean. Relatively.

"So, what… what did the Student Council want from you?" There's a hint of worry in her voice. I guess it did feel link I was a dangerous criminal being led off to his cell.

"They just wanted to hang out with me. They've been wanting to for a while."

"It's nice that you're on… good terms with them."

I nod. "Well, they do sit next to me and some one has to be the moderator between those two and Lilly, right?" I joke.

Hanako gives a small smile. "Y-yeah."

"I even played chess with Shizune. Three times in fact."

"Rreally?" Hanako looks at me, a curiosity in her eyes. "Who won?"

I can only shrug. "Neither of us I guess. We stalemated all three times."

Hanako, not really knowing what to say about the odd outcome, manages, "I-impressive?"

I let out a brief chuckle. "It gets better. She then decided to settle things with Rock-Paper-Scissors, but then we gave up when we tied at that three times."

"I guess you guys are very evenly matched then."

"So it would seem. That reminds me, I heard you and Shizune played chess before."

"Oh! Um… yes… before." Hanako stares ahead. For a few moments a silence envelops us, then Hanako speaks. "The… first game was close, but saw an opening and she won. The second game was speed chess and I was, uh, nothing short of demolished."

"Well now, I'm sure you've improved quite a bit by now. You can beat me most of the time, and since Shizune and I are evenly matched, you should be able to triumph over her."

"A rematch… . That would be nice." As I look at Hanako, for a brief moment, a competitive glint not unlike Shizune's own appears in her eye. "A-and next time, I'll be victorious."

We walk in a peaceful silence the rest of the way to the boy's dorms. I do hope nobody gets the wrong idea about us entering the dorms together. I hope even more we don't run into Kenji right now. He'll probably explode if he finds me bringing a girl, and my girlfriend at that, to my room.

Girlfriend…

That reminds me, Lilly doesn't know we've started a romantic relationship. "Hanako?"

"Yes?"

"Lilly doesn't know we've, er, had a relationship upgrade."

"Hmm…" Hanako ponders this. "No, but we shouldn't tell her. O-over the phone that is. She'll want to know all about it, but I don't want to leave you with a terribly large phone bill."

Oh right, international phone calls are money vacuums.

"We should tell her when she gets back," Hanako continues. "It'll be a surprise."

I give her a nod. "Okay then."

We pass Kenji's door with no contact from him and we enter my room. After Hanako enters, I shut the door. She takes a good look at my room, as if trying to take in every detail. I there's not much to see, since everything in here is completely utilitarian. In fact, it's even barer than Hanako's room considering she has two dolls and a chess set. It depresses me a little.

Bah, I shouldn't be thinking about things like that right now.

Hanako's eyes widen as they fall upon my collection of pills that I have to take every day. I had forgotten about those. "Those are…" Hanako begins.

I give Hanako a nod. "My pills. I have no idea what kind of chemistry goes on with everything inside them, but they keep me alive."

"I-I didn't know. It… it must be hard having to…"

"It's not so bad." I say, putting a hand on Hanako's shoulder to reassure her "I only have to take enough pills to last a normal person a life time daily," I joke. Hanako manages to smile weakly, but she still seems a bit put off.

I find my phone amongst my school stuff I did not need to take with me and sit on the bed. I motion for Hanako to join me. She takes a seat next to me and we hold hands, interlocking fingers. "Ready?"

"Yes."

I scroll down my list of contacts until I find Lilly's Scotland home number. I press call and put it on speaker. When the phone finally picks up, I easily recognize the voice on the other end.

"~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ Satou ~~~~~~?"

"Hello, Mrs. Satou. May… I, uh we… speak…"

Damn. I can't believe I've forgotten how the rest of it's supposed to go. It's disheartening failing to memorize such a small amount of words, even if I didn't spend too much time memorizing them.

"May we speak with Lilly, please?" Hanako saves the day. She gives me a smile, which I return in kind. Well, I guess both of the girls are better at English than me. At least I'm still better at it than Emi…

"Oh! What a surprise! Hello Hanako, Hisao. Hisao, are you teaching yourself English?"

"A little. I'm not good at languages in general."

"Oh don't say that! Your pronunciation was good! And Hanako, you've improved! I'll get Lilly for you two, just wait a moment." The other side of the line goes silent.

"Hey, Hanako, I didn't know you were so good at English," I compliment.

"I-it's not that good," she replies modestly.

Eventually, a much more awake sounding Lilly than last time answers, the time over there being past noon by now.

"Hisao, Hanako, are you both there?"

"Hi Lilly!" Hanako greets excitedly.

"Hey! We're here," I say.

"Good afternoon you two. Sorry for taking so long. I was outside in the garden."

"Gardening?"

Hanako shakes her head. "She just likes to smell the flowers."

"Yes, unfortunately I've found that I am no good at it. I think my fingers appreciate it more. I take it you're both doing well?"

Hanako and I look at each other. Lilly could only guess how well. "Yeah, very well."

"Thank you, Lilly," Hanako says, "for helping us."

"Oh?"

Lilly is probably trying to make sure she knows what Hanako is talking about, lest she accidentally reveal our conversation about her. Hanako and I had chatted for a good amount of time after our confession, and one of the things that came up was that conversation.

"She knows we talked," I say.

"Oh! Hanako I'm sorry that—"

Hanako cuts her off, "You only meant the best for us."

"I… I don't think I was really that much help. The main thing is that you're both better though."

"True. So how's life over there? It sounds like you're living in nothing short of mansion."

"I wouldn't call it a mansion…"

But it is rather large, is obviously what she wants to say, though modesty stops her. I can say I'm a bit jealous, but it is Lilly's holiday after all.

"It's a nice house to stay in though. There's a beach near here too, which Akira is especially fond of."

"She's a swimmer, right?" Hanako asks.

"Yes. She likes to drag me out there to have swimming competitions. Which she wins. Every time."

Lilly never struck me as very athletic, so it seems logical she wouldn't be adept at swimming. The fastest I've seen her move is her understandably relaxed pace during our walks to and from the suburbs down the hill from school. It's hard to imagine her swimming.

"The beaches must… be nice there." I almost said look. "They'd probably be a lot less crowded than the ones around here.

"Indeed. Akira says the area around here looks beautiful, being so far removed from the city. That said, the local accent sometimes makes communication a bit hard. It's a constant reminder that this isn't home."

I guess it makes sense that she doesn't consider her parents' residence to be her home. It does make me realize, though, that I can also say the same thing for me. I have spent a lot of time in this small room and have made friends who are very dear to me, so I had come to accept the dormitory as my new home rather quickly.

"It must be hard… being away from home," Hanako says rather solemnly.

"It's not at all bad though," Lilly replies reassuringly. I can just imagine her waving her hand dismissively if she were here in person. "It's nice to see my relatives again."

"That's good."

"So how's you're English holding up?" I ask.

"Thankfully, it's going quite well. I may be fluent, but being in a position where I have to use it often helps in curbing my Japanese accent, so it's been useful practice. I hear, Hisao, that you are teaching yourself English?"

"More like memorizing a few lines. Or rather, failing at memorizing a few lines. I'm really not cut out for learning languages." My admission of defeat draws an amused giggle.

"I believe there are some things one chooses to do in life, and others that are chosen for one to do in life. You can at least take solace knowing you are better than me at science and math, at least."

"He's Mutou's star student," Hanako informs her. "Even Shizune can't compare."

"I don't think I'm that good. And besides, that's about all math and science helped me to be."

"I wouldn't worry about that. They're useful for many jobs, right?"

"Almost all jobs require at least some knowledge of math," Hanako adds.

"That's exactly what he tells me. Perhaps I will go into a career involving either."

"Saying that Mutou would be happy," Hanako replies, "if you tell him about that, would… be an understatement."

This conversation… . It reminds me of our simple small talk that we've all been missing since she left. With out her, it feels as if there's a great piece of our lives missing.

"We miss you." Coincidentally, both Hanako and I say that at the same time, causing us to glance at each other. I guess we both feel the same way.

"I miss you both too. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Lilly."

"Goodbye, Lilly," Hanako echoes.

Once again the phone is hung up; simply and without further ado. I flip my phone closed.

"It was nice," Hanako speaks again, "talking to Lilly again."

"Indeed. I just can't wait to talk to her in person again."

"Yeah."

I take the brief moment of silence that follows to put my phone onto my desk. When I turn back to Hanako, her eyes are still on the desk. I follow her gaze back to the letter from Iwanako and the yet-to-be-started letter back. Forgot about that too.

"I hate to admit it, but I haven't even started on the letter back to Iwanako."

Hanako is snapped out of her staring and looks back at me. "Can't think of anything to write?"

"Well, not at first. Now that I think about it, however, I know exactly what to write."

"I… I think I should leave you to it then."

I open my mouth to protest but stop myself. It's probably for the best, so I don't forget and since I have a good window of free time to do it. "Okay. Thank you. Good night, Hanako."

"Good night." As she exits my room, she gives me one last smile before closing my door.

I take a deep breath before plopping myself in the chair to my desk. I rummage through some supplies until I find a black pen and begin writing.

Dear Iwanako…

X

[A/N]: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Continuity.

Now, since I'm always paranoid about my works' quality…

How was my writing? I have a good grasp on the characters of Katawa Shoujo, but writing for them is something else. I'm not sure how good I am at emulating the characters. Dialogue is interesting because in text there are no cues as to who is speaking unless pointed out. Should I make the format of the story more like that of the visual novel (kind of like a script) or keep it as prose would be (which it is right now)? Any feedback on my writing and any style suggestions are very appreciated.

Suggestions for ideas for later events are welcome too, since I'm kind of writing this on impulse. And please correct me if any inconsistencies arise, or if anything doesn't make sense.

Also, sorry in advance for not updating in a timely fashion. Between writing for (soon to be) two original stories on Fiction Press (shameless plug), video games, summer homework (bleh), sports, laziness (procrastination makes perfect), etc. I probably won't have much time to work on this. But you never know. I'm in a KS phase right now.