“Hey, Rin. Are you in there?” I knocked on the door a couple of times, knowing how hard it could be for her to actually get out sometimes. Rin was many things, some good and some not as good, but what she definitely wasn’t was a morning person.

After another minute of nothing, I gave up and opened the door to her room. Rin was lying on the floor facedown, as if she were sleeping there. And for all I knew, she really could have slept there the entire night. “Wakey-wakey.” I said again, trying my best to sound tough and strict. “Come on, Rin. Get up already.”

Rin looked up from her awkward position at me. At least I think so. Rin always had that habit of not really looking at me, but rather through me, as if I’m invisible. “Good morning, Emi,” she muttered. “You’re here.”

“You bet I am.” I said, bouncing up and down impatiently. “Just because I was gone for the summer doesn’t mean I don’t want to take care of you when I get back. Seriously, didn’t you miss me at all?”

“Let me think.” Rin responded tiredly, closing her eyes. She let out a yawn before answering. “I think I missed you, but not right now. Right now you’re like that fly that keeps trying to fly over my dinner. Except you don’t make buzzing noises. You make Emi noises.”

“Hmph! I don’t make Emi noises.” I retorted, sticking out my tongue. I walked up to her and helped Rin to her feet. “Come on, let’s go take a shower together. I’m all sweaty from running, and you stink.”

“Do I?” Rin took a sniff of her shoulder, and shook her head. “I smell like me. And a bit of Hisao. Mostly me, though.”

“Ok, too much information.” I said in disgust, dragging her out of her room and towards the showers. “Seriously, did you and Hisao do…?”

“Do what…?” Rin asked, completely innocently. “We do a lot of things together.”

Feeling my cheeks getting just a bit red, I decided to shut up before the conversation could get any further. Rin definitely hadn’t changed much since summer, still as weird as ever. Despite being her best friend, I still wondered how Hisao managed to get her to be his girlfriend.

“Oh, you mean sex,” Rin suddenly said, as if she just got it. “Yes.”

I immediately stopped and turned around to face her. She didn’t blush or look all that different, as if what she’d said was completely normal. Meanwhile, I could feel my face heating up. “R-really?” I said, sounding somewhere between excited and mortified. “W-well I’m glad you and Hisao finally got that far.”

“Thank you,” Rin said, shrugging. “...I said that because you said ‘I’m glad’, not because I mean it. I don’t actually feel thankful.”

...Seriously, Hisao. How did you fall in love with her? How did she fall in love with you?

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The showers were all empty, except the one way at the back. Which was weird, because no one showered this early in the morning besides me. We entered a shower and took off our clothes. Or rather, I took off mine, and then took off Rin’s for her.

“You should be grateful,” I said as I took off her bra last, hanging it on a rack. “Who else is going to help you shower like this?”

“Miki,” she said bluntly as she turned around to face me. Her body looked slightly less thin than before, though still a little too thin for me to consider perfectly healthy. “She helped me shower one time, but I didn’t like it. She kept messing my hair.”

“Why would Miura want to take care of you?” I demanded as I turned the showerhead on, sitting on a bench to take off my prosthetics. I placed them in a safe place so they wouldn’t get wet.

“I don’t know,” Rin responded with a curious tone to her voice. “She said something about taking your place, and that she wanted to spend some time with me. Weird.”

“That sneaky bitch…” I muttered, the mere thought of Miki taking care of her boiling my blood. I grabbed a bar of soap and immediately started scrubbing my body. “She can’t beat me on the track, so she’s trying to steal you away from me!”

“Steal me?” Rin asked as she patiently waited for me to scrub her body. It was routine by this point; I washed my body, then hers. Sometimes she’d make dragging her here more trouble than it was worth, but it’s simply a natural part of our life here. “Like burglars? Is Miki going to put me in a sack and sell me on the black market?”

“Oh, you know what I mean. Now come here, it’s your turn,” I grumbled as Rin moved closer to me so I could scrub her. “Anyways, how was summer?”

“It was summery.,” Rin said in the kind of way only she was capable off.

“I meant how were you during summer,” I clarified, rolling my eyes. Leave it to Rin to make the simplest answer a nightmare to get. “Were you and Hisao all...lovey-dovey or whatever?”

“Mm.” Rin said, letting that sound hang in the air as she gave it more thought. “We weren’t lovey-dovey, but we said ‘I love you.’ So we were lovey, but not dovey. We didn’t become doves.”

“Oh, you said ‘I love you,’ huh?” I said sarcastically as I motioned with my hand. Understanding, Rin knelt down so that I could scrub the rest of her body. “I’m sure you two had a wonderful time together without me.”

“We did,” Rin agreed, nodding as I washed her hair. “But I also like it when you’re around sometimes. And me and Hisao had a time where it wasn’t wonderful.”

“Oh? Did you two get into a fight?”

Rin didn’t say anything as I rubbed her hair, and I didn’t say anything further. She could be so tight-lipped when she wants to sometimes. “All right, Rin. I’m done with your hair. Mind turning around?”

She didn’t respond. Not with moving her body, not with some weird comment about turning relating to tornados or whatever. Nothing. It was like she was frozen in place, and I panicked a little. Rin wasn’t usually like this.

“Rin?” I asked softly, almost afraid to even say anything. “Are you okay?”

A few seconds passed before Rin finally responded. “I’m fine,” she said in a monotone voice, like she wasn’t even talking to me. “What did you say, Emi? I couldn’t hear you. Except that I can hear you now. Strange.”

“I-I said I’m done washing your hair. Turn around,” I repeated, trying to keep up a playful smile. What was up with Rin? As weird as she was, she didn’t usually react like that. The moment she turned away from me I allowed myself to drop the act and look worried. What just happened?

If I tried to talk to her about it, she'd probably just freeze again. There’s only one other person that could help me get to the bottom of this. No matter what he tried to do, I would wrangle the truth out of him.

I washed her back and put the bar of soap away. Scooching over, I turned off the shower, dried off my legs, and put my prosthetics back on. “Hey, Rin. What are you going to do today?”

“Mm…” Rin said, contemplating as I helped her get dried and clothed. “I don’t know. I feel like doing something, but I don't know what it is. Like a cloud that doesn’t know if it wants to rain yet.”

“Well, I won’t be available for lunch because of track, but how ‘bout we hit the Shanghai after school? You, me and Hisao. He’s paying, after all. Still owes me for what he said on the rooftop.”

“Okay,” Rin said, smiling a little. “That sounds sweet. Like honey I haven’t tasted, but I’ll taste soon.”

“Mhm!” I responded, trying to brush my worry for her aside.

As we exited the shower, I noticed that the shower at the back was still occupied. Judging from the quiet atmosphere, the shower there had been turned off already, so why was that person still in there?

“Hanako,” Rin stated, as if she’d been reading my mind. “Hanako, you’re in the shower. But the shower is off, so you’re no longer showering.”

The door slowly opened to reveal Hanako, who looked away from the both of us, looking embarrassed. She didn’t say anything, her hands fidgeting.

“Good morning,” Rin said calmly, her eyes locked on to her.

“G-good morning,” Hanako replied, face still turned away from the both of us. “R-Rin, I-Ibarazaki.”

“Ibarazaki?” I responded. Someone calling me by my last name was always weird, and mom always did it when she purposely wanted to annoy me. “You can call me Emi.”

Hanako didn’t say anything in response. Her feet started to twitch, and in all my experience running, I recognized that kind of twitch. It was the kind that someone made before bolting. It felt odd–she hadn’t seemed so fidgety yesterday on the roof. She’d been just a bit quiet, but now she looked like she was about to scream for help.

“Can I ask what were you doing in there?” Rin asked, not reacting to Hanako’s movements. “Were you showering?”

“Y-yes,” she said, her voice trembling. “I-I always shower r-really early i-in the m-morning, b-but I-I was later than usual today.”

She showered even earlier than me? Maybe that explained the rumors about how the showers were supposedly haunted. “Anyways,” I said, trying to end the conversation for both our sakes, “We were just about to go have breakfast. Sorry for bothering you.”

“We were?” Rin asked, turning to look at me with an odd expression on her face. “You didn’t say anything about breakfast.”

“Well, that’s because I was going to bring it up.” I replied quickly, trying desperately to just get us out of here.

“Oh.” Rin said, closing her eyes and turning back to Hanako. “Do you want to come with us?”

I couldn’t help but give Rin a subtle glare. She really needed to learn when people obviously aren’t comfortable with-

“A-all right.” Hanako said, bowing deeply. “I-I mean, I would like to. P-Please?”

“Really?” I said, then immediately hoped that I hadn’t insulted her by sounding so surprised. “You really want to come with us?”

“Y-yes.” Hanako said, even though her movements made her look like she was going to bail on us. “I-I would like t-to have breakfast with you, Rin.”

“And Emi.” Rin added, as if she thought I’d be hurt from being excluded like that. Which I wasn’t. Much.

“O-oh.” Hanako let out, as if she noticed me for the first time despite the fact we already talked to each other. She turned towards me and gave another bow, her face flush. “Y-you too, Emi.”

“Yeah,” I said with a smile, trying to hide the fact that I was just a bit annoyed. I immediately made my way towards the bathroom door, suppressing a really loud groan. “Come on, let’s go before all the good stuff runs out.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My mood sank little by little as we headed to the cafeteria, mostly because Rin and Hanako decided to talk to each other on the way there, completely leaving me out of the conversation. Seriously, did everyone suddenly decide to take care of Rin while I was away? Did they take turns putting on her clothes in the morning? Hanako and Rin talked like they were old friends while I couldn’t even get a straight answer out of her in the shower.

We quickly found a seat and sat down. “So, what do you want?” I said to Rin, trying my best not to show a pout. “Something healthy?”

“Something,” Rin replied as she leaned down onto the table, causing Hanako to let out a giggle, then immediately covering her mouth. Oh, so I’m the butt of their jokes now, is it?

“Okay, don’t blame me if I bring you something you don’t like,” I said, sticking out my tongue. “Maybe I’ll bring you some bland tofu and water.”

“No thanks. I would like something else, please,” Rin mumbled, apparently content to treat the table as a pillow.

“Urgh,” I said, trying to hide just how annoyed I really was. Turning to Hanako, I said, “Come on, let’s go get her something, whatever that ‘something’ is.”

Hanako looked apprehensive for a moment, turning to Rin for a split second before nodding and getting up. We both made our way to the line, and I took the opportunity to take a deep breath. Either with running or with other problems, a deep breath can often help me get through any jitters and let me focus.

I wasn’t annoyed about Rin having new friends, that much I knew. It’d be stupid for me to think I could have her all to myself, and a little creepy. Okay, maybe a lot creepy. But I could safely say that that’s not why I was feeling so irritated.

Then why? My mind kept flashing back to that one moment where Rin froze, completely motionless. That, as well as Rin’s not wanting to talk about it, was definitely why I was feeling out of sorts. As her friend, seeing her like that and not knowing why irked me so much. What made her act like that?

“U-Um…”

I turned around to see Hanako looking at me. Well, not really looking so much as trying not to look at me. “U-um,” she said, her voice quivering. “The s-space ahead of you is...is emptysocouldyoupleasemoveforward?”

I turned back to see that the line was empty, and I grumbled a little as I moved forward. I made sure I got the healthiest stuff for me, and Rin got the same. If she wasn’t going to run with me, she could at least eat something that would make her less skinny.

After that, we made our way back to where Rin was still resting her head on the table. She didn’t even seem to notice us until I dropped the tray in front of her, which made her look up at the two of us. Looking down at her tray, she frowned a little. “I don’t like eating these.”

“Then go get them yourself next time.” I said, officially done with her. “Or get your boyfriend to do it for you.”

“W-where is Hisao?” Hanako asked, more to Rin than to me.

“Mm, I don’t know,” Rin said, closing her eyes to think. “I don’t think he likes to get up this early. I don’t like getting up early either. If I close my eyes, it’s like the Sun and Moon haven’t moved yet.”

I ate my meal without talking, finishing it in no time flat. After I was done, I immediately felt the urge to just get up and move about. Whenever I get a problem, my first instinct is to immediately run a bit. A little exercise is always good to get some bad stuff out of your system.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t wearing my running blades, and a cafeteria full of people doesn’t make for the best environment for running laps. Bummer.

“U-um, Emi?” Hanako said, surprising me. I don’t think she’d ever directly said anything to me without being asked to, or unless it was necessary like when we were back in the cafeteria line. “I-I...uh…”

Was it seriously that hard to talk to me? Was I really harder to get along than Rin? What was this world coming to?

“Yes?” I replied, putting on my cutest face. People always fall for the puppy eyes, the natural weapon of the Ibarazakis.

“I-I...w-would like for u-us...to be friends.” She didn’t really sound sincere, though that could just be me. She took a deep breath and continued. “I would like for us to be friends, because I really want to.”

“Of course!” I responded with what was probably an excess of enthusiasm. Honestly, I wasn’t really sure how we’d even stand each other, given how different we were. But if Rin had taught me anything, it’s that I have a tolerance for weird people. “I never say no to more friends. Welcome to the club, Hanako.”

“Club?” Rin said as she finished her meal. “Is Hanako joining track? Are you going to run like Emi? Then you’ll be like Emi, but not Emi.”

“N-no.” Hanako shook her head, unfazed. Oddly enough, there was a slight smile on her face. “I-I don’t like running.”

“Me neither,” Rin replied, nodding her head. “Running is like walking, but more annoying. Like trying to tie your shoelaces without hands. Or Emi.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said as I rolled my eyes. “Glad to know I’m the only one who actually tries to exercise. It makes me feel like I’m the only one who’ll be fit when I hit 50.”

We talked for a little bit more before the class bell rang. Not about anything important, just about what we were going to do today. We even invited Hanako to our outing to the Shanghai, which she seemed to accept without much hesitation. It probably helped that Rin was the one who offered, and not me. As much as she wanted to be friends, it was pretty clear that Rin was the one Hanako was more comfortable with.

Things felt like they were getting back to normal, like they were going to be okay and we could all finish high school without a problem. Except I kept thinking about Rin freezing in the shower, and no matter how much I tried to push it out, it kept popping up in my mind. And suddenly I felt something, almost like a sixth sense going off.

That something was going to go very, very wrong. I didn’t know what, or how, but it felt like it was coming.

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Speed. Pacing. Balance. That was all that mattered.

As I crossed the starting line one more time, I felt on top of the world. The other runners were miles behind me. Okay, maybe that was just me boasting, but the truth was that I was still ahead. And the one who’s always ahead never loses.

The wind blew against my face, the constant movement of my entire body, the rush of energy whenever I got close to another lap. This was what I lived for. Maybe I don’t understand Rin when it comes to her painting, and I probably never would. But one thing I did understand was the thrill that comes from doing something that you were made for.

One more lap. Even though my knees were starting to feel numb and my body felt like it was on fire, I still pushed through. The last few seconds were when I’d have to give it my all.

Another turn. Miura and the others were catching up to me. From the corner of my eyes, I could see her moving up beside me, close enough to the point where we were practically neck and neck. I didn’t need to see her face to know what she was thinking. She’s thinking she could beat me, for once.

Silly. No one beats me in a race. No one.

As we passed another turn, I let her overtake me just for a split second to give her even more of an ego, but as we neared the finish line I let loose. Running as fast as my body allow, I quickly overtook Miura and dashed towards the finish line ahead of her.

“Damn!” Miura cursed as she finished just after, her face sporting a rare scowl. Her face turned towards me and it returned to that usual smug grin that I hated. “Well done, Emi. Nearly had you for a second there, didn’t I?”

“Maybe,” I said, giving her a smug grin of my own. At least with mine, I deserved it. Victor’s privilege. “I think I was a little slower than usual back there.”

“Yeah, yeah., Miki said dismissively, which I took as a sign of defeat. She quickly made her way to drink some water, as did most of the others, but I decided to stretch a little bit more. As tired as I was feeling, I was also pretty restless.

“Good work, Emi,” the track captain, Yoshiro, complimented me with a calm smile. I could already see most of the other girls staring at him while his back was turned. Even being outed as gay won’t stop people from admiring the view, though I can’t exactly blame them. He somehow managed to look both cute and handsome at the same time, even with a missing ear.

It was probably the smile. That smile could make any girl, or guy, blush just by looking at it for more than a second. Well, that and the fact that he looked amazing while shirtless.

“Thanks.” I said cheerfully, bouncing from the victory high. “Actually, I was thinking of doing another lap. Would the guys mind waiting a little?”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t.” Miura mentioned casually, then let out an irritating chuckle.

“Sure thing, just don’t overdo it,” Yoshiro said with a nod. He was used to me asking for extra laps, as long as I don’t take up too much time. Taking in deep breaths, I positioned myself at the starting line again, closing my eyes.

The moment before my feet took off always felt so long, like my body couldn’t wait to get moving. Time started to feel like nothing as I let out a smile, ready for another run. And the instant after I was ready, I took off with as much energy I could.

I could hear the distant cheers from some of the boys, but their words might as well have been silent for all the impact they had on me. As much as I liked showing off, people shouting my name could get really grating after a while.

My mind started to focus on what was ahead of me. No, that wasn’t really it. Trying to explain what it was like when I really got into form was always hard, even to the other members of the track team. It was like...my body moving so fast my mind was being left behind, or something like that.

...Man, maybe Rin and I really weren’t all that different. That felt exactly like something she would say.

As I made another turn, any other thoughts faded entirely. There was only me and the track, and that’s how I wanted it. It’s always how I wanted it. Competition was nice occasionally, and I wouldn’t have minded if Hisao had accepted doing early runs with me, but the best time in my life was when I was alone, running for the sake of running.

Well, maybe some other things were better. But those things can’t happen anymore, so there’s no use thinking about them.

The lap was over before I knew it, and I almost forgot to stop. It never felt exhausting whenever I was running, no matter how many laps I took. If I could, I would run forever and ever.

“Good work. Wish I had timed it; that seemed close to your best,” Yoshiro said, giving me that cute smile of his again. When he gave out smiles like that, I almost started to join the group of girl wishing he wasn’t into men.

“Yeah, well,” I replied, trying to sound humble as I bounced up and down. “Practice makes perfect, y’know. Speaking of which, isn’t it the boys’ turn?”

Yoshiro nodded and helped the guys form up positions. Satisfied that I got a final run in, I walked to the bleachers, taking a seat far from the other girls, but not far enough to be considered a loner. Sometimes I would talk to them, sometimes I wouldn’t. Today, I didn’t really feel like talking.

Unfortunately, a certain someone had different ideas.

“Hey, nice run,” Miura said as she took a seat beside me, pointing her finger at me. “You were like lightning out there, a lot of people were staring at you.”

“Well, yeah.” I replied, puffing up my chest. “Fastest thing on no legs.”

“Then again, it was mostly the boys staring, so maybe they were looking at you for a different reason,” she finished, letting out a chuckle as I felt my face heating up. I’d stepped right into her trap. Stupid Miura and her stupid backhanded compliments.

“Anyways, how’s Rin?” she said as she casually leaned back, as if she didn’t just insult me at all. “Haven’t seen her in ages. Gotta say, taking care of her during the summer was fun.”

“She’s just fine. Peachy, even,” I lied. The last person I wanted to talk with about her freezing up is freaking Miura. Before she can say anything, I quickly looked away and muttered, “Better off without you.”

“Aw, she doesn’t miss me?” Miura gave me a curious look. “That’s a shame. But then again, you two are so close. Almost makes me wonder if you two are secretly hiding something from the rest of us.”

“As if,” I spit out, not rising to her bait again. “Besides, she’s taken.”

“Oh, I know. Met her boyfriend, too.” Miura gave me a wink that just screamed “I’m messing with you and there’s nothing you can do about it”, and somehow I felt like tearing out my hair more than I already did. “Really nice guy, that Hisao. We had a little chat about our lives, and I found out that he’s a pretty good listener. You don’t get many people like that these days.”

Somehow, I knew that last comment was directed at me. I just knew it. “Well, good for you,” I said sarcastically, once again getting no reaction out of her. “I bet it’s all good down in Miura-land. Nothing can go wrong.”

“Nah, a lot of things went wrong. I just don’t feel like dealing with them today.” She stood up and looked away from me, her smile fading just before her face was out of view. “Word of advice, Emi. Try being a little more honest about yourself, it’ll do you a lot of good.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, grumbling. That sounded like just another hidden insult from her. “I’m perfectly honest with myself.”

“Sure you are,.” she said sarcastically. “Well, I’ll be seeing you, then. Say hi to Hisao for me.”

And just like that, she walked away from the bleachers, leaving me confused and offended as usual. Too annoyed to sit, I stood up and started to walk away from the track as well. I couldn’t run on the track, but a sprint towards the dorm showers was a good enough replacement.

Yeah, running will help me forget about what stupid Miura said. Running helps with everything.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Come on, you guys seriously can’t go faster?” I complained as we made our way down the hill. Miura’s teasing still left me feeling grumpy, even after school hours. It’s almost like I can hear her demonic laugh, even now.

“We could…” Rin commented in consideration from behind me. She was right next to Hisao, and I couldn’t help but notice that she walked closer to him than she ever did with me. “But we won’t.”

“Yeah, reaching the Shanghai exhausted isn’t exactly a good plan,” Hisao noted as he inched closer to Rin. “Right, Hanako?”

Hanako, who walked just a few steps behind, looked at me anxiously before giving the slightest nod of her head. I grumbled some more, but decided not to pick up the pace. “You’re one to talk about exhausting work, Hisao,” I said, sticking out my tongue as I bounced a little bit more. “I’ve been in track all day, running my ass off. What’s your excuse?”

“I’m not a track star.” Hisao retorted, giving me a sarcastic glance.

“Well, if you’d take up my offer and run with me, that wouldn’t be a problem,” I shot back, frowning. “Seriously, is it really that hard to get out of bed and run?”

“For some people,” he responded, looking away. As he should, for giving such a lame excuse.

“Yes,” Rin nodded in agreement. “It’s hard for me to get up and run. When I get up, most of the time I want to go back to sleep. But I can’t go back to sleep. It’s like going out of a room and forgetting the keys so you can’t go back in.”

“See, Rin agrees with me,” Hisao said, pulling her a bit closer, which she seemed to be okay with. “It’s two-against-one, majority wins.”

“Not when the majority has a biased relationship.” It’s funny how they seem to group up against me now, as if being in a relationship meant they always had to take each other’s side over me. “And an obviously wrong opinion. You two are the worst.”

We continued arguing and fighting, annoyingly but never seriously. At some point, all the banter and the half-insults died down and there was a moment of quiet. It was then that I decided to finally try to settle the bad feeling I’d been having all day.

“Hisao,” I said, cheerful enough to sound like normal, with just a bit of an edge to it. “Can you come with me for a bit? I want to test how well you run.”

“Do I really have to?” he whined.

“Do it and you can split the bill with me at the Shanghai. Now come on.” I ran ahead before he could even say anything else. I normally don’t want to be this pushy, but I had to talk to him alone and this was the only way I could think of.

I stopped a good distance ahead of the others and waited for him to come, if he was going to at all.

Thankfully, I eventually saw him run towards me. He rested his hands immediately on his knees the moment his legs stopped moving. I almost wanted to call him out on how pathetic his stamina was, but that’d be something for another day.

“Seriously, did you have to run that far?” Hisao complained, panting.

“It wasn’t that far. Man up, will you?” I responded, then said in a more serious tone. “I called you out here so that I can talk to you about something. Privately.”

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t feel like running,” he said, his breathing getting calmer. “I know you mean the best for me but—”

“Shut up and let me talk. This isn’t about running.” I was getting frustrated. Not at Hisao directly, but at what might happen once the real conversation began. “This is about Rin. I think something’s wrong with her.”

Hisao’s eyes immediately widened, pretty much confirming that he knew something was off. “No point trying to hide it.” I said, sighing. “What happened?”

He turned away from me, his mouth quivering hesitantly. I was going to get the truth out of him one way or another, but I just hoped we were far away enough that Rin and Hanako don’t suddenly show up. Last thing I needed was Rin overhearing this.

“Rin...found out about my condition...and about the possibility of me dying,” he said at last, though it was obviously hard for him. I’d never understood why it was so hard to admit what’s wrong with his body. Not that I’d flaunt the fact that I don’t have legs, but I wasn’t ashamed of it either.

“And?” I said, moving up next to him to make him more uncomfortable. “Spill it.”

“She didn’t take it very well,” Hisao admitted. “Not at all. In fact, I think she’s trying to pretend that conversation never happened in the first place.”

“Well, that explains a lot,” I said, finally piecing it together. All in all, I couldn’t really tell if it was better or worse than what I’d thought it could be. “We were in the showers this morning and she completely froze when I asked if you two got into a fight during the summer.”

The look Hisao gave me almost made me want to drop the conversation on the spot. “Do you have any ideas?” he asked. “I really don’t, besides not mentioning my condition in front of her.”

“Well, I have one,” I said as I bounced up and down, moving back to give him a little space. “Run with me. The healthier you are the less likely it is that you’ll die. That fact should be obvious, but it seems like some people don’t realize that fact until they hurt their girlfriend.”

“Running won’t help me if I get knocked down, or something accidentally slams into my chest,” he sighed, and started to look me in the eyes again. “I’ve been taking my medication on time. Hell, after the day I told Rin, I probably couldn’t skip even if I wanted to. Seeing Rin like that, it was...it was...”

“Then why don’t you take the extra step?” I asked, loud enough that Hanako and Rin could have heard it. I didn’t really care at that point, seeing how this idiot was infuriating me by being so stubborn about this.

“Because that doesn’t solve the problem!” he shouted just as loudly. Hisao sounded angry for once. Not annoyed or frustrated, but genuinely angry. “Don’t you get it? No matter how healthy I am, that doesn’t change the fact that a simple push to the ground can cause a heart attack, or that I can drop dead just because of a minor scare. That’s what Rin’s afraid of, that’s what I’m afraid of…

“Running doesn’t help because Rin is scared of the possibility of me dying due to my arrhythmia. And it’s a possibility that exists no matter how much you and I try to fix it, Emi. I can’t lie to her, and I can’t lie to myself. I won’t tell her everything will be fine, and that I’ll live to a ripe old age. Maybe I can live that long, but I can’t promise her that I will because things just don’t work out that way, no matter how much we want it to.”

We stared at each other for a moment. I didn’t agree with what he said at all, but I couldn’t exactly say that he was wrong either. “I don’t know what to do…” he said quietly, almost sounding like he was admitting defeat. “I know Rin and I can’t stay like this, pretending it doesn’t exist. But I already saw her face when I told her the truth. I don’t ever want to see it again…”

“Hisao…” I said, feeling just as helpless as him. No matter how many times we may have this fight, we’re still friends, after all. Not being able to help myself sucks; not being able to help people I care about sucks even more.

I heard the sound of footsteps and immediately panicked. Hisao seemed to have noticed it too, as he stood up straight and tried to look less like a mopey idiot. Rin and Hanako walked up to us, and if they had heard our conversation, they weren’t showing it on their faces.

Rin immediately made her way towards Hisao, who cautiously wrapped an arm around her. “Why did you run ahead?” she asked “I thought you don’t like running.”

“I don’t dislike it,” Hisao corrected, then looked at me as he said, “I just don’t see the point.”

I couldn’t face either of those two anymore, not because I hated them, but because I didn’t know what to do. Honestly, it took a lot out of me just to not immediately book it to the Shanghai at top speed. Running always helped with my problems, but this wasn’t my problem. It was theirs.

“Let’s go.” I said, trying not to think about it for the moment. Got to keep up a good attitude, that’s what Dad always said. “Otherwise they might run out of cake.”

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The rest of the trip wasn’t all that memorable. Rin and Hisao talked as if nothing was wrong, and nothing was, at least not yet. Hanako talked more than I thought she would, though it was mostly to the other two. The three of them seemed like such good friends, I wondered if she’d ever consider me the same.

“H-Hisao,” Hanako said as we finished giving our orders, speaking in a more confident tone than she did at breakfast. “D-do you think you can help me with physics? T-there’s a few things I don’t quite understand.”

“Mmm, not understanding physics,” Rin said, nodding. She was even closer to Hisao than she was before, almost like she’s clinging onto him. “I don’t get physics. I get painting and I get some of Math, but physics feels like swimming in a pool of leaves. Except they expect you to count every leaf that you swam through even though you can’t.”

“Well, it can’t really be any more difficult than teaching Rin physics,” Hisao said jokingly. Even though he hid it perfectly, I knew he hadn't recovered from our little talk. He just didn’t want to give anything away to Rin. It’s sweet how much he cares for her...and a little sappy as well. “Sure, we can all study in the library together sometime. Entrance exams are coming soon, or so Mutou keeps telling me.”

“A-all right,” Hanako said, sounding a bit cheerful. “I-I look forward to it.”

“I don’t,” Rin commented dryly. “Physics hurts my head.”

“Oh, to be the only one who values logic,” Hisao muttered out loud, rolling his eyes as he looked to me. “What about you, Emi? If I’m teaching the both of them, you might as well join. I know your science isn’t the best.”

“Jerk…” I gave him a playful growl, which he seemed to take well. Honestly, I didn’t feel like moping about the rest of the day, worrying about Hisao and Rin. He’s right, as much as I hated to say that. His problem wasn't something running can fix, at least not entirely.

Didn’t mean I won’t ask him to run again, but I won’t press him today. He’s got enough on his mind.

“I’m being serious,” Hisao clarified as our drinks arrived. Rin and Hanako were having a separate conversation, or what passed for a conversation as far as those two were concerned. “Entrance exams are only a few months away, so it’d probably be best if we all work together. It’d be bad if any one of us failed.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, pouting. My grades weren’t exactly the highest, even though they weren’t anything abysmal either. Studying was just such a pain, and reading a book while running didn’t make it any less boring. All it did was make me feel bad when I bumped into a blind guy and he apologized for bumping into me.

“So, thought of anything you wanted to do yet?” I asked back, mostly to have a conversation rather than actually being curious. “After Yamaku and after college?”

“Well, I have a few ideas,” Hisao said, looking thoughtful as he sipped on his cup of juice. “Something involving science, that’s for sure. It’s just a matter of deciding whether I want to learn more of it or teach it. What about you, Emi?”

“Glad you asked,” I said, beaming a genuine smile for the first time since we had that talk. “During summer vacation, me and my mom weren’t exactly laying on a beach sipping drinks, even though I look killer in a bikini.”

Hisao rolled his eyes, and I couldn’t help but giggle at the slight red on his cheeks. “We’ve actual went on a little college spree,” I continued, eager enough to want to bounce. “Athletic colleges, and a lot of them. Saw what they offered, flaunted my beautiful self in front of them. Beat their best by a lap or two, you know.”

That was a lie, considering I lost more often than I won, but he didn’t need to know that. It felt so weird, being the slow one for a change. Still, that didn’t mean I was discouraged. If anything, I wanted to get in just to try and race them again.

“Sounds like fun,” Hisao said, smiling a bit. “What about you, Hanako? Decided on anything yet?”

“N-No,” Hanako said as she turned to Hisao, shaking her head. “I-I h-honestly don’t know what I’ll do after Yamaku…”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually,” I said casually, looking around the cafe. “Man, what’s taking them so long? Cake shouldn’t be so slow.”

“College, huh.” Hisao let out a thoughtful hum. “Well, I’ll probably have to look at some eventually. No doubt Mom and Dad will pester me about it once I go back home.”

“College…” Rin said, looking down at her drink. Her expression was thoughtful, as if that drink carried all her secrets. “I don’t like saying that word. It’s like “annoying”, except it’s not annoying to some people, but it is to me even though that isn’t what that word means.”

“I-I agree,” Hanako said, showing a bit of a smile as our cakes arrived. “I-I don’t like t-thinking about college either…”

Rin looked up at Hanako and nodded, and she nodded back. I give Hisao a look, which he responded with a shrug before eating his cake. It seemed like Hisao and I weren’t the only ones that had a private chat while the four of us were separated.

“W-We should do this more often…” I heard Hanako say in the middle of eating. “Emi…”

I look up to see her staring at me, and I noticed something different. She was looking at me less like a stranger now, and more like how she looked at Hisao and Rin. “Thank you for inviting me,” she said, quietly but confidently. “I-I hope we can do this again.”

I couldn’t help but smile back at her. She really was cute when she wasn’t acting all scared. “Well, I wouldn’t like to come here every day. Maybe a few days a week,” I joked, pointing at my stomach. “Girl’s gotta keep in shape, you know?”

Thankfully, she seemed to realize I was joking, and let out a giggle. I let out a deep breath and finished the last of my cake, feeling calm for a rare moment. It’s times like this that can make someone forget that they have problems in their lives, if only for a second. It’s like the feeling I get while running.

“You’re paying for all this, Hisao,” I mentioned playfully, basking in the mood a little. It’d end eventually, but for now I just wanted to relax.

“Wha-but I ran!” he protested, just as he was finishing his cake, his fork dropping to the table. “You promised to split the bill.”

“Well, I would. If I’d brought my wallet with me.” I gave him a quick wink. Sometimes, teasing the guy can be as sweet as cake. Thankfully, I was getting my fair share of both today. “Consider it payback for not running with me in the morning.”

“Oh, you witch!” Hisao snapped, as he opened his wallet with a scowl. “Well, if I’m not running with you in the mornings before, I’m certainly not going to now.”

“Your loss.” I retorted as he reluctantly forked over the cash.

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We immediately split up once we reached the gates. Hanako went back to the girls’ dorm, while Hisao and Rin went to...wherever it was they went to. The mental images I got from thinking about it too much made me dismiss them from my mind. The last thing I needed was to imagine them doing...that.

The sun wasn’t exactly all the way down yet, and I didn’t have anywhere to be. So I did what I always did when I didn’t know what to do, I went back to my room and changed into my running blades before heading out to the track. Guess I wasn’t done running for the day.

As I made my way there, I saw someone running on the track. At this time of day, it’d usually be empty, so I was surprised to see anyone else besides me doing overtime.

Especially when that person just so happened to be Miura. And suddenly I had the urge to find someplace else to run.

Despite that, I made my way to the bleachers. Running with her really didn’t tickle my fancy, so I’d just wait until she was done. She gave me a smile as she ran past me, but otherwise didn’t bother to give me a snarky quip or anything, which I appreciated.

As I sat there watching her run, I saw an expression I rarely noticed in her. Frustration, with not even an attempt in hiding it. Miura’s face twisted into a grim scowl as she ran another lap, her breath heavy with a type of exhaustion I’m more than familiar with. She’d been at it for a while now, maybe even for hours.

Well, at least that’s one thing she and I had in common. We ran whenever we had problems in our lives. That’s why she’s running now, and I’d admit to myself that’s also why I wanted running too.

Not just because of Rin and Hisao, but because of what happened during summer vacation. It was a one measly day that went wrong, but it almost soured the entire thing. The idea that Mom was going to start dating again was something I still wasn’t used to, and I wasn’t sure if I ever would be.

“I’m lonely, Emi,” she said, and out of the blue too. “And...it’s about time I move on. I don’t think your father would want me to-”

“Don’t you dare bring him up.” I was pretty loud, though honestly I wondered if I was loud enough. “Not after you telling me that, not after you’re going to betray his memory like this.”

“Emi, please. I love him, and I always will. But with you moving to college soon, I’ll be all alone for who knows how long?” She’d started to cry, not that it helped things. “I can’t stand that, you know I can’t. That’s why I spent so much money moving near Yamaku, so that I can be near you.”

“Oh, so now it’s my fault? Don’t you dare pin this on me, you...you…damn it!”

The fighting went on for the entire day, and we both said things that probably shouldn’t have been said. In the end, we managed to make up just before I went back to Yamaku, but only in the sense that we didn’t want to shout at each other for the rest of our lives.

I still won’t accept the fact that Mom was going to see other people. I almost wanted to believe she was teasing me, or bluffing, or even just having a moment of weakness. But no, she had been serious. Of all the times not to be a tease to me, she picked that one.

“Hey, Emi.” Speaking of teases… “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to run,” I responded, looking up to see Miura give me a smile. I got up and started heading down towards the track. “You done?”

“For now,” she said, sitting on the spot I’d just vacated. “Try not to sprain your legs, or stub your toes.”

“I don’t have an-urgh.” I let out a groan as she chuckled, taking her bait once again. “Whatever. Watch how a real runner does things.”

“Sure thing. I’ll try not to stare at your ass too much,” she responded, and I was just about done talking to her. I did some quick stretches before placing myself onto the starting line. I closed my eyes for just a second. The moment they opened, my body surged forwards.

Run away. Run away from Miura’s teasing, run away from Rin’s fear of Hisao dying, and Hisao’s fear of Rin’s reaction. Run away from finals, from the potential of failing, and from the idea that Mom was going to see someone else.

Most of all, run from the fact that another day that passes was another day that Dad was gone.

Another lap passed, and yet my feet didn’t stop. I ran as if there was something chasing me, as if I’d drop dead the moment I stopped. I picked up speed and made another lap around the track, everything besides the path before me started to blur in my mind, though the voice in my head was crystal clear.

Keep running.

I didn’t know when I started to slow down, or when my breathing got heavier. But eventually I did, and I forced myself to stop just after passing the finish line once again. How many laps had it been? How much time had passed?

My mind barely registered Miura clapping from the bleachers, though she did it by clapping on the wooden board rather than with her hands. Well, hand and stump. “Good work, Emi,” she said, though it didn’t really felt like she was encouraging me. “You all right there? Need some water or something?”

“I’m…fine…” I said as I made my way to the bleachers. Even talking was hard, let alone walking. The moment I reached the first row of seats I slumped down, not even attempting to hide how tired I was.

That run was a harder push than I’d done in a while, and with what I considered a “push”, that was really saying something.

But in the end, it did what I wanted it to. Cleared my head and let all my problems go away, just for a bit. Of course, one problem was still right here, and she was making her way towards me.

“Gotta say,” Miura noted with a smile, looking down at me. “I’ve never seen you this exhausted before. Then again, I’ve also never seen anyone run that much so much in a single day.”

“Yeah, well…I’m trying to set a new record,” I responded, mind too blurry to even make anything resembling a smart comeback. “Why are you still here?”

“Well, my date sort of bailed on me, so...” she said nonchalantly, then started to laugh. “Nah, I’m here for the same reason as you.”

“Which would be…?” I asked as she took a seat beside me, closer than usual.

“Oh, you know. To get away from things,” she said, and her cocky smile faded a bit. “You aren’t the only one with problems, Emi. Trust me on that.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I grumbled. Of course everyone had problems, but it’s not like you should make a big deal about it to other people. I certainly didn’t want to.

“It means that you should let people in on it sometimes. It’ll do you good,” she said, a smile returning to her face. “I know you like to give off the impression that you’re a social butterfly, but most of us have figured out that you’re pretty hush-hush about yourself.”

“Oh, screw you,” I said, not even trying to hide how annoyed I was at her. “Just go away, if you’re going to keep talking shit about me like that. I swear, you exist just to make me angry, Miura.”

“There we go, you’re more honest now,” Miki responded, somehow sounding both grateful and sarcastic. “I prefer this side of you, the one that isn’t just putting on a pretty face for everyone to see.”

“And what would you know about it? What would you know about anything?” Angry, I tried to get up, only to stumble. I braced myself for a fall, but Miki grabbed me before my face met the dirt.

“Well, I don’t know more than what other people do. I bet even Hisao and Rin don’t have much of a clue, either.” Miki admitted as she helped me sit, but didn’t sit herself. “But...I care enough to want to know more. Knowing more about people is fun.”

“How is it fun?” I muttered, still annoyed at her, but thankful that she’d caught me.

“Well, I guess ‘fun’ isn’t the right word,” Miki said in a softer tone before turning away. “We all have our methods of running away from things we don’t like. We just happen to take it more literally than most people.”

I stood up and watched her walk away, and before I knew it, I shouted at her, “Hey!”

She turned around and eyed me curiously, though her face was her usual teasing smile.

“What do you mean?” I asked, walking up to her. I realized that I was genuinely curious. Her smile simply widened as I got closer to her. “What are you running away from?”

“I’ll tell you if you tell me,” she said calmly.

“No way,” I responded immediately, scowling. “You...you don’t have the right to know, you...you teaser.”

“Not the best comeback you ever had, Emi. Going to be honest here,” she said with a smirk, letting out a chuckle “But you’re right, I guess I don’t.”

She turned away from me and resumed walking away, eventually breaking into a sprint. Normally when we ended our conversations, I just ended up annoyed. Now, I was confused. I guess that’s a step up, but still…

What exactly was she running away from?

Urgh, whatever. She probably just said that to poke fun at me again. It’s always like that with her.

Looking up, I finally noticed that it was nighttime, with the stars already lighting up the night sky. It was beautiful, though I rarely saw it after running. In fact, the last time I ran this late at night was...

“We should head home. Mom will probably kill the both of us if we stay any longer.”

I felt a tear running down my cheek and immediately wiped it off. Thank god that no one else was around to see it.

Sighing, I started walking back to the girls’ dorm. Of course, it didn’t stay a walk as I began to speed up. I was too exhausted to perform anywhere near my best, but I didn’t want to take things slow. No matter how tired I was, or how far away it was...or even how painful it may be, one thing’s for sure.