[FF] Looking Back

[Zunar]

A/N: This was written as if the reader has no previous knowledge of Katawa Shoujo.

A cool spring breeze blows in my face as I run. Beneath me, the track is a blur as my legs pump. How many laps has it been? I then ask myself, does it really matter? As I ponder that, a voice calls out from in front of me.

"Come on, Hisao! You can do it! Faster!"

I look up at my running partner, a short girl in a pink gym uniform. Her light brown hair, parted in twintails, glistens in the morning glow. Currently running backwards, she is looking at me encouragingly.

"Emi, you know I'm not as in shape as you!" I reply. "Besides, you're the track team star; you don't have to show off!"

Em laughs and waves her hand idly. "Pfft, flattery." She turns around and picks up her pace, her prosthetic legs clicking rhythmically on the pavement.

I remember how she ran into me on the third day of school. Just thinking about it makes my chest hurt; she really knocked the wind out of me. I remember all that we've been through; how she roped me into these morning runs, I still don't recall. I've enjoyed them though, I'm glad she did. Our rooftop lunches with Rin, her distant and enigmatic friend, especially stick out in my mind.

It's hard to imagine that's only been a couple months since I've been here. It feels like yesterday I got enrolled here after my heart attack and I was diagnosed with a heart condition. Arrythmia; such an alien word, one that you don't want to be in the same room with. The morning runs with Emi have greatly strengthened my heart however, so I almost forget about my heart from time to time.

Harder to imagine is that it has only been a few weeks since I started dating her. I remember the day she confessed to me vividly. We were eating lunch on the rooftop again, but Rin had caught a cold and had been in bed all day. After we finished our food, she caught me off guard.

"Hey, Hisao? If you're going to kiss me, you should probably do it soon. I think the lunch bell is about to ring."

That came almost out of nowhere. True, I was thinking about asking her out on a date soon enough, but the fact that she beat me to confession shocked me. Her next words stick out even more.

"If you hadn't figured it out by now, I think I've developed a bit of a crush on you. You're going to have to do something about that."

That last sentence. I don't know what it is, but that has to be the cutest confession line ever. It was like she was daring me to reject her. Not that there was any danger of that.

"Hisao? Are you okay?"

I snap back to reality as I hear Emi's voice. She had slowed her pace and was running right beside me, concern written all over her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," I reply.

"About what?" Emi asks.

I smile. "Us. How we met, what we've been through."

She smiles back. I slow to a walk then, as I've just finished a lap. Emi goes for one last lap around the track as I sit down on the nearby bleachers to catch my breath. As she finishes her last lap, she slows down and sits next to me. She doesn't look worn out; if not for the sweat on her shirt and her slightly heavy breathing, you'd never guess she just ran seven laps around a quarter-mile track.

"You've definitely improved Hisao!" Emi says, smiling. "You'll be half as good as me in no time!"

I look into her beautiful green eyes.

"As long as I'm running with you, I don't care about how good I am," I admit, throwing my arm around her. She wraps her arms around my neck, pulling my lips to hers.

I feel like the luckiest guy in the world as I lose myself in the passion of our kiss.