Katawa Shoujo - Akira Satou Route

Act 4-9 Remnants

"Aim more for the center." She drones as she steps away from the table to indulge in the remaining contents of her beer glass, not stopping for a single breath as the rest of it enters her mouth. From there, the glass dangles from her fingers and she examines every inch of it, as if expecting it to magically refill.

"Do you want another?" I ask, still contemplating on how much of a risk it would be for me to join her and order one for myself.

"I'll think about it." She returns, no doubt debating in her head whether she'd like to stay sober or not. "For now, let's try and finish this game."

Her vigor seems to be returning bit by bit, although more as frustration than as her usual brightness. Her listless eyes focus on the cue ball and she lines up her shot, sinking the '1.' Regardless, she still clicks her tongue in anger. "Damnit, I could have gotten the '7' too if I just bounced it."

She pauses, her gaze focusing on the solid '7' ball. "It just seems like nothing wants to work today."

"You're telling me." I return, already in position to take my next shot. "It's just been an awful day for everyone involved, huh?"

I push the cue forward and attempt to sink the striped '14' once more, this time just barely able to nudge it into the corner pocket, taking the '11' with it. Akira gives a short 'heh' at my accomplishment, the sides of her mouth curling up ever so slightly before fading back into that blank expression.

"I'm gonna have to agree with you on that one." She says, stopping to grind a small, blue cube of chalk against the tip of her cue.

She seems to be getting more and more into the game, throwing her tie over her shoulder in a small bout of annoyance as it continues to get in the way of her shot.

"All it takes is time." I remark, unable to keep from laughing in disbelief as she bounces the white sphere over a cluster of striped balls and sinks another solid. A wooden 'chack' sounds as the cue ball hops over the obstacles again for her second turn, although this time it loses its precision misses the target and winds up rolling into the side pocket.

"Yeah, I just need to think about all of this." She says, letting out a long sigh. She steps past me and sits down nearby, resting her head on one arm as she watches me line up my move.

She waits until after I knock the '9' out of play and then screw up my next turn to continue. "I need a day off. Maybe another week or an entire month or something."

I try to give her my best smile, but it no doubt comes off as forced, considering the fact that I can barely keep my eyes open at this point. "The whole world should just stop for a while. Thirty days, at the very least."

My heart tingles as she finally gives me an amused chuckle, her features brightening up for just that small moment as she grabs her cue and steps up to the table beside me. "That would certainly be amazing."

"The world doesn't work that way, though." She adds, her brow narrowing and her lips falling into a depressed frown once more. "As if life could stop for even a few moments."

She bumps the tip of her cue into the far edge of the cue ball, rolling it across the table in an arc and, once again, landing it in the side pocket. Her interest in the game begins to dwindle at this point as her shoulders drop and she gives an annoyed sigh.

"Well, of course not, but..." I pause to fish the white sphere out of the pocket and set it on the table, the neutral point giving me a clear path to the '12.' "Think about what it would be like; if time could just stop. What would you want to do?"

"Honestly, I wouldn't even know where to start." She answers bluntly, gripping the cue behind her back in a lethargic stretch.

I mess up the shot completely as I glance up, "are you sure? There's nothing you want to do more than anything else right now?"