A/N:

The BGM part is something I added to give it more of a visual novel feel. The music is taken from Katawa Shoujo's soundtrack, which you can get from the KS website for free.

DISCLAIMER: All credit for Katawa Shoujo belongs to 4LS. That includes the BGM titles I put up here. Unless they're from NicolAmarfi's (Katawa Shoujo's resident composer) YouTube channel. Then that music belongs to him.
All original Katawa Shoujo characters belong to 4LS too. I own none of them. Class 3-1, whose characters may also come up during the course of the story, is based on submitted characters for the Katawa Shoujo Fan Character contest in KS's DeviantArt page. All credits go to their respective creators. Yeah, they may be OOC at times, but I don't think OOC is a crime... right?

Except for my original characters, whose similarities with people, living or dead, or about to live, are purely coincidental.

Happy reading!

PROLOGUE: Setting Up

The carriage rocks slightly as the train moves towards the city. I sit in my compartment, my cane set next to me where I can easily reach it. I lean against the cold, hard window, almost feeling the countryside pass by. Of course, I can't see any of those now. The brailler jumps around on the table in front of me as the carriage rocks around.

When I was a child, I've always loved travelling by trains, watching the countryside pass by. The greenery always fascinated me, and in the winter, the huge blanket of white snow. Now, only the smell of grass tells me that I'm passing through the countryside.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a cruel disease to have. It allowed me to see the world in all its beauty before and slowly took everything away. At first, it was just some minor annoyance, with the poor vision. Then the inability to adjust to light set in. Then the night blindness. The inability to focus on objects. And then slowly, slowly but surely, my vision dimmed, until it was no more.

It was this disability that led me to that place. The place where I met my wife. The place where I met the first woman I ever fell in love with… and the last.

I sit in silence as I listen to the click-clack of the train's carriage on the tracks, the brailler lying forgotten on the table top. The rhythm of the sound and the rocking soon make me drift to sleep, into the world of dreams… the same dreams I've had for the last few days.

This is my story… as I saw it with my own eyes.

BGM: Fripperies

I wake up feeling quite refreshed, and, after a quick breakfast, I head down to the station to catch the train. My vision's a bit blurrier, though. Maybe I do need to go to that ophthalmologist again. She's going to grind me out though, seeing as I've just been there a month ago. Probably say it's because of my computer, or something.

Well, I guess that may account for it, but it isn't entirely the case. I've got retinitis pigmentosa, which slowly, but surely, robs me of my sight. I've already got trouble adjusting to light in places, and am all but blind at night. Thankfully, classes end just before then.

I arrive at my stop this chilly January and enter the school building. I pick up my things and settle down for the boring day ahead. I meet up with my friends, have lunch, and finally, rejoice with them as the school bells chime the end of the day.

"Ryuuji-san, do you have a minute?" asks our class rep. She's a bit meek, but god help those who unleash her evil side. I know better than to say no.

"Of course, iinchou."

"See, we need some more members to help clean the grounds. Maybe you can help?" she says, smiling. Nope, I definitely can't say no to that smile. Especially since it reminds me of that girl from that anime who had the same smile just before axing a guy's head off.

BGM: Nocturne

I sigh as I work on the school's courtyard, shoveling snow to the sides, trying to make everything presentable. The school's inspection is going to be held sometime this week, so it's understandable that they'd make us do this. It's getting dark, though, so I am a bit nervous. I look for the class rep and tell her I need to go out. Thankfully, she doesn't flip out on me and even gives me some pudding as a reward, knowing fully well what my problem in sight was.

"Please be careful going home," she says. "I'm sorry I had to make you help, but we really needed to get this done!"

She adds a small, sincere smile after that, and my heart thaws a bit at her expression. I guess this is for the good of all.

I walk down the steadily darkening streets of the city, passing intersections upon intersections looking for the station home. My walking costs me nearly too much time as the lights grow dimmer. Thankfully, the streetlamps go on just as my vision goes completely dark, and guide me to the station. Now it's just one last block, intersection and—

Suddenly everything's pitch black. A blackout, at this time? The crossing lights are still on, however, so it might just be the streetlamps going off, probably because of low maintenance. I watch as the lights on my side go red, and the walking man signals the all clear. Now to just cross this one last intersection…

BGM: Cold Iron

I start walking, and just when I near the other end, a bright light appears on my peripheral vision, followed by a painfully loud horn. I turn towards it, as though in slow motion, and a force hits me at Mach speed. Well, maybe not, but it's painful either way. My glasses fly off as I get thrown airborne by the collision. I land painfully on my back, a few meters away from where I was. I try to look up, and through my blurry vision, I see a red light turn to yellow, then green.

Hit by someone who ran the red light, huh? Such a boring death. I try to keep conscious as long as possible, hearing people stop their cars around me, some with urgent voices, and some with curiosity. The ambulance sirens sound in the distance, and I lose consciousness just as the flashing lights of the ambulances come into view.

BGM: Caged Heart

The next thing I know, I wake up in the hospital, barely able to move. "Sedatives", as the doctors called it. Or maybe just the fact that every square inch of my body is in a cast. It was painful, the first few days I was awake, as the sedatives wore off slowly. The driver was, apparently, apprehended a few hours afterwards. I didn't really care much about him, or her. I just wanted to go out of this hell hole.

The class rep visited around three days after. It was sad, really, seeing her blame herself for my accident. I tried to reassure her the best way I could, but couldn't form the words properly. She nearly cried herself to death, then and there, and I couldn't do anything about it, encased in a solid cast.

That would haunt me for the next five or six months that followed, as I drifted in and out of consciousness, barely registering when my parents came to visit. Or my classmates. Or even anyone, in particular. Soon, the visitors dwindled, little by little, until it was only my parents and a select few that came.

Class rep was one of the last to disappear. I never really knew why. Maybe she had something for me? Or maybe she felt guilty that much. It would suck if that was the reason, though, being visited by someone because of plain pity. No matter what her reason was, she kept on smiling, and trying to help me out of my steadily increasing depression, up until the day she stopped visiting. That would be the last day I'd see her.

Encased in plaster, I watched time pass around me. Or, as my friend would put it, process happened around me. One by one, the casts went away, and finally, as the end of May passed and June came, I was free.

"Ryuuji, how are you today?" asks the doctor. I give him a small smile in return. Thankfully, against all odds, I've fully recovered from the crash. However, there's something about him that feels off.

"I guess I'm good to go, right doc?" I ask him, fearing what would be his answer.

He sighs heavily, and turns to me with a serious look on his face. "See, I've been talking to your parents about this. We think that it might not be a good idea for you to return to your old school. It's a bit too dangerous, according to them, especially after your accident."

Someone knocks on the door and the doctor stands to open it. It's my parents, though I don't know what to say to them. Should I be happy that I'm finally free? Or should I be sad because I can't go back to my old school? I settle on being silent.

"I guess the doctor already told you about your transfer?" asks my dad.

I nod, slowly, and my mom, seeing my depression, tries to cheer me up.

"Don't worry. It's a good school. We've been there, and it's perfect for you. It's quiet and serene," she says, and like an afterthought, adds: "and lots of beautiful girls too!"

Well, that cheered me up a bit, especially that little joke. I can't help but chuckle a bit.

"All right, I'll go to the school," I say, sitting up from the bed. My joints creak a bit from lack of use, but it'll be fine. It's not like I'll have to take a routine medication anyway, since it was mostly fractures and mental trauma.

So after a few short goodbyes to my classmates at my old school, and a few more packing, measuring for new uniforms, and basically just preparing, I head of to my new school. A whole new world. After a while on the trip, I realize I'm actually excited about my new life.

Post A/N:

Hello everyone! This is the first fiction that I've written, and I hope it wasn't too bad. Please leave a review so I can improve future chapters, and if you can, point out some parts, like grammar error or spelling mistakes or just mistakes in general. English is not my native language, after all.

If the BGM parts gets too distracting, or if you don't like it in general, just tell me and I'll get rid of it.

All that said, thanks for reading! I'll upload the chapters around weekly, or as time allows me, so I can finish and polish them. Good day/evening to you all!

~M. Q. A. a.k.a. skittleslol