Short Sharp Shock/Transcript

NARRATOR: "Just around the corner of the hallway something hits me in the chest with the force of a runaway train."

HISAO: "Ouch..."

NARRATOR: "Opening my eyes, I see a pair of saucer-like green eyes looking up at me. They belong to the perpetrator, a short girl who bumped into me and has now fallen down onto the hallway floor. She wears a PE uniform and a very worried frown. The former strikes me as a rather strange thing to have on during a lunch break. ...More striking than that, though, is that she doesn't have legs. Or she does, but they are not flesh and bone. Her pale and very much flesh-and-bone thighs end in shins and feet made of some black metallic or plastic-like material. They look disturbingly artificial and unnatural. It almost makes me forget that my chest is hurting. The girl winces a little, rubs her nose and jumps up."

EMI: "Aw man... Hey, are you all right? I'm sorry about that, really! I wasn't looking where I was going, and you just came out of nowhere. Sorry... Sorry!"

NARRATOR: "She's looking really apologetic, in the hurt puppy way of looking apologetic. I quickly forget about being angry or anything, since hurt puppies are my weak spot."

HISAO: "It's okay. Don't worry about it... ouch..."

NARRATOR: "I say that, but there's a stinging pain growing in my chest, and I know that this is about the biggest possible danger for my condition. Don't overexert yourself, don't forget your medication and most of all, don't get hit in the chest. I try to rub my solar plexus to chase the pain away, holding my breath in an attempt to hear my heartbeat. It seems normal..."

EMI: "Hey, should I get a nurse?"

NARRATOR: "The worried, high-pitched voice of the girl snaps me out of it. I stare at her for a few seconds dumbfounded, until I realize that I probably looked worse off than I really was, doubled over myself and looking all tense. Damn, I'm overly worried about my heart."

HISAO: "Err... no need, I'm fine."

NARRATOR: "Managing to say something in response, I pull myself upright, feeling my sore ribs one last time, and take a deep breath. She just knocked the wind out of me. Big time. But it's nothing more than that."

EMI: "You sure you're okay? I hit you pretty hard."

HISAO: "It's okay. I said I was fine, and nothing's broken. No harm done."

EMI: "That's good! I was—"

NARRATOR: "I feel a hand on my shoulder at the same time the girl's eyes widen in horror and whatever she was saying gets interrupted by a very horrified--"

EMI: "Eep!"

NARRATOR: "I don't have time to look behind me because Shizune is already shoving me aside and stomping over to the girl, signing furiously at her."

MISHA: "Miss Ibarazaki, I saw that. Running in the halls is strictly forbidden."

NARRATOR: "Misha translates, right on Shizune's tail, but her voice is girlishly playful, not full of the divine fury Shizune's arm movements would seem to call for."

EMI: "Er, sorry, I was just going to get some stuff, and I was in a kind of a hurry."

SHIZUNE: "..."

MISHA: "You've been told this a thousand times before. Your reckless behavior endangers other students, and even worse, it's explicitly against the school regulations."

NARRATOR: "The girl blushes and starts to fidget nervously like a little child caught misbehaving. It's so cute I find myself smiling."

EMI: "I know that! I— I, um, I was just..."

SHIZUNE: "..."

MISHA: "Make sure that this will not happen again... although I'm sure telling you this is futile, and only causes me further headache when you choose to ignore the regulations."

MISHA: "Got that, Emi?"

NARRATOR: "The small girl sticks her tongue out in response."

EMI: "Aaah! I gotta go! Teacher'll have my head! I promised to help with printouts, but I went running instead! Sorry, but I've gotta change and everything!"

"Before Misha or Shizune or I can say anything, she's already bolted from where she was a second ago, almost halfway towards the stairwell. Shizune looks like she's about to go nuclear on the spot, so I smile at her in a vain attempt to calm her down."

SHIZUNE: "..."

MISHA: "Are you okay, Hicchan? That Ibarazaki girl is always like that, causing trouble to others."

HISAO: "You know, I'm pretty certain Shizune wouldn't call me 'Hicchan.'"

MISHA: "Never mind, never mind!"

NARRATOR: "..."

HISAO: "Yeah, anyway, I'm okay. Just got the wind knocked out of me."

SHIZUNE: "..."

MISHA: "That's great, Hicchan!"

NARRATOR: "I wouldn't call that great, but I let it slide this one time."

Next Scene: Detour Ahead (if Shizune's interest score is ten or greater)
or
It Builds Character (if Shizune's interest score is less than ten)