Katawa Shoujo - Akira Satou Route

Act 3-6 Deus Ex

"I'll just need you to sign here." Says the woman on the other of the counter, clad in a white work shirt and a baseball cap.

There has got to be some way this isn't allowed. Can we say our postal system is so secure if anyone can just walk into the office and sign off on someone else's mail?

I at least make an attempt to forge a signature, writing 'Kenji Setou' into the blank space rather than my own name. Knowing how often they check these records, however, I'm sure I could have signed as 'Ford Perfect' or any one of a dozen fictional characters and they'd be none the wiser.

At least it feels like a short day. School passed without incident, although Hanako only showed up for the latter half of the day. She was about as talkative as usual, which is to say not at all, but I was still able to speak to her a bit after class.

How convenient is it that the Satou sisters get back after school tomorrow? I still haven't come up with anything to give Akira as a welcome-back gift, though. It doesn't help that I've always been terrible with giving presents.

The package, which turns out to be about the size of a miniature refrigerator as I expected, is pushed onto the counter before me. I brace myself as I wrap my arms around it and lift, but then as if to insult my expectations; it turns out to be lighter than my bookbag.

Even worse is the fact that all the weight is concentrated at the middle. It's like the only box they had lying around was something for old televisions. I'll bet it's something that could have easily just been wrapped, like textbooks.

I maneuver my hands around the big brown package before backpedaling out of the post office, choosing to head straight to the school rather than stop by the Shanghai. My growling stomach chides me for such a thing, but it's probably better for everyone that I don't try to bring such a sizable box into a cafe.

Even if I did decide to take a snack break, I'd be too distracted by my curiosity. Kenji doesn't seem like he's big into books, so I doubt it's anything like that. Knowing him, it might be something absurd, like a bunch of action figures.

Now, I understand that I have no right to peek into his privacy; in fact, the less I know about his private life, the better off I'm sure I'll be. But still; is it wrong to wonder what's inside?

What if it's something dangerous? Like explosives or caustic materials? What if he's planning some kind of 'infiltration' and he's going to use acid to burn a hole in the roof of the female dorm?

Or if it's a grappling hook? It's not hard to imagine what kind of danger would be roaming the streets if someone like him had such a thing. I'm not sure if he has the physical strength to handle something like that, but I wouldn't exactly be surprised considering how easily he laughs off hangovers.

Comic books seem like the best possibility; maybe DVDs or even videotapes. There would have to be a lot of stuff in here for all that weight, though.

I remember him saying something about it being 'for a rainy day.' Considering that he got the whiskey for our 'manly picnic' from his parents, this could be something of that nature as well.

I trudge through town with Kenji's mail in tow, having to shift it around in order to carry it up the hill to Yamaku. The ground beneath my feet gets steeper with each step, making it more difficult just to maintain a stride.

Rather than continue running my thoughts into the ground with all this baseless speculation, I focus on making it to the top of the hill and, from that point onward, delivering the box. Maybe as a reward Kenji will let me SEE WHAT'S INSIDE OF I-

My daily test of patience arrives in the form of a phone call as something in my pocket begins to vibrate and buzz. I attempt to lay the box on the ground in a gentle fashion, but decide to let it drop after my phone rings for the third time. Before I can answer it, however, Kenji's mail hits the concrete with just enough momentum to roll a single time, which, in turn, causes it to slide and tumble all the way down the hill.