"Today, the weather turned bad."

"The sound of rain hitting the window mixes with the tinny pop music in my left ear, the girl in my lap having the other earbud. It's not a terrible way to spend a lazy evening, to be honest."

"The MP3 player lays on the tatty upturned box in my room as it blares away, Suzu tapping away on her phone while sitting in my lap. She'd never have let me watch her browsing her Intenet sites before, so I count it as a small success in gaining her trust."

"Discussing some show on a message board doesn't seem all that exciting, but at least it means she's socialising more than it appears within school."

mik "You sure spend a lot of time on the Internet. You always talking to people like this, or what?"

suz "Some of the time. Most of my friends are online, after all."

mik "Ah, so you're still in contact with your friends from when you were younger. That's pretty nice."

suz "I mean I know them online. I've never met them in person."

mik "That's kinda different to real friends, you know."

suz "They are real friends. Why does it matter if I don't see them?"

mik "Well... I mean..."

"What she said is so foreign to me that I struggle to actually come up with a counterargument. How can you have a meaningful relationship with someone you've never met?"

mik "It just doesn't seem the same."

suz "You're really old-fashioned sometimes."

"Like so many of our conversations, this one peters just the same with little satisfactory conclusion. As much as I might try to build bridges between our different lives, they never quite seem to meet in the middle."

"But then again, it's always been like that. Maybe I was hoping that going out with her might change things, but Suzu still feels as impenetrable as ever. After such a long time staying so intensely private, the door to let others inside has become jammed."

"Then again, given recent events, maybe this is a bad time to reflect on her social skills."

"While I may have avoided the wrath of my teachers beyond a long period of detention, ostracization was much harder to escape. In the minds of those who knew me, every idea they had about my real nature was validated. To those who didn't, I was simply deemed trouble that was best avoided."

"Suzu's a solitary person to begin with, but I can't imagine she's oblivious to the weird atmosphere around us now. Any idea of peacefully coasting along to graduation has been ruined, all thanks to Yukio and I."

"If I hadn't fought him, if he hadn't goaded me onward, if he hadn't confessed, if I'd mentioned our relationship, the amount of 'if's that came before where we are now is endless."

"The sound of a hand rapping on my door breaks me from my thoughts. I'm almost thankful."

mik "It's unlocked!"

"Two pairs of feet shuffle into the room, their owners revealed to be Haru and Hisao. The former waves, while the latter holds up the pack of cards he's carrying."

har "'Evening."

suz "Hi."

mik "Hey. Looks like you two came prepared."

har "Not like there's much we can do outside. Up for a game of poker?"

mik "Sure. Suzu?"

"She just nods. With something to do having finally arrived, I take out the earbud and loosen my grip around Suzu's waist. She takes her cue to wrap up the earphone cable around the MP3 player, put away her phone, and shuffle around to the side of the box as Hisao and Haru take their places around it."

"Waiting on Hisao to finish clumsily shuffling the deck, I can't help but feel that what Haru says is little more than a pretext to check up on us, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing."

mik "Oh, right. We bettin' anything?"

suz "I don't have any money on me."

his "We're not betting real money. Good grief."

"How boring. Being such a stickler for rules is one of his worse traits."

"It's eventually agreed that we'll bet using small scraps of torn-up paper as tokens, an old unused worksheet being sacrificed for the task. Hisao ends up the dealer by virtue of already having the pack, doling out a set of cards to each of us."

"Receiving my cards, I take a look. Three of a kind, but low. Not the worst hand, I guess."

har "Guess the dry spell was just the weather preparing to dump it all in one go."

mik "It's sure comin' down hard."

"Looking to Hisao to try and get a read on his cards, I find him already glancing at us."

mik "What's with you?"

his "I was just thinking how you two are all over each other these days."

"It's natural, isn't it? With everything feeling like it's slipping out of my control, I want to stay close as I can to what I still hold dear. Given her unusual comfort with being physically close, I've little doubt she thinks the same way. Even as I hold her, it feels like she might slip from my grasp at any moment."

suz "Is that bad?"

mik "You need to quit assuming the worst of what people say."

"Suzu accepts the scolding without word, making me feel a little bad. Whether to comfort her or myself, I give her head a little rub. She seems to like it when I do so, at least as far as I can tell."

"As the game continues on, the elephant in the room is finally addressed. It was going to be either Suzu or I who brought it up, and it turns out to be her."

suz "What happened to Hasegawa?"

"Suzu's gaze is focused on her cards, my own looking to the other two with us. It's strange to see Haru so uncomfortable, Hisao ending up having to give the news."

his "Just keeping to himself, really. Ended up leaving the club."

"He says the second part with all the gravity of the first, as if such a thing hardly mattered."

"Yukio never did have that much attachment to the club compared to most of the others, but it's still an unwelcome surprise. While his face may eventually mend, his pride would be another matter."

"Perhaps Yukio's departure is what makes breaking my own news somewhat easier."

mik "To be honest.. I've been thinking of quitting the club as well."

suz "What?"

"Three pairs of eyes round on me in shock."

his "Did the teachers tell you to, or...?"

mik "No, nothing like that. It's just, after everything that happened..."

mik "Besides, I can spend more time with Suzu this way."

"I feel like I'm spluttering out excuses, but I've no reason to considering who I'm with."

"There's no point in continuing to push myself. I've done enough damage already, and it's clear that I'll never fit in with the others any more. It's one thing to get in a scrap or two, but another to make past events return to people's minds."

"I look to Suzu expecting a smile in return for my thinking of her, but she just calls out that she wants to fold instead. As impenetrable as ever."

har "Geez. I mean, it is up to you, but isn't that kinda overdoing it? The club ain't gonna be the same without you around."

suz "If you're doing this for me, then don't."

his "Seriously. There isn't that much time left, so why not stick around until graduation?"

mik "I appreciate you tryin' to keep me, but it's seriously fine."

mik "I'm folding, by the way."

"There's a moment of confusion before everyone realises that we were actually playing poker. With everyone folding but Hisao, he nets himself a nice little haul of tokens."

mik "You sure you don't want to put money on this, Hisao? You're actually pretty good at it."

"He shrugs simply."

his "Card games are just probability puzzles."

har "Easy for you to say..."

"Looks like Haru's down to his last couple of tokens, and it's the same for me. Suzu's managing to hold her own, but it's clear who's dominating the game."

"Hisao checks his watch, frowning at the result. I suspect that we have our winners and losers decided for the night."

his "We'd better wrap this up. It's getting late."

"Haru looks reluctant, but after glancing at his own watch, he comes to his feet."

har "Man, I was so close...

har "Well, whatever. See you guys tomorrow, 'kay?"

suz "Good night."

mik "See ya. If you see Yukio..."

"Then what? Say sorry for me? I still feel like he was in the wrong. Even saying hi to him would feel weird, though."

mik "Just make sure he's okay, will you?"

"A nod from Haru is the response, the last of the playing cards being shovelled into the packet after Hisao and Suzu finish collecting them off the box."

"The two take their leave, Hisao giving a friendly wave goodbye as he does. If they did come to check on how we were doing, I wonder if they were happy with what they found."

"Suzu lets herself fall back and closes her eyes, chest heaving from her tired sigh. Being around people sure takes a lot out of her."

mik "You awake?"

suz "Yes."

mik "I'm sorry. About Yukio, that is."

suz "It's not your fault."

mik "It is my fault; I started that fight."

suz "There's no point crying over spilled milk. It was going to happen eventually."

mik "What do you mean by that?"

suz "Nothing. Go and take a shower."

mik "C'mon, why are you being like that?"

suz "Because you stink. We can talk afterwards."

"I raise an arm and take a sniff. I guess I have been more anxious than usual during the day, given all that's happened."

"Giving up without an argument, I stand and begin to fossick around my room for wherever my pajamas gave gotten to."

mik "You should probably head back to your own room sometime, too."

"With no reply forthcoming, I pause and look back to her. Eyes still closed, a few seconds pass as I wait for any kind of response."

suz "I want to stay with you tonight."

"I guess that's that, then."

# Timeskip

"The warm water of the shower brings to mind the hot baths I used to enjoy back home. It's exactly the kind of relaxation I needed."

"So much so that I can't help but yawn. Suzu's sleep schedule might be messed up, but for those of us with a normal sense of time, this is getting pretty late. I end up just standing around more than actually washing, enjoying the peaceful solitude."

"What Shizune said, or wrote, stuck in my mind. Maybe I am selfish; I have tended to think about what I enjoy over what others might think of me or want they to do. I've tried to fix that, though. I've tried to make everyone happy, and especially so for Suzu."

"But have I managed that? It seems that things are worse than ever since Suzu and I became an item. We may still not see eye to eye on when we should've come out, not that it matters now, but aside from that's it's hard to find fault with her."

"Shizune may have told me not to think so much about myself, but it's hard not to when it feels like I'm the root of so many people's problems."

"Past the sound of the running shower, the sound of someone opening the door and closing it behind them can be heard. Unusual for anyone to be taking a shower this late, so much so that I open the stall door and poke my head out to see if it's who I think it is."

"The girl's body isn't hard to make out past the light fog, her arms awkwardly positioned as she fights against her embarrasment."

"My first thought is that Suzu's just going to take a shower as well, but I find myself stepping backward in sheer startlement as she advances. With every step I take being matched, the two of us end up packed into the one stall with the door left hanging open."

"Suzu's initiative is charming, but try as I might to play it off with some witty comment, I feel so uncomfortable that the words don't come. The way she just looks ahead, not reacting at all to the shower's water now pouring over her, is offputting. She's also said before that she hates how hot I run my water."

mik "Suzu... what's going on?"

"The words seem to stir her into action, arms wrapping around my back as she lips come to mine. It doesn't take long for me to reciprocate, my resistance melting away as our tongues intermingle."

"Her wet body feels wonderful, my hands running over the nape of her neck, her impossibly smooth back, her petite butt, every inch of her that I can get my hand over. I can't get enough of this feeling, out bodies pressed against one another and simply taking in each other's forms."

"Suzu really is beautiful, in a way that I could never be. Even when I was young I never looked as cute as she, her silky, near unblemished skin telling of a pampered life so unlike my own."

"But that in itself makes me think back to what I'd been ruminating over. Suzu is gentle, unlike my brutish nature. She doesn't see the world as I do, nor has she experienced the hardships I have. What worth do I have, in her eyes?"

"I break from our kissing, but before I can say a word, her head lowers. A peck to the collar, before working her way down to my right breast. She plays at it with her mouth, sucking at it, kissing the nipple, teasing and caressing it with her tongue."

"A moan escapes my lips, hurridly stifled in the case someone outside may hear. I don't want to think about anything other than Suzu. Just now, just for this moment, I want to think only of her. I desperately try to turn off my mind and let myself drift along with the pleasure she's trying so earnestly to give me."

"Her lips move downward, her hands on my sides slipping downward with her. She holds her face so close to me that it might almost be touching, as if observing every detail as closely as possible. A kiss to my toned stomach follows, then to my bellybutton, then to my lower hair, and finally..."

mik "Ah..."

"She kisses my nub before beginning to tease it with her tongue, her movements less careful around the area than when we've done this before. My advice for her to be less gentle seems to have taken as she pleases me, lapping up both my moisture and the water flowing over me as she goes."

"I just stroke her hair, basking in her adoration as she looks up at me expectantly. Perhaps it's the excitement of her coming onto me, or of us doing this in the showers, but either way I can't get enough of her."

mik "Like that... just keep going..."

"She obeys me without complaint, now keeping her motions even as she sucks and flicks at me with the very tip of her tongue. The tide of euphoria starts rising without receeding, my muscles relaxing as I let myself get carried away."

"Almost by surprise, a sharp spike in pleasure floods through me. I desperately hold on to the thread as it so nearly slips my grasp, my breathing accelerating as I feel the end so quickly approaching."

mik "Suzu... Suzu...!"

mik "Aaahn!"

"My mind blanks as the bliss of climax washes over me, every sense forgotten as I focus on that most wonderful feeling."

"But all too soon, it leaves me. The water running over my body, Suzu's hands holding my thighs and butt, those beautiful eyes of hers with their mix of happiness and timidity; it all returns, with each as comforting as the last."

"Suzu stands back up, holding me tightly. It's far from unappreciated, as even now the feeling of her against me feels somehow more vivid than ever. My hand sinks tightly into her skin, pressing us together as tightly as I can."

"Taking a hold of her shoulder, I pull back to twist her body around, pulling her back against me and holding her once more. She doesn't protest as I kiss her shoulder, nor as I grope her breast while holding my stump across her stomach."

"My hand ventures downward until sliding between her legs, Suzu's breath catching as I begin to message her."

"Her body relaxes in my arms as I do so, her flustered face visible in the mirror ahead as I circle and stroke with my finger. I don't think she realises I can see her reflection, the expression on her cute face twisting and turning as I fiddle with her."

"Wanting to push her excitement further, I take my hand from her and reach behind me for the still-running showerhead, twisting it from its holder."

suz "Miki, what are you doing?"

mik "Quiet..."

"My words do little to settle Suzu, but her curiosity and my grip on her provide a persuasive enough counterargument as she falls silent."

"I lower the showerhead slowly, allowing her time to prepare herself before, finally, it reaches her most tender spot."

suz "Aah..."

"She sounds more pained than anything as the water hits her, the initial stimulation proving to be too much."

"Without another hand to adjust the strength of the flow, I simply hold her close and move the spray in a stroking motion over her groin, hoping to ease her into it."

"The moans escaping her lips tell of the pleasure starting to overcome Suzu, the showerhead now held steady. I can't help but smile as she begins to lose herself, succumbing to the joy I'm giving her."

"With one hand on my thigh and the other holding my own, she throws her head back. With her mouth so close to my ear, I find myself getting carried away by the sound of her desperate whimpering."

suz "Miki, I... Aahn!"

"Her body freezes as she reaches the end, eyes shut tightly as she lets herself drown in the sensation."

"All too soon, it passes. I let the showerhead drop to the floor and clutch her tightly, lest she fall in her relaxed state. The glow of climax lingerings, with a long, satisfied breath passing her lips."

"My hand digs into her skin as my mind starts to dwell. This isn't not enough; I want to push her further."

"I lift her just enough to allow myself to walk forwards, stepping forward as best I can."

suz "Miki... what are you...?"

"Reaching the counter ahead, I let Suzu drop and thrust her forward. She has no opportunity stop herself before her legs hit the side, sending her top half sprawling forwards."

"As Suzu's body flops over the counter with a wet thud, her arms splaying out and hands gripping at the slippery surface, she manages to pick herself up and look behind her in surprise. The expression on my face is no doubt telling of what's about to happen."

"I wordlessly push her back down with my stump, Suzu's chest pressing against the counter once more as she looks back down in submission. A shiver of excitement runs through me as she does so, knowing that she's surrendered her body to my wishes."

"By now, only the lightest brush is needed to make her groan as I scoop my right hand between her legs, her whimpers full of renewed lust as my fingers begin to move back and forth, around and around."

"As I stand behind her, I toy freely with Suzu's body as I bask in the sight of her consumed by desire at my hand. Suzu has rather nice legs, now that I can see them from this angle, and the arch of her back is a wonderful sight."

"Driven onward by the sight, I bring two fingers together and end my playing with her nub. Her body jerks forwards in response to my penetrating her, her barely-constrained whimpers peaking sharply in volume and pitch in surprise."

"I'm slowly coming to understand what she enjoys, my moistened fingers drumming against those areas she gives the most reaction to. "

suz "Aah... Miki, please..."

"Her voice takes on an almost alarmed edge, my movements going faster to unsettle her further. At this moment, her body is mine. Even now she'd be approaching the end, her fingertips pressing at the counter with ever more force to try and restrain herself."

suz "Aaah..."

suz "Miki, I can't... please... I'm going..."

"The reason for the strange lilt to her voice is lost on me for scant couple of seconds, before it becomes all too obvious."

"All control of her muscles leaves Suzu, her arms that had been clutching at the counter going limp, and head dropping. I barely have time to step back as her knees buckle and collapse from beneath her, sending her body slipping off and falling towards the ground."

"Caught completely by surprise, I barely manage to catch her wet body. Her slipperiness makes it impossible to stop her falling, the only thing I can do being to hold her to me and letting myself drop with her."

"The two of us end up sprawled on the floor, Suzu's limp figure awkwardly perched in my arms as I sit on the tiled floor. My butt hurts, but that's the least of my worries."

"She doesn't seem to be hurt, thank goodness. Bringing my arm around her back and slowly lifting her up into a more sensible position, I hold her limp body against me as delicately as I can manage. If it's a cataplexy attack as I imagine it is, she'd still be well aware of what's going on."

mik "I'm sorry, Suzu. I got carried away. I'm really, really sorry."

suz "It's okay..."

"She manages to mumble the words despite her muscles still being weak, barely even able to lift her eyelids. It only makes me hold her all the tighter."