Sleepiness had befallen the land like a curse, slowing all motion with its latent presence. Winter was the mastermind behind the widespread lethargy: This year marked the longest winter ever recorded in Japan. Unfortunately, Motosuwa Hideki had not been absolved from the effects of that winter. He too had been markedly lethargic, and it was reflecting sourly in his school work. Just when his grades seemed as if they could not plummet any more, that very day his English professor had pulled him aside to inform him he was failing.

A frown formed on his lips; he couldn't completely blame the seemingly endless cold for his poor academic performance. After he finally passed the college entrance exam, Hideki had suddenly forgotten the possibility of poor performance in school. Once he had gotten into college, he had become so drunk with surprise and joy that the possibilities of catastrophe completely melted into non-existence. Now, after only one short semester, reality had slapped him hard on the face. Hideki had barely passed by the skin of his teeth. Now, he was completely failing.

"How could I have been so stupid?" He mumbled, reaching to brush the fast-forming layer of snow off of his suitcase. "If I flunk out of college, what will I do? How will I take care of Chi?" At the beginning of winter the cost of heating and clothing had nearly decimated what little savings Hideki had left. If he flunked out now, there would be no hope of obtaining financial stability. A foul taste saturated his throat at the thought. Spotting a nearby park bench, he slowly began slumping towards it.

The year had started off amazingly. Hibiya had allowed him to stay in his apartment for a reduced rent, which was a complete blessing. (Upon seeing the cost of college, he had nearly gone into cardiac arrest. Even now, Just the thought of one million yen made him cringe.) Finally being with Chi in a mutual relationship had also lifted a lot of weight off his chest. Despite long days in class, and even longer hours at Yorokonde, the sight of Chi at the day's end made it all worth it. He could always count on her calm, loving demeanor; her unwavering smile; the warmth of her soft, small body.

Yet, a dark cloud of realization had belied Hideki's idyllic fantasies. It was a very real possibility that he could flunk out of college. Hideki turned his gaze towards the sky. Black clouds, gravid with snow, rolled endlessly above. He snickered lightly. "A sky filled with black clouds. That's how I feel right now. There's no sunshine in my life." Even though he was half-kidding, there was still something truly sad in his voice. As he watched the clouds roll slowly overhead, a vision of his future played in his mind: He was still stuck in his small, one room apartment. Chi was slowly breaking, desperately needing repair for various small things. (For example, one of the screws in her ear plates had been lost, so it constantly hung limply open). He worked never-ending hours at his small restaurant job, making barely enough money to keep them above water…

His hands flew to both sides of his face, and he attempted to shake himself free from the all-too-real nightmare that now poisoned his thoughts. The muscles of his face tightened into a grimace. He desperately tried to cajole himself back to reality: "No, that's not going to happen. You still have time to get your grades around— "

And then suddenly, the world ended.

A large object had connected solidly with his skull. Bright, phosphorescent balls of light flashed before his eyes. His movements were languid; it seemed suddenly as if he had been thrown underwater. A far-away voice, distorted and dissonant, now called to him:

"Motosuwa— "

His thoughts finally emerged from their watery prison. His vision slowly realigned; the mushy objects before him rearranged themselves into something coherent. The voice was clearer now: It was female, soft, and marked with worry.

"Motosuwa, you ass, get up!" The woman had him grasped firmly by the shoulders, and was speaking rather close to his face. She seemed rather mean for a blurry woman. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard. I didn't know you were going to pass out…"

Her mushy face finally was recognizable: The woman had very dark, molten-chocolate brown eyes, a small, delicately rounded face, and a mass of lengthy black hair with a solitary magenta streak. A light bulb abruptly turned on: "Saito Suki? Is that you?" The world was spinning slightly still. "Why did you try to kill me?"

She laughed; it echoed in his bruised skull. "I didn't try to kill you, jerkoff. You looked so miserable I just tried to snap you out of it. I had no idea you were enough of a pussy that you'd pass out because of a little love tap, though." She slapped him on his back. Hideki coughed, choking momentarily on a ball of spit that had formed in the back of his throat during his momentary bit of unconsciousness. Rolling up her sleeves, Suki attended to his head with an ice pack.

He looked at her questioningly. "It's from my lunch," she explained. "I don't like to eat university food. I'd rather make my own seaweed salads…" Her brow furrowed, and she rolled her eyes. "There's no use explaining this to you now. You aren't going to process anything in that fucked-up head of yours." She ruffled his hair; he flinched.

"What the heck do you think you are doing?" He swatted her hand away. He could feel the soft, starkly cold snow that had accumulated on his head in the process. It stung. But Hideki wasn't going to take anymore chances at being tortured and beaten. He stood, asserting the fact he was fine and didn't need any more of her 'coddling.' "I'm not your plaything Saito. I need to get home in one piece…I have people who are counting on me."

Suki took a few steps aback, slinging her briefcase over one shoulder. She balanced herself against a rectangular, rough, gray stoned pillar that marked the entrance gates of the university. "Like that persocom? That's hardly a person you know. You're such a hypocrite…you make fun of me for treating you like a plaything." She winked, running her tongue mockingly along her lips.

Hideki's hand tightened considerably around the handle of his suitcase. "That's not funny, Saito." He averted his eyes to the ground.

Saito swept forward; she nearly leapt onto the park bench. She was a dancer, and the grace that she used in her performances constantly crept into her everyday movements. Yet she was no conventional girl; her constantly foul language was testament to that. Unlike most well mannered or catty girls in school, Saito was fairly blunt and crude about how she said things. Additionally, there was something uncouth about the way she acted, especially towards him. Hideki couldn't quite place it though; he had a feeling his body could decipher it better than his mind. There had been many a time when Saito would brush against him, or shove him playfully, that made blood flow to anywhere but his brain.

While perched on the back of the bench as opposed to sitting on its intended seat, Saito attempted to reconcile with her friend. "Motosuwa, you ass, you know I'm just fucking around. How is that going, anyway?"

Hideki took another breath in his lungs; amazingly for the past minute he had forgotten to breathe. He mentally scolded himself for losing his temper: Saito was almost always joking, no matter how serious or cruel her tone. As his muscles relaxed, he allowed himself to slump back into the park bench. His fingers crept to his temples. "Horribly. I love her, but there's only so much I can do, you know?"

"Hrm." Saito's tone dropped; a note of seduction had fallen into it. As she slid towards him on the bench, a few strands of her lengthy black hair swept his shoulder; it contrasted beautifully with the bleach-white snow. Hideki suddenly felt the soft palate of her fingertips on his temples as well. They began to massage gently. "Well, that's because your persocom doesn't have a pussy like mine."

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Now Saito, you stop fooling around!" He flailed momentarily, turning around in his seat to glare in her direction. However, his attempts at rebellion were soon squelched once he got an eyeful of what was directly behind him. Saito had inconspicuously straddled his neck while perched on the back of the bench. Her legs were spread evenly around his face, her feet planted firmly next to his legs. Hideki had expected to see Saito sitting at his right side with a slight smirk on his face. Instead, he got a full shot of her privates, only constrained by a very thin see-though layer of blue panties. For a split-second he was mesmerized, entranced by the sight of it. Blood rushed into his cheeks, his body, and other certain places. But then realization swept him, and he screeched, propelling himself backwards off the bench into the snow.

Saito chuckled darkly and crossed her legs. "You idiot. You should get laid already by that persocom of yours. Yanno, it could probably work if you just fucking tried it." She bounded off the bench, landing gracefully in a patch of land that wasn't covered by snow. Her skirt ruffled from the jump, and Hideki was able to see those blue meshed panties for just one more split second. As she turned to walk away, she spat one more thing at him, a smirk planted firmly on her lips: "Pervert."