What It Means To Touch

Summary: Under orders to sync with Hiro no matter what, Ichigo is driven to do whatever it takes to become in sync with Hiro. Takes place after Episode 2.

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"Hiro."

Stopping short in his tracks, a confused Hiro blinked as the door to the changing room opened to reveal a very cross Ichigo. Her gaze was firm with conviction, but the blush in her cheeks and the rising and falling of her shoulders suggested she was anything but calm. Behind, the back of Nana vanished past a turn in the corridor.

"We need to keep training. C-Come with me." C-Come with me." Going along with her, Hiro was surprised to see her not head back towards the simulators, but instead she took a right turn… Towards the bathrooms.

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"Why does bathing with you have to be part of this?"

"I told you already!" Ichigo said, holding her towel around herself, "'Skinship' encourages pilots to relax around each other! Synchronisation is more than just piloting the FranXX. You- We have to accept each other's mind, and be c-c-comfortable in each other's presence…"

The fact that both of them were still holding towels around their genitals spoke volumes of the progress they were making.

"Well then, I'll go first." Ichigo's teeth chattered, as she stepped into the private bath.

Struggling to control the tremor in her hands, Ichigo lowered herself in the warm waters of the bath. Her back was to Hiro, but she knew he was staring at her. Slowly, she loosened her white towel and let it sink into the steaming waters, but kept it clutched to her chest.

"P-Please come inside, Hiro," she said softly.

Awkwardly raising his leg over the tub's edge with his own towel around his waist, Hiro got into the tub as well, sending little ripples of water towards Ichigo, where they lapped at her hands. The tub was too cramped for the two of them, and even when Hiro's back was pressed against the opposite edge of the tub, there was simply no space for their legs.

Something lightly brushed against Hiro's fingers, then his legs and his inner thigh, causing him to gasp. "W-What was that?" he exclaimed. He made to grab the offending object - no sooner had his fingers wrapped around it and he pulled it out of the water, than Ichigo's bath towel slipped out of her hands.

"What are you doing- Ahh!" she shrieked. The clear water of the tub exposed her pert, small breasts to Hiro for a tantalising second, as did her bare navel and vagina. "Give it back!" she cried, as she clawed the air for her scant cover, and leaned forwards.

"Sorry!" Hiro said as he dropped her towel in the water. The cramped tub, however, did not allow for much gymnastics to be performed; the smooth tub sides and Ichigo's frantic movements were just enough to tip her over and directly on top of Hiro, pushing his head underwater with a large splash and a faceful of pubescent chest.

In the violent struggling and splashing that ensued, somehow Hiro managed to surface for air. A dripping wet Ichigo stood over him, still holding her towel, but now her crotch was dangerously near his face. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Let's not do that again. This is such a bad idea, I shouldn't have listened to Nana-" she hoisted a leg up, splashing Hiro with yet more water, and her feet slapped against cold tiles as she left him alone in a half-empty tub.

"Well, that was awful." he said to no one in particular."

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"Go back." Nana sternly insisted. "Go back and try again."

Ichigo made a strangled sound of protest. "But why? He pulled my towel, he did nothing he could have done to helped the situation, he's not willing to do anything-"

Nana silenced her with a raised finger. "You will take responsibility as Squad leader and get in the tub with him, or I will take responsibility and supervise you," she drew out the word with a long sigh. "Do you understand?"

Ichigo's face deflated as all her indignation left her expression. "Yes, M'am."

.

The door opened again behind him. Hiro looked round and was startled to see a forlorn Ichigo, hand still clutching her sodden towel with only half the spirit she had before.

"Ichigo, what was that about-?" he began, but she stepped into the tub wordlessly and turned on the taps to refill it.

"I will do what I must, Hiro," she said emotionlessly, "Please be quiet."

And she dropped her towel completely, once more presenting herself. The heat-lamp of the bathroom lit up every curve, every droplet that clung to her skin, and highlighted every strand of hair on her bare, petite shoulders. Hiro was stunned into silence; one naked girl was a sight to behold, but Ichigo? His leader and teammate? Wouldn't Goro be angry at him?

Words crept to the tip of his tongue, only to be swallowed back as his eyes roved up and down her undressed form. Sure, he had seen her backside in the cockpit of Delphinium, but this… This was different. Her buttcheeks wiggled slightly as she turned off the water and sat besides him, skin brushing skin. Breath whistled from between her lips and formed little clouds as she finally settled with far more gentleness and grace than earlier. The water's edge rippled around her breasts; she was trembling, and yet trying to remain still.

"Do I… What should I do, Ichigo?" Hiro whispered. His voice sounded a lot lower than it usually did to him. She blushed and looked away for a second, before answering in a soft tone of her own:

"Whatever you want to do."

"Wow." Hiro exhaled. Sitting to her right, he could examine all of her body in the clear waters of the tub. Slowly, afraid of rebuke, he inched his hand closer to her abdomen, and when he found no resistance, he touched her.

Ichigo shuddered, but remained silent. Despite the warmth of the bath, Ichigo's skin had a heat of its own, and it was marvellous by any account. It was neither rubbery like their plugsuits nor rough like their uniforms. Hiro ran his hand along her stomach, scraping his fingertips along her belly button, all while he felt her quiver beneath his touch.

"This in incredible," he thought. He brought his hand up, closer and closer to her chest, until it was millimetres away from her bare, uncovered breast. "M-may I?" he said.

Ichigo nodded, her face as red as an apple. Firm, yet soft. Supple, yet tough. It felt like his own backside, Hiro thought, but as he felt Ichigo's right breast, he immediately dismissed all comparisons to it. Her nipple, strangely similar but so different from his own, stiffened in the palm of his hand, and as he touched the tip of his finger to it-

"Don't do that." she said, but then quickly shook her head. "Hiro, it feels… It feels weird."

Hiro stared at her. "What kind of weird?" he asked. Ichigo's lips trembled, and he could just make out her thundering heartbeat beneath his hand. "I feel… I feel like there's tingling. In my…Breast," she stammered, "It's nothing like I've ever felt."

"Does it hurt?" His instincts came roaring back, the protective urges that training had drilled into Hiro. Pilots weren't supposed to hurt each other in training. But was this training?

"N-No." Ichigo admitted. "Just that… I feel weird here," she brought her hands to her her chest, directly over her heart, "My heart, it's beating fast. It's not like training at all. And down here…"

Ichigo brought her hands down, lower than even her stomach, until they came to rest between her legs, over her crotch.

"…I feel weird too," she moaned.

'Weird' was a word that was as foreign to Hiro as the concept of nakedness and kissing. Neither positive, nor negative, and certainly not in the training manual. If Naomi had ever come across something strange, she said it was 'not right', never that it was 'weird.'

So since it wasn't a bad thing, Hiro figured, it meant he could continue.

He leaned closer, taking in deeper breaths, and lightly squeezed Ichigo's breast again. She shuddered, shaking below his touch. Resisting, but accepting. Their clouds of exhaled breath mingled together in the bath as Hiro touched, and Ichigo moaned. Such was a testimony to the power of orders that Ichigo didn't move away when Hiro snaked his left arm around her to grope her left breast.

But their positions were getting difficult to continue. "Um, Ichigo… Would you please sit on my lap?" Hiro asked, anticipating the swiftest denial as usual. Once again, he was taken aback as Ichigo nodded meekly and shifted around. The warm water made delightful currents around their bodies as she settled on his bare thighs, with no towel to separate them. The sensation of skin on skin on skin… Hiro's head began to spin as he leaned forwards and rested his cheek on her left breast.

"Ichigo?" Hiro murmured as the bath began to spin his his stupor, "This might sound strange, but…"

"But?"

"You feel… Wonderful." he closed his eyes. Wallowed in a warm world of pure, unconditional bliss. His hands drifted from her breasts and sank in the water, settling at her hips and thighs.

Ichigo shuddered again. Hiro didn't so much hear her moan as he heard it - the subsonic sound reverberating through her body, going from her throat to her chest, and from her breast to his face, and deeper into his ears. Every movement she made, he felt. Every breath she took, he inhaled. They had fallen into step with every breath and he hadn't even noticed.

"Is this what it means to be in sync?" he whispered, but then a whine from Ichigo cut him off.

"H-Hiro, give me your hand," she said. Without waiting for him to respond, she took his right hand in both of hers, and pressed it to her crotch. What else would the evening surprise him with? Hiro's eyes widened and his senses cleared as Ichigo took his hand and guided it… Guided him somewhere else. He knew not what he was touching, only that it was soft and warm and every little movement made Ichigo squirm on his legs and make foreign, weird sounds he had never heard her make.

Sure, Hiro knew boys has penises and girls had vaginas. The split anatomical drawings in their syllabuses barely covered that topic, instead focusing on a breakdown of the various scientific terms of the reproductive system. Boys were different from girls, that's all he knew from the books.

No one could have ever told him a vagina was so pleasant to touch. Ichigo was running his finger up and down two thin flaps of flesh. Her breathing was fast and laboured. As he adjusted to the rhythm, he slowly began to take over, doing the same up-and-down repetition Ichigo was making him perform. When he bent his finger inwards to stroke, she bucked a little, sending ripples everywhere in the bath.

"Are you okay, Ichigo-" he began to say, but she grabbed his hand again. "J-Just keep doing that!" she exclaimed. "It's- It's good!" her moans echoed off the bathroom tiles. Was the water this hot, or was it just their bodies heating up?

So Hiro continued. Up, down, little left, little right. Digging in gently. A little bulb surfaced from between her flaps, and Ichigo convulsed with every little movement. As his own face began to heat up, Hiro was seized by a primal desire to touch her more, and he groped her left breast while continuing to touch her below the water. The guttural moans she uttered were impressive - impressively positive.

Somewhere between his legs, a new kind of pressure had begun to overtake Hiro. His penis was hurting, but it wasn't pain. A kind of tension that sought release. But with the girl in his arms practically writhing on top of him, Hiro put his own body's 'weird thing' aside. "Harder, Hiro, harder!" she moaned. He eagerly obeyed, and slid his fingers in deeper. Squeezed her breast with just a bit more force. Toyed with her nipple as it danced under his fingertip like the spring-loaded button of the Franxx's controls. Ichigo had long cast aside whatever restraint she had, and Hiro marvelled at the wonders of his touch.

"I'm- Uhh!" she groaned. Ichigo grabbed his right hand and shoved his finger deeply. His digits entered somewhere warm and slimy to the touch, and yet it beat in sync with her heart. Hiro himself was panting with exertion, his mind hijacked by instincts and her orders. She quaked on his hips, letting out a little squeak every other second or so-

And then it passed, whatever weird thing it was. Strength fled her body and Ichigo slumped, releasing his hand. As she groaned in what sounded like ecstasy, she wiggled her backside just enough to force his legs open and gain a seat - just as she did so, Hiro's penis unfurled, and he gasped. It looked nothing like its natural state - stiff as a rod, positively shaking as though indignated at its fleshy prison.

"Is- everything- alright?" he panted, as he drew back his hands. Now Ichigo didn't even say anything - she merely nodded and leaned back. Her azure hair was rich in a heavy scent of sweat. Hiro raised his right hand out of the water, inspecting it as though he expected it to have changed colour.

Nothing, on first glance. The surface of his fingertips was slightly wrinkled, due to its prolonged underwater expedition, but its appearance was unremarkable. As the water dripped from his skin, however, he saw what looked to be a clear film stuck to it, not unlike mucus from his nose. A tentative sniff revealed that it was… It was Ichigo's scent. Again, he concluded, this was something that defied comparison, like her breasts.

He brought his finger to his tongue and licked - nothing. He put in his whole finger now, trying to taste something besides bathwater…

"Salty," he murmured. "Ichigo, you taste salty."

If she had heard him, she made no comment about it. "I… I need to pee," she said, and hauled herself out of the bathtub and to the nearby toilet. And so Hiro looked down at his throbbing penis. The sounds of urine hitting the water filled the air as he looked at it, unsure of what was happening… And slowly, to his relief, his penis 'calmed down' and reverted to its natural state. Just like how it was drawn in the textbooks.

"That was weird," he said again. Ichigo returned from her toilet, her face still visibly flushed. Strands of hair stuck to her face - she swept her hair back over her ear, and Hiro noted that that very hand had just been pushing his fingers into her… Her vagina just minutes ago.

They stared at each other for the longest moment without speaking. "So…" he began, "Have we become in sync?"

Ichigo's green eyes stared into his, then she looked away in embarrassment.

"I think we did."

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Awkward silence dogged their steps for every minute of the rest of the evening. Ichigo and Hiro had finished their bath without further touching and they each retired to their own dormitories. The worst part was seeing Goro; unable to look him in the eye, it took every fibre in Hiro's being to say in a normal-sounding voice that he was alright and training was nothing special.

It had been special, alright. While Zorome snored in the bed across from his, Hiro could not stop thinking about his bath with Ichigo. The creamy expanses of her skin, the fullness of her breasts jn her hands, and the moans - her moans that must have been engraved into his ears, with an indescribable feeling of desire burning in his heart. Hiro's own penis seemed to rise to the occasion again, pitching a tent in his pants and resisting all efforts to be restrained. Was this going to happen again in the future? Wouldn't this be a hindrance with his plugsuit? The questions came thick and fast, but only one remained: what if Ichigo was to touch him like he had touched her?

Hiro found his hands wrapping around his penis before he knew it. He sighed, shut his eyes, and longed for sleep.

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Ichigo pressed her lips together, shut her eyes, and longed for more. Beneath her thick, heat-trapping blanket, she stifled her moans with one hand and stroked herself with the other. Yet, her fingers didn't seem enough. She needed something longer, something thicker. She thought back to the bath and Hiro's boyish yet thick hand plunging in and out of her; she imagined him lying right besides her this instant, reaching around and panting in her ear as he touched her inside and outside-

"…!" Again, she felt it come. Weaker, but undeniably the same phenomenon. A wave that began in her abdomen, rose, and crested at her vagina. A wetness clung to her fingers, and as she extracted her hand to examine it, it was again coated in the same clear substance from earlier. She licked her finger like Hiro did - a strange, bittery saltitness was all that she could use to describe it. A hollow void seemed to bloom in her chest as her body cooled.

"I need you…" she sighed. Somewhere in the general direction of Miku's bed, the covers shifted.

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Training the next day was a muted affair. Hiro staggered out of bed, having not gotten a lot of sleep, not especially when Ichigo's breasts had been dancing before his eyes all night. Even another round of antics from 02 failed to rouse him, and soon enough, she lost interest and stalked away when he didn't respond to her ministrations and calls of 'Darling.' Even Ichigo said nothing in particular about 02, instead alternating between glaring at her and furtively glancing at Hiro. Once again, Hiro watched on the sidelines while the others trained. Surprisingly, Ichigo declined to take part, causing Goro to look at her and Hiro with a concerned expression.

"Is everything alright, Hiro?" Goro asked. They were walking back after training, but Goro deliberately slowed his pace and trailed behind the others. As Hiro wracked his brains over how much to tell him, Ichigo glanced at him for yet another time before she shut the door behind her with a hollow thud. Maybe it was his imagination, but Hiro could have sworn she was beckoning him to come find her later.

"You've been off today, Hiro," Goro said in a soothing voice. "And Ichigo, too. She's not been at ease since yesterday. As your friend, Hiro, not just a fellow pilot… Is everything alright?" Hiro's cheeks reddened. The more he fought to clear his mind, the more Ichigo's naked body and sensual voice stood out in his head. It took an inhuman effort for him to be still and silent.

"Everything's fine," Hiro lied. "Yesterday's practice duel with Ichigo was just… It was just exhausting." Whether Goro bought his story or not, it was impossible to tell. His golden eyes stared into Hiro's for a long time, and then he finally nodded.

"Alright. Don't push yourself too much, Hiro. See you around!" Goro clapped him on the shoulder, trying to reassure him, and headed back to the shuttle back to their dormitory. Which left Hiro all alone on the platform… And a ways away was the private bath. Hiro's feet were rooted to the spot as his mind warred with his body on which way to go.

"I'll just take a look if she's there, then," he whispered to himself. Cranking open the heavy door, Hiro glanced into the corridor and found it completely empty. The baths were to his left, and no lights were on, but he had to know. He had to see. Walking as quietly as he could, Hiro reached the bathroom-

It was dark and empty. The lights sensed his presence and activated, but there was no water in the tub, no sign, nothing to indicate the things that had happened here last night. Visibly disappointed, Hiro turned to leave- And came face to face with Ichigo in the doorway. "Ah! I-Ichigo, uh, um, I was…" he stammered.

"I thought you wouldn't come," she said. "I was beginning to think you left with Goro, so…"

Silence fell between them. Ichigo coughed and looked away, before she meekly tugged on Hiro's sleeve. "Come with me."

As soon as Hiro realised she was leading them to the girls' bathroom, his eyes bulged and he stiffened. "Am I even allowed in there, Ichigo? What if someone sees us?" Ichigo thought for a moment, then she shrugged. "Everyone else has gone. I said I'd stay back because… Well, I gave an excuse."

"What did we even do yesterday, Ichigo?" Hiro asked. "When we touched lips, Zero Two said that that was a kiss. But… But when I touched you…" he trailed off. Now it was Ichigo's turn to look at him with a curious, wide-eyed glance. "And? How did that feel?"

Hiro sank into a fresh round of recollection. "It felt good," he began slowly, "And I felt you, and everything you said or every movement you made. Ichigo, I…" he paused to look at her hands, carefully taking them into his own, "I felt like you. I know this sounds weird, and it doesn't make sense, but I guess you felt good, and so did I."

Ichigo had closed her eyes. "That's what I thought you'd say." She let go of him - strode over to the doorway, where she shut the door, locked it, and hit the switch for the water heater. "Shall we… Shall we try that again?"

Naturally, Hiro had no objection.

Privacy was a weird concept to Hiro. Now that he thought about it, why were the bunks for boys and girls separated when they ate together, trained together, and for the most part lived together? The thought of doing something they were not supposed to be doing used to be simple rule-breaking, making up excuses, playing beyond the rules. Now, Hiro was doing things with Ichigo, things that he found embarrassing yet exciting, strange yet titillating. Both he and Ichigo were much faster to undress now, and while Ichigo was still shy about exposing herself, Hiro found himself fascinated by her naked form again as she put away her underwear and turned to face him in her full glory.

"Please don't stare like that," she complained as they got into the girls' tub, a much more spacious tub clearly meant for more than four or five people, and deep enough to submerge themselves completely. Letting out a sigh of relief as he sank into the warm water, Hiro washed his face and arms while Ichigo tied up her hair into a bun and sat on the side. Her arms were crossed over her chest - but if only for the lack of a towel. Thinking back to yesterday, Hiro couldn't help but chuckle at that fond detail.

"Hiro," she said firmly yet gently, "Come here." Naturally, he obeyed and half-walked, half-swam to her side. The water dripped down her pale neck, and this close to her, Hiro could inhale her sweet fragrance and feel like he could drown in it. "Why are you sniffing me like that, Hiro?" Ichigo said, playfully pushing him. Grinning, Hiro grabbed her hands to pull her back, eliciting a small gasp from her as he pulled them closer. It was almost like playtime when they were younger! The bath was filled with peals of laughter and smiles as they embraced their newfound curiosity - Ichigo ran her hands over his flat chest, and he cupped her breasts in both hands and enjoyed every second of it.

His hands began to run lower over her body, silencing her as yesterday's events replayed in both their minds. Hiro and Ichigo locked gazes, and she moved first, guiding his hands to her vagina. Her body, her control. She set the pace. Ichigo turned so that her back was to Hiro, but she brought both his hands to her crotch. "Please do it just like before," she murmured, and Hiro nuzzled his cheek against hers in compliance. He reached down, slowly, anticipating the slit where a woman's vagina would be. He found it and reached inside with his finger, causing Ichigo to shudder and groan. He remembered what she had said yesterday: It was weird, but it didn't hurt. When she didn't resist, Hiro inserted another finger, and repeated the same up-and-down motions. Her chest heaved with every breath, her skin seemingly melting into his. Hiro gazed down longinly at her bare breasts, and once again brough up another hand to touch her. His penis had begun to ache again, crying for release as Ichigo's butt grinded delightfully against his genitals-

Knock knock knock. "Hello! Anyone in there?"

Hiro's blood ran cold. It was Miku! Why was she here? Did she know about them? Was he going to get caught? So many questions ran through his mind and he stood rooted to the spot-

Ichigo recovered first. "Get out-!" she hissed, "Hide in my locker!" she gestured, even as she made a racket coming out of the bath. Hiro understood - he ran to Ichigo's open locker, crouched down, and squeezed himself the best he could in the lower section. She threw his clothes at him even as she called out "I'm coming!" to Miku, and she nudged the door almost shut as she passed by. Hiro bit his lip, trying to control the tremor in his hands as Ichigo unlocked the door.

"Miku! What are you doing here?" Ichigo spoke in a normal tone. They were too far away for Hiro to hear Miku's reply. Footfalls told him Miku was coming to the lockers. "I hope you're alright, with all the work Nana is giving you," Miku was saying. "Have a good bath. You looked really stressed today."

Hiro's penis shrank in terror as Miku stopped directly outside his hiding spot. "I'll just take my things and leave, alright?" Miku was saying. She punched numbers for her combination lock and her locker opened, every single shudder positively terrorising Hiro. She searched her locker for only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity - and then she slammed her door shut. "Oh well. See you later!" Miku said. Her footsteps faded away, but Hiro just couldn't stop shaking. It wasn't until Ichigo had opened her locker door and pulled his clothes off him then he could finally relax and crawl out of the cramped space.

"Are you alright?" Ichigo asked. "You're shaking- It must be freezing in there! Come on, let's go back to where we left off." Hiro was immensely grateful for the warmth of the water. "D-Do you think she knows about us?" Hiro asked. Ichigo considered it for a moment, and picked her words carefully. "I didn't tell her anything about you. As far as she knows, I'm alone here. Of course, it's w-with you." she said.

"Right." Hiro conceded. The fear had driven the mood from them, and he didn't seem to feel as excited as he had just a few minutes ago. Now he just wanted to hurry up and go for dinner.

"Hey, Hiro, come sit up here. I want to try touching you." Clearly sensing Hiro's buzzkilled mood, Ichigo gestured for him to come closer. Clmbering out of the bath, he sat the edge to Ichigo's left, and she gingerly ran her hands over his chest. His breath quickened as she scraped her fingers over his thin muscles, twirled around his nipple, and then she slid downwards, further and further until she had reached his penis.

"I'm going to touch you," she said, and she took a hold of his limp penis. Hiro couldn't help but let out an involuntary gasp - the sensation of her soft hands was completely unlike his own. Overcome with these foreign feelings, it didn't take long before Hiro's penis grew and swelled into a stiff, oblong shape. Ichigo's eyes widened like dinner plates as she wrapped her fingers around his penis. "That's…incredible," she said. "The books never said the penis became this large, or…" she trailed off and stared at Hiro.

"Or?" he asked, unsure which part of the textbook she was quoting. Ichigo blushed deeply and blinked, evidently trying to recall something from a long time ago. "Well, the book said that the male reproductive organ had to enter the female reproductive organ, so…" she stood up, sloshing some warm water about. "Let's try it. P-Put your penis into my vagina, Hiro."

"Okay."

Placing his hands on her hips, Hiro got to his feet unsteadily. His penis swayed in sync with his waist, and Ichigo took hold of his shaft as well, guiding it towards herself. The tip of Hiro's penis came into contact with her slit, and she began to let gravity do the rest of the work; sliding down, softly moaning as she held onto Hiro, and then Hiro fully entered her.

"Ohhh my god," Hiro shuddered fiercely as an indescribable warmth enveloped him. "What is this? It feels… it feels hot!" On top of him, Ichigo closed her eyes and held onto his head, moaning and groaning. She finally stopped sliding down as soon as the entire length of Hiro was inside her, and she slowly let out a low, keening wail.

"Don't move," she warned Hiro when he glanced at her. "It's a little painful." But in this position, with Ichigo facing him and sitting on his waist, their faces were just this close. There was one more thing they had yet to try, and it wouldn't hurt Ichigo, right?

"Ichigo," Hiro said, "Let's kiss again." She blinked, apparently trying to keep her voice down, but nodded and leaned forwards. Hiro hugged her close, brushed a stray lock of azure hair out of the way, and pressed his lips to hers again.

When they had kissed in the cockpit of Delphinium, Hiro had only felt an odd sense of detachment and indifference. Ichigo had been forcing herself; she was only touching lips to do anything and everything to prove that Hiro was capable of piloting. Without any of those stresses, without needing to seek the approval of Nana and Hachi…

Hiro relaxed. Despite the incredible heat of Ichigo's vagina wrapping around his penis, it seemed to have stabilised. Through their locked lips, he could feel her calming down, relaxing and leaning onto him. His hands shifted from her hips, to her back, and back again to skim against her buttocks, unsure of where they should be placed. Ichigo's lips weren't just touching his - they were squishing against his mouth. Evidently, neither of them knew how to kiss, given that they hardly knew what it was - but hopefully, Hiro's enthusiasm and his touches could compensate.

"What do we do now?" Hiro asked. "I've put it in. We've kissed. Is something else we're supposed to do now?" Ichigo shrugged and looked down at where they were connected - besides drops of water from the bath, nothing else seemed to be visible besides that Hiro was penis-deep in her. She raised her hips up to look closer - and a new sensation swept over them, sending identical expressions of pleasure across their faces. Ichigo grabbed Hiro's shoulders to steady herself, and they exchanged a glance.

"Again." Ichigo said. She descended onto Hiro's strange, stiffened penis. How did this feel so good and yet so simple? It was more than just syncing now - that was the action of two minds bonding, becoming one. This thing that they were doing? Their bodies were becoming as one. Clouds of breath steamed off their faces and mingled in the air. Hiro grasped her hips and backside, and guided Ichigo's movements up and down, all while he had an expression of absolute ecstasy on his face.

It was difficult to tell where his body ended and where Ichigo's began. Her arms were wrapped around his back. His hands flitted up and down, guided by a single-minded desire to touch as much of her as possible. Ichigo's lips were practically locked onto Hiro's and in a daring move, she poked around with her tongue and ran it over Hiro's teeth, eliciting a moan from him and a jump in his alread sky-high heartbeat. Hiro felt nothing but heat and warmth as he and Ichigo shuddered and joined one another in the waist-deep water of the hot bath, muffling their moans with each others' lips. She crossed her legs behind his back and held on as tightly as she dared, but swung and bucked her hips against Hiro to thrust up and down on his penis. All rational thought was shooed away from their hazy minds as a singular, irrational emotion overtook their heads. It commanded them to join, their bodies obeyed, and pleasure was their reward.

The pressure began to truly build up in Hiro's groin, and fear of the unknown crept back into his mind. "Ichigo!" he broke apart from their kiss, gazing at her with equal parts lust and uncertainty, "I don't know- But something feels strange! I can't hold on, I can't resist this thing that's coming-"

"Then, hold onto me, Hiro," Ichigo panted, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him into an embrace that left no gaps between their sweat-soaked bodies. "Feel me. We can do this together; become one in mind in training, be one with me when we're alone!"

Hiro grabbed her waist and shut his eyes. "Ichigo! Ichigo!" he called her name over and over again. The pressure reached a fearsome climax, as though a dam holding back something was about to break. "I need you!"

"I need you too, Hiro!" Ichigo cried, "I need you!" she held onto him for dear life as he penetrated her deeply. Hiro finally gave into the pressure; he clenched his jaw as his mind whited-out. A climax took hold of every fibre of muscle in his body, concentrated at his groin, and expelled itself in burst after burst. Once, twice, thrice… Hiro's body jerked irregularly, and Ichigo let out a little squeak with every movement. Her fingers were just about to carve their imprints into his back.

The wave lasted for only a few seconds, but that moment was eternity. It faded like a breath of air in winter and Hiro became keenly aware of his penis shrinking. As they released their embrace and shivered in the cooling bath, both Ichigo and Hiro stared at their joined parts. Hiro's penis came out first, looking very much redder than usual, and soft and flaccid. What followed, to their mutual surprise, was a steady trickle of a white, gelatinous substance that dripped from Ichigo's vagina. Cupping a hand below her, she collected enough to cover her palm, and yet still more trickled. She held it up to her nose and sniffed carefully.

"Ugh," she instantly recoiled, "It's pungent. Look," she held out her hand to Hiro, who took but a tiny whiff. Immediately, a mixture of something between bleach, fish, and yet vaguely reminiscent of his sweat assaulted his nose, and he kept his distance well back. "What do I do with this?" Ichigo looked at him blankly. "Umm…" Hiro paused. "Taste it? Yesterday, I tasted you, so-"

"Taste this? Are you serious?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. Hiro nodded and nudged her hand. "It was just like after I touched you yesterday, I guess. Try it and see how it is."

Ichigo favoured the white substance in her hand with a mildly distasteful glance. "It looks gooey. Well, here goes then…" she closed her eyes, held her hand up, and tipped all the contents into her mouth in one go. She swallowed several times, visibly struggling to not cough or sneeze. Hiro watched her face closely. Part fascinated at this development, part entranced by Ichigo's beauty as her hair spilled out of its bun. No girl would ever be as beautiful as she appeared in this moment, in this space…

"It's awfully bitter," Ichigo finally remarked after a moment. "But… That was thrilling," she exclaimed, looked at Hiro. "Did you feel good too?" For the first in a long time since he could remember, Hiro returned her smile with a small, but sincere one of his own. "I felt good too, Ichigo. Uh, thanks, I guess."

Ichigo sat down with him in the now-lukewarm water. They held hands without really meaning to, but somehow it was natural to go with it. A thin ribbon of the white discharge from earlier twirled in the water like the string of a kite.

"Did you mean what you said earlier? About you needing me, I mean," Ichigo suddenly asked. Hiro closed his eyes - his memory was hazy, full of touching, kissing, and other things…

"I wish there's a better way to say it," he finally said, "The word 'need' just doesn't feel enough. Not after what we've done. But yes, Ichigo, I need you." Hiro looked up into her beautiful green eyes. "I need to be with you, and I'll be here for you until… Until whenever." he shrugged.

Ichigo smiled and nodded. Her cheeks coloured a lovely shade of pink. "I need you too, Hiro. I'll need you too."

Without either of them speaking, Ichigo and Hiro leaned in for a kiss.

.

fin.

Author's note:

Cover image is art by Maggot666 on Pixiv.

I will continue to add chapters to this, but I think each chapter will be a separate occurance from the others. That is, what Hiro and Ichigo do in one chapter has never happened in the past, present, or future of the other.