Despite the fact that Mako, along with the rest of her family, has been snoring loud enough to keep the whole street up and awake, it wasn't that sound that kept Ryuko up. She had tried closing her eyes numerous times and fall asleep in every way possible – her mind was simply too active though, and she had yet to realize why. Currently, she had tried making out the number of stars in the sky as to distract herself from pondering, but just as she started, gray clouds came in and started obscuring the sight. Slightly irritated, Ryuko got off her futon and approached the window. The sky was still partially clear, but in the distance, she could hear the quiet rumble of the oncoming storm. Randomly, she wondered what the Honnouji Academy's precautions were there, if there were any, against dangerous storms. Her mind kept wandering away to the academy and it took her several minutes of thinking to realize it was because of what happened that afternoon there... with Senketsu.

Senketsu.

Barely a few days passed since the unusual turn their teasing has taken and Ryuko found herself wondering about some things. One might've thought she was thinking about the actual relationship the two had, but Ryuko was much simpler than that. She didn't question what it was they were having. She didn't question where it was going to go.

Instead, as she recalled the gorgeous, fun and still wonderfully embarrassing treatment he'd been giving to her so selflessly, she had wondered a very simple thing:

What about Senketsu?

The friend she kept on her mind suddenly spoke and she nearly jerked at the sound of his deep voice.

"You can't sleep either, I see."

Ryuko glanced at him. Senketsu's golden eye peered into her questioningly and she felt guilty for some reason. She wished she never got up from the futon as his stare started to feel judgmental. Not being able to explain these sudden thoughts, she retracted from the window and turned away from him.

"Just thinking, is all." She was about to go back to bed, when she heard the familiar shuffle of his fabric. Senketsu had dropped from the hanger and approached her slowly.

"What is it?"

There was no mistaking it - Senketsu had clearly felt something was off. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't avoid talking about it now.

Ryuko hesitated. She had a hard time putting things like these, these… thoughts, emotions, ideas into words. There was still a shy side she wasn't quite capable of removing completely and the topic was quite embarrassing for her.

"Ryuko…" She could hear the wonder in his voice and it tugged at someplace inside her chest.

"Sorry, Senketsu, I've just… well…" Ryuko trailed off, blushing slightly and glancing at the rest of the sleeping household. Senketsu had immediately realized the problem and motioned towards the open window. Taking her sneakers with her, Ryuko had swiftly jumped out into the yard where they could get some privacy, Senketsu following behind.

Sounding closer than before, the thunder had sounded off again and a small breeze blew through the yard, carrying the distant scent of rain. Ryuko was silent for a while as she put the sneakers on, taking a bit longer than usual to tie down the laces, before finally deciding she formed a good enough thought to speak aloud. It was wrong of her to think so, as she began very awkwardly:

"Senketsu... today, ah, at the academy… when we activated the fire alarm-"

"I remember." Senketsu reassured, knowing she was still a bit too insecure to address the subject directly. Ryuko paused then turned to look at him, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"Senketsu, what could I… do… for you?"

"Do… for me?" Senketsu repeated, slightly confused as he still didn't catch on to what was she exactly talking about.

"Aw, c'mon, damn it…" Ryuko sighed in exasperation, frustrated with her inability to tell him outright what was on her mind. "There must be something I can… do for you; you know, the way- the way you did… for me." She trailed off, her face forming into an angry pout, the same one she produced whenever embarrassment overwhelmed her.

When he realized what she was talking about, Senketsu found it quite charming of her and couldn't help but letting out a soft laugh.

"Ah, I see…"

Silence ensued and for a moment Ryuko just stood there awkwardly, wondering if he had understood her. She was about to ask him if he really did, when…

"Ryuko."

"Yeah?"

"… Wear me."

Senketsu stared into her eyes with an unusual amount of determination. Ryuko stood still for a moment, wondering what he wanted of her, asking such a thing. Then she simply spread her arms; it was a cue for him, and he jumped onto her energetically, instantly stripping her of her tiny pajamas and putting himself in their place.

"Now Ryuko, do you see that hill over there?"

Ryuko looked up. In the distance, straight in the direction of the storm, there was a small hill on the outskirts of the city.

"What about it?"

"I would like you to run all the way to the top of it."

"Run? All the way there? Now?" Ryuko deadpanned. "Senketsu, what are you—"

"Do you want the answer to your question?"

Ryuko sighed and, still slightly confused, began to run.

It was a light, paced tempo she was taking, as she had no idea what she was doing. In the beginning, it was a little bit tiring and hard – she was still lying in her bed in her thoughts, didn't warm up properly and never stretched her legs. But merely several minutes later, she could feel her body getting warmer, getting into the rhythm she was taking. Soon, the jog became a pleasant activity. As she ran, her mind wandered free and she realized this was much more relaxing than she could've ever imagined. Any question as to why Senketsu would have asked her to do this have temporarily disappeared from her head and for the time being, she enjoyed the relaxing recreation, not really looking which way she was taking, only occasionally checking out the direction of the hill she was running towards.

When the first drops of rain fell on her nose and the thunder started to sound much closer than before, Ryuko once again became aware of her whereabouts. The sky lightened up for a few seconds from the oncoming thunderstorm and her steps slowed down, her mind immediately making calculations, wondering if they'd successfully escape the rain if they turned back now; but at that same moment she could feel Senketsu jerk forward almost violently, nearly making her trip.

"No slowing down. We're not done yet."

Ryuko stared at him. "Senketsu, the rain is just about to pour onto us. Even if I didn't mind getting utterly drenched, I know for a fact that you absolutely hate freezing water. I've seen what Mako's mother has done to you."

"Such trivial things don't matter now." Senketsu announced. All possible logical conclusions as to why they were doing this have evaporated from Ryuko's head, replaced by mild annoyance.

"Senketsu, this is getting ridiculous! We're turning around and going back."

"Hmpf. Loser."

Ryuko stopped in her tracks. To hear Senketsu, of all people, call her a loser was not only hurtful and fury inducing, it was also downright uncharacteristic of him. She grudgingly noticed she was positively pissed off by it and tried heavily to pacify herself.

"What was that?" Furious as she was at that moment, Ryuko couldn't think of any way this could end without her taking him off right then and there and leaving him in a puddle to soak up the mud.

"We didn't come all the way here for you to give up because of some silly rain." Senketsu added a bit strictly. Ryuko tried once again to calm down and make sense of him as she replied:

"But it's nothing important that we're chasing or running away from this time arou—"

"Did you not want to know what could you do for me?"

Ryuko froze; she had realized she had forgotten about it and instantly felt her heart fall into the depths of her stomach, drowning in guilt. How could that have possibly slipped her mind? After all, this was about Senketsu, she wanted to know about him, it was for his sake… wasn't it?

No, she suddenly realized.

It wasn't.

It was about both of them.

Senketsu wouldn't do this for the heck of it. He wouldn't drag her out in the middle of the night during such a weather to screw around with her or for purely selfish reasons. He was trying to tell her something, to show her something, as weird as the way might've been. And while she was still far away from comprehending what it was exactly, she realized she had only now truly gotten on board to find out. Inspiration fueled her like nothing ever did before and she, at that moment, had only one goal before her eyes, the one goal that she simply had to fulfill if she wanted to have a decent sleep that night, if she wanted to learn more of Senketsu. She needed to reach the top of that hill. No matter what.

And then Ryuko didn't just jog anymore. You could say she barely even ran, for it felt like flying. The speed at which she had taken off was incredible. There were more and more rain drops, heavier and sharper than before, falling on her face as she ran into the open arms of the storm, trying to stop her, to slow her down.

As if I'd slow down.

With the speed at which she had been running, mere minutes passed, but it felt like wonderful hours before the path became steep, as she left the outskirts of the city and ran up the beaten, muddy path on the hill that had challenged her body into moving faster, moving stronger. The rocks scratched at her sneakers, she was slipping on the mud all the time and Senketsu was positively dripping, rain completely drenching both of them by then, slowing her down. It became harder and harder to climb the path, but as the hardships grew, so did her will, her determination. Her heart was beating like crazy, pumping the now hot blood that felt wonderfully protective against the cold rain, the adrenaline rushing through her the further she got, with every step she climbed, and she could hear Senketsu shouting something that she, among the noise produced by the rain, the wind and the leaves, interpreted as…

Put me on, Ryuko!

Hearing that, Ryuko pulled at the glove and felt the syringe prodding into her skin.

In an instant, as Senketsu transformed, she dashed through the trees, effortlessly running through the last 500 feet in matter of seconds and suddenly emerged into the clearance that was the top of the hill, with nothing but a wide field of grass surrounding them. As if to announce their arrival and their small but significant victory, somewhere in general vicinity a thunder struck deafeningly.

As long seconds passed they simply stood there, staring at the cloudy sky, Ryuko feeling cold rain dripping against her hot skin.

She had tried to catch her breath; she wasn't lacking energy, on the contrary. Adrenaline was still freshly running through her veins; she felt wonderful knowing they did this and it was that knowledge that had left her devoid of air for the time being. This was far from being hard or challenging, not nearly as risky as the battles they led against students, against the battles that they knew were yet to come. But it was also devoid of tension, of the possibility of losing, of possibility of death, devoid of everything they were fighting to prevent in the future and containing nothing but the two of them, having fun, challenging Mother Nature.

Ryuko was surprised to actually hear Senketsu trying to catch his breath that she didn't quite know she had or needed.

"Senketsu, what's with that? You technically don't need to breathe." She teased and heard him respond with a chuckle.

"My breathing serves the purpose of relaxing me, Ryuko."

"I thought we did this to relax." Ryuko pointed out.

"We did some other things for the purpose of relaxation that caught you quite breathless as well, if I remember correctly."

"Oh, shut up." They laughed, but then Senketsu's words began to sink in and she blushed.

"Wait, Senketsu… are you telling me this is…"

"Ah, no, no, it is very likely not the same sensation." Senketsu tried to explain right away, laughing as he did at her implication and her adorable embarrassment. "After all, I'm no human. I don't think there's a way for me to feel some of the sensations humans do, in particular not those connected to sheer physical stimulation. But…," he fell silent for a moment, "to feel your heart pumping with sheer excitement in your chest… to drink your hot blood and to feel what you're feeling when inspired, motivated, fired up… without dangers. Without worries. Without stress," he emphasized it specifically as he turned back into a school uniform, "You have no idea, Ryuko… not only how your blood tastes, but it makes me feel at those times."

"Senketsu…" She had no idea the lack of stress could add not only to the way he tasted his blood, but to the way he enjoyed it. Feeling slightly touched by this discovery, Ryuko gently caressed the wet sleeve, hearing him purr contently as she did - and suddenly blinked.

"But you do respond to physical stimulation. See, just now? You even like being ironed."

"Hm. I'd say small things like that are only logical; wouldn't you agree?"

Ryuko fell silent, thinking about it. She didn't say anything else about the topic however and instead stretched her arms, feeling pleasant and content.

"I guess it's about time we head home, huh."

"I guess."

It took them more than an hour to get back to the house of Mankanshoku family – they were taking it rather slow, making pointless chit chat and enjoying the fact there was a new sense of bonding they had established. By the time they arrived home, the storm had already gone ahead of them, leaving nothing but the incredibly starry sky behind and many puddles to jump in on the streets.

It was only once they got back that Ryuko noticed, underneath the pale street light, both of them were drenched in not only rain, but mud.

"Man~ how troublesome."

"Worth it, I assume."

"Absolutely." Ryuko grinned. "We can't remain like this, however. I need to take a bath." She turned the corner to start preparing a bath in the rather well made makeshift bathroom when she added:"Ah, of course, I need to wash you, too."

Senketsu tensed up. "I-if you dare to do to me what that woman did, I swear—"

"Are you crazy? I'm not oblivious to your pain, you know." Ryuko protested. "We'll just have to find a way to take care of you without—"

"I absolutely refuse to have any scrub brushes or detergent used on me. And don't even thing about wringing me out like that woman did." Senketsu growled.

Ryuko deadpanned. "Man, for clothing, you're really picky." As the water heated up, she pondered over how to handle the delicate situation.

"Well, have you thought of anything?"

"Well, Senketsu…," Ryuko took her friend off herself as she spoke, "I think there's no helping it."

"Hmm?"

"How about I simply hand-wash you in the bath with me?"

Note:

The ending of this chapter is completely "inspired" by a certain Kill la Kill fanart comic that I can't link here because FF won't let me. And the chapter that will follow will be as well. Some of the content will be downright "borrowed" but I'll take it in my own direction, promise.

Just makin' this clear, so no one would say I'm going around, stealing ideas. It's just such a cute comic, though, I couldn't resist. Maybe it's for the best that you can't see it. If any of you recognize the comic in question, do let me know!

I would also like to use this opportunity to thank every one of my readers.

Thank you for your reviews, those make my day every time.