"She slowly walked into the house, one slow step after the other…" Nagisa had his arms raised in the air. Everyone had gathered around the dying fire and had been listening to the small boy tell ghost stories. "When BANG!" He brought his hands together in a loud clap.

Makoto was the only one to jump and let out a small squeak. He grabbed the back of Haruka's shirt and leaned closer to his friend.

Nagisa roared with laughter. "Mako-chan, you are such a scaredy cat!"

Haruka looked back at his friend and smiled.

"I don't think Makoto-senpai is a scaredy cat." Mai said quietly.

"Mai-chan?" Gou placed her hand on her friend's shoulder.

Mai looked down to her lap. "I think it was very brave how he overcame his fear of the water for his friends."

"I agree with Saito-san." Rei pushed his glasses back up his nose. "When I was caught up in the storm, Makoto-senpai was the first one to try and save me."

Nagisa stared wide eyed at Mai and then at Makoto who had turned a deep shade of red as he continued to hide behind Haruka. He then looked back to Mai, who was staring at her lap. The small boy's face was split in two by a slow stretching grin.

A tired silence settled over the camp.

"I think I am going to turn in." Rei stood up and smiled down at the group of friends. "It has been a wonderful evening and I look forward to tomorrow."

"Good night, Rei-chan." Nagisa smiled.

Rei smiled softly. "Just try to be quiet when you come into the tent, Nagisa-kun."

"Right." Nagisa scratched the back of his head. "I forgot we were sharing a tent."

Gou yawned and patted Mai on the shoulder. "I am turning in too, Mai-chan."

The small, pink haired girl nodded. "I am going to join you."

"Good night, everyone." Gou gave the group a small wave.

"Yes, good night." Mai bowed slightly towards the four boys.

"Good night, ladies." Rei returned Mai's bow.

"Sleep well!" Nagisa grinned.

Gou glanced at Makoto who was still red and clinging to the back of Haruka's shirt. "Good night, you two." She gave them a nod.

"Oh, yea." Makoto smiled nervously up at the two girls. "Good night."

Once the two girls were in their pajamas and settled into their sleeping mats Gou turned off their lantern.

"Mai-chan?" She called to her friend.

"Yes?" Mai's soft voice replied.

"It's alright if you like Makoto, you know." Gou smiled into the darkness. "He is very kind."

"Mmm." Mai gave a small, positive reply.

Gou giggled quietly. "Good night, Mai-chan."

"Good night."


He was floating in a pool on his back, looking up at the clouds as they lazily drifted by. He was vaguely aware of the others talking at the edge of the pool. He made a snap decision and caught his breath before bending his waist and allowing his body to sink into the water. He continued to look up to where the clouds had been, but now there was only the rippling of the water's surface. There was something calming about the feeling of sinking slowly into the cool, blue water.

It wasn't long before his chest began to burn, telling him he was running out of air. When he tried to move back towards the surface he realized he couldn't move his arms or legs. Panicked he began to look around trying to get the attention of someone nearby. He only slowly sank further and further into the water. His lungs were burning, they felt like they were going to burst. He closed his eyes and tried to make his arms move.

'Just relax.' He heard her voice in his head. 'It's alright, stop fighting it.'

He opened his eyes and there floating above him was her. His lips parted to say something and as the air rushed from his lungs the pain stopped. She smiled down at him, her green eyes dancing in the reflective light that was filtering through the water. She reached for him and placed her hands on either side of his face. He knew what was coming next. It made his heart race, but at the same time it felt as though he had done it a thousand times before.

Their lips met.

Makoto's eyes flew open and he stared into the dark of the tent he was sharing with Haruka. He reached up and touched his lips with the tips of his fingers. Just as he did this a shadow passed over the side of their tent, freezing his blood. His hands clamped down on his blanket and he tried to calm his heart down.

'It could just be someone walking by.' He thought. 'Perhaps one of the others getting up to use the bathroom.'

Images of the girls alone in their tent flashed in his mind. He knew he should check, just to be safe. Steeling his nerves he slowly, quietly pushed himself up from the mat he had been sleeping on and crept from the tent. The night air had cooled immensely and their fire was almost completely out. He could hear Nagisa snoring from in the other boy's tent. The sound calmed him and encouraged him to just peek into the girl's tent to make sure they were both there and asleep.

He slowly pulled the flap back and only peeked in along the ground until he saw a pair of feet. 'That's one.' He smiled and let his eyes move to the other side of the tent. He could see the other end of the second sleeping mat, but no feet. He frowned. 'Perhaps she went to the bathroom.' He decided to wait up until she returned, just to be sure.

He sat outside his tent and watched for her to return. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. Makoto was becoming worried. He stood from where he had been sitting and looked around the campsite. Nothing. They had set up camp next to a large rock, to help break the wind coming off the ocean and keep their tents from flapping around at night. He climbed on top of it and looked around. Down the beach, near the shoreline he could barely make out the figure of a person.

His jaw tightened as images of Rei drowning in the crashing waves flew through his mind. He jumped down from the rock and began to run down the beach towards the person. As he grew closer he realized they had no intention of entering the water. It was a female, with a small blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her pajama bottoms rolled up to her knees. She was standing close enough to the shoreline that the waves were breaking over her feet. He quickly realized it was Mai when he didn't see Gou's signature ponytail. He slowed down to a walking pace.

He was only about six feet away when she noticed him. He had startled her and she jerked her head in his direction, sending the tears that had been falling down her cheeks flying.

"Makoto-senpai." She stammered. "I am so sorry, did I wake you?"

"No." He smiled at her. "Are you okay?" He hated to girls cry and her tears seemed to touch his heart deeper than any he had ever seen.

"Yes." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I was just…" Her voice trailed off.

"It's alright." He closed some the distance between them, standing only a yard from her. "You don't have to explain. I was just making sure you were safe."

She forced a smile. "Thank you." It was then that he realized she was holding her stuffed turtle under the blanket.

"Oh, Kai-kun!" He smiled at the turtle. "It's good to see you again."

This made her laugh, and the sound made his heart swell.

"I couldn't leave him at home knowing I was going to see the ocean." She looked back out at the waves. "I promised him that I would always bring him here."

"I am sure he would understand if you had forgotten." He tried to reassure her. She seemed so sad. Even the laugh had seemed to be tainted with a deep rooted sorrow.

"I wouldn't forgive myself if I did." Her voice was serious.

This caught Makoto off guard. "Why not? He's only a stuffed animal."

"I didn't promise the turtle." Her voice gave away that she was fighting fresh tears. "I promised the real Kai. My little brother."

"Your little brother?" Makoto knew he was about to enter something that would be just as turbulent as the storm that almost drowned him and Rei.

She looked down at the waves that were covering her feet. "This is the closest I have been to the water in nine years." She smiled sadly. "When I was little our mother use to bring us to the beach all the time during the summer months."

"Saito-san." Makoto began, he was going to tell her that she didn't need to explain. It wasn't that he didn't want to know, he just didn't want her to feel obligated to share something that was obviously so personal.

"I was only seven at the time." She continued, ignoring him. "I was sitting with our towels watching my brother try to collect shells. He was five. He had forgotten his turtle at home and it had taken our mother several hours to convince him it was alright to have a good time without him." Her arms tightened around the stuffed toy. "A large wave came up behind him and knocked him off his feet. I tried to call to him and the sounds of my yelling caught my mother's attention. She went in after him." Her tears were falling down her cheeks anew. They were falling onto her night shirt, leaving dark spots. "I stood on the beach and watched as my mother and little brother were taken by the ocean."

"Saito-san." Makoto found himself reaching for her.

"Please," She turned and looked up at him, the moonlight reflecting off her teary eyes. "Call me by my first name."

He held his arms out to her. "Mai-chan." He smiled.

"Thank you." Her voice caught in her throat. She slowly walked towards him until her face was buried in his chest and his arms were wrapped around her. "Thank you."

He patted her hair and looked out to the waves until she pulled away. She wiped her eyes for a second time and smiled up at him. "Thank you, Makoto-senpai."

He could feel his cheeks burn. "Oh, it was nothing. Please, don't feel like you need to be so formal with me."

"What else would I call you?" She smiled wider.

"What would you want to call me?" He asked.

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Mako-kun."

His eyes grew wide and he covered the bottom half of his face with his hand. He knew his cheeks were red and he hoped she couldn't see it in the darkness.

"Is that too informal?" She looked panicked. "I am sorry! I didn't mean to insult you!"

"No!" He waved his arms in the air. "I just wasn't expecting it to be so adorable."

He could see her blushing in the moonlight as she looked away and grinned. "Thank you again, Mako-kun." She whispered.

Makoto's heart leapt in his chest.


"Hey!" Nagisa laughed and waved to the two girls sitting on the beach. "Aren't you two going to come swim with us?" He yelled to them.

"Nagisa, leave the girls alone. They'll join us if they want to." Makoto smiled at the younger boy.

"Awe, Mako-chan." Nagisa pouted and stuck his bottom lip out. "You're no fun."

"I was thinking," Rei came to stand beside the two boys. "Since the girls don't seem comfortable swimming we should do something else this afternoon."

"Oh, Rei-chan!" Nagisa grabbed the blue-hair boy's arm. "That's a great idea!"

"There is a small festival down the beach this weekend." Rei pushed his glasses back up his nose. "I thought maybe that would be something the girls would enjoy."

"That sounds great!" Makoto's eyes lit up. "It might be good to get Haru out of the water for a while anyway." He looked out to the waves where you could see the quiet boy swimming. "I am afraid he is going to turn into a giant human prune."

Nagisa burst into laughter.

"So it's settled then." Rei smiled. "After lunch we will get ready to take the girls to the festival."

The two other boys nodded in agreement.

"Do you think they'll want to dress up?" Nagisa looked at Makoto. "Is there even somewhere you can rent a yukata around here?"

"I am sure there is." Makoto returned his friend's smile.

"I would love to see Mai-chan in a yukata! I bet she's adorable." Nagisa's eyes lit up.

Makoto could feel the blush spread across his cheeks as he thought about the small girl in traditional dress. He agreed with Nagisa, she would be adorable.