***Akizuki Property, White Sand Village, Kamisu 66***

The next morning, the kids met up at Maria's house to head down to the beach. They each carried a bag full of fresh towels, sun protection lotion from the Education Committee, water, and other supplies fit for a day at the lakeside. Satoru had not yet arrived, but the others greeted each other cheerfully.

General swimming attire for men consisted of short, loose shorts and a sleeveless shirt. The shirt could be shed on particularly hot days or cast aside by self-assured young men. Women generally wore skin-tight short-shorts under a comfortable sleeveless slip. Alternatively, confident women could wear trunks like the boys', go shirtless, and cover and tie back their breasts with a kind of brown-cloth, tie-on bra. The kids hugged and briefly admired each other.

Both boys looked healthy and energetic. Shun wore pine-green shorts and sleeveless grey top with a low, v-cut neckline. His broad shoulders and sharp, distinctive facial features looked surprisingly masculine for a boy who was growing out his hair and didn't usually go out of his way to look "manly." Mamoru, wearing sandy-gold trunks and a loose white shirt, still looked much more like a boy than a young man. Perhaps he was not handsome, but nobody could say Mamoru wasn't adorable. His large golden eyes were so innocent, his face so soft and with such a curious expression, and his hair piled on his head in faun-colored curls.

The girls looked lovely as well. Maria wore a faded-pastel-green slip that showed off the changing shape of her body. She wore her long, red hair in a braid, keeping a few strands loose around her face. Saki's chest was held up in an umber cloth that tied behind her back. Her short trunks were dark brown decorated with pale-pink symbols. Her smooth, slender midriff looked decently strong and fit, as did her long, bare, graceful arms. Her expressive features and chestnut eyes, brought out by the brown cloth, looked wise enough to belong to someone several years older than Saki.

"You look gorgeous, Maria," Saki said with a smile, hugging her best friend.

"And you're as charming as ever," Maria laughed, embracing the brunette. "Come on. Let's all bring our bags down to the shore."

Shun did not respond right away, as the other three started collecting their bags and leaving their cover-up robes on Maria's house's deck. Shun could not stop admiring Saki. He wanted to say something to compliment her, but something that wouldn't sound misleading either. Try as he might to think,, however, the boy could come up with no clever compliment, no polite praise.

"S-Saki," Shun ventured at last. "You, uh… you're truly growing up."

As soon as he said it, Shun felt his mind recoil in embarrassment and revulsion. What kind of nonsense had he said? All he wanted to do was let Saki know she looked much more mature than some little girl. The way he tried to say it, though, came out all wrong.

"Uh, what the hell does that mean?" Saki asked him with a laugh.

Maria's cerulean eyes twinkled. She smiled mischievously and said, "It means, my dear Saki, that Shun is shamelessly admiring your chest."

"That's not what I meant!" Shun defended himself, while Maria laughed and Saki blushed, suddenly conscious of her young but feminine traits.

Mamoru spoke up for once. "But Shun, don't you think Maria is more grown up than Saki?" he considered. "Saki might be growing up faster, but she's… well… she can hang out with the guys. Maria's more like…uh… a real woman."

"Mamoru, do you have any idea how that sounds?" Maria addressed the boy drily. "You, talking about 'real women'? We're all just teenagers anyway. What I think what you meant to say is that Saki is tomboyish while I am feminine."

"I am not a tomboy," Saki retorted indignantly. "I like clothes and flowers and crap. I like kids. Just because I stay active and have a straightforward personality doesn't mean I'm like a boy!"

"I intended to correct Mamoru," Maria said, placing her hands on Saki's shoulders to calm her down. "You see, boys, it's a misconception that I'm the more feminine one. I'm picky. I can be condescending. I can only put up with certain people for too long. I don't like having to speak up, and I prefer to run away from conflict. All that to say, I'm not soft-spoken or sweet-natured—I'm unsociable and weak-hearted. On the other hand, Saki will become a lovely, sensitive, charismatic, and talented woman."

"Hey—don't—don't stand there and praise me." Saki was blushing and trying to distract from her embarrassment by tying back her hair.

"Then let me," said Shun, finally finding his words. "Saki is strong and independent. Her passion lets her inspire and lead others. The real woman is the one who can release her spirit into helping the village. Saki has the traits to serve Kamisu 66 by leading many people, or by consoling and counseling a few. She is amiable, understanding, creative, brave, and people-oriented. She has a lot of different talents for one person, too."

"Th-thanks," Saki said, still blushing. "Anyway… come on. To the beach."

A short walk away, down a path and over a couple low hills, the golden-white sand began, stretching forward several meters to the waterline. A few gardens of sand-tolerant vegetation and shore flowers had been planted along the crest of the hill just out of reach of the usual water levels. The waters of the semi-marine lake looked deep blue that morning, glistening with white sparkles from the sun. As they chatted, the kids picked up their bags and started walking to the lakeside.

"Don't pick that up," Maria said as Mamoru bent down to lift her bag. "I don't need a boy's help."

Obediently, Mamoru left Maria's things alone and started walking, following the long-legged Shun down the path. Maria walked gracefully behind them. To her side, Saki walked, carrying her bag as well as Maria's. Whenever the brunette spent time with Maria, she didn't want the redhead to have to worry about a thing. She wanted to watch her skip along like a divine sprite, free of burdens.

"Hey Saki," Mamoru said over his shoulder, "did you not just hear Mari say she doesn't need help?"

"She said nothing about help from a girl," answered Saki smugly. "Besides, I always carry Maria's bags when we go shopping. I'm her chaperone when we go out, because we never know when a poser like you, Mamoru, is going to hit on my lady." She skipped ahead and ruffled Mamoru's curly hair to let him know she was joking.

"Yeah Mamoru," Shun added without looking back, "didn't you know? Saki has become Maria's loyal, chivalrous knight." He reached the sand first and set his bag next to a protruding stone. "By the way," he added, struck by a sudden loneliness. "Where is Satoru?"

Mamoru paused in the act of digging out his sketchbook to draw the scene. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said in his quick, somewhat nervous voice. "I meant to tell you all. Satoru said he didn't want to join us." He lowered his golden eyes to avoid betraying his suspicions all at once.

"To tell you the truth," the boy managed at last, "I'm afraid Satoru's becoming dangerous. When I saw him yesterday, he had torn up everything in his room. He's always in a horrible mood. And the rumors say he screams curses for all Hayring to hear."

"That's ridiculous!" Saki objected, walking down to the edge of the water. "Satoru is having a hard time right now, that's all. If he was the violent type, he would be supervised by the Education Committee. So anyway, he's not dangerous."

"But he was chugging wine when I saw him," Mamoru said worriedly. "The Ethics Committee is really careful about rules for alcohol. And the Education Committee said that children should never drink. They say it can make some people turn aggressive."

Eager for relief of the heat, Shun had gone ahead and waded into the cool waters of the lake with Maria. He hadn't looked particularly interested in what Mamoru had been saying. But after the mention of alcohol, his handsome body stiffened. He turned his head, with its long, dripping wet black hair, to face Mamoru and Saki.

"I'm going to go see Satoru," stated Shun.

"What?" said Maria in astonishment. "Do you really believe Satoru would ever try to hurt someone?"

"No." Shun's voice was calmly resolute as he left the water and returned to his bag. "If Satoru has become dangerous, then he's only a danger to himself. Somebody needs to help him snap out of it before the Education Committee marks him. Before they send—" He broke off.

Saki questioned, "What do you mean? Does the Education Committee have some way of marking dangerous people? I'm asking because it sounds familiar. And what did you mean by 'send'? What would they send out after Satoru?"

"Uh—never mind about that." Shun had no intention of scaring everybody by reminding them of the threat of the Impure Cats. "It's just a theory of mine," he waved it off. "Anyway, I'm going. It's time I resolved things with that kid. I'll drag Satoru back here with me if it kills me."

With both Satoru and Shun absent. Mamoru asked if they should postpone swimming. Saki said that they could always swim another day with Satoru, so they might as well enjoy their own time today. Maria and Saki spent most of the morning racing, splashing, diving, and wrestling in the water. Meanwhile, Mamoru sat on the beach and sketched the shoreline, the girls, and the seabirds. He joined the girls in the water for a bit, playing a game like Marco Polo until the three of them decided to rest. Saki found it relaxing to lay on the moist sand on her back and let the water just barely cover her feet and ankles. Maria joined her, lying to the brunette's left. The two girls held hands. Mamoru hesitantly lay to the left of Maria, and found himself surprised and honored when the redhead gave his hand a little squeeze, too.

"Hey Mamoru," said Maria pensively. "What to think it means to be a devoted follower? For example, how can you tell how well a person honors their Goddess?"

Saki sat up huffily. "Maria! Don't tell Mamoru about our nonsense!"

"I won't tell him a thing," Maria promised. "I just want to see if he has the heart of a worshiper."

Mamoru felt like he was missing an inside joke, but he said, "I'll play along. I'm not good at theorizing about concepts, though. I need to see a practical point in things. So let's pretend Maria is my Goddess, and we're talking about my level of devotion to her."

"He catches onto things really quickly," Maria thought. Aloud, she said, "My family believes in the Holy Buddha like everyone else in town. The power of the Monks really does help protect Kamisu 66, after all.. But we aren't made to worship the Buddha or the Monks. So, for many generations, the Azikuki family has enshrined the goddess called Our Lady Akita. She appeared in a major religion that started over three thousand years ago, but when that religion died, some of us kept faithful to Akita. The legends say that she possessed a perfect soul, that she talked to angels, and that she gave birth to a god. She is a pure and sinless Goddess who can appear to people personally. Since I grew up with that tradition in my family, I know a few things about honoring a Goddess. Followers have to worship, serve, seek to understand, and pray to their deity. Sometimes, they also have to defend their deity, even getting into fights about it. Well. Mamoru? How do you think you score as one of my worshipers?"

Mamoru kept holding Maria's hand as he thought it over. To him, this was a chance to outdo Saki. It was also a challenge for him to speak his mind and get to describe his real feelings for the redhead. Mamoru felt nervous, but he was soothed by the sounds of the lake, the scents on the breeze, and the feel of the cool water on his feet.

"I definitely worship you, Maria," he began in a low voice. "Don't I always follow you around when we play and when we're at school? I'm happy that we live in the same village, just so I can be the one walking with you to school. I think I serve you pretty well as your best male friend. And well, I might not pray to you, but I try to understand you. I like your voice, your thoughts, and your personality. I don't see you as unsociable; you're just careful of where you place your trust. And I believe you're the most beautiful girl in this whole world. Being touched by you in the smallest way is an honor beyond compare. Even though I know you don't see me as a lover, I will be content to serve as your close friend. More than anything, I want to paint you. I want to capture your… magnificence. Nothing I draw even comes close, though."

"I'm honored, Mamoru," Maria said gently. "I'm sorry I can't be your lover, but there's someone else I like. I do really appreciate the fact you think so well of me. You are serving and honoring me with your paintings, you know, too. Your works move people. You're extremely attuned to the way things look, taste, sound, feel and smell. It's because you create and compose things that strongly affect the senses. I'm honored to be friends with such an artist."

Saki smiled, glad the two had shared their feelings and made their intentions clear. "Hey, you two," she remarked. "It's half past noon already. What's taking Shun so long?"

"I'll go after him and see what's up," Mamoru said, reluctantly releasing Maria's hand. "I have a feeling you two girls need to talk. So, just wait for me here or at Maria's house. I'll be back soon."

When the two girls were alone, they went back out into the water and floated side-by-side on their backs. The sun poured golden rays on them. It was so bright that Saki closed her eyes. She sighed in contentment. Now and then, she felt little minnows or a small fish passing under her.

"That Mamoru has the heart of a worshiper," remarked Maria, floating to her feet and sending a gentle plash at Saki. "But he doesn't have the boldness fall madly in love with his goddess. So Saki, do you have the heart of a worshiper?"

Saki knew that Maria was inviting her to share her feelings. "You already know that I admire you."

Saki had always worshipped the redhead. From day one, Mari had been like an Angel. Despite being the prettiest girl at Harmony Elementary, free to pick out anyone she wanted, the blue-eyed little girl chose to spend most of her time with Saki, who was not particularly popular. They ran in the fields, and Maria moved like a fairy in her frilly, pastel dresses. They played among the flowers, and Maria built the most detailed, beautiful necklaces and crowns of flowers. They collected nuts and mushrooms in the woods, and Maria always acquired the biggest and best of them. They went shopping, and Maria always knew the best places to go. They tried on clothes, and Maria looked gorgeous in whatever she wore. While Saki took several months longer to awaken her Cantus, Maria moved on early to Sage Academy. Once Saki caught up with her, she took advice, accepted help, and loved learning from the gifted Maria.

Over the past year, Saki's worshipful admiration grew. She loved the teas Maria made. She loved anything Maria cooked. She loved Maria's playful voice, the feel of her small white hands, and the comfort of her body when they embraced. Saki loved that Maria was so kind to Group One, even when one of the boys acted particularly stupid. Out of kindness, she tried to set up Saki with Shun. Out of kindness, she waited a year to declare her feelings for Saki. Surely, Maria was as sinless and beautiful as the Lady Akita.

Finding her footing on the soggy, sandy ground, Saki stood up. The water rose to just above chest level. Saki waded over to Maria and said she wanted to try something. She took Maria in her arms and held her like a princess. The water supported Maria's weight so Saki wasn't actually lifting a finger of her own. Still, she giggled.

"There, imagine you are my goddess, stuck in human form," she grinned. "I am your infatuated lover, holding you in the middle of a sea-storm."

"We're so ridiculous," Maria giggled. She kicked her feet in the water in slow motion while Saki carried her. "I know we're mostly playing, but whether I'm a goddess or not, you do try to serve me, Saki. You're my best friend. You carry things for me, open the doors, and play hostess. You want to protect me. You try to make everything simpler for me. You always help out my family. You help encourage me in school. You make me believe in myself with the way you always praise me. You defend me when anyone raises a word against me. You comfort me with your body even when you don't know how you should feel."

"Well, in that sense," replied Saki, watching Maria's long braid come undone in the water, "you 'serve' me, too. I seek comfort from you. A devout worshiper should be able to find peace from his deity, right? You comforted me by becoming my first and best friend. You calm me down when I'm angry at the boys or at the school. When I'm together with you, I feel a wonderful sense of peace. It's like… I'm right where I should be."

It felt good to finally reveal her feelings. Saki kept talking, while Maria put her arms loosely around the brunette's neck. Both girls felt so elated to be next to each other.

"I think seeking to understand your lover is what's most important," Saki said. "And if you're a Goddess, me trying to get on your level proves I've already fallen in love with you. And for me, it's not a challenge, but a treat to learn more about you. I've seen that you get tired and impatient when you're around people too long. So I take care not to overwhelm you by hanging out 24-7. I try to pick up your slack and stay lively when we're stuck in social situations like long group study sessions. I'm able to help you when you stuck on a Cantus assignment because I understand the way you think. When you practice visualizations for your Cantus, you think in terms of parts and pieces. That's why sometimes you need to be reminded to look at the big picture. You learn things by doing, and you don't like theoretical stuff. So I help you in learn in class by doing the Cantus assignment with you, instead of trying to abstractly explain."

Saki had also noticed interesting contrasts between Maria's personality and her own. While Saki could be overly passionate, Maria often refused to express her feelings. She only opened up about herself if she had thought it over long and hard. Unlike the brunette, the redhead possessed a solid sense of responsibility and duty. She could be counted on to follow through, whereas Saki sometimes moved between interests so quickly she sometimes failed in completing tasks. When it came to the handful of people in her life that Maria truly loved, Maria had trouble saying "no" to any request. She did everything possible to avoid conflict. Saki, meanwhile, occasionally offended people by being so outspoken. Whatever their differences were, though, Mari was certainly sensitive, generous, and dependable.

"It sounds like you've made your feelings clear," Maria said, taking Saki's hand and wading back toward the beach. "Abstractions aside, I don't want to be a Goddess, but I love that you admire me, help me, and understand me. I think I do all the same things for you. What's more, you and I confide in each other. That's the most important thing that separates your devotion from Mamoru's. He doesn't ever tell me what's really on his mind, so I become nervous about sharing myself, too."

Mari began drying her long hair with a white towel when the girls reached land again. Meanwhile, Saki gently dried off the rest of Maria's body—her elegant legs, her smooth arms, her delicate neck, her bare shoulders, and the part of her chest that the green slip left exposed. Maria blushed but said nothing.

"I love you, Maria," Saki said at last. "Let's not tell anyone till this mess with Satoru blows over."

As she spoke, Saki wore a half-embarrassed smile on her face and was shaking slightly with nerves. She stood up and embraced Maria, letting her hands wander down the redhead's side and hips. She lowered her head just slightly and met Maria's clever sapphire eyes with her perceptive chestnut ones.

The girls moved their heads so their faces were within an inch of each other. At the same moment, they closed their eyes and let their lips meet. It was a light kiss, but it felt amazing to Saki. Maria's lips were the perfect texture, the right level of moist, and her mouth was so cute and perfectly sized. Behind the forced gentleness, Saki could faintly detect the passion Maria held back.

"Saki," said the redhead in a gentle whisper, "I think you will be my friend and lover till the day I die."