This chapter is long. There's a lot packed into it. Have fun.

Once again Kagura was on her way to Kaiya's house. She wandered the neighborhoods near her school for about half an hour when she realized something. She had no idea where she was going. She hadn't been to the girls house in a little more than a month and forgot exactly where she lived. She approached a "T" intersection and stopped, trying to decide which way to go.

"Damn. This is so not cool!" She then had an idea. "I know! I'll go to the pool and then see if I remember the way from there." Kaiya lived close to the pool, and the pool was the most visited place by Kagura so she knew her way to practically any destination from it.

After ten minutes of walking, she reached the pool. Looking around, she tried to recall the direction to Kaiya's house. She let out a sigh when she came to the conclusion that she really had no clue where the girl lived. She went and sat at one of the pool benches and stared at the people swimming. Suddenly, she had the urge to swim. "Well, I guess it can't be helped. I can't remember where she lives."

So began her internal conflict which lasted roughly thirty seconds. If I ditch out on the tutoring, I'll hurt Kaiya's feelings. But I can't remember where in the world she lives, and the pool is tempting. Although, surely I could put more effort into finding her house. But what-if by the time I remember, it's time my daily swim anyway? She looked at the pool again. I'll just explain tomorrow what happened.

Kagura got up from the bench and started towards the changing room. "Kagura-san?" The athlete stopped in her tracks and looked in the direction the voice came from. At the entrance to the pool she saw Emi. Ah ha, she thought. Emi ought to know where Kaiya lives!

"Hey, Emi-chan," she said as she jogged towards the tall girl.

"Going for a swim?" Emi blushed after pointing out the obvious. She was also a little confused. Kaiya had just called both her and Rin, boosting about the tutoring session she was going to have with Kagura. Emi had expected Kagura to be at Kaiya's house by now.

Kagura looked back at the swimming area. "Yeah. Actually, I was on the Kaiya's house for another tutoring session. But I forgot where she lives." Kagura laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. "So I decided to swim instead."

"Is that so…"

"Hey, I was thinking since you're friends with her you might know where she lives, right?" Kagura looked expectantly at Emi, who nodded. "Could you tell me which way to go?"

Emi thought back to the phone conversation.

"Kagura's coming over to MY house today. And not yours," Kaiya said in a taunting voice.

"Shut up, Kaiya," Rin said, annoyed by the girl.

"You're just jealous because she has chosen me over you two." Both Emi and Rin had a mental image of Kaiya sticking her tongue at them.

"She hasn't chosen you, because none of us have even asked her out," Emi pointed out. "She just wants to make better grades."

Kaiya was silently fuming. Finally, after a moment of silence from all three of them, Kaiya spoke up. "When she comes over today, I'm going to ask her out."

"What?" Emi and Rin both said at the same time.

"You heard me."

"Bu-but that's totally against the rules!" Rin yelled into the phone, causing Emi and Kaiya to move their phones away from their ears.

"Yeah," Emi agreed when she put the phone back. "Rule 4: We are not to ask Kagura out, she is to ask one of us out."

Kaiya made a spitting noise. "Those stupid rules. They're not getting us anywhere. I say it's a free for all now. There are no rules when it comes to love. Either way, Kagura should be here now. Bye."

"Uh… Emi-chan?" Kagura waved her hands in front of Emi's face.

"Huh? What?" The girl in question snapped back to reality.

"Could you tell me how to get to Kaiya's house?"

Emi didn't want tell Kagura where Kaiya lived, especially since the girl was going to ask Kagura out. If Kaiya wants it to be a free for all, then she's got it. "Actually, she called me today and told me she had some last minute things to take care of with her parents."

"Ah, really?"

"Yeah, she was kind of stressing because she didn't want to go to her house for no reason. Good thing you forgot where she lived, and good thing I found you to tell you."

Kagura let out a sigh of relief, not realizing she was being lied to. "I can go swimming in peace then."

"Um…" Emi began to blush. "Would you rather go on a walk with me real quick?"

"Huh?" Kagura thought it over. "I guess that would be cool. Plus I haven't gone for a walk in a while. I mean, I've been walking of course, that's how I get places. But it's been a while since I've been on a walk just for the sake of walking.' Kagura smiled. "Ok!"

zzZZzz

It was already three o'clock. Kagura was an hour late to her study session with Kaiya. She sat on her bed looking at the books she had prepared, then she looked at her watch again and slumped. "Maybe she's not coming," Kaiya said to herself sadly. "Well, I'll go for a walk in the park then. Hopefully that'll clear my head and help me feel better."

zzZZzz

Kagura and Emi had been walking around the park aimlessly for the past half hour when Kagura suggested they sit on a bench underneath a tree. "Wow, who knew a simple walk could be so tiring," Kagura said as she sat down on the bench.

"Yeah" Emi agreed quietly.

Not far from where they were sitting, there were two boys who were about her age playing with a dog. Kagura looked at the boys, trying to see if she could find anything interesting about them. Still nothing.She let out a frustrated sigh. "What is it Kagura-san?"

"Oh… Nothing." Kagura crossed her arms and sat back on the bench. "Say, Emi-chan, have you ever dated anyone? You know, back in America?"

Emi was a little taken back by the question. "No…"

"I guess that's reasonable, we're still young. But we're going to be in high school next year…" Ever since Kaiya had asked her if she was interested in anyone, Kagura couldn't help but think about dating and what she wanted. This is so confusing. Kagura then focused her attention to the smart, shy, but sometimes bold, American girl next to her. "So, has anyone caught your eye since you've been here?"

Emi was a bit surprised with the question. Wow, is she oblivious to my crush on her? "Uh… Shouldn't it be obvious?" She refused to look Kagura in the eyes, opting instead to look at her lap.

"Whoa! So there is someone, eh? Who is it? Is it someone I know?"

"You could say that…"

Kagura began to grow intrigued. "Someone I know, huh?" She thought of all the guys she knew from school… Then she realized she didn't know any from there. She went to an all girls school. "Well, it can't be someone from our school. It's all girls." When Emi gave her a nervous look, Kagura threw her arms up in defeat. "I don't know. Who is the lucky fella?"

Emi then mumbled something in audible to Kagura. "What was that?" Kagura leaned in closer, Emi talked so quietly at times that she had to strain to hear the girl.

"It's you…"

"You? I don't know anyone named…" Kagura's eyes widened as she realized Emi was referring to her. "Oh…" Kagura's face told the story of her emotions: shock, confusion, disbelief, wonder, understanding, acceptance, and finally interest. "Me, huh?"

"Kagura-san, I've liked you since the first day I arrived. You were instructing the class during P.E. I thought you were so cool."

Kagura let out an embarrassed chuckle. "That was a while ago."

Emi then gripped her pants. "Kagura-san will you… Go out with me?"

Kagura's eyebrows furrowed. She was flattered, in a way, that Emi liked her. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to date anyone at the moment. She was still trying to figure out what she wanted. Hmmm… Maybe Emi-chan can help me to figure things out. I won't know what I really want unless I try things out. Plus, she is kind of cute. "Ok."

The American let out a squeal of delight. "Yay!"

"But…" This might be a bit bold… "After you do something for me."

"Anything," Emi said eagerly.

Kagura cleared her throat. "Well… You see, I'm not exactly sure of what it is that I want… I don't want to date you without being sure…" Kagura rubbed the back of her neck. "I want you to give me a kiss. It'll help me know for sure."

"Here?" Emi looked around the park, it was practically empty. "Um… Ok…" Emi moved closer to Kagura, and Kagura backed up towards the tree, trying to seclude them. When Emi was close enough to feel Kagura's breath on her lips, both girls blushed. Kagura quickly closed the gap between them.

The kiss was sloppy and awkward. Neither girl had ever kissed anyone before. Their inexperienced lips tried their best to move together, but the timing was a little off. Despite this, the feeling Kagura got from the kiss was like nothing she'd ever felt before. She was in a state of euphoria she didn't even know existed. Suddenly, the world around her seemed to disappear. It was as if she and Emi were the only two people in the world. Emi broke the kiss, much to Kagura's despair. She wanted more. Emi blushed and looked down. "Um… Do you have your answer?"

Kagura nodded. "I'll go out with you, if you promise to give me more of those."

Emi just smiled.

zzZZzz

Kaiya stood, watching Kagura and Emi. She saw the kiss. She saw them leave, discreetly holding hands. "So that's how it is, then?" Kaiya turned around and headed home. "Emi, you should've stayed in America," she said to herself.

Oh, this is getting interesting, no? Told you it was gonna start getting complicated. Man, what have I just gotten myself into? Reviews greatly appreciated.