A/N: Shiranui + sleep deprivation = unreliable. Here's how it really went down.

Kagerou didn't want to wake to a bloodied carpet tomorrow morning, though she feared it was already too late. They entered the apartment slowly, Kagerou grasping Shiranui's hand and guiding her through the empty rooms in the darkness.

They stopped at the kitchen.

On the sill of a window overlooking a mostly-empty parking lot, she found a partially used candle. In a drawer of knickknacks – pins, paper clips, tapes, and tangled cords abound – she found a lighter. The candle took to flame on her first try, their shadows dancing through the room as she filled two plastic cups with water. She offered one to Shiranui, who took it and gulped it down in seconds.

"Slow down," Kagerou said, watching water drip down Shiranui's chin.

Shiranui shrugged and handed the cup back, immediately downing the refill Kagerou offered her seconds later. Dehydration avoided, Kagerou picked up the candle and they continued through the apartment.

It was much too large of a living space for Kagerou, and sometimes, in contrast to reality, she felt it suffocating. As though it were too much responsibility for a little girl like herself, the rooms seemed to look down on her as she dusted and vacuumed them on the weekends, leaving them empty and quiet all other days.

Multiple times, she considered putting an ad in the paper for a roommate, especially as money was becoming more and more tight, yet she could never bring herself to do it. Despite living quarters being in high demand in Nomi, it would draw too much attention to herself if she let someone share the place with her.

Downgrading was also a possibility, but she saw it as more of a complication than anything. The moving aspect of it was hardly a concern, but the paperwork would prove difficult, if not outright impossible, since her parents wouldn't be around to sign for it. Instead, she decided to keep living her quiet life in her current apartment, where her landlord didn't know her face, hardly knew her name, and had only been seen at the building once or twice in the one and a half years she had lived there.

They paused in the hallway, Kagerou almost handing the candle off to Shiranui before realizing the girl was barely awake and would probably drop the thing a second later. Instead, she elected to let go of Shiranui. The closet door creaked as she opened it, and with rough movements, she dug her hands into the pile of fabric, brushing past the newer, larger towels for an expandable one near the back. With the new item in hand, she continued down the hallway, whispering for Shiranui to follow.

They entered the bathroom together, and Kagerou set the candle down next to the sink.

She could hear Shiranui's breathing, more laboured than usual. Sweat glistened on her forehead, and her blue eyes were unfocused in the candlelight. A fever was not out of the question. Maybe going to the hospital was the correct choice.

Kagerou shook her head vigorously. Doubting herself would only make things worse. Like Shiranui always did, she had to rely on her instincts. The hospital would have been flooded, with people and perhaps literally, and without power it would be chaos, with hundreds of patients lining up and sporting a wide variety of injuries from the winds and rain brought ashore by the typhoon. Resources were much less numerous in her own apartment, but it was familiar territory, and she needed the comfort of familiarity.

Kagerou tugged Shiranui's arm closer to the mirror, and the girl didn't seem to mind. Pulling up the sleeve of Shiranui's sweater, she stared at the makeshift bandage – a shirt, wet from the ocean's salt water – that was wrapped around the wound, and frowned. Her eyes roamed to Shiranui's neck, and she saw the girl was only wearing a sweater, yet Kagerou couldn't remember when Shiranui had removed her shirt for a bandage – and why hadn't she asked for assistance in tying it? It was so loose that it hadn't helped much in stopping the bleeding. And even more importantly, why had Shiranui needed to do it herself? What had Kagerou been thinking, leaving her to tend to her injuries alone?

No. Kagerou knew what she had been thinking, for most of their walk back to Nomi. Her thoughts had been in the past, with friends and family, in an attempt to escape the present, with danger and death. Now was not the time to play the blame game. Mistakes were made, and would be made, but she had to focus on minimizing them, and their impact.

She removed the bloodied shirt, throwing it behind her, into the shower stall.

Then, she twisted the arm until the candle lit it properly, and leaned in, examining the wound closely. It wasn't as shallow as she had hoped, and though Shiranui didn't show any signs of it, the girl must have been in pain. Cautiously, Kagerou ran a finger down the arm, swerving past the bite mark until their fingertips were touching. She refrained from entwining her hand with Shiranui's, and kept silent when she wanted to whisper an apology.

Shiranui was quiet. Kagerou looked up, and their eyes met. Both girls were tired, from the ocean, from the typhoon, and from the long walk home, and Kagerou almost forgot she was holding Shiranui's arm, as they stared at each other. The silence was comforting, but now was not the time to fall asleep. She had sleepless nights before, so she wasn't unfamiliar with the task of staying awake even when she yawned every other minute.

The candlelight flickered, and Kagerou shook her head.

"It's going to hurt, but we need to clean it," she said.

Not waiting for a response, she turned the water on and spent a minute adjusting the temperature until it was perfect – warm, but not hot. She guided Shiranui's arm, now dripping with the crimson blood, under the stream of water. Shiranui resisted momentarily, but Kagerou kept a firm grip. Surprisingly, Shiranui didn't cry out, or even gasp as the water pressure from the tap pressed into the injury.

Soap was next, Kagerou making sure to wash her hands thoroughly before cleaning Shiranui's wound out.

Leaving Shiranui's arm under the water, she began to rummage through the cabinet. She ignored the smaller bandages – the adhesive type which were used to wrap around a child's finger when they got a paper cut – and pulled out a roll of bandage, scissors, and a bottle of three percent hydrogen peroxide. When she opened the bottle, she stared blankly at it for a moment before returning to the cabinet and grabbing three sponge gauzes.

She shut the water off, and was momentarily stunned by the sudden silence that enveloped the room. She shrugged it off, and, with a wet facecloth, began to wipe Shiranui's arm. The injury had occurred almost an hour ago, and lots of blood had dried on her arm, so Kagerou took the time to wipe it away, making sure to be extra careful around the wound itself.

Shiranui flinched, showing her first sign of discomfort.

"Sorry," Kagerou said, the words reactively escaping her lips in a whisper.

It was odd for Shiranui to finally react, when she was doing something much less aggressive, but she suspected she would get another reaction when she applied the hydrogen peroxide to sterilize the wound.

There was dried blood under Shiranui's fingernails, too, but Kagerou couldn't get at it, and decided it was fine to leave. She rinsed the cloth, and then threw it into the shower, alongside Shiranui's shirt. Opening the peroxide bottle, she felt nostalgia.

One of her first memories ever, over a decade ago, had been when she'd gotten a large sliver from playing with an incomplete woodworking project her father had left in the backyard. She had ran into the house, yelling and crying, and her mother, with a radiant confidence, had torn the sliver from her hand, and let the hydrogen peroxide run through the wound, bubbling with a stinging sensation that made her cries redouble themselves, before finally applying a bandage and leaving to hunt her husband down, to berate him for Kagerou's mistake.

Since then, she hadn't had much need for it.

Shiranui didn't shout or cry when the hydrogen peroxide went into her bite wound, however. In silence, they listened to the bubbling and hissing, like a freshly opened can of soda, until it fell silent, and then Kagerou pulled the gauze away and examined the wound, despite not knowing what she should see, and then they repeated the process, before she turned her attention to cutting off a strip of bandage. She pressed the final piece of gauze against the wound, and bound it tightly with the bandage.

As though Shiranui knew the process was done, she pulled her hand in and cradled it against her body.

"I did the best I could," Kagerou said, "but you'll need to visit the hospital. Maybe for stitches, but you'll definitely need a rabies shot. I'm going to get one, too."

Shiranui nodded, showing an understanding that Kagerou didn't believe the girl actually had.

Kagerou stood up. "Then I guess it's time for bed."

When Shiranui didn't join her in standing, Kagerou sighed. She left the bathroom, feeling an inexplicable concern for leaving Shiranui alone to her own devices for even a moment, and quickly found a spare set of pajamas, before returning. Shiranui hadn't moved an inch, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Here."

Shiranui didn't respond, nor did she reach out to take the clothing.

Kagerou hesitated. She had already seen the girl half naked before – in fact, it had been in their first meeting when Shiranui had willingly stripped, while swimming out in the ocean. Shiranui had even said she wasn't the type to get easily embarrassed. Pulling the girl's sweater up, Kagerou realized the absurdity of the situation – that being, she was more embarrassed than the one being undressed. She half expected Shiranui to break out into a light hearted laugh, before making some inappropriate comment about Kagerou's actions.

There was no reason to blush, nobody else was around.

Even so, she realized the candlelight, faint and flickering, was very romantic. The flame was reflected in the mirror, and the two lights danced in the air, as though energized, as Kagerou pulled Shiranui's sweater off. It too, joined the bloody items on the shower's floor. Kagerou picked the candle up, bringing it closer to them, and examined Shiranui's body.

For injuries, she told herself.

A white scar ran from the left side of Shiranui's hip, to her belly button – an old injury that Kagerou hadn't noticed before, because they had been submerged in the water. She surprised herself when she reached out to touch it, and the skin was warm as she ran a finger along the scar. When she felt Shiranui's breathing on the back of her neck, she realized she had leaned in a little too closely.

She quickly set the candle aside.

"Stand," she said, performing the action even as she spoke.

Slowly, like an old lady, Shiranui rose to her feet. Her lips were curved upwards ever so slightly, as though she were remembering an old joke, but her eyes were as hazy as ever. Though Kagerou didn't drink, and her parents didn't, either, she imagined Shiranui's eyes were much like a drunk's, at the moment. Usually, Kagerou would use 'sky blue' to describe Shiranui's eyes, a peculiar colour but no stranger than her pink hair, which in combination made the girl so fascinating.

Kagerou stepped closer, once again. Her heart beat erratically, and she felt like a child, so ignorant yet so curious, as she unbuttoned Shiranui's jeans, pulled the zipper down, and then the jeans themselves. She watched as the jeans fell to the floor, and Shiranui, most likely acting on auto pilot, stepped out of them, freeing her feet. When Kagerou realized she was reaching forward again, towards the girl's underwear, she stopped herself.

She had done enough. They were adults; mature people, who left the secrets of their bodies only to their lovers to discover. Kagerou would be overstepping her bounds, if she were to go any further, and she most certainly wasn't comfortable with it.

"Here. You can't stay in wet clothing. Change into these, I'll turn around."

Thankfully, Shiranui took the offered pajamas, and Kagerou turned around, resting her eyes on the pile of bloodied fabric in the shower stall. Shiranui's shirt was a goner, but she hoped the rest could be properly cleaned, with enough effort. She turned her head marginally, until she could see movement in the mirror. It took her a moment to realize what she was trying to do, and she quickly reaffirmed her stare on the shower. It felt like all the heat in her body concentrated itself in her ears, as she felt blood rush to her face.

They were both female, so what exactly was drawing her attention to the girl changing behind her?

There shouldn't have been any interest, when she had already explored her own body in detail and knew everything there was to know.

She remembered the sight of Shiranui's scar, in the candle's weak light, and realized that just because she knew her own body, didn't mean she knew Shiranui's – but it wasn't something she wanted to know, she told herself. That was a foolish notion.

She waited a few minutes, until she was absolutely sure Shiranui had finished changing. During this time, she locked her head in place, not moving a centimeter, in the direction of the mirror or otherwise. When she turned around, Shiranui was standing watching her silently. The pajamas were a little too tight of a fit, but neither girl was in a position to complain.

Kagerou nodded towards the door, and they left. It took only a second of standing out in the dark halls before Kagerou remembered she had forgotten to grab the candle, and quickly backtracked and retrieved it.

They moved into her room, and she set the light atop her dresser.

"Bed," she said, motioning towards her bed.

Even the thought of Shiranui sleeping in her bed flustered her, and she distracted herself by setting up her own bed, a futon which she rarely used and couldn't say why she owned in the first place.

It was the obvious decision, letting her guest have the bed. Shiranui was injured, more so than Kagerou, and a comfortable sleep would be vital to recovering, especially if they wanted to make it to school in a few hours. Kagerou would perhaps be a little lenient, letting them sleep in and be late for the first class, but they needed to be able to seamlessly begin their third week at Kantai Academy. Things were only getting harder, as the Kantai Project's demands increased.

Prior to today, Kagerou had pursued her career because she believed it was the right thing to do, but since Liam and Ian's deaths, which she felt she was able to blame, at least indirectly, on the Abyssals, she realized she was looking forward to continuing in the Kantai Project much more than before. As though she, personally, had a stake in the success of the project, rather than thinking it was okay to do her best and be proud of herself.

Now, doing her best wouldn't be enough. They would end the war.

"No. We share the bed."

Kagerou snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Shiranui's voice. Shiranui was in her bed, positioned at the edge and patting the spot beside her, like she were motioning for a dog to jump up. The invitation was said with surprising clarity, though Shiranui looked exhausted and seconds from sleep.

Kagerou's gut reaction was to say no, but she had no reason behind it. Because it was embarrassing, to share a bed? Because she was afraid she would be drawn to Shiranui – to search for more scars, of course - ? Kagerou hesitated. Maybe they should share a bed. Kagerou herself was tired, and she wanted to be close to Shiranui in case the girl's condition worsened.

She looked at the girl, feeling a momentary wave of confusion, seeing Shiranui dressed in her own pajamas

"Um... No," she finally said. "I roll around too much in my sleep, I'd only bother you."

Shiranui sighed, perhaps expecting the answer. "You're boring."

"Sit up for a moment."

Shiranui obeyed, and Kagerou climbed up on the bed. Crawling around to Shiranui's back, she sat down cross legged. She sifted through a strand of the girl's hair. The candle was so distant that the hair looked more brown, than anything, in the darkness.

"What are you doing?" Shiranui asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Kagerou's hands froze, before she quickly reached for Shiranui's ponytail, and began drawing the hair through it. Even the ponytail was damp, and Kagerou leaned in and could smell the ocean's saltiness.

"Removing your ponytail. You live on campus, right?"

"Sure do."

"What dorm?"

"Awesome," Shiranui said, lacking emotion.

"What?"

"That's what they call it. Dorm Awesome."

Kagerou pulled the ponytail free, toying with it in her hand to keep herself from touching Shiranui's hair again.

"I don't recall seeing a Dorm Awesome sign, anywhere on campus."

Shiranui leaned back, her head bumping against Kagerou's left shoulder, before coming to stop there, as though deciding Kagerou made for a good headrest.

"A for awesome. Dorm A."

"I see," Kagerou said, her breath hitching. "And room number?"

"Why do you need my room number? Unless... you really want to move in with me? Just say the word, and Hibiki is gone."

Kagerou tried to shake her head, but realized she couldn't with Shiranui resting on her. The position was a little awkward, but she couldn't bring herself to disrupt it.

"No," she said. "I was going to get you some fresh clothing tomorrow."

"Maybe I'll just wear your pajamas all day."

"I don't think that would go over well."

"Fine. Room eight. It's on the first floor. Try not to get killed by Hibiki. She doesn't like guests."

"Um. Can you write me a letter?"

"Huh?" Shiranui mumbled. "What kind? A love letter?"

Even in her half delirious state, Shiranui managed to make juvenile jokes. What if one day Kagerou accidentally took one seriously? It wasn't good for her heart. And even worse, what if Shiranui conversed with men the same way? A beautiful girl like herself would be irresistible to guys who spent long hours on the construction sites with nothing but other sweaty males. Tomorrow, she would need to give Shiranui a stern talking to – and not the kind that would end with them missing class and swimming in the ocean.

"I was thinking one that might pacify Hibiki," Kagerou said, after an indeterminable pause. "Help her help me help you."

For a moment, she thought Shiranui had fallen asleep in their uncomfortable position sitting on the bed. Kagerou listened to the girl's faint, rhythmic breathing.

"That's an idea. I need paper, pen, and something."

"Something to write on?"

Shiranui pulled away, sitting up straight. "Something," she nodded.

With a little reluctance, Kagerou climbed off the bed. She realized that maybe her desire to be close to Shiranui was because of the lack of physical contact she'd had in the past few months, and after today, they wouldn't have reason to stick close together anymore, and the thought upset Kagerou.

She dug through her desk drawer, finding a loose leafed page, and pen. From her bookshelf, she grabbed the largest hardcover textbook she could find. She handed the assembled items to Shiranui, who set them on her lap and began to write.

Kagerou brought the candle closer, to provide light to the page, and stood, looking down at the words in silence. She tried reading it, but found her mind sluggish. It wasn't Japanese, she realized a moment later. It took a few seconds to mentally switch to English, but she found it still made no sense.

"Um," she said.

She was afraid of interrupting Shiranui, but it was all gibberish being written on the page. She had had enough insanity for one night, and it finally clicked in her mind.

"Russian?" Kagerou asked.

Shiranui pulled pencil away from page. "Da. You can't read Russian?"

"Of course not. Why would I be able to?"

Shiranui ignored her and took a moment to scrawl one more line at the bottom of the page. Apparently satisfied, she handed the letter over. "Here. Hibiki will be less likely to harm you, but I still don't think she'll make you feel very welcome. Think of her as a pit bull who's very protective of her territory."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't challenge her? Don't piss in our dorm? I don't know, either, really. It took me awhile before I got on not-enemy terms with her. This letter should put her on a leash. Maybe."

Kagerou put the letter aside. She would wake up after a couple hours of rest, and visit the academy. It was close to the water, so things might have been damaged, and it was very unlikely power would be restored any time soon, so she wanted to know if classes would be cancelled.

"Hey Kagerou?"

"Yes?" Kagerou said.

"Can I have a goodnight kiss?"

"Um. What?"

Shiranui was sitting on the bed, watching her intently. "Please," she said, her eyes incandescent in the candle's light. "It'll help me sleep better."

Despite Shiranui's antics, Kagerou realized she was actually being serious. A chaste kiss on the forehead couldn't hurt, Kagerou decided. When she approached, however, Shiranui closed her eyes and lifted her chin a fraction, and Kagerou realized that it was, after all, a joke. Kagerou wanted to slap her, but instead she found her eyes drawn to Shiranui's lips.

What if she actually kissed the girl?

It would probably shock Shiranui, but maybe it would stop the influx of indecent jokes the girl made. And chances were, she could pass it off as being exhausted and not thinking straight, so they could both laugh it off – and clearly it would be true. Kagerou wasn't thinking straight.

She leaned knelt down beside Shiranui and leaned forward. She could hear as Shiranui stopped breathing, holding her breath for the moment, a steadfast commitment to the joke. Kagerou brought her hands up, wrapping them loosely around Shiranui's neck and pulling the girl in closer. Shiranui didn't resist, and their lips came ever closer.

And then Kagerou realized the absurdity of the situation.

They were both so delirious from their exhaustion – Kagerou having woken up at six am to catch the bus to the harbour – that neither girl was going to back out. Kagerou shifted course, planting her lips on Shiranui's forehead. It was a quick peck, and she pulled away just as fast, the taste of salt water on her lips. The thought of a shower had been pushed completely out of mind when they arrived at her apartment, so they were both covered in a layer of saltiness.

Disappointment flickered across Shiranui's face.

Kagerou didn't know how to react, so she didn't.

"Thank you," Shiranui said, sliding under the bed's sheets. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

She pulled on the combination lock, but it didn't open. After inputting the number and trying again, she double checked her locker number. Was her locker one forty one, or one fourteen? How could she forget such an important thing? The hallways were emptying out as students collected their textbooks and made their way to class, and nobody so much as gave her a second glance. It was as though she were invisible.

She moved to locker one fourteen, anxiety growing as the seconds ticked by. She wouldn't be late for class – she couldn't.

Her combination failed; the lock didn't open. A group of girls passed by her, laughing, and then the hallway was empty. Where was her locker? Time was running out. Any second now, the bell would ring and she would be late for class. She rushed back to one forty one, and tried the locks on either side. Neither opened.

Maybe it wasn't the wrong locker, but the wrong combination? Then what? Or what if it was both? How could she ever get to class on time? The silence of the hall was ominous, and Kagerou dropped to her knees, her mind simultaneously empty and racing through ideas.

The bell rang, sealing her fate. She was late.

As per usual, her biological clock woke her at seven am, despite her mind and body still being completely drained. She shut off her alarm clock, so it wouldn't wake Shiranui in half an hour, and stood up, stretching. Her hips were sore from sleeping on the floor without a mattress, and her neck had missed her usual pillow, but they were temporary inconveniences.

Kagerou could vaguely remember having a nightmare right before she woke up, and it had taken place in her middle school. Which was ridiculous. She hadn't even had a locker during middle school, and why dream about such a trivial thing? She was used to the dreams about forgetting to study for a test, or being called on by the teacher and not knowing the answer, but this had been a completely new – and decidedly uncomfortable – nightmare.

Carefully, she took a seat on her bed, next to Shiranui.

There was plenty of room on the bed, and they most certainly could have shared it. She felt a little regret, for being so prude. It took a bit of searching to find Shiranui's arm under the covers, and then she pulled it out and examined the red stained bandage. For being so tired last night, she had done reasonably well. It would need to be replaced soon, but that could be a job for the hospital, if the place wasn't overcrowded.

After confirming Shiranui's peaceful breathing, Kagerou grabbed the letter and her keys, and left the apartment. Breakfast would not be necessary; she planned on being back within the hour.

The buses weren't running, but it didn't matter because she always chose to walk, anyways.

The aftermath of the typhoon wasn't as bad as it could have been, but the town was still a mess. Puddles collected on the side roads, which weren't properly draining into the sewers, and men and woman dressed in yellow and orange reflective attire were working to unclog the sewers and clean the roads. A few trees had fallen over. One collapsed and had taken down a power line, which looked like it had started a fire and burned down a couple houses, even though it had all happened in a torrential downpour.

Garbage bags had been torn from their nettings and their contents strewn across yards and roads, and a garbage truck drove along slowly, its occupants sporting defeated looks, yet they didn't stop to assist in the cleaning effort. They had probably clocked in mere minutes ago and were still scouting the city, unaware of the full damage which had been inflicted, but slowly learning of the monumental task they had been given.

Walking the street, Kagerou was surprised at how many stores had broken windows. Most hadn't been boarded up yet, and if she had wanted to, she could have walked into the stores through their storefront displays, being careful of the broken glass on the ground. In fact, that seemed to have been exactly what happened. Looters who had taken advantage of the typhoon, while everyone else was cowering in their homes in the dark.

When Kagerou saw a particularly large puddle on her usual route, she decided to take a detour instead of testing it. It wasn't until she was passing directly in front of the store that she realized where she was. Hesitating only a moment, she stepped inside the building. A wind chime sang as she looked around the place. A man appeared from one of the aisles, a broom in hand.

"Good morning," he said. "Oh, Kagerou. What brings you in, so early in the morning?"

Armin was a tall, thin man who was balding much too early, and owned glasses but was too stubborn to ever wear them, so he walked around bumping into obstacles every second of the day. He was the owner of the gun shop, Manual's Bullets.

"Hi boss," she said, examining the place. "I was just in the area, so I thought I would check things out."

Armin let out a drawn out sigh. "It's alright. Some cleaning to do, but at least we're not running a pharmacy. I think every drug store between here and the city limits has been broken into."

"Looters didn't hit this place, then?"

"No. Flooding in the back though – not sure how that happened." He set the broom aside, giving her a concerned look. "You okay? You look a little roughed up."

She hadn't even showered yet. "I'm good. See you at five, then?"

"If you want the day off-"

"No. I'm good."

He hadn't made a single comment about her running late for school, which she appreciated. Usually Armin showed interest in her education, and was always flexible with her schedule. He was perhaps the most important adult in her life, and she knew she owed him a great debt – not only for hiring her in the first place, but for his continued support and keeping her busy.

Ten more minutes of walking later, she arrived at the academy.

It seemed the cleaning effort had already begun. People were roaming the fields and the shooting range had been closed for the day, a chain strewn across the road. Some people had rakes in hand, piling up leaves and broken branches, while others carried around garbage bags and were acting as mobile dumping stations, with other people picking up and depositing their garbage in the bags.

It was an organized, concerted effort that the academy had put together so quickly.

A sign at the front of the academy – two large boards of wood attached by a hinge, leaning against each other to stand on the ground – announced that all classes for the day were cancelled. Classes would resume on Tuesday.

Kagerou felt relief, perhaps more for Shiranui than herself.

It took another five minutes to find dorm A, and then room eight, and she wondered if Shiranui had lied last night when she had said it was known as dorm Awesome. It seemed a little childish.

Double checking she had the right number, Kagerou cleared her throat and knocked. She realized she was nervous, but couldn't exactly pinpoint why. Was Hibiki someone she should be afraid of? The Kantai Project wouldn't recruit a psychopath, would they?

"Who's there?" someone shouted from inside. It was a female voice with a heavy Russian accent, who sounded extremely frustrated by something.

Kagerou hesitated. "A friend of Shiranui's."

It might have been a little forward of her, to assume they were friends, but at least Shiranui wasn't around to tell her otherwise.

No response was forthcoming, and Kagerou waited, thinking maybe Hibiki was in the middle of something, possibly drying herself off after a morning shower, but after much too long without hearing anything, Kagerou knocked again. "Hello?"

"Who's there?"

"I – um... a friend of Shiranui's." She didn't want to sound like a broken record, but didn't know what else to say.

"Go away."

"But-"

"She has no friends. Either tell me who you really are, or fuck off."

"My name is Chisaka Kagerou. Shiranui and I were in detention together."

The door opened, and Hibiki poked her head out, looking down the hall in both directions. "And? What do you want?"

Kagerou fished the letter out of her pocket. It had been a good idea to have Shiranui write one. "Here. Read this."

"Is she dead?" Hibiki asked, unfolding the letter with a startling lack of concern.

"No!" Kagerou said. "Why would you even say that? That's horrible."

"So sue me," Hibiki said before falling silent as she began to read.

She looked up once or twice, giving Kagerou critical looks, and finally she sighed, handing the letter back. "Fine. She's alive. What do you want?"

"I need to pick up a change of clothes for her."

Hibiki stepped away from the door, and a short second later, Kagerou could hear the sound of a drawer opening. She was about to push the door open to see the inside of the room, when Hibiki shouted.

"You look in here and I'll have to kill you – either that or cut your tongue off and feed it to Beluga."

"Sorry," Kagerou yelped, retreating a step into the hallway.

"Let's see – socks, underwear, pants – why does she even have bras, she's as flat chested as I am. Shiranui is delusion – you tell her that, okay? Shirt, sweater. That all? Am I missing something?"

"I don't think-"

"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you."

Kagerou closed her mouth. Was there someone else in the room, or was Hibiki a bona fide lunatic?

Hibiki returned to the door, stuffing a pile of clothing into her face. "Here. Now go do whatever it is you wanted with her clothes, just get out of my face.

"Um – could I have a bag or something for it-"

"You talk too much," Hibiki growled.

She disappeared back into her dorm room, and just when Kagerou assumed she wasn't going to come back, Hibiki's hand shot out of the crack in the door, and dropped a plastic shopping bag.

"Thank you," Kagerou said, snatching it out of the air before it could fall on the ground.

The door shut with a resounding thud, in spite of the fact that it was only open a few centimeters in the first place. Kagerou stuffed the clothing in the bag and quickly retreated.

Returning to her apartment, it was an odd feeling knowing someone was already inside. Living in the place alone for so long had adjusted her to peculiar habits, such as talking and singing to herself, banging her head against the wall whenever she was annoyed, and more recently, she had altogether stopped using the lights, electing to walk around the place blind and eat at the table in the darkness.

She turned the key quietly and opened the door, mentally scolding herself for not oiling it weeks ago. It creaked, and she hoped it wouldn't wake her guest.

"I'm back," she whispered to no one in particular.

Putting the keys on the nearby shelf, she moved through the rooms until she reached her own, and nearly yelped when she peeked inside. Shiranui was awake, sitting up in bed with her head buried in Kagerou's pillow. She rubbed it on her face, like it were a towel, and then inhaled deeply, arcing her back before falling backwards onto the bed, where she sighed.

The act wasn't for Kagerou's sake, in an attempt to embarrass her, because Shiranui didn't even know she was being watched.

Did her pillow smell bad, Kagerou wondered? When was the last time she had washed it? It must have been a few days ago, even though she couldn't explicitly remember it, because there was no other reason for Shiranui to be inhaling the scent with such a wide smile on her face.

A few moments later, Shiranui abandoned the pillow, and, still not noticing Kagerou at the door, she bent down and put her head under the bed. It was time to intrude, Kagerou decided. She wouldn't judge until she had an answer.

"What are you doing?" she asked, pushing the door open wider.

Shiranui whipped her head up. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Really? Because that didn't look like nothing – it looked like you were snooping.

"Well," Shiranui grinned, "if you really must know-"

"I change my mind. I don't want to know."

"I was looking for your porn stash."

Kagerou recoiled. "Wha-what? That – that's – inappropriate – impolite!"

"Sorry," Shiranui said a moment later, diverting her eyes in a surprising display of guilt. "Bad joke."

"All your jokes are bad," Kagerou muttered, before clearing her throat. "Classes are cancelled today. We have the day off."

Shiranui recovered quickly, raising her eyebrows. "Really? I suppose that's a relief, since I wasn't planning on going."

"You would have."

Shiranui nodded towards the clock. "And be late? Once you're one minute late, you're better off not going at all."

"That's a terrible attitude."

"Why thank you."

"And that's a terrible answer. You need to go to the hospital today. I checked on the way home, and the wait was less than an hour. Go get a rabies shot, and have them redo the bandage, too. I don't think you'll need stitches though."

"A shot?" It might have been Kagerou's imagination, but she looked upset at the prospect.

"Yes. That's what I said. A shot."

The vaccine was essentially injecting a dying sample of the rabies virus by needle, and letting the body's immune system figure it out, so when the real deal showed up, it would know how to kill it.

Kagerou wanted to get the shot too, since there was no way to tell if she'd been infected until symptoms started showing up – usually months later – and by then, it would be too late. It would be an ignoble death, compared to going down while fighting the Abyssals, and besides, she didn't want to upset her parents by dying.

Shiranui sighed. "Did I wake up in Spain? Will they be asking me to participate in a trial run of weaponized tularemia after they shoot me up with the virus? I think I'll pass."

"Pass? It's not something you can pass on. Promise me you'll get the shot."

"Fine, I promise. But I'm not participating in any experimental shit they've got going on."

"Japan isn't big on biological warfare-"

"No, we've just a few hundreds thousand tons of robots and artificial intelligence."

"We do, and you're supposed to prove you're mature enough to use it. Now, enough chitchat. Here, get changed."

Kagerou threw the bag – a little more aggressively than she might normally have – and Shiranui caught it mere centimeters from her face. She opened the bag, digging around inside with a frown.

"Where did you get these?"

"I didn't. Hibiki did, and from your dresser, I would presume."

"Hibiki? You went to my dorm? How'd you know where it is?"

Kagerou sighed. "You told me. Last night. Remember?"

"Oh." Shiranui paused. "That's right, I did. I hope Hibiki didn't give you any trouble."

"No, not after I showed her the letter."

"The letter?"

"Um - you really don't remember, do you?"

Shiranui bit her lip, brows furrowed in concentration. "The letter I wrote last night?"

"Yes."

"By the way, did you read the letter?"

"It was in Russian," Kagerou said.

Shiranui nodded. "Okay. So you didn't read the letter. Do you have it, or Hibiki?"

"Does it matter?"

"No," Shiranui said, emptying the bag on the bed.

"Good. Now I'm going to make us breakfast. You can take a shower when you're done changing – towels are in the closet next to the bathroom."

Kagerou officially hated eggs. They were easy to cook, which was why it was the only decent breakfast food she had, but there were way too many ways to cook them, and everyone seemed to have their own opinions and preferences, and she didn't know which way Shiranui liked them.

Scrambled, hard-boiled – and there was soft-boiled, and probably a medium-boiled too – sunny-side up, in an omelette – did she have peppers and cheese? – and the longer she thought about the possibilities, the more difficult the choice became.

There was raw too, if she wanted to cook up some rice. Would a traditional breakfast be better? She had mentally defaulted to a western style breakfast because it was what she always had, but maybe it would offend Shiranui. Miso soup was also a possibility.

Kagerou moved to plug the rice cooker in, then stopped herself. She was being ridiculous. Shiranui could starve if she wasn't content with whatever Kagerou made. In the end, she settled on bringing a pot of water to boil on the stove.

There was more to do. Toast – white or wholewheat? What time would she need to start the toast, in order for it to be done as soon as the eggs were? What else did she have, aside from eggs and toast? Why couldn't she have sprung for some bacon? Or even sausage. She was such a cheapskate.

She mentally chastised herself. No more thinking.

What about drinks? Coffee? Milk? Orange juice? Wasn't orange juice the way to go, for a perfect breakfast? No, she didn't even have any. Did she have time to run to the store? Probably not. Milk it was, then. Or maybe tea – there was probably some tea packets stored in the depths of the cabinet – she should start digging those out, just in case. But tea wouldn't be acceptable – it would show a complete lack of understanding of food if she were to mix traditional and western style breakfasts together. Cross tea off the list.

Bread waiting in the toaster and water coming to a boil, she began pacing the kitchen. A few minutes later, she rushed for the broom in the closet, and began sweeping the ceramic tiled floor. The cleanliness of an apartment said a lot about its occupant. She was a clean person, and wouldn't let anyone believe otherwise.

Water was boiling. How many eggs? Why hadn't she asked Shiranui beforehand? She was so short-sighted. But if she was hungry enough for two, then it was a safe bet that Shiranui was, too. Four in total. She checked the time they were put in. Eight minutes to cook. She collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table, and stared at the clock.

Shiranui finished her shower and came into the kitchen just as everything was coming together. With a confidence Kagerou hadn't felt minutes ago, she set everything on the table, and they sat down.

"I don't know how hungry you are," she said, "but I made you two eggs."

"Mm, thanks," Shiranui said, cutting up her first egg.

It was with a sudden, intense feeling of awkwardness that Kagerou realized it was the first time in months that she was eating breakfast with another human being. Shiranui, too busy stuffing egg and toast into her mouth, didn't seem to notice her discomfort.

"Something wrong?" Shiranui asked. "You're staring at me."

"Um-"

"And I know I'm good looking, but you've had all day yesterday to get over the fact."

"Um. Is it any good?"

Shiranui took another bite of egg. "Is what any good?"

"I've never cooked for someone else before."

"Oh. Breakfast. It's good," she said between bites.

They continued eating in silence, Kagerou trying to focus on her own food but finding her eyes wandering to Shiranui a few too many times.

"Last night," Shiranui said, ending the quiet, "you said your parents were out?"

"Do you want another cup of milk?"

"That's a lie, isn't it?"

"There's coffee, too."

"Don't ignore me. They don't live here, do they?"

Kagerou set her fork down. "No. But it wasn't, technically, a lie. Them not living here counts as being out-"

"Fine, whatever. It's not like I never lie. So, you have this entire place all to yourself. Where are they? Do they know you're letting a hot chick sleep over?"

"Could you please refrain from being so egotistical?"

"Fine. Where are they? What kind of work do they do?"

"They – it's..."

"If you don't want to tell me, then fine. Whatever. Sorry for being nosy." She cut into her second egg, a little more viciously than she had the first. "I'm not a very good guest, am I?"

Kagerou hesitated.

"Rhetorical question. You wouldn't want to hurt my ego, now, would you?"

It was another rhetorical question, Kagerou assumed, so she remained silent, beginning her second egg.

She was the next to break the silence. "Um. Listen, I've got somewhere I need to be-"

"Where are you going? Aren't you tired? I'm probably going to be sleeping all day."

"I was going to help with the cleaning effort. They're looking for volunteers, and I think Michishio and Arashio are going to help, too."

"Hmm. Your friends."

"You're my friend too," Kagerou blurted out before she could stop herself. She might not have been able to say it otherwise.

"If that's some way of trying to make me help in the cleanup effort, then no thank you."

"That's not what I meant."

"Whatever. You need to get going, I get it. I suppose I'll head back to the academy before Hibiki gets the idea to pawn my stuff, or something."

"Go to the hospital first."

"Sure."

"Seriously."

Shiranui glared at her. "I already promised, didn't I?"

"You're right. Sorry."

They finished the rest of their meal in silence. It had a sort of finality to it that Kagerou hadn't expected, nor wanted. It felt like as soon as they left through the front door, their relationship would return to being peers; acquaintances whom didn't talk without good reason.

Shiranui had already said it. No thank you. She didn't want to be friends.

And maybe it was fine. Originally, Kagerou had been so concerned with Shiranui because she'd thought that Shiranui didn't have any friends, but despite appearances, she had the feeling Hibiki was a close friend, and that meant Shiranui wasn't alone, didn't it?

It would be fine to let things revert to normal. It would be appropriate.

A/N: Time for the learning corner!

Don't use hydrogen peroxide to clean wounds. Historically, it was done, but there's better ways to do it now.

Tularemia was studied as a potential biological weapon in WWII by the States, Japan, and a few other countries because it is extremely virulent.

Rabies must have been terrifying back in the 19th century, when they didn't have the vaccine. According to Wikipedia, it can only be diagnosed once symptoms start appearing, but by then death is already inevitable. Not to mention the wait time between contracting the disease and when symptoms appear, which can be as long as a year.