Time began to seriously drag after New Year's came and went. Although they'd been spending time in small, enclosed areas for more than half a year, there'd always been some external change to break the monotony, even beyond the infected: hot summer days, cool fall storms, driving around in The Behemoth and fall turning into winter, followed by the holidays.

But now there were three to four months before the snow would melt, with little in the way of distraction. (Yuki made the best effort she could for Valentine's Day, but between Miki's melancholy for Kei and the nagging worry that there were literally the last people on earth, it was hard to get excited.)

Kurumi found distraction in working out with her new weapons, finding an affinity with them she'd never expected. She set up a practice space in the barn and set up a wooden training dummy, and followed the instructions from a martial arts book Chiba-san had lying around the house. Dark early mornings and late nights after dinner found her wrapping herself in a blanket to quickly run the shoveled path between the house and the barn, then spending hours working on basic forms, followed by more free-flowing attacks on the dummy. The naginata pole was particularly her favorite once she learned how to twirl it from one arm to another, leading to a constant whirl of activity that she could turn into a sudden chopping attack whenever she choose.

One by one the other girls took to watching her sessions intermittently for entertainment, and one by one they started to ask for training. None of them developed the aptitude with the blades that she had, but everyone started to feel greater confidence from knowing that they could be used, in an emergency. Even Yuki-chan reached a point where she could be relied on not to harm herself given a sword... although there had been some close calls for both her and Kurumi reaching that point.

The sessions with Yuri were becoming... intense, though. Yuri had some degree of natural talent, but she was tentative with the blades, never latching on to the weapons quite the way she should. Kurumi found herself stepping close behind Yuri, helping her adjust her stance and her grip. She could feel Yuri becoming more confident and focused when they stood together, but she also became more aware of other things - the sweat the two of them built up after an hour of continuous practice, the warmth of Yuri's skin rubbing against hers, the smell of the other woman's sweat mixed up with her soap and shampoo... Afterwards, Kurumi wasn't entirely sure whether it was just the exertion of practice that was making her heart pound in her chest.

Things were complicated even further by Yuri doing little favors for Kurumi. Yuri mothered them all, as far as cooking and cleaning, but Kurumi began to find her clothes for each day especially laid out for her when she woke, and her breakfast often had extra attention paid to it in the forms of eggs, bacon and pancakes turned into a happy face, or a specially designed bento lunch. When she asked about it, Yuri shrugged, smiled, and said that it was thanks for the extra training sessions, and it was just as easy for her to do some extra things for Kurumi, since they were sharing a bedroom.

It didn't explain the odd sense that Kurumi had that Yuri was looking at her extra attentively, when she thought no one else was looking.

So late one night in March, after they'd both bathed post-workout and were in bed reading, Kurumi looked up at the ceiling, sighed and asked the question.

"Rii-san... are we... are we in a relationship?"

Yuri didn't look over at her, but did put her book down and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Yes, I think we are," she said, almost too softly to hear.

Kurumi was stunned to hear the admission out loud, even though she had half suspected what Yuri would say. She didn't say anything for nearly a minute, and neither did Yuri, until they both started at the same time, cutting each other off.

"I didn't..."

"What I meant..."

Yuri blushed and looked away, while Kurumi couldn't help but smile. "It's ok, you go first. I'm not... I'm surprised, but I want to hear more."

Yuri looked at her shyly, and continued. "I... I'm sorry, maybe I should have been more clear up front, or maybe I shouldn't have brought it up. It's just... do you remember when we had that conversation about me not being a fighter, but more of a big sister, or a mom?"

Kurumi nodded.

"Well... I started thinking about what that meant, given where we are, what's going on. There's part of me that's never wanted to be settled with someone... with a man, just because I'm maternal and nurturing. But there's part of me that responds to strength, and protection, and wants to be with someone who will fight when needed. And being near you over the past few months, I realized: you're everything I want from a partner, without any of the things I thought I'd be forced to accept."

"And... I can't deny part of me is thinking about this because there are only three other people left in my life. But I also can't deny that I care about you very, very much, and it's just getting stronger and stronger over time. You took care of me, of all of us, at the school, and when you came back after getting bitten, I just... that may have been the happiest I've ever been in my life. We've just grown closer since we've moved here, and training with you, being close to you, learning from you and taking care of you in return, it's... exciting, it's thrilling for me, in a way I've never felt."

"So I don't know what you feel, or what you want, and if you think I'm being too forward here I can back off. But you make me happy, Kurumi-chan... Kurumi... and I want to show how much that means to me... how much you mean to me, however I can. However much you're comfortable with." She blushed and looked away again.

Kurumi stared ahead for a few seconds, then looked over at Yuri and took her hand. "Rii-san, I'm... I'm not against it, it's just nothing I'd ever considered before. I mean, I'm pretty sure I like guys - "

"I know, I know, I just - " Kurumi shook her head, cutting Yuri off.

"I do like guys, but I just never even thought about liking women. It's taking me a while to get my head around it, but..."

"But?"

"But I do... feel something when we're close. Something physical, more than the crushes I used to have on boys at school. It's just... I'm trying to think if I can see myself being closer... being more than.. what we are now."

Yuri took both of Kurumi's hands in hers, and moved closer, looking right into her eyes. "Well, I was thinking and... let me ask you something. You had a crush on Chiba-san, right? The movie star who owned this house?"

Now Kurumi blushed, and nodded. "It was a long time ago, but yeah, I did..."

"So think of it this way. Suppose he shows up tomorrow; supposed he brings cars and food and people, and we can go back to something like a normal life, before They showed up. Would... would you leave us for that, Kurumi?"

Kurumi shook her head instantly. "No, no way! You're all my family now, I'm not getting separated from you ever again. If I left, I'd bring you all with me, and we'd find a way to stay together, no matter what. I... I need you, now."

Yuri squeezed Kurumi's hands and held them up to her chest. "That's the way I feel too! And if you feel that way... doesn't it make sense to become closer, if that's how we feel? If we're going to be together forever, can't we... shouldn't we be... together?"

Kurumi felt warmth in her chest, and tears in her eyes. "I... I'd like that, Yuri. I'd really like that, I'm just... afraid, it's not something I..."

And she stopped, because she could suddenly feel Yuri's lips on hers, warm and firm and just a little wet. It wasn't her first kiss, but it was the first kiss she'd ever had with real passion behind it, no hesitancy or nervousness.

She had no idea how long it lasted, but felt a stab of loss the instant it ended. "Can we... do you want more?" Yuri whispered, looking away.

Kurumi nodded, then realized Yuri wasn't actually looking at her. "Yeah... yes, please. I want more."

Yuri lay down beside her, pulling her down on the bed and close to her, and they began to kiss again. The kiss was wonderful and nearly all-consuming, but a small part of Kurumi couldn't help notice where her hands fell on Yuri's back and hip, mere inches away from her generous curves. She shivered, for the first time thinking of Yuri's body not as an object of curiosity or jealousy, but as something that was, in a way, hers, to be opened and explored and treasured. She let her hand slip a few inches to rest lightly on Yuri's breast, and within a moment Yuri had placed her own hand on top of it, pulling Kurumi's hand closer and looking at her, smiling, encouraging.

Kurumi's heart was shuddering in her chest and little shivering aftershocks periodically ran down her spine; she felt warmth and wetness growing between her legs. She took a deep breath, looked in Yuri's eyes, and asked "Can we... can we stop for tonight?"

Yuri's face registered surprise and she started to apologize before being cut off by Kurumi. "No, it's fine, it's fine, it's... it's a lot to take in all at once. I want this, I just want... to take it slow, fully appreciate everything that's happening. Is that... is that ok?"

Yuri didn't answer, but smiled and leaned across to kiss her hard and fast. Kurumi kissed her back, but after a few moments Yuri rolled over, grabbing Kurumi's arm and curling into her, leaving Kurumi as the outside spoon and the two of them huddled together under the covers, with only the occasional gust of wind outside making a rattling noise as snow got blown into window panes.

It took a long time for Kurumi to fall asleep that evening, but neither of them moved from their positions, afraid to disturb the other. Finally, just as she was falling asleep, Kurumi chuckled lightly to herself, realizing that an endless procession of long, cold, dark nights before spring had suddenly become far too short a time.