I've been a bit under the weather and work has been absolutely nuts due to the holidays so I've been coming home and pretty much doing the best impression of The Blob I can muster and not doing anything productive (like this is productive, ha). I was also really torn about where to end this so it turned out being the longest chapter yet.


Seijuro stared at the clock like it was a crystal ball about to tell his fortune. It was getting late. Growing late. Too late. Gou wasn't back yet. Too late for her to not be back. She had said she would be out late but not that late, and it was becoming that late.

With a forceful amount of effort he tore his gaze away from the tick of the two hands on the clock face. He moved his leg vigorously. He tapped his fingers on his knee. He leaned to the side with his chin in his palm then moved it against a second later. He shifted his position. He stretched his arms out along the back of the couch. He glanced at the clock again.

One minute had passed.

rubbed his face. This is getting ridiculous. I should go to bed. But he couldn't go to bed. He couldn't get settled. He was much too restless.

What if Gou had gotten drunk and done something stupid? She had said she wasn't going to drink but she might have changed her mind once she had reached the bars. He couldn't imagine that it was easy being the only sober one in a group of drunk teenagers. It was entirely plausible that she would change her mind and join in the festivities so to speak. Who knew what kind of shenanigans she could get herself into if she got drunk again. She couldn't get married, at least not again, that was for sure. But there were other stupid mistakes one could do whilst drunk.

Seijuro grit his teeth. His imagination was running away from him. He should text her. That would be the smart thing to do. But at the same time he was hesitant to do so. Texting her out of nowhere just to check up on her might come across as paranoid and overbearing, not to mention intrusive. She would have an idea of what he was trying to do and she may not like it.

Despite their accidental marriage Seijuro didn't have any right to tell her what to do. Or not to do as the case might be. What she did and with who, was, technically, none of his business. But for some reason thinking like that only left Seijuro feeling even less satisfied and more frustrated with the current situation.

He fisted his hands. He couldn't let it lie without doing anything about it. The thoughts in his head would only drive him crazy. He had to do something, otherwise he would spend all night suffering from restless leg syndrome and fretting. He had to know what was going on. Even if it wasn't any of his business, even if their marriage was a sham and an accident, he had to know.

He rose, all determination, then paused. He had to go. Most definitely. But there was one big flaw in his plan. How could he show up at the bar without giving himself away and making him look like a creep?

He grimaced. If he showed up to the bars by himself there was a high chance she would know exactly what he was doing or she would think he was there to try and pick up girls. Neither scenario was particularly pleasing. She would either consider him a stalker or a tramp.

In the case, he needed someone to go with him, someone he could blame for dragging him out and act like it wasn't his idea at all. But who? Who could he go with that wouldn't cause suspicion?

He thought for a moment, running names and faces through his head. Makoto? No that wouldn't work. Gou would instantly become suspicious that they were spying on her – which they would be – and Makoto didn't drink in the first place. Besides, Haru would insist on coming himself or he'd make that pouty jealous face again. No, Makoto and Haru were a bad idea. Rei? No, no, Nagisa would want to come and then they'd be the ones becoming drunken hot messes. Nagisa had this strange way about him that enabled him to convince you to do something you would normally never, ever do. Rei and Nagisa wouldn't work. Goro? The older guy did seem to enjoy his beer. That didn't mean he would enjoy being inside a bar full of drunken teenagers though. Actually scratch that, Goro was a terrible idea. He would only look like a creep in that sea of adolescent drunkenness.

Well, that was all of Iwatobi so he moved onto his swim team next. Nitori? No, that was a terrible idea. The boy would either get so nervous at all the people bustling about he'd go cry in a corner or he'd get drunk and then cry. Besides, as far as Mikoshiba knew the boy had not indulged in any drinking whatsoever and did not seem interested in doing so. Dragging someone like Nitori to the bar would only be one big red flag. Who else then? Seijuro thought and then his eyes widened. Noro! Of course. Out of anyone in Samezuka he frequented the bars the most. It wouldn't be unusual for him to be there and he'd be a familiar face that people would recognize. It would be completely believable that Noro had decided to drag him out.

Seijuro looked hastily about, catching sight of his red phone gleaming on the table. He snatched it up. He scrolled down to the N's and was about to hit the call button on Noro's name when the door opened.

"I'm home." The words were delivered with no exuberance, instead laden with exhaustion.

"O-oh." Seijuro juggled the phone then quickly tossed it away from himself. If she saw him standing there with it in his hand she would naturally want to know what he was doing. "H-hey. How'd it go?" The expression on her face when she looked up at him matched her tone. Her eyes looked tired, the corners of her mouth slightly downturned, and the excitement she had displayed when first leaving had certainly been leached out of her.

"Everything alright?"

"Ugh." She tottered sluggishly over to the couch, carelessly dropping her bag along the way and collapsed face first into his pillow. Mikoshiba blinked at her.

"Did it not go well?"

She shifted oddly, her hand moving underneath her and extracting something that she had fallen onto. His phone. Oops. With a bit of a frown at it, she placed in on the table. "It was a mess," she decreed. She buried her face back in the pillow and clutched it. "Everyone drank way too much. Yuka got sick and started puking. Hana-chan kept wandering off to random places and Yuko, she passed out on the curb while I was trying to get Yuka and Hana-chan together outside so we could leave before things got any worse." She flipped over and raised her hands in the air. "It was a big mess."

"Sounds like it." Taking care of one drunk person could be difficult in itself but taking care of three sounded next to impossible. Seijuro had been lucky in that he had yet to experience such a situation. The time he had gotten drunk he had been no shape to take care of anyone, and since then his teammates had been keeping their drink responsible enough that he didn't have to intervene. "How'd you manage to get back here?"

"I called Makoto."

"You called Makoto?"

"Yeah. I had to. I didn't know what else to do." She pressed her hands into her eyes. "I couldn't get Yuko up and there was no way I could carry her all that way. Plus Yuka was still so sick and Hana-chan was no help at all. I didn't know what else to do so I called him."

"Oh." Seijuro tried to not the let disappoint show in his tone. It was stupid, of course she would call Makoto over him. She had known the other boy longer and the two appeared fairly close. Still. He would have come and helped if she had asked him to.

"Makoto and Haru both came to help," Gou continued. "Thank God. I don't know what I would have done otherwise. Makoto had to carry Yuka, thank goodness she didn't puke on him, and Haru had to carry Yuko. I had to drag Hana-chan along like she was a naughty toddler, she kept trying to wander off still. If I let her go for a second she would either collapse into giggles and not get up or teeter off into some rose bushes." She heaved a great sigh. "Anyway we managed to get the girls back to their lodging and in bed so it ended okay. Poor Makoto and Haru had to get yanked out of bed to deal with that nonsense. I feel terrible about it." She sighed again then reached down to pull off her pretty but likely not very comfortable shoes.

"Sorry to hear it didn't work out so well for you."

"I should have expected it. Their first time drinking, they're not going to know when to slow down or stop. It was bound to be a disaster." She tossed her shoes aside. "What'd you do all evening?"

"Oh, I uhhh…" Stared at the clock all night. "I-I read."

"Oh, did you? Swimming stuff?"

Swimming stuff. "Yes," he said slowly. "Swimming stuff."

She fell back onto the couch and closed her eyes, dragging the pillow over her face as if she were about to fall asleep. "Mikoshiba." She said his name quietly. She was definitely tired.

"Hmmm?"

"I think I'm done with going to the bars around here."

The words were like music to his ears. He was glad the pillow covered her face so she wouldn't see the smile that had formed on his. "Yeah," he said. "Me too."


If there was one nice thing – one - Gou say about this country, it was that they had fantastic beaches. That thought crossed her mind again as she shielded her eyes against the harshness of the sun glinting off the water. It was certainly a gorgeous sight. The sun and sand and water and wind. The bay water looked calm and clear, and further out stood the three islands. Supposedly they were deserted but whether that was true or not Gou was uncertain. The beach stretched out on either side of her and she turned to peer down the length of it. For the most part they had it to themselves. There were a few people walking along the boardwalk and one or two joggers but outside of that the beach was empty. It wasn't a bad spot for them. A pleasant enough beach to camp on, but not one of the more popular ones that would be overloaded with locals.

Speaking of camping…

To the side Rei and Nagisa were busy quibbling about how best to set up their tent. Their first attempt had turned out poorly, and the poor plastic thing lay tilted at some weird angle with its plastic poles sticking up into the air, looking like a broken flattened insect with its legs all askew. Neither boy had any idea what they were doing and it was painfully obvious. With a sigh Makoto left the rest of his own tent for Haru to finish in order to go help them.

"Oh, Mako-chan! Thanks! I told you he knows what he's doing, Rei-chan." Nagisa paused and looked over at Haru straightening out the other erect tent. "Haru-chan knows how to set up a tent?"

"He's been camping with my family a few times," Makoto said as way of explanation and Gou raised her hand to cover her smile. Imagining Haru camping with Makoto's exuberant family, especially Makoto's younger siblings, was more than a little endearing.

Makoto had been the one to discover the camping equipment in the storage area of their lodge, something the host's had left in case they had wanted to go camping, although the hosts had likely not intended for it to be used in the way Iwatobi was currently. And Mikoshiba. He had loaned them some equipment too.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Mikoshiba had asked while pulling out the tent from his own storage area. "Camping for an entire week."

"It'll be fine." Makoto accepted the tent from him. "The weather is supposed to be nice this time of year. Camping won't be bad. Besides, we don't have the money to afford a pool or lodging for all of us."

"So I heard." Mikoshiba frowned and rubbed the side of his neck. "Swimming in the ocean though. I don't know if I've ever heard of that. Doesn't really sound all that safe."

Makoto hummed in his throat. The look on his face had been one Gou had never seen the likes of before, at least not on him. "We'll be fine," was all he said and for some reason Gou got the impression he was talking to himself rather than anyone else.

Gou shook her head. It had been Makoto's idea to swim in the ocean and also to camp on the beach for their week long break due to the holiday. Well, the boys were going to camp on the beach anyway. Gou and Amakata had gotten a hotel room to share. As Amakata had said with conviction, "You can't expect girls to sleep outside!" Goro too had gotten himself a hotel room. He flat out refused to camp outside.

She turned to look further inland where the hotel buildings dotted the landscape. Inside one of them was the Samezuka swim team. It was the main reason Iwatobi had chosen the spot they had. They weren't sure how the laws worked when a married couple was out of town from each other but just in case Iwatobi had decided to stay close to Samezuka. It wouldn't do for Gou and Mikoshiba to get arrested over something as stupid as that.

Regardless, it had worked out nicely. The three uninhabited islands presented a good course for Iwatobi to use to do some long distance swimming and work on their stamina. Over the last few days Gou and Rei had been pouring over maps to get the general distances down, and Makoto and Goro had written up a routine for them to use based off the distances. And Mikoshiba. He had helped finalize everything too.

Somewhere in one of those hotels was Gou's brother too, although she wasn't too worried about that. Iwatobi had a good excuse for being where they were and she likely wouldn't run into him anyway. He was busy with his own swim team and had no reason to come down to the beach when Samezuka had their own pool and nice hotel rooms to sleep in. Yes, she doubted she would see him during their time here.

Thinking of that, Gou pulled out her phone. She sent a text to Mikoshiba letting him know they had arrived and one to Hana as well. Like the swim teams the debate team had the week off too and Hana would be coming to join them tomorrow. Gou was excited for that. For the last two days she had not seen Hana and had barely had any contact with her. Hana had been busy with the debate team, and nursing a wicked hang over on top of which, and Gou had been busy getting everything ready for their camping trip as well. It would be nice to spend some time with her without having alcohol involved alcohol. Gou had a strong impression that, like her, Hana was done for the stuff after the escapade from the other night. The poor girl had only started to feel better. At least she didn't get married when she was drunk.

Her phone buzzed. A text from Mikoshiba and, as she had expected, it was short and to the point. 'K' was all he sent. She rolled her eyes. Would it kill him to send something that didn't seem so brusque? At least Hana's was a little longer and happier, the girl expressing excitement at coming out and wanting to go fishing. Why she wanted to go fishing was a mystery to Gou but Hana sometimes got these urges to do stuff she would normally never do. This must be one of them.

Her phone buzzed once more and Gou was surprised to see it was Mikoshiba once again, asking where their camp was. She sent some general directions to him and thought about asking him which hotel he was staying in, but ultimately decided against it. That might come across as too overbearing and intrusive if she already started asking about that.

"The tents are done!" Nagisa displayed them as if they were his doing, even though it had been mostly Makoto.

"Those look great, Nagisa," Gou said encouragingly regardless. "Good job!"

"Gou-chan," said Nagisa, "why don't you and Sei-chan get a tent and camp on the beach with us?" He threw up his hands. "It would be romantico!"

Her eyebrow ticked in a funny manner, though she managed to keep her face from reddening. Maybe she was finally getting used to Nagisa's teasing.

"I'm sure Captain Mikoshiba is busy with his own team," said Makoto, rolling up some extra rope they hadn't needed for the tents. "They'll be spending as much time as they can swimming after all. I doubt we'll see much of Mikoshiba while we're here."

"Besides, we're here to train!" Gou added in. "We've got a full week without any distractions! We must make the most of it while we can!"

"Hear, hear!" Goro lifted up his beer can as if toasting.

Gou frowned at the thing. How had he managed to get a beer already? Had he brought them on the bus with him? What a terrible example for a coach to be setting!

They had gotten to their camp spot late so there wasn't much daylight left. They took advantage of the last of it to make dinner. Or tried to. In the midst of pawing through their bags of groceries Amakata froze. "Oh, no. I forgot to bring seasoning."

Nagisa let out a gasp that startled everyone. "No seasoning?!"

"No seasoning?!" Goro echoed. He grasped the pool like it were a buddy of his he hadn't seen in a while. "We can't eat without seasoning!"

Jeez, it's like watching a past and future version of Nagisa. "It's fine, it's fine." She stood and brushed the sand off her pants. "I can go get some from the store. It's not too far and I know where it is." She had spotted it on their way to their camp sight and had purposely placed it to memory, knowing full well it was likely the only place to buy groceries in the area. Going there to get spices was the least she could do. She had been standing around sightseeing and texting while the boys had been hard at work setting up the camp.

She went by herself, telling Makoto it was fine when he offered to go with her. She was only getting seasoning after all. She could carry it by herself and it was unlikely she would run into any sort of incident along the way. It was a short run from there and back. What could possibly go wrong?

She nearly ran straight into the person coming out of the store whilst she was trying to get in. "Ah, s-sorry!"

The person said, "Gou?" and she looked up.

Right into the face of her brother.

"B-brother." She fought to place a smile on her face. Sweat dripped down her temple. "H-hi."


"So." Rin's arms were crossed over his chest and if there was a more defensive posture to be in then his posture currently Gou would have liked to see it. "Tell me again what exactly you're doing here?"

"It isn't what you think!" She struggled to open the bottle of spices he had bought for her. After purchasing the item Rin had insisted they have a discussion. Gou had expected that. He would want to know why Iwatobi was out here of all places. It was probably grating against him like sandpaper to think he wouldn't have to see them for a week only to discover they were here. Faintly she was also glad he had been by himself at the store and that Mikoshiba hadn't been with him for any reason. The two generally didn't seem to spend time together outside of swimming practice but if by some chance Mikoshiba had been there the situation would have been more than a little awkward.

"It isn't?" His tone was bordering on a growl. "Cause it sure looks like it. Haru and the others are here, aren't they?"

Gou was too busy in her warfare with the seasoning bottle to pay much mind to his anger. She had anticipated that anyway. "Of course they are, but I didn't plan- Oh thanks." She handed the bottle to him as he held out his hand. "Anyway I didn't plan this!"

"So you're trying to say it was pure coincidence that you just happened to be at the same place we are?" He opened the bottle with ease and handed it back to her.

"Um, m-more or less." He raised an eyebrow and she struggled to think of what else to say that would provide more information but still keep herself among the living. The only reason they were here was because of the stupid law anyway, but she couldn't tell him that. "We're here to swim since they closed down the pool for a week."

"You're here to swim?" His brows furrowed. "How? We're the ones using the pool."

"We aren't using the pool." Gou spilled some of the spices into her hand to sniff. She wrinkled her nose. Cheap spices. "We're swimming in the ocean."

"The ocean." He drew back. There was a moment of silence. "Makoto's okay with that?"

"Huh?" She looked up at the strange question. It had been Makoto's idea to swim in the ocean once they had reached a blockade when searching for a place to swim after all. Why would her brother ask something like that?

But Rin only turned away at her questioning stare. "Never mind. It's nothing important." He was silent for another moment. "Are they completing their regimen?"

He was changing the subject. She didn't understand it at all. Did he know something about Makoto that she didn't? "Uh well, we just got here today. They won't be starting until tomorrow. But I'm sure they'll complete it."

"I see."

Despite his brooding expression she couldn't help but giggle. He glared at her. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." It just seems like…like you're still worried for them. But she knew if she said it he would only deny it so she didn't bother. Sometimes it was better not to draw stuff like that to Rin's attention. He would try and stomp out those feelings because he didn't want other people to see them in him.

Rin made that tch sound in his throat. He stood. "Where are you staying, Gou? Don't tell me on the beach."

"No, no, not at all." She wasn't that crazy. She gestured to one of the nearby hotels. "Over there."

He glanced over at the building she indicated. "I'll walk you back then."

It took her a moment to process that and convince herself she wasn't hallucinating. A smile bloomed across her face and she giggled again as she got up. It wasn't where she needed to go at all; the others were waiting for her on the beach but that was alright, they could wait a bit longer. She wasn't about to pass up the rare offer her brother had just made.

"What's that smile for?"

She managed to contain her giggle. "Nothing."


Gou waited several minutes after Rin dropped her off at her hotel room for him to move far enough away he wouldn't see her before she snuck back down to the beach to rejoin the others. She handed the spices to Amakata once she arrived. "Here. Sorry it took me so long."

Funnily enough Amakata didn't question her for the excessive amount of time it had taken just to buy spices. In fact for some odd reason the teacher was smiling. Was she really that happy about having spices?

Then Gou heard a voice, a voice that was all too familiar, and she looked up. "Mikoshiba?"

The tall boy was with the Iwatobi boys and Goro. Standing in front of the tents seemingly looking over the structures. He showed up already? Gou almost couldn't believe it. They had only been here for two or three hours tops. Well, that certainly didn't take long.

"He showed up a few minutes ago," Amakata said to Gou's unasked question. "I think he wanted to see how well the tent he loaned us was working out."

"O-oh." Of course. Of course that's what he had come for. What other reason would he have to come here?

The boys seemed to be talking about the tents but once Nagisa caught sight of her, he cried out. "Ah, Gou-chan, did you finally get the spices?"

"Yes, sorry I took so long."

"Can we eat now? I'm starving!"

Gou sighed.

"You should stay and eat with us, Sei-chan!"

Sei-chan again. Gou couldn't help but wonder what Mikoshiba thought about Nagisa referring to him like that already. Maybe he just pretended it wasn't happening, sort of like a bad dream.

"Well, I've already eaten," said Mikoshiba. "But I'll stay for a bit."

"Maybe can you can camp with us too!"

"Oh, no." Mikoshiba's response was immediate. "That's alright."

Gou stifled her laugh into a squeak. There was no way Mikoshiba was going to camp with them. Not if he had some posh hotel room somewhere all to himself with air conditioning and a nice large bed. He'd have to be out of his mind to pass that up to sleep outside in a piece of plastic on the ground.

It was a good thing he had already eaten too. Gou had forgotten to check what food items they were bringing with them and lo and behold, their entire menu now consisted of nothing but pizza and mackerel. And cheap seasoning.

"I can't believe this," she muttered darkly. "Not only is pizza bad but you expect us to eat it for a whole week?!"

"There's nothing wrong with pizza!" Goro leaned around the pole he was leaning against to snag a piece. "And don't worry, I brought all different kinds so we won't get tired of them! There's hokke, and lots of mackerel, and pineapple-"

"Pineapple is the one thing I won't put on pizza," Amakata voiced her opinion. Goro's face fell like she had just betrayed him or something.

"Pineapple on pizza is delicious, how could you say such a thing? It's so popular they named it! It's called the Hawaiian!"

"They can keep it over there then."

"And you're way too obsessed with mackerel, Haru!" Gou continued her tirade.

"It's a lean meat," was the boy's response. Using her words against her again. "It's a lean meat so it's okay for us to have."

"But not for a whole week!" She gave up and plopped onto the bench with a heavy sigh. She should have been more diligent about their food but she had forgotten. I have not only failed my team as a manager but myself as well.

"I'm glad I already ate," Mikoshiba muttered out of the corner of his mouth. He was seating next to Gou again, although this time Gou couldn't remember who it was who had sat down first. "Is pizza and mackerel really the only things you have to eat?"

"Yes, and mostly pineapple pizza by the sounds of it." Gou poked at her slice Amakata had set before her like it was a dead rat. Ugh. She didn't even think a starving dog would eat this. "Never let Goro and Haru decide the food menu for a trip."

With all eight of them there the dinner was loud and a little chaotic. Conversations whizzed on between different people and there was a fair amount of laughing and scolding from various parties. The atmosphere was pleasant, like it had been the last time they had eaten together when they had made the conch. Gou couldn't help but find it a little amusing watching Mikoshiba interact with everyone. He had crashed into their company like a meteor, scattering bits everywhere and creating a mess – in his defense Gou had helped create that mess - but somehow he had easily integrated himself into their folds in such a short amount of time. It had helped that they had known him beforehand, especially from the joint practice, but they hadn't really known him very well as a person. Funny how fast things could change.

The only one missing was, yet again, Rin. He was the missing piece to their nearly complete puzzle. He was still keeping his distance, even though if was evident he cared. Gou had seen that for herself earlier today when he had been asking about the Iwatobi boys. Why he was hiding and denying that, even to himself it seemed, she had no idea.

The sun had sunk nearly completely below the horizon by the time they finished eating. After a shortc clean up, the Iwatobi boys moved off towards the tents and Amakata and Goro prepared to depart for the hotel. Gou yawned into her hand. If the two adults were heading to the hotel she should too so she wouldn't have to walk alone. It wasn't that late but the bus ride had been draining and they had a full day tomorrow so relaxing in the hotel room sounded like a great idea.

She rose from the table and Mikoshiba rose with her, although he was still chatting with Goro. She moved away and he moved with her. He didn't even stop his conversation to do so, like it were the most natural thing in the world for him to go with her. She looked at him questioningly but he was too busy talking to Goro to notice.

"Ah, are you guys leaving?" Nagisa called out to them. "So soon?"

Mikoshiba turned back to wave and Gou actually found herself pausing, like she were waiting for him. What the heck? She shook her head as if trying to dispel a daydream.

"We're heading back to the hotel," he said to the boys. "You guys should get some rest too." His wave turned into a raised fist. "Practice hard tomorrow!"

An enthusiastic yes was the reply he received and Gou raised her eyebrows. Now they're starting to sound like a military unit too. Maybe Mikoshiba just had that effect on people, especially swimmers. His enthusiasm carried over to others it seemed.

Before departing, Gou turned to Amakata and Goro. "Are you two coming?" The two had been preparing to leave before Gou had even gotten up.

"Oh, no, no, that's alright." Amakata waved her hand. That mischievous glint was back in her eye again. Next to her Goro was fighting to keep a straight face as well for some insane reason. "You two go on ahead. Sasabe and myself will stay for a bit and clean up."

Clean up? Gou looked at the picnic table. Clean up what? The picnic table was spotless and the food, and by food Gou meant the pizza and mackerel, had been put away. There was nothing left to clean up. "Umm."

"Gou," Mikoshiba called. He stood at the entryway to the path leading to the hotels. "This way."

"A-ah, be right there." With one more backwards glance at the two adults, who almost looked like they were giggling now, she hurried after him. What was all that about? The two adults were acting a bit strangely. Well, stranger than usual anyway. Or were they just doing that on purpose so Mikoshiba and I would walk back alone together? Her eyebrows lowered. They were supposed to be the adults here and keep Mikoshiba and her separate, not throw them together! Those…

"Which hotel is yours?" asked Mikoshiba, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Um, that one over there." She pointed. "Yours?"

He indicated a much bigger hotel off to the side. Even from this distance it looked expensive and ritzy. Gou couldn't help but feel a little envious. Their hotel rooms were accommodating but modest.

"I don't think we'll have any trouble from the authorities if we don't share a hotel room," he went on, "although I'm not entirely sure how the laws work either. I'm sure if we keep quiet it won't be a problem though."

Was he trying to say they might have to share a hotel room? Gou's face heated. Absolutely not. Living with each other was one thing but sharing a hotel room? Absolutely not! "I'm sure you're right," she said quickly. "It's only for a week anyway. I mean…what else are married couples supposed to do when they take vacations anyway?"

It wasn't until after she said it that she realized the words she had used. Married couples. Why had she used that exact phrase? Married was one thing cause, well, they were, even though it was a mistake, but couple was something else entirely. They weren't a married couple at all! They were just two people…who happened to be married to each other, but not a couple!

Gou resisted the urge to smack her head into a palm tree. My life is a mess.

"That's a good point," said Mikoshiba, seemingly completely unaware of Gou's internal conflict. Maybe he hadn't even noticed the wording she had used? "What other option would married couples have?"

Now he was using the exact same wording too. Maybe he had noticed what she had said but hadn't thought anything of it?

"Will you guys being starting your training tomorrow?"

Oh good, he was changing the subject. That was a relief. She grasped onto that new subject presented like a lifeline. "The boys will be, they'll be swimming between those three islands out in the bay. Hana-chan and I are going to go fishing though."

"Fishing?" The word was slathered in surprise.

"It was Hana-chan's idea." It was almost a complete certainty they would mostly be doing other things rather than fishing. Sunbathing, sightseeing. Hana might cast one or two lines then that would be the end of it. Hana was like that.

"She's coming here?"

Gou nodded. "The debate team has the week off so she's coming to join us out here for the next day or two."

"I see." Mikoshiba moved his shoulders. "What time will you be going out tomorrow?"

"Late morning most likely. Hana-chan should be here early and we'll go out after that."

"Text me when you're about to leave then. I'll see you off."

See you off? That was a bit strange. Did he really mean he wanted to see her before she left or be there to say good bye or something? "O-okay."

"Besides, I haven't met your friend yet either."

Gou blinked. Did that mean he wanted to meet her?He hadn't made any mention of meeting Hana before, unlike Hana who for the past two days had texted Gou inquiring when she was going to meet the mysterious boy Gou had married. Gou had been glad Hana hadn't known where Mikoshiba's house was. Otherwise she would have likely shown up there unannounced just to meet Mikoshiba. Maybe Mikoshiba had been quiet about it because he had been waiting for Gou to introduce them. Maybe since Hana was coming here anyway he felt it was convenient for them to meet.

"Okay," said Gou again. "I'll let you know before we leave."

Mikoshiba saw her to her hotel room before departing for his own and Gou stood in the hall for a moment, watching him walk away almost mesmerized. Even with his shirt covering his back she swore she could see the muscles rippling. Stop it.

She entered the hotel room and didn't waste much time in getting ready for bed. The hotel bed was comfortable but it smelled clean. Too clean. Gou found she didn't like it, much preferring the scent that lingered on the bed back at Mikoshiba's place. It was a while before she managed to fall into sleep.


The next morning found them on the beach. Gou and Hana. And Mikoshiba.

"Are you sure this is safe?" He raised a foot and poked at the craft lying in the surf. "It looks a little precarious."

Precarious? That sounded like a Rei word. Mikoshiba must have picked it up from him.

"Hana-chan's the one who got it." Gou frowned at the boat. Actually calling it a boat was too generous. A raft might be more accurate. It was small and shabby looking, barely the size of a bath tub, and it bobbed in the surf like a cork. Yet despite its flaws it had a motor on it and it was managing to stay afloat. It would suffice for what they needed it for. They couldn't afford anything besides. "It'll be fine."

"Do you even know how to work the motor?" asked Mikoshiba. He was eyeing the boat like it was a stray torn up animal that might be dangerous.

"Hana-chan does. She's been in boats before." She turned to the other girl. "Your grandfather owns a boat, doesn't he, Hana-chan?"

No immediate response was forthcoming from Hana. "Hana-chan?"Gou pressed and Hana started.

"Ah, y-yes. My grandfather. He does." Her hands reached up and clenched at her hair, which she had worn down today. Her hands twisted the strands.

She had been strangely quiet since meeting Mikoshiba. After their initial introduction she hadn't said a peep, and she had more of squeaked than said her name to him. Maybe she didn't know how to act around him because of his and Gou's current…circumstances. If Gou had been in Hana's place she might have acted the same way. Or maybe Mikoshiba was not who Hana had been expecting. Gou wasn't sure. Regardless, Gou was finding she really didn't like the way Hana couldn't seem to keep her eyes off him.

And no surprise Mikoshiba wasn't helping the situation. He had been supposedly in the midst of a morning jog when he had received Gou's text she had sent him before departing her hotel room. As such he was conveniently in workout clothes, so of course his shirt was lacking sleeves again naturally. Honestly it was miracle he was even wearing a shirt. Regardless his clothing gave a rather…ample and nice view. Glorious, glorious muscles that flexed and rippled when he leaned over to peer at the motor or the way his back muscles were so pronounced underneath the somewhat tight material of his shirt as he straightened. Muscles were best seen in the flesh.

Focus!

"Ummm, w-we better get going." God now she was squeaking. She coughed to loosen her throat. "We don't want to be out too late."

"What time will you be back?" asked Mikoshiba.

Gou moved towards the small craft, tossing the rest of her items into it. "Late afternoon most likely. It depends if we get bored or tired of the sun. We'll definitely be back before sunset though." She looked over at Hana. The girl had still failed to remove her gaze from Mikoshiba. Gou's eyebrows lowered. "Are you ready to go, Ha-na-chan?" The emphasis on the girl's name managed to snap her out of her trance.

"O-oh, yes. I am ready. We should go." She bowed to Mikoshiba. "It was very nice meeting you."

He bowed slightly back. "Be careful out there."

"Oh we will." She grinned like a fat cat that had caught a mouse, and when she clambered into the boat she flashed Gou the same toothy grin. Gou narrowed her eyes further. What is she up to? Hana was always the type to start mischief and give Gou a hard time. She wondered what teasing scheme was brewing in her brain now.

A quick tug on the motor started it up. The boat wirred and Hana turned it towards the open water.

From the shore Mikoshiba lingered until they got further out, then he waved and resumed his jog down the beach. Gou watched his dwindling figure then turned gaze to Hana. The girl was facing straight ahead, focusing on guiding the boat along. Good. Gou had sort of been expecting her to still be staring at Mikoshiba running down the beach and that thought annoyed Gou for some reason.

They didn't travel for long. Out past the islands and into the open season. Boats weren't allowed in the bay area so they were careful to avoid it. A half hour later they were sitting merrily at sea, with Gou lounging in the seat and Hana standing with a fishing line in the water.

As Hana moved her line, she stated casually as if she were simply commenting on the weather, "He's cute."

Gou moved her head from under the shirt she was using to shield her eyes. She made a face against the material. "What?"

"Mikoshiba-san," said Hana and Gou did not miss the honorific she had attached to his name. "He's cute."

She tore the shirt off her face. "Oh?" Only one word but even that sounded strained.

"I was a little worried at first when you told me that you married some guy your first night here," Hana continued. "I mean what kind of person does that?" She laughed. Gou didn't laugh with her, glaring at the other girl from under her bangs. "But he isn't bad looking. He seems…really nice too."

"Of course he does," Gou grumbled.

"I mean he came down to see you off. How sweet is that?! And he's the Captain of your brother's swim team isn't here?" Hana carried on obliviously. "So he's responsible too!" She grinned at Gou. "I think you really lucked out."

Gou scowled. Was this Hana's teasing plot or was she being serious? "How so?"

"I'm saying that you could have done a lot worse!" She paused to tug at her line. "Just imagine if you had married someone who was mean or a slob or irresponsible! That would just be terrible. Everything considered, I think you got lucky. You got someone whose good looking, nice, and responsible!"

Gou scowled harder. If she was truly lucky then she never would have drunkenly married Mikoshiba in the first place. They had barely known each other for God's sake and she had married him. That might be the stupidest thing a person could do but it was definitely up there in the category of bad choices.

Hana did have a point though. Mikoshiba had been very accommodating to her. He had welcomed her into his home rather than begrudgingly let her in. Even if it was not Gou's fault having to live with him, he could have treated her very resentfully for invading his personal space. He had done the exact opposite instead, even going so far as giving up his own bed for her sake. He was…kind. Then again he always had been to her.

So maybe in some small way Hana was right. Maybe considering the bad situation she had put herself in, she had lucked out that it had been Mikoshiba and not someone else. It was a weird way of thinking but somehow Gou understood it, and felt glad about it.

"Wah!" Hana tilted and nearly fell in as her line jerked. "T-there's something on the line!" She twitched side to side uselessly. "What do I do?!"

"Reel it in of course!"

"How?!"

"You mean you don't know?!"


They spent most of the day in luxurious abandon. Fishing (that hadn't ended so well – after spending nearly twenty minutes figuring out how to reel the fish in, they then had spent another twenty minutes trying to figure out how to get the fish out of the boat), sightseeing, sunbathing, and even a little bit of swimming. As they cruised past the bay, Gou searched for any sign of the Iwatobi boys out doing their regime. As far as she knew they intended to spend most of the day swimming. Lunatics.

They circled the first island then stopped at the second, finding a nice spot to relax at. The islands had been inhabited and apparently quite a tourist attraction a while before, but as the country had descended into their cold war with other nations the tourism had died and the islands' economy along with it. As such there were a few buildings dotting the islands, though they were all woefully abandoned and a little scary looking. Neither girl wanted to approach them. They were more than happy to stay down at the beach than crawl around those eerie empty structures.

With no one else around they were free to lounge around in their bathing suits without feeling perverted eyes on them. They purposely picked a spot on the side of the island facing out towards the ocean rather than the bay just in case anyone else decided to go into the bay. There were hardly any other boats about. They only saw one and it was too far out for Gou to make out anything clearly.

As it got into the afternoon they ate lunch and, with bellies full and the sun beating down on them, they fell asleep on the sand shortly afterwards. The sound of the waves was a soothing lullaby, reminding Gou of the shell she kept by the bedside at Mikoshiba's place. It was a perfect place for a nap.

At one point she thought she heard voices. The Iwatobi boys running by perhaps, going about their stamina training. They weren't loud enough to completely disturb her though and she only twitched at their passing, caught between the dreamy state of awake and asleep.

By the time she did fully awake it was nearly sunset. Groaning, she sat up. She placed a hand to her head, feeling slightly dizzy. Her whole body felt trained and sluggish. Too long being out in the sun. Thank God she had remembered to apply sunscreen.

She moved to wake Hana next to her and after quite a bit of poking and prodding the girl got up. Like Gou the sun had drained her too and she dragged her feet as they began to pack up their stuff to head back.

Hana started up the motor and took them in a wide curve away from the island. Boats were not supposed to go into the bay so she steered them to go on the ocean side of the other island. Everything was going fine. The wind felt great in Gou's hair and she was thinking of how nice it would be to get back to the hotel room where it was nice and cool away from the sun, and how even a somewhat cold shower sounded delightful, when-

Splurt, splurt. She looked up and towards the back of the boat where the unusual sound had originated from. Hana had noticed it too and was looking down at the motor. The little thing shuddered and made a few more spluttering sounds, then it fell silent. The boat quickly slowed then stopped.

Hana leaned further over to look at the motor and Gou watched with an unnerved feeling. "Did it run out of gas?"

Hana shook her head. "It has enough gas." She straightened. "I'm not sure what's wrong with it."

Gou knew absolutely nothing about boats and Hana's knowledge was very limited as well. Unless the problem was something rudimentary and painfully obvious they wouldn't have a clue how to fix it. "Maybe try restarting it?"

"I can try." Hana yanked on the cord. The engine made a wrrrring sound, as if it were making a valiant effort to start, but did not turn over. Hana made a few more attempts but with little success.

"Is it broken?"

"I-I'm not sure. It looks like it." If it wasn't broken it might as well be since they couldn't figure out how to get it to start. What perfect timing. It would break on their way back of all times.

Grimacing, Gou looked out over the water. They were a fair distance from the island. Without the use of the motor it would not be easy to reach.

Then she thought of something and her eyes widened. My phone. Of course. Bless technology! One easy phone call and they'd be out of here in no time. Goro knew how to work a boat. He could likely borrow one from a local real quick to come get them. If worse came to worse he'd have to pay to rend one.

Her hand was halfway into her pocket when she suddenly remembered. She hadn't brought her phone with her. She had left it behind in the hotel room, too worried about it getting wet to bring it along. She could still vaguely recall placing it down on the dresser right after texting Mikoshiba the location where Hana and her were departing from. It was likely still sitting there.

"Hana-chan, did you bring your phone with you?" she asked hopefully but a shake of the head was the response she received.

Well, that was a no go. They had no way to call for help. In that case…

Gou scooted closer to the side of the boat. Experimentally she dipped her hand into the water and tried giving a little paddle. The boat moved a mere inch or two. Gou frowned. It wasn't going to be easy but what choice did they have? There were no other boats out there with them and unless a stray jogger or swimmer happened to see them they were sitting ducks. The Iwatobi boys may have been a safe bet but by this time it was highly likely they were back at the camp. From this distance Gou highly doubted they would notice the boat, much less recognize who was in it.

"We'll have to paddle, Hana-chan."

"Paddle?" She looked at the far off shore with a grimace. "All that way?"

"The islands are closer," said Gou. "If we can paddle to one of those we can walk the boat in the swallows. Once we're at the end of the island close to the beach we can shove off from there."

She didn't say it but if worse came to worse they'd be stranded on an island for the night. That scenario would definitely not be enjoyable but it wouldn't be terrible. They had enough water to get them through the night although not any food. They'd be hungry and sore and tired but safe. When day cam they would be able to flag someone down if it came to that, or wait for the Iwatobi boys to run by doing their regime.

Not to mention Amakata would surely start a search if they failed to show up. It was likely the teacher would sound the alarm in a few hours of their absence. In that case it was very unlikely they would have to spend the night on the island. So long as they made it to an island they would be alright.

Giving in to Gou's idea, Hana sank down to her knees on the opposite side. Together they began to paddle.


"You know," Rin said the words almost conversationally, although broodingly, like he was on the verge of talking about something unpleasant and wasn't sure if he would want to continue with it or not. So it did not surprise Nitori so much when he followed it with, "I never really was very fond of the ocean."

Rin sat sprawled in the seat opposite Nitori, arms crossed over his chest, carmine gaze locked on the gold and rose colored bay. The sun was setting and if you looked just right the water almost looked like it was on fire. Or full of blood.

While Nitori wasn't surprised in what Rin had said, it was still an odd thing to say and even odder coming from Rin. It couldn't be said he was a quiet person, because he wasn't, but when he spoke he rarely expressed his true feelings. Most of the time he used what Nitori had come to refer to as illusion feelings. Feelings that were false or more accurately deceptive. As though Rin were expressing one thing so you wouldn't find the true feeling underneath.

It hadn't taken long for Nitori to figure that out and it was partly the reason why Nitori prodded him like he did, why he pursued him so diligently, why he badgered him to the point that it drove Rin to anger. Nitori hadn't considered himself a masochist but maybe he was a little. Because for some odd reason he enjoyed seeing that anger sometimes, even if it were directed at him. Because that anger was a real feeling, even if it wasn't a pleasant one. It was the one time when Nitori could see Rin, the real Rin, without the façade of fake emotions, of the illusions he normally hid behind.

"Why, sempai?"

Rin pressed his lips together. "When do you swim in the ocean, Nitori?"

Nitori tilted his head to the side. It seemed like a straight forward question but Nitori had the feeling it wasn't. "Sempai?"

"As a last resort," Rin plowed on despite Nitori's lack of answer. "And I'm not talking about recreation. That's different. That's meaningless. When it's swimming with a meaning, you use a pool. Swimming in the ocean, that's your last resort." He moved his shoulders slightly. "When do you work in the ocean, Nitori?"

Nitori had a fair idea what the answer would be but remained silent, allowing Rin to answer himself once again.

"As a last resort," he said. "That's what the ocean is. Maybe that's why we know so little about it. Because man sees it as that. Maybe because he recognizes a man only works in the ocean when all your dreams have died, when you're not sure what to do with yourself or your future anymore. That's where you go. The ocean is your last resort."

He was silent for a moment. "Do you know what comes after last resort, Nitori?"

Nitori shivered despite the heat. Was this the real Rin, here at last, or was this another doppelganger, another illusion? Nitori found he wasn't entirely sure. Rin was the best, and worst, at pretending than anyone Nitori had ever met. "What, sempai?"

Rin bared his teeth. "Defeat."


"I'm so tired." Hana sprawled out like a starfish along the back of the boat. "I can't do anymore."

Puffing, Gou peered over the side. They were still nowhere close to the island and in fact they seemed to be drifting in a course dead center between two of them. It was looking like they were going to land up in the bay, though how long that would take was something Gou couldn't even guess. The current had been working completely against them. No matter how they paddled they couldn't get close enough to the island. No matter how much water they covered, anytime they stopped to rest their tired limbs they would lose whatever little progress they had made.

"It's fine, isn't it?" Hana wiped a hand across her sweaty brow. "I meant the current will eventually just push us to shore, right?"

"M-maybe." Gou didn't know very well how that sort of stuff worked and she could only assume that was correct. However the current was incredibly slow. They seemed to be bobbing simply in one place rather than moving anywhere.

"Or maybe someone will see us out here," Hana continued. "Let's just wait a bit and see. I don't think I can paddle anymore anyway."

Gou rubbed at her own aching arms. They felt like they were about to fall off and any additional paddling made them burn painfully. She tried halfheartedly to continue but after a moment sat back down, too tired to do so. Paddling was fighting a losing battle.

Their last resort was to give up and see where the current would take them, and it seemed like they had come to their last resort. If that didn't work…

Well, let's just hope it does.

A stray breeze picked up and Gou reached for her jacket. The sun was sinking rapidly and it wouldn't be long before it was dark. The temperature would drop and it would get cold, but Gou had her jacket and Hana had extra layers as well to put on so dealing with the cold wouldn't be that difficult. Hana had also brought a flashlight along thankfully so they wouldn't be totally in the dark. If they were lucky it would only be an hour or two before the current pushed them to shore.

With a sigh Gou settled back into the boat and got comfortable. It was a pleasant night and so long as no sudden storms sprang up they would be fine.

Then again, her luck never had been very good.


Whoops some Rin and Nitori slipped in there. I have no idea what I'm doing anymore.

Thank you to everyone who has favorited (I can't believe this isn't a word), followed, and reviewed! You guys are amazing!

Also questions! Please let me know if I miss any by the way. I try and save them in my email as a reminder but most of the time I'm rushing to publish as I always seem to update late at night when I have to be up early for work the next day so I often forget things.

O.e.p - My updating is very sporadic but generally ranges anywhere from two days to a week and a half. It really depends on how much free time I have, my level of inspiration, the length of the chapter, and if I get distracted by shiny stuff like tumblr or other anime or other fanfics. Lately its been about once a week it seems. I know that's a terrible answer to your question haha. Thank you for all your kind words though! ;)