"Alright. So we'll reduce their budget since they insist on spending it all on life fibers," Himeko said, tapping her finger against a pile of papers. "Is there anything else we need to cover, President?" She looked over at Mei to see the raven haired girl staring past her. "... Mei?"

Mei blinked and her eyes focused on Himeko again, whose face showed concern now. The rest of the student council was also looking at her expectantly. "No, that should be everything," Mei straightened in her seat and cleared her throat. "Lets call it a day, shall we?"

The other members of the student council nodded and gathered their things to leave. As they filed out of the room Himeko stood up as well.

"Himeko," Mei's voice beckoned her to pause. "Would you stay behind a moment?" She asked.

Himeko raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Of course, President." She was planning on staying behind anyway, just like she did every time. But this was the first time Mei actually asked her to. She swallowed nervously and retook her seat.

As the last of the students shut the door behind them, Himeko was left trying not to squirm in her seat. "Do you need me for something, President?" She tried not to sound too eager.

Mei glanced at her before her eyes went back to the table uncharacteristically. "Yes, you could say that."

"Hm?" Himeko watched in confusion, as Mei fiddled with a pen in her hands. Mei was usually not a fiddler. "Is something wrong?"

The student council president exhaled audibly as she leaned back in her seat. "I was hoping we could… talk."

Both of Himeko's eyebrows rose and her head tilted unconsciously. "Talk?"

Mei nodded, her gaze flitting from the table top to the opposite wall. "Yes. There's something… personal I feel the need to discuss." Her speech wasn't flowing as smoothly as it usually was. Himeko's heartbeat started fluttering faster as she realized the other girl actually seemed nervous.

Mei's eyes landed back on her and Himeko jumped slightly, sweat forming on her brow. "Do you mind?" Mei asked, her voice more reserved than usual, as if she didn't want to get her hopes up in case Himeko DID mind talking to her about personal things.

"No!" Himeko practically shouted, making Mei flinch at her unexpected volume. "No," she repeated a little quieter, "I don't mind at all! Please, feel free to talk to me about anything!" She smiled breathlessly. "I'm your best friend after all!"

Mei seemed to relax a little and her eyes softened. "Thank you."

"So…" Himeko was practically bouncing in her seat in excitement. She couldn't remember the last time Mei had come to her about anything personal! "What do you want to talk about?"

Mei pushed her chair back and she rose to her feet. Himeko watched her move to the window and look out. She placed her hands on the windowsill and sighed. "It's about Yuzu."

Himeko's glee flew out the window with a loud crash. "That girl?" Irritation washed over her face as she stood from her seat as well. "What did she do now, hm? Did she do something to you, MeiMei? I warned her I would break her face if she ever did anything to you!"

Mei turned to give her a strange look. "What? No." Mei crossed her arms and leaned on the window. "No, Yuzu hasn't done anything wrong."

"Besides breaking every rule she comes across, you mean?" Himeko said, rolling her eyes. "Okay, so what about the transfer student?" She placed a hand on her hip and waited for some random tale of Yuzu somehow getting into trouble, but it didn't come. Mei stayed quiet as she glared at the floor.

"Nevermind. I'm sorry for bothering you," Mei finally said, pushing off the window. Himeko's eyes widened.

"Wait!" Mei was already reaching for her bag when Himeko grasped at her sleeve. "I'm sorry! Please," Himeko pulled Mei back toward her seat. "Talk to me. I promise I'll be a good listener."

Mei let herself be seated. "It's not you, really," she assured before briefly biting her lip. "I'm just not sure how to talk about this."

Himeko pushed a chair right next to the president and sat down facing her, hands atop her knees. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

The raven haired girl sighed as her hands smoothed out her skirt. "Yuzu… wants to be with me."

Himeko's expression didn't change in the slightest. "Okay."

Mei gave her a look of mild surprise. "I would have thought you'd have more to say about it."

"Someone wanting to be with you is nothing new," Himeko said, giving Mei a smile. "What is new is…" her smile grew sad as her gaze trailed away. "You wanting to talk about it."

Mei touched the other girl's hand. "Himeko-"

"So, how is this time different?" Himeko pulled her hand away and looked at Mei expectantly.

Mei's voice grew softer. "I'm not sure."

Himeko gave her a disbelieving look. "What do you mean?"

"I told her no. That there was nothing between us, and there shouldn't be anything between us," Mei said firmly.

Himeko waited for Mei to elaborate, but she grew impatient when Mei didn't continue. "Then, no offense, what exactly is the problem? It sounds like you've taken care of her already."

Mei, once again, smoothed out her skirt. "It's just," Mei seemed to take a breath to compose herself, but it didn't help much. "As time goes on, I feel as if that's not as true anymore."

Himeko stared at her blankly. "Explain further," she demanded.

Mei narrowed her eyes at her friend. "You're not as good a listener as you claim."

"I apologize." Himeko's eyebrows furrowed as she leaned forward. "Explain further, please."

Mei rolled her eyes. "It's a little hard to put into words…"

Himeko watched Mei's face turn a little pink as she mulled over what she wanted to say. She was trembling, dying to know what was bothering Mei so much that she was actually opening up to her. "Please, MeiMei, just try."

"Okay," Mei cleared her throat, obviously nervous now. "I…"

Himeko leaned forward, ears strained for what was coming. She'd been waiting for this moment her entire life, she was so ready to be here for Mei-

"I want to go down on Yuzu until I evolve to breathe underwater," Mei breathed out, her countenance flushing as she finally said those words out loud.

Himeko's brain turned into stone. "Wh-"

Mei's voice increased in confidence as she finally felt the weight lifting off her chest. "I want to ride her so hard, we'd have to buy a saddle."

"A s-s-sa-" Himeko echoed tonelessly, eyes going white. Mei was still talking but Himeko's brain was unable to handle the processing of this information. She was saying something about becoming a spelunker so that she could thoroughly explore Yuzu's caverns and Himeko had no idea what she was talking about. She reached out with a shaky hand, blindly searching.

"-so much motor-boating and then I'll… hm? Himeko?" Mei asked when her friend's hand suddenly landed on her shoulder while she was sharing her numerous desires.

Himeko's head was bowed in defeat. "I'm sorry, MeiMei... I'm not strong enough to be a good listener after all!" the curly haired girl squeaked, face red beyond recognition.,

"Sorry," Mei said after a moment, realizing that this may have been a little too much at once. No matter, she actually did feel a little better now that she talked about it. "Thank you anyway."

The next day Himeko ran into Yuzu. "Good morning, Momokino-san!" Yuzu greeted with a smile.

Himeko froze up upon seeing her. "G-Good morning!" she stuttered, face heating up.

Yuzu noticed. "Are you alright? You look a little..."

It was no use, Himeko could only imagine Yuzu dressed as a beekeeper delving deep into Mei's overflowing honey pot, as Mei had described to her in great detail yesterday! She shrieked when Yuzu's hand made contact with her forehead.

"Whoa, you're really hot! You should go to the nurse's office!" Yuzu advised.

"I'm fine!" Himeko smacked Yuzu's hand away. She practically started running in the opposite direction before she paused and looked back at the blonde. "Er… Good luck with the president! You're going to need it!"

Yuzu stared after her in confusion. "Um. Thanks?"