A.N. = Sry guys, i know the topic of this chapter keeps repeating, but this is because i was trying to put emphasis on it and because i was thinking about another story (damn you brain xD ) and i couldn't focus completely on this chapter.
The new story is called "Kill la Kill: Earn Your Grades" and it's my first attempt for a college AU (because i found an interesting pic and the more i thought about it the more i came up with the idea of this story) and the first chapter has already been released. Please check it up and let me know what do you think with a small review. It something that take you almost 30 seconds but that gives me enough motivation to keep going.

Thanks for your support! Enough small talk, back to business!

Ryuko woke up very slowly. Her futon was warmer than usual and it was very pleasant feeling. Her pillow, however, felt a bit less comfortable, but since she was got used to sleep on the ground, while she was a vagrant, she still found it like a cloud. The blankets were heavier than usual and gave her a feeling of safeness and protection that she never experienced. She rolled on her left side and frowned a little when she felt that her arm ended laying on somebody's abdomen, while her heart was laying between the chest and the shoulder. However, she didn't mind nor she cared at all. Even if she was on the wrong side, she could hear pretty well the slow beating of this somebody's heart, which filled her with peace, washing away all the stress she gathered in these past days. Moreover, it was amplifying all the feelings of comfort, safeness and protection she had. Ryuko smiled, almost asleep, never opening her eyes. In her last few moments of consciousness she felt this somebody caressing her head. He scratched behind her ear a little, giving her the final push to fully drift into sleep.

Daniel watched her with a kind look in his eyes. When Ryuko rolled on her side, clinging on him, he couldn't suppress a smile. Carefully sliding his arm from under the pillow to caress her head, scratching behind her ear, as he already did before, he almost chuckled when he heard Ryuko emitting that strange noise that reminded him of a purring cat. She seemed to be at peace and this sent him a wave of relief: He saw how Ryuko was tired, beaten up and stressed in these past days. Finally seeing her resting well was somehow warming his heart. His smile, however, disappeared when he remembered his promise: He told Isshin that he would have not let Ryuko discover about his existence. He felt like if he betrayed Isshin's trust in him. He sighed tiredly. It was useless to cry over spilled milk. What was done was done and he needed to focus on more important matters: Protect Ryuko and cripple Ragyo's plan. Both required him to improve his abilities and he had very little time.

Ryuko mumbled in her dreams, stopping Daniel's train of thought. Focusing again on her, Daniel saw that she was drooling a little, mumbling something on her dream that made no sense. Chuckling, Daniel wrapped his right arm a little tighter around her, pulling her a little more in that sudden embrace. He wanted to keep his promise at all costs. If something bad would have happened to her, he surely would have made everything to prevent her from getting hurt.

The door suddenly opened and Daniel, as quick as possible, took his gun from his side and pointed it towards whoever was entering the room. He sighed when he saw that it was just Mako, who was trying to hold back her screams. When Daniel put away his weapon, Mako immediately got closer.

"Why did you do that?" She was throwing her arms around, trying to put emphasis in her questions. "And why are you embracing Ryuko? In her bed? Is she cold? Sick? Ill?" She then cupped her mouth with her hands, widening her eyes. "Are you two lovers? Did you do what I think you did doing that?" She then lifted her arms in the air, while a sudden chorus of voices shouted an HALLELUJA in the air and a beam of light came from nowhere directly on her.

Daniel, who at the beginning just deadpanned, became extremely red, shocked by what she was implying. When he heard that chorus of voices and saw her strange position, he didn't know what was going to happen. However, he had to strange feeling that he needed to stop her somehow, otherwise he would seriously regret it. Rapidly placing his left hand on her mouth, managing to stop her from talking, he sighed. He was doing it quite often that morning and he wanted to stop right now.

"I would like to answer all your questions at once, but since I forgot them I will just go straight to the point." He said looking back at Ryuko. "We talked for a while yesterday night. She had a nightmare, so she couldn't sleep. It seemed that my presence put her at peace and she manage to fell asleep again. When I stood up to leave, she unconsciously grabbed my ankle. Then, I layed down and fell asleep too. That's all." He explained. Looking back to Mako, it seemed that she understood what he said. He slowly brought back his hand, freeing her mouth. The girl just stood there, looking at him for a minute or so.

"Mako? Did you understand?" Daniel asked a little worried.

-HAAAAAALLELUJAAA-

"Oh shit!" Daniel exclaimed trying to stop the girl once again. Placing his hand on her mouth again, it seemed that the girl went into stand-by mode. "Mako, I already explained you what happened. Can you please say what you are going to say quietly and normally? Ryuko is still sleeping and I would like her to keep resting seeing what kind of events she face recently."

Moving away his hands, he saw that this time he got a point: Mako slowly let her arms fell back at her sides and nodded. "Alright. I was about to say that I got a wrong idea and that you showed my the truth. Oh, and I was going to explain you my idea. If you want, I can do it now!" She said.

"No!" Daniel eyes went wide for a moment, then he went back to his normal self. "I mean, thanks Mako, but I think I will pass for now."

"Alright!" She then stood there smiling for a couple of minutes, without saying a word not moving.

"Is there something else, Mako?" Daniel asked.

"Nope!"

Daniel blinked a couple of times.

"Wait! Yes there is!" Mako said suddenly remembering why she came there in first place. "Mom told me to call the both of you for launch! What should I tell her?"

Daniel looked at her for a moment, then he turned towards Ryuko. "Ask her if it is possible to eat later. I would like to let her sleep some more." He said with a smile. "I think she will be hungry, so ask her if it's possible to have a large part of her croquettes please."

"Alright! Consider it done!" And with that, Mako dashed outside, leaving Daniel puzzled by her behavior.

"She surely is a strange girl…"' He thought. "But she makes you smile as well, right?" Of course Ryuko couldn't know what happened since she was sleeping like a rock, but when Daniel layed back she once again unconsciously wrapped her right arm around him.

….

Ryuko woke up again a couple of hours later. Opening her eyes, she found herself laying on her side, with her upper body on Daniel's chest and her head nudged between his neck and his left shoulder, right under his head. His left hand was supporting his head, while his right hand was gently caressing her hair, scratching her head a little. Her first reaction was another growl that resembled a purring cat. Then, she immediately shot up, pressing her palms on the ground to lift herself from his body. The embarrassed look she had on her face was enough to make Daniel chuckle a little, deepening the shade of red that was already burning her cheeks.

"Ehy there!" He whispered. "Slept well?"

"I… Err… Well…" She stammered, but since she was nervous she couldn't form a sentence.

Daniel chuckled again. "Relax. It's alright." He said, slowly pulling her down. Ryuko let him guide her on his chest once again. As he resumed caressing her, she could feel his heart beating slowly but steady.

"Thank you." Ryuko said with a low voice.

"Don't worry. Are you hungry?" He asked, earning a nod from her. "Alright. I told Mako to come back later about thirty minutes ago. When she will be there, I will ask her to bring something to eat."

Ryuko nodded again. The burning fire under her skin literally set her cheek ablaze, but it was slowly fading away. The more she heard his heart, the more she calmed down. However, there were some questions she wanted to ask him that bothered her mind, but she didn't want to break away from that moment of peace. There was one question, however, that could be asked.

"Why can you hear Senketsu's voice?"

Daniel chuckled. "I was there when your father created him. I gave him some help with the project and eventually he used my dna for the final steps."

"I don't understand…" Ryuko frowned. "What does it mean?"

"That was one of the topic we were talking about." Daniel replied. "I can't fully understand it myself. We agreed to drop the topic when we realized that we wouldn't have been able to understand it. Then, we talked about my training. After a while you arrived, hiding behind the corner."

"Yeah… Sorry about that…"

"Don't worry." He smiled.

"Is there a way for me and Senketsu to become as strong as you are?" More than a question, Ryuko seemed pleading.

"I don't know." Daniel answered bluntly. "But I know something: When you will wear Senketsu again, you will feel a little different. You will have to get used to him again, but eventually you will feel stronger."

Ryuko nodded, thinking he was referring to the fact that she went berserker, hurting her friend just to get her vengeance. She couldn't know that he was speaking about the modifications and improvements he applied on the kamui. She also didn't know about his new configuration, courtesy of Daniel.

The duo went silent once again. They didn't feel the need to speak anymore. Of course, Ryuko's questions still bothered her to no end, but she never felt so comfortable. No battles to face… No enemies to beat… No people to fight for a damn answer…

Just… Tranquility…

It was pleasant. Ryuko closed her eyes again, sighing deeply. Daniel's reassuring presence was something that she never experienced before. The warmth of his embrace… His hand gently scratching her head… The world around her slowly seemed to fade away. Her heart was slowing down, as well as her breath. Focusing on the slow movement his chest did when he inhaled and then exhaled, she relaxed a little more…

And more…

And more…

Suddenly, in her mind, a strange scene began to appear. She was standing near a fallen column, looking at the body of a girl asleep on the ground. Her body began to move on its own and she could control it. With great agility, she jumped over a destroyed wall, landing in the same place where the girl was resting. The whole area looked terrible familiar, as well as the girl herself. When she turned to face her, her face was just a blur, as well as her surroundings. She caressed her gently. Even if she couldn't see herself, she knew she was smiling. When she placed a small box near the girl, with a letter inside, and placed a pillow under her head, covering her with a blanket, dread struck her hard: She was looking at herself, while that place, which was so familiar, was what remained of her burned house.

Ryuko's heart begun beating faster. She inhaled sharply and the vision disappeared. Coming immediately to a sitting position, she found herself unable to breath properly.

"Ryuko! What's the matter? What happened?" Daniel asked.

From begin unable to breath, she quickly switched to hyperventilating. The more she thought about that vision and the more her breath increased speed. The more it increased and the more fear she felt.

"Ryuko! Look at me! Look at me, damn it!" Daniel said losing his temper. Gently grabbing her face with his hands, he forced her to face him without actually hurt her. "Calm down! Calm down!" He said. Seeing that the girl wasn't listening, or rather wasn't able to do as told, he quickly embraced her, slowly drawings small circles on her back. "Ryuko, I'm here… I'm here…"

At the beginning, it seemed to work. Soon, however, she resumed hyperventilating again. "Whatever happened, it must have been too much for her… Fuck, I didn't want to rely on this…" He thought. "Ryuko, do you trust me?" He said. "Don't answer, just move your head."

She nodded, almost at the point of crying and with her eyes filled with fear. Daniel broke away from the embrace and looked at her seriously. "This is going to hurt a little… Just bear with it please." He said and, without a word, he kissed her forehead.

Pain immediately shot through Ryuko's head. In normal circumstances she would have handled it pretty well. It wasn't very strong. More or less a small headache. But these weren't normal circumstances. She tried to break free, but Daniel's strength was too much for her. Just when she was about to punch him, however, the pain slowly subsided, as well as her fear. Daniel broke from that small kiss and embraced her again.

"Now listen to me… Breath slowly… Inhale… Exhale…" He instructed her. Ryuko did as told. It was hard at the beginning, but after a couple more breaths she managed to do it easily. Her racing heart slowed down to a normal beating and eventually, she found herself calm again… Drenched in cold sweat, but calm.

"What the fuck was… That?" She asked.

"Tell me what happened."

"I was… I don't know… I was just breathing normally… I suddenly found myself following your breath and… I saw my house… I saw myself and… The box with the launch… I placed it near myself…" She explained beginning to hyperventilate again.

"Calm down… I know what happened… Just calm down, then I will tell you everything…" Daniel answered keeping her into a tight embrace and resuming these small circles on her back.

"Alright…" She said forcing herself to slow her breath. After another minute, she managed to get an hold on herself once again. "Alright… I'm fine now…" She said.

"Good…" He sighed. "What you experienced now was something I define 'linked hearts'. It may happens when…" He stopped for a minute. Sighing again, he thought that it was going to be hard and that sadly he will be sighing a lot that day. "It may happens when a life fiber being is connected to another being… Something similar to your synchronization with Senketsu…"

"A life fiber hybrid?" Ryuko asked with wide eyes. "You mean… Someone… Fused with life fibers? I'm not that kind of being!" She shouted.

"No, you are not…"

"Then… How…" She froze, realizing what he was trying to say.

"I suppose we need to talk a lot…" Daniel said, breaking from the embrace.