Hey all,

Here's another chapter for you :D

Hope you like it X3

Please keep dropping reviews and such as I love feedback and I enjoy trying to work some of your suggestions into the story ;)


I woke when I felt something shift beside me.

I groaned and tightened my grip on the warmth that was trying to move away.

"Natsuki, I really need to use the toilet, I'll be right back, I promise".

I felt a gentle kiss on my forehead and relaxed my hold, knowing I could hold Shizuru to her word.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, I felt her crawl back in beside me.

I snuggled into her side as she told me we had a few hours until we had to be up for classes.

Smiling, I curled more into her side as she moved to wrap her arms around me.

I was slightly shocked for a moment as I felt our bare skin connect.

I had to think to remember the events of the previous night, smiling as I remembered how far we'd managed to get.

Shizuru was eternally patient with me and I was slowly learning I could trust her.

I could open up to her without being hurt.

Her gentle touches and kind nature were helping to heal the scars I had burned into my memories.

They'd always be there but I was learning that they were the past, that I was free of that time.

I was learning to live in the present as I came to terms with and moved beyond my past.

I felt Shizuru's grip on me tighten for a moment as I gave her a squeeze back.

"You sleep well?"

"Very well, thanks to you Zuru".

I could feel her chest heat up and heart rate increase and knew she was blushing at my comment, though I made no move to check.

I grinned and tucked further into her if it was at all possible.

We lay like that, content in each others arms as we both knew we were beyond sleep now.

I felt a gentle kiss on my head followed by another, slowly working down to plant one on my cheek.

Grinning, I shifted so I could kiss Shizuru, unable to stop smiling.

We were happy in this moment.

The two of us alone in the peace of the early morning.

I thought back to last night and was surprised there was nothing specific that led up to us being intimate. No big event, no alcohol, just mutual understanding and attraction in that moment.

I felt a gentle hand on my ribs, tracing idle patterns as Shizuru moved forward, increasing the intensity of the kiss.

I responded in kind, allowing a heat to settle over us once more, though I placed a gentle hand on Shizuru's ribs, holding her off slightly to let her know I wasn't up for anything more right now.

I couldn't deny the warmth settling in me from her touch however and decided to mirror her actions.

Her reaction was immediate as I felt her sigh into the kiss before letting her hand still, though she left it resting comfortably on my ribs.

I allowed my hand to settle in the same place as we shared a smile.

We lay like that, content in the silence as we drifted into a light sleep.

The alarm on Shizuru's phone broke the peace that had settled as we both jumped, startled by the sudden noise.

Laughing, I moved to stand up, only to have Shizuru wrap her arm round my waist and pull me back onto the bed, straddling me as she gazed down at me.

I swallowed, gently licking my dry lips as I caught the desire hidden in her eyes.

I lowered my gaze only to catch sight of her perfect chest once more.

I swallowed again, trying to fight back my desire to touch her.

I knew we'd never make it to class if we did anything now and I knew we wouldn't get any further now than last night.

"Shizu-"

She cut me off with a deep kiss that left me dizzy and breathless, before getting up and heading into the bathroom.

I lay there, trying to get my head to stop spinning, frustrated that she was able to have such an effect on me with such little effort.

Sighing, I sat up and made towards my clothes drawer, picking out my outfit for the day.

Shizuru stepped out of the bathroom and I felt myself blush at seeing her topless once more.

I knew she'd had partners in the past so was probably used to being seen like this but it was still new for me.

I also had to fight the overwhelming urge I had to cover my own chest as I noticed Shizuru's heated gaze.

I cleared my throat and excused myself to the bathroom, unable to stop a small smile fixing itself in place.

We were ready and off with a bit of extra time for a light breakfast before classes started as I remembered Mai wasn't joining us today.

We wandered slowly into uni, hands held firmly as the world began to come to life around us.

Cars started to fill the roads and people began to emerge from houses.

Even the SU was still, only a few students up early enough to be around.

We decided to head back to Chie's place as it had been a while.

Chie wasn't there but we still enjoyed the shared portion of pancakes.

I felt Shizuru pull me to her as we left and happily returned her kiss as we promised to meet for dinner as our schedules didn't work out for lunch.

The day passed slowly, I enjoyed the design aspects of the courses I was trialing but it was only a small part of the course as essays and lecture programs were very heavily weighted here.

I already knew that the police-training course would be my choice as the level of activity required for the other courses was far below what I needed if I wasn't going to start vibrating to release excess energy.

I made it through the day and decided I'd specify tomorrow with Mai.

Only half way through one week and I was already done with lectures.

Shizuru would say it was just like me, which it kind of was.

I was never a sit and work type of person, I needed to be active, to learn by doing not by reading or writing, though I could manage it very well if I had no other choice.

Shizuru texted me to let me know she'd be a bit late as her last lecture overran and so I wandered in to the SU to see if there were any restaurants that caught my eye.

One small café type place looked interesting, a delightful smell of fresh bread and seasoning wafting out.

I texted the name of it to Shizuru and decided to grab a table as it looked rather full.

I walked in and was greeted by a friendly looking gentleman who was about a head and a half shorter than me.

He told me I was lucky because I was getting the last unreserved table for tonight.

He led me to a small round table in the corner all set up for two.

It was perfect, slightly set aside from the rest of the tables to make space for the waiters to mover from the open kitchen to the seating area.

I sat with my back to the kitchen as it was slightly more in the path of the waiters route and I didn't mind the odd bump.

Shizuru came in a short while later as the coke I'd ordered arrived.

"Sorry, didn't know what you'd want here".

"No problem".

She took one look at the menu and I saw instant understanding, all the drinks beside water and the standard soft drinks were all brand new to me.

"Hmmm. This place is Turkish, that's why you don't know half the stuff on here. I've had a few of these drinks before".

I was relieved she was okay with my choice for tonight as she settled herself into her seat.

We ordered our food, well more Shizuru picking out things she knew I'd like and I had to trust her as I didn't recognise most of the food on the menu.

We began to talk about our days and I could tell Shizuru had already decided what she wanted to do.

She wasn't nearly as passionate talking about her trial lectures today as she was yesterday.

"I think I shall join you and Mai and specify early. The other courses just don't seem like they'll be as fulfilling for me".

I nodded in agreement as we decided to go together to specify at the end of this week.

By the end of the meal we were both stuffed as neither of us had managed to get a decent lunch and had decided to make up for that here.

As we paid, I felt a strange cold wash over me.

I could feel someone staring, listening, and standing very close.

I turned to see if I could find the source of this feeling but everyone seemed normal.

No one here was giving any bad vibes, so what was I sensing?

I knew myself well enough to know I wouldn't feel this if it were nothing.

I was just baffled by this sudden appearance of my 'something's off' feeling.

Shizuru hadn't noticed yet so I tried to push it back and ignore it as I didn't feel in danger and I didn't want her to worry too much.

The feeling was still there though as we walked out, like whatever I felt was there was now following me.

I hated the feeling of being watched.

I kept casting the odd look behind to see if I could spot someone following us, though I never saw anything.

Not even a glimmer of movement from someone trying to get out of sight.

Luckily, it seemed to finally die away by the time we got to our street.

I was happy to say goodbye to the feeling as I started to get ready for bed.

I had early training the next morning so needed to get to sleep soon or else I wouldn't be able to wake up for it.

I noticed Shizuru was also ready to turn in early.

As she stepped out of the bathroom, I couldn't help but blush when I noticed she was crawling into bed in just her underwear again.

I finished getting ready quickly in the bathroom and realised that I had slept wonderfully when we slept like that so decided, despite the burning embarrassment I was feeling, I would do the same.

Climbing in next to Shizuru, I noted the gleeful smile on her face at my being willing to wear so little again and decided my embarrassment was worth it.

She quickly pulled me into a hug that I gladly returned while she reached back to turn off the lights.

We had put in a small, light sensitive light in the corner of the room that let out a faint glow, reminding me that I wasn't in my past as Shizuru had noted our bedroom got very little light in as it faced away from the street.

I curled into her side in the near darkness and sighed, content once again as I relaxed into her warmth.

It was such a simple thing really, but it made us both so happy.

I found myself thanking whatever led to us meeting that one day constantly, for every moment we shared together.

For every moment I was now able to live knowing that there was someone who cared for me as much as I cared for them.

For every moment I was able to trust her with everything of myself.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face, something I had never done before knowing this happiness of being with Shizuru.

And then the dream started.