This was the fourth time Yoshiyuki has snoozed his phone's alarm. It was no use; he had been a homebody for way too long to just slip back into a regimented lifestyle. At least he was showing a token effort. They would understand. Grandma, he surmised, has probably already called Mr. Mori that same morning he arrived, explaining his quick hiring, and would have tipped them off already on her grandson's habits. They'll make adjustments out of consideration. How could it not be, seeing that they even got him a hammock—a hammock!—for him to rock in like a baby every night, instead of a boring regular bed? He certainly won't taste this treatment if he was employed by a total stranger.

In fact, even now, he could feel the swaying again. Ahhhh… No way he's giving up this pleasant sensation for another hour, at least.

#7. Look Who's Paying a Visit to Nanan-chan!

Besides, it's still dark. They probably won't be open till eight, just like school. Wait… The swaying just got noticeably stronger. It stayed like this for, like, five minutes maybe. Earthquake—?

"Now, Nanaka!"

"Uhn!"

His eyes popped open but it's too late. He was being flung about to and fro as though on a stormy sea. The next he knew he—

"Ahhhhh!"

Splash.

Yoshiyuki broke the surface in a frenzy of coughing and wheezing and half-vomiting. "Well, good morning, young man!" greeted Mr. Mori heartily. "The weather's going to be swell today, I can tell."

"Ohayou, Yoshiyuki," said Nanaka brightly. "Nothing like a dip to start the day right, ne?"

Coughing. "Is it going to be like this everyday?" he croaked. He saw the hammock held between the both of them. "I'd be fine with a bed, thank you."

"Ohoho, no," chuckled Mr. Mori. "Your Granny told us to take your working habits into consideration. So we got this little crib to help you get up on time. We begin our routine here at five in the morning."

"You should try being an early bird," said Nanaka. "If you didn't know, it's far more refreshing to mind and body."

He scrambled out of the pool. "Reporting for duty," he said, still dripping, in a straight cadet stance. "What's my first task?"

Grandpa laughed. "Calm down, calm down, this is no bootcamp. Let's share this onigiri first, no need to hurry. We only have to get all our stuff ready and put the house in order all the way till eight-thirty. The customers will come in at nine."

Life at the dive shop was surprisingly unhurried. The three hours or so needed to prepare the place went on in a relaxed but deliberate pace and was quite sufficient for the job. The loads were heavy at times, but there was no school bell demanding him to be at a certain room at a fixed time, and no teachers stared in disapproval. When the clients came, it was more-or-less chitchat—no sensible vacationer would want to be toured around by stressed-out staff—all that was required with them was that you knew what you were doing, especially about their safety, and coaching from a pretty young lady saw to that one. The only real hardship was the early rise, but after that initial dunk Yoshiyuki would make sure he got up at just a single ring of the phone and scramble out of the "crib," and most of the time the two were already there in the room and ready to dump him into the pool yet again.

In about a month, Yoshiyuki was fully assimilated.

All this meant, however, that without customers life at the shop became quite slow. The hot hours after ten which should have been spent touring and assisting people usually saw Yoshiyuki lying in his hammock again, but this time the room was stuffy and not worth much of a snooze. He would leave after just half an hour or so and look for Nanaka and Grandpa in the cove. Heavy work won't be forthcoming again until around five and well into the evening.

He found them snorkeling in the clear waters near the mouth of the cove. He watched their bodies gracefully trace a path among the coral beds and colorful fish trailing past like living flaglets. Grandpa seemed a lot younger in the water, he could have mistaken the man to be her boyfriend.

After a while they surfaced and saw him. Nanaka waved. "Look!" she said holding out a large scallop. "This'll be perfect for lunch!"

"Why don't you try this, son?" said Grandpa of the snorkel. "There's plenty to learn out here."

"We'll have an all-day tutorial tomorrow just for you if there are no customers," she informed him. "We won't have to stock the warehouse till next week so we can start early. I can even give you a feel of it after we eat."

After lunch, the sky clouded over and a strong wind began to stir up the cove so the afternoon whiled away on Mr. Mori regaling the young man with the exploits of his youth and plenty of fisherman lore. Nanaka added some commentary, but all the Tokyo boy could do was sit enthralled. The talk lasted some two hours yet never felt as long as any Nankaisei class. "Grandpa," said Nanaka, "you think we can have some kayaking? I believe it's important for Yoshiyuki-kun to learn to navigate a choppy sea with a paddle."

But yet another interruption to her plans is underway. She received an e-mail, which she regarded with a sober expression. "Minna, somebody's coming very shortly. Let's go and meet her."

They all thought the guest was headed for the shop, but it was while they were making their way through the beach that the sound of an incoming plane emerged out of the wind. They watched on in astonishment as the Grumman Albatross made straight for the cove and landed with a mighty splash, bouncing slightly on the water. It then taxied to right alongside them.

A huge commando-looking guy appeared and jumped down to the water, before receiving on his shoulders a pretty young woman in a classy, summery dress. Anna Nanjou.

"Salvete!" she greeted with a wink.

The man carried the heiress right to the beach where she jumped off and hugged Yoshiyuki tightly. "I missed this place so much! I missed you so bad, Nanan-chan!"

Nanaka chuckled uneasily. "I-I'm over here, Anna."

Anna flung him aside and rushed over to clasp hands with her. "I've got some wonderful news for you, dear. Our little hotel has grown so tremendously over the past year, and practically all rooms are booked in the summer, while the off-season isn't doing bad, either, we consistently get the place at least 55% occupied year-round."

"Wonderful news, indeed! Congratulations."

Anna made a disbelieving face. "You don't get it. It's all about you. Our guests want all sorts of experiences." She inched her face right next to hers and whispered, "Can you handle groups of fifty everyday the whole summer?"

Nanaka was stunned. "Er, no, twenty's already quite a handful for us." And then, "Don't tell me…"

"Ahf courz! The clientele of Piazza hotels in the Kyunins is all yours! They deserve no less than a first-class experience by a wonderful bella like Nanan-chan."

"Anna, do you really have to do this for me? I mean, we're pretty well by ourselves."

"Nanaka," she said with a pout, "you saying you don't need me?"

"Eh? Uh, don't take it the wrong way, OK? You're really, really important to me."

"Humph. How can you expect me to believe that? You don't call. You don't visit. We don't have a pet club anymore. You didn't even ask for the glider again. And now you refuse an offer from me. Our connection is completely erased. What is there to bind the two of us now?"

"That's a swell aircraft," remarked Grandpa. "I'm sure you can go to Tokyo everyday and always be home for the night."

Anna giggled. "It isn't quite mine, though. Not yet. Albright-sensei said it's from her university in America and she can't offer it to me. Well, then," this with another wink, "I guess I'll show that university the shiniest price I can pay."

"Professor Albright is back?" asked Yoshiyuki.

"She'll be here tomorrow," replied Anna. To Nanaka, "We're here at your shop because the professor and I agreed to sponsor you for a full glider's pilot license. You'll be trained in Australia."

The three of them were speechless.

"You see, Nana dear, we have a number of wealthy clients who want to fly in a sailplane. If you can't make it with a crowd, I think a few high-value targets can net you ten times the dough."

Nanaka looked at Grandpa, quietly asking if he was fine with the whole thing about Australia. He only shrugged. "Well, we gotta take advantage of the slow season. I don't think Madam Nanjou will be sending her people over here so soon, so I can manage well by myself."

Yoshiyuki, hearing the "by myself" bit, was about to speak up to ask whether he was to keep helping out but Mr. Mori quickly eyed him. "Young man, you can return to your Grandma for the meantime. Tell her your pay won't be slashed. I'll just send for you if there's something unexpected."

"Isn't Madam staying over?" he replied.

Surprised, the Moris turned to Anna and noticed the seaplane again. She didn't take the trouble flying in here just to say something she can call them for, did she?

Anna laughed a lovely, ladylike laugh. "Watta brite boy! Yes, I'll be sleeping in your dive shop tonight, Mr. Mori, because Nanan-chan here hates being within a mile of me. So excuse me if I make her life miserable by my very presence. Besides Albright-sensei will also be flying in very shortly so all of us can fully discuss how Nana-chan is to go about her training."

"You really are serious about exiling me, huh?" smirked Nanaka. "But you're wrong about one thing." She startled everybody by going to Anna and lifting her clear off the ground on her shoulders. "Now how's that for 'within a mile?' Will I make a great bodyguard now, Madam Nanjou?"

Anna squealed in delight. "Yoh mah hero, Nanan-chan! Come on, take me to my room, right away!" To the burly guy, "Marcus, take go get my luggage. Have Ansley over here, too, so you two can prepare everything and let Yoshiyuki-kun go home."

Within the hour, Yoshiyuki was on the seaplane and back at Grandma's beach, where she was waiting on the pier with Dr. Albright. They swapped him for the professor and quickly flew back to Okaa-san.

In the end, life at the dive shop didn't quite rub off on Yoshiyuki. He was back to being habitually up at around nine, though he did help around the house a wee bit more. "Oh dear, Yoshiyuki," remarked Grandma at lunch, bemused, "you really aren't fully ready for the world of work. I seriously think you'd be better off at uni."

"It's OK. I really like it there."

Grandma was stilled. He had said it with a quiet conviction that concerned her. Is this the time to open up to him about what she's thinking right now?

She spent the afternoon mulling it over in her office, staring at the ceiling as if expecting an answer to write itself there. By dinner, she was still undecided, eating with him in an uncharacteristic silence.

At bedtime she decided to just be blunt about the matter. She found Yoshiyuki in his room settling down for the night, playing on his PSP lying down. "Yoshiyuki, can I have a moment?"

He put it aside and sat up in bed looking a bit drowsy. The game wasn't so interesting, he just played it to make himself sleepy. Grandma then tossed an envelope to him, which landed straight onto his lap. As soon as he saw the return address, however, his mood darkened. "Why didn't you just read this for me?"

"It's not polite to read somebody else's letter, you know," she only smiled weakly.

"Like I care," he said tossing it aside.

"Yoshiyuki, it's been ages. You're not even curious how they're doing?"

"I believe they weren't curious about me, either, so maybe it's best to play along."

She went over and took the letter. "You told me to read this, OK?" She opened the envelope and reluctantly took it out. She perused the letter for about ten minutes, obviously going over it repeatedly. She settled on a paraphrase. "Your father apologized for not seeing you all these years."

"Everybody regrets something too late. Welp, at least I've already graduated, it's probably convenient for them that I appear in Tokyo now."

"My boy," she chided, "your father knows it's not that simple to take someone back in after so long. Is it so bad for him to at least begin reaching out a little at a time? Besides, he's not one to hold in a grudge; if it were just him, he likely came over here a year in."

She stopped herself. She sensed she stepped on a landmine, and the bitterness on Yoshiyuki's expression confirmed it. But she must go on. "It won't be good for your sister if he and your mother always got into a fight over you."

"…"

"But that was for the past years. He said he was able to write to you now because your mother didn't react this time around."

"…"

"Don't mistake it, I… I think your mother also knows it's not easy to just… well, your father said she was quite torn over you the whole time. He said now may be the right time to come over and talk to her. He said he's sure she'll relent if you took the initiative."

Yoshiyuki stood up and turned his back to her. "Then tell him no. No need for Ma to be confused. Keep it simple, and keep me out of Tokyo."

Grandma sighed. So it will really have to take another ten years, huh? But their little talk doesn't end with his answer; it wasn't even the foremost of her objectives for entering his room. "So you're seriously staying over at the Moris for the rest of your life?"

He suddenly turned to her.

"You seem bent on working there."

"Granny… when you say it like that, I mean, for the rest of my life? Just because I—"

"We have to put it that way, Yoshiyuki-kun. You're graduated. This is the juncture where you must put the most thought to your future. Back at Nankaisei we could just say, 'finish your studies,' and that's it. But now, I offer you university, and you don't appear keen to it at all. You'll even cut yourself off with finality from your family." She affected a sad knowing smile. "Or maybe there's a big enough reason that makes it worth for you. I'm not really sure, but maybe it's alright for you to accompany Mori-san abroad."

Yoshiyuki stared at her in disbelief. "Uh, Granny… What are you even trying to say…?"

"Yoshiyuki. Decide. This is not something you can sit on like you did about uni. They're leaving next week. I only want you to be sure of yourself. I would be very worried if you carry you regrets into my age. Do tell me at breakfast tomorrow so I can ask the professor to insert your name."

He turned back to the window. His mind was racing and his blood rushed with suppressed excitement. Well, he can't exactly say he didn't want to go… can he?

Yoshiyuki was lying face down in his pillow, savoring his sleep at three in the morning. Just then, everything started to shake, and all of a sudden he was tipping over to his side. He (snapped) awake and frantically got on all fours to scramble out of bed. "Ow," he uttered landing on the hard floor.

"Yoshiyuki!" said Grandma in alarm. "That's quite the overreaction."

He got up and saw he was still in his room, and it was still the same bed. Grandma was still holding the bedsheets up as with one caught in the act. "Granny, that's just mean!"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "Mori-san just told me it works if I need to. I don't even think I'm that good at it."

He planted his face in the bedside. "Why do I even have to get up at this unearthly hour?" he groaned sleepily.

"Mori-san and the professor are here. You got to leave before dawn."

"Eh?"

As soon as he came out to the living room, however, he was stunned by the dressy ladies at the sofa with coffee and cookies. They both had outfits on that showed off their complexion, and glasses, while their coats lay over the back of the sofa. "Ohayou, Yoshiyuki-kun," smiled Nanaka. "Have a light breakfast. We'll grab the heavier stuff when we get to Osaka."

Breakfast? "Er, uhh, w-what's the 'good morning' for?" he said awkwardly suppressing his admiration. "It's still pitch-black outside."

"Yoshiyuki," said Dr. Albright taking off her glasses and playfully lecturing him with it, "have some positivity. It is well-meaning to say 'good morning' to people regardless of the time of day because it makes their mood fresh. And it's almost four A.M. My days. Your Grandma's far younger than you!"

Nanaka stifled a laugh at the thought of Yoshiyuki as a grumpy old man.

The four of them sat round the coffee table, the professor and his grandmother forming a pair as usual, on the rattan chairs, whilst Nanaka was left in the sofa. Beside her, Yoshiyuki finished his coffee in silence, all too aware of the lady's tantalizing presence right next to him, stealing a glance now and then to take in the lush bluish hair, the porcelain skin, the pretty smiling face made classier by the spectacles… slightly twitching away whenever she happened to look his way as though zapped by a taser. This little game went on right up to the moment they up and left with the luggage.

Out at the porch the wind blew in gusts but slacked down more often into a wisp so they were still able to talk.

"Yoshiyuki," said Grandma handing him his bag, "what shall I tell your Dad?"

He pondered for a moment. "You were giving job experience…. and… send my regards to Aika."

She nodded in acknowledgment. "Send him a Tim Tams if you could."

They boarded the plane shortly before five.

For some reason, Yoshiyuki couldn't go back to sleep. But both women have given in as soon as the plane took off. They never saw the sun rise over the clouds that buried the eastern horizon. They never saw the ocean sparkle in gold. Yet the light was beating down on their faces, and Nanaka was beginning to stir uneasily in her sleep. He reached over for their window and drew the curtain to cover them both.

Rikako spun around blissfully all over the terminal of Venice Marco Polo as Anju and Shuka chased after her; they caught up to her and all hugged laughing. Kanako and Ai held each other's hands doing a happy whirl of their own. Nanaka and Anna watched on with a warm, indulging gaze, as with mothers watching their children tumble in the grass. He and Arisa only sighed in frustration. They worried about the droves of passengers who have alighted the plane with them who might be staring at them this very minute.

"They aren't stepping on another galaxy, are they?" groaned Arisa. He never thought he could have a point of agreement with the Student President.

"It's my fourth time already," said Anna, "but I never tire of this place. Ah, Venezia. Non ho nessun pensiero che non sia tuo; non ho nel sangue nessun desiderio che non sia per te."

"I always feel so light visiting someplace new," said Nanaka. "Ne, Yoshiyuki-kun?"

He was arrested by that random warm smile thrown his way. It instantly lightened his mood. Turns out he wasn't as grumpy as Prez, after all.

"Let's get three lasagna each for every last one of us!" yelled Anju.

"Original macchiato, zura!"

Rikako laughed, more softly now. "I'll be fine with a gelato or two." Giggle. "Or nine. As long as I can have it with all of you."

"Yoshiyuki," said Nanaka, "are you alright?"

"Huh?"

All of a sudden he wasn't at an airport in Venice anymore, but at an airport in Brisbane. The people were few and far apart, and the only noise was the P.A. "Yoshiyuki, you were dazed. Need meds?"

Professor Albright was already some distance ahead and had stopped to wait on them. "No," he said, "I'm good, it's just…"

The look of concern on her didn't go away. Oh well… "I remembered our Italy trip with the gang." There, he said it. Sigh. Guess there'll always be a part of him that won't move on from Aquasports.

She smiled warmly. "Cheer up, Yoshiyuki. There's still the two of us, you know."

But the number of club members and the host country were not the only things different about this trip. Since there was less to see in Brisbane vis-à-vis Venice, and Nanaka was lightning-fast with the shopping, they spent an inordinate amount of time in their hotel room. For a while he had hoped maybe they'd eat out, at least, but when the pizza box arrived that evening he knew he had hoped in vain. Why was he caring about going out now? This wasn't the Yoshiyuki who had plenty to comment about the "dirty" Venetian waters. Or is it really because he was feeling excluded? That Thursday the professor and Nanaka were locked up in their room the whole afternoon, discussing everything about the course. They finished shortly before five, after which they visited him in his room and found him moping by the window.

"You don't look well, Yoshiyuki," remarked Albright. She tossed the registration papers onto the bed next to him. "Fill it in. You and Mori-san will start next week."

"Am I not allowed to talk it over with you?"

Nanaka laughed. "Oh, Yoshiyuki. You're just like a grumpy old man. You're even older than Grandpa!"

"You guys mixed in plenty of 'girl things' in there, am I right?"

"We're not in high school anymore," said Albright flatly. "Everything were about the course including living arrangements. We also had to factor in the academic stuff I must squeeze in while we're in Down Under. My, you really are sour today."

Nanaka stifled another laugh. "He must be looking for a trip just like what we had in Italy once—I'm not sure here would be memorable enough for him. He couldn't get over the lasagna, I think."

"Oh that!" said the professor holding her head. "Well. Yoshiyuki, I'm sorry if Australia isn't as artsy as Austria, but I'm sure you'll find something down under you'll never see anywhere else on Earth!"

"Like all the bugs and animals out to kill you?"

"Humph. It's something you've never seen in your life. The pride of Queensland. But I won't take you there or tell you what it is until after you have finished your training."

"So," said Nanaka, "it must be something in the air?"

"Aurora borealis?" he wondered.

Albright gaped. "Uh—Au, Aurora borealis?! At this time of the year, at this time of the day, at this part of the planet… localized entirely in Yoshiyuki-kun's head? Hahhhh…. Alright, I'll show you.

"It's a phenomenon that occurs in the far north at around September."

She smiled fondly. "You see, you're not the only ones who have had beautiful memories."

"This is unreal," breathed Nanaka seeing the photo. Yoshiyuki was simply dumbfounded.

"I once flew up to that on a sailplane," said Albright proudly. "Yoshiyuki, your father never told you anything about this?"

He could not quite answer. Here he was staring at something he never even knew existed, and now the professor was asking him to dredge his brain for recall. All he knew was what Grandma told him, that his parents flew on a glider. "Never mind," shrugged the professor with a smile. "That thing is what they call a Morning Glory."

The long, continuing passage of clouds.

"That one appeared back in Japan near my old school."

"But Ma'am," said Nanaka, "didn't you say it's found nowhere else in the world?"

"The Gulf of Carpentaria is the only place on Earth where these clouds occur on a regular basis, that is, at around this time of the year. Outside of Australia they appear on the order of decades, if at all. That one was preceded by another by about 26 years."

"We will fly to that?"

"Getting there can be a real challenge as there are strong winds in the vicinity. But once you get above that, the lift can sustain you for hours for as long as the cloud's still around. You can travel as far as you like, as far as that cloud can take you. It's every glider flier's trophy."

Nanaka gasped in excitement and nodded. "Uhn! This is a worthwhile goal!"

"Your training should end in a month if we all work hard enough. After you get your certificate we'll head north and wait for the right conditions there."

For the meantime, Albright called to arrange for their living quarters. After which she ordered three more boxes for their evening feast, one all to herself, which she wolfed down in ten minutes like a pro.

The training was done the whole day on a rigorous schedule as the weather allows. But they were able to grab a few days off. Albright took them on a tour down to New South Wales so they could see Australian icons: the koalas, the kangaroos… and sheep. They stayed for a few days with the owner of a ranch who had connections to the professor's husband. They'd drive on a Jeep the whole day tending to the sheep in the morning and seeing in the afternoon the kangaroos loitering just outside the limits of the property.

Yoshiyuki asked Professor Albright. "Is it alright to feed these guys?" Which she then asked the owner in English.

"Nah, I don't recommend that," he replied. "Tried that once. You'd be shocked at how abusive those critters can get. We had to shoo them off with a shotgun afterwards. An' don't get me started on them emus."

But the ranch did have the koalas, too. Nanaka hugely enjoyed this part, letting them have those sumptuous eucalyptus greens. "They don't need to drink like we do," explained the professor. "They get their water from the leaves they eat."

"Is that the same as a camel?" Yoshiyuki asked Albright.

"Nope. Those guys just take in a lot whenever there is water, and make the most of it. Hm, come to think, why didn't Mr. King raise camels out here? We could have crossed the outback in style, right up to Ayers' Rock!"

They retired to the expansive ranch-style house for the night. Nights out here can be unbelievably chilly. Yoshiyuki wanted to turn the heat up in his room quite a bit, but it seems the thermostat has been set and he wasn't quite sure about fiddling with things. So for a good part of the night he snuggled up in his blanket trying to distract himself with YouTube on the phone, but the cold didn't go away.

He decided a little contact with Granny might put him at ease.

I'm just fine here, he e-mailed Granny, though I must admit I feel like some excited grade-schooler what with all these new things to see...

When Dr. Albright first arrived on that plane, I had not a single inkling that within a month I'd be on another country entirely.

I don't really know what to send you, I know you don't care about sweets, I think you'd even say you make better stuff than that, but please don't mind if I can't think of anything else I can give.

Please watch your knees.

In the end he decided to go for a dip in a hot tub. If there was enough steam out of it, so much the better. He took with him a thicker woolen shirt as part of a change of clothes he intended to wear in bed after sufficiently warming up in the bath.

When he went out to the living room it was already past eleven. Excellent. There won't be anyone to share the bath with and he could stay there longer. But out here in the larger space, the cold was a lot less tolerable, and he very soon found himself settled down on the sofa wrapping himself up tightly with the huge towel. He thought to warm himself up a little before moving on.

The minutes wore on and Yoshiyuki felt much more snug on the sofa than he intended. Will he end up sleeping down here?

After a short while he nudged himself to his feet and looked over the tubes and sachets in his basket: This one's aloe, and the other is jojoba… did he read it right? English was still a wee bit of a challenge. He wasn't sure what all of them were exactly for. This one must be for the face, the other for hair, and…

A light came from the direction of the bath, as well as a whiff of warm air that nonetheless stood out in the cold living room. Nanaka emerged from the corridor in a sleeveless nightgown, hair fresh out of the towel—a fine purple thing slung over her left shoulder. "Ah," she said in mild surprise, "Yoshiyuki, why are you still up?"

A sort of panic has seized the hapless guy, he had been in this situation before, confronting a lady just out of the bathroom. Back then it had produced a full-blown crisis… But now—that other, bare shoulder, her hair fully down, full-bodied and gleaming from the wet, unusually straight and lovelier tenfold… He couldn't move his eyes one bit away. His mouth was gaping ever so slightly. It's too late to cover himself up now. What must Nanaka be thinking of him at this very moment? But she only regarded him warmly, if a bit curiously. "Are you alright, Yoshiyuki?"

A helpless groan escaped him.

"I'll get you some meds if you can wait here." She made a little embarrassed smile. "I don't quite remember which bag I put them in."

"No…" he managed to utter. Don't be so nice, Nanaka. It only makes things worse. Your face is already as welcoming as a home to return to. It makes you more... inviting.

He conceded to the futility he is in. "I'm sorry. I don't want you to think I'm having the wrong idea."

"I don't mind if you have the wrong idea, Yoshiyuki."

He gasped softly, producing a thin screen of breath in the frigid air. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words were lost in his throat. Instead, he stepped forward, and forward, until he and she were within breathing distance. Her scent was quickening his heartbeat. He saw that he was actually taller than her now, by half a forehead or so anyway, but he could still look down on her somewhat.

Her lips began to part.

"Can I… I mean…?"

"Uhn," she quietly assented. He looked her face over once more, seeing many, many appropriate places of fine skin… the cheeks, the forehead, the nose…

It took Nanaka to gently pull him in as a sign that he can go straight for the prime spot.

"…"

In the meantime, his hands enjoyed the feel of her shoulder.

He would have gone on and on, and on, if only she didn't touch his arms again and step back to view him in full, with such tender eyes that drew the same from him. She broke the reverie with a soft laugh. "You were very funny the first I saw of you," she said, "though I must say you were pretty heavy when I threw you into the cove. Wonder what your weight is right now."

He drew back, bashful all over again. "Sorry I couldn't be as good as you in the water," he mumbled. "Maybe I'm better now… I guess?"

She shrugged those fair shoulders. "You try hard enough, I suppose I won't know how good you really are unless we spend a little more time together. But I trust you."

She covered her other shoulder with the towel as she turned to go. He watched her drift off to her room. "Wait. Shall I them…? That we're…?"

"Uhm. Please do." She giggled softly. "But with Grandpa, don't tell him right after a meal. His digestion's acting up a bit lately."

Nanaka finally went ahead and disappeared up the stairs. Yoshiyuki had already spent too much time in the living room. Now, on top of that, came another fifteen minutes or so relishing what had just taken place as he stood at that same spot.

He stayed in the bath until around two in the morning, reveling in what was left of her scent in that tub.

Next Time! #8. Morning Glory