Shipping Further Around The World

by Gryphon117

(Third part of my One-Shot series) The heat of near-summer brings many opportunities for fun to the giant metropolis of Tokyo-3. But among the games and water splashes, there might be many a change lying in wait for some people.

1. Shipping Further Around the World

A/N: If you're a new reader here, I strongly suggest that you go ahead and read my other two pieces set in this AU, The Great Snowball Battle and Operation Unsinkable, or I'm afraid that the events that transpire in this story will make little to no sense to you. Fair warning.

For anyone familiar with my previous work, I'll just let you know that this one-shot takes place six months after the end of Operation Unsinkable, and six months before its Epilogue, and that it mostly aims to tie up some of the remaining loose ends.

Especial thanks go to my Betas for helping me turn my original writings into something passably readable. And with that out of the way, continue on, dear reader. Just remember that, should you enjoy this, comments and criticism are always welcome!

---

My name is Shinji Ikari, and I'm simmering in my own skin. This probably sounds like an over-exaggeration to many, but believe me, it's not. Today is hot, far hotter than any day of June has any right to be.

Which is why I'm so glad that Asuka agreed to cancel our planned shopping spree for the day and happily latched onto Makinami-san's sudden proposal for a pool day, instead, with none of the usual arguments erupting whatsoever. That's not to say that I don't enjoy accompanying my girlfriend on what many males consider a nightmare of a time, mind you, but I think neither me nor Asuka could have survived a day of wandering from shop to shop under the mistimed fury of our planet's star.

Speaking of, will those three hurry it up with the changing already? It's been ten minutes since I changed into my swimsuit, and Ken and Kaworu-kun should have found a spot for our things by now!

Funnily enough, it's at the same time those complaints pass through my mind that the door to the locker hut is roughly thrown open, signalling without the smallest hint of doubt that my infernal wait is about to be over. There are only three people I know of that could have such blatant disregard for public property, after all, and they all happen to be within that small building.

Sigh. Those two are bound to be a really bad influence on Rei, I tell you. I know who I'm going to be blaming if my sister ends up a delinquent ten years from now.

"YAY! THE POOL!"

And speaking of, and true to my thoughts, off my little sister goes like a bolt of lightning, pretty much exactly as I had expected. She also completely ignores my presence, her eyes gleefully locked onto the blessedly cool water some metres ahead.

Sigh. I get that she's excited, but still...

"REI!" I admonish, fulfilling my brotherly duties as entrusted to me by Mum. "No running by the pool!"

My words have the desired effect of instantly stopping my terror of a sister dead in her tracks before she runs over some innocent soul. She then turns to me with the best of her pouting looks, her hair and skin more than a bit damp with sweat.

"But Shin-nii, it's hot! I wanna get into the water already!"

"I know, Rei. But running around like you usually do will bother all the other people here with us. Besides, racing to the water over the wet tile floors is a sure-fire way of getting yourself hurt, and Mum wouldn't like that now, would she?" Mentioning the possibility of Yui Ikari's worry/displeasure keeps Rei from trying to find an argument against my words like she usually does. Instead, she slowly walks over to my side and grabs hold of my hand, a bit disappointed at having her fun shot down. "Let's just wait for Asuka and Makinami-san to come out and then we'll go toge-"

"YAY! THE POOL!" a vibrant voice that I know all too well suddenly cheers from behind me, followed by quickly approaching footsteps. "RACE YOU THERE, PRINCESS!"

"EH?! GET BACK HERE, YOU CHEATER!"

And then a young woman clad in a pink two-piece swimsuit races past my right side, followed a second later through my left by a redhead dressed in red and white swimwear. Both of them, of course, completely fail to register my patient presence, covering the distance between the locker rooms and the pool in what must be record time and jumping into the water with huge splashes, completely oblivious of everyone around them.

...

Why did I bother waiting for those two, again? I honestly can't tell at this time, but I can certainly feel Rei's piercing stare boring into my side.

...Sigh.

"...Please don't look at me like that, Rei."

-O-O-O-O-O-

After my predictably ill-fated attempts at chivalry, I grudgingly allow my little sister to join in on Asuka and Makinami-san's water games, and I do so for a bigger reason than avoiding exposure to her infamously dangerous puppy-dog eyes (or even worse, her sharp tongue). I'm hoping that sending Rei to hang out with the two of them will remind them of the fact that we are not alone in this place, and that they should probably be just a little bit mindful of the people around us.

Hopefully, that will be enough to keep us from being kicked out by the people in charge. At least for a few hours.

Meanwhile, I start heading in the direction I saw Ken and Kaworu-kun disappear in nearly fifteen minutes ago, and quickly manage to catch up to them. They've found a nice spot for our towels and bags at the edge of the pool grounds, right under a fairly large tree that provides a good amount of shade.

...And I must have my current worries written all over my face, because the very first thing the two of them do when they notice my approach is to share a knowing look and throw a cold soda my way.

"Sohryu and Makinami?" Kensuke asks, smiling knowingly.

"And my sister," I put the surface of the ice-cold soda firmly against my forehead, sighing as it manages to push aside the heat for a blessed second or two. I quickly apply this aluminium panacea to several different parts of my exposed body. "Don't you forget about her."

"Rei-san?" Kaworu-kun asks curiously. "But she seemed so well-behaved before."

"That's because she doesn't feel comfortable around you yet, Nagisa. I'm betting that you'll be thinking differently before today's over, though." Ken chuckles, watching the silver-haired boy with an amused smirk. "Watch yourself, by the way, or that kid will have you under her thumb before long. Especially since you don't really know how to say 'No', like Shinji here."

I want to argue against Kensuke's words, but quickly give up on even attempting to do so. My history with any of the girls blissfully swimming in the pool should be testament enough to the truth in his statement, after all.

Kaworu-kun, for his part, looks at the both of us with a raised eyebrow, before standing up with a shrug.

"...I will keep that in mind."

It's clear that he still thinks we're exaggerating, though. A very dangerous opinion to have about anything Rei-related, and one that I would normally caution against buuut...

I think I'll let cold, hard, reality prove our words to Kaworu-kun today. Like Ken said, it shouldn't take too long a time, and it will keep Rei off my back for a while.

And it will be funnier that way, too; sorry, Kaworu-kun.

...

Man, Asuka is rubbing off on me too, it seems, and that's one scary thought in and of itself. I don't think I would've willingly sacrificed a friend to the machinations of my sister just because it sounded hilarious, half a year ago.

Oh well, not the end of the world. Nothing wrong with a bit of good fun, and it's not like Rei's antics will leave any lasting traumas on Kaworu-kun's psyche.

Not deep ones, anyway. And I've survived almost eight years with her, so I'm sort of an expert on everything to do with that pint-sized dictator.

A quick, unspoken check with Ken tells me that he's thinking along the same lines I am, so we decide to drop the topic and finally get on with heading towards the water at the behest of our boiling bodies. I'm still worried about the other half of our group, too, and about our chances of being able to stay in the pool for as long as we want.

...

And with good reason, too, as I soon get to witness while entering the water: those two have taken to catapulting Rei high into the air, much to the little tyrant's delight. They're at least making sure that no other kids are around before sending the runt soaring, but who knows for how long they're going to remember those preventive measures?

Oh yeah, I do. And the correct answer is 'very little time'. Better get going before I need to mediate between Asuka, Makinami-san and an angry mother. That's not the way I want to spend a Sunday, thank you very much.

With that thought in mind, I kick off the edge of the pool and get to swimming. I go with basic breast-stroke and, while my form isn't going to win me any elegance awards, it's good enough to get the job done.

It's also good enough to surprise one of my friends, apparently.

"The hell, Shinji? You traitor!" I hear Ken shout from somewhere behind me. "When did you get that much better than me at swimming?! We used to be pool edge buddies back in the day!"

I turn towards my friend's voice and find him struggling to keep up with me. Kaworu-kun, for his part, is swimming by Ken's side, being far more graceful and efficient in his movements than I could ever hope to be. He's really a fish in the water, that one.

I use the short moment it takes my friends to reach me to look at the spot where we entered the water and take good notice of what it is that Kensuke's so surprised about: I've covered about fifteen metres of distance in the water with just a kick from the wall and a few strokes, something that would have been unthinkable for me to pull off not that long ago.

And, like so many things in my life nowadays, something that's very easily explained with just one simple sentence.

"Asuka made me learn," I intone, deadpan. "Said that no boyfriend of hers was going to be scared of a little water."

"Sohryu-san taught you? I suppose her usual drive for excellence would make her a good teacher, indeed. That certainly explains your quick progress, Shinji-kun."

Kaworu-kun's kind words are accompanied by his trademark earnest smile. Something that, on most occasions, would go a long way towards lifting my spirits or generally making me feel good about whatever it was that he's praising.

But when linked to those specific days, Kaworu-kun's words actually make me shiver hard enough that anyone watching me could be forgiven for thinking the ambient temperature had suddenly and drastically dropped.

...

A 'good teacher', he says. Ignorance truly is bliss.

"...Shinji-kun? Are you all right?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, Kaworu-kun," I reassure him, fighting back another shudder. "Just recalling some bad memories, is all."

The silver-haired boy looks at me curiously for a second, not really understanding how... recklessly efficient Asuka's so-called coaching can be. It barely takes an instant for Kensuke to catch onto what I mean, though.

"...That bad?"

I sigh deeply with a slow nod, trying my hardest to banish the experience of those lessons to the deepest recesses of my mind, right next to Rei's sixth birthday party.

"Let's just say that Asuka's a big advocate of the literal sink-or-swim method."

The moment the words leave my mouth is also the moment I notice that Kaworu-kun isn't looking at me anymore but, rather, at a spot somewhere above my left shoulder. He's also looking thoroughly amused and, in stark contrast to the affectionate pet name that Asuka's always gracing me with, it takes me but a moment to put two and two together on the why.

My connection proves to come a second too late, though, and the next thing I know, a pair of smooth hands that I know very well have grabbed hold of my head and playfully sunk it under the water. They keep it down there for two or three seconds before allowing me to come back up for air.

Which I obviously do, turning around to come face to face with a gorgeous redhead. One that's smirking dangerously, mind you, but still beautiful.

"And I'll say that you are such a baby, Shinji! You're making it sound way worse than it actually was!"

"A-Asuka!" I exclaim, in between coughs. "Where did you come from?!"

"Behind you, duh. Glasses is right when she says that you lot have to work on your awareness, you know? I wasn't even trying." Asuka replies, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes in mock-anger. "I just followed the tingling of my bullshit sense, and what do I find? My boyfriend exaggerating as usual and making me sound like a terrible, terrible person. I'm hurt, Shinji."

"Exaggerating, Asuka?" my face is as deadpan as I can possibly pull off. "I'm pretty sure that my body's still filtering all of the pool water I swallowed that day."

"And I'm not surprised. I had to pretty much force your head underwater after all, Baka mine, and keep you from messing up your own spine with your terrible form." Asuka replies without missing a beat, punctuating her words with her usual habit of poking a finger against my chest. "If you carry half the municipal pool in your stomach, it's your own fault for proving to be such a difficult pupil. Things would have been far smoother if you'd been a little... actually, a lot more cooperative."

And I'd have been a lot more cooperative if you hadn't thought of whacking my head with the end of a stick every time I did something wrong. Not putting any real power behind the strikes doesn't make the idea behind them any better, Asuka.

I mean, can you imagine Misato-sensei doing the same thing to you every time you don't present your History homework? You'd have no space left to affix your hairclips on, that's for sure!

Still, my grumpy ranting aside, I have to give this girl credit where credit's due. Not that long ago, Asuka would have thrown a major fit at me for daring to be sarcastic like that, but she's since learned (or better said, re-learned) to take it all in stride or snark back at me, rather than allowing her temper to dictate her actions.

It honestly makes me feel really proud of her, even if I kinda wish that she would cut back on the forehead-flicking and general light-hearted violence a bit more going forward. The overall pleasantness that such a change would bring aside, I don't want Rei (or anyone else for that matter) getting any more ideas than they already have.

"Besides," Asuka continues, signalling at the distance I swam a moment ago with a pleased smile on her face. "It's not like the results weren't worth a bad day or two, now, were they?"

"...I can't really argue with that."

Asuka's drill sergeant methods are as effective as they are traumatic, after all.

I only hope that she won't take it upon herself to try and teach me how to improve on all those other physical activities I'm not exactly amazing at, like basketball, or football. The costs would very much out-weigh the benefits, because I don't think my body or mind could survive any long-term exposure to her training regime.

What's more, things get even worse when you take into account that, being team games, Asuka could have grounds for bringing Makinami-san along to 'help'. How's that for terrifying?

Very much so, is the answer. And it must be showing on my face, because Asuka's look quickly shifts from mock-anger to pouting.

"Oh, come on, Shinji! Turn that frown upside down, it wasn't that bad!" Another seamless shift, and my girlfriend's sending a flirty smile my way, closing the distance between us just the tiniest little bit. "Or what? Do you want me to go ahead and kiss the boo-boos better?"

"Uh... Yeah?"

My hopeful answer is paired up with a surprised blink of my eyes. It's not like Asuka to be so openly affectionate with people around, after all.

Maybe the sudden change from blistering heat to cool water turned off a few of her usual inhibitions?

"Good answer. But that's for later!" Asuka declares, before turning around and beckoning us to follow her. "Now come on, you three! That's enough yapping! Let's head back with the rest so that we can start!"

"...Start?" Ken asks nervously, wading to my side. "Start what?"

"The games, of course!" She responds, turning back around just enough to remind me us that she hasn't forgotten how to pull off her deadly smirk. "I've got a lot of stuff in mind and very little time to get it all going, after all!"

Her piece said, Asuka dives forward and swims away with enviable speed, just fast enough to miss Ken's troubled groan at the news. What he's so surprised about, though, I really can't tell. I mean, this is Asuka we're talking about and Makinami-san is within fifty metres of her, you just know that exhausting physical activity is going to be somewhere on the menu when those two bundles of inexhaustible energy start orbiting one another.

Kaworu-kun, for his part, looks unfazed enough for me to think that he saw this one coming as well. Or maybe he's just that much better than Kensuke at hiding his reactions, I honestly can't tell with him, sometimes.

In any case, the three of us quickly decide that risking a penalty of any sort from having Asuka wait for too long is probably not in our best interests, so we quickly (or as quickly as we can) group up with the rest of the girls. Both she and Rei still chide us for taking too long, but things stay at that with Asuka then taking to creating the teams as quickly and efficiently as she usually does.

...The split doesn't go exactly as I thought it would, however.

"That's an odd way of organizing the teams, though," Ken gives voice to my thoughts before me, looking curiously at Makinami-san and Kaworu-kun. "I was kinda expecting another boys versus girls scenario, like last winter."

"The Princess insisted. Something about not wanting Puppy-kun and Sparkles to be in the same team." Makinami explains, before leaning over with her hand over her mouth and whispering in a not-so-secret manner. "She's being a bit too overzealous about her territory if you ask me, Shinji-kun."

'Sparkles'? Is that meant to be Kaworu-kun? I... don't really understand what's up with that nickname.

Then again, my not being able to follow Makinami-san's thought processes isn't really anything new. You need a very specific kind of mindset to be able to follow that girl, after all.

Or a clear no-nonsense attitude and a hand that's far too quick, in Asuka's case.

...I'm more worried about the direction in which Makinami-san's gossiping, though.

"Good thing that nobody is asking, then." Asuka interrupts drily, before making mention of the obvious detail everyone is seeing. "And Shinji is to my left, Glasses. The one you're so openly whispering to is Nagisa."

"Eh? Really?" At Asuka's correction, Makinami-san narrows her eyes, currently lacking in her usual omnipresent glasses, and begins looking Kaworu-kun up and down. She does so for several passes, before launching her hand high in the air and patting the poor man's head a few times, much to Kaworu-kun's obvious discomfort. "Wow, you're right! Hair so fluffy can only belong to Sparkles! Sorry, Sparkles!"

Kaworu-kun bears Makinami-san's face-splitting smile stoically, gently removing the invading appendage from his hair with a heavy sigh.

"We've been over this before, but could you please call me by name, Makinami-san?"

"Umm... Maybe?"

"Right," Ken butts in, chuckling at the girl's evasive answer. "That's a 'no', in case you're wondering, Nagisa. Welcome to the club."

"Shush, Ota-kun! No leaking of important mission data allowed!"

"What 'important mission data' are you even talking about? It's not like most people here can't tell that you plan on ignoring his plea, anyway."

"That's beside the point!" Makinami-san suddenly exclaims out of nowhere, narrowing her eyes at my shocked friend and advancing towards his position, finger poking against his chest in a very familiar way. "Soldiers should listen to their orders, or it's court martial time! And then," Mari sinks her arms into the water behind her and the muscles all over her upper body visibly tense up. I feel my eyes widen, knowing full well what's coming next. "Execution!"

...

For I'm currently standing much too close to Kensuke Aida.

His path of retreat brought him here, you see, his instincts maybe thinking that I of all people could help him somehow in the face of mortal peril. Which is completely absurd and a clear sign that Ken should have his instincts looked at, by the way.

And now I'm drenched, even if I was standing almost a metre away from Kensuke when the Makinami tsunami struck him.

Man, that girl sure has some muscles.

"Oh," Makinami-san blinks in my direction, having no doubt heard my startled yelp. "Sorry, Puppy-kun."

And she also has a bit of a conscience too, apparently, hidden below layers upon layers of craziness and hyperactivity.

"It's fine. It's just water." I sigh, dripping liquid all over and trying my hardest to tune out my girlfriend's roaring laughter. It's not that hard, considering that I'm actually a bit more worried about the sheer lack of Kensuke beside me, to be honest. What hit him looked like enough water to drown an elephant, after all.

Thankfully for all of us, Kensuke resurfaces quite a few steps away, hacking, gagging, and more than a bit confused as to how he got over there.

The women in our group are one scary bunch, that's for sure.

"But more importantly," I decide to distract this crazy girl before she can consider renewing her assault, hoping to provide Ken with the assistance I couldn't offer before. "Are you really going to be all right playing without your glasses, Makinami-san?"

"It'll be fine, it'll be fine, Puppy-kun! I've got very good hearing, you know?" the excitable girl quickly reassures me, her ever-present grin back on her face. "I'll just do like submarines do and find you guys with sound! Like this!"

In time with her words, Makinami-san closes her eyes and starts blurting out very audible 'boops', holding her arms forward and turning her whole body around after each and every single one. Needless to say, this is more than a bit out there, even by Makinami-san's standards. It's starting to garner us a lot of weird looks, too.

The crazy girl keeps on doing her thing for some more time, until she more or less sets course for our group once more. Whether she found us by the use of actual echolocation or by cheating somehow I can't tell, but I'm sensible enough to be more biased towards the latter.

I mean, I know that I said once that Makinami-san is blind as a bat without her glasses, but this is definitely taking that comparison a step too far.

In any case, Makinami-san achieves her objective soon after. Which is to say, she walks her face straight into Asuka's open palm.

"Not one step closer you hugging maniac, you're way too predictable." Asuka mutters a stony warning, Makinami-san trying and failing to get a solid hold on her. "And sonar doesn't work like that, by the way."

"Ouchie, Princess," our wannabe batgirl moans as she disengages, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Why so mean?"

"Because someone has to keep you on a leash while Hikari isn't around," the classroom tyrant's second in command proudly declares, putting her arms on her hips as she usually does at those times. "I just happen to be the one best suited for the job."

By the way, that's a pretty nice excuse there, Asuka. Too bad that we all know you don't exactly wait for Horaki-san's permission to clip Makinami-san's wings at every opportunity, too.

Not that I'm going to be the one to call her out on that, of course. I'd rather not end up like Ken.

"And that's enough fooling around for now, birdbrain." Asuka continues, bringing her arm up into the air. "Gather 'round, people. We're warming up with a game of tag, before moving on to the serious team stuff!"

Tag, huh? Simple enough. I'd go so far as to call it boring if we weren't at the pool, too.

"And I declare..." Asuka's voice takes on a dramatic tone for a few moments, before her finger drops down in my direction. "That Shinji is it!"

...

And that surprised exactly no one.

Oh well, better get to it. I bet I can catch Ken before he fully recovers.

-O-O-O-O-O-

Our games go on for the better part of an hour and a half, as we burn through regular tag, Marco Polo (with Makinami-san trying her batgirl tricks again to lacking results), and team games such as water polo and...

Shudder.

Kibasen.

You know, that game where teams of two with one riding the other's shoulders try to snatch a bandana (or cap, in our case) off their opponent's head. I thought I'd been freed from having to carry Asuka on my shoulders in a harsh competitive setting after Sports Day last month, but clearly Fate had other plans.

And due to said plans, now both my shoulders and scalp hurt something fierce. Yay.

At least I can take some small comfort in the knowledge that I'm not the only one suffering from various bodily pains. I mean, Kensuke was carrying Makinami-san, who gets into this kind of thing as much as Asuka does (with similar results), and Kaworu-kun...

Kaworu-kun got stuck carrying Rei. Need I say more, other than that the guy has the patience of a saint and some real need for therapy by this point?

No, I didn't think so.

I have to admit that, the promise of a morrow with aching muscles aside, it was a fun experience, though. And Rei had an absolute blast, which was kinda nice to see. She also managed to show Asuka and Makinami-san that the Ikari family is boss, so that alone makes the entire experience worth it, in my opinion.

In any case, the games reach an end when most of the players involved grow too tired to continue, and we go back to our spot under the blessed shade to rest, dry up, and maybe catch some rays later, when the threat of being roasted by our star isn't quite as likely. Asuka decides to use my stomach as a pillow, resting her head against it and falling into a catnap soon after. I personally don't think it should be that comfortable, but it's obvious that she doesn't seem to mind.

And neither do I.

Unlike Asuka, though, I don't think I can get myself to fall asleep for just a short while. I've never been a fan of naps myself, as I always wake up too groggy for them to be worth it, so I occupy my time by taking a look at my surroundings, instead.

I turn my attention towards Kaworu-kun first, who is having an... interesting sort of conversation with Rei. Interesting because he's being talked at, rather than talked to.

Do you remember how I mentioned before that 'most' of us were tired?

Yeah. Rei, infinite little well of devious energy that she is, is still completely fine, and she's showing it by showering the only guy that was able to keep up with her in the water with questions. The look on Kaworu-kun's face, even if still mostly placid to an outsider, is all kinds of desperate to the expert viewer.

But I'm sorry Kaworu-kun, no matter how obvious your plea for help, Asuka would bite me if I dared to move right now. Besides, even if I could move, I'm too tired to try and separate Rei from her new playmate. But we did warn you, you know?

Ken and Makinami-san are conversing an arm's length away, speaking about swimsuits of all things. It's not the only thing they're talking about of course, because conversations with Makinami-san tend to shift topics as often as she opens her mouth, but it's the one that catches my attention for a second.

I mean, I didn't think Kensuke knew enough about girls' fashion to counsel Makinami-san on clothing colours, but I guess you learn something new every day.

"Wow...!" the amazed voice of my sister knocks me out of my musings. "Sparkly stars!"

Rei's open-mouthed wonder brings my attention back to her, with the speed befitting of someone used to look after the pint-sized ball of energy. She's looking at Kaworu-kun with a face-splitting grin and eyes full of adoration, an expression that clashes heavily with how nervous and plain confused my silver-haired friend looks.

He must have done some kind of trick that Rei really liked. I pity the poor soul.

"Do it again! Do it again!"

Because that will follow. And when she gets like that, Rei won't ever let up until she gets what she wants.

"Oh, shit! Makinami!" Kensuke suddenly jumps up and hisses at the girl beside him, looking at the scene with wide eyes. "Nagisa did the thing again! The thing!"

"...The thing?" Makinami-san asks, clearly as confused as I am at the moment. But, unlike me, she quickly appears to understand what Ken is talking about, downplaying his words with a wave of her hand. "Oh! It's fine. Rei-chan is too young for it to affect her and, even if she wasn't soundly sleeping right now, the Princess looks to be the only woman in Japan immune to the lightshow. It must be because of her sheer amount of concentrated Tsun-Tsun, or something." I can feel Asuka twitch in her sleep at Makinami-san's words, before the crazy girl points at her naked eyes with a knowing smile. "I can't really see Sparkles, in case you're worried."

Kensuke appears to weigh Makinami-san's words, before accepting them as plausible and visibly calming down.

I, for my part,still don't know what they're talking about at all, but I figure it must be some sort of running gag between them or something like that, so I don't go out of my way to question them.

"Worried for you?" Ken whispers, sighing at the same time. "Nah, it's Nagisa that I'd worry about if that were the case."

"Boo," Makinami-san pouts cutely, putting on doe eyes to amplify the effect. "How rude, Ota-kun."

But Ken merely shrugs, countering the girl's cunning manoeuvre by not looking at her directly.

"You reap what you sow, Makinami, your reputation precedes you. But more importantly: now that we've established that Rei won't be affected," Kensuke points in the direction we were looking a moment ago. "Will Nagisa be all right, Shinji?"

I follow Ken's thumb and find, to my horror, that there's no one in the direction it's pointing at. No silver-haired aspiring artist and most certainly no hyperactive imp from Hell. I think I can make out Kaworu-kun's pleading voice in the distance, but that's about it.

...Shit. A lapse in my vigil and Kaworu-kun has been quickly and efficiently dragged into the Abyss; I should have been wise to Rei's crafty ways. I'm a failure as an older brother.

"Rei won't kill him, at least. Not too much." I wince, managing to stop my imagination from going wild on the fun possibilities that await my friend. "Kaworu-kun could probably still use a prayer or two, though."

"He'll be fine, he'll be fine! You underestimate Sparkles' resilience and ability to deal with females, Puppy-kun!" Makinami-san tries to encourage me, although I think she's being a tad too optimistic. Her expression then becomes theatrically sad. "I'm more bummed out about Ball-kun and Hikari-chan not being able to make it to today, honestly."

"Eh, that's just how it is," Ken replies, quickly latching onto the opportunity of not thinking about Kaworu-kun's personal hell. "Toji already missed the regional championship last year, so hopefully he's making up for that this weekend. There'll be plenty more days like this for them to join us during summer vacation."

"Yeah, I guess. I can't wait to see Piggy-chan in her swimsuit~!" Makinami-san swoons, picturing our Class Rep. in her mind's eye. And then she smoothly transitions back into her 'normal' self with zero warning whatsoever. "Buuuut, that's for another day. I guess it's about time that we got going for now, Ota-kun."

Both Ken and I turn towards Makinami-san, my friend taking a quick look at his watch shortly after.

"...Already?"

"Yup! There's a small detour I want to take before we get to work. You brought 'it', right?"

"Yeah, I did." Whatever it is they're talking about, Ken looks to have put two and two together in his head, judging by his sudden weary look. "Guess I should've seen this one coming..."

"Yay!" a weary look that changes to shock when the girl suddenly grabs Ken's neck and shoulders in one of her patented Makinami-hugs. "You're the best, Ota-kun!"

Makinami-san joyfully continues with her smothering show of affection even in the face of Kensuke's strangled protests, which is par for the course for her, honestly. There's only one way out of the situation when the Makinami family parasite has taken hold of a host, and that is the parasite itself losing interest in her prey, which normally doesn't happen before the poor victim has gone purple in the face.

I hope that this situation and the knowledge that the Makinami parasite has a weakness for Germano-Japanese redheads will serve to illustrate why Asuka doesn't allow Makinami-san within arm's reach of her person, most of the time.

But this crazy girl's commonplace antics aside, there's something else that's... odd about this: I mean, was Ken always one of Makinami-san's usual hug victims? I know I am (much to my and Asuka's chagrin), but I feel like the scene before me is something I've never seen before.

...Hmm...

Eh, it must have been like this before and I just didn't give it much importance. Asuka's right in saying that those sort of details tend to go by me without my noticing, after all. It's really not that important anyway.

"Ken, Makinami-san?" I ask the both of them, trying not to wake Asuka up. "Are you two really leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, sorry Puppy-kun." Makinami-san releases her crushing hold on my friend (allowing glorious oxygen to re-enter his system, once more) and smiles my way. "I've got some out of season gear to pack up and some current season stuff to collect today, and Ota-kun so very graciously offered to help me get things done quicker."

"That's...," Kensuke wheezes out, before coughing a few times and trying again. His snarky words sound much more healthy this time, even if his face is still visibly crimson. "That's a funny way of saying that you cashed in on one of your favours, you know?"

"Did I mention that this guy here is such a gentleman that he offered to carry the biggest and heaviest loads all by himself, too?" Makinami-san continues in a suddenly dangerous tone, her smile never leaving her face. "Just so that I don't risk hurting myself in any way, shape or form?"

"...Okay, okay, I get it. I'll stay quiet."

Makinami-san acknowledges Ken's wise words with a pat on the head, much to his slight chagrin. Seeing that, I decide to throw him a bone and help out a bit.

"So, you two are fetching some, uh... 'clothes'?"

Mentioning her hobby has the effect I expected, and Makinami-san forgets about Ken for the moment to pump her fist and throw me one of her beaming smiles.

"You betcha, I've got to make the most out of these coming weeks! The hit counter goes wild with the summer wardrobe, you know?" Her well-meaning smile then turns suggestive, and I feel a drop of cold sweat run down my back. "And speaking of business, you're welcome to hit the circle's website anytime you want as well, Puppy-kun! There's very good value-for-money on offer, even for someone without much cash to spend!"

"I'll... think about it."

Which, coupled with a non-committing smile on my part, is me being polite in saying 'Hell no'. I can appreciate Makinami-san's love for her hobby as much as the next guy (and there's plenty to appreciate, trust me), but I'd rather not find out what Asuka thinks about any cosplay pictures when she, knowing my luck, inevitably found out.

The amount of teasing I'd suffer would be worthy of the history books, that's for sure.

"I'll hold you to that~!" Makinami-san sing-songs, not at all forebodingly. She then winks knowingly at me and the slumbering redhead on top of me. "Oh! And make sure to make the most out of your one-on-one time with the Princess while Sparkles keeps Rei-chan out of your hair, you hear~?"

"Go away... Stupid Glasses..."

The slumbering Asuka's words bring an even wider smile to Makinami-san's face, and I find myself chuckling a bit, as well. The relationship between those two really is something special.

"Well, her Highness has spoken! I'll see you two tomorrow, Shinji-kun~!"

And with those words and a wave, two of my friends leave the group for the day. Makinami-san's words implied that they're going to be busy, so I wonder where it is that they're going.

Oh well, I'll hear about it if I'm supposed to. In the meantime, I've got plenty of stuff in my own plate.

Hopefully, Asuka will rise from her catnap before Rei returns and said stuff will be of the good kind.

-O-O-O-O-O-

My name is Kensuke Aida, and I'm feeling absolutely bushed. I've also got enough liquid running down my body to make a fairly good impression of a fountain, but that's what working under the evening sunlight of a very hot day will do to you.

...And what a job it was, I've never seen so many clothes in a single place before. Makinami's spring and summer catalogues are so stupidly massive that it kinda begs the question of where she keeps all of this stuff. I mean, her place is spacious but not that big.

Speaking of which, that's currently where I am, sitting on the Makinami household couch after being done with what should be the last of her errands for the time being. A peaceful reprieve that I'm not foolish enough to expect lasting long, what with summer vacation drawing closer and closer, but any kind of rest from Mari's usual breakneck pace is a welcome one.

Not that our joint projects haven't been enjoyable in their own way, but Makinami isn't far behind Rei-chan or the Class Rep in the tyranny department on all things pertaining to her hobby.

And yes, you heard right. I'm currently helping out Mari Makinami and her circle fairly extensively with their cosplaying hobby and assorted activities. I'm mostly an informal and temporary member but, even then, don't ask me how we got here because it's mostly been a chain of pretty big and confusing events over the last six months.

Saying that the start of it involved Mari Makinami in a sexy-but-totally-not-risqué maid outfit (her words) should be good enough to prove that my words are true. Weird and out of left field as it may have been, though, that's one very good memory I'll be taking to the grave...

A strong buzz in my pocket shakes me out of my musings and I take my phone out, glaring at the plastic device for interrupting the reminiscing/fantasizing I had been busy with. A flick of my fingers and a quick look tells me that I have a new message, and my fleeting bad mood evaporates almost as soon as I open it.

...And I must be laughing quite hard, because Makinami quickly pokes her head out of her bedroom door in response.

"What's up, Ota-kun?"

"Shinji just sent me a picture." I tell her, holding the phone up for her to see. "It looks like Nagisa finally got properly acquainted with little Rei."

Now clearly curious, Makinami quickly hurries over to take a better look. And it doesn't take long for her to start laughing, herself.

"Oooh! That's adorable!"

"Rei?" I blink, having expected something more along the lines of 'hilarious' or 'awful' to come out. "I don't know about adorable. She looks smug as all hell to me, clinging to Nagisa's neck like that."

"Nah, I was talking about Sparkles' face, there," she giggles, turning around and walking to disappear into the kitchen area. "He looks so out of his depth!"

I take a second look at the photo, just to make sure that my eyes didn't somehow manage to misinterpret the picture.

Nope. Still painful to look at.

"...Only you would describe an expression of sheer agony as 'adorable'."

"What can I say? I like my uniqueness!" Makinami happily chirps, before throwing a cold soda from the fridge my way without any warning. "Think quick, Ota-kun!"

I catch the thrown projectile with a hand and no problems, earning myself an applauding remark from the pitcher. Not that it's anything really remarkable, since the pieces of chalk Misato-sensei uses to ensure our attention in class fly at far higher speeds and hurt quite a bit in the case of a failed dodge. My reflexes are very likely above average, at this point.

That woman could easily be part of the national baseball team if she ever got tired of teaching, no doubt about it.

"In any case, did you catch Rei-chan?" I ask my hyperactive companion, recalling another interesting tidbit from the afternoon. "I don't know who taught those kids how to swim, but they must be an Olympic medallist at the very least."

"...Oh, don't remind me." Makinami pouts, thinking back to the afternoon's games. "That squirt's such a bad winner. Way worse than the Princess."

Right. While I agree with the sentiment, I get the feeling that you're forgetting a third person in your round-up, Makinami. Who was the one that went around Sports Day asking for a whip to 'motivate the mooks' with, again?

"In any case, I've got the pics transferring to the laptop already." My companion sighs with a soda can of her own in hand, taking a seat on the armchair. "Should be just a few minutes."

And affording me a good look at her house-wear, much to my chagrin; I mean, she's dressed in shorts and a tank top. A combination that, coupled with the sheer heat of the day and its associated effects, make it pretty darn difficult for me to keep my attention off her, honestly. This is part of her usual summer in-house getup as far as I know but, considering that I have only Makinami's word to go for that, I'm seriously tempted to say that this is just another of her ways of messing with me.

She's borderline sadistic in her enjoyment of such things, after all.

I catch myself counting the droplets of sweat running down Makinami's neck as she's drinking when I decide that I better find some conversation topic to bring up... You know, something, anything, to keep my attention from veering into dangerous territory any more than it already has.

Thankfully, a good one comes to mind almost instantly.

"So... Where's your mum?"

"Out."

The girl's response is followed by a nonchalant shrug and another swig of her soda. Oh well, at least Makinami is unwittingly helping my control of the situation by handing me snarking opportunities.

"I figured as much, my question was more along the lines of why's she always out?" I repeat, stating the obvious. "I mean, it's not like we come here every day, but I figured we would have already bumped into her by now."

"Oh, that's a good question. But bumping into her here is going to be kinda hard, Ota-kun."

"Really? Does she work until late, or something?"

"Nah, she's just out. As in, out of the country," Makinami elaborates, bringing a finger to her temple in thought. "Somewhere in Western Europe right now... Oh! The north of Spain, if I remember right."

To the surprise of no one (I hope), the small amount of soda in my mouth ends up sprayed along the floor in time with Makinami's words. I then turn to stare at the girl, and my look of disbelief must be apparent enough that she doesn't need any input on my part to guess what I'm thinking.

Who in their right mind leaves a sixteen year old on their own for such a long time?! This is months we're talking about!

"I don't think it's that big of a deal, honestly. I can look after myself, and I have been doing so for... about two years, now!" Makinami happily replies as if it was nothing. "I keep the house tidy, cook my own meals, keep myself busy and sociably active... And if I ever need help with something, the folks next door are friends of the family and always willing to lend a hand." She then produces her cell phone from a pocket, a cutting-edge model that she holds up for me to see. "I talk to Mum pretty much every day too, and she's ready to jump into the first flight bound for Tokyo if I need her to. Modern technology's amazing, isn't it?"

The confirmation that it's years and not months that we're talking about does little to ease my worries, and I'm pretty sure that many arms of the government would make quite the deal out of the situation, Makinami. On the other hand, though, and looking at how tidy and clean everything is around here, I have to give some credit to this girl's claims as well.

I mean, if there's one positive thing to say about Mari Makinami, it's that she's always been crazy capable. I know for a fact that I wouldn't last a week without Mum around.

It's very worrying to see that she's not the only one in her family that's just crazy, though.

"...That's fine and all, but she still doesn't sound like 'Mum of the Year' material to me..."

"Eh, maybe," Makinami half-admits with a shrug. "But we're both happy with this arrangement and it allows her to chase her dream, so I'd say it's pretty all right for us."

A 'dream', huh? Talk about an idyllic reason to forget about your parental responsibilities.

"And what's this dream of hers, that would drive her to child abandonment?"

Makinami responds to my deadpan and sarcasm filled tone with her usual bubbliness, jumping off her seat and throwing a punch into the air...

...and giving me yet another reason to avert my gaze in the process.

"Learn the most famous dances of every country in the world!"

...

That sounds like an incredibly silly reason to leave your offspring behind.

Then again, I don't know why I wasn't expecting something ridiculous from the very beginning. This is the mother of Mari Makinami we're talking about, you know?

"...Right. Guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree," I mutter, and Makinami twitches slightly in her pose. "So, the mother had dancing as the reason for going her way, but what about the daughter? I can't think of many people our age that would embrace all the responsibilities of looking after themselves, you know?"

"Eh, I just didn't feel like going with her. Seeing the world is nice, but I was tired of being pulled this way and that for years, and all that." Mari shrugs, sitting back down on the armchair. "I mean, sure, I'd like to visit Dad's hometown sometime in my life, but that can wait a few years. It's not like it's going to go anywhere, after all."

Her dad's hometown, huh? Somewhere in England, I think. I'm also pretty sure that the man was gone, too. And not 'gone' in the sense that Sohryu's dad is, by the way, but 'gone' in the tombstone sense of the word. Fairly young, too.

But in any case, I have to give Makinami that one. I mean, a city is a city, and those don't disappear from the map for no reason whatsoever. What is it going to do, sink underground?

...I've got the feeling I've seen that somewhere, actually, now that I think about it.

But that can wait. While I was busy pondering ways in which a city could vanish, Makinami's expression has shifted into her usual Cheshire grin. The one that promises exhaustion, embarrassment, or misery. Or a combination of the three.

I'm already feeling a different kind of sweat run down my back, in fact.

"But more important than my awesome household and managing skills, I think that you've got something to tell me about, Ota-kun~"

"Huh? I do?" I blink, not really catching on to what she means. It takes me barely a moment longer to understand, though, and I have to say: that isn't so bad. Still annoying, though. "Oh. Do I have to?"

"Of course you have to! That's my payment for setting everything up!" Crap, Makinami's getting excited. This could be bad. "So tell me all about Friday afternoon! Spill, spill and leave no details out! How was it?!"

"...I didn't ask you to set anything up, you know?" I snark back, even if I do somewhat appreciate her efforts. I still have the problem of hyper Makinami to deal with, though.

But, surprisingly quickly, an idea comes to mind that might very well accomplish that. My mind must be creating a database of effective countermeasures due to my hanging around Makinami for so long, or something.

In any case, I relax my body and try to make myself sound as bored as I possibly can.

"Eh, whatever. It was fine."

The crazy girl instantly stops in her bouncing and looks at me weirdly. It doesn't take her long to realise that I'm not being serious, but still, that took the wind out of her sails.

"Really, Ken-kun?" Makinami asks me, deadpan. "You go on a date with the ace of the volleyball team and it was 'fine'?"

Yup, I'd call that reaction pretty worth the trouble. And it calmed this crazy girl down before she started bouncing off the walls too, so that's a nice bonus.

"Okay, not just 'fine'. I had a lot of fun," I continue, more honestly. "Kirishima-san was really nice and we share a lot of interests, weirdly enough."

"Weird? Why would it be weird?" The girl before me interrupts, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Can't girls like guns and stuff?"

Okay, maybe that wasn't the best of ways to put it. It's not a big deal, though.

"Sure, they can. It's just that I wasn't expecting Kirishima-san to start comparing modern assault rifles over snacks, is all."

"Oh, okay." Makinami accepts my explanation easily, going back to her wide smile. "So... Does that mean that we have a winner?"

...

...Sort of? I mean, Kirishima-san is cute, athletic, funny and happens to have an interest in things I enjoy. What's there not to like? I know for a fact that six months ago I would have answered that question with a capital 'Yes' without missing a heartbeat.

...

But this isn't six months ago, and I'm very, very far from being able to offer a clear answer in the matter.

I'll leave it to you to figure out whose fault that is. I'm sure it won't take you any time at all.

In any case, struggling as I am to get myself out of this situation without spilling all of my embarrassing secrets (something that's not easy at all with the inquisitive look Makinami is developing at my silence), I find myself being saved from having to offer a response by the literal bell. Or a cute jingle in this case, which I'll call close enough.

"Oh! Transfer complete!" Makinami instantly relaxes and locks onto the sound like a bloodhound, before taking off towards her room with the speed befitting of such a hunter. "Be right back~!"

...

...Shit, that was close. If not for the laptop, I don't think Mari would have let up this time like she did when she asked about Yamagishi. She's getting more and more insistent about successfully pairing me up with someone as time goes on, for some reason.

I mean, I remember the offer she made me last winter, of course. But she wasn't this serious about it during the opening phases of the 'Kensuke Aida Pairing Project'.

...

...Serious for her, anyway. You know what I mean.

"Hmm..." It doesn't take the girl long to pick up her laptop and bring it back into the living room, setting it on top of the table with a contemplative look. "You were right, Ota-kun. The pictures with the blue and silver swimsuit look a lot better than the others."

I quickly latch onto the opportunity to take a swig from my soda (which is getting warmer by the second) and veer my mind away from its current train of thought.

"Told you."

"You sure did," she agrees, appraising the remaining pictures for a short while. "By the way, I went ahead and sent my senpai the pictures from the last photo shoot. He says they're all right for a newbie."

...And, for the second time today, the contents of my mouth end up resting on the living room floor of the Makinami residence, with the only inhabitant of the household looking on in amusement.

I'd say that I'm sorry for the cleaning you'll have to do, Makinami, but this is pretty much entirely your fault, so...

"What?!" I exclaim, bringing my mind back to the matter at hand. "I told you not to do that!"

"I know, but it was such a waste not to do it!" Makinami smiles unrepentantly. "And the feedback was positive, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is that I didn't want you to show those crappy pictures around! And your senpai was probably only being nice!"

"It sure shows how little you know about him if you think that he'd be nice for the sake of being nice, at least about anything concerning art and photography." Mari mercilessly shuts down my arguments, in an uncharacteristic display of half-seriousness. "And he does have a scholarship in the matter, you know? A pretty good one, at that. I'd say he does know a thing or two about the business in order to call your work 'all right'."

"That-" I stammer, having had the wind taken out of my sails this time around. "That still doesn't make it any better, you know!"

"I guess it doesn't." Makinami admits, throwing a very exaggerated bow my way. "Please forgive my selfish actions, Your Otakuness."

Annoying title aside, it's pretty obvious that Mari isn't feeling the slightest bit guilty about her actions, though (par for the course, really). Her silliness does manage to blow away what little tension remained in that conversation, however.

...Which gives me time to think about what she did, other than shamelessly betraying my trust and all that. She's clearly been preparing this for a few weeks at the least (which is when we went swimsuit shopping for the photo shoot. The memories still haunt me), and if there's one thing I've learned about Makinami during these months, it's that, despite appearances, she doesn't do things without a reason.

Having recalled that fact, I slowly narrow my eyes at the young woman that's once again sifting through the pictures. Mari's looking smug and in control, not unlike a certain 'pint-sized dictator', as Shinji sometimes takes to calling his sister.

A scary parallel, to be sure. But I force myself to push past it.

"...What's your angle here, Makinami?"

Mari pauses in her actions to smirk and throw me a sly, sideways look.

"Ooooh. Perceptive, are we?"

"I'd need to be really stupid not to notice the evidence staring right at me," I scoff in response. "I could pass the previous photo shoots as you just having fun, but when you bring your actual, talented cameraman into the picture? And against my wishes, no less? I know that there's something else going on. So, what is it?"

"Okay, then. Might as well stop beating around the bush, I guess." Makinami shrugs and lets the laptop rest for a while. I also don't fail to notice a further change in attitude, subtle and slight as it may be, towards Serious Mari. "My senpai is moving away next November."

"...What?"

That wasn't exactly what I expected. Makinami has no trouble with answering my unspoken question, though.

"I said he got a scholarship, remember? He's going to Kyoto University. And I'm happy for him, of course, but him leaving the city kinda leaves me without half of my working staff," the girl shrugs with a small grimace, but quickly recovers. "Which leads me to this:"

Makinami suddenly stands up and points a finger at me, overly dramatically.

"Join me, Kensuke Aida! And together we shall rule this business!"

...

It takes me a few seconds to fully grasp what the words that Makinami has (very loudly) spoken entail. I immediately feel my face go white in dread.

"W-What?! The hell are you saying?!" I protest, crossing my arms before me. "No! No way! There's no way I could do something like that!"

And to those who claim that I'm exaggerating, and that I've done something similar to this in the past, I say that there's a world of difference between taking pictures for a covert business and doing the same for an Internet-based cosplay circle. And a pretty large and successful one, at that, if Makinami's past claims are to be believed.

There's simply no way an amateur like me wouldn't be laughed at in such a league.

"Oh, come on!" Makinami will have none of it, though. "Stop putting yourself down, Ota-kun, you're not bad at all. Like I said, senpai kiiinda praised your skills! And since that's not something that comes easily for him..." The girl meaningfully trails off, before shrugging nonchalantly and changing tactics. "Besides, the relationship between a model and a cameraman requires trust for it to produce good results. Sure, I could just start from scratch with one of the other candidates I have in mind until we build a working rapport, but that would take valuable time and make me waste most of the winter season. Why do so when I have a diamond in the rough I already trust right here with me?"

...A diamond in the rough? Me? That's one overblown claim if I ever heard one. But I'm honestly far more surprised about the other thing that Mari mentioned:

"Y-You trust me to actually do that for you?"

Makinami actually laughs at this, as if she'd just heard a good joke. She then looks at me as if what I just said was something obvious.

"Of course I trust you! With the way you've reacted to the many embarrassing situations I've put you through, I have more than enough proof to say that you're a decent guy!" Makinami then grows a teasing smile, narrowing her eyes knowingly. "Fairly professional in the job, too, although that could probably use some more work still."

...

...So she caught me staring. Well, that's embarrassing; it's not like any female-oriented male my age wouldn't have done the same, though. Some of that stuff didn't exactly leave much to the imagination.

However, Mari's constant needling for more photo shoots also makes some more sense in context, now that she's making it sound like it was some sort of test of my integrity as a photographer.

...

Actually, it really doesn't. Chances are she just meant to mess with me from the very start and then repurposed the meaning of those sessions to fit her needs. There's very little chance Makinami knew about her senpai moving out that far in advance, after all.

It's still a little bit flattering to be considered a 'decent' guy, though.

"Thanks, I guess."

"Just saying it like it is, Ota-kun!" Makinami happily replies, before beaming so hard that it makes me wish I'd brought my sunglasses. "So! What will it be? Are we in this together, Ken-kun?"

Mari punctuates her question by extending her hand forward, inviting me to shake it and accept the agreement. I, for my part, just stare at the extended appendage as if it had six fingers, a myriad thoughts running through my mind at light-speed and above.

Makinami's proposal has just messed up my plans of procrastinating on my issues with her, after all.

I mean, the fact that, despite all of her quirks and annoyances, I'm undoubtedly attracted to Mari Makinami would be just a bit of a problem if I were to enter this partnership. Especially if the ratio of revealing to conservative costumes got even more skewed, now that it would be something of an official working relationship. I don't think my psyche could take something like that for long before inevitably breaking down.

On the other hand, I have honestly enjoyed myself during our photo shoot sessions, and not just because it's Makinami that I'm taking pictures of. It's no secret that I sort of like photography, after all, and I had been considering options that had to do with my camera for my life during the coming years.

I mean, it's as good as any other option for my future, and I just happen to be pretty decent at it, apparently. The idea of having a possible answer to the question of 'What to do with my future?' that plagues many a teenager's minds is really, really tempting.

...

Shit. What to do...? What to do...?

...

...

You know what, screw it! Nothing good will come out of letting these doubts fester any longer, especially if I find myself working even closer with Makinami, as I know I'll end up if I stay quiet about this. That's the way things have always turned out in the past, after all.

I mean, best case scenario, I can get a ton of awkwardness out of the way and worst case scenario...

Well, I can just get this whole thing out of my head and give Kirishima-san the fair chance that she deserves.

Okay, here we go! Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I do my best to channel the sensation that invaded me when I faced down Gendo Ikari, and I spring up from my seat, resolute and willing to face any sort of challenge thrown my way.

"Makinami, there's something I have to tell-"

But my words die in my mouth, just like that. With a hard to place expression that I've never seen on her face before, Mari has closed her eyes and raised her palm towards me, instantly silencing me and all of my determination with barely any effort.

"...Let me stop you right there, Ken-kun."

-O-O-O-O-O-

My name is Mari Makinami, and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that I saw this situation coming.

Actually, maybe I'm giving myself a bit too much credit, since I would have taken measures before had I known it for certain, but I'll say that it was very much in the range of expected possibilities.

Guess I should have put some more weight to it, though. What's with me and messing up most of my predictions as far as this guy is concerned, seriously?

But I should probably say something now. I sort of left Kensuke hanging, and I don't think he'll be able to bear the suspense for much longer.

...

This is probably not going to be fun, but nevertheless...

"I guess I went a bit too far with the teasing, huh?" I joke, trying a long shot at lightening the mood. It fails miserably, obviously. "Admittedly, I was a bit worried about the tests I put you through, Ken-kun."

Kensuke's face contorts into a slight grimace, his mind no doubt working in overdrive and not liking the conclusions it's reaching.

I mean, he's not stupid. I know he can read between the lines, but still... that doesn't lessen any of my responsibility for my careless actions.

Might as well be upfront and clear about this, then; I draw a big breath and speak what I must say as plainly as I possibly can.

"I'm sorry, Ken-kun, but I'm going to have to decline."

Kensuke holds my stare for a long moment, before sighing and hanging his head lower, disappointment written all over it. And it pains me to see him like this, but it's honestly for the best.

That, however, doesn't mean I can't try to make the pill as easy to swallow as possible. For his sake as much as mine.

"It's not because of anything on your part, though," I speak, aiming to sound straightforward. "It's more of a personal-"

"Really, Makinami?" Aida interrupts me, his foul mood brand of sarcasm tingeing his words. "'It's not you, it's me?' You don't have to sugar-coat things, you know?"

"And you should stop it with the cynicism, Ken-kun. You always fall back on that when things don't go your way, and it gets bothersome after a while." I shoot back, foregoing my sincerity for the annoyed tone I very seldom use. It has the expected effect of jolting Kensuke back to a more agreeable attitude. "Besides, it's rude to interrupt a lady before she's done speaking, you know?"

Struck silent and now clearly interested in my words (I've gotten very good at having that effect on people when I want to), Kensuke goes back to looking at me and waiting for my next move. I comply, carefully choosing what I'm going to say next.

"Honestly, I've grown fond of you over time too, Kensuke." I truthfully admit, looking the sandy-haired boy in the eye so that he'll be able to tell that I'm not making up a half-baked lie for his benefit. "You're an honest guy, maybe too honest sometimes, and I don't think I need to remind you about what I thought of your hospitalized little girl episode six months ago." Aida's face goes into a mix of embarrassment and pride at the memory before I continue. "You're driven when you put your mind to something, and you're a good friend, to boot. Plus, you're fun to hang with when you're not having a bad day and..."

I stop myself when I notice that I've clearly lost Ken-kun somewhere along the way of my explanation.

Well, I guess that got just a bit wordy, and my usual pace of speech probably doesn't help matters. Better summarize:

"Bottom line is, I could easily see myself spending more enjoyable time with someone like you."

"Then..." Kensuke blinks, failing to join up my summary with my earlier response. "W-What's the problem?"

"Well, apart from the very likely awkwardness in case of a possible failure, my main reason is that..." I trail off, thinking of how best to put my feelings on the matter. "It just wouldn't be fair to you, Ken-kun."

"...Not 'fair'? To me?" Aida echoes, furrowing his brow as he digests my words. He quickly shakes his head, though. "I don't follow."

No wonder he doesn't. It's due to something that hasn't come up before, after all.

"I guess a way of putting it would be saying that I'm not interested in a serious relationship, Kensuke." I elaborate, reclining back in my armchair. "Unlike the Princess and maybe Hikari-chan, I don't have wild dreams of True Eternal Love, a big house with a garden and a dog, a bunch of cute kids and all that jazz. All of that's perfectly fine, mind you, but it's not really something I can see myself doing for my future."

"No serious relationships..." the sandy-haired boy wonders aloud, thinking back to something. "Then all of that stuff at-"

But then he cuts himself short with a sharp intake, remembering who's sitting across from him. It's an unnecessary gesture, of course, but Kensuke Aida always tries to be as mindful of others as he can.

"Right back at you, Ken-kun. You don't need to sugar-coat or hide things." I reassure my friend with a smile. "I'm well aware of my reputation at school, even if most of it is overblown to stupid proportions in order to fuel the rumour mill." I can't help but roll my eyes at some of the stuff I've heard in the past. The imagination of teenagers playing the social ladder game really knows no bounds, I'll have you know. "It's true to an extent, though: I do go out of my way to meet new people, but I don't really care if they're guys or gals, young or old. The mere act of greeting someone new and getting to know what makes them tick is enough to bring a smile to my face. And sometimes, you know, fleeting stuff might happen if someone catches my interest..." I shake my head, redirecting my thoughts to the first different topic that pops up because continuing that way is not going to help matters right now. "But essentially, I guess that it all ties back to my own dream, really."

"...A dream?" Aida thankfully latches on to what I last said, his interest piqued. "You have one too?"

"Sure! I mean, dreams are something that everyone has, right?"

And dreams are something that I didn't expect to be discussing again after we were done with Mum, to be honest.

It's not too bad, though. I can use this to give more context to my motivations without going into dangerous territory because...

"I guess..." Kensuke warily agrees, before falling victim to his curiosity a mere second later (as expected). "I'm actually a bit scared to ask, but what is this dream, exactly?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked!" I bounce off the armchair, grinning widely and making Kensuke jump a little himself. "And it's simple, really: There are more than seven billion people in the world. And I'd like to meet them all."

...

Kensuke blinks quietly: once, twice, three times. He then opens his mouth slowly, only to clamp it shut again soon after. And then he blinks once more for good measure.

...I think I might have broken him a bit, and probably with good reason, for a change. I mean, even I have to say that my dream is a bit on the lofty side of things, all things considered.

"Yeah, I know. Seven billion is a bit of an unrealistic number." I admit as much with a shrug. "But if I don't manage to get that high, I'd honestly be happy with just one billion, or ten million. Even a single million would be pretty nice."

"O-Okay, that's nice. Crazy, but nice." Further explanation does manage to bring my friend back from his system crash, in a quick and fairly efficient recovery. Kensuke then frowns a bit, thinking about things, before questioning me again. "But I still don't understand. What does that dream of yours have to do with this?"

That's surprising, I didn't think it would be that hard to figure out from here. Maybe my personal viewpoint makes me think it easier to understand than it really is?

Oh well, I guess some more elaboration is in order:

"Well... It has to do in that tying myself to someone, anyone, would invariably limit my freedom of movement and my ability to interact with others."

"...What? Why?" Aida asks, not really catching on to my meaning. He quickly manages to put two and two together, though. "I'd never do that!"

"Don't make promises that you don't know if you'll be able to keep, Ken-kun. Just a bit of a friendly tip for the future." I warn him with a smile. That's some advice you can always trust to be relevant, after all. "But nevertheless, it's not you or any partner specifically that I'm talking about, but rather society as a whole: I mean, if you have a significant other, you are kinda expected to gravitate more towards them than most others in your interactions, and doubly so if you're female. Interacting with as many people as I plan on doing, and in the honest and completely open way that I plan on doing it, while having an official partner..." I shrug, noticing with some relief that Kensuke seems to be understanding where I'm coming from. "It would no doubt be frowned upon by a lot of people. And while I honestly don't care, I also see no need at all to deal with the hassle for the time being. I don't want to have anyone else deal with that sort of... mark by association, either."

The sandy-haired boy before me makes to argue against some of my points (quite probably the very last one, if I had to guess), but I stop him before he has a real chance to do so. I'm not done quite yet, after all.

"But leaving my reasoning aside for a moment, let me ask you something, Kensuke: if you want to push forward with this, I'm seriously going to go back on what I said before and not stop you anymore. But could you deal with something like what I described? Something that could very well be on one day and off the next?" I cross my arms before me, both to curtail my own slight nervousness as much as possible and to make sure that Kensuke fully understands the seriousness of my question before I continue. "I personally don't think you could, Ken-kun. I mean, you'd be free to do exactly the same thing, of course, but I don't believe it goes with your nature; like I said before, you're an honest guy. And while I don't have any actual evidence to draw conclusions from, I'd bet an arm that you're the type to be devoted to a single person at a time, too."

"And what... What makes you think that?" Kensuke finally manages to utter a protest to my last statement, even if he's pretty obviously overwhelmed by what I'm telling him. "Hell, I don't know myself, so how could you?"

Unfortunately for him, though, that's an easy one.

"You could call it female intuition, but not really. I mean, it's sort of obvious when you get down to it. Would you be having so many doubts regarding Mana-chan if you weren't, for example?" Kensuke's wince is almost instant, an answer that further convinces me of being pretty much on the money. Seeing that, I decide to twist the knot a little further. "By the way, my internal network reports that she likes you. Just sayin'."

"Way to go about making this easier..."

Aida's moroseness and uncertainty is so bad that it's almost palpable. And I feel bad for him and what I'm doing, but the importance of the situation doesn't call for being merciful at the moment.

"I'm just presenting the facts as they are. Informed decisions are important, after all."

Kensuke smiles grimly at my words, and goes silent for quite a bit of time. His eyes are closed in deep thought, and I respect his needs by taking the moment to be a little bit introspective, myself. I'd be lying if I said that this whole thing didn't get me thinking about my priorities as well, after all.

...

Just a bit, though. Because I'm very much set on my course of action, but beneficial changes and improvements are something that I'm always looking to have in everything that I do.

After a few minutes of heavy consideration, Kensuke throws his head back with a heavy groan and hits the back of the couch, his contemplation having clearly brought him a big, fat zero in terms of answers.

"So..." He speaks, turning his eyes towards me and sounding almost completely drained. "No chance at all? Of a normal thing, I mean."

...Dammit, Kensuke. I very much doubt they're intentional by this point, but the puppy dog eyes are hitting it pretty deep. Besides, I'm the one that's supposed to do those, you know? Pulling out that kind of card, even if unconsciously, is just plain cheating.

"...Well, I don't want to give out false hope or anything, but I wouldn't go as far as to say 'no chance'," I admit, throwing Kensuke a bone and going back on my merciless attitude in record time. Go, me. "Genuinely speaking, and if I were to someday rethink my life choices and decide that a sedentary love-style might be in order... You'd make the Top Five for candidates on that front, Kensuke."

"R-Really?"

Wow, Kensuke. Watching you look so surprised at that sort of compliment would be really funny if it wasn't kinda sad at the same time.

Seriously, why do some people need so much effort to look at all the good in themselves? Kensuke, Asuka,... even Shinji, sometimes! At this rate, I'm going to start thinking that I'm the weird one for always trying to stay positive!

"Really, I'm not just being nice. You've got plenty of good qualities for an eligible bachelor in the future, after all, you just have to believe in yourself a little bit more. Maybe hit the gym from time to time and get yourself a bit more fit, while you're at it. That never hurts." I smirk at him, trying to bring up the mood from the dumps in any possible way, shape, or form. "I thought the results of our little Project would have given you a bit more confidence in yourself by now, honestly."

Kensuke's half-smile proves that my efforts are that much of a success, at least.

"...I don't know about confidence. But I sure did learn that girls are a scary bunch."

"Come on, Ken-kun! Even if you're not into them, Yamagishi-san's books aren't so bad!"

"...It wasn't Yamagishi that I was talking about."

"I know, I know, I can easily tell when someone's praising me, you know?" I deflect Aida's deadpan stare with my usual joy, more than satisfied with my verbal manoeuvring. I decide to take the chance to further hammer my point a little bit more, however. "Although, honestly, we're not that different, Yamagishi and I. I mean, no offense to her, but take out all the exaggerated mannerisms and my weird hobbies, and I'm just another run-of-the-mill boring glasses girl, really."

A feeling of déjà vu suddenly overcomes me when Aida reacts to my words: he looks at me in shock and blinks repeatedly, with the added effect of opening and closing his mouth once or twice for good measure this time around. This goes on for a few moments, and I'm honestly starting to fear that I might have broken him for real this time when Kensuke manages to assuage my worries.

...By literally laughing his ass off. Loudly, and with no signs of stopping any time soon.

"Uh, hellooo!" I wave my fingers in front of Kensuke's face after I manage to get over my own surprise, trying to get him back in control. "Ota-kun? You there?"

"Boring?" Aida eventually lets out, in between disbelieving giggles. "The girl that mobilized half the city to make sure a simple date went well calls herself boring? Damn, that's rich." Kensuke eventually manages to finally calm his giggling enough to talk normally, even if mirth can still be seen dancing in his eyes. "You could never be boring, Mari. Hell, you've brought a life to my usual dull day to day with your antics, and that's pretty much the entire reason I might have fallen for you. I know I wouldn't have it any other way."

...

...

I... Well. That backfired horribly.

Although it still makes me happy, in a way, so it's not all bad. An uplifting backfire?

Sure, let's roll with that.

"That's..." I can feel a smile popping up on my face, and I don't attempt to fight it. "That's really sweet, Kensuke. Thank you."

"...That's just how it is." Aida attempts to play it cool by shrugging nonchalantly, but his cheeks are burning a fairly noticeable crimson. I make no mention of it, however, and the sandy-haired boy soon tries to further divert attention by checking his watch. "I really should get going now, though. It's... starting to get late."

"Yeah... late." I agree with Kensuke's choice of tactics (and kinda lamely, I'll admit), and I rise up from the armchair to start heading towards the entrance, prompting my companion to follow. "I... need to call Mum before it gets much later, too."

Soon enough we're at the door, in a position that we've been in quite a few times before. Unlike previously, however, we're not talking or joking around at the end of a day's hard work but, rather, we're silently contemplating the events of the day. The last hour or so, specifically.

Or at least, I know I am. I'm furiously racking my brains for the one line that will help me push my objective forward, but I'm having very little luck with it.

Which is why I'm harshly jolted back to reality when Kensuke beats me to the verbal punch.

"I'm going to think long and hard about it."

I blink at him, being the one that's at a loss this time around.

"About what?"

"Your work offer, everything that you said, what I want and am willing to do in all of this... that sort of thing." Aida explains, his voice filled with an earnestness and determination that I haven't seen him use many times before. Or ever, really; he then takes a deep breath and looks at me square in the eye, and I can't help but feel a bit of trepidation well within me. "And because interrupting gentlemen is as rude as interrupting ladies and you didn't give me the chance before, I'd like to try again. Even if what I'm going to say is obvious: Mari Makinami, I like you; I really, really, like you. And I would love nothing more than going out with you, someday. Will you hold on to my request until I'm done sorting out my thoughts?"

"I-" A smile returns to my face again, although a fair bit more cautious than before. I mean, I'm really flattered and all, but this is not how I'd planned things to go at all. No choice but to go with the flow at this point, though. "Of course. You'll always have a spot open, Ken-kun, so take as much time as you need to. But what about Mana-chan?"

"...I need to think long and hard about her, too." Kensuke moans, bringing a hand to his head with a deep and weary sigh. "Man, this is going to be one fun summer..."

I agree, that sounds like a fun prospect for you, Ken-kun.

Which means that I should probably say something encouraging to him right about now, but what would that 'something' be, really? I need to measure my words very well, after all, because anything I say could prove instrumental in weighing Kensuke towards one of his two currently available options, and I don't want to encourage him to pick the former.

...

Or do I, really?

Well, it's obvious that I do. But I've gone over why that's not such a good idea before.

That knowledge is not stopping a sizable part of me from firmly voicing their protest against the status quo, though.

But, in any case, it's while I'm in the middle of debating my next words that Kensuke surprises me once more, unwittingly solving my conundrum: he suddenly steps forward and plants a soft kiss on my lips, pretty much a reversal of the situation six months ago.

Unlike him that time, though, I don't break down into an embarrassed, spluttering mess, so Ken-kun's not going to get the satisfaction if that was his objective.

Still, that's not what's important.

"What was that for?"

I mean, it wasn't unpleasant or intrusive, just... unexpected. I didn't think Aida could be so forward.

Yet another failed prediction, go figure.

"My payment, I figured I was owed something by now," he shrugs, suddenly finding the floor very interesting. "Second tour of duty and all that."

"You spat your payment all over my floor, mister," I reply, cheerfully grabbing onto the chance to divert my attention and not think about things. "And I'd watch myself if I were you, bending the rules like that could land you a court martial~!"

"I think that'd be worth it." Kensuke replies suavely, raising his eyes once again and catching me flat-footed. "Besides, it's been a long time since any punishment with you at the centre sounded bad to me."

...Aaand I'm back to the butterflies. Dammit, Kensuke, what's gotten into you today? Have you been taking smooth-talking lessons from Sparkles, or something?

My cheeks are feeling awfully warm too, for some reason...

...

...Oh, come on. Are you seriously blushing, Makinami?

I am. I totally am. And I'm feeling as flustered about the whole thing as the archetypical young girl that's receiving her first confession, too.

It's been a long time since I last felt like that, let me tell you. I'm the one that usually causes the flustering, not the other way around! And that's how it should be!

This is so mortifying! Damn you, Kensuke!

...

Thankfully, not much else happens after that. A few final and far less serious comments here and there (not at all aimed at not addressing the big, pink elephant in the room), and there must have been some goodbyes before Kensuke and I parted for the day, but I honestly don't remember all that clearly. It's a bit of a blur, surprisingly enough, even if it just happened.

And it's probably a good thing that it is, too, because my mind was so not into whatever scraps of conversation that were left. I probably said quite a few stupid things, I bet, and the mercy of being able to close the door behind me and finally calm my beating heart is more than a bit welcome.

...And I'm pretty sure that my neighbours must have clearly heard the sigh that follows.

...

Okay, let's be real here, Makinami: scratch Top Five. Someone I know might have just made it into the Podium, and not the bottom part of it. And now that not-so-little part of me is very much yelling at me and demanding that I get creative and come up with a third way that will both achieve my dream and keep everyone involved happy.

...And I'd be lying if I said that taking on such a tough challenge didn't sound more than a bit tempting. I am the Queen of Improvisation and Deep Planning, after all... on anything not pertaining to one Kensuke Aida, anyway.

It's been a long time since my skills have been tested, too...

...

But that's definitely not for today, such matters of the heart are a worry for Future Mari to handle. For now, I should probably call Mum and ask her how that dance with the swords is coming along.

...

...After I cool my face, of course.