WARNING: THE FOLLOWING STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING OF 13 SENTINELS: AEGIS RIM. IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED IT YET AND YOU ARE INTERESTED, TURN BACK NOW.

"So, how far has everybody gone?"

The question came while they were in the bath. It was a month since they'd woken up from their years-long dream and set foot in reality. Since then, they spent most of their time taking stock of provisions, exploring the new world and building the foundation for the rest of their lives. Dr. Morimura - the real one, of course - left detailed instructions for getting started, but there were still things they had to improvise. They were ultimately children, and they spent their entire lives with their own versions of modern conveniences. No matter what preparation was done, there was no way they could make that adjustment smoothly.

It was rough at first - dealing with the turbulent weather of a newly-terraformed atmosphere, finding a place to sleep that would be relatively unaffected by the terrain, the fear of alien wildlife lurking around the corner despite knowing such a thing was impossible - but compared to what they went through, it was nothing. After several weeks of sending out search parties to look for anything that might be useful, one such party came across a basin of warm water; likely a remnant of the intense heat that scorched the earth during the terraforming process. One quick testing (consisting of a few overjoyed party members jumping in at first sight) and a longer negotiation later, separate bathing times for men and women were set.

It was the males' turn, and for the sake of efficiency, the men were all bathing together. The women were doing laundry, preparing food or restlessly pacing around, and there were a few inconspicuous faces itching to take advantage of their newfound privacy for some quality "guy talk".

The one who posed the big question was Ogata, the least conspicuous of them all. Immediately some blushed and looked away, while others tilted their heads quizzically.

"What do you mean? In the valley to the north?" asked Miura.

"Come on, dude. You know what I mean. With the girls."

"The gi-?!" Hijiyama was the first to react. "Ogata, you brute! You should know that such private matters should not be discussed publicly!"

"Oh, zip it. We've all been dying to talk about it, right? No way can anybody keep it inside after experiencing something like THAT for the first time."

"E-Even so…" Kurabe stuttered awkwardly. "If we talked about…that stuff while the girls weren't here, it would kind of be a violation of their privacy too, wouldn't it? How would you feel if Kisaragi-san talked about your most private moments while you weren't around, Ogata-san?"

"You mean Kisaragi talking about us doin' it to the other girls in the bath?" Ogata leaned back to try and imagine it. After a brief moment of silence, he replied "Damn, that's kinda hot."

"Figures." Sekigahara shook his head. "Kurabe-kun, Hijiyama-kun, it's no use trying to appeal to this fool's sense of manners. You should know that by now."

"Yeah, c'mon, Ogata-kun." Amiguchi rubbed his nose, a huge smirk on his lips. "It's not polite to kiss and tell, you know?"

"Don't lie to me, you ass. I can tell by the look on your face that you want to spill the beans more than anyone else here."

"…That obvious, huh?" Amiguchi's smirk turned into a big, goofy grin, the kind that would've snatched the heart of any woman who saw it.

"B-Be that as it may, it's simply improper to share such inappropriate details, especially in this situation! It's for the purpose of rebuilding humanity, you know?!" Hijiyama shouted.

"Ah, that's right, Hijiyama." Ogata turned to address him, as if he just realized he was there. "I guess you and Tamao-san haven't even started dating yet, huh?"

"Wha-" Hijiyama looked at Ogata as if he suddenly grew an alien from his chest.

"Now that you mention it, he's right." Okino, who was silent until now, perked up and formed a cat-like smile as soon as the conversation turned to Hijiyama. "Hijiyama-kun, me and you are the only single ones here, aren't we?"

"Y-You fiend! You of all people should know that's not-"

"Wait, come to think of it, there's one more, isn't there?" Amiguchi turned to Gouto, who had his eyes closed and his body submerged beneath the water. "Gouto-kun, you and Shinonome-san aren't official yet, are you?"

"I don't believe I am obligated to answer that." He replied bluntly, not moving from his original position.

"Hah, never mind! That definitely means yes." Amiguchi smiled mischievously. "Otherwise, you would've just denied it outright, wouldn't you?"

The faintest hint of red came to Gouto's cheeks as he turned away. "…Hmph. Make of it what you will."

"See, Hijiyama-kun?" Amiguchi turned to Hijiyama with a bemused shrug. "Even Gouto-kun can't keep it in."

"Y-You, I'm telling you, that's not-"

"Hijiyama-san…" Miura spoke up, with a downcast expression that begged for a hat to pull over his eyes. "I think we should give in on this one."

"Miura-kun?!" Hijiyama reeled back, as though he was personally betrayed by Miura's words. "Don't tell me that you of all people have bought into this debauchery!"

"No, that's not it." Miura shook his head. "The thing is, Hijiyama-san, if this were 1945, and it was just the two of us in this same situation…we wouldn't hesitate to talk about it, would we?"

"T-That's…" Hijiyama stumbled over his words. The more he thought about it, the more he realized Miura was right. Sheepishly, he sat back down.

"Don't worry, Hijiyama-kun." Okino patted him on the back, giggling. "I'm sure that, one day, one of their daughters will grow old enough to be acceptable for you."

"Y-You! You already know that you're-"

"U-Um…" Kurabe meekly raised his hand. "If we've all agreed to this, then should I start?"

"Oh, Kurabe?" Ogata looked surprised. "I never would've thought you'd volunteer to go first."

"I wouldn't, normally…" Kurabe looked at the water, blushing heavily. "But it's just that…when I think that the girls will have this same conversation, Megumi would definitely go first without hesitation…"

"Ah, yeah, that seems right." Ogata nodded. "It'd be like, her way of showing off or something. A way of saying 'I've got the best boyfriend in the world, don't I?' and 'Keep your hands off my property!' at the same time, huh?"

"S-Something like that."

"Hey now, you can fool all these guys, but you can't fool me, Kurabe-kun." Amiguchi nudged him with his elbow. "You're thinking the same things, aren't ya?"

"…S-Something like that." Kurabe looked like a small animal retreating into itself after being faced with a large predator.

"Hah! Well, if you're so sure of yourself, why don't you spit it out, hot stuff?"

"Um, okay…this happened a few weeks ago…"

"So, how far have you all gone with your boys?"

A few hours later, it was the girls' bathing time. The guys headed back and were either getting ready for bed or completely knocked out. Naturally, as soon as they got into the water, one of them immediately brought up the same subject.

"T-Tomi-chan…" Fuyusaka sighed wearily. "Normally, you don't bring that up out of nowhere, you know?"

"It's fine, it's fine! We're all dying to hear about it, right?"

"B-Be that as it may," said Minami, tripping over her words. "It's a private thing for the guys too, isn't it? I'd feel bad talking about that stuff without their permission."

"Oh, come on!" Kisaragi said, pouting. "Why should we have to worry about that?"

"Think about it, Kisaragi-san." said Kurabe gently. "If it was the men in this situation and Ogata told them all about your private moments, how would you react?"

"Are you kidding me? I'd kick his ass."

"See?!" Fuyusaka shot back. "You shouldn't just shout about that kind of thing casually!"

"I'm telling you, don't worry about it." Kisaragi said with a grin. "I'm sure he already told them all about it. I'll just drag it out of him first thing tomorrow and all will be forgiven."

"Tomi-chan…" Fuyusaka hesitantly turned to Takamiya. "You agree with me, don't you?"

"Huh?! Me?!" Takamiya jumped, as if she got caught trying to sneak out of the conversation. "Uh…to tell you the truth, I didn't think I've ever get a boyfriend in the first place, let alone be in this kinda girly situation, so I don't really know what to do…"

"Wow, really?" Tomi seemed surprised for some reason. "I would've thought that you and that gang of yours would go around picking up hot guys left and right."

"As if! What kinda floozy gang do you think we were?!"

"If I may," interjected Yakushiji. "Shinonome-san and Kurabe-san aren't with anybody at the moment, right? I'd feel a bit bad having this conversation without them."

"Oh, me?" Shinonome was roused from a drowsy state at the mention of her name. "You don't need to worry about that. Renya-san and I have already done it."

"Whoa! Seriously?!" Minami let out a scandalized gasp. "I didn't even notice!"

"I would hope not. We were planning to keep it a secret until there was an appropriate time to bring it up, but I suppose now is as good a time as any." Even though everyone was gaping at her, she spoke as though she was discussing what she had for breakfast.

"Wow…" Fuyusaka said in an amazed voice, then turned to look at Tamao. "What about you, Tamao-san? Have Hijiyama-kun or Okino-kun made a move on you yet?" She was adamant about her opposition a minute ago, but as soon as Shinonome made her admission she got caught up in the mood with everyone else.

"My, my." Kurabe brought her hand to her mouth and giggled softly. "You'll just have to wait to hear about it, won't you?"

"Heh, I'm super jealous of Kurabe-san, you know?" Tomi said with a devilish grin. "We've already gotten stuck with our men, but you get to have both a strong handsome type and a soft small type at the same time, don'tcha?"

"What?!" Kurabe suddenly stiffened up, flustered. "How do you know about that?! Were you watching us?!"

"H-Huh?" Kisaragi pulled back. "No, I was just joking…"

"Oh…" Kurabe sunk and stared nervously at her reflection in the water.

"Wait…Kurabe-san, don't tell me…" Minami said, mystified. "With the both of them, you really…?"

"I-It's nothing!" Kurabe waved her arms around like a fish flopping on dry land. "I'll tell you about it later!"

"Argh, that does it!" Tomi smacked the water, sending droplets to everyone in the vicinity. "Both of you - no, all of you, gimme the scoop, right now!"

"Um…even if you say that, it's still a little…" Fuyusaka darted her eyes, praying someone else would go first.

"Heh. If you all don't mind, shall I start?" In contrast to the others, who were at varying levels of embarrassment, Yakushiji didn't hesitate to volunteer.

"Megumi, huh?" Tomi said with a grin. "I kinda figured. You were ready to pounce on him the second you two were alone, weren't ya?"

"My, was it that obvious?" Yakushiji said with a chuckle. "I must thank you for that, Tomi-chan. Thanks to you telling us to split up during our patrol, I finally got the opportunity I was waiting for."

"Hey, don't mention it. I was just helping out a fellow maiden, after all." Tomi replied with a wide grin, happy that her gesture was recognized for what it was.

"Wait, so when the three of you went on patrol a few weeks ago and Megumi-san and Kurabe-kun came back late, that was…" Minami stared at Yakushiji, blushing.

"Goddamn…" Takamiya did the same. "You know, before all this, I thought I was the most hardcore chick around, but now I'm finding out that I don't hold a candle to any of you when it comes to this stuff…"

"Oh? But this much should be natural for us girls, you know?" Yakushiji seemed especially pleased with herself as she launched into a small lecture. "For those boys especially. Even though all you hear about is how all men are beasts, when it comes to the virtuous ones, they're way too considerate to make the first move. But as soon as you get aggressive to break down their reluctance, the inner lust they'd been holding back bursts forth like a dam and you get the privilege of soaking it all up at once…"

"W-Wow…so I have to be more aggressive…" Fuyusaka nodded while beet red, as though she was mentally taking notes.

"Hey, you! Enough with the passive-aggressive showing off!" Kisaragi jabbed Yakushiji's shoulder with her finger. "If you're done with the bragging, get to the juicy stuff already! We want the deets!"

"Haha, be patient, I was getting there. Now then, as Kisaragi-san said, this happened while we were on patrol a few weeks ago…"