Natsuki ran.

Her legs burned. Her breath was heavy. She had the vague suspicion that her lungs could give out at any minute. Every breath was sharp, and every step was painful. She didn't care; running was her only option.

There was very little light available to her, but there was enough for her to notice that she was about to slam head-first into a sturdy oak tree. With swiftness that surprised even herself, she adjusted her feet so that she dodged to the left, all without losing even a fraction of her speed.

The forest she found herself running through seemed to be getting thicker. Despite her painful pants, a sigh of relief escaped her. Thickness in this situation just might do her so good.

"Natsuki!" a deep, guttural voice cried from some uncertain distance behind her. "Where are youuuuu?"

An unknowning individual might've considered the tone to be one of concern. Natsuki, however, was not far from convinced. Instinctively, however, she threw her head back. She caught a beam of light waving around in what appeared to be uncertain frenzy. Even the sight of the light made her heart skip a beat. She summoned the will to run faster, and she barely managed.

"Natsuki!" the voice called again. She gasped; it was noticeably louder than it was before. He was getting closer. Despite her speed, despite her will, there was a very real chance that she would be caught. Dreadfully, she came to the conclusion that running would not be enough. She hung to the right at the next tree, swinging herself around. Then, she dove, managing to crawl behind a set of bushes. She felt the stabbing pain of a few thorns poking in her back, but the utter fear that dwelled within her prevented even the slightest movement.

At that moment, she felt something wrap around her body. She jolted, swinging her head so that she came face-to-face with MC. Despite the horror that completely overwhelmed her, she found his expression calm and calming. Despite the terrible circumstances, she suddenly felt safer, more confident, and even a little bit happy.

"MC!" she whispered shrilly, yet elatedly. "What are you doing here? Where did you come from!?"

He raised his index finger to his nose, and mouth a 'shhhh'. Then, glancing over the bushes, he nodded. He held her close, so close that she wouldn't have been able to move at all without putting up a decent struggle. Not that she wanted to. Instead, she forced herself to put some degree of faith in him. There was little else she could afford to do.

At last, as tense moments followed one after the other, MC's grip on her slackened somewhat. "OK," he whispered gently. "I think he's gone."

Now it was Natsuki's turn to cling tightly onto him. She rocked herself in his arms. Despite his assurance, which she wholeheartedly trusted, she found that her fears were not abated. If anything, they were now accompanied by an even deeper sense of sorrow. She could feel the tears welling up in her, and though she scolded herself for being weak, she did not fight them. She cried silently, rocking in his arms.

"Don't let him take me away," she begged. "Please! Don't let him take me away!"

"Natsuki, shhhh," he replied sweetly, whispering in her ear. "It's alright. I'm here now. I won't let him."

"What does he want from me?" she asked. The question was half-earnest, half-rhetorical.

"Natsuki, I. . ."

He couldn't answer. Strangely, Natsuki found that it was quite alright. As long as she was safe, she didn't care.

Seconds felt like hours in the darkness of the bush. At last, when the coast seemed clear, MC poked his head out. Natsuki tried to do the same, but her tears blurred her vision to the point where looking was useless. She felt a tug on her arm.

"It's safe. We need to go," MC commanded.

"O-OK," was all Natsuki could say as he pulled her to her feet. Once she was up on her feet, she glanced up at MC, expecting to see his sweet, assuring smile. Instead, her eyes bulged, and her vision froze.

Attached to MC's body was the head of her father, and to say he was mad would be an incomparable understatement.

"Where the hell have you been, young lady?" he scolded. "I've been looking all over for you!"

Natsuki stepped back. "N-n-no. P-papa, don't!"

But the sheer panic overtook her. As much as she wanted to sprint away, her legs failed her. All she could do was stare into that hellish look in his eyes. She knew that look all too well, and she hated it more than anything else in the world.

"Papa!" she cried, now more forceful as the shock began to wear off. "Leave me alone!"

She turned and clung onto the nearest tree.

"MC!" she cried. "MC, help me!"

Her father grabbed onto her and yanked her with all of his might. By some miracle, Natsuki maintained her grip on the tree. "I knew it! That boy has been nothing but trouble! He's a bad influence on you, Natsuki, encouraging your stupid delusions! I oughta-"

"MC!" Natsuki begged. "HELP!"

The second tug tore her away from the tree. Holding her by the hair, her father tugged her effortlessly away. Out of options, Natsuki shrieked like a banshee, gnashing and thrashing and altogether failing to escape. She bawled unashamedly, shouting wordlessly for some sort of miracle, until-

She felt herself being shaken. She threw herself up with a sudden jolt, wincing as her head collided with someone else's. She groaned, then opened her eyes to find that she wasn't in a forest anymore. In front of her was MC, groaning as he rubbed the part of his head that she had collided into. It took a moment for her to realize what had happened, but once she connected the dots, she was overwhelmed with the most intense sensation of relief she had experienced in weeks.

It was all a dream, a terrible dream, but a dream. She was in bed with the love of her life, and she was safe.

After a moment of clutching to his head, MC opened his eyes and let go. His eyes were half-lidded, and he was still a bit sleepy. Nevertheless, the look in his eyes suggested no small amount of concern.

"Are you OK, Nat?" was all he asked.

It was a question he often asked her. In the early months of their relationship, she used her brash, insulting humor to shrug off any appearance of weakness. Weakness would have been dangerous if he turned out to be fake. Once she began to let her barriers come down, she found that she could open up to him as she could to nobody else. He didn't have all the answers. Hell, most of the time he didn't have any answers. It wasn't his fault, of course, for he had never experienced the type of troubling family life that Natsuki had. Whatever the case, the point was that she appreciated him just for the fact that he would be there.

"N-no," she answered honestly.

"One of those dreams again, huh?" he prodded softly.

She nodded. The tears were coming back. She found herself pulling him into a big hug. Like in the dream, she cried softly.

"Don't let him take me away," she begged. "I'm so scared!"

He patted her back. "You're not going anywhere that you don't want to, I promise. I bet he's not even looking for you, anymore."

"But what if he is!?" she questioned, pulling back so that she could stare him in the eyes. Unlike the dream MC, she noticed that he wasn't entirely confident that he could protect her. However, despite his obvious worries, he didn't hesitate to nod firmly. "I'll kill the fucker if he even lays a finger on you."

The intent was there, and that mattered enough. She sighed.

"You're 18, Natsuki," MC reminded her. "You're a grown woman, now. He has no control over you, not anymore."

"I know that," Natsuki replied after wiping the tears away. She sniffled. "It's just that I'm not sure if that will stop him."

"If he's smart, he will."

A snarky part of Natsuki's brain struck gold. "You assume a lot to think my father's smart."

That got a chuckle out of him, and it brightened Natsuki enough that she felt calm again. "Thank you, MC."

"It's no trouble," he replied, leaning in and pecking her on the forehead. "You're very special to me."

"You're more special, dummy," she cooed. "But seriously, you've done so much for me. You're the best."

When she leaned in to give a return kiss, sex was not exactly on her mind. It was meant to be a tender kiss on the lips, nothing more. However, when their lips made contact, what started as a simple kiss quickly evolved into something more. MC graciously accepted her, kissing her with a passion that he had never demonstrated before. A moan escaped her, partly out of surprise, and partly out of pleasure. They clung to each other tightly, the sound of their face-sucking pervading an otherwise-quiet bedroom. As the kiss continued to deepen, Natsuki felt MC's tongue slide into her mouth. She graciously invited him in, and he soon granted her the same invitation. The kiss became sloppy, and Natsuki could feel herself becoming hot and bothered.

Eventually, they broke away, gasping for air, and it was only then that Natsuki realized that both of them were only wearing underwear. Quickly, excitedly, she realized just how awesomely close she was to losing her virginity. Had she not become utterly consumed by a sense of primal lust, maybe she would have recognized the irony that she had done nothing to provoke such a passionate reaction from her boyfriend. She allowed herself to fall back onto her pillow, gazing up at him with a smirk. He pounced on her, and the two continued to make out. Neither stripped each other or themselves, which was fine with Natsuki. The moment felt entirely natural, entirely perfect. If this was the type of attention she got when she made openly revealed her vulnerabilities, then maybe she should do so more often.

Their hands explored one another. While busy tangling her tongue around his, Natsuki's hands effortlessly groped around his torso, feeling the tightness in his athletic build. She could already imagine him taking her from behind, pounding her pussy with all his might as she hugged the wall and screamed. Her panties were damp, a fact that she was only vaguely aware of in the heat of moment. She would have stripped them off right then and there, had she not had her hands full with a whole lotta MC. All the while, she felt him holding her with one hand while other explored her midriff. At one point, she felt him grab one of her breasts through her bra, eliciting a moan from her. When they broke away for the second time, there was no doubt about what was coming next.

"Take me," Natsuki practically begged. Her pussy was practically screaming to be filled up.

MC rose an eyebrow and cocked his head. "Take you where?"

Natsuki found his cluelessness rather endearing, because even now, it couldn't ruin the moment. He was sitting on his knees, and Natsuki had a front-seat view to the raging 'rection bulging in his boxers.

But then, something completely and utterly ruined the moment.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Both MC and Natsuki shrieked as the digital alarm clock suddenly screamed to life. MC fell onto her, entangling his legs with hers. They both squirmed uncomfortably, struggling until at last they freed themselves from the awkward clutches of the each other's appendages. When at last they were aware of what just happened, Natsuki found herself scowling. She pressed down on the stop button so hard that she nearly smashed the whole clock in one fell swoop.

MC, however, was already rising out of the bed. His entirely face was so flushed that he looked less like a human being and more like a cardinal. He looked away, as if deeply embarrassed by the entire ordeal. Natsuki noticed that his hands were delicately placed so that they obscured the front of his boxers.

"Well, uh. . . I guess it's time to get ready for school!" MC offered with a nervous chuckle. Without waiting for a response, he left the room swiftly, presumably to go take his morning shower.

Natsuki was beyond vexed in the face of such rotten luck. Had MC been within arm's length, she might've taken his balls and squished them into a pulpy liquid. It wasn't really his fault; it was just the fact that she was once again so close, and yet so far.

She lied back onto her pillow and stared up at the ceiling. A new type of horror welled up within her.

"Am I gonna die a virgin?" she questioned the heavens.