Previously:

"… I don't know what this future will hold… but we can make it! We'll face it together," Akira concluded. A few people couldn't be consoled, but the majority of them eventually got up and started moving around again, though many of them worked with tears in their eyes. They carefully went outside the wall and collected what was left of the people who had been smashed to death by the paraceratherium to bury them, started making shelters inside the wall, and prepared food to eat. Mutou was exempt from these duties because he was looking after Isurugi Miina and the rest of the wounded. Her wounds looked terrible, but, fortunately, he said he didn't believe any permanent damage had been done. The same couldn't be said for Nishikiori, who had taken the brunt of the attack. He had died of his wounds before Mutou could treat him. Saitou was the only one who mourned him. Everyone else was mostly relieved to be rid of him. Poor Rei just sat there in the grass, staring into space, until they made her eat something and reminded her that Tooru would want her to survive. As she ate, she regained some energy and started crying again. Torako, Segawa, Matsumoto, and Shigeno helped Yarai build a shelter they could all share. They made Kurusu-sensei take it easy even though she wanted to help, too. Since the sun had already been setting, it took half the night for most of the well-made shelters to be completed. When they had finished their own shelter and finished helping those around them, Yarai's group lied down on the leaf beds they had made for themselves and tried to get some rest. Segawa, Matusmoto, and Shigeno cried themselves to sleep. Kurusu-sensei put on a brave face, but it was obvious she was deeply upset, too. Torako stared up at the ceiling of their hut and counted the veins in the leaves used for the ceiling to avoid thinking about anything else until she drifted off to sleep.

"..." Yarai stared at the ceiling, too. But he wasn't counting veins. He was thinking about the people he had promised to 'save'. When he made that promise, he had thought he was going to bring them home. But 'home' as they knew it didn't exist anymore. Could he still keep his promise?


Chapter 30: Moving On


Because they were so exhausted, emotionally and physically, everyone slept in late and 'breakfast' wasn't served until lunchtime. One of the ladies from the pyramid tried to make a small joke about eating 'brunch' in the wilderness, but her heart wasn't in it and no one else had it in them to laugh yet. Everyone's eyes were still red from all the crying they had done. They didn't do much that day. They made sure everyone's shelter was sturdy enough and took an inventory of their supplies.

"… It looks like we can wait until tomorrow to gather more food," Akira said. "Everyone's still tired."

"Yeah… It could be dangerous to send people out in their current condition..." Mariya agreed.

Torako looked around when they were serving dinner. She didn't see Yarai.

"… Where's Yarai?" she asked the others.

"Huh?" Segawa said. She started looking around, too.

"Did he go somewhere?" Matsumoto asked, also looking around.

"It looks like he did," Shigeno said, looking up from her meal.

"I wonder where he could be…? Fukui-chan, will you go find him?" Kurusu-sensei asked. Torako hadn't been served yet.

"I'll go…!" Segawa said, about to get up.

"If you go your food will get cold," Kurusu-sensei said. "You don't want to waste it."

"It'll be fine!" Segawa said, getting up. "Huh?" She realized Torako was already gone.

"That was fast..." Shigeno said.

"I knew it… There's definitely something between them!" Matsumoto said. Segawa glared at her.

'Should I really do this? I wonder if he's crying…' Torako thought. 'I don't think he'd cry in front of other people, so maybe… he's doing it now, away from us?' She turned the corner around the outer edge of the 'building' and found Yarai. He was looking up at the sky. Torako thought he looked beautiful standing there with the wind rustling his golden hair. He seemed to be thinking about something, but he didn't look distressed or anything like that. "..."

"Hm?" Yarai said, looking down in her direction when he heard the noise of the grass rustling as she walked. "Oh, Fukui… What is it?" He went back to looking at the sky.

"..." Torako continued to stare at him, concerned. "Yarai-kun… I haven't seen you cry… Don't you need to cry, too?"

"..." Yarai kept staring up at the sky. "Everyone I care about is on this island..."

"… Oh..." Torako said. "I see… That's good, I guess..." She watched him watching the sky. "S-So, speaking of people you care about… There's something I've been wanting to ask you..."

"What is it?" Yarai asked.

"Ah, um… Kurusu-sensei… how do you feel about her?" Torako asked nervously, cheeks flushed a little. She had been waiting to reveal her feelings for him when they would all be safe, but she didn't know when or if that would happen now. "D-Do you really only see her as a mother figure, or..." Yarai sighed.

"Not you, too," he said.

"Eh?" Torako said, wondering why he suddenly looked a little annoyed.

"Segawa asked me the same thing," Yarai said. "I've thought about it, and… I'd be lying if I said I only had feelings for Sensei as a mother figure..." Torako felt her heart start to break. "… But it's nothing compared to what I feel for you." He was looking at her now, with those piercing light brown eyes.

"… Eh?" Torako said, staring up at him with wide eyes. She was shocked. She had hoped Yarai might someday return her feelings, but she hadn't actually thought she had chance.

"I thought that was clear," Yarai said as he moved closer to her. "For someone so smart, you're really slow..." He leaned down and kissed her, then pulled back and looked at her. She still looked stunned. "I guess I'll have to make it more obvious..." He leaned down again, holding her face in his hands and gave her an extremely thorough kiss. It finally sank in for Torako that this was really happening, and she felt her knees begin to buckle. She willed herself to keep standing as she held onto Yarai's wrists and kissed him back. When they finally came up for air, Torako gasped for breath. "Do you get it now?" Yarai asked her. Not trusting herself to words yet, Torako nodded, completely red in the face. Yarai smiled at her. She smiled back, ridiculously happy. For a moment she forgot about everything else. "That wasn't the only thing you came to say, was it?"

"Eh?" Torako said.

"It seemed like you had something else to say," Yarai said. Torako suddenly remembered her original reason for being there.

"Oh, right! The food's ready," Torako said.

"Have you eaten yet?" Yarai asked.

"No..." Torako said.

"Let's go then," Yarai said.

"Y-You're a good kisser..." Torako said, turning red. She hoped she didn't do too badly.

"Good. I wasn't sure. It's my first time, after all," Yarai said.

"Eh? You, too?" Torako said, surprised.

"I knew the theory of it, but it was my first time putting it into practice..." Yarai said.

"I never would've guessed..." Torako said. They walked back to join everyone else. Torako kept stealing glances at him, wondering if this was really happening. When they went to get their food, Yarai made sure she was served first. This was not so unusual, but when they sat down, he sat much closer to her than he normally did. Torako blushed a little bit.

"..." Kurusu-sensei watched them. 'Is it just me, or has something happened between them?' Segawa frowned at how close Yarai was sitting to Torako and the way she blushed and kept smiling, even though she normally had the most neutral expression in the history of neutral expressions.

'She did something! Definitely!' Segawa thought jealously. She looked at Yarai's face. He seemed the same as always, but something must have happened. 'Did she steal a kiss from him…!? I mean, I've done that myself… That's right! After I kissed Yarai, he acted like nothing had happened, so even if she did something, it doesn't mean he was affected by it!' It hurt to admit to herself that her kiss hadn't mattered to him, but she was relieved that Torako didn't seem to be faring any better.

At least, she was until they had all finished eating. Then Segawa noticed that Torako and Yarai seemed to be sticking to each other even more than they usually did. Until Akira came up to them as they were making their way back to their shelter.

"Yarai, can I talk to you for a moment?" Akira asked.

"Sure," Yarai said, and the two of them walked off together.

'This is my chance! I'll get her alone and ask her...' Segawa thought. She was pretty sure she already knew what had happened, but she wanted to be sure. When they reached their shelter, Kurusu-sensei, Matsumoto, and Shingeno went inside, but Segawa stopped Torako before she could.

"? What is it?" Torako asked when Segawa pulled her aside so they were standing to the left of the 'door'.

"I need to talk to you, now," Segawa said, frowning at her.

"Is something wrong? Why aren't you coming in?" Matsumoto asked, poking her head out to look at them.

"It's nothing! You go on ahead," Segawa said, shooing her away. Matsumoto frowned a little bit at the dismissal, but she did as Segawa asked.

"..." Torako wondered what she wanted to talk to her about. Could it be she had guessed about what happened between her and Yarai? 'I suppose I should be straight with her… She'll find out sooner or later, and it's not like I want to hide it...'

"You kissed Yarai, didn't you?" Segawa said firmly.

"… Yes," Torako said.

"Just so you know, it didn't mean anything," Segawa said.

"Huh?" Torako said.

"And anyway, I kissed him first!"

"Y-You did!?" Torako said, shocked, picturing the same kind of kiss Yarai had given her.

"That's right! So don't go thinking you're special just because you stole a kiss from him!" Segawa said.

"Stole…?" Torako said, confused.

"Don't play dumb! You gave Yarai a kiss when his defenses were down, just like I did, right!?"

"Wrong," Yarai's voice said. They looked in that direction and saw that he had gotten very close to them without them noticing. He put his arm around Torako. "Fukui didn't kiss me. I kissed Fukui." Segawa stared at him with wide eyes, shocked. Then she became appalled. Which quickly turned to anger.

"So you treated my kiss like a nuisance, but you gave her one!?" Segawa said loudly.

"Don't yell. People are trying to go to sleep," Yarai said. His calmness just infuriated Segawa more. The whole time they were talking, he kept his arm around Torako.

"Why would you choose her over me!?" Segawa asked. "I mean, look at me! Her face may be cute, but the rest of her—"

"You think the only thing I care about is looks?" Yarai said. The look in his narrowed eyes made Segawa falter.

"N… No, but… but..." Segawa said nervously. "… Why her!?"

"… That's none of your business," Yarai said.

"… W-What!?" Segawa said incredulously.

"Saki, I really think you should quit now..." Matsumoto said, sticking her head out again.

"Huh!?" Segawa exclaimed. "H-Have you been listening this whole time…!?"

"How could we not? We can hear everything you're saying from in here..." Shigeno said, poking her head out, too.

"!!" Segawa exclaimed, flinching and turning red in the face from embarrassment.

"..." Yarai decided to keep that information in mind for when he was alone with Torako. If noises from outside could be heard on the inside, then the opposite was probably true, too.

"Come inside. You're bothering the neighbors," Shigeno said.

"…" Feeling humiliated, Segawa quietly went into their shelter without another word. After a pause, Torako went inside, too. Yarai followed her.

"S-So… Yarai-kun and Fukui-chan are a couple now…? C-Congratulations…!" Kurusu-sensei said with a smile that seemed forced to Torako.

'Sensei...' Torako thought, concerned. She knew how Segawa felt, but would Kurusu-sensei be okay? 'I hope she isn't too hurt… I'll talk to her in private tomorrow...'

"See, I told you it'd be Fukui-san!" Matsumoto whispered to Shigeno.

"Aww, I was sure it would be Sensei..." Shigeno whispered. They very speaking very quietly, but Segawa caught what they said anyway.

'I-I can't believe them…!' Segawa thought, upset. 'Neither one of them even thought I might have a chance!?' Yarai lied back on his bed, yawning. Torako moved to lie down on her bed, which was right next to his, when Segawa protested.

"Ah! You can't sleep there!" she said.

"Huh?" Torako said.

"Switch with me!" Segawa said.

"..." Torako stared at her, dumbfounded. Segawa must be so upset that she was beyond logic. "No."

"No!?" Segawa said, taken aback.

"Why should I let another girl sleep next to my boyfriend? Especially after she's admitted she stole a kiss from him..."

"B-Boyfriend!? Don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself? It was only one kiss!" Segawa said.

"No, 'boyfriend' is accurate," Yarai said with his eyes closed, not even bothering to look at her.

"!!" Segawa gasped. She wanted to run away, but she knew Torako would probably be the one who came to get her, and she didn't want that either. So she huffed at them and turned her back to them as she lay down so they wouldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"So, can I ask what Sengoku-kun wanted to talk to you about?" Torako asked Yarai.

"He wanted me to come on the hunt tomorrow," Yarai said. "You're coming, too, right? The number of people who are in the right state of mind and have the ability to fight is really low right now."

"Okay," Torako said.

'This isn't over…! I'm not going to take this lying down!' Segawa thought as she lay there listening to the others talk for a little longer. 'Tomorrow, I'll… I'll… I'll tell Kokonoe-sensei! Fukui is his niece! He'll stop them!' Assuring herself that she had a good plan, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

—∞—

The next day, Segawa put her plan into action. She approached Kokonoe-sensei after everyone had finished breakfast.

"Kokonoe-sensei!" Segawa said, determined to get his help. "Did you know..." It was hard for her to say it. "Did you know… Yarai kissed Fukui!?"

"..." Kokonoe stared at her. "… What?" His expression became serious. "I see… He kissed her. … I'll have to do something before they take it too far..."

"!" Segawa said, smiling with relief, encouraged by his reaction. 'As I thought! Kokonoe-sensei is my ally...' Kokonoe got up and went with her to confront the new couple. Only, they weren't there anymore.

"You just missed them," Rion said. "They left with the rest of the hunters a few minutes ago. They probably won't be back until much later. You two are going to help with the gathering, right?" She smiled at them, totally clueless about the turmoil in Segawa's heart.

"If we leave now, we can still catch them!" Segawa said. She moved to follow them, but Kokonoe stopped her.

"Wait. They're going to get food. We can't interfere with that. We'll talk to them when they get back," Kokonoe said. "In the meantime, we should do our part, too."

"..." Segawa didn't like it, but Rion and everyone else were looking expectantly at her, so she felt like she had to help them with finding more fruit and other edible plants.

—∞—

Yuki climbed up a tree to get some particularly delicious-looking fruits while the others continued to search for edibles at the ground level.

"!?" she gasped when she spotted a familiar face from her high vantage point. She looked down at the others to see if they had noticed. It seemed they hadn't. Yuki quietly climbed back down and slipped away from the rest of the group, hurrying to the spot she had been looking at. 'Kouhei-kun! You're still all right!' she thought, running toward him and the boy wearing the mask from Guam who had called himself 'Hades'. "Kouhei-kun!" she said, panting for breath as she skidded to a halt. She had reached the place where the two boys were relaxing, eating some fruit.

"Yuki? What are you doing here?" Arita asked. "It's dangerous to go off on your own."

"I was worried about Kouhei-kun!" Yuki said. "You really should come with us! We've found a safe place to stay, and we're going to build boats to go back to Japan!"

"Yuki… I've told you already… I can't go back," Arita said. "I'm a murderer with a messed up brain! I'm too dangerous. What I've done can't be forgiven… I know that. You think I can face everyone in your camp, let alone my parents with what I've done!?"

"That's right. His hands are stained with blood," Hades said. "He can't return to normal society anymore. … And I have no wish to either. The old world was boring, but here… I finally feel alive!"

"B-But..." Yuki said, biting her lip. 'That's right… Kouhei-kun doesn't know yet, about the truth of this island...' She decided to tell him. "Kouhei-kun… facing your parents… may not be a problem anymore..." she said grimly.

"Huh?" Arita said.

"The truth about this island… it's unbelievable, but… we're actually in the future!" Yuki said.

"… Huh?" Arita and Hades said.

"What are you going on about?" Hades asked.

"It's true! We found the evidence in that last tower! This island was built after our plane disappeared—no, because of it! There's a memorial hall lined with pictures of everyone who was on the plane, and there's something like a small monument with the wish that we'd all rest in peace! Judging by the state of the 'building' and the other towers… we're at least fifty years into the future!"

"..." Arita and Hades stared at her.

"That's hard to believe… yet it might explain a few things..." Hades said. "But it's such a ridiculous story!"

"Even if that's the case… I still can't go back, Yuki..." Arita said. His mind was made up. "I meant what I said earlier. I can't be with you guys."

"But… Kouhei-kun…!" Yuki said with tears in her eyes. "You expect me to just leave you!?"

"That's exactly what you're going to do!" Arita said, and he turned away from her to leave. "Yuki… this is the last time we'll see each other."

"Eh!?" Yuki said, startled.

"We're leaving already?" Hades said, standing up, too. "Well, I guess we should, with that humongous creature roaming around… We do need to find a safer place to use as our base… somewhere far away from here."

"Goodbye, Yuki… and thanks. But don't follow us," Kouhei said, and he walked away from her with Hades, disappearing into the jungle.

"..." Yuki stared after him, watching him go with tears streaming down her cheeks. 'Kouhei-kun… Why are you so determined to suffer alone!? I wanted us all to go back together… I was sure I'd find a way… But you don't want that?' She trembled, clutching her skirt. "Goodbye… Kouhei-kun..." she said sadly.

"Yuki!"

She heard voices calling her name and remembered that she needed to get back to the rest of the group. She dried her eyes and headed back.

—∞—

Segawa sat in the camp feeling antsy. Even though they had been careful not to come across the paraceratherium again, the gathering group had returned hours ago, but the hunting group had yet to return. She kept an eye on Kokonoe, so she'd know when he was going to confront Yarai and Torako. She wanted a front row seat to that.

"Ah! They're back!" a voice called. Segawa looked up to see that Yarai was walking through the gate at the head of the pack, carrying a deer-like creature over his shoulders.. Akira and Yamato were carrying another deer-like creature together, and a man who had used a bow and arrow was carrying a four chicken-sized birds. Miyauchi, Tokiwa, and Torako were carrying armfuls of rather large rabbit-like creatures. Everyone cheered when they saw the meat.

"Wow, you got a lot!" Rion said as she and others went over to help them and take the meat to put it away until it was time to cook it. All of the hunters were sweaty from the effort of hunting over a spread-out area and then carrying everything back.

"Oh, I can't wait for a bath…!" Torako said.

"Hmm. You'll have a ways to walk..." Rion said, about to suggest she rest first because she looked tired.

"No, we won't! We found a river that wasn't on the map," Miyauchi said, excited.

"Not on the map?" Yuki said.

"I don't know why it wasn't marked, but it's great! It's closer and less marshy than the river we crossed to get here. It's clear, running water! We can definitely drink it!" Akira said. "And it doesn't seem to be in the paraceratherium's territory, so we can relax there!"

"Oh, thank goodness! I was worried we'd run out!" Rion said.

"In that case, we'll take a group to collect more water," Yashiro said, stepping forward with Igarashi and Seigou. "Who still has energy left?" Torako was about to raise her hand when Kokonoe approached her and Yarai. Torako noticed Segawa was trailing behind him.

"Hey, I need to talk to you two," Kokonoe said. "This way..." He led them away from the crowd that was gathering to collect water and stopped once they were out of earshot of the others. "I hear you made a move on Tora," he said to Yarai, getting straight to the point.

"Yes," Yarai answered, giving it to him straight. Torako smiled up at him.

"… I thought this might happen..." Kokonoe said, sighing and scratching his head.

"You did?" Segawa said, surprised.

"Yeah, it was obvious," Kokonoe said.

'… It was…?' Segawa and Torako thought, surprised.

"Um, what's going on over here?" Kurusu-sensei asked curiously, walking carefully over to them. Someone had made her a cane to lean on.

"Oh, good, you're here, too, Kurusu," Kokonoe said. "You can help me keep an eye on them."

"Huh? An eye on who?" Kurusu-sensei asked.

"These two, of course!" Kokonoe said, pointing at the new couple. Torako was obviously happy. He knew telling them to keep away from each other or to keep their hands to themselves would be pointless, so… "I tell you what… I'll make a deal with you. You can do whatever you want with each other, as long as you wait until Tora's eighteen to do anything that might have any chance of getting her pregnant."

"W-Whatever…!?" Segawa said incredulously, shocked.

"Ehhhh!?" Kurusu-sensei said, also shocked.

"Deal," Yarai said, shaking Kokonoe's hand.

"?" Torako said curiously. What was there left to do beside kissing? Why did Yarai look so happy? And why was he smirking at her like that? The look on his face was similar to the one he wore when he stumbled onto something especially fun. He started guiding her back toward the shelter they were sharing with Kurusu-sensei, Segawa, Matsumoto, and Shigeno.

"Come on, there's a few things I want to teach you..." Yarai told Torako as they walked. He had theoretical knowledge about more than just kissing, and he wanted to try putting it into practice with her.

"N… No way!!" Segawa said angrily, chasing after them.

"S-Segawa-san…!" Kurusu-sensei said, trying to stop her. "D-Don't you think you should—"

"You might be okay with giving up, Sensei, but that doesn't mean I have to!!" Segawa said, pulling free and continuing her pursuit of Yarai and Torako. "Besides, it's my shelter, too! I won't let them do anything dirty in it!"

"Dirty?" Torako said. "Speaking of which, I should really take a bath..."

"I don't mind," Yarai said, seeming determined to get her to their shelter.

"Well, I do!" Torako said.

"…" Kokonoe watched the scene play out before him, then looked up at the sky. "That bastard… He didn't even wait til I was gone before he started that sort of talk… Ayako would probably kill me if she knew…!" Torkao's father probably would have also been a problem, but Kokonoe was more afraid of his sister.

Yarai had only just gotten Torako into the shelter and put his hands on her shoulders, when Segawa came crashing in.

"Oh, no, you don't!!" she said. "Not on my watch!" She yanked Torako away from Yarai so his hands only clutched air.

"Segawa!" Yarai said sternly. He gave Segawa a cold look that made her freeze. Yarai pulled Torako back to him, holding her close. "Don't ever do that again." A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Segawa's face. She could tell she was on the verge of making him seriously angry. 'D… Does she really mean that much to him…!?' She clenched her fists. She wanted to run, to try to escape the awful feeling she had watching them together, but if she did that, Yarai would definitely do something with Torako.

"..." Torako was blushing after being hugged by Yarai, especially since he still wasn't letting go, but she was a little puzzled by what had just happened. Why was Segawa's reaction so extreme? Was she really that against them kissing? And why was Yarai upset?

"Y… You said earlier you wanted to take a bath, right? Let's go together!" Segawa said to Torako bravely, deciding she would rather risk Yarai's anger than let them do who-knows-what together.

"Um, okay…?" Torako said. Yarai still wasn't letting go of her. "… I can't go if you don't let go of me..."

"Your point?" Yarai said. Torako blushed. She was happy that he wanted to be so close to her, but she felt very much that she really did need a bath, badly.

"Well, I'd like to go, so I can get clean again..." Torako said, looking up at him.

"..." Yarai stared down at her. Her eyes were completely clear and innocent. She had no idea what Segawa was interrupting. "… Fine." He let her go so she could leave. Torako smiled at him and gathered up her bathing things. Segawa did the same.

'I don't know what I would've done if she'd said no...' Segawa thought, glad things had worked out. 'It seems like she doesn't get what Yarai was trying to do...'

"Oh… Are you going somewhere?" Kurusu-sensei asked, joining them. She was relieved to see that nothing more serious than kissing had happened yet between Torako and Yarai.

"We're going to take a bath," Torako said.

"In that case, I'll go with you!" Kurusu-sensei said.

"Should you be walking that far?" Torako asked, concerned.

"It should be fine! After all, all that running from before didn't hurt me," Kurusu-sensei said.

"I guess that's true..." Torako said. They all left the shelter, and Torako waved goodbye to Yarai. "See you later!"

"Later..." Yarai agreed, though he wasn't happy about it. Torako had no idea she was leaving behind an extremely disappointed boyfriend.

—∞—

It turned out Miyauchi and Tokiwa wanted a bath, too, so the five of them went to the river together. They picked a spot that was downstream of where they were collecting water, far enough away that they were hidden by a bend in the river.

"That Yarai… I can't believe he turned out to be such a pervert!" Segawa muttered darkly while they washed up.

"Huh? Pervert?" Torako said, bewildered. 'What brought that on…?'

"Y-You really have no idea what he was about to do to you, do you…?" Segawa said, surprised.

"Kiss me, right?" Torako said.

"Wrong! Well, probably that, but there's a number of other things, too!" Segawa said.

"What number of other things?" Miyauchi asked, coming closer to join their conversation. Tokiwa followed her.

"Uh..." Segawa said, faltering and blushing deeply. "Y-You know..."

"Know what?" Miyauchi asked, enjoying watching her squirm. She had at least one idea of what Segawa might be talking about. "How do you know about this 'number of other things'?"

"..." Tokiwa was staring at her, too, now. Segawa blushed even deeper.

"Th-That's… I-I just happened to o-over hear some girls talking at school— I wasn't eavesdropping! I just happened to be close by when they were talking!" Segawa said defensively.

"Which girls?" Tokiwa asked.

"They… They aren't here anymore..." Segawa said, looking down.

"..." All of them felt sad for the other girls, who must have died.

"… So… Yarai knows about that stuff? What happened, did he try something with you?" Miyauchi asked.

"…" Segawa's mood darkened. She wished. "No… With her..." she said, looking at Torako.

"..." Miayuchi and Tokiwa stared at Torako.

"Well, you're a dark horse…!" Miyauchi said. Tokiwa nodded in agreement. "So, is Yarai harassing you or something? To be called a pervert..."

"… I have no idea what any of you are talking about, but he isn't harassing me," Torako said frankly. "H-He's actually my boyfriend now..." she added, blushing.

"No way! Good for you!" Miyuachi said, thumping her on the back. "So what's the problem, then?"

"They haven't been going out for more than a day, and he's already trying to 'teach her a few things'," Segawa said angrily.

"What? Really? He didn't seem the type..." Miyauchi said.

"W-Well, I think any boy his age would react that way after what Kokonoe-sensei said..." Kurusu-sensei said, smiling wryly, though Torako thought it seemed a little pained.

"Huh? Kokonoe-sensei? What did he say?" Miyauchi asked.

"He said they could do 'whatever they wanted with each other' as long as they wait until she's eighteen before doing 'anything that might make her pregnant'!!" Segawa said, so angry she could scream.

"No…!!" Miyauchi said, taken aback.

"Isn't he your uncle?" Tokiwa asked Torako.

"Yes?" Torako said, wondering why they looked so shocked. "What's the problem? That just leaves kissing, right?"

"..." Miyauchi and Tokiwa stared at her.

"I had no idea you so pure..." Miyauchi said, looking at her like she was some kind of mythical beast. Torako was starting to get a little annoyed. "Well, if you don't know, I guess we'll have to tell you. I think you'll be better off knowing what to expect, so he can't pull a fast one on you!"

—∞—

Yarai was talking with Akira when he saw that Torako and the others had returned. He was happy to see her, but when she looked at him, she turned bright red and avoided eye contact with him.

"..." Yarai didn't like that. Judging by Segawa's smug face, something had happened. "Hold on. There's something I need to take care of," he told Akira. He walked up to Torako, who looked at him then looked away again with a face as red as a tomato. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of their shelter. Segawa quickly followed them, and Kurusu followed her.

"Did he just… hold her hand?" Akira said, surprised.

"Yeah, those two are a couple now," Miyauchi said.

"Eh!?" Akira said, surprised.

"It's about time!" Rion said.

Yarai had Torako enter the shelter then followed her in.

"What is it?" he asked. "What happened?"

"..." Torako was looking at the floor, still just as red in the face. "Th-They told me what kind of 'things' you probably wanted to 'teach' me..."

"..." Yarai had been afraid of this. Judging by the way she wouldn't look at him, they must have convinced her that he was the worst sort of pervert. "… Do you think I'm disgusting now?"

"N-No!" Torako said, looking up at him. "That's not it at all!"

"What is it, then?" Yarai asked.

"..." Torako avoided eye contact with him again. "I… I'm sorry. I don't want to disappoint you… but I-I'm just not ready for that yet. We only just kissed for the first time yesterday!"

"… Damn! I screwed up!" Yarai said, holding a hand to his face. "I should be the one apologizing to you… I got too excited and tried to rush you..."

"Th-That's okay! Only… could we take things a little slower?" Torako asked.

"Yeah… Sorry," Yarai said. He hugged her. Torako relaxed and hugged him back. After a moment, Segawa burst in again.

"It is suspiciously quiet in here!" Segawa said, pointing an accusing finger at them. She had been listening outside the shelter to keep an eye on them.

"What? Is there a law against hugging now?" Yarai asked sarcastically.

"Segawa-san, I think they'll be fine now, so if you'll just..." Kurusu-sensei said with a semi-forced smile as she appeared, too. She had also been listening in on them.

"Um, Sensei… can I talk to you alone for a moment?" Torako asked.

"Eh?" Kurusu-sensei said, surprised, as were Segawa and Yarai.

"Okay, out!" Segawa said, dragging Yarai out of the shelter, or rather, he let her do it while sending a questioning glance at Torako.

"… What did you want to talk about?" Kurusu-sensei asked. "Is something wrong?"

"… You tell me. Are you okay, Sensei?" Torako asked.

"Eh?" Kurusu-sensei said. "Yes, I told you, my wound—"

"I'm not talking about that. I mean… me and Yarai… have we hurt you?" Torako asked, concerned. Kurusu-sensei looked surprised, but then she smiled. There was a hint of almost undetectable sadness in it, but she didn't seem upset.

"You're a really kind girl, aren't you, Fukui-chan?" Kurusu-sensei said. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll be all right."

"… Are you sure?" Torako asked.

"I'm sure. Thank you for asking," Kurusu-sensei said, hugging her. "You're all my precious students. I want you to be happy!"