Among the many novel experiences Ayano has become acquainted with since meeting Senpai, restlessness is one she could definitely do without. Unfortunately, it's also a feeling the girl has become intimately familiar with during the long hours of being trapped in class. There used to be a time she could spend her whole day doing nothing without ever being bothered by anything at all. It was... fine, in that she simply didn't care. Not better! Not by any measure! She'd never give up any of the things her Love has brought into her life no matter what, but not having to feel this while she's burning time between the too-short moments with Senpai would certainly improve her days.

A phone would help a lot, she thinks. Taylor having one, that is. Right now, their time together is unnaturally limited by the physical constraints of the world, such as distance, walls, and sleep. While her Love does have a phone at her house, it's a woefully inadequate solution to the issue at hand. A lot of Ayano's peers text in class all the time and she'd frankly like to join them in the activity with Taylor. Not being able to contact Senpai, always, is an issue, and one she will eventually have to resolve. It's a struggle to remain in her seat knowing Taylor is but a minute's distance away, even when she knows that there's nothing she can do to shorten it without drawing undue attention.

Her inquires into moving up a class have been disappointing. She could do it, of course, if she put her mind to it. Granted, she's been having difficulties focusing on her studies lately, but she's sure she could do it given sufficient motivation, and motivated she is. No, the problem lies with the fact there would be no guarantee of her and Taylor ending up in the same classes, and given she'd have to spend more time away from Senpai to study, the solution is less than ideal. The idea of burning Winslow down so that they could spend as much time together as they did when the school had been closed had surfaced in her mind, but then they might be reassigned to different schools altogether. Unacceptable.

The situation might not perfect, but it's not terrible either. They spend virtually all their free time together already. It's still less than Ayano would like, but, as she's come to learn, the downside of being able to enjoy things is that not doing them is... negative. Frustrating, she thinks is the word. There are many responsibilities she has to juggle, the worst of all being people. She used not to care when she was invited by other girls to hang out, but now that she's found the one person she wants to spend every waking and sleeping moment of her life with, all the sleepovers, parties, and meet-ups feel like wasted time. It's not, she knows that. Being popular among her peers has proven useful time and again, with her own rumors finding traction as easily as throwing them to the wind and extracting information proving not much more difficult. Not to mention exchanging favors like she did with Yu and by extension her brother when she needed someone lacking in popularity to be warned away.

It's still aggravating, having to do all the things she doesn't care for.

It's a good thing Taylor doesn't spend much time outside home without her, with only the occasional walk or visit to the city library on her own. Which is fine. It might be disappointing whenever she goes Senpai Watching, and find her Love not in her house, but it's not a complete waste. Senpai's father usually returns home late, which gives Ayano ample opportunity to explore and familiarize herself with the building in its entirety, as well as to acquire a few easily overlooked momentos. Tragically, Senpai's clothes are only fit for her perfect body, though apparently exercise may help Ayano with that, so there's hope yet. As is, she's had to settle for smaller things.

In the end, they're all mere substitutes for the real deal.

The teen lays her chin down on her desk to hide the uncontrollable grimace behind her arms.

There just aren't enough hours in the day. Peers, school, chores, killing, sleep... she's finally gotten a gym pass too, but working out steals even more precious hours away from her and leaves her drained to the point she can no longer skip on her sleep without severe side-effects. Moving in with Senpai would resolve the issue (as it would many others), but while she wouldn't mind living together before their wedding, she doesn't intend to share with her Love's father, and it'll still be some time before Taylor can live on her own. Theoretically, given that Taylor is the sole inheritor, they could live together even without marriage as soon as the next year if Ayano managed to convince her parents to not make an issue of it. That's the theory. It's not a given that the court would be willing to emancipate her Love instead of sending her off to an orphanage for the remaining two years. Ayano has no doubt Taylor could support herself if she found a job- she's such a resolute girl - and she would help too, but that's a big if. The unemployment in Brockton Bay isn't due to the laziness of its people, so they'd be taking a chance, and Ayano isn't leaving her future with Senpai up to chance.

Regardless, the gym is a necessity. Her careful (and not-so-careful) probing has led her to believe Taylor has a preference towards a certain muscle tone. However, the training also serves a secondary purpose. The girls she's dealt with so far were easy enough to overpower. They struggled, of course, once she came after them (the first one even managed to scratch her cheek) but her having a knife, and them not, the confrontations were quite one-sided. She didn't expect the man from that alley to pose much more of a problem if she stabbed him first, but there she was, on the ground and with him above her. Given that this is Brockton Bay, the situation could well repeat itself, and she'd rather not be saved by her opponent just keeling over all of a sudden.

Just as important is the fact Hess is simply stronger than her. The last of those whores has already proven she won't go down as easily as Ayano had expected. Granted, the girl's not sure what exactly went wrong, given how the bitch has refused to relay that information to any of her remaining friends- no. Remaining associates. Ayano doubts the people in question fit the definition of friends. It's a pleasant thought, calming, that at least one of the trio is going through at least a portion of what Senpai has suffered at their hands. Not enough. Never enough. But it'll have to do for now.

Having another student die so soon (one previously attacked, no less) would bring more attention than Ayano feels confident is safe. Hess had gone quiet ever since Clements dispatched her other tramp of a friend, and barely interacts with Taylor at all, which is good, if unexpected. The teen had thought she had the scum figured out, that she would become even more vicious after she set her plan in motion, which could've easily been exploited. Oh, Hess had been snappy - violently so - but it'd been reactionary, an improvement of character from an objective standpoint.

It won't do at all, for what Ayano had planned.

As luck would have it, Senpai had not been the only one to suffer at the hands of the trio. Someone else snapping wouldn't be too problematic to arrange, to believe, to make different enough for the police to not dig too deep. The media would lap it up, she can imagine the headlines all too easily: A Vicious Bullying Campaign Causes Another Tragedy. Problem is, while she's still her snappy, aggressive, unpleasant self, Hess no longer actively seeks out victims to torment, and the more time passes, the less believable it'd become. Worse yet, she isn't staying at her home lately. Specifically, she doesn't leave her house to go to school in the mornings (her family hasn't moved that she can tell, her mother still lives there, as do her siblings), and has been taking a different bus back. Where to, Ayano can't say. No matter her attempts to follow, the worm vanishes soon after getting off the vehicle.

Ayano should've made a better effort, a better plan, to get them all in one fell swoop. Procuring a gun can't be that much more difficult than all the effort she went to, anyway. Whatever happened in Barnes' household, she would like to see the whore dodge a literal bullet.

The next attempt will have to look like completely random chance, somewhere out in the streets and the deed done in an appropriate fashion. A firearm could actually be quite useful there. Ayano very much doubts Hess wears a bullet-proof vest beneath her clothes, and it'd make it easier to believe it really was a gang behind the killing this time. Even so, people might still get suspicious, given it'd be yet another Winslow student meeting her violent end. An accident would do, if she knew how to arrange one. Suicide would unquestionably be the best. From what she'd read, the older girl's reclusive behavior would help in making it more believable, but here again comes up the issue of her whereabouts. Staging her death at the right moment is crucial. Clements was easy enough to acquire, she never made her schedule a secret in the least, and even cleared it when told to.

For now, all she can do is continue to retread her steps not to miss it when the bitch finally slips up. That, and make the most of the time she can spend with Senpai. She'd briefly contemplated the idea of having Taylor join her in the gym, but it was a brief consideration indeed. She's not about to bring her Love to a place full of men like... like that one. Only these ones are bigger, with many sporting scars, clearly from stab wounds, showcased for the whole world to see. It's an obvious intimidation tactic; one that Ayano has to admit has made her reluctant to risk confrontation with them. If their bragging is to be believed, said scars were inflicted by larger and stronger opponents than herself. They're probably exaggerating when they recount how they then proceeded to fight off the attacker, his four buddies, and the cape with them, but regardless of the truth, they did survive a stabbing.

A nudge in her back draws her attention to Kristie, the girl leaning in without bothering to hide her lack of attention for the lesson, keeping her voice low enough to be just below speaking level. It's fine. Mr. Jacobson doesn't really try to hide his own disinterest either.

"We're gonna go hit Broadwalk after the class. Wanna skip the hero-meet and come with us?" Ah. Skipping. She used to do that sometimes, if blending in so necessitated.

"I'm actually curious. I've never been to one of these before." Neither has Taylor, and her Love seemed lively at the prospect of seeing heroes live. Now, Senpai is beautiful any moment of the day, but she's positively radiant when happy. Ayano can never look enough.

"Boring, I bet. Just like with police shows, they'll talk some bullshit and leave, come on."

"Look, I can't anyway. My mom's supposed to pick me up after. I'd have to come back here in an hour and that's… ugh."

"Okay, fine. Text me if they check attendance, yeah?"

"Sure."

It's not long before the bell rings, yet still every minute crawls for the gray-eyed teen. There are a few subjects that require an extent of focus from the girl, but Jacobson's decidedly not one of them.

"Alright, class!" the man shouts over the bustle of the packing students. "Remember about your presentations for the next week, and let's all head for the gymnasium!"

Ayano's among the first to leave the class, and one of the few heading straight for the planned event to outpace her classmates. She and Taylor are meant to meet at the entrance, and having not planned anything for today-

"Yo, Ayano!" She doesn't jump, nor stop, or have much of any other reaction to the hand jovially slapping her back.

"Yes?"

"I'm not staying for this shit. You wanna pick up Taylor and go somewhere else?" Yes. She does. Not with Aisha there, mind. But she'd indeed much rather skip the whole thing and head straight to Taylor's house, as she and her Love have planned. However, since her Beloved wishes to stay and see the heroes, stay they shall.

"Taylor wants to stay."

"Ah. Well. Guess I'll be on my lonesome, then."

"You could tag along with Kristie, she's going to the Broadwalk with a few others."

"Y'know, maybe I will. See ya!"

Ayano draws a blank. What was she... Ah. The notes she'd found hidden in her room, with writing distinctly her own, say it's nothing to worry about. They also say precisely how, when, and what to do with the rather powerful drugs she put right next to said instructions. Supposedly, she'll know what to do should the time come that it becomes a worry. It's confusing; she remembers writing the notes, but she doesn't remember writing the directions therein down. The why of it keeps slipping between her fingers.

Unimportant. She has Senpai to meet up with.

She finds Senpai soon after, standing by the wall a short distance away from the gym's entrance. Her arms are crossed over her chest and she's looking around like a lost puppy, only infinitely more adorable, to the point the Asian girl can't help but to stop in her tracks to admire Her from afar. Oh, she loves watching Taylor from up close, but there's just something about catching her au natural, unaware of being watched. Something, that if Ayano had to settle on a name for, the teen would call pure. Purer than usual, that is. It's a bit like what watching nature is supposed to be like, or so she hears, in how it should be done with the animals oblivious to the human presence. It's why Senpai Watching is the close third on her list of the Things She Enjoys, well below spending time with Taylor, and right behind talking with Her over the phone. It's amazing how she always manages to look so striking – though hardly unexpected. Senpai is such an amazing person it should come as no surprise she always looks her best. The way her wavy hair frames her pale image, the way her glasses compliment her eyes, or rather, how her eyes compliment the frames! Stunning, even if accurate, is too small a word to describe Her! Too little!

Yes, the very sight of Her knocks the air out of Ayano's lungs. Taylor is radiant, more so than the sun - a fire that sets her blood aflame like nothing else could. Taylor knocks her heart out of balance and gives it a new rhythm, like a drummer with her instrument. Taylor draws her entire attention like nothing else in her life and refuses to let go. Taylor is magnetic, and Ayano is all too willing to let herself be drawn to her, never to be pried away. She's the greatest miracle that could've been. She is... she is, and better than all the world.

Taylor is hers, and hers only. Taylor's eyes move from one person to the next, disregarding all she sees for not being Ayano. It does things to the teen she never hoped, couldn't hope, she would feel, turning her insides upon themselves in the ways the lovestruck girl lacks the words for.

None of it compares to the way Her eyes light up the moment they find Ayano's own, and it's not just her eyes. Taylor's whole being comes alive in that moment. It's not much; the way her posture shifts, the way she suddenly looks more awake, as if she found one thing of interest in the sea of nothingness. The Asian teen knows the feeling all to well. It's subtle, and it took time before she started recognizing it, but once she has... oh.

Oh, it aches to watch.

There is a void in her chest, pressed upon from all sides. The fire in her veins is now pooling into her stomach, and if her heart was a drum before, with just one look, it's become a worked anvil, every single beat almost painful. Sometimes it is, but it's a good kind of pain, as all the things Senpai has gifted her with are! With one look, it's hard to breathe, and wonderful not to. Ayano's lips shift of their own accord, pulling into a smile reserved only for her Love. They're wonderful, all those feelings. She could die like this. She wants to die like this, basking in all the things she's never had, with her beloved pressed against her without space for skin between them, breathing in the air from her lungs and the smell of her hair. Yes. If her time with Senpai were to be to cut short in this life, that's how she wants it to end, with Her in her arms.

When Ayano moves again, she very deliberately doesn't go in for the hug she'd like to give. They've done that already today, twice, as a matter of fact, and though she'd love to have her days pass by with Taylor in her arms, just like with many other things, it's not always a socially acceptable form of expressing affection, even for couples. Ayano doesn't understand why it's only proper form during the first meeting of the day. Yes, they've seen each other already. So what? How is wanting to embrace anyone she holds affection for any more strange if she's already done it today than if it's been done yesterday?

"Do you want to go in already, or wait for your friends?" Taylor asks her.

"No." She pushes through the stutter trapped in her throat. It's a point of pride for her, that she rarely stutters in Her presence anymore. "Let's just go and find a good spot." Preferably one closer to the front, as that is where most of her acquaintances won't want to sit, being too close to the teachers to be able to talk freely. "There?" She points to the wall, not too far from the elevated stage.

"Maybe a bit closer to the center? There are still chairs left." Yes. That's the problem. Sitting in chairs means having space for oneself, as opposed to the students who always end up being squished together on the floor. The position on the ground also has the added benefit of not being visible from everywhere in the hall.

Unsure how to voice her complaint, she settles for casting her Love a pleading expression.

"Oh, okay," Taylor says with a roll of her eyes, making her way to their chosen spot.

Ayano makes sure to maneuver to a small space still left between the students, so that when she sits down against the wall, Taylor has no choice but to squeeze herself into the only space left-

"Uh, can I?"

"S-sure."

-Ayano's waiting embrace.

It takes a moment for them to settle, and the younger girl can't quite find the comparison for the myriad of feelings that having Senpai lightly pressed against her chest evokes. It sends a shiver down her spine, with goosebumps breaking out all over her body. Her arms tingle, and she tentatively loops them around Taylor's stomach, who stiffens for a moment, before relaxing into the hug. Much better than any chair, Ayano has no doubt. Additionally, she's read physical contact is supposed to reinforce connections between people. Something to do with physiology, chemistry, and pack bonding. She's also read kissing serves a similar purpose in a decidedly romantic fashion, with saliva being the catalyst. She's been unsuccessful in acquiring Senpai's so far, only able to get her hands on leftovers at best. While finishing Taylor's food or drinking from her bottle is ecstatic in its own right, she so longs to taste Her without food getting in the way. If only Taylor didn't wash her toothbrush...

She forces the thought away. Those are the kind of ideas for when she's alone. The time will come when she will be able to kiss her Love whenever she wants, when nothing in the world will separate them, but that day is not today. Today she will content herself with the warmth in her arms, and the delightful shade of red rising up Taylor's neck. Why, there's likely some in her own cheeks as well - they feel as if she'd spent an hour in the frost.

Patience.

Rushing things may bring the exact opposite effect to what Ayano has painstakingly built towards. Not necessarily, as a voice in the back of her head keeps insisting, but it's a chance, isn't it? That she could push Senpai away. She's not about to leave their future together up to chance. She can deal with urges. She has and she will. All she needs is patience. She already has perspective. Not so long ago she had nothing at all in this world. A home, her parents, her friends; if one could call them that, and none of it important in any meaningful way beyond helping her to continue on with her existence. Having a home is... useful, objectively speaking, as is having parents to pay for things, drive her around, sign legal documents and eventually help her strike out on her own. It makes being socially included a much easier task as well, and that, in turn, makes everything else less difficult. Making friends in school stopped other children from bullying her (although that was always more of a concern to Father than it was to her – she didn't really care). Networking in adulthood is even more important: finding a job, getting a promotion. All easier. All meaningless. A warm, soft bed is as alluring as the cold, hard floor that leaves cramps in her neck. Spending the day out, playing, gossiping, doing – all as appealing as staring at the wall of her bedroom all day. No anticipation. No want. Nothing. A doll for others to move, for all intents and purposes. Only living for not caring to die.

She couldn't do that again. Not ever again. Not after having finally gotten the taste of what living is like. All thanks to Senpai, her kind and warm and amazing and perfect-in-every-way-that-matters Senpai. Losing that is- unthinkable, unacceptable, and the only thing so far that's managed to make her feel fear. It's a nasty emotion, but useful, and not just in others when she needs something from them. It reminds her to check and double check, to be diligent in her killings, to not make any mistakes and to never repeat those she fails to prevent, and above all, to hold back when everything else in her screams not to.

It's frustrating, but also fascinating to even feel all those things which amount to frustration in the first place. It's bliss to be so close to her, to be able to do even something as small as look at her, much less be allowed such intimate touch. To hear her laugh and want to (want to!) hear more of it. It's still an alien feeling to have something to want instead of just choosing what's easiest to do. Certainly, killing the tramps responsible for Taylor's suffering was not the easiest feat to perform, and it's only gotten more difficult with Hess, but so worth it – to make Senpai happy. To see her happy. The idea used to bewilder Ayano. Why would anyone do so much for anything or anyone? Yes, she knew other people had emotions that drove them and she had none, but- sight must not make much sense for the blind, either. And she was blind, so terribly blind, before Senpai cured her of it.

Compared to that life, every small thing she now has is better, and this is nothing short of heaven, with a promise of more to come, in time.

That's how relationships work, no? People don't marry the second they meet. Why, even she took some time before understanding what it was that was happening to her when she met Taylor, and she has reason to believe her love is greater than any of that which she's read of or seen in her entire life. People throw around the words so easily, that they love. Senpai's father is one of them. If he truly loved her, he would've done what Ayano has a long time ago, and still he dares to say he loves her. It's sickening.

Ah. There it is again. Anger. Why should he be allowed to spend time with her Love when it's clearly herself who loves Taylor more, who takes better care of her?

She pushes the unpleasant feeling away, focusing instead on Senpai's closeness to help it go along. It's difficult to stay angry when She's in Ayano's sight, and for that, the girl is grateful. She wouldn't want a stray thought to sour her time with Senpai. That would be a crime she could never forgive, even in death.

It's why the heroes are here. At least, Ayano's as sure as she can be of it after considering the alternatives. The news caused her some alarm when she first heard of the event, irrational fear gripping her heart at the possibility that, somehow, they know. She quickly dismissed the wouldn't be having a public show like this if that were the case, and besides, if someone suspected her, she'd have been accosted by now. Officially, the event is meant to help increase awareness of gang activity and bullying – pretty standard, although usually carried out by the police. Ayano's classmates say it's just a PR stunt, which, the girl supposes, it might be, given the recent string of student deaths. Really, it's pointless for her and Taylor to be here. She not planning on joining any gang, and she's already dealing with the bullying problem for her Love.

"Ayano?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to go eat something out today? Dad told me to buy something for myself cause he won't be home untill evening, and uh..."

"I'd love to come along." She hides her smile in Taylor's hair. How could she ever not want to go wherever her Love does?

Taylor squirms in her arms, about to say something more when a commotion at the entrance steals her attention away. Ayano's lips curl in displeasure, what- oh. The heroes are here. Four in total, accompanied by their new principal, and only one that she recognizes – Miss Militia. The following two of are armored, in red and silver respectively. The last in their procession is a girl clothed in green and frills. A Ward, Ayano assumes by her small stature.

"Oh. I was hoping Armsmaster would come." Armsmaster, Armsmaster. Ah, right. The blue one.

"I thought you liked Miss Militia?"

"I mean- yeah, just- you know." She might, actually. Ayano doesn't know a lot of things, especially when it comes to reading people, but she's been getting steadily better at it since she started putting in honest effort so as to not put her foot in her mouth in front of her Love. She'd never let anyone else in close enough for that to matter, nor did she ever need it beyond appearing normal on a surface inspection. Even now, none of the girls who'd call her their friend knows more about her that she wants them to know, with the exception of-

Oh. So that's what happened in the hallway. Aisha must've joined Kristie's troop, then, if she can think of her now.

Regardless. If she understands what Taylor is saying right, then it's something to do with expectations and disappointment at anything else, no matter how pleasant, that was not the expected outcome. She can liken it to... having expected to have gone on a date with Senpai, only to find... no. No that's way worse than what she's going for. Rather - expecting to find both her targets dead, and finding that only one has died. Yes, that seems more appropriate.

Thoughts for another time – the girl decides as she disregards the heroes in favor of committing the moment to memory. Her warmth, Her smell, Her smile - all hers.

It's easy to let her imagination take over – to let herself think of waking up to this, of spending their mornings like this, limbs tangled and pondering the smile on her Beloved's lips. Of truly having Taylor in every sense of the word.

Yes, she could die like this, but the future is even more enticing.