Towels? Check.

Sunblock? Check.

Snacks? Check.

Putting his stuff inside his dark colored backpack, Hiro pauses for a moment to look outside his windows. Most of the time, he made sure all the blinds would be tightly closed, but recently, he found himself yearning for the season's warmth. The sun's rays gently dispersed, bathing him in light that brought a strange giddiness within him.

The beach.

For the first time in a long, long time, he was going to visit the sea along with his friends and Zero Two. Had it been five years, or six? Hiro couldn't even care as he is left imagining how the fine sand would feel beneath his feet, or how the breeze would smell of salt and coconuts, but most especially, how he would spend the whole day with Zero Two.

He vaguely remembers her mentioning how she too hadn't come to the sea in years. Would her eyes sparkle in excitement once they arrive? Would she hurriedly scamper towards the water, dragging him along and splashing at him excitedly like a child?

Most importantly, he wonders what color will her swimsuit be and will it be either cute, sexy or bo-

'Stop right there!' Hiro reprimands himself, the color rushing to his cheeks as he tries calming down his raging thoughts.

'Stop it Hiro! This is all because of the heat!'

"Y-yeah, this is just the heat getting to me!" he blurts out to nobody. "The heat! The heat!"

"What about the heat?"

Letting out a strangled yelp, Hiro turns to see Goro eyeing him weirdly. The blonde man already had his bag slung on his shoulder and was dressed to go. "Ah, Goro!" Hiro says, "What brings you here?"

"Dude, you've been here for like, half an hour." Goro says, "We've got a bus to catch and we gotta go fetch Zero Two next door!"

"O-oh, right..I'm sorry…" Hiro quickly packs all the remaining stuff inside his bag and strides towards Goro before shutting the door behind him. "I was just thinking of...stuff.."

Letting out a breathy chuckle, Goro elbows Hiro and sends him a teasing smirk. "Ha! I bet you were thinking of Zero Two in a two piece weren't you?"

Blushing madly, Hiro looks away from his friend's amused stare. "No, I wasn't!"

"Yeah, right." Goro scoffs, "I've known you for forever, I practically KNOW you better than yourself!" he says before wiggling his eyebrows. "Besides, I bet Zero Two would look hot in a two p-"

Taken aback by the sudden shove from Hiro, Goro bites back a smile when his raven haired bro mumbles,

"Stop fantasizing, you pervert."

'Ah Hiro, I never thought of you as the possessive one'

As the two boys exited their apartment, they quickly went to the other next door. Unabashed, Goro knocked hard three times on the mahogany door. From the inside, they could hear faint footsteps until they are suddenly greeted by the appearance of their horned, sakura haired friend. With big, bright eyes, Zero Two greets the two.

"Hey."

"Yo." Goro replies, giving a casual wave, while Hiro was standing wide-eyed as he took in Zero Two's appearance. Her bright, pink locks were tied into a high ponytail, exposing the creamy, white skin of her neck. She wore a translucent camisole to which Hiro could trace the curves of her breasts all the way down to her slim waist. Not only that, but she completed her outfit with ripped, denim shorts that fully revealed her shapely and unblemished legs.

Gulping, Hiro couldn't fathom the allure the pinkette possess could increase ten fold during this heated season.

"Darling?" Zero Two calls out, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You've been spacing out lately. Is everything all right?"

With Zero Two leaning in to check on him, Hiro notices the supple skin of her chest as she dips down, and as reflex, he blushes and looks away. Unfortunately, Goro immediately notices and smirks.

"Ah, seems to be the heat causing him to be this light headed." the blonde says in a teasing manner, elbowing Hiro for the second time since this morning. "Aren't I right, Hiro?" he winks.

Realizing his friend's innuendo, Hiro pouts. "Quit it, man." he says while slapping Goro's hands off of him, earning him a laugh from the man.

"Aish! Anyway, we should get going." Goro says as soon as he regains composure. "I bet the others are waiting for us at the station."

Going first, Goro leaves Hiro and Zero Two standing side by side for a moment, when suddenly, Hiro notices Zero Two rummaging for something in her bag till she pulls out a cap. Silently, he watches her gingerly put the cap on her head, adjusting her ponytail to relieve any sort of discomfort.

"Hey, why are you hiding them?" he asks, pointing at her horns now hidden inside the hat.

"You know why.." she replies with a sour expression on her face.

"Yeah, but...we don't mind it a bit, y'know.." Hiro smiles, attempting to comfort the pinkette's worries.

Even so…

Shrugging, Zero Two starts walking past Hiro, who immediately follows. "Still, people would stare at them and that would be a pain in the ass.." turning, towards him, her lips twitch into a small smirk. "Don't worry darling, this is just some precautionary measures on my part. I'll take it off once we arrive at the beach!"

The bus ride going to the beach went fairly smooth, and luckily, despite it being summer vacation, there was no traffic in sight.

"That's because we managed to leave early." Ichigo, who was seated next to Ikuno, chimes. "If we left an hour later, we'd probably gotten stuck on the road." peeking over to where Hiro was situated, a small grimace makes its way to her lips as she watches him converse happily with Zero Two, who shamelessly clung to his arm.

"Ne, Ichigo? Are you okay?" Ikuno calls out, gently tapping the bluenette's shoulder who immediately turn towards her.

"A-ah, I was just thinking how bothersome it would be getting stuck in traffic…" Ichigo murmurs.

Meanwhile, Zorome, who sat beside Futoshi, was squirming in excitement. "Looks like someone's getting fired up." Futoshi says, chuckling as his friend continues bouncing up and down in his seat.

"I just can't help it man!" the smaller one beams, "Now with school over, we got nothin to stress about for two weeks! Aaaand.." Zorome exclaims, wiggling his eyebrows up and down with a mischievous expression embedded on his youthful features, "There's gonna be a ton of hot babes in the beach getting all wet and-

SMACK

Groaning in pain, Zorome cradles his aching head and looks up to see Miku glaring at him. As a response, he glares as well, the tension building around them.

"What was that for, you damned woman?!"

"Well! A pervert like you deserves ten times more pain than that!" the red head growls beside Kokoro, who was trying to calm her down.

"Now, now, Miku, I think it's better if you-

"Who ya calling a pervert!" Zorome cuts off, standing from his seat and headbutting Miku. "Besides, what're you getting all mad about? There's no way in hell am I gonna look at you in that way!"

"Ah so now you're implying I'm ugly aren't you?" Miku sneers.

"Well aren't you sharp?" the blonde retorts sarcastically, earning him another punch in the head by the woman. As a result, the two continued bickering over the remainder of the trip, ignoring the pleas of their seatmates or the annoyed stares from the others.

"Looks like this is gonna be a loooong trip." Goro sighs with Mitsuru nodding gingerly in agreement.

"Wow…." Once they finally got out of the bus, thankfully with the bickering couple unscathed, the group is mesmerized as their feet crunches on the powdery white sand and with the turquoise waters as clear as crystal gently crashing down the shores, leaving trails of foamy white bubbles.

"It's the sea!" Zorome cries out happily as he marches towards the shore in his little floatie with Futoshi trailing behind with the same amount of joy. In an instant, the two were now knee deep in the water, splashing in all directions as the rest watched them.

"Mou! How childish.." Miku pouts, her hands situated on her petite waist. "Just because it's summer break doesn't mean you can get carried away.."

"It's fine." Kokoro smiles while watching Zorome dunk Futoshi's head in the water. Chuckling, she adds "It's been years since we got to go together, after all."

"Mm." Ikuno nods. Scanning the area, she notes how the beach didn't seem to be crowded, aside from them, there were a few others who kept to themselves, to which most seemed to be foreigners. "It's amazing though, this place seems to be much more preserved than the other beaches I know…" true to her words, the last time she went to the beach with her family, it felt more like being stuck in a can of sardines rather in some summer paradise.

Ikuno shivers at that experience.

"Oi! Don't go too far out!" Goro calls out loudly before turning to see Ichigo smiling beside him. "Oh Ichigo, you okay with this?" he asks. Before summer break started, the council was tasked to organize the upcoming field trip of the whole senior high body, that's why Goro knew how stressful this would be for the bluenette as president. How she could even propose a beach trip was something he never expected to hear from her.

"Hm?" Ichigo looks up at him with her soft green eyes and smiles. "What do you mean..?"

"Well y'know..about the plans for the fieldtrip and such.." Goro mumbles while scratching the back of his head.

"Ah, well there's that.." she shrugs, followed by a smile that quickly mesmerizes the taller boy. "Well there's no helping it since, after all, we're part of the council..but since we're here.." grinning at Goro, she continues, "-it's better if we just enjoy ourselves for today.."

"Ichigo.." Goro mutters under his breath, but just as he was about to say something further, he notices how Ichigo's gaze instantly shifts to a certain couple running towards the waters.

"Darling! Over here!" Zero Two said with an enthusiasm akin to a child, all while she dragged Hiro by the hand as they ran closer to the salty water. Hiro, who was trying his best not to trip due to the pinkette's quick pace, huffed nervously.

"Zero Two! Don't hurry too much" he reminds her through short pants, although, she paid no heed to his words and instead, giggled in amusement.

"Silly darling, it's the beach! We're supposed to have fun." she grins at Hiro, savoring the sudden hit of the cold waters to her summer kissed skin, while the raven haired boy, unaware that they have entered the sea, was left in awe over the horned girl's dashing grin. It was different from all the other lopsided grins she made that were full of mischief, this time, her smile seemed to shine with pure unadulterated happiness that could rival the sun at that moment. Hiro wonders why her smile was making his heart race even faster than the other times he was with her.

'This is probably due to the heat.' once again, this excuse runs through his mind.

Meanwhile, unknown to the two, the others were silently observing them. They knew how Hiro and Zero Two have gotten closer in just a couple of months, but it was a first time for them to see Hiro look so carefree and just, happy, in a very long time. Seeing him laugh and play with Zero Two in the water from afar made all of them think that, perhaps, the child full of wonder may still be inside their raven haired friend after all.

And because of that, a simple happiness fueled by hope bubbled deep within themselves.

"I'm glad Hiro's okay now.." Kokoro says to the others with a smile.

"Yeah, I really thought he was really a goner." Miku replies. "Honestly, it was such a pain to see him look as if he was better off dead!" with the red head's words, something in Goro snapped as he recounts all the times he saw his friend engage in his suicidal tendencies; each moment made his blood ran cold and his stomach hurt, and even now, he wishes to tell everyone the truth yet, bound to Hiro's promise, the words can't seem to escape his lips. An overwhelming feeling of guilt follows him every time, yet, there was a small part of him that didn't want to worry any of his friends.

But still, he wonders what would happen if Ichigo knew Hiro's secret.

And based on her pensive look, he wonders if she'd ever take it well.

"Ichigo? Are you okay?" Goro manages to ask the petite girl who turns to him with a smile that didn't seem to reach her eyes.

'Is she..?'

"-Of course..what made you think otherwise?" she counters.

"It's just that..you look a bit glum.." he comments while pointing at her. Scratching the back if his head, he adds in a hushed tone so she wouldn't hear, "...I hate it when you look sad.." he blushes at the boldness of his own words.

But unfortunately, just as he planned, Ichigo didn't hear any of it. 'I know it's embarrassing but...what if she really did hear it?' his heart races faster at the thought.

"Oh..it's just..I was thinking of things.." Ichigo says.

"What things?"

"Well…" Ichigo pauses for a moment, thinking of what to say, before continuing, "I've had my misgivings of Zero Two in the past, and to be honest, I've still got my eye on her for Hiro's sake, but...with just one look of them together, I know that she is what he really needs.."

Smiling, she tells the man beside her, "And because of that-

It hurts

"-I'm happy "

They both stand quiet for a moment, just watching the waves crash against the shore until both Kokoro and Miku approach Ichigo with a beach ball in their hands.

"Yo Ichigo! Wanna play ball with us?" Miku grins, twirling the ball on her fingers with surprising expertise.

"It'll be fun!" Kokoro adds with an excited giggle.

Stopping for a moment to contemplate on the offer, Ichigo then turns her head to look at Goro with a stare filled with contemplation, and as if he could fully understand what she was trying to relay, the tall man sighs before gently messing Ichigo's short blue locks with a boyish grin plastered on his face. "You do what you wanna do." was all he said before slowly walking away from the three girls.

"Where are you going?" Ichigo asks.

"Hmm..I'm gonna join Futoshi and Zorome for a bit." he grins before jogging towards the sea.

"Well there goes Goro." Miku says before turning once more to Ichigo, to whom she passes the ball swiftly "Whaddya say Ichigo?"

Passing the ball back to the redhead, Ichigo waves at them with an apologetic smile. "It's getting quite hot and I think it's better if I get some shade. You two play without me." turning to one another, Miku and Kokoro share a glance before simultaneously shrugging.

"You sure, Ichigo?" Kokoro asks the bluenette who smiles reassuringly at the kind girl.

"Yeah, sorry bout that."

Sighing, Miku shrugs once more as she stares at the retreating form of her classmate. Once Ichigo was out of sight, she mutters silently to herself with a huff,

"Mou, that girl's still so uptight!"

Meanwhile, all while the others were busy frolicking under the glaring sunlight, Ikuno sat alone under her beach parasol with a pensive look on her face. In her hand was a pocket book covered in a leather dyed in lavender and decorated with tiny drawings of lilies. She'd bought it one time from a book sale while on the way home from school then immediately started reading it, and up until know, she couldn't get her eyes off from the pages.

'Just one more chapter.' was a lie she'd tell herself while she absent mindedly skims through the pages. For a small pocketbook, it sure had an ample amount of pages!

To others, it might seem quite weird to spend your summer time on a beach reading some kind of book, but for Ikuno, it was a normal thing for her. It wasn't because she didn't like mingling with others, but she really didn't like staying under the sun for too long. Even under her parasol, she could still feel the intense heat making her feel woozy and faint.

'If only there was something to drink…'

"Here."

Suddenly, Ikuno feels something cold pressed against her cheek and out of reflex, she jerks back to see Ichigo standing above her with a curious expression. Her bright green eyes full of ample concern and wonder staring straight at her made Ikuno feel all the more light headed, but in a good way of some sort; and to think that her best friend would actually take the time to approach her amidst her boring activities made her heart thump wildly in happiness.

"I-Ichigo..!" she stutters, still taken aback from the bluenette's sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"

Crouching beside the bespectacled woman, Ichigo silently passes the water bottle before saying, "It was getting quite a bit hot and I knew you don't fare well with heat." stretching her arms, she looks back at Ikuno with a bemused grin adorning her lips. "Besides, I hate it when it gets super hot, too."

"Is that so…" looking down at Ichigo's water bottle with a small, contented, smile; slowly, she puts it closer to her lips and relishes the cold feeling passing down her throat, yet oddly, she felt quite warm knowing it came from Ichigo.

'And to think she drinks from this as well!'

Fully quenching her thirst, Ikuno hands the bottle back to ichigo. "Thanks. You're a real lifesaver." she decides to say, making Ichigo chuckle. 'Ah, she really does look cuter when she laughs…' Ikuno thought, in return, making her cheeks heat up.

'I shouldn't be thinking about that..!'

Thankfully, Ichigo haven't noticed the burning crimson of Ikuno's cheeks, and just waves off the other girl's comment with a smirk. "Yeah, yeah, I know that by now.." She jokes before noticing the small book sitting on Ikuno's lap. "Yo, by the way, what are you reading?" she asks, curiously trying to peek at the pages, which Ikuno instantly hides with a nervous chuckle.

"Ahaha, this?" she points to her book, "I...um..w-well." Ikuno fidgets uncomfortably, clearly unsure what to tell Ichigo.

'If I tell her what I'm reading..she might think it's gross!'

"-well if what you're reading makes you happy, then I guess the premise shouldn't really matter, right?" Ichigo says, noticing the sudden change of her friend's usually calm demeanor. "Don't worry, if it bothers you, I won't ask again-

"-it's about...loving someone with the same gender.." Ikuno whispers, something Ichigo couldn't quite fully hear.

"I..beg your pardon?"

"It's about a duchess falling in love with a maiden then starting a scandalous affair.." she says with more detail. "..the story revolves with them trying to battle society's prejudice against them.."

"Really?" Ichigo exclaims.

"Yeah...and I know it isn't the typical love story women should be reading about, and I'm sorry if you think it's weird of me to indulge in this sort of thing, b-but it isn't what it looks like! I-I just think the duchess has a great character outline, a-and it's not just with her relationship with the maiden, but it's also because-

Cut off by Ichigo's short giggle, Ikuno quickly shuts her mouth and reddens in embarrassment. 'Darn, I said too much..'

Wiping a stray tear from her eye, Ichigo grins teasingly at her companion while lightly patting her head. "I see you still ramble when you get nervous, huh Ikuno?"

"T-that's…!"

"It's cute." Ichigo adds. With a fond smile starting to show on her face, she tells the dark haired lady, "Besides, I'm glad you have something you're so passionate about. I absolutely love this side of you Ikuno."

"L-love..?" Ikuno echoes back softly, her chest filling up with loads of feelings she couldn't distinguish all at once; it felt like it'll burst at that moment just because of one four letter word. 'Ichigo..loves me..?' she thinks over and over like a broken record, until Ichigo suddenly interrupts, voice shaking in embarrassment.

"O-oh! Not that kind of love!" the bluenette frantically explains, "I love you as my friend and I don't want you thinking about it the wrong way by the way!" Ikuno knew Ichigo didn't mean no harm with her words, in fact, she should've known Ichigo didn't imply anything at all, and yet..

'And yet…'

Why is that she couldn't control how her hands trembled as she closed her book, or how her shoulders subtly drooped and her lips trying to force a smile. Most importantly, Ikuno couldn't help but feel her heart sink and her whole body feel cold even if it was summer. She should've known better..

Sighing, she puts on a smile and continues chatting with Ichigo as if nothing had affected her, for as long as they had to be friends, she knew just how impossible things would be for her

'this…...I'm so hopeless…'

"Here I go!" Kokoro shouts from the other side as she tosses the ball to Miku, who quickly receives it, passing the ball back to the blonde.

"Bring it!" the redhead exclaims, letting out a high squeak as the ball hits her arms once more.

Meanwhile, as the two girls play beach volleyball by themselves, in the waters were both Futoshi and Zorome, who were unknowingly spying on them with slightly red cheeks. Placing both his hands above his eyes to shield them from the sun, the smaller male manages to sneak another peek at Miku, whose back was facing towards them.

"For some reason…" Zorome mumbles, his eyes unconsciously travelling lower from the redhead's back, "the girls look 50% cuter…"

Futoshi makes a sound of agreement, his gaze locked on Kokoro. "Gotta love the beach, huh?"

"This certainly is a sight for sore eyes, don't you think?" The two boys look in surprise as they turn their heads to Goro, who casually leaned on Zorome's floatie. Noticing their questioning stares, he feels discomfort build inside him, making him back away defensively for no apparent reason at all.

"W-what?" Goro asks, confused.

"Bro, never thought you had that kind of side.." Zorome says, further adding, "I always saw you as some goody two shoe, guess I'm wrong with that one." he snickers.

"Yeah! So you're one of us too, eh, Goro?" Futoshi grins, making Goro flush over the two's thoughts about him. 'What the hell were they thinking?!'

"O-of...course!" he bellows, pounding his fist to his chest to further emphasize his masculinity, "I'm a man too, you know!"

"Well if that's the case.." Zorome says, a devious look painted across his face.

"Tits or Ass?"

Futoshi, and especially Goro, chokes at the scandalous question asked by the dirty blonde casually chilling in his inflatable. Trying to suppress the growing redness in his cheeks, Goro manages to stutter a response; "I-it's none of your business…."

"Nonsense!" Zorome roars, his sudden movements causing water to splash all over the two. "We men are classified by either those who loves-

Fortunately, Futoshi clamps his hand onto the brash one's mouth, albeit with more force than intended. Facing Goro, he lets out a nervous chuckle. "Never mind this boy, Goro. What he said isn't true!"

"Shlik Helsh ish ishn't! (Like hell it isn't!)" Zorome's words come out muffled due to Futoshi's hand clamping his mouth shut.

"Anyway.." Futoshi clears his throat, "Y'know, with your good looks, brains, and overall reputation, I'm surprised you haven't even dated yet." he exclaims, eyes wide with disbelief. "I mean, you've got a whole bunch of girls sending you love letters all the time!"

"Well…" Goro chuckles nervously before answering. "Honestly, I don't even know why girls like me..and besides…" for a moment, he lets his eyes wander over to where a certain petite girl with short blue hair was. Immediately, his chest grows warm and his eyes soften seeing her look all loose and genuinely happy talking to Ikuno. For him, he believed Ichigo truly deserved a break from all the council work placed on her shoulders, yet nevertheless, he knew just how amazing she was with how she could efficiently balance her work and studies, while maintaining her own kindness and humility.

'-Besides...I'm perfectly fine with just being by her side…'

"Besides...?" bringing him back from his thoughts, Futoshi curiously leans over him slightly.

"Um..ah.." At loss for words, the bespectacled man gulps about one or two times before coming up with a different reason.

"I'm too focused with council work. That's all."

"Maaan, I'm so freaking jealous!" now free from Futoshi's grasp, Zorome lets out a groan in frustration. "How come you, Mitsuru, and even fatty-

"Hey!" Futoshi huffs in annoyance.

"-over here got some chicks following yer' asses? Hell, I'm the most handsome one around here, yet no one seems to fall for my awesomeness!" Zorome declares proudly before deeply sighing. "Jeez, I almost feel completely sorry for the girls...they don't know what they're missing!" just then, he notices a flash of black and pink pass by them. Recognizing who they were, this made Zorome even more frustrated.

"Damn, even Hiro getting some…" he murmurs in annoyance, looking over to see Hiro following Zero Two, who was floating on her back.

With intentions of following them, he, and the other two are suddenly alerted by a shrill cry most probably coming from Kokoro and Miku. Turning towards their direction to see if they were okay, the boys were pleasantly surprised to see the two girls in a...provocative situation..

Moaning in pain, Miku toppled over Kokoro, both of their bikinis slowly slipping off their shoulders; their womanly parts nearly rubbing together.

"Are you okay?" Kokoro asks.

"I-I think so.." Miku responds while thinking to herself, 'I bet this is Zorome's doing…'

'I could sense his stupidity all the way from here, And it caught me off guard!'

Unknowingly to her, the strings of her top were starting to come off loose, until Kokoro points it out, panic written all across her beautiful face. "Miku! Your top!"

"Ehhh?!" the redhead exclaims, panicking as well; her sudden movements making her top loosen even more. In a futile attempt, she tries covering herself with Kokoro trying to assist her.

"Stop moving too much, Miku, it'll come off completely.." Kokoro tries saying, but unfortunately, it was too late for the other girl, whose strings have finally come undone, and instead of running to the nearest hiding spot to fix it, out of sheer panic, Miku desperately clings to Kokoro in a tight hug and lets out a shrill cry.

"Kyaaaah! My bikini top!" Miku screams against Kokoro's neck.

"M-mikuu...i-it tickles…" the blonde shivers.

Meanwhile, after witnessing the whole scene from afar, the three boys all huddled together with their noses bleeding, yet faces lit up in pure euphoria. All together, they shout,

"LONG LIVE THE BEACH!"

"Hey, don't swim too far…" with his steps heavier in water, Hiro tries reaching out to Zero Two who seemed to be more relaxed than usual. On her back as she slowly floated, her long pink hair was spread along the tides, creating the impression of a sakura colored veil. "Zero Two…" he calls out for her, and this time, she responds by abruptly standing up from her previous position, her back facing him. Slowly lifting her arm to her face, Zero Two gives herself a small lick, her face contorting into a thoughtful expression.

"It really DOES taste salty.." she mutters to herself. "It's been a long time, huh…"

'Ne, when summer comes, let's go visit the sea, okay?'

'The..sea?'

'Yeah! We'll swim lots and lots till we grow tired!'

'But, what if i drown? I dunno how to swim…'

'Then I'll come save you!'

Smiling to herself, Zero Two twirls gracefully to face Hiro with a toothy grin plastered on her rose colored lips. Happily, she exclaims,

"It's the real deal this time, eh, darling?"

Confronted once more with Zero Two's cheerfulness, a warm feeling spreads across Hiro's chest, and once he realizes how the girl before him was wearing nothing but a red two piece that barely covered her assets, his heart beats loudly as a drum. Embarrassed, Hiro looks away from the horned lass and this doesn't go unnoticed by Zero Two.

"Darling?" she asks, confused at his sudden bashfulness.

With his throat dry, Hiro gulps before answering in a stutter, "S-sorry..i-it's just..you're swimsuit.."

"Is it weird?"

"N-no!" he exclaims, trying to clear any misunderstanding Zero Two might have, "It's not weird at all...in fact, you look great.." blushing deeply, he adds softly "I just can't seem to look you on the eye.."

Zero Two chuckles lightly, "Oh is that so? Then I guess I should take it off then.." she teases, resulting in Hiro turning as red as a tomato.

"NO, THAT'S NOT IT..!" Just then, he feels Zero Two's finger pressed against his lips, and he shivers at the touch. Slowly, she speaks in one of the most gentle of tones he has ever heard from her.

"Y'know, back then, the real reason why we don't often go to beaches before was cause I hated the sea…" she says with a hint of sadness evident in her voice as she cups some water in her hands. "But thanks to you, I'm able to be here.." then, wading closer towards Hiro, Zero Two places a hand on his chest, revelling in the rhythm of his heartbeat.

"You're my wings, right? With you, I could fly anywhere I want…"

'You and me, we'll explore the world someday, together!'

'Really? You mean it?'

'Yep! I promise we'll be together…

"Say, darling, we'll always be together right..?"

"Forever" he says.

Forever.

Overcome with a happiness she couldn't contain, Zero Two's arms snake its way towards Hiro's neck, pulling him closer till their noses touch. Staring at the intensity of her teal orbs, Hiro could feel every part of his body tingle in anticipation, more so when he sees her starting to lean in.

In short pants, he stutters her name. 'Is she going to kiss me..?'

Remembering the softness of her lips against his, Hiro unconsciously finds himself leaning in with his eyes closed. Any closer now, and he knew they were about to-

LICK

'Eh..?'

For a moment, he couldn't quite comprehend what she just did until she lets go of him laughing hard. Instinctively, he puts a hand on the spot where she licked him and flushes deeply in embarrassment.

"You're taste really does make my heart race, darling!" Zero two half jokes, half compliments him. In truth, she really did like his taste, even more with how the saltiness of the sea mixes in perfectly. Before Hiro could argue, she puts her finger on his lips again, a teasing smirk settled on her smug face. "You were expecting a kiss, weren't you?" she teases, causing the blushing boy to look away.

Pulling away, Zero Two smiles as she begins lecturing him about certain concepts. "A kiss is supposed to be a declaration that a person belongs to you!" she exclaims in a matter-of-fact kind of tone. "That's why, you should only kiss the person you love!"

"Love? Kiss?" In his mind, thousands- no, millions of thoughts were making him severely puzzled. With what Zero Two just said, Hiro wonders if she was implying something. A thought hits him hard and slowly, he realizes one possible reason why she kissed him before.

'Don't tell me...is Zero Two ACTUALLY in love with me..?!' but before Hiro could question her, he feels something grab hold on to his ankle, and with a forceful yank, he finds himself being dragged underwater without any warning, leaving Zero Two all alone confused with what just happened.

"...Darling?"

"-and then, since we haven't gotten more models for the festival's promotion, Goro actually cross dressed for the council?" Ichigo laughs while telling Ikuno the wildest things the council has ever done. Amused, Ikuno finds herself trying to stifle a laugh.

"So...does that mean the tall, blonde girl in the posters was actually Goro?" she asks, barely containing her laughter.

"Yup! You should've seen his face after the photoshoot!" Together, they both giggle loudly at the image of Goro looking all sullen with his masculinity trampled on. For Ikuno, the book she was reading earlier has long been forgotten because of Ichigo's presence, and for her, she was absolutely satisfies just being by the bluenette's side.

If possible, she would like to spend a whole day with just the two of them together telling jokes and sharing stories.

'Still...I don't want to keep Ichigo from having fun..' she thinks sadly as she glances at the other girl staring longingly at the ocean.

"Ichigo, would you like to swim? I know just how much you love being in the water." she smiles.

"E-eh?!" the bluenette exclaims, surprised, before gazing at Ikuno with worry. "But..how about you, Ikuno? I'm not sure if I could leave you here." she mumbles, only to be waven off by Ikuno, herself."

"Relax. I'm fine" she reassures with a grin. "Besides, I've got this book I'd love to finish. You can go ahead."

"You sure?" Ichigo asks once more and she nods.

"Affirmative."

Although she was still contemplative whether to leave Ikuno alone, Ichigo guessed that the girl wanted to have some alone time, so, she decided to go have a little dip in the water. Besides, Ikuno was right, she really did love swimming. It was an outlet of hers whenever she was super stressed with school. Jogging away, she stops to turn back at her friend and grins happily. "Thanks, Ikuno!" Ichigo says, and with that, she ultimately leaves her friend under the parasol. Ikuno smiles, but deep down, she wished she could've hung out with Ichigo for a little longer; rather, she is back to grabbing her book and reading whatever contents may be left. Unknown to her, her cousin approaches her with a questioning glare.

"You came all this way just to read?" Ikuno looks up to see Mitsuru staring right back at her.

Deadpan, she answers, "Forcing myself to frolic around doesn't sit well with me." even if they were cousins, they didn't really get along with each other; in fact, right at that moment, Ikuno could feel the air around them grow intense until Mitsuru shrugs.

"Can't argue with that." he sighs before noticing Zorome, Futoshi and even Goro dragging Hiro to God knows where. To him, underneath the annoyance he felt whenever the raven haired teen was around, he found himself growing curious with what may unfold, now that Hiro was starting to incorporate himself back into the group.

"Isn't it great?" he blurts out. "The guy who looked like he wanted to die not too long ago...is now part of the group again.." Ikuno merely rolls her eyes, a trait the two seemingly both share.

"Please don't look to me for affirmation." she tells him bluntly before looking away, "I'm not like you."

"Hm?" Mitsuru turns to his cousin and smirks. "Oh, sorry. I was merely talking to myself." he says before walking away from Ikuno. 'Maybe I should go and explore this island for a bit.' he thinks to himself as he wasn't the type to join any kind of shenanigans.

Meanwhile, as Miku and Kokoro were resting under a coconut tree, the blonde woman notices Mitsuru going off to some place by himself. Worried, and slightly curious with what he's up too, Kokoro decides to follow him.

"Hey, Miku? I'll be going to the restroom for a while, okay?" she excuses herself and sets off to where the stoic boy went, which to her surprise, was a part of the island hidden by a pair of giant boulders. The opening was narrow, so she had to squeeze herself with all her strength to get pass. Once she does, Kokoro notices this part of the island was surrounded by forest trees covered in thick moss. As she further scans the area to see if Mitsuru was there, Kokoro sees a staircase leading up to something unknown. Despite her initial reluctance, she decides to go up and see whatever lies at the end. When she does, however, she is greeted by an abandoned town with a large temple situated at the center.

Sweat dropping, she tells herself;

"What...is this place?"

Hello again everyone! Sorry I was pretty inactive these days. We just had like, tons of quizzes for the past week and next week will be our preliminary exams :( (College is an ass) Anyways, I've found out that once you use the Fanfic app, the whole document wouldn't be italicized so, yay for us! (Although I'm not sure if that's the case for some of you...)

Well, as always, Please look forward for the next chapter and leave a review! Thanks!