"New love is grand. Savor all the crazy, muddled might of it."
Eli Easton, The Mating of Michael

Chapter 4

"What the hell were you thinking?" the man asked his companion. "I know you have a thing for little girls, but we were ordered to trail her, not try to make contact."

The man in the passenger seat wiped the drool from his jaw and grunted.

"I know that! But she was there, and I was there, and there was no one else around and my hormones took over my brain. I just wanted a little taste…" the man trailed off looking outside the window.

"The boss is going to be pissed. Its too soon." The man driving the car muttered.

His companion crossed his arms and stayed silent. After a few minutes of silence, the man turned towards his partner and said "Do you think the boss will let me have a taste before he's done with her?"

His partner looked at him incredulously then shook his head before he turned his eyes back on the road.

"You're an idiot. You've seen the way he looks at her picture. He might just keep this one."

The man in the passenger seat sighed and kicked the dashboard.

"Hey! Don't take out your frustration on my car! I'll kick your ass you little shit!"

"Yeah, yeah. Lets just report back to boss."


Naegi could feel her friends' intense stare on her and tried not to flinch. She was hoping they'd forgotten about that little tid bit of her being followed. No such thing. She shifted uncomfortably under the weight of everyone's stare and resolved herself.

"Look, I don't even know if it's true. Its just a feeling I had." Naegi said. Komaeda shook his head and crossed his arms.

"No, you were right." He said. Naegi's head snapped up.

"What?" she asked. Chiaki and Hinata looked at him with wide eyes.

"You mean, someone has been following her around? Shouldn't we tell someone about this?" Chiaki asked looking at Naegi in concern.

"How do you know she's right?" Hinata asked.

"Because I followed her footprints. Naegi was alone till she reached the school gate, that's when she started being followed. Naegi must have noticed then and started to run, the pursuer hot on her heels. Once they noticed she was heading somewhere with people though, they took a turn in the opposite direction, got in a car, and drove away." Komaeda explained. The other three looked at him in shock. "Naegi," Komaeda said softly. "You should let Togami know about this, he'd be angry if you kept something like this from him."

Naegi looked at her headphones and twirled the cable. "I know. But not yet." When Komaeda looked like he was about to protest, Naegi hastily said "Monday. I'll tell him then. Right now, he's learning from his father on how to run Togami Industries. He's worked so hard to get this far; he doesn't need to worry about this. Not yet."

Komaeda looked at her hard. Finally he nodded. "All right," he relented. "Monday. If you don't tell him I will." Naegi instantly released the breath she'd been holding and looked at him gratefully.

"Thank you." She smiled. Komaeda returned her smile.

Hinata broke the silence. "Guys? That's great and all but now that we know that she's definitely being followed, she shouldn't be alone." Chiaki nodded as well.

"It's the weekend too so she'd be all alone in her dorm room…" Chiaki said. "Oh! Why don't we have a sleepover?"

Naegi looked at her in confusion. "But boys and girls have separate dorms, they're not allowed in each others room."

Komaeda shook his head. "Ah, that's only for the first years. Once you turn into a second year, you have the option of choosing to room with someone from the opposite sex or stay roomed with someone from the same gender."

Hinata and Naegi looked at him in surprise.

"Really?" they both asked. Komaeda and Chiaki both nodded.

"I think Naegi would feel more comfortable in a girls room so let's have the sleepover at my room. You boys are welcome to come as well. Oh! We can play games!" Chiaki said excitedly.

"I don't mind." Naegi said. Komaeda and Hinata looked at each other.

"Are you guys sure? What if we try to do something?" Hinata teased.

Naegi smiled sweetly and said "Well, I'll just castrate you silly." Komaeda and Hinata both gulped.

"Kidding! I was just kidding." Hinata hastily said. Komaeda cleared his throat.

"Shall we go then? We should stop by the store and get some food if we're going to be spending the weekend in doors." He suggested. Everyone agreed and started in the direction of the store.

It was definitely one of the best sleepovers Naegi had had in a while she thought.


Togami's eye twitched. All through morning classes, Naegi looked as if she wanted to say something to him before deciding against it. Togami was getting irritated. Naegi didn't keep secrets from him. Something was up. He had to get to the bottom of this.

That's why, when the bell rang to announce it was lunchtime, Togami got up from his seat and dragged Naegi out of the classroom. Naegi didn't say anything. Once they were both sitting in their usual spot in the courtyard, Togami turned towards Naegi and said, "Spill." It was a command not a question.

Naegi fiddled with her headphones' cable, took a deep breath and said in a rush "Someonesbeenfollowingmeforthepastfewweeks!"

Togami blinked. Of all the things he was expecting to hear, this was not one of them. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What the hell do you mean someone's been following you for the past few weeks?! And why the hell am I hearing about this now!?"

"I wasn't sure! I thought it was my imagination…but…"Naegi looked down.

"But what?" Togami asked.

"Well, on Friday I could actually hear someone. I didn't see anyone behind me, but the feeling of discomfort grew stronger so I ran. That's when I heard labored breathing and the sound of footsteps. Komaeda confirmed it though. He noticed another set of footprints besides mine." Naegi said hugging herself.

"Why didn't you call me?! What if something had happened to you all those times you were alone!" he said, his voice rising in volume.

The words hit Naegi in the gut. He'd known Togami would react like this, but hearing it still sent a flood of guilt through her. Perhaps she should have told him earlier after all.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you earlier but I thought it was my imagination. And when it was finally confirmed last Friday, I just couldn't tell you."

"And why is that?"

"All of last week you seemed so excited to finally start your training to run Togami Industries that I decided that my thing could wait. It wasn't as important as what you were doing."

Togami stared at her like she was speaking a foreign language. "Naegi. Nothing is more important to me than you. Nothing. When something this big happens to you, you call me. Anytime."

Naegi blinked. "I-well-"

Togami stood up from his seat and advanced on her. He put both hands beside Naegi's head, effectively trapping her in her seat. He was leaning so close that Naegi could feel his breath on her cheek. She flushed. If Naegi moved even an inch, their lips would meet.

"Nothing is more important to me than you. Do you understand?" he said looking her in the eye.

Naegi's heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest. Too close she thought. Togami was too close. She was all too aware of his body this close. She couldn't help but ask him why though. Togami smirked and before Naegi could say anything, their lips met.

Electricity coursed through her. It was like a thousand fireworks had gone off and all Naegi could think of was more. She wanted more. Her hand found Togami's hair and she pulled him closer. Togami smirked into the kiss and he hungrily kissed her back. One of his hands was at her waist, while the other cradled her head.

So this was why she'd been so weird around the heir recently Naegi thought. Her heart knew what she wanted before her brain did. If she really thought about it, the signs were all there. She'd just been in denial.

When the need for air rose, their lips parted. They were both breathing heavily. Togami looked at Naegi's swollen lips and mussed hair and kissed her one more time.

"Understand?" he asked her again. Naegi could only mutely nod back. "Good," he said and leaned back.

Naegi touched her lips in wonder. "So…does this mean we're dating?" she shyly asked. Togami reached out a hand and brushed Naegi's bangs away from her face. There was so much emotion in that gaze that it almost made her tear up.

"I would have thought that was obvious with our earlier actions." Togami smirked. "But I suppose I'll ask anyway. Naegi" he said looking her in the eyes, "Would you like to go out with me?"

Naegi enveloped him in a hug and practically screamed her answer. Yes yes yes. Togami chuckled and returned her hug.

"Don't think this means you're not in trouble though." Togami said setting her down.

"I was careful, I promise. I had a sleepover with Chiaki, Komaeda and Hinata so I was in no danger."

"Hinata?" Togami said slowly. He knew Chiaki Nanami from the 77th class along with Komaeda but this Hinata was new.

"You'll like him I promise. He just transferred into the 77th class and he's awesome!" Naegi insisted.

"Hm." Togami sounded dubious, not that Naegi could blame him. He'd been doubtful about Komaeda at first too. "Well, there's still some time left for lunch. Want to go get your bento?" Togami said, offering Naegi his hand. Naegi smiled and took his hand in hers and they made their way to their classroom.


Touko couldn't believe what she'd just seen. She'd been scouring the school grounds for her White Knight with no luck and was just about to give up when she noticed blond hair from the corner of her eye. A dreamy look took over her features. She was just about to head in his direction when she noticed he wasn't alone. Touko immediately hid behind a tree.

That insufferable Naegi Makoto was with him again. That girl had some nerve! Why her White Knight decided to waste his time on someone as boring as this, Touko had no clue. She couldn't here what they were saying but she had a good view from where she was standing.

It looked like they were arguing. Good. Touko thought. That Naegi had to learn her place. Her White Knight would put her in her place and then she would stay away. Touko smiled and started panting heavily. This was going to be great she mentally cheered.

She looked back at the two teenagers and waited with baited breath. Naegi looked like she was going to cry. Serves her right she thought. Her White Knight had gotten up and was advancing towards her, he had her trapped between his arms, and-wait. What the hell?! The hell was this?! She had to be dreaming Touko thought. She had to! Because what she was seeing couldn't possibly be true! Her white knight couldn't possibly be kissing a commoner such as Naegi Makoto. Right?

Touko chanced another look at the two teenagers and was rewarded with the sight of them kissing. Her precious White Knight was kissing the Ultimate Hope known as Naegi Makoto as if he was a starved man. Touko shielded her eyes with both hands to block her view of the two. After about a minute of this, Touko made a small opening and took another peek.

Her breathing picked up speed as she imagined what else could happen. Images of her White Knight pinning Naegi to the table and having his way with her flashed through her mind. Naegi would be a whimpering mess under him and in no time she'd all but be screaming his name.

Touko felt all the blood rush to her head and she had to use both hands to steady herself lest she end up on the floor. A million ideas for a new book materialized in her head. She looked back at the two and noticed they were heading back into the classroom holding hands.

Perhaps this wasn't as bad as she originally thought, Touko decided as she followed after the two. To be honest, it was kind of hot.


Scenes from the Sleepover

Komaeda, Naegi, Hinata, and Chiaki were all in a circle wearing their pajamas. Chiaki and Naegi were both wearing tank tops and shorts while the boys had T-shirts and loose sweat pants. Chiaki had gotten the bright idea for everyone to share some of the most embarrassing things they had done during a sleepover.

"Ok, I guess I'll go first," Naegi said from her spot. "This happened when I was in the third grade. Togami's father had invited my sister Komaru and I to a sleepover at their mansion. All three of us slept on the same bed. Naturally I drank a lot of water and forgot to go the restroom before bed. So it was no surprise that I had pissed the bed. It was…very awkward. What made it worse was that Togami woke up a few minutes to find not only his bed full of piss but me staring at them from a chair. I pointed at my sister and he scowled. A minute later he joined me on the other chair and we both stared at my sister till she woke up. She apologized profusely for the mess she'd made and I scolded her about not going to the restroom before bed."

"Oh my god, you did not!" Hinata said while holding his stomach from all the laughter.

"Naegi-Chan…" Komaeda was shaking his head in amusement.

"Oh Naegi," Chiaki said smiling, "Please use the restroom before bed," she said seriously. Naegi flushed.