Author's Note: Sorry guys, not much happens in this chapter, it's just sort of a lead-in to the next one. XD All these months of not writing and then I post this crap right? Thanks to everyone who is still bothering to read! XD

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"A beach house?"

"Yeah, Hokuto's company is doing some sort of big promotion thing this season that's going to keep them out by the beach for several days and since she has a big place she's using there, she invited the three of us along."

Kamui tried, with difficulty, to imagine straight-laced Seishirou in a swimsuit and coughed to cover his laugh as his mind immediately went to a bikini. Seishirou gave him a sharp look across the table as though he had guessed what Kamui had been thinking, making him wonder once again if the man was psychic.

"We don't have to go if you don't want to, or if you're not feeling well." Subaru added quickly, looking concerned.

"No, it sounds great!"

Subaru gave him a warm smile as he refilled his coffee cup. "Then we'll leave two or three days after school lets out."

Kamui beamed as he gathered up his backpack but couldn't help but notice Seishirou still shrewdly watching him. He wondered what the bastard had been up to lately that had him so on edge these days. Subaru didn't seem to have noticed, but Kamui wondered about the unusually long shifts Seishirou claimed to be working. He didn't believe for one moment that it was really just because the hospital was understaffed right now.

The few moments of blissful imagination of happy, sunny days were suddenly marred by the image of Seishirou trying to drown in him the waves and Kamui scowled as he walked out the door.

"Hey there, Mr. Grouchy-Pants!" Yuzuriha bounded up beside him. "What's gotcha so frowny this morning?"

"Nothing." Kamui hastily replied.

"Oh c'mon!" Sorata came up on his other side with a hearty slap on the back. "You know you can tell us!"

Kamui remained silent though. He had considered it before of course, telling the two of them everything. He wondered sometimes if their memories would be triggered by him telling them what had happened before or if they would label him as officially insane and laugh it off as they did so much else in their lives.

Sensing that Kamui was in no mood to talk about whatever was bothering him this morning, Sorata quickly changed the subject.

"Hey! I had an awesome dream last night!" He announced.

"Ooo, was it as good as that one where you and I were pandas that lived on the moon?" Yuzuriha inquired, looking hopefully across Kamui.

"Better! I could control lightning!"

Kamui's head snapped up from where he'd been staring at his shoes as Sorata continued recounting his dream.

"And I was part of this special group of people who all had some kind of nifty power like that; I think you were one of them too Yuzuriha, although I don't remember the rest. And we were supposed to be saving the world!"

Kamui stared at him but Sorata didn't seem to notice as he was staring at the front gate of the school, where Arashi was standing with a small blush and pretending not to notice him. "Onee-san!"

"Are you okay, Kamui?" Yuzuriha asked softly as Sorata dashed away to join her.

He nodded, feeling distinctly uncomfortable as she eyed him carefully. It was all too easy sometimes to forget how sharp Yuzuriha was underneath her sunny disposition.

"Sometimes I dream about magic powers too." She added hesitantly, testing the waters. "Do you ever have those kinds of dreams?" She asked him in a tone that was too forcefully light to be purely conversational.

Kamui gulped but was spared answering by Kotori throwing her arms around him.

"Kamui-chan! Good morning!"

He felt his face heat up as Yuzuriha stared at the two of them with open curiosity.

"You're the girl from the arts festival aren't you?" She asked Kotori. "The one he was dancing with?"

"Yeah!" Kotori beamed at her. "Did you come dance too?"

"I did there at the end; it was really fun!"

They had never really met before, Kamui realized. Two cheerful girls, both of whom had meant a great deal to him in his life before, had never actually had a conversation with one another. It was a strange feeling watching them take so quickly to one another now.

It was still surreal to see all of his friends alive and well, but in a way that made him feel like he was in a fantastic dream from which he never wanted to wake up. The Seals were all alive, they all seemed happy and were building lives unfettered by the knowledge that their fates were inextricably tied to the end of the world. The Angels too, at least those that he had known, were doing the same. Nearly everyone was accounted for.

So why wasn't Fuuma?

He knew it was obsessive, but he always came back to the same question. Why wasn't Fuuma enjoying a normal, happy life like everyone else was?

Or was he and he was just doing so elsewhere? Kamui wondered about that possibility. Maybe Fuuma had been given another chance at happiness, just not in the same place as everyone else. However, this raised its own question: why wouldn't Fuuma be happy with the rest of them?

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"So we've been hiking or going to the park almost every weekend since the festival. Yuzuriha remarked as she dragged out a fresh bag of dog food. "We should do something different for once don't you think?"

Kusanagi ripped the bag open and began pouring. "I was thinking we could actually go to the beach sometime once you're on summer vacation."

She gasped in delight. "Really?"

"Yeah, I was thinking Sorata could come along too and we could spend a weekend there or something. It would be a nice change of pace."

"It really would!" Yuzuriha sighed happily. "Inuki can come too right?"

"Of course! I'm sure he'll have a great time at the beach. Can't you just see him chasing sea gulls and trying to bite the waves?"

Yuzuriha laughed, hugging the grinning puppy as he bounced by after the food.

"A weekend at the beach…" Yuzuriha beamed at him. "It really is perfect Kusanagi."

His heart leapt at the praise and happiness in her voice and Kusanagi immediately felt ashamed. She was so young… how could he possibly think of her as anything romantic. He thought back on what Subaru had told him and tried to console himself again with the notion that no one chooses who they fall in love with. All they can choose is what to do with that.

He watched Yuzuriha happily tossing a ball across the room for the puppies to chase, laughing at the way their uncoordinated little paws slid and skittered slightly.

I'll stay by her and look after her. He thought to himself. There's no harm in that, right?

Right?

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"Hey Satsuki." Yuuto kicked off and let the office chair roll back next to hers, bumping against the desk corner with the soft thud of padded leather on wood.

"What." She answered flatly, her fingers busy flying across the keys in front of her.

"You ever get out?"

"You dragged me to the water park that one time." Her eyes remained glued to the screen but she could see out of the corner of them how he slumped against the desk, his chin propped casually up in his hand.

"Yeah I know, but I mean do you ever leave Tokyo?"

"Why would I need to leave Tokyo?"

"It's not about needing to." Yuuto half-whined. "It's about wanting to."

"Why would I want to leave Tokyo?"

He fiddled with a usb drive he had found lying around. "Surely you don't think the city is just that great."

"Of course not. Tokyo is filled with crime, pollution, and various social issues like every other major city. There is absolutely nothing special about it."

"Then why not go somewhere else?"

"Weren't you listening? Tokyo is like every other city. Why would I need to go to another one?"

Yuuto sighed wearily. "I wasn't thinking about going to another city."

"Where were you thinking of then?"

"I dunno, somewhere more chill. Like the countryside. Or the beach."

At this, Satsuki stopped typing abruptly and turned her chair to face him directly with a disapproving glare. "The beach."

"Yeah!"

Even in the dim glow of the monitors, she could see the way his eyes lit up and she tried to push back down her gut response urging her to go along with it just to see him smile like that more.

"Why would I want to go to the beach?"

"To feel the wind in your hair!"

"Blowing it straight into my eyes probably."

"To smell the salt of the ocean!"

"And probably some dead fish as well."

"To feel the sand beneath your toes!"

"As well as fleas."

"To swim with the dolphins!"

"And sharks and jellyfish and stingrays."

"Oh come on." Yuuto rolled his chair up to hers until their knees were touching. "I taught you how to swim in the pool, but don't you want to try swimming out in the vast waters of the ocean? Don't you just want to see something new?"

"I don't need something new when I'm satisfied with the old."

Yuuto rolled his eyes. "Okay well then how about this? I want to go to the beach. Would you come with me?"

"Fine."

He stared at her in disbelief, another argument dying on his tongue. "Really?"

"Yes."

"That was all it took?"

She pushed back and spun around to get back to work. "All you had to do was ask. Maybe that will teach you to be more upfront."

He stared at the back of her chair for a long time before he began to laugh.

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"Mommy, mommy, mommy!" Nataku skidded into the kitchen, his socks losing purchase on the freshly polished floor, sending him tumbling down. "Oof!"

"What is it sweetheart?" Karen asked, swooping him up and plopping him down in his favorite spot on the counter beside where she was mixing cake batter.

"At school were learning about shellfish today!"

"Ooo how exciting." She held up the spoon for him to lick off the remainder of the batter while she poured it into a pan.

"Yeah! It was really cool! Did you know that Herman crabs carry their houses around with them?"

"Hermit crabs."

"Yeah, those guys! Wouldn't it be weird if we carried our houses everywhere we went?"

Karen chuckled and dabbed a little smudge of batter on the end of his nose. "That would get heavy in a hurry."

"I know! But how come they do that? Is it like how you carry a purse just in case we need kleenex?"

Karen laughed again. "Maybe."

"Can we go see some Herbert crabs, Mommy?"

She kissed his forehead. "I'll talk to Daddy and see when he has a few days off and we'll think about it, okay sweetie?"

"Yay!" He slid off the countertop and Karen heard him patter away into Kazuki's playroom to tell her the good news.

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Tooru missed the ocean. She couldn't quite put her finger on why as she had not actually been there since she was a small child and even then was not particularly entranced by it. Sand was less than elegant, especially when it got stuck in your swimsuit. Nonetheless, she felt a pull to return to the seaside. Maybe it was the way Saya's hair rippled over the picnic blanket like golden waves that had made her think of it.

She leaned down to kiss her on the forehead, amused that she didn't even stir from the afternoon nap.

Actually, Saya had been sleeping an awful lot lately. Tooru wondered if something was bothering her that was keeping her up at night, or if she was just taking on a lot lately with school and voice lessons and whatnot. Either way, she figured she could use a break from everything.

We can go together. She thought happily and satisfied with this decision, she curled up beside Saya, letting the sunlight settle over her like a warm duvet, sending her into pleasant dreams as well.