"So, how's it going with Gou, Makoto!? Get it, going... with Gou... funny, right!?" Nagisa popped the question eagerly at swim practice with no reservations. Rei shook his head and sighed, while Haru looked off to the side. "Why are you looking at Haru, Makoto!? Answer my question!" Nagisa persisted, oblivious to the conflicting feelings in Makoto's head.

"There's nothing going on, Nagisa. Let's not talk behind her back." Makoto tried to hide his exasperation behind a small smile, and though Nagisa looked ready to persist, Haru's pert glance silenced him. He muttered an apology and they began practice as the redhead in question walked out.

"Alright guys, time for a difficult practice! Let's put in our all and work hard today to make sure we place later on! This beautiful, clear blue sky is beckoning to us!" Gou began practice with her usual enthusiastic managerial speech and laid out the exercise list to do for the day. Somehow, though, her enthusiasm seemed a bit faked. The boys started by stretching, with Gou attempting not to marvel at their muscle tone. The practice ended a few hours later, with all of the boys panting, sweaty messes ready to head to the showers.

"Ah, I miss the clear blue sky... This is nice and all, but it's not as beautiful..." Rei quipped as they stood under the showers. The sky was bathed a deep orange color tinged with purple around the clouds, with a striking red sunset completing the scene. It was a passing comment, but Makoto visually stiffened for a split second.

"I... like this sky too, though. It's colorful, and the red color of the sunset is beautiful, and striking, and so energetic..." All of the other boys stared curiously at Makoto after his strange personified description of the sunset, but he said nothing more, looking distant. Nagisa and Rei began bickering as always, but Haru continued to look at Makoto's expression, trying to read him.

"It's late, and I wanna go home..." Gou yawned as she waited for the boys to change. Nagisa and Rei came out together, laughing and trading banter, but the other two weren't present. "Hey, guys, where are Haru and Makoto?" She was a little curious as to why they weren't coming out together like always.

"Oh, Haru said he had to talk to Makoto... or something, I dunno... Rei, that was too much! I laughed so hard! Oh, anyways, we'll be going, Gou... See you next time!" The two walked off, with Rei blushing at Nagisa's teasing comments. Gou decided to stay and wait for the other two, since the train would only be coming later anyway. I wonder what boys talk about when they're alone...

"You're acting weird." Haru wasn't one to sugarcoat or stray from the point, so he confronted Makoto head-on about his behavior. For anyone else, it would have been excusable as a bad day, but Haru could read his best friend like a book, and he knew when something was off about him just be a simple change in mannerisms.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." Makoto laughed nervously. He realized he was acting strangely and knew Haru would notice, but he himself couldn't articulate why he was acting that way.

"As long as everything's okay." The raven haired boy kept things short, and motioned for them both to head out. Haru stopped dead in his tracks on the way, catching Makoto's interest immediately. The brunette suddenly realized why Haru was so confused. Gou was sitting on a wall, her breaths even as she slept soundly. The boys looked at each other, not sure of what to do.

"I... guess I'll wake her up." Makoto hesitated a bit in his words, but quickly paced over to where the girl was sleeping, as he tried to gently shake her awake to no avail.

"I'll walk by myself. Walk her home so she stays safe." Makoto looked back and tried to protest, but Haru had already started on his way. He sighed, not wanting to give Haru the same impression Nagisa had of their relationship.

"Mako...to..." The brunette whipped his head around, but noticed Gou was only talking in her sleep.

"Geez, Gou, don't be so cute..." Makoto blushed a bit at Gou's sleep talk and couldn't help whispering something back. Seeing her so defenseless and vulnerable like this, versus her usual boisterous self... the contrast was cute. He quickly brushed a kiss on her forehead, and then murmured an apology for kissing her without asking. With a final shake to her shoulders, she finally awoke slowly.

"Eh... what happened? Why is it so dark...?" Gou looked around in obvious confusion, not realizing she had dozed off. Makoto chuckled quietly and helped her up, explaining how she had fallen asleep. "Oh gosh, I can't believe I did something so embarrassing..." She quickly covered her face, but even in the darkness, the blush spreading on her face was evident. Makoto gently patted her head and began walking her home.

"It's not like you to fall asleep like that. Are you doing alright?" Makoto asked the question innocuously without much context, mainly to start conversation in the midst of what could turn into awkward silence, but Gou looked down wistfully as she walked.

"Big Brother has a Samezuka training camp for a few days, so he's been gone, and my mom went on a business trip too... It's hard for me to get to sleep when I'm all alone. Sorry, I know that sounds pathetic... I guess I just get lonely easily." She tried to laugh off what she had said, but Makoto could tell she was deeply affected by being alone. She was walking a few paces behind, but he walked towards her and grabbed her hand. They had held hands before, but somehow, this time was different, with Gou being the one who needed reassuring... Makoto felt a strange sense of responsibility for her.

I almost always have Haru near me, but Rin leaves her alone all the time without a care... I can see why she feels so lonely all the time.

"I'll stay with you until we get there, at least." They finally reached the Matsuoka household after walking in silence for a bit. Makoto almost felt sad to let her small hand go as they walked towards the doorstep. "Well, then I'll be going home, I guess..." Makoto began to walk back until he felt a tugging on his shirt.

"Don't go." The voice that came out of Gou's mouth was so tiny and uncharacteristic of the redhead, Makoto didn't believe it was her at first. He turned around and saw a beautiful, but tear stained face beckoning to him. He quickly ran up to her and hugged her tightly for what felt like eternity. She was so small in his large arms, and as she cautiously returned the hug, he felt his shirt dampening as she let her face invade his chest.

"I'll stay with you tonight." Gou was blubbering and shaking, so as he spoke the words, he lowered himself and extended his arms for her to piggyback on to. They almost hit the doorframe as they walked inside, and Makoto headed to her room and gently dropped her on the bed. "I'll... walk outside while you change." It was strange. Makoto had seen the girl naked, even had sex with her, but that night felt different... he felt something so innocent, something he couldn't identify, and he wanted to hold on to that feeling without tainting it with his desires.

Gou opened the door for him in her pajamas and let the boy in. "I can lay out a futon if you like, or you can stay in my Brother's room... I'm guessing you don't want to sleep anywhere near me." Her face was still red and puffy from crying, and her pained expression was still there.

"Gou, why would I not want to? I came so you wouldn't be all alone..." He worried that she felt self conscious after crying, and he learned forward to touch her face, but she quickly slapped his hand away.

"Yeah, but there's nothing going on between us, right? You told Nagisa that." Makoto cringed as he realized she had heard their previous conversation. His answer might have been something of a cover-up because he really didn't know how he felt at that point, but knowing she had heard it... he felt guilty.

"No, I just meant that we're not dating or anything... I don't know. I just don't want the guys to tease us if they knew we were, y'know..."

"Or maybe you just don't want Haru to think we're dating, because you still love him. It's okay, Makoto, don't force yourself. Thanks for coming, but you can go home. I don't want to bother you, and I don't want to be an obstacle in your love life." She motioned towards the front door and closed her bedroom door without even a good bye, leaving Makoto reeling.

As he walked back home from the Matsuoka household, he wondered why he felt so much pain in his chest. We weren't even dating, right? So it's not like she dumped me... I just feel bad because I hurt her. There's no other reason... right?

As he reached his house, he felt his phone buzzing in his bag, and took it out, not knowing who it would be, but he certainly hoped for a certain name to pop up. When he opened his phone and scanned what the text said, he couldn't believe what he was reading.

What have I done?