Walking by the beach is nice, but after doing it twice already it's starting to feel a bit samey.

The same can't be said for the woman at my side, a grin plastered from ear to ear that appears to have become a permanent fixture on her face. I can't say this makes me unhappy; far from it, I realize that her smile makes me want to reciprocate.

I just wish the words out of her mouth matched the mood.

"-and then I could feel you start to twitch, and that's how I knew it was time."

"That's… great, Aria." I manage to smile through the cringe. I can't say I particularly enjoy someone describing sex to me, even if it's sex I participated in.

She looks over, notes the expression on my face, and the excitement seems to drain out of her. "A-Ah, yes. You don't like talking about this kind of thing."

"It's fine." I shake my head in amusement. "I'm used to it."

The smile that had been a permanent fixture on her face the last few days fades away slowly, and I get a massive ball of guilt growing in my stomach. "Yes, but… hmm." Her brow knits. "Taka, would you like me better if I was more… normal?"

"Hmm?" Her question brings me to a halt in the soft sand. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not stupid." She kicks the sand and turns around to face me. "I know that you get along better with Nozomi because she's normal."

I bite my tongue before I say anything.

She turns away from me to look out at sea as the words start to tumble out of her mouth. "By contrast, I'm weird and vulgar and unlike the others the only thing I can do is buy you expensive things-"

I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her shoulders.

This surprises her enough that she stops talking for a moment, allowing me to get a few words in, "You know… I'm pretty sure I told you that I love you." My throat suddenly becomes dry as I say it out loud.

"T-that was just because we were in the heat of the moment-"

I squeeze her tighter. "No. I really do. I may not be on the same wavelength as you when talking about lewd things, but I still care about you."

She hesitates. "B-but… the only thing I can do for you is buy you things. The others are always doing things for you, or working with you, but I might as well be a wallet with breasts."

Huh, this is the second time she's said it that way… "Aria, I don't like you for your money."

She twists out of my grasp to stare me right in my eyes. "Really?"

"Really. You're sweet in your own odd way. Life's always more fun when you're around. Sure, it's nice that you happen to own an island-"

"Three." She blinks. "Sorry."

"Three islands." I correct myself, not dropping the kind smile I'm desperately trying to keep on my face. "It's nice that we can do this kind of thing, but even if you couldn't do this, I'd still like you. I like Aria, not Aria's money." I grab her shoulders softly.

She stares at mo for a few seconds, brain processing my words. "So, you don't love me because I buy you things? I didn't buy your love?"

I open my mouth, but don't respond immediately, considering. "No. No, you didn't. If anything, you throwing your money around when I'm inconvenienced is sometimes worse than the problem itself. It's not that I hate that you're doing things for me, more just that I feel guilty taking all that money."

She blinks a few more times.

"Seriously, I'm just happy someone as beautiful and fun as you is willing to hang around me."

She steps forward and grabs my face, pulling me into a kiss. One befitting the pervert princess, her tongue pushing into my mouth as she pulls me to her almost desperately.

I want to say that I calmly waited for her to calm down, but I was so rattled by her sudden attack that I was barely aware of the world around me until she suddenly released me from her grip.

It takes me a second to recover enough to think again, and in that moment, Aria turns away and faces out to the water, her hands clasped behind her back.

I decide to make a very intellectual statement, but all that comes out of my stupid mouth is "Uhhhh…"

"Thanks for saying all of that, Taka." She kicks the sand. "It makes me feel a lot better."

"It's the truth though." I blink.

"I know." She turns back around, her face split in a radiant smile. "Because I love you."

"Aria seems to be in a good mood." Mitsuba says cheerily.

I gasp for air beside her.

"I mean, she was in a good mood before, due to finally getting to be with you." Mitsuba's cheeks flush slightly, though not from exertion. "But after your walk, I dunno, she seemed even happier."

I stop running, my feet dragging in the sand as I double over for breath.

Mitsuba turns to see me fading to a stop, and turns around to run back up to me. Even as she is next to me, she continues to step up and down on the sand to keep her heart rate up. "Are you okay?"

"Mitsuba…" I pant. "Please… let me… take… a break. I'm not… in shape."

She stops stepping in place and crouches down to my level, shit-eating grin on her face. "Oh come on, Taka! Back in highschool you were much better at keeping up with me."

"I also used to go to gym class. It's been two years."

"Well… we'll have to change that." Mitsuba pokes her chin. "After all, since there's seven of us, you're gonna be busy all the time. If you're out of shape you'll never survive."

'Busy', huh?

"...Alright." I take one last deep breath. "Let's keep going."

"Uh…" She gives me a look. "Are you sure? You're kinda worn out."

"Well, I told you I'd go running with you. No point in breaking the promise."

She looks back down the beach the way we'd come. "Why don't we head back? We can walk and talk."

I can't quite hide the wave of relief that washes over me. Still, I hedge just a bit. "Are you sure? We can keep going."

"I'm not here to kill you." She pokes me in the ribs, slightly too hard. "I just wanted to go running with you. It is harder to run on sand though."

"...I think you might have a point about me being out of shape though." I grin wryly at the tall woman. "Got any tips?"

"There's no quick fixes. You have to keep working your muscles to build-" She blinks. "You aren't serious though."

"I mean, it would be nice to be able to do some outdoor activities with you without forcing you to completely slow down."

She scratches her chin and looks away. "W-well, you're not that slow."

"Uh-huh. So, how about this: If we make it back home, I'll… I dunno, work out with you once or twice a week?"

Her eyes light up. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'll be a drag, but then I can at least spend some quality time with you."

"I can draft you up an exercise plan! Don't worry, I won't make it like mine, but it will be close enough that I don't have to spend all my time coaching you… um, why did you say 'if' we get back?"

I point down the beach at the camp in the distance. I really hadn't made it that far before tapping out, huh. "Everyone here on the island is kinda famous, and we're here to dodge the paparazzi right?"

"We did spend some effort making sure Hata doesn't know we're here." Mitsuba agrees.

"I'm pretty sure that some of them aren't going to want to go back and have to pretend we're not a thing again. I'm not sure if I could force anyone to go back if I wanted to." I scratch my chin. "Actually, I don't know what I'm going to do either."

Mitsuba grows uncharacteristically quiet for a few moments. "I can't say I don't want a nice wedding, but I'm fine if I don't get one."

"Huh? B-but, you told me-"

"I know, but Suzu and Kaede told me that only one of us can get married to you, and if it means that one of the others can be happier too, that would be great."

"I… havent put enough thought into it. I don't even know where to start." I look out over the water. "We could all move somewhere where polygamy is legal, I suppose."

"But I have tournaments all the time in Japan."

"...Fair point." I scratch my chin. "And I don't speak egyptian."

Mitsuba purses her lips. "Don't they speak Arabic now?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Taka, you're supposed to be smarter than me." She grins. "If I win in brains and brawn, that only leaves you with looks!"

I look her over, her fairly modest swimsuit still showing just how in shape she is. "I don't think I'll win any beauty contests."

"I don't care about contests, I just like how your face looks. And, I'm too muscular."

I can feel my face heating up, and I have to once more look away out toward the water. "You're not too muscular."

"I'm not?"

"Nope."

"Oh."

"Actually, if anything I'm jealous that you've kept yourself in top shape for so long. And, well…" My face positively feels like it's on fire now. "I like your face too."

She bursts out laughing. "And here I thought you just liked my boobs!"

"Hey!"

Her grin slips her face in two. "Alright! That's enough of a break, time to run!"

"W-wait!" I take off after her.

I look down at the absurdly well cooked meal, then at the wooden crate that hadn't been here yesterday, and finally at the blue tarp that had been draped over what looks like a full portable kitchen.

Not that I should be complaining, this pasta is delicious.

"-but even I can't buy an entire country." Aria sighs.

"Don't you own this island?" Shino's eyebrow shoots up. "You're the queen here. Just make it all legal."

"She does own the island, yes." Suzu chips in. "But we're still in Japanese waters. We're still legally bound to the laws of Japan."

"That's dumb." Shino crosses her arms. "We should just declare ourselves free of Japan."

"You really don't want to do that." Kaede looks up from her own bowl of pasta. "Breaking away from Japan means that this small island isn't protected by them either, which would be disastrous if a ship came by and decided to, say, enslave us and make their own kingdom here."

I pause mid bite, eyes unconsciously scanning the horizon to see nothing but water.

"We're not that far from the mainland." Nozomi points out. "Only thirty nautical miles. It's not so close that we're constantly being interrupted, but it's close enough we can call for the coast guard in emergencies."

Aria holds up a satellite phone to prove Nozomi's point.

Chihiro scoops some more pasta out of the vat that Mitsuba had been tending to since we got back from our run. "It wasn't easy getting that direct link, you know. I had to call in a few favors."

"Favors?" I ask.

I am promptly ignored.

"It's not safe to be this far out without a backup plan." Chihiro points out. "Especially since this area is known for hurricanes. We have to be able to get shelter somehow."

"Oh, there's a bunker on the island." Aria announces. "In the event of an emergency, we can hide in there."

Shino's eyes light up. "I wanna see!"

"Me too!" Mitsuba raises a hand, still holding the pasta grabbers and sending a spray of pasta sauce across the fire to plaster Suzu.

Suzu looks down at herself before sighing. "At least I'm wearing a bikini."

"Well, I'm going to go see this bunker." Shino looks around. "Who's with me?"

"I'm gonna go get myself cleaned up in the ocean." Suzu sighs.

"I'll get you a change of clothes." Kaede stands up.

"Well, I'm going." Chihiro says. "It sounds like a blast."

The others quickly decide to go, and then Shino looks at me.

"I think I'm good." I nod. "I'll wait here by the fire where it's warm."

"Suit yourself." Chihiro flips her hair. "Lead on, Aria!"

The five women disappear into the night, leaving me to stare into the dancing flames.

A minute later, Suzu comes out of the water sopping wet and sits down beside me, hands out toward the fire. She's shaking from the cold, teeth chattering.

"What the-" I strip off my coat and toss it over her shoulders, and she gives me a wan smile.

"Th-thanks."

"I thought you were gonna go wash it off, not go for a full on swim."

She laughs bitterly. "That's what I was trying to do. I got hit by a wave and got knocked over."

"...Shit, I should have gone with you. That's dangerous."

Suzu rolls her eyes, but seems to think a bit before talking. "Actually, yes. It was foolish of me to head into the water alone in the dark. I'll ask for someone to go with next time."

I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her in close, hoping to share some body heat. "You do that. I'd hate to lose you."

She nods. "S-same. Er… I have s-something I need to talk to you about."

I look back at her, noting that her eyes seem to shine in the firelight. "What's up?"

"It's about Kaede." Suzu stops to shake so violently as warmth starts to seep into her bones. "You and I both know she's still not that great with men."

"Yep."

"So tonight, don't press her, okay?"

Her words give me pause. "I take it she's supposed to be sleeping in the same tent as I am tonight?"

"Yes. I am too." Suzu's face might be flushing, but it could just be the firelight… "But if she says no-"

"Suzu, do you really think I'd force myself on her?"

Suzu bites her lip. "No, but she might be forcing herself-"

"I got you a change of clothes!" Kaede pokes her head out of the flap of the tent and hollers our way. "Suzu, want me to bring them over?"

"S-sure!" Suzu raises her voice, but it's muted somewhat by a shake wracking her small body.

Kaede walks over with a set of fleece pajamas and Suzu gratefully takes them.

"Well, I'll let you get changed." I stand up. "No reason to force you away from the fire."

"Thank you." Suzu smiles.

Kaede starts walking back to the tents with me, and I have to resist the urge to look back to make sure Suzu's okay.

"S-so…" Kaede starts to fiddle with her hair. "Um… Suzu and I are going to be with you tonight."

"Oh?" I feign ignorance, helped along by the darkness.

"Yes." She turns away from me slightly. "S-so, let me get changed, and I'll come to the tent in a minute."

"Uh-" I start to reply, but she positively takes off and jumps into the tent before I can say anything.

Instead of standing outside the girl's tent, I walk over to mine, look down at myself, and sigh.

"Mitsuba's right, I'm out of shape."

I sit down on the middle mattress and sit with my legs crossed. I used the temporary shower before dinner, so I'm not disgusting. I have a few wet wipes set out for afterward, and some more condoms…

Suzu's warning flashes through my head. I shouldn't try to force Kaede. Obviously. But, what was that about her forcing herself?

I'm still worrying about that when the tent flap opens, and Kaede walks in before closing the flap.

"Er… No Suzu?" I ask after a second of silence.

"She decided to take a shower to get the seawater off." Kaede licks her lips. "I made sure the fire wasn't going to burn down the island, so we're good on that front."

"Right."

She doesn't make any moves further into the tent, so I stay still, trying to figure out what to do.

Should I ask her if she wants to bail? Was Suzu right about her trying to force herself? What's the right response here?

"U-um… Can I sit down?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure. Wherever you want."

She sits down beside me, and I can see even in the gloom that she's breathing pretty quickly.

Ah, fuck it. "Are… are you okay?"

"I am fine." She says forcefully, more trying to convince herself than me. "I will be fine."

"...If you're not comfortable with this-"

She shakes her head vigorously. "I've been psyching myself up for this all day. I will be fine."

I hesitate once more, but press on. "Kaede?"

She finally looks back at my face. "Yes?"

"Please don't force yourself." I send a silent prayer to Suzu for the warning. "If you're not happy then I'm not going to be either.

Kaede's face relaxes slightly, before she leans in and brushes my shoulder. "Thanks, Taka."

"How about…" I look away trying to figure out what to do. "Well, let's see what Suzu thinks. I don't wanna deny her-"

"Deny me what?" Suzu opens the flap on the tent and looks at the two of us. She's dressed in the pajamas I had seen earlier, quite normal compared with what the others had worn the previous two nights. Now that I'm thinking about it, Kaede is dressed pretty modestly too.

Oddly, this puts me more at ease.

"W-well, I'm thinking that Kaede doesn't have to be here while we have sex. If we have sex." I correct myself. "Which is presumptuous of me to assume, but-"

Suzu barks out a laugh. "Taka, calm down."

I bite my tongue.

"Kaede, do you just want to go to sleep?" Suzu asks. "I'm not desperate. We can postpone."

Kaede licks her lips. "I-I can just go for a walk. You can go ahead."

"I'm not going to kick you out in the cold." Suzu's voice lowers. "Come on, let's just go to sleep."

Kaede bites her lip, but nods and lies down.

I lie down beside her, and Suzu flops down on the other side of me.

For a moment, I look up at the stars and wish that I hadn't geared myself up for tonight. Just because Aria and Shino and Chihiro are horny as all get out-

Suzu's small hand clasps around mine, and my thoughts are blown away. "Hey Taka?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

I almost ask 'for what?' before realizing that that's a pointless question.

"No, thank you."

She squeezes my hand.

"S-same." Kaede scoots closer, once more pressing her own shoulder into mine. "Thank you. Both of you."

"Always, Kaede." Suzu replies.

"Yes, always." I continue to look up at the sky through the tent. Y'know… I'm okay with this. Two people I love on either side of me as I drift off to sleep.

Then I feel Suzu pulling on my arm.

I look over at her, and she uses her free arm to bring a finger to her lips, just barely visible in the dim light of the stars.

She pulls my arm down, guiding my fingers into the band of her pajama pants.

Oh.

Suzu maintains eye contact, her face flushing as my fingers slide into her body.

I mouth "What about Kaede?"

She rolls her eyes and responds in kind. "Just be quiet."

Okay.

As I take over the movement duties, Suzu reaches down and starts to help me in a similar fashion.

I'm so engrossed in this I barely register when my arm on Kaede's side is suddenly seized.

I look over at her, my head very low on brain power at the moment, to see she's got my arm caught in her own two, eyes screwed shut. She's hugging my arm with the most adorable look on her face.

And Suzu is-

I twitch as she changes angle and this gets Kaede to open her eyes. "Taka?"

"Y-yes, Kaede?"

"I-I'm sorry about… n-not being ready." She fidgets a bit. "I th-thought I would be, but-"

"D-" I wince as Suzu starts tugging in a different way. "Don't worry about it. Take your time."

She snuggles her head onto my shoulder and wait a moment to make sure she's done before looking back over at Suzu in desperation.

"What happened to not being desperate?!"

She smirks. "I lied."

Then she leans in and plants a kiss on my lips.

Waking up… was about as awkward as it could be.

"So didja do it?!"

My eyes struggle against the light of the morning to see Shino poking her head into the text and giving the contents a good sniff, only to hold her nose. "Ew, maybe we should normalize taking showers right after sex instead of letting it fester for a few hours."

"Good morning, Shino." I mutter. "Oh, I'm fine. How are you?"

Suzu sits up blearily, notices her pajamas are in disarray and starts to tug on them self consciously.

Kaede is still happily snoring away, my arm still her captive.

Shino's head is joined by Aria's, and the other woman inhales deeply. "Ah, reminds me of home."

Shino looks at Aria beside her. "Your house smells like semen and sweat?"

"I'm… not actually surprised." I sigh. "Suzu?"

Her eyes are still half-lidded as she turns to me. "Whuuuh?"

"You good?"

She smiles distantly. "Yeah… Last night felt good." Her eyes wander back over to the font of the tent and she seems to recognize our company. "...Eep."

"It's okay Suzu, we've all done it." Shino says in what is possibly the least delicate manner. "No need to be shy about it."

"Actually, I need to hear what happened." Aria unzips the tent fully and pushes inside. "I was listening, but I didn't hear anything last night."

No, that's worse.

Kaede yawns, and everyone's eyes look at her. "Mmmm… Taka, good morning."

"Good morning." I smile at her. "How was your sleep?"

She blushes furiously and slowly starts to unwind her arms from mine. "I-it was nice."

"Didja finally lose your virginity?" Shino asks.

"W-what?!" Kaede shrinks under the blankets. "N-no!"

"But then why do I smell…" Shino trails off.

Aria points at my pants. "Look! Taka came, so He and Suzu were probably doing it right beside Kaede!"

"That's pretty hardcore." Shino rubs her chin. "A little bit of that 'NTR' vibe."

I glance at Suzu, whose face is now burning hotter than the sun. "Uh, no, we… we didn't-"

Aria leans down and yanks off Suzu's pants. "Hmm… judging by the discharge-"

"W-what?! Yu two had sex while I was right here?" Kaede's eye grow wild and she starts to hyperventilate.

I cover my face.

Why can't they be normal?

Whoa. It's been three years!

Judging by that time gap, the next chapter will be in… 2026?