The Gift of a Curse

by xchrispx

He wanted to protect his friends. She wanted to protect him. He had a curse he couldn't shoulder on his own. She wanted to help carry that curse. He would change the world. She would crush all who dare oppose him. They say behind every great man is a great woman. Haruto is that great man. Saki is that great woman. Haruto x Saki, L-elf x Lieselotte, L-elf x Shoko triangle.

6. The Date

A/N: This is probably close to my quickest update ever, I've actually been sitting on this chapter for a few days, taking a minute to edit it. I wanted to update this in one in a week but it just kept on going. It's ironic actually. I came into this chapter worried about not being able to get 10,000 words and I ended up reaching 16,000 if the Openoffice word count is right.

That one and the word count on the FF doc manager never seem to coincide for some reason.

Anyways, it seems the Haruto x Saki fics picked up a bit. As I already before Zidana123 already put out her first chapter for her fic Touched by the Moon, so check it out if you hadn't it's really good. Personally I'm dying for the 2nd chapter.

Timeless Enigma started Muse in the Velvet Room an au (no Valvraves or space vampires) fic which is pretty damn good. It has a certain poetic style to it.

RedDawnRocker also wrote two Haruto x Saki fics one of them is pretty sad.

Valvrave: The Founding of An Empire by AJ-Writer is probably my favorite though. Not only is he putting his own twist to the Valvraves and Magius abilities but he turned Haruto into a fucking monster, it's insane! Dude went on a 1 man rampage on a Dorssia ship. Also the length to chapter 2 was I think over 20,000 words. I hope the next update is just as long and as quick.

There's also a Valvrave/Code Geass crossover that'll have a Lelouch x C.C and Haruto x Saki pairings, so you might wanna check that one out as well.

And I have to say that I agree with Zidana123 when she says that the intended to have 3 seasons but had to stop and cut it to 2. If I recall correctly in the season 2 trailer there's a scene and dialogue that I didn't see in the 2nd season, and if they did happen I must've missed it. The audio was of Saki screaming for Haruto to save her, which I honestly thought would come in the episode where she gets stabbed. I figured she'd wake up and realized what was going on (because honestly she looked like she was drugged when she was killed) and then scream for Haruto, but that obviously didn't happen. And then the scene was Saki confronting Cain, but again that didn't happen.

I would go on but I'm lazy right now.

Enjoy the fic.

---

"So, what do you wanna do first?" Haruto questioned as he and Saki walked into a fairly large public park.

After they both left the hanger, Saki still on his back, they quickly changed into their fatigues and went to their separate dorms to wash up with the plan to meet up at a nearby park. Piloting a Valvrave was very exerting on the body which resulted in sweat, hence the need for a shower. It wouldn't do to be sweaty on their first date.

Haruto could laugh over the fact that not too long ago they were fighting against Dorssia forces and now they were going on a date an hour after.

"Don't ask me. It's the guy's job to decide what to do on a date."

"But, I told you already, I've never been on a date. I have no idea what I'm doing."

"You've never piloted a giant robot before and yet you were able hold off Dorssia." Saki countered before she raised an eyebrow. "Or have you?"

" . . . No. I was just plain old Haruto before all this happened." he responded in a deadpanned tone.

What she think he was a power ranger or something?

"Aww. How boring your life must've been."

"Well, not all of us can be idols."

"Someone sounds jealous." Saki teased before she had a brilliant idea. "I still have some of my dresses from my idol days. If you want . . . you can wear one."

"What?! Why would you think I would wanna wear a dress?!" Haruto was more than red. "What kind of guy do you think I am?!"

"Alright, calm down, calm down. I was just kidding." Saki stated but give him a wink at the end.

"What's with the wink?!"

"So, back to the date." Saki ignored his question and got back to the main topic. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Haruto shrugged decided to let the matter drop, he wanted to get away from such a strange topic as quickly as possible. "I'm sure we'll figure it out."

"We can't just 'figure it out'. This is our first date, we have to do it right. Every single thing needs to be perfectly planned out. Not one thing can be out of pl- Hey look a fountain!" completely losing track of her current train of thought, Saki grabbed Haruto by the hand and dragged him towards a public water fountain. "Come on, let's go in."

"What?" Haruto gave her an incredulous look as he watched her remove her boots and then her thigh length socks. "We can't do that, we could-"

"We could what?" Saki cut him off with a raised eyebrow. "Get sick? Catch a cold? Earth to Haruto, that's no longer a problem." she finished while tapping her knuckles against his forehead.

"Oh, right." how could he forget, they were immortal.

"Now, come on." Saki said as she hopped into the water. "Oooo, cold." despite her slight shivering her smile never left her face.

"Hurry up! Hurry up!" Saki bounced up and down as she urged him on.

"Fine, fine." he couldn't say no to that smile. There was too much child-like joy on her face. So, he slipped off his shoes, peeled off his socks, and stepped into the fountain. "Cold."

"I know, right?" Haruto intended to reply to Saki but was cut off when she splashed water in his face. "How's that feel?" Saki felt a foreboding feeling when Haruto didn't answer right away. Instead, he slowly brought his hand to his face and wiped the water from it.

"How about you find out?" Haruto quickly returned the favor, only more so since his hands were larger, earning a loud "kyaa" from the former idol.

"How dare you!" Saki gleefully shouted as she began her counterattack.

Saki quickly learned her enemy was not one to take lightly. He was fast and brutally unrelenting in his attacks. There would be no mercy on this battlefield. He wouldn't give it to her and neither would she. But, as they mercilessly exchanged fire Saki quickly realized she was fighting a losing battle. She simply couldn't match her opponents firing rate or power.

She had to think.

To come up with a strategy to turn things around.

Yet, she couldn't.

There was nothing she could use to her advantage.

She would be defeated.

But, if she was going down she was bringing him down with her.

"Suicide attack!" Saki screamed as she rushed forward.

"Suicide attack? Aren't yo-" before Haruto could finish, he was tackled to the ground.

A loud splash resounded throughout the empty park as Haruto fell into the water and was quickly followed by Saki.

"That was a little much, don't you think?" Haruto muttered after he wiped the water from his face yet again.

"When it comes to victory nothing is too much." Saki replied as she sat up resulting in her straddling his midsection.

"Yeah, well, your 'victory' has gotten us all wet." too late did Haruto realize his poor choice of words as a coy smirk made its way onto Saki's face. Leaning down until her face was inches away from his own, her body pressed against his, her breath so close that he could taste it, Saki decided to continue her favorite pastime.

Teasing Haruto.

"There's nothing wrong with getting a little wet is there?" as if she was being seductive enough, Saki licked her lips, adding more stimuli for Haruto.

While Haruto was better at resisting her teases then a few months ago, when Saki took it to such a high level, well, he couldn't keep his composure. The only thing that came out of the blushing Haruto was incoherent babble.

Just what Saki was hoping for.

He was just too cute.

Unfortunately, the more she teased him the more used to it he got.

A true double edge sword.

"So, how far is it from here?" Saki and Haruto froze at the sound of a male voice, obviously a schoolmate, resounding throughout the park.

"Not that far from here." another voice responded and from what it sounded like, they were coming closer to the fountain.

"How much did you grow?" not wanting to be seen, Saki pressed her bodies down against Haruto's to make themselves as least visible as possible. They had a chance of not being seen if the two students didn't come close enough to the fountain.

"Enough for us to get fucked up for days." while Haruto's eyebrows furrowed Saki rolled her eyes when they heard that response.

"What are they talking about?" Haruto whispered to Saki.

"Weed probably." Saki responded with an amused smile on her face, "At least, I hope it's just weed and not something else."

"Should we stop them?" Haruto questioned trying his best to ignore the feeling of her body pressing right into his. Or more specifically, the feeling of her breast's pressed against his chest.

Her wet breasts.

"Nah, as long as they're not messing with crack or anything like that there's no reason to do anything." Saki found the term "crack" confusing.

Who came up with the term and why?

Of course the other term "white girl" was the most confusing. Most people didn't know of that particular slang term which used by people of the culture she grew up in for that drug.

In short, ghetto people.

Sometimes she found herself using old terms, among other things, from her past despite wanting to forget everything about it. The slang was actually one of the first things that the music company that signed her worked to get out if her system. As an idol she had to uphold a certain image and a person's words helped cultivate said image.

Old habits die-hard she guessed.

"If you say so." Haruto shrugged.

Luckily for Haruto and Saki, the two people who were talking didn't seem to notice them as their voices faded away in the distance.

"I think they're gone." Saki muttered as she slowly lifted her head and peeked above the outer rim of the water fountain.

"Finally." Haruto took Saki's offered hand and was helped up before he gave her a questioning look.

"Why were we hiding?" while he didn't want people to know they were sleeping in the same bed, the rumors would spread like wildfire, he didn't see the problem with people seeing them hanging out.

"I- Uhhh . . . I guess there was no reason for it, huh? My bad, I overreacted." Saki finished as she let out a nervous laugh. She knew exactly why she didn't want to be seen, she just didn't want Haruto to know.

The reason was a simple one.

She was scared.

She was scared that if somehow Shoko found out that they were together and going into the city she would figure out they were going on a date. Saki knew how Shoko felt for Haruto, and she knew that Haruto returned those feelings. The only reason nothing ever happened between those two was because neither one of them could make the first move. That was something Saki took advantage of by making the first move on Haruto.

Yes, she knew it was a bitch move, especially when she considered Shoko a friend, but she couldn't help it. The one thing she wanted more than anything was Haruto and his love. That was one of the reasons why she was so quick to jump at the chance to pilot a Valvrave. It provided the opportunity to have a place in his life, even if it was just as a fellow pilot. That was enough for Saki because she could strengthen their bond from there. She never expected something the likes of Haruto's curse taking over his body and then attacking her.

That, in all honestly, was something that gave her conflicted feelings.

On one hand, she hated anything and anyone that caused Haruto any kind of pain and suffering, something his curse no doubt did. But, on the other hand, if it wasn't for that same curse she wouldn't have had such an opportunity to get so close to him. That one curse helped her become so close to him that her heart ached at the thought of that fateful night never happening.

How would their relationship be?

Would she just be a friend?

Would she have ever an opportunity like the one she took?

She didn't know and she didn't want to find out.

Her chance was placed in front of her and took it.

She wanted a chance to be with Haruto so she took it.

Nothing else mattered to her.

Her fame and love could turn to infamy and hatred.

She could be looked on with disgust and hatred by the entire world.

None of that meant anything to her as long as she could have Haruto.

Saki would give up everything to have him or for him.

That's why she slipped in between the two childhood friends.

That's why she was afraid of Shoko finding out that herself and Haruto were getting closer her. Because if Shoko was smart and knew what an amazing person she could be losing, if Saki was making the progress she hoped she was, than she wouldn't just sit back and let it happen. Shoko would try to insert herself back in Haruto's life to remind him of his feelings for her.

So that's why Saki wanted to keep Shoko from knowing about how close they've become as long as possible. Because the longer it took for Shoko to find out, the deeper Saki could burrow herself in Haruto's heart. But, thanks to that curse, even if Shoko won in the end, Haruto and she would always have their own world.

Their own bond.

Even with that bond she wouldn't give up the relationship they've had without a fight. Just the thought of losing the moments, the time, they shared caused Saki to feel a pit in her stomach.

She couldn't lose them, him.

She just couldn't.

She couldn't lose those warm smiles.

She couldn't lose his embarrassed faces.

"Saki?"

She couldn't lose his kind words.

"Saki, you ok?"

She couldn't lose cuddling up next to him at night.

"Saki!"

She couldn't lose those euphoric kisses.

She couldn't be all alone again.

"Hey, snap out of it!" feeling a pair of soft hands on her wet shoulders, Saki snapped out of stupor.

"H-Haruto?"

"Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah, sorry just got caught up in my thoughts." Saki replied as she tried to give him a reassuring smile.

He wasn't all too convinced.

It was strange.

One second she was giving him a shaky response to his question and the next she was on her way to having some kind of attack.

Her breathing went from calm to labored.

Her eyes took on a haunted look that scared him.

Haruto didn't know what was going on with her but he knew it couldn't have been good.

"Are you sure? We can always do this some other tim-"

"No!" Haruto couldn't help but flinch at Saki's scream of denial. She herself noticed his flinch and mentally scolded herself for snapping at him. Turning away from him, Saki took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down before turning back around with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you, but really I'm fine. Come on, let's continue our date."

"Uh, sure." well, if she said she was fine then he'd believe her.

Saki was a strong girl after all.

"Ok, so where do we go next?"

"Our clothes are all wet, so getting some new ones would be nice."

"Shopping! Nice choice, Haruto!"

Crap.

He just wanted get a new pair of clothes not to go shopping.

As a male he hated shopping.

Why did girls take so freaking long?

Go in the stores, get what you want, and get the heck out.

That's how he did it.

But, girls were different and he feared that since Saki was an idol she might have had some old habits.

So caught up on his impending fate was Haruto that he didn't even realize that Saki was dragging him through the streets and towards the mall.

"How long is this gonna take?" Haruto groaned as they entered the house of horrors.

The mall itself was all but deserted.

No one worked there because of obvious reasons and the all electricity was shut off since it would be a waste despite the module taking in solar energy. It took a lot of energy to maintain the defense system for the module, so that's why Mr. Kibukawa shut down the electricity to the unnecessary parts of the module. But at the same time, he gave the blue prints and network connections to the entire module mainframe to the Valvrave pilots and other the students that were involved with New JIOR's government.

That of course was Shoko, Satomi, and so on.

With that in mind, Saki took out her phone (water proof so it was still working) and quickly found the mainframe of the mall. Typing in the master code, Saki quickly turned on the electricity in the mall bringing it to life.

"Now, let's get going!"

"You didn't answer my question."

"I don't have an answer for you, tiger." Saki replied with look over her shoulder. "For us girls it can be hours."

"I was afraid of that." Haruto sighed in despair.

"No whining." Saki scolded with a flick to his forehead before dragging him into a shop.

---

"Someone kill me."

Being immortal could really suck at times.

Haruto was experiencing one of those times.

The unending agony of having the life sucked out of him but not being able to die and end his suffering. He liked Saki, possibly loved he still wasn't one hundred percent sure, but shopping was definitely the lowest part of the date so far. Staying on the positive side of things, Haruto couldn't but think that things could only go up from this point on.

And it did.

He, she really, found clothes for him to wear, a white button up shirt and a pair of khaki pants; apparently she thought button up shirts looked good on him. Saki herself finally settled on a long, sleeved, white and gray horizontal striped shirt along with black pants. The horizontal stripes were a few inches thick and the collar showed off her collar-bone enough to catch Haruto's eye.

"Saki, I'm never going shopping with you again."

"What? Why?" Saki pouted as she gave him a hurt look.

But, he would remain strong.

"Because it was boring." seeing her become crestfallen, Haruto quickly continued. "Don't get me wrong I like spending time with you just as long as we're not shopping."

"Ok." Saki mumbled as she took on the look of a sulking child.

"Don't look all sad like that." Haruto gently placed his hand on her head before he began to pat it. "We could still do other things like . . . . watch a movie." Haruto suggested as his eyes fell upon a movie theater down the street.

"A movie, how cliché." Saki snorted while she rolled her eyes. "Let's go!" once again bursting with energy, Saki dragged Haruto towards their destination.

'It's better than her sulking.' Haruto thought with a smile as he was swept away in Saki's pace.

Before he even knew it, they were sitting in an empty theater room watching the beginning of a movie that Haruto didn't recognized. Holding back a sigh when he realized it was a romance story, Haruto couldn't help but gawk when he saw Saki's face appear on the screen. He earned a giggle from Saki when she saw him double take from the screen to her a few times.

"You did movies too? I didn't know that." Haruto couldn't help but be impressed.

Being an idol was one thing, but adding actress on top of that was truly amazing.

Now Haruto was interested in the movie.

Or more specifically Saki in the film.

He got so into the movie that he never noticed that Saki stopped watching it and turned her attention towards him for almost the entire film. She wanted to see his reactions. Saki loved watching his face morph from one expression into another. Only did her attention draw back to the movie when a certain part came up. It was the part where she did her absolute best.

It didn't surprise her.

The lines almost seemed like they were destined for her. She wasn't acting when she read the lines, she spoke from the bottom of her heart.

And how sad they were.

"I've always been alone."

"Huh?" turning his head, Haruto gave Saki a confused look. "Saki?"

"Family? Friends? No one chose me."

Where did this come from?

Saki wasn't looking at him she simply stared at the screen with an empty look on her face.

He didn't like the look.

"I wanted to be chosen. By just one person. If my loneliness became our loneliness, that would've been enough for me."

"Saki-"

"I've always been alone."

Wait, what?

Haruto turned his attention towards the screen where he heard the same words Saki just uttered coming from film, confusion rolling off him in waves.

"Family? Friends? No one chose me."

Was she simply trying to show off her acting skills?

"I wanted to be chosen. By just one person. If my loneliness became our loneliness, that would've been enough for me."

"Not bad, huh?" whipping his head to the side, Haruto looked up at a smiling Saki. "All this time and I still remember my lines. Be impressed." Saki turned away from him as she tossed her hair over her shoulder, giving her a conceited aura.

"Don't." Saki turned to look at Haruto, surprised by his change of tone, only to see "serious Haruto" as she liked to call it.

"Don't what?" maybe she could play dumb?

She knew it was a bad idea to see the movie.

"Stop it, Saki. You don't need to pretend, not with me." so she was lonely like he thought.

"I don't what you're talking about." Saki couldn't look him in the face and keep up her act, so she turned around and began walking towards the stairs. "I'm tired of this movie. Come on, let's go somewhe-" she never finished as she felt Haruto grip her arm and turn her around.

"You're not alone, Saki."

"H-Haruto?" his words were so strong that it caught her off guard.

"You were there for me when no one else was. Now I wanna do the same for you."

She needed to know.

Haruto needed her to know that he would always be there for her.

Just like she was there for him.

Saki herself would've been more happy to hear that if it didn't sound like he was just returning the favor.

"Are you just saying that to pay me back?" she couldn't look him in the eye when she said those words. She hoped it wasn't true, but she needed to find out, not simply hope.

"No." Haruto wanted to slap himself for not choosing a better way to word what he said. "This isn't about payback. I want to help you just like the way you wanted to help me. I want to be the that you can rely on too, Saki." Haruto reached out and took her small, fragile hands into his own.

"No matter what, I'll never let you be alone again." he gave her hands a small squeeze. "Even if the entire world hated you, I'll always be by your side."

"Really?" as she tilted her head up to look at him, Haruto couldn't help but feel a stab in his heart.

He always found joy when Saki showed her inner child. He liked how she could act like a little kid without restraint while with him, but he was now understanding that it wasn't always a good thing. Because, the Saki that was looking up at him now, was nothing more than a scared, lonely, little girl, looking for someone to hold onto.

"You won't leave me?"

Yes, Saki was nothing more than a scared, little girl.

"Not even if I had to fight every army out there." he responded with a humorous smile.

"Promise?" Haruto's smile turned into a chuckle causing her to pout.

"Promise." her pout disappeared when Haruto let go of one of her hands and held out his pinky. She stared at the outstretched digit before staring at his face for a few more. A second later a smile adorned her face as she wrapped her finger around his.

"I won't forgive you if you break it."

"I won't break it." the resolve in his voice was obvious.

"Good." the joy in hers was as well.

"And don't forget we were already sharing each others loneliness." Haruto reminded, remembering the lines from the movie.

"Right, how could I." the bond they shared, the world they shared. Haruto's curse was his loneliness and Saki was sharing it with him. Her playful nature returned at that thought of carrying his burden. "You know, if this was a movie you would be the girl and I'd be the shining knight coming to rescue you from your loneliness."

"And she's back." Haruto sighed figuring it would be best to ignore her teases for now. That and he couldn't wash away the seriousness that he was in like Saki could. It would take him a few minutes to get back to his normal self.

"That I am." Saki winked. "Time to continue our date!" with said Saki skipped down the aisle followed by Haruto, who wasn't skipping.

Haruto never expected their date to take such a serious mood nor did he think he would see that side of Saki. One minute he was mesmerized by her acting skills, the next he was getting a glimpse of a part of Saki he never knew existed. It was really an unexpected turn. Thankfully, he was able to sooth her fear and reassure her so she could go back to her old self.

Lost in thought, Haruto bumped into Saki's back.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." Haruto apologized before he raised an eyebrow when Saki didn't respond or turn around. "Saki? Are you ok?" spinning around in a flash, Saki wrapped her arms around Haruto and buried her face in his chest.

"Thank you." he stood there dumbstruck for a few seconds before his mind began working again. Haruto returned the hug, squeezing tighter when he thought he heard a sniffle.

"I'm just glad I could help."

"You helped more than you could imagine."

They stood there embracing each other for who knows how long, until Haruto decided that they should get going.

"I think we should go now."

"Don't wanna." Saki whined as she stubbornly shook her head and tightened her grip.

"Weren't you the one who was so excited about the date? The more time we spend here the less we have." that caught Saki's attention.

" . . . Compromise." Saki stated after a few seconds of thought.

"Compromise? How are we supposed to do that?"

"Like this." doing a small hop, Saki quickly wrapped her legs around Haruto, so she could cling onto him with all four limbs. "Now, we can continue our date."

The smug grin she gave Haruto had him holding back his laughter.

She looked like she came up with some brilliant idea.

"So, what, I'm supposed to walk around with you hanging onto me like a Koala?"

"Be honored, young Haruto! Thousands if not millions of fan boys would kill to be in your place!"

"If you say so." Haruto replied as he walked out of the theater room and into the lobby. "Shouldn't we turn that room off?"

"Done and done." Saki replied as she turned off the lights and projector wirelessly with her phone, all the while still clinging to Haruto. "Now, let's get moving."

"Ok." Haruto continued out of the lobby and on to the street with two thoughts on his mind.

The first was that walking around with her clinging to him was fairly easy. Now, he knew Saki wasn't on the heavy side in the least, but she was still sixteen year old girl and they tended to come around the one hundred weight mark. So, he was pretty proud of himself by how easy he was carrying her weight.

The fruits of hard labor.

The second thing that was on his mind was that Saki's body was awfully close.

He could . . . feel things.

Her breasts and thighs specifically, seeing as they were squished against him.

"You're not getting tired?" Haruto questioned as he walked down the street with his passenger.

"Tired? If you mean tired physically then nope. I'm strong!" Saki clenched her fist in the air.

"Thanks to the weight lifting you were complaining about." Haruto mumbled.

"And if you mean tired of holding onto you," Saki continued ignoring Haruto's earlier words, "that's impossible. I love being close to my, little Haruto." to prove her point, Saki rubbed her cheek against his chest tickling him slightly.

"Yeah, me too."

"You like spending time with your little Haruto?" Saki questioned giving Haruto a sly look. "You pervert."

"I-I-I didn't mean that! I meant, I love spending time with you too!" hearing Haruto's words, Saki blushed like a school girl.

" . . . Idiot." she quietly muttered as she turned her head to the side.

Haruto raised an eyebrow at how quickly she went from teasing to quiet, but decided to leave it alone and just be glad that she stopped teasing him. As they continued down the streets of module 77, Haruto's attention was drawn towards an old claw game that was placed towards the entrance of an arcade.

But, what really caught his eye was a specific doll at the top of the pile of toys.

"Hey, Saki, you want a doll?"

"Are you gonna get it for me?

"Yeah."

"Then, yes please!"

---

"Come on! Come on! Go, Haruto! You almost got it!"

Grinding his teeth, Haruto moved the toy he planned on getting Saki towards the goal only for it to drop out of the claw, short.

"Oh, so close." Saki commented as Haruto hung his head in defeat. "Don't worry, Haruto, I'm sure you'll get it next time. I'll get more coins." hearing Saki's encouragements, Haruto was once again remotivated to get her that doll.

Hearing the sound of Saki breaking into another arcade machine, Haruto let out a sigh. Once they realized they had no coins to operate the games Saki nearly threw a fit about the establishment being "stuck in the stone age". Haruto was able to calm her down when he explained that it was done for nostalgic sake and just because technology has advanced didn't mean it reached everywhere.

That Saki could attest to.

Growing up, Saki didn't even know people went into space, let alone lived there. Just like Haruto said, just because technology reached new heights didn't mean it would make it to those lower class and even middle class homes. Sure, small things like phones and computers advanced but it was the upper class that truly enjoyed the worlds technological advances.

Back to the main point, once Saki calmed down she managed to find a screw driver from a nearby store and pry one of the machines open. Haruto tried to stop her but she quickly reassured him that it was fine seeing as not only were the owners of the arcade no longer there, but as far as she was concerned, the two of them, along with Shoko and the others, ruled the module. It was within their rights to take what they wanted, especially since they weren't taking it from New JIOR citizens.

Haruto eventually gave in to her logic.

It wasn't like they were taking the coins, they were simply reusing them.

That was an hour ago.

Haruto had tried "gallantly", as Saki put it, but hadn't claimed his prize. His frustration grew with every failure, but when he was trying all that time, he could see the look of anticipation on her face. He could only imagine the smile she would give him when she got that freaking doll.

That was motivation enough.

He wanted to see that smile.

And his pride as a man refused to let him lose to some claw.

"I got the coins!" Saki cheered as she came over with a pile of coins in her arms. "You'll get it this time, I know it." Saki encouraged as she unceremoniously dropped the coins to the ground.

"Right," rolling up his sleeves, unknowingly showing Saki what she liked, his biceps, Haruto picked up a coin and took a deep breath. He had to prepare himself before going to battle against his arch rival.

Yes, Haruto had dubbed all claw games as his arch rival.

Forget Dorssia, claw games were the real menace.

Not only was it keeping him from making Saki happy, it was really pissing him off too.

That didn't happen often.

Slipping a coin into the slot, Haruto took hold of the joystick and began his battle.

A minute later.

"Damn it!" yelling in frustration, Haruto slammed his fist down on the game panel. "I hate this thing!"

"Hehehe." Saki giggled. "I don't think I've ever seen you this mad before."

"Yeah, well, I don't I've ever been this mad before." Haruto sighed before he sent a glare at that damned claw. "I swear it's mocking me."

"Here, let me help." ducking under Haruto's arms that were placed on the game's console, Saki came up in front of him before she grabbed his arms and pulled him up against her back. They both blushed feeling how close, and where, Haruto was pressed against her, from behind, but said nothing.

"O-Ok." Haruto quietly muttered as he placed his hand on top of Saki's hand that was already holding the joystick.

While he had pulled Saki onto his lap not too long ago, they were both wearing their pilot suits, which were made of pretty tough material. But now, they was nothing but the thin fabrics of clothes that were separating the two. That left Haruto trying his hardest not to "poke" her in the backside. Saki herself was blushing for the same reason despite being the one who put them in that position.

Starting the game once again, Haruto and Saki slowly positioned the claw just above the doll before lowering it.

They missed.

Saki's eye twitched.

They tried again and missed again.

Another eye twitch.

Again.

Eye twitch.

Another failure.

And...

"You son of a-" Haruto couldn't hear the rest of Saki's screams, not that he needed to, as they were drowned out by her banging her fists against the glass window. "Give me my doll!"

"Saki, calm down!" Haruto quickly wrapped his arms around her midsection and lifted her off the ground. That didn't stop her from kicking and throwing her arms around though.

"But, Haruto, wanted to get me that doll! I'm not leaving without it! Let's just break the damn thing!"

"We're not breaking it!" Haruto yelled over her screams of frustration. Wanting to calm her down, Haruto put her back on the ground and turned her around to look her in the eyes. Seeing his determined look, Saki immediately shut up. "I will get you that doll without breaking into that stupid machine. Ok?" Saki didn't reply verbally, she simply nodded her head.

He would do this, he must.

'Alright you evil machine,' Haruto thought as he stepped up towards the claw game, 'Saki wants that doll and you're in my way. So, work with me and I won't have to get my Valvrave and squish you.'

Standing behind him in support was Saki crossing her fingers. She never wanted anything more than then that doll, and it wasn't just because she thought it was cute. It was because Haruto was trying so hard to get it for her. When she thought about it, it was pretty funny. She and Haruto could use giant, fighting robots and go against Dorssia, yet they couldn't beat a claw game.

Truly laughable.

"Finally!" hearing Haruto's voice, Saki was drawn from her thoughts and towards him. Or more specifically, his ass, which she was getting a good show of as Haruto bent down to pick up the doll.

(Click)

Another picture for her collection.

"See? I told you I'd get it." seeing his triumphant smile, Saki couldn't help but give her own smile.

"Koala Bear!" Saki exclaimed as she gave the doll a big hug. "It's so cute! Thank you!" running up to him, Saki gave Haruto a hug himself.

"No problem." he replied as he returned the hug.

That smile and twinkle in her eye was exactly what he was hoping to see.

A far cry to the lost, lonely look she had in the movie theater.

Saki held the doll at arm's length to get a good look at it.

As she said earlier, it was a Koala Bear and the size was about perfect. It wasn't too small where one could lay it in the palm of their hand, but it wasn't too big where it needed to be held with two hands.

"We should get moving on to the next thing, whatever it is." Haruto stated drawing Saki's attention.

"Sure." they both walked out of the arcade only for Saki to stop as they began walking down the street. Turning to her curiously, Haruto raised an eyebrow when he saw her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed and eyes were narrowed in concentration as she looked down and across the street.

"What's wrong?" Haruto questioned breaking her from her trance. Blinking multiple times, Saki turned to Haruto with a small smile.

"Nothing. I just thought that someone was watching us. Oh, the woes of being famous." Saki finished while using a hand to flip her hair over her shoulder.

Haruto couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"How sad for you."

"Is that sarcasm I hear from you?"

"So, what do you want to do next?"

Now it was Saki's turn to roll her eyes.

"Not sure." Saki replied. "Let's just walk around for a while." with one arm wrapped around her Koala doll and the other wrapped around Haruto's arm, Saki began to sing.

"I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed

Get along with the voices inside of my head

You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath

And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy

Well that's not fair"

Haruto couldn't help but be reminded how good of a singer she was.

It was no wonder she became an idol.

That thought caused him to chuckle.

"Are you laughing at my singing?" Saki questioned with puffed cheeks.

"What? No, I was just thinking how funny this is." Haruto answered earning the girl that was hanging on his arm's curiosity.

"How funny what is?"

"This." he motioned arms from himself to her. "I'm on a date with you of all people. Me, plain Haruto, on a date with you, a former idol and actress. It just seems so . . . . out of place." Saki couldn't help but giggle at him.

"Give yourself credit, Haruto." Saki responded. "You're more special than you think."

"Yeah? How's that?" Haruto snorted in disbelief. "Besides the whole Valvrave thing, how am I special?"

"You're special because you're you!" Saki happily chirped before she turned shy with a blush on her cheeks. "And . . . you're special to me." Haruto joined her with his own blush.

Hearing Saki tell him he was special to her made that same warm feeling well up inside him that she seemed to so often cause.

"Uh, t-thanks." Haruto stuttered with a sheepish scratch of his cheek. "You're . . . special to me too." Saki looked up at him with her face fully flushed before a bright smile quickly joined it.

"~Nyaaa~!" that earned a chuckle and a pat on the head from Haruto.

They continued their walk until a park with a basketball court caught her eye.

"Haruto, let's go over there." Saki didn't wait for a response before she dragged him over to the basketball court. "Hold Koaly."

"Koaly?" Haruto questioned as he took the doll and watched as Saki went over to a stray basketball that was no doubt forgotten during Dorssia's first attack.

"That's his name. Cute, right?" Saki picked up the ball and began dribbling it. "Check it out." holding the ball in one hand Saki proceeded to spin it on one single finger. Haruto thought it deserved a round of applause, so he took Koaly's small hands into his own and did so.

"Thank you, thank you." Saki played along by giving a few deep dramatic bows. "You're a lovely audience. I'll be here all week."

"Is that all, or did you drag me here for another reason?"

"Actually, I wanted to try something." turning her gaze towards one of the basketball hoops, Saki once again started to dribble it.

'What is she-' Haruto never got to finish his thought as Saki began sprinting towards the rim, dribbling the ball all the while. He watched as she picked up a good amount of speed, planted a foot, leapt into the air, cocked the hand that held the ball back, and slammed it into the rim.

"I did it!" Saki shouted in joy at her accomplishment. Haruto himself just stared with a dumbfounded look on his face. Not only did she dunk, she flew in the air. She was only a step past the free throw line when she jumped for goodness sake.

"How did you do that?"

"Don't look so surprised, Haruto. You could probably do the same."

"I've tried in P.E before, I've never been able to even come close."

"But, that was before we started training, how about now?" Haruto opened his mouth to retort but find himself unable to. She was right, he had never tried after they began training. Mainly because they were always busy and it wasn't anything important. But, now that he had time he wanted to find out. He knew being able to dunk a ball wasn't that big of a deal in hindsight, but the idea of being able to was interesting.

What teenage boy, even if he wasn't human anymore, didn't try to dunk with their friends when they were at P.E?

"Give it a shot." tossing the ball at him, Saki took her Koaly and gave Haruto a thumbs up for encouragement. Giving the ball a few bounces to get the feel of it, Haruto started out at a slow trout and steadily increased his speed. As Haruto jumped and flew through the air, he noticed two things. One, he really was way more athletic then he used to be. That went without saying but he never really tried to compare his new found athleticism to his old. The second thing he noticed was that he over shot it jump, which became obvious when he had to duck his head to keep it from banging into the rim.

"Whoa." Haruto muttered in disbelief.

While he didn't get the chance to dunk the ball, he still was able to get high enough in the air to nearly hit his head on the rim. Seeing as he was only five feet and eight inches tall it was fairly impressive. Hell, even professional basketball players who had a foot on him were hard pressed to jump that high. Looking at Saki, he couldn't help but be more impressed with her ability to dunk seeing as she was a couple of inches shorter than him.

"Try again." Saki tossed him the ball.

"Sure." putting less power into his jump, Haruto flew through the air and slammed the ball through the hoop. "Wow! That was amazing!" he could freaking dunk, awesome.

He felt like a little boy on Christmas.

Saki's heart fluttered when she saw Haruto's face light up in childish joy.

He really was too cute.

Seeing him bend over to pick up the ball, Saki couldn't help but reel her hand back and give him the common gesture of a good job in sports.

A smack on his ass.

A hard one.

"S-Saki?!"

"I wanna try again!" Saki stated not giving the gaping Haruto anytime to question her actions.

For the next twenty minutes the pair spent their time playing around with their hard earned athleticism. From three sixty dunks, to alley oops, and even ones off the backboard, they tried them all. By the end of it, they weren't even tired thanks to their rigorous training schedule.

If someone saw them they would look like nothing more than a happy couple.

---

"That was fun." Saki stated as she kicked the basketball across the park. "What do you want to do next? Your choice."

Haruto thought about his decision before he pulled out his phone and began looking through the map of the module. Eventually, he found the shop he was looking for a few blocks away. Turning towards Saki who tilted her head, Haruto gave her a sheepish smile.

"You wanna go on a bike ride?"

"Only if it's on the same bike."

"Deal."

A few minutes later, Haruto and Saki found themselves in the bike shop Haruto looked up on his phone a few minutes earlier.

According to Haruto, bikes were a hobby of his.

That information was something Saki quickly remembered.

It wouldn't do for her to not know Haruto's likes and dislikes.

She wanted to know everything about him.

That's why she watched him with a keen eye as they walked through the isles of the bike shop. She had to suppress her giggles as she watched him give looks of disgust as he searched throughout the shop.

"What's with the faces?"

"I hate these kind of bikes."

"Why? They look pretty cool."

"Cool? Cool?!"

'Uh oh, I think he's gonna blow.'

"There's nothing cool about these bikes! They're all mainstream and straight off the production line! There's no uniqueness to them at all! Where's the personality?! Where's the love?! Don't laugh!" Saki's face was etched into a smile. It was one of those smiles someone had when they were trying their best to keep from laughing.

"I'm sorry. I've just never seen you so worked up before." Saki apologized before she reached out and pinched his cheek. "It's just so cute." scratch bikes were just a hobby of Haruto he obviously loved them.

"Let's just find a bike." Haruto mumbled as he walked down the aisle, trying to hide the blush on his face.

The bikes that filled the shop were made to be able to collapse in on itself so one could carry it almost like a bag of luggage. Their weight was light do to its frame being made of light yet tough material. While Haruto would admit they were very convenient they were also so . . . blah.

He needed a real bike.

And he found them in the back of the store.

In the antiques section.

"Antiques?"

'Uh oh, he's gonna blow again.'

"Antiq-"

"Look at this one, Haruto." Saki swiftly interrupted before Haruto could get too worked up. "We should use this one." seeing the bike Saki picked, Haruto couldn't help but give his nod of approval.

It was red and looked like the bikes one would see in an anime.

It even had the flat, metal, passenger seat.

Not an antique.

A classic.

"Good choice." Haruto lifted the bike off the rack and rolled it out of the shop, Saki right behind him.

"Ooooo, you're stealing." Saki teased earning a jolt from Haruto.

"What?! But you did the same thing back at the arcade!" he hotly defended.

He was no thief.

"No," Saki wagged her finger with her other hand on her hip, "that was reusing not taking. There's a difference."

"But, I'm gonna return it when we're done!"

"I was just teasing you, Haruto." Saki gently patted his cheek. "Take it. We can use it on other dates."

"Other dates?"

"Yeah, other dates!" Saki cheerfully responded before a pout overcame her features. "Why? You don't want to go on another date with me?" to top things off she stuck out her bottom lip, making her look absolutely adorable to him.

"N-No, I didn't mean that!" Haruto frantically waved his hands in denial. "I just didn't think you would want to go on another date with me."

"Now why would you think that?"

"Well, I just thought since you're, you know, you, and I'm just-" Haruto never got to finish his sentence as Saki flicked him on the forehead.

"I thought I told you to stop thinking so little about yourself?"

"Technically, you told me to give myself more credit." Haruto weakly defended earning an eye roll from Saki.

"The point remains the same. You need to stop thinking of yourself so insignificantly. Got it?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Not good enough." Saki retorted to Haruto's half-hearted reply by sticking out her pinky finger, just like Haruto did a few hours ago for her. "Promise me."

"Don't you think you're making this into a bigger deal than it actually is?"

"I don't like you thinking about yourself like that." she shook her head before thrusting her pinky in his face. "Promise."

" . . . Fine. I promise." Haruto relented after seeing that stubborn look in her eye.

"Better. Now, let's get going on that bike ride."

"Sure." throwing his leg over the bike, Haruto readied himself for the ride. "What's wrong?" his question was due to Saki's change in attitude. Not only did she not get on the passenger seat but she was looking fairly shy.

"N-Nothing." Saki stuttered before she sat on the flat, metal, passenger seat; her legs hung off one side of the bike due to the design of the seat.

"Hold on." Haruto suggested as he started pedaling making his way onto a bridge that allowed passage over a river.

The reason for Saki's change in demeanor was simply because of the act of riding the bike with Haruto. It reminded her of the scenes she would see in anime where the main character would give his girlfriend a ride on his bike. She knew it was dumb to get so worked up over something like that, especially, when they did a number of things a couple would do earlier on their date. But . . . she couldn't think of a reason why the specific act of riding a bike with Haruto made her act so shy, it just did.

"R-Right." tentatively Saki reached a hand out and held the back of Haruto's shirt between her thumb and index finger as her hair danced in the wind. They didn't talk, they simply enjoyed each others presence along with the gentle breeze beating on their faces.

---

"How far did we go?" Saki questioned.

"No clue." Haruto replied while not stopping.

Due to the training L-elf put them through (and was still putting them through) Haruto was able to ride for miles without really noticing due to his lack of fatigue. The only reason he knew he had taken them so far was because Saki finally noticed that she didn't recognize the town they were in. It went without saying that the module, along with the others, were huge. Enough so to hold multiple cities comfortably along with a good amount of nature spread out in certain locations between some of the cities.

At the moment they were riding along side a river, again like one would see in an anime. There was the grassy slope that led to the river and everything.

"I think we might be lost." Saki stated with a giggle.

"Should I stop?"

"Onward, Haruto, my trusty steed! You shall not stop! Mush! Mush!" Saki exclaimed as she began kicking her legs, which wasn't the smartest thing to do on a bike.

"Wha- Saki, stop!"

"Never!" in fact she did the opposite of stopping, she kicked her legs even harder.

"You making me lose balance!" trying his hardest to keep them upright, Haruto didn't have time to react to the curve up ahead along the road.

A few seconds later, they were flying through the air before landimg in a heap on the grassy slope.

"You ok, Saki?" Haruto groaned.

Saki didn't answer right away, instead, she blinked with a confused look on her face when she realized Haruto's voice came from under her. Looking down, she saw that Haruto was indeed under her, and he also had his arms wrapped around her. Noticing her worried look, Haruto gave her a reassuring smile to calm her worries before she could go into mother hen mode.

"Don't worry, I landed pretty good, nothings broken. Besides I would just heal anyways, right?"

"Right." Saki gave a sigh of relief before a smile replaced her worried look. "You protected me." it was a fact she would love to state over and over again.

"Well," Haruto scratched his cheek, "why wouldn't I? I don't want you to get hurt."

As Saki said, Haruto had protected her.

While they were flying through the air, Haruto had managed to reach out and pull her into his arms before cushioning her fall with his body. Since they were immortal, it didn't really matter if he had protected Saki since she would heal from the injuries, but that didn't change Haruto's reaction.

If he could protect Saki from any kind of pain he would do it.

If it was emotional pain he would protect her from it.

If the emotional pain was loneliness he was never let her be alone.

If it was the fear of being alone itself he would let her know he would always be beside her.

If he needed to protect her from physical pain he would do that also.

If a bullet was fired at her, he was take it.

If they were falling he would cushion her.

Haruto wanted to protect Saki Rukino.

That feeling only grew on their date, when he saw the kind of girl Saki truly was.

The part of her that she hid under her fake aloofness.

The scared, lonely, little girl she was on the inside.

So, that's why Haruto instinctively wrapped Saki in his arms as they fell.

"~Because~?" Saki happily questioned as she hovered above him, her hands placed beside his head to keep her up.

" . . You know why." Haruto averted his gaze to the side with a blush.

"But I want to hear it. From. Your. Lips." Saki commanded as she tapped a finger against his lips to emphasize her last three words.

" . . . You're special to me . . . and I don't like seeing you hurt."

"~Nya~!" Saki happily exclaimed as she snuggled into Haruto's chest.

"Um . . aren't you gonna get up?"

"Nope!"

"But, don't you wanna continue our date?"

"This is fine. Let's just stay here for a while and relax."

"Ok, sure . . . But, do you mind getting off? My chest still kinda hurts from the fall."

"Oh sorry! Why didn't you say so earlier?" Saki quickly rolled off him before giving him a concerned look.

"Don't worry, it'll heal up soon." Haruto reassured before confusion overtook his face. "Although, it should've healed by now."

"I'm not so sure." she countered with a shake of her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it." crossing her legs so she sat cross-legged, Saki continued her reply. "Hasn't our healing ability been erratic at times? Haven't you noticed our injuries would heal at a certain rate one time but maybe faster or slower at another?"

Haruto's face turned thoughtful as he tried to recall a time that would prove Saki's words true. He found what he was looking for when he remembered the times during their spars against L-elf, one-sided beat downs, where some of the bruises and cuts he received would heal at different speeds.

Sometimes they would heal in seconds others in minutes.

Haruto never paid it any attention seeing as L-elf would make anyone that wasn't focusing during their spars pay for their lack of attentiveness.

"Now that you mentioned it, you're right. What does that mean?" Haruto questioned as he propped himself up with his elbows.

"What it means is we'll have to be more careful about getting hurt, especially, when we're not fighting with our Valvraves." Saki shrugged.

"How so?"

"Remember when L-elf mentioned that not all our battles would be fought with the Valvraves?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, imagine if we were in a gunfight for whatever reason. We couldn't just go around not worrying about getting shot since we'll heal. If our healing ability is as erratic as I think it is, it could take hours maybe even days to heal from more serious injuries. Something like that wouldn't be good during a battle." Haruto couldn't help but agree with her reasoning after he heard it explained so simply.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." they couldn't just go into battles thinking that they were untouchable. "Although, I can't really think of a reason why we couldn't use our Valvraves in a fight." Haruto admitted.

"Really? I can think of a few."

"I guess I'm just too focused on getting stronger to look ahead of what's happening now, like you." he couldn't help but be ashamed of his simple mindedness, something that Saki noticed and was quick to stop.

"But that's what makes us such a good combination. You look at what's right in front of us while I look at what's down the road. As long as we're together we've got both bases covered." Haruto didn't respond right away, he just stared at her for a few seconds until...

"Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

… he bursted out in laughter.

"Why are you laughing?! Are you making fun of me?!" puffing her cheeks out, Saki really had the most adorable, angry look Haruto's ever seen.

"N-No! Hahahahah! I-I'm sorry!" it took him a couple of minutes along with few smacks on his arm from Saki but Haruto finally managed to calm himself down. "I wasn't laughing at you honest. It's just . . . every time I get down you seem to always be able to bring my spirits back up. Thank you."

"I want to help you, Haruto." Saki responded with a warm smile. "Whether it's with your curse, on the battlefield, or just making you feel better. As long as I can help you I'm happy."

"But . . why?" he couldn't stop the question from leaking out. It was constantly on his mind when he was with Saki. He enjoyed and appreciated her presence in his life, he really did, but that didn't stop his curiosity as to why she was willing to do so much for him.

Let alone being happy doing it.

"That's a secret remember?"

"Oh, right, I forgot." Haruto gave, in Saki's opinion, the cutest pout ever. "Are you ever gonna tell me?" the pout increased even more so.

He looked like a little kid.

'Oh my gosh!' Saki inwardly squealed at the sight. 'He's so cute!' she could just eat him up.

"Saki? You ok?"

"Y-Yes, of course." coughing into her fist, Saki calmed herself down to answer his question. "Anyways, of course I'll tell you eventually, just be patient."

"Fine." Haruto sighed dejectedly as his body slumped to the ground.

"Awww, my poor, little Haruto." Saki cooed. "Should I give you a prize for your patience so far?"

"What kind of prize?"

"Well," Saki began as she threw a leg over his body, allowing her to straddle his waist, "I think I can come up with something." Haruto gulped as he saw that Saki shifted into her more seductive side. Everything from her smirk to her voice was, to put to bluntly, a turn on.

"R-Really? L-Like w-what?"

"Something like," she leaned down towards his neck before, "this." placing small kisses all along its sensitive flesh.

Haruto went completely red.

While they had more than few kisses together Saki had never kissed him on that particular spot. It felt different but good, he couldn't find it within him to protest. He was too busy keeping himself from moaning anyways. Soon Saki began to add a little more by nipping and even sucking on his neck. Haruto's voice became caught in his throat, unable to utter a sound.

"You like that?" Saki's coy voice sent shivers down Haruto's spine, he could only bring himself to nod dumbly. "Good." she stated before she took his lips with her own.

This time Haruto was able to do more than just lay there.

He kissed back and soon Saki found herself running her hands through his jealous inducing soft hair.

'It can't be the shampoo, we use the same one.'

Whatever, she would think about it later.

Right now she had her hands, or rather mouth, full.

So, she drowned out her thoughts and continued to kiss the love of her life before an idea crossed her mind. Grabbing Haruto's hands that were tentatively placed on her hips, Saki slowly dragged them to particular place that she didn't mind having Haruto's hands at.

Her ass.

She got the reaction she expected from Haruto.

"S-Saki?! Wha- Why-" she silenced him by shoving her tongue down his throat before pulling back for air a minute later.

"Are you saying you don't like it? Not to sound conceited but I like to think my body is awfully attractive. What do you think?" as it was the entire time since they started, Saki's voice was nothing short of sensual.

Haruto couldn't help but gulp loudly.

Of course, he hadn't moved his hands.

"I-I never said t-that."

How could he and still consider himself straight?

"So you do like it?"

" . . . . Y-Yeah." it was so soft, yet firm and more than enough to get a handful; not too big and not too small.

Again, how could he not like it?

"Good, because," Haruto let out yelp when Saki rolled them over so she was on the bottom, and then grabbed a handful of his own, "I like yours too. It's really tight and fit. Those workouts have really paid off."

Haruto could do nothing more than gape.

Even if he wanted to move her hands from his backside (he honestly wasn't sure how he felt about that, his brain was too overloaded) he couldn't because his own hands were pinned under Saki's after she flipped them over.

Saki's act wasn't a spontaneous one, well, not completely. Saki wanted to advance their none relationship relationship, not just emotionally (in her opinion they were doing pretty good in that department) but physically as well. She wanted to feel his hands all over her body, touching, squeezing, caressing.

Nothing would be off limits.

But, she would have to work Haruto up slowly to all that. As much as Saki would love for Haruto to take the initiative she knew he was too innocent and too much of a gentlemen to do that. On the bright side she could just imagine the faces he would make when she urged him to touch her.

Oh, how adorable he would be.

But, despite how adorable and innocent Haruto was, Saki was well aware that he was growing into a man (too soon in her opinion, damn Dorssians) and a fine one at that. Knowing that, she knew that he would tentatively take her up on her offers.

Just the thought of it sent shivers down her spine and got her little wet.

Haruto really had no idea of the hold he had on her.

"Now," Saki began snapping Haruto out of his shock, "where were we?" she didn't wait for an answer before she, reluctantly, removed her hands from his ass and wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him closer towards her.

It went without saying what they did next.

---

Breaking away for a gasp of air, a string of saliva connected the tongues of the two Valvrave pilots as they broke off their long, passionate kiss. Haruto honestly didn't think their date would go down the route it went, them making out for who knows how long on a grassy slope while he still had a handful of her backside. Of course, his hands were still pinned under said backside so it really wasn't his fault.

Not that he was putting much of an effort to get that out from under there.

It, he felt like a pervert for thinking it, felt really really good.

Saki gave him a quick peck on the lips, snapping him from his thoughts, before letting her arms loose from his neck allowing them to drop to her sides. Haruto took that as sign that they were finished and, reluctantly, rolled off her and laid by her side. As much as Saki would love to continue, she knew if they went any longer she would end up ravaging him, something he wasn't quite ready for. Too bad, she would have to settle for scooping up the string of saliva than fell on her chin with her finger and sucking said finger dry.

After all, half of the saliva was Haruto's.

" . . . That was . . ." Haruto trailed off not really finding the words to use.

"I know." Saki giggled as she curled into his side and placed her chin on his chest. "You're getting better." another round of giggles escaped her lips when she saw how red Haruto became when he heard her compliment.

"T-Thanks."

"No, no, thank you." Saki replied before leaning towards his ear once again. "I had fun." her whispers sent shivers down his spine and as if to top it off she blew into his ear.

Getting the reaction she was looking for, a satisfied Saki rolled off Haruto, allowing her to gaze up at the "sky". Haruto, who eventually calmed down, joined her in "sky" gazing, both enjoying the artificial breeze of the module. They didn't know how long they stayed like that but they honestly didn't care. It felt good just to relax after the day they've had. First a battle with Dorssia than a date, which was more than fun, but tiring as well.

"Hey, Saki?" Haruto turned his head in her direction as he broke the silence.

"Yeah, tiger?" Saki replied, her violet eyes meeting his sky blue ones.

"How do you see this ending? The war with Dorssia I mean?" Haruto quickly clarified before continuing. "L-elf said that the more we win against Dorssia the harder things are going to get, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, where does that leave us? We're going against a nation that controls one-third of the planet with only four Valvraves, how can we win against those odds?"

"Well," Saki began as she turned her attention back towards the "sky", "we have to build a nation, a real one. One with an economy and citizens, but more importantly a military."

"So, we would need to make an army strong enough defeat Dorssia?"

"We wouldn't necessarily need to be strong to defeat Dorssia, just enough so defeating us wouldn't be worth it."

"What do you mean not worth defeating us?"

"It cost both money and soldiers to maintain any military, let alone one as big as Dorssia. If we're strong enough where an all out war against us would cost them too much money and soldiers lives that would be enough. Although, I wouldn't mind crushing those bastards." Haruto looked at Saki for a few seconds before joining her in "sky" gazing as her words sunk in.

"So, we have to build a nation, huh." Haruto stated absent mindedly earning a response from Saki.

"Or we can mix things up and build a kingdom instead and you could be king! Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Right." Haruto sarcastically replied along with a roll of his eyes. "We'll build a kingdom and I'll be king." he couldn't help but snort at the thought.

Him, king?

Ha, there was no way he could pull that off.

The thought was insane.

"Or better yet," Haruto continued deciding to play along with the joke, "why not an empire?"

"Oh! Oh! I call empress!" apparently Saki was taking it more seriously than himself, seeing as she sat up like lightning and raised her hand like a child would to a teacher. "We can rule together!"

"Call empress?" Haruto gave her an incredulous look as he sat up. "Saki, I was joking. There's no way I could be an emperor or king. Come on, be serious."

"But, Haruto, it would be so much fun!" Saki whined. "You'd make a great emperor and I'd make an amazing empress."

"You're insane."

"Come on, let me be your empress!"

"No."

"Please!"

"I said no."

"Pretty please!"

Oh God, she was sticking out her lower lip, Haruto couldn't resist that.

" . . . . . . Fine!" Haruto eventually relented. "If I ever become emperor, I'll make you empress." it's not like it was ever going to happen, so why not just tell her what she wanted. The idea of him being an actual emperor, like the ones he's seen in anime, was laughable. But, if conceding got Saki of his back and made her happy then he would let her hear what she wanted.

"Correction, you'll make me your empress. Just imagine it," Saki began with a dreamy look on her face, "Emperor Haruto Tokishima and Empress Saki Rukino."

"You know, the way you said 'your empress' makes it sound like we're engaged now or something."

"I guess then it would be Empress Saki Tokishima, wouldn't it?" Saki gave him a wink as Haruto himself proceeded to freak out.

"B-But we're not even dating! How could you jump to marriage like that!?" it went without saying that Haruto's face was red as a tomato.

"What are you talking about?" Saki's innocent tone didn't fit the moment, at least in Haruto's opinion. "You're the one that proposed."

"No, I didn't!"

"You said you would make me your empress."

"You made me!"

"You also said that you'd never leave me alone." Haruto opened his mouth to respond but found he couldn't.

He did say that.

"But marriage? We're not even dating."

"Actually, we're on a date right now."

She had him there.

"And don't you think our bond is a little deeper and stronger than just a boyfriend girlfriend relationship?"

Again, she was right.

"That's true." Haruto slowly agreed. "But still marriage?! You can't just randomly say that to a guy!" he decided to ignore the warm feeling that bubbled up within him at the thought of spending the rest of his life with Saki. It would bring too much confusion if he didn't ignore the feeling. He just wanted to enjoy this rare peaceful moment he was lucky to have in his now unpeaceful life.

Enjoy it with the girl who brought up those same confusing feelings.

Like he thought, too confusing.

"Is the idea of marrying me that horrible for you?" Saki pouted coupled with a not so serious glare.

It still got Haruto verbally backpedaling.

"No it's not that! It's just . . . it's marriage!" Haruto loudly replied before his tone quieted. "That's not something you should talk about lightly, marriage is a serious thing. You can't just marry someone without knowing everything about them, that's why so many people get divorced." Saki stared at Haruto in shock for a few seconds before a wide smile replaced that look.

Of course, Haruto would think so highly of marriage, he wasn't the type to just elope in the heat of the moment. No, he would make sure that the woman he was marrying was his soul mate. That they weren't making a mistake and truly loved each other.

He was so sweet.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Saki agreed as she laid back down. "A lot of guys would've loved to marry me, you know?"

"Yeah, until they realize how much energy it takes to keep up with you." Haruto playfully shot back with a small smirk on his face.

"Hey! I resent that!" Saki poked him in the side causing Haruto to chuckle.

Saki's eyebrow rose at that chuckle.

It was a little strong.

'Could it be?' testing her theory, Saki once again poked him in the side, earning another strong chuckle. 'Oh it is true!'

"~Harutooooo~." a devilish, smirking Saki called out in a sing-song tone.

"Y-Yeah?" for some odd reason, Haruto felt a shiver go down his spine, and it wasn't like the earlier ones.

"You wouldn't happen to be," the smirk increased along with the shiver, "ticklish would you?"

Uh oh.

She never gave him the opportunity to answer, instead, she began her assault.

"Hahahahahahahahahaha! Stop- Hahahahaha! It- Hahahahahaha! S-Saki! Hahahahahaha!" it went without saying that Saki began to tickle Haruto relentlessly.

"No can do, Haruto!" she shouted over his laughter. "Your laughs are just too precious!"

Trying to gather his strength, Haruto made a grab for her arms but Saki was too quick. She swiftly grabbed his arms and pinned them above his head by the wrists with one hand and used the other to continue her attack. Haruto had no chance to break her grip despite how strong he had become, for two reasons. One, Saki was also pretty damn strong herself, not as strong as him but still strong. Two, all his strength was sapped from him due to the tickles that Saki was assaulting him with.

In short, he was at her mercy.

"S-Stop- Hahahaha! Someone help!" he was getting desperate, he knew that, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Scream all you want my, little Haruto! No one can hear you!" unfortunately for him there was no one near for miles.

He was on his own.

"P-Please, Saki! Hahaha! I'll d-do anything! Just stop! Hahahaha!"

"Oh? Anything?" keeping a hold of his wrists, Saki sat on top of Haruto. "Then how about giving me a kiss, then I'll stop." leaning close to his face, Saki puckered up her lips and waited for what she wanted.

" . . Ok?"

That was it?

Haruto figured she would ask for something else. Especially, since it wasn't like they haven't kissed before. Hell, they were just doing that only a few minutes ago.

Why ask for something she can already get?

Well, it didn't matter to Haruto.

He had a chance to escape his torture and he was going to take it.

Leaning his head up, a slightly blushing Haruto placed a small peck on her lips. Giggling, Saki let go of Haruto's hands, much to his relief, and quickly rolled off him, content with the small kiss. Haruto himself simply closed his eyes and tried his best to calm his breathing.

Seriously, Saki could be a handful at times. Sometimes he wondered if she was drinking gallons of sugar since she always seemed to have boundless energy. That being said, he was beyond thankful for her cheerful and playful attitude. It helped keep at bay the dark thoughts that would drift through his mind ever since everything began.

Aina.

His curse.

His guilt.

Saki's bright personality helped distract him from all those thoughts, his failures.

If only he hadn't let his anger control his actions.

If only he had been stronger.

Finally calming his breathing down, Haruto opened his eyes, only to Saki's doll, Koaly, right in his face.

"Um, Saki?" looking to the side, Haruto gave Saki a questioning look.

"Koaly the bear says hi." Haruto couldn't help but smile as the dark thoughts took a backseat to the girl beside him. This was the exact thing he was thinking about. Sometimes he wondered if she knew exactly what she was doing for him or if it just came natural.

Either way, she was his light.

"You know Koalas aren't actually bears?" Haruto informed and Saki made the doll flinch back as if stunned by his words. "They're marsupials."

"What do you mean I'm not a bear?" "Koaly" spoke; obviously it was Saki using a cute voice to make it seem like the doll was talking. "I have all the . . . koalifications." Haruto couldn't help but snicker when he heard "Koaly's" last word.

"Really?" he decided to play along.

It wouldn't due to ruin Saki's fun.

"Yeah." the doll gave a head nod.

"Like what?" only Saki could get him to have a conversation with a doll that had an identity crisis.

"I'm strong." accompanying those words was Saki using her hands to flex Koaly's arms.

"You don't look strong to me."

"Ha! You underestimate me because of my size! You're talking to the bear that defeated that evil claw and escaped to freedom! And now that I have my freedom," the doll turned around and raised its head as if ready to challenge the world, "I can begin my goal of world domination!"

" . . . What?"

"You heard me human." Koaly turned around to address the deadpanned Haruto. "Dorssia, ARUS, JIOR, they will all fall before me!"

" . . . Sure they will."

"You doubt me? Saki Rukino!" Koaly snapped his head towards her direction causing Saki to flinch. "Deal with this none believer!"

"D-Deal with him?"

"Are you daft woman? I mean eliminate him! If he is not for my cause then he must go! I cannot let him tell anyone of my plans." Haruto raised his eyebrow before turning his attention towards the shocked Saki.

She was good.

She looked genuinely shocked in Haruto's eyes. Then again, he shouldn't be surprised after he seen how good of an actress she was in that film earlier.

"B-But I could never hurt Haruto!"

"You must!"

"Never! You'll have to kill both of us!" Saki dramatically exclaimed as she threw herself over Haruto, dropping the game along with the warmongering doll. Haruto laid there silently for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around her and bursting out in laughter.

She was too much.

Absolutely adorable.

Just a few hours ago she was leading them successfully in battle against Dorssia and now she was playing around with a doll. His hold on her tightened as his laughter continued. It was without a doubt that Saki Rukino was his light and he was definitely never letting her go.

As he held her, Saki peacefully listened to the melody of Haruto's laughter as she cuddled deeper into him, content to stay there for the rest of eternity. But, much to her displeasure, his laughter slowly died down and was replaced with peaceful silence.

That was ok too.

As long as she was with him anything was ok.

"Hey, Saki?" Haruto spoke up sounding slightly nervous.

"Yeah?" she frowned as she responded.

For what reason was he nervous for?

" . . There's, uh, something I wanted to tell you ever since the battle today ended."

"What is it?" she hoped he wasn't going to scold her for the part of having him save her in the plan she thought up.

That had to be it.

Haruto must've thought that she put them in danger because of that unnecessary act.

Damn her and her childish desires.

She was in so much trouble.

"Well," Haruto began as he nervously scratched his cheek and averted his eyes to the side, "I doubt it'll mean anything coming from me."

"Haruto." gaining his attention, Haruto turned his head to find Saki with her lips pursed and a pinky finger sticking out.

Oh, right.

The pinky promise from earlier.

He wasn't supposed to think so little of himself.

"Sorry, forgot. But anyways, what I wanted to tell you was, well . . . during the battle you did really good." a blush adorned his face as he struggled to get his next words out. " . . . I was really . . . proud of you." Haruto turned away at the last second so he didn't see Saki put his blush to shame. By the time he turned back to look at her, Saki had already bowed her head so her bangs covered her face.

" . . T-Thank . . you." she managed to say before she shook her head violently and smacked her hands against her cheeks before rubbing them. To Haruto, it looked like she was gathering her courage to say something.

He should've tried that.

"Thank you, Haruto." lifting her head, Saki dazzled Haruto with the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. Head tilted slightly to the side, eyes closed, spotless teeth shining, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. All that was made even more mesmerizing with the "sun" setting behind Saki along with her hair fluttering with the breeze. "Thank you for promising to stay by my side, and thank you for being proud of me. It means more than you could ever imagine."

Haruto couldn't help but think his heart stopped for a moment.

No words could describe what he was feeling as he looked up at the girl.

He was completely and utterly speechless.

He was tempted to take a picture but he didn't want to ruin the moment, so he had to settle for burning the image into his mind.

Soon his speechlessness turned into curiosity when he saw Saki open her eyes and gaze down at him with a look he's seen a few times when he would wake up in the middle of the night and catch her watching him. That same look was back and it seemed like she was about to say something.

"H-Haruto . . I . . . I . . ." that was all she managed to get out.

Shaking her head with a disappointed chuckle, Saki gently took his face into her hands before placing a soft kiss on his forehead. After the kiss she pulled away and just as before, gazed at him with that look in her eye. "We should get going, it's getting late."

It took a few seconds for Haruto to break out of his daze and take Saki's offered hand. He wanted to know what was that look in her eyes. He had a feeling that the look held the answer to why she was willing to do so much for him, which meant she wouldn't tell him.

Not yet at least.

"Yeah, you're right." Haruto agreed as he dusted himself off before walking towards the bike that was still lying on the bottom of the slope. Luckily the bike wasn't broken, allowing Haruto to roll it up the slope with ease. "Hop on." doing as she was told, Saki got onto her seat with a bright smile on her face.

Today was the best day she ever had.

She couldn't have been anymore happier.

Wrapping her arm around his stomach (the other one was holding Koaly) Saki laid her head against his back and listened to the steady beat of his heart. The same heart made Saki fall in love with him, and it was the thing she wanted to protect from the sick, twisted world. Haruto himself couldn't help but feel the warmth that was provided by Saki's actions. He couldn't help but place one of his hands on the hand that was wrapped around him.

"I think this was pretty good first date." Haruto spoke up after a long content silence.

"The best." Saki replied as she rubbed her cheek against his back. "I'm glad it was with you."

"Me too."

Before either of them could continue the conversation, what sounded like barking and hissing rang out through the air.

"A dog?" Haruto questioned as he slowed to a stop.

"Let's go, I love dogs!" giving a shrug, Haruto headed towards the sound.

The scene was a rather generic one.

The sidewalk was aligned with trees and in one of those trees was a kitten hissing at the small, barking puppy at the bottom of the tree. Haruto watched as Saki hopped off the bike and quickly made her way towards the bickering animal duo.

"What are you gonna do?"

"Have them make nice." coming up behind the puppy, Saki squatted by it and stuck out her hand, startling it. Following its instinct, the puppy quickly bit down on Saki's hand causing her to wince but not move. With her other hand Saki gently began petting the puppy's head despite it tightening its bite. It took a few minutes but thanks to her gentle demeanor the puppy slowly let go of Saki's hand. "There's a good boy."

After giving the dog a few more pets on the head, Saki turned her attention towards the still scared kitten. Taking the kitten into her hands, Saki let it lay in her arms as she gently stroked it, causing it to purr. Haruto watched in awe as Saki began to change the relationship of the two animals from hostile to friendly.

She looked so motherly.

It was at that moment that Haruto knew that Saki would make a great mother. But that thought caused mix feelings to stir in him. The thought of them having kids with her caused him to blush and his heart to flutter, but the thought of Saki having a kid and starting a family with someone else felt like a stab in his heart.

Why was he feeling like that?

Could he . . .

He was right.

Girls made things confusing.

"Haruto! Haruto!" Saki's shouts drew him away from his thoughts and towards her as she ran up to him, the puppy and kitten in her arms. "Say hello to our kids."

"Our kids?!"

"Yup!" Saki happily replied and Haruto decided to drop it. For one, he had a feeling she wouldn't drop it herself, and two, he didn't want to ruin her smile. "Little Haruto and Little Saki."

"Those are their names?"

"Yeah, since they look like us."

" . . . What? They're a cat and a dog, how do they look like us?"

"Take a closer look." Saki recommended as she held the two up by the scruff of their necks. Doing as he was told Haruto gave the puppy and kitten a long once over. The puppy was a normal looking one with brown fur and blue eyes, and the kitten had black, shiny fur along with purple eyes.

'What do you know, they do look like us. Animal versions at least.' their fur matched his and her hair and the same went for their eye color. Their genders matched as well, the puppy was a boy and the kitten a girl.

Weird.

"I guess you're right. But won't it get confusing since you already call me little Haruto? Unless you you're gonna stop calling me that."

"Never! That will always be your name!" Saki quickly replied. "But, you do bring up a good point though . . . I got it! His name will be Lil Haruto."

"Lil Haruto?"

"Like the rappers."

" . . . Right. You're gonna name a dog after me with a rapper twist to it."

"What's with that deadpanned look? It's a cute name."

"If you say so." Haruto reached out and took Lil Haruto into his arms and was instantly attacked by his tongue. "Ah! S-Stop licking me!"

"Awww! Lil Haruto loves his papa." Saki cooed as she took a picture of the family bonding moment, as she called it, with her phone.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Haruto grumbled as he wiped off his face with his shoulder while holding the puppy at arm's length. "So, what are we gonna do with these two? It's not like we can keep them."

"What?! Why not?!" it truly was amazing to Haruto how Saki could be so motherly one moment and acting like a child herself the next.

"Because, I don't want them going to the bathroom in my room. Besides, my dorm isn't big enough for a dog."

"But, he's small, and I'll take them out so they won't go in your room."

'She's not gonna give this up easily is she?' Haruto inwardly sighed as he steeled himself. Standing against a stubborn Saki was like going into battle. It was messy, long, and you came out wondering if it was worth it even if you did win. It wasn't like he didn't like dogs or cats, he loved animals, Haruto just didn't think his dorm was the best place for them to live.

That and he didn't want his room smelling like urine and feces.

Could anyone blame him?

"That won't work, Saki." Haruto shook his head in disagreement.

"Why not?"

"One, what happens if they need to go to the bathroom at night?" Saki opened her mouth to retort but couldn't think of one. "And the size of the room isn't so much about the dog being too big. It's just dogs have a lot of energy, they need room to run around and play. I just don't think my dorm will be the best place for him to live." by the end of his explanation Haruto felt like father talking to his child, especially when Saki tilted her head down halfway through his explanation.

"You're right." Saki spoke sullenly, surprising Haruto. He figured she'd put up more of a fight. "I was being selfish, I'm sorry."

Ah, so that's why she gave in so easily.

It wasn't just about her, it was about another living, breathing creature, and she must've felt bad for putting her own desires over what was best for Lil Haruto.

"Don't get like that." Haruto placed a hand on her head making her look up. "I'm sure we can find somewhere close to put them so we can visit them."

"Really?!" instantly Saki's expression brightened up.

"Sure, as long as it's a place where they can come and go freely."

"Ok! See?!" Saki turned her attention towards their "kids". "I knew your papa loved you two! Now say thank you to your papa." strangely enough, Little Saki meowed while Lil Haruto barked.

"That was weird." Haruto commented with astonished look on his face.

"Right? I didn't think they'd actually do it." Saki's face quickly transformed into that of one of a proud parent. "Our kids are geniuses!"

"You're really liking this kid thing aren't you?"

"Does it show?" Saki playfully questioned.

"Yes." she had a huge smile on her face every time she said it so it was pretty obvious, not that she was trying to hide it. "Anyways, we should find them a place to stay soon."

"Yes sir!" being as happy as she was, Saki gave a salute and took Lil Haruto from his "papa" before making her way to her seat on the bike. Rolling his eyes, Haruto also got onto the bike before pedaling.

"A place near the school should be good." Haruto stated over his shoulder earning a nod from his passenger.

"Then let's go!"

"At least she didn't-"

"Mush, Papa Tokishima!"

Never mind he spoke too soon.

---

Eventually, they were able to find a two-story house, a good place for their "kids" to stay; it had a doggy door so they could come and go at will. Haruto wasn't sure how Saki got in, seeing as she sent him off to get some dog and cat food from a nearby pet shop, but he was pretty sure she somehow picked the lock.

Breaking into arcade games and now a house.

What was she a thief before she became an idol?

Whatever it didn't really matter.

After Haruto brought the food (canned food so it was still good) they took some of the blankets in the house and piled them up to make a makeshift bed for Little Saki and Lil Haruto. Following that they put some food out along with a big bowl of water. Truthfully Haruto couldn't help but wonder how necessary it all was. They were obviously surviving on their own before he and Saki found them, but he kept it to himself. Haruto could tell Saki liked taking care of them and making her happy was all mattered.

Yes, besides keeping everyone safe, making Saki happy was the only thing that mattered. Haruto never wanted to see that scared, vulnerable Saki he saw in the movie theater ever again.

Eventually, Haruto had to be, according to Saki, the mean parent by deciding it was time to go. That was followed by an over dramatic goodbye that one would only see from an overly, clingy parent who was seeing their kid off to school for the first time.

"Yeah, I'll be waiting outside." Haruto commented as Saki began kissing Little Saki and Lil Haruto on their noses. He had to wait for a few more minutes but eventually Saki came out of the house wiping her tears with her arm. "Are you done?"

"Yeah." Saki answered before her face took on a proud and somewhat smug look. "So, how was I?"

"A little over the top don't you think?" Haruto questioned as he got into position on the bike.

"But, that's what I was going for." Saki replied as she walked with a bounce in her step towards him.

"Oh, well then, five stars."

"I still got it."

"Yup." feeling Saki's arm wrap around his waist and her head lay against his back, Haruto took that as cue and started pedaling. "So, that's about it right? There's nothing else you wanna do?"

"Well, there are hundreds of things I want to do to you." Haruto instantly stiffened at her words, which in turn made Saki smirk. It definitely didn't get past Haruto that she said "to" rather than "with". Going by the mirth in her voice the implications were rather obvious. She made it even more obvious when she started rubbing her hand in a circular motion against his abs.

"Girls love a guy with a six-pack." Haruto had to keep the bike from losing balance when he felt Saki's breath tickle his ear when she spoke.

"I-Is that right?" Haruto quickly learned that riding a bike was pretty hard when one had a girl softly rubbing their stomach.

His pants were a little tighter.

In all honesty, Haruto was pretty proud of his body. When he looks at himself in the mirror he can't help but flex a little. It was just so strange, not too long ago he was a skinny, seventeen year old boy, now he looked like one of the football players in his school, if not better. He wouldn't lie, he felt a little more like a man, and apparently Saki liked his body too.

Haruto didn't hate that.

"You have no idea." a nibble on his ear caused him to swerve before sliding to a stop. "Oh, you're so easy. But fun aside, don't forget to stop by the mall to pick up our clothes."

"R-Right." they left their clothes they got in the mall earlier and decided to pick them up on the way back since it would be too much of a hassle to carry them around all day. So, now that their date was coming to an end they had to pick them up.

Five minutes later Saki's arms were full of shopping bags as Haruto rode down the street.

"You know, I feel like we're forgetting something." Haruto stated with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Now that you mentioned it . . ." he was right, Saki too felt like they forgot something.

Clothes?

Check.

Koaly?

Check.

Tease Haruto?

Double check.

Took a step forward with Haruto in their emotional and physical none relationship relationship?

Triple check.

Had the best day in her life?

There weren't enough checks in the world.

That seemed like everything.

So then why did she feel like she-

(Rumble)

They both blushed at the sound.

Right, food.

"We hadn't eaten anything since breakfast had we?" Saki questioned.

"I didn't even finish my breakfast."

"Cafeteria?"

"Cafeteria. But, we should probably drop these off at our dorms first." Haruto suggested as they closed in on the school.

"Yeah, about that." Saki nervously started, catching Haruto's attention.

"What is it?"

"I kinda of thinking, if it's alright with you of course, that I could possibly, maybe, keep these clothes in your dorm."

"I, uh . . . really?" a blushing Haruto questioned the equally blushing Saki.

"W-Well, yeah. I already sleep in your room s-so I just figured it would make sense for me to have some clothes there." again she found herself truly embarrassed despite her many teasings of him.

She was still a girl after all and the topic they were speaking about made it sound like she was moving in, which was a little true.

"I-I guess that makes sense." Haruto did just as Saki and averted his eyes to the side.

"Only if you don't mind of course!" she quickly restated. "I don't want you to feel like you have t-."

"I-I don't really mind." Haruto began with nervous scratch of his cheek. "I p-promised to never leave you alone, right?" Saki's head whipped in his direction with a surprised look before it soon turned into a smile.

"Right, you promised."

"And I never go back on a promise."

"Of course you don't. That's so cliche."

"Hey!"

"Hehehehe."

---

A/N: So, once again Saki has helped advance her and Haruto's none relationship relationship in the emotional and physical sense. I wonder if I got anyone thinking Saki was going to confess at the river. Honestly I was thinking about having her say it there but decided against it. I've been stuck on the idea of having Saki say it after they have sex for the first time, with Haruto in control of his actions. She won't plan on saying it but her emotions get to her and she blurts it out.

I'm starting to bring up Saki's fear of losing people specifically Haruto into this fic. She'll have already had that fear since she entered the school but it increased ever since she met and became close to Haruto. That'll be a reason Saki was aloof with everyone before she became friends with Aina. If you're not close to anyone you can't lose them and get hurt. Her fear of losing Haruto will be focused on two things, one, just because Haruto promised to never leave her alone doesn't necessarily mean he'll pick her over Shoko.

Of course he'll pick her but Saki doesn't know that.

The second way Saki's scared of losing Haruto will be to Dorssia or the other nations. Even if he picks her she could still lose him physically if he's ever captured. Those fears will grow as Saki becomes even close to Haruto. That'll help bring some angst into the story without it being relationship angst.

Anyways, I hope the date was fun to read, most of the stuff just came off the top of my head, only the movie, laying by the river and animal scene were already planned before I started writing the chapter. And they were just vaguely planned.

Ok, most people say that my Saki isn't out of character but sometimes I wonder if she mood swings too much. One second she's teasing, the next she's shy, then after that she's acting like a kid. I like to do that because I think it's fun to have her a little unpredictable in her reactions, but is it too much? Or should I just keep doing what I'm doing?

Saki will get more serious as things progress when the moment calls for it. I don't want Saki to be perfect, far from it. She'll start showing some of her emotional and mental scars later on and she'll be downright brutal and vicious at times. Not just on the battlefield but in decision making too.

Zidana123: Thanks for the suggestions on names for the upgraded Waffes. I'll probably use them both. One will be their official name and the other will be what Haruto and others named it as. It's not really realistic for Haruto and the others to think of a name for it and it being the mechs official name. How would they know that besides the enemy telling them the name? And I don't like talking between enemies in battle too much. It's like hurry up and start killing each other. I actually planned on them "getting it on" in the Valvrave but I realized that Haruto hadn't had any runes yet so I replaced it with the rune feeding. Don't worry though, I plan on them "getting it on" a few times in their Valvraves in the future.

Christemo: The reason I'm neglecting Cain and L-elf's former squad is simply because Haruto and the others are at a point where they have to win every battle. If they don't it's game over, they lose the Valvraves and the students all get killed because there's no other form of military power in New JIOR, for now. So, I didn't want to bring them in only for them to lose over and over again. They were trained with L-elf (trained him in Cain's case) I want to give them credit they deserve and not have them constantly losing. I don't want them being like Team Rocket where you know no matter what plan they thought up we all know how it's going to end. So, I'm going to bring them in later where losses for Haruto and the others isn't fatal to New JIOR, because any good enemy will get its wins against you, and L-elf's squad will get its own victories.

AJ-Writer: While I've never been a big fan of vampires and know very little of their lore, reading the timeskip in your 1st chapter actually got me thinking about making wolf like mechs. The way they were guarding (I assume Haruto) made it seem like they were members of his royal guard. So, I'll probably have Haruto and Saki have their own royal guard when they become Emperor and Empress and those guards mechs will be the wolf like ones. So, far I can think of three people being a part of that royal guard; L-elf, Kriemhild, and H-neun. As I said before H-neun won't die and he along with Kriemhild will eventually join Haruto and the others.

Anyways, another chapter another rant.

That's about it, don't forget to review. I appreciate all of them especially the people who review every chapter.

Peace.