"Rise and shine, lovebirds! It's morning," Kazuichi tapped his knuckles against Akane's door with a fast flick in his wrist. His knocking was nonstop and continuously rapid, not wanting to leave without some sort of response.

Behind the closed door, Akane was sitting up atop her mattress, wincing at the displeasure her aching joints brought. Next to her was Hajime, still asleep on his side. He was giving away clear signs of discomfort as he lay there, his body shaking as he let out occasional spurts of labored breathing. She placed her palm on his hip, flinching as she heard another knock at her door.

"Keep knocking, and I'll chop your damn hand off!" her loud threat was enough to cause Soda to Yelp, his persistent knocking immediately ceasing. Hajime was also affected, now on his back, eyes cracked open. His face was glowing, both cheeks a bright pink, as well as covered in a layer of sweat.

"O-Okay! Alright! I'm gonna go let Komaeda out now, and then I'll be with the pods if you need me," he spoke fast, surprisingly without error before his steps marked his leave. It wasn't long before silence engulfed the room again, and it wasn't long before Hinata spoke.

"It happened again?..." his voice was low, but as quiet as it was he might as well have been speaking at full volume.

"Sorry...I can leave. If you-"

"Stay. Please." in the tangled mess of sheets and blankets his left hand found her right. His hand was incredibly hot, that warmth increasing when their fingers intertwined. She turned to look at him, and saw his eyes closed again. "I heard them say that you couldn't walk last night. Are you hurt?"

"Ah. My ankle and my wrist. Wrist still hurts...but my ankle feels fine now."

"And that's from breaking down the door?"

"Mhm."

"So it's my fault then..."

"No, it's not! So you don't hate me then? For knocking you out again?"

"I've already told you how I feel about you. A simple mistake wouldn't change that."

She felt even warmer now. It was an awkward feeling to have, though. Girly. She felt girly. So she cleared her throat, as if that would do anything. She didn't have the time to feel that way anyhow. At least, that's how she felt. Besides, she'd rather know how he was feeling, what it could be that was making him shake in his sleep.

"Are you alright, Hajime?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Liar. It took everything she had to hold back from punching him in the face. He wasn't making a good case for himself either, answering so quickly. She bit her lip as she let herself fall backwards, her head landing on the pillow she was sharing with him.

"Even I can tell that you're full of it."

"Can you. How so?"

"You were shaking in your sleep. Breathing heavy, too."

He didn't say anything at that. Actually, he stopped thinking completely. She didn't know what was in his mind, but she had the common sense to pick up that something was going on in there.

"I think I'm going to get something to eat." he said dryly. His body even rose up slowly, like a corpse reanimating. Their hands disconnected even slower, that shared warmth quickly succumbing to an unwelcoming cold. She sat up quickly, to say something to stop him.

"Don't give me some shitty excuse!"

"Wouldn't you like to eat something?"

"That can wait, dammit!" he never imagined that she would turn down a meal so easily. He turned his head to look at her, stopping at about halfway.

"Nanami..." she tensed up as he spoke her name. She almost choked on her own breath too, pushing a lump down her throat. It hurt just to think about her, so there was at least some understanding to why she was getting to him. "This has to do with her, kind of."

He sat in silence, in case she said something. She couldn't. It was tough enough to get him to talk, and she didn't want to push it. He sighed when he realized that the floor was still his.

"I've been at odds with myself, since we woke up from the school trip. This person...me...who I am now. This talented, talented person...I don't want to be like this." she was confused now more than ever.

"Kamukura? What does that have to with-" she barely understood the whole Kamukura Izuru situation, but she kept listening, just for the sake of doing so.

"I watched her...I watched her die. As Izuru I just stood there. She was right in front of him, crying, in pain. With all of his talents, all of his abilities, he just stood by and watched. I've been trying to deny it recently but I can't change the fact that I AM him. And I hate myself for it."

So that was it. He was feeling guilt over the death of their friend, Nanami Chiaki. The more Akane thought about it the more she remembered what it looked like. Her death was a gruesome stain on the groups shared history, but she didn't expect Hinata to be hit so hard by it.

"It'll be a long time before I can say that to anyone else..."

"It's alright. I'm not gonna tell anyone."

"Thank you..."

Without objection she pulled him back into a laying position. His face was buried in the crook of her neck, her scent calming him as he breathed it in. He moved his head, pressing his ear against her skin, her strong heartbeat playing like a metronome.

"If you tell anyone about what we're doing,"

"Right, right...I figured as much." he laughed quietly, the sound bringing a smile to her face. She didn't end up giving him any solution to his inner dilemma, but she was glad she could provide some sort of comfort. "But I will say, this feels a lot better than the last time."

They both started to fall back asleep, silence filling the air again. They both settled deeper into their positions, Hajime even being so bold as to wrap an arm around her waist. Akane closed her eyes, only for them to shoot open when he rolled over, pulling her with him and onto her side. Now face to face, he chose to ask her something.

"So...why did you try so hard to get those doors open?" she looked embarrassed, holding on to her answer for a few seconds.

"I thought you were gonna get killed!"

"No faith in me, huh?"

"Ah, shut up!" they both laughed, letting the air settle once more. "I know I didn't really help you solve your problem, but as long as we're together, I'll always be there to run that red light with you."

"Ha...Thank you for that, Akane."