! I mean to post this chapter, like, two days ago; I've just found myself away from home and the computer lately, so real quick before I get swamped again in business~ here is this chapter! It's short, sorry!

Disclaimer: I own nothing~! Chapter title is off of Lydia's album "Illuminate"-highly suggest giving the album and band a listen~!

One More Day

"Hm? Kou? Are you alright? You didn't text me at all this weekend…"

Gou jumps at the sound of Chigusa, approaching Gou's desk with her books in hand. Gou still has her notebook and pencils sprawled on her desk, despite class ending over a minute ago.

"You seem really distracted…did something happen?"

That morning, at Coach Sasabe's house, Gou stood in the kitchen with Miss Amakata and Rin. The others were still asleep and Coach Sasabe was in the shower.

Gou had woken up and Mikoshiba had been gone, but she didn't hold it against him. It'd probably been weird for him, her having asked that of him, to stay the whole night with her…to sleep next to her…

She blushes at the thought until Rin's voice pulls her back to the now. Miss Amakata is asking her what she wants to do. Gou won't involve the authorities; she'd rather just put this all behind her. Amakata offers to give Gou a ride home, before the others wake up. She wants to be there when they do wake up, she thinks; so she can thank them all for coming to her rescue yesterday, but Rin decides for her that Amakata should do as much.

Gou wants to ask Rin if he'll stay at the house for the weekend, since their mother is still gone. But, she can't bring herself to. She just nods with what he says and she and Miss Amakata leave the kitchen. She doesn't look back at Rin and she doesn't try to see where Mikoshiba ended up retreating to after he left her in the night. She doesn't leave a note for the others, but in the car she asks Miss Amakata to pass along to the others that she is very grateful for them. Amakata promises to tell them.

"Chores," Gou lies. She doesn't want to worry Chigusa, too. She hasn't seen any of the others all morning, but already she feels like she's been dodging questions all day.

"Have you texted Rin at all?"

Chigusa knows all the right topics to touch on.

"No…" Gou says, with a heavier heart than she meant to.

"You should have at least invited him over this weekend, with your mom gone and all…at least you saw him Friday, right?"

Gou almost admits Saturday morning, too, but bites that back.

"And what are you going to do this weekend?" Chigusa asks. Chigusa herself is visiting relatives this weekend, Gou remembers. Gou blushes, suddenly remembering, "I may have a date…"

She doesn't mean to say it out loud, but the moment it escapes her lips, she regrets it. Hanamura lights up, gasping loudly enough that Gou has to cover her mouth.

"I-I mean, it's nothing set in stone or anything!" She counters, but it's too late.

"With who?!"

Gou shrugs, "Mikoshiba…"

"Mikoshiba? He's not on the swim team, is he?"

Gou winces, "Not the Iwatobi one…why?"

Chigusa smirks, "I just assumed you hanging around all the boys, you'd eventually either date one of become one! And what do you mean not the Iwatobi one? Oh! Is he a swimmer on your brother's team?"

Gou nods slowly, "He's the Captain…"

"The Captain!"

"D-don't say it like that!"

Again, no practice today, and Gou really doesn't feel like being confronted by the swim team members again today. She just wants to go home and finish her chores before her mother comes home at the end of the week and yells at her for doing nothing all weekend. Gou shoves her book and pencils into her bag, her Iwatobi charm swinging as she slings her bag over her shoulder.

She smiles at it, thinking of Mikoshiba, before catching herself and quickly dropping her smile before Chigusa notices and teases her for it.

"Oh, hey! I'll be just a moment," Chigusa calls suddenly, just as the two reach the bottom of the school stairs. "I need to see to someone about the notes from this morning's lecture I missed!"

Gou giggles, "You really shouldn't sleep in class!"

Hana nods, "I'd ask you, but you didn't take notes either!"

Gou sighs because it's true; her mind was wandering all morning.

"Guess I'll need to see those notes, too…"

"Wait for me by the gates, alright?"

Gou nods, going their separate ways.

"Rei!"

Rei turns just in time for Nagisa to crash into him, swinging his arm over the taller boy and pulling him down to his level, whispering suspiciously so no one will overhear, "Did you bring it?"

Rei shrugs Nagisa off of him, straightening his uniform as Makoto and Haru join them.

"I hid the gift in the swim club locker room."

The morning after the fight, Rei woke up to Nagisa pouting and Ama explaining that she'd taken Gou home already. Rei thought it was odd that Rin was still there, however-he wondered if Rin was awake when Ama took Gou home or if he voluntarily let her leave by herself.

"Was she alright?!" Nagisa begged. Ama smiled assuredly, but then again she always seemed to be smiling and Rei didn't buy it this time.

"She's fine! Now, Rin tells me though that you all plan to throw her a party..?"

"Not a party," Makoto corrects, though Nagisa is nodding his head.

"I think that's a wonderful idea!" Miss Ama adds, throwing in some quote about healing the soul with celebration of simply existing though no one quite understands or follows.

"We want to buy her a new bag!" Nitori offers.

"That's a good idea. Do any of you know what kind of bag she'd like?"

Visibly their hearts sink. None of them have any idea.

"Oh, well, I'm sure she'll like whichever you choose! A gift from the heart-"

"Ah, that's alright, Miss Ama…" Makoto cuts her off.

It was decided that they'd hold the party at Haru's; since he was the one grilling and because his house was on the way to Gou's. And with no one there, they could set up for the party-that's-not-a-party.

"Streamers! And decorations!"

"No. Nagisa, we already agreed on none of that stuff!" Rei chided.

It was decided they'd all go shop for a bag tomorrow, and Rei volunteered to hold onto it and sneak it to school the following day. He'd hid it before homeroom in the swim club house in his own cubby, though he doubted Gou would go in there at all that day.

He hadn't seen Gou all day, actually. He'd though to try to find her during lunch, but ended up spending his lunch helping tutor a fellow student of his class for an upcoming quiz. He didn't get the chance to ask any of the other swim club members if they'd seen Gou.

"Let's get the gift, then head to Haru's!" Nagisa chimed.

Rei nodded, "All that's left is to wait on him."

"Let's go the back way, so we don't run into Gou!"

"Mm!"

It's another warm afternoon and several passing students wave goodbye to Gou as they pass her. She holds a quick conversation with one classmate about their separate homeroom teachers and how his, unfortunately, is the meaner one. Gou apologizes for his misfortune and then bids him on his way. A few minutes pass and she becomes impatient; what's taking Chigusa so long?

She taps her foot, as though Chigusa will suddenly hear her and become aware that she's taking too long. Gou considers leaving without her.

"Waiting for someone? I hope it's me, though I guess it's not."

Gou feels her spine stiffen at the voice and she doesn't dare turn around to confirm what she fears.

"I'm not sure if you remember me; we did only meet briefly before our introduction was cut short. Wasn't it, Kou?"

Kent.

Gou slowly turns around and sure enough, the white-haired boy is standing behind her, a hand on his hip casually. All around them, students pass her unsuspectingly and she secretly hopes that Makoto or Haru or Rei or Nagisa will pass by or see them. That they'll come to her rescue again.

No, she doesn't need them to save her.

Furrowing her brows, Gou balls her fists, warning him, "Stay away from me."

Her voice is low but she glances to the side. One false move on his behalf and she'll scream.

"Don't do that," he warns her. "I just want to talk. C'mon, walk with me."

He slinks up to her, again with speed she isn't quite ready for, and by the time she's inhaling to yell, he's got a hand pressed over her mouth. He slings his arm around her casually, playing it off so no one around them suspects anything.

Gou won't deny she's impressed with muscles, but she finds no pleasure in just how strong Kent is, forcefully pushing her along beside him. She tries to open her mouth but his grip is again clenching her jaw tightly and as afraid as she is, a small part of her is conscious about making a scene.

She wants to hit him, to throw him off her, to scream for help or that she's supposed to be waiting for Chigusa, but he doesn't notice. He keeps pulling her along like some kind of leash and no matter how hard she tries to turn her head, to look back for Chigusa, to warn someone, she can't struggle against him ushering her from the school grounds.

"C'mon now. It's just you and me this time. Let's leave the others out of it, alright? Your brother, too?"

That catches her off guard. How does she know about her brother? Did he even see Rin that day? Rin stayed back away from the fight. Did Kent see him and recognize that they look enough alike to be siblings? Was he threatening her, using her brother as leverage?

"I was hoping I'd recognize you. I recognized your school uniform but I didn't think I'd find you just waiting outside of school—just my luck, though! It's like you were waiting for me," he mocks. "We got off on the wrong foot, Kou, and I'm going to fix that."

She hates being called Gou, it's so masculine. But, she can't stand the way Kent puts the wrong kind of emphasis on Kou. It doesn't sound pretty and girly and cute. It doesn't sound like her name.

Kou hears the buzz in her bag of her cellphone and wonders if that's Chigusa, texting her that Gee, glad Kou waited for her. Kou wants to text her back that she's in danger, but Kent isn't letting her reach for her bag.

Chigusa is stepping quickly down the stairs when she notices out the window the retreating form of Kou and what appears to be a boy from another school. His uniform is foreign to her; the boy himself isn't someone Chigusa recognizes, so she knows it's not Rin.

At first, Chigusa pouts, thinking Kou is abandoning her. That is, until she remembers what Kou said.

"Ah! That must be Mikoshiba!" Chigusa suddenly smiles, shaking her head. She's not thrilled that Kou couldn't wait for her and introduce her to this Mikoshiba, but they're walking so quickly that Chigusa assumes he's in a hurry. Maybe they're on their way to their date. Chigusa will forgive her, this time…

Chigusa slows her pace, no longer in a rush to reach Kou, even stopping for a drink at the fountain.

When she reaches the outside, however, she sees someone she wasn't expecting.

"Rin?"

Gou's brother turns his head at being recognized, looking confused for a moment before recognizing Chigusa as his sister's friend, who he's met at least twice by now.

"Chigusa, is it?"

Chigusa nods slowly. "What are you doing here? Challenging the Iwatobi swim team?" Chigusa smirks. Gou's told her a lot about her aloof, mysterious brother.

Rin frowns, "No. I'm looking for my sister. She isn't with you?"

"Eh?" Hana asks, confused. "Did Gou know you were coming to pick her up..?"

Rin scratches at the back of his head. "No…I just texted her saying I was on my way, but she hasn't texted me back…"

Is she still mad at him? He wonders. He finally texted her first, isn't that what she always wanted? She can't be so mad at him that she'd see his message and ignore it, walking home by herself after he went through all the trouble of coming out here.

Chigusa shakes her head, "She just left with Mikoshiba."

Rin feels a rage flare up inside him, but calmly asks Chigusa to repeat herself.

"Yeah, she just left with a boy. It's Mikoshiba, isn't it?"

But Rin stopped listening to her, his own phone already out in hand, scrolling quickly through contacts.

A moment later, Mikoshiba's number is being dialed.

"Hello?"

"The hell do you think you're doing?"

"Matsuoka? Ah, what's this about exactly..?"

"You know damn well what this is about," Rin mutters, keeping his voice low but threatening.

"Ah, Matsuoka, I-?"

"Where are you taking my sister, bastard?!"

Mikoshiba goes quiet on the other side of the line before he asks carefully, "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean you picked her up just now, didn't you?"

"…I'm back at the school, Rin. What are you talking about? Who's Gou with? Rin-"

Rin hangs up without hearing anything else. Slowly, he turns back to Chigusa.

"What did 'Mikoshiba' look like?"

"Eh? He…he had a different school uniform on." It's then that Chigusa notices the boy Gou left with and Rin don't wear the same uniform. Wasn't Mikoshiba captain of Rin's swim team? "And he had white hair-"

"Which direction."

Rin's voice is scary.

"E-excuse..?"

"Which direction did they go!"

[I'm walking you home today. Almost at your school]

A/N: Rin had texted her~! But shit just got real... Hope this chapter wasn't too confusing? Chigusa has screen time~! And, like Rei, will continue to do so because she's that third-party voice; she has even less of the blanks filled than Rei did, so she's out of the loop~

And I don't think Chigusa ever saw or met Mikoshiba (An opportunity I'm greatly bitter at that missed during the festival) and even at Regionals; Mikoshiba never came by Iwatobi, when she was there that time cheering alongside Gou. So, she doesn't recognize Mikoshiba in this story~

This is, again, a set-up chapter. It's very short and not a lot happens, but I can promise that the next chapters are much longer and a lot more happens~ I'll try to post the next chapter soon!