Someone got me into Kuroko no Basket and so I've been spending the last week pretty much being obsessed with that. My harddrive is nothing but KnB and Free now. (Both animes about gay boys competing in sports, I wonder if this is going to be a trend with me now). I also got summoned for jury duty ha. That will be a hoot.

If there was a top ten list of worst things that could happen to you on vacation – and there might very well be but Gou didn't have access to the internet out here – Gou was fairly certain being sick would be at the top. Or at least in the top five. The only things she could think of that could possibly be worse were getting arrested, getting mauled by foreign wildlife, or forgetting sunscreen.

"Achoo!" Gou rocked backwards. "Ugh. This is ridiculous." She sniffled loudly. "How in God's name did I get sick?"

"Well, you were out in the cold in the middle of a storm for a long time," Seijuro pointed out. He handed her another tissue. "It's no surprise you got sick."

Oh yeah, another one to add to the list of worst things to happen to you on vacation. Getting caught in a natural disaster. And of course both had happened to Gou. It was amazing she hadn't gotten trampled by a hippo at that nocturnal zoo. My luck is the worst.

"You know my mother used to say when you sneeze it means someone is talking bad about you." Hana sent Gou a sly look from where she sat near the foot of the bed.

"Hush, you. Even when I'm sick you make me a target of your teasing. I should kick you out."

Hana only laughed at the empty threat. Gou took the tissue from Seijuro and held it to her nose, trying to prevent another sneeze.

Several hours had passed since their rescue. It was Amakata, worried when Goro and Seijuro had failed to show back up with Hana and Gou, who had gone to the authorities. The authorities would not go out during the storm due to the danger, much to Amakata's distress, but once the storm had cleared a boat had been sent out. Goro and Hana had been located first, and then Seijuro and her. And the Iwatobi boys. What they had been doing out swimming at night Gou still had no idea. Nighttime swimming hadn't been in their training regime, at least not as far as Gou knew. They had remained tight lipped about it too. Well so long as they were all safe and unhurt Gou didn't care about their nighttime maritime adventures.

Since returning to the hotel room she had been confined to bed. Hana and Amakata had been her near constant companions and the Iwatobi boys had been filtering in and out once they had caught up on some much needed sleep. Apparently they had been up all night. Seijuro had returned as well, after having departed shortly after their return to the mainland to go deal with his swim team. With his phone broken he had no way to communicate with them but to go there in person.

"Did everything go alright with Samezuka?" asked Gou.

"They're fine at the pool. Nakagawa's taking care of it for the day. They'll be alright."

"Are you not going to practice with them today, Mikoshiba-san?" asked Hana.

Seijuro's mouth twisted into an ironic smirk. "No. I think I got enough practice last night."

"I think we all did." Gou's eyes narrowed as she watched Nagisa trying to sneak a strawberry from the carton Amakata had got her. Despite their long ordeal last night Nagisa was still full of pep and energy. Some people are just gifted like that I suppose. Or cursed.

Rei catapulted to his feet and seized Nagisa's wrist before the smaller boy was able to sample one of the delectable fruits. "Don't eat that, Nagisa-kun! You'll get sick! That has Gou-san's germs on it!"

"Don't act like I'm diseased!" Gou protested.

Nagisa twisted in Rei's grasp but did little else to escape the taller boy's hold. "It's fine, Rei-chan. I'm sure one strawberry won't hurt."

"That sort of thinking is how people end up getting sick!" Rei proclaimed. "And being sick is being diseased, Gou-san!"

"I'm not that sick!" She sneezed loudly.

"See!" Hana cried. "It is true! You sneeze when people talk bad about you!"

You're no help at all, Hana, thought Gou grouchily as Seijuro handed her another tissue.

"I-I'm pretty sure it just means she has a cold." Makoto gave one of those uncomfortable chuckles of him. His face smoothed out and he smiled. "Still, I'm glad everyone is alright. Things could have been ended up being a lot worse."

Truly they could have been. If Seijuro and Goro hadn't been looking for them then her and Hana would have been…Well, Gou didn't really want to think about that. And maybe it was sort of nice and rather comforting to think Seijuro had been worried about her. Worried enough to the point he would go looking for her. He had noticed her absence that much.

When she had gotten back to her room she had seen the texts from him. Even a missed call too. He had never called her before. He had been trying to get into contact with her that desperately.

Although there had been that text with nothing but a frowney face. That had been a bit odd. Maybe he had meant he was frowning because she wasn't responding? Gou wasn't sure.

Yet now his phone is broken and it's my fault. There would be no more texts, not even frowney face ones, until he replaced it. She frowned at her lap. He had risked his life for her and it had cost him not only missing out on a practice that could detriment them placing in the tournament but a phone as well. A cheap phone but it was his main form of communication with his swim team. It will have to be replaced.

The sudden sound of footsteps racing turbulently up the stairs made everyone look up. "Whose that?" Nagisa asked Haru, the closest one to the open door.

Haru shrugged. He leaned out the door to look and his eyes widened. "It's-"

"Gou!" Rin careened into the open doorway of the hotel room. His hands grasped the frame on either side as if needing it for support. He was breathing fast and hard, eyes wide and pupils unnaturally dilated, hair utterly tousled and still dripping wet from what must be pool water.

Gou stiffened. "Br-brother?!" What is he doing here?

Seijuro slid away from her bedside, smoothly putting some distance between herself and him. Rin didn't even acknowledge his swim team captain's unusual presence. In fact he didn't acknowledge anyone's presence except for Gou's.

"Gou!" Immediately he came over to her, passing Seijuro so close Seijuro would have touched him if he shifted ever so slightly, but Rin didn't even glance his way. He kneeled down beside the bed and grasped her hands. "What happened? Are you alright?"

Oh good. Gou relaxed. He wasn't here because of the marriage but because of what happened last night. Someone must have told him. Amakata or Goro most likely. The two had been missing for a bit, and those two would believe her brother would have a right to know about something like that. Not that she could blame them. "I'm fine, I'm fine, really. I'm not hurt. I just have a little bit of a cold-"

"What were you thinking?!" Rin's voice had risen a few octaves. "Going out into the ocean of all places! You know how dangerous that can be! Why in God's name would you be out there?"

"O-oh I was just ummm…"

Beyond her brother Seijuro and Makoto were ushering everyone out of the room. Vaguely Gou noted that somehow Nagisa had managed to get a hold of the strawberries when no one was looking. Rei hissed protests at him and Haru, with a movement that was as smooth and refined as his swimming, deftly plucked the strawberries out of Nagisa's hands and set them down.

Nagisa whined like a dog that had been denied its bone. "Haru-chan!"

"You want to win that money don't you?" Haru replied tonelessly. "You can't do that if you get sick."

Another voice sounded out in the hallway and the boy Nitori careened into the doorway much like her brother had just moments ago. "Matsuoka-sempai!"

Seijuro's raised arm blocked the rest of her view, stopping the other boy from entering. The boys and Hana stepped outside, herding Nitori along with them despite his protests, and softly closed the door behind them.

Gou took a deep breath. She was going to get quite an earful. She knew that. Whenever her brother got agitated – whether it be from anger or frustration or worry – he had to let it out, like slicing open a wound to let it bleed. Ever since they were young he had been like that. If he didn't vent or make his feelings known it would only frustrate and irritate more, and he would be unable to settle. Put simply, Rin was the type who found it almost impossible to let things go.

Gou sniffled again and held the tissue up to her nose, readying herself for the lecture that was coming.

Outside the room Seijuro leaned against the wall. He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at the pavement. Someone had told Matsuoka what had happened. Nakagawa couldn't have; Seijuro had barely told him anything and he hadn't told him it had been Gou in specific. He had just said a girl. So it couldn't be Nakagawa. Which meant it had to be someone from here.

He scrutinized the faces around him. It didn't take him long at all to settle on one. "It was you, wasn't it?"

By the way Makoto tilted his face away and avoided Seijuro's eyes, Seijuro knew instantly he was right. The other boy bit his lip but that wasn't enough to stop the smile from forming. "I just…I like fixing things I guess." He gave that chuckle of his, rubbing the back of his head. "I only told him about the boat though. Nothing else. His sister was in danger. He would want to know about something like that and being an older brother myself I can't deny him that. You can understand that, right?"

Seijuro grunted an affirmative. Makoto was right. If it had been Seijuro's sibling he would have wanted to know too. Though he wished Makoto had said something sooner. Maybe he had been worried that Seijuro would get upset if he knew that Makoto had told Matsuoka. Whatever the reason for his secrecy it was fine. So long as he hadn't said anything else, and Seijuro trusted him on that front. Makoto wasn't the type to lie and he wasn't the type to divulge that sort of information to Rin without consulting Gou first.

Nitori, who had heard the conversation, looked between the two of them confusedly. "Captain?"

"Never mind, Nitori." Seijuro tilted his head towards the shorter boy. He gave him a sharp look that caused him to stiffen, knowing he was in trouble. "Now let's talk about why you aren't at practice."

"Eeee!"

To say Rin was upset was a little bit of an understatement. Even after hearing Gou's explanation as to why she and Hana had been caught out in the ocean in the middle of the night, and subsequently caught in the storm, he was unhappy. He scolded her for sometime about the dangers of the ocean, which she listened to with a grimace and a bit of cringing. She knew he was only doing it because he cared. If he didn't care then he wouldn't have shown up here like he did, though she was still unsure how he had found out. Seeing that, just like Seijuro's text messages, was nice. Especially after Rin had dismissed her presence so often since his return from Australia.

She flexed her hand on top of her thigh. He had held her hand. Just like he used to when they were younger. Like that time when they walked behind that procession. Back when they had both lost something precious to the ocean. She couldn't blame him for being angry. She would have likely reacted the same way if their positions had been switched.

Well I might not have yelled so much.

He blew air through his teeth, finally running out of steam, and sat down heavily on the bed. "You know how dangerous the ocean can be. Even if you are only going out for a short time and are being careful bad things can happen. The ocean is a place of last resorts. You should know that."

It was funny for him to say that. The ocean had been the last resort for Iwatobi to get some swimming in for their week long break. Maybe he was correct.

"Even when you feel like you're totally safe you're not when it comes to the ocean." He shook his head. "I've almost lost two people to it now. It's enough to make a guy want to move inland for God's sake."

"Sorry," she said. "I mean we didn't do it on purpose. The motor broke on us. If it weren't for that we could have been back before the storm ever hit."

He let out another sigh. "Well, it's fine. You're got back alright and you weren't hurt." He gave her a disgusted look. "I mean besides becoming an incubus of viral plague anyway."

Gou's jaw dropped. "T-that was mean! It's bad enough everyone's been referring to me as 'diseased'. I didn't get sick on purpose you know! Jeez!"

The corner of his mouth twitched. The beginnings of a smile? But if it was it quickly stopped there. He motioned to her hand on the blanket. "Nice ring. I just noticed that. Where'd that come from?"

The pearl ring. She raised her right hand to look at it. Since purchasing it she had never taken it off, not even when she had gone out on the boat with Hana. She had been meaning to tell her brother about it before, but had forgotten with everything else that had happened. Now he had noticed it completely on his own. "I bought it. It's for Mom."

Rin's expression changed. Any sign of mirth or happiness that had been present quickly vanished. He looked away from her to the wall. "I'm sure she'll like it."

Gou blinked in surprise. The words were stiff. Had hearing about the ring upset him? If it had reminded him of their father, which it likely had, then it might have.

He rose from the bed. "Do you need anything?"

Gou blinked. "N-no. Amakata and the others have been helping with anything I need."

"Good. Don't let those boys over work you. Stay in bed and get better."

"It's just a cold," she protested.

Wrong thing to say. He turned back towards her, eyes flashing, and leaned forward. He punctuated each word with a poke of his finger. "Stay in bed."

Huffing, Gou settled back. "Alright, alright, I promise. I won't do anything until I feel better."

"Good." Rin straightened. "Don't let Haru feed you any mackerel either. I know how he is. Idiot thinks he's literally a dolphin or something. He thinks he can survive on just fish alone."

And pizza. Gou laughed a little but didn't dare mention what she had eaten last night or how their entire menu was nothing but mackerel and pizza. Rin would throw a fit.

He headed towards the door with a wave. "Stay in bed."

"Yes, sir." She moved to get under the blanket. She felt better already.

When the door opened any conversation that had been going on instantly died. Everyone was silent, staring at Matsuoka, waiting to see what he would do.

The only one who did speak was Nitori, letting out a small, hesitant, "Sempai?"

Matsuoka barely acknowledged the younger boy's presence. His carmine gaze slid over those that were, passing over the Iwatobi boys, even Haru, without pause, only coming to rest once he came upon Seijuro. He approached him and Seijuro stiffened slightly. He hadn't anticipated this and wasn't certain what Matsuoka's intent was. The other boy's face was lowered and his eyes were shadowed by his bangs. Seijuro was unable to read his expression and consequently his objective. Could he have found out about the marriage?

Seijuro arms tightened over his chest. He tried his best to not let his apprehension show. If Matsuoka sensed that it would be like letting blood in the water. Matsuoka would only feed on it.

The red head stopped merely a few inches from him. His eyes were still hidden and his expression unreadable, providing no clue at all as to what he was about to do. "Captain."

The word was spoken tonelessly. Was Matsuoka addressing him or something else? Seijuro straightened, preparing for the strike to come, but Matsuoka only continued.

"Were you the one who saved Gou?"

Oh…Was that what he was after? Seijuro blinked. "Yes," he said a little hesitantly.

Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, Matsuoka bowed to him deeply. "Thank you."

Nagisa and Makoto's jaws dropped. Even Haru showed subtle signs of shock in his eyes. And Nitori. Nitori whimpered in a trembling voice, "Sempai." Tears were forming in the corner of his eyes.

Seijuro's gaze flickered away. He tried to ignore the troubled feeling that fluttered at his conscience like a black winged moth. That troubled feeling involving everything that he was hiding from Matsuoka. One of his own swim team members. A swim team member he was supposed to guide and be responsible for. And all that he was concealing involving one of the few precious people in this world Matsuoka cared about.

Hypocrite.

"Yeah," he said. The word felt thick in his mouth.

Matsuoka straightened. He turned away. "Let's go, Nitori." He passed by the Iwatobi boys with only a sidelong glance at Haru, not acknowledging the others three's presence in the slightest.

Nitori followed him, swiping at his eyes with his forearm. "Sempai," he wailed.

"What the heck are you crying for?" Matsuoka spoke over his shoulder as they descended the stairs. "I told you to stay at practice."

For some reason that only made Nitori cry all the harder. "Sempai!"

Seijuro watched the two go. That feeling of wrongdoing still flared in his chest like a flickering coal. He leaned away.

There's nothing to be done about it. Not only had Gou asked him not to tell her brother but more so than that Seijuro's desire to keep Matsuoka in the dark outweighed any feelings of guilt he possessed. Because if Matsuoka found out he might try to get between Gou and him. He might try and stop them, and whatever might be forming between them. And Seijuro wasn't about to let that happen.

He's always been a bit selfish.

Back into the swing of things. Gou sniffled as she leaned back into the warm water, sighing as it encased her in a soothing heat. Despite feeling much better and being mostly over her cold she still had a lingering cough and sniffle. Hopefully the hot springs would cure that.

The hot springs. That was their hosted trip for the day. As a treat the teachers had been invited to come. Goro hadn't been interested but Amakata surely had been. And Hana. The young girl had a free day so had come along as well, which Gou was glad for. Having the two other females there made it so she wouldn't be by herself in the hot springs. It was likely the reason why the hosts had invited them along in the first place. The female host must have been sympathetic towards Gou's situation of being the only female between the two swim teams.

Upon arrival they had spent the first hour and a half getting massages, taking a mud bath, and getting facials done. Amakata had insisted on it. "As Mark Twain once said," said the teacher. "'The finest clothing made is a person's own skin'."

That creeped Gou out more than it confused her. Hadn't they made a movie about a guy who liked to dress up in human skin?

She wouldn't have thought she would enjoy either activity but the massage was heavenly and the mud bath surprisingly soothing. The facial felt a little weird and unpleasant, but her skin felt surprisingly soft afterwards.

By the time they made it to the actual hot spring Gou was already starting to feel better from her sickness. Sitting naked with the hot water rushing over her was simply divine after all the aches she had experienced during her cold. Not to mention having been confined to her bed almost the rest of their entire mini vacation.

The only day she had been allowed out was the day before they left and she had spent that day with the Samezuka swim team. She had brought her camera along. Taking pictures had been her alibi but she had really been snooping on the competition. Not that Seijuro hadn't been able to figure that out right away. He had been glad to see her and had even pointed out the members that would be competing against Iwatobi. His willingness to share that information Gou could only surmise was because he had complete confidence that Samezuka would win regardless of how much research she did. Or maybe he just felt it was fair since he had seen so much of Iwatobi. If anything he had a substantially greater advantage over Gou in terms of knowing his competition and their abilities, especially considering his deeper knowledge of the sport and the times he had tutored Rei. Yes, if anything he had the advantage over them, in more ways than one.

She sank further into the water, submerging her entire self except for her nose and above. Two days they had been back. Two days that had been filled with swimming time or free days respectively. Samezuka and Iwatobi had been on opposite schedules those two days so she had seen little of Seijuro in that time. She had barely gotten to spend much time with him at all in fact. The longest they had been alone in each other's company in quite a while had been when they spent the night in that lighthouse.

It was a little weird that she was noticing something like that. In the past she would have delighted in the fact she didn't have to see him in order to save herself embarrassment, but now his absence caused something different. A strange empty feeling.

Gou shifted in the water. It's just loneliness. Anyone would feel that way after being in that house by themselves. Not that that explained the fact that even when she was with Iwatobi she often found herself wondering what Seijuro was doing.

And that very first day, when she had arrived back to the house…

"Thanks for the phone." Seijuro held up the red phone as if displaying some sort of medal. That big goofy smile was on his face again. That same smile she recognized so well, the one he used to always greet her with. The one she hadn't seen since that night at the bar.

For some reason it embarrassed her. "Y-ou're welcome." She hoped he would think her reddening face was from her nearly nonexistent cold.

"You didn't have to do that though," he said. "I could have easily gotten another one."

"Well, it was the least I could do." She found it was easier to talk to him when she didn't look at him. "You did save me."

When she glanced back at him his smile had changed. It had turned into something softer. Something more tender rather than happy. Yet seeing that only made her heartbeat speed up all the more.

Just like now. She ducked her head under the water and stayed there until her lungs felt like they were going to burst. Getting flustered over something that minute was silly. She had simply bought the phone for him because his had gotten destroyed while rescuing her. That was all. Considering he had saved her life it was the least she could do.

And besides he does rely on it quite a bit for communication. With his swim team members. And her when they weren't at the house together.

She rose from the water gasping and coughing a bit. Holding her breath while she was still coughing had not been a good idea.

"Do you need to get out, Gou-chan?" Amakata perched on the edge of the hot spring like some sort of perfectly carved water nymph. While she refused to wear a swimsuit for whatever reason she was okay with going naked. "Do you feel light headed?"

"I'm fine, sorry." Faintly Gou was glad Hana wasn't paying attention. The other girl was leaning back in the water with her eyes closed. Maybe she's asleep.

It was Makoto who had done it. That dope. She had asked him to go get the phone for her and as a consequence he had been the one to give it to Seijuro. He must have told Seijuro it was from her. Well, she hadn't explicitly told him not to tell Seijuro that. Truthfully she hadn't thought about it at the time. Oh well, there was nothing to be done about it.

"This feels so nice. I haven't been to a hot spring in forever." Amakata settled into the water, hair perfectly pinned up to keep it dry. "It was very nice of the hosts to allow teachers to come. I'm sure they understand we need relaxation as much as the students."

"It is nice. I'm glad they let me come too." Hana stretched her arms over her head. "It's definitely better to be relaxing in water than getting tossed around by it."

"Mmmm yes." Amakata shuddered. "What happened was very dreadful. Not even the authorities would go out into the bay until the weather died down. We are very lucky that you two came out of it unscathed."

"We are very lucky," Gou agreed. "I don't think I'm going to take anymore ocean adventures anytime soon. Well, besides sunbathing maybe but I'll stay on the beach for that."

"But that's so bad for your skin, Gou-chan." Amakata protested. "You mustn't do that or you'll get wrinkles."

Hana made that face of hers when she had no idea what the teacher was saying. Gou was used to Amakata but not so for Hana. It was actually a little amusing watching a stranger's reaction to Amakata's sometimes strange phrases.

"It was a good thing they came to rescue us," said Hana, resuming their conversation before Amakata had gone off in her own direction. "If it weren't for Sasabe-san and Gou's boyfriend we might not have made it."

That wasn't so amusing. Gou stiffened. "He isn't my boyfriend."

"Sorry, I mean husband."

That isn't any better!

"You two do seem to be getting awfully close," Amakata mused thoughtfully. "You've even been calling him by his first name now haven't you? Did something happen between the two of you?"

You're supposed to be the adult here, Gou wanted to shout at her. Don't ask things like that!

Hana leaned forward. "Don't tell me that you two…that night at the lighthouse…"

Gou's face reddened. "Absolutely not!"

"Did you…did you kiss?!"

"No!

Hana sat back in disappointment. "That's too bad. This time it would have been a kiss you could remember."

"Don't bring that up!" But it was too late.

Amakata tilted her head. "A kiss she could remember?"

"Gou can't remember her first kiss."

Amakata gasped like she had just remembered how to breathe again. "G-gou-chan! You don't remember your first kiss?!"

"She was too drunk to remember."

Amakata gasped again. "Is this true, Gou-chan?"

Gou sighed. "Yes, it is true. I really can't remember anything."

Amakatas lip trembled, like she was about to cry. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Gou-chan. To think such an important milestone of your life happened and you can't even remember it. How terrible for you!"

"Yes, I realize that! I know it's terrible!" Gou covered her face with her hands."It's terrible that I don't remember my first kiss!"

At least Seijuro doesn't remember either. It would only make her feel worse if he was able to remember and she couldn't. Then again…had it even been his first kiss like it had been for her? They had talked about them kissing but she had never thought to ask him if he had kissed other girls. She lowered her hands slightly. For some reason she kind of didn't want to know if he had. Thinking about him kissing other girls…she really didn't like picturing that.

"Well, I'm sure you'll have plenty more kisses," said Amakata. Was she trying to be encouraging? "Don't let the fact you can't remember your first get you down."

Gou's eyebrows lowered. Thanks a lot.

"I remember my first kiss," the teacher continued dreamily. "I was seventeen at the time. Not that I am implying that it was that long ago or anything." She chuckled uncomfortably.

You're not fooling anyone.

Amakata's hands clapped to her cheeks. She kicked her feet vigorously. "Oh, it was so perfect! Granted our noses bumped together and we hit each other's teeth. But it was so romantic regardless! There's nothing like a first kiss! Taking that first step into romance! There's nothing else like it!"

"That's what I was saying!" put in Hana. "I hope my first kiss is perfect! I bet it will be the best! I'll treasure it forever! I bet it will be magical and wonderful!"

The two immediately began talking excitedly about first kisses and how great they were or would be. Gou glared at them a moment then she sank into the water until her ears were covered, not really wanting to listen to them.

She blew bubbles into the water. I really hate my life sometimes.

It was a few hours later when they departed back for their lodgings. Gou and Amakata got on the bus before the boys did; not a surprise considering the number of boys compared to just the two of them. The boys were loud and enthusiastic. The bus shook with their trampling feet and one of them even began hopping over the seats, eliciting a yell of protest from Seijuro.

"Gou!" He sat down next to her. He smiled at her. That smile that encompassed his entire face and made it light up. He was so happy to see her but she only found herself becoming annoyed. "Did you have fun today?"

Gou crossed her arms more tightly over her chest. "Tons," she muttered.

His smile faltered and then faded. "Something wrong?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

She could sense his hesitation. She wouldn't look his way and after a moment he said, "Alright." He turned his attention to Makoto and the other Iwatobi boys and they were soon laughing and chatting gleefully.

Gou ground her teeth. Their laughter and the good time they were having only annoyed her further. She knew it wasn't their fault and she shouldn't fault them for having fun, but she couldn't help it. She was bothered. Ever since her conversation with Hana and Amakata she hadn't been able to think of anything else but that first kiss. That first kiss she couldn't remember. The fact she couldn't remember was really agitating her. Had agitated her. She hated it. That first kiss was something that, unlike her accidental marriage, she would not be able to correct later on. At least not in any way she could think of. And that was what was getting her. Not being able to remember such a monumental event in her young teen life was really bothersome.

The bus ride was short and once they were dropped off at the mutual bus stop Gou went with Iwatobi to the lodges. Part of it was to deter her brother's suspicions but also so Gou could cool her hot head. Being snappy to Seijuro because she was agitated wasn't fair and she wanted sometime away from him to sort out her feelings.

Not being able to remember her first kiss was not Seijuro's fault. But maybe the fact that he had never seemed bothered about it, didn't care about it in the least, was what was really irritating her too.

It was relatively late in the evening when she finally departed the Iwatobi lodges. She had stayed for dinner, wanting to make sure the boys were following the old food regiment now that they were back and had more options than pizza and mackerel. A week of eating that nonsense. It would surely have been bad for them physically. I'll have to make them run laps later on to make up for it.

That was one thing she should look into. An exercise regimen. If they weren't going to be able to practice in the pool a great deal they would need to find some other way to improve themselves and keep their bodies fit. Eating better was one thing but they needed exercise too. Maybe I'll ask Seijuro about that.

Since being at the Iwatobi lodges Gou had calmed down a bit. Distracting herself with their antics had helped to ease her irritability. She didn't have an answer for her problem but she didn't think such an answer existed. When it came to things like this there simply was no way to fix them, unless you had a time machine. If only those had been invented yet.

Makoto had tried asking her what had been bothering her, like she knew he would. Out of the Iwatobi boys he at least would have noticed. She had passed it off as nothing. As much as she trusted and adored him talking about kissing with another boy was just way too embarrassing. There were just some subjects that should not be breached, and on top of which it felt like indulging way too much information telling him something like that.

He hadn't looked convinced but thankfully he had let it go and hadn't pestered her about it the rest of the time. He must have figured if it were something significant she would talk about it when she was ready.

She thought about texting Seijuro while on her way to the house but decided against it. She had a key now. She didn't need to tell him she was on her way. He hadn't sent her anything while she had been with Iwatobi either. Giving her space or he was busy with his swim team. Either was possible.

The lights were on inside the house as she started up the walkway. So he was home. Must be option one. Then again…what if some of his swim team had come to his place? No, he would have texted her in that case. Actually, now that she thought about it, besides her brother unexpectedly showing up that one time none of his swim team members had been over to his place since she had moved in. Had he been doing that on purpose? He must be. Their marriage was his secret too after all. Or maybe he simply preferred meeting them elsewhere so they wouldn't trash his place.

She opened the door. "I'm back."

"Yo." Seijuro emerged from the hallway. He must have just gotten done taking a shower. His hair was wet and slicked back, and he dabbed at it with a towel.

I have the worst timing. At least he was wearing a shirt. Not that it had any sleeves of course…

"You just get back from Iwatobi?"

She nodded. "I wanted to make sure they were back on the food regime than eating nasty stuff again."

"I see." He wasn't smiling. In fact he looked downright bothered. He had that stern look on his face that he used with his swim team when he wanted them to listen. His captain's face. A moment later she found out why. "You seemed upset earlier. Did something happen at the hot spring?"

"O-oh." That. "N-nothing much really." She picked up her large pack and moved towards the bedroom to unpack at. She passed close by him and he turned to follow her movements. "I was just thinking about something."

"Thinking about something?"

Damn, he was following her. He tossed aside the towel and moved with her. He must really want to know.

Gou set the bag down on the corner of the bed. "Y-yes. It was nothing really."

Seijuro stopped in the doorway. One arm he leaned against the frame near his head and the other came to rest on his hip. "You got that upset over nothing?" He raised one sharp eyebrow.

He isn't going to let this go. Strange. Before the incident at the lighthouse Gou could never have imagined him pressing her this much for an answer. Did it bother him that much that she had been upset earlier?

It was cute in a way but she wasn't sure whether she wanted to have this conversation at not. Then again what better time was there? She fiddled with her hands. "Do you…you don't remember anything, right? Anything about that night?"

He blinked, a bit confused by the topic, but she didn't need to tell him what night she was referring to. "Not really. I only really remember the bar. Why?"

"It's…It's just that I…" She closed her eyes. She forced the next words out. "I can't remember if we kissed or not."

The sound he made she was not expecting and she opened her eyes. She couldn't believe it. He was…he was laughing a little!

"This again?" His eyes were practically dancing in amusement. "You're still hung up on that?"

Of all the…She fisted her hands. "Yes, of course! You have no idea what it's like! I can't remember anything of my first kiss! At all! My first kiss and I don't even remember having it! I don't like it! What kind of person has a first kiss they can't remember?" Her cheeks burned at the admission but she was too annoyed to stop.

Seijuro raised an eyebrow. This time it was more in silent surprise than inquiry. "Is it really that important?"

Oh my god. "Of course it's important!" She fought the urge to stamp her foot. "How could you think it's not important?!"

He shrugged a shoulder. "I guess I just never really thought about it."

Gou smoldered. Just as she had thought earlier. It didn't bother him that he couldn't remember like it did her. So stupid. Boys were so stupid. Why were boys so stupid?

"So…you're upset because you can't remember if we kissed or not?" He rubbed his chin as if he was coming up with an idea. For some strange reason it looked like he was grinning a little too. Or was it a smirk?

Gou narrowed her eyes. "Yes."

He stood there a moment longer. Then he dropped his arms and straightened, as if coming to a decision. "Okay. I understand the situation."

"You understand the situation?" Gou's temper flared. "What do you mean you understand the situation?! What is that supposed to mean?!"

"This is about your first kiss, isn't it?"

"Yes. So what? Why are you asking th-"

He crossed the short distance between them with a single step. His hand cupped her chin and he tilted her face up, making her cut her words abruptly off. He leaned down. And then his lips were on her own.

Gou's entire body froze. Her brain became a complete white sheet of blank shock. She didn't know how to react, couldn't react. There was no bumping of noses or clacking of teeth like Amakata had described. Just smooth lips against her own, warm and soft. Along her chin she could feel the gentle pressure of his fingers. His eyes were closed and his soft breath fanned against her cheek.

He was so close. He smells like sun and wind.

Her heart, which had felt like had stopped the moment he pressed his mouth to hers, suddenly became something she was acutely aware of. It sped up into a dizzying tempo. Her stomach roiled, a thousand butterflies aching for release. A flush of heat raced from the top of her head to her chest, so hot and heavy it almost made her choke.

Her whole being became focused on the sensation of his flesh against hers. A touch so intimate she had never experienced with anyone. Something precious and sacred.

In that moment she felt more utterly alive than she ever had in her entire life but at the same time she felt a bit like dying.

Then Seijuro pulled away. His fingers fell away from Gou's chin. He straightened. "Now," his voice was a little heavier than normal, "whenever you think of your first kiss you'll think of that."

He turned and walked away before Gou could react, leaving her standing there almost as if in a daze in the bedroom with her bag spilling its contents onto the floor.

He hadn't been lying. From that day onward whenever Gou thought about her first kiss, all she could think about was that.

I'm running away now, bye.

(But in all seriousness thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed. Thank you for all the support!)