I apologize for how long this update took. I got about halfway done with this chapter when I realized I only had half of it planned out so I spent about a week derp derping trying to think of something that would add to the story and wasn't just nonsense. Hopefully I managed to pull it off.

Gou had never considered herself a very picky eater. Sure there were some things she disliked and there were things that sounded just plain weird (like clam chowder – why in God's name would you put milk in soup?) but she tried to keep as open a mind as possible and made an effort to try everything at least once before placing it on her disliked list. But this. This was too much.

"Cap'n Crunch's Punch Crunch?" Gou stared down at the cereal box in her hand. The usual Cap'n Crunch character she had seen before was pictured on the front however the pink hippo standing next to him with long eyelashes and a sailor suit of all things was new. "Artificially flavored fruit punch cereal?" She blinked a few times to make sure she hadn't read that wrong. Who in their right mind… "Nagisa, where in Heaven's name did you get this?"

"Aren't they good?!" Nagisa leaned over the backrest of Gou's seat, stuffing the pink rings that Gou could only guess must be the cereal that came from the box she was currently holding. "I found them at the store the other day. They were half off."

Gee, I wonder why.

Seijuro leaned over to look. "Fruit punch flavored?" His face scrunched up. "Nothing about that sounds natural at all."

"I don't think there is anything natural in these." She flipped the box over to read the ingredients. "These things are nothing but sugar!"

"But they're healthy for you! See?" Nagisa pointed to some writing on the front. "It's fortified with B-vitamins and iron."

"They're likely talking about the box these things came in!" She twisted to the window next to her, debating if she should toss the cereal out through there. Better not. If the box happened to strike a car there was no telling what could happen and Gou really didn't want to push her luck. She stuffed the thing inside her bag instead, making a mental note to throw the nasty stuff out the first chance she got.

Like the others Gou hadn't eaten this morning but she wasn't hungry enough to try eating this sort of stuff to quell her hunger. She had the strong feeling this sort of cereal didn't fit into their diet regiment either.

At least the others had brought stuff that was edible. Like the day of the cooking when all of them had been too tired to get up early enough to eat a proper meal, so instead they had brought along various items to eat on the bus ride over to their planned event. Most of them had picked foods that would fit into their diet regiment, except for Nagisa's strange cereal, and they had been passing around the stuff to share amongst themselves. They weren't the only ones who had thought of such things either, as further down the bus Gou could see a few of the Samezuka members doing the same.

Well, after the training camp it was no wonder nobody wanted to get up earlier than was absolutely necessary and of course their hosted event had required them to meet at the bus stop early in the morning. It would be nice if the hosts switched the timing of the events to the afternoon but Gou had a feeling they wouldn't. They would be stuck with having to get up early no matter what it seemed.

Seijuro held a packet of dried fruit out to her. "Want some?"

She took it from him. "Thanks." Something healthier at least, not that it was hard to get healthier than that cereal. Even if she didn't need to diet like the boys staying on the same food regiment as them would make it easier by not providing temptation and eating healthy was a good idea anyway. She was finding she really didn't miss any of that bad food either. Although some chocolate would be nice…

"This ride is taking quite some time." Rei munched away at some cashews as he peered through the window. "How far away is this place exactly, Gou-san?"

Why he thought she would know such a thing she had no idea but even Seijuro was looking at her expectantly. Maybe it was because she was the only one who seemed to have any idea about their schedule and their hosted events? She blew air through her teeth. This is my job as manager. To be organized and keep tabs on everything so the boys could focus strictly on swimming and not worry about anything else. I'm a glorified babysitter. And when the heck had she become responsible for Samezuka too anyway?"I'm not sure offhand. I think the host said it was about forty five minute drive?"

"The longer it takes the better," muttered Makoto. He slapped his hands against his thighs. "Why can't they pick something nice for us to do? Like a flower garden or something. Something that doesn't involve people dying at least. First the history museum then the temple and that ship with their boogeymen-"

"The aquarium was nice," Haru interjected.

"I hope Rin-rin doesn't punch anyone again today," said Nagisa.

"A flower garden would surely be beautiful." Rei's eyes were strangely bright. He clasped his hands underneath his chin. "Or maybe even a butterfly garden!"

"Why don't the hosts have us do something like that, Gou-chan?"

"How should I know? Why don't you ask them?" Gou grumbled. "And it's Kou!"

"I hope we're getting close," said Seijuro, returning to the original topic. He stretched his arms over his head and moved his legs almost fitfully. "I'm getting sick of being in this seat."

That was true. For Gou sitting in the bus seat wasn't exactly like lounging in a recliner but it wasn't that bad. Seijuro on the other hand was much too big. His legs were too long to stretch out properly and staying in that restricted position for long was surely uncomfortable. Makoto and Rei likely suffered from the same problem, maybe even Haru too. Not so for Nagisa. He was hardly much bigger than Gou.

She peeked around Seijuro's frame to the seat across from them. Haru had been pretty quiet this morning, although it couldn't be said that that was unusual. The boy was normally quiet, and if his silence this morning was due to what had happened with her brother yesterday or just Haru being Haru she couldn't say.

Had he told Makoto what had happened? Makoto didn't look any different than usual and he wasn't acting any differently. She could only assume that for whatever reason Haru hadn't told him what had occurred.

So she was the only one who knew, and if Haru hadn't told Makoto than it was pretty clear he didn't want anyone knowing. In which case she had better keep it to herself.

She leaned back in her seat with a slight frown. They were traveling along the cliffs that made up part of the coast and through the window the ocean stretched out before them. The water was smooth as glass save for the places the wind caused it to ripple, and while it was a nice view if Gou looked at it too long she found her eyelids would begin to droop. She stifled a yawn and leaned her head against the cool glass.

Despite staying at the house and sleeping in Seijuro's bed, she hadn't slept well last night. Her mind had been too active, too busy going over and over again what she had heard yesterday and what Seijuro had said.

Winning is the most important thing.

She glanced at the tall boy out of the corner of her eye. He was looking straight ahead, arms lightly crossed over his stomach, and didn't notice her glance. He was likely too preoccupied with his discomfort to pay much mind to her at the moment.

What Seijuro had said last night, that was the way he truly felt. He had no reason to lie to her about such a thing and his expression, his directness when he had said it made it perfectly clear. Winning may not be the only thing but it was certainly the most important. Maybe that was why he was at Samezuka and why he was willing to leave his family in order to attend the boarding school.

Gou couldn't imagine doing such a thing. To wake up in a place that was a dorm instead of a house, to a place of white walls and open drafting stairs versus enclosed coziness and familiarity. She couldn't imagine waking up everyday without her mother there nor could she imagine leaving her mother alone.

But Rin could. He had left them once to go to Australia. Then upon his return he had left once again to attend Samezuka.

What was he seeking exactly at those places, she couldn't help but wonder. What was it he needed in order to move on? Was it really simply a matter of winning, of becoming the best? Was that why he needed to win against Haru? In Rin's eyes Haru must be the person who was the ultimate competition, the one who was the best. Perhaps he thought that if he managed to defeat Haru then he would be able to defeat anyone.

Gou frowned harder. That line of thinking seemed almost too simple though. If Rin and Haru had not had a history she might have believed that, but considering their old friendship and how close they had been it made it hard to think Rin wanted to beat Haru over such a simple reason as him envisioning Haru as the very best. Surely there had to be more to it. But what?

The bus gave a sudden lurch and Gou moved her head away from the window at the unusual movement. Maybe it had been some weird formation in the road, except the bus proceeded to do it once more a moment later. There came a spluttering sound from the engine.

That didn't sound good. She stretched up to try and see better over their seat.

"What's going on?" asked Nagisa.

"Engine trouble it sounds like," said Rei.

Gou watched as the bus driver shifted the gear stick next to him. The bus lurched again and more spluttering sounded, and from above his head the bus driver reached for his radio. He chattered into the thing but whatever he said Gou was hopeless to understand. The bus had slowed down considerably and as Gou watched, the bus driver, with many looks behind him to make sure it was clear, carefully pulled over onto a clear patch off the side of the road against the side of the cliffs.

"Did we just break down?"

Without a word to them the bus driver got out of his seat and walked off the bus.

Behind her the Samezuka members were chattering in curious wondering tones. Some of them started to get out of their seats, hesitantly trying to see what had caused the sudden stop.

"Seems like we might have," Seijuro muttered. He half stood to turn to the rest of the bus. "Calm down! Stay in your seats! It's just a little engine trouble!" He glanced Gou's way. "I'll be right back." He stepped off the bus, following after the bus driver who now stood at the front of the bus near the engine.

Gou stood upright in her seat in order to see them better. Ahead of them the second bus had pulled over as well, the host and other bus driver exiting and approaching Seijuro and their own bus driver.

Should I go out there too? Then again it wasn't like she could understand the bus driver and even if she could she didn't know the first thing about engines. She'd likely just end up being in the way. She sat back down in her seat.

"It looks like you may have gotten your wish, Makoto-senpai," said Rei.

Makoto spluttered. "I-I didn't mean it like that! I didn't want something like this to happen!"

"The spirits don't want us to go!" Nagisa shook the backrest of Gou's seat like he was trying to revive it. "The spirits aren't at rest!"

Makoto's face started to turn that weird shade of blue. Beside him Haru raised his head as if some sixth sense of his had gone off. "It's just some engine trouble, Nagisa," he deadpanned as Rei scolded Nagisa to sit back down.

It was only a few minutes before Seijuro stepped back into the entryway of the bus. "They're telling us to come off."

"Are we broken down completely?"

"They're not sure yet but it's probably going to take a while. Having us off is just a precautionary measure." He raised his voice to reach the other occupants on the bus. "Let's step off in an orderly fashion now! Don't cause any trouble!" He motioned for Gou to come to him before the others could haphazardly disembark and possibly bowl her over, although the swimmers politely waited for her to go first anyway.

The occupants of the other bus were still on board. She could see them moving around in their seats, watching inquisitively through the windows. She spotted her brother looking over the head of Nitori who had the window seat and carefully she distanced herself from Seijuro, not that it was hard as he immediately went back to standing near the engine with the bus drivers and host. The rest of them fanned out along the patch of open ground they had pulled over on, settling down to wait.

"What do you suppose they'll do?" Nagisa's hand inched towards Gou's bag and she slapped the appendage away before he could snag the cereal. They had gathered a few yards away from the side of the road and were watching as the bus drivers and host discussed their predicament. "You don't think we'll have to walk there will we?" He shook and rubbed his smarting hand.

"Highly unlikely." Rei pushed his glasses further onto his face. "We are on a cliffside road after all. It's doubtful there are walking paths all the way down and we're probably still too far to be within walking distance anyway. It's most probable that they'll summon a replacement bus."

"That'll take a while." Makoto frowned in the direction of the second bus. "I wonder if they'll send the second bus on ahead so they're not stuck waiting too."

That would be sort of nice if they did. Then Gou wouldn't have to worry at all about her brother and could be around Seijuro as much as she wanted. She blinked and shook her head slightly. That had been a strange thought.

Several minutes went by as they waited for the host and bus drivers to figure out what they were going to do, and Gou was in the midst of debating if she should cross the highway and toss the fruit punch flavored cereal over the edge of the cliff when the host announced their decision. The one bus was completely broken down and repairs would be impossible in their current situation. They had sought to get a replacement bus sent out to them but unfortunately as there was no replacement bus immediately available, they would be forced to use the one bus in the meantime. A replacement bus would meet them at the memorial site for the ride back but for the rest of the ride to the memorial…

"They want all of us to fit on one bus?" Gou's jaw hung open. "Is that even possible?"

"There was some extra room on the second bus if I recall correctly," mused Rei. "However quite a few of us will still have to sit three to a seat I imagine." His forehead creased. "I hope the bus driver is planning on driving slow."

Gou grimaced. The second bus. The bus her brother rode on. She would be rding on the same bus as her brother with Seijuro. Oh God I hope they don't try and have us sit in our assigned seats as usual. If Rin saw her squished up in a seat with Seijuro the last thing on his mind would be his rivalry with Haru. She might as well fling herself with the cereal over the side of the cliff in that case.

"I-I'm sure it will be fine." The smile on Makoto's face was awkward and not reassuring at all. "I mean after all it's not your fault, right?" He let out an uncomfortable chuckle.

"You're going to get them into trouble if you keep doing that," pointed out Haru and Makoto stiffened.

Gou sighed. There was nothing to be done about it. She resigned herself to her fate and got in line to clamber onto the second bus.

"Who wants to sit on my lap?!" Seijuro shouted upon stepping onto the bus walkway, his fists raised in the air like he had just scored a field goal.

Someone – the one named Noro if Gou guessed correctly - yelled back in a high mock feminine voice. "Ohhhh, I do, Captain!"

"Best put on your finest skirt then!" Seijuro's voice was way too loud for such a small space. "You know how I like it!"

"No panties, sir!"

Gou shut her eyes. Ladies and gentlemen, the man I'm married to…

Nagisa, Rei, and Haru were lucky and somehow managed to get their own seat, and Makoto sat with two Samezuka members directly across from the aisle from them. As for Gou…She wasn't so lucky.

"I can't believe this…" Rin was wearing one of the ugliest scowls she had ever seen, hands fisted in his lap. "You've gotta be kidding me."

Gou perched precariously on the edge of the seat. One side of her was squished against her brother and on the other side poor Nitori was squashed against the window. Between them was the compressed and scowling Rin.

"Don't blame me," she sniffed primly. "I didn't break the bus down."

It wasn't like Gou had much of a choice where to sit. Outside of Seijuro she didn't know any of the Samezuka members well enough to want to sit practically pressed up against them and Rin would have thrown a conniption fit besides if she had. Even if she had sat next to Makoto or Nagisa, people he was on generally good terms with, it would have made him unhappy. So she had gone with the lesser of all those terrible choices. Not that it meant Rin had to be happy about having his little sister sit nearly in his lap.

"I-it isn't so bad, is it, Matsuoka-senpai?" Nitori struggled to paste a smile on his face. "I mean Matsuoka-san is Matsuoka-senpai's dear little sister-"

"This is the worst," Rin declared. The scowl hadn't lessened on his face.

Gou rolled her eyes. On one hand she could understand how having the only girl on the bus sitting squished next to him and that girl being his little sister could make it a tad embarrassing for him, though he was being awfully melodramatic about it. "It isn't for that long. Just relax. It's not like I had much choice."

"Why do I have to get stuck with you sitting here?" he continued to gripe.

Someone muttered under their breath, "I'd let her sit on my lap."

"What did you say?!" Rin launched to his feet so fast he knocked Gou into the seat across the aisle from them, who thankfully steadied her without accidentally touching her inappropriately considering Rin was nearly foaming at the mouth.

The boys around them flinched away at the explosive reaction as if a dangerous creature had entered their midst, which wasn't entirely that far from the truth. Rin looked ready to maul somebody.

"That's enough!" Seijuro barked from further down the bus. "Show some respect, you goons!" His hard gaze flickered Rin's way, who was trying to assist Gou upright once he realized what had happened. "And sit down, Matsuoka!"

"Captain, how come we don't have a cute manager like they do?" someone asked lowly.

"Shut the hell up, Noro."

Rin looked absolutely mortified as he helped Gou back into their seat. "Sorry. I didn't mean to…I wasn't thinking…"

Clearly not! She took a deep breath."It's fine, it's fine, don't worry about it." She pressed a hand over her heart, eyes rising to the ceiling as she tried to regain her bearings. If Rin acted that way off one comment alone then how he would react if he found out about her and Seijuro's accidental marriage? I'll die. Seijuro will die. We'll both die. Maybe that myth about married couples tending to die together wasn't such a myth after all. Maybe because they all had murderous brother's. My imagination is running away with me.

They settled into their seat a little more blissfully than before, at least blissful in the sense that Rin was no longer complaining about their seating arrangement. It was definitely far from comfortable and Gou could tell her leg was going to hurt after all the weight she was putting on it to keep herself in the seat.

In some respects the seating arrangement was helpful in a way for it had distracted Rin from Haru's presence. Her brother had not paid the slightest bit of mind to the dark haired boy since they had entered the bus, a good thing considering what had happened between them yesterday. Seeing each other so up close and personal after such a thing was bound to make anybody awkward and tense.

She glanced behind herself. The Iwatobi boys were not paying them any mind now that it was peaceful. Nagisa was keeping them adequately preoccupied.

Gou faced forward in her seat once again. Her hand tightened on the fabric over her knee. Questions were bubbling at her throat. Rin assumably wouldn't like her poking around in his business, especially something as personal as his relationship with Haru, but she hated to think the friendship they had had become utterly ruined and unsalvageable. Because if it were than getting the old Rin back would be just as unsalvageable. "Brother." She spoke the words hesitantly. "Do you…dislike Haruka-senpai?"

Rin did not turn to her at the question. He kept his gaze facing straight ahead, his face unusually stiff. His lips barely moved when he spoke. "Why are you asking that?"

"I was just…wondering." She couldn't tell him about what she had heard. At worst he would get mad. At best he would be irritated at what he perceived as her snooping and therefore intruding on his business. Either way he would assuredly not be happy about it and Gou didn't want to do anything that may further damage their already precarious relationship. "You don't hate him, do you?"

Across the seat Gou could faintly see Nitori listening quietly but intently. She was getting the impression the slight boy was more observant than he let on. Maybe that was why he could be around Rin for so long without getting discouraged from Rin's acrid personality.

Rin took a long moment to answer. "You shouldn't worry about things that don't concern you," he said shortly.

Just as she had thought. This truly was something that was out of her reach to fix. She sank dispiritedly into her seat. Things may have stayed that way for the entire rest of the trip except Rin suddenly said, "What the heck is that?"

"Huh?"

"That. In your bag."

She looked down. "Oh. It's cereal." She pulled the box out to show to him. "It's fruit punch flavored, see."

"Fruit punch flavored?" He pulled back as if the box were highly contagious. "Why are you carrying that around in your bag? Don't tell me you're eating that shit. It looks radioactive."

"Heaven's, no," Gou laughed. "I confiscated it from Nagisa. I'm fairly certain it's mostly made out of plastic." She turned the box over thoughtfully.

"I think plastic might be healthier for you than that shit." Rin's upper lip curled. "I'm amazed Nagisa hasn't died from all the weird things he eats."

That was true. Especially after all those salt water drinks Nagisa had drank. Maybe he has an iron stomach.

"You shouldn't curse so much, Matsuoka-senpai," Nitori cautioned. He leaned over Rin's lap to look. "Oh Cap'n Crunch's Punch Crunch! I used to eat that when I was a kid." He reached out for the box however Rin's hand encircled his wrist, effectively stopping him before he could reach it.

"Nitori, when we get back to the lodge we're going to have a long talk about proper nutrition."

"O-of course, Matsuoka-senpai."

"And you." Rin turned intensely to Gou. "Don't tell me you're still not sleeping."

"N-no." Well, last night she hadn't slept well. Impeccable timing for that to happen the day she had to sit so close to her brother. Of course. "Why?" She tried to sound innocent. "Do I look tired?"

"No," said Rin, much to her surprise. "That's why I was asking." He released Nitori's wrist with a slight start, seemingly having forgotten he was still holding it. "You look less stressed then you did a few weeks ago."

It took her a moment to process what he meant and then she smiled. "I am less stressed."

"Did something happen?"

"N-no. I…just got used to things, I guess." She smiled again. He would think she meant the country which was fine. She couldn't exactly tell him the truth anyway.

Rin eyes becoming unusually shadowed. He opened and closed his hand, as if missing something he used to have a grip on. "Haven't we all," he muttered.

And like her own statement, Gou had an inkling her brother wasn't referring to the country either.

It was true that anyone could get used to just about anything but the history of this country was not one of them. The Thulile memorial, as it turned out, was a memorial to all those the country had sacrificed in the past. Sacrificed to the Gods no less.

"What were they sacrificed to the Gods for?" asked a hapless Samezuka member.

"Oh for good crops, rain, harvest, fertility, protection from storms! All sorts of things!" The host smiled cheerfully as if they were discussing ice cream flavors than the sacrifice of human beings. "Back then the people were very superstitious! They believed that sacrificing a young virgin male was the most potent of all sacrifices-"

Next to Gou Makoto squeaked and took a sharp step backwards. Gou peered over to where Seijuro stood, wanting to see if he had taken a step back as well, but he wasn't even paying much attention to the host. She grit her teeth.

"-followed by young virgin girls."

Gou quickly took a step back as well.

"Being selected as a sacrifice was considered a very great honor! Whenever a sacrifice was selected there would be days of celebration! They would have huge feasts with lots of dancing and alcohol! Every time a sacrifice was made it was considered a holiday!"

"How charming," Rei muttered.

"Each sacrifice would have their name carved onto their own piece of stone as a way for the people to commemorate their noble contribution. These stones were thankfully preserved and eventually this park was created to function as a memorial for them." The host handed out some pamphlets to them. "As you walk through the gardens please pay close attention to the stones that can be found on the main pathway. These are the stones that preserve the names of the deceased."

Like a tombstone. Gou shuddered. How morbid. Was this supposed to be a garden or a graveyard?

The main pathway was a brick one that looped through the memorial with several smaller paths stemming off it. At the entrance they could choose whether to go left or right down the main path and Iwatobi was in the midst of discussing which way to go when Haru took off down the left side, effectively ending the discussion and forcing the others to follow him. Most of the Samezuka members went to the right with only a few going the same way as Iwatobi, although none of them were members Gou recognized well enough. None of them were certainly her brother anyway or Seijuro. He would likely go right to stay with the majority of his teammates. She tried not to feel disappointed.

"This memorial is actually quite beautiful," commented Rei approvingly. That it was, especially considering its dark history. The park was covered in green grass and the brick pathways were lined by flowering trees and bushes. The memorial stones were placed at separate intervals along the pathway and at the first one they stopped.

"This one has the name Brandr Issaku on it," Gou read from the pamphlet as they were unable to read the language on the stone. "He was sacrificed approximately three hundred years ago. He was seventeen years old. He was killed by-" She blanched. She closed the pamphlet with a slap. "W-well that part isn't important."

"Impalement," said a Samezuka member nearby who was reading from the very same pamphlet and Gou turned large wide eyes in his direction. Thankfully Makoto hadn't heard him.

They detoured off onto a side path for a bit to get away from the crowd. The pathway was shaded by arching trees that almost made it feel like they were walking down a long hallway. It was incredibly serene, unlike most of their other hosted events, and Gou was glad for the reprieve. After what had happened with the bus it was nice to get some relaxation. The boys seemed to be in the same mindset too. Haru was being his usual docile self, content to walk by Makoto and quietly observe their surroundings without making a fuss. Even Nagisa was complacent, dutifully following after Rei when the taller teen spotted some butterflies on some flowers off to the side and promptly went to investigate.

"Do we have more swimming coming up?" asked Makoto as they walked lazily along. "We're getting close to the first competition now."

"A little over two more weeks," said Gou. "And we are, I think. I believe the hosts are going to open up more pools at the universities for us to use or something so everyone gets more practice time." They had better. Iwatobi needed all the practice time they could get.

"Good." He paused for a brief second to admire some purple flower hanging from the branches above their heads. "Every little bit helps. Goro will be happy to hear that." Some sort of sound or movement must have grabbed his attention for he turned around to look back the way they had come. "Looks like we have company."

The way he said that made Gou turn as well, worried it might be her brother returning to argue with Haru some more. But it wasn't Rin. Instead it was Seijuro walking up the path towards them. "Yo," he said, greeting them in his usual casual way.

"Captain Mikoshiba," Makoto replied pleasantly. "Nice to see you. Something's not wrong, is there?"

"Nothing in particular." He glanced around them. "This pathway just looked nice."

Gou's brow furrowed a bit. Had he followed them? That didn't seem probable. Her brother was sniffing around after all.

"Sei-chan!" Nagisa waved enthusiastically from where he stood next to Rei, the darker haired teen leaning over a bush like he were studying it. Seijuro turned to return the gesture and as he did so Makoto resumed walking down the path, Haru just beyond them having paused as he waited for Makoto. Makoto flashed Gou a smile on passing her and Gou blinked. What was that about?

"You're going this way, right?"

"Huh?" She blinked back to Seijuro. "O-oh yes."

He settled in to walk beside her. Ahead of them the Iwatobi boys coalesced together, however they were keeping a fair distance from Gou and Seijuro, like they were trying to give them privacy. For some reason Makoto still had that smile on his face and Nagisa was giggling. Gou narrowed her eyes. They're doing this on purpose.

"Everything alright with Matsuoka?" Seijuro asked after a moment.

Ah. This must be why he had come over here. She knew it had nothing to do with it being a nice pathway. "Yes, he was just…" She searched for the words without giving away what had happened between Haru and Rin. "A little tense." She tried to smile comfortingly but in reality it probably looked more like a grimace.

"I see."

Was he worried? It was hard to tell. He was somewhat in his captain mood, face expressionless and words rather clipped, lacking their usual exuberance, but why she was unsure. Maybe because of what had happened on the bus. Those words sparked a thought though and she looked up at him. "What swimming event will you be participating in by the way? I know what boys are racing us in our events but you've never mentioned what you plan to race in."

"The 200m free."

"Don't tell me you're another one that only swims free?"

His face relaxed and he gave a short laugh. It was slightly relieving to see. "No, it's just what I'm best at. Freestyle is my preferred event."

"Is the 200 the only event you'll be doing?"

He nodded. "I prefer to focus on one thing that I know I can win rather than attempt several different things that I don't have such a certainty of winning. Others are different but that's how I like to do it."

Because winning was what was most important. Just like he had said. His logic followed that belief and his confidence in him winning his preferred race was so absolute too. She had to admit even she was impressed by his self-assurance. "Whatever got you into swimming anyway?"

"Talent."

She rolled her eyes, a sound of half amusement and half exasperation ushering out of the throat. A flush of heat crawled up her skin at the grin he shot her way. "You know what I mean."

"I know, I know." His expression smoothed out, becoming almost pensive. "I lost to someone."

"Lost to someone?"

"My first race." An ironic smirk curled his mouth. "He beat me so easily, soundlessly, almost effortlessly. Watching him do so made me realize something and after that I wanted to win no matter what."

She hummed thoughtfully. "He must have been quite the swimmer."

Seijuro's smirk morphed into a strange small smile. "He was back then. But now…Now I'm not so sure."

They came to the end of the small offshoot walkway and were returned once more to the main path. There were a few of what looked like Samezuka members scattered about – in regular clothes it was hard to tell and Gou could only guess by their builds and ages - but a quick assessment of them revealed her brother was not in the immediate vicinity. "But don't you miss your family?" She stayed next to Seijuro's side since the area was deemed safe. "I mean living in the dorms like you do. You don't get to see them very often do you?"

He shrugged. "I see them fairly often. If we're a while away from a competition I'll go there for the weekend sometimes or late in the evenings after practice. I took my sister to the movies the weekend before we came here in fact. It isn't so bad."

"But don't you miss them after being away from them so much?" she prodded, still feeling unsatisfied even after hearing his answer.

"Sometimes." He stopped to look at a carved stone they had come upon, his eyes darting over the letters of the name carved there as if trying to read them. "But people can get used to just about anything, can't they?"

Gou twisted the pearl ring on her finger, suddenly more aware of its presence on her hand than she had been for quite some time, Seijuro's words reminding her of the conversation she had had with her brother on the bus.

A tree covered in white flowers stood near the carved stone, the stone that bore the name of its poor sacrificed victim, a name none of them could even read. The name of someone who likely didn't deserve to die. Someone who might have had a family that didn't want them to go but whose family got used to them being gone once it happened regardless. Or maybe one of those family members had blamed themselves for their death or held onto some ill begotten guilt about a dream that person had been unable to fulfill, and had spent the rest of their lives hating themselves for it.

Gou went over to the tree. From its lower branches she plucked some of the pretty white flowers and brought them over to the stone. She placed them around the name none of them could read.

"Yeah," she said softly.

That conversation with Seijuro made Gou miss home more than usual but it didn't come into full fruition until she was in the midst of changing the sheets and the wave of nostalgia hit her like a freight train. It was strange how sometimes the most simplest of tasks could bring about such feelings and Gou found herself missing her mother and her home and her own bed so much she felt a bit like weeping. Most of the time she was so busy that she didn't think about such things but sometimes there were snapshots, moments, flickers of home that made her long to be back where the smells, sights, and sounds were all so very familiar. She had never spent so much time away from home without her mother and that was what she missed most of all.

Since arriving here she had barely spoken to her mother at all. Part of it was the international charges, part of it was because of Rin, but most of it was because of the marriage. It was hard to speak to her mother without the thought of indulging some sort of truth about what happened. Whenever she considered calling the thought of marriage, marriage, marriage ran through her head like a mantra no matter how she tried to banish it.

Not to mention the guilt. Lying to her mother made her feel awful but not lying was much worse. Because then not only would her mother most probably be angry but disappointed as well. And that was much worse than any guilt Gou could ever feel.

Still she had hardly spoken to her mother at all since shortly arriving here. She would surely be getting worried by this point. Gou fisted her hands. I must call.

It was early evening now. That would make it morning where her mother was. She reached for her phone sitting on the bedside table. She sat down on the edge of the bed, her ugly grey phone in her hand and her legs jiggling as she tried to seal her jitters. It would be fine. She just wouldn't be able to mention too much. About where she lived. Or who she was associating with. Or much of anything. She sighed. Well, she couldn't run from it forever.

She hit the call button and held it to hear. The phone rang once, twice, thrice. Gou's tight hold loosened. Maybe her mother wouldn't pick up. She could be out running errands and forgotten her phone at home.

She was both delighted and frightened when there was an answer. "Hello?"

"Hi, mom." She smiled at hearing the others voice. Even though at the same time she was bouncing her leg rapidly up and down like she were trying to dislodge something.

"Hi, honey." There was a slight cracking with the bad reception but Gou could still hear the delight from the other end. "I haven't heard from you a while! You must be busy."

"Yeah, we have been." Gou made a slightly amused noise in her throat. "Real busy."

"What have you been up to?"

"Oh you know…just this and that." She got up to pace the room, unable to keep still. Vague, vague, keep it vague. Vague is good. "We- we did a training camp a few days ago."

"Oh you did?" Her mother sounded enthusiastic. She would know what a training camp was from Rin. Or from their father. "Did your brother participate?"

"Yeah." Gou tried to keep her voice upbeat. "He did."

"Good! He needs to be more social able. I don't think he made many friends while he was in Australia."

Gou's shoulders sagged. That he hadn't.

"Maybe it was a language barrier," her mother continued thoughtfully.

She laughed a little, even though she knew that was absolutely not true. "Maybe."

They talked for a little while longer, mostly about the upcoming competition and other swimming things, like the Germans Gou had accidentally adopted. Safe topics that couldn't get Gou into trouble and she was careful not to mention Seijuro or the storm incident and kept talk about the hosted events to a minimum. They couldn't talk long due to the charges and after about fifteen minutes they had to hang up else her mother would go broke.

Snapping the phone shut after their good bye, Gou gazed down at it in her hand. She felt a little better after talking but that yearning for home still remained. It was a listless feeling, like she just wanted to sit down and hug a pillow and stare into space. She hated that sort of feeling.

She wandered into the living room. Seijuro was there on the couch, hunched avidly over with a controller in his hands, his eyes riveted on the racing game on the TV. He swore animatedly and Gou watched with a touch of amusement as his racer proceeded to plummet off a cliff's edge. The Iwatobi boys had loaned him the gaming system they had rented and since getting back to the house Seijuro had spent the majority of his time playing the thing, swearing whenever he got hit with something or fell off somewhere and letting out loud exclamations that made Gou jump whenever he did well. He was quite set on beating the thing.

She sat down on the couch's arm as on the TV Seijuro's racer was dropped back onto the race track. "Do you miss home?" she asked him without preamble.

He shrugged, not removing his eyes from the TV screen. "Not really." He glanced briefly at her out of the corner of his eye. "Why, do you?"

She frowned. "A little," she admitted.

It must be different for Seijuro. He was used to not seeing his family on a daily basis and he lived in a dorm besides. Not like Gou who was used to seeing her mother everyday and staying at a place that was home rather than a dorm. Being away from home for so long was not something she was accustomed to.

She placed her chin glumly into her palm. She couldn't say that she regretted making the trip. If they managed to win then not only would they have accomplishments to present but that money would help their club tremendously and being here was a good opportunity for them. But she was still homesick. Being in a foreign country away from everything that was familiar and far from a parent was difficult and while it hadn't bothered her much before it was started to now. They had been here over a month and that separation was starting to drag at her apparently. She blew air at her bangs. This sucks.

The TV suddenly shut off and she blinked in confusion at the black screen. Had Seijuro grown tired of playing?

"Come on." Seijuro placed his controller aside. He rose off the couch. "Let's go out. It'll do you some good to get out and not just sit around here."

She blinked some more. "Out? But don't you want to play your game?"

"I can play it later. Maybe I'll pull an all nighter to get really good at it so I can smash Nagisa into the ground with it tomorrow."

She frowned once more. Pulling an all nighter was terribly unhealthy when they had a competition coming up and she made a mental note to tell him so later when there wasn't a more pressing topic she didn't want to deter from. "Out where?"

"Wherever you want." He stretched his arms over his head. The hem of his shirt lifting up slightly and for a few seconds Gou was awfully distracted by the flash of olive colored skin over a finely muscled lower back. "You pick."

"Hmmm?" Her gaze refocused on his face. "Sorry, what? I pick?"

"You pick."

She narrowed an eye. "Anything? I can pick anything?"

"Anything."

"Anything at all?"

"Anything at all."

She narrowed her eyes further. She thought hard for a moment then she smiled. "Okay."

This is going to be fun.

Nagisa's cereal is - or was - incredibly a real thing (the weird research I do for this fic sometimes).

I'll be going out of a town for a week this upcoming Friday and while I'm planning on bringing my laptop with me I don't imagine I'll be getting much writing done so the next update may take a little longer than usual. My apologies!

Also my email did something really weird since the last update that deleted all my saved emails. I think I rescued all of them but if I missed any review questions then sorry!

JustJolola - I hadn't incorporated the Rin/Haru argument in before so maybe it's the beach scene you're thinking of? I'm trying to run with the same sort of story line as the anime so the big events from the anime will be in here, just slightly different from the original teehee.

Alyxielle - Oh my goodness thank you. I was blushing like crazy when I read this review and I'm so glad to hear that you find them IC. I struggle a lot when it comes to Haru and Rin - those are the two I have the hardest time writing and sometimes even Gou and Seijuro's interactions can be really tricky as there isn't much base material to work off of (IE: they hardly interact in the anime which is a crime). Thank you so much!