February 28, 1914

Having returned home, Reiko was talking to her brother about the events on the train, while Rinji talked to her about his trip to Chicago. "So yeah," Rinji explained to her. "Genya and Vèro are in a relationship now. They got pretty close together on the boat ride back."

"What about you and Chiyo-chan?"

Rinji blushed slightly as he replied, "What about me and Chiyo?"

"Come on," Reiko teased her twin brother with. "You saw Genya-san and Vèro-chan become a couple, right? Did the thought of being with Chiyo-chan in the same way ever pop into your head at all?" Rinji remained silent, saying nothing in response and prompting Reiko to give him a smug look in response. "Don't give me that shit. Come on, man."

"Maybe," Rinji admitted.

Reiko giggled and told him, "Of course."

"Don't tell her," Rinji replied to her. "Please, whatever the Hell you do, don't tell her."

"Of course I'm not gonna fucking tell her."

"Good."

Reiko then asked him, "Have you talked to Chiyo since the trip?"

"Not really," he replied with a shrug. "She's been busy with a few missions here and there. She helped rescue a nobleman's daughter not too long ago, actually."

"Oh yeah," Reiko nodded. "I heard about that. She and a few other slayers saved a Count's daughter earlier in the month. You yourself were busy when you came back too. I barely saw you for almost two months ever since you came back on January 8th."

"It's been a rough month and a half," Rinji admitted. "I swear, some of these missions are fucking with me mentally. If only people realized how dangerous this war really is and knew that us demons exist. I gotta deal with that plus I had to deal with some slayers who were just total assholes."

"Assholss? What do you mean by assholes?"

"They looked down on me since I'm a demon myself," Rinji clarified. "Like, come on, I'm fighting alongside you. Would you rather me be your enemy?"

Reiko nodded. "Ah, I see. Sucks that happened to you. Fuck those guys."

"I know, I know, but what they say and do still gets to me, especially after a long and hard day of fighting." Rinji then stretched his arms and yawned. "I'm still beat from that train trip. I barely got any damn sleep after I woke up from the dream infiltration thing."

"I still don't really understand it," Reiko admitted. "Like… I just don't really see the full picture, even with how you described it to me."

"It's really hard to explain until you actually do it."

"Maybe one day I will."

"Be careful if you do," Rinji warned. "After a while, it gets fucking confusing. Colby-san made it clear that we had to pay close attention, lest we get trapped and possibly never wake up." Changing subjects, he then asked her, "Speaking of people we're close to, how are you, Suzuki-san, and Okuda-san doing?"

"Me, Tokuhei, and Tsuyoshi?"

"Yeah, them."

Somewhat confused, Reiko asked him, "What do you mean?"

"You guys seem pretty close. Is something going on that I'm not aware of?"

Reiko immediately understood what he was getting at. "Come on, don't tease me about that shit."

"You just did it to me. Why can't I do it back?"

Realizing he made a good point, Reiko admitted, "Okay, that's fair."

"Answer the damn question already," Rinji replied in a playful manner.

"Well, I-" Reiko then immediately stopped herself, confusing Rinji.

"What is it?"

"I…"

"Yes?"

"I just… I don't know if I can."

"Can what?"

Reiko took a deep breath and muttered to herself as she tried to clear her mind, "Fuck… I just…"

"Reiko-oneesan," Rinji then asked her with a far more serious tone of voice. "What's going on with you?"

"I don't know if my heart can actually handle falling in love with either of them," Reiko admitted in a somber tone. "Not after what happened to me."

"After what happ-?" Rinji now knew what she was referring to. "Not after what those two Lower Moon bastards did to you on the cruise…"

"Not after they raped me," Reiko clarified. "I just… I personally am leaning towards one of them, but… I feel something telling me that it's a bad idea, even though I trust both of them with my life and they trust me with theirs."

"You're afraid they'll do something to you?"

"No," Reiko insisted rather loudly. "No way! No fucking way! They would never, especially not Tokuhei!" She immediately covered her mouth in shock upon yelling out which one of the two she had feelings for. "I… I didn't mean to…"

"So you like Suzuki-san?"

"I…" Reiko then sighed. "Yes, I do, but… Fuck, I…"

"Explain it to me so I can try to help you, oneesan."

"I'm afraid that if I'm with him and we start to get intimate, I'll have a flashback or something to when that shit happened to me. Do you get it now?"

Rinji nodded. "I see, I see. That makes a Hell of a lot more sense when you put it that way."

"Thank you. It fucking sucks because I want to be with him, but I'm afraid I'll do something stupid and fuck it all up."

"If he truly does love you," Rinji pointed out. "He won't give a shit if you do. Hell, he'll help you with it in any way he can. As your twin brother, I just want the best for you, oneesan."

Reiko nodded, seeing where he was coming from. "You're right… Perhaps I should tell him soon."

"You should. With the kind of business we're in, any day could be our last. I'm not saying we're both gonna die soon, but I'm not discounting the possibility, you know?"

March 1, 1914

Tokuhei opened the door to h the home he shared with Tsuyoshi early in the morning to find Reiko standing on the other side. He asked her in confusion, "Reiko… What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," Reiko told him. "Is Tsuyoshi here?"

"No," he replied as she came in. "He's still out on a mission right now. What's up?"

"Sit down," Reiko said as she took a seat on the floor. "I need to talk to you about something serious, Tokuhei."

Realizing the gravity of whatever she wanted to talk to him about, Tokuhei sat down across from her and asked her in a serious tone, "Reiko, is something wrong?"

"Well, no. Not necessarily. It's about…"

"About what?"

"It's about us."

"What do you mean by 'us'?"

Reiko then took a deep breath as she prepared to confess how she felt to him. "Okay… Okay…" She thought to herself as she prepared to say the words she needed to say, "Okay, you got this. You got this. You fucking got this. Just tell him how you feel, and explain to him what's going on. Like Rinji said, if he truly cares about me, he won't think less of me."

"What is it, Reiko?"

"Suzuki Tokuhei," she told him after taking a deep breath. "I… I you… Well, I…" Realizing she screwed up, Reiko thought to herself, "Shit, I bungled the words pretty bad! How do I recover from this?!"

Concerned, Tokuhei asked her, "Are you okay?"

Reiko then said to him, "Suzuki Tokuhei, I have feelings for you."

A long pause soon followed as both of them processed what Reiko had admitted to Tokuhei. The latter was trying desperately to come up with a response while the former began to internally panic, thinking she had messed up again. Tokuhei then asked her, "Are you… Are you saying you like me more than as a friend?"

"Yes," Reiko clarified. "I know it's a bit of a strong word, but… I think I'm in love with you, Tokuhei. I can't get you out of my mind."

"So you do feel that way…"

"But…"

"But what?"

Reiko then explained to him, "I'm afraid… I'm afraid that you won't be able to handle me due to… Due to…"

"Due to what happened to you last year?"

"Yes," Reiko nodded. "I'm afraid I'll do something bad, like have a flashback or something. I've had them before, and I don't want to put you through that shit."

Tokuhei then held Reiko's pale white hands in his and told her, "Reiko, it's fine. I can deal with that as it comes along."

"It's… Fine?"

"What happened to you doesn't affect how I see you," Tokuhei clarified, making her heart practically jump. "I like you a lot too, Reiko."

"You do…" Reiko then leaned in, telling him, "I'm so happy to hear that."

Tokuhei was initially confused as to what Reiko was doing, causing him to lean back slightly. "Uh…"

Reiko then gently grabbed his shoulder and closed her eyes, giving him a brief kiss on the lips. A few seconds after the two split, Tokuhei returned the favor and kissed her briefly. After these two quick pecks, Reiko gently pushed him down onto the floor and kissed him far longer than before, letting her heart take control.

As the two of them made out on the floor, they suddenly heard the door open and someone else walk in. Both froze in fear as Tsuyoshi turned to find Tokuhei and Reiko in a tight embrace. He stood silently for a few seconds before stammering out, "You… You… You and Reiko…"

Tokuhei quickly got up and told him, "Hey, uh, Tsuyoshi, this is… Uh… This isn't wha-"

"Oh my God…"

Reiko also got up, telling Tsuyoshi as he took Tokuhei's hand, "Tsuyoshi, I love Tokuhei. We just told each other a few minutes ago about how we feel."

"So you do…" Tsuyoshi took a deep breath and said to them, "I'll give you guys some privacy." He then walked out of the house and shut the door behind him.

Both of them were concerned due to his reaction to the news, so after a few seconds, both of them got up and walked out of the house to find Tsuyoshi sitting nearby, clearly despondent over the news. Reiko realized then and there that Tsuyoshi most likely also had feelings for her, whispering to herself, "Oh no…"

Tokuhei walked over and asked him, "Hey, are you alright?"

Tsuyoshi replied, "I… I guess you got to her first, Tokuhei…"

"I guess I did…"

Reiko, confused, asked the two of them, "What the Hell do you two mean by that?"

"We, um…" Tokuhei then sighed and explained, "We made a deal that one of us would get to confess to you by the end of March."

"I did that because I knew Tokuhei loved you," Tsuyoshi added. "I wanted to give him a chance at being with you."

Reiko sat next to Tsuyoshi and put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him with, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Tsuyoshi. Look, even if me and Tokuhei are a couple, that won't break our bond as comrades and friends. I still trust you with my life, and I hope you trust yours with mine. Even if I and Tokuhei love each other, it won't change our friendship and our sense of duty between all three of us."

"You really think so?"

"Of course," Reiko assured him with a smile.

Tsuyoshi gave a faint smile and told her, "Thank you…"

"So… Now what?"

"I can still give you guys some privacy for a bit if you want."

Tokuhei replied, "Eh, why not?"

"I guess we can do that," Reiko agreed.

"I'll be back in an hour," Tsuyoshi said as he got up. "It'll give me time to process all this. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Reiko asked him as she held Tokuhei's hand, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

As Tsuyoshi walked away from them, Tokuhei told Reiko, "Even so… I'm still a bit concerned for him."

"Me too… So…" As the two of them walked back to the house, Reiko asked him, "How, um… What do you want to do now?"

"We'll see what happens," Tokuhei replied. "I don't want to push you into anything you're not comfortable with."

"Thanks." When the two of them walked back in, Reiko told him, "Maybe we won't go all out now, but… I wouldn't mind maybe just exploring our bodies for now if you want."

"Yeah… I can do that…"

Reiko then slipped off her haori and corps uniform, telling him as she blushed, "Your stare could pierce through walls, you know…"

Realizing he was staring at her chest and lower regions very intently, he apologized with, "I'm sorry. It's just that… I'm just captivated by how you look."

Reiko smiled and replied, "It's only fair if you do the same."

"Okay, okay," he replied as he took off his clothes. Once he was finished, both of them were now totally nude. "You look amazing, Reiko."

"I know my looks aren't exactly the most normal," she replied, pointing out the patterns along her body from her time as one of Rui's underlings. "But I'm glad you find them nice to look at." She then stepped up to Tokuhei and kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and neck as he returned the favor. When the two split, she told him, "No full sex right now, but we can do other things."

"That's fine with me," he replied before kissing her again. The two would proceed to pleasure themselves with their hands, taking it one step at a time for the time being. Reiko, who had expected to possibly have a flashback during this period of intense physical intimacy, was pleasantly surprised when she managed to finish her activities with him without once reliving those horrible memories. Even more surprising was that she did not experience such memories when Tokuhei himself finished. Instead, she calmly cleaned her hands with a nearby rag and laid back down next to him, kissing him on the forehead before letting Tokuhei pleasure her some more.

When the two finished, they both laid on the floor, using their clothes as a makeshift sheet to lay on. Reiko told him as she took several deep breaths, "That… That felt really fucking good, actually."

Curious, Tokuhei asked her, "Are all girls that loud when they climax?"

"Yeah," Reiko nodded. "I've heard people have sex before, and some girls and women are loud. I wouldn't say I was too loud. Now… Now Kocho-sama… She's actually loud."

Surprised, Tokuhei asked her, "Wait, no way… Kocho-sama as in the Insect Pillar?"

"Yeah," Reiko confirmed with a nod. "I've heard Kocho-sama and Tomioka-sama have sex before, and I could hear her through the wall between my room in the Butterfly Estate and her room."

"Wow… Holy shit…" The two of them shared a laugh before Tokuhei asked her, "Should we get dressed now? Tsuyoshi could be coming back soon."

"In a few minutes, dear… Let's just relax for a minute."

"Okay, fair enough…" The two then hugged each other as they looked into each other's eyes and kissed one more time.