Shinano gawked in shock at Nagato. Her face had lost all color after he broke the news to her.

"Shinano-san, are you okay?" He asked her.

"Six days ago..." She cradled her head with her hand, trying to put order in her thoughts. "It's exactly when I first entered your dream…"

Nagato's eyes widened in realization, and he brought a hand to his chin as he pondered her words, coming to the same conclusion as her.

It made sense. Why was Shinano able to connect to his dream all of a sudden and without an apparent reason? Well, it's because it happened at the same time as the planetary alignment in Nagato's world, along with the creation of the portal on the part of the Original Sirens. Their crossing must have upset the balance of the space-time continuum and allowed her mind to wander across the fabric of reality. The fact that she entered his dream of all people was just a coincidence, given the fact that he was sleeping close to the Sacred Sakura at the time. Finally, the Tree, being sensitive to any event of such monumental scale, engraved the occurrence in its unfathomable cortex, and when Nagato attempted to reach for it from his dream, he was made aware of the fact.

"It was just bad luck, a cruel twist of fate." Nagato tried to cheer her up. "If anything, I'm sorry I can't be of any assistance in such a situation."

"No, you've already been of great help, Nagato-dono… Without you, they would have taken us completely by surprise," Shinano said with a warm smile, her expression turning sour immediately after. "While the prospect of battle reaching us sooner than expected is disheartening, what really bothers me is that we missed one of the deadlines for returning the shipboys to their home..."

"Do you already know when the one in your world is going to happen?"

"In two months... That's what our experts say…" Shinano added, dejected. "I can't even tell if it's a good thing or bad…"

Given the low frequency of the planetary alignment and the fact that the portal could only be opened from the world where it was occurring, Shinano and everyone else were hoping to enlist the assistance of the other Azur Lane, either to ask them to prevent the Original Sirens from coming all the way here or to open the portal themselves. But now that she knew the enemy had arrived and with one of the deadlines already passed, they had only one chance left, and they had to do it themselves.

"It's going to be all right." Nagato reassured her. "They don't have a base nor a seed, and their numbers are going to be too small to immediately pose a threat. You still have time to make preparations."

"I suppose so, but-"

A sudden noise, like glass slowly cracking, resounded in the air, one that only Shinano seemed capable of hearing. The shipgirl stood up on her feet; she recognized it as a sign that her time inside Nagato's dream was slowly coming to an end.

"Shinano-san?"

"My time is up... I have to go…" She turned to look at him with a sorrowful gaze.

He stood up in turn, his expression mimicking her own, and moved to stand next to her, his black, lustrous nine tails trailing behind him.

"Will I see you again?" He asked her with a pleading undertone in his voice.

"I… I don't know... I'm here only thanks to Kurama and the others' help. If they are going to depart from the Sanctuary to fight the Original Sirens, I don't think I'll be able to do it alone." Shinano's eyes glazed over as she averted her gaze from him.

She could only imagine how lonely he must have felt, spending all that time inside his dream with no one to talk to. Her presence had been like a lifeline for him, and the prospect of her coming to visit him more frequently in the future had gotten his hopes up, but now, with the Original Sirens literally at their doorstep, she wasn't sure she'd have the chance to make another attempt, especially since their hopes of getting in contact with the other Azur Lane had just been dashed due to the planetary alignment having already occurred.

"I understand… If it's fate, then I won't bewail." Nagato hung his head dejectedly, his posture still dignified despite the melancholy in his eyes.

Her heart went to him, her tails instinctively moving toward his to brush them in a light gesture of comfort, to which he replied with a warm, genuine smile. Slowly, the world around her began distorting, but not as quickly or as ominously as the last time, giving her plenty of time to say goodbye to the man.

"If you wish, I can pass up a message to your protege... I wager it'll make him very happy to hear from you," Shinano offered.

His ears perked up, a warm feeling of fondness and nostalgia coursing through him. His expression could only brighten as he relished into them and pondered what he wanted her to say.

"Tell Kurama that I miss him and that I'd love to see him again," he said, hesitating for a second before adding, "and tell him that I'm proud of him."

"It shall be done then..." Shinano responded solemnly.

"So... This is farewell," Nagato tentatively said.

"Indeed, it is... This exchange, albeit brief, has been truly enlightening… I truly regret not being able to have a repeat in the future… For that, I wish to thank you now that I still have the chance," Shinano said with another smile and a light bow. As the space around her began distorting even further and the sound of cracking became ever closer and more frequent, she felt him grab her hand with his own.

"No, thanks to you." His gold eyes glinted, and her heart skipped a beat as he brought her hand up and delicately kissed her digits.

After he let go of her hand, the connection was cut, and Shinano was ushered out of his dream.

To him, it seemed like her blushing figure was enveloped by a torrent of cherry blossoms, and a gust of wind whisked her away into the air.

To her, it was unlike the other times. Instead of being forcefully pulled away by an invisible force and plunged into darkness, it was like waking up from a pleasant dream after a good night of sleep.

Only her heart was beating a little faster than usual.

She woke up just like she had fallen asleep, with her head resting on Kurama's legs. The moment her gaze settled on the shipboy's features, he opened his eyes from the trance he had fallen into. They both turned toward Freedom and Sparviero, who had just removed their hands from his shoulders. Supplying enough energy for Shinano to maintain the connection had taken a heavier toll than they were imagining, and the two shipboys were breathing heavily, wiping off the sweat marring their foreheads, but otherwise, they were completely fine.

Everyone else was still there, patiently waiting for Shinano to wake up, and when the four Kansen stirred from their trance, they all hurried closer, eager to hear what the Oracle had to say.

"Shinano, how did it go?" Kiyomi addressed her as the other Kansen helped the exhausted shipboys up.

Shinano's grave expression gave them a clue, but even with that, no one could have anticipated the gravity of the bomb she dropped on them the second she stood up on her feet.

"It's too late… They are already here," she declared.

Everyone stood there, silence reigning for a few seconds as they all processed her words, but it didn't last long. The silence was interrupted by the sliding door slamming open, revealing the figure of a very distressed Aoba in the doorframe.

"Nagato-sama, there's news from the Iris Orthodoxy... and it's not good."

After Aoba's report, Kiyomi hurriedly contacted her peers in the council to relay to them everything Shinano had reported after waking up.

While the senior Kansen assisted Nagato and the chairwoman with the uproar caused by the news, the shipboys and their escort from Azur Lane found themselves with nothing to do and decided to pay a visit to the hot springs.

Being a human-Kansen base, the Sanctuary had a specialized structure of remarkable size with both outdoor and indoor tubs, as well as separate changing rooms and areas for men and women. It also meant that, unlike the onsen back at Azur Lane, there was no restriction of time for men to use it.

And now, here they were, buck naked, soaking in the hot water of one of the outside pools, letting it wash away the strain of the feat they had just helped accomplish.

But even that wasn't enough to lift the sullen mood hanging between them.

Kurama in particular didn't seem in the mood for light conversation, his master's condition weighing too heavily on his mind for him to think of anything else. He was grateful to Shinano for being able to offer some relief to his soul with her presence, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't envious of her ability to communicate with him.

Not to mention the knowledge of having missed one of the deadlines to open the portal and the news of the attack.

"Guys, what now?" Sparviero broke the silence.

"Well, we did what we came here for," Freedom said. "I guess we go back to Azur Lane and wait for the others to return with good news... hopefully."

"You guys can go; I'm staying here for a while," Kurama said.

The other two tilted their heads in confusion.

"Wait, where is this coming from? Why aren't you coming with us?" Sparviero asked, perplexed.

Kurama shrugged. "I just feel like I should stay close to the Sakura Tree. Maybe I can help Shinano have another try at establishing a connection to Nagato-niisama's dream, so it doesn't get too lonely for him…"

"Uhm… Hey, maybe you can ask her to teach you so you can do it yourself; wouldn't that be awesome?" Sparviero chimed in.

Kurama's ears perked up at his words, and his eyes lit up for a second as he pondered his brother's words, only to deflate again when reality hit him.

"Her ability is inherent to the innate connection between her Cube and the Tree; I don't think it can be taught to anyone," he said as his ears flattened on his head and his tails came to rest on the edge of the tub, inert. With a downcast expression on his face, Sparviero could only hang his head at his futile attempt to cheer him up.

There it was again—the gloomy atmosphere. Freedom tried to rack his brain to find a quick way to dispel it, then let out a devilish smirk.

"Are you sure this doesn't have to do with a certain white-haired Kitsune?"

Kurama cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. "Kaga has nothing to do with my choice of staying here."

"Come on; you've spent the entire journey aboard her ship," Freedom scoffed. "Just admit that you'd miss her 'company' too much to leave."

"Oh, shut up; I'm not that hopeless," Kurama insisted.

"Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that," Freedom snickered, jokingly splashing his face with water.

Kurama blinked, his face and hair now dripping wet. He turned to glare at the other shipboy. Freedom's grin hadn't left his face, and he sent a bigger splash of water at him as payback.

"Now it's on."

It didn't take long for the situation to escalate and turn into a full-on pool fight complete with fake insults and threats. Normally it wouldn't be an issue, but the power a Kansen can bring out in a water battle is almost on par with an anti-riot water pump; luckily, no one else was there to get caught in the crossfire... except for Sparviero; the blind carrier could only try his best to stay afloat and beg for mercy as his brothers whaled on each other.

On the other side of the wooden wall separating the men's area from the women's, Carabiniere let out a sigh, much to the amusement of the other shipgirls around her. She was leaning with her back against a rock in the middle of the outside pool, enjoying the hot water up to her shoulders, trying to hide the embarrassment in her face at being surrounded by so many… bigger women. Massachusetts was beside her, sprawled over her towel on the same rock, completely unashamed by her voluptuous, taut body exposed to the elements and to the gazes of the other Kansen. Shinano and Mutsu were dozing off to the side, half submerged, the shorter battleship literally sinking into the carrier's cleavage as she snored softly.

"Honestly, they're just like children," Akagi hissed through her teeth. "Don't they teach them how to behave in their world?"

"Leave them be; it's their way of coping with all the shit that's happening," Massachusetts intervened, prompting the Kitsune to glare at her from the other side of the outdoor bath.

Amagi, who was sitting on the edge of the pool with a towel covering her front, leaned over to Kaga, next to her.

"So that's what it was all about." The elder Kitsune couldn't help the grin adorning her face as her sister shrank in embarrassment. "If he's staying, why don't we invite him over for dinner every now and then?"

Of course, her comment caught Akagi's attention.

"A-Amagi-neesama, surely you must be jesting," she said. "There's no way we are letting that mutt eat at the same table as us."

"Well, if you are so against it, Akagi, you can always eat on the porch," Amagi replied with a smile and a hint of menace in her voice, making the other fox wince. "I, for once, can't wait to get to know the man who stole my little sister's heart," she added, turning back to Kaga, who sank herself even further into the water, her ears going flat on her head.

The group simply stood there, enjoying the hot water in peace and quiet, but when the waves from the other side began reaching concerning heights, Akagi sprang to her feet, a resolute expression on her face.

"That's it; I'm going to teach those pests a lesson they won't forget!"

"By yourself?" Massachusetts inquired, unimpressed.

Akagi growled at the battleships, but before she could retort, a cry for help resounded after a particularly violent splash of water.

"Someone get me out of here! I'm drowning!"

"Sparviero, hang on, I'm coming!" Carabiniere jumped out of the water to grab her own towel, scurrying toward the changing room and out of the exit.

"Who's going to remind her that's the men's side?" Massachusetts wondered aloud.

Amagi shrugged with a smile. "I'm sure she'll notice."

Luckily for Carabiniere, aside from the shipboys, the male area of the hot springs was empty, so she was able to sneak inside right on time to see her charge holding onto the side of the tub for dear life as the other two flooded the place with their fight.

She managed to drag him out of the warzone and into the changing room unnoticed, where the shipboy got into his own bathrobe without even drying himself properly before the two disappeared into the hallways of the building.

"Thank you, Cara; I thought I was a goner." Sparviero couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face as he said it. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't having the slightest bit of fun in there.

On her part, Carabiniere couldn't help the sigh of relief that left her lips. Storming the man's changing room, even if out of concern for him, almost made her heart give out; although she did manage to sneak a peek at the shipboy while he changed, so there was a silver lining-

She quickly shook her head to dispel the vulgar thoughts from her mind and fight back the blush coming to her face.

"Glad I could be of assistance." She cleared her throat as she added, "Though next time, try to hold back a little. We are guests here, and we shouldn't cause trouble."

"Hehe, sorry. I'll try to rein them in next time," Sparviero said, turning his head toward her voice as he felt her shuffling. "Are you mad?"

"N-no, of course not." Carabiniere vehemently shook her head. He must have sensed her putting some distance between them out of embarrassment. "If anything, I'm glad you are not letting the bad news get to you too much. I thought the Original Sirens would make you a lot more…"

"Scared?"

"Mm-hmm," she nodded.

"Well, it's true that we are used to fighting them, but it's not like we aren't afraid of them at all... It's just that there's something we fear a lot more than them..." Sparviero trailed off.

"What are you talking about?" Carabiniere couldn't wrap her head around the fact that there was something scarier than those monsters.

"I'm talking about you, Cara; all of you—Aquila, Littorio, and everyone else," Sparviero solemnly said. "We didn't accept to fight by your side just to keep a promise or out of a sense of responsibility. We did it because we found a reason to put our lives on the line in this world too. Believe me when I say that if the creation of the portal proved detrimental to the war, then I'd rather miss the deadline than risk losing you to those monsters. I love you too much for that," he added, squeezing her hand tighter in his own.

Carabiniere's heart made a somersault in her chest at hearing his words. This was the first time since the whole dating thing started that he had declared his feelings so openly; she wanted to say something and reciprocate, but her heart was beating so loudly she could barely hear her own thoughts.

Not knowing what to say, she squeezed her arms around his tighter and scooted closer to him as they kept walking. She led him through the exit of the building and along the path outside. It was late in the evening, and the base was eerily quiet. Everyone must have gone to sleep early after the shock of the news wore off.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence, but not the uncomfortable kind. They just enjoyed each other's company and warmth in the cool night air that greeted them outside. After a particularly strong gust of wind made them both shiver, his arm snaked around her waist, inching her closer to him as they walked.

As they came to a stop in front of the entrance of the lodgings assigned to the shipboys, Sparviero began fretting.

This was it, right? It was the perfect chance to ask her that.

Since the day they almost slept together, the shipboy had been racking his brain to find a way to recreate that atmosphere, but whatever idea he came up with, between everything that happened after that, he was never able to see it through.

In the end, he decided to ask Emperor for advice before they parted ways.

…

"You're overthinking this, brother; just ask her," Emperor had told him dispassionately.

"What?! I can't just come out and say, 'Wanna have sex tonight?'" Sparviero had objected.

"Of course you can. What were you expecting? Scented candles, classic music, and a bottle of wine? She's your girlfriend; the worst she can say is no, and if she's not feeling up to it, she'll let you know. That's how it works."

"There's no way it's that simple…"

"Well, it's up to you to choose the right moment; just make sure you don't sound too desperate. I know you can't wait to get laid, but that's not a reason to act like a creep."

…

That last comment earned him a miniaturized fighter to the face, but the more Sparviero thought about it, the more he realized there was nothing else he could do, not with his condition.

"Hey, Cara, why don't you... stay over the night?" There, he blurted it out; now it was a matter of "seeing" her reaction.

Carabiniere stiffened at his words, heat rushing to her face.

If she had to be honest, that previous interruption had been like a cold shower for her. It's not that she wasn't looking forward to it herself; on the contrary, she did want to get closer to him, but that didn't mean she wasn't feeling nervous. Particularly, the thought of being caught in the act like it almost happened the previous time made her too uneasy.

"Uhm… A-aren't your brothers going to notice?" She turned to glance at him to gauge his reaction.

"Actually… I think they'll be busy tonight themselves," he said sheepishly. "And we were all given separate rooms, so..."

His tense posture, body language, and the way he bit his lips and fidgeted with his hands on the fabric of his kimono bathrobe told her everything, and she chastised herself for not noticing sooner. He was also nervous, because of course he was; she could only imagine how much it took him to gather the courage to ask her that.

She decided to reciprocate that courage with a bit of her own.

"I… I don't see why not," she finally responded, fidgeting in her place.

A bright smile appeared on his lips, one that made her heart flip in her chest. They both began making their way inside, through the half-dark hallways of the empty guest dorm.

When they reached his room, she opened the door for him, but before they could step in, he scooped her up in his arms in a bridal carry, eliciting a surprised yelp from her as she wrapped her arms around his neck for support.

He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him without even bothering to turn on the lights; the pale moonglow filtering through the blinds was the only source of illumination, but even that was unnecessary. He knew where he had to go—the futon in the middle of the room. He navigated the place with practiced expertise without bumping into anything, a feat that was made even easier thanks to the guest room being barely furnished. She held onto his neck all the while, her heart beating faster and faster with each step he took.

When his bare feet left the rough texture of the tatami floor and stepped onto the soft covers of the futon, he simply sat down, bringing her light form to rest in his lap. Without missing a beat, he wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer, her back leaning over his chest.

He sank his face into the crook of her neck and began slowly peppering it with kisses. The heat of the hot springs and the cool air of the night had left her skin as sensible as it could be, and Carabiniere had to bite her lips not to let out any weird sound as his touch sent shivers down her spine.

He brought the fabric of her kimono down over her shoulders to expose more of her skin to the assault of his lips. His hands began wandering toward her front to undo the sash holding together the hem of the bathrobe, but right at that moment, he paused his ministrations, eliciting a whimper of disappointment from her as she turned to glance at him in confusion.

"Cara, I want to look at you… all of you," he said, bringing a hand to rest on her waist for emphasis.

It took her a second to figure out what he meant, and her mind wandered back to when she let him "scan" her face. If her skin wasn't already flushed enough, the heat that rushed to her face made it burn even hotter.

"I-it's fine; you can do as you please," she managed to let out. "T-touch me wherever you want."

His heart skipped a beat, and he sucked in a deep breath. "Do you even realize the effect those words can have on a man?" He didn't need an answer to his query, so he resumed his ministrations, making her squirm under his touch.

Her blonde curls, which she had been careful not to wet when inside the tub, brushed his cheeks, and he couldn't help taking a long whiff, eliciting a squeal of surprise from her lips. Her usual scent, to which he had become so used and addicted over time, had slightly been dampened by the effect of the hot water, but her hair still held its characteristic, intoxicating fragrance, which made him almost lose his mind.

He had to remind himself not to rush things and forced his composure back. Carabiniere was trusting him with her most vulnerable side; disappointing her by messing things up was the last thing he wanted.

He focused on undoing the sash around her waist, letting the rest of the fabric fall to her side, freeing her body and exposing even more of her flushed skin to the air; needless to say, she wasn't wearing anything under, and since she gave him free rein, he decided to make the most of it.

His hands began roaming over her slim body, drawing invisible patterns on her soft skin. Down from her navel, around her thin waist, and then up toward her chest, where he was met with a slight resistance.

Carabiniere had brought her arms up to cover herself on instinct. She knew how dumb it was going to sound, but she couldn't help the warning that came out of her mouth.

"J-just so you know, m-mine aren't as big as those of the other girls- eep!" She let out another yelp of surprise as she felt his teeth delicately tugging on her earlobe.

The diversion was enough for her to lower her guard and allow him to reach her chest unhindered. She whimpered in annoyance at being played in such an easy way as he began fondling her.

Not big, but neither too small. He marveled at how perky they were, how soft and pliable they felt in his hands and at how perfectly they fit in his palms.

"They are perfect," he said, adding another series of kisses on her nape as he gently tugged on her nipples, twisting them between his fingers.

"T-that's unfair… Mmn." Her protest fell on deaf ears as he resumed exploring her body.

Not just her shapely breasts; her arms, her shoulders, her back, her waist, her belly—he left nothing behind. She began writhing in his lap, grinding her rear against his crotch and pushing back against him to entice him further. He could feel her skin burning under his fingers because of the excitement, the arousal, but also the embarrassment at being handled in such a way.

By the time he was done, there wasn't a single inch of her upper body he hadn't explored with his lips or fingers, leaving the poor girl in a shivering mess of arousal.

"I-I can't take this anymore…" Carabiniere said, panting in impatience. She spun around to face him, catching him off-guard. She quickly disrobed him of his own bathrobe and pressed her body into his.

"Cara?" Sparviero said as she tightly clutched onto him, her chest squishing into his torso. She did manage to find a bit of comfort in the burning sensation spreading through her body thanks to his cooler skin, but it still wasn't enough. She wrapped her arms around his neck and caught his lips in a fiery kiss.

"Mmpf-" He was taken aback for a second, not expecting her to be so eager, but after the initial surprise, he managed to return the kiss, bringing his tongue to dance with her own.

As they lost themselves in the sloppy make-out session, they both began getting more and more restless. Carabiniere's body, after all the incessant teasing, was begging for release, and Sparviero himself was doing his best to withstand the ache coming from between his legs.

He could clearly feel his strained member standing on attention, pocking at the shipgirl as she grinded her groin against his crotch. He took it as a sign of impatience and decided to bring things to the next step. He put a hand on her shoulders and slowly pushed her down. She didn't resist; on the contrary, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down with her.

She looked up at him with eyes full of anticipation as he brought his hand to rest on her sternum. He began traveling down, between her breasts and toward her navel, slowly inching closer to her groin, until he found what he was looking for.

"Ahn!" His fingers sank into her slit, eliciting another soft mewl from her mouth.

Her lower lips were puffy and slick, and her insides were warm and wet. When he retracted his fingers, he could feel that they were coated in her excitement. He took a bit of pride in knowing that he was the reason for that.

"Mmn… P-please stop teasing your bodyguard so much…" She pleaded with a needy undertone in her voice.

"Sorry it took me this long," Sparviero said, inching closer to her. Bringing a hand to grab his member and align himself with her, he said, "Here I come."

Her folds easily parted for him as he pushed himself inside her.

"Nng… Aah…" She let out a satisfied moan as the feeling of having her walls wrap around his hardness filled her with bliss, making her legs wrap around his waist on reflex.

"Woah…" The warm, wet feeling that enveloped his length was completely novel to him; it caught him off guard, forcing him to suck in a sharp breath. His senses were being overwhelmed, and it took him a second to collect himself.

To make sure the both of them got accustomed to the newest wave of sensations, he began rocking his hips slowly, filling her up to the brim with his girth. It felt like he was melting inside her as he stuffed himself deeper inside her with each buck of his hips. He was on the verge of losing his mind if he wasn't careful.

"Mmhn… Aahn… haah~" Each of his thrusts induced a squeal from the shipgirl under him. Those soft yelps and panting moans were like music to his ears, and soon he found himself completely entranced.

The overwhelming heat spreading from her body to his, the soft feeling enveloping his dick, her delicate voice gracing his ears—all those sensations at once were throwing him into a messy spiral of pleasure and bliss, in which he was completely losing himself.

Gone was the laid-back approach he had decided to adopt earlier. His thrusting picked up speed and intensity, forcing her to grab the cover of the futon with one hand and push against his chest with the other as he slammed into her with increasing vigor.

"Aah… haah… AAHN…" Her mind was also too far gone, completely taken over by lust.

"Cara… Cara-" Before he realized it, he all but sprawled over her, forcing her to clutch her arms around his form for support until she was basically moaning into his ears as he kept desperately thrusting inside her with reckless abandon.

In that state, they couldn't last long. They both reached their limit at the same time, the crescendo of their frenzied lovemaking culminating in a joint peak. He erupted inside her, groaning loudly as he pumped a stream of white into her folds. Her own voice cracked in a toe-curling orgasm that made her spasm in bliss and tighten her grip around him.

Once he spent himself inside her, the two Kansen simply stood there, Sparviero sinking his face into the crook of her neck and Carabiniere looking up at the ceiling with a dazed expression, both of them panting in exertion and trying to recover from their shivering afterglow.

As he pushed himself off her, he looked down to see an azure glow, like a flickering flame burning and shifting in the dark curtain that was his vision. It was Carabiniere's Cube, pulsing and brimming with life; his blindfold must have fallen off his face at some point during their lovemaking without him even realizing it. He found himself too entranced by the flickering of the azure glow to avert his gaze.

His empty, vitreous eyes were staring down at her. It wasn't the first time she peered into his gaze, but this time, his usually hollow eyes were reflecting a faint azure glow, as if they were looking at something beyond her comprehension.

She reached for him with her arms and pulled him down on her again, relishing in his close proximity as they got comfortable on the futon.

"Are you all right? You were spacing out there," she asked him with a bit of apprehension as they cuddled.

"Yeah, I was just..." He trailed off, but then a dumb smile made its way to his face. "You know, you are so sexy, Cara." He could finally say that after taking a good "look" at her.

"S-stop that…"

He chuckled, too amused by the fact that a simple compliment would make her so self-conscious even after what he'd put her through.

They kept cuddling for a while until they both drifted to sleep in each other's arms, hoping the following morning would bring better news than today.

Nagato woke up with his eyes wide open and was forced to shut them close immediately as the light of the sun coming from the window blinded him. It was only inevitable after four years of shut-eye.

With a groan of discomfort, he managed to lift himself up on the futon he was lying on. The constant sound of beeping prompted him to glance around, his eyes settling on the machine he was attached to.

He was in a typical Japanese room that seemed fairly familiar, but he was having trouble recognizing it. It was barely furnished, and it had been clearly readjusted to function as your typical hospital room, provided with all the instruments necessary to monitor a comatose patient.

With another wince, he moved his hand to pull the pvc of the IV drip-feed out of his left arm and the patched wires from his chest, the strain more than enough to have him breathe heavily as he felt a stinging sensation spread over the limb.

He brought his shivering hands up to his eyes and was met with the wrinkled flesh of two skeletal limbs. He figured he must have looked as gaunt as a corpse in the face, which he did. His skin was pale, and his eyes were sunken. His tails were still there, he noticed, as they slowly began peeking from under the covers, and his hair was as long as he remembered it to be. Both had lost their typical lustrous sheen, replaced by a sickly, duller hue.

A sense of dizziness and disorientation caught him as he tried to make heads or tails of his situation. The last thing he remembered was the day of his execution. What was he doing there? Why wasn't he dead?

What about the Sirens, the war, and the other factions? Confusion was replaced by dread as his protege's face came to mind. What about Kurama? He was there at the moment of his execution. What happened to him? Did they take him, or did he manage to get to safety?

He was so lost in thoughts that he didn't notice the sliding door open and the nurse that appeared in the doorframe. As her eyes settled on him, she dropped the folder she was holding in her hands on the floor.

"N-N-Nagato-sama… You're awake!" She exclaimed in shock and surprise mixed with elation.

He turned to glance at her with a tired smile. "Good… morning," he tried to say with a hoarse voice.

"I-I-I'll go get someone! J-just wait here!" The nurse said before scampering off where she came from.

As he watched her scurry away, Nagato let out a low giggle, which quickly turned into a coughing fit, immediately followed by a twinge of pain through his chest, that forced him to double over.

Once he recovered from the fit, he got out from under the blanket and forced himself to stand up. The muscles in his legs were so wasted that the limbs shivered like leaves in the wind as he tried to lift them one at a time. Unsurprisingly, he fell to his knees before he could even lift his butt off the floor. He decided to just crawl toward the window, his tails dragging behind him like dead weight.

With a huge effort, he lifted himself up to look outside, hoping to find what he was looking for. There it was: the Sacred Sakura was standing tall and proud at the center of the bay of the main Sakura port, just like he remembered, his gigantic trunk sinking below the water line.

He felt as if he was forgetting something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The more he tried to focus on it, the further it slipped from his mind. It was just like after waking up from a dream. He knew he had been dreaming, he could feel it in his core, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what it was. He only knew that it was something vitally important.

With an increasing sense of uneasiness, he turned to the Tree for guidance, like he had done multiple times in the past, the mere sight of its hulking figure managing to calm him a little.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through his hair. The breeze carried a bunch of petals that invaded the room, scattering them all over the floor, forcing him to avert his eyes.

One of them, instead of falling down like the others, simply kept twirling in the air, floating back and forth around the room, until it came to hover right in front of his eyes.

He tentatively reached for it with his hand as it came to rest on his open palm, and at that moment, as if a veil was lifted from his eyes, he remembered.

He let himself fall to the floor and leaned with his back against the wall, chuckling under his breath.

"Only two months, uh?" He mused, examining the petal in his hand. "I can work with that."

AN: With this, we've caught up with AO3.

Unofortunately, the view count here of Fanfiction is still busted, but since it seems that notifications are working again, from now, updates will resume with the usual schedule.

Next Chapter: Surprise Visit(s)