Because Today Is...

Late morning of Sunday September 22nd – Izu Oshima

Stepping carefully off of the ferry and onto the dock Hina took a moment to take a breath to steady herself; both from her nerves and from the slight sea sickness she'd experienced on the ferry. Looking at the port town ahead of her she gently said, "Thanks for coming with me, you didn't have to."

"Of course I did," Misaki replied as she stepped up beside her, "You sounded so serious when you said you needed to come out here, there was no way I was going to let you come alone." She paused as she too took in the sight of the town before asking, "So are you going to tell me why we're here?"

Hina closed her eyes for a moment before she started walking towards the town and saying, "I will, but if we don't hurry we'll have to wait for the next shuttle bus to get to the beach."

"I take it you've been here before then? How far is it to this beach?" Misaki asked as she jogged to catch up.

"A few times, it's only about fifteen minutes to the beach I want to go to by bus from here," Hina replied as they reached the shuttle stop, seeing the bus making its way towards them from down the street.

As Misaki checked the shuttle times and map she asked, "Fifteen minutes? Are we not going to Toushiki Beach?"

Shaking her head in response Hina answered, "Toushiki is nice, but it's a lot more crowded. We're going to the beach at Akinohara... once we're done at the beach I'll treat you to lunch; there's a great ramen shop in the town over there you have to try!"

Noting the seemingly forced enthusiasm in her friend's tone Misaki simply nodded as she said, "Ah okay, looking forward to it!"

The conversation was cut short by the arrival of the shuttle and the pair shuffled on board along with a handful of other tourists that had arrived on the same ferry. Once everyone had taken their seats the shuttle began on its leisurely drive to the smaller town east of the port.

Turning to watch the scenery pass by, Misaki could see Hina's reflection on the window since she'd sat closer to the window. While Hina too was watching the scenery, Misaki could see that she was clutching the front of her shirt, just below the collar. Her brow furrowed as she thought, "No... she's clutching that necklace of hers, it's just under her shirt. I haven't see her wear that necklace since she came back..."

Being lost in thought for a moment she didn't hear Hina until the third time she asked, "Misaki? You okay?"

Shaking her head to clear her mind Misaki answered, "Oh... yeah sorry. Spaced out for a second there. It really is beautiful out here."

Nodding in agreement Hina turned back to the window wistfully as she said, "It really is. It's so much different than home, it feels like another world entirely."

The two remained silent for the remained of the short trip, getting off at the parking lot for the beach just outside of the town. As they made their way down to the sand Hina remarked, "Sorry... I should have thought about renting a car while we're here. We'll have to walk into town from here since the shuttles are only once every couple hours."

Misaki gave a soft laugh as she smirked in response, "Don't worry about it. Where I grew up we had to walk basically everywhere, it's not a big deal. Besides, renting a car would be a waste of money since we're heading back today anyway."

"That's a good point..." Hina trailed off as she lead Misaki down the beach towards a pier that jutted out into the water.

As they reached the pier and Hina walked out onto it, a cold breeze picked up, sending a chill through them, causing both to shiver. Laughing at their situation Misaki joked, "I really hope you didn't want to go for a swim. The water would be freezing this time of year." When no response came from her friend she cautiously asked, "Hina...?"

By then they reached the very end of the pier, they were only ten or so meters out from the shore, but it was clear the water was much deeper here and the waves and wind made it feel much more isolated than it was.

There was silence for a moment, the only sounds those of the ocean before Hina turned to look towards a section of the beach and pointed as she said, "I once started walking into the ocean right over there."

Misaki followed the line drawn by Hina's finger before she asked nervously, "Like... you walked in to go swimming?"

Hina shook her head as she answered, "No... Though I didn't intend to actually carry through with it; it was to prove a point about how self destructive something would be. I was so adamant about it then, looking back on that day I wonder how things ended up the way they did."

"Hina," Misaki paused as she turned her gaze back to her, "Is this about Natsuo?" When the response she received was simply a silent nod she added, "Hina please don't tell me you brought me out here to watch you jump into the freezing ocean..."

Turning to face Misaki, her necklace clasped tightly in her hand after having taken it off, she responded, "No of course not. I came here because this place is significant to what happened between Natsuo-kun and I... and I want this to be where I throw it away for good."

"Throw it away...?" Misaki asked in confusion. She then added, "Hina you don't have to throw what happened away. It's not like you can just forget, I know things have been tough the last few months but you've been doing so well."

Hina laughed slightly before she retorted, "That's not what I meant; I'll always cherish those memories, but so long as I have this," she paused to open her hand to reveal her necklace with two rings on the chain, "I won't be able to truly move on."

Misaki moved close to get a better look at the rings, and gasped as she did. One was much more delicate looking than the other, while other was clearly a man's ring by the size and thickness. What shook her though was the engraving on the interior of both bands: "N&H". Looking back up to Hina's face she asked, "Hina... are these...?"

"Yes," Hina answered quietly, "We got these rings while we were together, to serve as a promise of our commitment to each other. Nothing as official as an engagement ring of course... but a promise. After everything fell apart I couldn't bring myself to get rid of them... even after I found out about him and Rui I kept these close."

"What happened Hina... how did all of this happen? I know I said I wouldn't pry about the circumstances but..." Misaki trailed off as tears of frustration began to form in her eyes and she looked down towards her feet.

Hina's hand gripping her shoulder caused her to look back up as Hina spoke, "It's okay Misaki. Thank you for respecting our privacy and being so patient with us... you deserve to know the truth." She paused to see if Misaki would say anything, when she didn't she continued, "It started three years ago now, when I was still a teacher at Natsuo-kun's high school..."

Hina told her everything: Natsuo's crush on her as his teacher, her affair with a married man, how they learned that their parents had been dating and they became step-siblings, how Rui had confided her and how she betrayed her and ultimately why she had broken things off and fled from Tokyo the first time. She told her everything, filled in all the gaps that Misaki had previously had to guess at and Misaki quietly listened the entire time.

By the time Hina finished recounting her story her tears had run out, and her expression seemed more resolute. Taking a deep breath she finished, "And now you know everything."

Misaki was quiet for another moment before she managed to speak, "Hina... I just... I knew it was complex, and that given your age difference it would be bad but... you were his teacher. What were you thinking? Putting aside the fact he became your step-brother, and that Rui confided in you how she felt about him... Why? You even pointed out the risks to him here on this beach."

"I know. I was the adult in the situation... and I took advantage of his infatuation because I craved that kind of adoration. I think at first that's what it was... gratification and a boost to my self esteem. I was selfish. I threw caution to the wind and betrayed my own sister to satisfy myself and my own needs. I'm lucky that any of them even speak to me," Hina stated as she looked out over the water again.

Misaki's eyes narrowed as she snapped, "You're lucky you're not in prison!"

Hina laughed darkly at the comment before replying, "You're not wrong about that. I was lucky the school was more worried about their public image and only forced me to resign instead of going to the police... but that's its own issue." As she finished she opened her hand and looked at the rings once more, a calmness spreading across her face as she did.

Her gaze shifting from the rings to Hina's face, Misaki quietly asked, "You can do this right?"

Smiling sadly, but resolutely, Hina answered, "Yeah. After telling you all of that it feels like a weight has lifted. I'm not going to be trapped in the past anymore." She took another deep breath before pivoting around to face the open ocean and throwing the necklace as hard as she could, the soft plunk barely audible as the rings vanished beneath the waves another ten or so meters out from the end of the pier. She took another steadying breath as she added, "I'll walk forward, no more looking back."

Misaki walked up beside her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders to give her a reassuring side hug as she looked out over the water. A moment passed before she spoke, "I'm proud of you. I know that couldn't have been easy. Walking forward without looking back won't be easy either, so remember: if you need a push I'll be right there behind you."

"Thank you," Hina replied simply, returning the hug with fresh tears forming.

Another strong wind whipped up along with a larger wave splashing against pier, the pair getting misted by the ocean spray as a result. A shiver wracked her body before Misaki said, "Now then, we should head into town. Get something to eat and warm up."

"Good idea," Hina agreed as they released each other and started back towards the beach and ultimately the small town up the road.

As they reached the road and began their trek to town, a thought occurred to Misaki and she asked, "Hina... why today of all of all days?"

"Hmm?" Hina sounded as she turned to face her friend. When the question was repeated Hina laughed and replied, "Oh that's simple! It's because today is..."

That afternoon – Akamori High School, Tokyo

"Welcome to our school festival! Here, take a guide of our events and booths!" one of the students stationed at the front gate of the school cheered as they handed out pamphlets to those entering the school grounds.

"Thank you so much!" Rui cheered in return as she took the offered paper and she and Natsuo made their way in.

Examining the guide Natsuo chuckled as he commented, "Well that's a good idea... we should have thought of that when we were here."

"Right? I could have sworn someone mentioned it back then but nothing came of it," Rui remarked as she glanced through the item in question briefly. She slowed her steps in order to look up at him and ask, "What do you want to check out first?"

Thinking for a moment, Natsuo replied, "I think we should swing by the literature club's booth first and get their annual publication before they run out. We can say hello to Kiriya-sensei too if he's there."

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Rui laughed, "It's a shame we couldn't make it last year, we likely won't know any of the current members. Anyone there now would have been a first year or not a student here when we were in the club."

"Think of it as a blessing in disguise, we're more incognito if we don't know any of the current members," Natsuo countered as they entered the school building itself and began navigating the familiar halls.

It wasn't long before they made their way to the room that the literature club was stationed at, and to their surprise there was a decent sized crowd lined up. As they approached the line a familiar voice rang out from ahead of them, "Is that... It is!" The sound of rapid footsteps sounded briefly before a male student abruptly stopped in front of them and practically shouted, "Fuji-san! Tachibana-san! You're actually here!"

As the crowd started murmuring in confusion the couple stared at the student before realization kicked in, and they simultaneously responded, "Osaka-kun?"

Ritsu laughed nervously before saying, "Oh come on, you don't need to be so formal, it's just me after all."

"Sorry about that Ritsu-kun, just surprised to see you here is all," Natsuo replied.

"Eh? How come? I was a first year when I joined up, it's only been two years since then... well two and half. I'm a third year now," Ritsu explained, confusion on his face.

Rui shook her head as she asked, "No it's just... didn't you join the literature club because you had a crush on Momo? She graduated with us..."

"Hey now! That may have been my initial reason but I really enjoyed the time I spent here with all of you, so I decided to stay on after. Proud to say I'm the last of the 'old guard' so to say," Ritsu countered with a wide grin.

Before anyone could say anything, an older male voice cut in, "I wouldn't quite say that Osaka-kun, not while I'm still around anyway. I was wondering what got him so excited, good to see you two."

Looking behind Ritsu, Natsuo and Rui saw the familiar relaxed face with a lazy smile greeting them. Natsuo was the first to reply, "Good to see you too Kiriya-sensei."

"Yes, and good to see you've kept the club going," Rui added with a bright smile.

Giving a noncommittal shrug Kiriya replied, "What can I say? Turns out it's more fun than I expected it would be. Tachibana, how's your sister doing?"

"Hina-nee is doing well. She had a bit of a rough patch but she's bouncing back," Ruin replied vaguely.

Kiriya's eyes narrowed ever so slightly before he commented, "Good to hear. Say hi to her for me next time you see her, she and I are overdo for a drink."

"I will," Rui replied simply with a nod.

Kiriya fixed his gaze on Natsuo as he said, "And you, Fuji. Still writing?"

Giving a nod of his own Natsuo answered, "I am. I had a bit of writer's block but I managed to get through it. It's slow going but I'm working on something."

"Good," Kiriya said shortly, "There's a saying that everyone has one book in them, but not everyone has more than that. I'm glad to see that doesn't apply to you."

At this point the attention of the crowd had shifted from the front of the queue to the conversation happening between this small group.

"Who're they?"

"Looks like Kiriya-sensei knows them, did they go to school here?"

"I heard Kiriya-sensei call that guy 'Fuji'. Do you think he's that Fuji?"

"Osaka-senpai knows them too, they must have been students here. Maybe former club members?"

Ritsu looked around quickly before whispering, "Oh... Sorry you two, looks like we've caused a little bit of a scene."

His lazy grin widening mischievously, Kiriya spoke up, "Everyone! We have two very special guests this year it would seem!"

Rui's eyes widened as Natsuo could only stammer out, "K-Kiriya-sensei!"

"This young man and woman are Fuji Natsuo and Tachibana Rui, two of the founding members of our literature club! And to top it off Fuji here is a published author; I'm sure he'd be happy to answer questions or give advice," Kiriya announced, not the least bit hindered by his former students' reactions.

As the crowd erupted into an excited buzz Natsuo looked to Rui for help, but she gave him a thumbs up and laughed, "You got this!"

"Rui!" Natsuo exclaimed with mock betrayal in his tone.

Smiling at a job well done, Kiriya turned to Ritsu and said, "Show Fuji into the club room and form a second line for people who want to ask him questions."

"Oh, uh, sure. What about you Kiriya-sensei?" Ritsu asked as he recovered from the surprise announcement.

"Me?" Kiriya asked as he started walking away, "I'm taking a break. Fuji and Tachibana have perfect timing."

As they watched him walk away Rui mumbled, "Same old Kiriya-sensei..."

"Seriously..." Natsuo muttered in response.

"I'm sorry you two... do you mind playing along for a little bit? I know you probably just wanted to check in and grab a copy of this year's publication, but with Kiriya-sensei saying what he did..." Ritsu said apologetically.

Shaking his head slightly Natsuo replied, "It's okay, not your fault. I don't mind sticking around for a while, but..." As he trailed off he glanced over at Rui cautiously.

"It's okay, as long we don't get stuck here all day that is. And you'll make it up to me later I'm sure," Rui consented with a smirk.

"Yes ma'am!" Natsuo saluted before turning to Ritsu and motioning for him to lead the way.

Nodding in confirmation before he addressed the crowd, "Okay everyone! Please bear with us for a moment so I can get these two settled in the club room, we'll be forming a secondary line for questions once they are!"

He showed the couple into the familiar setting of the club room, all while the crowd outside buzzed with excitement.

That evening...

The day had been a whirlwind of activity at Akamori High School; the annual cultural festival the school held on the autumnal equinox had been a success by every metric. With the day's activities winding down the few guests and patrons who had not already left had gathered along with the students and faculty for the closing ceremony which consisted of food, a bonfire, music and dancing. The field behind the school was illuminated by both the glow of the fire as well as moonlight as the sun finished sinking below the horizon.

Unbeknownst to the ceremony attendees, a couple had crept away out of a side gate in the school's fenced in field to get to the nearby river embankment. As they approached Natsuo sighed and remarked, "We're in luck, nobody else is here."

"Hopefully nobody finds out you damaged the gate trying to get it open," Rui teased as she all but pranced out ahead of him towards the fence.

Chucking nervously and looking back towards where they'd come from he responded, "In my defense I think that gate was on its last legs already... and we couldn't leave without coming here."

As she neared the fence where they could look down and see the river clearly, she sighed as she felt his arms encircle her from behind and she leaned back into his chest as she replied, "You're right, I would've been disappointed if we didn't come here."

They were quiet for a moment, simply watching the river below and listening to the muted sounds of the ceremony while enjoying the closeness of each other before he asked, "Did you have a good time? See everything you wanted to?"

"Yes, even with the unplanned Q&A session with the literature club," she teased in response, her hands coming up to rest atop his.

Giving her a slight squeeze in response to her taunt he said, "Sorry about that, but at least we were able to limit that to just an hour."

"Really should have expected Kiriya-sensei to pull something like that..." she trailed off, stifling a small yawn.

"Tired already?" he asked, the smile clear in his voice.

She shook her head as she answered, "Only a little, we did walk around a lot after all." They were quiet again for a moment, both lost in thought, but it was Rui who broke the silence, "This is just like that night... do you remember?"

"Of course I do, how could I forget the night I confessed my feelings to you?" he asked playfully.

"I remember you were so panicked... you grabbed my hand back at the club room and dragged me all the way here, practically sprinting the whole way. I had no idea what was going on in your head you know, it had me worried."

"I know... I just thought that I was too late in telling you how I felt, and I couldn't do it with anyone else around. I really thought you'd accept Al's proposal to go out with him... Couldn't have blamed you if you did, I was being an idiot."

"You were, but you're my idiot. Like I told you that night: I couldn't let go of my feelings for you, and I'm glad I didn't."

Rui turned around, still in his embrace, so she could look up at him. She slowly brought her arms up to encircle behind his neck as she leaned up to bury her face in the crook of his neck as she declared, "I love you, more than I can say."

Both tightening their embrace on the other, Natsuo moved his head so he could whisper in her ear, "I love you too Rui, more than anything. Happy anniversary."

"Happy anniversary," she replied, beaming as she shifted her face in order to capture his lips in a long, tender kiss, their arms tightening around each other.

As the kiss and embrace continued Rui pressed herself into him trying to somehow reduce the distance even further, moaning softly against his mouth. At this Natsuo felt his heart rate quicken, and a chill ran up his spine causing his entire body to shake slightly.

Noticing the the tremor in his body Rui ended the kiss to ask, "Are you okay?"

Hearing his heart pounding in his ears, and feeling a very primal urge, Natsuo simply said, "Yeah, we should get home before it gets too cold though," before he ended the embrace and began to quickly lead Rui away by the hand.

Confused by the sudden switch Rui stumbled a step before matching his pace while continuing to ask, "Natsuo? What's going on?"

He turned his head to look at her and replied simply, "We just need to get home."

Rui didn't say another word as he turned back to watch where he was going, but she smiled widely once she recognized the hungry look in his eyes that had been fixed squarely on her. Throughout the trip home, both while walking and on the train, the couple would sneak discrete touches and kisses when they felt nobody was looking. The closer they got to the apartment the more visibly antsy Natsuo was becoming, causing Rui to grow increasingly bolder in her small actions on the way.

Upon entering the apartment, Rui had barely closed and locked the door before Natsuo was on her. "Okay, let me just -" she'd begun to say as she moved to remove her shoes, but was cutoff by Natsuo initiating a much hungrier kiss than they had shared. She made a sound of surprise when he did so, but this was replaced with moans of contentment as she reciprocated and their tongues became locked in battle.

A few moments pass before Natsuo moved his hands, which had been on either side of her face, down and behind her where he firmly took hold of ass, lifting her up off the ground. She let out another sound of pleasure as she instinctively wrapped her legs around his torso to stabilize herself as he held her up before she found herself pinned between him and the door, their make out session intensifying further.

When they finally parted for air both were panting heavily, but Rui was able to form the words, in a sultry growl, "Bed. Now."

Natsuo simply nodded at her command before capturing her in another hungry, but shorter kiss before he turned around and carried her into the bedroom.

The next morning – Monday September 23rd …

Rui awoke slowly, the fog of sleep being reluctant to clear. As she laid there, cuddled up using Natsuo's chest as a pillow and his arm holding her close, she smiled widely as the memories of the previous night replayed. She opened one eye to look around and giggled at the disarray of their bedroom: the clothes that had been frantically removed, almost torn off in some cases, had been tossed carelessly aside and some were hanging from various fixtures in the room.

"What are you laughing at?" Natsuo asked in a teasing manner.

Gasping slightly at hearing him speak, Rui replied, "I didn't know you were awake already. I was laughing at how we threw our clothes all over – the room's a mess."

"Yeah... sorry about that. I was in a hurry -" Natsuo began but was cut off when Rui sat up and kissed him.

When they parted she said, a hunger of her own creeping into her voice "Don't apologize. Last night was amazing."

"It was, I missed being with you like that," Natsuo replied, his grip tightening around her.

Rui moved so that was straddling him, giving him a clear view of her bare breasts before she asked, "So... are you up for round five?"

Meanwhile – At a nearby hospital...

"I'm sorry sir... it looks like when the operation was performed a portion of the mass was overlooked. Based on where seems to have spread from it was likely in spot that could have been missed by the scans."

"I see... and it's already spread far?"

"Unfortunately yes. It seems that this mass maintained the growth speed of the original, and because it went unnoticed it's already spread too far..."

The silence in the room could have been cut with a knife before the bedridden man asked, "So how long do you think I've got?"

The doctor looked down at the floor, clearly dreading the news he had to share. After a moment he collected himself and answered, "If left untreated... maybe a month? If we start aggressive treatments now it could extend your remaining time but... well I'll be blunt with you: we'd only be delaying the inevitable at this point."

Tougen moved his gaze from the doctor in order to look out the window before quietly muttering, "I see."

"If you'd like -" the doctor was cutoff.

"I'd like to be alone for a bit. I need to think. Thank you doctor," Tougen said solemnly, making it clear he wasn't going to argue.

The doctor nodded before responding, "Understood sir. I'll have the nurses check in with you later." With the doctor quietly left the room, closing the door behind him.

Tougen was quiet for another moment, still staring out the window before mumbling quietly, "Dammit..."

AN: I again apologize for the slower updates, and lack of updates last month, things have been busy. I have the next few chapters mapped out so I should be able to get them out at the normal twice a month pace.

I took some liberty with the time of year Akamori High School has their festival - it's very ambiguous in the source material, and my research into when schools in Japan have these festivals gave me a timeframe of "late September in early November" - it varies by school, I just like the idea of it being on the autumnal equinox.

I also want you all to know it was a royal pain trying to find the names of the small individual towns on Izu Oshima - I think I got it right but if I didn't... that's what the town is called in this and I'm sticking to it.