"Um, it's getting late you know. We should stop for the night and continue in the morning."

"What?!" I stop and look up at the sky. Stars are speckled all across the vast blackness. He's right. It must be past eight o'clock, at least.

"But, we need to keep going! We're getting close to the dock! The Academy can't wait for me any longer! Amata needs me!"

Just as I start to take off, Kagura grabs me by the wrist to stop me. "If they've waited this long already, then they can wait one more day. Come on. There's gotta be a hotel or something nearby."

I sigh in defeat. "Fine. But we head out first thing in the morning."

We find a hotel around the corner and check in. It's not the fanciest of hotels, but it's definitely not poor quality either. I feel bad that Kagura has to pay again.

"I seriously owe you, now."

"What did I tell you?" he huffs. "You don't owe me anything. It's fine."

I puff out my cheeks in annoyance.

The hotel room is a decent size, but with only one bed.

My body stiffens at the thought of sharing a bed with someone other than Amata. Is it really okay to sleep with Kagura? I mean, it's not like it's going to be sexual or anything. Just two friends sharing a bed. Nothing more-

"I'll sleep on the floor," Kagura's voice interrupts my thoughts.

"What?! No! You are not sleeping on the floor!"

"You should have the bed-"

"But there's room for both of us!"

He narrows his eyes and stares at me. I feel like his gaze might melt me at any second.

"Fine, if you don't mind," he says coolly. His eyes move up and down my body. "You should probably change out of that. I think there's some hotel pajamas in the closet."

Without a word, I open the closet and grab the "one-size-fits-all" pajamas and walk into the bathroom. As I slip off my Element suit, I realize how great it feels to get the sweaty thing off of me.

"Aaahh. That's better." I take the hairbrush from the bathroom counter and put it to my hair. It automatically gets stuck. My hair is an absolute mess and Shush leaps out onto the countertop. His ears stand straight up and he shakes, as if he caught a chill. Little mewls escape from him, relieved to be out of the rat's nest that my hair has become.

After some time of mutilating it, my hair finally untangles.

"Yo, are you done yet? I gotta pee-"

The bathroom door swings open and in walks Kagura. We both freeze at the sight of each other, with me still in nothing but my panties. His eyes start to move down towards my chest, but I manage to move again and cover my breasts with my arms before he can get a good enough view.

"G-GET OUT!!" I shout in embarrassment. My face is tomato-red and I turn my back to him so it's harder for him to see. "YOU CAN'T JUST W-WALK IN ON A GIRL LIKE THAT!!"

Looking over my shoulder, I see that Kagura is still frozen in place, unmoving. I actually can see that his cheeks are also bright red, but yet he still hasn't walked out.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!! STOP STANDING THERE AND GET OUT!!!" I grab the hairbrush and chuck it at him. It hits him in the face and he breaks out of his daze.

"W-what the hell?! You just threw a hairbrush at me-"

"GET OUT BEFORE I THROW SOMETHING ELSE AT YOU!!"

Kagura, who for the first time since I've met him actually seems terrified, bolts out of the bathroom.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING IN HERE UNTIL I'M DONE!!" I screech before I reach for the doorknob and slam the door shut, making sure to lock it.

Once I'm semi-calm, I turn the water on in the shower. It's nice and warm. I slip off my underwear and step in, letting the soothingness of the shower relax me. I stick my face in the water. I'm pretty gross since I haven't showered or bathed in a while. It feels great to get the sweat and grime off of my skin.

Amata.

The thought of him surfaces in my head. Amata. I'm coming. I promise. Just one more day...

I finish up and dry myself with a towel. Then I use a smaller towel and wrap it around my head to dry my hair. While my hair is towel-drying, I dress myself in the pajamas as quickly as I can before finally exiting the bathroom. Kagura is sitting on the bed taking off his boots and top.

"The bathroom's all yours," I growl at him.

He stands up and huffs right in my face as he makes his way to the bathroom, yanking the towel off of my head mid-stride.

While Kagura showers, I wrap the towel around the back of my neck and let the ends hang down. Why did he have to rip it off my head? Ugh!

I sit on the bed. Amata probably thinks I'm being held hostage on Altair right now; not sleeping in a hotel with his rival. What is he going to say when Kagura shows up at Neo-DEAVA? Will he be welcoming or unhappy? I'm not sure.

Shush jumps up and down in my palms, trying to cheer me up somehow. As much as he hates Amata, I can tell he feels the same about wanting to see everyone at the Academy again.

"It's only for tonight," I say. "We'll be back at the Academy by tomorrow. You'll see."

Kagura finally emerges from the bathroom wearing nothing but his boxers. My eyes widen and I stiffen at the sight of him.

"Um, y-you're not gonna put on pajamas?" I stutter, my eyeballs finding their way to his abs.

Pull yourself together! Geez!

"No. Why would I?"

I feel the blood rush to my cheeks. "Well, you know, uh, we are sleeping in the same bed together, and uh, well, it's kinda awkward...?"

He just blinks at me. "I don't see the problem."

Hhhhnnnnngggghhhh.

He climbs into bed and shuts the light off on his night table. I decide to do the same. Taking the towel and placing it on my night table, Shush crawls onto it and turns it into a makeshift nest. Then I turn the light off and pull up the covers, snuggling into them.

The awkward silence fills the room as I just lay there with my eyes open. "Should I, uh, put the TV on or something?" I whisper in the darkness.

"Do whatever you want," he grunts. His back is to me. "And it's not like you have to whisper."

Maybe it's best not to turn the TV on.

More awkward silence. Why can't I sleep?

"Hey, uh, Kagura? You still awake?"

"Yeah. What do you want? Go to sleep."

I bite my lip, but start talking again anyway. "I just wanted to say 'thank you' for today. I still owe you for paying-"

"If you say that you owe me one more time I will snap you in half-"

"Okay, sure, goodnight." I quickly turn over and bury myself in the covers.

"But, you're welcome. I-I-" It takes him several seconds to get the words out. "I had a nice time today, too. Goodnight, bitch."

A stupid grin creeps across my face as I try not to chuckle. Then I close my eyes and eventually fall asleep.