[A/N] This chapter idea was requested by RavenFire2023 . It's a little bit lengthier than the other two chapters so far. I got kind of carried away and underestimated how long a certain conversation would take. But I hope you guys enjoy it!

"Ugh, this is impossible!" I groan, pulling at my hair.

"Eiko, you're gonna be just fine!" the swimmer encourages, setting a tan hand on my shoulder.

"Hina, you don't understand! I'm hydrophobic, I have b-body issues, and I f-fry to a c-crisp in sunlight!"

"Then why are you going?" she asks, pretty much done with me.

"I— Well, I w-wanna be with you all, duh! I j-just started believing that p-people want me around! I m-may as well enjoy it!"

"Aww, that's sweet!"

The bleak, frigid winter has melted away and parted to let spring roll in with all its vibrancy and vitality. It's still a little cool for typical beach weather, but Hina just couldn't wait, and the rest of us decided we would risk it. So here I am. Hating life.

"Okay, all you gotta do is take it one step at a time. If I have a lot of problems, I focus on solving one and then move onto the next!" she bounces on her toes. Her expression is that of a small, cute animal. Like a squirrel or a rabbit.

"O-Okay? So what do you suggest?" I ask.

"Let's take care of your look! Finding something that makes you feel confident is the easiest, most convenient step."

She drives me to the mall and becomes a whirlwind, dragging me places and finding me swimsuits and accessories and heaping more praise than I know what to do with onto me. By the time I get home, I'm practically dizzy from the rush of energy.

And then I get a text. From Byakuya. (Yes, we exchanged numbers.) Do you have a ride?

Do I have a ride? DO I HAVE A RIDE????

Not yet.

Well you do now. I'll be there at nine tomorrow.

Hooooooolllllly shiiiiiiit. What the hell just happened?

Big Mac, I don't need a ride so don't worry about it.

Really? Who are you going with?

Um.

It's Byakuya, isn't it?

UM.

Have fun~~~

Shut up. Don't judge me!

I laugh manically, unable to contain my raw bewilderment and enthusiasm as I put together a beach bag. I can hardly sleep at night. My brain is so fried and I hope I can even function when he gets here.

I get out of bed at 7:30 to force myself to shower and then get myself dressed and fed. The swimsuit Hina helped me pick out is a raspberry-colored one piece with fun straps for the sleeves. I put in my contacts (for very rare occasions, since I hate them) and grab a pair of sunglasses. I do my hair in a bun with some strands loose to frame my face, and put on the black sun hat that Hina chose. Lastly, I throw on the simple black cover-up. Despite considering herself rather tomboyish, she has good taste. And if I admit that, it's true.

The doorbell rings at nine on the dot. "Did you sit in your car and wait for the exact time?" I smirk.

"Who can say?" he dismisses pithily. "Now hurry up. I refuse to be the last one. Normally, I wouldn't care so much about arriving on time; commoners can wait. But..."

"But you care about us now."

"Shut up this instant. I was going to say that punctuality makes for a better reputation, and if I'm going to rebuild the Togami Empire, I need the general public to favor me. It's all for the sake of forming beneficial habits."

I giggle impishly as I push past him to the car. Our destination is Onjuku Beach in Isumi City, about an hour and a half from home. He turns up some classical music (because of course a silver-spooned guy like him was raised on that stuff), and we idly chat here and there about books or crime shows. Most of the time, though, we don't talk. And it's kind of nice.

Kyoko and Hina are already at the beach by the time we get there. The Naegi sibs arrive shortly thereafter, and Hiro takes five billion years, so, while we wait, we set everything up. The mild warmth of the sun dances along my legs. I have an internal debate over whether to try and take off my cover-up and shorts very conspicuously to get attention or just be a normal human being. In the end, cooler heads prevail and I realize that I would probably look ridiculous if I attempted to be alluring. Komaru and I take care of each other to assure that we're both fully slathered in sunscreen. I really don't wanna wind up with a major sunburn.

Once Hiro actually arrives, he immediately proclaims that we're having a sand sculpting competition. So that's a thing that happens. Makoto and Kyoko build a sand Hope's Peak. Or they try to, at least. Makoto's skills are lackluster and Kyoko has difficulties shaping sand with her gloves on. Yasuhiro and Byakuya work on constructing a five-star resort or something. Byakuya seems so fed up and over Hiro's senseless ramblings about OOPArts. It's kind of hilarious, I'm not gonna lie. He may be cute as hell, but it's still kind of fun seeing his feathers ruffled. Komaru and Hina try to make Laputa, and I help. I don't know exactly what I'm doing, but I take every instruction they give out to me! Because competition! We eventually discover that we don't have any judges, so we wind up having to ask some randos to vote. It's a tight battle between Laputa and the resort, but somehow, the boys pull ahead to win.

"Well, obviously. It's no surprise that I, Byakuya Togami, could out-build every one of you," he taunts with a cocky little smile.

"I helped too, you know," Hiro glares.

"Clearly, the heir to the Togami line is cut of a superior cloth," he continues, flashing a knowing glance in my direction as he ignores Yasuhiro. I can't help but giggle.

"Damn, what a j-jerk," I call him out.

"I am the one percent! It clearly doesn't matter what the common folk believe; they're all sheep anyway!" he retorts, wearing a shit-eating grin. By this point, it's obvious to everyone else that he's kidding, so they're all softly chuckling at this display. It's so weird knowing that he used to say this crap in earnest. There's that part of me, my writer's brain that's deathly curious about other people, itching to know what changed in his head. How could he be so different from the man he was only a few short years ago?

Before I can dwell on that for too long, Big Mac offers to go get sandwiches for everyone from this cute little sub shop a few minutes' drive away. In order to stop myself from obsessing about Byakuya— obsessing never has worked out well for me, after all, so I need to CHILL— I decide to come with. After all, it's a chance to get out of direct sunlight for a bit.

"Cooling your head?" he asks as soon as we're in his car.

"That obvious?"

"Don't worry about it. None of us judge you for anything."

"A-Are you sure? L-Like... it's okay if I l-like him again, e-even despite everything?"

He sighs wistfully and gets a dreamy look in his eyes as he drives. "Eiko, everything is so different now. Y'know? We've all grown up. And we've helped each other change. And we've found hope."

"E-Even now, you're s-still a broken record," I jest.

"Look, if hope's what I'm known for, I've just gotta run with it. It may be cheesy, but it got us all through some rough times, to say the least," he points out.

"You're right. Your hope did kind of help save humanity, after all. But anyway, what you're saying is... it's okay that I like him again because we're fundamentally different people?"

"Literally, in your case," he winks.

"Hey, you know that's not true. Integration is about a-accepting every aspect of me, not about actually changing myself."

"I know, I know. I just mean you've matured a lot since the killing game," he nods in understanding. After this, we arrive at the sub shop, buy everyone's order, and head back, jamming out to one of our favorite songs on the way back.

When we find the others, we discover something intriguing. Byakuya and Kyoko are reading as though everything is perfectly normal. Yasuhiro is buried up to his neck in sand. Hina is dumping piles of seashells and pebbles on his head. And it seems like Komaru is scouring the beach in search of more.

"What... on... Earth?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"He genuinely believes he saw a sea monster, and when I explained to him why that was impossible, he accused me of being part of a cover-up," Kyoko explains, "so we punished him."

"Look! Kyoko's a P.I. Who's not to say that this is all secretly part of some big, important case? That could be why we're here in the first place!" he calls out obnoxiously. Hina scoops up the shells and rocks to dump them on his head again.

"I'm not even the one who planned this! Hina was!" Kyoko rolls her eyes.

"Um... food's here," Makoto awkwardly tries to break the tension.

"Alright! Yum!" Hina exclaims, suddenly cheerful again. Everyone eats. But nobody lets Hiro out. They just prop up his sandwich in a way where he can still nibble on it despite not having access to his arms. I almost pity him. But not enough to do anything about it.

Hina totally devours her sandwich like she's been starving for eons, and then she stands up, full of that athlete vitality. "Now, it's been so long, and I still haven't even been in the ocean! That needs to change right this minute!" She darts off, happy as can be, and the Naegi siblings follow her. Soon enough, Kyoko and Byakuya rise from their positions and make their way to the ocean. I take a few hesitant steps to follow, but my knees are shaky. Why are my palms so sweaty?! This is stupid!!

"Hey! Don't just leave me here! This is so mean!" Hiro barks out a complaint.

I sigh, working with him to get him out. "G-Go have fun."

"Sick! Thanks, Eiko! Are you coming with?"

"I-I'm not sure. I w-want to, but... water and I have never g-gotten along."

"Don't worry so much! You can just stand by the shoreline and dip your feet in! Chillax. Feel the salty brine on your toes."

"O-Okay. I guess that c-couldn't hurt." I toss aside my hat and sunglasses and trail a bit behind him.

The water is a little cooler than I would've hoped. Since it's still spring, the sun isn't pounding on it. But I have to admit that it's not terrible. Somehow, though, Hina and Komaru have already managed to disappear, and I'm not gonna lie, that's concerning.

The idiot swimmer girl suddenly pounces on me in a hug, and I can't help but flinch. "Ack! You're sopping wet!" I shout instinctively.

"We rented surfboards! Hina can teach you, if you're comfortable!" Komaru informs me.

"WHAT?! N-No way, no h-how. I'm g-going back to the shore!" I frantically try to escape Hina's affectionate grasp.

"Komaru, are any of the boards you rented tandem?" Byakuya suddenly asks.

"You're crazy!" I squeal, knowing exactly what he's thinking.

"I can get one!" she answers, also fully aware.

"Please do so. Just in case."

She zooms away just as soon as she came.

"I'll leave you to make this decision. If you want me to teach you, all you need to do is ask," Hina offers generously, giving my hand a sympathetic squeeze before heading it to catch some waves.

We stand in silence for a moment. "Look, I don't intend to force you. I'm not a monster. Anymore, at least," he mumbles, dropping his eye contact with me briefly.

"People have d-ditched me to w-walk home alone in s-storms a couple times," I admit meekly. "And I'm scared."

"I obviously can't promise that you won't get wet. But I'll protect you to the best of my ability. I'll be right there, and I won't leave. And hey. Everyone else is here, too. Nobody will let you flounder alone."

"Why are you d-doing this for me?" I quietly ask.

"I don't want you to be held back by this anymore. We've all been through too much. I think we deserve freedom. And though we can never be free of all our problems... knocking them out one by one as they come sounds like a plan."

Huh. Hina said something similar yesterday.

"I got a board!" Komaru yells from a slight distance.

"Only do what you think you can handle," he reminds me one last time.

I wade in just deep enough to get close to him. And with shyness and anxiety coursing through my entire body, I take his hand. "D-Don't let me stay submerged for t-too long, okay?"