By the time Shion's lips left mine, the sun had climbed high enough that Natsumi's curtains weren't keeping anything out.

Soft, golden spilled across the futon, across Shion's bare shoulders, across us.

For a second, it felt like we were on display.

She pulled back, and her grin was sharp again.

She was back in her armor, back to familiar; if anything, it made what we'd just done even more special.

"Don't get used to this, Blondie. Warm bodies don't last."

I smirked.

"Neither do quiet mornings."

I let the silence sit just long enough to sting, then cut it.

"Hey, there's something I could use your help with."

I paused for a moment.

"Actually, Shion. I feel really stupid for not telling you about this sooner and getting your perspective."

Now she sat up, leaning her back against one of my pillows.

"Spill it, Blondie."

She put one of her hands behind her head. Her green eyes never left me.

"Skuzz ran an idea by me and Yuki the other day."

Shion blinked.

"You're not hanging out with a zombie now, are you?"

She giggled, then pretended she was gagging.

"Am I going to have to de-fumigate your school uniform to get the stench out? That's how you're starting our relationship?"

She scrunched her nose up, and I couldn't deny that she had a good point.

Scuzz was disgusting.

"Just listen, though. The zombie's gross as hell, but he had a good idea. He said, why not start a night school for the undead? Ghosts, wraiths, revenants, and ghouls. He even had the idea to run it out of the Shin'yume Public Library. Yuki would have something to do besides haunt me at the onsen."

That got her eyebrow twitching, the faintest crack in the façade.

"You're actually considering this?"

I nodded.

"I was gonna check it out with Yuki. Why don't you come?"

She sat with it. I could practically hear the gears grinding.

Then she shrugged, deliberate.

"As long as it doesn't take too long. I promised Speed Nuts and the Automotive Studs I'd meet them before the dance tonight."

I grinned.

"Your band name is still stupid."

Her eyes narrowed.

"No. That's just… Speed Nuts is NOT the name of my band! I just hang out with those three idiots… So, don't test me, Blondie. I'm looking forward to meeting you at the dance."

She leaned close to me, whispering in my ear.

"You'd better not be late playing with your ghost girlfriend."

I opened my mouth to answer, but three sharp knocks rattled the door.

"Time's up, Amerikajin," Natsumi's feline voice sounded through the door.

Shion groaned.

"Of course."

Natsumi swung the door open herself, dripping wet, hair plastered to her cheeks, Ramune in one hand and towel slung over her shoulder.

She leaned in the doorway like she owned the place, smirk curling like smoke.

"Natsumi's room doesn't come with late checkout."

Her yellow eyes flicked from me to Shion, landing on the futon still warm from our bodies. She hit her vape like punctuation.

"You two look cozy. Natsumi's glad she changed the sheets last month."

Shion crossed her arms, unimpressed.

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"That's… ew. You're lucky you're cute, cat, and I'm glad we used Ryu's damn bed and not yours.."

Natsumi just purred, the sound rolling low in her throat.

"Natsumi knows how cute she is."

We left Shin'yume-sou with the sunrise chasing us, pale gold bleeding over the rooftops.

The cracked streets were quiet, too quiet, like Shin'yume itself was still hungover.

But we could hear signs of the city slowly stirring itself back to life. Beneath us, we could see cars shuffling thorough the streets, traffic lights blinking, and even a few ships in the distance across the cold ocean.

Shion walked beside me.

She adjusted her shirt's collar, smoothed out her black school coat, and carefully adjusted her hair.

"How do you do that without a mirror?" I asked.

She gave me a look.

"It wouldn't really matter if there were one, Blondie. I wouldn't show up anyway. No reflection, remember?"

She wasn't smirking.

Not yet.

I reached over and grabbed her hand, and she laced her fingers through mine.

That made her grin.

"You trying to save me from myself or something?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"Shion… the thing is, I don't think you need saved. I think, if I actually believed that, you'd call bull shit on me straight away. You'd see through me in a second."

She looked at me, then looked away.

The two of us walked down the path between Shin'yume-sou and the nearby konbini that Natsumi was so fond of.

The morning air felt cool against my skin, and I could feel the vibrations from our footsteps.

"You're better at being a boyfriend than you realize," she finally said.

This time I grinned at her.

"Is that a good thing or…"

The tips of her fangs flashed before she answered.

"I haven't made up my mind yet."

She stopped in front of the konbini.

"You're not dragging me behind that dumpster so you can feed again, are you?"

Shion rolled her eyes.

"No, dummy, but I just realized that you're still alive, and you need to eat."

As if to punctuate her observation, my stomach growled.

She let go of my hand, crossed her arms, and gave me a look that somehow reminded me of Hibana.

"Get something to eat inside there," she said, gesturing towards the konbini.

I sighed. There was no use arguing with her, and I was hungry.

Funny how I'd forgotten.

Ten minutes later I came walking out with a piping hot breakfast burrito and a strawberry kiwi Ramune.

My loving, supportive girlfriend took a look at my meal and smiled at me like sunshine.

"Breakfast of champions, tiger," she said.

I took a bite from my burrito and frowned.

Naturally, it was magma on the outside and an ice cube in the middle, the culinary yin-yang of konbini cuisine.

"You know," I said as I chewed around the scolding hot outside. "You're probably going to be gaining some kind of… however you sustain yourself through my blood. Either way, you kind of get this breakfast too."

She nodded slowly.

"Yeah, and that's why I'm breaking your balls for it now. You could've at least grabbed a Danish or something."

I tried to stuff the rest of the burrito in my mouth just to be done with it.

Her heel clicked against the pavement like she was counting down the seconds to my execution.

"I don't like Danishes," I said after I could swallow.

I took a big swing of Ramune to wash the burrito down.

"You know Skuzz is up to something, right?" she said finally, voice flat but edged like a knife. "That zombie's not just disgusting, he's wrong."

We started walking after I pitched the plastic wrapper.

"Where'd that come from?" I asked.

Suddenly Shion stopped.

"Does Yuki know to meet you at the library now? Isn't she hanging out with Azuki?"

I blushed.

"Yes," I said, getting my phone out. "I'd better text Azuki."

It came on, and I heaved a sigh of relief.

I hadn't checked it since yesterday, and Lah Lah came on.

Hey. It's about time. Good morning, Ryu.

Shion looked over.

"Did your cheap-ass burner phone just tell you ohayō gozaimasu?"

I nodded.

"Yeah. It's just Lah Lah."

Shion grabbed my phone.

"Just Lah Lah, huh? Is that supposed to be a clever reference?"

She started scrolling through my apps and everything.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"Hell if I know, but you didn't say I couldn't, so I can. Besides, I'm your girlfriend now, Blondie. What's yours is mine."

She playfully bumped me with her hip.

Then, she gave me a mischievous look. Before I could say a thing, she put my phone under her skirt, snapped a pic, and handed it back to me.

"You're welcome," she said.

I glanced down at the screen.

Oh La La! Aren't you lucky?

"Lah Lah, I need you to text Azuki for me," I said.

Lah Lah sent Azuki a text, telling her to get Yuki to meet us at the Shin'yume Public Library.

Azuki said she'd grab Inego and meet us there.

Shion tilted her head.

"Great. This is becoming a regular public meeting."

I shrugged my shoulders.

Then, I wanted to get back to Scuzz.

"You said earlier that Skuzz was wrong. How?"

She shot me a look.

"You don't stay up on campus like I do. You haven't heard half the rumors about him. I've been told he's been going to Crescent Moon Academy longer than some of the damn teachers, Blondie."

I flinched.

"Yeah. Okay, that's weird. But he's a zombie. So…"

She shivered.

"Sure, but here's the thing. Skuzz isn't just another zombie. He's messed up by their standards. He keeps stapling on new pieces of dead flesh when the old ones rot off. What kind of zombie does that?"

I didn't have an answer.

I had to sit next to him in History and that alone made my stomach turn.

Shion clicked her tongue, shaking her head.

"Zombies don't do that. They get old and they rot. But not Skuzz. It's weird. Even for the undead. And I would know."

The way she said it had the sound of finality, and I could tell she was done with talking about Skuzz.

I let her words hang in the air.

She wasn't wrong.

Shion was one of them.

But Yuki's face still drifted into my mind, bright and stubborn, and I remember her telling me that despite Skuzz, the idea of a school for ghosts was exciting.

It meant she was being acknowledged.

"I still think it's worth checking out. If it gives Yuki something…" I started.

Shion drew a breath just so scoff.

"That's what makes you dangerous, Blondie."

Shion's tone cut through me.

"You're blind as hell when it comes to your ghost girlfriend. You'll throw yourself into a grave just to make her smile."

I stopped walking.

"It's not like that."

Shion shot me a skeptical look.

"Sure." Shion smirked now, thin and sharp, though her eyes stayed serious. "But I get it."

She reached for my hand again, lacing her fingers with mine.

Her skin had grown cold and sharp on our morning walk.

But it was Shion.

Flawed, dangerous, infuriating Shion.

And mine.

My hand compared to hers?

Warm.

Clumsy.

Too human.

But our hands fit together.

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