Dia liked to think of herself as a good person. She was very studious and attentive to her familial duties. Never once had she complained or talked back to an elder, nor had she allowed herself to slack off and procrastinate. That was why she had been bestowed the honor of being the student council president. The school had trusted her with the work involved, and she had never allowed herself to fail their trust.

All of that was to say she didn't have many regrets. She tried not to allow herself to fall victim to such follies, as there was no way to change one's past. Unfortunately, such negative thoughts were very human, and on rare occasions she found these thoughts creeping into her mind. It had been a couple years since she'd last felt the encroaching sting of regret, but as she sat at a little table outside of an ice cream parlor, watching Ruby and Hanamaru happily eat their desserts, she was beginning to feel that unfamiliar feeling. If she was honest with herself, it had some relation to that previous regret.

Even to that day, she wished she had made a different decision when Kanan had made the suggestion that Mari was wasting her potential in the tiny, quaint town of Uchiura. Maybe if Mari had stayed, things would've stayed like they were at that time. She didn't though, and so when Mari came back, it all become much more complicated than she could've ever anticipated.

There wasn't any anger inside her when Kanan and Mari started dating. On the contrary, she was happy for her friends. After all the turmoil they'd gone through for several years, it was nice that they could find some peace. The issue wasn't that they were dating, but that they were dating. Specifically, though they likely didn't mean to, they were constantly rubbing the fact that they were in love in her lonely face.

It seemed like every day she was reminded that her friends had someone - each other - and she didn't. At Aqours practice, they seemed to be more into each other than on learning new dance steps, and when they were helping her with student council work, they would constantly distract each other with cheek kisses and knowing giggles. It was enough to drive her up the wall. She understood that their relationship was new and they were in what some considered the honeymoon phase, but the distractions were a constant annoyance.

Worse than that, though, was the fact that it was a constant reminder of how lonely she was. Maybe it just wasn't obvious that she, the prim and proper heir of the Kurosawa family business, would care for such simple romantic things, but she did. She wasn't immune to the desires of having someone close to her: someone she could call her own.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing she desired. Like many others, she also wasn't immune to the desire of... well, flesh. She didn't like to think of such things due to the shameless, embarrassing nature of it, but it was true. On those rare occasions when she holed herself up in the privacy of her room, she would pleasure herself and think of what it would be like to have someone in bed with her. Normally this was shameless enough, but it had become so much worse when her thoughts had begun to conjure up the image of a specific person: Hanamaru.

Logically, her sudden attraction to Hanamaru was likely based on how much more often she was seeing her. With Kanan and Mari together more often than ever before, she found herself spending a lot more time with Ruby. Since Ruby and Hanamaru were best friends, that meant Dia was seeing her more often as well. At first, it seemed normal. She liked Hanamaru, after all. It was good that Ruby had been able to find a nice friend who didn't scare her. There were other feelings that were slowly creeping to the surface, though.

She began to insert herself into their plans as a de facto chaperone, and that was true enough at first. It didn't take long before that turned to something else entirely. When she thought about how she was just watching over them to keep them safe, her brain would always make sure she knew that there was one specific person she was watching over. Oh, how she wished she could stop staring so shamelessly at Hanamaru, but she couldn't.

If only she could convince herself that those feelings were normal: just a love for all her new friends equally. It was a lie, though. Yoshiko was her friend too, but she didn't feel the same way as she did about Hanamaru. She didn't feel warm shivers down her spine whenever she accidentally brushed past Riko, and she didn't have to forcibly stop herself from ogling Chika's breasts. No, all of that was reserved for one special zura.

This was incredibly wrong, and she knew it was wrong. She was just lonely because her best friends were dating, and so she was projecting her loneliness onto Hanamaru. The thoughts were so vivid, though. She often found herself daydreaming about how cute Hanamaru was, with her traditional, innocent ways, and her precious voice tic. Plus, she was such a good friend to Ruby. Anyone who was nice to her sister was on Dia's good side.

It would've been nice if those were the only thoughts she had, but they weren't. At practice, she began to notice how nice Hanamaru's workout clothes looked on her. She'd notice how much effort Hanamaru put into their practices, and each bead of sweat that dripped down her face. After such a workout, she'd surely need a shower. Dia wouldn't be able to snap herself out of it before thinking about how nice it'd be if they could shower together.

She did her best to stop these shameless thoughts. First she tried to increase the number of times she pleasured herself, but every time her thoughts were about Hanamaru, and it made her want the real thing even more. Then she tried to distance herself from Hanamaru, but that proved difficult in most instances, considering they were in the same idol group. Plus, doing that outside of school meant being away from Ruby more, and the loneliness would crash down on her even harder.

Then, finally, the choice was taken out of her hands. After getting ice cream, the three of them went back to the Kurosawa household. When Ruby left to use the restroom, Dia noticed that Hanamaru looked a little nervous. She was fidgeting where she sat, her hands gripping her skirt tightly. "Hanamaru? Is something the matter?"

"D-Dia? I have something I need to ask you." Tension fixated itself onto Dia's muscles, her eyes widening. Was Hanamaru about to ask her something inappropriate? No, that couldn't be the case. She was too pure to even consider such things.

"Go on." She had to keep an air of casualness so that there wasn't any hint that her mind had started to wander into dangerous territory. If only she could be as strict mentally as she liked to have others believe she was.

"W-Will you..." She took a deep breath. "Will you help me study English?" Ah... That was all? God, she had been so worried it would be something much different than that. She laughed breathlessly, relief written all over her face.

"Oh Hanamaru, you don't have to be afraid to ask me about that. Of course I'll help you study. What about Ruby, though?"

"Well, you're the smartest student in the school, and I really want to do good in class, zura." A comfortable warmth flooded her body due to Hanamaru's compliment. It sounded a lot nicer coming from her than from anybody else. In the back of her mind, she knew that helping her study was not even close to keeping her distance, but she'd already said she'd help. She wouldn't leave a friend hanging like that.

Her brain, of course, decided to chime in: 'Except you wouldn't help Mari, or Yoshiko, or Chika, or...'

Next evening, Dia went over to Hanamaru's. She was wracked with nerves over the two of them being alone. Whenever they were in the same place, there was always somebody else there. For the first time, that would not be the case, since Hanamaru had mentioned that her parents wouldn't be there that night. What if she did something weird? She couldn't allow herself to spend all night thinking of her lewd thoughts. Hanamaru didn't deserve that.

When Hanamaru answered the door to let Dia in, she was only wearing a tight-fitting tank top and a pair of shorts: very casual wear. It took all of her willpower not to let her jaw drop at the sight. Was it fair for Hanamaru to look so damn attractive? Sure, she wasn't as busty as Mari, but the two weren't all that far off. Plus, she wasn't used to seeing either of them in such attire, so the cleavage was rather noticeable. She had to divert some of that willpower to form eye contact.

"Come in, zura." Hanamaru smiled and let Dia in, even standing there patiently so that Dia could gather her wayward thoughts and actually step into the house. After closing the door, Hanamaru led Dia to her room. A simple walk was made tougher because Dia just couldn't take her eyes off of Hanamaru's ass in those tiny shorts. It was unbelievable how someone so tiny could be so... curvy. Cute and curvy. To her embarrassment, she could feel herself growing wet already.

Her utter refusal to pay attention caused her to not notice that Hanamaru had stopped at the entrance to her room, so Dia bumped right into her back. Caught off guard, she shot her arms out without thinking, and she found herself latching onto Hanamaru. Suddenly giving her an impromptu hug from behind, she began to blush furiously. Their inadvertent contact felt so warm, and so many of her shameful thoughts were exploding in her brain.

"Zura?" Hanamaru looked up at Dia, confused about the explosion of red on her face. "Is something wrong, Dia?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Dia jumped back, brushing her hands against Hanamaru's chest. God, they were so big... What the hell was she thinking? "I just need to wash up!" Before Hanamaru could say anything, Dia rushed off. Of course, she didn't know the layout of the house, but like an idiot she'd ran off, and she certainly couldn't come back without at least seeming like she'd washed up. Nothing could wash the sin from her mind, though.

She did find the bathroom at least, so she went in and locked the door. Turning on the sink, she splashed her face with water and stared at herself in the mirror. How had things gone so wrong immediately? What the hell had happened to her self control? Maybe she just wasn't as good of a person as she thought she was. God, she was a monster.

She splashed her face once more, then slapped her cheeks. Things didn't have to go this way. She had the power to control her own actions. Hanamaru had invited her over to study, and by God, she was going to do that and only that. Satisfied, she exited the bathroom and went back to Hanamaru's room. This was going to end up just fine.

And at first, things did go fine. Dia turned her focus exclusively to the textbook, teaching Hanamaru with a minimal amount of looking in her direction. Hopefully it didn't seem rude, but she didn't trust herself to look at her and not feel the lust build back up again. That seemed to work, as they were able to get through everything without any distractions. It felt nice to be able to hang out and study with Hanamaru, especially without the specter of her lewd thoughts hovering over her. Towards the end, she wasn't even thinking about anything shameless, or her loneliness. She could smile easily.

"Well, I think that just about covers it." Dia closed the textbook, allowing herself to turn towards Hanamaru with a smile. "You're really improving, Hanamaru. I think you're going to do just fine."

"Thank you, Dia!" She then launched herself at Dia, giving her a tight hug. Dia was sure that time had stopped in that moment. Her heart, which up until then had been calm, quickly started to beat faster, and she was hyper-aware of Hanamaru's breasts pressed up against her own. "I knew I could count on you, zura!" When Hanamaru pulled away from the hug, their eyes met. Dia knew what this meant. She had seen plenty of movies where two characters would hold eye contact, there would be moments of frozen silence, and then they would lean in and kiss each other.

This wasn't right. That was the last thing she thought before she leaned down, and then their lips met. There was no stopping herself now. She just gave in instantly, wrapping her arms around Hanamaru and pulling her back in for a deeper kiss. The sound of her brain telling her that what she was doing was wrong had become a quiet whisper, lost while she attempting to map out the inside of Hanamaru's mouth with her tongue.

They didn't stay there long. Hanamaru shyly suggested that they move to the bed, and Dia was more than ready to do so. Standing up, the two of them headed to bed. When Hanamaru grabbed her hand, Dia had a moment where the fact that this was going to have obvious repercussions was abundantly clear to her. Then they reached the bed, where Hanamaru bit her lip and pulled down her tank top. Her full breasts popped out into the open, and now there were only two things on Dia's mind.

She felt herself magnetically pulled towards Hanamaru, leaning down to kiss and suck on her exposed nipples. Whichever breast she wasn't giving her full oral attention to, she made sure it was being serviced by her hand. Hanamaru's quiet squeaks and moans were unbearably cute, and it just spurred Dia on more. Her panties were soaked at that point, and she wanted nothing more than to remove them. As long as Hanamaru's were removed as well.

She pushed Hanamaru onto the bed, trying to get undressed while still sucking on her nipples. It was too slow for her impatient mind, so she decided to give up and concentrate on Hanamaru's pleasure first and foremost. Instead of trying to pull her pants down, she instead slipped a hand beneath Hanamaru's skirt and straight into her panties. She shivered when she felt the distinct sensation of wetness. Hanamaru wanted it just as much as she did.

Moving up from her breasts, Dia begin to kiss the soft skin of Hanamaru's neck, running her fingers over Hanamaru's slit before sliding them inside. Her movements were wild and somewhat unsure, since this was her first time doing anything like this. All she had to go on was the few adult videos she'd watched and the things that specifically made her feel good. The moans she received let her know that she was doing something right, at least.

There weren't many words said during their lovemaking: mostly just moans and squeaks of pleasure. Dia didn't mind, though. Those moans were the most pleasant things she had ever heard, and she craved to hear more. Her attentions towards Hanamaru's neck had left several noticeable red marks, but she had reached a point where she was too far gone to care. It was animalistic in nature: she was marking her territory.

Her fingering wasn't perfect, of course. She couldn't play Hanamaru like a yamatogoto, so she occasionally had to stop and briefly apologize whenever her overeager fingering hurt Hanamaru. It'd make her be a bit more cautious, but then she'd get back into it and then that caution would be gone. Having breasts like Hanamaru's in her face would make someone not really think about caution or consequences for long.

She eventually shoved a hand inside her pants started to finger herself at the same time, wanting so desperately to experience the same pleasure she was giving. However, she could tell that what she was doing was consuming all of Hanamaru's energy, and she didn't want to force her to start reciprocating, so she did both herself and Hanamaru. It still felt good, but it would've been so much better if it was Hanamaru's fingers working their way deep inside of her.

Hanamaru came first, almost curling into herself when her orgasm hit. She was breathing quietly, recovering from it, when Dia came. Staring down at Hanamaru, watching her near-naked form bathing in the heat of their passions, got her fingers moving at a rapid pace until she was leaving her panties beyond soaked. Her heart was racing, but she wasn't satisfied. There was more she wanted: so much more.

She could tell that Hanamaru wasn't ready for that, though. Somehow, she wouldn't have been surprised if that was her first orgasm ever. She looked so pure and exhausted that Dia came down from her lust-filled haze quick. The worries started to creep into her mind. Had this been a mistake? Before she could delve too deeply into that, Hanamaru reached up and clutched her hand tightly.

"W-Will you... Will you stay the night, zura?" She looked so innocent and needy, Dia was sure she would die right on the spot from heart failure. "I-I want you to stay with me tonight." She could only nod, which brought a sleepy smile to Hanamaru's face. It made Dia feel guilty.

Since both of them were now the tired owners of soaked panties, they needed to change before going to bed. Of course, Dia hadn't brought a change of clothes. It hadn't been in the plan to spend the night, after all. So she had to borrow clothing from Hanamaru. Stripping down in front of her felt oddly embarrassing, considering what they had just done. All that lust had disappeared though, and now she was just feeling more and more ashamed. Being completely exposed in front of Hanamaru out of bed didn't really help.

There was an obvious enough discrepancy between the two. Dia was taller and thinner, so that left Dia in a tank top and skirt that were a bit loose on her. She felt her face grow flushed from how close she was to exposing her chest, but considering what had just happened, she really didn't have much room to complain.

After that, they both got into bed together, too exhausted to bother with showers. Hanamaru cuddled up close to Dia, planting a kiss on her cheek that left her entire face heated for some time. Then she yawned, laid her head against Dia's chest, and quickly fell asleep. For Dia, however, sleep didn't come easily.

She stared up at the darkened ceiling, anxiety and guilt tearing her body to pieces. How could she have allowed this to happen? After all the promises she'd made to not do what she did, she did what she damn did. She was the heir to the Kurosawa family business. Sometime in the near future, she would be arranged to be married to a young and wealthy man, and what did she do? She went out and gave into her carnal urges many years too early.

Even worse, she had popped Hanamaru's proverbial cherry. You only get one first time, and Dia had made her waste it for an unprompted high school fling: all because she was a weak, lonely girl. She pressed her palms against her face and groaned inwardly. Hanamaru was her friend: she was Ruby's best friend. She was also her junior and an innocent, pure girl. How could Dia have done this? She wanted to cry. This was all her fault.

There was no way to fix what she'd done. She couldn't unfuck Hanamaru. Embarrassment and shame coursed through her body as a few errant, hot tears fell down her cheeks. Hanamaru would never forgive her for this once they came to their senses. What would the rest of Aqours think? What would Ruby think? They couldn't find out. Her reputation would be in tatters.

It took her a long time to fall asleep, all-too aware of the presence of Hanamaru sleeping against her. When she finally did sleep, her dreams consisted of her wandering the beach alone, scarred and branded as a monster. How could she have done this?

When they woke up the next morning, Dia changed back into her clothes from the previous night before heading home. She and Hanamaru shared a hug and a kiss, but watching Hanamaru wave at her with such a loving smile on her face made Dia feel all the more guilty. The entire way home, she no longer held the posture of someone with confidence.

She got home and slowly closed the door, sighing softly. When she turned around, Ruby was standing there with a confused expression on her face. Dia let out a loud 'pigyiii!' and nearly jumped out of her skin. "R-Ruby?! D-Don't scare me like that!"

"S-Sorry, sis!" Ruby recoiled a bit, and Dia felt more guilty for yelling. It hadn't been Ruby's fault that she was so on-edge. "I-I just wondered where you were last night. You didn't come home, a-and I was really worried." Oh jeez. Dia gulped nervously, trying her best to not show that she was about to lie to her sister.

"W-Well, I went to see Kanan." If she wanted to make herself feel worse, lying would sure do the trick. "Just hanging out, you know? It got late and I spent the night. I'm sorry I didn't call." The guilt was oppressive.

"Oh, okay!" Ruby's concern faded away instantly, and she smiled brightly at her sister. "I'm just glad you got home safe."

"Yeah, me too." Normally she wouldn't want Ruby to go away so soon, but that morning she was secretly relieved. She needed to be alone in order to properly bemoan her present predicament. So as soon as Ruby walked away, Dia went to her room, shut the door, and flung herself onto her bed. She pressed her face against her pillow and groaned into it. What was she going to do now?

Spending the rest of the weekend contemplating her fate didn't help matters in the slightest. Her constant guilt caused her to lose her appetite, so she skipped meals on the pretense of 'student council work'. Spending all that time holed up in her room just increased her loneliness, however, and it made her want to come out and spend time with Ruby. She couldn't even look her little sister in the face, though. Not after what she'd done to her best friend.

When Monday morning came around, she was too tired to be miserable. Her obsessing over the mistake she'd made had sapped her of all her energy, and the lack of eating caused her stomach to grumble painfully all morning. There was no time to eat, however, so she was forced to try and pay attention in class with everything weighing on her mind. It didn't work very well.

The only reprieve she got was during lunch time, which she ate alone in the student council room. Normally she'd feel left out while Kanan and Mari did their couples thing during lunch, but right then she was relieved to have some time alone. She was hoping it would allow her to think with a clear, calm mind, especially after getting some food in her stomach. However, all that hope was dashed when it was time to head to her next class and she'd come up with absolutely nothing.

Her concentration only mildly improved on a full stomach. When classes were over, she retreated back to the school council room, where she could hide from her problems and nobody would question her. She knew that she wouldn't get much work done, though, so she didn't even try. Instead she sat in her chair, tapping a pen against the desk and sighing deeply.

At least Kanan and Mari weren't there to see her like this. Then again, if they had been there more often, maybe she wouldn't have been dealing with this conundrum. Ugh, now she was blaming others for her own actions. She threw her pen down against the desk, covering her face with her hands. 'How disgusting...'

There was a knock on the door. She wasn't presentable emotionally, but she couldn't just pretend that she wasn't there. Instead, she swiveled her chair around to face the window, calling out: "Come in." Hopefully they'd walk over to her desk slowly, allowing her more time to prepare herself.

Dia took a deep breath, listening for a call that didn't come. Composing herself as best she could, she turned around and promptly lost all that composure. "H-Hanamaru?! What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, zura." Hanamaru giggled and stood in front of the desk, hands behind her back. "You look tired, Dia."

"Aha, yeah, I... guess I didn't sleep well last night." She couldn't admit the reason why she was having trouble sleeping. Her mind was so clouded with Hanamaru standing there that she didn't even know what to feel. If only her feelings for the younger girl weren't so strong, then maybe she could fight them. It was way too late for that now, however.

"That's no good, zura!" Even when upset, Hanamaru looked absolutely adorable. It made Dia's heart flutter when all she wanted it to do was remain passive. "But don't worry! I looked up some ways to keep someone awake that can help!"

"You did?" What a stunning coincidence. Hanamaru nodded and came around the desk, pushing Dia away from it before dropping down to her knees. "A-Ah, wh-what are you doing, Hanamaru?" Like she didn't know what was actually going on.

"Helping you stay awake." She scooted under the desk, then reached out and grabbed Dia's legs, dragging her and the chair back over. Dia shuddered as she felt her skirt being flipped up. "Plus, I feel bad that you did all the work when we were together, so I want to return the favor."

"Th-That's okay, Hanamaru..." Her resolve wasn't really there to begin with, but it was further weakening when she felt her panties being tugged down. "Y-You don't have to..." She lifted her ass up to make it easier to remove her underwear. God, she was so incredibly weak. "H-Hanamaru..."

"Shh, just relax, zura." That was easier said than done, considering how tense she was. Hanamaru moved her head in between Dia's legs, resting her tiny hands on Dia's tense thighs and gently spreading her legs. They moved without resistance, and soon enough Dia felt something warm and wet against her slit. She let out an unrestrained moan, gripping onto the desk as Hanamaru's tongue slowly slid inside of her.

The tension slowly started to leave her body as Hanamaru began to eat her out. There was still guilt stabbing at her heart, but in that moment it was being overruled by her desires for the cutie beneath her desk. She just couldn't control herself: her mind, her body, and her heart all wanted Hanamaru. All she could do was buck her hips upwards and lose herself in the pleasurable sensations.

She hadn't expected Hanamaru to be this good, but apparently that research she did on 'keeping someone awake' was being put to good use. She certainly felt more awake, at least. Honestly, she hadn't even been horny before Hanamaru had come in, but feeling her tongue down there just heightened the pleasure and got her juices flowing. She closed her eyes and moaned again, reaching under her shirt to play with her breasts.

Pinching her nipples, Dia bucked her hips again, practically grinding against Hanamaru's face. She wondered for a second if Hanamaru could breathe down there, but she hadn't made any complaints yet. All that she could hear from beneath her desk was the quiet sound of her tongue moving rhythmically. She was ready to cum so badly: more than at any time in her existence.

With the pressure building up more inside her, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around Hanamaru's head, letting out an animalistic grunt. She held Hanamaru there, not wanting to let go until she gained her pleasure. That was to happen sooner rather than later, as it didn't take many more licks for Hanamaru to get to the center of a Dia pop.

She exploded with a strangled yell, hitting her hips against the underside of the desk with how hard she bucked upwards. Her juices went all over Hanamaru's face and tongue, setting all of her nerves on edge until she was finished. Then she slumped against the back of her chair, eyes glazed over with unconcealed satisfaction. She let her body work at regaining its energy, barely responding while Hanamaru went to work cleaning her up.

When Hanamaru scootched out from underneath the desk, there was still the shine of juices on her face. Her smile was infectious, and Dia found herself smiling as well. Hanamaru bent over and kissed Dia softly, allowing her to taste herself. "Do you feel more awake?"

"U-Uh huh." Her eyes widened as she ran her tongue over her lips. She really hoped that she wasn't enjoying the taste of her own juices. Hopefully it was just the sensation of kissing Hanamaru in such a lewd fashion. Her response seemed to satisfy Hanamaru, who smiled brighter before waving and heading out of the office. That left Dia to slowly get herself dressed and presentable again.

The longer time got away from their illicit activities, the more her guilt began to overtake her satisfaction. She had allowed their affair to continue on, again. As the responsible older one, she had a duty to put the kibosh on what was going on, and she had yet again failed to do so. She laid her head against the desk and groaned loudly. Why was she so awful?

She needed to do something. At the very least, she needed to voice out how she was feeling, and get a second opinion from someone who wasn't attached to the relationship. Maybe they could help her decide what to do. But who could she talk to...?

Dia knocked on the door, sighing to herself. "I can't believe I'm doing this..." She had spent the rest of the previous day and all of the current day considering her options on who she could talk to. Obviously she couldn't speak to Hanamaru about it, since it was concerning her. There was no way she was going to talk to Ruby about it either. She wasn't going to drag her even more-innocent sister into this debacle, nor could she admit that she'd fucked her little sister's best friend. No way, no how.

Mari, Chika, You, and Yoshiko were out for similar reasons. She wasn't prepared to deal with their teasing, and she had a feeling that if she told one of them, odds were everyone would know it before the week was through. As for Riko, while Dia thought she was a sweet girl, she didn't seem all that versed in forbidden love. She was the last person Dia expected to have some sort of lewd material hidden around her room. Well, second to last, after Ruby.

That just left one person: a person whom Dia really didn't want to discuss this with. What choice did she have, though? Well, she could remain silent on it forever, but her guilt was already getting the best of her. As long as Kanan would keep this a secret from everyone... Especially Mari.

The door opened, and there stood Kanan with a slightly confused look on her face. "Dia?" Her stomach churned at the realization that it was no longer a normal thing for her to come over. Instead, it was met with confusion. What could she possibly be doing at the house of someone she had once considered a best friend? She found herself unable to speak with that thought going through her mind. "Dia, is something wrong?"

Absolutely. "No. Well... Kind of. I wanted to speak to you about something. Can I come in?"

"Sure." Kanan stepped back and allowed Dia to enter, after which the two of them followed the still-familiar pattern to Kanan's room. It hadn't been long enough for Dia to forget every inch of the house. She and Kanan used to be best friends, after all. Before Mari moved in, anyway. She tried her best to shake off that bad thought as she sat down on the bed, with Kanan following suit. "So what's up?"

"Well..." How was she supposed to start this? Subtlety was the best choice, but what if she was too subtle? Or not subtle at all? "What if your relationship with Mari wasn't exactly acceptable. Would you still be in that relationship, or would you stop doing it? How would you end it without hurting the other person's feelings?"

Kanan stared at Dia for a moment, rubbing her chin in thought. "Hmm... So you have feelings for someone, then."

"Wh-What? No! That was hypothetical!"

"No. What it was was an obvious fake hypothetical." Kanan chuckled and shook her head. "Come on, Dia. Give me some credit. Now let's see..." She leaned in and stared directly into Dia's eyes, trying to figure out who exactly Dia was holding feelings for. "Uh... Hmm, Chika... No. Yoshik- no... Uh..." She backed up a bit, cringing. "Ruby?"

"What?! No it's not Ruby!" She slapped Kanan hard on the arm. "What's wrong with you?!"

"I-It was just a guess! Besides, you said it wasn't an acceptable relationship-"

"N-Not like that!" Yeah, this was definitely a bad idea. "Look, it's Hanamaru, alright?" So much for subtlety.

"Hanamaru? Well, I don't see how that's not acceptable. As long as she likes you back-"

"That's not the point!" Dia jumped onto her feet and started pacing around the room, gesticulating wildly. "She's Ruby's best friend, and my junior at that. I can't have these feelings for her! It's not right!"

"Well, why is it not right?" Kanan stood up as well, grabbing onto Dia's shoulders to stop her from pacing. "Do you know how she feels about you?"

"I... think she feels the same?" She wasn't even sure. Admittedly their only emotional connections so far had been sexual in nature. She had no idea if her own love was mutual. "I, uh, haven't asked her."

"Well, then you should." Kanan smiled warmly. "Honesty is the best policy. I had to learn that the hard way."

"I'm aware." Dia muttered, a bit more bitter than she intended. She crossed her arms and huffed. "I don't feel you're treating this properly, Kanan. My feelings for her aren't proper, and I'm jeopardizing my friendship with her, my sisterly bonds with Ruby, and Aqours as a whole! Is that really all you have to say? Honesty is the best policy?"

Kanan frowned slightly, somewhat off-put by Dia's tone. "From the sound of it, you're the only one trying to find reasons that the relationship would be a bad idea. Do you actually like her?"

"Of course I do! She's absolutely adorable, especially when she's fascinated by something we all take for granted. She's nice to Ruby and she always tries her hardest. Plus, her tongue is-" Dia coughed into her hand, going red in the face. "-helpful for reading, because she has a nice voice. And she's... very studious." Her slip of the tongue seemed to have clued Kanan in to a bit more than she had intended. Her eyebrows were raised and there was a knowing look in her eyes. "Stop thinking whatever you're thinking."

"I didn't say anything." But there was a grin forming on her face. "Well, it sounds like you like her, alright. Look, I know that you're worried, but believe me, nobody's going to judge you harshly. Everyone would be behind you two a hundred percent if you wanted to get together. Don't make it more complicated than it has to be, alright? Try to make it simple."

"This is not a simple-"

"Dia." Kanan's tone turned stern in the most dad-like way. "Just talk to her. Tell her the truth. Unless you want to ask Mari for advice." Dia paled and shook her head. That was not even close to what she wanted to do. "Okay, so you're going to tell her?"

"... Yeah yeah, I'm gonna tell her." Dia grumbled, but she couldn't argue with the logic. How dare Kanan have an answer for her problems: the exact thing she had come to get help on. "I'll... I'll go do that right now."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I'll... I'll be okay. Thanks, though. And thanks for the advice." Kanan just smiled and nodded, showing Dia to the door and waving as she departed. Dia sighed as she walked home, thoughts running through her head at a rapid pace. How was she going to tell Hanamaru the truth? What if it really did make things worse? She couldn't control how Hanamaru felt, and if she didn't feel the same way, then Dia didn't know how she'd pick up the broken pieces of her heart.

Then Kanan's advice wormed its way back into her head. She was supposed to not make things complicated. There was no way to know how Hanamaru felt unless she asked: simple as that. She did want to know. She wanted to know badly. At times it felt like her feelings for the younger girl would burst out of her chest for all to see. All she had to do to learn the truth was ask.

Admittedly she'd been somewhat skeptical of Kanan's advice at first, and uncomfortable being there due to her unhappy feelings towards both her and Mari. However, Kanan had been nice and helpful that whole time, acting like they were still friends, just like they used to be. It made her feel better, and more encouraged as well. Maybe she needed to tell the two of them the truth as well: about how them only having eyes for each other was hurting her, and how she felt like their friendship wasn't the same anymore.

One big truth reveal at a time, though. First she had to go see Hanamaru.

The walk to Hanamaru's house seemed longer than it had last time. Her shoes felt like they were full of concrete, but she kept forcing herself to continue going. If she backed out now, she'd have an equally hard time explaining why she'd been so insistent on meeting Hanamaru at her house, only to back out last minute. Since when had she been a coward? Well, since when had love ever been a factor in her thoughts?

She knocked on the door and waited, trying to fill her mind with encouraging thoughts. The truth was supposed to set you free, right? All she had to do was tell Hanamaru the truth about her feelings, and then it was up to fate after that. She didn't like leaving her fate up to... well, fate, but there wasn't much of a choice now. The door was opening, so it was go time.

"Dia?" Hanamaru smiled and stepped back. "Come in, zura." Dia walked inside, still trying to calm herself. She had no experience expressing something like this kind of love, so she was still wondering how to go about it.

"Can we please go to your room? I have something I need to tell you."

"Okay." Her serious tone made Hanamaru look nervous, and she cursed herself for being so formal with her words. She couldn't get herself to look anything less than completely tense, however, so the short walk to Hanamaru's room was rife with awkwardness. When they got inside, Hanamaru shut the door and turned to face Dia. "Is something wrong? You seem really tense, zura."

"I... I just have something really important I need to tell you." Time for action. "I like you. More than that. I love you, Hanamaru, and I feel guilty for... t-taking your first time without us being in a relationship. There just isn't anything rational about my actions around you." Hanamaru's eyes were wide and her mouth was in the shape of a tiny, adorable 'o', but Dia couldn't afford to let herself stop now.

"I've had these feelings for you for awhile now, but I couldn't tell you about them. I felt guilty because you're my junior, and you're Ruby's best friend, but I can't lie to you anymore. You mean a lot to me, and... and I don't know how you feel, but I wanted you to know how I felt." She finally stopped to catch her breath, bowing slightly so she didn't look at Hanamaru's face. The worst thing would've been to see doubt in those eyes.

"Well, that's a relief." Dia snapped her head back up, staring into Hanamaru's mirthful eyes. "I guess we feel the same way then, zura."

"Y-You like me too?"

"I wouldn't have done those things with you if I didn't." Fair point.

"I-I thought I had been taking advantage of you..."

"Well, you weren't." Hanamaru took Dia's hand in her own, giving her a reassuring smile. "I don't believe you did that intentionally, zura. It makes me happy that you like me." She blushed slightly, looking down. "I wasn't sure why someone as cool and beautiful as you would want to have sex with someone as plain and boring as me."

"Wh-What? That's not true at all! You're extremely cute and a wonderful girl!" She was blushing too, but she didn't like to hear Hanamaru talk bad about herself. Sometimes she wondered if her and Ruby just fed off of each other's insecurities. "No one else makes me feel this way like you."

"R-Really?" Now it was Hanamaru's turn to stare in disbelief.

"Absolutely." Dia grasped Hanamaru's hands, baring all her honesty just like Kanan had suggested. "I love you, Hanamaru. I love everything about you, I really do. I know that I dragged you into sex too fast, but I want to make things right. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Hmm..." She glanced up in thought, letting Dia sweat for a couple moments. "Hehe, yes. Of course, zura!" Dia couldn't help but laugh, smiling in relief as she pulled Hanamaru in a tight hug. Then she remembered Ruby, which gave her pause.

"I don't know how Ruby's going to take this, though. I mean, I'm her sister, and you're her best friend."

"I think she'll be happy for us, but I'll be there with you when we tell her, okay?" They both smiled, then leaned in to kiss each other softly: their first kiss as a new, official couple.

"Good. I always want you by my side, Hanamaru." It felt good to be honest about her feelings, and it felt incredible to be able to call Hanamaru her girlfriend. Maybe it wasn't so wrong after all. Nothing that felt this right could be as bad as she'd made it out to be. Besides, everything about Hanamaru was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.