I remembered Kursaki in his suit and could not help myself. Enjoy!

Note: I don't know whether they have something like prom in Japan (I'm pretty sure they don't), so let's just pretend for a moment, shall we? Also, she does know Kurosaki is Daisy, but I feel like she still sees them as slightly different entities.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dengeki Daisy.

Prom

Chaperons don't enforce morality; they force immorality to be discreet.

Kurosaki hadn't really expected to find her in his apartment. With Riko back from another business meeting—that had taken three days of torture on him—he'd expected Teru to be avidly asking Riko everything that had happened, to listen raptly as her feminine coach explained the intricate details of her time away. Wasn't that how it always went? He would know that she wasn't visiting that day, feel a stab of aching loneliness that couldn't be filled.

"You're here," he said plainly, blinking in shock as he paused in the entryway. Though he was happy to see her sitting on his couch, watching his TV as if it were her own, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, that she had some sadness that brought her there.

She glanced over her shoulder at him with a bright smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Hello, Kurosaki. Riko went to see Master and I wanted to stay behind. But we don't have cable, so I came over here to watch my show." She turned back to the television, raising the remote to increase the volume. As if he were an intruder.

Forgetting the itchy discomfort spreading through his body, he plopped down on the sofa next to her, jerking the remote from her grasp. "I'm not watching another show about some stupid bird," he grumbled, changing the channel to find something more suitable to his tastes. He enjoyed the show "Criminal Minds" from the US and, finding it to be a marathon, quickly flipped the channel. "Here we go," he said, wondering to himself why she hadn't argued with him or taken the remote.

Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he lit a cigarette, he asked, "What's going on, pip-squeak? You're not gonna tell me to go bald for changing your show?"

She shook her head with a gleam of sadness in her eyes before looking up at him. "It's your TV," she answered simply, giving a small half-smile. "If you want to watch this, I can go make us dinner."

When she went to stand, he grabbed her wrist, forcing her to really look at him. Something told him that there was definitely something that was bothering the high-schooler and damn it all if he didn't desperately want to know. "What's wrong, Teru?" he asked, searching her eyes for an answer. "Did something happen at school?" He made sure to keep his question simple. If he questioned her about bullies, he wouldn't be able to disguise his fury. He wanted to protect her from the kids that thought of her as dirt, wanted to keep her from any harm. But she wouldn't condone violence from him in her name against students.

Freezing for a moment, she went rigid beneath his touch before gently taking her arm from his grasp. Smiling brightly once again, she said, "Nope. Just a little tired, I guess. I don't sleep well when Riko is traveling."

Liar. He wanted to call her out on it, demand that she tell him the truth. Would she tell Daisy the truth? But he let her flee into the relative safety of the kitchen where she would be able to think to herself, decide if she would tell him of her own volition or not.

But it didn't stop several scenarios of what he wished he could do from going through his head.

He followed her into the kitchen quietly, careful not to make her aware of his presence. As she reached for something on the top shelf, just beyond her fingertips, he took it down for her before caging her against the counter. "Tell me, Teru," he breathed, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Tell me what happened so I can fix it." Because he would. Anything she wanted, he would gladly give. Anything that hurt her, he would cheerily destroy.

Shaking his head, he leaned back against the cushions, barely paying attention to the words streaming from Dr. Reid's mouth as he explained some nuance of the un-sub to his police peers. Why she didn't trust him with something like that, he couldn't know. She should just tell him, ask him to fix it. God, wouldn't that be so much simpler?

Hearing her give a small curse as a mixing bowl clattered to the floor only reminded him that with this girl, nothing was ever simple.

He had to thank God that the fear of Riko storming in was keeping him from forcing answers from the little black-haired high-schooler. Rubbing his jaw, he remembered the power of the Fist of Justice and cringed, carefully keeping himself planted on the couch.

This is a land where men govern, but women rule.

"Why the fuck didn't the night janitors just get this done?" Kurosaki grumbled to himself the next day as he swept up streamers and balloons, along with flower petals and discarded cups, from the gymnasium floor. He hated the fact that these dances were never fully cleaned up after until he did it. It wasn't his idea to throw a Western-style prom, was it? So why was he the one paying for it?

"You should watch your mouth in a school, Tasuku. One of the kids might overhear you," called a familiar female voice from the doors to the gym. Riko stepped forward, kicking a red cup towards his broom. "This place is a mess. If you're so angry about it, why didn't you just clean up when you were here last night?" she asked as she crossed to him, taking his pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket. "Or at least scared the kids into being a little more clean."

He gave her a look that told her exactly what he thought of her intrusion. "You can't smoke that in here," he said as she started to flip open her Zippo. "Besides, why would I have been here last night? I don't make it a point to do my job once I'm off the clock," he pointed out.

She gave him a confused look as she dragged him towards the door that would lead them outside. "What do you mean? Didn't you come here with Teru last night?"

"No," he answered slowly, accepting the cigarette she offered him. "Why would I?"

Eyes widening, she replied, "Because she really wanted to go, you idiot! That was going to be her prom; who knows if this school will have another one before she graduates!" She turned to look out to the school yard, as if expecting Teru to come walking up to them. "That's why I went to Master's without her last night. I thought that she was going to the dance."

Lighting his own smoke, he said, "She was just sitting on my couch watching TV when I got home. I didn't think that she'd actually want to come here to dance."

"She wanted to go to prom with you, Tasuku."

He blinked, shocked at the words. Why would she want to go to some silly dance with him? He was a jerk that she couldn't possibly want her friends to see her with. "Why would she want me to go?"

Rolling her eyes, Riko took a long drag of her cigarette and shook her head. "You've got a lot to learn about women, Tasuku. She wanted to spend a fairytale night with the guy she's in love with, obviously. Then she could forget all about all the drama going on lately." She nudged him with a deceptive perverted grin on her face. "Besides, she probably wanted to check you out in a suit again. She really liked it last time."

He froze, knowing better than to respond with the enthusiasm that he wanted to. "All that to see me in a stupid suit? All she would have to do is ask me and I'd wear one. Maybe."

"No, you wouldn't. Anyways, she probably wanted to dress up like a princess before she had to return to reality. One night of fun can get you through a lot of bad times." She cut him a dark look. "Not that you can have a night of fun with Teru, Tasuku. Otherwise I will have to rip off your favorite appendage."

He blanched at the thought. "Good God, please don't talk to me about that kind of stuff." Glancing away from the brunette, he muttered, "So she really wanted to go to that dance, huh?"

"Yeah."

Checking to make sure they were still alone, he added, "Then you're gonna help me set one up."

Every girl wants a prince to come and sweep her off her feet.

"Teru, you've been acting weird," Haruka announced as she and Rena took their places on either side of Teru's desk. "Did you really want to go to the prom thing? I heard it was boring as hell. Anyways, you know that you couldn't have gone with Kurosaki; the school would throw a fit."

Sighing, Teru answered, "I know. That's why I didn't ask him. But I really wanted to go out and find the perfect dress. I've been saving up to get one since it was announced, but I didn't want to go if I couldn't go with him."

Rena scoffed at that, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "You should have just asked someone else to go with you. Kurosaki wouldn't make the dance any better than if you'd gone with someone else." She sank to her knees beside Teru's chair, murmuring conspiratorially, "Unless you were gonna do it with him that night."

Immediately Teru's face went up in flame. "No! No, that wasn't what I was going to do!" she shouted, ignoring the looks that she got from the last of the occupants drifting out of the room. "I just didn't want to have that memory with someone else," she mumbled, not so much as glancing at her friends.

Haruka glanced at Rena, who stood and motioned that it was time to go. "Well, we've gotta get going if we're going to make our goukon. Be careful going home, all right? Seems like bad stuff's been happening to you lately." With that, the two other girls left.

Teru knew that she should go home too, but she wasn't ready to meet Kurosaki's eyes just yet. He had known instantly that something was wrong the moment he'd walked in the door the night before and she really didn't want to explain all of this to him. He would probably call her stupid, tell her that she was being ridiculous about something as trivial as a dance. She highly doubted he cared.

Standing, she grabbed her backpack to sling over her shoulder, moving into the hallway quickly to avoid any possible confrontation with anyone associated with the school. She didn't want to exchange pleasantries with anyone.

When her phone rang with a new message, she was surprised to see the email was from Daisy. She hadn't emailed him that day—hadn't wanted Kurosaki to know what was on her mind even if he was Daisy—and it was unusual for him to email her before she did him.

Teru, please go straight to Master's after school; come through the front. There's something waiting for you there.

Intrigued, she made her way out of the building and onto the street, quickly walking towards the restaurant. She didn't know what could be waiting for her there, but she was eager to see what Daisy would have for her.

"Master," she said as she threw open the door. "Is there something here for me?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Riko is waiting for you in the women's bathroom. After that, she'll show you into the back garden. That's where your gift is."

"Why can't I just go back there now?"

"Because I need to see you in the bathroom, Teru!" Riko called from beyond the restroom's door.

Not wanting to argue with her frightening roommate, she flew into the bathroom, accepting the blindfold Riko put over her eyes. "Why—"

"Just go with it, okay? Now, I'm going to help you into an outfit that you'll love, but you can't see it yet. So don't freak out."

Teru moved however Riko demanded, careful not to displease the older woman. Soon, she was covered in a dress that moved like butter, flowing around her every step. Her shoulders were uncovered and Riko had put her hair into some intricate style that pulled it from her neck and to the top of her head. The woman had gently placed something into the hairstyle and helped Teru with long gloves. Her necklace from Daisy remained where it was and her shoes were changed into strappy heels. She felt like she was a giant as she tried to remain balanced as they walked towards what she could only hope was the backdoor.

"Can I take this off yet?" she asked as Riko guided her into the airy back terrace that had a slight nip in the air.

"Not just yet. I will take it off for you once we're ready."

Teru could feel Riko waving at something with jerky movements just before a soft song began to play. With the smell of daisies surrounding her, she heard the beginnings of "Time After Time" coming through speakers just behind her head.

Suddenly, the blindfold dropped from her eyes and she immediately looked down at her dress. It was a soft blue—the color of her favorite flower—with matching gloves. It wasn't a ballgown, but more like something an actress would wear to a premiere, following the flow of her barely-there curves until it flowed straight down to the ground at her hips. When she touched the top of her head, she found a tiara of daisy flowers there, her hair in a curly bun just behind it.

Glancing up, she saw Kurosaki standing just a few feet away, his hand outstretched to take hers. He wore a tux and his blonde hair was a little less disheveled than usual. But his smile was bright, radiant, and beaming with love as he asked, "Can I have this dance?"

She nodded slowly and took his hand, unaware of the slight glistening of tears at the corner of her eyes. As he brought her close to his chest, she smiled, knowing that this was much better than any stupid prom the school could come up with.