Chapter 3:

The Cultural Festival

It was almost time for the Cultural Festival and the whole school was very excited. Kagome watched from her seat as the class watched Yuki and another student, Kyra discussing their plan to sell rice balls during the festival. "We've passed all the sanitation inspections," Yuki told the class. "…so we have permission from the faculty to sell rice balls at the festival. Now we must decide what flavors of rice balls to make."

Kagome felt Hana playing with her hair – she almost purred in pleasure. She loved when someone played with her hair. Hana laughed a little as Tohru raised her hand with an idea, "I know!" she said just as she thought of something. "Why don't we have three-flavored rice balls? It's fun to have three different tastes in a rice ball!"

Yuki smiled at her. "I like that, I think it's cute," He told her.

Two of the members of the fan club created against Yuki's will started to complain. "Eh? We shouldn't do that," Minami complained.

"What would happen if someone got chicken, kelp, and plum?"

"EW. That's disgusting," Minami spat.

Uo suddenly smashed a lead pipe in the desk and stood it up on the two girls' table. "What's really disgusting is your blatant jealousy," Uo said as she glared at them.

Kagome stood up next to them with her eyes flaring, "And we all know that jealously is just a selfish love." The girls almost fainted with fear. "They are just mad because Princely praised our little Tohru besides them." Kagome said erringly at the other side of the table. Both of the Club just shook with fear as both of the scariest people in the school threatened them.

Hana came up right behind them, "I have been working on a new technique on having my electric shocks hurting ten times more. Should I try it?"

The Fan Club girls paled.

Tohru sweat-dropped.

Yuki groaned.

The girls looked at what she had stood on the table. "She brought a lead pipe to school!"

"It had bloodstains on it!" Minami screeched.

"The miko also brought arrows!" They both screeched as Kagome held one in her hands.

"I don't want to hear the voices again!"

Kyo leaned back in his chair with a confident smirk on his face. "How about we have a battle rice balls?" he suggested.

"Battle?" A few other guys repeated.

"A one-on-one match," Kyo explained. "Weapons are allowed, but no killing, deliberate blood-spilling, or trying to cut of someone's arm." He clenched his fist. "Defending your honor and your right to eat rice balls in one glorious fight!"

Everyone immediately said, "NO." They glared at him.

"What? You wanted an idea and I gave you one!" Kyo yelled at them.

Kagome fired back with a rebuttal. "Yeah but we wanted a normal idea Kyo! Why would people fight for a rice ball?!"

"Shut up wench!"

"Make me!" Tohru froze as she watched Kyo and Kagome growl at each other.

Yuki was slightly thankful that Kyo had someone else to fight. He put his hand on his chin, thinking about it. "What about a surprise ingredient?" he suggested. "People who buy three can pick a fourth one. But we'll have surprise fillings in those, so no one will know what flavor they're going to get."

"Make the surprise fillings really weird," someone in the back suggested. It was ignored.

"That's perfect!" someone shouted.

"Eh? That's it…you just agree?" Yuki asked confusedly.

"What the—?" Kyo started to say. "Why are you all going crazy over his dumb idea?"

"It's not that we're crazy about it," Uo answered, "Your idea was just too weird. Who would want an rice balls so much that they'd fight a death match for it?"

Kyo glared at the wall. "Don't pout, Kyo-Kyo!" another student said to him, putting his hand on Kyo's head. Kyo instantly moved away.

"Don't' call me Kyo-Kyo!"

Kagome smiled teasingly, "That is your new nickname, Kyo-Kyo."

"Don't call me that!"

"Make me!"

Yuki turned to Kyra. "I have to go to a student council meeting," Yuki told her. "Will you decide who brings what?"

"Sure! Just leave it to me!" she replied with a smile. She fixed her glasses.

Apparently, people overheard. "Wait! There's something I want to ask you."

"Yuki, I have a question!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Yuki, right here."

Suddenly, all of the talking stopped. Every single person in class 1-D was staring at Kyo. He had six cats clinging to him. Yuki, Kagome and Tohru were frozen in place. "Aaaaah! Cats!" One girl screamed.

"What?"

"What the?"

Kyo sat there, silent. He could hear the cats talking to him.

What's wrong? Meow.

A fight? Meow.

Meow.

Why are you angry? Meow.

Meow, meow.

Only everybody else could hear the meows. Kyo could hear the words. Tohru looked worried. "Kyo…Kyo!" she squeaked. Yuki was glaring at him. Kagome just turned away slapping her head with her hand.

Kyo could not take it. "I don't care anymore!" he shouted. He stormed out of the room and went to the stairs. When he kicked the door open, all but two cats fell off him.

"Wait, Kyo-Kyo!" someone shouted. "What's with the cats? Don't break the door down!"

Other people were shouting, "Yay! Kitties!"

"…What was that?" Uo asked.

"I have no idea," Hana answered.

"Don't ask me." Kagome said sitting down and let Hana braid her hair.

"What attracted the cats?" Uo wondered. In the front of the room, Yuki sighed very audibly.

"That's…strange…" Hana said slowly.

"Don't worry about it," Uotani told her. "You're pretty strange yourself."

"What I am not either?" Kagome turned to her Yankee friend with fake tears in her eyes and Uo laughed at her.

"No you are strange too." She said making Kagome smile. "Still, he really does have a temper, doesn't he?"

"Indeed," Hana agreed. "He acts like a bad little boy."

Tohru did not say anything. She was just listening. "He acts the exact opposite of Prince Charming," Uo realized.

Kagome just sighed, in so many ways Kyo was like Inuyasha. Now as she could see Tohru walking after him, she smiled. She had planned to find that boy herself but Tohru could do the job for both of them right now. Kagome would talk to Kyo later on when Tohru was not around so much. So for the rest of the day, Kagome laughed and even started going her part for the rice ball stand.

The next morning Kagome shut her locker only to find Yuki walking down the same aisle but also was the Yuki fan club girls. With a wicked smile, Kagome ran down the hallway and tugged on Yuki's shoulder. "Hey princely, wait up."

Yuki turned to her with a surprise look on his face, "Yes Miss Higurashi?"

"Miss?" Kagome asked "No that makes me feel too old, please call me Kagome. Are we still on for our tutoring section tonight?" The Yuki Fan Club gasped silently as they peered over to Kagome and the prince talking in the hallway.

Yuki shook his head, "Yes that is fine with me." Kagome then smiled grabbed his hand making the fan club gasp from shock and turn red.

"Play along, your fan club is watching." Kagome said quietly. "Okay, I will see you tonight." She let go of his hand and skipped down the hallway with a smile on her face leaving a red-faced Yuki in the dust.

The fan club all turned to each other. "Did you see that? That tramp Kagome was flirting with the prince!"

"We have to tell president Motoko right now!"

"Hey…the frame is shaky," Kyo said holding up a hammer to check the booth. He was down on the balls of his feet with the hammer pointing out from near his forehead.

"Hey, it's not like we're building a house, cat-lover," another student said to him.

"Yeah, cat-lover," another laughed.

"It's fine as long as it doesn't break cat-lover."

"Why the hell do you keep calling me cat-lover?" Kyo yelled, jumping up. "Are you making fun of me?" Tohru was sitting at a table with her two friends, sewing. She held back a giggle, and just smiled, afraid if she opened her mouth she would draw attention. Kagome just almost started laughing at the cat-boys face.

"Oh, we know," the first student to talk, said, "You talk tough, but underneath, you're a nice guy who loves animals." Tohru sighed, relieved that the secret was still safe, and Kyo calmed slightly.

Uo put her head down, and Yuki stood next to the table. "He comes back and it gets all noisy," Uo complained. "With his personality, I'd love to see him cut loose at a party."

"He came back without much of a fight. That's unusual…" Yuki said.

Tohru smiled up at him. "That's because Yuki can only be Yuki and Kyo can only be Kyo!" she said.

Yuki looked at her confusedly. "Huh?"

Uo was still trapped in her little box. "If this keeps up, Orangey will have a fan club too before long," she said.

Tohru giggled. "That's very possible!"

"Now I would love to see that," Kagome said as she started playing with Tohru's hair.

"Yuki!" A girl shouted from behind Yuki. He froze slowly turned his head. There was a girl and another boy standing in front of him. It looked like the girl was hiding something behind her back from Yuki.

"Oh hello," Yuki said slowly.

The girl giggled. "Actually, we have a present for you, Yuki. We all pitched in to buy this, hoping you would wear it at the festival." She pulled out the item behind her back. Yuki was frozen, glaring at it. Tohru and Kyo looked at it with wide eyes. Everyone in the class was silent. It was frilly. It had ribbons. It had bows. It had flowers. It was white. It was pink. It was purple. It was…a dress. It almost seemed that they were making fun of his feminine appearance. They wanted Yuki to cross dress.

"Tadaah!" the girl held it up. "A costume especially for Yuki!"

Everyone just gapped at it but Kagome was the only one who busted out laughing. "Oh that is wonderful! So priceless!" Tears actually started floating down her face. As she wiped her eyes Yuki sent her a very evil glare, and she stopped a little.

Back at Shigure's house, Kagome laid her textbooks out on the table ready for her session with Yuki, when Shigure came into the room.

"Kagome, may I speak with you?" She turned her head to him and nodded.

Shigure sat down and folded his arms, "I talked with Akito about you, and he has decided you may keep your memories of us."

Kagome just shrugged, "I really don't care, even if this head of the family wanted to have my memories erase, he couldn't. My miko powers would protect me from it and I can still sense auras. The members of the zodiac carry a special aura around them and yours for example is the dog. I would know about your family's curse even if my memories were erased." She said setting her homework out.

"I know that, I just wanted to let you know."

Kagome turned to him and tucked her hair behind her ear, "Thank you for telling me anyway.' Secretly deep down she did not want to lose her memories, they were precious to her. If they were taken away from her, it would be like losing Inuyasha all over again. The Sohma family was becoming like a third family to her and if she lost this family, things would not go well.

It was the day of the festival. Tohru and another student were currently running the rice balls sales in the school gymnasium. "Thank you very much!" She said after a buyer left the booth. "This is great!" Tohru told Kagome who was running the booth with her. "We're really selling a lot!"

"We might take first place in the food division!" Kagome said excitedly. They were smiling at each other.

"Because rice balls are easy to eat!" Tohru replied.

Hanajima was protecting the stand. She was dressed like a witch, holding a strange weapon in front of her. "W—what are you doing?" A student asked nervously.

"Warding off danger," Hana told her. Kagome sighed; Saki was just…creative like that.

Tohru stepped out from the booth. A boy from her class walked up with a few other people. "The rice balls you molded taste great, Kagome and Tohru! Does the molding of rice balls have anything to do with the taste?" he asked.

"The cat rice balls are adorable!" another girl told her. It was shaped like a normal rice balls, but rounder with points at the top for ears.

"Eh? Th—that's not…" Tohru had no clue what she was saying. She was not used to this much attention. "Thank you so much!" Kagome told them. "I thought about making a rat rice balls, but…" she trailed off, thinking about Yuki when she said that.

"Eww…that would be disgusting. I wouldn't want to eat it," A student said, causing Kagome to sigh a bit. She looked up to see Yuki looking at them as if he knew what had been said and had turned away from her in shame.

Kyo was sitting in front of the rice balls booth; leaning against it, with the cat shaped one in his hand. He glared at it and wondered, if I eat this, does it make me a cannibal? He just ate it, it is only rice. Uo sat next to him, yawned and she took a sip from her water bottle.

Tohru, and Kagome still over by the booth with the group of people, smiled and started to say, "But the one who contributed most to the rice balls sales is—"

"Hey! You can't just take pictures!" A girl shouted from the entrance. Everybody's heads turned and it was the girl who had given Yuki the dress. Guess who was standing next to her wearing the dress? "Can't you tell Yuki doesn't like it?"

Yuki glared at everyone. He even wore white girl shoes, as the third years had requested. Yuki knew he'd regret this.

"Well, yeah, but he's too cute!"

"Yuki is the one bringing in all of our customers!"

Yuki still stood there. Earlier, everyone had been coming to class 1-D to see him in the dress. Girls came, boys came, and even a few teachers have stopped by, claiming that they were 'running an errand'. However, as a result, the rice balls have been selling like mad. Yuki sat down and turned his head to see how many people were looking at him. He met eyes with Tohru, who was staring, and quickly looked away.

Tohru looked down. I feel like he has been avoiding me…even at the house. "I wonder if I've done something to upset him…" she whispered to herself.

"You have done nothing Tohru," Kagome said.

"Aw, leave him alone," Kyo, said. Tohru turned to see him and Uo still sitting in front of the booth with Kagome just ignored him. Kyo was reading a book. "He's probably just humiliated to be dressed like a girl," he guessed. Kyo turned to look over the booth and at Tohru. He had an evilly playful smile. "He's really self-conscious…" He paused. "…about his pretty face." Kyo ducked his head into his book started to crack up. He had his teeth clenched so he would not be so loud.

Uo put her water bottle to her lips. "Really?" she asked. Tohru looked over to her while Kyo started to calm. "But a lot of people are jealous of his looks. Is that how it is?" She took a sip from her bottle.

"What…should I do?" Tohru asked, nervous. Uo looked at her worriedly. "When I saw him dressed like that…" She started to fan her face with her hands from blushing so much. Her back was facing Kyo and Uo. "…I thought, 'Oh, he's so cute!' but…"

"Don't worry about it," Kagome cut her off, looking sorry for her. "Most people think so."

Kyo still had the evil smile. "That's right. No matter how you look at him, makes a pretty girl," he said, with a few evil laughs.

However, Yuki is hurt right now, Tohru wanted to continue, and he is still dressing like a girl for everyone. He really is…very kind.

Kagome decided to have pity on the guy, took few rice balls that she made herself and walked over to him. "Tohru, will you be okay for a few minutes?"

Tohru smiled. "Yes." She watched Kagome take the rice balls to Yuki.

The Yuki fan club stepped in front of her. "You can't get any closer to him." Kagome simply smiled, took the girls shoulder and pushed her away quite forcefully.

Yuki blinked in confusion as Kagome came up to him. "Hey, princely, I have some rice balls for you. Oh and don't worry, they are not rat shaped."

"Thank you…" He took one.

"I am sorry about those girls are giving you trouble."

"I am use to it." He said.

Kagome frowned a minute. "You know Yuki." He looked up at her. "You can be yourself around me. You don't have to try to be friendly."

"No one would care then…"

"Hey, I am be indifferent to you but I happen to like the real you." She gave him another rice ball, "The one who let's go of his emotions and for example, that one day yelled at me none stop." She smiled before walking away back to the rice stand. He watched her for a second before smiling back at her.

"Du leiber Himmel!" Yuki's eyes widened and the boy pounced on his back, almost knocking Yuki over. Tohru's head swung over, as well as a few others. Kagome lifted her head back towards Yuki and saw the blonde haired boy on his shoulders.

Yuki looked up and over his shoulder at him confusedly. "Yuki, why do you look like a mädchen?" the boy asked.

"Wh—what the—?" a student stuttered.

Tohru gasped. That's the boy who kissed me on the cheek the other night! She noticed. Same curly blonde hair and purple hat, same light brown eyes, the strange outfit. This time, a light pink winter coat, shorts, and knee high socks.

Kyo was on his feet now, standing next to Tohru. "What's he doing here?" he asked with wide amber eyes.

Kagome looked at Kyo over her shoulder. "You know him, Kyo?"

"Momiji," A deeper, but young, voice said from the entrance. The boy, who must be Momiji, jumped off Yuki's back and stood in front of the man, who had just come in to Tohru's view. The man was tall. He had dark brown, almost black hair. His eyes were the same color. He had bangs covering only his left eye, straight down, not coming from the side. "Don't wander around by yourself," he told Momiji. He seemed like a sober man. Easily looking over Momiji's head, the man looked at Yuki. "Hey. You look well, Yuki." The man looked over to Tohru and Kyo. "Kyo," he greeted boringly.

"Ha—" Yuki was about to say, but apparently, people were still taking in Momiji, who had been smiling the entire time since he got here.

"He's so cute!"

"A friend of yours, Yuki?"

"So handsome!" one girl said, looking at the man.

"Guten tag!" Momiji said in German. He took of his hat and bowed. "I'm Momiji Sohma. I'm half German, half Japanese! And this is Hatori Sohma," Momiji said, looking up at the man. "We're relatives of Yuki and Kyo!" he said excitedly.

"Is this true, Kyo?" Tohru asked, unable to believe it. Momiji threw his hat back onto his head and smiled, as everyone kept chattering about him.

"Yeah," Kyo said with, as usual, an annoyed tone, glaring at Hatori. "Hmph. Forget about Momiji, what is Hatori doing here?"

Tohru was slow in processing Kyo's answer, and her mouth hung wide open now. This is such a coincidence! Tohru thought. I met a Sohma without even knowing it! She realized, remembering that night after work. It is no wonder Momiji was also surprised! Tohru wondered if Momiji and Hatori were members of the zodiac…

He is the rabbit, and the other one is the dragon… Kagome thought as she looked at the two new Sohmas.

Momiji walked away with a group of people. Yuki and Hatori just looked at each other. "That being said, Yuki," Hatori started, "When did you become a woman?" he asked, glancing again at his dress.

Yuki smiled and narrowed his eyes, annoyed, clearly. "How dare you say that after you've seen me naked so many times…?"

Kagome literally fell over from shock.

The small group of girls that were still over by them gasped and almost fell over. "EH? Wah! Yuki, does that mean…"

"NO! It can't be! …Can it?"

"Sohma, you…Are you?" a guy asked, strangely standing with a mob of girls.

"Oh great god!" Kagome cried out as she started slamming her fist on the booth laughing so hard that tears were coming out of her eyes, "You guys are so stupid!"

Yuki paused looking at Kagome, "Higurashi, shut it!" He growled, loathing her at that moment. Kagome blinked for a second before smiling at him. That was his true self. Not the prince charming everyone else knew but the real Yuki. "No," Yuki said quickly, before it could get any worse. Hatori pulled out a black leather bag and pulled out a stethoscope. "He's my doctor." Most were relieved, some disappointed.

"Take a deep breath." Hatori put the end of the stethoscope to Yuki's chest, or tried too. He paused and looked at Yuki. "These clothes…how do you take them off?"

"You don't have to examine me here," Yuki said, standing up from the chair that Hatori had told him to sit in before. Tohru watched them concernedly, only feet away.

"Well, I wouldn't have to if you'd just come to your monthly check-up, like promised," Hatori reminded him.

Tohru could not help herself. She ran over to them. "Yuki, are you sick?"

Yuki looked up at her. "Eh…oh, no." He did not want her to worry.

"Yuki has weak bronchial tubes," Hatori explained, continuing to examine him. "When he was little, he'd have attacks all the time." Hatori finished and packed up. He rose to his feet. "You're Tohru Honda?" he guessed.

"Ah…yes," she answered. "Nice to meet you."

"…I see," Hatori said, crossing his arms. "You really are a normal girl." Kagome walked over to them putting her hand on Tohru's shoulder. "And you must be Kagome Higurashi?"

"Yes, I am…"

"I see." He said.

"Hatori!" Yuki snapped.

"Hey!" Kyo shouted from the rice balls. "Don't climb on the booth!"

"Was?" Momiji asked. He had one rice balls in his mouth and another in his hand. He was on the booth, just as accused.

"What are you doing you idiot?"

"Momiji," Yuki said, shaking his head and looking down.

"Don't walk on it!" Tohru shouted pleadingly as she started to run over.

"Why did you come here?" Yuki asked once Tohru was out of distance of hearing him.

"If you've got a problem with it, tell Momiji," Hatori answered. "He's the one who showed me the flyer." He paused. "When Akito saw it, he said that he was going to come, too."

"Wha?" Yuki was surprised about this.

"He had a fever of one hundred-two, though, so as his doctor, I put a stop to it. But I had to come in his place…" He looked over at Momiji. "…as Momiji's chaperone."

"You're not doing a very good job," Yuki informed. Everyone was gathered around the booth and yelling about Momiji doing another crazy stunt.

"I would rather have come some evening when there weren't so many people around," Hatori said. He glared down at Yuki, frowning. "Don't worry. I didn't come to do anything to Tohru Honda or Kagome Higurashi." Yuki narrowed his eyes. "Akito is the one who makes that decision. However I will say this," Hatori looked forward. "You won't get very far if you try to threaten me in that outfit."

Yuki looked away from him angrily. "Thank you," he said sarcastically. "So much."

Tohru and Kagome were hiding halfway behind the curtain that was behind the booth. She looked worriedly at Momiji. Kyo knocked Momiji on the head. "All right, now you're going to stay here and be quiet!" he shouted. "Or go home!"

Momiji burst into tears like a little kid. "Kyo…hit—me!" He said in between sobs.

"K—Kyo…"

Momiji's tears stopped suddenly, and he smiled and whirled around to Tohru, who was still hiding slightly. "Tohru! It's Tohru!" he said excitedly and then he saw Kagome, his eyes lit up. "I came to meet you too! You must be Kagome!"

Kagome suddenly felt overcome with his cuteness and hugged him tight. "You are the cutest thing!" Her declaration made Momiji smile.

Momiji held onto Kagome, turning to Tohru. "How are you, how are you? I came here to see you! Where were you?" he asked, never stopping his words until he had said all that he wanted to say.

"Um, well, I've been here for a while…" Tohru said quietly. Apparently, he hadn't noticed her earlier. "Hello…you're from the Sohma family, right?" she confirmed.

"Ja! We've had a fateful encounter before!" Momiji smiled. Kyo's eyes widened.

"You've met before…?" Kyo asked confusedly.

Tohru just stood there with a nervous smile. Momiji answered without hesitation. "We met at Papa's building!" he told Kyo. "Papa's the manager of that building, so I play there a lot!"

"Eh?" Tohru gaped at Momiji, turning her head right next to her to face him. "Really? I've been cleaning a Sohma building this whole time?"

Momiji laughed. "Tohru's so dumb!" he said playfully.

"Hey…" Kyo warned.

Tohru noticed that when Yuki came to pick her up, he never mentioned anything. Yuki had not known any more than she did about the building.

"Hey, hey, Tohru!" Momiji said. "You know about the zodiac thing, right?" he asked excitedly.

Tohru looked at him nervously. "Uh, yes," she answered, making it sound like a question.

"Then I can hug you!" Momiji screamed, leaning in to hug her.

Kyo glared at him and grabbed Momiji by the back of his head just in time. "Hold it, lover-boy."

"But she won't mind if I transform, right?" Momiji asked.

"That's not the problem! Think of where we are!" Kyo shouted.

Tohru smiled. He said, 'I can hug you.' That means— She gasped and smiled even wider. He really is one of the Chinese zodiac!

Momiji was getting angrier by the second. "Are you hogging Tohru because she's so cute and Kagome is so beautiful?" He yelled at Kyo. "I bet Kyo hugs them both every day!"

Kyo's face started to burn in less than a second. "You stu—! Who would want to—?"

"My turn!" Momiji said as he leaned forward and embraced Tohru. Tohru gasped and looked down at the top of his head that almost reached her shoulder. Before anyone could speak or think, there was a loud boom, smoke clouded everywhere near them, and Momiji had transformed.

When everyone's heads turned, they saw the curtain, of which the four of them were now behind, blow up two feet off the ground. "Wh—what was that?"

"An explosion?"

"Tohru?"

"Hey, what happened?"

Tohru sad on the ground with her knees bent, and a rabbit sat on top of her knees. Momiji. Tohru's face was a mixture of panic, surprise, and embarrassment. Kyo's was the same. Tohru had no voice. Kagome was just standing there with her head hung low.

Everyone peeked around the curtain and looked at the three of them and Momiji. Yuki and Hatori were still standing where they were before it happened, staring in shock.

"Eh?"

"Huh? What's with the rabbit?"

"Where's Momiji?"

This is terrible! Kyo and Tohru both thought. Kagome slapped her head.

"Hey! These are Momiji's clothes!" The fan club member with the blond pigtails rushed next to Tohru and picked up the pink coat.

Tohru had changed the way she was sitting, and Momiji was now clinging to her hair, starting to climb to the top of her head.

"Eh? No way. What happened?" another girl panicked. "Did he explode?" She asked shakily.

"That's weird. Why would Momiji just take off his clothes and wander away? And that rabbit…where did it come from?"

"Something strange is going on…"

"What happened, Kagome?"

"It's too weird!"

"Say something,Tohru!"

Yuki needed to do something. "Weird?" he asked in a soft voice. He clasped his hands and put them to his chest, and brought a few fake tears to his eyes. "In that case…I too…am weird." He looked down with a "sad" face. "Because here I am, dressed like this…" he continued, "…and you're all going on about rabbits. It must not suit me after all…"

Two guys rushed up to him, the entire group coming, also. "You idiot! You're the best Sohma!" one person shook him by his shoulders while he shouted.

"If you were really a girl, we wouldn't leave you alone," the second guy said.

"Yeah!" the first agreed. "You look incredible!"

"You're so lovely!"

"…Thanks…?" Yuki looked horrified at what these guys were saying to him.

"No matter how I look at you, all I see is a woman!"

"Believe in yourself!"

Tohru knew that now they were completely distracted and ran off, carrying Momiji. Kagome ran after her, with Hatori and Kyo followed behind her, and they all rushed outside, onto the roof, and into the cold night.

"Damn idiot! Does he even know what he's doing?" Kyo shouted.

"But, but—! They're scary, Kagome!" Momiji complained as he hopped into her arms and she just knelt there with the rabbit.

"Don't go crying to her!" Kyo put his hands on his hips.

"So you're the rabbit…" Tohru said, trying to change the subject, and terribly failing.

"Seriously, you're lucky Yuki threw them off," Kyo said to him. "He's always trying to steal the spotlight with his looks." Yuki slowly and quietly walked outside, glaring at Kyo the whole way. "I don't care what he says. I think Yuki likes—"

Kyo flew up into the air and landed on the concrete. Yuki stood over him with his fists clenched. "Want me to send you higher?" Yuki growled.

"Damn rat…" Kyo muttered, squeezing the bridge of his nose to stop bleeding just in case it came.

Yuki leaned down to Kagome, but looked at Momiji, who was now on top of her head. "Momiji, you have to be careful," he warned with a calmer voice. "You need to think about repercussions, Momiji. Now, we had best be going," he said, standing up.

"Aw…so soon?" Momiji whined. "But I still want to talk to Kagome and Tohru!"

"I don't mind if you stay," Tohru said to him, frowning sadly. She looked straight at Yuki, almost pleadingly, while she said it.

"You promised that if there were any problems, you'd come home immediately," Hatori reminded.

"Go home," Kyo, begged.

"Ha'ri, you're so boring," Momiji cried.

"Oh, I almost forgot something important," Hatori said. "Yuki, Kyo, line up over there." He nodded towards the wall. Yuki and Kyo stood in front of it side by side, as he'd asked. "I want a concise answer." They waited. "What is two plus one?"

Yuki and Kyo did not even need to think. Knowing they would not need to, Hatori's timing was even better. "Three?" they said. It forced a smile on their face because of the pronunciation. All part of Hatori's plan. Hatori pulled a camera out of his bag and a camera light flashed. A little too late, their faces dropped.

"Akito told me to take a picture of you two," Hatori said as he put the camera away. Hatori walked over to Kagome, and let Momiji onto his shoulder. "This is a great portrait. Later."

"Bis bald!" Momiji waved back at them.

"Hatori!" Kyo growled as he walked away. "Wait, dammit! Give me that camera!" Kyo sprinted after them.

"I am sorry I better follow him." Tohru said.

Yuki sat down. "My life is over," he mumbled. Kagome looked over at him. It was no longer a joke for him. "What will Akito say...when he sees me in this outfit?" He was fed up with it. He started to take off the jacket to the dress.

Kagome sped over to him. "Kyaah! Princely, you will catch a cold!"

"I will be fine," he told her. "It's harder to endure wearing this outfit…" he added.

Kagome said. "You are so stubborn."

"Guys don't like being called cute." Yuki never took the jacket completely off and it hung over half of his head and face.

"I'm sorry," Kagome apologized with a shaky voice, "You really do look ridiculous in that outfit. I would rather wear it."

Yuki was looking down. "I didn't want you to see me either, Miss Higurashi. In this ridiculous—" he cut himself off. "I look like an idiot," he rephrased. "I really should have told them no."

"Uh, um, but, I was so happy when my mom calls me I was cute!" Kagome smiled. "Because it meant she was saying, 'I love you so much!'" They are words of love. "It made me happy," she told him... "So, everyone is saying that they like you, Sohma…uh, um, you see? Uh—I know it probably sounds like I'm trying to rationalize it, and I know I'm not really making sense…" she trailed off.

"No…it's strange, Yuki said. The actual dress had fallen down a little past his shoulders. "I don't mind so much when you say it, Miss Higurashi," He admitted. He chuckled. "I really do want to change though."

"You do what you think is best." Kagome said, "If you don't want to wear it then I will for you!"

He tugged at the jacket, still over his head. "My hair's caught on a button."

Kagome started to untangle. "This dress is so complicated! It's as hard to take off as it is to put on." She almost had it.

"It will look good on you." Yuki smiled, but it was hidden while Kagome got it untangled.

Kagome laughed at the thought. "Maybe!" She pulled the jacket off his head and untangled his hair for him.

"You're cute," he said. "On you, I'm sure it'd be very pretty." He looked up. She looked at him, and he stood up, not erasing his smile. "Thank you." He held the jacket and asked, "Should we go back to the bathroom, you can change into the dress?"

"Uh…" was all she could manage. He walked off, thinking that she was going to follow back into the school.

"Did you get the camera back?" Yuki asked Kyo. Kagome walked through the doorway to see Tohru with Kyo and Yuki.

Kyo was lounging in a chair. "Shut up. No."

"Oh, yeah, Miss Honda, Miss Higurashi," Yuki said, turning his head. She is not as quiet as she thinks.

"Y-yes?" she asked nervously.

"I know this might sound odd, but…it's about Hatori," he said. Yuki's face was now extremely serious. "If you ever meet him again, try not to be left alone with him." Yuki turned his head forward again. "Well…Hatori himself isn't all bad. However, remember the incident I told you about, the day my secret was discovered? The one who suppressed all their memories...was Hatori." Tohru's eyes grew wide. "I was a little worried, I thought I should tell you," he said.

Oh my goodness, Hatori did that?

The school P.A. turned on, and all of them were silent. "Paging Tohru Honda from class 1-D, Tohru Honda from class 1-D. Please come to the conference room on the first floor immediately. I repeat, Tohru Honda from class 1-D."

"Me?"

"Also Kagome Higurashi is to come with her."

"I wonder what it is…" Yuki said.

"Well, um we will be right back!" Kagome said, running out of the room. Once they both were almost to the stairs, she slowed to a power walk. Yuki's words ran and ran through her head. Tohru never thought she could possibly meet someone who could do such a thing. She walked into the conference room.

Sitting in a chair, smoking a cigarette…was Hatori. "Hello," he said with a small smile. Tohru jumped. 'The one who suppressed all their memories was Hatori.' "I'm sorry for calling you here like this," he apologized. "Kyo seemed to have his hands full, but with Yuki there, I didn't think I'd have a chance to speak with to you both in private." Tohru had been warned. And here she was. Kagome just sighed.

Hatori set down his cigarette and stood up. "Here's my address." He held out a small, folded slip of paper. "Come visit me on your next day off. I would like to talk to both of you at a length, about something important. Please do not mention it to Yuki or Kyo. I think you know what this is about."

Tohru looked up at him after taking the address. Her eyes grew wide as the words kept running. 'The one who suppressed all their memories was Hatori. Suppressed… suppressed… suppressed…' The word played in her head like a broken record.

She clenched her fists. What do I do? If I do not go will he just suppress my memories anyway? B—but it might be something important. Tohru remembered Kyoko tell her not to be mistrusting. "…O—okay!" she squeaked out nervously.

"Fine," Kagome said uninterested.

"Excellent," Hatori said. He put out his cigarette. "You might even get to meet Akito, as well."

"EH?"

Tohru felt arms around her waist. "Keine Sorge!" Momiji said. "I'll be there to make sure Ha'ri doesn't do anything dirty! So come on, Tohru!" He smiled. "Kagome you too!"

"Look, you—" Hatori started.

Momiji stood next to her. "Tohru is a mädchen. She'd be scared to be left alone with a man." He turned to Kagome, "But I think Kagome will be fine."

H—he's been listening? Well, if Momiji is going to be there, I feel a little better.

A surprise summons from Hatori Sohma. Kagome cannot help but wonder what he wants to so badly talk to them about.

Kagome stepped out of the restroom with her hair in a braid as she twirled in the dress. "How is this princely?"

Yuki laughed a little, "It looks good but Kagome please don't call me that anymore. I hate it."

"What would you like me to call you?"

"Yuki, if you please."

Kagome smiled, "Okay Yuki." Let's say when they returned everyone was upset because Yuki wasn't wearing the dress anymore. He apologized but said he did not want to wear it any longer. Kagome sported the look and surprisingly hung around with Yuki for the rest of the event. It was fun because they were themselves around each other.