A/n: Sorry for the late update! Alright there's just one more chapter to go guys! Thank you all for reading and staying with me uptill now! :D

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Chapter 9

Misaki stared at Tora as he held out a mask.

"Say that again…?"

Tora rolled his eyes.

"Like I said~ This is a Masquerade ball. So you have to wear a mask." He thrust the mark into her hands and grinned. Chiyo walked up to them in a pink gown and after exchanging pleasantries, the couple left. Misaki looked down at the mask in her hand. It was a shimmery gold mask trimmed with maroon, and had dark red plumes on the corner of the left eye. It matched her outfit perfectly. Misaki sighed and holding it up to her face, attempted to tie it.

"Allow me," A familiar voice said, as rough arms grabbed the strings from her and tied them securely. Misaki spun around and gaped at the man in front of her.

"Shintani?!"

"Misaki-chan, you're still calling me by my last name!" Shintani Hinata said, standing a head taller than her, his skin the colour of milk chocolate, and dressed in a Duke's outfit. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Misaki gave him a once over and smirked with approval.

"Not bad. You actually look manly," She said, patting his arm.

"R-Really?! Suzuna-chan will be impressed right?!" He leaned over, eyes shining with expectation.

"I-I'm sure she will…" Misaki said, taking a step back.

"Yokatta~~" (That's great/Thank God/I'm glad)

Misaki watched as Hinata puffed up his chest and marched away. She couldn't help smiling at how he never changed.

"Ah Ayuzama-san!" She turned around to see a running Suzuki trip over an invisible fold in the carpet and land in a sprawled mess at her feet. As he slowly got up and dusted his white tunic, Misaki raised an eyebrow at him.

"Let me guess, are you Julius Caeser?" Suzuki straightened out the helm of leaves on his head and grinned at her.

"Sassuga Ayuzawa san! You figured it out right away!" (Sassuga- As expected of. According to context) He turned around and waved to the empty hallway. A second later Yukimura appeared, wearing a Snow White dress and a red bow in his hair, followed by Kanou and Kentarou who were apparently dressed up as two of the seven dwarves. They made sure not to make eye contact with Misaki, as the latter shook with silent laughter.

"Y-Yukimura you look very pretty," She finally managed.

"Thank you Kaicho!" The petite man replied, teary eyed. Misaki found herself patting his head.

"Oh and by the way Ayuzawa-san, this whole thing was Murasawa-kun's idea!" Suzuki said, as he puffed his chest with pride. Kentarou on the other hand, rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I just suggested it to President Igarashi as an apology for getting you into trouble and he immediately took to the idea… He seemed more fascinated by the thought of your reaction than anything else…"

Misaki looked away, swearing to 'Thank' Tora later. After talking for a bit longer, the four men also made their way to the main ballroom as Misaki turned to her room. She was being kept under house arrest on that floor until she was asked to go downstairs. Not wanting to return to the room, she decided to explore. She turned randomly along the corridors and ended up in a large conference room. Finding nothing of interest there, she began to leave, when she heard muffled voice from the door at the far end of the room. Chastising herself for what she was about to do, Misaki crept to the door and inched it open. She placed her eye to the opening and peeked into the room.

"You really are a haughty bastard huh."

She moved slightly and Tora appeared in her line of vision.

Who is he talking to?

She strained to make out the response, but whoever it was, was either speaking very softly or on the other end of a telephone line.

"Pfft. You bet I will."

Misaki once again shifted as Tora walked towards a mini bar and laid two glasses on the table. Misaki swallowed as she heard him pour two glasses of champagne.

So whoever it is, is in the room.

Tora carried the two glasses and walked to the left of the room, away from her field of vision. He said something and laughed at his companion's reply. Curiosity burned in her and she leaned forward, in order to hear the conversation better. But she suddenly lost balance and her body leaned forward and against the door, threatening to fall into the room and blow her cover. She scrunched her eyes shut and prepared herself, but someone grabbed her arm and steadied her. Breathing out slowly, she looked up and smiled at her savior.

"Thank yo-"

Misaki was face to face with Cedric Morris or Ceddy, Gerard Walker's bodyguard, as the man looked down at her with a blank face. The colour drained from the brunette's face as she realized who was in the room. They stood staring at each other for several minutes, neither moving a muscle. Then Misaki reached down, picked up her shoes and dashed out of the room. She kept running till she was safely within the confines of her room. Leaning against the door, she took slow steadying breaths, her mind reeling at the sudden information she had got.

Gerard Walker was there. At her birthday party. Along with Tora and Ceddy. Misaki gulped as her thoughts slowed down. If Gerard was there, then did that mean…. Misaki shook her head and stared at the ground in-between her feet. Wondering why part of her vision was slightly blocked, she reached up and felt the mask on her face. Her eyes widened as she realized she had been wearing the gold mask the entire time. For a split second she wondered if that had saved her from being recognized by Ceddy. Then she realized that he would eventually realize who she was when she made her grand entrance. Scratching her head in frustration, she stomped to the bathroom, peeled off her mask and splashed her face with water.

"Make sure you don't wipe your make-up off okay?" Minako's voice said in her head. Groaning, she cussed loudly and spinning on her heel, flew out of the room. As she turned the corner that led to the main hallway, she rammed head first into somebody. That somebody shrieked and toppled over, followed by the several bouquets she was holding. Lifting the flowers off the person, Misaki saw Sakura rubbing her butt with a pained expression.

"Sakura! I was just looking for you!" She grabbed the girl's hand and tore back down the way she came. Plopping the other on the bed, she rummaged through her purse and laid the cosmetics Minako had given her, next to Sakura. Then Misaki sat down next to her and looked at her best friend expectantly. Sakura blinked and then burst out laughing.

"Oh Misaki-chan you worried me for a minute there!" She patted Misaki lightly and picking up the make-up items, started to redo the brunette's make-up.

"There! Perfect!"

"Thank you so much Sakura! You're a life saver!"

"Haha you're exaggerating~ Anyway come one! It's time for your grand entry~"

"Eh?!"

Sakura dragged Misaki out of the room and down the hall to a large set of spiraling stairs.

"You just have to climb down these. Then there'll be another set of stairs to your left. Walk down those and don't forget to smile!" Sakura hugged Misaki and skipped away, leaving behind a lost Misaki, with her hand outstretched. Sighing, she started the slow descent down the spiraling stairs. She could hear the music and chatter drift up from below.

Just how many people did he invite?!

Misaki chose to stop thinking about it, the answer obvious. She listened to the rhythmic clack clack of her heels against the marble stairs, her hand sliding down the railing and her gold bangles jingling together as she moved. Just as she reached the bottom, she placed the already tied mask on her face and adjusted the band. Bracing herself, she took a deep breath and glided towards the wide staircase on her left. As she stood at the top, every single masked person in the ballroom below turned to look at her. Misaki swallowed the lump in her throat as a hush fell on the room. Then she placed her hand on the railing and picking up the folds of her dress in the other hand, slowly descended the stairs.

The music started up again, matching her slow descent. She felt her face widening into a smile, as it did so often during important meetings or events. When she reached the bottom, two butlers moved a long table draped in white silk and trimmed with large red bows and placed it in front of her. Then four waitresses brought an enormous three-layered cake and placed it on the table. Misaki's mouth formed a straight line as she glared at the huge cake. The bottom most layer seemed to be made of chocolate brownie. The second layer looked like Vanilla ice cream and the top most layer looked like Chocolate ice cream covered with hot chocolate sauce and decorated with pieces of white and dark chocolate. The spectators clapped delightedly at the grand cake. Tora appeared from the crowd that had gathered in front of the table and placed a long thin candle in the centre of the cake. One of waitresses lit it and immediately the lights went off. Misaki blinked in the darkness.

Suddenly, her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. The candle was a sparkler and the heat from the dancing flames illuminated the invisible writing on the cake. She watched as three words appeared on the cake. The entire room burst out in cheers and started singing Happy Birthday along with the band. Tora came to stand next to her and leaning down whispered,

"Happy Birthday Misaki."

A/n: Right! BE SUPER PREPARED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER BECAUSE -fanfares and drum rolls- OUR ONE AND ONLY PRINCE CHARMING FINALLY MAKES HIS ENTRANCE.

Oops. Spoiler xD

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