"Hold still, I need to concentrate."

Meili had her eyes closed as Izumo painted liquid eyeliner on the upper eyelid. Over to the side, Izumo's friend Paku was powdering a soft pink blush on Shiemi's cheekbones. All four of their dresses were laid across Meili's bed and they were sitting on the floor of her room. Earlier, Shiemi had come to Meili asking for help getting ready for the dance. Meili had almost been thinking the same thing, and so they'd called Izumo and Paku for help.

When Izumo finished painting the eyeliner on, Meili opened her eyes slightly, trying not to ruin the makeup. She wasn't used to doing these things, but it was sort of fun. As she felt the eyeliner dry, she opened her eyes fully.

"Is that it?" She asked. It was about a half hour until the dance, and Meili wanted to make sure she could meet the others in time.

Izumo nodded. "Yeah. That's it. By the way, you might want to go check in on the boys. Make sure they don't mess up."

Meili nodded. "Sure." She stood up and walked to the door. Her elaborately made up face contrasted her short shorts and her tank top greatly. She opened the door and walked down the hallway a couple of doors to Rin and Yukio's room. Coming to a stop, she knocked on the door lightly.

"Come in." Rin said from the other side, and he opened the door. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, looking like he'd woken up an hour ago with awful bed head. "Wow. You look… good." He smiled.

"What've you been doing this whole time? I thought you'd be getting ready." Meili frowned, looking Rin up and down.

"I was about to get ready. It's not like there's that much to do." Rin said, scratching the back of his head. "I just wear my uniform as usual, right?"

"No! You need to wear your full uniform. Don't be lazy!" Meili said, getting mad.

Rin sighed. "Fine." He started moving around, pulling out his uniform.

"Where is Yukio?" Meili asked, looking around in their room. He wasn't there, and his coat was gone.

"He had some sort of mission, I think. He's been gone all day." Rin said, dusting off the shoulders of his jacket. "I've got to change now, so could you leave?"

Meili sighed and left his room and walked back to her own room, opening the door and walking in. Shiemi and the others were beginning to put on their dresses, and Izumo turned to Meili when she entered.

"Well, are they ready?" Izumo asked.

"Yukio had a mission or something, and I told Rin to get ready. He'll be dressed soon." Meili was about to start getting dressed, but remembered her tail. "I'm going to get dressed in the bathroom. I've got this scar I'm self-conscious about." She grabbed her dress and left the room before any of them could say anything. She went into the bathroom and immediately changed into her dress, slipping the dress over her face without messing up her hair or make up. She then took a quick glance in the mirror to make sure everything was still in place. When she saw that all was good, she tucked her tail away among the folds in her dress.

As she walked out of the bathroom, she saw Rin walking down the hall, wearing his uniform, his jacket unbuttoned and his bed head still as lively.

"Rin. Come here." She called him over. "You need to button your jacket." She buttoned the jacket up, smiling. She smoothed out the jacket against his chest and her hands slowed as she realized what she was doing. Her face burned red, and she removed her hands. She turned away, scrambling for words. "Y-your hair." She said. "I'll fix it." She walked into the bathroom and came back with a cupped handful of water. She dipped her right fingers into the water and began smoothing down the monstrous bed head.

Once his hair was tamed, Meili sighed. "There. It's better now." She smiled.

Rin patted the top of his head, feeling that it was straightened and only slightly damp. "… Thanks." He smiled at her.

Meili blushed again, though it was slightly less noticeable than before. "Yeah. No problem. How about you wait while I go check to see if the others are ready?" She asked, looking away.

"Um, sure." He answered, looking a bit puzzled. "You're okay, aren't you? Your face is red." He reached to put a hand on her forehead.

Meili stepped away from his hand. "It's fine!" She reassured him. "I'm just really excited for the dance!" She spun and walked back to her room. When she opened the door, she saw that the other girls were finishing getting ready. Paku was in a soft pink dress with lace trim that suited her hair color perfectly. Izumo was wearing a black backless dress with gold rings holding the strap and lining the neck.

"Okay! Let's get going!" Meili smiled as they walked out together and met Rin, whose eyes traveled over the group of them before resting on Meili.

"Well… Shall we go?" He asked.

They met the others at the entrance to the school. Shima cracked a few smart remarks to Izumo and Paku, resulting in his receiving of a well placed insult from Izumo. Meili laughed with the others before they headed into the ballroom. There were lavish decorations all over the room, and food and drink lined the far wall. Girls in satin and lace dotted the floor, while the boys lined the walls sitting in chairs and leaning against the molded walls. Meili's faced brightened with the lights up high above her. Outside, the sun was beginning to set, and lanterns were hung off the wall. There was a balcony that overlooked the courtyard of the academy.

"It's so pretty!" Shiemi exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with the light above her.

Meili turned as a live orchestra began playing. She listened as a beautiful lilting waltz began playing. Several girls who had managed to coax their dates from the edge of the room began to twirl with their partners. Meili felt like she would stand out if she tried dancing. She'd never been taught how to dance formally. She stood to the back as the others went ahead. After a few minutes, Rin walked up to her holding two glasses of punch from the bowl at the other end of the room.

"Are you okay? Why aren't you out there dancing?" He asked.

Meili smiled nervously. "I've never learned how to dance. I would just embarrass myself out there."

Rin frowned for a bit. Meili got the feeling that he'd wanted to dance with her.

"Do you want to go to the balcony? I'd like to see the sun set." Meili said, taking his hand and pulling him across the dance floor. They had to dodge a few dancing couples, and Meili caught a glimpse of Shima flirting as usual with a group of girls. Shiemi was filling a plate with sweets along with Izumo and Paku.

Meili reached out her hand and turned the doorknob, opening it and walking into the cool night air. The sun was barely hanging over the horizon, and it was drowsily sinking lower. Meili stepped over to the balcony's edge, her heels clicking on the stone floor. Out here it was quiet, and only the loudest noises bled out from the ballroom. Rin walked up beside her, leaning on the railing and turning to face her. As Meili stared at the sun, she sighed. The new silence seemed to have dragged back the thoughts from a few days ago, and her face darkened.

"What's wrong?" Rin asked.

Meili faced him. "How did you feel when you found out you were half demon?"

Rin frowned. "Well, since it came along with my dad's death, I was pretty upset. I'm always scared, too, that it'll take me over and make me hurt my friends."

"I see. I was feeling like that, too." Meili said, turning as the sun fell below the horizon at last, only an orange glow remaining where it'd been. "I get scared that I'll hurt the others. I'm especially scared for you, knowing you feel the same things I do. But at least you have some control of your powers. I feel like mine could just go crazy any time."

Rin stopped her by laying his hand over hers. "It's okay. If you lose control, I'll stop you before you can hurt anyone."

I've decided I'm going to stop this chapter here. I had a hard time actually stopping this chapter. Everything flowed so well that I couldn't find a stopping point. So you get an extra long chapter this time! I've gotten to where I only write Monday to Friday because of school. I really like how much this plot has developed.

I failed my third six weeks of economics… So I'm ineligible and I can't play a solo or ensemble this year for band. Luckily, I can still sing my solo and ensemble for choir. I was sitting writing during band, and one of my friends walked up to me shaking his head. (Jokingly) I told him I was writing fanfiction and he asked what gay couple I was putting together. I simply told him that not all fanfiction was gay couples. (Though it does seem like there is a lot of that…)

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I forgot to celebrate for the tenth chapter! This has really changed a lot from what I first imagined, but it turned out well!