A/N: Shorter chapter, kind of a filler. Next one will be more exciting, promise. The restaurant mentioned here is real... Izakaya is traditional Japanese food... Enjoy!

Chapter 19: Blind Date!

An entire month passed by in the blink of an eye. Saya hadn't heard much from Sayo, only knowing that she and Yoshida were participating in more competitions as December neared. Saya had been so buried by her studies that she was unable to have much fun lately. Mitsu was the same, and was completely miserable since she had to work on top of study. Kiri and Maki were also super busy with studying and work. None of the girls had talked to the guys since the pool party. Juri too was having a hard time keeping her nose in a book lately. Sayo was the only one who wasn't studying her butt off.

Ryu wasn't effected by the amount of studying his classes required lately. He was used to stuffing his nose in a book ever since high school was over that it ceased to bother him anymore. Hayato found it annoying since Ryu was always cooped up in his room. He had no one to talk to, which made him feel alone. Hyuga was working diligently as Kojima's apprentice, and enjoyed seeing Yoshida and Sayo perform at night. Tsuchi and Take were too busy studying like the rest of them to be bothered.

Sayo was walking around the shopping street one afternoon, searching for some new skirts to wear for dance practice. Yoshida was busy trying to find costumes that suited their next competition and wanted it to be a surprise for her, like he always did. She was used to it by now, though.

Walking out of the store she had just finished checking out, she bumped into someone by accident. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized with a bow.

"Oh, no it's okay, I wasn't really paying much attention to where I was going," the guy responded, sounding a bit embarrassed, and familiar.

Sayo lifted her body up and took a long look at the guy. "Ah! Misawa-kun!"

"Eh?" Misawa opened his eyes curiously, to see just who exactly had bumped into him. "Ah, Tsukioka-chan."

"It's been a while," she smiled at him, patting his arm. "I thought I told you to call me Sayo-chan?"

"Ah, yes," he nodded his head shyly, rubbing the back of it. "It has been a while."

"How've you been?" she motioned for him to move out of the pathway so they weren't creating traffic on the sidewalk.

"I've been doing all right, working and studying," he smiled broadly, looking comfortable now.

"That's good," Sayo smiled. She was happy that he went on to college. He was a smart guy when he put his mind to things.

"What about you?" he turned the tables, looking straight at Sayo with curious eyes.

"Oh, I've become a professional dancer," she smiled, looking out at the street, a few cars passing by. It was after lunch time, so not very many people were out and about right now.

"Wow, that's amazing," he looked impressed, eyes sparkling.

Sayo could only chuckle at the look on his face. She felt like she was looking at a child who just saw Yatterman or something of the like. A crooked smile spread across her lips as she remembered how shy he used to be around her.

"I'm glad you found something you like to do," he told her, a kind smile filling his face. It reached his eyes, telling her he was being genuine with her.

"Thanks," she smiled back, closing her eyes. His manners almost reminded her of Juri. Her eyes shot open as she got an idea. "Hey, do you have a girlfriend now?"

"That was sudden…" Misawa looked taken aback by the rapid change of subject, but complied to answering her. It was his curiosity taking over. "No, I don't."

"What would you say to a blind date?" she questioned, the mischief and excitement glowing brightly in her eyes. She gripped her seat as she waited for his answer to her question.

"Omiai?" Misawa cocked an eyebrow up at her in question.

"Not an omiai, just a date with a girl you've never met before," she shook her head, figuring he would take it that way. "It's not like you're gonna marry her."

"Yeah, too young for marriage yet," he chuckled, feeling embarrassed by his thoughts. "But, sure, a blind date would be okay, I guess."

"All right," Sayo nodded her head, trying to think of how she should proceed in setting this up. "Hey, let me have your number so I can contact you."

"Oh, sure," Misawa got out his cell phone and handed it to her. She accepted it, inputting her information into his system, then called her own phone to get his number.

"Thanks," she handed his phone back to him. "I'll let you know about the date after I talk to her."

"What's her name?" the two of them got ready to part ways for now.

"Kitano, Juri-chan," Sayo smiled, knowing that they would be perfect together. He was just what Juri had been looking for in a guy. It was a shame that Juri had never met him while she was dating him during high school. She honestly hadn't thought about it until now.

"Sounds cute," he smiled, turning around to continue on his way.

"I'll see you later then," she called to him. He only waved to her as he kept on walking. Sayo sighed, thinking of a good place for the two to have their first date. Maybe Yoshida would be able to help her figure that out. Reminding herself of the skirt she was looking for, she continued to search around the shopping street until she found the perfect one.

Later that night, Juri got a phone call from Sayo. There was a lot of noise in the background. She figured she was at the Dream Star, working. "Hello? Sayo-chan?" she answered, her roommates peering at her curiously.

"Hey, Juri-chan, what would say if I told you that I had a blind date for you?" Sayo asked, sounding like she was quite pleased with herself.

"A blind date? Like an omiai?" Juri cocked her eyebrow in confusion, reacting the same way Misawa had.

Sayo only laughed. "No, not an omiai," Sayo said in between her laughter. "He said the same thing…" she mumbled, even though Juri could hear her.

"Okay…" Juri was getting a little more confused than she should have.

"Just a date with someone you've never met before," Sayo explained simply.

"Oh, I guess I could go," Juri shrugged her shoulders, knowing her nosy roommates were listening and hanging on to every word she was saying.

"Good, because I really do have one for you," Juri could hear the smirk on Sayo's face.

"Oh, well, that's unexpected," Juri blinked. "With who?"

"Misawa, Hiro-kun," Sayo answered, waiting for Juri to recognize the name.

"Oh, the one guy you were dating at the end of high school," Juri nodded her head, finally understanding. "I never actually did get a chance to meet him."

"So now you can," Sayo told her. "Just come to Kyobashi Megumi-ya on Tuesday next week, okay?"

"Okay, that's in Ginza, right?" Juri asked just to make sure she was thinking of the same place.

"Yeah, that's the one," Sayo answered.

"Okay, Tuesday at Kyobashi," Juri found a piece of paper and pen to write it down on, or else she'd probably forget. Next Tuesday was the beginning of October. Sayo only had two more months until she left for America.

"Right, I'll be there in the beginning to introduce you to each other, then I'll be out of the way," Sayo joked, but was also quite serious.

"Alright, I'll see you next Tuesday, then," Juri smiled, having written everything she needed to know.

"Good, I've gotta get back on stage before Yoshida-kun yells at me again," Sayo spoke quickly. "See you."

"Mm, see you," Juri smiled, hanging up the phone. She had a date. Her! A date! She could hardly believe it.

"So, what are you doing next Tuesday?" Fuyumi muttered next to Juri.

"Ah!" Juri hadn't been expecting her to be right there, so she was quite startled.

"Well?" Mizuki showed up on her other side.

"Uh, I have a blind date," Juri spoke softly, reddening. She had never had a blind date before.

"Oh?" Fuyumi reeled, almost squealing.

"A blind date?" Mizuki had stars in her eyes.

"Yeah, with my friend's ex-boyfriend," Juri nodded, still red in the face.

"Wow, talk about a hand-me-down," Fuyumi calmed down hearing that bit.

"Well, they weren't really dating," Juri tried to explain. "They only ever held hands in the two months that they were supposedly dating."

"That's weird, didn't she like him?" Mizuki had crashed back down to earth as well.

"Well, they were better off as friends," Juri shrugged her shoulders simply.

"Hmm," the two girls nodded their heads, losing interest in the conversation and walking away.

"You did what?" Saya questioned over the phone.

"Yeah, I set Juri and Misawa-kun up on a blind date," Sayo nodded her head, feeling confident about this set up.

"I can't believe you did that," Saya sounded incredulous, but knew Sayo enjoyed doing things like this.

"Hey, they would make a good pair, and you know it," Sayo chastised her cousin. "I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, though…"

"Honestly Sayo," Saya sighed. It was obvious that she was exhausted from studying so much lately.

"Yeah, I know, I'm a genius," Sayo joked.

"Sayo!"

Sayo could only laugh at her cousin's little outburst. She had to admit, it was a good idea to get those two together. After all, if they weren't introduced, they would probably never meet each other on their own. It was up to Sayo to make it happen.

"I give up," Saya sighed, knowing that Sayo was right.

"I'm pretty sure that they'll like each other," Sayo reassured her cousin. Saya did know Misawa, so she knew what Juri was in for. More than likely the boy would be shy at first. Then again, Juri would be too.

"Yeah, they'll just have to get to know each other first," Saya agreed.

"I got them a reservation for next Tuesday at Kyobashi Megumi-ya in Ginza," Sayo informed her cousin.

"Oh, izakaya, huh?" Sayo could hear the smirk on her cousin's face.

"Yeah, figured it was the safest route, you know?" Sayo nodded her head.

"Yeah, good choice," Saya agreed. The two sat on the phone in silence for a minute or so before Saya spoke up again. "Only two months before you leave, getting nervous yet?"

"Who me? Nervous?" Sayo grinned, trying to make light of her situation. She was leaving the country. She wouldn't be able to see her family and friends for a while.

"Yeah you," Saya replied. "Are you going to at least see Odagiri beforehand?"

"I…" Sayo found herself struggling to decide. After what happened last month, she wasn't sure if she wanted to chance another event like that happening again. "I don't know."

"You should," Saya told her cousin flat out. It was the best thing she could do for now.

"But, what if…" Sayo stopped herself from finishing her sentence.

"What if what?" Saya asked, a knowing air to her voice.

"Nothing," Sayo shook her head, even though Saya couldn't see her.

"It's something, Sayo," Saya said simply. "It's never nothing."

"Well, it's nothing this time, okay?" Sayo felt anger rising in her. She didn't want to have a conversation like this with her now.

"Okay, see you later, then," Saya resigned.

"Yeah, see you later," Sayo hung up after saying her farewell to her cousin and flopped down on her bed with an exhausted sigh.

Before they knew it, it was the first Tuesday of October. The day of Juri and Misawa's blind date had finally come. Sayo made sure she was there on time, before the two of them showed up at the restaurant. She stood outside the front doors waiting for them. Juri was the first one to show up.

"Ah, Juri-chan," Sayo smiled warmly at her friend, hugging her lightly. "Are you ready for this?"

"I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Juri chuckled, feeling as if that were the actual truth. She was quite nervous about this. She hadn't been on a date in years.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Sayo reassured her, letting her go.

Juri stood next to Sayo in her elegant, yet casual, white flowing blouse, with quarter length sleeves. Her legs were mostly covered by navy blue capris. Her feet were squished into white pumps. She looked quite adorable. It gave her an innocent air. (Link: http:/ s718. Photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = JuriCapris2 .jpg )

A few minutes later, Misawa came into Sayo's field of vision. "There he is," she smiled, waving at him a little to get his attention. Juri leaned forward a little to see him.

Misawa walked down the street in a black blazer over a black v-neck shirt. He had on a black belt to hold up his denim jeans. Converse were on his feet. He had to keep it casual somehow. He looked good nonetheless. Sayo almost marveled at the sight. He certainly didn't look like he had in high school. He'd straightened out a lot. He even looked a lot different from when she had seen him the previous week.(Link: http:/ media. photobucket. com/ image/ Mizushima % 20hiro/ sonna212/ Mizushima % 20Hiro/ a06ef3212284a0_full .jpg ?o = 561 )

"Hey Misawa-kun," Sayo greeted him once he was next to her, glancing at Juri. "This is Kitano, Juri-chan."

"Nice to meet you," he bowed to Juri politely. She bowed back with a small, timid smile. This guy used to be in Kurogin's class 3-D? She could hardly believe it.

"Juri-chan, this is Misawa, Hiro-kun," Sayo introduced.

This time it was Juri's turn to bow to him. "Nice to meet you."

"Well, the two of you have a reservation here, so go have a nice dinner and get to know each other," Sayo informed them, one of her hands on one of each of their shoulders, guiding them inside.

The two entered the establishment without Sayo tagging along behind them.

"Welcome," the hostess greeted them as they approached her. "How can I help you?"

"We have a reservation for two," Hiro answered the hostess's question.

"Under what name?" she flipped open the book for reservations on her pedestal to today's date.

"Either Kitano or Misawa," Hiro answered, not sure which name Sayo had used to make the reservation.

The hostess searched through the list for one of the two names. "Kitano, Juri-san and guest?" she looked up from the book.

"Yes, that's us," Juri nodded her head from behind Misawa.

"All right, please follow me to your table," the hostess grabbed two menus and lead them inside the restaurant. The two followed, looking around the restaurant. "Here we are," the hostess stopped at a table in the back, away from other people, that had a candle in the middle of the table and a wine glass filled with water at each place setting. "Have you dined with us before?" the hostess asked, placing a menu on either side.

"No," both of them shook their heads, sitting on opposite sides of the table, across from each other.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your first experience with us, your server will be with you in just a moment," the hostess bowed to them, then turned on her heel and walked back to the front.

Sayo stretched her arms up into the air. She and Yoshida had just finished their practice for the night. She had surprised him when she showed up in the new skirt she had found. He reassured her that the search for their next costume was coming along very well.

"You know," Sayo smiled as she stood in front of the large window, looking out at the nightlife and the city lights. "I set up a date for my friend and my ex-boyfriend today."

"Eh?" Yoshida was surprised to hear this. Of course, he wasn't surprised about the ex-boyfriend part. He was surprised she had set them up to go on a date. He walked over to stand next to her silently. He glanced over to see her face, seeing a soft smile. "Do you regret it?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head, humming her answer. "I don't regret it at all."

"Eh…" he nodded his head, feeling like she had more to say about it.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that I made the right choice in setting the two up," Sayo admitted truthfully. Misawa wasn't the best for her, but he was more than likely the best for Juri. "They suit each other."

"Is that so…" he continued nodding his head, understanding what she was saying. "Well, I hope you hear good news from them."

"Yeah, I hope so too."

After finishing their food, Misawa and Juri paid for their meals and left the restaurant in search of a place to sit and talk. Even though they were away from other people in the restaurant, it still didn't seem very private, so they decided together that they would talk afterwards. They found that it was late enough for the park to be empty, so they sat on a bench together in the night air. Neither knew of a subject to start a conversation with, so they sat on the bench in silence, watching the people pass by. They saw three children playing together by the fountain, running around it in circles. One was obviously 'it', and was trying to touch one of the other two. Juri could only smile, remembering how the girls at her elementary school would play this game as well. Misawa also remembered playing the same game during his childhood, although, he was usually the one who was 'it'.

"You guys, that's not fair," the child who was chasing the other two stopped running and began complaining. "I've been it this whole time, it's your turn!"

"You have to tag one of us first!" the other two children taunted, still running from the third one.

"That's not fair!"

"That's the rules of the game!"

"Then I quit!" the child stormed off in a rage, angry at his friends for not playing fairly.

"Wait," the two stopped in their tracks and turned around. They only watched as the young boy headed out of the park.

"That poor boy," Juri commented after witnessing the children play. "Those two were being very unfair indeed."

"Yeah," Misawa nodded his head, agreeing with his companion. "I've been treated like that before…"

"Really?" Juri turned her head to Misawa, finding a blank, distant stare out at nothing in particular.

"Yeah," he nodded his head absently. "I was kind of a coward when I was a kid."

"But that doesn't mean you should be treated like that," Juri shook her head. She disliked when people bullied others for fun. No one person should have such control over another person like that. Its just inhumane.

"Some people think they can take advantage of the weak," Misawa mumbled, as if the topic brought back bitter memories. "That's why I changed to prove them wrong."

"Change is good," Juri smiled, watching the two children finally continue after their friend.

"Yeah," Misawa sighed, sitting up straight. "So, Kitano-san, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Oh, I have two sisters," Juri smiled warmly, picturing the two in her head. "One is younger, the other is older."

"Oh, cool," Misawa nodded his head with a smile.

"Do you have any siblings Misawa-kun?" Juri inquired with a smile.

"Ah, no, it's just me," Misawa shook his head. "Though there have been times when I wished I did have a brother or sister…"

"I think just about every only-child goes through that stage at one point in time," Juri smiled, knowing she had felt the opposite when she was younger.

"Yeah, probably," Misawa chuckled, knowing that she spoke the truth.

"So Misawa-kun, are you attending a university?" Juri inquired, switching subjects casually.

"Well, I'm actually going to a technical school," Misawa rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't have the grades to get into a university…"

"Oh, a technical school is just as good, believe me," Juri reassured him. "I almost went to one instead of the girl's college I'm at right now."

"Oh, wow, for what?" Misawa was getting curious now.

"I want to be a masseuse," Juri answered with a cheerful smile. "My parents and sisters have told me a lot that I give really good massages."

"Wow, that's nice," Misawa nodded his head. "I plan to become a web designer after school."

"Oh wow, maybe you could create my website for me," Juri joked.

"Maybe," Misawa nodded his head as they both laughed.

The two sat together and chatted for a few more hours before they decided it was too late to be out anymore. Misawa walked Juri to the station, where, once they had exchanged contact information, they parted once he knew she would be safe on her way home. Then he turned around to make his way home for the night. He felt quite pleased about getting to know Juri, and was glad Sayo set them up. He was quite interested in Juri, and really didn't want to lose touch with her.

Sayo found herself laying on Saya's couch in her cousin's shared dorm, her legs across Saya's lap. "Ne, Saya."

"Yeah Sayo?" Saya inquired lightly, preoccupied with the program on the television.

"What do you think it would be like if we hadn't met the guys until after high school?"

"…" Saya had to think about the question before she answered. She honestly had never thought about it before. "I guess, it would be a little more relaxed, since we wouldn't have seen them beaten up."

"Hmm," Sayo nodded her head as best as she could.

"Sayo, why are thinking about that kind of thing?" Mitsu asked from the kitchenette. She was busy preparing a snack for herself.

"No reason, really," Sayo replied truthfully. "I was just thinking…"

"Yeah, it probably would be different, but we probably would've ended up with the same guys anyways," Mitsu shrugged her shoulders, giving her two cents in the whole conversation.

"Hmm," Saya nodded, knowing what Mitsu meant in all reality. Sayo would probably end up having feelings for Odagiri still. And she herself would probably still like Hayato.

"Whatever," Sayo shrugged her own shoulders. "I was just saying what if…" she muttered, eyeing the television.

"Well, if we hadn't met them in high school, it would probably have been anytime after Maki and Takeda-kun started actually dating," Saya reasoned, thinking more on the subject.

"Probably would've been one by one, too," Sayo added in, following her cousin's train of thought.

"Yeah," Saya agreed, nodding her head.

"All right, I am ready to enjoy the show with my little snack!" Mitsu declared, making her way over to the couch to plop down in front of it.

"Too bad, it's almost over now," Saya tried so hard to suppress the smirk that wanted to surface on her face.

"What!"

Hayato and Ryu sat in their living room, watching television and drinking soda. It was a bit late, Hayato had just returned home from working all afternoon, dealing with women. Ryu was glad he didn't have work that night. Ever since the pool party, and the events that ensued that day, he had been seeing Sayo in his dreams a lot. He knew what the dreams were pointing to, but he refused to acknowledge that aspect of his life at the moment. And he knew Hayato was absolutely the wrong person to confide in with this information. Take was much better suited for this, but was quite out of reach right now. With this information, Hayato would run wild, tease him, and interpret the dreams in a completely wrong sense, as he had before. Ryu wished not to go through that conversation again. However, on this night, nothing of that sort was plowing through his head. In fact, he had been contemplating what their lives would have been like if they had met the girls after high school, except for Maki-chan.

"You're not reading tonight," Hayato observed as the commercial played on the television.

"No," Ryu replied simply, keeping his eyes on the television.

"You thinking about something?" Hayato returned his attention to the television, asking the question absently and not expecting a straight answer from his friend.

"Yeah," Ryu answered truthfully before he could stop himself. He received a surprised look from Hayato.

"What is it?"

"I was just wondering," Ryu paused to word the sentence in his mind before saying something stupid. "What it would be like if we hadn't met the girls until after high school."

"Hmm, good question," Hayato nodded his head and stared blankly at the ceiling. He was obviously thinking hard about what Ryu had said. "Who knows…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ryu nodded his head as Hayato moved his attention to the television again.

"Oh, there is no way that anyone could make their body into that shape…" Hayato muttered, observing as the contestants on the game show tried to form their bodies to cut out holes in a styrofoam wall.

Ryu continued to ponder the subject, not paying attention to the game show on the television. It was truly something to wonder about. And maybe, just maybe, he'd see a dream about it one of these days.