"This bamboo forest is wonderful, isn't is . . ." Tohru sighed dreamily, "The red leaves just add to the beauty . . ."

"Yes, how true." Saki agreed, "It makes me want to recite a Haiku."

Arisa adjusted her grip behind me knees, hitching my up higher on her back. "When did you get so heavy?"

I gasped in mock anger, tightening my arms around her neck threateningly. "Are you calling me fat!? maybe you're just out of shape, Uo!"

"Don't make me drop you . . ."

"You wouldn't . . ." She totally would, so I locked my wrists together just in case.

Kyo's aggravated voice drew our attention, "That's not a Haiku!"

"This isn't Kamakura . . ." Yuki sounded slightly lost.

Tohru grinned excitedly, "Ah! But if you say that, how about . . . Nakuyo Uguiso Heian Kyo?"

"Those aren't Haiku!"

I giggled, letting my chin rest on Arisa's shoulder. The class trip was just starting in Kyoto, Nara and we were already so lively. The place was absolutely beautiful, with bamboo forest, shrines, and temples all through it. It was too bad we were here with such a large group of people.

"You know," Arisa began, "This isn't the sort of place to go 'en masse' like this. It just ruins the atmosphere."

Yuki smiled sheepishly, "Saying something like that on a school trip?"

"She isn't wrong though," I leaned my head against Arisa's, "This is the sort of place you go in small groups or on dates to."

Saki sighed, sounding depressed. "Not being able to do a food tour is a pain . . ."

"You always want to eat . . ." Kyo deadpanned.

Arisa let go of my legs suddenly, making me yelp and wrap them around her hips so I didn't fall on my ass. My face ended up squished between hers and Tohru's as she wrapped her arms around the girls.

"Falling! I'm slipping Uo!"

"Would we be able to tour the shrines and temples at a more leisurely pace?" Tohru asked, grinning.

Arisa ignored me as well, "Yeah! We'll even see the gardens too!"

"And eat lots of good food." Saki smiled dreamily before looking down and away mysteriously. "And murder would occur."

I let go of Arisa's neck, landing on the balls of my feet. "Hana, darling, have you been watching those crime drama's again?"

Kyo kept pace with me as we walked, looking down at me with a small smile. "Aren't you too old for piggy back rides?"

"Bite your tongue!" I gasped, pressing a hand to my chest dramatically. "One never get's too old for piggy back rides! Some people just get too out of shape to give them properly."

An arm snaked around my neck in a choke hold, "I'll show you 'out of shape' you little shit!"

I squealed in laughter while Arisa effectively noogied my hair into a disorderly mess. After the initial panic of last minute packing and calls to work (Arisa had put in notice at our job for both of us, it turned out) we were here. A bunch of hormonal teenagers thrown together with the supervision of just three teachers.

Speaking of hormonal teens, I eyeballed a couple holding hands and making goo-goo eyes at each other.

"Hey, hey! Are they the first class trip couple?!"

"Sure looks like it." I muttered, feeling a little jealous.

"Why does the rate of being asked out always go up on trips like these?" A boy from our group asked.

Saki put her fingers to her chin thoughtfully, "Probably because people get carried away."

Tohru and I shared a glance, and she murmured. "Looks like Shigure was right. . ."

I turned away from the couple, and saw Arisa looking unbearably sad. Tohru hadn't told her yet, that she'd snuck into the Sohma house to see Kureno. Arisa's expression. . . I'd sworn a long time ago to beat the snot out of anyone who had put that expression on any one of my girls' faces. This was not acceptable. Silently, I swore that I would make Kureno feel pain for the look of sadness he put in Arisa's eyes.

"Tohru, Mandy."

"Yes?!" We both jumped out of our skins when she turned to look at us.

"Don't you think it's strange? If there's such a rush to ask people out," She turned to look at Yuki, and so did we. "The "Prince" should be getting pulled in all different directions. So why is here killing time?"

Tohru hummed thoughtfully, "Ah, now that you mention it. . ."

I scratched my head, mildly amused by the lost expression on Yuki's face. "It is a little strange."

Yuki smiled softly at Tohru, "I think Kyo is more sought after, it seems he's been pulled aside right now."

In the following pandemonium, I stayed silently rooted in place next to Tohru and Yuki. The others all went to spy on Kyo and whoever had pulled him aside. It really shouldn't come as such a surprise that Kyo would get pulled away by some girl. He really was, for all his anger issues, very handsome and more approachable than Yuki's usual cold demeanor.

Tohru reached over and laced her fingers through mine, "Mandy?"

"Miss Cho," Yuki touched my shoulder lightly, "Miss Honda, shall we go on ahead?"

"I. . ."

"Don't worry Miss Cho, Kyo will be fine." Yuki squeezed my shoulder, leading me away. "He won't be won over."

I blinked up at him, noting the twinkle in his violet eyes. "Jesus, am I really that obvious?"

Tohru giggled, staying close to my side. Yuki smirked, "Not to that idiot."

I groaned, smacking my free hand to my face. Then I reached up and pinched his cheeks, "You will say nothing to anyone. I know where you sleep, kid."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Miss Cho."

"Good boy." I patted his cheek lightly, then draped an arm over Tohru's shoulders as we walked. "I wonder what kind of ruckus Uo and Hana are causing. Hopefully nothing like the time Kyo attacked that girl in class, in the beginning."

As it turned out, it had been Arisa and Kyo causing the ruckus. It had been broken up by one of the teachers who sent them on their way.

Yuki looked spectacularly unimpressed, "So, you got yelled at by a teacher and came back?"

"Ah," Tohru gasped, "Are you alright?!"

They were obviously fine. I stayed silent, watching Kyo's sullen facial expressions. It had obviously not gone in the other girls' favor.

"Everything is fine Tohru," Saki assured her, "I was with them the whole time, so nothing major happened."

"Liar!" Kyo said, "You were off buying snacks."

I snickered, "Sounds about right."

Arisa groaned, running a hand through her hair. "We're just lucky it was Mayuko that caught us. AH! But that really pisses me off! She just assumed things and took her anger out on me!"

I blinked at her, then turned to Kyo. "What started that none-sense?"

"Nothing. . ." Kyo closed his eyes, obviously irritated. "It's none of your business."

Kyo didn't see my flinch at his tone, because his eyes were closed. However, it seems like everyone else did. In a flash, Yuki was right behind me, reaching over my head to karate chop Kyo on his head. Hard.

"You Destructive Idiot!"

I turned away from the ensuing chaos, walking away. That left Tohru to stand gaping at Kyo and Yuki and the others to wonder just what had happened. I needed to leave before I said something I regret. It had hurt, to have that tone aimed at me. Having it paired with the words "None of your business" just made it worse.

Because I was angry, I stopped at the nearest food vendor and payed for a stick of sweet dango. Screw what the teachers said about snacking, I was pissed and needed something else to focus on. Something that didn't feel like a jagged tear in my chest.

I leaned against a stone wall, watching people walk by. With these crowds, I hoped the boys were careful. The last thing that we need is one of them turning into an animal and being revealed. I don't think Hatori could handle this many people. Someone was bound to slip through the cracks.

That boy . . . it had been a long time since he'd been so dismissive of me. I don't think he's been that rude since the first few weeks of him moving into Shigure's house. That he said that in front of our friends, only added an embarrassed fuel to the fire in my cheeks. It was rather like being scolded in front of customers by your boss.

I didn't like feeling embarrassed, and I hated being dismissed in front of my friends like that. I would have to thank Yuki later for leaping to my defense like that. It was really sweet of him, and rather Big Brother too.

"Yo."

I slid my gaze over to Kyo as he leaned on the wall next to me, letting the dango stick hang out of the corner of my lip. He had his hands stuck in his pockets and he was studying his shoes. Good. Let him feel bad. I was no Tohru to instantly forgive him being a dick unnecessarily.

I leaned my head back against the wall, looking up at the sky. "Hey."

He sighed, removing a hand from his pocket to run it through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry for. . ."

"Being a dick?" I supplied helpfully.

Kyo looked up from his shoes, scarlet eyes wide and surprised. He was even blushing a little bit. I sighed, turning so my shoulder was pressed against the wall and my arms were crossed over my stomach. He was trying to apologize, and I knew saying sorry was hard for him in general. After that little spectacle with Yuki, he was probably flustered enough without me adding to it.

I smiled slightly to soften my words, "I forgive you. Just don't take it out on me when you're upset about something. It doesn't feel good, and it makes you look like an ass when I know you're not."

It kind of felt like he was trying to push me away, before his deadline came up. I wouldn't let that happen. Not to us.

Kyo was obviously not expecting that response, and blinked down at me uncertainly. He was too adorable. I reached out and lightly touched my fingers to his chest, right above his heart.

"You're a good person Kyo, and I know how sometimes you speak without thinking first. I was just caught off guard is all."

Kyo reached up and caught my hand as I was dropping it, smiling softly at me. "You don't always have to be nice, you know."

I blushed, both because he was so undeniably hot when he got that look on his face, and because he was holding my hand so firmly. I could see why the other girl had pulled him aside and confessed her feelings, even if she didn't know him as well as I did.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I sniffed, pouting around my bamboo skewer. "Just last week I cussed Kagura out for dislocating my shoulder. Cussing people out is not nice."

Kyo tossed his head back and laughed. Really laughed. God, I loved being able to put that expression on his face. I loved him.

"Never change Mandy." He said, tugging me along behind him as he started walking. "Hey, didn't you and Tohru want to get the 12 Zodiac display kit?"

I blinked at him, surprised that he'd remembered. Then looked fondly at the charm bracelet dangling from my wrist, "Yeah, she already has a shop all picked out and-"

He looked over his shoulder at my abrupt halt in conversation. "Hm?"

"Damn it all. . ." I smiled sheepishly, "I left my wallet in Tohru's bag."

His eyes dropped to my chewed on skewer, "How'd you get that?"

"I made sure to leave some cash in my pocket just in case I got separated from the group. . ."

"Come on. . ." chuckled Kyo, tugging into moving again.

We met back up with our group and almost instantly I was assaulted by Tohru, Arisa, and Saki. The girls pulled me away from Kyo, wrapping their arms around me in a group hug. I sent Kyo an apologetic smile before letting them pull me along into whatever are we were seeing next.

Later, right before we were separating into boys rooms and girls rooms, Yuki pulled me aside.

"Did he apologize?"

I smiled up at him, "Yes. Thank you for earlier, by the way. It was very sweet of you to do that."

Yuki smiled bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck. "Miss Cho, you once said that you thought of me as a brother. I find myself feeling the same way. If I were to have had a sister, I don't think I could have done better."

Oh. . . I blinked away the tears that pricked at my eyes. I would not cry. I. Would. Not. Cry. But, that had to be one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me. I reached up and grabbed his ear, pulling the tall bastard down to my height so that I could kiss his forehead.

"Yuki, you know what siblings do?"

He blinked at me, looking so adorable hunched over with my fingers clasped on his ear. "What is that Miss Cho?"

I leaned in as if whispering a super important secret, becoming even more amused when he did the same thing. "They call each other by their first names."

The look on his face! It was a mixture between disbelief and confusion. I let go of his ear and covered my mouth with both of my hands to muffle the laughter.

"Seriously though, Yuki." I huffed, fanning my face with a hand. "We've lived together for almost three years now. I think you can get away with calling me Mandy or even Amanda if that's what you prefer."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, "I suppose. . . Amanda. I can do that."

I grinned, "I think that just might be the first time you've ever said my name. Now, I know something else and I feel that I must share it with you."

He smirked down at me. "And what is that?"

"Don't you get all smug with me little boy!" I poked a finger into his chest, "Don't think I haven't noticed you and Tohru getting all nice and close. I saw you holding hands at the villa."

He blushed, "M-Miss-"

I wagged finger under his nose, enjoying this probably more than I should have been. "Trust me on this Yuki, I can read the two of you like a book. You'll get so much further with this thing you two have for each other if you just say her name!"

Seriously, after all that we as a group have been through, he still insists on the formality of calling us by our first names. I know being polite is a good thing, but sometimes you just needed to let go a little.

He stared at me for a moment, the puffed out his cheeks and sighed. "You. . . Don't ever change Amanda."

I smiled happily at the use of my first name, then realized something. "You know, that's the second time someone has said that to me today."

"Then perhaps you should heed the advice."

"Mandy! Hurry up!"

I rolled my eyes as Arisa's voice echoed down the hall. "Alright, I should go before she comes to get me."

Yuki ruffled my hair, making me squawk unbecomingly. "Goodnight Amanda."

"Night Yuki."

~LINE BREAK~

It turns out that some of the girls and boys had snuck off to each others' rooms while the four of us slept. It kind of reminded me of Ayame's story of kids sneaking off to the red light district during their class trip. I suppose our class was rather tame compares to theirs, but I got the feeling that Shigure had most likely been an instigator in that scenario.

We met Kyo at breakfast, who was looking slightly ruffled. I resisted the urge to smooth out his hair and sat next to him. Tohru sat on my other side and the girls sat across from us. He grunted into his eggs.

"Good morning Kyo," I chuckled, squirting some ketchup on my eggs. "Where's Yuki?"

He grimaced at my use of ketchup, wrinkling his nose a little. "Still waking up."

I imagined the boys' reactions to Yuki's zombie impression and snorted into my hands. "Oh, god, that is too good."

Arisa kicked my shin lightly, "I would love to be a fly on the wall for that scene."

"Oh, um, do you think Yuki will be okay?" Tohru asked, looking over her shoulder like she was going to be able to see him.

Saki reached over and patted her hand, "I'm sure he will be fine."

It wasn't long until Yuki did join us, being followed by his black haired vice president. I locked eyes with Kakeru Manabe for just a second, but it was enough to make him go in another direction. Yuki looked a little confused by the sudden about face, but joined us at our table. He slid his tray in next to Tohru's.

The sight of Manabe had me remembering my first meeting with the boy. It had been his girlfriends' father who had hit Kyoko with his car. He'd died on impact. Tohru had felt like she needed to go to the funeral, and the girlfriend hadn't minded, so we went together. Back then, Tohru had still been spiraling from her mother's death, and she hadn't been the most chipper.

Manabe had taken offense to the fact that Tohru wasn't. . . I don't know, happy? He didn't like the fact that she had been acting like her world was over and had gotten in her face. Shouting and being a general ass. I had socked him in the face, bloodying up his nose. Ever since then he'd studiously avoided me and Tohru.

Smart boy. Though, it had been fun to watch his girlfriend ream him out for his behavior. Less fun was the part where I had to go to the hospital for a cast because I broke my hand with his face.

"Yo, space case!" Arisa flicked my nose, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I flinched, reflexively covering my face. "Ow! Uo, what the hell?"

She jerked her thumb at the line of kids heading for the door, "We're going to feed the deer. Are you coming? Or did you want to keep on daydreaming?"

I stuck my tongue out at her, moving to toss my tray. I must have kept eating even while off in La-La Land, because it was empty. Kyo waited for me, reaching out to tap a knuckle against my temple when we started walking with everyone else.

"You okay?" He asked, slipping his hands back into his pockets.

"I'm great." I assured him, slipping my own hands into the pockets of my skirt. "I was just spacing out."

I've decided that whenever Kyo wanted to show some sort of affection, without getting close enough to turn into a cat, he did that weird knuckle tap thing. I didn't particularly mind it, and I liked the fact that he didn't really do it to anyone else. But it would be nice if I could just hug him sometimes. I feel like he needed one every now and then, and I knew I did.

The walk to where the deer were went in a relatively peaceful silence. Most of it I spent watching Yuki and Tohru interact. They were adorable, but I could tell they were skipping delicately around each other. It made me just want to lock them in a closet until they confessed to each other. Except, just thinking of being stuck in a closet with no light made me nauseated.

Closed spaces with no light were one fast track to a panic attack for me.

"You're awfully spacey today." Kyo commented, grasping my elbow to steady me when I tripped over a root. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I was just thinking about how Yuki and Tohru should just kiss and get it over with."

Kyo blinked, jaw dropping slightly. "The hell? Where did that come from?!"

I grinned, gesturing to the two walking with Arisa and Saki. They walked close enough together that their elbows brushed constantly, and Yuki kept looking down at her with that soft expression. It was sickeningly cute. I was so jealous.

"Huh." Kyo tilted his head, looking at the two. "When did that happen?"

"Oh, probably about the same time as the beach trip." I said, smirking. "He kissed her." Oh god did I just want to leave it at that, but I elaborated. "On the forehead, but still. For Yuki that's kind of big."

"Huh. . ." Kyo seemed stumped, "That's. . ."

"It's sweet." I murmured, watching the two laughing together. "Tohru deserves it. They would be good for each other, I think."

We were provided with goodies for the deer upon arrival to their area. The deer seemed to know what we were here for, because they swarmed us in groups. Yuki decided to explain all that had happened this morning before he got to us.

"I see. . ." Arisa said, fiddling with her disposable camera. ". . .and that's why you were so late coming to breakfast, eh. Hey! Look over here!"

I laughed when she snapped a shot of a slightly confused Yuki and grinning Tohru. "Good one Uo! I want a copy of all of those when we get home."

Arisa winked at me, before looking at Yuki again. "And? What happened to the VP after that?"

"Hmm? He was complaining about something, but I wasn't paying attention." Yuki said, waving a hand dismissively. "It's alright."

"It's al-alright?" Tohru asked, still crouched next to the deer.

"It's okay." Yuki confirmed, "It's pointless worrying about that guy."

I snickered, holding my bag to my chest. The deer were extremely curious creatures, and I didn't want them getting a hold of my souvenir. Tohru and I had gone into a shop yesterday before we went back to our rooms and picked them up. We were heading to the buses from here and didn't want them to get ruined with the luggage.

Saki hummed thoughtfully, "The vice president. . . I feel like I've met him somewhere, ever since he gave that speech. . . I feel like I've seen him . . . with Tohru."

"EHH?!" Tohru spazzed, "Together with me?!"

I pursed my lips, watching her try to remember. It's not like she actually knew Manabe was the vice president. Tohru wilted, obviously not pulling anything up in her memory banks. I wasn't too upset about that. The last thing she needed to do was remember that awful day.

"M-Mandy Cho?"

I turned at the unfamiliar voice, blinking at the sight of a boy from our class. I couldn't remember his name, which probably made me a bad person, but I have seen him in our homeroom before. I vaguely remember him as one of the boys who'd called Kyo cat-lover after the little incident in class.

"Yes?" I turned to face him fully, "That's me. What's up?"

"Can I talk to you . . . in private?" He asked, obviously nervous.

Utterly confused, I followed him away from the group a little ways. Not far enough I couldn't hear them, but we were out of sight for the most part. For the life of me, I couldn't think of a reason that he would need to talk to me. Or why the hell he looked so damn nervous.

"Um . . ." He scrubbed his hands together nervously, "I just . . . I wanted to tell you . . . I just wanted to say thatIlikeyou!"

Uh . . . what? I blinked at him, mouth open. "E-excuse me?"

The boy huffed, "I like you. I have for a while. Would you go out with me?"

Oh god, this was so not happening to me right now. This crap did not happen to people like me! I stared at him, not really sure what to say.

"Look, I know we don't really know each other very well, but I think that we could-"

I held up a hand, cutting him off. "Dude, I'm just going to stop you there. I'm sure you're a really nice person, but I don't even know your name-"

I cut off with a yelp as he swooped in, arm wide like he was going to try and scoop me into a hug. That wouldn't have been so bad, except his lips were puckered like he was going to try and kiss me. I slid to the side, gently dropping my shopping bag out of the way, before grabbing his arm and hooking it up behind his back. He stopped with a yelp, obviously shocked by my move.

"What the actual fuck?!" I cried, "What part of that did you think was a good idea? The last thing you do when a girl is rejecting you, is try to kiss her!"

He craned his neck to look at me over his shoulder, "But . . . but I thought if I could just show you. . ."

"Mandy?!"

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Who the hell is that?"

"Amanda, why are you restraining him?"

I looked up, blushing at the sight of my friends staring at me. They must have heard the commotion and realized I wasn't with them anymore. Tohru looked unsure as to what to do, while Arisa and Kyo looked like they were ready to jump in and help. Saki and Yuki, though, were staring at the boy with calculating eyes.

I let him go, scrubbing a hand over my face. "Look, kid, no means no. Not 'She said no, maybe I can change her mind by kissing her!' you got me?"

"WHAT?!"

I ignored my friends, raising an eyebrow at the kid expectantly. Now thoroughly embarrassed in front of a group of people, he looked like he wished he'd never come over here. I wished he'd never asked to talk to me.

"Yes ma'am . . ."

"Good. Now scat." I watched him run off, and then pinched the bridge of my nose. "Jesus . . ."

Next thing I know, I'm being cuddled by Arisa and Saki. Saki slid in on my right and Arisa on my left. I blinked, a little confused by the sudden affection.

"Poor Mandy," Arisa crooned, smoothing a hand over my hair. "Getting asked out by a boy . . ."

Saki looped her arms around my waist, "Did he kiss you after he said no? I can show him how that was a bad idea . . ."

"He tried, Hana. He didn't actually get that far." I assured the girls, reaching out to pat Tohru's cheek as the shorter girl smooshed in with us. "No need to do anything drastic."

Yuki huffed irritably, "He still shouldn't have done that, after you told him no."

"That little . . ." Kyo growled, clenching his fists. "I should still kick his ass . . ."

He actually moved as if to follow the other kid, and to my surprise Yuki nodded in approval. I jolted forward, out of the arms of the girls and grabbed Kyo's elbow to stop him. I dug in my heels and shook my head.

"No. Nope." I gripped his arm hard, "Bad idea. That is a very bad idea. I already took care of it, Kyo!"

Kyo scowled down at me, "Awe, come on! Even the bastard is okay with it!"

"No." I said it again, glaring over my shoulder at an innocent looking Yuki. "Stop it."

"Fine. . ." Kyo grumbled, subsiding. "You still should have beat the crap out of him."

I smirked, "If he'd managed to kiss me, I would have. Like hell I'm giving my first kiss to someone whose name I don't even know."

Yuki seemed a little surprised by that, "What about that boy . . . Hiro, I think you said his name was?"

I blinked at him, a little shocked. I only kind of remember saying something in passing about that kid when we first moved into Shigure's house.

"Damn boy, that's some memory you got there." I shook my head, "We were in middle school. All we ever did was hold hands, and back then, holding hands with another girl was cheating."

"Um, we should head for the busses." Tohru slipped her arm through mine, tugging. "That's where we were heading before we realized you were gone, Mandy."

Kyo nodded, reaching out to snag my shopping bag from the ground. "Let's go then. That evil teacher will probably leave without us if we aren't careful."

"Mayuko isn't evil! In fact, she kind of makes me think of an older version of Uo."

"My point stands."

"I'll destroy you carrot top!"

God, I loved my friends. This class trip wasn't really all that I expected it to be, and in some ways it was so much more. Really though, I couldn't wait to go home. I don't know if I could handle much more excitement like todays. What I needed was a nice book, a cup of tea, and Shigure's back porch.


HOLY CRAP!

This chapter was a doozy! I couldn't figure out where to cut it off and I know I took some liberties with a couple of scenes. I hope it wasn't to run on. I don't think I've written a chapter that was almost 5k in a long time.

I hope you enjoyed this one! Please let me know what you think! Reviews are love and motivation~

Now, on to last chapters reviews:

Guest: YES WAY I DID! I LOVE YOU TOO! AND THANK YOU!

Valerie Chavous: Oh stop! You make me blush! I'm a humongous Harry Potter nerd, so I had to throw it in there :). I can't help but feel like Kagura and Mandy would have been friends regardless of their shared love for Kyo, and of course you need Tohru in there! Even though she isn't the main character in this story, I still have major love for her. I have officially made Manyo their ship name and I love it!

Guest: Updates like yours are everything. I literally live for that little email that lets me know some has reviewed on my story! Enjoy this one!

felicia: Dude, writers block is literally the worst and I hate it with a passion too. Here is some more Manyo action!

Guest: Please enjoy this chapter! I will strive to keep updating so that you don't have to stop reading!

Guest: Another chapter for you! I'm glad you think it's well written, as I try really hard to keep it that way :)

Guest: All in good time my darling! In the meanwhile, read this!

Guest: Here's another chapter! I'm glad you bumped into my story! That happens to me all the time lol

Guest: YAY! GLAD YOU LOVE IT! Here you go! More for you!

Hosea's-wife: I am so happy you think so! Please enjoy this next chapter!

BornAgainBabyyy: No groveling needed! I have what you need right here! PHANTASMAGORICAL is an interesting word, I like it. Here you go!

Jesus that was a long Authors Note. Sorry not sorry! Let me know what you think!