Jaid: Hi everyone! Well, yes, sadly, this is the last chapter. After this is the Epilogue and then Aishiteru is finished. It's very sad, but yet, I am satisfied with my work and the response it has gotten. Thank you all!

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            So the countdown began. In the final hours before the dance, the girls dressed and primped in front of the mirror, waiting for their dates to pick them up. The guys also dressed and primped a little, though they never would have admitted it. Set couples looked forward to a romantic night together, while new couples felt a jittery nervousness that was pleasant but still un-nerving.

            Rei stood in front of the mirror, in a chiffon Burgundy gown that was spaghetti strapped and tied around her waist with a thick black velvet sash. She also wore black silk arm-length gloves.

            She had taken her hair and twisted it up with a comb, with some still falling out. Two strands were curled and framed her face. She was wearing light make-up; something she usually didn't do (except for her ever-present purple eye shadow) and wore some simple silver jewelry and black high-heeled sandals.

            Taking a deep breath, she looked at herself again. 'I'm going to have fun, I'm going to have fun.' She mentally repeated, like a mantra. 'I'm going to have fun because if I don't then Tara will kill me.'

            Picking up her purse and her black trench coat she headed outside.

            "I'm leaving!" she called.

            "Don't you want a ride?" her grandfather asked.

            "Nah, the school isn't far. I'll walk." Rei called and closed the door.

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            "Another car!" Tara called.

            "Who is it?" Katya asked excitedly.

            "Tristan." Tara grinned at her friend who waved good bye and ran down the stairs. Katya was wearing an emerald green dress that was ankle-length (with a slit up one side) and sleeveless. It had a V-neck. Her curly hair was in a half ponytail and she had black heels. She wore gold bangle bracelets, hoops and the necklace that Tristan had bought her. Going down the stairs, she met him at the front door and hugged him enthusiastically.

            "She was sure excited." Tara commented wryly. Her own dress was a brilliant red and bared one shoulder. She was seated carefully on Tea's bed as Mai fiddled with the red-head's hair.

            "If only it was a little longer." Mai sighed. Tea frowned. Tara grinned at her friend. Tea's pale blue dress was made of a light materiel and fluttered with the slightest movement. It reminded her of a fairy dress. Mai was still in her normal clothes, but a lavender evening gown was hanging on Tea's closet door.

            "There." Mai said after some moments of silence. She'd taken the top half of Tea's hair and made a little twist around a tiara Tara had insisted Tea buy, with some of it hanging down and curled. Some curled strands framed Tea's face and the rest hung down. Mai curled this too.

            "Your turn Tara." Tea said, walking carefully to where her shoes were.

            "You look like a fairy princess." Tara told her gleefully. Tea rolled her eyes, not sure whether she should laugh or not at the blonde's tone.

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            "Big Brother!" Mokuba ran into Seto's arms. "Are you surprised? James drove me here when I asked him."

            Seto looked over at the young chauffeur, who tipped his hat respectfully and then left the room. Mokuba had all ready bounced out of Seto's arms over to Serenity.

            "Hi! Remember me?" he asked.

            "Yeah, I do." Serenity said, grinning.

            "My brother's really neat huh? I told you!"

            "Mokuba." Seto said in a quiet tone.

            "Yes, he is." Serenity put in. Seto felt his cheeks warm a little. Mokuba matched Serenity's grin.

            "Can I go to the cafeteria? They've got ice cream down there!" the little boy was hopping around. "We had a Valentine's Day party this morning at school. We were gonna have it yesterday, but then we decided it would be more fun today and I got lots of candy. Did you know that Rebecca Hawkins girl is going to our school now? Yeah, and she even brought her teddy. He looked real funny 'cause she tried to dye him pink for the day, but it didn't work, so he had all these big pink splotches."

            "I hope you didn't laugh at her, Mokuba." Serenity said, with a slight disapproving tone.

            Mokuba's face went red. "Only a little." He muttered. "Anyways, I said I would help her fix it."

            "That was very sweet of you."

            "Yeah." Seto finally found his voice. Mokuba's sugar highs always caught him a little off guard and then Serenity talking to him as if she were his…sister or mother was a little un-nerving, even though it felt right.

            "Take James to the cafeteria with you!" Seto called as Mokuba ran out.

            "Yes, Big Brother!"

            Serenity giggled as the door shut. "He's so cute."

            "Yeah." Seto agreed. "Oh blast it, we lost our place again."

            "Why don't we give up for tonight?" Serenity said. "Don't you have a school dance?"

            "How did-"

            "Joey." Serenity said. Seto nodded, then remember she couldn't see.

            "I'm not going."

            "Why not?"

            "I don't have anybody to go with." He said then paused before speaking again. "Would you go with me if you didn't have to stay here?"

            Serenity blushed. "Would you have asked?" she said softly.

            "No, I probably would not have." Seto admitted. "Not if we met at school. But…" he bit his tongue.

            "But what?" Serenity raised her head.

            "When you get out of the hospital, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?"

            "Oh." Serenity's mouth formed a perfect "O" and her cheeks went even pinker. "Sure, I mean, yes, I would, Seto. That-I would like that very much." She giggled.

            "What?"

            "That statement. 'Would you do me the honor'. I felt as if I were in a Jane Austen novel being proposed too." Serenity's giggles were now full-blown laughter. Seto had to chuckle. Her laugh was so contagious and the statement had been rather pompous sounding. Serenity held out her hand and Seto took it.

            "I'm really glad I met you." She said softly.

            "I am too." Seto answered. "I am too."

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            Yugi sighed as his grandfather drove them to Tea's house. He had borrowed the car from a lady friend Yugi had no idea existed. Gramps looked over at the small boy and chuckled. Yugi stared.

            "What?"

            "Nothing." The old man said. Yugi narrowed his eyes as the man chuckled again. Gramps noticed the stare and snorted.

            "Don't give me that look, boy." He stated. "I'm very proud that you're finally growing up. And that you finally got the guts to ask that girl out." He grinned. "Nervous?"

            "No." Yugi said defensively. Gramps raised an eyebrow.

            "Maybe a little." The boy admitted softly.

            "Don't worry. When I took your grandmother out for her first date, I was nervous as hell. Couldn't even talk straight." Gramps looked at his grandson briefly and smiled. "Don't worry, you'll do fine."

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            "Isn't it great?" Tara squealed in happiness. Duke, Tea and Yugi sweatdropped.

            "Did you even think to ask how much she had today?" Tea muttered. Duke shook his head.

            "Only six cups and they were spread out. For pity's sake!" Tara put her hands on her hips. Long blonde curls spilled out of her tiara to frame her face as she stared angrily at them. Tea glared back, Yugi smiled nervously, while Duke put his arm around her waist

            "Come on, hon." He said. "I've got the prettiest girl in the room with me and I want to dance with her."

            Tara's anger melted. "Aww, that's so sweet." She said as they went towards the dance floor. Yugi and Tea looked at each other and burst in to laughter.

            "If I ever start talking like that, shoot me." Tea said, collapsing into a seat. Yugi sat down next to her.

            "Yami says he'll shoot us both if we ever get sappy." He giggled. There was a silence.

            "You don't know how to dance, do you?" Tea asked. Yugi's smile faded and he shook his head.

            "Its okay, most guys don't. Come on, I'll teach you." She stood at held out a hand. Yugi's smile returned and he took it as they headed for the floor.

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            "They're back!" Ankh called. Scales joined him at the window.

            "By Ra." He muttered.

            "They're holding hands!" Ankh started dancing around. Scales grabbed the nearest thing (a couch pillow) and chucked it at him.

            "Quit it you fool!!!" he shouted. Ankh picked up his hat, which had been knocked down and threw the pillow back at Scales.

            "That wasn't very nice." He said.

            "Like I care." Scales growled. He didn't throw the pillow this time but came after Ankh, swinging. The healer gave a surprised noise, and grabbed the other pillow to fend off Scales.

            Isis and Shadi walked in to a full blown pillow fight. They exchanged glances, and sighed.

            "Do we leave?" she asked.

            "Your groceries…"

            "Are all non-perishable." Isis dropped the bags and grabbed his hand. "Let's just go."

            Shadi nodded and they retreated, leaving the pillow fighting spirits.

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            Rei smiled at the young man who she was dancing with. It was a tentative smile; Ichuro was the captain of the track team.

            "I'm surprise you didn't have a date." He said. "Or did you just beat all the guys off?"

            She looked up into his teasing green eyes. "That's not funny." She said, but smiled anyway. "Thanks for dancing with me."

            "Ayame hated seeing you standing by yourself." He said. "So did I incidentally, but I think Muriko is not too happy." Ichuro nodded to his girlfriend. Rei grinned.

            "So your sister and I are getting you into trouble, eh?"

            Ichuro laughed. "Something like that."

            Ryou had just entered uneasily. He looked around. Rei had to be here; her grandmother said that she had dressed and left the house. 'I have to find her.' He thought. In the crowd, he saw her…dancing with someone else and laughing. He swallowed hard. 'I'm too late.'

            The dance ended and Ichuro and Rei headed for the punch bowl. Duke and Tara were all ready there.

            "Thanks for the dance." Ichuro grinned. "But I'd better find Muriko." She nodded.

            "Thanks." She said softly. Ichuro waved bye as he headed to his girl.

            "Rei!" Tara hissed. "Ryou's here."

            "What? Where?" Rei asked.

            "He just walked out." Duke said, handing a glass to Tara. The blonde's green eyes widened.

            "Oh no! He must have seen you with Ichuro and gotten the wrong idea!" she gasped. "You have to go talk to him."

            "About what?" Rei said stubbornly. "He all ready made it clear he doesn't want to be around me again."

            "You're being stupid!" Tara said, all but shouting and very tempted to smack some sense into her friend.

            "He looked rather heart broken." Duke put in, trying to keep Tara calm. Rei was quiet, then simply turned and walked away. Tara sighed in desperation.

            "I don't understand her." She said angrily. "I just don't."
            Duke pulled her into his arms, feeling how straight and stiff she was. "Hey, you know how Rei is. She has to do things her own way."

            "But…but they're both being stupid!" Tara wailed into his shoulder. Duke couldn't help but smile.

            "Hey, T, they both have that right, okay?" he reminded her softly. "You can't fix everything. This one just has to work out by itself."

            Tara sighed and relaxed. "You're right."

            "About time you admitted it." Duke grinned. Tara doffed him on the head and he laughed.

            "Now come on. I was serious about being with the prettiest girl in the room and I want her to be happy with me tonight."

            Tara smiled. "Okay, okay. Let's go have fun."

            "That's my girl."

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            "Come on." Joey tugged on Mai's hand.

            "Where are we going?" she asked, as she put on her coat.

            "I had something special planned."

            "Besides the dance?" Mai asked, excitement rising a little in her voice.

            "Yeah." Joey grinned. Man, he really owed Duke for this one. Outside, there was a limo waiting.

            "No way." Mai looked at him. Joey's grin got wider.

            "What are you waiting for?" he opened the door. "Get in."

            "Joey, I…" she laughed. "Where are we going?"

            "Anywhere you want." He said soberly. Mai just looked at him for a while.

            "We could go down near the beach." She said softly. "It'll be cold, but if we're there late enough, they say the sun rise is to die for."

            "Sounds good to me." Joey said. "As long as I'm with you."

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            Ryou was walking away from the school, when he turned back and saw her. Rei stood at the top of the steps, the moonlight making her seem pale. Pale and beautiful. For a few moments, they both just stared, then Rei came down the steps towards him.

            "Hi." She said quietly.

            "Hello." He answered. There was a silence.

            "Rei."

            "Ryou."

            They both had spoken at the same time. Both smiled slightly.

            "You don't have a date." She said softly.

            "No. The girl I wanted to ask…" Ryou trailed off.

            "I don't have one either. I came because Tara wanted me to be here." Rei said directly. Ryou looked up. She was surprised by the look in his eyes. He seemed so sad.

            "I'm sorry, Rei." He said in a whisper. "I should have told you that I…I shouldn't have tried to drive you away."

            "I'm sorry too." She said. "I should have…done something."

            "Like what?"

            "I don't know!" Rei shrugged. Ryou smiled in his sweet way he did when he was genuine. Rei couldn't help but smile back.

            "Maybe we should start over." She said quietly and held out a hand. "Hi. My name's Rei Yukimona. You go to my school."

            "Pleased meet you Rei. I'm Ryou Bakura." He took it. "You're trembling!" For the first time, Ryou noticed the spaghetti strapped gown. "Goodness gracious." He took off his jacket and put on her shoulders. "You must be freezing."

            "Yeah." Rei looked down ruefully. "That was stupid of me."

            They both looked at the school.

            "Do we have to go in?" Ryou murmured.

            "You can hear the music out here." Rei said softly. Ryou looked at her and smiled again. He held out a hand and Rei took it. Slowly, they began to dance.

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There is something that I see

In the way you look at me

There's a smile there

That returns in your eyes

What an unexpected way

On this unexpected day

Could it be that this is where I belong?

It is you I have loved all along

There's no one else for me

It is finally clear to me

You're the home I've searched

For so long

It is you I have loved all along

Happy Valentine's Day.

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Is everyone WAFFed out yet? Lol. Welp, there it is! The dance. The Epilogue should be up soon. I hope everyone likes it…

Black Mistress – Oh goody! I can get any character I want now! YIPPEEE!!

ShadowDragon – Um, yes, actually I am. You'll learn more in the Epilogue.

SilverShadow – Really? I don't recognize that song. Can I download it somewhere?

Indigo - ^__^ Thank you! Lol, I know. Even though I was writing the thing I couldn't help but think, 'Kiss her all ready!!!' throughout the whole thing. Oh good! Whew…LOL! Yes, Bakura's definition of 'talking' is definitely different…

K-chan – Hope you like this chappy too! ^__^

Jellybob15 – lol, be careful! I was actually thinking about cutting that out, but Mai would tease Tea like that so I kept it. You're right; it's something you'd probably never hear except in my twisted imagination. *evil grin*

Dr. Vorlon – lol, yeah, not something you hear in every fic. ^__^

Iris – O.O GOOD GOD SHE'S LOOSE!!! SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!!! Lol, just j/k. I can't get on MSN because it's being crappy right now. So you're going to have to e-mail me. (What's wrong with Anhai? Oh wait…don't tell me she can't be paired with Hworang!!! *cries*)

Anime*Angel*Fox – Yeah, I wanted a reason for why he was so…mean. Everyone has a reason right? Thanks for the compliments!

Yami Nikki – Dominic y Shataro: Muy bein, gracias! Lol, glad you liked it Yami Nikki! A train? ROFL!!!!!

Amberliz - ^__^ Here's the dance chapter. Hope you like.