"Tohru!?" It was strangely silent. Not that it wasn't before, but now there was a heavy air in the hall. Even the happy couple noticed.

"Ehh? You guys know each other?" asked Keisuke, lightly elbowing his still shocked comrade.

"Yea. We went to Junior high together."

"Is this true Tohru??" asked Mitsuki.

"H-hai. I went to school with him before I... before I came here."

"Whaaat!? You knew such a cute guy and didn't introduce me? I'm hurt!" Her face was etched with mock-hurt.

"Watch it sweetie, your current boyfriend's still standing right here." said Keisuke with a sheepish grin on his face. It wasn't that he was afraid of loosing her. Quite the contrary. They were at a point in their relationship where trust had been solidly formed. Their two friends oddly also had that trust, but in something different. A trust to keep their past THeir hidden secret. What were they exactly? What had been their relationship? What were they hiding? Keisuke could already see Mitsuki's mind calculating the possibilites. His poor friend was in for a long night. It wasn't just his girlfriend that was curious. "Arite. We won't bug you about it now... but we want details at dinner!"

The quartet went to Luigano's, a cozy Italian restaurant downtown. The entrance was packed with to-be customers, waiting in line for a free table. Luckily, they had made reservations before hand. They settled down into a booth, the guys sitting at the ends, sandwiching the two girls in the middle (dont get any ideas!). Keisuke said it was their duty to, being men, to ward off any waiters trying to get 'fresh.'

"Oh Keisuke! Stop it! You're making me blush!" said Mitsuki with a giggle. "Now if you could possibly let me out of your sight for just a minute, me and Tohru are going to go to the lady's room." With a quick peck, she shooed him up so she and Tohru could get out.

"Let's go before these guys change their minds." Together, they skipped out of sight. The guys sat in silence, sipping their water and enjoying their break.

"Your girlfriend, she's really somethin, isn't she?"

"oh, she's something all right and I'm still trying to figure out what. When I think I finally got her all figured out... just like that (he snaps), I'm back to square one."

"But that's what you like about her."

Keisuke chuckled. "I guess you know me all too well." Taking another sip of his drink, he continued. "So talk to me."

"What's there to talk about."

"Don't be coy with me, Haru. I know you're too smart for that."

Haru sighed and stared him straight at his friend. "Keisuke, she wasn't my girlfriend. She dated one of my cousins." It wasn't entiredly true, but it was a much better answer then explaining how she had lived with Shigure-Kyou-Yuki because she found out about the curse, then managed to befriend the whole Sohma clan to the point the clanhead ordered her to leave. She had denied the last part, but everyone knew it was true. They weren't sure how he had managed to convince her, or where he had hidden her, but they were all pretty sure of it and now the truth was within his grasp.

"So you're telling me that you were never involved with her??"

"Yes. And if you don't stop bugging me I'm--" Haru was about to go into his Black mode and his friend sensed it.

"Don't worry, I won't say another word." Haru was quickly calm again. Keisuke found it unusual that such a small thing had ticked him off. But in Haru's mind, he could only see Yuki. His poor, sweet Yuki, abandoned and depressed. He knew it wasn't Tohru's fault but he could not repress the anger he had first felt when he saw Yuki. He was still the quiet boy he had always been but his eyes were dead. He drowned himself in his school activities and came home every day too tired to talk or eat.

So silence ensued, one lost in deep thought while the other lingering on the after date prospects. When the waitress came, the girls were still not back. Luckily, they had left their orders with their dates. The girls returned shortly after, both of them smiling. Keisuke guessed her girlfriend hadn't approached Tohru on the subject of her past yet. Either that or she was happy to see Haru? No. Seeing the ex's relative after a possibly messy breakup wasn't the most thrilling thing. Especially if that ex's relative was your date.

Dinner was nice though the couple found themselves doing most of the talking. It seemed that their two friends were determined to stay quiet with their little secret. There was an unmistakable tension in the air and while Tohru avoided everyone's eyes, Haru seemed quite at ease. With a mischevious glint in his eyes, Keisuke ordered several bottles of wine. Filling each of their glasses he said, "Now we play a game. Someone makes a statement starting out with 'I've never..' If you've done whatever it is, you empty your cup. And I mean you drink it. Last one left who can still walk a straight line wins."

"Err.. I thought we were gonna hit the club..." said Tohru nervously, the only one in the bunch uncomfortable with drinking.

"c'mon it'll be fun. You can even go first."

"Oh no, I'm not even sure how to play. You go first Keisuke."

"Okay. But only because you insist. I've never had a crush on a guy." Mitsuki glared daggers at him, drinking up nonetheless. Tohru and Haru followed suit, shocking everyone. Haru shocking everyone, not Tohru.

Feeling their eyes he casually asked, "Oh, is it my turn?" Running his hands through his wavy black and white hair he said, "I've never dyed, color treated, or permed my hair."

"No way!" snapped Mitsuki, taking yet another drink.

"Yes... it's true." groaned Keisuke, doing the same. Only Tohru had been spared this time.

"I've never been drunk," said Tohru, cleverly realizing this could be her only opportunity in her life to say that truthfully.

"I've never smoked." Everyone stared at Mitsuki. "What?" she asked innocently. I haven't. Sighing, the two boys emptied their glasses.

"I've never dated my ex's relative." To Keisuke's surprise, no one even touched their glass. He eyed Tohru suspiciously then turned to Haru who pretended not to notice a thing. So... his friend had been lying. Interesting. What was he hiding?

The game went on like so, until everyone was hopelessly drunk. Haru had won. How he managed to do that, no one knew. The girls obviously much worse off then the boys, unused to drinking and unable to hold their liquor.

"Shit." cursed Keisuke. "We can't send 'em back to their dorm lookin like this. They'd be in so much crap."

Haru shrugged. "What then? Bring em to our hotel?" he asked sarcastically.

"Omg! You're a genious!" he said winking. "Remember, it was your idea, not mine." hah. That little sneak. He was wanting Haru to suggest it first. How they were going to explain this to their dates when they woke up, he didn't know. At least they would all have one hell of a hangover. Maybe that would keep the girls from killing them on the spot when they woke up. Reluctantly, he picked up Tohru (very carefully) and followed his friend who had already paid and gone outside to hail a cab.