Chapter 23



"Eek!" screamed Kiyoko the next day when over half of the female population started running at Rei, Yuki, and Kiyoko the moment they reached school.



"Kazumi-san!" said Tomo, Sakuno's friend, in a fiery tone, "What were you doing with Ryoma-sama yesterday?"



"Huh?" asked Kiyoko feigning innocence, "We just went to get my racket strings fixed."



"That doesn't sound like what I heard from Sakuno!" said Tomo pointing behind her at the shy Sakuno. Kiyoko looked at the girl.



"Were you following us?" asked Kiyoko suspiciously. Sakuno looked surprised before blushing immediately.



"Gomen nasai!" sputtered Sakuno, "I left right after you were both eating lunch at the benches." Kiyoko heaved an inside sigh of relief.



"Good thing the first years in Tomo's Ryoma Fan Club don't know that we kissed."



"Just because you're an actress it does not mean you can play around with Ryoma-sama!" said Tomo. Kiyoko was taken aback by surprise.



"Who? Me?" asked Kiyoko before thinking, "How do they know?"



"We heard on the evening news," said Tomo, "After Yuki the 'singer' was pictured, it told us that you and Akuma-san were an actress and a model."



"Nani!? The evening news?!" shouted Rei and Kiyoko before giving Yuki reprimanding stares. They just bounced off of the depressed girl and now Rei and Kiyoko were wondering what the matter was. Soon another group of second and third year girls came to shout at Rei for going on a date with Tezuka.



"You're just a second year!" said the President of the Tezuka Fan Club, "You can't seduce Tezuka-sama just because you're the team manager."



"What did you just say?" asked Rei now angry. She had remembered what Kosuke had said and it had sparked an evil streak in Rei. She pushed passed the third year snob. "You don't even know what's going on. Stay out of my way."



"Whoa," commented Kiyoko, "Rei looks mad. Come to think of it, Yuki's pretty depressed too. I've got to see what's going on."

"What are you so happy about?" asked Yuki grumpily at the lunch tables to Kiyoko the next day.



"You can tell?" asked Kiyoko surprised.



"Well yeah," said Rei, "There are flowers wherever you walk and Yuki told me you were skipping around the class room." Kiyoko now started jumping up and down.



"Ryoma and I kissed yesterday and now he asked me to go over his house today," said Kiyoko in a confiding tone.



"Glad to see your love life is going well," said Yuki.

"What's wrong with you two?" asked Kiyoko, "Rei, you look like a time bomb waiting to blow and, Yuki, you were definitely Miss Gloom today."



"Kosuke said I might never fall in love because I'm afraid of opening myself up," said Rei blandly.



"I cancelled my marriage arrangement with Keita after he broke my heart the second time," said Yuki with no emotion whatsoever. Kiyoko was stunned and stood like a rock with her bento half eaten.



"Gomen," said Kiyoko, "I didn't know your lives sucked so much."



"I don't know why Kosuke even said that," said Rei, "And my date with Tezuka was going so well."



"I think Kosuke was wrong," said Yuki, "By closing yourself up, you don't have to get hurt." She stood up now and went to throw her trash away.



"Yuki-chan!" called a voice behind the girl. Yuki turned and saw Fuji and Eiji running to her. The two were all smiles.



"Ohayo!" said Yuki cheering up immediately.



"Yuki," said Eiji smothering the girl in a tight hug, "Why didn't you tell us you were so famous? I saw you on the news last night and told my sister I knew you. She's been begging me to get you to give her an autograph since this morning!"



"Gomen," said Yuki with a smile. Fuji now grinned at Yuki.



"Congratulations on your wedding arrangement," said Fuji, "I just heard from Eiji." Yuki froze and was about to cry.



"Eh?!" exclaimed Eiji surprised, "Daijobu Yuki-chan?"



"Hai," said Yuki, "It's just that I broke off the marriage arrangement with Keita yesterday."



"Nani?!" exclaimed Eiji, "Are you ok?" Yuki smiled.



"Hai!" said Yuki genuinely cheerful, "How could I not be with such wonderful friends? I'll see you later in practice." When she turned the corner, she tripped on her face. She was surprised to see a group of girls much like the ones that attacked Kiyoko and Rei surround her.



"What are you to Fuji and Eiji-sama?" asked the girl who seemed to be at the head.



"Nani?" asked Yuki confused. The girl repeated her question in a more icy tone. "I'm just a friend," said Yuki with a shrug.



"It better stay that way freshman girl," said the girl, "Or else." Yuki was evermore confused when they left but she started skipping happily as she made her way back to Rei and Kiyoko.