(Normally, I don't do this kind of thing, but I am ashamed to admit that I
am advertising my own new story here. It's an episode-type story, "Silver
Linings In Gray Clouds". I'm hoping it will be as successful as this one!
Please check it out if you get the chance!
~Rayne~)
JEN23: Why am I not surprised that I would find your review kind and considerate once again? ^_^ I just loved Chibodee's little issue with skating - minus the fluffy part, that was my favorite to write in this chapter. I also figured Domon would want to brag to Rain about how good he is at skating... seemed like a Domon-esque thing to do. The backstory behind Domon and Allenby's relationship, as well as Rain and Saette's, will come up soon along with some other interesting events. Please continue reading!! (Great job with "FORBIDDEN" by the way ^_~)
ANIME-EAGLE: I'm not too crazy about Allenby so I decided to make her Rain's antagonist in this story. I think she makes a very good one... Keep on reading, I appreciate your devotion to my story.
VALESE: Wow, two people now have reviewed each chapter separately. Thanks for being the second! I must say I like fluff better too, and I'm excited for my fluffier chapters. Saette will show up eventually, he's going to become a key player. Thanks again for reviewing so much and please continue to do so.
REDLION2: As usual your incredibly in-depth and involved reviews make me feel quite special. I'm considering following your advice but I don't know if I have enough material to make a decent series. I'm doing that with my newest G Gundam story... mainly because you suggested it and I liked the idea. I liked Chibodee's move to protect Rain myself because I can see him doing that in my mind. Glad you liked the chapter and please continue reading.
RAIN MEKOMORA: Wow, I'm so glad you like my story enough to print all of it out! I myself have done that many times before so I can thoroughly read the stories. Please continue to read (and possibly print out the next chapters too!) O:)
SHUFFLE QUEEN: Happy Holidays to you as well (even though they're kinda over... ^_^;;) and thanks for the review as always. I think I have an idea for how I'm going to handle this story, so it probably will continue until graduation. Thanks for the compliments and keep reading!
GOLDEN-TUNA: Your "MORE"s got me laughing. I am satisfying your overwhelming urge for "more" with this new chapter so I hope you continue reading (and wanting more!)
(Disclaimer: G Gundam property of Sunrise, the Sotsu Agency, and Bandai - not me. Shame really.)
(Oooooooh, major embarrassment. I realized I've been totally wrong about Chibodee's crew member Cath. I thought her name was Kat but after reading a few fanfics and watching the series again, I was proved wrong! I hope I didn't confuse anybody! Wow... I felt so dumb when I realized that!)
§~The Best Years of Your Life~§
by: Rayne Rhiana
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chapter Seven: Shopping & Family Ties
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Homecoming was right around the corner. Rain was taken aback when Domon asked her out of the blue. She'd never been to a single high school dance before and was a bit nervous about what to expect. To top it all off, she didn't have a single thing that could pass as a homecoming dress.
So all the girls decided to go shopping together.
The weekend before homecoming, Rain, Marie Louise, Nastasha, Shirley, Bunny, Janet, Cath, and Cecile all went to the local mall to get dresses for homecoming. Rain knew for a fact that Marie Louise already owned a multitude of dresses fancy enough for homecoming, but the girl insisted she needed something 'fancier' for George.
Rain just didn't understand people like that.
Once inside the mall, Rain was positive the other girls had died and gone to heaven. Except for Nastasha, they were gazing at the displays with shiny and shimmery dresses, trying desperately to decide which one they wanted to try on first. Rain turned to her friend and said, "What's so magical about a mall to them anyway?"
"I don't know. The only reason I'm here is because I need a dress for the dance and they dragged me along."
Rain shook her head. "They're blowing this whole thing out of proportion."
Marie Louise grabbed her best friend's arm. "Come on, Rain! There are so many gorgeous dresses to try on and we don't have all day!"
They entered Chalet de Fashione, Marie Louise's personal favorite dress shop. They had all the lastest French fashions there. She went from stand to stand, racking up a grand total of eight dresses in the first minute. Then she sailed into the dressing room to try them on.
"Honestly," Rain sighed. "She's acting like this is a life-or-death choice."
"Well..." Shirley reasoned. "Do you want Domon thinking you don't care what he thinks of you? Don't you want him to know that you went through a careful selection process choosing a dress for the dance he's taking you to?"
Shirley... had a point. "Let's get shopping!" Rain announced.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Six hours, sixteen stores, and fifty-nine dresses later, Rain sat collapsed on a bench between Marie Louise and Cecile. She was positively exhausted. And the worst part was that she hadn't found a dress she truly liked. She was the only girl in their group that hadn't. Even extremely picky Shirley and extremely petite Cecile had found the perfect dress. But Rain... hadn't.
"Rain, you have a gorgeous figure but that becomes a problem when we can't find a dress pretty enough to match!" Marie Louise said, sighing. "We might have to give up for today and go somewhere else tomorrow."
The dressless girl nodded, disappointed that she'd been unable to find one she truly liked. She'd gone through red dresses, black dresses, green dresses, and yellow dresses. They'd been spaghetti strapped, poufy strapped, or not strapped at all. They'd been with sashes and without, with glitter and without, with scoop necks and without. But not a single one truly suited her tastes and figure.
They headed out towards the parking lot, every girl but Rain carrying a brand new dress. She turned to say something to Cath when, suddenly, she stopped. There, in the window of Glimmer, was the most amazing dress she'd ever seen. She didn't even say a thing to her group of girlfriends, instead she raced into the store.
"Rain!" Marie Louise yelped, chasing after her friend. She skidded to a halt inside the store and saw what made Rain act like that. "Try it on!" she insisted, all but throwing Rain into a dressing room.
A few minutes later, the girl emerged. And everyone knew she'd truly found her perfect dress.
It was an silvery blue color, the blue perfectly matching her eyes. The entire thing shimmered when she walked, like it wasn't fabric at all, but water sewn into a dress. The straps were thin and barely straps at all. The bottom had a long slits cut up the sides, all the way to the middle of her thighs. Glitter sprinkled down one side of the dress and gathered at the bottom like a waterfall. The neck was cut low, but not too low. The back of the dress began around the middle of Rain's back.
"Well...?" Rain asked, confused about the lack of reaction.
"Take it off," Marie Louise said. "I'm buying it for you right now."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
When she got home, Rain took the dress out of the protective bag and gazed at it. She loved to shake the hanger slightly so the dress glittered fluidly. She could barely take her eyes off of it, but she finally hung it on a hook on her closet door and sat down at her computer to do homework.
She signed online to do some research for a paper she had and realized with a smile that Domon was online as well.
bFHSQB04:/b hey. how was shopping?
Honestly, Rain thought with a smile. When will he start capitalizing things?
bRainDrop77:/b It was fun. More fun than I expected. How was your day?
bFHSQB04:/b decent. i had football practice today.
bRainDrop77:/b Didn't do any homework, did you?
bFHSQB04:/b no, mom, sorry.
bRainDrop77:/b lol
Their conversation went on for another hour or so. Rain never tired of talking to Domon. She never did get any research done either. But that was a minor setback. She refused to tell Domon about her dress, no matter how many times he asked.
bFHSQB04:/b well, i g2g. kyoji wants to use the computer. see ya in school tomorrow.
bRainDrop77:/b Good night. Say hi to Kyoji for me.
bFHSQB04:/b ok. night.
Rain logged off and got into bed. Domon... he was just so sweet. She really enjoyed being around him. But she refused to believe any of that fairytale romance stuff that Marie Louise preached. She was just going to have a healthy relationship and not take any chances that her heart might get hurt. That was something she just couldn't handle.
Falling in love with Domon Kasshu was completely out of the question.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The night of homecoming, Marie Louise came over early to help Rain get dressed. The two girls laughed and giggled while they applied makeup, put on their shoes, and found their best-looking coats. Then they headed downstairs. Rain's father emerged from his study and smiled.
"You girls look wonderful. I was afraid I'd never see my beautiful daughter attend a dance. Are you going with someone?" This was a question to be answered carefully. Yet the truth seemed a safe answer.
"Domon Kasshu," Rain replied.
"He's quarterback of the FHS football team," Marie Louise added helpfully.
Dr. Mikamura's eyes narrowed a bit. He knew plenty of incredibly intelligent young men he wished Rain would date. "Domon... Kasshu, did you say? Would he be Kyoji Kasshu's younger brother?"
"Yes," Rain replied, surprised that her reclusive father knew about Kyoji.
"Then Domon's father is indeed the same Kasshu I'm thinking of. We went to school together."
This fact surprised Rain a bit. "Really? So you knew Domon's father? What was he like in high school?"
Rain's father shrugged. "Same as his sons, I'd suppose. Popular jock... quarterback... But still had time for everyone. Their father was always kind to everyone. He and I were acquaintences at one time. Had to do a project on molecular fision together. I was sure he was going to make me do all the work, but he did his fair share. I was impressed."
"So... you approve?" Rain asked, throwing caution to the winds.
"I'd like to meet this younger Kasshu brother. Sons aren't always like their fathers. Is he picking you up?"
"George, Domon, and Chibodee rented a limo," Marie Louise replied. "Argo and Sai Saici couldn't afford it, so they're driving on their own."
"So you can meet all three and maybe Shirley too. She's Chibodee's girlfriend."
When the limo arrived, Rain motioned for them all to come inside. Rain could see her father was a bit taken aback by the crowd that suddenly appeared in his foyer. She clenched her teeth, praying none of them would say anything that made her father angry.
She didn't have to worry. Shirley managed to keep herself unattached to Chibodee, Chibodee himself toned down a bit and actually kept quite mute and allowed Domon to do all the talking.
"So... you're Domon Kasshu. I knew your father," Rain's dad began.
Domon offered his hand. "Dr. Mikamura. It's nice to meet you."
There was a spark of approval in Rain's father's eyes. He continued to interrogate Domon until he was satisfied. Domon handled every single question with poise and intelligence. Rain couldn't have been more proud of him.
When they were finally allowed to leave, Rain took a deep breath. Homecoming... at least she knew what the fuss was about now.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~Ahhh... Homecoming. Should be interesting, don't you agree?
I apologize for the incredible shortness of this chapter. It's sort of one chapter broken into two. Unfortunately, I'm running out of ideas. This story is going to do an incredible fast forward, with two or three more major scenes before... ulp!... graduation! Keep reading!
Rayne~
JEN23: Why am I not surprised that I would find your review kind and considerate once again? ^_^ I just loved Chibodee's little issue with skating - minus the fluffy part, that was my favorite to write in this chapter. I also figured Domon would want to brag to Rain about how good he is at skating... seemed like a Domon-esque thing to do. The backstory behind Domon and Allenby's relationship, as well as Rain and Saette's, will come up soon along with some other interesting events. Please continue reading!! (Great job with "FORBIDDEN" by the way ^_~)
ANIME-EAGLE: I'm not too crazy about Allenby so I decided to make her Rain's antagonist in this story. I think she makes a very good one... Keep on reading, I appreciate your devotion to my story.
VALESE: Wow, two people now have reviewed each chapter separately. Thanks for being the second! I must say I like fluff better too, and I'm excited for my fluffier chapters. Saette will show up eventually, he's going to become a key player. Thanks again for reviewing so much and please continue to do so.
REDLION2: As usual your incredibly in-depth and involved reviews make me feel quite special. I'm considering following your advice but I don't know if I have enough material to make a decent series. I'm doing that with my newest G Gundam story... mainly because you suggested it and I liked the idea. I liked Chibodee's move to protect Rain myself because I can see him doing that in my mind. Glad you liked the chapter and please continue reading.
RAIN MEKOMORA: Wow, I'm so glad you like my story enough to print all of it out! I myself have done that many times before so I can thoroughly read the stories. Please continue to read (and possibly print out the next chapters too!) O:)
SHUFFLE QUEEN: Happy Holidays to you as well (even though they're kinda over... ^_^;;) and thanks for the review as always. I think I have an idea for how I'm going to handle this story, so it probably will continue until graduation. Thanks for the compliments and keep reading!
GOLDEN-TUNA: Your "MORE"s got me laughing. I am satisfying your overwhelming urge for "more" with this new chapter so I hope you continue reading (and wanting more!)
(Disclaimer: G Gundam property of Sunrise, the Sotsu Agency, and Bandai - not me. Shame really.)
(Oooooooh, major embarrassment. I realized I've been totally wrong about Chibodee's crew member Cath. I thought her name was Kat but after reading a few fanfics and watching the series again, I was proved wrong! I hope I didn't confuse anybody! Wow... I felt so dumb when I realized that!)
§~The Best Years of Your Life~§
by: Rayne Rhiana
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chapter Seven: Shopping & Family Ties
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Homecoming was right around the corner. Rain was taken aback when Domon asked her out of the blue. She'd never been to a single high school dance before and was a bit nervous about what to expect. To top it all off, she didn't have a single thing that could pass as a homecoming dress.
So all the girls decided to go shopping together.
The weekend before homecoming, Rain, Marie Louise, Nastasha, Shirley, Bunny, Janet, Cath, and Cecile all went to the local mall to get dresses for homecoming. Rain knew for a fact that Marie Louise already owned a multitude of dresses fancy enough for homecoming, but the girl insisted she needed something 'fancier' for George.
Rain just didn't understand people like that.
Once inside the mall, Rain was positive the other girls had died and gone to heaven. Except for Nastasha, they were gazing at the displays with shiny and shimmery dresses, trying desperately to decide which one they wanted to try on first. Rain turned to her friend and said, "What's so magical about a mall to them anyway?"
"I don't know. The only reason I'm here is because I need a dress for the dance and they dragged me along."
Rain shook her head. "They're blowing this whole thing out of proportion."
Marie Louise grabbed her best friend's arm. "Come on, Rain! There are so many gorgeous dresses to try on and we don't have all day!"
They entered Chalet de Fashione, Marie Louise's personal favorite dress shop. They had all the lastest French fashions there. She went from stand to stand, racking up a grand total of eight dresses in the first minute. Then she sailed into the dressing room to try them on.
"Honestly," Rain sighed. "She's acting like this is a life-or-death choice."
"Well..." Shirley reasoned. "Do you want Domon thinking you don't care what he thinks of you? Don't you want him to know that you went through a careful selection process choosing a dress for the dance he's taking you to?"
Shirley... had a point. "Let's get shopping!" Rain announced.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Six hours, sixteen stores, and fifty-nine dresses later, Rain sat collapsed on a bench between Marie Louise and Cecile. She was positively exhausted. And the worst part was that she hadn't found a dress she truly liked. She was the only girl in their group that hadn't. Even extremely picky Shirley and extremely petite Cecile had found the perfect dress. But Rain... hadn't.
"Rain, you have a gorgeous figure but that becomes a problem when we can't find a dress pretty enough to match!" Marie Louise said, sighing. "We might have to give up for today and go somewhere else tomorrow."
The dressless girl nodded, disappointed that she'd been unable to find one she truly liked. She'd gone through red dresses, black dresses, green dresses, and yellow dresses. They'd been spaghetti strapped, poufy strapped, or not strapped at all. They'd been with sashes and without, with glitter and without, with scoop necks and without. But not a single one truly suited her tastes and figure.
They headed out towards the parking lot, every girl but Rain carrying a brand new dress. She turned to say something to Cath when, suddenly, she stopped. There, in the window of Glimmer, was the most amazing dress she'd ever seen. She didn't even say a thing to her group of girlfriends, instead she raced into the store.
"Rain!" Marie Louise yelped, chasing after her friend. She skidded to a halt inside the store and saw what made Rain act like that. "Try it on!" she insisted, all but throwing Rain into a dressing room.
A few minutes later, the girl emerged. And everyone knew she'd truly found her perfect dress.
It was an silvery blue color, the blue perfectly matching her eyes. The entire thing shimmered when she walked, like it wasn't fabric at all, but water sewn into a dress. The straps were thin and barely straps at all. The bottom had a long slits cut up the sides, all the way to the middle of her thighs. Glitter sprinkled down one side of the dress and gathered at the bottom like a waterfall. The neck was cut low, but not too low. The back of the dress began around the middle of Rain's back.
"Well...?" Rain asked, confused about the lack of reaction.
"Take it off," Marie Louise said. "I'm buying it for you right now."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
When she got home, Rain took the dress out of the protective bag and gazed at it. She loved to shake the hanger slightly so the dress glittered fluidly. She could barely take her eyes off of it, but she finally hung it on a hook on her closet door and sat down at her computer to do homework.
She signed online to do some research for a paper she had and realized with a smile that Domon was online as well.
bFHSQB04:/b hey. how was shopping?
Honestly, Rain thought with a smile. When will he start capitalizing things?
bRainDrop77:/b It was fun. More fun than I expected. How was your day?
bFHSQB04:/b decent. i had football practice today.
bRainDrop77:/b Didn't do any homework, did you?
bFHSQB04:/b no, mom, sorry.
bRainDrop77:/b lol
Their conversation went on for another hour or so. Rain never tired of talking to Domon. She never did get any research done either. But that was a minor setback. She refused to tell Domon about her dress, no matter how many times he asked.
bFHSQB04:/b well, i g2g. kyoji wants to use the computer. see ya in school tomorrow.
bRainDrop77:/b Good night. Say hi to Kyoji for me.
bFHSQB04:/b ok. night.
Rain logged off and got into bed. Domon... he was just so sweet. She really enjoyed being around him. But she refused to believe any of that fairytale romance stuff that Marie Louise preached. She was just going to have a healthy relationship and not take any chances that her heart might get hurt. That was something she just couldn't handle.
Falling in love with Domon Kasshu was completely out of the question.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The night of homecoming, Marie Louise came over early to help Rain get dressed. The two girls laughed and giggled while they applied makeup, put on their shoes, and found their best-looking coats. Then they headed downstairs. Rain's father emerged from his study and smiled.
"You girls look wonderful. I was afraid I'd never see my beautiful daughter attend a dance. Are you going with someone?" This was a question to be answered carefully. Yet the truth seemed a safe answer.
"Domon Kasshu," Rain replied.
"He's quarterback of the FHS football team," Marie Louise added helpfully.
Dr. Mikamura's eyes narrowed a bit. He knew plenty of incredibly intelligent young men he wished Rain would date. "Domon... Kasshu, did you say? Would he be Kyoji Kasshu's younger brother?"
"Yes," Rain replied, surprised that her reclusive father knew about Kyoji.
"Then Domon's father is indeed the same Kasshu I'm thinking of. We went to school together."
This fact surprised Rain a bit. "Really? So you knew Domon's father? What was he like in high school?"
Rain's father shrugged. "Same as his sons, I'd suppose. Popular jock... quarterback... But still had time for everyone. Their father was always kind to everyone. He and I were acquaintences at one time. Had to do a project on molecular fision together. I was sure he was going to make me do all the work, but he did his fair share. I was impressed."
"So... you approve?" Rain asked, throwing caution to the winds.
"I'd like to meet this younger Kasshu brother. Sons aren't always like their fathers. Is he picking you up?"
"George, Domon, and Chibodee rented a limo," Marie Louise replied. "Argo and Sai Saici couldn't afford it, so they're driving on their own."
"So you can meet all three and maybe Shirley too. She's Chibodee's girlfriend."
When the limo arrived, Rain motioned for them all to come inside. Rain could see her father was a bit taken aback by the crowd that suddenly appeared in his foyer. She clenched her teeth, praying none of them would say anything that made her father angry.
She didn't have to worry. Shirley managed to keep herself unattached to Chibodee, Chibodee himself toned down a bit and actually kept quite mute and allowed Domon to do all the talking.
"So... you're Domon Kasshu. I knew your father," Rain's dad began.
Domon offered his hand. "Dr. Mikamura. It's nice to meet you."
There was a spark of approval in Rain's father's eyes. He continued to interrogate Domon until he was satisfied. Domon handled every single question with poise and intelligence. Rain couldn't have been more proud of him.
When they were finally allowed to leave, Rain took a deep breath. Homecoming... at least she knew what the fuss was about now.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~Ahhh... Homecoming. Should be interesting, don't you agree?
I apologize for the incredible shortness of this chapter. It's sort of one chapter broken into two. Unfortunately, I'm running out of ideas. This story is going to do an incredible fast forward, with two or three more major scenes before... ulp!... graduation! Keep reading!
Rayne~