Memo: Hey my fellow readers! Thank you for the awesome messages! I'm glad that I have a lot. Anyway, I'm so sorry for the late updates. Not only does my dumb computer hate me, but school is just getting too stressful and sometimes I don't even have time to sit back and write a little bit. I wish I could write a lot more and faster, but I don't think it'll work out that way. sigh Not to mention that I also have a thing at Quizilla and I get a couple of messages demanding for the next part for my Yu Yu Hakusho story. Anyway, here's chapter eight! Please enjoy!

Chapter Eight: The School Festival

Yahiko's Point of View

"That was the best ride ever!" Sora said with a huge grin on his face. We just rode one of those huge roller coasters that the school was crazy enough to build just for the festival. To be honest, it doesn't even feel like school anymore. In fact, it's just as if we were in a real amusement park.

"That's what you always say, Sora. You think that every ride is cool...Even if it's not..." I said as Sora stuck out his tongue at me. Tsubame giggled at my side and I beamed. It's nice to know that someone thinks I'm funny. She laced her fingers in mine, entwining them together. My hand held hers protectively as we swung our arms a little as we walked. It feels nice having my hand there. Her hand is so warm, so soft. It was amazing how anyone could have hands like hers.

Anyway, we were looking around a little bit, stopping every once in a while to look at a few things and games. Suddenly, Misako stopped in her tracks, making Sora almost crashing into her. Then she squealed, "Oh my gosh! Look at that!" We all looked up to see what she was talking about, and it didn't take too long to figure it out.

We stopped by one of the games and the prizes were a bunch of these cute stuffed animals. You know the ones with those cute, big eyes, short body, fluffy fur, and all that stuff that all girls like. The only thing that those things are good for are for cutting its head off or something like that. I can't understand why girls like these pieces of fluff. But anyway, she immediately dragged Sora along, who dragged Tidus, who dragged Keiko, who dragged Yumi, who dragged Riku, who dragged me, who dragged Tsubame. So basically, we were this chain of human teenagers being dragged by a girl who wanted to win a stuffed fur-ball. No wonder people were staring at us.

"I want that one!" she told Sora, pointing at a teddy bear. Not wanting to get on her bad side (who knows what she'll do if she doesn't get what she wants), he paid to play the game, which was those classical, 'knock these three bottles with one ball and you win a prize' thing. He had to do it a couple times more to win the prize. Riku smirked at his friend.

"You call that throwing? I can do that with one ball!" he said as he paid for the game. On his first shot, he missed, but knocked down two out of three. Then he knocked out all three on his second try. Tidus commented, saying how cool it was. He gave the prize to Yumi, who got a stuffed dog.

"Let me try!" Tidus said excitedly. He, like Sora, had to do it a couple more times before he actually knocked down all three of them. Riku laughed and Sora said something about him not being the only loser around. I had to laugh at that, but then when Tidus saw me he gave me a playful glare. "If you think that's so funny, why don't we see what you can do Yahiko. If you can beat me and Sora then we promise not to make fun of you because you're as good as Riku. If you don't-"

"Then you have to kiss Tsubame..." Riku finished for him. Tidus blinked, knowing that he was about to say something else, but didn't push the matter any farther. Riku had a dead serious expression on his face, sending me the shivers. "That's right...You'll have to french kiss Tsubame for twenty seconds. Think you can handle that?"

"Of course! No problem..." I lied. Ofcourse this was a problem! I didn't even have my real first kiss yet, and they know it! I gulped as the manager handed me my first ball. I had to beat them. I had to beat them all. I side glanced at Tsubame, who seemed a little nervous too. "No problem..." I murmured mostly to myself.

I sighed and aimed the ball carefully, praying that I wouldn't miss this shot. Then, with all the hope in the world, I shut my eyes and threw it out of luck. I heard bottles crash, and just like on a basketball rim when a ball tries not to go inside the net, I heard one of them trying to keep its balance and stand. Then, the only thing I heard left was dead silence...Until...

"Yahiko! You did it!" Misako burst. All the girls cheered and Tsubame even hugged me and congratulated me. All the guys stood there in shock. I'd be surprised too. How would I know that with just one shot with my eyes closed, I'd hit it all. I even beat Riku! I feel so accomplished!

"Hey kid. Hate to ruin this precious moment, but you still need to pick your prize!" the manager said. I blushed and rubbed the back of my neck while muttering an apology. Then I turned to Tsubame proudly with a smile on my face.

"Go ahead Tsubame. You can pick whatever you want," I said as she smiled shyly and took a careful look at the prizes. As she was picking her prize, the others turned away, looking for what they could do next. She finally picked a stuffed cat and thanked me. But it was a different kind of thanks than her usual mumble of a 'thank you'. She went up to me and kissed me lightly on the cheek.

She probably didn't even know that she just did that because she immediately started apologizing and blushing like mad. Same thing goes to me, so I wouldn't blame her. I assured her that it was fine, but my cheeks felt red hot that it seemed impossible for me to hide the blush now. Luckily for me, no one seemed to notice anything and we all decided to go to the Haunted Mansion.

Tsubame's Point of View

I can't believe that I just kissed Yahiko! Oh, Tsubame, what are you thinking? That wasn't right. Just because he won you a prize doesn't mean that you should just go up to him and kiss him on the cheek! Argh!Tsubame scolded herself furiously, trying to keep a blush from creeping up her cheeks. It failed miserably, but luckily, no one seemed to notice. They all ended up in a rather long line to the Haunted Mansion.

"Hey, what took you two so long?" Riku asked with a smile on his face. Yahiko and I glanced at each other before shrugging. I was glad that he wasn't planning on telling his friends what happened just yet. Tidus and Sora seemed especially excited about the Haunted Mansion thing and Yahiko went over to join in their conversation. I walked over to the girls to talk.

"You know, this festival thing really isn't that bad. I mean, besides the whole dressing up part, this is kind of fun..." Keiko admitted as everyone else agreed in unison. This was the first year that we actually went to a school festival with boys. Before, we usually just go to all the rides several times together as a quad. Now, this year was different, all thanks to Yahiko. It was just only weeks ago that he confessed his love, but it felt like we've been going out since forever. Even if he hasn't said those words to me for a while now.

"Hey, we're next!" Misako announced excitedly. We all hooked arms with our dates and walked in as all the girls carried their stuffed animal with the other arm. I was so glad that it was dark and mist was surrounding the entrance or else Yahiko would've seen my cherry red face. Riku and Yumi had the lead as they admired the twisted and animated pictures hanging on the old walls. Sora and Misako were right behind them, laughing at the holograms of ghosts that popped out from the sky. Tidus Keiko screamed at almost everything she saw as they followed Sora and Misako. Then it was me and Yahiko at the very end.

I had to admit that the place really was spooky and I can see why they called it the Haunted Mansion. Yahiko didn't seem affected by it at all. In fact, he looked pretty bored while I clung onto his arm, half-expecting something to jump up and scare me anytime. The comfort of my cat wasn't enough to satify my fear.I whimpered quietly from the sound of the eerie noises and from time to time, shut my eyes as ghosts flew by. Then, we made it to the line of the ride as we took a seat on the small cart which looked like a broken rollercoaster that could fit two people each.

As soon as we were all strapped in, the ride started and we entered a room that seemed colder than the entrance. I screamed as mechanical bats flew over our head, screeching. The ride was slow and I was beginning to feel nervous. One of my hands was turningred from holding onto the railing, my face was pale, and I was choking my cat to death.Yahiko just looked at me and asked, "Are you scared?"

"Me? Of course not..." I forced a laugh as he rolled his eyes with a knowing smile on his face. Suddenly, there was a horrible shriek from a woman that just popped out of nowhereas I screamed and clung onto Yahiko out of pure terror. He laughed and said something along the lines of, "I knew you were scared." Surprisingly, he took his arm away from my grip and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer. I blushed and hesitantly leaned my head on his chest, feeling safe in his arms. I looked up at him with my arms around my stuffed cat. He was laughing as he watched skeleton heads pop out of their tombstones. Then, he looked down at me and smiled again.

"Don't worry Tsubame...I'm here. I'll protect you. Promise."

I returned his smile amd leaned more comfortably on his chest. The ride doesn't seem all that scary anymore.

"All right people! The festival will be over soon, so we'd like to thank all of you kids for coming here today!" the DJ announced for the second time that night from the stage. Twilight was filling the sky and it was just a couple of hours until the school festival closed and finally come to an end. "Students; now it's time to take a break from all that riding and playing and relax by eating free food and do a little dancing! So get your groove on to these hot mosaics!"

Yahiko sighed as he sat on a chair near a table full of the girls' stuffed animals. Most of the festival things were packed up and waiting for next year's festival. There was nothing left to do but to go to the dance that they were having for all the students and only the students. Some people already left, but Yahiko, Tsubame, and all their friends were some of the many students who didn't leave. Mostly it was because they wanted to watch the fireworks, which probably would've start anytime soon, considering that it was almost sunset. To be honest, he never really was much of a dancer and he would never dare try dancing in front of his friends. It just wasn't his thing. In fact, the only reason why he's there was for the food.

Tsubame thought differently. She enjoyed coming to the dance and listening to the music. Even when she was younger, she took dance lessons and even danced a couple of times already with her friends. If she wanted, she could've danced on every song...Except for the slow songs. She never really was good at that and never really did a slow dance before in fear of stepping on her partner's feet or something like that. They've been there for about an hour already and during every slow song, she'd sit it out with Yahiko and watch her friends' slow dance with their dates.

Another fast song played and Tsubame sat on the chair across from Yahiko. She noticed that he had his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning as far as he can with his chair without falling backwards. "How come you're not dancing?" she asked with a small frown. He sat back up and looked at her, almost as if he didn't hear her from all the loud music. She said more loudly, "Are you going to dance?"

"I will...Later..." he said and leaned back again. She drummed her fingers on the table and hummed along with the tune. He seemed more interested on his fingers. They didn't say a word to each other. The last song ended and everyone else in their group came back for a rest as the DJ played another song.

"Why don't you ask Yahiko to dance with you?" Yumi asked as Tsubame blushed. She looked over at Yahiko and saw that the guys were also convincing him to dance too. He looked annoyed, even if he stubbornly said that he would later.

"No...I don't think he wants t dance at all. If he does, he could ask me...But you know I'm not really good at slow dancing either...So yeah..." she said quietly with a small smile. They all groaned.

"C'mon Tsubame. I'm sure he really wants to dance with you. I can see it in his eyes. And you haven't even tried slow dancing, so you can't say that you're bad at it..." Yumi said. Just then, another slow song started and they all went to their partners to dance.

Yahiko looked over at Tsubame and saw that she really liked the song. He heard what Yumi said and he knew that she was right. He really wanted to dance with her to at least one song. But he never really slow danced before. Of course, Kaoru taught him because he lost a bet. But other than that, he never really slow danced with someone at a dance. He gulped and slowly stood up from his chair after setting the front legs back down. Summoning all his courage he walked to Tsubame's side and quietly asked, "Do you want to dance?"

Tsubame looked up at him and noticed that he looked extremely nervous and a little scared. She was speechless, but managed to stiffly nod her head. She followed him to the side of the dance floor, near where their friends were dancing and they stood, waiting for the next move. At the same time, she put both her hands on his shoulder as he put his around her and then they rhythmically swung slowly side by side.

She stared down at her feet and blushed. "I'm not so good at slow dancing..." she admitted quietly and winced a little as she almost stepped on his foot.

"That's all right. I'll teach you..." he said as they both stopped. He moved her arms higher and locked them around his neck. He leaned his forehead against hers and whispered, "All you really have to do is move your feet. But we'll just take it easy for now. All you have to do is make a little square or something like that. Just follow my lead..."

He started by stepping forward and she hesitantly stepped back (Evil Shorty: I won't go on too much detail). Eventually, she quickly got the hang of it and easily slow danced with him. The entire time, he pressed his forehead against hers and when his lips moved, they would almost touch hers. She blushed at how close they were dancing together, but no one stopped them. She leaned her head by the crook of his neck as he turned to the side and followed her gaze out to the horizon. There, they watched the last rays of the setting sun before the beautiful dark sky took over the day.

Just then the music stopped and they heard clapping as their friends came and surrounded them. Riku wrapped both his arms around Tsubame and Yahiko's neck and said proudly, "Don't they make such a cute couple?" Tidus laughed and Sora clapped his hands while saying, "Yay! Yahiko's first dance!" The girls flashed mischievous smiles and thumbs up at Tsubame as she blushed a deep red color and Yahiko was telling them all to shut up.

"Don't forget! The firework show will start in thirty minutes! So find a place to sit before there's no room left!" the DJ announced while saying his good-bye.

Riku gasped. "That's right! We better hurry before some little kid takes our spot!" And with that, the whole dance situation was forgotten and they all ran under the shade of a beautiful sakura tree. Night filled the sky fast and it was getting a little cold. Tsubame hated that her kimono wasn't as warm as she thought it was. It's almost as bad as running around in a dress. Tidus, Sora, and Misako sat a couple of feet away from the others so they could have a good view of the fireworks. Yumi and Keiko were off to the side, talking. Riku casually leaned against the tree trunk with a blade of grass that he just picked up in his mouth. And Yahiko and Tsubame sat together side by side across from Yumi and Keiko.

"Hey Yahiko..." Tsubame said quietly as she hugged her knees.

"Hm?"

"Well...I just wanted to say...Thanks...For teaching me...At the dance..." she blushed and looked away.

"Oh, no problem..." he said. Silence settled between them until he said something that had been bothering him throughout the day. "You know...I'm still thinking about that kiss you gave me...After I won you that..."

She looked down at her prize cat that Yahiko won for her and blushed harder. "Really? I-I didn't mean to do that...I'm sorry..."

"Don't be...To be honest with you..." he blushed. "I kind of liked it..."

Now they were both really red. She scooted a little closer to him. "Really?"

"Yeah..." he looked down at their hands. They were barely touching. He looked back at her again, his dark brown eyes burning deeply in hers. "I love you Tsubame..."

She smiled. "I love you too, Yahiko." As soon as she said that, she knew she meant it with all her heart.

Suddenly, fireworks shot up from the sky, coloring it with beautiful and magnificent neon colors. It caught all their attention with the loud wails and booms and sudden bright lights. One by one, the fireworks sparked in the night sky. Tidus, Sora, and Misako were oohing and aahing. Riku smiled a little as he watched the firework show. Keiko and Yumi giggled. "This day has been awesome. The fireworks could really spark up the night. It's almost like magic!" Keiko said.

"Yes it is..." Yahiko said more to himself than anyone else. Then, without taking his gaze off the sky, he took Tsubame's hand and entwine his fingers with hers. Their hands were the perfect match. Just like magic...

Notes: Ha ha. Pure Yahiko and Tsubame fluff in this chapter. Once again, I'm sorry that I didn't get to post this up, but this might be my best one yet! Please send me a message and tell me what you guys think. Arigatou! See yaz!