.Thursday – Shakon's room – 8:36pm.-

Shakon was on her bed reading a magazine. School that day had been a nightmare. Linea had started two more rumors. One saying that Shakon was a murderer and brought weapons to school everyday, and the other saying that she and Satsuna were "going out".

Surprisingly, Shakon's day wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She was able to hang out normally with Rei and Satsuna. They all took turns asking each other different questions about themselves during lunch, and it turned out that Rei and Satsuna were the type that would be Shakon's friends to the bitter end.

Shakon smiled as she got up from her bed and picked up her phone. She got out a paper with Satsuna's phone number on it, and she dialed the number.

A voice picked up, but it wasn't Satsuna's. "Hello? Ran Residence, Karu speaking."

"Uh, hi… Is Satsuna there?" Shakon answered.

"Yeah sure." Karu said, covering the mouthpiece. "Satsuna! Phone!"

"In a minute!"

Karu put the phone down on a chair and hopped onto a bed. He was fairly short and chin-length blond hair. He kind of looked like a girl and he sounded kind of like one too.

Satsuna came into the room and picked up the phone. "Hello?" She said.

"Hey, this is Shakon."

"Oh, hi! What's up?"

"I just had a thought…"

"And that would be… what?"

Shakon paused one minute. "Are you sure you're alright with all the rumors about you?" she asked.

Satsuna laughed. "I don't care about them! They're all so stupid, I can't believe anyone would believe them!"

Shakon smirked. The girl is right… Dang, I've been worrying too much… Sure, they're harsh, but they can't get to me if I don't let them… "Yeah. Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow night?" Shakon asked.

"Uh, I don't think so… Why?" Satsuna asked.

"Well, I'm going out and maybe you and the rest of the school could come along."

"The… the rest of the school? Where are you going?"

"The teen club I've got a job at. I'm dancing tomorrow night."

"Ah, well. I'll be there then! Hey, how good are you?" Satsuna asked out of curiosity.

Shakon thought a minute. "Well, I am the leader of the group… and I make up the routines… Pretty good, I'd say."

"Well, I wouldn't miss it." Satsuna said.

"Alright. I'm gonna get ready for tomorrow."

"How long does it take you to get ready?"

"Well, I'm not doing what I normally do tomorrow, so don't look for the glare off all the make-up when you're looking for me tomorrow, a'ight?"

"O-okay… Bye."

"Tata." Shakon said, hanging the phone up. She looked around her room and started looking for some clothes for the next day.

Satsuna sighed as she hung up her phone.

"Hey, sis. Who was that?" Karu asked his sister.

"A friend from school…" Satsuna said, a little distantly.

"Why'd she phone?"

"Doesn't matter Karu. Hey, you should check your emails."

Karu was confused. "Why?" he asked.

Satsuna smirked. "'Cause you're getting tones of them from Nina and Kitsuki. AKA: The two girls who've got crushes on you!"

"WHAT!" Karu hollered, running to the computer in the downstairs. Satsuna laughed as she watched him as he read in horror.

"Anything good?"

"Just shut up."

"Oh ho! Now he says that he likes it!"

"I never said that!"

"Oh, but you do, little brother. You do!" Satsuna taunted returning to her room.

The next day at school, Rei and Satsuna were in a panic. Shakon hadn't arrived and it was already second-class.

"Where is she?" Satsuna wondered out loud. "She said she was coming."

"I don't know. Things've been really rough for her the past few days." Rei commented. "Maybe she just didn't come."

"No. No, she said she was coming today. She said she was doing something different today though…"

Rei looked at her. "Different?" he inquired.

Satsuna nodded when they heard whispers down the hall.

"Hey, who's that?"

"I don't know, but she looks familiar."

"Yeah, that pink hair. It kinda looks like the colour of Shakon's."

"Holy crap. It's her!"

The two teens turned to look at the girl that was causing all the whispers.

The girl was about 5'2" in height, pink hair that was just down and brushed neatly, and beautiful purple-blue eyes that stood out on her pretty face that was not clouded with make-up. She was wearing dark denim jeans under a black pleated mini skirt, and she also had a light blue tank top over a white t-shirt. Her skin was very pale and riddled with light freckles.

She walked with the kind of air that royalty might have because she refused to think less of herself then she deserved for more time then she had.

Rei's eyes widened. "Damn." He accidentally let out softly, causing a gape from Satsuna. Rei blushed, clearing his throat.

"What was that about?" Satsuna asked.

"Nothing." Rei answered quickly, glancing back to Shakon who was now approaching them.

"Hi!" Shakon greeted.

"Wow." Satsuna said.

"Incredible." Rei agreed. Aw man, she's gorgeous…Is this the way it's going to from now on? Rei thought to himself.

Shakon laughed, something she never really did at school before. "I thought you two might be shocked."

"Shocked… may be an understatement." Satsuna said.

Rei wasn't really able to say anything, let alone stop himself from staring like he was. Shakon noticed, and laughed a little, with a small blush on her face.

Her blush was one reason why she used to wear so much makeup. It helped to disguise what she was thinking or feeling. But now, with everything gone, save for a little colourless lip-gloss, it was fairly easy to see how she felt.

Satsuna was looking between the two and saw something the others couldn't. She tried to hold in her laughter. "Hey, I'll meet you two in the class, alright?" She asked, and not waiting for an answer, sped off to the classroom.

There was an awkward silence between Rei and Shakon. Both were in their own worlds and thinking about the other.

"Well… I took your advice." Shakon said, cautiously.

Rei smiled. "And I'm glad you did. You look beautiful," He told her.

Shakon beamed as she had never been told this before. "Thank you." She managed to say.

"Holy crap!" the oh-so-familiar voice of Linea came piercing through to Rei and Shakon's ears. "What did you do to yourself Shakon? That plastic surgery was sure an improvement."

Shakon turned to Linea who was right behind her at this point. Shakon left her expression void of anything until she let a smirk on. "But you would know all about that, wouldn't you?" She said in a calm but taunting voice.

Linea glared. "Oh, very funny you whore."

Shakon let out a laugh. "What would you know? All you do is make lies up and spread them around. That's how you gained your power. Fear."

Linea raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Shakon smiled with a victorious air about her. "I'm not scared of you, Linea. You can't control how I think or act any longer."

Linea smirked. "I can control what people think about you."

Shakon nodded. "Yes, you can do that. But frankly, I don't give acrap about you, Terrance, Kimihiro, or anyone else who is stupid enough to believe your foolishness any more." Shakon said before walking off to her room where she would spend the last of her 5-day in-school detention.

She sighed while taking her usual seat. She took out a book and her MP3 player. This is going to be amusing, seeing everyone's faces. She thought.

By the time the lunch bell rang, the news about Shakon's change had spread throughout all the school. Whispers could be heard in the halls, cafeteria, and even the teacher's lounge.

"Did you hear 'bout Ikenara?" A boy asked.

"Yeah! I heard she changed herself." His friend said.

"I heard from Terrance it was plastic-surgery" The third boy said.

"Where would she have the money to do that?" The first questioned.

"Maybe she took it from all the people she's murdered." The second assumed.

"I don't think so boys." A voice said behind them.

The three boys turned to see a very different Shakon. She wasn't angry with them. To the contrary, she had a smile on her face.

The boys were a little scared. All three of them believed the rumors that they had heard.

"Is that so?" one boy asked.

"It is." Shakon answered. "Why would I lie? I don't have anything to hide."

"Or so you say." Another asked her.

"I don't." Shakon grinned. "In fact, I encourage you boys to come to the club tonight. Hope I'll see you there." She added, walking towards the cafeteria.

"Hi, guys." Shakon greeted, sitting between Rei and Satsuna. The rest of the table turned and nearly chocked on their lunches when they saw how much she had changed.

"Um, hi. Who are you and what have you done with Shakon?" Takao managed to say, nearly avoiding chocking for real.

Shakon laughed at this. "Surprised?" She asked.

Everyone at the table nodded. "But I'm sure it's not just your appearance you changed, right?" Kai asked.

Shakon smiled with a mysterious air to it. She didn't give the answer to him, but went into her lunch.

"So, who here's going to the club tonight?" She asked. Everyone replied with an "I am". She smiled. "Great." She said happily. "It wouldn't be as much fun if you all weren't there."

That's for sure. Yuriy thought. Dang, I can't wait for tonight.