Chapter 9:
"You're what?" Uo asked in the morning, clearly surprised.
"Yes," Hanajima said, "I'm dating Yuki."
"No way!" Tohru exclaimed. They gathered around her and listened to the entire story and sighed when she came to the ending.
"That was so sweet!" Uo said dreamily, "Who knew that the Prince could be so romantic?"
"I know!" Tohru agreed, "I didn't even know that Yuki was like that!"
"He's so…nice." Hana said, thinking back to the kiss. It still sent shivers up her spine. Her stomach felt as if there was a thousand butterflies flitting around, giving her the sensation that she was going to puke. Overall, it was a great feeling!
"You know what this means right?" Uo asked smiling.
"What?"
"You've got a date to the prom!" she sang. The sound traveled out into the far reaches of the estate, and into the ears of a man named Kureno. He sat up and listened, aroused from his sleep and marveled at the sound that had come flying into his room. It was prettier than a songbird's, and he knew what birds sounded like. He rushed out of bed, combed his hair and thought that the only voice that sound could've come from was his dear Uo.
Back in Tohru's room, they all gathered around a magazine, filled with articles on dresses and advice on guys, it was the PERFECT thing for Hanjima.
"Look Hana," Uo said, laying out the law, "the same rules apply to you as they did to Tohru, if he breaks your heart, I break his neck."
"Oh…is that what you told him yesterday?" Tohru asked, remembering the side conversation Uo had had with Kyo.
"Yup!" she replied smiling, "Now, secondly, we need to get you out of this black clothing business for one night."
"The prom?" Tohru asked.
"You guessed right!" she laughed, "But seriously Hana, if this relationship doesn't work… you have to be able to make the other guys want you."
"Uo! I have no need to make other men want me!" Hanajima exclaimed, giving her friend a look that was of pure confusion.
"Well, just in case." Uo told her, "Just don't wear black."
"Can I wear brown?" she asked.
"No dark colors."
"Fine, light brown." She repeated.
"Hana-chan," Tohru interrupted, "How's about we go look for your dress at Ayame's shop? He'd be glad for the business, and you both saw the dress he gave me, and I'm sure that he'd give you a discount."
"Well…" Hana said, "Okay."
They changed clothes and left the Sohma estate, grabbing breakfast at a sidewalk café. They all exchanged glances as they reached the steps to Ayame's shop. The sign read "OPEN" but neither of the girls budged.
"I'll go first," Tohru said finally, and then she opened the door and stepped into the small greeting area.
"Are you sure that he just forgot to flip the sign over?" Uo asked following her inside.
"Ayame-san?" she called. There was a shuffling in the back of the racks, and a head poked out.
"Tohru?" he asked.
"Yes," she told him, "I brought my friends here so that they could find a dress."
"Oh! Well come right in! Why didn't you say so in the first place?" he asked, bustling forward, and trying to hide the pain in his eyes. Just that morning Hatori had called and told him Tohru's diagnosis. It had made him want to cry, and he had been on the verge of doing just that when she and her friends had walked in.
"Ayame?" she asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Hm? Oh, yes! Everything's peachy keen!" he said smiling and telling himself to just get over it. Akito would've done it sooner, so it all worked out for the better.
"Hi." A raven-haired girl said, she looked rather gothic, and this was exactly the kind of customer he liked.
"Might I ask who your prom date is, my dear?" he asked.
"Umm…" she was speechless.
"It's okay Hana," Tohru told her smiling, "Ayame-san won't care."
"Okay…I'm going with Yuki Sohma." She said finally.
Ayame looked quizzically at her and then said, "My darling, I have the perfect dress for you!"
He smiled and with a flourish, went into the back of the store. He went directly to the rack where he pulled aside all the dark colored dresses and emerged with a dress made for the gothic girl. Ayame walked back to the girl and presented it to her and brought her to the dressing room.
"Wow…" the girl breathed, Hana had never seen anything like it. It was a light peach color with a hint of gold. The neckline went down a little lower then what she'd enjoy, but she could live with it. There were yellow-gold sequins outlining the top, and the skirt went down to her knees. It was a little poofy, and the bottom had lace that matched the top, Hanajima fell in love with it.
"Is everything okay Hana-chan?" Tohru called through the door.
"Yeah," she replied, remembering that this was the same man that she'd sworn to torture if he didn't give Tohru a dress. What a small world it was turning out to be. Hana slipped out of her clothes and into the dress. She radiated beauty and smiled at her reflection. This was one of the few times that she thought a bright color looked good on her.
"I'm coming out," she told them, "Get ready!"
Hana stepped out and heard the gasps from everyone. She looked at her own reflection and gave a small gasp too. She looked great!
"Hana-chan!" Tohru said, "That looks gorgeous on you!"
"Whoa." Uo mustered.
"My dear, this dress is simply meant for you," Ayame said, "I couldn't stand making you pay full price!"
"Thank you." Hana said meekly.
"Now," he said turning to Uo, "What about you?"
"Eh?" she replied panicked.
"I think that purple will do nicely!" he said, rushing into the back of the store again and pulling out a dress.
"Uo-chan, this is great! We'll all be wearing Ayame-san's dresses to the prom!" Tohru commented.
"Ain't any force on heaven or on earth that'll make me wear a dress." Uo stated firmly.
"Come now Uo," Hana said coming from the dressing room with her old clothes back on, "A dress would look good on you!"
"Look, I only wear a skirt because that's protocol for my job! If I all of a sudden start wearing dresses I might get used to the whole, 'being-a-woman' thing." Uo told her.
"But you are a woman," Tohru said, "And besides, how else are you going to become a model if you don't wear dresses?"
"I'll model… tools!" she said after pausing for a moment.
"Tools? I didn't know that you could wear a hammer." Tohru said absently.
"No Tohru-kun, what she means is that she'll model the tool." Hanajima explained patiently.
"Oh!" Tohru said understanding. Ayame walked back with a rather simple dress, and he handed it to Uo.
"I'm supposed to try this on?" she asked looking at it.
"Would you rather go naked?" he replied bluntly. Uo paled, took the dress, and went into the dressing room.
As she was in there she heard the shop door open and the chimes go off in the front. She ignored them and glared at the dress, wishing it would burn to ashes.
"Stupid dress." She muttered after slipping out of her old clothes and putting on the new dress. It was a purple silk, and it glided over her body, giving her a shiver up her spine. It had an Oriental pattern on it, and a high neckline with a teardrop down to her collarbone. The skirt was a little short, just a few inches above the knee, good thing she'd shaved that morning she thought. She imagined herself walking out and having the same responses that Hana did. She undid the latch and stepped out to see the Tohru, Hana, Ayame, and one more person.