Chapter Sixteen

The Winter Formal

The four of them sat alone in the student recreation area at Matsumura High. It was their own personal table—well at least it was unofficially designated their table. It was the popular table. It was reserved for only the most athletic, beautiful, and fashionable people of Matsumura High. Leaning back in a chair and drinking out of a glass soda bottle, Daita sat with his two best friends, Izumi and Taro, and his rival, Yusuke Yosukura.

Yusuke, a shaggy black haired boy who was captain of the baseball team, glanced away from the table toward a blonde girl who walked past. "So Michiko Showa is going to the Winter Formal with me." He grinned while looking back to Daita.

Daita's eyebrows hunched. "Well, Raye Hino is going with me as planned." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You might as well consider me the winner."

Yusuke smirked. "But the bet is to get that snot to sleep with you that night. I don't think you've won yet."

Daita glanced over. "Please, that girl is mine. She does everything I tell her to. It's pathetic!" He laughed. "I'll have her in bed before midnight."

"You think so, eh?" Yusuke said. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

"Yes, we will."

The boys became distracted as a tall brunette walked up clutching her books tightly and pressing them against her chest. She kept her head hung low and her gaze toward her feet.

"What do you want?" Izumi sneered.

The brunette glanced up, brushing a lock of brown hair out of her eyes. "Um, hi…" She uttered.

"Can…can…can…I…I…uh…help…help you?" Daita mocked her stutter then laughed with the other three boys.

"Actually, I…" The girl paused. "Taro, I…I noticed you weren't going to the Winter Formal with anyone…"

"What's your name?" Taro interrupted.

The brunette looked up into his eyes. "Lita. Kino Lita." She paused for a second. "Anyway, I noticed you weren't going with anyone, and I was wondering if you'd go with me…"

Taro and the other boys burst out in laughter interrupting Lita's sentence. She glanced around for a moment. "What's so funny?"

Taro stopped laughing. "Why in the world would I ever go with someone like you?"

Lita shifted her books in her arms. "Why not?" She asked timidly.

"Why not?" Izumi asked. "Because we don't allow dogs at the dance! So why don't you get lost?"

"Alright." Lita managed to utter before she charged off. As she walked away, the boys burst out into heavier laugher. She tried to hold back the tears in her eyes, but one managed to escape.

She folded her arms over her chest as the cold air blew straight into her face. They had walked in silence most of the journey from late night practice, but he broke the silence when he suggested where they should eat dinner. Stepping into the warm restaurant, Raye slipped off her jacket and walked over to a booth. Kyoji followed behind her taking off his jacket. She sat down on one side while he took the other. They both grabbed the menus and looked over them.

"Kyoji?"

They both looked up to see a young waitress with blonde hair and green eyes.

"Achika, how are you?" Kyoji faintly smiled.

Raye looked at Achika for a moment then looked over at Kyoji as he smiled.

"I'm a little tired. It's been a long night." She said. "Can I take your orders?"

"Miso soup and rice, please." He glanced over at Raye. "How about you, Raye-san?"

Raye snapped out of her daze after she heard her name. "Oh, me? I'm not hungry."

"But you said at school you were starving…"

"I said I'm not hungry!" Raye snapped.

Kyoji looked back to Achika. "That will be all, thank you." He smiled again, and she smiled back before leaving.

Raye folded her arms and leaned back in the booth. "Why did you want to come here?" Her eyebrows hunched.

Kyoji shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted to try it."

"Well, I hate it here!"

Kyoji looked up at her. "Why didn't you say anything?" She scowled at him which made an extremely confused expression appear on his face. "Have you been here before?"

"No!" Raye snapped. "But I hate it anyway!" She jumped up from her seat and stormed out of the restaurant. Kyoji leapt up out of the booth and chased after her. Achika watched Raye storm out of the restaurant and came up to Kyoji.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"I don't know," Kyoji said. "Could you just cancel my order, please?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'll do that."

"Thank you." He grabbed his jacket and Raye's since she stormed off without it. As he exited the restaurant, he looked to the left and the right to see where Raye went. She was heading right so he chased after her.

"Raye-san, what is wrong?"

She charged faster. "Just leave me alone! Go eat your dinner!"

Kyoji jogged and handed Raye her jacket. She snatched it from his hands and put it on. "Raye, please stop!"

"Just leave me alone!" She hollered again.

"Raye, I'm sorry!"

She stopped walking. He stood behind her, not daring to step forward and look at her face.

"Sorry for what?" She asked, softly.

"I don't know." He shook his head and sighed deeply. "Whatever I've done, I apologize for it. I never wanted to hurt you or cause you any harm."

She stood silent for a few moments. "Just go back." She finally answered.

"I can't," He faintly uttered. He was silent for a moment. "I know you hate me, but I could never forgive myself if something happened to you, Raye-san," he said staring at his feet.

She said nothing but continued walking at a normal pace. He followed her back to the temple silently. In silence, they parted back to their own rooms for the night.

She pushed the clasp on her necklace behind her neck. She was finished. Taking a step back and looking into the mirror, she checked if everything was perfect. Her eyes started at her white shoes, trailed up the small portion of leg to her pure white dress. Sweeping across her reflection all the way up to her head, she faintly smiled. "I look good," she thought to herself. Her eyes glanced over to the clock. Her date would be here at any moment. She grabbed her small white purse and stepped out of her bedroom.

The winter weather had died down that weekend making it perfect for the dance that night. Raye stepped out onto her deck, closed her bedroom door, then she looked up.

"Hey, babe, ready to go?"

"Daita?" Raye blinked.

"Yeah?" He held out his arms. "Were you expecting someone else?"

Raye shook her head quickly. "No, I uh…you look...nice."

"Thanks." He smirked. Dressed in a pinstriped purple suit, a feathered hat, a large gold medallion, and a cane in his hand, Daita smiled while tapping his cane into the ground. "I do look good don't I?"

Raye paused for a moment. "Yes, you look…" She cringed at the thought of him looking like a Pimp, but she ignored her thoughts. "…fine. You look fine." She waited for a second. "What do you think of my dress?"

"Izumi and Taro had to copy me, of course," Daita went on.

"Of course," She uttered. She glanced to her left. Something caught her attention. In black fitted tuxedo with a black bow tie, Kyoji walked down the deck of the temple. His tuxedo was simple yet eye-catching—she couldn't keep her eyes off him. He approached the raven-haired girl. She gingerly glanced up at him, catching his eyes. He faintly smiled. "You look very beautiful tonight…I mean…not just tonight…I…" He blushed at his fumbling words then sighed deeply. "You look lovely, Raye."

She gently nodded. "Thank you. You look nice yourself."

He gently nodded back then glanced over at Daita, who was tapping his foot impatiently on the sidewalk.

"Come on, Raye! We've got to go!"

She looked over at Daita too. "Yes, I'm coming. Just a moment." She looked back to Kyoji. "What are you doing before the dance?"

"Hayate and I saved our money to take Ami and Achika on a carriage to the dance," Kyoji said.

"Oh, that should be fun." Raye sighed. "Daita got a limo for us tonight."

Kyoji nodded. "Well, have a good time tonight. Perhaps I will see you there."

Raye nodded then stepped down off the deck. She locked her arm with Daita's as he escorted her down the sidewalk. She turned her head back to watch as Kyoji walked back down the deck.

"Serena, stop dragging me!"

"Just come on, Lita."

"I don't want to be here!"

"Nonsense!" Serena pulled Lita into the dance. "Now isn't this nice?" She looked around. The room was dark and covered with thousands of decorations. At the moment, techno music was playing and the strobe lights were going off.

Lita pulled her arm back. "Serena, I feel stupid." Lita looked down, her eyes trailing over her black dress. In a sparkling light pink dress, Serena wrapped her arms around her friend. "What Taro did was wrong. Don't let him ruin your night."

Lita glanced around the room. "But I'm here by myself!"

"So?" Serena shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sure there are some guys here by themselves. Why don't you go introduce yourself?"

"Hey, girls!" Hayate walked up in a tuxedo with a black pants and a white jacket with Ami on his arm. She smiled while wearing a light blue dress.

"Hey, you two!" Serena hugged Ami. "You look beautiful."

"You bet she does!" Hayate added.

Ami blushed. "Thank you. So do you." Ami nodded then hugged Lita. "How are you?"

"Terrible." She folded her arms.

Ami sighed. "I'm sorry, Lita."

In her signature color—orange—Mina walked up with her date, Shin Nishimoto, a friend from art class. She smiled brightly at the sight of her friends. "You all look wonderful!"

"Thanks, Mina." Serena turned around to look at Mina. Just then Darien, in a black tuxedo with a red bow tie, came back with two punch glasses. She handed one to Serena. "Thank you, dear."

"Your welcome." Darien took a slip of his drink. He looked around at the four girls. "Where's Raye?"

"Oh, I saw her over there." Mina pointed behind her. Everyone looked to the other side of the room. Daita, in his purple Pimp suit, was dueling Taro, in a green Pimp suit, with his cane while Izumi, in an orange Pimp suit, cheered them on. Raye was leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest and looking bored.

Serena's eye caught something else. She looked over to the entrance. Kyoji walked into the room escorting Achika on his arm. "Awe, look! They're so cute together!" Everyone looked over and had the same reaction. They watched as Kyoji guided Achika to a table and pulled out the chair for her. She sat down, he pushed her in, and then took a seat next to her.

"Well, the night is young!" Mina said. "I'll see you guys later!" She left and her date followed behind her.

Hayate and Ami naturally flowed into the crowd and moved into another part of the room while Serena quickly dragged Darien over to the refreshment table. Left alone, Lita sighed and headed over to the darkest corner of the room and found herself a spot on the wall.

She looked into her empty cup then glanced back towards the dance floor. She wasn't much of a dancer, but she wanted to be out there with the other couples. Her eyes scanned over the crowd but always found rest on one couple. He wasn't much of a dancer either. She smirked while he robotically moved off beat to the music. He was cute when he was nervous. Her faint smile immediately turned to a frown when the blonde-haired boy shared a smile with his date at one of his dancing blunderings.

Kyoji was a shy boy by nature. He rarely spoke unless spoken to of course, but with another shy person, he felt somewhat at ease with this girl. She was gentle and kind, and he had somewhat of an understanding with her. As they danced, he noticed her eyes always drifting off to the side.

"Is there something wrong?" Kyoji asked.

Achika smiled. "No, I'm fine. I'm having a wonderful time." She glanced over to the side again.

Kyoji looked over and caught what Achika was looking at. He then turned back to Achika. "You like him, don't you?"

Achika looked surprised. "What are you talking about?" She blushed. "Yes."

"Why don't you ask him to dance?"

"But I'm here with you."

Kyoji smiled. "I don't mind. If you like him, you should talk to him. I don't think he came with anyone."

"Really?" She smiled.

Kyoji nodded. "Yes, I mean it."

Achika looked at him and marveled for a moment. "You know, Kyoji, you're a really good friend."

He nodded. "Thank you."

She then grinned. "So? Who do you like?"

Kyoji blushed. "Who do I like?"

"Yeah, there's got to be someone right? So who's the lucky girl?" Achika faintly laughed. "I told you, you have to tell me."

Kyoji sighed. "It doesn't matter." He looked down to his shoes. "I could never have her anyway."

Finally, Daita walked up to Raye and offered to dance. The boy in the purple Pimp suit strolled onto the dance floor with Raye trailing behind him. Once she caught up, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her tightly against him. First his hands rested at her mid-back. He slowly started to trail lower which made Raye uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything. Raye peered through the other couples. There was Serena and Darien, Hayate and Ami, Mina was sitting down with Shin, and there was Kyoji dancing with Lita. She faintly smiled at the sight.

"Thank you for dancing with me, Kyoji." Lita glanced into his eyes, tears almost filling in hers.

"You're my friend, Lita." Kyoji smiled. As he directed her on the dance floor, Taro and Izumi flew by with their dates. Lita turned her head as they both made barking noises at her. Immediately, Kyoji stopped dancing and pulled away from Lita. "Excuse me! That is no way to treat a lady!" He started Izumi and Taro down.

"Oooo! What is she? Your girlfriend?" Izumi laughed.

"There's laws about humans dating animals!" Taro added just before he and Izumi directed their dates off to another section to the floor.

Kyoji turned back to Lita and resumed dancing with her. She was somewhat surprised, never seeing him that outspoken before, but it made her feel special on the inside.

"Don't pay attention to people like that. They don't know what they are talking about."

Tears escaped Lita's eyes.

Kyoji sighed. "Lita, you're fine just the way you are. Someday someone special is going to see that."

"I'm afraid not," She uttered. "Can we please just go sit down?"

He nodded. "Sure." He escorted her off the dance floor.

Raye sighed. Her eyes went all over the room as she was turned in the dance. She was feeling sick to her stomach, and a headache was swirling in her mind.

Daita pulled away from her. "Do you want to get out of here?"

She looked surprised. That was a great idea. "What'd you have in mind?"

"There's a balcony I saw earlier."

Raye nodded. "Yes, that'd be wonderful."

"Okay." He took a hold of her hand and led her off the dance floor. As they passed the tables, Izumi and Taro walked up.

"Where are you two going?" Taro asked.

"Just for some fresh air," Daita said.

"Alright man, see you later." Izumi said before walking off with Taro while Daita and Raye headed for the balcony.

"Man, he's gonna win," Taro said. He walked over to a table and sat down. Izumi sat with him.

"Yeah, Daita's definitely going to screw that little slut tonight."

Taro laughed. "I was getting real sick of her." He made a sound of disgust. "And her friends. But after tonight, he won't need her anymore."

"Where's he doing it at?"

"He apparently got a hotel for it."

Izumi chuckled. "I just would have done in the back seat of the car. She isn't worth shelling out the money for a hotel."

"Yeah, well, if he wants to get her to sleep with him, he's gotta make it all magical and pretend he's in love with her."

"I suppose you're right."

They both laughed hard together.

Standing a few feet away at the punch table and listening to the conversation, Kyoji dropped his cup of punch on the floor and ran off.

Raye looked over the balcony into the gardens of the reception hall the dance was at. They were so far away from the dance, Raye could barely even hear the music. It made her feel a little better to be away from it all. It was a cold but beautiful night. The moon was full, and the stars glimmered brightly. She glanced over but was soon caught in a kiss. Physically, he was a good kisser, but something always seemed to be missing for her. He pulled away and looked her in the eyes. "Raye."

"Yes?" She looked confused.

"These pat few months have been something really special to me."

"They have?"

"You're the most wonderful girl I've ever met. I just love you so much."

"Love?" She looked even more confused.

"I love you. Do you love me?"

"I…uh…" She was speechless. "Well, I…uh…um…"

Daita wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I love you so much. There's something special between us. I just want to be close to you." He kissed her check then started to trail down her neck. "I love you." His hands came up to her shoulders, and as he kissed down her left side, he slid the strap of her dress down.

"What are you doing!" She pushed him away and pulled her strap back up.

"What?" He threw his hands up. "I thought you said you loved me!"

"I never said that!" She spat.

"Don't you love me?" He walked forward.

"No, I don't!" She took a step back.

He kept walking forward, anger starting to wash over his face. "I love you, Raye, and this is how you treat me?"

"If you loved me, you wouldn't do things like that!"

His anger relented into a sweet and gentle tone, and he approached more slowly. "Raye, please, I want to show you that I love you. This is what people do when they are in love. I got us a hotel. We can be all alone—just the two of us tonight." He kept walking forward, and she kept stepping back. Eventually, her back hid against the wall. "Don't you love me, Raye?"

"Daita, get away from me! I don't love you!" She started to run

Anger resurfaced as he charged forward, pressing his body against hers and shoving her back into the wall. He pressed as hard as he could, making her faintly cry out as he crushed her against the wall. "You are my girlfriend, and you are coming with me!" He hissed, anger seething in his voice.

"Never!" She tried to push him away and run again.

He still had a hold of her arm. He jerked her back and grabbed at her with his other arm. He caught her strap and ripped it off her dress. He flung her to the ground. "I will do it here if I have to!" He stared her down, removed his purple jacket, and tossed it to the side.

Suddenly, a hand went on Daita's shoulder. He spun around with a look of confusion, then a fist went into his face. He topped over and fell to the ground. He passed out from such a hard blow.

"Raye!" Kyoji ran over to Raye and helped her up. "Raye, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Raye quickly scrambled up without Kyoji's assistance as much as possible. She squinted her eyes trying to keep the tears from falling, but it was of no avail.

"Raye, please, tell if you're okay?" He tried to take her into his arms, but she pushed him away and ran off.

"Just leave me alone!" She exclaimed while running off.
"Raye, wait!"

He turned around and followed her. She ran as fast as she could down the winding staircases and long hallways. While they ran through the sections that the students were in, Raye was able to weave in and out while Kyoji was caught up by the crowd. She burst out of the building and into the streets. Following behind, he chased her down a few streets, but lost her. He kept running and hollering her name until he got tired. He stopped in the middle of a street once he completely lost her. "RAYE! RAYE! WHERE ARE YOU! RAYE!" He looked around and then continued to run even through he had no idea where she was.

She couldn't run anymore, and her feet were killing her. She couldn't hear his voice anymore. "I think I lost him," She said to herself. Gasping for air, she headed into an alley to hide. She walked in.

"Look what we have here, boys"

Raye peered into the darkness. Out of the shadows appeared three boys. They were dressed in black with wholly jeans and chains hanging from them. Raye started to back up out of the alley.

"What's the rush, doll face?" One of the boys asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm leaving now."

The boys stepped forward. "Why don't you stay and have some fun, girl."

"Get her!" The lead boy hollered.

Raye turned around to run, but she crashed into a body. He grabbed a hold of her in his arms. There was another boy behind her.

"Leave me alone!" Raye screamed, trying to fight out of the grip of the other boy.

"She's a pretty one, isn't she?" One of the boys walked up and grabbed Raye by the chin. She fought away from the boy's grip, but he grabbed her face and covered her mouth.

"Let her go!"

The four boys looked at the entrance of the alley. "Who are you?" One of the boys asked.

Raye glanced to the entrance. The shadow man pulled out a sword—the blade glimmered in the moonlight. The boys stood silent for a moment. They released Raye and scurried away.

Raye stood up from the ground and looked at the shadow. He stepped forward. She smiled. "Tuxedo Samurai."

The dark warrior smiled. "Are you alright?"

She nodded.

"Let me take you home."

She shook her head. "I don't want to go home."

In his arms she felt warm. It was cold that night, but in his arms, she was so warm. Together they sat in a tree in the park just staring up at the moon.

"It's so cold. How are you keeping me warm?" She asked, her words spoken against his chest.

He faintly smiled as he hugged her tighter. "I have powers of light, healing, and warmth"

She looked up at him. "How?"

He was silent for a moment. "I don't know."

"You'll figure it out someday."

He placed his hand on her cheek. "I hope I figure out who I am, and what is my destiny with you."

She looked at his white mask, as if she could see through to his eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her. She responded gently to the kiss then buried her face back into his chest. She sighed. Her dreams of the past revealed that she had some sort of destiny with this masked man. She felt a deep connection with him, and the dreams that he appeared to her felt so real, yet there was a disconnect. This masked man, whoever he was, was someone of her past. Between her past life and her present, there felt as if there was a gap. Yes, she knew this man was her love of the past, but someone else was on her mind that moment in her present life.

Don't worry, friends! Mina and Lita action is coming up next!