Whether by rage or by determination, somehow Kazuha had managed to outrun Heiji all the way back to her house. When she arrived, she simply threw open the door, ran into her room and collapsed on her bed. About a half mile behind, a still puzzle Heiji jogged briskly, trying to catch up to her but having a difficult time staying out his own head.

"Why was she holding my hand like that anyway? Doesn't she know that's how people that l-l-like each other act?" He had been running circles in his own mind for about ten minutes, rewording the same questions and still receiving no answers "I mean really, is she trying to hit on me or something? Jeez that woman is insane!"

Meanwhile, back on the side of the biker trail

"Okay I think it's safe to leave" Kiyumi said triumphantly, hopping up off the ground. Bakuyo just grunted and followed suit. Soon they found themselves walking back towards the school

"So Bakuyo, what do I owe you?"

"Huh?" he asked hesitantly, trying to feign ignorance

"Don't play dumb, you told me back there that I owed you for this, so, what is it?" He smiled daftly back at her as his face was covered in a light red hue

"Well there was one thing I was gonna ask for…." He trailed of and broke eye contact, facing the other direction

"Oh come on, don't be so embarrassed; just spit it out." He started to sweat again, which was not pleasant considering how much he had already sweat

"Uh…well…I-I mean its just… okay look you're really cute would you go out with me?" he spewed out his request bluntly and loudly, leaving Kiyumi at a loss for the moment. She remained quiet, continuing to walk but much slower than before. Finally, after a few agonizing minutes, she turned back to him

"Sure" she mumbled. This quiet, almost fearful voice was nothing like the one she had used throughout the last half hour. He meditated on that for a moment. "Wow, I met her just thirty minutes ago, and now, here we are about to go on a date". He smiled to himself then looked back over to her. She looked at him and smiled back, blushing slightly.

Meanwhile, back at the Toyama house, a still distraught Heiji sits on the Toyama couch and waits for Kazuha to come down the stairs.

"Seriously, what the heck is goin' on? Why do I feel so funny? I can't even figure out what this feeling is, am I….nervous? No that can't be it, what about…..anxious? I think that might be it, but why? Why am I suddenly so anxious to see her? I mean sure, I want to know what's goin' on and what the heck happened to me, but I feel like there's a little more to this feeling." He could feel his heart beating five times faster than normal, barely allowing him to breathe. This might have been painful for him, except he hadn't been able to focus on anything but his hand the last twenty minutes. He could still feel her hand there, their fingers intertwined, locking together so perfectly. He remembered the warmth of her hand in his, and he….missed it. "Wait what?" he thought, baffled and alarmed by the thoughts that had burrowed their way into his subconscious "No no no no no no! That's not right! This has to be fluke or something. I mean really, it was just a stupid hand. It was just stupid Kazuha's stupid hand….." his irritation melted away as the sentiment continued to dominate his brain. No matter what defenses he put up to fight it, the thought still lingered, more prominently than anything else "I miss it". The thought kept ringing in his ears, giving him no choice but to acknowledge it. He continued to gaze at his, now seemingly lonelier, left hand. He looked away from it briefly, only to catch a glance at Kazuha's door. It was still closed and she was still crying. He could hear her just like he'd heard her since he got there. He stood up, an unmistakable resolve in his eyes, and he approached the stairs that led to her room. He took a deep breathe, clenched his hand into a fist and climbed the first step, which might as well have been a mountain.

Meanwhile, a flight of stairs away, Kazuha continued to cry just like she had since the moment she let go of his hand. She felt ashamed, repulsive, ugly, unwanted and most of, melancholy. "Why would he do that to me? I mean sure, he's kind of a jerk sometimes but he could not have really thought that was funny? What kind of joke was that? Idiot!" she cursed him angrily into her pillow, screaming violently and her tears showed little sign of subsiding. She flipped onto her back, needing air after all her screaming and crying had left her breathless. She took a moment to scan her room, noting how clean it was after she had finally decided to organize it a few days earlier. When her eyes reached her closet, she set them on a green evening gown that she hadn't seen there before. When she stood up and approached it, temporarily clearing her eyes, she found a note from her father attached to the hanger

Kazuha, I bought you this. I think it will look lovely on you tonight for dinner. –Dad

She smiled at the gesture her father had made. She did enjoy how the dress looked. She liked the color, a dark, almost forest green with a white trim along the bottom and along the straps. It was a spaghetti strap though, which she rarely wore. She resolved, nevertheless, to try it on. When all her school clothes were removed and she had slipped into the evening gown, she walked in front of her mirror wearily. When she saw herself, she was blown away. All the feelings of ugliness and inadequacy seemed unwarranted now, as she stood, awestruck by her own appearance. She became so focused on her reflection that she didn't even notice when a set of footsteps began to approach her room.

Meanwhile, at the front of the high school.

After he had asked her out, Kiyumi and Bakuyo had walked in almost complete silence. The only sound either one of them made was when Kiyumi let out a very light sneeze to which Bakuyo responded 'God bless you'. When they reached the front of the school, they turned to one another almost unwillingly.

"So….I guess I'll see you later Kiyumi-chan" he muttered as he started to walk off

"what time" she asked, almost inaudibly. Of course, Bakuyo had been praying she would ask that for the entire walk to the school

"Tonight, let's say, 6?"

"Sure. Will you pick me up?"

"Of course. Here's my number, message me your address" he said as he pulled a small piece of scratch paper out of his side pocket and a pen from his back pocket.

"Bye then" and she was off. Despite their apparent awkwardness, the interaction between them hadn't been all too uncomfortable. Tense, maybe, but strangely….natural.

Back at the Toyama house, Heiji had just made it to Kazuha's door and now stared at it anxiously

He lifted a hand to knock, but hesitated, and after a few seconds of indecision he lowered it. He thought hard about what to do. He considered her face and how broken she probably looked. He almost walked away based on that pretense alone. But he had to talk to her. He ducked his head and turned the knob on the door. He pushed the door open abruptly, almost throwing himself into her room. He hadn't fully expected it to be unlocked, so he had had pushed harder than he needed to, almost tripping over his own feet. When he gained his balance, he looked up and was immediately thrown off balance again. There she was, just like a princess. He had never seen her like this. He had thought about certain aspects of her appearance being kind of cute a few times, but he had quickly dismissed these thoughts as idiotic and nothing more. This was different though, she wasn't cute, or pretty, or hot or anything of that nature. She was beautiful and that's all there was to it. He could hardly find his legs at first, but when he did, he crept toward her as slowly and carefully as he possibly could. He could tell she had been crying, a lot. And it didn't appear as if she was finished either.

"Kazuha…" he barely whispered, practically to himself

"I know it doesn't look that nice on me" she strained herself to get the words out. She knew she was lying, but somewhere inside her she wanted to know if that's what he thought. Heiji paused for a moment, darting his eyes toward the floor. His face had been bright red since the moment he laid eyes on her, and he knew if he wanted to get a coherent statement out of his mouth he was going to have to avoid looking at her completely.

"I…" even with his head fully pointed at the ground, he still couldn't concentrate. Every time a thought crossed his mind it was immediately drowned out by "God she looks fantastic!" He tried to suppress this thought, thinking it too vulgar for the situation until, without any specific instruction, the words finally came out "You look amazing!" He screamed almost at the top of his lungs. She looked at him stunned, tears reforming in her eyes

"Heiji…" what should have been joy over his compliment quickly became anguish over the strain in his voice "why is it so hard for you to tell me that?" she cried harder as the words came out. Finally, he looked up at her, eyes completely glued to her. Even when she cried she looked like nothing he had ever seen. He put a lot of energy into ignoring her question, until she finally spoke

"This is stupid. Can you please get out so I can change?"

"No" he said sternly

"Pervert, you can't watch me change" she tried her best to giggle but it was hard with the tears that were still flooding out of her eyes

"Don't….don't take it off" he trailed off, striding closer to her. She was frozen in place by his demand, so his advances toward her went with virtually no reaction. She was abruptly shot back into reality when his hands took hold of her shoulders. She looked up and found him staring straight into her eyes, unwavering "You look perfect"

"W-What?" her body quaked with fear and anticipation until she felt his hand slide slowly down her arm into her hand. He weaved his fingers tightly within hers, and her body went still. At this point, Heiji could not have physically been any closer to her. She pushed her forehead onto his shoulder and they stood their quietly, enjoying the moment.

"Kazuha!" her eyes widened, as did Heiji's. It was as if they had been dosed in cold water upon waking up. They both turned and faced the door

"Uh…yes?"

"We're going to be late! We have to meet the Hattori's in twenty minutes and the restaurant is fifteen minutes away. Is Heiji ready?" He jumped back and sprinted down the stairs

"Uh no sir I need to get dressed!" he sprinted by him, grabbed his outfit and sprinted back up the stairs and into the bathroom. Mr. Toyama stared at the bathroom door inquisitively for a moment, then shrugged his shoulder and walked into the kitchen. Kazuha was still standing stiff in her room with her hand in the same place it was when Heiji's hand had left it. She took her left hand and gently clasped her right with it. It was still warm from his hand being there, and she could recall all the sensation from just a few moments ago.

"Aho! Let's go or we'll be late" Heiji screamed, still completely flustered as he sprinted down the stairs, clad in black slacks, a white t-shirt and what appeared to be a black, long-sleeved dress shirt. He was trying to throw the top of his outfit on as he ran stumbling down toward the kitchen. She smiled to herself, wiped her eyes, and walked down the stairs behind him.

"Come on you two, I have big news I need to announce. We need to hurry"

"News?" Kazuha asked

"Yes, that's what this dinner is all about. Now hurry, we don't to keep Heizo and Shizuka waiting" with that they all went out the door and piled into Mr. Toyama's car. As they drove away, Kazuha couldn't help but wonder what news he had that was so important. She had difficulty focusing, however, when she noticed a familiar hand reaffirming its hold on hers, causing her to blush madly. Neither of them looked away from their respective windows, but they did share a rather evident smile.