Hey everyone! Sorry it took a few weeks to put this chapter up. I've been really busy with school lately so I haven't had much free time to write. Back to back tests suck, that's all I have to say. I made this chapter longer than the others and I added in a lot of fluff. I hope you like it! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I'm not Japanese, so please forgive any misuse on the honorifics and I do not own Sailor Moon, which this story is very loosely based.

Chapter 6

Old Friends, New Dresses

The next morning was not as pleasant as the last. The passed out group finally began to stir at around noon. The smell of food that wafted up to the room was a warm welcome, however, the sugar hangover was not.

"Whose great idea was it to eat all that crap?" Makoto grumbled, slowly getting up off her spot on the floor.

"Don't blame me," Yuuichirou grumbled back. "I wasn't the one who ate all the ho-hos." He began to get up too.

"Well I thought last night was fun," Usagi said, wide-eyed and bushy tailed. She stretched loudly and jumped to her feet. As the master of junk-food-eating, last night's feast had no effect on her.

"I agree. You guys are just weaklings," Minako said, following Usagi's lead. As Usagi's apprentice, she too felt no affect.

"No, it just means that you two eat too much," Rei muttered. Rei wasn't a junk food fan. Growing up, she never really had it at home, and moving to the shrine didn't really change it. Grandpa was always too busy to get the groceries, so Rei ended up getting the food she was used to. Although Rei had had parties with her friends that were similar to last night; it was nowhere near the same league as last night's. There was trash scattered all over the room. Pizza boxes, wrappers, soda cans, and half eaten food littered the floor, couch, and table. What room are we in anyway? Rei thought. She didn't linger on that question long: thinking took too much effort.

After everyone was sitting, not-so erect, Ami walked in the room holding a tray with several glasses of water.

"Good morning, everyone. Or should I say 'good afternoon.'" She walked over to the table and swiped the table free of trash, only sending it to the floor, and set the tray down.

The night before, Ami had remained in the library until she realized how late it was. When Ami started a good book, she lost all sense in time. She put the book carefully in its place and looked for her friends to apologize for being antisocial. It took her a while to find them, but when she did, they were all too eager to have her join them. Ami ate very little the night before, completely skipping the sickness her friends were now experiencing.

"I got you guys some water," she said, offering a glass to everyone. "You guys must be parched."

"What time did you get up, Ami-chan?" Makoto asked, sipping her water.

"A few hours ago," Ami replied. "I was able to finish my book." She was almost glowing.

She is such a morning person, everyone thought simultaneously.

"Ami-chan, did you go to the kitchen?" Usagi asked. "Is that lunch I smell?"

"Yes. They're putting it on the table soon."

"Usagi, how can you possibly think about food now? After all that food last night," Yuuichirou said a bit repulsed.

"You don't know Usagi," Rei commented.

"Come on guys, seriously. Let's go have lunch!" Usagi cried, ignoring Rei's remark.

Ten minutes later, everyone was dressed, washed, and sitting at the table. Hana walked in and was surprised to see everyone already in their seat.

"Hello," she said. "I thought I'd have to send one of the maids to come and get you. Your little party last night looked fun. Your father's at work already," she said to Yuuichirou. "He has some last minute things to tie up for this deal." She turned to Rei. "Your grandfather is at the shrine again. He left a while ago."

"He must really like that shrine. He was there all day till late last night yesterday and now early today," Ami stated.

"Maybe he found some cute shrine maidens there," Minako said.

Rei glared at her. "Don't talk about Grandpa like that!"

"I'm sure he's just trying to help out his fellow priests," Yuuichirou said, trying to soothe the fired up girl. "The shrine here is rather large. I'm sure they need as much help as possible."

Rei started to calm down.

"Kumada-san, this food is amazing!" Usagi said between mouthfuls. She was too absorbed in her plate to listen to her surroundings.

"Thank you, Tsukino-san. I'll be sure to tell our cook."

"You should try Makoto's cooking. It's just as good as this."

Hana turned to Makoto, eyebrows raised. Makoto almost chocked on her water from the shock of the spotlight.

"Is that true? You must let me try your cooking, Kino-san," Hana said, almost pleadingly.

"I'd love to," Makoto said after recovering. "I've actually been eager to see your kitchen."

"You haven't seen it yet? Well, you can see it after the fitting." Hana took a bite of her bread.

Everyone looked at Makoto, then Hana, confused.

"What fitting?" Makoto asked.

"Oh my goodness! How could I have forgotten? I meant to tell you all last night, but it was so late…" Hana trailed. "Anyway, we're having a ball at the country clubon Friday. We landed a big contract with one of our clients and as a thank you, we are hosting a ball in their honor. All of you must attend. Everyone can finally meet all of you and see Yuuichirou again. Then, you leave on Sunday. The timing couldn't have been more perfect!" Hana was absolutely thrilled. So was everyone else. Except Yuuichirou.

"Wow a real ball!"

"That sounds like so much fun!"

"Is there gonna be waltzing and stuff?"

"Ugh!"

"Yuuichirou, I know you've never really warmed to these kinds of events, but this would be the perfect opportunity to see everyone again and show them how well you're doing," Hana said as the girls turned to look at him.

"Alright, mother. If you say so," Yuuichirou conceded. "I hope it won't be as bad as the last one I went to." Hana began to chuckle.

"There was an old man that got drunk at the last party," Yuuichirou explained. "He got on stage and started singing Journey at the top of his lungs. He got so excited during the guitar solo that he lost his balance and landed on the food table. Food went flying everywhere and people were running and screaming, hoping that the food wouldn't land on them and ruin their outfit."

Everyone laughed.

"Don't worry. Since then, no one's played Journey at any event," Hana smiled though her glass.

"That's too bad. I like Journey," Minako pouted.

Everyone laughed again.

After lunch, Hana went to one of the spare rooms in order to arrange the dresses one of her designers had dropped off. She had ordered several dresses for the girls to try on for the ball and they were now being neatly filed in to the room.

The others waited in the den for her.

The girls sat in a circle, eagerly talking about the upcoming event. Yuuichirou sat in an armchair near them, leaning back listening. It's so funny how girls love dances so much, he thought. What's so special about them anyway?

"Yuuichirou, what's it gonna be like?" Usagi asked. "Is it gonna be all fancy and everything?"

"It's been a while since I've been to one, but I'm sure it's like all the others. The first time I went to one, I thought I was in a movie. Just everything about it: the people, the dancing, and people's outfits. There was one time when I…"

"Yuu! Look what the cat dragged in!" Two rather tall young men walked in the room, interrupting Yuuichirou.

"My father told me you were back in town and I had to see it for myself," one of them said. He had smooth, neatly brushed blonde hair and blue eyes. Yuuichirou stood up and greeted him with an open hand.

"Looks like you owe me lunch," the other one said. He had curly brown hair, a square jaw and vibrant green eyes. He too took Yuuichirou's hand.

"Were you two betting on whether I'd actually be here?" Yuuichirou frowned, eyebrows raised.

"It's been years, man, and you haven't been back here once," the blonde said. He stuck both hands in his trouser pockets. "Besides, you know I can't turn my back on a good bet." He pulled out a crumpled bill and idly handed it to his companion. He took it listlessly and stuffed it into his pocket. "Yuuichirou, you look good man. A hell of a lot better than I thought you'd look. I didn't think you'd be able to last out there all on your own."

"Who are your friends, Yuu?" Green-eyes asked, finally realizing there were females in the room.

Blonde didn't wait for a reply.

"My name is Yukio. This is my friend Kane," he said, gestured to Green-eyes. They both gave dazzling smiles worthy of toothpaste commercials.

The girls smiled back and introduced themselves.

"So what are you guys doing all the way over here?" Yukio asked, sitting in between Ami and Minako, putting his arms on the back rest behind them. The two girls blushed.

"Yuuichirou invited us over so we could meet his lovely parents," Usagi replied cheerily.

"And how do you like it so far?" Kane asked, sitting next to Rei and Makoto. His hand slightly brushed Rei's bare leg as he sat down and Yuuichirou's face twitched with rage. No one seemed to realize.

"It's quite lovely here," Ami replied. "It's been a very nice visit."

"Well if you ladies ever get bored here, Yukio and I would be more than happy to show you a night out," Kane said with a sideways smile. "I can't really imagine you guys having a great time hanging out with Yuuichirou's parents."

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Yuuichirou said. "Your idea of fun isn't exactly what most people call..." Yuuichirou thought for a second. "Legal."

"That was one time, Yuu, and a long time ago," Yukio replied a bit aggressively. The girls turned to look at each other.

"We aren't that bad," Kane said to Makoto, sensing the unease from them. He gave her another one of his smiles and she couldn't help but smile back. Rei was watching Yuuichirou however. She couldn't understand why he seemed to tense up all of a sudden.

"Girls, dresses are ready."

Hana had walked in unnoticed by all. She now stood behind the couch where everyone but Yuuichirou sat. "Why don't you girls go to the room?" As the girls began to stand, she looked at the two extra boys. "Hello Yukio. Hello Kane. How are you two? It's been a while."

"Fine, ma'am," both said.

"Are you boys coming to the party this Friday?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kane replied. "My parents are really looking forward to it."

"Mine are too," Yukio commented.

"Well that's nice. I'll see you both there." She turned around and guided the girls out of the room. Three sets of eyes watched them go.

As soon as they left, Kane and Yukio turned to Yuuichirou.

"Dude," Yukio said. "Who knew you had it in you!"

"What are you talking about?" Yuuichirou asked.

"You always were the ladies man back in school, but you seriously outdid yourself with those girls," Kane said seriously impressed.

"Those girls are HOT!" Yukio agreed.

Yuuichirou rolled his eyes and rustled his hair. This wasn't the first time anyone had said that to him but it made him uncomfortable every time. He felt protective of them, like they were his sisters. But with Rei, he would feel just plain jealousy. He didn't like any other man looked at her, although could he really blame them?

"Please tell me at least one of them is single," Yukio begged.

"It's your lucky day," Yuuichirou replied quite solemnly. "They all are, except Usagi." Although he wished at least one more of them wasn't.

"No way!" the two said.

"Wait," Kane said, raising his hands. "You're telling me that you're hanging out with them back at where ever it is that you live and you aren't dating one of them?"

Yuuichirou shook his head. He was beginning to get irritated.

"Have you ever?" Yukio asked, a smile appearing in the corner of his lips.

"No."

The two friends started to laugh. Yuuichirou felt like punching one of them in the gut. He'd only been in love with Rei since the moment he laid eyes on her and if he had the chance, he wouldn't hesitate to date her. He could never gather up the courage to actually tell her his feelings and Yukio and Kane were only reminding him of this.

"So you wouldn't mind if we tried?" Yukio asked, with a sly smile.

"Look guys. That's probably not a good idea," Yuuichirou began. "They aren't the kind of girls that you normally date. They're different and they're my friends. I don't want them to get hurt."

"Why would you say that?" Kane asked defensively. "Why don't we let them decide?"

"Which one are you gonna ask, Kane?" Yukio asked. Yuuichirou was now completely forgotten.

Yuuichirou just shook his head. He blocked out the rest of their conversation; he didn't want to hear what these guys were saying about his friends. Especially Rei. They were talking about the girls like they were a prize, not people. I guess some people never change, Yuuichirou thought.

Meanwhile, in the other room, the girls were surrounded by lace, silk, and satin. Dresses were almost bursting out of the racks they hung from. They were sorted by colors, revealing a miniature rainbow.

"Alright girls," Hana said as she watched the girls' jaws drop. "Just pick the one that you want and we'll get rid of the rest."

"Wow, Kumada-san. These are gorgeous!" Minako cried, running right in the room and jumping on the nearest rack. The others instantly followed.

"Well then they'll match all of you perfectly," Hana smiled. Everyone's faces turned a bit redder.

"I'll leave you ladies here," Hana continued. "I'll be back later to see how you are." With that, she turned around and left. Within moments, dresses were flying across the room.

"So what do you guys think of Yuuichirou's friends?" Makoto asked over her shoulder a few minutes later. She stood in front of a full length mirror and held a dress up to her body.

"They were hot," Minako replied, throwing a rejected dress over her shoulder.

"Yeah, they were really cute," Usagi agreed flipping through some hung dresses.

"Usagi, you have Mamoru," Rei said rolling her eyes.

"And he would appreciate my good taste," Usagi commented.

The girls couldn't help but laugh.

"Yuuichirou seemed a bit quiet around them though," Ami stated. "He didn't seem all that excited to see them." She started to hang up some of the dresses Minako had dropped on the floor.

"I noticed that too, actually," Makoto said. She began to put the dress she was looking at back on the rack.

"Maybe he was just so excited that he didn't know how to react," Usagi suggested.

Rei began trying on a dress. She didn't want to join in on their conversation. She thought about his reaction as well and thought it was a little off, especially for Yuuichirou. Why would he act like that? She thought. Now that she thought about it, she'd never really seen him with any friends. She knew he had some back at the shrine, but he had always been too busy with chores and training to have much free time. But he's always so chipper. He was always so happy to see her friends. Any time they would come over to work on homework or to discuss the latest youma attack, he would go out of his way to make them feel at home. He was always so kind and courteous to any shrine visitors and he even acted warmer to complete stranger than how he acted around Yukio and Kane. It's so strange, she thought, letting out a sigh. I'm sure it's nothing, shrugging it off.

Dresses soon took over their conversations and the girls spent the next few hours laughing at some funny looking dresses and talking about the latest gossip happening at school.

"Have you ladies picked out your dresses yet?" Hana asked. She had left them alone a few hours ago and hadn't returned until now. Looking at the room, she was kind of hoping she hadn't. The room was completely transformed from a neat pristine room to a department store fitting room during a sale.

Upon seeing her reaction to the room, everyone sweat dropped.

"Sorry about the room, Kumada-san," Ami apologized. She was still hanging the dress she had just tried on. The other girls followed, picking up dresses lying on the floor.

Hana chucked. "No, it's alright," she said. "It's not like I haven't done this before." She sat down on the one chair that didn't have a pile of lace and satin on it. The girls sighed in relief.

"I take it from all the dresses on the floor that you haven't picked out one yet," Hana smiled.

"There are so many to choose from," Minako replied. "I don't know which one to pick!" For the last hour, Minako was torn between four very different dresses. She kept changing her mind every five minutes, making random excuses for why she didn't want this dress or that dress.

"Kumada-san, these dresses are all beautiful," Makoto said, playing with the straps of the dress she held.

"Are you sure it's alright for us to wear them?" Rei asked, turning to face the stately woman.

"Of course," Hana replied. She stood up and walked over to Rei and Makoto, who were standing next to the full length mirror. "This one looks beautiful on you, Hino-san," she said. Rei blushed.

"Thank you," was all Rei could say.

Hana turned to Makoto. "I enjoy watching you girls in here. I never got to do this. Yuuichirou never liked it when I took him shopping. You know how boys are." All the girls giggled. "Besides," she continued, turning to stand behind Rei and looking at her in the mirror, "I've always wanted a daughter." With that, she began to play Rei's beautiful hair.

That night, Rei sat in the middle of the bed staring across the room at her new dress hanging in the closet. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever worn, she thought with a smile. I can't wait to wear it. It had taken her forever to finally find it but the second she did, she fell in love with it. It had made her love it even more because even Hana had commented on how beautiful it looked on her. The other girls took even longer to find a dress. Makoto and Ami found theirs not long after, but it took Minako another two hours to finally pick one and Usagi three. If this is how prom dress shopping will be like, I'm not looking forward to it.

After finding their dresses and fixing the room from the minor disaster the girls created, Makoto made an extravagant dinner with everyone's help. Kane and Yukio stayed for dinner, much to Yuuichirou's misfortune. Hana couldn't believe how amazing the food tasted, especially since it came from such a young girl. Makoto was praised for her cooking by all making her the happiest person in the room. Sitting next to her was the saddest person in the room. Yuuichirou watched as Yukio and Kane shamelessly flirted with all of his friends. He shot daggers with his eyes whenever either one of them said anything to Rei. She noticed his demeanor and began thinking about how strange he was acting again.

Rei was thinking about this again as she sat on her bed. She replayed the entire evening in her head but still couldn't find an answer. Rei heard a soft knock on the door.

The door opened slightly and a head popped in.

"Rei-chan, mind if I come in?" Yuuichirou asked softly.

"Sure, is something wrong?" Rei began to worry. It was already late and Grandpa still hadn't come back. "Is Grandpa alright"

"He's fine. He just got back five minutes ago. I saw him in the hall," Yuuichirou said, closing the door softly behind him. Rei let out a sigh of relief.

"So, what's up Yuuichirou? It's kind of late."

He was now standing in his pajamas by her bed, hands behind his back. He paused.

"I just wanted to see you," he said finally. Rei was slightly taken aback by his boldness. "I spent the entire day with Yukio and Kane and I hadn't seen you all day. I just wanted to see a friendly face."

Rei smiled at how nervous he looked. "Alright," she said. She patted the spot on the bed next to her.

Yuuichirou sat down on the spot she indicated with a smile that showed every ounce of his happiness.

"Can I ask you a question?" Rei asked as Yuuichirou tried to cross his legs like Rei.

"You can ask me anything."

"Are you friends with Yukio and Kane? I sensed some tension from you earlier today and it's not like you to be so quiet around people." Rei couldn't help asking. The question had been burning inside her for hours and it was really annoying her.

Yuuichirou looked down at his lap. He didn't want to talk about it, but Rei seemed genuinely concerned about him. When she asked a question, he had to answer: this time was no different.

"We've known each other since we were kids," Yuuichirou said still looking at his lap. "We grew up together. We were actually really good friends." He looked up at her and met her gaze. "When we got older, we started getting into some trouble. Nothing bad, but really stupid reckless stuff. When it started to get really bad, I started to hang out with them less and less. I didn't want to embarrass my parents by getting caught doing something dumb, so I started making other friends, ones that were actually my friends, but Yukio and Kane didn't like it. They thought I was abandoning them; that I was better than them, and that I found new friends that replaced them. It was a huge falling out between us."

"So why did they show up today?"

"Because when I left, they told me that I was a good-for-nothing and that I wouldn't be able to make it without my parents help." Yuuichirou smiled slightly. "You know, I think they've matured a bit. They weren't nearly as bad today as they were when I left. They probably wanted to see me completely helpless today, so I guess I got the last laugh."

"I'm so sorry," Rei said. She couldn't imagine what it would be like for her best friends to just turn on her.

"Don't be," he replied. "I got over it a long time ago. People are just dumb sometimes, especially teenagers. Today was just a bit awkward."

"I'm sure it was." Rei still looked a bit worried. No one should have to suffer loosing friends like that, especially someone as nice and sweet as Yuuichirou. Did I just think that? She thought.

"Rei-chan, don't worry about those guys. It's just dumb guys stuff, really." Yuuichirou smiled at her and gently put his hand on hers. She smiled weakly back. "So what about you!" he said, instantly chipper. "Did you pick out a dress? Can I see it?" He began to look over at the open closet.

"No!"

In a flash, she was standing in front of the closet closing the door. She turned to face a stunned Yuuichirou.

"What was that? Is it that ugly?" Yuuichirou grinned.

"It's a surprise! Your mother told us not to show you any of our dresses," Rei retorted. She couldn't help but blush at how she had reacted just a second ago.

"Okay, well I guess I'll see it in a few days," Yuuichirou shrugged with the grin still on his face. "And you'll be wearing it when I do."

Rei's blush deepened.

"So did you have fun with my mother?" Yuuichirou asked, changing the subject. He knew his last comment had made her uncomfortable.

"Yes. She's a very nice woman," Rei replied. She sat back down on the bed facing Yuuichirou.

"Yes she is. She looked like she had a god time too. I saw her in the office room on my way over here and she was glowing."

"Can I ask you another question?" Rei began to nervously play with her bed sheets.

"Yeah, but it better not be about Yukio and Kane," Yuuichirou replied, slightly nudging her with his hand.

"It's not. You don't have to answer if it's too personal." Rei took a deep breath. She didn't want to ask another personal question, especially one like this, but she had to ask. This question had been eating away at her brain for the past few days and she couldn't keep it in anymore. "Why did you leave this place? You seem to have such a good life here, except for your friends." She made little quotation marks with her fingers when she said 'friends.'

"I was wondering when you were going to ask that question," Yuuichirou said.

Rei blushed again and looked embarrassingly at the ruffled sheets she sat on. When she finally looked up, she was surprised to see that he wasn't mad. In fact, he was smiling sweetly at her.

"When I was a child," he began, "And the business hadn't been started, we lived in the Juuban district. Not too far from the shrine actually. My father worked on starting the business while my mom took care of me. We became really close. She and I would always go to the park down the street after school and look at the flowers. As I got older, the company got more successful and my mother started to help out. After that, I barely saw her anymore. I was always used to having my father away on business, but I'd never really been alone till my mother started working. The company got so successful, they bought this house. My mother wanted a big house with a big yard. The move was kind of hard. I was only a kid and if you haven't noticed, this house is freakin' huge! Well, I changed schools to one closer here and that's when I made friends with Yukio and Kane. From the beginning, it seemed like I'd never be alone with best friends like them, but I was wrong. A few years after we lost connection, my father announced that I was to take over the business. I kind of snapped. I didn't want to take over some company I had no part in. I want to make him happy, but I knew that if I were to someday take over, I would hate my life because I don't want it to be like my father's. I told him that I was leaving a little while later. I needed to find out what I want to do with my life. The first place I went to after I left was my old home. I didn't know where else to go. I saw the shrine on my way to the park and I figured I'd go there for some guidance. Turns out I never left." He gave her another one of his smiles.

Rei couldn't find any words.

Yuuichirou's smile widened. "Now that you know all about me and we've talked about some pretty depressing stuff, why don't we have some fun?"

"What do you have in mind?" Rei asked. She didn't want to push the subject further. She was surprised he'd actually opened up that much to her. She began to catch his contagious smile.

"I was thinking some soda, popcorn and some cheesy action movie."

"That sounds like fun."

"Great! Let's go get everything."

Yuuichirou jumped off the bed and motioned Rei to follow. She began to laugh at his childishness and followed suit.

Within fifteen minutes, the two had snuck into the kitchen, raided it, picked up a movie, and were now back in Rei's room watching the movie. Both lay on their stomach, facing the television. They had decided to pick a funny action movie, but Yuuichirou couldn't pay attention to it. He was too distracted. He couldn't help glancing over at her. Her features shimmered from the flashing lights of the TV and it captivated him. When she laughed he could barely catch his breath: her laughs were like bells to him. Yuuichirou couldn't believe someone this perfect was laying next to him. She's cute even when she eats popcorn, he thought.

There lay between them a big bowl of popcorn and a small tub a chocolate icing. Rei would dip the tip of finger in the icing, and then pick up a single kernel with the chocolaty finger. She'd stick the tip of her finger in her mouth, eating both the chocolate and popcorn. Yuuichirou had never seen anyone eat popcorn like that.

Rei felt someone staring at her and turned her head. Yuuichirou blushed at being caught staring, so as a reaction, he dipped his entire hand in the icing, then the popcorn. After Rei's initial shock wore off, she saw Yuuichirou's entire hand completely covered with the crazy concoction. He began to eat his fingers with a big smile on his face.

"Baka," she laughed.

"Hey, you're just jealous you didn't think of this," Yuuichirou retorted finishing his thumb and moving on to his index finger.

"If I wanted to be gross, I would have done that."
"This isn't gross. It's like what you were doing, only better!" He held up his half eaten hand at her.

"Ewe! Get that thing away! Your spit is all over it!" She sat up on the bed trying to get farther away from his extended chocolaty hand.

Yuuichirou sat up too. He held it closer to her face just to tease her. He began to laugh. Rei grabbed a handful of popcorn and threw it at him to get him to stop; it was the only defense she could think of. Yuuichirou laughed again, catching some of the kernels in his mouth. Rei was invulnerable to Yuuichirou's goofiness. He was just so silly sometimes and she felt so comfortable around him.

The rest of the night was spent on seeing how many times Yuuichirou could catch popcorn in his mouth and how far they could throw it in the air. The movie long forgotten.

A few hours later, Rei lay asleep as the movie credits rolled. Yuuichirou lay next to her fully awake. The two had run out of popcorn halfway through the movie so they ended up watching the rest of it. Rei, however, only saw a few minutes. It was really late, even by her standards, and she felt the day's exhaustion suddenly hit her as her head hit the pillow. Yuuichirou hadn't noticed she'd fallen asleep till now. He turned his head to the side and saw that she lay on her side facing him with her hands resting on the pillow. She's so peaceful when she sleeps, he thought. She looks like an angel. For the second time in two days, he looked at her without fear of being yelled at. She was more beautiful now then she was in the garden, if that was even possible. He watched her for a while, adoring everything about her. He listened to her slow smooth breaths and he felt his own catch. He eventually tore his eyes off her and got up quietly. He began to pick up the mess they had made on her bed (the stray kernels and empty soda cans and icing tub) and put them in the popcorn bowl to be thrown away later. He then walked over to her side of the bed and gently picked her up so that he could get the sheets over her sleeping form. After successfully tucking her in without waking her, he brushed a stray stand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. With his hand still on her hair, he bent down and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Rei-chan," he whispered only inches from her forehead. He straightened up and picked up the popcorn bowl and walked out of the room. He slowly closed the door behind him with his free hand and he heard a faint, "Goodnight, Yuuichirou-chan."