YAY, my first two reviews came on chapter 7! Thanks so much to my first reviewers, you rock! 8D Anyway, sometimes when I read back I find small punctuation errors, if you find any, please ignore them. Big twist coming up kinda soon (not real soon, but kinda soon) so I'll try to update often. Thanks for reading!

Chapter Eight

XXX …Kyo's POV… XXX

Kyo sat on the porch, his legs dangling off the edge. He was thinking about how many things he could've done different, how he could've made things less awkward when he'd asked Rei to the dance.

I bet that damn Yuki wouldn't have messed that up like I did, he thought grudgingly. Why does he have to be so freaking perfect?

"Kyo, might I have a word?" Shigure asked, walking outside.

Kyo glanced indifferently at him. "Sure, whatever."

"I hear you're going to the dance with Rei?" Shigure inquired.

"Yeah, what of it?" Kyo snapped.

"Well, I just figured you might want to know the answer to your question about her, why you don't change when you hold her, but if you're going to be that snappy about it…" Shigure stood and made movements to go inside, but Kyo grabbed his arm fiercely.

"Tell me," He demanded.

Shigure sat on the porch about a foot away. "As you know, the cat's curse is basically a lot worse than the curse of all the other zodiac animals," Shigure started. "Because of this, God took pity on the cat. He gave him a way to find the one human in the world that he's meant to be with. God made it so that if the Cat were to embrace that one perfect person, the curse wouldn't react and change him, thus eliminating any… complications in their relationship."

Kyo sat there, stunned. "So basically, you're telling me Rei is my soul mate," He stated disbelievingly.

"That's what I'm saying," Shigure confirmed.

"You couldn't tell me that before why?"

"Because you're not supposed to feel obligated to like her. If you had known you two were meant for each other, you only would have loved her with your mind, not your heart. At this point, I've seen you two together, seen the way you've started to look at her. You like her, do you not?"

Kyo nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess I do…"

"As I thought," Shigure said with a smile.

"Man, what am I gonna tell her?" Kyo murmured to himself, massaging his temples with his fingertips. It was a lot to take in.

"You can't tell her!" Shigure commanded. "For the same reason that I couldn't tell you before. You have to confirm her feelings first."

Kyo glared angrily at Shigure. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?!"

"My suggestion? Wait until she sees what you're really like," Shigure said quietly, eyeing the red and white beads strung around Kyo's wrist.

Kyo followed his gaze, and snapped his hand out of sight. "She's not going to see that!" he said fiercely. "Not if I have any say in it." With that, he bounded off to the roof to think.

XXX … XXX

Tohru and I sat in our room for about two hours before the dance, fussing over even the tiniest details. We were both so excited we could hardly sit still, and Tohru was being a total perfectionist, checking that everything was in place for her outfit and then checking mine, over and over again.

An hour before the dance, I poked my head out of our room. The hallway was empty.

"Yuki?" I called, keeping as much of me inside as possible so that our outfits wouldn't be spoiled. Muffled noise came from his room and his head poked out. "Are you and Kyo ready yet?"

"What time is it?" He murmured, glancing around for a clock.

"You fell asleep, didn't you?!" I demanded irritably. "It's six thirty, you have a half hour to get ready! And where in the world is Kyo?"

Yuki grinned sheepishly. "Don't worry, it doesn't take guys as long to get ready. I'm pretty sure Kyo is on the roof… I'll send Shigure to get him."

I stared him down for a moment, then nodded and pulled my head back inside. Tohru looked anxious.

"Do you really think that they'll be able to get ready in time?" She worried.

"Chill, Tohru. I'm sure they can handle it. I mean, it's true, boys hardly take any time at all to get ready, which really isn't fair…" I murmured at the end, reaching out to absently fix a single stray hair poking out of Tohru's sleek ponytail.

We sat and chatted excitedly, anticipating the fun night, for about fifteen minutes. Then there came a knock on the door, and Shigure's muffled voice came through it.

"Girls? The boys are ready when you are." He informed us.

"Ready when we are?" I demanded. "We've been waiting for them for the last half hour!" I pulled back the door and Shigure blinked in surprise.

"I thought this dance was semi-formal," He said confusedly.

"It is," I responded shortly.

"Well… at any rate, you two look wonderful."

I smiled in thanks and handed him my camera. "You're in charge of taking pictures before we leave." With that I linked my arm through Tohru's, and we walked downstairs.

Kyo and Yuki were standing on opposite sides of the room, pointedly not looking at each other. Yuki wore a normal black tux, with a purple tie. Kyo had on a white dress shirt, a pair of nice jeans, and I was amused to notice that his tie was loosened, with the top few shirt buttons undone. As soon as we reached the bottom of the steps, their gazes snapped upwards simultaneously, and their eyes almost popped out of their heads.

"Wow…" Was all Yuki could manage to say, his eyes taking in Tohru. I could feel her blush radiating from where I was standing. I almost smirked at Kyo's expression.

"My eyes are up here," I informed him after a moment, pointing towards my face. It's not like he'd been staring at any inappropriate places, but I still wanted to give him crap. As expected, he blushed and looked away.

"Pictures!" Shigure sang out from behind us on the stairs. Tohru and I clapped and jumped out of his way.

"Okay, first a picture of Tohru and Yuki. Then Kyo and me, and then I'll need a group photo," I instructed, motioning the two of them over to a good spot and pulling Kyo out of the way. Shigure held up the camera, focused, and snapped the picture.

Then Kyo and I were up. He slung his arm around my shoulder, and I leaned into him, grinning at the camera lens. As soon as I heard the snap of the shutter, I motioned Yuki and Tohru over. I wrapped one arm around Tohru and pulled her into a hug for the camera, and the boys stayed at our sides.

Shigure snapped another picture, and then I ran forward and snatched it from him.

"Come on, we're gonna be late!" Tohru said anxiously, and soon after that we were out the door.

I came to a sudden halt on the porch, my jaw dropped.

"You guys rented a limo?!" I squealed.

"You guys didn't have to do that," Tohru protested. "We could have just walked there."

"Well, Rei probably would've snapped her ankles in those heels, anyway." Kyo pointed out. "Come on lets go."

I followed, muttering about being a professional in high heels, and we all slid into the back of the limo.

We laughed, chatted, and pumped up the music in the back car, getting pumped up. If partying in a car could be that much fun, I couldn't wait to see how great this dance was going to be.

As soon as we reached the school, we piled out. We strolled towards it in a line, Tohru and I in the center, linking arms. There were little signs up in the hallways, guiding us to the humungous school gym.

Tohru and I led the way in, and paused at the door. I popped my left hip, Tohru her right, so that we were kind of leaning into each other, and put our opposite hands on our hips. We gazed around the room, not even paying attention to the looks we were attracting, the murmur rippling through the crowd closest to the doors.

I let a small, smug smile grace my lips. The two of us had gone all out in our outfits.

Tohru wore a light baby pink dress that ran just past her knees. Her skirt was ruffly and frilly, and full of sparkles. The sleeve was in between a normal strap and an actual sleeve, kind of just covering her shoulder. Her hair was in a high pony, and she wore dark purple eye shadow with shimmer smudged into it. Her eyelashes, elongated with mascara, gave her eyes a wide, innocent look. She wore pink flower earrings, and light blue flats that she had been so sure wouldn't match, (I picked them out for her) but of course, they looked perfect.

My dress was a sleek, strapless, deep purple number that showed off my curves. The skirt slid out in waves just above my knee. I'd slid enough glitter onto my arms to make me glow under the neon lights, but not so much that I would look like a disco ball. My hair was up in a messy bun, and I'd curled the strands in the front to perfect ringlets. I had on silver high heels, silver hoop earrings, and yet more silver in the form of a twisty heart necklace. I had on a thin line of eyeliner and some mascara, and light brown eye shadow with darker brown smudged in the crease, to give it a more dramatic look.

We glanced at each other, smiled, and made our way into the room. The gym had been completely transformed, decked out with strings of lights and large round tables to rest at. There were streamers hanging around, balloons tied to every available post, and the stage at the end was full of the deejay's equipment.

"Tohru! Rei! You two look so gorgeous!" Momiji shouted, waving and running up to us. He wore a black tux, and the shirt under it…

"Momiji! Wow, pink really suits you!" I exclaimed with a laugh.

"Doesn't it?" Haru shouted over the music, walking towards us. His tux was white, and the sleeves were ripped off. The white shirt he wore under it was undone, and he had on black dress pants.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Only you could make a tux so…. So you," I said with a shake of my head.

"What's wrong with me?" Haru asked, feigning hurt.

"Oh come on, don't you have some other girls to pester?" I teased.

He checked his nonexistent watch. "Nope, you're the only one on my schedule tonight," He confirmed.

"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes and leading the way to the dance floor. Tohru scampered up beside me, and Kyo stayed just behind. Momiji ran forward, finding a clear space on the dance floor for us to occupy.

I paused to find the beat, and then started swiveling my hips to it, raising my hands above my head. Tohru watched me for a moment, and then mimicked my movements. Momiji was jamming out in his own little way that would have been just creepy and annoying on anyone else. Haru stood with his hands in his pockets, bobbing his head to the rhythm, while Yuki and Kyo just watched us from the edge of our circle.

"Oh, come on!" I exclaimed. I grabbed Kyo's arms and started swaying them around. "Dance!"

"I can't dance," He objected, but he didn't resist the movement.

"Anyone can dance," I told him. "Just not everyone is crazy enough to try. Come on Kyo, live a little. Dances are no fun unless you move!"

He gave me a look. "I'll look like an idiot."

I swept my arms out to the side, gesturing at the crowd. "Do you really think everyone here is paying attention to every little move you make? Just give it a try. Please?" I finally pulled out my pout card. I allowed my lip to just out just a bit and looked up at him through my lashes.

He sighed and pulled one arm from my grip so he could run his hand through his hair. "Alright… fine," He finally said grudgingly.

I squealed and clapped, then started instructing him.

"All you've gotta do is move. Listen to the beat and improvise. It's not hard," I assured him. He stared at me for a moment, and then started self-consciously moving to the music.

I smiled at him and then glanced at Tohru, who was now trying to make Yuki dance, using the same pouting method that I had. She looked at me, smiled, and then put her attention back on her date.

"Would you excuse me for a moment? Gotta run to the ladies room real quick," I said to Kyo. "Be back in a minute."

He nodded and I weaved away through the crowd. The moment I stepped out of the gym I was hit by a blast of cool, refreshing air. I closed my eyes and enjoyed it for a moment, and then made my way off to the bathroom.

I only took a minute or two, doing various lady things, mostly just checking my hair and make-up. I glared at one little curl that didn't feel like staying the way I wanted it too, and finally just slicked the piece back with some water from the sink.

I walked slowly back to the gym, looking around the deserted halls. Once I arrived, I stood off to the side of the doorway, looking for my people. What with the flashing lights and tons of bodies swarming in various dance moves, you can imagine that it wasn't that easy to pick them out. Finally I just started swerving through people, figuring if I just walked around I'd find them eventually.

"Hey look, it's that new girl," I heard someone snicker from nearby. I looked around in confusion.

"Yeah, I hear she's staying with the Sohmas. Are they trying to run a whore house or something?" Another said. My fists clenched and my jaw ground in frustration as I twirled about, trying to find whoever was talking.

"Probably. I mean, look at how low that dress swoops. I wouldn't be surprised if her night job was working the streets." This voice was a girl's. As I turned, I caught her at the end of her sentence.

"You wanna start something?" I growled at her.

The two guys next to her just snickered. "Look how cute, she's trying to stick up for herself," One of them sneered.

"Yeah, It's almost like she thinks she could do anything to us," The other laughed.

My nails were digging into my palms now, because my fists were clenched so tight. "Hey, Ugly One and Ugly Two, shut the hell up." I snapped.

"Hey, at least they aren't as bad as your date," The girl smirked at me. "Or didn't you know? It's over the whole school that he only even talks to you because he feels sorry for you. How depressing is that?"

I took two deep breaths, trying to stay calm. "You don't know anything. You're just a jealous little tramp who wishes she could've gotten anyone better than those two little idiots."

"Are you kidding?" She said incredulously. "I could've gotten anyone I wanted. I could've come here with Yuki Sohma if I'd wanted to."

I snorted with laughter. "Yuki? As if. He's here with Tohru."

"Tohru Honda?" The girl said with surprise, then laughed sharply. "That so figures. She probably had her freaky wave girl friend brainwash him, there's no other explanation that he would put up with her plainness."

I shook with anger. She could say whatever she wanted about me, I didn't care. But starting on my friends… She was just asking for it. Angry tears pricked my eyes and I took a step forward, opening my mouth to shout angrily at her, but she cut me off.

"You know," She said thoughtfully, looking me up and down. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Kyo isn't just here with you out of pity. Maybe he just wants you for your body. After all, that's all you're good for."

My furious tears were brimming and spilling out of my eyes now, and I was about to leap at her when another voice called out. "Hey!"

I glanced up. Kyo was pushing through the crowd towards us, glaring angrily at the three jerks. I took one look at him and fled.

I kept my head down as I full-on ran out of the gym, not so much as stumbling over my heels. I knew without a doubt that I wouldn't be able to stop my tears until I'd calmed down, and until then I'd be a red-eyed, tight throated mess. No way I would let him see me like that.

He only went with you because he feels sorry for you. Or maybe he just wants you for your body. That's all you're good for.

I ran until I was on the grounds, under the tree that we'd eaten lunch under the past week. I crumpled there, not paying attention to whether or not my dress got dirty.

That couldn't be true… could it? Kyo wasn't that kind of guy. He wouldn't lead someone on like that… Would he?

My head pounded, and I couldn't hear much over the sound of my whimpering little cries. That's why I was taken entirely by surprise when a form dropped down to kneel in front of me.

WHO IS IT?! Bum ba dum. Anyhow, there's a possibility that I won't update as often for a while, because I have play rehearsals. However, I'm on break this week, so I'll probably have plenty of time to write then. Thanks for reading and reviews are appreciated!