Yo minna! Okay, so we're moving week after next. Mom's already telling me to pack and I'm like, hello! Week after next? And I'm gonna pack NOW? What the hell will I wear for the next eleven days when all my clothes are packed and ready to go? ^_^ Sorry... just emoting here. I'm still trying to find out if my beloved computer will be coming me with or if I will be left with 2 more months of vacation with nothing but non-electric human made objects to entertain me. What is it with parents? Kids and computers are a package deal. Take 'em or leave 'em. XD, anyways, here's the Niou ending! Hope you guys enjoy reading!!! Flames are welcome since I got this little thing called a fire extinguisher.

WARNING: OVER-USE OF THE WORD PINNACLE. I just love that word. Anyways, there will be a guest appearance of the T-shirt Lee gave Rukia here. Please wave your hands in greeting.

Niou's POV

"I don't get it Niou. Why don't you just tell her?" Marui clacked his gum impatiently.

"Because, you stupid, ignorant ball of fat, she doesn't feel the same way!" I sighed, exasperated. Sheesh. I knew I should have gone to Yukimura if I wanted good, sane, advice.

But my choices were pretty limited. Buchou was at the hospital, Sanada was a piece of granite, Yanagi was too much of a data man (didn't want news of this getting to Alaska), Yagyuu was on another one of his golf adventures, Jackal was no where to be found, and the bratling was too preoccupied with his new coloring book to pay any attention.

Thus, Marui Bunta, self proclaimed tensai.

Some tensai this pillock was proving to be. I would have done better with a rock.

"I know that Niou. But, my sweet hippie friend, you'll have to tell her sooner or later or Yukimura'll be forced to send you to an asylum."

"Did my understanding, overrated, pleasantly plump, FAT, friend just call me a hippie?" I smiled sweetly at Bunta.

"Oh no. I'm simply implying your hair is so long that people would have mistaken you for a girl despite your clearly disfigured looks," Marui beamed at me.

"And you, my friend, are so calorie filled I'm not surprised if you just... sink and melt into the ground forever. Wouldn't it look lovely? A puddle of desecrated donut on the stone floor," I grinned.

Looking at each other, we both burst into laughter.

"But, seriously dude. You've gotta tell her how you feel, even if she doesn't feel the same. It'll help you a lot."

But if I told her...where would our friendship be?

More importantly, would it still exist?

*****

Rukia's POV

Life's got many twists.

Life's got many turns.

Life's got many bumps.

And I was on the supreme pinnacle of twisty, turny, bumpy, suicide roads.

There should have been a sign on the right saying 'If you feel you have no purpose in life, no one loves you anymore (if they ever did), and you've failed everyone, please take a turn to the right. Instant death guaranteed. It'll be like you NEVER existed! Ain't that wonderful?'

I pondered this as I stowed my prom dress away. I specifically told my mom I was not going due to the fact of supreme insanity that was settling over me, but she merely made these funny clucking noises and told me I had lost my marbles. Right, as if. I knew for a fact that my marbles were in a small wooden box I kept in my drawer.

On second thought, maybe I was going insane. Huh. Was there such a thing as hereditary insanity? I wonder which side of the family I got that from.

Whatever. The point was, I wasn't going to prom. I mean, what was the point? I would dress up, look pretty, then get shoved in the corner either way. I bet they wouldn't have noticed had I went with a potato sack.

And besides, Atobe would be there. Atobe, who probably had found another, prettier, worthier girl while I was stuck here mourning about my lost marbles.

Nevertheless, I had curled my hair to the extent that it looked like black springs with blue (temporary) streaks. I had also used contacts. I missed my glasses. I wasn't going to the prom, sure. But I wasn't going to stay at home either.

I would maybe catch a movie, go to the mall. It was still pretty early, I could still catch a few previews.

Sighing, I contemplated at how disappointed my mom would be at me. She had been yearning to see me in my newly acquired prom dress ever since I entered Hyoutei Gakuen. My new acquired prom dress, I thought with a sinking feeling in my stomach, that she would never see me in.

I felt so bad. But I knew that I would feel a whole lot worse if I went to that godforsaken prom. I had only just managed to stop crying whenever I saw Atobe's face claim entry into my mind and that had only been because of Niou...

Niou. How late was it? Would he still be up? After all, it was only quarter to eight. Maybe I could spend the rest of the night with him. Hm.

Where did he live again? I walked to my closet and gently placed the prom dress in it.

Shit. I forgot to ask him.

What kind of stinking friend was I? I spent half the day mourning about Atobe with him and I forgot to ask his address? His school? His phone number?

Sometimes I wonder how it is that I manage to remember to put on underwear on mornings.

Never mind. I'd get his number from mom later. If I don't forget, that is. I wonder where I put my black marker.

Rolling my eyes at my general stupidity, I reached into my closet and pulled out the first shirt I felt.

My eyes widened when I recognized the deep blue silk contrasting with the lighter strips of blue.

The light seemed to sparkle off the mini pearl, resting in the middle of the blue miniribbon. I took a deep breath.

I was ready to start healing.

****

Atobe's POV

"What do you mean she's not here?" I looked indignantly at Rukia's father.

After hours of preparation and Gakuto pep talks, I had finally mustered enough courage to ask forgiveness from Rukia. I think it must have been the pep talks. Gakuto has a very high pitched voice and he uses it frequently. That boy must really like bats.

And now this man tells me Rukia's not here?!?!

I think I need to sit down.

"Well young man," Rukia's father fixed me with a rather piercing stare. "She went out about twenty minutes ago, dressed in jeans and this blue shirt. She said she'd be back before 9:30. My daughter didn't want to go to the prom, she said it was too much. Too much of what, I'll never know."

******

Rukia's POV

I didn't know where my feet were taking me.

It's like they had a mind of their own, they just headed out to the direction of a park.

But I didn't care. This was okay. I would think about my life while my feet did their thing.

Okay one. Did I still love Atobe?

I mean yes, I had told Niou that I did, and I certainly still thought so, but...

Something had changed inside of me yesterday when I was with Niou.

It was a hardly noticeable change, and yet it was big in every other way. I no longer thought of Atobe every second. My feelings for him were slowly ebbing away.

What the fuck did this mean?

Was it always like this? Is this how love works?

I thought I loved Atobe. I'm very sure I did.

But now... it's just...it's just gone.

So it was just like that? How would I ever know what was real and what was not?

How could something so strong prove out to be so weak in the end?

I shook my head free from these thoughts. Instead, I directed my attention to the park I had reached via feet.

And suddenly it hit me.

This was it. This was the park where me and Niou used to play. I didn't know it was still here.

I touched the metal bars holding up the slide. I remember when Niou had slid down so fast his shorts came off.

He had complained about his butt burning.

I grinned when I remembered how silly his hair was. Always sticking up and always in that ponytail of his. If you didn't look closely you might have mistaken his hair for a large, fat, spiky grey rat and you might have hit him over the head with a frying pan, which he would not exactly be excited over.

I moved across the swings, the monkey bars, the second slide. The moonlight cast shadows that danced around them.

Suddenly, I caught a movement from the corner of my eye. I quickly angled my head. There was a person there, with his back to me. His hair looked like a giant silver rat.

"Niou!" I screamed so loud that he started and tripped over his own feet.

Grinning, I extended a hand to him. He scowled playfully at me.

"You really shouldn't do that, Rukia. What if I died?" He snorted, dusting his pants.

"Silly boy. Why would you die?" I grinned up at him and we walked in pace with each other, to the other side of the park.

"Hm. You never know. I could have...let's see... I could have tripped, smashed my head open and you would have just stared at me until I died." He impatiently brushed a fly away from his hair.

"Okay, there's always that. But I'm not THAT stupid. I would have called police or something," I stared at the moon, feeling a sudden wave of happiness and contentment overcome me.

"Nah." He snorted. "You would have freaked out and started screaming something like 'Niou! There's blood all over your head! NIOU!!' Or something similarly stupid like that."

"Hey I would've at least..." I trailed off at mid-protest. He knew me too well.

"Hey, how'd our conversation get to dying anyway?" I asked cheerily, twirling under a metal bar.

"Aren't you supposed to be at your prom right about now?" He asked me, frowning.

"I'm not going." I casually tucked a strand of black hair behind my ear.

"Rukia you stupid, stupid, person. Today is your school prom. You're supposed to be having fun, not chatting with your childhood friend in a rundown old park." He whacked my head playfully.

I merely shrugged once, then cast my eyes upward, expecting him to scoff or something.

So I was ever surprised when he started dancing.

Was I hallucinating? Maybe I was going insane. That would explain a lot of things.

"Niou...what the fuck are you doing?" I could barely control my laughter. I clutched my stomach, gasping for air.

"Trying to make you feel better. And besides," He added smugly, still doing the cha-cha. "I dance good."

"Yeah. You woo the ladies," I raised my hands in mock surrender.

He chuckled once, then sat down on the grass. I followed his example.

"Rukia, why aren't you at the prom?"

I twiddled with the hem of my shirt and stared at the stars. They looked so beautiful, twinkling in and out of existence, shrouded by a sheer, black sheet.

"I just don't want to go, 'Haru. It'll be too much to handle." I replied, squinting at one especially bright star.

*****

Niou's POV

I felt my heart beating faster and faster with every passing nanosecond.

Here it was. The perfect opportunity. So why wasn't I telling her how I felt?

Without even thinking about it, I knew the answer to that one. I was afraid that the friendship we shared would never be the same again.

And then the most inept failure would befall us: Complete silence.

Silently, I watched her stare at the stars. Her hair had been curled for the occasion, and she was wearing contacts. She looked beautiful.

So, it was gonna be like this. Okay. I could do this.

"Ru... do you know what it's like to... to like someone... but you can't tell that person because...well because that person loves someone else... but that person that the person loves doesn't love that person and that person has been hurting the person you love?"

Smooth.

She looked at me bemused. "You know 'Haru, I know this pretty good therapist. You can get your first session fr-"

****

Rukia's POV

Was Niou really...kissing me?

What in the name of baloney was the boy doing?

Had the world gone MAD?

And then I realized what he was trying to say.

Niou loved me?

My eyes widened.

My childhood friend loved me?

Did I love him??

Maybe...

Then I realized everything.

Niou had made me forget Atobe. He was the whole reason I was healing right now.

So..did I love him?

Yes, I realized. I did love him. I knew he would always be there. He had proved that when I was hurting about Atobe. He had been there to comfort me.

I pulled away from Niou who looked uncertain.

"I love you 'Haru." I smiled at him. Tears were glistening at the corners of my eyes.

"I love you Ru," He grinned boyishly back at me. I felt his hands encircle my waist. He buried his face on my shoulder, breathing in my scent.

I ran my hand through his silver hair, liking how soft it seemed to my fingers. The softness halted when I felt the bump of his ponytail.

Grinning, I pulled the ponytail away from his hair and threw it to the ground.

"RUKIA!" He shouted, frantically looking for his beloved.

"I love you 'Haru, but if you ever want me to call you 'boyfriend' we've gotta get you a nice, clean, haircut." I grinned

"THE APOCALYPSE!" He shouted then mock fainted.

Laughing, I pulled him up, gazing into his cool green eyes. He winked at me once, then lifted me up bridal style.

Together, we journeyed through this small but perfect piece of our forever.

DONE and DONE! Hope you guys liked that chappie! I tried my best. If you guys want me to redo this chapter, then that's okay. I'm willing! Aw...Rukia and Niou are too cute... Anyways, the ending sentence was not mine, sadly. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, authoress of Twilight. It just seemed to fit Rukia and Niou perfectly! GAAAWWD!!! Guys!! The story's DONE!! All there's left is the Author's note!! I'll miss you all... but this isn't over yet! Please stay tuned for the Author's note! It connects to the title!!

LOVE YOU AWL!!

~Miyu