About a week or so later, it was the night before nationals. Yuki performed a trick wrong during rehearsals and pulled a muscle in her back. She was a nervous wreck for tomorrow. It was late and she was home, in her bathroom, preparing for a shower. She had already allowed Nick to shower first and now he was settling into bed now. Both of them were exhausted.

Yuki leaned on the counter, trying to control her breathing. She was a wreck. A real wreck. It was late and she hasn't had a full night's in a long time. She felt awful. How was she even going to make it through tomorrow? Yuki can't handle this.

And then Yuki started to think about Kyoya. She always thinks about him. He's always on her mind, and it's driving her crazy. She only saw him once or twice since her slip. She missed him so much. She has been missing him because he's with Karen, not her. Yuki's plan had indeed backfired, as she noticed how Karen has been trying to get into his pants publicly (to an extent).

After finally regaining control her breathing, Yuki sighed and then looked up at her reflection. What stared back at her was a girl. The girl Yuki saw wasn't a girl that worries about anything. She's friendly and smiles at everyone she sees. She wears such nice clothes that look so good on her. Yuki's clothes would look so much better on her.

And Yuki knows that the girl is a much better dancer than her. The girl much braver than Yuki, not afraid to take a stand and make a change in the world. She doesn't need everything she sees. She won't drink 'til she says things she doesn't mean. The girl wouldn't screw up everything. She wouldn't lose it in a crowd or make a scene.

The girl would never slow down. She will always have a youthful glow and remain so refreshing. She's comfortable in her own perfect skin. And she'll never feel dirty or wear a worried frown. She's pure both on the inside and outside. She has a heart of gold. She's never wishing she was someone else or dreaming of a better self. She knows she's beautiful and doesn't need to be told. And this perfect girl is with the perfect man, Kyoya, and they are happy together.

Yuki stares at this perfect girl before the image twists and Yuki's reflection replaces the girl. Tears streamed down Yuki's face as she stared at herself in the mirror. She must be so pathetic, crying in front of this mirror and wishing she was the perfect girl, when she knows that she will always be Yuki, and to her, that's just not good enough.

"Where is she?"

"We want to see her!"

Day of nationals. The host club had stumbled upon Hazuki in the school.

"Oh, no! You don't want to go see her. She's a real bitch now." Hazuki said. Hazuki removed her earmuffs and pocketed them.

"What!? My daughter is the sweetest little girl ever!" Tamaki protested.

"That little girl was eaten by the evil demon. She's a nasty little bitch and won't speak to anyone unless their on the team or her coach. She told me she was going to shove her hot curling iron up my ass if I don't get the hell out of there." Hazuki explained. Hazuki shrugged. "She'll be back to normal afterwards. It's only temporary. Come on, let's grab our seats."

However, Hikaru and Kaoru couldn't resist and rushed to her dressing room. They peeked inside to find Yuki dressed beautifully in her soloist costume. Her back was to them. She was covering up her tattoo with make up as one of her teammates helped pull her hair into a tight bun. Yuki seemed to be having trouble breathing as she repeatedly rubbed her back.

"If you can't breathe, Yuki, then you shouldn't be doing this." One of her teammates said.

"I'm fine. Dancing isn't dancing without pain." Yuki assured. Once her tattoo was covered, Yuki rushed to help her teammates adjust their costumes, hair, and make up for their solos. It was as if she was everywhere at once, but she moved a little slow because of her back. It was obvious it was creating great pain for her.

Yuki walked over to her own personal vanity to double check her makeup. And sitting right there on top of all her supplies was the glittering golden heart-shaped locket. Yuki picked it up and examined it in utter disbelief. She began to ask her teammates about it, but they didn't know anything about it or where it came from. Yuki looked like she was on the verge of tears, and the twins couldn't tell if they were tears of happiness, sadness, or pain. She slipped her locket it on.

When Yuki turned to the door, the twins quickly left afraid of getting seen by her. She didn't catch them, too frazzled to really even think straight.

Hikaru and Kaoru went to the auditorium and spotted their friends who had two saved seats.

"Where were you?" Hunny asked.

"Just checking up on Yuki." The twins replied in unison.

"Perverts..." Haruhi muttered.

"That's right! You two were peeking at Yuki in the dressing room! Don't you dare look at my daughter when she's changing into her costume!" Tamaki was practically strangling the twins.

"We didn't see anything, milord!" Hikaru protested.

"Yuki and all of the other girls were already dressed in their costumes!" Kaoru chimed in. Hazuki was laughing at Tamaki and the twins. After the trio bickered some more, Tamaki finally released the twins.

"Did she see you?" Hazuki asked them. They shook their heads.

"We left before she could spot us." Hikaru answered. There was a paused until Kaoru finally spoke.

"Is Yuki okay?" Kaoru questioned Hazuki.

"It's her back, isn't it?" The twins nodded. Hazuki sighed.

"She can't breathe." Kaoru added. Hazuki whipped her head to look at him directly in the eye.

"You're not joking, are you?"

"No, he's serious. She can't breathe." Hikaru agreed.

"Who can't breathe?" Kyoya asked, startling the three of them.

"Fish." The trio said in unison. Hazuki was about to get up from her seat, but then the house lights turned off. A woman standing on a podium to the far left of the stage spoke in a microphone and welcomed the dancers onto the stage. The solos were first up.

The auditorium was completely packed. Many colleges were competing there this year. The competition was very fierce, intense, and competitive. Every solo had complex choreography and beautiful costumes. It was tough to decide which ones were better than others.

"Ladies and gentlemen, competing in our solo category from our very own Harvard University, pleased welcome Miss Yuki Ikeda performing, 'Sunshine.'" The woman announced. The audience welcomed her with applause as Yuki silently entered the stage.

The stage lights shone brightly on Yuki. She wore a sparkly dress, her face all dolled up. Her hair was in a tight bun with a white flowery hair accessory tucked in it. But also tucked in the bun on the back of her head was the familiar white cloth of dreams.

The music began to play. Yuki began to dance to it. It was a lyrical solo. It had some acrobatic elements, but not much. Despite it being Yuki's weakest genre, she performed it flawlessly. Her turns were perfect, her leg extensions were long. Her leaps were high and her face and body told the story of struggle. Her feet were pointed and not sickled.

She was beautiful and she was graceful. Yuki was pure as she faced struggles and pain. She applied all of her corrections perfectly, dancing as though she was fully refreshed and healthy, as if the extreme she felt earlier with her back had never happened. The choreography was very intricate, dark, and complex, but it was executed perfectly; it told the story.

Yuki poured every once of emotion into this routine. You could see how raw and intense the emotion is on her face and body. It was depressing, sad, yet incredibly moving. The love and the hope was very clear at the same time. Yuki brought her heart and soul out and shared it with everyone in this one routine. And when it was over, there was hope through all the hardship and suffering as the music ended and the lights went out.

The audience suddenly erupted into cheers and applause. Everyone in the audience rose to their feet to applaud her. The standing ovation raised their voices in support and cheer for Yuki, who had tears streaming down her face as she tried to catch her breath and control her breathing.

Yuki exited the stage just as rehearsed. Luckily, her makeup was waterproof, so she cried and cried. Her teammates swarmed her and rejoiced with her. In the wings backstage, they could still hear the crowd cheer for her.

Soon the crowd had settled down. The solos were finished up as they moved into the full group routines. Yuki's back pain has subsided. She helped her teammates with their hair, makeup, and costumes and actually did it rather quickly to make up from her slowness earlier.

"From the Harvard Dance Team, 'This World is a Cold One!'" The crowd applauded but they couldn't make the shapes of the dancers on the dark stage. Was anybody on there at all? They would probably enter after the music starts or something. But where was the music? That wasn't playing either.

Everyone in the audience was starting to grow restless. They looked around earnestly, wondering where they were.

And one voice started booming. It wasn't in English. It wasn't in Japanese. It was in German. Everyone spun around to behind them at the entrance of the auditorium. They still couldn't see the dancers clearly, but you could tell all of them were up there. The man was barking in German, and nobody could understand what they were saying.

"Psst! Kyoya! What are they saying?" Tamaki asked in an obnoxious whisper to Kyoya beside him.

"Hile Hitler!" The rest of the males declared. The Nazis started forcing the dancers forward. The dancers made their way down the aisles as the Nazis yelled in German. Once they neared the stage, the dark and heavy music began. The stage lights came on, revealing the full group consisting of both the male dance team and the female. Half of them were dressed as Nazi officers and the other half were ragged prisoners. It was safe to assume that they were the Jewish during the Holocaust. The prisoners all wore white, except for Yuki, who wore a red dress. Her hair was down and curled, but also a mess for the routine. Her locket had been removed for the routine.

This number was really scary from some people. The dancers did not hold back when they demonstrated the torture, the brutality, and the cruelty of the Holocaust. The prisoners all wore shackles around their wrists and ankles and all of the Nazis had guns.

One by one, a prisoner was executed after painful work. Some were gassed. Some were burned. Some lined up to get shot and their bodies fell off the stage. The horrors of the Holocaust were brought to life in this graceful routine by these dancers. The torture looked so real, like the Nazi dancers were actually harming the females. It was terrifying to watch the cruelty dance so beautifully right before them.

Yes, the dance was very graceful and beautiful. It portrayed a scary story, told by a piece of art. The turns were perfectly in sync, not a single one bobbled. Hell, the whole thing was in perfect sync, nobody a beat ahead or a beat behind. The choreography allowed Yuki to show off her acrobatic talents. Yuki did not slip on the front aerial or the side aerials or any of the leaps (she and the rest of the prisoners were barefoot). The plies were perfect. Not a single foot was sickled. This routine had been nailed. It was perfection as each dancer poured their hearts and worked their hardest to tell this story.

Yuki was alone on the stage with another Nazi. She looked around, looking for her friends, the rest of the prisoners. And then she looks at the Nazi, who loads his gun. Yuki's eyes grow wide and looks like a deer in headlights. She sprints of the stage, as he aims, and the gunshot rings throughout the auditorium. The Nazi shouts, "Hile Hitler!" And marches off the stage. The dance is finished.

Once it was over, there was silence in the auditorium. This was a really heavy and intense number. Nobody knew if they should clap or cry. It was so moving. People were already crying. That brief moment of silence was one of the greatest moments for the dance team, because they realize their impact was so great.

The audience then exploded into applause, deciding to both clap and cry. The dance team was breathless backstage, but they were thrilled to hear such a sweet and triumphant sound.

The dance team had to sprint to the dressing room to prepare for the final routines, the duets and trios. Yuki was drenched in sweat, so she practically rubbed deodorant all over herself. Seconds later, her and Nick were dashing back to the auditorium to make it in time for their routines. It was then when Yuki began to feel the pain in her back once again.

"From the Harvard Dance Team, competing in the Duet/Trio category, we have Yuki and Nick performing, 'Always.'" The crowd began to clap to welcome the pair onto the stage. The music played and the story unfolded. Yuki was wearing her locket again.

Just like Yuki had explained, it was a love story. Yuki and Nick had met and they slowly fell in love. There were quite a few amount lifts where Nick had lifted Yuki and she had to perform a trick in his arms in the air. He had no trouble lifting her and Yuki was strong enough to keep her legs straight and her feet pointed.

They moved perfectly in sync. It wasn't so heavy like their last number. It was light and airy. There was affection, romance, chemistry, intimacy between the pair. It was special with their slow and elegant movements with each other. And they kissed a few times as they fell in love.

It was gradually getting darker. The music started to shift and the choreography followed in suit. It was obvious that Yuki was sick and it was sad. But Nick tried to keep the tone light and hopeful. He wasn't very successful as Yuki danced to illustrate her strength leaving her.

They shared a very passionate kiss before breaking away and performing the choreography. Yuki suddenly collapsed and did not get back up. Literally, Yuki had fainted. Nick noticed she didn't perform the chin stand split or improvise. Her "death" was coming up, but the audience bought it. Nick was caught off guard and started to worry about her, but they only had a few more counts left. He had to improvise. He picked up Yuki in his arms bridal style and performed a gentle lift before laying her down and hunching over her on his knees, acting out weeping.

The dance ended and Nick carried Yuki off the stage, now fully panicking of what had just happened to Yuki. The applause was loud, the audience oblivious to Yuki's state and that she had actually fainted.

"Hey, where's Kyo-chan?" Hunny asked as the applause began to die down. Everyone spun their heads to his seat, which was now empty.

"Maybe he just went to the bathroom. It's been a long night." Haruhi suggested.