(A/N: This chapter may be a little bit shorter, but it was originally intended to be part of last chapter, but I split them up when it started it getting too long. It still works as its own chapter though, possibly even better than as part of the last. So, yeah, here we go, part two of Juri and Shiori's date.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 6: Rationalizing Love

Dinner had been a relatively quiet affair. Not because they didn't have much to say, but because Shiori had found herself getting lost in her thoughts quite a bit. Despite the eagerness she had shown as she pulled Juri back to the car, she had grown quiet during the ride to the restaurant.

Shiori was confused. Everything seemed to be so confusing right now. When she had agreed to a relationship with Juri, she had agreed because she had been desperate to get her best friend back. The thought of losing Juri, it terrified her, it always had. And so if she needed to date her to keep her with her, she would do it.

What she hadn't been prepared for was how she would react while on the date. She had been nervous, yes, and excited, that was true, but she hadn't found those things to be that surprising. But the jealousy and possessiveness she had felt when those three boys had been talking about Juri, not to mention when they had all but propositioned them, that had been unexpected. And then there had been the way she had reacted when Juri had been showing her the proper way to bowl. Not to mention the kiss they'd shared.

No matter what Shiori had said, she couldn't forget about it. A kiss was still a kiss, and she could still remember the feel of Juri's lips against hers. It had made her feel warm and fuzzy, sending a wave of heat through her and leaving her lips tingling. While that had indeed been their first kiss, it was far from Shiori's actual first kiss; she had given that to Andou years ago. But it was still her first kiss with Juri, and she couldn't forget it, regardless of the circumstances.

It was causing Shiori to do a lot of deep thinking in regards to her relationship with the orange-haired girl, and so she had retreated into her head, allowing Juri to mostly take charge of the date and the conversation all throughout dinner, which had taken place at a standard restaurant.

Currently though, they were at the planned karaoke portion part of their date, having gotten their own booth. And while Shiori had sung a couple songs, Juri had mostly done the singing. Not because she was hogging the mic, but because Shiori kept skipping her turn.

As of now, Juri was singing the final lyrics of the song that was currently playing. She lowered the mic as the words finished scrolling across the screen and the last of the music played. Turning to Shiori, she gave her a smile and handed her the mic. "You want to go now?"

But Shiori just held up her hand. "No, that's ok, you can go again."

The smile left Juri's face as she pulled back the mic. "Shiori, I've sung four songs in a row now."

Shiori blinked in surprise. "You sang four songs?"

Juri nodded. "I did. I sang Round Dance Revolution, Virtual Star Embryology, Truth, and I just finished Sometimes Love Will."

Shiori blinked again. Juri was right, she had sung four times. Shiori had kept passing when it was supposed to be her turn. "Oh… I guess I've been a little distracted."

Still frowning, Juri cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong? Karaoke was what you said you wanted to do."

Letting out a deep sigh, the violet-haired girl let her head fall back against the wall. "I just have a lot on my mind I guess."

Juri studied her for a few long moments before setting down the mic and sitting down. "Care to talk about it?"

Shiori made a small sound to indicate indecision. "Most of it is personal stuff I need to figure out on my own. So it's not really anything you can help with."

"Maybe just talking about it will help you figure it out."

Shiori just shook her head. "I need to work it out myself before I talk about it."

"Fair enough," Juri replied, then reached out and grabbed her bottle of water, taking a drink. "You said that most of it you needed to work out on your own. Is there anything you would like to discuss that you can talk about right now? I'm happy to listen if there is."

Shiori hummed quietly as she worked out her thoughts. There actually was something Juri could help her work out. Or, rather, a question that she could answer. She was just afraid to ask it because she was worried of what the answer might be.

"Juri…" she began quietly, forcing herself to look at the orange-haired girl, "why do you love me?"

There, she'd said it, she'd actually asked the question, and now she looked to her for an answer. Juri blinked at her, looking caught off guard, then confused by the question. "What?"

Shiori's shoulders sank and she looked down at her lap where she held her own bottled water, squeezing it anxiously. "Why do you love me? You say you've loved me for years, but why? I never did anything to try to make you love me, and I've apparently been hurting you and causing you pain without even realizing it. Not to mention I really haven't been nice to you the past several months. If anything, you should despise me after everything I've done to you. So why do you love me?"

Juri just stared at her for several long moments, a frown present on her face. Eventually though, she closed her eyes, looking somewhat irritated. "What a stupid question."

Shiori looked up in surprise. "Huh?"

"I said what a stupid question," the orange-haired girl repeated. She set down her water and gave Shiori a look of disapproval. "What do you expect me to say to that, Shiori? Do you expect me to give some romance movie cliché response with a list of different things? What kind of stuff do the people in those movies usually say about their partner? They're smart, funny, kind, pretty, handsome, fun, talented, caring, brave, confident, some other fancy words to make their significant other sound appealing?"

She scoffed. "How ridiculous. Those things aren't why you love someone, they're just qualities in your partner you like and are attracted to. Yes, maybe they're things that initially caught your interest in them, and they likely contribute to their appeal, but they're certainly not the reason why you love them. Those exact same qualities can be found in platonic friends, but you don't fall for them. When it comes down to it, there is no reason as to why you love a person. The heart just wants what the heart wants, even if it doesn't make sense or is completely illogical."

Letting out a sigh, she looked up at the ceiling. "Some feelings can't be controlled or rationalized. People can't help who they fall in love with, Shiori. If they could, I would have erased my feelings for you long ago to avoid all this pain and drama. But we have no choice in the matter, and sometimes we fall for people we really shouldn't or don't want to. Even if those people aren't good to us or are a source of pain, we can't help the way we feel. That person could have no good or redeeming qualities, yet there are people who can't stop loving them."

She gave Shiori a pointed look. "Just look at all those cases where a person's partner mistreats them or is abusive towards them or cheats on them. Do you think they could give a good reason as to why they love such a person? Or those who fall for someone who is their enemy, and I do mean a literal enemy, not something like a rival, but a blood enemy. Do you think they can give a reason as to why they fall? Or how about those who fall for someone different from their past loves or who aren't their type? Or what about other people they know who are smart, funny, kind, and whatever other character trait you want to label the person you love with? Why do they not fall for those people? And I'm sure that those who experience love at first sight certainly can't explain the reason for their feelings or give a list of reasons as to why they fell for them since they don't even know them."

She shook her head. "There really is no explaining it, Shiori. We simply love who we love. And me, I love you. I can't explain it, I can't rationalize it, I can't change it, I simply love you. And I don't need a reason as to why I love you. I could rattle off a list of good qualities or things I find appealing about you, but none of those things will explain why I love you, just like listing off bad or unappealing qualities can explain why I can't fall out of love with you. Quite frankly, I find the idea of trying to give a reason as to why you love a person insulting. People simply love who they love, and all you can do is try and be someone worthy of loving and hope you can earn their love in return. It's as simple as that."

She fell silent as her speech finally came to an end, and she picked up her bottled water to take another drink. Shiori just stared, completely at a loss for words. She had no idea what to say in response to all that, but she realized that Juri was right. She had been expecting her to give her a list of reasons as to why she loved her, but it was true, no fancy list of good qualities could explain the reason as to why you loved someone.

"Wow," she said, looking down at her lap again, "I didn't expect for you to give such a… deep answer. Technically, it didn't even answer my question, but at the same time, it also did." She looked back at her. "But I guess I was really trying to figure out how you could still love me after how much I hurt you."

Juri gave her a pointed look. "You're talking about friendship now, not romantic love. You're friends with people because you like them in a platonic way. That's what those fancy labels and reasons can apply to. But you can also be best friends with your partner. When it comes to friends though when there's no romance involved, bad qualities in a person can ruin a friendship or prevent one from forming in the first place, but that's a different form of love. And yes, sometimes friendships can change to romantic love, but nothing changed about them between when you were just friends and when you started falling for them or began seeing them in a romantic light.

"True, your partner may do something horrible that could kill your feelings for them or even make you hate them, but again, that's different from friendship, and it doesn't give us an answer as to why you fell for them in the first place either. Perhaps some grand gesture or something they say or do may make you start to fall for them or recognize feelings you didn't know you had for them, but it's still not an explanation as to why you love them. And even if the person you love does do something horrible to you, that doesn't mean you can just stop loving them."

She gave Shiori a questioning look. "Tell me, Shiori, after Ruka did what he did to you, did you suddenly fall out of love with him? Could you explain why you loved him or why you still loved him afterwards? Can you even explain why you fell for him in the first place? I get that he was handsome, so that means you were attracted to him, and you looked up to him and admired him, and you enjoyed being in his company, and all that other stuff. But those things are more along the lines of infatuation. They're just what caught your attention and gained your interest, allowing you to actually fall for him later. But why did you fall for him? Why did you love him? Can you explain it or give a reason that rationally explains your feelings?"

Shiori stared at her blankly, and for some reason, her hands were shaking a bit as she crushed her bottled water in her grip. She tried to come up with a reason as to why she loved Ruka in the way that Juri was asking her to explain, but found that she couldn't. She simply loved Ruka because he was Ruka. And though those feelings had diminished after he dumped her the way he did and then died later, there really was no explaining why she had feelings for him.

"No," she finally said, "I can't."

Juri gave her a sad but knowing smile. "Love isn't something to be thought out or put into words. Feelings are meant to be felt, not explained, and I think that to try and chalk them up to some rational explanation for your love for someone, to try and put it in a box and slap a label on it, actually demeans it. Love can't be explained, because it has no explanation. Why do we fall for people? Why do we fall out of love with people? Yes, people can change over time, and sometimes we fall deeper in love with them, sometimes we grow apart. Sometimes we fall for one person who is almost exactly like someone else in every way, like maybe a twin, but we fall for one and not the other. There's just no explaining it."

She reached over and cover Shiori's hand with hers. "I can't tell you why I love you, Shiori, only that I do. Yes, you hurt me, and rationally, I probably should hate you, but I can't. I tried, but I can't. My love for you is greater than any resentment I hold. And even though I was finally able to walk away from you, I still couldn't stop loving you. And in the end, my love brought me right back to you." The hand she had covering Shiori's took it in hers and gave it a squeeze. "Do you understand?"

The violet-haired girl looked down at her hand in Juri's, then looked back at her. She did understand. She wasn't sure how to explain it, but she understood what she meant. "I… think so."

Juri's smile became warm and she nodded. "Good. Now, let's not put a damper on things any further. We're supposed to be having fun." Picking up the mic, she held it out to Shiori. "So, feel like singing now?"

Shiori glanced down at the microphone, then at Juri. A smile spread across her face as she accepted the mic, then got up to choose a song. Juri was right, they were supposed to be having fun right now. They could worry about rationalizing love later.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

No one seemed to think anything was out of the ordinary as Juri and Shiori made their way through Ohtori Academy after they returned from their date. After finishing with karaoke, they had spontaneously decided to stop for ice cream before making their way back, cutting it a little close; Juri may have gotten them permission to leave, but they had still needed to be back on time.

As they made their way down the halls of the academy, Shiori constantly glanced around, certain that everyone who saw them would know that they had been on a date, but from the looks of it, no one was even aware that they had left the school at all. For all intents and purposes, they seemed like two normal friends enjoying a night together.

They really had pushed it on the curfew though. While they had made it on time, it was currently after 10:00, and Shiori was feeling exhausted, mentally and emotionally. While she had indeed had fun with Juri on their date, the whole day had been pretty draining.

Juri had insisted on walking her back to her room, simply because she wanted to, she said. Shiori had no objections, yet couldn't keep the color out of her cheeks as they made their way down the hall. She still couldn't help but feel like the eyes of everyone they passed were on her, even though the most she and Juri had received were passing glances.

When they made it to the hall leading to her room, the length of it seemed to stretch on forever, and yet they seemed to be making their way down it in record time. For some reason, Shiori could feel her heart racing in her chest as they walked along, and it only seemed to beat faster the closer they got to her room. She stole glances at Juri out of the corner of her eye as they walked, but the orange-haired girl's gaze remained straight ahead.

"Well, this is me," Shiori needlessly said when they reached her room.

Juri smiled in amusement, knowing very well where her room was, having picked her up here earlier. "Yes, I know."

Feeling shy, Shiori began fidgeting as she turned to the orange-haired girl, turning her eyes downward. "W-Well, thanks for tonight. I, um, I had fun."

"As did I," Juri replied. And then her tone became more serious as she spoke in a quiet voice. "I really enjoyed spending time with you."

Feeling herself blush, Shiori continued to keep her eyes downcast. "Y-Yeah… so did I…" She finally lifted her eyes. "So, goodnight then."

"Would you like to go out again next weekend?" Juri said quickly.

Shiori blinked. "Huh?"

Now it was Juri who averted her eyes and looked embarrassed, bringing a hand up to hide her mouth as color filled her cheeks. "I'd… like to take you out again next weekend. If you're available. If not… we can make other plans."

Blushing further, Shiori couldn't help the small smile that crept up her face. "I… That's fine. We are a couple now after all." She glanced up and down the hall, seeing that it was empty; most students would have retired to their rooms at this point. "So… I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Juri."

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the key to her room. Turning to the door, she slipped it into the lock and unlocked it. She was just about to open the door when Juri spoke again. "Shiori, wait."

Jumping slightly, though she wasn't sure why, she slowly turned to face the orange-haired girl again. "Yes?"

From the look on her face, Juri seemed to be having some kind of inner battle with herself and almost appeared to be frustrated. "I'm… sorry, again, for kissing you the way I did. I really was out of line in doing that."

There was more blushing from Shiori as she thought back to the feel of Juri's lips on her. She could still remember the warm, tingling sensation of that kiss. She tried to play it off as if she were unaffected by it though as she forced a smile on her face. "I-It's fine. We already agreed to pretend it didn't happen, remember?"

Juri made a small grumbling sound and took a step closer. "Well, regardless, I want a second chance to redo that first kiss with you, Shiori. So… can I?"

"Huh?" Shiori asked, even though she had heard perfectly well what she said and understood exactly what she meant.

Juri moved closer, and Shiori instinctively moved back until she was up against the door, and still the orange-haired girl moved closer until she was directly in front of her, their faces so close Shiori could feel her breath against her face.

"May I kiss you?" Juri whispered. "For real this time."

She was so close. Too close. Shiori's heart was beating so fast she feared it would leap out of her chest, and her cheeks felt like they were on fire. She could even hear how ragged her breathing had become, and yet she couldn't take her eyes off Juri's. She could actually see the love and raw desire the orange-haired girl had for her shining in them. It now seemed almost impossible that she had never noticed her feelings for her before she found her picture in that locket.

For a brief moment, her eyes left Juri's to drop down to her mouth, and Shiori caught herself reflexively wetting her own lips as her gaze returned to Juri's. She seemed to be incapable of speech, and could only seem to muster up the strength to part and close her lips. Juri waited patiently for her answer, her gaze intense and wanting. Shiori continued to struggle to find her voice, and when she finally did, she only managed to whisper a single breathless word.

"Yes…"

Hardly able to believe what she said, Shiori waited with bated breath. She saw the desire in Juri's eyes intensify, but the orange-haired girl didn't move to kiss her. Instead, her hand slowly came up and cupped her face. Her thumb lightly stroked her cheek before moving to trace her lips, much like she had outside the bowling alley. Juri's gaze became hooded as she slowly began to lean in.

Shiori stopped breathing entirely as Juri's face came closer, and her own eyes began to drift shut. The hand on her cheek moved to hold her chin instead as her lips paused just short of touching hers. Shiori's own lips parted reflexively as she waited and, finally, after what felt like an eternity, Juri completely closed the distance and kissed for the second time that night.

It was completely different from their kiss at the bowling alley. It was completely different from any kiss Shiori had ever had before. Like their first kiss, she felt it all the way down to her toes, only this time they curled in her shoes. Her hands at her side began clawing at the wall behind her as she felt a shiver run through her whole body. This was no kiss to send a message or prove a point like with those boys, this was a kiss for no other reason than because Juri wanted to kiss her, and Shiori's lips pressed against hers as she kissed her back.

If there was anything eternal in this world, it wasn't in that castle floating above the dueling arena, it was this moment. And yet, at the same time, eternity ended all too soon. When Juri finally broke the kiss and pulled back, she took Shiori's breath with her. The violet-haired girl kept her eyes closed in bliss, her lips still slightly puckered as she savored the feeling of her first real kiss with Juri. And when she finally took a breath, her eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring into Juri's emerald-colored orbs. Her eyes shined with unshed tears as she stared at her with the most loving gaze Shiori had ever seen.

"Juri…" she whispered breathlessly.

The orange-haired girl's bottom lip trembled slightly before she spoke. "I've dreamed of doing that for what felt like forever," she said quietly, her voice full of emotion. "That was what our first kiss should have been like."

Shiori's mind was blank, and when she tried to think, her thoughts were fuzzy. She felt dazed and light-headed, and when she spoke, she ended up saying the first thing that had come to mind. "How was it?"

A small smile spread across Juri's face as she closed her eyes, tears gathering in the corners. She leaned in and Shiori's heart skipped a beat, thinking she was going to kiss her again, but Juri simply rested her forehead against hers. "Everything I imagined and more."

Shiori's heart continued to race in her chest as they stood there, foreheads pressed together, her sandwiched between Juri and the door. If anyone should come across them right now, there would be no doubt that something intimate was happening between them, and yet Shiori found that she couldn't bring herself to care. Juri too seemed unwilling to move away from here, but eventually though, she did.

"Goodnight, Shiori," she told her affectionately. "Sleep well."

She stroked her cheek one last time before slowly removing her hand, letting it trail through Shiori's violet locks, as if she wanted to maintain as much contact with her for as long as possible. But then she turned away and began making her way back down the hall, leaving Shiori behind. For some reason that Shiori couldn't explain, she took a step after her, holding her hand out to her. The orange-haired girl's name died on her lips as she caught what she was doing, and she instead closed her outstretched hand into a fist and held it to her chest as she watched Juri walk away, assuring herself that Juri wasn't walking away from her.

Letting out a sigh, she turned and opened her door, slipping inside. Flipping on the light, she walked mechanically over to her bed, which still had all her discarded outfits piled on top of it. With another sigh, she simply pushed the entire pile off the bed and onto the floor. Then she collapsed face-first onto the mattress.

She laid there for several long moments before turning onto her side. Reaching out, she grabbed her pillow and hugged it tightly as she curled up into a fetal position. She nuzzled her face into her pillow as her mind went over the date she'd had with Juri. It had been… eventful, that was one word for it, and it gave her a lot to think about. Not to mention Juri had kissed her, twice.

Lifting her face out of the pillow, she reached up and traced her lips. She could still feel Juri's lips against hers, and the memory caused her whole body to heat up. Thinking back to the kiss, she hugged her pillow even tighter as she closed her eyes, savoring the moment and how it made her feel.

"Juri," she whispered softly.

Opening her eyes, she caught sight of the purple rose Juri had given her that had rolled off her pillow when she had pulled it to her. Reaching out, she picked it up and brought it to her nose, smelling its pleasant aroma. She let out another sigh as she rolled onto her back, keeping the rose under her nose, her lips practically kissing the petals.

"What am I doing?" she whispered to no one in particular.

(A/N: Ok, wow, so that happened. Juri and Shiori got to have a pretty deep and meaningful conversation, not just about their relationship, but about love in general. I hadn't actually planned for that conversation to go the way it did, or to get that deep or philosophical, but it did. Juri seems like the type who would analyze feelings in such a way to try and work out her own feelings for Shiori over the years, and, well, things just came together. And, to be honest, I do kind of agree with what Juri said in how it's illogical and almost demeaning to try and rationalize feelings in such a way. And it seemed her answer gave Shiori something to think about. Not to mention their second kiss. Pretty different from their first, in both how it went down and how they both reacted to it. It seems like Shiori is putting some real thought into her new relationship with Juri. Stay tuned to see how things progress from here. Oh, and props to anyone who recognized that the songs Juri sang were the different themes of the anime and movie.)