Forever Chapter 5: Lost Dreams: Uo part 1, a fruits basket fanfic

Well after an EXTREMELY long delay, here it is: the next chapter.

But before you jump ahead because you've been waiting for SO long, you need to know that this is only half, and or maybe even less, of the original chapter 5. I cut the chapter in half because I went back and read Forever through again, and I thought, Screw it, if I was reading this, I'd want to kill me too for not updating. So you can thank my 1:30-in-the-morning logic. It was extremely long anyway, so I didn't want the length to seem too overwhelming.

The next chapter will also be delayed, but with luck and hopefully a lack of writer's block, I'll be able to finish the story before school starts. (For me, that's Sept. 13)

-slaps a disclaimer on the story- There you go. Here is your long awaited chapter- excuse my crappy writing, since I had severe writer's block and most of this was done at midnight and later.

Chapter 5: Lost Dreams- Uo (part 1)

"For the last time, I didn't cheat on you, and especially not with a stupid CAT!"

"Well that's what it looked like to me! And don't call my cat stupid!"

"Are you kidding me, you stupid Yankee! You honestly think that I would cheat on you with a stu- with a cat!"

"So now you're calling me stupid?" Uo turned away from Kyo. "So now just one regular girl isn't enough for you, you have to have cat love too?"

Kyo clenched his fists. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't even know how to cheat, never mind cheat with a damned cat! How is that even possible, anyway!"

"I guess you just don't love me enough anymore." Uo said quietly, staring at the wall in front of her.

"Wh-what?" Kyo tried to reach out and touch her shoulder, but she flinched, making him falter and drop his hand. "What?" his voice started breaking.

Uo turned around and faced him, her eyes downcast, glistening with that salty water Kyo hated so much. "You know, if you... If there's no love… we don't have to…"

"Stop talking like that! It's stupid! I…" Kyo was reaching his limits- any farther and he'd break down. "Uo…?"

"AHAHAHAHA! GOTCHA!" Uo suddenly burst out, laughing hysterically. "KYON, YOU FELL FOR IT! HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!"

"What!" Kyo was speechless at first, then looked around frantically. Yes, there was the calendar- great. What stupid idiot forgot to change the month? Oh wait, no- that would be him. "Aaaagh! I can't believe I just fell for that!"

"AHAHAHA! I can't believe you- you actually BELIEVED it! Man, I knew you were dense sometimes, but this-" Uo was cut off by more laughter.

"Dammit, Uo, don't scare me like that! I thought I was going to lose you again!" He blurted out, then started turning red as he realized what he just said.

Uo managed to stop rolling around on the floor with laughter and wrapped her arms loosely around Kyo's neck. "Nah, that was horrible when we were apart." She said, grinning. "I wouldn't break up with you again because you cheated on me with my cat."

"But I didn't!"

Uo laughed. "I know, I know. Just messing with you."

Kyo rested his forehead on hers so that they were looking each other in the eye. Uo observed, with amusement, that there was still some worry in his eyes. "Hey… Uo?" he said hesitatingly.

"Yea?"

"You know… you know I love you, right?"

Uo smiled. "I don't know… I'm not sure lately…" she almost started laughing again when a panicked expression surfaced in Kyo's eyes. "…you're going to have to prove it to me." She finished.

A wave of relief washed over Kyo as he kissed her, his hands on her waist, keeping them so close together that he could feel her body heat but far apart enough to keep him from transforming. And he told her in his kiss, as well as he could, I love you.

Another night with no sleep- the realization crossed her mind as she made her way, slowly, down the street. One dream, that's all she had time for, and then she woke up again. It couldn't have been more than one hour of sleep. And when she did sleep, it was always a dream, always a dream about him- always a dream that made her feel like he was still here, like he'd appear on the street in front of her right now, saying, 'You stupid Yankee, you really I think I'd die because of a little fight we had? You really think I'd get killed crossing the street?'

But she'd seen him leave her, running, running away. She'd seen the casket get lowered in the ground, just a little heavier with the weight of a body inside. She'd seen the dirt get thrown over, the headstone secured in place for all eternity. And a part of her felt like she'd seen him die.

The rain pounding down on her unprotected self forced her to snap out of her reverie, just barely preventing the onslaught of tears, the same onslaught she'd let loose so many times while hiding in the darkness of her room. She'd cry and cry, and then when she finally stopped, she'd cry some more. Death by dehydration- a wonderful way to go.

But if you died… maybe you'd see him again…

Uo suddenly realized where she was standing: a sidewalk before an intersection. And she knew that it wasn't just any intersection. Sure, there was no proof anymore- the road crew had tried their best to clean it all up, and the rain washed the rest away- but this is where she had lost her best friend, her boyfriend, the one who held her glass heart in his hands and dropped it to the ground, a little to the left of the center of the intersection, letting it fall, letting it crash into a million pieces, so that her heart could never be put back together ever again.

She was pushed along with the rest of people trying to cross the street, all in a hurry to get wherever they were going, just trying to get out of that persistent rain, raining for almost six days now, ever since-

Uo didn't even want to think anymore. That's right, she had places to go too- she couldn't linger around this intersection. She wouldn't collapse in the middle of the road, crying her heart out, her shattered heart that lay on the ground a few feet away from her, in the middle of the invisible blood and the vanished tire tracks.

So she kept walking, not looking, not looking back, not looking there. There was a thought in the back of her mind, to go back, throw herself into the road in that spot, and die, maybe even by a truck, too, just like him- just so she could feel what he'd been through. Just so she could see him again.

But she kept walking.

"GET OUTTA THE WAY!"

As if the voice was Moses, the sea of people on the sidewalk dispersed onto the sides, leaving a clear path wide open- except for one obstacle.

"Hey, Kyon, where are you going so fast?" Uotani asked casually, sticking out a foot.

Kyo, rushing through the path at the speed of light, never saw Uo's foot and tripped over it. But he didn't just trip over it, he started falling, tried to catch himself, and ended up doing several painful somersaults before crashing to a stop against a brick wall.

"Rushing isn't good for you, you know?" Uo said, peering down at the bloody form of the hot tempered guy who lived in the same house as her best friend. "Rush too much and you'll get hurt."

"DAMMIT, YANKEE, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR? YOU COULDA KILLED ME! ARE YOU STUPID?" Kyo yelled angrily, scrambling to his feet, shaking a fist at her.

"Your head's bleeding. Why are you in such a hurry, anyway?"

"Dammit, now I probably lost them! This is all your fault, damn Yankee!"

"What's my fault?"

"That damn r- that damn bastard- Aaaagh, I'll kill him! Running off with Tohru like that, going who knows where, who knows what he'll do to her! I'll kill him!" Kyo raged, drawing the attention of slightly freaked out pedestrians and some police officers.

"Ooooh, so this is about Prince Charming and Tohru, huh? Jealous much, Kyon?" Uo teased him.

"I'm not JEALOUS!"

"Kyon, they've been going out for like, a month now. You think you'd get used to it or something. Normal couples do go on dates, ya know."

"SHUT UP, YANKEE! I don't need you to tell me that! I HATE YOU!"

"Hey, what's going on over here!" A police officer started marching towards them. "You're not harassing her, are you?" he glared at Kyo accusingly.

"Me harass her? Are you crazy? She's not worth harassing!"

"Hey, don't talk to a police officer or a girl like that! I think you've got problems, kid!" The police officer started coming even closer.

"I think YOU'RE the one who's got-" Kyo was cut off when someone's hand clamped his mouth shut and dragged him away. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" He said as best as he could, his voice muffled by the hand.

"Trying to prevent you from getting arrested." Uo said, grinning. "I wouldn't mind if you got arrested, but then I'd have no one to make fun of at school."

"I hate you, Yankee!"

"At least the feeling's mutual." Uo rounded a bend, accidentally (well, kind of accidentally) smacking Kyo into the corner. Behind her, she could hear the voice of the police officer yelling "Get back here!" "I've been waiting for an excuse to do this." Uo muttered to herself, smirking in anticipation. She turned to Kyo. "Ready to fly?"

"What are you-!"

"Here we go!" Uo took his hand with both of her hands and threw him over the wall surrounding the garden. When he landed on the other side with a loud crash followed by "Damn that hurt!" she jumped over, landing neatly on the other side next to Kyo, just as the officer came around the corner. He kept running, running past them.

"Aaaah, that was fun! I haven't had that much fun with a police officer in a long time!" Uo laughed.

"In a long time…? You've messed with the police before? You're a real Yankee, aren't you?"

"Damn straight, Kyon. Aren't you in pain?"

"Yes, and it's all your fault! Landing on a stupid, spiky bush plant thing is not my idea of fun!"

Uo laughed. "That's ok. We'll make a memorial for your heroic scars resulting from battle. That way, it won't be all for nothing!" She pulled a small switchblade out of her skirt pocket, making Kyo twitch and back away slightly. Uo laughed at his reaction and shrugged. "A girl's gotta be prepared, especially if it wasn't you who was harassing me and it was some old pervert instead." She started scratching something on the bricks.

"I wasn't harassing you! And isn't that vandalism?"

"So? These bricks are public property. It's fine. Everyone does it, and no one cares. Besides, this is a memorial. It's honorable, not just some graffiti."

"Damn, you're weird."

Uo didn't answer him, as she concentrated on carving the brick. "OK, done. Here it is: 'Kyon-chan's wounds of battle are the scars of a hero! Kyon-chan and Uo's amazing journey of justice of XX, XX, 20XX. Memorialized forever!' Isn't it beautiful?"

"…you just pulled an 'Ayame'." Kyon said, his eyebrow twitching. "And trust me, that's not a compliment."

Uo shrugged. "No pleasing the cat king, is there?"

"Cat…? WHAT?"

"Better get home and do your homework, huh, Kyon? Don't want to fail class, now do we? Stop wasting time chasing after Tohru!"

"Look who's talking!"

"I already finished my homework."

"WHAT?"

Uo smiled faintly. Now that she thought about it, a detour wasn't exactly a bad idea. Her mind subconsciously decided that a delay was what she needed.

The longer I don't have to see… it… again, the longer I won't have to believe it… the longer I can believe that it's all just a dream… a nightmare… I'll wake up soon…

She walked into the gate, her feet on auto pilot, knowing where she wanted to go. After a little while, not minding that the soggy grass was soaking into her shoes, she stopped and bent down. Her fingers traced over the worn indents in the brick. "'Kyon-chan's wounds of battle are the scars of a hero! Kyon-chan and Uo's amazing journey of justice of XX, XX, 20XX. Memorialized forever!'" She whispered slowly to herself. 5 months before she would find out about his curse. 5 months for him to forget Tohru, and 5 months for her to fall in love with him.

Her fingers traced over a small part again. "Kyon-chan and Uo…" her finger slowly moved to a word in the next line, right next to the two names."…forever…"

Suddenly a small, brightly colored ball tumbled to a stop at the grass at her feet. She looked around her and saw a small boy running towards her, followed by a young girl. "Excuse me, miss, could you pleeeease give me that ball?" The boy asked as he stopped in front of her, panting for breath.

Uo picked up the ball, still in some sort of a crouching position, so that she was about their height. "Here's your ball. What are you two doing out here, playing in the rain?" she asked.

The girl grinned at her. "Cuz it's more fun when the grass is all slippery, cuz then we can slide like sha-vooom!" she motioned with her arms to illustrate what she meant.

The boy nodded. "Also, there's no one out here in the rain, so we have more room to ourselves… and the big mean kids won't pick on us and take our ball." He took the ball from Uo and smiled. "Thanks, nice lady! Let's go, Aya!"

Kyo and Uo watched the little kids run off with their ball. "They're so cuuuute, aren't they, Kyon?" Uo said, swinging their linked hands between them as they walked through the park. It wasn't often Kyo let her hold his hand in public. Then again, it wasn't often Uo wanted to show off her PDA skills.

"I hate little kids." Kyo muttered, turning his gaze away from where the kids were playing.

"You don't really mean that, do you?" Uo laughed. "Kyon- I know you love little kids."

"I do not have such a sissy weak spot for those brats!" Kyo yelped.

"It's ok." Uo smiled. "I love little kids. I wonder… one day…"

A troubled look crossed Kyo's face, but Uo didn't see it. He knew what she wanted to say. He held her hand tighter. "Hey- ice cream! You want ice cream, Uo?" he said quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Sure." Uo replied absently, as she stopped walking, still watching the little kids run around without a care in the world. Kyo didn't try to move to go get ice cream, even though Uo knew that something about her mention of kids bothered Kyo. They stood silently, their fingers intertwined together, but an invisible wall keeping them apart.

Maybe one day, some day later, she could tell him, 'I wonder, one day, if we'd have kids like that too…?'

Uo found her way back to the main road. She could still hear faint sounds, the girl laughing, the boy's yell as he tried to catch the ball.

It was stupid… It was a stupid thought…

"Hey, Yankee!" a shout came from behind her.

Uo suddenly became alert and spun around, her heartbeat quickening, her heart falling, knowing it was impossible. One of the girls in her class came running up to her, and Uo tried not to show any betraying emotion. She tried not to show that she, for a fleeting second, had thought that it could've been someone else, that for a quick moment, the breath had caught in her throat-

"Hey, Uotani." The girl came to a stop. It was one of those back-of-the-room girls, the ones that didn't really make fun of her but still stayed away from her and knew her as a Yankee. "Hey-" there was worry in the girl's eyes. "-I just wanted to say- you know-" now that the girl was here, she didn't know how to say what she felt.

"It's… ok." Uo said, doing her best to give her a small smile. She started to walk away.

"No- Uotani, look, I'm- I'm just really sorry about everything. I'm sorry about the way I- the way we all- treated you, and I just wanted to say, you know, sorry… about…" the girl looked down. "Sorry about… Kyo…"

Uo nodded in silence. She wouldn't answer- but the girl understood. If Uo tried to say anything- anything about that- especially the way she was now, she'd collapse to the street, crying. Crying so her tears would flow into the gutters like the rain. Uotani watched as the girl gave a small wave, said something, and ran off again.

As Uo turned forward to resume her path, she spotted another girl walking towards her. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she kept walking, looking ahead. When the other girl passed her, she said, "Uotani."

Uotani relaxed a little. "Kirihara."

The other girl bowed her head slightly as she kept walking. "Sorry." The word floated to Uotani's ears as she nodded, acknowledging the remark.

When Kirihara was gone, Uo almost wanted to laugh. So that's what it took for everyone to be nice to her, huh? To suffer so much pain. Kirihara was a former gang member, one of the ones who strongly opposed Uotani dropping out of the gang. She'd beat her up that day, and she still held a grudge against her… she'd even tried to attack Uo again…

Uo walked along the street, her schoolbag flung casually over one shoulder. "Wonder if the old man's eaten dinner yet." She commented to herself, then sighed. "Nah, knowing him, he's too much of a lazy ass to cook anything himself. I should go get some rice- I think we're out." She looked up at the darkening sky, groaning. "Damn, it's getting late. I guess I'll have to use the shortcut." She turned sharply from the main road and headed down a dark alley, running.

Uo had just made her way past the middle of the intricate web of alleys when a voice rang out in front of her. "Well, if it isn't Uotani!"

Uo slowed down to a walk. Ahead of her, she could see a group of girls, given a sinister look from the evening's purple haze. Her annoyance level started to rise. Today was not a good day for an encounter. "What do you want… Kirihara?"

"Uotani, you bitch! We'll never forget what you did-"

"What, you mean leaving all this crap behind and getting a better life, where I might actually stay alive?" Uo shot back.

"No! I mean leaving us behind for those goody-goodies! It's so STUPID! How can you STAND being around those people?"

"How can you stand making yourself suffer so much?" Uo said calmly, her voice tinted with the slightest bit of impatience. "You're the ones who are stupid- wasting your life."

"Shut up, bitch! You're asking for it!" Kirihara motioned to her small gang, and they approached Uotani.

"I don't want to fight you." Uotani said loudly.

"Who cares?We'll just beat you up! It doesn't matter!" They attacked her, punching her, pulling her hair, beating her with whatever lay on the ground- rocks, lead pipes, dirt. Uo protected herself as well as she could, using her bookbag on several occasions to protect herself.

Dammit. Uotani thought, wincing as another blow made contact with her skin. I'm having trouble fighting them off.This is why I don't use this shortcut when I'm by myself.

"HEY! What the hell's going on here?" A voice yelled as the person approached. The girls stopped momentarily. He came to a stop as he saw the familiar blond hair of Uotani, trying to defend herself without hurting anyone too badly. "What the hell are you doing, Yankee, letting yourself get beat up so badly?"

Uo growled. "Shut your face, Orange Top. You can't fight girls anyway, you wimp."

Kyo twitched. "What'd you just say, Yankee? I'll beat you up for that!"

"Hey, punk, stay outta this!" Kirihara yelled. "This is between us and the bitch. Get outta here or else!"

"Catfights disgust me." Kyo walked towards them. "Catfights disgust me almost as much as a whole gang picking on one person does. That's not something to be proud of- if it takes a whole crowd of chick gangsters to bring this Yankee down."

"H-hey, I'm warning ya! Get away from here! Run away!"

"Yea, yea, I'll leave once I take her with me." Making a run for it before anyone, including Uotani, had a chance to be surprised, Kyo grabbed Uo's hand and ran as fast as he could.

"Damn you, stupid orange punk, get back here!" They ran through a series of passages, Kyo having to double track when he started getting lost, and had to fight in self defense as they made their way through. At one point, the girls had him cornered, when he hesitated to block a punch. "Looks like it's the end of the line for you, stupid orange head." Kirihara growled. "Get outta the way. I'll deal with you later." One of the girls pushed Kyo to the side, so that Uo was surrounded. Kirihara nodded at her gang, and they bent down, smiling sinisterly, as they picked up sharp rocks of the ground.

Kyo's eyes widened as he realized what they were doing. You're kidding me.

Some of the girls grabbed Uotani by her arms and pinned her up against a wall, making her struggles futile. She gritted her teeth. Dammit! It just had to be today that I'm at my weakest, from lack of sleep or food… it just had to be today that Orangey has to come to my rescue… this is so pathetic… ugh! She shut her eyes tightly and lowered her head as far as she could, not being able to protect herself with her arms.

"Alright, I've always wanted to say this…" Kirihara grinned evilly. "FIRE AT WILL!"

The rocks flew through the air, each one aimed straight at Uo with deadly accuracy.

But the blood that hit the ground wasn't Uotani's, nor was the body which the rocks bounced off of.

Uo opened her eyes upon feeling no impact and stared in disbelief. "You…. Why…?"

Kyo shook his head. "Some other time. But right now, we get out of here." He glared at Kirihara, and the rest of her gang, who stood gaping at him, and exploded. "HEY! NOW YOU MADE ME MAD! THAT HURT, DAMMIT! I'M SO GONNA GET YOU ALL ONE DAY! I SHOULD JUST BEAT YOU ALL UP RIGHT NOW! FEAR ME, YOU CHICK GANGSTERS, AND DON'T THROW ROCKS AT ME OR THE YANKEE AGAIN! AHAHAHAHA!" Uo sighed as she ended up dragging Kyo away, running as fast as she could to avoid the gang when they realized how they'd been insulted.

Finally, Kyo and Uo made their way to the top of a grassy hill in the park, and the cries of the gang died out. They both collapsed on the grass, panting for air.

"Damn, Yankee, what'd you do to deserve that?" Kyo said, finally calming down and groaning as one of his bruises got rubbed the wrong way.

"The right thing." Uo answered seriously, sitting up after a while to inspect her injuries.

Kyo studied her for a while, his eyes traveling over her slender form, until he felt his face growing warm and quickly looked away. Why am I getting so… flustered? He berated himself. I'm just checking if she's hurt or something… yea! That's it…

Silence fell between them as they looked over their wounds. Finally, Uo spoke. "Hey…. Kyon?"

"…what?" Kyo suddenly came out of his thoughts.

"This is gonna sound pathetic, but… thanks." Uo muttered.

Kyo's face flushed again, and he prayed that the pinkish purple glow from the setting sun would cover for him. "No problem- just… covering for your weaknesses."

"What? That's what I get for thanking you? Kyon, you're so getting it!" Uo punched Kyo in the face.

"Oooooowww!" Kyo fell backwards, holding his face.

"What, did that actually hurt? That was weak, Carrot head- I think you're losing your macho-ness!" Uo teased.

"It does not hurt!" Kyo protested, but as he touched the still-bleeding cut made by a rock, he flinched noticeably, biting down on his lip.

Uo's eyes gave a flicker of concern. "Hey- Kyon, that really does hurt, doesn't it?"

"No…" Kyo held his face, looking away from her.

It's my fault, isn't it? My fault he got hurt… he was hurt because of me. Uo touched the hand covering his cheek. "Sorry." She whispered.

Kyo looked at her in surprise, his hand falling from his face. "What?" he said, the pain in his face suddenly disappearing.

Or maybe that was just because her lips were there.

Kyo's eyes widened. He wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out.

Uo drew back, but Kyo could still feel the tingling on his cheek, sending chills throughout his body. His face burned. "Wh…"

Uo smiled. "They say that if you kiss a wound, it'll feel better."

If that's true… then I want to kiss all your wounds. A small voice piped up in the back of Kyo's head, but he squashed the thought. Instead, he slapped himself in the forehead, an action he instantly regretted when the bruise he sported there throbbed in protest.

"…Just kidding!" Uo said triumphantly, slapping Kyo across the face right where she had kissed him. She laughed. Instant remedy for awkward moments- at least reading those girly magazines wasn't totally useless.

Kyo fell back again, holding his cheek and pointing at her, his arm fluctuating up and down wildly. "OOOOW! Dammit, Yankee, you bitch! What the hell! Stop doing that already!"

"We'll now embark on the journey for RICE!"

"Don't ignore me, damn Yankee!"

She hadn't been too bothered by Kyo saving her that day- maybe she was tired, or hungry, or something, but she hadn't seemed to mind. Which was weird, if you thought about it- being able to stand up for herself was something she took seriously, and she didn't like it when she felt like she owed someone something. And the fact that the inferiority complex she normally felt when someone tried to help her only grew more and more didn't make their relationship any easier. In fact, they'd almost given up on their relationship once because of her complex. But… she didn't like thinking about those times… what had that writer guy called them? Oh yeah… the 'Dark Ages'.

But those were painful times, and these were painful times. It wouldn't do to think of both. It wouldn't help her. It would just kill her inside all over again, like it had every day since the rain started falling.

She gripped the jacket around her more tightly, trying to conserve her warmth. It was cold here.

She missed feeling Kyo's body just being next to her, his warmth, his smile, his radiance giving her comfort like his hug never could. Sure, she didn't want to accept the fact that she'd never be able to hug him, that she could never feel all of his body pressed up against hers, and she even got frustrated and threw stuff across the room sometimes- but it was ok, because having him just be there with her, it more than made up for a lack of a hug- it made her feel like she was worth something. Like she was needed. Like all Kyo needed was her, and then he'd be happy. And making someone happy was all she ever wanted to do.

So now that he was gone, she wondered if she'd ever be warm again.

"Oi, Kyon!" Uo walked into their homeroom. She'd missed the later half of that day for some weird reason, and the only thing Kyo learned that afternoon was how boring class could be without a certain ex-gangster making fun of him.

Kyo turned around and grinned, despite his former bad mood. "Hey, Yankee!" Abruptly, Kyo stopped mid-wave, suddenly realizing what he sounded like and wondering why he looked and felt so happy to see her, of all people. He changed his tone of voice and the expression on his face quickly, hoping no one would notice. "Ah- what do you want? Where the hell you been, anyways? You joining your gang and skipping school again?"

Uo laughed, partly due to his questions and mostly due to his unsuccessful attempt at hiding his feelings. Really, he can be so stubborn sometimes. "Places, things…" she replied airily, waving her hand about to dismiss his inquiries."Hey, you doing anything after school?"

The orange-head gave her a strange look. "Not really… why?" he answered tentatively.

"Sweet!" Uo beamed. "Then you can go get ice cream with me!"

Kyo stared at her like she'd just grown three heads and some more eyes to go along with them. "Are you crazy?"

"No, I just like ice cream."

"In December?"

"Yea, why not? What, you too much of a wimp to eat ice cream in December?"

"I never said that! Just for that, I'm gonna come!" It never occurred to Kyo that you can't really be much of a wimp by refusing to eat ice cream.

Uo flashed a "V" sign before telling Tohru where they were going and dragging him out the door, right as the bell rang, signaling dismissal.

All the way to the ice cream store (Uo insisted on going to her favorite one, a good twenty minutes away) the two engaged in a bout of light bickering, mostly concerning Kyo's lack of warmth and Uo's lack of compassion for him. Laughter and shouting could be heard, mixing in with the bustle of everyday December traffic. Kyo wondered out loud at one point why it was just him and her going to get ice cream, and Uo had to explain to him that Tohru had work, Hana didn't particularly enjoy ice cream, and Yuki was being dull again, so she was stuck with Kyo. Kyo decided not to ask her why she even bothered to come, then, if she disliked being stuck with him so much- she'd found a partly frozen switchblade on the ground, and was currently in the process of totally freaking Kyo out.

Uo and Kyo finally reached the ice cream place, much to the relief of Kyo, who rushed inside to take advantage of the more than sufficient heating inside the store. Unsurprisingly, there wasn't a huge line, and the store smelled of chocolate chip cookies and other freshly baked goods- a business can't survive solely on ice cream if it plans on being open year-round.

"Hey, Kyon, what flavor do you want?"

"?" Kyo turned from the display rack of Christmas events he was looking at. "What do you mean, flavor?"

"Yes, Kyon, you heard me, flavor. That's what they call different types of ice cream these days. Choose a flavor, any flavor!" Uo flourished at the board hanging above the register.

Kyo tried to hide his embarrassment at being caught when he wasn't paying attention and chose whatever sounded good. "Hm… chocolate chip cookie dough, I guess."

Uo raised an eyebrow. "Heh, you too?" She turned to the worker. "Two chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cones, please." She handed him the money and turned back to Kyo. "Didn't know you liked that flavor."

"I've never had it before."

"Really?" Uo shrugged. "It fits you."

"How can an ice cream flavor fit me?"

"It's chocolate chip cookie dough, right? The main flavor is vanilla, it's pretty obvious, so it seems like the ice cream's not hiding anything." The cashier tapped her on the shoulder, and Uo took the two ice creams, saying a quick "Thank you" and handing one cone to Kyo.

"And your point?"

Uo licked her ice cream a little, then took a bite as they walked out the door. She smiled. "It seems like just vanilla ice cream, but then there are those little cookie dough chunks, buried deep inside. And when you find them, they're nice and sweet." It took Kyo a minute to understand, and when he did, a faint blush colored his cheeks.

Uo laughed a little and continued. "And then there's the chocolate chips. They… they hold a lot of mystery, because you never know when they're going to appear… and it's almost like the vanilla ice cream is hiding them… like little secrets…" Uo turned to look Kyo straight in the eye, and Kyo had the feeling that Uo wasn't thinking about ice cream anymore.

"Tch! How stupid…" Kyo muttered, looking away. As long as she doesn't know about the Sohma secret, it's fine. "Then the same goes for you, huh?"

"Yup." Uo smiled mysteriously, and Kyo decided to leave it at that and continue eating his ice cream.

After a long silence, Kyo thought out loud, "Mmm… that was pretty good."

"What was pretty good, our date?" Uo said, meaning it to be a joke.

But Kyo was caught off guard. A rapid blush crossed his face, as he stared at her. "D-Date?"

"Haha, just kidding." Uo said, sticking her tongue out at him, but an awkward pause followed, as they stood looking at each other, just remembering…

XXXXXXXX

It was just three weeks before, maybe a little sooner, when it happened.

"Get away from me!"

"Hey, it's raining out there!" But Kyo didn't even hesitate as he stomped out into the rain after her. "You wanna get sick or something?"

"You mean sicker than I already am?" Uo said bitterly, ignoring the rain pouring down on her head, ignoring the sharp raindrops drumming into her skin.

"Stop being stupid!" Kyo caught up with her, matching her fast stride. "What's your problem?"

"What's yours?" She shot back, glaring at him. Kyo was taken aback by the expression in her eyes. For a moment, he wasn't even sure if it was rain or her own tears dripping down her face.

"God, why are you like this?" Kyo said angrily. "I- I just want to help!"

"Since when do you care, Kyo?" Uo replied sharply, her voice cracking slightly. She bit her lip, hoping he hadn't heard that. But he had.

"Dammit, Yankee!"

"Well, if I'm such a Yankee, why are you hanging around me? Why aren't you disgusted just like everyone ELSE?"

Kyo figured it out now. She'd been weird ever since this morning, ever since she had that run-in with those street punks the night before. He'd figured she was tough enough to handle it on her own, he hadn't thought twice about it. Had they done something? Had they-

"Oh, shit. Yan- Uo, what the hell happened last night?"

Uo glanced quickly at Kyo, then stared straight ahead, not knowing where she was going. "Stupid pervert." She laughed sarcastically. "It's not that."

Kyo was getting frustrated. "Then what? This is stupid, Uo! You can't get all spastic on me and then not tell me why the hell you are!"

"Well you don't have to know, now do you? Why can't you just leave me alone? I don't need you here! Not right now!" she started running, running as fast as she could, running away from him.

"Dammit!" Kyo muttered, then tried to catch up with her. "Uo, stop it!"

"No!" she didn't even look back. What was the use? She couldn't see anyway. Wet strands of hair flew into her face, her sight a blur anyway.

A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She was suddenly staring into the face of Kyo Sohma. "Stupid Yankee!" he shouted. "Are you trying to kill yourself?" A few feet behind her, a car horn blared. Uo studied his face; he wasn't mocking her.

He cared about her.

But she rejected him. She pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I don't need you." She said. "I don't need you."

Kyo's eyes glowered at her. His red eyes stood out against the dreary setting, all blues and blacks, but his eyes burning at her. "You can't say that. You need someone. You need someone who can help you."

"You're not making sense. I have friends, if that's what you mean. Two whole friends. Lucky me." She flung back sarcastically.

Kyo bristled at this. "Oh, so now all of the sudden I don't count!" he grabbed her by her shoulders, noticing she was avoiding his eyes. "I know you have Tohru and Hanajima! But you know what, that isn't enough! Everyone understands different things, and they don't understand everything you're going through!"

"Oh, and you think you can understand me?"

"Yea, I think I can!"

"Well, who said I WANTED you to understand?" Uo tried to draw back, but he still had a hold on her. She started struggling. "Let go of me!"

"I'm not letting go!" Kyo yelled, pissed. "Why won't you give anyone a chance? It's like you won't trust anyone anymore!"

"Maybe I don't! Let go of me!" All of the sudden, Kyo did seem incredibly strong. After all the times they had come out even, now, he seemed to be dominating. And he hated the rain. Now how was that possible?

"Dammit, Uo! I am never letting go!"

And just like that, he kissed her.

It took Uo a couple seconds for her brain to register that Kyo was actually kissing her. This was the same guy who said he could never hug anyone.

Why?

After a little longer, Kyo drew back. Even in the dark gloom, Uo could tell his face was red. He quickly let go of her and his arms returned to his sides. Now he was the one avoiding her eyes. The silence between them was like a brick wall.

Uo smashed it down. "Why?" she whispered.

The short, simple question hung in the air. It hung there for what seemed like forever.

Kyo never answered the question. They never mentioned what had happened again. Had it changed anything? Or maybe the question was, was that when it all started changing? Was that when they finally started to open their eyes, to accept what was happening between them? Either way, the wall was there now. It was like window glass-- thin, see-through, and they were able to hear through it- but they couldn't reach each other completely. There were those unspeakable words hovering above them now, those forbidden subjects.

And yet, they kept finding a way to surface again.

XXXXXXXX

"Ah, Uo-chan, Hana-chan! Welcome, welcome! Please come in- you must be cold! I'm so sorry for making you wait in the cold! A-Ah- I'll take your coats- um, I'll get you some drinks in a second- oh no, was that a crash! Not again! Ah- um- uh-"

Hana laid a hand on Tohru's shoulder to stop her from running back and forth frantically before them. "Tohru… please… calm down. It'll be ok."

Tohru sighed, then stood up straight and stared determinedly at the ceiling, her hands balled into fists. "OK then! I'll do my best to make this the best Christmas party for everybody!"

"That's the way, Tohru! Now, can we come in now?" Uo said, grinning.

"AAH! I'M SO-"

"Oh great, you're already here." Kyo complained as he came down the stairs.

"Same to you, Kyon, except you live here. Ah, life isn't always perfect, is it? You gotta take the bad with the good." Uo shrugged and started to walk away.

Kyo jumped the rest of the stairs to run after her. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like, Neko-chan!"

"Shut up with the neko! Neko this, neko that! Just 'cause you found out about that stupid curse two weeks ago—"

"Neko neko neko, bakaneko!'

"GET BACK HERE YANKEE!"

Yuki sighed as he walked down the hall towards Tohru, effortlessly sidestepping the mad dash of Kyo and Uo. Hana had just excused herself; she'd spotted Yuki a minute or two earlier, that and the coincidental sighting of a certain boy with black and white hair. "There's no hope for a quiet moment at all now, is there?" He said hopelessly, raising a hand to his forehead. "I can feel the headache coming on already…"

"Yuki-kun, it won't be so bad. It'll be fun! We don't all come together like this very often- I mean, Shigure-san, Kyo-kun, Hatori-san, Ayame-san, Kagura-chan, Hatusharu-kun, Momiji-chan, Rit-chan-san, Hiro-kun, Kisa-chan, Uo-chan, Hana-chan, Yuki-kun, and me- I think it's a great time to strengthen our relationships!"

"And cause more destruction to Shigure's house." Yuki muttered to himself, thinking of Kagura, Kyo, and Uotani in the same room, but laughed it off. "Of course, Tohru-san."

Uo climbed up the ladder effortlessly and jumped lightly onto the roof. "Hey Orange Top, what are you doing out here in the cold?"

"Getting away from everyone down there!" Kyo growled, gesturing madly. "I mean, having Kagura here is bad enough, and I'm surprised I'm not DEAD yet, but there's that stupid Haru, who knows when he'll go Black, and Hiro's being a brat again, Momiji's so damn ANNOYING, Ritsu's being all end-of-the-world as usual, Shigure and Ayame are being extremely stupid, Yuki's being a perfect prince, and Shishou couldn't even come! It sucks!"

"You must love your family a lot." Uo said sarcastically, sitting down next to him.

"Yea, right." Kyo scoffed, but after a moment his angry expression softened a bit. "I mean, they're not all that bad… sometimes… but…"

"Aw, how cute." Uo ruffled Kyo's hair, laughing when she heard him growl and almost purr at the same time. "It really is cold, though."

"Then go inside! Why are you out here, anyway!" Kyo turned to face her.

"Good question." Uo bit her lip in concentration, then hit the roof with her fist, making Kyo jump. "Oh yeah! Tohru wanted me to tell you that it's time to eat!"

"Why didn't you just say that before?"

"Because you looked like you needed to talk to someone. Now let's go, or they're gonna eat all the food!" Uo grabbed Kyo's hand and pulled him towards the ladder.

"And whose fault would that be?" Kyo shouted, the blush on his face hidden in the darkness.

"Less complaining, more hustle! Food, food, food! Tohru-chan's Christmas special! Mmm, can't wait!" Uo said excitedly, practically pushing Kyo over the side of the roof before jumping down herself.

"At least you're not hungry enough to be in a bad mood this time." Kyo muttered.

Uo whirled around and kicked him, hard. Kyo yelped. "What was that, Kyon?"

"N-nothing…"

"Good, good—food, food! What are ya waiting for, orange-top? Let's go, let's go!"

"YOU go faster, Yankee!" –whack- "Ow what the heck gimme that stick!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, IT'S NOT!"

"YES, IT IS!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"NO, YOU DAMN YANKEE, THE GUY IN THAT CHOCOLATE FACTORY MOVIE IS NOT PLAYED BY JOHNNY WHATS HIS FACE!"

"YES, IT IS! IF YOU'RE TOO STUPID TO EVEN REMEMBER A NAME, THEN THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE RIGHT!"

"WELL HOW WOULD YOU REMEMBER IT, YOU'RE BLOND!"

"IT'S CALLED HAIR DYE, ORANGE TOP!"

"Uh-uh, you two, I think you've got it mixed up. That's not what you're supposed to do there." Shigure said, wagging his finger back and forth at them, conveniently stopping them from strangling each other right then and there.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, STUPID DOG?"

"Oh, Kyo-chan! Such rude manners! I'm appalled!"

"LIKE YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!"

"No, no! You're doing it all wrong! You've got to get a little closer, and instead of such crude screaming in each other's faces-"

"WHAT-"

"That, Kyo-chan! Don't tell me you didn't notice it!" Shigure pointed at the ornament hanging above them in the frame of the entrance to the hall.

Kyo stared blankly at the object above him, his expression one big question mark. "What about that thing?"

Shigure gasped and pretended to stumble back. "Kyo! Don't tell me you don't even know what THAT is! It's so basic! So classic! One of the best methods, actually, to starting a rela-"

"It's mistletoe, isn't it?" Uo said flatly.

"Mistle…?" Kyo glanced up at the plant above them again, and his blank expression contorted into a shocked and angry one as he was hit by the delayed thunderbolt of realization. "You gotta be kidding me! How the hell did that get there?"

"It's. A. Se. Cret." Shigure said, winking. After all, it wasn't HIS fault Tohru had put him in charge of decorations…

"THERE IS NO WAY-"

"YOU STUPID WRITER GUY-"

"-THAT I AM KISSING-"

"-I AM NOT KISSING-"

"-THIS DAMN YANKEE!"

"-THIS STUPID ORANGE TOP!"

Uo and Kyo glared at each other as they finished their sentences at the same time.

Shigure flapped a hand at them. "Oh, don't worry, don't worry! No one's around to see you two, it's ok! I'll give you some space, then! Oh, Tori-chaaaan!" He skipped off in search of his doctor friend, who at that moment must have been trying to ward off a headache.

"…"

"There's no way I'm kissing you, got that, Yankee?"

"Same goes to you, Kyon!"

"…"

"I mean…"

"Well…"

"It's kind of…"

"It'd be kind of weird… breaking a tradition…"

"Yea…" Kyo looked away after saying this, as did Uo, but neither of them moved.

"…"

"Hey- Yankee."

"What do you want, Kyon?"

"…"

"…Can I just… it's some damn rule, and…"

"Whatever, Kyon. Suit yourself."

Kyo let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and bent over. "It's not like I want to do this, just so you know." He whispered to her, his words brushing over her lips.

"Mm." Was all Uo had time to mutter before he kissed her, the blush on both their faces spreading rapidly.

"Oh, what luck! And here a camera was lying just as I tripped and had to sit down and tend to my injuries!" Shigure sang softly to himself, peeking around the corner. He smiled at the sight.

"Merry Christmas…"

And right after that, they'd proceeded to hunt Shigure and beat him to near death. Uo almost laughed, remembering this. That night had been crazy- there was so much emotion in the air, and Shigure's spontaneously placed mistletoe hadn't helped. Hiro had finally kissed Kisa that night, and she'd heard that Haru had managed to get Hana under the mistletoe as well. Shigure and Ayame- they came close, but Kyo and Yuki had threatened severe injuries, as well as Hatori's super-long-and-thick needles… that was enough to reduce them to harmless, but still annoying, flirting. She and Kyo had stayed at least 10 feet away from each other for the rest of the night, so the whole house had to put up with them shouting across the room at each other.

It was so long ago…

The happy feeling in Uo's chest, as she thought about her happier memories, faded away as she realized that it also seemed like a long time ago when she last saw Kyo.

Now, those memories… those times of laughing, having fun, and just living up life to the fullest with Kyo and the rest of her friends… they seemed so out of reach now. A part of her past that she'd dropped somewhere, and now she couldn't find them anymore… Memories she'd almost lost. And Uo wondered if life would ever have meaning again, and if life would ever feel the way it did back then…

But before she fell back into her dark abyss of depression, which she'd worked so hard just to climb up and barely hang onto the edge of the cliff, some bright New Year decorations caught her eye- they were on clearance, just leftover merchandise that hadn't all been bought before New Year's. Uo fell, instead, back into the world of her leftover memories… the ones that hadn't died and disappeared yet.

"Hey."

Kyo sat down next to Uo on the roof. "Why are you here, anyway? It's New Year's. Aren't you supposed to be with your family?"

Uo shrugged. "My dad's out getting drunk. My mom left when I was young. What family are you talking about?"

"Oh."

"Yea. It seemed pointless to sit in my house all alone, watching crappy TV, so Tohru invited me over."

"Oh."

"What about you? Aren't you supposed to be at Sohma House?"

"There's no point. I'm the outcast anyway, remember? The only reason they want me to go is so I can get tortured by Kagura. So I'm skipping. Screw Akito."

"Oh."

"Yea."

They sat in silence for a while, looking at the dark sky. The lights of the houses and buildings below them stretched for miles, it seemed like, until it met with the horizon. The little sparks in the windows, signifying everyone's celebrations and parties, seemed to form their own stars and constellations on the ground, mirroring the cloudless, shimmering sky.

"So where's Prince Charming and Tohru, anyway?"

"They're waiting for the sunrise from Tohru's balcony thing."

"Why are you up here?"

"I live here, Yankee."

"No, I mean… the roof, Kyon Kyon."

"Because I like the roof, got a problem with that?"

"No, I just thought… since you hate me so much and all, and since I'm up here, I thought you'd go somewhere else."

"…"

"Like, in a New Year's congregation of cats or something."

"I hate you."

"Thanks. You too."

There was more silence, and Kyo laid back on the roof, resting his arms behind his head.

"So, you haven't left yet. I hear the cats meowing, neko-chan."

"Nah. I'd rather waste my time with you."

Uo didn't respond- she couldn't come up with any kind of comeback for that. So she just grinned instead, and stared out over the horizon.

"Oi, Kyon."

"What?"

"The sun."

"What about the sun?"

"The sunrise, stupid. It's the sunrise."

"Oh."

They had watched the sun rise slowly, sitting there together on the roof in silence. As the rays had stretched out lazily and touched all the buildings with a golden glow, Uo remembered, that's when she had been hit full-force in the face with a realization- she was in love with Kyo.

Before that- the kiss in the rain, the ice cream, the Christmas party- she'd known that she liked Kyo, and that she maybe liked him more than a friend-

But sitting there, welcoming the New Year- turning casually to look at the guy sitting next to her, and seeing the innocent, trouble-free expression on Kyo's glowing face- watching him being bathed in that soft golden light, and the crazy thought that had crossed her mind at that moment, that he looked like an angel- that's when she had realized, that's when she finally understood, that she, Arisa Uotani, was in love with Kyo Sohma.

She'd tried to hide her feelings even more than before, because she could've sworn that he would never feel that way… that if she ever let him know, then he'd turn away in disgust, and then she'd have no one, or at least she'd feel like it…

It never really crossed her mind that he could've felt, just a little bit, the same way that she did.

"Wait… Yankee…. Wait a minute."

Uo turned around. "What up, Kyon? I thought we were done for the day."

"Yea… well…" Kyo searched for an excuse and said the first thing that came to mind. "We didn't go over the attendance yet! Yea, that's it! We didn't do that yet!"

Uo raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was the teacher's job."

"Well- no, it's a new duty for after school cleanup people. She was talking about it in class, weren't you listening?" Kyo tried to sound arrogant, and hoped that she wouldn't be able to tell he was lying.

The blonde decided to let him have his way and sighed. She came back into the room and sat on top of a desk. "Then let's get this show on the road. Where is her attendance book, anyway?"

"I'm looking for it." Kyo said, going behind the teacher's desk and slowly ruffled through the many folders. He was hidden from view to Uo, except for his orange hair bobbing around, so what Uo couldn't see was that his hands were shaking.

The silence between them started to make Uo feel uncomfortable, so she just said whatever she could to prevent it from growing anymore. "Let's go, Kyon. We don't have all day." Getting bored of his aimless searching, she decided to get to the point. "We don't really have to do attendance, do we? I actually do listen, even though it doesn't look like it. What are you really trying to do, Kyon?"

Kyon stopped looking, but he didn't get up. "I…" He was starting to get flustered. "I… wanted to ask you… something."

"Well, out with it then." Uo teased good-naturedly. "It'll be years before I even hear the question, at this rate."

Kyo slowly got up, but looked down, unable to look her in the eyes. He clenched his fists, trying to stop them from shaking. "Uo?"

Uo hid her surprise when he called her by her name. "Yea?"

"Will you…" Kyo stopped, then tried again. "Will you... ugh." He started to turn away. "Dammit, this isn't working." He said out loud.

"What's not working? Your brain? That never works anyway." Uo tried to relieve some of the tension in the room, but the truth was, she was getting nervous too. What is he up to now?

"…" Kyo didn't even try to come up with a comeback. "Will you…"

"…go away? Sure, why not." Uo said, grinning, as she hopped off the desk and started to walk away.

"Hey, wait! No… that's not it!" Kyo walked quickly towards her and grabbed her hand. "Don't go away!"

Uo turned around to face him. "Ok, then what do you want?"

This close up, Kyo could see in her eyes that she was teasing him. "Dammit, Yankee, you know what I want!"

"No, I really don't. Why don't you tell me?" she said innocently.

"You tell me!"

"So now you don't know what you want?" Uo suddenly realized how close they were, and that Kyo's hand was still holding hers.

"No- dammit!" Kyo said angrily in frustration. "I want- I want you to be my girlfriend!"

His face turned red, and he turned away from her. Yea, that went real well. He thought to himself. Now she's never going to say-

"Ok."

Kyo froze. He didn't turn around. "What?" he managed to say.

"Ok." Uo repeated. "Yea, I'll be your girlfriend." She grinned, a faint blush on her cheeks, walking up to him and making him face her. "That ok with you?"

"Y-yea." Kyo let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and closed his eyes. "Yea… that's good."

Then there was a poof, and then he was looking up at Uo, her arms around his feline form. "What was that for?"

Uo started laughing, sliding down with her back against the wall until she was sitting. "It's how our new relationship starts off!" she said, holding the sulking cat tightly to her and laughing her heart out. It was just so funny, Kyo attempting to ask her out- it was so adorable. He was trying so hard that it made her laugh. She grinned at the embarrassed orange cat in her arms. "Oi, Kyon-"

"What?"

"Happy birthday."

Silence.

"It's my birthday?"

"Hell yea, Kyon! You gotta be kidding me! You forgot it's your birthday!"

"…it's January 15 today?"

"Wow, you ARE denser than I thought."

"Shut up, Yankee!"

"Make me!"

"I will!"

"Ha, cats can't shut me up!"

"Let go of me! I don't wanna be a cat! I don't wanna be a cat!"

"Ahahaha!"

January 15…

Uo had always wanted to ask Kyo if he really had known that it was January 15, and that it was his birthday.

Maybe he thought it would have been easier to remember if their anniversary was the same day as his birthday- but that wouldn't have worked out well either, since he couldn't even remember his own birthday. Last year, she and Tohru had managed to organize a huge surprise birthday party, inviting all his closer relatives (meaning the ones that didn't choke him to death or feel like throwing him in a locked room because he was the cat), and he'd been so taken aback that he'd practically cried, and he even kissed her in front of everyone- something he'd usually never risk doing, especially with Shigure, Ayame, Kagura, and everyone else there.

But either way, January 15 was a very significant day… and not just to Uo and Kyo anymore, because it was their anniversary or because it was Kyo's birthday… but to everyone, because it was the day… since just six days ago… that Kyo died.

It was so stupid, so pointless! She wanted to yell. Why in the hell would whoever is planning out their lives, if there was a God or something, make the happiest day of their lives the worst day ever? Just for the sake of making interesting coincidences, they had to choose the same day of the birth of the most wonderful thing either of them had ever experienced to kill it off the face of the Earth! Why would this God guy give her the best feeling in the world, the happiness she never knew she could get, and then take that all away?

Notes on the chapter: My point in ending the chapter there was that the last flashback was of when Kyo asks her out, so that's when the relationship starts. The next chapter is really about their relationship in general, so I was trying to kind of separate the two. But it would really make it easier to understand if you read chapters 5 and 6 together, whenever I get the chance to put up chapter 6. And… I don't really like this chapter. I don't know why. Then again, I'm never confident about my writing, if you haven't noticed.

Oh, and the fight in capital letters that Kyo and Uo have during the Christmas party, about the actor in the movie- it's Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate factory. I don't even like Johnny Depp, but it was just the first movie that popped into my mind. And then I was too lazy to change it. Also, in the Christmas flashback, it was mentioned that Uo found out about Kyo's curse two weeks earlier- that means it's after the kiss in the rain and the ice cream, but before the Christmas flashback and the New Year's flashback. I didn't put the curse flashback in because it didn't seem like it would flow well, but if you want an example of what it could have been, you can read my other KyoUo fanfic, Remember. And finally, the only scenes that took place after they started going out in this chapter were the April Fool's one and the park scene (with the kids). also went screwy on me, and it won't let me put multiple exclamation marks or exclamation marks after question marks- so if it seems like something's punctuated weird, then it probably isn't my fault.

I have great reasons/excuses for putting this up so late (they're basically the same as the previous chapter's A/N rant), but I'd feel bad about taking up so much space, since I still have to answer all these lovely reviews I got during the delay! Much thanks to you all- you really encouraged me to keep writing and not give up. (Basically hinting, review more and the next chapter will come out faster. There is no way I'm pulling another 4 month delay.)

Akkitora: Thank you. Yea, there was a big delay, wasn't there? That's a really bad habit of mine... writer's block is a horrible enemy to have. Well, change can be good... or I've just watched too muchcheesy TV. XD Thanks for reviewing!

Ariyana: Yea, I like Akito and Hana a lot (I'm a dark character kind of person), but it's because they're more mysterious that it's harder to write them. I tried... well here is another update, and tell me what you (honestly) think of this chapter! Thank you for reviewing!

Jade Rose: And I love you too! Well the main characters are starting to appear... but thanks! Well, this update wasn't as bad as the last one, right? I think... I can't even remember when the time I updated before the last chapter was. I love KyoUo too... geez, I wonder how you can tell...haha, thanks for reviewing!

Kira: Yay! I posted! I'm happy too! This is another chapter, I guess, and there'll be a few more too! And I'll need that luck... thanks for reviewing!

unheard screams: Thank you. That means a lot to me and it really makes me feel great to know that people can feel that way about my writing. Knowing that there's people like you reading my story made me remember not to just leave my story uncontinued! Thanks for reviewing chapter 2 too. XD I love you. Thanks for saying all that cool praise stuff. Thanks for reviewing!

vivi scarlett-sedai: Hey, it's you! Write another KyoUo story! XD thanks. I try my best to make people sad (which sounds weird, but what do I care). You are too! Thanks for reviewing!

silvercats: I heart Kyo too, but what a mean person I am, I killed him off. XD Don't worry, we haven't seen the last of Kyon. Thanks for reviewing!

AllyEver: Thanks! This is half of Uo's turn, and she'll appear more after that... oops, sorry, my update wasn't ASAP. XD I'll try harder next time. Thanks for reviewing!

Aria's star: I know, I want him to come back too. Well, I'm not really totally into the whole fantasy magic thing (as a writer, but I like reading it), so he won't come back to life... but... I'm not going to ruin it, you'll just have to wait to find out! Thanks for reviewing!

crazy girl: Thank you! Nice name, by the way. XD Thanks for reviewing!

PriestessLennoue: YAY I made another person cry! -dances- yea, I know school's over, but I'm a lazy butt when it comes to summer, plus my school got out pretty late... and I'm a slow writer. Well I updated mine, so update your story! Thanks for reviewing!

So, please review! The next chapter should be just as long and probably even longer, so I'll be working for a while on it. I've got a lot planned for this story though, so if it makes you feel any better, there is NO WAY I am going to discontinue this fic. And once again, I'm gladly accepting any ideas for any KyoUo scenes you want to see (no lemon, though)- I just need more stuff.