The Blossom/Osaka Christmas party seemed to be going well. Mixed couples were dancing their hearts out trying to become the king and queen of the event. Mizuki, Nakao and the other Osaka pretty boys were blending in well. Mizuki was still amazed by how many boys asked Nakao to dance with them. 'I can't believe they don't know,' she thought to herself. But the thought brought a smile to her face. She wasn't paired with Sano, but she was still having a good time.

Nakatsu was getting drinks, so she was standing off to the side waiting patiently for him to return. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rio and Sano dancing to a slowed waltz. When she locked eyes with Sano, she gave him the thumbs-up. He smiled at her and continued dancing with Rio. She felt her heart skip a beat when his lips turned up into a smile. She remembered the first time they met. He was so closed off to her in the beginning, but somehow they managed to become the best of friends.

"Here you go!" Nakatsu said appearing next to her with two glasses of lemonade.

"Thanks," she smiled to him. She gulped down the drink and set the cup onto the table next to her. She couldn't forget that she was a girl that was supposed to be a boy dressed up as a girl. She's already slipped up a couple of times, her feminine side coming out. Dressing up in such a beautiful dress, makeup and high heels brought out the woman in her. 'My God, this can get confusing,' she thought.

A loud voice boomed over the speaker system. "All right! Time for the mix and match portion of the evening!" said one of the teachers from the Blossom school. "Will all the girls and boys separate from each other, please." Everyone did so, and in a few moments there were two separate groups of Osaka boys and Blossom girls. "We're going to do something a little different this year!" chimed in the female voice. "Rather than willfully becoming someone's dance partner for the next dance, you will be blindfolded."

"What?" Mizuki gasped. She looked at Rio worriedly, but Rio could do nothing but offer her a shaky smile.

"I'm sure everything will be all right," Rio said trying to comfort Mizuki. "Don't worry, just act casually. Who knows, maybe it will be Sano that will bump into you and choose you," she said with a wink.

Mizku could feel herself blush at the thought. "Maybe…" She still couldn't let her guard down. She's been careless way too many times already. But dancing with Sano would be nice…

Before she knew it, someone had wrapped a blindfold over her eyes. She stiffened, fearing that she'll be paired with someone that gave her goose bumps… like Oscar. She felt someone gently leading her to a specific spot and the hands left her. 'What's going on? Are we being lined up or something?'

"Ok! Everybody blindfolded? Great! You all have been randomly placed in front of a student from the opposite school. Now here's what you do. Take two steps forward until you feel the next person in front of you. That will be your partner for the next dance. Here are the rules. You may not give each other your names, but you may talk about yourselves. After the dance, you may remove your blindfold and see who your partner is. Ready?"

Mizuki didn't like this one bit. This was possibly the worst thing that could happen tonight. But she couldn't back out now. She let out a long breath, and took the two steps, lifting her hands feeling for a body. She had every intention of feeling that person first before he could get to her. She still had to protect herself even if she was in disguise. She remembered with dread that she had taken her vest off.

To her surprise, she felt her fingers entwine with someone else's. They were gentle and smooth to touch. His hands were on her shoulders, balancing the distance between their bodies. "I found you," he said with amusement.

Her ears strained to recognize the voice, but she had a feeling that he was disguising it.

"I suppose you did," she said, lowering her voice. She felt one of his hands lower to the small of her back and the other took hold of her hand. Her free hand rested on his shoulder. He was tall, maybe even taller than Sano. He also felt strong and confident. For a moment, she imagined Sano being the one in front of her, holding her.

The music began to play, and she felt him guiding her away from the large mass of bodies. She heard other couples shuffling away, trying to avoid colliding with others. It was a slow dance, but just the right bump or shove could send you to your feet. "So," her partner began. "I can't really ask what your name is, so I guess I'll ask what you like to do for fun? I'd rather not talk about school. This is meant to be a joyous night, spent away from the thought of studying."

She couldn't agree more, and let out a small laugh. "You're right. Let's see…" she said trailing off. He held her close, but their bodies weren't completely touching. It seemed that he respected her privacy to which she was extremely grateful for. "I like watching tv, reading… I really like sports."

"Oh?" he asked with curiosity. "Like what?" He naturally swayed to the music, pulling her along with him.

"I like a lot of them actually," she said. She wanted to say that high jump was her favorite, but that was a sport she liked to watch. "But actually, I hate soccer." She remembered one of her first days at Osaka. Nakatsu had accidentally hit her, and she passed out. Next thing she knew, she was in Umeda's office. She remembered when Nakatsu was bawling his eyes out asking her for her forgiveness. She let out another laugh, unable to control herself.

He laughed with her too. She guessed that laughter was just contagious. "Can I ask why?" he said in between breaths.

"Got knocked out," she said, calming herself.

"You girls must play pretty brutal out there," he said. He released his hand from her back and raised their arms high so that she could twirl gracefully underneath. He caught her, then placed his hand on her back again.

"You're a good dancer," he said.

"Well, I've had a lot of practice," she said. And that was the truth. She thanked God that Rio was a good teacher. "What about you? You haven't stepped on my toes the whole time. You're not so bad yourself."

"I would like to say that I worked hard for my moves, but alas I must admit that I am a natural. It runs in the family," he said. "Any last questions for me? It sounds like the song is about to end. I must say that it's nice dancing with you."

Mizuki swallowed. Well, he was obviously a boy from Osaka and he seemed really cool to hang out with. Maybe she'll recognize him at school and manage to befriend him. It wouldn't be so bad to make new friends. Maybe that's why they decided to set up the mix and match dance this way. "It's nice dancing with you as well. I believe that you're a natural," she said, a smile played on her lips. "Is there anything else you're a natural at?" she asked him.

She felt a shift of movement, and suddenly felt warm lips on hers. It lasted for a few seconds, and it never progressed into anything more than him placing his mouth on hers. It was friendly, non predatory. She didn't stop it because she was in shock. When logic finally settled in, she pulled her mouth away. Her cheeks were burning up, and her hand on his shoulder fell away, but she could feel him still grasping onto her other hand.

The music ended on a long drawn out note, and the cheery voice was back again. "Did everybody have a good time?" There were a few shouts and hollers, and even some applause. "Ok then! Hope you made some friends. You may remove your blindfolds now!"

Mizuki pulled her hand out of his grasp. She lifted her fingers to the knot of the blindfold, gently untying it. She heard him do the same. When she pulled off the blindfold and saw who were partner was, she let out a surprised gasp.

His eyes locked into hers and he stepped back in surprise. "My God… Mizuki!"

She felt the blindfold drop from her fingers. "Nanba?" she managed to squeak out. She blinked several times before she realized he was staring at her wide-eyed with his mouth hanging wide open. She didn't see any disgust in his eyes, just surprise. "Um… uh…" she stuttered trying to think of something to say.

"Well, I…" Nanba said. He let out a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry…"

"It's ok," Mizuki said. Her nerves were jumping around wildly in her body. She had to play it cool. Freaking out would only make things worse. "Um… our secret?" she asked, hopefully.

He looked at her for a moment more taking in the shock. He smiled suddenly, and placed his hand on her head in an affectionate manner. "Our secret." They shared a relieved laugh that was transformed into a real one.

Later that night, Nakatsu had passed out from some unknown reason, grape juice was spilled onto her dress, but in the end she managed to get her dance with Sano. Other than the awkward moment she shared with Nanba, this had to be the best night of her life. She managed to give Sano his birthday present, and to top off the wonderful night she saw it snowing for the first time.

She ran outside, dancing around in the falling flakes. "You're just like a little kid," she heard Sano say.

"But I've never actually seen it snow! I saw snow on the ground when I went skiing… but…" she started, but then he put his jacket around her shoulders.

"You're gonna catch a cold," he said, smiling down on her.

She grinned up back at him. It really felt like they were boyfriend and girlfriend at that moment. She wanted to cherish it for as long as she could. For the remainder of the night, they just stood next to each other, watching as the snowfall, in comfortable silence.