Over the next week, the air between Yukio and I remained awkward. Our meals together were uncomfortably silent, and our daily banter ceased to exist. The only time we appeared to be on good terms was while in class. However, even then our exchanges were brief. I only answered questions when I knew no one else would reply, and when I would speak, I wouldn't look him in the eye. As expected, his replies were professional and unassuming. Yet, despite our minor effort, my classmates seemed to catch on to our quarrel. Bon had tried to approach me in between classes to question it, but I had waved him off, saying it was nothing and it would blow over. Izumo, on the other hand, took a more straight-forward approach. She had elbowed me in the middle of Demon History and demanded I talk about it. Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to escape since class was in session and I didn't want to create a scene. However, after remaining tight-lipped for several minutes, she gave up on interrogating me.

Even Kuro was behaving differently while I was around. While I had expected him to give me an earful after I'd returned that evening, he had remained silent. The past few nights, he had taken to sleeping on Yukio's bed, and I didn't know if that meant he was angry with me or if my actions made him that depressed. My already restless sleep took a turn for the worse afterward. My nightmares containing graphic depictions of my self harm. They evolved as the nights passed, with my most recent dreams portraying suicide attempts. I would wake up after I had ended my life, my skin crawling and heart pounding. Falling back to sleep after that was basically impossible and I spent most of the early morning contemplating my pathetic existence.

I sighed and pulled a box down from the top shelf in the closet. Opening the lid, I pulled out a blue silk tie. Bittersweet memories flooded my mind, recalling the events my family had attended while wearing it. I moved to put it on, tying it and adjusting it until it sat snugly against my collar. My eyes moved down to the remaining item in the box and I pulled it out, my fingers running along the smooth fabric.

Just then, the bedroom door opened. My eyes flickered up, seeing Yukio walk in, dressed similarly to myself. I eyed his dress shirt and noting the missing article that should lay on top. I swallowed and held out the teal length of fabric. There was a moment of awkwardness between us before his hand rose to accept the tie. The air shifted between us as we came to a sort of silent agreement. Tonight should be about having fun together. I recalled his earlier remarks about creating memories while I still could. This whole situation was trivial when I viewed it from a further perspective. I only had one week left, and it would be foolish to avoid him.

I cleared my throat, turning on my heels and walking to the nearby window. "Dad would be beside himself, right now. He'd take so many photos of us that he wouldn't have any memory left on his phone."

There was an airy laugh from behind me, "we'd also be extremely late to the dance. He'd always need one more picture."

A sad smile crossed my lips and I turned around once more, seeing his expression mirror my own. "Yeah, we'll have to take a few tonight. If we don't, he'll start turning in his grave." His smile grew slightly wider and I saw relief flash in his eyes. He moved to the side, going toward the closet and flipping through the hangers. He stopped at his Exorcist jacket, reaching into the pocket and retrieving something. He turned back around, his hand still inside his suit jacket.

He adjusted his tie once more and tilted his head in the direction of the door. "I bringing gum, just in case you need it." I scoffed, but happiness pulled at my heart at his teasing. "Should we get going?" I nodded and we began making our way out the hallway and down the flights of stairs. He started filling me in on a few things that I'd missed over the last few days and I laughed at a few of his responses.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Kuro was sitting by the door. He cocked his head to the side. Curiosity flashed in his eyes, but a small smile played on his lips. "Have fun!" I smiled back at him and told him not to create too much chaos while we were gone.

Yukio and I chatted as we neared the courtyard, merging with the dozens of other classmates in formal attire. He held open the door for me and music poured out from inside. We made the short walk to the gym. Inside, the typical lights were off, but several party lights were flashing, scattering the walls with various shapes and colors. Popular songs blasted from the dozens of speakers around us as a sea of bodies swayed to the rhythm. Yukio scanned the room, a smile crossing his features as he pushed forward, passing by several groups of people. I followed closely behind, spotting a few familiar faces not too far in front. Bon waved us over and as we neared, I saw that Koneko was beside him. Both had on similar outfits as we did, but Bon decided to skip on the tie, instead choosing to leave his collar unbuttoned for a more casual look. We got closer and I leaned in, needing to shout over the music. "Where's Shima?"

Bon rolled his eyes playfully, a hint of a smirk on his lips. "With Shiemi." I should've figured as much and I nodded in response. The teen gestured to our suits. "Matching ties? Isn't that a bit cringey?" I laughed and told him off, they weren't that bad. And the ties matched our eyes, not each other. We all remained silent for a few minutes, listening to the music and watching the people around us. Eventually, I felt Yukio poke an elbow into my side. I glanced over at him and he pointed somewhere in the crowd. I followed his movements, my eyes landing on his target. Instantly, my face heated.

I could hear his laughter and he put a hand on my shoulder, pushing my forward. "Go on!" I stumbled, throwing a glare over my shoulder before walking forward. She was scanning the crowd like I had, and after a few seconds she spotted me. Her purple hair was pulled up into a loose bun, a few jeweled pins poking out and sparkling as the lights flashed over them. She was wearing earrings and had a bracelet on her right wrist. Both matched the pins in her hair and twinkled under the flickering lights. I couldn't make out the color of her dress, but I knew she was wearing the pink one she favored. I had to admit, I saw why she liked it so much. The sleeves were off the shoulder, leaving her clavicles on display, which lead down to a sweetheart neckline. The body of the dress had an intricate pattern. I wasn't the greatest with fabrics, but I knew it was lace, and that there were several, thinner layers underneath. It pulled in at her waist before falling over her hips. The multiple layers making it flare out from her body slightly before hemming right before her knees. I didn't pay much attention to her shoes, but I saw she was a few inches taller than normal, so I assumed they were heels. My eyes wandered back up to her's as she moved forward, her dress swaying as she walked.

Her mouth pulled up slightly at the corners. A shine that couldn't possibly be natural had my gaze fixated and I wondered if she was wearing lip gloss. Now that I was looking a little closer, I believed she was wearing mascara, too. She stopped in front of me and tried to speak over the volume of the speakers. "It took you long enough."

"You look beautiful," I blurted out. Immediately, she dropped her gaze and moved to clasp her hands loosely in front of her. Was she being shy? Knowing I caused such a reaction had something stir inside my abdomen, but I didn't focus on it. I laughed and shook my head. "Oh come on, you put the effort in, I can tell. You look pretty, so just take the compliment." She mumbled something under her breath, but I couldn't hear it. I was able to read her lips, however, and I chuckled when I realized she'd told me to shut up. I held my hand out to her, "come on, the other's are over this way." She looked at my raised palm for a few seconds before slipping her hand into my own. I turned to the side, pulling her in the direction of our group. I wouldn't admit it out loud, but the feeling of her hand in mine caused a tingling sensation over my skin and I couldn't help but hold my breath as we walked.

We reached our destination, and I saw Bon's eyes grow wide. Izumo dropped her hand and walked up to my brother, striking up a conversation. Suguro took the opportunity and threw an arm around my shoulder. He brought his face close to my ear and whispered, but it wasn't like anyone would be able to hear him, anyway. "When the hell did that happen?" I tried to play it off casually by shrugging and he laughed, "well, good luck, she's a little too feisty."

He dropped his arm, but as soon as he did, another took his place. Surprised, I turned in the direction of it's owner. I blanched when it was Shura who had appeared. I wasn't expecting her to be here. To be honest, how was she even able to get in? I glanced at her outfit, feeling a bit of relief when I saw she had worn more modest clothing. "I need to talk to you." She shouted over the music, her face holding no emotion. I quirked an eyebrow at her and she urged again. "It's important."

Oh no, urgent news from her was never positive. I shook my head in response. "Can it wait?"

She copied my head shake and tried to pull me away from the group. "It's about the Grigori." The second the name came out of her mouth, I pulled away. No, I didn't want to hear it, not tonight.

"Absolutely not, tell me after the dance is over." She looked like she was about to argue, but I cut her off before she could speak. "Unless I need to know about it right this instant; it can wait. Just let me have fun tonight." She stared at me heavily and I could tell she was warring with herself. Finally she sighed, waving me off and rubbing her forehead.

I turned back to the group, joining in on the conversations. I tried to shove aside my apprehension about Shura's presence and I soon found myself throughly engrossed socially with Koneko about whether or not certain movies were still relevant in pop culture. Songs faded in and out, and after several had played through, familiar chords played through the speaker. My eyes met Yukio's and he smiled. "Remember how dad would always stop what he was doing when this played?" The brunet nodded with nostalgia written in his features. "He'd pull us to our feet and make us dance with him." I smiled and he grabbed my hand, pulling me to the dance floor. Memories of our happy family played through my head as the melody continued. Yukio even started laughing as we danced horribly to the song. You'd think with all of our battle training that we would be able to move our bodies in sync, but I guess that's why we chose to become Exorcists and not dancers. A blinding light flashed and I flinched, turning toward its direction. I blinked away the spots that appeared in my vision, seeing a girl holding a camera. She gave me a thumbs up and started walking away. Yukio's laugh could be heard over the music and he mentioned something about yearbook photos.

I continued to dance to the beat, bumping into my twin a few times. Eventually, the song rolled into the next and we smiled at each other. The joy that I felt seeing the happiness in his eyes was far more rewarding than anything else I could imagine. I'd sacrifice myself a thousand times just to see his smile. We soon returned to the group and I saw that Shima and Shiemi had joined us, holding hands and chatting with the others. Shura seemed to shadow our group, listening into our conversations and adding in every once in awhile. I guess she was chaperoning now.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually, the upbeat tempos of the playlist slowed. The typical dance music dying down and the lyrics changing to cover sweeter topics. I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked over to see Izumo. She had her hand out, and a blush on her cheeks. My cheeks quickly started to heat to match, knowing what she was asking for. I grabbed her hand, feeling a few eyes on us as we started walking closer to the other dancers. We slowed to a stop and she turned to face me, her bottom lip pinned between her teeth. It was cute how bashful she got when it came to this sort of thing. Honestly, I wasn't the most confident, either, but I decided to take the lead for her sake. I pulled her toward me gently, wrapping my free hand around her waist. She was stiff at first, but as the songs played, she slowly began to relax. She placed her head on my chest, resting her other hand on my shoulder. I smiled softly, shifting our feet back and forth so we could sway to the music. I found myself listening to the lyrics of each song. They were all some cliché love story, yes, but that didn't mean the songs were bad. At least, that's what I told myself. They weren't really my style, but as our feet moved slowly beneath us, my cheek resting in her hair, I found myself liking the genre.

"There you are." I nearly yelped in surprise when a hand landed on my shoulder. My body stiffed and I darted my eyes over to where Yukio stood beside us. He gave me an apologetic smile. "It's getting late, and Shura said she'd take us out to dinner. You guys ready to go?" I glanced down at the girl in my arms, seeing the content expression on her face as she nodded. I returned my eyes to my twin, seeing the sly sparkle in his eyes at catching us like this. "Come on, it's sukiyaki."

Oh hell yes, tonight couldn't get any better.