Katsumi awoke the next morning to the warm sunshine streaming in through her window, tangled in the silky sky blue bed sheets of the hotel's bed. "Ngh..." she mutters quietly, mindful of the loss of feeling in her right arm.

"Ugh... What time is it...?" she glances at the clock that read '10:00 am'. "WHAT?!" she wails, rushing to get up. "Shit... How am I going to change...?"

She slowly, but surely dressed in her ever so perfectly ironed clothes. She looked as neat as ever, surprisingly, despite her right arm.

"I have work to do." she declares, grabbing her bag with her left hand, almost dropping it in the process. 

"Oh, the princess is awake! Hi, Kat!" Baba calls as she walks in, and she was surprised to see the whole group and bidders today, seeing as it was supposed to be a trip for the group today. "What are you still doing here?"

"Waiting for you, of course! We need you on the trip, don't we?" Naka beams at her friend.

"B-But... How long have you been waiting?" "Don't worry about that! You're coming, right?"

"I have work, though..." "Come on, you haven't gone on any normal trips with us...!" Chii urges and soon, both girls were tugging on Kat.

"Fine. Where are we going?" "Surprise!"

~*****~

"An... Amusement park...?" 

The group stood by the gates of an amusement park filled with people laughing and chatting.

"If we were coming here, you could've just told me and I could've rented out the whole thing for you. You can just ask. Here let me-" 

"NO!" they call out in unison just as Katsumi pulled out her check book. "Hm? What's up?"

"It's fine! Besides, it's more fun with more people!" Kanji cheers, gesturing to the big crowd on the other side of the gates. "You're just looking for a way to flirt with chicks." Taketo snickers.

"Not true! I have Naka! I-" he slaps his hand over his mouth when he realizes his words. Chii and Katsumi flash each other grins.

"WE KNEW IT!!!"

The two blush as the others burst out in laughter, but Shindo comes back with a sullen look. "Sorry guys, but it seems that the ticket price doesn't fit our budget and too many people are taking up the park."

"Then what'll we do?" Nagisa mutters, looking through the iron gates wistfully.

"You guys will thank me later." they hear Katsumi and when they all turn, Homare and her were running towards the booth, hand in hand. 

"I still bet they're going to end up a couple." Taketo bets with a smirk, staring after them. "Wait, what are they doing, anyway?" Nagisa chimes with a question.

"I'm guessing she's buying us things... Again." Yasuto mutters. 

"I guess we might as well thank her then..."

"I got it! VIP tickets!" Katsumi comes prancing back to them with Homare in tow. "What?! But don't you only need regular tickets?" Shindo asks but she only shrugs.

"I shouldn't really care. I was going to get regular tickets but I'm a sponsor for this place so... yeah."

"A sponsor...?" Naka mutters, confused. "I helped build this place with money. Gave them some to build a few things here and there. No more talking, let's go!"

~*****~

"Wow... It is crowded in here." Nagisa grunts, trying to push through people to stay together with the group. 

"Don't worry about that. You have VIP passes. Show it to the person operating the ride and you skip to the head of the line. VIP passes are hard to get here so make the most of it."

"What should we do first, Kan?!" Naka bounces on her feet as she tugs on the arm of her boyfriend. "Calm down, Naka." he soothes. 

"Let's all go to the haunted house together!!" Taketo grins, leading the group through the throng of people. They soon arrive at the ride where the building looks like an old mansion, the floors rickety looking and the walls about to crumble.

"Katsumi, what do you think?" the girl was staring with interest at the house. "I've never been to this, what you call a... 'haunted house'...?"

"Well you should try it! It's awesome!" Yasuto laughs, tugging on Chii's arm.

"Aww, my two besties are leaving... I can't believe Kanji and Yasu are stealing them.." Katsumi steers the subject away with teasing the two, who blush furiously.

"Why are you two keeping relationships from me?!" she accuses playfully. "Well... We..."

"Anyway... What's in this thing? It looks like people have fun in it..." she glances towards the exit, where people were walking out, laughing. "You'll find out. So will you come?"

"Sure... Mr. Shindo, you coming?" "I'm fine. I'll go get myself a coffee-" "Ooh! Shindo's scared!" Kanji pokes.

"What?! No!" 

"Then come with us." Naka joins, challenging the teacher, who stutters a confident reply.

"F-Fine! But don't come crying to me when you start crying!" 

"I have Kanji! I'll be fine!"

The first inside was Taketo, who skipped to the front with his pass, followed by Nagisa who was fangirled over as he followed Taketo.  More screams from girls in the line erupted as Shindo followed with Kanji and Yasuto and their girlfriends of course.

The last two inside was Homare and Katsumi, who trudged slowly after them. But Katsumi could hear the girl's excited whispers nearby as Homare walked along side her. 

"Wow... that guy is like, sooo hot." 

"Yeah, but the girl beside him is no match. I can replace her easily." 

"Wait, Ai, isn't that girl from that modeling magazine we read a week ago? Katsumi Yuriko! You said you wanted to be like her, didn't you?"

"Well she doesn't look as pretty in person. Just 'cause she's rich doesn't mean she's better than all of us."

Katsumi felt a bit dejected from their words and out of consciousness she grasps her right arm with her left. She wanted to turn away when an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"I hope you won't listen to what they're saying. You're fine the way you are." Homare mutters, pulling her close. She looks down with a small smile on her lips as she snuggles closer to the boy. "Thanks, Homare..."

"Ugh, they're dating?!" "Pathetic. I can be so much better."

"Shut up. She's so much better than you if you have to insult her to feel better about yourselves." But when Homare berates the girls, Katsumi was shocked and raised her gaze to him. "I know why you don't have any boyfriends now." he grins cockily before leading them past the long line into the entrance, where the rest were waiting with a guide, wearing smiles.

"Pft, good job protecting your girlfriend, Homare." Taketo teases. "Yeah, you two looked like a couple." And Nagisa, too?

"Shut up, Kanzaki. She's not my girlfriend."

At his words, Kat couldn't deny the pang of pain in her chest but she ignored it as they followed after the guide into the house.

Wanting to talk to someone, she turned to none other than Homare. 

"Homare...?"

"What?" but his cold tone and words hurt her. Why was he suddenly so... distant? He didn't turn to her at all with the same gentle gaze he used. His tone was suddenly so... indifferent.

"N-Nevermind."

But why does it hurt?