Rei laughed as Nekoichi blushed "Oh yeah go ahead laugh I don't care!" Nekoichi huffed turning his head to the side "Sorry, sorry!" Rei said through a snicker she then quitened herself down "So, why the cat themed name?" Rei asked "Oh, that?" Nekoichi replied "My grandmother said that our ancestors worshipped cats as symbols of good luck" Nekoichi said "So, they decided to add Neko to their names thinking it would increase their luck" Nekoichi said then he sighed "And it would seem that tradition wasn't forgotten" he gumbled "That's really crazy" Rei giggled "Tell me about it, I have a sister named Nekohana, and a mother named Nekohara" Nekoichi said "Wow, sounds like a whole cat family" Rei said a bit in awe. "Yeah, it gets confusing when calling someone at home" Nekoichi replied "One time I was calling my sister and she and my Mom answered" Nekoichi complained "I see.." Rei smiled "He must have a really hard time at home" Rei thought to herself "Does your Dad have a cat themed name?" Rei asked "Hm, no he has a normal name" Nekoichi replied "Oh, so it's just you, your mother and sister that have cat themed names?" Rei aksed "Yeah,since were all from the same clan unlike my Dad" Nekoichi said. Nekoichi and Rei had eaten almost half of what they had gotten for lunch while they continued to talk thats when the bell signaling the end of the lunch period rang "Oh the bell, we should get back to class" Rei said "Alright" Nekoichi said and they picked up their half empty plates and went place them alongside other plates left by other students and they walked out of the lunchroom together and continued talking and that's when a though came across Nekoichi's head "Uh Rei?" he said "Hm? What is it?" Rei asked raising an eyebrow "Uhm, you said that you were a new student last year, right?" Nekoichi asked "Yeah" Rei replied "And?" she asked "Well, shouldn't you be a second year?" Nekoichi asked "Oh..That.." Rei said a bit of sadness in her tone "I'm sorry, am I asking too much I mean I only just met you" Nekoichi said with an apologetic look. "No, no, It's alright" Rei said with a smile "The reason I'm still a first year is that because I was absent from school alot" Rei said "Were you really sick or something?" Nekoichi asked with a concerned look "Oh, no! That's not the reason" Rei said "It was because I was scared being the new kid at a different school" Rei said "I was so scared to come to school because I didn't know anybody here at all" Rei went on "And so, I stayed home because I was scared of being alone" Rei frowned Nekoichi said nothing but he knew what Rei was talking about he to had done the same thing but, for a different reason "So, when I saw you keeping quiet and to yourself in class I.." Rei paused "I was reminded of myself" Rei said looking at Nekoichi "And that made me want to go over and talk with you" Rei said "And I'm glad I did" Rei added "Huh, Why?" Nekoichi asked "Because, now I know you and I can become friends" Rei said with a bright smile Nekoichi blushed and felt his heart skip a beat "Oh, I see" Nekoichi looked away from Rei's smiling face. Never in his life had someone called him their friend especially a girl usually girls wanted to be his friends because they said he was cute but Rei didn't seem to have that motive behind her and it made Nekoichi's heart beat wildly "Uhm, if were friends then what should I call you?" Nekoichi asked looking at Rei still slightly blushing "Oh, well, let me see?" Rei thought a answer dinged in her head "How about you call me Rei-chan?" Rei proposed "Okay, that sounds fine, Rei-chan" Nekoichi said with a smile Rei felt her face grow hot she quickly looked away from Nekoichi's smiling face her heart pounding like crazy in her chest she fake coughed and turned and looked at Nekoichi "So, then, can I call you Neko-kun?" Rei asked Nekoichi made a hissing sound like a cat who was displeased Rei laughed nervously "Uhm, Ichi-kun?" Rei said Nekoichi's spikey hair flickered like a cat's ears would when happy and the cowlick on his head shook like a happy cats tail "Yeah, that sounds okay" Nekoichi said "Okay then, Ichi-kun" Rei said and the two smiled at each other and laughed as they made their way back to class. When the got back to class it was back to writing notes and Nekoichi craning his neck to see what was written on the board Rei laughed seeing Nekoichi strane his neck to see over the student in front of hims head. Soon after the bell for the end of the day rang and everyone in class started moving packing their bags and putting books back into their desks and some noisily heading out the door as Nekoichi was packing his notebook into his bag when Rei walked up to his desk "Hey, Ichi-kun?" Rei asked wiggling around with her hands behind her back "Yeah? What is it Rei-chan?" Nekoichi asked with a smile "Uhm,I was wondering if you wanted to walk home together?" she asked blushing her eyes wandered a bit like she was trying not to make eye contact with him "Sure, where do you live?" Nekoichi asked "Wha?" Rei said finally making eye contact she was blushing harder "Why do you need to know that?" Rei asked "So I know if we live in the same area so that we can walk the whole way home" Nekoichi asked and suddenly he blushed realizing what he just said "Oh, uh, I live a bit to the east of the school" Rei said "Oh, I live around their to!" Nekoichi said "Really? Where?" Rei asked "We live in an apartment complex that's east of the conveniance store" Nekoichi replied "I know that place!" Rei said "What apartment number do you live in?" she asked with a smile on her face "Apartment 207" Nekoichi said. "Uh, would it be weird if I came visit sometime?" Rei asked her whole face was red her question caused Nekoichi to grow redder in the face as well "Ah, sure just let me know whenever you want to come over" he said "O..Okay" Rei said it seemed like a wave a heat was coming from both of them together from how hot their faces were becoming the longer they talked with one another. "Uh, so you wanna get going?" Rei asked fidgeting "Ah, sure let's go!"Nekoichi said with a start and he shot up from his desk and the two of them walked out the classroom side by side. As they walked to the exit they could feal eyes on them Nekoichi felt it more then Rei did but being with her made him somehow forget people were even looking "Why am I like this?" Nekoichi asked himself "I just met this girl and yet whenever I talk to her my face gets hot, and my heart starts pounding" he wondered what had come over him Rei was thinking the same thing as she glanced over at Nekoichi ocassianlly "Why is it that a boy I just met is making me so nervous?" she asked herself "Whenever I'm near him my heart starts beating in my chest" she added Nekoichi could feal Rei looking at him "Is something the matter?" he asked "Huh? uh? no! Nothing!" she said flustered they soon exited the school building and they started their walk home together as they did nither one said a thing to the other they were avoiding eye contact with one another hiding the furiously red faces Nekochin gulped and decided to break the silence "So, how long have you live here?" Nekoichi asked "Huh? Oh! uh" Rei stuttered looking at Nekoichi "Well, we moved her last year so we really haven't lived here that long" Rei said "I'm still learning how to get around town" Rei laughed "Oh, but since you've been here longer then I have, could you show me around sometime?" Nekoichi asked "Wha?"Rei gasped she felt her face grow even hotter then it already was "Sorry, am I asking too much of you?" Nekoichi asked with an apologetic face "Oh, No, No! It's no trouble! Sure, how about on saturday? There's no school on Saturday" Rei said "Sure, Saturday" Nekoichi said he blushed hard after his reply "Alright then, I'll show you around town Saturday!" Rei said with a smile then she too blushed hard and silence formed between them again and lasted until the got to an intersection "Alright, I live this way" Rei said pointing to the left of the intersection "And I live that way" Nekoichi said pointing straight "Oh, then see you at school tommorow Ichi-kun" Rei said "Sure, see ya Rei-chan" Nekoichi said "Don't forget about Saturday!" Rei said as she ran off with a wave "Okay! I won't!" Nekoichi said waving back then the sudden realization hit him "Did I just ask Rei-chan on a date?" he asked himself and he felt his face get really hot if he were in a anime steam would be coming off his head as Rei walked home her face was also red hot "Did me and Ichi-kun agree to go on a date?" she asked herself. Nekoichi got home later that evening when he went into his familes apartment he called out "I'm home!" he yelled happily "Welcome home onii-chan" said a female voice and in walked his sister she was short like him and she had the same spikey hair that resembled cat ears and she had a long ponytail that reached down to her waist with the way it moved it was like a cats tail shaking around her neck was a string necklace with a bell tied to the end "Hey Hana-chan" Nekoichi said petting his sister on the head she blushed his sisters full name was Nekohana but Nekoichi liked to call her Hana-chan "You seem happy onii-chan" Nekohana said with a smile "I do?" he asked "Yeah, this morning you seemed kinda sad but now you seem really happy about something" Nekohana replied "Did something good happen at school?" she asked with a smile "You could say that" Nekoichi said with a bright smile Nekohana smiled seeing her brother so happy for once "Welcome home dear" came his mothers voice as she enetred the room "Hey Mom" Nekoichi said "My, my, don't you sound happy!" his mother said with a smile "Come on Mom, Hana said that too" Nekoichi said "Well it's true!" his mother said "I've never heard you sound so happy before!" his mother said "Did something happen that made you so happy?" his mother asked "He said something happened at school that made him really happy" Nekohana said "Oh, is that so?" his mother said with a big smile "Hana!" Nekoichi shouted blushing "Come on Nekochin! Tell your mother whats made you so happy?" she said with a hum "Well, I made a friend at school" Nekoichi said blushing harder "Ah! You made a friend on your first day at your new school!" his mother said happily "That make me so happy!" she added "And it's a girl" Nekoichi said his face growing redder "Not only did you make a friend but it's a girl as well!" his mother squelled "What's her name!?"she asked excitedly her tied up hair in back of her swung back and forth like a cats tail "Uhm, Rei, her names Rei" Nekoichi said "She's a girl in my class" Nekoichi said "And she's in the same class as you!" his mother said with shining eyes "You mother is so happy for you!" she said "And, on Saturday me and her are going to walk around together on our day off from school" Nekoici said "Aw! You two just met and your already going out on a date!" his mother said "Mom!" Nekoichi shouted blushing furiosly "She's just showing me around town because she's lived here longer then me!" Nekoichi said "Whatever you say dear!" his mother said with a smile and a hum "Can you beleive it Hana-chan! Your brother has a date with a girl!" his mother said happily but for some reason Nekohana didn't seem happy at all "Yeah, that's amazing good for you onii-chan" Nekohana said a hint of sadness in her tone "Hana?" Nekoichi said concerned "I'm going to go lay down in my room" Nekohana said and she walked off "Hana-chan?" Nekoichi said with a sad lookon his face what made his sister become so sad all of a sudden "Wait until your father hears about this when he gets home from work!" his mother giggled and walked off "Mom! Please!" Nekoichi shouted running after his mother. Nekohana walked into her bedroom and she closed the door behind her and she walked over to her bed and she slumped down onto it she was stiffling a cry she uncovered her face and lowly she said "Stupid onii-chan!" with tears in her eyes and her face red holding the bell tied to the necklace around her neck. [End of Part 2 & Chapter 2]