I walked to the car and waved bye to Amu. "Normal day," I smiled to myself.

"Rima," my mother said as I opened the car door.

"Yes mother?" She started driving.

"What do you think about tea ceremonies? Traditional Japanese ceremonies to be exact," I thought about it. Tea Ceremonies like what we see at the cultural festivals or something?

"It's alright," my tone indifferent.

"How's your homework load?"
"It's okay. Mr. Nikaido gives a decent amount homework." I was starting to get suspicious. Why would my mom ask all these questions? I gave a closer look at her though the mirror. She didn't have the stressed out look she usually has on. As good as that was, I became even more concerned with her. Kusukusu giggled.

"Rima look! Funny face!" she pulled her cheeks wide and stuck out her tongue. I smiled at my chara and soon forgot about mom.

At dinner we were eating in silence like we always do. Dad was still at work. Same as ever right? Nope. The room felt awkward now. "Rima," I looked up. Mom had a serious look on her face. "do you feel like I don't spend time with you often?" I choked.

"What?"

"You heard what I said. Now tell me the truth. I won't get mad. I promise,"

"Well," I started. How the hell was I supposed to tell the truth and make her happy at the same time? "i think sometimes I would like to spend time with you and Dad more-"

"Without us fighting?"

I shuddered. "Yes,"

Mom lifted her eyes to the ceiling. "Rima, you know that my work schedule has changed and lately I've been thinking of you and your father. I don't want you to be involved in our fights and your father and I need some time apart to space out and think things more clearly you know?" There was a lump in my throat. Divorce? Not now! I silently prayed. Please no, anything but divorce. "I talked it over with your father and he agrees with me. We promised not to fight as much anymore." I hung on to every word she said. "and you know that I've been taking cultural Sado (a/n that's a tea ceremony) classes right? "

Uh sure? I nodded my heavy head. "and I've been thinking about how for the past years I've been spending all my time arguing with your father and not spending time with you."

"The past is the past mother," I calmly told her. "I forgive you,"

"That's no reason for forgetting my daughter," she argued with her eyes still glued somewhere above my head. "So, to make up for that, I signed you up for classes with me," she finally looked at me and gave a genuine soft smile.

"Look Rima! Your Mommy's smiling. Keep smilin' Rima's mom!" Kusukusu cheered on.
What?! I did not want to spend two through three hours every week learning how to serve tea!

"So.. you're not divorcing with Dad?" Mom gave me a look.

"Of course not! He just said he agrees with the whole fighting thing and said it was alright for us to spend time apart but spend more time with you! Oh wouldn't this class be fun? They even have a little kids table just for you!" LITTLE KID! I'M IN SIXTH GRADE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! So yeahh, I'm short, but I grew taller. I'm just about to Yaya's height in fact! (hehe, growth spurts.)

"Mom, are you sure about this?" I asked.

"Of course I'm sure honey. I already signed you up so no turning back. Didn't you want some mother-daughter time after all?" I gave a shaky nod. I wasn't sure anymore.

"But can't I go to Amu's house and play instead?"

Mom had a mini blow-up. "No Rima, how would I know if you really are just playing hooky or something with your friend? You play on the streets or something, and next thing you know you get kidnapped again. I haven't even met Amu close up yet!"

Oh my gosh. Did my mother actually use the word 'hooky'?! Sigh. She's still kinda paranoid about the kidnapping incident. But then again, what kind of parent wouldn't be? She sighed. "I'm sorry Rima, but this really could be a nice experience for you. With this knowledge you can turn into a very refined young lady. After all, Mrs. Fujisaki is a great teacher," Refined? Since when was I not 'refined'? Hmmm..... Fujisaki? For some reason, I imagined a woman with a big ball of fire coming from her hands like in Dragon Ball Z or something. hey, wasn't her husband on T.V once or something? (See episode 9 for reference, lol.) Then it hit me. FUJISAKI? AS IN NAGI- I stopped at the thought of his name. I swallowed hard.

"Really Mother? Do we go to their house and take the classes there?"

"Not house Rima. MANSION. It's huge! But everything is decorated so simply and traditionally. You're going to love it there!"

Okay. He never told me he lived in a mansion. Then again, we don't talk much at all. I suddenly realized how much I actually tolerated him at school since going to the mall in December with Amu and him. Wow, I softened up A LOT. Now, I feel like I hate him again. I don't know why. Oh well. This feeling of hate's kinda making me feel better cause right now I feel like I'm gonna barf.

"Okay," I told my mom. "I'm done eating now," I excused myself upstairs.

"Rima Rima! Isn't that great! You can get to play with Nagi while mom takes tea classes!" Kusukusu cheered and bounced around in midair. Not helping. At times like these I get very annoyed with Kusukusu. I started running up to my room, shut the door tight, and smashed my head into a pillow.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Kusukusu wants to play too! HIIIIIIIIII !!!!!!! RRRRIIIMMMAAAA-CCCHHHHAAANNN!!!!!"

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yay! another rimahiko! x3 This might be a longer story, but right now i don't know where I really want to go with this. I now see that my chapters are very very short. xD let's see how this'll turn out. suggestions for this fic or constructive critism is always appreciated! This is all very rough draft material xP tell me if you see any grammar errors especially! I take pride in knowing that my first draft has beautiful spelling and grammar. *^___^* reviews are love! (and I-N-S-P-I-R-A-T-I-O-N!) ~x3