Aquatwin: This is a contest entry for the rimahiko summer contest on dA. Special thanks to ~mermaidonfire on dA, she beta read this story for me =D
Summer. It's a time for fun in the sun, for water wars and to laze around all day. Too hang out with friends and to enjoy the sweet time off of school. For any kid in the world who has to face the prison our parents put us in for 3 months, it's the best time of the year when we don't have to deal with it.
That was not the case for me.
My dear mother had decided that instead of just letting me relax while I didn't have to deal with homework and classwork or any real work of any kind was not what summer vacation was meant for. So instead, she tripled my dance practice. Often times she even made me dress up as Nadeshiko when we weren't practicing and tell her about myself. But not the real me.
No. My nadeshiko self.
At first, I thought it was just for performances. You know, summer and all, people wanting something to occupy their time, interviewers wanting to know about 'Nadeshiko' and such.
But my mother had a different idea.
"Summer classes?" I hollered at my mother in my nadeshiko voice. Since I was currently forced into my female alter ego and it was drilled into my mind not to break character, I couldn't bring myself to use my real voice. My mother looked at me sternly.
"Yes, someone is paying the fujisaki academy for personal lessons. You must be there to demonstrate the proper and basic techniques." She was sitting cross-legged, her stone features leaving barely any room for argument. But I wasn't giving up. She was working me to the bone, and now I had to help her teach? That is just too much for a teenage boy as it is. And I'm not just a teenage boy. I have to be a teenage boy and a proper fujisaki lady, and that's a lot of tension on one person.
"But mother-" I started to try and reason, but the look she cut me immediately reminded me to shut up unless I wanted to add another hour to dance practice. Gulping, I muttered a "Hai, mother."
She picked up her tea cup in both of her pale hands, and gestured towards the sliding door. "You're dismissed." She ordered. I bowed like she taught me to do and left. Even though I just really wanted to stay back and debate this more. To try to change her mind. But we're fujisaki's. We rarely change our minds once they're set on something.
As soon as I was out of ear shot, I tore the hair tie out of my hair and groaned. "This is just my luck!" I growled in my normal voice, relieved that I could finally break character. Why must my mother be so set on me being so perfect at being a female? I mean, sure, I love dance, and I'll do what I need to to perfect my dancing, but perfecting my feminine side isn't something I was really up for. Neither was lieing. And whoever this student is, I'll have to lie about my gender...again.
Temari floated on my shoulder and giggled behind her sleeve. "It could be a good experience, Nade-ch- I mean Nagi-kun." Another giggle. I sighed. I guess she was right, but that didn't stop the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Rhythm floated onto my other shoulder and rolled his eyes. "But when will Nagi get a chance to act like a boy again? It's summer and he hasn't done anything but practice dance!" Sliding open my door to my room, I moved across the room and plopped down on the mat that was my bed. Yeah, in this house we were really big on traditional japanese culture.
While I threw my favorite basketball up in the air and caught it repeatedly, my twin chara's continued their argument .
I hate to admit it, but I was sort of curious as to who this student will be.
I hate mama. I hate mama. I hate mama. I hate mama. I hate mama. I hate mama. I hate m-
"Rima, look, funny-face!" My clown-chara squealed, her voice breaching my thoughts. She pulled her cheeks apart and wagged her tongue around. I didn't smile, my face still bore the indifferent look that people had come to know me by.
Why did I currently hate my mama? Oh, because she decided that we needed mother-daughter bonding since it was just us two at the house now. So she signed us up for traditional japanese dance lessons so we could get more in touch with our, and I'm quoting her exact words, "roots".
Despite the fact that I lack any athletic capability and this meant that I won't be able to go to the comedy night shows that were being held all summer, this still wasn't enough reason to hate my mother, right?
WRONG!
The last thing I wanted to do was learn traditional japanese dance. And if that wasn't enough, thinking about that reminded me of the he-she. The hope that I would of been able to escape anything related to the cross-dresser over the summer was immediately thrown out the window as soon as I heard about this.
I was just crossing my fingers I wouldn't somehow run into him at these so-called lessons.
I mean, what are the odds that my mother signed us up for lessons where fujisaki would be? Highly unlikely. Right?
...
I think I just jinxed myself.
Mama pulled up to a huge mansion. I'm not the exaggerating type. So when I say huge, I do mean HUGE. The place practically took up a block (alright, yes, that was exaggeration, but still). This was where we were taking lessons?
Mama had just snapped her phone shut, and I could tell she had just talked to one of the lawyers about more divorce papers. How long does it take exactly for a divorce to be official? It's been almost a month since they declared it. I still remembered the day that it happened. Not exactly the brightest days in the life of me. My mother turned to me with a fake smile plastered on her face and a very sad attempt to make her eyes seem 'bright'.
"Are you ready, Rima?" She asked. I tried to ignore how her voice cracked. Tried to act like I didn't know she was hurting. Tried to act like I wasn't breaking seeing how she was clinging to this happy facade for all it's worth just so I won't be sad.
Giving a weak smile, I nodded. "hai, mama."
As we walked up the sidewalk, I took in what was between me and most likely hell. A huge wall with a door in the center. It was high up and yet it still couldn't conceal the mansion behind it.
My mother brought up her hand, shakily knocking on the wooden door before us.
I heard Baaya's steps on the hard-wood floor as she went to answer the door and welcome our new student. Or as my mother had just recently informed me, students, plural. It took every nerve in my body not to run to one of the many rooms in my house and try and avoid teaching. It probably helped that my mother was standing just outside the door to introduce herself, so there really was no way for me to get out without being seen by her.
The night before, I'd come to the decision that I really should give teaching these people how to dance a chance. After all, being the fujisaki heir, I'm going to be the head of the fujisaki academy one day. Even though this meant even MORE of my time for the summer being taken up thanks to mother, it wasn't like I could really do much about it. No matter how many theories Rhythm had on worming my way out of this.
Said chara was blathering on about another idea next to me ear. "We could chara-nari, dude, and use blaze shoot on you're mother and-"
Thwack!
"Arigatou, Temari." I bowed my head slightly to my female chara who had just successfully hit rhythm over the head with the blunt side of her naginata.
Rhythm huffed. "You're thanking her?" I shrugged. For dance's sake, he was telling me to knock my own mother un-conscious. Not exactly something you should praise. He just started grumbling complaints to himself.
The door slid open, scraping across the floor as it did so and snapping me to attention. Mother walked in with Baaya gesturing for a middle aged woman to walk in. Then walked in a short girl. A short girl with blond hair, a round face, and brown eyes.
Oh crap.
She was looking the other way, arms crossed across her chest and pouting. I wanted to deny who it was, but when I finally noticed the clown chara floating next to her head, I struggled not to show shock.
Rima. Mashiro Rima was here to take kabuki dance lessons with her mother. Just my luck that the girl who hates me and knows my nadeshiko secret ends up being here. Not that I hated her, just that she's not exactly fond of me. My mother was talking to who was probably Rima's mom about the basics that they'd be learning, and Rima's eyes eventually landed on me. I managed to keep my smiling face from twitching as her bored gaze turned into a ferocious glare.
"Why Rima-chan, what are you doing here?"
I believe I've said this before...but I hate mama.
There stood nagihiko as nadeshiko, smiling. In a pink kimono. Although on the outside I was glaring at him, I was trying really hard not to laugh. It's just so funny how a boy can make such a beautiful girl.
"Why Rima-chan, what are you doing here?" He questioned in his girly voice. I struggled to keep staring daggers at him because it's been a while since I heard that voice and it just sounds so weird, again, coming from a boy. I wanted to giggle. Especially since, even though someone who didn't know wouldn't actually notice, I knew that nagihiko's voice was going through puberty, so it had cracked when he asked that.
"Kabuki lessons, na-gi-hi-ko." I sounded out his name. He flinched, which made me smirk. Our mom's were too warped in adult conversation to notice us.
"I mean why are you here, taking personal lessons from the Fujisaki's themselves?" He asked, smiling with a teasing glint in his eye. Wait, what?
Kusukusu flew in front of me. "Rima's mama just told her that they needed mother daughter bonding time and signed rima up!" She explained, giggling at the end. I nodded in agreement, hoping he wasn't getting any ideas. My mama said nothing about personal lessons. Nor that it was the Fujisaki's who were teaching it. If I had known that, maybe I would've been able to find a better excuse to get out of this.
Temari suddenly floated up to my side and was examining me. I opened my mouth to ask what she was doing when I heard a different voice interrupt.
"Nadeshiko-sama, do you know the mashiro's here?" I looked to see an older woman who resembled 'nadeshiko'. 'Nadeshiko' (notice the heavy air-quotes) looked at the woman who I assumed was .
"Hai, mother, we're in the guardians together." He responded. His mom smiled and then shifted her gaze to me.
She emanated intimidation. I gulped and unconsciously stood up straighter. "Mashiro Rima, I presume." She had almost black brown eyes, drilling into me.
"Hai." I replied. Her eyes seemed to soften. The purple haired woman looked to the short gray-haired lady who had guided me and my mama into the mansion.
"Take the Mashiro's to get some kimono's, Baaya." she ordered. The old woman nodded. I was tempted to ask why we had to change into kimono's, since we were beginners and everything, but I didn't for two reasons. One, I really know nothing about kabuki dance, so it could be possible that you can't really dance without the proper attire. And two, Nagihiko's mom sort of scared me, in the big authority figure type way. So I wasn't really up for protesting at the moment, no matter how against taking these lessons I was.
I followed the short woman (but still taller than me. But shouldn't that be obvious by now?) through the sliding door, my mama following the both of us. My pace could be considered jogging as I struggled to keep up with this Baaya, but I was curious about a couple things.
Panting lightly, I questioned the woman before me, my mother too busy marveling at the decor to notice what I was doing. "Excuse me, um...Baaya-sensei?"
The woman's wrinkles crinkled up in a smile. "Yes, Mashiro-san?" She glanced at me through the corner of her eye.
"Does Fujisaki-sensei know that..." I trailed off, unsure whether I should continue or not. If Nagihiko hadn't told his mother that some people knew about his cross-dressing, then I might get him in a lot of trouble.
Not that I cared...
"That you know about the fujisaki tradition?" She finished, smiling. I nodded, unsure of what to say. "Yes, she does. Nagihiko-sama has spoke of you before and how you were kind enough to not tell anyone at school of his family's tradition." What, he talks about me?
I looked to the side stubbornly. "Well, I sort of owe him." I muttered. He had saved me from a whole bunch of X-egg attacks after all. Even if he's a liar, and I hate to admit this, but he was a nice guy. Not that I could say any of this to Baaya.
The elder woman just nodded her head and kept that smile of hers that felt like a grandmothers caring grin. Finally, my mom stopped her ogling and something seemed to dawn on her.
"So you're in the guardians with that young lady, Rima?"
It took all my will power not to laugh at that. Young lady? You have no idea how wrong that statement is mama. I bit my tongue to keep from correcting her.
But someone beat me to it. ", I find that its only fit to inform you, since your daughter here already knows, that nadeshiko isn't a young lady." I stared at the woman as she continued walking, my "doe-eyes" bugging out. I guess I always assumed that this was nagihiko's families big secret. It never occurred to me that Nagihiko just kept it secret at school for the sake of not being teased (that, and for Amu not to hate him).
Mama didn't seem to process this. "What do you mean, Baaya-san?"
The old woman halted in front of a door that looked like all the others in the corridor, then slid it open to reveal a sort of walk in closet. She gave me a glance that, urging me to explain. What? I have to explain cross-dressing to my mom?
We stepped into a large room filled with an assortment of kimono's. Oh my kami-sama. There was a lot. Baaya went to searching for some our sizes.
I let out a long, breathy sigh. Great, I really was going to have to explain this to my mom. "Mama, Baaya means exactly what she means." She still wore the same puzzled expression. Wow, I guess Nagihiko did really look like a girl if my mom wasn't getting this. "The Fujisaki's have a tradition where if a male is born into the family, they are raised as a female for the sake of traditional Kabuki dance." This was the exact explanation the purple-head had given me once I found out. If he hadn't told me that, I seriously would've believed he was one serious pervert or gay. "Nadeshiko's real name is Nagihiko, Mama."
It finally sunk in, her eyes widening in some form of recognition. Then she gave a little giggle. wha-? She must of thought I was kidding. Or laughing at the fact that we just saw a boy that was dressed as a girl. I know that's why I wanted to laugh. But one thing is for sure, she was taking it better than I even did.
She giggled out. "I thought she resembled that purple haired boy who walked you home that one day."
It was my turn to be confused, until it hit me. Oh yeah, Nagihiko had walked me home after buying me parfait( I had no say in the matter of him walking me home). I forgot about that. It just didn't occur to me that mama had seen him when he dropped me off. She must've glanced at us through the window when she was washing dishes or something...
I smiled, it was nice seeing mama laugh. She hasn't done a lot of it in a long time, and this time, it was real. She pat me on the head and smiled down at me.
"So, is he a boyfriend of yours, Rima?"
I felt my cheeks heat up.
"MAMA!"
Aquatwin: this is only the first half! I couldn't fit everything into a one-shot, so it has become a two-shot. Keep a look out for the next part! I hope you enjoyed it! I love reviews!
Rima: Review or she might just get lazy and not finish
Aquatwin: HEY...nah, she's right. Please review!