The two violet haired teens walked into the greenhouse. One of them, the girl, had her hair up in a high ponytail with a ribbon holding it in place. She was wearing a red cape and a matching skirt with a blazer. Her brother had his hair down and was wearing a blue cape and shorts with his blazer. The girl cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. Everyone looked up and was stunned; both the Fujisaki twins were here. both dancers were home, having left one at a time to improve their techniques. Nadeshiko was the one that had left this time.
"amu!" Nadeshiko yelled to her best friend. Amu tried to get up to hug her friend, but a small blond girl held her back.
"no, amu is my best friend." Rima said, defensively holding her arms out in front of amu.
"no, bad Rima, bad." Naghiko flicked Rima's nose.
"damn male purple head. I'm not a dog." Rima pouted.
"you shouldn't use language like that Rima." Naghiko said to the short blonde girl.
"add an honorific." Rima said.
"why?" Naghiko asked.
"because I said so, purple head. I would suggest doing it if you want to have children when you get older." Rima growled.
"now you do sound like a dog, Rima-koi." Naghiko said, chuckling.
"no. bad cross dresser, bad." Rima said swinging her leg up. It connected with his crotch with a smack, but Naghiko remained unharmed. "god damn cross dresser, why the fuck are you wearing a cup?"
"because I have to be around you all day. Oh, by the way, Nadeshiko already tried kicking me in the shin too. She failed and so will you." Naghiko said triumphantly.
"its true." Nadeshiko grumbled. "so this is the Rima you have told me so much about. I see why you call her a chibi devil, she is like a mini me when I chara-change." Nadeshiko giggled.
"purple- I mean Naghiko talks about Rima a lot?" Tadase asked, shooting a questioning glance at his friend. Nadeshiko nodded.
"I wanna see your chara-change!" Rima whined.
"ok then!" Nadeshiko said smiling. A wooden naginata appeared in her hands and she started chasing Naghiko around with it, yelling curses in a Hiroshima accent.
"that looks like fun! I'm joining." Rima said, grabbing a broom off the wall and started chasing Naghiko with Nadeshiko.
"shit! I hate you two!" Naghiko yelled. Rima and Nade stopped and winked at each other, both willing tears to come
"gomen oni-san!" Nadeshiko whined, collapsing to her knees. Rima did the same.
"you big fat meanie! How dare you make Nade and Rima cry!" Yaya yelled. "Yaya is very mad with you!"
"they are both faking, stop pitying them." Naghiko smirked evilly as Nadeshiko and Rima stopped crying and glared. "anyways, tomorrow, Nade and I will turn 13. We are having a sleepover party at the house tonight if anyone wishes to come, they can. Kukai and Utau will be invited too."
"well, as long as I don't have to sleep near THAT" Rima pointed at Naghiko, "I will come."
"aww, why can't they just admit that they love each other?" Nade teased.
"why can't you admit that you love Tadase?" Naghiko shot back. Nade and Tadase blushed, linking hands.
"umm, Nade and I have been going out since amu and I broke up. Did you seriously not know that?" Tadase laughed.
"Nade, my baby sister, has a b-b-boyfriend? No, my little baby sister, this can't happen. How could you? Why did you not tell me?" Naghiko burst out in tears.
"did I forget to mention that?" Nade said, rubbing the back of her head. Naghiko fainted, knocking Nadeshiko sideways into Rima. they both fell, their lips connecting on the way down.
"DAMMIT! I HAVE ALREADY KISSED YOU, WHY THE FUCK DID YOU FAKE-FAINT AND MAKE ME LIP-LOCK WITH YOUR SISTER?" Rima kicked Naghiko, who had gotten up.
"you WHAT!" everyone screamed.
"Rima, why did you just say that? No one is supposed to know that." Naghiko said, walking up behind her and grabbing her hips. He rested his chin on her head.
"stop touching me. I can explain what I just said. You see, Naghiko was tutoring me, and I slipped on a paper, landing in his lap. Our lips smashed together when I landed on him. That is all that happened." Rima said quickly, a bit too quickly. Naghiko snickered. "you set me up for that, didn't you?" he nodded. "you filthy seducer, I hate you."
"woah, seducer? What the hell?" amu yelled.
"and you are a naughty little seductress, aren't you?"
"is this their way of flirting?" Yaya asked.
"say nothing, it got him off the subject of Tadase and i." Nade said.
"if you think you are off the hook about that then think again, just remember, our rooms are right across the hall from each other, I can hear everything." Naghiko shot back.
"yes, and I hear you jacking off at midnight moaning 'Rima!'"
"I WAS NOT JACKING OFF! I was asleep."
"well then, has Naghiko been having naughty dreams about me?" Rima said walking away, snickering. "who wants to go out shopping for the Fujisaki birthday presents with me?" she smirked at Naghiko's red face and winked.
"yes, yes he has." He responded tersely. She stood gaping at him as everyone else left the royal garden
"hey Naghiko, why do you always tease me? i don't get it." She asked once they were alone.
"because I'm nervous. I really like you Rima." Naghiko said, looking down at his shoes.
Rima just stood, amazed that he would say such a thing.
Say yes Rima! say you return his feelings!
Go away kusukusu.
"uhh, I, I likeyoualottoo. But I need some time to think. Can I respond later tonight?"
"of course, take your time, Rima."
Rima ran home, only to find her parents fighting. Again.
"BAKA! WHY THE HELL DID YOU GET FIRED?"
"I HAD TO MISS WORK SO MANY TIMES WHEN YOU ABUSED ME!"
Rima stopped dead in her tracks. Abused? Her father was abusive? She slowly opened the dor, hoping she would not be noticed. Too late.
"UGLY KID! COME HERE!" her father screamed "DID YOU KNOW YOUR MOTHER GOT FIRED TODAY?"
"yea, I think the whole block knows. They also know that you abuse mom." Rima's father grabbed her hair and pulled her up to his eye level
"what did you just say?" he spat.
"papa! Please stop!"Rima shrieked. He dad went into the kitchen and she could hear the trashing and throwing of silver as he looked for something. When he came back, he had a huge butcher knife in his hand. He walked up to Rima and stabbed her at least 10 times, purposely missing the vital organs. He turned to her mother and snarled.
"I'm not sacrificing your life, nor am I the kid. I'll leave her to bleed." he said, stabbing her strait through the heart. Her eyes glossed over as she fell to the floor. He walked out of the house.
Rima grabbed her money, phone, kusukusu, and her friends birthday presents and was out the door before she hit the ground. She ran as fast as her little legs could take her, still losing blood fast. She slumped to the ground and knocked on the huge gate. Naghiko answered the door, smiling, until he saw Rima crouched on the ground, holding her stomach.
"she's dead. Papa killed her." she whispered and passed out as Naghiko called for bayas help.
Naghiko picked her up and carried her to his room, carefully avoiding all the stab marks. He set her on the bed as baya came running with a bucket of water, bandages, and some clean clothes.
"master, do you know what happened?" she asked
" She mentioned something about her father murdering someone."
"oh my god…" baya thought for a moment. "well then she must stay with us. Say, master, is this the girl you were talking about asking out?"
"uhh, yea. Rima. I think she rejected me though. She said 'I need some time to think.' And that she would tell me at the party tonight."
"well, I think you may not have to wait much longer." She motioned to the little girl who took in a big breath and screamed.
"MAMA!" Rima yelled
"shh, Rima, you're safe now." Naghiko said, pulling her into his lap as she cried. She clung to his shirt and bawled, telling him what happened, in very close detail.
"he- he stabbed her. I just watched my mother die by my father's hand. He tried to kill me, too. He was going to leave me to bleed to death. You saved me, Nagi"
"b-b-baya? C-could you give us a minute?" Naghiko stuttered. She nodded and walked out, yelling for Nadeshiko to get the door because the guests were there.
"Rima, would you like me to go out while you change?" she looked at her clothes.
"uhh, is my chest bandaged?" he nodded
"I went out while baya did your wrappings." He blushed
"ok then, you won't see anything, so I don't care" she quickly dressed, Naghiko's eyes never leaving her. Rima realized she could not bend over to get her pants on "well, are you going to stop staring at my non-existent chest and help me, or would you prefer I open the wounds?" he blushed and got up to help as his sister and their friends walked in.
"this must look pretty odd, huh?" Rima commented as they all stared at the small girl wearing only one of Naghiko's old button-up shirts. She lifted her tear-streaked face and gave a half-hearted smile.
"Rima-chan! Why are you crying?" amu asked. Rima looked up to Naghiko, hoping for an excuse.
Rima's knees buckled and she fell on Naghiko, dragging him onto the floor.
"mama…" blood started to seep through the bandages as she doubled over in her fit of tears.
"well, now someone has to replace the bandages. What girl wants to? Baya should be making dinner, so we can't ask her." Naghiko asked.
"you can Nagi, since you have such naughty dreams about her. why not see the real thing?" Nadeshiko teased.
"shut up. Just because it's our birthday and you're a girl does not mean I can't hurt you." Nagi said, blushing.
"yes it does." Nade retorted.
"stop with the arguing, I think rima passed out again." Utau pointed to the little body on the floor.
"fine, I'll do it." He picked Rima up bridal style and took a step forward. Rima stirred in his arms.
"NO PAPA! NOOO!" Rima shrieked. Again, with the scream, she jerked awake and nearly tumbled out of Naghiko's arms. He just shifted her so that her legs were wrapped around his waist. Her arms slithered up to his neck and she started crying silently on his shoulder.
"shhh, Rima. would you like to tell everyone what happened after we change your bandages?" he put her down on the bed.
"I just realized something." Everyone looked to her expectantly, " I have no home now, I have nothing."
Yaya stepped forward. "Yaya is there for you, so are all of us. Yaya and the guardians will always be here for you."
"you know Rima, my offer from earlier still stands. Do you want to live here for a while?" Rima blushed at his words.
"you know, na-ghi-ko, I may have to take you up on that offer, the me living here one, if you promise not to sexually assault me." He laughed. " and as for the first one, we'll talk later."
"well, none of us know what you are talking about, and Rima is still bleeding." Utau pointed out.
"Naghiko, Help me?" Rima asked.
"yea, fine."
"so Rima, about my first question…" Naghiko asked.
"I accept." Rima said as Naghiko dressed her still bleeding wounds. He looked up. Surprised at her words.
"y-you like me, too?" Naghiko stuttered.
"I told you before that I liked you, but that was a lie." He looked disappointed. "I think I love you, cross dresser." She whispered.