Amber
By Rostockgirl/Laura Schiller
Series: Pretty Cure
Disclaimer: Story not created by me.
"Go for it, Fuji-P-senpai!" Dozens of young girls cheered as the star of the Verone Academy boys' soccer team flashed across the field. Chestnut curls flying behind him, he moved like a force of nature, leaving his opponents in the dust as he shot...and scored. Ten to six, Verone in the lead.
Nagisa Misumi drank in the scene with shining eyes; she could not only appreciate his skill and strategy with the eye of an athlete, but also his sheer attractiveness and charisma with the eye of a girl. Possibly the thing she loved doing the most in the world – besides playing lacrosse herself – was watching Shogo Fujimura play soccer.
"You look happy," commented Honoka from next to her, smiling slightly.
"Staring at Fuji P? Of course she does -mepo," came a derisive little voice from inside her pocket.
"Shut up, Mepple!" she hissed, covering it up with her hands. "We're in public, remember? And keep your nose out of my private life!"
The two began to bicker in hushed voices, leaving Honoka and Mipple to roll their eyes and wonder when it would ever stop.
A few days later, strolling along the streets of the Omotesando shopping district in search of some new sports equipment, Fuji P caught sight of a familiar black head and plaid minidress. Honoka was shopping too, and so was her friend Misumi. They were standing in front of an H&M outlet, admiring the clothes in the window and chatting nineteen to the dozen about – what else? – clothes. Fuji P rolled his eyes. Honoka was a smart girl, and Misumi a great lacrosse player, but in some ways they acted just as silly as all the other females he knew.
"The spring dance is in two weeks, you know. Shouldn't you at least have a pretty dress for it?"
"I don't like dresses," Nagisa grumbled. "They're so fragile, I'm always afraid to rip them. Besides, what would a tough chick like me have to do with looking pretty?" Honoka laughed. "You're not nearly as tough as you pretend to be," she said affectionately. "And you are pretty – which is why you should let others see you that way. Listen, I saw this pink satin dress in here last week that would make you look – "
They both caught sight of Fuji P in the reflective glass of the shop window.
"Yo," he said, raising his hand for a wave. "How's it going?"
"Great, thanks," answered Honoka.
"Misumi-san?" inquired Fuji P, trying to sound as unalarming as possible.
"Er, hello," she said, blushing to the roots of her hair.
He knew she must be very shy, since every time he talked to her, she froze up and had trouble speaking. She was never completely at her ease, it seemed, except on the lacrosse field or with Honoka.
He wished she were a bit more comfortable around him, as he often thought he would like to get to know her better. Especially since that time around New Years' when he had sprained his ankle and she had helped him get down the stairs...or that Christmas when they'd built the snowman together. He had fallen asleep right on the park bench next to her, and dreamed a magical winter dream of snow and sparkling lights, leaning against her shoulder...too bad he had woken up so soon.
"What a coincidence," Honoka said lightly, calling him back from the store of memories. "I was just thinking that we needed a man's opinion on a dress Nagisa planned to buy." Her eyes sparkled with mischief, a sight he had rarely seen since their sandbox buddy days.
Nagisa's frame grew even more tense – he hadn't thought it possible – as she shot the other girl a look of pure panic. Honoka ignored her and went on.
"It's for the Spring Dance, you see. We're shopping for cocktail dresses, even though poor Nagisa doesn't have a date yet. I'm sure she'll find one very soon, and even if she doesn't, it's useful for a girl to have a nice dress somewhere in her closet."
A vein was ticking dangerously next to Nagisa's left eyebrow. Uncharacteristically firm, Honoka grabbed both of them by the wrist and steered them into the shop.
Before she knew what was happening, Nagisa found herself standing in a pure white, brightly lit changing room holding a calf-length, sleeveless, fuchsia-colored object with a light pink satin ribbon around the waist. She wondered for a moment if it was possible to die of nervous anxiety, then her mind jumped back to Honoka, who must have something seriously wrong with her.
What was she thinking? Did she want to see Nagisa make an idiot of herself – yet again – in front of Fuji P? Or did she think she was doing her some sort of favor?
"Arienai – I can't believe this," she groaned aloud. "I can't wear dresses properly at the best of times, let alone now! I'll just tell them it doesn't fit or something."
"Scaredy cat –mepo," sneered Mepple, in that contemptuous tone which never failed to get under her skin.
"I'm not!" she snapped back.
"You're afraid of what that boy will think," he remarked.
"Do you want the Sleep card, huh?" she threatened, waving it in front of his cell phone face. "Do ya?"
"It's true," he said, cackling all the way into Dreamland as Nagisa viciously swiped the card through him.
All the same, she thought miserably, looking at the beautiful dress on the hanger, the little nuisance was right.
She had never considered herself really good-looking. A dress on her would be as incongruous as a sweat-soaked lacrosse uniform on gentle Honoka. And Fuji P would think she was completely unfeminine and unattractive.
She shook her head fiercely to clear out all inconvenient thoughts, grabbed the dress and proceeded to change into it. Let no one say Cure Black was afraid of wearing a dress – least of all that little pest snoring in her jeans pocket.
"Here I am," she said gruffly, closing the door behind her. Honoka stood up from her plastic chair and applauded, making the nearby saleswoman smile behind the counter. Fuji P remained sitting, but still looked at her very carefully.
She looked like a rose in bloom, with the blush on her cheeks and that soft fabric draped over her slim curves. He'd never thought of this girl as having curves, like a – well, like a woman. In spite of her usual stiff, embarrassed position, he could imagine this Nagisa Misumi going to a party, wearing perfume, dancing with a shadowy escort who, for some strange reason, wore his own face.
The color was perfect for her – it set of her healthy, vibrant tan and made her eyes look like glowing bits of – what was the name of that stone? His grandmother had worn a whole necklace of them...
"Hello? Fujimura-kun, are you there?"
He jumped. How far away had he been anyway?
"Ah – I'm sorry, Honoka. Did you say something?"
"I said Nagisa looks lovely, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, she does," he said immediately, causing the receiver of the compliment to vanish abruptly into the changing cubicle again. He bit his tongue and wished he'd kept quiet. Now he had frightened her away again.
Honoka glanced at him, saw the awed expression on his face, and smiled.
It worked, she told herself. Now for the second step.
Nagisa leaned against the door on the inside to keep from fainting with happiness. She would have run for hours on end to get a glimpse of that warm, admiring look from him, and now she had it, like a precious gemstone in her jewel-box of memories.
She glanced at herself in the mirror, and in spite of the idiotic grin which she couldn't seem to wipe off (It was really a very cute smile, though she couldn't see it) good old Nagisa-in-the-mirror didn't look half bad.
I love you, Fuji P-senpai, she whispered, running her hand over the heart-shaped pendant she wore.
The next morning at school, Nagisa was still not quite over the high from that compliment. She had taken extra care with her appearance that morning, actually borrowing her mother's hairspray to flatten her unruly spikes into a sleeker and – she hoped – more adult-looking style. Now she was regretting it; Shiho and Rina had not left her alone about it all morning.
"Please, please, please," exclaimed Rina, bobbing up and down with excitement, "Won't you tell us who it is?"
"Who what is?" asked Nagisa, wide-eyed, trying to look innocent.
"Don't play stupid," Shiho retorted dryly, "The one you're all styled up for."
"Exactly, exactly, exactly," Rina confirmed, looking like a little redheaded bird pecking at seeds. "Is it a boy or a girl?"
Nagisa tightened her lips and ignored them, turning away demonstratively to get her slippers.
"Oh, not again," she snapped as a small white envelope fluttered out with them. Shiho and Rina glanced at each other and giggled.
"Is it another letter from Mayu-san?" they teased. " 'I've always admired you a lot, Misumi-san...You're the coolest girl in the whole school... Has she proposed to you yet?"
They were so busy trying to imitate Mayu's voice and mannerisms that they never noticed Nagisa quietly slip the letter into her pocket. She wanted to read it someplace more private, because – hopefully her guess was right – this time, it was extremely likely that the sender was a male. However he'd gotten into the girls' school was a mystery, but the evidence was clear: it was a battered piece of paper, folded over, with eraser marks all over it and on the front a loopy scrawl of characters she would have some trouble deciphering. A fangirl would not have left a sloppy letter like that, as she knew from experience. They all had colored envelopes, stickers, neat writing, sometimes even perfume. She willed herself to not look at that scrawled name; there would be time enough at home.
The letter burned in her pocket as she and the others filed into class; it was like carrying a time-bomb. She could feel every second ticking by. Finally, the moment everyone else was well into their writing assignment and Ms. Yoshimi busy correcting test papers, Nagisa's hand went into her pocket almost by itself. She drew out the letter and squinted hard, trying to make out the writing...S...h...o...
Shogo Fujimura.
"Arienai!" she gasped.
"Misumi-san, is there a problem?" asked the teacher in her cool, cultured voice as the entire class stared at her.
Shoot...did I say that out loud?
"Ah – n-no, there isn't, Yoshimi-sensei. Nothing's wrong. He he." She grinned nervously, going red as a tomato. Ms. Yoshimi gave her a long, grave look, as if asking silently why she was fibbing to the class when there obviously was something wrong, and reproving her for the outburst at the same time.
Nagisa hardly noticed; she was now feverishly reading the letter itself. Once she had figured out the contest, she had a narrow escape from making another public fauxpas. She could not believe it...it must be a dream. A beautiful dream.
Dear Misumi-san,
Please meet me at the Tako Café after school.
-Yours sincerely, Fujimura
She folded the letter up again, but this time it went into her shirt pocket instead of the one in her blazer – the pocket closest to her heart.
"Great timing," said Fuji P, waving a takoyaki stick as Nagisa approached their meeting place. "They're fresh."
He was standing at one of the high tables, with a plate of takoyaki in front of him and another opposite. Akane was inside her wagon, baking, so they were more or less alone.
"Thanks a lot," she said nervously, picking up a stick full of dumplings. "They're my favorites."
"I know, Honoka told me. These ones are great," he added. "Sweet, but not too sweet. I should come here more often."
Instead of polishing off the takoyaki at lightning speed, she did her best to eat slowly, with dignity, the way Honoka did. The snacks seemed to be giving her some courage as she found herself saying: "Do you like odango? We know this terrific little shop near Honoka's place – "
" – Mitsoya-san's," he finished, with an affirmative nod. "I must've gone there hundreds of times, especially when I was little. She's such a nice old lady, too."
"Odango always make me think of Sailor Moon," said Nagisa, and could have kicked herself a moment later. Aargh! Sailor Moon is a kids' show! Now he'll think I'm silly and babyish. Open mouth, insert hoof – great job, Misumi.
To her surprise, Fuji P burst out laughing.
"My little sister loves that show. You can't even walk into her room without tripping over some Sailor Moon memorabilia. I call her otaku and it drives her crazy, but it's true. Me, I prefer Naruto 'cause it's got real action."
"Naruto's okay...but there are so few female characters, I can't really find someone to relate to. I like stories where you can make friends with the characters...but I guess that sounds stupid, she added, looking down at the plastic pattern of the table."
When she could meet Fuji P's eyes again, she found he was looking at her thoughtfully with something like respect.
"No...no, it doesn't. You're right, actually. I used to wonder why some anime or books or whatever do it for me, and some don't. It's the characters. That's why I hate The Perfume so much. It's a book we're reading in English – do you know it? – it's about this guy who murders women to get their scent to make a perfume." Nagisa shuddered in disgust.
"I'm not squeamish or anything," Fuji P continued, "but that book is just...it's nasty. And all the characters are nasty. I mean, the writer obviously knows his stuff. And it's amazing the way all the smells are described, because the murdering guy is a sort of nose genius and has a superhuman sense of smell. Instead of a sense of right and wrong or human decency, he has that. So it's a good book, I guess, but I just hated reading it. And it shows because I got like forty percent in the essay."
Nagisa had been listening hard, happier than ever because they were having such a real conversation, so Fuji P rather startled her by saying, "Hey, I hope I'm not boring you, Misumi-san. When I'm interested in something, I tend to just chatter on and on until someone shuts me up."
"Oh, I'm not bored," she assured him quickly. "I like this. And speaking of perfume, you just reminded me of the time the Chemistry club tried to make some..."
Listening to her, looking at her vivid, golden eyes in the sunlight, he suddenly remembered which precious stone it was they reminded him of.
It was amber.
On the evening of that day, in her bedroom, Honoka received a phone call from an ecstatic and terrified Nagisa. "He asked me to go to the Kusakabe Park with him! What am I going to wear?!"
"I don't think he cares about your clothes," she replied. "Just relax. Everything's going to be fine."
When she hung up, she related the news to Kiriya, her boyfriend, who was sitting on the futon with a glass of orange juice.
"I always knew you were intelligent," he remarked, "But I didn't think you were this cunning."
"It worked even better than I thought," she said, satisfied. "He asked her out all by himself. We didn't even need to use the double-date plan."
"Thank goodness," Kiriya snorted. "I don't think I could have persuaded Fuji P to watch the Splash Star movie with me."
"I guess not...it is quite a girls' show in spite of the action scenes. Nagisa and I like it because the two main characters are so like us...it's incredible, really. Except that Mai is an artist, not a scientist. Otherwise I'd have thought they were copied straight from us."
The date – if it was one – at the Kusakabe Amusement Park was a success. It was followed by visits to the local planetarium, the zoo, and the Tako Café again. Nagisa liked this state of things immensely, because she could actually talk to him and get to know him. She still got nervous around him sometimes, but not too much, just enough to make life exciting. All the same...
What kind of a relationship is this? Nagisa kept asking herself. Are we friends or are we a couple who just hasn't kissed yet? Is he ever going to kiss me? If he does, then when? I can't wait much longer, the suspense is driving me insane!
She worried about it so much, she barely noticed that an important day was coming up.
"Surprise! Happy birthday, Nagisa!"
When she came down to the breakfast table one morning, she found her parents and little brother all getting up from the breakfast table to congratulate her. A great big chocolate cake sat on the table, surrounded by brightly colored presents.
"Aw, thanks so much!" she said happily, opening one of the cards. It showed a fluffy brown teddy bear with a red bow around his neck, holding out its front paws. The inscription said: Come here, birthday kid... Inside, it said: Let me give you a big bear hug! Nagisa's father had added his signature and a smiley face. She smiled back at him and took up the knife to make the ceremonial first cake cut.
Fuji P paced back and forth in his room, like a caged tiger, fiddling with the small box in his hands as he pondered the most important question he had ever been confronted with.
I know I love her. How could I not, now that I know what she's really like? I watched her open up – at the risk of sounding cheesy – like a flower. I can't stop thinking about her.
But should I tell her?
She probably thinks I'm just a good pal, like a male Honoka. Maybe if I tell her, she'll get all nervous and frightened again and it would ruin all that's built up between us.
Maybe she knows already. I mean, I's probably obvious the way I keep staring at her. Man, she's gorgeous – how come I never noticed all this time?
I can't go on like this much longer. It's got to get out, somehow. And I'd better do it the way I want to, with dignity, rather than blurting it out at the worst possible moment. I've got a lot to lose – but also a lot to win.
He tucked the box into his pocket, buttoned his jacket with a resolute air, and picked up the phone.
"Morning Misumi-san...Happy birthday...Yeah...Listen, can I come over? I've got a present for you...It's a surprise...Okay, I'll be there in just a few minutes...See you!"
Nagisa's heart was beating like a sledgehammer; she could actually hear her pulse thumping in her ears. What a strange tone there had been in his voice – It's a surprise – what kind of a surprise?
It couldn't be that – no. Don't be so vain, Nagisa. It's probably just a soccer movie or something else completely platonic. I'm just one of the guys, remember? Although even that is much better than being the weird girl who keeps blushing.
The doorbell rang; she raced to get it and there was Fuji P, climbing off his bicycle. Instead of coming in, he stopped right there at the doorstep and pulled a little white box out of his pocket.
Here goes nothing, he told himself, and launched into the speech he had prepared. He couldn't bear to look at her, so instead he talked to Mrs. Misumi's rhododendrons under the window.
"Nagisa – I know I should call you Misumi-san, but I can't, because in the last few weeks I've fallen in love with you. I'm not asking for anything, I just wanted to be completely honest with you and – "
But he never got to finish the speech, because Nagisa interrupted him with a passionate embrace.
"I love you too," she whispered into his ear, "Fuji P."
What followed were some of the happiest seconds in their lives, especially to Nagisa who had waited so long.
When they let go of each other, she noticed that he still held the gift box in one hand.
"So what's in it?" she asked. He handed it to her, wordlessly, and she pulled off the golden ribbon around it. Inside the box was a silver ring with a perfectly round piece of amber. She put it on; it fit perfectly.
"I knew it," he said happily. "The exact same color as your eyes."
In case anyone hasn't noticed yet, it was Honoka who forged the note of invitation and put it in Nagisa's locker. Kiriya did the same with an invitation 'from Nagisa'. When they found out, they didn't really mind – it had brought them together after all.
The End