earth2water1element: Thank you so much, I enjoy writing these a lot. I didn't expect to get another done so soon, but why not? Consider this one for you, my first reviewer.

Disclaimer: Again, Shugo Chara is not mine. If it were, many things would be different... oh what a tragic world we live in...

-lll-

For Fun and For Laughter

A door slammed, the raised voices dying away, leaving the mansion in a restless silence. Rima clutched at her pencil tightly, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill onto the table. Those two were always at each other's throats and it always made her heart break.

"They're gone now," Kusukusu said, for once not chuckling. Rima sniffed but stayed silent, hoping to calm herself as quickly as possible. She moved to take a comic out of the shelf in order to cheer up, but her Guardian Chara stopped her.

"We have to get this done by tomorrow or they'll phone one of your parents, and then..." she trailed off. And then the whole process will repeat itself; there will be yells, accusations, things broken and tears spilt. Reluctantly, Rima pulled away and reached instead for a sheet of paper among the stack. The cruel sadist that thought up the idea of homework should be executed, in her opinion.

She looked at it for a moment, Kusukusu reading over her shoulder. When they finished, they turned to look at each other. Finally, the small clown let out a snigger for the first time since Rima's parents started their little spat.

"We both know what the answer to this is, Rima!"

The petite blonde girl gave her Chara a small smile. "Yeah," she said, nodding slightly. Without a trace of hesitation, she started to write.


Name: Mashiro Rima

Age: 12

Gender: Female

1. Do you believe in love? Perhaps.

2. If love had a form (may be an idea or metaphor), what do you think it would be and why?

Love would be a joke; something that makes people happy. If the joke is done right, it should set people free and envelope the heart in joy. It should be an escape from reality so that people feel like they're in a world of their own. Both have no material price yet they are absolutely priceless.

A joke may be about anything, taking many forms and only working on certain types of people. So, of course, love would be much the same; not one single definite thing, but many layers of feelings that only very few people can appreciate.

Of course, people may get through life without experiencing or expressing either of these. No jokes, no fun, no laughter, no true happiness or passion... but then life itself would be worth no more than an expensive car or house. In essence, life would not be worth living. It would be bland, lacking something vital not to the body, but to the soul. To live is to love, and to love is to laugh, and to laugh we need humour, and to cultivate our humour we need jokes. To go through life without any of these is to be a walking zombie, lifeless and dull.

A joke should never be told twice otherwise it will lose its effect, and no two jokes should be exactly the same. So it follows that there should be only one love a lifetime, and that no two loves are the same. Or they oughtn't be, otherwise they aren't worth having at all. And, to get the best out of a joke, you must put your whole heart into it or it will fall flat. Any half-hearted attempts at love would also be futile and ruin the entire thing.

However, love and jokes can become twisted. A joke can be turned from something made to make people laugh into something used as a tool to hurt others. Jokes at other people's expense - jokes that turn lives into living nightmares - are so easily made and not thought out. Love can go horribly wrong when what used to be happiness and freedom turns into possessiveness, jealousy and anger. When truth turns into lies, and everything that used to be bright and rainbow shatters and slowly tarnishes; that's when a joke turns into nothing more than spiteful comments, and love turns into seething hatred.

So, love may be expressed much like a joke. But to stay fresh and sincere, people have to pick what kind of jokes they would like to tell to decide what kind of life they would rather live.


Kusukusu giggled as she checked the paper. "'Perhaps' you believe in love?" she commented snidely.

"Yes. Perhaps," Rima responded coolly, not looking up.

"Aw, all those fanboys of yours will be so disappointed," Kusukusu sniffed. "And I'm sure that purple-haired boy will be crushed." Rima gave her a sharp glance which the little ball of laughter either did not see or decided to ignore. "What was his name? Nagi..."

Rima coughed loudly, searching for an escape route. "Hey, we've still got time before bed, right? Why don't we read the comic now?"

Kusukusu sniggered and dropped the subject promptly. In another two or three minutes, she'd forget about what they were just talking about altogether, much to Rima's relief.

"Alright!" the clown-Chara cried joyfully, "The usual one! One, two, three... BALA-BALANCE!"

And, for a short while, Rima forgot that her parents could barely stand each other or her anymore, and that her life was just a veil of tears. For a short while, she would be free of her reality, and soar on the wings of happiness. For a short while, she would be surrounded by love.

A/N: BTW, constructive criticism welcome, correct me if I'm wrong (I swear I won't bite... hard)!