Of Spirits, Séances And Shooting Stars

"What do you mean, you can't watch Rima tonight?" Mrs Mashiro shouted into the phone.

"So it just so happened that you had to go into town to see a client on the same night I had to go to a conference? How do you think I can believe that?"

Rima sat on the sofa hugging her knees. She really didn't want her parents to quarrel even after they had separated. She felt like she was a burden to them, hindering their lives and keeping them apart from each other. She didn't like this at all.

Mrs Mashiro finally hung up and put the receiver back onto its holder. "Rima, don't you have any friends that you can stay over with for the night?"

Rima thought hard. Well, Amu lives nearby, but I remember she said something about having plans with Tadase tonight. And today's Halloween, so Yaya would probably be out trick-or-treating with the other Guardians. I can't stay at her house either. So, what should I do?

Just then, the doorbell rang. Mrs Mashiro went to get the door, and came back telling Rima that one of her friends had come to see her.

Rima walked towards the door, wondering who it could be. Surely not Amu or Yaya, for they wouldn't call on her at this time of the day. She stopped in front of the door, and her mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Na-Nadeshiko?"

"Hello, Rima-chan!" Nadeshiko greeted her.

"What… what are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you whether you'd like to sleep over at my house tonight." Nadeshiko smiled at her, then turned to her mother. "Is that alright, Mrs Mashiro-san?"

Mrs Mashiro smiled back at her. "Why, of course! I'm sure Rima would be happy to stay over at your house for the night!" Rima stared at her, surprised that she would agree so readily.

"Would you mind if you just waited for a few minutes, Nadeshiko-san? Rima needs to get her overnight bag ready." And Rima soon found herself in her bedroom helping her mother pack her bag.

"Mama, are you really going to let me stay the night at her house?" This was actually the first time her mother had let her go to her friend's house, for she had always refused such invitations before.

"Well, why not? Nadeshiko-san seems like a nice girl, and no one is at home to watch you anyway. If she was the one who invited you, then why refuse?"

"Oh." Rima didn't say anything after that, but inside she was a bit excited. This is my first time staying over at a friend's house. I wonder what it's going to be like?

Then Nadeshiko's face appeared in her mind, and she remembered something. Wait… Nadeshiko is actually Nagihiko, so why would he invite a girl to stay over at his house? What is he planning?

Within a few minutes she was standing outside the house with her overnight bag slung over her shoulder, waving goodbye to her mother. "Take care of yourself, Rima! I'll come in the morning to pick you up!"

"Goodbye, Mama!" Then she ran to catch up with Nadeshiko, who had already started walking off.

"So… why did you invite me over anyway?"

Nadeshiko just smiled. "You'll see."

Soon they arrived at Nadeshiko's house, an old traditional Japanese-style house that looked as if it was more than a century old. To the right of the ornate doorway hung a plague with the words 'Fujisaki House' written on it in delicate calligraphy. Below the plague was the doorbell.

Nadeshiko reached out her hand and pressed the doorbell, and soon one of the double wooden doors opened. Then to Rima's surprise, a white face with big frightening eyes and horns poked out of the door!

"Auntie, I'm back!" Nadeshiko said cheerfully.

A pair of hands took off the white face from the head, revealing the face of a kindly old woman. "Oh, it's you bocchama!" She turned to Rima, who wore a shocked expression on her face. "And this must be Rima-san! Welcome to the home of the Fujisaki family!"

"Oh, erm, thank you auntie." Rima was still unable to get over the shock of seeing that ghastly mask. Seeing that she still had that shocked expression, the old woman quickly explained. "Oh, I only wear the mask to scare off pesky salesmen. I didn't mean any harm. Here, I'll help you take your bag!"

Rima handed her bag to the old woman, then followed Nadeshiko into the house. They walked down a long corridor with traditional wooden sliding doors on both sides. "Who was that old woman?"

"Oh, that's our live-in housekeeper. We always call her 'auntie'," Nadeshiko explained.

Rima's eyes widened in amazement. She had never seen a live-in housekeeper before. The Fujisaki's must be a big household, she thought.

They stopped in front of one of the sliding doors. 'Would you mind waiting outside for a while, Rima-chan? I have to change." Then Nadeshiko slipped into the door and closed it after her.

A few minutes later, Nagihiko emerged from the door. "Sorry to make you wait, Rima-chan. Come, let me show you my room." Then he opened the door for her to enter.

When Rima entered the room, she looked around and saw that Nagi's room was very tidy. There was a wardrobe and a study desk against one wall, while another had a set of paper-screen windows built into it. The middle of the room remained empty, and she could see two mattresses in the corner.

"This is where I'm going to sleep tonight?"

"Yes." They stood in the room for a few seconds, then he led her out. "Come on, we have something to do."

As they walked down the same corridor he explained to her some of his family's history. "The Fujisaki family have run a traditional Japanese dancing school for generations. The house doubles as classrooms for the school. All children of the Fujisaki family must learn traditional Japanese dance from young."

"Oh. So that's why you dressed up as a girl before." She had already guessed the answer before, but having him explain it to her was better.

Nagi nodded. "Yep. By the way, you wouldn't mind keeping it a secret for a while longer, right?"

She smirked. "So that's why you got so close to me all of a sudden, eh?" Boys are so predictable, she thought.

Then a thought struck her. "Hey, did you sleep in the same room as Amu when she slept over in your house?"

Nagi stared at her. "How did you know that?"

"Oh, Amu mentioned before that she once slept over at Nadeshiko's house."

"Uh, yeah," he stammered. "It wasn't that big a deal at the time."

"Oh, well. I don't mind anyway. Just as long as you don't make any sudden moves on me during the night." Then she ran forward, leaving him behind.

He stood there for a few seconds staring after her, then shrugged and ran to catch up.

The corridor led to a courtyard that was rather like an indoor open-air garden, with rooms and corridors opening off from its sides. There was a big cherry-blossom tree in the middle of the courtyard, and a lot of people were gathered around it, lighting incense sticks and placing them in holders all around the tree.

Rima stared at the scene, not knowing what to make of it. "Um, Nagihiko, what's going on?"

Nagi smiled. "That's why I invited you over today." He led her to the front of the crowd, where a woman was lighting an incense stick.

"Mother, this is Rima-chan, the girl I said I would bring over today."

The woman, who was dressed in a traditional kimono, turned around and smiled at the two of them. "Ah, so you are Rima-san! Nagihiko had said a lot about you."

Rima bowed politely. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs Fujisaki."

"The pleasure is all mine, Rima-san. Come and light an incense stick."

She handed a lighted incense stick to Rima, then gave Nagi one too. Nagi took the stick from his mother, then bowed down to the cherry-blossom tree while murmuring under his breath.

Feeling curious, Rima did the same, except she didn't murmur. Then they both placed the incense sticks in the holder in front of them. Nagi then led her away from the courtyard back towards the house.

As they walked down the corridor again Rima asked, "What was that all about?"

"The cherry-blossom tree in the courtyard has been around for a long time, even longer than the house. Our ancestors believed that a spirit lived in the tree and blessed the students of the dancing school with graceful characteristics and gentle movements, helping them in their performances. So every year at the end of October, we would light incense sticks and offer fruit and flowers to the spirit so that she would continue to bless us all."

Rima nodded her head in understanding. "So, that ceremony back there… was a séance?"

"Erm… not exactly. It's more like paying homage to her in return for another year of blessings and happiness in this house."

"Oh." Rima had no idea the Fujisaki family had such traditions. "Amu never mentioned anything about this when she told me about her sleepover at your house."

"She just happened to miss the day of the ceremony," Nagi explained.

"Now then, would you like to take a bath first before we go to sleep?"

"Fair enough. And don't touch my stuff while I'm not around, okay?"

"You can trust me."

"No, I can't."

"…"

In the middle of the night…

Nagi opened his eyes, then turned to his side to check on Rima, who was sleeping at the other end of the room. He actually planned to have both their mattresses in the middle of the room next to each other, as he did with Amu, but she had insisted on sleeping at the other side of the room, claiming it was 'much safer'.

He smiled. He didn't really expect Rima to trust him that much, seeing as she knew he wasn't really honest at times. He was thankful to her for keeping his secret, but sometimes he wished they would be able to get along better as friends. Oh well, he thought as he got up from his bed and headed for the door. She's a stubborn girl. It takes time for her to change.

As he walked down the silent and dark corridor, he remembered how he had been scared to go to the bathroom alone at night when he was younger. He also remembered how Amu said she had seen a walking doll cross the corridor the time she stayed over. It's alright, he thought as he shrugged his shoulders. It's just a superstition. There is really nothing scary about this old house.

Is there?

Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. He stopped, and the footsteps stopped too. He continued walking, and the footsteps sounded again. He tried to ignore it, but the more he thought about it, the more he was frightened. It can't be… the walking doll?

He stopped again, bracing himself. Then he turned around abruptly, his fist outstretched and ready to hit anything that threatened him. However, as soon as his eyes set on what was following him, the fist withered immediately.

"What's wrong? Afraid of something?"Rima smirked.

"Oh, it's just you Rima-chan." Nagi let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Hey, why don't you go back and have some sleep?"

Rima said nothing, but just stared at him, making him a bit uncomfortable. "Um… Rima-chan?"

"You don't have to hide it anymore. I already know."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Rima smiled gently. "When Amu told me about her sleepover at your house, she mentioned how she had got up in the middle of the night to find you practising your traditional dance. She said you practised every day, and had to make up for the lost time during the night just so she could stay over. I thought that you had to do the same for me."

Nagi's bewildered expression softened into a smile. "Oh. So she saw me that night, didn't she?"

Rima nodded. "I know you don't have to do this for me, but you did. And I'm really thankful for it." She smiled again, this time even brighter than before.

She's actually accepting me now, thought Nagi in amazement.

"Well, I'm happy you liked it. However, that's not the real reason I got up."

Rima looked confused. "It's not?"

"No. In fact, today is one of the few days of the year when I don't have dance practice. I just got up to see something."

Rima was feeling curious now. "Really? What is it?"

"Come. I'll show you." And he led her towards the same courtyard they had visited during the day.

The incense sticks and holders had been cleared away, leaving small piles of fruit and flowers around the tree. They both sat down under the tree between two piles of fruits, and he motioned for her to be quiet.

"Shh. Now look up."

She did, and almost immediately a star shot across the sky.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. She had never seen a shooting star before. It was really magical.

He smiled at her. "Do you like it?"

She smiled back. "Yes! This is the best sleepover ever!"

"Good," he replied, then they were silent as they watched the night sky together under the cherry-blossom tree.

Gomenasai, minna-san! It turns out I wasn't able to post this in time after all! I'm really sorry! However, I will try to finish this fanfic before the end ofthis month, so don't give up on me yet! Til next time!

Disclaimer: Carrot-Bunny does not own Shugo Chara! or any of its characters, but wishes she did.