-Disenchanted-
Chapter seven - Resistances and Revelations
It was Monday again.
I groaned.
Monday meant school, and school meant having to face the troublesome being that was Fujisaki Nagihiko. I couldn't face it; for the first time in my life, I would be in a situation too embarrassing for me to be comfortable in. It would involve goodness knows how many days of Fujisaki smirking at me (it didn't matter if he didn't know about what had happened!) and that new girl Harada staring at me and... and then I realised.
I wasn't any old socially awkward teenage girl: I was Mashiro Rima. The Mashiro Rima. The one who had tons of fanboys milling around me - who would do anything for me - and a reputation that intimidated even teachers.
I may have been vertically challenged, but I certainly wasn't socially challenged. I could handle one purple-headed freak and a weird gothgirl who sat in trees and then disappeared.
So, with my new-found confidence, I positively leapt out of bed. Well not leapt exactly, I still had my Ice Queen reputation to uphold after all.
Kusukusu certainly noticed the sudden change in my attitude.
"Rima, you've cheered up!" she smiled excitedly as I climbed down the stairs to have breakfast.
"Yeah." I smiled back. In the kitchen, Mama was sitting at the table, reading the paper.
"Morning Mama," I said quietly, and she nodded her head in reply. I tried to look on the bright side; at least Papa wasn't there to argue with Mama. He had left for work very early, evidently trying to avoid a confrontation with Mama. They were going through one of their 'forget-civil-let's-just-argue' phases.
During breakfast, I sat quietly and read a gag manga. Kusukusu read over my shoulder, and her occasional bursts of laughter sent warm air rushing down my neck. Mama saw me shiver every time it happened, and raising her eyebrows at me, gave me something she hadn't in a long time: a smile. It was brief, but it changed her face completely. And when I smiled back, Kusukusu bounced around in delight.
On the way to school, Kusukusu whispered in my ear:
"Rima! I feel really strong, hehe! You must be in a really good mood!"
"I am," I replied, and even as I walked, the sky seemed brighter and the sunlight stronger. The good mood continued until I met Amu at the gate, and gave her a ginormous smile. The expression on her face was priceless and made me chuckle loudly.
"I see someone's in a good mood," Fujisaki's calm voice cut through my laughter. I made no response on the outside, but inside my stomach was churning. Hmn. It seemed Ice Queen Rima's iron defenses weren't entirely back yet. I hoped it was something temporary, or things could quickly become awkward.
I avoided looking at Fujisaki, and thankfully I was helped by Yaya's arrival. Behind her, Kukai walked hand-in-hand with someone very unmistakable; Hoshina Utau. Amu's eyes were the size of plates as she took in the softly smiling blonde girl, to whom Kukai was grinning like a loon.
"Whaaaaaaaat?" I didn't think Amu could get any more astonished. As far as I could remember, Amu hadn't been in contact with her 'frenemy' for a few months. There'd been a sort of cold tension between them because Amu wouldn't admit she liked Ikuto and it was annoying Utau. Apparently she'd once had some sort of brother complex and now, although she was over it, it irritated her to see him still chasing after the one girl who wouldn't give him the light of day.
"What's the matter Amu? I see it's perfectly fine for you to string my brother along, but me dating Kukai is obviously crossing some invisible line." Utau had a smirk on her face, and it was difficult to tell if she was teasing or being serious.
"Nooooo," Amu giggled nervously, "I'm fine with it. In fact, I think you make a good couple, Utau. It was just..." She hesitated. "You haven't seen Ikuto recently, have you?" Her face was slightly concerned.
"Not since last Monday," Utau replied, her forehead creased. "It's just like him to disappear off though."
"Why? Has something happened between you?" She added sharply.
"Nope." Amu popped the 'p'. Utau glanced at her and then noticing the time, pecked Kukai on the cheek.
"I've got to go, Kukai. There's a huge concert coming up... and you know. See you later. You too Amu." She nodded her head at us and then swayed off. I briefly saw the jingle of the two chara eggs attached to her belt; it seemed Utau still hadn't figured out what her true self was. But then again, neither had any of us.
Class flew by. Thankfully, today was one of those rare days that I didn't have any lessons with Fujisaki. At lunchtime, me and Kusukusu settled down to eat our lunch opposite Amu. Pretty soon, Yaya joined us, sitting next to Amu, and then Kukai. I was left to sit next to all the charas but I didn't mind; it was fun to listen to their conversations.
"And I say that this is better than bala-balance!" Pepe's tone was firm as she argued her case against which gag manga trick was best; the old favourite: bala-balance, or a brand new trend: 'high-fiving people's faces'. I thought bala-balance was the best, obviously, but a lot were in favour of the new gag. That included Pepe, Ran and Daichi. They were currently debating with Kusukusu and Miki, who were contenders for bala-balance. Su had decided to remain neutral, and Kiseki and that chara's opinions were unknown.
"Pepe, you... you traitor!" cried Kusukusu melodramatically. Her large brown eyes wobbled reproachfully.
"I can't believe you would cross to... that side."
"Here here!" agreed Miki. They were saved from making further accusations by the arrival of Kiseki, closely followed by that chara.
That meant... Tadase and Fujisaki wouldn't be far behind. Sure enough, Tadase sat down on one side of me, and Fujisaki sat on the other. He perched right on the end of the bench, as far away from me as he could. It looked pretty odd, and even though I was supposed to be glad I wasn't in close proximity with him, it still hurt. I hoped it wouldn't be like this forever, or pretty soon Amu and the others would catch on that things between us were more tense than usual.
"Rhythm! What gag do you support?" demanded Kusukusu, sidling up to a bemused Rhythm.
"Bala-balance of course!" he winked at her and she blushed. I rolled my eyes. Trust Kusukusu. She was easily taken in by anyone's charms. The charas continued their debate, and things became even more demented when Kiseki announced he was to be the chair of the debate, even though he'd never even been there at the proceedings - and so a verbal battle ensued. All the guardians giggled, and even I cracked a small smile.
Outside the sun was shining, its rays penetrating the thin spring uniform we wore. I smiled contentedly on the grass, occasionally glancing at Kusukusu sunbathing with the other charas. The boys were playing football on the pitch, and Yaya had gone to talk to a teacher. It was just me and Amu, who kept shooting me weird looks. Finally, she crawled up to me.
"Rima?"
"Uh-huh?" I replied lazily. One of my arms was draped over my face and I could only make out the shadow of Amu above me.
"I have to ask you something." Her tone was quiet, and I looked up curiously.
"Um... I'm not sure how to phrase this..." she mumbled, "DoyoulikeNagi?" It came out so suddenly I sat bolt upright.
"Of course not!" I spluttered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the charas had also stopped sunbathing and were looking at me questioningly. Great. A midget audience.
"Well, it was just... I noticed a weird atmosphere between you two and I was wondering if maybe you'd confessed and Nagi had... turned you down?" The last part came out as a squeak, and my blood pressure rose.
As if I'd be rejected by that purple-headed freak! Who wasn't even a boy!
"Listen Amu, Fujisaki is not even a boy!" I snapped, deciding to not directly address her question. I hadn't meant to reveal my suspicion about Fujisaki's gender either, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
For a minute, Amu's face was puzzled, and then she broke out into peals of laughter, along with the charas. I glared and said defensively,
"It's true! Have you not seen her long hair, and the way she acts, and-"
"Oh I see where this is coming from," interrupted Amu, a very uncharacteristic smirk on her face, "You like Nagi and just don't want to admit it."
"NO!" I practically yelled. The noise of the boys playing football suddenly stopped and I looked over to see them staring at me. My face grew hot.
"I do not like Fujisaki!" I hissed back at Amu. She grinned; she was enjoying this; stupid idiot. I bet she thought it was a chance to see Ice Queen Rima lose her cool for once.
"And by the way, I don't know why you're lecturing me. I'm not the one who can't make her mind up whether she likes Emo Catguy or Mr. Pretty-In-Pink." I bit back triumphantly.
Now Amu's face was reddening to match my own, and the boys and the charas were still watching us.
"This isn't about me. Why won't you just admit you like Nagi? And where did this ridiculous thing about Nagi being a girl come from?" She challenged me once more.
"I don't like him! And it's true, it's true, it's true!" I was close to stamping my feet in despair. Suddenly, Amu stood up and clasped hold of my wrist, yanking me upwards.
"What are you doing?" I insisted, dragging in my heels. But my reluctance was no match for Amu's determination. She dragged me over to the playing field and right up to Fujisaki, who stood there, confused.
"Look at him closely and tell me he's not a girl." she instructed and practically flung me on to him. I looked up red as a beetroot into his wide eyes. There was no way I could admit defeat, though by now I was starting to doubt my own theory. It would be impossible for me, however, to admit this to Amu, because then she'd surely force me to say I liked Fujisaki. And that would be too much of a triumphant for him.
So I just stumbled back and bleated again desperately,
"Fujisaki must be a girl!"
Amu rolled her eyes.
"If that's not going to convince you, well then maybe this will," and now she turned to Fujisaki. "Nagi, I'm terribly sorry."
And with that, quick as a flash she had unbuttoned the whole of his shirt and pulled it open to reveal a chest.
A bare chest.
A boy's chest.
Fujisaki's face was bright red as he spluttered,
"Amu! Wh-what was that for?"
"I'm sorry," Amu said apologetically to him and then to the rest of the open-mouthed boys. I had yet to see the charas' reactions.
"Now will you believe me," she addressed me matter-of-fact, "and admit you like Nagihiko." The last part was said in a whisper, close to my ear. I stared at her, and then at Fujisaki, whose expression must have matched my own. We were both speechless, he beginning to rebutton his shirt while I stood there, hands clenched.
I felt like such a fool. Now I knew Fujisaki was definitely a boy, I wondered how I could have ever been so stupid as to think he was a girl. Maybe Amu was right, and I was just in deep denial that I could, possibly, like Fujisaki. Maybe liking Fujisaki wouldn't be so bad. But then I just kept picturing him smirking evilly in my mind and announcing he had some sort of hold over me because I liked him. And that thought was too scary to comprehend.
So I did the thing I was best at. I ran back to the grassy patch at the side of the playing field, grabbed a very surprised Kusukusu and fled round the side of the school, my heart pounding.
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