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~Sparks will Fly~
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DO NOT OWN Shugo Chara! or grocery stores. My gosh, these disclaimers are getting steadily duller.
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I was racking my brain for answers. Yesterday, when Nagihiko had said 'sorry', I had heard him say it before, but I couldn't place it. It was annoying me to death.
I was in science class again, the best place to do whatever you want, which included thinking intensely about something.
"Rima-chan, you look like you're about to break your pencil," Nagihiko whispered. "Not that you could, but I don't want you to injure yourself trying."
"Hilarious," I hissed at him. "Now shut up; I'm thinking." I rubbed my temples irritably. I couldn't remember, but I knew it was from somewhere.
Thankfully or not, Nikaidou-sensei (who seemed to be trying to avoid watching us, and was failing miserably) stood up and preached the announcement.
"Please watch out while walking home," he said loudly, and then promptly sat down. Nice way to lighten the mood. Seeing as how there were no other things to distract the other kids, they were having full-out whisper sessions.
The 'sorry' was still bothering the living crap out of me. I was silently begging for the bell to ring. And as if at my command, the bell rang, its shrill sound resonating through the halls. I put up my things and started walking with Girly-Boy, once again ignoring Amu's cries for us to wait.
We walked on the pleasant path to the Royal Garden, the various students watching us either hatefully, jealously, or lovingly. All three scared me.
Pondering silently, I stared at Nagihiko, ticked that he had been on my mind the whole time during school. And ew, not that way.
Nagihiko blinked at me as I watched his every movement. "Rima-chan…Um, do you need something?"
My eyes narrowed for a second, but I then shook my head, my blond curls flying. "No," I said curtly. "Nothing."
Quickly changing the subject, I muttered the question that I would never tire of. "I'm hungry."
"Rima-chan, I'm not like the grocery store; I don't have endless supplies of food in my backpack," he told me dryly. I shrugged.
"It seems like it most of the time," I mumbled as we entered the Royal Garden. But it was different. There was an absence of a loud and piercing voice.
Where was Yaya? I walked faster until I finally stopped at the table, only to be visited by a snoring Yaya.
"Is she sleeping?" Nagihiko asked as he walked up next to me.
"No, she's dead," I said sarcastically.
"It was just a question," he said defensively, which I ignored. Silence engulfed us as I watched Yaya, who was snoring away.
Sleeping…Snoring… I frowned in frustration. What was it…?
"Sorry we're late!" Amu cried out as she ran inside. My head snapped up, and I nearly growled in frustration. I had lost my train of thought.
"It's fine," Nagihiko said kindly as the both of them collapsed into their chairs. I nodded vaguely, trying to get back on track.
"Yeah, did you two love-birds have fun?" I asked nonchalantly watching with interest as Amu's face slowly turned bright red.
"Anyways," Tadase continued hastily, saving Amu, "why don't we start the meeting? Can somebody wake Yuiki-san up?"
Amu got up and shook Yaya repeatedly, and Yaya mumbled, "Five more minutes, Strawberry-san!" The three of us stifled our laughter at Amu's indignant face.
"Enraged that somebody besides Mr. Kitty called you that?" I snickered, watching as Amu turned even darker. However, I did have a spark of recollection when Yaya mumbled in her sleep. What… was it?
That's when I finally got it. "Ah, right, he said it in his sleep!" I said, my eyebrows furrowing in thought. Amu stopped shaking Yaya, Tadase nearly dropped his teacup, and Nagihiko's book literally fell onto the ground. I blinked.
Yaya's eyelids snapped open, her eyes wide. "Eh, Rima-tan, you watched a boy sleep?"
I mentally smacked myself, after realizing what I had just said. Instead, I said coolly, "No, but I knew that Yaya would wake up if I said that."
Amu, Tadase, and Yaya, being the idiotic friends that are mine, just nodded their heads slowly and turned to listen to Tadase while Yaya whined at me. But, Nagihiko's eyes still held a spark of suspicion, which I ignored dutifully.
Waiting impatiently for the meeting to end, I played with my teacup, thinking about Nagihiko sleeping (and no, to all of you perverts, not like that). Now that I think about it, he looked almost sad while he was mumbling, but then again, at the time, I was half delirious from lack of sleep.
"…And that concludes today's meeting," Tadase finished. I straightened my back. It was over already? Tuning these meetings out seems to be getting easier and easier…
"Rima-chan, let's go," Nagihiko said cheerily as he grabbed his backpack. I turned my gaze onto him and watched him as I slowly got up and followed.
"Where are we going?" I asked him, already going to refuse if he even suggests his house. I don't require another babysitting job, thanks.
"Grocery store," he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"…Why?" I asked him, waiting expectantly for an explanation.
"We're getting supplies," he said simply. That's when everything clicked, and I nodded.
"Oh, so we're getting more supplies for the project, like lightbulbs, wires, and other things that you so lovingly stabbed the other night?" I asked him sweetly.
"You already know why, so why are you asking?" he grumbled. "No need to rub salt into the wound."
I shrugged and kept walking. "How long does it take to get to a grocery store?"
"If we ran, it'd take less then ten minutes," Nagihiko suggested. I gave him a withering look.
"No."
"Rima-chan," he said with a frown. "If we don't buy the supplies fast, we won't be able to work on the project!"
"Can't you see that as a good thing?" I asked him. His look said no.
"I'm not good at running though," I protested. Nagihiko looked me over for a second and let go of a breath.
"That's true."
"Thanks," I mumbled. That's when Rhythm, who seems to enjoy listening in on other's conversations, formed a wicked grin onto his tiny face.
"But, Nagi's good at running," he said innocently. Nagihiko nodded suspiciously.
"Yeah, but Rima's not," Kusukusu stated again. Thank you for supporting me, my darling chara.
The grin grew as he whispered into Kusukusu's ear. Is he hitting on my chara? That's only mildly disturbing. Kusukusu's face turned understanding, and she giggled as she whispered into Temari's ear. A twinkle developed into her eyes, and she laughed girlishly behind her pink kimono sleeve.
"Now then," Rhythm continued triumphantly. "I have the perfect solution to your problem!" We both shared a look and then turned towards him.
"And?"
Rhythm, who smiled widely, snapped his fingers and cried out, "Chara-change!"
Oh heck no. Beside me, I heard a familiar ping noise, and turned towards Nagihiko, who blinked. Before I could react, Nagihiko smiled in a sort of play-boyish way and picked me up. Being close to him (his fault, his fault, his fault), I saw the familiar pair of headphones around his neck. He started running, and, seeing as how if I did, I would bite my tongue, I tried not to scream deadly threats at him.
He wasn't going fast, per-se, but he wasn't going all that slow either. I swear, once he puts me down, I was first going to turn red from anger, and then slap the snot out of him and Rhythm. I felt him slowing down eventually, and then he put me down gently and carefully. I heard another ping, and I looked up to see a confused Nagihiko and three evil shugo chara.
"What happened?" he asked, blinking repeatedly, as if to clear his head. I jabbed my finger at Rhythm, giving them both dark looks.
Nagihiko didn't bother even asking. "Chara-change," he mumbled. Then his face brightened. "Well, whatever, at least we're here!" Way to be bipolar Girly-Boy.
As soon as we walked inside, the charas ditched us. I'm willing to bet that Rhythm wanted to avoid being murdered. Wimp.
He started walking inside, dragging me alongside him. He grabbed a cart and I frowned. "You don't need a cart, right? We're not getting that many things…"
"My mom… Kind of wanted me to go grocery shopping, so I'm hitting two birds with one stone," he replied as he continued pushing the cart. Suppressing a sigh, a slap, and a death glare, I followed him inside.
I looked around the grocery store in boredom. Sample tables were everywhere, scattered throughout the store to get people to buy from them. Nagihiko was inspecting oranges while I just stood next to him, glancing around every now and then.
"Nagihiko, are you done?" I asked in pure annoyance, whipping my head around, only to find the stupid guy not even there. Shoot. This place was pretty big, even for a grocery store. How the heck am I supposed to find him?
"Are you lost, little one?" I heard a kind voice ask. Whoever called me 'little one' was going to get a good hard punch. I turned around and found myself looking at a frail, old man. I nodded and reluctantly took the man's hand as he led me around.
"Hello? Lost child!" he called out. I tapped my foot softly (so he wouldn't hear, but I'm sure he's half deaf anyways), impatient. Where was that Girly-Boy when you needed him?
"Ah, Rima-chan!" I heard somebody cry out. I looked over to see Nagihiko running over. He stooped down in front of me. "Rima-chan, don't wander off," he scolded like a father. Screw. Him.
"Now son, please be more careful when you're walking around with your sister," the old man said sternly. "In fact," he continued, kneeling down, "if you hold her hand, then you two will be just fine." He put out hands together and patted them gently. Then he took out a lollipop from his pocket and handed it to me, and then walked off. I gaped at him as he walked off.
"A very flattering face you're making," Nagihiko said with a slight smile. "Looks like they all think you're seven or something."
"Shut up," I hissed at him. "And let go of my hand," I grumbled, yanking my hand out of his. He shrugged.
"Well, whatever, let's keep going," he said, bringing out a list. We were walking as he talked to himself, his eyebrows knitting together every now and then. That's when I felt somebody watching me. Or us. Or him.
I turned around and saw a woman hurrying over to us. "Hold your sister's hand!" she scolded him, and Nagihiko nearly jumped from the sudden outburst. I hid my laugh behind my hand. Then she grabbed my hand and made Nagihiko's curl around it.
"One day, when she gets a boyfriend and doesn't want to talk to you anymore, you're going to be sad that you never treasured these moments," she chided. "So hold onto her while you can, and besides, you've already lost her once today, so why are you trying to lose her again?"
Nagihiko forced a smile and bowed. "I'm sorry." She nodded wisely and then turned around and walked away.
"Let go of my hand now," I whispered to him.
"No way, I don't want to be yelled at by the elderly again," he shot back. I snorted. Jerk. Idiot. Stupid-head. Cross-dressing freak.
"Rima-chan, I'm surprised you're not insulting me yet, so I'm guessing you're going with thought insults, hm?" he inquired casually as he read the back of a box. I scowled.
Evil. Boy.
That's when I my stomach grumbled and I winced. Nagihiko looked down in surprise. "Did you skip lunch?" he asked, clearly concerned.
"Well, I had some make-up stuff to do," I mumbled. He nodded and looked around.
"Huh, I dunno…" he looked around. "Can you settle for samples?"
"Yeah, whatever," I said, my voice quiet. So this is how a hobo feels?
He looked around and going up to a random sample table he asked the woman, "Can I have a sample for my younger sister?"
She looked at me and her eyes shined. "Aw, how cute!" she cooed. I wanted to cringe away from her. Gross. Obsessive lady. "Of course she can! Here, why don't you just take a whole package, for free," she said. Nagihiko blinked.
"Oh, but, we couldn't," Nagihiko started. She shook her head.
"I insist," and I must admit, she was quite persistent. Nagihiko took it reluctantly and smiled at her.
"Thank you."
We kept walking while I munched on the free food. He looked down, amused. "Enjoying your food?"
"Shut up," I huffed. He pouted.
"No need to be so rude, Rima-chan," he said with a playful smile.
That's when I turned around and found Kusukusu and Temari giggling and Rhythm full out belching out laughter. I quirked an eyebrow. Temari and Kusukusu pointed at our hands and Rhythm clapped Nagihiko on his back. I tried (unsuccessfully) not to turn pink.
"Nice going, Nagi!" he cheered. Nagihiko, who had been putting juice into the cart, frowned at the chara.
"Er, thanks?"
"You're not happy?" Rhythm asked, confused.
"I'm buying groceries, so why…?" he trailed off, eventually following the pointing chara's hands. "Oh."
And let the awkward silence ensue, shall we? The charas all grinned. "We'll leave you two alone till you guys are done," Rhythm added as he dragged the other two off to who-knows-where.
"I'm going to murder your chara," I told him bluntly. He ruffled his hair vaguely.
"I really don't blame you," he said under his breath, giving me a small smile, which I ignored blatantly.
"Anyways, what did you mean earlier during school 'he said it in his sleep'?" he asked casually. I froze. I was hoping he was going to drop that subject, seeing as how I had forgotten all about it anyways.
"Nothing," I replied automatically. He started shaking his head.
"Nope, you meant something," he said firmly. He looked at me curiously. "Were you talking about me by any chance?"
Like I was going to tell him I kind of sorta accidentally overheard him say 'sorry' in his sleep. I would sound like… a stalker. Or a creepy, obsessive fangirl. So no.
The problem is, is that if I tried to change the subject, Nagihiko would know. So shoot.
So I did the logical thing. My eyes filled with tears and I looked into Nagihiko's eyes, letting the tears overspill and fall down my face. "Onii-chan, how could you say that?" I sobbed, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. I peeked a bit and saw people staring. Nagihiko, who knew it was fake, bit his lip, conflicted. But I saw something behind that. I wasn't sure what, but…
Well, to say the least, he did the unexpected. He kneeled down until we were face-to-face. He gently ruffled my blond curls and I continued sniffling, but I was suspicious. What was he doing?
"I'm sorry," he whispered. I nodded, and looked into his eyes. They were heavily guarded, a happy mask hiding something… different. And something told me…
That this… wasn't all an act.
"I'll protect you, okay?" he told me, another grin spreading on his face. He leaned closer and whispered softly into my ear, "By the way, Rima-chan, you're not off the hook just yet." And with a wink he picked me up and flipped me onto his back.
My mouth was wide open in surprise. "Let me go," I said softly. He shook his head.
"Not unless you want to disappoint our fans," he said jokingly, and I looked around and buried my head into his back.
It was true. The whole grocery store had stopped bustling for about five minutes to watch our little 'act'. Wonderful. Now they were all cheering and applauding, a few squealing how cute we were.
"I hate you," I mumbled into his ear.
A smile lit up his face, and he laughed breezily. "Aw, I love you lots too, Rima-chan."
But what I continued thinking about was his eyes. They were so sad and almost... happy at the same time. What the heck. All of this thinking was giving me a headache.
He gave me a piggy-back ride for a little while, but after I gave him a few bruises by pounding on his back angrily, he let me down.
"Jeez, Rima-chan," he groaned, rubbing his sore back. I smirked. That's what he gets.
"What do we still need?" I asked him. He took out the (long) list and compared it to the sparse cart.
"We need a lot more," he confirmed, starting to walk away, taking my hand. I growled, ticked. Stupid list, and stupid him.
"Let's see," he muttered, clicking his tongue. "I need seaweed, bleach, and chocolate."
"What?" I asked.
"What? Just because we're dancers doesn't mean we don't eat chocolate," he said defensively. I looked at him again. Maybe due to the harsh florescent lights, which were deluding me, he looked so… peaceful, unlike earlier. He cracked a smile. "What? You're staring again. You know, like that time when I slept over at your house."
"What are you talking about?" I asked indifferently.
"That guy you were talking about earlier, it was me, wasn't it?" he asked, looking like he wanted to laugh. "Although I'm flattered, Rima-chan, it really is best that you don't watch people while they sleep. It might… distract them."
Where was Kusukusu when I needed her?
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I responded stiffly, and he looked like he was restraining a laugh.
"Aw, Rima-chan, why not?" he asked brightly.
While giving him a withering look, I said sarcastically, "'Cause I'm an amnesiac."
Nagihiko caught his breath and bit his lip and soon became uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot. "Oh." He forced a smile and turned away from me. "Let's see, next on the list…"
I looked at his back. Why… why was he acting like this? I ran over and looked into his eyes suspiciously. He was surprised, and his eyes were unguarded. An overwhelming sadness was in his eyes and the cheerful happiness that seemed to be so carefully constructed…
…Was shattered.
"Rima-chan, I know my eyes are very lovely, but I think we're holding up a line," he said with another one of his 'winning' smiles. I snapped out of it and looked behind him. There was a huge line behind us and I grabbed his hand again and we started walking away. When I looked back into his eyes, the mask was back, and he looked at me curiously.
"Hmmm? Have you fallen in love with my eyes, Rima-chan?" he asked teasingly. I continued looking into them.
"Stop lying," I told him. He stopped walking and turned around.
"What do you mean?"
"The happiness in your eyes… it's not real, is it?" I asked softly. "Why are you lying to yourself?"
He said nothing and continued staring at me in shock. "The happiness that you have so carefully crafted… what is it hiding?" I felt like whining. It's not what I'd usually do, but the thing is… I felt like I owed (just a tiny, tiny, tiny bit) something to Nagihiko.
He blew into his bangs, making them flutter. "Rima-chan… Maybe you're right in saying I'm hiding something… And in truth, I'll probably tell you someday," he said thoughtfully. "After all, you found out about my other secret pretty easily," he said ruefully. I'd rather not relive that 'pleasant' memory.
"But what you're saying about my happiness isn't true. The happiness in here," he said, pointing into his eyes (and looking like an idiot), "is real. There's so much that I have… It's hard not to be happy. I'm fine." He gave me a weak smile. "Don't worry about it right now, okay?"
"Anyways," he continued, the smile steadily growing stronger, "since I've told you so much about myself, why don't you tell me about that little sleeping incident, hmm?" he asked innocently.
And that's when realization set in. Nagihiko was a good actor, wasn't he? I growled. I was set up. "Jerk."
"What do you mean, Rima-chan?" he asked in mock horror.
"You were acting the whole time," I accused. He shrugged.
"You acted like a seven year-old the whole time we were in this store," he pointed out. I shook my head viciously.
"One-third of the time," I corrected him sweetly. "And I can do that crying bit all over again."
He ran his fingers through his hair, a small smirk making way onto his face. "I never said that stuff wasn't true. Acting just adds dramatic effect. Now, Rima-chan, you want to tell me who that person was?"
"Fine," I said quietly, giving him a dagger-like glare. "Itwasyou."
"Now, was that hard, Rima-chan?"
"Excruciatingly hard," I told him dryly.
"Mhmm," he hummed, continually dragging me around different areas of the store. And every time we passed a sample table, somebody would come up and give me free things. And I most certainly didn't miss the crafty sparkle in Nagihiko's eyes.
"What are you planning?"
"What in the world do you mean?" he asked sweetly, his eyes wide. That was my thing.
Although… he pulled it off pretty well.
"You're planning something," I sniffed. "I can see it in your eyes." He gawked at me.
"Seriously?" he asked, stunned. "Huh. I didn't know people could tell that kind of stuff about me from my eyes. Actually, I'm pretty sure you're the only one…"
"Anyways, maybe I am planning something," he said. "It would benefit us…Sort of." I nodded for him to continue.
He continued by whispering into my ear. "Y'see, if we use you, we can get some of these things for free. All of the people think you're just adorable," he sounded like he was snorting on this word, "So I think they'd give you anything."
I kicked him in the shin. "Cheapskate."
He winced and rubbed the sore spot. "Thanks, Rima-chan."
After considering the 'prospect' I carefully said, "Fine. But I'm guessing it's because you left your wallet somewhere, isn't it?"
"Um, no?" he said with a nervous laugh. After registering my dark look, he sighed and gave me a bashful grin. "Yeah. Kind of."
"You suck. A lot."
"I'll take that in an endearing way," he said with another wink.
"Alright, then," I said as I flipped my hair over my shoulder. "Let's get this show on the road."
"Rima, what are you talking about?" I heard the familiar voice of Kusukusu. I turned and a small smile curled onto my face.
"Rhythm, just because you're hiding behind Kusukusu doesn't mean I can't see you."
Rhythm shuddered. Nagihiko nodded gravely. "I know. She's scary, isn't she?"
"If you don't shut up, I won't help you," I threatened. He held up his hands in defense.
"I was kidding," he said with a pout.
He took my hand and pulled me along. "Anyways, I have about 3000 yen, so we have to try and pull off the rest of the items for free."
"How much stuff do you have on there?" I asked him. He started counting and turned towards me again.
"Eleven."
"I hate you."
"I really feel the love in that comment, Rima-chan," he said breezily, and knowing him, he was already used to my comments.
"How much of that stuff can you buy with thirty bucks?"
He started using his fingers (he blushed when I laughed) and pursing his lips, he said, "Approximately seven things, if I buy the cheap kind."
"Heck yeah, you're buying the cheap crap."
He ignored my comment. "Well, let's go to our first stop," he said, his infamous grin on his face. I almost shuddered as I realized the same smiles were on each of the chara's faces.
Stop 1: Peaches
I stood on my tiptoes and peeked up adorably from beneath my lashes to look at the lady. "Can I have a peach?" I asked politely, pointing at one. Her smile was kind as she handed me a big, juicy one.
"Of course sweetie!"
I bit into it and I forced my face to light up. "It's delicious!" I exclaimed happily. Gag. I hated acting all go-happy and… childish.
Now that I think about it… Why do I hang out with Yaya again?
That's when Nagihiko took his cue and came up to me. "Rima-chan, there you are!" he said, picking me up. "Did you take a peach from the nice lady?"
"Yes," I said cutely. "But I asked."
"She really did, and it's fine," the lady added.
Nagihiko managed to look embarrassed. "I'm sorry about my sister. She really likes peaches and everything, so I really do appreciate it."
"Oh no, it was no problem! Your sister is so adorable," she crooned. "Would you like to buy some more?"
"Oh, I can't," he said, biting his lip. "I don't have any money on me except for a few dollars… I'm very sorry," he said, bowing. She shook her head furiously.
"You poor darlings," she said, and then she bustled around the counter and took some peaches and put them into a bag. "Here you are, no charge, alright?"
Nagihiko started to refuse, saying, "I couldn't… You worked so hard and everything…"
"It's fine," she said insistently, pushing the basket into him. Nagihiko gave nodded his head and I broke out in a wide grin.
"Thank you!" As we walked away, I saw the woman smile at us endearingly.
Stop 2: Ice Cream
"Why does a dancer need ice cream?" I wondered aloud as we walked over. Kusukusu nodded her agreement. Both Temari and Rhythm hid their secret smiles.
The smile that appeared on his face didn't explain much. "No reason."
An old man stood watch over the sampling area. He looked grouchy, kind of gross, and mean. He was wearing overalls and a hat covered the first half of his face, making him look dark and rebellious (or as dark and rebellious as an elderly man can). Now, won't this be fun?
"Ojii-san!" I exclaimed as I walked over to him. "Can I have some ice cream?"
"If you pay," he replied gruffly, eyeing me. "Can you?"
"Oh, um, well, my brother might be able to…" I stammered.
"Well, where is your brother?" he growled. Well, isn't somebody a chipper old grandpa?
Tears welled up in my eyes and he watched nonchalantly as the tears dripped down my face. I already knew; he seemed like the insensitive kind of guy. But what I was counting on to help me in this situation…
Was the sympathy of a few onlookers.
"What in the world did you do to this poor girl?" a woman yelled at him. He jumped out of his seat.
"I didn't do nothing!" he quipped. Kusukusu stuck her tongue out next to him with Temari glaring at him. Rhythm, who really didn't care, floated on his back.
"Oh yeah, because out of nowhere, a girl will start crying," another woman joined in. About five other people started shouting at him and he cringed. Nagihiko soon came along, having a look of surprise on his face as he held a carton of milk.
"Eh, Rima-chan, what's wrong?" he asked, a worried look overcoming his eyes.
"He… he made me cry!" I wailed, burying my head into his shoulder. Gross. He smells… like… sakura blossoms. That's pretty… hard to do.
I continued sobbing, the cries racking my body. Perhaps I was overdoing it, but hey, nobody would really know. One of the ladies whacked the man with her purse.
"Give her some free ice cream, you jerk!" they all yelled and he yelped as he took out a container and shoved it at Nagihiko.
"Take it, take it!"
I wiped my tears on my sleeve and looked at the small group of woman. "Thank you!" They all nodded and patted my head while the man gaped. Ha. Serves the idiot right.
Stop 3: Candy
"Didn't we already buy chocolate?" I muttered. He pointed at the list.
"Yeah, but candy's on there too," he said as he ran his fingers through his long hair. "Well, let's go, I suppose." We walked up to the counter and a girl around our age popped up from behind it. Her caramel-colored hair was put into one long braid. She blinked her large blue eyes as if coming out of a trance. Besides that fact, she was wearing our school uniform.
That's when she registered Nagihiko standing in front of her and she turned dark red. "F-F-Fujisaki-kun?" she stammered. "What are you doing here?" She was scrambling around, trying to get everything in order. Then she saw me (what, was I too short to see or something?) and she looked surprised. "Eh, Mashiro-san?"
She looked down even farther, and, if possible, turned even darker. "U-U-Um, are you two," she stuttered, pointing at our intertwined hands. I snatched my hand from his quickly, looking away from him. Smiling wryly while rubbing his hand, he shook his head.
"Ah, it's Kitazawa-san, right?" he asked kindly. Her blush still hadn't faded and she nodded furiously.
"Y-yes, it's Kitazawa Najika," she whispered, the words coming out so soft I could hardly hear them. I looked between the two, and Nagihiko, who was in fact, quite dense, just continued smiling at her. Rhythm slapped a hand onto his forehead. Kusukusu mimicked him while Temari hid a giggle from behind her sleeve.
Twirling a piece of his hair, he stared down at the list of sweets. "Hmmm, well…" he clicked his tongue. "Do you suggest anything, Kitazawa-san?"
The furious blush never moved from her face and she was pretty flustered even at the mere mention of her name. "Oh, um, well, this is good, and so is that," she said, pointing at the items mentioned.
He said cheerily, "Well, I'll have those, I guess." She nodded and hurriedly put the things into a bag. He took the bag and he reached into his pocket. Crap. We were really going to have to stretch the budget now...
"Keep it," she blurted out. "You don't have to pay, since we're classmates and everything…" she mumbled. Nagihiko started protesting, but an honest smile appeared onto her face.
"No, it's really okay. My mother won't mind." Nagihiko grinned at her.
"Well, thank you!" he said and he waved as he turned around. She let loose a breath, a dreamy look in her eyes. I held back a small smile. If only she knew how he really was.
"Thanks," I said quietly, and she started. She saw me and gasped.
"Ah, Mashiro-san, oh, um, I and…" she stopped her guilty talking as I waved her off and followed Nagihiko, wherever the heck he went.
But, before I left, I heard her softly say, "You're welcome."
Stop 4: Bananas
I wandered around, appearing lost. I stopped abruptly when I felt somebody tap me.
"Lost again?" I turned and saw the elderly man from way earlier. He tugged on my hand and led me to his booth. I was surprised to see Nagihiko there as well. Bananas were next? Just our luck that this guy was the same one from earlier.
"Now listen here young man, I found your sister lost again," he said sternly. "Didn't I tell you to hold her hand?"
"It's not his fault mister," I said miserably. "I let go of his hand and got lost." His eyes softened. And then I heard my stomach rumble and I turned pink. I tugged on Nagihiko jacket. "I'm hungry."
"Well, we can't have that, can we?" the old man cried out. He handed me a banana. "Here ya go."
I opened it and bit into it. I forced a smile, seeing as how I despised bananas. "Thank you!"
The old man tapped the side of his cheek thoughtfully. "If you'd like, you can have this basket of bananas, free of charge," he told Nagihiko, who froze. I struggled to keep my eyes carefree and innocent as I listened to them.
"That is, if you promise to take good care of your sister, and you do one more thing," he said slyly. Nagihiko nodded for him to continue.
"I promise."
"Alright then," the old man said, handing him the basket. "Now, what I want you to do is to give your sister a nice, loving kiss." I almost choked on my banana. Rhythm, Kusukusu, and Temari nearly choked on laughter.
Excuse me?
"Um, could you repeat that?" Nagihiko asked him, his eyes wide.
He snorted. "She's your sister, so it's just family love. It's not that bad."
"Er, wouldn't a hug be better?" Nagihiko suggested desperately. He shook his head firmly. Apparently, once he says something, he sticks to it stubbornly. Nagihiko let a small breath escape from between his lips as he crouched down until we were eye-level.
I groaned. I hated family love. I hated this plan. Nagihiko came closer and he planted a small and gentle kiss on my right cheek. I tried to ignore the loud cheers of the charas.
"Thank you," Nagihiko said quickly as he bowed his head and we both walked away as quickly as possible. The old man nodded in satisfaction as he watched us.
Nagihiko was checking stuff off of the list, both of us trying to forget what just recently… happened, and the charas weren't helping with them yelling, "They kissed, they kissed!" Right now, I was panicking.
How was I supposed to get his disease off of my face?
"Alright, looks like we've got everything," Nagihiko said. "Including wire and lightbulbs, and…" he continued talking to himself.
"Way to be a stick in the mud, Nagi," Rhythm complained.
"Okay, looks like we can go check-out," he said as he started pushing the cart, disregarding his chara's words. He was still holding my hand (for obvious reasons).
We arrived at our station and the check-out person whirled around. "Ah, sorry for the wait…" she stopped talking as she stared at Nagihiko's face. "F-F-Fujisaki-kun?" And the stuttering returns.
"Kitazawa-san? Weren't you at a booth earlier?" Nagihiko asked as he put the items in place.
"Oh, my family owns this place, so I work in multiple areas," she said, and afterwards, she had shock written all over her face. I'm pretty sure it was because she hadn't stammered once during that sentence.
"I see," Nagihiko said elegantly, giving her a smile, and sparkles flew. Tadase number two.
She turned a dark shade of scarlet and looked down at her feet as she scanned everything. "That'll be 2837 yen," she murmured. Nagihiko searched his pocket and eventually handed her the money. After handing him his change, Nagihiko looked at her again.
"Thanks for recommending the candy, Kitazawa-san. I appreciate it," he said earnestly. She nodded, and I could tell she was trying to swallow her blush. Nagihiko, who was still oblivious, walked away. I turned slightly and gave her a tiny smile, and then turned back away, shrugging my hair over my shoulder.
When we finally got outside, I told him, "You're an idiot." Then again, I suppose being a girl for most of his life may have affected how he sees girls, and what he sees about them. The three charas nodded in agreement. Heck, if Kusukusu gets it, he's doomed.
"What? What'd I do now?" he asked, exasperated. I ignored him as he put the cart away and he grunted as he carried the bags. "Rima-chan, can you carry this?" he begged, handing me one. I grabbed it daintily.
"I guess I'll walk you home," Nagihiko said. "Let's see, it's this way, am I right?" I nodded. I wasn't even going to comment on how he knew.
"Let's go."
As we walked, I glanced over at him as he struggled with his bags. Forcefully, I took another bag from him and tried not to see his incredulous face. "Don't say a word."
An amused light lit up his face and he nodded. "Thanks, Rima-chan."
Eventually, we rounded a corner and I saw the familiar ring of houses surrounding my own dull and bland house. Home sweet home. I entered the house and put my hand right in front of his face. "Stay here."
I ran inside and grabbed a basket and then came back outside, handing it to him. "Here."
"Well, isn't Rima-chan being nice today?" he said teasingly, easing some of the bags into the basket. "Thank you."
That's when I heard that familiar ping. Before I could react, Nagihiko hugged me softly for a second. I didn't do anything, seeing as how all I did was hand him a basket. Because it's really necessary to hug a person if you give them a basket. Afterwards, he turned on his heel and left. I walked to the gate and saw the headphones around his neck, Rhythm panicking as Temari yelled at him about 'taking advantage of the situation'.
Kusukusu giggled.
I let my dark aura seep through, but a small and amused smile crept onto my face anyways. I shook my head and entered my house, slamming the door shut behind me.
Hurrah for updating (and surprisingly, I'm actually doing it in the afternoon...)! Hello, hello everybody. :D 'Tis me, that person you don't know but still reads her stories anyways. Ha. I have returned! :'D (Yay?)
Anyways, this chapter... Hmm. I don't know how it turned out like that. I was planning on making it something waaaay different, but then it turned into... that. I'm pretty satisfied with it though... I guess. Ha, I added another OC. She's not really special, except maybe her name... But I'm not sure you'll get it if you haven't read 'Kitchen Princess'. ^^
And, if you guys kinda sorta hadn't noticed, yes, there will be times when it won't be all that funny and stuff, and blah blah blaaaah. Sorry about that, if you were only planning on reading this for fun or something... It still should be though, I think. (coughcoughIhopecoughcough)
As for the reviews... I was really surprised. I got like... 13 reviews? I was so happy, I started insanely giggling. But... now my family thinks I'm a nut who just lives here for shelter and food. Personally, I don't blame them...
I have decided to answer reviews now with the review reply thing, since it makes the story look a tad longer... And I realized some people might like more privacy when I do those kind of things. So yes... (By the way, the review responses from last chapter should have been posted on my Author's Note... which I took down... Aw, fiddlesticks.)
Ahem. So... I think that should be it? Hopefully I'll be able to update again since I'm on break... And, now that I think about it, Christmas is this week! Yeah, I know I can be kinda sorta dumb. Sorry. :P
Oh, and sorry about this author's note being slightly... longer than the others. I just needed to clear up a few things about this story and what-not. Or whatnot. You get my point.
So, review if you'd like, I'd really appreciate it if you would though. ;) If you have constructive criticism (like grammatical errors, me being redundant, etc.), do drop a comment please. I'll take anything! (No. Really.)
Thanks for reading~ See ya later!
-forever blue skies-
PS: If you could, could you tell me which 'Stop' you liked best? Just to hear personal opinions and stuff. :3
