Dargh...high school stress is kicking in. I had five quizzes, two projects, and a paper all due in the same week. DANG. So I'm changing to updating once a week, probably on the weekends, now. Sorry about that. I'll try writing more stories though. And the result for my poll is...SERIES! I'll think up of a new series as soon as I can. Thanks for voting, everyone! Hope you like this chapter!


Chapter 9: To Protect To Defend

"Chi—chika-chan?" Nagihiko asked hesitantly. I gulped. Was that even Chika? She seemed to be in a painful charanari, as Nagihiko and I quickly charanaried as well.

"Charanari: Clown Drop!"

"Charanari: Beat Jumper!"

"Chika-chan, what are you doing?" Nagihiko asked, in a position ready to defend against any attack. Chika…err…if it's her, smirked even wider.

"Chika? That's not my name, my dear, dear Nagi." She said in a sugar-sweet tone yet mixed with her cocky tone, so it just sounded weird. "My name is Noir Diamond!" she exclaimed, shooting a beam of dark energy towards me. I quickly dodged out of the way. Thank goodness being charanaried slightly increased my athletic abilities.

"Chika-chan!" Nagihiko exclaimed once more. "What are you doing?" he asked. Chika let out a laugh.

"Protecting you, of course! I need to kill her to protect you!" she exclaimed, jabbing a finger in my direction. I looked at her weirdly. How in the world did killing me protect Nagihiko? Did I even pose a threat towards Nagihiko?

"Chika-chan! What are you doing? Rima-chan's my friend." I half-choked on the 'friend' word. Weren't we enemies? I glared at him.

"I'm not your friend, Purplehead." He sweat-dropped at my declaration, at which Chika pointed out.

"She isn't your friend Nagi! So I must…KILL HER!" Chika exclaimed. "Darkened Diamonds!" she exclaimed, sending a fury of black diamond shards towards my direction. I managed to avoid some but the others managed to scrape my skin, especially a rather deep gash dangerously near my neck. I winced at the blood that was coming out from the cuts as Nagihiko rushed over.

"Rima-chan, are you okay?" he asked caringly, checking my whole body for injuries. I quickly shrugged it of. "I'm fine." I said, turning my attention back to Chika. Was she serious? She was killing me because I wasn't Nagihiko's friend?

"Chika! Why are you harming my friend? Harming her means hurting me!" Nagihiko exclaimed. Chika was about to fire another attack when suddenly, her eyes widened, her hand remaining stuck out in front of her. Slightly, she trembled, turning her hand around and looking at her own palm. "W—what?" she stuttered, her whole body trembling. She placed her hands on the two sides of her head and let out another ear-piercing scream, running…err…floating out of the gym. I made the notion to follow after but the cuts, especially the gash, burned and I tripped over myself. "Rima-chan!" Nagihiko exclaimed, turning around and coming towards me. I grunted.

"Baka! Go chase after Chika! Don't you want to know what's wrong with her?" I barked. Nagihiko blinked but nodded, turning around once more to chase after the Chika who ran away. I managed to crawl over to the wall and leaned on it, as I stifled a yawn. I was rather tired from the fight…perhaps…I should take a nap…

And I soon fell asleep.


I woke up and found myself surrounded by white things: white walls, white ceiling, a white table nearby…and white bed sheets. I struggled to get up, but suddenly, my gash in my neck pained again. Perhaps it was deeper than I thought. Slightly straining my neck and turning it, I surveyed my surroundings, when suddenly, an alarm went off. Dang...was I kidnapped?

The door opened and in rushed what strangely looked like a nurse, with her white hat and outfit. I looked at her with a questioning look, and she smiled peacefully, walking over and taking a seat next to me.

"Rima-chan? You're in the hospital right now." the nurse said, as I nodded. Perhaps someone found me. But who?

"You were found wounded in the gym. A long-haired boy carried you over. Do you remember what happened?" she asked, taking out a clipboard. I gulped. What did Nagihiko say?

"I…don't." I lied. She nodded, scribbling something down on her clipboard. "Then do you remember everything else about yourself? I'm checking if you have amnesia, dear." She added. I nodded.

"I'm Mashiro Rima. I attend Seiyo High School. I live with my parents." I said. The nurse smiled.

"Alright. You have visitors, but your parents insisted they let you rest so they've left. I'll call you parents in now, alright?" she asked. I nodded, as I got myself supported on the back of the bed, sitting up. Soon, my parents rushed in, each worried to death.

"Rima-chan!" my mother gushed, cupping my cheeks as if checking if I were still alive. I frowned at the public display of motherly affection as my mother didn't notice and continued bubbling out questions.

"Are you alright Rima? I was at work when I was suddenly called my the nurse and said you were at the hospital! Who was it? What happened? Did someone do this on purpose?" she gurgled, as I cut her off.

"Mama, I'm fine. I…don't quite remember what happened." I lied once again, as Mama nodded…understandingly?

"I understand. The shock must have been too much for you, so you forgot about what happened…" she said. Whoa, when was my mom so smart?

"Rima…are you sure you're fine?" Papa asked. I smiled at him. "Yes Papa. Sorry for making you worry." Papa grunted and nodded gruffly.

Unconsciously, a smile stretched out on my face. For once, my parents cared. They didn't fight. They didn't argue. Perhaps…perhaps…

Things would get better?


"It's all your fault! If you would have watched her!"

"I was at work! Why weren't you there?"

I sighed, listening to my parent's arguments from inside my room. My wound was treated up and healed enough for me to get out of the hospital. It was an innocent remark that Mama made, which Papa retorted, at which Mama argued back, and then Papa defended himself, and Mama fought on, and Papa yelled, and by the time we were home, another full-blown fight had started.

I sighed, concentrating on my homework. Perhaps it was because I asked them while they were fighting, but when I asked if I needed to go to school tomorrow, they insisted. Chika had attacked me on Tuesday, and I'd been sleeping in the hospital for one day, or so I was told. So tomorrow was Thursday. Which meant—

WHICH MEANT THE CHRISTMAS BALL WAS COMING UP.

And I hadn't thought up of a plan to ditch yet.


"Rima! Are you okay?" Amu asked caringly when she saw me the next morning. I smiled, slightly moving my shoulder to assuage the pain building up in my shoulder, and nodded.

"I'm fine." I told her. "Really." I added, seeing her look of disbelief. A troubled expression remained on her face but she managed a smile.

"Let's go!" she exclaimed, grabbing my hand and lightly tugging, to not hurt my shoulder, as I dashed off towards school with her. Then I realized…

Kukai couldn't do his "dash!" practices with me for awhile.

Mwahahahahahahahaha.


It turned out my injury wasn't as serious as I thought it was. Mama and Papa overreacted when they saw it, and Nagihiko wasn't sure what to do so he brought me to the hospital. So in reality, those pains were partially from my imagined thought of how serious my injury was.

Says Mr. Psychiatrist whose nose is stuck in a psychology book right now.

"Alright. The Christmas Ball is tomorrow. Is everyone ready?" Tadase asked. Though no one was really listening. It took much convincing from Tadase that finally, everyone realized what he was talking about.

"Nadeshiko and I are making the foods tomorrow…with Rima and Nagi?" Amu asked uncertainly, at which I nodded. Nagihiko glared.

"I need to watch so she doesn't bunk and go find that kangaroo." Nagihiko muttered under his breathe evilly. I mentally laughed. It was funny how Nagihiko called Ryuu kangaRYUU. It was the closest he could find I guess.

"Souma-kun and our entertainment are all done as well. Yuiki-san, your group?" Tadase asked. Yaya smiled and held out a peace sign. You know, the V-shaped thing?

"We're all done talking with Utau-chii! She'll be at the ball!" Yaya exclaimed. He then turned towards me and Nagihiko.

"Yeah, we're done." I said. Turned out Nagihiko finished all the work by himself, and was making me feel guilty and uncomfortable for…getting hurt? Nah, whatever. He was the guy after all.

Tadase clapped his hands together. "Alright then. We're all set. There will be an assembly today before school ends. We'll need to announce about the Christmas Ball one more time, for advertising." I nodded along. The Christmas Ball was long spread around the school, but the entrance fee was needed to equal out our budget, so Tadase wanted as many people as possible.

Including…Chika?

My mind suddenly flashed back to Chika. I hadn't seen her at school today. Was she okay? How was she? Was she hurt? Did she get attacked? Why did she run away? Did Nagihiko catch up with her?

"Did you catch up with her?" I asked out loud. Everyone turned towards me, and I turned towards Nagihiko. "I'm asking if you caught up, Purplehead." I asked. He sweat-dropped at the nickname but proceeded nonetheless.

"Sadly, no." he said. I nodded, turning my head back towards the general direction. "Did she have a Chara when you first me her?" Nagihiko thought about it.

"Now that you mention it, she did have it back in Osaka." Nagihiko said thoughtfully, while everyone else sweat-dropped. "What desire was it made out of?" I asked. He thought about it.

"I think…to protect." He said. My mind traced back to all those words she'd said. When you actually thought about it…perhaps…

"Hey, remember those ? eggs?" Amu asked everyone. Slowly, we recalled the memories of Lulu and Nana. "Well, ? eggs appeared when Lulu corrupted them, right?" Again, we nodded.

"Well…doesn't Chika sound a bit like a ? egg?" Amu asked. Again, more thinking. "She wants to protect, presumably, Nagi, so she…wants to kill Rima." Amu finished uncertainly.

"That…" Nagi started, when suddenly, his eyes brightened up, "actually makes sense!" he exclaimed, placing his book on the side. I narrowed my eyes down.

"And why in the world would she want to protect Nagihiko?" I asked. Amu looked at me like I was dumb. Which I wasn't!

"Duh! Cause she loves him! Awh…so cute! A childhood love!" Amu gushed. Nagihiko sweat-dropped and I sighed tiredly. Gosh, just a childhood l—love! What was there to get so excited over!

Yet…why did I stutter?


"RIMA!!!" Amu exclaimed loudly, bringing my senses back into conscious. As they had started talking about Chika and Nagihiko's relationship, I fell asleep. I yawned and looked at Amu irritably.

"Yes?" I asked. She had just awoken me from a brilliant dream! About—

About…

About…

Comedy. As usual. Of course, what else would I dream of? Nagihiko?

Why did he even come in mind?

"RIMA!" Amu exclaimed once more. I jumped this time, gazing directly back into Amu's honey orbs. "Yes?" I asked. She sighed.

"The Christmas Ball is tomorrow. Wanna go shopping for your dress today?" Amu asked. I groaned and realized I hadn't thought of a ditching plan yet.

"And we'll make sure you won't ditch." Yaya added from the side. I groaned. Friends just knew you too well.

"I'll go to the mall with you…though I'm only critiquing your dresses." Yaya and Amu cheered nonetheless, as they dragged me out of the Royal Garden. Evidently, Nagihiko and Tadase had already left.

Catching a taxi and riding to the mall, Yaya jumped excitedly and entered enthusiastically. Immediately, a fluffy pink Sweet Lolita dress got her attention as she rushed over it. A gothic black dress caught Amu's attention, though she took caution as to casually scooting over so no one would scold her. And thus, I wandered to the food court. Getting a carton of juice, I quickly finished it and went to find the two, who had probably enough time to collect a pile of dresses already.

"RIMA-CHII! Check out Yaya's dresses!" Yaya exclaimed, dragging me over to the entrance of a dressing room. She went in and came out in an elegant white dress, flowing down to her ankles, yet not of the wedding gown color. It was more…like the color of pale, pale pink. I frowned though.

"Looks like PJs. Probably cause it's made of silk." I commented. Yaya looked at the mirror, frowned, but nodded, agreeing with me. She went back into her dressing room to try on another dress, when Amu came out from the dressing room on the right.

"Hey Rima. How do I look in this?" she asked. I turned towards her, seeing she had an aquamarine dress on, with a thin strap hanging on her shoulders. The top half of her body was tight, due to the dress, though the bottom flowed freely with the loose fabric running down to her knees. Yet still, I frowned.

"Clashes with your hair, Amu." I said. She looked in the mirror: pink and bright blue. Definitely not her. Immediately, she went back into the dressing room.

"Rima-chii, this one?" Yaya asked. I groaned. This was going to go on and on for a long time.


Finally, after an hour, we had picked out suitable dresses for each. Amu had decided on a red halter dress going down slightly below her knees. Two red straps tied up behind Amu's back, leaving her basically bare on her back. There was a red ribbon tied around her waist, with a decoartive hoop supporting it.

Yaya's dress was a strapless pink one, the top hugging her body tightly while the bottom was puffy with layers, rather fitting for Yaya, in my opinion. Next for them were…shoes. Dang it.

"RIMA-CHII! YAYA LIKE THESE SHOES!" Yaya exclaimed, waving a pair of shoes at me. I sweat-dropped.

"Yaya…it's the Christmas Ball. You aren't gonna be wearing tennis shoes." I sighed at her immaturity, while Amu cautiously examined some flats.

I should never allow them to take me shopping.


After another hour, finally, they'd chosen their shoes and accessories. Amu decided on these amazing black stilettos, going amazingly well with her dress, and Yaya had found a pair of golden flats, opened-toe at the very end. As for accessories, Amu purchased a white necklace, after much persuasion she looked too dark, and Yaya bought a barrette she said she'd put in her hair. Finally, the three of us collapsed onto a bench.

"FINALLY! You guys were so slow! We can go home now!" I exclaimed. Yaya and Amu turned towards me evilly though, rubbing their hands like those evil masterminds that had an evil plan they were thinking about…and were gonna execute.

"Rima-chii, you haven't picked out anything yet!" Yaya exclaimed. I gulped. I saw where this conversation was heading. But before I could open my mouth, I was dragged into a store, stuffed into a dressing room with tons of clothes she stuck in. I sighed, carefully picking out a pale colored one and tried it on.

NEVER SHOP AGAIN.

Mental reminder.


"But Rima, this looks good on you!" Amu exclaimed, as I looked in the mirror and frowned, going in the dressing room once again. I shook my head.

"Too many frills for my taste." I got my normal clothes back on and started roaming around the store myself. A particular dress caught my attention. It was a simple orange dress, strapless, going down to my ankles and with two fake rose decorations just below my left shoulder. Smiling, I picked it out of the rack.

"RIMA! TRY THAT ON!" Amu exclaimed, as I was rushed into the dressing room. Hesitantly getting out, I checked myself in the mirror. And for once, I was satisfied. Quickly returning into the dressing room, I got on my normal clothing. "I'm getting this." I decided, rushing to the cashier.

The rest of the journey was normal. I quickly chose a pair of golden high heels and an orange bow I agreed to wear, after much persuasion from the two who had discovered it. Finally, we were done with our shopping and taking a taxi home.

"Hey…so Kairi invited you to the ball?" I asked Yaya. She smiled and did her peace signal again.

"Yep! Yaya is so excited!" Yaya smiled. I nodded, and turned towards Amu. "You?" I asked. She blushed.

"Well…ermm…that day, after you left…Ikuto asked me…" her voice trailed off into a soft whisper. I nodded, smiling, glad that at least my friends had a partner.

"You, Rima?" Amu asked, turning the attention to me. I gulped.

"Nah, I think I'm going single this year."

"Again." Amu added. I sighed. Well, it wasn't all the time! Just…most of the time…?

"Whatever. Here's my house." I said, getting off the cab. "See you guys." I said. Yaya and Amu glared at me.

"We're making sure you don't skip." They said simultaneously with a powerful Amu-shining-power combined with Yaya-crybaby-glare. Which was rather intimidating. I nodded and smiled weakly, shutting the cab door and rushing back home.

"Rima, where were you? You had Mama worried sick and—what? You went…shopping?" she asked unbelievably. I sighed.

"Yes, Mama. There's a ball tomorrow at school." She nodded, remembering I'd told her last week. "It'll be from 7:00 to 2:30." Hey, don't look at me accusingly! We needed back-up time to prepare and slightly clean-up.

Mama nodded. "Who's escorting you?" she asked. I choked on my juice. Es—escort?

"Mama, this isn't the Medieval Ages anymore." I pointed out. Mama smiled like an innocent mother though.

"But I need someone to make sure my Rima-chan will get home safely." Mama said slyly. Was she…forcing me to get a partner? I huffed.

"I'm old enough to take care of myself. Whatever." I said, stomping up the stairs. Collapsing down on my bed, I groaned out loud when I heard my cell phone ring.

"Hello?" I asked, my eyes closed as I remained lying on the bed. Yet at the voice, I immediately jumped up.

"Rima-chan? Is that you?" Nagihiko asked. I gulped, sitting up and nodded, though I knew he wouldn't see. "Yeah…" I muttered.

"Alright! Well…see…I have a bunch of fan-girls working up the nerve to ask me to the ball. I heard all their plans. So I thought…if I had someone else I was already going with, then they wouldn't bother me anymore! So—"

"So you're asking me?" I asked accusingly. I could almost imagine his sweat-drop.

"Um…yes. So will you?" he asked. I groaned. Now certainly wasn't the time to talk about this.

"No." I blurted out. There was a moment of silence.

Dang, why did I say that?

Dun dun dun dun~~~ (you know, that evil music thing? no? whatever...) AND RIMA HAS REJECTED NAGIHIKO. WHAT'LL HAPPEN?? You'll have to wait. :P Hope you enjoyed!

~~*Hope-chan*~~

PS: for Amu and Yaya's dress, the links are on my profile