…
"I'm just going to come out and say it; this is insanely awkward."
Ami turned and glared at her brother. "You're such an idiot; saying things are awkward make them even more awkward!"
"Hey, I'm not an idiot!"
"Oh, yeah? Who's the one in the snowman costume? Who's the one that sang a pitchy version of 'Frosty the Snowman' for half an hour and wouldn't shut up?"
"I was not pitchy!"
"Yes, you were, you idiot," snapped Utau, irritated. "Now shut up about it before I tape your mouth shut for you!"
"That might happen sooner than you think," muttered Rima, also looking irritated.
Kukai pouted and crossed his arms.
He was right though; the party was extremely awkward. Much like it had been when they were kids, they were all in their separate corners but it wasn't warm or friendly like it had been ten years ago.
Kairi and Yaya were on the loveseat, where she was playfully pinching his cheeks and kissing him so that he would blush. Ami was sitting on the beanbags as she talked absently with Amu. Utau was off in the corner, leaning against the wall as she sipped her punch. Kukai was in the center of the room, singing holiday songs terribly. Rima was curled up on the seat near the window and Nagihiko was leaning against the wall nearby. Ikuto was laying comfortably on the couch, though he had trouble staying on due to his bulky reindeer costume.
Yaya finally stopped teasing her boyfriend as she realized how tense the atmosphere was, and she frowned deeply. She jumped up and clapped her hands.
"Alright, no more frowns at this party," exclaimed the fourteen-year-old. "I forbid you from doing so as long as you are guests in my house!"
"It's our house too," muttered Amu, Ami, and Kukai.
Yaya ignored her siblings. "I know it's a Christmas party but all of you are acting so moody and grumpy so we're going to play a game!" Everyone raised an eyebrow. "I know! Let's play truth-or-dare!"
"I think the proper name is interrogation-or-abuse," stated Amu, who did not look pleased by the idea. "But you're right; let's lighten up the mood, shall we?" She then went over and kicked her brother, who had begun to sing a new rendition of 'Deck the Halls'. "And you stop singing! You sound like a donkey going through a wood chipper!"
Kukai fell forward and pounded his fists on the carpet since his costume made it nearly impossible for him to move around in. He couldn't even roll over. "Hey, that's not fair! Help me up!"
"Hold on," stated Utau, taking out her phone and snapping a picture. She smirked as she walked over and kicked him so that he rolled over onto his back. "There you go, Hinamori."
"Hey, quit it! Help me up, Hoshina!"
"Alright, let's get in a circle," exclaimed Yaya, ignoring her brother as she began to push away the furniture so that there was more room. "Come on!" She frowned at Ikuto and grabbed the costume's antlers to pull the seventeen-year-old off the couch. He hit the ground with a loud thump. "Jeez, you're supposed to have cat-like reflexes, Ikuto-kun."
"Well, he is in that cute costume," remarked Ami, chuckling as the rest of the party slowly formed a circle in the middle of the room. "You took a lot of pictures, right? Souko-san said she wanted them for her album."
"Yeah, yeah, we got lots of pictures," said Yaya and Amu at the same time, waving their hands dismissively as they helped Kukai and Ikuto up respectively.
"Okay, who wants to go first?" Yaya asked. No one volunteered and a small smirk crossed her lips. "Jeez, I didn't think you guys were so scared of a little game." As expected, she got a reaction out of the expected people.
"I'm not scared of anything," shouted Utau and Kukai, glaring at each other. The others were surprised by the blonde's behavior, considering she hadn't shown her competitive side with Kukai recently. Then again, they hadn't a chance to compete over anything.
Yaya's smirk grew but she quickly hid it. "Alright, Utau, you can go first then." She walked over to the buffet table and picked up one of the empty bottles before going back and placing it in the middle.
The blonde nodded and spun the bottle. After several seconds, it landed on Kairi.
"Aw, man; it landed on the prez," complained Utau uncharacteristically. Amu smiled though as she realized what had happened; the singer had let her guard down and dropped her mask to let others see her true self. "Alright, then; truth or dare?"
"Truth," replied the elf-dressed boy as he took off his hat. His girlfriend made a disapproving noise as she forced it back on his head. He blushed as nearly everyone cracked a smile.
Utau sighed, biting the end of her thumb. "Hm, let me think…oh, I know! If you could date any girl in this room other than Yaya, who would it be?"
Kairi's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline while his girlfriend raised an eyebrow, eyeing him for a few moments before she shrugged.
"It's okay, Kairi-koi," assured the fourteen-year-old. "I know it won't mean anything."
The green haired boy returned the smile she gave him before sighing and taking in consideration for the question. Finally, he admitted, "I guess it would have to be Amu."
"Eh?" The pink haired teenager exclaimed, blushing lightly. Ikuto frowned, but it was barely noticeable. "Uh, how come, if you don't mind me asking?"
Kairi shrugged. "I admire your ability to bounce back from such a situation that you were inconveniently placed in and maintain a positive outlook on things." A light blush blossomed over his cheeks as he avoided her eyes. "Also, you are quite attractive."
"Oh," was all the sixteen-year-old could say as she blushed again. Yaya giggled.
"You're so adorable, Kairi-koi," she squealed, tackling her boyfriend and pinching his cheeks affectionately. After a few minutes of watching the young couple, Rima cleared her throat and the two separated. Yaya blushed and exclaimed, "Alright, then; Kairi, spin the bottle!"
The young samurai nodded and did so. The bottle spun for several moments before it landed on Nagihiko. "Fujisaki-san, truth or dare?"
The purple haired male smiled. "I'll take truth," he replied.
"I'll hit something if everyone says 'truth'," murmured Utau.
Kairi said, "I apologize; I'm not very good at these sorts of things." He thought over what he should ask. "Assuming that you were still in your Nadeshiko persona, what do you believe your life would be like?"
He had discovered Nagi's secret years ago and Utau had figured it out on her own when Rima repeatedly called him 'cross-dresser'. No one questioned how she found out because whenever someone asked, she would smirk and he would blush.
Nagi blinked. "I would like to think that I…or rather, she would have been on the dance team if she chose not to travel and continued to be good friends with others." He chuckled. "She probably would have had many friends; for some reason, it's much easier for Nadeshiko to be friends with others."
"Because Nadeshiko is much more likeable than a cross-dresser," remarked Rima bluntly.
"I-Isn't that the same thing, though?" Nagi asked, glancing at her.
"No," stated the blonde. "Spin the bottle already."
He smiled nervously before he reached for the bottle. It ended up landing on Ami. "Truth or dare, Ami-chan?"
The ten-year-old smiled brightly. "I'm not Amu, so I'll pick a dare!"
"H-Hey, hold on; how do you know I won't say dare?!"
Everyone turned to look at the offended pinkette, several eyebrows rising as she received skeptical looks.
"…fine, just tell her what to do, Nagi."
Nagihiko chuckled at his friend before turning to the young girl. "Alright, I dare you to go downstairs and shout a secret to everyone. It doesn't have to be a huge secret."
"That's not very daring," complained Kukai.
"She's your ten-year-old sister," reminded Ikuto. "Do you really want her to do something outrageous? And in any case, it's Nagi; you know he wouldn't give her a heavy dare."
Ami shook her head as she stood and walked out the door into the hallway, where she leaned over the stair banister and shouted, "Everybody, I just wanted to let you know that I used to have a crush on my brother when I was very little! That's all; Merry Christmas!"
She returned to the party and everybody looked at her with different expressions. Rima and Ikuto were smirking, Nagi and Amu had wide eyes, Kukai and Utau were gaping at the ten-year-old, Kairi was rubbing the back of his neck, and Yaya was pouting.
"You…you had a brother complex?" Amu questioned, and her sister nodded. "And…and you got over it?" Ami nodded again and the pinkette glanced at Utau quickly as her fantasy world flashed through her mind before she looked away.
"Yeah, I realized how weird it was to love your brother like that," she replied. "Also, I realized only a crazy person would fall in love with Kukai!"
Yaya sighed. "Man, you too? I thought I was weird for liking Kukai like that…I'm glad I moved on though or else I would have never started to date Kairi!" She leaned over and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek.
"Okay, am I the only who didn't fall in love Kukai?" Amu exclaimed, looking between her sisters, who both shrugged. Kukai was too busy looking like a fish out of water to make a remark.
"Jeez, Ami spin the bottle," remarked Ikuto, who looked highly amused. "Does anyone else find it weird that a ten-year-old is playing truth-or-dare with a bunch of teenagers?"
"Kick me out and I'll show Amu the pictures from The Party," stated Ami darkly, looking over at the blue haired boy. Her siblings smirked and Amu looked around, confused.
"What party?" She asked.
"Oh, since you were in a coma during your birthday, we threw you a party anyways and Ami managed to get everybody to do something embarrassing," said Yaya, smirking as she glanced at Ikuto. "Some people had to do things more embarrassing than others."
"I don't want to know," murmured Amu. "Spin the bottle, Ami."
"Alright, alright…okay! Kukai, truth or dare?" Ami exclaimed, turning to her brother. The seventeen-year-old didn't blink since he was still in shock from her revelation.
Amu and Utau, who were sitting on either sides of him, both leaned over and whacked him on the head. He fell forward again, unable to get up in his snowman costume. He didn't notice though as he shouted, "Hit me with your best shot because I pick dare!"
"Did…did you just quote that American song?" Nagi asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend.
"No, give me the dare, Ami!"
The ten-year-old raised an eyebrow. "Hm, what should I make you do? I know you have a bunch of embarrassing secrets so I could exploit them for your utter humiliation…oh, but I have to make you do something extreme so I can blackmail you later…"
"It's official; Ami is a sadist wearing a mask of cuteness," murmured Amu to her other sister, who nodded in agreement.
Finally, Ami snapped her fingers and exclaimed, "Oh, I got one! I dare you to stand in the running shower in nothing but your underwear with Utau under the same conditions for twenty minutes!"
"YES! Anything to get out of this stupid costume," exclaimed Kukai, jumping up and racing to the bathroom.
"He heard the rest of the dare, right?" Ikuto remarked, glancing at the blonde singer whose jaw had dropped in shock.
"Oh, he heard it," replied Amu, smirking at the thought. "Don't have too much fun with my brother, Hoshina."
"Shut up, Hinamori," muttered Utau, her face slightly red as she stood. "Did I do something really that awful to get punished too?"
"Yes," stated Ami, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "You never liked my sister and I never liked you, so here we are."
Utau frowned deeply at her before she sighed and began to walk towards the bathroom; she barely made it to the door when there was a loud crashing sound and Kukai could be heard shouting, "WAIT, WHAT?!"
"Idiot," murmured Ikuto as the blonde walked into the bathroom.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"You heard the dare, dumbass!"
"Yeah, but w-why are you undressing in here?!"
"Well, I can't undress out there! Don't tell me you've never seen a girl like this, Hinamori; it's the same as seeing her in a bathing suit!"
"But I don't want to shower with you!"
"The feeling is mutual!"
"Stupid lovebirds," muttered Ami, standing up and walking into the bathroom.
"H-Hey, Ami; get out!"
"Stupid; you're taking too long!"
Loud crashing noises were heard and everybody sweat-dropped.
"Don't touch me in weird places! You're my sister!"
"Hey, get off of me, kid!"
"Why are you guys so reluctant to do this dare? Don't tell me you're really a pair of scaredy-cats."
"AS IF!"
"NO WAY IN HELL!"
Ami walked out, dusting off her clothes with a smug smile on her features as she sat back down.
"I worry about you sometimes, Ami," said Yaya, eyeing her sister. The ten-year-old merely grinned and turned back to the bathroom.
"Hey, I don't hear the water running," she shouted. "Don't make me go in there and watch you!"
"That sounds creepy," stated Kairi just as the shower started.
"Nevertheless, we need to record this for future blackmail," remarked Rima, who had remained mostly silent since she arrived.
Amu's eyes widened slightly as she remembered why she had invited the blonde and felt guilty about practically ignoring her.
"Oh, Rim-I mean, Mashiro-chan, can you help me carry more food upstairs?" She asked casually, smiling at her. The blonde blinked, which Amu took as a yes. "Great, thanks; I'm sure Ikuto would be delighted to have some sort of blackmail on my brother so he can take care of that."
Amu took Rima by the arm and led her downstairs while an almost evil smirk formed on Ikuto's face as he stood.
"Oy, what are you doing in here?"
"Ah, Ikuto; don't look at me like this!"
"Come on, dude; isn't it bad enough that I have to be here with her?"
"What's that supposed to mean, kid?"
"K-Kid? We're the same age; you're only a few months older than me!"
"Shut up, Hinamori!"
"Don't tell me what to-hey, Ikuto! Why are you taking out your phone? What are you doing?"
"Consider this an exchange for the pictures you took earlier."
"No, this is bad enough; get out!"
"Hey, don't go that way or else I'll-ah!" A thumping noise was heard as Utau assumingly slipped.
"Shit, sorry!"
"Don't apologize, you stupid kid; just help me up! Jeez…"
"Sorry, sorry, but you look funny!"
"Oh, yeah?"
"Hey, what are you doing? Yikes, no, that water is cold! Dammit, stop it, Hoshina! Ikuto, stop smirking and help me!"
"Nah, I think I'll continue to record this scene and show it to your next girlfriend."
Everyone back outside sweat-dropped.
"S-Should we do something?" Nagi asked.
Yaya waved her hand dismissively. "They're fine. Anyways, this game has gotten boring; let's do something else."
"Weren't you the one to suggest playing it in the first place?" Ami asked.
The fourteen-year-old smiled. "Yeah, although that was mostly to lighten the air with Utau; she could never back down from a fight and even though it's been years, she'll be herself around people like us." Her eyes wandered over to the bathroom door. "I know you guys think that Utau is a horrible person, and she probably is, but Amu believes in her so we should give her a chance. If Amu can forgive Utau for everything, don't you think we should do the same?"
Everyone stared at her, thinking about what she had said.
"Besides," continued Yaya. "I needed a distraction to make sure Amu and Rima could have some privacy; after all, the main reason why Amu wanted to have this party was so she could rebuild her friendship with Rima. I mean, it was at a Christmas party when Rima first became her friend and it'll be a Christmas party again."
"How did you figure that out?" Nagi asked.
The fourteen-year-old giggled. "I know I can act like a baby sometimes, but I'm not stupid." She leaned over and pinched Kairi's cheek. "Kairi-koi would never date somebody stupid, after all!" Her boyfriend blushed and she squealed, "Just like I wouldn't date anyone who wasn't so adorable!"
The green haired boy was soon tackled to the ground as the young girl tried to cover him with kisses, highly amusing the other two in the room as they continued to listen to the events occurring in the bathroom. Only fifteen more minutes to go…
Meanwhile, downstairs, Amu was piling cookies on a plate while Rima watched.
"Alright, so what did you really want me down here for?" The blonde finally asked.
The sixteen-year-old girl paused. "I know you probably hate me, and I don't really blame you, but I just want you to hear me out."
Rima raised an eyebrow and Amu placed the plate of cookies on the counter as she took a deep breath.
"I did a really stupid thing by agreeing with Tadase's plan," she started. "It's just that when I was little, I was always…insecure about whether or not people really liked me because of me or because they liked what my family had to offer. I didn't hang out with a lot of people and the only friends I ever had are now upstairs in that game lounge."
"I tried my best to be nice to everyone because I wanted to be their friend and I guess I felt like I had to get everybody to like me or else I would feel useless inside. I knew Utau didn't really like me; she made it really obvious and even said that she hated me once. She acted like a horrible person but I knew she was actually a kind person; that's why I was so nice to her and acted oblivious to her coldness. I wanted to show her that it was possible for somebody so cold and lonely to have a friend."
Amu chuckled, though it sounded hollow as she turned and faced the wall. Rima watched her carefully.
"I guess that's why I first befriended you, Rima-I mean, Mashiro-san. You reminded me of Utau and I thought that if I showed her that I could befriend a cold person like you, she would warm up to me too. It was selfish and cold of me, but that was my personality back then. I soon learned that you weren't Utau though, and that I really did want to be your friend-not just a friendly acquaintance. In fact, I even wanted to be your best friend. I still do."
The shorter-than-average blonde's eyes widened.
"You were one of the few people in my life to treat me like a person-like myself, and not some shy, nice girl at school. I could actually be myself around you; I didn't have to pretend to be sweet and kind all the time like at school. At school, they treated me kindly but only because of what my last name is. It would be bad for my family if I acted rude to everybody, wouldn't it? But around you, Mashiro-san, I could be snarky and unladylike if I wanted to and you wouldn't judge me for it. I could laugh at someone's jokes and mean it because you were-and still are-the funniest person I know. I love Ami and Yaya, but I felt like you were the sister I was missing. You were there for me whenever I needed to cry or vent, and I was there whenever you got upset with your parents' arguing."
Tears began to form in Amu's eyes, but they remained unseen by the stunned blonde.
"You were like my other half sometimes, Mashiro-san, and I forgot why I had initially become friends with you. And then, Utau came into school one day with a scowl as she complained that her dad refused to sign her. All of a sudden, I felt the urge to help her and make her like me for it. I forgot that I had gained you when I lost her, and I went running to Tadase to beg for him to help Utau."
Rima heard the pinkette's voice crack and she hesitantly stepped forward.
"I only remembered what I already had soon after I had signed the deal with Tadase; I forgot that with my family and friends-with you-I didn't need to be approved by everybody, nevermind a girl who hated my guts. But it was too late; the damage was done and I had dug my grave. I was never one to back down from a promise though, no matter who it was with, so I reluctantly did my part of the deal."
Amu clutched the granite countertops so tightly that her knuckles turned white; her back was still facing her former best friend.
"I had a huge fight with Ikuto, I shouted at my family and called them names, I began to brush you off…I was so lonely, but I couldn't do anything. Utau was happy though, and I thought that would make me happy too…but I was wrong. I became depressed without my friends and even though I had Nagi, I couldn't tell him anything about what was really bothering me. My grades started to suffer because I stopped caring; people started to look down at me with disgust because I stopped being nice to them. I began to sink into the shadows as Utau began to shine."
Rima placed a hand to her cheek in surprise when she felt something wet slide down it, her eyes still locked onto the shaking figure in front of her.
"I felt so alone in the world; the only reason people at school still knew my name was because I was the unwilling girlfriend of one Hotori Tadase. I didn't even remember who I was like or why I had agreed to the deal. Eventually, my mind practically broke and I suddenly had a four-way personality complex…my would-be selves, I guess."
A bitter smile formed on Amu's face at that.
"I thought that it would help me, but it only made it worse; I had no control over the abilities my other personalities had and I forgot which personality was the real me. I couldn't stand it. They began to constantly switch and they practically took over my life. I ended up in the park when I finally cracked and I remember…I remember that I was clutching my head as I stumbled into the streets, all while I shrieked and screeched for the madness to stop. The last thing I heard was my own voice telling me that it was useless for me to have hope, and then I blacked out."
"I created a fantasy world in my head and I had no memory of my real life; I had my moments but I was happy there. Then one day I got hit in the head with a soccer ball and I woke up in that hospital with no idea about what the hell was going on. You know what happened after that."
"I know this must sound like a pity party, but it's not. The point is that the fantasy world gave me new friends and new enemies. Even in the fantasy world, you were still my best friend. You were cold and blunt, but you were also warm and caring. You were there for me and I felt so happy that I could call you my friend."
Amu finally turned back around and it was no surprise that both girls were crying.
"I missed you so much that even my mind refused to acknowledge that we weren't friends anymore. I am so, so sorry for what I had done. If I could go back in time and slap myself for doing such a thing…oh, god, I would…I would…"
Amu broke down sobbing as she fell to the ground on her knees.
"My life is such a wreck and I don't know how to rebuild it. I know it looks like I have things under control and that I'm suddenly this cool and spicy person…but it hurts to know that I've done horrible things. The first day I woke up…I didn't remember Kukai was my brother; I thought Utau and Ikuto were siblings…everything was so different and I was so alone. No one was there to help me at first because they were all strangers to me all of a sudden."
Rima looked at the sobbing pinkette and warm memories flickered in her mind as she slowly kneeled down on the ground.
"I know you hate me and you'll never forgive me for what I've done and that this pain I feel is nothing compared to the pain you've been feeling…but please…let me be selfish like I was back then, and let me in again…"
Streaks ran down Amu's face and ruined whatever makeup she had been wearing, though she didn't even notice or care. "I'm so, so sorry…Mashiro-san…"
"Don't call me that, Amu," whispered Rima before she tackled the pinkette, hugging her tightly. "Don't call me that."
"R-Rima?" Amu said, disbelief evident in her voice.
"I was lonely and hurt when you suddenly left me, Amu," said the blonde softly, her chin resting on Amu's shoulder. "And I thought I did hate you…but then I saw how miserable you looked each day and I wondered why you were doing this to yourself. I hated myself because I couldn't believe that I didn't hate you. I was hurt because I wasn't doing anything to try and get you back. You didn't give up on me so easily and you still didn't even now; I was mad at myself because I didn't have the strength to do that. I'm sorry too, Amu. I'm sorry for that."
Rima pulled away and wiped her eyes, smiling sadly at the stunned pinkette.
"I forgave you the second I found out the truth. And I don't hate you, Amu." Her smile became slightly less sad. "How could I hate my best friend?"
A new round of sobs began as Amu squeezed the life out of the blonde, holding her close and thanking her repeatedly. Rima was doing the same, and the two of them eventually ended up sitting on the kitchen floor in utter silence.
Finally, Rima cracked a smile and said, "I guess this means that I have to help you finally hook up with Ikuto, huh?"
Amu turned bright red as the blonde began to laugh. The pinkette couldn't find herself angry enough to shout at her though.
To her, Rima's laugh was like a beautiful symphony after a tragic war.
…
I don't own Shugo Chara!
Okay, this is Christmas Party Part Two; part three will be up soon enough.
Yeah, yeah; I'm really dragging on the Christmas party, aren't I? Silly Billies; I can't have a holiday party without some Amuto, can I?
Anyways, I started school today; ugh cakes. I'm actually in it now, at lunch.
Nothing really new to say, other than I started watching "Fullmetal Alchemist". It's pretty cool; I'm on episode 21.
Don't hesitate to tell what you thought or if you found any mistakes!