NAGIHIKO
As I'm carrying the pillows down the hallway, I hear two voices drift out of the bathroom. Pressing my ear to the door (sure, sure, eavesdropping is horrible, I'm so nosy, blah blah blah), I hear Ayu. "Is Nadeshiko a guy?"
I'm so surprised that I drop the pillows. Oh my god, she knows.
"Why don't you let Nadeshiko answer that question?" Rima sneers, pulling open the door to reveal me.
"How did you know I was outside?" I ask.
"I can feel it when a manipulative, lying, pathetic excuse of a crossdresser is spying on me."
I wince. "Uh…yeah…Ayu…you're pretty smart…and observant…just don't tell the others, 'kay?"
"Okay," she agrees.
RIMA
"Queen, do you want to go for a walk on the beach?" Kairi asks the next morning. The air is clear and the sky is a pale blue with no clouds in sight.
Amu smiles. Nagihiko stares into his bowl of oatmeal. Ikuto and Utau smirk. Kukai nods encouragingly at me. Ayu grins, her dimples showing and her laser blue eyes crinkling. Yaya yells, "THAT'S SO CUTE!"
Tch. Leave it to her to spoil the mood. I smile at Kairi. "Sure!"
He takes my hand and we dash out the door. His hand is cool and slender, and my hands seem hot and sweaty in comparison. He glances at me, and his blue eyes sparkle. "Queen, you look beautiful today."
I blush. W-what? I was too lazy to put together an outfit today, so I'd just thrown on my school uniform minus the tie and blazer. There's no way I'd look extraordinary. "I…Kairi…you're so nice!" I burst out. Great, did I just say that? That's so…tacky.
Kairi smiles, a faint pink outlining his high cheekbones. "No, it's the truth."
Okay, how do I form a response to that? All what I can hope for is that El, Utau's Guardian Character, doesn't come flying out since she senses love.
And of course she does.
"LOVE! LOVE! I SENSE LOVE!"
Kairi nods. "I should've foreseen that she would come."
I groan. "Hey, El, could you leave please?"
"I MUST REPORT BACK TO THE OTHERS!" She zooms off.
Kairi reaches up with his free hand and pushes a stray lock of hair that had flown into my face off. "Remember sixth grade?"
"Of course. I remember it so well. I felt a spark that first day…when we were standing together on the stage…the new Queen and Jack…" I blush, looking down. I'd never told anyone about that. When I was wearing my brand-new red Guardian Cape, I glanced quickly at the boy who was standing next to me. I'd guessed that he'd been in the sixth grade—he was so tall. And I'd hoped that he'd be in my class. Because there was something different about him, something mesmerizing about those icy blue eyes. I swallow. "And then when you betrayed us…I didn't know what to think."
Kairi looks down. "That was a mistake. I will never make it again."
"I know…and then, when you confessed to Amu, I tried to forget the feelings I'd nourished about you…but I found I couldn't." I smile. "But it's worked out now, hasn't it?"
He nods, pulling me into a tight embrace. His jacket is warm, but he cups my chin into his hands and leans down.