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Rima
The whistle sounded, and immediately balls began flying. I dodged a ball hurriedly, knowing that if I tried to throw a ball I'd be out. Best I could do for the team was just to avoid the balls. And yet...
A ball whizzed past my head, just over my shoulder, and I shrieked. "Hey!" I shouted angrily. "No heads!" And then I saw who had thrown the ball.
Nagihiko grinned evilly from the other side. I growled, completely forgetting that I wasn't good at sports, and grabbed a ball from the air.
Oh, he is going down.
I leapt forward and began pelting him with balls, all of which he dodged easily and threw right back at me. I leapt out of the way, still battling him one-on-one, completely ignoring the others. Which is how one of the other boys—Tadase, in fact—hit me in the leg with a ball.
I glanced down in surprise, and realized I'd gotten hit. Dammit. Harrumphing, I trudged over to the sidelines and plopped down, shooting Nagihiko a dirty look. He laughed at me, and was promptly hit in the chest with a ball, thrown by his own sister. Nade-chan gave him a sweet, innocent look that said, "What? Did I do something?" He glared at her, the strode over to where I sat.
"Ha! You got hit!" I laughed, poking him in the arm. "By your own sister! That's karma!"
"Shut up," He muttered, and I laughed again, bumping him with my arm and turning to watch the game.
Amu, of course, being total queen of dodgeball, was throwing balls with terrifying speed and accuracy. However, she was only of the only girls that did so, as a lot of the others were just dodging the balls and squealing. Nadeshiko, however, was throwing balls almost as well as Amu, and was displaying several moves to dodge the many balls aimed at her that looked like a mix between ninja and gymnastics. Actually, to be honest, it looked kind of like she was a ninja , mysteriously dodging every single ball with amazing stunts. She did a sort of somersaulting flip in mid-air and dodged about fifty balls coming her way.
Tadase got hit by Nadeshiko and came over. "Hey, Nagihiko. You got hit?"
"Yeah," Nagi answered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Nadeshiko hit me.".
"Ah, really?" Tadase smiled. "Hit by your own sister?"
"She's pretty good," Nagihiko admitted. "Although where she got those moves, I can't really say."
"This is fun," Tadase said, panting slightly but looking happy. "And you can't tell who will win, both our teams still have most their players."
Still, while Nadeshiko and Amu were good, they were the only girls on our team who were really playing, and slowly but surely the other girls were taken out. Literally every single one came over and began talking to Nagi and Tadase.
"Hi, Nagihiko-sama!" Saaya Yamabuki shoved me out of the way and sat down next to Nagi, batting her eyelashes and trying to look demure. "You're out, too?"
"Yes," Nagi nodded politely.
"Hey!" I said angrily. "You just shoved me out of the way!"
"Oh. Sorry," She said nastily. "I didn't see you there." She turned back to Nagi with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.
"Tadase-sama," Another girl simpered. "How was your break?"
Tadase gave her a glittering smile.(Stupid idiot. I swear, he's the only guy that can flirt with girls and not realize he's doing anything more than being polite.) "Very nice, thank you." He stood. "If it's no bother, I have to get a drink of water."
"I can go with you, Tadase-sama!" A girl cried out.
"Yes, we all can!" "I'm thirsty, too!" "Please, drink from my water bottle!"
Tadase bowed his head. "I don't want to be any trouble."
I ground my teeth together. Man, these girls were seriously starting to annoy me. I took a swig from my own water bottle and caught Nagihiko watching me drink. "Would you like some?" I offered him my bottle.
"Sure, thanks." He took a swig from my bottle and handed it back to me.
"Tadase, want some?" I shook the bottle.
"Really? Thank you." Tadase took the bottle and nodded thankfully in my direction.
I didn't notice that the fan girls were utterly silent until I realized that I had several eyes on me.
"What?" I asked, bemused.
"Her water bottle has touched Nagihiko-sama and Tadase-sama's lips," One muttered.
"I want that water bottle," Another said.
"An indirect kiss."
"A kiss from Nagihiko-sama and Tadase-sama."
"Huh." I looked into the fan girls' faces, and then at my water bottle. Then I grinned.
"Ah, you guys have terrible backwash. How gross." I winked at Nagi and Tadase's confused looks, and opened my water bottle. "I'll have to get more from the fountain." I opened the water bottle and turned, dumping it out on the grass behind me.
Immediately there was a loud chorus of shrieks, and chaos in which I dove out of the way as a mob of fan girls leapt to the grass and began ripping up handfuls.
"Ah..." Nagihiko sweat-dropped, while Tadase just looked confused. "So... isn't dodgeball fun?"
"Yes. Yes, it is." I snickered, and then turned back to the court.
Amu and Nadeshiko had both retreated to the back of the court, dodging balls but not throwing a one.
"Why aren't they fighting back?" I wondered. Then I realized. "Oh..."
As the balls ran out on the other side, the boys had no more balls to throw. With a glint in their eyes and a grin at each other, the two began to throw again hitting player after player on the boys' team, until the last one dropped.
"YES!" The two cried triumphantly, and I leapt over to cheer with them.
"We won! We won!" The three of us danced around in a circle, laughing as the boys stared at us like we were crazy.
Nagihiko and Tadase walked over. "Congratulations," Tadase said politely.
"We won!" Nadeshiko giggled. "And you lost!"
"Ah, but I'm a sore loser," Nagihiko sighed dramatically. So..." He and Tadase both smiled and pulled balls from behind their backs and began pelting us with them.
Amu, of course, shrieked and cowered, completely forgetting she could beat both these boys at dodgeball, even a sneak attack like this, with both hands tied behind her back and her eyes blindfolded.
"That's a good idea," Temari nodded approvingly. "Do we have it all figured out?"
"Yeah. I'll be with the others to cause a distraction," Rhythm said, motioning to Azumi, Ran, Miki, and Dia.
"Su will squeeze into the hat-box," Su said demurely, "and pick the same two choices for Rima-tan and Nagi-kun."
"Amu and Tadase, too," Miki added.
"No, no, Amu and Ikuto belong together," Ran protested.
"What will Pepe-chan do?" Pepe grumbled. Musashi and Kiseki nodded. "Pepe -chan wants to help."
"I suppose you can help with the distraction," Temari said doubtfully. "But we don't really need the extra help..."
The school bell sounded above their heads. "Ahh! Sixth period is over!" Temari said frantically. "Quick! Get into position!"
Su flew into the classroom and hid.
"That was so funny!" Amu laughed.
"No, it wasn't!" I protested. "Thanks to you, I have melted chocolate all over my clothes!"
"Actually," Amu looked me up and down, "it looks pretty cool on your t-shirt."
"I suppose," I admitted. "But it doesn't excuse you for splattering my t-shirt!"
Nade-chan and Tadase were already sitting down, talking animatedly to each other.
"Hey, guys. What's new?" Amu asked as we sat down.
"Hotori-san thinks Prince is cool." Nadeshiko giggled. "Cool as Justin Beiber, maybe."
"Justin Beiber is not cool!" Tadase protested. "Not as cool as Prince!"
"Are you kidding? Coldplay is way better!" Nade-chan scoffed.
"Coldplay doesn't compare," Tadase insisted.
Nade-chan laughed. "I know. Because Coldplay is way better. And so is Adele, and Florence + the Machine."
"You listen to British music?" I asked her.
Nade-chan nodded. "I like listening to songs in English. It's got a different feel to it."
"Do you like any more local singers?" Amu asked.
"I like Utau," Nade-chan laughed. "As a friend and as a singer. She's really good."
"Settle down, settle down!" Nikaidou-sensei called from the front of the room. "We have important things to discuss!
"As you all know, the year is coming to a close. Soon you will be senior students. As a farewell, it has always been tradition for the new senior students to host an event for the third-years who will be leaving at the end of this month. The school board has asked us to perform a play of our choice dedicated to the seniors and open to all.
Nikaidou-sensei looked at us over his glasses. "Understand?' We all nodded. "Okay! Now, first things first, what play shall we perform?"
"Hamlet!" Someone called.
"That may be a little too bloody," Nikaidou-sensei shook his head. "A play where everyone dies a horrible bloody death is not quite the happy goodbye message."
"High School Musical!" Someone else said.
"... No. Any other suggestions?"
A girl cried, "Romeo and Juliet!"
Nikaidou-sensei winced. "Well... it's not exactly appropriate... But I suppose it's not too gory.. Any more suggestions? No? Then we shall perform Romeo and Juliet. So! Who is willing to be an actor?"
Immediately every single girl except for Amu, Nadeshiko and I raised their hands.
Nikaidou-sensei sighed. "Why don't we make sure we all understand the story and its characters first? The story begins when..."
And I immediately drifted into a daydream, where I watch happily on stage as Romeo and Juliet kiss passionately and then die... and then I turn away, and suddenly I am surrounded by cherry blossoms and ghosts, and scream as a girl in a pink kimono and a white apron radiates pure white energy, ripping through a wall of X-Characters...
BOOM.
A loud crash sounded from outside the classroom, and I was jerked out of my daydream. Nikaidou frowned and stood, calling over his shoulder, "I'll just go see what the commotion is."
A minute later, he returned, rolling his eyes. "Someone felt the apparent need to push a cart full of textbooks down the stairs. Now, where was I?"
Su's eyelids drooped slightly, and she yawned, rubbing her eyelids. "So sleepy..."
Clutched to her chest were two slips of paper, one that read 'Main Protagonist 1', 'Main Protagonist 2. Su was supposed to give them to Nagi-kun and Rima-tan.
"...Time to draw! Who's first?"
"Ahh!" Su's eyes flew open, and she fumbled with the slips, dropping them. "Oh, no..." She grabbed two and sighed in relief. "Su almost ruined the plan!"
She peeked out of the box, and leapt back as Saaya shoved her hand into the box, groping wildly and grabbed 'Stage Tech' and pulled her hand out of the box. She peeked again, this time seeing Nagihiko, and held out the slip. The hand grabbed the paper and withdrew from the box. She tried to see who would draw from the box next, but was caught on the edge of the box, unable to see anything more than a glance of blond hair. Rima!
Su struggled as a hand dipped into the box, trying to slide the paper into the hand, and just barely succeeded.
"Mission accomplished!" Su said happily, and settled in the far corner of the box and began to snore.
"What'd you get?" I asked Amu.
"Stage Tech." She sighed in relief. "No way would I be able to get up on stage. All those people!"
"Me too!" I gave her a high five. "Acting is terrifying!" I turned to Nagihiko. "What about you?"
He smiled. "Supporting role. Wonder who I'll be? How about you, Nadeshiko? Tadase?"
The two said nothing. I turned to face them and found that Tadase's face was bright red and Nadeshiko's was white with shock. "What is it?" I snatched the slips out of their hands and read, "Main Protagonist 1, Main Protagonist 2." I laughed. "Our Romeo and Juliet!"
The two turned to look at each other, and gulped nervously.
"Settle down, settle down," Nikaidou called. "May I have Stage Tech on one side of the room and the actors on the other?"
Nagihiko managed to drag a blushing Tadase and sputtering Nadeshiko to the other side of the room, where the rest of the actors were situated.
I turned to Amu, who was trying not to laugh at the pleading expression on Nade-chan's face that clearly said, dear-God-please-somebody-save-me-now.
Nikaidou walked over to our group first. "All right, Stage Tech! You gus need to work hard, because you'll be the ones that make sure the play goes smoothly. No technical difficulties, smooth scene-to-scene transitions, good props and costumes, all that biz. Yamabuki-san, you work with costumes. Fuyaki-san, Matsushima-san, Sakamoto-san, you all work with lighting. Miyoshi-san, Tanigawa-san,Terao-san, you work with music. Mashiro-san and Himamori-san... you have lost of friends, yes? You can handle both Advertisement and Sets, hmm? Now, Horiuchi-san, Shigaya-san..."
Amu pursed her lips. "Advertisement and the sets? That shouldn't be too hard, right? Just spread it around the school and put out a bunch of advertisements everywhere, right?"
"But we also have to work with the background, like painting the sets..." I sighed. "That'll take forever..."
"Well, we can try and get our friends to help us with them," Amu said cheerfully. "This'll be fun!"
I thought of how much stress this was going to put on the entire Star Class, going around town to hang up ads, getting permissions and making costumes, creating sets and who knows what else, all before the end of the month...
"You're actually right!" I exclaimed. "This is going to be awesome!"
"Su..." Temari said in a frightening tone. "You messed it up?"
"I'm sorry!" Su wailed. "I thought I saw Nagi-kun, and it was really Nade-chan, and Rima-tan and Tadase-kun both have the same hair color..."
Temari growled in frustration. "All right, all right. But we need a new plan!"
"Don't worry! Don't worry!" Ran said brightly. "I have a good plan! Here's how it goes..."
"You really think so?" I asked doubtfully. "He might be busy..."
Kusukusu lauhed. "Nagi will help you, I'm sure! Just ask him for help painting sets. It'll give you two loads of time to hang out, and you'll get stuff done."
I nodded. "You're right. Thanks, Kusukusu!"
It was evening now, with the sun already setting in the rosy sky as I crossed the street and made my way home.
Just a year ago, my mother would never have let me walk home alone in the short distance from school to our house. After she and my father had split, the angry creases that seemed permanently etched in her forehead disappeared, and she loosened her suffocating hold on me slightly, even if she still demanded that I let her take me to school on the few occasions where work didn't make it impossible. Her only request now was that I keep a can of pepper spray and a friend with me at all times.
It made me sad to see my parents. Once they had split, both had loosened up a lot, and while they still couldn't be in the same room together, neither had found someone else. I noticed that whenever Dad came up, Mom got this kind of wistful expression on her face, and Dad's eyes were always sad when Mom came up.
"Rima?"
I turned and saw Nade-chan. "Hi!" I said, surprised. "Nade-chan."
"You live around here?" She asked curiously.
"Nah, this is a shortcut I take to my house. It's quicker. But you don't live around here, though. You and Nagi live closer to school, right?"
She nodded and shifted slightly. I realized she had a bag in her hand, which crinkled slightly behind her back. "Just... picking up some stuff," She said lamely, and changed the subject. "You're so short, Rima. How tall are you?"
I stared at her for a second. "About 150 centimeters."
She chuckled. "I'm 175!"
"So you're freakishly tall," I said matter-of-factly. "Normal people are around my height. Like, Yaya's 163, Amu's 165, and Utau's 168. Well, okay, so Amu and Utau are tall. But that's weird. They're taller than a couple guys in our class, actually."
"True," She admitted. "But Hotori-san's my height exactly, and Kairi-kun's probably only like five centimeters shorter."
"So Kairi's average," Rima insisted. "And Tadase's unnaturally tall."
"Both Kukai and Tsukiyomi are both almost six feet."
"You people are freaks of nature," I said pointedly.
"There are lots of people who are around that tall!"
"Yeah. Lots of freaks."
"Riri-chi!" My mother flew to my side as I walked through and hugged me tight. "Oh, thank goodness you're home! I was so worried!"
"I'm fine, Mom." I hugged her back and kissed her on the cheek. "Talking with a friend."
I plopped down on my bed, staring at my faded orange walls, and wondering as the smell of dinner wafted up the stairs and the sky slowly darkened. Though I didn't know it, and would probably live my whole live without the knowledge, Nadeshiko was clutching an old sweater, breathing in a fading scent of oranges as tears dripped silently from her eyes.
You sit up, gasping, feeling tears running down your face. Everything that happened, the blinding pain of the demon's acidic blood, the terror as you watched Kiyoko's own father, black-eyed and robotic, try to slit her throat.
Tsukasa shifts and wakes, rubbing his eyes sleepily.. "Another nightmare?" You nod. "Come here."
It's been ten long years since the monster disappeared. The nightmares have faded, coming back once in a long while, but you're used to it. It's safe now, there isn't anything more to worry about. No more staying up alone in your bed, backed up in a tiny corner with the windows drawn to let some form of light in, fearing that that thing will attack you again. Unable to trust anyone outside the Guardians, because they could be Possessed. It is safe once more.
For now.
Outside the house, a man with gold and silver eyes watched.
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