Chapter 11: Nagihiko Doesn't Like Dares


"Oi, Nagihiko."

"Yes, Ito-kun?" I said. It was after the school campfire, and everybody but Ito-kun, Sato-kun, Kirishima-kun, and me had left to go to bed. I had settled myself down next to Sato-kun when Ito-kun called me from across the bench.

"Do you like Mashiro?"

Something in my chest jumped. "Um, what?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh, come on," Ito-kun laughed. "It's quite a bit too obvious what with you smiling around her. Oh, and you do know you're horrible at flirting, right?"

"As if you know any better, Ritsu," Sato-kun said sarcastically. Kirishima-kun pitched in a nervous laugh.

"Oh, so you know better, Jiro," Ito-kun said. "So how far are you in your relationship with A-ka-ne."

That made Sato-kun blush. "Akane-chan has nothing to do with this!" he said.

"Uh, Jiro, can you please be quiet?" Kirishima-kun said. "Sensei will kill us if she finds out that we're not in our dorms right now."

Ito-kun rolled his eyes. "Quit being a coward, Fuyuki," he said, which made Kirishima-kun frown, then he turned to me. "You ready for a dare, Nagihiko?"

"Uh, I'm not sure if I want to…" I laughed nervously, but Ito-kun continued.

"Oh, I know you want to," Ito-kun cackled, making Kirishima-kun glance towards the trees nervously for any teachers. "I dare you to…kiss Mashiro." Without any warning, I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Isn't that a bit…overboard, Ritsu?" Sato-kun asked Ito-kun.

"Nope," he said. "I think Nagihiko's perfectly capable doing this. Right, Fuyuki?" Kirishima-kun blinked, looked at Ito-kun, then hastily agreed. "See? What can I say?"

Sato-kun glared at Kirishima-kun. "See, this is why Sensei says you're a yes-man," he said. Kirishima-kun laughed nervously, but his cheeks faintly turned pink. Sato-kun, then turned to me. "You really don't have to, Nagihiko. Just ignore Ritsu. He's being an idiot right now."

"Oh, don't listen to him," Ito-kun said, pulling Sato-kun into a headlock. "He's being the idiot. Isn't that right, Mr. I-have-a-girlfriend-but-I'm-too-afraid-to-actually-sit-next-to-her?"

"Shut up!" Sato-kun complained through Ito-kun's headlock.

"So what are you gonna do?" Ito-kun said. "Are you, or are you chicken?" With that, he started clucking like one while his free elbow flapped like a chicken wing.

Sato-kun pulled himself away from Ito-kun's grip and said to me, "Nagihiko, he really is being idiotic. You really don't have to."

I bit my lip. Just thinking about kissing Rima-chan made me feel uneasy. Maybe, I could refuse… Then I looked at Ito-kun, who was still doing his impersonation of a chicken. I tried Kirishima-kun for help, but he just shrugged. This is really confusing…

"Come on, Nagihiko," Ito-kun said, pausing at his chicken impersonation, "you don't want to be a cowardly chicken like Jiro, right? I know you want to kiss her! Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Why am I the bad example?" Sato-kun complained. "For the last time, stop-"

I sighed, "Fine, I'll do it." This made Ito-kun break into a grin.

"Great!" he said. "You got until when we leave! Got that?"

But before I could reply, a rustle was heard from the trees, then there was a booming voice. "Hey! It's past curfew!"

"Oh, shoot," Sato-kun said, summarizing what was probably going through all our minds. As we made a run for it, I felt my chest tighten in anticipation for tomorrow. Oh, I hope Rima-chan doesn't kill me…

~.~.~

"Good morning, Rima-chan," I said to the blond as I plopped my breakfast down next to hers. "Did you sleep well?"

"Why do you want to know?" she replied angrily. I caught Ito-kun's eye, who was at another table with his sister and her friends and Sato-kun and Kirishima-kun. Ito-kun mouthed something and gave a thumbs-up. I think he mouthed "go for it!" but I doubt I can in a crowded room. It has to be private, in my opinion, just so Rima-chan and I don't have to go through the rumors our classmates might make. I turned to Rima-chan's glare, and I laughed.

"Ah! Nagi!" I looked up and saw Amu-chan plop herself down across from Rima-chan. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Amu-chan," I said.

"Morning, Amu," Rima-chan said in a bored tone while picking at her scrambled eggs.

"Eh? What's the matter, Rima?" Amu-chan asked, confused at Rima-chan's angry mood. Rima-chan just simply jabbed a fork in my direction. "Eh? What did Nagi do?"

"Exist," Rima-chan said plainly.

"Ah, that's not nice, Rima-chan," I said, putting in a laugh for good measure.

"Why are you laughing?" Rima asked.

"It's just because you're funny," I said, which was true. Rima-chan was always funny, whether she was trying or not. Rima-chan just furrowed her eyebrows at that comment and then squinted her eyes into another glare. I countered it with a smile. All of a sudden, Rima stood up and took her plate that only had a few scraps of scrambled eggs and bacon left on it.

"I'm gonna go get some more," she said calmly, but I could tell she was aggravated. She's a pretty good actor, but I can tell when she's acting. I watched as she made her way back to the buffet line at the front of the room, but then Ito-kun's sister, Izumi-chan, called her over. I watched as she stopped and went over to them.

"Hey, Nagi." I blinked, then turned to Amu-chan.

"Yes, Amu-chan?" I asked.

"Are you all right?" Amu-chan said, confusing me. "I mean, I've never seen you be this weird. Er, like…throwing compliments left and right? You've never done that in elementary." She frowned. "Seriously, what's up?"

Amu-chan's query shocked me a bit. I've never really she of all people would notice. I felt embarrassed as I racked my brains for something, then I smiled at Amu-chan in a sincere way and said, "It's nothing, Amu-chan." Amu-chan furrowed her eyebrows, then went back to eating as if nothing happened. I saw Rima-chan make her way back to the table just as the English teacher stood up.

"Will everybody please pay attention?" he asked loudly. The whole dining room quickly hushed in a whispery silence. Sensei cleared his throat. "Let me just give you a clear idea on what today's plan is," he said. "We'll be leaving the campground this afternoon," this was met with groans and a few shouts, but Sensei continued, "so the rest of the morning will be devoted to free time." The groans then morphed into shouts of joy. A muscle twitched on Sensei, as if he was about to smile. "After lunch, we'll then pack up and head down to the buses to be back at school by the time most of you will be due for clubs." With that, he sat down.

"Wow! Free time again! Isn't that great?" Amu-chan said to Rima-chan, who had taken the empty seat next to her instead of her original seat next to me.

"Yeah," Rima-chan said, "though I think I'd have to ask Izumi if we don't go with the guys. I had enough basketball for all of summer vacation." Amu-chan laughed at that, and I did, too. Rima-chan gave me a glare. She motioned for Amu-chan to finish up and get up, which is what she did, and the two left to dump their stuff and left me all alone.

I silently poked at my almost finished food until I heard Ito-kun's voice next to me. "Yo, my friend," I looked up, and he was there with Kirishima-kun and Sato-kun. Ito-kun sat down next to me. "What's up, dude?" he asked. "I saw like a million times in which you could've made your move, so why didn't you?"

Instead of me answering, Sato-kun said, "It's because he's not like you. He doesn't take things on impulse. He actually thinks, while you don't." Kirishimia-kun nervously laughed, but Ito-kun ignored it.

"So what?" he said. "Nagihiko, you better pull yourself together and just get it over with."

"I-I'll try," I said. "Um, so what are we going to do today for free time?"

Ito-kun tapped his index finger against his cheek, as if he was thoughtfully thinking about it. "Let me see," he said. "Well, since your friends insisted on no basketball, we can't hang out with Izumi for the rest of the day or else she'll kill me. Hey, I know! We can have another basketball game! This time, it's Jiro and I versus Fuyuki and Nagihiko!"

"Dude, let's not," Sato-kun said. "I like basketball and all, but I don't really want to do other things."

"Er, how about we hang out with other guys and do whatever they're doing," Kirishima-kun offered.

"That seems like a good idea," Sato-kun said. "What do you think, Nagihiko?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not?" I looked at Ito-kun, who looked annoyed and a little agitated. Then I heard him grumble okay.

Sato-kun laughed at his friend. "Come on, I'll find some other guys on the team. Maybe some of them don't have basketball heads and actually have other things." So we followed Sato-kun for a change to find people to chat with. Though, in the back of my mind, something told me to find Rima-chan. I shook it off as soon as it entered my mind, and quickly started a conversation with Kirishima-kun.

~.~.~

"Ah, that lunch was good!" Ito-kun cried just as we were straggling out of the dining room. During free time, we met up with some other boys on the basketball team and ended up trying out the rock wall, which one of the teachers was manning. I managed to get to the top and get down in a flash. The teacher and several kids were astounded by my speed, but I brushed it off. I wonder where Rima-chan is…? I mentally shook the thought out of my head. That thought kept popping back into my head almost every minute. It nibbled and bit in my head, hungry for an answer, but I refused to answer it. I didn't want Rima-chan to be madder than she seemed already. She seemed so calm before, before the trip or even that shopping trip, but now I could sense a bomb ticking, and I'd hate to see what would happen if I let it set off.

"Yeah," Sato-kun said, bringing me back to where I was. "Should we get packing?" We all nodded and went up to our room, which already had a bunch of other boys scrambling around to find their stuff in the clutters on the ground. Thankfully, I kept everything in a neat pile next to my futon, so I had a fairly easy time. It took a while helping out the other boys, and Ito-kun had a hard time finding one of his socks, but soon we lugged everything quite noisily down the stairs and headed over to the bus, when I spotted Rima-chan and her friends. The feeling washed over me again, and this time, instead of pushing it back, I let it push me forward.

"Um, I'll see you guys at the bus, okay?" I said.

Ito-kun looked confused, then looked over to see Rima-chan. He grinned. "Sure, we'll save you a seat in the back." He patted me on the back and left me standing there by myself. My legs cried to stay put, not to go and just get on the bus, but my head said no. I took a deep breath, and ran over to where Rima-chan was.

"Hello, there," I said as I neared toward them. Izumi-chan, Akane-chan, and Yuki-chan all greeted me. Amu-chan met me with a smile and another hello. Rima-chan, however, remained silent. I think she even groaned.

"Hello, Fujisaki-kun," Yuki-chan said. "What brings you over here? I just saw you over there with Ritsu-kun and Jiro-kun."

I laughed. "I just wanted to talk with you guys." I faintly heard Rima-chan grumble about something about freaks, but I ignored it. "How was your free time, anyways?" I politely asked.

"It was great!" Amu said. "We just sat in our dorm and chatted all the time. We even tried doing our hair!"

"Actually," Yuki inputted, "it was Amu-chan and Akane-chan who really enjoyed it. Rima-chan and Izumi-chan looked like they were about to kill themselves." I laughed, then stole a glance over at Rima-chan. I quickly turned back to the others.

"What about you, Yuki-chan?" I asked her.

Yuki-chan flicked her bangs and said, "I just got a manga and read it while Akane-chan put a few clips in my hair."

"She looked like a cute little elementary student with little pigtails," Amu-chan cooed. "I wanted Rima to do it, too, but she refused."

I laughed again, then turned to Rima-chan. "Why didn't you, Rima-chan?" I asked. "I think you'd be really cute with pigtails."

"No," Rima-chan said. "The pigtails would make me look even smaller than I already am. Not to mention I would fall down with the weight they would have."

I laughed again. "You're so funny, Rima-chan." This made Rima-chan glare at me again. I tried another approach. "I went on the rock wall this morning with Ito-kun, Sato-kun, and Kirishima-kun."

"Oh, really?" Izumi-chan said. "Did my brother cry in fear?"

I shook my head. "No. I think he did fine," I paused, then continued on. "The teacher said I was a natural on the rock wall. He said I had good reflexes and great speed."

"Like a squirrel," Rima-chan said.

Amu-chan laughed. "That's cute, Rima. Nagi with a bushy tail and collecting nuts? Hilariously adorable." The other girls laughed, but Rima-chan continued to frown in disapproval. That wasn't good. I looked at the crowd of kids lugging their bags to the bus. So close to leaving, I better do this or Ito-kun will mock me forever more. I sighed. "Can I talk with Rima-chan for a bit?"

The laughter stopped, and there was a bit of confusion in the atmosphere. "Why?" Amu asked. Great, should've thought of an excuse.

"Um," I said, trying to wing it. "Well, you see, I wanted to talk with Rima-chan about Japanese class and compare notes. I wanted to make sure Sensei was teaching the same thing."

Amu-chan frowned, then something must've clicked in her brain, so she said, "Sure, the girls and I will be waiting on the bus, Rima. We'll try and get a seat saved for you."

"Yeah!" Izumi said. "I'll pulverize anybody who tries to take it."

Rima-chan stifled a giggle, then said, "Right." But when their back disappeared into the crowd of students, Rima's smile turned back into the frown. "Okay, what is it?"

I smiled again, then said, "Let's go for a walk." Rima-chan looked slightly confused at that sudden request but did so, remaining a few paces behind me.

"Okay, what does walking have anything to do with Japanese writing and grammar?" she asked as we walked farther into the woods and away from people. Despite all of these emotions racing around inside me, I still wanted to do this away from the eyes and gossiping mouths of others.

"What's your favorite folk tale?" I suddenly asked, trying to ease the awkwardness coming between us.

"Um, why are you asking?" Rima said from behind me.

"Just tell me," I said.

"Uh, Kaguya-hime?"

"Oh, the one with the moon princess who was found by a bamboo cutter? Why's that?"

"Uh, gosh, I don't know. Guess it's 'cause I'm a girl? I don't know… Oh, I know. It's 'cause there were those loser bachelors who wanted to marry her, but she said she would if they would give impossible gifts. In the end, most of the guys tried forging it, but Kaguya-hime saw right through them and refused to marry them." This conversation seemed as awkward as the silence, but at least Rima-chan was talking to me and not threatening me.

"Oh, that's a good explanation," I said, still walking. "Was it because of it represented that you can't pretend to be in love?"

"Uh, no. I just like it 'cause all those losers got dumped."

I laughed. "That's quite funny, Rima-chan."

I heard the tiny footsteps of Rima-chan stop. I turned around. "Okay, first, what the heck is going on?" Rima-chan asked. "This is supposed to be about grammar and themes, right? So why are we talking about my favorite story?"

"But didn't we-" I tried to say, but Rima-chan cut me off.

"And will you quit calling me cute and funny? I am not some stereotypical blond who can be easily swayed by compliments. If you're ever gonna make your friend, just stop. Stop it all together. I am not your friend and I never will." Those words made me feel a bit angry. Friends? Why was she talking about friends when I was standing here with confused feelings and pressure from Ito-kun? Friends? I took a deep breath.

"Rima-chan, come here," I said.

"No way," she complained.

I sighed. "Fine, then, be that way." I looked at her. Rima-chan glowered back and turned as if she was about to leave. No, don't leave. Not when the field trip is ending. I ran and grabbed Rima-chan's wrist.

"What the heck?" she said, alarmed. I took a deep breath and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Rima-chan, but I kind of have to."

And with that, I placed my lips on hers.

Every cell in my body jumped when I touched her, and my brain whizzed as I kept my lips on hers. It was my first time, so I didn't really know what to do except keep myself calm and stay where I was. It certainly wasn't helping that Rima-chan kept making muffled screams of protest. So, in conclusion, wasn't the greatest kiss, but it wasn't the worst. Finally, I broke the kiss when my lungs couldn't stand the lack of oxygen.

"W-What was that?" Rima-chan said. "W-Why did you…?" She started taking quick steps backwards. "I'm outta here. You are a- AH!" She wasn't looking, and she tripped over a huge tree root that was sticking out of the ground.

"Rima-chan!" I said, and ran to grab her. I caught her hand, and a look flashed across Rima-chan's face. Maybe she was scared I was going to kiss her again, and maybe I might've. But just as I turned my lips up into another smile, I lost my footing and fell.

Crash!

I managed to catch my fall with my hand, but now it stung. I opened my eyes, which were closed when I was waiting for impact, and suddenly I wished I hadn't. Rima-chan's face stared back at me, with her eyes almost as big as saucers. My hand was still gripping hers while my other, the one that stung, was next to her elbow, so close to touching her arm. I felt my knees touch her legs, which made my face heat up at the thought. Her long hair was spread out like a fan while mine hung down like a purple curtain. We lay there in silent shock, letting this current position sizzle in. Finally not taking the awkward silence any longer, I tried to speak.

"R-Rima-chan! I'm-" I was cut off by a voice in the distance, coming closer.

"Fujisaki-kun? Mashiro-san?" The voice, I remember, belonged to the class representative of my class. Oh, this is bad. Her voice continued to grow closer, until it finally was 15 meters away. "Mashiro-san? Fujisaki-" She stopped yelling, and I knew she was near. I turned my head and saw her looking dismayed at the current situation. "H-How? Why?" she said, letting the words spill out of her. Suddenly, she bowed and frantically said, "I'm sorry for disturbing you!" With that, she dashed off.

I started to slowly chuckle, but Rima-chan's voice stopped me. "Um…" she said. Realizing that I was still on top of her, I quickly got up. Dirt clung onto my pants, but that didn't matter when Rima-chan got up. The look she had on, she looked like she was about to yell, but she didn't. Instead, she ran off to the buses. "Wait, Rima-chan!" I called out to her, wanting to really apologize, to explain what that was all about. But with that look she had on, I doubt I'll ever be able to. I sighed, and ran to the buses.

"Hey! Nagihiko!" Ito-kun said as I took a seat across from and him and next to Kirishima-kun. I had gotten on the bus just in time, apologized to Sensei about being late, found Ito-kun in the back. He grinned when he saw me. "So, how'd it go?"

"Terrible," I said, surprising Ito-kun. "I doubt things will be the same ever again."


Oh…oh shoot. I wrote 8 PAGES worth of a chapter in less than a week. (quickly checks page number) No, wait, scratch that. 8 PAGES AND A FRACTION OF A NINTH. Aren't you so proud of me? ^_^;

On another note, writing in Nagihiko's POV was the hardest thing EVER. You don't know how many times I had to stop and change stuff like "Ritsu" to "Ito-kun" and "Amu" to "Amu-chan." Word of advice: Unless you want to grow very angry at the long-haired Fujisaki, please refrain from typing in his POV. His politeness is too much for our brains to handle. I'd rather type in Amu and Rima's POV, but, alas, this chapter called for Nagihiko's view.

Speaking of this chapter, I sure hope you're all happy with what happened. Actually, I'm POSITIVE that you're Inner Rimahiko Fan Girl came out when you read this (yes, even you). But let's hope the fangirly-ness could lay off for a while so I can hear some reviews. Thank you for reading this chapter! And I'm getting back to Rima's mind next chapter! Tee hee, she's not a happy camper now! Review, please!