Chapter 13~ Flaw #13~ Ultimatum
I woke up to the sound of Nadeshiko singing.
"There's no way I could love someone, but I want someone to love me…" she sang, brushing her long indigo hair. "Even if yesterday continued unchanging into tomorrow, we'd still be the same, you and I…"
She stopped the instant I opened my eyes, setting down the brush and staring into the mirror. Her voice really was beautiful, perfectly tuned and melodious. Probably because she was a robot.
"What song was that?" I asked groggily. She shrugged.
"I think it was called "All Alone With You" by Egoist. I just remember it because it was in some anime I watched."
I raised an eyebrow. "You watch anime?"
She shrugged again. "Sometimes. Fuko tells me to watch TV and stuff to educate myself more about the world and absorb different sorts of behavior to create the perfect person. Anime's my favorite because of the visuals plus humor and the high morals in it."
"You have favorites?"
"Stop asking questions." She snapped. "I'm not authorized to tell you much more, anyways."
I shut up, not wanting to bother her. Which was weird, since I usually didn't have trouble with bothering people. But the fact that she was a robot combined with the fact that talking to her and looking at her was pretty much like looking at Nagi, made it all a little harder. It's sort of hard to be mean to someone who looks exactly like the person you're in love with.
Amu woke up next, yawning and groaning and reaching for her charas, who weren't there. All she felt was the smooth, hard shell of the eggs, dull and drained of color. After the charas got forced back into their eggs, the eggs had lost their color. As long as they remained sealed, the eggs were black and white, including Kusukusu's.
I ran my own finger longingly over Kusukusu's egg, missing the bright colors of her egg and her wonderful playfulness, but at the same time, kindness. Kusukusu embodied everything I wanted to be: funny, sweet, kind, warm, and free of worry. Yet I was the exact opposite: sarcastic, rude, ice cold, and held the weight of the world on my shoulders.
"So what are we supposed to do for the test?" Yaya's sleepy voice startled us. We had all thought she was asleep, but she was awake and rubbing her eyes, hugging a teddy bear. She's fourteen.
(Well, actually, I have a teddy bear too, but shh.)
Nadeshiko shook her head. "No need to ask. Just get dressed and we'll all go to the testing center."
Cue collective shuddering.
At that moment, Fuko busted open our door, singing some random tune that was supposed to be cheery. I guess she was a pretty good singer, but just the fact that she was Fuko made me want to chuck a pillow at her. So I did.
She dodged it, damn.
"You all look fine, come on!" She took Amu's arm and my arm, before we could even change or anything. After pushing us out of the room, she grabbed Yaya as Nadeshiko followed her out. She did all of this so fast, we couldn't even react. Plus, we were still sort of half-asleep.
"No!" Amu wailed. "My hair!" Fuko rolled her eyes and pushed her along the corridor.
All the boys were up as well. Kukai, for some reason, was wet. It looked as though Fuko had thrown water on him. Ikuto looked amazingly gorgeous for someone who had just gotten up, and Amu seemed well aware of this fact. Kairi and Tadase were on the ground, asleep.
Nagi looked sleepy, and admittedly, not at his best. But I felt my heart twist a little, seeing him rub his eyes innocently and his hair tangled cutely. It was endearing to see him not so perfect for once.
They were all in their pajamas, and so we were, but-wait. Where's Utau?!
"Where's Utau?" I asked, bewildered, ashamed that I had totally forgotten about her and didn't notice that she was gone.
The other people all seemed to give a little start and looked around, as if they too, had only just noticed that Utau was gone. We suck.
Well, all but Ikuto and Kukai, and Fuko.
"Somebody recognized her, and asked for an autograph. Utau got held back and almost spilled that Fuko had kidnapped us, so Fuko stuck her in a separate room. I don't know where she is." Kukai looked worried.
Fuko hit him on the head with surprising force, making him bend over from pain. "Don't talk so loud." She scolded. "Besides, Utau-chan is fine."
She flounced over to the room right next to the boys, inserted a key, and flung it open, much like she had done to us.
Utau was standing there, fully dressed, and with her hands on her hips. She looked like a mixture of furious and exasperated.
She stomped out and stood next to Kukai.
Fuko clapped her hand. "All right, we're all here. Into the car~!"
"Are you going to drive?" Amu asked, looking scared.
"Yup!"
Oh dear God.
Fifteen minutes and three passed out people later, Yaya, Kukai, Utau, Nagi, Nadeshiko, Ikuto, and I got out of the car, while Amu, Tadase, and Kairi were dragged out by Fuko. She splashed cold water on them to wake them up, and I understood why Kukai had been wet.
"Alright, march!" Fuko grabbed Ikuto and Yaya's arms because they were near the front of the group. She proceeded to "walk" them up the stairs to the doorway of the building we had stopped in front of.
It wasn't a huge, huge building, but it was fairly large, made of matte black bricks and reflective glass panels. The words 'Easter Corporation' were engraved on the top right corner of the building.
The rest of us followed Fuko dumbly, with Nadeshiko in the back. She was probably there to make sure we didn't run away or something.
Once we got inside the doors, we were forcibly blindfolded and led along several corridors until we entered one room.
The blindfolds came off, but before that happened, something was placed in each of our hands.
Eggs.
I looked down and gasped. Kusukusu's egg had color, which means she wasn't sealed in anymore. As if on cue, she popped out, smiling widely at me.
"Rima-tan, I missed you!" she clung onto my face, making me giggle and pet her with one finger.
"I missed you too." I told her, my voice actually containing some emotion.
The others were busy talking to their charas. Amu had the most greetings, since she had four charas to contend with.
I looked curiously at Utau and Ikuto. They were the oldest. Heck, Ikuto was a legal adult, and Utau would be soon. Hadn't their charas disappeared?
Ikuto was still holding his egg. Yoru hadn't popped out. So his egg hadn't disappeared yet, but his chara was getting weaker.
Utau had Eru by her side, but was looking sadly at Iru's egg. The little devil was probably sleeping inside. I felt bad, feeling my stomach twist at the thought of ever losing Kusukusu.
I glanced cautiously at our surroundings. We were in a large, barren room with high ceilings and no corners. It was a circular room, the wall surrounding us padded with foam. So was the ground. Walking around was actually really fun.
"What are you trying to do?" Kairi asked, evidently thinking the same thing I was. "Is this some sort of trap?"
"No." Fuko said simply. "Wait."
I eyed her warily. "For what?" I challenged.
She only blinked.
I opened my mouth again, intent on protesting, when I suddenly understood.
My entire body was on fire.
The pain was so sharp and real that I almost went numb. I felt it in every single fiber of my under five feet tall body. There was fire, shooting through my veins, my limbs, and my heart. My body felt dangerously overheated, and I could smell smoke. I was smoking!
I was burning from the inside, and I heard a shrill noise. It took a while for me to realize that I was screaming.
Tears streamed down my face, but dried instantly because of how hot my face was.
It hurt like hell, but at the same time, there was something familiar and powerful about the feeling. I understood it.
My entire life, I had been ice. I treated everyone the same, cold and harsh. I let nothing past my barriers; let nothing take me down. I was hard and unforgiving, sharp and deadly. Ice.
But now, I was sick of it. I was sick of being ice, trapped eternally within my frozen heart, unable to feel, think, emote.
I was burning, blazing, searing.
And I liked it.
For the first time in my life, I was fire. I had the power to do whatever I wanted. I could let myself be free. To melt. To love, to live, to laugh about something other than comedy. To be happy.
I could take down anything in my way. I was fire now, and I wasn't going to be reduced to embers again.
This was me.
Rima Mashiro.
I stood, the pain fading but the tingling sensation lingering. I stared at Fuko, looking her dead in the eye, and instantaneously transforming into Clown Drop.
"You can't keep us here." I said, hearing my own voice and feeling different. "You can't fight me now."
Three blazing juggling pins circle above her head. And yet, she remained calm.
"True, I can't fight you." She replied serenely. "But I can bargain with you. I have something you want."
"Like what?" I snarled, lowering the juggling pins close enough for her to feel the heat of the flames enveloping my weapons.
"Information. About who you really are, Rima." Fuko said.
"It's Mashiro to you." I snapped. "You can't call me Rima." To my surprise, Fuko laughed at this part.
"I'm afraid not, Rima. It's not 'Mashiro' to anybody. That's not your real surname."
"What?" I was so surprised that I almost singed her head off. I extinguished the fire, summoning my pins back to me. "What do you mean?"
She looked at me, her icy blue eyes seeming to pierce my soul. "You are not who you think you are, Rima. You were adopted."
Adopted?
"What?" I gagged, coughing with shock. "I'm not adopted."
She shrugged. "You look nothing like your parents, Rima. Surely you have noticed that."
No, no, no.
"True, but…" I hesitated. "Maybe I look like my grandmother."
"Oh, sure. The grandmother you never met?" Fuko challenged, a glint in her eyes. "Haven't you ever wondered where your grandparents are? Ever considered that maybe your fake parents were hiding them from you, so you wouldn't realize you were adopted?"
"What do you think they're always fighting about, anyways? You, sure. But what about you? Did you think it was just the kidnapping? No, it was about your adoption. How they never should've taken you in. How to keep it a secret. How you brought danger to them. You weren't wanted, Rima. By either set of parents." Fuko finished her cruel rant with a knowing smile.
I was shaking. From anger, sadness, disbelief, or fear, I wasn't sure.
"What are you offering me?" I whispered, afraid of the answer.
She kept smiling. "A chance, Rima. A chance to find out who your real parents are. Why they left you. And to find out who you really are."
She was right. She had something I wanted, now. This was an ultimatum, and I had no choice but to accept.
"Fine." I spat out, ignoring her outstretched hand.
Fuko waved her hand. "I have given your Shugo Chara back. You are free to leave if you fight past Nadeshiko."
The rest of them had been silent while Fuko and I had conversed.
"If Rima stays, I stay." Nagi said firmly. Amu nodded in agreement, and everyone else did too.
Fuko's smile stretched. "Excellent."
The stupidest thing happened. I thought I updated, but only realized I hadn't when my view count went up by zero. So sorry, guys.
Also, I noticed that I'm only one review away from fifty. OHMYGOD, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? I can't believe you guys actually like my story. Thank you so much!
As soon I reach fifty, I'll do a chapter with an omake. If I ever reach one hundred, I'll do a double update.
(I think one thousand is like my ultimate eternal omg I'd die happy goal, but I'm far off as of now.)
But anyways, review please!
Question: Should I start doing review replies within a chapter? Because I usually reply to reviews by PM, but that way I can't reply to guest reviews. Should I?