What can I say? I'm really sorry for not posting any new chapters for four days. But in my defense, my SAT scores came back….1950. Well, my parents were angry with me for not scoring above 2000 so they took my laptop away for half a week. Now I'll have to take the SAT again next year in 8th grade T_T. Another year filled with horrendous SAT practice tests and vocabulary memorization. Nooooo!

Not to make my parents sound all evil and strict or anything. They gave me a laptop and internet and everything so I could write Rimahiko fan fiction instead of doing my math homework.

Anyways, enjoy ^_^.

RIMA'S DIARY

Evening

I'm supposed to be sleeping but Nagihiko's keeping me awake. So he's dating Amu, huh? Well, I don't care because I don't like him. Got it? I DON'T LIKE HIM.

Okay, why am I lying in my own diary?

Fine. I like him. I've liked him since January, since the day we met. HAPPY?

Well, what can I do about it? He clearly doesn't like me back. I mean, he's dating a different girl!

The only way to get out of this is to act like I don't like him. To brush him off. Then maybe I'll fool myself and not like him anymore.

Yep. That's what I'll do.

March 13th

Tadase cornered me before school started. "Mashiro-san, did you know Fujisaki and Amu-chan broke up?"

"R-really?" I ask, trying to keep elation out of my voice.

"Yes. And I was thinking maybe we should too."

"Oh, okay!" I say cheerfully.

"You sound so jovial," Nagihiko sweatdrops.

"Well, yes but—WHEN'D YOU GET HERE?"

"Just a couple seconds ago."

"I better get going," Tadase rushes away.

"Anyways, why'd you break up with Amu?"

Nagihiko shifts from one foot to another, trying to form the best answer. "To be honest, it was because I liked a different girl."

"Who?" I try to act uninterested.

Nagihiko sticks his tongue out at me. "Guess."

I scowl. "Uh, Yaya?"

Kairi, who was walking past us to his locker, suddenly stops. "Jack likes Ace?"

Nagihiko blushes. "S-Sanjo!"

"We all know you like Yaya," I tell Kairi.

Kairi turns red. "I…Queen, how'd you guess?"

"It's really obvious," Nagihiko sweatdrops.

"It is," Amu agrees, walking up to us. I see she's holding hands with Ikuto and glance at Nagihiko to see his reaction. I don't think he even noticed.

"J-Joker! And Ikuto-san!"

"Why don't you just tell Yaya and be done with it?" Nagihiko suggests.

"Aww, you guys, stop teasing the nine-year-old, especially you, Nagihiko. Hypocrite," Utau says, dashing up to us along with Kukai.

Nagihiko turns red. "How am I hypo—"

"We all know how you're being hypocritical, so don't try to deny it," Kukai snickers. Then he looks at me. "Okay, maybe not all of us."

I scowl. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing," they all say in unison.

I frown at Utau and Ikuto. "Why are you guys even here?"

Ikuto grins. "Why do you think?"

Amu roundhouse kicks him. "You!"

Ikuto hobbles to the nearest bench and sits down. "You took my advice and learned karate, didn't you?"

I walk up to Nagihiko. "When are you going to tell them?"

"You sure change topics fast," Nagihiko says. "Tell them what?"

"If you aren't going to tell them, I—"

"Oh! That!" Nagihiko pales. "Umm…..how about in a decade?"

"How about now."

"What! Rima-chan….you…"

"Yes."

Nagihiko takes a deep breath. "Everyone, I have an announcement to make." They all look at him.

"Ace isn't here," Kairi reminds him.

"I'll tell her later. Anyways, I hope you'll accept me for who I am. Hotori, Souma, and Rima-chan already know this."

"Wait, when'd you tell Mashiro?" Kukai calls out, exchanging a glance with Tadase.

"I didn't tell her, she found out," Nagihiko says testily. "Anyways, the truth is, I'm Nadeshiko. My family forced me pose as a girl so I could learn how to be graceful and elegant."

"WHAAAT?" Amu faints on the spot.

"Hmmm….it's strange that my database didn't have that information…my research skills are inadequate!" Kairi gasps. I bite my lip. Shoot, I still haven't returned the database to him.

"That weird dancing girl with the naginata was you?" Ikuto mutters. "You tried to drown me in a flood of cream!"

"Actually, that was Su," Nagihiko replies.

"Nadeshiko…don't really remember her….oh, were you the girl with the ponytail?" Utau mumbles, rubbing her temples.

Yaya walks over. I grab her lunchbox, take out the thermos of tea and spill it all over Amu's face. She wakes up. "Oh my god, NAGIHIKO IS NADESHIKO? That's so….so awesome! And I was wondering if she was ever going to come back!"

"Huh?" Yaya frowns at Amu. "Amu-chi is saying silly things!"

"Actually, no, Yuiki, I am Nadeshiko." Nagihiko takes out his other Guardian Character—Temari. Temari bows.

"Hello. It's nice to see you again, Yaya-san."

"This is so cool!" Rhythm grins, flying out of Nagihiko's pocket.

"While we're at it, why don't you confess your other thing?" Kukai smirks.

"Yes, you should get it off your chest," Tadase agrees.

"It's not that hard. I've done it before, and it wasn't that bad," Kairi coaxes.

"Well, but I'd have to see her for the rest of the year! You left! I can't!" Nagihiko moans.

"Well, he came back a month later, but it wasn't that awkward between us," Amu points out.

I glare at them. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Just tell her now," Utau groans. "You guys are giving me a headache."

"No! You guys, shut up! If this is the plan Sanjo came up with, it's terrible!" Nagihiko walks away.

Yaya looks at Kairi. Kairi nods. "It's time for drastic measures."

After school

"I bet little adorable blonde girls taste fabulous!" Nagihiko cackles.

"That sounds wrong," Ikuto mumbles. He'd come to "help" (more like stare at Amu).

"Cannibal!" I accuse, ignoring Ikuto.

"Yep, that's me!" Nagihiko laughs. "Now do the dishes!"

"That sounds wrong too!" Ikuto says.

"SHUT UP!" Amu shrieks, whacking him with a metal frying pan that was supposed to be a prop.

"Um, the evil stepmother hit the witch's cat with a frying pan," Kairi quickly improvises.

Ikuto Character Changes with Yoru and begins batting at the frying pan like it was a cat toy. We all sweatdrop.

"Gretel! Help! I have claustrophobia!" Tadase wails through the bars of the cage.

I look at him. "Here, this might help." I throw a handful of tea bags into the cage.

"How is this supposed to help?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to give you false hope," I smirk.

"Now let's do the scene where Gretel leaves the stage and Hansel sings a mournful song to the witch!" Amu drags me out.

"There's a scene like that?" Nagihiko and Tadase shout in unison. Tadase begins singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

"It's supposed to be MOURNFUL!" Nagihiko yells.

"Close enough," Kukai mutters. "His singing voice is mournful, at least."

"You're just used to having a pop idol sing for you!" Utau laughs, slipping through the door. She listens to Tadase's off-key voice. "Actually, I take my words back. His singing is beyond repair."

Amu drags me backstage with Yaya pushing me through the curtain. Then they grab two detective-like brown trench coats off the costumes rack and Yaya takes a magnifying glass from the props table.

"Did you make me come back here so we could play detective?" I sweatdrop.

"No! How does Rima-tan really feel about Nagi?"

"What?" How'd she find out so fast? "Did you read my diary?"

"…You have a diary?" Amu asks.

"Okay, I don't feel anything for Nagihiko!" I protest.

"Mmmmhmmmm, suuuuuureeee….." they smirk.

"You can tell us the truth, Rima," Amu says kindly.

"Yaya can keep a secret!"

I narrow my eyes at them. "Right…." Just because I'm not going to lie to myself about my crush on Nagihiko doesn't mean I'm not going to lie to them. "I don't like him."

"Be honest with us!" Amu shouts. "You should tell us your true feelings!"

"No way! What the heck! There's no way I like him!" I shriek, stomping out of the area and onto the stage. Nagihiko is banging his head against the plywood floor, Utau has her headphones firmly clamped onto her head, Kukai has his fingers stuck into his ears and is screaming "SHUT UP" over and over, Kairi is immersed in a thick book on psychology, and Ikuto is still Character Changed with Yoru and playing with a ball of yarn. Tadase is singing loudly and off-key, which explains the behavior of Nagihiko, Utau and Kukai.

"TWINKLE—AHAHAHHA, I'M NOT A PRINCE!—TWINKLE! LITTLE STAR, BOW DOWN TO ME! MUAHAHAHAHA, AFTER I TAKE OVER THE WORLD, I'LL TAKE OVER THE GALAXY, WHICH INCLUDES YOU, LITTLE STAR! AND I DON'T CARE HOW UP ABOVE THE WORLD SO HIGH YOU ARE! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE FROM MY CLUTCHES! AHAHAHAHA! I WANT THE DIAMOND IN THE SKY! "

"Are those the right lyrics?" Amu asks. "I think something's off…."

"Well, NO, OF COURSE Tadase is singing correctly," I say sardonically.

Amu frowns. "Really? Doesn't sound right to me!"

"I was being SARCASTIC."

"Oh."

March 14th

Today Yaya and Amu did the same thing of dragging me backstage, dressing up as detectives, and interrogating me about Nagihiko. Well, I'm not telling them anything.

March 15th

Yaya and Amu seem to be really bent on getting me to confess that I like Nagihiko.

March 16th

I'm seriously considering just telling them so I don't have to be subject to this daily torture/questioning anymore.

March 17th

Yay, there's no school today, so Yaya and Amu can't torment me.

Kusukusu helped me make banana-strawberry smoothies. They turned out lime-green though….strange…and tasted like grapes. It was still delicious, though.

March 19th

Shoot, today's the school play. Hakajisho-sensei hasn't been to the rehearsals (more like interrogation sessions), but she appears today for the performance to give us a pep talk. "Hello, students! I have been much honored to teach you young and bright future actors and actresses ("Teach?" Nagihiko mutters) the basic skills. Now, it is up to you to shine out there!"

Scene 1

I walk out. "Hi, Hansel!"

Tadase shakes hands with me. "Hello, Mashir—I mean, Gretel. Nice to meet you," he says in a monotone.

"No, you've already met me. We're siblings, remember?" I hiss under my breath.

"Oh, yes. I mean, nice seeing you again."

"We see each other every day," I groan. Offstage, I hear Nagihiko stifle a laugh.

"Of course, that's what I meant."

"Anyways, did you hear what Evil Stepmom and Dad were conspiring?"

"Eavesdropping is horrible! Gretel, you're terrible!" Tadase yells.

I sweatdrop. "Uh…yeah…hypocrite." It sounded good, okay?

Tadase blinks. "Hypocrite?"

Kukai walks on stage and slaps Tadase gently on the back. "Hotori—I mean, son! Go get me some firewood!"

"But it's too heavy," Tadase whines, walking backstage to get the firewood prop. There's a crash and Tadase stumbles out with a bruise on his forehead.

"Wimp," I mumble.

Kairi walks onstage. "Hansel and Gretel left the house."

"I think I sprained my ankle…." Tadase moans, hopping around on one foot and ignoring Kairi.

I quickly glance at the audience, which wasn't that big to start with. Half of the crowd has already left or is leaving, a few people are laughing, and the rest are sleeping.

"Come on, Hansel, the green-haired boy said we have to leave the house." I drag him away.

Amu, who had just slid onto the stage, snickers and bolts the door behind us. "Now the dreadful children are gone! Let's have some champagne to celebrate!" She takes out two bottles filled with honey-colored liquid.

"NO UNDERAGE DRINKING!" Hakajisho-sensei stomps onto the stage and grabs the bottles out of Amu's grasp. "I'M CONFISCATING THESE! AND YOU KIDS STICK TO THE SCRIPT!"

"The…script?" Kukai asks. "We had a script?"

I facepalm myself.

Scene 2

Nagihiko ambles onto the stage. "Hey, blonde kids who've just been abandoned into the woods, I'm a cannibal."

"OMG, YOU'RE A CANNIBAL? I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO MEET ONE IN PERSON! CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?" Yaya zooms out of the candy-adorned house, holding a pad of paper and a pen.

"You're supposed to be my bodyguard, not my obsessed fan," Nagihiko hisses.

"Do you have food?" Tadase asks Nagihiko desperately.

Nagihiko looks surprised. "Are you talking about yourself?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

I point at the gingerbread house. "Hey Hansel, there's food!"

"That's not food, that's my home!" Nagihiko snaps.

I stroke my chin. "How much is the mortgage? Looks pretty expensive to me."

"Ugh, you should just see it in the summer, when all the chocolate and frosting melts," Nagihiko groans.

"STOP TALKING AND FEED YOUR HUNGRY KING!" guess who?, Character Changed with his Guardian Character, shouts impatiently.

"You're not the one who's going to be fed here," Nagihikoi snaps at him.

"Why does he spontaneously Character Change with Kiseki so frequently?" I ask. "Kind of strange…"

"It's because he hasn't found a girl yet," Ikuto says, opening the peppermint door.

I roll my eyes. Ikuto…..

"I'm being serious," he protests.

"Whatever," I sigh. I turn back to Nagihiko. "Um, so, can we go into your house?"

"Sure thing, darling," he smiles sweetly. If someone smiled like that at me in real life, I would never trust them, let alone go inside their home unaccompanied.

"HEY!" Hakajisho-sensei marches on stage and grabs Ikuto by the ear. "YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE A SEIYO ACADEMY STUDENT!"

"No, I don't," Ikuto agrees.

"ARE YOU ADMITTING THAT YOU ARE A TRESPASSER?"

"Sure, why not?"

"TRY BEING MORE DISCREET, AT LEAST! IF YOU'RE GOING TO TRESPASS IN THE FIRST PLACE, DO IT RIGHT!"

"Okay, thanks for the advice," he says mordantly.

"I MUST ASK YOU TO LEAVE!"

"I must disobey you! I want to stare at Amu some more! She looks good in her evil stepmother costume!"

Amu, who's standing backstage in a black miniskirt and a black sequined off-the-shoulder top, blushes. Whoever did the costuming must've mixed up "partying teenager" with "forty-year-old stepmother."

"Hey, I did the costuming!" Nagihiko complains.

"Then why'd you make Amu's costume so….unlike an old stepmother?" I snap. "And stop reading over my shoulder!"

"Ikuto requested me to. Besides, I already had the outfit from my Nadeshiko days."

My eyes widen. "You….wore….that?" I choke on my laughter.

Nagihiko glares at me. "Anyways, we probably should get to scene three."

I shrug. "'Kay."

Scene 3

"Mwuahahahaha! I'm going to eat you!" Nagihiko announces.

"Can I be fried?" I request. "Hansel would taste best boiled," I add.

"How would you know?" Ikuto sniggers. Naighiko hits him with her broom.

"Quiet, cat!" Nagihiko looks at me. "Gretel, go and prepare the fire. I'm going to bake both of you."

I roll my eyes. "Um, I'm not really sure how to do that…."

"You stupid damsel!"

"Hey!"

"Here, I'll show you." Nagihiko opens the door to the oven. "You just climb in and…." Nagihiko climbs in the oven. I nod furiously.

"Okay, sure, then what?"

"Then you—"

"Burn the cannibal!" Kukai yells, bursting through the door with a blow torch.

"Hey, Kukai, where'd you get that?" I ask, pointing to the blow torch.

"Under my bed."

I'm not going to even ask. I'm never entering Kukai Souma's home, though.

Amu jumps up and down in front of Kukai. "Stop! The witch is my friend! We go way back, we were roommates in college!"

"And we both flunked out our sophomore year," Nagihiko adds, poking his head out of the oven.

"I don't care!" Kukai exits the stage and comes back with a chainsaw.

"Okay, where'd you get that?" I ask, breaking character.

"The back of my closet."

Scary.

Kairi glances at us. "Er, the witch was obliterated."

Nagihiko drops out of the oven dramatically and falls through a trapdoor in the stage. We all bow to the imaginary audience (the spectators patient enough to sit through scene one left during scene two) and exit the stage.

"Bravo, bravo! That was a most excellent performance!" Hakajisho-sensei cheers. We all look at each other.

"Is she insane?" Nagihiko asks me out of the corner of his mouth.

"Probably," I reply.

"And I have no doubt it was all due to my spectacular teaching!"

"The definition of spectacular must be equivalent to nonexistent," Nagihiko mutters under his breath.

"I hope you kids will sign up for Drama Club next semester! We're going to perform Cinderella!"

"Oh, oh, can the Guardians join?" Yaya squeals. "It sounds fun! Yaya wants to be the evil stepmother!"

"NO!" we all yell.