Glass Slipper by liahime
10 Slippers of Glass
Lovely Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon, then my coworkers (my paid-slaves, buahahahaha!) would hate me because I would make them work much too much on Digimon.
Ryo was having issues with flowers.
It wasn't the flowers themselves, it was how to buy them. Ryo had dragged Kazu to the flower shop. Despite being Akiyama Ryo, with a patented smile fan girls would die for, he was a guy. And being a guy, who just happened to have a fan club that chased after him, a flower shop was not the safest place to be. One. There was normally only two doors, and it was hard to escape. Two, the flower shop he was going to was run by a family- the mother, the older sister, and the fan girl.
This he explained to Kazu as they headed towards Yamanaka Flowers, fan girl paradise, to go and buy the famous anti-flower actress some flowers. He left out one reason. Reason three? He was completely broke.
But of course, this could be left out.
At the Yamanaka flower shop, two clueless boys were being completely confused by the cashier at the counter, who was trying to sell them everything in the shop, insisting that the lucky girl would love it.
"So if you buy this 42 for the price of one half of 84 package, you can get a deal that you won't be able to find anywhere else!"
"Ma'am, I just want to buy one rose... The girl I'm buying it for- she doesn't love flowers like you do- it's nothing personal-"
"But... my poor daughter! She is going to be so heartbroken when she finds out I'm fired!"
"But aren't you a Yamanaka? And isn't this Yamanaka Flowers?"
"My MOTHER would fire me!" She squeezed a tear out of her eye. "PLEASE!"
The saleswoman's daughter peeked out from behind a huge display of roses. "Mom, don't embarrass the customers- RYO!" She whipped out her cellphone, speed dialing her president. "AYASHI! IT'S RYO!"
Reason four. Kazu ended up in front of the saleswoman, while Ryo quickly dropped the money on the counter and ran off as fast as he could, carrying a single red rose.
The saleswoman blinked, and then pounced on her next victim.
Several minutes later, Kazu had a delivery form in hand, and a soon-to-be-empty wallet. A delighted saleswoman had sold him a huge bouquet of deep red roses, for... who would he give it to anyways? His brain's first response was Ayashi. Wasn't it her that he had been in love with the whole time? The one person who he had adored for his entire (OK, partially...) life? The girl he was willing to spend $39.99 plus shipping and handling on, in risk of getting slapped?
He paused over the delivery form, pen in hand. Something wasn't right. And it wasn't just the overly-priced flowers.
He crossed out something on the form, writing something in. His inner Kazus argued within him.
Geez, Ayashi is going to kill someone without flowers.
But wouldn't someone buy her some? She's popular. She's beautiful.
She slapped you. She hates you. She's way out of your league.
She's out of YOUR league too then, since we are BOTH inner Kazus. A guy can dream, can't he?
Hmph. Go and waste your money then, on some heartless rich girl.
Inner Kazus still not at peace, Kazu crossed out what he had just written, and wrote Ayashi's name back in.
Then he crossed out what he wrote and wrote another thing in.
And recrossed it out.
He couldn't decide!
One of the cashiers bumped into him, carrying a display of flowers to the stand. The card fluttered out.
A Yellow Rose with a Red Tip indicates friendship falling in love. For that special girl in your life who might just become something more.
ONLY $29.99 plus shipping, handling, and note included.
Now who would that be? Not Ayashi... The more he thought about it, the less... perfect she became in his eyes. He saw through the contacts and the dyed hair. Through the sugary sweet she became around one of his closest friends. How she would blush and flutter around Ryo.
And into the truth.
Kami help him, he was confused.
He crossed out the entire form for the last time, and squeezed in his final decision.
Rika was having issues with the dress. It was very sparkly. Very lacy. The picture of a perfect Cinderella dress. Thanks to her dear and most beloved mother- Rumiko had found out at the last minute- the modeling company had designed the costumes of all the cast. So Rika was left drowning in a huge puff of silk, lace, and glitter.
"But darling, it's beautiful!" Rumiko held a hand over the phone. "The company would be delighted to design the costumes. Ah, the media! We can launch the new designs through this!" She turned back to the phone. "Guess what Yuka! We can launch the designs through a play! My daughter can model that dress, and then there's this ballroom scene that's perfect for that charming dress-" Rumiko kept talking into the phone.
And things had rolled downhill.
After Ayashi Fujiwara fainted that day- only two days ago- the play tickets had officialy gone to the media. TV commercials, with a surprising amount of Rumiko's face, a magazine ad, and a billboard- again, with Rumiko in 50 percent of it- Rika had been busy completely. Practice. Horrid modeling with her mother. And the ultimate physical workout- fangirl dodging.
Fangirls. Very angry ones. Ayashi had apparently been well enough to tell the rest of the fanclub exactly what had happened in the hospital room that day, and they, like their president, were extremely unhappy. She now knew how Akiyama Ryo could eat as much junk food as he wanted and not gain weight.
Right after a long and exhausting drama practice, fangirls would swarm after her, chasing her as far as they could, filled with the complete intent of destroying the thief that had stolen the one and only Ryo, their future husband- if they could usurp Ayashi from her throne- and dropping her off a building. A tall one. Preferably with a spike covered sidewalk lit on fire.
So of course, she had no time at all to be nervous, right?
Sitting in the make-shift dressing room, ten minutes before the play, Rika was not nervous.
She wasn't nervous.
Not nervous.
She closed her eyes, calming herself down, becoming ice, erasing any nervousness she had. Not nervous. Not nervous. This was just a school play she had been blackmailed into doing, with an understudy for a prince that was inches shorter than her. Where she'd be wearing rags and mopping up after stepsisters. A meaningless school play that by the way had the news network, a major fashion and modeling company designing the costumes, several newspaper articles devoted to it, and a billboard over the highway. Of course she wasn't nervous.
Someone knocked on the door.
"WHAT." Rika lost it. The nervousness came rushing back. Emotions are weakness. She repeated that ancient motto and calmed down. "Do you need anything?"
A nervous stagehand poked his head in the door.
"Erm... A delivery from Akiyama Ryo." An experienced behind-the-scenes worker, he was used to nerve filled actresses. He quickly placed the rose on the table and darted out.
Rika walked over to the table. A single red rose was there, with a note attached to it.
Wildcat...
I know you don't like flowers- especially roses, I know- and you find the meanings of the colors a pointless waste of time to remember... But Rika, I hope you get this, and I hope you'll remember the meaning of a single red rose.
I'm really bad at writing these things.
Let me start at the beginning...
I met you a long time ago, and we've been through a lot, neh? Digimon card tournaments- that day it looked like you were ready to kill anyone in your way... full of fire and energy, and actually real. Ice and fire and death glares all... With your emotions are weakness motto... that used to be mine too, you know... I used to be the never defeated king of cards...
And then I met you... and I started to fall.
Rika... That day when you were running...
That day... I just want you to know that I'll be there for you, no matter what it is, no matter how much you hate me and all Rika, I have to tell you.
I love you. I always have, and always will. There were times you were talking to me; all I could think of was kissing you. Times you were glaring at me, times you caught me staring...
But you know all that, neh?
Good luck wildcat! - Ryo
For a second, she wondered what it was. A red rose? What was that?
"ACTORS AND ACTRESS PEOPLE! TAKE YOUR PLACES!"
Rika rushed out of the dressing room, letter still in hand, and onto stage, ready for the play to begin. Jeri, in fairy godmother pink, grinned at her, off stage. "Good luck, Rika!"
The curtain lifted.
A single spotlight lit up the girl's flame colored hair. She seemed on the verge of tears, but still standing strong- in a position of brave hopelessness. Inside, Rika was panicking. Red rose? Red rose? What was that, again? The letter was tucked inside her sleeve, it was too late to put it back now. She scrubbed away at the floor, all the time wondering what it was. Was it.. friendship? What had Ayashi said it was in that card?
The stepsisters swept in. Hair piled atrociously high, Ayashi screeched.
"Cinders, aren't you done yet? You're getting too fat. Skip breakfast."
Elicia came in, dragging a muddy shoe onto the clean floor. "You missed a huge spot, servant. Skip lunch to clean it. And I want a white cake. Now."
The stepmother came in. "Girls, girls. Be kind to your stepsister. Bless her. Let her make three white cakes, so she can practice her baking. That needs work."
The play swept on, Rika still wondering. What was the meaning of one red rose!
She glanced at the audience, looking for a clue from Ryo. He grinned the patented grin at her, that was all. She swept through her brain for it. What was it?
Through the ball, she almost ignored Kazu. Stop being obsessed, she nagged herself. It's just a rose. You'd think you were turning into Ayashi.
She returned her attention to acting.
But it wasn't working... The thought kept finding it's way back into her head, winding in between the blocks she put up around it. She looked at Ryo again. He smiled once more, in appreciation of the beautiful actress, her performance- and pure love. Brilliant, bright and beautiful. She grinned back, almost falling out of character. She stopped herself just in time.
Rika had just remembered the meaning of a single red rose.
The play went perfectly. Not a single missed line. Even the prince's understudy was performing well. Newspaper cameras flashed, a news network camera rolled. The audience was thrilled. The teacher was thrilled. Rumiko was thrilled. The play was a perfect success.
The last scene came up- the moment when Cinderella met the prince, and was revealed as the mysterious princess at the ball.
Kazu knelt on one knee, ready to place the glass slipper on the princess's foot.
The media was ready, zooming in closer. This could be one of the best shots of the year- famous model Rumiko's budding actress daughter, in her first play.
And Kazu turned from Cinderella-Rika and bowed low to the ugly stepsister, giving her a yellow rose, tipped with red. The drama teacher stood up, shocked. This was not supposed to happen. He should have been reciting the elegant proposal now.
In place of the elegant proposal, Kazu stood up, looking deep into the stepsister's eyes. Suddenly aware of the cameras around him, Kazu smiled sheepishly.
"This isn't the best time and place... And I'm sorry for the pressure...and umm... a time comes in a guy's life when..." Kazu was beginning to babble. He stopped. The cameras zoomed in even closer.
"Elicia... will you go out with me?"
And so the play ended as most real-life fairy tales do- unscripted, unrehearsed, and so perfect in their own unconventional grace. The prince and the stepsister were united together, with the consent of hundreds of audience members, and all the viewers of the news network's channel.
The audience stood up and roared.
Backstage, the former ice queen of Digimon and the reigning Digimon King were laughing together, Rika holding a scarlet rose, Ryo holding onto... Rika.
Ayashi stormed over. "LET GO OF MY RYO-CHAN, YOU LITTLE BRAT."
Rika raised an eyebrow. "I'm not doing a thing, Ayashi..."
"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. RYO! DON'T TOUCH THAT GIRL! SHE'LL POLLUTE YOU!"
"So, I'm not supposed to do this?" He hugged her. Rika frowned at him.
"Ryo..." What was supposed to come out frustrated came out much more serenely than she would have had it.
"Or this?" He kissed her on the cheek. Ayashi clenched her fist tight.
"I'm going to ignore your momentarily lack of judgement and sense in your brain right now, Ryo-"
An over-eager photographer who had crept backstage clicked away on her camera. She pushed Ayashi out of the way, into the scenery. "KAWAII!" She squealed. "You two are making me money!"
And once again, for the third time, Rika and Ryo were immortalized in a captured moment in time, looking as if Ryo would never let his queen go.
And you know what?
He never did.
AUTHORESS NOTE!
Hm... I think I'll leave an epilogue on this... Thank you everyone who was extremely nice to review, and thank you everyone who wished me luck with piano! (I won one, lost one... oh well..)
Does everyone remember Elicia? (She was a tiny part in 2 chapters..) I know that she or Kazu weren't big parts of the story, but I wanted to do this... Mainly because Kazu liking Ayashi was not good. Was it a bit awkward and kinda sudden? Sorry...Elicia was GTKari-123's character... if I made her OOC I'm sorry...
So next time, I promise, OK? I'll leave everyone a note. This time I can't..
Special Thanks to All that Reviewed:
Ryo Akiyama rocks!, kau-sama! Luzr-Gurl13, KristiexxNguyen, lady-snow, RyoRules, DigiChick, cheriberigurlKari Minamoto,Cat2fat900,GTKari-123, Darksnowstarangel, My Dream's Shadow, Anna, Kay, Sparkling-Ruby Gem, and Lil' Lilo
THANKS EVERYONE!
P.S.. lady-snow, I'm working on the request thing now... I'll try to get it done in time!
P.P.S... the uploading thing is making me lose the spacing of stuff! if anyone knows how to fix it, please tell me! augh..it's driving me crazy!