Recap

"You have a hidden gift Rima. Maybe you could draw mangas when you get older."
-Kiku-chan

"I would like you to keep a diary Rima. If you don't want to express yourself with words then draw a picture. I would like to know what goes on every day for you."
-Kiku-chan

"It was pretty good. I didn't cry and break down like I thought you were supposed to do."
-Rima

"It's her!"
-Temari

"We were right. She wants me to go home."
-Rei

Chapter 7 A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

*Nagi's POV*

"What?! What are you doing here?" I asked shocked.

"That is not a very good welcome little brother."

"I'm sorry. I am happy to see you but I wasn't expecting it." I said.

"I asked mother to keep it a secret," she said.

"I'm very confused. I thought she wasn't real," Rhythm said.

"She's real. She lived in Europe with their dad," Temari explained.

"I've miss you greatly. I asked father if I could stay for a while."

"Then welcome home, Nadeshiko."

The Next Day

*Rima's POV*

"Is Rei still upset?" Kusukusu asked me as I ate my breakfast. Mama said she was going to make sure I eat something that's more healthy than poptarts.

"I thinks she's stuck or she doesn't know where to go," I whispered.

"It's a hard decision. If she wants to see her mama and papa then she should go. If she misses everyone really bad then she can come back," Kusukusu said. She was right. I took another bite of my eggs.

"Rima, I packed you a bento," mama said.

"Thank you mama," I said.

"Is Rei ready yet? I made her a bento too," mama asked.

"She's running a little late," I said.

"Rima, I'm off to work," papa said. He kissed my forehead.

"Bye papa," I said as I smiled at him. I saw him crack a smile too. I know that they are trying. They really focus on me instead of each other. They need to work on their marriage but they'll get there with therapy.

"Sorry I'm running late," Rei said as she ran down the stairs causing her to trip.

"Rei, are you okay?" papa asked.

"I'm fine. That kind of hurt," she said.

"You have a cut," mama said. Rei had a cut on her knee. Mama gave her a Band-Aid.

"Rei, mama made eggs," I said.

"Really? Thank you auntie," Rei said.

"Bye girls," papa said. He gave mama a peck on the cheek and then left.

"Rei, I made you a bento," mama told her.

"Awesome," Rei said. She seemed in a really deep thought so she wasn't really excited. The doorbell rang.

"I got it," mama said. Rei and I continued to eat.

"Hello Aarin, come in," mama said. She came back with Aarin following her.

"Are we ready to go?" Aarin asked.

"No, Nagi is running late," I said.

"Is he sick again?" mama asked.

"No, he said he had a surprise for everyone," I said.

"What is it? He must have at least given you a hint," Aarin said.

"He didn't," I said.

"Rima, don't forget your notebook," mama said.

"Right," I said as I got up. I quickly went upstairs and that's when I heard the doorbell.

Nagi's POV*

"Alright Nade, there are three people here that know about my secret," I said as her and I walked to Rima's house. Nadeshiko was going to school with me. Mother made sure to have a girl uniform just in case I needed it. That scared me a bit but at least Nadeshiko had a uniform.

"How many people live there?" she asked.

"Four but Aarin will probably be here. He walks with us to school. Also Rima's dad usually leaves for work before I get there. Everyone about our age knows me being you," I explained.

"So this Rima girl. Mother said she was important to you," Nadeshiko said.

"She's my girlfriend," I said.

"Does she know about me?"

"No, no one does," I said.

"Is this it?" she asked as we made it.

"Yes," I said as I walked up to the door. Rhythm almost rang the doorbell like he usually does but I quickly rang it. Nadeshiko can't see them.

"Coming," I heard Rima's mother.

"Is that Rima-chan's mother?" she asked.

"Yes, she doesn't know anything. She just thinks you're my twin," I said.

"I am your twin," she said.

"You know what I mean," I said. The door opened.

"Hello Nagihiko. Oh Nadeshiko-chan, you're back from Europe," Mrs. Mashiro said.

"Yes, I am. I'm staying in Japan for a little while," she said. My sister was good at lying as much as I was.

"Nagi we have to go so we won't be la-" Rei and Aarin just stood there shocked.

"Nadeshiko? How is that possible since Nagi is-" Luckily Rei snapped out of it and covered his mouth.

"It's nice to see you again Nadeshiko-chan. Nagi didn't tell us you were coming," Rei said. She glared at me. If she was mad at me then Rima was going to be pissed.

"Mama I got it." I heard someone going down the stairs. My face went pale.

"Nagihiko," Nadeshiko said worried. I heard running then it stopped. Rima stood there shocked just like Rei and Aarin.

"Hello Rima-chan, it's been a while," Nadeshiko said.

"Nadeshiko," she cheered. Rima ran up to her and hugged her. I was very surprised. I could tell the pop stars were too by the looks on their face. Nadeshiko giggled and hugged Rima back.

"When did you get back?" Rima asked.

"Last night," she said.

"We have so much to talk about," Rima said.

"We'll have plenty of time on the way to school," Nadeshiko said.

"Let's go! Bye mama," Rima said. She grabbed my hand and nearly dragged me out. The others followed. Once we walked down the street and turned the corner Rima let go of my hand and stopped walking.

"You have a lot to explain," she said.

"I knew you were going to be mad," I said.

"Mad! You tell us that you pretend to be your own twin sister and then we found out you have a real one!" she yelled.

"Nadeshiko, why don't we give them privacy," Rei said. Everyone continued to walk to school except for me and Rima,

"I couldn't tell you," I said.

"Why?"

"Because it's a secret," I said.

"But you can tell me anything," she said.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you as much as I did," I said.

"Why couldn't you trust me?"

"I do trust you Rima. This secret is only supposed to be known by the Fujisaki family. If I broke tradition then I would have to leave. I didn't tell you to protect you. I was also being selfish. I wanted to be with you and all of our friends. I love you Rima," I said. She didn't say anything. I grabbed her hands.

"Rima, if this gets out then I'll have to leave and I can't come back," I said. She hugged me around the waist.

"Nagi, I don't want you to leave," she said.

"I'm not going anywhere right now," I said.

"Why would you have to leave?"

"It's tradition. If the family secret is discovered by people who are not accepted by my elder then I would never be welcomed into the Fujisaki family. I would have to go to Europe and live with my father," I said.

"Is that what happened to your father?" she asked.

I didn't answer. We just stood there in each other's arm for a minute.

"We better head to school," I said.

"Yeah, you're right," she said. She held my hand and we walked to school in silence.

"So Nadeshiko is real," Kukai said as the usual group was eating lunch on the roof.

"I can't believe it! I mean-" Amu was speechless. I honestly wasn't worried about her right now. Rima was in the corner writing in her diary. She claimed she wanted to be alone because it was private but I think she was still hurt that I kept Nadeshiko from her.

"It's great to meet you all in person. Nagihiko writes to me and he's mentioned a few of you. Although I didn't know you had a girlfriend," Nadeshiko said the last part to me.

"You get very pushy," I said.

"I don't know what you mean," she said innocently.

"You're just like mom. She's the ultimate fan-girl and you will be too," I said.

"I barely know her. I'd like to get to know her. Is it okay if we have some girl time Rima-chan?" Nadeshiko said.

"Sure," she said not looking up from her diary. She seems really into that thing.

"You're not puting anything about my tradition are you?" I asked.

"No, I told Kiku-chan that you two were twins. At the time I thought I was lying," she said. I could tell she was still mad and hurt. Her words stung.

"You talked about me?"

"I'm not supposed to talk about my therapy sessions," she said still not looking up from her notebook.

"Don't take it personal. She wouldn't tell me anything either," Rei said.

"Rima-chan's in therapy?" Nadeshiko asked.

"I don't want to talk about it. Look, I had a problem and it's going away. Very few of you know about it and I'd like to keep it that way," Rima said getting very defensive. I didn't blame her. She slammed her notebook shut and walked over to us. She began to eat her bento.

"Rima, are you doing anything today after school. I'd love to get to know you," Nadeshiko said.

"Sure, I don't have anything planned," she said. I was going to ask her to come over and spend time with me but that was before she was mad at me.

"Great, Rei do you want to come over too?" Nadeshiko asked.

"Actually I'm busy. Are you really sweet like Nagi makes you look?" Rei asked.

"Most of the time. Like my brother said I can be pushy," she said.

"Have you heard about the pop stars Do Re Mi and Arihiko?" she asked.

"Not really but this is my second day in Japan since I was a small child," she said.

"Well, that's me and Aarin. We have been out almost every day after school to gain popularity and create an image. You can't tell anyone except our circle of friends," Rei explained.

"That sounds interesting. Good luck," Nadeshiko said.

"Thanks," she said. I looked over at Rima. She was looking down at her food.

"Rima, are you okay?" Amu asked.

"Yes, I'm just deep in thought," Rima answered.

"Amu-chan, why don't you come over too. Nagi told me that your first friend was him dressed as me. I think it would be nice to be friends too," she said.

"Really?" Amu asked.

"Of course," she said. I have to make it up to Rima while she's at my house.

"Sure, I don't think my parents will have a problem," she said.

"Great, I'll call mother and let her know," she said.

"Welcome back Rima-chan, Amu chan," mother introduced.

"Hello," Amu said as she bowed. She probably that was how we always greet each other since we are very traditional but my mom doesn't care how you greet her. It's only the Fujisaki family greeting that matters.

"Hi Mrs. Fujisaki," Rima said.

"It's great to see you two. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please," our guests said at the same time.

"I'll have Baya get them. You can all go to Nagihiko's room. Nadeshiko is still in the middle of unpacking," mother said. She then left to go find Baya.

"Follow me," I said.

"Wait a minute Naighiko. I want to see if Rima can find it," Nadeshiko said.

"Me?" Rima asked.

"Yes, you must have been over here quite a few times. This is a big house so we'll give you hints if you need help," she said. I was confused by my sister's request.

"Okay! I think I know the way," Rima said.

"Excellent," she said. We all followed Rima. She didn't even get lost once.

"This one right?" she asked as she pointed to my door.

"Correct," Nadeshiko said. Rima smiled at her.

"Can we go in Nagihiko?" Nadeshiko asked.

"Of course," I said. I opened the door and let the girls in first.

"What do you want to do?" Amu asked.

"I don't know," Rima said. She was sitting on my bed with her journal. She probably wanted to write more. I'm glad she's really working hard and enjoying her time in therapy but I wished she would smile at me like she did to Nadeshiko just a minute ago.

"What's this?" Amu asked. She was looking at my books.

"It's baby picture!" Nadeshiko cheered.

"I put that there to hide it from mother," I said. That would be something she'd whip out and show Rima.

"I want to see," Rima said.

"Rima," I whined.

"Please Nagi," Amu asked.

"They're embarrassing," I said.

"Rima, if you give him puppy dog eyes then he'll have to give in," Amu said. I didn't look RIma in the face.

"I won't look at them if he doesn't want to," she said going back to her journal. I knew what she was doing. She's making me want to show her since she's pretending to not be interested. I sighed since I knew I lost.

"Fine," I said.

"Thank you Nagi," she said as she looked up from her notebook. She closed it and left it on my bed. We all gathered around on the floor and began to look through them.

*Rima's POV*

"Look it's baby Nagi," Amu pointed out.

"Baby Nade too," I pointed out. It was a picture of Mrs. Fujisaki in a hospital looking very tired. In both her arms were her twins. One was in a pink blanket and the other was in a blue one. Both babies had little specks of purple hair on their nearly bald heads. They both had their eyes closed.

"You were cute babies," I said.

"Oh look at the one," Nadeshiko said. It was little Nagi and Nade. Nagi was in a navy blue, boy kimono while Nade was in a lavender kimono. They were sitting in front of Mrs. Fujisaki and a man I have never seen before.

"Who is that?" Amu asked as she pointed to the mystery man.

"That's our father," Nadeshiko said.

"Where is he?" Amu asked.

"He lives in Europe," Nadeshiko answered. Why did their dad live there instead of here? Did Mrs. Fujisaki and Mr. Fujisaki divorce? Nagi flipped to the next page.

"Awwww," Amu and Nadeshiko said. I saw little Nagi sleeping on his father's lap. His father was smiling down at him. I wonder what happened. It's not my place to ask but that didn't mean I wasn't curious.

"This is what I feared," Nagi said as Nade flipped the page.

"It's little Nagi in the bath tub," I said in a baby voice. His cheeks were a little pink.

"Just be happy there are bubbles and we can only see your butt," Amu said.

"Not helping Amu-chan," he said. I noticed that the next page didn't have Nadeshiko or their father at all. Is this when their dad moved away and Nadeshiko went with him?

~~~*Time Skip*~~~

*Nagi's POV*

I have completely made a fool of myself. The girls were busting up laughing at a picture my mom took of me when I was sleeping. I was practically drooling. It wasn't my best picture.

"I think that's all," I said.

"There's another page," my sister pointed out.

"I didn't add another page," I said.

"Let's see it," Amu said. We flipped the page. These weren't just pictures of me. I'm in them but Rima was in them too.

"Why am I in these?" she asked.

"Mother must have added them recently. I thought I hid this from her but she knew where it was the whole time," I said.

"You two are so adorable," Nadeshiko said. I looked closer at the pictures. There was one where Rima spent the night. I held her in my arms looking at the camera surprised. Rima was asleep, unknowing of the picture that was being taken.

"That was the night we started dating," Rima pointed out as she pointed to the picture. I looked at her and smiled. She looked up at me and returned a smile.

"This one is sweet," Amu said. It was a picture of me kissing Rima.

"Your mother and Baya are a bit creepy when it comes to taking pictures of us," Rima said. I held her hand.

"They may be but I'd rather this than them hating you," I said. She smiled at me again. She leaned forward and pecked my cheek. I wrapped her in my arms and sat her on my lap.

*Third Person POV*

"Sir, we're almost done modifying the machine to work on all the former guardians and their friends," the scientist said.

"Excellent. It will start to affect them all now that the machine is bigger and better," Mr. Valentine said.

"Sir, how is this going to help the company? They are just kids."

"It's all part of the grand plan," Mr. Valentine said.

"But it doesn't add up. I understand doing this to the Fujisaki son but the girl would be no use to us," the scientist said.

"I am your boss. You get orders, not answers," he said.

"Yes sir. We will have it done as soon as possible.

"That is what I want to hear. Now if you excuse me, I have family plans," Mr. Valentine said then stood up and left.

Temari: There were a few people who guessed that Nadeshiko was the mystery person.

Kusukusu: Things are just starting. I wonder how this will end.

Rhythm: Kusukusu, we're in the story. We can skip to the end.

Kusukusu: Really?

Temari: You two are off topic and we haven't asked the question yet

Kusukusu: Go ahead Temari

Temari: Alright, question # 8. Why did Mr. Fujisaki move away?

Rhythm: Review

Kusukusu: Now we can go to future chapters and see how it ends.

Temari: *sweatdrops* the ending hasn't been typed yet.

Kusukusu: Oh