Disclaimer: I still have no ownership over the Shugo Chara! franchise.
Amu wiped a bead of sweat of her forehead and sighed. She was up all night sewing Rima's costume for the ball that night. For someone who didn't even want to go, she was surprisingly high maintenance about it. But then again, Rima's special talent was being difficult and it really didn't make sense for her to spend money on something she barely wanted. Besides that, the small girl couldn't find anything suitable in her size. The pinkette smiled at her work. It was a knee length cream colored satin gown with gold embroidery on the bodice and a bow on the back.
"Perfect!" she said with a grin as she placed the dress in a garment bag to take it to her friend's house. Ten minutes later she arrived at the Mashiro residence and rung the doorbell. Rima's mom answered the door and put a polite smile on her face, though it didn't reach her eyes.
"She's upstairs", the woman said stiffly before retreating back to her room, leaving Amu to lock the front door behind her. When she got to her destination, Rima said nothing and stared at her darkly.
"W-what did I do?" the frazzled pinkette questioned.
"Amu, since when do you ring the doorbell at my house. I always tell you to call my cell so I can get the door", Rima said. She wasn't going to risk her parents seeing each other and a fight breaking out in front of one of her friends. Amu cringed.
"Oh, sorry I forgot", she said. And it was true. She recently got used to the way things were at her other friend's houses where kind maids or dignified parents were always there to grant her entry.
"Of course you did. It's not like you've been over here lately", she said crossly. Amu face palmed. Her plan to fix things between Rima and herself was self destructing in a manner suitable for a car crash or a horror movie. She pulled out the bag from behind her back and handed it to Rima.
"Do you want to see the dress?" she asked. The blonde shrugged nonchalantly.
"Whatever". Her placid expression melted away as soon as she laid eyes on the dress. She couldn't believe her friend could produce something so beautiful. "Amu…It's pretty", she said, enchanted with childlike wonder.
"So you like it?" Amu asked. Rima nodded.
"Yea, a lot, in fact I don't think I'm gonna wear it tonight. I'm just gonna hang it up and look at it. That's okay, right?" she asked sweetly. Amu narrowed her eyes.
"Nice try, but you're going".
"Amu!" she whined, having no desire to be anywhere near anyone besides her friend.
"Rima, I'm worried about you. All you do lately is sit around and type on your laptop. You haven't even looked at a boy since-"
"Amu don't!" the blonde begged on the verge of real tears. She got like this whenever anyone mentioned him. "Besides", she said "I look at boys every day. I look at Kairi, while he's looking at Yaya and she's looking at Kukai. I look at Tadase, while he's looking at the Fujisaki girl and she's looking at Kukai. Speaking of Tadase, aren't you two plotting something for tonight?" she asked, successfully changing the subject.
"Yea", Amu said, her face lit up when she mentioned it. "I found a way for him to talk to Nadeshiko without getting nervous", she explained. Rima nodded enthusiastically. Truthfully, she couldn't care less about Tadase's love life, but she was just happy to have her friend back for a little while.
"Okay, I'll put some waffles in the toaster and you can tell me about it", she offered. Amu laughed sheepishly.
"Sorry Rima, I have to go buy my costume", she said. Rima looked at her dryly.
"You didn't buy a costume yet?" she asked.
"I was too busy making yours", Amu said, though truthfully one of Utau's costume designers for her concert tour was opening a small store and was willing to open early just for them. But she'd be a suicidal fool to tell Rima that.
"Oh alright then, have fun", she said. The disappointment was evident in her voice. Amu frowned a bit before saying her goodbyes and bolting out of the house and down the busy streets. She was already late! Utau was going to have her head.
"You're late!" Utau said when Amu stepped into the shop panting with her hands on her knees.
"G-gomen, I had something to take care of", she said.
"Excuses, excuses, anyway this is Cassidy-san", she said pointing to a red haired woman who looked to be in her mid twenties.
"Nice to meet you, now let's get to the back where the costumes are. You can each have whatever you need from the lot. Take all the time you need", she said before turning back to her bank books. Starting a business was extremely difficult.
"I like this one", Utau said. She held out a black and red mini dress that came with red leather boots black bat wings and a mask. "Lunatic charm", she read off the tag. "For some reason, I like the sound of this".
"It suits you", Nadeshiko commented.
"Are you calling me a devil!"
"Yes, you're an angel sometimes too. Depends on the time of day", she said offhandedly. Utau made a face, wondering if she was being commented or insulted.
"What are you looking at Amu-chan?" Nadeshiko asked. Amu pulled out a black Lolita dress with a pair of pink cat ears, a cat tail, and a mask. It also came with a silver bell choker and black stilettos.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"Ikuto will love it", Nadeshiko said. "That much is certain".
"It's not about him".
"Obviously, it's about you virginity. Or losing it at least", Utau stated. The thought of this caused Amu to blush a deep shade of red.
"A-a-anyway, Nadeshiko w-what did you pick", she stammered, trying to shake the thought out of her head.
"I like the geisha costume…or maybe the soccer cheerleader one", she said. Utau's eyes narrowed.
"Why does it have to be soccer?" she asked darkly. Nade smiled innocently.
"And why not Utau-chan? I was just kidding anyway; it's too sleazy for a ball anyway. I'm not getting the geisha costume either. There are nicer kimonos in my house; I'll just use one of them".
"No!" Utau said. "That's too expected of you. The whole point of this is to be unrecognizable and do things you wouldn't dare to without a mask!"
"I guess so", the dancer said thoughtfully. "But what am I going to wear then?"
"This!" Amu said. She pulled a floor length white gown with elaborate silver embroidery and ivory feathers as the straps out of a rack. "It's based on the ballet swan lake. You're a dancer, it's perfect, and look", she showed her friends a white feather and teardrop mask that was hand crafted in Italy and a small silver tiara. They went perfectly with the dress.
"A-Amu-chan isn't it a little much", Nadeshiko said, especially skeptical about the plunging neckline. She was terrified of what would happen if the fan boys figured out how large her bust was.
"It's your party", Utau said "your costume is supposed to be too much now go try it on!" she pushed her friend into the dressing room. Moments later, Nade returned in the dress. It hugged her curves perfectly as if it were made specifically for her frame.
"You have to get it!" Amu insisted.
"Okay, okay I'll take it", Nade gave in knowing she wouldn't hear the end of it if she didn't. The girls paid for their items and walked out of the store.
"Do you two want to hang out at my place until the party? We still have a few hours we can have a spa day", Utau offered. Amu bit her lip. The offer was tempting, but she had one more stop to make before the party.
"Sorry, I have to go", she said quickly before making her exit.
Amu arrived Tadase's house, the blonde boy answered the door with a smile. "Hey Amu-chan", he said and then led her to his room. "Make yourself at home".
Amu tried to keep herself busy looking around. She was a bit nervous; this was her first time being alone with a boy in his bedroom. Her eyes locked on a certain set of photos. "You went to Seiyo elementary, right?" she asked.
"Yea, you didn't come until middle school right?"
She nodded, still looking through the memorabilia. She picked up a picture of Tadase, Yaya, Kukai and… "Is that Nadeshiko?" she asked, alarmed. He nodded.
"Nadeshiko, Yuiki-san, Souma-kun and I were guardians at the elementary school. It was like a student council I guess, before Souma graduated and Nadeshiko went to Europe with the rest of her family".
"Were you two close?" she asked curiously, though she really couldn't picture it given the current circumstances of their relationship.
"We were best friends since kindergarten and we were always together until the fifth grade when she left. When she came back in eighth grade things were different. Because of her brother's influence Nadeshiko became a part of Tsukiyomi Ikuto's group as did Souma-kun. That, along with the generalized status quo is what made her basically untouchable to me", he explained.
"Wait, what's the problem between you and Ikuto?" she questioned, thinking it was something that she needed to know about.
"Had this been two years ago I would have gone on a rant about how he's a black cat of misfortune and brings it everywhere he goes but now I don't even care anymore. I just need not deal with him".
Amu pursed her lips. Now for the question she'd been burning to ask since the beginning. "Okay, why exactly do you like Nadeshiko so much Tadase-kun. I've never seen a boy look at a girl the way you look at her", she admitted with an unnoticeable hint of sadness. That's why they never would have worked out anyway.
"Fujisaki-san is the most incredible girl I've ever met. She's so kind and gentle yet strong and passionate. Any boy could fall in love with someone like her, but she was my best friend. She was always around me being so beautiful and powerful. But still there were times when her bleeding heart bled her dry and I had to pick up the pieces. She's the reason I want to change and be stronger. So I can protect her and make sure no one hurts her until the sun runs out of fire and all the stars fall out of the sky".
Amu wiped her eye with a Kleenex. "T-Tadase-kun t-that was beautiful! Like a soap opera confession!" she gushed before recomposing herself. "Anyway back to business. Here is your costume". She handed him a modernized rendition of prince charming's outfit with black fitted jeans and an Armani blazer.
"Amu-chan, this is-"
"Hold on", the pinkette said "it's not finished yet". She then proceeded to rip one leg at the knee and hook a chain to the pocket.
"Now it's done. When you button up the shirt, wear two unbuttoned. One means you too stiff; three means you're trying too hard to look cool. Next, the jacket. Always button the first button, sometimes the second, and never the third", she explained.
"I…see?" he guessed. She chuckled.
"No you don't. But you definitely will!" she explained. Amu proceeded to ruffle the boy's hair until the style was unrecognizable; it came out as a punk/preppy do.
"Your hair is one of your two most defining traits…your eyes are the other". She handed Tadase a black case. In it was a pair of color contact lenses. They were a gray that would remind you of chrome or business meetings.
"A-Amu-chan", he said. "This look really nice and all, but is this really something Fujisaki-san would like?"
Amu sighed heavily. She didn't want to be the one to tell him this. "Tadase-kun, I don't really know how Nadeshiko was before she left, but I know that Europe changed her. Or at least something that happened there did. She's not the girl you used to know. She won't fall for a 'nice guy' anymore just on account of his niceness. The chances you had of getting her in elementary school have decreased by a billion percent. At this point the only way you can get her is if she didn't know it was you. Right now she's into jocks and punks; basically anyone who is a bit too cocky for their own good. You understand?"
He nodded, wondering whether to start taking notes or not. "Tadase, to do this…if it works I mean, you're going to have to lie a lot, and that's probably not something you want to do. There are girls out there, really nice ones who like you just the way you are. You wouldn't have to change at all for them. Would you really still rather have Nadeshiko?" she asked. Tadase nodded solemnly before putting in the contacts. The transformation was complete…almost.
"Oh and one more thing!" Amu said.
"What?"
"You need an earring!"
"Oh…you mean a clip on right?" he asked hopefully. She shook her head.
"No a real one", she took the sharp needle out of her pocket. "This will only take a minute". Tadase looked up to the sky, heaven, whatever's really up there and thought of how much something must hate him if he didn't get this girl.
Nadeshiko wrung her hands around nervously. The banquet had just ended and the ballroom downstairs was filling up. Under Utau's instructions, she was waiting in her room until she was called down to make her grand entrance. Ikuto and Nagihiko were with her, though mainly out of boredom. Suddenly, Utau bounced into the room.
"Is it time for me to go in now?" Nade asked.
"No…I mean yes…but no that's not why I'm here", the pop star explained.
"Then why are you here?" Ikuto asked. Her upbeat aura was irritating him. She glared at him.
"I came to tell Nadeshiko about this hot boy who came in with Amu-chan", she said smirking.
"With Amu", he repeated, oh no, that just wouldn't do.
"What does he look like?" Nade asked.
"Blonde, about my height and really cute; he looks like a prince!" she reported.
Nadeshiko scoffed. She hated pretty boys like that. The ones who came off as nice and got more and more intolerable as the relationship progressed. She dealt with a boat load of them in Paris.
"No, no I'm not done yet. He looked like a prince, but that was just his face. He had a punkish style to him, kinda rough around the edges, seemed like your type. He was with Hinamori after all", Utau said.
"I thought you said Amu hung out with losers when she's not with us", Nagi said looking up from his book for only a second.
"She does, usually. But he was not a loser. He looks better than both of you combined". This comment was more than Ikuto could take. He had to investigate this for himself.
"I'll be right back. Well maybe, I might just seduce her in Nagi's room".
"There's a lock", the long haired boy informed.
"Already picked it", the black cat said before leaving the premises.
"Anyway, Nadeshiko, you have to check him out!" Utau demanded.
"Fine, whatever".
"Good, now let's go downstairs".
The dancehall of the Fujisaki estate was humongous and every inch of it was packed with elegance…elegance and teenagers. "Good evening everyone!" Utau greeted at the microphone. "Thanks for coming. I hope you're enjoying yourselves. Now I'd like to introduce at her sweet sixteen, the lady of the hour and my best friend, Fujisaki Nadeshiko", she shouted. The crowd exploded into excited applause as the beautiful girl descended the staircase. "Oh…and Nagi", Utau inserted, but as expected he was nowhere to be found. She shrugged it off as the introduction of her song, glorious sunshine began to play.
Nagihiko walked around aimlessly while trying not to be attacked by fan girls. He knew he had to dance with at least one girl so Nadeshiko and Utau wouldn't kill him. It couldn't be too hard, he thought, to find someone who wasn't ugly, evil, or mentally deranged. That was when he saw her, the girl in the white dress with the golden waves cascading down her back. To put it simply she was beautiful, the most beautiful person he ever encountered…on the outside at least. And she was small. He would have thought she was in elementary school if her soft curves didn't scream otherwise.
"Excuse me, I don't really know you, but may I have this dance?" he asked. She turned around, smiling, but her expression fell when she saw who it was.
"No", she quipped. Now his face dropped.
"Any particular reason why not?" he asked.
"I don't like you", Rima explained.
"Then why are you here…friend of Nadeshiko's?" he asked. Not even getting into why she detested him yet.
"No. I hate her too. I'm here because my friend made me come. I won't let her fascination with you people drive a wedge between us", she had no idea why she was telling him all this, it wasn't like he actually cared.
"Sorry about your friend. Though she doesn't seem like a good one, forcing you to go places. Mine are the same way. I didn't even want to come here. Big parties aren't my thing", he explained, at this point dropping the flirtatious front.
"Lies, you're captain of the basketball team. You live to party", the blonde girl said.
"Isn't that stereotypical? The athlete just has to love parties and I usually do", he said. "Just not right now…and not when they're about me".
"This isn't about you. The singer planned this around your sister. She forgot to introduce you. In fact, I'm surprised she remembered to put you on the guest list". Nagi stared at her dumbfounded. How could she have possibly known that? To those on the outside, their group usually looked as solid as can be.
"Observant aren't you. And you go to Seiyo, right; since you know I'm on the basketball team. What grade are you in?" he asked.
"Tenth, same as you", she said. He raised an eyebrow.
"Do I know you?"
"If you did then you wouldn't be so amazed by me right now", she said. "But don't get any ideas. I'm not flirting. You and your people are what's wrong with the world".
"I'd drink to that", he admitted.
"Really? Around school you seem pretty damn self satisfied", she commented wondering when she got so competent at the art of conversation. He shrugged.
"We all have outer characters. Everyone, from the nerds to the jocks, it's a part of life. Even you have one. Acting all tough, but on the inside you're probably blushing and sweating thinking of what to say next. It reminds me of this girl I know, Hinamori-"
"You don't know Amu!" she snapped. Nagihiko smirked.
"So that's the friend, huh" he knew from their limited conversations that Amu had a separate group of friends that for the most part detested him. Rima's smug expression faltered. It appeared that she wasn't the only observant one. He was smart.
"You guessed it. And I think I'll let you have that dance now", she said, knowing she had to keep moving. She'd be completely fine unless he asked her for her…
"Hey, what's your name?" she mentally face palmed.
"I'm not telling you".
"And that's because…"
"Because if you didn't know my name before I showed up here in this ridiculous outfit, you aren't worth my time outside of this party", she said as he waltzed her across the dance floor.
"Well you're just about the only thing worth my time", he admitted. "So I'm going to have to find out who you are". Rima smirked slightly. She liked a challenge.
"Fine then, but no stalking me okay, and no asking Amu either", she said. "After this day, you have one week to find out who I am and contact me somehow. If you can't I'll never even glance at your direction".
"Alright, and if I do find you, you're going on a date with me".
Rima scoffed. "As if that would happen", she said "but you have a deal". Half of her thought he wouldn't even remember. The other half knew she was all but impossible to find.
"Before we start", he said "three questions".
"Shoot"
"What's your favorite color?"
She rolled her eyes. Juvenile. "Orange"
"Not surprising. If you could symbolize yourself with anything in the world what would it be?" This question had a bit of depth to it. She thought for a second. There were a lot of symbols in the world, but she finally decided.
"A pen…or the queen of hearts"
"And finally, what is the thing you detest most in this world?" he asked. She smirked. He practically gave this one to her.
"You"
And with that the game was set. Nothing ever good comes of two masterminds playing a love game.
A/N: As promised, Rima and Nagihiko met in this chapter. The next one will be a continuation of the party scene and then…(suspense) R&R please.
