Chapter 2: To Nagihiko's House!

Amu POV

"Lemon meringue pie, huh? I've never tried it, but I'm sure it will be good if Nadeshiko suggested it." I told him as he scanned the list of ingredients for the dessert.

"Ah, here it is." He said when he found the cornstarch and placed it in the shopping basket he was carrying. "Yeah, I uh, I haven't either, but she did say it was pretty tasty…" he trailed off and stared into space.

"So…how is she, Nadeshiko, is she doing well? It's been so long since I've talked to her…" I asked. It really had been a long time. I tried not to think about how long it had been and just stay hopeful that she would come back, but it proved to be difficult with her carbon copy standing right in front of me. I cared for both of the Fujisaki twins equally, but sometimes I just felt a little incomplete without her around. She was my first best friend and we had a special bond that could never just dissolve away.

"Hmm? Oh, she's doing great. She said she misses everyone a lot though. She really wants to see us again soon, she really hopes she can…" he relayed to me softly. I swear I could hear a melancholy ring in his voice. He response seemed a little odd, like he was partly musing to himself when I had brought him out of his reverie with my question. I bet he missed her just as much as I did, if not a lot more.

"Well that's good to hear. If you speak to her again could you tell her I said hello and I wished her good luck? And that I really miss her…?" I said. I could feel my throat getting a bit tight on the last couple words. The distance between us was really taking its toll on me, but I knew it was for the best. She was pursuing her dream and I was going to support her to the best of my ability, no matter the cost. It was the least I could do, she had helped me through a lot, and I felt like this way I could sort of pay her back and show my gratitude.

"Y-yeah, sure thing." He said with a weak half smile. "Well we can't just stand around here all day, c'mon Amu-chan, let's go get the other ingredients!" He laughed as he grabbed my hand with his free one and watched the familiar red hue wash over my cheeks in surprise as he directed me to the dairy section.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry a bag? I really don't mind." I asked after we had exited the store and Nagihiko had grabbed all of the bags.

"No, it's all right. So anyways, what classes will you be taking next year?"

It continued on like this until we arrived at his house. We kept the conversation going with talk of the future, like what we expected and what Kuukai had told us. We both admitted we were going to be a little scared, but as long as we all had each other, we could persevere. We also reminisced about the past years together. We remembered all the memories we had together in elementary in such great detail that they seemed like they just happened yesterday. We went through a vast array of emotions that paired with the memories, but tried to avoid the more sorrowful ones, so naturally we tried to avoid talking about Nadeshiko anymore for right now.

"Wow, I had forgotten how cool your house is. It's so big." I commented as I ran my eyes over the lengthy wooden wall that hugged the boundary around the Fujisakis' home. Nagihiko had set down the groceries and rang the doorbell. I backed up a bit and stood on my tip toes to get a better look at the house as we waited for someone to answer the door, after all, it wasn't really like my house with a lock and key deal to open the door.

The wall was so high, or maybe I just wasn't that tall, I didn't really know. I could see some the beautiful architecture on most of the roof now. He was so lucky he had a neat house like this. I backed up a bit more and without realizing it, my back foot had slipped off the curb and I was falling.

"Ahh!" I shouted as I fell. I shut my eyes and flailed my arms like a hopeless bird that couldn't fly. Next thing I knew someone caught my hand. It was Nagihiko.

"Now I'm glad I didn't let you carry a bag." he laughed and closed his eyes as he tilted his head and wore a kind smile.

"Hmph." I pouted stubbornly. It's not like I was always that clumsy, I just…I wasn't paying attention is all. My face felt hot for the second time today due to the warmth of his gentle hand. I had to admit, he had a pretty nice smile as well, it was comforting.

Just then the door opened to show the smiling visage of Nagihiko's mother. She dressed in an exquisite salmon colored kimono that had been adorned with delicate white lilies. The soft waves in her amethyst hair were gathered into a graceful updo.

"Nice to see you again Amu." she said smiling. She was so pretty; you could definitely see a lot of her in the twins.

"L-likewise, thank you for h-having me Mrs. Fujisaki." I stuttered awkwardly with my hand still securely in Nagihiko's. I attempted to casually take my hand out of his, but he didn't let go. I really had to get my hand out of his. It was the calm before the storm; the suspense of awaiting the scrutinizing stare I was surely going to receive had my nerves in a bunch, not to mention my cheeks had deepened in their reddish color.

I was wrong, the stare didn't come, but that fact didn't soothe my nerves.

As she walked toward the house Nagihiko leaned over to pick up the groceries with his free hand, which left us quite a little ways away from her.

"Uh, Nagihiko, my hand? And what is your mom going to think? She totally saw us holding hands! Oh no, this is gonna be so weird!" I shouted as I nearly hyperventilated. I could tell I was kind of freaking out, but this was bad. I feared that she would get the wrong idea. I wished I were an ostrich so I could run away and bury my head in some dirt.

"Amu-chan, just try to calm down. She won't think anything of it anyways, she really likes you and knows you are a good friend. Now we have a pie to make." There he goes with that smile again, and he still didn't release my hand, he just dragged me along towards the house.

"Nagihiko!" I complained as we headed inside.

Lock and key reference, aha, I almost wanted to Saaya laugh when I thought about it. There seems to be lots of animal imagery, well, I do love animals after all. And so the story continues…

P.S. I still don't own shugo chara.