Artemis: Yeeaaah! My first story is about to start! I'm soo excited! Doki doki!

Amu: Here we go again...

Artemis: What do you mean?

Amu: Here comes again a story about me paired up with Ikuto and than something embarrassing is going to happen to me and...

Ikuto: Aaah, don't you like those stories Amu? *fakes pouts*

Amu: T-t-that's not what I meant! I'm just saying there are a lot of stories about us!

Artemis: Well, this story is actually not about you guys.

Ikuto & Amu: IT'S NOT?

Artemis: No, it's about...

Yaya: Me!

Ran: Me!

Kiseki: No, about me! The mighty king that will conquer the world! MWAUHAHAHA!

Artemis: NO! It's about Rima and Nagihiko!

Nagi & Rima: Eeehhh? Why us!

Artemis: Well, because I like the 2 of you, and I like you 2 together even more^^ So that's why my first story involves you guys!

Rima: What do you mean 'you 2 together'?

Artemis: Oh, you know what I mean! Anyway, let the story begin! I do not own Shugo Chara or the characters, if I would, I would be the happiest person on earth :)

First Chapter: Nobody's Home

Rima's P.O.V.

"You are never home! You are always at your work!," my mom shouted.

"Well I still have the time to pick Rima up! I can't say that of her 'oh-so-busy' mother, who sits at home the whole day doing nothing!"

"What? How dare you..." my mother screamed.

I stared at the TV, trying my hardest to ignore the words and the screaming behind my back. Every night it was the same. And, of course, this night was no different. My father gets home from work, greets me and my mother (I'm surprised he still does that without shouting), he puts his bag away and, as on cue, my mother starts to get angry at him. About the times he gets home from work, about the amount of work he has to do, about the place he puts his bag, blablabla. I really don't get why she does that (getting angry I mean). Nothing will change because of her getting angry at him every time.

I'm getting used to it. I mean, I'm stuck with this situation now for at least 6 years (note: Rima's parents started fighting when Rima was 10. So Rima is 16 in this story). It's pretty much the same every night: my parents who are fighting and me, getting ignored. I signed, and looked at the TV again, but I wasn't really paining attention.

Kusukusu floated next to me with a worried expression on her normally so happy face.

"Rima..."

"I'm fine Kusukusu. Just try to ignore it" I said.

Kusukusu is always worried about me and my feelings when my parents fight. I always lie to her that I'm fine, but she knows me better, sadly. I really can't stand the fighting, the shouting, the pain. Every word that they say, it feels like a knife that is stabbed into my heart.

It's stabs into all my happy memories I have left from the time with my parents, and that knife slowly kills everyone of them. And, as you see, for how long my parents are fighting, I don't have much happy memories left.

But I'm not going to let Kusukusu know. She will only worry about me and don't be happy anymore. I can't let that happen. Kusukusu is one of the few happy persons I have left. Next to Amu, Yaya, Utau (after all our fighting about Amu and who was her best friend, we decided we wouldn't come far with this. So, we stopped fighting and are now, surprisingly, on good terms), Kukai, Tadase... and Nagihiko.

I frowned. I didn't really like him that much. I mean, I was still jealous at him for being Amu BF when he was a girl. Yes, I found out. He pleaded me to tell others nothing, especially Amu, and I gave in. Only because I could make fun of him when the others are not there. Which I do a lot. And he and I still had our fights about everything and nothing. So, I didn't consider purple-head (as I still used to call him) as one of the few 'happy people' to me.

But, as I hated to admit, I didn't really hate him also. I secretly enjoyed my fights with him, because they weren't serious (like others I know). And I knew he knew they weren't serious. And it's really fun to see him being nervous about somebody finding out that he was a girl before. And even with our arguments and fights, he still stays kind to me and polite (which is his personality, so it isn't that strange). But still, that was IT. There was nothing more between Purple-Head and me...right?

"You just don't care about us at all!"

I stiffed. My mother was crossing the line of 'a normal fight' to 'a serious fight.'

"Why should I care about you here! The only thing I get at this place is a fight every freaking night!" my father shouted.

"Well maybe it's better if you go away from this place and just leave us alone!" my mom screamed.

I felt my panic rising. My father leaving? No, that couldn't be! I still loved my parents. Even if they hated each other, I didn't. If one of them wasn't here, than this house was just not...home anymore. It wouldn't feel right. It would feel completely wrong. My father couldn't leave!

I stood up from the couch (ignoring the worried face of Kusukusu) and walked to my parents.

"Well maybe I will! Every place is better than here!" My father's head had now the a red color and my mother was looking at my father madder than I have ever seen her. Do you know the phrase: looks can kill? If that was true, my father would have been dead by now.

"Uhm, mom, I really think..." I started softly.

"Shut up Rima!" my father shouted without looking at me.

"Yeah, stay out of this Rima," my mother said, still glaring at my father. But I had to let them stop, otherwise my father would really leave!

"Mom, I don't want dad to leave," I said harder than I expected.

My mother look at me for the first time. Her face expression was filled with hurt, and became quickly replaced with that of anger.

"Oh, so you choose for him huh? So you love him more than me, your own mother?"

I felt my face paled. This wasn't what I meant. I just wanted my dad to stay, not make mom more angrier at me.

"No! I didn't mean it that way, I just..."

"Oh yeah sure! Choose his side! Nobody cares about me! You know what, you can leave too!" my mother screamed.

The floor under me disappeared. D-d-did she really mean that...? No, that couldn't be!

"Didn't you hear me?" my mom yelled after I stayed silent. "Leave now! You stupid meaningless useless child!"

SLAP!

My eyes widened as my face went with the impact of the slap. Never, NEVER, ever has my mother slapped me. And now..she just did. So, did she really meant it when she said that I...?

My mother was starring at me with a open mouth. It was like she just realized what she had done to me.

"Rima, I...I..."

I didn't wait for more. I turned around and rushed out of the house. I heard my father shout something, but I didn't pay attention. I didn't care about him. All I thought about was getting out of my so called "home" and away from those two persons who call themselves my parents.

I kept running in a random direction until my legs gave out. I stood still, painting heavily, as tears run down my face. I tried to whip them away, but it didn't matter: they just kept coming. In my head the moment with my mother played over and over again. I shook my head to get the memory out, but it was no use. When I softly touched my cheek, I felt it burn and itch. I began to cry harder.

How could she, my own mother? I never thought she hated me so much. She hated my father, yes (how painful it was, I understood that she didn't really love him anymore). But I thought she still loved me. I was her only daughter! But...apparently, I was wrong. She didn't love me. My father also wouldn't love me that much, otherwise he could have come after me.

That place, where the two people lived that I thought truly loved me, that place called "home"...that wasn't home at all.

I hugged my knees and cried for a very long time. After I got myself together a bit, I stood up and looked around. I was in a dark hallway between two houses. I couldn't see much expect for the street lights at the end of the hallway. When I walked out of it, I found myself at a street with houses at both sides. I didn't recognize the street. There was no light burning behind any window. Probably, it was very late.

O, and did I mention that it is raining very hard? Well, now I did. Every spot of my body was wet and I was shivering badly; the rain was very cold.

I sighed deeply. Tonight is just not my night...

I started walking in a direction and found myself into another street. After I walked for a while, I felt like all the streets here looked the same (to my idea). There was just no difference between them! I felt my panic raising. I was kicked out of my house, cold to my bones, it was probably 10 or 11 in the evening, I was freaking LOST and I had no idea where to go! As I reached out to my forehead to whip my wet hair out of my face, I felt my forehead burning.

Oh great! I have a fever?

I felt to my knees as the rain kept falling. It was official: I was completely out of luck. I couldn't take this anymore. My eyes began to water again. I was lost. Completely lost. I didn't know where I was, where I had to go, where I COULD go and if someone would ever found me here.

Probably not. It mattered to nobody where I was. Nobody cared about me. Nobody loved me.

"Rima?"

Oh great, now I began to hear voices in my head! I really have a high fever. That voice couldn't be real. Nobody knows I'm here. But still.. that voice, it sounded so familiar. Like I heard it before... but where? I couldn't remember. My head was hurting way too much. It was like somebody was hitting the insides with a huge hammer made of stone.

I felt my body sway a little. My vision, which was first blurred by my tears and the rain, became darker. I wanted to lie down. Even if it was on the cold, wet, hard, street, I didn't care. Just for one moment. Just for a little while. Just...

As my body fell down and I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness, I heard that voice again.

"Rima!" The sound of running footsteps...and everything went black.

Nagihiko: NOOOOO! RIMA WHAT HAPPENEND?

Rima: NO! Artemis, what did you do to me?

Artemis: Relax Nagi, she is fine. Or is she...

Nagi: You don't know?

Artemis: Of course I do! I just want to make attract the readers more so that they will ask me to finish the story!

Rima: Minna, please review! Don't leave me at a place like that!

Artemis: I would like every review, so please R&R! Thank you! *bows*