You're so creative, Shorty.
And I know this isn't enough,
I still don't measure up.
And I'm not prepared,
Sorry is never there when you need it.
And I do want you know
I hold you up above everyone.
And I do want you know
I think you'd be good to me
And I'd be so good to you.
~ Good to You - Marianas Trench
The drive to the hospital was silent. After Rima had finished the food Nagihiko had made for her, the two left the Fujisaki Manor, and Rima was dreading it.
One could say that Nagihiko was a good driver; but that person would be lying. Rima had no clue how he had managed to get his license, as she had spent the entirety of the drive holding onto her seat, trying not to fall forward.
He was running red lights, not letting anyone pass him, he wasn't using turn signals; he was probably Japan's worst driver. With how fast he was driving, however, it was a surprise that he hadn't gotten pulled over by the time they reached the hospital.
The two teens walked into the hospital, looking out of place there. There was crying children, whose mothers were trying to calm them down, there was people who were bleeding, holding cloths to their wounds. And then there was Nagi and Rima, in awkward and ill-fitting clothes, looking healthy, but Rima was far from it. They went up to the desk, because Rima didn't really know what to do in the emergency room-waiting place.
"Um, we need to get her checked out, although we're not in any real rush." Nagi said to the secretary.
"Alright! What's her name, hon?" She said cheerily.
"Mashiro Rima." Rima said softly.
"Alright, you're good to go wait. We'll call you over in maybe 45 minutes." The secretary said, waving as the two walked away.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing that we brought stuff to do." Nagi said smiling down at Rima.
"Yeah, a deck of cards, a notebook and two pencils." Rima complained. "But thanks for doing this again. And don't tell any of the others. I'll kill you then."
"I won't, don't worry. And you can't cook, so I'll cook tonight." Nagihiko said with a smile.
"How do you know that I can't cook?"
"Amu told me ages ago, can't remember why."
"Damn her, telling you stuff about me without me knowing," Rima cursed Amu under her breath. "Well then. I barely know anything about you, other than the fact that you cross dressed. Mind telling me some stuff, since Amu's told you all about me." Rima said, acting as if it were a question, but Nagi knew it wasn't.
"Well, I'm a dancer, I can cook well, I'm an only child and live with my mother, my father died before I was born, Mother doesn't talk about him much. We don't even have many pictures. I'm good at basketball, and other sports but that one is my favourite. Is that enough for you?" Nagi asked cheekily.
"I suppose, Eggplant Head."
"Eggplant Head? You're so creative, Shorty." Nagi teased the poor girl about her height. It was a well-known fact that everyone was taller than her.
"Shut up! And I'll have you know, I grew an inch and a half last month!" Rima blushed a light pink, turning away from Nagihiko.
"Well, you still only come up to my chin." Nagi stated, grinning at his height.
"I'm telling, you shut up!" Rima punched his arm hard. He feigned pain.
"Ow, Rima, that hurt!" Nagi pouted, clutching where she had hit him.
"Cry me a river, Fujisaki, I'm not gonna help you with getting across it." Rima mumbled.
"Well, I think that you should be a bit nicer to the one who's taking you to hospital, and buying you clothes, feeding you, owns the clothes you're wearing now, and letting you stay with. If you're not, I might have to kick you out." Nagihiko winked at her, joking while trying to persuade her. Rima then muttered something under her breath, too quiet for Nagihiko to hear.
I'm sorry, what was that?"Nagi asked, leaning a bit closer to her.
"I said, that I think the nurse will end up calling me over soon." Rima said louder, and then, the nurse actually did call her and Nagi over.
"Mashiro Rima?" The two heard from where they were sitting.
"Wow Rima, that was one really accurate guess." Nagihiko said as they walked over to the nurse.
"I guess," Rima shrugged it off.
"Hello ma'am. I'm Mashiro Rima." Rima said quietly.
"Don't worry hon, I remember you. With hair that long, it's a bit hard not to! It's really pretty by the way. Must've taken you ages to grow. Same with you!" The nurse said the last part to Nagihiko. Rima giggled, finding it funny that Nagihiko had gotten a compliment on how long his hair was. "So, right over here," The nurse said as she lead the two down the hallway. "Now, you won't be able to go in the room with Mashiro, is that all right?"
"Um, I suppose. But if Rima wants me there, I'll go, just so you know." Nagihiko said. Rima grabbed the back of his sweater for comfort, something that she thought she had grown out of back in elementary. Nagi looked down at her.
"Please stay with me for it," Rima whispered to Nagihiko.
"Of course," Nagihiko smiled, giving Rima a small side hug, which made her go stiff. "Uh, ma'am, if it's all right, I'd like to stay with Rima during this. She said that she'd feel more comfortable with me there."
"Oh, of course! It makes sense for Mashiro to want her boyfriend there!" This made the two blush, as they weren't dating, nor were they very good friends.
"Uh, we're not dating." The two stated at the same time as their blushes faded.
"Well, I'd say otherwise. Now, here's the room! I'll see you two later!" The nurse waved good-bye as she left Nagi and Rima standing outside of the doctor's office-place
"Ga, I hate doctors," Rima said as she opened the door.
"Most people do, Rima." Nagi replied, and the two walked in, Rima now letting go of Nagi's sweater. "Hello sir, this is Mashiro Rima." Nagi introduced Rima.
"Ah, yes! So, what seems to be the problem, Rima?" The doctor said, getting up to shake the pairs hands.
"Well, Rima needs a check-up, I guess." Nagi said awkwardly, as to not bring up the abuse.
"And you're here with her why? I'm assuming you two aren't related." The doctor said as he motioned to Rima to sit on the check-up bed thinger.
"Well, I'm here since Rima doesn't really feel comfortable without someone she knows, and her parents are out of town this weekend." Nagi said, lying easily.
"Alright! Just take a seat near my desk, there's paperwork to fill out for Mashiro on it." The doctor said as he went to go inspect Rima.
"So, Mashiro, where do you want to start?" The doctor asked.
"Uh, I don't know. You're the doctor, shouldn't you know?" Rima replied in a cool tone.
"Fair enough," And then, the doctor actually started to inspect her. It didn't take very long for Nagi to finish the paperwork or for the doctor to inspect Rima.
"Well, Mashiro, it appears that your ribs are just a bit bruised, and you seem no be a bit malnourished. There are lots of bruises on your body, although I should hope that you already knew this. There's also some glass in your thigh, wedged in pretty far." The doctor reported. Nagi grimaced, annoyed that her father also hadn't been feeding her enough.
"So what are you going to do about the glass?" Rima asked with a blank face. She acted as if none of this was news to her.
"Well, I think we're just going to go with an old technique; Epsom salts. You'll have to do it afterwards too, for about two weeks or so. Just make a paste sort of thing with the salts and water, usually, you'd just put it on a band-aid, but where as you have more than a little bit of glass, we'll use a large piece of gauze. You'll find the Epsom salts under the sink and a bowl is by the sink. Can you make the paste as I talk to Nagihiko, Mashiro?" The doctor asked. Rima nodded in response, walking over to the small sink.
The doctor walked over to Nagihiko, with a serious face. "Nagihiko, may I speak to you for a moment?" Nagihiko nodded.
"How exactly did Mashiro get those bruises?" Nagihiko looked nervously at Rima.
"I think that's something you should ask her yourself." Nagi answered, all traces of nervousness now gone from his body.
"Fine. But may I ask another question?" The doctor inquired.
"You just did." Nagihiko answered with a smirk. 'Damn it!' He thought. 'Ikuto is definitely having an effect on me.'
The doctor rolled his eyes, and asked a question anyway. "Of what relation are you to Rima?"
"Well, she actually hates me, believe it or not." Nagihiko answered sheepishly.
"Oh really? You certainly seem much closer than that. Mashiro, did you find the Epsom salts yet?" The doctor asked Rima.
"I think," Rima held up a large, blue paper bag. "Is this it?"
"Yes, it is. Come over here, Nagihiko will make the paste while I tell you more about your injuries." The doctor said. Rima nodded, and walked over to the two and handed the doctor the Epsom salts before sitting back on the hospital bed.
"So, how much are my bruised ribs going to hurt?" Rima asked nervously. Nagi figured that she must not be a fan of pain at all. He had no clue how she had managed through the abuse.
"Well, they shouldn't hurt too much if you're taking painkillers; however if you're not, it will be rather painful." The doctor answered.
"Okay, I can deal with that. And what am I supposed to do what with being malnourished?" Nagihiko's ears perked up at this, as she was going to be in his care for awhile.
"That's actually rather simple. Increase what you eat, and make sure you're getting the right amount of nutrition in your diet each day." Rima nodded, and Nagi went back to making the Epsom salt paste. "Also, Mashiro, how much have you grown since you were twelve?"
Nagihiko smirked, and Rima glared. "I told you, didn't I?" Nagi mouthed to her.
"Shut up, crossdresser." She mouthed back. "Uh, I dunno. Fujisaki might know. He's how I check my height; seeing how tall I am compared to him." She told the doctor.
The doctor laughed at how she checked her height. "She's grown about three inches in the last three years." Nagihiko answered.
"Well then. And you're fifteen now, correct Mashiro?" Rima nodded. "I think you can't expect to grow anymore, Mashiro." Nagihiko laughed at this.
"I've been telling her that for ages! She wouldn't believe me! Do you believe it now, Rima?" Rima glared at him darkly.
"I suppose I can, as long as you shut the hell up, Eggplant Head."
"So, Nagihiko, are you finished with that Epsom salt paste?" the doctor asked, wanting to stop the two before it blew into a huge fight.
"Yes, here you go." Nagi answered, handing the moist paste to the doctor.
"Mashiro? Are you ready?" Rima nodded, gripping the edge of the hospital bed tightly. The doctor spread the paste, covering the area that had the glass. He let it sit for a few moments before removing a layer of the paste and then placing a large piece of cloth and binding it to her leg. "Now, just leave this on overnight and you should be able to get the glass out tomorrow evening." He instructed.
"Okay, thank you." Rima said, sliding carefully off the hospital bad. Nagi got up and went over to help her, but Rima put her hand up. "I can walk on my own, Fujisaki. Your assistance isn't required."
"Alright, I think that's it. You two can leave, good-bye! Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Here are some vitamin pills. Now you two can leave! Have a good night!" The doctor said, and handed the vitamin pills to Nagihiko. Rima and Nagihiko then left the room.
They went straight to the car, Nagihiko trying to help Rima, but her slapping him away every time. On the drive back, Rima was once again left hanging onto her seat. "Fujisaki, slow down! We're in no rush this time!" She yelled at him. He reluctantly slowed down.
"Well, we sort of are in a hurry, you know, I'm not exactly supposed to be driving right now, remember?"
"Yeah, and I told you that before we left!" Nagi sighed in frustration.
"Rima, just please be quiet so I can concentrate on the road." Rima nodded, and Nagihiko stared at the road and only straying his gaze when he looked at the distance-thing. So it took them about the actual fifteen minutes to get back that time, opposed to the seven minutes it took to get there.
The two long-haired teens walked quietly, not wanting to be caught by Baaya while coming back in. They luckily didn't, and they went straight to Nagihiko's room. "So, where am I sleeping?" Rima asked.
"You can sleep on the bed, I'm sleeping on the floor." Nagihiko said, grabbing some clothes.
"But it's your room, I can't just make you sleep on the floor." Rima said. Nagihiko put his hand to her forehead.
"Hey Rima, do you have a fever? You usually aren't this nice." Rima pushed his hand away.
"I'm positive I don't. Now, I'll sleep on the floor, you can sleep on your bed."
"Nope. You've been abused and just came back from the hospital. You get the bed, at least for tonight. Besides, you look really tired." Rima yawned.
"Fine, I'll sleep on the bed tonight. Night Fujisaki." Rima said, getting into Nagihiko's bed as he pulled the blankets over her.
"Good night, Rima."
Okay, another long chapter! And sorry that I put _-thing sometimes, I'm not the best at proper terminology.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara! or the songs used at the beginning of the chatpers, as I forgot to mention that last chapter.