So Rima, why are you wearing no pants?
And while she looked
So sad in photographs,
I absolutely love her
When she smiles.
~ Story of a Girl (Absolutely) - Nine Days
Kukai woke up with blonde hair everywhere. It was thrown over his face, over the pillows, and over his chest. Removing the hair from his face, he looked at Rima, who was still asleep. He chuckled lightly; he hadn't pinned her as one to toss and turn while sleeping.
Getting out of bed, he went to take a shower, planning to wake Rima up afterwards. But when he re-entered his room with his towel around his waist, Rima was sitting up, trying to brush her hair with her fingers. "Morning, Rima!"
"Morning." Rima said back quietly. "Where are we going today?"
"I'm pretty sure it's just a park. Why d'you want to know?" Kukai asked, getting some clothes for himself. Gesturing for Rima to turn around so he could put on his boxers, Rima spoke.
"So I know what to wear. Speaking of which, can I borrow some clothes from you?" Nagihiko, acting very out of his character, had either forgotten or had purposely not dropped off Rima's stuff, which was why she was currently wearing one of Kukai's larger shirts.
"Rento is smaller than me, so I suggest you borrow clothes from him. You can turn around now, by the way." Rima turned around, moving onto the next section of her hair.
"Alright. When should I wake him up? I'm assuming he's not up yet." Glancing at the clock that was still on the ceiling fan, the two saw that it was 8:03, which was much too early to be up on break.
"I suggest now. You could always prank him, like you did to me." Kukai suggested, grinning. Rima nodded, giving up on her hair for now and getting up.
"I think I will. Where's his room?" Rima asked, pulling down the shirt a bit.
"To the left of the bathroom." Rima left to go to Rento's room, and entered silently. Rento was laying on his bed, snoring and resembling a starfish.
"Rentooooo," Rima said, with a mischievous undertone.
"Whaaaaaaa?" Rento muttered, moving his arm to over his head.
"I'm pregnant and the baby is yours." Rima said, sounding completely serious. Rento bolted up, looking around for whoever said it. Finally, he saw Rima, who was leaning on the bed, laughing.
"Rima! What the fuck?! Don't joke about shit like that!" Rento exclaimed, pushing some hair out of his eyes.
"Y-your face! It was hilarious! You should've seen it!" Rima exaggerated Rento's face, making Rento smile a bit.
"It's still not something you should joke about!"
"B-but that was hilarious!" Rima was now crying from laughing so hard, something that hadn't happened in a thought for a moment, and then looked down at Rima.
"I suppose it was sort of funny." Rima imitated Rento's face again, even more exaggerated than the first time. This made Rento laugh, and soon enough, both could hardly breathe from laughing so hard.
Kukai walked in, wondering why they were laughing. "Uh, guys, what's so funny?"
"I-I'll tell you later." Rima managed to get out, finally beginning to regain her breath. Rento, who had also calmed down, looked at Rima.
"Why are you in here in the first place?"
"Oh, I needed to borrow some of your clothes." Rento went over to his dresser, and pulled out a green t-shirt, and some skinny jeans. Well, skinny jeans on him.
"Here you go." He said, handing the clothes to Rima.
"Could I borrow a long-sleeved shirt instead? I get cold easily." Rima said, handing him the shirt back.
"Sure." Rento grabbed a long-sleeved shirt, this one orange.
"Thanks." Rima said, taking the shirt from him and going into the bathroom. After changing, the jeans were only too long on her, and a bit too large on the waist. The shirt was fine once she tied it in the back, and rolled up the sleeves. She then remembered that she'd need socks too.
"Can I borrow a pair of socks?" She asked Rento and Kukai, who were now sitting on Rento's bed.
"Sure." Rento got up, grabbed a pair of yellow socks from his dresser and tossed them to Rima.
"Your stuff is really colourful, Rento."
"I like colours."Rento said simply, shrugging.
"Fair enough." Rima said, sitting down on the bed. "What time is it?"
"Well, after all that time you guys wasted laughing, it's almost nine." Kukai said, looking at his cell phone.
"It's nearly nine?" Rima asked with disbelief. "Did we actually laugh that long?"
"Apparently." Rento said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Kukai, what time do we have to leave?"
"9:30, and there's a hairbrush in the bathroom." Kukai said, knowing that she hadn't gotten a chance to brush her hair. Saying a quick thanks, Rima walked briskly to the bathroom, grabbing the brush and wrenching it through her tangled hair. Afterwards, hair was very puffy, but there wasn't much that she could do about that. Bringing her long hair to the side, she made a low side ponytail, and walked back into the bedroom where Kukai and Rento still were.
"What time is it now?" Rima asked, completely out of breath, flopping on top of the two boys.
"Quarter to ten. You did well, young grasshopper." Kukai said, making Rima grin.
"Why thank you. And what time are we supposed to be meeting everyone at the park?"
"At 10..."
"We should probably leave then." Rima suggested, kicking Kukai's leg.
"Ow! That hurt! But I suppose you're right. We'll be back later, Rento!" Kukai said lifting Rima, who was still out of breath, off of Rento.
"Alright! And Rima, I must say that you look very good in my clothes." Rento said, winking at the blonde. Rima rolled her eyes at him before being dragged out by Kukai.
"Bye Rento! See you later!" Rima yelled out before shaking herself out of Kukai's grip. "Let go of me! I can walk on my own!"
"I know you can! I was just getting you out of there faster, Shorty!"
"I'm not that short, Kukai!" Rima said, shoving her shoes onto her feet. "Now can we leave?"
"No, you don't have a sweater." Kukai said, frowning. He grabbed one of his off of the shelf behind the door and handed it to Rima. "Wear that."
"I have a scarf and hat, you know." Rima said, putting on the large sweater.
"Aren't they Fujisaki's?" Rima nodded. "Ah. Do you want to wear them too?"
"Yeah. Be back in a second." Rima went to go get them, but turned back around. "Where are they?" Kukai laughed, finding it funny that she couldn't remember.
"They're still in the living room." Rima walked out to the living room, putting them on as she walked to the door.
"We can leave now!"
"Alright, to the park!" Kukai said, grabbing Rima's arm, and starting to run. "100-metre dash!"
"Kukai! Stop running!" Rima exclaimed, and continued to yell until he stopped. "I can't run fast, you idiot!"
"Oh, I forgot. Maybe it's because you're so short." Rima punched his shoulder, glaring at the boy. "What was that for?!"
"Calling me short." Rima said. "Now, shall we go to the park at a normal pace?" She asked, intensifying her glare.
"O-of course!" Kukai stuttered, and kept on walking slowly next to Rima. They soon reached the park, where everyone already was.
"Hey guys!" Amu said, as Yaya ran up to Kukai and glomped him.
"Kukai! Yaya missed you!" She whined, which was typical to everyone else.
"I missed you too, Yaya!" Kukai said, kissing her cheek. This, however, was not expected.
"What... what... what?" Amu asked, not being able to find any other words.
"Oh, we didn't tell you? Yaya and Kukai are dating!" Yaya said, letting go of Kukai and instead entwined their hands.
"No, you didn't tell us! When did this happen?"
"Hmmm...Back in November?" Kukai guessed, looking down at Yaya.
"Yaya doesn't remember, so sure!" Amu, Nagihiko and Rima looked at the two with such expressions that cannot be described.
"You'd think they'd keep track of when they started going out." Amu said, before recovering. "Anyway, we're all going to the café! Shall we leave now?"
"Sure." Rima said, starting to walk. Everyone else followed, Kukai and Yaya in the back. Nagihiko was able to tell that Rima was trying to avoid him, but for reasons other than him not telling her that he was going away seemed a bit much for him. He walked up to get beside Rima.
"Rima," he started. "Why are you avoiding me?"
"You know exactly why I'm avoiding you, Fujisaki." Rima stated smoothly.
"No, actually, I don't. I don't think you'd be avoiding me so much just for not telling you."
"It isn't, Fujisaki. But it should be pretty damn clear from looking at me why I'm avoiding you." Nagihiko looked at Rima, noticing the oversized clothing and finally piecing everything together.
"I forgot to drop off your stuff yesterday, didn't I?"
"No shit, Sherlock!" Rima said, actually looking at him, glaring. "Why else would I be in these clothes? Not certainly for my own enjoyment! I'd much rather be wearing my own clothes, but I can't because of a certain Eggplant Head!"
"Rima, I didn't mean t-" Nagihiko tried to explain, but Rima cut him off.
"No, Fujisaki. This is a legitimate reason for me to be pissed off. I mean, you forgot to fucking drop off my stuff! When people like you say things like that, they're supposed to actually stick through with it!"
"What do you mean, by people like me?"
"As in people who act all high and mighty, sweet yet sly, and never lie, and have a perfect life! Why else do you think I hate you? You're the exact opposite of me, and I can't stand it!"
"Rima, I can explain!"
"Fujisaki, I've given you chances and every time you blow them up! I'm finished with it!" Rima slapped Nagihiko, and ran as fast as she could back to the park. She needed somewhere to think, somewhere to wallow in self misery all by her lonesome.
'I left my anger pent up too long, and now he hates me, I just know it.' She thought, tears beginning to roll down her face. Soon enough, though, she reached the park and sat under a tree, rolling herself into the protective ball that she's always known. Rima cried, for she already regretted slapping Nagihiko.
Rima looked up, hearing rustling up in the tree. Ikuto Tsukiyomi then hopped down from the tree, looking down at Rima.
"Yo. Why're you crying?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Fujisaki." Rima mumbled, not looking up.
"What'd he do this time?" Ikuto sat in front of the blonde, genuinely curious.
"Just everything." Rima said, another sob escaping her. Ikuto took his hands out of his pockets, and wiped the tears from Rima's face.
"If he's making you cry, what does it matter then? He's not even worth your tears."
"He forgot to drop off my stuff, and he waited until the last moment to tell me he was going away, and he makes me feel safe and then does shit like that!" She cried, as Ikuto tried to comfort her. However, he hadn't had much experience in comforting girls.
"Um... Rima, you shouldn't have to cry about all of this. He's probably feeling horrible right now." Ikuto said, moving the hair out of her face.
"B-but I can't help it! I shouldn't cry, but I slapped him! I feel terrible about it!" Rima exclaimed, going back into a ball shape and blocking Ikuto out. He continued to attempt to comfort Rima, actually sitting beside her, and bringing her into his arms.
"Rima, please stop crying." Rima sniffled, and looked up at him.
"Why should I?"
"Because it's really hard to comfort you." Rima smiled a bit, but it was exceptionally sad.
"You shouldn't have to comfort me."
"You're crying in the middle of the snow. What else am I supposed to do?"
"Leave?" Rima suggested, as if it were obvious.
"I'm not leaving a girl crying in the snow. Do you know what that could do to me reputation?"
"Can you imagine what comforting me would do to your reputation?"
"True. But I'm still not going to leave. I'll take you to the café, if you want me to." Ikuto stood up and stuck his hand out to help Rima up. Rima looked up at him, and grabbed his hand.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Now, which café were you guys going to?" Ikuto asked, looking down at Rima.
"Cheery Blossom." She said simply, pointing out the direction it was.
"Alright. And I get to see Amu there. This is a win-win situation, ain't it?"
"I guess so."
After Nagihiko had gotten slapped and Rima had run away, Amu walked up to him, a confused look etched on her face. "Nagihiko? What was all that about?" Nagihiko looked at Amu, and hesitated before answering. How much could he say about Rima?
"It was nothing, Amu."
"It didn't seem like nothing. She slapped you, that's usually classified as something."
"Trust me, it was nothing." Nagihiko said seriously.
"Alright. So, you're going way tonight, aren't you?" Amu asked, changing topics.
"Yeah. Mother and I are going to some other town for something."
"Oh, I see. Have you been talking to the others lately?"
"I talked to Rima and Kukai. I'm assuming you haven't talked to anyone?"
"No, not until yesterday."
"Ah." The two fell into silence, walking together. 'I should've ran after Rima' Nagihiko thought, regretting not. He wasn't the only one worried about her, but he felt responsible for her running off. Of course, he was responsible, but most weren't going to know that.
Kukai walked up to Nagihiko, letting Yaya and Amu talk for a bit. "What the hell was all that about?"
"Rima got pissed at me and ran off. There wasn't much I could do."
"Well, you could've ran after her!" Kukai said, sounding pissed.
"And have Amu think that Rima actually wants me to run after her?"
"C'mon, we all know that Amu would barely notice." Nagihiko sighed, and answered.
"She was right behind us when Rima exploded." Kukai figured the rest out in his head, a look of revelation crossing his face.
"That makes sense now. But still, you could've stopped her from running off."
"Rima figured out that she can do close to anything, considering I'm not about to kick her out of my house. But she still shouldn't be running off."
"Ah. Try making some rules then. Because she's not going to be allowed to do whatever. What if her father finds her?"
"Oh, fuck."
Ikuto and Rima reached the café a good fifteen minutes after everyone. Kukai and Nagihiko, after previously thinking that her father had found her, got out of their seats immediately and went over to the two.
"Rima! Where have you been?" Kukai asked, hugging her.
"On Earth." She said, not hugging back.
"No, really, where were you?" Nagihiko asked. Neither had noticed Ikuto sneakily going over to Amu and hugging her from behind. Kukai, Nagi, and Rima heard Amu's girly scream of 'Pervert!' and looked over. Seeing only Ikuto, the boys turned their attention back to Rima.
"Rima. Where. Were. You?"
"I was at the park, if you must know." Rima said with sass, walking over to the table and sitting between Yaya and Amu. Kukai and Nagihiko sighed, and walked over to the table. Kukai sat next to Yaya, and Nagihiko sat next to him, leaving the chair next to Amu empty for Ikuto if he wanted to stay.
"Ikuto, will you please get off of me?" Amu asked through her gritted teeth.
"But Amu, I love hugging you."
"Ikuto, I really don't care. Get off of me, now."
"I suppose I can." Ikuto drawled, letting go of Amu and sitting in the empty seat. As he sat down, a brunet waiter walked over to their table.
"Hello, I'm Keiji and I'll be your waiter today! Are you all ready to order?" He asked, glancing over the large group.
"I'll have chicken noodle soup, and hot chocolate." Rima said, looking up at Keiji.
"Same as her." Kukai and Nagihiko said. Amu and Yaya ordered grilled cheese, while Ikuto ordered - to no ones surprise - a tuna sandwich. All of them had hot chocolate though.
"Alright, I'll bring your drinks in a moment!" Keiji said, walking away.
"He seems fishy." Ikuto said, looking at the waiter as he walked away.
"What do you mean, Ikuto?" Nagihiko asked.
"He smells like fish."
"Only you..." Nagihiko muttered, shaking his head lightly. Then, Keiji walked back over to their table, holding a tray with six hot chocolates on it.
"Here you all go!" He said, placing a mug in front of everyone. "It'll be about ten minutes for the food." The group muttered a quiet thanks before Keiji walked over to another table.
"I still think he's fishy."
28 December
Nagihiko knocked on Kukai's door, shivering a bit. The door was soon opened to reveal Rima, wearing a large hoodie and what looked to be no pants.
"Rima..."
"Fujisaki."
"May I come in?"
"You realise that it's 9:00, right?" She asked, which Nagihiko answered with a nod. "You woke me up with knocking, as far as I know, no one else is awake yet."
"Can I still come in and wait?" Rima sighed and nodded, opening the door wider. Nagihiko stepped in and removed his shoes before sitting down in the living room. Rima instead walked into the kitchen to make enough hot chocolate for everyone. Well, once everyone woke up. After pouring two mugs, she walked into the living room and handed one to Nagi before sitting down in the armchair.
"So Rima, why are you wearing no pants?" Nagihiko asked, taking a drink of his hot chocolate.
"I hate wearing pants to bed."
"So you're sleeping in Kukai's room, and wearing no pants?"
"Actually, I wear shorts." Rima nodded slowly, as if assuring a toddler of something.
"Oh, that makes sense. But if you usually wear shorts, why do you wear pants at my house?"
"Because your house seems so proper that wearing shorts would degrade it." Rima stated, as Rento and Kukai came down the stairs, looking like zombies.
"Morning Rima." Rento said through a yawn.
"Morning. There's hot chocolate in the kitchen." Rento nodded and went to the kitchen while Kukai went to the living room and sat next to Nagihiko.
"Rento, can you bring mine in please?"
"Sure!" Rento called out, and soon entered the room holding two mugs of hot chocolate. He handed one to Kukai and then sat on the couch that no one was sitting on yet.
"So, what brings you here, Fujisaki?" Kukai asked with an edge.
"I wanted to apologise to Rima." Rima looked at him hard, trying to tell if he was telling the truth. But alas, Nagihiko was as good as she was when it came to lying, maybe even better. Rima stood up and walked to the kitchen, leaning against the fridge.
Nagihiko followed her, leaving his hot chocolate on an end table. "Rima-" Nagihiko started before being cut off..
"Fujisaki, know that I'm not in the mood to be flattered, alright?" Nagihiko nodded, knowing what she meant.
"Of course not. Rima, I am extremely sorry. Considering you live at my house, I should've told you first that my family was going away. I should've stopped you from running off, because who knows what could've happened? And I know that there's both reason to hate me and reason to forgive me. I really hope that you'll actually try to get along with me. So what d'you say? Forgive me?"
Rima mulled over what he had said while Nagihiko bit his lip, anxious to see what she would say. Soon enough, she looked up at him and nodded. "I'll forgive you. Now when can we go back to your house?"
"Someone's eager. Why?"
"Because I can't handle these idiots! Rento is constantly bothering me, and talking to me, and I'm just like 'no, Rento, leave me alone!' but he just kept on talking to me! And me and Kukai just shared his bed, but he kept hogging all the blankets! That's one of the worst things you can ever do. Ever. Unkai is constantly making me get stuff for him, dunno why I decided to. Shuusui was constantly testing how smart I am, and we all know that I'm close to failing most my classes. Kaidou is actually the only one who hasn't bothered me, so I tried staying close to him, actually. Mostly cause the rest of them are a tad scared of him. So please, when the hell can we leave?"
"Awh, poor Riri. We can leave after you get dressed and tell Kukai and Rento that you're leaving, alright?"
"Okay!" Rima replied, rushing upstairs to change and get her stuff. Nagihiko, meanwhile, walked back into the living room to finish his hot chocolate and wait for Rima. The petite blonde took less time than expected, and soon came running down the stairs in sweatpants and a purple shirt. "Can we leave now?" She asked, leaning against the doorway.
"Do you want to finish your hot chocolate first?" Nagihiko asked, gulping down the rest of his.
"Nah, it's probably cold by now anyway. So, can we leave?" She asked again, looking eager. Nagi chuckled at how the usually stoic girl was acting and stood up nodding, at which Rima promptly ran to the entranceway, tugging on her boots.
Nagihiko put his boots on, and then waited for Rima to finish fixing her scarf. He then called Kukai and Rento to the two. "You know, I really did have the best intentions in mind. Rima has already forgiven me, and I really do hope that you two don't hold a grudge." The two brothers looked at each other and then nodded, before Rima walked over to them and hugged both.
"Tell the others that I say goodbye, will ya?" She said, smiling. They assured her that they would, and that they'd see her soon. Rima then followed Nagihiko out the front door, bracing herself for the cold weather. The two waved, before walking away from the house. Rima smiled, since she was finally going back to the other place that she's called 'home' for the last week. 'I swear, these places are growing on me,' she thought, rubbing her hands together for warmth. 'And god forbid that Eggplant Head is too.'
DELETED SCENE:
"Only you..." Nagihiko muttered, shaking his head lightly. Then, Keiji walked back over to their table, holding a tray with six hot chocolates on it.
"Here you all go!" He said, placing a mug in front of everyone, leaving Amu last. He handed her a piece of paper and winked after she grabbed her hot chocolate. "The food will be here in about ten minutes." Keiji said, walking away.
Amu opened the folded piece of paper, her eyes widening as she read what was on it. "What's on it?" Ikuto asked, snatching the paper out of her hands effortlessly. Ikuto took a glance at the paper, and crumpled it, tossing it to Kukai. "Look at what that bastard wrote. Told you he was fishy." Kukai uncrumpled the note, making sure Yaya didn't see it. He looked at it in disgust, showing it to Nagihiko.
"That's disgusting!" Nagihiko exclaimed, tossing it to Rima, knowing that she was overprotective of Amu.
"Ugh! That's just... ugh." Rima said after reading it and handing it back to Amu.
"Yaya wants to know what it says!" Yaya exclaimed. Kukai looked at her, trying to not be annoyed.
"Yaya, do you want to go get some candy?" He said, trying to get her to leave so that they could talk about the note.
"Yeah!" Yaya yelled, grabbing Kukai's arm and running out of the café.
"Really? This has got to be the most cliche note ever." Rima said, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. Ikuto glanced down at the note, which now laid open on the table. It read, 'Call me sometime, we can have some fun.' with his phone number listed on the bottom.
OKAY, YOU ARE WELCOME TO MURDER ME. Although, I've thought over this, and it's not advised, since then the story would never be finished, so yeah. But, I hope you guys liked it and that it was worth the wait! I honestly have no other excuse than that I was lazy. And procrastination is a horrible thing, let me tell you.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara! or the song used at the beginning of the chapter.