Chapter 39
Lulu sat cross-legged by the window of the plane. Kairi was there, calmly sipping from a cup of tea. Rikka has fallen asleep, her head on Hikaru's shoulder. Hikaru didn't seem to mind or be bothered by it at all as he continued his research for rocks, while Noboku…was insanely struggling from the rope that she has been tied to.
"Why'd you kidnap her too, Hikaru-kun?" Aika, who had just come out from the pilot's door asked. Hikaru thought about this for a moment. "I was thinking that she would tell us how things were going while we're on the plane. Unfortunately, with her struggling and all, it doesn't look like we could get her to give us any information" He mumbled. Upon hearing this, Noboku abruptly turned silent. "What do you mean? You make it sound like I'm useless and-" "You are" Hikaru immediately answered. Noboku frowned. "You didn't have to be so straight-forward about it!"
Lulu sighed. "So can you tell us anything now? How are Amu and the rest doing? They're okay, right!"
Noboku sweat-dropped. "U-um…"
"What should I say? What should I say? Who is Amu? What's going on? They think too highly of me! I'm only an old woman who enjoys eating her miso peanuts!" The woman thought.
"T-they're okay! But you must get there by sundown!" She guessed. The brows of the three children creased with worry as they looked out the window. "We're around America's continent right now, meaning the time we're seeing is the same as the current guardians"
Kairi's face fell. "It's almost sundown!" He exclaimed. Lulu stood up. "Tell the pilot hurry it up!" She yelled. "Calm down, Lulu. We're traveling on a jet in top speed. Be satisfied for traveling from London to Japan and from Japan to America in a mere three hours!" Lulu's chara, Nana sighed.
"Tanaka is probably spreading some kind of powder that will explode as yumei takai in the ship. No one could survive that!" Aika sobbed.
"And what are we supposed to do to help when we get there?" Kairi asked as he pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. "Just go with the flow…" Hikaru answered, matter-of-factly. Everyone, except for Rikka who was still fast asleep stared at Hikaru. "What?" He asked, suddenly feeling cautious. Lulu frowned. "N-nothing. It's just weird coming from you." She shrugged. "…I think you've been hanging out with Rikka too much" Kairi added.
"How about this, 'Rima, my beloved, I am so sorry for what I've done or failed to do. Truth is, you are my breath, you are my life, you are my carbon dioxide and…" "Dude, what the hell are you saying?" Nagihiko shut Rhythm up. Rhythm shrugged. "Thinking of something that will warm Rima's heart so much that if you say it, she would just have to forgive you!" "I think you'd rather not want to give Nagi tips if you don't want him to have a permanent scar on the face" Temari lightly giggled. Rhythm's shoulder slumped. "This is what I get for trying to help out? How cruel…"
Nagihiko stretched his arms then placed then on the back of his head. "I'll apologize to her my own way. Only problem is…"
You could imagine the camera that was focused on the three the whole time abruptly zooming out, showing a crowded and loud boat. From afar, the people looked like a bunch of ants fighting over a piece of sugar- there was hardly any place to breath and there were only little gaps for space.
"…how can we find her in such a crowded place…?"
Temari and Rhythm simultaneously nodded.
"Yes, and she is so petite too!" The pink, kimonoed chara added.
Deciding to take a break, Nagihiko sat down to watch his friends.
Amu was standing in the center of a fighting Tadase and Ikuto.
Midori was gobbling on a platter
Utau and Kukai were having a contest on who could eat the most ramen. (They somehow found some on the boat)
Yaya was simply cutting a portion of the strawberry pink cake
For some odd reason, a thought came to Nagihiko's head. 'When would Yaya find someone to love?'. That was a random thought that crossed his mind and he giggled at the thought of Yaya actually being serious about someone.
Nagihiko stood up then headed towards the terrace after enough much needed rest. He gripped the railings of the boat.
"There you are!". The indigo-haired boy turned, only to meet face-to-face with Bailee. "Hi, Bailey-chan" He smiled. A tint of pink made its way to the girl's face. "I have a feeling that you were avoiding me…" She mumbled.
"I wasn't. I was just looking for Rima-chan"
"But I thought you were dancing with me"
"Wait. I'm dancing with you?"
"Yes!"
"So you were serious when you said that?"
"Yes!"
"But I thought it was to keep girls away!"
"No!"
"What about Cody-kun?"
"…Seriously. Are you avoiding me?"
"No I'm not. I just really think that we just met and…I just thought that Cody actually has a liking to you"
Bailey silenced at this. "Y-you think so…?" She mumbled. Nagihiko patted her shoulder. "I need to look for Rima-chan. Please think about it…"
With that, Nagihiko left her in her trail of thoughts.
'I really feel that something is not right…' Ran thought as she took another bite of the oatmeal cookie. "Really? Me too…" Miki said. The two charas were seated on the circular table by the terrace. "First of all…" The spade said as she stood up, "I can sense Tanaka's presence all over the boat" She finished.
"Minna! I have more cookies if you'd like!" Ran grinned as she glanced at her fellow, green chara, who was carrying a tray of freshly baked cookies. "Thanks, Su!" She and Miki cheered as they grabbed a piece. "By the way, where's Dia?" Miki mumbled. Su looked at her. "She said something about feeling Tanaka-san's presence so she flew somewhere…"
"TANA-?" The two never got to finish, because a huge shadow hovered over them.
"There you three are…" The shadow's aristocratic voice chimed.
Ran, Miki and Su froze.
Rhythm, Pepe, Ki, El, Il and Kiseki we're all in one, small circle- Kiseki in the middle.
"-And that is why, we have to find Tanaka at all costs! We will search high and low, everyone, and will not rest until we find her!" The king chara laughed manically.
"…he was just like this when we were looking for the embryo. Brings back memories, huh…" Rhythm sighed. "Desu!" Pepe agreed. "He will never find love this way…" El said. Il, however, was already asleep. As the charas chatted while totally ignoring Kiseki's useless rants, Ki sat elegantly with a bored expression.
Her bored expression immediately turned to one of fear as she glanced behind Kiseki's shoulder. "K-Kiseki-kun! I-I think she found us!" She panicked. Kiseki flinched then shakily glanced behind him. Rhythm, Pepe, El and Ki gasped while Kiseki fainted out of fear.
The smooth, pale hand grabbed all six charas.
Yoru and Daichi sat in one corner of the boat. "Here's what we're gonna do! We float up while carrying a bucket of water then dump it on the girls" Yoru snickered. Daichi looked unsure, though. "That sounds pretty mean…" He mumbled. "So?" Yoru shrugged. Daichi sighed, "So when the girls find out it's us, we're dead. Trust me on this one, I know them more that you do and I most definitely know them when they're mad. Especially Su…" He shivered at the thought. Yoru's eyes widened. "That's a good point!" He said.
"Girls really are scary when mad. You know what, though, if we include Rhythm in this they might just forgive us!" Yoru pointed out with a grin. Daichi smiled, "Hey! That's not a bad idea!" He praised, but then the joyful moment was short lived. Daichi's shoulders slumped. "…but then the girls might single him out and only attack us…" he pointed out.
Yoru groaned.
There was a short moment of silence before Daichi's head abruptly shot up.
"…wait a minute…" Daichi said, alert. Yoru's ears twitched. "You know I can feel her…" Yoru cried, hiding behind Daichi. The two charas never got the chance to prepare because almost immediately, a hand gripped the two then shoved them into a transparent jar.
Ran, Miki, Su, Dia, Pepe, Kiseki, Rhythm, El, Il, Daichi and Yoru were all in the jar- all of them unconscious but still breathing.
Amu tried to ignore the discomfort of her short, black miniskirt and short, ruffled blouse as she tried to get to the rest of the guardians. Relief rushed to her face after seeing the group, yet a few traces of worry was still evident on her.
She stopped then panted before her friends, who also wore the same worried expression as she did. "You say you lost your charas too?" She panicked. Only Kukai, Tadase and Ikuto nodded for the rest were too down to respond. Amu fell to her knees-her pulse was racing and her forehead was dripping with sweat as she thought of the possible things Tanaka cold do to the charas. None of them were good.
"But…" Rima started, as she took a step forward. She opened her palm, revealing Kusukusu who was seated and depressed. "Kusukusu's been with me the whole time, and so Tanaka never got the chance to take her…"
"What do you think could Tanaka want? I mean…she took our charas but never even made an effort to take Rima's. Maybe she wanted only Rima to charanari?" Midori suggested.
'That's impossible' Nagihiko thought. 'I still have Temari, and Clown Drop and Yamato Maihime put together is so powerful. Maybe she just forgot…'
"Nagihiko"
Nagihiko flinched at the way Rima called him. It was cold and distant. He turned to her with a sweat-drop. "H-hai, Rima-chan?" He stuttered. A dark aura surrounded the petite blonde the second their eyes met. "We're here, talking about the missing charas and you're there idling around? Baka. And I don't even remember allowing you to call me Rima-chan!" "Actually, you did. Remember, when…" "Urusai!". Rima stomped her feet then turned around, leaving Nagihiko with a pitiful expression. Only Rima may not have noticed it, but everyone seemed to give him a sympathetic look, much to his discomfort.
"R-Rima, that was a little too harsh, don't you think…?" Amu said as she approached the blonde. "It's okay, Amu-chan…"
Amu turned to Nagihiko, who was cuddled in an emo corner. You could actually imagine a dark aura and depression marks forming its way to his forehead. "I am accepting the fact that she hates me…though I actually have no idea why…" He sighed. Everyone sweat-dropped as they watched his saddened figure.
"It's rare to see him in an emo form. He must be really depressed…" Kukai mumbled.
Rima scoffed then walked away from the group.
"Rima, you should at least let him talk to you!" Kusukusu whispered through her ear. "Why? He's smart and all so how can he be so stupid with love right now. And to think he was a girl…" She muttered. "Let's forget that for now…" Kusukusu said. Rima abruptly stopped. "Is there something wrong, Kusukusu?" She wondered. The clown chara was still while floating- as if she were frozen.
"R-Rima!" She cried. She turned to her bearer, her eyes were tearing up. "Rima! Let's fly out of here!" She panicked. "Huh?"
"Let's go, Rima! I can feel Tanaka! She's flying towards us! Fast!"
For a moment, Rima's heart seemed to skip a beat. "You mean…" She stopped to think. Kusukusu waited with anxiety.
"Let's not fly, Kusukusu. If we escape and leave the others, that's what Tanaka wants! She wants to see betrayal and depression!" "But Rima!" "No, Kusukusu. We'll find a way to get everyone out of the boat"
Rima hurried to the spare boats. On her way, she managed to get a glimpse of Cody, Zack and Bailee. "Everyone!" She waved. The three noticed her. She led then to the boats. "Quick. Help me lower the spare boats" She said. The three exchanged looks. "Why?" They asked. She walked towards her group of friends. "There's a bomb on the ship!"
The night seemed to pass by on a whim. Soon, the group of friends was all collapsed in a couch; all of them felt like their breaths would run out. They were so tired.
"I wonder where Il and El are…" Utau wondered. Kukai nodded in agreement.
"Yoru's always not with me, but his absence this time is giving me a strange aura.." Ikuto sighed. Everyone else sighed then remained silent.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind flew by the group.
Utau, Amu and Midori held their skirts down while Yaya grabbed onto Kukai for support. The whole ship immediately fogged. You could hear screams around, and people trying to calm others down. When every angle of the ship was covered in white mist, the ship rocked. People on the edge of the boat held onto the railings to keep themselves from falling off. The group of guardians held onto each other, and they were sure they were safe.
Finally seeing that they weren't complete, and there was a specific blonde that was missing, Nagihiko got up. "Nagihiko?" Amu cocked her head. "I-"
"Is everyone alright?" Someone asked from behind. Nagihiko turned his head then saw Rima in the form of Clown Drop.
She walked towards the group. "This is why Tanaka got the charas-so that she could easily beat us, knowing that we're defenseless without them…" She cried. The fog thinned and the rocking stopped. The guardians gasped when they saw the figure of a slim, long-haired woman standing before them. "Tanaka!" They screamed.
The aristocrat flicked her tongue then glared at Rima. "I can't believe I forgot to take your chara…" She groaned. Rima narrowed her eyes. "Too bad"
"What do you want with us anyway?" Utau yelled. The aristocrat faced her palm then blasted something that sent the pop idol flying then hitting a wall. Upon falling back onto the floor, Utau groaned in pain.
"Utau!" Everyone cried.
Tanaka smirked. "Just as I thought. You really are al defenseless without charas" She laughed.
"No! We humans are not defenseless creatures! We have friends and family and loved ones that help us become more powerful! Sure, it may not be powers like yours but-"
"Blah blah blah! Stop rambling nonsense you pink-haired freak!" Tanaka spat at Amu. Amu furrowed her brows at this. "Amu, stop it" Ikuto muttered.
A huge grin formed Tanaka's face. She flew higher so she could get a full view of the ship and when she did, she faced her palm once again.
Black energy surrounded her entire figure.
"Oh no…" Midori gasped.
"SHE'S DOING IT! SHE'S DOING IT! SHE'S DOING IT!" Yaya bawled as she hugged herself into one tight ball.
Tanaka gladly took a deep breath then chanted a loud: "YUMEI TAKAI!"
BOOM
The horizon was covered in a thick, black smoke. Only trails of screams were heard then it slowly died down. You can also hear the bubbles the ship made as it slowly sunk into the depths of the sea. The white-haired lady had a huge grin plastered on her face.
'They're hopeless' She thought. She turned away from her success. "I'm so glad!" She laughed.
"Yeah, right! As if I, Easter's Gozen would let you win!" A young boy's voice said with laughter. All of a sudden, the roar of the plane was heard, and then the plane itself flew high, so it wasn't in the area of black smoke. On the window, you could see Hikaru with a smirk. Rikka was beside him, sticking her tongue out at Tanaka. The group of guardians, along with the other passengers, were all wide-eyed with shock. Kairi looked at everyone. "You could thank us later when you're not in a daze anymore"
Tanaka turned red with rage. "Yeah right!" She once again pointed her palm at the plane. "I'LL JUST HIT THE PLANE THIS TIME AND SEND YOU ALL FLYING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS!"
.
.
.
Awkward silence
.
.
.
"…Good point…" Hikaru muttered. Rikka exclaimed, "You mean you didn't think this over? And now I'm going to die at a young age?"
"Well SORRY!"
"TOMARE!" Rikka and Hikaru stopped arguing then turned to Nagihiko. He went to Rima (Who was, by the way, still in the form of Clown Drop). He helped her up. "Nagihiko? What are you doing?" Amu asked. He sighed.
"Now may not be the best time since we're not in good terms but…let's do it, Rima-chan"
Rima stiffly nodded then stood up.
"Fujisaki-kun?" Tadase asked
"What are you going to do?" Amu demanded this time.
The indigo-haired boy faced her-his gentle and pitiful expression seemed to shock the pinkette. He cocked his head to the side, brought his hair up into a ponytail then said in a high-pitched and girly voice, "Please, I hope you forgive me for keeping this from you for so long, Amu-chan!"
The guardians and even the group of Zack all stared with wide eyes.
"He's gonna say it…" Kukai whispered to Tadase.
"Yeah, he is…" Tadase answered.
"…why are you acting like Naddy?" Yaya oh-so-innocently asked.
"Yeah…" Amu nodded.
Nagihiko smirked. "Temari, let's do it!"
"Wait! Why is Temari with you?"
"Hai, Nadeshiko..." Temari responded with a bow, emphasizing the name Nadeshiko as a hint for Amu.
"Nadeshiko?"
"Temari I'm sorry to say but you may have mistaken Nagihiko for Nadeshiko…" Amu pointed out.
Nagihiko, Rima, Tadase, Kukai and Noboku all looked at Amu then shook their heads.
Nagihiko then faced his kimonoed chara. Immediately, the two was engulfed in a bright, pink light.
"Charanari: Yamato Maihime!" They chanted.
Amu, Yaya, Midori, Utau, Zack, Cody, and Bailee all fell backwards then screamed,
"NADESHIKO?"
Without hesitation, or looking back, Nagihiko grabbed Rima's right hand then jumped off the plane. (Lulu was spraying some kind of chemical that made every other extra from the ship, that didn't know about charas, fall asleep and wake up in the morning in some deserted island and think that it was all just a dream)
The two landed on top of a piece of wood that happens to be one of the remains of the now wrecked ship.
Don't ever hold my hand again, Fujisaki!" Rima hissed.
"Rma-chan, seriously. I don't know what I did to you that made you so mad!"
"You were entertaining the fangirls!"
"Yeah but I didn't tell them anything or other stuff like that!"
"So?"
"Just how can I make it up to you? We can't do Queen's Waltz when we're mad at each other like this…"
"We can't make up because I'm mad at you!"
"That makes no sense…"
"Yes it doe-"
Nagihiko covered Rima's mouth. "I'm sorry…?" His tone made it sound more like a question. Rima frowned. 'I wouldn't let him off so easily…'. Nagihiko sighed then moved his hands from Rima's mouth to her chin. Before Rima could struggle away, their lips touched.
'I'm so sorry, Rima-chan…'
Okay, so I cut it off from here. Thanks for the reviews from the previous chapters! I'm REALLY glad I got some, although I'm not really expecting much this time since I haven't updated in so long! I'm so sorry (Sad Face)
So thankies for the support, although the story would end in around the next chapter…
WAAAH! I really, really miss Shugo Chara! I think I might just make another fanfic but I might not get to update!