Chapter 18: Don't Trust; Doubt
Obviously, I decided to keep my slightly disturbing thoughts of Nagihiko liking me to myself. It wasn't that Nagihiko liking me was disturbing but rather, the suddenness of the thought frightened me. Was this how it was like to fall in love? To wake up one morning, have an 'a-ha' moment, and realize you were in love? To be frank, it was quite frightening.
"So now what?" I questioned the supposed purpleheaded genius. Nagihiko turned towards me and shrugged. "I think we should go back to Amu-chan," Nagihiko piped up. I raised a suspicious eyebrow. "And leave this injured man behind?" I questioned, as Nagihiko shrugged. "It should be okay. He doesn't show any life-threatening symptoms, not like we could really do anything even if he did," Nagihiko supplied. I then sighed, seating myself back onto the spare patient bed. "I don't know. Should we?" I asked. Nagihiko looked at me and leapt off the chair, extending a hand.
"I think we should."
"Amu?" I asked as Nagihiko and I raced back into the room where the Charas had been trapped. Unlike before, the room had completely dimmed down and the darkness shielded everything inside. "Amuuuuuu?" I questioned cautiously, taking a nervous step in.
"Dreading Diamonds!"
Instinctively, I leapt towards the side, attempting to avoid the attack—from wherever it came from. I heard the sound of sharp glass-like shards coming in contact with the metallic floor board of the room. "Sasaki!" I exclaimed, as I heard a snicker come from the corner of the room.
Nagihiko, who was one step behind me, walked in front of me and motioned for me to stay back. I glared at him in his Beat Jumper charanari and took a step back. Perhaps he had something in mind.
"Chika-chan?" he spoke questioningly into the palpable darkness. Only his voice echoed back in decreasing volume. "Chika-chan?" he repeated, as he took another step into the darkness. Suddenly, a voice pierced through the blackness.
"NAGIHI—" a shrilly voice screeched, sounding surprisingly like to Amu. Nagihiko flinched at the cut-off sentence and daringly took another step. "Chika-chan, where are Amu-chan and Ikuto-kun? Have you captured them—Blaze Shoot!" Nagihiko exclaimed just in time to nullify the attack coming his way. I bit the bottom of my lip and raced towards the side of the wall, my hands scrambling along it to locate the light switch. Finally, feeling a protruding bump on the wall, my fingers flicked them up as the lights flickered into life.
My eyes stared at the sight.
In front were Amu, Ikuto, Tadase, and the rest of the gang stuck in a glass container. Chika was seated on the edge of the large glass container, a coy smile flitting on her face. She swung her legs carelessly as she smirked at the sight of me and Nagihiko.
"Well, well, if it isn't our cutest couple of the month," Chika sneered at the sight of us. I didn't have the energy to retort to the comment as I quickly charanaried with KusuKusu. "Clown Drop!" I exclaimed as I glared at Chika directly. "What are you doing to our friends?" I asked as Chika shrugged oh-so innocently. "I don't know. I was thinking something along the lines of shooting some gamma rays, x-rays, and then ultraviolet rays to see who would die first…" she spoke nonchalantly, as if listing the possible places she could visit for her summer vacation. I gritted my teeth against each other. "Sasaki Chika, you are disgusting," I spat, as Chika's carefree expression immediately dissolved into her usual distasteful visage.
"Likewise, Mashiro." Suddenly, her glare was wiped from her face. "Anyways, I wanted to play a game with you guys!" Chika exclaimed as she hopped off from the glass container and landed firmly on the ground. "I call it Truth Questions," Chika said. "C'mon, come a little closer! I won't bite—hard," she snickered as Nagihiko and my expressions barely twitched.
"So, the game works like this," Chika continued. "I'll ask you guys a question. You have to respond truthfully. If it's a lie, one of your friends will—well, let's give a live example," she said as she clapped her two hands together. Immediately, an X-Egg materialized in the glass container. The gang's eyes widened slightly, knowing the danger of the X-Egg. The X-Egg then began to glow, brighter and brighter, until it finally burst.
"AHHHHHHH!" Screams and shouts came from inside the glass container. My eyes widened as I took a step towards them but Nagihiko stopped me. After the smoke inside cleared up, I found most of the gang slightly injured with scrapes and bruises on their skin. Chika grinned devilishly. "Of course, each X-Egg will be bigger, stronger, and more dangerous. Well, ready to begin?" she said, as she pretended to hold a microphone.
"Welcome to Chika's First Truth Questions Contest! Contestants, are you ready?" Chika asked evilly, grinning at the nervous me and Nagihiko. "Nagihiko-kun, you're first!" she exclaimed in a mock fangirl voice. Nagihiko glared at Chika but took a step forward. "Chika-chan, you must agree to set them free if we answer all the questions truthfully," Nagihiko said as Chika grinned. "Sure. But don't worry; you won't answer truthfully. You won't," she said as I flinched. What could she be up to?
"So, Nagihiko, first question! Did you enjoy cross-dressing as Nadeshiko?" Chika asked innocently. Nagihiko flinched at the question and kept his mouth closed for a long time.
"No," he finally answered. "Dancing is my true call, but as a girl, I simply can't—" Here, Nagihiko was cut off by a buzzer. "WRONG!" Chika exclaimed as an X-Egg appeared in the glass container. "You enjoyed it. You could dance so well and beat other girls, even though you were a guy. So when your sister came back, you hated her. She danced so well, that you couldn't beat her. You hated her from kicking you out of your expertise. So you were forced to change your attention to stuff like basketball and hip-hop. Hmm…is that true?" Chika asked as the X-Egg exploded. After some coughs and the smoke cleared up, Nadeshiko was staring at Nagihiko weirdly. "So you changed to hip-hop cause I took over your expertise, huh?" she questioned. Nagihiko opened his mouth to retort but quickly shut it, taking a step back. I blinked. How had this happened?
"Next, Yaya-chii!" Chika exclaimed, turning towards the glass container. However, even the energetic girl couldn't help but frown at Chika. "So, Yaya-chii, who was your first crush? Why did you like him?" Chika asked. Yaya raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"Kuukai-kun," she said confidently. Everyone knew that, even Utau and Kairi. "I liked him cause he was a brotherly figure in my life and I could rely on—" Here, Yaya was cut off as well by a big buzzer, as an X-Egg appeared in the container once more. After it exploded, Chika giggled.
"Yaya-chii, you've gotten yourself all messed up! Have you forgotten? You liked Kuukai-kun because he was a jock, tough and strong and able to protect you from things, not like some glasses nerd who pretends to be a samurai to act tough," Chika said. I could almost see Kairi's heat sink and he looked up at Yaya tiredly. "Yaya, is that how you think of me?" he asked as he turned away before Yaya could explain.
I could kinda see Chika's plan here.
"Next, our personal favorite heroine, Hinamori Amu!" Chika exclaimed. Nervously, Amu's head turned up as she looked at Chika. Chika grinned widely. "So, Amu-chan! Tell us how you feel about Tadase-kun!" she exclaimed as Amu's eyes widened.
"U—uhh…" Amu nervously looked towards Tadase who nodded encouragingly. "T—Tadase is a great friend, and he always supports me, and—" Here, Amu was similarly cut off by the buzzer and an X-Egg exploded. "No, incorrect! You hate Tadase! He was a childish guy stupidly leading you on when you had a small crush on him! He caused you to cry for all those days! He's the reason you hadn't hooked up with Ikuto sooner! You find his egotistical moments with Kiseki annoying so you slip away secretly whenever that happens!" Hey! That's not true! It's cause she's usually going to call me to get the bucket! "You find his stupid smile to be too cheesy and annoying! Even though he's the King of the Guardians, he's no king in any of your hearts!" she screeched. Sadly, Tadase hung his head down. "Yeah…I guess that's how it is…" he spoke sadly as he shrunk into the corner.
Slowly, Chika ripped us apart, limb by limb. She accused Utau of always comparing Kuukai to Ikuto when Kuukai did things with her, with Ikuto always being better. She said that Ikuto always found Amu's blushing annoying—it just proved how childish she was when she was already so much younger than him. Tadase detested Ikuto still for stealing Amu from him and never returning his key, "being the selfish person he was." Though Nadeshiko was always helping Yaya, she secretly felt annoyed by the brunette's enthusiasm all the time and wished she would just shut up. Kuukai never liked it when Utau beat him in competitions—he was a man and his pride just wouldn't allow it. Kairi supposedly thought of me as a selfish, cold, cruel queen who couldn't care less for her subjects. Ouch. That really hurt, coming from Kairi.
"And last but not least, our personal favorite, Mashiro Rima." Didn't she already say Amu was the personal favorite? Ah well. "So, tell me, Rima, what do you think of Nagihiko?"
I froze. What was I supposed to say?
Was I supposed to say I loved him? Was I supposed to say I hated them? Neither sounded like the truth. None were really true. Frenemies still? That sounds off too. What was Nagihiko to me? A mere person? A mere illusion? A lover? A—a—a—
"I don't know," I admitted quietly. The buzzer rang again as another X-Egg exploded. "WRONG!" she exclaimed as loud as she could, and as harshly as she could. "You hate him. You despise him to the very core. He lied to everyone, saying he was 'Nadeshiko'—or so he was. He taunts you and teases you at every opportunity he has. He mocks your pettiness, your uselessness, your broken family. He hates you and you despise him, end of story," Chika finished satisfactorily. Nagihiko's head hung downwards limply as his fists clenched. When had he gotten so far from me?
"T—that's not true!" I exclaimed in protest. Chika jeered. "You think? Then what do you think about him?" she asked. I gulped.
I…
I…
I…
"I LOVE HIM!" I blurted out. Chika's sneer dropped, Nagihiko's fists loosened, and everyone in the glass container looked up expectantly.
"Alright, I admit, I hated him at first," I broke down, spilling my story. "He was annoying, he mocked my height, my low IQ, my supposed queenly status, and everything. He mocked me and teased me for his own enjoyment. Who wouldn't hate him? But slowly, I grew to like him. The mocks were simply to distract me from other stuff and concentrate my hate on him. The teasing was to get me to blush and also to not think about other hateful things. I love him, and that's true! Sure, initially I didn't like him, but that's passed. We've grown on each other; our hate relationship is completely dependent on the love. I FREAKING LOVE FUJISAKI NAGIHIKO."
The entire room fell silent.
Suddenly, Chika began laughing.
"AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she hollered aloud, directly laughing at my outburst. "O—oh my gosh, I c—can't believe you just—just said that. You're—you're hil—hilarious, Ma—Mashiro," she managed out weakly, dramatically wiping a few tears from her eyes. "You seriously think you can love someone like him? A liar—a cross-dresser—a stupid, vulgar, long-haired, purple-headed, Fujisaki freak?" she spat out ruthlessly. "You must have some mistakes in the mind, 'cause that boy ain't ever gonna find someone who can accept a cross-dresser. The social convention of the year is: gender. Keep your gender clear. Who would accept a cross-dresser willingly unless forced? Or are you forced? Does your mom want you to marry the Fujisaki family for their money? That sounds logical. Or maybe the fame. Yeah, cause Nagihiko's famous nowadays for his abnormal performance in basketball. Hmm…and in the end, it all comes down to human greed. How selfish," Chika spat, turning around once more. I blinked. No, that wasn't true! I loved him for him! How could she—"Sasaki, you take that—" I began fiercely, but Nagihiko cut me off.
"It's alright, Rima-chan," he said so sorrowfully I wanted to slap him and change him back to optimistic, teasing Nagihiko. "B—but—" I stuttered hesitantly, unsure of what to say. What was I supposed to say? I loved him—again? Evidently, that won't work. B—b—but—
"Leave Rima alone!" a sharp voice came from the glass container. Everyone's heads turned towards the source of the voice: Amu. I looked expectantly at her. Please, Amu, give your life-inspiring speech. Save the freakin' world and get this all over with, I—I—I—
My heart really aches.
"Hinamori Amu, what more do you have to say about Tadase, huh?" Chika challenged. Amu narrowed her eyes down on Chika as if challenging her words. "Lies. All your said were lies," Amu said surely.
"These people are my friends. I've known them since 5th grade. Though I only knew Nadeshiko after 8th grade, she's still my dear friend. I love them and whatever you say won't change it. I don't believe all that crap you just spouted about what they think. Wrong? Who's wrong? You're just saying that they're wrong—but you have no proof or anything! They're not wrong! They're my friends! I—I FREAKING LOVE THEM AND TRUST THEM ALL!" Amu hollered aloud passionately.
New light is shed on our "dense" heroine.
"Do you really believe that, Amu?" Chika questioned. "You don't know Ikuto, do you? Can you tell me everything you know about him? I bet all you do is talk about useless stuff with him, like his favorite color or why he likes fish. All that is crap. How do you trust someone you barely know? How can you call someone whose ultimate intentions remain hidden whilst they present ignorance and innocence to you?" she hissed, her eyes darting towards Nagihiko threateningly.
"I don't," Amu spoke, as Chika sneered. "There ya go, honey. Now shut your mouth and keep to yourself, no one trusts you anyways," Chika said. We all looked at Amu confusingly. Amu wasn't the type of person to give up so easily.
"I don't," she repeated, attracting our attention. "But that's exactly why they're my friends. Trust—what is trust? Should you trust everyone you know? No. That's an insult. If you trust everyone you know, then who is a friend? You trust everyone the same—you give no one the privilege to call you friend. Doubt. You must doubt people. While you doubt them, learn about them. Become their friend. Completely throwing your trust to them is giving up on trying to know and understand them. It is an insult to them. It is like you don't care about them—you're just calling them friend. Then is everyone your friend? No. So doubt. Don't trust—gain their trust, and give your trust to friends, not strangers. Doubt is good," Amu spoke. We all blinked at the pink-headed heroine.
"Friend. What is a friend? Everyone constantly tells you that everyone is your friend. Is that the truth? No. Not everyone's your friend. If everyone was, then what would be a friend? Nothing special, nothing in particular. I don't trust my friends, cause I want to get to know them better. I take the effort to try to get closer to them instead of immediately deciding to trust them. I don't trust—that's true. It's cause I love my friends."
Amu finished slightly awkwardly, as she blushed. "Th—that's why you're wrong. Trust and friendship have nothing to do with each other. You shouldn't immediately trust—learn to trust," Amu finished.
The entire lab was in complete silence. Finally, Chika sighed.
"I guess…Shizue was right," she said, as a black feather dropped from her wings. "I don't know…protect isn't as easy as I thought. I keep hurting while I protect. What am I doing wrong?" she questioned aloud as another feather dropped. Slowly, as Chika began her apologies to everyone, she dropped from the sky and the black feathers fell. Her hair's color changed back to brown and her eyes turned to the usual chocolate brown. Finally, reaching the floor, she was wingless and her eyes were closed.
Blink.
"Chika-chan…" her Chara…Shizue? Anyways, Shizue patted her owner's back and smiled. "Are you alright?" Shizue asked as Chika smiled weakly. "I—I guess. I—I—" Chika herself was cut off by another at the doorway.
"C—Chika," a masculine voice stuttered. Again, the entire gang turned their heads towards the source—what the heck, Chika's DAD?
"P—Papa," Chika stuttered. Hesitantly, she took a wary step towards her father. After seeing his warm smile, the poor girl dashed towards him and threw herself into his embrace, crying her heart out. I smiled at the touching family scene as Chika broke herself away from her father's embrace.
"Papa?" she questioned warily, as he smiled warmly at Chika. "Yes?" he asked patiently and kindly. Chika bit her bottom lip, her face facing the ground.
"I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely as her father chuckled. "Kiddo, it's my bad for letting you go crazy," he said as Chika grinned wide. "C'mon now, let's get going. You don't wanna tomorrow morning, do you?" he asked, as he motioned for Chika to scurry down the halls first. Hesitantly, Chika took a step away and walked down the halls. He then turned to us.
"I'm sorry, but it's getting late. Your parents are probably worrying. Should we talk tomorrow after your school is out? You may come home with Chika," he said wearily. I nodded and the man smiled. "Good night. I've released security." He took a step away but hesitated and turned back. "Also, little blonde girl, thank you very much," he said before dashing away.
…
Say WWWWHHHHAAAATTTT?
Now, I wasn't freaking out about the 'little blonde girl' comment (though that definitely wasn't needed) but rather about what I was to be thanked for.
Ooh crap.
I just remembered.
The whole entire confession. I'd forgotten about it while listening to Amu's awe-inspiring speech.
Now that everything was like this, what was gonna happen to me and Nagihiko?
A/N: Well, sorry for the completely rushed chapter. I just didn't feel like dragging on this story anymore than it needs to. I'm beginning to dislike this story more and more by the minute, mostly cause Chika's such a Mary-Sue (now that I've realized). Sigh. Hopefully I'll improve by the next FanFic.
Anyways, I just wanted to take a moment and thank my reviewers. I haven't ever thanked you guys specifically before but now I feel like there's a need to. Special shout-out to those who continued reviewing after my four-month hiatus. You guys mean a lot to me and your reviews are my inspiration. Thank you guys so much. :)
Anyways, hope you've enjoyed and please leave a review if you'd like! :D
[By the way, Amu's speech was inspired by the manga Liar Game (or was it Liar's Game? Ah well, about the same). Really climatic, suspenseful plot if you like hinted mysteries. It's a psychology manga and extremely interesting. :) I couldn't have written something so inspiring. What'd you expect from me? I'd wish though ;)]
