I DO NOT OWN SHUGO CHARA, ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS, OR ANY LICENSED MATERIAL THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS STORY AND CHAPTER.
THIS STORY IS RATED T FOR LANGUAGE AND CONTENT SO BEWARE OF THE LANGUAGE!
As promised, I've updated soon enough, so you don't forget what happened in the previous chapter :) . Anyhoo, the story is winding down TRUST ME. This is a bit of a filler, but it is absolutely necessary! I swear. The next chapter, chapter 30, is all about Rimahiko :) and the chapter after that, and the chapter after that. It's just so much has happened to Rima and Nagihiko that there are many misunderstandings that needs to be addressed. I think I'm shooting for 33 chapters, so it should be done reasonably soon.
Taking One for the Team
CHAPTER 29: Is There Like a Signal?
RIMA POV:
All of a sudden, it didn't matter that Amu and I had been fighting. It didn't matter that I said such a horrible thing to her or that she had even called me a bitch. As soon as I saw Ikuto storm out of the room, I was overcome with grief for Amu. I couldn't believe it; I felt as though my own boyfriend had just left me over a stupid misunderstanding. I felt embarrassed for her. I felt embarrassed that everyone saw her inner most feelings for Tadase. I was embarrassed for her more so than I was for myself.
Yeah, my love journal entry was all over the place on little flyers too. I was not so embarrassed, however. I mean, I was kind of embarrassed about the fact that my pretend date with Kairi ended up in a journal where my feelings about Nagihiko go, now that everyone has to see it. I knew, though, that neither Yaya nor Kairi gave a shit. I mean they were sad, probably because they knew everyone would get the wrong idea, but the fact that they knew I meant nothing by it was all that I cared about.
I rushed over to Amu and threw myself onto her. She immediately gripped onto me, and shoved her red, tear-stained, face into my chest and used it to drown out the sound of her cries.
"Okay, so I'm sorry right…but what the hell is this about?" Yumi said finally.
Everyone glared at her as though she had said something way inappropriate. She glared back at everyone in defiance and continued talking.
"Seriously guys. I mean I understand that Amu and Rima were just sabotaged, but these are some kind of diary entries, right?" She speculated holding up one of the flyers, "Well, where the heck did it come from? Like, who made these things? Also, where is this diary?"
"It's a love journal," I sighed, embarrassed about even saying these words.
"A what?" Lulu laughed. I felt even shittier after Yamamoto Lulu laughed at me. Lulu…the spaz…was laughing at me.
"A love journal," I repeated a little more abrasively, "Amu and I write about all the fluffy shit that goes on in our lives in our Love journal, okay?"
"So," Yaya interrupted, "Rima-chi thinks that what happened between her and Yaya's boyfriend was 'Fluffy'?"
"Yaya!" I gasped, "You know it's not like that…It could've been any guy with me, I just…"
"You just what?" Saaya pressed, her never ending interest in gossip fueling her. I sighed, and looked at all my friends. These people I was about to trust with a sacred secret.
"It could've been any guy, I just felt a certain 'fluffiness' because it was my…my…" I sighed once more, "First date, okay?"
"Get out of motherfucking town!" Lulu gasped.
"Wow," Saaya joined, "How old are you?"
"Come on, who else would I have gone on a date with before, huh? I'm freaking scary, remember? You know, you guys weren't always my friends, there was a time before that….remember?" I rambled on in embarrassment.
"Yeah, Yeah," Yumi dismissed the topic.
"U-Um," Tadase stammered. Everyone turned to the blonde with curious faces, "Well…how did…entries from this journal end up on flyers distributed everywhere like this?"
"I…" Amu began with a sniff, as I remembered she was still crying into my chest, "Brought the stupid journal to Tokyo even though Rima said not to! I am an idiot! I am so stupid, and there is nothing I can ever do about it!"
"Amu shut up!" I hissed at her. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy for yelling at this distraught teenager, I continued to speak roughly, "Enough with this stupid thing, Amu. Only I am allowed to call you stupid, okay? You're not allowed to call yourself stupid, okay? Shut up! Until I say you're stupid, you're the smartest thing on earth okay? Shut up!"
"Okay," She wimpered.
"Alright everyone, it seems that we are overlooking something," Nagihiko spoke finally.
"What?" Yumi asked, excited.
"These flyers are digital copies," Nagihiko stated.
"Yeah, so?" Saaya asked.
"It means," Kairi said speaking up suddenly, "In order for this to have happened, someone must've intentionally taken Hinamori's journal, read through it, chose which entries where the most controversial, scanned it, made digital copies of it, formatted it into a flyer and printed several copies of it,"
Everyone was quiet at this point. We all knew what this meant.
"…and all of this would've had to of happened in the course of this one night," Kairi continued, "Unless, of course, Hinamori's journal was snatched the night before."
"I had it the night before, it was definitely tonight." Amu said.
"This also means," Nagihiko spoke this time, "That all of us are suspects,"
"Bitch, stop being dramatic, Amu and Rima are our friends!" Yumi squeaked.
"Well, what about Saaya and Lulu, how close are they exactly to Amu-chi and Rima-chi, and besides Lulu was the one who conveniently found the flyers," Yaya speculated.
"Oh yeah?" Saaya started, "It may have just as well been you then! I mean, how do we really know you are their friends either?"
"I'm not involving myself in this, when it is clear who the culprit is!" Tadase exclaimed.
"Tadase?" Amu sniffed.
"The way I see it, the ones who did it, are the ones who aren't even here," Tadase mused.
"Utau!?" Saaya and Lulu shrieked.
"Kukai!" Amu and I added.
"Well that's very logical," Kairi complimented.
O.O.O.O
"We're here" Kukai announced as he helped Utau climb through the window of the boy's bedroom. She slapped his hand away and they both blushed. Kukai's eyes darted around the room, "So what's the emergency?"
"What have you guys been doing all night?" Nagihiko pried immediately.
"Where is Ikuto?" Kukai asked nervously, "What's going on?"
"Amu, are you okay?" Utau asked suddenly, "You are redder then normal!"
"Answer my question, why are you avoiding it?" Nagihiko pressed.
"We were on the roof; we're always on the roof. Guys, what is going on?" Kukai asked even more concerned.
"This is going on!" Amu sobbed flinging the pile of flyers at him as they all scattered to the floor. Utau looked confused and picked up one of the flyers, her eyes scanned the words for a moment. We watched as her eyebrows furrowed and a high-pitched gasp was released.
"Amu!" She cried, "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!"
Utau started towards the group of us, when Kukai held her back. She blushed and slapped his hand away once again. She glared at him but he was too busy looking at us with a hurt expression.
"You guys seriously think that we did this?" He asked.
We all stayed quiet. Utau froze.
"Oh my god, it's true! You do!" He exclaimed, "Utau, they think we did this."
"What?" Utau said. She looked at all of our faces, "I…"
"Come on, let's go back to the roof," Kukai mumbled placing his hand on her back, "I don't know who to trust anymore,"
"I can't blame them, Kukai." Utau said. Kukai stopped and looked at her in shock. We all did. Everything was happening so fast. One minute the worst thing in the world is losing Nagihiko to Yura, the next is yelling at my best friend, then the flyers, then the accusations, and now Utau is giving in to it? Just what does that mean, and why do I feel so guilty?
"I am the bitch after all, aren't I?"
Utau looked like she was about to cry, and then all of a sudden Ikuto busted into the room.
"Okay, so I thought about it and…someone would've had to intentionally…" He began as he entered the room.
"Yeah…way ahead of you Ikuto," I said to him spitefully, breaking away from the concerned thoughts flowing through my mind about Utau.
"I figured," He hissed back, "I also suspected you would accuse Kukai and Utau. Did you guys ever consider that someone would've had to use a printer?"
"Duh, Ikuto." Yumi spat, annoyed at his arrogance at the moment.
"Well, if you know this then why aren't you downstairs?" Ikuto asked smugly. We all stopped to look at each other in confusion. He can't just storm out of the room and then come back in here acting all high and mighty!
"What?"
"There is only one public printer in this building, and that's downstairs, and there are cameras downstairs…." Ikuto explained.
"Oh my gosh! We can find out who did it!" Amu exclaimed.
Everyone looked at each other as we were suddenly overflowing with relief. I grabbed onto Amu's had, reassuringly. Ikuto glanced at us, then averted his gaze. I supposed this was because he was still mad or something.
"Alright, shows over folks," Yaya shouted to the rest of the basketball team. All of our drama had awoken them and they were gazing intently at us waiting for the newest development.
"Aww man," They sighed and went back to their slumber.
The rest of us looked at each other seriously. This time, no one was sneezing in front any room, we were on a mission, and we meant business!
O.O.O.O
NORMAL POV:
"What do you mean we can't have access to the footage?"
"Look," The Hotel employee began, addressing the angry group of teenagers before him, "I'd really like to help you guys out, and I understand your predicament, and what we're dealing with here, but I just can't allow you to access the footage from tonight without authorization from higher management and a confirmed report of theft. For all I know, this entire story could be made up as some joke. I can tell that it isn't, but I can't just comply with everyone's request to access the footage from the security cameras."
The group fell silent. What now? If they didn't find out who did this, they'd all be suspects…how could they live and play on the basketball team alongside one another thinking the worst of each other? Who would want to hurt Amu and Rima? Well…it could've been any of them. Yet every single one of them stood before this man angry and determined so that the two girls who changed the rules and decided to be cheerleaders could dry their tears and be happy. They were a team…not just for school…for life. They were friends, all of them! They couldn't just sit back and allow somebody to ruin all of it!
"How do we gain authorization from higher management," Kairi inquired.
"Well," The employee began leaning back in his rolling office chair, "First, you have to explain to your teachers what happened and they'll handle it from there and make the report."
"We can't just…" Yumi began angrily when Saaya cut her off quickly.
"Thank you for your advice, we'll like definitely follow through with that plan!" Saaya said sweetly. She flashed him a smile and she lead the group of teens away from his desk and back to the first floor lounge.
"Saaya, why did you just end it like that? It better be because you have a plan or you know who did it." Lulu warned. The rest of the crew looked at Saaya expecting, and hoping for, a genius plan. Saaya offered them an excited grin before laying it out for them.
"That guy…he looked kind of young, right?"
"Well yeah, Saaya, they have young people working now a days," Yumi mumbled. Everyone was wondering what his age had to do with anything.
"Then that's all we need. He's guarding the camera room…where there are probably like two or three other guys in there, right?"
"Traditionally, I suppose that's what we should expect." Kairi responded, "What is your strategy, may I ask?"
"Okay, I'm like so sure I can distract that guy." Saaya replied, "But that's the first stage."
"How are you so sure?" Rima pressed, giving into her preconceived notions about Saaya's brains.
"Look, I may not know what the hell I'm supposed to do or how to get the tape we need once I get in to that camera room…I'll be like so confused. But, I know when a guy likes me, or can easily be toyed with, and listen to me my friends…he's lonely and I can tell he likes me."
"Really Saaya? That guy was just doing his job how the hell does that translate to him liking you?" Ikuto scoffed, unimpressed.
"A girl just knows. Listen to me guys, because, I'm like the only chance we've got right now."
"You know, Saaya may be a little airheaded but I do have confidence in her in this department," Yumi assured.
"Ditto." Utau whispered.
"She is really good at this." Lulu vouched looking at all the disbelievers seriously.
"Fine! What is this genius plan?" Rima sighed, caving in.
"First, I distract him, then you guys sneak in and handle the guys inside by doing whatever to them because you're like gonna get away with it, but I'll explain that in a minute…so you eliminate the inside guys, use Kairi's computer skills to locate the tape we need and the tape of me and the guy outside talking and kissing, and then I will like make sure that this guy ignores our little stunt or else we can show this stupid higher management what he does on the job, got it?"
"How are you going to get him to kiss you?"
"How do we take care of the inside guys?"
"Oh come on! Just trust me, okay? Also, you guys are like a whole team of basketball players you can handle two security guys."
"Well it's all we got," Yumi admitted.
"If this fails, we could get in SO MUCH TROUBLE though. We're already in deep shit!" Rima exclaimed.
"But you guys are worth it right? This friendship we all have…this group of ours…whoever did this…we can't continue having them as a friend. We can't go on having one of us screw us over for the rest of our lives. We can't let the people who sabotaged Amu and Rima get off so easy." Yumi said earnestly.
"Yaya wants to do the plan! It sounds like fun!"
"According to what I've gathered so far, if you all are assured of Yamabuki-san's ability to seduce, I reckon that this plan is perhaps very strategically sound if we all follow through with it exactly as Yamabuki-san has described." Kairi confirmed.
"Will you be able to access what we need, Kairi, can you figure that computer out?" Amu asked.
"Indeed."
"Well, what are we waiting for, it's late!"
O.O.O.O
The employee sat at his desk typing away at something on his computer, whatever his boss had assigned him to do. It was just another night on the job, quiet and somehow peaceful when a sweet melodic voice interrupted his usual lonesome tasks.
"I'm sorry to bother you again,"
He looked up and his eyes met with the pretty girl from Seiyo High, the one he had been admiring just a few moments before. He couldn't help but notice how tight her white tee fit her as it emphasized her round chest even more than it naturally was. Her pink pajama pants were slack and adorable adding to her aura of innocence that drew him in. He restrained himself and allowed his professional front to take control.
"Yes, what is it mam?"
"Well," She began swaying from side to side, she tapped her chin with her long beautifully done French tips and smiled ever so slowly, "You know how I was here earlier?"
"I recall."
"I don't know if it's like your job to help with these kind of things but I think I like dropped my earing here in all of that confusion. I'm so sorry but I don't know what to do, I can't really see anything because it's so dark and I like wear these annoying contacts and I don't have them."
He looked at her distressed expression and felt himself giving in to her charm. He took another look at her and her adorable bouncy honey colored curls and sighed in defeat. He was useless against girls like her. He got up from his chair, bent over and started searching.
"Thank you so much!" the girl squealed. As he stared at the dark, shadowy floor he didn't notice the other figures stealthily swoop behind him and enter the camera room.
"What do your earrings look like, mam?"
"They're little pink hearts," She replied. As he searched and searched, he heard the girl sigh and begin talking again, "You know, I don't know if you like know this but you almost look like my age. You're young right?"
"Eighteen mam."
"What? Wow! You're so cool working at eighteen. What is it like? Do you mind me asking?"
He blushed at the question, and was flattered in fact. No one ever made it seem like working so young was a good thing.
"It's alright I guess. I mean, it's work…I don't like it, but it's very independent, and it kind of suits me. It depends what kind of eighteen-year-old you are." He responded.
"Independent, huh? I wish I could be independent! Everything I do, I depend on others. Well teamwork is really important of course, when you're a cheerleader you know that for sure. It's about how we all look overall, our timing and our look. You can't have a one man squad, absolutely every single person is important."
"So you're here for cheerleading?" He asked. Wow, and to think tonight started out with him being scolded by his super aggressive supervisor, and now here he was talking to a cheerleader!
"Can't you tell?" She whispered. He saw her feet inch closer to his own as he continued scanning the floor. He stood up straight immediately and found himself face to face with the girl, "I'm the most flexible on the whole squad."
He could not bring himself to admit what he was feeling at that moment.
O.O.O.O
"Are you almost done Kairi? Holding these guys back is becoming difficult!" Kukai whined as he was forced to hold down one very large security guard.
"The tape is downloading to my disk. However, at the moment I'm downloading all the footage from last night, if I can isolate the period when the book was scanned and printed we don't really need the rest." Kairi replied.
"Yaya will keep scanning through the video." Yaya assured, "I just don't see any movement in the room with the public printer."
"This is getting out of hand!" Ikuto grunted as he helped Kukai pin the guard down.
"WAIT! YAYA SAW SOMETHING! How does she rewind? Rewind!" Yaya exclaimed suddenly. The group crowded around the computer screens to watch as Kairi rewinded, "Look, there! PAUSE IT!"
They all watched in awe as a little boy entered the room, avoided the printer, went straight to the photocopier and flung it open. He pressed a small book against the scanner part and pressed a button. Pages and pages came out the machine and he gathered them all up in a special folder.
"That's the love journal!" Amu verified. Rima couldn't help but sigh, remembering a week ago when she had specifically told the strawberry head not to bring the stupid love journal to stupid Tokyo.
"Right, I am isolating this part of the footage, it shouldn't be too long now." Kairi confirmed tapping away.
"Lulu? Has Saaya completed her part yet?" Yumi asked. Lulu giggled and shook her head as she watched the group of teens eagerly.
"She's completing it all now as we speak."
Everyone glanced at the screen that gave a visual of right outside the camera room as Saaya and the other employee found themselves entwined in one another, kissing passionately.
"U-uh, yes….Isolating that footage as well." Kairi said awkwardly as he tapped away again, "Downloading."
"Should we get Saaya, is there like a signal or something we can do?" Amu inquired. Yaya smirked as she pressed a button on the computer.
"Saaya-chi you can come inside now." Yaya squealed into the microphone.
"What the hell Yaya? What If you had broadcasted that to the entire hotel?" Yumi admonished concerned.
"Yaya is quite aware of how to operate a machine such as this. What she has just done has been broadcasted through a tiny speaker on the camera aimed at Yamambuki and the staff member. Look at the screen," Kairi explained to the group.
Sure enough Saaya gave a thumbs up to the camera and entered the camera room. The employee trailed behind her concerned.
"Wow!" She said as she entered, "I totally knew we could do it!"
"What's going on?" the man asked her touching her shoulder firmly. She slapped his hand away immediately and turned to him.
"You're an awesome kisser. Too bad that's not like your job or something. This is your job, and I'm pretty sure kissing cheerleaders isn't part of like the description so unless you want your boss to like find out about all of this you and those two other guards better zip it and let us go with our tape." Saaya explained confidently.
Rima watched from the side as this girl who she used to gossip about all the time, defended Rima and put her own self on the line for Rima. She also had to admit that this girl was being really bad ass too. Even though it was easy to Judge Saaya, as it turned out…she was pretty damn awesome.
"Okay whatever just go…now." The employee begged with his head down in shame.
"You heard him." Saaya said with a smirk, "Kairi-kun? Did you get what we need?"
"Affirmative, Yamabuki."
"Mission accomplished!" Lulu squealed.
Then, everyone looked at her for being a corny loser and ruining the moment.
O.O.O.O
"Why would a little boy do this to Rima and Amu?" Kukai asked as the group sat around on the floor watching the tape over and over again.
"The question is, who would ask him to." Tadase corrected.
Everyone sat around the computer, fully awake—which probably was due to the fact that they all took very early naps—and analyzing the tape repetitively.
"That's it! I remember now!" Yumi squealed, "I remember that little boy! He was in the elevator when I was going in earlier today…and he was on our floor!"
"That must mean he was meeting with the culprit." Tadase reasoned, "But, how can we trust Minazaki's word? We're all, after all, suspects in this case."
"Look, we've got to find that little boy. Even if Yumi is lying we know that we need to talk to that boy for sure." Lulu defended.
"Fourth floor!" Yumi squealed again, unaware of everyone speculating her merit as a witness, "I remember now, he was really scared…he got off on the fourth floor at the room all the way to the end!"
"So what? We can't just burst into the room and interrogate him." Ikuto snarled.
"Well, this isn't Disney channel I'm pretty sure the kid doesn't live in that hotel room…he has to come out sometime, and when he does we'll interrogate the shit out of him." Rima vowed.
"So what's the plan?"
O.O.O.O
Morning slowly crept in as Takara awoke at the sight of the hotel room he and his family had been staying in.
"Takara-chann," His mommy called out to him, "Go downstairs and meet your father at the deli okay?"
Once he got dressed in his usual way, he opened the doors casually and unalarmed…and was tackled to the ground by a group of teenage girls.
"Hey cutie, do you remember me?"Yumi asked little Takara. He looked at the dark haired girl and was suddenly very nervous, "I think you have something that belongs to my friend, don't you?"
"I…u-um….why are you being mean to me? I don't know you! MOMMY!" Takara panicked getting ready to run back into the room. Ikuto shut the hotel room door and glared at the little boy.
"We're being mean to you?" Rima laughed, "Maybe it may seem like that to you, so, I'll go easy on you. Just tell me who told you to do this to us, and you can go. Tell me. Who gave you my red book? Who taught you to use the scanner?
"I…you're the curly haired girl I'm not supposed to talk to!" He squealed, "Please, leave me alone, I don't know anything. Don't hurt me with your knife, please."
"My knife? How does he know…." Rima began when her eyes widened in surprise, "It is one of us, isn't it? Who told you about my knife? Who told you to scan the book? WHO?"
"IT….please, stop!"
"Stop." Tadase commanded, making his way through the crowd of his friends. He approached the little boy cautiously. "Don't be scared. You see, the book that you scanned belongs to this curly haired girl. It's her book and she needs it. The little papers with the things said in that book is going to embarrass my friend. It made her really sad. If you just tell her who told you to do it, we'll leave you alone, and we'll be very, very, grateful. Okay?"
"Well…um….you s-see…." Takara sniffled, "I'm scared, but, if you need my help…."
"TELL ME!" Amu screamed.
"It was the pretty onee-san with the pig tails!" Takara squealed. In shock, Yumi loosened her grip on him and he ran away down the hall, in tears.
Everyone turned and looked at Utau.
"It was the obvious choice all along!" Ikuto laughed shaking his head, "We turned this entire hotel upside down when the obvious culprit was right in front of us!"
"Utau. How could you?" Amu sobbed clinging on to Rima, "This…this is meaner than before….you….Utau…she read my love journal!"
"I thought that you had changed…"Rima sighed, "I was really hoping that you had changed. That we could have been friends."
"Guys! That little boy said the pretty onee-san with pig tails…that doesn't mean it's Utau. I was with her all night, how could it be Utau?" Kukai defended loudly.
"Kukai, you don't understand! She's evil, and she has you wrapped around her skinny little finger. Open your eyes, man!" Ikuto pleaded.
"Utau?" Lulu asked desperately, "Just…say something, why aren't you saying anything?"
Utau titled her head to the side and smirked. She folded her arms and then shook her head, "Of course it was me!"
Kukai felt his heart sink and his entire body go into panic mode.
O.O.O.O
So…was it who you thought it was? Bwahahahahaha….I swear to god the next chappie is going to be a complete fluffy Rimahiko chapter, okay? Don't worry, man.
THANKS FOR READING! ONCE AGAIN, REVIEWS ARE APPRECIATED
NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW:
…..
"That's the best plan." Nikaidou agreed, "Can you deal with Rima for a whole day, Nagihiko?"
"EH!?" Kukai squealed, "Rima and Nagihiko are going to stay in the hotel together…alone?"
Ikuto nudged his spiky-haired friend in the side, "What are you doing? Trying to make it seem like they're gonna have sex?"
…
"Let me finish." Rima commanded gently, " I hated it, but I have been a bit untruthful. It wasn't because being alone at that concert was unpleasant. You know I can take care of myself. What I hated was losing you…I didn't want to lose you…to…another…girl…."
"Rima?"
…
"I swear to GOD!" Kukai shrieked, gripping Ikuto by his collar, "If you call her a bitch one more fucking time, I'll…."
"You'll what?" Ikuto taunted, shoving Kukai off of him forcefully, "You'll what?"
…
Shouta had never felt the urge to protect something so much, "You wanna get out of here?"