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!
Sorry this is like 700 hundred years late. You can't imagine what I've been through this summer. I would LOVE to vent to you guys about how dramatic my life is but I know you don't care so moving on...
Okay so I realized after proofing a lot of these chapters and sorting through all of my sweet reviews, that I paid a lot more attention to Kutau these past few chapters, more so than my Rimahiko. Well, I have good news for you, I'm getting out my fluffanator 5.0 app and turning up the heat with Rimahiko, even after Tokyo I plan to focus on the lives of Rima and Nagihiko a lot more closely.
Once Again, thanks to every single reviewer. I really appreciate it and I aim for ten reviews each chapter (even though I settle for like 4-6 reviews anyway)
***ALSO: Please ignore the typos and/ or grammatical errors that may appear in this chapter it's awfully rushed.
Taking One for the Team
CHAPTER 32: Loan Me Your Automobile
"Oh my god, I am so nervous. I like can't even breath!" Saaya shrieked as we left the Tailor's with our brand new fitted cheer uniforms.
"Aren't you like super nervous?" Lulu asked me.
"You have no idea."
So I had to make Nagihiko like me, but I didn't know how. As all of my friends expressed their anticipations for the big game. I stared at all of them and realized that I had been through so much with each of them, and I remembered what Shouta had said about being honest.
"Guys," I said as we all stood outside waiting for whatever was next on our "fun day" agenda. Everyone looked surprised, as I seldom initiated conversation since Nagihiko told me that he had a girlfriend.
"Yeah, Rima?" Amu asked. I could see the subtle hint of excitement on my childhood friend's face. I rolled my eyes a little. She seemed so afraid that I was gonna turn into a mute or at least how I was before all of them made me come out of my shell. I was sad over a teenage boy, not depressed.
"I like Nagihiko."
"Yes, Rima we know." Yumi sighed. They all gave me a somewhat incredulous look as if they were expecting something grand. It was my first initiated conversation in a while, after all.
"So, will you help me finally tell him the truth?"
"What?" Amu gasped a little, "You mean, like, you're going to actually confess? You're going to finally tell the truth?"
"Yes." I confirmed, all the girls smiled at me and I grinned back, "This time I want no one else to interrupt, sway our judgment, or lie on our behalf. I want it to be nothing but honesty, and I want it to be so grand that he can't possibly reject me."
"Rima-chi, even if it wasn't grand there's no way Nagi would reject you," Yaya assured me. I smiled at her in particular, then went back to beaming at the rest of the group.
"Also, Utau has to help." I told the girls.
They all looked at each other. Lulu and Saaya whispered amongst themselves for a bit, and the others just frowned. Then Amu finally took a stand and said: "Well, an apology to her is long overdue, regardless."
O.O.O.O
CRAZY LOOKING ARCADE
13:23 HOURS: ABOUT 6 HOURS UNTIL GAME TIME
We were in a pretty cool looking arcade messing around with the games. It was a part of our "Fun day" before the game, but we weren't really doing anything all that fun. We approached Utau. She was in the corner playing a shooting game with Kukai. They were really into it.
"On your right, baby!" Kukai exclaimed, and Utau shot to her right accordingly.
"I'm going in." Utau said and we could see her character on the screen moving into a broken down-like building, "Watch the perimeter."
"You got it."
We stood up watching them, waiting for them to finish their silly game. They couldn't see us because they were wearing glasses so they could see inside the game better. Finally, we saw Kukai's character get shot to his death and Utau's character fall down a couple of flights of stairs. 'GAME OVER' appeared on the screen and we all sighed in relief. Utau took off her glasses first and immediately saw us.
"Let's have some girl talk." I beckoned, and dragged her away just in time for Kukai to see us wandering around the corner with his girlfriend.
"Hey!" He cried.
I plunged into the ball pit, still clutching Utau's hands. All of the other girls followed.
"So," Amu began, "We'd like to start off by saying we are so sorry for assuming you were the culprit."
"We would all really like to still be friends," Lulu added with a smile.
"Of course we can still be friends," Utau replied immediately, "And look, I am sorry too. For, you know, acting like I did it and not defending myself."
"Don't be. We probably wouldn't have believed you anyway."
Utau offered us an awkward smile, and we all smiled back. Yaya started really getting into the ball pit thing and soon we were all submerging ourselves further beneath the colorful balls. We messed around and played for a bit, and then finally we got to business.
"Rima is going to like confess to Nagihiko, like properly," Saaya informed Utau.
"And I would really like your help making it so grand that he can't refuse me."
"What?" Utau squealed, "That's easy! You want romance and drama, right?"
I nodded.
"Well, then just run up to him, kiss him, and say 'I like you, I've never stopped liking you, and that's the truth,' right after Seiyo wins the game."
There were so many things that made that plan unstable, and it was somehow comforting. What it meant to me was: if Seiyo didn't win the game, if everything didn't fall magically into place, then I wouldn't have to go through with it. If Nagihiko and I were really meant to be, then the plan will work. If we're not, it won't.
"Alirght, that sounds perfect."
O.O.O.O
NORMAL POV:
HOTEL BALLROOM
15:35 HOURS: ABOUT 4 HOURS UNTIL GAME TIME
Everyone was busy preparing for the big game when Yaya decided to stumble upon the ballroom of the hotel. It was a wide open space, and the staff seemed to be removing some tables and chairs. Curiously, she entered. She had walked in just in time to hear a familiar musical piece. As confident as she was, she didn't fight the urge to begin dancing the routine taught to her during her ballet classes years ago.
Maybe she was a little rusty, maybe her technique was sloppy, but she was enjoying herself. She could hear her teacher comment on her posture, she could hear someone admonishing her about her shaking legs and her timing being too fast, but she was really enjoying herself. Like never before. Like she understood the piece for the first time.
"Liebestraum no.3?"
Yaya turned abruptly at the sound of that all-too familiar voice. She offered her boyfriend a smile and walked up to him as he leaned against the marble walls of the ballroom. He ruffled her hair a little, which made her pout. Stepping a few feet away from him, so that he can't ruffle her hair, she finally asked him her burning question.
"How did you know?"
"It's a famous piece," Kairi replied, inching near to her again. Yaya scooted further away, almost as if they were playing a subtle game of tag with each other. "Liebestruam…it means 'dreams of love,' right?"
"Hey, how should I know?" Yaya giggled. He flicked her forehead. "Hey!"
"You should make an effort to learn about all elements of your craft," She scooted away from him, "that includes the musical pieces you dance to, of course."
"Yaya wouldn't exactly call ballet her craft. Or any kind of dancing, really." Yaya said thoughtfully. Her fingers drummed against her bottom lip as she thought about her statement.
"Well what is your craft? Cheerleading?"
"As if,"
"What do you think the piece means? You do know there is liebestruam no.2 and no.1, right?"
"Yes, but no.3 is the most famous." Yaya replied, "And Yaya guesses it is about dreaming of love?"
"You're a beautiful dancer, you know."
Yaya blushed at the sudden compliment. She looked down and tried to hide the redness of her face but soon found out her bashfulness was short-lived due to the familiar flick against her forehead. She managed to pout and cry out: "Hey!"
"Dance some more," Kairi urged. He offered up his signature smile and she bit her lip and went back to blushing.
"They've stopped playing the music, you know."
Her excuse wasn't fool-proof it seemed, because before she knew it Kairi was talking to the staff and had offered up Yaya's iPod. She gasped as she wondered when he found the opportunity to snatch it up. The lovely instrumental of Make Me Feel Sad by Koichi Sugiyama, graced the inside of the ballroom. Yaya smiled. It was a wonderful choice, really.
"I don't know a dance to this!" She called out to her boyfriend. He just offered her a shrug and a smile. She soon met the gaze of a number of staff members expecting her to do something. She sighed and tried to remember a dance she had been taught that at least matched the music. She watched as Kairi smiled at her and she thought to herself for a moment, before she plunged into the greatest dance she'll ever pull off: 'it really doesn't matter if Kairi and Yaya don't last very long, right now this first love, is all that Yaya needs. Yaya doesn't feel insecure anymore, as long as she has Kairi-kun who can do anything, I'll be just fine.'
O.O.O.O
GIRLS ROOM
17:00 HOURS: 2 HOURS UNTIL GAME TIME
"The bus is here." Utau said to Rima. She shook Rima's shoulder violently, "The bus is here, right now, this moment. It's happening, it's time. It's happening, Rima! It's game time! You ready? Because I am ready!"
"I'm not! I'm not!" Rima squeaked, her make-up appearing as though it was done by a raccoon. Utau shook her head and gripped Rima by the chin, "It's just, what if we don't win, what if I mess up, oh my god, I cannot do that cartwheel fast enough, the blood will rush to my head and ill be too dizzy to drop to the floor, then Kamen's jump will be ruined! Which is kind of funny, but I can't let my personal grudges get involved, I need to do what is best for the team, my god." Utau took out a handkerchief and dabbed at Rima's face, removing all excess make up.
"There, now you look presentable," Utau smiled, "And you're going to do great, of course. You were made for this,"
"Made for what?" Rima asked as she grabbed her hand mirror and analyzed her face. Her eyes weren't too dark, and her lips had a nice red-flush, and you couldn't really tell it was lipstick. She had hoped it wouldn't rub off, she just couldn't lick her lips too much.
"Made to charm," Utau said as she hugged Rima and smiled, "Now let's get the heck out of this dingy-ass room, we got a stadium to rock the shit out of!"
O.O.O.O
"Okay guys," Nikaidou said, standing at the front of the bus as everyone settled into their seats, "Back home, we're famous for our basketball, and we didn't earn that title because everyone else is bad. We're good, and we didn't get here just by cruising through. It's been tough, beating Toyotomi was a stretch, and I am proud of all of you. Every single one of you has what it takes to make the winning basket, it's up to you what you do with that power, that strength, that endurance, and of course our undeniable teamwork. On three: One…two…three…."
"SEIYO!"
"Sanjo-san, would you care to give the cheerleaders a pep-talk?" Tsukasa-sensei asked. Sanjo stood up, looked at all the girls seriously and smirked.
"Kick ass,"
Tsukasa sighed, "Thank you for that, Sanjo-san."
The rest of the ride was pretty peaceful, at least until that happened. Tsukasa-sensei always blamed himself for what happens next. He knew that something was wrong. Rima, on the other hand, noticed that something was wrong with him. He would stare outside the window, then at the back of the bus driver's seat, furrow his brow, and then remain unsettled for a bit before he'd stare out the window again.
"Ahh, the engine's stalling, I'll have to check it, but I should turn everything off when I pull over, including the AC. Perhaps you folks should get some fresh air in the meantime, wouldn't want you to sweat that much before the big game."
"We are in a bit of a hurry," Tsukasa-sensei urged the bus driver.
"I know, I know, you gotta be there at 6pm sharp, but this happens all the time. You have plenty of time before 6, it will just be a quick check-up, then everyone will get back in, and we'll all get to the game safely."
"If this engine problem compromises my safety, I'm getting the fuck off of this thing." Sanjo asserted. Tsukasa sensei found himself sighing as the bus pulled over and everyone unloaded.
"Wow, we're like in the middle of nowhere, no buildings nothing," A girl on the squad commented. "Is this even Tokyo?"
Tsukasa-sensei's eyes widened just in time to hear the bus start back up without anyone on board but the bus driver.
"Sorry, I'm going to have to leave you here. Don't worry about the game, though. Toyotomi will be representing your district instead. Bye!"
The bus sped off into the night, and everyone watched in silence as it disappeared out of their sight, past the horizon. It was a moment of silence that everyone was too afraid to break. It was the perfect time to panic, but they couldn't bring themselves to believe it was actually happening. Every single one of them was in shock.
"What the fuck just happened?" Sanjo broke down and said at last.
O.O.O.O
RANDOM AREA OUTSIDE OF TOKYO
17:40 HOURS: ABOUT 1 HOUR BEFORE GAME TIME.
"Ken-kun, you know there is a game going on tonight, right?" Akane asked her boyfriend. He grunted a small yes and she sighed, "Well, let's go."
"We're out here in the middle of nowhere in a pick-up truck, what makes you think I want to turn all the way around for some stupid sports game, when I could be having sex with my favorite girl?"
Akane frowned. Was that supposed to be cute? Truth be told, she wanted to see some of those basketball players she had heard about in school. Her school's team was representing their district, but they weren't all that good, but they were sexy. She could only imagine how hot a room full of athletes her age must be. Ken-kun wasn't exactly the ideal guy, but at least he had a means of transportation. Probably because he was so old, but still.
"Hey!" She heard Ken exclaim, "There's someone in our spot, Ayame."
"It's Akane you asshole," She grumbled to herself. She looked through the windshield and saw that a group of muscled-up teenagers in Jerseys were running towards her. Her dream came true. "Hey, they must be participating in that game tonight!"
"Well, why the hell are they all the way out here?" Ken grumbled, he shifted the car into drive, but Akane abruptly placed her hands over his.
"Shouldn't we help them? I think their stranded,"
"That's got nothing to do with me," Ken muttered, ready to speed off when a charismatic guy with long purple hair appeared at his window. "Great, now they want to talk to me."
The windows rolled down revealing the young boy, along with three adults.
"Hello, my name is Fujisaki Nagihiko and we've just been stranded here whilst on our way to a basketball game back in the city, it's really important to us, we've come all the way out here just to play it would mean so much if you give us a lift back in to the city. Please." The guy begged.
"We'll compensate you, young man." One of the teachers assured.
"Compensation?" Ken smirked, of course his plan for the night had been to have sex at the back of the truck but hey, why not fill it up with some basketball players if there was reimbursing involved?
"How's 10,000 yen sound?" The female teacher asked with a smirk, knowing that Ken couldn't deny that offer.
"Well, what are you guys waiting for, you have a game to get to," Ken shouted, sticking his head outside the window. Akane closed her eyes and smiled, she would have some eye-candy tonight. She glanced outside once again and noticed that a few of them were deep in discussion, and she tried her best to eavesdrop. A girl with long curly blonde hair tied in a ponytail was talking to five of the guys—the cutest guys she noted—including the purple-haired one from before.
"We can't possibly fit you guys plus the cheerleading squad into that truck, just go you guys. You're what's the most important, we're just there for decoration." Akane heard the girl say.
"But, I mean," A spiky-haired guy began, "The cheerleaders have to go on first, why don't you take the first ride back."
"First ride? Kukai there's no chance another pair of teens looking to fuck is going to come along." Another blonde girl said. Akane soon found herself blushing. How did they know? "This is the last ride, babe. Just go. Take home a trophy."
"You guys have been working just as hard it's not fair!" That Kukai guy squealed. Then the girl with the long straight blonde pig-tails flew into his arms.
"Just go." The other blonde groaned.
Sure enough, all of the guys tried their best to squeeze into the back of the truck. Akane eyed them through the rare-view mirror. They didn't look ready to take home a trophy, in fact they looked just plain-old depressed.
O.O.O.O
RANDOM AREA OUTSIDE OF TOKYO
18:00 HOURS: EXACTLY 60 MINUTES UNTIL GAME TIME
RIMA POV:
"No cellphone signal, no food, no shelter, no warm clothes, and no boys!" Mayami squeaked. We all glared at her, stating the obvious would do nothing for our current situation. Some of the other girls huddled closer towards her. Maybe it was for comfort, maybe it was for warmth. Who knows?
Nikaidou sensei and Tsukasa-sensei went with the boys and he promised to send a legitimate bus to search for us once he got in range of signal and called up the company. We all knew that the bus wouldn't make it in time. Why couldn't I actually be happy and hopeful for once in my life! Those damn Toyotomi kids are always getting in my fucking way! First Yura and her sluttiness and now their stupid prank.
"Toyotomi is going to get in some serious trouble if they play. Once the officials find out what they did to get to play, they'll be disqualified." I told the girls. I heard a lot of girls shout: 'Yeah!' in agreement, but Sanjo-sensei still shook her head.
"I think they know that. Their aim is not to win the championship. They aren't in it for the glory. What they want is retribution. They wanted us to practice and practice and be excited and never get the chance to actually play. They wanted to hurt us, and you know what? They succeeded." Sanjo explained.
"No, they didn't!" Amu shouted, "We are going to make it to that game. In the meantime we are going to practice. It will warm us up, okay?"
"I admire your optimism, Hinamori, but give it a rest. We lost. Those kids are evil, and we let our guard down. We should have never gotten out that bus." Sanjo sighed.
"Hey you were the one talking about your damn safety!" Yumi accused, "You got everyone else worried too."
"Listen up! It's time to hate!
You've never seen a team so great!
Suit up for war, we're on the attack
Seiyo's here, there's no going back!"
We all stared at Amu as she cheered loudly, moving her hips and pom-poms too the motion. I sighed, then smiled and stood next to her.
"Again!" Yaya squealed.
"Listen up! It's time to hate!
You've never seen a team so great!
Suit up for war, we're on the attack
Seiyo's here, there's no going back!"
We finished with our end pose and the rest of the girls stared at Amu, Yaya, Utau, Lulu, Saaya and I. Yumi shook her head and stood next to us.
"What was that?" She shouted, "Again, from the top!"
As I tried my best to move in perfect synchronization with the rest of the girls, I noticed that Sanjo san slowly regained her hope. I could see it in her smile and her laugh as she shook her head at her students cheering in vain. Cheering with the sole purpose of cheering each other up, even though we all knew we weren't going to make it to the game. It became worth it for me when I saw Sanjo sensei finally look as though everything was going to be okay, and the smile on her face was worth a thousand words just like the shining head-light behind her….shining light?
"Guys it's a car!" I squealed in the middle of the cheer. I ran into the middle of the road like an idiot waving about my pom-poms before I even thought about what I was doing. A darkish colored sedan car was in front of me in what seemed like seconds, and my heart almost jumped out of my chest, "Sir, please loan me your automobile!"
"What's going on?" A tall man in a suit asked as he got out of the car.
"Rima! What the fuck is wrong with you?" Sanjo-sensei admonished running up behind me and touching my shoulder, "I'm sorry sir. We desperately need a ride, but as you can see there is far too many of us. I apologize for the disruption." She bowed a little and forced me to bow by grabbing my head and pushing it down, "This guy could be a pervert Rima, you don't know anything about him and we're fifteen girls in the middle of nowhere," Sanjo whispered to me.
"Ryo?" We heard a female voice behind us squeak, we turned around to see Mayami run up to the man and embrace him.
"Guys this is my old senpai," Mayami said as she pulled away from the hug. Oh yeah, she did used to live in Tokyo.
"Could be a pervert, huh?" I hissed at Sanjo-sensei.
"It's not a big enough car."
"Ryo, you look so much older, what are you doing in a suit and tie!" Mayami exclaimed. I, and the rest of the cheerleading squad, couldn't help but notice the glimmer in her eyes. The guy blushed a little and rubbed the back of his head.
"My brother is bringing his fiancé to meet the family, I'm heading over to Chiba, we are going to some restaurant over there. You don't look so bad yourself. Cheerleading, huh?" He rambled, the blush present on his face the whole time.
"Speaking of cheerleading, we are stranded here, and we need to get back to the game so if you would allow me to fit fifteen girls...and one crabby woman…into your car, you would be a hero." I said, pushing Mayami out of the way.
"Rima!" Mayami exclaimed with a pout, "I was talking to him! Besides, you can't fit all of us in that one car."
"What if I said that I could?" I countered. Only one person wasn't looking at me incredulously, and that was Amu. I sighed, "This is an emergency, so I'll just go right out and say it," I swallowed hard, "I graduated from clown school, so I pretty much can. Anwyay, moving on, I just need you guys to organize yourselves from smallest weight to…"
"Clown school!" Utau exclaimed laughing. Everyone else, even that Ryo guy, started laughing at me.
O.O.O.O
SHOUTA POV:
What was I doing there? I told her that I was gonna leave Tokyo, but that turned out to be a lie. My friends decided to stay and watch the game all of a sudden, saying Toyotomi might actually play. That seemed odd to me, but hey I didn't know much about basketball anyway, nor did I care. I just wanted to see her. No, I kind of had to see her.
"Is this seat taken?" A sweet sounding voice asked me, I turned and saw a younger looking girl, with long light colored brown hair.
"Yes, but go ahead." I said with a laugh, "I didn't want to sit next to the guy anyway."
She let out a small giggle and dropped onto the chair and crossed her legs elegantly, "I know you, you know."
"You do?" I asked furrowing my brow. She nodded and ate some of her popcorn. She didn't actually say anything else, and I am still not sure if she was planning to, as she suddenly became distracted. "What is it?"
"There sure are a lot of Toyotomi students here, even you." She said, scanning the surrounding bleachers briefly for a moment, and then looking at my face. She must've been searching for an explanation of some sort. I placed my hands up in front of me defensively.
"Well, hey, don't look at me I just came because I was told Toyotomi is going to be playing tonight after all." Immediately, I saw something flicker across her face. She dug her hands into her Chanel purse, and I was a little amazed at the fact that she could afford such a bag and that I actually recognized it as Chanel. Well, I guess recognizing brand-names doesn't make me any less of a man. It just makes me a guy with three sisters. She tapped at her phone then pressed it to her ear. There was something so elegant about her that I felt compelled to ask her who she was.
"No answer. This isn't right. Something is up," She sighed. She looked at me and frowned, "Shouta-san, how can both Toyotomi and Seiyo be playing tonight? Unless our district suddenly split in to two!"
"Well, I don't know, it seemed odd even to me…" I mumbled still shocked at the use of my name, "But, I mean sports don't ever make sense to me, so…"
"Come with me," She said standing up brusquely. Her purse swayed by her waist and her eyes shone with determination. I gave her a somewhat perplexed look, "Don't worry about your seat."
I stood up awkwardly and immediately some girl with short black hair took my seat and gave us a thumbs up. Does this girl have seat holders ready at any given moment? Just what the hell was I doing with such a fabulous chick and how did she know my name?
I found myself at the entrance to the part of the stadium where there are locker rooms and STAFF ONLY signs. A security guard raised his eyebrows at us.
"Hey, I'm sorry I'm a Seiyo cheerleader, I'm late. Do you have a list or something you could check?" The girl asked confidently. He shook his head at us slowly and looked unconvinced. "Well, could you at least call someone?"
"The Seiyo kids just arrived,"
The girl and I stared at the walky-talky attached to his hip. As the message finished being transmitted, he gave us a glare and I swallowed a bit nervously. She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head.
"I told you I was late. Look, we got separated, don't believe me whatever, I'll just join the team now. Thanks for not giving me your time!" She stuck her tongue out at him and turned around just in time to see the Seiyo basketball team, led by That Guy."Nii-san!" She piped, as she hugged the guy with the dark blue hair. I think his name is Tsukinami or something, he has been with a lot of girls from Toyotomi during his playboy days.
"Ami? What are you doing here?" He asked pulling her out of the hug.
"No, the question is, where are the cheerleaders? What is going on?" She asked worriedly.
"Toyotomi is what is going on," That Guy said as he shot me a glare, "Ami-chan, what are you doing with that guy?"
"What do you mean Toyotomi is going on? What happened?"
We were herded into the back of the stadium, Ami wasn't allowed in the guy's locker room so we stood outside the room talking to That Guy and Tsukinami. They explained how they were in their bus like normal people when they got stranded in the middle of nowhere, and they were lucky enough to be found by some horny guy with a truck, but there wasn't enough room and…bottom line, Rima-chan was out there in the cold alone all by herself and there was nothing we can do.
"We are going to fix this," Ami said gripping onto my hands, "Shouta-san and I will be right back."
Wait what?
O.O.O.O
NORMAL POV:
Amu found herself squished against the car window. Literally squished. She'd never say anything was crowded after this experience. This made the ride in the back of Yura's boyfriends van look like a luxury hotel. Then she heard her ringtone.
"Guys my phone is ringing." She said.
"Well what do you want us to do about it? I can't even feel my hands, Amu!" Yumi winced.
"Ack! Something is vibrating on Yaya's leg!"
"It's my phone answer it quick."
"But I can't see,"
"Ow!"
"Hey! My eye!"
"I think someone just caressed my nose!"
"Hello?" Amu said at last.
"Amu? Thank goodness you answered! Hey, does that mean you got a ride if you're in range of signal? When are you coming?"
"Hinamori Ami," Amu growled, "Are. You. In. Tokyo?"
"The question is nee-san, are you in Tokyo?" Ami countered, "Did you get a ride? Answer me! How much longer until you get here?"
Amu sighed and titled her head a little to the side, "How much longer until we reach the stadium?"
"About twenty minutes," Ryo replied.
"Is there a guy in the car? You got a ride with a guy?" This time Ikuto's voice was in Amu's ear and she yelped in surprise a little.
"Relax, he's Mayami's boyfriend," Amu stuttered out a little too quickly. Mayami's complaints were heard in the background, "Do you think we're going to make it in time?"
"Oh I'll make sure of it," Amu heard her sister reply.
O.O.O.O
"Excuse me sir, I was contacted today and requested to sing the national anthem at this event, but no one is accommodating me," Ami whined, "I didn't even have a mic check!"
"National anthem?" The man with the clipboard and headset echoed. "That's not on the program…"
"You're not singing the national anthem at a national basketball tournament. Wow. Where is this country's pride going?" Shouta sighed. Ami touched his shoulder and sighed softly.
"I came all the way from Nara for this!" Ami groaned.
"She's quite a big deal back home." Shouta informed the man, "She had many other offers to sing for the elite, but we told her this could spice up her resume, and besides she'll be going to the white house soon as an enka singer, and that's as elite as it gets."
"The white house?" The man gasped, "You are going to the white house?"
"Well, when you are a highly-sought after cultural ambassador such as myself, shit happens." Ami said with a shrug, "But never have I been so insulted in my life! Is enka music a joke to you? Is our country's traditions and pride meaningless?" She threw her hands in the air, "Let's go Shouta-san, leave these anti-japanese with their American-centrism and all their so-called glory!"
"Wait mam, please, hold on. We'll be needing you after all!"
O.O.O.O
"I can't believe we're going on first." Tadase sighed, "The girls have worked so hard for this."
"Ami-san said she will handle it," Kairi reminded Tadase.
"She's a sixteen year old girl what can she do?" Tadase sighed.
"Amu's sixteen. Ami-san is eleven." Nagihiko corrected them. Their mouths gaped open just in time for Ami to bust into the locker room. "Imouto-san! You're not supposed to be in here!" She looked at all of them and stared. Tadase and Kairi took a good look at her. She didn't look eleven at all! Finally she shrugged and broke the gaze.
"You all have clothes on," She stated simply, "Guess what? I am singing Kimigayo before the game starts!"
"Yeah, but, that only buys us like a minute." Ikuto reminded her.
"It's actually two, but don't worry I'm going to make sure the cheerleaders have time to spare." Ami said with a smirk, "This game is about to get crazy."
O.O.O.O
"Everyone rise for the singing of the national anthem."
Ami's footsteps were deliberately slow and echoed throughout the now quiet stadium. She took the mic from the woman and cleared her throat briefly. She never had so many eyes focused on her at once. She hated to admit it, but maybe she was a little nervous. Just a little. She cleared her throat again, scanned the room, and then cleared her throat again.
"That little bitch is stalling." Yura mumbled to her friends in the crowd, "She looks familiar, too."
"I think she goes to Seiyo." One of the girls considered.
"Well, we know she's not a cheerleader," Yura said with a hearty laugh, "Or else she'd be stranded with the rest of the losers. They're so pathetic."
"Kimi ga yo wa…." Ami began beautifully.
Shouta's eyes widened from the crowd. Hey, she was living up to that 'highly-sought after cultural ambassador' title. Her voice was beautiful and hypnotic in a way. People didn't even notice she was making the song unnecessarily long. It also made him realize how nice it is to listen to some traditional music once in a while, he really did think it was beautiful.
"Koke no musu made…" She finished beautifully.
The whole stadium erupted with applause, and her face absolutely beamed. Shouta looked around, the Seiyo basketball team gave him an awkward look. The girls still weren't back yet. Whatever Ami had planned, she'd have to do it soon. As if she heard his mental concerns, she dropped to the floor in a swerving motion as if she had passed out.
"Ami!" Shouta screamed, crossing the floor immediately and shaking her, "Ami? Are you okay?" She opened her eyes for a moment and winked at him when their faces were inches apart.
"play…a….long," He heard her mumble.
"Nobody touch her!" Shouta screamed as he held her in his arms, "She's contagious!"
The crowd of officials running towards him stopped quite abruptly and made a face. It was an almost disgusted look. The stadium erupted with noise and concern. No one was moving and people were troubled.
"I'm a doctor!" A woman exclaimed stepping forward. Shouta suddenly became very nervous, at this rate, the whole game will be postponed. Then, out of the corner of his eye he saw waves. Beautiful and pale blonde colored waves.
"Ami, they're here."
The doctor placed her fingers over Ami's pulse by her neck just in time for Ami to shoot upwards.
"I'm healed! I'm healed!" Ami embraced the doctor tightly, "Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you?"
"Well gotta go!" Shouta exclaimed before he scooped Ami up in his arms and darted out of the court.
"Was that…Shouta and Ami?" Rima asked in disbelief.
"Never mind all the shit that just happened. I am confused as hell and emotionally worn out from this godforsaken day, can we just get on the damn floor and do our stupid cheer?" Amu almost yelled. All the girls stared at the pink-haired child.
"Yeah, let's go."
O.O.O.O
The longest chapter of desukashuri's life. My god, it's not over yet. The second part to this exciting finale is coming very very soon. Oh my. Is it possible to be worn out from writing?
Anyway, no next chapter preview this time because it's going to be a grand revealing when it actually comes out, after all it is the last chapter.
Songs used in this chapter:
Liebestraum no.3- Liszt
Make Me Feel Sad- Koichi Sugiyama
Kimigayo