A small blonde-haired girl stood outside of the giant house, waiting for its resident to come out.

~Nagihiko's POV~

"Ohayo {Good morning}, Rima-chan!" I called, running out of the house.

She looked up and gave me her famous chibi glare. "You're late."

"Ahaha, gomen, gomen {Sorry, sorry}!" I laughed. "My deepest apologies for having you wait a minute longer than we agreed."

"Hmph," she huffed. "Anyways, let's get going. I don't want to keep Amu or Yaya waiting for too long."

I smiled and started walking down the sidewalk. "You know, it's kind of hard to believe we're already in high school."

"Why?" She asked. "We've already been high schoolers for a year."

"I mean, even though we're going to tenth grade, it's hard to believe that we all met in Seiyo Elementary."

"Why is that hard to believe?"

I sighed. "Never mind, Rima-chan. I really don't know how to explain it."

"I can agree that a lot of things have happened," she said softly. "A lot..."

That's right... I thought. A lot of things have happened...

The whole battle against the Easter company... X-eggs... Guardians... Nadeshiko...

That period of time was when I finally found my true identity. And made friends too, just like Rima-chan.

"Hey," she said suddenly.

"Huh?" I looked up and turned to her.

"We're here."

~Rima's POV~

"Rima-tan! Nagi!" Yaya spotted us first, dashing over and hugging me tightly. "You're finally here!!"

"Ohayo, Rima, Nagihiko!" Amu added.

"Ohayo, minna {Good morning, everyone}," Nagihiko said calmly.

After we all said our hellos and good mornings, the bell rang and we all scattered to find the right classrooms.

——

Ran: After school!

——

~Nagihiko's POV~

"So, Rima-chan," I said as we walked home together. "How were your classes?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Typical."

"Great." I laughed awkwardly and tried to think of something else to talk about. "Oh! Um, Rima-chan..."

"Yeah?"

"Yesterday when I was walking around town, I saw a poster in the window of the cafe that we always go to for parfaits."

Her eyes immediately lit up, and she looked up at me hopefully. "What did it say?"

I smiled. I knew anything about parfaits would make her happy. They were her favorite dessert, after all. "They just released a new flavor. It sounds... interesting."

"What is it?"

"Um... strawberry ice cream with banana, topped with blueberries, I believe."

"Hm..." she looked back towards the sidewalk, her mind processing this information.

"I was thinking, maybe we should try it out tomorrow after school," I said.

"Not tomorrow," she said quickly. "My mom wants me to come home early tomorrow. Something about cleaning the house."

Cleaning the house? "Oh! That's okay, then. What about the day after tomorrow?"

She nodded. "That would be fine."

I reached over and pinched her cheek lightly. "Whatever you're thinking about right now, Rima-chan... if you need someone to talk about it, I'm the one."

Her face reddened slightly and she punched my arm. "You're a flirt, you know that?"

I laughed. "I know. You've told me before."

She shot another one of her chibi glares at me before we reached my house. "See you, Na-gi-hi-ko," she said, separating the syllables of my name. I smiled. She was the only one who called me that.

"Until tomorrow, Rima-chan," I said before turning towards my house.

~Rima's POV~

I opened the door to my house. "I'm home, Mom!" I called, even though I knew nobody was there. I walked up the stairs to my bedroom. "Kusukusu!"

My bubbly and cheerful Guardian Character, Kususkusu, in her usual clown outfit (without the mask) flew over to me. "Rima~! How was school?"

"Good," I responded, my cheeks heating up when I thought of who had just pinched me.

I heard Kusukusu giggling. "Rima, I wonder who you're thinking about~?"

"N-Nobody!!" I screamed, running down the stairs.

"I wonder if his name starts with an "N"?" I heard her laugh like crazy, following me down the stairs.

I didn't respond to her and instead sat down on the couch in front of the TV.

"Hup!" She did a small backflip in the air and plopped down on my shoulder. "Let's watch the comedy act on channel 8, Rima!"

"Okay," I said, picking up the remote and turning it on. Switching it to our favorite channel, Kusukusu proceeded to roll off my shoulder and drop to the couch.

I smiled at her and shook my head. I need to get him out of my head. I can't like him like that.

Kusukusu bounced on the couch, laughing insanely at the program. So bubbly and cheerful... so happy and joyful...

That's Kusukusu. My Guardian Character.

Who I want to be.

------

Kusukusu: Rima liiiiiiikes someone~

Ran: Wait, Kusukusu!! What are you doing here??

Miki: Yeah, we're supposed to be doing the narrating and stuff!!

Su: Desu!!

Kusukusu: Huh? Oh! Dia asked me to take her place cause she couldn't make it here in time!

Ran, Miki, and Su: ...

Miki: Stop hiding, Dia.

Ran: We know you're there.

Su: We won't fight over the script anymore!

Amu: You just did a few seconds ago...

Ran, Miki, and Su: AHH!! AMU-CHAN!!

Ran: Y-You're not supposed to be here!!

Amu: Well, I am now.

Rima: What's this all about?

Kusukusu: *panicking* NOTHING!! Ehehe... um... LET'S GO HOME, RIMA!!!

Kiseki: *offstage, reading the script they're supposed to be following* You insolent fools.

-----

Well...

Come back next Monday for the next chapter, guys!

~Angel