SHUFFLE!
A Gifted Treasure
Written by: Lone Wolf NEO
Conceived by: Lone Wolf NEO

Author's note: SHUFFLE! is copyrighted by Navel. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiaries everything inside this story without his knowledge.

Please see: the author would like to stress that he has very little experience with SHUFFLE, both TV and its original game versions. He would like the readers to spare him if there is any error found in this fiction. So if you find this story didn't do justice to the series, the author sincerely apologies. Until then, happy reading.

Chapter 2
Shigure Ama

"A very good morning to all loyal listeners of Morning Glory FM, and you are now with me, Kira on radio frequency 99.4FM. I'm now accompanying all of you listeners in this segment Kira and the Morning Brigade and I'm looking forward to staying with you for the next three hours. I'd like to say a very good morning to one of our most popular listeners, Mrs. Shigure Ama, who might be tuning to this channel. Mrs. Shigure, how are you doing at this moment? We at Morning Glory FM hope that you're in the best of conditions right now. You know that you've become the people's idol, don't you? Hey, don't ask me why they would do that.

"Anyway, allow me to begin today's segment with one of my favourite songs. I'm very sure Mrs. Shigure will be pleased with this song of choice, because everybody's been asking me to dedicate this song for you. This is from James Blunt's debut album Back to Bedlam and this is his single You're Beautiful."

The woman smiled to herself. "Idol? I didn't know about that," Ama uttered, even as the familiar tune of the song started playing on air. She hummed to the song, even as her hand stirred the soup inside the pot.

She sipped the ingredient. She nodded. "This should do it," she uttered, nodding and putting the pot's lid onto it. "Alright, I better go and call Asa." She walked towards the door's kitchen, truthfully singing "you're beautiful, it's true" to herself.

Ama heard footsteps coming down the stairs, along with verses from of You Have a Bad Day. She peeked out of the door and saw her daughter rushed towards the door. "What is she doing now? I thought she's going to stay." So saying she stepped out of the kitchen and called out the girl. "Where are you going, Asa?"

The girl in question was startled and quickly turned around. "Okaasan, you surprised me! What's the matter?"

"I thought you're staying home for the weekend," she spoke. "Did something change your mind, Asa?"

The girl forced herself to laugh. "No… not really! I thought I want to take a quick walk around the town right now." Ama stared strangely at her due to the answer, and this caused her to blush in response. "Well, can't I? I feel terribly bored when I have nothing to do at home, so…"

"Then why don't you take breakfast with me?" Ama said. "I've just cooked mushroom soup. It's your favourite."

"Thanks, okaasan, but I'll take my meal with them." Ama's expression slightly changed when she heard the answer, and Asa panicked. "Okaasan! Don't make that kind of face to me, please? I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

Ama smiled. "Okay. Then you better come home quickly. We're going to have dinner tonight."

"Okay, I'll be home as soon as I can." Saying so the girl walked towards the door and rushed towards Rin and the girls. "I'm going, okaasan!"

"Have a safe trip, Asa."

"Haii!"

Ama watched for a while, as the group walked down the road and eventually disappeared from sight. Smiling at first, she frowned. There was something Asa tried to hide from her, she thought, but she didn't know what it was, as well as why Asa would do such a thing.

The only thing she knew of about Asa, Ama pondered, was that she promised to buy her something. What was she going to buy? She didn't even know of that, either.

She sighed. "Maybe she wants to give me a surprise," she uttered and walked back to the kitchen.

x-x-x-x-x

Earlier on Thursday…

"How is your daughter?"

Ama giggled. She put the teacup on the table and stared at the two fathers -- Eustoma and Ferbossi, the Kings of Gods and Demons respectively. "She's fine, Eustoma, Ferbossi. Don't worry about her. You know how genki she is, right?"

"Well, genki or not, she's always be your precious one, isn't she?" Ferbossi said.

Ama giggled again. "Do I sense a hidden agenda from both of you today?" jokingly she asked.

The two fathers laughed again. "No, we didn't mean to set up a hidden agenda," Eustoma said. "Because if we do, we wouldn't invite you for our evening tea session."

"Yes, yes," Ferbossi nodded while sipping his tea. "You know, Ama-san," he continued. "We may not know you very much, but we think we would like to pay you a tribute."

"Yes, yes, we've been planning it for a long time," Eustoma said, nodding at the same time.

"Oh, that sounds interesting," Ama said. "What are you planning for?"

"You see, we've been thinking to take out for a dinner," Eustoma said. "Of course, it wouldn't be appropriate if you didn't ask your daughter to come along. What do you say?"

Ama could not help but to giggle. The invitation was out of the blue, and it was proposed by two of her closest friends. "Wait a minute," she said between her laughs, "this can't be possible. Are both of you planning something on me?"

The two men laughed. "Come on, Ama. We just want to celebrate this coming Mother's Day." They laughed again and stared at the woman. "We know it sounds very weird, but at least we have something to give you, the best mother in the world."

The woman blushed. Shyly she fiddled her finger along her hair stranding free over her face. "I… I don't know what to say, Eustoma, Ferbossi. I never expected to be celebrated. But… what will Asa say?"

"Oh, I'm sure she will understand if you explain," Eustoma said, even as Sia walked into the living room, carrying a tray of bread pudding to accommodate the evening tea. At the same time, Primula returned from the kitchen and was now sitting next to Ama.

"Oh, hello, Primula," Asa said. Primula turned to her, stared at her for a while and then nodded.

"What are you and Ama-san talking of?" Sia asked.

"Nothing very special," Eustoma said. "Just a friendly conversation between three aging people."

"That sounds interesting," Sia said. "What are you talking of?"

Eustoma stared at the female elf. "Oh, why do you want to care?" slyly he asked.

"Come on, father, I have the claim to know," she interjected and put her hands on her waist as to emphasize. "What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with that," Eustoma replied in a sarcastic tone. "You know, Sia, it'd be appropriate if you could leave this conversation to just old men…"

"Oh, just SHUT THE HELL UP!" Sia grabbed Eustoma by the arm, made a helicopter spin and tossed him at the glass pane. The lord of the gods' world helplessly cried for help as he crashed through the reinforced glass and was stuck on the door frame. Ama blinked at the 'sidetracked' drama between daughter and father, which ended when Primula used her power to freeze Eustoma on his place.

"Did I just… say anything wrong?" the cat-hat woman asked.

"Ah, nothing to worry of," Ferbossi said and took a bite of the pudding, "just another chapter in the daily life of Eustoma and his daughter."

x-x-x-x-x

Present day, Shigure Residence.

Ama walked out of the bathroom. The warm water bath was refreshing, and she sighed in enjoyment at the refreshing mint. She walked towards the wall mirror, and stared at the reflection of her figure wrapped in peach towel. It was a strange feeling to look at her very image without the trademark cat-hat. She didn't just wear it as a fashion; it was purposely made to cover her true identity from the people.

For a minute or so, Ama admired her lean form, body still soaked in hot steams, droplets of water dripping down her golden-yellow hair. For a woman who had become a mother for years, she was surprisingly petite. Even when she stood, she would be dwarfed by her daughter and her friends. She giggled at the thought of people mistaking her as Asa's younger sister -- even Itsuki, Asa's classmate who is notoriously famous for being a womanizer, had trouble identifying her as a grown-up woman.

"Well, enough for a silly thought." She approached the wardrobe and took several dresses out of it. "I should be wearing casual dresses for tonight's dinner," she pondered while fiddling her fingers through the clothes, keeping her towel from slipping away with her other hand. "Now let me see…" She picked one of the dresses -- a satin gown made of silk -- and giggled. "This should do it. Now for the ornaments…"

It took more than 30 minutes, but Ama was fully clothed. She looked at the very reflection of her body. She giggled; it was the first time she had the chance of wearing such an outfit, and now that she was donning it, she couldn't help but to awe at her own beauty.

Just then a flashback knocked her memory box. She slightly frowned at the reviving nostalgia. "I wonder if Asa…"

x-x-x-x-x

Ten years ago at the Summer Festival…

"Well, here we are, Asa." Ama let go off Asa's hand just to correct the peach-coloured kimono. "I've been longing to visit this place for a very long time since I was married. I wish the three of us could visit this place as a family, but oh well." She nodded to herself and approached a booth when she felt the sleeves of her kimono being pulled down. She looked down and saw Asa staring at her. "Yes, dear? What is it?"

"Okaasan, what is Mother's Day?" the young girl asked.

Ama was surprised; she never expected her daughter would ask such a question. "That's a good question, Asa," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Asa-chan wants to know what it is," the little girl said. "Can you tell me what is it about? Can you?"

The woman smiled and knelt beside her. "Asa, Mother's Day is a day where all mothers around the world are celebrated. It's a day celebrated by everyone to honour their mothers," she told her. When she saw the green-headed girl staring at her with an unconvincing gaze, she knew there was something that bothered her.

"What does everyone do on that day?" Asa asked.

"Well," the woman said, "on that day, everybody would go out with their mother to places they go most often. They would treat her with meals, give away greeting cards, and buy presents and…"

"Presents?" Asa interjected.

"Yes, dear," she replied. "That's what everyone always does each year to their mother."

Before she could continue with the answer, Asa already excitedly laughed and waved her little arms. "Then Asa-chan will buy a present for you! Asa-chan will buy you the biggest present ever!" she exclaimed, stretching her arms wide to emphasize the word 'biggest.'

Ama was touched. She was very grateful her daughter -- her only child in the world -- remembered Mother's Day. "Why, thank you Asa," she thanked and softly patted Asa's scalp. The little girl laughed at the playful touch of her mother's hand.

x-x-x-x-x

Ama looked at the dressed up version of her appearance in the mirror. She looked up at the wall-mounted clock; it was 20 minutes to six, and she was already late. "I bet those twos are awaiting me already." Nodding to herself, Ama left her room and headed to the front door, and as she walked past the telephone she caught a glimpse of a small card attached on it. Thinking it was merely a decoration, she ignored the card when she remembered the time Asa put on something on the telephone before leaving the house. She took the card and read a small inscription scribbled on it.

She was surprised.

"Then Asa has been…"

At the same time the telephone rang. Ama picked it up and answered the call. "Haii, this is Shigure Residence. May I know who's on the line?"

"Ama-san?" Sia's voice spoke through the phone.

"Sia-chan! What a surprise to have you calling me," Ama replied in a surprised tone. "I'm already about to leave the house--"

"Anou, Ama-san," Sia said, "is Asa at home?" She sounded in distress when she asked the question.

"Asa? I thought she's with you guys," Ama told her. "What happened?"

"She left us at the shopping mall. We thought she went to the washroom, but she didn't show up," the elf girl explained. "We thought she'd already gone home, but we couldn't reach her phone."

Ama frowned. Something definitely wasn't right. She knew something would eventually happen to Asa, but until the moment she had no idea of what it was. "Did something… happen to Asa?"

To Be Continued