A/N: Okay, I know there's going to be a few of you who'll like to point it out, but... Yes, I'm aware the manga goes further than just their graduation. Sadly... I have no mind to read the manga as of yet. I started and got up to about chapter 4, but then I got distracted by vectoring Miki, so... I've yet to finish it.
Therefore, this is going to follow more along the lines of the events in the ANIME [up to the end of Shugo Chara: Doki Dokki] and when they're in middle school. If you haven't seen up to at LEAST the end of Shugo Chara: Doki, then I wouldn't suggest reading this. There's probably going to be a select few, well, spoilers, at least.
As well... for those of you who are going to get on my ass about pairings and whatnot. Sorry, but I have none decided as of yet. I might be pairing people with OCs or with canons, but I'm not sure yet. I'm almost TOTALLY sure it's going to end up Tadamu or Amuto at some point, though. I love both pairings, for different reasons, so... yeah.
Anyway, enjoy reading! [man I babble alot...]
I was certainly doing a little more than just, well, "freaking out" I was absolutely appalled! I'd already received my new school uniform, and graduation had just been passing through my mind. It was a good thing that I'd had no homework over the spring break, or I would have had one too many things to deal with, not that I didn't already. I was still a little leery about the Guardians back at Seiyo, but at the same time, I was confident that Yaya and her mentor-role would be able to take care of Rikka and Hikaru. Now that Hikaru's Guardian Egg had been born, we didn't have too much worry as to who would take over the guardians.
At least, for the Queen's and probably King's Chair, along with Yaya as Ace's Chair. But who of the Jack's Chair? We couldn't ask Sanjou to come back, because he was in the same grade as the rest of us that had graduated... so he'd be attending middle school. Kuukai was already in middle school, and Nagihiko had graduated with us. I wasn't as much worried about my own position being filled as I was without having a Joker to deal with the X-Eggs. Maybe I'd be allowed some rest... At least, rest from having to chase them down during school hours.
"Amu-chan!"
Oh crap, no, I had to be hearing things. That had definitely not just been the blonde, princely figure that was Hotori Tadase calling my name. Mentally, I flinched, physically stopping in my absent-minded walk towards the school. Turning around, I saw that I wasn't going to be able to console myself from his sparkling visage and personality; it was definitely Tadase, and when I looked into his eyes, he smiled. It was that bright, sparkling smile, the one that gave him that princely look.
As if I'd ever tell him that's how he looked. He'd then accidentally Chara-Change with Kiseki and become... A maniacal-seeming overlord.
"T-T-Tadase-kun!" I blurted out, feeling a light brush creeping up on my cheeks. I wasn't late for school, thankfully; I'd been so pumped about the day that I'd been almost in a rush to get out of the house. Now that I'd made part of the trek to the school, however, I was shaking in my shoes, only praying that my knees weren't rattling. If it hadn't been for Ran, Miki, Suu, and Dia, I probably would have fainted by now.
"I thought it'd be a good idea if we walked together. Is that all right, Amu-chan?" Even now, I still felt odd when he called me Amu-chan. I'd first grown so used to being referred to as Hinamori-san, and even still he called everyone else more formally than me. Yuiki-san, Mashiro-san, Fujisaki-kun... The only two other exceptions had been Hikari and Rikka... Probably because they were much younger than the rest of us. I paused for a moment, but didn't take long to contemplate my answer.
"Sure, yeah, that's fine," I replied, nervously rubbing the back of my skull. I'd outfitted myself even better, but still similar to my old uniform; our dress codes were still, well, "slack" as ever as they'd been in elementary, so I was able to accessorize well. I'd traded in my red skirt for a lovely green one, and my usual red tie was replaced with a green one. The skirt was plaid, of course, as was dress code; and with it came a pair of matching, green plaid legwarmers, the exact same style as my red ones from before. I'd been iffy about what to wear in my hair, as my red x-shaped barettes had always fit with my red uniform, but this time I'd gone a bit more neutral... And because it was a new day and I'd been happy about it, I'd worn the one Tadase had bought me a long time ago.
"All right then," he replied, and we continued walking. I thought he looked pretty good, dressed in the new uniform that matched the one we'd all seen Kuukai wearing; while I thought the blue suited his princely presence a little better, green wasn't too bad, either.
"There's certainly a nice atmosphere here," I heard an overly sarcastic yet unusually cute voice from behind us. If it hadn't been Rima, I probably would have blown a gasket and chased someone down. Especially if it was El, Ran, Miki, Suu, or even Dia, and in that order, too. El would go on something about a love radar, Ran would probably laugh and giggle behind her pom-poms, Miki would state something articulate, Suu would say something... Overly positive, and Dia would either become her philosophical self or say something unusually... Silly? Ditzy? I wasn't sure which word fit better.
"Good morning, Mashiro-san," Tadase greeted in his usual friendly tone.
"Morning, Rima-chan," I added, and the short blonde sprinted at her Rima-pace, with Kusukusu following just behind her. "I hope we're in the same class again," I added, making conversation to the both of them. Enough of being immersed in my own thoughts. I'd rather converse with everyone than wallow in my own sorry mind about life in general.
"Morning, Amu, Tadase-kun," Rima replied, and Kusukusu greeted with her usual clown-like giggle.
"OIII!" The all-too-familiar voice of Souma Kuukai hollered over the distance, and the three of us turned around to see not only him, but a sprinting Nagihiko following behind.
"Everybody's here!" Ran squeaked loudly, flying around in a circle to display her praise.
"It's good that everyone was able to meet up together," Suu added optimistically; Miki and Dia just smiled to everyone in general.
"Yep; and Amu-chan even looks well accessorized. It certainly plays an artistic tune," Miki commented, nodding in her artistic way. Tadase noticed the hairpin briefly, and smiled.
"Yes, the barette looks cute, Amu-chan," he commented, and flashed me a bright smile. I blushed a bright red, giggling nervously as always.
"Oooooh, she's blushing~!" Ran piped up, her tone obviously teasing.
"Yes. Amu has a tendency to do that a lot around Tadase-kun." Rima's sarcastic tendencies never failed; I blushed even harder, slightly embarrassed. Well, at least Tadase hadn't got a chance for one of his "frontal attacks" - as Ran, Miki, and Suu accordingly called them – on me, or I might have fainted in the middle of the sidewalk. And fainted right into the prince's arms... Hey, that actually sounds like a good idea... Or maybe not, I mused, unsure how to continue the conversation at hand.
"Th-th-that's not true at all!" I quickly defended myself, and heard Tadase chuckle lightly. I really needed to stop being Miss Over The Moon around him, or I'd end up saying something dumb in the completely wrong situation. Kind of like how Ran had forced me to chara-change in the middle of the assembly on my first day at Seiyo and confess to him.
In reminder of that, I blushed even harder. Now I knew why I hadn't wanted to come to school today.
"Oi, more middle-school friends I can hang around with now!" Kuukai cheered as he and Nagihiko finally caught up to our three-man [ten if you included our Guardian Characters] group, followed by Daichi and Rhythm. Somehow, this whole thing felt a bit strange to me... And it was going to feel strange after school, too. Normally we all went to the Royal Garden for tea and our daily meeting... And if there were X-Eggs about, we would go take care of them. The rest of the Guardians would also take care of paperwork, while I usually served tea, since my job as the Joker didn't involve any of the paperwork or even having to wear the royal cape. Except at assemblies, of course. I'd worn it once, but only for an assembly, since that itself was required.
I sighed lightly, thinking about what was going to be missed, hardly attentive in the conversation at hand.
"Yes, Souma-kun. Things are going to be a lot different now," Tadase added with a nod as we all continued walking.
"Everyone'll make new friends, surely," Rima added, her tone speaking as if she knew from experience, and she sure did. Like me, she'd transferred from another school, without knowing anyone... Now that I thought about it, maybe things could change here. Maybe there wouldn't be as many rumors as there had been back at Seiyo. Things like me single-handedly defeating the Sakura Elementary soccer team... Being mistaken for "cool" and "spicy" when I was really just unsure of what to say in some situations...
"Amu-chan? Is something wrong?" I heard Tadase's voice break through my thoughts for about the billionth time today, and I quickly snapped to attention.
I shook my head. "Not really," I replied, but he gave me a long look, appearing to press me into what I'd already planned to say. "It's just that with being in middle school and all... We're no longer Guardians. I'm just so used to going to the Royal Garden after school, with our usual after-school meeting... Sometimes going before class, even...
"I'm just worried about what it's going to be like. Sure, we can manage without some of the chairs – Rikka's our new Queen's Chair, Hikaru is the King's Chair... Yaya's still Ace's Chair, but what of the Jack's Chair? And of the Joker's Chair? And even if Rikka used Open Heart with me before graduation... I just don't know if she'll be able to use it. We did have the power of the Humpty Lock on our side..." As I spoke, I touched the Humpty Lock that was still hanging around my neck. As the Joker, I'd honorarily been given it when I'd joined the Guardians, because I had three Guardian Characters.
"Now that you mention it," Nagihiko started.
"We don't know what's going to happen at Seiyo. I think Yaya can handle things, and Rikka and Hikaru will be fine," Rima finished, looking at me from her considerably shorter position.
"Rima's right," Tadase placed a hand on my shoulder to reassure me. "Of course it's going to be different, but just because we're in middle school now doesn't mean we're going to stop hunting the X-Eggs."
"Never stopped me!" Kuukai said, giving me a thumbs-up. "Remember, Amu-chan? I still came back every now and again to lend a hand with Daichi. Just because you've no longer got the cape and the title doesn't mean you're not a Guardian anymore. I'm still the Jack's Chair, though former. You're still the Joker, Tadase's still the King, Nagihiko is also the Jack, and Rima's the queen." With that Kuukai smiled, and I felt a bit better.
"Don't worry about them, Amu-chan. They'll be fine." I felt relief wash over me as Tadase made the final statement, and in response, I smiled.
"Thanks, everyone. I guess we'll have to go check on things after school and hope nothing went wrong. I trust Yaya to take care of Rikka and Hikaru."
"Fight, fight, Yaya-chan! Yaya-chan can do it!" Ran's usual cheering made us all laugh, and I just shook my head. Maybe something good would come of all of this after all...
I guess I'd spoken too soon, or at least, that was what I realized when I walked around after school. People were in huddles, whispering to each other. 'Isn't that Hinamori Amu?' ' From Seiyo Elementary, the cool-and-spicy student! I didn't know she'd just graduated!' 'I heard she took on the volleyball team with ease! And the soccer team, too!' 'Ohhh, she's so cool!'
All I could do in response... was shudder as I'd tried to read the class lists. I felt relieved to know that Tadase was in my class; it was reassuring to know that I'd at least know one person in the class. Rima and Nagihiko were in the other class, which would surely be a fun time for the both of them. Kuukai was, of course, in the older grades, but I was sure Kuukai knew people his own age. He'd already been here for a year, after all.
Sekai Middle School, however, still appeared to be a relative hell for me. It felt strange to see a teacher being so overly organized and strict... I was used to the fun-loving, clumsy Nikaidou-sensei, who'd also been a scary member of Easter before we'd caused him a change of heart. To be honest, I missed his clumsy nature a bit. Sure, he'd been our enemy, but he was more than funny, and he'd been more than helpful in a number of ways after he'd quit Easter.
In class, I was luckily seated not far from Tadase; in all actuality, we were right beside each other, in the back of the class. Even still there were whispers all around, and it could only be clear that I was a little put-out by them. Tadase looked confused as always, and if I looked over, he gave me an encouraging smile.
After class, I was no less sullen than I'd been when I'd heard the whispers going on.
"I can't believe it... Even here, to?" I spoke quietly, sighing as I did so.
"What is it, Amu-chan?" Tadase asked, having taken to standing next to my desk. As usual.. There were girls in our class gawking at him. It was only natural; to anyone, he gave off a very prince-like aura. Even I was affected by it... Much, at times, to my dismay.
"The rumors. About how I'm someone I'm not, and how I've done things I haven't actually done," I said, my face turning into a frown. When we'd finally been dismissed, Tadase and I walked from the class and along the street, too immersed in our conversation to have worried about anyone else.
"Well... That's just everyone else, Amu-chan. So long as your friends know who you really are, you have nothing to worry about. Right?" His smile was encouraging as always, and I couldn't help but to smile back. I noticed now that we'd wandered to the park near our old elementary school... I remembered it. It was the park I'd sat on the swing in when I'd been angry with Ikuto screwing many things between Tadase and myself up. Sure, all had ended well between us, but I was still somewhat mad at Ikuto for hurting Tadase like that. Even now I still held the look I'd seen in his eyes with absolute grief, even if I'd explained the situation. I never wanted to see that agonizing, pained, and betrayed look ever again.
"Right," I said, nodding, as I absently wandered over to the swing. I lightly swung on it, both hands resting in my lap. Tadase had taken the swing next to me, as I stared blankly at the ground.
"Amu-chan?"
I looked up towards Tadase, seeing that sparkling look he'd always get...
"I love you, Amu-chan."
...when he'd come with his frontal attack and say something like that. Instantly, I flushed red, feeling the heat on my face. I was speechless, but all he could do was smile and look at me with that sincere, truthful look in his eyes. His words echoed in my ears, as Ran, Miki, Suu, and Dia all chattered from wherever they were around the park.
"Wow, Tadase's got that down to an art," Kiseki remarked, crossing his arms and nodding.
"Yup. He's got Amu-chan all red and embarrassed again," Ran chuckled, nodding in agreement with Kiseki.
"Amu-chan's definitely got blushing like crazy down very artistically, too,"Miki added. Suu and Dia just smiled, while Ran cheered.
"Fight, fight, Amu-chan! You can do it, Amu-chan! SPEAK YOUR MIND!" Ran was going wild with her pom-poms, cheering me on better than an entire cheerleading squad. I, of course, didn't even notice them. I was too busy trying to calm the wildness of my own thumping heart as I tried to contain myself and make conversation. I couldn't help it; I had to look away from Tadase and, embarrassed as I was, I stared at my hands in my lap.
But soon... the whole frontal attack thing came again. It was the same thing Tadase had done only a few days ago... But the last time, we'd been on a bench, at the amusement park. This time, he used his feet to push the swing sideways... I felt his lips softly on my cheek, and instantly I wanted to faint. The blood rushed to my cheeks, but this time, I didn't scuttle away like I had [embarrassed] last time. As I felt him pull away, I glanced over; I could see that he was blushing a considerable amount, too. Even he couldn't look at me after doing that. I didn't blame him. I'd have probably fainted before I could even twitch after considering such a bold move.
But I realized something... This wasn't the confident would-be self of Tadase. He'd once told me he wanted to be more confident... And that he was too soft to be a proper leader. Now that I thought about it... He was confident, in his own way. I somehow wondered how he even had the guts to say things like he did to me, or kiss me on the cheek, or things like that... I would have asked, but I thought it would be awkward.
Thank you, Tadase-kun... And... Congratulations.
A/N: Yeah, I couldn't help myself. I had to go with a Tadamu moment. I mean, with Ikuto gone, how're we supposed to have Amuto moments? I dunno, maybe I'll bring him back later on in the story for some reason or other. Don't worry, Amuto fans! I WILL find some way to bring a few Amuto moments in there. For now, it's Tadamu. Sowwies~
Anyway, yeah, I have a feeling this chapter dragged on. I didn't want to jump right into X-Eggs and all that crazy stuff in the very first chapter. I also kinda feel I ignored the Guardian Characters... But the point is to kind of focus on Amu, too, so... Yeah. I'll find something to do.
READ AND REVIEW PLEASE. I want to know how well I'm doing with the characters. :3 The only one I'm a little iffy about is Nagihiko... He's kind of a hard character to play. Even in Nadeshiko-mode. T_T
Kuku-chan out~~