I sat on the edge of my soft double bed. The blankets crinkled and curved around me, reserving the space I sat in as my own. My eyes stared out at the cold dark sky that lay behind the balcony door. Something just felt wrong. Like all of a sudden nothing was right and nothing made sense anymore.

There was a soft knock on my door. Before I had the chance to answer my younger sister Ami pushed open the door and joined me on my bed. Floating just near her head was her new friend, her own guardian character named Hikari. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of my younger sister. She had the one thing I wanted most.

"Mom and Dad want you to come downstairs so we can cut your graduation cake," Ami stated, "I know you're not in the mood for it but it would mean a lot to them."

I looked back outside then forced a smile upon my face as I turned my head back to Ami. I slowly nodded as a bright smile lit up her face.

Walking down the stairs my eyes stayed focused on Hikari. Ami got her at about the same age I got mine. She went through a horrible time that I just wasn't able to help her with nor could Ran, Su or Miki. She was taunted horribly by the other kids at school after she participated in the talent show. They told her she couldn't sing and that her singing was so bad it made them want to rip off their ears just so they wouldn't have to listen to it anymore. Ami was heartbroken, her dream that she had ever since she was little, was breaking. Then Diamond hatched one night, I didn't know why but the others said they felt something. Dia told us something wonderful was happening and that she wanted to witness it. I insisted she take us too but she refused and left alone. The next morning Dia was back in her egg and Ami came running into my room. In her hands she held a pastel colour egg decorated with music notes and hearts. I proceeded to tell her all about her new friend and about the relationship they would have. I was there when Hikari hatched, we all witnessed it and it was magically. Ever since then Hikari has been helping Ami practice singing and relighting her hope of becoming a real singer one day.

"Amu! I'm so glad you came down," my mom smiled, "We were going to invite your friends over for a graduation party but we weren't sure you were up for it since you have been so down lately."

"Amu honey blow out the candles, daddy wants to take a picture!" my dad exclaimed.

I sat down with this huge four tier graduation cake in front of me. In bright red cursive writing was the words "congratulations Amu we are all so proud of you and the woman you have grown up to be, we hope your future will be as bright as the light you have given us all". Reading over it brought a tear to my left eye. It was not what the words said and what they meant but the two words that jumped out at me and strangled me with just their being. Grown up. That's just what I had become. It was because of that fact that my life fell apart, I lost what was most precious to me.

I looked over at my dad who anxiously held a camera way too close to my face. I forced a smile onto my face, taking a deep breath and blowing out all eighteen candles. I felt the flash of the camera against my eyes. My ears filled with the sounds of clapping and cheering. A moment that my parents had waited eighteen years to see had come all too fast for me. I pushed my chair away from the table and walked back up to my room.

Walking into my room made me realize that it was the last place I wanted to be. That room held too many memories, too many feelings. I looked out at the twinkling stars that scattered across the black sky. Four stars lined up for me in my mind, each one taking a different colour; the first one red, the second blue, the third green and the fourth yellow. I couldn't take it. I didn't know how to deal with this.

I pushed open the balcony door and looked down at the street. I braced myself and jumped down onto the pavement. Others had survived this jump so I thought maybe I could too. I rolled as I hit the ground. I soon stood up and was surprised that there wasn't one scratch on me. My feet began moving and soon I was running; running faster than I ever had before.

I ended up on his doorstep. I struggled to catch my breath as I reach up and knock on the door. It was relatively easy to get into his apartment building, no doorman, no lock. When he pulled open the door he was shocked. I hadn't seen him in years and I knew I was the last person he expected to be knocking on his door.

He didn't say anything at first. He just looked at me with this awful confused look on his face. He was so grown up. His hair was cut shorter and neatly brushed back. His body was covered with a nice pair of black pants and a white collared shirt with a couple buttons undone at the top. It was hard for me to believe it really was him but just one look at his face reminded me it was true.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He brought his arm behind his head and messed up his hair.

"You owe me," I stated as I pushed past him and into the apartment.

A part of me was expecting to see some beautiful woman sitting on the couch waiting for him but I was oddly glad he was alone. I took a seat on the empty couch and looked back at him with wide eyes.

With just that one look he shut the door and swiftly moved beside me. I looked down at my lap, not able to think of what to say after so long. He grabbed onto my chin and forced my face up. I was face to face with those beautiful bright blue eyes.

"Amu, tell me what's wrong," he demanded. He was neither mad nor annoyed at me, just worried.

I opened my mouth to speak but instead tears started flowing down my face. He wrapped his arms around me. Enticing me with his sweet scent, I melted in his arms. "How did you deal with it," I sobbed.

"Deal with what?"

"Growing up, losing him," I responded in a fit of tears, "I can't stop thinking about them."

"Your eighteen now aren't you?" he questioned.

I nodded although my face was buried in his chest, "I just graduated high school this morning."

He let go of me, looking me in the eyes once more. I could tell it was hard for him. Yoru and him were especially close even though they spent a lot of time apart. In fact this was the first time I had seen him with Yoru being somewhere nearby.

"They all have to go at some point," Ikuto answered. "I don't like thinking about that day. The fact that one moment he was here and the next he was in his egg and disappearing from my life for what might be forever. It's a cruel part of life but we all have to grow up at some point. And we both know that we never saw an adult with a guardian character like we had."

"But..."

"There's no buts, Yoru, Ran, Miki, Su, Di, Eru, Iru and all the rest are gone. The only ones who still get to keep them are the younger ones but even they can't keep them forever."

"Why!" I screamed, "Why do they have to leave? Nothing has changed since I turned eighteen, I'm still the same person as I was before and I still need them just as much!"

Ikuto let out a deep sigh. He grabbed onto my arms and stated, "They aren't gone forever, if we really need them they will come back."

"But... how do you know that they will?" I whimpered.

"I don't."

I grabbed onto him and buried my face in his chest. Six years was far too long to be away from him. Now as I saw him I wasn't sure I could ever let go. "Can I stay here tonight?" I whispered.

I felt him look down at me as he replied, "After you let me stay at your house for so long I guess I can't say no."

"Thanks for being here and talking to me."

"Amu I'd do anything for you."

I removed my face from his chest. I never remembered Ikuto talking like this before. I took my breath away. But before I could say anything back, he pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head.

"It gets better, I promise."