Seiyo Elementary is not an elite academy for gifted students, rich students, or even special students. It is a normal school. But it still has an amazing reputation to it. Mostly thanks to the efforts of the student council, known as the Guardians.
Formed by the students, they work for the students, ensuring they live a happy life within the school, until the graduate and move on to Seiyo Middle School.
The group consists of four students; Hotori Kiseki, the Kings Chair; Fujisaki Temari, the Queens Chair; Souma Daichi, the Jacks Chair; and Yuiki Penelope, the Aces Chair...
"Oi, Miki, when ya gonna stop reading that article?" Hinamori Miki looked up from the magazine she was reading and frowned at her bored sister, Ran, who was sprawled across the table in front of her.
"You be quiet," Miki muttered, hitting her sister atop the head with the magazine. While Ran started moaning about how it hurt, despite only being tapped lightly, their youngest sister, Suu, turned away from the stove where she was cooking dinner for everyone and sighed, "Miki, look what you've done now. You know she won't stop until Mama and Papa get home right?" Miki didn't reply, choosing instead to keep reading, but her eye roll told Suu she'd heard what she'd said and was quite aware. Sighing again, the green eyed sister turned back to the dinner she was making. The sisters fell quiet, even Ran, who still contined whining, but a lot quieter.
"Hey," she suddenly said, grabbing the others attentions, "how long do you think they'll be tonight? I mean, they promised they'd be home for dinner, and besides, they can't stay there too long, right? We've got school tomorrow." Miki lowered the magazine again and bit her lip. Suu was the one who spoke next.
"I'm sure they'll come home soon. She's getting better, so they really shouldn't spend as long as they used to. Plus, this is a new school we're going to, so it's a big deal. They'll be home soon." After a moment of uncertain hesitation, Miki smiled and nodded, trying to comfort Ran, who looked worried. She may have been the eldest, but she was also the least mature of the three. If anything, Miki, the middle child of the three was more mature. But that didn't mean when it came to serious matters, Ran didn't worry most.
But she was happy now, comforted by the two.
"Yeah, you're right. Mama and Papa will be home soon." As she said that, the door opened in the hall, and a voiced called out, "Hey, how's dinner coming?" Ran instantly darted for the door, and threw it open, saying, "Welcome home Mama, Papa!" The blue eyed sister smiled, relieved that Ran was happy, and that their parents had returned. The family had been dealing with difficult times lately, but with their parents' early return home - something they hadn't seen in a while - it was a sign of good things to come. Miki stood from the table, leaving the magazine and gave her father a quick hug.
"Welcome home, you two. Everything looking alright?" she asked. He nodded.
"She's improving. Which is great." Their mother turned to Suu, who bowed and said, "Dinner is almost finished. We just need to plate up."
"I'll do it!" Ran cheered, running to the kitchen cabinet holding the plates.
"I'll help," Miki said, tossing her magazine onto the sofa and grabbing a pile of plates from Ran, who then moved to the cutlery drawer.
"So, you girls looking forward to your new school tomorrow?" their dad asked.
"Yep! I'm joining ALL the sports team!" Ran said, excitedly.
"If there isn't a baking club, I'll make do with a party planning committee," Suu smiled, following behind Miki as she put plates on the table and putting large piles of pasta on each plate.
"There should be an art club, so that would do me," Miki said. Their mother frowned and asked, "Miki, are you sure you don't want to at least put up with the skirt?" When her daughter gave her the same look she always gave at that question, she continued, "Look, sweetheart, I'm just worried about you. Won't you get picked on?"
"I can look after myself, and besides, Ran's made it clear she's gonna look about for me." At this, the pink haired sister nodded, a determined smile on her face.
"Anyone tries picking on either of my sisters, I can give them a stern talking to!"
"Relax. They'll be fine," the woman's husband muttered to her, patting her leg.
"Dinner is served!"
Later that night, once the plates were washed and put away and the tv had been watched till all were bored, the three sisters gathered in Miki's room. She still had her magazine with her, re-reading the article over and over again. The Guardians interested her. Two in particular caught her eyes; to the annoyance of her sisters.
"They're so cute," she muttered, blushing, though she tried to hide her face behind the magazine, though this failed to work against her sisters.
"Pete's sake, Miki, you're always drooling over all the guys," Ran giggled, with Suu chuckling beside her, "With how many guys you've gotten crushes on in the past few years, people would find it hard to believe you're the tomboy of the family." As the two giggled at the foot of her bed, Miki turned an even bright shade of red and shouted, "Sh-shut up!"
Once the three had calmed down, Ran grabbed the magazine, ignoring Miki's yell of, "Hey!" and asked, tracing the outline of the school with her finger, "Seiyo Elementary...what do you think it'll be like?" Suu shrugged, still smiling, and said, "We never know, do we? We only find out once we're experiencing it."
"An odd way of putting it, but yeah, that sounds about right," Ran muttered. She skimmed through the article and asked another question.
"Say...this might sound a bit weird, but is there anything you might want to change about yourself?" When her sisters gave her strange looks, she elaborated, "I mean, something to make you a better person; what do you want to change about yourself to accomplish that? Like...I want to be more of a team player. Be less of one person team, as you guys call me. More helpful and less bossy." With her explanation in mind, the two started thinking.
"I...I guess I wouldn't mind being more confident," Miki said, taking back the magazine and looking at the picture of the Guardians, her eyes trained on the two male members.
"Don't you mean girlier?" Ran chuckled. Miki scowled and gave her sister a light punch on the arm.
"No. I'm perfectly happy the way I am. I would like to be more confident. I have trouble talking to boys, you guys know that. If we're going to this school...I want to at least be able to talk to these guys, the Guardians. I don't care about following through with any crushes. I just want to talk." Her sisters looked at her, solemn expressions of their faces. Suu's hands tightened as she gripped her pajama bottoms.
"I suppose, if I think about it, I wouldn't mind being a bit more assertive. I tend to be a bit of a pushover sometimes," she said, still smiling. But it was a smaller, sadder smile, and her head was down.
"We're pretty pathetic, aren't we?" Ran chuckled nervously. Miki sighed and put the magazine on her bedside table.
"A little."
"I wouldn't say that." They looked up. Suu was still smiling. It was still small. But it was slightly happier.
"I'd say we're just not content enough with who we are. We want to change something about ourselves. Everyone's like that."
"I guess," Ran said, smiling uncertainly. She glanced at Miki's alarm clock and, noticing the time, said, "We should probably sleep. It's late, and I don't want to sleep in on my first day."
"Likewise."
"It makes sense."
"Goodnight," they all said, Ran turning off Miki's light as she left the room.
The next morning, the three sisters made their way downstairs after having washed and gotten changed. The morning had been uneventful by this point, until they entered the living room for breakfast. Miki noticed the rather tiny elephant in the room first.
"Hey, guys," she said, eyes fixed on the coffee table. She didn't have to say anything more, because her sisters noticed it too once she'd pointed it out. Sitting on the coffee table was an egg. It was pink, with a darker pink cross in the middle, and green ribbon criss-crossing around the top of it, and blue ribbon doing the same at the bottom. There was also a note attached.
"Ah, you see it too," their father said, making them jump. He reached for the note and said, "There's a note here for the three of you."
"It's very strange. Just a note, all on its own," their mother said by the cooker, turning away from the bacon that was currently cooking to give them a confused look, "And when we read it, it didn't make much sense. But we assumed you three would know what it meant, so we left it."
"We would also like to hope one of you wrote the note as a joke," their father said sternly, handing it to Miki. They knew what he was implying; he wasn't happy that someone might've snuck in and left them a note. Not angry. He was worried, but he covered it up by looking upset. The blue haired sister skimmed the note several times, understanding what it meant completely, but growing more and more confused at the same time.
"Alright Miki, breakfast is ready. You can read it some more later," their mother told her. She scurried to the table and sat in between her sisters. They leant in close and she whispered, "I guess they can't see the egg. But this note doesn't really make all that much sense."
"Okay you three. You can talk on your way to school. For now though, eat up. Your father and I have to go in today to talk with the doctor," Mrs. Hinamori said, placing their breakfast plates in front of them.
"I thought you said she was doing better," Ran asked worriedly, lowering the toast that she'd been raising to her mouth.
"She is," said Mr. Hinamori, "the doctor just wants to talk to us." This made the girls less nervous, though they were still somewhat worried. Their parents finished quickly and left quickly, leaving the girls alone to discuss the egg.
"What do you think it is?" Suu asked, taking her empty plate to the sink and beginning to clean it.
"Well clearly, it's an egg," Miki muttered sarcastically. Ran pouted and retorted, "Of course it is. But is it a special egg? I mean, it's decorated all fancy like. Plus Mama and Papa can't see it. So it must be special."
"Fair enough. But how is it special? Aside from having invisibility to parents of course," Miki asked, the last sentence delivered slightly sarcastically. Suu paused in the washing of her plate as something came to her.
"I don't know how its special or what it does," she said quietly, "but who exactly is the egg for?"
"W...well...that's a good question," Miki muttered. Ran jumped to her feet and grabbed the egg, saying, "We'll, it's got to be for me. It's pink!" Miki scowled and replied, "Thats hardly a good enough reason." She too stood and grabbed the egg off her sister, but before she could say anything, the egg started to shake within her fist. The blue haired girl squeaked, "It's alive!" tossing it into the air, though she instantly regretted this.
"Miki!" Ran squealed. Suu, realising the danger this mysterious - and now, alive - egg was in, dropped the plate into the sink, grabbed the cloth sitting by the sink and caught the egg. With the crisis averted, all three sisters sighed with relief. Then Ran turned Miki round to face her, grabbing her shoulder to accomplish this, and asked, looking freaked out, "What do you mean "It's alive"?"
"E-exactly that, it shook in my hand when I grabbed it off you."
"So you decided to toss it?" Then, Suu said something, contributing to Miki's statement.
"It's warm," she whispered, holding it in one hand. She stared at it, her expression a mixture of fascination and shock. Ran and Miki slowly walked towards her, equally as shocked. The three sisters were silent, until Ran said determinedly, "Alright, we're taking it in with us!"
"Eh? Are you serious?" Miki said in disbelief, with Suu adding, "But won't it be dangerous having it with us in school?" Ran shook her head and said, grabbing the egg, "Not if we keep it in one of our school bags. Besides, it'd be more dangerous here, where Mama and Papa could accidentally knock it over and not realise."
"But they won't be here..." Miki started, until she trailed off, realising the mistake in her sentence; if their parents were only going in to talk with the doctor, they wouldn't be long. They'd be back home soon.
"You see?" Ran said. Suu, though looking uncertain, mumbled, "It probably would be safer...I guess..." Ran nodded.
"Then it's settled! I'll keep a hold of it!"
"Wait, why you?" Miki shouted. Before Ran could reply, Suu interrupted her, eyes on the clock.
"Um, guys, I think we need to go." The two sisters turned to the clock and, realising the time, said unanimously, "Yeah, we need to go." They quickly darted around, grabbing their bags, with Ran tossing the egg into her own, and leaving the house, running for school.
Later in the day, during break time, the three Hinamori sisters gathered at a picnic bench, dejected.
"Today hasn't went all that well so far," Ran muttered, with Miki nodding and adding, "Being late didn't help." Suu sighed.
"The 4th grade class is insane. They're barely quiet, and now, I'm a laughing stock for tripping when I entered the class," she sniffed, near tears.
"This isn't a great as we thought it'd be," Ran frowned, resting her chin on her hands.
"And there wasn't a single Guardian in sight," Miki pouted. Slamming her hands on the table, Ran scowled, "Seriously? Suu's getting picked on now, we were late, and I just got in trouble for dropping my book on another kid's toe - as you saw! - and that's what you're worried about? Your crush on them boys?" Miki's only response to this was a brief look of annoyance at her sister and a frustrated sniff.
"Ah, they're here!"
"Finally!" The large group of - mostly female - students cried out with glee, and one girl near the sisters said to her friend beside her, "They weren't in class all day, must've been doing official Guardian work."
"Guardian?" Miki asked, sounding hope as she shot to her feet. Even Ran and Suu stood slightly, trying to glimpse over the crowd to see the infamous Guardians. The crowd split as they passed through, allowing the sisters to peak through the gaps between people's heads. They gasped.
The Guardians certainly did look majestic and official looking in their capes, and they walked almost with a sense of pride. Miki started silently squealing to herself and even Suu mumbled, "They really are amazing in person." However Ran's attention was directed elsewhere. She too was enjoying the spectacle, when she heard something hit the ground behind her. Turning, she froze as she saw the egg rolling away from her.
"Ah, the egg," she whispered, horrified as it escaped her. Her sisters heard her, and they too looked horrified as they spied the egg running away from them.
Meanwhile, in the midst of the parade, the King, Kiseki, turned to their direction, as if something had alerted him to the commotion that was going unnoticed by the rest of the crowd. Stopping the Queen, Temari, he muttered something to her and they both made their way toward the three new students. The crowd parted to let them through, confused.
As they got closer to the three, who were bent down and huddled together closely, they could hear them whispering, "Does it look alright?"
"It isn't hurt is it? Is it cracked at all?"
"I hope we didn't break it so soon after getting it."
"Ahem." The three jumped with surprise, shooting to their feet and clustering close together, turning to see the two Guardians behind them.
"Ah, you three must be the new students," Kiseki said, an undefinable look in his eye. Temari smiled.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. And sorry I couldn't be in class to say hello personally, Miki," she said, turning to the blue haired girl.
"A-ah, it's alright. Y-you must've been busy," she stuttered. After Kiseki didn't say anything - Temari's expectant expression behind him hinting that he should have - Temari sighed and said to Ran, "And Kiseki is also sorry he was not in your class today to to so as well." Ran, trying to keep her hands behind her back as far as she could, nodded, looking nervous, like she was trying to hide something.
"I-it's fine! Really, I don't need a personal greeting," she said hurriedly. This caused some of the student near her to start muttering angrily, "What?"
"Who does she think she is?"
"Receiving a personal greeting from the great King himself would be an honour!" This caused Ran to start looking quite ashamed, blushing bright red. Meanwhile, Temari handed Suu a handkerchief and asked, "Are you alright?" She merely nodded, taking the handkerchief and quickly wiping her face. She went to hand it back, but Temari held up her hand.
"It's okay. You can return it after school," she smiled. Tapping Kiseki on the shoulder, they turned to join the other Guardians, but not before Temari gave them one last smile and a wave. The crowd gave them some disgusted looks before closing up again, blocking the Guardians from view.
"That was..." Miki started, with Ran finishing, "...interesting. And unexpected."
"And close," Miki sighed, "We almost lost the egg." Ran nodded, then hit her head.
"Why did we feel the need to hide it? We already know people can't see it."
"We already know our parents can't see it, we don't know about other kids," Miki countered. Meanwhile, Suu was giving her face another, proper wipe with the handkerchief when something fell out from the folds. Picking it up, she said, "Hey, it's a note. Temari must have left it." The other sisters stopped arguing to see what Suu meant, and sure enough, she was holding a small square of paper with writing on it.
"'Please come to the Royal Garden after school. All three of you preferably. And with the...'" Suu began reading, but she trailed off, turning pale. She gulped and continued, "'...with the egg. Signed, Fujisaki Temari.'"
"Eh? They know about the egg?" Ran gasped, whispering to prevent other students from hearing. Miki bit her lip, then asked, "But how? There's no way they could've seen it since the view is blocked by all these students!" They fell into silence. Then Suu sighed, pocketing the note and the handkerchief.
"I guess we'll just have to find out after school."
After school, the Hinamori sisters had gathered outside the large conservatory that was known as the Royal Garden and served as a base for the Guardians. They clustered closely, nervous.
"Well, this is it," Ran whispered.
"No use waiting out here," Suu added.
"Lets go then. It's silly to just stand here, waiting for someone to come to the door for us," Miki said, standing straight and walking to the door. She grabbed the handle, then turned, as if waiting for her sisters to join her. They both hesitated, then nodded, running up to join her. Miki pushed open the door, add the three gasped as they entered the prettiest garden they'd ever seen. Trees towered over them, and roses and lilies and all sorts of flowers in all sorts of colours fenced the path.
As they walked, taking in the sights around them, they came to a large fountain, which sat in the centre of the room, the path splitting around it. And at the end of the path stood a large bandstand, where the Guardians were waiting.
"Oi, there they are. Took yas long enough! And I thought you were joking, Tem," one of them, the Jack, Daichi joked, laughing out loud as he swung in his chair. This earned him a sharp, "Sit properly!" from the Ace, Penelope, sitting next to him, and another from Temari, "Don't be rude."
"Ah, you know I don't mean anything by it, Tem." The sisters were rather overwhelmed by it all already. The fact that they'd been invited to the Royal Garden was big for a start. And then there was the...rather casual greeting from one of the Guardians. It was starting to get a bit freaky for the girls. But what really pushed it for them, and made them start to freak out was the tiny person floating up to them and saying, "Hi! Temari told us all about you! Plus Pepe did her own research!"
This was a bit much for the girls. There was weird, and then there was this, which crossed the line, frankly. They passed out.
It was a little bit later when the three woke up. Or more accurately, Ran and Miki recovered quickly, and it was a bit later when Suu woke up. By now, Ran and Miki had been having tea - awkwardly remaining silent - and more tiny people had emerged. When Suu awoke, one of these little people floated up to her and handed her the handkerchief Temari had given her earlier. The tiny figure - which wore a lavender kimono that covered her entire body, but had short sleeves, leaving her arms bare - said, "I hope you're feeling okay now. And I apologise on Yaya's behalf, she wasn't aware that you weren't ready for such an encounter." Though she was still shocked that she was being spoken to by such a tiny person - who was floating, for good measure - Suu nodded, taking the handkerchief and patting her sweating head.
"Th-thank you," she responded, sitting up from the small bench style seat she'd been resting on. Spying her sisters, she stood and joined them, sitting in the empty seat beside them, assuming it was for her. It was at this point that Temari re-entered the garden, holding a tray of tea.
"Ah, you're all looking better," she said, placing the tray in the table. The other Guardians payed her no attention, focusing entirely on their papers. The only ones that seemed to notice her entrance and acknowledge it were the Hinamori sisters and the tiny figures that were hanging around the centre of the table. The one that had handed Suu the handkerchief floated up to Temari and asked, "Have you got anymore scones, or did Daichi and Kukai eat them all?" Temari smiled at the figure and pet her lightly on the head.
"Don't worry, Nadeshiko, I've still got plenty. Provided Daichi and Kukai can hold back, we might even have some remaining for when we go home," she giggled. This prompted Daichi and one of the figures - Kukai, they assumed - to roll their eyes and ignore her.
"Tea?" Temari asked Suu, holding up the pot and an empty cup. The girl merely nodded, keeping quiet. The sisters' eyes remained focused on the figures, all three wondering who they were and what they were. When the cup and saucer were placed in front of her, she simply held it, keeping her head down. The group remained quiet, the atmosphere awkward, at least to the sisters. Only the figures made noise, talking to each other and playing with the spare pens and unused sugar cubes.
"Oi~, Kukai!" one of them, they identified as Yaya, the one that scared them earlier, cheered, jumping onto his back. Once she was positioned, she shouted over to the other two, "Hey, Nadeshiko, Tadase, how about a piggyback race?" To the Hinamori sisters' surprise, Nadeshiko gave the tiny blonde boy beside her a sly smile. Grabbing him and moving him behind her, she said, "Why not? It should be fun." And with that, Tadase rather reluctantly climbed onto her back.
The Guardians, without looking from their papers, pushed their tea cups into the centre of the table, creating a makeshift race course for them. Yet before the sisters could become engrossed in the race, Temari lowered their pen and asked, resting her head on her entwined fingers, "So, did you bring your egg?" This caused the other Guardians to also lower their pens and turn their attention to the sisters.
"Uh, y-yes!" Ran said, nervously. She hurriedly grabbed her bag, which was hanging off the back of the chair she was sitting on and she removed the egg, resting it in front of her. Suu quickly folded up the handkerchief and pushed it under the egg, ignoring the looks her sisters gave her. The appearance of the egg made the other figures stop their game and instead crowd around the egg.
"Uh..." The Guardians and the figures' attentions turned to Miki, who began mumbling, blushing, "What exactly is going on?"
"That's a good question, Miki!" Ran nodded, "For starters, what is this egg? Cause it isn't normal, that's for sure! And what are these...people? And why do you know all this stuff?" she asked rapidly, her arms flying all around the place, motioning to everything and everyone.
"Oh, do calm down, you're acting hysterical," Kiseki muttered, though at a pitch quite audible to everyone. While Temari did give him a warning look, he was mostly ignored. The one who began the explanation was Penelope.
"To answer your questions, the egg is a shugo chara egg, which also answers your question about what these are," she said, motioning to the small creatures.
"Well in that case, could we please receive an explanation as to what a shugo chara is?" Miki asked. The Ace nodded.
"Fair enough. A shugo chara is a guardian, born from the egg of our hearts, to provide additional explanation about the egg. They help you achieve your dreams and make you the person you would rather be. Help you become your true self, if you would rather," Penelope explained.
"The egg of our hearts?" the three said unanimously. Temari nodded. Kiseki handed them a book while she said, "I believe this picture book would better explain that part." Miki took a hold of the book and, her sisters leaning in close, began flipping through the pages. The book told the story of an egg that was lost, and wanted to know what it was meant to do, who it was meant to become.
"The first King made that book," Daichi said, "But, as you can see, it's been tampered with." As he said this, Miki turned the page only to find a page was torn out.
"Do you know who ruined it?" Ran asked. The Guardians shrugged in response.
"Now, we just have a question for you," Kiseki said, taking the book back off Miki.
"Which would be?" said Suu. Temari leaned in closer, eyes sparkling.
"Do you happened to know who exactly the egg belongs to?" At this, the sisters shared several confused looks, with Ran answering for them.
"Actually, no. We found it this morning in our living room with a note attached to it." Miki, remembering the note, started digging in her pockets, muttering, "Which I should still have." Upon finding it, she handed it to Temari. The Queen read the note quickly, several times, before saying quietly to herself, "I see." Putting the note down, she said in a serious tone, closing her eyes, "It appears we have a case of a shared chara on our hands." The Guardians' expressions all turned surprised.
"A shared chara? But isn't that just a myth?" Penelope asked.
"Its not a myth," Kiseki said, looking as serious as Temari, "but it certainly is rare."
"Eh? And how do you know this? You seen one before?" Daichi asked. Kiseki shook his head, though he looked away when he continued, "Not necessarily. But I have heard of it from a friend." His chara, Tadase, floated by his shoulder. He pitched in, "It was a while ago since we've seen this friend though, so it would be difficult to verify, unfortunately." It was at this point that Temari realised, "Oh, that's right, you haven't been introduced to our charas. Well," Nadeshiko floated up to Temari's shoulder, where Temari proceeded to motion to her, "this is my chara, Nadeshiko."
"Kukai," said Daichi, as the tanned chara settled into his hair. Tadase floated down to the table in front of Kiseki, who introduced him as such. And lastly was Penelope.
"And this is Yaya," she said, as her own chara tackled Kukai off Daichi's head.
"Yaya's personality is quite the contrast to your own, if you don't mind me saying so, Pene-"
"Hold it." Suu stopped her comment as Penelope held up her hand.
"If you yourself don't mind me interrupting, I would like to point out that I generally dislike being called by my full name. If anything, I prefer to be called by my nickname. And yes, it is a contrast. I'm aware," she said. Daichi shrugged, giving the confused sisters a relaxed look.
"Yeah, everyone calls her Pepe. The only exceptions are the teachers and the "fangirls', so to speak."
"Th...that makes sense...I think," Miki said weakly. In her opinion, the nickname sounded slightly childish, and didn't at all fit the mature girl sitting next to her. But who was she to argue. Ran, attempting to avoid an awkward silence, asked, "S-so, is there anything else we need to know about charas? Do they need a special food or something?"
"We're not dogs, y'know," Kukai said, looking unamused as he floated up in front of Ran's face, "We can eat perfectly normal food." Nadeshiko floated up beside Kukai and said, "If anything, all you need to know is that you need to believe in your dream - or in your case, your individual dreams - or the chara will disappear."
"Disappear? As in, forever?" Suu gasped, her green eyes widening. The charas merely nodded.
"Actually, there is one other thing. It's a duty we perform as chara bearers, though its something we choose to do ourselves," Temari said.
"Which is?" The three asked. Pepe took over the explanation, "We protect other kids' eggs. For some kids, their eggs don't make themselves known outside their bodies like ours have. And for some, they have. Either way, kids can be easily influenced to think their dream is useless or not worth achieving. When this happens, and the child loses faith, their egg becomes an X Egg."
"An X Egg," Daichi continued, leaning forward and sitting properly in his seat, "is a dangerous thing, but what even more dangerous is what's inside it. An X Chara. They can be nasty, and attack ruthlessly. So we prefer to deal with the egg before it hatches."
"We don't destroy it," Temari said, noticing the Hinamori sisters' expression looked a bit worried, "We merely purify the eggs and the charas. But like Daichi said, we prefer to deal with the eggs. Not for any selfish reason, but more because we can't achieve Chara Transformations yet, therefore eggs are easier to purify with a Chara Change."
"Chara Change?" The eldest sister muttered, becoming overwhelmed by the new information.
"Chara...Transformation?" said Miki, is the same boat as her sister.
"Ah, it appears we're going too fast," Kukai chuckled, with Yaya squeaking, "We are! Slow down, the newbies can't keep up!"
"Yaya, don't be rude," Pepe scolded the chara, tapping her head lightly.
"But it does appear we're going too fast. Apologies," Temari said, smiling and nodding her head slightly to imitate a bow. But before she could begin, Kiseki, who'd remained mostly quiet during the explanations, pitched in.
"A Chara Change is a brief moment when your chara takes control, granting you either a change of personality or a change of skill. A Chara Transformation isn't a frequent thing, therefore, the most we know about them is that they allow you an increase in energy and athletic ability, and even more so if you have an athletic chara, and an even stronger ability to fight X Eggs and Charas. Also, to actually perform a Chara Transformation, you need something."
"Ah, thank you Kiseki, that was well explained. And without coming across as superior. Well done," Temari smiled, causing the King to blush slightly and mutter something no-one but himself and his chara could hear.
"He's right about all of that, and especially about the last part," she continued, picking up where he left off.
"None of us have been able to perform a Chara Transformation, because we lack what is needed; either the Humpty Lock or the Dumpty Key."
"They sound cool," Ran gushed, "What do they do, aside from the transforming thing?" The Guardians all shared uncertain looks. Then, Daichi shrugged again and said, "That's the thing, aside from the transforming thing, we have no clue if either have got any special abilities beyond assisting in achieving a Chara Transformation."
"There's also a rumour that we Guardians - at least, previous Guardians - used to have the Humpty Lock, but it was stolen one day. How true the part about us owning it is still to be verified," Temari continued.
"That's a shame, it would've been cool to at least see a Chara Transformation," Ran sighed. At that moment, the school chime went off. Miki started to look panicked, and asked, "H-hey, what time is it?" Daichi looked at his watch and said, "It's only hit 5-" He was cut off as the three sisters jumped to their feet, all three looking thoroughly panicked now as Ran yelled," No way!"
"We didn't tell our parents about this meeting thing, they're probably freaking out!" Miki screamed, grabbing her bag and running, Ran and Miki behind her. Suu stopped at the fountain, turned and bowsayis housing over her shoulder as she continued running, "Thank you for having us!" This left the Guardians to watch them run out of the Royal Garden, amused almost at the display. Daichi and Kukai laughed.
"If they're gonna start hanging around here from now on, at least it won't be so boring anymore," the boy laughed, fist bumping his chara.
The girls had decided to take a short cut home, past the construction site for a block of apartments. As they ran, the eldest sister having taken the lead by this point as the most athletic of the three, Miki from behind her noticed something. In their rush to leave the Royal Garden, Ran had just stuffed the egg in her blazer pocket. Now, either because of Ran's running or of its own free will, the egg was beginning to edge it's way out of her pocket.
"Ran, be careful! The egg!" she shouted, but this only caused Ran to turn around mid-run, which in turn made the egg fly out her pocket. The pink haired sister noticed this and tried to catch it, but she missed. Fortunately, when the egg hit the ground, it didn't break. However, unfortunately, it began to roll into the construction site. The three skidded to a halt and took chase, but someone beat them to the egg.
"Mine!" someone shouted, and a shadowed figure leapt out of nowhere to snatch the egg, proceeding to them jump onto the wall surrounding the site.
"Oi, Ikuto, check this!" the blue haired boy said, which then caused a chara to float down from somewhere and toward the egg.
"This is a good catch, Yoru. The boss might actually be proud of you for once," he smirked, sitting a top the egg. This caused it the shake slightly, but Yoru's hand tightened around it. Yoru looked unamused at Ikuto's comment, choosing instead to stick out his tongue at the chara and retort, "Don't act like I'm always a screw up, nyaa!"
"Eh, he meows like a cat?" Miki muttered in disbelief. Ran's focus remained on the stolen egg, unlike her sister.
"Give us back our egg!" she shouted, with Suu chipping in, "Yes, it isn't yours, so why take it?" The two atop the wall turned to the girls. Ikuto chuckled, "Fiesty, aren't they?"
"If you must know," Yoru said, jumping off the wall and walking toward the sisters, "I need this egg, so you can't have it back. You're just going to have to deal with it, nyaa."
"Seriously, he meows? Who does that as if its a part of their normal speech?" Miki whispered, the boy's odd behaviour getting to her. She could understand the Guardians, for at least they didn't have any weird verbal tics, but this boy was adding 'nyaa' to his sentences naturally, and she didn't understand.
"Miki, stay focused, he's got our egg," Ran hissed to her sister. Yoru grinned and said teasingly, "Thats right, and I'm keeping it!" Ran growled and darted forward at him, screaming, "No you're not!" Just as she was about to tackle him, he jumped, surprised at her sudden attack and threw the egg above her head. She skidded to a halt and changed direction, but Miki was closer. Snapping to her senses, she began running after the egg, but she couldn't get very far, because Yoru had jumped onto her back, pinning her down. Meanwhile, Ikuto had grabbed the egg and floated back to the wall, balancing it on top while he sat on it. The egg shook, but it remained stable on the wall.
"Miki!" her sisters screamed, both stopping. Yoru, who now suddenly wore cat ears on his head, sat himself on Miki's back, holding her wrists together and keeping them behind her. Miki squirmed beneath him, finding his weight painful to bear. The boy looked over his shoulder and smirked, his amber eyes gleaming in the sunset.
"Well, looks like you got a choice here, nyaa. Save your sister and let us have the egg, or go for the egg and have your beloved sister here get hurt. Even if you go for the egg option..." he stopped, though Ikuto picked up his sentence.
"There's no guarantee that I won't accidentally kick the egg off the wall. And I'm sure it won't survive the fall." Ran and Suu looked between the egg and their sister, torn between what they were to do. Any other time, Miki would obviously be their first priority, but in this case, they also had to think about the egg - their dreams and wishes to be better people were contained within it and, even in her current predicament, even Miki would want them to save the egg. To anyone else, it would seem selfish, but to them, the decision they would make would be important for all three of them.
"Suu," Ran said quietly, trying to speak so only Suu could hear her, "when I tell you to, I need to you run for Miki. I'll go for the egg." Before Suu could protest, Ran quickly added, "I'm the fastest. If I go for it, there might be the chance that I can catch it." Suu couldn't argue with her, so she only nodded.
"Come to a decision?" Yoru asked, his grip tightening around Miki's wrists, causing her to wince.
"Yes, we have," Ran replied, sounding confident. She took a step forward, only to quickly turn on the ball of her foot and shout, running past her sister, "Suu!" At this, Suu darted forward and pushed Yoru off Miki, grabbing her and hauling her to her feet. Yoru, initially confused, realised what was happening and shouted, "Ikuto, the egg!" But his chara was already ahead of him, pushing the chara off the wall with his feet. Ran kept running, but she began to realise she might not make it. In a last ditch effort, she jumped for it, holding out her hand to try and catch it. However, she fell short, hitting the ground hard. She stared, horrified as the egg continued falling. Fortunately, her horror would turn to relief as two familiar faces swooped in and caught the egg.
"Nadeshiko! Kukai!" Realising the implications of the two charas being there, she turned and saw the Guardians running into the construction site. While Temari and Pepe ran to Miki and Suu and Daichi took to Ran, helping her to her feet, Kiseki froze upon seeing Yoru.
"You! I should've known. You always were a rat that enjoyed stealing chara eggs," he growled. Yoru hissed, Ikuto floating up to join him.
"Hey, who says I enjoy stealing eggs? Not me, that's for sure! It's not a hobby, it's a job, nyaa. Also, I'm not a rat, I'm a cat!"
"So you still have that stupid verbal tic of yours. How quaint," Kiseki muttered, disdain clear in his voice, "And you're not much of a cat; more a childish little kitten if you ask me." Temari turned sharply to face the King and snapped, "Don't provoke him, Kiseki!" She was ignored, as Kiseki started walking toward the boy.
"Tadase." This simple order caused a crown to appear on Kiseki's head, as well as a sceptre in his hand. He stopped and raised the sceptre to point it at Yoru.
"You can either leave peacefully, or fight. But let me tell you that if you choose to fight, it is you that will leave here with wounds for you to lick." Yoru growled, his amber eyes seeming to slit themselves like a cat. Ikuto however remained calm. Just as Yoru was about to snap back a retort, he floated between his human and the sceptre point and said, "Very well, we will leave for now. But so long as that egg remains unhatched, we will come back. And even then, this certainly won't be the last time you'll see us. Especially as long as the Embryo is out there."
Then, he started to float away, throwing a sharp "Come, Yoru," over his shoulder. Yoru opened his mouth as if to protest, but then thought better of it, instead choosing to pout over the change in advantage that had occurred and run after Ikuto. The two then jumped away into the setting sun, disappearing from view after a while.
"The nerve," Kiseki hissed, catching everyone's attention.
"He has the nerve to bring up the Embryo. He's always been cocky about it, thinking he and Yoru will get it. I hate that little chara," he growled, as the sceptre and crown disappeared. Temari placed a hand on his shoulder, and told him in a warning tone, "Kiseki, you really need to calm down. What if that had turned into a confrontation?"
"Yeah, we got an unborn egg here. It's too dangerous," Daichi added, with Pepe adding herself, "Especially since the unborn egg is what they want."
"Um," the Guardians turned to Miki, who coughed to clear her throat, then asked, "who were they? And why did they want our egg?"
"And what's the Embryo they mentioned?" Suu pitched in. Temari opened her mouth to answer them, but Kiseki interrupted her, answering sharply, "We can answer those questions tomorrow. For now though, shouldn't you three be going home?" Ran gasped, remembering they were late.
"He's right! We are late!" She grabbed the egg off Nadeshiko and Kukai and started running again, with Miki running after her panicking, "They're gonna be freaking out!" Once again, Suu stopped before running after them by the entrance to the construction site. She bowed again and said, "Thank you for saving us. See you tomorrow at school." And with that, she continued running after her sisters. The Guardians were left alone.
"So Easter is still collecting eggs?" Pepe said quietly. Tadase, with a serious expression on his face, frowned.
"And it's still by the same low methods," he said. Kiseki scowled.
"They think collecting unborn eggs is going to get them the Embryo? They've got to think again." Temari sighed.
"For now though, we should go our separate ways for tonight."
"And keep an eye on those girls. They got potential if you ask me," Daichi said. Kukai floated up by him and nudged his cheek, saying with a grin, "That Ran girl certainly has potential, if you get me." His response was almost getting swatted by Daichi. The Queen, Ace and Jack and their charas started walking away from the construction site, Daichi and Kukai laughing and joking while the girls talked between each other. Only Kiseki and Tadase remained.
"You're worried about those girls. And about Easter's plans. Aren't you?" Tadase asked. Kiseki didn't say anything at first, but then he closed his eyes and frowned.
"My main objective is to figure out what they're planning, why they need the Embryo, and to stop them, whatever it takes. Those girls come second." And with that, he began walking away. Tadase waited though. He smiled.
"You and I both know that isn't entirely true."
And with that little "cliffhanger", I guess, it is done!
So, I haven't really done much writing lately, I did a quick fic for the new Rozen Maiden anime that's out now, but if anything, I haven't written for Shugo Chara! in aaaaaaages! But, I've started rewatching it, and I got this idea in my head for a fanfic.
That idea is what you just read. "What if everything was switched around? Humans are charas, and charas are humans."
There may be somethings confusing here, but I would be happy to explain anything that confused you in a PM, plus, I might be able to expand on somethings, but only if I am able to do a thing, which I explain here:
For now, it'll remain a oneshot, but I would really like to expand this into a multi chapter, but only if youse express interest. I wouldn't continue it knowing people weren't interested. But if I do continue it, it'll give me the chance to expand on a lot of things, like the whole shared chara thing I mentioned. Also, the mysterious person that takes up most of the Hinamori parents time.
Also, I don't want this to be a rewrite of the official story, I want this to have its own plot and such. So don't start asking why it doesn't resemble the anime or the manga plot-wise.
Well, that's about it for the A/Ns. I hope you enjoyed reading and I do hope you would like me to continue this into a multi. If you do, however, please note it will take me time to kick it up, cause I would like to have some chapters pre-written before starting. And this alone took me about three or four days.
Reviews would be nice, but do know that you don't have to review if you don't want to. Just be aware that its nice to leave me some nice, encouraging words, or some constructive criticism. But only if you want to. I'm not forcing you. :)
Angel-chan x
