Hello, hello! I'm sorry about not updating The Ones that Go Unheard but this one is more... satisfying(?) for me right now.

I don't own Shugo Chara!

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Amu headed to the secret clearing in the forest, where she said she'd meet Rima. She was satisfied with the way the events were seeming to go. She had never met the Winter King but she had heard rumors that he was kind and wise. Surely such a king would accept their request? She shook off her thoughts as she neared the clearing; Rima would pick up on her emotions otherwise.

Rima was perched on a rock, her light pink wings fanned out behind her lazily. Her tail was short and barely noticeable.

"Hey, Rima!" Amu called, waving her hand. Rima sat up immediately, her tail vanishing behind her. Her wings folded just as quickly and Amu rolled her eyes.

"Oh. It's just you." Rima assumed her position again staring at the sky. Amu feigned mock hurt but Rima didn't even bat an eye.

"Okay, fine. But seriously, what is so embarrassing about relaxing?"

"Well, it's unladylike."

"…Are you calling me unladylike?" Amu asked, plopping down next to her, slightly surprised Nagihiko wasn't there.

"Amu, there are some things we need to accept in our lives, and one of them is that you are unladylike."

"But I'm a princess!"

"Not in heart." Amu refused to comment and changed the topic.

"Okay, why are we here again?"

"Don't you want to fly? I feel so cramped," Rima whined, getting up and stretching.

"Well, yes. But where's Nagihiko, then?"

"We're going to the lake! Besides, we haven't spent time alone, in forever! Anyway, enough chitchat, my wings are dying to be stretched. Let's go!"

Rima immediately began to grow salmon colored scales. Her body grew from a human to a dragon shape before her wings began to stretch and grow. Her tail thumped onto the floor, surprising Amu.

"Aren't you coming?" Rima asked, her voice lower and rougher. She shook herself, nearly knocking down the trees nearby; the clearing was somewhat small.

Amu closed her eyes, and let the fire within her engulf her senses. She could hear a whirling in her ear, and felt a burning fire well up and explode from her chest. When she opened her eyes, she was eye to eye with Rima. The heat was now running through her veins, and a flame covered her heart, pumping her with energy.

"You still glow when you transform. And you still give off those sparkles," Rima snorted.

"Please. Don't remind me. It's so embarrassing." Amu flexed her wings and shook herself out, stretching her muscles refreshingly. Rima chortled before taking off into the air, the force of her wings tearing mounds of leaves off trees. Amu followed suit, using her hind legs to push herself off the ground before flapping her wings powerfully. They flew side by side, enjoying the warmth of the sun beating down onto their scales.

"Doesn't it feel amazing?" Rima asked, twirling in the air once. Her scales glittered in the sunlight, giving them a lustrous effect.

They flew around aimlessly for a while, racing, laughing, and enjoying the weather.

"Hey, let's go to the lake now!"

"Hot?"

"Duh."

Rima led the way, soaring upwards, faster and faster. The wind was howling in Amu's face but she just flew higher and harder. She could barely hear Rima's voice saying that they were almost there over the screaming wind. Amu shivered as she passed through a cloud, droplets of water clinging onto her warm body. As they neared the lake, Amu could already feel the warmth seeping in between her scales and she slowed down, using her wings to stop her flight. She tumbled down onto the rocks and looked around to see Rima panting next to her. Amu opened her mouth to speak but the water droplets were evaporating quickly, cooling her skin down considerably. It was too cold for a dragon like her.

She clambered down the steep hill and soon enough, she saw a red liquid bubbling in a basin large enough for five adult dragons. Amu gingerly stepped in, sighing in relief when the lava enveloped her clammy feet. She sunk down until only her head was above the liquid and she turned to see Rima(again) snuggling into a crevice in between the rocks. They didn't speak for a while, enjoying the warmth.

They had discovered the basin a few years back, when they were in their adolescent form of a dragon. It was one of their hardest journeys because the basin was so far up. But, it was for this very reason no one else knew of their secret spot. The clouds shrouded the area, closing it off to the rest of the world. Amu could think about things comfortably here and relax—to the point she sometimes fell asleep—something she couldn't do in the palace.

"Hey Rima?" she called softly.

"Hmm?"

"What do you think will happen?" she asked. Rima understood.

"Well, if the King doesn't accept, a war will probably have to happen."

"And us?"

"We'll train for that day. We'll be ruthless and strong. And we'll defeat them." Amu hummed in response but she couldn't help but feel uneasy.

When the two returned to the palace, people were milling about, frantic and agitated. Some were so upset they were beginning to transform, frightening the children.

"What's going on?" Rima asked a nearby stranger.

"W-war!"

Amu's eyes widened in shock. This couldn't be happening. Her wings were out before she knew it and she flew into a window nearest to the throne room, Rima right behind her. She ran to the doors and flung them open. The King was red with fury and he was shouting commands to a general that looked like they were about to pass out.

"What happened?" Amu asked her mother who was biting her lip nearby.

"A box came. Look for yourself." Amu looked around before she spotted a large, black box near the throne. Her heart was slamming against her ribcage wildly; what would it be? When she opened the lid, she nearly screamed in horror. The view was grotesque. Blood was pooling in the box and the face was so cut up it was barely recognizable. The hair was pasted onto the face from the sticky red blood. She shut the lid immediately.

"This is ridiculous!" The King shouted. "Train the troops! Go!"

The general ran out the door, afraid the King would get even angrier.

"F-father. What should I do?"

"What can you do? Nothing, I presume," he scowled before stomping out the door.

"Oh Amu," Sakura said, gliding over to her. Her mother enveloped her in her arms and kissed her on the forehead. "Your father is just mad right now."

"What should I do?" Amu asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Train, darling. I know you can do it. Show the Winter Kingdom just who we are." Sakura kissed her on the forehead once more and released her. "Will you do it?"

"Y-yeah."

"Good luck, dear. We have six months."

Amu nodded and walked out the door, feeling numb. There really was going to be a war. She had thought of it as a possibility, but it had never occurred to her that the possibility was all too real.

"Amu…," Rima whispered, her face pale with fright. "I-It's actually true…"

Amu swallowed silently and regained her energy quickly. It would do no good to be weak in front of Rima, especially because she relied on her so much.

"It's going to be okay. Just like you said, we're going to train and we're going to fight."

"But… I didn't really think it would happen."

"No one did!" Amu snapped, her fear sparking her irritable side, "But we're fire dracons, and we're going to show them who we are. Okay?" Rima nodded weakly and Amu gave a small smile of reassurance before returning to her room.

She wanted to believe that she was ready—she really did—but deep down, she knew it was nothing but a lie.

X

"Yo!" Kukai said, lumbering into the room.

"What?" Ikuto asked, feeling a little annoyed that he didn't bother to knock.

"There's gonna be a war. You were right!" Ikuto rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"Well. Isn't that obvious?"

"Yeah, but it's going to be in six months."

"What? Who decided that?" Kukai shrugged, snagging a lollipop from Ikuto's desk.

"I don't know. Apparently it's like in the Book of War Tactics that you have to give your enemy six months to prepare."

"What the heck?" Kukai unwrapped the lollipop and popped it into his mouth.

"Beats me. You're already strong anyway. Anyway, I came to ask if you wanted to go for a stretch."

Ikuto agreed; it had been a couple of days since he had last gotten to really fly. When they headed out and transformed, Kukai managed to knock down a couple of trees with his large, icy blue wings.

"Watch out! Pops is gonna kill me if he sees that."

"No he's not," Kukai chuckled—easy for him to say, Ikuto thought; he had never met his father's wrath—and flew into the air, his pale blue scales glistening in the sun. Ikuto sighed exasperatedly and transformed quickly, letting the wintry winds in his body overtake him. He followed Kukai quickly and was rewarded with the scene of Kukai scratching his back.

"It's so hot! My back is all itchy now!"

Ikuto sighed. Kukai was really stupid sometimes and at these times, he was ashamed to call him a friend.

"Just raise your temperature. Then it'll go away." Ikuto said no more than that; Kukai should be able to figure it out on his own. After a few tries, Kukai still didn't understand so they simply dove into a couple of clouds. Each time they did, it provided a moment of relief (for Kukai, at least) from the unrelenting rays. Although it was a bit tiring to keep his temperature regulated the whole time, he thought that being able to stretch his wings were definitely worth it.

After what seemed like a couple of hours, they landed near the palace and transformed back to their human form. They walked back to the palace instead of flying back like they usually did, Kukai chattering animatedly. When Kukai spotted Utau, he bade Ikuto goodbye before running off to her and beginning a new conversation there.

Ikuto headed toward the castle grounds where he could find his mentor. Then he'd train because, well, how else could you prepare for a battle?

X

A/N: Well I have nothing to say in particular. But I would like to read your comments~~!~
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