Cuxie: Kya! I've gotten such fabulous reviews!

Ami: Really?

Daisy: Shugoi!

Cuxie: Oooh, I just feel like I have to update now. I don't want to keep anyone waiting any longer.

Amu: That never seemed to bother you before.

Cuxie: Silence! You're disrupting my creative process!

Amu: Just say it.

Cuxie: Well, maybe I don't wanna say it now.~3~

Amu: Then I will. Ro--

Cuxie: --lling! That's my job! =_=

"Daisy! Daisy, c'mon! We're going to be late!" I stared through my mirror, inspecting my room from the reflection, expecting my chara to pop up from any corner. Nothing. "Daisy?" A cold chill crept up my spine when I considered where she might be. I've already stressed how important it is for her to stay in my room at all times. I know most people aren't supposed to be able to see charas, but you can never be sure.

So far, she's been pretty good about staying in my room, if only so she can go through all my stuff. But I figured she'd get bored eventually; her curiosity would get the best of her and she'd go exploring around the rest of the house.

I sighed. I really don't need this today. I can't believe the Welcoming Ceremony is already here. Today's the day they announce my new position as the Ace's Chair in the Guardians, and I've barely had time to prepare for it. My head was all ready spinning and my stomach was in knots.

And now my chara's missing. Great.

Cracking my door open, I peeked out into the hall. It was empty. "Daisy?" I called quietly. "Daisy, please..." I crept out into the hall. "We have to leave soon. If you're playing, this is just--"

"Ami?"

I spun around, straightening up. "M-Mama!"

She peered at me skeptically. "Who are you talking to?"

"N-No one! I-I was just...looking for Onee-chan!"

She stared at me for a second longer, one eyebrow raised in what I had to assume was disbelief. I'm a terrible liar. "Alright then...She's in her room."

"O-Okay," I laughed nervously and stepped backwards towards my sister's room, not turning around until Mama had gone back downstairs. The door was slightly ajar and I could hear Onee-chan getting ready inside and...talking to someone?

She's probably just on the phone or something...I peeked my head inside, peering through the crack. A saw a blur of pink and black as Amu moved quickly around the room. She was mumbling something, her voice growing louder and then quieter. "...you guys put it...? It was right...Ah!" I heard the sound of something snapping and then Onee-chan cry, "Miki! I need another hairclip!"

Miki? Why does that name sound familiar? I can't place a face to it. Of all of Onee-chan's friends, there are the ones I've known forever, like Rima, Yaya, Nagihiko, friends Amu's had forever. And there are the other ones, who I don't know at all. Not even names. I'm sure she's mentioned them, but I've never had a reason to need to recall them.

"Suu? Where's Suu?" Another familiar-unfamiliar name. But the way she's talking...it doesn't sound like she's on the phone.

"I'm here, desu." That was definitely not Amu.

I pressed myself tighter against the wall, trying to see who could possibly be in my sister's room this early in the morning. Something green zipped past the door, trailing after Amu. It looked way too big to be a bug.

"Wah! Cute!"

Oh, gosh. I know that voice.

I threw open the door. "Daisy! What are you doing in here?!" Everyone froze. And by 'everyone' I mean more than just my sister and my chara. Onee-chan was in the middle of fixing her hair, her hands frozen on top of her head as she stared at me. Floatingjust above her head was a blue chara with a beret. She held a rhinestoned clip against Amu's hair. Two charas in various shades of green and yellow were pulling on the comforter, fixing Amu's bed. And, helping my own chara hold up a pretty blue heart pendant, was a pink chara.

All of which looked very familiar.

"Ah, Ami," Amu smiled at me. "Want me to fix your hair again?"

"I can't believe I forgot about Onee-chan's charas..." Walking just through the school gates, I let my mind wander, no longer concerned with being late. Daisy flew beside me, practically shaking with excitement about the ceremony. I would've been shaking too (with something else) if I hadn't been so preoccupied.

I tried desperately to recall something about my sister's charas, a fragment of some long lost memory or something. But I couldn't recall a thing. And yet they had still looked so familiar. According to Onee-chan, I used to play with them a lot. Then around the age of five I stopped being able to see them. She said it was like I'd forgotten they existed.

'You were probably able to see them then because you were so young,' she said. 'Or, who knows, maybe it's because you were going to have one of your own one day.'

I sighed, rubbing my temples. So does that mean I was destined to have Daisy? Had Onee-chan seen this coming? No...she would've told me then, right?

And to add on to everything, Onee-chan found out about my becoming a Guardian. I'd meant to keep it a secret; I didn't want her to think I was trying to follow in her footsteps or anything. That'd be pathetic. But Daisy just blurted it out... And I'm not even sure I'm going to stick to the Guardian thing.

"Ugh...This is too much to think about."

"What is?"

"Ah!" My heart jumped into my throat and I flinched. Seo-san stood beside me, holding his hands up innocently. "Y-You scared me," I said as though that weren't obvious.

"Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to catch you before you went to your class." He gave me a sheepish grin that, I found, made me look away. Daisy, however, was ecstatic to see Yuta again. Her behavior's a little...embarrassingsometimes. Tomo and Yuta are perfectly sweet and nice and they never seem to get in the way. So far, it seems like Daisy's the only chara who's always bouncing off the walls or out of control.

But then again, I still haven't met Inokuma-senpai's chara...

"Hinamori-san?" I blinked. Seo-san stared at me, worried. In my distraction, I'd stopped following him. His hand reached for me hesitantly, as if I he wasn't sure how I would respond to being touched. "Are you alright? You're awfully spacey."

I shook my head. "Fine." It took me a second to realize that we weren't going to my class. Students stopped and stared as we went, first admiring Seo-san, who did look amazing and regal in his Guardian cape. Then at me, who looked entirely too plain to be seen talking to him in public. I started to shrink in on myself, attempting to become less visible. My heart was in my throat again. "Seo-san," I whispered. "W-Where are we going?"

"The Royal Garden."

"Why?"

"To prep for the ceremony. It'll be in about thirty minutes. There's no point in going to class right now, and nobody's expecting us to anyway."

That was a relief. I didn't think I could handle being around any of my classmates right now. My stomach was already doing somersaults between my impending induction as a Guardian and being seen by everyone with Seo-san. I needed to get away for a little bit.

Unfortunately, the Royal Garden was clearly not the place to do this. When we entered my first thought was that it was just as beautiful as it was the last time I was there, all flowered archways and bubbling marble fountains. Inokuma-senpai sat at the center table wearing the same detached expression I remembered from yesterday. Pacing in a semi-circle around him, Yamabuki-san was talking loudly. But she quieted immediately once she saw us come in.

No one said anything as I followed Seo-san up the steps towards them and I was beginning to wonder if I was still welcome here. (Not that I would've been surprised if I wasn't.) Seo-san gestured for me to sit, so I took the seat opposite Inokuma-senpai, then he disappeared around the corner.

As soon as he left, Yamabuki-san ambushed me. "It's about time you got here! We've been waiting, haven't we Akio-sama?" He shrugged, his dark eyes boring into me.

I kept my gaze focused solidly on my lap, figuring that I could avoid making another dramatic exit if I didn't think about his presence too much. "I-I'm sor--"

Yamabuki-san kept going, "Akio-sama and I have been talking and we've decided that we need to get some things in order if before you go on stage." She'd lengthened her semi-circle to cover my side of the table as she paced. She struck up her index finger as she walked, her head held high. "First off, don't speak. It's unnecessary and it's not like anyone would be able to hear or understand you with the way you stutter anyway."

I winced. Not that she wasn't right, of course. But hearing it said out loud just made it that much more embarrassing. "I wasn't--"

"Another thing," she interrupted, talking rapidly. It was obvious I wasn't meant to give any opinions in this monologue since it was already set. "Try to hold you're head up when you walking on stage. And don't hunch your shoulders like you usually do. It's not lady-like.

"And, for the love of God, try not to look completely terrified when you get on-stage," she said, exasperated. "It's not much at all, but do you think you can handle it?"

"Yamabuki-san, would you back off a little?" Seo-san came back, thankfully, holding a silver tray with a very expensive looking tea set on it. He set it in the center of the table and then took a seat beside me, pouring tea into only one cup. "This helped calm you down yesterday, right? I figured you could use some."

"T-Thank you." I took the cup from him, sighing at the warmth as it spread through my hands. I turned to Yamabuki-san trying not to flinch under her unrelenting gaze. Clearly, all the events of yesterday had ticked her off more than I thought. She had clearly lost all patience with me at this point. "I'll try...I'll try not to mess up."

Yamabuki-san seemed mildly satisfied with this answer, but Seo-san gave me a sad look. "Hinamori-san...whatever they told you, just ignore it. You'll be fine."

"Seo-san!" The Queen shrieked. "Don't tell her to ignore us! You can't possibly believe she'll be fine without instructions. I mean, just look at her." She gestured at me with a sweep of her hand and my face heated up several degrees. I averted my eyes to my lap again as Seo-san and Yamabuki-san began to argue loudly. My chest felt tight, my shame completely crashing through me. My ears rang with the words I've been hearing for as long as I can remember..."Plain...Weird...A loner...Ugly....Has no friends...Nothing like her sister."

"Ami-chan..." I felt the slight weight of Daisy bouncing on my shoulder. Turning my head slightly, I looked at her. She smiled, nuzzling her head against my cheek. Her hair became wet as she did this and I realized I'd started to cry. "We'll be fine. I'll help if you want!"

I wiped at my eyes, shocked. I did a lot of embarrassing things in front of people, but crying wasn't usually one of them. (At least, it wasn't until yesterday.) "...Help?"

"She intends to Chara Change with you."

I jumped. Despite the calmness of Inokuma-senpai's voice, the idea of him talking to me still made me incredibly nervous. I made the mistake of looking at him. His expression was calm and calculated, as if he was completely deaf to the sound of the other Guardians shouting at each other. His dark chocolate brown eyes gazed at me with a steady intensity that turned my ears read. Most girls would've completely loved to hold his attention like that. But ever since I first saw him at the school assemblies or even in the hall, his eyes always gave me the feeling that he could read somebody's entire life story with just one glance.

It was a little unsettling. And yet for some reason I couldn't bring myself to look away. "C-Chara Change...?" Didn't Seo-san say something about that yesterday. Something about my character..."It's like a brief change in character. You act a way you normally wouldn't." "Oh!" I turned to Daisy, appalled. "Oh, no! You can't do that!" There was absolutely no way I could let her take over me again. Not in front of the entire student body...!

Daisy pouted, her bottom lip quivering adorably. "Why not? It's fun!"

"It's embarrassing!" I buried my face in my hands. "Never do that again!"

It was quiet again and it took me a minute to realize that Yamabuki-san and Seo-san had stopped fighting. I peeked my eyes open just as Yamabuki-san slammed her hands on the table in front of me. "You won't do a Chara Change?! What good is that?!" I flinched.

Seo-san bristled. "Yamabuki-san--"

"I told you she wasn't fit for the job, Makoto," Inokuma-senpai interrupted, silencing both of them. He turned his attention back to me, his eyes narrowing slightly. "There's no use for a Guardian who won't Chara Change."

"Inokuma!" Seo-san looked completely furious, though I can't imagine why. Senpai's right. I don't know how to use Daisy and I don't want her using me. I'm useless to the Guardians. I'm useless, period.

Senpai stood up, having effectively made his point. "It's almost time for the ceremony." He left. Yamabuki-san followed close on his heels, avoiding eye contact with both me and Seo-san. After they left it was just the two of us; me, sitting, staring at my lap, and feeling immensely uncomfortable. And Seo-san, looking flustered and angry. His usually friendly bright blue eyes were tight and narrowed and his cheeks flamed. His hands clenched tight at his sides.

After a second of silence, I stood up, my legs shaking slightly. "...W-Well, I guess I'll get to class then."

His head snapped up. "What? You're not coming to the ceremony?"

I stared at him, unable to think of why he would still want me to. "You heard Inokuma-senpai. I'm not useful to the Guardians if I won't Chara Change with Daisy."

"Inokuma doesn't know everything," he growled. It was a bit frightening to see Seo-san this way. I was so used to the nice, good-natured boy everyone at school loved.

"Seo-san..." He grabbed my hand tightly. "S-Seo-san?"

He eyes went from angry to soft and pleading. "Hinamori-san, forget everything Inokuma just said. He won't admit it, but we're more desperate for an Ace Chair than you probably think. We need you to join the Guardians."

My heart started to pick up, beating erratically in my nervousness. Why did he have to put me on the spot like this? Wasn't it obvious enough that Inokuma-senpai didn't want me? Why would he? Exactly how desperate are they for an Ace Chair? I'm sure they can find someone much better. And it can't be anything that serious. "Seo-san, I don't think--"

"Please, Hinamori-san."

He was begging me. The nice, smart, perfect Makoto Seo-san was begging me to join the Guardians. The same boy who I'd helped me out yesterday. The one who took care of me when I fainted. The one who acted like I had no relation to Amu at all...

"O-Okay."

Before I could regret saying it, he grinned at me and I imagined my face turning a light, delicate pink instead of the fire engine red it probably was. "Great! You won't regret it!" Then he ran off, pulling me behind him, straight out of the Royal Garden and towards the auditorium. I stumbled to keep up with him, nearly falling flat on my face when he looked back at me and said, "By the way, you're not useless. At all."

Cuxie: Yay! Progression! It was tough, but I pushed my way through! And pretty soon there'll be some real action.

Ami: Uh, what do you mean by "action"?

Cuxie: You'll see. ;)

Daisy: R&R!!

Cuxie: And btw, this story plot and idea are totally and completely mine. Plot thefts are NOT appreciated.