This chapter is dedicated to SakuraXxXIchigo. It is partially because of her that I'm even continuing this thing. But really, my love goes out to all of you who actually read this! Thank you.
-Aki

None of this is owed by me, by the way.


Snow Can Bury Words as well as Buildings

It was the last day of school until winter break. The guardians were all at their table drinking hot chocolate and talking about something or other, and most of the charas were listening too. A few charas however were not, and of these three were of immediate importance: Miki, Eru, and Musashi.

"What is Miki doing over there, desu?" Suu looked over at her sister, staring intently at the angel, who was staring intently at the samurai (who was staring not-so-intently at nothing in particular).

"I don't know, but I think we should find out!" Ran flew over, Suu following behind her. "Hey Miki, what are you-"

"Shh!" Both sisters jumped as their sister shushed them. "Can't you see Eru is trying to focus?" Suu and Ran looked over. She did seem pretty focused.

"What's happening, desu?" Suu asked, wondering whether Eru was trying to burn a hole into Musashi's head.

"She's getting herself mentally prepared."

"For what?"

"What she's preparing for."

The two sisters looked at each other. A silence stood between them for a time.

"...Then I'll cheer her on! Go go Eru, go go go!"

"Shad up!" A little ways away, Eru was trying her hardest to figure out what to talk about. She had to do something to get her and Musashi closer, but she really didn't want to explain her dream to him. It would be too embarrassing, and it didn't make sense of all. She could easily imagine what he would say: 'And why are you telling me something so irrelevant? I never asked you about your dream.' Oh, she could die!

Ran's cheering didn't make it easier to think, either. Yes, it was Ran's fault she wasn't coming up with anything, completely and utterly Ran's fault! "Didn't I say shad up?"

Musashi, snapped out of whatever trance he was in, quickly turned to the cuase of the loud noise that broke his concentration only to see Eru staring at him with the intesity of a thousand suns. Was she glaring at him? Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, expression firm... Yes, she must be mad at him. He was probably doing something wrong, girls were always nagging like they, always saying something was wrong... Well, he would make sure there was no nagging needed.

"Sorry..." Musashi nodded and flew to a different part of the garden. Eru atood agog and listless.

"M-Musashi?" Watching him leave, she only waited until he was out of sight before she turned her real glare at Ran. "Rannnnn... This is ALL YOUR FAULT..."

"Ah-ah-ah-ah-Sorry!" Ran hid behind Miki, who was glaring right back at Eru. Behind them, the guardians were starting to pack up, laughing and saying their goodbyes.

"Eru, you have to talk to him now. This is your last shot." Looking into Miki's eyes (or at least turning her head in their general direction), Eru nodded. It was time to get serious.

Flying behind some potted plants, Er again found Musashi, apparently in some kind of meditation or the like. "M-Musashi?"

Oh, there she was again. Musashi still didn't get why she stuttered like that. It was completely out of character for her; Eru never hesitated, never trembled, even in her weak moments (which were, in his opinion, quite frequent). It almost annoyed him a bit-what was he doing wrong? What was different? "Yes, Eru?"

"U-um..." Hearing the guardians moving around, Eru knew she had to make herself do this. No mess ups, no second chance. "I-I just wanted to say..."

"Yes?"

"Ummmmmmmm..." Wait, what was she going to say again? Her mind was blank. She had this big script in her head, and it suddenly vanished in the most crucial of moments. She was left blushing like an idiot in front of him. "I was going to say..."

Wait. That was it. The blushing. The warmth. The dream.

"My dream! Yes, my dream!" She brightened, feeling better that she remembered. But the she heard another sound, maybe Yaya's chair, and quickly panicked. "You and me were in these clouds and it was sunny and I held your hand but you didn't and oh you had wings and it was snowing and you wrapped me up and I was warm even though I wasn't cold before but it was like I got warmer because there had always been something I was missing because I really like you!" Eru stared at him, wanting so much to look away, completely red.

"...I didn't get that. What did you say?" Eru stopped. Frozen, in horror.

"I-I s-said... um... You know what, never mind! Have a nice spring break!" Eru flew as fast as she could, away from the embarrassment, out the doors where Amu and her characs were already leaving. She didn't want to slow down to meet them, because maybe Musashi would catch her, so she continued from there, rushing past all the guardians, rushing past the school, past the creepy snowmen and the snow and the icecyles hanging from the rooves of non-important houses. Past the Ikuto on the prowl, past the teachers going home in their car, all the way home to a door she couldn't unlock and a window she couldn't open. She floated there, defenseless in the cold, going over what she said and trying to get over her embarrassment so she could hide it when the others came.

"I-I said spring break, didn't I?" Looking at the snow, she wished it would bury her stupid words and never let them melt. "I'm such an idoit!"