To all of you who read the original Chapter 10:

I am so sorry. I posted a chapter for my other story. Then you guys read it, and must have been so confused...ugh, so sorry! I will never, ever, do that again, and please PM me if I do! This is the right chapter.

And I have to thank you guys. It's only chapter 10 and I have a THOUSAND views! So thank you for reading, and please keep doing so! I'll try my best for you guys!

Last time, Amu taught the rest magic. At the end of the chapter, they were attacked by Guardians, who fatally injured Ikuto. Amu heals him, but resolves to kill the Guardians in revenge.

I was blind.

So, so blind.

I threw away all my common sense and charged, fury blazing through me. But this fire that propelled me forward would only cause destruction.

I struck at random, occasionally hitting someone. I didn't know who, I didn't know where. I sinply slashed through everything I could see.

More Guardians closed in, and I began to use magic. With every strike of my sword, blazes of light soared through the air. I could feel the energy crackling within me. I let loose, setting forth a blaze of light that knocked at least ten guardians flat.

Panting, I steadied myself and waited for the next attackers. There were more now, and it struck me for the first time that we were outnumbered ten to one. Not to mention that most of us, me not included, had just dabbled in magic.

I was on the defense now, getting more and more fatigued as I spun around, trying to hold off ten swords with one blade. Magic provided little aid, as I had not even a second to cast a spell.

A dagger whipped by me and grazed my sword arm, causing it to drop further. I couldn't see anything, only faint shapes and the glow of numerous weapons all directed at me.

This wasn't happening, I could get through this, I would survive.

Three huge blades came flying at me and I thrust my blade against them with all my force. I gaped in horror as my sword snapped into pieces. Even as I dove to the ground the blades hit my skin. I shrieked in agony and pushed into the ground, but I was trapped, helpless.

So, so blind.

The birds twittered quietly and a cool breeze drifted past me when I awoke. The fighting was over. All the Guardians were gone. I attempted to sit up but nearly cried out at the pain. Bandages wrapped around my head, which ached horribly, my cut and bruised arms, my ankle, and around my back, where the old imprint wound had reopened.

The forest around us was damaged to a great extent. A large portion had been leveled completely. Trees were uprooted and plants were strewn across the ground. The grass was stained with red.

I shuddered. Was it that gory? I nearly was sick as I remembered all the slashing I had done, when I was blinded by the desire to wipe out the Guardians. How much of this blood had I spilled?

All the rest lay beside me, sleeping with pained expressions on their faces. I was overcome by a wave of guilt. They were all trapped here, injured, because of me. I had lied so much to them and they didn't even question it.

I fingered the bandages around me, wondering who had done this for me. Who had saved us?

I scanned all the sleeping figures, and my gaze rested on Utau. Her bandages were hasty and messy, as if she had done them herself. All of us had been laid straight on our backs, but she was crumpled in a heap.

"Yeah, she really saved us back there. She got us all out of the scene." Tadase-kun's gentle voice whispered. He had woken as well. If Utau had got us out, that meant...the blood was ours. I felt even sicker.

"I'm pretty much alright, just a few cuts here and there." Tadase-kun supplied after an extended period of silence..

"You're pretty beat up, don't call yourself alright." I gestured to his various bandages.

He shrugged. "Some of the others are really badly hurt. Ikuto-niisan has the dagger wound, so I think he's out for a while. Mashiro-san was also injured a lot. But so were Sanjo-kun, and Souma-kun, and Yuiki-san, and…" he was still talking quietly. So polite and modest. It was pleasant, of course, but not exactly easy to talk to for one as socially awkward as me.

"How do you know all of this, anyway? And -niisan? Is Ikuto your brother?" I cut him off. He stopped, and I tried to backtrack and apologize. But he began to speak nonetheless.

"I was one of the last to black out, only after the fighting was over. Utau-chan somehow defeated them all. I believe she was fueled by fear for Ikuto-niisan. As as for my calling him a brother, no, we're not actually siblings. But he's as good as one."

"Seems too stoic for me."

Tadase-kun chuckled. "Have you seen his 'dark side?"

"...?"

"All of us have one. It's an inside joke." he blinked, then said hastily, "N-not that I was meaning to leave you out, Amu-chan, I mean-"

"It's fine." I said. "So, what are these 'dark sides'?"

Tadase-kun looked off into the sky. His face softened. "Utau-chan, she's really competitive. I'd say her dark side is her ramen eating contests with Souma-kun."

"Ramen?!"

"It would be quite furious." he replied with a completely straight face. I, for one, was incredulous.

"As for Yuiki-san, it would be candy."

"I've seen that…"

"And Mashiro-san is obsessed with comedy…"

"What?!"

"...Sanjo-san is quite ferocious when it comes to studying…"

"Tadase? Amu?" Utau, rubbing her eyes drowsily, looked around. "What're you doing?"

"I was just telling Amu-chan about...well, our 'dark sides', as you would call them."

"Ah, that was a joke from a while back…" Utau stood with some difficulty and made her way over to us. "Before Father left and Mother stopped coming around...speaking of Mother, I wonder if she'll worry when she comes to the house and we're not home…"

"Is your mom nice?"

Utau snorted. "Used to be. If you ask me, she went cuckoo when Father disappeared."

"How can you talk about it so freely?" I said.

She plopped down beside me. "I guess you can either weep and sniffle, or you can brush it off like it doesn't hurt you."

I looked down. "I could use that advice, what with all the crying I've been doing."

Utau gave me a curious look. "Speaking of which, Amu, how did you end up on the streets?"

I stiffened, and ran through several lies I could rattle off. But before I could open my mouth Ikuto awoke, which completely distracted Utau. She went little-sister crazy, fussing over him and whatnot. He for one seemed rather bored, annoyed even.

"Utau." No reply. "Ut-a-u." Still no reply. "Utau Tsukiyomi!" he barked, and Utau finally sat up. "Yes, sir!"

Ikuto stifled a chuckle. "What exactly happened while I was out?"

Utau did not reply, and her face only darkened. Tadase-kun answered in her stead. "We were...defeated. Badly. Utau really came through and got us all out safely."

"Wait, Ikuto, I thought I healed you! Why were you knocked out?" I questioned.

He shrugged. "That doesn't help when people attempt to kill you right afterwards.

"I saved your life back there! Least you could do is try to preserve it!" shouted angrily at Ikuto, who remained unfazed.

"Last time I checked, I was the one who decided who I fought."

"You-! You went off and fought people!"

"Yeah, though you were doing a pretty good job of killing people yourself."

I halted, lost for words. 'Good at killing people'...that wasn't what I wanted to be.

"So...what are we going to do?" Tadase-kun asked after we had all lapsed into silence.

"We can't leave until the others are fine." Ikuto commented.

"And even so, all of us are practically incapacitated." I sighed.

Utau was the last to speak. "...Amu, you said before that there were portals in the Guardian's houses?"

"Y-yes, but it's not like we can break in and…"

"I don't want to live like this. Fleeing from our enemies, running so fast simply to stay put. I don't want to die like this. Cornered, captured, with a dagger at my throat." Her eyes flashed with determination. "Amu, as soon as we're all fine, we're breaking into a Guardian home."

"Utau, are you crazy?" I yelled. "You're going to get us all killed! You have no idea what's at stake here!"

Utau stood up suddenly, not even staggering despite her injuries. "What do you know that we don't know, Amu? You have more magic than we have even dared to think of. You know spells we have never heard. You act like this world is familiar to you!" The accusations pierced me like daggers to the heart.

Finally, I too stood and faced her head on. "You're right, Utau. This planet is not a stranger to me." I was going to tell them the truth, this time. "I've kept this from you too long, but, the truth is…" I nearly choked on my own words. Why was it so hard, simply to speak a few words?

"Get out with it."

"I...I was…a Guardian…"

Utau narrowed her eyes at me. "You're Guardian? So why did you end up in Earth? And why does everyone want to kill us?"
"I am a Guardian, I guess...I was sent to Earth because, well…" I turned red. This was too much. I was never good at lying. I couldn't tell them the truth, that I was a criminal, and I couldn't lie and say I was human anymore.

"Were you a Guardian working for humans?"

"No…but keep in mind, even working Guardians don't work 'for' humans. They have lives, too." I replied softly.

Ikuto walked over, face blank as he spoke. "I guess. But that still doesn't answer, why were you on Earth, why are we being hunted, and why didn't you tell us before?"

"As humans, we're not allowed to be here. And they don't have the rights to send us back, so they'll probably lock us up. And I am a Guardian, but since I lived on Earth for years I guess I'm considered Earthen. And I didn't tell you...well...wouldn't you reject me?"

Tadase-kun also rose. "Amu-chan, there is no way we're going to desert you now. We all need each other to survive, and we don't blame you for being Guardian."

"You're no different from the rest of us, after all."

That day, as we all recovered, we enjoyed each other's company. Took in the simple beauty of this world, speculating over the adventures ahead. It was decided that we would try and use a Guardian Home Portal. I was okay, though, because at that point I completely and utterly trusted them. I still had to tell them my full story, but that was for another day, another time. They would accept me even then, I was sure of it.

My friends.

But little did I know, would our morals soon be tested. Dreams broken, freedom lost, endless pain. The shadows were growing, silently preparing to drown us in darkness.

I could not see the fate that was always going to befall me.

I was blind.

So, so blind.

So? Like it? Hate it? I'd like to know.

ReachForTheSky is out.