A/N: Thanks to all reviewers as usual!! I'm planning on doing something quite common in other fanfictions in this chapter. Sorry if it disappoints and others have been begging me to put in more characters other than Amu and Ikuto. Personally, I think they have a good point. I don't own shugo chara! Thanks to:

xXMercdesXx

luvnstuff101

Princess-Alyss

Kurotsuki Aka

rebellious-and-ditzy-bookworm (thank you so much for reviewing for almost every chapter!)

SlyDevilLoki

Vicky95

Soccerluver04

Arrowfoot the Dragon (Amu will revert back…hopefully. Lol)

cuteknight101

YunaNeko

Wolf'sRein (cool name!)

Ikuto-senpai

chyceee

UnderSeaFlower (Amu isn't entirely evil. Don't worry. LOL Thanks for reviewing almost every chap.)

milogirl123

kanee-chan

miki

987Irotih987

!Amuto975!

cla

Amuto15

And the other anonymous reviewers!

BTW! LOOK AT MY PROFILE FOR PICTURES FOR THIS CHAPTER!!!

Normal POV

It had been several weeks, and none of them had found a trace of Amu again. If they did see her shugo charas, somehow, they managed to disappear right before someone was able to catch up to them. Frustration and hope were mixed inside of them, causing tempers to blow up faster, but the passing weeks brought everyone closer together. Rima obviously did not like Nagihiko still, but she tolerated him longer than before and lightning did not cross between them as much. Utau's brotherly complex was not as strong, and it seemed that between her and Kukai, there was an improvement. Yaya was still as hyper as usual, and Kairi as solemn. Ikuto was still the alley cat, he preferred to do things on his own and wander around the city. He was getting to know Osaka pretty well by now.

New Year's had come and gone. Resolutions to find Amu were stronger, as well as having fun while trying. Kukai had pointed out that wasting their rest of their lives finding Amu was pointless. They should have fun while doing it, having lives. Yaya whole-heartedly agreed. Eventually, even Kairi conceded, saying that only looking for Amu was not wise. They were slowly losing their lives and their grips on whom they were. Having fun could be an option, while looking for Amu. And so, with that in mind, Utau bought tickets to a masquerade party. It was being held in a modern-day ballroom outside of the city limits. Tickets were expensive, but Utau bought one for everyone. Even if they didn't admit it, everyone was excited, except Ikuto of course. (A/N: Why would he care? XD) Even if it was late, they were out shopping for their costumes the day the ball was.

Rima, Yaya, and Utau went out for their costumes, and the rest of the guys followed suit, carrying and holding bags. Utau rejected almost everything until she saw an ivory-purple dress with a sweeping skirt. It could only fit someone with her figure, and she tried it on. It had spaghetti straps and was made for people with a thin, hourglass figure. The designs were floral and the color was a lighter shade of her eyes. Her heels were white and she decided to go with a silver necklace of an angel in flight. Her mask was white and had patterns of glitter and swirls.

For Rima, they finally picked out a dress that was red. It looked to be made of satin, and the front of it was ruffled. It showed the vibrancy of the color of her hair. She decided to wear earrings of a clown with a red jewel in the center for its nose. Kusu Kusu had picked it out and Rima tried them out, finding that she did like them. Rima's mask was red with gold trimming. It had feathers on one side.

Yaya wanted something blue, and got a dress with a somewhat flattened skirt, compared to the others and was strapless. Its skirt was ruffled, and Yaya wanted no jewelry. Her hair, she would let down for once, without its customary ribbons, but with a clip of a pacifier holding back a part of her hair. Yaya had a mask with a butterfly sort of shape, and had different shades of blue and purple.

The guys were getting tired of walking around. In the end, Kairi had a green tux with a similar mask. Kukai and Ikuto chose black tuxes. Kukai had a white mask, while Ikuto had a black one with an almost cat-like design. Nagihiko had a dark blue tux and his mask was purple with streamers that would flow gracefully, as if he was dancing when he was actually walking. Tadase had a white tuxedo and a gold mask with white glitter and trimming.

"Yaya wants ice cream!" screamed Yaya after all their shopping was done. She dropped on the floor and started pouting.

"Alright, alright. But afterwards we're going straight to the hotel," said Kairi, but Yaya had already jumped up, grabbed Kukai's hand, and dragged him to an ice cream vendor. Tadase, Rima, and Nagihiko followed laughing inside. Kairi, Utau and Ikuto decided to wait.

"Yaya-chan will never change, will she?" laughed Nagihiko.

"Yuiki-san still wants to be a baby character, even with her little brother to take care of," Tadase agreed. "Right, Mashiro-san?" Rima said,

"I see nothing truly comical in Yaya's actions. She does that every time. If she wants to be funny, there has to be more determination!!" argued Rima. She was still strong on the subject of comedy. She walked away to instruct Yaya, and Nagihiko and Tadase sweat-dropped behind her. Kusu Kusu followed, giggling about the response of the two boys.

At the ball

Everything glittered. The ballroom was huge and beautifully decorating. The numerous chandeliers were nearly blinding, but while the lights were enchanting, there were shadows in the corners of the room, as if showing that even the lightest places have a tinge of darkness. The Guardians, Ikuto, and Utau entered as a single group. Almost all heads turned at the sight of such mysterious, good-looking people. Women swooned over the men, while the masked men practically drooled at the sight of Rima, Utau, and Yaya. The charas were flying across the room, curious. Kiseki, being the "king" he was, led them around. Acting as if he knew almost every nook and cranny of the building, he was boasting about how soon everything in the world would belong to him when he became king of the world. Pepe and Daichi decided to float off in their own, near the food.

After two hours of dancing, everyone was sweating. Rima had danced with Tadase, Kairi, and even Nagihiko. Utau danced with only Ikuto and Kukai. Ikuto had been forced into dancing with her, because she was about to make a huge scene. He had been approached by other women as well, but rejected their offer. Yaya waltzed with Kairi, Tadase, and Kukai. Nagihiko was currently dancing with an unknown dancer who seemed unable to look at him in the eye. Suddenly two new people came, obviously together.

The woman was wearing a white dress with black beads spreading from clustered together to slowly disappearing. It held on her shoulders, and she wore a black mask. It was the one of the drama faces, the sad one, which represented Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy. Her rosette hair was half up and the rest flowed down her back like waves. A black dahlia tied her hair.

The man next to her had on a black tuxedo with a black rose tucked in the front of his jacket pocket. His mask was white, and represented Thalia was the Muse of comedy, with its laughing face. He had spiked black hair, and a strong jaw. The man was solidly built, but also lean in a way. Their costumes and masks complimented each other, and their partnership was even more pronounced.

The Guardians stopped whatever they were doing, and looked at the woman with the black mask. Through the mask, golden eyes shined through.

A/N: I'll update soon! But cliffies are so hard to ignore! And i changed this chapter because i realized something about the masks. Sorry! Hope you like the idea though.