Chapter Fourteen
Sakura, dressed in her school uniform, walked down the street, touching her blue hat around the edges to make sure it was on right. She gave a little sigh as she walked slowly past the school gates, turning towards the Royal Garden as soon as she was inside. The girl was unsure how to explain her absence to them, but she could not just stay at home for no reason, or call in and risk the Guardians finding out anyway. Besides, not only was she missing school, but her Charas were missing the others.
"Saku-chi!" screamed Yaya as she walked into the Royal Garden. They were just packing up from their morning meeting when the Ace's Chair spotted their sixth member and tackled her in a large hug.
"Katsumi, Setsuko, Mari!" cheered the other Charas as the three girls made their appearances.
"Where have you been, Haruno?" asked Amu, pulling Yaya up. Sakura dusted herself off and opened her mouth to speak when she was hugged again, this time by all of the Charas, not including Kiseki.
"Kiseki!" called Daichi, "You missed them too!" he said, turning around to face the King-Chara. All of the other stared him down too and, after a moment, Kiseki burst into tears and flew forwards, latching himself onto Sakura's cheek.
"It was horrible being around all of these commoners without someone who knew how to be dignified all of the time! I missed you, my Lady!" he wailed loudly, clutching on to her. Sakura smiled a little and plucked him off of her face, handing him to Tadase.
"I just went out of town to visit some relatives," she lied. Sakura looked away from the other Guardians when her Charas frowned, but the three Shugos said nothing. "A-Anyway, how did you do in the speech contest, Hinamori?"
"I got the Judge's special prize," Amu grinned bashfully, "and we found out that Nikaido-sensei really was the one creating all those X-Eggs."
'So, it wasn't Ikuto?' wondered Sakura with relief.
"It's time for class, you guys!" Kukai called out to all of them as he pushed them all out of the Royal Garden.
{-}
At the end of the day, there was another Guardian Meeting – this one mostly about how they would schedule class trips for the First Graders. Sakura, as always, remained mostly quiet during these meeting as her Charas played with the others. Everything was returning to normal, as much as she hated to admit it, though she was also slightly relieved.
"Before I forget," Tadase said as they left the Royal Garden that evening, "do you guys have any plans for this Sunday?"
"Not particularly," stated Kukai, his arms crossed behind his head.
"Why?" Yaya questioned.
"Well, I have some free passes to the aquarium," he smiled, holding out five free passes. Sakura looked around briefly and saw that everyone was happy about the idea of going, so she sighed. She would be the one they left behind, whether they planned it or not.
"Oh, they just built that place!" Yaya exclaimed excitedly.
"I'm so happy! I've wanted to see it for a while!" Nadeshiko smiled, clapping her hands together.
'Me too,' Sakura sighed mentally.
"Well, then. It's decided," Kukai grinned widely.
"Are you free as well, Hinamori-san?" Tadase asked the girl who was completely in love with him. Ran, Miki and Suu flew out from behind her, smiles on all of their faces.
"Of course!" they cheered.
"Yeah!" smiled Amu. "Oh...S-Since everyone else wants to go, I guess there's no reason not to," she corrected herself. The rest of them laughed a little and turned to Sakura.
"Haruno-san?" prompted Tadase, "I don't have another pass, but you're welcome to join us anyway. When I got these, I wasn't sure if you would be back or not."
"No, that's fine," Sakura shrugged. "I'm not really into aquariums and stuff. It's too childish," she sighed, turning to leave, 'Who am I kidding? I really wanted to go! It's not fair at all...'
"Wait up, Saku-chi!" Yaya yelled. "We can walk together!"
"Eh? You two live near each other?" Kukai asked in shock, obviously thinking that Yaya and Sakura didn't live close at all, since they never walked to school together.
"Yep!" giggled Yaya. "We walk the same way for a while, but then we turn different ways to get home."
"Really?" gasped Amu. "I walk some of the same way as Haruno, too."
"We can all walk together!" Yaya cheered. "Right, Saku...-chi..." she trailed off, seeing that Sakura had already left.
{-}
"Saku-chan, you just left them there!" Katsumi scolded with a frowned.
"Yaya-san wanted to walk home with you," Setsuko added.
"Why'd you ditch her?" Mari, abrasive as always, growled.
"She doesn't need my friendship," Sakura scowled. "Anyway, you heard what Hinamori said. They can walk together – I don't need to be there."
{-}
Sakura woke up with a wide yawn the next morning. She got up and brushed her hair before washing her face and getting dressed for the day. The girl picked out a pair of baggy blue jeans a large red shirt with a red baseball cap, throwing it on with a ponytail sticking out of the back and her bangs peaking out at the front.
She smiled at the eggs of her Charas as they continued to sleep and she ran down the stairs of her apartment building, collecting her mail and running back upstairs to her flat. She flicked through the junk mail, throwing it all away, leaving her with three letters. One of which, strangely enough, had the Easter logo on it.
"Easter?" she pondered, "What could they want with me?" Sakura mused, opening the letter swiftly.
Haruno Sakura
We at Easter have been watching you for some time and have seen that you possess talents far greater than any other Guardian. For this reason, we would like to recruit you into our ranks.
There is no time limit to this offer and you may respond at any time by coming to the Easter Building closest to you and asking to see Director Hoshina. It will be a paid job and you can move into one of the company's apartments, free of charge. All tuition fees at the schooling institution of your choice will be paid for you. In return, we will use your abilities to secure the Embryo.
No lasting contract will be made, though we expect you to have thought out this offer long enough so that you will not have any need to quit. You will not be fired from this post easily and, if this situation occurs, we will continue to allow you to live in one of the apartments and wait until you have secured your own job before we stop paying your tuition fees.
Think about this offer carefully.
Hoshina Kazuomi
Director of Easter
Sakura dropped the letter onto her coffee table, scowling at it hatefully. If they thought that she would join them due to her money problems – which is what they based their argument around – they were wrong. With a heavy sigh, Sakura opened her other letters. One was telling her that her next payment for schooling was due within the month and the other was a letter from the Takayanagi family, wishing her luck with her life.
The girl shook her head, leaving all three letters on the table as she moved into her bedroom, spotting her Charas just waking up.
"Saku-chan!" the green-Chara grinned. "Are we going somewhere?"
"Just out for a walk," Sakura shrugged. "And we'll be doing some job hunting, too."
{-}
There was no luck in searching for part-time work. No one wanted to hire a twelve-year-old, and her appearance only made her seem younger. Just as Sakura was about to give up, something stirred inside her and her eyes widened slightly. She turned and saw the aquarium behind her, the unmistakeable sight of Ikuto's energy-paw shooting out at an X-Egg.
"I knew something was up," she muttered, "Katsumi!"
"Of course!" nodded Katsumi.
"Watashi no Kokoro: Unlock!" Sakura yelled, her hands twisting in front of her heart. Katsumi flew towards her, blowing a kiss as her egg closed around her.
Sakura's whole form was covered with light and her hat came off, her hair falling just below her hips and floating around her. Light formed around her torso and she clicked her fingers, causing it to explode in a show of sparkles and leaving behind a red silk tank top. Her lower half was then covered in sparkles and Sakura waved her hands to one side, then the other, leaving her in a red pleated mini-skirt lined.
She clicked her fingers again and a light pink lining spread across the hem of the skirt. Sakura then clacked her heals together and jumped up as sparkles covered her legs, exploding away from her and leaving behind a pair of thigh-high red leather boots.
She bent back and flipped over, using her hands as support, as her hair pulled itself up into a spiky bun, but half of it was left to hang freely to her hips. When she straightened her posture, a red headband appeared in her hair and she blinked when a large, pink broken heart attached itself to the headband. Sakura bounced backwards and smirked, clapping her hands twice as pink gloss covered her lips.
"Chara Nari: Lonely Heart!" she and Katsumi called at the same time, winking and standing in a 'cute' pose. She ran forwards, ignoring the stares of the passersby, and ran up the side of the building, sensing an X-Egg to her left.
"Heart Kama!" called Sakura as her sickle appeared in her hands. She sent a red, sparkling slash towards the egg, hitting it backwards, before flipping over and doing the same on the other side, pushing it towards Amu. Amulet Heart reached out to grab it, but missed and fell to the roof. Sakura scowled.
"What're you doing here, Haruno?" Amu asked, tilting her head as she stood back up. Sakura landed next to her and looked up at the taller girl.
"More importantly, why are you suddenly unable to do anything about an X-Egg?" she asked. Amu laughed nervously and Sakura remembered seeing Ikuto's paw-attack. She turned and her eyes narrowed at the sight of him.
"Yo," he smirked, holding up the paw as a greeting. Sakura flinched, remembering when he attacked her with it, and turned back to the egg, not sparing him a word. Ikuto looked away and sighed.
"Ikuto will distract it so the two of you can capture it!" Yoru told them. Sakura, not wanting to ignore the Chara for something his owner did, nodded.
"Right," she agreed, grabbing Amu's elbow and jumping up in the air.
"I didn't know you could float like I can," Amu stated, smiling. Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"I can't. Katsumi's abilities make me able to jump high, but you're the one keeping me up," she admitted, grinning a little. Amu laughed and both turned their attention back to the egg.
"Now, Amu-chan; the X-Egg's not paying attention to us!" Ran yelled from inside Amu.
"Wait for your chance, Saku-chan," Katsumi said soothingly while Amu summoned her Heart Rod.
"I didn't know she could do that..." Sakura muttered, watching as Amu threw it and the egg dodged. The sparkle from the rod as it circled the egg enclosed on it and trapped it where it was. However, the egg was slightly stronger than anticipated.
"Now!" called Katsumi.
"Heart Kusari Gama!" yelled Sakura, a single red Kama sickle, with a length of weighted chain attached behind the head appeared in her hands, one hand holding the sickle while the other held the chain. On the end of the chain was a red, broken heart while the sickle looked identical to her usual two. "Eh?"
"You have a new weapon, too?" Amu asked, throwing her rod again. "How come your weapons always look way more dangerous than mine?"
"I'm a more dangerous person, and you're a cheerleader," Sakura smirked, holding the sickle as she threw the chain, attaching it to the Heart Rod. The Rod flew around the X-Egg, entangling it in the chain, "Now, Hinamori!"
"Negative Heart: Lock On!" Amu yelled. "Open Heart!" As the X-Egg was purified, Sakura ended her transformation with Katsumi, still smiling about her new weapon. Amu ran to catch the key that the egg dropped, but ended up hanging off of the building.
"Hinamori!" called Sakura, Chara-Changing with Mari and grabbing Amu's wrist, throwing her back onto the roof. She closed her eyes as she began to fall, feeling arms around her as Ikuto caught her, holding her. He flipped them over and landed on the ground, on his feet with Sakura still in his arms.
She opened her eyes and looked up, blushing at the sight of Ikuto's face so close to her own. Ikuto stood up and placed her on her feet as Amu, who had jumped down after Chara-Changing with Ran, approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Sakura snapped out of her daze and scowled while Ikuto's ears disappeared from the top of his head.
"You could at least thank me for saving you," he sighed, leaning in towards her until their foreheads were touching. "Even if you hate me..." Ikuto added, smirking at the stubborn look on her face. Sakura backed away and turned around, seeing Tadase running up from around the corner.
"Hinamori-san!" he called, running up to the girl. Sakura noticed an obvious lack of a Queen, an Ace and a Jack; frowning, the girl turned to leave, but Ikuto took her by the elbow.
"Well, we're off, Little King," he grinned, picking Sakura up and holding her in his arms.
"Hey; put me down!" called Sakura, wriggling around as he jumped up onto a pillar, turning and allowing the four Shugo Charas to catch up. Once they were near, he leapt off again and stopped when he was outside Sakura's apartment.
"Okay, okay," he sighed, surrendering and putting her down on the roof of her apartment building. "Bye, Sakura," he bid before leaping off again. Sakura stood in shock, rubbing her arms as her Charas got closer.
"Saku-chan!" they all called out.
"Are you alright?" Setsuko asked. Sakura nodded. "What is it?"
"He...He's never called me by my name before."
{-}
Sakura sighed as she put the box down, wiping her forehead of the sweat that had collected. She looked around and spotted her boss, running over to the older woman and collecting the stack of books that a man had donated to their stand. With a smile, she placed them down on the stand, placing them into neat piles and ringing the bell on the top of the stall.
"We are now open!" she called out, letting the bell chime by itself. Katsumi and Setsuko were at a Tango Lessons stand, dancing next to the stereo, while Mari was watching the boxers perform at a stand nearby.
"How much is this book, young lady?" an elderly man smiled. Sakura smiled back as she told him the price and he bought the book. She was lucky to have gotten this job, even if it was only temporary while the bazaar was open.
"Sakura-san," her boss called, smiling in her direction. Sakura looked over at her curiously, tilting her head a little as she came closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Take a break for a while. Explore the bazaar and buy something for yourself."
"Really?" asked Sakura happily. She nodded and she bowed her thanks, running around the park and looked at interest in all the stalls. Katsumi, Setsuko and Mari caught up with her when she saw some familiar faces.
"Saku-chi!" called Yaya, waving her over.
"Hey, Yuiki-san, Fujisaki-san," bowed Sakura to each of them, also bowing to Nadeshiko's house keeper. "Are you selling stuff?"
"Indeed," Nadeshiko smiled. "Baba is selling some old items of hers."
"Me too!" yelled Yaya happily, showing Sakura old plushies and toy. Sakura's eyes fell on a blue cat plushie and she tilted her head, her eyes shining, "Oho! I see something has caught your interest!" she added slyly, pointing to the plushie. Sakura blushed.
"H-How much?" asked Sakura, folding her arms. Yaya held out the plushie with a wide smile.
"For you, Saku-chi?" hummed the orangette, "Free!" Yaya explained joyfully, handing the plushie over. Sakura took it, noticing that the plushie was about the size of her torso, and smiled slightly.
"Thank you, Yuiki-san," Sakura bowed. She turned to see what Nadeshiko and her housekeeper were selling, but stopped when she saw Nadeshiko staring at her. "W-What is it?"
"I've never seen you in casual girl's clothing before, is all," Nadeshiko said quickly, looking away. Sakura looked down and looked over her clothing. She was actually wearing something that Katsumi and Setsuko believed was very cute, while Mari didn't care.
She was wearing a white tank top with a baggy light blue and lilac hoodie over it that had a pink patchwork bunny on the back. With it she had a pleated, baby blue skirt that fell just above her knees, white tights and tall brown boots that cut off at her knees and laced up. Her hair was left down with a bluebell clip holding back one of her bangs on the right side of her head.
"Oh, right," Sakura nodded, moving some of her hair off of her shoulder. She laughed a little. "I don't really like dressing like this, but I thought that it was good to be different once in a while," she shrugged, crouching down and looking over the small Japanese dolls. She smiled in awe and picked up a geisha doll, looking for the price.
"Do you like that one?" asked Baba, a warm smile on her face. Sakura nodded and pulled out the money for it, handing it over to the elderly woman.
"Sakura!" she heard her boss call. Looking over, Sakura saw a very long line forming at the stand she was helping at.
"Sorry, guys. I have to get back to work," she smiled, holding the doll gently in her hands and the large plushie under her arm. "I'll see you at school!" she called as she ran towards the stall, calling over the next customer. Eventually, the line was gone, as were most of their books and magazines.
"Umm...Excuse me," they heard someone say from behind them. Sakura was working out the price for the large stack of books her customer was buying as her boss turned around.
"Ah, Hinamori-san, hello," she recognised. Sakura turned slightly and offered a wave to Amu's mother, who nodded in reply before turning back to Sakura's boss.
"Do you happen to still have any of the stuff I donated?" she asked in a worried voice, clutching her hand to her chest. "Specifically, in a cardboard box, one called Wild Birds Monthly?"
"On, that?" she questioned. "I haven't sold it," the woman stated, seeing the relief in Amu's mother's eyes, "However...Sakura-san?"
"Sorry. I already sold that one," she smiled guilty as the woman's bright eyes dulled again.
"You did? Oh no..." she sighed, her face becoming very sad. Amu, Nadeshiko and Yaya ran over to them.
"Mama?" called Amu before spotting Sakura, "Eh? Haruno?" she tilted her head, confused.
"I told you she was here today! Did you believe me?" Yaya asked mockingly.
"No – dechu!" supplied Pepe. Amu turned back to her mother.
"Are we too late?" she asked, worried.
"We are. It has already been sold," she sighed, turning away.
"What? No way!" denied Amu. "Do you remember what the person who bought the magazine looked like?" she asked the woman running the stand.
"Actually, little Sakura-san sold that one," she stated as Sakura sighed at being called 'little'. "Well?"
"I remember, and we all know him very well," Sakura sighed, "He's your biggest fan, Hinamori."
"Really?" gasped Amu. "It has a picture in it that very special to my Mama and Papa. C'mon, we can find him! Maybe he's still here somewhere!"
"It's a big place, so we should split up," Nadeshiko suggested.
"I have to stay here and work, but I'll stop him if I see him," Sakura offered with a smile, sitting down and turning to her next customer as the others left to search for the boy with the magazine.
She worked hard and collected her pay at the end of the day before gathering up her things. Sakura carefully placed the Japanese doll in her bag and carried the blue cat plushie with her, still not sure why she liked it so much. As she was walking down the road towards her house, she remembered that she had heard her phone previously and checked her messages.
We found the picture – Thanks for your help.
Sakura smiled a little and replied, happy that things were going so well for Amu and the others. With a little sigh, she entered her apartment and placed the plushie on the sofa, setting the Japanese doll down on the table before going into her room and changing into a pair of pyjamas. When she came out again, she froze.
"Ikuto?" recognised Sakura, walking towards the boy. He was sat next to her plushie, his hair the same colour as the kitty. Her eyes widened when she saw that he was reading the letter she had revived from Easter.
"You're not thinking of joining, are you?" he asked suddenly, dropping the letter next to her geisha doll and standing up, towering over her. "It wouldn't suit you at all."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked, a frown appearing on her face while Ikuto sighed and stepped closer.
"You shouldn't get tangled in that kind of company, not matter how in need of money you may be," he explained. Sakura, for her part, looked shocked at the suggestion that she would actually join just for the pay checks.
"I wasn't even considering it, for your information! Not that it's any of your business!" Sakura yelled. He sighed in relief and pulled her to him, hugging her close before dropping back on her sofa, pulling her with him. His eyes fell on the cat plushie and he chuckled a little.
"You missed me enough to buy that thing?" he mused, "What a creepy little stalker you are."
"Shut up!" she yelled, her cheeks turning pink. She heard her Charas in the kitchen, yelling at Yoru for putting muddy paw prints all over the side, and sighed heavily. "I'll clean it up tomorrow," she decided. Ikuto stood up and looked around before turning back to her.
"Do you have any decent movies?"
{-}
Sakura woke up the next morning, seeing the white walls of her living room and feeling heat on her side. Her eyes widened suddenly when she looked around and realised that she had fallen asleep while she and Ikuto were watching TV, ending up curled into his side while his arm was around her shoulders. In her arms was the plushie she had bought. She looked up at him and saw that he was still asleep, a soft expression on his face.
"Ikuto," Sakura whispered, tapping his chest. In his sleep, he took her hand and shifted, pulling her over him as he lay down on the sofa. Freaking out, Sakura jumped away, affectively waking up the teenager.
"Hnn?" he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, "Sakura?"
"Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked him, sitting on the floor with a pout, crossing her arms. "I know that I fell asleep before you, so you could have at least moved me away."
"Why would I?" he asked carelessly, shrugging his shoulders. "You were really warm, and there was a draft," Ikuto smirked, leaning back in her sofa and folding his arms behind his head. "Besides, you seemed so comfortable. Are you sure you're not in love with me?"
"That could have happened with anyone!" she defended, an image of Kukai pushing itself to the front of her mind without her consent.
"Oh, really?" he sighed lightly, "Now I feel so unloved."
"Would you just stop being such a drama cat already," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. Ikuto stood up and walked over to her, sitting behind her and wrapping his arms around her neck, placing his chin on her head. "W-What're you doing?"
"This is comfortable," he stated simply. Unable to reply to his blunt statement, Sakura gave in and leaned in towards him, letting his body heat warm her up.
"...I still hate you."
"Liar," he said, his smirk making impossible for her to be angry anymore.