Yaya

"Ohayo!" I skipped forward, hugging my friends and rolling back on my feet, clapping excitedly. "So great to see you guys!"

"How can you move in that?" Amu stared at my yukata (yellow with swirly candies!) blinking as if she'd never seen me wear anything of the sort before. "It's over ninety degrees outside. Aren't you hot?"

I shrugged. "Not really. Anyways, Kukai told me that he and Utau would be here soon, but I dunno about Rima and Tada and Nagi and Nade. Hey, I want candy!"

"Sure does change topics fast..." Ran mumbled, Miki and Su nodding in agreement.

Kairi chuckled. "Perhaps it's a bit early in the day to have candy."

"It's never too early for sweets!" I protested, and he smiled.

"True. Then it would be too early to do this." With that, he leaned in to kiss me.

"Why don't we go check out the booths while we wait?" Amu suggested hurriedly—rather rudely interrupting what could have been an amazing kiss—motioning towards the crowd.

Today was Obon, a day for dance (well, that would start when it was cooler) and celebration. Today, in my yukata (yellow with swirly candies!) I felt like a greater part of the festival, what with the colorful booths and callers, the alluring items for sale, the temptation of cool treats and hot meals.

"Ooh, is that Botan candy?" I sped over to the nearest table and grabbed the tiny red-green box, popping one in my mouth. "Mmmm!"

"Gimme one~dechu!" Pepe swooped in and dove into the box, wriggling back out with an armful of candy.

"I'll pay for that," Kairi offered, handing the indignant seller money and shaking his head. "You had better share some of that candy with me. I did pay for it, after all."

"Aw, fine." I pouted and held out the box, which he plucked a piece from and popped into his mouth, kissing my cheek.

"Sweet."

"You two are sickeningly sweet," Rima commented, appearing in front of us and holding Nagihiko's hand. "It's kinda gross."

"So are you," I shot back. "I always catch you guys making out."

"Rima's just so irresistable," Nagihiko said cheerfully, over Rima's angry stuttering, "She tastes like peaches and cream."

"Rima thinks Nagi tastes like lavender!" KusuKusu floated around her bearer's bright red face.

"KusuKusu, I swear I'm going to kill you someday."

"Oh, really?" Nagihiko grinned and nuzzled his girlfriend's cheek. "Well, lavender and peaches makes a good combination, I say."

"Hello!" Kukai waved with a free hand, his other occupied with several bags.

"Hey, Kukai!" I said brightly.

Amu took some of his load. "What are all these bags for?"

"Presents! Afterwards, we're meeting up our families, so these are for them."

"That reminds me!" Nagihiko smacked his forehead and rushed away. "I have to get something, I'll find you guys later!"

"Weird," Amu blinked. "Nagihiko never forgets anything."

"He has been acting kind of strange lately," Kukai said thoughtfully. "Ruder."

Rima harrumphed. "He's a freaking pervert, that's what he is. I can't go anywhere with him without him harrassing me with affection." Though her words were exasperated, her expression was pleased.

"Aw, you know you like it!" I teased her, giggling at her flush.

"Hello?" Utau waved her hands impatiently. "Are you guys going to take your presents or what?"

"Thank you!" Amu said happily as she took her gift, handing out her own from a plastic bag. "Here you go."

"I have some, too!" I yanked my hidden pack from my yukata (yellow with swirly candies!) and tossed around the little gift bags I'd spent an hour preparing.

"So, where's Otouto and Nadeshiko?" Utau asked.

"I got a text from Nade saying they'd be late," Amu confirmed. "She said it was really important."

"Important they get together," Utau snickered.

"Oh, yeah! They're the last ones we have to set up~desu!" Su blurted out, then covered her mouth. The other guardian characters gasped.

"Last ones?" Amu cocked her head. "What do you mean, 'last'?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Dia sad quickly. "Ha-ha, she just meant that... um..."

"They're the last ones to get together," Azumi supplied, floating into view.

"Yes!" The charas nodded in relief. "Azumi, when did you get here?" Miki asked curiously. "Where's Nadeshiko and Tadase?"

Azumi smiled. "They're coming soon. Just held up on a few things. I promise, they've got a surprise for all of you."

It was an early morning on August 15th that Tadase sat outside his house, tapping his foot and twiddling the thin nervously. It was hot, a muggy thickness that settled near the ground like fog, waves of heat rippling in the distance above mirages on asphalt. Today was Obon, and today he was extremely glad that he was wearing a yukata; the thin, airy fabric allowed for a cool breeze to slip through the weave. One less thing to worry of, especially when today was so important.

For over a month now, Nadeshiko had been helping him to prepare for what to say, how to finally tell his friends, to make sure he was truly ready himself. In the few periods where they were both free, it had taken many a practiced line, preparation for questions to be asked, assurances of self-acceptance and confidence, that had led to this final day, to this closure. Nadeshiko had promised him firmly that she would be there with him every step of the way, with every word, ready to support him fully.

And it was, with two hours before noon, with a huge, festering pit in his gut, wobbly legs, and a horrid balloon in his chest that expanded with air that it stole from his very breath, the young man was so devastatingly terrified that he had begun, not for the first time, to have regrets.

It felt shameful, he admitted to himself, to even think of the idea. This was, of course, a matter of great importance, but to consider it a bad idea? The notion seemed to suggest that he still felt shame, as if there were something wrong with his sexual preferences.

There was not, of course, anything 'bad' at all of the subject, a fact that Tadase knew, and yet fear still tightened his throat. His only consolation was that soon Nadeshiko would be here, ready to counter any doubts, help him through it. The gratitude he felt for her was great; she would be there for him, he knew it, and they had known each other just over four months. Already their bond had grown strong, and though they had known each other for such a comparitively short time, he felt he could trust her with his life.

"Tadase!" The beautiful violet-haired girl appeared out of nowhere, smiling brightly. With her came the relief of a cool breeze, lifting her hair slightly and curling in an unnatural fashion around her limbs. "Good, you're here." She frowned. "You don't look so good."

"...I think I'm having second thoughts," Tadase whispered, tightening his balled, sweaty fists.

She took him by the shoulders, looking him in the eye. "You can do this. I know you can."

His breath came shuddering out of his throat. "Yeah."

She smiled softly. "And I'll be there with you the whole time."

"You are a good king," Kiseki told him. "And as a good king, you must be honest with your subjects."

"I sent Azumi ahead," Nadeshiko told him. "She went to tell them we were coming, so no backing out now."

Tadase nodded weakly, and, hesitating for a second, he took a surprised Nadeshiko's hand. "Please don't let go," He mumbled. "I don't think I can do this without you."

Her cheeks were flushed just barely, but she smiled. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

With that, she began to lead him forward slowly, one step at a time, tugging him gently in the direction of the accumulating crowd, closer and closer, and suddenly Tadase could see his friends, and he could barely breathe, and immediately dug in his heels and stopped. "I can't!" He said in an anguished voice. "I just can't!"

He felt her arms embracing him, pulling him close, and he responded, bowing his head and burying his face in her neck, trying to control himself. "Shh, shh," She murmured soothingly. "It's okay, it's okay, you can do this, I'm right here with you, I'm not leaving, okay?"

His grip on her waist tightened, lasting just enough, and he let go, taking her hand once more and shutting his eyes tight. Then he nodded.

"I'm taking another step, okay?" Her voice was calm, reassuring. "Just a few more steps, and you'll be there."

"Hey, Nadeshiko! Hey, Tadase!" Amu's cheerful voice seemed to pierce Tadase's ears, sending a flood of liquid Fear tumbling through his chest. "Good, you're here! We were just heading to look at some booths."

"Hey, guys. Hold on a moment." Tadase felt small, warm hands prying his own from his face. "Hey, hey, look at me. You ready?"

He took a deep, shaky breath, his voice breaking. "Yes."

"Okay. I'm right here."

"What's up, guys?" Yaya's voice penetrated his ears. He could feel their eyes on him.

Tadase bowed his head, trying to work up the courage. It was now or never.

"I'm bi."

There was silence. Then, "What?"

He lifted his face, meeting their eyes with his, and spoke in a voice that sounded much clearer and calmer than the roiling, sickening feeling in his stomach. "I am bisexual."

Still silence. The nervousness began to crawl its way up his spine, and he took another breath, looking a Nadeshiko once for support. She smiled and turned to the others. "Do you guys want to say anything?"

"You're... bisexual?" Utau stared at him for a moment. Then she shrugged. "Okay."

Tadase blinked, opening and closing his mouth. "... So... you're not... freaked out? Shocked? Anything?"

"I don't think it matters," Utau said, smiling at him. "You're still my little brother. Being bisexual changes absolutely nothing. Well," She paused, "I suppose you'll have to let me know if anything related to your being bi is a sensitive subject..."

"Omigosh!" Amu squealed, and leapt up to hug him. "I had no idea!"

"I suspected you weren't entirely heterosexual." Kairi pushed up his glasses. "It was a decision, I believe, between pansexual and, obviously, bisexual. But Utau is correct, this changes absolutely nothing. You are still one of my close friends."

Yaya clapped her hands. "Cool! So now we know!"

"I guessed after you kissed that guy that one time in the restaurant," Kukai laughed.

The boy with the cornsilk hair felt his knees weaken past breaking point, and suddenly he found himself on the ground, head in his hands. Immediately Nadeshiko was there, kneeling in front of him with a worried expression, and then his other friends, murmuring.

"Tadase? Is something wrong?" Amu's face was filled with anxiety.

"...I just..." He let out a shaky chuckle. "I didn't think... you guys were so..."

"Accepting?" Utau crossed her arms. "What kind of people do you take us for?"

"Exactly! And hey," Kukai put his arm around his friend's shoulder, "if you end up coming out to the world and someone is mean to you, just tell me and I'll kick their ass."

"No need for that," Tadase said hastily.

Utau turned to Nadeshiko. "So, how did you find out?"

"I guessed," She said simply. "And he told me himself during play practice."

"Wait, wait, wait." Kukai waved his hands. "So you're telling me that Nadeshiko, who knew you all of—what, a month?—figured it out out before us, who've known you for years? And you told her before us?"

"Bonds are measured not by time, but through the depth of understanding, the constancy shown, and the mutual emotions shared between," A voice said behind them.

Tadase's eyes widened in shock. "Yoichi-kun!"

The older man smiled calmly. "Hello, Tadase-kun. It's good to see you."

"You're the guy that Tadase made out with!" Kukai laughed in surprise.

Yoichi chuckled softly. "Yes, I am. So nice of you to remember me in such a way." Kukai looked embarrassed, but said nothing.

"I haven't seen you in forever," Tadase told him, shaking his hand. "How have you been?"

Yoichi's eyes sparkled. "I'm going to be an uncle. My sister is having a kid. And you?"

"That's really cool!" Tadase laughed. "Well, um... so I kind of just came out to my friends."

"I guessed. Congratulations! Do your parents know?"

"I told them a while back. Nadeshiko—er, this is Nadeshiko, Yoichi-kun—she helped me tell them. They took it really well, actually, but I can't really say about some of my more distant family. Um, see, a lot of them are kind of... homophobic." With those words, Tadase heard his voice catch.

"Hey, let's think positively for a moment here," Nade scolded him, and he gave her a real smile. "Good. We're getting to that, remember? One bridge at a time. Now, what were you guys saying? Booths? And a baby on the way?"

And just like that, in the blink of an eye, it was over.

"Rima!" Nagihiko came racing out of nowhere, carrying a large bouquet of deep blue roses and a small box of chocolates. A wide, slightly crazed (and frightening, actually) grin was spread across his face. He leapt right up to her, pushing past people in a disturbingly rude way, and knelt in front of her, holding out the roses and the chocolates out to her in a reverent way.

His girlfriend stared at him incredulously, eyes flickering between him and the roses, her cheeks growing increasingly red. "You―roses and chocolates?!―How did you―why―I ―what?" She sputtered.

"I paid for the blue roses with my own money and had the chocolates imported straight from Belgium," He told her earnestly, giving her a bright smile. She turned even redder, took a dizzy-sort-of-step towards him, and immediately launched herself at him.

"You baka!" She wailed, punching every inch of him she could reach. "All I got you was this!" She thrust an adorable white teddy bear that held a single red rose. "Way to make me feel like a good girlfriend!"

For a moment, I expected him to look embarrassed and promise to return them while apologizing profusely, because that was the sort of thing Nagihiko would normally do. But he simply laughed out loud, sweeping her into his arms and kissing her fiercely, at which point she kissed him back (after her total shock at his suddenness, of course.)

"What'd you get me?" I teased Kairi, knocking him with my arm. He chuckled, and produced a bag of my favorite candy. "Oh, gosh! How did you find this stuff? It's nowhere nowadays!" I giggled and hugged him. "And this is yours," I said slyly, pulling out a pocket-watch I'd caught him eyeing.

"I gotta PEE!" Nadeshiko rushed away with a frantic look on her face.

The man that Tadase had introduced us to―Yoichi-kun?—gave Tadase a sly smile. "So... did you get anything for your friend Nadeshiko?"

Tadase turned bright red and began to stutter uncontrollably. "W―What? I―I d-don't―s-she isn't―I mean―I d-do, but―I'm not―we aren't―she doesn't―I―um―"

Yoichi-kun scoffed. " I'm not blind. I can see the way you look at her. You realize your whole expression lights up when she's around?"

"R-Really?" Tadase squeaked.

"Obviously. But, do you have a present for her?" He chuckled at the deepening scarlet in his cheeks. "I take that as a yes. May I ask what you got her?"

Tadase, hand shaking slightly, pulled a sparkling silver chain from his pocket, a thin and delicate fibre from which a miniature sterling dreamcatcher with woven filaments in the shape of a blossom hung. Strung into the design was a minute dark moonstone that shone and glittered mysteriously.

"It's beautiful," I gasped.

"You're giving my sister jewelry?" Nagihiko raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms in a protective manner with a terrifying look on his face.

"You better not hurt her," Rima said threateningly. "Or you'll have both of us on your tail."

"Uh..." Tadase gulped.

"Best of luck to ya, buddy!" Kukai smacked him hard on the back.

"Ow!"

Amu stifled a smile. "Well, to be honest, Tadase, I think Nade li―"

"Amu!" Ran, Miki, Su and Dia all came flying forward, circling her head madly and all talking at once with lots of rice candy in their tiny grip.

"Amu, look! Candy!" Ran said excitedly.

"So sweet, ~desu," Su twirled happily. "I like sweets!"

"They're delicious," Miki's eyes sparkled as the rice paper on one melted in her mouth.

"Cellophane wrappers are tough," Dia grunted, attempting to pull the curiously stubborn wrapper off hers.

"Honestly, guys, we had some earlier," Amu said in fond exasperation, plucking Dia's away and unwrapping it for her. "Geez, you guys have already had so many sweets..."

"I'm back!" Nadeshiko came up behind her best friend. "So, what are we talking about?"

"Um..." Amu shook her head. "I forgot. Hey, look! A photo booth!"

"Sweet!" I grabbed my friends' arms and dragged them over to it, ushering them into the now-cramped stall. "Coming, Yoichi-kun?"

He shook his head. "You kids have fun. I should find my boyfriend, anyways. It was good to see you, Tadase."

"You, too, Yoichi!" Tadase called in a muffled voice somewhere inside the booth. I managed to shove my way in, sitting on Kairi's lap with my arm thrown around Amu.

"Say cheese, guys!"

There was a blinding flash, and I tumbled out, caught by Kairi. "Thanks," I huffed, and he chuckled, pulling me closer for a hug.

"Out of the way, you two," Utau sounded annoyed. "The rest of us are trying to get out here, you know."

"Sorry!" And with that, Amu, Kukai, Utau, Rima, and Nagihiko and came tumbling out, Amu and Utau falling on top of Nagihiko and Kukai, who fell onto poor Rima.

"Mmphfgerroffme!"

While the rest of their friends piled out of the photo booth, Nadeshiko and Tadase, who had unfortunately been shoved up against the wall farthest from the exit, gasped for breath. But with a strangely convenient turn of events and the disappearance of two certain guardian characters, there was a slip, a trip, and a stumble, and suddenly Nadeshiko found herself on the ground, straddling her best friend with her legs and a hand on either side of his head, looking down at him, less than a foot from his face. Her dark violet hair surrounded their faces in a thin veil, spilling messily out of her ribbon. Both their eyes were wide, cheeks flushed and breath stuttering out of their lungs.

It was an eternity, seconds stretching out as the two, hidden away from the rest of the world, stared at each other. Nadeshiko's eyes flickered over every inch of his face. Almost as if in a trance, she lifted a hand, fingers brushing his cheek and trailing slowly down his neck and figure. His breath hitched and his eyes were round, flickering back and forth between his red-violet orbs and his soft pink lips, reaching his hands up and cupping her cheeks gently. Eyelids fluttering shut, the two leaned in, millimeter by millimeter, until their mouths were barely touching, a tiny wisp of a kiss.

And suddenly there was a scream, one of absolute, mortal agony, and the two sat up and scramble away from each other in total shock, breathing hard. One look of lost confusion, but there was no time for hesitation.

Another scream, then another, and many intertwining, a chorus of fear, and the two leapt to their feet, grabbing each others' hands and out of the booth, towards the screaming.

People immediately were shoving past them, looks of utter terror and they sprinted away from the source that Tadase and Nadeshiko were trying to get to. It was total chaos, with pushing hands and heavy bodies, cries for help and sobs, the sound of sirens in the distance, splintering wood of booths and, over it all, a spine-chilling evil laughter.

There, in the centre of the madness, was the demon, the horrid, black, grotesque figure, giggling in its high, childish voice that echoed throughout with the screams of the young. It stood hunched over a motionless figure, gripping the victim's chest with spidery fingers dripping with sizzling blood. X-Eggs floated over the hundreds of bodies.

"Tadase! Nadeshiko!" A voice screamed from behind them, and suddenly Amu was there, with the rest that stood in horror as the demon cackled.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Kukai yelled over the commotion, fighting the pull of the crowd.

"Amu, what are you doing?" Utau shrieked, but it was too late. Amu was sprinting in the direction of the demon. Just over the screams of the mob, the call of "Unlock my heart!" could be heard, and with a flash of light, Amulet Heart zoomed into the air.

"Let's go!" Nadeshiko shouted, and without another word, the rest transformed, rushing to join their courageous friend in battle.

Amu somersaulted backwards in a narrow avoidance of an assault of X-Eggs, tossing her Heart Rod in her Spiral Heart Special. Tadase rushed forward, sliding smoothly beneath the muttering X-Eggs and raising his scepter, shooting a beam of golden light and dissolving the dark energy of the X-Eggs.

But the Dream Thief only laughed, and with that came a shiver, a ripple of energy, and suddenly dark energy was bleeding into the Heart's Eggs once more. Tadase managed to roll out from beneath the crushing weight of the X-Eggs, but it mattered not, for the X-Eggs shot straight at a grounded, weakened, no-longer-transformed Amu, aimed in a deadly point at her heart.

"NO!" A girl shrieked, and with a violet flash of light, Utau sprang at Amu, shoving her to the side, collapsing in a motionless heap as the deadly point hit her right in the heart.

Amu wriggled out from under her friend and shaking her. "No! Utau!" Utau's head lolled, body entirely limp. She wasn't breathing.

"Utau!" In a flash, 'Sky Jack' was gone, and Kukai fell to his knees before his lifeless girlfriend, taking her into his arms as tears streamed down his face. No movement. A minute, two minutes of pure agony. "Come on, come on, wake up!" He sobbed, begging his love. "I know you're in there! Please!"

Tadase felt himself drop, staring at the figure of his sister, his older sister, and it had to be a dream, it couldn't be anything else, because Utau couldn't be dead—his Onee-san couldn't be gone—

There was a twitch, a wince, and suddenly Utau's chest rose and fell once more, as if some pitying source of air had filled her lungs, and she moaned, eyelids fluttering open.

"Utau," Kukai breathed, and he embraced her, shoulders shuddering as he held the confused idol.

"What happened? I saved Amu, and then I blacked out... what's going on? Why are you all staring at me?"

"Onee-san..." Tadase murmured, and fell forward, hugging her tightly and burying a tearstained cheek in her shoulder.

"Geez, it's like you guys thought I died or something," Utau grumbled, fondly ruffling her little brother's hair and kissing her boyfriend on the cheek, getting steadily to her feet. "Obviously I'm fine."

Out of the corner of his eye, Tadase saw Nadeshiko, who was sighing in relief. He took her hand with a smile, eyes conveying his gratitude, and she nodded ever so slightly, turning her fond gaze to the idol.

In the rejoicing of the nine, none had noticed the man with the odd eyes slipping away into the shadows.