Last author's note, I said that I would have this chapter up really soon. "Really soon" apparently means five months. In total honesty, I had this chapter done for months, but I just haven't had time for last minute revisions. Well, a lot has changed in my life ever since I updated last. I started college, and I survived my first semester with a pretty good GPA! I'm currently on winter break (it's a month and a half, thank god), so I figure it's time to catch up on some writing and updates! I'm not really sure if anyone is reading this story anymore- hell, I don't actually know if this entire fandom is alive or not- but I'm updating anyway! Even though I'm in college now and I've been in this fandom forever, I'm still not giving up on it.
On my profile in the next few days, I'll post some updates as to my life in terms of fanfiction. I'm not really sure what stories I'm going to be finishing/rewriting/etc., but once I figure all that out, I'll let you know. The good news is that this story is not in any danger of being unfinished. I know my life is crazy busy and my free time is often filled with video games (Pokemon Sun and Moon is so good!), but I truly do enjoy writing this story. In fact, I already have the next chapter finished (I still need to make revisions, but it should be up in a few weeks, hopefully before I leave for school again), and I have a good amount of chapter 11 completed too.
Enough of my ramblings. It's only 1:40ish right now, so I'm not actually sure if anything I'm writing makes any sense, but I just want to get this finally updated. If anyone is still reading this story (please say you are I'm working really hard on this), I hope you enjoy this very eventful chapter!
Rima stared at Amu, her mouth agape. Why was she here? How could she possibly be there? She didn't know they were fighting; according to Dia, Amu had no interest in the guardians' affairs. So why was she standing just a few feet away, transformed as if nothing was wrong?
"Amu Hinamori," Saira began. "It's so nice of you to join us." The cockiness that seeped back into her voice terrified Rima. Everything had been going so well, Rima thought bitterly. Nagihiko had shattered the barrier within minutes and was a second away from purifying the X-Eggs. Tadase had been in perfect position to render Saira useless, with the aid of the Tsukiyomi siblings and Yaya. Saira had not suspected a thing upon seeing Rima and Kukai fight. But the presence of Amu changed everything, and the smirk on the Easter employee's face was proof.
"Amu-Chan!" Tadase cried. "Y-You should be at home!"
"Home," Amu repeated. "Home is where… she is." Saira's smirk deepened.
"We tried to stop her!" Miki exclaimed frantically. "But Amu-Chan was persistent. She forced Ran into a character transformation and just knew to come. It was almost like she was possessed or something!"
"Amu, I'll take you back," Ikuto offered, placing a hand on her shoulder. She immediately jerked back, prompting his eyes to widen.
"The more the merrier, I suppose." Saira turned to look at Rima. "I guess we'll take her on too, eh?" Rima nodded slowly, trepidation filling her veins.
"Not a chance." Ikuto immediately stood in front of her as Saira shot X-Energy at Amu. Amu stood, staring blankly as Ikuto defended her with his claws.
"Seraph Blast!" Utau yelled, a move Rima had never seen her use. A white aura emitted from her hands, aimed at Saira, who immediately blocked the attack.
"Duckies!" Yaya cried, shooting duckies at Saira while she was distracted. A scoff escaped the teenager's lips, as she rapidly deflected the duckies. Yaya gasped, her eyes widening. Before she was hit, however, a basketball knocked the duckies out of the way, prompting them to crash to the ground. Nagihiko gave Yaya a small smile, before turning back to the X-Eggs.
"We were in the middle of something, were we not?" Kukai suddenly wondered. Rima turned to him, nearly forgetting his presence.
"Let's make this quick," Rima grumbled, giving Saira a side-glance. She needed to show desperation to help her supposed ally; she couldn't make it too obvious she was fighting Kukai merely to stall.
"Golden Victory Shot!" Kukai immediately shot a rapid soccer ball at her. Rima countered with her juggling pins, prompting the ball to rise into the air. Out of the corner of her eye, Rima watched as Nagihiko prepared to purify the X-Eggs once again. A part of her considered stopping him, but Rima could see that Saira was oblivious to his purification. Rima, too, decided she would play the oblivious role; Saira couldn't question that.
"You..." Amu suddenly whispered, seizing everyone's attention once again. Her transformation ended, leaving Ran to float to her sisters.
"Amu-Chan!" Ran cried. "Character Change! Hop, Step, Jump!" For once, a heart did not appear in her hair. Ran looked nervously at the others, who were also trying to desperately character change her.
"It's no use!" Su cried, her eyes watering.
"Amu-Chan, I told you that you can trust me." Saira stepped forward, rolling her eyes as both Tadase and Ikuto stood in front of her. In a familiar fashion, she used X-Energy to brush them to the side, prompting them both to grit their teeth. She smiled softly, taking Amu's hands in her own. Amu stared into Saira's emerald eyes.
"Amu, don't listen to her!" Kukai shouted. "She's feeding you lies!"
"I will grant you a safe haven. You can find your freedom… forever." Tadase and Nagihiko gasped. Amu's eyes widened.
"A-Arisa?!" Amu exclaimed.
"No! Arisa doesn't exist!" Dia exclaimed. "This is Saira; she's a monster who is trying to influence you to work with Easter."
"Arisa-Chan," Amu whispered, ignoring Dia's pleas. "Y-You're here." Saira smiled gently.
"I am, Amu-Chan. You are safe now." Rima watched the pair of them, her eyes shaking. It couldn't be happening, not now…
"Arisa… Arisa is Saira," Nagihiko suddenly realized. "It's an anagram. If you rearrange the letters of Arisa…"
"Very clever," Saira mused quietly. Rima's eyes widened, realizing at once he was right. How could she have not made that connection?! Saira must have disguised herself as a little girl in Amu's dreams to appeal to Amu, Rima realized. She peered over at Nagihiko subtly, whose sole focus was on Amu. She shouldn't have been too surprised he realized; he was always good at figuring out things.
"Let us unite eternally, Amu-Chan," Saira whispered, her hands still intertwined with Amu's. "We will never be apart any longer." Amu's eyes started to glow black.
"Amu-Chan!" Tadase cried desperately.
"I have no need of you foolish guardians anymore." While her eyes remained fixed on Amu, she raised one of her hands, prompting the X-Eggs to flash blue. Rima's eyes widened, watching as the barrier restored. Within seconds, the cluster of X-Eggs flashed simultaneously and shot toward Nagihiko.
Before the X-Eggs could hit him, however, Rima had immediately summoned her tightrope and wrapped it around the X-Eggs tightly. Nagihiko finally turned to face them, his eyes widening. He looked at Rima for a moment, worry present in his eyes.
"Rima-San?! What are you doing?!" Saira exclaimed, her eyes suddenly focusing on the petite blonde. Rima's eyes were darkened as she stared at the ground. She steadfastly held her grip on the ropes, shaking slightly.
"Send Deidre my regards," Rima mumbled, looking back up at Saira. Somehow, Rima had gotten quite used to seeing a feeling of betrayal in others' eyes.
"You… This whole time, you—" Before Saira could finish, a bunch of basketballs and soccer balls suddenly bounced around, creating smoke. As Rima stared absentmindedly at Saira, she could feel something tug on her hand. Rima looked up at Nagihiko, who gave her a determined look. Heat rushed to her cheeks, but she nodded slowly, following him as he fled the scene with the other guardians.
"Oh shit, that was close," Kukai murmured, leaning against the basketball court at Seiyo Academy. Rima was extremely out of breath, but her exasperation was the least of her worries. They all ended their character transformations, looking like a bunch of worn out teenagers—or adults in Ikuto and Utau's case.
"Rima-Chan, are you alright?" Tadase wondered, worry leaking into his voice. Rima looked up at him, still panting slightly. She became aware that her hand was still gripping Nagihiko's tightly. She was a bit embarrassed by the action; she knew that he clearly was reticent when it came to her, but she selfishly had no desire to let go of his hand at that moment. Fortunately for her, he either didn't notice that they were still holding hands or he was okay with it.
"I…" Rima frowned. "I screwed up." She groaned slightly. "My cover is blown."
"It's not your fault," Nagihiko reassured her. "I should have been more aware of the attack; I could have dodged it." He frowned. "Moreover, I should have purified the X-Eggs when I had a shot." He gave Rima a side-glance. "Though, thanks for saving me. I really do appreciate that." Rima could have said something sarcastic, but she held back. Of course I'd save you, idiot. Rima thought, grimacing. I'm hopelessly in love with you, and I just seem to always act really impulsively around you.
"We can't blame ourselves," Kukai pointed out. "It wasn't anyone's fault. We were all taken off guard by Amu…"
"Who is currently under Saira's control," Ikuto mumbled, though Rima could make out anxiety in his eyes.
"She's probably being taken to Easter right now," Utau muttered, sighing. "Shit, they're going to turn her into some wish-granter now. Saira's plan was successful; she rendered us useless."
"We almost did it though!" Yaya pointed out. "Before Amu-Chi came, we almost had it! You could see the fear written on Saira!"
"Almost is a pretty damn important modifier," Utau grumbled.
"Yaya-Chan does have a valid point," Tadase pointed out. "We did make more headway than Saira expected. They have Amu-Chan, but… but maybe it isn't hopeless. We can fight through Saira. And maybe we don't have Rima-Chan as a source in Easter anymore, but we still have someone."
"Kairi can't give us too much, if anything," Rima pointed out. "His father is the director. He can't directly disobey him like that." She sighed. She had put months into maintaining a façade for Easter, and in an instant, it was all broken, shattered like glass. But it wasn't just her façade that was shattered; everything she had planned for months was futile. Amu was taken by them—something Rima was supposed to prevent at all costs. She could feel tears forming, but she held back. She couldn't cry, not now. She had already cried too much in front of Nagihiko; she couldn't just turn to tears.
"Well… now what?" Kukai wondered. No one said anything. Rima looked at the ground. She had no answer to that question, she realized. She couldn't obtain information from Easter any longer; Saira was probably explaining Rima's betrayal to Deidre and Seto at that very instant and plotting to harm her. Amu was captured and fully indoctrinated. She turned to the group around her, seeing all of their grim expressions. Some guardians they were, failing to protect the one person that desperately needed protection.
"We continue to fight." All eyes turned to Tadase. His eyes were lowered, but Rima could see a glint of determination present. "We can't just give up. Amu-Chan…Amu would never give up. Whether it was purifying X-Eggs or trying to get Dia back," Utau crossed her arms, a slightly guilty look present, "she never hesitated for an instant to get what she wanted. It's a quality of hers I have always admired. And I know if it were any of us in her position, she would be rallying us." Tadase turned to Ikuto for a moment. "This isn't that different than Death Rebel. I…I hadn't quite understood you at that point, Ikuto-NiiSan, but Amu-Chan convinced me to set aside my reservations. She urged me to help her save you—and we did. And now, we will do it again." Tadase smiled at the group.
"More than, well, any of us admittedly, Amu-Chan has touched every single one of us in a distinct way." Rima sighed at that, her eyes absentmindedly drifting to her hand still in Nagihiko's. Though their relationship was waning at the moment, she had Amu to credit for its beginning; Rima had Amu to credit for her happiness and security—in everything. She had seamlessly pierced through Rima's icy exterior, forcing the blonde to melt and show her inner colors. That was why Rima was willing to sacrifice all that Amu had secured for her, in order to pay her back for all that she had done. That was why Rima would listen to Tadase and work with the guardians to pursue her original task.
"I swore to protect the people I love," He whispered. "And while I couldn't protect my grandmother… I cannot let Amu-Chan down. I love her more than I could ever put into words, and I refuse to give up. I will protect Amu-Chan, even if I die doing so."
"We will protect her." Nagihiko let go of Rima's hand, walking over to Tadase. Rima could immediately feel the vacancy. "Today may have not gone as planned, but we cannot let ourselves be too discouraged. We cannot give up on Amu."
"We can do it!" Yaya called. "And Yaya knows that, again, today sort of sucked, but we did get one good thing!" Everyone looked at her confusedly. "Maybe we don't get information from Easter, but we have Rima-Tan 100% now!"
"Yaya, I was already on board with you guys fully," Rima pointed out, trying not to smile at the pigtailed girl's comment.
"But now it's official official!" Yaya hugged Rima tightly, prompting Rima to return it hesitantly. "You don't even need to pretend to be with the bad guys; you can just be a guardian and no one else!"
"It does feel good to be back with you all," Rima pointed out, a small smile forming. "And it wouldn't feel right saving Amu without everyone." Still, Rima could feel a pit in her stomach. She knew she had to save Amu, but could she possibly do it? Rather, could they do it?
Kairi stood beside his father, only half-listening to his conversation with Deidre. As they discussed how Saira and Rima were going to obviate the guardians, he could only feel a crushing sense of guilt. Saira's plans were moving far too quickly, and Kairi had a grim feeling that not even the guardians could do anything about it—even with Rima's aid. The X-Powers were irrelevant; it was solely Saira powering X-Energy and possessing Amu.
"Sanjou-San, Ichigami-San." Kairi glanced up, as Saira returned. With a sinking feeling, Kairi watched as Amu followed her, her eyes glossed over.
Impossible. Kairi thought, his eyes widening. She already has Amu?! But how—
"Oh my god." Deidre walked over to Saira, her eyes widening as she studied Amu. To Kairi's dismay, there seemed to be no life in Amu; she was fully indoctrinated it seemed. He could see four small eggs in her purse, the weight of his own egg suddenly apparent in his pocket.
"I had a feeling that she may show up, and she did. Even the guardians seemed surprised with that."
"I'm surprised with that," Deidre exclaimed. "I can't believe you forged that connection with her so quickly!"
"Very impressive, Saira," Seto complimented. Kairi frowned discreetly; seldom had he heard Seto praise anyone, and certainly Kairi was never the target of said praise. "Where is Mashiro-San?" Saira's smile faded.
"She's a traitor." Kairi's eyes widened. How did they know?!
"What?!" Deidre exclaimed.
"She's with the guardians," Saira mumbled.
"How is that possible?! She joined us, claiming she was an ex-guardian. The guardians seemed to believe that she was against them; are they all that good at lying?" Deidre gritted her teeth. "She had devoted herself to us…"
"She knows too much," Seto murmured. "She has been integral to our plans and at the forefront of every action. And she has definitely relayed this information to the guardians." He turned to Kairi. "You were friends with Mashiro in the guardians. Did you have any knowledge of her plans?"
"Not at all," Kairi lied. "It had perplexed me that Mashiro-San had initially aligned with us, but I had not anticipated her betrayal either." Seto turned back to Deidre, prompting Kairi to sigh a breath of relief internally. He could feel his heart rate augment.
"What happened to the guardians?" Deidre inquired.
"They escaped," Saira explained, frowning. "They were just about to purify the X-Eggs, when I restored the barrier and attacked Fujisaki Nagihiko. That's when Rima jumped in to protect him, revealing her loyalty." Kairi sighed morosely. He knew how much Nagihiko meant to Rima; of course she would risk everything to save him. Kairi briefly thought about Yaya, wondering if he could do the same. He bit his lip, glancing at his father out of the corner of his eye. No, Kairi decided; he was too much of a coward. He couldn't possibly risk disappointing the man who was already disappointed with everything Kairi did, even for the girl he loved. He thought about Musashi, sighing. No wonder he disappeared.
"They had created a diversion to escape," Saira continued. "They didn't purify the X-Eggs ultimately, but the guardians escaped without a scratch—with Rima."
"We need to dispose of them," Seto announced. "With Mashiro-San's information, it is far too great of a risk. They know too much."
"I will take care of them, but we have Amu," Saira pointed out. "Even with Rima-San's betrayal, our plans are progressing. Nothing can stop us now." Nothing. Kairi thought bitterly. Unless… The teenager's eyes widened. He gave a side-glance to Amu.
I cannot let myself be a coward, He thought, biting his lip. I am being ridiculous; of course I would save Yaya in a heartbeat. And now, I will save Amu—as I swore to do all those years ago. Emerging from her purse, he could see a pair of yellow eyes. He gave a slight smile to Dia, contrary to how he felt. The other three charas popped out slightly, winking at him.
"Take care of her," Deidre announced, prompting Saira to nod. Saira gestured for Amu, prompting her to immediately follow. Kairi watched as they walked away, nerves beginning to build up in his chest. He had to do something; he needed to help Amu. And yet, a lingering doubt filled his mind, the familiar disappointed expression of his father vivid in his mind.
As Yaya munched on pocky, her eyes fixated on her bulletin board, a slight frown on her face. Her legs were tucked into her chest, the box of pocky lying motionlessly beside her. She reached into her box, her hands searching for another stick. She leaned against the wall of her bed, a sigh escaping her lips.
"We should go out and buy more Pocky," Pepe whined. "I'm getting bored of the strawberry ones!"
"Maybe later," Yaya replied, a solemn tone present.
"But don't you want chocolate? Or that new mint type?"
"Mint…" Yaya repeated, a grimace forming. Pepe's eyes lit up, prompting her to float up excitedly.
"Let's go get it, Yaya-Chan!" Pepe urged, floating up to Yaya's pigtail and pulling on it slightly. Yaya swatted her chara away, maintaining her position. "Well if you aren't going to move, I can go visit Daichi and tell Kukai to buy it."
"Not now." Pepe stopped floating around excitedly. She turned to her bearer, noticing the melancholic expression present. She floated beside her, munching on one of the strawberry sticks.
"What are you thinking about?" Pepe asked. She followed Yaya's eyes, noticing the picture she was staring intently at. In the front of the picture, Yaya stood beside Rima, holding two piece signs beside the shorter girl's hair. Rima had a visible smile—though Yaya always had attributed to the fact that Nagihiko stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Tadase stood next to Nagihiko, a slightly estranged expression that was likely caused by the fact Kukai was rubbing his hair, a huge grin present. Utau had a rare smile as well, standing next to Kukai and her brother. Ikuto, too, had a smirk on his face, as he held a very frantic looking Amu. Directly behind Yaya stood the final member of their group. He had a small smile as well, looking conspicuously calmer than the rest of their gang. Yaya giggled faintly, recalling how after that picture was taken, Yaya had started to tickle him, which did make him laugh and push her away.
"Things… things are never going to be the same," Yaya mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Pepe wondered.
"Yaya means, the nine of us… That doesn't exist anymore. We won't have fun like that anymore." Yaya could feel tears well up in her eyes.
"Don't say that, Yaya," Pepe tried to reassure. "You said it yourself: Rima-Tan is back now! Soon, we'll save Amu-Chi from Easter and—"
"But it won't work!" Yaya whined in frustration. "Rima-Tan seemed so hopeless, and she knows what's really going on. And even if we somehow do save her, that doesn't mean Kairi-Kun is back!" She sniffled.
"Well, then we'll save him too!"
"But he's following his father, and he's scared to disobey him. Pepe, Yaya… I can't save him. It's not like that…" Yaya bit her lip. "I can't save him from himself. He's scared of disappointing his father, and what can I do about that?" She took another Pocky stick, and stuffed it in her mouth.
"He'll listen to you," Pepe tried to reassure.
"No he won't. You know Kairi-Kun; he's always the one lecturing me. Besides, what am I supposed to do, be like, oh don't worry about your father? Yukari-Tan described this as something that haunts him always; I can't just make that vanish." Yaya let out a sigh. "I wish… I wish I could go back to the park."
"The… oh." Pepe watched her owner concernedly. Yaya took a deep breath, leaning back further.
"Kairi-Kunnnnnn!" Yaya had whined almost six months prior. They had just finished up a guardian meeting, and Yaya had spent the entire guardian meeting researching the best ice cream parlors near Seiyo. Of course, she found one in a place called Twilight Park, a park that was, unbeknownst to Yaya, a forty-minute walk, and Kairi had been the person she demanded would follow her.
"What is it?" Kairi wondered, a hint of exasperation in his voice. He looked up at Yaya, eating his mint ice cream slowly.
"You forgot to order the hot fudge!" Yaya whined. He raised an eyebrow.
"I did not forget to order it; I simply neglected to order it." A look of horror was present on the pigtailed girl's face, prompting a chuckle to emanate from his throat.
"Why?!" Yaya exclaimed. "Yaya gave you Yaya's super-duper-epic ice cream order, and you 'neglected to order it'?!"
"Precisely." Kairi smiled. "You had requested both hot fudge and chocolate syrup, which seemed quite redundant."
"That's not for you to say! You cannot mess up Yaya's super-duper-epic ice cream!"
"I paid for your sundae, so naturally I have input on your ice cream selection."
"Yaya didn't ask you to pay." She glanced at the ground, a small blush forming. "But Yaya does appreciate it. Even if you altered Yaya's super—"
"It is my absolute pleasure," Kairi interjected. Yaya pouted.
"You interrupted Yaya!"
"I did not need to hear you utter the unnecessarily extensive title for your ice cream sundae order—"
"You mean Yaya's super-duper-epic ice cream!" Yaya interjected, sticking her tongue out triumphantly. Kairi rolled his eyes, his smile remaining. He turned back to his ice cream, taking another scoop.
"You did an excellent job researching, Yaya-Chan. This ice cream is quite delicious. In fact, according to the nutritional information, this ice cream utilizes all-natural ingredients, containing minimal artificial sugars." Yaya beamed.
"Hey, just because you're a nerd doesn't mean you're the only one that can do a super great google search!" Yaya winked, prompting Kairi's cheeks to redden slightly. "But Yaya doesn't really think this ice cream is that great." He gawked at her, prompting her to laugh.
"You dragged me all the way here for ice cream that you feel is mediocre?!"
"Hey, hey, ice cream is never mediocre! It's just not the 'best' ice cream like it was claimed to be, y'know? It's, like, a seven out of ten in terms of ice cream!"
"Right…"
"Besides, Yaya's super happy we're here anyway. Yaya always likes spending alone time with Kairi-Kun." Kairi turned bright red. After a moment, Yaya covered her mouth, blushing deeply as well. "Y-Yaya means, um, well, like—"
"I enjoy spending time with you too," He mumbled quietly. "Err, alone." Yaya looked up at him, watching his fluster. She smiled softly, watching as he pushed up his glasses.
"You look really cute when you do that." Kairi blushed deeper. "Push up your glasses, Yaya means."
"U-Um, err, well, I-I suppose, um…" Kairi stammered, prompting Yaya to laugh quietly. She looked up at the sky, watching as the sky turned orange.
"It's beautiful…" She marveled.
"It truly is," Kairi agreed, regaining his composure.
"I could stay here always." She turned back to him for a moment. He looked at her, a little surprised. "It's just so pleasant here, with such a beautiful sight, yummy ice cream, and you. I'm really happy." She suddenly slipped her arm through his, prompting him to gasp. She rested her head on his shoulder, not worrying about what he may think. She looked back up at the sunset, a dreamy smile present. Silence fell between the two of them, but Yaya was for once comfortable with the silence, as she gazed up at the sunset. After a few minutes, she could feel his head move slightly onto hers, prompting her smile to deepen.
Yaya could no longer hold back her tears; they began falling rapidly down her cheeks, prompting her to sniffle violently. She could still feel the hesitance, yet comfort, of Kairi's head on hers. She could remember walking back to her house with him, and the hug that they had shared, his warm embrace sending shivers through her body. Everything had felt so perfect then; why was everything so not perfect now?
"We can fix everything," Pepe whispered.
"When we were at the park, I wonder if he thought about his father at all. Is that something always on his mind?" Yaya shook her head. "No, Yaya has to save him. Yaya promised Yukari-Tan; Yaya will make him feel better." She smiled warmly at Pepe, despite her tears. "That's what people in love do, don't they?"
Yairi has been mentioned at times, but this is the first chapter it's really focused on.
Please leave a review! It would be the absolute world to me, and I promise that if you review, I will update even sooner! How's that for incentive? One of my goals for this year is to write a lot more, so hopefully I can actually make significant headway.
Hope everyone enjoyed my first update of the year. Happy 2017 everyone!