This took much longer than I was hoping it would. Well, I had the majority of this chapter done for a while, as a major scene I had planned for a very long time, but for some reason, gathering the time to put everything together was just quite difficult. I have more story updates, but I'll save my major statements for the end. Enjoy! Also note: there's some coarse language here (which has probably been in previous chapters that I didn't warn about, oops).
As Kairi stood on the porch of the familiar house, he hesitated, staring straight ahead at the door in front of him. He gulped, feeling his heartbeat quicken rapidly. He had no reason to be afraid, and yet, he felt as if there was a magnetic repulsion preventing him from stepping forward.
"You alright, Kairi?" Kukai wondered. Kairi turned around, facing the other guardians behind him. They watched him curiously, clearly puzzled by his hesitance. Kairi nodded affirmatively. He exhaled deeply, stepping closer to the door as he knocked. Upon hearing footsteps on the other side of the door quicken, he clenched his fists. He wasn't so sure he was ready for this conversation, and yet—
"Kairi!" Yukari swung the door open rapidly. He smiled weakly at his sister.
"I apologize for not coming sooner, Yukari," He began. "I, um…"
"You know you can always come to me. I'm your big sister; that's what I'm here for." She pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry you had to go through everything. I'm never going to forgive that bastard. I never thought…" She paused upon feeling a hand on her shoulder. Yuu smiled at the others.
"You all can come in," He offered. "I was going to bake something but we were out of flour, so I hope you can suffice with chips." Yukari let go of her brother briefly, opening the door further so the others could enter.
"Thank you for letting us meet here," Tadase told them, smiling gently. "We would have met at the Royal Garden, but Rima pointed out that Easter knows we meet there frequently."
"It's no problem at all," Yuu told them. "You all are welcome anytime."
"How are you going to take down that company?" Yukari wondered, as they got settled. "I can offer any aid at all. I am willing to do anything to make sure that—"
"Yukari," Kairi interjected, frowning. "I'm okay."
"He hit you!" Yukari yelled, prompting Kairi to wince. "That fucking bastard had the audacity to physically harm my little brother. He's a monster; he deserves to rot in hell for what he did to you!" Kairi's eyes darkened. Yaya looked at Kairi worriedly, seeing his discomfort. She reached for his hand and squeezed his fingers gently, prompting him to look at her surprised. Upon noticing their exchange, Yukari's face softened.
"God, I'm not helping anything, am I?" She sighed. "I'm so sorry… Kairi, if you want to talk about anything, I'll try to act calm, okay?" She sighed. "I'll leave you all to your discussion." She turned to Yuu, who nodded as well. Upon turning back to the guardians, she smiled gently at Yaya, who smiled back with a wink.
"Now that we're all gathered here…" Rima turned her head to her side. Ran, Miki, and Su floated beside Kusu-Kusu, watching the others apprehensively.
"Is…is she okay?" Tadase wondered, concernedly.
"I think so," Miki told them. "I know that's not really good enough, but it's all we've really got. We would be able to sense if something was really bad, like we had been with Saira's dreams."
"What exactly happened?" Nagihiko asked. "According to Kairi, he just turned around and all five of you were gone?" Kairi nodded affirmatively. The three charas looked at each other nervously.
"When Kairi was speaking to his father, we were trying to figure out a way to keep Amu-Chan hidden," Su explained. Kairi grimaced slightly. "She wasn't really herself, so Ran's character changing wasn't working. We were going to try and distract him, when we suddenly saw this person in a hood appear right in front of us." Nagihiko and Tadase exchanged a nervous glance.
"Is it the same person we saw all those months ago?" Kukai wondered, surprised.
"You saw that person before?" Ran wondered, surprised.
"It was a day after Amu-Chan first got into the hospital," Tadase recalled. "We were fighting X-Eggs, and some hooded figure appeared out of nowhere, muttering something about the darkness coming forever." The three charas gasped.
"Well, when this person showed up, she had grabbed Amu's arm and suddenly teleported somewhere," Ran continued. "Before we knew it, we were in a dark room. Amu-Chan was confused and scared, but then we saw the hooded figure. She had pulled down her hood, and said her name was Luca, saying she was going to protect Amu from the eternal darkness."
"Do you know who Luca is?" Ikuto wondered, turning to Rima. She shook her head slowly, facing Kairi, who also shrugged.
"At that point, we didn't know what was going on obviously, but Dia had pulled us to the side. She…" Su looked at the ground. "She told us that she would stay with Amu-Chan. She told us to leave and find you guys." Nagihiko looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Where is she being held?" Utau wondered.
"We don't know," Miki admitted. "But it was far away, that's for sure. It took us two days to travel back to Seiyo."
"We're just hoping that if something were really wrong, Dia would be able to send us a signal or something." Su looked at the other charas. "Could you all help us look out for a signal from Dia?"
"As your royal commander, it is my duty to protect those in my kingdom," Kiseki announced.
"Wow, way to say something nice for once," Yoru mumbled, his tongue stuck out at the king chara. Kiseki fumed. "But I suppose I'm in. I'm great at finding lost people!" As the other charas agreed, Ran turned to face Kairi with a bright smile.
"I know Musashi would help us too if he could!" Ran pointed out, prompting Kairi to flush. The guardians and Tsukiyomi siblings turned to look at Kairi, surprised. Sighing in defeat, he reached into his pocket with his hand that wasn't intertwined with Yaya's, pulling out Musashi's closed egg.
"He returned to his egg a few weeks ago," Kairi explained, sighing. "I do not know when he will hatch again."
"But didn't you character change that day?" Rima wondered, surprised. Kairi nodded.
"I thought that he would certainly rehatch after everything that had occurred, but evidently, that is not the case." He frowned.
"You'll get him back soon!" Yaya promised. "It didn't take Nagi-Tan that long to get Temari-Chi back all those years ago, right?" Nagihiko nodded slowly, biting his lip.
"Yeah, it wasn't too bad." He smiled reassuringly at Kairi. "I know it's hard to rediscover your inner drive, but I know you'll find yourself again. It has a lot to do with discovering your true desires, rather than what someone else wants for you." Rima gave him a side-glance. Kairi looked at him, his eyes widened.
"It took months for Temari to rehatch!" Rhythm whined. "I never thought you would ever—"
"Rhythm!" Temari hissed, glaring at her brother. Kairi looked at the ground.
"Well, for now, we need to focus on Amu," Ikuto interjected, prompting everyone to nod. "So we know that she was in a dark room and somewhere that took multiple days to return from. Did you three notice anything while you were traveling back?"
"Not really," Miki admitted. "I mean, we saw roads and stuff, but that could mean anything..." Miki's voice suddenly trailed off. "Guys, I sense X-Eggs."
"There are a lot of them," Pepe agreed.
"Wait, Nagi, I think these are the ones you've tried to purify for a while now!" Rhythm pointed out. Nagihiko looked at his athletic chara, surprised. Utau frowned.
"We have to purify them," Rima urged, rising to her feet. "The longer these X-Eggs persist, the more power Saira has. If she has more power, she may be able to find Amu somehow, and we can't let that happen."
"Do you think Saira is with them now?" Nagihiko wondered, concernedly. "Perhaps she's simply trying to lure us in."
"We have to take the chance," Utau pointed out. "Rima's right; we cannot allow these X-Eggs to remain. We have to purify."
"I suppose I will let you all go ahead and—"
"C'mon Kairi-Kun!" Yaya dragged his arm, startling him. "Maybe Musashi will come back while fighting these X-Eggs!"
The guardians followed the charas, who led them into a wooded area. To their dismay, a huge cluster of X-Eggs appeared in front of them, their barriers shining in the bright sun. Everyone quickly transformed into their respective transformations, except for Kairi. He held Musashi's egg in his hand, frowning inwardly.
"You transformed with Temari?" Kukai wondered, turning to Nagihiko surprised. He smiled slightly.
"Well, my last few attempts to purify as Beat Jumper failed, so I suppose I should try as Yamato Mahime," He explained. Rhythm pouted, floating next to Il and Amu's charas beside Kairi.
"Do not neglect the barrier," Kairi told them. "If you aim directly for the center, you can most likely shatter it faster."
"Golden Victory Shot!" Kukai shot a rapid soccer ball, directly at the center Kairi was referring to. As it veered slightly out of center, Rima shot ropes, redirecting the shot. The X-Eggs reflected the attack, prompting Tadase to quickly form a shield around everyone. Kukai, Yaya, and Rima continued to shoot projectiles at the barrier. Nagihiko, transformed as Yamato Mahime, powered their shots.
"Crushing Claws!" Ikuto lunged at the X-Eggs, his claws outward. He swiped the X-Eggs, resulting in a shattering sound of the barrier.
"We did it!" Yaya chorused. "Nagi-Tan or Utau-Chi, go!"
"I'll do it," Nagihiko offered, stepping forward.
"You sure?" Utau wondered. "You're not the only one who failed to purify X-Eggs recently." Nagihiko nodded. He stepped forward, pressing his hands together as if he was in a prayer position. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak. He hesitated suddenly, opening his eyes.
"What are you doing?" Tadase wondered. Nagihiko turned around suddenly, his eyes fixating on a shorter blonde. She watched him curiously, an eyebrow raised.
"Perhaps this purification would be more effective if…" He smiled, outstretching his hand suddenly. "Care to dance, Rima-Chan?" She stared up at him, a light blush forming on her cheeks. She nodded eagerly, stepping forward and taking his hand. She could feel her heart racing, but to her surprise, a serene smile was present on the purple-haired teenager's face.
"Ready?" He offered. She nodded.
"Queen's Waltz!" They yelled together, a bright light emitting outwardly. Rima squinted slightly, adjusting to the light around them.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Nagihiko pointed out.
"Yeah…" Rima agreed. They stared at each other, both smiling brightly. Rima opened her mouth to say something, but she quickly shut it. She didn't want to disturb the tranquility of the moment; she couldn't remember the last time they had a romantic moment like this, and she knew that it wouldn't last. After all, everything seemed to be over with their relationship, and—
To her complete surprise, he tightened his grip on her, pulling her closer to him. She gasped in surprise, realizing that there was no longer much space between them. He removed one of his hands from hers, reaching back to the back of his head to pull down his hair. She giggled slightly, reaching to caress his long purple hair. He chuckled softly, his honey-golden eyes never once leaving her. As she ran her fingers through his hair, she watched him cautiously, but to her confusion, he did not seem bothered at all. He suddenly leaned closer, bending down slightly so he could see her at eye level.
"Nagi…" Rima whispered. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned closer, his lips touching hers in a matter of seconds. She quickly responded, moving her hands from his hair to the back of his neck, where she usually allowed her arms to rest. He smiled into her lips, hugging her closer to his body, to which she had no objections. Her heart was no longer racing like crazy; she felt calm and blissful for the first time in months.
"Uh guys, I'm, like, really happy for you both, and I've wanted this to happen for quite a while, but you didn't purify the X-Eggs." They separated immediately, looking at the cluster of X-Eggs.
"We definitely performed a purification," Nagihiko pointed, an eyebrow arched. He turned back to Rima, who nodded slowly. They performed Queen's Waltz, but to both of their dismays, the X-Eggs remained unpurified.
"How is that possible?!" Ran exclaimed. Nagihiko finally let go of Rima hesitantly, before walking over to the X-Egg cluster, performing a solo purification.
"Nothing…" Tadase muttered, his eyes widening.
"But that can't be…" Nagihiko began. Rima watched the X-Egg cluster with horror.
"I'll try." Utau stepped forward. "Angelic Lullaby!" After she performed her purification, the X-Eggs remained floating aimlessly.
"What's going on?!" Su exclaimed.
"It seems as though they are unpurifiable," Kairi analyzed, his eyes widening. He turned to face Rima. "This is what they have been planning the whole time; this is what we were desperately trying to prevent…"
"But they don't have Amu!" Rima cried. "So why would they do this now?!
"An increase in X-Energy concentration will bolster Saira's abilities," Kairi deduced. "Saira derives her abilities from X-Energy; if they can maximize Saira's strength while preventing Nagihiko-San and Utau-San from purifying X-Eggs, perhaps that would yield them a larger success in finding Amu."
Eventually, the guardians—with the exception of Amu—will be void of their powers. The former Jack, Nagihiko Fujisaki, will be unable to handle that many X-Eggs, and he—as well as all of the guardians—will be vulnerable to their eggs becoming X-Eggs as well. Rima recalled the words Deidre had told her two and a half months ago.
"The X-Powers," Nagihiko suddenly began, prompting the others to turn to him. "If we destroy them, would we be able to purify the X-Eggs?"
"No, the X-Powers have been decommissioned," Kairi explained. "Saira no longer requires them to bolster her abilities."
"So what can we do?" Tadase wondered. "Should we just… leave them until we can find a way to purify them?"
"No…" Rima sighed. "If we leave the X-Eggs be, our hearts' eggs will be prone to becoming X-Eggs. They are counting on us having the inability to use our powers." She hesitated. Averting her eyes from everyone, she continued, "there's only one thing we can do."
"No," Tadase stated firmly. "We can't. It goes against everything we stand for!"
"Tadase…" Nagihiko began, his eyes softening.
"We don't have a choice," Rima mumbled. "If we don't crush them, Easter can find Amu and use her to maximize their profits and destroy the world." Tadase let out a sigh.
"But the lost dreams…"
"There won't be any dreams if we let Easter win," Utau mumbled. Tadase looked at the ground, his fists clenched. Nagihiko's eyes remained on the previous King, concern etched upon his face.
"I can do it." Ikuto frowned. "I, unfortunately, have previous experience." Tadase looked up at Ikuto, his eyes darkened.
"Do what you must." Ikuto took a deep breath, before lunging forward and charging for the X-Eggs. Upon hearing the sound of shattering eggs, Tadase quickly looked away, tears lining his eyes. Yaya let out a sob, her hand clamped around her mouth. Kairi placed a hand on her shoulder, watching somberly as Ikuto finished his job. Silence formed around the guardians, as they stared at the spot in which the X-Eggs formerly floated. Ikuto landed gracefully, his eyes stoically fixed on the ground as shards of X-Eggs floated aimlessly before they disintegrated.
"We…we can't make this a habit." Tadase finally looked up, facing the other guardians. He watched everyone's grim expressions, a sickening feeling forming in his chest.
"We should go," Kukai suddenly began, his voice empty. He turned to Kairi for a moment. "Are you going to be going back to Yukari's?" Kairi nodded slowly.
Rima began walking home, her hands stuffed in her pockets. No words were spoken between her, Kusu-Kusu, and Amu's charas. Rima could feel her mind racing, the sound of X-Eggs shattering still fresh in her mind. It went against everything the guardians stood for, as Tadase had exclaimed. In elementary school at the peak of their Easter fighting days, purifying X-Eggs was all they did; it had become a task that they were all too acquainted with. Now, they couldn't even seem to do that correctly.
"Rima," Rima paused, turning around quickly. She watched as Nagihiko walked over to her, catching up to her rather quickly. He smiled gently at her, prompting her to return it.
"Hey…" Rima began, her voice trailing off.
"Can we, um, talk?" He wondered, hesitantly. "I think there's a lot that needs to be said…" Rima bit her lip. Throughout the chaos of the shattering of the X-Eggs, she nearly forgot about the moment they shared. It had been the first time in well over a month that they had kissed, and even more to her shock, he had been the one to initiate it. Ever since she had revealed her loyalties to the guardians, Nagihiko had been acting very peculiar around her.
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," She agreed, nerves tingling in her body. She stole another glance at him. She could see that he looked quite nervous as well, but there was something different about the way he was presenting himself. He did not seem as reserved as he had in past weeks; she could recognize that he was deep in thought, processing everything carefully. Seeing this, she smirked; she decided to take a chance. "But only under one condition." He raised an eyebrow. "You must treat me to a parfait." To her relief, he chuckled amusedly.
"Now that goes without saying, don't you think?" He smiled brightly.
Upon arriving at the parfait parlor and ordering their usual flavors, they sat outside on a nearby bench, silence befalling the two of them. Rima stared up at the shining sun. It irked her how brightly the sun could shine, as if it was oblivious to all the problems below it. Thousands of dreams had gotten shattered just so the world could be safe—at least for a little while longer—and yet, the sun was still shining tantalizingly.
"I forgot how great these parfaits were," Nagihiko began, prompting Rima to turn back to him. "When was the last time we went here?" Rima thought for a moment.
"I think we went once before school ended," She recalled. He cracked a smile.
"That was the time Yaya followed us, right?" Rima groaned.
"She wouldn't go away no matter how many hints we gave her that we just wanted to be alone!" She complained. "Even my usual briberies of candy wouldn't work. She was just so determined to be annoying." He chuckled lightly.
"I wish Yaya pestering us was the biggest problem we were dealing with…" Rima's smile faded. She watched out of the corner of her eye, as Kusu-Kusu floated away toward Nagihiko's charas and Amu's charas.
"Everything back then seems so insignificant now," Rima agreed. "Why can't our main antagonist be simply some guy trying to grant wishes for his grandson? It seemed so complicated then, but now…" She sighed. "It was Amu hugging Ikuto in the end that ended up solving all of our problems. Why can't we just hug Amu and make everything go away?!" She glanced at the ground. "Why can't everything just go back to the way it was?" She mumbled softly. She took another spoonful of the parfait, letting out a sigh.
"Maybe…maybe it can." Rima looked at the boy next to her, surprised.
"What?"
"A lot of things have changed, but… I don't think everything needs to." She watched him, as he took a deep breath. "I…I owe you an immense apology."
"An apology? For what?" He looked up at her, and to her surprise, she discerned pain in his eyes. But there was also a sense of something else present in his expression that Rima couldn't entirely make out.
"I'm sorry I ever doubted you."
"Nagi, that's ridiculous—"
"I should have trusted you right away. You… you would never just betray the guardians; even if you pretend not to, I know that you deeply care about everyone. You're an extremely protective person, and the idea of you simply throwing all of that away to align with our biggest adversary for no reason is simply preposterous." Rima opened her mouth to speak, but he interjected again.
"But more than that… I apologize for making everything so uncomfortable between us." He looked at the ground. "There is absolutely nothing I can say that would justify my reticence. You had sacrificed everything just to protect Amu, and I just…" He frowned. "I should have been there for you."
"You were," Rima pointed out. "You comforted me that day at the park. You told me that you would always be there for me."
"Perhaps, but... But that's not enough, is it?" He looked back up at her. "I told you two years ago when we first got together that I would never hurt you. But by closing myself off from you, I did just that."
"It's really fine," She reassured. "You never really hurt me; all of the pain from this has nothing to do with… well, I guess partially you were involved with my pain, but it really isn't your fault. You have nothing to apologize for, Nagihiko. You've always been a great…" She paused for a moment, prompting him to let out a sigh.
"This is everything I did wrong," Nagihiko mumbled. Rima could see tears in his eyes. "Why are we hesitating about all of this? What does it matter anymore? You joined Easter, yes, but you did it as a spy. You did it to protect our mutual best friend; you did it to protect the world. And for me to hold back and pretend I ever moved on is a ridiculous notion." He took a deep breath.
"Rima, I love you." Her eyes widened. "I never stopped, not even for a second. And I swear to you, I'll love you for an eternity." He smiled weakly. "I understand if you don't want to forgive me; in fact, considering how amazing you are and what unbelievable things you are capable of, I deserve it. But…" To his surprise, the girl beside him was laughing. He raised an eyebrow, watching as she cracked up hysterically, tears in her eyes from her laughter. "Am I…am I missing something?" He inquired, quite puzzled.
"You're such an idiot, Nagihiko." She wiped tears from her eyes. "You don't seriously think that I wouldn't forgive you, do you?" He gave her a questioning look, prompting her to crack up once again. "Did you get stupider than I remember?" He smiled cheekily, his cheeks reddening slightly.
"Hey, I just thought maybe…" Before he could finish his sentence however, Rima had leaned forward and kissed him squarely on the lips. He smiled into her, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her closer to him. She could feel every muscle in her body relaxing as she sat practically on his lap, deepening the kiss. Finally, she was letting her barrier down; she no longer needed to maintain any guise or be on her guard around him. He was hers, she thought giddily. She was not alone anymore; she finally had her partner back.
She separated from him slightly but kept her forehead resting against his. He gazed into her eyes, a small smile present on his face. She could feel her cheeks getting warm, but for the first time in months, she was finally content.
"I love you too, Nagi," She whispered softly. "And likewise, nothing that happened changed that." Nagihiko's smile brightened, and Rima forgot how much she loved seeing his glittering expression. "So… is it safe to assume that we're back together?" To her surprise, he smirked. He removed his head from hers, but he kept his arms wrapped around her so that she remained sitting primarily on his lap rather than the metal bench.
"Well, in all technicalities, we never broke up." She gawked at him.
"I called our relationship an illusion," Rima pointed out. "I think that qualifies as a break up."
"Ah, but did the words 'I'm breaking up with you' ever escape your lips?" He gently placed a finger on her lips, winking at her. She narrowed her eyes at him, sticking her tongue out slightly to lick him. He jerked back, prompting her to giggle.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time," She told him.
"Next time?" He inquired, an eyebrow raised. She smirked flirtatiously.
"Yep. When I breakup with you and immediately get back together so I can get this much affection again." He laughed, hugging her tighter.
"I don't think that's necessary," He pointed out. "I'll give you endless amounts of love and affection whenever you desire." She leaned down and nuzzled into his neck prompting him to chuckle and hug her tighter.
"Good."
"But hey…" She looked back up at him, seeing his expression become solemn. "In all seriousness, I truly love you Rima. The world might be rather crappy right now, and I know that there's a lot of pressure on us—there's been a lot of pressure on you especially. I could promise you that I'll be your dashing knight in shining armor and protect you, but I don't think that'd be accurate nor what either of us would want." He smiled, brushing some of her hair of her face. "We're partners; that's what a relationship entails. So, what I will promise is that I will always fight alongside you. I'll never leave your side, Rima; we're in this together, okay?" She beamed.
"We'll fight together to the bitter end," She agreed, resting her head on his shoulder again. He kept his arm securely around her shoulders. She gazed back up at the sun above. Its ebullience no longer annoyed her; perhaps, she reasoned, things really could work out. With him beside her, she no longer felt afraid of the grim future. She looked back up at him, noticing that he was gazing straight ahead. No, she realized; she was still terribly afraid of losing everything. But with Nagihiko, she knew that she was no longer alone in her fears and troubles, and for now, that was enough.
"You don't look well, Tadase," Tsukasa noted, watching as his nephew entered the planetarium. "Something is troubling you." Tadase clenched his fists, feeling tears attempt to escape his eyes. He blinked rapidly, and yet he could still feel tears try to escape his eyes.
"Everything is falling apart," He mumbled. "I don't know what to do. I've never felt this helpless..." Kiseki frowned.
"Life is not something that can be manipulated," Tsukasa pointed out. "Life is like a coursing river; you cannot control it no matter how you try."
"Today, while we were fighting X-Eggs, we…we couldn't purify them." Tadase could feel tears trickle down his cheeks. "Those dreams… some innocent children's dreams are just gone." He shook his head slowly. "Dreams are what make us strong, what motivates us to get through our life. If I lost Kiseki… what would I be?" He shook his head.
"You're doing what you must," Tsukasa reassured.
"But what am I doing?!" Tadase cried, his voice unnaturally loud. "Nothing I'm doing is right! Kiseki is born from my desire to protect people, but I can't even do that correctly. I couldn't prevent thousands of dreams from shattering. I couldn't protect my grandmother..." His voice choked. "And Amu-Chan…" He could feel tears streaming down his face. "I'm useless—"
"Tadase!" Kiseki roared. "Get yourself together, okay?! You do not give up this easily. As a King, you persevere; you keep fighting forever for what's right. You know what Rima and Kairi did; are you going to let their efforts die in vain?! Your friends are going to keep on fighting, so don't you dare give up."
"Listen to Kiseki." Tsukasa smiled brightly. He placed a comforting hand on Tadase's shoulder. "I have never seen you lose hope, my nephew. To protect the world, sacrifices must be made. I know you want to protect everyone, but you must consider the greater good. You must look to the future."
"But how can I even know that there is a future… No, you both are right." Tadase looked up from the floor. He wiped his eyes, forcing a small smile. "I'm not ready to quit yet. I will find Amu-Chan, and that's a promise." Tadase sighed. "Her charas, except for Dia, found Rima-Chan. They explained that Amu-Chan is with a girl named Luca, but they don't know much more. They couldn't remember…"
"Amu is safe, for now." Tadase looked at Tsukasa, surprised. To his dismay, Tsukasa's eyes were darkened.
"How do you know?" He inquired, puzzled.
"She is safe," Tsukasa repeated firmly. Tsukasa no longer had his normal serene smile. In fact, he seemed troubled—something Tadase had never seen on the elder man. He bit his lip, his eyes focused straight ahead.
"Do you…do you know Luca?" To Tadase's surprise, his uncle did not answer. His redirected his gaze up to the roof of the planetarium.
"Our Earth is trembling, and yet the stars above remain shining ceaselessly," He mused quietly.
"Tsukasa-San, you still aren't answering my question," Tadase pointed out.
"I suppose it cannot be delayed any longer." The brown-haired man turned back to Tadase. "There is quite a lot about myself that you do not know, my nephew. Not even your mother knew about this… but I suppose it is time for you to be enlightened. It seems the stars were not aligned in their proper order." Tadase watched Tsukasa curiously. He could see an unfamiliar darkness evident in the elder man's eyes. "It is time for me to tell you a story. Please sit down, Tadase. This may take a while."
"Breathe in, breathe out." Amu could hear the girl's instruction resonate in her mind. She carefully matched the rhythm she had maintained for several days now, breathing in a repeated motion. Her legs were cross-legged and her eyes closed, the only sound in the room being her soft breaths. The exercise made her feel relaxed, her body not strained or stressed.
"Tell me," Luca began, stepping closer to Amu. The pinkette kept her eyes closed, ignoring the close presence of the younger girl. "What is your name?"
"My name?" Amu inquired, opening her eyes. Luca nodded gently. "Y-You know that. You said my name when you first—"
"I want to hear you say it."
"Um… my name is Amu Hinamori?" She began, looking at Luca with confusion. Luca shook her head slowly.
"Say it with conviction," Luca hissed.
"My name is Amu Hinamori," She repeated, her voice firm." Luca nodded.
"Better. Now tell me about yourself." Amu looked straight ahead.
"I… I am sixteen, and my birthday is September 27th." She recalled repeating these facts to the doctors back in the hospital. How long ago was that Amu tried to recall. Days? Months? Years? Was she even sixteen anymore?
"I live with my parents and my little sister, Ami. My mother, Midori Hinamori, is a magazine writer. My father, Tsumugu Hinamori, is a photographer. Ami loves to sing, even though she isn't very good." She took a deep breath, turning to Luca. Luca gestured, prompting Amu to sigh. "Um… I moved to Seiyo seven years ago, at least, I think it was that long. I entered Seiyo Academy as a fifth grader, and everyone thought I was 'cool and spicy'." She grimaced, recalling the way all of the students glorified her. Moreover, she recalled how she held up her façade, pretending to be tough and uncaring, when she simply just wanted to make friends and feel accepted. It had been so long since she felt such insecurity; she had changed so much from then, and she knew exactly who to attribute it to.
"The guardians…" Amu began, prompting Luca to look up, surprised. "They…they embraced me." Her eyes widened. She remembered the very first time she interacted with them, with Ran's character change forcing her to profess her 'love' for Tadase, to her transforming for the very first time after chasing after Ikuto. Memories flashed through her mind rapidly; memories that she had stashed away as irrelevant began resurfacing, prompting her to gasp. Tears rolled down her cheeks rapidly.
"What have I been doing?!" She rose to her feet suddenly. "Everything with Arisa… Everything has been a lie." She let out a sob. "How could…how could I have just forgotten everything?! How could I have just pretended it was nothing?!"
"Saira played with your deepest desires," Luca explained. "She knew what mattered most to you, and she used it against you. You were indoctrinated, Amu-Chan; you were made to believe that Arisa—a child form of Saira—was your priority and that nothing else mattered."
"How could I have just let this happen?! I thought…I thought I was stronger than this…"
"You are strong, Amu-Chan." Amu turned around startled, watching as her yellow chara floated up. "Even at the worst of it, you always persevered. You were always fighting back."
"No I wasn't," Amu protested. "I pushed you guys away. I thought Arisa was all that mattered; I thought…"
"All four of us remained," Dia pointed out. "Not once did Ran, Miki, Su, or I ever fade or vanish for an instant. Whether you were conscious of it or not, you believed in us. You believed in yourself."
"Your chara is right." Amu turned back to Luca, surprised. "That's why I brought you here, Amu-Chan. I knew you would regain your autonomy; I knew you would be able to break Saira's spell."
"Saira…" Amu shook her head slowly. "Why would she want to use me?" Luca frowned, shaking her head slowly.
"Easter wants to create a world in which everyone's problems can be solved, and you were the key to that," Luca explained. "With your powers, they believed that no one would struggle again, while they would profit consequently." Amu's eyes widened.
"That's horrible!" She exclaimed.
"But Saira… Saira forged a deal with Easter. With her special connection to X-Eggs and their energy, she knew that she could reach you and use your abilities to her benefit."
"Like Rikka," Amu recalled. "Rikka Hiiragi. She joined the guardians after my friends and I graduated Seiyo Academy, but she eventually moved away. That's why we remained the guardians, even to this day; we never really found anyone else." Luca nodded slowly.
"In exchange, Easter promised Saira that she would have guaranteed access to a great power that transcends even the power you would create. This power could grant any wish that its bearer desires." Amu's eyes widened. She exchanged a quick look with Dia, before turning back to Luca.
"The embryo!" She exclaimed. "But that's impossible; the embryo was really Hikaru's egg."
"The embryo that Kazuomi's Easter sought turned out to be simply a chara egg, but in actuality, there is a real embryo out there that can grant any wish." Amu gasped. "When Saira learned of the embryo's existence, she became desperate to find it. It drove her to insanity; she began experimenting more and more with X-Energy just to try and attract it. I tried to talk her out of it, but unfortunately, she was past the point of reasoning."
"You know her?" Amu inquired. Luca's eyes darkened.
"I used to," She mumbled. "Anyway, when Saira came across Easter, she was intrigued. She met with Easter's director, Sanjou Seto and came up with this deal."
"Wait, Sanjou?" Amu interjected. "Is that Kairi's father? If he's the new director of Easter, is that why Kairi betrayed us?"
"You have a lot to catch up on," Dia explained. "Rima and Kairi were never betraying us. I'll explain more later." Amu nodded slowly, her mind in a daze.
"I know this is a lot for you to take in," Luca whispered. "You have just regained yourself, and now you're thrown all of this. You must be tired…"
"No, I'm fine," Amu urged. She shook her head slowly. "I'm tired of letting myself be the victim. I need to learn more; I know I missed a lot, but I need to stop Easter. I need to stop Seto Sanjou and Saira, and whoever else. I've already caused a lot of damage, haven't I?" She looked between Luca and Dia, letting out a sigh. "I won't let Easter use me anymore; I won't let myself be their slave."
"This is what I've been preparing you for, Amu," Luca whispered, smiling softly. "But unfortunately, you are not ready yet." Amu cocked her head to the side.
"What do you mean?"
"Saira's influence is powerful," Luca pointed out. "You have only just now regained your senses; it is far too hasty to throw you back into action right away."
"But—"
"Trust me. This is for your own benefit. We need just a few more days of preparation, and then you will be strong enough to resist Saira's efforts." Amu looked pensive for a moment.
"Who is Saira exactly?" Amu wondered. Luca frowned, letting out a sigh.
"I suppose you could use some answers." Luca sat on the ground across from Amu. She exhaled, looking back at the pink-haired girl. "Saira wasn't always like this. She used to be a normal girl, just a stubborn girl with big dreams." Luca laughed half-heartedly. "But everything changed when we found out the truth about Father."
Lots of stuff going on here, hm? The RimaHiko scene made me way too happy to write; it hurt my soul to see them not get along. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it :).
Regarding next chapter, I'll give you a heads up that it will be mainly told as a series of flashbacks. After all, both the Tadase and Amu story-lines left off in a cliffhanger that requires explanation.
Now for the news about this story overall. I have determined that for part I of this story, there will be 20 chapters. That means, my goal is to write 6 more chapters this summer before I reach a midpoint in this story (not going to explain what that means, as I don't want to give spoilers). Is this going to happen? Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that I will complete this goal this summer...again. I will be taking a summer class starting soon (which won't take up all of my time, but it means that I should go to sleep earlier and I primarily write at night), I'm working on video games, and I'll be going to Disney in August, not to mention that move-in back to school is mid-August- along with not being a lazy bum and seeing friends/exercising/etc.-so therefore, I'm really not sure I can muster out that many chapters in a short span of time. However, I have completely outlined each chapter henceforth until there, so even if it carries into the school year, I will not leave you on too long of breaks for the next six chapters!
Well, for now, please review! I really appreciate all comments you leave.