Laying on the same wide grass field, Amu woke up to the sight of none other than a cat-eared Ikuto and Yoru looking down on her. She was no longer Amulet Heart, but a weakened Joker.

"What happened?" she moaned.

"I think you knyow what happened, nya," Yoru replied.

"I mean where did she go?" She grew more alert. "Ikuto, have you seen a girl with short brown hair, kinda tall—?"

"That was a girl?" Ikuto asked.

"You have seen where she went?"

"Yeah... You didn't thank me for saving you."

"I'm pretty sure I'm in the same spot where I was knocked out."

"I shooed some dog-walkers away."

"No, you didn't."

"Although it wasn't like me to assure strangers that a dainty little thing lying on the floor like you was okay although you clearly weren't, I'd hate for you to get trampled after you were already socked in the gut."

"Gee, thanks," Amu sassed.

"... You sure that was a girl?"

"Ikuto?! Cut me some slack!"

"Yeesh. I get it. It's humiliating to have the opponent win without a scratch, but I think you're too focused on your goal."

"But this is for the greater good. I'm not upset about losing. I just wanna help her."

"Maybe she doesn't need your help. Think about it. How many of the people you saved asked for your help?"

"I can't just let them suffer! Everyone deserves to be happy. If no one else will convince these lost souls that or give them a heart cleanse, then I will. I can find Akira myself. Now, where are my Charas?"

"Playing with Yoru."

Ikuto pointed to the four Charas that were sitting on the grass not far out of sight. Ran and Su were right next to each other encouraging Miki and Yoru. Amu knows too well about Miki's boy-craziness.

"I got my eye on you, Miki," she smirked.

"... I don't know what you're talking about," Miki lied slightly blushing as she was giving Yoru a drawing of a fish, which made him ecstatic.

Ikuto looked around for any signs of Akira at a distance.

"Is she one of your classmates?" he asked Amu.

"Yeah," she replied. "I guess there's no rush to find her. We'll talk soon. Come to think of it, she never really wanted to fight. She only wanted to protect those X Eggs for some reason..."

"You see?" he continued. "Go do your family a favor and go home."

"Oh, you're right!" she realized. "Ran, Miki, Su. Let's head back."

"C'mon, Miki," Ran called.

"Say 'bye' to Yoru for now-desu~" Su chimed.

"Hope you don't lose that drawing," Miki waved and turned around.

"Nya," Yoru meowed.

Amu's Charas all levitated along as she walked away. Ikuto and Yoru decided to lay down on the grass and gaze at the sky. Amu had so much on her mind and only had her Charas to talk to.

"What do you guys think I should do?" Amu asked them.

"Don't listen to him," Ran suggested. "Listen to your heart and do what you think is right."

"He did have a point," Miki added. "But the only thing that should be changed is her outlook and that's all we wanted to do."

"Nobody is ordering you to cheer others up," Su assured Amu. "But in the long run, you and the misguided will both be happy, which is what matters most-desu."

"Oh, so you guys did hear us back there," Amu replied before sighing. "I still can't believe I couldn't take a punch. Imagine what would have happened if I hadn't transformed to Amulet Heart."

"Your compassion for others is stronger than any punch-desu," Su smiled.

"If we can't stop others from knocking you down, we'll be here to pick you back up," Ran added.

"Thanks, guys," Amu's spirit lifted.

She managed to arrive back at her home before the sun went down, but was not fast enough to keep her parents from worrying. She lied by assuring them that the Guardian meeting went longer than usual. Later on, she went to bed and did not fall asleep with ease reflecting on what happened that day. The next morning, she and her classmates were in for a surprise from Akira. In case it had not been entirely established by the entire school that she was only a tomboy, Akira arrived in school uniform, skirt and all, as she was promised.

"We've only had her in this school for one day," someone commented. "But I was already used to her wearing that masculine attire. This is just weird to me."

The class was in session, but Amu became paranoid about Akira and would occasionally peek at her who was only doodling after finishing her work. During the last minutes of class when everyone got to hang out before walking out after the bell, Amu was offered a chance to clear the water with her who was now accompanied by her Chara, Mega.

"She looks a bit lonely," Su popped up from Amu's bag. "Only having her Chara to talk to-desu."

"I was thinking of having a little talk with her," Amu hesitated. "But how can I face her after the bad impression I left on her?"

"I think she could use someone to talk to," Ran suggested.

"She is still new here," Miki added.

"... Okay," Amu sighed. "Here goes nothing."

"Mind if I cut in, Amu-chan?" Rima asked.

"Not at all," Amu replied.

Amu's shyness became apparent, but Amu's friends acknowledged her seemingly brave confrontation in awe.

"Guys, look," a girl whispered amongst her clique. "Rima-chan and Amu-chan are talking to Kaminari-san!"

"They're so cool!" another whispered back. "I can't bring myself to talk to her!"

"Together, they'll rule the school!" another added.

"Um, hey, Kaminari-san," Amu nervously greeted Akira.

"Hey," she replied nonchalantly but surprised.

"I wanted to apologize about yesterday. I was so confused and I got carried away. Sorry."

"... Are you serious?"

"Yeah. You see, I play a certain role in this school and I must purify X Eggs."

"Well... I'm sorry for gutting you. Are you alright?"

"Yeah! Those were just instincts!" Amu laughed and Akira cracked a smile.

"Could you tell me more about that role of yours?" Akira asked.

"With pleasure!" Amu replied. "We're among the five Guardians of the school, which explains the different attire. There's a King, a Queen right here, a Jack, an Ace, and I'm the Joker."

"'The Joker?'" Akira chuckled.

"I know, right?" Amu laughed. "But I grew to love being a Guardian and being there for those who need a little guidance."

"How does one become a Guardian?"

"All of the seats are taken-" Rima replied.

"She's just playing!" Amu giggled. "I mean, she's right, but the role is usually given to Chara bearers like ourselves. You qualify, so maybe you can apply next year if someone needs to be replaced." Mega, who was watching quietly, looked up and her face lit up with enticement.

"I was just curious," Akira noted. "I'm not interested in applying. It seems like a big responsibility."

"It sure is," Amu added. "And I hope you and I can agree to let me purify those X Eggs that you were with."

Akira suddenly froze, and a wave of disappointment and irritation hit her.

"Is that what all of this is about?" Akira asked. "For a second, I thought you guys wanted to be my friends, but you just want to take them away from me. I can't believe I almost warmed up to you."

"Please don't take it that way," Amu frowned. "I'm sorry, but when they go back to their owners where they belong, at least you'll have us. I promise."

"You'll never learn," Akira shut her out. "You're all the same."

Amu was stunned and stared at her in dismay as the school bell rang.

"Come on, Amu-chan," Rima put her hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Amu sighed.

Amu and Rima went on with their school day before returning to the Garden for another meeting. Once again, they gathered to debunk theories and rumors about Akira.

"Hold up," Yaya asked her fellow guardians. "What did we talk about yesterday again?"

"We were discussing what we've heard about Kaminari-san," Kairi answered. "A girl with a Japanese father and an American mother, very distant, but a hot topic to the school."

"I sort of battled her after school yesterday," Amu admitted, surprising the guardians.

"Sorry we couldn't show up to assist you," Tadase apologized. "We were called to correct some paperwork at the last minute."

"You were lucky to walk out of that, Amu-chi," Yaya sighed. "What happened?"

"I confirmed that she does have a Dark Chara that happened to look identical to her. Not only that, but she befriended dozens of X Eggs. I planned to lock on to Akira's Chara, and then once she was clean, the two of us could work together to set the X Eggs free."

"That was very brave of you," Tadase smiled. "Albeit somewhat rash."

"Really?" Amu blushed, only hearing the compliment.

"As you were saying," Rima snapped Amu out of it.

"Um, however, I didn't think it through. I transformed into Amulet Heart, but I was knocked out before I could do anything. She never even Character Transformed herself."

"That's horrible," Tadase dismayed. "Amulet Heart didn't deserve such a defeat."

"Of course you would say that..." Amu muttered under her breath.

"Amu and I have her as a classmate," Rima explained. "We tried to get on her good side by answering her questions about us, but..."

"I messed up again," Amu looked down. "She really cared about those X Eggs. It's not gonna be easy to make her open up since I keep coming across as pandering."

"What I would do is try to talk to her again," Kairi suggested. "But try to understand what her motivation is and be prepared just in case she wants to defend the X Eggs."

"I'll try," Amu nodded.

"Do you think she could be Easter affiliated?" Tadase wondered.

"If she wasn't interested in becoming a guardian," Rima replied. "Then she probably wouldn't want to become an Easter affiliate either. She seems very neutral."

"We must assume the worst," Kiseki declared. "Who knows what's on her mind? She could have lied about not being interested in becoming a guardian. Now that she knows how to become one, she might try to overthrow one of you and proceed to take over the school to make everyone an Easter sheep and then take over the world!"

"Alright, Kiseki-kun," Tadase gently pushed Kiseki down with his finger. "Settle down."

"That actually sounds crazy enough to be true," Amu worried.

...