Recap

"Hello, I'm Blue-chan and this is Leo-kun. We are really thankful that you gave us a shot,"
-Blue

"I know but it made me think back to the day I got out of surgery. You wanted to break up. It made me mad because it got me thinking that you were still dating me out of pity."
-Nagi

"How could you doubt me like that?"
-Rima

"Rima, you can't give up on something little like this. Relationships aren't important. It's going to be difficult sometimes but a strong relationship will stand through the tough times."
-Rei

"I'm sorry," -Rima
"No, I'm sorry. I should never have thought that. I know that you really love me and I love you." -Nagi

Kusukusu: Yay! Rimahiko are still together

Rhythm: Awesome!

Temari: I'm glad they aren't fighting anymore but I fell as if we have other things to worry about

Kusukusu: What do you mean?

Temari: Did you forget the hot/cold problem. Also we're pretty sure Nade saw Lulu in America and she has company

Kusukusu: Oh yeah

Rhythm: I forgot too

Temari: It's all these stupid fillers *looks straight at author*

Chapter 23 Naughty Nade

*Rima's POV*

"We're almost there," Sanjo said.

"Vegas!" Yaya cheered. All of us were on the tour bus Sanjo got for us. It was a bit crowded with all of us but it was fun. All of us looked out the window to see the bright lights and tall building that were shaped odd.

"I've always wanted to go to Vegas," Aarin said.

"This tour is where dreams come true," Rei said.

"Whatever hot stuff," Leo said. Aarin and Rei were annoyed.

"Could you stop. Every single girl in our group has a boyfriend. In Japan we stay a bit more loyal than you," Rei said in English.

"Oh roasted!" Blue yelled.

"Whatever," he said.

"Wait a minute. Nade doesn't have a-" Yaya began to say.

"Shhh, he doesn't need to know that," Rei said. Luckily he couldn't speak Japanese. Blue picked up on it but she didn't say anything. Then it went south from there. I began to get a terrible chill. I looked around and I could tell I wasn't the only one.

"? egg!" the charas said.

"Now?" Rei whispered.

"Sanjo, some of us have to use the restroom," Utau said. She gave her manager a look letting the red-head know whats happening. We pulled into a fast food place.

"Go ahead." Sanjo said. We instantly knew who was getting off the bus. If all of us went then Nade, Blue and Leo would probably go too. Utau, Amu, Yaya, Tadase, Rei, and Aarin got off the bus. Nagi couldn't go because of his leg. I wish I could go with them but I can't charanari. I looked at Ikuto, Kairi, and Kukai. I understood their pain. I was the only girl that couldn't. It's weird that it hits couple. This time it happened right before the charas sensed a ? egg. They must be related some how. If we could find out the person making them then we can stop them and we won't have the hot or cold problem. My stomach felt like it was in a knot. I put a hand on my tummy.

"Are you ok?" Nagi asked.

"My stomach hurts," I said.

"Mine too!" Kukai said.

"Same," Ikuto added.

"My stomach is upset too," Kairi said.

"Really, I feel like I can run a marathon," Nagi said.

*Amu's POV*

"There's ton of them! How many Americans live around here?" I said.

"Vegas is where people can hit rock bottom really fast if you aren't careful," Aarin pointed out.

"Let's stop talking about it and get them already," Utau said.

Charanari: Guardian Angel
Charanari: Dear Baby
Charanari: Pure Halo
Charanari: Seraphic Charm
Charanari: platinum Royal
Charanari: Amulet Heart

"We need to get them together," Tadase said.

"Aarin, Utau, and I got it. We all have wings. We'll circle them," Rei said. The three pop stars got to work.

"Yaya, use your duckies to round up the ones that get away from them," Tadase said.

"Aye-aye! Go go little duckies!" Yaya sent tons of little ducks.

"Woah Yaya! I didn't know you could send that many," I said.

"This is the first time that's ever happened," she said.

"Anyway, I'll set a barrier around all of us. Holy Crown!" Tadase said. The jello-like shield was bigger than it's ever been before.

"I've never made it that big before," he said.

"You're going way to fast!" Aarin yelled. Utau was so fast that she was a colorful blur.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Amu! Do it already!" Utau yelled.

"Negative Heart, lock on! Open heart!" The power that flew through my hands were too much. It felt like a bunch of energy coming from a small space. All the ? eggs returned to normal. The pop stars landed. Our charanari's left us. I felt really drained. My legs could barely support my body.

"I'm so tired!" Yaya whined.

"Me too," Utau said.

"At least we're not hot anymore," Tadase said trying to look on the bright side.

"We should get back," Aarin said.

*Nagi's POV*

Everyone made it back on the bus. Luckily Rima, Ikuto, Kairi, and Kukai's stomach felt better after the cold wore off them.

"You guys look tired." Nade said.

"Long line," Utau said as if that explained everything.

"We are two blocks away from the hotel. You can rest up for the concert tomorrow," Sanjo said. The ones that just got back groaned.

"Yaya tired!"

"She's so tired that she went back to speaking in third person," Kairi said. After fifteen long minutes of traffic we made it. We quickly checked in, got in the elevator, and went into our room.

"Same sleeping arrangements as last time. Goodnight," Utau said. She walked down the hall. All of us settled on rooms and got ready for bed quickly.

"Goodnight Rima," I said.

"Goodnight." I gave her a goodnight kiss then I wrapped an arm around her as we began to drift off. The door creaked open. We looked up to see everyone except Sanjo, Blue, Leo, and Nade.

"Sorry to interrupt kiddies," Ikuto said as he turned the light on. They all walked in.

"What's going on?" Rima asked.

"Guardian meeting," Amu said.

"About what happened about an hour ago?" I asked.

"Exactly. When we were burning up our power was double maybe even triple," Rei said.

"But we drained of energy about two or three times more than usual," Utau said.

"When we were cold we felt sick," Kukai said.

"I felt like I was going to be sick," Rima added.

"We need to figure this thing out," Tadase said.

"I have one question. Why hasn't this happened to Aarin and me," Rei asked.

"We can't really answer that since we don't know how this is happening in the first place," Ikuto said.

"This extra power or sickness didn't start till we were hot and cold adn there were ? eggs. Last time we fought them the cold people couldn't charanari and then we feel weak. The hot people could charanari and they are completely exhausted from using three times as much power, and then we have Rei and Aarin," Rima said.

"I don't feel really tired," I said.

"You didn't charanari since you're currently crippled," Kukai pointed out.

"We must not get tired if we don't charanari then," Amu said.

"It seems like we're getting more pieces of the puzzle but we don't have the full picture yet," Tadase said.

*Nade's POV*

Utau and Amu haven't returned to our room yet. I didn't want to go to bed just yet. To distract me I looked out the window.

"Lulu?" I see her. She was walking down the sidewalk. At least I think it's her. I'm up really high and I could be imagining things. I see her talking to a girl with black hair but I can't really tell who it is. This is the second time this has happened. I have to find out. I quickly changed out of my pajamas and back into regular clothes. I opened the door a bit and checked the hallway. The coast was clear. I tried my best to sneak out of the room.

"Going somewhere?" I nearly jumped at the sound of a voice. I turned to see Leo.

"Oh it's just you," I said.

"Sorry sweet lips but I don't understand Japanese," he said.

"Sorry, I was just getting fresh air."

"At ten o'clock at night?"

"I..."

"So the good girl is sneaking out. I'm in."

"No."

"Why not? I've lived in America all my life. It can get pretty dangerous at night."

"Fine." We both snuck out, went down the elevator, and walked out in silence. I began to search for Lulu.

"Looking for something?"

"I thought I saw someone I knew."

"Someone from Japan? You're in a whole different country."

"I know. It was a crazy thought. Let's go back."

"Hold on princess. We snuck out. Don't you want to have fun?"

"We need to get back. My brother will be worried."

"What's he gonna do? He only has one good leg."

"I don't know."

"Come on! Live a little!" He offered me his hand.I don't usually do something like this but something deep inside me was telling me to do it.

"Go for it." Where did that voice come from? I looked at him. I know it couldn't be him because the voice spoke in Japanese. I'm probably really tired but I want to have fun.

"Ok!" I said it as I took his hand. We ran down the sidewalk. A destination wasn't set but we were having fun.

"Look!" I looked to see a park. There was a playground, a fountain, and a walk path.

"Come on. Let's take a swim."

"Won't we get in trouble?"

"So what? It will be fun." He took his shoes and socks off.

"Leo!"

"Don't you trust me?" I didn't know how to answer him. Do I trust a guy that I've only known for a few days, a guy that upset my brother, and a guy who flirts with every girl he see?

"Yes"

"Then take those shoes off." I did exactly that. He stepped in the fountain then he offered me a hand to help.

"It's cold." I said as I shivered.

"Think fast," he said as he splashed me. The water was freezing. I squeaked as I shivered. He began to laugh at me. I wanted to get back at him. I've never felt like this before. I acted before thinking. I splashed him back.

"Oh really princess?" Him and I began a splashing war.

"Hey you kids! Get out of there!" A park officer came towards us.

"Run!" Leo yelled. We hopped out of the fountain, grabbed our shoes, and ran bare-footed. I felt an amazing rush go through me. This is what it's like to misbehave, and I like the feeling of it. Eventually we lost the officer. Both of us had a moment to breathe. Then we busted up laughing.

"Did you see his face when we started running?" he asked.

"It was funny." I said while I was still laughing.

"This is very naughty of you Nade," he said.

"And it was so much fun. We should do this more often."

*Rima's POV*

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said.

"Guys, Leo and Nade are gone," Blue said as she popped her head into the room.

"What?!" Nagi yelled.

"They aren't in their rooms," Blue said. We heard the front door open. All of us went to see what it was. Nade and Leo came into the living room area soaking wet and laughing.

"Where were you?" Nagi asked.

"I-I"

"I asked Nade to go with me to get some fresh air. She didn't want to go but she knew we had to stick to the buddy system," Leo said. I could tell it was a lie but I had to admit that this Leo guy was good at hiding it.

"Why are you wet?" Amu asked.

"I splashed her from a fountain and she fought back," Leo answered.

"Everyone, it's late and we need our energy for tomorrow. Go to bed," Sanjo said. The discussion was over and we all went to our rooms. Sanjo wouldn't allow it any other way. I could tell Nagi really wanted to question his sister but I managed to get him to go to bed. He was in bed next to me but I could tell he wasn't falling asleep anytime soon.

"I don't trust that Leo guy around Nade," he said.

"I just don't trust him in general," I said.

"We can't have him on tour with us."

"That's not our decision," I said. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Do you know what my therapist told me to do when I was mad or stressed?" I asked.

"No." He looked at me curiously.

"She said to close my eyes and count to ten over and over till I wasn't upset anymore."

"Rima I don't think-"

"Just try it."

"Alright."

"Good. I'll do it with you to calm you down."

"Ten," he started.

"Nine," I said.

"Eight."

"Seven"

"Six"

"Five"

"Four"

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

*Lulu's POV*

"It's working Mr. Valentine. The hot subjects used triple the amount of power than they originally use. They could barely stand after that," I said into the phone.

"Good job Lulu. The plan is working perfectly. Keep making them charanari," Mr. Valentine said.

"Will do sir."

"How is my step-daughter doing?"

"She is annoying. She's tried to escape multiple times and keeps whining when I make the ? eggs," I answered. I can't believe he dumped his kid on me.

"I know she's a pain but you can use her as a tool if you get cornered. She doesn't know too much about the plan so if she gets caught it's alright. Be careful Lulu," he said.

"I will"

Rhythm: So Lulu is in America

Temari: And she had a partner in crime

Kusukusu: Do we know Mr. Valentine's step-daughter yet?

Nagi: No we do not

Rima: Who is it?

Nagi: daydreamer1105 does not wish to answer your question because it would contain spoilers

Rima: Fine

Nagi: Question # 25! Who do you think Mr. Valentine's step-daughter is?

Rime: Is it another villain?

Nagi: I already said I can't give out any information

Rima: Fine! Review