Amu and Ikuto left the amusement park after deciding it wouldn't be safe to stay there. Amu had placed Hotaru's egg in her egg case to keep it safe.
"I thought we were going back to your house," Ikuto said as they walked past the turn.
"I have an errand to run at Seiyo Academy," Amu replied.
"It has to do with that egg, doesn't it?"
"Yep. I know someone who has a knack for understanding an x-egg's feelings."
Ikuto looked skeptical.
"Just trust me."
The two walked in silence to the school. Amu walked into Tsukasa's office and asked him if he could get Rikka out of class. Amu showed him the egg, he smiled and nodded his head. He left to go fetch Rikka. A few minutes later, he reappeared leading her into the office.
"Why'd ya pull me out of class? We were getting ready to work on our posters," Rikka said.
"Rikka, could you help us with something?" Amu asked.
"Amu-senpai!" Rikka shouted, jumping up and down.
Amu pulled the egg out of her case again and showed it to Rikka in hopes of calming her down.
"An X-egg?" Rikka reached out and picked it up. Rikka examined the egg, mumbling an 'I see' or 'Poor thing' every now and then. This went on for about five minutes before Rikka handed the egg back to Amu.
"What did you find out?" Amu asked.
"This little one's bearer has been through some hard times. The girl grew up in an orphanage, but ran away because they were treating her badly. She was 10 at the time. One day she found a guitar in someone's dumpster and took it. The girl taught herself how to play."
"Is that it?"
"No. This little one wasn't even close to hatching when a bad lady put an X on it one day. The girl hasn't realized it yet. In fact, the girl's other chara, who doesn't have an X on it, hasn't realized it either. That's strange," Rikka commented.
"How do you not realize there's an X on your egg if you have more than one chara?" Amu mused, "But maybe we can fix this."
Amu looked at her charas.
"Who wants to do the honors?" Amu asked them. Of course, they were all eager, but Dia smiled and the Humpty Lock started glowing yellow.
"Dia! No Fair!" Ran protested.
"My own heart: UNLOCK!"
"Chara nari: Amulet Diamond!"
"Amu-senpai, do you think this will work?" Rikka asked.
"I'm not sure, but it can't hurt to try," Amu replied, "Negative Heart: Lock on! Open Heart!"
The yellow hearts danced around the egg for a few moments before disappearing. The X remained.
"I didn't think it would work," Ikuto said, "Kaori is more powerful than Nikaido-san was. If she forcibly put an X on it, there's no way to remove the X."
Amu sighed sadly as she undid her chara nari. She looked at the egg that still hovered in the air. Amu noticed something. In the middle of the X, a small 'v' shape had appeared. The 'v' then changed into an 'm' and a cracking sound was heard. Within seconds, the crack had gone the whole circumference of the egg. It popped open revealing a small character. The chara had black hair with streaks of dark blue in it pulled into a ponytail. A dark blue X adorned the ponytail. Her eyes were dark blue and emotionless. She wore an outfit similar to X-Dia. On her back was a pair of wings. Each wing looked like half an X.
"She hatched!" Rikka exclaimed happily, clapping her hands.
The chara flew in a circle around Rikka, before flying over to Amu. There was complete silence as the chara stared at Amu.
"Are you the one who awoke me from my slumber?" she asked in an almost whisper.
"Um…." Amu was confused.
"The sparkling, warm light?" the chara said, "It awoke me."
"That was her!" Rikka said, excitedly, "Her name is Amu."
"Amu….."
The bell rang, interrupting them. Rikka excused herself to go back to the classroom for lunch.
"Amu….. I sense a great warmth from you," the chara said.
"Warmth?" Amu repeated.
"My name is Dia. What's your name?" Dia asked.
"I don't know…."
"Let's give her a name!" Ran cheered.
"Baka, you can't just do that," Miki muttered.
"Once the X is removed, her powers should return," Tsukasa said.
"But we can't remove it," Amu protested.
"Not yet. However, if you watch over her, it might," Tsukasa said, "And you will be able to save Hotaru-chan."
"That's easier said than done," Ikuto chimed in," Kaori makes sure that no one gets close to Hotaru personally. It's obvious that she's being controlled. The problem is the one controlling everything. Kaori's grip is reinforced by Hayate, her brother. The Dream Catchers get more powerful with every egg they steal/change."
"I think we can handle it. The stronger the enemy, the more powerful we Guardians get. As far as Hotaru goes, it's not like I haven't saved someone before," Amu said, glancing at Ikuto, who blushed and looked away.
