Title: Don't Bother Me
Author's Note: Well, life happens, and I had to find a new job that I started on Tuesday, June 22, a sure sign of the crappy US economy since I got laid off in early May. That's right, people, I'm an adult with life constantly going on. This story is probably the one that I'm most interested in updating on a regular basis, though. I'm still doing my best to update the other stories except for "Set Me Free." On that note then, I'll do my best to update twice a month. Furthermore, I don't compromise on quality. I only deliver chapters I believe will do well. Rest assured of that shit. If you don't like strong language or sexual innuendo, click away now! However, if you like non-explicit yet provocative quality, you've come to the right place in your off time! I firmly believe in personally being responsible for any material I release. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, review! I promise you that if you review my story, your suggestions WILL perform in the interactive sense and thus significantly improve YOUR experience here, no matter what you or I expect in responsive performance.
One last announcement before things get started: ARRRGGGHHH! *bangs head on keyboard in frustration* The incredibly childish and dumbed down Shugo Chara Party! has stunk something horrible in all of its entirety till the series' very bitter end on March 26. Ikuto briefly returned after being gone all this time searching for his father. Overall, the episode fared better since the Mary Sue Rikka wasn't hogging all the airtime. However, I was a bit annoyed at the whole "gotta insert a random Tadase moment." Thanks a bunch, Satelight. Obviously, the anime material really strayed from the manga after the Ikuto arc ended. I guess I can't get everything I want, except when it came to Peach-Pit's response to making the manga's end Ikuto/Amo-centric. Peach-Pit, I totally respect your decision to make your manga what it is, the anime Tadase-based. Yes, that's how it goes, no matter who you are.
Chapter Eight
No, I didn't actually join the Guardians just to learn how to kick Ikuto's ass, but the group of younger kids really helped me out with any remaining questions I had about Guardian Characters, chiefly concerning what the embryo was. I even flipped through the fabled book called The Heart's Egg upon Amakawa-san providing it to me after we'd chased that damn cat boy away. Unfortunately, the ending was missing, the jagged edges of the torn out page protruding from the book's binding and serving as the only firm evidence of its existence.
Finally, I learned what why a lot of people coveted this stupid embryo. Who wouldn't want a special Heart's Egg that contains the ability to grant anyone's wish? So what does Ikuto want specifically given to him, or for that matter, what does Easter stand to gain from capturing the embryo? I wondered, and that question charged through my mind with respect to everyone in the Royal Garden with me. As for myself, I couldn't really even begin to process the idea of a magical, mystical embryo, much less formulate a secret, almost seemingly impossible, dream that I yearned to gratify by wishing upon the embryo.
Soon after I came into this bit of intelligence, the Guardians excused themselves when Amakawa-san indicated that he'd like to speak with me privately. True to his word, Kukai hightailed it out of Seiyo Academy and headed to my own school to retrieve my backpack and street clothes.
The moment we were alone, my former principal pulled a deck of tarot cards from his jacket pocket, expertly spread the cards face down before me in a wide arc on the table, and compelled me with a slight smile: "Pick a card."
Confused as hell but nonetheless curious about the direction this conversation would take, I obediently reached out and selected a card somewhere toward the middle. As I flipped it over, a young man in gorgeous, colorful vestments confronted my eyes. Under a brilliantly glowing sun, the young man had paused at the brink of a precipice among a mountainous background, a small bag of belongings slung over his shoulder on a stick clutched in one hand and holding a white flower in the other. A small dog with white fur bounded right behind him. At the bottom, emblazoned in simple black, block letters were the words "The Fool."
"How appropriate," I remarked dryly, smiling up at Amakawa-san's expectant face. "I was born on April Fool's Day."
"I think there's more meaning to the card than just a reference to your birthday," Amakawa-san countered, and I couldn't argue with him in this case. He was the fortuneteller, not me. "One interpretation of this card is that one should initiate action where the circumstances are unknown, confronting one's fears, taking risks, and so on."
Hmmm...is this reading advising me should I take on Easter even in spite my ignorance about their intentions? I subconsciously wondered, then shook myself from my speculation. I was getting far too caught up into this exercise in futility. Sure, having your fortune told is fun, yet everyone knows you can't seriously base your future on the information that the reading yielded.
"Initiate action where the circumstances are unknown? Confront one's fears, take risks, and so on?" Fumiko, who'd been leaning forward over my right shoulder to watch the progress of the reading, grinned with amusement at me. "Aren't those actions only ones that, say, a fool would dare perform, huh, Sayaka? I mean, the poor young man on the card is about to walk off a cliff and doesn't even seem to care."
"Fumiko, knock it off," I warned her, shooing her away, though my Guardian Character stuck her tongue out at me in retaliation. Turning my attention back to Amakawa-san, I inquired with much politeness, something quite contrary to my inherently casual nature unless absolute circumstances forced me to take the high road: "I don't intend to sound rude, but I'm wondering: what's the point of doing a reading on me?"
As could be expected, Amakawa-san simply smiled, regarding me thoughtfully, before at last replying: "I did the reading as a sort of a confirmation for myself in regards to giving you 'something special'."
"Uh...'something special'?" I stammered, at a loss for words. Sure, it wasn't unheard of for students to bestow teachers with a gift as a way of thanking their educators, although I would say the other way around didn't normally occur. Besides, Amakawa-san functioned as the principal of a school I didn't even attend anymore. What obligation did we have to each other to be exchanging presents?
From another jacket pocket, Amakawa-san withdrew an egg shaped white case with golden wingtips on either side. Before I could properly react, Seiyo Academy's principal opened the case by way of a crack around the case's middle, similar to that of the crack that formed on Fumiko's egg when she initially hatched. Inside the egg rested a beautiful, sparkly gold lock hanging from a long, delicate gold chain, effectively rendering it an amuletlike quality. Except for its smooth back, the majority of the lock's front was dominated by four hearts interlocked with each other and clustered around the lock's keyhole.
"What's this thing?" I asked, breathless at the sight and mentally agreeing with Amakawa-san about the lock being "something special." Not that I would actually be vocalizing my admiration anytime soon.
On the other hand, Fumiko didn't hesitate to communicate her fondness for the piece of jewelry. "Wah! How pretty!"
I tried to ignore my Guardian Character's embarrassing reaction even as Amakawa-san smiled endearingly toward her. "This 'thing' is called the Humpty Lock, Takeda-san, and has the ability to cause Character Transformations," Amakawa-san informed me, much to my astonishment. "I want you to make good use of it."
"W-why?" I wondered out loud as I accepted the case from Amakawa-san. One would think that I'd properly question more of the lock's supposed ability, but how could I? I'd already readily accepted the existence of Guardian Characters, so why not a piece of jewelry that could trigger character transformations?
"Because of your Heart's Egg," Amakawa-san succinctly supplied after a brief pause. "You have the same dream as me, right? To be a writer?" He winked at me. "Souma-kun thoughtfully told as much to me."
"How helpful of Kukai," Fumiko extolled, nodding her clear agreement with Amakawa-san, to which my former principal reciprocated Fumiko's accordance with a short nod himself.
Reminding myself to kill Kukai later for his frankness, I nonetheless managed to confirm Amakawa-san's supposition since, after all, I had to acknowledge an obvious fact in this strange situation. "Well, yes, Amakawa-san. So?" Mentally slapping myself for my slowness toward guessing the obvious, I started and blurted out, "You're asking me because you're the founding King for Seiyo Academy, right? You're the author of The Heart's Egg?"
"Yes," Amakawa-san indicated with what I thought was a surprising mix of confidence and accomplishment. The next moment, though, he quickly dismissed his ability by speaking out loud. "I'm still something of a novice writer."
Is he backhandedly complimenting himself? I wondered with some amusement. Amakawa-san had pulled off the same exact trick, whatever it was, when he'd met with me in order to convince me to take the Seiyo Academy sports scholarship. Similarly, being simultaneously gracious and humble while balancing diverse and various accomplishments in the athletic world was an accomplishment unto itself if one was as poor as I. Maybe Amakawa-san and I really were more alike in character than I'd initially believed.
Before I wandered off onto one of my many characteristically useless mental tangents again, I decided to focus my exhaustive speculative skills on to a more relevant topic. "Please, Amakawa-san, you still haven't directly answered my question as to why you honor me by placing this magical lock in my care. What does wanting to be a writer have anything to with giving me the ability to do character transformations?"
Thankfully, the moment of truth had at last arrived for me. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Fumiko just simply watch our exchange with great interest, almost as if she already suspected the answer to why Amakawa-san had entrusted me with the Humpty Lock. No, that's bullshit, I mentally dismissed with a shake of the head at such an irrational thought. I should really rely on Amakawa-sam for any Guardian Character information.
Never one to run off at the mouth when it came to heavy matters such as the one currently laid at his feet, Amakawa-san paused and closed his eyes, the implications of what was he was considering to say to me visibly swirling around in his head. After an instant of tense silence in which I simply stared at Amakawa-san in utter confusion, my former principal's eyes slowly opened. He slide his calming gaze toward me and raised an index finger to his lips as he were hinting at some earth shattering revelation he was on the verge of sharing with me.
"The answer to your question lies in a writer's secret I'm going to tell you about," my former principal began in soft, measured tones. "Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty...from the beginning, they weren't fulfilled yet. In the beginning of the story, the main character is certainly lacking. 'She and the prince lived happily ever after' goes on the last page, right? From the beginning, the princess has nothing so that's not where the story starts. The little girl who says 'this isn't enough' becomes the story's main character." Amakawa-san finished this little speech by pointing his other index finger at me and winking at me. "As an aspiring writer, I'm sure you understand the importance of finding your own story to tell. With the Humpty Lock, you can help both yourself and others realize their dreams."
Slowly, I reached out with my mind and briefly reflected on Amakawa-san's words of wisdom. Strictly speaking, Fumiko had indeed been born because of something lacking within me. My Guardian Character thus served as a guide toward developing my would-be self. This process would be the main focus of my own story. Still, I was far from sure on how smooth the transition would be, and that uncertainty blindsided me, a rush of fear quickly following soon after. No kid, especially me, wants to grow up awkwardly, I lamented inwardly even as another equally embarrassing thought crossed my brain.
"Amakawa-san, I'm not some fairy tale princess looking for a happily ever after with a prince," I denied quite forcefully in a flurried spat of words. "I'm not that kind of girl." Not surprisingly, my face lit up with the rapidly spreading heat of my self-conscious blush. "My brother would kill me if boys entered the picture now."
Amakawa-san just smiled, knowing Hansuke's sternly big brother temperament all too well. The sum total of my romantic experience with the opposite sex consisted of one confession from a younger classmate when I was about eight. Then, my mother was still alive, and she simply prodded me in the right direction with her characteristic straightforwardness by asking me if I liked the boy back. I distinctly remember replying in the negative, and man, was I glad of my decision several years later. The former admirer in question was Kukai, and my good friend in every respect. I wouldn't change my relationship with Kukai for anything.
Nonetheless, after my vocal refutation, my own mind wandered as to what kind of crush I'd want to have – if I was even interested, which, to be honest, I was too busy to much care in the first place, what with school and rhythmic gymnastics to worry about. Admittedly, having no shortage of guy friends, not to mention an older male relative directly in charge of my care, dramatically changed my view of boys. Wasn't a crush supposed to be a cute, wonderfully puzzling character whose next move you always wondered about in painstaking detail? What fun would it be if your crush was a friend? The problem was, the only hot, mysterious guy I was acquainted with at the moment was... Ikuto. I gave my head a conspicuous shake. No way in hell was I traveling down that dangerous road. He was way too weird and creepy for my taste, although I grudgingly granted he must have his good moments like any other person.
"Of course, I'm by no means limiting your would-be self to finding a prince," Amakawa-san reassured me, much to my relief, "and I'm certain your brother would agree that you have plenty of time in the world for boys."
Then he fixed me with an elusive look of appraisal in his eyes, like he had something to impart to me that was beyond my immediate comprehension, something that really bothered me to no end. What did Amakawa-san see in me? His next statements would haunt me for a while...until...until...
"Yes, I'm definitely thinking at this point you have other priorities, whatever they may be, besides boys. Concentrate on those issues, and you should be just fine. There's a lot in store for you. I can tell."
….until I realized how clairvoyant my former principal actually happened to be. How annoying right his observations would prove to be.
Author's Note: Thanks for the feedback, Jae! I hope the next chapter is easier on you. Anyway, you've been a big help. I hope I don't subject you to so much editing in the future! Later, everyone, Utau comes in the next chapter! I promise! If you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to provide them! Also, to those who reviewed and/or added me as a story alert to this story, I hope you're reading my material and offering your best advice. That's how I've always rolled.