Chapter 28

Okay, I am typing this chapter here in the beach :)) I'm busy this week so I may not get to update in awhile but I'll bring the laptop. Anyway, I'm going home today. After I go home, I'll rest tomorrow then go to another surfing beach the next day. Told you I'm busy! Ow! My face hurts! I got sun-burnt!

Ahahaha! Sorry for this really random author's note! On with the story!

An evil grin appeared on the woman's face as she looked down at the boy underneath some layers of rock, his purple hair fell onto his shoulders as he lay limply. She grinned; the nine-year-old beside her looked ready to cry.

"Looks like my job here is done!" She laughed. She walked away with the child with aqua, bouncy hair following her. It seemed like she was in too much joy to actually scold the girl for not following fast enough.

"One down, seven more to go!"

"Rhythm!" Everyone looked at the chara in blue. He held himself in pain. "Rhythm! What's going on?!" Rima rushed to the chara.

"Minna!" Cried a tiny voice. Rima, Tadase and Kukai slammed their hands into their faces while the others yelled "TEMARI?!?!?!?!?!"

Nagihiko's pink chara fell onto the ground, the same pained look as Rhythm's appeared on her face. "N-Nadeshiko's in…" Temari didn't finish for she ended up screaming in pain.

"TEMARI!!!" The charas huddled around her.

Rhythm then struggled to stand up. "M-minna!" He forced the words out. Kusukusu flew near him with a worried expression, followed by the others.

Rhythm and Temari took a deep breath then said together, "Onegai! Save Nagihiko!"

Rima's eyes widened in shock. She was sure something was wrong! Her heart seemed to go 'dokki dokki'. Her face drained.

"Let's look for Nagi!" Yaya interrupted her trail of thoughts. "It may be risky but it's worth it! It's a good thing Nagihiko got his thoughts back although he can't run as fast as before" Tadase said. "Because he's a kid" Ikuto continued.

"A-a-a-about that!" Rima started but the rest had ran ahead. "OH MAN!!!" Rima panicked as she ran ahead.

"Rima!" Kusukusu tried to follow her bearer. "Let's do this quick!"

"My heart: Unlock!"

"Charanari: Clown Drop!"

Tanaka gladly patrolled the broken cave, checking for any unconscious guardian, remembering her previous success.

___

Tanaka had just ran into the boy with flowing, violet hair. He seemed bothered and was

looking for something. She appeared before him with an evil smirk then immediately used her power on the sharp rocks above the boy, only to have it crashing against him. After the rock's fall, a thick layer of dust appeared but she went through anyway.

Aika was slowly following, afraid of what she may see.

When she finally got through the dust, she almost bawled. She saw Tanaka poking the boy's cheek. His cold and limp face was enough to make Tanaka believe that he was done.

Tanaka stood up then walked away, laughing as she did so while Aika looked back at Nagihiko with a sad expression.

___

"Tanaka-dono, can we stop?" Aika cried. Tanaka didn't look back. "No! We have to make sure every guardian is dead! Spirit Company told me to do so" "But why do you follow? You have a choice!" Aika replied as mannerly as possible but she found it difficult not to scream at this chara.

Tanaka stopped then looked back at the girl. She strutted towards her then leaned her face a few inches from Aika's so she could see the sternness in her eyes. "I have a choice and I choose to be immortal. I am a part of Midori and therefore, if she dies, I die. Now, Spirit Company can separate me from her so I can live my life on my own." She gritted through her teeth.

Tanaka glared at the girl for a few more seconds then continued walking. "Hurry up, brat" She huffed.

Aika, who has just recovered from Tanaka's sudden move ran to catch up. "Hai!"

"Ryhtm, daizoubou?" Miki asked. Rhythm nodded, beads of sweat visible on his forehead. Miki then flew to Temari. "Temari, how about you! Daizoubou?" Miki tilted her head. "Hai ~nee! Don't worry about me!" Temari grinned. The two charas were entrusted to the care of Rima, although she wasn't doing such a great job at it.

She was stuck in her own little trail of thought. If Nagihiko was doing fine, where was he, if whatever happened to him wasn't that serious…

But other than worry, her face showed total guilt.

"Rock alert!" Midori yelled. The same yellow jelly-like thing came out from the tip of Tadase's staff, making the rock harmlessly bounce off.

Utau then noticed the sadness in Rima's eyes. She didn't know why, but she couldn't help approaching her.

"Don't worry! He'll be fine" She tapped the petite blonde's back. Rima let out a small sob. Utau's eyes showed affection, which was rare. Rima finally fell to her knees. Everyone, except for Ikuto who held onto Amu, ran towards her.

"It's…all my fault…" She sobbed. Everyone was tapping her back for comfort as she let it out.

"No it's not your fault" Utau hushed her.

Rima's shoulder's shivered. She was at loss of words. Her legs felt numb and so did the rest of her body. "If something horrible were to happen to him, it would be all my fault" She said in a surprisingly calm way. She wasn't sure if it was calm and cold because her voice and every other part of her was numb, or she was in too much shock.

"RIMA SNAP OUT OF IT!" A pinkette said as she pulled Rima up then shook her on the shoulders. Everyone turned to Ikuto, who held no one in his arms. He shrugged. "She suddenly jumped off"

"Amu…" Rima muttered. Amu smiled. "Rima, it's not your fault. And look" Amu pointed at Rhythm and Temari. "They're okay which means Nagihiko is…" She trailed off. Amu's eyes then widened.

"OMIGOD!!! WHY IS TEMARI HERE?!?!?! W-W-WHERE'S NADESHIKO?!?!?!" She screeched, making everyone sweat-drop.

"Way to ruin the moment, Amu…" Utau muttered. Temari bowed. "I just happen to be passing by…" She calmly said.

Everyone sweat-dropped. "I-I see…" Tadase muttered.

"Anyway!" Kukai turned to Rima then ruffled her hair. "Fujisaki can handle himself, although he's a kid!" He chuckled. Rima pulled his hand away. "Like I said! He's not a ki-" "~Nee, Rima-chi! Everything will be okay!" Yaya said.

Rima finally gave up on telling them. She just hugged Yaya. "Arigatou…" She softly said.

Hey! Thanks for all the reviews! I loved them all, I promise :)

And by the way, have you watched the lates episode? Seriously! Why did they left it at cliffy?!?!?! IKUTO WAS SLEEPING IN AMU'S BED!!! AGAIN!!!!!!!

*tsk* I won't be here during the day of the latest episode… :((

Rate and Review!