Finally. Friday. It's not like the week hadn't been fun, but definitely very eventful. Plus, it was this weekend that I had decided to go to Easter. That would be exciting. For now, I focused on keeping my wound hidden from my parents. When I had arrived home last night, I was glad to see that neither my mom or my dad was home. My dad had still been at work, and I found out later that my mom had been out shopping. Of course, they wouldn't have seen the wrapping under my long-sleeve uniform jacket. But I had played it safe and stayed in my room for most of the rest of the night, just in case they noticed how weak that arm still was.
But now, today was Friday. I was surprised to see Nadeshiko waiting outside the front door of my house when I walked out, but then remembered how I was supposed to have someone with me at all times. Still, I hadn't thought that the guardians would take it this seriously - someone actually coming over to my house to walk with me to school. We chatted for a bit about anything that came to mind. Even Temari and Azami talked, which surprised me. I wouldn't have thought that Azami would like anyone who acted like Temari: quiet, polite, and all-together unexciting. Perhaps there's more to Temari - and Nadeshiko, for that matter - than meets the eye.
We had left with plenty of time, so getting to the nurse's office before school was no problem at all. She took off for the bandages, making this the first time I could actually see the scratches since passing out. It didn't look like it was healing quite right, to me. Maybe it was the venom, or maybe it was the fact that the cuts hadn't been open to the air. Whatever the case was, it didn't look too good - the scratches looked all gooey and oozy, and weren't scabbing up as I thought they should. However, the nurse said they were healing nicely. She put new bandages on it and told me to keep those on until this afternoon, when I would need to come see her again after school. Nadeshiko and I both left for our respective classes after that, with me thanking the heavens that this school had jackets with the uniform. I even got a note from the nurse excusing me from gym class, which meant that I wouldn't have to change into my short-sleeve P.E. uniform. Whenever I rounded a corner or entered a room, everyone looked at me expectantly. Either they thought I was going to pass out again, or they wanted to see the infamous wound. I was amazed at how good this school was at running a rumor mill - I actually heard somone say that I had been mauled by a tiger, but had fought it off and come to school anyway. Never, at any of my previous schools, were rumors quite that outlandish.
That morning, during class, a girl came up to me during study hall. I'd found out by now that Nikaido-sensei always allowed a ten-minute study hall before lunch. But us students could only talk if we were helping each other on assignments. Which is one reason I was surprised - though I already knew most of the material we were covering, I didn't think that anyone else knew that. Normally, someone who has just transferred and is trying to catch up with work wasn't the best person to ask for help on an assignment. Not to mention, I was now one of the untouchable guardians. Though not official yet, everyone knew it. Most people didn't just 'come up' to a guardian to ask for help. Perhaps she was just trying to get a glimpse of my scratch. As I saw her coming, I made sure it was hidden completely by my sleeve.
"Umm..." said the girl. She looked nervous, and Azami laughed at the girl's hesitancy. But she couldn't hear that. "Umm... I'd noticed that whenever sensei picks you in math to answer a problem, you always get it right, so... do you think you could help me understand this?" So that was how she knew I knew how to do it. It was true that Nikaido had called on me quite a bit; I had figured he was just testing me to make sure the new kid was understanding everything. Even when I had learned this the first time, I had thought it was pretty easy. I normally understood things easily without working too hard at it. I helped the girl (who introduced herself as Mai) out with a couple problems, though I had to slow down at some parts that I took for granted as basic math knowledge. She seemed to be understanding it better by the time study hall ended, and so my dubbed title as a guardian started to spread around the school. Each of the guardians had their own dub: 'prince' Tadase, 'cool and spicy' Hinamori, etc. I had already been called strong, due to yesterday's events - everyone was saying that even though the wound had made me pass out, I hadn't even seemed bothered by it when I asked to leave to go to the nurse. And now, with that one little instance of helping, I got the other part of my title: smart. So now, I was "strong and smart" Yamada Miyuki. With the title came a feeling of power: I felt like more people respected me because of it.
In addition to that, the girl asking for help turned out to be my break to start socializing with people other than the guardians. Before now, everyone had been wary of me: first as the new kid with weird hair, then as the newest guardian. But since they had seen me help another student (not to mention, a rumor quickly spread that I was teaching the entire class), they seemed more open to contact with me. More people asked me for help, and I in turn started talking to more people than just the guardians.
* * *
There was no guardian meeting after school that day. Nadeshiko had explained this morning that they normally didn't have any meetings on Fridays. After school I went to the nurse, who took off the bandaging and said that I should be okay without it from now on. I still thought it looked rather bad, but didn't argue. I went outside and walked over to the rest of the guardians, who were talking in a group in the front of the school. Although we talked for a little bit, everyone else soon left to go home for the weekend. And yet, I couldn't bring myself to leave. There was really nothing exciting for me to do at home, so it's not like my motivation was very good to get home and sit in my room all night. Plus, after staying in the garden after school all week, it felt wrong to leave the school so early. Instead, I decided to wander the grounds for a bit. I stayed off the paths through the trees, just trying to find anything interesting. Normally, all schools had something cool that no one else knew about. In this case, I was looking for something that maybe no one else would've found - a great climbing tree, perhaps, or maybe a dead tree with a completely hollow trunk. We did manage to find a tree that I thought looked like a dragon from a distance, but Azami just said I had an over-active imagination. Which I do. If I didn't, Azami probably wouldn't have been born.
Perhaps a tree that looked a bit like a dragon wasn't all that exciting, but the next thing we found was. It was a large, domed building that sat secluded on one corner of the school's massive grounds. It was surrounded by trees and kinda hard to find, so I wondered if maybe Amu hadn't even known about it. She had certainly forgot to mention it on their tour. Though the open gate had a chain across it, I disregarded it and headed straight up to the big double doors.
"Do you have any guess as to what this place could be?" I asked Azami.
She shrugged. "I haven't a clue. But let's find out." Without another word, I pushed open one of the doors and walked inside, mouth agape. A projector in the center of the room was displaying a beautiful night sky on the ceiling of the dome. More stars were portrayed there then I had ever seen before. In a city this big, I could never see any stars at night. Even when I was in America visiting my relatives - who lived a ways away from any cities - I hadn't seen this much of the night sky. Perhaps it was silly to marvel at a fake night sky, but I was amazed. Even Azami seemed to like it; at the very least, she wasn't making any snide comments at my awe. All around the machine in the center, theater seats were positioned in concentric circles. I took a seat in the front row, reclined the back of the chair, and simply sat and stared. If I looked too hard, the stars seemed to move and I got dizzy, so I settled for just taking in the whole picture. I could even pick out the big and little dippers in the sky, as well as my favorite star, Sirius. I'd always liked the name, and I liked its nickname - the dog star. I hadn't a clue as to how it got that nickname, but I thought it was cool.
I was so engrossed that I didn't notice the man walking up to me until he sat in the chair beside me. I jerked upward, flinging Azami (who had been sitting on my stomach) halfway across the room before she could recover. She flew back and landed me on the head, whacking me hard with her tail in annoyance.
"You really like the stars, don't you, Miyuki-san?" said the man. He reclined in his chair next to me, keeping his gaze on the stars. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but something about this man struck me as remarkably similar to Tadase - maybe it was his seemingly quiet demeanor, or maybe it was his looks. I wasn't exactly sure.
"I... er..." I didn't want to admit to how much I loved looking at the stars in that planetarium. It seemed so... geeky. No kid in their right mind wanted to just look at stars all day, like I'd been doing. Though I liked the hustle and bustle of the city, sometimes I just wanted to get away from it all. And the stars seemed so close, yet so distant. They also represented another longing that came from my dragonish chara - the desire to fly.
Suddenly, I felt a chara change come on. "Yes. This place is really amazing... words just can't describe it." Then the chara change faded, and I glared at Azami. That had sounded so stupid! And corny! But my chara just smiled. For once, it wasn't a mischievous smile. It was more like she was trying to be... helpful. With maybe just a hint of mischievousness behind it.
"A dragon doesn't hide how she feels. If you really like this place, then say so. Don't let how it might sound affect how you express yourself. A dragon only cares about how she sees herself, not how others see her." Azami said.
"Oh?" said the man, turning his eyes from the ceiling for the first time and looking towards Azami. Wait! He can see her?!? Does he have a chara of his own, then? I thought it was only kids who had charas! "Wise words from one so little." said the man, smiling.
A mixture of pride at being called wise and anger at being called little crossed Azami's face. Anger won out, though, as she spread her wings and dived off my head towards the man. I tried to catch her, thinking she might actually hurt him, but she just flew around his head angrily.
"How dare you call me small!" she said as she circled his head.
"But you are small." I said tauntingly, "Downright tiny, even." For this I was rewarded with a sharp rap to my forehead with her tail as she flew right above me.
The man laughed. It was a pure, good-natured laugh, as if the man was truly delighted. "You two ceraintly seem fun!" He said as he calmed down. He stopped laughing, though a smile still remained on his face. He turned his face back up to the stars, and his expression took on a look that made his seem like he was seeing more than just stars. Like he was looking far off in to the distance. They were like the eyes of an old wise man who has seen the world twice over and knows more than anyone. I also turned my gaze back to the stars, and we both sat there, side by side, for a good while.
"Pick a star." he said out of after a while, keeping his eyes trained on the ceiling above. I looked around for one. Of course, I loved Sirius, but it seemed too obvious a choice. I looked around, trying to find one that seemed unique. I didn't want to pick one in a cluster, but nor did I want one that was totally isolated from the others. Finally, my eyes spotted it. About halfway up the arch of the dome was an extremely dim little pinprick of light. Maybe it was just a trick of the projector, but that dim little light seemed somehow... brighter than the rest. Like the dimness only came from it being so very far away, and it was actually the brightest star of the lot. I tried to point it out to him, but in the end I just had Azami fly up to the ceiling and I directed her to it.
"Hmm..." said the man beside me. I looked over to see that he was scowling. Not like he was angry, but like he was trying to figure something out.
"The stars pull on you in very interesting ways, Miyuki-san..." he said after a while. "You have many twists and turns coming up in your fututre. Though I cannot tell what direction you may turn, you commit yourself to taking the path that seems the most unique - the road less traveled, so to speak. You will be the focus of the attention of many - those that call themselves good, others that most would call evil, and even some who cannot decide what they are. Your mind, heart, and mood will pull you towards different paths all at the same time, though once you choose one path to take, the harder it will be to change." He broke off, leaving me to think about what he had said.
I could only remember bits and pieces of his little fortune-telling, not word for word. He'd said that I would take the path that was out of the ordinary. I was already doing that - my whole would-be self was more or less dedicated to having no morals whatsoever, which in itself seemed unique. He said that a lot of people would be paying attention to me. That could mean anyone - the guardians, this Easter corporation, even my parents and teachers. And then he said something about my mind, heart, and mood. My mood was something that was spur of the moment, more or less embodied in my shugo chara with her erratic attitudes. My mind probably referred to logical thinking, and I associate logical thinking with the average person in society. Talking about my mind would be referring to the part of me that still tries to fit in - the part of me that still has morals, the part of me that's embarrassed by all the stares a new girl gets, and the part of me that doesn't want to admit she likes looking at the stars. It was the part of me that was totally opposite my would-be self, and I'd been trying to eliminate it without success for some time now. And my heart... I guess that could refer to morals, too. Or maybe... a love? What? I've never been in love with anyone! I thought to myself. Who could I fall in love with? A picture of Tadase came into my mind. Did I love him? He was cute, sure, and I'd even said that he might be more similar to me than I realize. And what about Kukai? He was always so nice and carefree. And though I couldn't remember it, he had carried me to the nurse when I blacked out. Only now did I blush at that fact - a boy had actually carried me!
"You know, the gates to the school close in about five minutes. If you don't want to spend the weekend here, I'd suggest you get going." said the man. I blinked, taking a moment to comprehend that.
"What?!? I've gotta get going then, thanks!" I said, grabbing my pack that I'd laid on the ground and dashing out the door, with Azami right behind me. It was only once the door was shut that I realized that with my chara-change could get me out of here, even if the gates did close. I turned around, wanting to at least ask the man's name, and opened the door. I looked to where we were sitting, but he wasn't there any more. I looked to my right, and then to my left, and received quite the shock. He was standing immediately to my side, looking at me inquisitively.
"Did you forget something?" He asked, smiling.
"Uhh..." he had caught me off-guard, and I tried to quickly compose myself. "I was just wondering if I could know your name."
He smiled friendily. "I'm Amakawa Tsukasa. Nice to meet you. Also, I was wondering if you could hold onto something for me for a while." he bent down and picked up something that had been leaning against the wall. It was a short pole, with a long string attatched to the end. At the other end of the string hung a fish-shaped doll. It was a cat toy.
"A cat toy? Why do you want me to hold onto a cat toy? I don't even own a cat." I said.
"You might find it entertaining this evening, if you keep it with you." replied Tsukasa, with a mysterious and playful tone to his voice.
"Okay...?" I said. "Thanks, I guess." There was a short, awkward silence. "Okay, I guess I'll just leave then." I said, and walked back out the door. And then turned around again, realizing that he had known my name from the beginning without me telling him. Which was kinda creepy. I opened the door once again, and looked around. This time, he was either hiding or had really disappeared, because he didn't seem to be anywhere obvious. I decided to just turn and leave. It wasn't worth it to go looking for him, and I personally didn't want to have to bother with jumping over the fence to get out of the school grounds.
I made it out of the school grounds okay (though I saw no sign of the gates closing anytime soon), and walked home. I asked Azami what she thought about the man, and she thought he was just a crazy old crackpot. I thought he might be a sort of magical wise man, but then again, I always had a very quixotic look at the world. In other words, I always saw fantasy or something in the simplest of things. Like seeing the image of a dragon in that tree from before. However, it was Azami who made the best connection between the cat toy and what it might mean to us. She remembered her conversations with the other charas, and how they had called that boy Tsukiyomi Ikuto and his chara 'thieving cats.' We couldn't remember if they had said it outright, but Azami also remembered how they had said that the chara, Yoru, had a tail. That would also imply some sort of animal, and a cat made sense.
I ate dinner with my parents as I normally did, then told them I was heading to bed early. This was nonsense, of course - I could never fall asleep even if it was midnight by the time I got into bed. But it would hopefully keep them from bugging me in my room. Though the saying went that good things come to those who wait, I had never been the patient sort of person. I was gonna find out why I had been given a cat toy, of all things. On a hunch, I snuck back to the kitchen and got some canned tuna from the storage cupboard. My dad always kept lots of canned foods, though for what reason I may never know. I dumped all my books out of my regular school bag and put the kitty toy and the tuna in it, deciding that it would be awkward for me to walk the streets with cat toy and tuna can in plain sight. I did a quick chara change and jumped out the window, making sure to turn off the light and stuff my sheets with some pillows before leaving.
I was only a couple blocks away from my house when Azami felt the presence of another chara. I noticed the footsteps behind me a few blocks later, when I was heading down a residential alleyway I normally used as a shortcut. I stopped, and I heard the steps behind me stop just a second too late. I'll admit that I was a bit freaked out, being stalked in an alleyway at night, but I kept my composure and turned around slowly. There, about fifteen feet away, was a tall teenage boy with bluish hair and onyx colored eyes. Next to him, a cat-like chara floated. The chara actually reminded me a bit of Azumi, at least when you contrasted the two of them to the rest of the guardians' charas. Both had tails, both had something sticking out of their heads (Azumi had horns, he had ears), both had coverings on their feet that resembled the feet of something else (Azami's looked like dragon feet, the other chara had cat paws). The only big differences were that only Azami had wings, only Yoru had coverings on his hands (cat paws, again), and they were obviously different genders.
"So you're the new guardian, huh?" said the boy. "I can't say I'm impressed." He strode up to me, his long legs closing the distance between us quickly. My heart quickened, and my face heated up. What was this feeling? I was slightly intimidated, yes, but there was something else... I'm just angry. That's it. I'm angry at being underestimated by this jerk.
"Can't say I'm impressed either, Tsukiyomi Ikuto." I replied back, trying to keep my voice level. "By the way the guardians keep talking about you, I thought you might actually be someone important. I guess I was wrong." I could tell he was caught off guard by me knowing his name, but otherwise seemed unphased by my taunting. He stepped up a bit more, making the distance between us mere inches. My heart sped up again.
"Oh? So pleased to hear the kiddy king hasn't forgotten me yet." he said, his voice smooth. Suddenly, ears appeared on his head, and I spotted a tail flicking away behind him. So this was his chara change. Was he trying to intimidate me? He continued, "But since you know my name, wouldn't it only be fair that you tell me yours?" Though I was somewhat tall for my age, he still beat me in height by a good four or five inches. I looked to my guardian chara, who was smiling evilly at who I guessed was Yoru. I kept my gaze fixed on her; anything but look into those dark eyes. It was all fine and dandy when I was the one hypnotizing, but when I was on the receiving end, I can't say I was quite as happy.
Continuing to look away, I said, "And what makes you think that I would want to play fair?" I thought I was doing pretty good for my first scenario of witty banter between supposed hero and supposed villain. But while my heart was nearly tearing my chest apart, Ikuto seemed perfectly composed. I knew I couldn't match him if things kept up as they were going.
Ikuto put his hand to my chin, forcing my face towards him so I had no choice but to look into his eyes. The closeness between us - his hand on my chin, my body just inches away from his - made my heart beet even faster. Even in the dark of the alley, his eyes stood out like stars in the night. Don't tell me I'm actually falling for this guy, am I? As my eyes looked into his, I felt similar to how I imagined my dad must've felt when I hypnotized him. Ikuto's eyes were like dark pools of water, sucking me farther under with each second I stayed submerged. "It's just a name. Right?" He asked, in a tone that sounded almost... seductive. I knew it was probably all just a ploy by Easter so they could get some information out of me, but the thought seemed to slip from my mind. I was about to tell him my name, when Yoru finally couldn't take being so quiet anymore.
"That was so funny when you were chasing Kiseki around yesterday, nya~!" said Yoru to Azami. "He practically wet his royal pants!" The little cat chara broke down laughing, rolling around in midair. Ikuto tore his gaze from mine and glared at his chara, though his anger was ignored by both Yoru and Azami. His tail flicked back, showing his annoyance, though his face remained calm.
"I suppose it was fairly funny." replied Azami, as if it were no big deal. "But not nearly as funny as this!" She swooped forward and tweaked one of his little cat ears, causing him to yelp a bit.
"Hey! What was that for, nya~?" asked Yoru angrily, rubbing his ear. But now Azami was the one rolling in mid-air, laughing the evil laugh she normally got from someone else in pain. Yoru, seeing he was being ignored, flew forward and pulled Azami's tail. It didn't hurt her, but she started chasing Yoru around for revenge. They both began to zoom through the air, both trying to get the better of the other. However, I could tell this wasn't like yesterday, with Azami and Kiseki. Then, Azami had been sticking to her name, simply doing all she could to defy the one who had called her a commoner. Though she had gotten enjoyment out of chasing him, the chase hadn't been purely for fun. This seemed a lot more playful, as if they were both just messing with each other.
Only now did the impact of what Yoru had first said hit me. My own chara change kicked in, and my eyes turned that color of red. Maybe now I'd be able to meet Ikuto's gaze. "Have you been spying on me?" I asked calmly. In my current chara-changed state of mind, I didn't let the fact bother me too much. My heart rate was also slowing down - whatever the feeling had been, my composure was now returning with my chara change.
Ikuto turned his gaze back to me, and I could see the look of surprise when he saw the change in my necklace and eyes. He looked me in the eyes, but this time, we were evenly matched. Neither succumbed to the other's gaze, though I wasn't trying to beat him - only to match him. Trying to get us on an even playing field.
"Perhaps I was spying." He said with his velvety voice. "Maybe I wasn't. What does it matter to you? You know, you still haven't even told me your name." In the background, the noises of the chara's playing continued, though we totally ignored it in our stare-down.
"Oh, I suppose it doesn't really matter." I said nonchalantly, "Though I do have a couple more questions you might be able to answer. Just a moment...." I smiled a wicked smile before letting my gaze wander to the bag that was hanging at my side. I opened it and pulled out the cat toy, stepping back a bit and waving the dangling fish enticingly. To my great amusement, his eyes followed its every move. He took a swipe at it, but I whipped the toy behind my back and out of his view. His eyes turned to me.
"Is this really necessary? Can't we talk like civilized people?" he asked, his silky voice having no effect on my chara-changed state.
"Both you and I know that neither of us is a civilized person." I said, the wicked smiled still plastered on my face. "We could talk dragon to cat, if you'd like."
"Hey! I wanna play, nya~!" said Yoru as he floated up. Azami also soared to my side.
"Oh, here, this is for you. Don't stuff yourself too much." I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out the can. "It's tuna." I explained, throwing the can a ways down the alley. Unfortunately, as I threw the can, Ikuto saw his chance and managed slide right up to me, grabbing the cat toy from behind my back. As Yoru dashed off in pursuit of his fish (with Azami following him), Ikuto and I started another stare-down. This time, I did start pouring power into my red-eyed stare, but I could see that it obviously wasn't going to work.
He smiled at my efforts. "Don't even try to bend me to your will that way." said the cat-boy. "I practically invented the pursuasive use of eyes. Now, maybe we can both be reasonable this time. If you tell me your name, then I just might answer one of your questions." After his successful attempt at snatching the cat toy away from me, our bodies were nearly touching. Under my normal frame of mind, I would've had no chance at resisting the eyes and questions of this conniving cat. But my chara-change was still going strong.
I debated a bit in my mind, but decided there would be no harm in telling him my name. "I'm Yamada Miyuki. Now, what I was wondering is if you've been asked to spy on me by Easter, or if it was your own doing."
"Is that all?" he asked, rolling his eyes. The staring contest was more or less over - we both knew that that it in and of itself was getting us nowhere. "Of couse Easter asked me to. Do you really think that you're pretty enough for me to follow on my own time?"
Now, dragons don't care what other people think of them. But they do care about being openly dissed. Especially by a cat. I kicked outward and foreward with the force allowed by my chara-change, trying to hook his leg and pull his feet out from under him. But before I knew it, he was gone. I looked up to see him perched on a roof, looking down on me with an amused smile. Though a dragon may be stronger, a cat was definitely much more quick and agile.
"Come on, Yoru, we're going." said Ikuto from above.
"Ahh! I haven't finished the fish yet, nya~!" Yoru complained, but did as he was told. With my increased night vision, I could see the little cat fly up to Ikuto. Just as Ikuto was about to turn and leave, I shouted out.
"Wait a minute - can you tell your boss something for me?" I asked. Azami floated up to my head, settling herself down in my hair.
"Hmmm? And what would that be?" asked Ikuto. Once more, he sounded very amused. I could tell by the tone - he didn't think I knew who I was dealing with. Which, in truth, I didn't.
"Tell whoever it is that runs Easter this: I'll be coming for a little visit sometime tomorrow. I'll be alone, except for Azami. I have a.. propostion that I'd hope he or she would listen to." I said.
Ikuto's eyes narrowed as he called down from the roof. "And if I may inquire, what kind of proposition are you planning on making?"
I thought about not telling him, but decided that I might as well. "I know Easter could probably use me. I doubt they have too many people like us - people with guardian characters. Not to mention, I'm close to the other guardians. If they can give me what I want, then I'd be willing to offer them my service." I smiled at this last part. After so long being a weird but ordinary girl, maybe I could finally get some actual power.
"Idiot." said Ikuto.
"What?" I asked incredulously, preparing to jump up there and wring his little pussycat neck.
"I called you an idiot." he said, scowling. "I don't know what it is that you're looking for, but take my advice and find some other way to get it. That is, if you want to keep whatever freedom you have." His eyes weren't like before. When he had been trying to get me to answer him earlier, his eyes had been calm and seductive. Now, genuine concern eminated from them. As well as some pain that I probably couldn't even begin to imagine. Then the cat was off, jumping from roof to roof. The only way I would've been able to catch him would have been by flying, and so far my chara-change still showed no sign of sprouting wings.
Then my chara-change faded and I kneeled down, exhausted and shocked by the encounter. Even Azami was sleeping on my head, though I figured that was more from laziness or lack of concern than her own tiredness. Eventually, I made my way back home, my feet faintly dragging behind me.
If I want to keep what freedom I have, huh? Well, that's the question, isn't it? Would I give up my freedom for power? But what would I be losing in the process, really? My whole life these past few months - dreaming of my own ability to be evil and to gain power - has been leading up to tomorrow. Am I really gonna let a few words an alley cat told me hold me back? I wondered.
Then again... he was a gorgeous cat.
Sorry this took so long. (yeah, I know - how could I make you wait an entire day! I had to go to a stupid little wedding... would've preferred to be writing this, but I was more or less thinking about this most of the time.) But hey! This chapter surpassed 6,000 words! My longest yet! Personally, I think my chapters ound better the longer they are, but that's just me. Anyway, though I hadn't been planning on it, you may have noticed that there will perhaps be some romance in this, after all... I know a lot of people are into Ikuto, and I'll admit it - he's third on my list of top three hottest anime characters (my first two being Haku, the dragon, and Toboe, a wolf. I know, weird. Not to mention, Ikuto is part cat...) Plus, I have realized that stuff like that adds more layers to a story, which is good. Just because of this chapter, don't think my character is going to fall for Ikuto... or that Ikuto has some sort of interest in her. Though I haven't really mentioned it yet, the Amuto thing is happening - my character just hasn't been there, for obvious reasons (Ikuto and Amu are always alone when those moments happen). So you have to take that into account. But I think that Ikuto will definitely start playing an important part in this fanfic. of course, I still don't know what's actually gonna happen, so we'll all have to wait and see.
As always, please review! Thanks for all the positive comments that keep coming in from Water Ichigo-chan and Kitty Obsessive Disorder! (Yes, Ikuto did meet Miyuki in this chapter. And I'll try to cut the cliffies down to a minimum, if I can help myself.) Also as always, both positive and negative reviews are welcome! As long as it's constructive, at least.
And, if anyone happens to read this fanfic who is an artist, and just happens to want to draw a picture of some of my original characters based on my descriptions of them(Azami, mainly) for the benefit of the other readers getting a good mental picture in their heads, then please be my guest. I tried, but the the truth is, I'm a writer, not an artist. I suppose it could've been worse, but it was still pretty bad. But yeah, if someone somewhere gets the urge to do that and would post it somewhere on the internet so everyone could see it, then feel free.
Edit - sprry, folks. I totally had a misconception with some star names. It's fixed now, though.