"And finally, our last order of business is to announce the newest guardian member." said Tadase. It was Monday, two days after my meeting with Easter. It was also the second Monday of the month, which was apparently the regular day for the guardians' periodic meetings with the rest of the school. My heart beat faster, realizing that I would have to go in front of everyone in just a moment. I was sitting on the edge of a row about halfway into the audience, and had been waiting specifically for this. Though this would be a great opportunity to make even better relations with the other guardians as Easter wanted me to, I was mainly looking forward to this because it made me feel like... like I was being accepted into something important. And even more than that, it meant that I would be able to hang out with people who were really fun to be around.
"Though she has only been here for a week," continued Tadase, "She seems to have earned the respect of many of you, and that is why we are making this sudden appointment late in the year. Hopefully, there will be no objections to making Yamada Miyuki the deuce chair to the guardians." He could barely finish the last part of the sentence, due to the loud round of applause that broke out at my name being said. I'll admit that I rather liked the feeling. I got up from my seat and walked up to the stage, my eyes looking straight forward and a slightly triumphant smile on my face.
Once I was up on the stage, I walked up to Tadase. He smiled at me and pulled out my new, red cape from one of the shelves beneath the podium. I turned to the crowd, allowing him to reach from behind me and buckle the cape at the front of my neck. My heart sped up even a bit more from this. I'm just excited about getting my 'royal' symbol. That's why I'm getting excited about my cape being put on, right? Of course, I can't be feeling giddy about who's putting on the cape... right? I didn't let it bother me too much, seeing as the crowd let out another loud round of applause. I heard a cheer from somewhere in the crowd, and managed to pick out Mai, smiling encouragingly. She was the one I had helped with math, and more or less the reason that I was getting such a warm welcome as guardian. Without that exposure as a so-called 'protector' of a student with trouble, maybe there would have been objection to me becoming a guardian.
I smiled to the crowd for a few seconds, not knowing what else to do. Then Tadase tapped me on the shoulder, and I knew enough to step back with the other guardians. All of them smiled at me as I walked back to them. This was probably the largest level of acceptance I had ever had at any school before, and I was glad to know that I had real friends for perhaps the first time in my life. I doubted myself for a moment. I mean, I was planning on flat-out betraying the guardians. Did I really want to ally myself against the only friends I had?
But, as I said, I only doubted myself for a moment. I shook the feeling off. Even if I ended up feeling so guilty that I couldn't take it, I could always just quit Easter. But what was it that the guy in the planetarium said? That once I made my choices, it would be hard to change my path? Could he really tell my future, or was he just some lunatic?
I called my attention back to the end of the meeting, as Tadase quieted down the crowd. "And that brings this month's meeting to an end." Tadase turned around and joined the rest of us, and we proceeded off the stage and back into the crowd. There were still about ten minutes left until the end of school, and so the teachers tried desperately to get their classes together. We said quick goodbyes to each other before joining our respective classes as everyone began to file out the doors. Hinamori and I went together, quickly picking out Nikaido-sensei with his messy hair from the rest of the crowd. The bell rang almost as soon as we got back to our classroom, and we all left once again.
As I was leaving the classroom, I heard Nikaido say, "Tamiya-san, please stay after class." I recongnized the name as the last name of Mai, and I turned around momentarily to see her giving a questioningly look to Nikaido. I managed to catch her eye from my position halfway out the doorway, and gave her an encouraging smile. She smiled back, but I could tell before I stepped out the door that she was still a bit worried.
Amu and I made our way over to the greenhouse. My first meeting as an official guardian went without a hitch. We talked about the meeting from earlier today a bit, talking about the different issues that had been brought up. But most of the time we just goofed off, eating some delicious brownies that Nadeshiko had made. I figured that this was pretty much an average meeting, which seemed better than filing papers like last week.
Everyone had left the front school yard by the time we left the royal garden. I was walking at the back of the group as we approached the front gate to leave. Though I had been full-heartedly accepted into the guardians, I still couldn't say I was friends with them on the same level that they were friends with each other. They had had more experiences with each other, and other than listen to retellings, there was no way I could share the exact same experiences with them. It made me feel slightly down. What if it would always be like this? Though I loved to hang out with them, what if I remained just that tad bit the outsider for the rest of the time I was a guardian with them? Although that time might not be long, depending on how soon I would be asked to betray them.
Right as we were about to split up and head our seperate ways, I heard a noise somewhere a ways behind me. I turned around and saw Mai, coming out of the school's main doors. Did Nikaido really keep her after school this long?
"Hey, Mai!" I waved, getting her attention. Her eyes, which had been staring down at the ground, turned up to notice me for the first time. She instantly brightened from her gloomy mood, and I started walking over to her. Seeing that the guardians were staring, I said, "You guys go on ahead - I'll see you all tomorrow!" They left, and I turned back to Mai.
Mai ran up, quickly closing the distance between us. "Hi, Miyuki-san, how are you?"
"I'm fine. What about you? Why did Nikaido need you after school?" I asked as we started walking. It turned out that about the first five blocks of her walk home were the same as mine, so we simply walked and talked.
"Oh, I'm fine, I guess. It's just that..." she looked at the ground, as if ashamed. "Nikaido-sensei wants me to start coming in after school everyday to learn math, and we started today. I guess I'm doing worse than I thought..."
I frowned. "Well, that's stupid. After a bit of help, you seem to get by with it well enough. I don't see why you would need to stay after school for it."
"Well, I don't want to get behind, so I guess it's for the best." She purposefully brightened up now, deciding to change the subject. "And how about it? What's it like being with the guardians?"
I couldn't really tell her what being with the guardians was truly like - having a shugo chara popping into the conversation every few seconds, our conversations concerning the shugo charas and the embryo, etc. So I gave a vague answer. "It's fun, I guess. They're all fun to hang out with. Though the actual job of guardian is kinda boring, it's great to be able to be with them." It's not like me and Mai were the best of friends in the world, but she probably tied with Amu on the top of my list of good friends. I had been able to pick up that Mai never really hung out with anyone before I came, and so I supposed that perhaps she was using the opportunity of a new student coming as a way to make a friend. She was nice (if not a little goody-goody, like every other student at this school seemed to be), so I wasn't complaining. Though it could be a bit tiresome to have to give her a quick explanation after every math lesson.
"Yeah, I bet it's fun. All of you are the most amazing people in the school!" She said.
"I wouldn't say that..." I replied, thinking back to their different chara-changes. Especially Tadase's little 'conquer the world' rampage.
"But it's true! And Tadase is so cute, but.... but personally, I like Kukai better. He's so athletic and care-free. But there's no way I could ever ask him out or anything, so it's okay." Mai said. Of course, she was going all ga-ga over the guardian guys. I had never seen why anyone ever wanted to be more than just friends with the opposite gender. Then my mind flashed to Ikuto. Why am I thinking of him now? I already know that I couldn't possibly like him. So why does it feel like I do? I tried to shake the image of Ikuto - and the feeling that came with it - away from me.
"Miyuki-san, are you okay?" asked Mai. I'd probably let the thought distract me for just a moment too long.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just sorta zoned out for a minute. Anyway, my house it this way. I'll see you later!" I said, turning to the right to continue my journey back to my house.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow!" said Mai in reply, keeping to the same straight path they had been taking.
I wrote in my story for a while when I got home. My main group of heroes met a new character. Someone who was always worried about not keeping up with others her age. Scared to be left behind and end up a failure. Unfortunately, I knew as soon as I added her that she would die within a few chapters, trying and failing because of her fear. It actually made me a bit sad, which was new for me. I usually liked killing off characters. I thought it made stories more realistic, and I always felt better if the story wasn't some fairy tail where all the good guys come together to successfully slay the metaphorical dragon. I usually stood on the side of the dragon.
It was later in the evening when it happened. I was already in my pajamas, doing the little bit of homework I had, when Azami perked up. "There's another shugo chara close by!" she said excitedly. I could've just ignored it, but I'd leaned by now that both me and Azami were too curious to pass up something like this. I quickly pulled on my clothes, and shouted down at my parents that I was going to bed (so that they wouldn't bother me.) I turned off my light, chara-changed, and was out the window before I knew it.
"So? Where is this chara?" I asked Azami.
"Hmm..." she said, seemingly trying to focus. Then her head tilted towards the sky. "It's up there! On your roof!"
"On my roof? Who in the heck would have the nerve to be on my roof?" I asked, though I already had a pretty good guess. I mean, how many people that had shugo charas knew where I lived and could get on the roof without being noticed?
Trying hard to stay out of sight of any windows that might let mom or dad see me, I walked into our small backyard. I got a running start and jumped onto a bench we had back there, before using that momentum and added height in a jump to the roof. Though the running start and boost from the bench helped, I still barely managed to haul myself up there, seeing as it was two stories up. My chara change faded as I walked on my roof. I had never been up here before. The whole thing was slightly tilted to let rain drain into the rain gutters, but was flat enough that I could walk with ease. And, as I had guessed, Ikuto and his chara were the surprise guests. Ikuto was laying on his back, staring up at the sky. He didn't seem to pay any attention to me. But Yoru did.
"Hey, hey, do you have any more tuna? That stuff was good, nya~!" said the cat.
"Sorry. I didn't bring any with me this time." I said to Yoru, who looked downcast. Then I turned my focus to Ikuto. "So may I ask why you're still following me?"
"Huh?" said Ikuto, as if he had just now realized I was there. "What do you mean I'm following you? You're the one who found me up here."
...
What was he playing at? Of course he was following me. I was ever so slightly annoyed that he was flat out denying something so obvious.
"What do you mean, 'what do you mean I'm following you?' This is my roof." I said.
"Is it?" he said. Like he doesn't already know. "Well, you're still the one who came up and disturbed me. So what is it you want?"
He really has a way with making me annoyed. "What I want is to call the police and have you arrested for trespassing. Then again, I suppose Easter wouldn't be too happy about that, would they?"
I had hit the nail on the head. His eyes hardened as he stared at me. Laying there, with that steely gaze on his face, I could only think of one word to describe him: beautiful. It was something I had never called a guy before, and something I had never thought I would think about a boy. But here he was. Even with the moonlight significantly dimmed by all the light of the city, it still shone on him as if he were the only person of importance in the world. My heart began to speed up again. I had never wanted to fall in love. That was something for normal girls. Normal girls who couldn't think of anything better to do than base themselves on relationships. Girls who I wanted to be different from. Girls who could care less about adventure as long as they got their knight in shining armor. I didn't want this. But, nonetheless, I could deny it no longer. Perhaps I wouldn't quite use the term love, but... I was attracted. Attracted to his beautiful body, his mysterious manner, and those onyx eyes. And I hated myself for it. And I hated Ikuto even more than I hated myself.
"So, did you make a deal with them?" asked Ikuto seriously. The accusing look in his eyes made me feel guilty, but I avoided the urge to look down. Instead, I let my anger at my feelings come through.
"Yeah, I did. What does it matter to you? As the guardians told me, you're more of a stray - someone who cares about no one but himself. So why are you so concerned about me? I'm not an idiot, as you so called me. I can take care of myself." I kept my tone fairly calm for the most part, but I knew some of my wrath was leaking through.
"What did you agree to?" asked Ikuto. He was trying for an unconcerned tone now, but even I could tell that there was an underlying urgency to his voice. He got up from where he was laying, stood, and walked toward me. I backed up a half a step, but he kept coming til he was only a couple feet away. Close enough that I had to look up at him if I wanted to meet his eyes. I did so, and once more I felt like I was losing myself in his gaze. But this time I focused. I was too angry and too confused to let him work this magic on me again. However, it still had it's effect. Though I didn't stutter or have trouble talking to him, I didn't even think about not answering his question.
"I told them that I would work for them if they gave me power. They'll be doing so next Saturday. Do you have a problem with it?" I asked defiantly.
"And how are they going to give you power?" he asked.
Perhaps if it had occurred to me to chara-change, I could've thought well enough to realize that I had no need to answer him. But I didn't chara chang, and my eyes remained their flat gray as I replied. "Something to do with giving me X-egg power. I don't really know the details."
If anything, Ikuto's eyes darkened even more. His eyes seemed both flat and infinitely deep at the same time. "Don't do that. Stop all communication with Easter. They'll wrap you around their fingers until all you want to do is their bidding. Just so that they can't hurt you anymore."
"And what do I care about pain? Pain I can deal with." I said. "Why do you care? You probably just don't want any competition, so that you can suck up to those guys up top by giving them the embryo. Let me live my life - you're acting just like a concerned parent or something. I can take care of myself just fine."
He stared at me for a moment longer, his eyes like daggers of disappointment. Then, without another word, he strode off in the other direction. Yoru followed behind, whining for him to wait up. Just before coming to the edge of the roof, his ears and tail appeared, and he jumped to the ground below. Once he was gone from my sight, I broke from my trance. I walked quickly over to where he had jumped from and looked to the street. But he was gone. For a few minutes I just stood there, stunned. Everything about this was wrong - Ikuto wasn't supposed to care. I wasn't supposed to love. Nobody was supposed to be ruining my first adventure towards evil glory. But it was all happening anyway.
I managed to swing down through my open window with a chara change, then changed back into my pajamas silently before going to bed. My mind was racing, but I hardly even took in a third of my thoughts. I was mentally numbed by the encounter. I fell asleep quickly, releasing myself to a series of disorienting dreams.
Sorry it took me so long to get to this. I seriously had absolutely no time during the week, due to homework and school activities. Please review, because reviews make me happy! Then again, just writing this makes me even happier, so I suppose that I don't need the reviews to be satisfied. But still, I've gotta admit that their nice. So review! Please!
Something you may have noticed is that the story that Miyuki is writing often corresponds to what is happening, her thoughts, or her mood. Later on, I might bring in the use of some poetry for the sake of the story, and you might want to pay attention to this too. Both of these might have some tiny aspects of foreshadowing. (though I shall say no more than that)
Also, for all of you Ikuto lovers out there, you might be saying, 'What in the heck is Ikuto doing? Since when does he so obviously act like he cares by actually coming over to someone's house and warning them about something? This isn't the Ikuto I know!" And, if you are saying this, you are right. Though I'm trying to keep to his character (as in lines like "what do you mean I'm following you? You're the one who came up here and disturbed me."), him being so concerned definitely may seem wrong. However, this shall probably be explained later on. I shall give no more hint than that, but you need not feat, Ikuto-lovers!
This also brings me to another important point. Seeing as 'character' is such an important aspect of this anime, if you think I am characterizing any character (namely, the guardians, Ikuto, Nikaido, and other people from the show) then please let me know and I will do my best to stay true to their personalities. This is a fanfic, and that means that I don't want to change the personalities of the people from the show.
Another point I would like to bring up that I may have not mentioned before. More or less, most events of the anime have not happened. This is more or less as if the anime re-started, with my new character thrown into the mix. I mean, the same events wouldn't happen if another person was thrown into the equation, would they? Easter would act differently and pursue different means of obtaining their goals, and this in turn would effect everything else. There is the chance that some really major events (eg, Nikaido being found out, the appearance and possible hatching of Dia's egg, Nadeshiko revealed as Nadehiko, etc) might still occur, though they may occur in different ways. I just think this is an important thing to keep in mind. For the most part, there will be few instances that mimic the anime, and even fewer chapters that include scenes directly from the anime.
Under my closing comments, I would also like to say this: w00t! Episode 14 (65) of Shugo chara is out subbed! It's a great plot episode, and I love Yoru! And Ikuto is quite entertaining as well. And I feel so sorry for Nagihiko... I want Temari and his new chara back so he can be happy. Just so everyone knows, if there's anyone I'm in love with on this show, it's Nagi. Despite my lack of romantic qualities in my personality, I do love Nagihiko.