I swooped and dove, soaring through the air and marveling at the millions of lights below me. The cool night air rushing past my face, being caught and used by my wings - I'd needed a way to forget about things, and this was definitely it. I was taking a risk; if the guardians could feel the energy from my character transformation, chances were that they might try and find out what it was. But I doubted they would be able to catch me, seeing how high in the air I was and how fast I was flying. That didn't matter, anyways. All I wanted was to get away, perhaps to forget about my troubles for a bit, or perhaps to think on them in a different way.

A full week had passed since I'd received my bracelet from Nikaido. My powers were totally concealed - this past week, the guardians had often talked about how they weren't feeling the strange, mystery energy anymore. I could even chara-change and they wouldn't notice anything peculiar. I was relieved to know that my secret was safer. And yet, it made me feel like I was lying to them even more. No matter what, I couldn't get rid of the feeling of guilt. Not to mention, I was getting more and more friendly with the guardians. I mean, who couldn't? They were the nicest bunch of people around. As much as I hate nobility, I couldn't help liking them. In truth, I wouldn't want to be friends with someone like me. That would mean that that 'friend' would probably be all too likely to do something to me similar to the deceiptful behavior I had with the guardians right now. Over the past week, I'd caught even more X-eggs, which just made me feel even worse.

And that's why I had to get away. I had to leave my troubles behind on the ground and just let myself soar. It was night, so I doubted anyone would notice me as I flew over the city. The pure exhilaration of flying just for fun chased any thoughts from my head. I did every stunt imaginable - loop-the-loops, steep dives, flying just over the water of the river. Every now and then, I just glided, enjoying the feeling of refreshment that came with flight.

The city shone like a beacon below me. Whether I was above homes or downtown, the light followed. No matter how high I tried to go, I could never even see the stars. I was tempted to just fly out of the city and leave it all behind - perhaps try to find a way to live away from the smog and pollution that came with it. But that idea was more like a passing thought, and I never truly considered it. For all its faults, I loved the city too much to just leave like that.

I didn't fly for too long tonight. It's not so much that I was bored of it, but... It was just that, I think I knew somewhere inside me that I really had to think about my problems - I couldn't just avoid them all night. I probably flew for no longer than an hour before I touched down on the roof of a building that was about nine stories high. As soon as I halted, my chara-nari vanished and Azami was back by my side. Walking slowly, I made my way over to the ledge of the building. Despite the long drop, I wasn't afraid. Why should I be, when I could fly anyway? I took a seat on the ledge, and watched the cars go by beneath me. Azami landed on top of my head, but waited for me to initiate any conversation.

"So, dragons don't normally have friends, do they?" I asked. I was totally logical now. It seemed like it wasn't even me talking. Or, more accurately, it was like I was talking but I had left any unreasonable emotions behind in the sky. All I had was a complete calm about me now.

"No." said Azami flatly. "Not unless they can get something useful from the friend. And in that case, they're not really 'friends' by your definition."

"But what about me?" I asked. "I mean, I'm not a dragon. I can always strive to be one, and perhaps one day I can become one. But for now, I think I need to recognize that I'm at least mostly human. And humans are social creatures. Don't you think so?"

"Well, it's true that humans are social." She replied. I felt her ruffle her wings a bit on the top of my head before settling again. "But you shouldn't just settle. If you want to be a dragon, you have to go all the way."

"Yeah, but think of it this way." I said as I watched a particularly fancy car pass below me. "I want power. That much you know. But I also want to be friends with the guardians. So what would a dragon do, when forced to choose?"

"Well..." Azami thought for a moment. "Perhaps she would choose whichever one she fancied at the moment. Or maybe she would choose both - as I said, a dragon doesn't normally just settle. If she wants two things, she should get those two things."

"But you see, I don't think I can. I mean, that works for now. But what about when the guardians find out about me working for Easter? I doubt I can be friends with them after that, unless I terminated my employment to the company and probably end up losing my power."

"Which do you want to choose?"

I stared at the street below for a good few minutes before answering, and Azami respected my silence. "I don't know. I don't think I'll ever know until I'm forced to choose."

"Then just go with the flow until then. Be friends with the guardians and keep your power. When the choice comes, the choice comes. We'll deal with it then." Azami said.

"But I keep telling myself that, but no matter what, I end up worrying about it. Feeling guilty, or sad, or something like that. I can't help it - as I said, I'm still human. Perhaps a human with a bit a dragon blood in the mix, but still human." I said.

"Then you can't just tell yourself that. You have to believe it, too. Let your dragon side take over, and live in the present. Can you do it?"

"I'm not sure."

In response, I received a nice, solid whack to the head. "Of course you can do it." Said Azami. "I say that you can do it, so you can do it. Got it? Or do I have to whack some more sense into you?"

I laughed. It was strange, but I was feeling a lot better now. Maybe I had just needed some advice. Or maybe I had needed to put my doubts into actual words. Or perhaps it had just been that marvelous flight. But whatever it had been, it had worked. I felt the guilt leaving me. "Yeah, I got it." I replied. And I actually meant it. It seemed like the weight of any of my hesitantcy and regrets had been lifted off of my shoulders. I think that this time, I might actually be able to do it - that is, I might actually do what Azami said and live in the present. I would enjoy what time I had with both my powers and my friends, and make the choice when that day came. Who knows? Perhaps the guardians would never find out, and I would never have to choose. I had no way of knowing either way.

I got up casually, and Azami got off of my head and instead floated next to my shoulder. I walked slowly across the roof, not really for any reason. The calm from before still had hold of me. I felt perfectly reasonable. I recalled that on Monday, Nikaido would be having all of us recite our assigned poems in front of the class. I started going over it, though I already knew it by heart.

"Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice." I began. "From what I've tasted of desire-"

"I hold with those who favor fire." Azami said, finishing the sentence and smiling.

Getting the idea, I said the next line. "But if it had to perish twice-"

"-I think I know enough of hate-" said Azami, emphasizing the word 'hate' with a cynical enthusiasm.

I continued to the next line. "-to say that for destruction ice-"

"-is also great, and w... would..." Azami's voice trailed off. I looked over to where she was hovering above my right shoulder. Her demeanor was suddenly changing. Her wings, tail, and shoulders all began to droop as she gazed unseeingly into the distance. She began to lower in the air slowly, as if she had even lost the will to stay afloat.

I turned to her and reached out my hands, allowing her to fall into my palms. She barely seemed to notice. "Azami, what's wrong?" I asked. "Are you sick? Can charas even get sick?"

She remained speechless. She simply kept on staring, her eyes unfocused. I recognized that look from somewhere. It confused me to see it in Azami's red eyes, but there was only one thing it could be.

"Come on, Azami, what's going on?" I said. "Can you hear me? Azami? Hello? Aza... Azami...?" I had just enough sense to sit down and lay Azami next to me before the feeling overtook me. I hadn't felt it this past week, and I'd been hoping that I was getting used to the power enough that I could control it now. But no dice. It was the dark feeling once again.

There is no way for anyone to truly understand the feeling unless they have felt true hopelessness before. And though absolute hopelessness is horrible in and of itself, this feeling was even worse. It wasn't just mental - it was physical as well. Or, it seemed physical. I imagined that the feeling was a dark serpent of black fog emerging from me, wrapping itself around my body and slowly squeezing every ounce of life - or, more accurately, every ounce of hope - out of me. It started at the chest, and then worked its way out - to the arms, to the legs, and eventually, to the mind. It obliterated all other thoughts. It was all there is. The world around me no longer existed. Not even I existed. All that existed was the hopelessness.

Or perhaps the snake metaphor isn't an accurate enough description. If you could be smothered from the inside out, then that is a better way of thinking about it. Almost everyone has heard or seen something that truly moved them - a stunning panorama, a beautiful song, or even a great poem. All of those bring about a feeling of fullness, a sense of complete peace or satisfaction or happiness. If an exact opposite of that feeling is possible, then this would be it. Still filling you up, but with only negative instead of positive emotions. If it was possible, I would say that it felt like being filled with emptiness. I try to describe it as best I can, but like a great sight or a touching song, it is beyond any number of sentences I could devote to it. Like the times before, all there was was darkness. Nothing but an all-consuming monster that fed upon every sensible thought and every good emotion that I had.

The time spent there, curled up on the ground, seemed like both an infinity and the blink of an eye. Eventually, I found myself to be in control of my senses. It came so gradually and yet so suddenly that it surprised me for a moment. I raised my hands in front of my face and clenched them a few times, as if in assurance that I was back in control of myself. Then I remembered Azami. She was still in the trance-like state, lying on her back with her wings spread out awkwardly to either side of her.

I wasn't worried about the feeling coming back - for now, at least. In an attempt to revive my little dragon, I grabbed her by the tail and dangled her upside down. She still didn't respond. And so, I flicked her in the head with my other hand, making her swing back and forth like a pendulum. This got her attention.

"Hey! Is that really necessary?!? Let me go!" She demanded, opening her wings and flapping in an attempt to stay upright.

"Why should I?" I asked as I let her go anyway. She dropped a couple inches before catching herself and hovering. I stared at her, expecting her to say something.

"What?" She asked impertinently.

"What just happened? You totally blanked out, and then the dark feeling came upon me and neither of us could really do anything." I said.

"I doubt it was really anything." said Azami. But no matter how great she was at lying, I knew that this was not something to be ignored.

"Of course it was something!" I said. "And I think you know more about it than I do. Hurry up and spill the beans."

"There's nothing to be said." Said Azami, so confidently that for a moment I actually believed her. But only for a moment. This was too serious to be convinced so easily away from my instinct.

I was about to argue, but Azami quickly changed the subject. "What time is it, anyway?" she asked.

It struck me that I really had no idea how much time had passed. I pulled out my cell phone - the gift from Easter - out from my pocket and turned it on. Despite my orders to keep it always on in case they needed to contact me, I usually kept it turned off. I was shocked at the time it displayed - it was already one in the morning. I must have been in that daze for at least a good two or three hours. I vaguely realized just how dangerous that could be, for both my physical health and my secret.

Almost even more shocking, I saw that I had a text message. And it wasn't from any of the guardians, either. They were more or less the only ones who even had my number. Rather, I saw that the text was from my big-bad employer itself: Easter. It had been sent earlier on Friday, when I had still been at school. The message was short and sounded choppily written, but it got the point across. I was both excited and (based on this evening's events) just a bit scared at what the text said.

COME TO EASTER NEXT SATURDAY, A WEEK FROM TOMORROW. YOU WILL BE GETTING MORE X-ENERGY.

After this chapter, I'll probably stop completely with these little author comments I do. As I said, I feel like they take away from the story. I'll probably do it every now and then, to thank new and continuing reviewers, but probably only once every couple of chapters. This doesn't mean that I'm any less grateful to my readers or reviewers - I simply don't want to take away from the story itself. Every now and then, I might have something that needs to be said that I'll write in one of these little comments at the end of a chapter, but other than that and thanking reviewers, I won't be doing these much anymore. Just so you know.

Thanks to Kitty Obsessive Disorder for reviewing the last chapter (I think - the review says it was for chapter one, but I'm guessing it was for 15). Sorry about your brain puddle. I know how you feel, and I personally hate it when my brain melts in such a manner.

Though I won't be saying it every chapter now, reviews are always appreciated. (Unless they're flaming. Which would sort of negate my underlined 'always' in that sentence, but oh well.) Please review, either for encouragement or to help me improve!