The weekend passed slowly. I hardly left my room. I couldn't bring myself to do anything. I ate next to nothing. I tried once to start my homework, just to get my mind out of the pit of Darkness. But then I realized the only thing I had to do was math, and I couldn't bring myself to do that. Math was how I had met Mai. I still wasn't sure whether or not I regretted my decision. I was horribly sad for Mai, and yet I knew I would have hated myself if I had chosen differently. If I really regretted anything, it was that I had been put into that situation in the first place. I wondered what this would mean for how I felt about the Guardians. If I could betray Mai, then wouldn't it be just as easy to betray the Guardians? Then again, that was the thing - it hadn't been easy to betray Mai. Would I be able to do it again? So many questions, but no answers came to me.

Azami was angry at me for most of the weekend. She said that I shouldn't be sulking around. She wanted me to get up and do something. But no matter how many times she yelled at me or hit me with her tail, I just couldn't get motivated. Even if I had made the right choice, it had terrible consequences. No matter how hard I tried, Mai's face kept on appearing every time I closed my eyes. Sometimes it was the hopeful, expectant face right before I told her... told her the lie. But that was always quickly replaced with that look of total desolation. The image of complete hopelessness. Azami eventually gave up trying to convince me that a dragon wouldn't let another's misfortune get her down like this. She just flew out the window and left me alone for most of Sunday, allowing me to be alone in my sadness and hopefully get over it. But without her reassuring presence there, all I did was get worse.

And I was worried about tomorrow. It would be my first time seeing Mai since I took her dream away. What would she be like? Would the Guardians notice her behavior? Would they notice my own glumness, or would I be feeling better by then? I considered simply skipping school tomorrow, but that would look suspicious. I didn't want the Guardians finding out my secret now. Not now that I needed some friends more than ever.

When darkness finally fell that Sunday night, I gratefully gave in to sleep, too tired from the constant flow of emotions to keep my eyes open.

* * *

BEEPBEEP! BEEPBEEP! BEEPBEEP!

I sleepily hit the snooze button and got out of bed, stumbling through the semi-dark to turn on the light. For a moment, I looked around the room. It seemed like just another day, no different than the past couple of months. Yet I knew there was something that was still bothering me... I thought for a couple seconds, and then the guilt came flooding back as I remembered. I wanted to say that it had only been a dream, and that I could forget all about it now and get to school. I wanted to get back in bed, maybe get my mom to call in to the school and say I was sick. But I was already up, and even though I was still being bothered by my conscience (something that no self-respecting dragon should have, as Azami had reminded me last night), it was to a much lesser extent. Lessened even more by the fact that, even if it meant facing Mai and the Guardians, I had to get out of my room for a while. I had heard of cabin fever before, and after almost forty-eight straight hours in my bedroom, I now believed that it was definitely not just an exaggeration.

I got ready slowly, occasionally reaching up to touch my dragon pendant for strength. It was something that was always there, and no matter what happened, it was the one thing that remained the same in my life. Azami wasn't talking to me. I guessed she was really angry about my persisting mood. But I didn't care. I thought that I would be late to school, but then I looked at my alarm. Apparently, I had accidentally messed up the alarm time when I had set it last night. I had gotten up an entire hour early. But I didn't even have the energy to care. As soon as I was ready, I dragged myself out of the house, and slowly trudged to school. I skipped breakfast - I had very little appetite, as had been the case all weekend.

Despite my slow, depressed pace, I was one of the first people to make it to class. Nikaido watched me as I walked in, but I ignored him and simply looked at the ground. Then I sat down in my desk, set my head in my arms, and closed my eyes. I wasn't sleeping - I simply didn't have the energy to do anything else. From across the room, I heard a couple of boys whispering.

"Is she asleep?"

"I think so."

"What's up with Yamada-san?"

"I dunno. She's normally not here this early. But she's normally doodling or something if she doesn't have anything to do."

"Did you see how she walked in here? She looked kinda..."

"Kinda what?"

"I dunno. Out of it, I guess. Maybe sad."

"Maybe she forgot to do her homework."

"Or maybe she lost to the tiger!"

"Don't be stupid! She'd be dead if she lost to a tiger."

Then the door opened, and I looked up to see if it was Mai. It wasn't. Though the boys stopped talking as soon as they saw I was still awake, it had been an informative conversation for me. They had answered one of my questions. If some guys that I hardly know can tell I'm depressed, then the Guardians would definitely notice. And I doubted they would accept a mood like this as simple sleepiness. But what could I tell them? I wouldn't be able to lie right now. Azami didn't seem like she would help me anytime soon. I had no idea what to do, and the Darkness (or maybe my weakness from not eating all weekend) was making my brain feel fuzzy and my thoughts be discontinuous.

About ten minutes before school started, and I looked up as someone else entered the room: Tamiya Mai. For a couple seconds, I thought all would be fine - it had all just been a bad dream, and Mai was completely alright. But then I really looked at her - her posture, her demeanor, the way she walked to her desk - and I realized that it was just a false hope. She noticed that I was looking her direction, and gave a sort of half-smile before sitting down. But there was no real happiness behind it. Worse still, I had looked right into her eyes, and her glazed look told all. She simply didn't care anymore. Things would never be the same. Mai could never again be the girl she once was.

I kept my head up now. Somehow, just seeing Mai gave me a sort of calm acceptance about the matter. The sorrow was still there, but it seemed distant. Like the disbelief in the hours after I actually took Mai's egg. I imagined briefly that I must look a lot like Mai right now - my eyes staring off into the distance, looking without really seeing. But now that I'd seen Mai, the dread of the unknown - not knowing what she would be like - was gone. I knew there was nothing I could do about it now. All that was left was a sort of hole in myself, an emptiness that not even the Darkness dared to intrude upon.

With just about a minute before the bell left, Amu finally made it in. She looked out of breath, like she had run to get here. It seemed like this was the case most mornings for her; she wasn't the most organized of people. Seeing that she was on time, she slowed down and made her way to her desk. As she sat down, she asked, "How was your weekend, Miyuki?"

I smiled, but without much feeling. "It was fine." I said. As was to be expected, Amu noticed that something wasn't right immediately.

"Hm? What's wrong, Miyuki? Are you feeling all right?" Amu asked.

I was about to answer that I was feeling fine (which was an outright lie), but purposefully or not, Nikaido saved me.

"All right, the bell is about to ring. Get back in your seats, everyone! I know it's the last week before Winter break-" A couple of cheers sounded, "-so we'll all need to learn as much as we can before then!" some people groaned, but everyone went back to their seats. Amu gave me one last concerned glance before turning her attention back to classwork. But her charas looked like they were keeping an eye on me throughout the morning. I wondered what they thought had happened to me. Then again, in the mood I was in, I really didn't care.

I tried to avoid Amu and the rest of the Guardians for as long as possible. At lunch, I went to the bathroom before getting in line, forcing Amu to go on ahead of me. I didn't exactly want to talk as we waited to get lunch. But I knew I couldn't stay in the bathroom forever. Once I figured the lunch line would be all but gone, I made my way out of the bathroom, grabbed a tray, and grabbed a lunch. I could feel that I was kind of weak right now, and yet I still didn't think I could bring myself to eat something. I tried to cheer up as I approached the table, but I knew it was a lame attempt.

"Hello, everyone." I said as I sat down. Once again, I was trying to be cheerful, but I could tell from my tone of voice that such an attempt had resulted in failure.

"What happened, Miyuki?" Amu asked again. All of the others seemed to be letting her do the talking - I got the feeling that she had already told them about my mood.

"Really - I'm fine." I insisted. I noticed that I had started pushing my food randomly around the plate, and put my fork down.

"Miyuki-chi! We can all tell that something is wrong!" Yaya said loudly. "Just tell us! Yaya wants Miyuki-chi to be happy again!"

"We can't help if we don't know what's bothering you." Amu said.

I paused for a minute, and looked down at my plate. They were almost breaking through the emptiness, and once that was gone, the tears might come back. I didn't want to start crying here. But what could I say?

"If you don't want to say what's wrong, then we can't make you, Miyuki-chan." said Nadeshiko. "But we want to help, if we can. And, as Amu-chan said, we can't do that if you won't let us know what the problem is."

I looked up again. All of the Guardians were staring at me, almost identical looks of worry showing on each of their faces. Even the normally upbeat Kukai was solemn, and Yaya was being unusually quiet. They were all such loyal friends, and yet... and yet what if I was forced to take their dreams someday, just like I did to Mai? I quickly diverted my mind from that path - it was something that I didn't want to think about yet. But these were my friends, and they were worried about me; I at least had to tell them something.

"D-do you mind if I tell you guys later, at the garden?" I asked quietly, unable to muster up a stronger voice. "I don't really want to talk about it here."

Tadase nodded. "All right, you can tell us later. We can wait, Yamada-san." he said kindly.

Conversation was a bit awkward after that. They tried to cheer me up by talking about school and such as they normally did, but I couldn't really get in to the mood to talk. I more or less just sat in my seat, picking at my food and occasionally eating a bite or two. Azami was still avoiding me, choosing to talk with the other charas and positioning herself as far away from me as possible.

The rest of the day passed surprisingly quickly, due to the daze I was in. I tried not to look over at Mai, but every now and then I couldn't help it. And every time, she was mindlessly listening to the lesson, trying to learn but not really caring. Each time, I quickly looked away.

Eventually, the bell dismissing us rang, but I hardly even noticed it. It was only when Amu came up to my desk that I looked up and realized the time. I had been partially asleep, with my eyes half-closed. Amu looked more concerned than ever, but she tried to hide it with a friendly smile. I got up out of my desk without a word. But then, my least favorite voice in the world called out from the front of the room.

"Mizuki-san, I'll need you to stay behind a moment again."

I sat back down. Amu looked at me, pure worry breaking through what was left of her 'cool and spicy' attitude. "Will you be okay?" She asked.

"Y-yeah."

"Are you sure, desu~?" asked Su. I think she had noticed my lack of appetite at lunch, and her natural caring instinct was kicking in.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I said, without much conviction. Really, I wasn't sure. I doubted anything could be worse than taking Mai's egg, though I knew Nikaido would always be able to think of some other way to torment me. It didn't help that I really wasn't feeling my strongest right now - my self-induced fast wasn't exactly the healthiest thing I could do for my body.

"If you're sure..." Amu said. "I'll wait at the top of the stairs. If you need anything, just yell and I should be able to hear. I-" She started to say something, but then broke off, apparently not wanting to finish. Instead, she waved goodbye and left. Everyone else was already gone, and so I was once again left alone with Nikaido.

I remained in my desk. I didn't want to get up. For once, it was Nikaido that came to me. He quietly strode up to my desk and stood just a bit behind me. I just kept on staring straight ahead. The Darkness inside me was rising up noticeably for the first time since Friday night. And the closer Nikaido was, the stronger it got.

"So, Mizuki-san, how did it feel to take away your friend's dream?"

I didn't reply, but the Darkness spiked when Nikaido talked.

"Are you sure you did the right thing?"

I still didn't reply.

"You know, Mizuki-san, I would think that Mai was one of the most caring girls in this class. She would never do anything to hurt anybody. Don't you think so?"

The Darkness rose again. I felt lightheaded.

"And you took away all joy in her life, right before it hatched."

The Darkness felt like it was suffocating me. I couldn't focus on anything but what Nikaido was saying. I did it. I hurt Mai. She never did anything to me, and I practically killed her. I'm a horrible person. I've been wrong all along. I've been tricking and hurting the first friends I've ever had. I can't do anything to help others - I only destroy. I must be worthless. My eyesight seemed to be flickering now. My ears were ringing, and I felt unbelievably cold. The Darkness was overtaking me.

I'm usele-

"Miyuki!" Azami suddenly yelled at me, temporarily disrupting my train of thought. It was the first time she had spoken all day. I looked over at her. The top and bottom part of her egg was above and below her, slowly coming together. I noticed that the flame pattern on the egg seemed... dimmer, somehow. Maybe it was just my eyes.

"Miyuki!" She cried out once more before the two halves closed, trapping her within the egg.

Azami...

"No." I said quietly, my voice almost failing on me.

"What was that, Mizuki-san?" asked Nikaido.

"No. I won't regret what I did. Mai was my friend, and I'll miss her, but I made my decision. She can just... just..." I trailed off. I still cared about Mai too much to finish the sentence. But the Darkness was fading, and I noticed the egg turn back to its original color before the two halves flew apart, revealing Azami. She looked a bit angry, but mostly happy at being out of the egg. She flew to my shoulder, and her presence reassured me.

"I am a dragon, after all." I said. Though the Darkness was all but gone now, I still felt very light-headed and I could see that my hands were shaking.

If Nikaido was disappointed that whatever he had just tried to do had failed, he didn't show it. "Well, Mizuki-san, isn't that great news! Because I've got another job for you to do."

My heart seemed to drop right into my shoes.

"You see, poor Tamiya-san's egg, though powerful and unhatched, didn't work for my experiment. I did some calculations, and I believe that what I need is a chara with the ability to chara-nari." I felt Azami stiffen. "No, of course I wouldn't think of separating you two. But I do need a powerful chara from someone..."

I didn't respond, but I dreaded where he was going with this. It was taking all the energy I had just to keep from collapsing. I guessed that spikes in X-energy added on to me already being weak from not eating was really affecting me in a bad way (In other words, Darkness + Starving = Me not happy). Then add Nikaido into the equation... it would be the understatement of the year to say I wasn't feeling very good.

"You want her to take one of Amu's charas?" asked Azami challengingly. She really wasn't liking Nikaido after being forced into her egg a few minutes ago.

"Actually, getting all three would be a much better idea." Nikaido said happily. "Just do it whenever the opportunity presents itself, though I would appreciate if it was sooner rather than later, Mizuki-san."

My head felt like was spinning. "But... how could I do it? I wouldn't be able to get them without Amu knowing. And wouldn't it be better if you got the eggs from her?" I was still talking quietly, but even that little loss of air was giving me trouble. "I'm sure you can sneak them from her. Then, even if they find out, you can have me as a backup or something." I had to think of some excuse; I didn't want to have to make a decision like the one from Friday.

"That's true..." Nikaido acted like he was thinking about it. "But no - our charade has gone on long enough. Don't you think so, Mizuki-san? Plus, if my plan works, then we'll finally have the embryo and it will no longer matter if the Guardians figure out that you've been working for Easter this whole time."

My mind tried to work as fast as possible to try and find a way out of this, but it was too much. My eyes closed and I started to fall out of the desk. Then a surge of power - the familiar, chara-change power - strengthened me. I managed to grab onto the desk and catch myself. Then, with new-found confidence surging through me, I stood up and faced Nikaido.

"No. Do it yourself. But I won't do it. Not now. I'm sick of you ordering me around. I'll fight the Guardians when I have to, but not now. Kidnapping charas is beneath me." I said.

"Hmm... Do you know what Easter will do if you break your contract, Mizuki-san?"

My breath caught in fear for a second, but the chara-change brushed it aside. "No, I don't know, and I don't care. But out of curiosity, would you care to enlighten me?"

"No, no, that's all right, Mizuki-san. We don't need to think about that. I wouldn't want Easter getting angry at you over something silly like this - I wouldn't want you hurt just because I was being a tad overly-bossy." Nikaido said, acting as if he were some generous babysitter promising that he wouldn't tell a child's parents about some silly misbehavior. "I'm sure it wouldn't hurt for me to get the little charas myself. But I'll be expecting your help if Amu or the Guardians were to get... out of hand. All right, Mizuki-san?"

"Fine." I said, still in my chara-change. "And my name is Miyuki, not Mizuki." With that, I grabbed my bad, stormed out of the room, and shut the door behind me. Hard. Then I felt my strength drain away as the chara-change stopped, and I feel to my knees.

"Miyuki!" I looked to my left and saw Amu rush down the hallway. She crouched by me. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"Uh.. yeah. I'm okay." I said, though I obviously wasn't. "I think I just need something to eat..." My voice trailed off.

"Can you walk to the garden all right? Or should I go get Kukai to help?" Amu asked. Even when I was so weak, the thought of Kukai helping made me blush.

"No, no." I turned my head slightly to look at Azami. "Do you think we could chara-change... just until I get to the garden..."

"It might make you even worse when the chara-change ends." Azami warned.

"That's... fine." I said, looking down at the floor and trying to get my vision back to normal. I just had to get away from Nikaido, back to somewhere that was at least somewhat private.

"All right then." Azami replied. "Chara-change!" My vision cleared and the ringing in my ears stopped as comforting strength flowed back into me. I got up slowly - no matter my chara-change, I was still weak from not eating. Then we walked to the Royal Garden, Amu right next to me, ready to help if I needed it. I felt kind of silly, chara-changing just to walk. Still, I was worried that the change might fade before we got there.

Amu opened the door to the greenhouse for me, then closed it behind us. The others were all waiting at the table. My chara-change faded, but I managed to remain standing for the moment being.

"Where were you guys?" asked Kukai. "We were really starting to worry a bit."

"Sorry, Nikaido needed to talk to Miyuki about something." Amu explained. "By the way, are you all right now, Miyuki?"

I took a breath to respond, but then found that I couldn't. The ground seemed to be slowly tilting beneath me, and I could only see a very small area right in front of me.

"Miyuki-chan?" I heard Nadeshiko say from the Guardians table. She sounded concerned. I tried to look up towards her to reassure her, but that was a mistake. I tottered back and forth for a couple seconds, and then my legs gave way beneath me as I passed out for a second. Amu managed to catch me and keep me from falling too hard. She let me down as gently as possible until I was sitting on the ground with my back against the closed greenhouse door. But as soon as I was on the ground I felt at least a bit better, and I managed to open my eyes. The rest of the Guardians hurried over, asking what happened and if I was all right.

Nadeshiko was the one who took charge. "Yaya, go get Miyuki-chan a glass of water."

"Roger!" Yaya said before dashing off to the table to get the water.

"Oh, Nadeshiko, I think she said she needed something to eat earlier." Amu added.

"All right, Amu-chan. Would you go get the plate of brownies from the table, then?" Nadeshiko said.

Amu did so, and arrived back as Yaya came with the water. By now, I was slightly better. I took the cup from her and took a few cautious sips. And though I really wasn't in the mood to eat anything right now, I knew that I had to eat something or I'd collapse again. I ate the brownie slowly while the others asked Amu what had happened. Of course, she really didn't know, so they were all left in suspense until they could ask me.

Once I finished my brownie, Nadeshiko asked, "Are you feeling better now?"

The brownie actually was helping, and it made me realize just how hungry I was. "Better, but still not great." I admitted.

Nadeshiko turned to Kukai. "Do you think you could help her get to the table, so she can sit in an actual chair?"

I tried to protest, but Kukai had my arm around his shoulders and was pulling me up easily before I could say a word. I did my best to walk as much as I could by myself, but most of my weight was carried by Kukai. I blushed a bit, which must have showed up vividly on my currently pale face. He helped me down into my chair, then went back to his own seat. Everyone else sat down, then looked expectantly at me.

"Can you tell us what happened, Yamada-san? Or if you can't, then could Azami?" Tadase asked. Azami looked at me, waiting to see if I wanted to talk or if I needed her to.

I nodded in response to Tadase, and began. "Well, it started Friday night." My voice was still a bit shaky, but getting better. "My friend wanted to show me something, so I went over to her house. She had written a story - I read the first chapter, and it was actually really good. She was really excited about it." Tears started to trickle out of my eyes. This was the first time I'd had to retell it. But I couldn't say the next part without lying about it, and I didn't think I could think of a convincing lie at the moment. I looked down at the ground, hoping Azami would get the idea.

She did. "We left after a while, and we were almost half way back when Miyuki realized she'd left her school bag at Mai's hosue." Azami said. "We went back and knocked on the door, and Mai answered, but...." Azami purposefully trailed off. "She was different. She had lost all her excitement from before. Miyuki was confused, and she was disturbed by how little interest Mai had in anything. Mai led us up to her room, Miyuki grabbed her bookbag, but in the process she saw that Mai's story was in the trash. Miyuki asked what had happened, and-"

"She said it was useless, and that writing was a waste of time. And that it was stupid for her to tell silly stories." I finished, unable to contain my memories. "And that look in her eyes..." I looked up from the ground. "She'd lost the egg of her heart. I'm sure of it. She isn't the same person. She's not happy anymore. She's-" I looked back down as more tears streamed down my face. Even though I wasn't telling the Guardians the truth, my sadness was real. As I had said to Nikaido earlier, I realized that I really didn't regret my actions. But my friend was gone, and I still missed her.

All of the Guardians tensed when I told them that the egg of her heart was gone. "Was it turned into an X-egg, Yamada-san?" Tadase asked.

I think Azami realized I was having some trouble lying, so she took over again. "I didn't feel anything, but we think so. Miyuki thinks she wouldn't have given up on her dream unless it was forced out." My tears came a little harder at this, but I stayed silent.

"So what happened today?" Amu asked. "Why did you pass out?"

"I-I haven't eaten much all weekend." I said, trying to wipe the tears from my face with the back of my sleeve. "I guess I just didn't have the energy anymore."

"Nothing all weekend, Miyuki-chi?" Yaya asked, amazed. "Not even a single cookie?"

I smiled a bit at this, and shook my head. Suddenly, I realized just how weak I was being. Breaking out crying in front of the Guardians - I mean, really. None of them had ever done this, at least as long as I'd been here. "I'm sorry, you guys, for being so... so..."

"What are you talking about, Miyuki?" asked Kukai, being cheerful. "We're your friends. It's not a problem." That made the guilt-o-meter go into the red. Here I was, lying to them like it was going out of style, and there everyone else was, trying their best to help me out. How low could I go?

And now I felt obligated to tell them something - I had to at least warn Amu about Nikaido's plans. "There's another thing you guys should know... it was the reason I was so upset when I came out of Nikaido's room. I mean, he helped me with my advanced math as usual, but also... he also seemed to be hinting something. He got off on another subject - which isn't that uncommon. He acts kind of scatterbrained. But he started talking about how he had heard that there was a thief around the school, and how the students should remember to keep a good eye on their stuff." I had apparently regained my ability to lie - mainly because this was a helpful lie, but also because I was now recovering from talking about Mai.

"I haven't heard about any thief." Tadase said. "Why would your teacher make up something like that?"

"Yeah, maybe it's kind of odd, but I don't classify that as villain-worthy." Kukai said.

"Well, it wasn't that in itself that bothered me." I said, thinking quickly. "But then he mentioned you, Amu, and said that you seemed a bit forgetful sometimes about your stuff."

"I am not forgetful!" Amu said, turning red.

"Yes you are, Amu-chan!" Ran said.

"You almost forgot your science book this morning. Remember?" Miki said.

"Maybe tomorrow I'll just 'forget' you guys at home." Amu retorted.

I did not want Amu forgetting her charas anywhere, though perhaps they would be safer at her house. "You're missing the point, Amu. Maybe it's just because I'm paranoid, or because I've been so upset lately, but it seemed like he was suggesting that you would be the one to lose something."

"But what would anyone want from me?" asked Amu.

"What about your Humpty Lock, Amu-chan?" suggested Nadeshiko. "If your teacher really works for Easter, then perhaps he would want to study it or use it in some way." Close, but worse than that, I thought.

"That's a possibility." Tadase said. "Did anyone else find out anything over the weekend about Nikaido?"

"I ran into Imari." Kukai said. "She said that she didn't remember seeing Nikaido around, but then again, she didn't remember a lot from her incident. She was the one with the X-egg that day the week Miyuki came. When Azami scratched you. Remember?" Of course, how could I forget that? It occurred to me that that incident was the first of multiple times I've passed out or nearly passed out since coming to Seiyo. I guess having little magical floating people hanging around will cause stuff like that to happen every now and again.

"I still can't believe that your teacher is responsible for all the X-eggs, but we will continue to keep our eyes open." Tadase said.

"What about Miyuki-chi's friend?" Yaya asked. "Yaya wants to help her!"

"I want to help Tamiya-san, too." Amu said. "But I don't think there's much we can do if her egg really is gone. If we knew where it was, I could cleanse it, but..." She trailed off, looking regretful that she couldn't be of more help.

"It's okay. I understand." I said. Then that made me think - what if we could get a hold of her egg? Then Amu could cleanse it, and Mai would go back to normal. Maybe what I had done wasn't irreversible, after all. I brightened up considerably. There was still hope.

I grabbed a couple more brownies as we adjourned the Guardian meeting for the day. They were really helping. I felt much better now, and walking wasn't a problem anymore. The brownies, coupled with my new-found hope for Mai, were giving me a significant boost. I called my mom and had her come pick me up, though - I thought I would be fine walking, but the others didn't like the idea.

For a while after getting home that evening, I was downright happy. Well... maybe not happy, but my mood was greatly improved. Azami started on a rant about how pitiful my performance today had been. ("Dragons don't cry - it's a sign of weakness.... And you couldn't even lie! How weak-minded...." etc., etc.) All in all, everything seemed back to normal. By unspoken consent, neither of us mentioned what almost happened to Azami when Nikaido had first started talking to me. Neither of us wanted to think about it.

But then, slowly, I started to go downhill again. As much as I wanted to hope that Nikaido would be unable to snag Amu's charas, I knew that he would. He was the kind of person that didn't stop until he got what he wanted. And would I really be able to get Mai's egg back? He said he had been experimenting - what if it had been completely altered? Or destroyed?

Azami noticed me worrying again. "Don't start that again! I don't know what you're overly-obsessing over now, but just forget about it. We'll deal with it when it happens. How many times do I have to tell you?"

I smiled at this. "I don't think you have to tell me at all. You just like nagging me all the time about something or other, and this happens to be your favorite subject."

I got a good whack on the head for that. "You just don't learn your lesson very well, and so I have to keep reminding you. You should listen to your would-be self more."

"What if I don't want to listen to my would-be self?" I countered.

"Then you've apparently learned one lesson and not the others." Azami said, amused at my answer. I started getting ready for bed soon after that, and I decided that Azami was right. At the very least, as long as I had her with me, then I could deal with whatever would happen. Maybe it wouldn't be pleasant, but I would get through. I doubted I could totally shun my worries. But if it could make me more like Azami, then I would at least give it another try.

Last chapter was the first time I got five reviews! And, though perhaps that seems kind of lame, I was quite happy! Thanks!

Please keep on reviewing, and for anyone who enjoys reading my story enough to make it to this chapter, please at least vote in my poll! Also, just an FYI - I'm going to be quite busy with school stuff for the next couple of weeks, and there is a chance that I won't be able to update as according to my usual weekly policy. I will let you know if this happens, though I'm hoping it won't.

As always, thanks for reading!