Tadase was the first to come to his senses. "Don't worry, we'll get them back."
Kukai seemed to awaken. "Yeah, you're right! I can't just sit here and mope while Daichi is in trouble! Come on, Amu - let's put your special training to good use!" Before Amu knew it, she had been grabbed by the arm and was running behind Kukai, doing her best to keep up. But despite Kukai's optimism, I thought I noticed something I'd never truly seen in Kukai's eyes before: anger. Then again, he was gone before I could get a good look, and perhaps I was mistaken.
Tadase made as if to call Kukai and Amu back, but Nadeshiko put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "Let's all look for the charas, Hotori-kun." Nadeshiko said.
Tadase looked back at her, then smiled. Suddenly, his little crown appeared on his head, and Tadase entered his chara-change mood. "No one can get away with disturbing the peace of a king's subjects! I will not allow it! Come, commoners - onward!"
"Don't you think one of us should see if we can find out where Nikaido lives?" Nadeshiko suggested.
"Yes, of course!" Tadase said. "What a brilliant plan! You can go do that, while we go off in search of my missing subjects!" Then the chara change went away. Tadase looked embarrassed, but knew that now wasn't the time for that.
"All right, Hotori-kun - you three help look. I'll go get Nikaido's papers and take a good look at them." Nadeshiko said. Tadase nodded, and we headed off. As soon as we were outside of the school grounds, we looked at each other, trying to decide where to go.
"Yaya says that way!" she said, pointing straight ahead.
Tadase suggested a better plan. "Let's all split up - Yuiki-san, you can go straight. I'll go left, and you can go right, Yamada-san. We'll call each other if we manage to find anything."
"Okay!" Yaya shouted, before dashing off enthusiastically. Even now, with such dire circumstances, her baby-like personality was still present.
"Sounds like a good idea." I said to Tadase, before we both headed off our separate ways. I was glad to have a moment alone, because as soon as I was alone, I could begin my little... discussion with Azami.
As soon as I rounded a corner and I was sure no one was around, my hand darted up to grab Azami. But she seemed to be expecting this, and easily dodged.
"What in the world are you doing!?!" I practically shouted. I hadn't been this angry since.... Well, I'd never been this angry, as far as my memory told me. "You handed over Amu's charas to Nikaido! You know that's exactly what I was worried about! And I thought you hated Nikaido after that time when he almost turned you into an X-egg! How could you!?!" This was the first time I'd directly mentioned the X-egg thing to Azami. It was a topic we had tried to avoid, but I was being consumed with fury. Literally. The dark energy inside me was seething, and all I wanted to do was hurt something or someone. Preferably Azami.
"What can I say?" asked Azami, seemingly unphased by my wrath. "I was in a particularly evil mood today."
"That's all!?! That's ALL!?!" I shouted.
"Calm down, unless you want the Guardians to hear you and come running. Or unless you want all the people in the neighborhood to call the police because there's a crazy person shouting at thin air on their street." Azami said. "Anyway, it wasn't the only reason. You'd been worrying about Amu's charas getting stolen so much this week that I decided we might as well get it over with."
"That's NOT the way to make me worry less!" I yelled, though I did lower my voice slightly. "In fact, now I'm only worrying more!"
"I didn't say I was trying to get you to worry less." Azami replied, as if that was obvious. "Think of it this way - now you're worrying about something that is happening, rather than something that you knew was going to happen."
"What difference does it make!?!"
Azami sighed. "I've told you before - dragons only care about what's happening now, in the present. Not the future. This option seemed easier than trying to get you to stop worrying completely, which would have been nearly impossible."
"So you help Nikaido kidnap them?!?"
"Yep."
I stared at her for a few moments, feeling my face going red with rage. Then, I simply turned on the spot and walked down the street.
"Hey, where are you going?"
I didn't answer.
"Miyuki-chan! Answer me!"
I still didn't reply. Then, I received an extremely forceful whack to the back of my head, and I turned around, my wrath building even higher.
"Miyuki, quit being stupid." Azami said harshly. "If you're going to be a dragon, act like one. You're letting some silly pink-haired girl's troubles bother you. A dragon doesn't have empathy. You knew it was going to happen anyway - all I did was speed up the process. You knew from the beginning that you'd betray her one day. Why not now?"
"Who says I want to be a dragon anymore! What if I'm finding out that I don't like what being a dragon includes!" I shouted.
"If that was true, then I'd be gone already." Azami said. "I know you - I mean, I am you, more or less. If anything, you want to be a dragon now more than ever. You want the power to deal with what you don't like; you want your foolish emotions to go away so you don't have to feel pain that isn't even happening to you; you want to stop being afraid for yourself and others. Whether you admit it or not, that's the way it is."
"If you know me so well, then what do you suggest I do?!? Just go find Nikaido and say, 'Oh, hey, I'm here to help destroy Amu's dreams. What do you want me to do?' Do you really expect me to do that?!?" I said. I was still angry, but everything Azami had just said was completely true.
"Do whatever you want. I'm not saying that you can't go against Nikaido - I still hate him, as do you. You don't even have to decide right now; as I've said, a dragon doesn't worry about the future. If you don't want to make the choice of betrayal yet, then don't. By all means, just wait until the moment you absolutely have to decide. That's what a dragon does. If she wants to." Azami replied.
My anger deflated a bit, but the Darkness was still rearing up within, making me feel miserable. "Fine." I said, turning again and heading back down the street in the direction I had been going.
"What are you doing now, Miyuki?" asked Azami.
"I'm looking for Ran, Miki, Su, and Daichi, despite the fact that Nikaido is probably long gone if he took his car." I answered, without looking at her.
Azami seemed both relieved and curious. "So does that mean you're siding with the Guardians?"
"You were just saying I could wait to decide." I said, irritated. "I still don't know. I definitely still want to be a dragon, but on the other hand... I just don't know." Azami said nothing more to me, and so we continued our search in silence as I tried to sort through my conflicting thoughts.
* * *
It was nearly six 'o clock when Tadase called everyone's cell phones and suggested we meet back at the garden. Everyone else had arrived by the time I got back - my searching had taken me quite a ways away without me really noticing. All of us were quiet - Amu and Kukai because their charas were missing, and the other Guardians because they hadn't been able to find the missing charas. As for me, I was still deep in thought about this whole mess. At the very least, the Darkness had died down to some extent. That was something for me to be grateful for.
"I examined Nikaido's files more carefully while everyone else was out." Nadeshiko said. "Everything was fake: his address, his degree, his teaching license."
"I'm sorry, Hinamori-san." Tadase said suddenly. "You and Yamada-san have been saying all along that Nikaido wasn't any good, and I didn't believe you. Please forgive me."
"N-no, Tadase-kun, it's not your fault." Amu said, seeming flustered by the apology. "I don't think even I was really sure about it until now..."
"What we need is action right now, not talking!" Kukai said. "Let's keep looking for them!"
"Souma-kun, please think about it." Tadase said. "This is a big city, and it's almost dark. They could be anywhere, and searching in the dark won't be any help. Our parents are probably be wondering where we are by now."
"Yaya's parents already called." Yaya said. "They told me I need to get back soon."
Kukai looked really angry at the whole situation for a moment. But it soon passed and he went back to his normal self. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll call it a day for now. But we'll start searching again first thing in the morning!"
Tadase nodded. "Let's all meet up here by seven tomorrow morning. Earlier, if possible. We're going to do everything we can to find the Daichi, Ran, Su, and Miki."
We all agreed, and left for our houses. Tadase offered to walk Amu home, but she said that she would be fine.
* * *
I layed on my bed staring at my ceiling for most of the night. This was the best way I could think, and I really needed to think right about now.
So what am I going to do? I obviously don't want to hurt the Guardians. But wouldn't that be stupid of me? I mean, dragons aren't supposed to need friends. Then again, if I wanted to help the Guardians, it wouldn't really be for noble reasons - it would be because I like to hang out with them. What I like. That's selfishness. I wouldn't be doing it for them. I would be doing it for myself. Or am I just trying to get around the fact that I'd be doing the 'right' thing?
And what about Nikaido? Am I just going to let him push me around forever? I don't want him to boss me around, but... but whenever I'm around him, I just can't do anything about it. That is, unless Azami character-changes with me. And besides, I suppose it's only bossing me around if he's ordering me to do something that I don't want to do in the first place. So I've got to figure out if what I'll be told to do is really something I don't want to do or not. Or, rather, if I want to be a dragon more than I want to be friends with the Guardians. I already made the decision once, with Mai - so why is it so hard to choose a second time?
My mind veered drastically off course for a moment, and I found myself wondering where Ikuto was at the moment. I tried to shake the question from my mind, but as soon as it had found its way in, it wasn't planning on leaving without a fight. It messed up my entire train of thought, and I wasn't able to answer any of my questions. I figured Azami was right about having to choose at the last moment, and that I'd just have to wait until then to see what I would do. But until then, there was no way I'd be able to forget about it.
* * *
The next day, I woke up to the sound of my alarm at six in the morning. Way too early for the first Saturday of Winter break, but there was nothing I could do about it. I got up, got ready, and was out the door by six thirty - plenty of time to get to the school. Whether for good or for bad, my mood had made me go back to my normal, somewhat gothic attire. This included a short black skirt, long black socks with red stripes, and a black shirt with a couple of thin, red lines running diagonally across the front and back. It was chilly again today, but it didn't bother me much. I just grabbed a light jacket and I was perfectly fine with the cold.
About halfway through my walk from my house to the school, my phone rang. I reached into my jacket pocket for my cell, but froze as my hand closed around it. What if it was Nikaido? He had said that he'd need me to fight the Guardians. But then again, that was only if they started causing trouble for him, which shouldn't have been the case quite yet. But what if he was just going to have me fight them anyway? It would be a good way to keep them from finding him, and it would hurt me (emotionally, and perhaps physically as well), which would just add to his motivation to make the order.
After a couple of rings, I worked up the courage to look at the caller i.d. and see who was calling. I nearly laughed with relief when I saw that it was only Amu.
"Hello?" I asked, answering the phone.
"Uh, yeah, Miyuki? This is Amu." Her voice sounded troubled. Then again, of course her voice would sound troubled - all three of her charas were gone.
"What is it?" I asked, concerned.
"Well... I ran into Ikuto last night." I almost interjected, but she kept going. "He messed with me like he usually does, but.... he also seemed to suggest that I should try going to Easter to find Nikaido and my charas. And once I thought about it, it seemed like a good idea... I mean, though I guess we don't really know, it seems likely that Nikaido works for Easter. But I'm not sure... I mean, I can't tell the other Guardians about Ikuto."
"Then just don't tell them that part." I said as I started walking again. Actually, I really didn't want to have to go to Easter, but I really didn't want to give dishonest advice right now. "Just say that you figured that Nikaido works for Easter, and we can build off the idea from there."
"Are you sure?" Amu asked. She normally wasn't this hesitant about things - I had a feeling that being away from her charas was having a bad effect on her mood and her confidence.
"I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work." I said.
"Okay, I guess you're right." Amu said. "Thanks."
"No problem. Will you be at the school soon?" I asked.
"In just a few minutes - I'm still at my house, but I'm all ready to go." Amu answered. "Are you already there?"
"No. I'm about five minutes away right now. So I guess I'll see you in a little bit."
"Okay, bye."
"Bye." I hung up, and put the phone in my pocket. So now I couldn't help but wonder what Ikuto was up to. I mean, admittedly, going to Easter would be the best start to finding the missing charas. But then again, Ikuto works for Easter. What if it was a trap? Then again, that didn't seem like his style. So was he just trying to be... helpful? That seemed absurd, but then again, what did I know about Ikuto? He acted like a perverted cat all the time, it's true, but what was he really like? When I thought back to the times I'd met him, it did seem like he was trying to help, in his own way. But there were probably a hundred other explanations for why he acted the way he did.
When I arrived, Tadase, Yaya, and Kukai were already in the Royal Garden. Amu got there just a minute or so after my arrival, and Nadeshiko was there soon after that. By the time everyone made it, it was still ten minutes to seven - I guessed that everyone was anxious to start the search again.
"So where are we going to search?" Yaya asked first, starting the conversation.
"I was thinking about it last night, but I don't see any way we can find out where he lives if his records are fake." Tadase said, sounding disappointed with himself. "The only thing I could think of is if we all split up, using our charas to try and sense where Daichi and the others are."
"What if we tried looking at Easter?" Amu suggested. "If he works for them, then maybe he's there."
"That's a good idea, Amu-chan." Nadeshiko said. "But we'd probably have to be careful."
Tadase agreed. "I don't think a big corporation like Easter would just let us walk around, searching for Nikaido. And I don't know how we can get into the building secretly."
"I know!" Kukai said. "If he's already there, the charas that are with us should be able to sense the missing ones. Then, we can wait outside until he comes out, since he's got to leave eventually."
Amu spoke up, but quietly. "But what if... what if something happens to them while we're just waiting?"
Everyone looked grim at this. "Come on, Amu-chi!" Yaya said, trying to cheer her up. "We'll save them, no matter what! Nothing's gonna happen to them!"
"Yuiki-san is right." Tadase said. "We'll go with Kukai's plan, and hope for the best."
Amu looked encouraged, and everyone started getting up from the table. But there was a major flaw with this plan, and I just had to speak up. "If we're going to do this, we can't just stand out in front of Easter. A bunch of kids would kind of stand out in the business part of town, and we'd probably get the cops called on us."
"Then what do we do, Miyuki-chan?" asked Nadeshiko.
I could have hit myself for actually helping them with this - I didn't want to go anywhere near Easter - but I really had no other options. "I've been through that part of town a couple of times. There's a couple of fast food places down the street a couple blocks from the Easter building, if I remember correctly. We could all order some drinks or something and just act like we're hanging out, while a couple of the charas watch the Easter building to see if Nikaido comes or goes."
The others agreed, and we headed out. Due to distance, it took a while for us to make our way there. Nonetheless, urgency seemed to lend us wings, and we were nearing Easter in just under an hour. Yaya looked a little fatigued, but all the rest of us were too anxious to be bothered by the rapid walk. We didn't approach Easter directly, as I had suggested. Rather, we walked along the opposite side of the street and passed it, acting as if we didn't even notice the massive building.
"So, do you four sense anything?" Tadase asked the charas once we were directly across from the building.
"It's faint, but they're there, dechu~." Pepe said.
Kiseki nodded knowingly. "Ran, Miki, Su, and Daichi are definitely in there! The king knows it!"
"I can sense them, too." Azami added.
Temari nodded in agreement, not really needing to say anything.
As we kept on walking, Tadase issued the orders. "All right. Azami and Pepe, you two keep watch and come directly to us if you see Nikaido. We'll be waiting at the restaurant down the road a block or so, sitting next to a window so that we'll see you when you need to come get us."
"Roger!" Pepe said, saluting.
Azami shrugged. "Fine with me." The two charas stayed behind as we kept on walking. Though I really should have been a bit less distracted considering the circumstances, my mind did start to wonder why a fast food place was here in the business district at all. Then again, I guess even businessmen (and women) in suits have to eat. We each ordered and paid for a drink (Nadeshiko and Yaya got lemonade; the rest of us just stuck with pop), then sat down at a booth next to the window. We talked a bit just to make ourselves look less suspicious, but the conversation was empty. The only quality to it was the underlying tone of the worry that all of us had.
We were there almost two hours, slowly sipping down our drinks and eventually asking for refills. Despite the fact that we somehow managed to keep up a conversation, I could tell that the employees were a bit curious about a group of kids that came to this part of town to a fast food place, just to get a couple drinks. However, Kiseki was our first alert to something happening. Even at this distance, he had been able to detect where the kidnapped charas' were. He had been concentrating as best he could on monitoring that as our conversation progressed.
At about ten 'o clock, Kiseki nearly jumped in surprise, and Temari suddenly perked up as well. "Daichi and Amu's charas are moving away!" Kiseki shouted. All talk immediately came to a halt. A moment later, we saw Azami and Pepe outside, gesturing for us to hurry. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. The employees stared, but we didn't care. At this point, I knew the inevitable was coming, and I knew that I was going to have to make the choice which I had been postponing until now.
We hurried down the street, not quite running due to the fact that we didn't want to draw attention to ourselves. Azami and Pepe explained that, though they had never seen Nikaido, they had felt the presences of the others moving away from the building. Of course, Nikaido probably hadn't used the front entrance of the building - there had to be at least a dozen other ways to exit. As we moved, covering blocks at a time in just a couple minutes, it struck me as odd that it seemed that we were keeping up. Surely Nikaido would use his car, and if that was the case, he would be long gone by now. This fact made me uneasy, but none of the others seemed to notice. All of them were too intent on the goal.
We soon left behind the tall buildings of the business district and found ourselves in a slightly less busy part of the city. I wasn't familiar with the area, and neither were any of the other Guardians, but we kept on moving blindly forward anyway. With each step we took, that feeling in my gut that told me something wasn't right just kept growing and growing. Somehow, it seemed like we were always just far enough behind him so that the charas could sense Daichi and the others, but we couldn't see Nikaido. That helped to add to my suspicions.
I have no idea how long we walked, but I do know that we went fast and that all of us (except Kukai) were just about ready to drop by the time the situation finally changed.
"I think we're getting closer." Temari said in her quiet manner, still managing to sound very excited.
"Yeah, they're slowing down." Azami agreed. "I can feel them over there." She pointed ahead of us, into a small park. Due to the number of broken branches, cracked sidewalks, and the amount of graffiti, I guessed that it hadn't been taken care of in a while.
Oh great. I thought. Another park. Don't bad things always seem to happen to me when I'm in some park or another?
Despite my feeling of dread, everyone else seemed reinvigorated by this news and picked the speed back up. As we reached the center of the park, Amu asked, "So? Where are they?"
Pepe answered for the rest of the charas. "They're somewhere around here, but we can't find exactly where they are, dechu~."
"Maybe I can be of some assistance, Himamori-san." Said an all-too-familiar voice from behind us, causing us all to jump and turn around. There, standing just twenty or so feet away beneath the trees, was Nikaido. He gave me a quick glance that made me think he was enjoying the current situation, and yet he surprisingly didn't ask me to do anything. Yet. Still, my mind was going into overdrive - what was I going to do? And now, even when confrontation seemed inevitable, I couldn't decide.
Kukai responded almost immediately. "Nikaido! I don't know what you're trying to pull, but give us our charas back!" There was anger in his eyes, along with dogged determination.
Tadase recovered his sense as well. "We know you're not really a teacher, and that you're really an employee of Easter! Give Amu's and Kukai's charas back to us!"
"Hmm... well, I guess I have been found out." Nikaido said, using his innocent teacher voice. Then, he changed his tone - back to the true, dangerous tone that I knew must be what he really was. "Do you mean these?" He reached his left hand into his pocket and pulled out four grey eggs, each with a little X on it. From them, faint shouts of protests could be heard, but we were too far away to hear what they were saying.
"Ran! Miki! Su!" Amu shouted out, right as Kukai was saying, "Daichi!"
"Yes, I have your precious charas." Nikaido said menacingly. "I was planning on using them for a little research... an experiment, you could say. Wouldn't you just love to see one of your charas become the Embryo?" Amu looked horrified, and Kukai's expression turned grimmer.
"Give back the charas!" Tadase ordered, seeing his friends' distress.
"I thought I'd heard that you were a good student, little prince, but I guess I heard wrong." Nikaido said. "I just told you that I need these eggs - weren't you listening to the teacher?"
There was a standoff for a few moments - all of us Guardians, radiating a mix of fear and anger towards Nikaido. Us versus Nikaido, who was simply smiling as if he had accomplished something very amusing.
Suddenly, Amu ran forward, a couple of tears streaming down her face. "Give me back my charas!" She shouted, determined.
"Not so fast, Hinamori-san." Nikaido said as he grabbed one of the eggs with his other hand and held it between his thumb and forefinger, as if to drop it. (I noted that he had actually used Amu's real surname for once, which perhaps shocked me more than the threat in his voice) Amu, seeing possible danger for the eggs, stopped just about half way between Nikaido and the rest of us.
Once Hinamori stopped, Nikaido continued. "Who knows what might happen to the poor little charas if one of their eggs were to fall? Or, if some sort of struggle were to occur, and their eggs got crushed in the process?" At this, he changed his grip so that the egg was gripped tightly in his fist. No one - except probably Nikaido - could tell who was in the egg, since all of them looked identical. Amu looked torn - she wanted to rush forward and grab the eggs, but knew that doing so could end badly for one or all of them.
Nikaido, seeing her dilemma, looked victorious for a moment. Then, his demeanor changed again, back to the teacher attitude that bothered me so much. "I see how much you miss these innocent little charas, and I suppose I don't need all of them for my experiment. I suppose you can have one back, Himamori-san." He loosened his grip on the one that he had been making threats with, and seemed to admire it for a second. Then, he threw the egg high into the air with an underhand throw. It soared above Amu's head and arched so that it appeared it would smash to the ground somewhere in between us and Amu. Amu turned around and started moving forward to catch it, but Kukai intervened.
"I've got it!" he shouted, positioning himself so that he was right under where the egg was going to fall. He expertly caught it, but almost as soon as it touched his hands, three loud bangs cut through the air, and we suddenly found ourselves in a sea of smoke.
So it was a diversion. I thought as I coughed, staggering and trying to get out of the smoke. My eyes burned, and I was forced to shut them. Not like I could have seen my hand in front of my face, anyway.
"Chara-change!" I heard Azami say right next to me, and (as always) my eyes, necklace, and nails changed to their chara-changed form. Surprisingly, I stopped coughing. I even opened my eyes and, to my surprise, not only did it no longer burn, but I could actually see through the smoke. Admittedly, everything was a tad bit hazier than my normal vision, but I could still see everything I needed to see: Tadase, Yaya and the others staggering and coughing as I had been doing a moment before; the other free charas, floating above the smoke and looking for their respective humans; and, most surprisingly, Nikaido whispering something into Amu's ear before quickly making his getaway. I didn't remember ever having this ability before, but then again, I had never actually needed to see through smoke before now.
The smoke cleared quickly after that last event, leaving everyone stunned and out of breath. (I had let the chara-change fade as soon as the choking haze had mostly dissipated) Kukai was the first to do anything - he turned his attention to the egg in his hands, with the unknown chara inside. He ripped off the 'X' sticker, and as soon as it was off, out popped Daichi.
"Kukai!" he said happily.
"Daichi!" Kukai said back, smiling. Amu looked happy to see the reunion, but it was bittersweet - the fact remained that her charas were still missing.
Kukai noticed her mood, and cut his rejoicing short. "Where did that creep get to now?" He asked angrily. "We'll get back Ran, Miki, and Su, and then I'm going to teach that so-called teacher some manners!"
We all looked around, but we saw no clue as to where Nikaido might have headed off to. "Can you sense anything, Temari?" asked Nadeshiko.
Temari shook her head sadly. None of the other charas argued - wherever Ran, Miki, and Su had been taken, they were already far enough away that they couldn't be sensed.
"Well, what are we going to do?" asked Yaya, trying to break the disappointment.
"We'll keep on searching." Tadase said, determined. "He can't have gotten too far."
"No, you guys, it's okay." Amu said, surprising us all.
"What are you talking about, Amu?" asked Kukai. "We're not going to stop until we get your charas back!"
"It's just that... we've already been out all day, waiting and looking for them. And Nikaido could have gone anywhere. Let's just go home for now. I guess we can keep looking in the morning." Perhaps even more surprising than what she was saying was how she was saying it. She didn't sound completely hopeless, like she didn't expect to ever find her charas. On the contrary, she seemed almost preoccupied by something else. But what could be so important that she didn't want to keep searching for her charas? It was only mid afternoon, and there was plenty of time left in the day to keep looking.
"Amu-chan, I agree with Kukai - we can't just give up." Nadeshiko said. "We won't let Nikaido get away."
"No, really." Amu insisted. "We're probably all tired. We should all just get some rest and keep searching later. Maybe we'll think of something if we take a break for a while." And yet, her tone of voice didn't exactly agree. While she sounded sad, she didn't seem all that tired. Nor did she seem like she really believed what she was saying. It seemed to me like she just wanted to get away from us for some reason or another.
Nonetheless, if she was going to insist, we couldn't really argue. We were talking about her charas, after all. "If that's how you really feel, Hinamori-san, we'll meet again tomorrow morning at the same time in the Royal Garden." Tadase said, looking concerned.
Amu tried to smile in thanks, but it was sad and lacked any emphasis. We managed to figure out where we were, and we walked most of the way back together. But none of us talked. We were all lost in our thoughts. Even the charas were quiet. Eventually, after a long walk back, we went our separate ways.
* * *
Tonight was another one of those nights where I just sat on my bed and thought. I was still angry at Azami, but as always, I couldn't really argue with her. Perhaps to anyone else, the points she made wouldn't have made much sense, but to me there was no way I could really counter them convincingly. At least as far as logic and my personal desires went, I agreed with everything Azami had said. There was just that little problem of friendship. I didn't know what I was going to do. I thought long and hard about it, but no matter how convinced I would be one way, a new argument would pop into my head that completely destroyed my certainty.
Then my cell phone rang, breaking what little train of thought I had. I looked at the number that was calling, but I didn't recognize it. I hoped that it might just be someone calling the wrong number, but I knew that wasn't likely. I mentally braced myself, then answered the phone.
"Hello?" I asked cautiously. Azami hovered nearby, curious as to who it was.
"Mizuki-san, I'm glad I caught you before you went to bed." Of course, it would have to be Nikaido. As if I wasn't troubled enough already, here he was calling to torment me even more. I nearly dropped the phone, and I didn't reply. I wished he would use his real voice, if only just this once.
After a short pause in which he must have realized I wasn't planning on saying anything, he continued on. "Well, Mizuki-san, I've invited Amu to come to my personal lab to observe my little egg-speriment." I really wasn't in the mood for jokes, and the pun wasn't helping. "While I'm sure that she can do nothing while her wonderful little charas are in my possession, I'd like you there just in case. I told her to come alone, and she's too afraid for her charas to bring any of the rest of your little group of Guardian friends along."
I was planning on just keeping silent, but then a thought occurred to me that I couldn't ignore. "Do Amu's charas know that I'm working for Easter yet? Are they listening to the conversation?" I was nearly panicked - on one hand, if they already knew, then my decision had been made for me: if my betrayal wasn't a secret any more, then I wouldn't feel so inclined to keep hiding it. On the other hand, I felt like I needed to make this decision myself - what if I really didn't want to work for Easter anymore?
"No, no, Mizuki-san. I thought that Amu's charas should share her surprise tomorrow morning. They're in another room at the moment. Anyway, I'm expecting Amu at exactly ten in the morning. I'll expect you there a little bit before then. I suppose you don't even know where to come, do you, Mizuki-san? It's the large building over on the outskirts of the east side of town. It used to be a dorm for Easter. Do you know where I'm talking about?"
Yes, I knew. It'd been abandoned for years, and it was one of those buildings that everyone knew about but no one wanted to go near. The entire neighborhood around it was deserted.
"Mizuki-san, I asked if you know the place." Nikaido said, sounding slightly impatient.
"Y-yes." I answered.
"Ah, good. Well, I'll see you there tomorrow, Mizuki-san! I must make some last minute preparations now, so I hope you'll excuse me for not chatting longer." And with that, he hung up. I hated that overly-polite way of talking. It was almost worse over the phone than it was when I talked with him in person. Almost.
And now I understood what Nikaido had said to Amu when he had thrown the smoke bombs. And now I knew why Amu had insisted on going home early - if she had brought the Guardians with her or if she had gone to get them early, Nikaido might have done something to her charas. But now, my choice loomed in front of me, greater than ever.
I could do the right thing, and help Amu rescue her charas.
Or I could betray her, just like I betrayed Mai.
Well, since I didn't get a chapter out last week, I'm posting this one a day early. As far as updating goes, I've got two more busy weeks before school is finally out for me. Due to the amount of work, activities, and studying, there is a chance I won't be able to get out a chapter next weekend. I'll post a temporary update if that were to happen, though, and hopefully it won't.
Also, I've updated my personal profile. It's got a lot of general information about the story, as well as some fun facts about how I came up with the idea and such. I suggest you check it out if you're interested enough in my story to be far enough that you're reading this. I'll update it whenever something I want to put on there pops into my head, so if you like it, you might want to look back in on it every now and then.
And, as you've probably noticed, I have changed the title to "A Possibility of Evil: Book 1"! Know that this is not set in stone, and if I were to get a lot of poll votes for a different way, I might change it. And if you're curious, I will now reveal that there are exactly two more chapters before Book 1 is finished and I move on to book 2. Thanks to everyone who has kept up with it this far!