Sky: Gomenasai! I've been so caught up with trying to update my other two stories (not that I'm updating those any frequently…er, either :D) that I completely forgot about this one. I had this completely finished, too. Hehehe. Forgive me? Enjoy! Wait. Disclaimer first.

Amu: [looks over at Sky] What? Me?

Sky: [rolls her eyes] No, Ikuto's magically going to agree with me and do the disclaimer.

Ikuto: [pops out of nowhere] I will if you give me some of that fish.

Sky: I believe Amu would be better. [looks expectantly at Amu]

Amu: [sighs] Fine. CrystalBookworm does not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. Now... [glances slyly at Ikuto]

Ikuto: [innocently] WHAT?

Sky & Amu: [roll their eyes]

Chapter Three

"Please, Amu-chi?" Yaya begged. "I know you're the Joker and everything, but there's a lot of work to do and only so many Guardians."

"Why are you even doing this?" Amu questioned. "You're only in ninth grade; your dance isn't the same day as ours."

"Yeah, but Guardians have to help with all of the school dances, no matter what grade they're for," Yaya sighed.

"It's quite said, actually-desu," Pepe, Yaya's Guardian Character, said. Pepe represents Yaya's wish to stay the baby of the family. "I wanted to go home and take a nap-desu."

"Please, Amu-chan?" Rima – who was Queen's Chair of the freshman level – pleaded. "If you just stay and keep us company, I'll be satisfied." Rima – unlike Yaya – was grownup for her age.

"I won't!" Yaya piped up. "Amu-chi has to actually help or we'll never finish!"

"I doubt one person helping to finish decorating a giant gym would make much of a difference," Kairi – King's Chair of the freshman level and a straight-A student – pointed out.

"I wonder why Utau-chan and Ikuto-kun aren't here yet," Kukai – who was Jack's Chair of the junior level and a master at sports – mused to himself.

"More importantly; why isn't Saaya here?" Amu asked.

"That bitch?" Nadeshiko said. Amu was startled by her friend's choice of words; usually, Nade was the only person in their group who didn't swear. "You should be glad she's not here."

"She's at some cheerleading practice or something," Kukai informed the Guardians.

Rima raised a suspicious eyebrow. "When did you start being so up-to-date with Saaya?"

"Since she started cornering me during the breaks between classes and spilling out everything about herself," Kukai replied.

"Wow," Nagihiko observed. "You must have it hard."

"You think? Especially since I don't like her at all."

"Then who do you like?" Yaya questioned.

"No one," Kukai mumbled. Although everyone could tell that he was lying from his red face.

"Kuuuuuukaiiiiiiii," Yaya begged.

"I'm not telling," Kukai said firmly.

"We're here!" a voice called. Utau was holding Ikuto's hand as she forcibly dragged her sullen brother over to the rest of the Guardians.

"Gomenasai," Utau apologized, panting for breath. Kukai looked at her worriedly. Amu raised an eyebrow at that; Kukai wasn't one to worry about anyone besides himself. "My dear oniichan here was refusing to come." She jerked a thumb at Ikuto, who was leaning against the wall – hands in his pockets.

"I'm not even going to the dance," Ikuto said, "So why should I help decorate for it?"

Amu couldn't help but let her heart fall. "You're…not?"

Ikuto turned his head so that his midnight blue eyes were staring deep into her golden ones. "No. It's a stupid dress-up game. Isn't that would you said?"

Amu blushed and crossed her arms defiantly. "Yeah."

"So you're not going, right?"

"I changed my mind."

"You did?" Ikuto asked, surprised.

"I can do that, you know."

Ikuto mouthed "Did you know?" to Kukai, who was his best friend.

"Yeah. But why do you care, anyways? It's not like you're going or anything, anyways."

"Let's just start decorating," Ikuto ordered, abruptly changing the subject. Amu narrowed her eyes at that.

"Hey! That's my job to order people around!" Kiseki, Tadase's Guardian character, said. At the same time, Amu mumbled, "We already have."

Kiseki muttered something about "Stupid commoners. Always being rude to their rightful king."

The Guardians then went to work. There were streamers to put up, signs to hang, balloons to blow up, and things to decorate. Everyone was rushing around, trying to complete everything, including the volunteers (and there were quite a lot – considering the fact that the Guardians are the most popular people in the school).

"Hal-lo-ween, Hal-lo-ween," Yaya sang cheerfully as she carried the pile of blown-up balloons from Utau to where Kukai was on a ladder and hanging them up across the gym. "I love Hal-lo-ween…..Amu-chi!"

Amu looked up from where she was sitting and reading one of her favorite manga. "Nani?"

"Why aren't you helping?" Yaya demanded.

"'Cause I don't have to," Amu said simply, returning her attention back to the book.

"Then volunteer, at least! You should help your friends."

"Don't feel like it. I'm still tired 'cause of the mile-run during gym today."

"Amu-chi….!" Yaya whined.

"Yaya, stop complaining and get back tow work," Tadase instructed kindly, stacking the fliers that'll announced the date and times of the dances.

"The less you complain, the more we get done, and the quicker you can get home to eat sweets," Nadeshiko pointed out. She was ordering her brother and Kairi about on adjusting the banner that was supposed to be hung across the middle of the gym.

"Besides," Amu added. "Too much black and orange makes me dizzy."

"So what are you going to do at the dance?" Being all half-cat and everything, Ikuto was the perfect person to climb above to install the lights. He was currently following Rima's instructions on how to.

"There's gonna be other colors," Amu reminded him, "Since it's gonna be dark and everything."

"I think we finally got the multi-colored lights to work!" Yaya announced loudly.

"See?" Amu said. Ikuto had returned his attention to trying not to fall splat like a pancake from thirty feet above.

"You weren't even working on them, Yuiki-san," Rima exclaimed.

"So?" Yaya countered.

Amu smiled as she picked up her book again.

Oh the joys of being a Guardian.

Sky: R&R or no Ikuto in the next chapter. [grins evilly]

Ikuto: Hey! You're supposed to torture them, not me!

Sky: [shrugs] I don't like you either, so it doesn't really matter.

Ikuto: [angry face] What did you say?

Sky: I said that if they don't R&R, then Ikuto will get seriously injured in the next chapter. [runs of]

Ikuto: I was just joking, you know. [goes to buy a smoothie]