Cross Ice

by Crimrose-A-Bee

Snow Hisayuki moves to the mysterious "Lost City" of Akutetsu in search of closure for a damaging past she could never truly overcome. When she becomes faced with pure magic, friendships she feels she doesn't deserve, and the burden of her first love, she realizes just how much of her life she lost to despair. However, she soon realizes that she holds a deadly mystery of her own...

8. Chapter VII-Broken In The Moonlight

SORRY FOR THE LATE AND EXTREMELY LONG CHAPTER OMG. I also faced a bit of a technical difficulty because I uh spilled spaghetti all over my computer keyboard. My bad.

Anyway, even though it's so long it made me cry, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

~Crimrose

Chapter VII

Broken in the Moonlight

In life, everyone always has some sort of expectations for something that don't necessarily come true when the real situation happens. I was experiencing one of those moments as I stood in front of the towering building of Vesania Asylum. The media had lied to me again, since I was expecting (and maybe hoping) for it to be one of those decrepit buildings with dying ivy strangling the last breath of life out of it, with bars on the windows, graffiti, the works. But my hopes were crushed upon seeing the real thing. It was a modernized building that was a painfully plain rectangle, with no balconies or very long windows. The exterior was just white brick, and it was only a few stories tall. It was completely sterile with absolutely no character. And somehow that made it more intimidating than the image I had in my mind before.

When I was actually faced with the personification of my biggest fears, my reaction was to be expected; no matter how much I wanted to move, to take a step forward, reach that blank white door, and walk in to see my mother, I couldn't even twitch. I just stared blankly up at the structure like a deer in headlights, my scarf blowing around me in the wind. Lilith and Vivian were resting on both my shoulders, and casting worried glances to the side of my face. I had to say something to them. To tell them not to worry somehow.

"Um," I ended up saying, forcing a hopeful smile on my face. "Maybe it's closed today?"

They both slapped me in the face simultaneously. Granted, it didn't hurt, but I still got the message; I was being ridiculous. But to me, simply walking in this building and seeing my mom- the woman who so graciously birthed me- was like confronting that big, bad monster you knew was hiding in your closet and haunting you while you slept. My mother was my Man with Fire on His Face. Except, you know, she wasn't trying to possess my body. At least I didn't think she was.

After taking a huge, shuddering breath, I did move; only it was backwards. Lilith and Vivian seemed to sag in disappointment, and I hated doing this to them since they could feel how insecure I was right now, but I couldn't see her. At least not today. What's the worst that could happen? Well, she could try to hurt me again. She could reject me and not even listen to what I had to say. And- this was the worst of all to me- she could look at me with pure hatred in her eyes, since she had always been the type of person whose face always betrayed their emotions. I would know that she really hated me if she looked like it, and being hated by your own mother is… well, it's kind of upsetting.

"I'm sorry, guys," I said to my Charas. I pursed my lips in deep thought, trying to think of how to put the way I was feeling into words, but I didn't need to.

"We get it, Snow," Lilith grinned, though it didn't look like she was really into it. "We know how hard this is for you. You can take your time."

"You did just move here a week ago, as well," Vivian added helpfully. "You're still settling in. Not to mention that you're still a bit shaken from the meeting with the Guardians we just came from."

I smiled at the both of them, happy to have someone here with me, even if they were only the size of my forefinger and came from eggs. However, Vivian didn't return the sentiment. As a matter of fact, she looked quite serious, and her next words were said with a low, cryptic voice.

"You don't have to confront anyone right now," she said slowly, her expression impassive. "But whether you like it or not, someday things will have to change. Just remember that you can't keep walking away forever."

Blood was rushing through my ears along with the rapid beat of my heart. I could barely hear my own voice as I whispered, "I know."

I would've liked to be all cool while leaving the asylum premises, but I ended up breaking into a run and scurrying along the sidewalk like a cat scraping against a wooden floor. The whole walk home, my mind was elsewhere, my gaze trained on everything in front of me but not really seeing. I was barely even able to respond even able to respond to the cashier at the convenience store when I bought beef jerky.

Munching as I walked, I swore I heard someone call my name. But being so out of it, and not entirely sure, I didn't look up to check. I just kept striding along the milling crowd, hands shoved in my pockets while just using my teeth to hold and chew the jerky, but felt a stare crawl up the back of my neck and linger until I crossed the street. It didn't seem at all malevolent or baleful; if anything, it seemed like a combination of sadness and curiosity. Nonetheless, I continued to ignore it, and arrived home feeling much more exhausted than I should have.

I'm such a coward, I thought to myself, and heaved an outward sigh. I was greeted with a too-warm blast of air as the glass doors slid open, and I started to unwrap my scarf from my neck and slung it over my shoulder. Even though I wasn't expecting anything, I checked my mailbox just in case Mary had sent me a letter for God knows what reason, or if it was a notice for my internet getting hooked up soon. It was quite the surprise when I unlocked the metallic little box with my small key, and saw a small present inside that looked like it could sit in my palm. It was covered in extremely pretty wrapping, a silver base with glittered snowflakes scattered in different patterns. The ribbon was a metallic, light blue, and was tied into a cute little bow. There was no sender, but something about it made it more obscure than its very presence; it was addressed to "Snowrenrie Camellia Hisayuki". And I had never told anyone my full name in my life, let alone anyone from this city.

Even though I knew it was pointless, I still threw a surreptitious glance around the lobby to see if the sender was still hanging around. Besides an old lady with a wiry perm just chilling on an upholstered bench in the sitting room, I was alone.

"Who do you think it's from?" I asked my Charas in a whisper, and they shrugged in unison. But I didn't miss the look they exchanged, like they really did know but didn't feel compelled to tell me.

"I wish I knew," I sighed. "I feel uncomfortable just taking it. Plus it's awfully… cryptic, considering they used my full name."

"Maybe that just means they're close to you," Lilith suggested, and she was roughly shoved off of my shoulder by her dark-haired sister. As they got into a small, mice-sized tussle on the floor, I gazed at the gift for a moment, shrugged to myself, and delicately set it in my purse for further investigation.

Despite that, it sat unopened on my desk for the entire night as I cooked, cleaned, and set up all my new room décor. Everything seemed much more homey when I was done, and less spacious, which was nice in my opinion. It didn't seem as lonely. The gift's existence literally seemed to fade from my mind as I watched Say Yes to the Dress and ate lasagna with Vivian and Lilith, their plates the kind you'd use for Barbie dolls.

"I can't see myself getting married," I said suddenly, gulping down a large bite of lasagna. It was the best I had made yet, and I was proud and ecstatic for myself that I was devouring it without much consideration.

"Well, neither can we," said my small crimson-haired counterpart. "I don't think we'll live to meet many other Charas like us. But think of it this way-" Lilith paused to wave her surreally small fork in the air indignantly "-no matter who or where you are, the person you're meant to be with is on this earth somewhere right now, breathing, living, and maybe they're thinking the same thing as you are."

I paused in chewing for a moment and mulled over that. It was a painfully esoteric thought to try and comprehend, and it filled me with a very sudden warmth and endearment. Lilith must've been right. Someday, I may get married and even have kids. But considering I was eighteen and hadn't dated anyone, ever, I couldn't see that happening any time soon. Actually, I couldn't really see much of my future at all, and that was another esoteric subject to consider.

Just as I was rolling the idea around in my mind like a hard candy, I was completely startled by a sudden knocking coming from my room, and almost shattered my plate all over the floor. The girls nearly had the same reaction, and Lilith got hers all over herself. She was screaming in frustration as I bolted down the small hallway and burst in my room, only to see a figure looming on my balcony, a malevolent phantom lingering just as the stars were coming out and casting shadows.

When I started to shriek, a hissing voice penetrated through the door: "Shh, it's me, you idiot."

I narrowed my eyes and clamped my lips shut into a tight line. Wait a minute. I knew that voice. And it had no business being on my balcony at nine o'clock at night.

As my Charas continued screaming in the living room like maniacs, I flashed into my room, snapped on the light, and tore open the balcony door. Sure enough, Ikuto stood there like he did this every day, hands in his hoodie pockets with a single white plastic bag hanging from one of his wrists and swinging against his dark jean leg. His expression was completely neutral, contrary to my glare that looked ready to kill.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, using flailing gestures to express the balcony. "How did you even get up here?"

"Nice to see you, too," he said, quirking an eyebrow. "And I'm a cat, remember?"

"Wha- no, you're not really-"

"That isn't important right now," he said, and made a dismissive wave with his hand. Then he looked me up and down, almost like an appraisal. "Nice to see that you dressed for company."

Surely he was being sarcastic, with my appearance of baggy gray track pants and a white tank top that all too easily showed my black bra underneath. I coughed and awkwardly crossed my arms over my chest, trying to be indiscreet. "Well, you know, a random guy appearing on my balcony isn't an everyday thing."

"I'm sure it's not." I was about ready to smack him right off when he asked, "Can I come in?"

I glared at him. "You most certainly may not. I don't even know what you're doing here."

Exasperated midnight blue eyes were looking up at me from those black crescent lashes, and even I could see how completely attractive he looked right then. His white undershirt was clinging to his chest like a second skin, and I had to nervously drag a hand down my face to stop staring at how well toned he was. I shook with the effort.

"Fine, be that way," he shrugged, then turned around to throw one leg over the cement blockade to prevent anyone from falling over.

I dropped my arms and rushed over to grab his, panic stricken look on my face. "What do you think you're doing, stupid?!"

He gave me a look and proceeded to swing the other leg over, then simply sat on the thick cement block. "Just sitting, spaz," he said, his expression bemused.

Oh. Now I was embarrassed. I averted my gaze as heat rose to my face, and my hands felt like they were burning suddenly. Looking down to see what was up, I noticed that they were still clinging to Ikuto's thin arms like they were a lifeline. It took me a second to narrow my eyes and wonder what the hell I was doing. To gauge his reaction, I looked up again to see him staring right at me, and even though his eyes were such a cool colour, the look he was giving me seemed to have a sort of simmer to it.

Immediately, I ripped my hands away and crossed my arms again. "What are you doing here?" I asked again, and my Charas floated out to see what was happening. Ikuto's Character emerged from underneath his long, dark hair, and they had a stare-off as the moment of silence stretched on. And then they were out of sight, doing something I didn't even want to know about.

Ikuto lifted his face slightly to glare at the clear sky, the moon shining like a beaming glass ball in the dark sky. It illuminated his profile in a mysterious way, and I found myself suddenly striding towards him and looking at him expectantly. He looked thoughtful yet sullen as he handed the white plastic bag over to me, and kept it dangling in his hand until I tentatively reached out and took it. He was my enemy now, so I didn't really trust what could be inside. Like, maybe it was a smoke bomb or something so he could confuse me and snatch my third egg.

But when I carefully peeked inside, all I saw was a carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a couple of plastic spoons.

It was impossible to contain the creepily wide grin that spread on my face in excitement and anticipation. "Why?" I demanded as I dug it out of the bag and tore it open.

He shrugged while managing to maintain his balance sitting precariously on the single beam keeping him in place. "I saw you earlier today, and you looked kind of… cranky. It was annoying to see you like that when you're usually always stupidly giggly or angry, so I wanted to fix that."

So it was him who called out to me earlier today, when I was walking home. Who knew. I cast him a weary look as I pulled out two spoons. "How did you know that I loved mint chocolate chip?"

"The first time I attacked you and the Guardians, I was on the roof of the gazebo waiting to strike when I heard them start spouting out random facts about you." He shrugged noncommittally again. "I thought I should keep it in mind."

I handed him a spoon and placed the carton between us. He turned carefully and started digging in, just like me. "Okay, that's not creepy at all." He just grinned around a mouthful of ice cream. "But why? We're enemies now, so you shouldn't be bothering with this at all."

He stopped eating for a moment to cast me another smoldering gaze, and this time I was able to hold it for a decent amount of time with one of my own. "Even though you're my enemy," he murmured slowly, and only then did I realize how close we were. His breath, unusually hot and smelling of mint, brushed my bangs from my eyes and revealed their bizarre colour. "I know that you're not a bad person."

My mouth opened slightly in surprise, but I let it pass. No one had ever really called me a good person before, and I wasn't going to begin to question it. I merely scooped up another spoonful of ice cream and popped it in my mouth. I breathed deep through my nose as I turned my own head up to look at the sky. "I don't think you're a bad person either, you know."

He snorted. "Then you're a horrible judge of character."

"I'm pretty good actually," I said with a slight grin. "A bad person wouldn't bring a girl ice cream just to cheer her up… unless it was actually poisoned or something."

"It is, you know," he said after a few beats of silence. I stopped dead when I was about to take another bite and looked down at it in horror. "I'm kidding," he snickered, his grin revealing straight, white teeth that completely entranced me as they shone in the moonlight. Dear Lord, he's perfect.

"My point is that," I continued, cautiously taking the bite with narrowed eyes. "You should really stop trying to make yourself out to be the bad guy. I've been that person before, and I know that it doesn't exactly bring happiness to anyone."

When all he did was stare at me with an unreadable look in his eyes, I shrugged and gave him an impish grin. "It's not worth the effort. Thanks for the ice cream, by the way. You really didn't have to do that. I'll reimburse you, if you want."

He turned his head completely away from me and stared at the opposite wall, then grumbled, "No, it's free this time."

This time? I smiled to myself as I realized that his words meant he was planning on sticking around, and not being fickle and just completely abandoning the little friendship we were managing to build, like the cat I was beginning to believe he was. It was completely incomprehensible as to why I wanted him to stay; he was a perverted guy, and not to mention that he had the capabilities to be a complete jerk. He was also my official enemy. But I somehow couldn't picture him like that, despite all the warnings from the Guardians. He was unlike any guy I had met before, and I felt an inexplicable pull towards him. Must be hormones.

"I have a question," I said suddenly, my arms folded over the barrier with the ice cream carton sitting in the small nest they created.

Ikuto dug his spoon in again and pulled out a large bite. His mouth opened quite wide to accommodate it. Ugh, my mind is getting away from me. "Shoot."

"Why are you after the Embryo?" I asked, and he paused as he was about to take another bite. "What could you want to wish for?"

He dropped his spoon in the carton, hoisted up one leg on the barrier to hug in his arms, and let his cheek rest on his knee. His expression was completely smug and diverted. "Oh, so you want to know more about me?" He asked with peaked eyebrows.

I dropped my own spoon as my face was overcome with fire. "I did not say that. I'm just, uh… trying to figure out the motives of my enemy?" It sounded like a question. Damn.

"I see," he drawled, then he seemed to ponder over his answer for a bit. His face lit up like he knew what to do, and he hopped on to my side of the barrier to stand beside me. "Okay, I'll tell you, and only you."

I quirked an eyebrow. "I'm honored."

"As you should be." I decided he was deliberately throwing off my sarcasm. "Come closer." I backed away with a wary glare. "Seriously. I don't want anyone else to know."

As if to confirm what I already knew, I threw a glance around the surrounding area, and only saw bright city lights and the seemingly ethereal sky. "We're alone here, so why would the whisper be necessary?"

My question was met with a challenging little half smirk that made my organs fail and melt into a puddle. "What if you've got some eavesdropping neighbours? What would they think, Snow?"

"Lee?" I accidentally said out loud. I tilted one side of my mouth down sardonically. "He doesn't seem like the type to eavesdrop."

Ikuto seemed like he wanted to delve into a conversation about my young and admittedly attractive neighbour, but he managed to stay on topic. "Just come here if you really want to know, or I'm leaving without you having extorted information from me."

"Fine, fine," I muttered as I edged closer to him, instead of further away, like I wanted to. We became so close that our chests were nearly touching, and I could feel his body heat radiating off of him and right into my face with our proximity. I could even hear his heartbeat, or maybe it was just mine drowning out everything else around me. In short, I was basically dying where I stood, and the culprit was not making things better by leaning down so that our heads were right next to each other and his breath was right on my neck. I should just throw myself off the balcony. That would solve a lot of problems.

For some reason, he wasn't moving from his position, practically nestled in the crook between my shoulder and neck. I just kept waiting for him to say what he wanted the Embryo for so I could get some personal space and air back into my lungs. But no, of course that wasn't his intention at all. I should have expected what he did, but I didn't, and was in turn completely surprised when I felt a small, painful, and warm tug on my neck and realized that he was freaking biting me and I was done.

Ikuto seemed to find it completely hilarious as I screamed and tore myself away from him, from the way he was busting a gut while leaning against the wall separating my apartment from Lee's. I was blushing so much sweat was actually beading on the back of my neck, and my heart was bursting like a firework. The spot on my neck where he bit throbbed as if I had been electrocuted there, and in the back of my mind I realized that the ice cream had somehow been flung off the balcony in the fray and now someone was yelling from the ground.

To make things worse, I finally noticed what the Charas were up to. Ikuto's Chara was strategically wrapped in yarn and yowling as Vivian simply and eloquently sat on him, and Lilith somehow just ended up unconscious on the floor. There was too much going on for my mind to truly register, and my neck stung. But so did my pride and heart, because Ikuto had me completely enveloped in his pace and I was gradually losing my very mind around him.

Still snickering, he swung his leg over the balcony for the third time that night, but this time it was actually to leave. His Chara struggled out from underneath Vivian and floated over to him to burrow in his hood, a thread of bright pink yarn still dangling out of it. I glared daggers at his crouching figure that hesitated before escaping the scene.

"Snow, in all seriousness," he began, turning back to look at me. Considering all that had just spiralled out of control, he looked oddly sober and almost grave. "I don't want to be your enemy. So don't make me have to be."

After he said that, I managed to straighten my posture from protectively curling in on myself and returned his gaze just as fiercely, but the effect was kind of lost since I still held a hand to my neck. "I don't, either," I hissed. "I never wanted to be. But you're making it kind of hard by pulling stunts like this." I used my occupied hand to indicate his little "gift".

The serious atmosphere was shattered by his cat-like grin. "Sorry. I couldn't resist." And then he leapt off the balcony in a flash of darkness. I bolted to the barricade to maybe freak out on him if he was still falling for jumping off a twelfth floor balcony, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Stupid cat, I thought to myself as Lilith woke up screaming and Vivian laughed at her. I didn't forget that I never got an answer to my question, and I also didn't let the very sweet gesture of him buying ice cream for me to cheer me up fade from my mind.

… Couldn't resist what? Sexually harassing me? Man. He had me wrapped around his finger so easily, and I hated that feeling of helplessness. And yet I was willing to remain that way if it meant that I could learn more about him and become closer to him.

Yup. I must be becoming a masochist.

}{

"You look like hell."

"Nice to see you, too," I muttered back to my pigtailed junior as I entered the Royal Garden at lunch the next day. My feet were dragging sluggishly up the cobblestone path and bridge, matching my dark-ringed eyes in appearance in terms of tiredness. Thanks to a certain cat-boy last night, sleep was a luxury that was not meant to be mine, and the majority of my night was spent lying in bed, wide-awake, as my neck continued to throb in a warm sort of way even after the pain had subsided. All kinds of thoughts had been skittering through my mind, the most prominent occurring as soon as the sun rose and filtered through my curtains: He's actually a really nice guy, going to all that trouble and spending his own money to cheer me up.

When I collapsed in my chair next to Tadase-kun, he greeted me with an anxious expression that meant he was actually worried for me. Well, no one can be as nice as Tadase, I thought as he asked, "Are you alright? You're not having problems adjusting to the Guardians or living alone? Because if you are, I'd be happy to help." The look on his face was actually bright and hopeful, confirming what I already thought about him; he actually enjoyed helping others even if he gained nothing from it.

Shucks, his concern was making me embarrassed. I was reduced to blushing and stuttering when his eyes searched mine for any indication of discomfort. They were too honest and innocent for me to look away from, and I thought I was just outright staring at him when I said, "No, it's nothing. I'm fine; thanks for asking though."

He broke out of his concerned expression by smiling warmly and patting my hand… which ended up making things worse, since it made my entire body get all warm and electrified. My entire face was red by the time he withdrew his hand.

"Hisayuki?" Kukai-kun asked beside me, a sly edge to his voice.

"U-um, yeah?"

"Is that a hickey that you have on your neck?"

Making myself seem even more guilty than I was already accused of, my hand flew up to cover my neck. Both Kukai-kun and Yaya-san broke into a chorus of suggestive 'oohs', and I floundered around to come up with a good explanation. "It's a bug bite!" I screeched, sounding too defensive altogether. "A spider must've bitten me while I slept!"

"Suuure," the red-head snickered, scooching closer to me and nudging my arm. "You haven't even been here for very long, and look what you've got going for yourself already. You're such a little vixen."

"Enough about the spider that was trying to make love to me!" I snapped, then started looking for something to draw the conversation away from me and that damned mark Ikuto had so kindly left on my neck. I noticed five rectangular strips of paper that looked to be lenticular resting on the table in front of Yaya-san. "What are those?"

Success. Her expression brightened to the extent of a roaring fire, then she held them up and began fanning herself with them. "Oh, these?" She asked nonchalantly, but she was obviously very proud of herself. "Nothing too special."

"Alright then." I turned my head away from her.

"NO NO NO WAIT!" She cawed as she slapped me across the face with them, leaving me dumbfounded into silence. "There are very important, and I deserve to be praised! LOOK AT ME!"

"I'm looking," I hissed, snatching them out of her hands. After a quick scan of the lenticular art showing butterflies taking flight, my eyes flicked to the bottom of the slip to see that in big, bold, and modernized letters, was the logo for Easter.

"Oh," I said. "Well."

"Yeah," Kukai-kun nodded, a smirk twitching its way into existence. "We're going to a concert on Wednesday night that's sponsored by Easter. For investigation purposes, like seeing if they're up to anything fishy to try and get the Embryo by giving us the slip."

"And the main act is Utau Hoshina!" Yaya-san added in her squeakiest, girliest voice. "That made them super hard to get, but I did it!"

Utau Hoshina? I squinted, trying to think of where I'd heard the name before. "Who's that?"

Upon my asking that, saying that the people around me looked surprised would've been an understatement. There were completely blown away; even Tadase-kun. "You've been living here for a week and you don't know?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Should I?"

"Well, she is the most famous pop idol around here," Nadeshiko-san said gently, saving me from further mortification. "And she has been for a year or two. Everyone around here knows her name, and it's also common knowledge that she- along with other famous bands, actors, and even talk-show hosts- are all sponsored by Easter in some way. So this company is actually a major corporation that manipulates the strings behind this city, and even the types of entertainment people view in their home."

"Yeesh," was all I could say, stunned and frustrated with the new sea of information that began to roil in my mind, a storm brewing right in the midst of it.

"Not to worry, though," she continued, unbeknownst to my inner turmoil. "What would they really do to kids like us? And besides, most of the employees there are middle-aged adults who can't even see Shugo Chara or the eggs. We do have some advantages."

That didn't stop me from feeling as insecure as I did. A frown seemed to be permanently stuck on my face as I pushed the tickets back to Yaya-san, picked up one of Nadeshiko-san's homemade cookies, and chewed thoughtfully.

I didn't want to globalize Easter and its employees as enemies without knowing anything about them. A dark fog shrouded the mega-corporation from naïve eyes, misting their true intentions and motives from oblivious people such as the Guardians and myself. No, I wouldn't make any true judgement or action until I could determine whether or not they were truly the malevolent phantoms the Guardians believed them to be, or just ordinary citizens working towards a goal they truly believed in. Just like us. It wouldn't be fair.

That wasn't to say that I wasn't going to help the Guardians at all. For now I would sit back and watch as a sort of neutral party until I actually witnessed them making a move. Just because they were the enemies of the people I was joined up with didn't automatically make them mine. While they may be viewed as evil to the point of being inhuman, we all bled the same colour. And if I ended up having to bleed to prevent people's dreams from being taken from them as mine were, so be it.

}{

Students everywhere- myself included, of course- seemed to always be under the impression that teachers didn't have a life outside of school, delusional is it may be. That's why it would be considered an odd thing to see them at the movies or grocery store with their own families, buying completely mundane things like cereal or something. So it certainly came as a shock to everyone in my third period science class when our teacher was taking an early retirement to be with his family and his new grandson. While this did mean our class would be switching through teachers every now and again until a new one could be hired, which was something to be celebrated, it also meant that we'd never see Professor Jones' quirky antics again, with his wild Albert Einstein hair and weird diagrams. We'd also be in a constant unstable state, which did not make for good study, which could affect our exams, which was making me flip out. The thought was very unsettling and left a bad taste in my mouth.

The situation was only made worse when our substitute teacher walked- or stumbled- into the room, his form half hidden by a gargantuan pile of books and papers that spilled everywhere just before they could set them on the desk. It revealed a very dumbfounded and befuddled stick of a man, the picture of an unorganized mess with big, milk bottle glasses that were slightly askew and cracked. His hair had no particular style; it was basically just a pile of cowlicks smack dab on the top of his head. He floundered around trying to desperately pick up the discarded sheets, making odd whimpering noises in the process. He managed to successfully gather them into a scattered pile, unbeknownst to the students snickering at him from their seats.

This guy was a total quack. He was laughing at himself in a sad sort of way as he wrote his name on the board and muttered, "Klutz, klutz, I'm such a klutz…" According to the chicken scratch on the blackboard, his name was Mr. Nikaidou, and he'd be teaching us for as long as the Chairman deemed fit. When he tapped his stick of yellow chalk against the board for emphasis, it snapped in two and nailed him right in the neck. Besides myself, the class blew up in explosive guffaws as he rubbed the wounded area tenderly while wincing and laughing. This all occurred throughout the span of five minutes, so I was actually kind of impressed, in an asinine way.

Mr. Nikaidou began going through the attendance painfully slowly, squinting at the students to try and commit their names to memory. When he got to mine, he looked hella confused whilst examining the sheet, and tentatively called out, "Um… Snow Himayuki-san?"

And then everyone was snickering again. I don't laugh at you, and this is what I get? I let out a sigh and said, "Present, but it's Hisayuki."

"Right, right, Himayuki. I'll try to remember that." His smile seemed sincere and genuine, if not a little goofy, so I didn't have the heart to tell him that he had already forgotten. He carried on as if nothing had happened, so I slouched in my seat and absently took notes on the explanation of chemical formulas that he was stumbling through. All the while the girl beside me as prattling on about what she did in her free time, which extended to reading books on mythology and demons, which seemed very contrary considering the subject we were currently learning about kind of proved that those things were just myths.

Even though there was only two more periods left in the day, time seemed to flow much more slowly than usual. And it continued in such a pattern for the next two days as the time for the "investigative concert" drew nearer. I would go to school, attend a Guardian meeting, resent Mr. Nikaidou for severely lacking in his ability to teach, go to another Guardian meeting, go home, go to work, do homework, and then sleep. And as much as I hated to admit it, my routine seemed much more monotonous since I hadn't seen Ikuto since Sunday night when the unspeakable incident occurred. He was good for a laugh, if nothing else, and it was much harder getting through a day without his snarky presence, though I didn't understand why. Nor did I really want to. I was willing to just say that it was what it was, and trying to change it would be kind of pointless.

On Wednesday morning, I woke up earlier than usual and was able to get my sundry activities out of the way. Since I had some free time, I figured I might as well do something to amuse myself, like play the guitar or read or something. But when I entered my room, the sunlight beaming through my window made something catch my eye from the way it reflected off a shiny surface like a twinkle of light. I cocked my head to one side and strode across my room to unearth the mysterious gift under a bunch of papers and pictures, something that had completely slipped my mind. Lilith and Vivian floated up beside me, and exchanged another one of those annoying we-know-something-that-you-don't glances.

"Should I open it?" I wondered aloud, not really expecting a response but getting one anyway.

"Well, it would be kind of pointless to just let it sit there," Lilith drawled, uncharacteristically slow and serious. "Don't you think?"

She did have a point. Though I got some sort of eerie feeling from this mystery present. Like whatever was inside was going to affect me in a greater way I imagined. But I couldn't possibly think of what it was, so I decided I was being paranoid and tore open the small wrapping paper to find an inconspicuous small box that seemed like the kind to fit… jewelry.

"Hmm," I mumbled to myself, hesitating one second before gently lifting the small lid with my fingers. Then I sucked in a shocked breath. Inside was not what I had expected at all (which was, admittedly, a stupid but hopeful theory- cat socks), but instead the most gorgeous necklace I had ever seen in my life. The chain was long, long enough to hide underneath my shirt, and made of sterling silver. The pendant itself was a small and delicate cross, tiny and intricate diamond-like gemstones set into its surface. And spot in the middle of the crucifix was a very, very miniscule eight-pointed snowflake made of some coruscating blue stone that seemed to give off a transcendental air of cold, like it held real winter within it. It was a simple yet elegant little thing, but it cast prisms everywhere once put up to the sun, and I couldn't help but think I had actually seen it somewhere before.

I reached one quivering finger in the box to touch it, and just before I did, I heard Vivian say quickly, "Snow, wait just a minute-", but it was too late. My finger had already made contact, and a swoosh seemed to hiss through the air and a shock reverberated throughout my entire body. My eyes widened as my muscles tensed up, and I collapsed to the ground, unable to move or barely breathe.

Then images began reeling through my head, like I was watching some sort of technicolour movie. Everything in the scene was brighter and magnified, much like how I imagined an animal's sight to be. Each scene was separated by a moment of static, black and white dots flying through my head like a bad connection.

A man and a woman smiling at each other. Crackle. Some obscurely big and brawny men dressed in all black tearing the man away roughly by his arms and taking him somewhere. Crackle. A very tall, slender, and respectable-looking man sitting stop a throne, clucking his tongue. Crackle. "I had thought better of you, brother," he said. Crackle. Something like red paint shooting everywhere, splattering on the walls and floor and surrounding people. Crackle. The very necklace in my hands slowly being covered by a pool of the red liquid. Crackle. A man with long, pitch-black hair clutched the necklace in his hands and began to sob. Crackle.

"Snow!" I heard small, pipsqueak voices scream right in my ear. "Snow! What happened?"

The imaged faded away with an almost audible snap!, and I sucked in a desperate breath as I became able to move again. I pushed myself off the floor, gasping for air. What the fuck was that? I wondered worriedly as I pressed the heels of my hands to my forehead and tried to even out my breaths. I had never, ever before in my life, seen something like it before. It was the most bizarre and unfathomable occurrence, and why it had happened was a complete mystery. But even though I didn't know exactly what had happened, or why it had happened, I had a very distinct feeling, one of deep foreboding, of what I had seen.

For some abysmal reason that I didn't even want to know about, I had just witnessed a man die.

}{

"Hisayuki-san?"

I let out a small yelp and whirled around in my seat in what I thought was an empty Royal Garden to find Tadase-kun standing behind me, eyebrows and hands raised in mock surrender. "Calm down, it's just me. What's got you so jumpy?"

"Oh." My cheeks reddened in embarrassment and shame, and I turned back to my English homework on the table to stare at while feeling immense loss. "Sorry. I guess I'm just… hyped up, is all."

In truth, I had been hyperaware all morning, ever since that sort of… vision that had occurred in my bedroom. Everything that took me by surprise just seemed to make the images fly through my head without my volition, therefore making me freak out about it. I had taken solace in the empty Royal Garden at lunch break to finish my homework early so I didn't have as much to do tonight and feel pressured about it because of the concert, then Tadase-kun popped out of nowhere and took me by surprise.

It didn't really help that the weird necklace was around my neck and tucked beneath my shirt.

I wouldn't be able to properly explain the reason why I put it on in the first place. Though a huge part of it was Vivian and Lilith. They were insistent that, even though it may have somehow triggered whatever I saw, I needed to put it on. The look in their eyes was one of pure desperation and pleading, so I had really no other option but to reluctantly slip it on and keep it hidden. Besides… even though it gave me an immense sense of unease, at the same time, it made me feel kind of safe. Like there was some sort of protective presence around me. It was altogether extremely odd and unbelievable, but my Shugo Chara had mentioned that since they existed, some kind of existential force giving me an odd sense of security wasn't necessarily a false or weird thing.

So there I was, timidly shaking in my chair as Tadase-kun stood behind me with concern written all of his face, its cool presence pressing against my chest.

"Are you really okay?" He asked, sliding into the chair across from mine and placing his hands delicately on the table. "You look like you saw a ghost."
I gestured vaguely at Kiseki and my own Shugo Chara, my eyes still down on my homework. "Well, that's basically what they are. I suppose I'm just still getting used to it."

"That may be true," he chuckled lightly, his eyes crinkling at the corners. I peeked up at him nervously and saw him smiling curiously at me, like he was happily trying to solve a complicated but fun crossword, so I ended up flushing and looking down again. "You can tell me if you ever feel insecure about anything. I'm here to help, you know, not just to boss you guys around with paper work and whatnot."

"That's not what I think you do," I objected, snapping my gaze up from my work to stare at him incredulously. "You've been nothing but nice to me since I got here, even when I didn't deserve it. You're not bossy at all."

His maroon eyes widened a fraction in surprise, then shut in glee as he began laughing. "I'm glad you think so," he chortled, much to my increasing discomfort. "I thought you might've disliked me."

I actually let out a snort. "Like that's possible. I don't think there's a person alive who could dislike you."

Tadase-kun's disposition changed very suddenly. He had a morose smile on his face, and his eyes were drawn down and sad. "That's not true at all," he murmured. "I can think of someone."

Before I could completely poke my nose where it didn't belong and ask who he was talking about, the other Guardians gracefully entered the Garden, and our work for that afternoon began. My heart was suspiciously pounding from my alone time with Tadase-kun, though why was a mystery to me. What was wrong with me? I felt exhilarated just from hearing him laugh and offer me simple kindness. Maybe because I had never been on the receiving end of such before.

The day was over before I could really register it, with the exception of science and Nikaidou-sensei's bumbling tomfoolery that seemed to be his trademark. I skipped the Guardian meeting at the end of the day and just had Yaya-san brief me via text, since I went to work an hour early to get off an hour early to make it to the concert in time. For the whole night, I was actually stuck on dish duty, irritably scrubbing away complete strangers' leftover food grime and wanting to cry about it in the employee washroom. The plates of children were especially a nightmare, since they weren't the slightest bit reserved about making a mess of their food or writing messages in condiments with their fingers (such as: "good luck, slave", which actually did make me sob a bit).

When I was finally off my shift and changing in the women's room, Vivian was staring me down with the meanest glare on her face.

I frowned at her fiercely. "Look, I don't know what problem you have with my body, but I'm sure it's completely unjustified-"

"It's not your body," she scoffed, putting her hands on her wee hips, her teddy bear dangling from her deadly clutch. "It's your clothes. You're honestly going to the concert of the most popular idol in the city looking like that?"

Dark wash jeans and a light purple V-neck tee-shirt? Somebody arrest me. "I have nothing else with me."

She heaved a deep sigh, but a very smug and self-sufficient look was planted on her face. "I guess I have no choice but to use my amazing powers of fashion on you, since you seem to be especially handicapped in that department."

"I resent that."

"Of course you do. From somebody with comfortable fashion to someone with chic fashion: Chara Change!"

The one thing I hated most about Shugo Chara? How they used their mysterious, frustratingly unscientific powers to somehow strip me naked and fully clothe me again in some completely exaggerated garb I would never have the nerve to wear without even revealing anything. Though I had to give Vivian some credit; I thought I would end up clad in ye olde Victorian clothing with frills and ruffles, which seemed more her speed. But instead I found myself in a crisp, white button-down blouse, a purple and black checkered, puffed out skirt with matching suspenders, black tights with thin vertical white lines that had intricate sparkles woven in to them, and bright purple pumps. I could feel my hair magically tugged and nipped in to low pigtails tied with black ribbons, the stark contrast to my hair, that showed my natural curls at the end. In short, I felt completely adorable and was nearly squealing with delight.

"Vivian, this is amazing!" I gasped, twirling around while gazing at my reflection. "I didn't know you guys had powers like this!"

"It's just me," she sniffed haughtily. "I was born from your wish of, 'I want to be heard'. A way for someone to create their own voice is through their fashion sense. Air go, I can change the way you're perceived by others by changing your clothes. Make sense?"

"Yeah, I got it," I said with a huge, beaming smile at her. "This is such an awesome power. Thank you so much!"

It might've just been my imagination, but I swore her face flushed a fraction. "It- it's really no big deal. It's your power for fashion sense, really."

"But you're the one manifesting it," I objected, putting my hands on my hips. "And that is pretty damned cool."

"You know," Lilith suddenly interjecting, popping out of her egg concealed in my messenger bag. "You and I have Character Transformed before, and I have never been lavished with such compliments despite giving you immense power. This is freaking discrimination."

"When I Character Transform with you, I end up half-dressed."

"So what? It's not like you have anything to be embarrassed about."

"IT'S SHAMELESS!"

She waved her hand dismissively. "Who needs shame when you can have power?"

I rolled my eyes. "This is the worst conversation that I could ever have with you."

Just as I was bending down to scoop my bag off of the floor and exit the room, the necklace swung out from underneath my shirt and caught my eye in the mirror. It swung back and forth harmlessly from around my neck, catching the ugly fluorescent lights and making it sparkle. I stood straight for a moment, completely still and silent, then vary cautiously moved my hand to touch it against my chest. I felt nothing except cool metal beneath my fingertips and the edges of the small gems.

"What was that earlier today?" I murmured to myself, looking up from its reflection in the mirror to that of my own face. My strange eyes stared back at me, somewhat concealed by my bangs falling into them. I supposed that I, myself, was pretty strange, which seemed to make the necklace suit me all the more.

"It would be best to just forget it," Lilith laughed, though it sounded a little strained. "Maybe you were just tired and hallucinating. You've been working hard all week, after all."

That didn't explain why I'd hallucinate about something like that. There was something going on here, and I could feel it ache in my bones. Something odd was going to happen soon, and it wasn't just about the Shugo Chara. It was something that felt completely different from their presence, light, secure, and almost spiritual. It was dark and shadowy, as if someone were walking alone on a dark, stormy night on an abandoned street, but you feel like someone else is there. It was frightening.

My grip on the necklace tightened to the point where the cross's points dug into my palm.

"Snow, we're gonna be late," Vivian said suddenly, snapping me out of my reverie.

"Right," I said with a smile, scooping my bag up off the floor and striding out the employee exit and out onto the street. It was completely pitch black outside, and I could tell it was cold even without feeling it because of the crisp smell that blew into my nose. Much to my aggravation, the majority of people wandering around were couples snuggling up against each other against the chill, something I'd never get the opportunity to do. The only thing I could do was sigh heavily and dig the city map out of my bag and look where to find the concert hall- or whatever it was.

After scanning the map's colourful surface for a minute or so, I narrowed my eyes in frustration. "I can't seem to find it anywhere. This may be a problem."

"Snow," Lilith said slowly, like she was talking to a mentally delayed child. "The map's upside down."

For a moment, I was utterly silent as more couples filed past me, discussing plans for the weekend. Then I slowly turned the map upright and began scanning it all over again, and eventually found the event centre to be almost directly west from East Side Mario's. I cocked my head to one side. "That means I go left from here, right?"

"No, it does not," Vivian hissed in my ear as she pulled it roughly. "All you literally have to do is go straight. It's as simple as that."

"But that makes no sense," I growled, the volume of my voice growing louder and drawing attention. At the back of my mind, I knew it looked like I was just talking to myself, but at the time I was too focused on trying to figure out where to go. "West points to the left on the map. On every map."

"Snow, that DOES NOT mean that it's to your left."

"Well, what else could it mean, then?! Are you trying to tell me I've been reading directions wrong for all my life?"

Both of my Shugo Chara's eyes widened in surprise and pity. "You've been reading direction like that for all your life? No wonder you get lost wherever you go!"

As we continued to bicker back and forth, people on the street actually stopping to look at me like I was a freak, I barely noticed a presence creep up behind me and continue to stand there and watch for another minute or so. Therefore, I was nearly scared out of my shoes when I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard a deep, masculine voice say, "Miss Hisayuki."

I whirled around, barely containing a shriek and whipping the man behind me with my long hair. I remained completely still for a moment, my heart thundering from someone sneaking up on me, then my posture straightened from a defensive stance to one of shock and wariness. "Lee. What are you doing here?"

My dark-haired neighbour shrugged, and I noticed that he barely wore any outdoor clothing, like me. Just a white sweater with black slacks. No coat, no scarf, no gloves, nothing. It almost seemed like he, too, didn't feel the cold at all. "I was just grocery shopping," he said with a guarded expression. I obviously wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable after our last exchange.

"Well, I should probably leave you to go on home, then," I breathed, not looking at him, but instead at my feet. I tried to turn away from him, but my shoulder was caught in his grasp, which gave the strangest feeling. It was like he had no body temperature. He wasn't warm at all, and I couldn't tell if he was cold. It was just like a gust of heavy air landed on my shoulder like a physical thing, and it made chills race up my spine.

"Hang on," he said slowly, letting his hand tear from my shoulder like it had burned him. Slowly, I turned back to face him, my expression obviously betraying the emotions I was feeling; sizzling anger, bitter resentment, and a hint of sorrow. I didn't understand why this complete stranger would just completely dis me one day, then start chatting me up the next. My Shugo Chara were also watching him carefully, like they were almost sizing him up.

"Where are you trying to go?" He asked carefully, like I was a child who had been told never to talk to strangers but got entangled with one, anyway (which, I guess, was true).

"The event centre," I said politely, but my expression still held the characteristics of ice. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Let me take you there."

I actually snorted. "Yeah. Because going places with you seems like a fantastic idea after what happened last time we were alone together."

"Snow," both Lilith and Vivian hissed in my ear, like they were warning me about something. Even though I kept my gaze steadily trained on Lee, my attention shifted to them. What were they trying to say? Why should I even be talking with this man? I felt so tired already, and I hadn't even been talking with him for five minutes.

"I apologized for my disorderly conduct last time," he murmured softly, the same look on his face that he had in the elevator overtaking his features again. "It's just that… I can't really explain it. But I never meant to hurt you in any way, nor do I ever want to. You just… remind me a lot of someone I used to know very well, and they're gone now. So I guess I was shoving my emotions on to you, and that was hardly fair." He took me completely by surprise when he actually bowed down in front of me, his long black hair spilling over his shoulders in his inky ponytail. "I'm really very sorry. I'll try not to do it again."

Okay, now a lot of people were looking at us strangely. I floundered about nervously, waving my hands back and forth and saying, "Okay, okay, I get it. I forgive you. I'm sorry if I… brought up painful memories for you." He stood up straight again with the most relieved expression on his face that I actually did forgive him for acting like I was some sort of disease. He seemed to have really regretted the way he acted. "But… if I may ask, who is it I remind you of?" I asked, thinking back to the very first time I saw him and he called me by my father's name.

Lee opened his mouth as if to say something, but his eyebrows drew down again and created sad shadows all over his face. It looked like he wanted to tell me what he was thinking about, but he couldn't. Like there was something stopping him. So I just waved off the question and said, "Never mind. So, to make it up to me, I'll take that ride to the event centre now." I pulled my cell phone out of my purse to check the time and winced. It was nearly nine o'clock, which was when the concert was scheduled to start.

He grinned at me in reassurance and gestured over to his sleek vehicle parked on the side of the street. "Well, come on, then." As we clambered in, he began to make polite conversation as he changed gear shifts and pulled out of his makeshit parking space. "Could it be you're going to the concert sponsored by Easter tonight? I hear that Hoshina girl is performing."

My jaw dropped. "You know of her?"

"Well, she is pretty famous around here. It's kind of hard not to."

A heavy sigh tore from my throat as I sank further into the leather seat in shame. So I really was just out of the loop. "Yes, that is where I'm going. My friends are taking me."

"That sounds nice," he said, and he seemed honestly happy to hear that I had some company with me. "It's great that you're fitting in here so well. If you ever need anything, you can always come to me. I know your-" He cut himself off again, and the entire mood in the car shifted as his expression sobered. "Yeah, I'll uh… I'll do what I can."

"You don't have to, you know," I said to him, a confused look drawing my face down. "I barely even know you, and I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself by now. I don't want you to help me and get nothing in return."

He mumbled something under his breath that sounded like "trust me, I'm getting something". I chose not to pursue it, since it would just create more tension between us and there was still quite a bit of road to cover before we reached the event centre. To fill the awkward silence, Lee pressed a fluorescent blue button which switched on the radio, and a broadcaster's clear and severe-sounding voice hummed through the speakers.

"The number of victims have been increasing at an alarming rate," the man's voice announced through the speakers. "There have been two this week, a male and female couple that had apparently just been leaving a party at a friend's home that very night. Just a block away from their individual homes is where the attack occurred, and forensics are still trying to identify what could've made those bite marks on their-"

Just as I was leaning in to further hear the news in this city that was completely catching me off guard, Lee switched off the radio again with almost inhuman speed and a guarded, wide-eyed expression on his face. He seemed much paler than usual, and that made his complexion that of pure white snow.

"What was that all about?" I asked, more to myself than him, but he responded anyway.

"Oh, you know," he murmured, trying and failing to come off as nonchalant. "Every city has its crimes, right? Lately there have been some animal attacks around here is all."

"Huh?" I demanded, and I glanced around as if to confirm what I already knew. "But there's hardly any woods or anything around here. Where would the animals come from?"

"I don't know," Lee muttered- almost growled- very lowly, his expression darkening again. "But they're here, and they're hurting people. It's best for you to always get a ride from me at night if you need it. Anything could happen."

Not knowing what else to do, I simply nodded at him in complete shock. "I'll… keep that in mind."

Animal attacks? In a big, modern city like this? That didn't seem to make any sense. I never knew there was such a history of brutality around here. It seemed like such a peaceful place, except for the war of "eggs of the heart" behind the scenes that no one else knew- or cared- about. But ever since I had moved here, more and more strange happenings had begun to occur around me, like I was a magnet for trouble and disaster. I would have to be careful from now on, though I didn't know from what.

From the looks of the bright, cylindrical lights that were beaming and weaving in the dark night sky, we were almost at the event centre. The street was gradually being lit up by multi-coloured strobes, which illuminated their dampness from the constant autumn showers. Lee's jaw was set as he carefully weaved and navigated throughout the giant turnout of all different sorts of cars, and with my hearing, I could already hear some music playing from the inside and the idle chatter of patrons gushing of their excitement. This was the first big concert I had ever really been to, besides jazz fests at Mardi Gras, and I could already tell that I wasn't going to be a huge fan of them. They seemed loud and buzzy, like insects that would just never die.

As Lee kept driving smoothly throughout the crowd, he briefly glanced over to me in the passenger seat looking out the windows with a slight scowl on my face. I could feel his gaze travel down to my chest and stay there, and before I got entirely creeped out, he said, "That's a lovely necklace you're wearing."

Oh. I hadn't noticed it had slipped out again. I touched it lightly, feeling the icy air come off of it in an almost reassuring way, and said, "Thank you." He didn't look like he was finished staring at it yet, so I cautiously added, "Um… it was given to me."

"It looks nice on you," he added, much to my increasing suspicion. "You should wear it as often as possible. It really brings out your eyes." His words sounded very awkward, as if he was coming up with them on the spot, but his gaze was earnest- and almost pleading.

So I simply responded, "I… I guess I'll try to."

Whatever it was about what I had said, it made Lee get this unbearably ecstatic look on his face, like I had made his entire day with one simple sentence. The atmosphere in the cramped space of the car seemed to be one that you would find at a carnival: filled with joy and excitement. I didn't say anything about; I just looked down at my Shugo Chara sitting carelessly in my lap, who merely shrugged with knowing looks in their eyes. What was it with this necklace? It seemed to be drawing a lot of unwarranted attention everywhere I went.

While Lee turned his head back to the windshield, I nonchalantly tucked it back under my shirt. I could've just taken it off, but considering what he had just asked me to do, I didn't think it'd be too polite. Besides, the necklace did go with everything. And it gave me a strange feeling of security, even if it was slightly sinister.

I almost snorted audibly when looking back on how big of a freak I was being over a piece of jewelry. It didn't necessarily even show me the vision that I saw; I may had just been remembering a movie I saw a long time ago or something, that had an identical necklace in it… that even sounded ridiculous in my head.

After what felt like an eternity of comfortable silence, Lee precariously stopped the car right by the entrance to the centre. There were people in front of the car that were glaring through the windshield, considering their legs had just been lightly nudged by a car, but most of the crowd remained unperturbed and chatting and laughing happily, their breath mixing together into one giant cloud of steam that hung around the area like a shroud.

Lee waited a moment before asking me a question that stopped me dead in my tracks in my attempt to get out of the car. "Aren't you going to be cold?"

I hadn't brought a coat. Well, that would probably make me stand out a little bit. Or maybe not, since so many people clumped together would mean in intense share of body heat. I was grasping at straws and I knew it, but nonetheless I found my voice to respond. "I figured I didn't need one. You know, since I'm going to be inside for the majority of the time, and there's going to be a lot of heat going around."

There was a look in his eyes, one that said he knew I was lying. But he wasn't wearing a jacket either. Then again, he was just going in and out of his car, so he probably really didn't need to. But he simply nodded and said, "As long as you don't get sick or something. Make sure to take care of yourself."

"I will. Thank you so much for the ride." I paused just as I opened the car door and cast one leg out. My head tilted back towards him slightly, and I said, "I'm sorry I was rude before."

And then I was rushing into the crowd of people without looking back, my cheeks alight with embarrassment. To me, apologizing had always felt like I was submitting to someone, and I also hated being in the wrong. Therefore, I understood all too well why pride was considered a sin. That's also what prevented me from getting too close to people, idiotic as it was. I knew I should work to change that, since I was going to be communicating with a group of classmates very often, but that was going to be very difficult.

Speaking of which, I didn't even have to scan the crowd before I heard Yaya-san's voice screaming out my name. I glanced to my right with a strained expression on my face, since people were turning to look at me from her yelling and pointing in my general direction, and I saw the Guardians huddled together in a small group closer to the doors than the rest of the concert-goers. I scuttled over to them, my heels clicking hurriedly on the wet pavement, and reached them as quickly as possible so I wouldn't be confronted with my junior's incessant yelling any longer.

"You're here just in time," Tadase-kun said with his usual grin, his usually creamy cheeks flushed and a deep red from the cold. His breath came out in small puffs of white as he spoke. "They're just about to open the doors to the hall. We shouldn't have to wait too long before the concert gets started."

"Oh, and we have some great news," Kukai-kun said, and I detected a hint of sarcasm in his usually chipper voice. "Guess who decided to tag along with us because he managed to get a seat close by?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "I have no clue who you're talking about."

As if being summoned from far away, Mr. Nikaidou popped up from behind the group of teenagers like some sort of ghoul in a Japanese thriller, bestowing looks of pure annoyance on their faces. "Hey, Himayuki-san!" He yelled, and my expression once again betrayed the emotion running through me: disgust. "What a coincidence, huh? I thought I should hang with you guys since, you know, I just can't let my students attend some wil concert all by themselves!"

"The gesture is much appreciated, Mr. Nikaidou," I said to him while exercising the utmost patience. This man was truly very annoying, and he always had this dazed look in his eyes, so he wouldn't be much help for anything, I assumed. "But legally, I'm an adult. If you think that they need a supervisor, I'm plenty old and mature enough."

It was so quick that I almost missed it, but a flash of something calculating and snapping flashed through Nikaidou's usually tired-looking eyes. It was like he was taking mental notes of the entire conversation, and his mouth was set in a hard line before he smiled goofily at me again. "Be that as it may, you're still my precious students, and a pretty young thing like you, Himayuki-san, is bound to be eyes by some really suspicious fellas."

Like you? I struggled to force a smile on my face. "Well, uh, thanks, I guess."

When Nikaidou looked away from us to examine the crowd and make completely useless comments, Kukai-kun tossed an arm around my shoulder and pulled me down into a crouch so he could whisper in my ear. "He's one of your teachers. Do something about him!"

"Well, what do you have in mind?" I demanded back. "It's not like he's doing anything wrong. Besides, he really is just looking out for us, isn't he?"

He gave me a look. "Even if that were true, he could get in the way of our mission. We're supposed to be observing, remember? This entire shindig is being headed by Easter, and we need to know what exactly we're up against- and who we're up against. We won't be able to properly focus if Scatterbrains over there keeps getting in the way."

"Aww, come on," I said with a roll of my eyes, simultaneously nudging his elbow with my own. "He may be a slight... okay, a big hindrance, but Mr. Nikaidou means well. I'm sure we can make our way around him and so our jobs properly." I connected gazes with the latter and earned a cheerfully lazy wave. My response was flashing a slightly hesitant grin back. "Come on, Kukai-kun, we've got spying to do, and we're perfectly capable of doing it even with his presence."

Just as I turned around to go back and join the rest of the Guardians (and the present annoyance), Kukai-kun grasped my wrist. Even though it was supposed to be cold outside, I could still feel the pounding warmth of his hand through my sleeve. I shifted my head to look at him with raised eyebrows.

"Kukai," he said suddenly, looking right into my eyes with his honest and snapping green ones. "It sounds weird with an honourific."

I just blinked. "Kukai-kun."

He let go of my wrist and threw his hands in the air, an exasperated expression on his face. "Fine then, ignore me."

And then I shrugged non-committally. "I don't really use anyone's name so familiarly." Except... I did. With just one person, though. The realization came to me so suddenly and shockingly that my eyes actually widened a fraction. Completely unconsciously, I had been calling Ikuto's name with no honourific, of all people. It had just seemed so natural to do so, like we were actually life-long friends, and then I realized he did the same. We were acting... surprisingly close for two people who had just met not two weeks ago.

For whatever reason, that made my entire body feel warm, especially right in the face. Kukai-kun had to tap me on the shoulder a couple of times to get my attention so we could return to the Guardians. My thoughts were completely elsewhere as everyone listened to Nikaidou-sensei's incessant and pointless ramblings, like on the face of the guy who saved me from getting violated from malevolent strangers. He really did look like a knight or something. A dark one. But a knight, no less.

Aggh, stop thinking like this! I screamed at myself while pressing the heels of my hands to my burning temples. He's a perfect stranger to you, one that seems to have no qualms whatsoever with sexually harassing you. Quit thinking about him. You have bigger fish to fry tonight.

But looking back on that fateful night, I remembered something that actual shook my entire frame with shock. Why hadn't I remembered it before? Well, with all the things that went down that night, it probably seemed like a minor detail to me. But now it struck me as strange and something to be wary of. When I was being attacked, just before Ikuto had run in to save me, those guys had become distracted by something.

And that something was oddly luminescent ice clawing up their legs like vengeful beasts.

Now, I was no expert, but I was pretty sure ice didn't just do that. It was frozen water. An inanimate object. So why had it suddenly just sprung up like that? I couldn't merely just dismiss it as a hallucination; the men had very much noticed it sticking to them, a frozen leech that stole body heat in the blink of an eye. My body felt hot all over again, but for a completely different reason; it was something like fear, suspicion, and... the feeling of being dangerously close to a flame. You knew it would burn if you touched it, but you couldn't help but prod anyway. I was close to something. I didn't know what, but I knew something wasn't entirely right. It was a song on the tip of my tongue that I knew I had heard before, but couldn't remember the name. How bizarre.

"Hisayuki-san," Tadase-kun said very suddenly, close enough to my ear that I whirled around with a red face and slapped him with my pigtails. He simply smiled before I could even think of apologizing and said, "They're opening the doors now. We can go inside."

"R-right," I stammered, forcing a grin on my face that obviously looked crooked and terrible. But I couldn't help it. Something about this night felt entirely wrong and foreboding very strikingly, and I felt as though I was all alone even surrounded by hundreds of people. As we filed slowly but surely into the entertainment centre, music blaring from the speakers and people chattering all around us, all I could hear was the nippy wind howling in my ears, and the pressure of the body heat swelling all around me.

I was overreacting. I had to be. And now I was spiralling into a full-blown panic attack. I had to get it together. The Guardians and I had a mission to perform tonight, and I couldn't properly fulfil it if I was constantly distracted by what I had simply perceived to happen. I took a deep breath and freed my mind form anything involving that night, or myself in general. Instead I focused on the hall around me, the small of concession snacks, the looks of the dark red carpet covering the floors and slate walls all around. Posters of what were apparently famous stars around here surrounded and covered almost every wall, one of which looked particularly familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"We'll still have to wait a bit before they actually let us into the theatre," Nadeshiko-san said, checking her stylish wrist watch. "What should we do until then?"

"I'd like to say check around," Kukai-kun responded in a hushed voice, for Mr. Nikaidou was always lurking behind us like some sort of phantom. "But we don't want to come off as suspicious. Maybe grab some snacks and magazines or something."

"Sounds good!" Yaya-san squealed, and darted off to a standee of some boy band, dragging Nadeshiko-san with her for pictures.

"Don't get lost, Hisayuki," Kukai-kun jeered at me, and I elbowed him in the ribs. My eyes scanned all around the hall- or what I could see of it beyond the huge crowd milling about. And just in the corner of my eye, just a darting glance in my peripheral vision, I swore I saw a very familiar, dark, and hulking figure staring forlornly at one of the posters. My eyes flicked to which one they were looking at. It was of a girl with platinum hair, large purple eyes, and the complexion and features of a doll.

It was her high pigtails that made me remember her. It was the girl tailing me in Winners! My gaze darted around again and again, and I caught a glimpse of the aforementioned figure heading in the direction of a blocked-off hallway. I pushed my way through, apologizing all the while, until I made it over to the wide-arched entrance of said hallway. A velvet rope was blocking my path, with a sign that clearly said 'No Trespassing' hanging off of it. Well, no one can live life without some debauchery, I thought to myself with a shrug as I easily swung one of my long legs over and began quietly sprinting down the hall, white hair flying behind me like a snowstorm.

There were multiple doors, all with signs saying what was exactly inside: Director's office, Studio, Photo Shoots, and even the names of performers that were clearly prepping before the show. One in particular caught my attention, because I swore I saw Ikuto sweep into it like a stealthy shadow. I tiptoed in front of it, glancing left and right for security or something, and read the nameplate. It read "Backstage" in bold black letters. I checked the handle. Unlocked.

Well. Whoever ran this place wasn't too clever. I opened it just a crack to peek inside, trying to see if I could catch sight of Ikuto again, or even the girl from Winners. All I could catch was black, snake-like wires slithering all across the ground, dark gray areas with hardly any lighting, carts piled with props, and extra speakers, instruments, and equipment. Cautiously, I took a step inside, my heel clacking against the hard concrete floor. I cursed under my breath and slipped the shoes off, then tiptoed inside while silently closing the door behind me. Next to no light peeked inside, making it harder to see. I had to feel around with my feet for a time, which proved to have great consequence, since every wire I touched actually felt like a snake underneath my foot. It took all I had not to let a squeal out of me. Also, I nearly tripped on several occasions.

For about five minutes, I blindly felt my way inside, thinking that maybe I should go back to the Guardians since the show could be starting soon. They probably noticed that I had miraculously disappeared, and may had even been looking for me. I could have just imagined seeing Ikuto, as well, considering that I evidently had some weird obsession with the guy. With a slight sigh, I turned to start navigating my way back to the door, but then I heard very murmured voices talking gravely.

People! Even though it was hard to see, I still felt for a wall and popped behind it. With my hearing, I could decipher what they were saying slightly, though there was clearly some distance between us. Although I had no idea who could've been speaking, for the lack of light, but the voices sounded vaguely familiar. Though the rapid thundering of my heart was drowning out any possible opportunity for coherent identification.

"The concert will be starting soon," said a deeper, more mature voice, possibly that of an adult male. "Is Utau ready?"

That was the girl that was stalking me. So something was going on with her. Another voice, obviously high-pitched and female, responded, "Ready as she'll ever be. With all of those kids here tonight, we're bound to find the Embryo somewhere. And Utau's going to be the one to get it."

The Embryo?! These people must have been working for Easter! That was the only explanation. But what did this Utau girl have to do with it? What was she going to do to get the Embryo? The older male voice let out something like a snort. "Please. She'll chicken out at the last second, like she always does. Too scared to actually pull out kids' eggs in case they happen to break."

Even though it was said sardonically, there was so much more meaning behind them than I could have ever imagined. Pull out kids' eggs? How could she do that? Why would she do that? And a chance the eggs could break? Something was seriously wrong with these people if they had absolutely no problem with taking away people's dreams and destroying them forever. I had to tell the Guardians. And maybe find this Utau girl if I had time and stop her before she does anything she'd regret.

Without a glance back, I blindly ran over all the cords snaking across the floor, my right hand that had been clutching the wall throughout that entire conversation feeling strangely hot. Just before I reached for the door handle and scooped up my shoes to make an escape, I heard the man say in complete shock and dismay "Hey... what the hell is that on the wall?"

The female responded with the same amount of shock, "It looks like… ice."

T

For the life of me, I couldn't ever remember running so desperately for something. But all I could think of as I shoved my way through the large crowd that was gradually spilling into the concert hall was that I had to find the Guardians and tell them what I had heard, and perhaps even make an attempt to stop anything serious before it happened. Getting lost hadn't seriously bothered me before, but now I was extremely worried about losing my way and not having enough time to do anything about the X-Egg situation before it happened. I received countless glares from the people I shoved aside as gently as I could manage and from stepping on their feet in heels. No matter how much I scanned over the crowd, I couldn't see any sign of them, and I didn't want to stop to text them and see where they were. So I kept running as fast as possible, which proved to be very difficult in a place that was the equivalent of people clustering together to escape a burning building.

Not even a bit winded yet, I managed to skirt my way into the concert hall, where there were thousands of seats and people waiting eagerly in them for the performance to start. I couldn't hear a damn thing over each individual conversation flowing together into one huge beehive of noise and chatter, and therefore couldn't focus on a single thing to see or hear. Lilith was the only one by my side to try and point me in the right direction; Vivian had gone off to see if she could find the Guardians herself. Which was probably the worst idea on the planet, in hindsight, since she was so tiny and could get lost more easily than a needle in a haystack in a place like this.

My heart was racing as I threw panicked glances around the area. I was about ready to throw my head back and scream from frustration. All I could think of was X-Eggs being drawn from innocent people on purpose, all because of some teenage girl that probably had no clue what that possibly meant for the victims. I couldn't sit back and let that happen, but where was I supposed to go from here? I didn't know where the Guardians were, and time was my greatest enemy.

Just as I was about to start yelling out their names at the top of my lungs and see if that produced results, I felt a warm grip clamp on my shoulder. I whirled around in surprise to see Mr. Nikaidou standing behind me with that goofy grin of his, and sagged in relief. If nothing else, he was good for something tonight.

"Himayuki-san," he said, and I was so relieved I didn't bother to correct him. "Are you alright? We've been looking all around for you." I could only nod very quickly and desperately, which most likely resulted in my looking like a bobble head. "Come on, then. I'll lead you to our seats."
When he turned around to start leading the way, I saw Vivian hanging off of his shirt so desperately it could've been a cliff. Her hands were almost talons, and she had the most traumatized look on her face that I almost laughed. I discreetly plucked her off and masked the tugging on his shirt as me holding on to it not to lose him again. He led me down countless aisles with so many varieties of people that I swore I was getting whiplash, Lilith laughing at her dizzy sister in a sadistic sort of way the whole time. I hoped they weren't torturing each other while I wasn't looking, but I didn't want to glance back to make sure.

Mr. Nikaidou eventually got us to our seats, where the rest of the Guardians were waiting with anxious expressions. Upon our arrival, Kukai-kun jumped up, grabbed me by the shoulders, and began shaking me so roughly I swore my head would fall off. "Are you out of your mind?" He demanded. "You should've never gone off on your own! Your sense of direction is so awful I'm surprised you made it back at all!"

"I take offense to that," I muttered distractedly as I shrugged out of his grip. "But, guys, we have a problem. I accidentally ended up backstage and I heard these people talking-"

"Alright, everybody!" Said a booming, crackling voice from some very loud speakers. My first reaction was to wince and throw my hands over my ears, earning a concerned look from Tadase-kun who escorted me to a seat between him and Mr. Nikaidou. The voice kept speaking, oblivious to the pain caused from my sensitive hearing, and said something like the concert would be starting now. Shit! There wasn't any time left for me to try and sabotage whatever plan they had, not to mention that my skull felt as though rocks were being viciously pelted at it. All I could do was watch and see if any X-Eggs were drawn out, then somehow purify them if there were. I was completely useless in a dire situation.

"Are you alright, Hisayuki-san?" Tadase-kun asked me.

I forced a trembling smile while holding my head tenderly. "Yes, I'm okay. That was just a bit unexpected, is all." I sat back in my smoothly upholstered seat, unable to define any redeeming features of the hall within the darkness. My gaze sobered as I stared straight ahead at the stage, of which we were just a few rows away from. "Now all we have to do is watch."

Tadase-kun wasn't nearly as tactless as I had thought; the look on his face told me that he knew I was hiding something, but that he wouldn't push it and put his faith in me. I was amazed that he was able to have such a deep trust in an almost-stranger, and was deeply endeared by the thought of him doing so. So I smiled warmly at him before returning my gaze to the stage again, momentarily catching him off-guard and letting a flush creep into his face. That gave me a strange sense of satisfaction that put an untimely smirk on my face as the lights on the stage dimmed and an eerie melody began playing.

The melody was haunting, to say the least. It started off very slowly, but then picked up with a sinister piano riff. And then a single spotlight came on the stage, and sure enough, there stood Hoshina Utau, clad in a scarce black dress with a silver ring belt and high heels, hair in the platinum high pig-tails I recognized her with in Winners. I could understand why she was so popular; the very music of her songs was the type that you always catch yourself humming without even noticing it. And her voice itself was mature and low-pitched, but also that of a smooth angel's. All in all, I was very impressed by the performance, especially since her voice was handled so well that it ever once wavered. But one thing disturbed me as I listened to the song, lost in it like the rest of the audience around me staring in wonder- somehow, she was going to pull out X-Eggs with that voice, and the song that sounded like it was sending the message of a desire to be free from any sort of restraint. Something was off. It almost seemed too perfect.

Around me, I could hear that members of the audience were in awe. A boy just in front of me was professing to his guardian how Utau-san made him want to be a singer as well. Another girl a few seats away and her friend were gushing how amazing they viewed the singer to be. There were many more, and all the masses of the excited civilians together made one huge, melancholy, dream-like reality to me, and I was actually in shock of how much a song and one person could affect so many. And also at how someone could dream of taking that away.

Just as what seemed to be the chorus began to play, and the whole stage became illuminated in a light blue sort of light, something began to happen. A shift of atmosphere flowed in the air, making all the minuscule hairs on my body stand on end. On Utau-san's back- which was very hard for me to see- small, black objects sprung out of nowhere, leaving red glittery particles in their wake, and they looked almost like bat wings. The people that were once speaking so animatedly of her and of their dreams quieted down in a very sinister way, and the looks on their once excited faces began to fall. My hands that were once laying relaxed on the armrest of my seat clenched into claws as my eyes widened and eyebrows drew down. What was going on? What was she doing?

The other Guardians seemed to be just as alert as I was. Normal people must not have been able to see them, for the rest of the crowd continued to cheer happily, and Mr. Nikaidou seemed blissfully unaware. Then Utau-san pointed at the audience with a single finger, a malicious expression on her face, and the three kids that had once been so joyful of the performance suddenly reeled back with simultaneous gasps and something jolted out of their bodies- their chests to be exact. I narrowed my eyes at the objects, and then a gasp tore from my throat like someone had put their hand down there and ripped my very heart out.

X-Eggs.

Did Utau do this? Through her singing? That had to be impossible! But then again, having eggs come out of you in the first place should have been impossible enough. Utau-san got a satisfied expression on her face and continued to sing, oblivious to the obvious dreamless suffering occurring in the audience. My hands clenched even tighter on the armrests, my expression becoming all the more panicked. The Guardians were talking quietly and hurriedly on what they thought they could do, and my Shugo Chara looked at me and suddenly got very worried.

"Snow- calm down," Vivian said, taking me by even more surprise. How could I remain calm in a situation like this? There wasn't much I could do when surrounded by thousands of people. "You need to remain calm. We can deal with this later, somehow- just relax."

"Yeah, don't get ahead of yourself," Lilith cooed while floating by my head and stroking it, which was very odd coming from her. Why are they trying to calm me down so much?! "Leave this to the Guardians to figure out."

But I couldn't just heed their warnings. The X-Eggs were flying around, making strange noises that almost resembled giggles. No… The kids they came from were slouched in their seats, their eyes vacant and almost- soulless. No. My nails were tearing into the fabric of my seat, and they strangely felt like they had been stuck into a blazing fire without any incentive. Vivian and Lilith were in full-on panic attacks now, screaming at me to stop and "control it", whatever that meant, but now my hands were almost numb from pain, and upon glancing down at them, I noticed something strange that made me freak out even more.

Mr. Nikaidou was staring down at them in shock and disdain as well, since the veins on them had turned from looking like irregular branches on some kind of tree to the patterns that could appear on stereotypical snowflakes and frost coating windows. Not to mention that they appeared to be covered in frost itself.

Too much was happening at once. My mind was becoming clouded, and everything around me seemed to be happening in slow motion. The X-Eggs dancing tauntingly in the air. The children breathing heavily with completely blank eyes. The veins in my hand that had actually begun to move mysteriously, snakes of blood slithering through the water of my body. And my hands were becoming frozen to the armrests, much to my and Mr. Nikaidou's dismay.

Utau-san continued to sing in her evocative and smooth voice, and she seemed to be looking straight at me with a devious sort of smile.

And again, all I could think was a very strong and piercing, "NO."

Besides Utau-san's singing, the murmuring of the Guardians, and the screeching of my Shugo Chara, a strange sort of sound began to lance through the air. A sound that resembled the wail of a newborn baby that penetrated the barrier of sound. Glass that had just begun to crack from too much pressure being laid upon it. Icicles shattering against the ground in the frozen, barren wasteland of winter. Another noise, one of groaning and all-out shattering made all conversation and music come to a halt, and Utau-san was tackled away from the stage by a familiar, lithe figure cloaked in darkness just as a row of stage lights, ropes, and sandbags all came crashing down on the stage at once. After the sound of glass breaking, sand poofing around, and the crunch and screech of metal, was pure and deadly silence. Sparks flew off of the mechanical devices and if one looked closely enough, they could see what was likely to blame for the malfunction and crash.

Lethal clumps of large, sharpened ice with a mysterious blue-violet hue.

I rose from my seat with difficulty, my hands able to break away from the armrests with the sound of ripping fabric. As I stood there, panting, with a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead, the entire hall of people began to scream, cry, and flee from the scene, despite the crackling announcer's voice commanding everyone to be calm. The Guardians remained cool and chose to exit quietly as well, Tadase-kun tugging my hand close behind him, since I was unable to carry myself in my delirium. The X-Eggs were frantically skittering about, and managed to bolt out from the skylights into the darkness of the night. Seeing that tore my from my delusions, and I ripped my hand from Tadase-kun's and began making a bolt in the other direction, towards the stage exit door that seemed closer to the outside. No matter what happened, I had to purify those eggs. I had to save those kids and give them hope for the future. I simply wouldn't allow their dreams to be scorched away from them like that. Not while I was fully capable of doing something.

Even though the Guardians were calling out my name behind me, I didn't turn around. I kept pushing through the sea of people until I was able to clumsily clamour on to the stage, adrenaline pumping through my changing veins and rapidly pounding heart, giving me strength to shove the heavy door open and scour outside for the little bastards. All to be seen was the night sky, dark and foreboding clouds slashing out the stars and full moon. It made the scene all the more otherworldly and frightening. I rapidly threw glances in all directions, my Shugo Chara doing the same as they sat on my shoulders, and only saw the shadows creeping out towards me with clawed hands from the bare tree branches. In the distance, I could hear the rush of conversation and screams from the crowd still making their frantic exit, but other than that, it was only Lilith, Vivian, the howling wind, and I.

Or so I thought. A shudder suddenly coursed its way down my spine, and I whirled around to look behind me. Of course the X-Eggs were suddenly there- all three, perfectly enough- and they were lined up all nice and tidy as they continued to make those strange chortling sounds that sounded about as cuddly as a rabid beaver. One flew down with so much speed it was only a black blur, and struck me right in the shoulder. I cursed in surprise from how much it hurt and clenched it tight with my right hand. Holy shit what was even happening?

It looked like they were all preparing to strike me at once. I couldn't avoid it, even if I Character Transformed, which I obviously didn't have the time for, anyway. All I could do was try to dodge out of the way as quickly as I could. They began flashing through the air, faster than anything imaginable, and I looked to the side to see if I could make a leap quick enough. Turns out, I didn't need to.

Catching me completely off-guard, something warm and secure clamped underneath my legs and clutched me to it. Hands. I blinked in surprise as a person held me tightly to them and leaped out of the way too quickly to be considered normal. The X-Eggs swept by where I had just stood, then seemed to glance around in confusion. I was completely speechless as I looked up to my saviour, only to see the last person I expected.

"Ikuto?!" I demanded, and began struggling viciously in his arms with a blush attacking my face. It was Ikuto, all right. I recognized that pale face that almost seemed to glow in the moonlight, the hair that was like coruscating water in the darkest night. And, of course, the bottomless midnight eyes that looked carefully blank just then. He didn't look how he usually did then; instead of wearing his trademark black and blue uniform, I saw that he was wearing all black leather (dear god), which included a halter top with a cracked cross hanging off of it, long pants with whips attached, and freaking Wolverine-looking claws attached to his knuckles. And naturally, there were dark cat ears on his head, flicking in time with the wind.

That just made me struggle all the more. I had to get away from him. Not because I was upset from his touching me; quite the opposite, really. I didn't think I could handle his bare arms wrapped tightly around me, especially since they apparently had more muscle then one would think. Also, his stomach was showing, and I was about to explode from all the heat thrumming through my body like electricity. Looking like he did should've been illegal. Why was he dressed like that, anyway? When I saw him in the hallway earlier, he was dressed normally.

Wait… the sudden change of apparel, the cat ears, and the absence of his Shugo Chara? He must have been Character Transformed! Well, if the time came when I would have to fight him looking like that, I'd lose just from fainting alone from the excessive heat exploding from me, that much was positive. He finally released me from his death-grip and regarded the X-Eggs near him with something like boredom.

That got my attention more than the outfit did. Why was he here in the first place? Character Transformed, even? "What are you doing here?" I demanded, kicking off my heels to ready for a one-sided fight, if need be. "Why did you save me?"

He shrugged, which made the shirt tug even further up his abdomen, and I darted my eyes away begrudgingly. "That wasn't really my intention. I just came to get rid of the trash."

Before I could even ask what he meant, my subconscious seemed to already know from the way my eyes travelled to the X-Eggs only to see them be slashed into millions of black and white fragments that floated to the ground gracefully, angel feathers being torn from their wings. Ikuto stood right in the midst of it, not even bothering to look at them, and he only moved by stumbling backwards in surprise and almost amusement when I punched him as hard as I could in his arm. But the humour was wiped right off his face when he saw the expression on mine.

"How could you?!" I screeched, making my Shugo Chara jump from my shoulders in shock. "Do you have any idea what you just did?! What's going to happen to those kids?!"

My question was answered when the immense crowd of concert-goers were being herded out of the stadium from the back way, right by the dying garden where Ikuto and I stood, and I was able to identify the three who had their eggs snatched from them. All of them were moving sluggishly, almost like the walking dead, and their eyes were completely blank. Their parents hovered around them like nervous hummingbirds, asking what was wrong. They only shrugged and said, "I found out how reality works", then moved on with the rest of the tide.

I stared at them, completely aghast with a crestfallen look on my face, and behind me, Ikuto began to speak in his low, and at the moment, annoying voice. "You know something? Even if I hadn't broken their eggs, they would have destroyed their own." He used his clawed hand to gesture to the rest of the crowd. "You see those adults walking around, always looking so weary, tired, worn-down? They broke their own eggs long ago when they realized how unrealistic dreams were. It's the same for everyone." He looked at the moo just then, as it was slowly shying away from the clouds and showering everything in ethereal light. "None of us can be saved."

Completely incapable of finding any coherent words to respond, I remained absolutely still and silent. My fists were clenched so tightly my long nails drew blood. Just as I heard his footsteps swiftly swishing through the swaying grass as he walked away, I turned to look at him with the deadliest glare I could muster, and asked, "So what?"

Ikuto turned to look at me again, eyebrows cocked in a way that said "this should be interesting". I walked straight up to him, capable of ignoring to attraction and the stabbing pain in my chest from each step from walking by the shards of dreams, and continued my rant while jabbing a shaking finger in his face. "So what if all our dreams are bound to end tragically? That doesn't stop us from hoping. That doesn't stop us from working towards them each and every day. That doesn't stop us from giving us a reason to live. Just because all dreams are bound to end doesn't mean that we forget them!" The amusement had been completely wiped off his face, and he looked deadly serious. "Adults still look back and laugh on the foolish days of their youth. Parents still wish for their children to dream and hope, even if they're bound to be crushed. And do you wanna know why? It's because having dreams, and having the chance to live them, is the best fucking time of anyone's life!"

His eyes were wide saucers staring down at me with a dumbfounded expression, probably because I looked extremely vulnerable right then. The lump in my throat that was impossible to swallow away was an informant to me that I was close to tears. Probably because I was being selfish and not just speaking for those kids that had lost their only hopes I the world- but also because I was speaking for myself. I dropped my proffered hand from Ikuto's face and stared right in his eyes, pleading with my own for some sort of sign that he was not all evil like the Guardians wanted me to believe.

"Are you really okay with being the one to take that all away?" I asked, my voice hitching on the last syllable.

The look on his face right then was indescribable, and took me more by surprise than what had happened to my hands during the performance. For just one second, one second long enough to rise my hopes before they were completely dashed, he looked mortally wounded. Like my words had cut deep into his very heart and let it bleed everywhere. But then he masked it so quickly I swore I got whiplash, closed the distance between us, got right in my face, and whispered threateningly, "It's my job."

And then he leapt away with inhuman elegance and height, away into the darkness of the night where I could never see him.

So that was it then. Easter really was evil, and they really were capable of destroying innocent children's dreams. Not only them, but Ikuto as well. They were all… bad. And I had been such a fool for believing otherwise.

I knelt beside the shards of the eggs, and sorted them all into a neat pile. The edges cut my palms, but I was perfectly all right with that. It was hardly enough suffering for my incompetence. "I'm sorry," I whispered to them, even though I knew I wouldn't get an answer. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to protect you… or myself."

As I laid them in a bed of red, wilting flowers, I made a wish straight from my heart. Something I wanted so much I was willing to give anything for it. I wish I could be strong enough to protect myself and everyone else around me.

The peaceful silence and my reverie were suddenly interrupted by a cracking sound. I dared a glance behind me to see what it was, and saw that my bag had something wriggling out of it. Before I could start screaming like a dying goose, the third egg of mine- the one with the changing moon phases on it- rolled out of the flap and right in front of me. Lilith and Vivian both got the most ecstatic expressions on their faces as it began to shake and stir, dark fissures tearing into its surface. The ominous clouds completely cleared away from the sky, letting the full moon's light completely burst through, a shining beacon in the darkest of times. And then the egg broke, and from it emerged my newest Shugo Chara.

She wasn't anything like Vivian or Lilith; from the very moment she floated from her safe home's shell, she came off with the impression of the utmost grace and warmth, a mother cooing over her newborn child. Her hair was a throbbing electric blue, tied into high pigtails with silver ribbons done in bows. Her eyes were bright, big, and the colour of starlight, shining up at me with complete faith and- unbelievably enough- love. Her outfit was different, as well, and completely unexpected. A dark blue, sleeveless, short kimono with a snow-white obi, unattached sleeves that fell to her small feet clad in long black boots, and twin katanas latched onto her waist. She smiled up at me, her small pink lips turning upright so sweetly it reminded me of candy, and she fell into a deep, respectful bow.

"Nice to meet you, Snow," she said to me, her voice small, light, and much like falling snow. "I'm your newest Shugo Chara, Satsuki. I was born from your desire to be stronger." She held out a tiny hand to me, and I touched the tip of my finger to it in amazement. "I hope we get along well from now on."

I smiled at her, though my entire heart wasn't in it. Something deep inside of me had broken with Ikuto's unspeakable cruelty, and another had opened with the strange freezing phenomena occurring around me. The veins in my hands appeared to be exactly like snowflakes, and there was still the ice blooming on the stage equipment like frozen flowers. Things had begun to drastically shift. The Wheel of Fortune was taking its turn.

As I stared up at the moon, feeling more melancholy and lonely than ever before, I heard Satsuki, my newest Shugo Chara, worriedly ask the other two, "How much time do we have left?"

"Not much," Lilith said, so serious and deep it was like she was watching someone die. "Not much at all."

Snow: You're actually a horrible person.

Crimrose: *Shrugs* Sorry. We needed some content from the actual story, even if it did break your heart into a million tiny pieces.

Ikuto: *Snorts* Gullible little-

Crimrose: Be civil with each other, please.

Ikuto: She punched me in the arm.

Snow: HE MANHANDLED ME.

Crimrose: I guess encouraging you two not to fight is kind of futile. Lee, what did you think of the new chapterrrrrrr why are you crying.

Lee: *Sobs* I'm so happy. I actually made an appearance this chapter! AND I WASN'T A TOTAL DOUCHEBAG!

Snow: *Whispers* I actually think he's a sad, sad individual.

Ikuto: *Whispers* You could say that again.

Snow: *Whispers* I actually think-

Crimrose: OKAY ENOUGH YOU PEOPLE ARE AWFUL. Anyway, please leave a review, thank you, and I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LONG CHAPTER I'M ACTUALLY WEEPING.

Snow: I know someone else who's actually a sad individual.

Ikuto: *Snickering* You ain't so bad, Hisayuki.

Crimrose: Save it for the bedroom, you two. I'LL SEE YOU GUYS NEXT TIME! AND IF I DON'T GET AROUND TO IT, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Snow: OHMIGOD WAIT WAIT WAIT WHAT DID YOU SAY.

Ikuto: You heard her. Better get to work.

Snow: Jesus no don't touch me PUT ME DOWN WHY ISN'T ANYONE HELPING.

Crimrose: ~Baby it's cold outsiiiiiiiiiide!~