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...

15. Chapter XIII- Fading Trust

Ha-HA sorry for being so late (yet again). But let's just ignore that for now and get on with the important stuff.

Sooo IT HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE CROSS ICE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED!

Now, to some of you this may not be at al exciting, but for me it is very much so. For some of you very faithful viewers (you know who you are) have stayed with this fic since the very beginning, always leaving me such AWESOME, LOVELY, AND KIND REVIEWS THAT MAKE THIS WHOLE THING WORHTWHILE, AND I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THIS TIME TO THANK YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH FOR BEARING WITH ME AND THE SUPER-LONG CHAPTERS AND JUST BEING SUCH GREAT PEOPLE FOR SUPPORTING ME AND THIS STORY AND JUST BEING SO LOVING AND I THINK I MAY CRY.

Honestly, re-reading everyone's reviews- long or short, it doesn't matter- encourages me to keep on writing this even when I begin to doubt myself, when I begin to think that it's not good enough, or when I'm about ready to just give it all up. But for now I can promise everyone that so long as I keep on writing- which will probably be for quite a while- I will keep trying to write CI until it reaches its end (which is still in the distant future)! I can't even believe it's been more than a year. How about that.

ANYWAY just thank you guys so much, each and every one of you viewers, and I hope you continue to like CI and keep with it~!

-Insert Disclaimer here-

~Crimrose

P.S. Sorry for the false alarm earlier in August. That's what I get for leaving Fanfiction open at a friend's house -_-

Chapter XIII

Fading Trust

At some point in their lives, I believe it's safe to say that every human being experiences betrayal. The most obvious example for me was that day thirteen years ago when my father disappeared and my mother turned into a monster right before my very eyes. But of course there were more incidents of treachery than that; humans were selfish and conniving creatures by nature. When I was fourteen, I had just been finishing up in the bathroom of my middle school when a few more girls walked into the facility. They were ones I thought I knew, the only people I considered friends at the time. But somehow when I heard them begin to whisper and giggle, my hand had frozen on the latch to exit the stall. I caught whisps of my name from their conversation, then more snickering, then the very words which I might have despised more than anything in the world:

"I feel so sorry for her."

Pretending I hadn't heard a thing was easier than being ostrasized and alone, so that's exactly what I did. But every time I saw that look in their eyes- the one of pity, of contempt- I couldn't help but feel a little sick inside.

But that was nothing compared to the utter disgust and loathing I felt towards Nikaidou the instant I realized that he had pretended to be a teacher- pretended to be a reliable, trustworthy adult- only to get close to children and crush their dreams and hopes with his own two hands.

When he asked me, "How is it that you plan to stop me?" I figured the answer was pretty obvious; adult or not, I was going to kick his ass so hard he tasted foot for the next week. And yet something stopped me from lunging at him straight away. Such was the ever-elusive question of 'why'. It was strange enough that he was aware of the existence of Shugo Chara, but to use such a wonderful, blessed thing for an evil purpose- just like those men from the old building at Seiyo all those years ago? It didn't make sense. He could've just been following Easter's orders, but then why would Ikuto be surprised to see that he had stolen my eggs, as well as having so many X-Eggs with him? There was something wrong here.

So I asked him aloud, not really expecting an answer, but the desire to know was too strong to supress it. "Why are you doing this?" I roared, my voice only carrying a slight quiver. "Masquerading as a teacher, extracting X-Eggs- what exactly did you hope to accomplish?"

He tilted his head to one side, looking at me as if I had asked what colour the sky was. "Easter's goals are my own," he said easily, simply, as if we were discussing the weather- which was now more of a panicked dance of snowfall then a graceful fall from the heavens. "I wish to obtain the Embryo, naturally- it's just that my methods are a bit more orthodox then sending out a rebellious teenager to do all the dirty work."

The shot was clearly targeted at Ikuto, who (for some unknown reason) remained at my side even then, his body angled slightly in front of mine in a way that reminded me how stronger he was than me as a girl. It didn't make him flinch or waver, however I observed a muscle in his jaw jump in irritation and his eyes narrow into little cat slits. This only seemed to amuse the opponent at hand, who burst into an uncanny fit of cackles like we were some circus troupe performing for his pleasure.

"For the sake of obtaining the Embryo," the latter continued as if insulting a fellow employee meant nothing to him at all, "I transferred to the most likely place where such a magical egg could be found- a school just overflowing with idealist children who still believe in making their dreams come true. However, merely extracting the eggs proved to be futile- you have a very bothersome knack of interrupting me, Snow Hisayuki."

I titled my chin up at him, convinced that a wretch such as himself was one of the lowest human beings- regardless of whether or not I proved to be a monster myself. "Forgive me for not feeling the slightest bit of remorse about that."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Nikaidou chuckled, waving his hand in the air like he could just blow the problem away with the wind. "You see, I have a new and much more... shall we say, 'devious' plot in store for you. And your little eggs are going to play a huge part in the scene."

Apparently being taped and locked up inside a briefcase did truly horrendous things to Lilith's temper- she started cussing him out and using words that even I, an eighteen-year-old, dared not to utter. She even made Ikuto's eyebrows come close to his hairline.

"... Uncooperative as they may be," he finished with an affronted grunt.

"You're not even going to get that far," I snorted, as if the idea of such was actually amusing.

One of his baby carrot eyebrows quirked devillishly. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

Now it was my turn to give him that are-you-effing-kidding-me stare. "Because you're going to give those back before I have to hurt you."

To Nikaidou, this was evidently the most amusing thing he had ever heard in his entire life. His laughter bounced around and echoed in the tunnel Ikuto and I stood tensely beneath, burrowing in my ears until I felt tempted to claw them off yet again. Unsure of whether or not I was actually able to do it, I flexed my fingers experimentally, feelings little zaps of heat course through them as naturally as breath flowed in and out of my lungs. I steeled my feet against the ground and prepared to risk hurting him to encase Nikaidou's feet in ice, but before I could even perform the feat in front of Ikuto's curious and devouring eyes, all of my Shugo Chara called out to me at once from the briefcase: "Snow, DON'T!"

Although it goes without saying, I froze- no pun intended- in place. Not even a single coil of ice had dyed the slate ground the colours of winter when they stopped me dead in my tracks, and I couldn't help but feel even more hurt and betrayed than before. Did they not trust me to control myself? Were they actually worried for their captor, the man that had taken them away from me? Whatever it was, it made animosity sizzle in my veins and poison broil in my blood, but I dropped my tightening hands back to my side and began taking slow, steady steps towards the perpetraitor, that disturbing look of amusement still glued to his face. Ikuto made no move to stop me, or even to accompany me, but remained in the shadows as I stepped out into the light of the falling snow, the expression on my face finally making Nikaidou's pompous attitude shatter and his eyes narrow.

"What?" He demanded, his mouth curling into a snarl. "You hate me now? You utterly resent me for stealing and breaking those kids' dreams, and now taking your own? I hate to say it, kid-" the very word made me want to viciously strike him in the face "-but even if Easter never intervened, people do that to themselves." He actually thought it would be a brilliant idea to pop Vivian's egg out of its custom-sized slot- which indicated he had been plotting this for quite some time- and tossed it in the air. My heart went flying right up with it, and I was about to go for his throat before he caught the egg in his hand again with a heavy thump. "Your dreams will be shattered soon enough. You are an adult, after all."

"That means nothing to me," I murmured coolly, showing no change in my murderous expression. I had thought and brooded over those extremes enough myself to get somewhat close to acceptance- one day I really would be all alone, and there was nothing I could do about. But that was the inevtible. If it was the scum of the earth like Nikaidou, I could hold it off for just a little longer. "If that's honestly what you think, then you have no idea how precious the Heart's Egg is to everyone. What gives you the right to treat them as if they were nothing?"

So low and quiet even I barely heard it, Nikaidou bowed his head slightly and muttered, "I do know."

Both Ikuto and I seemed to hold our breath, as if preparing to hear the ultimate confession that could change the course of the future from then on. But Nikaidou said nothing more; he just lifted his malicious gaze to us once again, glowering with everything he was worth. "I do understand how important the Heart's Egg is. More than anyone. And that's why I also know that they're worthless."

A strong, preadatory growl tore from my throat, startling the companion beside me. "Give them back now."

His golden eyes snapped to meet mine, a challenging tone barely concealed beneath his mask of malignity. "No."

Just 'no'. This guy was great. "Give them back," I repeated, more fiercely this time. This seemed to give my Shugo Chara more drive then before, since their eggs began shaking within the briefcase. I took another step forward, but Ikuto suddenly grabbed me by the elbow and stopped me just from the heat of his touch.

"What are you planning, Nikaidou-san?" He asked, almost like he was speaking to himself. But Nikaidou just smirked at him and shook his head.

"We're both Easter employees," he began with a drawl, holding his hand palm up to the air. A few X-Eggs wandered over and rest in it, like the only comfort in the world they could find was in his touch. "Yet you seem to show that your loyalty lies elsewhere. The question should be, why are you helping her, Ikuto-kun? Especially when you should be fighting her."

"Easter doesn't tell me who I can and can't care about," he answered instantly, defensively, and I was struck in a way that even Nikaidou's words couldn't accomplish. My gaze probing with questions wandered to his face, but his expression was an unreadable mask. He wouldn't even look back at me. He cares about me? I wondered, and had to consider whether he meant it or just said it for the sake of convenience. Either way my heart, which had only previous felt like a hunk of rock weighing down my chest, sped up and began charging in double time, completely aghast that only a few words from this shrouded enigma were giving me a freaking heart attack.

As much as I wanted to dwell on that, and demand of him the meaning to his words, I wasn't able to. For Nikaidou was busting a gut yet again, actually wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "How sweet," he crowed, and I was now convinced he was exactly like the masterminded evil villain from a movie, from his cackle to his apparent split-personality. "Easter's puppet and the Guardians' Joker." I didn't believe he was worthy of a response, so instead I only scowled as Ikuto bared his teeth. "I suppose that makes you traitors, just like me."

"I'm nothing like you," I hissed, my temper having officially run out. Now I was charging ahead, Ikuto calling out for me to stop from behind, and Nikaidou just smirked and practically shot the X-Eggs at me. At first, I wasn't worried, thinking I could just Character Transform and be done with it, but then I remembered: my Shugo Chara weren't exactly accessible at the moment, and using my abilities weren't an option from the hazard of shattering the eggs. The onyl hope I had was to dodge, but I was too late in realizing that.

I was about to call of all my bets and just barrell-roll out of there, but in a flash of leather and black, Ikuto was standing directly in front of me, his arms crossed in front of him so that the X-Eggs kept ricocheting off of his Wolverine-like claws. I had that dumb fish-eyed look on my face as I stared up at him in bafflement, only to see his eyes narrowed in concentration and his jaw clenched from the consistent strikes of pressure.

"Ikuto, what are you doing-nya?!" Yoru demanded from inside of him (that sounded odd). "Just detroy the X-Eggs and be done with it!"

"Shut up!" Ikuto sibilated, not moving from his protective stance. He couldn't possibly have been avoiding destroying them because of... me, could he? That was impossible. It was his job to do so. And yet not once did he maneuver to slash them away like he could have easily done; he only remained in front of me, his feet steeled against the ground and grunting with each shot, and suddenly my heart felt like it was receiving each blow with him. With a realization stronger than ever before, I realized that I wanted to help him, to be close to him, regardless of whether or not he was an enemy. If he really hated me, or the Guardians in general, he wouldn't keep coming back to help. He wouldn't be protecting me from one of his own.

Through all of that, I should've been paying more attention. For Nikaidou reached in his pocket and produced a small, white sphere with colourful flourescent lights blinking on it, then tossed it easily into the air. It landed right in front of us and began spewing out a noxious, toxic green gas, leaving the both of us coughing and our eyes watering. Even still, I could see his figure retreating through the man-made miasma, and I let out a frenzied screech before attempting to bolt after him.

"Stop it!" Ikuto snapped at me, holding me back by the waist. If I had time to decompose the feeling that made course through me, I probably would have, but I felt too blind and frantic to even pay attention. "You could get hurt!"

"That doesn't matter!" I called back, feeling that with each step Nikaidou and my Shugo Chara took away from me, chest was being ripped out with them, my flesh stretching and tearing me apart. "LILITH! VIVIAN! SATSUKI!"

"Snow!" They screamed back, completely out of my reach. Hearing their helpless voices in the distance seemed to make something shatter inside of me. My knees wobbled, my weight becoming too much to bear all on my own, and I would've collapsed to the ground in shell-shock if Ikuto hadn't grabbed me and held me up. "Whatever you do, don't listen!"

"Listen to what?" I barely whispered, but they were inclined to conitnue screeching at me anyway.

"The voice! Don't listen to the voice!"

Before I could ask the obvious question, I recalled with an audible gasp the voice I had heard inside just before finding them. The barely-there mimic of myself, the only sound amidst a drowning sea of silence, telling me to relinquish any resistance I felt and that it could take my pain away. And now that they were screaming at me to absolutely ignore it, to never heed its words, I suddenly knew that something was very wrong with it. It wasn't anything good, not that I thought it was in the first place. But it was sinister, malignant... maybe even evil. Which only helped to further my realization that something was horribly, tragically wrong with me.

The epiphany and the strength of Ikuto's arm flexing against my stomach were too much to handle, and cost too much time. By the time the putrid green smoke had dissapated into the frigid air, both Nikaidou and my Shugo Chara were nowhere to be seen. A strange noise erupted from my throat, something between a gasp, a sob, and a wretch, and I slumped to the ground, completely at a loss for what to do with myself- with anything, really.

Slowly, Ikuto released me and returned to his standing position. As all of the X-Eggs Nikaidou had accumulated melted back into their darkness, he reverted from his Character Transformation, leaving the two of us to brood in silence for a while. Then he warily sat on the ground beside me, his long legs stretching out in front of him, and the shuff of the fabric of his clothing moving against his skin made my heart clench, despite the situation. He leaned forward into his hands placed to his sides on the ground, and blew out a long breath. "So," he began, his voice low and gruff, "what now?"

I shook my head, my hair coming loose from its bun and giving me the appearance of a crazy homeless lady. "I don't know," I admitted, my voice quiet and shaking.

After a few more of my sickening heartbeats of silence, he spoke again, his tone now inquisitive as well as sympathetic. "You know, it may be none of my business, but why do you care so much? I mean, I get that it's like stealing your most precious treasure and dreams away from you but..." He waved his hand in the air dismissively, as Nikaidou had done only a few moments ago sardonically. "You seem... pretty torn up."

Staring out at the snow falling delicately from the midnight blue sky yet again, matching Ikuto's eyes with their ever-present glint of mischeif, I weighed the pros and cons of telling him. Letting him know just about myself couldn't affect the Guardians as a whole; I wasn't so juvenile that I couldn't take a few shots from him just to weaken my defenses, if that was what he planned to do. So I took a deep breath, appreciating the freshness of the air filling my lungs, and let him shoulder just one gram of the weight crushing against my heart.

"Well, my childhood wasn't fabulous," I admitted with a snort, not knowing how else to say it. "When I first came here, I had reached that point in my life when I felt like there wasn't much hope left of being anything... of worth, you know?" I glanced at him from the corner of my eye to see him nodding discreetly, like he didn't want me to notice his agreement. "Dreams and the like were completely beyond my reach. All I wanted was to just change something with my own power, without running away like I always did. But then I met you, and the Guardians, and learned that my dreams were still there."

It felt like I was being stabbed repeatedly in the chest with a thorned blade, so I moved my hand to clench it against my shirt, my head tilted towards the sky and the dance of the snowflakes illuminated by the streetlights' golden glow. "It was like my life restarted, like I had another chance of actually being something different than who I was, of not being..." I had to swallow down a white-hot lump in my throat before choking out the next word. "A monster. My Shugo Chara gave me that chance, and now being without them... I can't..."

"It's okay," he murmured quietly, his voice an intimate timbre at my side. "You don't have to say anything else."

I raised my eyebrows. "If you're trying to save me from reopening any old wounds, spare me." I leaned back to mimcic his posture, relishing in the fact that I didn't have to be alone right in that very moment. "There's none to do that with. I wasn't looking for pity."

"Of course not." He spoke in a way that reminded me that he was still a guy, almost a man, and suddenly sitting so close to him made my stomach spasm in ways I didn't know possible. "You're not the type of girl someone can bring themselves to pity."

That was actually able to dredge a smile out of me. "Good to know."

My gaze travelled to his face for another moment, only to see that he was biting his lower lip slightly. I almost slapped myself in the face for feeling the need to touch him, like he was something beautiful and attainable on display, that I could reach out to without being ridiculed or rejected. The desire was so strong I shifted to sit on my hands and trained my eyes straight ahead, trying to sort out the puzzle pieces in my mind to realize the big picture of what I had to do next.

"Can I be honest with you?" He asked abruptly, making me begrudgingly bring my eyes back to his.

I feigned shock. "Are you serious? You, honest?" Releasing one hand from the prison of being under my butt, I used it to fan my face. "I think I might faint."

He grabbed it from the air, a sardonic grin lighting up his whole disposition. I thought he had done it just to desist my mockery, but he kept a hold of it, gentle as it was. He was giving me the opportunity to pull away, to remain as we were in that moment. But I didn't. The feel of his fingers around mine wasn't enough, for whatever reason; I wanted more, like to seek comfort in leaning against him. However, that would've gone way too far, and there would have been absolutely no going back. So I remained very still, not grasping his hand any tighter- just enjoying the fact that he wanted to hold it in the first place. "I'm glad you told me all this," he admitted, sounding like he hated to admit it, but doing so anyway for my sake.

A confused look crossed my face. "What do you mean?" I demanded, allowing myself to teasingly bump my shoulder against his. "Well, we're already friends, aren't we? Of course I would if you asked."

This time he was completely stunned, not even jokingly so. "You think we're friends?"

"Am I wrong?"

"Well, you know." He brought his other hand up to scratch his head, the sight of his sleek hair slipping through his fingers making the teenager in me squeal. "We're sworn enemies and all, fighting for the same thing, for different reasons... being friends just seems a little bit juvenile, don't you think?"

I rolled my eyes. "If you don't like me, just say so."

"Trust me," he purred with a smile that made all of my ovaries melt into puddles of goo. His voice was a lot closer than it had been before, but I couldn't bring myself to look in that direction, already blinking rapidly and blushing like two tomatoes had been smashed onto my face. "Liking you was never an issue."

I was gonna cry. "I'd probably like you a lot more if you weren't such a sexual harrasser," I gritted out, earning a hearty laugh.

"That's not happening."

"I figured."

"Speaking of which..." I felt his eyes travel downwards from boring into the side of my face, and I could only guess what he was looking at. "If I said I wanted to hug you right now, what would you do?"

My expression was probably insultingly mortified as I gawked at him. "I would kick you in the face!"

His laughter was so loud it echoed all around us, his hand removed from mine to cover his probably aching gut. I had to admit that I missed its warmth, the comfort of feeling him touching me, but not enough to reach out to him. "This isn't the most pressing issue right now," he sighed, wiping the corner of his eye like there might actually be a tear there. "But we'll come back to it later."

Cautiously, I edged away from him, and I didn't like the low 'hmmm' he let out upon seeing it, like he was considering all of the things he could do to bring me back. "That sounded like a threat."

"It was." And when his eyebrows waggled like two dark thin caterpillars dancing on his face, I had to laugh, even though it hurt both in my chest and the pit of my stomach.

Regrettably, the complacent mood that had finally developed between us had to be scattered, for more serious issues were at hand. Ikuto didn't attempt to come close to me again; instead he stood in one suave movement, and calmly placed his pallid hands in the pockets of his black winter coat. "Nikaidou's more dangerous now than ever," he deduced- most likely because he no longer had to maintain the facade of an easygoing teacher. "He probably won't hesitate to hurt you, especially because you aren't just some kid. You can't handle him anymore."

I followed suit and swooped into a standing position, crossing my arms over my chest with a burning glower trained on the place where my new enemy had once stood. "So what? That doesn't mean that I'm just going to let him do whatever he wants with those kids' eggs- especially my own. They're my only reason for living now."

That seemed to give him a sense of urgency, because his hands fell out of his pockets like they were deadweight and his expression was almost twitchy. "Snow-"

"It doesn't matter who I'm up against," I continued, challenging him with my eyes to prove me wrong. "Not even if it's the whole world. I swear I'll get them back!"

The silence that stretched between us was tense and uncomfortable, enemies once again, before he sighed and said, "Look, I really want to hug you now, so-"

I swat his outstretched hands away with a bright red apple for a face, secretly pleased that he wanted to touch me- probably not as much as I wanted him, but the fact alone was glorious in my mind. "YOU KEEP YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM ME!"

A grin split his entire face, actually slicing two dimples into his cheeks. It was the first smile, the first real smile, he had ever graced me with, and now I probably understood why he rarely did it; if he smiled all the time, he would probably have to fend off girls with a long stick.

Good God. I thought I actually stopped breathing for a second there.

"Yup," he said, nodding to himself, which Yoru mimicked with a mirror of his smile. "Definitely not someone you could pity."

Then he disappeared into the shadows, like he had been one of them all along.

---

It was unconditionally disenheartening when I walked into my apartment later that same night and realized how absolutely empty it was.

Without anyone else in it, it had reverted to the way it was when I had first moved in. No sounds resonated throughout the shining space, the dark television screen and lack of people making it seem void and lifeless. I didn't turn on the light as soon as I entered, like I normally would have, with the girls chirping at my side. The entire den was cast in a heavy slab of shadow, like someone had dumped pitch paint all over and left me to drown in it. Through the wall almost made completely of long windows, I could see the lights of the city blinking and dancing, so filled with energy that I felt more alone than I already had.

I remained silent as I pushed my shoes off with my toes, since there was no one to say anything to. Each step I made to get to the couch seemed to make another piece of me fall away, leaving me hollow and incapable of operating in any way besides a robot's. When I reached my destination, I reconsidered sitting down like a normal person, and instead laid down on the floor, staring up at the blank white ceiling. Everything about the place I had hoped to create a home in now seemed superficial, everything with my Shugo Chara being by my side only a dream I could continue to pine for. I was all alone in this place now, and I was pathetic and lying on the floor, my school uniform rumpled and dirty and my hair a complete disarray of pearly white.

Only now I realized that I had become far too reliant on the three small girls who were always with me. I had counted on them to remain there forever, and now I was lying in solitude, feeling poignant and resentful. If they had never showed up, I wouldn't have been given any hope that I could be anything better than what I was. And now I was useless without them. It only further proved that I could do nothing on my own, that I still wasn't an adult at all, but still a lost little girl who had buried everything deep to unearth only when she thought she was ready. What was the point of believing in something that could be lost so easily? Was having Shugo Chara really worth anything?

Amazing that being without them for only a few hours made me completely change my perspective on their existance in the first place. Maybe that was the most pathetic part of anything. I let myself be touched and hopeful about the fact that I still had dreams in the first place, and now all I felt was regret and sorrow. What would have happened to me on the inevitable day when they disappeared forever, when I actually became a full-fledged adult and became whoever it was I really wanted to be? The thought was almost laughable. I probably would've become a complete mess, a walking disaster. So were they really beneficial in any way?

After heaving a sigh so heavy it was like I expelled solidified negative energy from my body, I pushed myself off the floor and set to change and clean myself up. It was kind of too late to feel embarrassed that I had looked so disheveled in front of both Ikuto and Nikaidou, after having followed Yoru all through the darkest, dirtiest places of the city, but I felt it now anyway. I bit down on my bottom lip and widened my eyes in frustration like one of those toys you squeezed until their eyes popped from their sockets as I hastily stripped from my uniform and yanked on black leggings and a biscuit pink, short-sleeved tee-shirt. With small, angry grunts, I picked all of my dirty clothes off the floor, yanked my hair completely free from the useless elastic holding it in a frazzled updo, and slipped my feet into ballet flats to run down to the washing room on the lobby floor.

Standing alone in the elevator, with a laundry basket balanced against my hip and my own reflection daunting me from every corner, I felt strangely claustrophobic and almost shaken. The breath I exhaled was shaky and rough, only to be relieved when the elevator dinged at my stop and I briskly strode out of its reflective walls. Some of the apartment's tenants I had only seen in passing were milling about the room down the hallway from the entrance, greeting me with a nod or a smile, which I returned stiffly. Some of them looked at me strangely, since the sight of a teenager living in an apartment by herself was apparently a rare sight nowadays. None of them ever actually approached me for conversation, even though I thought I wasn't being very standoffish, and that was probably because they didn't trust the fact that I was all by myself. I was sure that the elderly folk on the lower levels probably gossipped about me when I had first arrived, and they might even still be doing so. Regardless of such, I continued down the foyer, passed the activity and exercise room, the indoor pool, and eventually had to veer left to reach the laundry room. Washing and drying machines lined the walls on all sides, the room itself completely sterile and white, almost like a hospital. Accompanied with the smell of liquid bleach and detergent, it seemed even more so, the only other sign of life coming from the rumbling machines during their cycles.

I scoured for an empty washing machine and plopped my basket on top of it, opening the door and tossing my clothes in. I set the required settings to wash my uniform properly without ruining or shrinking it, then scooped my detergent and softner from my basket and dumped the appropriate amount in and set a timer on my phone. As the machine kicked off with a click and shake, I glanced around to confirm that no one else was around, then collapsed against an empty machine and lowered myself to the floor. It could have been that all the hollowness that I felt inside was actually all my organs and bones being ripped out, making me unable of supporting myself for very long. The thought was ridiculous, sure, but that was what it felt like.

Unfortunately for me, the door to the empty room opened slowly, someone juggling their laundry to shuffle inside. When I saw who it was, I didn't even bother to pick myself up; I remained completely still and didn't so much as glance at Lee again as he scanned the room quickly for a free machine, until his gaze came to rest upon me just chilling on the floor like a moron.

"Snow?" He demanded, worry coating his voice like a wintry wind. "What's wrong? Why are you sitting on the floor?"

I waved him off before he could approach me, and he hesitated before going to wash his own load. "Can I not sit on the floor of my own free will? I have rights, you know."

"But there are chairs here."
"As if they could handle my regality."

His eyebrows reached for the sky. "And the floor can?"

I was actually able to snicker at that. "You can't let me have anything, can you?" To which he shook his head, a heartwrenching smile on his face, which reminded me of Ikuto's rare display of his own earlier. That, of course, brought a blush to my face and threatened to stop my heart. It was the type of sight I had to carve into my memory, since the probability of ever witnessing one again was slim to none. For a moment I actually wished I had gotten a picture of it, then I realized that made me seem like a creep- a traitorous creep at that, for practically eye-raping the smile of my enemy- and shook my head to clear away all impure thoughts.

There were a few moments of companionable silence between Lee and I, as he clinked away with his machine and tossed his clothes into it. His wardrobe seemed very standard adult-like, with mostly dark shades and white dress shirts. I rolled my weight onto my hands and knees and crawled over to him, pushing his legs away from the machine with a surprised "oof".

"You're supposed to separate whites," I told him, plucking them out of the washer and folding them neatly back into his basket. He stared at me the whole time, and it occurred to me that I was being far too friendly and presumptuous. I pursed my lips and pushed the basket back towards him.

"You know, Snow," he began, a smile threatening to tear the corners of his mouth. "It's probably not safe for a teenage girl such as yourself to go sticking her hands into a man's laundry."

My eyebrows knit together. "Pardon?" And then it hit me with a bright, hot flush of my cheeks. "Oh. Oh good God, I'm sorry."
His laughter was crowing and reverberated through my whole body. "It's okay. Just a warning should it ever happen again."

I returned to leaning against the dryer beside him, a small smile on my face. Distractions like this were probably good for me right now. When I was all alone again, I'd probably only focus on all of the negative things in my life, and that did nothing good for anyone. Especially not for the girls.

More minutes of silence followed, until Lee was finally done filling the washer and let his gaze travel downwards to glance at me. I caught his fluorescent green gaze and we exchanged a brief, quirky grin, before he calmly asked, "So where are the girls today? I haven't seen them around."

"Ugh," I began with an eye roll. "Well, it's kind of a long story, and I don't-"

My words seemed to clog up my throat, preventing any air from escaping and leaving me completely stunned, numb.

Lee was the same way, his hands frozen almost in claws on the top of the washing machine. His eyes were wide, filled with regret and panic, and he seemed far paler than usual, if that was even possible.

I didn't lift my eyes to look at him; when I spoke, my voice was choked, struggling to form words around the lead in my mouth. "You... you could see them?"

Mutely, he nodded.

"All this time?"

He nodded again.

Astonishingly, I didn't feel anything. A cold, heavy feeling had settled itself right in my chest, as if there were actually a hole there and all of the air around us was just breezing through. I couldn't even think of what I could say to him. He was an adult, far too old to even be aware of Shugo Chara, and yet he was able to see them from the very first day Lilith was born. And he hadn't said anything. For some reason, he found it imperative to keep his sight a secret, to only observe from the shadows and never talk about them with me. Then I formed the only question that I could bear to think of at that moment: "How much do you know?"

Gradually, he was edging towards the door, visually uncomfortable and looking for an escape. "Well, if I had to make an educated guess..." His hand settled shakingly on the door knob to the laundry room, preparing to turn it and bolt at any given moment. "Everything."

My voice was only a breath intermingling with the air in the room as I asked, "Why?"

"Well, you know what they say. Some people just have a strong sixth sense." I could've sworn a mordant smirk twisted and transformed his entire face then, turning into a completely different man I had never met before just as Nikaidou had. His eyes flashed an even brighter green, and it could have just been the reflection of the fluorescent lights overhead, but there appeared to be a bright bluish ring encircling his pupil as his pointed, white teeth poked out from his smile. "And it would be more than fair to say that I am particularly in tune with the supernatural."

As I was left all on my own in a blank sheet of a room, I was left to wonder if there was anyone in this world I could actually trust.

---

Yuu Nikaidou knew with the utmost certainty that there would be consequences to kidnapping the Shugo Chara of an eighteen-year-old girl, but one he had not thought to consider was that the three minatures would be irrefutably annoying.

When he finally reached the safe haven of the abandoned Easter employee dorm, completely doused in shadow and lumped forms in the darkness, he was about ready to slice his own ears off. Snow Hisayuki's Shugo Chara all had impressive mouths on them; he idly wondered, in the back of his mind, what kind of things she must say for them to achieve such an innapropriate vocabulary. Also, it didn't seem as though being caged up in his leathery briefcase did anything to discourage their reluctant attitudes. From the time he had snuck into the employee locker rooms at the East Side Mario's where the snowy-haired teenager worked, the three girls had incessantly cussed him out like he was the scum of all human beings. Which may very well have been true considering what he planned to do with them- of that he was all too well aware. But all that mattered now was fufilling Easter's goals, which had become his own from the moment he began working for them. It didn't matter what became of him as a person; so long as he had success and money, things like hopes and dreams wouldn't amount to anything.

"You fuckass old man!" The red-haired one screeched, her wail muffled from the velvety inside of the case. His forehead throbbed into an angry vein, but he didn't bother insulting her back. She wouldn't be able to speak for much longer, anyway. "You'd better hope that Snow doesn't come looking for you after she rescues us! Then you'll really have something to brood over!"

"Right," he snorted as he ascended the worn, carpeted stairs leading up to the upper floors of the moaning, creaking building. Even with no light shed on the place to evaluate the scenery, the outwards appearance of an old wooden building with wrought-iron fences and a roof with gothic rounded tiles gave a good impression of what it looked like; relatively antique furniture with more modern couches and chairs here and there, completely contrary to the state-of-the-art technical equipment that awaited him in his lab.

He was able to drown out their disgruntled grumbling as he quietly made his way down the hallway, the floorboards complaining beneath the weight of a fully-grown man. The light of the moon shone through the fixed casement windows illuminated a layer of dust so thick on the sills that one would swear they were light gray to begin with, as opposed to their original rich brown. The place completely eluded him in ways of style and appearance, but it was perfectly suited for a place in which he didn't want to be disturbed. Dustmotes swayed in a languid dance lit up by silvery moonlight, stirred into panicked motion as he strode through. He counted doors as he travelled down the hall, old potraits of notable figures and bowls of fruit staring him down, until he came to the fourth one on the left side. He dropped the case on the floor- not even attempting to be gentle- as he shuffled around in his tan trench coat's pocket for the key. Once found, he retrieved the case, oozing noises of complaint and pain, and nudged the door fully open with his foot. Reaching across the wall to snap the light on, all that was to be seen was papers strewn all across the floor, some neat and carefully printed, others with deep scores of scratching and black ink, blinking lumps of machinery and a high-tech computer, then a hulking form of mystery concealed beneath a tarp in the far corner of the room.

Even he had to admit that the sounds that greeted him every time he entered the room sent chills coursing down his spine. The low, empty tones of "Useless... useless..." chanted over and over again, barely even whispers beneath their heavy cover of darkness. He made no hesitation, however, in unlatching his case, firmly grasping each of Snow Hisayuki's eggs in highly differing designs, before ungracefully tossing them into the worn, aged iron birdcage he scrounged up off the street. It was the type of thing he hated- the type of thing that screamed time and history rather than electronics and evolution- and yet he somehow figured that the Hisayuki girl made find something interesting in it. She did seem like the forlorn, wishing-for-greater-things type, after all.

Just before he closed the delicate door to the cage, he lifted the taped X's off of the eggs to release the cursing threesome- tape of his own invention, the purpose specifically intended to trap Shugo Chara of any variety. The development was tedious and bothersome, having to experiment and extract information from more than a few X-Eggs, but apparently worth it in the end. As if out of breath, each of the girls sucked in a large gasp of air before lapsing into a coughing fit, unable to move to escape before he slammed the cage door in their faces.

"You won't... get away with this..." the one with dark pigtails gasped, clutching at her tiny, breakable throat in an attempt to let more air through.

This made Nikaidou actually laugh a little. "Oh, please. Classic helpless heroine line, huh? Well, I don't know what you hope it will accomplish, but I can guarantee the Hisayuki girl won't be coming to rescue you any time soon."

They fell into an oddly suspicious silence as he booted up his computer and set to work, operating the bulk beneath the tarp through software he designed specifically for the task of harvesting the energy of countless X-Eggs and an additional, limitless power of three Shugo Chara. After a long stretch of him tapping away on his keyboard, the disembodied voices of the X-Eggs, and the hum and blips of the machines, the pigtailed one sighed after finally getting her breath back, and said, "I wonder what Snow will do without us."

"Oh, God," the one with the rabbit groaned as she tossed the stuffie aside and buried her head in her hands. "Do you know what she's going to do tomorrow since we're not there? She's going to do the crossword in the newspaper."
"Oh, shit, no," the redhead gasped, shaking her head viciously in denial. "That's so... old, and loser-y of her." Nikaidou took personal offense to this, considering that he himself did the crossword in the newspaper after a long night of work, but didn't voice his complaints aloud. He was not an old man.

"I really hope she doesn't tell anyone if she-" The small, feminine voice cut off suddenly with a strangled gasp, and suddenly all of them were crouching on the floor of the cage, moaning, growling, whatever you'd like to call it. Even though it could've just been some stupid ploy for attention, Nikaidou still rolled his eyes and settled in their direction, but what he saw made him bolt from his chair and dash right over to the cage, grabbing it with two hands and shaking it slightly.

"What the hell is going on?" He demanded, watching in horror as the three powerful Shugo Chara slowly began turning transparent, until he was able to see the wall right through them. They continued to blink and flutter as such, like the furious beating wings of a hummingbird, and it looked as if they might have all burst into tears at once.

This was bad, so very, very bad. If they disappeared now, he'd have to go through getting someone else's Shugo Chara all over again. Considering his power to drag others into darkness, this normally wouldn't have been a problem, but Snow Hisayuki's were exceptionally gifted, and finding others like hers in this liftetime was basically the same as wishing to cup a shooting star in your own two hands. Essentially, impossible.

"It's... Snow," the gothic one gasped, her eyes so wide they looked as if they were about to explode from her head. "She's beginning to... stop believing in us."

Nikaidou had researched and delved into all the known history of Shugo Chara to know well enough that if someone stopped believing in their existence, they would disappear. It was like the way the mind worked in the sense that if someone believed strongly enough that something really didn't exist, they would just become blind to it. Could the Hisayuki girl really have been weak enough to stop believing altogether just because he had taken them? He had clearly overestimated her. In the end, she was just like all of the other Shugo Chara owners; weak and vulnerable, with no strength about themselves at all.

Himself included, of course.

"Please," the black-haired one pleaded, taking him by surprise. As they crackled in and out of existence, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction to see them on their hands and knees, begging him to keep them alive. Then he shook himself out of thinking that way. It was crude and pathetic to feel superior to beings smaller than oneself in the first place. "Please... you have to let us go."
He didn't even bother responding; he merely collapsed back into his wheeled office chair with a snort of laughter.

"You don't understand!" The fiery ginger screamed, at such a high frequency with her blinking that he actually winced. "If Snow is without us for too long..." She had to pause to inhale a shallow, shaking breath, and he almost felt pity for the things that seemed to be in a great deal of suffering. "If we disappear from her side..."

Nikaidou couldn't restrain the smirk on his face, eager to hear what kind of shameful excuse they'd come up with to keep from fading away. Even Shugo Chara had that selfish human instinct of self-preservation, where they would beg to even God to keep them alive for just a little bit longer.

"... She'll die."

He couldn't help but snort. "Honestly, if you want to come up with a reason for me to release you, it's going to have to be a better lie than that."

"We're not kidding!" Pigtails screamed, shocking everyone by throwing herself against the cage bars, causing it to swing back and forth from the hooked stand on which it was haphazardly placed. "You've seen her powers before! We know you have! If we disappear, Snow will, as well!"

Even though he knew he shouldn't, Nikaidou found himself mulling over their words. They were genuinely desperate, and near-sobbing in fear, so much so that he almost believed their story. And it was true; he had witnessed the freak powers of Snow Hisayuki which involved dropping the temperature in substantial amounts whenever her temper got the best of her, and actual ice exploding around her, a display of anger like a predator might show. He didn't see what that had to do with her Shugo Chara disappearing, and her as well.

Though, if he managed to get his hands on the true nature of the glacial teenager, and was able to perform experiments and the like on her, who knew what possibilites she held in that thin body of hers. The very thought made one of his developed, twisted smirks take residence on his face, and he wheeled closer to the cage and the weeping fairy-like ladies to stare into their frantic eyes. "Tell you what. I might consider giving Hisayuki-san a chance to get you guys back..." Their eyes gleamed in such a bright hope that it made his marble heart almost squeeze, from both remorse and a memory, "...if you tell me what Snow Hisayuki really is."

And then the hope shattered from their eyes, like stained glass exploding only to reveal the darkest of skies. They each heaved individual, shuddering sighs, before collapsing back and shaking on the cage floor. "We can't," the bunny-weilder cursed, tugging at her inky hair. "It wouldn't be right to tell you before Snow even knows."

This fascinated him even further. So even Snow herself didn't know what exactly her powers entailed, or how much she was capable of. If only he could get his hands on such an ability...

He shook himself free of those thoughts, putting them on hold to attempt to confront again some other time- perhaps in the near future. "Then, enlighten me," he continued, determined to at least shake the tiniest smidge of information out of them. "Why is it that she'll 'die' if you disappear?"

Then they all looked at him in a way that made him realize that they were much more than human. Their gazes seemed to reach beyong even time, looking empty and dazed, as if they had already seen what awaited them when they faded away. "Because," Pigtails began, letting her head bang against the floor as they slowly solidified once again, "we're the only thing keeping her human."

Something completely frozen seemed to take root in the pit of Nikaidou's stomach, as if Snow Hisayuki stood right there with him and grinned devillishly as she froze his insides. "What do you mean?" He asked quietly, far less smug than before.

Despite being whole again for the time being, the threat of disappearing had apparently taken a lot out of them; their breaths were heaving and pained, their voices faint. "Hopes and dreams are something that only humans can truly experience and feel," Redhead began wheezingly. "It's one of the things that make them creatures unique from the rest of living beings. When Snow almost lost hers... when she was about ready to give up altogether... she was almost already too far gone to get back."

"But then we were born," Pigtails continued, just as exhausted as her sisters. "As a 'last resort' method to keep her from completely giving up on her life. However, if we were to disappear from her again... if her dreams were finally all destroyed..."

"There would be nothing left to keep her humanity from being destroyed as well," the black-haired one finished, as they all collapsed to the ground in unison and completely escaped from consciousness.

---

"Hisayuki-san?" Tadase-kun asked the next morning, matching stride with me as I trudged my way up the hill to our strangely unwelcoming academy. "You seem really out of it today. Is something the matter?"

It was about time to get the guilt I had been bearing the whole morning off my chest. I heaved a sigh and admitted, "I did the crossword in the newspaper this morning." Then I buried my head in my hands out of shame.

"Um, alright?" His voice rose higher in octave from confusion. "I don't think that's anything to be ashamed of. But is that really all that's wrong?" I just looked at him, without mustering up any expression, and even then his eyebrows drew down in concern. "I understand if you don't want to tell me; I am just a classmate, after all." And then his burgundy eyes seemed to twinkle the slightest bit in sadness as he dredged up a smile- one just for me. "However, I know that talking about your problems with someone actually does make you feel better, even if it's embarrassing. So, you have to know that I'm more than willing to listen any time, any time at all." Then his cheeks went that lovely shade of pink that the angels above seemed to reserve just for him- and despite myself, it made me wonder what shade Ikuto's cheeks went when he blushed (well, if he ever did at all). "Unless it's, you know, a more feminine problem. I'll leave that to Yuiki-san."

More than anything, as I stared at him walking by my side, willing to listen and be a friend to me despite not knowing me for very long, I wanted to tell him not only about my Shugo Chara having been kidnapped- which I had planned on doing anyway- but everyting. I wanted to tell him about all of the hellish things that had begun happening to me ever since I moved here, about the strange transformation I was going through, to have someone to instill my faith in and believe in. Someone real and tangible, and not seemingly beyond the reach of my reality, like the girls were.

However, at the same time, I didn't want him to know lest he think I was a freak. Tadase-kun may have been the human embodiment of Winnie the Pooh, but he was only a teenage boy, just as I was a girl. To just dump everything on him like that, even if he was experienced with the supernatural, would mean nothing good for either of us. Especially if I chose to tell him about the dream I had last night.

After I had dragged myself into the elevator with laundry smelling strongly and refreshingly of fabric softener, I moved through my nightly routine as if on autopilot. It took me quite a few minutes of standing motionleslly in the shower to realize that I actually had to wash myself and get to sleep- if I was even capable of doing so. When I laid in my bed, normally so comforting and a symbol of sanctuary after a long and annoying day with my Shugo Chara t my side, it wasn't warm and welcoming as it normally was. I left the curtains to the balcony closed, and the door locked, so no trace of light could infiltrate the space. My room- the one place in my home that was reserved only for me, not for company or family or anyone else- was a foreign and cold place to me. After laying wide-awake for who-knows-how-long, I finally managed to lull myself to sleep, my final thoughts: "I guess I've been taking them for granted this entire time."

Without any sort of comfort waiting in the waking world for me, I figured that nightmares may chase me through the night. But instead, it was one of those times when you just close your eyes and become aware that you're reaching the end of a dream of darkness, that you'll be waking up soon and greeting the day. Just before I could open my eyes, everything changed like the sudden scene in a movie. I saw everything from a first-person point-of-view, glancing from side to side to see heavy, incessant snowfall caging me in a shell of white from all sides. It was so dense and impenatrable that it was almost like the static on a television, and nothing but black blinked in and out a few times to show I was trying to blink it away. When I opened my eyes the last time, a figure stood motionless in the distance, long hair flowing slightly in the wind and a plain white dress billowing around small, pin-thin legs. I squinted for a while, my hand making a shade over my eyes, until I registered who it was with a shock that made me feel as though someone had punched a whole straight through my chest.

It was me. Five-year-old Snowrenrie Hisayuki, the glorious, innocent smile of a child on her face that I never even remembered I had worn before. She smiled right up at me, her snapping violet eyes with the icy ring pulling me down to my knees in front of her. Even though neither of us moved forward, she was suddenly right in front of me, on eye-level when I had been brought to my knees. That same, oblivious smile remained on her face, but her white eyebrows wrinkled in sadness, and the light drained from her eyes. Only then did I see that her dress had multiple tears in it, all with splatters of red paint surrounding them and flowing down her legs, and staining her pale face with splotches of crimson. Suspiciously enough, the paint surrounded every place where my scars were... and that was when I realized that it wasn't paint at all, but my own blood, with the sharpest kitchen knife in my childhood home sticking right out of my gut.

A single line of red flowed from her (my?) eye, and her lips moved, but no sound came out.

Yet I awoke feeling as if my very heart had been ripped out and crushed within the palm of someone's hand. As if I had lost something so important, so irreplaceable, that I could never be whole again.

"Hisayuki-san?" Tadase-kun repeated for what could have been the zillionth time, and I shook my head out of my daze. I put way too much thought into everything; that dream could have just been a faint memory of seeing myself after my mother had torn me up. But I just couldn't shake that feeling that I had been left with a gaping hole inside me, and it would only continue to spread more and more until I...

"It's nothing," I reassured him, smiling surprisingly easily given the situation. And from the one he returned, it actually came out believable. But then I bit my lip in hesitation, and it faded away as quickly as it had come. "Actually... there's been a bit of an emergency on my side of things..." I looked at him again, pleading as much as I could with my eyes, and asked, "Do you think all the Guardians could meet up as soon as lunch starts?"

He took an achingly long look at my expression, and students grumbled as they shoved their way by us, considering that we had just halted walking altogether right in the middle of the large, ornately crafted gates. I suddenly felt a discomfort I had never felt before under his scrutiny, and couldn't help but let my gaze travel downward slightly. He made a surprisingly male grunt, simultaneously feeling around in his school bag for what could only be his cell phone. His fingers flew quickly against the screen, so much so that not even a minute had passed before he was slipping it into the pocket of his blazer and grabbing my hand- the warmth so sudden and startling I could only flinch and drag in a breath.

"Screw lunch," he murmured, the closest thing to a curse I had ever heard him say. It took me so much by surprise that my mouth actually dropped, but he couldn't even see from the way he briskly strode straight ahead, and even from behind I could see that his jaw was clenched. He almost looked- angry. But that couldn't be right. This was Tadase-kun, a walking and talking teddy bear! "We're having a meeting- right now."

"What?" I demanded incredulously, throwing worried glances all around us. Students had legitimately stopped in their commute to the school building to stare at us, some blinking in shock, others grinning suspiciously, and quite a few blushing at the spectacle. All I could hear were phrases like, "They're holding hands!", or "Tadase-san looks ticked!", or my favourite, "Where on earth could they be going, all alone, right before school?!". My face flamed bright red, a poor imitation of Tadase-kun's adorable petal pink blush, and continued babbling like a socially impaired idgit. "School's just about to start, Tadase-kun! We can't just skip class like that!"

"Yes we can," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice even if he didn't turn to look at me. "We're Guardians. If we say it's official business, we can cut class any time we want."

Well, that would've been nice to know earlier! "Isn't that what they call an 'abuse of power'?" I asked, a tone of amusement even creeping into my voice.

He stopped walking for a moment to turn and grin conspiratorally at me, raising one eyebrow in a sardonic way I thought only Ikuto was capable of. "I am the King, after all."

As he continued to drag me along, my mouth hanging wide open in a pleasantly surprised grin, I couldn't help but snicker a little and comment, "You're being astonishingly assertive today."

"I think the situation calls for it- whatever it may be."

Meaning that when we got to the impromptu meeting, the first order of business was for me to spill the beans on whatever was going on. I couldn't resist the eyeroll, but at the same time my chest was feeling particularily hot and full, almost like I was about to burst with the most squealish of feels.

When we barged through the door to the Royal Garden, the sound of Tadase-kun's hand slamming against the glass making me flinch, I wasn't even surprised to see that the others had already amassed there. Yaya-san sat in her predetermined seat, swinging her stockinged legs back and forth with bouncing pigtails, Kukai-kun whistling no particular tune, and Nadeshiko-san carrying a silver tray of steaming tea and baked goods over to the table. My heart gave an unexpected squeeze at the sight, and when I realized that they were all cutting class and waiting just to hear about my problem, I felt more close to crying than I had ever since the night I was kidnapped. They were not the type of people who gathered here just to betray me and pity me behind my back; they actually needed me, supported me, gave me a place in the small world teenagers build for themselves when I thought I'd be an outsider forever.

I could not even stomach the fact that I had nearly forgotten the most important and life-changing thing that had happened to me ever since I came here- and that was meeting them. The kind, selfless Tadase-kun; the sporty, charismatic Kukai-kun; the ladylike, gentle Nadeshiko-san; and the energetic, childish Yaya-san. After only having known them for a span of a few weeks, I was stunned to come to the conclusion that they had become some of the most important people in my life. And what had made that all possible, what had saved me from falling into an even deeper, darker hole than I was already in, was Lilith, Vivian, and Satsuki. How could I have doubted them, lost faith in their existence, for even a moment? Everything that surrounded me shone like the very sky was smiling down on us, with a brilliance that only magic and companionship could bring. I brought my free hand up to cover my mouth to hold back the sudden choking noise that threatened to explode from my throat. The warmth holding my other hand shot through my entire body, slowly beginning to thaw what I thought had been frozen forever and a day ago.

"Yo, Hisayuki!" Kukai-kun crowed, completely ignorant to the strongest epiphany I had ever experienced in my life. "What's with the emergency?" His normal, bright smile suddenly melted away in horror, like a tidal wave crashing over beautiful words written in the sand. "And why do you look like you're about to burst into tears?"

Of course that made all of them look at me in shock. I heaved a helpless sigh, unconciously squeezing Tadase-kun's hand which remained around mine, and was slightly satisfied to see that it brought the cute pink to the tops of his cheeks. "I'm not," I muttered gruffly, letting go and heading towards my seat. "I'm just hungry." After having skipped breakfast that morning, only then did I realize how true that was, and I looked to Nadeshiko-san for permission before beginning to devour the sugar cookies in front of me.

"Sooo, what's up?" Yaya-san chriped, seeming uncomfortable with the sudden grave atomosphere. I took a large gulp from my tea cup to find that it was orange pekoe, my very favourite, and flashed a grateful smile at Nadeshiko-san, who returned it gracefully. Then I set the delicate china down carefully on the artfully painted saucer and told them all I knew of Easter, Nikaidou, what he had been doing at this academy in the first place, and how he had come into possession of my Shugo Chara.

When I finished my entire spiel (with some very crude commentary of my own invention directed towards Nikaidou), the Guardians sat around the table with pensive looks on their faces, and Tadase-kun with a folder containing information on our "teacher" opened in front of him. "Looks like all his credentials are false," he muttered, his voice more deep and gruff than I had ever heard it. He almost seemed as frustrated as me with the mess we had gotten ourselves into, even more with himself than the current situation. "I can't believe we let this slip right past us. I'm willing to wager that even his listed address is a fake."

"Then what can we do?" Nadeshiko-san murmured, twirling the end of her indigo ponytail around one finger.

"Isn't it obvious?" Yaya-san scoffed, tossing her head back and throwing one leg to cross over the other. "We march right into Easter and get the eggs back!"

Kukai-kun cut her a look that would have made me laugh in any other setting. "That's a horrible idea, for multiple reasons," he informed her, much to her evident dismay. "One being that the second we set foot in there, security would probably arrest us."

Just as she was about to state an argument, I leaned my chin into my palm and said, "He has a point, you know."

Crossing her bony arms, she leaned back into her seat with a huff. "Got any better ideas?" To be quite frank, no, I did not. I had only focused on how things would turn out if I never got them back, not even how to get them back. Some Shugo Chara holder I was. I blew out a frustrated breath that ruffled my bangs away from my face, which were already in one of their poorest states given my lack of concern that morning. From her seat on the other side of me, Nadeshiko-san looked itching to do something about the rat's nest atop my head, so I sighed and rummaged around in my bag until I found two bobby pins to pin my bangs off to the side with. It was a poor imitation of any work she could have done, but it seemed to temporarily statisfy her.

Right at that moment was when Kiseki chose to burst into the conversation, swishing his fur-lined red robe behind him as if we should bow at his entrance. All of the Guardians barely acknowledged his theatrics, but I scowled at his pompousness. "Worry not, peasants!" He shrilled, sneering at each of us in turn. "We Shugo Chara have an easy solution to this problem!"

"Is that so," I grumbled, but the rest of my comrades looked honstly intrigued. I figured I owed it to Lilith, Viv, and Satsuki to at least listen to all of his jeers.

"Indeed!" He tossed his pink hair back, small as it was, and attempted to look imposing (the key word being 'attempted'). "You see, we Shugo Chara can sense one another's presence. If we focused our energy into searching for the presence of others like us, we'll find it in no time!"

Daichi nodded in confirmation and piped up, "We call it the 'sort-of radar'!"

"Forgive me for thinking that sounds unreliable," I moaned, but I had to admit that it was very tempting to test the legitimacy of their little sort-of radar. If it was even the slightest bit official, I was willing to do anything to get the girls back. Just imagining what could be happening to them at that very moment, in the hands of the enemy...

"We'll do it," Tadase-kun announced suddenly, probably seeing the fearful look on my face and sensing the urgency I felt. "It's not like we've got any other options, anyway."

"You've actually got a sharp mouth on you, huh," Kiseki muttered, a dead look in his eyes.

"Then let's go!" Yaya-san cheered, leaping up from her seat and already bolting for the exit.

"What, so now we're not just skipping class, but school in general?" I demanded, clambering up from my seat in bafflement. "Since when are we all delinquents?"

Kukai-kun waved his hand, as if he could dispel all of my worries with just that. "Oh, one day is no big deal," he chortled, amused with my befuddled expression. "Besides, I think this is important enough, don't you?"

After a few moments of stunned silence, I mustered up a weak grin for him and laughed weakly. "Yeah, I do. Thanks."

So now I had truancy to add to the list of things I had done wrong in school, right up there with accidentally slamming a locker door so hard it came off its hinges. But before the other Guardians and I could even move down the dias underneath the gazebo to follow Yaya-san, she yelped close to the exit and came dashing back more quickly than a cheetah with its tail on fire. When we all looked to see the cause of her distress, my attempt at a cheerful expression completely washed away from my face, replaced with a mask of horror.

Right in the entrance of the Royal Garden, surrounded by a mass of darker and more despondent flowers, was our favourite guest, the Mayosu student Isabelle. She looked just as nightmarish as she had the first day we met her, her glinting ruby eyes following every movement of our chests as we breathed heavier than we had before. The smile she summoned in greeting for us looked more like a threat than an attempt at politeness. Today, the coils of shadows she called hair were done in low pigtails with crimson ribbons, her straight slash of bangs hiding her eyebrows and giving her the appearance of Barbie-goes-goth. She must have come straight from her school, still adorning the girl's uniform of Mayosu with the corseted black top and short, belled lacy skirt. Which was odd enough, considering that it was only the end of first period.

Tadase-kun was the first of us to muster up enough courage to speak. "Isabelle-san," he began, and I wondered why he addressed her with her first name until I realized she had never given us her surname. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I am dearly sorry if I have disturbed you," she proclaimed, speakly oddly without contractions as usual. Even though her frame was slight and tiny, and she stood possibly a full foot beneath me, her language and warning presence made her seem far more imposing than any of us. "But it is just... upon entering school this morning..."

While I had been so focused on being wary of her, I had forgotten why she had come to us in the first place; she was being bullied at Mayosu. I stopped myself from thinking pessimistacally as to why that might be, and instead tried to focus on the fact that she was just an innocent girl who hadn't done any wrong towards us, and was even on the receiving end of some harsh treatment from her own peers. My face softened with sympathy towards her, but a dark, ominous cloud of suspicion still lurked in the back of my mind, wondering why she didn't sound the slightest bit remorseful or upset despite claiming to be a victim of cruelty.

"I found I could not even move to take a step inside," she sighed, her high-pitched voice making it almost seem like she was singing. "And I simply had nowhere else to turn. I cannot take one more day of their mockery, of all the hair-pulling, the name-calling..." Even though her helpless expression should have cleared all my doubts away, I was still wary as the other Guardians moved from my side to stride over and reassure her, and my feet moved sluggishly, almost reluctantly, against the cobblestone walkway. They were all murmuring to her, reassuring her that we would help her as soon as we could, but had some urgent business to attend to right at that moment.

"You can wait here, if you'd like," Nadeshiko-san offered, her smile attempting to be encouraging.

Isabelle sniffled delicately and looked up at my friend with a smile that made me want to rush in front of Nadeshiko-san and push her away. I looked down at my hands in horror, completely at a loss as to why I felt so protective and ferocious in the presence of this slight high school student, when that feeling the dream from last night gave me crawled back into my chest, clawing at the rest of me until there was almost nothing left holding me up. It was almost like a premonition, a warning that I was about to lose something that would do no less than rip out my beating heart, and as I kept staring at Isabelle with shaking hands and a clenched jaw, it only got worse and worse. Even if I was just judging by appearances, there was something horribly sinister about her, about the way she carried herself, the way she spoke. And no matter how hard I tried to convince myself, I knew I would never be able to trust her.

"That would be wonderful," she responded to Nadeshiko-san's question, lightly dabbing at the corners of her eyes with an embroidered tissue- though the only tears there were those of a crocodile. "I promise I will not disturb the slightest presence here."

"Aw, don't worry about it," Kukai-kun crowed, looking as though he might ruffle her hair, but thought better of it. "We'll be back as quickly as we can." Then he jerked his head towards the exit while maintaining eye contact with me, a supportive grin on his face. "Let's motor, Hisayuki."

"R-right," I mumbled, briskly walking forward to follow them out as they departed from the glass garden.

Unfortunately, that meant I would have to pass Isabelle as I strode down the stone path, my boots clicking slightly in my path. I tried my best to ignore her presence, her scent that wafted from her even a distance away (something like jasmine and iron), but even that proved to be difficult. Her eyes followed my every step as the Mona Lisa's would, unblinking and wise beyond her years. Just before I could pass her by, she began to speak when I had finally escaped the pursuit of her gaze.

"You know," she mused, a smile in her voice that had suddenly changed pitch- it now sounded more like a mature woman's than a high school girl's, as if she was on the receiving end of an information hotline. That alone froze me in my tracks, but her next words made my entire body turn to ice- and almost in the literal sense. "Going out and finding them only prolongs the inevitable."
"What..." I could barely even speak. It was like someone had shoved balls of cotton into my cheeks, and a branding iron down my throat, making it impossible to even swallow. A cold sweat began to sprout on the back of my neck, or what I assumed to be one since it didn't send shafts of heat blazing through my body. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't understand why you're so determined to be human," she spat, the word 'human' sounding like a curse when coming out of her mouth. "Just give in already and let your instincts take over. It will be better for everyone."
That was the last straw. Everyone seemed to know about what was fundamentally wrong with me, except for me. Even some girl I had only met once before spoke of me and my issues like it was a huge, neon arrow declaring them right on my head. I whirled around, eyes blazing with the fury I felt as clear as the ice surrounding my feet, to fire whatever shots I had left in me at her, but she was gone. The space where she once stood was so startlingly empty that it was almost like a void in space and time. And I swore I could hear a light, withering laugh slithering its way into my ears, making a chill seep into even my bones.

---

Evidently, feeding the teachers the line "we have to attend to some urgent Guardian business" was enough reason for them to excuse us from our classes. That, naturally, made me wonder about the system of the school as a whole, and how the whole existence of a student council on steroids was a tad bit messed up. It seemed more than a little unfair that we got all of these seemingly tempting benefits from just doing some extra work the teachers were too busy to do themselves, as well as dealing with the student body's problems within the campus. The headmaster of the academy must have had some very unique ideas bouncing around in his brain when he came up with the idea.

Nonetheless, the other civilians clustering throughout the city sidewalks and clogging up the roads did not share the same leniance as our school did. Some adults scowled at us as we walked by, in uniform, indicating that we clearly should have been at school at the moment. Little did they know that we weren't skipping for shits and giggles, but actually had some urgent business to attend to- well, urgent for me anyway, and the Guardians didn't seem to mind that I was dragging them down. That didn't prevent me from feeling any less guilty.

"Any hits on the sort-of radar?" Kukai-kun asked his bright-eyed Chara, who just shrugged and frowned thoughtfully.

"You're being too loud!" Yaya-san shushed him, which was pretty ironic, considering. "We're supposed to be sneaky here! Like spies!"

"So you say," I brought up skeptically. "And yet you still wear those Guardian capes." With a wave of my hand, I indicated the blue and red plaid small overcoats they all wore, proving their identity to the rest of the student body. I supposed it was meant as an attempt at regality; I, on the other hand, refused to even touch the thing. "If you really didn't want to stand out, then you'd take them off."

"But then I wouldn't look cool," Kukai-kun argued, his mouth slipping into an aggravated pout.

"As if you did anyway."

Before he could fire any objections back at me, Temari jerked suddenly in midair and trained her gaze to the direction on my right side, down a side street and into the more fairy tale neighbourhood, with brightly coloured cookie-cutter houses and quaint cafés. "Do you feel that?" She asked the other Charas in her lilting voice, to which they all nodded in response.

"A Shugo Chara's presence is definitely coming from there," Kiseki elaborated, and I squinted in the direction without any trace of subtlety. It just seemed like a completely ironic neighbourhood for an evil mastermind of an adult man to be residing and keeping my Shugo Chara away, since one would normally associate him with dark, moody things as opposed to cheerful housings that smelled like freaking daisies.

As we picked up the pace and began heading in that direction, I couldn't help but feel slightly inadequate compared to the size of this city. No doubt it was divided into wards and whatnot, but with my dyrexia, I didn't even bother attempting to memorize any of them. However, I was ninety-percent sure that my apartment and Seiyo resided in an area known as the Lumen ward. At least, that was what it indicated on the travel site and brochure for this place (apparently it was a tourist attraction for reasons still unbeknownst to me). I would admit that we were walking for quite some time, but I didn't think it was long enough to reach a completely different neighbourhood. Maybe all of the effort I had put into worrying my brain cells away made time seem to flow by until I lost track of where we were even going; just the desparation of finding the girls was enough to make me search everywhere I could without even caring where it was.

The reason why I was so frantically searching for them was less vague now; they were all I had to keep me from falling into a chasm that I was perpetually teetering on the edge of, one I'd never be able to crawl out of again. A chasm filled with hopelessness and memories, and those two things were like the monsters in my closet that never truly disappeared even as I grew up. If anything, my Shugo Chara were protecting me. From what, however, I didn't entirely know. Even so, somehow I knew that if I didn't find them as quickly as possible, something horrible was going to happen. Something in my world would completely shift and transform, and I would never be able to go back to these times with the Guardians, with the only people who had ever been my true friends. Therefore the reason I was searching for them may very well have been entirely selfish, since all I wanted was to keep my life as safe and normal as it was now. But for now, I was alright with being selfish. So long as it meant I could protect the people and the environment around me.

"It's right around here," Pepe announced around the pacifier in her mouth, snatching me from my thoughts. The Guardians all nodded to one another and began to move, but before I could follow, Tadase-kun stopped and turned back to face me, a remorseful expression darkening his features.

"I'm sorry, Hisayuki-san," he told me, much to my blatant confusion. "But I think it would be better if you waited here."

"Pardon me?" I demanded, the insulted expression on my face making a chuckle burst from Kukai-kun. "In case you hadn't noticed, these are my Shugo Chara we're looking for. I won't just stand by in case something has happened to them!"

"We understand how you feel," Kukai-kun sighed, trying to act mature for once. "But you can't Character Change or Transform right now, Hisayuki."

"It's dangerous for you to come along if you can't defend yourself," Yaya-san added, rubbing even more salt into my wounded pride.

"We'll be as quick as possible," Nadeshiko-san promised with a squeeze of my shoulder that only made me shiver slightly instead of flinching away. They took one lasting look at me to make sure I was staying put, then took off in the aforementioned direction of the Shugo Charas' presence.

Even if their intentions were good, meaning to keep me out of harm's way in case of a supernatural clash of powers, that didn't keep me from feeling completely useless to them. I was nothing without my Shugo Chara, just another outsider to their completely exclusive world. I shook my head sadly, completely dismayed with myself, and threw glances around the area to see if there was anywhere I could sit nearby. When my eyes found a bench conveniently located in a small space of green on the outskirts of a café, shielded from the sun by a drooped weeping willow, I dragged my feet over to it, collasping onto it with a sigh. I wished I could be there with them, to make it seem like I actually wanted to be of some use, but I also didn't want to pressure them too much from fear that they may just end up thinking I was annoying, and was incapable of listening. Still, if I somehow found out that Nikaidou was indeed there, I'd march right over to kick his ass.

With nothing to do for a time and not willing to spend it only worrying, I decided I needed something to distract me, if only for a moment. So I figured I'd call Jack and Mary, since I had done so a few day ago, and they could have possible been waiting for a report from me. I slid my phone from my pocket and scoured my contacts until I found their number, then waited a few rings before someone picked up with a click that sent my heart racing- which was odd enough, considering that these people had been my family for twelve years.

"Hello?" Mary's chipper voice answered, a distinct tinkling of a bell in the background- meaning that she was working in the bakery at the moment. I could already picture her there, with slight flour dusting her cheeks, her sunkissed hair twirled into a ponytail, and a small baker's hat slumping to the side. I found my heart squeezing at the memory, and even smiled despite her inability to see it.

"Hey, it's me," I said, and you could even hear the happiness in my voice.

"Oh, hi, Snow! Nice to finally hear from you!" The obvious delight in her voice made a flash of warmth root itself in my chest, and my smile grew even wider. There was a momentary pause as she evidently checked the time, for her next question was, "Shouldn't you be at school right now?"

Balls. "We have a break right now," I lied, and before she could call me out on it (as I knew she would), I barged right through the conversation. "So how's it going over there?"

"Just peachy!" She giggled, and it continued to surprise me that the woman was in her fourties. "Things are busy as usual. Resa and Nate are doing so well in school! They both came home yesterday with really high scores on a math test they had!"

"That's awesome," I chuckled, because she sounded so much like a proud mother that I couldn't even bother to be jealous of how my mother never sounded like that towards me.

"And Jack keeps on asking about you," she added, and I could almost hear the roll of her eyes. "He's such a worrywort. But I know you're just fine over there! You are, aren't you?" Suddenly a suspicious tone crept into her sweet, southern dialect. "You're not getting into any trouble?"

Well, it wasn't like I could tell her my three magical fairy friends had just been kidnapped. "Of course not," I said smoothly, and for once you couldn't tell I was lying.

She grunted. "That's good then. So anyway, how are-" She was cut off by yet another tinkling sound, and she let a little gasp slip loose. "Ooh, Mao just walked in! Do you wanna talk to 'im?"

"Sure," I said a little too quickly. Mao and I hadn't spoken since the day I left, and I had to admit that I missed his very presence; he was the only person I could really count on throughout the years, and being without him at my side for so long made me feel slightly anxious.

There was mumbled speaking on the other line, then a long and very painful silence- which was only cut short by the sound of the bakery door slamming.

Mary came back to the phone, her voice dripping with irritation. "'Kay, so I asked him if he wanted to speak with you, and he didn't even say anything! He just walked out!"

"Well, I kind of expected that," I laughed, and it was mortifying to hear the bitterness in my own voice. Surprisingly enough, Mao was the one who was the most adamant against me leaving the country to finally get some closure with my mother; for weeks he went on and on about how it would only bring me more sorrow, more regret, how I should just let go of my memories of her altogether and hold on to the life I had built without her. And as greedy as it was of me, I refused to heed his words. I knew that he was right, of course; I had no idea what the future would bring, and moving halfway across the globe all by myself, where I knew no one and had to support myself was no less than a fool's idea. But it was something I had to do for myself. Even though I was happy I had done it now, for a variety of reasons, I didn't bother asking Mao to try and understand was I was so determined to leave him behind and pursue my haunted memories. But I knew what my mother did wasn't a random bout of insanity, like the whole city and the asylum seemed hell-bent on thinking; she was saying something before she cut me, about how my father was gone, that I had taken him away. So when I left to finally solve all the mysteries I felt had clouded my vision for so many years, Mao refused to speak to me ever again. I couldn't blame him; I was completely leaving him behind for my own narcissistic gain. All I could do was hope that one day he would forgive me and speak to me again; even though we weren't even in the same country anymore, I still wanted him to be a part of my life, the way he always had been.

And so I continued, "It's perfectly alright. I just hope he forgives me some day."

Mary expelled a "pssh" sound, and then let out a little giggle. "Oh, I'm sure he will. That boy adores you. As soon as you come home, he'll forgive you without batting an eye." A momentary pause, which I used to sniff the air and get a whiff of baked goods from the café where the Guardians had rushed to, and I actually considered going over there- not to get involved, but to eat. "When are you coming home, by the way?"

All thoughts about food and my Shugo Chara were banished from my head in shock and confusion. Coming... home? To New Orleans? I supposed I had promised my parents that this was only to find my mother, that completely moving from the country was a temporary thing that I would resolve on my own and then come home without a second thought. On the plane ride across the ocean, that was really the only thought that kept me comfortable, that prevented me from lapsing into a panic attack. But I had forgotten about it so easily. I was determined to make a life here, when I already had one waiting for me to return to. What had I been thinking? Clearly I had gotten way too ahead of myself, way too comfortable in the apartment I was living in, and far too accustomed to my school life with the Guardians and the magnificent building as opposed to my straight, gray-squared block of a public school back home. When I finally found and confronted my mother, I'd be out of here. If we managed to get them back, I might still have my Shugo Chara with me, but I'd never see the Guardians, Lee, or Ikuto ever again.

The thought made me so unbearably sad that I couldn't even pretend to be enthusiastic.

"I don't know," I told Mary, my voice low and filled with emotion. "I still haven't... I'm a bit scared," I admitted, shaking my head even though she couldn't see. "I'm sorry for making you wait so long already."

She made a long, thoughtful noise. "Well, I can't say that I understand, but I can imagine how it must feel. We already knew that this was your first decision as an adult, and we supported you when you asked us for something the very first time." Her voice was flooded with sadness, just as mine was, but I knew that she was probably forcing a smile. "Take as much time as you need."

From then on, we talked of everyday things, like how school was going, and how I was doing in my own apartment. I gave her answers as thorough as I could manage, although my mind was elsewhere. I wouldn't be staying in this city forever. And if I forgot that again, I knew it would hurt all the more when I left.

---

The last thing Utau Hoshina was in the mood for was acting on some reality show just for some publicity.

Sanjo-san, her manager, had insisted upon it when the producers had called her up earlier in the week. She said it was a good chance for more of Utau's personality to shine through, since all the public saw of her was singing in her concerts or maybe a quick interview on television. Little did she know that she was going to be dolled up in some ruffled, lacy tulled dress with mesh fabric underneath, and be forced to wear some rose adornment on her head. Of course, she was used to these things by now; being a new, up-and-coming celebrity called for the most attention-grabbing outfits and costumes, after all. That did not, however, prevent the dress from itching. Naturally she did nto allow any of her discomfort to show, and kept repeating "It's for Ikuto," like a mantra in her head to keep her from voicing any complaints.

She had guided to an excquisitely carved, white wrought iron chair, and apparently just sitting in it wasn't enough. The crew and cameraman instructed her on how to sit, on what angle to keep her head at so that the light best hit her face. To Utau, the whole affair just began to seem like one huge, elaborate doll house, and she was going to be played with until Easter was done with her and Ikuto. The small, selfish little girl in her longed for that day to be soon; but the woman she had grown up to be didn't care how long it took, so long as she could protect the one she loved.

The Café du Âme was her stage today, a very simple yet refined place with light, neutral tones and colours, perfectly matching the sweetness of the neighbourhood it stood in. It was regularily featured in a housewive's magazine, and advertised as a "spiritual café" where the psychic Nobuko Saeki flaunted her "abilities" and a bunch of other publicity stunts. And it was one of those very publicity stunts that Utau was taking part in now; an interview of sorts, where she would be asked questions about the supernatural and have her palm read by the psychic. It all felt like one big show to her, which it honestly was; and she was just another actor in it, who had already lost their light, but not their determination.

Two hosts of the show she was being featured on were already blabbing away, talking both to the camera and the excited crowd gradually accumulating in front of the establishment. Utau focused all her attention on the task at hand, as she always did; she never did anything halfway. Even with the ceaseless, diabolical snickering in her ear, encouraging her to do all the bad things she could, she kept all her attention on the two men and waited for her cue.

Shugo Chara were really such trouble at times.

The hosts turned to her then- not suddenly, for she had been closely observing them. They each held a cordless microphone in front of her face, a bit too close to her mouth for comfort, and with blindingly fake smiles they said, "First, let's get Utau-chan's take on spirits. Utau-chan, do you believe in guardian angels?"

Utau felt incredibly tempted to let out a snort of laughter. Here all these people were, so intent on hearing her answer on what they may have thought was completely fabricated, when she in fact had to guardian angels of her own swinging from a bow tied to her waist. They weren't exactly what people imagined when they thought of "guardian angels", but they were there regardless, and their purpose was all the same. She mulled her answer over for a few beats of awkward silence, and decided just to say, "Yes."

Clearly, they did not know how to respond to her short, clipped answer. They gave each other a slightly worried look, probably wondering if the rest of the program was going to go on like this, then turned back to the crowd so quickly they left small tornados of dust in their wake. "It seems Utau-chan does believe in guardian spirits!" They announced, and the crowd "ooed" and "ahhed" like it was th emost interesting thing they had heard all day.

Utau was already horrendously bored, wondering how long this would go on for. Not to mention that the completely ridiculous psychic hadn't even shown up yet. Didn't she think that people had better things to do?

Apparently not, for this "ridiculous psychic" was still in her dressing trailer, having her pale, plump cheeks powdered with overly excessive amounts of a too-dark blush and her lips slathered with a colour as red as fresh blooming roses. The makeup artists fluttered all around her, making sure her false eyelashes were glued on right, that her eyeshadow was just the right shade of blue, and that her perfume was strong enough for the crowd to smell (for the sake of advertising, of course). Nobuko Saeki regarded all of this preparation as a mask of sorts; if she wore all this makeup, no one would be able to see all of her insecurities beneath, her guilt-riddled face as she shamelessly lied to the public about being a medium. But she had been in the business long enough to be an expert at this game; to be a supernatural diva, you absolutely had to act like one- and you definitely had to look the part.

"S-Saeki-sensei," one of her managers stuttered, nervously wringing his hands as he hovered by her dressing mirror. "Th-the program has alreayd started..."

"Well it can't be helped!" She announced, her voice as boisterous and attention-grabbing as always. "My makeup's not done yet! Who do you think I am?" A pause throughout the room as everyone braced themselves for the inevitable, then Nobuko screeched, "I am Nobuko Saeki!"

"You're absolutely right, sensei!" The second manager cheered, a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Stop trying to flatter me," she sighed, flipping what little hair she had behind her head. Right at that moment, she was having a bad case of pre-show nerves. She was barely able to keep herself from wringing her chubby hands clad in all sorts of jeweled rings just as the one manager had not long ago. Though sweat was beginning to form on the back of her neck, and beneath her heavy clothes. She heaved another sigh, this one much more powerful than the first, and said, "All of this is truly getting tiresome. Besides..." She buried her head in her hands, her breaths heaving out of her in a very unattractive way, the rings around her fingers scraping against her cheeks. "I'm not even a charismatic fortune teller. I'm just some old lady!"

When a celebrity begins to have doubts in themself, it is only a natural reaction for the people around them to freak the hell out. And so Nobuko's managers began fluttering about, as nervous and panicked as butterflies being pursued by a flock of angry birds, and they ordered one of the makeup artists to retrieve some water with ice to help calm her down. The artist came back remarkably quickly, so much so that Nobuko was barely hyperventilating as she was mulling over the character she had created, and would forever be known as, even though she barely had any supernatural abilities at all. Once the woman set the glass down in front of her, the condensation running off and sliding onto the table, Nobuko immediately swiped it up and took a large swig, the ice tinkling in the glass like magical sound effects. She released a large, exalted breath afterwords, feeling the heat that has rushed to her head slowly ebb away, and leaned into her hand as her elbow rested on the table.

"I do see and hear things sometimes," she admitted with a groan of reluctance. "But even those are only like fleeting glimpes. Then there are days when I just don't see anything at all. One day I just suddenly mentioned that I felt there was a presence in the room that I felt- a spiritual one that hadn't been there before- and before I knew it I was thrown on the news, had my own show, and was doing a bunch of gigs just for publicity." She greedily gulped down the rest of her water, slammed the glass on the table, and began shivering- not only from the near-freezing temperature of her beverage. "In truth, I actually hate the occult! I wish I couldn't see or hear anything at all! The real me is not the admirable sensei everyone thinks I am! I'm a sham!" She crossed her elbows on the table and buried her face in them. "I'm just Nobuko Saeki, a fifty-four-year-old housewife who likes to eat peanuts!"

"Hey," one of her managers whispered to the other, while Nobuko was still in the midst of her breakdown. "Get the thing."

The second manager nodded in silence, and slipped from the trailer without another word. A few tense moments of Nobuko's heavily exaggerated sobs passed, and then he barged back inside, an iPod dock in hand with a catchy yet unmeaningful song flowing throughout the small space of the trailer. Even so, it caught Nobuko's attention, and made her snap from her emotional rollercoaster in a snap.

"This is your theme song," the first manager announced, clearly proud of himself and his idea to retrieve it. "Even if you get down on yourself, there are still millions of housewives at home waiting for you to get on that set and show them just how powerful you are. You inspire them! Now, say your famous line!"

Without any ounce of the hesitation and insecurity she had shown only seconds ago, Nobuko swept up from her seat, crossed her arms, and said, "Who do you think I am? I'm Nobuko Saeki!"

Thus she and her managers emerged from the safety of her trailer at last, and she already sensed quite a few gazes travelling to her in awe. She had draped herself in a long, white fur coat just before leaving, to further add to the theatrics, and her managers were walking only a bit ahead of her to announce her coming and clearing the way. The director of the program looked very exasperated to see her being fashionably late- which he shouldn't have been, since she was infamous for it- but ushered her along, nonetheless. Her managers were wishing her good luck, telling her how easily she could show up the new, cheeky pop idol with her fortune telling, which she acknowledged with a brisk nod. However, she could not keep a slight shiver from skittering down her spine, one that had nothing to do with the biting autumn wind that shook the trees bare of their blushed leaves and left people quaking from the chill.

"You say all that," she began to no one in particular. "But I actually don't like that Utau girl. Whenever I see her, on television or otherwise, she always has strange shadows on her back, and a small figure at her side..." She shook her head, to see if the fog clouding her mind would dissapate, but it remained, blocking her perception of reality. "I must just be seeing things. It can't be guardian angels..."

"You're correct," said a small, helium- filled voice from right in front of her. At first, she couldn't quite register what she was seeing; a tiny creature the size of her palm floating in front of her, looking very much like a human baby with carrot-coloured hair and giant blue eyes. It blinked at her lazily, and yet filled with a sort of intelligence she couldn't begin to comprehend, and continued: "We aren't guardian angels; we're Guardian Characters."

She blinked once. Twice. Three times. And yet the creature didn't disappear. It remained right in front of her, its gaze trained right on her, and with a panicked start she finally realized that this wasn't an illusion; what she was seeing at that moment was very, incomprehensibly real.

Naturally, she screamed her head off and collapsed to the ground with shock.

Even as people surrounded her on all sides, worrying, asking if everything was alright, the creature kept its expression neutral, if not only a little surprised. When Nobuko pointed a shaking finger in its direction, the word "ghost" exploding from her slick, shiny lips, it simply huffed and quipped, "I already told you; we're not ghosts, we're Guardian Characters!"

"This lady can see us?" Asked another creature as it floated to its companion, this one dressed in athletic clothing with a sporty headband that held in some wild, spiky green hair.

"You all can't see them?!" Nobuko demanded of the rest of the crew, who all just stared at her in confusion. The green-haired one easily ghosted in front of her face, and very bluntly commented, "Such a big face."

This was all too much. Nobuko said nothing more, or tried to explain her erratic behaviour; she simply stood and fled to a crew van without looking back. Everyone else called after her, demanding explanations and telling her to come back, but she collapsed in the driver's seat and white-knuckled the wheel with laboured breaths, relieved to be away from the pint-sized menace.

Her relief was short-lived, for she heard a slight giggling noise directly behind her. She whirled around, panicked and wary, to see four teenagers taking up the back seats of the van, just in time to have one with high, coppery pigtails snap a picture of her.

"Wh-wh-who are you kids?!" She screeched, groping on the driver's side for a door handle- anything to help her escape from the very abrupt, strange happenings. "How did you...?!"

"Get in?" Finished one of the two boys, one with untamed, bright red hair that spelled mischief. "We slipped in during all the confusion!"

"Forgive us," said a girl, with long, dark hair that shone in the sun like fine silk. "We didn't mean to startle you."

"Yes, Saeki-sensei," said the second boy, this one with truly captivating maroon eyes and hair like solidified sunshine. "But... we really need your help right now."

His eyes seemed to emanate some sort of helpless, pleading shine, almost like a dog begging to be let inside on a cold night. She found her aged heart squeezing at the sight, and couldn't help but mutter, "What a cute boy..."

"Nothing compared to me, of course," coughed another small voice, this one more haughty and pretentios. She turned so quickly she fell from her seat to see yet another small thing, this one with pale pink hair, bright blue eyes, and the fur-lined cloak of royalty. It seemed shocked to have startled her so much, and drifted over to the adorable boy, who didn't even flinch in his presence.

The blonde knelt beside her and offered her his hand, something that she had not been shown in a long time. She found it truly admirable to see so much chivalry in someone so young, and found herself taking it in the midst of a very suspicious situation. "It's alright," he reassured her, probably to cease her babbling chants of "It's not real, it's just imaginary". "They won't hurt you. I truly am sorry to scare you." Then his disposition changed again, and she swore she saw actual sparkles began to surround him as if enveloped in a heavenly light. "So you can see our Guardian Characters. You're truly amazing, sensei."

"Oh, I'm hardly that great," she muttered sheepishly, sliding cautiously back into the driver's seat with a worried glance at the rest of them.

"No, really," he insisted, a blazing smile taking residence on his small, porcelein face. "You see, we're in a bit of a situation right now. Our friend's Guardian Characters have gone missing, and we were hoping you could help us find them..."

While they continued chatting away, the look in the old psychic's eyes compeltely charmed as she spoke with Tadase, Kukai leaned over to Yaya and whispered, "Think he's doing that on purpose."

There was barely any hesitation when Yaya responded, "Nope, I think that's just the way he is."

---

It appeared that, without my Shugo Chara to keep me and my vagaries in line, I stooped to spying on people when I was without anything to do in public. Screw playing games on my phone, or even listening to music- the couple across the street was far more entertaining. If the girls came back- I meanwhen, I could only imagine the disappointed and horrified looks on their faces when they had learned what I had done. But I couldn't help it; I had never been an active social butterfly who made friends almost immediately, so I resorted to just observing people and their habits. Creepy as it was, it did help improve my social interaction some. However it did nothing for my level of tact.

Couples were probably something I would never be able to understand until the day when I became a part of a relationship. The way the man and woman stood so closely together, almost like two planets in orbit, constantly needing to be touching each other- I was far too socially inept for that. It reminded me of Deryn and Will, the way that they were never without each other, the warmth that simmered deep in their eyes when they looked at each other... to an outsider like myself, it was a bit tiresome to see after a time. But I could never keep myself from feeling envious. To have someone to understand you in such a way, wholly and completely accept you, must be one of the best things to experience in the world. All of your flaws, your insecurities, just everything about you. I might have had someone like that already, but was just blind to it and ungrateful about it; I was unaware if I did. And so I found myself wishing for such a thing, though I couldn't help but feel that it was pointless for me to. Not when I didn't even understand myself.

As I continued observing them, and they were blisfully unaware, I heard a slight shuffling of grass and leaves behind me. I wasn't sure how long the Guardians were going to take, so I just continued on my business until I heard the footsteps getting closer, and then saw a shadow flow over my crossed ankles. I looked up, expecting to see Tadase-kun or someone, but instead came face-to-face with Utau Hoshina.

"Snow Hisayuki?" She demanded of me, her shocking violet eyes widening at the same time as her brows furrowed. A light gust of wind blew her platinum pigtails to the side slightly, and she just kept boring her stare down at me, my shocked and guilty expression betraying the creeper-vibe I had going on.

"Well," she clucked. "Looks like I'm not the only one who'se a creepy stalker."

"I am not a creepy stalker," I objected without even changing the tone of my voice, swinging one of my black-stockinged legs over the other. "I do not purposely pursue someone in a public establishment just because I am suspicious of them."

"I had every right to." She huffed angrily and remained standing beside me, her posture stiff and angry. "You're an enemy of Easter, after all."

I gave a curt wave of my hand. "Yeah, yeah." It was more than easy to feign confidence, however I was extremely on-edge and nervous with one of my enemies right beside me without any means to defend myself. Well, I did have some strange ice stuff, but it seemed more than a little excessive to just try and freeze her should she try anything. Besides, it wasn't like I knew what I was doing with it, anyway. I had no one to instruct me on how exactly to manipulate it.

With a frustrated groan, I laid my head on the back of the bench. I really was hopeless all on my own.

From the new angle my eyes rested at, something bright and colourful caught my attention from the corner of my eye. It was a bit contrary to Utau's very girly, sweet dress, with light pinks and some dusty grays, something hot pink and black, as well as a sweetheart pink and white. I started when I realized what I was seeing, and bolted up from my seat until I sat upright, my heart pounding right in my ears. I was looking at Guardian Eggs; and two of them, at that.

"You... have Guardian Eggs?" I blurted, further proving that my tacftullness was pretty much nonexistent. I supposed I shouldn't have been too surprised; she did work for Easter with Ikuto, who was also a bearer. But she just seemed so tough and indifferent on her own, it made me think that she didn't need any more power than that. This led me to believe that perhaps even the strongest of people desired to be something different, and that gave my confidence a tiny boost. Though I was most likely trying to justify my own lack of strength that made me wish to be something different than who I was.

"What's it to you?" She snapped, clearly unimpressed with my little discovery.

That was when it hit me; if Utau had been in this area at the same time that the other Charas had sensed the presence of others, than it most likely wasn't Nikaidou with my eggs; it was Utau's. Then my hope and excitement completely deflated, and such was reflected on the outside when I drooped in on myself, my head sinking into my hands. "Then it was your eggs they sensed..." I muttered, and saying the words aloud made my chest ache even more, as if the hole that was gradully collapsing in it was expanding.

Utau-san examined me for a moment, her gaze unreadable. Then she crossed her arms, clad in long, fluttery laced sleeves, and stated, "Your Shugo Chara aren't with you today- not that I care. But why?"

I squinted at her, as if I could visually see why she was being so contrary. "So you do care?"

"I just said I didn't. So why?"

God, can you get any more stubborn? I rolled my eyes, probably a bit more exaggeratedly than I could have, but still had to ponder over if I could tell her or not. Nikaidou was her coworker, after all. Although she wouldn't have been asking if she already knew what he had planned. And as much as I hated to admit it, Utau-san seemed pretty clever. Maybe, if she had a smidge of kindess in her heart, she could try and figure out what Nikaidou could be planning to do with my eggs. With that in mind, I told her as much as I was able, carefully editing out certain details (and by details, I meant Ikuto; I didn't need her getting all pissed off just because he was involved). When I finished, she seemed deep in thought, her forefinger and thumb pinching her chin slightly in concentration.

"I see," she mused, the pensive look on her face deepening even further so that little wrinkles appeared between her carefully plucked eyebrows. "Nikaidou-san made a bold move."

I raised an eyebrow of my own, which was almost transparent against my white skin. "So you do know what he's been planning, then? You must know something if you work with him."

She shook her head, as if the very idea was inconceivable. "We work for the same company, but not in the same division. Easter has more than one team vying to get the Embryo. My manager, Sanjo-san, who's a part of the entertainment department, and Nikaidou-san, who's part of the science department, are competing to see who can find it first and bring it to the higher-ups."

"The 'higher-ups'?" I demanded, sitting slightly straighter on the bench. "Why would they do that if the Embryo could grant their own wishes? It seems kind of asinine to just give it away to someone else."

"Who can say," she said with a graceful shrug. "To adults, getting a promotion and moving up the corporate ladder is a lot more important than childish things like wishes and dreams. They've already given up on those a long time ago."

What Utau-san had just said reminded me distinctly of the night of her concert, when Ikuto and I had a difference of opinion on destroying X-Eggs. He had said almost the exact same thing as she did, and even though that bothered me for some perplexing reason, I couldn't help but wonder what had exactly happened to these two that gave them such views of adults, and how easily dreams could escape from you. I could preach all I wanted on how important they were, after being without my own for so long, but that didn't just spontaneously change how other people felt. It didn't matter how many wishes or hopes they had; that didn't really get anyone anywhere in the real world.

Despite all that, I still said, "That's ridiculous. What's the point of being successful if you're just going to be miserable?" Utau-san glared with those fiery purple eyes and looked like she was about to object, but I cut her off with a look of my own, so harsh that her mouth shut quickly with a click of her teeth. "That's not really living. You're just alive."

"That doesn't make any sense," she grumbled, crossing her arms and turning away. That was my cue to return to my casual lounging position on the bench, and I did so with a sigh.

"You'll get it someday," I told her. "Maybe when you're a bit older."

"Don't act all high and mighty!" She snapped at me, her head whipping around to give me a dirty look. "I'm sixteen already! I understand a lot more than you childish Guardians."

"I'm eighteen," I clarified, even though I thought it didn't mean anything. "And it doesn't matter how old you are. People go through difficult experiences at all ages, and then they get different views. Simple as that."

"Regardless," she said, unable to look at me again. "I don't like the methods used by Niakaidou-san. They're sleazy, especially when it means deceiving an entire school full of kids."

"I'm not exactly too fond of them either," I pointed out, seeing as those very methods involved stealing my Shugo Chara.

She continued as if I hadn't even spoken, even though I knew she heard me. Ignorant, I though with a roll of my eyes. "I would never use such cheap shots on someone new to this whole experience like you." Utau-san whirled to face me so quickly I thought she would get whiplash, but the strong, determined look on her face lead me to believe otherwise. She was brutally honest, and even though she was an enemy of mine, the ferocity showing through her gaze meant she was telling nothing but the truth. "I'll get the Embryo fair and square. And then I'll save Ikuto from Easter?"

Well, this was new. "Save Ikuto?" I repeated quietly, my eyebrows slashing down. It seemed like such an odd thing to say, considering that Ikuto was plenty strong on his own, and more than a healthy level of independant. It may have just been me fabricating some unrealistic ideals about him again, but he didn't seem like the type to rely on anyone. Besides... what could he possibly need to be saved from?

Utau-san, on the other hand, had her mind focused on more important things. She had the most bloodthirsty scowl on her face as she stared at me and hissed, "Don't use his name so freely!"

Completely wigged out by her vehemence, I leaned away and held my hands up in surrender. "I didn't know it was such a sensitive-"

However she continued barreling through the conversation, the livid flame in her eyes unmistakable. "Ikuto's issues have nothing to do with you! And I won't lose to you, either!"

Now I was beginning to get irritated. What gave her the right to chew me out just for calling some guy informally? While it was admittedly something I rarely- if ever- did, that didn't mean I was so close to him that she had to get viciously peeved and jealous about it. I bolted up from my seat, and I actually managed to look menacing with the good two inches I had on her. Despite that, she didn't back down even the slightest, and continued shooting daggers from her eyes as much as I was. I curled my hands into fists, and as calmly as I was able, said, "I'm pretty sure that Ikuto knows how to take care of himself. He is a man, after all." Even after she called me out on addressing him so familiarly, it felt wrong to add a "-kun" or "-san" to his name; he was so casual and humble with me that I would do the same with him. Plus he was the kind of guy that actually seemed to cool for all of that.

"And I won't lose to you, either!" I continued harshly, clenching my hands into fists. I had never meant to fight or get into some war between groups when I had gotten involved with the Guardians; all I had wanted to do was to find out more about myself, perhaps even make relationships that were more than just materialistic or based on pity. But things had changed in the few weeks since I had joined them. Now it was more about a strange sort of vengeance that would plague and haunt my mind, about redeeming myself and my lack of hopes and dreams by saving those of others'. It didn't matter who or what stood in my way anymore; if someway, somehow I could save a few people from giving up on the one thing that gives humans happiness and hope, then I would do it. It wasn't as if I could save the entire world from despair, but I was certain that even saving one person could impact others in a way I, myself could not. "I'm not going to just idly stand by and watch as you people put X's on people's hearts and take their dreams away for some selfish reason! If I don't do everything that I can, then I'm just as despicable as you are!"

"Despicable?" She repeated incredulously. "How dare you! You don't even know anything about us!"

As we continued bickering back and forth, very faintly, I heard a screeching noise down the street somewhere, almost like tires grinding heavily against the pavement. I made nothing of it and continued bantering, but then I heard it getting closer, and closer still. It could have just been a car passing by at alarming speeds, but from the volume that it was at, it sounded very large and almost panicked. Just as Utau-san finished saying, "Just because you're older doesn't mean you know everything", I held up a hand to silence her and listened. Certainly the noise was almost right beside us, and the very bad feeling stirring in the bottom of my stomach gave me a good guess as to what was going on, and I heaved a weightful sigh when a large van squealed to a stop right beside us, leaves and road dust kicking up in its wake. It was no surprise when the door slid open and Yaya-san popped out, a huge grin on her voice.

"Hey, Snowcchi, been waiting long?" She sang, tossing her head back and forth like a doll being shaken around.

"We got a lead on where your Shugo Chara are; hop on in!"

"Where the hell did you get a van?" I demanded, crossing my arms in defiance as I remained rooted to the spot.

"This isn't like Grand Theft Auto, I promise," Tadase-kun chimed in, his sunny head popping out a window. "We were on the set of a reality show and got someone to lend this crew van to us." From beside me, Utau-san groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, and I could only take a shot in the dark as to what exactly she was doing before she showed up beside me.

"Anyway, what is this lead you're talking about?" I grumbled in defeat, taking a step closer to the open door.

"Nobuko Saeki-sensei's got some awesome spirit mojo going on!" Yaya-san exclaimed, throwing an excited fist in the air. "And we got her to help us!"

I squinted at her in suspicion. "Isn't Nobuko Saeki that bogus fortune teller?"

An agitated, hoarse, and womanly voice screeched from within, "The 'bogus' was unnecessary, you whippersnapper!" Did she seriously just call me a whippersnapper...? "And you can hardly call this driving, kid! You'd best give me the wheel right this instant!"

"Aww," I heard Kukai-kun object from the driver's seat. "But it's so much fun winging this thing around!"

Their repartees continued on even as I begrudgingly pulled myself into the very suspicious white crew van that may or may not have been stolen. Just as I was about to close the door, Utau-san called "Wait!" as she herself marched towards the vehile.

"I'm coming too," she announced, the heels of her white laced boots clicking business-like against the sidewalk.

"Even if I am a part of Easter, I won't tolerate cheap and deceitful methods like his. I won't just turn a blind eye to this."

"Then hop on in," I said, jerking my chin up at her. Yaya-san was right behind me, freaking out about how the real Utau Hoshina was right there, coming to help us track down Nikaidou, but the other Guardians were hardly as enthusiastic. In fact, Tadase-kun was strangely silent, a faraway look in his glistening dark red eyes. "I'm positive we have a wild ride ahead of us."

Kukai-kun had been affectionately wrangled from the driver's seat by Tadase-kun, who then planted him at his side and smiled around at everyone like this was going to be a great roadtrip. The inside of the van was much like a very small bus, with straight-backed, blue upholstered seats divided into two columns by a center aisle. I was nearly positive there was a small bathroom in the back, like this really was an RV or something, but didn't have enough curiosity to go an check. I took the seat beside Nadeshiko-san, and Utau sat on the opposite row, all alone and staring out the window.

"I think it's kind of nice Utau-san is coming with us," Nadeshiko-san whispered to me, a conspiratory grin on her face.

"Maybe so," I said with a shrug. "It's good to know there's more than one decent person working at Easter."

Suddenly her amber eyes were glittering at me, not in a threatening way, but in a manner that implied she knew something I didn't. Her smile was very small, but it was still there, gently framed by a few stray whisps of her Japanese violet hair. "Who's another decent person?" She asked quietly, and my face burst into colour when I realized what I had said.

Luckily, at that point Nobuko Saeki- a middle-aged looking woman clad in a flashy ochre business suit with a dark bob for hair and way too much makeup- had stumbled her way to the driver's seat, still looking pretty green from the drive to get here. For a moment she looked confused as she regarded all of the controls, gears, and buttons, but then she turned the keys in the ignition and the van roared to a start. Without any warning whatsoever, she slammed her purple heeled foot on the gas pedal and we were taking off so quickly I was nearly one hundred percent sure it was illegal. Everyone was thrown back into their seats, some of us screaming, and the others just keeping their expressions neutral. Nadeshiko-san, Tadase-kun, and Utau-san made no change in face; Kukai-kun, Yaya-san, and I, on the other hand, were seething in our seats, gripping at the itchy fabric beneath us for dear life.

"You're going way too fast!" I hissed just as I was rammed into Nadeshiko-san's side. She took hold of me automatically and we stayed that way as she kept motoring along.

"Sensei that's a red light!" Yaya-san screeched so quickly it was almost all one word, and we rammed to a stop so hard we slammed into the seats in front of us, or almost fell off completely. The people in town gave our vehicle the most bizzarre looks as the crossed the streets, but I hardly noticed from my heavy breathing and my thundering heart, almost matching Nadeshiko-san's beside me.

Unfortuneately the light turned green again all too soon, and we were darting through traffic like maniacs, and there was a high probabilty we'd get pulled over if Saeki-sensei kept driving like a madwoman. "You're driving is dangerous!" I called to her from my seat, and even from a far I noticed her hands were gripping the steering wheel so hard they kept slipping off from sweat.

"I can't help it!" She yelled back. "I don't usually drive!"

"Lady, do you even know where you're going?!" Kukai-kun demanded, who had steeled himself against his seat so that he wouldn't look like a wuss clinging to Tadase-kun. Utau-san still remained completely aloof, allowing herself to be bucked left and right with the wild turns our senior was making, like she dealt with driving like this all the time.

"Of course not! I'm just guessing!" Hollered Saeki-sensei from the front, much to our complete distress. "My powers really are unreliable! I'm only doing this because the cute boy asked me to!"

"You're doing just fine, Saeki-sensei," Tadase-kun called from his seat, his most heartmelting smile on his face. It even affected me from a few seats back, so when Saeki-sensei blushed and said, "You think?" Kukai-kun was the only one to object.

"YOU STOP THAT, TADASE!"

The next few panic riddled moments were filled with senseless screaming and being thrown all over the place, and people demanding things like "Which way?!" and "We have to turn here!", and my personal favourite "I don't know where I'm going!". The worst had still yet to come, apparently, for soon we were faced with a massive stone staircase that lead to a very industrial-looking building made of the same glass as Crystalshire Apartments. All of us expected Saeki-sensei to slam on the breaks again, but apparently she was having the real struggle trying to figure out the difference between the break and the gas yet again. She rammed one down, and we got a lucky break when we squealed to such a hard stop that skid marks were left in our wake. And Saeki-sensei's powers turned out to be quite accurate after all, since standing in the middle of the giant, regal stone staircase was Nikaidou, briefcase in hand and an incredulous look on his face.

"We're here!" Kukai-kun cheered, darting from the van with such visible relief that I would've felt tempted to make fun of him if I hadn't felt the same way. Tadase-kun thanked Saeki-sensei, and then we all proceeded to quickly pile out after him, Utau-san and I the most rammy of them all. Despite my desperation to go and get my Shugo Chara as soon as possible, my wrist was harshly grabbed on my way out, and I whipped around to see Sensei gripping my small wrist in her huge palm so hard her knuckles turned white.

"Wait," she panted, and I impatiently waited for her to say whatever she wanted to instead of tearing my wrist away. She looked up at me, her face dripping with sweat, but her gaze was filled with something I hadn't expected in the least- agitation, and unabashed fear. "You feel strange," she told me, her heavy brows drawing down. "So much colder than any of those kids. You're as cold as Lee Carceon."

As eager as I was to flee the van and run to kick butt and get my girls back, those words turned me to stone. I looked down at her, narrowing my eyes not in suspicion, but in something more like anxiety. She was telling me that I felt cold; that shouldn't have come as a surprise, since I had powers of ice swirling around inside me like furious emotions. But as cold as someone else? Named Lee? That couldn't have been a coincidence. He could see Shugo Chara, he was very cryptic about the things he said, he somehow knew my father since he had mistaken me for him... Could it have been possible that Lee and I were linked in some way? Somehow he knew that wearing the mask on Halloween night would drive the impish man away, and he told me that he was in tune with the supernatural. There was something wrong with that man, and I couldn't tell if I wanted to abandon him after all he had done from me just for the sake of being normal for a bit longer, or if I wanted to gather my courage and confront him about it.

However the fact that I didn't have enough information for a solid theory didn't change. So instead of quickly following the rest of the Guardians and Utau-san out, I turned to face Saeki-sensei more fully, and her hand dropped from my wrist like I was some sort of leper. "What do you mean?" I implored quietly, not wanting to frighten her any more than I apparently already had.

She shook her head, completely at a loss. "I don't know," she admitted, and even though she was much older than I, it was plain to see how intimidated she was just by me standing near her. Like I really was something to be frightened of. "But it's not just that your body feels cold. Everything around you seems like it's frozen. And- even though my powers aren't great in the slightest- I feel like..." Her gaze travelled up to meet mine, and her eyes looked very distant. It was the look my Shugo Chara got sometimes when they were thinking of things they couldn't speak of, things beyond my reach of comprehension. "I feel like I can sense your spirit, somehow. And it's nothing like anyone else's. It's very... sinister."

Sinister? Now I was being made out to be evil? I supposed I shouldn't have been shocked or hurt, seeing as how I'd been called "monster" and "abomination" on more than one occasion, but a pang of something hot and heavy crushed down on my chest, inhibiting my ability to breathe. As if that wasn't enough, her big, round eyes stared right through me, and she said, "I don't know who or what you are, or what you want here. But promise me you won't hurt those kids."

I was completely affronted. In my reflection portrayed in her eyes, I could see the raw wounded expression on my face, my own gaze begging her to understand as I said, "I would never-"

"Just promise me and get out," she spat, and I reeled back in shock, feeling that lump in the back of my throat, like I was choking on words. So I was barely able to wrangle out an "I promise" before I was practically pushed from the van and she was speeding away.

As much as I wanted to dwell on and think over what had just happened, I didn't have the time to digest all of the new information. The Guardians- and Utau-san- were advancing towards the stone staircase on which Nikaidou had frozen, staring down at all of us with a sort of morbid curiosity. I couldn't waste any time trying to decode everything on my own; right now my Shugo Chara were the top priority. Even from a distance I could hear them pleading my name, their voices filled with relief and desperation, and I found myself charging right towards my elder nemesis, the people around me completely forgotten as I thought of all the things he could have done to them in just a day's time.

Now, I figured it was basically a given, but I had no idea how to truly go about confronting an enemy that posed a real threat, for I had never had to do such a thing before. I had critized Ikuto before, sure, but that was something he was ordered to do, something he had no control over. Nikaidou was being malicious and evil of his own volition. It didn't seem to matter at all to him how losing their eggs affected all the people he stole them from; he did it regardless of any consequences, not only to achieve the Embryo for the sake of reaching his own dreams, but only to climb higher on a corporate latter. So instead of trying to figure out the technicalities of accosting a nemesis, I knew I had to completely wing it and act on impulse. Of course the first words out of my mouth, staring at him acting all nonchalant with his wily copper hair unbound and looking businesslike in an ironed tan suit, were: "Nikaidou, you asshat!" Absolute genius.

He didn't look the least bit affronted. In fact, he stared down at all of us from a high point on the staircase with a look of deadly calm on his face, though the set of his eyebrows indicated that he was a little irritated. "I'm surprised, Himayuki-san. How did you know I was here?"

"Shut up, you poseur." And so the petty insults continued. "Give me back my Shugo Chara right now!" I felt the Guardians stream up right behind me, offerring silent support and encouragement, and Utau-san strut right up to my side like she belonged there, not beside her coworker- the very man we stood against. It occurred to me how uncomfortable and perhaps even awkward this would be for her, having to face-off against someone she worked with every day. It was her own idea, and she was acting on her beliefs, but this was still coming off like an act of betrayal. I wouldn't have gone so far as to say that she was fighting on our side, but she was certainly giving off waves of resentment completely of her own accord. I might not have liked her, but in that moment, I respected her a tiny bit. But then I was instantly distracted by the sound of metal groaning and then popping, realizing it was the latch on Nikaidou's suitcase, a good fifteen feet away.

"What, you mean these?"Nikaidou asked innocently, almost teasingly, as he held up all three of my eggs in one hand, very precariously and carelessly.

"Snow!" I heard them chorus out in unison, their voices filled with relief as well as distress. My shoulders mitigated in the tiniest bit of relaxation that came with the realization that they were okay, but I didn't let my guard down. I had to have them back, in my own two hands, before I could get too comfortable with the current situation. With them right there, in front of me, just in my reach, was like drawing moths to a flame, and I automatically began to stride forward, as if drawn in by a gravitational pull, but Nikaidou interrupted me with a fleeting whistle.

"I wouldn't move any closer if I wore you," he clucked, a satisfied smirk twisting his features into the evil that rested inside of him. "Or else I'll crush these pretty little things." His grip on my eggs tightened, so much that even if he did grip them any harder, they would inevitably slip from his grasp and perhaps shatter against the ground. It had to have been a bluff, because why would he steal them only to break them? Nonetheless I stopped mid-stride, my face curling into a snarl, and cursed before moving any closer. Thankfully, I didn't have to say anything, for Utau-san stepped in front of me, her shoulders steeled and imposing.

"Nikaidou-san, this is completely immature," she called to him. "You shouldn't need so many X-eggs, or Snow Hisayuki's Shugo Chara. They aren't the Embryo." She jerked her chin up at him in defiance, and spat, "Quit picking on the weak."

I turned to her slightly, one eyebrow cocked sardonically. "Come again, brat?"

"Oh be quiet," she hissed in my ear. "I'm trying to help, here."

"That's where you're wrong," Nikaidou continued, in a voice that indicated he was going to share his evil plot with us, which was on the same level as an emcee introducing the next act of a concert. "It's taking the Eggs that's fun for me." At my completely appalled expression, he felt inclined to continue, a sneer curling his lip up and revealing teeth. "I take the Eggs from ignorant kids who still believe in hopes and dreams in the world, who are completely oblivious to what reality is really like. It's my own deliverence of kindess, you see. Best to crush them early on rather than let them continue believing and have a very disturbing wake-up call.

"Besides, it's not like I'm not going to use them." He shrugged, as if delving into his nefarious plot was an everyday thing. "They're going to be ingredients for my cooking." Cue abhorred expression and hissing exhalation on my behalf, which appeared to warrant a comforting- at the same time as warning- hand on my shoulder courtesy of Tadase-kun. "For my project." I didn't like the way the word drawled from his mouth, like it carried more than the simple meaning of examining them. It was the way someone would say "project" when they were about to dissect something, to tear it apart from the outside and simply discard it afterwards. In the name of "science".

"Project?" Utau-san repeated, speaking like the word was alien to her. Then she took another threatening step forward, and Nikaidou didn't even bother moving, his expression actually bordering on amusement. "What are you planning? I know you're up to something, that you've been doing something in the shadows for a while now. What exactly are you thinking?!"

"That's my line," came the voice of a woman, seemingly out of nowhere. Utau-san, however, flinched away from the sound of it, her shoulds hiking up, as if she were bracing herself. A woman, looking to be in her twenties, clicked over to stand by Nikaidou, her heels a disgrace to fashion, but a nod to business wear. Her suit was the same, a beige that was a few tones lighter than Nikaidou's, with her jacket open to reveal the blouse beneath and a pencil skirt of the same colour. Her bespectacled eyes that glittered like two sharpened sapphires bore down on Utau-san, in suspicion and something like disappointment, and her curled auburn hair made her look all the more intimidating. All I thought of her, however, was just that she was someone else in my way, and I couldn't stand her even though I didn't know who she was. "You just disappear from the shoot and here you are, gallavanting around with these kids. Your point-of-view is the wrong one here, Utau."

Utau-san jerked away again, like the woman's words had physically slapped her across the face, and began to object. "But Sanjo-san-"

"That's enough," Sanjo-san snapped, her eyebrows arching in a way that said she didn't like to be defied. "You're such a bad girl, sneaking off all on your own. But I suppose it's fine; just come here."

The blonde idol hesitated, moving as if she might step forward, but holding herself back. Sanjo-san's eyebrows soared, and the slightest smile dusted her face as she said, "The whole group of annoyances has assembled." This seemed to insult Kukai-kun, who let out a scoff and crossed his arms with a look of discontentment. "The Guardians, and Snow Hisayuki. You can get rid of them all at once, Utau."

When Utau-san faltered again, I allowed my eyes to move from resting on Nikaidou in a predatory way to look at her warily. "Utau-san?" I asked quietly, observing the conflicting emotions on her face. This Sanjo-san, whoever she was, was making Utau-san question the beliefs she had so strongly conveyed only minutes ago, and I could tell she wanted to act on them still even if she was being told otherwise. I didn't put much faith in her to begin with- she was an enemy, after all. But I couldn't help but feel uneasy as I watched her eyes travelling back and forth between the two rival groups, like we were in real trouble if she decided to stand against us after all.

"Are you really thinking of defying me? Are you sure?" Sanjo-san shrugged like it really was no big deal, but the smirk on her face indicated she had something else up her sleeve. "So I guess you don't care what happens to Ikuto-kun after all, then. That's too bad."

Oh no. The forbidden name. Of course that made Utau-san look guilty and hurt all at once, and she gripped the sides of her dress until her hands turned to fists. No on really looked surprised when she swiftly charged to stand with the two adults; more like sad. She closed her eyes briefly, her mouth set in a hard line, and there was a strange popping sound before a little devil Shugo Chara floated up from its Egg around her waist to rest at her side. Naturally it was a girl Chara, with much of her body exposed by a red, leathery outfit, bat wings fluttering at her back and a tail with an arrowed point swishing around her. Tiny, curled black horns sprouted from her head, her hair appearing to be a violet only slightly darker than her bearer's eyes and styled in a curled bob. She snickered diabolically, seeming to delight in any sort of messed-up atmosphere, and looked more than enthusiastic when Utau-san quietly said, "Character Transformation."

Wait- what? The Guardians looked as shocked as I did, and more than just a little panicked. Strobes of red light seemed to ungulf the thin figure of Utau-san, who stood there almost like she regretted it, and we quickly had to shield our eyes away from the blossoming crimson glow. After the glare finished dancing off our eyelids, we removed the hands that shielded are faces to see that Utau-san had indeed Character Transformed, into something nearly identical to her Shugo Chara. Large, leathery bat wings almost enveloped her in an embrace, and the devil theme continued on for the rest of her outfit, with a pointed collar with a hanging cross covering her neck, little wings holding up her pigtails. The same almost wave-like shape covered the strapless chest of her candy-apple leather dress, with sleek black strips of fabric running down the sides and ending in tiny crosses. Her boots were high, nearly reaching the tops of her thighs, with the same wicked shape and material as the dress. A contrary look overall, I had to admit, with the combination of both crosses and devil wings, two completely conflicting symbols. But with my Character Transformations- the scantily clad Lilith, steampunk Vivian, and exiguously covered Japanese Satsuki- who was I to judge.

"Character Transformation," she said again, more confidently this time. "Lunatic Charm."

Lunatic? As in crazy? At that point I wouldn't have doubted it. While I spent my time gawking and cursing myself for thinking she was on our side for even a moment, the Guardians were springing into action with their Character Changes, warning me to stay back. I hadn't been a Guardian for very long- or involved in this world of magic in general- but it was even plain to me that trying to defeat a Character Transformation with just Character Changes was more like four small mice against one large, taloned eagle. I grit my teeth, not wanting to see the Guardians fight and get hurt because of me, as well as getting antsy being so close to my three small friends yet so far away at the same time.

The two adult Easter employees seemed to have the same sentiments as me, for Sanjo-san laughed out loud, a brief, loud bark, and said, "Oh my, Yuu. They're putting on a cute little parade. Do you think they honestly believe they can defeat Utau with only a Character Change?"

"And what is Hisayuki-kun going to do without her Eggs?" Nikaidou added with a mocking chuckle, clutching my Eggs tighter still.

Standing by and doing nothing should have been my style by now. For most of my life, I did nothing to improve myself, or any situation I got into- I just stood an accepted it, without running away, and believed that would be enough to get through anything thrown my way. But right now wasn't one of those times. I couldn't just stand alone and do nothing while all of my friends fought for my sake, to get my Shugo Chara back. I knew I had to do something- but what could I do without the girls? I was told- very sternly- not to use the curious ice powers I had, and didn't know how to control them besides. There had to be something I could accomplish with just my own abilities, without relying on anyone. And then it hit me; I could try what I did with any of the X-Eggs or X-Characters. I could try to talk to Utau-san, try to make her see that, no matter what their justification was, what she and Easter were doing was wrong. So I grit my teeth together and yelled, "Utau-san!" which grabbed her attention with a swivel of her head and sorrowful violet eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded, my voice loud but low, aiming for aggressiveness. "I thought you said that you couldn't condone cheap shots. That Nikaidou was sleazy and deceitful." The accused had the gall to look a bit annoyed by the statement, like it was anything but true. "So why are you doing this now?" When she didn't respond, and only continued to glare at me, I narrowed my eyes and spat, "Are you a hypocrite, Utau-san? Can you act all self-righteous about your beliefs and then turn around and betray them so easily? I thought you were above all that."

For a brief instant, her expression completely fell into one of misery and fury, as would anyone's when they were blatantly accused of being a liar. With her expression so intense and unguarded, I thought I had her for a moment, that she was going to realize the mistake she had been making and come back to our side, even if it meant beytraying you-know-who. But then her gaze hardened, so much so that I couldn't see any light reflected in it, and the rugged wings on her back folded in slightly, tensed up and quivering. It looked like she was going on the defensive for a moment, and the Guardians were just as confused as I was- so much so that they didn't think to attack, for they were too wary. By the time I realized what she was doing, it was too late. She hadn't been trying to protect herself; she was stronger than any of the Guardians and that wouldn't have even been neccessary. No- she was just building up energy to release on one huge attack on us, and we were too stunned to even try and avoid it. So when her coriaceous pitch wings spread once again in a flash and she screamed, "Nightmare Lorelei!" all we could do was stand there and attempt to defend ourselves.

Phantom scarlet and black swallowtail butterflies seemed to seep from her wings and frantically swarm us, and even though Tadase-kun bolted in front of us and yelled, "Holy Crown!" in return, making a golden light erupt from his king's sceptor and shield all of us, the wind that was stirred in the butterflies' wake was so strong and powerful we were literally knocked from our feet. Tadase-kun's shield flickered away and left us completely defenseless, so we could only throw our arms in front of our faces and let the creatures pass through us, and every time one touched our bodies, it left an intense flash of heat in its wake, like a quick burn you would receive one touching an oven, only multiplied by many. It was especially harsh on me with my body that was overly sensitive to heat, and I cringed and panted and struggled to stand again, only to be knocked back down when one smacked on my leg and made me crumple. The others were in identical situations, crouching on the ground and clutching wherever the ghostly insects touched, barely able to tune in again when Utau-san started saying something again.

"It's for Ikuto!" She wailed, and through the screen of black and red, I could barely make out her expression, one of pure determination and fierce affection. That seemed to make my temperature rise even more than her attack did, her protectiveness over her fellow employee slicing right through me and leaving me to feel something that felt a lot like wistfulness. "I'll get my hands dirty if it's for Ikuto! I'll do anything for him!" I was almost jealous of how passionately she felt about him, of how she'd even throw her own values away if it would help him. It was so blatantly obvious that she had very strong feelings for him, and probably even... loved him. I didn't know why it hurt to think that, when my mind should have clearly been more focused on other things, but I couldn't help to feel a burning sensation right in my chest, as if one of her butterflies had penetrated right into my heart and simmered there until it melted away completely. Utau-san was just so honest, and dedicated in everything she did, that I couldn't help but feel like I had lost some sort of battle. One I hadn't even known I'd been fighting.

By then I had figured that the only thing we could do was hope Utau-san would drain her energy with the constant attack and stop the barrage. But then a voice drifted languidly through the air, one that would've have sounded like a saviour if only it didn't belong to another one of our enemies. Utau-san's blitz abruptly cut off when Ikuto just popped out of nowhere, yet looking like he belonged with ease and confidence, and said, "I never asked you to, did I?"

"Ikuto!" Utau-san herself gasped, rearing back almost as if she were guilty at being caught attacking us.

"Damn it," Kukai-kun spat as he and Tadase-kun rushed in front of Nadeshiko-san, Yaya-san, and I, holding themselves even more tensed than they had before. "More enemies at a time like this?" While Kukai-kun seemed more focused on protecting the rest of us, and fighting back with as much might as he could, Tadase-kun was positively seething at the mere sight of our newest adversary. Again I came to wonder what exactly their problem was, but that was something to dwell on more later.

I, on the other hand, just sighed in frustration. "Speak of the Devil and He shall appear," I grumbled, and Ikuto's head tilted back to smirk at me.

"I heard that," he said, and I lifted part of my lip to snarl at him. He just winked, and while I was left to marvel at the sheer level of arrogance he must have had to even accomplish such a thing (because who the hell winks anymore?), he turned back to Utau-san with his grin a bit softer than it was before. "You're Character Transforming with Il, huh? It's been a while since I've seen that. You must be pretty fired up about this."

My attention was driven elsewhere when I heard a smack of skin against skin, only to realize that it was Sanjo-san face-palming and shaking her head slightly. "Oh, god," she muttered to herself, looking overly exasperated, "she hasn't seen him for a while now, and that can only mean-"

"Ikuto!" Utau-san- I shit you not- squealed, and in one swift movement, her Character Transformation came undone, her Shugo Chara was literally tossed from her body, and she threw herself at Ikuto, her arms clenching around his neck in a vise grip I knew even he wouldn't be able to easily escape from. Her voice was dripping with liquified sweetness and innocence, completely contrary to the strong, independant enemy we had just been facing, and all of the Guardians- myself included- were left to gawk. I had seen Utau-san around Ikuto before, and she had been quite protective of him, but I had never seen her all over him like that, all giggly and cuddly and basically a completely different person.

"So... her Character Transformation came undone?" Nadeshiko-san asked, tilting her head to the side in pure confusion. No one bothered to respond, but I thought the murderous grin on my face said it all.

"Utau, get off of me," Ikuto said without even batting an eyelash, his hands remaining relaxed in his pockets.

"But I haven't seen you in ages!" The platinum blonde complained, snuggling even deeper into him. Just when I was about ready to punch a hole into the ground, Tadase-kun stepped closer to them, holding his sceptor in an offesnive stance. Ikuto's curious yet bored gaze travelled to him, as did Utau-san's, only she looked like she was ready to kick him where it hurt most for interrupting her Ikuto Time.

"You cam because you sensed Guardian Eggs, didn't you, Ikuto Tsukiyomi?" Our King demanded, his eyes completely trained on them without the slightest bit of hesitation. "But I won't give them to you as you please!"

Despite his warnings and threats, Ikuto looked completely unfazed by Tadase-kun's attempt to intimidate him. "Hey, Kiddie King," he said comfortably, almost affectionately. "On a parade with your servants?" He saw me narrow my eyes at the deragatory term, and had to cover up his laughter with a not-so-subtle fake cough.

"Utau, get back here!" Sanjo-san snapped at her junior, who looked at her with big, round puppy eyes. Nonetheless, she reluctantly let go of Ikuto's neck and shuffled over, and it seemed like a breath I had apparently been holding was finally able to rush out in a befuddled huff.

Nikaidou- who was evidently completely at ease with three other allies rallying with him- held my Eggs up slightly higher to wave around, and my heart nearly stopped in my chest, thinking he would drop them at any moment. "Those kids are after me, Ikuto-kun," he said, his voice filled with taunting and poise. "They came for Snow Hisayuki's Eggs." Like Ikuto wouldn't have already been able to tell as much; he was with me the night Nikaidou took them, and he wasn't stupid; just from looking at the people present he probably would have been able to tell what was going on.

Even so, Ikuto's eyes drifted to mine, and there were a few moments of silence as we stared at each other, and everyone else stared at us doing so. Something passed between us, something almost comforting as I couldn't tear my eyes away from the fathomless blue sapphires that looked back at me, and I witnessed a muscle in his jaw jump as some of the desperation I felt leaked out into my expression. "Snow's?" He asked quietly, narrowing his eyes, and before he could say anything else, he had to swing away from Tadase-kun winging his sceptor at him with an ambiguous "Whoa".

"It isn't a suprise you're involved with this, as well, you thieving cat," Tadase-kun barked, and before either of us could even think to object, he held his sceptor aloft, preparing to swing once again. "We'll settle this here once and for all!"

"Ha," Ikuto snorted, his cat ears springing up from his head as he rolled his eyes. "I don't even have to Character Transform against you, Kiddie King." Of course, that got Tadase-kun even more riled up than before, and I couldn't help but notice how reckless he became when around Ikuto. It was like all of the blood rushed straight to his head, and he couldn't think of anything else except fighting until he finally won. For one who was normally so careful and put a lot of thought and care into his plans and decisions, it was very out of character, and also quite worrisome. One of these days that impulsiveness could get him hurt, and so seeing him use Holy Crown on Ikuto as an attack instead of a shield made my heart thump nervously with concern, fretting over the possibility of him getting hurt. I didn't have any idea what I would do without Tadase-kun; he was the first one to approach me, to completely accept me into the Guardians, to take me on a sort-of-date to the aquarium, and I knew that without him I would be completely at a loss. Besides, I didn't ever want to see someone like him- kind, intelligent, and just all-around attentive- in pain, since so many others depended on him and needed him. Thus I realized I had to find some way to keep them from fighting; the only problem was I had no idea how to do that. It seemed like he couldn't even hear anything else besides Ikuto's mockery, and I wondered why he would even egg him on.

As Ikuto kept swiftly dodging with jumps, spins, and flips, all very agile and admittedly appealing, Utau-san expressed all the worry I felt on her face as she called out her coworker's name. But Sanjo-san pulled her away from the fray, saying, "It's time to go- we're late for your next show", and dragged her away before she could protest. When the two were making their exit, I finally looked away from Tadase-kun and Ikuto's little spat to see that Nikaidou had laid my Eggs back in his briefcase, and was turning away. I sucked in a panicked breath, my eyes snapping wide at the thought of him escaping with the girls again, and I was already moving forward as he said, "See you later, Ikuto-kun. I leave the rest to you."

"Don't you dare move!" I shrieked at him, mounting the cement steps two at a time, the other Guardians closee behind. Ikuto looked back just as he escaped another hit from Tadase-kun's weapon, and he leaned forward until he was at a ninety-degree angle. Vaguely, I pondered what he was doing, but my anxieties ceased when his leg shot straight out to nail Nikaidou's hand clutching the briefcase, making him shout out a complaint and drop it on the ground.

"Sorry," Ikuto purred with a conspiratory grin, sticking his tongue out slightly. "I slipped."

I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed. Ikuto had went out of his way- had gone against someone he worked with- to help me, just because he knew how much my Shugo Chara meant to me. As I stared at him, completely at a loss for words and my chest completely filled with a carbonated feeling I couldn't even put a name to, he gave me a barely perceptable nod and a slight smile that made my heart roar within my chest. I was unable to even say 'thank you', for Nikaidou was struggling to recover and gather my Eggs again, and a small triangle of the X-tape holding Lilith's Egg together caught on the pavement and ended up peeling the whole thing off. Immediately afterwards Lilith sprang free with a gasp, inhaling fresh air, and I almost collapsed in relief. I never thought I would be so ecstatic to see her small, mischeivous grin, her feline yellow eyes, and her hair as red as a dying sunset, but there I was, feeling as happy as I had the first time I realized that I had a place to belong. As Nikaidou grappled to get the other Eggs which were dangerously clanging down the stairs, Lilith turned to me and screamed "Chara Change!" at the top of her lungs, giving me bat wings identical to Utau-san's (albeit more pointed and gnarly-looking), the long crimson scarf that nearly reached my feet, and whipped mair hair into the bat-clipped ponytail she possessed. I tensed my feet against the ground and took a flying leap, one that would have normally sent me careening right into the stone if my wings hadn't gathered air behind them to propel me forward.

"Go, Hisayuki!" Kukai-kun cheered as Nadeshiko-san joined him in a more respectful way. My hand was so, so close to Vivian's Egg just as it was about to hit another step, and when I felt its smooth, warm surface securely in my grasp before it hit the stone, my heart felt like it grew to twice its size. However, before I could move to snatch up Satsuki's and then kick some ass hard-core, Nikaidou snatched her up and stuffed her in his briefcase, as she screamed protests the entire time. It would have been easy when I was Character Changed to simply swoop down and seize it right back, but with reflexes so quick his hand was only a blur, he reached in his pocket and plucked out a blinking orb, the same as from last night, and threw it to the ground. The moment it made contact the same thick screen the colour of vibrant moss spilled out, making the Guardians sputter and cough and my eyes water.

"What the heck is this?" Yaya-san demanded somewhere behind me, from the sounds of it near the bottom of the staircase. "Tear gas?"

Nikaidou didn't bother answering, but I could hear heavy footsteps hurrying away through the dense smoke. Blindly I ran towards where the sound was coming from, reaching out my hands and moving so quickly I didn't even stumble, and just caught the edge of his suit before it slipped away. I felt the material slip through my fingers, and felt Satsuki slip further away from me as well, and sucked in a horrified breath before exploding.

"Give my freaking Egg back to me!" I screeched, the loudest I had ever risen my voice before- well, exempt from that day thirteen years ago, but that was for good reason. "Why the hell are you doing this? Deceiving children, outright lying to others, and just crushing dreams for entertainment? What kind of sick bastard are you to take other's Eggs away just because you don't have your own?!"

The silence that followed was more deafening to my ears than my screams. I was left panting, almost completely out of breath with a sore throat, and feeling like I needed to break something just to calm down. But then a hand emerged from the smoke directly in front of me, catching me completely off-guard, and grasped the scarlet ie of my uniform and used it as leverage to pull me forward until I was almost nose-to-nose with Nikaidou.

I cringed away from the proximity and waved my hands in front of his face, hissing, "Too close! Too close!"

"Shut up!" He objurgated, and I was both surprised and disturbingly pleased to hear his voice sounding like it was caving in under a crushing weight, like he was physically wounded by my words. "Since you're so greedily desperate for your third Egg, I suppose I'll give you a chance." His harsh, enfuriated expression dissapated into a smug grin, as if the very thought of me succeeding in retrieving my Egg was laughable to him. "Come to my research lab after school tomorrow. It's an old Easter dorm just on the outskirts of town, surrounding my an iron fence. But you must come alone. Tell your Guardians friends and I will crush your Egg without a second thought."

Satsuki's voice, completely disembodied in the smoke, cried, "Snow-sama! Please, don't do anything reck-"

Nikaidou must have done something to her, for her voice abruptly cut off and his smirk grew even wider. As I growled in his face, he released my tie and began to walk away, the only sign he was still there the sound of his voice. "You'll miss the show if you're late, Hisayuki-san."

And then I couldn't feel any presence around me any longer, proving I was alone.

After a few moments of coughing and choking, the smoke finally began to clear away, and it revealed that the Guardians and I were the only ones present, standing as if we were on the front lines of a battlefield in one with no opposition. Tadase-kun rushed up to me, delicately touching my shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asked gently, most likely having heard my fit.

I barely even nodded before Vivian tore free of her Egg, and my two most pessimistic Shugo Chara rushed up to hug my face, tears in their eyes. My smile was so wide and relieved it almost tore the corners of my mouth, and I had never felt so happy to see two small people in my whole life. "Snow!" They sobbed, leaving tiny spots of wetness on my cheeks. I didn't say a word; I merely pressed them more into my face, the only way I could hug them without crushing them, and clenched my eyes shut, confirming that they were real and safe- with me at last. I could sense Tadase-kun staring and smiling at us, as if it were him having received his Shugo Chara back, but the moment was slightly ruined when Kukai-kun grunted and said, "Man, just one more Egg and this would've been all over."

The girls floated away from my face but stayed close, resting on my shoulders and just beside my neck. Nadeshiko-san threw surreptitious glances about, and then said, "It seems that Cat Burgler-san has fled as well."

Yaya-san crossed her arms and blew out an angry breath. "What did he come here for, anyway?"

I had a feeling that Ikuto's presence in this situation had less to do with helping out his fellow Easter employees, and more to do with giving me pieces of myself back- possibly even seeking a slight taste of revenge against the company he seemed to resent working for. Whatever the reason was, I was intensely grateful, and promised myself I would thank him somehow later. He truly couldn't have been a bad person if he went to all that trouble just to help me out.

But mayve that didn't matter. He was still a part of Easter, and still my enemy.

Now Utau-san was, as well, and she had proven herself to be a more formidable foe than I could have ever imagined.

To top it all off, my ex-teacher was the final boss in this whole incident, and I would be facing off with him tomorrow. Because no matter what, I would get Satsuki back. It didn't matter if she was a piece of myself anymore; I was intensely worried for her safety, and just desperate to know that she would be alright, and that her graceful smile would still be in place when she came home.

And no matter what, I would make absolutely sure that she did come home, safe and sound and by my side.

Sooo I think it's quite obvious that some of the quotes from last chapter ended up not being in this one. This is simply because I had planned for this chapter to be a lot longer, but when I looked at the word count, I was all, "Oooh better stop now" because oh my god that would have been long. So now I'm just splitting it.

Snow: Next chapter I'm getting Satsuki back, right?

Crimrose: Well if I told you, what fun would that be?

Snow: *frowns* You're horrible.

Ikuto: *yawns lazily* I still haven't heard a 'thank you' for my assistance.

Snow: *blushes* I said I'd get around to it, didn't I?!

Tadase: Alright, you two, this space is mostly to encourage people to review and a 'see you next time' sort of thing. It feels wrong to just be fighting all the time.

Crimrose: Is that why you're being civil with him? *jerks thumb at Ikuto, who blinks innocently*

Tadase: *twitches slightly* Maybe.

Crimrose: Well, you do have a point. How about next end-of-chappie we do something fun?

Ikuto: *instantly perks up* What kind of fun?

Snow: *rolls eyes* I doubt it's your kind of fun... right?

Crimrose: ... Well, maybe.

Snow and Tadase: WHAT?!

Ikuto: YES.

Crimrose: I mean we're going to play a game, you guys. And it's purely coincidence whether or not it turns out to be raunchy or not.

Ikuto: Raunchy? Ooh, this is exciting.

Snow: Please, PLEASE tell me you're joking. He doesn't need any more reason to be a lech.

Tadase: Yes, Crimrose-san, don't encourage that sort of behaviour. It makes Hisayuki-san uncomfortable.

Snow: Tadase-kun...

Ikuto: Forgetting someone?

Crimrose: No, never. Anyway, I'll reveal what game we'll play next time, though some of you probably have an idea what it is ;) Look forward to it, especially if you've got Ikuto's sense of humor.

Snow: The humor of an immature middle schooler.

Ikuto: Oh, come on. You think dirty stuff and innuendos are funny sometimes, too.

Snow: WHERE'S YOUR PROOF?

Crimrose: BE QUIET FOR TWO FREAKING SECONDS, PLEASE.

Tadase: *sighs* Well, I'm afraid I'm cutting this off before some sort of fist fight breaks out. Please review, and Crimrose is already working on the next chapter, so maybe it'll be up sooner than normal? Who can say. But anyway, thank you very much for reading.

Ikuto: *mumbles* Goody-two-shoes.

Snow: BETTER THAN BEING AN UNCONTROLLABLE DEVIANT.