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...

17. Chapter XV- Metamorphosis

I'm back again! Also, I'm pathetic. I mean, like three months? I seriously need to step up my game here. TO BE FAIR FEBRUARY HAS 28 DAYS AND THAT THREW ME OFF.

Anyway, this chapter might be a bit all over the place (as they usually are) since I write them all at different times. So sorry if there's not any continuity, BUT I'VE BEEN SO EXCITED TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER FOR SO LONG AND I FINALLY GOT IT DONE AND EEEE I'M SO EXCITED FOR PEOPLE TO READ IT!

Fair warning: it gets darker at the end, but a lot of information is revealed so please bear with me! Also, there won't be any afterword because I kind of want to leave the ending to simmer, know what I'm saying?

Love you guys, as always!

~Crimrose

Chapter XV

Metamorphosis

For the first time in many, many years, I woke up without a trace of an appetite.

After I had got home that night, walking as if I were completely intoxicated instead of just feeling shaken and unwell, I didn't even eat dinner- I made something small for the girls, dousing myself in their light, refreshing presence that was like the laughter of a child, then went straight to bed. I could barely sleep; I tossed and turned throughout most of the night, always feeling hot, too hot, but not liking the feeling of being without blankets, without a barrier between me and the elements that I could potentially be exposed to. So I laid awake, staring outside the glass balcony doors at the moon through the open curtains, and was eventually able to find comfort and rest at about two thirty in the morning.

Despite not having fed the ravenous beast that was my stomach pretty much all day yesterday, I felt as though eating something would only make me feel worse. The best I could do was to drink some black tea and get caffeine into my system so I'd at least be able to function. I wasn't used to ever being ill, seeing as it had never happened before. I completed the homework I had left undone last night, then began shutting the lights off and slipping on my outerwear for school.

Then I did something I would never normally consider; I went all-out with my autumn-broaching-on-winter gear. I slipped on a hat, some gloves, a scarf, and shrugged my plaid coat on. I knew I would overheat; I always did when I dressed like that and it wasn't in the dead of winter. But for some reason, all of the layers brought me comfort. It was like reassurance that I was like the other people around me, that I could be normal for a change.

When I reached the academy, however, it was quite clear that wasn't going to happen.

I reared back upon entering the school and seeing a dangerously familiar figure loitering near the entrance, checking to make sure all of the students were following the dress code and whatnot. "What are you doing here?" I demanded of Nikaidou, who looked at me and gave me this smug little grin.

"What? I thought I made it pretty clear from my crushing defeat that I didn't really have the drive to work for Easter anymore." Even though his appearance had returned to the teacher I once knew, the one with the severely round glasses and a messy ponytail, his attitude would clearly be remaining the same as it had been when he was my enemy. "Besides, I do have real credentials. The headmaster was very gracious in letting me return."

From what I'd heard about him, the headmaster seemed like quite the sketchy character. I shifted my weight to the right side of my body and blew out a frustrated breath. "Right. Well, don't even think about extracting some kids' Eggs again. If you do I'll freeze you where your stand." I had to admit that, even though it was the last person I wanted to know, it was actually quite nice to have someone who understood that I had strange powers that remained obscure to me. It wasn't that he accepted them or was terrified of them, either; it was more like he just didn't care. Which may have actually been the best way to go about it.

"Please," he scoffed, his face brightening upon seeing Satsuki poke her head out from my scarf. "You seemed more afraid of it than I was."

I avoided his gaze, for I didn't want him to know that he had hit the nail on the head. I didn't want to think anything along the lines of, 'You just don't understand', but it was fairly hard not to when you were actually a freak among freaks. Though he hardly seemed concerned with my inner turmoil, listening to Satsuki go on and on about what a lovely day it was like he was in a trance. I shot him a disgruntled look, not entirely pleased about the Stockholm Syndrome relationship my Shugo Chara was developing with him.

"I'm gonna be late for class," I said gruffly, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my hand. He looked quite irritated as Satsuki languidly floated back to rest on my shoulder, and apparently thought it was the appropriate time to fire a shot at me.

"You look like crap," he said, not condescendingly but more like conversationally. "Did something happen?"

"Even if it did, why would I tell you?" I hadn't meant to be rude- okay, maybe I had- but that's what I was honestly wondering. It wasn't like he cared in the first place.

He quirked one burnt-orange eyebrow and coppedhis villain's smirk. "I'm a teacher. I'm supposed to listen to students woes and advise them the best I can. At least," he heaved a sigh, scrathing the back of his head like he seemed to do when he felt uncomfortable, "that's what the headmaster said. But that feels more like a punishment than a second chance."

That brought a smile to my face. "That's probably the point. But seriously, first period starts in two mintues and I'm still here yakking away with you. So..."

He waved his hand, having officially dismissed me. "I'll see you in science." I rolled my eyes, because that was definitely an ironic statement, all things considered.

It seemed like every one of my aquaintances I had in each of my classes felt the need to comment that I looked like Hell that day. Though their wordings varied greatly- from Weiss-san's worried "You don't look so good" in art class to Deryn's "Who pissed in your Cheerios" in home ec- the message was clear; that I should probably stop my 'I don't feel like it' fasting and get some sleep. It also revealed that those people took notice of and cared for me more than I had thought, and I was flattered enough that my mood improved by leaps and bounds by the end of the day. Nikaidou dodged each student's probing and insensitive questions as to where he disappeared to for that day or so, to which he deflected with surprising ease and charisma. I supposed that flighty, careless teacher I was used to truly was just an act, someone who never existed in the first place.

Another thing about Nikaidou that took me a bit by surprise: as I was walking towards the Royal Garden, bent on attending an actual meeting without disruption and being with my friends in peace, I saw him and Professor Kenneth in the smoking area around the school. They had both lit up and looked like they were just making idle chatter, but Nikaidou gave me the dirtiest look that I returned with equal distaste. That made Prof. Kenneth take notice, and he casually rose his hand to me in greeting, the strangest little smile on his face. I gave him the best smile I could manage and returned the gesture, shot one last glare at Nikaidou, then walked off to my safe haven to spend my last few hours before I had to leave for work.

At least, that's what it should have been.

My first step into the Royal Garden was one that seemed to send euphoria rushing through me; it was so peaceful and quiet, without the torment of my own thoughts plauging me and an impending battle hanging over my head. The quiet dribble of the stream was almost like the lullaby I had been searching for all day, comforting enough to put me to sleep then and there. The flowers remained healthy and strong, since the Royal Garden was technically a very fancy greenhouse, and would be kept alive even during the winter from the heating systems and what have you. I could see my friends so close by, and seeing them all sitting there, waiting for me, almost felt like a dream that I was terrified to wake from. But as I stepped closer and closer, I realized that the once liberating air in the Garden was heavy, almost congesting; there was definitely something dreary about the atmosphere. Once I had reached the steps leading up to the delicately carved gazebo, I saw what it was.

The Guardians weren't alone; Isabelle stood at the end of the table I usually sat in, and they were all staring down at a vase of flowers as if it were a deadly blade, a weapon used against them.

"What's going on?" I hedged, all cautious and hesitant not only because of the mood, but because of the present company. I believed my wariness of Isabelle was completely justified; I'd been admittedly freaked out by her from the first time I saw her, and when she came to the Royal Garden just two days ago, she had given me an awfully prophetic warning then had practically vanished. Just seeing her and her wispy pitch hair, with gleaming crimson eyes that gleamed like fresh blood, set me on edge.

Surprisingly, Tadase-kun's jaw was set; he jerked his head at the flowers and said, "These were left on Isabelle-san's desk this morning."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Um, but aren't flowers a nice thing?"

Nadeshiko-san shook her head ruefully. "Around here, if a vase of flowers is left on a desk, it's automatically assumed that the person who sat in it has died."

Isabelle was clearly corporeal and standing right in front of us, sniffling a little bit as if this event legitimately saddened her. It only took me a few seconds to catch what that meant; the bullying she was a victim of had gotten so intense that the flowers they had placed on her desk, perhaps normally out of respect for the dead, were a message. A message that meant she was being treated as if she no longer existed, and that she was truly better off not even being alive.

That was by far the most cruel form of bullying I had ever heard of. Not that I knew from experience; sure, I was ignored and excluded simply because of how I looked at my previous school, but never something so intense and hateful. I didn't exactly like Isabelle, but I knew that she didn't deserve that kind of treatment- no one did. So, even though I had feelings of animosity lingering towards her, I found my heart reaching for hers, seeking to comfort her and find some way we could make this bullying stop.

"What can we do?" I asked stiffly, my posture solid and fists tight at my sides.

They all looked to me, the Guardians like they were expecting that reaction, and Isabelle like she was somewhat surprised. Her red eyes ran down my face, so thoroughly it sent shivers coursing down my spine. It felt like she was assessing me for something. Finally, her eyes narrowed, almost like she was suspicious of my intentions. I told myself not to mind, that she had been through a lot and had every right not to trust people. But I knew that I would never be able to let my guard down around her. And perhaps that was a good thing.

"That's a good question," Tadase-kun sighed, pinching the bridge of his eleganty nagled nose, more frustrated than I had ever seen him. "If we were to go right up to the perpetrators and ask that they stopped, that could be viewed as an attack on Mayosu from Seiyo and ruin what delicate peace there is. If we talked to the school as a whole, there's a chance they could listen, but an even greater chance that it will get worse." Isabelle sniffled lightly, and Nadeshiko-san handed her a tissue, putting a hand over hers comfortingly. "The truth is that there's not a whole lot of options."

Tadase-kun didn't look angry or irritated; as a matter of fact, he looked frustrated with himself. He hated that there was nothing he could do for a girl from another school who was so desperate for help that she came to us. That was just the kind of guy he was, wanting to help out of nothing but the kindness of his heart, and it felt like I was watching a piece of him break away each time he was unable to do anything for other people. He was such a gentle and sweet guy that it made me want to do all that I could, desperate on preserving the personality he had that I longed for. I would help with whatever I could, perhaps not for Isabelle, but definitely for him.

I found myself striding over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder as gently as I could, accepting it if he wanted to move away. He didn't. If anything, he seemed to almost sink into my touch, causing my heart to stutter. I shoved down the blood that fought to rush to my face, and suggested, "Maybe I could go there tomorrow. Just to scope things out and see what sort of situation we're really dealing with. Then we can decide what to do."

"Oh, no," Tadase-kun murmured, shaking his head so that his feathery hair grazed the back of my hand. I restrained the shudder that ran down my spine, tempted to touch his as he had mine on the day of the sports festival. "I couldn't ask you to do that, Hisayuki-san."

"Think about it," I pressed, not wanting him to beta himself up anymore than he already had. "I'm a new Guardian; they probably won't be as familiar with me as they are with you guys. Even if I am slightly recognizable-" he smiled ruefully and reached back to tug some of my hair, and I had to swallow before continuing, "-I could always borrow a wig from the drama club or something."

"She has a point," Kukai-kun grunted, kicking his feet up on the currently empty chair I usually sat in. "Though the two of you should really get a room."

I pulled my hand away from Tadase-kun's surprisingly broad shoulder, both of our faces blazing. "I think it's the best idea," Nadeshiko-san agreed, thankfully taking the attention away from us. "Snow would basically be unrecognizable if she hid her hair. No one got close enough to see her eyes, or any other defining features." Then she frowned thoughtfully. "Unless, of course, she ran into Mr. Black Cat or Utau Hoshina."

There was definitely a subtle shift in my mood when she brought them up, something that even Isabelle noticed. I clenched the hand that had just touched Tadase-kun's shoulder with my other hand, the thought of running into Ikuto making my chest feel like a rag being rung out painfully and intensely. "I'll be careful," I promised, smiling the best I could at them. Then I flickered my eyes towards my Shugo Chara, who had always been hovering close to me instead of going to goof around with their peers, just to show that Guardians that there was no need to worry with them around. Tadase-kun nodded, almost like he was in pain, then Yaya-san sprung up from her seat, only surprising Isabelle (who was not used to her shenanigans).

"Well, that's settled!" She announced, clamping a reassuring hand on Isabelle's shoulder. "Snowcchi will go scope out the situation tomorrow. We'll say it's an official request for the Guardians." She flashed a thumbs-up, causing the smaller girl to grin slightly, and it automatically made me tense; she still smiled like everything was some sort of game to her, a way to kill time. But that couldn't be true; she was just a normal girl, wounded like we all were somewhere in our hearts. "Everything will be all right. We never go back on our word! You can count on us!"

I'd never seen Yaya-san so earnest and enthusiastic. I found myself unable to restrain a smile around her, causing Isabelle's eyes to flit to mine and narrow once again. But the look was gone as soon as it had come; she sniffled one more time, dabbing her nose with the tissue given to her by our Queen, then smiled at us. "Thank you so much," she murmured, patting Yaya-san's hand that had remained on her shoulder. A strong shudder seemed to run through the younger girl, even her bouncy, ember pigtails quivering. My defenses flew up yet again, instinct telling me that Isabelle was not to be trusted, that she wasn't safe. Yaya-san merely smiled some more, but didn't bother to conceal the way she snatched her hand away.

Kukai-kun turned slightly, as if to get up, and gave me this little grin that I knew all too well- he was planning something. "I suppose," he drawled, standing from his seat and pointedly glaring at the vase of flowers that were clearly uncared for, hastily torn from the ground simply for the purpose of making one individual feel bad about themself. I got the message he was sending me with the suggestive waggle of his eyebrows, and grinned back in response. We both reached towards the flower vase and hefted it off the table, holding it like it was a baseketball about to be thrown in a hoop. "You won't be needing these anymore!"
Then the two of us flung it away, much to the shocked gasps of our witnesses, leaving the whtie ceramic to shatter quite a few feet away. The flowers got somewhat shredded in the process, the glass nicking their petals and leaves and tearing them, the water from the vase shading the walkway a darker gray colour. Yaya-san pointed a threatening finger at the two of us, who were high-fiving like we had won a game of shotput. "You two are cleaning that up!" She screeched, pigtails flying. "I had nothing to do with that!"

"Yeah, yeah," my partner in crime chuckled, waving his hand through the air. "Hisayuki's got it covered."

I quirked an eyebrow. "I have to work."

"I have soccer practice. It won't take that long." He elbowed me in my side, grinning like a devious little imp. "Come on, do me a favour. If I do recall, we swept in and saved your ass at Nikaidou's yesterday."

Fair point. I pursed my lips, wondering if I had enough time, then heaved a sigh when I determined that I did. "Fine. I got you covered."

He made me rethink my decision to lend him a hand when his hand reached up to rub my head like I was a kid or something, mussing my hair everywhere. "What a good girl! Well then, I'm off!" He made a mad dash back to the table, to grab his soccer equipment bag and sling it over his shoulder as he said his farewells and made for the exit.

Nadeshiko-san and Yaya-san departed as well, saying they were going to escort Isabelle to the gate so no students thought a Mayosu kid was just lingering around. That left Tadase-kun to complete whatever paperwork they may have had, and me to gather the white shards of the broken attempt at bullying. The first thing I did was scoop up the flowers and gently lay them in the waters of the small stream, feeling slightly bad that they had been so mistreated and used for such a malicious purpose. The water would dry on its own; that meant all I had to do was pick up the pieces of the vase. I looked back to Tadase-kun, wondering if I should tell him where I was going or not. But he seemed too enraptured in the spill of paperwork covering the table, so I just smiled in his direction and left to find a broom.

Luckily for me, Nikaidou had left the side of the building where he and Prof. Kenneth were puffing away, but the teacher with wild dark hair remained. I explained the situation to him- that a vase had broken, and we needed a broom to sweep up the pieces- and he dropped the cigarette to the ground, stomping it underfoot as he began walking towards the outdoor shed where the custiodians kept some of their cleaning supplies. When we reached the shed, looking very well-kept and new on the outside, he pulled out a massive ring of keys, probably the set all teachers had. He swept inside the shed, smelling distinctly of dirt and perhaps mould, then emerged from the dark space proferring a wooden broom to me.

I smiled at him. "Thanks. This'll help a lot."

He returned my smile with a distinctly charming one of his own, and it made me wonder how a guy like him came to be a teacher at all; he seemed far too young and attractive to fit the profile of your regular professor. He did the same thing Kukai-kun had only minutes ago, reaching down to muss my hair- only it felt completely different when he did it. He was an adult instead of someone younger than me, and it felt almost electrifying, sending sparks running down to the tips of my hair, even. I pressed a hand to where his had just been, his beguiling smile still in place, and he said, "Be careful. We wouldn't want you getting hurt."

Suddenly, he leaned in so close that I could feel his breath spilling over my neck, leaving me to completely solidfy and my breath to catch. He was so close I could feel him smile, feel him breathe out from his nose and into my ear. It took all of my willpower not to spasm or anything such as that; my ears were definitely a more sensitive part, and were very ticklish whenever a situation like this occurred. But the warm sparks quickly drained away when he whispered, "You never know what could be out there that would just love to get a taste of you." With one last flashy grin, he was striding away, hands in his labcoat pockets and whistling an eerie tune.

...Well, that was odd. And horribly prophetic, considering all of the recent events. I narrowed my eyes at his retreating figure, pondering over what exactly he knew. Every time I had run into him, he was spouting out some awfully cryptic stuff, and seemed completely calm and together the whole time. In a way, he reminded me of Lee... they both seemed a lot older and more wise than their age would imply, without a real care of what happened around them. Not to mention that he was Deryn and Will's guardian; not that I was in any place to talk, but the two of them also seemed slightly off.

But now wasn't the time to be concerned with myself; I had a mess to clean up. I gripped the broom's hard wooden handle and began making a mad dash back to the Royal Garden, determined to clean up my mess and have enough time to get home and change before work. When I returned, Tadase-kun was still bent over all that paperwork, scratching away at it calmly but with immense focus, and I began sweeping up the pieces carefully. They clinked and scraped against the ground, reminding me just how breakable things could be if one didn't handle them with care. Thinking of how easy it would be to tear my skin open on just one of those gnarly shards reminded me of my recent episodes, each resulting in me losing blood in some way. I had begun coughing more and more frequently, not enough to come out with blood like last night, but an amount that could tell anyone that I wasn't well. I heaved a sigh as all the pieces were gathered into the dustpan, and moved towards the gazebo, which is where a garbage was placed. I'd have to carry it to the dumpsters on my way out.

Just as I was readying all of my things and the garbage to depart, Tadase-kun looked up from his paperwork and smiled at me, which was very dangerous considering that I had been holding a plastic bag full of sharp objects and his smile tended to make my heart stutter. "Are you leaving now?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

It was a struggle to bring up an easy smile of my own, after I had realized that he and I were alone at that moment- which made me exponentially more nervouse. "Um, yep," I chuckled anxiously, gripping the handle of the bag tighter. "I was just gonna run this out to the dumpster and head home."

He began nodding slowly, but then it looked as though something had caught his eye. "Oh," he murmured, bending down to the ground to apparently pick something up. I was astonished to find that it was my necklace, the small blue snowflake catching the light and throwing off almost aqua sparkles. "Is this yours?"

"Uh," I choked out, staring at it like it was a phantom that had suddenly popped out from my closet. I wore it so often, almost always except for when I showered, that sometimes I even forgot it was there. I inspected it closely to see that doing so had worn the clasp, and figured that I probably had to get a new one. "Yes, it is. Thanks."

"It's very beautiful," he commented with a grin, and I smiled back, though it was far more hesitant and careful.

"I think so, too," I said, reaching out my hand to take it from him, though it was shaking like I was going through withdrawl. He carefully set it into my palm, and the pendant grazed my skin, the snowflake in the middle of the cross hard and cold as always, from the way it didn't match the temperature around us. I grit my teeth together and my body tensed up, just as what had happened the very first time I had touched it, and there I was, watching images fly by in my head again, only this time they weren't separate. It looked like one whole scene in a movie, though it was blurred, like looking at it through fogged glass.

Judging from the form, it was a man I was seeing in the vision. It looked as though I was looking directly at him from someone else's eyes, and from the little expression on him I could see, he did not look pleased. He was surrounded by a dark shroud that I figured was hair, and his skin was a pale blur of pure white.

"This is foolish," he said, his voice torn apart by something like static. "You've always been reckless, but you've gone too far this time. Do you know what will happen to you if you go through with this? What the consequences could be?"

The person from whose eyes I seemed to be observing was quiet, but then very slowly, they nodded, their field of vision bobbing up and down as they did so. "I do," they said, judging from the way the words echoed back into their ears. "It's a risk I'm willing to take, brother. I understand if you do not wish to follow me down this path leading to ruin."

The dark-haired man threw his hands up in frustration, and from what I could see of his clothes, they looked very odd- he wore something resembling silver armour, with a long black cape flowing from his shoulders. "I will not abandon you on this hopeless enterprise," he snapped, stepping forward threateningly. "I will, however, try to persuade you from it. Is she really worth giving your life for? One human will not make a world of difference. You, however, rule over our land; if we were to lose you to a human woman, there would be an uproar. Perhaps even a coup d'etat."

"You would be a far better ruler than I," my speaker said, his eyes closing slightly with a smile. "I will not abandon her. Not when love is impossible for us to begin with."

"You always were an odd one." The dark-haired man reached up one pale hand to run through his pitch hair, stark white againt pure black. "What if you were to have a child, brother? What then?"

For the first time since the vision began, my speaker seemed to hesitate. Whatever they were talking about seemed to be greatly difficult for him to mull over, his vision turning away from his 'brother' and down to their feet, which were covered with dark shoes and standing on a pure white surface- snow? Judging from the way it seemed white spots flurried in the background, that was indeed the case. Finally he spoke, his voice full of warmth and sadness- but not regret. "Then I will love them and care for them as long as I can," much to the shockeed expression of his brother. Before the dark-haired man could protest, he continued. "I will protect that child with my life, for they will not be of either world, but will belong to both. Do you understand, brother? When I am gone, I have faith that you will care for them in my absence. Teach them what they need to know of our world, for I fear living amongst humans will cause them to fear us. To fear what we are. They will need guidance."

"Why?" His brother persisted, stepping closer so that he and I- the person whose vision I was seeing- were face-to-face. I could dimly make out very bright eyes that looked to be both green and blue. "Why are you so determined to ruin your own life? A child such as that will be an abomination!" That word was all too familiar with me, and it struck a pain inside my chest, like a poison dagger had been shoved deep into my heart and spread pain all throughout my body. "No world will want them! Bringing them into the world will only be a death sentence! His Majesty won't stand for it!

"Brother, if you think I don't have a plan, then you don't know me as well as you thought you did." My speaker stepped away from his companion, apparently walking backwards from the way the dark-haired man faded into the whipping snow. "I am returning to my love now. And I don't know if I will see you again." He paused, just for a moment, then said, "I will miss you. I'm not sure I truly know how to live without you."

"Then don't!" The dark-haired man was pleading now, yelling through the icy gales. "Stay here with us, where you belong!"

"I think you're going soft," my speaker chuckled, walking further away. "You've been hanging around me too much. We wouldn't want you to start to feel anything, now would we?"

Then the vision faded away, just as the dark-haired man disappeared into the white screen of snow.

"Hisayuki-san?" Tadase-kun demanded from right beside me, snapping me back into the present. My breath was coming out heavily, stooped over and clutching at my head. His gaze was intensely worried, his warm hand on my shoulder. "What happened?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," I assured him, forcing a very convincing smile on my face, from the way it looked reflected in his maroon eyes. "Just a bit of a headache."

The concern didn't melt away from his expression as I had expected it to. "Are you sure?" He pressed, his grip tightening on my shoulder and sending a spasm through me. I wasn't used to someone touching me for so long. "You looked like you were in a lot of pain."

I shrugged, effectively batting his hand away without being too rude about it. "It just happens sometimes." I stared him down, daring to challenge me, and considering telling him that it was for 'girl reasons' if he did. Though he looked like he regretted it, he averted his gaze and mumbled something like "alright" as I stuffed the necklace into my blazer pocket and began to put on my winter gear to leave. Just as I had shoved my hands into my mittens and hoisted up the garbage bag once again, opening my mouth to say goodbye, he said, "Wait. I'll walk you home."

I whirled to face him, my eyes bulging from my head. "P-pardon?" I choked, shocked that he even suggested such a thing. "Don't you have work to do?"

He was already wrapping a white knit scarf around his neck, wearing a smile as warm as his body must have been, and gestured to the paperwork that was now neatly piled up in a straight stack, with no corners or anything poking out. "There wasn't much; I was able to finish it while you went to get the broom." So he had noticed that I had left. I tucked my chin into my scarf, sort of shy now that I learned he had been paying attention. "So I have nothing else to do today."

"But isn't it a bit out of the way?"

"Not at all," he grinned, enunciating each word as he began walking ahead of me, leaving me to trail behind with the bag of broken ceramic swinging from my arm. So he said, but I knew his house was in the opposite direction of my apartment; I had been there before, after all. "It's really no trouble at all. In fact, it'd be my pleasure to escort you home." He grinned at me, though there was a challenge in his eyes that I had never seen before, the kind that reminded me once again that he was no saint, but just a regular guy. I flushed deeply as he said, "It'd be very inconsiderate of me to let a girl walk home alone if I could do anything about it. So maybe think of this as me helping myself, not you."

I found myself grinning at him and his ability to charm his way out of any resisitance. "If you insist, King." He blushed even more than I had at the name, and Kiseki huffed all haughty-like and crossed one leg over the other while perched on Tadase-kun's shoulder.

Thus Tadase-kun and I ended up making a little trek around the school together. Admittedly, most of it was spent in a comfortable silence, since I had a pretty good assumption that neither of us knew what to talk about. But we stopped at the custodial shed so I could lean the broom against the side of it, waiting for a worker to return and put it back in its place, then rounded the academy to the back parking lot, where the large dumpsters and incinerator took residence like hulking monsters from a horror flick. Tadase-kun was nice enough to hold the lid of the tall, imposing metal disposal open while I tossed the bag in, and both of us winced when we heard the shards crunch slightly inside.

"Why did you and Souma-kun do it?" Tadase-kun asked quietly as we retreated from the scene. "Toss the flowers, I mean."

I bit my bottom lip and looked right in front of us, watching the other students mill by and greet us and Tadase-kun smile back. "As much as I hate wasting flowers like that, they weren't being used for anything good." I sniffed slightly, trying not to come off as pretentious. "It made me feel bad, you know? To see something to pretty and pure being used for such evil reasons. I don't understand how people can treat others that way." Shaking my head mournfully, I looked towards the Royal Garden once more as we passed it on our way out, and waved to Nadeshiko-san and Yaya-san just as they were making their exit in the opposite direction. "How you can inadvertently tell someone that they're better off dead."

"There are all kinds of people." Judging from his voice, Tadase-kun was treading carefully, not wanting to victimize or globalize anyone. "There are people like you who would never dream of hurting someone that way, and then there are people who have no problem doing it... or worse things." He steeled his shoulders beneath his beige pea coat, his expression saddeningly grave. "I just hope we can figure this out before it gets any worse. Like why is Isabelle-san being bullied in the first place? What did she ever do?"

"Maybe we should ask her tomorrow," I suggested, peering around his front to catch his eye. He smiled down at me, though his gaze was still morose. "You know, before I leave. We can help her, Tadase-kun." I returned to staring straight ahead, thinking about Isabelle as a person and how she could have ended up in such a situation. "I promise."

"Hey," called another deep yet cheerful male voice just as we were exiting the iron gate at the front of the school. We both turned to see Deryn and Will making their way down the walkway, one of each of their hands gloveless and grasping the other. Will's peachy coloured cheeks were bright red from the cold, though Deryn's face was as still and white as porcelein. It almost looked like Will was just leading a doll around by the hand, though her expression was far softer than I had ever seen it, with her hand in her lover's. "See you guys later."

"Have a safe trip home," Tadase-kun said with his amiable and I-don't-know-you-very-well-but-thanks-for-all-your-hard-work smile.

"See you tomorrow," I returned, shooting a grin at Deryn who twitched back.

Even though Tadase-kun and I were walking together, close but not enough to be touching, I found myself incapable of making much conversation. It wasn't just that I didn't have anything to say- being around him tended to make me nervous and, if we were being honest, a bit intimidated. My mind was completely on a different plane, mulling over the necklace and the visions it kept showing me. First of all, how was a necklace capable of doing that in the first place? The only explanation I could come up with was that it must have been imbued with magic, like the Humpty Lock and Dumpty Key were. But while they seemed like pure items, filled to the brim with shining hopes and dreams, the necklace definitely seemed more sinister. Like it was filled with some sort of darkness, as opposed to the Lock and Key's light.

Not to mention that I didn't even know what those visions were. Was it the past? Future? Or was I seeing something in the present? Somehow they all seemed achingly familiar, not like it was something I was missing, but like I knew where they were coming from. The first one I saw was just a bunch of jumbled, fleeting images, while the most recent one seemed to be at one place and time. They both contained a dark-haired man, so could it have been the same person? Something about this one struck me as odd; the dark-haired man seemed desperate to keep his brother from going somewhere, and then in the first one he was sobbing over a pool of red liquid. So perhaps what he feared to happen actually did occur.

That wasn't even what was really disturbing me about this vision. The person whose view I was seeing things from talked about loving a human... as if they weren't one. And also about having a child. The pair of them made it seem like having that child would bring some kind of disaster, like it was some horrible thing. From the way the person made it seem, it was like they were under the impression that they were going to die if they did have a kid. Maybe they did, and that was why the dark-haired one was crying... and the red stuff was actually blood. If I thought of it that way, these visions were connected, and possibly all from the same person. But who? And why?

And why was having a child worth killing someone over?

For some odd reason, it reminded me of my father, of his sudden disappearance and my mother saying, "They took him from me". In the first vision, I saw a man and woman smiling at each other, and then two other men taking him away...

My heart practically stopped beating in my chest and my legs turned to stone. Was it possible that I was seeing-

"Hisayuki-san?" Tadase-kun asked in front of me, quite a few paces ahead since I had stopped walking. "Is something actually wrong?" He strode closer to me quickly, and without even seeming to realize what he was doing, grabbed my hand. "You don't look well at all."

I inhaled a shaky breath, my head swishing back and forth. "Really, it's just a bit of a headache. I think I must be getting a cold or something." No need to mention that I had avoided any illness for all my life, and that the term 'cold' never really seemed to apply to me.

He looked disappointed, and even a flash of hurt struck behind his deep red eyes. He knew I was lying. The reflection I saw in his eyes of myself really did look slightly ill, my eyes wide and almost unseeing. He let go of my hand and stood by my side as we kept walking, so he must have decided not to press the issue since I was really unwilling to talk about it.

Guilt gnawed a deep and crushing hole in my chest. I didn't want to push Tadase-kun away- quite the opposite, really. I liked him, enough to get nervous and feel like I had to prove something around him, which was very unusual for me- I had always been fine with the way I was until I came here. He was genuinely nice and wanted to help, always concerned for me in ways that made me feel like I was weak, that I wasn't strong enough to be with the Guardians. I had to become stronger for them, strong enough not to let visions and ice powers and supernatural creatures effect me. I had to be better than that- for the very first true friends I had made.

Thus, I figured it was best if I forgot everything- the girl Ikuto and I found with two bleeding holes on her neck, the talking snake, the visions... all of it. The one thing I couldn't forget were my ice powers, and that was because they were apparently an irremovable burden, as much a part of me as my own blood.

Tadase-kun and I had arrived at my apartment, the surface bleak and dark from the way the glass-like surface reflected the dark clouds. A wind stirred the hair around my shoulders and the scarf around my neck, and from the way Tadase-kun shivered, it was getting colder. Perhaps it would snow; it wouldn't surprise me, with the heavy appearance of the clouds, like the were holding something heavy that was preparing to cave in. I turned to my companion, a smile on my face, though I knew it didn't reach my eyes. There was a deeply set feeling of anxiety right in the middle of my chest, like all of this was just a foreboding prologue to what horror really awaited in the future.

"Thank you so much for walking me," I said, my voice surprisingly light. "It was really nice of you."

He smiled in return, though my evasion and attempt at lying clearly perturbed him. That was so like his personality, unable to ignore those who required help and just needed a hand. "It was no problem." Suddenly his countenance changed, his chin burrowing into his scarf and the top of his cheeks becoming dusted with rose. "I'd like to do it again sometime."

My expression mirrored his as I felt the blood slowly slip into my cheeks, my chest warm and stomach buzzing. "I'd like that, too," I admitted, the smile on my face real this time.

"See you tomorrow, Hisayuki-san," he murmured, the look in his eyes unfamiliar to me. It made my heart beat double-time all the same as I meekly waved goodbye, watching his form slowly fade away into the gray and bustling streets.

My smile faded as soon as I couldn't see him anymore.

Once I entered the apartment, I really wasn't in the mood to do anything fun, like play video games or watch TV. Instead I changed quickly and did as much homework as I could before I had to leave for work, my Shugo Chara complaining about being bored all the while. They found something to entertain themselves, though- they hooked my iPod up to my speakers and began having what looked to be a dance-off, which I sneakily captured with my phone while they were distracted. Just because I was being angst-ridden didn't mean that I wasn't willing to find something to mock them with later. They deserved a bit of bullying... well, maybe not Satsuki, but she let Vivian and Lilith tease me, and that was bad enough to rack some bad points against her. Spiting them might have been the highlight of my day.

At four thirty, I set off for work, having scheduled a bit of overtime from the way I was being so flighty lately. That meant I'd be home maybe by midnight, and would have to go straight to sleep after I returned. Admittedly, I did feel a bit stressed out with the load that was on my plate, but I knew it wasn't all bad- at least I made enough to pay rent for last month, and always had food in the fridge. The money I had come here with was completely gone, so I was completely relying on myself as far as necessities went, while Mary and Jack put up the other half of the rent money. Being a somewhat "independant adult" almost made me want to rip my hair out sometimes; I never really had much time for fun things anymore, but I was perfectly fine with that. It was my own decision to come to Akutestu alone, after all- and I was not going to leave until I finally faced my mother and obtained the closure my shrink recommended.

After the hellish few hours of work, I sat in the locker room, alone except for the girls, who were entertaining themselves with a game on my phone. I was all dressed and ready to leave, only in jeans, a tee shirt, and my boots, not entirely sure what to do with myself or that anxiety that kept pressing in my chest. I pulled the necklace out from beneath my shirt, staring at it and the way it twinkled in the flourescent light, tiny winking stars. The hum of the radiator surrounded me, as did the faint sounds of cleaning up outside, making the room unpleasantly warm for me. As I prepared to get up and shrug my coat on to go home, I noticed something strange about the necklace's shape, something I had never seen before that made my mouth open in slight fear and consider flinging it right in the trash.

The cross was upside-down.

---

"Snow," Satsuki hedged nervously, though it wasn't as though I could respond to her; we were still in public, even if the number of people outside at eleven thirty at night were few. "You're not... angry, are you?"

"Angry?" I whispered as well as scoffed, widening my eyes sardonically and plastering a grin on my face. "Now why would I be angry? I'm just slightly concerned about the mysterious necklace that just freaking materialized in my mailbox which turned out to have a satanic symbol on it. But no, not mad."

"Technically, it's not satanic," Vivian sniffed, fiddling with one of her rabbit's worn ears. "It's more a symbol of torture and a slow, painful death." When she caught the look I gave her, she held her hands up in mock-defense, the rabbit dangling meekly from one like it itself was a victim. "Okay, so that's not any better."

"I'd ask you what was going on, but you probably wouldn't tell me, and I just recently decided to forget all of this supernatural bullcrap," I grumbled, my swift and aggravated stride slowing down as I gradually came to reach a crossing section. "And when I get home, I'm stuffing my face until I can barely move. Not eating anything isn't smart, and I don't know why I suddenly decided it was."

Lilith grumbled something over her shoulder, so quiet it was like she was adjusting the volume of her voice to accomodate my sensitive ears. When I only glared at her, she shrugged and said, "It's nothing. By the way, you're not crossing here. You're turning right."

"Your right or my right?"

"We're literally facing the same direction." When she caught the blank look on my face, she sighed and pointed to my right. Why didn't she just do that in the beginning?

I rolled my shoulders in exhaustion, regretting the decision to wear all of the extra winter gear since I did end up overheating, just as I thought I would. Since it would be highly odd if I just stripped it all off in the middle of the street while the other people around me shivered and released white puffs of breath into the frigid air, I'd have to put up with it until I got home. Just as I was considering making a mad dash for home and risk collapsing from heat stroke, two young women themselves bolted by, only to stop and nearly fall to their knees a few paces away. Their breath was coming out quite heavily, meaning they had been running for a while, and their faces were horribly flushed and sweaty despite the weather. One of them took a large, gulping breath of air, pressing a hand to her chest, and looked down to her companion. "They didn't follow us, did they?"

Normally I wasn't one for eavesdropping, but this sounded like it might have been a serious situation, from the way I could even hear their hearts hammering from a few feet away. The other woman, with lighter hair than the first, quickly glanced back, her eyes wide and glistening, as if she'd been crying. "I don't see them anywhere. That boy really saved us."

"But do you think he'll be okay? Those men were really scary... and they had knives."

Hmm, this was beginning to feel a bit like deja vu. I was mulling over whether or not to call the police when the first woman said something that turned me to ice: "He should be okay. He seemed really strong... and his reflexes were like a cat's."

My heart seemed to plummet towards the ground.

No, it couldn't be, I insisted to myself, clutching at my phone were it was stashed inside my purse. It's just a coincidence. Just because someone's like a cat doesn't mean that it's him. Even so, I couldn't control my mind from jumping back to it over and over again, since he seemed to have a thing with saving people indiscriminately while he hurt them at the same time. Before I could second- guess myself, I whirled on my heel and marched over to where the were kneeling down, causing them to look at me with a dark fear in their eyes.

"Excuse me," I began quietly, soothingly, so that they wouldn't be even more freaked out than they already were. "But I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Were you two in some kind of trouble?"

They exchanged a quick, darting glance, like they were prey still on the run when the predators were well out of sight. The woman with the darker hair straightened slightly and gulped, her figure trembling slightly. "Um, well the two of us were on our way home from the library when some men cornered us near an alley."

The other one shivered severely, so much it looked like she might fall down completely. Her friend crouched down again to rub her back comfortingly, though she wasn't in much better condition. "They wanted us to go somewhere with them, and they wouldn't tell us where. I know it's bad to judge people on their appearance, but they really did look like some thugs, and they started pushing and pulling us away. But before we could even call for help, this guy came from nowhere and started a fight with them." She began to shudder even more, and I knelt down beside them to layer my coat over hers. She looked immensely surprised, even a bit panicked, but I just smiled at her, though it came out strained.

"Could you tell me what that boy looked like?" I continued, my voice low as I attempted to shield them from other passerby.

"Um, well..." The light-haired one swallowed, then took a deep, shaking breath through her nose. "It was pretty dark, but I think I got a good look at him before we ran away. He was really tall, with darker hair and eyes, and he looked pretty pasty. He walked a bit weird- like he was a jungle cat, or something."

Oh dear- that definitely fit the profile of a certain, meddlesome guy I knew. I coughed a bit awkwardly, willing to admit to myself that I found the way he walked was more sexy than weird, then stood and smiled one more time at them. "Thank you- I'm pretty sure that's my friend you're talking about. I'm going to back there and call the police for help." They seemed pretty stunned, but before they could exchange another knowing glance, I cleared my throat and asked, "Uh, could you tell me where the library is?"

The dark-haired woman hesitated, then blew out a shuddering sigh. "It's right on this street- Origo Avenue- about four blocks down. It's right on the corner; you can't miss it."

"Thanks again." I turned around and began quickly walking away, but then the other girl called out, "Hey, wait! Your jacket!"

"You can keep it," I called, waving slightly. "I don't need it. Be safe on your way home." Then I took off running, unable to stand still any longer with such nervous and panicked energy buzzing inside of me.

All I could do was continuously curse him and wonder why he just jumped into danger like that all the time, to keep myself from worrying too much and perhaps drawing the attention of the girls. Every time there was a chance of me getting hurt, he'd always just hop right in to save my ass, despite our status as "enemies" that couldn't be denied. It made sense that he did that for everyone, but why? He could smash an Egg singlehandedly without a hint of remorse, but he went dashing off to be the saviour every chance he got. I didn't understand him; I probably never would, despite how much I admittedly wanted to.

My feet were pounding rhythmically against the pavement, matching the speed of my breath coming out in quick, startled bursts. It wasn't like running was physically difficult for me, but my heart was racing so fast and pressing against my rib cage so hard that it made it hard to even move. It was the only sound that really filled the near empty streets, aside from cars swooshing by and perhaps a person or two I happened to pass. It was a good thing there weren't too many people out and about that late at night; I imagined I'd be knocking people down left and right, much like a bull in a china shop.

As I bolted further and further down the dark block, it became quite apparent that this was another one of Akutetsu's more shifty areas. The street lights gradually began to flicker, to the point where some just didn't even work anymore. Most of the buildings were covered with an old, crumbling red brick, made even more sketchy from some unknown substance staining their surface dark. Despite being a neighbourhood with a library, it definitely did not seem to cater to the more bookworm type of people; it did, however, come off as an area where assault was a possibility. It didn't surprise me that some unknown thugs were lurking about, waiting to prey on some unsuspecting girls to fall into their grasp.

While I may not have felt cold without my jacket, I did feel vulnerable in such an area, my bare arms exposed to any potential dangers that still hung around. My shudder had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with the impending dark atmosphere, like each and every shadow was just waiting to pounce on me. I clenched my hands into fists as I pumped my arms at the same rate as my legs, my teeth clenching and leaving my nostrils to flare with my laboured breathing.

Finally I neared the building the building that was very clearly the library- declared by the sign that read "Akutetsu Public Library- I began scanning the area, looking for the familiar lithe, panther-like figure of a pale-skinned, dark haired boy. When I didn't spot him anywhere, it suddenly became quite clear how ridiculous I was being. I ran off without very much information, completely blinded by some dark, desperate emotion without really considering the situation. He had supposedly swept in to rescue some women from potential assault, confronting men "who looked like thugs" that also happened to have knives on them. It might not have even been who I thought it was; surely there was more than one guy whose looks fit that description and had cat-like reflexes and walked like a jungle cat, full of swagger and confidence (clearly I was getting ahead of myself just thinking about him).

"Do you see him anywhere?" I asked the girls without much hope. I didn't know what I was thinking; Tadase-kun was right when he mentioned that I had been out of sorts lately. It wasn't like me to be so impulsive, since I usually was the one who overanalyzed and worried about every little thing. It was just that when I thought of him confronting a group of men, weaponless and cocky, when they had knives and fury at being interrupted... my mind went completely blank, and I just found myself needing to find out for sure if something had happened to him.

They were all panting from their struggle to keep up with my rampage. Lilith wiped what appeared to be sweat from her forehead, took a large gulp of air, and demanded: "What the hell are you even doing?! You just ran off without saying anything! I don't even know what's going on!" The look of frustration and fury on her face almost made me laugh, but the impulse bubbled down as I thought over and over again of him actually being hurt, the image folding in my mind until it became a large, undeniable block.

"Ikuto," I breathed, his very name making my chest feel like it was sinking. I continued to glance around the dark, eerie area, peering into dark crevices and squinting at store windows. "I thought that he might be..." I trailed off, not knowing exactly how to explain to them my frantic and worried thoughts that were completely devoid of reason. But the look they were giving me said that they knew all the same- and that they didn't like it.

"Snow, you don't..." Lilith seemed to be struggling for words, something that was completely out of character for her. "You don't... like Ikuto, do you?"

A crease formed between my eyebrows. "Well, I don't mind him. Sure, he's a perv and all..."

My voice wandered away again as I kept glancing all around, desperate to make sure that at least if he wasn't here, he was safe. A small crevice between the library and the building beside it screamed sketchy and demanded to be checked out, so I began to slowly approach it, keeping my steps measured and quiet. The silence was quite off-putting, not even the sounds of late-night insects to be heard from the cold weather. The only source of background noise was from the stubborn buzzing from the flashing lamps. When I inhaled deeply, getting a large breath of not-so-fresh city air, I caught a whiff of something else, something that made me pause as Lilith continued to ramble on.

"See, that's not what I meant," she was saying, scratching the back of her head nervously and disrupting her ponytail. "It's just that you're a Guardian and he's an Easter employee, so it really wouldn't be very good if you two got close-"

"Lilith," Vivian snapped low in her ear. "You're walking on very thin ice here."

"Do you guys smell that?" I asked, ignoring them altogether. They cocked their heads to the side in synch, like some creepy possessed dolls. "It smells like... iron. But it's also, like, sweet? I don't know." It was obvious to see that I was growing frustrated with myself, but the smell was bothering me. The metallic scent meandering through the air and into my nose tickled, and the richness that seemed to be behind it beckoned me closer. Tentatively, I took another step towards the alley, which was almost completely eclipsed in darkness by the library's shadow and made it near impossible to see.

"Oh, duh," Lilith muttered, smacking me on the arm- which felt like a fly landing on me. "I'm guessing that's blood, girl." When she saw the look we were giving her, her carefree expression fell and she shrugged. "What?"

"That's probably not what she wanted to hear when she was already anxious," Satsuki murmured worriedly, twisting the end of one of her pigtails around her finger. Lilith made a face and turned in my direction, only to discover that I was already edging my way into the alley, warily peering into the dark. I looked down hesitantly, only to see a splotch of some dark liquid on the pavement, a colour that was nearly black from the lack of light yet still undoubtedly reddish. Lilith had been right- it was blood. And judging from the figure heavily leaning against the brick wall and not moving, it had to have been their's. I squinted into the near-impenatrable darkness, my hand tightening around the strap of my purse, and took a few more steps forward, worrying about the sound giving me away. It did not- the figure remained with their head hanging, and along with that scent of blood, I swore I could hear their slightly laboured breathing.

The streetlight that was stationed directly behind me flickered, shedding just a bit of light on that dark space. When it flashed against that all-too familiar black hair with a tinge of navy, and the uniform of Mayosu Academy, my shoulders loosened up slightly from their tenseness. The way those women had described the scene had definitely made me panic- I had assumed the worst when I heard that their attackers had knives. But all I saw was a small laceration on his arm, and the patches of blood weren't that intense. My overactive imagination certainly had gotten the best of me again. Now that I knew it was him for sure, and that he was hurt, there was no way I could just leave him there, enemy or not. This time, my steps toward him were purposeful, almost confident, which wasn't exactly how I felt. My heart seemed to be thumping around uneasily, like the last thing it was around him was confident.

At the sound of my approach, he looked up. I then noticed that he had a couple more injuries, looking like angry punch wounds around his mouth, and also that he was intensely irritated. Like, he was ready to blow a gasket irritated. I could barely understand why, but that didn't stop me in my path. He set his jaw when he saw me, and grunted out, "Oh, it's you," when I stilled by his side, his voice sounding tense and restrained. Yoru was licking the slice on his arm, and that smell of rich iron was so unbearable now that I was close that my stomach recoiled.

My expression was kept carefully neutral- the last thing I wanted him to know was how worried I was, how much his safety apparently mattered to me. All that would have done was shown him that I cared for him more than I should, which would completely dash my strength as his enemy and very tentative status as his friend. My voice came out more even than I had could have hoped for when I said, "You really have a thing for saving damsels in distress, huh."

That made his face twist into a scowl; that had not been what he wanted to hear. He whipped his head in the opposite direction from looking at me with a condescending snort. "You're hardly what I'd call a damsel." Almost imperceptably, I saw his hand clench against the ground, and I could tell from the set of his jaw that I had only pissed him off even more. "Now get lost."

Rude. Hurt flashed through me, hot and swift as lightning, but it wasn't the time to be wounded by his words. He had physical cuts on him, the bleeding from his arm showing no signs of stopping. I knew how much it hurt to be cut by a knife- its stung and practically sent an electric shock through the wound, and then persistently throbbed and throbbed painfully. He was probably irritable because he was in pain. Mentally, I heaved a sigh, wondering why oh why he would even dream of being some kind of hero and being so reckless. Despite how ridiculous I thought he was being, I wouldn't just stand there and watch him bleed, even if he did deserve it at certain points in time.

I knelt next to him, in spite of his fierce glare and snarled "hey". His eyes seemed darker than ever, simmering with a heat that almost seemed to burn me physically. When I reached to examine the cut further, he grabbed my wrist with his good arm, which naturally had a grip like a vise. His hand seemed so large and angular against the black of my shirt, not to mention pale. His hold hurt a little, clearly meaning to threaten me, but I only looked straight into his eyes unwaveringly and scowled a bit.

"Don't be a sissy," I teased, trying to disregard every feeling of rejection I felt from the thought that he didn't want me touching him. It was the same feeling I got at the orphanage after that incident with Mao: none of the other kids, aside from him, would get within a six foot radius of me. They looked at me like I was some sort of wild beast. Like my crazy was contagious. But I couldn't let those feelings, those memories that still stung just a little bit, get the better of me anymore. It didn't matter what Ikuto thought of me; what mattered was that he was going to be alright.

"I told you to get lost," he hissed in return, his bangs falling over his eyes and casting them in shadow. While he definitely looked more than a little threatening, enough to make any other girl run for the hills, I also hated to admit that he looked kind of hot. Like anger was an emotion well-suited to him. Did that make me masochistic? I almost spat in disgust out loud at the thought. I really wasn't at my best these days.

Not knowing what else to do, I stared at him even more fiercely, searching for some sort of crack in his nearly impenetrable defense. "I just want to help," I said, my voice far stronger than I felt.

For a moment, he simply stared back, so deeply that I could see my reflection in his eyes. His brows gathered together so that there was a crease between them, then he made an odd sound in the back of his throat, close to a disgusted growl. He nearly tossed my hand away, like my touch had scalded him, and went back to lean against the wall like a petulent child. Now I was getting pissed off. Why was he acting like such a little bitch? At first I thought it only had something to do with the pain, but then it dawned on me like the sun bursting from behind dark clouds. The only thing that was severely wounded here was his pride. Sure, those men had clearly given up on their conquest when he rolled around, but they had given him some wounds and perhaps even a scar on his arm. I thought such an ego was befitting of a middleschooler, but then I realized that I was just the same as he was. It was my very stupid pride that nearly stopped me from joining the Guardians, that made me decide that Nikaidou was my enemy and that he needed to be fought. Pride is a sin, I told myself. Then my brain retrieved the memory of the upside-down cross, and I figured that maybe that wasn't too far off from the truth.

When my hand touched the bar skin on his arm, revealed from the tear in his sleeve, I swore I heard him hiss like a very disgruntled cat. I nearly laughed at that, figuring that it was so him, but I was getting a bit too flustered, focused on his skin beneath my hand and our proximity. I bent closer to get a better look (probably a bad idea in hindsight considering that I was wearing a vee-neck shirt), and decided that it wasn't deep enough to warrant stitches, though I was no doctor. The best thing to be done to it was clean it up properly, but I didn't exactly have the supplies for it. After mulling over it for a moment, I reached down and tore a strip of fabric from the bottom of my shirt, large enough to at least cover it up but small enough so that I wasn't exposing any midriff.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked quietly, his eyebrows furrowed even more.

"What the hell does it look like?" I asked in a deep mockery of his voice, grabbing the refillable water bottle I kept in my purse. I doused the piece of cloth in it and pressed it gently to the cut, and he grunted softly. That sound did something to me, shocking me to stillness and sending some sort of current through me, but I shook it off an continued. I cleaned the almost dry blood from the tender skin around his wound, then used the other side to just hold it there until the bleeding stopped.

"Your shirt," was all he said, his neutral expression back in place but something unreadable in his eyes.

"Better the shirt than it getting infected," I told him matter-of-factly, finally taking the makeshift wipe off and tying it around his arm, just in case.

He was quiet for a few more beats of my steadily calming heart, then he asked, "Why are you shaking?" It was so quiet, so much more gentle than he had been at first, and that just made my heart speed up again, for whatever reason.

"I'm not," I muttered stiffly, though anyone who took one look at me could tell that I was. I felt his eyes searching my face, oddly serious for him, but I refused to meet his gaze. I didn't want him to find the fear I felt for him there, the exalted relief that he was safe... with me. That last thought made me blush like a gradeschooler, and I tied off the knot on the fabric, perhaps a bit too roughly from the way he suddenly cried out in pain.

I knew it- I must have tied it too tight. I tore my hands away instantly, my eyes popping wide open and my face contorting into an expression of shock and worry. "I'm so sorry!" I said automatically, though it did absolutely nothing to soothe his pain. The cloth would have to stay on to keep the wound from bleeding everywhere, so the best I could do was reach over and place a hand on his back in an attempt to be comforting. It was so much wider than I had thought, and I found myself unable to restrain another flush, seeing as I'd never really voluntarily hugged someone like that before that wasn't family. "Are you okay?"

Then my wrist was caught in his hand again, but this time was far different than the last. His touch was almost a carress as opposed to a grip, and that damned smirk of his was back with a vengeance, this time with his tongue stuck out at me. "Just kidding," he almost sang, his breath splashing over my face, warm and familiar- which of course nearly made my whole face go red.

Heart in my throat, I found myself unable to look away from his probing gaze, that now had a certain simper to it that wasn't there before. I was sure that, if my mind wasn't essentially blank at that moment, I would've been cursing him and thinking what an asshole he was. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, his devious little grin widened and his face closed in on my space even more. That was about all my heart it could take before it combusted.

"Stop it," I spat, entirely unconvincing with my bright red cheeks. His touch felt like it was burning, sending warm sensations all through my bloodstream, and I felt tempted to throw his hand off as he had done to mine moments ago. I didn't like him looking at me the way he was, as if I were completely transparent despite keeping my guard up. Being around him made me feel so... inadequate, wounded or not. So I did end up tearing my hand away and used it to smack him on the head.

"That was abusive," he grumbled, running the hand that had just been holding mine through his midnight hair.

"It was meant to be." I crossed my arms over my chest, drudging up my best scowl. "You wouldn't even be in this situation in the first place if you weren't so reckless."

His eyebrows skyrocketed. "Aww, you worried?"

"No," I said immediately- too quickly, in fact. I internally cursed myself and turned away before he could see my face contort in embarrassment. The less I wanted him to know about how I felt, the more it seemed to become obvious. Though I had no one to blame but myself, for being predictable and immature when it came to romance. However, he wasn't exactly helping by edging closer to me, by staring at me, by smelling good... goddammit.

By that time, he was almost right in my face, and I had backed myself up against the wall. Granted, I could have very easily gotten up and left, leaving him alone in that alley now that my mission was complete and maintaining a professional distance. But if I was being honest with myself (which I usually was not), there was that stupid, naive part of me that was so blindly attracted to him that I didn't want to move at all. The times I actually got to see him were so few and far between that each one was like an event that could either make or break my day. That same part of me was being taken by that charming and flirtatious personality of his, probably like many other girls. Despite that, I still found myself staying there with him, feeling swindled and ashamed- but also kind of excited.

He turned his head slightly so that his lips were nearly right up against my ear, and I found myself biting down on my lip to keep from crying out or screaming or whatever I felt tempted to do. I could feel his smile against my cheek, his hand lightly touching the side of my leg from where it rested on the ground. I thought of how I must have looked then, being so still and accepting of the blatant sway he had over me, and knew that I must have seemed like easy prey, a girl with no experience in the romantic department getting all nervous from a simple touch. I was an idiot. Yet I found all of the self-depreciating thoughts of mine tossed out the window when he whispered with a laugh in his voice, "You know, you look cute when you're worried."

Before I could scream or swear at him like I wanted to for winning me over with just a few words, he grunted and pitched forward. I was even more worried for a split second, but that was before his head landed on my lap and he stated, "I'm dead." He was playing with me. I was so sure he was playing with me, especially since he had said on more than one occasion that he enjoyed getting a rise out of me. But still- that little devillish part of me kept me from just shoving him off altogether. I held my hands up and away from him, my mouth twisted into a scowl, and was torn between marveling at how he snuggled into my legs like a cat seeking warmth or the numbness that was rapidly tingling into existence.

"You're heavy," I said, though it was clear my heart wasn't in it. My arms were getting tired from holding them away from him, so I acquiesced and lowered them, one to my side and the other on my lap, dangerously close to where his head laid.

"I'm hurt," he whispered back, as if that justified his actions. You know what, fuck you. I sat there, wondering what the hell he was even thinking, as my Shugo Chara watched and snickered from a distance away, as they'd done since I got there. I glared icicles at them, but they just started giggling harder, so much that Lilith fell to her knees and kept hitting her hand against the ground.

Why? Just why? The temptation got the best of me, and I hesitantly reached my hand out to touch the side of his head, my touch gentle and light. I had never really touched someone intimately before, so I was unsure if what I was doing was acceptable or weird or what. Therefore, I made it so that he was free to move or push me away, and also made it seem like whatever he did, didn't matter to me. But something I hadn't expected was for his hair to be so soft. The stereotype for men was that they were all tough and macho, so I had expected him to be the same, and for his hair to be, I don't know, rough. Contrary to that belief, it felt almost like I was stroking a cat's velvety fur. It was so dark against my hand, and the fact that he was alright with me touching him like that, that his breathing was so relaxed and trusting, as if he may sleep, made my heart almost completely crack. His palms lay open where they rested on the ground, his fingers curled in their natural way, and he seemed so much like a little kid that I found myself smiling a little and brushing his hair from his face. As I did, my fingers lightly grazed his ear, normally concealed by all that hair, and his eyes popped open to give me an unreadable look. "You shouldn't touch me in erotic places."

My mouth dropped open in apprehension, and my eyes narrowed of their own accord. "What do you mean, erotic?"

This seemed to amuse him. The way he smiled was crooked and, quite frankly, suspicious, as he pointed to his ear and said, "My ears are my sensitive spot. Same as you and..." he trailed off, reaching up to stroke a single finger down my neck and bringing up that unpleasant memory from the balcony at my apartment. I squeezed my lips into a tight line as he chuckled to himself, getting immense amusement from my discomfort, which just further reinforced the fact that I was just like a plaything to him. I reached down to cradle his head in my hands again, which he let me do without the slightest resistance, then I abruptly moved my knees away and dropped his noggin right on the concrete ground.

"Ikuto!" Yoru practically squealed as he fretted over his bearer, who was now groaning in pain for real. I pushed myself off of my knees and stood, gathering my purse off the ground by its strap and slinging it over my shoulder, and then proceeded to remain in place even when I could have taken that opportunity to leave. Stupid.

"What the hell was that for?" He demanded, sitting up again and rubbing his head tenderly.

"For being ridiculous," I muttered, not turning towards him, for I didn't want him to see the way my hand shook slightly on the strap of my purse. If I'd been any younger, he could have gotten away with a flirtatious joke like that, but I couldn't escape the thought of what he'd been implying- thus, I was blushing more fiercely than ever before. My jaw was set at an odd, almost pouty angle, and it almost seemed like my blood was flowing through my body more slowly than usual, taking its sweet time and bringing agonizing, embarrassing torture.

"I changed my mind," he grunted, the telltale shuffling of fabric informing me that he had gotten up. "You're not cute at all." I told myself I didn't care what he thought of me. As usual, even I could see what a transparent lie that was, which just made me even more ashamed of myself. Before I could finally use that time to make my escape, Ikuto was walking ahead of me and brushed against my side, saying, "Well, let's go, then."

Confusion muddled my features. "You're okay to walk? And where are we going, exactly?"

He threw an accusatory glance over his shoulder and said, "That hit woke me up. And I was planning on walking you home. Unless you're confident you can get there on your own?"

As he continued walking, his violin case against his back, I trailed behind him begrudgingly, muttering things like "smartass" and "jerkface". Very mature curses, in general. After we emerged from the alley, our Shugo Chara floating behind us at a leisurely pace, the streets suddenly seemed much less threatening or suspicious when I was with somebody. Even if that somebody had just gotten themselves cut on the arm and punched in the face, I had no doubts that Ikuto could hold his own much more than I could. Sure, I had violent tendencies, but when worse came to worse, I was about as threatening as a cornered kitten, whereas I could picture him as a black panther slinking from the shadows. Caught fantasizing about him again, I shook my head loose of those traitorous thoughts, and began to notice that I didn't recognize where we were going in the slightest. Not that such a fact was much of a surprise for me, but I figured we'd just track back to the stoplight where I'd run into those women and go from there.

"I don't recognize this way," I mumbled, more to myself than to him. He snorted nonetheless, and I ended up glaring at his back.

"You wouldn't," he told me, and I shoved his shoulder a bit playfully. "But this is a shortcut."

We walked for a bit longer in companionable silence, then I realized that he must have been totally bullshitting me when he said it was a 'shortcut'. We took twists and turns into streets and small alleys, and I began to seriously doubt his judgement and considered turning back more than once. Everything began to look the same; the rough brick of the buildings, the lengthy sidewalks with only a few street lamps, the modern houses. I'd kept my mouth shut, but when he told me to climb up and walk along the top of a very thin barrier wall, I'd had it.

"This is more of a route for cats than humans," I grunted, struggling to haul myself onto it nonetheless. He stopped momentarily to examine my progress, and only seemed satisfied by the time I hopped up and managed to fling myself onto it with an aggravated "oof". From there on, I twisted myself very carefully so that I was straddling it, deciding that it was best to just go along with him- it wasn't like I'd be able to find my way home from wherever we were, anyway. Now the struggle was standing up. I kicked my legs up behind me, so that my feet were stable on the wall, then slowly lifted one hand from clutching the concrete slab to place on my knee. Then I slid the other hand over to my feet, and was able to finally push myself into a very delicate standing position.

Throughout the whole process, Ikuto just watched me, an amused look on his face. He seemed completely relaxed, standing on the top of a thin space, which only proved how cat-like he actually was. When he saw that I had managed to stand, he took his hands from his pockets and applauded quietly.

I just scowled. "No help from you, thanks."

He slipped his hands back into his jacket pockets, a strange smile on his face. "I knew you could handle yourself." With that, he set off into a relaxed walk on top of the wall, as if he were simply taking a stroll on the sidewalk. Naturally, I was far less graceful, having to keep my arms extended outward for balance, and I windmilled more than a couple of times. For someone that commonly flaunted their athletic prowess and whatnot, I sure was having a tough time with this, which probably served to give me a healthy dose of humility. I would have rolled my eyes at myself if I hadn't thought even that would throw off my balance.

Suddenly, Ikuto hopped down from the wall without so much as blinking, and I heard his feet tap gracefully on the ground as he landed. I glanced over to see where he was hoping to go, but found nothing but more darkness, with even blacker shadows looming around the area. I began to slowly lower myself into a sitting position, so that my legs dangled over one side of the wall, and asked him, "Where are we?"

"You'll see," he murmured quietly after a heartbeat of silence. I shot him a confused look, but his gaze remained trained straight ahead. With a shrug to myself, I quickly leapt off after him, sticking a surprisingly perfect landing and flinging my arms out to show off. He snorted, seemingly amused by my attempt at humor, and then just stood perfectly still. I kept looking around, just waiting for something to pop out from the darkness and give me a fright, but turns out what we had apparently been waiting for was the exact opposite of unpleasantness.

After a few moments of just simply standing there, side by side in silence, there was suddenly a blinding explosion. It was so bright I had to shield my eyes momentarily, too speechless to demand what was going on, but the sound that accompanied the sight was not a bang of anything blowing up. It was almost like a lilting electric hum, like a large machine coming to life. My eyes had finally adjusted to the bright light, and I was able to pull my hand away from them. The sight that awaited me was almost as astonishing as the fact that Ikuto was the one who brought me to see it.

Multi-coloured lights danced in front of my eyes in a flurry of motion that seemed to come from their distance, like a flurry of cherry blossom petals. As if that wasn't dazzling enough, strings of those lights were put to shame when I saw what they were attached to. At the front of the plaza-like space was a merry-go-round, with plastic horses that looked so perfectly made they almost appeared to be made from porcelain. They spun around and up and down to the rhythm of some cheerful music streaming from speakers placed atop poles throughout the park. Near it was a Ferris wheel, flashing different, colourful patterns all along the metal beams as it went through its slow rotation, reminding me of bright, flickering channels on a television screen. Spinning around in dizzying circles was a tea cup ride, coated in girlish designs like bows and heart and the colours of pastel Easter eggs. There were far more rides beyond that, all in a smaller size considering the actual area of the plaza they were in, but I still caught sight of a roller coaster zooming by, the dark, Halloween appearance of a haunted house, and a swing ride. Shrubs and bushes dotted the landscape, covered in the same strings of fairy lights, adding to the almost fairy tale appearance along with the elegantly molded lampposts that emanated a warm white light. Never would I have thought that Akutetsu had something like this to boast, a small amusement park right smack in what could possibly be the middle of the city (but then again who was I to say). I'd never been to an amusement park before, but from the shows and pictures I'd seen of them, they seemed like places of high energy, the din of excited screams and giggling kids drowning out your own thoughts. However, when it was just Ikuto and I, alone at night, the whole place seemed almost like it was a hazy mirage. Cheesy as it was, I didn't think I'd seen anything so beautiful before. In the back of my mind, I wondered if my parents would have taken me to one if everything had remained normal, if nothing had fallen apart. Loneliness crashed over me like a wave, and even though the scenery was breathtaking, I couldn't help but think it was a bit melancholy as well. People came here as kids, made so many fun memories, but then they grew older and didn't have time for such things anymore. Amusement parks were like a chest of memories for the people adults used to be before their lives began taking course.

Out loud, I said, "I didn't know there was an amusement park here."

Ikuto nodded in understanding. "It's going to be torn down soon," he murmured, just furthering my point that it was almost a fleeting, dream-like existence. "If I flip the breaker in the main building, the power comes on for a bit. It's not very long, though."

I was able to tear my gaze away from the park before us long enough to examine him thoughtfully, and instead of looking away or shifting uncomfortably like anyone else would have done, he met my gaze head-on, his deep blue eyes almost shining from the explosion of lights all around us. "Why'd you bring me here?" I asked him quietly.

The side of his mouth quirked upward a bit, like smiling was foreign to him even though I'd seen him do it plenty of times. "You're too serious," he told me, and I rolled my eyes to settle on giving him a look. "It's school, Guardians, Shugo Chara, work for you, right? I think you've earned a mini-vacation."

"What makes you think that amusement parks are even my thing?" I'd better not be coming off as predictable to him. Who knew how I'd be able to deflect any of his blows or innuendos if he always knew what to expect.

"The way your eyes lit up the second you saw it."

That, I flushed at. Naturally I hadn't meant to get all excited like a little kid, but I couldn't help it. It was the first time I'd seen an amusement park up close like that in real life. I glanced over at my Shugo Chara to see how they were reacting, and was slightly assuaged by how ecstatic they seemed to be. There appeared to even be stars shining in their eyes as they took everything in, and I knew it was only a matter of time before they asked me- "Snow, can we go and play?!". I knew it.

"Sure, go ahead," I sighed, crossing my arms.

Satsuki's once elated expression seemed to crumble like a wilted flower. "You mean, you're not going to?"

"Um, aren't I a little old?"

"What does that matter?" Ikuto piped up suddenly from beside me. I turned to glare at him, desperately sending him a telepathic message, I do not want to play on these rides in front of you so knock it off. "There's no one else here. Why not just do what you want?"

Since when was he all 'que sera, sera'? But I had to admit the idea was tempting. Why not see what I'd been missing out on all these years? No time like the present, as they said. However, just going off on all these rides that I'd never been on before was daunting, as was the fact that Ikuto was dragging himself over to a nearby bench just to sit back and watch. I didn't know what he expected from me. The only time I wasn't at least a little reserved was when I was angry or frustrated, not when I was just being ordered to go and do whatever the hell I wanted. But hadn't I just been trying to convince myself that I didn't care what he thought of me? Besides, this was something I actually wanted to do. I wanted to have a bit of fun, just for a little while, then tomorrow I'd go back to going undercover to his school for the Guardians and working at a bustling restaurant.

"Okay," I finally said aloud, much to the joy of my Shugo Chara. "But only for a little while," I stressed more sternly, and they nodded eagerly. "It's late enough as it is."

Despite all of my pessimistic grumblings, when I actually got into the groove of things, it was so easy to let go of all the preconceptions that I wouldn't have fun, or that I was far too old to be goofing around like that. We went on the merry-go-round first, to start off with something easy as opposed to the speeding roller coaster, and I almost felt like I was in a childhood daze as I bobbed up and down on the sturdy horses, gripping onto the metal pole that was warm beneath my hands. The scenery rotated by, the performance of lights dazzling me again and again, and every now and again a breeze would stir my hair, leaving me completely at ease. Apparently we were going from zero to one hundred, because soon after Lilith tried to rip me off of my plastic companion and dragged my over to the roller coaster. For the first time I got that infamous feeling of going steadily up the iron hill, the wheels scraping along the tracks making the same sound as a train would. My stomach seemed to be leaning back the same way I was as I was tilted back in my seat the further we chugged up the hill, and when we reached the top and I could see the drop in front of me, I suddenly burst out laughing instead of screaming. I laughed and laughed as we sped all the way down, my giggles almost drowned out by the girls screaming for dear life. My stomach was tossed all around as we jerked left and right, up and down, and I couldn't ever remember having so much fun in such a short amount of time. The sensation was almost the same as the bumper cars we clambered into next, Yoru joining us only to jostle the girls and I around. It was almost comical how huge the cars were despite their teeny bodies moving the steering wheel and ramming into each other. Each time I crashed into one of them, my heart would give a little jump and I would laugh, and suddenly I felt a lot like I was regressing. That might not have been a bad thing, considering everything I'd been through since I first got to this city without a moment's respite. I was having those childhood experiences that I never did because of what had happened with my father and mother, but I knew that even though I was having so much fun, they left a gaping hole in my memory and heart that would never be filled. However, I was even able to forget all about that as I laughed the most I had in my entire life with my small little friends and with an attractive guy staring at me from a bench like I was putting on some sort of performance. A dream, indeed.

Even though I enjoyed the other attractions immensely, I found myself drawn back to the carousel to ride two more times afterwards. It just made me feel so at peace, like I was being rocked in someone's arms, and I found myself leaning my head against the pole and closing my eyes. It was like no matter what happened around it, it just kept spinning. Despite the things that happen to people each day, the things that happened to me when I was younger, the world just kept spinning. It was sad to think, that each person had so little effect on the world, but it was almost merry at the same time, as if saying that life goes on and you just have to stick around for the ride.

Eventually I hopped off, unconcerned with how much time had passed, and just stood and watched everything cycle around even with no one there to experience the ride. Again I felt melancholy, staring at a place overflowing with memories and hopes, and found that the existence of an amusement park was like the Shugo Chara. It made you excited, it made you feel like you belonged somewhere, but everything changed someday. Someday, the girls would disappear, just like this park was meant to be torn down. I found it so incredibly devastating to think that everything fun had to come to an end, but remembered that many more things began, as well. I found a small smile forming on my face as another breeze stirred the strands of pure white around my shoulders, then suddenly realized that it seemed far too quiet. I glanced back to see that my Shugo Chara had retired to the bench with Ikuto and Yoru, and the five of them were just watching me.

I jogged over to them and placed my hands on my hips. "What the heck's wrong with you?" I asked them, to which they just sighed. "You're the ones who wanted to play in the first place."

"We tire out more quickly than you do," Lilith complained, fanning her face melodramatically. "You know you have a lot more energy than your average adult."

Ikuto seemed to find amusement in that statement, judging from the way his smirk crawled slowly onto his face. I made an educated guess on how he took that, and rolled my eyes at him. "I noticed that, despite being the one to bring me here, you haven't ridden anything," I said, quirking my eyebrows at him.

"Just watching you tires me out," he said, leaning further back into the bench and closing his eyes as if to prove his point. But I wasn't having it.

"You should ride something," I insisted. "While we're here. Didn't you say it was going to be torn down soon?"

He opened one eye lethargically, and even under the gaze of just one eye, I felt like I was under heavy scrutiny. However, I decided to brush it off for once and proffered a fist. "Rock, paper, scissors," I challenged, and recited the phrase again and switched my hand to scissors only to have him pull out a fist. "Best two out of three."

In the end, I wound up being the victor, having crushed his scissors with a fist and covering his rock with my hand. After pondering what I could make him ride that would wound his pride the most especially after that little pout-fest he showed earlier, I decided on the little teacups whirring around steadily, slow enough to let one admire the scenery. Which was probably a bad move on my part, since the pair of us were obscenely tall, and our long legs ended up squashed together in the incredibly cramped space. We ended up in what I would deem an awkward position, with our legs scrunched up so our knees were in the air, and practically sitting on each others feet. I could have sworn I saw his eyebrows scrunch up and his mouth twist into a crabby frown. That, of course, had me snickering and putting the fact that he was making my feet fall asleep aside. "It's so not you," I snorted, much to his annoyance.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Like you look any better." When I didn't stop laughing, he heaved a substantial sigh and rested his chin on the palm of his hand. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile so much."

"Well, yeah," I said noncommittally, lifting one shoulder in a halfhearted shrug. "I guess smiling a lot just isn't in my character."

"And why wouldn't it be? I've seen you smile a lot before, but not for such a long period of time." He cocked his head to the side, that curious cat-like expression on his face. "I know I'm not much better, but there doesn't seem to be anything getting you down."

I hesitated for a moment, staring out at the park that drifted by in a slow circle. The fluttery feeling in my stomach from going on so many rides was finally beginning to settle, as was the shaking in my legs. Without anyone talking, I could only hear the distant, cheerful music popping from the crackling speakers, and the mechanical whirring of the ride we were on. Finally, I decided it wouldn't do anyone any harm to tell him something about me. We were friends, after all. "When I was younger, something happened that just made smiling feel... difficult. Wrong, almost." He nodded his head empathetically, his eyes darker than usual despite the bright lights shining into them. "It came to me more easily as time went on, but it was a bit strange for the people around me to see a sudden change in character. I figured it was best to just give people what they believed was the truth, and got stuck being kind of stoic, I guess. I got into trouble sometimes from being like that, but it never really mattered to me. Coming here was like a new start, where no one knew how little I smiled or what had happened, so now I suppose I'm smiling more often." I lifted a hand to scratch my head awkwardly. "Kind of silly, huh."

He shook his head, his dark hair grazing his pale cheeks like streaks of ink sliding against white paper. "No, I get it," he murmured, his voice slightly muffled by his hand. I leaned forward slightly to hear him better, causing my outer thigh to press up against his, but I was too distracted by what he was saying to focus on that. "You're strong."

I frowned thoughtfully. "What makes you say that?" It was the exact opposite of what I'd always thought of myself. I told my parents and myself that coming to Akutetsu was for closure with my mother, but I'd always thought that it was actually me running from my problems and seeking refuge where no one knew me. How could something like that make me strong?

"Even after your situation got better, you let people believe whatever they liked about you so it was easier for them." He narrowed his eyes at the glimmering lights in the distance. "You sat in silence so that they could cope. You pretended to be a person you weren't." He dropped his hand from his mouth to lean against the teacup more, the look in his eyes almost unbearably distant. If I hadn't known any better, I could have sworn that he looked... lonely. "Maybe if I could pretend to be someone else, things would be easier for me."

It occurred to me then that, despite claiming to be friends, I still knew next to nothing about the guy in front of me. I didn't know what it was that made him so aloof, so stoic, or what made him wish that he could pretend to be someone else. It seemed to be something buried deep below his apathetic surface, something that only ever showed through his eyes when he allowed it, as it did then. Since I'd first met him, I'd always had the impression that he was only putting up the front of a flirtatious asshole, but now I saw for the first time that I was possibly on the right track. After I'd defeated Nikaidou, I said to him, "Everyone has scars. Some are just easier to see than others." Right then, I knew that such was the case for Ikuto, as well. I couldn't see any visible scars on him- aside what could become of the slash in his arm- but when I put all I knew about him together, the pieces didn't fit, like he was already broken beyond repair.

"This amusement park," he continued, oblivious to my psychoanalyzing, "we used to all come here together, when we were little." I didn't bother asking who the "we" was; I felt as if that would be too invasive, regardless of our apparent confession time. "But now it's all going to be torn down soon. It's going to end." He looked at me then, but I knew he wasn't really seeing. He had a glazed, forlorn look in his eyes, and it was like I was staring at someone who had suffered a hefty loss and knew full well what they were missing. "The time we spent wondering which ride to go on, laughing like kids, without a care in the world... it's going to end."

The way he was speaking reminded me so much of what I'd been thinking a few moments ago. It was like we shared a mind or something. Then it occurred to me that maybe we had a lot more in common than I'd thought. The fact that it seemed as though we both lost something irreplaceable, something we were forced to live without... it seemed to link us together, in a way. Even though I didn't exactly understand what he had been through, or what he was currently facing, I knew that we were similar in that manner. Then again, everyone was. Everyone suffered from a loss of some sort, no matter how big or small, and everyone had their own problems that they struggled through. We were just two more of those people thrown together by coincidence, finally sharing a bit of the weight we bore with each other. I had to admit, even though talking about it almost seemed painful for him, it brought me a strange sense of joy.

I mirrored his pose, leaning back against the side of the teacup and gazed up at the sky. The stars and moon were heavily curtained by dark clouds, leaving the lights swarming us to serve as earth-stricken stars. Then I smiled slightly and said, "Well, you know what they say- 'every new beginning comes from another beginning's end'. Even if this is the last time you come here, it was the beginning for me. It's the first time I've been to an amusement park, you know." I tore my gaze away from the mass of clouds to smile at him, only to find that he was looking at me as if he'd been stricken by something. "So maybe you should make today the beginning for you, too." The beginning of what, I had no idea, but it still seemed like a good thing to say at the time.

Many times before had a look in his eyes made me uncomfortable, or maybe even slightly embarrassed, but the way he was looking at me now seemed entirely new. It was that look that made a girl feel special, no matter how insignificant she found herself to be. It felt like he could truly see me right then, beyond all the walls I'd thrown up and all the masks I wore, and I wasn't positive if I liked the feeling or not. But then I realized that I must have been looking at him the exact same way, completely lost in a daze, because we were just sitting in the teacup staring at each other- and it had stopped spinning.

The whole park seemed to have stopped functioning, as a matter of fact. All the lights had dimmed out, the music faded into a warbling blur, and everything seemed to slowly stop with a low-pitched metallic hum. Ikuto and I remained seated in our small space where we had learned a bit more about each other, as if we were afraid that if we left, we'd lose the connection we just developed. And if I was being honest, that was exactly what I was afraid of. Sad as it may have sounded, Ikuto was probably the one I was the closest with in this whole city besides my own Shugo Chara. Maybe it was because he saved me when we first met. Maybe it was because, regardless of being enemies, he still helped and encouraged me in his own way. Or maybe it was something else entirely. When my mind flashed back to the memory only seconds ago of him staring at me, I felt something building up in my chest like a sob, and couldn't help but heave a sigh. It definitely seemed like something more than that, as much as I hated to admit it.

My nerves seemed to focus on the few spots on my leg where it was pressed against his, and I looked away to relish in the feeling on my own. I felt kind of pathetic, letting such a simple touch as that effect me so much, but it also seemed so precious to me that I didn't want to let the feeling go. My temporary peace of mind and small happiness actually deflated when he quietly said, "Let's go home, Snow."

I nodded slowly, smiling at him. "Okay."

When he offerred me his hand to help me get out of the teacup, unusually gentlemanly, I didn't even hesitate when I took it. And I knew, then more than ever, how sad I was to let it go.

---

I had to admit that, in Louisiana, I didn't have the best record at school. I did get into small fights sometimes, never anything worth involving the police over. And as dastardly as it was, I did talk back to some of my teachers. Despite all that, I never skipped class- not once. Since I'd moved to Akutetsu and got involved with the Guardians, not only did that happen for the first time a few days ago, but now it was happening again. Except this situation had a bit more gravity to it, considering that I was standing directly outside of Seiyo Academy's rival school, preparing myself to go inside and do a little reconnaissance.

Though my bangs usually covered my right eye a bit from the way they swept to the side, wearing a heavy black wig with straight bangs made it even more difficult to see. Not to mention that it was near impossible to fit all of my hair into it, and that it was incredibly irritating, making me consistently reach up to scratch my head lightly. The drama club had been more than happy to lend us one of their costume wigs, a simple black bob that made me do a double-take in the mirror after I'd put it on. It was strange seeing myself with the hair colour exactly opposite from mine, and far shorter than it actually was. Even though I was supposed to be in disguise, I did not have any coloured contacts probing my eyes like the Guardians and I had considered, since my eyes were very recognizable ('cause, you know, purple eyes with a blue ring around the pupil isn't considered 'normal'). However, we'd assumed that any Mayosu students hadn't gotten close enough to me during the sports festival to determine how much they stood out- the only ones who had were Ikuto and Utau, and I was going to be on a very surreptitious lookout for them today.

To be even more unidentifiable, I'd ditched my uniform back at school and instead opted for a white blouse with a black pinstripe blazer over it, and simple black leggings that touched the top of my black heels. I was supposed to come off as "official", but I felt more like an amateur model tottering around in shoes that were too high and clothes that were too uncomfortable. I believed that the disguise would be effective, but whether it would be worth it or not was the real question.

Mayosu's building was the polar opposite of Seiyo's, to be perfectly frank. Though it seemed the landscape was generally the same, the building itself was like a giant had just dropped a gargantuan gray brick on the ground and called it a school. There were windows, sure, but they were rectangular with nothing special about them, completely unlike Seiyo's stain glass and Gothic arches. Some withering ivy clutched to the sides for dear life, which was basically the only sign of plant life aside from a few willows trees whose dead leaves scratched the ground and made ominous autumn noises. The only thing that made it seem more like a private academy than a public school was the gate at the front, a twisted iron masterpiece attached to stone walls that would most likely open with a squeal in need of some oil. I could have sworn there were briars leeching up each individual bar in the gate, almost screaming 'get out' instead of Seiyo's welcoming appearance. Somehow, I didn't find it very hard to believe that Ikuto and Utau went to school here- while it was intensely creepy and almost looked like what I had fantasized Vesania Asylum to be, it almost seemed to suit their standing as the Guardians' enemies. It also didn't shock me that Isabelle went here- this school was like a reflection of that eerie vibe I constantly got from here.

As much as I wanted to stand there gawking at the building all day- I even felt tempted to draw it- I had work to do. I adjusted the bottom of the blazer and quickly looked into the camera of my phone to make sure the wig was on properly, then I took a deep breath and began clicking towards the gate. When I tentatively reached out to push the metal gates aside, they gave surprisingly easy, but the squeal that I had expected was certainly there. The sound of metal grounding on metal made me cringe, since it made me more obvious and my sensitive ears could barely take the sound. I shrugged it off quickly and set off for the front doors, which were like two slabs of heavy material that trapped the students inside and kept everyone else. You would think this place was actually a reformatory school or something. It would suit Ikuto, that was for sure, since he tended to come off as a delinquent.

The inside of the building was as unremarkable as the out. The floors were a simple, light gray tile that gleamed from a recent polishing, the walls a creamy brick decorated with some portraits and photographs of notable figures from the academy. What I needed was the main office, which was only a few steps away judging from the windowed wall that announced thick, mahogany desks and secretaries. I needed to take a few calming breaths before striding inside- was what I was doing a crime? Yes, technically I was trespassing. My heart sank at the thought, but I reminded myself that I had to remain sure and confident- that way I wouldn't be suspected, and wouldn't get caught.

I steeled my feet against the floor and squared my shoulders before marching right into the office, tilting my chin up and languidly gazing at each of the secretaries. They barely looked up at my entrance, so I took that as a good sign and headed straight for the one whose nameplate stated "Attendance".

"Excuse me," I began, my voice cold and unfamiliar. The only problem was that I didn't know what to say next. I wanted to know where Isabelle was, so I had to be someone she knew, but I couldn't say I was her mother- what if they had seen her mother before and knew I wasn't her? The thought of Isabelle having a mother struck me as odd in the back of my mind- I supposed I'd assumed that she just crawled from some pit of darkness instead of being birthed. "I'm the aunt of a student here." That was my next best bet. "Her name is Isabelle…"

The secretary stared at me, her gaze exasperated and glazed over.

I stood stock-still for a few seconds, not knowing what to say, because I didn`t fucking know her last name. How could we just not know her last name?! I wasn't even positive if Isabelle had told us her last name in the first place! The entire plan was completely falling apart in my hands, because how could I pretend to be her aunt and not know her name? This entire panicked thought process lasted for only a few awkward seconds, then I managed to get out. "Her mother recently got remarried, so I'm not sure what her last name would be listed as." I had to suppress a wince, because even to me that sounded like a load of crock. "Could you just tell me where I'd find any students named Isabelle?"

Either the secretary was highly gullible, or she did not give a rat's ass about what I was doing there. She heaved a sigh, made a few clicks on her keyboard, then stared at the computer monitor for a moment. The office around us was abuzz with ringing telephones and some conversations to be heard because of open doors, so I didn't feel as nervous without any attention focused on me. When the attendance secretary finally looked back up at me, I was hopeful until I saw her expression. She not only looked slightly confused, but not very impressed as well.
"There's no student here by that name."

I swore my heart stopped beating.

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly, struggling to keep my voice calm and my body from shaking. "She told me this was the academy she went to." And, despite my lousy sense of direction, I knew this wasn't the wrong school because there was a sign out front that declared it to be Mayosu Academy. I was certain Isabelle had told us she went here. She even wore the uniform. As my mind raced to come up with explanations, I tried to describe her to the suspicious secretary. "She's shorter, with long, curly black hair, red eyes..."

I trailed off when I saw the completely blank look on her face. "No student here matches that description," she told me, her voice completely flat and uncaring. "And no student here has gone by the name 'Isabelle' since... well, ever. Are you sure you don't have the wrong school?"

"I think I must," I said with an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry to trouble you."

Then I practically ran from the office and burst from the academy doors. It felt like I was suffocating. The air around me was too stuffy, too hot, and my breathing was coming out far too fast to be comfortable. My heart was pounding so hard my ribcage shook, and this time I did break into a sprint off of the academy campus, because I knew something was horribly wrong. The Guardians and I knew Isabelle went to Mayosu. Why would she lie? From the second I saw her, I knew something about her wasn't right, despite my efforts to try and push those feelings aside in honour of the benefit of the doubt. But what if she had been lying about going to school here? What if she had been lying about being bullied in the first place? What could she possibly want with the Guardians?

I'd left my Shugo Chara in the Royal Garden with the Guardians, so that Ikuto or Utau wouldn't potentially spot them and figure out I was there. So I was all alone, running through the streets with throbbing heels that felt like they were beginning to bleed, with no idea where I was going. A vicious wind began whipping around my and practically tossed the wig off my head, and I caught it in my hand before it had a chance to hit the ground. I kept it in my grip and let my white ponytail fall in a complete disarray, trying to focus on the world around me instead of my own rapid pulse and the fearful sweat breaking out on the back of my neck. The whispers of the trees being tossed in the wind actually did little to improve my mood, and only made me feel all the more afraid, along with the angry clouds in the sky quickly gathering together in a clump of slate. I had to check my phone quite a few times to see if I was getting the directions back to Seiyo correct, and couldn't get any help from passerby since the streets were practically deserted. Once I'd finally made my way back, my hair looked like it had been in a miniature tornado, the skin of my heels broke and were filling the back of my shoes with a dampness I really didn't enjoy, and my breath came out so ragged it hurt. I didn't even really know why I was in such a hurry to get back to the Guardians, but something told me that I had to get here as soon as possible or I'd regret it.

With my heart in my throat and my eyes wider than saucers, I quickly began half-walking, half-jogging to the Royal Garden, the wind slightly calmer from the cover of the surrounding trees that provided a small forest on the campus. When I caught sight of the large glass dome, I felt only a bit reassured, but something about this whole situation still seemed off. Right before I opened the heavy doors, a throaty caw sounded from nearby, and I looked to my right to see an entire murder of crows just sitting in a tree, all with their eyes trained directly on me.

That definitely was not a good sign.

When I threw the doors open to the Garden and began striding forward, I was not the least bit surprised to see Isabelle there, standing with her back to me as she conversed with Tadase-kun and Nadeshiko-san. Her tiny shoulders shook a little, indicating she was either laughing or crying, but considering the recent discovery I'd made, I figured it was the former. Tadase-kun looked away from her to see me almost running up to them, my eyebrows drawn and hair a white tumbleweed, and his expression immediately melted from friendly to concerned.

"Hisayuki-san?" He asked, standing from his seat to try and walk over to me, but he stopped when I held up a hand. "What's the matter? You look upset."

"Why did you lie?" I demanded of Isabelle, my voice coming out in an angry, Batman-like rasp. I was shaking, both from fury and fear, though I couldn't exactly pinpoint why.

Nadeshiko-san and Tadase-kun glanced at each other in confusion, most likely at a loss as to what I was raving on about like a lunatic. Isabelle remained turned away from me, but I noticed her arm reach out to swiftly swipe something shiny from the table. Before I could ask what it was, she finally turned to look at me. What I saw definitely was not what I was expecting- her expression was delighted, and her mouth was split into a wide grin.

Then a forked tongue slid from her mouth.

Everything happened very quickly after that. Tadase-kun and Nadeshiko-san were saying something to me, judging from the way their mouths were moving, but I couldn't hear them over the blood rushing in my ears and my own heartbeat. I was charging forward, grinding my teeth and clenching my fists, not knowing what I was doing but positive I had to do something. Isabelle began to laugh merrily, clapping her hands like a little girl, and I saw the long snake tongue lolling out of her mouth and the elegant canines poking from her gums. I couldn't even believe what I was seeing, but in the back of my mind, I had known. There was always something strangely inhuman about Isabelle, about her confidence, grace, the way she spoke. Right after we'd met her for the first time, I'd seen that giant, talking black snake on the ground. All along, it had been her. Somehow she was a shapeshifter, a monster that had appeared in real life, and I fell for the masquerade she'd shown us all. Perhaps I couldn't have helped it, but I still felt like I was to blame for letting an actual beast get so close to my friends, for letting her deceive us. A question still remained- well, more than one, really- and that was why had she done it? Unfortunately I wasn't going to get answers any time soon, because I was throwing a punch at her face and she was ducking under my arm and bolting from the garden, laughing hysterically all the way out.

Why was she laughing? Apparently that was my biggest concern as I completely ignored Tadase-kun and Nadeshiko-san yelling at me, running out of the Garden and after the... whatever she was. My Shugo Chara darted after me, their expressions a combination of worry and fear, most likely because they were as unsure of what I was going to do as I was. All I knew was that I wanted to hurt it. I wanted to hurt it like I'd never wanted to hurt anything in my life. My vision was turning red at the edges, and with each hard step my feet made on the ground, a small sheet of ice unfurled beneath them like a flower. Isabelle was just a flash of black in front of me, so much faster than any human could have been, and though I still didn't even remotely understand what was happening, I tracked her through the campus and into the thicket of trees.

She (it?) wound around the thick trunks of the trees, pitch black ink winding along a landscape painting, and I followed the sound of her laughter that was slowly beginning to sound more and more insane. Finally, the sound stopped, so I thought that meant she had as well, but when I reached where I last heard her laughter coming from, there was absolutely nothing to be seen but dark, looming trees all around. I turned in circles quite a few times, leaning to the left and right to see if she was hiding, but I couldn't see her anywhere. When I felt some of the tenseness release from my shoulders and my breath slowly began to slow, I turned to make my way back to the Garden only to find her standing right in front of me, flashing her fangs in a joker's grin.

I stumbled back, finally feeling only terror instead of anger when I realized the actual situation I was in. I'd gone running after a shapeshifting-thing because I was angry at it, which was probably the worst thing I could have done. I was alone with it now, and when I made a move to step away, its hand clamped down on my wrist so roughly I heard- and felt- it crack. It wasn't the hand of a human, but almost that of a skeleton, only showing sharp bone and translucent skin. Its nail were fiendishly long and dug into my arm until it bled. I was too shocked to even scream.

"I am so glad." It took me a moment to realize that it was Isabelle speaking, because it wasn't the same high, lilting voice I was used to- it was the heavy, garbling voice of an animal speaking in human tongue, unfamiliar and horrifying. "It was very tiring to keep up that bothersome charade. Human bodies are very uncomfortable, you know? It is almost like I am constantly standing in this oversized, scalding mascot costume. Really, I am ecstatic that you finally figured out something was wrong. Now I can finally be free!"

I could barely register what it was saying, because as it spoke, small scales began molding onto its face, and its whole body was beginning to thin out as if were expiring. Its red eyes bore into me, so much I thought I was actually on fire, and I nearly gagged as its nose collapsed until it was only to snake slits in the center of its face. And still it smiled at me, like we were longtime friends.

"I have to say, as far as a test goes, you did not do very well. It took you far too long to notice that I was not human, and I even had to show you before it finally clicked. You need to rely on your instincts more." It twisted my wrist in its grasp until I was actually crying out in pain. "Not a very high tolerance for pain, either. This is actually a bit of a letdown. We had expected so much more of you. I guess there is only one way to be sure if you are worth keeping alive."

My teeth were grinding together in pain and to keep from screaming like a small child, and I managed to grit out, "What... are you even talking... about?! What... are you?!"

It cocked its head to the side, looking like a scaly, deflated balloon. "You honestly have not figured it out yet? I believe you have enough proof. You saw things in this city you cannot explain." I didn't even bother trying to ask how it knew that; I just assumed that, whenever I thought I was safe or alone, I truly wasn't. There were things always lurking in the shadows, watching me, wanting me dead, for whatever reason. It seemed to think that I was still skeptical, since it began to elaborate. "You heard on the radio of strange attacks that left people without much blood left in their bodies. You saw puncture wounds on a woman's neck. You were dragged into an abandoned warehouse by some lowly imps who did not even know what they were doing. I spoke to you in the most pathetic of my many forms, and yet you still do not know what you are dealing with?"

I just grit my teeth even harder, glaring at it with every frozen fiber of my being. Dimly, I was aware of the ice spreading out beneath us, and the fact that frost was beginning to coat its hand around my wrist. But it didn't seem to even notice, let alone care, and I suddenly felt the strong urge to begin crying, because the situation was so utterly hopeless and I believed more than anything that I was going to die.

Its grin widened further, and I was shocked to realize I had never seen anything so happy before, with my hand and life in its grasp. Its face got uncomfortably close to mine, and before I could turn away, its other hand darted up to grab my chin and force me to look at in its eyes, which were now only pits of black directed at me.

"Think," it hissed, but I couldn't, because it only had eye sockets looking at me and its fangs were poking from its mouth and- "I'll give you a little hint. It starts with a 'D'!"

At long last I began to scream, but it didn't even seem to hear me. It wasn't even shrill, terrified screams of the girls in horror films, but loud grunts being torn from my throat as I kept struggling from its grip and its nails only dug deeper into me. It began to laugh again, its tongue flicking out to touch my cheek and make me cringe, and it sang, "Demons, my dear Snowrenrie! What else?"

Before I could say or even think anything in response, it had let me go, and a scalding sensation burst into my stomach and kept throbbing as I felt something streaming down my legs and to the ground. I didn't understand, which was quickly becoming a trend for me, until I looked down and saw one of the polished silver butter knifes from the Royal Garden sticking out of my stomach, right around where my kidney was. The streaming sensation that went along with the buzzing and throbbing all in my body was the blood weeping from the wound and into my shirt, winding along the side of my leg like a red river. Suddenly I couldn't feel my legs anymore, and I didn't have any, because the world titled upwards until I was lying at the ground and staring up at the canopy of wooden claws and black clouds. I figured I wasn't really feeling the actual pain yet because of the adrenaline, but I couldn't move, not even to look around to confirm that the demon was gone. My Shugo Chara burst into my vision, hysterical tears streaming down their red faces as their mouths opened wide in screams. They looked at each other, seemed to argue about something I couldn't hear from some bizarre ringing, then they were gone, leaving me all alone to stare at the sky as my vision began dancing with multi-coloured dots.

Was that was dying felt like? It wasn't like I had any other experiences to go from- well, my mother and the knife, of course, but that was another situation in which I was too shocked to really register what was really happening. I didn't feel cold because I never did, and my life wasn't flashing before me, but I felt numb. I didn't even want to think of anything, but somehow the happy memory of last night at the amusement park with Ikuto swam into my mind. That seemed like someone else's life, not the life of someone who was lying on the ground in a forest while bleeding out with a freaking butter knife sticking out of them. I missed him, and I missed Tadase-kun, and all the Guardians. I wondered why my Shugo Chara would leave me in a moment like this when they'd promised to always be there. Maybe if they got far away enough, they wouldn't disappear when I did. In that case, I couldn't really blame them.

My eyelids felt heavy as white spots began falling from the sky and sticking in my eyelashes. The clumps were voluminous and covered the ground quickly, leaving me to be semi-buried like someone had kicked a pile of snow onto me. I watched my slow breath come out in puffs of steam that expelled the snowflakes away from me, and began to let my eyes close like I really wanted them to, even though I knew I shouldn't. Getting stabbed in the kidney didn't call for immediate death, but a slow and painful one, so I was kind of aware that I still had some time left but didn't feel like using it. I just didn't feel, period. Even when a dark figure swam into my vision, unidentifiable with my eyes only opened in slits, I didn't feel anything. I didn't even feel my mouth when I opened it to whisper the name of the one person I wanted to see more than anything in the entire world.

My voice was barely even a breath when I murmured, "Daddy...". Then the world cut to black and there wasn't anything at all.