HELLO WORLD! I'm sorry I took so long. I might change my update to once per two weeks.

Also, I forgot something very important: I DO NOT OWN SHUGO CHARA. ALL RIGHTS GO TO PEACH-PIT. I tend to forget disclaimers, so this goes for the whole story.

"Hey, Amu." Rima stepped inside the house without an invitation. "Utau told Yaya to tell me to tell you that the Christmas party is tomorrow." She took off her coat and attempted to hang it on the coat rack, but the only free hanger was too far up for her short self to reach.

"I can help you with that." I moved to take from Rima but she snatched it away with a stone-cold glare.

"I'll do it myself." she growled.

"Suit yourself." I grumbled. "I think all you people are too grumpy."

"Whatever." Rima grabbed a stool that sat nearby and clambered up.

"And I'm not going. To the party, I mean." I announced, turning to enter the kitchen.

Rima chuckled humorlessly. "You think you have a choice?"

"Why should I come? I'm just a guest, after all."

"You're one of us now. Demon fighters." Rima indicated the sheathed sword that lay on the counter.

"It's not like there are any to fight anyway." It was true. It had been Saturday when we fought those demons, and now it was Wednesday with no sign of them.

"It's unusual. We usually have to fight them every couple days or so." Rima sat down at Utau's table as if it were her own and sipped her cocoa delicately, seemingly unconcerned.

I tried to see her fighting demons. She was just so dainty, I couldn't imagine her fierce side.

"I know what you're thinking. I can fight. Better than, say, you."

How dare she? The cold little jerk. "Rima. You do not know how well I can fight."

"I do know that you totally fell for that demon's trap. What'd he say to you anyway? That Luring magic isn't just the spell, it's also what they say."

"Why would you want to know?" I snarled, stiffening at the thought of what the demon had said about Nadeshiko.

"Gee, you're snappy." Rima drawled, not even fazed.

"I don't get how such nice people are even friends with you."

" Utau? Yaya? Please. Don't call yourself a friend of theirs if you haven't seen their dark side."

"Who said I'm their friend?" I said, more like whispered actually.

Rima turned, hiding her doe eyes and haughty expression.

"That's it, Rima. I will not stand-"

"Who are you to give orders? When you have so many secrets, why do you act like we're the evil ones?" Rima's back was still turned. She spoke quietly, yet there was anger in them which I had never seen before in the little blonde.

"Why were you so much nicer back then, on Saturday?!" I cried.

"Things have changed since then." Rima replied softly, standing up and placing her cup in the sink. She left without another word, leaving me only with her icy expression, filled with fiery hate.

I felt as short as Rima.

Balancing on my toes, I stretched my fingers until I felt they could break, but it was no use. The eggs were still out of reach. I made one final leap, and my fingers grasped the edge of the egg carton.

YES!

"Hey, Amu-chiiiii!" A rush of red bows came rushing at me, and the egg carton went sailing straight out of my hands. I watched, as if in slow motion, as it soared downwards. Yaya dived, landing in a graceful position on the floor with the eggs balanced in one hand.

"What the heck, Yaya?! How did you do that?" I gasped, taking the eggs.

"Yaya dances." she said simply, striking a pose. "You cooking for Utau-chan?" she added. "She's totally psyched that you're around. To help her, I mean."

I chuckled. "So she doesn't like me for my company?"

"No, no, we all do!" Yaya waved her hands frantically. "You're a super fun person to be around! Yaya's super glad you came and everything. For real."

All of a sudden, a muffled sob pierced my ears, though I doubted that Yaya heard it. I glanced from left to right inconspicuously, trying to locate the sound.

"Bye-bye, Amu-chi! Yaya's gonna go shopping with Rima-tan!"

"See you around." I murmured, still disconcerted. As soon as Yaya had disappeared out of sight, I moved to the center of the kitchen and exhaled, concentrating the magic power that I was usually forced to contain within me,

"Light, give me the power to see all." I raised my palms in prayer to the sun, eyes closed, and when I opened them my vision was in a new league altogether.

Apart from having enhanced eyesight, See All let me sense heat, radiowaves, and the tracks of people. I could spot Yaya's little footprints, as well as my own footsteps. But there was another, smaller pair of feet that led in a swift path through the back door. The heat still lingered on their dainty prints, as well as forming a hazy outline of a person. Twisting my wrists, I drew the heat from the room and concentrated the raw magic on the heat outline hovering over the tracks. The images cleared, until I was looking at a set of pictures so sharp it was as if I was seeing an animation.

The figure that held the most heat created an image of none other than Rima, lurking behind the counter. And then, she had run, so fast that even my most enhanced magic could not sharpen it.

But, even as I undid the magic and knelt on the floor, examining droplets of water on the tile, I knew one thing was for sure.

Rima had been crying.

I almost screamed when I saw the dress.

The long, golden fabric had a deep-far too deep for my liking- U-neck and cascaded down in ripples of cloth that barely even looked like I could wear it.

"What? This is a celebrity party. You have to dress up." Utau, done up in a short flared purple dress with a black belt, practically tossed me the hanger and shoved me inside my room.

"Get dressed. Makeup comes later."

I groaned and began to decide which side of the dress was the front.

Two hours later, I was sitting in Utau's room and trying to avoid a mirror, which wouldn't display my (invisible) reflection. Said pop star had completely swept me along in her pace and here I was, blush and eye shadow and fancy dress. Yaya had squealed about how "ah-may-zing!" I looked, but I was too busy wondering about how exactly I was supposed to get out of this party.

I hadn't faced this many people since my old Guardian days, and even then my parents had taken me under their wing. I was a kid then, eleven or twelve at most. But now, I was expected to somehow navigate my way through hours on end with a hall full of people.

Oh, and did I mention that I WAS INVISIBLE?!

Balancing on the three-inch heels Utau lent me, I wobbled down the hallway and into the living room to wait for Utau and Yaya with all the guys (Rima had yet to show).

They were all in suits. Frankly, that was one of the only things that made Nagihiko look like a guy, apart from the fact he wasn't wearing makeup and heels. (It made me giggle evilly simply to think of him wearing that.)

Tadase-kun was sitting straight-backed and formal, the only respectable sight in the room. Next to him was Kukai, laughing uncontrollably at something Kairi had just said. Kairi, for that matter, was rattling off something from a book that was so thick my back would have broken lifting the thing. Ikuto was lounging on one of the couches and staring into space.

All of them, save Ikuto, silenced and assumed more formal positions when I entered, though they relaxed as soon as I came closer.

"Oh, it's you." Kukai sighed in relief.

"We thought it was..." Nagihiko shuddered.

"...My demonic little sister." Ikuto finished, smirking.

"Celebrities are not necessarily well-known for their controlling attitude, however in several instances it has been proved that-"

"Can it with the lecturing, Chairman!" Yaya burst inside, wearing a pink frilly dress with an excess of bows. "Candy's more important! And there'll be CANDY at the party!"

"Actually, there will be cake too." Tadase-kun added thoughtfully.

Yaya's eyes began to sparkle. She then started screaming happily at the top of her lungs until Kairi threatened to slap her with the fat book. Kukai, chortling, added another comment about brownies. The cycle started over again, except with Utau arriving to torture Yaya with detailed descriptions of various succulent sweets.

Thus, the car ride passed. How pleasant.

Once we had reached the hall, with Yaya in severe danger of losing her voice from too much screaming, I tried to slip away unnoticed. I picked my way through the snow, shivering even in my fancy white coat.

"Amu! The door is this way!" Utau steered me over, ignoring my feeble protests.

The place was pretty much empty. Thank goodness Utau was the host, and I had approximately fifteen minutes to escape. I began to scheme.

Luck was against me that night, though. A girl from the music store where Ikuto worked called Kotone showed up early, and before long the place was filled with everybody from schoolgirls to the lead singer of DARTS! .

Utau led me over to a young woman, in her twenties most likely, with wavy purple hair and a matching dress.

"Honda-san, this is Amu, our guest."

I gulped.

"Huh? Where is this Amu?"

I bolted. Winding my way through people, and bumping into quite a few too, I made a break for the back door. I swore I saw Yaya cast me a suspicious glance as I burst outside, but I paid her no heed.

I was met with a harsh wind as I stumbled outside. The temperature must have been well below freezing. I hugged my coat tighter around myself and scurried away. To where, I had no idea.

My hands and feet began to get numb, and before long I couldn't feel my high heels anymore. I kept in clear sight of the hall, eyeing the doors for Yaya chasing after me.

I sighed, watching my breath billow out in front me. The foggy mist somehow reminded me of myself, somebody yet still nobody.

I stopped in front of a pool, clear as glass. It reflected the moon and the stars, but when I knelt down in front of it I saw nothing.

Nothing. Me.

I had wanted to talk to Honda-san, Kotone, maybe even introduce myself to DARTS! . But the curse, Nadeshiko's punishment, prevented me from living the life I wanted to.

They told me to grab hold of your future, to take your life into your own hands. I no longer had that choice.

She had been twelve when it happened, Nadeshiko I mean. At such a young age she acted acted like that It was like she didn't have a heart. She tried to do the impossible, take magic that wasn't hers. We had both gotten punished, partners in crime yet divided in friendship.

I sighed and leaned closer to the pond, knees buckling and finally giving way. I was pitched into depths of cold, black water. I choked, swiftly sinking under, fighting desperately but failing. The dress was dragging me down. My breath was strangled from me. I could literally feel my pulse slowing.

There was a splash beside me, and suddenly I could breathe again.

My vision faded to black.

So cold.

"Amu? Amu!"

I blinked. The fuzzy outline of Ikuto's face shifted into view, and I heaved myself to a sitting position.

"Th-th-thanks. W-were y-you the o-one that s-saved me?" I stammered, teeth chattering.

Ikuto frowned. "No, I just found you here, soaking wet. Whoever it was must have left."

"But...why would they leave?"

Ikuto shrugged. "Beats me. All I know is that Utau would have gone berserk if you had died."

"Why?"

"Duh. It'd be all over the news. 'Celebrity fails to keep friend safe...again."

My breath caught in my throat. "Again?"

Ikuto's gaze was suddenly trained on the ground. " I can't answer that."

"I know what you mean." I attempted a smile, but it ended up more like a teeth-rattling grimace.

"Yeah. I can see it. You're not as happy as you seem, right? You're good at keeping secrets." Ikuto pulled his case out of seemingly nowhere, though it was quite large. "Amu...this is the case you saw me with the other day. On the hill."

"You knew?" I gasped.

"I found out. But why didn't you ask me?"

"I was afraid. Wouldn't anyone be?"

Ikuto stood up and offered me a hand. "Amu, I'm telling you something I seldom say. In fact, I barely even talk at all. But listen now, 'cause this is important. Fear never got anyone anywhere. But boldness is a push that sends people flying higher."

I rose and faced him squarely. "You know where being bold has gotten me?"

Ikuto stepped back.

"Alone. On the streets. Crying."

"You're about to cry again." Ikuto stated bluntly.

"The tears never end, do they?"

Ikuto started walking. "Oh, they end. The hole in your heart never heals, but the tears end."

He turned and spoke casually, as if he had never said anything. "Maybe Utau can find you a change of clothes."

"What about you? Why aren't you at the party?"

"I was never one for parties. Talk to Utau or Yaya, you guys are practically best friends anyways."

"What makes you say that?" I snapped, voice hardening.

"Rima spilled. To her teddy bear, but nonetheless, she spilled."

"They're back!"

Here they were, the morning after the party. After a long absence they were here again, swarming the park.

Demons. They fought with a renewed vengeance, trying to obliterate us so they could get on with obliterating the world.

I drew intricate patterns with my sword, creating elaborate nets to trap my opponent, a female demon with long blue hair. She defended with pure magic, blue fire that I knew would paralyze rather than burn.

Beside me, I glimpsed Utau, who wielded a trident with such agility that it seemed like a part of her. On my other side, Rima had neatly trapped a demon in her trap created out of a her ropes.

She sent me a smug glare, as if to say, "I am the best here."

I had no time for that. If Rima had jealously problems, she could sort them out herself.

I could have knocked out, even killed the demon with my magic, but I was limited as a bird in a cage without full powers. Pursing my lips, I twisted the hilt and let it dance atop my fingers. A slice of magic shot from the blade with every move, and within seconds I had the demon struggling to stay alive.

I could spot Rima out of the corner of her eye, jaw nearly dropped. Somehow, it gave me pleasure to see her watch in awe as I leaped into the air, doing a flip and shooting at the demon with full power.

I struck her to the ground in one blow. I raised my sword, preparing to kill the demon. I had done it so many times. It was nothing to do it once more.

After all, she was created to destroy dreams, to destroy humanity. I was fighting in league with the Guardians, Guardians all over the world, perhaps, working together to keep this world safe. In contrast to last night, now I felt unstoppable, invincible to whatever life might throw at me.

I brought down the sword. The demon , however, launched herself upwards and flipped, slamming her hand into my back. A tingle shot through me.

"It's her." the demon spoke, voice smooth and sinister. "Amu Hinamori." She had pinned me to the ground. I could feel my heart thumping against the earth. The tables had turned.

The demons all stopped, abandoning their opponents, and circled me.

Me. What did they want me, a pitiful ex-Guardian, for?

"Blaze Shoot!"

"Go Go Little Duckies!"

"Hoy Crown!"

"Nightmare Lorelei!"

"Lightning Blade!"

"Golden Victory Shoot!"

"Slash Claw!"

An explosion of light, demons fleeing, everybody crowding around me, all wondering…

What did they want with me?

She huddled in a corner, rocking back and forth, sobbing. But she wasn't crying for herself, though she lay alone in a prison cell. She cried for a dear friend, one that she had wronged.

The mistakes she had made had resulted in her best friend getting crushed by so much sadness, so much sadness that the tears hadn't stopped chasing her even now.

"Human." The guards' now-familiar faces shifted into view.

"It has been three years, but our Majesty has made a decision." one guard yanked the girl to her feet, ignoring her slight whimper of pain.

The second guard pulled out a slip of paper and read from it, in a condescending voice ,

"The verdict is as follows: Nadeshiko Fujisaki, a human charged of infiltrating the Guardian world, and Amu Hinamori, a Guardian charged of being her accomplice, will be imprisoned and killed."

The prisoner's quiet whimpers broke into full-blown wailing.

"No!", she whispered, "not Amu-chan!"

"Preparations are already underway to track Amu Hinamori down." the guard with the paper added as he left.

"No!" she cried. "Why? Save her!"

But they ignored her pleas, leaving her to whisper and sob, as if deranged, to herself.

Prisoner cried for victim, captured cried for free, wrongdoer cried for past friend.

Nadeshiko cried for Amu.

So...yeah.

See you soon-hopefully.

ReachForTheSky is out.