…

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…okay, enough!" Amu finally said. "I get it, alright? You don't like me, Hoshina, and frankly, I can't say the feeling's not mutual; however, we have an important project to do and I don't want to fail just because you can't get over yourself. So either cut the shit or fail, and don't tell me you don't care; everyone knows you're a perfect little princess that can't afford to fail."

Utau glared venomously at her. Who did this brat think she was? Nobody talked to her like that!

"I don't remember asking for your opinion, Hinamori," spat the blonde. "I also don't remember telling you a damn thing about me, so don't pretend like you know anything about me when you clearly don't."

"You're one to talk," retorted Amu. "I haven't told you anything about me either so don't you act like you've read my autobiography cover to cover!"

Utau's eye twitched. "I don't need you to tell me to know exactly what you're like."

Irritated, Amu replied, "Oh? So why don't you go ahead and tell me how exactly I'm like then? Since you're such an expert on everything Hinamori Amu?"

Utau smirked. For whatever reason, that smirk seemed vaguely familiar to Amu.

"Gladly," she replied, smiling coldly. "You, Hinamori Amu, are nothing but a conceited brat who is so deeply spoiled that you cannot comprehend the fact that not everybody has such a perfect life. You strut down the halls like the world revolves around you and expect everyone to treat you like a goddess when you're nothing but a speck of dirt on the path."

She finished with a satisfied expression on her face, expecting Amu's face to crumble or for her to explode. However, the blonde was surprised when she got neither.

The pinkette gave her a disgusted look. "Is that the best you could come up with, Hoshina? That's pathetic. Unlike you, I will not resort to petty insults to win a meaningless battle. All I have to say is that I was correct; you know absolutely nothing about me. I do not think the world revolves around me and I do not expect people to treat me like a goddess; in fact, I wish they would knock it off. But most importantly, I don't have a perfect life but it is not as awful as I make it out to be at times, and I am well aware of others' less fortunate fates. People get their dreams destroyed everyday and I am grateful mine hasn't; I am not spoiled or conceited. In that aspect, I think you are only talking about yourself."

Utau stared at her in shock. "I…you are clearly even more stupid than I thought you were!" She was wrong before; apparently, only Amu had talked to her like that.

"But you are not denying what I said," pointed out Amu, narrowing her eyes accusingly before she sighed. "Look, think what you want about me but I meant it when I said I don't want to fail. So you can hate me to your heart's content, but at least work with me long enough to get through this ridiculous project, m'kay?"

Utau blinked once. What? This girl was seriously bipolar; first she was completely honest with her feelings about Utau, and now she was cool and collected.

"Whatever," muttered the singer, crossing her arms. "I don't even know what we're supposed to be doing."

The corner of Amu's mouth twitched upwards; somehow, she knew it was the blonde's way of accepting the temporary truce. "We have to write a song for the festival and present in some way, remember? It has to represent our school and 'student unity' in one way or another."

"That's stupid," said Utau flatly. "A fight breaks out every other day and a new scandalous rumor spreads in every class; this is the opposite of 'student unity'."

"No, it's just typical high school," corrected Amu, earning a small smirk from her blonde partner. "Anyways, we have to write the song like that."

"Again, stupid," said Utau. "I don't really feel the whole 'goodness' and 'unity' vibe."

Amu rolled her eyes. "I didn't think you did. Don't worry; I'll handle the lyrics. I just wanted you to come up with the score; you're pretty good at doing that."

The bell rang just as Utau asked, "How do you know that?"

Amu began to gather her things. "I see you writing songs in class all the time so you must have practiced it a lot, right? Let's meet after school tomorrow and talk more."

The pinkette flashed a smile at the blonde before she walked swiftly out of the room, leaving behind a stunned Utau. Finally, she scoffed and collected her things as well.

"Idiot girl…she has no idea what she's talking about."

…

"Ugh, what a bunch of idiots," exclaimed Amu as she stormed out of the cafeteria, picking the food out of her hair. She hated eating in such a public area but she couldn't eat on the roof since it was raining today. "Really, to start a food fight out of nowhere like that! How old are they?"

"At least you weren't dumped in chocolate pudding like that one girl," pointed out Ran as she and her sisters trailed after their bearer. "And poor Su got hit with a flying piece of bread and landed in the chili."

"It wasn't even prepared properly desu," the green Chara muttered as she shook the red liquid off her dress. "Oh no, it's going to stain desu…"

"Here, let me," offered Miki. She scribbled in her sketchpad and whipped up a clean outfit for her sister.

"Thanks desu," replied Su gratefully. "It would have been a pain to clean out desu."

"At least you weren't hit with something worse," said Dia softly. "But anyways, Amu-chan, you didn't finish your lunch. You should go find somewhere else to eat or you'll be hungry all day."

"I know, but where?" Amu asked. "The library is closed for testing and there's a no food policy in there anyways, so I can't eat there. All the classrooms are locked until lunch is over and I definitely can't stomach eating in the gym with all those sweaty people around me."

"There's the indoor pool," suggested Ran.

"It's closed for cleaning," replied Miki. "What about you eat in the hallway here?"

"That's unsanitary," exclaimed Su, looking horrified. "I mean…just imagine all the things that happen in the hallway desu!"

"She has a point," agreed Amu as she looked out a window she passed by. "Oh, the rain seems to have calmed…I guess I don't mind getting a little wet to eat. It's only drizzling; I can sit underneath one of the trees or something."

"But your food will get wet," reminded Dia. "What about the greenhouse on the roof? It's closed mainly for the winter so there aren't any plants inside right now."

"I guess that's okay," said Amu. "It beats going back to the cafeteria, that's for sure."

"Yay, off we go," exclaimed her Charas as they marched up the stairs to the roof.

Amu sighed as she rested her forehead against the door. "I forgot how many stairs there were; how did I run up them before?"

"You were being dragged by Kukai," said Miki. "Go on, Amu-chan, before lunch ends; you only have fifteen minutes to eat."

"Let me catch my breath," murmured the pinkette. "I am not used to this physical abuse."

"Ran, you need to change that," said Dia. "It's not good for her to be so inactive."

"With how much Su cooks for her, she does need to be more active," agreed Miki, nodding seriously.

Su looked offended. "My food is delicious and good for you desu! It's only Amu-chan who doesn't do her part here!"

A vein throbbed on the top of the pinkette's head.

"Yeah, if Amu-chan continues to eat so much, she'll be out of breath all the time!"

"And then she won't be able to get a nice boyfriend if she always stuffs her face like that!"

Another vein throbbed.

"And if she eats and eats, and never exercises, then she won't be able to fit in any cute clothes!"

"And then she'll get depressed because of her weight, which she does now anyways, and then she'll be too sad to eat desu!"

"Yeah, and since she's all depressed, nobody will want to hang out with her and even Ikuto-kun will lose interest in her!"

Amu fell to the ground as she blushed crimson red. "What the hell are you guys talking about? I just went up, like, four flights of stairs without taking a breather so of course I'm tired! And I don't eat that much anyways! And what does Ikuto have to do with anything?"

"Well, you like him, don't you?" Her Charas questioned, causing their bearer to fall to the ground again.

"N-No, I don't," she exclaimed, her face bright red. "I don't even know him that well to begin with! Besides, he's not interested in me!"

"You seem too defensive," remarked Miki. "But anyways, you should eat your lunch soon. Class restarts in ten minutes."

"Yeah, yeah," muttered Amu, her face slowly returning back to normal as she pushed open the door and stepped out on the rooftop.

To her surprise, she saw somebody already there. They were sitting against the wall, picking absently out of a bento box like they were lost in thought.

"I-Is that Mashiro-san?" Ran asked quietly.

"I think so desu," replied Su. "She looks lonely desu."

"Should we sit with her?" Dia questioned.

"I don't think she likes me very much, but we can try," said Amu, walking over to the blonde.

Without saying anything, the pinkette settled down a few feet away from the Queen against the wall. Rima looked up in surprise at the noise, not expecting to see Hinamori Amu by her. She quickly snapped on her mask to cover up her shock.

"What are you doing here?" Rima asked flatly.

"Eating my lunch," was Amu's reply, her mask also snapping on. "Is that an illegal thing to do?"

"Hmph," replied Rima, turning back to her own lunch. The two girls ate in silence, the tension in the air incredibly and uncomfortably thick. "At least you don't yap away like your sister."

Amu's head shot up, not sure whether she should be defensive or shocked. She decided to go for the latter this time since she knew Ami could talk a mile a minute. "How do you my sister?" She knew Rima had mentioned her sister earlier during class, but it hadn't sunk in.

Rima gave her a sideways glance before she returned to her lunch, though she had barely even touched it. "We have similar club interests."

Amu furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't seem like the kind of person to join clubs for the hell of it."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I'm not." She wasn't going to explain the newbie's sister that Tadase and his stupid uncle had followed her around like lost puppies, insisting that she become the Guardian's Queen. "But I have my reasons for joining such an elite club and my only complaint is how low our standards have gotten since your sister joined."

Rima mentally grimaced; that was an unnecessarily rude comment, but it was also true in some aspects. Ami had the spirit of a Guardian but as Rima had stated earlier, she was useless if she couldn't even work the Humpty Lock.

Amu, meanwhile, took back whatever nice things she had thought about Rima as she glared at the blonde. "I don't know what club my sister involved herself in, but I truly pity her if she has to put up with someone as cold as you. Yes, Ami can be loud and talkative but she has a good heart and is one of the kindest people you will ever meet."

The pinkette slammed the top of her bento box back on and stood up, still glaring at the startled Rima, who wasn't expecting such a harsh tone from the normally cool and collected girl.

Amu was about to add on but decided not to as she reeled in her temper, which she was infamously known for. "Our group is meeting at the café near Green Park today after school; I don't care if you want to fail, but I have no interest in failing a class over something like this. I already have to deal with Hoshina for music and I am not dealing with you for this so like it or not, you're coming today."

She spun on her heel and stormed away, ignoring her slightly intimidated Charas who waited by the door. Rima stared after her, floored, while Kusukusu waved her hand in front of her bearer's face.

"Rima-chan?" She called. "Anyone there?"

The blonde shook her head, frowning as she stood up and dusted off her clothes. "I can't the nerve of her, bossing me around like that. She's just as irritating as her sister."

Kusukusu trailed after her as they descended down the stairs as well. She had a conflicted expression on her face. "Maybe she was a but out of line, but it was also partly your fault for insulting her sister-repeatedly, might I add-and failing to help out with this group project that I know you don't want to fail, Rima-chan."

Rima didn't reply but her Chara knew that she was processing what she had just told her.

And from the guilty look that flashed across the blonde's face, Kusukusu knew that her bearer was going to show up at that park, though…

"How are you going to get out of the Guardian meeting and tell your parents?"

…

Amu drummed the table with her fingers, an annoyed expression on her face.

"I hate them," she muttered, thinking of how pleasant it would be to hit Kukai and Ikuto with a steel baseball bat at school tomorrow. "I hate them so much."

Her Charas, who were indulging themselves on the chocolate cake Amu had ordered earlier, looked up at her.

"Well, to be fair," started Ran, licking the frosting off of her fingers, "Kukai has soccer practice right after school and Ikuto said he had to do something."

"At least Kukai said he'd try to make it," pointed out Ran. "I do think it's kinda suspicious that Ikuto wouldn't tell you what he was doing."

"He is entitled to have his privacy," said Miki. "But, yes, he could have had explained that he couldn't make it to this meeting even though it counts for a very important grade."

"I still hate them," murmured Amu. "I hate Kukai and Ikuto!"

"I hate everybody; what makes them so special?" Rima asked as she sat down in the chair across from the startled pinkette. "I showed up; are you satisfied now?" She waved over a waiter. "I would like some vanilla ice cream." She turned back to Amu. "You're paying, by the way, since you made me come here. Now, where are the other two imbeciles?"

"Hiding from the steel bat I'm going to beat them with," replied Amu flatly, which caused the blonde to smirk. "Kukai has soccer practice and Ikuto is doing who-knows-what."

Rima raised an eyebrow as her ice cream was set in front of her, waving off the waiter as she picked up a spoon. "And yet you threw a fit when I failed to show up?"

"I can't beat you with a steel bat," snorted Amu. "I mean, if I did that, I would have to hit Hoshina with it too."

"Utau-chan's not that bad desu," said Su. "She has her good points, I'm sure!"

"I doubt it," remarked Rima and Amu together before they stared at each other in surprise before looking back at the green Chara eating her cake.

Amu blinked. "You can see them?"

Rima nodded, a little taken aback. "Yes, though I had already seen them in the classroom earlier. I assumed they belonged to somebody else, at least three of them; I did not expect you to have four."

"Ooh, is that vanilla?" Kusukusu suddenly exclaimed, popping out of nowhere as she settled herself on top of the frozen goody. "Cake batter is better but oh well! Sorry, Rima-chan, I got distracted by this dog trying to catch a butterfly on his nose."

"Aw, doggies are so cute desu!" Su gushed. "I'm Su desu, Amu-chan's motherly Chara! It sure is nice to meet you desu!"

"Kusukusu, comedian," introduced the clown happily as she lapped up the ice cream.

Su smiled before turning to her baffled sisters. "Don't be rude desu; let's introduce ourselves!"

"Ran, Amu-chan's athletic and honest Chara…"

"Miki, artistic and rational…"

"Dia, musical and radiant…"

Amu and Rima exchanged another look as their Charas began conversing with each other with such causality that one would think they had been best friends for years.

"Miki, was she the one laughing at Yoru the other day?" Amu asked, receiving a nod from her artistic Chara. "Huh…well, nice to meet you, Kusukusu."

"Pleasure; hey, check this out!" Kusukusu exclaimed. "Bala-Balance! Oof!" She executed the move perfectly and then proceeded to tumble off the ice cream and roll off the table before her bearer caught her.

"Be careful, Kusukusu," scolded Rima lightly even as a small smile crossed her features.

"Sorry," murmured the clown Chara, returning to her new friends who asked if she was alright.

"So when was Kusukusu born?" Amu asked curiously. Rima gave her a look, the smile wiping off her face. The pinkette couldn't help but think that the smile suited her better.

"Not important," dismissed the blonde. "I thought you wanted me for this assignment thing." Her mask had been put on again.

Amu blinked before she also resumed her façade. "Right; we were assigned to come up with the entertainment portion of the upcoming festival. Have any ideas?"

Rima tapped her fingers on the table like the pinkette had been doing earlier.

"I heard that the music department is doing something for the festival as well. Why don't you just have them all perform in some sort of concert?" She suggested, though her tone indicated that the idea was obvious. "Little to no work required since others are doing the decorations."

"As simple and actually brilliant that idea is," began Amu, "We have to incorporate the theme into this. And besides, the concert is already required so we wouldn't be able to do it anyways."

Rima sighed, picking at her ice cream. "Alright, fine; what is the theme? Did Yamabuki Saaya choose something ridiculous again, like the Fashion Show theme we had last year?"

Amu made a face as she looked for the right paper. "No, and thank goodness I wasn't here last year. This year's theme is…Your True Self?" She peered at the paper suspiciously.

"Who the hell came up with that?" Rima asked skeptically. "It sounds like something the King would come up with."

Amu rolled her eyes. "I don't know; it was probably someone with some Chara experience or something. Oh, man; I have to write a song about that with Hoshina! Ugh, what a pain in the ass." She sighed. "Whatever, that's a bridge I'll cross when I get there, so any ideas?"

"I did until you mentioned the theme," remarked Rima, mixing her spoon in her now melted ice cream. "How the hell are we supposed to represent something like our true selves? Do a Chara Change in front of everybody after we gather all the people in our school with guardian characters?"

"That's way too embarrassing," murmured Amu, thinking of how disastrous it would be if she tried to do a rapid change with all of her Charas. "Ugh, how are we supposed to do anything with this kind of theme? Who even came up with that?"

"Let me see the paper," demanded Rima, holding out her hand. Amu shrugged and slid the informational paper over. "Mm-hm…just as I thought…Tsukasa…" She gave back the piece of paper and stood up. "I'll deal with the theme issue; I have to get going anyways."

Amu sighed, also standing. "I guess we really can't do anything else until we fix the theme problem…I guess I'll see you at school then, Mashiro-san."

"Mm," replied Rima, already looking bored.

Suddenly, both girls stopped upon hearing their Charas gasp. Worried, they turned around and looked at the five girls still sitting on the table.

"What?" Rima and Amu exclaimed, concerned.

Their concern increased upon hearing the response that was soon evident from the darkening sky.

"X-Eggs!"

…

I do not own Shugo Chara!

So sorry about the long update; school is killing me and classes are NOT easier with all the snow days. If anything, they're harder because final exam dates haven't changed and we're rushing to learn everything!

But now I'm on Spring Break so I finally have time to catch up on anime, manga, fanfiction, books, shows, homework that I was cruelly assigned to do over break, sleep, and everything else!

I wanted to make Rima and Amu friends in this chapter but I decided it was too soon…so I have them as…icy acquaintances.

Not really sure what to say…so don't hesitate to tell me what you thought of the chapter or if you spotted any mistakes!

Till next chapter!