My Would-Be Self

[CheesyNoodleTama]

"Aw, thanks Yuna-chan," Mizu said. "I think we were just supposed to wait with them until Isan could get their heart's eggs back... yeah, I don't know. Should we comfort them or something? Because it sure doesn't look like they're going anywhere."

Rei gazed up at Mizu.

Yeah, I could tell all along she liked Isan... she thought. Now my suspicions are confirmed, I guess.Love always has to be so complicated.

Then she thought of herself, and how she was crushing a teeny bit on Crush.

Heh heh, crushing on Crush, Rei thought at her little pun. He's.... just sooooo cool!

She went on to daydreaming of surfing a huge wave with Crush.

Mizu twisted a thin strand of her silky blue hair.

Be more noticeable... hmm...

 

[Drasi]

"Yes, yes. That's all fun and good with the Embryo. I find it quite odd that you wouldn't know a thing about it though, Isan. Don't you, Lyle?" Ryoku looked over his shoulder at his owner, but Lyle was tight-lipped as he stared at his knees. "Just as expressive as ever," the Chara mumbled as he rolled his eyes and returned his gaze to the Joker.

"As much as I would love to explain our little trade secrets, I do believe I must leave that up to Lyle. He's the one who holds the Key, anyway. The only thing I do is provide the energy for his little trick. Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't want you to know." Before Lyle could stop Ryoku, a bright red Fleur de Lis appeared on his collar signaling his evident Character Change. Lyle suddenly sat up straight in his seat as a wicked grin played across his face.

"Oh, the locking of the X-Eggs? I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet! Well, I guess I could oblige you with an explanation." Lyle stood up from his seat, knocking the chair back as he jumped on the table in one swift leap. "You see, I have this fancy little key." He pulled the Dumpty Key from his coat pocket as he started stepping across the table towards Isan. "And I find these fancy little X-Eggs." He paused in front of Isan, crouched down, and picked up one of the silenced X-Eggs. "Then I just turn the Key and poof!" Lyle imitated the motion of his previous tricks, but this time there was no spark, no signal that the lock had turned again. He placed the Dumpty Key back into his coat pocket before he continued.

"No more X-Character, no more purification, no more silly nonsense. It's all just a simple way of getting the tools I need." He leaned forward so that his face was right in front of Isan's and gingerly placed a finger below the Joker's chin. "If I have to break a few hearts along the way, well, that's just the price they have to pay for my wish."

 

[Sakuranboy]

Isan jumped in his seat with surprise; Lyle had just lept onto the table and simultaneously knocked the chair he was sitting in away from the table. The newbie Joker was stiff and frozen in his chair, completely aware that Lyle was Character Changed and therefore dangerous at the moment. Isan was also fully aware of his own vulnerability; no Guardian Charas meant no way to defend himself from the older and taller teen, who most likely could overpower him if things got physical. Thus, Isan was wide-eyed with intimidation when Lyle came boldly face to face with him, and he couldn't have foreseen at all what was about to come next.

"Nghh!" Isan grunted, his face reddening as his chin was gently stroked by the Character Changed boy before him. What the...? He wondered, his thoughts melting together into a big puddle of intelligible goop. Isan squeezed his eyes closed in pleasure, a feeling that both scared him and pleased him at the same time. "Dunnnghhhh..." The curly-headed boy gurgled in protest to Lyle's actions, but it was useless; Isan was under his enchanting spell. A few awkward seconds passed before Isan realized what the heck was happening to him.

Isan's eyes snapped open, his face still beet-red but his mental process now regained. No!!

*SMACK!!!*

Isan huffed and puffed, with embarrassment, as if he had just finished worked out. His palm had made contact with Lyle's smug face rather forcefully, so much so that Isan's hand even hurt and tingled from the impact. His chocolate brown eyes bore into Lyle's head as the 17-year-old leered at the blue-eyed devil. "Don't. Touch. Me." Isan threatened, his voice uncharacteristically serious and aggressive; the maliciousness was almost tangible in his voice.

 

[Drasi]

The sting of Isan's slap immediately ended Lyle's Character Change. In an instance his face dropped from its confident grin to a shocked embarrassment. The red Fleur de Lis disappeared from the collar of his shirt as he stumbled backwards on the table and finally fell with a crash on the other side. Ryoku floated above Lyle as the boy tried to sit up on the floor of the Garden.

"Go-gomenasai! I'm sorry! I didn't mean that!" Lyle panted as he finally found his balance and popped his head over the table. He caught sight of Ryoku floating casually in the air and his eyes narrowed into a glare. "You! I can't believe you would do that, you little devil!" He reached up and snatched Ryoku.

"It was all for your own good! I promise!" Ryoku squeaked. "Now let me go!" Ryoku struggled in Lyle's grip, but the boy refused to let go. Instead, he used his free hand to reset his chair before he took a seat and held Ryoku in front of him. His breath was still coming in gasps after the exhausting amount of Character Changes he had undergone during the day.

"I'm sorry about that," he said to both Ryoku and Isan as he released his Guardian Chara. His eyes returned to their usual downcast gaze while Ryoku floated to the table and casually leaned against his cane like nothing had happened.

"At least he knows now," Ryuko muttered bitterly, "and you talked for once. What a miracle! Now, about those X-Eggs...You see, we...I mean I want them back. They hold a lot of value for us, and I have a feeling that you're missing something, too. Care to make an exchange?"

 

[Sakuranboy]

The blood drained from his face as Isan comprehended what he had just been told. According to Lyle, the X-Eggs were locked and therefore were immune to purification. Thus, both Hyperperfection and Open Heart would be useless and therefore the three female victims of Lyle's would be without their Heats' Eggs indefinitely. How cruel... Isan thought, his stomach churning with disgust toward the human and Chara pair sitting across the table from him. Did they have absolutely no regard for the well being of other people besides themselves? That seems...inhuman. The upset teenager covered his mouth with his right hand in disbelief.

"...and I have a feeling that you're missing something, too. Care to make an exchange?

Isan stood up from his seat with a jolt, slamming his palms onto the table with a loud BANG. His voice was shaky as he replied to the conniving Guardian Chara who had provoked him so much already. "W-what have y-you done with my Sh-shugo Charas?" The brunette Guardian swallowed hard and took a deep breath in an attempt to settle his nerves as he waited for a response from Ryoku.

 

[Drasi]

Ryoku pretended to look thoughtful for a moment before he looked at Taiyo.

"I don't know. What do you think, Jack's chair?" Ryoku grinned. He was thoroughly thrilled that he had so many people twisted around his finger today. It had grown so dull playing with Lyle's mind all the time, but now he had plenty of people to mess with. "I'm dying to hear your ideas."

"Don't listen to him. He's just -"

"I'm only asking a question," Ryuko interrupted Lyle before he could reveal their little secret. The Chara's gaze was still steady on Taiyo, though. Lyle sighed as he glanced down at his backpack before tucking it beneath his chair with a deft movement of his foot. He was already annoyed with Ryoku's antics. Combined with his exhaustion from all the Character Changes and his worries about being late for class, he knew it was only a matter of time before he either passed out or simply walked away. It wasn't like they had him strapped to the chair or anything, anyway.

 

[EmilsonCabasan]

(The hair style I'm talking about is this.)

"Oh, well let's comfort them. But first, lemme put your hair in a fairy tale braid. Your hair seems a bit bland. Just once, so when Isan comes back he'll notice your true beauty." Yuna said. She fixed Mizu's hair and got her mirror out of her bag. "Does it look good?"

Meanwhile, Adrianna and Ariana didn't forget about Rei. "We know you like Crush. And we will help you. When we come over! It'll be so fun!"

 

[FunFunMametchi]

Taiyo glared back at the the chara's small eyes and gritted his teeth. His heart pounded.

This dude's voice really grates on my nerves.... it's just so intimidating....

Taiyo glanced at Fushigi, who had about the same facial expression as him.

Taiyo drew in a breath and pounded his left hand down on the table.

"Look, tiny dude. I don't know what you did with Isan's charas, or why you took them, but you need to give them back. I don't care how much you think you have the power of speech, I can still character transform and take you down," he threatened. "Also, you need to stop picking on your owner. Look, he's exhausted. Do you have no feelings at all for the person responsible for you even existing?"

Fushigi's eyes met the chara's also. "How would you like to be separated from Lyle? Like Romeo, Crush, and Hime are from Isan."

 

[CheesyNoodleTama]

Mizu gazed into the mirror at her new hair style. She gingerly touched a bit of the braid.

"Wow, Yuna-chan, thanks!" she said. "It really does look good!"

Maybe... just maybe Isan-kun will notice me a little more now...

Rei blushed.

"Awww guyssss...."

Shoot! Is it that easy to tell?

"How can you help me?" Rei pondered.

 

[Drasi]

"I merely asked a question," Ryoku said as he began to chuckle. "I never asked for an analysis of my style nor did I request any threats. I can assure you that Lyle will be fine soon enough. As for separation? A few hours of away time never hurt anybody." As Ryoku talked, Lyle sighed and pulled his backpack out from beneath his chair. He opened the front pocket and pulled out a taped-up egg with a blue hibiscus on it.

"Here's one of Isan's Guardian Characters," Lyle said as he placed the egg on the table beside Ryoku. His voice was soft, just beyond a whisper, and he never made eye contact with anyone in the room. "Give the X-Eggs back. In exchange, you'll get all your charas back and Ryoku will stop talking." Ryoku turned to Lyle as if he was going to make some kind of retort, but Lyle cut him off with a glare. All he wanted to do was prevent Ryoku from making this situation worse than it already was.

Then everything can go back to the way it was Lyle thought. This day was already on Lyle's list of the Top Ten Worst Days Ever. He couldn't help but blame his own lack of personal expression. The only way he could even get a point across was with Ryoku's assistance. With his level of annoyance at the moment, though, Lyle had to admit that he was doing a better job on his own than usual. Words were actually coming out of his mouth.

"Well, how about we make this deal, huh?" Ryoku finally said as he leaned against Crush's Egg. Lyle reached out to grab Ryoku and stuff him away, but the Chara held up his cane and nearly whacked Lyle's fingers with it. "I'm part of this deal; I better get to see it through before you make me stop talking." Lyle sank back into his chair with a tired sigh. Ryoku was kind of right. Just as long as that chara doesn't pull anything stupid...

 

[EmilsonCabasan]

"Oh, that's easy. Just fix your hair in an up-do, maybe, and show you some of our tricks to get the boys swoon over you. We learned from the best," Adrianna said, pointing to Yuna. "Crush will be swooning over you by tomorrow I promise!"

Yuna's phone rang. She picked it up. After a few minutes, she put the pink iPhone in her bag as well with the mirror. "Hey Mizu, my Mom is going out for work for a few days. Do you think i could stay for those days?"

 

[CheesyNoodleTama]

"Oh, I'd be happy to put you up," Mizu said. "I'll just have to check with my mom first."

She pulled her blue phone out of her bag.

"Hey, mom!" she talked into the phone. "It's me, Mizu. Yeah, I'm okay. I was just wondering... I have a friend who's mom is going to be out of town for a few days. I offered for us to put her up, if that's all right. Really? Okay, thanks! See you this afternoon!"

She finished the call.

"Good news, my mom says it's a-okay!" Mizu smiled. "What job does your mother have, Yuna-chan?"

Rei smiled at the prospect and wondered how her long, wavy hair would look all pulled up.

 

[Sakuranboy]

Isan's heart skipped a beat when Lyle pulled Isan's blue plaid hibiscus-patterned egg out of the front of his bookbag. Crush's egg! The curly brunette shouted inside his head; he began to jerk back and forth in his seat anxiously. How in the world did Lyle take them? He must've broken into my house last night... Isan shuddered at the thought, ...he's probably some sort of pervert on top of all this! Isan flinched when Ryoku leaned on Crush's egg so nonchalantly, then proceeded to leer at the Chara as he tried to get the Joker to make the deal with him.

Isan bit his bottom lip with hesitation. Giving away someone else's Heart's Eggs to get his own back? That hardly seemed fair, to make the decision to give away a Heart Egg that didn't even belong to him in the first place. Isan scooped the three X-Eggs off of the tabletop gently. "My job as a Guardian is to protect the dreams of all the children here..." Isan muttered, his gaze shifting down toward the motionless X-Eggs that were now nesting on his lap. His speech had wavered with uncertainty, and finally Isan looked up at Taiyo for assistance. "Taiyo-kun, what should I do? I'm so confused..." The 17-year-old's eyes revealed the conflicting emotions that he felt.

 

[EmilsonCabasan]

Yuna hugged Mizu before anyone could talk. "Thanks Mizu!"

Adrianna and Ariana were fluttering around Rei. "Slumber party!" They said in unison.

"We're going to have so much fun! And eat sushi!" Ariana said.

"Hey guys, calm down." Yuna said, although inside she was pretty excited.

 

[FunFunMametchi]

Taiyo stared back into Isan's eyes. Really, he himself didn't exactly know what to do.

Jeez, this is like the toughest thing we've had to face... before Isan-kun, things were pretty laid back... now...

Taiyo shook his head.

No time to worry! he thought. I'm supposed to give good answers... I'm supposed to be his elder...

"Isan-kun... I just don't know," Taiyo said honestly. "This doesn't seem fair... yet we have to get your eggs back..."

He rubbed his temples.

Fushigi whispered in Taiyo's ear sharply, "Taiyo-kun! NOW!"

Taiyo was confused for a moment, but then he followed Fushigi's gaze. Crush's egg lay unguarded on the table.

Now is my chance!

Taiyo shot out a long arm across the table and snatched the blue egg. He almost lost his balance, but caught himself and cupped the egg in his hands, holding it out to Isan.

He then turned to Ryoku.

"Where have you put Isan's other eggs?" he demanded sharply.

 

[Drasi]

Lyle couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in slight surprise at Taiyo's move. He had managed to grab the egg before Ryoku could even react. By the looks of it, though, he could already tell that his little Chara was already working on another course of action.

"How incredibly rude!" Ryoku exclaimed. "We had a fair offer, and you just had to go and ruin it. No matter, we still have the other two. Oh, and one more little thing." Ryoku looked back at Lyle with a sly grin before he returned his gaze to Taiyo and Isan. "I bet you didn't know about Lyle's other egg. How about in exchange for those X-Eggs you take Lyle's-"

"No!" Lyle snatched Ryoku from the table and held a finger over the Chara's mouth to prevent him from speaking again. His face flushed in both anger and embarrassment before he managed to mumbled the words, "Please excuse him. He can get a little carried away sometimes. I have your other eggs, Isan, but-" Lyle took a deep breath before he forced himself to continue speaking in his soft voice. "But we need those X-Eggs back. Considering that you've already taken back part of your deal, you can still keep one of the X-Eggs. That way it'll stay even."

 

[EmilsonCabasan]

After hearing the loud voice that sounded like Taiyo, Yuna thought she might need to help out. It was in her instinct. She looked at Adrianna and Ariana. Ariana and Adrianna nodded, already knew in their minds that Yuna wanted to help. "My guardians are the perfect match..." Yuna thought.

Meanwhile, Adrianna and Ariana where staring at the girls, spectating their every moves.

"Maybe we could cheer them up? Using clown make-up and stuff?" Adrianna said.

"Too risky." Ariana replied.

"Balloons?"

"Too float-y."

"Jokes?"

"Too last week."

"Funny faces?"

"Perfect!"

While Ariana and Adrianna tried to practice perfecting their faces, Yuna looked over to Mizu. "Mizu, don't you think they need help?" Yuna said shyly. "Could you maybe stay here while I go to help Isan, Cain and Taiyo? I'm really suspicious about this Lyle guy."

 

[CheesyNoodleTama]

"... well, I don't know. I think Taiyo and Isan have it under control, Yuna-chan... besides, Isan specifically said that we should stay here..." Mizu said. "I mean, I'm sure it'd be fine if you went. If you really want to, I'll be fine here." she smiled.

Mizu shifted her legs into a more comfortable position.

Rei floated over.

"Hey guys! Let me try!" she cried, sticking out her tongue.

Mizu's eyes turned to the cluster of charas. She burst out laughing.

"Ahahhaa!! You guys look hilarious!"

 

[EmilsonCabasan]

"That's true. I'll just stay here." Yuna looked over at the Guardian Charas. "Hey Mizu, lets go!" Yuna went over and made a confused face, and watched to imitate Rei's tongue. Adrianna and Ariana were doing some type of dance, as the confused girls started laughing hysterically.

 

[Sakuranboy]

Isan stared at Crush's egg, which he was cupping in his hands. He could feel Crush's warmth through the Guardian Egg's shell, and that comforted Isan to know that Crush was still alive. However, the crude "X" of tape that kept the blue egg tightly shut just rubbed Isan the wrong way. How dare he? Isan thought, his eyebrows slanting inward with anger. Fueled by his own emotions, Isan ripped the tape clean off of Crush's egg, watching as the two halves drifted apart and disappeared. Crush was now laying in Isan's cupped hands, rubbing his eyes.

"YAAAAAAAWWWWWNNNnnnn....Oh...'sup, Isan?" Crush yawned, sitting up. He had slept most of the time that he had been held hostage; what better way to pass time in such a case than sleep?

Isan smiled briefly at the little surfer dude. "Hi, Crush-kun. Glad to see you're okay." His face becoming serious once more, Isan's head snapped up to look at Lyle and Ryoku. "I'm tired of playing hostage with you two. And also, I'm done being Mr. Nice Guy." Isan stood up from his chair, then continued to talk. "So this time, I'm going to give you an offer..." The senior boy's eyes squinted at the opposing duo sitting across the table; his chocolate eyes were filled with anything but mercy. "An offer you simply can't refuse."

"Give me back my Guardian Charas, and I won't take them away from you by force." Isan blurted out rather blatantly, his attention now redirected toward Crush as the small blue-headed boy floated up onto Isan's shoulder. "I don't know if you've forgotten, but I haven't Character Transformed today yet; I feel plenty spunky enough." The Joker smiled through his pursed lips, a rather condescending expression. "Let's avoid making an even bigger mess and just end this now."