You know how it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Chapter 34

Harry stared at Nadeshiko.

"Just like that?" he asked, feeling entirely off-kilter.

Nadeshiko smiled, clapping her hands together. "Just like that!" Her expression turned more serious. "Tadase is wrong this time, we all know it. Working together is the only way we can catch Nikaidou, and we've decided it's worth going behind Tadase's back to show him that."

Harry nodded, an inkling of suspicion growing in his mind. Nadeshiko looked determined, no hint of guilt at betraying his friend. When she'd cornered him during lunch hour and pulled him into an empty classroom the day after the meeting he'd been surprised, but nothing could have prepared him for her announcing that the Guardians, excluding Tadase of course, had decided that they would be working with him to stop Nikaidou. According to her, they had all kept quiet during the meeting to make Tadase think they agreed with him so he wouldn't kick up a fuss.

Hmm. A likely story. Harry exchanged a look with Sal. The chara nodded. Harry hesitated, then sighed.

"Okay," he agreed despite his misgiving, deciding to see what they were up to. "I'll come. But only on one condition."

"-and I don't know anything about writing speeches!" Amu finished, out of breath and full of frantic energy.

Harry nodded awkwardly, trying to look sympathetic. In truth, he felt slightly at fault, since he'd noticed that Amu had once again fallen asleep in class, but had been so lost in trying to figure out what Nadeshiko was up to that he hadn't noticed the class picking Amu as the speech giver until it had been too late. He wondered about that. Amu had a bad habit of falling asleep in class, it was kind of weird,

"At least you've been given the topic to write about, so it's not like you'll have to start from scratch," he pointed out, not really knowing how to help. He'd never had to write a speech before, so he was totally out of his depth for this. "And I'm sure the Guardians will help you out."

At that, Amu went still, dropping her hands from her messed-up hair. "I don't wanna talk to them," she mumbled, fidgeting with her hands.

Harry blinked. "So you're not coming to Nadeshiko's today?" he asked innocently.

"What?" Amu looked up from her brooding, instantly more alert.

Hook, line.

"Nadeshiko came to talk to be during the break, she invited us over to her house after school."

Amu blinked at the unlikely group people sitting around the table. When she'd been invited over to Nadeshiko's house she'd thought it would be just the three of them. She'd already been prepared for Nadeshiko to try and make her forgive Tadase, and she'd prepared to be firm about her stance of including Harry in the plan.

Instead, here they all were, the Guardians, Harry, and also Utau. Tadase of course was missing from the picture, but that would have been too much to hope for. Amu couldn't help the small ball disappointing in her chest though.

"Come on, Amu-chan!" Yaya said with a grin. "Nadeshiko's already poured the tea, it'll get cold if you don't join us soon."

"Yeah, I still have practice after this, so we don't have all day," Kukai laughed.

Harry appeared to take pity on her and put down the biscuit he was nibbling. "I was surprised too, but Nadeshiko came to talk to me this morning and explained everything."

Amu sat down in a daze and listened as they explained their side of the story. Apparently, they had all realized that Tadase wouldn't accept Harry into the plan no matter what, so they'd kept quiet during the meeting. Afterwards, they'd had a meeting of their own and decided to secretly tell Harry about the plan so that he could help them.

Or at least that's what they wanted Nikaidou to think.

"This is so confusing," Amu moaned, her head spinning.

"We suspected that Nikaidou is spying on us," Kukai said seriously. "So we tested that by having Nadeshiko tell Harry that we were betraying Tadase. Yaya and I were outside and we saw him listening in."

Amu swallowed. "But he hasn't been teaching," she said weakly. "Why was he at the school?"

"He was 'having a meeting with the principle'" Kukai explained, making air-quotes with a scoff. "Well, Daichi and I have seen him lurking around the school, so I knew he wouldn't be able to resist listening in on Nadeshiko and Harry's chat."

He'd been at the school, and she hadn't even known? Amu felt a shiver run up her spine.

There was one more thing though. "What about Tadase's plan?"

"A fake," Nadeshiko said calmly. "Tadase and Kukai had already come up with this plan, and that was just a decoy." She grimaced. "I found out about the real plan just last night "

So that's how it was. Amu leaned back in her chair, still feeling off-balance.

"I figured out something was up immediately," Harry added, sliding a glance at Nadeshiko. "I knew there was no way they would betray Tadase like that. In any case,I asked Nadeshiko if Utau could come along to help us plan, because her manager knows Nikaidou the best."

Amu could see that Utau was instantly popular among the Guardians, it was clear by the starstruck glances that were thrown at her. The last time they'd met, to help Zero, it had been clear that they all admired her, and it seemed like they were still a bit starstruck. Amu felt her cheeks glow red when the pop-star smiled at her. It was Utau after all.

"So!" she said, trying to cover up her moment of distraction (but probably not succeed, judging by the way her chara's were laughing at her.)

"Not too fast," Ren broke in. "You have a speech to write, or did you forget?"

Amu groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

Harry had to hand it to them, the plan was genius. He hadn't even suspected that Tadase was acting during that meeting, had been just as blind-sided as Amu. That Blondie had planned everything out like that, then acted it out without anyone suspecting him…

Even the meeting at Nadeshiko's house was calculated, to make it seem as though they were meeting up without Tadase, making him more vulnerable to Nikaidou's advances.

Blondie was someone to look out for, that was for sure.

Shifting in his seat, Harry glanced at the boy in question. He was sitting apart from the other Guardians, his expression stony.

After the meeting, Kuukai had gone back to school for practice. If everything had gone according to plan, he'd met Tadase there and 'accidentally' told him about the meeting they'd had without him. One final touch to make Nikaidou believe they were falling out. There was no way to know when he was spying on them, so the act had to be kept up constantly at school.

This morning he'd seen Nadeshiko try to talk to Tadase, and he had turned her away coldly. Harry was pretty sure they were having fun with this, acting like they were hating each other. Well, at least they looked convincing.

His gaze moved away from the blonde, back to the event of the day. Up on the stage, Amu was visibly shaking. He tried to reassure her by smiling at her, but her gaze was locked on the person presenting them.

They'd helped her with the speech, given her tips and reassurance. Harry had been mostly useless, but Utau, used to performing for her fans, had shared some of the ways she got ready for a performance. It didn't look like Amu remembered any of them at the moment, too stuck in her own mind to relax.

There was one thing they'd kept from her, and Harry was glad of it now, seeing how nervous she was even without knowing that. It hadn't been mentioned during the meeting, but after they'd left Nadeshiko's house Sal had brought it up, and Ikuto had agreed with him; Nikaidou was most likely to try something before Amu's speech. They all agreed that he was definitely cruel enough to time it so that whatever he had planned would distract Amu from her performance. They'd just have to be ready.

"I don't have my speech!"

Damn.

As time passed and nothing happened, Harry had been starting to hope that the speech would happen with no interruptions. Of course not. Well, better sort this out quickly.

Harry turned to look at Blondie, an idea forming. They'd kept up the act at the break room where they'd all gathered to support Amu. Tadase acting cold and distant while making snide remarks about Harry. Of course, there was no way to know if Nikaidou was watching or not, so it might all be for nothing, but Harry was also starting to get into it. Felt a bit like the rivalry he'd had with Malfoy, back when things hadn't been life or death.

Seemed like they were more alike than he'd thought, as the boy was already glaring at him.

"Why don't you ask Harry," he said frostily, an 'I told you so' clearly left out only because it would be too childish for the prince.

Harry didn't say anything, letting his expression speak for him.

"Tadase-kun, you can't keep blaming Harry for everything without any proof," Nadeshiko said firmly. "This kind of behavior isn't befitting of a Guardian."

"Guys..." Amu said, looking between them uncertainly. "Maybe I just dropped it!" she said quickly. "We can go search for it."

They split up, each going in a different direction. This was the moment Nikaidou would bounce, Harry was sure of it. Nadeshiko's quick look made certain that she was aware as well. They would have to stay close to him but not be noticed by Nikaidou, not an easy task.

Well, not an easy task if you couldn't use magic. Harry, unfortunately, was not using magic, and as such would have to do it the muggle way.

Waiting a moment for Blondie to get a head start, Harry turned back and followed in the same direction, not surprised when a few seconds later the others were also behind him.

They were led to the library, where Nikaidou was already trying to turn Blondie against them. Harry frowned as he listened. The former teacher sounded strange, unbalanced. The slow, calm way he had spoken before was replaced by words that tripped over themselves.

"-and finally realize how easily replaceable you are," Nikaidou finished, his words laced with manic energy.

Tadase keeled over, groaning in pain. Harry had to admit, he really was good at that.

"With this x-egg, the strongest one yet, I'll be able to create another Embryo!"

Another Embryo? So he hadn't recovered his memories after all? Harry leaned harder on the wall he'd been hiding behind, all his thoughts rearranging themselves.

He'd been sure that Nikaidou had left himself a note, some kind of clue that the Embryo was fake. But what if he'd never thought that in the first place? What if he'd always thought he could just create another one. Was that possible, to create another Embryo? Harry had so little information about this all, but from everything he'd heard it had seemed like there could only be one. On the other hand, was there really anyone who knew everything about the Embryo?

Had his spell been for nothing then?

This wasn't the time to think about any of this. Harry was jostled out of his thought by the Guardians coming out of their hiding spots, revealing the charade for what it was.

"Did you really think you could tear us apart that easily?" Tadase laughed derisively

Nikaidou gritted his teeth, eyes shadowed by his long hair. It was clear he was at the end of his rope. His clothes were rumpled and his hair messy, overall his entire appearance showed that he was on the verge of breaking down.

Harry took a step closer, suddenly worried for how this might end. He hadn't expected Nikaidou to fall apart like this. Was it because of the spell? Or was it because he couldn't get the Embryo for himself?

Nikaidou took a breath, then straightened his jacket. "Fine," he said. "I have enough data on the students here that I don't need this." And with that, he turned around. "Oh, and," he shot a smirk over his shoulder, waving a familiar paper, "Hope you didn't need this too much." He tore it apart, throwing the pieces in the air.

"Wha- no!" Amu's hands fluttered uselessly in the air as she watched the pieces fall to the ground. Her expression twisted. The bright light of a character transformation blinded Harry for a second.

"You won't leave with that briefcase!" Amu declared, pointing at Nikaidou with a staff.

A brief fight followed, but in the end the former teacher managed to escape. But not without a murmured tracking spell by Harry. Who knew what Nikaidou would do next, it would be better to know where he was from now on. He probably should have done that a long time ago.

"Amu, are you okay?" Nadeshiko rushed to her side, kneeling down where Amu was trying to gather the pieces of paper.

"My speech," Amu mumbled, distressed. "I can't do the speech without my notes."

Harry looked at the clock. No time. "You'll have to," he said firmly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just speak you mind."

In the end, Amu's speech didn't win. But the audience loved it, and Harry thought maybe that was enough. At least like this Amu's fragile confidence didn't take too large a hit. And he had thought the speech, short as it was, was great. Spoken from the heart.

"Do you think this'll change anything?" Utau asked curiously, curled up next to him.

Harry sighed, staring at the ceiling. "Well, Tadase was willing to include us in the plan, that's got to count for something," he said.

Ikuto huffed from his other side. "He used you to get to Nikaidou," he pointed out. "It was easier to build on the conflict already present than to create something new. After this, we have no way of knowing if he will accept you or not."

"But he'll know we didn't tell Nikaidou about the plan," Harry reasoned, poking Iuto'ks side. "No need to be so negative, maybe this was a test of trust. If so, we definitely passed."

Ikuto hummed, clearly unconvinced, but otherwise stayed silent.

"I'll just have to continue showing up," Utau announced. "They like me well enough, I'll just have to convince them to like Ikuto as well."

Harry laughed. "They sure do like you," he said with a grin. "Can't take their eyes off you, always Utau this and Utau that, it's a miracle we managed to do anything at Nadeshiko's house with the way they were fawning over you."

Utau scowled. "They weren't that bad," she protested.

"Reminded me of England," Harry said quietly. "It was strange, seeing that from the outside..."

Ikuto laced their fingers together, sliding his thumb against the side of Harry's index finger. Harry sighed at that, squeezing Ikuto's hand in thanks.

"It was funny," he decided after a moment of silence. "Definitely glad it's not me anymore," he added with a slight grin.

The others laughed, Utau grabbing a pillow to hit him lightly. "Sure, leave me to suffer alone," she said, failing to sound serious.

"If that's what you call suffering," he answered, giggling.

They lay on the bed like that, tangled together and pink-cheeked from the laughter.