Shugo Chara

Later Years

One:

Apprehensions

Amu Hinamori was about to start her second year of High School. And she still didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. She sighed and rolled over to face her alarm clock. Just after four A.M. She hadn't slept all night. She sighed and brought a thin forearm up to rest over her eyes. This had happened every year since she started junior high school. Amu had thought for sure she would have some idea as to what she would do when she graduated by now. Sadly, each year she grew closer and closer to becoming an adult. Soon, she would be moving out, having a family of her own. But, how would she support this family if she didn't find something she was good at?

Thoughts such as these ran through her head every year. She thought about calling Tadase. Tadase Hotori had been her official boyfriend for four years now, and was probably the best part of her life. She sighed again. He would be sleeping soundly in his bed at this hour. He would need his rest; he was the class president. Amu smiled. That was the kind of person Tadase was. Sweet, caring, responsible…and he wanted to rule the world. Well, his Chara did, anyway. Amu's smile grew wider. Tadase's Guardian Chara, Kiseki, was born from his wish to grow stronger as a person. Somehow, that had also grown into the wish to be King of the world.

Amu sighed and rolled up into a ball. She closed her golden eyes and finally fell asleep with a smile.

Her dreams, though, wiped that smile off her face in a heartbeat.

"Onee-chan! Wake up!" Amu's eleven-year-old sister, Ami Hinamori, yelled as she bounced on Amu's bed. "You'll be late for your first day back at school!"

Amu groaned. Ever since their mother had gotten her job at a famous magazine company, (this, Amu found ironic, considering the rumors that were spread when she was in Elementary school…) she worked earlier and Ami had become in charge of getting her big sister up in the morning. Amu yawned and opened her eyes slightly. "Ami, go away," she groaned and pushed her baby sister off her yellow-colored bedspread.

This, Ami didn't like. She snorted and yanked the comforter off the bed. "Up, Onee-chan!" she demanded as the yellow sheet hit the carpet.

Amu shivered and grumbled as she slowly sat up. She opened her eyes to glare at Ami. "Well, I'm up. So get out," she commanded her sister.

Ami ignored her and spun on her heel to a wicker basket that sat on Amu's white desk. She happily skipped over and leaned down to where four checked eggs rested inside. She tapped the pink one with hearts and said, "Ran! Wake up!" Then proceeded to do the same with the blue, green and finally yellow one, calling each of their names as she tapped. "Miki, Suu, Dia! Time to get up!"

Amu sighed and threw her legs off the side of the bed. "Ami, why don't you worry about your own guardian and leave mine be?" Ami's Guardian Character, Alima, born from Ami's love of song and dance, was sitting happily on the brown haired girl's right shoulder. Ami had had her for three years now and had been bugging Amu about why she had four instead of one. This, Amu couldn't really answer…

Ami stood with a smile and, again, ignored her sister. "Hurry up and get dressed, Onee-chan." With a giggle from Ami's chara, the skipped out of the room, Ami's waist-length ringlets bouncing with each step.

Amu sighed and walked to her closet, where her new school uniform resided, untouched. Ran yawned and floated up to Amu, followed by Miki, Suu, and Dia. "Ready for another year, Amu-chan?"

Amu sighed. "Not really, no." She smiled as she pulled her uniform out of the closet and laid it on her bed. "It will be nice to see Tadase-kun, Rima, Yaya and Nagihiko again though," she said as she started unbuttoning her plaid pajama top.

Suu giggled. "You just saw them all two days ago, Amu-chan!" she reminded the pink-haired girl.

Amu smiled as she pulled on the first part of her uniform, a white, button-up shirt. "I know, but…" She laughed and yanked on the black and pink coat and pulled her collar down. "Won't you be happy to be with all the other Charas again?"

Suu nodded, smiling. "Yes, yes! It will be very nice to see Kiseki-san and Rhythm-san and…"

Amu smiled as her clover-themed Chara listed all the other Shugo Charas they knew and pulled on her new, black skirt. "Miki," she said as she turned to the blue-haired, floating girl. "Did you finish the design for the additions to my uniform yet?" she asked.

Miki nodded and pulled a notepad from her dark blue side bag. "Here it is!" she announced proudly as she ripped out a tiny piece of paper and turned it to Amu.

The golden-eyed girl took it as it popped with a blue light to a normal size. She smiled as she looked it over. "Wow, Miki! This is awesome!"

Miki smirked as if to say "naturally!" as a blue-handled paintbrush appeared in her tiny hands in place of the notepad. "Drew, draw, drawn!" she chanted as she waved the paintbrush over her Character bearer.

Magically, long, dark gray socks, tipped with dark pink with tiny bows on the sides, popped onto her feet and legs as a black glove that cut off ¼ way up her fingers with a pink heart, blue spade, green clover, and yellow-orange diamond arranged in a red circle on it appeared on her right hand. Next, a dark pink band wrapped itself around Amu's left thigh, just below her dark gray skirt. To complete the look, a silver chain with the familiar lock dangling off the middle, a small pink heart and blue spade on one side, a green clover and yellow diamond charms on the other appeared on her neck. Amu twirled and smiled as she evaluated herself in the mirror on the back of her cream door.

"Wow, Miki," Suu said as she smiled at Amu's new uniform. "You have really out done yourself!"

Miki blushed and crossed her little arms over her black vest.

Amu smiled and turned back to her Charas. "I think I'm ready to go!"