Saturday's Eclipse, 11:55
The next day found them in school, eagerly awaiting the end of that day's schooling. Though she only had three hours of lessons on Saturday, like most fourth-graders she had quickly learned to much prefer life outside of school. There was an irony there, if she could find it.
Case in point, her classmates. There were still a few minutes to go, but everyone was already packing… it didn't seem like Morino-sensei was going to stop them, either. She idly doodled a picture of the classroom, imagining every one of them forcing their way out at the same time, considered the scene, then smirked and added a few generic monsters climbing in through the windows. Shading the scene took her remaining time, while Ran studied it uncertainly and Su was… hiding behind her back, apparently.
The bell rang as she was putting on the finishing touches. Naturally she ignored it, though the commotion meant needing to take special care not to get her hand jogged. Someone stopped next to her.
"Wow, Hinamori-san. That's really good."
She looked up, smiling, to see a classmate of hers looking intently at her drawing. What was her name again, Mikoto? Makoto? Never mind.
"You think so?" She held the drawing up in front of her and considered it. It matched pretty well, but now that she looked at it it seemed like the shadows were a bit strange. The sun never actually stood in that position, did it?
"Well, yeah! I wish I could draw half as well. I'm not sure about the monsters, though… it's a bit scary, isn't it?"
That was too good a line to ignore.
"I only draw what I see. Soon, soon it will be time." She chuckled darkly. Makoto's face got a bit strained, so she hastened to explain. "Just kidding. I was watching you guys itching to run off, so I wondered what that might look like… and then I added the monsters to give you a better reason to run than the end of the school-day. Though…" Putting her hands behind her neck and staring at the ceiling, she continued. "It's not that bad a reason, is it? I never thought school would be this boring, yet here we are."
"Somehow… you've gotten a little strange lately." Makoto seemed pensive. "You're still cool, though! I'll see you Monday, okay?"
She quickly agreed, then gathered up her own materials. The classroom was already empty, and there was someone she wanted to see.
=======
"I figured I'd find you here. Where's Yoru?"
She'd climbed up to the roof, hoping to find Ikuto. Her wishes were quickly granted; as per usual, he was dozing on top of a ventilator, enjoying the sunlight and warmth like the cat he was. Instead of sneaking up or standing around blushing, she just walked up and spoke frankly to him.
"Amu-chan?" He raised an eyebrow. "If it's Yoru you're after, he's… he was right here." He sat up. "Yoru, get back here! We've got a visitor, and you're being rude to Amu-chan!"
Yoru floated around the corner of the ventilator, looking worried. That was understandable. She kind of wanted to pick him up and hold him hostage, but that wouldn't be very fair right now. Instead, she just speared him with a look. "And? How did it turn out?"
"You mean Ikuto?" The catboy gulped. "He really wasn't hurt. Honest, Miki!"
"I thought as much, he looks healthy enough. Had to check, though." She spared him a rare smile, then sat down and began stretching, trying to get all the knots from today's schoolwork out of her body.
Ikuto blinked at Yoru, then looked more closely at them. "I don't see Miki anywhere, just Ran and Su, and that way of talking. I wouldn't have believed it if you told me, but… are you Amulet Spade?"
She shrugged. "Not all the way. Call me Miki when I'm like this? Or Amu, if anyone else is around. We're pretty much the same person anyway."
"And Amu's fine with this?"
Her genuine confusion must have shown on her face, because he quickly rephrased himself. "I mean, taking over her body like that. She used to complain about the intensity of your character transformations."
That wasn't a… never mind. She sighed, resigning herself to explaining. "That is not how it works. When you combine with Yoru, do you lose control over yourself? No? There's no difference between this and a character transformation except I can keep it up longer. I said you can call me Miki, and that's true, but I'm also Amu. We're not different people, at least not right now, and even when we are it's more like wearing two different masks."
Probably. Though she certainly felt a lot more mature; Amu tended to be too flighty to think things through, and as Miki she just… well, something about being a pint-sized ghost-like fairy tended to get her down. Suggesting they go to school like this was the best idea she'd had in weeks, maybe after accepting the suggestion.
"Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were all right. You seem to be fine, so I'm leaving. Goodbye, Yoru." She hopped down and started walking back to the stairwell. Really she'd wanted to talk more, but she wasn't sure if she should feel angry about being accused or happy that he was looking out for her. She settled for being upset that he thought she needed protection from herself.
"Don't I rate a goodbye, Miki?" And now he was back to an amused note. Honestly, that boy… but that was also why she liked him, so she stopped for a moment and nonchalantly waved at him. Su tugged at her sleeve… right she was, all of this was starting to give her a headache. She couldn't keep the combination up for much longer.
They left, in a bit of a hurry.
=======
"Miki! I can't believe you… I mean, I… I mean…"
She sat awkwardly in the stairwell, leaning against the wall and feeling completely exhausted. Only mentally, but right now she wasn't sure she'd be able to put one foot in front of the other if her life depended on it.
Miki was in a similar state, lying on Su's lap with a tired smile on her face. "I know what you mean, but it worked, didn't it? That was… three and a half hours, not bad. I think we could have gone even longer if Ikuto hadn't been there."
Amu blushed. "Uu… Ran, could you yell at her for me? I'm not sure I'm up to it."
Ran, floating over the stairwell itself, shook her head. "Oh, no. Don't bring me into this, this was all you two. That aside, shouldn't you be going to the Guardians' meeting? Or do you want me to fly ahead and tell them why you can't make it?"
"Urgh." She slowly forced herself to her feet. "You know, Miki, I'm not so sure this was such a good idea after all."
Miki could only agree. Next time, they'd need to keep their limits in mind.
[ ] …
A/N: Well, no choices here. I'm just posting this because.. it's a natural place for a break. Now, sleep.
