Yami walked down a sidewalk with Jeremy. They were planning to go to Mike's after school, but Eric ditch them to hang out with Sang. So they were walking their usual route home. Yami was lost in his thoughts. Kimiko came back from the nurse after lunch, but slept through their classes. Could she really not handle this on her own?  

"Yami," Jeremy spoke.

"Hmm?" He turned to look at his best friend.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he replied. They were now standing on a corner of a two way street.Yami just nodded his head and Jeremy turned the corner. 

Yami continued on walking for a bit. He passed the street he lived on. Yami didn't feel like going home just yet. He needed some time to himself. Plus he wasn't in the mood for his father's nagging. So he just walked around the town. In the middle of town's square he came to a halt. Yami could sense a demon's presence. It was too strong for him to ignore. Apart of him was telling him to go chase it down. Also that he was being selfish for not fighting. Sadly he ignored it and kept on walking.

He eventually returned home, after dinner time. Yami figured his dad would be in his study. He quietly closed the front door behind him and tip toe toward the stairs. Unfortunately his mother saw him from the kitchen and called him. Yami obeyed and entered the kitchen. She was washing a frying pan and placed it back in the sink, when he walked in.

"Where have you been?" she asked him in calm tone.

"Just taking a walk. Is dad home?"

"No it's poker night and Fai is hosting."

Yami breath in relief.  His father and his group of friends got together and played poker once a week. With recent events Yami forgot about it. "Is there any leftovers from dinner?"

"Yep," his mother replied and went back to washing the dishes. Yami went over to fridge and pulled out the container. He then went over to the mircowave to heat it up. "So you were just walking around?"

"Yeah," Yami replied. The microwave buzzed and he took his food out. He then sat down at the table. "I was afraid to come home."

His mother stopped washing the pan and looked at her son. "Yami, I know your father is giving you a hard time, but you shouldn't be afraid."

"I know, but I'm sick of this fighting. I wish he would leave me alone."

"He will if you take on your responsibility."

"But I don't want it!" Yami bang his fist on the table like a child. He then looked down at his plate. "It's not fair! I just want to be a normal kid! I'm sure Kimiko feels the same way!"

Yami's mother walked over to the table and sat down in the chair next his. She then wrapped her arm around his waist. "Yami, do what you think is best."

Yami glanced his mother in confusion. Shouldn't she be telling him that life isn't fair?

"It's not my job to scold you about this. My job is to make sure you're healthy and be there for you. If you feel like the world doesn't need you then so be it." She then stood up and went back to the sink.

"Thanks, mom."

"Any time," she spoke with a smile. "Now my show is on. So as punishment for being home late you're washing the rest of the dishes."

"Fair enough," Yami spoke returning her smile. His mother then left the kitchen. Yami returned to his food and decided he needed to rethink this whole guardian thing.

Kimiko forced herself to walk the rest of the way home. Aidan's healing magic had saved her, but it did nothing for the dull aches that ran through her from two consecutive near death battles. She just wanted to get home and get straight into bed to sleep it off. Thankfully, she wasn't studious enough to care about her homework at this point, or she might actually be upset by the idea.

She stopped a block away from her apartment. She was still carrying Aidan in her hands but she knew taking a bird into the apartment, no matter how tired it looked, would not fly with her mother.  Plus, she didn't trust Haku to keep a secret or to leave Aidan alone. She needed a plan to keep him secret.

"What's wrong?" Aidan asked, eyeing her in confusion.

"I need to keep you hidden. My mother doesn't like animals in the house, and my brother isn't trustworthy.  Do you think you'd be okay in my book bag until we get to my room?"

Aidan nodded.  "I should be fine. You didn't bring a lot home today, so there should be plenty of room for me to avoid getting injured."

Kimiko nodded and placed Aidan on the ground while she opened her bag. He was quick to jump in and find a spot where he was confident none of her books would crush him. After one last check that everything was in order, she zipped the bag almost all the way shut while leaving about a centimeter open for fresh air.

Kimiko continued her trek home and entered the apartment.  She headed towards her room, hoping no one would notice her, but had no such luck. Her mother happened to be exiting the kitchen just as she was walking past.

"There you are! Your teachers called me after school and said you slept through almost all of your classes today. That's not what I meant when I told you to go to class!" 

Kimiko flinched at the sudden outburst and turned to face her mother, "I told you I did feel good this morning! It's not my fault you didn't believe me!" Kimiko retorted, not in the mood for acting apologetic. 

To her surprise, the argument suddenly ended as her mother got a look at her face, "I.. Oh my gosh, what happened?"

Kimiko stared at her mother in momentary confusion before remembering the cut above her eye and the fairly visible gash on her arm. 'Stupid short sleeves,' she thought to herself. 

"I was walking home and got.. mugged," she answered while trying not to hesitate long enough to be caught in the lie. "They had knives, but I was able to get away."

To her surprise, her mother bought the lie. "I'm so glad you're okay. I'm going to call the police.  Did you get a good look at them?"

'Yeah, a three foot tall weasel demon with scythe wrists. Definitely what the police want to hear,' She thought to herself while shaking her head. "Don't bother. They were wearing ski masks. There's no way the cops would be able to identify them." 

Her mother looked ready to argue, but Kimiko held up a hand to stop her. "Look, I just want to get some rest. Is Haku home? I really just want to be alone.."

Her mother sighed and silently gave up on calling the police.  "No, he's doing homework at a friend's house. I'll tell him to sleep in my room tonight so you can get some good sleep. Tell me how you feel in the morning."

"Awesome.  Thanks mom," she said. This had to be the first time her mother had actually listened to her.  It was sad it took a fake mugging for her mother to act this way. But that was another thought for another time.  Sleep was the most important thing right now.

Once she was in her room, she opened her bag so Aidan could hop out. Kimiko scooped him up and placed him on the nightstand near her bed. She wasn't really sure where he should sleep. She assumed he could use the tree outside once he recharged his magic, but it seemed rude to ask him to sleep there when he might be used to sleeping in a house with her partner's family. 

Finally, her eyes fell on a decorative bird house on her dresser that she made in middle school. Woodworking was a fun unit in her art class, and she had actually put a lot of work into it. Would it be rude to put some towels in there and ask him to sleep in it?

Aidan noticed her stare. "Is that the most convenient place for me to sleep?" He asked, curiously. 

"Only if you don't mind... My brother has never messed with it, and you'll be hidden inside.."

Aidan nodded, "I'll be find in there. It looks like a nice bird house."

She couldn't tell if he was trying to hide being offended or if he genuinely didn't care, but she was grateful he was willing to cooperate. She grabbed a soft hand towel from the linen closet and removed the roof of the bird house to place the folded cloth into the little building. Hopefully, it would be nice and cozy for him. She latched the roof back onto the bird house and carried Aidan over to the dresser.

Once he was settled, Kimiko stood in front of the mirror and removed her shirt to look over her wounds. The slash above her eye was slightly less healed than the others; probably because having a scar suddenly appear where there was no cut before would have been too noticeable. She wondered if it would leave a large scar or just fade away.

The wound on her arm was just starting to scab over. It looked way less damaging than it actually had been while still in a realistic stage of healing. Aidan really did a good job of making sure the two visible wounds were as normal looking as they could possibly be. 

Her shoulder also looked good, but the chest wound was probably the best healed out of all of them. What would have been a fatal attack under all other circumstances had just left a thin, pink scar from one shoulder diagonally across her chest to her side around the bottom of her ribs. Aidan really had understated his power to heal her. She should have bled out and died from something like this.

Kimiko tore her eyes away from the mirror and finished getting into her pajamas. She was going to try and skip school tomorrow. Her mother seemed more than willing to let her if she continued to play the sick and injured card. That was probably the only good thing about tonight's attack.

She let herself fall into her bed with that thought fresh in her mind. Now it was time for sleep.

Yami woke up the next morning and got ready for school. Again he left early to avoid his dad. As he walked to school he let out a big yawn. He barely got any sleep last night. Yami kept thinking about what he should do. He weighed out the pros and cons for being a guardian. If he became a guardian he would be there for Kimiko and probably become friends. Oh and protect the world from Shadi. He would then lose a normal life and would have to find balance. Fighting demons and keeping a decent GPA would be hard. Also, he would become a girl. He really didn't want to become a girl. He arrived at school and took his seat. Yami just sat there doodling in his notebook until school started.

During roll call the teacher told the class Kimiko was staying home today. Yami frowned. Did last night's attack hurt her that bad? More guilt struck him. He looked back at his notebook and doodled some more. As he drew a voice was yelling at him. Telling him he needed to stop being stubborn and selfish. He buried his head in his arms. The voice was right, but the cons were still holding him back.

Throughout the whole day Yami kept to himself. He really didn't want to drag Eric and Jeremy into this mess. They would probably tell him the same thing like everyone else. After school, Yami decided to take a long walk again. He hoped that the fresh air can help him clear his mind. When Yami was in the town's square, he felt a presence. He came to a stop and looked toward the direction it was coming from. He just stood there wondering if he should check it out.

Sam watched as Shadi paced angrily back and forth in the small apartment above the flower shop. She was royally pissed at the most recent failure, and no amount of cake was going to calm her down completely. 
 
"I can't believe a highly trained assassin was defeated by an inexperienced teenager!" She yelled as thorns suddenly protruded from one of the many plants decorating their living space.
 
"To be fair, Kamai would have destroyed that girl if the guardian's adviser hadn't interfered..." Sam said cautiously. He wasn't completely sure the comment would help.
 
"Oh, right. That stupid phoenix! He must be hurting after losing the previous guardian."
 
Sam nodded, "He must be if he's going to such great lengths to keep this one safe. Not to mention losing her would mean waiting for the next Luna to be born. We'd have free reign since Sol doesn't seem to care enough to fight."
 
"Hmm... We'll just need something a little more powerful then," Shadi said, suddenly calm. 
 
Sam raised an eyebrow and shrugged to himself. He could always tell when she had a plan. This time Luna was going down.
 
 
Kimiko yawned and stretched out on her bed, careful not to reopen any wounds. A day of rest had done wonders for her mood, and most of the wounds were healing abnormally quickly. She assumed Aidan's magic had something to do with that.
 
Speaking of Aidan, the bird was in the kitchen, supposedly making lunch while her mom was at her low paying job and her brother was at school. Kimiko had originally protested to a bird making her lunch, but he assured her he had done it before, and being a magical entity meant he did not have the germs a normal bird would. She still wasn't sure about how well he would cook, though.
 
Kimiko bit her lip and looked at the door to her room. She was bored. Normally skipping school would entail wandering around town and finding something fun to do. Laying in bed did nothing for her. She was so bored she was eyeing her school bag for a book to read. That was not a good sign.
 
Shaking her head, Kimiko slowly stood and exited her room. She couldn't stay in there any longer. "So, what's for lunch," she asked as she entered the little kitchen that Aidan was working in.
 
Aidan jumped as she spoke and dropped the piece of cheese he had been carrying.  "You're supposed to be resting," he said worriedly.
 
"I got bored. Besides, you probably need help.."
 
Aidan sighed, "I guess so... I was trying to make you grilled cheese. It seemed easy enough."
 
Kimiko looked at the assortment of ingredients he had scattered about the counter. There was no way a creature of his size could effectively make grilled cheese. "How about this: I'll make the food and you pass me ingredients as I need them."
 
Aidan nodded and helped as she asked for different items. After lunch, Kimiko agreed to go back to bed for a little while. She lasted to about when school would be letting out before giving up on resting and leaving the apartment in favor of a nice walk; despite Aidan's protests.
 
It was a nice day for walking, and Kimiko wished she could go through the park. It was such a nice, scenic route that unfortunately had been the scene of too many attacks for her to justify taking the risk. She would stick to city blocks and areas with people for the time being. Unfortunately, her plan was destined to fail, and it was probably better that she was out and about rather than hanging at home where her enemies could easily corner her.
 
Kimiko's eyes darted to an alleyway that she was passing. There was something ominous about it, and she thought she had seen a quick movement out of the corner of her eye. She stopped halfway passed it and stared into the darkness; searching for some reason for her suspicions.
 
"We need to go," Aidan whispered in her ear. He had been hiding on her shoulder under some hair to keep onlookers from noticing.
 
Kimiko continued walking with her guard now raised, "What is it?"
 
"I sense demons. More than one. You might have subconsciously sensed them as well when you stopped. Sooner or later you'll be able to sense magic and demons at will."

'Great...' she thought to herself. Her wounds were healing, but she was still worried of reopening them in the event of a fight. Maybe she should send Aidan to fetch her lazy partner... Then again, that might be too much of a gamble to bet her life on. Then again, Aidan was no use to her here. He was still regenerating his magic.

She walked a few more blocks but the ominous feeling seemed to be following them, and Aidan was fidgeting on her shoulder. It had to be bad. "I'm going towards the park. They're after me specifically, so I should go somewhere without too many people."

"But then they'll be able to openly attack you. At least they're just watching right now..."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to lead them home. Do you think you can find my partner and let her know that I could really use the help right about now?" Kimiko murmured as she switched her direction towards the park. Aidan sighed and left her to go find her mysterious partner. 

She had just left the more crowed part of the city when she heard a growl to her left side. Kimiko turned and froze as she saw the large, gray wolf a few feet away from her. It lowered it's head and showed its fangs as she took a step back.

"Oh crap..." Kimiko said as she grabbed her wand and transformed while taking another step back before turning and sprinting away from the animal.

She didn't get very far before a black wolf lunged at her from a nearby bush. Kimiko fell backwards while trying to avoid the attack and rolled quickly out of the way of the wolf's teeth. She felt a shot of pain through her chest that told her the chest wound from yesterday had reopened.

She shakily got to her feet while tying not to show the pain in her chest; though, the wolves could probably smell the blood. They circled her ominously as two men with amber eyes approached her from both sides.  The taller of the two looked at her and yawned as if he were bored.

"Did Shadi really need to call us for this? This girl looks helpless," he said, his eyes landing on the man on her other side.

The other man shrugged, "Maybe she's stronger than she looks? She reeks of blood, though. Probably an easy kill."

Kimiko glared at them as they spoke among themselves. They were acting like she wasn't even there. Kimiko raised her staff very slightly and whispered, "Shining Lunar Beam," hoping to catch them off guard.

She didn't even see if the beam hit before one of the wolves jumped on her from the front and latched onto her shoulder while the other rammed into the back of her knees. The opposing weights caused her to fall backwards and the impact knocked the wind out of her while the first wolf let go of her shoulder and laid its body across her chest and arm, using all of its weight to pin her to the ground.  The second wold did the same to keep her from kicking while their masters approached.

"Huh, she has a little fight in her after all," one of the demons muttered as they both approached.

"Yeah.  Too bad it was still super easy," the other one murmured while drawing a knife from his pocket.  "Might as well finish her off."

Kimiko squirmed under the combined weight of the two 100 lb wolves but obviously couldn't move. She was dead unless that lazy partner of her came through.

As Yami was figuring out what to do Aidan spotted him. He flew down from the sky and started to peck his head. Yami swat him away, but Aidan kept on pecking him. 

"Okay, okay!!" Yami shouted at the bird. He then took off and Yami followed him. They eventually stopped on a bridge that over looked a park. Yami glanced down and saw Kimiko was fighting demons. Yami backed away. He turned to run, but Aidan got his face.

"Where do you think you're going?" he question in a demanding voice.

"I.." Yami stutter. "I don't know!! I don't know what to do!"

"Look! I understand your feelings, but she needs you! Forget about the world! Fight for your friend! I don't want to lose another guardian!"

Yami glanced over at the fight. He remembered, when his father told him about the previous Luna Guardian. To this day his father still blamed himself for her death. He stuttered at the thought of it. His father told him every detail of the fight. Now Kimiko was facing the same fate and it would be all his fault. Yami looked back at Aidan and just nodded his head. 

The bird breathed in relief and a staff with a sun on top appeared in his talons. He then tossed it to Yami and he caught it.

Yami held up the wand in the air and took a deep breath. "Solar Power Transform!" A bright intense light engulfed his body. He felt warmth spread throughout his entire body. When the light disappeared, his whole appearance changed. He now was female. His hair was a bright red and pulled back into pig tails tied back with red ribbons. His top was red while his skirt was red with yellow ruffles. The skirt split in the middle to show the ruffles. In the middle of his shirt was a yellow ribbon. Finally he wore a pair of yellow and red boots. Yami glanced at his body. The transform left him in a shock. "..I'm wearing a skirt!! ..Ah my voice!"

"There's no time for that!" Aidan shouted at him.

"Ah!! Right!!" Yami turned around and leaped off the rail of the bridge with Aidan following right behind. He made his entrance by kicking one of the humanoid demons on his side. Thus knocking him into the other demon. Yami stood there and cross his arms. 

"What the hell?" The demon Yami kicked shouted. He stood up. "Who do you think you are?"

"Brightest Star of Galaxy, Guardian Sol!" Yami did a little pose. "How dare you threaten this young maiden life! I will make you pay!"

Aidan lost his balance and hit the ground. "Oh dear.. he is his father's son.." He muttered to himself.

"Get her!!" the demon yelled at the two wolves. The wolves got off Luna and charged at the solar guardian. Sol just smirk and dodged them. She did a little twirl and kicked the wolf into the other one causing them hit the ground. 

"Sol now!!" Aidan shouted.

Sol made her Sun staff appear and shouted, "Inferno Gleam!!" A bright intense fire came out of the staff burning two the wolves into the ashes. Sol then faced the two humanoid demons. "Want a piece of this?" She had a huge smirk and smacked the staff into her hand. 

The two demons glanced at each other and made a run for it. This guardian was filled with too much energy to handle. Sol just leaped into the air in glee.

"Well done, Sol!" Aidan spoke with pride. "Not bad for your first fight, but you shouldn't get so cocky." 

"Yeah, yeah," Sol waved off the bird's remark. She just walked past the bird over to Luna. She then held out her hand. "Need some help?"