The first bell for lunch rang, and students began to pour out of their classrooms, their voices filling the hallways of Seiyo Academy. Amu Hinamori remained at her desk, her gaze fixed on the window. She had been staring at the same patch of blue sky for the past ten minutes, trying to figure out what was wrong. She had always pretended to be tough, but now she felt an unfamiliar wave of vulnerability wash over her.

It had been a strange morning. The air was buzzing with an energy she couldn't quite place, and it made her skin tingle. Every corner she turned felt charged with an unseen presence, a feeling she hadn't experienced since she first became the Joker. She had been on high alert all morning, and the subtle shift in her gut told her something was coming, but she had no idea what it could be.

Amu sighed, a soft sound swallowed by the noise of her classmates leaving the room. The Guardians' meeting was coming up soon, but she still felt unprepared, and the heavy feeling in her chest wouldn't go away. Ran, Miki, and Su remained quiet, sensing her unease. Even with her Guardian Characters by her side, she still felt a sense of dread.

Suddenly, a faint but distinct sound cut through the noise of the school: a single chime, echoing from the courtyard below. It was a beautiful, clear sound, like a bell being rung in the distance. Amu's eyes widened, and she shot up from her desk, her chair scraping against the floor. That sound... it was the same one she had heard the night her Guardian Characters were born.