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Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters.

Once upon a time, there lived a little princess.

The Way He's Not

Chapter 1

"Ah, Midori, Tsumugu, welcome back to the Café Mayonaka! How are y- Oh! Is that her? How lovely!" Souko cooed.

Midori smiled. "Yes, I'm sorry to have taken such a long leave from work because of my pregnancy."

"What is her name? Oh, can I carry her?" Souko rambled. Aruto chuckled at his wife's overwhelming excitement. "Quiet down, you'll wake the baby."

Tsumugu wrapped an arm around his wife, and grinned. "Her name is Amu. You can carry her if you like, she's a very deep sleeper."

Souko carefully pried the baby from Midori's arms and rocked the baby from side to side, murmuring, "Hello, Amu-chan."

Aruto smiled sheepishly at the couple. "I'm sorry, Souko tends to get a bit overexcited about newborns. She still wants more kids."

"We did want her very much too," A slightly worried look passed over her features. "But we're just afraid-" She lowered her voice. "-you know, the expenses for a baby can't be little. You and Aruto both helped us out a lot, but we are still in so much debt..."

Souko patted her on the back soothingly. "I'm afraid we can't help very much, we aren't very well-off either..."

"No, no, Souko, no one can help us more than you and your family already have. We are so grateful for these jobs you've given us already. We can't thank you enough. We'll just have to find a way to make it."

"That's what we're here for," Souko smiled. "Let's go prepare for our work then!"

"Well, we're going to have to leave her here during work." Midori frowned. "Is there anyone who could look after her?"

"We'll have Ikuto to watch her." Souko suggested, stroking Amu's small fingers gently. "He's very responsible, even if he is five."

"That's a good idea." Tsumugu agreed. "Where is he?"

"Ikuto-kun!" Souko called, inching the baby away from her so Amu would not get disturbed.

A solemn, blue-haired boy appeared by the counter. He was tall for his age, and his sapphire eyes darted around the room apprehensively before stepping forward. He was dressed in a white button-down, and brown trousers, his blue hair slightly mussed. "What is it, Mom?"

"Come over here for a minute."

He walked towards them, with the most blank face Midori had ever seen on a five year old. From all the years that she'd known him while working for Aruto and Souko, she'd gathered that he was slightly shy, and didn't like to talk. Instead, he preferred to observe from the sidelines. However, he was hostile to others when they made him nervous.

"Where is Utau-chan?" Souko asked, balancing Amu on her lap.

"She's still sleeping, Mom." His eyes widened when he caught sight of Amu. "Who's that?"

"Her name is Amu-chan, sweetie. She's Midori and Tsumugu's daughter. The café is going to open soon, so I'm going to need you to keep an eye on her. Can you do that?"

Ikuto nodded, still staring at Amu. The adults settled the baby into a small pram and left it in the room, before returning to the cafe. Ikuto managed to catch some words as they went. Bills, loans, bankruptcy. He frowned. They didn't sound like very nice words. Why were adults speaking so confusingly? And why were all of them sounding worried?

He snuck a glance at Amu, and felt his face heat up. He'd never really come in contact with another girl before, except for Utau, his sister. He felt a little uneasy. However, there was also something truly mesmerizing about her face. Her features were petite, even as a baby, and her rosebud lips opened and closed as she slept.

He frowned. There was a crease between her forehead that he really didn't like. Tentatively, he reached out and stroked her smooth skin in between her thin eyebrows, like his mother would do to him at night. It had felt nice. He hoped this girl would like it too. The crease disappeared immediately, and he found himself feeling happy.

But soon enough, he felt restless just sitting there doing nothing in particular. He peeked out the window, and saw many people sitting at the round tables, while his and Amu's parents bustled around to serve them. He didn't like it that their home was filled with so many uninvited people, although technically, they lived above their cafe. He tried to peek some more, but at that moment, the baby fidgeted.

He scrambled to her side immediately, heaving a sigh of relief when she just tossed around again, seemingly in deep sleep. A tiny line of white foam gathered at the side of her mouth. Ikuto grimaced, still being at the age where such things were gross and unsightly.

Reluctantly, he took a tissue from the side drawer and dabbed half-heartedly at her mouth, retracting his hand just as quickly. When more of it appeared, he groaned, frustrated, and unwillingly swiped at her mouth again.

Out of nowhere, Amu suddenly let out a babble of laughter as his elbow accidentally touched her ear. Ikuto blinked, surprised, and did it again. He liked that sound coming from her.

Amu giggled again, and her eyes shot open, boring deep into Ikuto's. His mouth opened in awe. Her eyes were light golden, open and bearing such innocence that Ikuto was startled. Ikuto didn't know what it was at that time, but she looked appealing to him.

He started to laugh, and dodged as Amu waved her small arms around. All he knew was that she made a nice sound when he touched her ears, and he liked that sound. He grabbed her hands gently and settled them back in the tiny pram.

He then raced into his room upstairs and grabbed his dad's violin. His dad was currently teaching him how to play it, but he wasn't good at it just yet. He didn't even know why he brought it to Amu; it was just on impulse. But he thought she'd like to hear, so he began to play.

And that was how the adults found them that evening. Ikuto playing a not very well-constructed, sounding both slightly screechy and squirm-inducing, self-composed piece on his violin, and Amu seemingly liking her lullaby, drifting into a peaceful slumber with a wide smile on her spotless face.

Please do review, favourite or follow if you happened to like this first chapter. I'm not confident of portraying Ikuto's behaviour as a child, but I'll try my best. I welcome any feedback.

Update: I have been on holiday the past few days, and I had brought my thumb drive along with me; being the paranoid person that I am. The first night at the hotel, I realized it was gone from my luggage. I really don't know what to say; except I'm really sorry, guys. The thumb drive contained more than 50 000 words of Guns N' Roses, Downright Delinquents, Their Paid Girl, and The Way He's Not, all of which I planned to upload today. As you can guess, I am very, very disheartened about it and re-writing the chapters seem like a chore now. I definitely will update and finish every story, but it will be a long process. I sincerely hope you can all bear with me.

- J