Hello all!

As promised in the final chapter of 'The Social Food Chain', I'll be making a story about either Kutau or Amuto. Well, considering I'll need to brush up on my Kutau, I'll start off with an Amuto for now.

You know, I was addicted to Shugo Chara! but I eventually found two new addictions: Toradora—the BEST show ever, and Kimi Ni Todoke—the cutest show ever. So my Shugo Chara addiction has died down. So why am I making Shugo Chara fan fiction? –shrugs- Because I want to. I'll probably make one for those two soon.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this one.

I don't own Shugo Chara in any sort of way! They are respectfully owned by Peach-Pit. (Disclaimer for entire story)

Normal POV

It always ticked her off.

Fan girls and fan boys always crying out 'She's so cool!', 'I want to be like her!', 'Hinamori Amu is so Cool and Spicy!'. It would never end, no matter how many times she tried to be herself. She considered giving up and to just roll with it, but it annoyed her to the bitter end. Trying was her only escape.

But how many times could you try when you fail every time?

Amu sighed and looked up at the purple and orange sky. It was 6:31 and the sun had begun to set. The early spring chills scrambled all over her exposed legs and made the pinkette shiver. She should've worn her thick tights—it was still pretty cold out since that spring still felt like winter—but she refused to. She had to keep up her 'Cool and Spicy' image. Wearing thick tights would only result in odd looks, so she wore her leg warmers instead.

Amu turned onto her block and sighed with a sense of home filling her. School had been especially tiring that day. Even though she wasn't a Guardian anymore, she felt like middle school was making up for all the time she spent at the Guardian meetings. She joined a lot of clubs—number 8 on the Seiyo Middle School volleyball team, a beginner in the Italian and American Arts Club, and a beginner in the Seiyo Middle School Cooking Club—and had a lot of homework to do over the weekends. She also had to look after Ami a lot more because her parents were reaching the peak of their careers.

It was rare for her to find time for herself. Amu sighed once more.

She was thankful she decided to leave her Charas home—they would've nagged her about being positive and to cheer up. Ran would've screamed and shouted and waved her pompoms around like crazy; Miki would've said something sophisticated and philosophical to get Amu thinking about everything she was doing wrong; Suu would've said something extremely girly to make Amu feel completely out of her girlhood; and Dia would've said something about her radiance dimming to get Amu panicking to keep it up.

For once, all she wanted to think about was the negatives.

School was a drag—the lessons were long and boring, the teachers were absolutely lifeless, and moving from classroom to classroom was stupid. The students were oblivious—no matter how many times she said she hated it and she wanted it to stop, everyone would take it the wrong way and watch her as she walked down the hallway with a hand on her hip, shouting all kinds of things about her. At least they're not bad, she thought. Either way, they were still annoying.

Her honey-colored orbs eyed the nameplate on her house. She reached into her schoolbag and pulled out her keys, decorated in all kinds of things. She eyed the star-shaped bottle of sand Tadase had given her. Amu smiled at the memory and proceeded to unlock the house gate. Amu locked it behind her and walked towards her house.

"I'm home," she said coolly as she stepped into her house and closed the door with a slam. She could hear her mother cooking—the rice steamer had just gone off—and she heard her father squealing over Ami and the sound of his camera's flash going off. Amu smiled to herself but it quickly diminished when her mother came out. She was getting older but you wouldn't be able to tell. She looked like she was still in her twenties. Her honey eyes were lively and full of energy and she always wore a smile that touched her heart. She held a ladle in her hand, her pink and white apron around her waist.

"You're home!" Amu stepped up into her house when something caught her eye: a pair of shoes she hadn't recognized. She turned around and looked at them more carefully. Long and large, like that of a guy's, and freshly polished. There was a scuffmark on the left shoe, on the tip, but other than that the shoes looked great. Amu looked back at her mother and shrugged.

"Who's here?" Amu asked as she started to head up the stairs to her room. She could've come down later after a nice nap if it was her Aunt or a cousin. They all knew how she was.

"Actually, Amu-chan, it's—"

"Just tell them I have homework," Amu called as she reached the top step. Amu's mother smiled to herself and walked back into the kitchen. Amu opened her room door and closed it with a loud sigh.

"Amu-chan!" her Charas squealed in unison. Amu blinked and eyed them. They looked rather…guilty. She opened her mouth to question them but her eyes caught the flicker of Miki's blue eyes. She quickly looked to her left and back at Amu. Amu turned her head in the direction, her eyes never leaving her Charas. Eventually, her eyes caught up with her head.

A large, protruding lump sat underneath her blanket.

Amu gulped and walked over to the lump with thoughts and questions filling her head. She quickly grabbed her blanket, gulped despite the thickness tightening her throat, and lifted it off as quickly as she could. Her eyes softened.

"Yo," came the simple response from the blue haired teenager. Amu stared at him for a few seconds before shrinking away to her desk to put away her schoolbooks. Amu lifted her schoolbag onto her desk and opened the flap. She began to remove her Japanese and English textbooks. Ikuto sat up on her bed and eyed her. She hadn't panicked like she normally would've. "Hey."

"What?" came the snap from Amu. Ikuto raised his eyebrows. He was surprised that his Amu could be so hostile. He probably had a bad day at school.

"Are you okay?" Amu removed her schoolbag and glared at her Charas. They retreated to their egg basket to watch the scene unfold.

"Fine," she snapped again. Ikuto knew better than to get angry with her. That would've only lead to unwanted problems. Ikuto wanted nothing more than to just talk to her. After all, he had be gone for about seven months. He missed his Amu. "Why are you here?"

"I'd figured you'd be happy to see me. It's been seven months since the wedding." Amu's heart skipped a beat. No doubt—she missed Ikuto like crazy. Ever since he left after Yukari and Yuu's wedding, Amu felt as if she would never see him again. His father could've been anywhere and Ikuto was being brave by searching the entire world for him. She gave into her feelings for him and decided that Tadase was best a friend. Even so, Amu was incredibly lonely without him.

"…that long, huh?" Amu asked herself. She covered her face in her hands and took in a deep breath. She didn't want to deal with this right now. All she wanted to do was nap. "Look, Ikuto, how about we talk about this when I'm in a less crappy mood?"

"Did I do something wrong—"

"It wasn't you, alright?" Amu shouted. Anger turned her pale cheeks a light shade of red and made her glare at him. Her honey orbs looked especially venomous. The Charas gasped at Amu's hostility. "And you guys should've told me he was here!" she shouted at them.

"Your mother was going to tell you but you completely ignored her," Ikuto replied through clenched teeth. Control, Ikuto. "I heard."

"Whatever! Can you get out so I can change?" Amu walked—or stomped—over to her door and pulled it open with sheer force. She stood by the door, arms crossed over her chest, and cheeks aflame. Ikuto sighed and removed himself from her bed. He stretched his back—being curled up for about an hour in a bed half your length can get pretty uncomfortable—and walked over to her side.

Amu continued to glare at him even though her eyes were busy taking in his body. He had changed over the last seven months—he wore a black v-neck t-shirt, revealing a cross chain around his neck, collar bone muscles poking out from underneath the cross. His arms were bigger and more muscular; his torso was more defined. His face had begun to shape differently. His jaw was manlier and she could even see some facial hair starting to poke through his clear, smooth skin. His hair had grown longer too. Amu blinked.

"I hope this attitude doesn't last for long, Amu," he whispered in to her ear, "because I like the sweeter side of you better." Amu's lips parted to respond to his words but he walked out before she could say anything. She listened to his fading footsteps. Amu slowly closed the door with gentle force.

"Amu-chan?" Suu called out. Amu hung her lead low—what was going on with her? She wanted to jump into his arms, to cry out to him about how much she missed him, to share with him everything she learned and everything she experienced over the last seven months, and to create more experiences with Ikuto. Yet, she snapped at him due to her own anger and spite from the day's unfortunate course. Guilt began to sink into her chest.

Ikuto or the girls didn't deserve to get her anger taken out on them.

Amu felt tears prick at her eyes. Not only did she feel bad for taking her anger out on them but she felt bad for herself. Yes, it was a selfish thing to say but it was how she felt. She knew over those seven months that she was in love with Ikuto. She was sure of it. Yet, there was a string that was holding her back from responding to his feelings.

"I promise. When you become an adult, I'll come back for you…"

"…come back you for you…"

"…you…"

Amu wiped at her eyes fiercely with the back of her head before the tears could fall and sniffled. She sighed and walked over to her closet. The girls watched her, their tiny eyes filled with worry.

"Amu, are you alright?" asked Dia. Amu looked at her with her best smile but failed horribly.

"I'm okay…I'm sorry for yelling at you guys. It's just been a stressful day." The girls nodded and returned the weak smile Amu was giving them.

"We understand. Apologize to Ikuto, okay? We'll leave you two alone." The girls smiled more excitedly before flying out of Amu's cracked balcony doors. As she watched them disappear into the setting sun, Amu sighed, closed the balcony door and pulled the curtains across it. She began to loosen her school tie.

Amu finished her simple t-shirt and jeans with striped socks, a fingerless glove, and her bubblegum locks pulled into a high ponytail with a black X-clip. She frowned at herself in the mirror as she swiped cherry lip gloss across her cracked lips. She hated how her lips felt brittle and dry. She smacked her lips together and sighed.

"Amu, are you done?" asked Ikuto outside her door. "Your parents with out with Ami so we could be alone." Amu's eyes widened and she blushed. Alone? With Ikuto? Would he be mad at her for the way she yelled at him? Would he be hurt by her words? Would he forgive her? Amu gulped and pressed a hand to her heart. The normal womp womp was now faster and hard to count out.

"Uh, y-yeah," came the shaky response. The door slowly creaked open and Ikuto walked inside, a large black suitcase rolling behind him. He grinned at her.

"Sleepover," he said. Amu blinked a few times until the word rooted in her brain and threw a party. Ikuto was sleeping over. Amu's mouth went agape, her eyes wide.

"W-W-What?" she stuttered out. Ikuto chuckled at her expression and wheeled the suitcase over to her nightstand. He sat on the edge of her unmade bed.

"Your family went to some fancy hotel so you and I could be alone. You should've seen it—your dad started crying and your mother literally had to drag him out. Ami likes me a lot though. She calls me Ikuto-oniisan." Amu relaxed a bit despite the out-of-pace beating of her heart. A flicker of a smile crossed her lips. She was thankful he wasn't mad at her but she still wanted to be sure.

"…y…you're not made at me?" Ikuto raised an eyebrow. It took him a second to realize that she was talking about when she yelled at him.

"You mean when you yelled at me?" Amu sighed but nodded. Ikuto pursed his lips and shook his head. "No."

"Really? You don't have to lie." Amu fiddled with the hem of her shirt, her shyness overwhelming her. She shouldn't have been so shy around Ikuto—they were closer now. He saw all the sides of you.

Now it was her turn.

"Mmm…you smell so good…" Ikuto murmured into her ear. Amu blinked and gasped. In the midst of her thinking, Ikuto smirked and made his way over to Amu. He wrapped his arms around her and began to sniff her neck and hair. Amu began to wiggle and fidget in his grasp. Although she wanted nothing more than to be this close to Ikuto, something about the close contact made her claustrophobic.

"I-Ikuto…stop, wait…please," she pleaded. Her voice began to crack, her vision became blurred with the screen of tears distorting her vision, and her bottom lip began to quiver. Why was she so sad? She loved Ikuto, right?

So why was she suddenly so unused to this?

"Ikuto…please stop…" She whimpered. Ikuto took note of her cracking voice and pulled away to look at her face. She looked frightened and he couldn't understand why. Seven months ago, she allowed him to kiss her nose. So why did she look so scared of him? The worst happened then: she began to cry.

"Amu, why are you crying?" Ikuto asked in a gentle voice as she stepped away from her and cradled her face in the palms of his hands. Amu opened her mouth to say something, to tell him everything, but all that came out was a sob. "What happened, Amu?"

"…I-I don't know…" she sobbed. Maybe the pressure had finally taken its toll on her. Maybe she was crying out all the things she kept locked up within herself for so long, even long before she met Ikuto. Maybe this was finally it: her breaking point.

Much to her confusion, Ikuto wrapped her into a hug and allowed him to stain his shirt with her tears. Her fingers curled into the cotton material, as if to seek out Ikuto. "Don't go…"

"I won't…but, Amu, I have to tell you something." Amu gulped and pulled back to look up into his eyes. The sincerity in his sapphire orbs told her he was being honest, gentle, and completely someone else with her. She blushed through her tears.

"Yeah?" Ikuto licked his lips before sighing and staring at her with gentle yet serious eyes.

"I'm leaving Japan, with my father, to go to America. And I'm not sure if I'll be coming back."

I think that's a good place to end it, if you ask me. A cliffhanger. And yes, this does mean Ikuto found his father, but you won't learn about that until the next chapter.

Why is Amu scared of Ikuto even though she's in love with him? Is she hiding something? What will become of their relationship?

Some of these questions will be answered in the next chapter. R&R!