Disclaimer: I don't own anything except this story of mine. Shugo Chara!, as we all know, rightfully belongs to Peach-Pit.
Title: "Play School"
Author: tokiya-kun18
Beta-reader: My-name-is-foxglove (Many thanks for all the corrections you've done! :~D)
Fan-base: Shugo Chara!
Pairing: Ikuto Tsukiyomi/Amu Hinamori
Gently shaking the little girl under her duvet, Midori smiled sweetly as she observed her child waking up. She didn't clearly understand it, but every time she saw her daughter, it brightened up her day; her golden orbs shining with pure happiness and bliss, a beautiful smile grazing her lips.
Today's the day, she thought as she continued the effort to wake her little angel. "Amu, wake up. Come on, honey, time to get up."
As if on cue, the strawberry-haired child wiggled under the duvet, letting out a cute yawn, and, after a few moments, sitting right up. She rubbed her eyes adorably making Midori feel contented. Being with her little angel was enough for her.
"Mama?" she asked, her childish voice ringing like music to Midori's ears. She looked up to see her mother gazing at her with delight as she answered with a 'yes?'.
"What's wrong?" Amu asked again, quite oblivious to her mother's sentimentalism.
"Amu," Midori whispered, her daughter's name giving a sweet feeling to her tongue. "Today is Monday. Do you remember what we talked about yesterday, sweetie?"
Amu thought for a while, her rosy cheeks puffing as she tried to recall the conversation. She looked so cute that you would want to cuddle her or squeeze her tightly and never ever release hold of her.
Yesterday's events ran through her mind once more. It was so clear and she could still feel the excitement, the same emotions, felt during that day.
"Amu," her mother called out. Midori was smiling at her, arms wide open to welcome her daughter into her embrace.
Amu ran toward her and encircled her little arms around her mother's neck. Eyes sparkling with curiosity, Amu stared into her mother's eyes and smiled widely.
"What is it, Mama?" she asked in her cute voice, making Midori hug her tighter.
"How would you feel if I say, 'you are going to play school tomorrow'?" Midori carried her in her arms as she sat both of them onto the park bench.
"What's 'play school', Mama?" Amu asked, confused. She couldn't comprehend Midori's words, and needed further explanation.
Midori was quiet for a while before expressing her thoughts through words. Her smile was still on her face as she said, "A play school is a place where you will learn new things!" she beamed, excitedly, but Amu didn't see why. Midori continued, "In there, you can also meet new kids in your age," she tapped Amu's nose lightly, making the little girl giggle.
"Really?" Amu stood up from her seat, jumping up and down as she started to feel excitement burning inside her. "Yay!" She laughed, Midori's heart lit up. Seeing her daughter so happy… the world didn't matter to her anymore, as long as Amu was happy.
"Now, now, be careful, dear," she cautioned her when Amu stumbled.
"Oops," Amu giggled, embracing her mother once more. "Thank you, Mama."
"You're welcome, honey." Midori arose from her seat, taking Amu's hand in hers and starting to walk away. "But first, we need to buy you some equipment, OK?" When Amu nodded, they made their way to a stationary shop.
Amu didn't know that Midori had long planned for her to go to school. A surprise, she thought.
"Yup! I can still remember it, Mama!" Amu jumped out of bed, standing in front of Midori, with her hands clenched in fists under her chin, and a grin stating she couldn't wait. "Today's the day, ne~?"
"Yes, honey," Midori agreed with her. She scooped her in her arms and brought her to the bathroom. "But before you could go, you need to take a bath first." Amu didn't protest, and played with the water on the bathtub as Midori cleaned her.
After all the splashing from the inside, Midori dried her up. She enveloped the towel all around Amu's body, and went ahead of her to Amu's closet. She took out a small school uniform. It was a sky blue dress with an almost midnight blue ribbon underneath its collar. At her collar, there were stripes of red and white trailing all around it. Midori also took out a small blue cap that went along with the dress.
"Starting from this day on, you will be wearing this to go to school." She put Amu's school uniform on top of her bed, then tended to her daughter. Midori pulled the towel gently and rubbed it all over Amu's body, drying her up. She went back to the clothing, dressing Amu in her knickers first, then the sky blue dress, and lastly, Midori took out a pair of black shoes with white socks in them. She put Amu's feet inside the socks and did the same with the shoes.
Now she's all ready… nearly, she thought. Midori went to her desk and took a small brush out and went back to Amu. She combed her hair, careful not to make it uncomfortable for her. When she was finished with that, she placed the cap on top of Amu's strawberry hair.
Perfect, she smiled at her daughter and held her hands in hers as she led both of them down to the dining room.
At the dining room, a plate containing warm rice, bacon and eggs was all ready on the table. A spoon and fork laid down on either of its sidesand a glass of orange juice beside it.
Amu quickly went toward the table and sat down. She looked at her mother for a sign of approval and when Midori nodded, she dug in. "Itadakimasu~!" she exclaimed, holding up a spoon full of rice and placing it inside her mouth. She mouthed "yummy" and continued eating.
Midori watched her daughter finish up the whole plate of food, smiling lovingly at Amu. When her daughter was done, she cleaned the dishes.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Amu still sitting on the chair, patiently waiting for her. She ordered Amu to brush her teeth, and the child obeyed, coming back to the kitchen a few minutes later.
After all the work was done, Midori once again held Amu's hand as she led the way out of the house and towards the play school.
They chatted along the way, Midori telling Amu what it was like attending play school. Amu, curious of knowing about her mother's past experiences, listened attentively. The little girl didn't disrupt her but she did bombard her Mother with questions when Midori was done speaking.
As they neared the play school, a dark blue-haired child jumped out of a bush, both mother and daughter jump back in surprise. They gaped at him before he ran away, disappearing from their sight.
"That was dangerous of him!" Midori said, after a while. "Amu, you wouldn't do that, would you?"
"No, Mama, I won't," Amu said, making Midori sigh in relief.
I hope you won't, she thought as they finally arrived. A teacher was standing outside, waiting and talking to the students. The teacher turned around to look at them and crouched, matching Amu's height, to speak to her.
"Good morning, little girl," she greeted and Amu greeted her back. "What's your name?"
"Amu Hinamori, uhmm…" She didn't know the teacher's name, so Amu's sentence trailed off.
"Sato. I'm Kazue Sato; nice to meet you, Amu-chan!" Kazue smiled at her. She glanced up, meeting Midori's eyes and then standing. "You must be the mother," Midori nodded. "You can pick her up this noon, Hinamori-san."
Squeezing her daughter's hand, Midori said to Amu, "Mama will be going now, OK? Be a good girl and follow Sato-san's instructions."
Confused, Amu's brows furrowed and stared at Midori. "Where are you going, Mama?"
"To work, honey." When she saw Amu frowning, she assured her. "Don't worry, Mama will come back for you. Just have fun, Amu." Seeing Amu finally nod in understanding, Midori hesitantly let go of her hand and walked away.
"Bye bye, Mama!" Amu bid her good bye, waving her hands in the air as Midori disappeared from a distance. Amu felt like crying but held back the tears and turned her attention to Kazue.
Kazue held out her hand which Amu gladly took. They walked inside the play school, and Amu, being as nervous as she was, looked around the unfamiliar location. They stopped midway when a boy suddenly came rushing out of nowhere. He bumped into Amu causing both of them to fall back. Kazue helped them up, frowning at the boy and slightly scolding him.
"Are you hurt anywhere, Amu-chan?" she asked, and Amu shook her head saying 'no'.
Amu stared at the boy standing in front of her and she recognised him almost immediately. "Ahh!" she exclaimed, earning a confused look from both people. "You're that boy from earlier! The one that came out of the bush!"
The child smirked, eyes lighting in amusement. "It's Ikuto Tsukiyomi. Don't forget it." With that being said, he ran out once more, disappearing from their sight.
He's a strange boy, Amu thought. She and Kazue resumed walking to class as she thought about her encounter with Ikuto.
I promised myself I wouldn't be publishing another FanFic, but here I am, doing it. X~D Plot bunnies are to be feared… *cough* I hope you liked this, though! :~D Feedbacks are welcomed!