Hello! This is my first fanfic! I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Shugo Chara! is not mine!

The pinkette opened the door carefully before stepping out into the city. She checked for an umbrella, seeing the dark clouds looming over her head menacingly. The girl briskly walked by the dark, crumbling apartment, only sparing a quick glance at the ambulance and the crowd surrounding it. She was slightly curious but if she stayed behind any longer, she was going to be late for work.

When she arrived, she sighed in relief when she realized that Nagihiko's shift at the small, yet popular café wasn't over yet.

"Amu! Thank God! One more minute and Rima would have sacrificed your head to the gods!" he said, watching her go into the changing room. Amu quickly tied her hair into a loose bun before placing a striped beret on top of it and pulling on a striped uniform. She made her way out and took Nagihiko's place at the cashier.

"Sorry! Go, have fun with Rima!" she called out to Nagihiko, who dashed into the male staff room.

"Hinamori! Three hours and we switch!"

"Alright!" she said, turning to her first customer and forcing a bright smile. "What would you like?" And so her dreary day began. Amu stared out the window and sighed at the horrid view. Rows of slate gray buildings stood upright, with people hurrying back and forth, so absorbed in the concrete floor they didn't even notice the rain threatening to spill. She tried to think of a country side, filled with vibrant colors, but all she could draw up were images of a gray wasteland filled with nothing but buildings after buildings. She made her way to the back before tapping Kukai. "Switch. What's on the menu?"

"Okay, finally! I thought I was going to die! Brownies, cake pops, lemon squares, apple pies and cookies." He grinned and clapped her on the back before jogging to the cashier. "Hello, m'am! What would you like today?"

Amu checked the oven and realized that they were running short on apple pies. Typical of Kukai to make cake pops when there were plenty. She grabbed a clean bowl and some apples, cinnamon, white sugar, brown sugar, flour, butter, and water. She quickly chopped the apples and let her mind relax.

Baking was her way out from her life and away from her troubles and the nothingness. She loved to see people's reactions to her treats and with every batch she made; she put in a little bit of the love she never had. As she put in a pinch of cinnamon and a teaspoon of vanilla extract, her mind wandered to the ambulance she had seen.

What had happened? Why were so many people there? She worried for Baya, the elderly woman she often helped cook and clean. She would visit her tomorrow, to make sure she was alright. Nothing usually happened in her neighborhood and for that very reason, she felt fear ebbing at her stomach. She pushed those thoughts aside though, and made a lattice crust. Once she finished, she rested her chin on her palm and stared at nothing but as she tried to conjure up a sweet thought, images of Tadase flooded into her mind. She made the mistake of letting herself delve into her past and into her memories of him. Amu shook her head brusquely. There was no place for him anymore- or so she hoped.

Ding! The oven timer's bright ring brought her from her thoughts and she rushed to the oven, hastily pulling on some oven mitts and pulling out the pie. The crust was a beautiful golden brown, just the way she and her customers liked it. She squeezed some whip cream on each hole, making sure each was perfect and beautiful and then carefully walked to the front and placed the apple pie down. Kukai looked over and smiled widely.

"A fresh apple pie! And not just any apple pie, Amu's apple pie!" he shouted, jerking a thumb towards her. She smiled as she watched some people perk up and dash to the front to get it before others. She lumbered to the back again before whipping pies after pies, lemon squares after squares and brownies after brownies. By the time her shift was over at eight, she was beyond exhausted.

"Goodnight, Kukai," she said, passing the cashier with her bag in hand. He waved back and she walked into night. She sighed yet again when she saw the heavy fog blanketing the city and pulled open an umbrella in response to the drumming of the rain against the roof. She walked out and made her way back home slowly, enjoying the dampness surrounding her.

As Amu passed the old apartment, she took note of the absence of the ambulance and continued but stopped when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She crept toward the edifice, wary that it was nothing or even worse, a drunk man. When she got nearer the mist swirled around her ominously, and she shivered, pulling her coat closer to her. A small gasp left her lips when she saw a man on the pavement, leaning on the wall behind him. His dark cerulean hair pressed flat against his head and his dark blue sweater was torn in several places. She carefully went closer and bent down, shielding him with her umbrella. Amu hesitated once and before she could regret it, she shook his bony shoulder.

"Excuse me? Mister?" His eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes that reflected the night sky.

"Sorry… Am I disturbing you?" He tried to get up but staggered and fell back down. She quickly looped his arm around her neck and dragged him to her house, thanking God that her house was nearby. Amu placed him on the sofa and brought towels to dry him off and a thick blanket to cover him. She made a cup of hot chocolate and brought it to him. His eyes were shut tight and he was breathing heavily. Amu couldn't help but notice his pale, flawless skin and his long lashes fanned against his high cheekbones. She ignored how her heart skipped a beat and instead averted her eyes to his body. She frowned when she saw his skinny legs and arms, wondering how long it had been since he had last eaten.

"Hello?" She nudged him gently and he opened his eyes, squinting at her. "Here, drink some of this and if you can, take a warm bath. I'll set it up for you now." She held out the mug to him which he accepted with trembling hands.

"I-I hope I'm not bothering you…"

"No!" she shouted but quickly covered her slip, "No, of course not. I don't live with anyone anyway. Hurry along! You need to wash up before you catch a cold. But, before you go. What's your name?"

"Ikuto."

"Just Ikuto?"

"Yeah… Um, and yours?"

"Hinamori Amu, now get going!" She rushed him to the bathroom and set out the biggest hoodie she could find and an old pair of pants. When he came out dressed, she had to stifle a giggled. The "biggest" hoodie was not so big at all, instead, the sleeves came up to his forearms and the hem barely covered his naval. The pants fared better and were nearly at his ankles. A small crease formed at his eyebrows when he looked down at his attire.

"Um…"

"Sorry, that's all I have."

"Wait you live alone?"

"Uh. Yes, why?" she asked, inching away slowly.

"These aren't pants for women… Not that I'm complaining!" Ikuto didn't miss how her face hardened for a split second.

"They were my ex-boyfriend's…" she said, bitterness seeping into her voice. When he didn't respond, she looked over at him, only to see him sleeping soundly.

Amu woke up to a beeping alarm. She cursed when she saw the time and laid Ikuto's head down onto the sofa carefully before rushing to the bathroom and scrubbing her face and teeth. She threw on warm, wooly leggings and a baggy pullover. She quickly scribbled a note to Ikuto and ran out the door, praying that it wasn't raining..

Amu's day was a blur and all she could think of was the mysterious boy in her house. Even the clueless Kukai commented on it but she brushed off his constant teasing of a "new boyfriend". As soon as she finished work, she ran home and opened the door to see Ikuto flipping through cartoon channels mindlessly. He turned to the sudden intrusion and sat up straight. "Hi," he said with a hint of what Amu thought was nervousness.

"Um. Well, I'm gonna go make dinner," she said quickly, running to the kitchen. She held a hand to her beating heart and calmed herself down.

She groaned when she realized that she only had enough rice for herself and muttered profanities under her breath. "If only I hadn't…" she trailed off. As she made dinner, she thought about Ikuto and his eyes. His eyes were filled with so much pain and sorrow and it scared her so much because those were the eyes she saw in the morning every day when she brushed her teeth.

She carried their dinner, fried rice with some roasted chicken, to the table and they enjoyed it in silence.

"I-I'm sorry," Ikuto suddenly mumbled.

"For what?"

"If I hadn't come you wouldn't have run out of ingredients… I'll leave right after this. Or if you want right now."

"No, no, no. If you're really thankful you should stay a while until you get better, unless you have somewhere to go."

"Thank you." Amu looked up to see Ikuto's eyes shining with happiness and… hope?

The next morning, Amu took Ikuto shopping for something suitable to wear. She had dropped by her parent's house earlier and gotten him something to wear so he was presentable.

She got into the car and turned around to see Ikuto nervously standing outside of it, warming his hands.

"Why don't you sit at the shotgun? It's warmer," Amu said, lifting out a hand that he gratefully accepted. Even though she had invited him there, he sat stiffly, not moving a single muscle. She drove moderately, asking him a couple of basic questions that she hoped would help him to relax.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Navy blue."

"Hmm… How tall are you?"

"Around 5'11?"

"Wow. I'm like 5'2."

Amu managed to hide a sigh of relief when she noticed him lean into the chair and lower his shoulders. It was slow, but there was definitely some progress. As soon as they arrived, Amu managed to guide him to a few shops and tried to make him buy some clothing.

"It's fine…" he said, standing back from a rack of shirts she was rifling through.

"Just come on over Ikuto, it's gonna be okay."

"No, really, I don't want to have to spend any more of your money…" She sighed and gently grabbed his elbow and pulled him over to the rack.

"If you don't pick at least two things from here I'm going to tickle you!" He paled and immediately began to sort through the clothing and hastily pulled out two random shirts.

Once she had finished making him buy a couple of necessities, she pulled him to the food court where she stuffed him before dragging him home. As soon as they had gotten home again, Ikuto opened his mouth to speak.

"Ikuto, you better not be saying sorry."

"N-no. I just wanted to thank you…" Amu saw the corners of his mouth lift slightly and she smiled widely in return.

"No, Ikuto. It's nothing."

Amu tossed and turned in her bed that night. No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to fall asleep so she decided to lay still and recollect her thoughts. Tomorrow, she was going to make strawberry pies, mocha bread, and chocolate dipped strawberries. She would be serving chocolate smoothies and some caramel l-. A sharp whimper flooded her ears. Amu checked the time. It was three A.M. Was a baby outside crying? More whimpers filled the room and she realized that it was coming from Ikuto's room. She got out of her bed and tiptoed over to his room and opened the door slowly.

Ikuto was curled up into a ball and tears were streaming down his cheeks. He shot up as a shrill scream tore from his throat. She sat down on his bed, holding his trembling body.

"I-I-I-" She shushed him and gathered his frail form onto her shoulder, letting his tears soak her shirt. He let her stroke his back, leaning into her touch. When he finished crying, he opened his mouth to speak.

"You don't have to tell me," she said, her voice gentle and sincere.

"No. I want to." He took a deep breath and began. "I was abandoned by my parents when I was young. I was seven years old when they suddenly just… changed. They were always fighting before that but one day, the look in their eyes were different. They grabbed me and threw me into the attic where I was left to die. I was found five days later unconscious and nearly dead. Then after that, I was taken to a foster home and I was adopted immediately because the story spread. But, I was adopted by a man who… who…" He choked on his memories and a few more tears escaped his throat. Amu held his shoulders and smoothened his hair out soothingly. "He raped me. Every night. I-I couldn't take it anymore and so… I just gave up. No one knows what happened, why I'm like this. No one." He sucked in a deep breath and waited for her to speak, waited for her to leave him in disgust.

"I want to take your pain," she said suddenly. He turned to her in shock. She didn't shy away from him, fret over him, or pity him.

"What? Why?"

"In return," she started and his blood ran cold. Was she going to blackmail him? "You take mine. I know this is so story like and ridiculous but I think I can feel some of your pain. When I was eight, I was raped by a drunk man on the street. I like to believe I got over it but it's hard for me to be around men I don't know. I know this is nothing compared to what you were forced to endure but… I want you to know that I'm with you. Right now." Ikuto turned to her and saw her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. Cupping her cheeks, he gently lowered a kiss onto her lips, to seal the promise.

"Don't forget me." He mumbled, holding her head to his shoulder.

"Of course not Ikuto, I would never."

"Come visit me. I'll always watch over you too."

"Ikuto?" He smiled down at her and kissed her head.

"Just sleep." And so she did.

Amu woke up to an empty bed. Frantically, she threw on a pair of pants and a hoodie when she was suddenly stopped by the television flickering on.

'Thank you, Tal. Now back to this mysterious case. The man who jumped off the building was found to be Tsukiyomi Ikuto. The reasons for his death are still unknown and there have been no reports of foul play.' Amu froze in her tracks and she turned around, seeing a man too familiar to her.

"No…," she whispered, "No… NO!" She ran out the door, ignoring the cold rain pelting her back furiously. She ran and ran until she reached the police station and barged through the door.

"I-I'm looking for someone named Ikuto. I need your help right now, please!" She frantically shouted, eyes wide with fear.

"I'm sorry m'am. Please calm down first."

"No, please, please please, I'm begging you, just find Ikuto! Tsukiyomi Ikuto!" Neighboring police glanced over at her , eyeing her wet clothing.

"M'am! Please calm down!"

"YOU NEED TO TELL ME WHERE HE IS RIGHT NOW!" she slammed her hands into the table, looking around for any form of assistance.

"M'am!" Amu looked around desperately and ran to the next policeman.

"Please! Help me! I need your help!" The police man looked calmly into her eyes before nodding. She heard a whizzing sound and before she blacked out, she saw the feathered dart peering up at her from her arm.

Amu woke up to glaring, bright lights. A nurse who was tending to a patient next to her turned to look at her at the gentle rustle of blankets and smiled.

"Hello. How are you?" Amu nodded weakly before memories of Ikuto flashed into her mind.

"Ikuto… Where's Ikuto?" She looked away. "Where is he?"

"I'm sorry Hinamori-san. He passed away a few days ago at Kiline Avenue." Kiline. That was where she lived. Suddenly, she remembered herself glancing at an ambulance at the old apartment before walking away. The old apartment where she found Ikuto.

Amu began to cry.

When Amu got home, she was exhausted. She told the police all about the foster "parent" Ikuto had, which led to his arrest. She realized it was only nine, so she went to a flower shop and bought a few *snowdrops and irises. She walked to the cemetery and easily spotted Ikuto's grave.

She knelt down and put down the flowers she had in her hands and prayed a prayer. As she was leaving, she heard 'A new hope for you too', but when she turned back, all she saw was a heavy mist settling.

*Irises and snowdrops often are used to represent hope and new beginnings.

A/N: Please review! I, ask, no, demand for one!(^^) Don't be too harsh with me (please).