Disclaimer- I do not own Shugo Chara! or any of it's characters. Rights are licensed to Peach-Pit, Kodansha, and Satelite (respectively).

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It's Not in My Character

Chapter One: It's Not in My Character to be Defiant

I follow the same schedule everyday for all of my life.

That schedule is: wake up at exactly 7:55 a.m. each morning, let my two maids, Misaki and Telulu, dress me, make it downstairs where Madame Rin gives me my daily lessons for three hours and twenty five minutes and then make my way to a quick piano lesson from Lord Tsukari. After that, I am to have lunch alone with a time limit of one hour and three minutes, then have Ms. Yuki give me lady-like education. After that, I am to have dinner with mother, father, and Ami. Following that, my maids shall bathe me, fix my hair and complexion, and dress me in my gown. Finally, I fall asleep at 9:45 p.m. every night.

I have never questioned this schedule in all of my 16 years of life. Of course, when I was young, I was taught to always obey my parents' wishes, and because that message has been in my mind for so long, I cannot go against this agenda. I have never even considered going against it. Until that certain day that my mother took me to town.

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon when mother excused me from my studies.

"Yes, mother?" I asked. This was unusual; mother never excused me from my day by day activities.

"You and I are going to town. We need to buy ingredients for your sister's birthday cake," mother replied indifferently. When she said it like that, it really made me wonder if she cared that Ami was turning nine years old.

"Well, go get your bonnet on. Now!" mother snapped at me. I hurriedly got ready to go outside. Mother rushed me to the carriage, our stable boy, Hoshi, being our driver for the day. Hoshi whipped the horses with a cry of, "Hyah!", and we were off. Routinely, I tilted my head to watch the country side and became wrapped up in my own thoughts.

My family and I lived on the outskirts of town in our home on the 50 acres of land we own. My father owns a large banking company, so our family is very wealthy. We don't see father often (besides supper time) because of his demanding business. Mother is the one who over see's our education. I love mother very much, but she always gives me the feeling that that love is one-sided, on my side. I wish she would show me that she cared more sometimes.

I was jolted out of my thoughts when our carriage came to a halt. I found my attention centered on a small baseball game going on just a few feet from our wagon. I faintly heard mother say, "Stay here for a moment, Amu, I'm going to get some change."

I nodded to her and turned back to the game, and saw that the town kids were looking at me. Clause, a boy I had met when I was six, stepped in the center of their circle and smirked at me.

"Well, well, if it isn't the snobbish Amu Hinamori," he said, loud enough for the entire group to hear.

I heard the kids around him snicker. A feeling of irritation rose in the pit of my stomach. I tried to ignore them, but Clause's galling voice kept my rationality at bay.

"Come on, rich girl, why don't you play ball with us?" he drawled.

Uncomfortably, I replied, "But, mother—"

"Stop being so whiny and take a chance in life! You don't even have to raise a finger in you mansion! Don't you want to change that?" Clause shouted at me.

Yes, I do want to change it.

No! You may not disobey the schedule!

But…I've followed that agenda forever. I want…I want to do something different! I want—I want—I want to have fun!

With a new, sufficient purpose, I leapt out of the wagon (carefully looking to see that mother wasn't in sight) and jogged out to the small assembly. I made it up to a girl with wavy brown hair put up into twin tails. She offered me a small smile and handed over the makeshift bat. I gripped it in my suede gloves and took the stance I had seen Clause in before.

Clause went a few yards in front of me, with the ball in his gloved hand. He reared back and threw the ball at me. Using all of the arithmetic and angle skills I had learned from Madame Rin, I managed to time the hit and angle it so it would be perfect. Just before it whizzed past me I walloped at it with all the strength I could muster. I saw the ball soar a couple of yards out of the impermanent field.

I dropped the bat, picked up the hem of my skirt, and began sprinting as fast as I could across the pentagon shaped bases. I nearly tripped a couple of times, but I finally made it back to Home.

Cheers from the children erupted around me. I bowed over, panting for dear life; I couldn't remember the last time I had run that fast. The kids rushed over to me, patting me on the back.

I was tired, sweaty, and my feet hurt from running in my heels. But…a new feeling was there. One I didn't recognize. I believe it was…companionship and happiness.

But my heart sank when I stood up fully. Because, there, at the back of the crowd of broods, was mother.

With a very scary face on.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

As I expected, mother gave me a long lecture with many disapproving looks in between each word during the ride home. She had told me that she had raised me better than to fool around with the town kids.

I had responded, "Yes, mother, I understand. I shouldn't have defied you. I promise you, I'll never do anything as outrageous ever again." There was a long silence.

I looked up to see mother's expression. She seemed tentative, as if she weren't sure if she was supposed to carry on.

"Well—alright. But I'm still very disappointed in you. Your punishment will be no more going to town with me for a month."

"Yes, mother," I replied obediently. After a few more minutes of stillness, I glanced back at mother and saw a very different expression on her face: it was like a mixture of sadness and aloneness. I quickly looked down, convincing myself that mother was not so weak as to let those emotions show through.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

That night, around 9:24, Misaki ran a comb through my long, pink hair. I looked intently at my reflection in the mirror that was propped up on my dresser. More specifically, I was staring at my face, trying to see something in my eyes other than that docile, good girl look.

Unfortunately, I found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Milady?" Misaki's voice snapped me out of my reflecting.

"Yes?"

"You seem troubled. Is there something you'd like to talk about?" For the first time, I stared at Misaki's mirror image instead of mine.

Misaki wasn't a beautiful girl, but you couldn't call her unattractive either. She had waist-length, ebony hair tied into a single French braid, jade eyes, and dark skin.

She had a look of concern and true care on her face. My eyes widened at her face's appearance.

I beamed at her, and said, "No, Misaki, nothing's wrong. Please don't worry over me."

Misaki let a small grin emerge on her face. She nodded towards me and left the room. Once, she was out of view, I turned back to the mirror and sighed.

Why is it that only yesterday I was fine with my daily existence, when today I'm disgusted by myself for behaving like such a pitiful figure?

Who am I? What am I supposed to be like if I can't be my weak self? How am I supposed to live without my haughty character?

I clutched my head, trying to rid it of these bombarding thoughts. I looked back up at the mirror, an expression of turmoil in my eyes.

The turmoil was erased when another thought came to my mind.

What if I have another character, buried way beneath that?

My eyes dilated at the revelation. A determined air surrounded me as I got into a bowing position. I clinched my hands together, as if in prayer, and whispered, "Please, Lord, give me courage, so I can be reborn as my would-be-self."

The moment was interrupted by Telulu, who barged into my room and said, "Your mother says it's time for you to go to bed." I nodded and got into a bed, my heart feeling a little lighter.

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Yawning, I got up from my laying position and looked to the grandfather clock in the corner of my room. It was 7:35. I still had some time left before Misaki and Telulu came to my room to dress me.

I rolled over to a better sitting position and suddenly felt something between my legs. Slowly, I lifted the covers to my bed, only to spot four brightly colored eggs underneath. I stared at them, unblinking.

I finally let out my scream after one of them moved.

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A/N: Okay, so I tried this writing style. I'm not exactly...comfortable...with it, but I do like it a little. I'll just get used to it, I suppose. If you haven't noticed, this story is told from Amu's point of view. It took me a long time to think up of an actual plot to this story. To be honest, it's kind of like the original Shugo Chara! plot, but everyone in this story harbors a mysterious past.

This is also an AmuXIkuto (Amuto) story, because I actually had an idea for this long before I even thought up of Forbidden Propinquity. I just tweeked with the storyline a bit. I hope you all enjoy this new fanfic of mine! Oh, and reviews are much appreciated.