Amu-chan, the truth is… I'm actually Nadeshiko.
Amu's head was still reeling from Nagihiko's revelation and the excitement from getting her charas back when she finally began to get ready for bed that night. She vaguely remembered bathing and brushing her teeth as she and her charas habitually went onto her balcony to allow for Amu to drink her customary glass of milk. She was so delighted to have her charas back, she took her time to quietly drink the beverage and listen to the banter between the four, not once interjecting due to embarrassment or annoyance.
As she finished up her beverage, she remembered Nagihiko's admission once again. She let out a little squeak and turned bright red, bringing her fists to her cheeks and squeezing her eyes shut as she thought back to some of the things that she had shared with the boy while he was in disguise. Shaking her head to rid herself of the thought, she went back into her room, waited for her charas to enter, and then shut the door.
She went into her bathroom and changed into her pajamas, smiling to herself. Amu caught sight of herself in the mirror and blushed at how ridiculously happy she looked. While she was shocked by Nagihiko's confession, she still had her friend Nadeshiko back in a sense, and didn't lose Nagihiko either. Thinking of this, she realized that she also had her charas back and she had seen Ikuto for the first time in months. While it was true that Ikuto was set to leave first thing in the morning, she guessed that she had 'gotten her fill' of Ikuto for a bit. She didn't quite know what it meant, but she knew that it was true. Embarrassing as it was, she knew that she enjoyed the boy's company, despite his propensity towards being too grabby.
She smiled, feeling as though her day was almost complete. Something was off, but all in all, the day had turned out fantastically.
While she exited the bathroom with her comb and the plan to dry her hair, Amu saw her charas playing a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors and asked to join in. However, her request had horrified all four charas.
"Amu-chan, you have to dry your hair!" Miki proclaimed.
"If you don't you'll get sick, desu." Suu piped in.
"And if you get sick, you can't go play with your friends during the break!" Ran whined.
"And that would be so sad." Dia threw in for good measure.
"I just wanted to play one game first…" Amu mumbled.
"No!" All four cried, with the addition of "desu" by Suu.
Gently giggling at their antics and shaking her head, Amu went to put her shower towel in the hamper and grab her hair dryer. Bending down to plug it in, she heard a light thump on her balcony. Startled, her head shot up. She turned to look at the deck, but didn't spot anything. She looked for about fifteen seconds before finally being satisfied that it was her imagination. She quickly dried her hair then took her comb to the now tangled mess of tresses. Once she was satisfied that she could quickly style her hair come morning, she went to her bed and planted herself on top of the covers.
Amu and her charas sat, talking about anything and everything while playing different hand games for a good hour before the girls began yawning. One by one, Ran, Miki, Suu, and Dia, all went to bed.
When Miki, the last chara to lose consciousness, went to bed, Amu got up to close her curtains and lock her door. She had thought she had heard a thump many times, every time coming to the conclusion that she was imagining things. However, Ikuto's words from not too long ago, "You should hide the key to your window better. It's not safe," came floating through her consciousness. She shook off the feeling and set off to go to bed.
Amu turned off her lights and climbed into bed, trying to convince herself that she was being paranoid for no reason. After trying to fall asleep for a few minutes, however, she decided that she would feel better were she to just hide the key and then move on.
Groaning from exhaustion as she got up, Amu turned on the lamp that she kept near the head of her bed, then stumbled to grab her slippers. Feet clad in the protective house shoes, she opened her curtains and door again and went onto the deck. Shivering and crossing her arms over her chest, Amu found her key under the mat where she always kept it. She looked around the balcony, selected a new spot—amongst the flowers she kept potted on the balcony—put the key there, and, somehow feeling monumentally better with just that, Amu closed the door and went to go put her slippers back where they belonged.
Remembering that she had neglected to lock the door, Amu stood to do just that, but heard the thump once more. Tensing, she slowly turned. The shape of a man was on her deck. She threw her hands to her face to muffle her gasp to avoid alerting the presence on her deck that she was there. Then the shadowed man walked a few steps into the abysmal light that poured out from her bedroom lamp. She all but fell over in relief.
"Ikuto, what are you doing here?" she questioned as she unlocked her door. "You have an early flight, don't you? Why aren't you home, sleeping?" She stepped out of the way to let the boy walk in.
Ikuto smiled at her, and stepped into her room. He closed the door behind him, leaving it unlocked, and then took a large stride into her personal bubble. Before she could step back, he put one arm gently behind her neck and the other arm around the small of her back. He held her closer then she had thought possible, the only distance between their bodies being the distance of her arms that were squished between them, her pajamas, and Ikuto's thin coat. He let out a content sigh and nuzzled his nose into her hair.
She immediately began struggling against his hold, but in doing so, moved the arms that were protecting her from being completely flat against his chest, eliminating most of the space between their bodies.
"Amu" he muttered, moving his mouth to her forehead while somehow managing to embrace her to his chest harder as he did, "my dad's back. I'm staying here in Japan." At this revelation, she stopped struggling against his grip and put a hand near the shoulder of the arm he had holding her around her back. She could feel him smiling against her temple as he loosened his grip only enough for her to be able to breathe comfortably.
"Ikuto, that's great," she breathed. She closed her eyes and rested her head in the crook of his neck. Then it dawned on her. "Why are you here instead of with your dad, then? I'm sure your mother and father, and especially Utau, want you there right now." She tried to pull back to look at his face, which he allowed only after a brief struggle.
He beamed at her, and she couldn't help but smile back at him lightly. His grin quickly tuned into a smirk and she realized that she should really be shooing him out of her room right now. As she started to struggle out of his grip, he frowned and used the arm that he still had resting behind her neck to pull her in again.
"Ikuto!" she complained while lightly pounding on his back, "How do you expect to have a conversation without looking each other in the eye? And you need to go home! Come on, let me go!"
"No."
"Ikuto!"
"Don't wanna."
"Geez, you're annoying. Why not?"
"My dad's back, I'm through with Easter. Now all I need is you. But since you haven't grown up yet, I need to get my fill of Amu for a bit. Then I'll leave. I made a promise with your mother, after all."
"What does that even mean? Your 'fill of Amu'?" Her face turned a furious shade of red as she realized that she had been thinking the same thing about him not to long ago. Embarrassed, she stopped banging on his back in favor of squirming and clawing at his forearm to no avail because of his coat's sleeves.
Ignoring her, Ikuto began walking into the room, Amu still in his grip. He didn't get very far before the two tripped over each other's feet, making Ikuto let Amu go so they could both find their footing. After recovering, Amu glared at Ikuto and he looked away defiantly. Amu sat down cross-legged on her floor, and Ikuto silently followed suit, his body facing hers with only a few feet between them.
"Why are you here, Ikuto? Other than to tell me something that you could have either waited to tell me until tomorrow or sent me a text message about." Her sleepiness made her unusually rational, which she found unfair. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
"…"
"Stop pouting and answer my question. You nearly gave me a heart attack earlier."
"…"
"Ikuto…" She sat up a bit and leaned toward him. He looked at her for the first time in a while.
She sighed at the pouting look he gave her, "What do you want Ikuto?" she asked gently.
"One hug, then I'll leave." It was remarkable how childish he could sound. Then again, he had freely admitted to still being a child.
"Ikuto…" She whined. But he held her gaze steadfastly, and the almost non-existent blush on his cheek made her give in.
She crawled over the short distance and sat back on the balls of her feet. She hesitantly leaned forward, but quickly lost her balance and fell into his chest. She tried to sit up but was too embarrassed by the prospect of putting her hands on his leg or elsewhere on his body to actually manage anything, so Ikuto grabbed under her arms and pulled her up a bit so that her chin was resting on his shoulder. Ikuto wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose into the crook of her neck.
After a few more moments of her trying to find her balance, she finally managed to pull herself up using the back of his shirt for leverage and resting her knees on his thigh. She wrapped her arms around him gently for a moment, then he let her go, and she followed suit.
He helped her back onto her feet, and stood up. "Bye Amu. See you tomorrow." He smiled at the thought, and went to her door. After a gentle reminder to lock her door after he'd left, he closed her door and disappeared into the night.
She locked her door and closed her curtains, happily heading to her bed, somehow feeling as though her night was truly complete.