A/N: Hey guys :) I'm finally back with more fanfiction after being mute for a few months. The holidays, school, exams and other irrelevant stuff caught up with me and I was far to busy to go on. Not to mention that the Amuto fanfictions had me crying like a goose, so I decided to take a break and focus on other business. But, I'm back now~! Hope you guys enjoy this new fanfiction {Amuto}
Also, I'll try my hardest to make my chapters longer People enjoy long chapters, right?
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Amu let out another breath of relief before removing herself from the tight space. The humid air quickly attacked her the moment she walked out. Hide-and-seek was never fun with Utau, especially when she was wearing her 'detective' hat. Abruptedly, Amu saw a blonde pigtail poke out from one side of the wall. Taking it in as a signal, she pushed herself back into the tight space between the two buildings.
"Amu, you come out now. I saw you," Utau exclaimed while running to the hiding spot that her best friend was at. Amu heard this and pulled herself out yet again.
"How'd ya find me?" she asked while dusting off some of the rusted paint from her faded jeans. She fixed her pink bangs a bit before glancing back at Utau.
"No one can miss that bush of pink hair you have," smirked Utau with both her arms folded. Amu shrugged then looped her hand through her best friend's as they both walked away from the scene.
"You up for some ice cream?"
"Hell yeah."
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"Amu, dear, can you come down?" questioned Midori. She was drying her hands with a paper towel after she finished washing the vegetables.
"Yeah, mom?" Amu skipped down the stairs with Utau behind her. They both were dressed in white bath robes after having a swim in the pool in the backyard.
"I have to discuss something with you. It's pretty serious." Midori articulated, before she took a seat at the dining table. Amu nodded and retrieved a spot at the dining table, with Utau sitting next to her.
"Amu, you know how your father lives in Miami?" asked Midori. Amu nodded again. The room was silent by now and all you could hear was the oven cooking away.
"I was deciding for you to attend high school there."
Amu gasped, as well as Utau. They were both filled with complete shock. This was serious for both of them. Amu looked at Utau with a confused and puzzled face. They both knew what eachother was thinking. Amu couldn't bear to leave California after being here for such a short period of time.
Her mother and her had moved here 6 years ago when she was 9, hoping to find some excitement in their lives after her parents divorced. On the first day, Amu had met Utau at the airport. Apparently, she had just come back from a holiday in Fiji with her parents. Both of them immediately became friends. They were both 15 now and still were best friends.
"Why the sudden move, mom?" Amu curiously asked her mom. She really didn't want to leave California. No, she didn't even want to leave at all.
"Your father called a week ago, asking if he could spend some time with his little girl. At first, I thought he meant a week or something like that, but he actually meant a few years. Perhaps the rest of your school life even," explained Midori. Everyone of the room's faces had suddenly frowned.
"Do I have to go?" Amu said, looking down at her lap. She couldn't bear to leave California and be away from her best friend for so long, not to mention her other close friends too.
"I recommend you to. You haven't seen your father in so long," smiled Midori. Inside, even Midori didn't want her daughter to leave but she had decided long ago that it was probably the best decision. "You don't have to decide right away. Your father had already bought plane tickets for you. The plane departs at exactly one week from now." Midori sighed and she too, looked down at her lap.
"I don't want to go though. I don't want to leave everyone. I don't want to leave you!" Amu exclaimed at her mother.
"I'll be fine, Amu. I have Tsubasa," smirked Midori. Tsubasa was her boyfriend of five months. When Amu first found out about this, even she was surprised that old people still referred to their lovers as 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend' but they both were happily in love and Amu definitely didn't want to intrude. "Also, Amu, please be aware that your father has already signed you up to a school and everything. Please be considerate about him too."
Amu frantically skimmed through all her options of getting out of the twisted situation. It was too difficult. She had to think of her father and how he had planned everything out too. Also, her mother was persuading her to go. Maybe her mother wanted her gone so she could have private intercourse with Tsubasa or something. She shrugged the idea off and started over with picking out the options when a hand rested on top of hers, which were carefully folded on her lap. Amu looked up at the person that the hand belonged to. It was Utau's. The look on Utau's face spoke a thousand words. It was a go-because-your-father-is-waiting-for-you-and-i-kn ow-he-would-love-to-see-you-again face. Amu struck a glare back and Utau didn't even flinch at all. She knew all about Amu's glares and how poisnous they were.
Midori sat there quietly, looking at the two girls stick out faces to eachother. Some were happy, grumpy or even deadly. Teenagers these days? She thought to herself.
-Three days later-
During those three days, Amu had spent most of her time cooped up in her room, thinking through her options again and again. She could run away to Utau's holiday house and stay there forever. She could live on the canned food that they stored in their pantry. But that would place an even heavier load on her mother's shoulders after what happened.
After those three days, she decided that the best choice would be to go with the flow and move to Miami with her father. Even thinking of the name 'Miami' gave Amu shudders. From movies and books, Miami was said to be filled with rich girls who dressed in skimpy clothes or rich guys who consumed alcohol daily. People would have sex everywhere and parties would be held until the early hours of morning. It definitely wasn't a place that Amu was looking forward to going. Amu sighed to herself for at least the third time in the whole morning.
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She never thought that she would be here but she was. Amu Hinamori, aged 15, was standing in the loading bay of Miami airport. Dressed in a pair of distressed jeans and a white singlet, she was waiting for her suitcase to come around on the conveyor belt. After spotting the black and white striped luggage case, she motioned for the person in charge of the conveyor belt to recover it for her. The man nodded and heaved the case from the belt before placing it on the tiled floor. Amu ran over to her bag and wheeled it away, waving at the man to send him a motion of thanks.
She walked through the gates and finally found herself standing outside of the airport with her bag strung over her right shoulder and her suitcase handle enclosed in her left palm.
"Amu! Is that you?" Amu heard an unfamiliar voice call out to her. She spun and faced the direction that the voice was coming from. It was from a man that was probably in his late 40s or so. He had dirty blonde hair and the bluest blue eyes that Amu had ever seen.
"Is that really you, Amu? My, you've grown so much since I last saw you!" exclaimed the man. Amu shot a confused look at him. After piecing together what he had said, she finally realised that the strange man was in fact her father. She was still kind of shocked at the attire that he was wearing. Her father was wearing a pair of orange flowered board shorts that went just right under his knee and a loose white singlet. Amu blinked at him, while running her eyes from top to bottom.
The man, suddenly noticing this, started to laugh.
"Oh honey, don't be confused about what I'm wearing. Most people in Miami wear this since we're so close to the beach. The weather's always hot too so it's more convenient in this type of clothing," he clarified before reaching for the suitcase handle and pulling it away to his car. Amu nodded to herself before running after him.
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"And I present to you, your temporary home!" bestowed Amu's father, Tsumugu, as he opened the wooden door to the two-storey villa that faced the beach. Amu stepped in, clutching her bag tightly. She wasn't that surprised when she saw the interior. It was like her house back in California, except that there were very big windows in her new home to show off the beach view that the house had.
"And temporary house?" questioned Amu once she had processed what her father had just said.
"Yes, temporary house! Unfortunately, your new high school is, um, a boarding school?" gulped Tsumugu. He was scared of what his daughter would react to that. He really didn't want to sign her up to such a prestigious school like Seiyo Academy High School but he thought that her life was so luxurious in California, she wouldn't want it to be any different here.
Amu was taken back by what her father had just announced. She was going to a boarding school? She really didn't plan on something like that happening. Reminding herself of what her mother told her, she bottled up her emotions and considered attending, just so her father could be happy.
"Are you alright with going to a boarding school? Because if you're not, I'll drop you out of it and you can go to the local high school," queried Tsumugu.
Amu shook her head and replied to her father. "No, I'm fine with the decision… dad."
"Oh! It's the first time you had called me 'dad' since you arrived here! I have to document this moment!" cried Tsumugu as he ran into another room to get his camera. When Amu was pretty sure he had left the room, she smacked her forehead. She had totally forgot that her father was a photographer and it was pretty much necessary for him to take a photograph of every, single, little event that happens in his everyday life.
Amu awkwardly stood in the entrance corridor with her suitcase next to her feet. She looked around on the walls in the narrow hall and saw a few photoframes. One of them had a photography of her when she was a baby. Amu laughed to herself once she saw fetus Amu. The next frame had photos of her dad and another woman. He probably remarried or something. It was a collage of photos. The background told Amu that they were probably at the beach. The woman looked nice. She had wavy locks of hair that cascaded down her back and she was tall, skinny and reached up to her father's chin.
"Tsumugu, who was it at the door?" asked a feminine voice from the second floor of the house. No one replied and Amu just guessed that her father couldn't hear. The sound of steps echoed through the house as someone walked down the wooden staircase. Amu looked to the direction of the sound and saw the same woman who was in the photos with her dad. The woman was looking down at the steps as she walked down the stairs. When she glanced up at Amu, her neutral facial expression quickly turned into a happy and joyous one.
"Amu! You're here!" shrieked the woman as she quickened up her speed on the stairs. Once she was safely on the ground, she ran over to Amu. Amu stood there with a puzzled expression.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have attacked you like that," laughed the woman. Amu smiled a bit. "I'm Mina, Tsumugu's wife. I've heard tons of stories about you from Tsumugu," said Mina as she extended out a handshake to Amu. She accepted the handshake but was startled when Mina pulled her into a tight hug. When Amu's body came in contact with Mina's, she noticed that her stomach had collided with a rather 'grown-out' one. After the hug had broke off, Amu darted her eyes to Mina's stomach.
"Oh! I'm 3 months pregnant," giggled Mina as she rubbed her stomach. Wow, that came as a surprise thought Amu to herself.
"What gender is it?" asked Amu curiously. She was still shooting some smiles to Mina.
"I actually don't know. I didn't want to know the gender of the baby. I like things to come as a surprise!" replied Mina.
Amu obediently nodded to every word that Mina was saying. After that, they had a small chat about Amu's plane trip here. Tsumugu arrived a few minutes later with his Polaroid camera. Noticing that his wife was here, he quickly raised the camera to his eye and yelped out a 'cheese!' Amu grinned along with Mina. The Polaroid came out of the underside of the camera. Tsumugu waved it around in the air until the photo had appeared on the white film.
"Here, Amu. You can have it. Think of it has your first memory in Miami," welcomed Tsumugu as he handed the Polaroid to Amu. She gladly accepted it and tucked it into the back pocket of her jeans.
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Tsumugu, Mina and Amu had just finished eating dinner and were heading off in different directions to do their own business. Tsumugu was going to edit some of his photos in his study while Mina was going to their bedroom to watch a movie.
"Care to join me, Amu?" invited Mina. Amu quickly agreed since there was nothing that she was planning to do that evening. They both skipped up the stairs together and went into one of the bedrooms at the end of the upstairs corridor.
Once they were both in the bedroom, Mina walked to the TV cabinet opposite from the bed to pick out a movie. Amu was still standing at the entrance, admiring the inside of the bedroom. It was beyond amazing in there.
The room was somewhat 'pentagonal' shaped so instead of four walls like a regular room, it had five walls. The bed was a four-poster bed with soft, see-through silk curtains that were tied together with a string of ribbon. One wall of the bedroom had a huge canvas hung up on it. The canvas contained a wedding photo of Tsumugu's and Mina's wedding day. They were both standing underneath a cherry blossom tree, smiling happily. Opposite the bed was a flat-screen TV that was stuck to the wall and underneath it was the TV cabinet. Windows and glass doors to the right of the bed lead out to a balcony that faced the sea. Also, there were two white doors in the room which Amu assumed belonged to the ensuite and the wardrobe.
"Amu, come in. I won't bite," laughed Mina as she continued rummaging through the cabinet. "Make yourself comfortable on the bed. We have some extra blankets and pillows under the bed."
Amu strided to the bed and hopped onto the left side of it. She maneuvered the pillows around a bit until she felt comfortable and leaned back to admire the dark, slick TV. After a few seconds, Mina stood up with two films.
"Which one? The Notebook or The Vow?" questioned Mina. Amu shrugged and quietly did 'eenie-meenie' in her head. It ended with the 'moe' on The Notebook.
"It's The Notebook, I guess," smirked Amu. Mina smirked back at Amu and went to insert the disc in. Amu was already feeling comfortable in her new household and she felt like she had developed a strong connection with her father and Mina already. Suddenly, Amu's phone vibrated in her pocket. She whipped out her phone to check it. It told her that she had received a new message from Utau.
To: Amu Hinamori
From: Utau Hoshina
06 May 2013 8:30pm
How's Miami? I'm guessing you landed already?
Amu grinned when she read her best friend's message. Mina motioned to Amu that she was going to the toilet to quickly wash her face. Amu nodded and returned to focusing her attention on her phone.
To: Utau Hoshina
From: Amu Hinamori
06 May 2013 8:31pm
Miami's been fine so far. It wasn't what I expected it to be. I met my dad and his new wife. She's really nice and everything. And guess what?! My dad signed me up for a boarding school! Utau, a boarding school!
Amu sighed after she had finished typing the paragraph of text. A few seconds afterwards, Utau replied with a message.
To: Amu Hinamori
From: Utau Hoshina
06 May 2013 8:31pm
That's great! I'm happy that you're getting on well with your step-mother. Is that what you call her? Hahas. And boarding school's going to be exciting! Lighten up, Amu *^* Well, everyone's missing you in California! Come visit us soon!
1 attached file.
Amu grinned an even bigger grin after reading Utau's long paragraph of text. When she noticed that there was an attached file, she pressed on the button to open it. Amu's eyes felt like crying tears when she saw what the file was. It was a picture of her and all her friends at her 14th birthday party last year. Amu saved the image, set it as her background and placed the phone on the bedside table when Mina started walking out of the ensuite.
"Let's start watching this movie!" squealed Mina as she grabbed for the remote and sat next to Amu in the bed.
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Tsumugu had just finished editing his photos for the night and decided that it was time to go to bed. Tomorrow, he had to drive Amu to her boarding school for the first time. To be honest, he was very happy to see his daughter after 6 years. She had grown up so much since then and her bubbly personality was still the same, not to mention her hair had gotten a brighter shade of pink and her honey-golden orbs were still shining brightly.
Tsumugu smiled to himself before heading up stairs to his bedroom. A/N: YES, THEY SMILE A LOT. DON'T JUDGE. When he opened the door to his bedroom, Tsumugu started laughing out loudly. He felt like falling backwards and laughing. The two women, Amu and Mina, were both sitting on the bed crying like crazy. On the TV, he could see the scrolling credits of a movie. That's what probably made them cry.
"Stop laughing, Tsumugu," spluttered Mina while she cried and laughed.
"Dad, stop laughing at us! The Notebook was a really sad movie!" cried Amu as tears started streaming down her cheeks. After a few seconds of utter silence, they all started laughing again.
Five minutes had passed and they were all still laughing like crazy. Amu wiped her tears away while trying to choke down some giggles.
"Well, it's time for bed, everyone," commanded Amu's father. "Amu, your room is the room opposite from this one. Your luggage is already in there."
Amu got up from the bed, waved goodnight to Mina and headed for the door. Her father gave her a peck on the cheek before wishing her a good night's rest.
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The bedroom that her father had assigned to her was like a smaller duplicate of his and Mina's. There was a four-poster bed, a flat screen TV, a walk-in wardrobe and everything else except for an ensuite. Amu didn't really mind. She wasn't staying here for long since she was going to leave for school tomorrow but she still decided to make herself a bit comfortable by rearranging her clothes onto the shelves and hooks in the wardrobe. It made her feel more at home. After she finished, Amu picked out a set of pajamas and headed off to the bathroom for a short shower.
-The Next Day-
"Amu! Wake up or you're going to be late for your first day! You don't want that, do you?" yelled Tsumugu from the kitchen. He was cooking up some breakfast with Mina. They had decided to make a great breakfast to celebrate Amu's first night in Miami.
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Amu rubbed her eyes, fluttering them open to reveal her honey-golden orbs. The sunlight crept its way through the light curtains of the bedroom, casting a few rays on the white bed sheets.
Amu dragged herself out of the bedroom and shuffled to the bathroom to prepare for the big day ahead of her. It was her first full day in Miami! She splashed her face with some cold water to revive herself and went on with the rest of her bathroom needs.
Amu's phone implied that the weather was going to be pretty hot today so she decided to wear something 'beachy'. Wasn't that what all Miami citizens wear? She threw on a pair of faded distressed shorts that reached her upper thighs and a plain white singlet. Amu secured her fringe with a black and red cross hairpin and put on her black Converse before arranging her clothes and utilities back into her suitcase and luggage bags. After confirming that everything was packed, she hauled her suitcases down the wooden staircase and piled them up at the entrance corridor.
Amu wiped away a drop of sweat then sauntered to the kitchen to taste breakfast. Her father and Mina were already sitting at the dining table, waiting for her.
"You guys could've eaten without me, you know," spoke Amu as she took a seat across from both of them. By this point in time, they were both looking at her and snickering quietly to each other.
"We didn't want to eat first. It's your first full day in Miami so we wanted to eat together," exclaimed Mina as she picked up her fork and poked at the salad before putting it into her mouth.
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"Are you excited, Amu?" questioned her father as he dropped her off at Seiyo Academy High School. Amu was nervous as heck. Her palms were sweaty and she felt butterflies, no, birds in her stomach. How about if I don't fit in? Back in California, it was so easy for Amu because she had already met Utau, who introduced her to the rest of the gang. She didn't have to go through the process of making new friends or anything because Utau had given them to her on a silver platter.
"Enjoy your new school, okay? Call me if you need anything," waved Tsumugu as Amu closed the car door. Amu waved back at her father's car as he drove off. She sighed to herself before finding her way to the office. I'll never make it there! The school's way too big!
Amu finally came up with the decision to ask someone the directions to the school's main office. She caught sight of someone who might be willing to help her and strolled over to him.
He looked about her age and he also looked pretty popular. There were many girls surrounding him, asking him questions and fawning over him. Maybe he's new too; that's why he might be so popular! The new guy was leaning against a motorcycle with a casual look spread across his face. Amu tapped him on his shoulder behind. The guy sighed, turned around and faced the pink-haired midget.
"Aw, she's so cute! Look how short she is!" squealed one of the girls crowding around the guy. Amu blushed and looked down at her feet.
"Hey Ikuto, ya think she's here to confess? You've had three so far since school started," whispered another girl into the guy's ear. The guy squinted his eyes at Amu, eyeing her from top to bottom.
"What do you want?" asked the fella as he blew a bubble with his gum and popped it. Amu looked up.
"Do you know where the school's main office is? I'm kinda new and need a few directions," quizzed Amu. While waiting for him to answer her dying question, Amu took note of the appearance of this supposedly 'Ikuto' guy. He was pretty tall, towering over Amu by about a head. She only reached his shoulders. His navy blue hair was slick, straight and hung limp from his head. It looked messy yet it also looked slightly styled. Amu couldn't help but admit that his amethyst eyes were the brightest eyes she had ever seen.
"I don't know, pinky. Go ask someone else who actually cares," leered Ikuto. He casually leaned back on the motorcycle and weaved both his arms through two girls which caused them to squeal. It wasn't loud, just audible enough for Amu, Ikuto and the other girls to hear.
Amu felt like raging. This 'Ikuto' guy was being so casual, blunt and mean about the fact that someone needed a helping hand yet he refused to even help or offer to help. She wanted to pull all of his hair out on the spot and hang him on a stick to roast him alive over an open fire. A/N: This was the 'rage' thing that Utau was talking about earlier in the chapter *^*
"Well, I'm sorry but if you were at least a nice person, you would help someone in need, instead of standing there like you owned the place," stated Amu. She folded her hands and rested all of her weight onto the right side of her hip. Her backpack hung loosely from her shoulders and Amu had begun to glare at Ikuto, including all of his 'fan girls'. That's what she had decided to call them. It was true though, they did act like fan girls. The whole time, they had fawned over him and swooned at him.
"Excuse me?" declared Ikuto. He had stopped whatever he was doing to stare at this pink-haired midget. Is she trying to pick a fight with me? "Dear, if you must know, I do own the place."
Ikuto did one of his signature glares at Amu. This glare made every single people that was about to mess him with him, run away in fright. It always worked. Amu, having gotten a lot of practice about 'glares' from Utau, didn't even flinch at the sickening glower that he was sending to her. She stood still, enhancing her scowl to make him flinch instead of her.
"Sorry Ikuto, but I don't take facts from selfish and ignorant people," scoffed Amu as she flicked a piece of her hair behind her shoulder.
By now, Ikuto had stood up, unhanded the other girls and stepped one step forward to the miserable short girl.
"And who are you to call me by 'Ikuto'? If you must know again, we aren't intimately related, are we?"
"Me? Intimately related with you? Over my dead body. And you never really told me your name, did you? I had to get it from one of those skanks over there," implied Amu as she pointed to one of the girls crowded behind Ikuto. The girl that Amu pointed to suddenly got offended and ran off.
"Well, it's Tsukiyomi, Tsukiyomi Ikuto."
"And I'm Hinamori, Hinamori Amu."
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A/N: AHHH~! Guys, that's the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did while typing it. I was squealing like a fan girl when I was about to write the Amuto section. God, I was about to CRY. This is by far, one of the longest ever chapters I've ever written for a Fanfiction. I tried my hardest lolololol. Took me a few hours and it was about 4000 something words. Enjoy enjoy~! Also, the chapters for this Fanfiction are probably going to be very long considering that I decided it will captivate the reader's attention even more. And it'll also convince me and motivate me to continue writing. This story is probably going to be dragged out to about 10-20 chapters. I don't know but yeah.