It's been a very long time since I've been on this site oh my god. Well I'm a little bit rusty when it comes to writing about Shugo Chara but here goes nothing, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything besides the plot and any respective OC's.

I. Lonely Eyes

"She wanted to ask him why they were all strangers who shared the same last name."
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun

By the direct order of the owner of the small, yet quaint, stage room, she was instructed to take her reserved seat which was one row away from the front of the stage. At her side was her mother who gave a respectful nod to the elder woman before placing a hand against her daughter's back to lead them towards the seats she purchased. As the lights turned off and focused primarily on the occupants that loited the stage, it was her sister that soon graced the stage in the exquisite and dazzling dance outfit she had been speaking so highly of before. It hugged her curves graciously, the fabric the epitome of marvelous, as it shone under the lights that were stamped above, giving a star-like aura to her. While everyone stared in awe of the young girl as she glided her way across the stage floor, the only thing vivid in Amu's golden colored eyes was envy.

Envy of her fluid motions, of her expressive movements, of how easily she managed to sway the crowd without even muttering a word. What she did was enough for everyone and with a glance to the judging table, she saw the pride in their eyes, the wheels turning in their head at how much potential this one girl had, it was almost a blasphemy.

"Isn't she beautiful?" her mother whispers as the final chorus of her sister's song begins to play out, her camcorder held tightly in her hand, recording the breathtaking spectacle. As the song begins to die out and her sister performs a final spin that turns out perfect per usual, Amu feels herself going along with the crowd as they all stand up to give the girl a standing ovation, said girl merely waving and smiling at them all for their support and as she runs off the stage with such light feet, the cheers eventually dying down, to allow the voice of the speaker announce the next performance.

─── o ───

Ami is as radiant as usual.

Her light brown hair is shimmering with the glitter she had added to it and it flows elegantly over her shoulder blades and into long, bouncy curls that the stylist Mom had asked for had prepared. Underneath the thin strip of black eyeliner and false lashes, her honey eyes were clouded with tears in embarrassment as picture after picture was taken and she oh so proudly cradled the 1st place trophy in her thin arms. She makes a comment about her cheeks hurt from smiling so much and everyone is filled with such mirth because "isn't that the most adorable thing you've ever heard?" and away from all the madness resides Amu who is giving her silent support from her place against the wall.

There's a hoard of photographers making their way towards her and Amu notices how her younger sister suddenly shrinks at the attention. She's too small to be involved in this sort of thing, she duly notes. But participating in a competition against some elite dancers and coming out victorious and stealing the No.1 spot from Japan's best Linnea, what else did you expect? Linnea was now ranked down to second place and the ginger haired female had a look of utter defeat yet that didn't stop the young beauty from striding over to her now proclaimed enemy to congratulate her on her win, before she was enveloped by three other girls, who were presumably good friends of hers.

After she had managed to shake off the reporters and photographers──Amu had listened to her mother mouth off just how splendid Ami's performance was and how proud she was of her as they made their way towards her sleek, grey convertible. Her mother had tuned out the radio and instead vowed to listen to her younger daughters jitters on how she felt before she danced. Ami had honestly felt as if she was going to puke right then and there on stage due to the butterflies over flooding her stomach and a self conscious stroke of her new trophy seemed to show that she was glad she had overcome it.

When the three of them had arrived home a "Congratulations" banner was placed against the head of the door and streamers were recklessly tossed everywhere as thyme horns were blown and nothing but loud noise filled Amu's ears. Her mother had pushed Ami ahead as the girl beamed with nothing but adoration as her father pulled her into a hug and her closets relatives and friends gathered around the moderately sized living room to give their congrats as well. Amu preferred to stay away from it all. She hid behind the shadow of her mother and as soon as the older woman made a move to be by the side of Ami, she quickly scampered off the the kitchen and rested herself on top of one of the many stools. With a turn of her head, she noticed the cake that wasn't too far from her reach, decorated beautifully in pink swirls and artificial flowers and chocolate, with pairs of balloons accompanying it.

Like she had said before, Ami wasn't adjusted to having so much attention on her. She fidgeted, and made a fool of herself, this being the reason for a laugh to rise from Amu's throat at her sister's helplessness. The girl couldn't even catch a break when it came to her friends and family. But despite the envy that she had felt previously for the younger girl: it disintegrated as quickly as it came for the smile that took over her sister's lips made her remember just how much she wanted this. How she worked each and every day at the dance room just for this very performance to come out perfect. And it did.

She deserves this... Amu thought, because it was only reasonable that a girl that worked as hard as she did and put in so much effort in what she loved, got something in return. She watched as an embarrassed blush painted itself across the female's cheeks as her father replayed her dancing segment, commenting about how his little girl was growing up so fast and he couldn't handle it. It was Japan's annual dance competition so of course it would be broadcasted on television, there was no doubt in her mind that Ami would be asked to perform a few interviews before the excitement of the dance competetion died out and she would be known officially as Japan's top ranked dancer──in regards to teenagers.

The pinkette poured herself some fruit punch and took a few sips from it, relishing in how the cold taste felt against her tongue. As her father made a proclamation to bring out some alcohol he was immediately shot down by his distraught wife as she pulled on his ear and exclaimed that it wasn't appropriate for this type of occasion and the last thing she wanted was to be on the receiving end of an endless amount of phone calls as to why her daughter's friends parents are in need of assistance to their hungover children. Amu laughed with mirth and shook her head at her father's foolishness.

A presence had taken custody of the stool besides her and she craned her head, a familiar face sprouting in her view, as well as a sweet smile. It's been awhile since Amu had been acquainted with her, the girl was the definition of an overachiever but that had to do with her aspiration to become the worlds renowned fashion designer, but she was always moving about, flying all around the world just to cater the needs of her ever-so bickering parents. Her father couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that he had lost custody of his only daughter to his ex-wife, Mariko, who did nothing but shower her daughter with love. It was surprising that Yua had managed to stay sane through all of it.

"How you been stranger? Your hair is longer," the orange haired spunky teenager comments, mindlessly grabbing a strand of Amu's hair and examining it as if it's some kind of specimen, "You need to tell me your secret. There's a fashion show in France and I want my hair to be past my waist by the time I go so I can construct it into this beautiful braid I saw a few hours ago in the styling book."

It was an understatement to say that Yua's family was absolutely loaded, even with the divorce, it just meant more money on her mother's part who was a professional photographer. France was like another home to her and she was beginning to grasp the aspects of perfecting their language. She often voiced her opinion on moving there once she graduated from Seiyo Academy but it was something her mother and father were rather iffy about. I mean, it wasn't that hard to tell. They obviously had trouble dealing with their daughter moving so far away from them, and in another foreign country at that as well!

"Their really proud of her, huh?" Amu says, eyes primarily focused on her little sister as she is engaged into conversation after conversation, "She's practically a star now."

Yua shakes her head, "A soon to be star..." with a soft look she glances to where Lavender resides, "She's going to have to work a lot harder in order to get what she wants. This is just the beginning, there's far more to come. But she has that spark in her eye, the kind of spark that makes you aware that she has potential. It's going to be a long, hard journey but I'm sure she'll make it. Now as for you Amu..."

"What?"

"What dreams are you chasing?"

Amu sighs. Of course Yua would be the one to ask that, she was the type to lean her head forward and learn everything it was about a person that cracked. She was a very inspective young girl and Amu believes that she would have had an amazing career in the detective field if she yearned for it. But it was her questions that constantly brought the brunette to the edges of her feet, that made her seriously ponder and dig deep in her mind to find an answer. She tries to find one, a dream that is, but all that's left in her mind is the remembrance of the dreams she once had that had tragically fallen apart.

"I... don't have an answer."

A hand presses itself against her shoulder and she looks to where Yua is seated, a soft smile on her lips, "I'm sure you'll find out the answer soon enough," she says and adds in a wink. The two girls sit in comfortable silence. Though, Yua does stand up to pour herself her own cup of punch and manages to wander back with a bag of Doritos and the girls mindlessly eat one after another as they continue to watch reruns of Ami's dance recital. More flashes make it's way into her vision and she feels her stomach began to crumple. Amu wishes she could be like that. Act like she actually belonged to this talented family. But she never will, and she was aware of that. She would remain an outcast till the day she died and that was something that didn't sit well with her. Whenever the family would roam around public areas, it was always her that would be the sore one out.

Mother, or Midori, was a lovely looking woman who always had nothing but dazzling eyes whenever she spoke or praised someone. She was all nice words, gentle touches, and lingering hugs. She often smelled of peaches due to her constantly evading the kitchen to prepare cakes for special occasions. Her appearance was a striking resemblance of her younger daughter──light brown hair that was previously long but due to the summer, she had cut it so it would reside on her shoulder blades, and chocolate brown eyes that stood out with her long lashes and heart shaped face. Her body was slim and fit, after a treacherous diet that she managed to sustain. She was still so youthful though there were a few moments where the sun shone that showed just how much she aged throughout the years. She worked as an editor for a popular magazine entitled Housewives Knowledge.

Father, or Tsumugu, was expectantly hyperactive and active. When he was younger he was involved in nearly everything, either it raged from Debate club, to sports, he was always there. In regards to brains, he was sensationally smart but it did take him awhile to realize just how much potential he had. Even if he had said he had better judgement when it came to things, there were little moments where he knew he underestimated just how conniving and sly his wife could be. He tended to be over dramatic and had a preference to calling his little girls his precious little sparrows. He worked as a professional photographer with wild birds being his main subjects.

...and Ami was their──by blood──star quality daughter.

Amu just happened to get dragged along when someone decided to actually adopt her.

She was by all means an orphan: had the typical "i don't know who my parents are" story to her and it didn't escape her judgement that she was suddenly being brought into a family who had wealth and power while she was just there. Being welcomed into their arms would have looked like a blessing to anyone in the same situation as her, but she found it to be a burden. With all the private schools her adoptive parents had enrolled in, it was all the same. Pompous rich brats who thought little of education and preferred the party lifestyle. So Amu did her best to separate herself from those kind of people. The kind of people that would bring her negative vibes because that wasn't something she was so akin about. It didn't help matters that when she did try to go out of her way and befriend said people, they accused her of a crime she never committed, and it was up to Midori and Tsumugu to clean up the mess.

Due to this, and at the chagrin of Yua, Amu had begged them to enroll her elsewhere. The academy happened to be──

"Seiyo Academy. You start tomorrow right? Guess I'll be seeing you around but it sucks you're a sophomore, we could've graduated together," Yua said with a nudge to her gut.

"Wait what?! How old are you?"

"Seriously? We've known eachother for how long? I'm 17. I'm going to be graduating this year so I'm going to make this school year a year to remember."

Amu pouted. Great, one more year and she'd be stuck at the Academy without knowing anyone. Ami wasn't a very helpful option, she loved her school life at the private school she was previously enrolled in because all her friends were there, including her crush.

"Don't get be so sour, you're going to make friends. Maybe even a potential boyfriend──"

"Yua!"

"Don't Yua me! You need a bit of lovin in your life if you're picking up what I'm putting down," she said with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows. Amu coughed into her fist, embarrassed at the situation at hand, "Oh come on Amu you're a total cutie! Any guy would be lucky to have you!"

"Why are we discussing my nonexistent love life with I haven't seen any boy candy hanging off your arm Miss Fashion Designer?"

At this, Yua's smile turned extremely soft. Her eyes casted nervously to the ground and she twiddled her thumbs. The hat on her head tipped forward, a shadow appearing over her eyes, and a blush firmly on her cheeks, "Truth is I'm waiting for someone. That's why I can't wait to graduate, newfound freedom and all."

"Waiting for someone?"

She nods, "I'll tell you more about him soon. Since seeing as though you're now an underclassmen, means that we'll be seeing a lot of each other. I hope we get really close Amu," and she smiles hugely.

"Everyone time to cut the cake!" Midori exclaimed through the loud conversations as she waved a knife around, the same knife being carefully plucked out from her small hands, as her husband gave her a weary look and safely tucked the utensil back to where it laid next to the decorated cake. Hopping off of her seat, Yua bounded after the younger Hinamori child, to watch as she looked so humble at the cake being presented to her.

"CONGRATULATIONS AMI ON YOUR BIG WIN!" they all yell as the cake is sliced, streamers are thrown, noisemakers are blown, and in the midst of it all a pair of arms circle around Ami's shoulder and the female could only stare in awe at her crush's bold move. This of course leads to Tsumugu throwing an absolute fit at the male trying to taint his daughter in public only to be punished by a sharp blow to the back of his head from his wife which efficiently drops him to the ground in a state of unconsciousness. It's left unnoticed as joyous laughter streams from the lips of Ami as she leans into the touch of her crush.

She lived a great life and Amu was left to watch it all happen on the sidelines. The pinkette had wished in the back of her mind that Midori had taken Tsumugu's option of alcohol in consideration because she was in desperate need of some.

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