Meilin: New one-shot that popped up into my mind the other day! I wanted to cry when I wrote this. -sniff-
Ikuto: You're so sappy...
Amu: Agreed...
Meilin: Shut up or I will kill you off!
Ikuto: It's not like you haven't in your other stories before.
Meilin:...Maybe I'm secretly evil. Ikuto, disclaimer please!

Ikuto: Aznpride16xx does not own Shugo Chara - Just the Plot


"I Will Love You Forever"

The small framed student walked down the corridors of the school, her back pack slung over her shoulder and a pocky stick pressed between her glossed lips. She strode through the familiar halls and slid open the door to her classroom. Nonchalantly walking to the back of her homeroom, the seventeen year old girl took her normal seat next to the window and pulled a book out from her brown suitcase like back pack and resumed reading from where she left off.

A boy around the same age as her also sat in his usual seat to the right of the petite girl. Although they both have been sitting next to each other for almost three years neither of them spoke to each other - except in the one case when he saved her from being pushed down the stairs. She liked him ever since then but she was too shy to say anything. Unconsciously, the little lady stared at the male sitting next to her trying to build up the courage to have a decent conversation with him. She took in a deep breath.

"Amu, watch out!" Said girl broke from her thoughts as her name was shouted into the air. Quickly, Amu snapped her head in the direction of the voice. A soccer ball was hurling toward her at a great speed. Luckily it didn't hit her but the book in her hand and the supplies on her desk weren't so fortunate.

"Yo, Kukai, watch where you kick the ball next time," said the boy sitting next to Amu.

"Sorry, Tsukiyomi," The brunette replied. Ikuto gave a look to him that said "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

Kukai reluctantly looked over to Amu and mumbled underneath his breath. "Sorry, Hinamori."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi bent down and picked the book of the floor and dusted it off. "Interested in leukemia?" he asked as he handed Amu the book titled, "Leukemia in the Medical World."

"Something along those lines." She kept her eyes on the hardback book in front of her not daring to look up at his face.

"Wanting to become a doctor?"

"I guess you could say that."

This was probably the most they have ever talked to one another. Amu wanted so badly to look up and talk to him but she feared that she would blush and stutter if she did.

It's now or never. This is your last chance.

"U-um Ikuto, would you mind going out with me?" She asked timidly. Still her eyes were focus on her book. He sighed. It wasn't shocking that he was about to decline. After all, he did receive confessions on a daily basis. Those things got tiresome.

Finally, she looked deep into his eyes. "Please," she pleaded. "Give me two weeks. By that time if you still don't have feelings for me, I'll give up. I won't bother you ever again. That's a promise."

Thinking it over carefully, Ikuto agreed. "Two weeks?" She nodded. Something about this girl's determination made him comply with her wish. Usually he would turn a girl down flat. But this time was different. He wasn't so sure why. But it was.

"Meet me at the park on Saturday at noon. I'll be waiting for you there." The bell rang and school was dismissed for the day. Amu gathered her belongings and headed for the door. "Don't forget!" She said one last time before departing.

Before the halls of Seiyo Academy were packed with hundreds of students, Amu dashed to her locker, grabbed all her necessities and went straight home.

"Momma," She shouted. "I'm home!"

"Welcome back, Sweetie. How was your day at school?" she asked not looking away from her cutting board. She was currently preparing dinner.

"It was great," she sighed in content with a big smile plastered on her face.

"Oh? And what made this day better than the other ones?"

"I asked Ikuto out today and he said yes!"

Her mom put down the knife she was using and turned around. "Ikuto, as in Tsukiyomi, Ikuto?"

Her mother didn't say anything after that but Amu knew what she was thinking.

"Momma, please don't look at me like that. I know what you're going to say but don't say anything. He doesn't even like me like that. It's only for two weeks, and then he won't have to see me again," the pinkette reasoned.

Her mom looked at her with glossy eyes. "Only two weeks? You say that as if that's only an insignificant amount of time! Amu, I-"

At this point Amu's cheery attitude turned into a gloomy one. She tightened her fists securely together and her body started to shake with anger.

"I know, Momma!" she yelled with a little bit too much force than was meant. "I know," she said softly this time. "But that's why I want to do it. It's just something I want to do before I leave Seiyo Academy."

Sighing, the woman knew her daughter was right. "Okay. As you wish. Did you bring your book home with you?" Nodding, Amu pulled out her leukemia and meds book out.

"Good. Do what you need to do, okay? Now, go upstairs and study hard."

"I will." The girl brought her belongings upstairs and sat at her desk with the book in hand. She began reading. This book was practically her bible. She had it with her twenty four - seven. She never let that thing out of her sight.

"Wanting to become a doctor?" Ikuto's question flashed through her mind and she gave a soft chuckle.

"I did, Ikuto, I did."

After a nerve racking three days, it was finally Saturday. The teen sat on the edge of the giant water fountain waiting for her temporary boyfriend to show up. Five minutes had passed and she was getting nervous.

Calm down, Amu. It has only been five minutes. Give him some time. He might be running late.

Twenty five more minutes passed and she was no longer anticipating his arrival. She had given up. A part of her knew that he didn't want to come. And it wasn't as if she had any other friends or anything else to do so she sat there. She drew imaginary circles and odd shapes with her finger tracing along the stoned fountain.

"How long is she going to stay there?" The soccer loving boy whispered from behind a bush. "I want to ride the roller coasters and play games in that park! But we can't go if she keeps sitting there. She'll see us..."

Kukai sat there behind the oddly shaped green plant and began thinking of ways to sneak into the park without the girl seeing them.

The short girl sat there and began singing a beautiful set of words that described how she felt. Her words and her melody, they sounded so natural together, like it was professionally written. Some of the words rhymed and some didn't but it came right from her heart and that was all that mattered.

She continued to sing until she began violently coughing and couldn't breathe for a few moments. She tried to catch her breath but she couldn't go long enough without having the need to cough. The boy behind the bushes stood up and began walking toward the girl.

"Oi, Ikuto, what do you think you're doing? I almost figured out a way to get in without her seeing!" Kukai yelled in hushed tones.

Ignoring the stupid brunette, Ikuto walked up to Amu and patted her on the back before handing her a bottle of water. She happily drank it.

"I thought you weren't going to show up." She averted her gaze from his eyes to the floor which seemed to be more interesting at the moment. He felt incredibly guilty when she said that.

"I went to the wrong fountain earlier. Sorry," he lied. The truth was that Kukai had convinced Ikuto not to go out with the "Quiet yet mysteriously creepy girl" and that he should go out to the park with his best buddy. He thought if Ikuto was "late" to their date, she would just leave but she didn't.

Amu was only quiet because she didn't have friends to talk to and she wasn't "mysteriously creepy" as Kukai so nicely put it. She was just misunderstood and no one knew her true story. It wasn't like she wanted the whole world to know about her secret but nobody even bothered to talk to her at all.

"Do you still want to go on our date?" The boy asked. He didn't want to but he felt like he owed her for trying to flake out. A huge smile, challenging that to a child's face on Christmas morning, made its way across her face as she nodded in excitement. "Let's go then. Where do you want to go first?"

She thought about it for a second but decided that she wanted to ride the tea cups.

"There is no way I am riding on that thing," he said stubbornly, His "cool and calm" façade slowly melting away in front of her. Amu pouted. "Fine," he sighed in defeat. "But no one finds out about this, got it?" She gave him a quick nod and pulled him towards the spinning cups. She laughed at him as he struggled to fit his tall figure into the tiny cups. "Ha-ha, very funny," he laughed sarcastically. Finally when he settled himself in, he rested his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand. He looked in another direction staring off into space.

Amu noticed that he wasn't having any fun with her and she felt bad. "You can pick the next ride," she offered. He didn't seem the least bit interested in even being there at all. Even though they only were out together for less than two hours, she picked up on his vibe and decided to call it a day.

"I know going out with me is the last thing you wanted to waste your Saturday on but I just want to let you know that I am really grateful."

Ikuto didn't say anything. Did his attitude really come of that badly? She took that moment to continue speaking.

"The dance is coming up, right?" He nodded. "Since you agreed to date me for two weeks, I would appreciate it if you took me. What do you say?"

He did agree to that. So all he could say was, "Sure."

"Really?" Even though she semi-forced him to date her she thought he would reject her anyway. Once again he nodded. He wasn't much of a talker and all he wanted to do was get out of there. "Will you pick me up here at this park and we'll go together?"

"That's fine with me," he shrugged.

She quickly gave him a hug, her head barely making it to his shoulders' height. "Thanks Ikuto. You're the best!" She released him from her bind and turned around to leave but not before saying this, "Oh and you can tell Kukai to come out from the bushes. He's most likely sitting in poison ivy."

On cue, Kukai sprung from the bushes scratching at his arms and legs. "How did she even know I was here!" he yelled, viciously scratching at the bumps forming on his limbs. She giggled then disappeared in the crowd of people.

On Ikuto's face, unnoticed by anyone, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. No one had ever made him blush and yet this girl's laugh had affected him so.

Everyday for four days, Amu sat quietly in her desk at school. She was hoping that Ikuto would come and talk to her for once but he never did. She was slightly saddened by this but she didn't let it get to her. After classes she would go up to him and hold his hand like a normal couple would, walking down the hallways and he didn't seem like he minded. He laughed with her when they had small conversations. In one of their chats she brought up flowers. He didn't know flowers had meanings and he never would have guessed. It wasn't something he would normally talk about but she did and so he became drawn to her. He was beginning to feel something much more than just pity. But every time Kukai would come around and ask what was going on between them, Ikuto would say, "it's nothing" or "I'm only dating her until the two weeks are up." He would find some excuse to tell his friend and convince himself that he didn't have feelings for the girl. He had a reputation to uphold, after all, and hanging around Amu could "ruin his image" as Kukai kindly stated.

Secretly this "boyfriend" of hers started to fall for the fun sized girl but he would never admit that to anyone. He was embarrassed of what his friends might think because they thought that she was a stick in the mud. They had no right to judge her, though. They didn't even have the decency to get to know her.

Amu didn't whine or complain about anything Ikuto decided to do. It was obvious that he hadn't fallen for her like she had hoped.

Tonight would be the last night of the two week bet and Amu was set on going to this dance.

"Amu, please, reconsider! You shouldn't leave the hospital yet. You have to be treated right away!" The nurses all dressed in their navy blue scrubs ran after their patient as she made her way out the door.

It was pouring rain. She could barely see straight and it didn't help that it was nearly six thirty and the sun had already set. Due to the fact that Amu wasn't on hospital grounds, the nurses could not take a step off the property and bring her back.

Finally arriving at her house, the soaked girl walked up to the second floor without making a sound. Stepping into the bath, she washed off and changed into her midnight blue, floor length ball gown. She dried her hair with the towel as much as she could and then blow dried it until it was no longer damp. More than a few strands of her precious, detached locks were tangled in the bristles of the brush as she combed through her hair. A smile appeared on her face but her eyes displayed sadness.

Slipping on her silver heels and a jacket, Amu walked gracefully outside and to the park. Most of the people in their sheltered cars and houses looked at the crazy girl walking in the stormy weather - without an umbrella no less! But Amu didn't care. A smile was still evident on her beautiful face as she sat on that very same fountain from a few days ago. She waited for him there just like he had promised.

While she sat there for more than forty minutes, Ikuto was already at the dance checking his watch every ten minutes.

"Dude, stop looking at your watch. She'll get here when she gets here." Kukai was being inconsiderate while Ikuto couldn't help but worry.

"Do you think she's at the park?" The male questioned his brunette friend.

"She should know to come here. Only an extremely dense and desperate person would wait in a storm like this," Kukai replied. That comment struck Ikuto hard.

Dashing out into the violent rain, Ikuto looked for his date at the park. Then he remembered where he was supposed to meet her. "The fountain," he said as reality dawned on him. He ran toward the carved stone and surely enough he saw the girl. Not only was she passed out when he got there but she was also running a high fever.

He picked her up bridal style and she peeped open her eyes. "You showed up. Just like you promised," she smiled long enough before the darkness consumed her.

"Stupid girl," he insulted. He ran straight to the hospital not knowing where her house was so that was not an option. "I need help!" he yelled into the facilities.

All the patients and employees stared at the flustered man and the girl in his arms as they both dripped with water.

"Amu!" A woman yelled as she ran towards them.

"Who are you?" Ikuto growled, shielding the girl from any danger.

"I'm Midori, her mother." Instantly, the boy relaxed and followed her to a room. "Where was she?"

Ikuto explained the situation to the middle aged woman as she shook her head in disbelief.

"That girl is always doing reckless things," she said while the nurses stripped her daughter of her wet garments and dressed her in a hospital gown. "Ikuto, do you know where Amu was before she was at the park?" He shook his head. "She was here," Mrs. Hinamori replied. "She was just about to get her chemotherapy treatments but she insisted on going to that dance with you. She snuck away from me and left the hospital."

His eyes widened as the truth was leaked to him. "She has cancer?"

"Leukemia," she corrected.

"The book..." he realized.

"Precisely." Then Midori started to cry. "Two weeks," she said. "She told me about you and your deal. You must be really special to her if she wanted to spend her last two weeks with you."

He then realized that her last two weeks meant that she was going to leave and go to a better, more peaceful place. No, she wasn't going to graduate and go to college and become a doctor like she planned. She was dying.

Ikuto walked over and knelt down next to Amu's bed placing her hand in his. "I'm sorry, Amu. I wish I knew. I wish I didn't avoid you. I wish I didn't care what Kukai said about you. But you can't die yet. You have to fight it. Wake up so I can ask you to be my girlfriend, let me ask you out on a real date, graduate high school with me, become a doctor like you wanted. All you have to do is win." He stared at her intensely waiting for her eyes to pop open. "Wake up for me, laugh for me; let me see your beautiful smile."

Amu woke up to Ikuto's face. Her eyes were slowly focusing on the things around her. She reached out to touch his face but was too weak.

"Ikuto..." she weakly mumbled.

He held her hand gently and waited for what was to come.

"I hate the rain, Iku...to." Her consciousness was slipping away again and Ikuto began to panic. He grabbed onto her hand a shook her slightly.

"No, no, Amu, wake up. Don't go to sleep!"

Amu's mom called for a doctor and nurse and they came without hesitation. Even though they were both asked to leave the patient's room, Ikuto and Midori stayed close by.

The male stared through the window to her room watching as blurry figures stuck needles in her arms and hooked her up to various machines. The window was there but it was made so that no one could see clearly from the outside.

Midori placed her hand on his shoulder and he slightly jumped.

"She's a fighter," she smiled. He nodded and resumed observing. Midori spoke again and Ikuto listened without looking away from Amu. "Thank you for bridging her here.

She then walked away and took a seat on the couch across the hall from Amu's room. She unwillingly fell asleep exhausted from all the worry.

Suddenly, Ikuto backed away from the door as it opened towards him. He anxiously awaited the doctor's words.

"She is stable." A huge sigh escaped Ikuto's lips and he placed a hand over his heart. He immediately woke Midori from her slumber. He knew she would want to be there for her daughter's recovery.

"I'm not sure if chemo will work each time but if she still wishes we will continue on with the treatment," said the doctor.

"Yes, of course. Thank you!" The mother cried out. Both ran into the room and sat quietly next to the sleeping girl.

"Please know that for now she will be okay, but tomorrow is another story. I don't want to raise your hopes up too high." With that the doctor left the three alone.

Amu never complained so I won't either. As long as she is with me right now. I am satisfied. Ikuto thought.

Who was he trying to fool? Because he definitely couldn't lie to himself. He didn't want her to leave him. He wasn't happy. Sure, he was glad that she was still alive but the possibility that he could lose her tomorrow was heart shattering.

"Ikuto," Midori said breaking the boy from his own train if thoughts. "You should go home. You have final exams starting tomorrow, don't you?" He nodded his head.

That's right. Exams...once those are over we graduate. He thought.

Silently, Ikuto walked home, not bothering to return to the dance where Kukai and his so called friends were waiting. With the small black umbrella in hand, he gripped the anti rain tool Midori lent him and cursed to himself. If he wasn't such a jerk to Amu maybe they could have spent some real quality time together.

"Don't die on me," he commanded to nobody in particular.

While taking his test that would determine his final grade, Ikuto blew through the examination like it was nothing. The teachers announced that those who finished their test early would be allowed to leave as soon as their test was completed. Finally finishing his last essay question, the midnight haired boy handed in the packet and ran to his car at maximum speed.

"Ikuto, where are you going?" Kukai yelled after him. He also finished his test before the time had expired. Although Kukai didn't have much manners or a considerate attitude, he was still one of the smartest kids, along with Ikuto, in their class.

All in the hospital whipped their heads to the boy who was panting heavily by the door. The doctors and nurses recognized him every time that door slammed open. They didn't bother stopping him as he made his way to the girl he loved so much.

Seeing Midori crying on the bench outside of Amu's room was not a good sign to the boy.

"Mrs. Hinamori," Ikuto said giving her a sign of his presence. She looked up and her eyes were void of any color. Only sadness and grief were able to be seen. The mother didn't need to say a word for Ikuto to understand.

"No..." he said in a hushed and shocked tone. "It's not true. I saw her! She was just fine!" His soft and velvety voice became raspy and dry. In the blink of an eye, he was in her room fighting off the nurses that were holding him back.

"Amu, wake up! Don't play around like this! Amu!"

The women nurses hushed him while the male nurses restrained him from taking a step closer to the patient and doctor.

"Please lower your voice, sir. If not, we're going to have to ask you to leave." As tiny as that female nurse was, venom dripped off every word she spoke and sent shivers down his spine.

Ikuto calmed his voice but he was no where near sane on the inside. The doctor turned around, took off his white mask, and shook his head. His eyes apologized even though he did everything in his power to save the little teenage girl.

The faculty left leaving behind only Ikuto and Amu's mother. Midori stood by the door, saddened but at the same time glad that her daughter was no longer suffering.

No more than three graceful strides were all it took for him to be next to her bedside. He knelt beside her, holding her hand, and whispering sorrowful things of despair.

Never had Ikuto shown any tears. Never had he shown much emotion at all. Never did it hurt this much to love someone with all his heart.

Exam week was over, graduation was going on but Ikuto...he didn't show up. This time it didn't matter what Kukai or anyone else said. He was going to stick by his most important person.

As gloomy, cold, and slightly breezy as it was, Ikuto stood on the soaking wet and muddy grass with a bouquet of flowers in his right hand. "You knew you wouldn't get to graduate like you wanted, you knew you had only a little while left to live, and yet you chose to go out with someone as horrible as me and never complained."

No one needed to question why she did what she did. It was obvious to anyone who gave her a chance that she had a heart of gold.

"Congratulations, Amu Hinamori, for completing your hard earned years of high school. You graduate today." A rolled up piece of paper tied with a bow was set on her resting place. It wasn't an actual diploma, but a picture of them two together.

Ikuto wasn't finished though...

"Remember these?" He said as if he were having a conversation with her. He placed the cream colored tulips on the grey tombstone that had her name inscribed on it. "You told me once that each flower held a meaning, well, these are my words to you."

The rain began to pick up again. "Last time I checked, you said you hated the rain, right?" He opened up the black umbrella that was held in his left hand and held it over her grave disregarding his own need for shelter. "Don't worry, Amu, I'll keep you dry until the rain stops; and even after then, I'll still be here with you. I will love you forever."

END


Meilin: So I did some research and cream colored tulips do mean "I will love you forever."
And the part of the last few lines concerning the umbrella were made my DarkChoclat (with a few words of my own) but she gave me permission to use it! I'm innocent!
Amu: You did kill me off -Glares-
Meilin: Whose fault is that for being rude in the beginning of this chat?

-Meilin and Amu bicker-

Ikuto: Girls, girls, stop fighting over me. I know I'm sexy but there is no need for violence.

-Both girls look at him like this -_-' -

Meilin: Hey, Amu. You wanna go get taiyaki?
Amu: Sure.
Ikuto: Oi! I want some too!
Meilin/Amu: Nah.
Meilin: Please leave a review and you get to have Ikuto while Amu and I are gone! Ta ta!