Relax & Have a Good Time, a shugo chara! fanfic

"Yo, Hinamori!"

Amu tore her gaze from the sweet Lolita-clad mannequin she was eye-worshipping, only to replace it with a grinning Kukai Soma. The veteran guardian walked up to her and gave her a playful wink before giving the display window containing Amu's current dream outfit a thoughtful look.

"Doing what every girl's good for, are we?" he wrapped his arm gruffly around Amu, pulling her off balance as he swung her around with unnecessary force. Amu managed to mutter an interrogative grunt.

"Shopping, bright one!" Kukai released his grip, giving Amu the opportunity to smooth out her hair and shoot him a semi-pissed eye roll. "It's not like I have anything better to do," she retorted back.

A look of mild surprise spread across Kukai's face. "You mean, you're not going to Hoshina Utau's concert tonight?"

This time it was Amu's turn to play the confused card. "She's having a concert?"

"She is," Kukai began waving a pair of tickets between his fingers, their precisely trimmed cardboard edges jutting out like blunt claws as they mockingly fanned Amu's face. "I have to say, I'm a tad shocked she didn't inform her best friend."

"Since when? Where? Whu—" Amu felt a rush of excitement, bewilderment, and betrayal saturate her body all at once; she had never known Utau to not tell her about an upcoming concert of hers, let alone not even invite her to it. Her look of incredulity quickly morphed to suspicion as she eyed Kukai's fan of tickets. "And how exactly did you score those?"

"Would you hate me if I said Utau gave 'em to me?" Kukai stated nervously. Amu let out a shocked gasp, her eyes widening with inquiry.

"What gives?" she took a threatening step towards Kukai. "She gives you not one, but two tickets, and me none?"

"Hey, don't look at me—"

"Are you guys like dating each other or something?" Amu fired courageously, a hint of threat seasoning her voice. "Cause the two of you seem to be pretty friendly…"

"Okay, okay fine, you can have one of mine," Kukai interjected quite loudly, his face turning a questionable shade of red as he awarded Amu her ticket. She smiled victoriously.

"Thank yo—"

Her voice froze stiff in her throat as she felt an arm slither its way right against her waist; she watched in static disbelief as it swiped her ticket right out of Kukai's hand, and nearly died in her shoes as an all too familiar scent numbed her senses into a state of immobilized delight.

Regaining her bearings in one nauseating rush, Amu turned to face Ikuto, his midnight blue hair hanging across his face in such a way as to unintentionally make any girl swoon and die of a sugar-coated heart attack. Or at least, that was the hypothesis Amu had postulated, to explain why her heart seemed to frolic just a little more noticeably every time he scanned her with those naturally seductive eyes of his. The butterflies gnawing at her insides were only adding to her ruffled composure.

"I-I-Ikuto," Amu stuttered lamely, her senses just now beginning to realize how exceedingly close he was to her body. She gave herself a psychological slap. "Give me my ticket!"

"Oooh, I see we still have yet to develop any manners," he fired back coolly, his voice only giving way to mild emotion as he fingered Amu's ticket mockingly.

With the maturity of a five year old Amu began to snatch at the ticket with irritated madness, her hands flailing desperately as Ikuto moved it intentionally out of her reach.

"I guess you'll just have to go with me if you wanna see Utau that bad," he remarked apathetically. Amu could feel her face boiling under a blanket of blush.

"Well" Kukai's voice cut through the verbal crossfire with unexpected volume. "Seeing as you two are content with each other, I think I'll be heading off."

"We are not content!"

"Later!"

Amu watched with growing horror as Kukai disappeared from sight, her mind racing as it tried to integrate everything that had just happened. Her thoughts were interrupted by Ikuto.

"You'll catch cold if you just stand there all night."

Amu's anger had reached its max threshold. With a poisonous glare she stomped to face Ikuto, her pink hair swinging with threatening wildness as she locked eyes with him. Her tongue tingled with an arsenal of fiery comebacks.

"What, are you saying my clothes are too revealing?" Amu shouted thoughtlessly. Regret instantly poured through her, however, as Ikuto began scanning her body with an unnecessary smirk.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Please don't."

Subconsciously she crossed her arms across her chest, making sure to cover as much skin as possible. Her outfit only consisted of a baggy white-sleeved shirt, an off-the-shoulder T-shirt that read 'Rock Your Body', a white mini skirt surrounded by a jeweled belt, thigh high pink and black striped stockings, and white buckle up shoes, yet she suddenly felt like she was being scrutinized by every mother in Japan. She fiddled self-consciously with the beads hanging from her black choker.

"If you're done bashing your choice of clothing," Ikuto spoke, his voice silky as a length of ribbon, "I've got an extra ticket here I think you might be interested in."

All Amu could do was blink and accept her ticket before she allowed herself to walk at a safe distance with Ikuto.

"Do you even know where we're going?" she muttered bluntly, her face staring steadfastly at the pavement as they maneuvered their way through the crowds of people.

"I dunno… maybe."

Somehow his response wasn't as shocking as she'd anticipated.

"You sure don't know how to care for a lady properly."

"You sure are a cranky date."

Amu stopped mid step, her heart hammering against her ribs at an annoyingly hard pace. "I never actually accepted your date request, so don't even go there."

"Oh? I think you did."

"Amu-chan's on a date?"

All eyes turned to discover Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia speeding towards the disagreeing duo with an unwavering swarm of energy, their faces smiling as if they'd just discovered a forbidden secret. Yet somehow, seeing their glorified expressions wasn't helping Amu's frantically spazzing heart recuperate like she had hoped.

"Oooh, and it's with Ikuto!" Ran cooed, her cherry pink eyes popping out of their sockets as she spread the ground-breaking news. "That's our Amu-chan!"

"Would you guys knock it off?" Amu hissed, her cheeks burning up with feverish embarrassment. "Me and Ikuto are simply going to Utau's concert together, got it?"

The quartet shook their heads obediently, though their eyes still held a knowing sparkle. "Sounds like a date to me," Miki whispered as they all glided towards a busy looking building. People were gathering all over in excited clumps, giggling and chattering like flocks of canaries as Amu and Ikuto approached with their tickets. Amu could overhear a group of girls ogling at a giant promo poster, a frame of blinking lights highlighting its laminated surface with enticing flash. She poked her head closer to get a better look, quickly followed by her guardian characters.

"Presenting Japan's hottest upcoming artists," Ran recited.

"All in one action-packed performance," Dia finished, her sunny yellow eyes glazed in wonderment. Amu, however, was gawking at the person on the poster; a young man with hair as blue as the deepest depths of the ocean stood beneath a spotlight, a violin cradled within his arms and black shades covering his eyes. Amu felt the breath evacuate from her lungs.

"Ikuto, you never told me," she spoke dazedly, barely able to rip her eyes away from the poster before she bumped into Ikuto, who was suddenly standing directly behind her. Amu felt like a bomb had gone off in her head as his velvety aroma wreathed her in its scent.

"Let's go," he stated candidly, and, without hesitation, Amu was being escorted into the jam packed vicinity, her question decidedly unanswered.

"Wait for me-nya!"

Before Amu could even turn her head a set of furry paws flew onto her shoulder, and Yoru was blinking at her with huge, mischievous eyes.

"Yoru, you're just in time!" Su exclaimed. "You would've missed Ikuto's performance had you been any later."

His tail flicked Amu's cheek excitedly. "Ikuto's doing a performance-nya?" his little voice squeaked.

"Yoru."

Swiftly the mini alley cat flew over to Ikuto's side, his tail twitching from his bearer's harsh demand for silence. Amu let out an amused sigh.

As she passed her ticket to the ticket usher, she couldn't help but notice the laid-back atmosphere of the theatre; people were all over the place mingling and drinking, and numerous drink bars were set up throughout the room. A stage was located at the front, heavy red curtains enclosing its lit up surface as it waited in solemn isolation for the first performer of the night. The entire area seemed to be shrouded in some sort of artificial shadow, giving one the impression of mysterious obscurity.

"Is this a theatre?" Amu asked, her eyes resting on a group of people chugging back some sort of coffee beverage.

"Yeah, though it's not exactly your typical theatre setup," Ikuto replied as he seated himself on a red-velvet stool. He beckoned for Amu to join him. "I guess you could call it a coffee bar theatre."

"That's, um…" she sat timidly next to Ikuto, the plush velvet cushioning sinking to a comfortable depth the minute she fully placed her weight on it. "…um…"

"Yes?" Ikuto queried, an evocative look inching across his face.

"I mean, it just seems like the kinda place you'd perform at," Amu spat the words one after another, avoiding Ikuto's increasingly hypnotic gaze.

"Do I really remind you of such dark, mysterious things?"

She gave him an incredulous stare. "Maybe."

As if in agreement, the room began to grow dim as a moonless night, silencing the crowd into a state of hushed expectance as stage lights switched off one after another.

"It's starting, it's starting!" Ran squealed. She was soon joined by Amu's other three guardian characters as they jumped jubilantly together.

All eyes were glued to the stage as purple smoke began slithering into sight, licking and caressing the air with delicate slashing motions as the lights slowly grew brighter. Within the growing cloud of smoke was the outline of a person, and as the lights gave their last push to fully illuminate, a man holding a violin was revealed centre stage. The entire room seemed to inhale as he raised his bow, breath held taut as they awaited his first climatic action. Amu felt herself move closer to Ikuto for no apparent reason.

A rapturous note diffused through the theatre as the man struck his violin, its lonesome whine captivating the audience in one skillful strike. His deep colored hair danced avidly atop his forehead as his bow skated across the violin strings, producing a sound of romantic loneliness that held an unusual masculine edge. For one breath of a second he flashed his piercing blue eyes deep into the audience, the humming of the violin now only an echoing memory, when suddenly an entire band appeared behind him, ropes of smoke spiraling out from around them like wispy vines. The entire audience grew into a flurry of applause as the musicians all synced their music into one grand vibe, the sheer volume making every person's heart pulse in time to the rhythmic orgasm.

"Whu-whu-whu," Amu whipped her head from Ikuto to the violinist on stage, her eyes slits of utter confusion as she desperately tried to put her thoughts into some sort of order. "I-Ikuto, how are you—"

"He's my cousin," Ikuto replied as he placed a silencing finger on Amu's lips. "Tsukiyomi Kazuo."

Amu blinked disbelieving at Ikuto, though it didn't take her long to see the freakishly close family resemblance. "He looks just like you," was all she managed to whisper.

Ikuto was staring at the stage, his face mildly highlighted by the ensemble of dancing lights. "Just not as good-looking as me, hm?"

His response was a whack in the head.

"He has a guardian character too-nya," Yoru popped into sight, his tail glowing under the multi-colored lighting. His statement was promptly followed by a stampede of guardian characters trying to seek out this mysterious new being.

"Wow," Amu breathed, her eyes sparkling in wonderment. "You have such a musical family, Ikuto." She watched in awe as Kazuo struck his violin, a mystifying blend of passion and mystery flavoring every one of his movements. Yet somehow, a fog of uncertainty bogged Amu's mind.

"He even plays the violin."

"Idiot," Ikuto remarked, his eyes smiling at Amu through the dimness. "That's a viola."

Amu felt her cheeks tingle profusely. "Well sorry for not being an expert on musical instruments," she shot back defensively. Her attitude infused response, however, was interrupted as a waitress came up with a platter of liquid-filled wine glasses, their crystal surfaces glistening with refined shimmer. "Would you like to try a mocha chocolate mousse smoothie?"

"Oh, sure," Amu responded thoughtlessly, her hands grabbing about five at once with an awkward clatter. She ignored the waitress' look of surprise as she slid one towards Ikuto, and was thankful when she left without a peep of inquiry.

"Here you guys," Amu mumbled through gritted teeth, poking Ran to get her attention. "Don't put my efforts to waste."

It only took a millisecond before all the guardian characters were huddled around the wine glasses, their faces devouring the fluffy mocha smoothie with thirst-deprived speed. Yoru had all four paws sinking into the sweet concoction, his little pink tongue eagerly licking up every morsel he could find while Su recited the supposed ingredients to no one in particular.

An earthquake of applause flooded the theatre as the musicians onstage completed their performance. Amu picked out Ikuto's cousin during the bows, his chiseled face contoured attractively beneath the stage's glow; she couldn't help but feel drawn to his commanding presence. She began clapping, some kind of unknown signal forcing her hands to show their auditory appreciation.

The thunderstorm of clapping, however, came to an abrupt conclusion as the lights suddenly went out, leaving the entire theatre in a blanket of inky blackness. Piercing the darkness was one single beam of radiant yellow light, underneath which stood none other than Hoshina Utau, her gothloli dress sparkling with devilish brilliance as the crowd became awestruck by her presence.

Open your shiny eyes in the silent night

fushigi na yoru maiorita

ashioto tatezu shinobiyoru

nayamashi ge na kuro neko no poozu.

"Wow, Utau looks so inhumanely gorgeous in that outfit!" Amu cooed, her eyes orbs of enthralled covetousness as she glowered up at Utau. "She'll be really happy to know you came, Ikuto."

"Most likely," he muttered indifferently; his outwardly showmanship of brotherly support was failing miserably.

A monsoon of gasps interrupted Amu's thoughts, causing her to look back at the stage expectantly. A giant fume of purple haze the shape of a butterfly was floating just above Utau's head, its feathery wings outlined in glitter. As Utau began to belt out the chorus to Meikyuu Butterfly, the smoke figure swooped down on her, dissecting into an avalanche of purple haze that shrouded the entire audience with one massive sweep.

Amu could feel the smoke licking at her own skin within seconds, its coolness slithering all around her till her surroundings grew polluted and opaque. Caught off guard, she reached out for Ikuto, immediately making contact with his left arm.

"Someone scared?" he asked with a hint of suggestiveness. Amu continued to cling on, her vision completely failing her as purple mist disassociated all her senses. She felt Ikuto's arm wrap securely around her shoulders, and was both relieved by its warm touch and distressed by how much reassurance it was actually providing her with.

"Amu-chan, what happened to Utau's singing?" Dia's voice piped up from somewhere within the fog. It was then that Amu realized Utau's beautiful voice had ceased its melody making, leaving the entire vicinity in a state of paralyzed silence.

"Ikuto," Amu breathed, her heartbeat quickening into a rhythm of panic, "Something's wrong."

"And I sense X-eggs-nya!" Yoru shrieked, his mew squeaking with evident thrill.

"No, it's not X-eggs," Miki retorted, her position also unknown to Amu. "It's something different… something I've never sensed before."

Amu could feel alarm welling up inside her throat as the fog gently began to soften, her eyes unsure of what they were about to see. She could start to make out Ikuto's face again, as well as the guardian characters' tiny bodies levitating close by. But something felt terribly off.

Ikuto was the first to speak, his grip loosening from around Amu as he stood up. "Look."

Feeling like her stomach had just bungee-jumped, Amu scanned the violet tinted theatre; every person was standing still as statues, their eyes abnormally dilated and tiny oval spheres floating above their heads as they stared blankly ahead of them. Amu could feel a strange sense of negativity growing all around her, and an ominous sense of blankness threatened to wipe her mind right clean.

"We have to get out of here," Ikuto stated urgently, barely even allowing Amu a chance to interpret his words before he went striding off towards the stage. "We have to find my cousin."

"Wait, Ikuto!" she shouted, her legs propelling to catch up with him. "We have to save all those people!"

Suddenly, as if a switch had gone off, Amu felt her mind turn blank. Her entire body suddenly felt like it was screaming, soaked in flesh-eating bile, as it turned completely limp, not even allowing her to cry out for help as it crawled with pain. Legs buckling beneath her, she went falling face first towards the ground, her vision spiralling out of control until even it decided to shut down completely. Memories became fuzzy as amnesic sensations stroked her temples, until all she could do was surrender herself to the mind-numbing feeling of nothingness, her body toppling unfeelingly towards an unknown destination.

Relax….

No seriously

Just…

Relax.

Whiteness suffocated Amu's vision like a cloud with neither a beginning nor an ending. She went to speak, went to constrict her leg and arm muscles, but they simply remained immobile and gimp. A deep male voice was talking to her, repetitively stating the same phrase over and over again like a CD set on repeat. It was starting to make the whiteness look even whiter;

Relax….

Relax…

And have a good time.

Amu tried to think, but whenever she did the same monotone male voice would speak to her, falsely soothing her frayed senses till they fell into an easy sleep. Her body had become unresponsive.

Relaxed.

Relaxed

"Amu."

Her body felt like jello. Lime jello. Amu had always loved lime jello. Everything felt and looked like slippery, limp jello. A world of jello. Sugary and sweet. Unpredictable and fun. A world made of jello.

"Hinamori Amu."

With the brilliance of a firework Amu's senses came flooding back to her, making her gag and choke with their heavy taste of reality. For a moment the world spun around her, until it stopped with a sickening jolt. She was lying in what seemed to be a dentist's chair. And a man stood in front of her. A very attractive young man. Amu squinted her eyes against the blaring light.

"I….ku….to?" she whispered hoarsely. The man started laughing, making Amu's head cringe in pain.

"Hinamori Amu," he spoke statically as he began to pace around her pulsing body. "It seems you are mistaken. I am Tsukiyomi Kazuo."

Amu felt her fists begin to clench. Somehow Tsukiyomi Kazuo's introduction had not seemed very hospitable.

"Where's Ikuto?" she spat, her body shaking with tension. It was then that she realized her arms and legs were fastened to the chair with metal bindings, making all her movements difficult and tense.

"Does it really matter?" Kazuo queried, his blunt footsteps echoing throughout the room with an irritating 'plunt'. "What's really important is you, Hinamori Amu."

As Kazuo began to lean closer to Amu, a tiny guardian character flew up beside his shoulder. He wore a crisp white lab coat, oversized spectacles, and had short neon green hair that stuck out in all different directions. In his little hands was what looked like a gold pendant.

"G-Guardian…. chara…" Amu stuttered, her vocal chords not yet in sync with her thoughts. Suddenly images of Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia popped into her head, and an instant wave of anxiety poured over her like liquid nausea. "What have you done with my guardian characters?"

"Young girl, I need you to stay on topic here," Kazuo replied as he held up a black necklace. It dangled precariously in the air for a few moments before settling right in front of Amu's stinging eyes. It was identical to the Dumpty Key Ikuto had, the only difference being its deep black color.

"Judging by your expression," Kazuo began, "you know what this is, don't you?"

Amu bit her lip. "I'm not answering any of your stupid questions until you let me go!"

He continued on like she hadn't even spoken. "This is the Dumpty Key's black twin, Hinamori Amu. With it I can control, manipulate, even mold any individual's dreams the way I see fit," he spoke with a sinister coldness, making Amu wriggle uncomfortably in her seat. "But the key itself is not enough."

She could already guess where the conversation was leading. Desperately she flailed her hands within their metallic bindings, but they were uselessly trapped.

"The Humpty Lock is what I really need to fulfill my ultimate plan of mind control, and whether you agree to it or not I will get that from you," Kazuo stated maliciously, "Right… now."

With a snap of the fingers Kazuo's guardian character whizzed towards Amu like a wasp, desperately trying to seek out the Humpty Lock amidst her futile thrashing.

"No!" Amu wailed with all her strength as she watched the guardian character rip the pendant from her neck, its beads swinging like slowly dying prey as it was carried over to Kazuo. Her heart gave a mournful plunge.

"Slash Claw!"

A gigantic dark blue cat paw, its razor sharp claws glinting lethally, tore its way through the room's wall, crashing right into Kazuo's guardian character and hurling the Humpty Lock high into the air.

"Ikuto!" Amu shrieked, her limbs unable to withstand their restraints any longer. She could see his midnight shaded Black Lynx outfit blowing wildly within the busted wall, and was overcome with awestruck relief at his timely entrance. "Ikuto, the Humpty Lock!"

Ikuto made an agile pounce towards the sparkling pendant, snatching it with ease as the entire room was thrown into a chaotic fit. He glanced restlessly up at Amu, arm muscles flexing as he assessed her helpless predicament for himself. Using his diamond sharp claws he slashed through her steel restraints, throwing them to the floor with an ear-splitting clash.

"Amu—"

"My heart… UNLOCK!"

An explosion of electric green light saturated the room as Kazuo flew into the air, his body twisting and glowing as he underwent his own character transformation. Amu desperately scoped for any of her own guardian characters, but just as she made eye contact with Ran a huge surge of light left her temporarily blinded.

"Character transformation: Hypno Wizard!"

Kazuo was now clothed in a sweeping white lab coat, leather pants, and a strappy leather top that formed an X over his chest, his face twisted into a warped smile of deceit. Amu could feel the power pulsing from his body, raving to unleash at someone with vicious intensity.

"Well, well, Ikuto, why don't you be a good little kitty cat and hand over the Lock, hm?" Kazuo sneered, a huge ball of rainbow striped energy rising from his hands. It was quite apparent from Ikuto's defensive stance, however, that he wasn't about to play pacifist any time soon.

"Fine then," his cousin hissed, hands ready to fire off an attack. "Mutated Mind!"

A twister of flashing energy ripped through the room, throwing Amu away from Ikuto's side and smacking her heavily against the wall. Head spinning, she automatically began scanning for Ikuto, arms shaking unsteadily as they tried to support her throbbing body, but there was no sign of him anywhere; a huge area of distorted colors and shapes lay exactly where he had stood two seconds ago, sucking up the surroundings with escalating hunger.

"Slash Claw!"

Her heart rejoiced when she saw Ikuto jump nimbly in front of Kazuo, his massive cat paw striking out at its target with fierce attack. A fast paced duel quickly commenced, made up of an agilely dodging Ikuto and an irrepressible Kazuo throwing attack after attack at his sly opponent. The two undoubtedly harbored equal amounts of strength, making Amu wish she could jump up beside Ikuto and help him fight. She felt utterly useless without the Humpty Lock dangling safely around her neck.

Taking deep, labored breaths Amu scoured for any of her guardian characters within the lightning storm of attacks, but was postponed when a shrill, tinkling sound tickled her ears. Peering into the distance she spotted the Humpty Lock lying on its side, a fearful shimmer igniting its jewel-like surface beneath all the chaos.

Lunging, Amu reached out for it, her fingers coiling around its gold-plated edges furiously as explosions boomed overtop her head. "Got you!"

"Migrating Butterfly!"

A tsunami of broken wall flooded unexpectedly on top of Amu, covering her in debris and filling her lungs with sticky drywall dust. She could feel her back trembling like a dead leaf in the wind, spine rippling in pain as she desperately tried to get her bearings straight. Ever so cautiously she opened her eyes and peered through the rubble; Utau was now in front of her, though her back was facing Amu. She could just make out a vibrating set of butterfly wings, shimmering every color of the rainbow, sprouting from her back, and a monochrome dress iced in mesh covering her body and poofing out at the thighs. She had obviously character transformed, though the breathtaking butterfly transformation assuming her body was foreign to Amu.

"You called, Kazuo?" Utau hissed, her voice sounding colder than usual.

"Retrieve the Humpty Lock, my devoted cousin," Kazuo ordered. "And put them all too sleep."

"As you wish, Master."

Utau's wings began to beat violently against each other as she shot towards the ceiling, sprigs of glitter showering down from her body as she lifted her arms above her head with majestic poise. Amu took the chance to crawl out from underneath the wreckage, praying all eyes were caught up in Utau's mesmerizing butterfly wings, and hastily made a dash towards where she had last spotted Ran.

"Butterfly Kiss!"

Suddenly the room turned to the color of a lilac sunset, and tiny butterflies began to flutter every where the eye could see. Their peaceful waltzing almost immediately turned to a violent stampede with the flick of Utau's wrist, and Amu watched in horror as they all darted towards Ikuto, clumping atop his skin like it was a tourist attraction.

They continued crawling all over Ikuto, his attempts at getting them off growing slower and more sluggish with every second that ticked by. For the most part the butterflies were no match for his thrashing, but danger grew out of proportion as Kazuo stealthily flew up behind him, his hands swirling in creation.

"Mutated Mind!"

The butterflies continued cementing Ikuto to the spot, leaving him unable to move or defend himself from Kazuo's attack as they poisoned his movements.

"Ikuto!" Amu screamed, her body instinctively running full speed towards him as the attack rapidly approached. Fueled entirely by panic, she rammed right into his side, driving him heftily to the ground as a brutal stab of pain punctured her side.

The world seemed to be highlighted in strobe lights as Ikuto fell safely to the ground, but Amu could do nothing but stare, completely motionless, as a fuzzy pulsing engulfed her body, freezing it into one paralyzed corpse as the world started to swirl all around her. Her surroundings morphed to a color of whirling creamsicle, blotting out all images of Ikuto and Utau till they turned into delicious creamsicle swirls too. Amu felt as if she was falling backward and forward at the same time, her body achieving a numb high off the multitude of oxymoronic sensations. She had never felt so light. So invincible. So… relaxed.

Relaxed

The world appeared to be a giant hill of vanilla ice cream, rich and uplifting in a completely creamy way. Amu rolled in its milky texture, flecks of vanilla bean providing her with an extremely pleasurable, comforting aromatic experience. The world was just a giant scoop of ice cream. Cool and melting. Fluffy and rich. So delectably luxurious.

Amu licked the ice cream. Her taste buds rejoiced for a moment, savoring the velvety taste. But she didn't taste vanilla ice cream. Instead, it tasted like… like…

"Amu."

It tasted devilishly pleasing. It tasted wrong yet totally satisfying, and left a strange aftertaste that kept the taste buds activated very lightly, just enough to keep one wondering. She licked the world again.

"Amu."

Reality smacked her in the face like lemon juice in the eyes; Amu opened her eyes drowsily, her gaze resting on a soothing shade of navy blue. The world felt as if it was gently rumbling all around her. Vertigo threatened to assault her balance. The smell of vanilla bean was still in the air.

"Am I… dead?" she asked sleepily, her head yearning to rest just a little bit longer on the soft surface below her.

"No, you were just licking me two seconds ago."

Her eyes shot open as the male voice speaking to her registered in her head. Mouth opening and closing soundlessly, hands shaking beneath her, Amu forced herself to look up. Unsurprisingly, Ikuto's face was above her, looking off into the distance as if having an unconscious girl on his lap was nothing out of the ordinary.

"AGH!" Amu flung herself off Ikuto's lap with a violent jolt of surprise, resulting in her falling heavily to the ground below her. She could feel her chest rising and falling erratically, her heart piercing her chest with relentless pressure; never again could she look him in the eyes…

"Where are we?" she finally managed to splutter. Looking around she could see a lot of people either sitting or standing, their bodies gently rocking as if they were floating on waves. The majority of them were staring at her as if she had no clothes on.

"We're on a subway, so it'd probably be a good idea to get off the floor," Ikuto answered vaguely. He extended his hand out to her, and she took it reluctantly before placing herself next to him.

Extra careful not to make any bodily contact, Amu cautiously crossed her legs, her gaze concretely fixed ahead of her. "What happened to Kazuo and Utau?"

Ikuto took his time in answering. "Oh, I'm pretty sure they're chasing us as we speak."

"What?" Amu shrieked, her body tensing up as memories came rushing back to her. "Then—"

"Be quiet and listen," Ikuto stated while looking her straight in the eyes. "Utau is currently under Kazuo's control, and the two of them are trying to steal the Humpty Lock to ensure world mind control, got it?"

Amu felt the ground shift from underneath her. Or maybe it was just the subway coming to a stop. "Then why are we running away?"

"Oh, I dunno," Ikuto mumbled, a mysterious grin now on his face. "Maybe cause someone decided it'd be a good idea to get hypnotized in the middle of battle and act like a total damsel in distress about it."

"Hey!" Amu shouted, her cheeks blushing in defense. "I did that to save you, you ungrateful little—"

"Amu-chan!"

Before Amu could smack the smirk right off Ikuto's face, Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia came fluttering up to her, faces beaming liberally as they reunited with their bearer. "We were so worried about you, Amu-chan!" Su shrieked joyously, the others shaking their heads in agreement as they gave her miniature hugs of relief.

"I'm really glad to see you all, too," Amu smiled, happiness welling up inside her. She couldn't even think of a worse feeling then being separated from her guardian characters.

Their reunion was short-lived, however, as the subway began to rock violently on its tracks, causing Amu to fall forcefully into Ikuto's side. Her heart just about jolted as vigorously as the train.

"Are we stopping?" she asked huffily, immediately removing herself from his side. Her response was an ear-bleeding screech as the subway car jolted from side to side, lights shooting past its windows at dangerously close angles. Amu felt like she was on a faulty roller coaster ride rather than an underground mode of transport.

"Looks like they found us," Ikuto commented loosely. Just as he finished his sentence the entire row of windows flashed like a camera, revealing a churning mess of hypnotic rainbow swirls. One by one, the passengers on the subway all began to topple over each other, their pupils freakishly dilating and their heart eggs floating out of their bodies, each ones' shell distorted with the same swirling screen as was illuminating the windows outside.

"Amu, character transform, now."

"Right."

Solidifying her stance, Amu opened her mouth to say the habitual words when she was knocked right off her feet by a huge jerk, thrusting herself right into Ikuto's secure grip. She could feel his arms supporting her shaky limbs, reassuring her that he was there for her as she took a calming breath; she felt like she could've stayed that way forever, staring into his never-ending gaze while he embraced her protectively.

"You've been hypnotized twice today," Ikuto pointed out softly, the world jolting unsteadily behind him. "Be careful with yourself, hm?"

Gulping, Amu shook her head, her arms shaking in rebellion as Ikuto removed his steady embrace.

"You can do it, you can do it, A-m-u-chan!" Ran suddenly cheered from beside her, her smiling face just the antidote Amu needed to regain her strength. She gave her an affirmative head nod.

"My heart… UNLOCK!"

The sugary pink adrenaline rush expected from Ran began to flood Amu's veins as she levitated into the air, her body weightless with energy. She could feel her heart beat synchronize itself with Ran's, and the clothes strip off her body as new garments replaced them with form-fitting speed. Lively pink sparkles accessorized the air around her as the transformation came to a completion.

"Character transformation: Amulet Heart!"

Pink ribbons flinging edgily around her, Amu looked around for Ikuto, but could see nothing except a subway car filled with unconscious people and hypnotized hearts' eggs. A surge of panic coursed through her.

"Ikuto!" she shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the terrible screaming of the subway. "Ikuto!"

"Amu-chan!" Dia yelled from behind her. Spinning around, Amu saw her pointing at the window. She squinted, not quite sure whether Dia was going delusional from the lights or not, when she discovered a dark blue tail hanging just in front of the window. "He must be on the roof!"

"Let's go," Amu commanded, her heart spazzing at the notion of battling on the top of a moving subway train. Bravely she clicked the emergency button to open the subway doors; they parted timidly to reveal a speeding ribbon of hypnotic light.

"Heart Speeders!"

Amu's feet became light as whipping cream as her Heart Speeders morphed to her feet, buoying her in the air as if it were an invisible sidewalk. Without a moment's hesitation she shot out into the hypnotically tainted environment, her eyes scouring for any sign of Ikuto as she flew warily onto the roof of the racing subway train.

"Metamorphic Cocoon!"

A suffocating force unexpectedly coiled itself around Amu's body, shoving her against the steel roof as she struggled vainly for air. Utau was fluttering above her, her giant butterfly wings glowing with the radiant energy of evil as she scowled down at her wickedly.

"U-Utau…" Amu choked, the cocoon twined around her body tightening with every breath she took. "Utau, s-snap… out of it."

But Utau was only drawing closer to Amu, her purple colored irises covering every white part of her eye till they resembled that of an insect's. "You will give me the Humpty Lock," she sneered, revealing a pair of venomous fangs beneath her purple painted lips.

"Utau, stop it."

The deep male voice instantly seemed to make Amu's cocoon shrink in tension, but it only grew tighter as Utau let out a malicious hiss, her head twitching in Ikuto's direction. With the mad beating of her wings she soared away from Amu's helpless body, her voice screeching like an insect as she hurtled herself full-force towards the Black Lynx Ikuto. A flare of light succeeded their clash, swiftly followed by Utau being slammed over the edge of the subway train, her wings crippling in pain as she disappeared from sight.

"Uta—" Amu automatically wailed for her friend, but her body constricted in pain as the cocoon squeezed with unyielding potency, removing all remaining air from her lungs. Flashing dots began to assault her vision as every breath she took turned into a futile gasp for life, until it all vanished with one huge rush of air. Coughing violently, Amu was lifted to her feet by Ikuto, his deep sapphire cape billowing around them as her breathing slowly turned back to normal.

"Ikuto, U-Utau—"

"She'll be fine," Ikuto declared. "Right now we have to—"

"—destroy the Black Dumpty Key," Amu finished, her eyes sparkling with understanding.

"So long as you stop getting into trouble," Ikuto added mockingly. Amu rolled her eyes and gave a shaky sigh.

"Guys," Miki interrupted, urgency accenting her voice. "We've got trouble!"

Whipping around, Amu spied Kazuo speeding towards them, fully transformed and scowling like a mad man. "How sweet," he crowed, "the Humpty Lock and Dumpty Key spend their last fleeting moments together!"

"What is wrong with you?" Amu spat, unable to control her boiling anger. "How could you possibly want to control all these peoples' minds for the sake of your own success?"

"Because," Kazuo howled, his maniacal grin becoming bigger, "With your silly locket, I'll be in control of every dream in the world! The science of psychology will be redesigned entirely from my findings, forcing the entire scientific community to bow down to me like they have no other!"

Amu's stomach twisted in disturbance; she could sense the intense power emanating off of Kazuo, his twisted dream only further fueling the ambition empowering him. Taking a deep breath, she took a daring step forward, her foot steady despite the fast-moving train she was standing on.

"Controlling minds is like a twisted way of cheating," she proclaimed, a fresh wave of confidence streaming through her. "If you want to make a name for yourself, work your way to the top like every other individual out there and make it happen!"

She could see a light go off in Kazuo's eyes, but the same menacing aura of negativity paraded around him. "Fine, I'll start with you two," he shouted, a ball of dizzying energy forming in his hand. "Mutated Mind!"

"Spiral Heart!" Amu aimed her heart baton right at Kazuo's attack, but it was cast aside like two north ends of a magnet being forced together. His attack was now charging towards her with unstoppable intent.

Amu was preparing herself for the blow when she was pushed to the ground by a heavy weight from behind.

"Ikuto!" she gasped, his hands pinning her tightly against the subway roof. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I thought I told you to stop getting into trouble," he replied in her ear, and Amu couldn't help but feel grateful as Kazuo's attack went grazing with lethal speed right over top their heads, exploding perilously above them.

"Midnight Whisper!"

Utau's feminine voice screeched into earshot as Amu and Ikuto stumbled off of each other, and an eerie resonance that was neither quiet nor loud echoed throughout the subway tunnel. Amu could see Miki, Su, and Dia reeling over in pain as the sound reverberated incessantly, and, with a flash of terror, she could see a growing row of ghostly pale hands latching onto the side of the subway train.

"Hang on you guys," Amu desperately tried to console, but her guardian characters continued their agonized writhing. Subway passengers that were once lying immobile were now heaving themselves onto the roof Amu and Ikuto stood on, their pupil-less eyes targeting them with malicious intent that was undoubtedly being controlled by Kazuo.

"This is bad," Amu stammered, her body nervously pressing up against Ikuto's. "Their combined powers are too strong for us."

"But we have something they don't," Ikuto affirmed, his mysterious voice barely even audible above the hypnotic humming surrounding them.

Amu twined her hand with his, its tender warmth melting into hers. "The Dumpty Key."

"And the Humpty Lock."

In perfect unison the two turned to face each other, the wind from the subway sifting past them, when a sudden burst of light radiated from the Humpty Lock and Dumpty Key. Amu watched in muted awe as the two lockets snapped towards each other like reuniting lovers, their pink and blue glow melding together to create a brilliant purple blaze that illuminated the entire subway tunnel with one massive pulse. Amu could feel a new tap of energy welling up inside her, energizing her blood and strengthening her heart till the entire world around her glowed a radiant hue of purple. When she finally made eye contact with Ikuto, a switch seemed to go off in her mind, and her entire body seized up with power.

"My heart…" the two declared in flawless unity, "INTERLOCK!"

Amu felt her weight diminish as she was thrust into the air beside Ikuto, the two of them twisting and looping around each other like dancing Siamese twins. Ran and Yoru soon joined them, their eggs' shell splitting into two and recombining to form a duel egg containing a mixture of their powers. Amu allowed the recombined egg to freely merge with her heart, her body sucking up its power like an energy drink as it reconstructed her outfit and attack ensemble. A pair of cat ears was forming atop her head, along with a long pink tail the color of bubblegum. Covering her body was a black leather romper suit, accessorized with mesh along the stomach and a sexy V-neck collar that showed just enough skin to allow you to see a black choker with a heart medallion around her neck. Pink fishnets wrapped around her legs as well as knee-high black boots, and her hair was twisted into two cute odangos tied back with a heart elastic. Completing the transformation outfit was pink heart-shaped gloves, one of which had a set of razor sharp claws coming out of the fingers.

"Character transformation: Amulet Lynx!"

Amu slinked to the ground, her feline senses tingling as she sighted Ikuto coming out of his own transformation.

"Character transformation: Black Heart!"

Immediately she leapt next to him, his usual cat-like outfit accented with purple colored straps twisting up one pant leg and down the opposite arm, while a black heart collar curved around his neck. The mob of hypnotized subway passengers were quickly closing in on them, all while Kazuo and Utau stared down in shocked outrage.

"Let's defeat this wannabe, shall we?" Amu sneered, a spicy glint illuminating her eyes as her and Ikuto sized up their enemies.

"Only if you can handle it," Ikuto shot right back, and, with one knowing glance, the two leapt into the air with one skillful flip, claws glinting vengefully.

"Hypno-eggs, attack!" Kazuo commanded, and almost immediately the possessed subway passengers began channeling lime green attack waves at the duo.

"Migrating Butterfly!"

"Mutated Mind!"

Amu watched a cyclone of power careening towards her and Ikuto, but the usual fear she would've felt was completely absent; she felt entirely secure and confident at that moment, not only in herself, but in Ikuto as well. It almost felt as if Ikuto was her other half, yet not at the same time. She could sense his thoughts, feel his heartbeat, taste his nerves, everything, creating an intimate bond between the two that was utterly unmatchable.

"Twilight Sunrise!" they shouted as one; Amu felt Ikuto grab her hand, and, as if in the same body, the two raised their free hands and produced a massive wave of attack, Amu's contribution shimmering hot pink while Ikuto's addition glowed midnight blue. Together, they watched as their violet colored attack penetrated the entire subway system, breaking the hold Kazuo had on all his possessed minions' minds and cleansing each hypnotically glowing hearts' egg back to normal. With a screeching halt the subway train came to a safe stop, its mad chase down the underground tunnels finally put to rest as people began to regain their consciousness.

"No," Kazuo gasped, his plan unwinding with unstoppable force right before his eyes. "This can't be possible!"

"Don't give up!" Amu cried, her body shimmering in violet sparkles. "You can still chase your dream of becoming a famous psychologist, Kazuo, if that's what you want."

"Not to mention you have decent talent at the viola," Ikuto added unexpectedly. "So stop acting like a total dumbass and get your act together."

Amu shot him a warning glare, but Ikuto already knew her thoughts without even looking at her. "Your cousin's right, Kazuo. There's still so much of your life ahead of you, don't waste it by trying to find all the shortcuts!"

With that, Amu could sense the time was right to cleanse Kazuo of all his negativity once and for all.

"Negative Heart Breaker—" Ikuto began.

"—Lock On!" Amu concluded. A black sphere of light protruded from Kazuo's chest as the Black Dumpty Key levitated into target range, and, by interlocking claws, Amu and Ikuto whizzed up to the locket and smashed it into tiny shards of oblivion. Negative energy snaked out of it like serpents from a nightmare, but the last rays of Twilight Sunrise were able to purify the darkness into positive light.

"Amu-chan did it!" Miki, Su, and Dia hollered as Amu and Ikuto lowered themselves back onto solid footing. Amu looked around at all the confused faces of people, but was sidetracked when she spotted Utau among the fringe of victims.

"Utau!"

"A-Amu," Utau stuttered gently, her eyes now back to their normal hue of lilac as she looked up at her friend with clear, untainted eyes. Unable to restrain herself, Amu dropped to her knees and embraced Utau, the mixture of relief and joy at having her back to her kind, beautiful self too much for her to handle.

"I'm so glad you're on our side again," Amu smiled joyously, but Utau was looking at her with an extremely puzzled expression. "Is something wrong?"

"Your outfit," Utau began suspiciously, "Since when can you character transform into a cat?"

As if summoned, Ikuto came and stood beside them, his new transformation outfit still suited on him as well. "Since Amu and I character transformed together."

"WHAT?"

All Amu could do was laugh awkwardly as Utau began having a total hissy fit, rampaging over the fact that her beloved brother had transformed with another female other than herself. It felt good to be able to just relax and have a good time with everyone again.

Open your shiny eyes in the silent night

fushigi na yoru maiorita

ashioto tatezu shinobiyoru

nayamashi ge na kuro neko no poozu.

For the second time that night Utau was performing her song, Meikyuu Butterfly, at the concert Amu had unwillingly gone to with Ikuto. Even though the audience was completely captivated by her stunning vocals and the flattering array of stage lights, Amu still had her mind stuck on her character transformation with Ikuto. She dared a peek at him; he was sitting in his chair with a not very well hidden look of boredom on his face. Amu figured he wasn't actually bored with Utau's singing, but one could never entirely know with Ikuto.

Maybe Amulet Lynx would know.

"I think it's time I got going," Ikuto stated without warning. "I'll see you later."

Amu looked at him as he walked wordlessly out of the theatre and into the waning daylight, her mind racing with indecisive thoughts at his sudden departure. Her heart was yelling at her to get the hell up and follow, but her legs were going numb at the mere thought of chasing after him.

Not able to stand her heart's harping any longer, Amu rocketed out of her seat and went scrambling after Ikuto. "Wait here!" she whispered urgently to her guardian characters; the fact that they didn't even react to her departure proved just how into the concert they really were, ensuring Amu a rare moment of fleeting privacy.

"Ikuto!"

Amu watched him stop in his tracks, hands resting limply in his pockets as Yoru frolicked beside his shoulder.

"Ikuto, wait!" Amu called, her legs moving as fast as they could. When she caught up with him her breath was coming out in short, laboured billows.

"Yes?" he asked simply enough, though somehow the simplicity of the question made Amu's spine tingle profusely.

She took a few more deep breaths. "I just wanted to point out how incredibly rude it is to simply leave your date behind without any warning."

"That's all you wanted to say?"

"Yes."

"So you admit we were on a date?"

"Yes. I mean no!" Amu felt her cheeks become saturated in red. Ikuto was smirking at her as if he had just won some ridiculous bet, making her even more flustered each time she tried to look at him in the eyes. "We were never on a date. We just went together for the heck of it."

"Completely for the heck of it," Ikuto mimicked airily. He looked up at the pale evening sky, his face illuminated by the sun's golden rays rather attractively. "And that's why you came all the way out here to tell me it's rude to ditch your date."

"Stop repeating everything I say, damn it!" Amu yelled, stomping her foot childishly. "If you're going to leave then just… just leave."

"Fine," Ikuto shrugged, outwardly unaffected by such a dismissal. "See ya….. Amu."

He said her name. He just had to say her name. Amu could feel the same sugary adrenaline from earlier coursing through her veins like a river of butterflies, restlessly tickling her stomach till she could hardly function. Why she was experiencing such intense withdrawal at that particular moment in time was an absolute mystery, a phenomenon to be exact, but Amu could not deny that something was ready to pounce from deep within her heart's most guarded secrets.

"Ikuto!" she called his name yet again, the syllables rolling off her tongue almost ecstatically as he turned around to face her. She walked up to him, calm on the outside yet deathly terrified on the inside, and looked straight into his stormy sky blue eyes. "I, uh… wanted to say thanks, so um…"

As if reading her mind, Ikuto grabbed her waist and brought her right up close to his body, her hands resting gently on his chest as he stared her dead in the eye. "Thanks, is all I get?"

Amu watched Ikuto lean closer to her, as if her life was being played in slow-motion, and secretly rejoiced as the familiar Ikuto smell caressed her senses. Knees on the verge of buckling, heart about to catapult out of her chest, Amu threw herself onto tip-toe and slammed her lips into Ikuto's, the world around her growing totally opaque. The initial shock of the kiss took them both by surprise, but as they both relaxed Amu allowed her arms to travel their way around Ikuto's neck, her back supported by his warm, gentle touch as the spit-swapping gradually intensified.

With a jolt Amu realized what she was actually doing; she yanked her lips away from Ikuto's and took a shaky step back, her hand rising self-consciously towards her newly experienced lips.

"That was quite the thanks."

"Nothing even happened!" Amu stated matter-of-factly, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. She ignored Ikuto's admittedly sweet smile.

"Next time you should learn to use tongue."

Amu's body seethed in outrage as Ikuto began to stalk off into the city streets, the steep evening shadows swallowing his body as he ventured further into their bustling depths.

"That still wasn't a date!"

Her answer was a casual wave of the hand, which somehow left Amu both exasperated and outrageously giddy. But, no matter how annoying Ikuto could be at times, she wasn't about to forget that precious moment in a hurry. It would just have to settle as being her little secret.