Nosuka chan: This is a boredom bunny where I just connected some dots… that needed connecting… that no one seemed to notice… anyway i'll continue whence I've finished working on my other stories for the time being. And now, two of my most favoritest characters evva! Ikuto and Kisshu!

Kisshu: What the hell am I doing here? I was watching koneko-chan fight a second ago!

Ikuto: What? I was watching Hinamori fight another x chara!

Kisshu: What's that? A type of chimera anima?

Ikuto: I literally have no idea what you're talking about…

Kisshu: Ditto.

Nosuka chan: Oh shush up the two of you!

Disclaimer: It's a mad world… Nosuka chan doesn't own Tokyo Mew Mew or Shugo Chara…

#~!~#

Hinamori Amu walked down the street, her head hung low. She had finally been told why she didn't look like either of her parents. She was adopted. Ran, Miki and Su floated by their closest friend, nervous and worried. Never had Amu been like this before.

Sure, she had been sad and acted all depressed, but it had never been this bad. She'd always bounce back, but… this was something totally different and came as a horrible shock.

Now that she thought about it, she wondered why she hadn't seen it before. The pink hair. Amber eyes. Not one member of her family had that trait besides her. She stared at the street below her feet. Everything had changed. It was shocking how one little fact could change a person's world so drastically.

.

Earlier that day

.

Amu ran down the stairs to eat breakfast. She was going to be late. Again. Dang it. As she ran down the stairs, she bumped into her dad and it looked like he had just gotten out of the shower. He was fully clothed, of course, but she looked at his hair. It was dark brown from the lingering water he hadn't managed to dry out. She looked at her own hair for a second. It was always dark red whenever she got out of the shower. She shook her head and grabbed her chara egg box, racing into the kitchen and plopping onto an empty chair.

As she began to dig in, she snuck glances at the rest of her family. Her younger sister and her mom. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Not pink, not amber. She was curious. But curiosity killed the cat… No, not Ikuto.

"Hey mom," she said in between spoonfuls of cereal, "why is my hair a different color than the rest of yours'? And my eyes, too?" she swallowed her cereal. The suspicion was killing her.

Her mother froze, her eyes wide. She looked at Amu for a second before telling Ami to get her father. The little girl sped off, reappearing a few moments later with her father. Then her mother told Ami to leave the room for a few minutes. Amu's senses were blaring that something, anything was wrong. Whatever it was, it was bad.

Her mother cleared her throat, getting Amu's attention.

"Amu," she sighed, looking distressed. Her father looked pale.

"What is it? I just wanted to know why I look different," Amu said, hoping to ease the tension.

No such luck.

"Amu… Amu, you're… not from this family." Her 'father' said. She froze. What did he mean?

"Amu, when we were younger, just married… we wanted desperately for a child, but no matter what we did, it just didn't work…" the woman she called "mom" said, sadness laced in her words. Amu's eyes were wide. She thought she would be sick. Or faint. Or something. This had to be a joke… some sick, twisted joke… she shook her head slightly. It couldn't be!

"We—we were desperate, we wanted a child to be happy with us… so we went to an orphanage. When we got there, we visited the section of the building where the babies were… and there you were. You were the cutest, most adorable baby there was. So we chose you. The orphanage said that you had been left on the doorstep… and they hadn't seen or heard anyone when they went to the door." Her father deflated after he finished, hoping when he said that she was adorable, that it would make her feel better about the whole thing. It didn't. Not at all.

"… so, I-I'm ad-dopted…?" she choked out. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. Why were they telling this to her NOW? When she had just gotten these strange powers as the Joker? Couldn't they have lied?

"Amu—" the woman said. She couldn't even call her mother anymore. She cut her off by standing up, knocking the chair down that she had been sitting on. She didn't look them in the eye. She stared at the table before slipping into her cool façade. She would not let them see how she felt inside. She clenched her fists.

"It doesn't matter," she said quietly. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and in one fluid movement was stepping into her shoes, halfway out the door.

"Amu!" she ignored them and walked out the door. She started running when she passed the front gate, and kept going, eventually getting to school. She had slipped into a happy façade for school. It didn't seem to fool the other guardians, but they didn't say anything about it.

Present Time

That was where she had left off, her mind going blank. She didn't even think anymore. Just acted like she normally would. But now she was walking home, down a street with a bunch of small shops lining the sidewalk. She could hear thunder in the distance, but she didn't care. Let it pour.

She stopped as she was next to a small store with mini television sets. There was a music video playing. An American band, she realized. She could just translate the words to understand.

"All around me are familiar faces,

Worn out places,

Worn out faces,"

It was sad and slow. A piano and the man's voice were all that were on. She turned all of her attention to the screen and the music. How it described her mood perfectly…

"Bright and early for the daily races,

Going no where,

Going no where.

Their tears are filling up their glasses,

No expression,

No expression."

That was probably what she looked like right now, she thought emptily. Expressionless.

"Hang my head

I want to drown my sorrow,

No tomorrow,

No tomorrow.

And I find it kid of funny,

I find it kind of sad.

The dreams in which I'm dying

Are the best I've ever had.

I find it hard to tell you,

I find it hard to take,

When people run in circles

It's a very very,

Mad World.

Mad World."

She listened to the rest of the song, not even noticing the rain now pouring down on her. Her life was a mad world. First it was with those charas, messing up her quietly progressing life. Then she had to go and fall for Tadase-kun. And then Ikuto had to go and be nice to her, which just made her confused. Then, she became the Joker and had to fight all the X characters and X eggs and all the evil people trying to get the Embryo…

Damn.

Damn it all.

Wouldn't the world just leave her alone for once?

Of course not. She sighed. It was no use damning it, it wouldn't go away just because she wished it away.

'But you wished the charas into your life,' she thought. She lowered her eyes to the pavement again before looking straight up into the pouring sky.

'The Kamis are crying…' She looked at her eggs and then walked into the store with the television sets, sopping wet. The owner took one look at her and rushed off to the back to get some towels. When she was out of sight, she opened her egg box and let her charas out. Ran, Miki and Su looked up her, worry evident in their eyes.

"Are you okay, Amu-chi?" Su asked. She looked at her charas. The only ones she could truly felt she could trust at the moment. She nodded.

"Guys," she said softly, "stop worrying. I need you to be who I want to be. But first thing's first," she said, looking around the small store again for any eavesdroppers.

"We've got to find my real parents." The three in assembly nodded and smiled, glad their friend was feeling better. A few minutes later the shop keeper, a kind man named Aoyama came back with the towels. She dried off and thanked him, turning to leave. But before she did, she rushed back and grabbed the CD with the song she heard on it. After she paid, she walked out of the store and headed home.

When she opened the door, she could hear her caretakers talking in the kitchen, and shut the door silently and crept up the stairs. She didn't want to talk to them, not for a long time.

She flopped onto her bed after putting the CD into her cd player. She had hooked it up to a small set of speakers, smart her. She listened to all the songs from the artist, but focused mainly in the one. Mad World by Gary Jules. It made her feel at peace in her hectic life. She didn't know how, but she was content. Not happy, not after the day's events, but satisfied.

She would set out to look for her real parents in the morning. It was a Saturday, tomorrow, anyway.

~!~

Across town, Aoyama wore a saddened expression as he closed his small shop. That girl. She had looked so much like her… he scowled. But her eyes were his. Damn. That must've been their child…what he wished had been his all those years ago were coming back to mock him of his failure. Damn those aliens! They ruined his life! Damn it all!

Needless to say, Aoyama Masaya was pissed.

#~!~#

Nosuka chan: So, how was that? I figured I'd finish there and get another chapter in this weekend, hopefully.

Kisshu: Nosuka, it is the weekend. It's 4:18 am, Saturday.

Ikuto: *yawns* Wait, where do I come in?

Nosuka chan: I'm not sure you will yet. No, you will… Or maybe not… Oh crap I can't think of the occasion I want you in as appropriate for this story or not…

Ikuto: Wait, like rating! I refuse to go past a K+!

Nosuka chan: Good luck with that.. *rolls eyes* But I meant like if it would be a good idea, smartass. Anyway, Ja ne, and review if you'd please!