Rima kinda looks like a Tiger. =3
Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara.
Summary: Amu Hinamori has never had a solid life – and the closest she has come failed miserably of its own accord. Now, she once again faces the challenge of being around a new set of faces with all the same problems. However, she may just be finding that this time – it's different. All thanks to a cat-like boy. Amuto.
Chapter 1: Day One – The Light Inside The Dark
Sunlight shined through the white curtains, and with a groan, I opened my eyes, unable to ignore it. Blinded by the light, I raised my hand as a shield. In an attempt to escape the harsh glare, I sat up, and the white blanket fell off of me into a clutter at my waist. Muttering to myself, I glanced at the clock.
"What!"
Biting down hard on my lip, I rolled off of the bed, the blanket falling to the floor. I paused, contemplating whether I should pick it up or not, before shaking my head and hurrying to the closet.
"What should I wear...?" I reached into the closet and grabbed at something randomly, then pulled it out. With a grunt, I threw it behind me. I reached in again.
"Amu, you already picked clothes out last night," a voice said from behind me. I turned fast enough to get a case of whiplash, facing my little sister Ami. Her honey coloured hair was braided half way down her back, her amber eyes chuckling at me. She was suppressing a smile as well.
"Where did I put them?" I demanded, looking around wildly. Ami pointed to the chair sitting by my desk, and I noticed the neatly folded clothes sitting on top of it. I attempted to jump over my bed, but I ended up landing on my stomach instead. I squirmed the rest of the way, falling onto the floor.
"You're really bad for this," Ami noted.
"Shut up!" I yelped, standing up quickly. I snatched the clothes off the chair and ran out of the room, past Ami. I turned the corner sharply, and ran down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of the washroom. Urgently, I knocked on the door, and when no one answered I threw it open, jumped inside, and slammed the door shut behind me.
Ami was laughing, her giggles so loud they reached through the door. I pursed my lips, hurrying to change into the black tee, red shorts and thigh high black and red striped socks. I looked at myself in the mirror, and frowned. My pink hair was a mess. It was standing up in all sorts of angels. One of the downsides to having short hair.
With an exhausted sigh, I took my normal red X pin and pinned my bangs back, taking a brush to smooth the rest out. I contemplated putting make-up on, staring at the large selection of it on the counter, then decided against it. It all belonged to Ami since I never felt the need to spend money on the stuff, so she would probably just be angry. However, I did brush my teeth as quickly as I could (I was a very thorough tooth brusher).
I hesitated when I reached to open the door. Once I left the bathroom, it would mean it was time to go.
I wasn't entirely sure if I was ready or not. I could feel my hand shaking as it gingerly went towards the door knob. Would I embarrass myself? Would they all ignore me? Would I just be an outcast all over again?
It's not like I can't handle it...whatever happens, I'm ready for it.
"Amu! Come on, or we're seriously going to be late!" Ami called. I bit my lip, and grabbed onto the doorknob. It seemed so cold. With a deep breath, I released my lower lip and turned the knob.
Ami stood on the other side, hands on hips, wearing a cute white summer dress. For fourteen years old, she already looked like she was a senior. I, on the other hand, was a junior, and probably looked like one, too.
"You look like you're going to throw up," she said nervously, the haughty expression on her face disappearing. "You going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine," I muttered, shoving past her. I heard her following after me, but I didn't bother saying anything else.
Our parents were in the kitchen, both happily doing their morning routine, oblivious to what they were about to put their children through. When they saw us, they both beamed happily.
"Amu! You look so cool!" My dad said, his eyes practically sparkling in admiration. I rolled my eyes.
"And Ami! You look adorable!" Mom cooed, fawning over my sister. We both shared a knowing glance, and I turned to put my shoes on before I had to deal with more. My black converse were worn, showing that it was time for a new pair, although I knew I wouldn't be buying a new pair until I felt ready to let go of them and the past that came with them.
Ami was struggling to get away from our parents, no longer the three year old who would happily take the adoration. When she finally got away, she slipped on a pair of simple white sandals, winking at me before grabbing her large white purse and running out the door.
I frowned, knowing that she was planning on racing me to the school, and grabbed my black backpack off the coat rack, slinging it on and running out the door.
"Amu-chi!" Ami called, already well ahead of me, running fairly well for being in sandals. I grinned ferociously, loving the thrill of a challenge, and began running.
It was easy to catch up to Ami, but as soon as I did, she started putting real effort into her running. Her grin turned into a concentrated frown, and we both began to go all out. We passed various different people, most of them our age, all of them watching after us.
Our destination came into view when we turned our first corner two blocks away from home: the bus stop. Ami and I glanced at each other at the same time, and I grinned at her. Her face went from concentrated to worried, and I waved at her, putting on a burst of speed.
I reached the bus stop a good ten seconds before her, and I was bent over gasping when she caught up. She copied me, and as we stood there side by side, we began to laugh.
"You...suck!" she gasped out, holding her sides. I shook my head, clutching my stomach as a cramp started up.
"No...I just...conserve energy!" I replied. "Besides...wearing sandals...was stupid..."
Ami laughed, and stood up straight, placing a hand over her heart. Her smile turned soft. "You're right. Because every time we start something new, we always race, don't we? To find out who will go farther this time."
I frowned, still panting even though I didn't need to. I just didn't want to stand up yet. "But it's always wrong, isn't it?"
There was a long silence, and when I finally had the courage to stand up straight and face the new place I would be waiting every day, the bus was already in sight. "I'm sorry, Amu..."
"It's fine," I said. I smiled at Ami, who struggled to smile back. "Thanks, for being my friend even though we're so different. I need it right now."
"I know," she whispered. The brakes of the bus screeched harshly as it came to a stop in front of us, and the doors opened. I sighed, watching Ami get on first. From now on, that was probably all I was going to see of her; her ahead of me.
There was no looking back now. I took a breath and stepped onto the bus, pulling my bus pass out of the front pocket of my backpack and swiping it in the machine by the driver. The beep signalled it was okay, and I continued deeper into the bus.
It was packed with students, and the people we had passed on our race were now running to catch the bus as well. I searched for an empty seat, but there were none. Ami was already out of my sight, lost in the sea of people standing, so I just shoved my way through to the middle doors, where I leaned against the nearest pole.
I closed my eyes and grabbed onto the strap of my backpack, trying to ignore the sweat forming on my palms. I was tempted to take my hairpin out so that my bangs would hide my face, but I held myself back. I had promised my mom that I wouldn't hide my face for the first day.
I could feel the stares on my back. I opened my eyes and glanced behind me, right into the eyes of an amber eyed, violet haired girl. Her hair was amazingly long, tied into a high ponytail by a red ribbon. She didn't seem at all embarrassed that she had been caught staring. Instead, she smiled and raised her hand in greeting.
My cheeks went red and I turned my head away quickly, trying not to bite my lip.
The bus came to another stop, and my eyes strayed to the front to watch who came on. First was a girl with long blond hair in pigtails, her violet eyes fixated on a cell phone. She wore a white blouse and dark blue skinny jeans, stylish and tall and pretty, with a black choker on – and disgusting. I instantly didn't like her.
Directly behind her was a small girl with blonde hair and her eyes half closed. She wore a pink sweater and faded jeans, definitely not putting as much effort into herself as the girl in front of her. Behind her was a girl with a short, spunky hair cut, her bright purple hair almost shaping devil horns at the top. Her eyes were such an odd brown that they were almost red – or they really were red. It wouldn't be a surprise with all the contacts kids wore these days. She was daring with her clothing, wearing a red corset and extremely tight black skinnies. She winked at the bus driver as she got on.
I thought that was everyone getting, on, and right when I was expecting the bus driver to close the doors, another person got on.
He had headphones on, his deep blue eyes looking down at his bus pass. The headphones slightly flattened his soft-looking, slightly long dark blue hair. Looking at him reminded me of a cat, with how slender he was and how sleek he looked in his all black outfit. His shirt was long sleeved and V neck, and his jeans fit his body nicely, not too tight that it looked uncomfortable.
His eyes strayed to where I was, and for a split second our eyes met. My heart thumped and I felt my face flush as I looked away as quickly as possible. Yet another move that morning that was worthy of inducing whiplash.
However, even looking away, my heart didn't slow down. The flush didn't disappear for the rest of the bus ride, and I kept my head down, not wanting to meet his eyes again.
"Amu, it's time to get off," Ami's voice said in my ear. I jumped. Ami had found me, although I had no idea where she had been standing (or sitting, if some guy had been at her mercy). I nodded, trying to forget about the boy I had seen, and instead prepared myself to begin at a new school.
When the bus came to a stop, we were the first to get off since I had taken my spot by the doors, but I was surprised at how many others also got off. By the time all the people had gotten off the bus, it was probably empty, or close to it. I thought of how crowded it had been in there, and wondered if it would be like that every morning.
"Maybe we should take an earlier bus tomorrow," Ami observed, watching as all of the people who had just gotten off passed them and walked behind them and beside them. I caught sight of the boy walking next to the girl with the pigtails, but quickly looked away when I noticed he was looking in my direction.
"Yeah...maybe," I muttered.
"You're still nervous, huh?" Ami asked, giving me a bright smile. "Cheer up, big sis! You're my role model, remember?"
I smiled, reaching over and patting her head. She glared at me and stuck her tongue out, patting the top of her head as if I had messed her hair up. I rolled my eyes in a very exaggerated manner, and she laughed.
The school was just around the corner from the bus stop, and I felt my throat constrict as I looked at it. It was a large school, larger than my last school, and bright white. Stone steps led up to the front door, and a huge field displayed itself behind the school. Trees surrounded the whole place, giving it a distinct nature feel. The building was three stories high, most likely a floor for each grade, and a separate building entirely stood next to it. I looked like a gymnasium, or possibly an auditorium. Maybe even both.
The front courtyard was rather wide, with a fountain in the center of an angel, and the words on a plaque 'Guardian High School'. I hated the name of this school. Patches of grass separated the paths that led to the gymnasium and the main building.
"This place is kind of high class for a public high school," I said. I looked at Ami to see if she agreed, but her cheeks were flushed and her eyes wide in awe.
"Wow..." she whispered. "It's perfect."
I sighed. I had already lost her. I patted her on the shoulder and continued without her, whistling a tune under my breath. There was no point in sticking with her, now. I would just get in the way of her finding new friends.
I looked up into the bright blue sky. It still felt like summer, which I desperately wanted it to be. I had to admit, though, that I was glad it was still only September – even though transferring schools two weeks after it started seemed somehow silly.
People were staring at me as I made my way to the entrance. Despite how large the school was and how early into the year it was, I still screamed 'new girl'. I ignored them, occasionally sending a glare out, shoving past large crowds of people and tuning out the typical sounds of teenagers being put into one area.
The inside of the school was just as elaborate as the outside. Everything was sparking and seemed to be brand new. The floors were hardwood, and despite it being a high school they weren't badly warped. The students around me all seemed slightly posh, as if they expected this school and the clothes on their back.
I made my way through the large entry hall and into the main hall way, searching for the 'office' sign. Once I found it, I shoved past every student that was in my direct path, not caring about their complaints. A few people even sent insults my way, but I just flipped them off as I continued on my way.
When I finally reached the office, I eagerly reached for the handle to pull the door open, but it was already opening. I stepped back as the door came towards me, and watched as a short, extremely cute girl came out, her thick blonde hair going down to her butt. She had a black headband on to keep it pushed back, her bangs framing her softly shaped face. Her honey brown eyes were wide, suiting her extremely adorable appearance.
She kind of looked like a small tiger.
"Excuse me," she said in a soft voice, before shoving past me. I stared after her, feeling a small blush on my cheeks.
"Do you have a habit of staring at people?"
I jumped, spinning around, coming face to face with the blue haired boy. He was standing there as if waiting for something.
"N-no," I stuttered. "Why?"
"No reason," he said, stepping around me and grabbing the handle for the door. "It was just keeping me from getting into the office. I don't like airheads who make me wait for nothing."
He disappeared behind the door, and I stood there in a daze. Then I realized what he said. Suddenly furious, I tugged the office door open and stalked in, balling my hands into fists at my sides. "Now just one second-"
"Shh!"
I stopped, feeling my face go red. The inside of the office was completely quiet, with kids lined up on a bench, their heads down. The cat boy was nowhere to be seen, which was odd, but I was more fixated on the secretary, who was giving me the dirtiest glare I had ever seen.
She was scary looking to boot. Her short black hair had a few streaks of gray, and she was definitely overweight. She wore extremely dark red lipstick and typical granny glasses – complete with beads attached so they could hang like a necklace. She wore the ugliest yellow suit jacket and skirt I had ever seen, with a set of thick pearls around her beefy neck.
The nameplate Nobuko was placed in front of her.
"Get in line," she said in a high voice that surprisingly suited her look. I swallowed and nodded, obediently taking the last bit of space available.
The bell rang in a clear, harmonious melody instead of the usual loud blare that I was used to. I frowned, not sure if this meant I would get in trouble for being late to class. However, considering I didn't know where class was, I figured I should just sit and wait.
The door flew open at that moment, and somebody stumbled through, falling on their face. I stifled a laugh, instead raising an eyebrow at the foolishness.
The somebody turned out to be a female, with light blue hair underneath a toque with a cap that was a shade darker than her hair. She wore a blue vest and blue shorts with dark blue and light blue striped tights, even her shoes blue. And when she looked at me, her eyes were a dark blue.
When she stood up, her face was completely serious, and she sighed. "I did it again..." she sighed, brushing herself off. "Are you Amu Hinamori?"
"Me?" I asked, pointing to myself. She blinked, and then rolled her eyes.
"No, the person next to you. Yes, you," she said in a monotone. "Are you or not?"
"Yeah..." I said, unsure of what to do.
"I'm Miki. I'll be showing you around the school," the girl, Miki, said. She didn't seem impressed that she had to do this, either. "Come on, we have first class together so we'll just go straight there."
"O-okay," I said. I stood up, trying to hide the fact that my knees were shaking.
I followed her quietly through the halls as they steadily emptied. Kids were rushing to their classes or leisurely making their way, but either way the halls were rapidly clearing. It made it a little easier to actually see the place.
The lockers were all painted one of six different colors, all in a pattern: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. It was like looking at hundreds of rainbows. The walls were painted a blinding white, and various pieces of art and pictures of graduating classes were displayed in empty areas of wall.
Everything was so neat and tidy, it made me a little nervous, and a little suspicious. All of those kids in the hall, and there was really no mess? That just didn't seem like a high school.
"Why is it so clean?" I asked, a little timidly.
Miki turned her head a little to give me a strange look. "If we don't clean up after ourselves, we have to take time out of our lunch until it is clean. I think kids would rather have a lunch and put a few things in the garbage than no lunch and putting a lot in the garbage."
I stayed silent, continuing to look around. The doors to the classrooms had little windows that revealed the insides. They all seemed just as pretty as the rest of the school, although the colors seemed to change quite a bit. Some were the blinding white of the rest of the school, but others were beige or green or yellow. I wasn't necessarily sure why, but I didn't really want to ask this girl any more questions.
"The layout of the school is pretty simple. First floor is normal classes like languages and English and History. Second floor is for science and math, and third floor is for artsy stuff. That's where I usually am.
"This school focuses a lot on art, and creativity. Luckily for the jocks, they get their large outside area and their gym outside the school, so the rest of us only have to deal with them in our mandatory classes. Oh, and here, I have your schedule for you."
Miki explained all of this, and I just nodded my head. When she handed me my schedule, I ran over it, and I couldn't help but smile a little. I actually liked these classes.
"What?" Miki asked, giving me a suspicious look.
"Nothing," I said. "I just like this schedule."
She snatched the paper out of my hands and looked, and then frowned. "You like Math Principals 11?"
"I'm alright at math..." I muttered, more to myself than her. "Maybe not the best."
"Well, like I said, we have first class together, which is English. You have Math after that, which is upstairs. You should be able to find it pretty easy; just follow the room numbers. You have Writing after that, so you'll be up on the third floor. It's right next to my art class in the same block, so I can help you find that one. And your last class of the day is...cooking. You like cooking?"
"I'm not very good at it, but I want to learn," I admitted. Then I frowned. Not like it's any of your business.
"Eh, I'm not that big on cooking myself. I prefer drawing. But I suppose cooking is its own art." Miki handed my schedule back to me and took the lead again. We were in the left side of the school, heading closer to the end. There were a surprising amount of classrooms.
"Here we are," Miki said finally. She came to a stop in front of a door that, through the window, I could see led to a room colored a light pink.
I clenched the schedule in my hands, feeling nervous all over again. Miki opened the door with a perfectly normal expression, not nervous at all, but over her shoulder I could see all of the students eagerly looking to see who the new student was. I didn't want to let them see.
Miki seemed to notice I wasn't followed her, and turned around. "What are you waiting for?" she asked, giving me an expecting look.
"Nothing..." I muttered, and closed my eyes. I inhaled, and stepped through the door. I could feel the blood rushing to my ears. I opened my eyes again and faced the stares.
My English teacher stood at the front of the room, his carrot colored hair long enough that he had it tied into a loose ponytail. His green eyes were slightly hidden behind his round glasses, and he gave me a warm smile. Immediately, he struck me as the klutzy type, just from how untidy his hair was and clumsy his smile looked. He even held himself in a precarious way.
"Hello, you must be the new student Amu. I'm Mr. Nikaido, your English teacher," he introduced. I could hear whispers everywhere, and I gave a nervous twitch of a smile. "Do you want to introduce yourself?"
I looked out at all the unfamiliar faces, and I frowned. I looked back at the English teacher, and I decided to play it cool. "No thanks, I don't need to."
I probably said it a little colder than I meant to, but I went to sit down at the first empty seat I could find, which happened to be on the opposite side that Miki was on. A few people were looking at me in awe, while others seemed to think I was overconfident. If only they knew.
"Alright, then let's do attendance," Mr. Nikaido said, clapping his hands. No one paid him any real attention, starting to talk to one another. He sighed in a let-down manner.
I looked around me. The person sitting in front of me was female, although she didn't seem to have anything special to notice about her. Next to me was a boy with light brown hair and bright green eyes, his skin fairly tanned. He had a soccer ball under his desk that he was absently rolling with his cleat-covered feet. He wore a pair of blue shorts, and a yellow t-shirt. He glanced at me, and when he saw me looking at him, he grinned. I looked away.
On my other side was the girl from the bus. She was once again staring at me intently. This time, it was difficult to just brush her off. "So you're new to the school," she said. "I wondered why I didn't recognize you on the bus. Where did you come from?"
I didn't particularly want to talk to this girl. She seemed too knowledgeable, with the way her eyes seemed to look right through me. "Victoria."
"That's pretty far away from here. A bigger city, too. Why did you move to a town?" she asked.
"For my parents' work..." I muttered, looking away and watching as my hands folded and twisted the poor schedule.
"I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Nadeshiko." She stuck her hand out. I stared at how soft it looked, how long her fingers were and how pretty her fingernails looked. I had never thought of fingernails as pretty before. However, this girl seemed to scream 'elegant'. I hadn't noticed before, but she wore a black blazer with a white dress shirt, a red tie, and a red skirt. It reminded me of a school uniform.
"Hi," I muttered, though not willingly. "I'm Amu."
"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm glad you're in at least one of my classes. If you ever need help with anything, just let me know." She seemed so genuine that I had a hard time not blushing and thanking her. However, luckily, the second bell rang and everyone had to turn their attention to the front, relieving both myslef and Mr. Nikaido.
"So who's the new girl?" Iru asked, playing with her devil horn hair.
"I hear there's two of them; sisters," Yaya replied excitedly. "I hear one of them is super adorable! Apparently the older sister is a little weird, though. Someone had her in first period and said she totally blew everyone off, even Nadeshiko!"
"Keh, the world could do with more people who would do that," Iru said snidely. I rolled my eyes.
"What do you think, Ikuto?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm sure they're the same as everyone else here. Besides that, why did you follow me up to the roof?" I asked, making sure to make it obvious I was annoyed.
"Because it's nice up here," Yaya said cheerfully.
"Because it's awesome to bug the hell out of you," Iru said.
"Go away."
"What if we don't want to?" Iru pried. I turned my body towards them in my laying position.
"I could always throw you off the roof. Then we can see if you really are black on the inside," I responded in a monotone. Iru glared at me, clearly not impressed. With a huff, she stood up, hiking her pants up so they no longer showed her underwear, and stalked off towards the door. Yaya looked at me and then at Iru's retreating figure, and stood up. She sent me a wink before running off.
I sighed, lying flat on my back and closing my eyes. They probably wouldn't even bother going back to class. How many classes had I been to now, since school had started? I couldn't even remember. I wasn't sure if I had bothered going on the first day, even. My memories were only of being up here, staring at the blue sky.
When was summer going to end?
"Summer time is the best...it's when everyone's happiest, isn't it?"
Those were foolish words. Summer was just a hectic time full of people using the sun as an excuse to take a holiday. It was dry and full of sweat, or humid and full of more sweat. There were disgusting insects everywhere and mosquitoes carrying their diseases.
I placed my hands behind my head, using them as a pillow. With a deep breath, I opened my eyes, looking at the endless blue. Beyond that sky were billions of trillions of stars and planets, worlds that no one has ever seen and other dimensions. The unlimited possibilities of outer space. Galaxy upon galaxy.
So much bigger than just one person. Infinitely bigger. Yet one person could think they were the universe themselves.
And I was chained here, to this earth, with nowhere else to go. I was stuck in such a small world, pulled into the life that I was forced to live by society's rule. Not only by society, but by my own mother choosing to leave me in the hands of someone else.
People were pathetic. They couldn't handle responsibility, yet teach their children every day that being responsible is the most important thing. They threw their money away, thought carelessly of things, expected things to be given to them, and complained about all of it. I saw no responsibility.
There was no one else in this school who knew what it was like to live a life like mine, and yet so many of them thought they had it so hard, just because their parents didn't understand why they wanted to stay out a couple hours later.
I felt stupid sitting on this roof, even though I knew that whether I went to school or not I would be stuck in the same life forever. Even if I got an education, there was nothing I could do with it. I only went for her sake, because I didn't want to worry her. Yet every day, she seemed to care less and less anyways.
What the hell am I doing in this place?
"Let me guess, you're thinking 'what am I doing here?', right?"
I barely managed to not yell out in surprise, snapping my head to the side. I hadn't even heard the door to the roof open.
The girl that had been standing in front of the office was there, sitting against the wall by the door. She wasn't looking at me, but at the sky. Her eyes were a bright amber color, almost gold. In the sunlight, they seemed to glow. Her pink hair just barely touched her shoulders, with a single barrette pinning her bangs back.
Her skin looked soft, with a creamy complexion, and her lips were full and pink. There was no sign of make-up anywhere on her face; a refreshing fact. She wore a relatively cute outfit, as well. Sitting there, she didn't look as spaced out as she had in the halls. She looked serene.
I sighed, and smiled to myself gently. She was beautiful.
"Completely off target," I said. "Sorry."
"Oh...you just looked a lot like how I felt." Her voice was soft, vulnerable, as she admitted her feelings.
"Then maybe you shouldn't be here if you're having doubts," I said, sitting up. "Or did you just hear a rumour that a gorgeous guy was up here and decide to come check me out?"
Her face flushed in embarrassment and she stuck her tongue out. Obviously offended, she stood up and yanked hard on the doorknob. "Who would?" She snapped, disappearing. I stared at the door long after it had swung shut, chuckling to myself.
Cute...
End Chapter
A/N: Back from the dead? ...no...not really. This is basically just a fanfic to keep me busy while I research for the book I want to write. It's not meant to be anything special, really, but I do miss writing fanfics. I kinda can't remember what I wanted to write for my other one anymore, so I don't know if I can continue it. So next best thing is...start a new one! Anyways, review and let me know what you think.
Also, I'm not sure if I'll keep doing split chapters with both of their POVs, or if Ikuto's POV will just be a rare treat.