Hi X3

So, I was motivated to try writing a fanfic like this, just for something different. I don't know how well it'll turn out, or if I'll finish it. I hope I will, though. It's AU, because the twins are, well, actual twins. I'll probably think of more to say later, but for now, I hope you like it!

A Million Ways To Fall

'Pivot full, Nadeshiko-san. Not half.'

'Yes, Oka-san. Sorry,' I replied, repeating the steps again, determined to get it right. But my heart wasn't in it today. Or, my head wasn't. I brushed my bangs out of my face, trying to focus. Temari hovered before me, eyes wide with concern.

I smiled at her, the dismissive smile that said I'm fine. That probably only increased her worry.

'Nadeshiko, you should stop,' she berated me softly; following my movements with an expert's eye, and knowing that they were slightly off.

I shook my head and quickly turned away from her, not wanting to be hassled further. That was a mistake. On turning, my vision dimmed and my head felt weightless, as if I was slipping away. I tried to focus on the spot of flooring in front of me, hoping that if I could just keep that spot within my vision, the rest would stay as well. But moments later that floor and all else in the waking world were gone to me, and I disappeared into safe blackness.

'Nadeshiko!' A small fluttering thing landed on my face, and stayed there. I shifted, trying to shoo it away. 'Nadeshiko, wake up!'

'Don't...' I opened my eyes a little, and saw Temari's purple ones staring back.

'Nadeshiko-san, you're awake!' spoke another voice, which I determined to be my mother's. She kneeled beside me and plopped a wet cloth on my face. Temari squealed and fluttered out of the way.

I sat up slowly, the cloth falling off. My ears rang, and my face felt freezing cold. 'I've asked you to call me Nadeshiko when we're not practising...'

My mother's wide brown eyes were deeply upset. She bit her lip; something she only did when she was worried about me or my brother. 'Nadeshiko, why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well? Dance is important, but health always comes first. Oh, and now you've gone and fainted, poor girl, I expect I'm working you too hard. I guess you'll be staying home from school tomorrow, here, let me put this cloth back...'

I gently pushed the cloth away. 'Oka-san, I'm fine,' I reassured her. I gave her a quick hug, and stood up, albeit shakily. 'I'll just go to my room and rest, okay?'

'Well, okay. But I'll send Nagihiko in to check on you in a bit.'

'It's alright; you don't need to do that.' I smiled to show her it was really okay, and she seemed to believe me, because she let me go.

Once in the privacy of my room, I sighed and dropped to my knees, exhausted.

Temari had been silent, until now. 'Nadeshiko, you're lying. You're sick. What's wrong?'

'I don't know,' I admitted. I thought back to lunch time at school today. I hadn't been able to keep down anything I ate, and if it hadn't been for Tadase's quick thinking, I'd have soiled the brassy glory of the school's trophy cabinet. Nevertheless, it was one fake wig that our deputy principal would never be able to wear again.

'I'm probably just over-tired,' I told Temari, settling down on the low bedding. It wasn't that surprising, with the stress of dance, and school, and exams, and on top of everything else...

No. It couldn't be that.

I took my hair out of its ponytail, shaking my head a little and laughing at myself. I was fifteen. It was probably nothing like that.

But still, it was possible.

I ducked through the glass door of the pharmacy just as sheets of rain began pouring down, blanketing the city sky in hues of purple and grey. Temari was sheltered in my long black hair, but knew better than to say anything. I ignored sideways glances from customers and stood straight as I walked down the aisle where the pregnancy tests were located, hoping to appear older and more confident than I felt. In truth, I thought my heart might leap out of my throat.

I took the nearest box of tests and approached the counter. The clerk popped her bubblegum loudly and told me the price, and I handed her the exact amount. She looked like she couldn't care less, which suited me fine. 'Which way to the restrooms, please?'

She pointed one manicured finger in the direction of the ladies room, and I went, feeling her idle stare boring into my back.

I tried to breathe steadily as I awaited the results of the test in my hands. I shook my head – I was being silly, really. I was Nadeshiko Fujisaki. Bright, talented, effortlessly popular, and on my way to becoming a professional dancer. This kind of thing just didn't happen to people like me. People who were going somewhere. Yes, I'd screwed up. But this was a scare, nothing more. That's what I told myself, but it didn't stop my shoulders from trembling or my stomach from doing somersaults as I sat anxiously in the bathroom stall.

I looked at my watch, my hand shaking so hard I could barely read it. Seven minutes had passed – more than enough time. I squeezed my eyes shut and looked downwards, ready to feel relieved and assured of my perfection.

I opened my eyes, and instead what I felt was my heart plummeting down into the pit of my stomach.

It was positive.

Faintness hit just seconds after the shock did, and I dug my nails into my palm, trying to pull myself together. This couldn't be happening, and yet it was. Okay. I could deal with that. I stood up, and surprised myself by how calmly I exited the bathroom and the pharmacy. On the outside I was still perfect, serene Nadeshiko, and nothing had changed.

I exited the glass doors and pulled my hood up around my head, with Temari concealing herself under it. It was still bucketing rain. I went into a narrow alley between that building and another, and only then did I allow myself to succumb to the harsh shock. I sat on a crate and pulled my knees to my chest, hot tears mingling with the spattering raindrops. I felt sobs wracking my body, and allowed them. I didn't know how to deal with this. A thousand thoughts should have been running through my head – what kind of medical care would be needed, how I'd get through school, what I'd need to learn to be able to actually raise another human being. But I couldn't focus on any of those things. I was far too young to cope with something like this.

I don't know how long I spent like that – it could have been minutes, it could have been hours. But eventually I stood, realising I shouldn't have been out in such torrential rain. If I went home now, there would definitely be questions. There was only one place to go. My feet seemed to move of their own accord, pounding against the wet concrete with more strength than I'd thought I had, and I let them carry me away.

As I ran down city streets and poorly lit alleyways, I found myself thinking back to that night. The howling wind and threateningly dark sky somehow reminded me of him, and of how right he had seemed. At the time, it had never even occurred to me that there might be repercussions. I had been so enthralled by the way his deft musician's hands had worked their way across my flawless white skin. His deep blue eyes had possessed something wild about them, something I wanted so badly, a world of freedom that I'd never known in all my life. Everything about him seemed untameable, and experiencing that was like an exotic flavour – wonderful and mysterious, and so enticing, something I might never have tasted again. I wanted to get wrapped up in his world, and for just one night I had wanted to leave behind dance and competition and the thought of knowing exactly where I would be going and what I would be doing tomorrow, and forever. I had never anticipated that my desire to change something would come true in this most extreme of ways.

These were the thoughts that occupied my mind as I turned and ran down a familiar street and up the most welcoming stairs I knew of. The rain may still have been beating down on me, but my shivering lessened almost in an instant, as if I had been suddenly encompassed in dryness and warmth.

If Amu Hinamori had looked 'cool and spicy' at age twelve, at age fifteen she was downright scary. Her bright pink hair hung down her back, a thin braid in the front section tied off with one of her X clips. Her angular figure had developed into a curvy one, but somehow, instead of making her look softer it only made her look edgier. Her gothic Lolita style had matured to incorporate a wide range of other styles – probably Miki's influence – and by any definition, it looked great on her. Even the position of her hands and the angle her head tilted at spoke of attitude.

But I knew the soft girl behind the facade. On opening the front door Amu took one look at me, flung her arms around my shoulders, and ushered me inside. She didn't speak, but instead pushed me down the hallway and towards the stairs.

I realised that Yaya and Rima were there, entertaining Ami in the living room. Yaya had artfully piled Rima's hair atop her head in a beehive style, like women wore in the sixties. Rima beheld herself in a mirror Yaya had handed her, a look of extreme displeasure etched across her pretty face. On my entrance, however, both looked up in surprise.

'What...?' Yaya began, but Amu hurried me up the stairs and away from those concerned, unbearable gazes.

Amu sat me down on her bed and handed me a glass of water. 'Drink.'

It was a rule we had. If someone was upset, they didn't explain why until they'd had a glass of water. It helped.

Temari emerged from my hood and floated over to Amu, hovering before her emphatically. 'Oh. Right,' Amu said after a moment, and she retrieved a fresh towel from her wardrobe. I took it obediently.

Only after I had calmed down sufficiently did she start asking questions. 'Nadeshiko... what's wrong?'

The trust and concern in her golden eyes was so overwhelmingly earnest that I had to look away. She didn't try to hug me or touch me at all, probably sensing that I couldn't handle it right at that moment.

'It's – I –' my voice faltered, and I took a breath and started again. 'I did something... really, well, stupid, and – I don't know what to do –' I tried to push back the choking sensation.

'What did you do?' she asked softly.

I hesitated.

Then I told her. 'I slept with Ikuto Tsukiyomi.'

A number of emotions came over Amu's face. Hurt, quickly disguised. Shock, mostly. And... confusion. Yes, it was bad. But it didn't warrant me running to her house in the pouring rain, and in this state.

'There's... more?' she asked hesitantly. I think I regretted my actions so much more in that instant than I had done before. It was the worst thing I'd done in all of this, hurting Amu. I knew of her feelings for Ikuto, of course I knew. I would never speak of it, because of her relationship with Tadase, and because of the endless other complexities that so often prevented two people who cared about each other from being together in this world. But it was just something I understood, like all the unspeakable things she knew about me – things that never came up on the surface, but things we knew, because we were kindred spirits. Two of a kind. And I think that's how she knew what I would say next, even before I said it.

I nodded and said simply, 'I'm pregnant.'

And thus completes the first chapter. Are there things you like about it? Things you don't? Then please review, and let me know!

Uh, and I almost forgot the disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara! or any of the characters. If I did, well, I wouldn't be writing fanfics ;)

Thanks for reading!