I think the best place for this in the timeline is post-series. Characters shall be happier because that's the way I think it should be! :D (P.S. This was the result of boredum and the fact that I didn't want to study for my history test on Monday.)
"Amu-chan? Could you run an errand for me?"
Hinamori Amu felt her cool and spicy mask slip into place. She placed her hands on her hips nonchalantly and tried to look bored. Inside she was screaming in agony at the time she'd lose on this rare free day.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Oh Amu-chan! I knew I could count on you!" Hinamori Midori cheered at her daughter's thoughtfulness. "I just need you to pick up some groceries."
"Got it." Amu walked over to the doorway to slip her shoes on. In the middle of putting her right shoe on, her mother leaned over her.
"And I happen to know that there's a certain top that you want."
Amu jumped at her mother's all-knowing voice and proximity. Midori smiled at the fact that her daughter's façade had slipped for a moment. As Amu stood up, she handed her the shopping money.
"I slipped a little extra in here for you. It's my way of saying thanks. It is your day off after all."
"Mama…" Amu let a true smile grace her lips. "Thank you!"
Midori smiled as her eldest daughter ran out the door.
"Ami-chan is at practice, so we have the house to ourselves…"
"Yes, you know what that means…"
"Karaoke!" the Hinamori couple cheered simultaneously.
"Okay, let's see…" Amu pulled out the shopping list. Her guardian charas floated above her.
"Eggs and rice."
"Bread and soy sauce."
"Meat and carrots, desu?"
"And a new shirt!" Amu cheered. Her charas giggled at her enthusiasm. After a few minutes of walking, Amu had found her destination: the shopping mall. As she was about to enter one of the stores, she saw a familiar flash of violet. All thoughts of shopping had been forgotten.
"Ikuto…" Amu turned away from the automatic doors and chased the blur. Her charas, after some protest, hurriedly followed. She ran after him, barely able to dodge people in the crowd. Before she knew it, she was in an unfamiliar neighborhood. All the students walking past her wore a familiar uniform however.
"Could this be…?" Ran trailed off. Miki finished her question.
"That's Ikuto's school's uniform!"
"I guess Ikuto doesn't have a day off today." Amu continued walking in the same direction as the older students.
"Amu-chan is getting a lot of attention," Su commented. Amu looked down at the ground as she walked; she was beginning to feel self-conscious. After a few more minutes of walking and ignoring all the whispers, they found themselves in front of a school's gates. The building beyond was big and beautiful. A voice quickly brought her out of her reverie.
"Excuse me? Are you someone's little sister?"
Amu looked up to see an older woman, probably one of the school's teachers. She was so pretty! Amu looked down at the ground again in embarrassment. Her charas examined the woman carefully.
"She's really tall!" came from Ran.
"She seems really sophisticated!" came from Miki.
"She's really pretty!" came from Su.
The woman put a hand on Amu's shoulder and smiled.
"Ah! You must be the model for the art class! I heard that a really cute junior high student was coming to model for Class 3-B. You must be her." The woman led Amu through the gates. "And you're so cute!"
"Eh!?"
Ikuto stared out the classroom's window. He easily droned out the class's incessant chatter. Yoru floated in front of his view, bored.
"Wanna hear the latest gossip, nya?"
"Besides the fact that Michi finally asked Yoko out?" Ikuto made sure his words were dripping with sarcasm. Yoru either didn't care or didn't notice.
"A kid from that junior high near Seiyo Elementary is coming to model during art hour, nya."
"So?" Ikuto discretely looked in his bag to make sure his art supplies were in there. He had forgotten that they were doing art in class today. He quietly sighed with relief at the sight of his sketchpad. All was right with the world today.
"Oh, and Michi really did ask Yoko out, nya."
Ikuto abruptly sat up in his seat with a small smile. "No way! I didn't think he actually had it in him…"
"Oh! You look so cute!"
"Ah… is that so?" The woman from before was actually Ikumi-sensei, the art teacher. She also had, as Amu found out the hard way, a great fondness of gothic lolita fashion.
"This outfit isn't that bad," Miki commented, furiously sketching the outfit Amu had been shoved into. Ran and Su nodded their heads in agreement.
"Okay! It's time to present you!" Ikumi-sensei grabbed Amu's shoulders and led her out the door; Amu hung her head the entire time. She had not only lost sight of someone who could've been Ikuto, but she had also gotten caught up in something that she was sure would be really embarrassing.
"Go for it; go for it, Amu-chan!"
Ikuto idly played with his pencil as the rest of the class talked away. Their art teacher hadn't arrived yet. "She's probably going to make us draw gothic lolita clothes again," was one of the most common complaints he heard. The sound of the door quieted everyone.
"Sorry I'm late everyone!" Ikumi-sensei practically ran into the room. She took a moment to catch her breath before continuing. "The subject almost ran away, but she didn't get far! Now come in here! Don't be shy."
A pink-haired girl shyly stepped into the room. Just before she could run away, the teacher caught her arm.
"I said don't be shy, Hinamori-chan."
Ikuto's head immediately snapped up at the name. A few of his friends noticed and smirked mischievously. His closest friend, Michi, poked his side.
"Hey… Is she your girlfriend, Ikuto? It's not everyday that you react to a girl like that." He continued poking. Ikuto twitched.
"Shut up, Michi"
"Tsukiyomi-san, Kisaragi-san, is there something you want to share with the class?" Ikumi-sensei tapped her foot impatiently. She disliked their lack of attention; after all, she spent a good hour prettying up today's subject.
"No Sensei," they said in unison.
"No way! No way, no way, no way, no way!" Amu thought repeatedly. This was Ikuto's class!? Her charas seemed pretty excited about the fact.
"We finally found him!" Su cheered as though it was a game of hide-and-seek. Ran and Miki floated to her with deadpan expressions.
"Su…"
"Ikuto's fine. Thank goodness" Amu let a small smile grace her lips; she hadn't seen the boy in weeks. The entire class was up in an uproar after that.
"Oh, she's so cute like that!"
"Think she has a boyfriend already?"
"Kazu-kun! D-don't think like that!"
"Hey, Ikuto! I think she said your name. Does that mean you're going out? I didn't realize you liked 'em young…"
Ikuto twitched at all the different comments flying around the room, especially that of the bastard who even thought of the possibility of pursuing Amu. His blood boiled at the thought of a rival other than the kiddie king; he didn't want to share more than he had to.
"Hey, hey! Settle down or I'm docking points from everyone."
Thank you, Ikumi-sensei.
"Uwaah!" Amu stretched out her arms. She felt so stiff from posing for the class. Ikumi-sensei handed her a cold drink.
"Thanks for the hard work!"
"I'm so stiff!" Amu complained. She could hear her charas giggling behind her and tried to tune them out.
"But, really, you were so pretty. You had so many of my students falling for you," Ikumi giggled in remembrance. "Even Tsukiyomi-san appeared enamored with you."
Amu felt herself choke on her drink. "E-eh!? Even I-Ikuto?"
"So you 'know' Tsukiyomi, then," Ikumi said matter-of-factly with a wide smile. Amu's face warmed up heavily as she nodded. She understood the connotation of the statement, but she didn't feel the need to deny it anymore. If she had been in this position a few months ago, she would've denied it with all her might.
"You know, Hinamori… You really were a good model. I'd like to ask you to come model again?" Ikumi questioned.
Amu nodded. "If you'll have me again."
"Of course!" Ikumi hugged the younger girl happily. "And there are so many outfits I want you to try! Maybe sweet lolita next time…"
"Amu-chan…" her charas sympathized.
"Ah! I forgot about the errands!" Amu quickly ran out the gates in a panic. "Let's see, I needed…" She reached into her skirt pocket for the shopping list to find that it wasn't there.
"Amu-chan…"
"You dropped it, didn't you?"
"Ah! What am I going to do!?" Amu squeezed her head in disbelief. "I have to go back in there and look!"
"Ikuto, Ikuto! What's this, nya?"
"'Eggs, rice, bread, soy sauce, meat, and carrots'?" Ikuto turned the kitten-printed paper around in his hands. "A shopping list?"
"I wonder who dropped it, nya."
"Who knows?" Ikuto shrugged. He tucked the paper into his pocket when Yoru looked away and continued walking down the hall.
"Okay, so we went this way, and…" Amu searched the hall outside the art room. Ran, Miki, and Su floated around between the door and the stairs, searching. Amu sighed. "It's not here…"
"Don't worry Amu-chan! Maybe someone picked it up?"
"Y-yeah! I'm sure we'll find it!"
"Go, go, Amu-chan!"
"But…"
"Hey, aren't you Hinamori-chan?" It was a boy from the art class. He grabbed Amu's shoulder and pinned her to the wall.
"U-uh, um," Amu looked around nervously until she settled her gaze on the ground. She could feel him inching forward with each passing second. "What do I do? I can't pull out my cool and spicy character!" she screamed in her head.
"You're pretty cute, ya know? Ya gotta be careful 'bout the guys here. One of us might just take you awa— Ahh! What the hell!?" A hand viciously grabbed his shoulder and tugged him off.
"Arasawa … I don't think she's your type. And she obviously doesn't like you." The grip tightened. "So why don't you leave her alone." Her savior left no room for objections.
"Tsukiyomi… F-fine. Just let go, man. I was only kidding." Amu snapped her eyes up at the mention of his name and felt herself smile a little. The boy, Arasawa, skulked off.
"Ikuto! What's up?" Amu tried at casual conversation in hopes of avoiding the questions or comments she was sure he planned on throwing at her. He looked like he wasn't having any of it.
"What are you doing back here? I thought you left already," Ikuto questioned. Yoru nodded in agreement. Before Amu could tell him off, Su answered like the honest chara she was.
"Amu-chan lost her shopping list, desu. You haven't seen it, have you?"
"Shopping list? Ikuto? Didn't we find one, nya?"
Ikuto reached into his pocket and pulled out the list he had tucked away. He took one last look at it and smirked. "Honestly, Amu. Kitten-printed paper?"
"H-hey! I-it's n-n-not what y-you think it is!" Amu blushed bright red and snatched the paper from him. Ikuto poked her cheek playfully.
"Well, what do you think it is?" He smirked when her blush grew deeper. "Just joking. Come on."
Ikuto started walking down the hall. Amu jumped up after him.
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"Don't you have to go shopping still?" Ikuto asked. Their charas watched from the sidelines amusedly.
"What, do you plan on escorting me?"
Ikuto raised his eyebrows at her. "Why not? Someone's gotta keep the weirdoes off of you."
"F-fine!" She crossed her arms in a huff. Amu's mind was already picturing him as a knight slaying all the boys in his class that tried… Argh! Amu quickly shook the image out of her mind. "And aren't you one too?"
Ikuto smiled his usual mysterious smile. "Who knows?"
"Aww, you didn't have to walk me all the way home, Ikuto," Amu teased when they arrived at her house. It was dark by the time she had finished the shopping with Ikuto's help. Her charas sleepily floated on ahead to her room, and Yoru secretly followed with a mind to play some harmless pranks on them.
Ikuto walked Amu up to the door with an unreadable expression. He couldn't help but notice how much more mature she looked, not to mention… "Hey, Ikuto? Is something wrong?"
Ikuto was knocked out his trance at the sound of her voice, and quickly cleared his throat. His thoughts were going down the path of no return. "Not really…"
Amu pouted. "There you go again; you're always hiding things from me. Why can't I be good enough to hear what goes through your mind? You're always being selfish like that… Ikuto?"
The way the light caught her lips… He had tried to hold himself back but couldn't resist anymore. He'd been fighting temptation off for too long. Amu was silenced when Ikuto moved in for the kill.
He kissed her!
It was innocent and stayed as such; Ikuto made sure of that. If he hadn't have reminded himself that she was still young, he would've…
"Ikuto?" Amu craned her head to get a clear view of his face and saw a faint blush on his cheeks. She smiled. "So you really are a pervert. You can't control your hormones, can you?"
Ikuto smiled with her. "I guess not." He remembered that they were outside her house and urged her inside. "It's getting late. You need to go in."
"Okay, okay," Amu said and waved her hand dismissively. Before she turned around, Ikuto grabbed her one more time and kissed her cheek. Amu's face flared up and became a brilliant shad of red. He smiled at her reaction; he loved to tease her like that. When she recovered, he had already disappeared into the night. "Ikuto…"
Amu set the groceries on the kitchen counter and allowed a dumb grin to spread across her face.
"Hey Amu-chan? What took you so long? We were starting to get worried…"
"And who was that boy who was with you? He-he isn't your boyfriend, is he? Please tell me that he isn't your boyfriend!"
"Onee-chan! Onee-chan, you gotta share with Ami, 'kay?"
"Ehh?" Amu quickly backed away from her prying family and ran up to her room. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with after such a great day!
When Amu shut the door behind her, she made the most important realization she had made all day.
"I forgot to buy that super cute top!!"
A/N: So who was the original model? And what ever happened to her? Let's find out.
"I am Yamabuki Saaya, and I am the model that this school requested!"
"Sorry, but the model got here half an hour ago, so you can't be her."
"I am Yamabuki Saaya! You can't treat me like this!"
"My apologies, but could someone please remove her from the premises?"
"H-hey! How dare you people manhandle me! Unhand me! I'm from the Yamabuki family! You can't treat me this way! Ahh!"
And cut! I think that it's a good thing that Amu-chan ended up being the model instead.
Ikuto: Indeed.
Next Episode Preview
Miki: Hey, how well did Ikuto draw Amu, anyway?
Ran: …
Su: …
Amu: Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that! I want to see!
Ikuto: No.
Amu: Aww, why not?
Miki: Next time on Shugo Chara!…
Su: Mystery! Ikuto's Sketchpad?
Ran: It really is a mystery! Go for it, Amu-chan!
Amu: Hey! Why won't you show me!?
