A/N: My first Amuto fic, so be nice. Hmm… Some background info should be useful. Were-animals have this thing called their beasts. It's like charas, they have a mind of their own. And their beasts are kept inside their mind, like heart eggs. Naturally, since Amu , Ikuto and the rest of the Shugo Chara! Cast are were-lions, their beasts are lions.
This is more of a prologue than a chapter one, a really, really long prologue, longest one I've ever written, I'm sorry if it's slow, but bear with me, the excitement starts in the next chapter, when they're older. I thought it'd be cute to see them when they're young. And yes, it's half inspired by Lion King 2. I love that movie; don't you think Kovu and Kiara look so sweet together?
Ahem… So let the fun begin.
Disclaimer: Shugo Chara characters, occasional quotes from lion king 2 and other novels belong to Peach-Pit, Disney and the wonderful, wonderful novelists respectively.
Skip to the page break if you absolutely can't stand the slowness. The part before the page break is sort of like the prologue of the prologue. Huh. And no lions were hurt in the production of this fanfic.
Four year old Amu slid off the banister, did a flip and landed in a crouch. Score! Ten points for the ever multi-talented gymnast cum artist cum pastry chef cum athlete cum Kyoto's Were-lion Pride Little Regina. She bounded off the porch, and straight into Tsugumu's paw-hands.
"Papa!" she half-groaned, half-giggled.
"Where's my little princess going so early? Wait… Is daddy's little cub going to meet her boyfriend? No!!!"
"Papa!" Amu wriggled in his grip, kicking out with trained tiny legs that could really pack a punch (kick), "I wanna go play! Besides no boys ever come over to play with me, they're too scared of you! Whenever a boy comes near me, you go 'Don't mess with my baby!' And I'm not even a baby anymore, papa!"
"Good thing too, you know what to do when a boy comes up to you?"
"Kick him hard and claw out his eyes."
"Aww… My little princess is such a good girl."
"Papa!"
"Okay, okay… Now run along, and stay on the path I marked out for you, you don't want to have a run in with the outlanders. They're fierce and dangerous, and you can never turn your back on them."
"Why not?"
Tsugumu sighed, patting Amu on her head, and glaring furiously at the horizon, where their enemies lay in wait. Midori stepped out, to see her husband holding their little daughter too tightly. Again. Tsugumu had always been protective of the Pride's cubs, and now that they had a daughter of their own, he tended to put his fatherly instincts into overdrive. Little Amu was quieter than most were-lion cubs, but there was a dominant air to her inner beast that meant she was a Regina, the Pride's future Queen. If she had been a submissive, it would never work, because were-lions from within their Pride and from other Prides would constantly challenge her crown.
"Why not?" Amu repeated.
"Why not what?" Midori asked her daughter, batting Tsugumu's hand away as she kissed their cub's rosy cheeks.
"Why can we not turn our backs on the outlanders?" Amu tattled; Midori shot a reproving look at her husband, and Tsugumu looked properly chastised, they had made a pact to keep their exceedingly sharp daughter out of Pride business at least until she came of age, but naturally, Amu saw and heard too much for a four-year-old, even for a were-lion cub, her abilities were extraordinary; and that meant Tsugumu and Midori had to make an extraordinary effort of being tight-lipped when Amu was in five-hundred-meter radius.
"You're a smart girl," Midori smiled, her eyes gentling, "You can figure it out yourself, can't you?"
Amu's bright eyes sparked with knowing, but she didn't say a thing. She stood on her toes to give Midori a peck on the cheek, and bent to give a kneeling Tsugumu a warm were-lion hug, before turning off to head out towards their nearby playground. Midori frowned at Tsugumu, who promptly stiffened, offering an apologetic, embarrassed grin. She shook her head at him, and he very wisely inched out of immediate reach.
"Souma Kukai," Tsugumu called out, as the boyish were-lion cub kicked a soccer ball into the net the older Souma brothers built sometime ago. Normally, Tsugumu would never have resorted to letting a boy tail his daughter, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and Amu needed tailing (ahem… he meant babysitting), and Souma Kukai was the best were-lion candidate.
Tsugumu rose to his feet, putting a hand on the cub, who had responded to his summon with an efficiency 'Souma's seemed to possess, "Would you mind doing your old Rex a favor?"
"'Course not, Hinamori-sama. What's the favor?"
"I need you to take care of my Amu."
"Little Hinamori? Sure. But gee…" he backpedaled, "I think she can take care of herself pretty well," the boy lowered his voice, "And I don't think I want my soccer leg broken just before my game. Also, I'd rather not spend the rest of my life half-blind… Or well… Blind." Evidently he hadn't missed out on the conversation between the present Rex and the future Regina a few moments ago.
Tsugumu groaned, reassuring the young were-lion, "Amu thinks that she's infallible too. I just need you to keep an eye out for her, make sure she stays on the path I marked out. You don't need to worry about getting into beating-up range."
"As you wish, Hinamori-sama," Kukai gave a mock salute, a playful smile on his lips, a mischievous glint in his laughing brown eyes. Tsugumu waved him off, and the six-year-old cub morphed within seconds; he was a natural, just as the little Regina was, and as dominant as they could get, a Rex for sure, but The Rex to his daughter's Regina? Maybe. Souma Kukai was an honest, good cub, but… Tsugumu hated thinking of the future just yet, he wanted Amu to stay little and bright and oblivious to boys always, but Amu would grow up, and she would fall in love, just… With the right Rex. And they had plenty of dominant Rex candidates for her pick.
Being a father was so much trouble, Tsugumu sighed, massaging his temple absent-mindedly, as he strolled back into his house. Midori stood before him, arms crossed, eyes blazing. Tsugumu groaned, but right now, he was in so much more trouble.
Meanwhile, Amu had a run in with Kukai, she'd seen fairytale picture books (adults gave her a lot of those) and she thought that Kukai would make a very fine Prince Charming. She'd bet he'd look great in those prince-y clothes the princes wore in the books, but even in his T-shirts and denims, Kukai made an awesome prince. Secretly, her heart fluttered whenever he was near, but she'd never tell papa that. Kukai was like a big brother to her, and he treated her like a little princess. Because that was what she was. Literally. A little princess. But still, she thought he treated her special.
Right now, he wasn't in Prince-y clothes, he wasn't in his T-shirt either, Kukai was in half-lion cub transformation; it made him taller, more muscular, but still lanky, his hair curled to his shoulders like a mane and short gold hair furred his tanned chest. He looked cool. And he was following her. So that meant papa must have sent him.
Amu giggled. She liked a good game of cat and mouse, and she was never the mouse, even if Kukai thought she was. Amu slipped into a shop that was marked by papa, his scent lingered over it, so she'd know it was 'safe'. Kukai didn't follow her in, he didn't want her to see him, because he didn't know she already did. Amu giggled a little more. This was fun. If papa hadn't sent a baby-sitter after her, she wouldn't have been naughty, not really. But he did, so she did. It was a moot point anyway. She morphed quickly, so the human wouldn't scream, and felt the sharp pain burst out of her skin.
Mrs Fujisaki was a nice lady. She didn't even make a sound, just smiled at Amu without a trace of shock. She'd probably seen more Were-animals than Amu gave her credit for. But she wasn't Were, that Amu was sure of, she couldn't smell a beast in her. "Ohayou, Amu-chan. Ogenki desu ka? You're out early t'day, aren't you? Don't tell me your papa's not worried." Papa's reputation as a father exceeded himself, quite thoroughly. Even humans knew of his overbearingly protective nature.
Amu grinned, in half were-lion transformation, flashing a set of deadly canines; she had shed her shoes along with half her humanity, and her dress was just a hint shorter, "Genki-des. I'm going to my playground, Fujisaki-san. And papa's only a bit worried-" Lie. "- he's been trying to scare me with silly stories. But I'm not scared. Because I'm a brave girl-" An idea flashed in her mind, and Amu could almost see the light bulb blinking above her head. "-He was talking about-" she lowered her voice, as if telling a secret, "- the outlanders." She laughed, "I don't think…"
"It's true!"
Kukai had given up on his anonymity and burst in on them, loping into the tiny convenience store with a were-lion's grace, his part feline features were slightly irritated, and very manly, as far as Amu was concerned; he was also trying valiantly to convince them of the danger Outlanders posed. Not that Amu hadn't known, she just needed to coax him out of hiding. Kukai was the type who acted without giving a second thought, Amu didn't always use things she knew of her friends against them, but there was a time for everything, and it gave her a perfect opportunity to slip away.
Mrs Fujisaki shared a secret smile with Amu, a conspirator's smile. And Amu decided there and then that she really liked Mrs Fujisaki. She was cool, not like papa. Amu loved papa, really, she did, but papa was just decidedly uncool. She didn't want to run her pride, because if being head Rex or Regina meant being like Papa, she'd rather pass up on the offer. At least, that was how it worked for a four year old little Regina, if there was an irritating job she wanted to get out of, she threw the responsibility to someone she thought more capable, it was a done deal.
Amu was quick on her toes, and she did the scent-masking thing which had been a Regina trait, it helped a lot in hide-and-seek, more so in circumstances like this. Kukai would take hours to sniff her out, after he'd realized she'd taken off without him. This gave Amu plenty of time to reach her super secret hide-out. It was a rundown, yet sort of pretty, temple, just off Pride borders, and she felt safe there, it was her very own playground.
There was a violin playing. Funny, she hadn't remembered that from the last time. But there were always new things popping up from time to time. There had been flowers and straw hats and silk ribbons, and she kept them in a tiny space at the back of the temple, a colorful collection of varying knick knacks.
So when she saw a lanky sort of boy in the middle of her temple, Amu couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips. The music stopped, abruptly, as the boy lowered his violin. His eyelids flickered open, and Amu saw deep blue eyes, so dark anyone else could have mistaken it to be black, but no, she was positive they were blue, the blue of the best kind of sapphires, the deepest, darkest, bluest blue. And those gemstone eyes weren't the sort found on a human. They were hard, fierce, dangerous. They were an Outlander's eyes.
The boy spoke, "What are you doing here, Pridelander?"
His voice was like the violin's, rich, smooth and deadly. Amu feinted to the left. He circled her; she turned to face him, backing up as he neared. The boy quickstepped her, almost getting to her back, but she whirled around again, presenting him with her front. He reached for her, and she let loose a snarl, daring him to attack.
He stopped, "What are you doing?"
"My papa says to never turn my back on an Outlander."
"Do you always do what papa says?"
She frowned, indignant, "No!"
"I bet you do, I bet you're daddy's little girl."
The boy laughed, and picked up his violin, putting it in its case, before slinging it across his back; he grinned suddenly, his features gentling such that he appeared not too much older than her, just about Kukai's age, Amu would've guessed. And he casually sauntered out the doorway, Amu skipped up ahead to catch up with him, her little steps quick and precise.
"An Outlander," he told her, "doesn't need anybody. I take care of myself."
She looked up at him with bright, shining, awestruck eyes, "Really?"
The boy smiled, just a slight smile, not the charming boyish grin he'd flashed her before.
"Cool!" Amu cried as she grabbed at his sleeve.
His expression darkened, and Amu worried if she had offended him in any way, her hand still on his sleeve. But she needn't have worried, the boy was shooting daggers at something (or someone) behind her. He pulled her behind him, a strangely protective gesture, and a deep-ish growl rumbled low from the back of his throat. Papa had a better growl, but for a cub, the Outlander had the best growl Amu had ever heard, even better than Kukai and Tadase and all the other were-lion boy cubs, who were all Prince Charmings in each of their unique, special were-lion ways.
"Were-crocs," the boy traced a tongue over his canines, sharper than Kukai's, and whiter than Tadase's, "A pleasure."
"Were-fluffballs. Nice."
Amu peeped around her enemy-cum-protector person, and saw a pair of scaly monsters towering above them. Their skin was an icky sort of green, like moss, Amu thought, she didn't like moss much. It was shiny and hard-looking and altogether quite disgusting on a person, half-human or not. There eyes were an eerily glowing yellow, with tiny little slits she supposed were their pupils. And to top that all off, they had thin snakish forked tongues, which made their 'Nice' sound more like 'Nisssssssse'.
The boy growled, he put more bass in it this time, so it was more impressive than Papa's, and he was still only a cub! Amu felt his skin shift under his clothes, and knew he was about to morph. Instead of steering clear, as any sane being would do, she pressed herself into him, channeling the psychic energy that came with being a Regina; surprisingly, she could feel his beast respond, feel it react to her power and embrace it, swallowing all she had to offer.
Her own beast drew back, melting away from her skin and retreating into her mind, where she kept it safe with her other lions. Her skin was smooth again, furless, and her hair returned to its original pink shade, without the red highlights that her half lion cub transformation gave. She was all human once more, at least, on the outside. Amu felt weak, but it was only natural, the feeling would pass. And the boy was stronger now, he could fight those monsters off with a Regina's power, and his own, which (if she had it right) was a good a Rex as they could get.
He was holding her, supporting her with claw-tipped paws. His eyes were still blue, but they had paled, so fair they were almost pearl, but no, they were still blue. He was taller and his hair was longer, with those highlights that were unmistakably hers. His lion was chocolate milkshake in color, not the honey gold Papa and her shared, not the beige earthy tones the other lions shared, it was dark and striking and cool.
"All right?"
She nodded.
He set her on her feet, glaring at the monsters, "You hurt her and you'll be waging war on the lions, crocs. I don't think your scaly family would appreciate that much."
One of them shrugged, "We'll live with it."
They were fast, appearing behind Amu in a second, but the Outlander wheeled, backhanding the greener of the two so hard the croc crashed through a wall into the temple, flew through the temple, crashed through another wall, out of the temple, skidded on the ground, slammed against the tree, before stopping short, head lolling. The other were-crocodiles snapped at him, furious, but the Outlander was quicker, and made up for that armor-tough skin were-crocs had with his agility and fast-thinking. His instincts weren't dull either.
He ducked a punch, blocked a kick, and following the momentum, with fist and leg caught in his hand, twisted the bigger boy, driving him into the ground. Amu hurriedly rushed to her protector's side, and he turned on her, too far gone in his fight to half-recognize her. He hissed, lips pulling back to reveal clean white teeth that belonged on some pearly white floss advert. Well, not really, since most humans didn't have the sense to admire a nice set of pointed teeth, but all the same, Amu thought that his teeth were really nice. She put her tiny hand on his shredded sleeve (apparently, those were-crocodiles came close enough to have him a little worse for wear, but not enough to leave a mark on him) and he stopped hissing.
The monster he took down stirred, but the Outlander didn't see. Amu frowned delicately at the half-crocodile man, feeling for his mind, testing to see if he was still a threat to their safety. When she finally decided that he was, she reared back mentally, and the leonine boy raised his eyebrows as he felt her gather her psychic energy; Amu threw a deliberate psychic blow into the reptile's guts, he was immediately (and quite indefinitely) down for the count.
"I did it! I did it!"
Her Outlander friend grinned, "A first for you?"
Amu nodded in earnest, "Did you see the size of those teeth? You kicked their butts sooo good! They were like, at my back all of a sudden, and then bam! You were like, there too! And you messed up the first one so good! And my temple! Although I'm not sure I liked that," she bit her lip, doubtful for a moment, before the enthusiasm got to her again, "And the second guy was all rawr rawr rawr. And then you got him down, and I threw my first psychic punch! Papa's gonna be so proud of me! We make such a good team!" She laughed, exuberant, "And you! You were really brave!"
"Oh yeah?" he stooped to peer into her eyes, and she felt her beasts leap in response to him, just as his reacted to her, "You were pretty brave yourself."
The boy straightened, pulling back abruptly, "I'm Tsukiyomi Ikuto."
"Hinamori Amu!" she replied, her tiny fingers catching his sleeve yet again.
He caught her hand, "Princess Amu, it is an honor."
"Prince Ikuto, the honor is mine," Amu played along, feeling a blush tinge her cheeks, as she dropped him a curtsy, her tattered dress fluttering weakly in the breeze. He chuckled slightly, gingerly stroking the soft pink wisps of her flyaway hair.
Someone (Tsugumu) grabbed Ikuto at the wrist, and someone (Tsugumu) threw him back, that particular someone (Tsugumu again) then pulled a worried Amu away from the Outlander boy and pushed her into Midori's waiting arms. Ikuto landed easily on his feet, hands tucked into his pockets, slouching with an air of nonchalance. He was immediately flanked by his usual (annoying) bodyguards, a smirking Nikaidou-sensei and a deadly silent Sanjo Kairi. Trust them to appear out of thin air.
But they weren't the only ones. Perhaps he'd missed a memo or something, because it was turning out to be quite the wild and crazy old school get-together, except for the fact that he wasn't exactly an old school anything. At nine, he should be considered considerably new school. Utau (his fiercely protective albeit delusional younger sister) had apparently caught wind of the event, and decided to join in the fun; gracefully throwing herself into the mix by suddenly materializing at Ikuto's side and clinging to him.
"You smell of Pridelander," she pouted.
Ikuto frowned at her, and cast a weary glance at Amu, who had her own posse consisting of a prim, petite sort of platinum blonde, a smiling traditional girl with not so traditional indigo hair, and a carrot-top who was distinctly the baby of the group, and seemed quite easily bribable with candy.
"Hinamori."
"Hoshina."
That idiot stepfather of Ikuto's turned to Midori, "Hinamori."
"Hoshina."
"To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I'm not here to deal with you, Kazuomi."
"Impatient, aren't we? I see you've met my son, Ikuto."
"Step-son," Ikuto corrected sharply, Kazuomi let it pass, but only because, Ikuto suspected, he didn't want to lose whatever dignity he had in front of their most hated enemies.
"Ikuto was the last born, before you banished us to the suburbs, where we find ourselves often jobless, with what little income, and even less entertainment. He was hand-chosen by Aruto to follow in his paw prints and be Rex."
"You know the penalty of returning to the Pridelands."
"I beg your pardon? We've not taken a step onto your precious Pridelands."
"Then explain why your son–"
"Step-son."
"–has my daughter in his hands, had my daughter in his hands."
"On the contrary, I think your daughter had my son–"
"Step-son."
"–in her hands."
Ikuto signed, "We were quite willingly in each other's hands, Hinamori-san, Kazuomi."
The bickering adults were shocked speechless, utterly, completely speechless.
"He's right papa," Amu added, "Ikuto was a perfect Prince."
"You mean 'gentleman'." Ikuto gently contradicted.
Amu shook her head, stubborn as always.
Tsugumu and Kazuomi exchanged glances, a shaky truce established for the time being. With a brief, curt nod in farewell, they each headed back home, angrily (and rather excessively) lecturing their own cubs (ahem… And step-cubs) on were-lion etiquette Rule Number Five Hundred and Thirty-Two: Never make friends with an enemy, despite what they say about forgiveness is divine, enemies are never to be forgiven. Never ever never ever never ever ever never ever never ever. Yeah… Basically never. Ever.
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