Hello again everybody!! I'm so happy with all of the reviews I got for the last chaper. I know, it's been a while since I've last updated, but I did warn you... I'm sorry about the shortness of the chapter, but I didn't want to stick in too much for one chapter. I've decided on a name too. I've chosen Takasu. It gave me inspiration for the story so I figured that the least I could do is use it (Thanks, japaneseanimelover03. You've inspired me!! YAY!!!!!!). I appreciate all of the names you've all sent in and I had difficulty choosing so THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!(I'll ask for more names later so I you have any girl names or guy names, keep them in mind. I don't need them now, but I will eventually) And I realize that Ikuto and Amu may seem a little OOC in this chapter, but remember that they are shaken up about this whole thing. Personally, I think that this is just a certain side of Ikuto that he usually keeps hidden under that mask of boredom so... WHOA, LONG author's note, so I guess I'll just shut up now... ENJOY!!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara nor do I own the quote I have in here from the musical Wicked

Ikuto looked up towards Amu's house. He could see her mother, father, and little sister running around putting their belongings into boxes.

'So it really is true,' Ikuto thought. He circled the house and jumped onto a tree.

"Amu-chan, we'll be back later, okay?" Ikuto heard Amu's Charas say.

"'Kay," she said quietly. Ikuto saw Amu's Charas exit through the balcony doors and fly off to some unknown location. Amu shut the glass doors and walked away, out of Ikuto's sight.

"Yoru, stay out here," Ikuto murmured to his chara. Yoru nodded and started to wander around the garden below Amu's balcony. Ikuto leapt off the tree and landed on the balcony. Inside, he could see Amu slowly packing away all of her things. She closed the box that she just filled with her clothing and placed it with the other boxes. Ikuto saw her sigh with her eyes half closed. She was slumping over as though from fatigue. Amu walked over and sat on her bed, completely oblivious to the cat boy standing just outside her glass doors. She reached up and gently touched the Humpty Lock hanging around her neck with her fingertips.

Ikuto felt something tingling in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out the Dumpty Key. The key began to glow and as he looked back into Amu's room, he saw the lock glowing with a similar light. As suddenly as it came, the light died out leaving the Humpty Lock and Dumpty Key looking the same as they did originally.

'What was that?' Ikuto thought, but he shook his head quickly. He would ponder more on that later. Right now, he wanted to speak to Amu. He raised a hand and tapped her transparent balcony door. Amu jumped and quickly turned around. When she saw Ikuto standing outside her door, a frown appeared on her face. Ikuto pointed to himself than pointed to the room and raised his eyebrows. Amu rolled her eyes and opened the balcony door with a reluctant expression, the frown still marring her face.

"What is it?" she asked agitated. Ikuto smirked and quickly stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He sat down on her bed and patted the space next to him. Amu carefully sat down beside him with a red face. Still smirking, Ikuto put his arm around her shoulders. She playfully swatted him away and he let out a deep throaty chuckle. Suddenly, he became very serious and all playfulness seemed to slip away, though Amu could still see the never fading spark of mischief in his eyes.

"Amu, we need to talk." Amu instantly became wary. She stood up and continued to pack. "I want to know more about that man from earlier. "

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm worried about you." The breath caught in Amu's throat and she stood still. She turned toward Ikuto with confusion and a little bit of surprise clouding her face. He looked at her steadily with no trace of mischief in his blue eyes.

'He's not kidding,' Amu thought with wide eyes. Once she realized what she was doing, she immediately put on her "Cool and Spicy" look and sat down next to him. To most people, she looked as though she was extremely bored with the conversation, but Ikuto could see that on the inside her emotions were running wild.

"What do you want to know?" Amu asked.

"Who was that man?"

A frown settled on Amu's features. She sighed and looked at his face. "You know that this is diffivult for me to talk about do be patient." Ikuto gave one slow nod with half closed eyes. His body was slouched over and his hands were in his pockets. Though it didn't appear so, his full attention was fixed on Amu. Amu sighed and began to talk.

"His name is Takasu. I first met him when I was seven. He was involved in the murder of some close relatives of mine." Ikuto's eyebrows rose as he took in what she said. As Amu told him that, her eyes clouded up with tears and she turned her head away. Ikuto put a comforting arm around her shoulders. She continued speaking after a few minutes. "What makes it so horrible, is that I could have saved them, except Takasu was holding me back. His father committed the murder while Takasu prevented anyone from interfering. That's why I hate him so much." Amu gritted her teeth and her hands clenched into fists. Ikuto rubbed her shoulder gently.

'Why is he acting like this?' Amu wondered. 'It's completely out of his usual character.' She stayed silent as she waited for his next question.

"Why is he after you?" Ikuto asked after a long pause.

"Well who wouldn't be interested in a girl with four Chara eggs?" Amu scoffed. "He says I'm powerful and he likes power." Ikuto looked at her for a long time. His blue eyes glinted in the light of Amu's desk lamp. Finally, he sighed heavily.

"Can't we just fight him off? He can't be that powerful." Amu was shaking her head before he finished his first question.

"He's too strong. Everyone would get hurt, some may even die. They're all too inexperienced. If they died, I wouldn't ever be able to live with that on my conscience. He's done horrible things to me in the past, so I know what I'm talking about." Amu took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she spoke again, they were still shut. "I've been running from him since I was seven. When I moved here, it was because I was trying to escape from him. I had promised myself that I wouldn't get close to anyone here. I suppose I've broken that promise."

Amu opened her eyes and looked at Ikuto. She had tears in her eyes and they slowly trekked down her face. They slid down her cheek and dripped off her chin, falling on her hand. Ikuto reached forward and took her hand, slowly wiping off the little bit of salt water with his thumb. He lifted his other hand and cupped her cheek. His hand slid through her hair to the back of her head. He gently pulled her toward him so that her face was resting against him chest.

"It wasn't a mistake," Ikuto said while laying his head on hers. "You shouldn't regret it. I don't."

"But you don't understand the consequences. Since I've gotten so many good friends, it'll just make it more difficult to leave."

"Then don't leave!" Ikuto exclaimed with much emotion. Amu lifted up her head in surprise, but Ikuto didn't care. He started to shake with rage and his arms tightened around her. He leaned over her and pulled her up so that she was on his lap. He pulled her legs up so that she was completely in his hold. Ikuto buried his face in her pink hair.

"Ikuto, are you okay?" Amu asked worriedly. She pushed him away slightly so that she could see his face. Ikuto just stared back at her, not saying anything.

"I'm worried about you," he murmured quietly in her ear. A light pink blush settled on her face. His voice was so full of emotion that she found herself shaking slightly. He looked at her so protectively, as though he would lash out at whoever came near, whether it was a friend or foe. As Amu looked into his blazing eyes, she had a sudden epiphany.

'I'll miss him,' Amu realized. Her eyes widened as she figured out that she cared about what would happen to him. A foreign emotion started to stir within her, plucking her heart stirrings. She was frightened by it and pushed it out of her mind. It was just so different from anything that she had ever felt before. Ikuto was looking at her strangely, the blazing light in his eyes having died down slightly. Amu's golden orbs began to fill with tears as the thought of leaving her friends and Ikuto entered her head as it had done many times earlier that day.

"Amu," Ikuto said quietly. He gently wiped away all of her tears. His eyes softened as he looked down at her small defenseless figure. She returned his gaze and her resolve snapped. A new flood of tears came pouring out from her eyes and her petite frame shook with sibs. Ikuto continued to wipe away all of her tears, murmuring sweet nothings in her ear. Her sobs quieted and her tears ceased except for the occasional lone tear, which Ikuto always made sure he caught. He rubbed soothing circles on her back and she relaxed against him.

"Thank you, Ikuto," she whispered. He just nodded and stared at the wall with sadness around the edges of his eyes.

"Amu-chan!" her mother shouted from below. "The movers will be here soon, so get ready!"

"Okay, Mama!" Amu shouted back half heartedly.

"Do your parents know the real reason why you're leaving?" Ikuto asked quietly.

"Yes," Amu responded in the same soft tone. "They are a great support to me." She gazed at Ikuto's face and her saw the silent message she saw sending him.

"I have to leave?" he asked with pain in his eyes.

"Yeah…," Amu said with a lost expression. Ikuto let her go and she slowly climbed out of his arms and off of his lap. They walked to the balcony door together in silence. Amu opened the door and they both stepped outside but instead of leaving, Ikuto hugged her close again.

"The only reason I'm leaving is because I know this is difficult for you and I don't want to make it any harder than it needs to be." They hugged each other closer and then they both looked down in surprise as something caught their attention.

The Humpty Lock was glowing again and as Ikuto pulled something out of his pocket, they saw that the Dumpty Key was in a similar state.

"It's not time yet," they both said quietly together. "It isn't time to open the lock." Amu stood up on her tip toes and kissed Ikuto's cheek as she had done earlier. Once her lips touched the flesh of his skin, the lock and key exploded with a blinding light. The couple didn't care though. Ikuto just shut his eyes in bliss. The feeling of her lips against his skin felt just as wonderful as it had earlier.

As the two pulled themselves out of each other's arms, the Humpty Lock and Dumpty Key ceased their shining. Amu nodded at Ikuto in farewell and turned back to her room. Ikuto abruptly rached forward and took her hand.

"Please, don't…," he whispered, his voice breaking. Amu turned around to face him and smiled sadly at him.

I'm sorry, but I have to leave." She pulled her small soft hand out of Ikuto's large warm one. His breath caught in his throat and he had difficulty breathing.

"Goodbye, Ikuto," Amu said. As she turned away from him, a tear fell down her face.

"Goodbye…, Amu," Ikuto said as he watched him leave. Once inside, she locked her door and closed the curtains, cutting him off from her completely. He fell to his knees and began gasping for breath. Little did he know that Amu was doing the same thing on the other side of the curtains? Ikuto dropped his head down into his hands and he called out to Yoru in his mind. He lifted his head up to gaze at the moon overhead.

"Because I knew you, I have been changed for good," Ikuto whispered quietly as a tear streamed slowly down his face.

Hehe, I put fluff in here. And by the way, the kiss on the cheek that Amu gave Ikuto is not the big Amuto kiss that I have planned for later. This is just a small goodbye kiss(Though it did stir up some "foreign emotion". Hehehe...). I wonder what's going on with the lock and key??? O.o I guess we'll just have to wait and see. And I'm wondering, should Tadase still be here when the story picks up again five years later in the next chapter? Ikuto is still going to have a love rival anyways so please tell me what you think so I can keep writing. Btw, the thing Ikuto says at the end may be cheesy, but I was listening to a song from Wicked while I was writing that part so I figured I might as well use it sense it fit. Well, that's all for now and please tell me is Tadase should come back!!! And i know I sound like a broken record here, but I'll say it anyway... PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!