Chapter 3
I am so sorry for the super slow update! I completely forgot about updating this story and now I hope all of you will forgive me! Thank you so much for the reviews and the support! I hope all of you will hopefully put up with me a little longer!
Disclaimer: I don't owe any cast from Shugo Chara! But some characters do belong to me!
Amu woke up, thinking that she might have a dream. She couldn't remember much of it. Every time she tried to, it seemed hazy and she could barely know what was happening in the dream. It was as if that when she opened her eyes, she could remember what the dream was about but after a few seconds, she just forgotten the whole dream.
She hasn't changed her clothes for two days was the first thing she realized. She forgot to change them yesterday when she started lying on the bed. 'Maybe I was tired.' She thought. It's a Monday, so it's a school day today. Amu got up and looked at all the shopping bags piled together on the floor. Amu looks through the plastic bags and takes out her school uniform. "I'll clean up when I get back." She says as she heads towards the door.
She opens her bedroom door, and the house felt awfully lonely. She didn't know why she thought of it that way. She couldn't hear anyone at all which was strange. Yesterday morning, she could hear the sounds of Takashi's and Aki's voices from the kitchen and not hearing them today made it awfully silent. The house seemed huge that made Amu felt small in comparison. She heads towards the guest bathroom in which Takashi showed to her yesterday before going out to buy her uniform.
She turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. It was dark. She turns the light switch on and proceeded to walk inside. The bathroom had white and light pale brown tiles that patterned nicely through the floor and the walls. There was only a huge bathtub, a toilet and a sink with a mirror. Amu closes the door behind her and locks it.
She walks towards the towel rack and began to take her clothes off.
'It's cold.' She thinks to herself.
Amu finished taking a bath and leaves the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair. She was in her school uniform already and she loved the smell of new clothes. When she went down the stairs, finally, she could hear the voices of Takashi and Aki's. Their voices were coming from the kitchen. She walks in to find Aki wearing an apron and cooking up some pancakes while Takashi was standing near the counter watching Aki cooking up breakfast.
Takashi instantly smiled when he saw Amu coming in. Amu blushed and smiled back. "Morning. You're up early." He says and Amu nods. "Morning." Aki turns around and smiled. "Hey! Did you sleep well last night?" He asked cheerfully. "Yeah I did. What about you?" Amu asked. "I did, I did." He says and continued to flip the pancakes.
Takashi walked over to Amu, "Amu, I may be silly to ask you now, but do you have your school books or anything for school today?" Amu looked confused and blanked out for just a little while until she finally remembered. "No! I don't!" She started to panic. "I don't have any of them! What do I do?" Takashi calmed her down by putting both of his hands on her shoulders. "Amu, it's OK." His voice was warm and gentle and Amu looked up to his eyes.
She didn't know why, but when she looked at his eyes, it made her calm and she didn't feel like she needed to panic anymore. "The school was informed about the fire that occurred at your house, so they instructed both me and Aki that you would take a few days off on your projects and works. That means after you get back home from school today, we'll go out and get you new stationeries. Sounds great?" Amu nodded, "Yes. Thank you." She says and Takashi smiles. "Don't thank me."
Takashi pulls his hands away from Amu's shoulders and went over to Aki. Amu watched as Aki skillfully and carefully places the pancake on a plate and piling them neatly. Though, she couldn't exactly take her eyes off the apron her brother was wearing. It was clearly a woman's apron since it had frills on the edges of the apron and it was light pink. She giggled though. "Aki is like a wife." Amu teased and Takashi tried to hold his laughter.
Aki's face turned red. "That's so mean! What do you mean by wife?" Finally Takashi laughed silently. Seconds later, he couldn't control it. Aki pouted, "You're not suppose to laugh either!" Takashi took some deep breaths and smiles at Aki. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself." He says. Aki looks away. "You're not forgiven." Amu giggled. "It was only a joke." Aki looks back at her. "You two… ganging up on me is not funny you know." Amu and Takashi began to laugh together. "Stop it!" Aki begged.
Takashi then grins at Aki. "Need some help?" He asked. Aki turns, "Can you please put some plates on the dining table?" Takashi did what he was told and Amu did the same thing by helping out.
"I'm going!" Amu said as she put on her shoes. Amu finished eating her breakfast and it was absolutely delicious. The pancakes Aki made were just how she always liked it. Pancakes dribbled with honey and cream on the top with strawberries at the side. Aki walked over to the door as well while putting his apron off. He hugs her before she could leave the house. "Have a good day at school." He says and Amu hugs him back, "I will." She finally walks out the house and waved at Aki before closing the door.
After she closing the door behind her, she walked out to the pathway and looked at the road/street signs for directions. Kiminishi Street… 'Oh. It's this way.' She says as she walks towards a pathway that lead towards a hill. She could hear footsteps behind her and she turned. A tall, young male was standing before her. His eyes, as always, were aggressive and his face, as if he wasn't in a good mood.
'Ikuto.' She tried to smile. "Morning. I didn't see you at breakfast this morning or when I left." She says, trying to sound friendly. Ikuto walked towards her and gave her a bento wrapped in a red-polka dot handkerchief. "Lunch." He says and Amu looks at it, a little confuse. "Aki said you forgot so I had to hand it to you." Amu was a little embarrassed that she forgot, but she's happy that even though Ikuto didn't like her, he still had time to give it to her. "Thank you." She says as she took the bento from him. She puts the bento in her bag and Ikuto walked passed her. He walked ahead and Amu quickly followed behind.
The distance between them were far, and Amu knew that the gap wouldn't make them feel any closer. Amu felt like she should give up about something that she couldn't even have.
For instance…
She can't have his love. So it's best if she gave up.
Amu entered her classroom and to her surprise, two girls ran up to her while one of them nearly tackled her to the ground. "Amu-chi!" The girl wailed and Amu knew who this was. "Yaya." Amu called out. Yaya is a young girl who was just a few centimeters shorter than Amu. She had cute pigtails and a baby-face.
"Amu-chi? Are you OK? I was so scared! I heard about the fire! What happened? Are you OK?" Amu giggled and hugged Yaya. "I'm fine Yaya!" She says and Rima was there too, her face, though always poker-faced, seemed to look a little worried as well. "Rima-chan, I'm fine." Rima's face softened and she asked, "We were both worried sick… Students from school were talking about the fire that happened on Saturday and when we heard about the whole event that really occurred this morning, we started panicking. Rumors were going around saying you were hospitalized."
Amu sighed, surprised with the rumors that were going around the school. "I'm fine now aren't I? It's OK. Thank you for your concern." She says as she smiles. Other students in her classroom were looking at her as well. Most were smiling when she made eye contact with them. They looked relieved.
Amu could feel herself beam. The warmth and nice feeling in her heart… It made her calm whenever she was with her friends. This feeling was indeed… nice.
School was finished for the day. Amu had to go home early because Takashi was going to help her buy most of her books for school and new stationeries. Rima and Yaya waved goodbye when Amu said she had to leave early. They had to stay back in school because they had their clubs they had to attend. Amu waved goodbye and head towards the school entrance.
She walked towards the school gate and found Ikuto with his friends crowding near there. She looked away and walked passed him. Amu seemed surprised when she could hear Ikuto's voice during the conversations he had with his friends. He was actually a person who was quite chatty. She tried to take a glance but thought, 'Wasn't I trying to give up?' She felt like it was her chance to let go. After exiting the school area, she sprinted back home.
Amu had reached home and rings the doorbell. The door opens and a small figures pops out. It was Yoru. Yoru looked a little exhausted and Amu didn't know why. His eyes were droopy and he didn't looked as energetic as always. "I'm home." Amu says and Yoru nods. He left the door open for her to come in and walks away into the living room. Amu closed the door behind her and locked it as well.
"I'm home!" She calls out. She hears footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Aki. "Welcome back." Amu walks up to him and gave him a hug. Aki hugs her back. "How was school?" He asks. "Great!" She replied cheerfully. "That's great."
Takashi came down the stairs as well and smiles when he saw her. "Welcome back." Amu could feel herself turn red. "I-I'm back." She stammered. Takashi seemed puzzled to why she stammered a little, but continued to smile. "I heard school was great." He said as he walked towards Aki and Amu. Amu nodded. "Yes. It was." Amu replied. "That's good to hear… That's right… Amu?"
"Yes?"
"We're going out to buy your books today, aren't we? Go and change. Aki and I will wait for you downstairs when you're ready to go." Aki lets go of Amu. Amu did what she was told and heads towards the stairs.
She walked to her bedroom and opened her door. She was surprised to find her room clean. The shopping bags weren't cluttered together like they were before when she left the room. She opened her closet and found all her clothes hanged. She sighed in embarrassment. "I should thank them." She finally says.
She went through the clothes and took out the most casual looks she could find. It was only a T-shirt with jeans was what she wanted to wear most today. She didn't want to look too much…
She quickly changed her uniform to the clothes she took out and hanged her uniform inside the closet. She rushed down the stairs and saw both Aki and Takashi waiting for her near the entrance door. "I'm done." She says. Takashi smiles. "Let's go."
Amu, Aki and Takashi settled at a café after Takashi had helped purchasing all of Amu's schoolbooks and stationeries. They all ordered desserts with cold drinks, though Aki was upset since Takashi had to spend all of his money again. "Next time," Aki begins looking at Takashi, "If both Amu and I need to buy things we need for anything, I'll buy it with the money I earned from work." Aki points at Takashi, "That mean you don't need to buy ANYTHING for us. And I mean, I'm not allowing you to USE your money for us." Takashi seemed hurt. "But I'm happy to spend my money to help you."
Aki shook his head. "I know you're helping but your money is not allowed to be used up only for us you know! This is too much Takashi. And I appreciate it… A lot… I do. But I'll chip in next time all right? Don't just go ahead and buy it yourself. I'll buy it with you so it's fair. Or I'll buy it myself." Takashi shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter does it?" Aki sighed. "It does."
Amu felt that the conversation between Aki and Takashi was as if they were fighting a little. It was a bit painful to watch the both of them looking frustrated… as if tired with the other. Aki was right by saying that it's wrong for Takashi to use up all his money for both Aki and Amu, but since Aki can't provide money for the both of them, what were they supposed to do?
She tried to lower down the tension. "Let's enjoy the food shall we?" She says as she picked up the spoon beside her Strawberry short cake and begins to scoop up the cream with the strawberry. That seemed to help as both Takashi and Aki began to eat their desserts as well. It was awkward for a little while. Aki and Takashi just continued to eat their desserts.
This felt weird since the past few days, Aki and Takashi were rubbing onto each other as really close friends but now it was as if they didn't have anything to say to the other. Amu stared at the both of them and suddenly, she found herself watching at Takashi who stopped eating his dessert. He smiles at her. "Amu." He says. Amu blushed.
"Yes?"
"You're wearing a jean and a T-shirt?"
"Oh… Uh yes… I didn't want to look… you know… Uh…." Amu couldn't find the right words. She didn't know what to say. Takashi laughed. "I was hoping to see you wearing a skirt when we left though. Like the one you purchased on Sunday when we went out." Amu could feel herself turn red and Aki rolled his eyes. "That's too much!" Amu commented and Takashi laughed. "I guess it was."
Aki stopped eating and stared off at the distance for a while. "Oh. Isn't that…?" He began and Takashi looked at him. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"Isn't that… Your brother?" Aki asks as he points to a young man in a group. He was in an outing maybe, with his friends from school. "He's with his friends huh? Must be nice." Aki continued. But Amu couldn't tell who most of them were even from this distance. Were they really from school? Takashi looked as well. "Why is he here?" Aki stopped Takashi. "Wait what do you mean by why he's here? I thought you would know?"
"Of course not… Ikuto may attend school but he doesn't go home right after school ends. He goes off somewhere and comes home late at night." Takashi's face seemed worried and anxious. "Well he's only with his friends right?" Aki asks. "As long as he's with them, it should be all right…" Amu began to jump in, "But brother… I don't know who most of those students are. They're not from my year or from school…" Aki began to panic, "Eh? Wait… Not knowing someone from school can be bad news sometimes!" Takashi gripped on his fork and his face looked different than usual. "Why didn't he tell me where he was all this time? Who the hell are those people then? I am so pissed. This is all bullshit." Aki and Amu were shocked with what they had heard just then.
"Why are you swearing all of a sudden?" Aki asked. He was shocked with this sort of behaviour from his best friend. It was a first for him. Amu was stunned as well. Takashi seemed like a sweet person, but when he's angry… he was really angry.
Takashi was about to stand up when Aki stopped him, "Calm down Takashi… He's not doing anything. He's with people he knows… And when you think about it, it's fine right? He comes home safe doesn't he? It's not like he never comes back home for about two or three days. As long as he comes back home, it's fine! … Right?" Takashi slowly sits back in his seat and looks over to Aki. "Sorry… I'm just a bit… irritated." Aki tried to smile. "It's fine. Just relax."
Takashi seemed a little calm. "Let's go home." Aki finally says and Amu agreed. They all got up from the seats and left the table. Even if they didn't eat much of their desserts, all of them knew it was best to head home.
Amu was in her room thinking about Aki and Takashi.
She realised that both Aki and Takashi didn't talk much when they were in the car. A few times they would say something but most of the time, it was silent. Even when they entered the house, Takashi walked into the living room where Yoru was and Aki went upstairs with Amu but goes into his room. She was worried about their relationship… she hoped they would be close again the next time she sees them.
Amu rearranged all her books and took out the stationeries. She made herself prepared for school tomorrow and was happy she did it early before going to bed. She smiled to herself. "All right… I got this." She says. She placed her bag near her bed and goes towards the closet to change.
She opens it and looks for the skirt. She didn't know why though. She finds it and tugs onto it. It was a red-checkered skirt she wanted and Takashi brought it for her. She blushed when she remembered what Takashi had said.
"I was hoping to see you wearing a skirt when we left though."
She took the skirt from the hanger and pulls down her jeans. She puts on the skirt and felt embarrassed. 'What am I doing? Am I doing this because Takashi said that he was hoping to see me wear this? Now… Now's not the time to be thinking such things…' Amu reminded herself. She felt tired and lay on her bed. She began to close her eyes.
'I have to change though…'
It was too late.
She already fell asleep.
Amu woke up. She felt as if someone was downstairs and she stood up from her bed and walked down the stairs. A noise came from the kitchen. Instantly, her body turned and she headed towards the kitchen. There, she finds a young man standing near the fridge, looking for food late at night. He looks back and she finally seemed awaked. Amu looks around her surroundings, unsure of how she got here.
"What are you doing?" He asked. Amu tried to make out who it was in the dark. "Ikuto?" She called. "Yes." He sighed, in annoyance. "Who else did you think it was?"
"I couldn't tell." She said as she followed his voice, trying to find where he was standing. "Well… What are you doing?" She asks and Ikuto scooted closer to where she was. She bumped into his body. "I asked you first." He says. Amu shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know how I got here."
"You were sleep-walking?"
"I don't know… Maybe."
Ikuto chuckled and Amu felt red. "Weird." Amu bit her lip. "Whatever." She manages to say. Ikuto turned on the lights and suddenly; he looks at Amu from her head, down to her legs. "What's with the skirt? Don't tell me you went to sleep like that?" Amu wasn't sure what he meant and looks down to see that she was still wearing the skirt. She blushed and looked away.
"This- uh… Takashi said he…"
"Takashi? My brother… What's up with him?"
Amu stopped herself though. "No. Nothing… It's nothing." Ikuto lifted one of his eyebrows and proceeded in finding food. "OK then." Amu watched as Ikuto prepared himself a simple sandwich. Just two slices of bread with ham and cheese.
"Why do you seem so hungry?"
"I just got back… I didn't eat anything when I went out." Ikuto said as he finally takes a bite on the sandwich. Amu looked confused. "But weren't you with your friends…?"
Ikuto looks at her. "How did you know? Were you stalking-" Amu interrupted him, "Of course not! Aki, Takashi and I saw you with your friends at the shopping mall today!"
"Oh…"
"What do you mean by 'Oh…' Anyway, why are you back so late! It's nearly…" Amu looked at the clock hanged at the wall near the doorway. "It's 12:30?! What were you doing up so late?"
"It's none of your concerns anyway. You're not my mother."
"Still… I'm worried… Takashi is worried too."
"Takashi again? What is it with Takashi? It's like you're in love with my brother or something." Ikuto said, his voice sounding a little annoyed. Amu could feel herself going red and Ikuto looks at her, looking a little surprised.
"No… I'm not. I'm not." Amu tried to deny it. Ikuto grabbed Amu's arms and pulled her close.
"Don't tell me…" He says as his sapphire eyes slowly scanned her body. Amu tried to push him away. "Let me go!"
"You are in love with my brother. So? Is it because I gave up on you? Now you're falling for my brother? Girls like you really piss me off." Amu wanted to stop him. "You're wrong! I'm not in love with Takashi!"
Ikuto held her close before Amu could struggle away. He pinned her onto the wall and Amu was starting to feel scared. "Yeah right. That's what they all say." Ikuto's face came closer to hers and Amu couldn't look away. "Just so we're clear… I won't let you fall for my brother."
Amu wasn't sure what he meant.
She could feel a soft nudge against her lips. Amu knew she was going red.
It was a kiss.
And that was chapter 3! This one is extremely longer than previous chapters in my opinion… I'm so sorry for the late update! Hopefully this chapter is starting to build up Ikuto and Amu's relationship!
Strawberry Cake with Yaoi – Oh, oh my… Strawberry-kun ;) You know it's fine for you to ship Takashi and Aki. I think I made it a bit too obvious in this chapter though… Haha! And I missed you too and thank you love!
kisshu-ichigo – Thank you so much for your support! Yoru is a sweet heart isn't he? And Ikuto is always mean!
MusicalAnimeFreak – Haha! Yoru sure knows how to talk nice about a lady.
XxChopSueyxX – Ahh! Thank you dear! I am happy to read this! Yes Yoru is cute! Oooh~ well I hope a *jealous* Ikuto in this chapter was what you were asking? XD
xAmuxIkutox – Thank you so much and hopefully I'll try my best in updating!
If there were any or A LOT of mistakes during this chapter, it's because I was extremely tired... It's already 1:47am...
Ahhh I'm so tired.
If possible, I'll re-read this chapter and try to re-write it again but for now...
See you all again until next time.
