~The Girl Who Cried Wolf~

~Chapter 3~

Kim: Hey guys! I'm back for another update to this story. Chapter 3, yay!

Ikuto: Good for you, can you shut up now? Get on with the story already, I'm getting bored.

Kim: Seriously, you're really grumpy these days. And, you're such a party pooper.

Amu: Is something bothering you, Ikuto?

Ikuto: …

Amu: Oh, I know why.

Kim: Why?

Amu: Not telling you, I don't have to.

Kim: Right, because I don't own you?

Amu: Exactly.

Kim: Shut up.

….

"Amu, you need to leave now." The person at the door told Amu, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"What? Why?" Amu asked her best friend, raising a brow and looking at her weirdly.

Lulu's eyes glanced around worriedly before deciding to completely abandon the "friendly" option. She pushed her way into the home, running around. She grabbed two of Amu's bags, dumping what she thought they needed into the bag.

Amu stood there for a moment, and she blinked. It took her a moment to process everything before she rushed after Lulu. "Hey! Aren't you going to at least explain to me what the hell is going on around here?!"

"I'll tell you on the way!" Lulu shouted back, running to Amu's room for clothes.

"Tell me on the way to what?!" Amu yelled, following Lulu up the stairs. "TELL ME NOW, LULU!"

"Amu, honey, what are you doing?" Midori asked.

Amu's only response was to scream, "Lulu!"

Midori blinked then shook her head. "I swear, I'll never understand what goes on in their heads!" She muttered to herself, stirring the pot of soup.

As Lulu bounded her way back downstairs, Midori looked up, smiling at her. "Lulu, are you going to be staying for dinner?"

"No, ma'am! However, I do know that Amu is sleeping over at my house for today!" Lulu replied, rushing out the door with Amu's belongings. "Bye, Mrs. Hinamori!"

Amu rushed past, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Mom… Be safe. Tell Dad and Ami that I love them." She rushed to the door, pausing to grab her red hooded coat. She swung it over her shoulders, closing the door with a slam. Carrying her bags with her, she hurried after the running Lulu. Pulling the hood over her head, Amu lowered her head, so it was hard to see her face.

She looked back at her home, not knowing that this was the last time that she would be seeing it. She sighed, turning back to her escaping friend. "Lulu, get your ass back here! AND SLOW DOWN, WILL YOU?!"

She was probably going to lose her voice tomorrow after all this yelling.

….

"Have you found her?" The King asked, glaring at the head guard.

The blonde man shook his head, bowing. "I'm sorry, my King. It seems as if she has disappeared, almost as if she was never there in the first place."

The King slammed his fist down and glared at his hands. It was that cursed Oracle! She went to go warn that stupid girl about the sacrifice, and now, there was a possibility that the town would once again be in danger. His lip twitched, and he squeezed his fist.

"Tadase, find her. Do whatever it takes." The King shouted, his eyes narrowing. "I don't care if you have to burn down villages to find the stupid girl. Call her a traitor for all I care!"

Fine, if the Oracle was going to play games, he was ready to play with her. He was not losing to a teenage girl. He wasn't going to sacrifice his beloved daughter; for as long as he lived, she was definitely not going to die early.

Tadase, the guard, bowed once again. He got up from his kneeling position and answered the king, "Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed then left the throne room.

Making his way down to where he knew his guards were waiting, Tadase shook his head. The King was a foolish man, but Tadase understood what he was trying to do. He was trying to protect his one and own daughter, and Tadase knew better than to question a father's love.

The King was willing to fight against fate to protect the princess. Although it was a futile attempt, Tadase admired the older man for trying. He took a deep breath, prepared to tell his men what to do. He didn't want to waste so much manpower on finding a girl, only for her to die right when they captured her.

Finally, he stood in front of his men, staring at them. His red eyes scrutinized the crowd of men gathered there before he spoke in a loud voice, "Find the girl. Do whatever it takes. Just bring her back in one piece."

The men cheered and marched out of the castle, in search of the girl.

….

"Amu, hurry. We don't have time!" Lulu rushed the red-hooded girl, running ahead.

"Time? Why would we need time?" Amu said, running after her friend who was still in possession of her belongings.

Lulu rolled her eyes, slowing down enough to give one of the two bags Amu brought along. "If I give you back one of your bags, will you just shut up and follow me?"

Amu rolled her eyes, much like Lulu had. She picked up the pace, making sure to make too much noise. "Fine." She muttered.

Around her, villagers watched the red hooded girl move along with her friend. They muttered words of encouragement and a few 'good luck's were thrown around. They all knew Amu; she was quite popular in her village. She was the kind and caring pinkette, who was willing to risk everything for her family and friends. She had only one friend, Lulu, but everyone considered her a friend. She was often seen with her red hood, her trademark clothing object.

They knew why she was running, but they doubted Amu knew why. The time had finally come for Amu to be picked as the new sacrifice for that dreadful wolf. They felt their hearts ache. This was probably the last time they were going to see the pinkette, and a few good-byes were said as she passed by.

Amu looked at her fellow villagers and smiled. She didn't know she was going to be saying good-bye for the last time as she waved. As she waved, she slowed down significantly.

Lulu had to stop several times and pull Amu along with her. "Amu, don't get distracted." She whispered harshly.

"Lulu, wait." Amu whispered back, stopping.

Lulu stopped, glancing at her friend frantically. "Amu, please. We don't have time to do this… I'll explain once we get to the edge of the forest."

Amu shook her head, running again to catch up with Lulu. "Fine, but you better explain everything to me. And, the edge of the forest?!"

"Promise!" Lulu said happily.

….

As they reached the edge of the forest, Amu felt fear build up in her chest. "Can you please explain everything to me, now?"

Lulu took a deep breath, turning to face her friend. "You have been chosen."

Amu blinked, taking a step back. "Chosen…?"

Lulu simply nodded, opening her mouth to continue. Then, she closed it again. She took another deep breath, trying to put her thoughts into words. "The King's daughter was chosen, but he didn't want her to be sacrificed. So, the Oracle within me, or whatever the hell it's called, decided to make this weird prophecy thing. Well, it's not really a prophecy, but it's pretty dang close to it."

"So, I was chosen?" Amu whispered, looking up at her best friend.

"Isn't that what I said?" Lulu said, annoyed.

Amu sighed. "Instead of the Princess…" She muttered, then she nodded. "I'll do it. If it's for the sake of the kingdom, I'll do it."

"Just like I foresaw…" Lulu whispered under her breath.

….

"Sir, the girl has been spotted at the edge of the forest!" A guard told Tadase.

Tadase looked up from the map he had been studying and nodded. "Good." He simply said, then stopped. "Wait, why is she at the edge of the forest, when she does not want to be sacrificed?"

The guard bowed. "We do not know, sir."

Tadase narrowed his eyes and looked to his right hand man, Kiseki. Kiseki simply shrugged then spoke, "Could it be that she did not know she was running away? We did hear that her friend, the Oracle, was helping her escape."

Tadase's eyes widened. "How did you know the Oracle was helping her?"

Kiseki felt a smirk tug on his lips. "I have my sources, Tadase."

He didn't look surprised to hear that. Tadase shrugged and nodded. "Explains a lot."

The guard cleared his throat. "Sir, what are your orders?"

Tadase sighed, putting his head in his hand. "Leave her."

The guard nodded and left Tadase's presence, signaling to the other men to continue on.

Kiseki turned to Tadase. "Are you sure about this?"

Tadase sighed once more, turning to Kiseki. "Is there really anything I can do?"

….

Amu took a deep breath, handing her bags to Lulu. "Take these back to my mother. She can sell them and possibly make a profit off of it."

Lulu felt tears slipping down her cheeks. "Amu, you do not have to do this… Please do not leave; I need you. Your family needs you."

"The country needs me more, Lulu. What better way to die, than to die for you country?" Amu said, laughing a little. Tears were running down her cheeks too. She took a deep breath, hugging her best friend. "I will miss you."

Lulu hugged her back, crying even harder. "Be safe, Amu." She whispered, even though she knew it would never come true. Once Amu stepped into that forest, she was dead. She would no longer be able to step foot outside of that treacherous place. Amu was gone from her forever. She would never get a best friend like her again. "Good bye."

Amu laughed and shook her head. "See you soon." She whispered and then took a step into the forest.

….

Kim: Okay, this chapter didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted. I'm pretty sure I rewrote this thing like FIFTY times, and it still does not seem right to me. Let me go cry in a corner please.

Ikuto: Then, speed it up.

Kim: It's not that simple! THERE IS A PLOT, IKUTO. I cannot just do random things just because you don't like something, or you want to fix something. The world does not revolve around you, sir.

Ikuto: Whatever. As long as I end up with Amu, I'm good.

Kim: Right, what if Amu doesn't want to end up with you?

Amu: She's got a valid point, Ikuto. What if I want to end up with Tadase instead?

Ikuto: If you really did want to end up with Tadase, you wouldn't like this, would you?

Kim: OH MY GOD. YOU GUYS. GET A FREAKING ROOM.

Tadase: I thought someone was talking about me.

Kim: We-Tadase! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?

Tadase: Welllll, I thought someone was talking about me, and I got curious. We never get to see what goes on in the intro and outro.

Kukai: Yeah! We should be included in these things too.

Nagi: Agreed!

Rima: I second that!

Utau: Me too!

Kim: GUYS GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE. I AM TRYING TO WRITE A STORY.

Everyone: No, it seems fun in here!

Kim: UGH. I'm just going to ignore them. What did you guys think of the story so far? Is it going too slowly or too fast? You guys can just write your answers in the reviews because I would actually like some feedback on what has been going on so far. And, why exactly did this outro take so damn long?!