Hi everyone! I'm back! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I needed a little time after I got home from IHOP (the International House of PRAYER - not pancakes) to digest (no pun intended) all that happened on the trip, and to re-adjust back into normal life. It actually felt weird not going to 6-hour worship/prayer meetings every night. IHOP is an amazing place, and I recommend that every single person on the planet go there. It'll rock your world. ANYWAY...here's the third chapter. I hope you enjoy!


Recap:

"Please believe me." I reached up to stroke her hair, looking into her eyes with all the genuine passion I could muster. "There's never been anyone else for me."

Amu stared at me, blinked a few times, and then collapsed into a dead faint.

I leapt forward and caught her in one swift motion. Looking down at her beautiful, unconscious face, I said to myself, "Great. Now what?"


"What did you do to Amu?" the twin demanded, appearing inopportunely at my side.

"I told her, and she fainted," I answered. When the twin seemed unfazed by this news, I shouted, "HELP! What do I do now?"

The twin slapped her own forehead. "I forgot to tell you," she said. "You were supposed to break it to her gently."

Still holding Amu in my arms, I stood up. "I tried! I had a time limit!" I reminded the twin.

"That's true…" the twin mused, losing focus all too quickly.

"Well, help me revive her, quick!" I said, grabbing the twin's attention back.

"DON'T…TOUCH…AMU!" came the thundering, high-pitched voice of Tadase. Bruised and beaten, his suit was tattered and his hair awry, but anyone could see that his determination had not waned.

I glanced around as Tadase approached, gratefully realizing that nearly all of the elementary schoolers had cleared out of the gym by now. "Kid, this is not a good time."

Tadase quickly grabbed Amu away from me. "Get away from her!" he squealed.

"Could you be a little more careful with my precious cargo?" I said, my mind racing to devise a plan to get rid of Tadase before Amu woke up.

"She's MINE!" Tadase screamed, his childish voice grating on my sensitive ears. "And I'm not letting a cat-eared pervert like you take her from me!"

I felt my lips curl into a sarcastic smile. "Oh yeah? Watch me," I said as I snatched Amu back.

At this, the twin, who had been quietly watching, shot forward, grabbed Amu out of my arms, and leapt into the sky.

"What are you doing?" I demanded as I character changed and leapt to follow her.

"That's it," the twin said. "I'm leaving until you two sort out your differences. Amu is coming with me for her own safety."

"No you're not!" I shouted. "Not with Amu!" I glanced down at Tadase, who stood, arms folded, with a stubborn frown on his face. "Do we have to?" I whined.

"Yes!" the twin said, exasperated. "Do you two want to keep hurting her?"

At these words, Tadase stared at the ground. I looked down at Amu, sleeping soundly in her twin's arms, in the caress that only a sister can offer.

"No," I said quietly, speaking for myself and my archrival, who remained silent.

"Because, as far as I can see," the twin continued, "until you two agree – no, try to agree – she is just going to be caught in the middle of your petty fights."

I cringed. Was that how Amu really felt? With a sigh, I realized that if anyone knew how Amu truly felt, it was her twin sister. "You're almost…not…totally wrong," I admitted.

With this, the twin flew off, and I returned to the ground. "Okay, Tadase," I began, my cat ears twitching.

Tadase merely glared at me.

"If there's one thing I know about you, it's that you're just as stubborn as me," I began, totally unaccustomed to being the mature one. "But the twin's right. We can't keep playing tug-of-war with Amu's heart, or eventually it'll tear in two."

Tadase stared at his feet. "All right," he said slowly. "I don't want to hurt Amu."

Good. We agreed on one thing. Now it was time for the hard-hitting questions. "Do you really love her? All sides of her? All of her would-be selves?" I hounded, all in one breath.

"I…I…" Tadase stuttered, clearly surprised. He took a breath to compose himself. "I honestly can't say, but I think I could. And, little by little, I'm falling more in love with her."

Why did he have to be so sickeningly sweet? I slapped my forehead. "This is going to be really fun," I muttered, staring at the ceiling. I lowered my gaze to meet Tadase's eyes and prepared myself to spill everything. "All right, Tadase," I began. "I hate your guts. And I want Amu. So give me one good reason why I should give her to you."

The prince immediately lost his precious, newfound composure once again. "Because!" he shouted, like a three-year-old throwing a tantrum. "She loves ME! She confessed to me on the first day of school!"

I narrowed my eyes. "How do you know she hasn't changed since then?"

Tadase froze, staring wide-eyed at me.

"A lot has happened to her," I continued. "She's grown, gained three guardian characters…" I couldn't help smirking as I added, "And met me."

Tadase looked away, carefully sifting through his thoughts. "Why would she have come on this date with me if she didn't feel something for me?" He looked up again, scowled, and hollered, "No! Amu is MINE!"

"Kid, calm down," I ordered, to no avail. "Amu belongs to her evil twin right now!"

Tadase looked so angry that he could have spit, if his demure, royal façade had allowed it. "You're such a player!"

"Now you've stooped to personal insults?" I felt the hairs on my back bristle. "You're one to talk," I shot back.

"Just leave her alone!"

"All right," I growled. "I'm going to pummel you." I closed my eyes, breathed in, and forced myself to purr. "I am calm," I told myself.

"What?" Tadase said disapprovingly.

"Hey," I said, now feeling too lazy to yell at him anymore. "You wouldn't have a head right now if I didn't have so much self control. Be grateful."

Tadase snorted. "Yeah, whatever."

"Look, kid," I snapped. "I don't see how we're going to solve this. We're not getting anywhere. You have any bright ideas?"

After a thoughtful pause, Tadase said, "Let me have Amu."

"Seriously?" I said, plopping myself on the ground, weary of fighting this immovable, thickheaded child. "That's not going to work."

"Why?" he asked.

I wanted to bang my head on a lamppost. Instead, I rested it on the floor. "You know me well enough to know I don't give up easily," I answered, staring up at the ceiling. "I love her, too. And as much as you might think so, it's not a perverted, superficial attraction." I thought for a moment, and my mind snagged on something that might help end this fight. "Would you die for her?"

After a long pause, I heard Tadase's feeble voice. "Would-"

"I would."

Another pause ensued. "Are you really serious about her?"

I turned my head to look at Tadase. "I couldn't be more serious about anything."

"Then," he sighed, "I guess there's only one thing to do."

I instinctively curled up into a fetal position. "Please don't kill me."

"As much as I'd like to," Tadase said, "that's not what I meant."

I quickly sat up. "Wait. Before you get all mushy," I said, pulling out the little black tape recorder from earlier that day, "I was talking to Amu's twin."

Tadase stared at me, question marks written all over his face.

"I…opened up a lot more than I'd ever like to admit," I went on.

"Where does she come in, anyway?" Tadase interrupted.

"Don't ask me," I answered, not really answering. "But listen to all the questions she asked me, and how I answered."

"Okay," Tadase said, sitting down a safe distance away to listen.

I let the tape play for a while, stopping it before it got to the really embarrassing part about how I actually cared for Tadase. I'd never let him hear that in a million years.

"I was ready to give her up to you in order to keep her safe," I restated. "Amu's twin was the one who talked me into telling Amu how I really feel."

Off-handedly, Tadase asked, "So why don't you just go marry her twin, then?"

I felt my eyes go wide as my head snapped over to stare at him. "You can NOT be serious."

"Um…" he said, standing back up to get further away from me. "Yeah, I am, if you like her so much."

"She might look like Amu on the outside, but she's not the same person," I said emphatically.

"She sounds like a good match for you."

I stood up, towering a full foot over Tadase. "I DON'T like her! Dude, you are not talking me out of this."

"Yes, well, I still want her too," Tadase began.

"I know," I interrupted, arching my back. "I can't blame you for that."

"So, like I was saying before," Tadase continued, clearly annoyed. "There is only one thing we can do."

I grinned at his adorable, irritated face, and interrupted again. "I'm listening."

"And that is…let her decide."

I let his voice echo off the walls of the empty gymnasium for a moment. "This is scary," I said. "I was going to suggest the same thing, right before Amu's twin dragged her off."

"Yes, well, I'm cooler for coming up with it first!"

I almost pointed out that since I had thought of it before Amu's twin had even left, I was the one who had come up with the idea first. But I thought it better to let Tadase's infantile pride inflate.

"So, shall we call it a truce for now?" he grudgingly asked, not bothering to offer his hand.

I considered his proposal carefully before answering. "We have to promise each other something," I said as soon as it crossed my mind. "Whoever Amu doesn't choose, has to back off and let the winner have her. Without fighting."

Tadase didn't answer right away. I could tell he didn't like the idea.

"I'm willing to do that," I added, "if she really loves you."

"Fine," Tadase conceded. "I guess it's for the best. But, um…" He paused and glanced around. "Where is she now? And how do we find her?"

"How should I know?" I demanded. Then a shameful idea came to mind, and I almost retched on the spot. "Ugh. A disgusting thought just crossed my mind. Should we…" My stomach churned, and I had to swallow before going on. "Should we go look for her…together?"

Tadase blinked at me a few times, and then said, "Um, I'm not gay, sorry!"

"OH MY GOSH!" I howled. "Why does everyone think I'm gay?"

"Sorry, you just kind of come across that way," Tadase answered as I went about shredding every streamer in the room with my cat claws.

I slapped myself on the forehead, redirected my anger, and then slapped Tadase. "Tadase," I growled, "you're one to talk about ME coming off as gay!"

"Well," he said, rubbing his head. "You're all cattish and weird."

"Ladies love cats!"

"Which is why people think you're gay!"

Had I been this much of a failure all my life? Was that why the girls at school ignored me? Had I truly aimed for "ladies' man" and come across as gay?

"You're all girly and weird!" I fired back, still crumbling inside.

"I'M NOT GIRLY!" Tadase screamed in a tone of voice that can only be described as girly.

"Um…no comment," I said, holding back fits of sardonic laughter.

Tadase pinched me on the arm.

"Ouch!" I cried. "And since when are cats gay?"

"Because they are feminine," Tadase stated matter-of-factly. "Duh."

"Obviously you've never seen a couple of tomcats go at it! There's nothing feminine about teeth and claws, fur everywhere…" I stopped before my speech got too graphic and shivered in the dark recesses of my memory.

"Yeah, well, I'm not gay, so I don't do that kind of thing."

I promptly slapped Tadase and hissed. How insensitive could he be? "You're obnoxious."

"Ouch!" he whined.

"I MEANT," I said, returning to the matter at hand, "we should find her together, so that we both have a fair chance."

"Fine," Tadase said, looking away. It was all too obvious that the prince wasn't used to making compromises. "Where should we start?"

"If I were an evil twin, where would I go?" I thought to myself, not coming up with a good answer. "Amu's room first."

"Okay."

"And I say room because we're not using the front door." I flicked my tail and added, "Try to keep up."

I leapt away in a very catlike fashion and glanced backwards to see that Tadase had also character transformed and was flying just behind me.

"I really don't want to ask you," he said, "but what do you know about this evil twin?"

"Um…" I started to answer, focused on charting a course for Amu's house. "Not much. She's weird and scary…and violent." I gently rubbed the countless bruises on my head, inflicted by the afore-mentioned she-devil.

"Hard to believe she's related to Amu," Tadase said.

I felt my jaw drop, and I turned to stare at him. "The violent part?" Tadase looked at me as if I were crazy. "Well," I continued, "I guess she wouldn't have been that way around you, but Amu can fight it out!"

"Hmm…are you sure this 'evil twin' is related to Amu?" he posed. "Why haven't I heard about her?"

"Well," I began, but then stopped mid-sentence. "Actually…I'm not certain. I just know that she claims to be Amu's twin. And I didn't hear about her until she sneaked up on me and started asking me all these questions!" My brain ached with the memory of it. "She says she's my therapist."

"What?" Tadase exclaimed, failing to hide a snicker. "She doesn't sound sane."

"You're telling me."

"Because, who in their right mind would be your therapist?"

That earned him another generous slap. "Nice move, kid."

"STOP slapping me!" he shouted.

"STOP saying stupid things!" I yelled back. "You're really getting on my nerves."

"You are such an immature CAT!" Tadase fired back. "I can't believe you had to fall for Amu."

"Sure, kid. You're so much more mature than me," I scoffed, sticking out my tongue. "I bow in respect of your maturity and un-catlike-ness." I landed, on my feet of course, on Amu's roof. "We're here."

I leapt into Amu's open window with Tadase on my tail. Literally.

"Ouch!" I cried. "Watch where you step!"

Paying me no mind, Captain Obvious announced, "There's no one here! What now?" I was about to propose a brilliant plan when he added, "Wait, didn't that evil twin have a cell phone?"

I blinked, rewound and replayed the tape in my mind, and said, "Dude, you're starting to scare me."

"What?"

"I was about to ask for your cell phone," I explained, regretting once again that I didn't have my own phone with me.

Tadase stared at me in disbelief.

"No lie," I promised.

"Creepy. Now we're thinking the same thing." He shivered visibly before adding, "Let's just get this over with."

"My thoughts exa-" I cut myself off. "Never mind."

Tadase pulled out his cell phone. "Wait a minute. What's her number?"

"How would I know?" I demanded.

"Does Amu have a phone book around here?" he asked, glancing around the room.

After a pause, I ventured, "Can you guess what I was just thinking?" I shook my head violently. "This has got to stop. We're supposed to be mortal enemies, and we're thinking the same thing." I glared at Tadase, wondering if he were somehow manipulating my thoughts. "I hate you."

He frowned back. "Same here! Now get moving!"


I know you know this without me saying it, but please R&R!!! Thanks so much for reading!