notes:

Finally, here's my next chapter. I was getting writer's block so I didn't really get to write the chapter right away. Sorry! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!

Just a guide to the text in case you're confused: "being said", 'being thought', flashbacks/things being remembered, ---- means that the scene changes.

Hope that helps!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-At dismissal time-

"Amu, are you okay?" Utau asked her noticing that Amu had her head on her arms, which were on her desk, staring with a blank expression.

"Um… Yeah, sure…" she replied as she continued staring off at something that wasn't there.

'I can't stop thinking about that night…Ikuto…' Amu thought.

"I'm Ikuto, yoroshiku."

"Don't be so nervous," he chuckled. "I'm not gonna bite."

"Well then, may I have this dance?"

"I've done this a lot so you can just follow me, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm an expert, remember? Just follow me,"

"You seem to be sparkling with the stars too,"

"… I love personalities like yours, hahaha. You're just so amusing!"

"I had a really nice time too."

"That does sound like fun… I'll be looking forward to it!"

Amu couldn't help but smile as she remembered these things.

"Stop talking to me, ugly flat-chested girl."

After remembering that, Amu went back into her blank, dazed state.

'What happened? Was he pretending to be nice or pretending to be mean? Is he bipolar or something? I thought that I knew him, quite a bit, especially since he shared so much with me. Was that a lie too? Maybe I really don't know anything…' she continued thinking as she kept walking.

As Amu thought these things, Utau, being a concerned friend, got the rest of the group together to tell them about Amu's strange behaviour.

"She's been acting really weird today. After the transfer student came in, I think they exchanged a few words, then she looked like she was ready to kill someone. She started to cool off the rest of the day, then before lunch she seemed... confused. And not in the usual way. Then ever since lunch, she's been all spacey and stuff. She never has all these reactions in such a short period of time, it's not like her..." Utau told them.

"Hmm... The cause of all this seems to be the transfer student, she probably talked to him during lunch too..." Nagihiko said.

"I wonder what happened... Gahh!! That transfer student makes me mad!" Yaya exclaimed.

"He seems pretty nice though... He's usually quiet and there's a mysterious air about him..." Utau said.

"I think Amu might know him in some way. If she's reacting this much, it wouldn't be from someone we know..." Nagihiko was concluding.

Just then, Amu walked past them heading for the stairs with a spaced out expression.

"Amu, where are you going?" Rima asked her before she could be out of earshot.

"Oh, I'm gonna head home..." she replied.

"But, we're all going to the Royal Garden today, remember?" Yaya reminded.

"Um, I think I'm gonna pass today... I – have a lot on my mind..." Amu replied with Ikuto in mind.

"Y-you can talk about it with us you know..." Kukai said, a bit out of character.

"Sorry but I don't really want to talk about it, no offense guys... bye..." Amu said.

"U-un..." Kukai replied.

"You see what I mean? She's been like that since lunch." Utau said as soon as Amu left.

"Who could possibly make her act this way?" Nagihiko asked.

"Tadase's the only one in mind, but that drama's over and it wasn't him she talked to." Rima said.

"Hey, wait... come to think of it... there's no one Amu knows that we don't, so who could she possibly know that we don't?" Kukai said as the thought entered his head.

"She hasn't met anyone new lately. I mean, when could she have met someone new? Amu-chi's always with us." Yaya said.

"Wait a second, there was one time she wasn't with us... at the ball." Utau remembered.

"So, that boy's..." Nagihiko began to say.

"!!" was everyone's reaction, because they all remembered the boy she met at the ball; the boy whom she didn't talk about or introduce to them yet.

----

Amu kept walking and walking, unaware of where she was and where she was heading to. Only one thing was in her mind.

'Ikuto...'

"...He's helped me get out of a lot of trouble too…" he said. "but not all of it," he added really softly.

"What was the last thing you said?" Amu asked, not hearing the boy's words.

"O-oh, it's nothing…" he said in reply.

'What did he say that time? I have a feeling that I would understand better if I heard what he said!' Amu thought, angry at herself.

"Maybe if you knew what my real self was like, you'd understand…"

'What did he mean by that? I bet there was some hidden meaning in there, but how am I supposed to understand?! 'Real self?' What the heck is that supposed to mean?!' she thought with a lot of frustration.

"Why can't I be smarter?!" she shouted.

Amu then sighed thinking, 'Shouting is going to get me nowhere, I know that from experience...'

"Huh? Where am I?" she said as she finally noticed her surroundings.

'I've just been walking, I didn't even notice where I was walking to... I don't think I've been here before...' she thought as she observed her surroundings.

Amu then heard a faint sound.

"Huh?" Amu said 'Was that... music?'

She then started looking around.

'I don't see anyone...'

She began walking around trying to find the sound again.

'There it is again!' she thought as she heard the sound again. 'It's coming from this way!'

She then followed the sound as it got louder and louder until Amu saw where it was coming from.

'A greenhouse? I didn't know we had one...' she thought as she saw the large glass building. 'It looks a bit like the Royal Garden... The sound's coming from inside... I'm gonna find the source.'

Amu walked into the building, seeing lots of beautiful plants and flowers all over the place.

'It's so beautiful in here... The music adds to the effect too...' she thought as she walked on.

'The music seems kinda sad and apologetic... I wonder why...' she thought as she got closer and closer to the source.

'The music just keeps drawing me closer... I think it's coming from here...' she thought as she stopped in front of a wall of beautiful flowers.

'It's such a beautiful tune... I love how the flowers seem to bloom more, even if the music isn't exactly happy...' she thought as she began to walk through the wall of flowers, almost as if the music was pulling her to its source.

'Who is that?' she thought as she walked into a clearing, seeing a boy with a violin facing away from her. 'So it's a violin that's making the music...'

'I don't know why, but I feel like the music is trying to tell me something... just me...' she thought as she stood and listened to the music of the boy in front of her.

The boy then turned his head to look at his violin and Amu got to see his face.

'W-Wait, t-that's–'

"Amu? What are you doing here?" Ikuto said in a surprised tone. He had turned around after noticing someone from the corner of his eye when he turned his head.

"I-Ikuto!" Amu said in surprise as well.

After staring at each other in surprise for a few more seconds, they both looked away. Several things began entering Amu's head.

'After thinking so much about what happened earlier, why do I have to see him again?! I'm still confused... What the heck am I supposed to say now?! Is there even anything to say? Why do i keep bumping into him anyways? Is it fate or something like that? I never really believed in it, but it seems pretty believable at this point. I never really thought about it, but right after I wished for a 'special someone' he came along. Ever since then, I've been bumping into him. Maybe it is fate. Maybe this meeting is fate...' Amu thought.

Simultaneously, several thoughts were going through Ikuto's mind as well.

'Just when I was thinking of her, she shows up. I wonder if she noticed that the song was for her... probably not. It's not like you can hear it in the music... Gah! What am I supposed to do now? I probably made her really confused and stuff, she looked it during class and after school. What do I do now? Do I keep the act going? I might as well since I already started it... I feel bad for putting her through all this confusion. Maybe I should just come clean... No! I can't stop now. This is all for her safety. She needs to understand that, but there's no way I can explain it to her without getting her involved in all this. As long as she's safe, I don't care if I'm ruining her image of me. Well... maybe just a little. I can't possibly be hurting her anyways. It's not like she likes me or anything... or does she? I admit that I like her. That's why I'm doing all this. Maybe I'm hurting my chances with her... No, no, no. Stop thinking about these things! She can't get involved in this! I have to put up the act, it's for her safety...' Ikuto thought, not completely convincing himself

They continued busying themselves with their thoughts until Amu decided to break the silence.

"I-I didn't know you played violin..." Amu said.

"Why would I have to tell you that? It's not like it's any of your business, ugly." Ikuto said trying to act unfriendly.

"I'm just curious is all, no need to be so defensive!" Amu said in annoyance.

They were silent once again until Amu tried to break the silence... again.

"You know..." she began. "You're playing is really nice... It was such a lovely tune. The moment I heard it, I was instantly drawn here..."

Ikuto was a bit shocked and flattered, but he still kept silent.

"It sounded kinda sad... but apologetic..." she continued. "There was also something in your music...that made me feel... like it was speaking to me..." As she said this she closed her eyes with a nostalgic sort of smile.

'That's because it was...' Ikuto thought. 'I was sad that I was doing this and apologizing for it. That's what I was thinking anyways. I'm surprised she could hear that... but maybe because I was trying to convey that to her... she heard it...'

"I didn't know... that music could reach you like that..." she said as she put her hand over her heart.

Ikuto's eyes opened in shock.

'It reminds me of what Dad said to me when I was younger...'

"No, no. That's not it..." Ikuto's father said as he stopped Ikuto while he was playing.

"But, I'm doing it perfectly! I can hear it!" Ikuto protested.

"You are, but there's no emotion in your playing. You're only playing for perfection." Ikuto's father told him.

"Isn't it supposed to be perfect?" Ikuto asked in confusion.

His father sighed.

"Music isn't meant to be played just to achieve perfection... It's meant to reach out and move people; to touch them. Remember that, Ikuto. When you pick up your violin, don't play it for the sake of making it perfect, play it to share the beauty of your piece and reach out and move the hearts of others." His father said to him.

"That sounds hard! How do I even know if I'm doing that?" Ikuto said with a frown.

"It's not hard as long as you put your heart into it. When you feel it in there," Ikuto's father pointed to Ikuto's heart. "then you know that you're moving others' hearts, too."

"Wow! It sounds so cool! I wanna do that! Dad, can you show me?" Ikuto asked with his eyes sparkling.

"Of course," his father replied. He then picked up his violin and played for his son.

'Those were good times. Of course, I was just a kid back then and I never fully understood what he meant. Now I do. Reaching the hearts of others... it really gives you a good feeling.' He thought with a smile as he saw Amu smiling as she remembered his music.

Amu noticed his smile and said "You're smiling!" continuing to smile herself.

'I can't believe I got him to smile.' she thought to herself happily 'I really love it – when he smiles...'

Ikuto continued to smile.

'Wait a sec! I'm supposed to put on the mean act! Crap!' he remembered.

He looked at Amu smiling again and thought, 'I don't wanna wipe away that smile on her face... Maybe I'll let it go for now... I have such warm feelings right now, I probably can't do it anyway... but, if I put on that act again, after today, she'll get confused all over again. Maybe I should just avoid her from now on... I'll see how I feel after starting the mission and maybe meeting with Kazuomi. I bet he'll call me in sometome soon to see how much progress I'm making. I really don't feel right about doing the mission, but with Amu in danger, I have to. I know that there's no way I can hide her or take her away from him without causing myself and other innocent people around me, like Tsukasa-san, a lot of trouble. I'll just be putting her in even more danger too... I'll just play it safe and do what Kazuomi says... for now. When I come up with a plan, I'll make sure he doesn't get what he wants. I'll also find a way to escape from the chains he's put on me. I'm no one's pet or minion, I'll make sure he knows that.' Ikuto thought with a new found determination.

"I'm gonna go, I have important things to do right now." Ikuto told Amu as he packed away his violin and grabbed his stuff.

"A-Alright. Bye! See you tomorrow!" Amu said still with a happy mood and a smile on her face.

"Un," Ikuto replied as he began walking away.

----

"I'm home!" Ikuto heard Tsukasa shout downstairs.

"Finally..." he said as he took off the manga from on top of his face and sat up from his lying down postion.

Ikuto went downstairs and walked into the kitchen, where Tsukasa was.

"Ikuto. How was your first day of school?" Tsukasa asked with a cheerful smile.

"It was very... active." Ikuto said trying to find the right words.

"I see..." Tsukasa said. "Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"Yeah, actually." Ikuto replied. "I need you to help me come up with a plan for the mission."

--------------------------------------------------

notes:

I hope it isn't too confusing or anything ahaha. I'm glad that I finally managed to post it! I hope you enjoyed it! It's very Amuto as is the rest of the story, I also included a part there about tadase, really short though. Basically I wanted to show that like in the story she sorta got together with Tadase, but she broke up with him :P Don't hate me for that! She's got Ikuto now :)

Thanks to everyone for reading my fanfic! I really wasn't sure if everyone would like it, but I've been getting good comments and reviews. I know I still have things to improve on, so bear with me!

By the way! I have another hectic week of school ahead, so I'm probably gonna post the next chapter next friday at the earliest. I hope you guys can hold out for another week! Thanks again for reading!