…
Ikuto dropped the remote, his eyes wide and jaw slacked as he stared at the television in shock.
Ami paused in her conversation with her parents as she noticed her fiancé's expression. "What is it, Ikuto?"
The blue haired male reached for the remote and turned up the volume, not answering the brown haired female.
"…and then the plane went spiraling down in flames. This is the last footage we have of the missing airplane before the connection was lost."
Midori, Tsumugu, Ikuto, and Ami all watched in horror as a newsfeed came on.
The doors were ripped open and somebody screamed as dozens of people stood up and began panicking. A blue haired male raced by, screaming for a girl by the name of Miki. He was dragged down to the ground by someone off screen. The footage changed to another part of the plane and a blue haired girl was screaming for someone by the name of Yoru before she was blown out of the plane. An orange haired girl yelled something unheard and dove after her, quickly followed by two girls with magenta and green hair. A few moments later, a pink haired girl was thrown out. Her honey eyes were wide with shock as she screamed. Then the screen went black, going back to the news anchor.
"The authorities are out now, searching for the missing plane or any survivors. Rest assured, any news will be reported and displayed here and on our website. Let us pray for their safe return."
Midori reached over and turned off the TV, shock in her eyes as her daughter burst into tears while her husband began wailing. Her soon-to-be-son-in-law was stunned, not moving as he stared at the dark screen in disbelief.
They were taken out of their shock by a pounding on the front door. Before anyone could move, the door was slammed open and Rima stormed into the house with tears staining her cheeks and hate burning in her eyes. Nagi was right behind her, looking distressed.
"I hope you're fucking happy," shouted Rima, throwing something at the blue haired male. He took it numbly, a confused expression on his features. "My best friend is gone and you're just sitting there, not knowing what hell she's been through! So I hope you're FUCKING HAPPY!" She burst into tears and turned back around, knocking over a lamp from the table as she ran out of the house. Nagi sighed.
"Sorry for that," he apologized. "We were getting ready for the wedding when the news story came on and she just lost it."
"What was Amu doing on a plane in the first place?" Midori asked, wrapping her arms around her daughter who sobbed into her mother's chest. "She said she was leaving for America tomorrow."
"Amu was leaving?" Ikuto asked, dumfounded. The purple haired male gave him a skeptical look.
"Yeah," he replied. "Didn't she tell you?" Ikuto shook his head in disbelief as Nagi turned to the Hinamori family. "Anyways, she decided to leave early for some reason. She booked a flight yesterday and left late in the evening. She didn't want to disrupt the wedding so she didn't tell anyone else other than Rima and me. Before she left though, she wrote a letter to explain herself…Rima and I already know what's in it because she was writing it as we helped her pack last night, but she wanted us to give it to you." He took a deep breath, swallowing hard. "I'm sorry…I have to go tend to Rima before she kills somebody." He bowed to the four people before leaving the house, picking up the lamp as he passed by it.
"What does the letter say?" Ami demanded, wiping her eyes as she escaped from her mother's grasp. Ikuto took crumpled letter and blinked. "Well?"
"It says to read it in front of everybody," he replied, his voice hollow. "I assume that means her other friends and yours."
"Well, my sister just got thrown off a plane," stated Ami, sniffling as she glared at her fiancé. "I think I deserve to know why she decided to leave early! I mean, why would she skip my wedding?"
Ikuto stood, glaring at her. "Maybe it's because she doesn't want to be there anymore than you want her to?"
"What are you talking about?" Ami snapped, her hands on her hips as her mother tried to defuse the situation while also trying to comfort Tsumugu. "Of course I want her to be at my wedding! She's my freaking sister! We've been best friends since forever!"
"Well, you haven't been acting like it," exclaimed her fiancé angrily. "First, you pull away from her and start running to Utau for everything while keeping her out of the loop about everything. Then you don't even pick her as one of your bridesmaids just because you wanted to seem independent? You haven't been a friend to her for years, and seeing you at a wedding you invited her to only because you're family wouldn't exactly help!"
"How…how dare you," sputtered Ami, her face growing red in anger. "Amu and I won't always be together for everything, you know! I grew up to accomplish my goals and found new friends, just like she did!"
"Did she really?" Ikuto shouted, disbelief on his face. "Have you ever seen her with anyone other than Rima or Nagi? Did she ever mention any new guy in her life?"
"No, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have other friends," yelled Ami, glaring at her fiancé. "If she did, she probably didn't find a need to tell me."
Ikuto took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Ami, even if you started distancing yourself from her, Amu still went to you for advice and to talk. She invited you to dinners and sleepovers, helping whenever she could with the wedding. And yet, not only did you turn down all of these attempts by your own sister, you practically ignored her. You began treating Utau like she was a better sister than your own, when really it was you acting like a horrible person." Ami looked as if she had been slapped. "If somebody asked Amu what her sister was like, she could talk for hours. I know because I had asked her about you before and she had nothing but memories to talk about. If somebody asked you to describe your sister, I bet you could talk for a while about your happy childhood but couldn't think of one time you two had been together since entering high school."
"What's your point?" Ami demanded, narrowing her eyes at the blue haired male.
Ikuto was strangely calm. "I'm going to read this letter, Ami…and I won't feel any more regret than I already do. Everybody was right, and I should have listened to them; we were rushing into things in our relationship, and we mixed up love and infatuation." Her eyes widened and Midori placed a calming hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"What are you saying, Ikuto?" She whispered before clenching her fists. "You are not breaking off this wedding!"
"Oh yes, I am," stated the violinist coolly, taking off his ring she had given him and placing it on the coffee table. "I thought I loved you, Ami, but I was wrong. It wasn't love, and if it was, it was with a different Ami because you're not the same radiant girl who clung to her sister and had a strong bond with. You've turned into somebody shallow and cold, and I can't marry somebody like that." He looked over at Midori, and then at Tsumugu crying silently on the ground. "I'm sorry to end things like this, but I can't hold it in anymore. I ended up picking the wrong Hinamori." Ami burst into tears at this.
"I knew it," she sobbed, falling to the ground. "I knew it…and I didn't believe it. How could you two betray me like this?"
"Maybe I betrayed you by loving another woman, Ami," said Ikuto coldly, obviously restraining himself. "But Amu didn't do anything wrong. She doesn't even know how I feel, and she was always supportive of us…so don't you pull her into any bad reputations when she's already gone." Ami glared at him as she tears blurred her vision, running out of the room while her father chased after her. Midori glanced at Ikuto sadly. "Sorry, Hinamori-sama, but…"
"Shh," whispered Midori, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I'm upset my daughter is lost, and that my other daughter's relationship just crumbled because of the raw emotions this event caused, but I'm not mad at you." She smiled knowingly. "I always thought you and Amu suited each other better, to be honest, but I didn't say anything because it wasn't my business. You don't need to worry about telling the others; I'll handle that. You sit here and read that letter…although I suggest you call your relatives because as I recall, wasn't that your cousin on the screen also?" Ikuto's eyes widened, this fact not yet acknowledged as his mind had been solely focused on the pinkette he had adored. "I will go and comfort Ami now, but you should know that I agree with you…Ami is not the same girl she was when you met her…but neither is Amu." Midori kissed his forehead before leaving the room, Ikuto slumping onto the couch in shock as he did.
His cousin…and the love of his life…both gone.
This finally sunk in as he finished the letter with tears in his eyes, the letter slipping from his hold as he cried into his hands. This was how the Hinamori family found him thirty minutes later when they came back out, taking the chance to read the letter themselves.
…
The crowd had tears in their eyes as they waited for the next passenger to walk out, the girl before running to her parents with tears in her eyes. They waited in anticipation as a figure stumbled out from the rescue plane, spotting his family at once.
His mother burst into tears and nearly collapsed while her husband wrapped his arm around her shoulders, smiling widely at his son. His aunt and uncle were in a similar situation while his cousins reacted differently. She didn't even wait until he was down the runway, racing to him and crying into his shoulder. He had a haunted expression in his eyes but gave a manly hug to his recovered cousin.
Their eyes met and had a silent conversation, the rescued passenger looking away and sighing.
"We need to talk, Ikuto," said Yoru tiredly, his older cousin not even paying attention since his amethyst eyes were on the plane. The violinist chuckled darkly, gaining the attention of his relatives. Then he dropped the bombshell the violinist had been anxiously waiting for. "Ikuto…Amu's not in there…she's gone."
Ikuto turned to his cousin, shock covering his features. "How did…you know…"
Yoru gave the older male an unreadable expression. "I met her on the plane…and she told me her entire life story, including how she felt about you. I think we need to talk."
Souka noted that her nephew sounded different. Before, he had always had a childish tone and added that infamous 'nya' at the end of every sentence. Perhaps it was the shock of nearly dying, but Yoru seemed more mature and he didn't wait for her son to say anything as he walked away.
"What happened?" Ikuto demanded as soon as they were home, resting in the living room with Yoru sitting directly across from him. Seeing everybody's eyes on him, Yoru sighed and disappeared to the kitchen to get a can of alcohol before sitting back down.
"I was going to America to open a concert for this band, as you know," he started, his relatives nodding. "I decided it would be an amazing vacation place for my girlfriend, Miki, and I. She felt bad about leaving her three sisters behind so I traded the first class tickets for five coach seats…there, Miki's eldest sister, Dia, met Amu who she had been sitting next to. Amu became quick friends with all four of them and because she had already slipped something, she told us about how she wanted a fresh start in America so she didn't have to wear a mask or fake a smile when she saw you and Ami." Yoru paused, sipping the alcohol as he stared at his cousin. "I assume you already know about her feelings?" Ikuto nodded slowly, on the edge of his seat.
"One of Miki's sisters, Ran, joked about how if life had been a movie, that would have been the scene before the wedding where you confessed your undying love for Amu or something…I took the time to propose to Miki, embarrassing her in front of everybody there." He smiled. "She accepted, calling me an idiot for making it so public. I kissed her hand and went to go find the snack cart while she sat with her sisters and Amu, who all teased her as I remember hearing." His smile turned to a frown, and he took another sip of his alcohol, ignoring his mother's weak protests.
"Then the pilot announced that we were going into a storm, and the next thing I knew, everybody was screaming and I heard something rip. I looked over and saw that the door to the plane had been ripped off and that we were spiraling down to the ocean. Obviously, my first instinct was to scream but then I remembered that Miki was somewhere on that plane and I had to find her. I started screaming for her and I'm pretty sure I heard her yell my name as well, but before I could do anything, I got shoved down to the ground by somebody."
"She was yelling for you," interrupted Ikuto absently. "They caught that on the plane's camera…she got blown out of the plane while searching for you and her sisters jumped after her and Amu got thrown out soon after." Yoru gave him an understanding look, handing him the can which he took gratefully while their parents exchanged looks. Utau looked sympathetic but was still miffed at her brother for dumping her best friend, so she tried to hide it.
Yoru had the saddest expression on his face, like a cat that had been kicked out of its home. "I went down with the plane, and we landed in the middle of the ocean. Luckily, the plane went out from the water and remained in mostly one piece. The remaining passengers, which happened to be a lot, and I lived off of the cheap airline food for several weeks somehow and it was actually pretty boring as we waited for help. As you know, help did eventually arrive and we were rescued. Unfortunately, I could not find Miki or anybody else…but from what you said and from how they acted around each other, I'm sure they all went down together…" He suddenly burst into tears, which was very uncharacteristic for him, but was not surprising. "Oh…Miki…"
Ikuto was never that close with his cousin, treating him like a small kitten that he didn't really want but didn't want to get rid of either, and they hadn't talked about anything other than how they enjoyed playing tricks and the violin. So it was surprising to the other five Tsukiyomi members when he walked the five feet distance between them and hugged the younger male, allowing a few tears to fall down his face as well.
"I know how you feel, Yoru," said Ikuto quietly into his cousin's hair. "I know exactly how you feel to have the woman you love suddenly wrenched away from you by the cruel hands of Fate." He closed his eyes and cried with his cousin for both of their lost loved ones.
The four parents exchanged looks again and quietly left the room to talk in private. Utau watched the two blue haired males comfort each other, a pensive look on her face as she suffered from an internal battle. She wanted to be there for her best friend but Ikuto was still her brother, and he was in pain now. He really did love Amu though, and she always made him smile brighter than anyone else could.
The blonde haired singer sighed quietly and walked out of the room, feeling conflicted as she left the two violinists alone to mourn.
…
Rima sat in the corner of her bed, hugging her knees to her chest as she stared out the window with a dead expression. She heard the bedroom door creak open but she didn't look at her cross dresser of a boyfriend (as she liked to call him at times).
The bed squeaked as Nagihiko sat down, pulling her petite frame onto his lap so that he could hold her. "Rima," he finally said. "It's been two months and you haven't left the apartment since the funeral…" He winced as the blonde elbowed him for saying the 'f' word. "Look, Rima, I don't want to think about it either…but Amu wouldn't want you to wallow up here like a zombie."
"My best friend is dead," said Rima flatly. "How do you expect me to react, Nagi?"
"Hey, don't say she's dead," said the purple haired male lightly. "They never found her body, remember? There might be a chance that she's still out there somewhere, waiting to be rescued."
"What are the chances of that?" Rima replied, finally turning around so that he could see her watery eyes. "Nagi…she's gone, okay? I want to believe that she's not, but she is and I have to accept that. Yes, maybe there is a chance she's out there somewhere but we don't know where. You saw the footage same as me; she was thrown out while the plane was still flying, so she could be anywhere. And this is assuming she survived all the dangers of the ocean." The blonde haired girl sniffled, doing her best not to cry. "I should have stopped her from going and just made her confess to Ikuto…if she did, he would have accepted and she would be here…"
"Whoa, hold on," interrupted Nagi, placing his hands gently on her shoulders and making her look at him. "Rima, please tell me that you haven't been blaming yourself for Amu's disappearance?" The expression she made told him the answer, and he cupped her delicate face. "Listen to me, Rima…it is not your fault Amu is gone, okay? You tried to convince her for years to confess but she always said no. She would have said no that last time too, and you know it. Ikuto could have confessed as well but he didn't. She could have confessed but she didn't. Listen to me, Rima, you could have tried to convince her all you wanted but you know that it would have been up to Amu in the end. She wanted to have a fresh start…and I think we can at least do her the favor of not crying over because you wouldn't want her to cry over you and you know she wouldn't want you to cry over her. She wouldn't blame you or anyone else…so stop thinking like that, Rima."
Rima was silent for several minutes, her topaz eyes locked onto his chocolate colored ones. Finally, she whispered, "Why do you always know what to say, Nagi? Why are you always here when everybody else gets fed up with my cold attitude and leaves?" Tears leaked from her eyes and she sniffled again as he leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, still cupping her face as he looked at her with a half smile and a sparkle in his eyes. "Why Nagihiko, when I'm so mean to you?"
"Because Rima," replied the purple haired male softly. "I love you, and want to spend the rest of my life with you." Rima gasped at his proposal but was cut off by his lips before she could reply. Their kiss was salty, as they were both crying, but it was also very sweet because they were both with the person they loved the most.
And Rima no longer felt guilty. She was still upset by her best friend's situation, but she decided to be selfish in that one moment and focus entirely on the man she wanted to marry more than life itself.
But she would only admit it when he properly proposed.
…
I don't own Shugo Chara!
So…I want to thank AliceKat for giving me the idea of having this chapter in Yoru's point of view. While that's not exactly what happened, it did inspire me to write what was happening on the other side of this story. I hope it was satisfactory.
So…Yoru tells his family about what happened, though not in detail, and cries over Miki because he loved her and lost her right after proposing. Utau begins to understand why Ikuto did what he did and we see how he and Ami ended their engagement. I originally meant to make it peaceful and sad after they all read Amu's letter, but then I realized their emotions would be haywire after finding out about that so they just blew up at each other instead.
Sorry about making Su die last chapter guys. We'll return to the island life adventures next chapter (unless I get sidetracked) and see how they're doing on the other side.
To make up for all the emotional scenes, I added in some Rimahiko; I hope it was alright.
Thanks for the reviews, and I apologize if you're waiting for my other stories to be updated! All my focus is on this story at the moment.
Don't hesitate to tell me if you spotted any mistakes in this chapter, and thanks for reading! Only a few chapters left and then the story is over!