Seiya/Star: Chapter 4! I'm so sorry for the over-two-week-no-update. I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. Though I love the chapter title so much; it really fits the situation here. Plus, please notice me about any mistakes or improvements on this story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara, nor any of Peach-pit's characters. But the story, plot, and summary are rightfully mine.


Chapter 4: Rumor's Weed

He never took his eyes off of her, not even for a single second

The both of them stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Amu tried to speak, but her throat was as dry as sand. Her legs were like rubber, yet she tried to stay strong. Amu quickly snapped out of her daze, and looked back at the boy with a firm face.

"You…just what are you doing here?" she asked the teen, crossing her arms in irritancy.

"I live here," he replied, with a cheeky smile. Ikuto got up from the sofa, and leisurely made his way across the room.

Amu tried to step back as the boy was coming closer to her face, but her body did not respond. It was not long until Ikuto was close enough for his nose to almost touch Amu's.

"Uh, um.." Amu stuttered, waiting for her body to respond; but it still wouldn't move.

"But what I want to know is, what are you doing here?" Ikuto asked the stunned girl.

Amu, who was finally able to release herself from the self-induced trance, Amu swiftly moved away from the blue-haired boy. She crossed her arms once more.

"What do you think?' she remarked dryly, avoiding any eye contact, for she did not want for him to see her rose-red face, "I live here too."

"Is that so?" Ikuto asked, with a tone of amusement. "I ever knew that girls were able to stay in the boys' dorms."

"I had no choice to" she scoffed, finally having the courage to face the mischievous boy, "It's not like I ever wanted to come here in the first place."

Ikuto looked back at Amu with sneer. "You sure are stubborn"

Amu scowled at the defiant teen "What did you say?" she asked with an angry tone.

"You get so angry so easily, just like a kid," he chuckled as he was leaving the room.

Amu was now furious, but tried her best to calm herself.

Just what's up with this guy anyway, She thought in aggravation, Isn't this harassment?

Next Day:

The afternoon was bright and sunny. There were sounds of laughter and giggles in the air. Everyone was surprisingly happier than usual; all except for Amu, who couldn't get a wink of sleep last night.

I'm exhausted Amu thought to herself with a sigh Doing work here was harder than I thought

Amu looked all around, soon noticing that the students were acting somewhat different today.

"Everyone seems more lively than usual," she said to herself in wonderment, "I wonder what's going on?"

Out of the blue, Amu was grabbed by the arm and was forcefully dragged out behind a tree. Amu was surprised to see a blonde figure standing before her.

"U…Utau?!" Amu asked looking back at the girl, stunned "What are you doing here?"

"Be quiet, will you?' Utau said harshly. "I need to talk to you."

"Me? Why would you want to talk to me?"

"It looks as if someone knows that a girl is staying in the boy's dorm." Utau replied.

"They know what?!" Amu hollered, making Utau hush her once more, "How do they know that?"

"I don't know" replied Utau "You're just lucky that no one suspects that it's you"

"…We'll, Thanks for telling me Utau" Amu said with a smile. Utau just turned her back and scoffed.

"Don't get the wrong idea Amu, it's not like I wanted to help you anyways," Utau replied, feeling a hint of red on her cheeks "It's just that it would be troublesome if we got caught up into your mess." Utau started to walk away, leaving Amu behind.

Amu's smile soon faded, more into a shell-shocked expression.

Hey, wait a minute! She thought in bafflement How does Utau know this?!

After realizing within minutes, Amu's baffled expression was now a dark scowl.

"…that Yaya…" she said in aggravation. "She can never keep a secret"

5 minutes later:

Amu was zooming through the halls, trying not to collide into any students.

Great, this is what I get for talking to Utau, now I'm late! she thought to herself in annoyance, Well, maybe If the teacher is late, then I'll be off the hook.

Amu busted through the classroom doors, hoping to be on time.

"Ah, Hinamori-san!" chirped the teacher in his usual merry tone, smiling happily at the exhausted girl, "I'm happy for you to join us!"

Shoot, he's already here…Amu voiced on her head, glaring back at the teacher, trying to catch her breath. I ran all for nothing.

"Well, now that Hinamori-san is here, we can start today's session"

After school:

Amu sat in her desk, with a depressed look on her face.

Why do I have to get detention now of all times? She asked herself with a sigh. A sudden heard chuckle came from behind the moping girl. Amu yipped.

"You talk to yourself a lot don't you?" asked a long-haired boy in wonderment. Amu spun around. She was surprised to see the boy still in the classroom.

"N-Nagihiko?!" she stuttered, looking at him as if he appeared out of nowhere, "What are you still doing here, shouldn't you be on your way back to the dorm?"

"I'll be out in a little while," he replied, taking books out of the sturdy bookshelf, "I just need to take a few things" Nagihiko then paused and began to look back at Amu.

"…Hey, Amu-chan," he started, staring back at Amu intently.

"Hmm, what is it?" she asked, looking back the boy's questionable expression. Somehow it made her feel a bit uneasy.

"…Could you explain to me why you are in our dorm?" he asked.

"Oh! That" Amu stammered. She then looked up at the window, as if trying to find a way to explain properly. "I really wanted to come here to see my friends since I rarely see them anymore." She paused and took a deep breath. Amu then faced Nagihiko with a sheepish smile. "I wanted to stay in their dorm but I couldn't, so now I'm stuck with you guys." She turned her head and continued to stare at the window, looking at the golden-colored sky that shined brightly in her eyes. "Though, in a way, I don't think it's that bad. Who knows," She said as she looked back at Nagihiko with a little smile, "I might have a lot of fun"

Nagihiko looked back at Amu as if he was in a trance. a light blush started crawling along his cheeks; but he fought it back before the girl could get a chance to see. He returned Amu's smile with his own.

"Yeah, I hope to have a lot of fun with you Amu-chan"

"…Huh? I didn't expect you to be here Hinamori-san" stated a familiarly perky voice coming form the door. The being entered the classroom with a curious face. "Hinamori-san, why are you here?"

"I have detention, don't I?" she asked, looking back at her teacher with a baffled expression.

"Hmm? I never said you had detention" he responded.

"…Eh?!" she shrieked, looking back at teacher with bulging eyes "You mean that-"

"You were here all for nothing, I suppose so!" He responded in his casually perky tone.

Amu held her head down, hiding her head in her arms, feeling as if she made a complete fool of herself…what was worse, Nagihiko knew.

I could have left ages ago… she thought to herself, depressed …what's wrong with me?

"It…it's not that big of a deal Amu-chan," Nagihiko attempted to cheer up the disheartened child, "Things like that happen"

Nikaidou just looked at the teens blinking blankly

"…What did I say?"

Meanwhile In the Girls Dormitory:

…You did what?!" an orange-haired girl asked, looking back at the blond-haired girl with fearful eyes, hoping that what she had just heard was not true.

"Do I have to repeat myself," she asked Yaya firmly, "I told her about it"

"But now she knows that you know!" Yaya whined. She hid under a table and crouched down under it. She turned her head to trying not to face Utau, "Now she's gonna kill me"

"Don't demeanor yourself Yaya," Utau stated, looking back at the breaking down carrot-top, "Don't demeanor yourself"

"She's right Yaya" agreed another blonde teen, staring intensely at the television, "You should have told us about it in the first place"

"But Amu-chi told me to not tell a single soul!" she snapped back, nearly about to cry.

"Somehow I doubt that Yaya" Nadeshiko acknowledged. She bent down to try to attempt Yaya to come out of the table "But please, come out of there"

This just caused Yaya to whine even more. "But I don't want to…"

The girls' attention was directed to a knock on the door. It made Yaya jump and hit her head under the table.

"Who…who's there?" Yaya stammered, still recovering from the injury.

"It's me, Amu"

Yaya froze up like a statue. She had absolutely no idea what to do now; she was stuck in a tight situation. Yet somehow, in someway, Yaya had the courage to walk up to the door and open it herself. She slowly reached out her hand and twisted the knob gently. Right then, there was Amu, looking down at Yaya with a dark scowl. Just looking at Amu's expression almost made Yaya scream with sheer terror.

"…Yaya, we need to talk…" Amu said surprisingly calm, yet she still glared back at the scared teen intensely.

"Um…ok" she responded, trying her best not to make any eye contact whatsoever.


"…I'm sorry Amu-chi!" cried the orange-haired girl, looking back at her friend with bulging, tearing eyes.

"Crying won't get you out of this Yaya," stated Rima, looking back at her friend in disdain, "you shouldn't try to kiss up."

Amu looked at Rima "…you know too?"

Rima just silently nodded. "Utau told me"

Amu sighed, "Well, at least you guys know instead of someone else; in a way, I'm happy you know."

"But still Amu-chan" started Nadeshiko, looking back at Amu with worried eyes, "You should've told us instead of letting us hear things by everyone else"

"I'm sorry Nadeshiko," Amu apologized, smiling sheepishly, "I couldn't find a right way to tell you, it just didn't seem right for you to get involved at all."

"…Are you stupid?" both Rima and Utau commented dryly.

"Huh?" Amu blinked, seeming surprised by their statement.

"Amu, we're you're friends, don't you trust us?" Rima asked Amu, looking back at her with worried eyes; as if she was about to start crying.

"N-no!" Amu stuttered, trying her best to explain herself to her concerned friends, "That's not it at all…"

"Then next time, at least try to let us in on something instead of chasing you all around the campus just to find out any secrets you're hiding," demanded Utau, crossing her arms in irritancy.

Amu just glared at Utau with disdain I'll keep that in mind, she thought in exasperation.

"Amu-chan," Nadeshiko touched Amu's shoulders, giving her a warm expression; "You can come to us about anything, alright?"

"…Alright." Amu agreed, returning the smile.

"Good! Now that that's over," Yaya stood in front of Amu in a dignified position, "I need to know a thing or two about your relationship wit those boys." All of the others agreed.

"H-huh?!" Amu looked back at her friends blankly.

"For instance," began Utau, pointing her finer at the confused child, "Why are you in the same class as Ikuto?"

"…Ikuto?" asked Amu, still hopelessly lost, "Do you mean that blue-haired boy?"

"Yes, him," Utau stated, glaring back Amu intensely "Stay away from him!"

"H-hold on Utau," interjected Nadeshiko attempting to persuade the now jealous teen, "I bet she's not even interested in Ikuto like you are"

"Yoo-hoo, I know why" the now merry girl chirped, smiling goofy, "She's in there because she's been accepted in the royal class!" The group of girls just started down at Yaya with confused expression. Yaya's bright smile soon turned into an expression of disbelief. Yaya took a deep breath, "I mean that since the girls are always harassing the boys and stuff, they were assigned to a class that no girl can ever get into; they call it the royal class….cause they are the princes of school." she paused, and looked at the pink-haired teen with a devious smile, "…No girl can enter the royal class unless they were accepted by the superintendent himself. Did you even know about this, Amu?"

Amu just looked back at Yaya with a traumatized expression. Not only was her uncle the reason she was in a boys' dorm, but he was also the reason why she is in the same class as them…Irony.

Now all that is left is how to manage the repulsive rumors spreading around the campus. She thought to her self in frustration.

"…Speaking of rumors…" Amu faced Yaya with a dark scowl, strong enough to make the orange-haired girl freeze up. "…Yaya, it was one thing to tell the girls, but for you to tell the whole school..."

"Please believe me Amu-chi, I didn't do it!" Yaya confessed, squeezing the waist of the angry pink-haired teen. She looked up at her with watery eyes, just seconds away from blubbering like a baby, "I only told the girls, no one else, I swear!"

Amu blinked back at Yaya on confusion. All this time, Yaya was innocent. She thought in disbelief.

"…Yaya, if you didn't do it, then who could it be?" Amu asked in curiosity

Yaya sniffled, trying to wipe some of her tears "…It was…her"

End of Chapter.


Seiya: I bet your wondering who's her. I'm sorry I have to end the chapter like this, but it just seemed like the place to stop right now. A turn for the better I would say. And don't worry about your little Amuto moments, Ikuto will show up again soon; but what I can't promise you is that Ikuto will end up with Amu…I like to keep the readers guessing. Please inform me on anything that I can improve on for the chapters or opinions on the story so far. See you next time!