Hello again!
This will probably be my last update till AFTER my examinations.

Anyway, to those who read my story, thank you once again!
To those who read but don't review, I would really like it if you could review. Just a simple 'Thank you' would be good enough for me =3

So if you could kindly do that, I'd really appreciate it~!


= CHAPTER 4 =

NEXT MORNING

"Rei, O-HA-YOU!", Kukai shouted as he saw Rei approaching him near the school entrance.

This behaviour was what he clearly demonstrated every morning with that silly grin of his. Of course, he never got a proper reply from Rei.. till today.

"Ohayou, Kukai." A small smile showed itself for a split second before it disappeared completely.

Kukai's eyes widened when he noticed that little change in Rei's greeting. He couldn't hold his curiousity in so he spoke what was on his mind at that very moment,"You seem different today, more cheerful?"

Rei laughed softly and replied Kukai with a rather vague answer,"I was able to jump over a huge hurdle yesterday."

"Hm? Then you deserve a reward!"

Kukai grabbed Rei in a bear hug, leaving Rei to try and squirm out on her own. However, she gave up due to her futile attempts at escaping and patted Kukai on the back in return. At the moment, the school bell rang. Kukai grabbed Rei's hand and pulled her off to class. Rei didn't fight back this time, she was glad to accept his hand. Afterall, she had to start working towards becoming the person she used to be.

AFTER SCHOOL

Rei & Kukai walked to the Royal Garden, talking about the afternoon lunch break incident with their Chemistry teacher and the chalk she tried to use on a whiteboard. As they entered the Royal Garden, Amu quickly ran over to them. Rei looked at Amu & smiled, showing Amu that she had recovered from yesterday's incident.

Once Rei had taken a seat at the table with Amu and the rest, she pulled out three eggs from her bag, "Everyone. I'll introduce my Shugo Charas to you now."

One by one, Kiri, Hino and Suo introduced themselves and surprisingly, all three of them got along with every single Shugo Chara present.

Amu folded her arms on the table and rested her chin on them, " Rei, do you want to head home together? With Kukai as well."

Rei seemed puzzled by Amu's sudden request but agreed after a few seconds of silence. About an hour later, the three of them left the Royal Garden and detoured through the park. As they continued to chat, Amu decided to ask Rei the question that has been bugging her all day.

" Ne, are you really alright now?"

Rei was shocked at her straightforwardness, and so was Kukai. However, she decided to answer Amu back honestly,"You could say that I'm fine now. I managed to take a step forward from my past and hopefully, I'll be able to move even further soon. Truthfully, I really hope all of you can help me with that."

Kukai grinned & hugged Rei from behind, " That's the Rei I love~ so much! I've been waiting for you for months!"

Amu laughed as Rei rolled her eyes and became monotonous again,
"I didn't do it for you, Kukai. I did it for myself. Now, move along boy."

At the moment, the three friends passed by the stairs at which Rei first met Ikuto. She smiled softly as she glanced at the fleet of steps before being pulled into an arm lock with Kukai. Obviously, she didn't shake him off. She loved Kukai wholeheartedly as a friend. Once they reached the 3 separate paths in the park, the three friends split up and walked the rest of the journey home individually.

Rei enjoyed the cool evening breeze and leaves falling from the trees above as she walked along the path. She stopped for a brief moment and shut her eyes tightly to inhale a good amount of fresh air. Suddenly, a pair of hands covered her eyes and she panicked, planning what to do if the person tried to do anything to her. However, when she heard that familiar voice whisper, "Damsel in distress..", she somehow felt relieved it was not a pervert.. well, a pervert she didn't know personally.

" Ikuto, could you NOT cover my eyes? Unlike you, I have a home to return to at this late hour so if you could please drop both of your hands...", Rei replied emotionlessly as she pulled Ikuto's hands away from her eyes.

" Hmm~? You don't mind that boy hugging you or linking arms with you but you mind if I cover your eyes? "

Rei's eyes widened and then she frowned as she replied, " You really are a stalker in the shadows. That's just creepy, stop that. For your information, that boy is my best friend so I don't see anything wrong with that. You, on the other hand, are a boy I just met a few days ago. Now, that's the big difference between the two of you."

Ikuto faked a pout which soon turned into a smirk, " I'm different from him though. I'm a boy, not a 'best friend'. Doesn't that make my actions mean something more than his? To be truthful, when I saw him do those things to you, it made me feel like imitating him as well.."

Just as he said that, Ikuto took a step forward towards Rei who took a step backwards in fear. Ikuto's eyes were staring straight into her eyes and she really couldn't stand the seriousness in his stare. Also, those blue eyes were not safe to look at because Rei knew that if she stared back, she would sink deep into those ocean blue eyes... and she would never be able to escape.

" I'm just a stray cat, aren't I? Can't you show some concern for me as well~? "

Rei mumbled softly as she took another step back, " Eh..?"

For some odd reason, Rei felt the need to get away from Ikuto or else she was going to find herself in a whole lot of trouble. She turned around and ran towards her house, leaving behind a really amused Ikuto.

Rei screamed to herself as she ran in the direction of her house, "Mou~! What is that guy's problem? I really should keep my distance from him.."

Suddenly, she slowed her pace till she came to a stop a few metres away from her house. She sunk to the ground and covered her eyes with the palms of her hands as she muttered almost incoherent words, "I'm never going to fall in love again...never. I never want to experience... that kind of pain again.."

From the nearby shadows, Ikuto, being an sly as a cat, had managed to follow Rei silently without her knowing of his presence. He had witnessed the whole scene as well, from Rei collapsing to hearing those bearly coherent words. Usually, Ikuto would consider this an interesting scene to make an appearance at but for some reason, he could not bring himself to make an appearance. His heart felt sad and sympathetic, just as much as it showed on his face at that very moment.

After a few minutes, he watched as Rei stood up slowly, sighed and took heavy steps towards her front gate.

"Not being to fall in love due to past traumas is too pitiful to watch.."

To Ikuto, girls were their happiest when they could love freely and willingly. He smiled softly as he realised that just maybe, he could help her take another step forward. That is, with the help of her little best friend, of course.

TO BE CONTINUED.


That's the end of Chapter 4 (:

Hope all of you enjoyed it!
I'll see you guys in three weeks or so, because my examinations are during the first two weeks of September ):

Take care!