Okay, Okay! Here's the new chapter! I'm just so excited that people like my new story, and that it isn't cliché as it sounds. When I say dark, I MEAN IT! Like, guns, angst, dark pasts… I'M NOT KIDDING! Anyway, thanks to my reviewers and the people who favorited me… I OWN NOTHING BUT THE BAND NAMES AND MY PLOT!

Amu's POV

Another shot rang out.

I felt a sharp pain on my arm, so I applied pressure on it with my opposite hand.

"Is everybody okay?" I asked, like a leader would. Well, they're scared, probably, but I'm thinking gunshot wounds.

Rima and Yaya were lying on their stomachs on the floor, and were shaking. They were scared, but they managed to hold up the "okay" signal.

Utau winced as she got up, and the blood kept pouring out of her leg.

Not again. No, No, NO! She got shot in the same spot as two years ago… That means it's still his doing. Amu, you got your best friend shot again! How can you be so useless? How does he know about this? Ugh, never mind that. STOP THE BLEEDING, YOU IDIOT!

I ran, ripped a piece of my sheets, and began wrapping it around Utau's leg, applying pressure. I had never forgotten how to do this, just in case it ever happened again.

Rima and Yaya were both shivering, never being able to stomach that amount of blood. Why could I? Well… Well, that's not important, now.

My hands were working fast in wrapping it around her leg.

"Amu-chi, you're bleeding!" Yaya practically screamed, and I felt the hot blood rushing out on my bicep area. It didn't matter; I could survive that kind of wound. If I got to it a bit later, it wouldn't really matter. It was Utau who could die if this got any worse.

"Hand me the nearest phone," I commanded to my other bandmates.

Rima was the one who stood up, even if she couldn't stop shaking. She handed me Utau's purple and black phone, and as I was about to call for an ambulance, the phone started ringing.

I looked, dumbfounded at the Caller ID, "Kukai"

I shook my head. I picked up the phone, and put it on my ear, holding it with my good shoulder.

"Yeah?" I asked, still working Utau's bandages.

"Amu?" rang the other line.

"Utau can't come to the phone right now," I answered, as Utau screamed in pain.

"What's going on?" Kukai worriedly asked.

"Well, it just so happens that Utau and I got shot."

"Where are you?" A voice asked me. Ikuto. Don't come to this place. You can't. I'll get in trouble. Never mind that, you'll be in danger.

"Let me speak with Kukai, please." I avoided his question. I didn't want him here. I didn't want him to see me like this.

"Where the fuck are you?" He just about screamed in my ear.

"Kukai, please." I answered calmly.

"Amu, I swear to god, I will kick your sorry ass back into next week if you don't tell me where you are." He was mad, and I could tell because he was hissing into the phone.

"You don't know where I am, so you can't kick my ass." I shot back.

"Not the time, Amu," Rima said bluntly. "Just tell your stupid boyfriend to get his ass over here."

"Not my boyfriend!" I screamed to her.

"Used to be," He laughed into the phone.

"Shut up, shut up!" I screamed into the phone. "GET ME KUKAI, NOW!" I angrily said.

"He's listening." Kukai said. Damn bastard, had it on speakerphone. Oh well, at least I get to talk to Ikuto. But I shouldn't…

I sighed, real loud into the phone. "Fine: but I don't want to see your sorry face, Tsukiyomi." I have to try to keep him away from here. He'll be in danger if he comes, but..

"You don't have a choice, Amu-koi." He taunted. I didn't bother correcting him, because I really liked the sound of that, but I couldn't bear to see…

"Shut up. Fine. 5151 Tokyo Drive. Apartment number 546" I replied.

"Is this your flat?" He asked.

"JUST GET HERE, YOU STUPID IDIOTS!" Utau screamed.

"Where are you?" I asked, trying to stay calm.

"Well, we're walking out of…

"Oh, that's right. You had a concert today," I finished.

There was a pause. "How did you know? You keep up with us?"

"No, I watched some of it on TV." I replied, looking around for something to hold the bandages. I told Rima, "get me some tape," and she obeyed. Yaya still couldn't move from her spot.

"Oh." He replied, slightly disappointed. I couldn't let that get to me, though. I couldn't let him in again.

"Is the studio close?" I asked.

"It's about two blocks away." He replied.

"Then I suggest you hurry." I finished, as I closed the phone. Rima got me the tape, and I proceeded to call for an ambulance.

Ikuto's POV

Kukai and I were practically running towards the door. We grabbed our coats, and halfway out the door, Nagi calls out,

"Where the hell are you guys going?"

"No time to explain, we'll explain in the car," Kukai answered.

"Then let's go." Kairi said.

We jumped into our fast, European car. I began driving like a madman while Kukai explained what was going on.

"Well, some of our friends got shot," He simply explained.

"You forgot to mention they were our ex-girlfriends." I said, plainly, as I turned the corner and parked into the parking lot.

"So, why are you going?" Kairi asked.

We arrived at our destination. I can't believe they live that close. I could maybe see her from time to time because… I can't think about that right now. God, I hope they're okay. Please, don't let my sister or Amu be hurt badly. Please, please, please. I need them to be okay.

"Duh, because they still love them." Nagi pointed out.

Kukai and I slammed the doors and began running to the stairs.

"Hey, you're not going to leave us, are you?" A cocky voice said, emerging from the elevators. We stopped in our tracks.

Amu. Her hair, reaching to her shoulders, was still as pink as ever. She had on black short-shorts that were hugging her figure, and her top was covered by a yellow sweater, and her boots were black combat boots and red knee-high socks were peaking out of them.

"You're supposed to stay in one place," I replied.

"The police were busy. They couldn't get to our call." Another voice answered, the one of my sister being carried piggy-back style on my ex's back. She had on one of those pink shirt white stripes on it and skinny jeans. Her blonde hair was in pigtails to keep out of her face.

"So we decided to come down. You don't want to see our apartment right now." The girl who I didn't know, Rima answered. I knew her from her short stature and blonde hair, with a black headband. She was wearing a purple dress, and part of it was green, going over the part of the purple.

"Yeah, and Yaya thinks we should get her to the hospital." Yaya pointed, as she guided our eyes to Utau's leg. She was wearing pink short shorts, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a orange/white striped scarf. Her short, red hair was in pigtails as well.

"Hey," Kukai said, as he whispered something in Amu's ear.

She smiled, a real smile, and said, "Of course."

She released my sister into my best friend's arms.

"Hey," he said, as he looked down on her.

I could see a faint smile on my sister's lips. "Hey."

"You guys should get in the car. We'll squeeze in," Nagi replied. He was always kind, but he seemed to have an eye for that Rima girl.

"Hm" Rima said, as she walked past him.

"Yaya's sitting next to Kairi!" Yaya called, as Kairi rolled his eyes. Kairi wasn't interested in many women, and there was a rumor he was gay. He wasn't gay, he was just particular about his women.

"Amu, you're sitting up front," I demanded.

She rolled her eyes, and said, "Fine." She slid in the shotgun seat, and shut the door.

We all got in the car, and drove to the hospital, which was about five blocks away.

"So, what happened?" I asked.

"None of your business, Tsukiyomi," She answered coldly, her left hand was on her right shoulder.

"Why can't you call me Ikuto, like before?" I asked, somewhat teasing, somewhat hurt. I guess breakups do influence how people treat one another…

"Because I can't: your name disgusts me." She replied, as she looked out the window.

"Ouch," Nagi replied.

She turned, glared at him, and said, "Stay out of this." She then looked at Utau, who was sitting on Kukai's lap. "You okay, girl?"

My sister nodded.

She turned back in her seat. "You shouldn't have come, Ikuto." She mumbled.

I looked at her. We were at a stoplight. We had breezed through traffic because there was none. We were almost at the hospital.

"What.." I began, my voice low so no one else could hear.

"You really shouldn't have come." She repeated, so only I could hear: tears where in her eyes. It was like she was trying to protect me.

"Hey," I replied.

"No. Ikuto, you don't get it. Stay away from me." She looked at me, and didn't say it threateningly. She just said it sadly, as if she was the plague.

"I can't." I replied, looking ahead.

"She'll get shot again." She deadpanned, searching in my eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked, rather loudly, and everyone turned to me.

She turned away. The light turned green.

We turned into the hospital, and everyone filed out of the car. Everyone except me and Amu, that is.

"I'm really sorry," Amu told me, as she kissed me.

I didn't get it. One time she tells me that my name disgusts her, then she's crying, then she's fucking kissing me. What the hell is going on? What am I not getting? I was supposed to be the one teasing her, yanking her chain. But, it seemed as if we switched roles. What was happening?

She opens the door, gets out, and slams it.

As she watches Kukai get into the hospital with Utau, her head drops. No one sees her back but me.

She breathes, picks her head up, and confidently walks forward.

She walks in, and so do I, trailing after her.

As I walk in the door, Nagi's waiting for me. "What's her deal?" He asks, referring to Amu. "She always like that?"

"No." I simply say.

"Then what's up with her? It's like she's trying to push you away or something. She doesn't want to, though,"

I stopped. "What do you mean?"

"In the car, she whispered something to Utau. I don't know what it was, since that Rima girl was shaking so bad. I tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't stop. She was scared bad."

"The whole band's scared," Kairi says. "Yaya was shaking pretty bad too. I think she was crying."

The nurse calls the girls to the counter, and points to a room.

The girls filed into the room, and Amu pokes her head out. "Kukai," she calls.

Kukai blinks and picks his head up.

"Hey," she smiles at him.

"Hey," he replies back.

"You should get in there," she says.

"And me?" I ask, "I'm her brother."

She looks at me and turns cold. "You'll get a turn."

And she disappears behind the door.

"She's cold to you, man," Nagi says.

"I know," I replied. It broke my heart. She treated everyone one way and me another. Is it that she didn't feel anything for me? Then why the kiss? God, what is going on here?

Rima, Yaya, and Amu get escorted out of the room. "She's going into surgery." Amu tells me, as she plops down next to me. Her hand makes her way into mine. I enjoy her presence, and her smell. I know I sound like a huge perv, but I missed her scent of strawberries: and the warmth of her weight.

"And Kukai?" I ask.

"I let him go with her, until they reach the OR." She says. I know how much of a sacrifice this took for her. Utau was her best friend. She would have never left her side, but Kukai was more important to Utau, and Amu understood that. That's why she backed off. I remember when they started dating: Amu swore that she beat Kukai up until "he reaches hellfire, and then I'll bring him back and do it again" if he hurt Utau.

She leans against my shoulder, in the blind spot of my band mates. They are all tending to the girls. Why they care so much about them when they just met them is beyond me. Maybe my sensitive bandmates understand that these girls went through something scary and are trying to comfort them.

"I don't get you," I say.

She smiles, and closes her eyes. "That's the point."

"Why were you so scared?" I ask.

She opens her eyes and looks at me. "How did you know?"

I smile. This is one of the times that I read her mind, and she's probably angry that I know her so well. "Your lips were quivering."

"You son-of-a-bitch," She replies, as she giggles a bit.

"You love me," I said. It was more of a sarcastic comeback, but I never expected her to reply like she did.

She closes her eyes again in response, and mumbles, "Yeah, I do." She squeezes my hand, as if she's enjoying this as much as I. What the hell did she just say? She still loves me? Dear lord, this girl is so fucking confusing! I don't get her at all! Before, she was always an open-book, and now she's pushing me away but keeping me close! What is her deal?

That surprises me. "If you do, then why…?"

"I can't tell you that." She replies, knowing the end of my question. If you love me, why did you break up with me? Why couldn't you stay with me? Why couldn't you talk to me? Was it that you didn't trust me? No… She trusted me with everything. Then what? What is it?

"Why not?" I ask.

She takes her head off my shoulder and says, "This isn't the first time she's gotten shot, Ikuto."

I blink. "What?"

"She's been shot before. And if I tell you, he won't miss." She shivers at this, and I squeeze her hand. She smiles a small smile, and gets a bit closer to me, as if liking my warmth, as if liking that I was there.

"What the hell do you mean?" I hiss. I wanted to know more about this. I wanted to know more about why all this happened, and why we couldn't be happy together. It was supposed to be simple. But life never is.

"Ikuto, you have to stay away from me!" she whispers urgently. She's trying to tell me something, I know it, but I can't piece the clues together. I understand too little, and there are too many questions.

"Don't wanna." I reply, stubbornly as always. I don't want to leave her alone to face this. I want to be with her and protect her, I want to be there and hold her, and I want to be with her forever.

"Please," she begs.

"Let me help you!" I hiss.

There are tears in her eyes. "You don't know how much that means to me. You're still as sweet as you were back then. I miss you."

"Then come back to me!" I whisper.

"I can't." She replies, trying to give me another clue: trying to help me piece it together. It simply fails.

"Why?" I ask. I needed to know why. My eyes searched hers, looking for answers.

"I just… can't." She replies, taking her hand out of mine.

"Tell me something! A hint, a name… Something." I grab her hand again, trying to preserve what we have. I love her too much not to know why she can't be with me. And if she feels the same…

"He frequents the Café." She replies, not meeting my eyes. It was as if she was watching for someone.

"Which one?" I ask. There was a bunch around Tokyo.

"The one across the street from my flat." She replies, looking at me. She looks so sad, so burdened. I wished I could help her relieve some of that burden.

"Who..?" I ask.

"I can't tell you that." She gets up, as Kukai comes back.

He's crying. Something about how my sister's in critical condition: that the wound was bad and she might not walk again. She might not even survive the intrusive surgery.

She wraps him into a hug, and whispers something to him. It makes him smile.

And she walks away.

I want to run after her, but I need to comfort my best friend. It wasn't as if Amu needed me immediately or anything. She could wait as I processed the information.

And then I thought of something: she never removed her left hand off her right shoulder.

I dismissed the thought. Maybe she was just uncomfortable talking to me. Talking with me.

Yeah, that's it.

Amu's POV

I can't believe it. Even after two years, his threats were still valid. What had I done? What had I… I let my hand off my shoulder, and the blood rushes down.

I deserve this.

I deserve this for doing that to Utau, again. Heck, I deserve to be shot in the leg.

I had to find a way out of this black future, where I was a puppet on a stage, and where they controlled every aspect of my life. This was beginning to leak into my friend's lives. That isn't acceptable- it's my burden and mine only.

How can I get out? How can I get free from these chains? How can I live free of this bird cage, where all I'm supposed to do is sing?

I'm in front of the vending machine. "I'll get you your favorite snacks" I promised to Kukai.

I pushed the button for the snacks he liked, and right as I bent down to get them, I hear a voice.

"I told you," a guy's voice says.

I whirl up, and I see a figure in a black hoodie, with the hood covering his face. I can see his smirk, though.

"What do you want?" I ask, angrily. "This is a sacred place! Don't you dare do anything here!"

"I told you, dear Amu. I told you what would happen if Utau knew. You thought that because it had been two years, you could say what you wished. But I'm always watching you," He said, as he slowly brought a knife out of his pocket.

"I didn't mean to, it was a slip of the tongue!" I pleaded.

He suddenly held my neck in a choke hold, and rammed me against the wall. The knife was near my neck. "It doesn't matter what you didn't mean to say. It matters that you said it. And guess what, Amu dear? It means that I have to fix this mess!" I tried kicking him, but it never did any real damage.

I gasped for air, and his fingers loosened a bit. "I don't need you to fix anything!" I hissed.

His fingers went tighter around my neck, and the knife came closer. "Of course I need to fix it. You don't want them knowing about your past, right? And Ikuto… Oh, he'll meet something much worse than this!"

"Don't… do… anything… to… him…" I managed.

"Oh, but I have to. Your father is still who he is, and I am still who I am. Your boyfriend."

"Never… were…my… boyfriend…" I choked.

"Maybe not by your choice!" He hissed. "But according to your dad, I still am! I don't like you cheating on me, dear Amu. I can't let you do as you please, now can I? Your little rockstar life isn't the freedom you think it is! It is more bondage than you think! I am always the puppet master of this game!" He said, crazily, drunk on his status.

He let go of my neck, and I gasped for air. In a surprise attack, I pulled the knife from him, and threw it on the ground. I then punched him, right in the stomach. "You son of a bitch! You motherfucker! You don't touch me, you don't touch my boyfriend, and you don't touch my friends! If you hurt them, I'll kill you!" At each of these phrases I was punching him again and again. My voice was getting louder and louder, until I was screaming. He was in the vetal position on the floor, hugging his stomach: I was just completely and utterly mad. I couldn't stop.

I kicked him in the groin, and punched him one last time, "You tell my father to stay the fuck out of my life!" I yelled, at the peak of insanity. I was sure he wasn't going to get up any time soon.

I turned, got the snack from the vending machine, and began walking away. The blood was still flowing from my arm, but it wasn't bugging me anymore.

And then there was a sharp pain in the middle of my back. My back tightened, arching at the pain.

I felt blood running down my back as I fell.

"It's not that easy to get rid of me, Amu Hinamori!" He said, as I heard his footsteps get farther and farther away.

I couldn't think.

I could barely breathe, it hurt so badly. I hadn't felt this kind of pain since…

I used the last of my energy to scream, and I fell into the darkness.

But not before I heard a line of my soon-to-be-released song coming from his voice: "I'm in the business of misery; let's take it from the top. She's got a body like an hourglass that's tickin' like a clock! It's a matter of time before we all run out."

I blacked out.

Alright, there we go! Okay, question time! Who is he, what did he tell Amu two years ago? Why is he her "boyfriend" and what does Amu's father have to do with all this? Will Ikuto get closer to the truth? Will Utau make it out of surgery? What will happen to Amu? What is her past?

And how does he know about a song that isn't released yet?

Please review! Thanks to all who have, and all that have Favorited!