Author's Note: So, here's chapter 4 for those who have been waiting. This chapter will start to bring Hotaru's story along with the original storyline. This is where the turn of events aren't so simple and for those of you who are wondering who Hotaru's brother is, he'll make his big appearance later. Why? Oh, you'll see. Not this chapter, but in a few. He he

Summary: Like any popular boy, Ikuto has many girls that chase him on a daily basis besides his sister, so there's only one way, in Ikuto's mind, to stop them. Have a fake girlfriend of course!

toricahill1978: Hotaru is going to have two eggs, another will be added later on. Amu and the others are actually going to make their appearance in this chapter. Also, I believe Ikuto is his perverted self to those he likes and Hotaru is unknown territory, but starting from this chapter, he will be. Lol

I love athrun & Miserae: Thank you~!

Dedication: I love athrun for encouraging me to keep writing.


Chapter 4: The Truth Behind Amethyst Eyes

"I'm here Hinamori-san."

An older woman peeks her head around a corner, the woman kind looking.

"Oh, Hotaru-chan. Good timing. Amu is upstairs right now doing homework and Ami is asleep. My husband and I will be leaving in a few."

Hotaru nods her head softly as she slips her shoes off, her feet beginning to head upstairs. Kia flies up to Hotaru's shoulder, her big lavender eyes looking at her.

"See? She didn't see me. Only those with eggs in their hearts can."

Hotaru nods her head, a small giggle escaping her lips.

"So it would seem."

Kia begins to float in a circle.

"So….who is this Amu?"

Hotaru smiles softly, her braid swinging behind her as she ascends the last few stairs to the second floor and turns a corner.

"She is a girl I watch from time to time for her parents. Her and her younger sister are like family to me. I would do anything to keep them out of harm's way."

Kia smiles. Hotaru grabs a doorknob and walks into a room.

"Hello, hello, Amu-chan."

A young pink-haired girl looks up from her desk to see her, a smile spreading across her face.

"Taru-chan!"

She runs over, arms spread wide to hug her. As they embrace, Amu tenses a bit. Hotaru only shakes her head at this, a teasing smile on her face.

"Don't worry, your parents are about to leave and your sister is asleep."

The young girl's body relaxes at the comfort in the words before pulling away. Hotaru giggles at Amu's actions, her reaction always the same.

"Still holding up your façade I see."

Amu nods her head as she sighs.

"It's so tiring."

They both walk over to the small twin-sized bed and sit, the room nicely kept.

"So, how have you been Amu-chan?"

Amu's head suddenly hangs down, a dark cloud over head.

"I had my first meeting with Tadase-kun a few days ago and I acted instinctively on keeping my image."

Hotaru teardrops as she places a hand on Amu's head.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get another chance."

Amu nods her head meekly.

"Yeah…especially since I've been asked to join the guardians."

Hotaru tilts her head.

"You were? Wow…"

Amu looks away worriedly.

"But I'm not sure I should. I just started making friends. I don't want to weird them out with this."

Hotaru smiles softly, a comforting hand on the troubled girl's shoulder.

"Yes well…I'm sure you'll figure it out. So, you've made some friends?"

"Yes, Amu-chan was awesome!"

"Pretty cool."

Hotaru looks up to see two Shugo chara floating around, one a pink cheerleader, the other a blue artist. Hotaru blinks as Amu reacts.

"I thought I told you two to hide!"

The blue one moves out of her reach.

"Who is this anyways?"

The pink one giggles.

"Besides, we told you, only people with-"

"Amu…"

All three turn to Hotaru, Amu's face in shock as Hotaru watches her, a finger pointing at her two guardians.

"You have Guardian Characters? Since when?"

All is quiet when the pink one floats over.

"You can see us? That means…"

"Yes, indeed."

Amu points at her guardians, her finger wagging between the two.

"You can see them?"

Hotaru nods her head.

"How..?"

Hotaru turns to the messenger bag on her hip, her hands lifting the flap.

"You can come out Kia."

After a few seconds, Kia's small head pops out, her hands adjusting her glasses as she floats out.

"So, it would seem your Amu has Guardians as well."

Amu smiles widely, glad to have discovered this new secret.

"Oh my gosh! You have one too!"

Hotaru smiles a bit, her hand rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. Amu's two rush over to Kia.

"I'm Ran!"

"Miki…"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kia."

The girls smile at the Guardians getting along well before turning to each other, questions in each of their eyes.

"So, you have two Amu-chan?"

Amu shakes her head a bit before pointing to a basket near her bed, a small green egg sitting snugly inside.

"I actually have 3. Miki hatched today, now I'm waiting on the third one."

Hotaru stares at the egg for a bit, the club symbol intriguing her before she reaches into her bag to pull out her second egg.

"Yeah…I'm waiting for my other egg to hatch as well. Kia hatched earlier when I got locked in a Janitor's closet."

Amu's eyes widen in shock before she suddenly grabs Hotaru's shoulders.

"You got locked in a closet?! Why?! What happened?!?!"

Hotaru laughs nervously, her glasses sliding down a bit.

"W-well…."

"Whew…glad to be through another day."

The day had luckily been normal besides Ikuto's usual comment of her scent consisting of eggs. Hotaru turns her eyes to her shoulder, Kia sitting quietly, her feet swinging to and fro.

"Why do you think he always says that?"

Kia's small hand goes to her chin in thought.

"I think…he can smell your other egg. His Guardian is a cat after all."

Hotaru moves her line of sight to her bag, her egg sitting inside comfortably.

"You think so?"

Kia shrugs.

"Maybe…"

"Taru-chan!"

Hotaru turns at the familiar voice, her eyes spotting Amu effortlessly as she runs toward her.

"Amu-chan?"

Amu slows down as she approaches, a huge, nervous smile on her face.

"I'm glad I caught you. I wanted to ask you something."

Hotaru tilts her head.

"What is it?"

Amu perks up more.

"Well, a friend of mine asked me if I would like to make sweets for Tadase-kun's birthday tomorrow. I was wondering if you would like to come along to try and impress your fake boyfriend."

Hotaru's cheeks blush a bit at the mention of Ikuto, the idea tempting. After a few seconds of thought, Hotaru smiles widely.

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Let's go home and change first though, alright?"

Amu nods her head happily as they rush home.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Nadeshiko Fujisaki and this is Temari, My Guardian."

Hotaru bows a bit.

"The pleasure's all mine. I'm Hotaru and this is Kia."

Both guardians bow to each other, their creators giggling a bit. Hotaru pulls her bangs to the side with a few clips, not wanting it to block her view while cooking, the rest braided nicely behind her, her face clear to all. Amu smiles to herself, loving to see Hotaru's face out in the open, no longer hidden by her hair. Amu's outfit consists of a black and red plaid dress with a matching apron while Hotaru's, besides her dainty light blue apron, consists of a summer dress, a small sweater covering her bare shoulders, pants concealing her legs.

"Alright, so shall we begin?"

Both girls nod their heads, eager to begin. Hotaru carefully places her egg in the front pouch of her apron, the pocket on her chest. All three girls smile as they begin to mix, pound, and create their batter. As Hotaru whisks her creation, her eyes land on Nadeshiko curiously, a bit envious of her femininity.

'I wish…I could be that feminine. Besides my favorite dish…I can't cook….and I don't dress girly as much as I'd like to since I become self-conscious…'

She sighs. As the tarts finally come out of the oven, everyone smiles at the success, the smell alluring.

"They smell so good."

Nadeshiko smiles as she nods her head.

"Alright you two, I'll be right back."

Amu stiffens at her words, her nervousness apparent.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get the fruit. I'll be back soon. Get started without me, okay?"

Amu looks down at her tart as Hotaru starts hers, unsure of what to do herself. She stops, noticing Amu's expression.

"Something wrong, Amu-chan?"

"I…"

Amu grabs her whisk nervously, the instrument shaking in her hand.

"…I just wonder if I can do it by myself."

Hotaru's eyes soften a bit in sympathy, understanding the girl's fear.

"Oh, Amu-chan…I'm sure you can do it if you put your mind to it…."

Amu smiles at the compliment as her whisk begins to float in the air.

[You can do it Amu-chan. Character Cha-]

"And that's enough of that."

Hotaru freezes at the familiar voice coming from behind her, the arm that extended over her shoulder pulling back, Amu's egg in its hand. A clatter is heard as the whisk drops. Amu looks up defiantly.

"My egg! Perverted cat cosplayer!"

"Cos…hey…"

Hotaru can't move, her body trembling as she hears out what's going on, her head lowered.

"Give me back my egg!"

As Amu begins to run around the counter, Hotaru stops her, her back still to the intruder.

"Amu…let me handle this…"

Hotaru turns around, her head still down.

"Ikuto-kun…give Amu-chan back her egg…please…"

"And why should I-"

He stops as he recognizes the voice.

"….and what if I say no?"

Hotaru rushes forward, determination in her eyes, a crescent moon at the bottom of her braid, as she reaches her hand out toward Amu's egg. Ikuto reacts late at pulling his hand back, the action causing both of them to fall a bit before Ikuto stables himself and Hotaru, their eyes locked on each other, eye contact made fully for the first time, Amu's egg slightly forgotten. (A.N. Yes, I realize this was Amu's thing but a lot of those things will change with Hotaru around.)

"I-Iku-"

Hotaru is cut off as Ikuto pushes them down onto the floor, his body hovering over her own, her face red at the proximity. Amu's egg rolls along the floor toward Amu, as Hotaru's begins to slip out of her pocket.

"I-Ikuto-kun….W-why do you…w-want Amu's..?"

She notices his eyes drift from her eyes finally as he notices the new egg.

"You have another one…"

It's quiet, Amu standing a bit away, her egg in her hand, unsure of how to react.

"I-Ikuto-"

"That's far enough!!"

Both look up quickly to notice Nadeshiko back, her anger apparent.

"I see you've let yourself in you thieving cat!! Are you alright Hotaru-san, Amu-chan?"

Amu slowly nods her head as Hotaru moves backwards, a hand over her heart, the other on her cheek.

'What…what was that all about?!'

"Temari!! Character Change!!"

"Alright! Chin…Ton…Shan!"

At the final beat, Nadeshiko's appearance takes on a new form, her eyes showing evil beyond an extent, Hotaru and Amu frightened to their spot as she begins to attack Ikuto with a Naginata.

"I'm going to take you down! Prepare yourself!!"

As they begin their one-on-one duel of sorts, Ikuto's dodging ends up in knocking over the tarts, the girl's faces all frozen in shock as the break upon contact with the ground.

'The tarts..!'

"Amu-chan, we need to character change too!"

"Don't worry, Suu is here~!"

Hotaru turns to Amu just in time to see the third egg hatch, a little blonde girl popping out, a small basket on her arm.

"Ready? Chip, Syrup…Whip!!"

At the final magic word, her whisk spinning in her hand, a giant avalanche of whipped cream sweeps them up, the flood forcing them out into the hallway. As Hotaru regains her senses, she quickly looks around for Amu only to notice a beautiful, blonde-haired girl watching Amu. As the girl then turns to her, she scowls, her disapproval set in her eyes.

'Did she just scowl at me?!'

The girl turns her head quickly, Ikuto's name emitting from her lips, her hand being offered to him. Hotaru's eyes widen with disbelief.

'He…he knows this beautiful girl?'

"What are you doing Ikuto?"

"Utau…"

Utau turns to Amu once more, her eyes scanning her over.

"This girl's egg is obviously not the embryo. We don't need to bother her anymore. Although…"

She then snaps her attention to Hotaru, the young emerald-eyed girl flinching at the hate being directed towards her.

"…this girl still has an unhatched egg. If it's the embryo then our wishes will be-"

Ikuto quickly places an arm around Utau, tugging her a bit.

"You speak too much. Let's go."

"But Ikuto!"

Hotaru watches as they begin walking away, her hands wrapped tightly around her egg, her body trembling.

"Oh no! The tarts are broken!"

Hotaru snaps out of her reverie to notice the disheartened look on the girl's faces.

"This is so cruel…"

"What do we do now?"

"…what does it matter? It wasn't like me to do something like this…anyway…"

Hotaru's eyebrows furrow as she spots a gleam from Amu's eyes. She quickly rushes over, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders, her spirit disheartened.

"A-Amu-chan…we could…Um…"

Hotaru struggles to cheer Amu up as her voice begins shaking, unsure of what to think about Ikuto and his actions. She leans her forehead on Amu's shoulder. Noticing the silence, Nadeshiko dives in to help.

"Amu-chan, should we try to make another one?"

"No…we don't even have time to…"

As tears fall from both of their eyes, Ikuto looks back a bit before disappearing from sight.

"It's alright, Amu-chan. We can't make another tart, but…"

Nadeshiko gasps in realization on where Suu is going with her words, the little blonde chara smiling happily.

"…but we can make something else."

"Chip, Syrup, Whip!"

Hotaru sighs as she walks in the door, the box of freshly made cookies in her hand. She swiftly slips her shoes off, as she begins to head to her room, her mind jumbled with so many things that her head is throbbing.

"You're home late."

A small 'Eep' escapes her lips as she jumps, quickly turning to her brother in the living room.

"Onii-chan! You startled me."

Hotaru's brother only smiles a bit before he begins chuckling at his sister's antics.

"Sorry…didn't mean to, I thought you had seen me."

He removes himself from his seat before walking over and inspecting his sister.

"So, how was your day?"

Hotaru smiles happily.

"Well, normal before the girl I babysit asked if I wanted to help bake some sweets today and then-"

Hotaru's enthusiasm falters as she remembers Ikuto's actions earlier that day, her hesitation not unnoticed by her sibling.

"What? Did something happen?"

Hotaru lowers her head, her hands gripping the box of sweets with a strong grip, her body shaking a bit.

"Onii-chan…what do you do…when someone you care for is doing something that you know is wrong?"

Her brother tenses a bit, though this goes unnoticed by Hotaru before he tilts his head to inspect her face.

"Who is doing something wrong?"

"My…fake boyfriend, Ikuto…"

Her brother tenses once more, though Hotaru catches it this time, her head lifting to examine her brother's reaction.

"…Ikuto…Tsukiyomi?"

Hotaru nods her head slowly, unsure of where this was leading, though her gut gave lurch, leaning toward something bad. A few seconds of silence.

"Onii-"

"I want you to stop hanging out with Ikuto Tsukiyomi. That's an order."

Hotaru's eyes widen, as a painful squeeze envelops her heart, her eyebrows furrowing in worry.

"But Onii-chan-!"

"No buts!"

At that, he turns away, grabbing his coat and slamming the front door behind him. Hotaru stands there hopelessly, tears streaming down her face, her mind trying to find a answer to her question.

'What did I do?'


So~! There~! Chapter 4~! Let me know what you think. Review my lovely readers!....Please? lol Oh, on a side note, I do draw some art and have been a bit inspired lately. If you have any request of certain scenes from this story, let me know and I will do my best~! When finished I will post a link. Thank you!