…
Kukai chatted with Kairi as they walked towards the former's workout room, talking about this and that…which included teasing the younger male about dating his sister, much to Kairi's embarrassment.
"Seriously, Kairi, you should show her your sword skills if you want to impress my sister," remarked Kukai, laughing at his own innuendo.
The green haired male blushed as he pushed up his glasses. "I appreciate your…advice, Kukai, but I honestly believe that she can do better." He pushed open the door to the workout room and both boys paused in the doorway.
Amu was in the middle of an intense workout, which included striking the boxing bag. She looked up when she realized somebody was watching and pulled out her headphones as she glanced at them. "Hey, what's up?"
"When did you start boxing?" Kukai asked as the two males entered, setting their things down on a bench. "You can't punch a bag of pudding."
"Oh, haha," replied his sister, rolling her eyes. "There's nothing wrong with being in shape, you know." She took off her gloves, throwing them towards a pink gym bag that was undoubtedly hers. "What are you two doing here?"
"There's nothing wrong with being in shape," repeated the brunette, grinning as he walked onto the treadmill and set it up. "I need some male bonding time."
"Why am I not surprised that your friends are younger than you?" Amu remarked as she began to pack up her things. Kairi walked past her to reach for one of the swords on the wall. "Hey, Kairi; I didn't know you came over here with Kukai."
"Well, Yukari doesn't disapprove my training as a samurai but she doesn't want a personal dojo in her house either," he replied as he took his place, starting to swish his sword around carefully.
Amu nodded in understanding. "Anyways, I'll leave you guys to it." She slung her bag over her shoulder and began to walk out before she changed her mind, glancing over her shoulder. "And by the way, Yaya appreciates a guy who gives her candy more than a guy who's totally ripped." She smirked when Kairi blushed bright red, making her way towards her room.
Since the workout room was on the third floor, she leaped onto the stair banister and slid down to the second floor. When she jumped off, she startled Ami.
"Jeez, Amu, be careful," exclaimed the ten-year-old, placing a hand over her chest as she smiled at her older sister. "Hey, I was wondering…do you want to go shopping with me and Yaya?" She looked at the sixteen-year-old with her pleading honey eyes, sticking her lower lip out as she gave her sister a hopeful look.
Amu felt like she was being pelted with kittens; she didn't want to get hit but she didn't want to hurt them either. "A-Alright, just stop making that face! When are you leaving? I need to shower."
Ami glanced at her watch. "Um…in about half an hour."
Her older sister nodded. "That should be enough time." She ruffled the brunette's hair as she made her way to her room, secretly glad she could spend time with her sisters. She had been neglecting them, mostly Ami, since she had gotten back from the hospital. And since her friends weren't exactly reachable at the moment, she appreciated any female bonding time. Nagi was great, but she wasn't going to make him dress up as Nadeshiko.
Exactly twenty-nine minutes later, Amu greeted her sisters by the front door. "Hey, you guys look cute," she complimented, eyeing their outfits.
Ami was wearing black shorts with a bright yellow top that had sequins on it. Her light brown hair was put into a side ponytail with a pink flower barrette. She opted to wear plain black flats. Around her neck was one of those wallets-on-a-chain.
Yaya had on a pink floral print skirt with a white T-shirt to show off her growing curves. Her carrot colored hair was worn down for once, long enough to reach her lower back, and she wore a simple black hairband in it. She had a soft pink clutch purse with a strap that she wore over her shoulder, and she decided to wear simple flip-flops.
The ten-year-old grinned at her eldest sister, blushing at the compliment. "Thanks, but you have us beat!" Yaya nodded in agreement.
Amu was wearing black leggings with a slightly oversized black-and-white striped tank top under a cute denim jacket. She wore black high tops to go with it. Her vibrant pink hair had been worn down with a small side braid on her right. She didn't have a purse so she just stuffed her wallet in her jacket pocket, along with her cell phone and keys.
"We can talk about who looks better later," she remarked. "The real question is, how are we going to get there? I don't trust myself to actually drive."
"Neither do we," replied her sisters in unison as the three of them walked outside, to where a gleaming limo waited.
"We do have our personal driver, you know," said Ami. "We can be dropped off and then picked up later."
"Oh," was all Amu said as they climbed inside. The drive wasn't very long with Yaya talked animatedly about how excited she was to spend time with her sisters. It was very comforting to the pinkette.
They arrived at the mall and immediately felt tingly. Even if they had horrible style or hated walking for hours as they struggled to carry the incredibly heavy shopping bags, every girl loved shopping. Some would never admit it, but they did. It was instinct to them, like masculinity-proving contests were to guys.
Ami, Amu, and Yaya exchanged excited looks. Money wasn't an issue, something that stopped many girls from shopping until they dropped, so they weren't too worried. They also knew better to blow it all on useless junk.
"Where should we go first?" Yaya asked, bouncing on the heel of her shoes. "I want to go to the candy store!"
"I want to visit the toy store," exclaimed Ami, expressing how young she really was. "I also really want to check out that new clothes store!"
Amu, being the oldest, decided to work out compromise. "How about we just walk around and go into any shop that catches our attention?" Her sisters agreed to this and the three of them burst into the mall.
"Oh, look at this, Amu!"
"Hey, that dress looks really cute on you, Yaya."
"Wow, look at this!"
"There's a sale over there!"
"Does this come in a size six?"
"Darn it; I don't have an outfit to go with these shoes!"
"Look, Ami, this one lights up!"
"Hey, I want to buy those glow-in-the-dark stars for my room!"
Four hours later, Amu suggested a lunch break and the three of them collapsed at one of the tables in the food court with dozens of bags surrounding them. The sixteen-year-old told them to stay put while she went to get their food.
"Wow, my feet are really sore," said Yaya as she watched her younger sister cuddle the stuffed penguin they had gotten. "But it's worth it; we haven't had a girls' day in a long time, ever since Amu was in middle school."
"Yeah, and even then, I was too young to enjoy it," said Ami. "And when I was old enough, Amu got sick and strayed off."
"That wasn't her fault," replied Yaya softly. "Amu gave up a lot for Utau-chan, even though she doesn't deserve it."
"Utau was very mean to Amu, and Amu was too nice to do something about it back then," agreed the ten-year-old. "She always let Utau push her around and treat her like garbage. I know this sounds mean, but I'm kind of happy that Amu got her personality disorder and fell into a coma."
Yaya nodded in agreement. "If she hadn't, she wouldn't have developed that fantasy world and grown a backbone. Now, she's standing up to everyone who pushed her down and made fun of her. I feel like we're strangers sometimes, but I also feel like we've gotten our sister back at the same time."
"She's not really a stranger," cut in Ami, smiling. "She's just…grown up." Her sister looked at her for a few seconds.
"Sometimes you act older than you are, Ami," remarked the fourteen-year-old, resting her chin on her hands. "Why is that?"
"First, you're one to talk," said Ami, eyeing her sister. "Who's the one that threw a tantrum in the middle of our Christmas party just because she didn't get as many gifts as the last year?" Yaya blushed brightly. "Secondly, there's no room to be a kid when you're too busy worrying about how your family is falling apart. When Amu went into that coma, everybody changed."
Yaya nodded. "Mama got really sad while Papa almost never smiled anymore. Kukai was never that energetic anymore and none of us ever left the house unless we really had to, like for school. We didn't speak to anybody really. Nagi came over, and sometimes Kairi would too, and we would all visit Amu at the hospital but it wasn't the same."
"You probably didn't notice, but Rima became even quieter and nobody ever saw Ikuto during those six months," added Ami. "They really love Amu, and I can tell that they want to be in her lives again…but so much has changed, they don't know where they stand."
"Rima was neglected by her parents a lot as a kid and she put on a mask so nobody could see how hurt and lonely she was," said Yaya. "Amu was the first person to break through that mask and Rima became a much warmer person to be around. When Amu made that deal with Tadase and pushed Rima away, she was hurt and became just like how she was before. She doesn't want to be hurt again."
"And Ikuto loved Amu more than anybody else," continued Ami. "They were always together and sometimes it was really annoying, but it was also very sweet." She smiled wistfully. "I remember how crazy it made Utau, since she wanted Ikuto to pay attention to her instead of Amu. But when Amu's in the room, Ikuto doesn't pay attention to anybody else. They're such important parts of their lives that it really hurt both of them when that deal was made and they were forced apart. He will be much easier to get back than anyone else, but I don't know if he can control his feelings for her much longer."
"You sure know a lot about love," said Yaya suspiciously. "Are you hiding something from me, Ami?" Her younger sister blushed brightly, shaking her head in denial.
"W-what, no way," she exclaimed. "Boys are just pests! Besides, Daddy throws a fit every time you say you even say Kairi's name! Could you imagine what would happen if he found you two were actually dating?"
The fourteen-year-old's eyes widened. "How do you know about that?!"
"I'm not stupid," stated Ami, snorting. "Hey, Amu's taking a really long time to get here. Do you think she got lost?"
"It wouldn't surprise me," replied Yaya, remembering how airheaded their sister could be at times. "Amu was never the brightest person…ow!" She rubbed the back of her head, glaring at her sister who whistled innocently as she placed their food on the table. Much to their delight, she had decided to get Chinese. Ironic, since they were Japanese, but everyone liked a bit of culture change once in a while.
"What took you so long?" Ami complained as she reached for the container of orange chicken.
"I'm sorry; would you rather I get that greasy American burger from that fast food place and have you run to the restrooms faster than you can chew?" Amu remarked, eyeing her sister coolly. The said sister muttered something under her breath as she reached for the chopsticks. "That's what I thought. So what were you guys talking about?"
"Nothing really; just how happy we are to have you back," replied Yaya cheerfully. "It was really fun spending the day with you, onee-chan."
"Yeah," agreed Ami, settling her stuffed penguin on top of the table while they ate. "I haven't had this much fun since…well, I can't remember when!"
"It was nice to spend time with my sisters," said Amu softly, smiling at them. She wanted her friends back, but Ami and Yaya were her family and she wasn't going to push them away.
Not again.
…
Amu stuck her hands in her jeans' pockets as she wandered around the town. It was later in the evening and even though her feet were extremely sore from the shopping trip earlier, she felt like going out.
She didn't know what she was going to do so she just changed into skinny jeans and an oversized plaid shirt that her figure disappeared into. So far, she had just wandered around the town aimlessly while wondering what to do the next day at school.
"What a pain," she moaned as she approached the park, the flashing neon lights from the stores giving her a headache. "Why am I always involved in so much drama?" The pink haired teenager plopped down on a park bench, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. She wasn't quite sure how long she sat there, but she enjoyed the peace and quiet.
"You look like a drunk that got hit by a bus."
Amu opened her eyes and nearly fainted; in front of her stood her four Charas, in human sized form. Miki was rubbing the back of her head while Dia was shaking her head. The four of them looked the same, but also so different. They looked so grown up. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, shaking her head.
"Am I dreaming?" She asked herself, feeling utterly lost as she looked around and saw that she was still in the park.
"Well, duh," stated Miki, rolling her eyes. "We're just figments of your imagination, after all."
"It's official; I've gone off the deep end," murmured Amu, clutching her hair with a panicked expression.
"Relax, Amu," said Dia soothingly. "Even if we don't exist, we're still here to help you."
Ran nodded. "You're a lot more honest than you had been, Amu," she said with a proud look on her face. "But you're still not letting people in and showing them your true self."
"You're more confident too," added Miki approvingly. "And you finally believe in all of your abilities, which is good…and you're not driving, which is also good because you would be horrible at it."
"Gee, thanks," remarked Amu, glaring at the blue haired girl. She seemed unfazed, which only increased Amu's annoyance.
"I'm just happy you're finally standing up to Tadase and the others, desu," said Su, eyeing the two of them nervously. "He's a real jerk and I believe he's beyond saving, Amu-chan, desu." Her sisters nodded in agreement.
"I don't know if Utau can be saved though," voiced Ran. "She's always been jealous of you, you know. She let the jealousy morph her into something cruel and wicked. But I believe that there is still good in her."
Dia nodded. "Everybody deserves a second chance. However, you should do what you believe is right."
"But what do I do about Rima and Ikuto?" Amu asked, hugging her knees to her chest. "I need them in my life."
"Ikuto will be easier to get back, but you have to decide your feelings for him," replied Ran. "He cares a lot about you, Amu, and if you want him back in your life, you have to decide whether or not you want him as a friend, a brother, or something more." Amu blushed brightly.
"As for Rima, you know that she will be tough," continued Miki. "She will probably treat you coldly at first and brush you off, but she will secretly want you to keep on trying like you did when you first met her. She knows you're not the kind of person to give up and will do her best to shake you off. You just have to remember that you need her in your life just as much as she needs you."
"But you need to remember something desu," interrupted Su. "If you get to Rima first, you can have her help you get Ikuto from Utau desu. With her devious mind, Utau will pummel to the ground even faster desu." A wicked gleam appeared in her eyes, startling the other four girls.
"Su, I honestly worry about you sometimes," said Ran, eyeing the green haired girl.
"But she is right," said Dia, turning to the pinkette. "Rima will take longer to heal so it's best to have the most time with her. Although she would probably spend time with Nagi if you got to Ikuto first, she'll miss you. In fact, she misses you now."
Amu looked at them. "…I miss you guys."
The four of them exchanged looks before Su said, "We'll always be in your heart, Amu-chan. We're a part of you, after all desu." Her sisters nodded.
"You didn't need us anymore in your fantasy, and you don't need us now," added Miki softly. "You have to live your life and help others see who they are, and who they would have become."
"You're finding your true self and building a new path for yourself," said Dia. "You're finally being honest with yourself." They began to fade away.
"Remember, Amu, we'll be cheering for you," said Ran before they disappeared.
The sixteen-year-old fluttered her eyelids open, gasping in shock as she realized it had been a dream. She looked around, hoping nobody noticed her, and sighed. She really did miss them a lot, but she knew what they were saying. It was time for her to move on and begin a new chapter in her life.
Amu shivered in the night air, rubbing her arms.
"Why is it whenever I see you, you're out in the cold?" Ikuto asked as he appeared in front of her. The pinkette looked up at him surprise, releasing her legs as she had been hugging them earlier.
"Oh, uh, I don't know," she muttered, standing. "I was just on my way home." It was then that she realized she didn't have a ride. "Um, Ikuto…" He smirked at her.
"You know, I wonder if you're going to get me a Christmas present this year," he remarked as he held out a hand, helping her up. "I mean, I know it's you that's been dropping off small boxes of chocolate in my locker." Amu blushed.
"Well, I mean," she sputtered as they walked down the street. "You…and…I wasn't…I mean…" She gave up, seeing his amused expression, and scowled as she crossed her arms. "Oh, be quiet, you. You're coming to my family's Christmas party next week, right?"
Her parents had always thrown a party in the past years, but haven't done so since Amu began to drift from their family and caused complications in everyone's relationships with the other families. With Amu recovering from her coma, they decided it was an excellent excuse to throw a party.
"I guess," said Ikuto, shrugging as they approached her house. "You know, you really should be wearing a jacket."
"I should be doing a lot of things," replied Amu, lost in thought. It was then that the violinist realized what she was wearing and smirked.
"Is…is that my shirt?" He asked, getting her attention. A rosy blush formed on her cheeks, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the cold.
"Well, you left it at my house a few years ago and never asked for it back, so…" she said defensively before she realized something. "Say, Ikuto, do you forgive me for what I did?"
Startled by the sudden subject change, Ikuto answered, "I guess I know why you did it, but it doesn't mean I forgive you right away."
"But could you?" Amu pressed. After a moment, he nodded slowly; he was clearly confused. She grinned. "Ikuto, I really want you back in my life and I can tell you want me back in yours or else you wouldn't be talking to me. So I hope you understand when I say I want to get Rima to forgive me first. She's my best friend after you, and she has no one else in her life." Her eyes softened. "I need to help her heal, Ikuto, and I need her in my life as much as I need you. Please understand that." She looked at him pleadingly, hoping he would forgive her. "Please, Ikuto, I want you to wait for me. I need to help Rima and I…I also need to figure out my feelings. So please wait."
Ikuto stared at her with an unreadable expression before he leaned down and kissed her. Not on the lips, but a centimeter away from them. She felt herself turn a shade darker when he pulled her close, hugging her.
"I'll always wait for you, Amu," he said huskily in her ear. "Always." He pulled away and smirked when he saw how red she was. "Now, I suggest you get inside or you'll freeze your ass off."
Amu scowled at him as he began to walk across the street, but it only lasted a few seconds. A gentle smile crossed her lips as she turned and began to walk up her driveway, glancing up at the Mashiro household.
"I'm going to get you guys back, I promise."
…
I don't own Shugo Chara, nor will I ever.
Firstly, sorry for not updating sooner! I feel like I say this every chapter. I just had no idea where to go for the next chapter after that whole Amuto fluff filled joy last time. Talk about major writer's block.
Secondly, I was finally cured of my writer's block for my other stories, as you can see from my profile. I ended up writing an oneshot for another fandom and another chapter for my other Shugo Chara story. Hey, things happen. I do not control the rainbow of imagination.
I know she's not a major character to the story, but I felt like I had been leaving out Ami a lot so I decided to put some of her in here. Also, Amu had been really close with Kukai but not so much with her other siblings so there's some sister time for them in this chapter.
Now…I will just come out and say it. I am a teenage girl and I utterly hate shopping more than life. I would always prefer to just stay home and sit on the couch. But as soon as I get some money and enter the store, I turn into a shopaholic. I'm pretty sure it's a curse placed on girls…like periods. Seriously, why can't we just get texts from Mother Nature to tell us we're not pregnant?
Why are us girls being punished for being good? Jeez.
Now, I don't know if schooling is the same as it is in America but if it is…I just want to remind you that it is nearly August. One more month until school restarts, so I suggest you take this time to do any summer homework you were so cruelly assigned and go shopping for supplies NOW.
Trust me, sweeties, there isn't going to be much left on the shelves if you wait until the last week of August or first week of September.
Back to the story, I couldn't help but add the Charas as a conscious guide for Amu. They're gently telling her that she doesn't need them anymore, but they'll always be there for her. It's like those really sad moments in movies when they lose somebody they love.
Why am I thinking Nico di Angelo?
Also, I just had to add in some Amuto. You may think Ikuto's forgiving her way too easily after so much hurt she's caused him, but remember. Some people will do anything for those they care about. Besides, to Ikuto, Amu's one of those people that you can't be mad at for long. No matter how hard you try, you can't be angry or hate them because you need them too much in your life.
Anyways, you know the drill. Don't hesitate to tell me about any mistakes you found or what you really thought of this chapter! (And sorry I always ramble in my author's notes!)