I continued to cling onto him like there was no tomorrow, giggling at the statement he had just came out with. I guess he was right but still, did it really not bother him? Hurtful words like that, I know if it was me, I'd never be able to let that go. To be honest though, I've always been quite sensitive. I didn't know if I'd always been like that or developed a strong sensitivity. I know a lot of people in my class at school used to make fun of my vibrant pink hair when I was a kid, maybe that's why. But, although Ikuto didn't go to school and was home schooled by his family...he'd always wait for me outside of the school gates and let's just say anybody who aimed an insult towards me during his appearance, they were brave.

I smiled to myself at all these memories I still had of him as I held onto him, he was here right in front of me and I never thought he would be ever again. He was the same boy who I made snowmen with in the winter, the same boy who played the violin to me before throwing me onto his back for a piggyback ride, the same boy who made me happy. Except, the boy who used to be my best friend wasn't here anymore...the boy I once knew had grown into an adult and if it was even possible, I felt like I cared for him even more. Although Ikuto was 2 years older than me, know that we were no longer kids, I felt as though I actually stood a chance now at protecting him too. When we were kids, it was always him protecting me and doing things for me but now...it could be different, now that he had came back to me.

"Amu!" I heard a voice from behind us call my name, causing me to instantly let go of my grip on Ikuto. I swung around and saw Yaya with one of her friends who I had briefly met before.

As my eyes fell upon Yaya and the girl she was walking with, I couldn't help but notice their eyes were automatically locked on Ikuto who stood behind me. Their eyes totally dismissed me and I could've sworn their bodies were actually tilting around me to get an ever better image of him.

"Yaya?" I asked her, attempting to make her snap out of her sudden trance. After I clicked my fingers, she soon looked at me for the first time since calling my name and I heard Ikuto smirk a little from behind me. Did he like having this kind of reaction from girls?

"Oh Amu, um...I've um-I was looking for you to see um-when you were coming back...home" Yaya said, taking nearly a whole minute to say what she needed to say. She was still entranced by the boy who stood behind me and it was no surprise.

"Me and Amu were just saying goodbye" I heard Ikuto tell Yaya as he appeared in front of me to escape the girls' gaze. I saw him slyly wink at me before he reached out and lay his hand on the side of my face, edging closer to plant a soft kiss on my forehead.

Both of their eyes widened at his sudden kiss and before I knew it, he walked away and disappeared. I knew what he was doing...I couldn't help but lower my head to the ground and smile.

"W-who the hell was that?" Yaya asked, her friends mouth still flung open as if Yaya had asked the question she also wanted an answer to.

"Oh that was Ikuto. He's just...a childhood friend" I said, struggling to tell them what he was to me exactly. What was Ikuto to me? He was my best friend for sure but, what exactly was I to him?

Yaya shook her head in disbelief and crossed her arms, pouting in the process.

"You've been having crushes here and there on Tadase when he's been walking this earth?" Yaya said, giggling after her ridiculous sentence. I rolled my eyes before she took my arm and literally dragged me home with her. Of course her friend followed, I assumed she was probably stopping over tonight. Yaya always had friends stopping over her house and it didn't bother me at all, I just made sure that any boys stopping over were boys who treated her right.

I flopped onto my bed after letting out a huge sigh, exhausted from all of the questions Yaya had been asking me about Ikuto for the whole journey home. It was quite interesting because most of the questions Yaya had been asking me about him, I wandered about him myself.

Where does Ikuto live Amu? Does he like you Amu? Do you like him? Where does Ikuto study Amu? Does he have any brothers or sisters Amu?

It made me sad that most of her questions, I had to answer with 'I don't know'. It really did hurt...he was supposed to be my best friend, the one person I should know a lot about more than anybody really but, the more I thought about it I realised I knew nothing about him now.

"What's wrong with you?"

I turned around to see Ikuto lying on my bed with an innocent look on his face. It annoyed me how mischievous he was; how did he even get here before me?

"Ikuto...we need to talk" I said, causing him to eye me suspiciously. He rested his head on his hand and I was surprised to see him actually awaiting me to speak. Oh god, where do I start...?

"Amu!" I heard Yaya call my name for the 100th time today. Before I could even react, she burst into my room and I froze in my spot, trying my best not to panic.

"I need to ask you something" Yaya said, her mouth curving up into a smile. I couldn't help but look over my shoulder to see an empty bed, no wonder Yaya didn't react...she still didn't know he was here. The question was though...where exactly was he now?

Yaya clicked her fingers in front of my face as I was unresponsive to the conversation she was trying to create with me. She had probably already asked me the question but I was too lost in thought to realise.

"What's up?" I asked her, standing up from where I had been sitting on my bed. She rolled her eyes and smirked at me. What was up with her?

"So are you going to get with the blue haired guy anytime soon? Just wondering because my friend downstairs wants to know" Yaya said, a big black hole of envy and disgust forming inside of me. I really wasn't starting to like that girl. She was interested in Ikuto? Whoa, what a shock.

"Well, I'm kinda asking for me aswell. You see, if you don't go for it then I will" Yaya winked at me, causing me to blush.

As my face turned bright pink, I couldn't help but realise there was a figure hovering above my doorframe, holding onto the side of the wall with all his strength in order to stop himself from falling. He was sniggering, holding his hand over his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from laughing out loud. Ikuto, you really are a jerk sometimes...

"U-um Yaya, I-I don't know just...go please" I said, shoving her out of my room. She continued to snigger at the comment she had made and I soon slammed the door behind her.

I leaned against the door and sighed, seeing a shadow overcast me and a loud thud. Ikuto had jumped down from his hiding place above the door and I couldn't help but avoid eye contact with him. I just knew, he would have a huge playful grin on his face and I was already bright pink as it was.

I plucked up the courage to finally face him and his expression was all that I was expecting. He looked pale and his expression remained blank the whole time I looked at him. What really made me worry though; was the fact that his eyes were no longer blue. It was like the colour had gradually faded from his eyes and they had turned into a lifeless grey colour. He didn't seem himself either, he looked rather fragile from his normal state.

"Ikuto...are you okay?" I asked, hoping to god I actually got an answer out of him this time. He was really starting to scare me now. Before I knew it, he collapsed and I tried my best to catch the whole of his weight within my arms. He wasn't really heavy but the fact he was much larger than me made it difficult. I started to panic after I placed him on my bed and saw that he was totally out of it. He was unconscious and I had no idea what to do. I reached out and placed the back on my hand on his head to see if he had a fever but as expected, his skin was ice cold as usual. I sat down next to him and wandered if it was something I did that made him suddenly so weak...no, I couldn't think of anything...

He looked so vulnerable and fragile, it was killing me to see him like this. That's when I thought...maybe, he was weak because he hadn't eaten in a while...

Did he need...blood?