DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Shugo Chara!, nor do I own any of it's characters.
Attractions
~Chapter 7~
Ikuto groaned as he found himself waking up. He could hear the pitter-patter of toddler feet running around, rousing him from his sleep. What time was it again? And when exactly did he fall asleep?
He opened his eyes and sat up on the couch, glaring at the T.V that was spouting some random dialogue from a kids' show. The two 'kids' weren't even paying attention to it. What was the point of this show if it didn't succeed in keeping the children silent?
Grunting slightly, he stood up and stretched, his movements seeming very cat -like. He glanced at the clock and found it was already half past noon. He'd been asleep for half the day. He could have slept in longer.
Ikuto walked into the kitchen, finding Amu with grilled cheese and fries with a side of fruit on plates for the hungry kids. Once she spot the older boy, she raised an eyebrow, grinning a bit.
"So you finally decided to get up," she said, placing a plate of food in front of an empty seat.
Ikuto sat down, knowing that the food was meant for him. "Yeah. When did we fall asleep again?"
Amu laughed, getting her own food and sitting down next to him at the head of the table. "Oh, about 4 am. By the way, Utau already left to her friends' house. She asked me to tell you when you finally rose from the dead."
He scowled at his sandwich, taking a vicious bite out of it. "Whatever."
"Wow, what's up with you, Mr. Grumpy pants?" Amu laughed good naturedly. "Why so sour?"
Ikuto sighed. "Tired."
Rolling her eyes, Amu replied, "You've gotten much more sleep than me. Suck it up!"
Ikuto huffed. "Whatever."
"Amu-nee," the soft voice of Hikaru broke their conversation. "Can I have more fruits?"
Amu smiled softly, motioning for the young boy's plate. "Sure, of course! And you, Ami?"
Ami smiled widely, nodding her head violently up and down.
Her elder sister chuckled, plucking the younger ones' plates off the table and taking them over to the kitchen counter.
Ikuto watched as Amu glided around the kitchen, finding the utensils needed to chop up some fresh fruit, washing them and making sure that nothing was left unattended. Soon enough, the two younger kids' plates were right in front of them. And they immediately started scarfing down the delectable treats.
Amu continued to eat her meal in peace, as if nothing had deterred her from enjoying her food. Ikuto decided that he'd just copy her movements. He enjoyed the simple meal that was prepared by the younger girl, amazed by how great it tasted compared to when his mother made it. For an odd reason, one he had no idea of what it could be, it tasted heavenly; so much better than the cheesy sandwiches that his mother made.
As his head began to clear, Ikuto remembered the happenings of the night before. He remembered that when the clock struck midnight, the girls did this wierd, happy dance and started singing to the song that was heard in the background. Ikuto could only watch in a strangely amused fashion as the two pranced around the room, singing softly, and greatly off key. He knew his sister could sing way better than that... but what about Amu?
Oh, he hoped her talent in singing was much better than she showed that night. It was absolutely horrible.
Things died down after, the two girls getting tired. They all decided that they'd go to bed. Utau had decided that she and Amu would have a little 'sleep over' seeing that that was the only night she'd be in attendence in the Hinamori residence. So, Ikuto was forced to sleep on the couch that night. But, he didn't get to sleep until much later. He'd been rethinking his resolution over and over again. He had wondered just how he would be able to show her how much he really loves- yes, he said loves- her. He didn't know yet, but he was definitely going to show her soon enough. He'd make sure to before anyone else could get to her.
Amu walked through the school's hallways, her thoughts still on that night a week ago. Her parents had gotten back the evening of new years' day. Hikaru was taken back to his home and the Tsukiyomis were just about to leave. Amu was seeing them out as her parents had a couple of things to do. And of course, those things were work related.
"Bye, Amu," Souko said, giving the girl a gentle hug. "We hope you had a good enough time this New Years?"
"Yes, it was very fun," Amu replied politely. "I hope we could spend it like this again next year."
"Of course! That would be wonderful."
She waved good-bye to the adults as they walked towards their car. The only person that was left in her presence was Ikuto. He looked down at her with his deep blue eyes, hair glimmering in the moonlight. After a moment of just staring into each others' eyes, Ikuto gave her a small, genuine smile.
"Good night, Amu," he'd said, leaning down and pressing his lips to her cheek.
A small blush fought its way onto her cheeks as she looked into his eyes, seeing as she really couldn't see anything else for their close proximity. "Good night."
He stood up to his full height and put his hands in his pockets, strolling down the walkway to his car. As he opened the door, he paused to nod to her and show a small smile before slipping in and closing the door behind him. She'd watched the car until it disappeared onto another street.
Amu shook her head, returning to the present as she sat in her desk. She took out her things for her first class and looked out the window when she was done. There were a few minutes until class started and everyone had yet to step into the classrooms. They were all outside, just milling around and talking with all their friends about their vacations and how it went. Amu didn't want to bother with that right now. She just wanted to revel in her thoughts and enjoy the peace of the classroom before the bell rang.
Too bad nothing never really turns out the way she wants it to. The guardians, her group of friends, barged into the classroom as if they knew exactly where she was all along. Amu sighed, knowing that she really couldn't just ignore them. They were the only ones in the classroom and it wouldn't really be very logical if she said she didn't notice them because they basically just blended in with all the commotion already going on around her. After all, no one else was there but them.
"Amu-chi!" Yaya squealed, flouncing her way towards the older girl. "How was your vacation?"
Amu turned around towards the girl and smiled a little. "It was... fun. What about you, Yaya?"
Yaya's eyes brightened up as she relayed all the events that had happened over her break. She'd, apparently, had a really great time with her extended family flying in from all over Japan. A huge family reunion for Christmas and New Years. It's something that Amu would love to attend with her own family. Now, if only they could get into contact with all of them...
"It's great to know that things went well, Yaya," Tadase said, smiling sweetly at her.
Yaya beamed, nodding enthusiastically in agreement.
Things carried on for the next few minutes, each person explaining in brief what they'd done over break. But when it came Amu's turn, said girl panicked a little. She knew that her friends would be demanding every single detail and she really didn't want to deal with Tadase and his dislike for his used-to-be friend, but... well, they'd find out sooner or later. Why hold it off when she could just get it over with?
"My little cousin came to stay with my family and we all spent Christmas and New Years with the Tsukiyomis."
"What!" Tadase yelled just before the bell rang.
Students immediately came pouring in and the teacher made his way in as well. The group disbanded for classes, each going to their own, with knowledge that they would, indeed, be taking part of this conversation later. And by later, it was meant lunch hour.
And Amu was dreading the time she would have to explain her winter break over.
"So, what happeed during break, Amu?" Leave it to Rima to get to the point.
Amu sighed and plopped down beside her friend, looking around at the circle of people with her. They were currently in the 'Royal Garden', enjoying their just beginning lunch break. She knew the time was coming, she knew she'd have to explain. But, well, she didn't think it'd come so fast.
Why is it when she wants something to come quicker, time seems to stand still, yet when she wants something to not come at all, time speeds up in an instant?
"Apparently, our parents are good friends from their highschool days," she began, bringing out her bento and opening the top. "We all hung out for Christmas, and the adults went out for New Years while we stayed at my house. Nothing big."
"Nothing big!" Tadase yells, hopping out of his chair and raising a fist in pure fury. "That theiving cat! He doesn't deserve to be anywhere near you!"
Amu sweat dropped, looking at the odd show before her. Kukai was trying his best to get the 'King' down from his angered high and Yaya just jumped around them, laughing. Nagihiko decided that enough was enough and tried to calm everyone down, but no one was really listening to him. And leave it to Rima to end up calling her servants to wait on her every need. Sighing, Amu stood up and packed up her still uneated lunch.
She'd find somewhere else to eat.
Ikuto kept running away from the mob of crazy fangirls, his face the blank slate it always was. He didn't even look as if he had trouble breathing regularly with the crazed excersize he was receiving. Turning a sharp corner, he hid behind the wall and waited for the girls to pass him by before turning towards the direction he was just running from.
Those girls never seemed to give him a break, he thought. Sighing, he stuffed his hands into his pockets after shifting his schoolbag on his shoulder. Now, where exactly was he going to eat...?
The girls had chased him from the high school section all the way to the elementary school's yard. The schools were connected with paths through the small, miniature forest that seperates them slightly. Having the school's bells rigged to ring at the same times, the students get out at exactly the same time every day, having the same school vacations and everything. That is the advantage of such a small town.
Ikuto knew that he wouldn't be going back to the high school section for lunch today. He'd be crazy to do so. The girls were probably going to be there as well and he'd end up having to run away for the rest of his lunch. He wasn't about to let his free time go to waste.
A flash of pink caught his eye, and he turned towards the tree that was hiding the form of the person that he knew it was. Slowly and quietly, he crept towards the unsuspecting girl. And once he was close enough, he covered her eyes and whispered in a slightly changed voice, "guess who?"
Amu squealed in fright, panicking at the loss of sight and the unseen visitor who crept up on her. But how in the world could he- the voice was to deep to be a girl- have crept up on her with her back to a tree?
All of a sudden, it all clicked. There was only one person who she knew that was this much of a ninja.
"Ikuto, get away from me!" she screamed, trying her best to pry his hands away from her covered eyes.
Said boy chuckled and removed his hands easily from Amu's face. "How'd you know it was me?"
Amu glared at him as he sat down beside her, opening up his bento as well. She just huffed and looked down at her food, picking some up to place it in her mouth with her chopsticks.
"You're the only ninja cat I know."
Ikuto almost choked on his food with laughter.
"What?" Amu asked, sounding (and looking) offended at Ikuto's guffaws and chuckles. "What did I say?"
"Ninja cat?" Ikuto laughed. "Really?"
Her cheeks redened as she registered what she'd said before, finding out just how silly it sounded. "Sh-shut up! You are!"
This only renewed Ikuto's bouts of laughter. She just huffed and sat back against the tree, stuffing her mouth with food grumpily. The only thing she could think, 'stupid jerk.'
Finally, Ikuto's laughter died down. He settled his back against the tree, like Amu, and began eating. It was silent between them for a while before Amu decided that she should speak.
"Why are you here anyways?"
Ikuto glanced at Amu for a second before looking back down at his food. "I was running from fangirls."
Amu sweatdropped. "Of course."
He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
You're just so handsome; who wouldn't chase you? "Nothing," Amu replied, looking down at her food and eating a little more.
Amu's cheeks were a little pink at the thoughts that she'd had. Where in the world had that come from? That was absolutely dreadful! The real question is who would chase him?
Sheesh, sometimes, she thinks that she's going completely bonkers.
"Hm. Yeah, nothing." Ikuto sat back and closed his eyes before finishing his lunch.
The two eat in a companionable silence until the bell rings. And when they depart, they share soft, meaningful smiles.
Ikuto was panicking. As he headed back to his classroom with a clouded mind, he barely registered the fact that he wouldn't make it in time. But he didn't care. Actually, he was thinking of skipping the next class and just attending the last one before he went home. He wouldn't want to be stuck in class with what was going on in his frazzled mind.
Ikuto fought the blush battling to rise to his cheeks. He shook his head and glared at the ground.
What was he thinking?
As he'd parted ways with Amu, thoughts that were surprising to him, that were unsuspectingly different and a little dirty entered his thoughts. He'd never thought up something that... that... he didn't even have the words for it.
It was weird.
It was wrong.
It was oddly sensual.
Ikuto growled, finally reaching the rooftop of his school and flinging his bag onto the ground. Stalking to the edge, he gripped the railing and looked over towards the elementary school.
The things that flitted through his mind... what had gone over him? The second he'd seen Amu's adorable smile, that cute upcurving of her lips, it's like something in him went utterly insane and created the urge to take her into his arms and kiss her.
But not the kind of kiss that he'd given to her over Christmas. No, he was thinking of something more.
The image entered his brain: he'd pull her into him, her eyes slightly widened with surprise and her mouth slightly open. He'd swoop down and bring his lips to hers, enticing a small gasp that he'd use to deepen their kiss. Her knees'd go week, and he would support her with his grip around her petite waist. He'd pull away just for her to take in a breath before he'd capture her lips again and make her feel like she never had before. He'd-
Ikuto slapped his cheek, snapping himself out of his thoughts before they drifted to something... worse.
He shouldn't be thinking like this. He wouldn't! It just wasn't right. She was so young and so new to everything, especially love and relationships. He wouldn't push her; he'd wait. He'd wait forever for her; wait for her to be ready for things like this.
He could do it... right?
~Chapter 7 End~
Heehee, so, how'd you like it? I hope I didn't scare you guys with that last part, but, trust me, it's a huge deal in this plot! It is leading up to something absolutely vital to this story. So, just... hang with it? Hope you all liked it though. I worked hard. :3
This past week has been absolutely crazy, so it's not as long as I'd hope for it to be, but I've already gone back to once a week updates, so, I didn't want to keep this from you guys any longer. Sowwy~
And thank you all soooooooooo much for the reviews! I LOVE YOU GUYS! Have I told you that you are all absolutely amazing? It's because of readers like you that I find motivation to write. :)
And a few answers to reviews: it was supposed to be 'through the distance' for that one line last chapter... I didn't catch the typo. So, I'm gonna fix it. :3 I still don't know how long this story is going to be. I have the basic draft (like I do with all my stories) and I've written down the basic plot. It might be 10-15 chapters though. I'm hoping for twenty, but it might not work out that way. I don't want to drag this out so that everyone gets bored of it, considering that my chapters are a little on the longer side... but i'll try. :)
Once again, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! ^-^ I love you guys! :)
~xXPaintingRealityXx
