Hey guys, it's Anya! How are you all? I've decided that I want to make this a long fanfiction (at least compared to the ten chapter version I could've done) so this will probably sum up to like... 20 chapters or so in total? It may end up being more. So I hope you guys enjoy this, and prepare for a wonderful ride in a car only washed with rain! ;D
Chapter Six
Name: Tsukiyomi Ikuto
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Eyes: Sapphire
Hair: Midnight blue
Everything else: currently unknown
I knew practically nothing about Tsukiyomi Ikuto. Yet, for some reason, I was at his apartment, sitting on his couch. Ryuu-san was out of town for the remainder of the weekend, and my distant father had, unfortunately, found my location. Due to Ikuto's over protectiveness, I was now at his apartment with him, alone.
"You brought pajamas, right?" Ikuto's apartment was small. His kitchen and living room were combined into one room with only a counter to separate them, a lot like my house. There were only two other rooms in his apartment: a bedroom and a bathroom. Ikuto was currently standing in the kitchen part of the room, which was to my left, and he was leaning against the counter.
I froze. Had I brought pajamas? I opened up the duffel bag I had brought with some of my stuff in it, and, much to my horror and dismay, I had brought everything I had needed except pajamas. I normally wasn't one to forget these kinds of things, but considering that I hadn't attended a sleepover for over seven years, I had completely forgotten to pack pajamas.
"I forgot." I answered bluntly, no embarrassment or shame in my voice.
He sighed, "It can't be helped then. You can take a shower first; I'll get some of my clothes for you."
Did he just say… some of… his clothes? I knew that I shouldn't have been all nervous at that time. But the only man I've ever been alone in a house with was my father, and the last time that happened, I ended up at the bottom of a staircase with a concussion and several other injuries. However, since Ikuto was taking me in I didn't want to be picky about everything.
I got up and agreed by saying, "Okay."
There was a small hallway with two doors. One was to Ikuto's room and the other was to the bathroom. I took my chances and opened up the door to my left, luckily for me, it was the bathroom. I quickly undressed and turned on the shower. It took awhile for the water to get warm, so I had to stand outside of the shower for awhile. Once I got inside I drew the curtain and begun my nightly cleansing.
My mind was spinning in all sorts of directions while I took my shower. I had no intention of getting closer to Ikuto. Being acquaintances with him was fine with me. Whatever intentions he might have had would have to be shattered soon enough if I ever wanted peace of mind. I found myself growing to hate love, if that was even possible.
"Amu, can I come in?" Ikuto rasped on the door.
I figured that since the curtain was a dark blue color he wouldn't be able to see me. I replied, "I drew the curtain; it's cool."
The door opened up and I heard Ikuto walk in. "The clothes are clean, be thankful." I thought he was about to leave, but he asked, "Do you want me to take your clothes? I can wash them tomorrow morning along with mine if you want."
I debated the idea a little. If Ikuto washed my clothes it wouldn't be a big deal, right? I replied coolly, "Fine, do whatever you want."
Ikuto picked up my clothes, hopefully leaving my bra and underwear, and left. Once I heard the door shut I sighed with relief. I had sounded so rude to him. I didn't mind sounding apathetic or careless, but I really didn't enjoy sounding rude. Ugh! My heart was in so many places I didn't know what I wanted to believe anymore.
I looked around the shower. The shampoo and conditioner were both neutral scents –midnight breeze, it could be used for men or women— but I stopped when I got to the body wash. I picked it up and looked at it. The body wash was some American brand called Axe. I opened it up and smelt it; it smelt like… like… like nothing I had ever smelt before. It was a luring, seductive scent that made me want to forget all about the world.
"It's just body wash, Amu…" I told myself. I squirt a little bit into my hand and washed myself, not wanting to use Ikuto's sponge.
Once I finished my shower I was glad because the scent of Axe hadn't clung to me. Although I now smelt neutral, my skin was buttery smooth. Men had really good bath products; I was sure to make a mental note of that. I slipped into my undergarments which, thank goodness, Ikuto had left behind. I looked at the clothes that Ikuto had put out for me. He had lent me a long-sleeve dark grey shirt and a pair of black cotton sweatpants. I put on the pants first, they were quite long for me, and I had to pull the strings really tight so they could fit around my waist. As I put on the shirt, though, I was completely overwhelmed.
The scent was intoxicating. It was like the Axe body wash except ten thousand times better. It was a mix of fresh air, midnight breeze, and the Axe body wash all combined into one invigorating aroma. I put the sleeves up to my nose and took a large breath, allowing the scent to fill my nostrils. My entire body relaxed, and I felt so calm and allured that I had no idea what to think—
No, Amu! I scolded myself. No matter how alluring the scent was, I was not letting my guard down. I turned on the sink and splashed my face with cold water a few times, trying to bring myself back to my senses. I looked at myself in the mirror; my eyes were taken over with determination. This time, I was not going to lose! Not that I had ever lost before, but I was still completely determined not to make this my first loss.
I reached for the bathroom door. I then realized something. Why was I so determined? It's not like I was going to fall in love or anything. If I just acted normal, then nothing would happen. Ikuto might try something, probably not though, and if he did all I would have to do was stand my ground and tell him no.
"I'm doing this because…" I whispered to myself. "Because I… I..." I was at a loss for words. Why was I acting this way? "I'm doing this because I'm Hinamori Amu!"
I walked out of the bathroom confidently, the answer wasn't exactly legit, but it satisfied me for the time being. I walked into the living room to see Ikuto lounging on the couch, watching television. Ryuu-san and I didn't have a television in our home; Ryuu-san said that the television was just another way to kill brain cells. Then, she would say that if I had time to watch TV, then I should use that time to study.
I casually sat down on the end of the couch, the one place that his body wasn't covering up. I rested my elbow on the arm rest and then rested my cheek on my palm. I stared at the television, nothing exciting was on. Ikuto was just watching some girl anime about love and such. Honestly, did he have anything else better to do?
"What are you watching?" I asked, sounding uninterested.
He replied with a bored tone, "I don't know. I just turned on the TV and they said they're having a marathon of Shugo Chara reruns."
I raised an eyebrow, although I knew he wasn't paying attention. I decided to change the subject, "Are you going to shower?"
The show switched over to some girly transformation that you see in those magical girl anime. He replied, "I showered this morning."
"Negative Heart: Lock on!" The girl on the television exclaimed, while making a heart shape with her fingers. "Open Heart!"
Ikuto clicked off the television and asked, "Do you want something to eat?"
I looked over at the clock; it said that it was nine twenty-seven. I hadn't eaten since, like, four in the afternoon. I was almost starving.
"What's on the menu?" I asked.
Ikuto got up off of the couch and went into the kitchen half of the room. After looking around for about five minutes he answered, "We have hot dogs, ramen, and potato chips."
"Are you kidding me?" I turned over to see what he was doing. The couch was facing opposite of the kitchen, so I had to turn my entire body around to see him.
"No. Now, what do you want?" He asked.
I grimaced at him. He was what, eighteen? Shouldn't he know how to properly feed himself by now? I began thinking that maybe coming over to his house wasn't such a good idea. Actually, I had never thought that it was a good idea. Somehow he happened to drag me over here.
"I guess I'll have those weird dog things you mentioned." I answered.
"You mean hot dogs?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that."
I never really liked ramen, and I knew that potato chips were nowhere near enough to keep me satisfied for long. Potato chips were nothing but empty calories; they did nothing except make you fat. Now that I think about it, the last time I had junk food was back when I lived with my parents. I didn't eat junk food all of the time, but every once in awhile we would go to a fast food restaurant for lunch or we would eat potato chips while watching a movie, although that didn't happen often. Ryuu-san always told me that I should take care of my body and what I put in it, so I did.
Now that I thought about it, I was always carrying around Ryuu-san's values with me like they were a chain around my neck. They always dominated my thoughts and made me think about what I should or shouldn't do. I suppose it's not necessarily a bad thing, but it somewhat irritated me that I had to follow everything that woman said to a t.
"How many do you want?" Ikuto asked while breaking open a plastic bag filled with these weird stick-shaped things made of what I thought was meat.
"Uh…" I tried thinking. I had never eaten a hot dog before. Were they even filling? "How many are you having?"
"Two," He replied. "Hot dogs don't really fill you up too much."
"Fine, I'll have two, too." I decided.
The hot dogs were finished in about thirty seconds. Each little hot dog was put inside a bun made of bread, and since Ikuto was short on toppings, all we could have on our hot dogs was ketchup. I took a bite into my hot dog after a quick thank you to Ikuto; and boy were they delicious! They were nice and juicy, and the tanginess of the ketchup and the doughtiness of the bun complimented the meat. I chewed slowly, making sure that I enjoyed every last bite of it. I had never had hot dogs before, but I was going to make sure that I had them again.
Ikuto finished his hot dogs quickly. I never really noticed, but most men could eat a meal in thirty seconds flat. I, on the other hand, was only beginning to eat my second hot dog when Ikuto had finished.
"You know, you try to act apathetic and tough, but you're really delicate and vulnerable, aren't you?" Ikuto asked the question out of random.
I tilted my head to the side. I regrettably swallowed whatever bit of hot dog was in my mouth and replied, "What's that supposed to mean?"
I took another bite of hot dog as he spoke. He told me, "You're always acting as though you're made of steel. But the past two times I've met you, you were really… quite the opposite."
I swallowed what I was eating. I retorted, "I have my down times, too. Don't you?"
He sat with his back against the armrest of the couch. He put his left elbow down on the back of the couch and rested his cheek on the palm of his hand. I was sitting the same way, except that my left hand was holding my plate and my right hand was holding my hot dog. He explained, "I meant that you're inconsistent."
My entire body froze. I knew I was inconsistent. I wanted to be loved, yet I didn't want love. I wanted to be open, yet I wanted to keep everything a secret. I wanted to have friends, but I didn't want to be hurt by friends. So I chose the side where I would be the safest, but sometimes my heart would waver. How did he know this?
"I'm very consistent." I told him, afterwards taking what was my last bite of hot dog.
He raised an eyebrow and replied, "Liar."
I took my time chewing, trying to buy myself time. Once my last bit of hot dog was turned into mush, I tried to think of a reply while I swallowed. I closed my eyes pointed out, "Besides, it's none of your business what I do, anyways."
When I opened my eyes, Ikuto was now over me. His face was only about ten centimeters away from mine, and his hands were on either side of me. He said in a seductive voice, "You're wrong. It is my business."
I felt my cheeks turn a light pink color, probably not obvious enough for him to see. I looked at him with an apathetic face and replied, "Sorry, but whom I allow into my life is up to me, and you're not one of them."
"Then who is?" He asked, rather bitterly; his seductive tone was starting to lose its seductiveness.
My heart almost skipped a beat. He had a point. I never let anyone into my life. Somehow, even though Ikuto was a complete stranger, he knew this. Why was my heart so cloudy to others, yet so clear to him? I've only met him twice, and in those times I've never really said anything to him. Sure, once I cried in front of him and once I acted like a scared little girl in front of him, but that didn't really reveal anything, did it?
"No one is." I replied truthfully, my tone a little harsh.
He sighed and went back to the position he had been sitting in earlier. Relief spread throughout my system. He looked at me with a curious look in his eyes while he sat there. I looked straight back at him, except my stare was one of slight irritation.
A smirk spread across his face. "You'll change that soon enough." He told me.
I raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
He gave me a secretive wink and said, "You'll find out soon enough."
My heart beat a little faster at that moment. I had no idea why, but my heart was faltering again. I wanted to know what he meant when he said that I was going to change who I let into my life, but then again… my heart didn't want to have the slightest idea.
Why is Amu's heart wavering so much? Will Ikuto try doing anything to her during their little sleep over? Until next time!
Please review! *w*
