School has started back up and I'm trying to crack down on a cosplay so my apologies for the delay! My goal is one chapter a month, but my updating habits are volatile so we'll seee.


The following afternoon I got ready to head over to Ikuto's house. I dressed slowly, trying to mentally prepare myself for how I was going to approach him about yesterday. I wasn't sure why I was so nervous, but I was feeling more worked up over it by the minute.

"Are you okay, Amu-chan?" Ran asked as I was fiddling with my shoelaces.

I pulled the strings tightly. "Yeah… Just worried about talking to Ikuto," I explained even though I was sure they were already well aware. "Wonder if there is something really wrong?" I asked myself more than them.

"Well that's why you're gonna ask him," Suu stated the obvious in a reassuring tone.

"Or maybe everything is fine and you're just being obsessive," Miki added a moment later.

I shot her a look. "Not helpful, Miki."

Dia flew up to me then, grabbing my attention. "There's no point in troubling yourself over it until you figure out what's actually happening. Something could very well be wrong with him, but it could also be nothing that serious. Regardless of which one it is, you shouldn't dwell on it too much, not until you see him, at least," she advised me. She was right, as always, but putting my concerns from my mind was easier said than done. I'd have to try though, long enough to get passed my mom, anyways.

I headed down stairs a few minutes later. The weather was overcast so I was planning on simply walking over, but when I told my mom where I was going her interest was piqued.

"What are you going over to Ikuto-kun's for?" She asked, pausing the TV and turning to face me.

I had to make my errand sound as uninteresting as possible to try and deter her. "He forgot his phone with me yesterday, and I told Utau I'd drop it off today," I explained in a dull tone as if I had no desire to go, even though I was itching to dash out the door.

My mom wore a puzzled expression. "How unusual for someone to forget something important like a cell phone," she questioned. It seemed like no one was convinced by the excuse Ikuto had given. "Well, I'd be happy to drive you. Ami is out with your father right now so it'll just be the two of us," she said with a small smile.

This was what I was trying to avoid. The last thing I wanted was for my mom to be there while I was trying to look into Ikuto's behavior. Worse, there was a good chance at least one of his parents would be there, which could be endless trouble. "Um, you really don't have to. It's not like they live far away," I told her.

She obviously chose to ignore my response because she clicked the TV off and rose from the couch. "It's really no problem at all! Maybe I'll even get a chance to meet the rest of his family," she giggled happily about what I was dreading and I sighed, knowing her decision was made.

We drove to their house at around 3 o'clock, the grey clouds casting a weary atmosphere over everything. I was contemplating how I was going to ask Ikuto about how he had been acting the day before, and if it was even worth bringing up again. I mean, like Miki had said, maybe it was me making a big deal out of nothing. Sometimes people just had bad days, no matter how positive they usually were, so I didn't necessarily have to make a big deal out of it. And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

"I still think you should ask him," Dia interjected my thoughts. "If you don't, you might spend your entire vacation worrying about it," she counseled. She had a point there, I definitely didn't want to have to pretend everything was okay while trapped with my family for a week. I didn't reply, but I was more determined to investigate now.

When we arrived, I made one final attempt to keep my mom from interfering. "Are you sure you don't want to just wait in the car for me? I should only be inside for a few minutes," I asked, even as she was already unbuckling herself.

"Nope, nice try though," she winked at me as she exited the vehicle. Apparently I had been too obvious. I followed after her, trudging up the sidewalk beside her.

"Please try not to be too weird, at least," I requested, knowing there was no way to stop her from coming with me.

She lightly knocked on the door and turned to me. "You think I'd intentionally embarrass you?" She asked. I didn't think she'd ever try to on purpose, but unintentionally was a whole different story.

"No, just... " I wasn't sure what to say, 'Please don't act like a mom,' seemed too harsh, but I heard delicate footsteps approaching the door and decided to leave that thought where it was. When the door opened, we were greeted by Souka.

"Oh, hello Amu-chan, and I assume your mother?" She smiled at me and then turned to my mom.

I had no doubt that Souka had guessed who she was by how uncomfortable I appeared, but my mom's face lit up. "Please, call me Midori," she greeted with excitement.

Souka nodded. "Come on inside," she said, gesturing for us to enter, and I shuffled in behind my mom. "My name is Souka, I'm Ikuto and Utau's mother," she explained. "Ikuto told me you'd be dropping off his cell phone around this time. He and his father stepped out this morning, but they should be back any minute if you don't mind waiting for them," she said, taking a seat at the living room table. As much as I wanted to see Ikuto, I was prepared to throw the phone on the table and drag my mom out with me.

"We don't mind waiting at all," my mom spoke for me, now rooted in a chair at the table and I knew we'd be stuck here until the two of them returned. I unwillingly took a seat beside her, accepting what fate had laid out for me. At the very least, I had a little bit of time to prepare for what had seemingly become a family get together. But it was difficult to concentrate with my mom fawning over Souka as she was.

"Wow, you look so much like your daughter! I can see where she gets her good looks from," she gushed, and I groaned.

Souka blushed and thanked her, and the two of them chatted about there kids and husbands like they'd known each other for years. It was almost scary how well they were hitting it off. I guess my mom didn't have a lot of girlfriends, and it would seems Souka didn't either, so they must have found some comfort in each other's company.

"They are quite the talkative bunch," Ran pointed out as we watched them interact. I nodded, wondering how grave of a mistake I had made when I allowed my mom to come with me.

"I think it's lovely seeing two people get along so easily," Suu chimed in, ever the optimist.

I guess it was a little nice, but I was still skeptical of the trouble it would get me into.

"So, Midori, what do you do for a living?" Souka asked curiously.

"I'm a writer," my mom answered.

"Wow! What an amazing job," Souka said excitedly and my mom tried to wave her off.

"Oh, it's nothing really, I just right for a local magazine, not too crazy," she said modestly.

Souka shook her head. "No, that really incredible. I'd love to read some of your work, you'll have to tell me the name of the publisher you work for so I can look you up," she said.

My mom looked like she was trying to remember something. "Well, I might actually have some in my car, if you're interested," she explained.

"Yes, definitely!" Souka nodded enthusiastically. My mom jumped up at the opportunity to share her writing and dashed to the door. I sighed and slumped into my chair, I couldn't believe this was happening.

"Oh! Ikuto-kun," I heard my mom exclaim in surprise when she opened the door. I straightened up and turned around to see Ikuto and Aruto standing in the doorway.

"Welcome home," Souka called out. My mom moved out of their way so they could come inside.

"Hello, Mrs. Hinamori, I wasn't expecting to see you here," Ikuto said politely.

"Oh, Amu's mother?" Aruto asked with interest and my mom nodded.

"I'm Midori, it's wonderful to meet you," she said with delight.

"And yourself," Aruto responded cheerfully. The two of them continued to chat by the doorway while Ikuto made his way over to me.

"You brought your mom to drop off my phone?" He ask with an amused expression.

I exhaled with exasperation. "She offered to drive me," I told him.

"You could have said no," he pressed.

"Trust me, I tried," I explained.

"Clearly not that hard," he said with a chuckle.

I narrowed my eyes at him. He was already getting on my nerves even though he'd barely walked through the door. "I have half a mind to keep your phone, idiot."

"Need more time to snoop through it?" He said without missing a beat and I heard Souka giggle beside me.

"So, Amu, what brings you here today?" Aruto asked, interrupting our banter before I could come up with a response. I huffed at Ikuto, but at least he seemed to be back to normal today.

"This one forgot his phone with me yesterday," I said, throwing it towards Ikuto in hopes that it would hit him, but he caught it with precision.

Aruto chuckled. "Eh, really? It's not like you to misplace your stuff, how convenient," he said, turning to Ikuto. Ikuto just stared him down, and it almost seemed like his dad was poking fun at him. "Well, thank you for going out of your way to return it," Aruto said gratefully.

I nodded, just now noticing the musical instruments the two of them were carrying. "Where were you guys?" I asked.

"Playing down at the street fair, there are usually quite a few people there early in the morning," Aruto explained. "You should come see us play sometime!" He added a second later. "Ikuto told me you and your family are going out of town for a few days, but we have some shows scheduled through the next two weeks if you're interested once you return," he suggested. I was a little surprised when he mentioned me going on vacation because I didn't remember telling him about it. I wondered just how much Ikuto told his dad about me.

"Souka, I found them!" I heard my mom say, and she appeared from the doorway waving around a few copies of her journal. I hadn't even noticed her leave. Souka rose from her seat and ushered my mom into a room that looked like an office down the hallway, presumably to keep our banter from reaching them as they read over her writing. Ikuto creased his brow, looking a little confused.

"Have they met before?" He asked me, and I shook my head.

"Nope, first time," I said, and yet they were laughing and chattering like sisters. Even Aruto appeared a bit perplexed, but there was happiness mixed in with it. "But yeah, I think I'd like that," I replied after a moment. I was sure the two of them playing together would be an almost magical experience.

"Great, we'll reserve a special seat for you," Aruto said with a grin, although I was fairly certain they had open seating at the street fair. Then he put a thoughtful finger to his chin. "Actually," he started, turning to Ikuto. "Didn't you get Amu something from one of the vendors today?" He asked and I tilted my head.

"Huh? For me?" I inquired. I wonder what compelled him to do that.

Ikuto gave his dad an irritated look, but he also appeared a little flustered, to my surprise. "Jeez, dad, is there anything else you want to throw out there while you're at it?" He asked sarcastically.

Aruto laughed at his remark. "Was that a serious request?" He teased, and Ikuto shoved his violin into the older man's chest.

"Why don't you be useful and put these away," he said, clearly annoyed.

Aruto just chuckled again, taking the violin from him. "Looks like I embarrassed him," he said, leaning towards me as he walked by, but Ikuto's aggravated expression confirmed he had still heard every word.

I couldn't help but grin. "I didn't think there was anything that could embarrass you," I confessed. It was such an unusual expression to see on him, but it was endearing.

Ikuto just shook his head. "I wish he'd go missing again," he said keenly, reaching into his back pocket.

"I heard that!" Aruto's voice carried from the hallway and Ikuto rolled his eyes.

"Here," he said, offering me a small package.

I reached out and carefully took it from him. It was wrapped in parchment paper and tied up with some fraying string. "Ah, should I open it now?" I asked, not having expecting a gift upon my visit. Ikuto shrugged, digging his hands into his pockets. My charas gathered around me as I delicately tugged at the twine and pulled the paper apart, revealing what looked like a keychain. When I lifted it from the paper, I realized what it actually was. "Oh– a phone charm!" I said in awe, examining it further. It had three stars on it, two silver and one gold. It was such a simple trinket, but the gesture alone brought color to my face.

"It's to replace the one you lost at the beach a little while ago. I couldn't remember exactly what you had before, but I saw it and it seemed like a good place to start," he explained casually.

I turned it over in my hands, the small metal charms clinking against each other. "Thank you, this was actually really thoughtful," I said honestly, but he still looked flustered. All my charas swarmed around my hand and inspected it, Dia was particularly interested in the glistening stars.

I looked at him, waiting for a response, but he just pursed his lips and avoided my eyes. He had no trouble showing his affection through things like teasing, but giving gifts always seemed to be a bit outside of his comfort zone. I wasn't sure what else to say, but I realized his lack of response gave me the opportunity to ask him about yesterday. And with both of our parents absent, I knew this would likely be my only chance.

I placed the charm back into the paper and folded it together. "Hey, so I've been meaning to ask you," I started, and his expression shifted to one of curiousity. "Yesterday, you were acting kind of, distant, I guess, like there was something on your mind… Are you sure everything is alright?" I asked, and then averted my gaze. "I don't mean to pry into every detail of your life, it just bothered me to see you looking like that," I added, turning my attention back to him. I was hoping to see a sly grin accompanied by something like 'Aw, you were that worried?'. Instead, for half a heartbeat, he looked apprehensive. Like his thoughts were at odds. But I blinked and he had already reverted back to his usual self.

"I hope you weren't up all night worrying about me," he said, as I was expecting he would. However that brief hesitation had me uneasy.

I crossed my arms and gave him an irritated look. I wasn't going to back down. I didn't say anything in hopes that he would understand I was being sincere. He waited for me to counter for a few seconds before his grin faded and he sighed.

"You've gotten better at holding your ground," he pointed out, and I felt a small sense of triumph. He crossed his arms and shifted on his feet. "If you must know, I've just been mulling over the future, nothing all that serious," he disclosed.

I was relieved he had finally confessed, but his somber expression from before led me to believe it was at least somewhat serious. And his vague answer left me feeling like I had taken a drink from an empty glass; like it was only half an answer. I now had a dozen other questions, like what exactly was he thinking about and if he wanted to talk it over, but Aruto popped out from around the corner right as I was preparing to investigate further.

"The atmosphere in here is so serious, what on earth are you two talking about?" He asked, and Ikuto's expression quickly changed to one of irritation again.

"Just about how I can't wait for you to disappear again," he jabbed at his father who simply laughed at his comment and slung and arm around his shoulders.

At the same time, my mom and Souka appeared from the office, laughing happily as they made their way over to us.

"How do you like your gift, Amu? It seemed a little plain to me, but Ikuto said it had some sort of significance," Aruto remarked.

I nodded and opened my mouth to reply, but my mom beat me to it.

"Oh, a gift, from who? Ikuto?" She deduced correctly. Why did parents have to be so nosy. I reopened the package and showed it to her.

"I lost my phone charm at the beach and never got around to replacing it, so he got this for me," I explained, slightly flustered, but I tried to be objective about it.

My mom examined it briefly and then returned it. "Wow, Ikuto, that was so kind of you," she said with enthusiasm.

"Ikuto has always been such a giver," Souka added, bringing a hand to her chest. I looked at Ikuto and he had regressed to his aloof attitude, obviously not used to all this attention. I decided I'd do him a favor despite knowing he'd never rescue me from a situation like this.

"Mama, we should get going, Ami and Papa will be getting home soon," I reminded her, having no clue what time they were actually supposed to get home.

But it seemed to work. "Oh, right, I got so distracted! Sorry, Amu-chan," she said, turning to Souka and Aruto. "It was such a pleasure to finally meet you both. I hope we can get to know each other more," she said, and they kindly agreed. "And I'm sure I'll see you around, Ikuto-kun. Thanks for always looking out for Amu," she said, wrapping her arm around my shoulder tightly.

"Mama!" I blushed, and everyone but myself laughed.

"Thank you for stopping by, Amu. Have a safe and enjoyable trip with your family," Souka said with a smile.

"Send Ikuto lots of picture so we can see what it's like in Sapporo! We've never made our way up there before," he said, clapping a hand on Ikuto's shoulder that he reluctantly left alone.

"I'll see you when you get back," Ikuto said, looking as sick of his parents as I was of mine. I nodded in agreement, and we left. Although I was feeling somewhat reassured knowing what had been bothering Ikuto, I was left worrying over what exactly about the future was troubling him, and why his response seemed to be missing something. Aruto's timing in interrupting us was almost as precise as Ikuto's tended to be. I decided that I'd try to put it from my mind for the next few days, a part of me hoping that the issue might resolve itself. But if he was still acting abnormal when I got back, I'd convince him to tell me more.


I feel like the flow of this chapter… is weird… Like there are gaps in it that I couldn't figure out how to fill. But at least it's shorter than the last few chapters, right? Lol

Confession: I live for flustered Ikuto. It's such a rare sight and you just know he would only show that side of himself to a select few people (namely, Amu), and I love that idea so much. I feel like especially now that Easter no longer has it's hold on Ikuto and his dad is back, he would be able to loosen up a bit, and feel just comfortable enough to be a little vulnerable every now and again.

And I know that a star charm might be a little basic, but I didn't want to do a key/lock/cross/heart/other overused symbol. Plus, they are kind of connected via the stars no matter how far apart they are, which is cute hehe.