The Rise of a New Superhero
Yay, an update! Honestly, I wasn't planning to update for another month or so. School has started and will be really hectic. I'm putting off school work to write...mostly because I reallyyy don't want to do the school stuff and I'm still stuck in vacation mode.
Anyway, updates will be going a lot slower now. So sorry!
This chappy was supposed to include more, but I think it'll be around two to three more chapters before the first part of this story is complete! (The next story will be, A Catgirl's Disguise)
10+ reviews before the next update
But my thoughts were interrupted by the source of all my problems- Tanaka.
"Well, turning to the matter of the abnormal X egg..."
"Ugh, what now?!"
Chapter 10: A New Bodyguard
"Well?" I tapped my finger impatiently along the handle of the cup, waiting for an answer. "What on Earth do I have to deal with now?"
Ikuto shot Tanaka a furtive narrowed glance, before shoving the seat backwards as he stood up. The suddenness of his motion must have caused my intense gaze to soften slightly, because Tanaka breathed out a sudden sigh of relief.
"It's nothing much Amu." Ikuto interrupted. "He just wanted to explain what had happened."
But I wasn't so easily convinced.
"Really, Amu. I told you before, we had talked through everything before when you were still asleep." He turned to Tanaka and at his signal, the auburn haired boy spoke.
"Th-that's right." Liar. Not that I said anything to show them my suspicions.
"As you know, the X egg had dealt Mr. Tsukiyomi a nearly fatal blow. You might have been wondering why he was able to recover."
"Well…" Of course I'm curious! "I guess it wouldn't hurt to know."
From the corner of my vision, I saw Ikuto rolling his eyes at me with his arms crossed. He leaned against the wall as casually as ever while Tanaka explained.
"Normally, if that had been any X egg, Tsukiyomi-san would have died. It was a really close call." I flinched a bit at the words. The experience had been too real.
"Senpai, if you had actually given in to the X egg's Dark Sin attacks completely…" His voice made me feel uneasy and I interrupted before he could finish the thought.
"I know, I would have turned evil right? That's what the attack does. It turns our heart's eggs black." I had attempted a light tone but somehow, the words were strained.
"Yes, and Tsukiyomi-san would have died."
Damn it. When did it get this cold? I rubbed my hands against my arms, trying to ease away the goosebumps that had formed on my skin. After a few moments of silence, I finally spoke.
"And…why did his wounds heal afterward? I mean, not that I'm not glad…" My voice trailed off. My throat got dry just at the repeated thought of Ikuto's near death. Ikuto, my perverted alley cat near death.
"My perverted alley cat?"
Oh…crap. So much for my voice trailing off.
"Ehem." Ikuto's gaze was intense as ever and though he was leaning on the wall behind me, I was absolutely certain he was smirking that infamous smirk of his again. "I…I m-meant I d-don't understand how your injuries could heal because whenever I had battles with X eggs, all the damage done by them would still be there after I purified them."
"Yes, that is curious."
Yet even with Tanaka continuing the conversation, Ikuto's gaze was no less fervent. My heart raced as quickly as ever and the cold sweat that had broken out did not cease. I pressed my clammy palms together, trying to dull down the blush that must have been playing on my face.
"But I believe that it is specifically because this X egg is different. Special in a way. This X egg wasn't naturally transformed into an X egg. It was forced under certain conditions, much in the same way that Dark Sin forces heart's eggs to go bad. The egg never wanted to hurt anyone to begin with and it didn't naturally turn into an X egg. So when you, Hinamori-senpai, helped to purify it, the injuries disappeared."
"I don't think the other X eggs want to hurt anyone either…" I couldn't imagine any of my classmate's heart's eggs actually wanting to harm others.
"No, of course not, but they were not forced into X eggs."
"Some of them were…" I muttered. "Like by Nikaidou-sensei when he was part of Easter."
"Nikaidou-sensei as in your homeroom teacher?!" Tanaka suddenly jolted up, looking alarmed. "Maybe he's joined the mafia now? Maybe he's the one who leaked information about your address?"
"Calm down, kid." I lazily swept a hand, motioning for him to sit. "It's old news. All water under the bridge now. Sensei is good now."
"Yo, kid." A low snarl emerged from behind me. "How do you know that Nikaidou is Amu's homeroom teacher?"
I spun around to face Ikuto. His expression was dark. His dark blue hair stood on end, as if he had spiked it and for a second I thought a hiss would escape his mouth.
"E-Eto…" Tanaka's trembling voice and deep blush blew away all the suspicions I might have had about him. He just seemed too innocent.
"Ikuto, we can trust him." I heaved, before turning back to face my – cross that – I mean, the feral little blue cat. Well, maybe not so little, but he does resemble a cute little cat sometimes, neh?
I gave him a slight smile, hoping to convince him that Tanaka is in fact someone we could trust, and hopefully to gain even more information from.
"Maybe, but I don't trust him over other things Amu." His expression darkened again, before he finally breathed out a sigh.
"Eh? What do you mean?" Somehow, I didn't like that look on Ikuto's face. He had always been this dark and mysterious figure, cold and distant. Up until I had started to get to know him, did I see that childish and playful side of him – the Yoru side of him. And now, it seemed like he was reverting back to the old him. The one I didn't know and didn't understand. The one who worked only for Easter and always seemed too serious to care about anything else other than his job. "Ikuto…are you alright?"
"I meant, over you."
"…Me?" As always, he managed to confuse me to no end. And then I caught on. "Wait…me?!" I could feel a warm sensation racing across the surface of my body, lighting up everywhere. If my arms and legs could blush, this would be the moment it would do so.
I nearly choked on my own saliva as I suddenly found it incredibly difficult to breath normally. Air was only available to me in short stifled gasps. My body had already begun its usual reaction before I could even fully register what was happening, or rather what wasn't. Hyperventilating, I could already imagine Ikuto's teeth lightly nibbling my ears – his arms clutching me against my stomach in a backwards hug.
All of these things, which I suddenly noticed, that he normally would be doing but was not doing.
"Amu…" Oh goodness, I could feel my face light up a whole new shade of red at his husky voice. And no! I'm not saying that I was getting embarrassed at getting caught in the middle of these thoughts or just at the sound of his incredibly sexy voice…Gods no! I mean…I mean…
"Amu…" Oh Lord. What was I even thinking about again?
"Ikuto, you pervert!" AHH! How on EARTH does he do that?
"Eh? I was just trying to get your attention. You seemed to be in some daze. Tanaka was just explaining how my injuries might have healed because after the egg had given off some sort of evil aura when it had been embedded into my body, the Dumpty Lock must have cleaned it out of my system."
"R-right."
"Anyway, the point is. You cannot ever let the X egg corrupt you." Tanaka spoke up. "The Lock bearer must not turn evil, otherwise our means of purifying the eggs are gone."
"But I thought that the giant X egg is gone. There aren't any other X eggs that can do attacks like that."
"Well that's true but – "
"You're exactly right Amu." For some reason, Ikuto seethed the words through clenched teeth. He glared at Tanaka so fiercely, that the boy cowered back into his seat.
"Wait, but what Tanaka?"
"Yes, Tanaka, tell her." Ikuto glowered down at the boy who would not meet his eyes.
"Y-yes…w-well I-I had m-meant to t-talk to you a-about the uhh…"
"The …what?"
"The uhh…" He twiddled his thumbs between his folded hands. His arms were resting above the table. "The uhhh...Oh, the Lock and Key!"
His expression suddenly lit up and he raised his head to look at me.
"What about it?" I snorted, drumming my fingers along the table top. "And what are you doing here again? I don't remember inviting you over." Or Ikuto, not that I was particularly complaining about it.
"Now don't be so hard on the Jedi boy."
"What the – …" I cocked my head to the side, staring at Ikuto curiously. He was watching Tanaka with a smirk. "What the heck is a Jedi boy Ikuto?"
Before he could even answer, Tanaka drew out an object from his pockets. It was the same silvery gleam I had seen in the sunlight earlier that day…
"GUN!" I almost fell out of my chair and grabbed onto the corner of Ikuto's shirt. From where Tanaka was sitting, he'd have a direct shot at me and Ikuto.
THUMP!
We fell hard against the ground. I had just managed to pull the seemingly calm teen down with me before Tanaka could fully retrieve his weapon.
"Amu…" Ikuto's voice from beneath me signaled for me to open my eyes. In the split second we had fallen, I had managed to shield him from above. The moment I opened my eyes, my breath was knocked out of me just by that look in his deep azure eyes. He swept his tongue across his lips and his half lidded lazy expression sent an inexplicable shiver through me. His moist lips parted slightly and curved up into a small smile. And then he spoke, breathing every syllable across my flushed cheeks.
"If you wanted me, all you had to do was ask."
"W-what?!"
"Unless you like it when I'm defenseless." He shrugged mildly, the motion causing me to trail my gaze up to my hands which had somehow to my utter embarrassment (though when is it ever anything else around him), managed to pin him down at his wrists.
"I-I-I…" Damnit Amu! Where's that ability to speak of yours?
"H-Hinamori – senpai!" Tanaka's shocked tone caused me to jolt upright and somehow regain the ability of language we too often take for granted.
"Y-you PERVERT! I was trying to protect you, you idiot!"
He brushed himself off and rose from the ground and looked at me strangely, before a full smile found its place upon his mouth. "It's a good thing we invited Mr. Jedi here to act as a witness to our love huh?"
"What?"
"So that he can let the others know of course. Those silly fanboys of yours for example."
"Huh? What the heck, love? What are you talking about? And what the heck is a Jedi?!" I placed my arms on my hips and tapped my foot expectantly. I had just saved Ikuto from getting shot and here he was going on again with that ridiculous Jedi thing again. Wait…shot from a gun…GUN!
"He means this." I turned to face Tanaka who now held out the gleaming handle in his hand proudly and before I could run over to him and knock it out of his hands, Ikuto kept me there by placing his arms on my shoulders. He folded his arms over the top of my chest, causing a new wave of heat to rise from my face as I suddenly became very self conscious of my unimpressive body.
Not that I should care, but…
"See?"
"I…I don't get it." Cool and Spicy disguised the internal nervousness I was fighting with.
"God Amu. Don't you know anything about American culture?" Ikuto pulled away, much to my relief and…dare I say…disappointment. Yes, I was actually disappointed the pervert didn't have his hands on me anymore. Ugh, I'm turning into just as big of a pervert as he is.
Not trusting myself to speak, I simply shook my head.
"Star wars! How can you not know Star wars?" The teen seemed utterly exasperated. Groaning, he dropped his head into the palm of his hand.
"Well how should I know. It's not like I live there Ikuto, like Tanaka had. I never took you to be such a big fan of it or…anything really." Somehow, it amused me to see Ikuto so excited about something. He had always been distant about everything for the most part. And only in those rare moments did I see the side of him that cared a lot about something, like when he played the violin. It was moments like these that made me feel more connected to him as a person. He wasn't just an enemy who got his job done – he was a person first. A person who had his own likes and dislikes, interests and hobbies.
It was at these times that made me feel a little less guilty for falling for a supposed enemy…because he was a person before all else. God, if that was true, what a cruel fate to play out – to have me fall in love with such a pervert!
Not that I admit that I am in love with him, but I won't rule out the possibility that I might just have a tiny thing for him.
"A Jedi is like a futurist knight of sorts."
"Yes! They believe in the same values. It's about upholding justice and to stand up for good. Plus…" Tanaka's eyes seemed to flare with excitement. "they get to wield a really really awesome weapon that has a laser beam as its blade."
"That's why you want to be a Jedi?"
"Why else Tsukiyomi-san?"
He groaned, yet again.
"Well, for the sake of Jedi beliefs, I will help you protect Hinamori-senpai. I am volunteering to be another bodyguard."
"No thanks. You won't be able to do much anyway." Agreed. He was probably more trouble than anything else. And seeing how Tanaka was ready to reply, I tried to distract him.
"Um…so Jedis come from a movie? Doesn't that mean that they're…not real?" I felt a slight nudge from Ikuto and turned to see him shake his head slightly in warning.
"Don't be ridiculous! How DARE you insult the principles of Jedi er… knighthood? Of course Jedis are real! If batman and catgirl can be real, then why can't Jedis?"
"O…kay." I gulped uneasily at the sudden fire that surrounded Tanaka. Was this another Tadase-kun in the making? "Eep. Tadase-kun!"
"What about the Kiddy King?" A threatening growl made its way to my ears.
I fumbled through my pockets, not entirely attentive. "I gotta let him know about all of this!"
Suddenly, I felt a hand against my wrist pulling my hand out of my pockets.
"Forget about him Amu."
"But I have to tell him!"
"Yo, Jedi kid. Get out of here." Ikuto's tone was soft and though he tried to control it, I could hear the tremble in his voice. "I've got some things to settle with Amu first."
"But, we haven't even begun to discuss about the Lock and Key or about what we're going to do about the mafia! And where will I live? I thought you said it was okay for me to crash here with you guys."
"Crash here with us?" I tugged my hand away, but his grip was steady. "What does he mean us Ikuto? Were you planning to tell me that you were going to stay over? And what gives you the right to invite other people into my home?"
I glared at him, feeling an anger boil up inside of me that I had never had for him before. He had always been presumptuous – always getting too close, shamelessly invading my personal space, always inviting himself to things he clearly did not have a place in (like say, my balcony in the middle of the night, or to that party), but never before had I actually been angry at him for all those things, even if I pretended to be.
"Do you think it's okay to make yourself at home just because my family is gone? You're perfectly fine with going against my parents wishes and rules just because they're not here at the moment?"
"Amu." His grip loosened and I took this opportunity to pull away completely.
"Don't 'Amu' me. Just because they're gone, doesn't mean that they don't live here anymore! So just do me a favor and respect their rules. Just get out of here, both of you."
"Hinamori-senpai, Tsukiyomi-san is only doing this for you."
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Really. He said that now that your family was kidnapped, he'd have to protect you better."
"That's enough kid."
"But that's what you said! And Hinamori-san is actually getting mad because of it!"
"That's enough, we're leaving. Now."
"Wait, is that true?" Ikuto was already heading out the kitchen door, but I managed to catch his hand. His figure seemed so much bigger from the back. It was so cold and uninviting.
"Look, I just thought it'd be a good idea to stay here since you were going to be home alone with the mafia on the loose. But I guess I won't be acting as a body guard anymore." He tugged his hand away from me and in that instance, I could feel everything crumbling apart. It was as if he had been keeping everything together for me all this time and I hadn't even known it. My crutch, my last support was slipping through my fingers because I had once again misunderstood his kindness…
He pressed a hand to the door with his back still facing me as he spoke. "You can call the Kiddy King now if you want. I won't be stopping you. I'm sure he'll be more than glad to protect you." With those final words, he swung open the door and slipped through.
"Excuse me. I will be going now too then." With a slight nod, Tanaka followed after him.
I slumped against the ground, half dazed with my knees completely weak. Ikuto's elusive image lingered in my mind, teasing me like an intangible dream. Everything had been just a dream. The only sign of Ikuto ever having been in this same room with me, helping me through these confusing times was the swinging of the door.
I could feel the tears welling up, giving a physical form to the mix of emotions overwhelming my body. How the heck does this happen to someone in the 6th grade? How the heck did I get involved with so much crap in my life? How did I manage to lose all my friends and family within just a few days?
And what the hell was wrong with me for pushing away the last person who wanted to help?
"Ikuto!" Standing was difficult, but I mustered all the strength I could. Lately I had become a complete mess. I've been weak. All I've done was cry and wait to have someone put the broken pieces together for me – someone named Ikuto. So what if I had a little problem with the mafia? So what if school life is miserable? I can't possibly expect Ikuto to constantly be there for me if I can't even stand up on my own.
Even if I wanted help, I had to be strong enough to deserve it.
"IKUTO!" My body hovered unsteadily but before I lost balance, one leg planted itself against the ground to prop me up, and then the other. Left, right, left, right. What had seemed like such a struggle a few seconds ago became automatic and the muscles in each leg pumped forward, pressing me ahead. Until finally, my blurry vision caught a glimpse of Ikuto's familiar figure, slightly slumped as he slipped his hands into his pockets.
"Don't go." My hand moved on its own, grabbing onto his black school jacket. He tried to ignore me and took another step forward. A sharp jab of pain shot through my heart as a very heavy realization hit me. Ikuto was not coming back to me this time.
"I don't want him to protect me." My words escaped between sniffles as I fought the onslaught of tears threatening to spill from my face. The piece of cloth that had been slipping between by fingers suddenly lay limp. He stopped walking. He didn't turn around, but I knew he was listening.
"I want you to protect me Ikuto." My last ounce of courage was drained from me and my knees buckled as I finally let my tears gush out like an endless fountain. "I…I'm s-s-sorry ab-b-bout b-b-be-"
"Shh Amu." He pulled me close, supporting my weight with his arms and pressed my head against his dry shirt. "That's all I wanted to hear from you."
"W-w-what?" I blubbered incoherently.
"That you want me to protect you Amu." He pushed me a little away from him to give me a good look. Dropping one hand from my back, he brought it to my face and wiped away the tears. The warmth of his hand and the softened expression in his eyes calmed my hiccups and dried my tears.
I dug my head against his chest, sniffing his scent as my breathing returned to normal. My heart threatened to beat straight out of me, but I held onto him tightly, sinking into every second of this utter bliss of being in his arms. I was sure he could feel my racing heartbeat, but I didn't care.
After a few seconds of silence, standing in the middle of the hallway in each other's arms, he spoke. "Amu, in what way do you want me to protect you?"
"Hm?" I asked dreamily.
His voice lost its usual confidence, and he spoke his words cautiously at first, as if uttering them any louder would cause this moment to shatter like glass. "As a bodyguard or…or as your boyfriend?"
A strange new emotion swept over me completely, something I had never quite known before. Something I'd give a lifetime to find again, if I ever lost. Something I had not understood before but always knew I wanted to last forever. I sighed in content. "Ikuto, the truth is, I think that I lov- "
"Hinamori…san?"
"Tadase-kun?!" I jumped at his voice, abruptly pulling back from Ikuto.
"Kiddy King." Ikuto snarled with his fists clenched to his side. "Just perfect timing."
"Am…I interrupting?"
"Yes."
"No." I stared down at my hands nervously. "A-anyway, w-what are you doing here?"
"Yeah, what are you doing in Amu's house?"
"That's something I should be asking you, you thieving cat."
"I m-mean, inside and all." I could feel the familiar hostile air around me - a little surprised that a full fledged fight had not yet ensued.
"O-oh, the door was unlocked."
I groaned, and raised my head to glare at Ikuto. "Great bodyguard you make, when you don't even remember to lock the door!"
"AMU! Tadase-kun is coming, Tadase-kun is coming!"
"Stop sucking face with Ikuto before he sees you!"
"Miki, Ran!" I groaned, face glowing beet red.
Ikuto smirked. "Told you, you were interrupting, Kiddy King."
"Now if you'll excuse us…" He was already pushing Tadase-kun halfway out the door.
"Now HOLD ON! I was never sucking face with you Ikuto, and I happen to need to talk to Tadase-kun at the moment." Sticking out my tongue, I stomped over and grabbed Tadase-kun by the arm.
"Well, I wouldn't say never Amu-chan."
"Suu!"
Knowing that I wouldn't get a proper chance to explain without being interrupted by my trio of Charas, I dragged Tadase-kun with me and whispered "We need to talk."
Without even a second glance at the others, I spoke.
"We're going to my room."
"Fine. I'm going to get Jedi kid and leave then." Ikuto hissed all too loudly.
"I think that would be best, you thieving cat." Tadase-kun snarled back.
Before they were locked in another glaring contest, or worse, I interrupted. "I need to talk to Tadase-kun, so none of you follow. We'll go on ahead."
Unfortunately, I didn't get to include as much plot as I wanted here, but I did get to develop the relationships a bit more.