Akirina: 2 chappies in one day! :) I hope this is as good as the previous one! [responding to Dhampyric-Insomniac's comment! :)] Enjoy!
Chapter 9
"Amu-chan?" Ran whispered quietly, floating after the pink-haired girl. "What are we going to do now?"
"Amu pursed her lips, thinking of the possible ways she could go around with her 'death'. It was thanks to her Shugo Charas that she had managed to escape from that plummeting death. Miki had designed a doppelganger of sorts and made it topple over the side just as she wove a disguise over Amu, effectively hiding Amu from view. Then Ran had Character Change-d with Amu and they made their way off quickly.
"I'm worried about Hikaru and Ami. They need to be kept safe and I don't think the Guardians will be able to do a good job of that." Amu said. "Nikaidou wouldn't do… I think there's only the Headmaster left. He should be pretty reliable…"
"The Headmaster?"
"Don't tell me you forgot who he is, Sue! He's Tsukasa, Tadase's uncle." Amu said in exasperation. "Don't you remember that he forced me to be a Guardian?"
"It doesn't seem forced, now." Dia murmured quietly, trailing after Amu as she Character Change-d with Ran and started to the school in great leaps and bounds.
"Shouldn't you be more discreet, Amu-chan?" Sue asked in concern, glancing behind them occasionally. "After all, Ikuto did try to kill you…"
"They wouldn't be looking for me now, Sue. Don't worry," Amu reassured her. "Ikuto's reported my death already, so they wouldn't come after me."
"What are you going to do about Yukari and Nikaidou? They'll hear of this, you know." Miki said.
"I'll probably have to get to them first." Amu answered. "And hope that they don't do anything foolish in the meantime."
TSUKASATSUKASATSUKASA
Tsukasa wandered down to the planetarium, knowing that he would be meeting the Joker. The stars had predicted as much and he had to give her a warning from the stars, anyway.
Tsukasa stood in the planetarium, pondering at what the future would bring. He wondered whether Amu would find out about her family's company before the designated time… The joker card was a hard card to predict and in Tsukasa's book, jokers were unpredictable—the Wild card.
The door opened softly and someone came in. Tsukasa turned to face the person he had been waiting for, Hinamori Amu.
AMUAMUAMUAMUAMU
"Tsukasa?" Amu asked, slightly confused. It wasn't the fact that he was here that confused her—she was rather lucky that he was here, in fact, or she wouldn't be able to find him. (Tsukasa had a habit of hiding away whenever one needed him—and he hid really well) But it was the fact that he seemed to be waiting for her that made her pause.
"Ah, Hinamori-san." Tsukasa tore his eyes away from the planetarium's sky. "You're here."
"Were you waiting for me?" Amu asked.
"Well, the stars told me that you were coming and that you wanted my help. I know why you've come." Tsukasa replied.
"Really?" Amu asked suspiciously and incredulously. "What did they say?"
"They say that you're here to ask me to help you look after your brother and sister." Tsukasa told her. "And now, they want to give you a warning."
"A warning?"
"Yes. You are in potential danger, Hinamori-san. That is why they ask you to look out for the Embryo." Tsukasa said. "The Embryo is the answer to this mess."
"The Embryo? The egg that can grant wishes? The one that you wrote of in your book? Isn't that story to be finished by all of us?" Amu asked.
Tsukasa's gaze sharpened. "How did you know the ending?"
"Um," Amu muttered, glancing away in embarrassment. "…Hikaru told me."
"Hm… Hikaru, is it." Tsukasa looked rather contemplative. "I suppose he would know, since I based the story on him…"
"You based the story on Hikaru?" Amu asked in surprise, her voice raising by several octaves.
Tsukasa blinked. "Why, of course. He is my nephew, of sorts."
"But… how can that be?" Amu asked, "If he were your nephew, why didn't you take him in from the orphanage?"
"I am not his immediate kin; I did not have the rights to take him in." Tsukasa answered her, "It's the same with Ikuto."
"Ikuto?"
"He never told you how he joined Easter, did he?" Tsukasa asked. At Amu's shake, he continued, "Ikuto didn't want to serve his step-brother. Not at first. However, they threatened him with Utau and Tadase, his childhood friends and Ikuto had no choice. Tadase didn't support him and Ikuto never told him the reason why he had to join Easter. That was when I decided to take Ikuto away. We went all over the country, going to carnivals and watching shows. Ikuto wanted to go to this particular carnival in Tokyo. But that was where he was caught by Easter. And that was the day that his egg hatched and Yoru was born."
"Wait, his stepbrother is the Gozen of Easter? Does Ikuto know that?" Amu interrupted.
"No. No one knows that the Gozen is Ikuto's stepbrother. Not even Ikuto knows. The only ones who know are Ikuto's stepfather and me." Tsukasa replied.
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Amu asked, frustrated. "If you did, I would have been able to take him down quickly!"
"You didn't ask." Tsukasa replied blandly. "And what's done is done." He added when Amu glared at him.
"Fine." Amu huffed. "So what is his stepbrother's name?"
"Tacoma." Tsukasa told her, smiling. "His name is Irizawa Tacoma."
TACOMATACOMATACOMATACOMA
"I don't trust Ikuto, father." Tacoma spoke into his phone as he toyed with his spaghetti. "He did not seem to sit well with the assassination. And I have reports that he has met with the girl several times and bought a white violin for her."
"I see. What would you like me to do?" his father said.
Tacoma picked up his glass of red wine and took a sip, savoring its rich flavor before he replied. "Send Tsukiyomi Utau in to check for Hinamori Amu. Threaten Tsukiyomi's little sister that if she should fail or deceive us, Ikuto will be harmed. And her mother. She will be our little pet from then on."
"Excellent idea, Gozen. I will tell Yukari now."
"No." Tacoma stopped his father. "Change Utau's manager. I want Marion to be her manager now."
"Marion? Well, if you say so, Gozen."
"To make things easier for Utau, transfer her to Seiyo Academy. I'm sure she'll be taking up the empty space of the Joker. While Hinamori Amu is gone." Tacoma ordered. "And tell her I want a report on her first day of school."
"Yes, Gozen." Tacoma cut the conversation. He stared into the darkness of his room, mind working out the plan that he had painstakingly constructed since two years ago. Then he smiled darkly.
IKUTOIKUTOIKUTOIKUTOIKUTO
"Ikuto, you have a mission to do." One of the scientists called after Ikuto. "The specifics are with Sanjou-san!"
Ikuto gave no signs that he had heard the scientist and she went back to her work with a huff. Really! She thought. At least he could have shown some sign that he had heard what she had said!
To tell the truth, Ikuto was barely listening to her. His thoughts were still fixed on his most recent assignment and the image of the girl falling over the edge of the building. It was as if whenever he closed his eyes, he would see her light brown eyes… staring accusingly at him. Hear her voice… 'Why did you do it?'
Ikuto shuddered.
"Ikuto…" Yoru sounded weak today, Ikuto noted absent-mindedly. It was as if his Chara was tired, but Shugo Charas were never tired.
"Ikuto, Yukari's office is the other way." Yoru told Ikuto. Ikuto stopped in his tracks, his mind blanking out for a moment before he sighed and turned around, resuming walking once again. This time he was headed towards Yukari's office.
YUKARIYUKARIYUKARIYUKARI
Yukari glared at the pile of work on her table, wishing she could set fire to all of them at once. She was not in a good mood. This was Utau's crucial year to be accepted by the music industry and Yukari already had plans for Utau debut. How could Gozen pull her out and put Marion in her place?
He did know that Marion was a sucker at these kinds of jobs, didn't he? Marion had ADHD and he was a professional assassin; how could a man like that manage the duties of being a young star's manager? He would ruin Utau's debut!
It might be a good thing that Marion was easy to manipulate, Yukari grudgingly admitted. Or else she would never have been able to ensure a sliver of success for Utau's debut.
"I heard you have the details for my new mission, Sanjou-san." Yukari recognized Ikuto's voice. She turned around to face him.
"Hello, Ikuto. Yes, I have the file on that. It should be somewhere among that stack." Yukari waved her hand at the pile of work on her table. "I think it should be at the bottom of the stack if it arrived this morning."
"Oh. I can wait, I suppose." Ikuto collapsed into a nearby chair and closed his eyes.
Yukari sighed and went back to working on her paperwork.
It was late afternoon before she managed to get to the bottom of the stack and find Ikuto's file. By then, Ikuto was already asleep in the chair that he had chosen. Yukari sneaked a look at him before she opened the file quietly, curious to what mission had left him so… traumatized. She had not missed the dark shadows in his eyes, the look of fear on his face when he came into her office.
Her heart skipped a beat when she read a name in his file and she glanced over to him, hardly daring to believe what she had read.
IKUTOIKUTOIKUTOIKUTO
"Ikuto."
Ikuto mumbled and tried to turn over to face away from that annoying voice. He was having the best rest he had ever had since he had entered Easter.
"Ikuto. Wake up."
Ikuto sighed and pushed the hand that was shaking him away. Why couldn't everyone just leave him alone? He was tired and he didn't want to face the world…
"Ikuto, there's a chance that Amu might be alive."
Ikuto's eyes snapped open. Amu? Hadn't he caused her death? How would she be alive? Ikuto sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"I see that got you up." Ikuto blinked at Yukari in confusion before he remembered that he had unwittingly fallen asleep in her office.
"What do you mean, there is a chance that Amu might be alive?" Ikuto demanded. "She's dead. I saw her plummet off the building."
"That's true." Yukari agreed, and handed his mission folder to him. "But they never recovered her body. And there is no sign of blood on the ground that she supposedly landed on."
Ikuto frowned, taking the folder from her, scanning through the papers. "Are you sure…?" he asked rather doubtfully.
"Of course I'm sure!" Yukari replied haughtily. "Don't you know that Amu is a very cunning person?" Then she turned serious. "Of course, if you decide not to let the Gozen know that she is still alive, you must lay low for a period of time."
"I understand the risks." Ikuto replied lowly, preparing to leave the room, feeling significantly better with the news that Amu might be still alive. "Thanks for the help."
"You're welcome."
"Where is Hinamori-san?" Tadase asked once everyone was gathered in the Royal Garden for their usual meeting. The pink-haired girl had not shown up for the meeting, which was uncustomary of her.
"I haven't seen her at all since yesterday." Rima fretted. "And even then, she said she was going to see Nikaidou. But I haven't heard from her since then."
"What could have happened?" Kuukai wondered out loud.
"Ah, I see that you're all here." Tsukasa entered the Royal Garden, much to the surprise of the Guardians.
"Tsukasa-san?" Tadase stood up from the table, noticing that something was wrong. His uncle would never come to the Royal Garden unless something was wrong.
"If you're worrying about Hinamori-san, I'm afraid that you wouldn't find her." Tsukasa told them with a somber expression. "I've just received some news that she is dead. Easter killed her."
"What?" the Guardians shouted in unison before they started shooting questions at Tsukasa.
"Everyone, quiet down!" Tadase yelled over their voices, finally gaining the others' attention. Then he turned to Tsukasa.
"Please explain, dear uncle."
Ikuto silently sneaked into Seiyo Academy. He had deemed this as one of the potential places that Amu would go to if she wanted to go under. And he hoped that it would yield some results. Yukari had texted him some of the other potential places, but he had not discovered anything there so far.
Seiyo Academy was his last option.
"Ikuto, I think they're here." Yoru floated towards him. "I heard their voices."
"Where?" Ikuto demanded.
"The planetarium."
Ikuto's mood brightened considerably and he sped towards the planetarium eagerly. Having sneaked around the Academy grounds before, Ikuto knew the place like the back of his hand. Ikuto reached the planetarium, catching the sound of voices from within the building itself and he slammed open the doors.
And there, in the light spilling in behind him, was Hinamori Amu and her four Shugo Charas.
"You're not dead." Ikuto breathed, feeling slightly more relieved that Amu was alive.
Amu sighed in exasperation. "You don't give up, do you?"
Ikuto walked towards her, confidence in his steps. "I want the truth."
Amu smiled wryly at him. "And I owe you that." She replied. "Come, let's go to somewhere more private where we can discuss this."