Neko-chan: Okay Peoples. I have something to say.

First, I apologize for the lateness of this. Last night, I had fully intended to update, but then storms started coming in and I had to turn off my computer an hour early.

Second, I am hearing more and more of my friends (if you don't wanna be called a friend, just let me know) say that they have stopped watching the anime.

It's heart-breaking. Have you all really lost that much hope in a happy ending? O.o Also, if you look at all those polls made, You'll find out that, really, there are almost 2x as many Amuto fans than Tadamu. Either that, or Tadamu fans are just way less active.

Don't you think the anime directors will want to go with the majority, or at least the people who they know are out there wanting to watch Amuto and not Tadamu? With a lot of those higher-up peoples, there are only two things going on in mind: Money and Power. So they are obviously going to want to make more money off of obsessed Amuto fans then make half as much on Tadamu and end up with a riot of Pissed off Amuto fans outside the building.

Either way, just please don't loose hope in the anime. The less Amuto fans there are out there watching it, the more likely they'll make a Tadamu ending. In fact, I'm changing my username back to Amuto-fan-Neko-san instead of Ikuto-fan-Neko-san just to help the cause. So please, just don't give up. AMUTO WILL PROVAIL!

Ikuto: *cries* So touched…

Amu: *sighs*

Neko-chan: Okay, so now I'm kinda sad cause I know over half of you won't read that, but oh well. Here's the next chapter. Also, I'm gonna try to make this chapter a bit longer than usual. I may fail though, so don't get your hopes too high.

I Don't Own Shugo Chara

Also, due to request (and to help make up for the late day), I am going to try to make this one just a bit longer.

Chapter 9

A Glimpse of Hope

~Amu's POV~

~flashback~

He wanted to see people die.

I couldn't stand it any longer. The shaking in my legs had spread throughout my body, and I couldn't keep my balance. My knees gave out from under me, and I screamed the most blood-chilling scream I ever thought possible.

"NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

~End Flashback~

My entire body was suddenly engulfed in the familiar white light as words I haven't said in too long instinctively came out of my mouth.

"Watashi no Kokoro… Unlock!" Beautiful colorful swirls began to twirl around me as bright clothes began to exchange with the ones I was wearing before. Looking down, I could see them come on to me with a bright orange glow.

Once I saw the two long cloths began to form near the bottom of the short dress, I gasped. "Dia!"

Multiple emotions began to take over at once, and it seemed to silence me from talking any more.

Amu-chan! Now! Stop him before he grabs the Embryo! Dia's voice rang loud and clear through my head as if she had never left.

AMU! I shook my head roughly to shake everything I wanted to say to her away. Apparently, Tadase had stopped when I yelled, because despite the immense momentum he had used earlier, gravity was beginning to affect him now. He cursed himself in the air and began to shout the words that would get him up to the Embryo once more, but I wouldn't let him.

"Hol-"

"Heart Rod!" I yelled. Seconds after, the light-weight pink stick with little red hearts at the end formed in my hands.

"Spiral Heart Special!" I threw it with amazing speeds up in front of Tadase, blocking him from the embryo. He turned to glare at me.

"Amu! This is mine! I deserve this more than anyone! I am never able to stick up for myself, and now because of you everyone in this school looks down on me with pitying looks! Ikuto killed my dog, and now my grandmother is dying!" he yelled down at me with rage.

"SO WHAT! GET OVER YOURSELF, STUPID! THESE ARE THINGS YOU COULD EASILY FIX EVERY GOD DAMN DAY IF YOU JUST GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS AND TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!"

I could barely see him up in the sky so high, but I saw his eyes sadden a bit, and he began to fall down to the ground. One of my feet took a quick step forward as my hand reached out, but the other foot refused to follow. Amu… It's too late. He will never be that kind person you knew, even loved at first. The shine in his heart is too far gone to be revived.

"But-!"

Just let him fall, Amu. Just let him fall.

My foot came and fell back by my other one that had stayed in place from the start, and my head turned to the side while I tried my best to keep from crying.

At first, the only sounds that I heard were Nagihiko's upset sobs and the whooshing of the air as Tadase's body fell helplessly to the ground.

And then there was the crash. The sound of it sent a gut-wrenching chill through my body, upsetting me far worse than I had anticipated.

Slowly, my I raised my head to look at the fallen boy. Blood covered him in many places. The dark red surprisingly calmed me down. It seemed to call out to me through the wind.

He was going to die soon.

Despite the fact that it should have scared the living hell out of me, it seemed to bring a slight sense of numbness and melancholy. The strange smile that showed far too many emotions rose to my face as I began to walk towards him.

As I got closer, I could get a better look at him. His right arm was clearly broken, seen by the way it seemed to have 2 elbows. Through the blood smeared on his torso I could barely see a distorted version of my reflection.

"I'm sorry," I whispered in a barely audible tone. "I never meant it to end this way. At first, I really did believe in you, and I truly believed I loved you… but that was just my mistake. I was too busy following the crowd to see the real evil behind your mask of innocence."

"I hate yo-" He was only half a second away from finishing his sentence when his body began to convulse. Blood began to bubble up out of his throat, and I knew that it would very soon be over.

"…you." He choked out his last word, and then his body gave one last convulse. The life in his eyes dispersed, and his head fell down to the ground.

He was dead.

On auto-pilot, I walked over to Nagihiko as he hovered above Rima. He didn't seem to notice me at first, but when I reached out to grab her hand, he flinched. I stopped only for a second so he wouldn't be too freaked out, almost as if I were treating him like a frightened stray puppy. Then I reached out and put my index and middle finger on her wrist.

I could still feel the light throbbing underneath them. *thump thump* *thump thump*

"She's still alive," I told him. "but we need to get her to a hospital. I'll run and get Nikaido and see if he can drive us."

"That won't be necessary." Quickly turning around, I tensed, preparing for another fight. As soon as I saw who it was, I let my guard fall a bit.

"Tsukasa-sensei (In case you don't remember, he's the tall superintendent dude who looks like a tall version of Tadagay.). How did you know?"

His face stiffened. "There is no time for that now. We must get Rima and Yaya to the hospital. Nagihiko, you get this one on your back," he said, referring to the unconscious Rima. "Take her down to the blue minivan. Amu, you go get Yaya."

Nagihiko stumbled for a second on his way to pick her up. "Wait, what about Hotori-kun?" he asked. I could feel my face drop.

"He is unable to recover. I will go in and explain to the school to use the other entrance and make up an excuse to the teachers and staff."

"Unable to… What do you mean?" Nagihiko asked, still unable to comprehend what was being said. Then his eyes glided to where his corpse lay. He took in a deep intake of air.

"He… He's dead? But why?"

By now, his eyes were widening with pure shock. I couldn't blame him.

Even though I knew that Nagihiko, too, was beginning to dislike Tadase, he was still a friend at first. And even though he had become an enemy, you only seem to remember the times when he was once on your side when you look into his lifeless eyes. (Ugh… I'm sorry. I hate him, but this is Amu were talking about, and you know how retarded she can be. Amu: HEY!)

~At the Hospital~

I'm not sure what Tsukasa-sensei made up, but I'm not too worried about it right now.

Why did I have to go into the hospital, too?

Better yet, why did they have to call my parents?

I lay here bored on the uncomfortable hospital bed with my father crying in the corner, my mom standing next to me trying to comfort me, and Ikuto stand next to her, trying to talk to me but failing miserably since my mom was in 'I'm-an-overly-protective-mother' mode and wouldn't move an inch away from me.

"Mom, I'm okay, I promise!" I told her, trying to keep my voice down.

"Oh sweety! I know! It's okay! Mommy's here!" She leaned down and hugged me tightly. I sighed, blushing with embarrassment. Why did she always have to act in some ultra embarrassing way whenever Ikuto was around?

"Mooooommm…" I groaned, looking over her shoulder towards Ikuto. He was holding a sign in front of his face.

How did you character transform? It read. I let out a gasp and bolted up right. "Honey?" my mom asked worriedly. I ignored her for the moment as I searched the room.

Dia? Dia?! Where are you?!

There was no response, however, I did feel a presence stir within me.

Dia!!! Don't you go leaving me again! Stay!

I'm sorry, Amu. I shouldn't have come out… I just had to for a moment. It was an emergency situation. I have to go now-

No you don't! Stop doing this to me! I could feel my teeth clenching together as I strained to hold my tears in once more.

"Mom… can I please talk with Ikuto for a minute?" I asked as politely as possible, trying not to upset her too much.

I could see her face fall, but she nodded and dragged herself and my father out of the room.

"Amu?" Ikuto asked with a questioning look. Despite the tough face he always puts on as to not worry me all the time, his desperation stood out through his words.

My lips pulled away a bit to reveal my clenched teeth. "She's here," I responded.

Dia, I'm not letting you leave this time. Why can't you just stay here?

Amu…

"What's she saying?"

"She's trying to leave, and I'm not letting her."

Tell me!

Amu, I…I can't. We are part of your heart now. Once you confessed with Ikuto, your heart was ready to become whole, so we-

Oh don't give me this shit! You think my heart has suddenly become whole just because you have hidden away?! It's torn my heart into pieces! You should know that now by how much I've gone through in the past few weeks! How do I get you guys back?!

I…We… I don't know… I could hear the despair in her voice. She really didn't know, but she wanted to. She wanted out of their just as much as I did, and it left me heartbroken.

I have heard you talking to me before… can't we just settle with this for now? We can try to figure a way out of this together! I was beginning to plead and beg now.

But…it… we're not supposed to. It might-

I don't care what it might do! I just want you-

Amu, no. You do care. My stubborn side began to rise to play, subconsciously also attempting to get her to stay.

Fine then. What is it?!

You might loose your love in Ikuto.

My heart skipped a beat. Two… Three… I took a breath in sync with my next heartbeat. I might loose my love in Ikuto?

Or forget him completely.

This time, my heart didn't stop, nor did my breath. I could feel the *doki doki* of my heart through all of my veins as I began to hyperventilate.

"Amu! Get a hold of yourself! What's wrong?" Ikuto was in front of me now, holding on to my shoulders, prepared to shake me once again to regain my sanity.

"She… she says that it might make me loose my love in you." As I said it, I felt the tension his hand had on my shoulders once before loosen, and his arms fell to the bed beside him as if he were a rag doll. His head fell a bit as well, making his bangs cast a dark shadow in front of his eyes.

The entire planet seemed to stop in place, holding it's breath for the sentence to come.

"Well… do you want to take the chance?" He lifted his head only a little bit, just to where I could see the intense lack of emotion in his eyes.

"Ikuto, I… I…. I'm not sure… I don't want to live without either…"

He smiled the same sad smile he always seemed to use around me. "Amu, I know how much you want them back, and it's not as though it's absolutely certain it will be gone."

Despite the effort, his words didn't seem to help much.

"Amu, we're going to try. I can't stand to see you like this for much longer."

"But," I paused, holding my hand to my chest to try and stop the aching pain lingering inside. "I don't want to loose you. She says I might even completely forget you!"

And he lifted his head completely. "Well then, I'll just regain your love once more, just like I did when we first met. We'll make another new beginning, just like you told me at the amusement park."

A small tear fell down my cheek, and I sniffled. Reluctantly, I smiled up at him.

"Okay."

Neko-chan: Okay, so I think that's longer, considering how many longer paragraphs I used this time, but it may be the same exact length. If so, I deeply apologize.

Amu: Aww… *sniffle* I don't want to loose my love for Ikuto-

Neko-chan: YOU ADMIT IT! HA! AITORA! DID YOU GET THAT ON TAPE?!

Aitora: Yes, I- …

Neko-chan: What?!

Aitora: AH GOD DANGET! I LEFT THE CAP ON THE VIDEO CAMERA!!!!

Neko-chan: You have got to be freakin kidding me… SHIT

Aitora: Gomenasai…

Neko-chan: *sigh* Ah well. I'll catch Amu saying on tape sometime.

Amu: No you won't! *sticks out tongue*

Neko-chan: *pulls out knife* Wanna bet?

Amu: AAAHHHH! JESUS CHRIST! ARE YOU INSANE?!

Neko-chan: Actually, I am. Thanks for noticing.