Thank you iheartanime43, sylvanicara, FlareKnight, Luna-chan926, Natusya801923, ichiruki12741, Amuto20174, carlaivy, Kit2000, xxxUtauloverxxx, appupuppu, Shokara N' Strawberries, xSakura, BlueAmuto, xhappily-randomx, sakuita, anifreak o.O, and xBlackCat for reviewing.
Okay, last time I thought I'd made myself clear, but apparently I didn't. Suzuki is Ryuu's mom, not some kid the same age as them. Let's go back to last chapter, shall we?:
"... Behind her, she saw a WOMAN accompained by her SON, who was about the same age as AMU..."
So that means Ryuu and Amu are the same age. Suzuki must be older than them, meaning that Suzuki-san is an OLD. FAGGY. LADY. GOT IT?! … I think I just spazzed out a bit... whatever. Hope that clears things up.
And I just realized that Suzuki was a car brand. My mom's been driving a Suzuki for most of my life and I still haven't realized it. Thanks to Amuto20174, who pointed that out!
... also sorry for lack of update. I planned to update earlier, but last night I think I came down with something and ended up sleeping 14 hours :O God my stomach hurts even when I try to sit up straight T____T So forgive me if you guys spot any errors. + The story might not make any sense in some parts. My head hurts too. But I love writing so I didn't exactly want to stop and go rest again. When you wake up and find out that more than half your day is already gone because you were sick and tired, you really feel like you want to stay up for the remainder of the day and get everything you planned to do done.
Ikuto pulled his arms out from around Amu and stood protectively in front of her.
"No." He said firmly. Suzuki-san smiled and turned to Amu, completely ignoring Ikuto's existance.
"What do you think of this, Amu-chan?" She asked sweetly. Amu bit her lip.
"Actually," She admitted. "I don't want to go against what my parents want."
She earned a gasp from Ikuto. Amu turned and gave him a look that said 'Shut it. I'm not done yet.'
"But I don't want to leave Ikuto, either," She continued. "Maybe we could all go down to the lawyer's office. He has a copy of my parents will, and I want to see exactly what's written before I decide."
Ikuto was surprised at Amu. Just a little while ago she sounded like she was going to break down crying, and now she sounded totally calm, as if this was a casual thing that happened everyday.
"Actually," He cut in. "I wouldn't mind seeing it either."
There's a loophole in everything written by a lawyer. There has to be one here.
"Same," Ryuu agreed. Suzuki-san sighed.
"Ryuu," She complained. "If Amu won't go with us tonight, then we'll have no where to stay for tonight. We can't exactly go back home without her, and all the hotels around here are booked."
Amu smiled.
"You can stay at my place," She suggested. Suzuki-san and Ryuu grinned.
"Arigatou!" Suzuki-san said cheerfully. "Now let's head over to that lawyer's office. Amu, our car's this way."
"No way," Ikuto growled. "She's going to go in my car. How do I know you won't just drive away with her?"
Suzuki-san raised an eyebrow.
"How do I know you won't?" She challenged. Ikuto glared at her.
"If I wanted to take her home with me," He said slowly, as if he were speaking to a five year old. "I wouldn't be going very far, would I? I live here too, remember?"
Suzuki-san glared at him.
"Fine," She snapped. "But if you do decide to go off with her, I'll personally come and take her back home with me, whether you agree or not."
Ikuto nodded stiffly before practically dragging Amu back to his car. Once Amu was seated in the passenger seat and Ikuto climbed into the driver's seat, he leaned his head back onto the seat and let out a frustrated groan.
"Amu..." He said in a low, pained voice. "I'm staying at your house tonight. There's no way I'm leaving you alone with... them. How could you let them stay at your house?!"
Ikuto turned and saw Amu smiling slightly at him.
"That was my plan all along," She whispered. "I knew you would want to stay if they stayed. I felt bad about begging you to stay every night, so I thought I'd try getting you to volunteer to do it for once."
Ikuto sat up and smirked.
"Smart," He said in a jokingly approving voice. "Now let's get going. I don't want Suzuki-san stalking me for the rest of eternity."
For the first time ever, Ikuto heard Amu laugh. As in really laugh. It wasn't a 'I'm just going to laugh now because I don't want anyone thinking I'm unhappy' laugh. It was a real genuine laugh. And Ikuto loved the sound of it. Her laugh sounded beautiful, like a tinkling bell. He grinned softly and silently made a vow to make her laugh every day for the rest of her life, just so he could hear the beautiful and melodious sound. Ikuto started the car and followed the Suzuki's car, now feeling twice as confident in his ability to find a way to keep Amu here with him.
*****
The Suzuki's were already parked in front of the lawyer's office by the time Ikuto got there. As he and Amu got out, Suzuki-san eyed Ikuto's car with a smirk on her face.
"Is there a problem?" Ikuto asked in the most polite voice he could. Suzuki-san grinned.
"It's funny," She said. "From the start, I always had this feeling that you hated me. Yet you bought one of my family's cars."
Shocked, Ikuto turned around and stared at his car. Sure enough, there was the small Suzuki logo smack in the middle of the back of his car. He glared at it hatefully and made a mental note to himself to sell his car and by a new one somewhere else as soon as everything about Amu was sorted out. Amu stared at Ryuu in awe.
"You never told me your family owned that Suzuki company!" She accused, pouting cutely. Ryuu laughed and ruffled Amu's pink hair.
"I thought you would've figured it out," He said. "My grandparents own the company."
Amu frowned sheepishly at him, causing Ryuu to laugh and ruffle her hair again. Off to the side, Ikuto watched the whole thing, the jealousy evident on his face. He suddenly grabbed Amu and pulled her inside the building.
"Come on," He said through his teeth. "We're here to see the will, remember? Not brag about some stupid car company."
Amu smiled softly and pulled Ikuto to a stop, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Relax," She said, pulling Ikuto's head down so she could whisper into his ear. "You're still my favorite, remember?"
That made Ikuto feel a bit better, but he still sent Ryuu and Suzuki-san a hateful glance every now and then as they were walking up the stairs to the lawyer's office.
*****
"Hinamori-san!" The lawyer greeted politely as he noticed Amu walking into his office with Ikuto, Suzuki-san, and Ryuu following her closely. "I knew you were going to come some time soon! I'm sorry, by the way. I saw what happened on TV the other day, and I figured you would be here soon to get the will. That's why I pulled it out early."
Amu smiled gratefully at him.
"Arigato!" She said, making Ikuto wince once again at her false - cheerfullness. He could tell by her eyes that any mention of what they saw on TV made her miserable on the inside. The lawyer smiled at Amu gently and handed her the folder containing the will.
"I guess I'll leave you guys alone to read through it," He called over his shoulder as he walked out of the office. "Just don't break anything."
No one moved until they heard the door slam gently behind them. Right after that, Amu pulled out the will, her hands shaking slightly.
Why am I so scared and nervous..? It's just some paper, for god's sake! Not some bomb that could kill Ikuto... Besides, it'll get one thing off my mind to know how I'm going to stay with for the rest of my life. But it feels like it's adding even more stress for me.. almost like I don't want to know. Ugh... my head hurts from worrying so much...
Ikuto noticed this and put his arms around her reassuringly.
"Like I said," He told her. "It'll be okay."
Amu looked up at him nervously before quickly yanking out the remainder of the will that was still in the folder. The stack of paper wasn't that big; it was about 10 pages, give or take a page.
Eyes wide, Amu quickly glanced at the first couple of pages before throwing them aside on the desk. They were about nothing of any importance; just some stuff about what to do if one parent was still alive, who was going to pay for the funeral and taxes, and how to split up everything with Ami.
Finally, on the fourth page, Amu found what everyone was waiting for.
"Did you find it yet?" Suzuki-san asked impatiently. Ikuto glared at her for snapping at Amu.
"Read it aloud for us," He encouraged. Amu swallowed nervously and nodded before opening her mouth.
"Article III: In the event," She read in a trembling voice. "That neither I, Hinamori Midori, or my husband, are alive or well enough to take care of our children, Hinamori Amu and Hinamori Ami, they shall then be under the care of..."
Three audible gasps of anxiety were heard as Amu stopped to take a deep breath before continuing. Even Amu herself was more nervous than ever. Her whole upper body now trembling along with her hands and cracked voice.
"They s-shall then be un-under the c-care of..."
Do me a favor, and:
DON'T. POINT. OUT. ANY. MISTAKES / SLIPUPS.
Right now, I honestly don't care. God I feel so miserable. It kind of sucks; being sick on your first full day of Summer break... plus I'm rarely sick so I'm not used to any of this yet. last time I was sick was about 5 years ago.
... If you need me, I'll either be on the phone complaining to someone about how I feel or I'll be asleep. Or I just might be dead.