Morg: Heyo! So I guess plenty of you connected the dots. I did have a few people ask what dots. I'm not going to tell you. If you still don't understand then just read the chapter again.
Ikuto: Naw, too much work.
Amu: Lazy and stupid.
Morg: You love him anyways.
Ikuto: Yeah she does!
Amu: What!
Morg: I don't own you guys.
Ikuto: You know, I do own Amu.
Amu: You do not!
Ikuto: Then how come I call you MY strawberry all the time?
Amu: I always tell you not to!
Ikuto: I rest my case.
Morg: Oh jeez…. Please enjoy the next chapter…
~Overprotective~
Okay, so she was being a bit creepy, but who wouldn't stand over his bed and watch him sleep? Honestly, Amu couldn't figure out why she hadn't been doing this all along. He just looked so cute when he slept. Resisting the urge to run her fingers through his thick hair, Amu backed away from Ikuto.
Glad to have the excuse of checking up on him so that she could visit him, Amu figured that excuse might have expired after the first twenty minutes, especially now that she was going on three hours.
For some odd reason, Rima's words kept running through her mind. The situation no longer made sense to Amu. If Nagi wanted to be with Rima and Rima wanted to be with Nagi, then why was Heaven stopping them? It wasn't as if Nagi could make multiple girls immortal and slowly make it so no human ever died. Rima was just one girl and they weren't idiot. Obviously they'd have to move around a lot so no one would notice their lack of aging. Then again, Nagi would never have the refuge of Heaven, but then one didn't always want to be there.
Staring at Ikuto's sleeping face only angered Amu more. What if they tried taking Ikuto away from her like they did with Rima and Nagi? Wait… why was she thinking about that anyways. She didn't love Ikuto. The pinkette only wanted to protect him. Right?
Amu shook her head before moving closer to Ikuto's bed. One thing was clear to the pinkette now. The situation between Nagi and Rima needed to change and she was going to be the one to do it.
Shaking Ikuto's shoulder, Amu roused him from his sleep. "Get up lazy butt! I've had enough of your sleeping. We've got things to do."
Ikuto sat up slowly. His eyes focused on Amu kneeling beside him on his bed. Almost as if it was a reflex, he snatched her to his chest and lay back down. Amu sighed as she was trapped in his arms. "You came back."
"Of course I did, now let me go before I have to hurt you."
Ikuto inhaled her scent deep into his lungs. "You wouldn't. It's your job to protect me."
Amu silently cursed the boy who called her bluff. "Okay, so I won't hurt you but that doesn't mean that I can't get angry and leave for a few more days."
Ikuto's arms instantly released her. Amu giggled as she got out of his bed and turned around to face him. With his head propped up on one hand, Ikuto stared at the girl before him from his bed. "How long were you gone?"
Amu shook her head before pointedly looking away from the man before her. For some very odd reason, she felt the need to crawl back into his bed with him. "A little over a week. For someone who promised to take of himself, you didn't do a very good job."
Ikuto sighed as he rubbed his face. "Where did you find me?"
"You don't remember where you passed out?"
"I remember being in the park and then I heard Utau and decided to hide."
Amu slapped her palm to her forehead. "The forest, I found you in the forest. I almost stepped right on you the moment I got back."
Ikuto smirked. "I like the idea of you being on top of me."
Amu let one of her eyebrows raise up. "Even if that includes me stomping on your face?"
"I'll take what I can get."
Another loud smack filled the room.
Ikuto stared up at the pinkette critically. "You should really stop hitting yourself before you wind up with brain damage."
Without bothering to respond, Amu turned on her heel and walked out Ikuto's door. The blue haired boy called for her to wait for him, but Amu didn't slow down as she walked straight into Utau's room. She found the blonde already awake and fully dressed.
"Morning Amu."
"I hope you don't have any major plans for today."
Utau let her confusion show on her face. "Not that I can think of. Why?"
With a smirk that killed all of Ikuto's combined, Amu tapped one finger to her nose. "We're going to go visit some friends of mine."
XXX
"Is everyone here?"
Amu nodded to Tsukasa, who in turn shut the door and locked it. Kukai, Kairi, Yaya, Utau, Rima and Ikuto sat in various places throughout the principal's office. None of them knew why Amu asked them to meet her there. In fact, the pink haired angel was being extremely mysterious about everything.
Now that the door was closed, however, and Heaven was shut out from their meeting, Amu let a sadistic grin onto her face. "Are we good to go, Tsukasa?"
The blond principal nodded his head to show that they were indeed hidden from sight and that Heaven could no longer listen in.
"Just so that we are all on the same track, I am an angel sent here to guard the people of Seiyo. Everyone with me so far?"
Everyone nodded their heads except Kukai. The boy looked absolutely stunned. "WHAT! HINAMORI IS AN ANGEL! I NEVER KNEW!"
Amu sighed before letting her wings sprout from her back. Kukai almost screamed in surprise. Utau just patted his shoulder in an affectionate way. "I think we all knew except for you."
Again, heads nodded.
"Now that that is taken care of, everyone should also know that Nagihiko is an angel, although his job is a little different from mine."
To save time, Utau quickly slapped her hand over Kukai's mouth before he could have another outburst.
"Nagi's job is to work with humans that may or may not take their own lives. He works to make sure that they make the decision to continue on living so that they may enter Heaven quicker. Nagi came here to work with Rima. The number one rule of Heaven is 'No angel may love any one human above another'. Nagi broke this rule when he fell in love with Rima."
Kukai's head shot to look at the blushing short blonde. She didn't say anything while she stared straight at Amu.
Amu continued on as if this fact didn't change anything. "Heaven declared that Nagi should not be allowed to return to earth until Rima dies, by her own hand or natural causes. I asked you to come here today because I disagree with this ruling."
Yaya's hand shot up into the air as if she had a question and wanted Amu's permission to speak. After Amu nodded at her, the lively girl began. "Yaya thinks that Amu-chi is right. Amu-chi should go get Nagi-san so that Nagi-san can be with Rima-chan. Kairi-koi agrees with Yaya."
Her same slightly crazed smile played about on her lips. Amu didn't have to look at Kairi to know that he agreed as well. "My plan exactly. I have the power to get there and do it, but I'm going to need some help with a distraction if Nagi and I are going to be able to get away."
Ikuto, who was sitting quietly throughout the whole thing so far, took this moment to intervene. "Take me with you. That'll be distraction enough. A human running around freely in Heaven should definitely shake some things up."
Utau nodded before her face lit up. "One human would cause a commotion, sure. Three humans would force everyone to drop whatever they are doing. Especially if two of those humans are racing."
Amu understood the instant that Utau's words left her mouth. Kukai, on the other hand, was a little lost. "Heaven? I don't want to die yet. But I can't miss the race! Who's running?"
Utau stared hard at her boyfriend before she sighed and got to her feet. Pulling herself up to her full height, the blonde dramatically pointed her finger straight at Kukai's nose. "Souma Kukai, I challenge you to a race across Heaven. The first one to make it to the Council room and back without being caught wins. Three words baby. Eat. My. DUST!"
Now, Kukai being the kind of competitive boy that he is, couldn't just let his girlfriend of all people challenge him to something that he could win at so easily. "YOU ARE GOING DOWN, HOSHINA!"
Kairi saw this as his moment to quietly take Amu to the side. "What do you want us to do?"
Thinking through everything carefully, Amu finally nodded her head. "You and Yaya should stay here on earth. Watch from wherever you would like. If I get delayed on bringing them back within the allotted time, then you and Yaya will have to rescue them. Leave me behind if you have to."
Kairi nodded, knowing that to argue with the pinkette would be a waste of his time. "Yaya-koi, it's time for us to leave."
"AWW! Yaya wants to stay and have fun with her new human friends!"
Ikuto watched as the two seemed to melt through the door without opening it. He turned back to see Amu staring at him. "Them too, huh? I guess that would make Tsukasa one as well."
The principal winked at his student but didn't say a word about it. "Alright guys, I need to speak with Amu alone for a few minutes. Please wait for her outside my office."
The four humans made their way out the door. Ikuto looked as if he didn't want to go, but Amu motioned with her hands that he should leave as well. "What do you want to talk with me about privately?"
Tsukasa sat down at his desk and propped his head up with his hands. "Did you know that I'm married?"
Unable to hide her surprise, Amu gasped. "What? When? How come I haven't met her?"
Tsukasa chuckled as he waited for the pinkette to calm down. "It's been almost six hundred years now since she and I tied the lifelong knot. The reason you haven't met her is because she's human. Or at least she was. We don't spend all of our time together so that Heaven doesn't catch on. Right now she is off touring Europe while I'm stationed at this school. She is the reason I still breathe."
Amu could hardly believe her ears. She'd never known that Tsukasa had done such a thing. No one did. "I find it amazing that you could keep it a secret for so long."
Tsukasa grinned at her remark. "You see, I am able to do so because I have a gift besides my love of education. Who do you think put the barrier up around Kairi's office at the hospital?"
Amu's eyes widened as she connected the dots. "So that's why your office is so fortified. Why are you telling me this now?"
"I cannot go with you to Heaven, but that doesn't mean that I can't have a place ready for you when you get back. Somewhere where all of you will be able to hide until you can sneak out two at a time. Bring him back safely Amu."
Nodding her head as she stood, Amu started for the door.
"Oh, and I agree with Kairi. If you decide to make Ikuto your mate, I will support you and not Heaven."
"How did you?"
"I set the barrier, Amu. I know what goes on inside my barriers."
Just as she was about to turn the handle, Amu turned back to her long time friend. "One more question. How do I get four humans to Heaven?"
Chuckling, Tsukasa glided past the pinkette and opened the door for her. "Just make sure they hold on tight."
.
Morg: Oh come on guys! Like I was really going to keep Nagi and Rima separated.
Ikuto: Actually, we won't know until after they free him or all get captured.
Amu: Yeah, they aren't reunited yet.
Morg: Details, details. The important thing to know is that Amu is going to try!
Ikuto: I don't know why this story excites you so much.
Amu: Because it's awesome and there is no sex!
Morg: *cough* that might change *cough chough*
Ikuto: *cough* YES! *cough cough*
Amu: Are you guys going to be okay?
Morg: Of course! I just need a drink of water.
Ikuto: I could drink something else.
Amu: What are you implying?
Morg: He just wants everyone to review. Calm down.
Ikuto: Not what I meant at all.
Amu: PERVERT!
