hey peeple! im sooooooooo so sorry for not updating but the evil repair dudes stole my laptop without giving me the chance to back up my files. but i managed to get onto the family comp nd steal the chappie back from my friend. (thank god i sent it to her). but the other stuff, which hasnt been saved, is most likely going to get deleted :'(

anyhoo. this comp is dying nd i dont know when i'll get my laptop back, but i will try to update my stories soon. once again, sorry!


"I guess you guys deserve to know...well first off, I was in an underground cell in a warehouse in America. I was there for four years..."

Amu's POV

"But Amu-chii, if you were only there for 4 years then where were you for the other two? And what happened to you when you were there?"

"Yaya, I'll get to that later. As for when I was there, to put it bluntly, I was tortured."

*Flashback*

I sat on the cold stone floor. It had been about three days since Tadase killed my parents, and I'd been left completely alone. My charas were with me, but we didn't talk much. I'd been left without food or water, and I was starting to grow weak. I probably looked a complete wreck. My eyes were red and puffy from crying, and my lips were swollen. My wrists were red and chapped from the chains, and my clothes were filthy, and slightly ripped from being thrown around.

My head shot up as I heard the door slam open. My eyes came to a halt on the figure framed in the doorway. Tadase. The cruel, sadistic bastard was back. I was unnerved by the malicious grin spread across his face, but I hid it and sent him an icy glare. I would never forgive him for what he did. He stepped forwards, his hands behind his back, and grinned down at me.

"Well, I think you've had long enough to grieve. How about we start your punishment?" I was instantly filled with dread and fear. His twisted grin widened as he pulled a whip from behind his back. My eyes widened in terror.

"N-No....Tadase....p-please...." my voice was hoarse and cracked from lack of water.

"Well, that's no fun. Guards, bring her some water. I want to be able to hear her screams."

A guard entered with a bottle of water. He walked over and poured it roughly down my throat, causing me to choke and splutter. He then unlocked the chains and turned me to face the wall, before putting them back on.

I listened to his footsteps retreat, and the door swing shut. I braced myself for the pain.

The crack of the whip echoed through the tiny cell, followed by my screams of pain. I heard Tadase laughing sadistically. It went on for what seemed like hours, and I could the hot sticky blood flowing over my back.

He finally stopped, and another person entered. It was a doctor. It seemed Tadase wanted to keep me alive. He told the doctor to patch me up, and left. I felt cold water trickle down my back as he tried to clean my wounds.

"...p-please....you...you've got t-to...help me..." I whispered.

"I'm sorry...I would if I could....but he...he's got my d-daughter..."

"Gomennasai...I didn't know..."

"Don't apologize... it's not your fault. I'll try to figure out some way to free you."

"Arigato, but I don't want to put you or your daughter in danger..." he finished dressing my wounds and left. I sat in silence, waiting for sleep to take me over. It wasn't long before it did.

What happened that day soon turned into a weekly thing. Tadase would come and he would spend two or three hours simply whipping me. After a while, I learnt to hide the pain. I stopped screaming out in pain, I refused to give him the satisfaction. He knew it still hurt, but he wanted to hear me scream, wanted to see my tears; so he decided to find other ways of torture. His visits became daily.

His favourite forms of torture were beating me, whipping me and the stun-belt. I think the stun-belt was the worst. He would attach it to my waist, and I had to remain completely still. If I moved, thousands of volts of electricity would shoot through my body. It was complete agony. It was one of the times that I actually succumbed to my pain and screamed.

After a few weeks of beatings he decided to torment and humiliate me more. He'd just finished hitting me and leant down so that his face was inches from mine.

"Don't worry; it will all be worth it in the end. You'll see that it's me that you want."

"You asshole…I'd never love a sick, heartless bastard like you." I spat at him only to be received by another hit, a kick to my stomach. The air got knocked out of me as she gasped for breath.

"I suggest you keep quiet…" Tadase growled. Tadase started feeling around my body as I whimpered. I tried using my legs to kick him but was too weak to even move. I became limp and didn't fight back as Tadase forcefully crashed his lips to mine. As he pulled back, he saw that my lips were red and swollen. My lips had a cut on the side. He smirked. As he smirked though, his lips never left my skin. He kissed my neck and bit down hard, marking his territory over me. I cried out whimpering in pain as fresh tears spilled down my face.

If I disobeyed him, or pissed him off he would usually punch or kick me. Though there was one time that I refused to scream when he was 'punishing' me. So he shot me in the foot. The pain was unbearable. It felt like my foot was on fire. I could see the blood spilling out of the wound, forming a crimson puddle around me. I couldn't hold it in; I screamed and screamed in agony. I lay, sobbing, on the floor as the bastard laughed.

After a few months of this torture, I gave up hope. My charas went back into their eggs, and soon became X-eggs.

Then, one day, I snapped. One of the guards walked in with my food. I saw the gun, and instinct took over. Somehow, the chains broke; I dived for the gun, taking the guard by surprise. The rest went by in a blur. I passed corridor after corridor, shooting anyone who got in my way. I had no mercy for the ones who'd kept me imprisoned for four years. The only thing I could think about was getting out of there.

I bolted through a doorway, and blinked in the bright sunlight. I breathed in a breath of fresh air, before sprinting away. I ran for hours, not knowing where I was going, and not really caring. I was free. I was finally free. I finally stopped when I came to the entrance of a park. I walked over to a forested part, and fell asleep amongst the trees.

*end of flashback*

I could feel fresh tears streaming down my cheeks. I looked at the others to see that they were all crying too.

I looked at Ikuto, to see his eyes filled with rage, though his gaze softened when I looked at him.

"Amu..." he pulled me onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around me protectively. I buried my face into his shirt, trying to stop the flow of tears.

"A-Amu....I can't believe he did that to you..."

"Yeah, Amu-chii....it's horrible..."

"I agree... though, I would like to know....what happened after you escaped? If you don't mind me asking..."

"Yeah, Hinamori, why'd it take you so long to get back?"

"It's fine Kairi. And I had trouble getting back. Once Tadase found out I'd escaped, he ordered them to find me. There were guards all over the country looking for me. Not only that...I was in another country. I had no passport or identity, so it was hard getting out. I was in hiding for about a year, then I managed to stowaway on a boat to Japan, but Tadase followed me. I was running from him, with no money whatsoever. But I managed to get hold of some brown hair spray and some contacts, and it didn't take long to lose him. I managed to find a flat, and one of the strip-clubs agreed to hire me. I hated it. But I was desperate, so I had no choice. That was two months ago. Then, the other night, I was walking to work, when I saw Ikuto. I saw him walk out into the road, and I saw the car about to hit him. So I tackled him. I couldn't tell him who I was right then. So I invited him over to the flat. I didn't really want him seeing where I lived, but there was nowhere else. And then you know the rest..."

There was complete silence for a few minutes, and everyone stared at me in shock. I felt Ikuto's arms tighten around me, as he rested his head on mind. I stared down at my hands.

"...A-Amu...h-how?" I looked up at Rima, completely confused. She was staring at me in grief and awe. "How can you go through all of that...and still be so...so...strong?" I looked over at the others to see them nodding in agreement.

"...I...I don't know...I guess I just thought about everything that happened, and about you guys, and my parents, and...It made me determined to keep going...I won't let Tadase win..." I heard Ikuto growl into my hair.

"I swear, if I ever see that sick bastard again, I'll kill him..."

"No, you won't! I won't let you get yourself thrown into jail because of him! He's not worth it."

"You really expect me to let him get away with what he did to you?"

"Yeah, I do. All that matters is that I'm back, and I'm okay."

"But you're not okay Amu!" shouted Utau. I turned to look at her. "I mean, look at you! You're thin as a rake, and it's obvious that you're hurting! How can you say you're okay after what you just told us?"

"Utau....you don't get it....you're right, I am hurting...but I know I'll be okay, because...because I've got all of you with me, and I know I can get through it..." I was instantly tackled into another group hug. I could tell Ikuto wasn't pleased; he was stuck in the middle of it, considering I was sat on his lap.

After a while they finally released us. I think it had something to do with the death glares Ikuto was shooting them. I mean, it was pretty scary...

"Yo, Hinamori, You said your charas became X-eggs right?" I looked at Kukai and nodded sadly.

"Yoru did as well, didn't he Ikuto-kun?" asked Sanjou. I looked up at Ikuto in surprise.

"Yoru did? When? Why?" he looked down at me and sighed.

"About a year after you went missing. I thought you were dead. Everyone did. I just gave up hope, and Yoru went back into his egg, before turning into an X-egg."

"So are they still X-eggs?" asked Rima. "I mean, you said they turned into X-eggs because you lost hope, but you've found each other now, so, in theory, they should be back to normal." Me and Ikuto looked at each other before getting up and heading to the bedroom. The others decided to follow. I headed over to my backpack and search through it for my eggs, while Ikuto went over to one of the drawers. I pulled out four eggs. Pink, blue, green and yellow, no trace of an X on any of them. I let out a sigh of relief and smiled. I looked over to Ikuto to see him smiling back, Yoru's egg in his hand, completely normal.

"I wonder when they're going to rehatch..." at that moment, there was a cracking sound. The five eggs burst open.

"AMU-CHAN!" my four charas yelled in unison.

"IKUTO ~NYA!" yelled Yoru.

They all flew over and hugged us. I could tell they had missed us. They pulled away and seemed to finally realise where they were.

"Amu-chan! You escaped! But...but how?"

"AMU~NYA!" Yoru shot across the room and started nuzzling my cheek. I couldn't help but laugh.

Ikuto turned to me wide eyed.

"What?" I asked.

"You laughed..."

"Yeah?"

"That's the first time you've laughed since you came back...I've missed it..." I felt tears spring to my eyes.

"Ikuto..."

"Alright! Enough with the lovey dovey mush!" we both turned to glare at Kukai, who rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"hehe. Ummmm....gotta go! Bye!" and with that he bolted out of the room. We all stared at the door for a few minutes before bursting into a fit of laughter. We laughed so hard we all ended up clutching our sides, with tears streaming down our faces. It felt so good to laugh and enjoy myself. To be with my friends and Ami. I finally felt safe and loved. I'm finally home...