DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.

NOTE: Views alternate. It starts with Ikuto, it ends with Ikuto.

SIDE NOTE: Enjoy the second part of Day Twenty Five!

Day Twenty-Five

Part Two

My hand is getting tired. My arms are about to fall off. My ears are kind of hurting from playing for this long. But I don't care, this is all for her and everyone knows how I'd do just that: everything. Until death, I'll be there for her, no matter if it hurts me in the process or even kills me. She's the only person that gets this luxury, and she deserves everything.

This is the part when it gets much faster, when it is majestic and full of life—perhaps this will help her wake up, I don't know. Just hear me, Amu. For once during this journey, hear me. Because, if you can't, I'll play louder, I'll play with everything I have. I'll play for my life as well. Just hear me.

0 0 0

I can't hear anything. He is playing, right? No, maybe something's wrong. Maybe he's just tuning his violin again and making sure all the strings are strong enough for his piece. I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I think I sounded right. I'll ask him when he's done playing—whenever he starts playing, for that matter.

I don't want to peek, because maybe he's just watching me and making sure I don't peek. Then again, what if he's not watching me? He's a creep, I know, and a pervert as well, but maybe he's trying to see if I'll listen to him and trust him when I closed my eyes. I don't know, maybe, but that doesn't sound like him.

I have to peek, just a little bit. I'll close my eyes as soon as I look, okay? I'll just open my eyes by a hair—and it may not even be that large! I just want to make sure I'm not going crazy and not hearing him play. God, why am I panicking again? I shouldn't feel this way, should I? Maybe someone is trying to tell me that he left—what a jerk.

I let my eyelid slowly open, but just a hair. I see his arm moving and I see the violin still against his body. So I let my other eyelid open and try to piece together this puzzle. Okay, maybe he's just going through the score before actually playing, maybe that's it. I open my eyes and look right at him. No, he's definitely playing his violin. His bow is hitting the strings and—what's going on?

I start to play with my ears. No, there are no earplugs in them, nor did I just go deaf for some reason. I look back at him and he's still playing. Maybe…oh who am I kidding? Something's not right and I can't figure it out. I have to get to the bottom of this—why can't I hear him play? Wait, since when did we go to this gazebo? For that matter, did he ever play the violin for me?

Is this real?

He…he never played the violin for me before.

"Ikuto!" He just looks right at me. Did he hear me? I move forward, so maybe he will say something and tell me not to move again. I don't know. "Ikuto!" I yell again. He brings the bow away from his violin but his fingers are still creating the notes. What is this? Is this a trick? A joke? I start to walk up to him, climbing the stairs of the gazebo. And I can't hear the noises of the wood against my feet.

"Ikuto!" I yell once more. His mouth is closed, he's not smiling. I reach out to him, but my hand slips through him. He takes the violin away from him and I look up at him in horror. I am probably on the brink of insanity and breaking, so maybe I shouldn't be making such a big deal out of this. Okay, maybe I'll wake up. Wait.

Is this a dream?

How…how long have I been dreaming?

Everything goes white and the only thing that's with me is Ikuto. His violin disappears and he's just standing there with me. Is this Heaven? No, God is not here. I don't see angels, either, and I wouldn't understand why I would be in Heaven. I don't think I died. "Do you not remember?" he whispers. I look into his eyes and he's afraid. Remember what?

And why are you so afraid? For that matter, why can't I talk? I start to look around and there's nothing but white. "Amu!" I hear him yell. I turn around and he's farther away. What is going on? Why can't I reach him! I open my mouth and this pained voice yells back.

"…Ikuto?" What the…that's not my voice. That can't be my voice.

"Do you remember now?" Ikuto is right behind me. I turn around and he's so afraid of something. What is he afraid of? "Please tell me you remember," he whispers. What am I supposed to remember? I don't know, Ikuto! He reaches out to me and I feel his hand caress my cheek. I close my eyes—why is it that I'm so sensitive to his touch? And why didn't he disappear when he touched me?

He pulls away and I open my eyes. I look down at his hand and I see blood. Blood? I look all over his hand for some kind of cut, but there's nothing. Did that…? I put my hand on my face and I feel this warm liquid dripping from my head. I pull my hand away and there's a bunch of blood. What…? When did I get this injury to produce this much blood?

"You are not hurt, are you?"

I look up at him and he's crying. All of these tears running down his face, a pained look across his face when looking right at me… I've never seen him cry like this! Tell me what's wrong, Ikuto! Please!

0 0 0

I can't turn to her. I have to keep looking out the window, out to the nature and out to life so I can still be hopeful for her life. I already looked back once and didn't see her move or make any sign of life. Maybe I'm too hopeful, thinking she'd be sitting up just listening to me and smiling right back at me. I have to keep playing, for her, though. I just do. Please, Amu, please wake up.

0 0 0

Where are we? We're downtown, that much I know. Ikuto disappeared from me again, as usual. And I'm in a different outfit. What is this? I have my phone against my ear and I'm talking to him that way. "Geez, Ikuto," I say. Has this happened? I don't remember this. "I'll be there in five minutes! And it's only a little café! What's so bad about it?" I hear his voice on the other line.

"It's not the café I'm worried about, Amu. Are you sure you don't need someone to walk you there?" I groan and start to scream into the phone.

"I'm fine! I don't need you to walk me everywhere, do I?" He laughs.

"You are a bit clumsy, Amu. Besides, you wouldn't want to hold onto my hand right now? Not just a little bit?" I blush and start to look around to the crowd.

"N-No! You pervert!" I hang up on him and I continue to walk. He must be close to the café, or maybe he's really far away. Either way, I'll get there first! Did this happen? I stop at the crosswalk and look across the street. There it is! The café! Ah, I remember when we first passed it, when I first wanted to try it. I can't wait to have some pastries and coffee!

I see the light is still red. This is going to be a while, isn't it? I look both ways in traffic. There's no one coming, and that car right there is almost a mile away! What is going on? I think I'll go. I start to walk out into the street and I have a feeling people are following me. I turn around and there's a few pedestrians following. Ah, I'm a leader now!

I turn around and look at the café. I smile. I'm almost there, just a few more steps and I'm—I was…The sun is very bright, but I was just looking at the café. What's going on? I have to call Ikuto, I have to. I look at the phone in my hand and I see blood surrounding me. My arms are bruised and I can't move my legs. I see tire tracks on the ground and I hear a lot of people around me, followed by distant sirens from ambulances and police cars. I call him anyway. No, wait, he's calling me. I'll answer it. …hit by a car?

I bring the phone to my ear and I hold it there. That's all I can do right now. "Amu?" I am trying to open my mouth, but it hurts so much. I'm in so much pain. I feel some blood exit my mouth when I do open it and I hear him again. "Amu?" I have to answer.

"…Ikuto?" I hear a sigh of relief on his end. Everything is moving so slowly. I don't hear him anymore, but I keep repeating his name over and over again. Through the cracks of people, I see the café and I reach out to the building. I'm sorry, Ikuto, I can't get there right now. I'm trying to walk, but my legs won't move. I have no strength to get up. What happened to me?

Then, I see a lot of people around me trying to help. It's the ambulance and doctors and police. Then, I see Ikuto in the crowd. I think he's looking for me. He's talking to me but he's not seeing me. I say his name again and he continues to move in the crowd. Help me. I say his name one more time. That's all the strength I have left. Wow, I didn't know everything could get dizzy.

I hear nothing but silence. It's just like last time. Ikuto isn't saying anything to me, and I'm slipping away. I just want to see him one more time. Just one more…there he is. He sees me. He's not saying anything to me, but I need to say something. "Ikuto…I…love…" and he takes my hand. Maybe I'll die here. Maybe not. But I got to see him one more time…one more…

0 0 0

I'm starting to cry. Great, while I play my violin, I'm starting to cry. I hope when I turn around, she's awake. As hopeful as I can be, that's the one thing I want in life right now, and probably for the rest of life (except Amu's love and affection, of course). I just hope everyone else is wishing for just that right now, for her eyes to open and for her voice to echo in this room. Man, wouldn't that be nice, to not hear just my voice in this room and to be alone with my thoughts? Amu, you need to wake up right now.

0 0 0

Everything disappears. I don't see the street anymore, the café is gone, and Ikuto is back to where he was before: right next to me. "Do you remember now?" I don't remember this, but it must've happened, because I'm hurting everywhere. There are bruises all over my body and I can still feel blood. I just want to fall down to the ground and scream in agony, but he's holding me. "But you're okay," he whispers. I look up at him.

I am? How long…how long has this dream been going on? "You just need to wake up. You need to wake up right now!" He yells at me. He's still crying and I can't cry. Why can't I cry with him? "Oh, Amu, I miss you so much right now. I need to hear your voice, I need to see your eyes, and I need to see you smile. All you have to do is open your eyes," he shakes his head and holds onto me. "I've been here for you since that day, and you need to open your eyes right now," My eyes are open, but…but they're not?

Somehow, Ikuto's warmth disappears again and I'm suddenly very cold. I close my eyes and hear music.

Is…is that a violin? Is Ikuto playing the violin? I can feel my eyes twitching to open, and I feel this uncomfortable bed below me. Where am I? I can feel something in my throat, pushing air into my lungs. This hurts! And sucks! I hear the violin and I hear Ikuto crying again. Please don't cry. I'll wake up. I'll do it for you.

I'll open my eyes.

0 0 0

There. It's done. My piece is done. I look back to Amu and I see nothing. She's not awake. I tried, Mom, I really did, but there's nothing I can do now. I lean against the windowsill and start to cry. God, this hurts and sucks so much. I turn back to Amu and leave my violin to the window. "God, Amu, why couldn't you wake up!" I yell in pain.

I'll never get to see her smile again, to see her eyes stare into mine, to hear her voice…I look up at the clock in the room. It's been two hours since I came here. I played for two hours of my life, but it did nothing. I sit next to her and place my face in my hands. This is not happening, is it?

Of course it's happening, of course this is not a dream or a fantasy. This is reality, despite how terrible this event truly is and how I do not want to be in this position. I don't want to be at her funeral, but when the time comes, I'll have to carry her coffin in the ground and pour dirt on her body, never to see it again. Great, now I'm thinking about her funeral and not her living.

I look at her and see her still lying there, still breathing from that machine, still hearing her heartbeat at the same pace—or is it faster now? I can't tell. I take her hand and hold back so much pain. But it's forcefully coming out, all the tears and all of the pain my heart has been through just going through my body. Nothing will come like Amu did, nothing will take away this pain like Amu did. She was my drug, my aspirin to all of this pain, and now I have no more medicine to take. What's going to happen now?

As much as I would want to join her, she would not want that. I would have to wait years and years of loneliness before I'd join her in the afterlife. What a horrible feeling that is, too, knowing that I'll be alone because I can't be with anyone but Amu. No one is that beautiful, no one is that special, and no one can have my heart the way she has it, despite her taking it with her when she dies.

I squeeze her hand. Why did you have to die Amu? Why did you have to never wake up from everything I did? From those strawberries to now, with the violin, why could you not just open your eyes? I've been here since you got in the hospital and I did everything for you. Was it not enough? Should I continue playing until your scheduled death? I know you mean well when you hold my hand, bu—wait.

What…?

Someone is squeezing back and I've felt this before. I stare at her hand and see her fingers moving around my own. Is this a dream? No, this isn't a dream, I've been here for a long time, so how is this… I look at her face and see tears falling from her eyes. She's trying to talk to me, trying to at least move her mouth, but that damned tube is still in her throat. Her chest is stammering, almost as if she's crying. She probably can't move most of her body due to her lack of strength, but I know she wants me to hold her. My body can't control itself, but my voice yells: "Nurse!" I'm getting really excited over this, something so small to someone but so grand to myself. "Rima!" I don't let go of her hand. I can't, not when she's here, hanging onto her lifeline. My heart is probably swelling with relief and I'm probably going to feel some kind of happiness soon. I don't care.

And as I look back in her face, there's what I've been... waiting for. Her golden…golden…

Eyes.

WELL. That's uneventful.

YES! Amu FINALLY wakes up. Of course, she can't talk with a tube in her mouth, but she made some awesome noises, just saying. I edited this piece of crap a lot, and I still don't like it, but it's a lot better than what I had yesterday. It was only 1800 words, and this is 2800! HOLY HELL. I wish I could've elaborated more on Ikuto and that, but I really felt that Amu's perspective of that day was a little more important.

So! Where does that leave the REST of the chapters? (I'm going up to 30, possibly 31)

Next chapter, I haven't decided yet. I don't know if I should go into Day 26 or if I should go a month later (there's a reason for a month) and have some flashbacks. Either way, the rest of the chapters are probably going to be between 2500-3000 words. And probably the last chapter is going to be either a short chapter or a long one. I CAN'T DECIDE! DX

I know what I want to do, though. Good thing I have that down, right? xP

WITH THAT SAID, I think I'll respond to all of those reviews next chapter. There's a ton, and I can't wait to answer some of these! AND! If you still have questions or comments or ANYTHING, please review or message me or anything! I answer anyone and everyone, even those that probably hate me! 8D

So please review! I worked hard, I think. And thank you for those putting me on your alerts/favorites/whatever else there could be on this site. I can't thank you readers enough!

Until next time!

TLS