Hey guys! We finally got 300+ reviews! Thank you guys so much and I have said thanks so many times but I can't say it enough like A BILLION HUGS FOR EVERYONE! I really appreciate everything, so lets continue with chapter 37!
Rikka's P.O.V:
I covered my mouth with my hand, horrified of the sight before me. It was an empty room, but with a hanging rope attached to the ceiling. I walked in carefully, I can't believe they kept this up. I've heard of keeping memories but this is just insane. There was a piece of paper on the floor, I closed the door to make sure no one saw me in here. I picked up the paper.
I'm sorry
P.S: You can keep my beanie Hikaru, keep it safe kid.
I quickly folded up the note and put it back where I found it. I can't believe this, the parents are probably insane if they kept this. I wonder if the family is ok with this here, especially Nanami, she is the youngest after all. Speaking of Nanami, she looked super tired, I wonder what happened to her. I stepped out of the room and closed it shut. I walked over to the room beside it, it was completly trashed, but the walls were painted pink and there was a bed with Nanami on it.
"Hey Nanami, what are you doing?" I asked, she turned to look at me, she looked completly brain dead.
"Just catching up on some homework, Sensei said I need to bring my grades up." She said, her eyes drooping down slowly.
"What grade are you in?" I asked.
"I'm in fifth grade." She answered.
"And why are you doing homework so late?" I asked.
"Because I needed to clean the house a little today, I also had to make food for mommy and daddy. They freaked out again today, but I only got a tiny bruise this time." She said, my eyes went wide.
"What do you mean, 'freaked out?'" I was really hoping I wouldn't hear what I would.
"Promise not to tell? Mommy and daddy said never to tell anyone." She said, I nodded. "Well, sometimes when I come in to their room, they start yelling 'its your fault' or 'you could have done something' and hit me." She said, I couldn't even describe the anger I felt right now.
"Do you have any scars or bruises right now?" I asked, trying to hide my anger.
"Well I have one on my arm, and my leg, also a big one on my back, but that was caused by daddy's belt." She said.
"Does Hikaru know?" I asked.
"No, and you can't tell him or else mommy and daddy will get angry." She said. "Now pinky promise." She demanded, holding out her pinky. I sighed, I can't lie to a child. I put my pinky near hers and she wrapped around it tightly. I told her goodnight and walked back to Hikaru's room, he was currently reading a manga.
"Hey Hikaru, mind if I stay the night?" I asked, his eyes widened.
"A girl? Staying over at a boy's house? Isn't that a little weird?" He asked, I raised an eyebrow.
"Its not like we're doing anything or sleeping in the same bed. Besides, I don't feel like having Ikuto yell at me all night." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Won't they worry about you?" Hikaru asked.
"To be honest, Ikuto worrys too much. I mean, I feel like he worrys more about me then Amu, and I basically just met him." I grumbled.
"Blood is thicker then water Rikka, maybe he wants to protect you because you are his sister. I mean, you've been missing for about 15 years now, maybe he just doesn't want to lose you again." Hikaru said, flipping through the pages of his manga.
"That was pretty insightful Hikaru." I smiled sweetly at him, he blushed slightly and just kept reading his manga. "Anyway, just give me a comforter and some pillows and I'll be fine on the floor." I said, Hikaru rolled his eyes and went to go get the items I asked for. He came back in with some pillows and a big comforter and set it all on the floor. He laid down on it and sighed.
"What are you doing, I was going to sleep on the floor." I asked.
"I'm not letting a girl sleep on the floor, besides, I like sleeping on the floor." He said, moving around a little to get comfortable. I chuckled slightly and jumped onto his bed, nuzzling my face into the pillows. They had his scent lingering on them, which I found quite enjoyable.
"What abou pajamas? You can't sleep in clothes that you've been walking in all day, thats unsanitary." Hikaru said with a disgusted face.
"Oh, I see Hikaru is a bit of a health freak." I smirked.
"I am not, I just like things clean." Hikaru said. "Just borrow one of my clean shirt, they should be in that closet." He said, I went over to the closet and opened it. There were many shirts in there, so I pulled one out and went out into the hallway. This time I actually found the bathroom and went in. I looked at the shirt, it was obviously going to be too big because its Hikaru's, not because hes fat, hes like muscly. Then an evil thought crosses my mind, causing me to smirk. Hikaru is obviously uncomfortable with me just staying here, so lets make him more uncomfortable. I usually don't sleep in a bra, and I thought it would be better if I kept it on for this sleepover, but not anymore. I took of my bra and slipped the shirt on, obviously my... nips were poking out. I chuckled slightly, nips is a funny word, nips.
After about five minutes of laughing about that word, I went back on track. I took of my pants, leaving the over-sized shirt and my panties on. I took out my twin buns and took a good look in the mirror, perfect.
I walked back into Hikaru's room, I opened the door to see him taking off his shirt. He turned around and looked at me, or should I say mostly my chest. So there we stood, each looking at each other's chests. My ears were burning along with my cheeks, and Hikaru's face was entirely red. He did have a nice chest, nicely toned and stuff.
"I AM SO SORRY!" I shouted, then slammed the door shut. I think this sleepover is uncomfortable enough already. I ran back into the bathroom and put my bra on and slipped on my pants, hopefully he won't care if I sleep in pants. I walk back to the door and knock on it, Hikaru opened it, he had his pajamas on now. His head was down slightly, so I could not see his expression. I walked in and rushed over to his bed, laying down onto it and stuffing my face into it. God that was so embarrassing! I didn't think he would stare at me like that, and I didn't think he was shirtless. But somehow, perverted thoughts entered my mind. I felt like screaming, but instead I started spazzing out on his bed. This must be from Ikuto's side of the family!
"Rikka, are you ok?" Hikaru asked as he watched me spazz out. I started flailing my legs around while my hands were gripping each side of my head.
"Get...the...images...out!" I shouted, slamming my head repeatedly into the pillow.
"Oh, I'm sorry Rikka, I didn't mean to stare like that." Hikaru apologized, I looked at him.
"No, I should be the one who is sorry, I should have knocked." I sighed, I felt my muscles finally relax.
"Well, goodnight." Hikaru said, then plopped his head on the pillow.
"Yeah, goodnight." I said, then I sighed. Luckily, I quickly fell asleep. Yet many thoughts were running through my head.
My eyes shot open, I was standing in front of Hikaru's house.
"Huh, why am I out here?" I asked myself, the door was wide open so I just walked in. I heard crying upstairs and I quickly ran up there. I heard it coming from Kinji's old room, I tried opening the door but my hand passed right through the knob.
"The hell?" I slightly murmered to myself. Well if that works, I walked straight through the door and looked at the scene in front of me. A boy that looked like an older Hikaru was standing there, yelling at a crying boy who had his head down. I looked around and noticed the room was furnished completly, but when I came in here last time it wasn't.
"Please Kinji, don't do it!" The young boy cried, his head shot up. My eyes widened slightly, it was Hikaru, so then that was...
"Hikaru, get out! I need to do this, its too late!" Kinji shouted, he was gripping the rope hanging from the celing tightly. Oh god, is this when Kinji hung himself.
"Stop Kinji, don't do it!" I shouted, yet he couldn't hear.
"I refuse to leave if you're doing this!" Hikaru shouted, then Kinji kicked him square in the face. I covered my mouth in shock, Hikaru was knocked out and his nose was slightly bleeding. I kneeled next to him and tried picking him up, but my arms passed right through him. I looked at Kinji, he was breathing deeply and he had a regretful expression. He stood on the chair and put the around his neck, I quickly looked away but I could hear his neck crack slightly. I was horrfied, the only sound left was the the rope, swinging back and forth. A sudden gush of wind came, causing me to close my eyes. I opened them when the wind stopped, all the furniture was gone, Kinji was gone and as was Hikaru.
I went downstairs and heard plates shaking, I ran into another hallway. I didn't notice this walking into Hikaru's house. I looked at a family photo that was framed and it was hanging on the wall. One problem though, it was cracked. I frowned and heard more plates rattling, I ran towards the sound. I walked through another door and saw Nanami with a large platter that held plates with diffrent varieties of food. There were two other people in the office-looking room, they looked middle-aged and completly brain dead.
"Mama, Papa, I brought you guys food." Nanami said, yet the two parents stayed silent. Nanami put the platter on the desk and started walking out, until the man grabbed her by her collar.
"Why didn't you stop him!" He shouted, he looked psycho.
"Papa, I'm sorry!" Nanami cried, tears rushing down her face.
"Its your fault, if you stopped him, he would still be here!" The father shouted, the mother sat emotionless.
"I couldn't do anything though" Nanami whispered, the man gritted his teeth and threw the young girl on the floor. He started going through his closet, then he pulled out a brown belt. I gasped and ran in front of Nanami, yet the belt passed right through me. I heard a strong slapping sound, almost matching the sound of a whip cracking. The father was panting while Nanami was quietly sobbing, I looked behind me and saw the red scar on her back. So this is what she meant, the big bruise on her back.
"Stop crying, you're a pathetic excuse of a daughter!" The father shouted, more cracks were heard. The mother slightly turned her head towards the scene, yet did nothing about it. I felt tears slide down my cheeks as the painful sound continued. Another gush of wind came, this time, I opened my eyes and everything was completly white. I looked down and noticed I was on a cloud. I looked foward and saw Kinji, he had a white suit on with a halo above him.
"Kinji." I whispered, yet I know he could hear me. I narrowed my eyes as he mouthed something. Two phrases and I could feel more tears slide down my cheeks. Suddenly, everything started shaking and cracking. The sky was falling, the cloud beneath me started falling apart.
"Kinji, watch out!" I shouted, yet he mouthed the same words again as he fell. My eyes widened as I curled into a ball and started sobbing. I knew his wish now, I had to carry it on. Suddenly, the piece of cloud beneath me broke, and I started falling into the abyss. The words echoed in my head.
I'm sorry, help them.
My eyes shot open as I threw myself up. I had a cold sweat and I touched my cheeks, I was crying in my sleep. I looked at Hikaru, he was turned away from me. So, either those were some vivid dreams, or Kinji sent me those memories from this family. I can't believe this is what this family went through.
"Why are you awake Rikka?" Hikaru asked.
"I should be asking you the same thing." I said.
"I don't like sleeping on the floor, but its my only option." He said, I smiled at him.
"You miss him, right?" I asked.
"Of course I do, stupid question." Hikaru muttered.
"Well someones grumpy at 4 in the morning." I said, staring at the clock on his nightstand.
"Did you have a nightmare?" He asked.
"Why?" I raised my eyebrow.
"I heard you crying in your sleep, I was a bit worried but I didn't want to wake you up." He said, so I was was crying my sleep.
"Yeah, something like a nightmare." More like your life.
"Well, its just a nightmare, go back to sleep." He said, not another word spoken. I couldn't sleep, I've been awake for about an hour now. All I had in my mind was the sounds in my dream, the neck slightly snapping, the rope swinging, the whipping of the belt. I shivered at the thought of them, how was I supposed to get some sleep? I looked at Hikaru, his body rising and falling, he probably fell asleep already. I climbed out of bed and crawled next to him. I wrapped my arms around his stomach and snuggled beside him. And like that, I fell asleep in a instant.
I woke with a weird feeling, like butterflies were fluttering in my stomach. I opened my eyes and yawned slightly, I was super tired. I looked around me, it was still dark, did I wake up in the middle of the night again? Then I noticed, something was covering me. I looked in front of me, a skin colored type of wall was there. I poked it slightly and heard a giggle. I looked up and saw Hikaru's head resting on mine. My face was blank as I blinked twice, then it went red as I tried to scoot away from him. But, his arm that was over my face was holding my back. If I make any sudden movements, I'll wake him up. But if I just stay here, he'll wake up and see me next to him.
Well this is quite a conundrum.
Besides, how did we postition like this anyway? I remember snuggling up against his back, he probably unconciously turned over and snuggled with me like a child would with a plushie. AND WHEN DID HE TAKE OFF HIS SHIRT, OH GOD WHY?! His shirt was still on when I crawled into bed with him, wait, was it?
"Onii-," Someone started as they walked in, I instantly froze. Oh god, it would be hard to explain this to anyone. I heard footsteps grow louder as the person came closer. I could feel the persons presence as it looked over me, it better not be the parents. Suddenly, they threw Hikaru's arm off me, so I could finally see it was Nanami.
"What are you-," She started, until I covered her mouth with my hand. She raised an eyebrow at me, I put a finger to my lips and made a 'shh' sound. She pryed my hand off her mouth and walked over to Hikaru, then she shrieked into his ear. Yet Hikaru didn't move, he remained asleep.
"When Hikaru is asleep, he might as well be dead. You can't wake him up easily." Nanami said, I sighed. "Now, why were you sleeping with him?" Nanami asked with a smirk.
"Oh, sometimes I sleep walk when I have nightmares. I usually go to my parents room, but since I wasn't with my parents, I slept with Hikaru." I lied, I can't tell her that I did it of my own free will.
"Oh, ok, well I have breakfast ready downstairs if you want some." She said.
"Are your parents home?" I asked, hoping they weren't.
"They're at work." Nanami answered, then she walked out. I sighed in relief, I looked at Hikaru who was still sleeping soundly. I should wake him up, Nanami worked hard on breakfast and it is the most important meal of the day. But how, Nanami said he is a heavy sleeper. What can I do to wake him up? I looked around the room, there was a coach's whistle. I took it and kneeled next to him and blew it, the sound made me want to cover my own ears. Yet Hikaru just mumbled something and turned over. I sighed, as I tapped my finger on my chin, trying to think of something else. Then I snapped my fingers and remembered something, yet it was a horrible memory, it might work.
~Flashback~
There I was in 4th grade, before I gained my androphobia. Just playing in the sandbox like a normal kid would, then I saw my crush walk by. I swooned and continued to build my castle (it was just a sand mound.) I saw him talking to his friends while giggling and pointing at me. Did he know I had a crush on him? He started walking this way and I panicked, what did he want?
"Hey Rikka, I heard you liked me." He said, I felt my face burn up.
"Yeah, a little." I said, not daring to look at him.
"Well, would you like a kiss? Thats what people do when they like each other, right?" He asked, I stared at him with wide eyes.
"You like me?" I asked.
"Yeah, you're pretty cool." He said with a grin.
"Sure, we can kiss." I said with a bright smile. I closed my eyes and leaned in, as I felt his warm lips pressed against mine, but they weren't as soft as I thought they would be. I opened my eyes and saw he was just pressing his two fingers against mine. He burst out laughing, as did his friends. I felt so embarrassed that I ran away into the girl's bathroom.
~End Of Flashback~
I sighed at the memory, having crushes in 4th grade is stupid anyway. Thank god that guy didn't take my first kiss, that would've been a waste. I sighed and I pressed two fingers against his lips, they were warm and felt soft. Hikaru started kissing them deeper, I held my hand over my mouth to hold my chuckles. He started licking my fingers and I almost burst out laughing. I pulled my fingers away and leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"Do you like that Hikaru?" I whispered seductively, he nodded. "God dammit Hikaru, get up, this is just getting gross. Including you slobbered all over my finger." I complained as I rubbed my finger against his blanket. His eyes shot open as he glared at me with a rosy red blush.
"What the hell Rikka?!" He exclaimed.
"Its not my fault you decided to get intimate with my fingers." I joked, he pushed me down. "No need to get violent." I frowned, getting back up.
"Do I smell bacon?" Hikaru asked, getting up and running out the door. I followed quickly behind and saw Nanami frying bacon on a frying pan.
"Hey guys, your eggs are already on the counter." She said, there was a nice granite kitchen island with two plates of eggs, sunny-side up.
Yummy.
Hikaru scarfed down the egg within a minute while I was only one-fourths done with mine. Nanami gave us some bacon and I looked at her eyes, she had blood-shot eyes and there were sleeping bags underneath them.
"Well, I have to go clean up the house." Nanami said, starting to walk away until I grabbed her shoulder.
"No, let me do it." I said, she stared at me.
"I can't let you do that." She whispered, Hikaru just stared at the two of us.
"Please, I really want to, you go get some sleep." I said, she smiled and nodded. She ran upstairs and I sighed.
"So you noticed too?" Hikaru asked.
"What?" I asked.
"Shes tired, I wish I could help her, but I have my own problems." Hikaru muttered, stabbing at his bacon with his fork.
"Well you're helping me today." I said, he chuckled.
"I don't clean, I'd rather cook or something." He said.
"Well you're cleaning today." I said, he glared at me but I was already looking through their closet, looking for cleaning supplies.
Amu's P.O.V:
I stood in front of the huge building, Ikuto already regretting driving me here.
"I can cure you myself, we don't have to be here." Ikuto grumbled.
"Tell me the reason why you don't want me cured by a professional and I'll back out." I said, his eyes widened.
"Really?" He asked, I nodded. Of course I was lying, this could be a real way to get cured. I really wanted to know what was bothering him so much about this.
"I'm afraid that if you are cured, you won't come over as much for lessons. And you will be able to touch more boys." He said, I smiled.
"Aw, Ikuto is jealous." I said, ruffling his hair.
"Shut up." He growled, yet I could see a light tint of pink on his cheeks.
"Well, if he cures me, I'll let you have a free day with me." I said with a smirk.
"Free day?" He asked.
"Yep, you can do anything to me as long as it is not illegal." I said in a warning tone, he chuckled.
"You wouldn't let me have a free day." He scoffed.
"Don't underestimate me." I frowned, he chuckled and started walking towards the building. I followed him and walked into the building. The first floor was a beautiful lobby with a nice round front desk and black leather couches near the windows as a waiting room.
"Hello, do you have an appointment with anyone?" The lady at the front desk asked.
"I am here to see... Mr. Iwate." I said, reading the text that Rikka sent me a while ago. I also asked her where she was, but she didn't answer that one.
"Top floor." She answered simply, I thanked her and walked over to the elevator. I clicked the button that says 18, which was the top floor.
"I still don't like this. Besides, you said that if I told you, you wouldn't go." Ikuto complained.
"Well, you don't always get what you want in life." I said, he grumbled something and looked away from me. The doors of the elevator opened, revealing a long hallway with only double doors at the end.
"He has his own floor, pretty special guy then." I said, Ikuto looked bored. I walked down the hallway and stood in front of the double doors, each had golden lion heads with a knocker in their mouth. I grabbed it and pounded it on the door, then two women opened the door dressed in maids outfits.
"Is this Mr. Iwate's office?" I asked, the girls nodded. Then, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket.
Careful, Mr. Iwate is a bit... weird.
-Rikka
I wonder what she means by weird. Ikuto and I walked into the room, there were huge windows that overlooked the entire city. There was a black desk with a black office chair facing towards the windows. There were modern white couches in front of the desk, the walls were painted white while the floor was carpeted gray.
"Where the hell is he?" Ikuto grumbled, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Why hello guests~." A man chirped as the chair turned around. He was wearing a purple suit with a galaxy tie. He had wavey blonde hair that ended at his shoulders , with icy-silver eyes.
"Are you-?" I started.
"Amu darling~! I've heard so much about you~, and that doesn't necessarily mean good things~!" He said with a good laugh. "Oh, I kid too much, anyway, please take a seat~." He chimed, pointing to the white couches. Ikuto and I sat down, the couches were much softer then I expected.
"So you're the professional?" Ikuto question, I could tell he was skeptical of him. This man was rather... cheery if you ask me. So thats what Rikka meant by weird.
"Well, those degrees don't hang up there for nothing~." He said, I turned around and saw a lot of college degrees.
"Sounds more like you're trying to brag." Ikuto spat, I sighed at his behavior.
"Oh maybe just a little~. Doesn't hurt to get a compliment every now and then~." He giggled, Ikuto's eyes widened a bit.
"Anyway, Amu, tell me more about your situation." Mr. Iwate asked, his tone changing from peppy to completly serious. He took out some reading glasses and put them on, along with a notebook and looked at me.
"Well, I have androphobia, just like Rikka had. The only exception is Ikuto and one of my other friends." I said, he nodded as he jotted down some notes.
"Now, when did you get androphobia and why?" He asked.
"Well, I was around five years old. My dad was drunk and pushed me down onto the cement, leaving serious head damage." I said, he wrote down more notes.
"Where is your father right now?" He asked.
"He died, the same night he pushed me down to the ground." I answered, his eyes had pain in them.
"I am so sorry for your loss, I too lost both of my parents in a house fire." He said, looking down at his notebook.
"Oh, I'm sorry." I said, he shook his head.
"No its ok, now what other family members do you have?" He asked.
"Currently, I live with my mother and sister." I said.
"Has your family been affected by the death at all?" He asked.
"My sister wasn't born yet when he died, but I can tell she was sad because she never met him. My mother works twice as hard now, just separating the family even more." I answered, mumbling the last part. He wrote down some more notes while we sat in silence.
"Ok Amu, from the information I gathered, you can be cured." He said closing the notebook. I felt so relieved.
"But, there is a catch." He said, and suddenly the worry came back.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Well, I can simply remove your androphobia with a special type of hypnosis. But, it might wipe the rest of your memory." He answered.
"My entire memory? I will be regain it right?" I asked.
"Well, no. The hypnosis erases your androphobia completely, and I don't really know how to explain it, but there were patients that lost their memory. Of course you'll remember basic things such as reading, writing, walking. But all other memorys, might be wiped." He sighed.
"You're a professional, you should know how to explain it to us!" Ikuto shouted, and continued shouting other things at him. I just felt my heart get heavy, I can't believe my only answer has a flaw in it. I don't want to lose my memory.
Not again.
So here is the big life choice Amu has to face. She can either get cured with the risk of losing her memories, or she can somehow cure it herself. OOOOO, THE ANTICIPATION MUST BE KILLING YOU, AMIRIGHT? Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Sorry for the late update, BUT HOUSE PARTY TOUR IS TOMORROW AND ITS KILLING ME. I want to be there right now!
Please R&R!