TW: Drugging (I don't specify any of this however its implied they're similar to chloroform & a tranquillizer gun/needle), implied kidnapping.
xvii
The ride was quiet, aside from when Tsukasa decided to turn on the radio to fill the air with some music. Unsurprisingly, he chose a channel that played exclusively classical music. They ended up stopping at a healthy food cafe that sold salads, soups, sandwiches, and more, all made with fresh food. Unsure what to order, Amu just got a fruit salad and a protein smoothie.
"How do you feel about sleeping over again tonight?" Tadase questioned as they ate, while his father was in the bathroom. "I know I just sent you back home but I just want to make sure you're doing alright. If your parents are an issue, I'm sure otou-san can think of a plan."
Amu hummed in thought as she chewed on a cube of honeydew. "Even with a good plan, I feel like my parents would get worried… Well, maybe not so much Mama but Papa for sure will start getting suspicious and worried." she stabbed her fork into a banana slice and stuffed it in her mouth as she continued, "I could just say I'm going to another friends house but…I'm not sure it's worth the risk of getting anyone else involved."
Tadase frowned slightly. That wasn't the response he wanted to hear. He kind of wanted her to just beam and nod her head enthusiastically. "Are you sure? I know you don't like others having to deal with your nightmares, especially not your parents. We can…just say that we have a project we need to finish that we forgot about. You don't even have to stay, you can just drop by for a bit and go home."
Amu stabbed at her fruit salad indecisively for a second before finally choosing a strawberry to pick up and eat. "I mean…I guess it couldn't hurt…"
Amu did like being able to stay with Tadase but…if she stayed away from home—at a boys' place, to boot—for too long, her father might cry about it or even boycott their relationship. She hummed again, wondering why Tadase would ask her to come back to his place after only a day of being back at her house. Maybe Amu forgot something at his place and he wanted her to pick it up…? Or he was just that desperate to stay with her again, which she wouldn't complain about.
"Great!" Tadase grinned. "I'll have otou-san take us back to our place then! I have a surprise for you when we get back!"
Amu tilted his head. Was today a special day? Was Amu forgetting something? She was still a bit too tired to think about it so she continued eating, nodding along to Tadase's words. Once Tsukasa returned and Amu finished eating, she took her smoothie with her to go and they left for Tadase's house again. At the rate things were going, Tadase's place was going to end up being Amu's second home.
When they got back to Tadase's place, Tadase told Amu to wait in his bedroom. That was when Amu realized what day it was; it had been their third month since they started dating. An immediate wash of guilt fell over her when she realized Tadase seemingly had a plan all set, possibly planned a bit in advance, while she had nothing to offer for him. Besides fainting on him, of course, which wasn't much of a 'monthsary' gift.
Tadase disappeared from the bedroom, telling Amu to close her eyes until he told her to open them again. When he returned and told Amu to open her eyes, Amu was met with a flower bouquet and a box that was a lot larger than Amu would have ever expected. She looked up at Tadase incredulously, as if non-verbally asking him 'are you serious?'.
"Don't give me that look, Amu-chan," Tadase chided playfully with an amused chuckle. "Just open the box. I'll explain all of your questions after."
Amu rolled her eyes playfully and opened the box. Inside of it was an outfit and some accessories, neatly folded and placed under some tissue paper. From what Amu could see, it looked like some kind of black plaid mesh outfit and a chunky chain necklace. She glanced back up at Tadase, her expression still the same incredulous look as it was when Tadase first handed her the box. She really hoped Tadase hadn't bought all of this for her. It was already enough that he bought her the beret and glasses, plus all the food and drinks he refused to let Amu pay for.
"I know what you're thinking," Tadase said, once again noting Amu's expression. "The dress and…uh gloves? I guess, are Utau-chan's. The only thing I bought myself was the necklace. After we had dropped you back at your house yesterday, I had niisan take me back to that hat place, since I saw some other accessories I thought you would like at the cash register."
Amu hummed, looking from the contents of the box to Tadase. So the outfit was Utau's? Amu wondered how hard it was to get permission to get it to give it to her. Did that mean Tadase told Utau about Amu? Or maybe he was vague about it. She would feel a little embarrassed knowing a nationwide famous idol was aware of Amu's existence, even though she was sure the Hoshina Utau probably had better things to worry about.
"Why don't you try it on?" Tadase offered. "I know you've worn Utau-chan's clothing before but it would be nice to see if this fits too."
Amu nodded her head, somewhat reluctantly, and stood up, making her way towards the bathroom. Of course, Amu really appreciated the flowers, flowers were always nice to get. Still, she couldn't help but think Tadase was spoiling her too much. What civilization had she saved in her past life to deserve someone as sweet as Tadase?
As she put in the outfit, she couldn't help but feel her confidence going up. It felt as if this outfit was the physical embodiment of her confidence. Like it was made for her out of the confidence that she pretended to have around most others. Amu liked the vibes she had wearing this outfit. She looked like the baddest bitch in town. She smiled in satisfaction before making her way back to Tadase's room to show him.
Tadase's eyes lit up as soon as he saw Amu. He stood up and met Amu at the door, clutching her hands in his. "You. Look. Awesome, Amu-chan!"
Amu smiled meekly and looked away bashfully. "Th-thanks, Tadase-kun… I kinda feel awesome too."
"Does that mean you like it, then?" Tadase grinned, squeezing Amu's hands. Amu nodded and Tadase's grin grew. "I'm so glad I made the right choice!"
Amu couldn't help but throw her arms around Tadase in a hug, suddenly deciding on how she could make this wonderful gift up to him. "I appreciate it, Tadase-kun. I appreciate you. Let me make it up to you by making dinner. It's the least I can do!"
It had been about a week since Amu had collapsed in front of the schoolyard. It had also been a week since anything too intense had happened to her. She still had some scary nightmares, but none anywhere as near as bad as they used to be. She hadn't been seeing as many hallucinations lately either. Amu couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with all of the positive influence surrounding her, what with Tadase, Ikuto, and all of her other friends being there to support her.
Somehow, though, she knew she wasn't out of the woods yet. She hadn't been outside much during that week besides for school. For all Amu knew, whoever it was that was after her could be devising a better plan. The thought had crossed Amu's mind that maybe they had finally given up on trying to find her but…Amu couldn't think of a valid reason why Saaya would do that after all the previous attempts. Unless her mental health suddenly drastically improved in the span of a week or so. Amu certainly wished her mental health could improve in that span.
Amu hadn't even been given a reason to leave the house, school aside, until one day, while she was pretending to study but actually just reading manga, her mother called her to do some errands for her. Amu sighed and got up from her bed. Of course, she was the one who had to run errands for her mother. Why couldn't she have asked her little sister? She suddenly remembered her sister had dance practice and groaned. And obviously, if Amu's mother was asking her, her mother couldn't do it herself for whatever reason, probably work. With Amu's father on a business trip, Amu was all her mother had to help her out, unfortunately for her.
Then again, it wasn't like Amu's mother even knew about the trauma Amu had involving being out alone, nor did she know about the situation at all. Amu wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. She knew that if either of her parents were aware that she was practically being hunted, they wouldn't be letting Amu leave the house at all. Thus, to not get them involved, Amu purposely tried her best to ensure that no one in her family saw or heard about any of her prior injuries and attacks.
Amu sighed once more as she got to her feet and went down to ask what her mother wanted her to do for her. She contemplated asking someone to go with her but at the same time, didn't want to bother anyone on the weekend no matter how many times her friends told her that she was allowed to. She wondered if it was the social anxiety or introverted-ness in her that caused that. She rounded the stairs and called out to her mother, who was reading a magazine on the couch, probably looking for inspiration for her next magazine article.
Her mother looked up from her magazine. "Oh, Amu-chan! I didn't think you would come down so quick!" She put her magazine down for a second to speak to her daughter with a warm smile. "Do you mind going to the grocery store for me? I have to work on a new article otherwise I'd do it myself."
Amu nodded her head, leaning against the guard rail. "Sure, what did you want from the grocery store?"
"Let me give you a list," Amu's mother beckoned her daughter towards her. Amu complied and her mother quickly jotted down and handed her a list. "Thanks for doing this for me, honey."
Amu took the list and nodded, smiling. "No worries, Mama! I'll leave after I get changed. Good luck with your article!"
Amu's mother returned the smile. "Stay safe. Call me if you need anything."
Amu nodded once more and ran up to her bedroom to put on some proper clothing since she was currently in her pyjamas/lazy day clothing. She ended up deciding on wearing the outfit Tadase had given her the other day because it made her feel more confident with herself. She threw a jacket on over top just in case she got cold. pulled on her trusty combat boots and left the house.
Amu really hoped nothing crazy happened on her way to the grocery store. Things were fairly quiet for the most part the past week or so but that didn't put Amu at ease, nor did it lower her guard any. She had a bad, bad sense of foreboding; like something big was going to happen. The thought didn't reassure her any, so the whole walk there she was very paranoid and careful, even speedwalking (and jogging) in an attempt to get to the grocery store faster. Amu felt like the grocery store wasn't getting any closer no matter how much she walked.
As she walked, she made sure she was very aware of her surroundings, so much so that she was looking around every 5 minutes. She tried not to look too vulnerable as well, which she thought her outfit actually kind of helped with. She even tried to walk manner where it looked like she was untouchable. It was times like these where Amu wished she knew some kind of martial arts or self-defence and regretted not asking her parents to put her in classes earlier. If she knew how to fight, it may have made it easier for her to get out of these situations, maybe saving her from all the previous times she'd gotten hurt too.
Once she had entered the grocery store, where there were plenty of people, she immediately relaxed and set off to find what she had been told to find, looking down at her list every so often to ensure she didn't miss anything. As she walked around, she couldn't help but notice a familiar person who was also mulling around the store. It took her a little bit, but she was finally able to recognize the person as Nagihiko. Not wanting to be a bother, again, she decided to see if he would approach her first. It was a flaw Amu still didn't like about herself; not approaching people she knew in public so as to not seem annoying, creepy or bothersome.
Luckily, Nagihiko finally noticed Amu in the produce aisle. Or rather, he bumped into her in the produce aisle. While Amu was looking for the perfect bunch of tomatoes, Nagihiko accidentally ran into Amu's shopping cart with his own shopping cart. He bowed apologetically but when he stood back straight, he realized who it was. He seemed a little surprised at first but after a second, broke into a smile.
"Fancy seeing you here, Amu-chan!" he said, still grinning as he looked her up and down. "Did you come here shopping? You look fantastic by the way!"
Amu mirrored Nagihiko's smile and nodded. "Yeah, I'm running errands for Mama. How about you?"
"I'm also doing some shopping," Nagihiko responded, nodding as well. "Not for my mom, though, since I live alone. How much more shopping do you have left?"
Amu checked her list, humming as she counted how many entries she had left. "I'm about half done. Why?"
"Why don't we finish our shopping together?" Nagihiko suggested with a toothy grin. "We haven't had much time to talk, just the two of us. Now feels like the perfect opportunity."
Amu hummed in thought before nodding her head in agreement. At least she wouldn't be alone the entire time, not that she was as worried being in a bustling grocery store. The two shopped together, talking about anything they could think of. Nagihiko asked how Amu and Tadase's relationship was going, how she was doing, and so on. It was nice having someone to talk to, especially when Amu was already apprehensive about being alone. At least for the period that they were together, she had someone who could potentially help her if something happened.
Unfortunately, their trip ended just around 15-20 minutes after they had decided to shop together. Amu hadn't realized shopping could be so quick and fun when there was someone to talk to. As much as Amu hoped Nagihiko would offer to walk home with her, he did not, and Amu didn't want to pressure him to. The two parted ways, Nagihiko saying he'd see Amu at school later. Amu just smiled and waved as he walked away. That foreboding feeling returned the moment they stepped out from the grocery store and heightened as Nagihiko left.
As soon as Nagihiko was out of sight, Amu instantly felt anxious again. She had the feeling that she was being watched. There was also a strong feeling in her gut that something was going to happen. Something that might prevent Amu from seeing Nagihiko, or anyone, for a long time. She tried to hurry home but it was all in vain.
Around halfway to her house, Amu started to hear movement behind her; footsteps, rustling, she even swore she heard whistling once or twice. She turned around but saw nothing. Typical. She sighed and continued walking. Another block of walking was done and she was almost home when, suddenly, a cloth was placed over Amu's nose and mouth. She tried to struggle but, maybe as a good measure on their part, Amu felt a prick in her neck as they also injected her with something. The grocery bags in Amu's hands instantly fell to the ground, the groceries spilling and splatting all over the place as Amu also fell along with them.
A/N: And here's where the fun/cutesy part ends and the real angst begins. There will probably be trigger warnings on the next like...4 chapters? Mind you, since I'm not good at gore/violence it's not too intense but I know people can get triggered easily by the events that are going to play out in the next few chapters. A lot of foreshadowing has led up to this moment, I'm sure it's easy to spot even within this episode.
I might re-write some more chapters before I start posting again bc I like being slightly ahead so I constantly have stuff to post if I so desire. I have up to 20 re-written and edited now tho so still a bit ahead.
Have a good specific time of day 3
-Niki