Disclaimer: I do NOT own Shugo Chara!

AAAAHHH! SOOOO SORRY! I've been so busy and stressed about things going on in my life that I forgot I had already written this chapter and forgot to post it! GAH! ENJOY!

Chapter 9

Found You

A messenger reached Easter kingdom an hour after the princess had ran away, telling the king and queen that the king and queen of Seiyo were desperately searching for their daughter, wondering if they would help them.

Ikuto, having over-heard this information, wasted no time in running to the stables to head out on his own horse. He heard of all the places that they had checked. The only place left to check that he could think of was the forest between their two kingdoms. And that is where he immediately headed.

He searched and searched. 'Damn it…where is she?!' He wouldn't give up, vowing to search the entire forest if he had to. He suddenly stopped. 'But…why? Why am I trying so hard? I've only known her for a couple of weeks…Is this out of duty? Obligation? Or something more…?'

It was then that he heard the sound of somebody crying. He listened carefully, leading his horse quietly towards the sound of the crying.

And then he found her-her horse grazing the nearby grass, with her sitting on a large rock beside a river. She had her hands over her face, her shoulders shaking as she cried. Her hair was a mess and parts of her dress had been torn. He dismounted his horse and approached her quietly. "…Amu?"

Amu gasped, looking up, moving her hands away from her face. She then quickly looked away from him, returning her hands to her face. "…go away. I don't want to see you."

"Why?"

"Because…! Because…! Ugh, this is stupid! Why?! Why do you make me feel like this?!" She shouted at him.

Ikuto reached her, kneeling beside her. "Make you feel like what, Amu?"

Amu shook her head. "It's not fair! I've only known you for a couple weeks! We were forced to meet! This is all wrong! I didn't want to fall for somebody this…way…" Her words got quieter towards the end of her last sentence.

Ikuto reached up and gently moved her hands away from her face. The little bit of mascara she had been wearing had begun to run and her eyes were red from crying. "Amu, I understand how you feel-because your thoughts are my own."

Amu looked away from him. "I don't want this."

"I know you don't."

"I don't want you."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying!" She snapped.

Ikuto shook his head. "If you truly don't want me, then I will walk away now-I will cancel our engagement and you will never see me again. Push me away and I will respect your wishes." He stood, and began to walk away.

Amu thought back on every meeting they had had until now. Every word, every touch, when he had kissed her forehead…she hadn't realized just how much all of that had meant to her…until now. "Ikuto!" She stood, running towards him…wrapping her arms around him from behind him.

Ikuto, surprised, glanced over his shoulder to see her crying against his back. "Amu…?"

"Please…don't go! You're the first person to see me for who I am, to not judge me, to not order me around…I don't want to lose that! I…I don't want to be alone anymore!" She sobbed, clinging tighter to him.

Ikuto frowned, eyes gentle. "Amu…" He turned around in her arms, holding her against his chest, his chin on top of her head. "You don't have to be alone anymore. I'm here. I'm here." He comforted her, simply holding her like that until she calmed down.

Amu's sobs stopped a couple minutes later, as she leaned against his chest, keeping her arms around him.

Ikuto tilted her chin up, looking into her eyes. He wiped away her tears and kissed her forehead softly. "Amu, I don't want to lose all that either."

Amu looked surprised. "You…don't?"

Ikuto shook his head. "You're always just out of my reach. Just when I think I'm getting closer to you, you pull away. It makes me want to pursue you even more. When I'm not near you, and in a boring meeting, all I can think about is you. Amu, I don't want to stop seeing you."

Amu hugged him tightly, burying her face against his coat.

It was then that Ikuto noticed she was shivering. It was already the beginning of October, so the night air had begun to get cooler. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"You don't have to…Ikuto!" She gasped as he suddenly picked her up bridal-style, carrying her over to the grass beside the river and gently setting her down so that they were sitting next to each other.

He kept an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him so that her head rested against his shoulder. "Why are parts of your dress torn and why is your hair a mess?"

Amu frowned. "I ran into some branches as I rode through here. The branches tore some of my dress and the leaves on the branches messed up my hair."

Ikuto nodded. "We should get back, it might get colder and you need to change."

Amu wrapped her arms around him. "…can we stay here a while longer? I…I yelled at my parents about not wanting to be forced into marriage, about them controlling my life…I said some awful things to them. I need to prepare myself to face them."

Ikuto nodded. "Alright. But we shouldn't stay out too much longer, they're very worried about you."

Amu nodded. "Alright."

They sat in silence for a while, until…

"Amu?" Ikuto looked at her.

Amu looked at him. "Yes?" Her breath caught in her throat when she realized how close his face was to hers.

Ikuto looked at her with intense eyes full of emotion. "I'd very much like to kiss you now."

Amu released the breath she had been holding. "I-Ikuto…" She blushed lightly. "I…I suppose a little kiss would be fine…"

Ikuto leaned a little closer to her. "I don't mean on your forehead." And then he kissed her lips. It was a short, gentle kiss, but filled with his feelings and emotions.

Amu's eyes widened, unable to move as she was frozen on the spot.

He pulled back a little, looking straight into her eyes.

Amu then surprised them both by leaning forward and lightly kissing his lips.

They continued doing this, exchanging short, gentle kisses, until they decided to take a break, pressing their foreheads together. Amu turned away from him after a while and yawned.

"I guess all that crying tired me out." She said sleepily.

Ikuto suddenly laid back on the grass, pulling her down with him and against his chest.

She blushed. "I-Ikuto…!"

"No. No more talking. Just lay here with me. We'll return when you wake up." Ikuto stated simply.

Amu nodded, snuggling against his chest, closing her eyes as she fell asleep in the comfort of his embrace.

Eventually, Ikuto fell asleep as well.

And that was how Tadase and Kukai found them the next morning.

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