Quick Response

Amu was very still, not daring to even breathe right this moment. She couldn't keep her gaze away from Ikuto's serious stare and the more she looked at it, the more she began to feel scared. What can she say to him? How could she ever tell him the truth? It was too much to bear for either of them.

"You…" Ikuto slowly said, "met him haven't you?"

Amu stayed silent and forced herself to look at the ground instead.

Seeing her reaction, Ikuto became more anxious and he raised his voice this time, "AMU, please answer me."

Amu clenched a fist, knowing there was no way she can let day Ikuto find out the truth. She was scared of what he would do if he ever found out; fearful he may hate her or avoid her if he knew. She had to try and get herself out of this mess. Why did she mention XM2? She was so stupid; she should've known more about day Ikuto's situation before asking him so rashly. Amu glanced at the shopping on the floor, "let's go back home. Aunt Lulu would worry. Help me pick these up."

"I'm asking you have you met-" Ikuto started to shout.

"Let's go home," Amu shouted over Ikuto, desperately not wanting him to find out what she's done. There was no way she can tell him that she lied to night Ikuto and accidentally became his girlfriend. It was wrong, day Ikuto is her father and night Ikuto was simply day Ikuto. It was messed up, Amu knew it but she couldn't think of any other way to deal with everything. "Let's go back home father," Amu whispered, not looking at him.

There was a few seconds pause before Ikuto spoke again. "I wish to know. I'm your guardian, your parent. Doesn't a child usually tell their parents everything? Amu, please, the way you're acting now…" Ikuto took a step away from Amu, "seeing you avoid giving me a answer. I can probably guess the answer already. You know of XM2 and you've definitely met the other me…"

"Let's go home," Amu shouted, not wanting to listen to Ikuto anymore or let him say more than what he has. She looked straight into his eyes, "I don't know what you are talking about. Father, you're scaring me."

Ikuto didn't say anything but stared at Amu. It was terrible, the power and feelings surging through her as she received his stern gaze was terrible. It made her feel more than guilt; his gaze was enchanting her to tell him everything and the more she resisted that urge to tell, the more it hurt. She forced her eyes shut and bit her lips, not knowing what else she can do to stop herself from telling the truth. She didn't want day Ikuto to find out and hate her?

"I'm sorry Amu. I simply can't ignore this," Ikuto whispered seeing Amu's nervousness. He didn't feel any better watching her be like that but he needed to know, "please just tell me."

Amu took in a few heavy breaths and prepared herself. It was no use, she really couldn't keep anything from Ikuto after all, "father, the truth is... I –"

"Ikuto, so it really was you who I saw," Tsukassa called out, walking towards them. "I thought I saw you from a distance but wasn't sure so I followed you. I actually wanted to say hello to you before but you seemed so occupied with choosing deserts and then you suddenly disappeared. Lucky I spotted you just as I was about to leave. Are you and your daughter going home now? Why are there so many things on the floor?"

Amu let out a sigh of relief. In the end she still wasn't properly ready to tell day Ikuto everything and she was glad that Tsukassa had suddenly shown up. She also felt relieved to hear that it was Tsukassa who was following them, at least it wasn't a total stranger and Amu now knew her strange feelings of being followed were real and not just her imagination. She did wonder though, the real reason to why Tsukassa had followed them.

"Its nothing," Ikuto finally replied, picking up the shopping bags on the floor. "Can you leave us alone for a moment? I want to talk to her alone."

"I heard," Tsukassa said, "I kind of eavesdropped on you two so I heard everything. Ikuto, I think I need to apologise to you. I ignored your thoughts and I told her."

Ikuto stared at Tsukassa but didn't say anything.

Tsukassa continued, "I'm sorry Ikuto. I was the one who mentioned XM2 to Amu. I unintentionally let it slip."

Amu hid her little surprise gasp, which went unnoticed by Ikuto who was now focussed on Tsukassa. It was obvious that Tsukassa was lying because the one who told her was Musashi Sanjo, not him, but what was he doing, covering up for her. She wanted to know why.

"You told her about XM2?"

"Yes," Tsukassa answered, "I only mentioned it briefly. You see, I've been creating this kids code game at the church and I came up with a load of easy codes for them to crack. Amu was helping me and unconsciously I said something like, I hope Ikuto can solve XM2 one day. I already warned Amu not to be so curious and ask you about it because it's a weird code your parents left to you when you were young right? I was aware you may be upset if your parents were mentioned so-"

"Is that the truth Amu?" Ikuto asked, turning to look at her.

"I'm sorry father. I should've been clearer about it," Amu slowly said, going along with Tsukassa story, "I was really just curious about what kind of a code XM2 could be. If I knew you'd be so upset about it, I wouldn't have asked... I definitely wouldn't have asked."

"You're not lying to me are you Amu? This is the truth," Ikuto said softly.

It hurt Amu as she nodded in response to Ikuto's question. She was lying again. She hated lying to Ikuto but she couldn't stop lying. She was too deeply trapped in her own lies to be able to tell him the truth right now. "Are you mad with me father?"

Ikuto put on a small smile, "I'm not mad. I need to say sorry to you Amu. I'm sorry I overreacted, but please don't ask anymore about XM2, it brings painful memories."

"I understand," Amu uttered.

"Also," Ikuto began, "about what I kept asking you before about meeting someone... please forget everything about that."

"I will," Amu said slowly, "I didn't understand what you were going on about but I won't question you about anything. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

Ikuto put on a small smile, looking at Amu who seemed to feel less anxious now. He was still troubled by the fact that Amu has heard of XM2 but since Tsukassa covered it up with such a story, it should be fine. Besides XM2 was in his distant past, nothing about it mattered anymore. Ikuto could only thank god that Amu had not met with the other him, though something about Amu's nervousness made him feel insecure.

"I'm going back to the church," Tsukassa began, "so I'll be heading off. Sorry Ikuto, I'll call you tonight."

"Yeah," Ikuto said walking away.

Tsukassa slowly walked passed Amu, following Ikuto. He whispered in a warning voice, "You got lucky this time with my help, but think properly from now on what you want to do. I stand with what I said before. Don't involve yourself any further than you already have."

Amu watched as Tsukassa told Ikuto he'd be calling him again tonight before leaving and heading towards the direction of the church. She understood what Tsukassa as saying and she was grateful that he had helped him this time. He was right; she really did need to think about what she needed to do and not what she wanted. Amu smiled and walked towards Ikuto, wanting to forget about this small incident for now. It seemed Ikuto was also back to himself which made Amu feel relieved. They walked home together, without another word spoken about what had just happened.

A few days have passed since and Amu couldn't stop herself from thinking about it. She was so close to being exposed and though day Ikuto now acted normal around her, she still couldn't forget his look that time when he asked whether she has met night Ikuto. She was also conscious about her deal with Musashi; she still needed to find XM2 and give it to him. "Why did I involve myself so much?" Amu asked herself, staring out the window at the vast azure sky.

"Amu, are you day-dreaming again?" Yaya asked patting Amu's head. "We're in school right? Don't day dream."

"Let her," Nadeshiko whispered with a sly smile, "she's probably thinking about Tadase. So, exactly how lovey-dovey are you two?"

Amu stared at Nadeshiko and Yaya, not registering what they were saying and simply blinked.

"Come on," Yaya encouraged, "tell us more about you and Tadase. You two have been on a few dates already. How were they? Were they romantic?"

"Oh..." Amu finally said, jut realising what they were saying. She was still unused to the idea that she was already Tadase's girlfriend. It was true that the past few days they have been on dates and hung around each other but Amu didn't really concentrate when they were together. Instead, she found herself constantly thinking about Ikuto and XM2 for most of the time. Amu realises that Nadeshiko and Yaya was staring at her intensely and decided to answer. "It was fun," Amu said which was partly the truth.

"Amu," Tadase called, entering the classroom, "I-I've got tickets to the cinema. D-do you... well...if your free would you like to-"

"Just invite her already," both Yaya and Nadeshiko commented.

"I can't believe you're still so shy Tadase," Nadeshiko teased, "you two are officially a couple so it's fine to be lovey-dovey openly."

Tadase blushed holding the tickets out towards Amu, "w-would you..."

"Sure," Amu said with a weak smile, taking the ticket from Tadase.

The classroom door opened and Nikaidou walked in with a mass pile of paper. "Right everyone, get in your seats. I've got important announcements to make."

The students did as they were asked and sat quietly at their own desks.

Nikaidou stared around the classroom before stating, "The school has decided for a Parents Interview week."

There were many gasps and whispers going through the classroom now, most of them were unhappy complaints about t the idea.

"Please be quiet and let me finish explaining," Nikaidou said in a loud voice. "This parent's interview week is mainly so that your parents can come into the school and spend a day here to see how you are doing. Of course, as teachers we will also be discussing various issues with your parents. Since you are First years in high school, your parent's interview day is on Friday. Now, I'll be handing out information leaflets, so make sure you take them home and tell your parents about this."

There were more unhappy whispers and complaints from students as Nikaidou handed out the leaflets.

Yaya tapped Amu from behind, "say, is your father going to come too Amu? Please say he is."

"He would be wouldn't he?" Nadeshiko asked, "He has to come. He's your official parent and guardian. He must come."

"I need to ask first," Amu slowly said. She stared at Yaya and Nadeshiko who had a strange look on them. "Why are you two so bothered whether my father is coming or not?"

Yaya and Nadeshiko glanced away.

"Answer me," Amu demanded.

"Well, he may be a stingy and annoying rule setting father but..." Nadeshiko began, "the last time we saw him, he was weird as well but..."

"Yeah he was strange but your father is..." Yaya gulped.

Amu stared at them with a stern gaze and commanded in a low voice, "Say it now."

"He's young and mainly his looks are priceless," both Nadeshiko and Yaya said at the same time. "Basically he's a gorgeous looking hottie that we would quite like to see with our eyes."

Amu glowered at the two straight after hearing what they said. She said in a mocking way, "thank you. I never knew my father was this good-looking to have fans. Well, maybe I really need to convince him to come to satisfy your eyes."

Both Nadeshiko and Yaya nodded, "thank you for your efforts Amu."

Amu sighed, ignoring Nadeshiko and Yaya's silliness. "I don't think he would come," she muttered.

"Try and convince him," Nikaidou said placing the leaflet onto Amu's desk. He smiled and whispered so that no one else could hear, "don't worry. I won't tell your father anything as promised."

"I'm not worried about that," Amu quickly said, not wanting Nikaidou to get the wrong idea. "I do think my father isn't the kind to want to come."

Nikaidou patted Amu's shoulder, "try and convince him. This parent's interview is something I think that's very useful to the students, school and parents. Do try and encourage him to come." Nikaidou smiled, "after all, I do want to meet your father...and give him a greeting."

Amu smiled, "I'll try my best."

Sitting a few seats away from Amu, Tadase couldn't stop himself from staring at her. He clenched onto the leaflet, knowing he didn't want to see Amu's father again, but there was no way he can stop him from attending this Parent's interview week if he wanted to. Tadase forced himself to look at the front of the classroom, hoping Amu's father would not turn up.

The school day ended with conversations about the Parent's Interview week going on through the students. It had become the centre topic. Amu and Tadase left the school together as usual.

Tadase gently held onto Amu's hand as they walked, "this Parents week sure is surprising isn't it?"

"Yeah," Amu said, "I wonder whose idea it was."

"Probably the headmaster," Tadase guessed, "do you want to buy some snacks before going into the cinema?" Tadase pointed towards a small cake shop, "Shall we get some muffins from there?" He started to walk in the shops direction but stopped as he noticed Amu wasn't walking with him. He turned to look at Amu who was staring at a woman who waved at them. He was certain he didn't know her, but it seems as though she knew Amu. She had a smile on her face and she pointed at her own hands before clasping them together. Tadase didn't understand what she was doing and got slightly annoyed. "Amu," Tadase said, "let's go."

"I need to go home now Tadase," Amu said softly. "I'll watch it with you tomorrow."

"Oh..., err...ok." Tadase said, watching as Amu walked towards that woman and left. Tadase turned to walk home by himself, wondering who that woman was and why Amu had to go home as soon as she saw her. "Amu..." Tadase whispered, "I really like you a lot."

[Please Review]