Chapter 15: Or Not

Amu's POV

The next morning, I woke up in Ikuto's arms. However, this time, I didn't shy away or kick him off the bed, instead, I smiled and gently pressed a hand to his cheek before kissing him lightly on the lips before getting up to prepare for the day

The peace that I was enjoying now was amazing. But it wasn't going to last. The Keepers were going to find out what I did, and they are not going to be happy. I'm actually surprised they haven't found out already and come breaking down my door.

As I was washing my face, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and I smiled.

"Hmm," Ikuto hummed as he nuzzled his face in my neck, "Can I get a wake up call like that every morning?" he mumbled as he kissed my cheek.

I laughed and gently patted his head, "Keep dreaming Kitty-Kat," I said before unwinding myself and turning away, "Now go get ready," I laughed

He grumbled something under his breath but began to wash up anyways.

In no time at all, we were downstairs in the kitchen, everyone else was already up and eating breakfast over mindless chatter.

"Hey guys," I greeted as I slid into a seat by the counter.

Ikuto followed my suit as he mumbled an intelligible greeting and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He was so not a morning person.

"Hey Hinamori," Kukai greeted through a mouthful of cereal and Utau whacked him on the head and scolded him about bad manners.

We continued chatting for awhile while Ikuto sat in a corner, dozing off on top of his cereal.

However, just then, my phone rang.

I felt my stomach drop as the phone vibrated in my pocket. I knew who it was even before I answered it. Tadase immediately looked at me with the same expression of horror and I subtly shook my head at him.

We can't tell them, not yet.

By, then, everyone had gone silent and they were all staring at me curiously. Even Ikuto woke up.

As he watched me, he must've seen the look of terror on my face as he frowned and reached over to squeeze my hand as a silent reassurance he was here. I smiled gratefully, though I'm pretty sure it came out as a grimace.

"Hello?" I asked tentatively as I picked up the phone.

"Amu-chan," Dia answered from the other end. Her voice was clipped and impatient, making my blood run cold.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You know what you did Amu-chan," she said disappointedly, "And you know the consequences...he wants to speak to you," she whispered.

I heard a shuffle as the phone was passed over to someone else and I braced myself for the worse.

"Hello Amu," a sickly sweet voice purred and I breathed in sharply at the sound of his voice again.

"Akanoko," I acknowledged and everyone around me gasped.

Akanoko. The leader and ruler of the Fallen Angels. He was known by everyone of our kind. Ruthless and cruel, he wasn't the kind of person you wanted to cross pass with. Anyone who angered him never lived to tell the tale. I had the unfortunate coincidence of meeting him on the battlefield many, many years ago. And our fight really scared me. Because, despite that I was the Eternity Angel, it was a tough match between the two of us. That's how strong his powers are.

Ikuto hugged me tighter and I could feel everyone's worried stares piercing me.

Feeling too pressurized, I moved Ikuto's arms away as gently as possible so as to not hurt his feelings (didn't work though judging by the flash of sadness in his eyes) and stood a little distance away from everyone else, wrapping my free arm around myself.

"You've done a bad thing, Amu," he tsked, "I thought we had an agreement. What happened?" he asked innocently.

"We never had an agreement," I hissed, "You blackmailed me."

By now, I knew everyone was listening into my conversation. Perks of being an Angel, supersonic hearing. Oh joy.

I swear I could hear him smirk over the phone as he replied, "Blackmail is such an ugly word," he said dismissively, "I prefer the term 'coerced'."

"A thorn on a rose is still a thorn, no matter how pretty it may seem," I replied angrily.

He laughed, though it sounded more like nails on a chalkboard than a real laugh, "Touché, Amu. Touché," he acknowledged, "But," he continued, his voice suddenly turning ice cold, "You disobeyed me Amu. And I don't like people who can't follow rules," he said darkly.

Anger bubbled up inside of me and all the fear that I felt dissipated, "Oh really? But what makes you think you scare me?" I challenged.

He laughed at that, "I may not scare you, but the death of your friends might."

The same feeling of fear surfaced again but I bit it down. They were right bedside me and I'd die before I'd let them get hurt. Akanoko can't scare me.

"And what makes you think you can get them?" I taunted.

"I'm sure you know what I can do by now Amu-chan," he said with mock disappointment.

"No I don't actually," I snapped, "Why don't you show me? If you're really as strong as you think, come and fight me. One on one. No dirty tricks or manipulation. Just good, clean fighting."

He chuckled, "Nice try Amu, but I can't be baited. I'd get over here quickly if I were you though, or you may have to find someone else to take care of the world while you play hooky."

As soon as he finished I heard a heart wrenching scream from the phone that I recognized all too well.

Ran. Miki. Suu. Dia.

Then, I heard him click the phone and the dial tone filled my ears.