Idle thinking...?

Well either way, here's this.

This takes place sometime in the manga just before the Death Rebel incident. Basically, Ikuto muses about the pros and cons of Amu being around him.

And seriously, this collection doesn't seem too popular so I might just delete it. -shrug- Not only that, I don't like the way my writing is turning out in these, either.

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+ 3...Drei: Pros and Cons +

Ikuto had to make up his mind sooner or later.

He knew this as he watched her sleep, looking almost idiotically happy in her dreams.

How he longed for her. An intensity he barely understood. But yet, she couldn't exist in his world. His world was a place of pain, tears, and imprisonment; a world he never wanted her to be a part of. Just because he was a bird in a cage did not mean he wished the same fate on her. Rather, it was the opposite.

Hesitantly, he extended a hand to her face and brushed the hair out of her eyes. If he could escape with her, hide her away from all the demons that wanted him, he would. There was only one way he could keep her safe, and that was for her to hate him.

It was the only way to keep her safe, the only possible way. So he would tease her and make fun of her while masking his true feelings, while warning her all the while that they were enemies, telling her not to get close to him.

He stepped back from her peacefully sleeping figure, watching with sad eyes over the only girl he wanted, and the only one he could never really have.

And she didn't even feel for him the way he felt for her, anyway. Her heart was captured by Tadase the kiddy king's long ago, and he had come to accept this as much as it bothered him.

And as he took another step back, his heart ached. He didn't want to let her go, didn't want her to go and live a happy life with Tadase. Didn't want her to be with anyone else but him. It was selfish in the worst way, but it was the truth, solid and painful.

Everytime he thought of her, she would show up, shocking him. However, on the outside, he would be just teasing, joking, and warning her to stay back.

She never seemed to listen to him and was always irritated with his teasing. She would blush and rant at him and turn away with a pout, her arms crossed. It was a reaction he had learned to find endearing. Of course, he could never tell her.

Because of her, he smiled more. Because of her, he had a reason to struggle against those invisible chains even harder. His laughter came easier now, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest every time he was around her.

She was always the same as ever, those gold eyes boring into him with such fierceness that it staggered him.

Underneath all the pros and cons, he loved her more than anything. And that was enough to balance out the equation.

With a sad smile, he leaped off her balcony with catlike gracefulness, just as Amu awoke, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

She could have sworn she saw someone there. "Ikuto...?" She muttered.

Then shrugging, she fell backwards and was asleep again within seconds.

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Again, idle thinking. Random thoughts that come from my mind for whatever reason. If it made no sense, realize that this is how my mind tends to be organized. XD

A little bit of an appetizer I guess until I finish updating Stolen.

Review please!