I've been gone for months. I apologize. Please forgive me! Simply put, first I was lazy to write/type, then I had block, then microsoft word just plain hated me. It was still a trial despite that I had put the code in. I'm not kidding, I'm typing this on wordpad right now D8

I'm still kind of on block right now, OTL...

Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara. I mean, really, is it not obvious by now?

"Talking"

Thinking

"YELLING"

"Person saying something special or person thinking back to what another person said. You'll have to figure it out yourself :O"

Chapter 15: Goodbye

-Amu's POV-

The tears didn't stop. They wouldn't stop. It was like a slient determined refusal to stop. I've finally told him that I liked him, but its the last time I'll ever see him. Why does it have to end this way? I thought. Life and destiny was rather cruel.

"Amu. Amu, stop crying." Ikuto said softly, bending down to wipe the tears away. "...Its not like you to cry."

"D-Don't joke about that!" I said between hiccups. "I'll never see you again!" I started shaking my head in anger.

"Amu, listen." He held my face and stopped me from moving. "I promise that we'll see each other again. Is that alright with you?"

"No!" I called out, rather loudly.

"Its...Its not?" He said, rather shocked.

"No! Its not!" I repeated in case he needed clarification. "...I need to know when as well!"

"Amu! I can't just tell you stuff that I don't even know!"

"Well, fix it so that you know!" I told him with a slightly angry tone.

"Don't ask for the unreasonable!"

"What part of that is unreasonable--"

"A-hem..." Chihana cleared her throat to catch our attention. "...If you're at least halfway done with your lover's quarrel... Can we have your attention for a moment?" She said with sarcasm.

"..." We were both speechless at what she said. That...bitch. She's the cause of all this... I thought bitterly with resentment to her.

"...Unfortunately for me, you've got the rest of today to have fun." She said with a sigh as if Ikuto disappearing was not important at all.

"J-Just today?!" I said in shock. "B-But its already..." I quickly checked my watch. "Its already...WHAT?! 3 PM?!" I yelled. Just how long did Chihana keep me in the past?! I looked, glared actually, at her for an explanation.

As if to piss me off, she just shrugged. "Time passes differently here and there."

"Chihana! At least feel somewhat regretful for what you've done!" Eru said in a slightly scolding tone.

"....Mmm..."Chihana closed her eyes as if she was concentrating on something. "...Sorry nothing." She said with a shrug. "At least I tried."

"Chihana you...--"

"Chihana, just because you're a girl and just because you're an angel, doesn't mean I won't punch you!" Ikuto yelled at her before I could finish my threat.

"Well, excuse me for trying to pretend I was regretful!" She said, pretending to be hurt by his comment. "Well, see you, suckers!" She said with a smirk before flying off.

"I...I really apologize for her..." Eru muttered. "But...every word of hers is true, despite what I wish to believe." She said, looking down at the ground.

"Eru...Its not your fault." I said, trying to make her feel better.

"Y-Yes, it is!" She said, burying her face in her hands. "I-If only I wasn't soft hearted back then...If only! Then you wouldn't have to suffer like this...!"

"...No, that's wrong, Eru." I said softly. "...If you hadn't made that mistake back then, then I would've never been able to meet Ikuto. Right?"

"...I...I..." Eru mumbled something that I couldn't hear. "...I'm still very sorry about this!" She said, turning to leave. "I-I'll leave you two alone now!" And with that said, she flew off as well.

"...And there she goes..." I mumbled grumpily as she seemed to follow the same path as Chihana.

"...Amu."

Hearing my name being called, I snapped my attention back to Ikuto who seemed to be thinking hard about something. "Yes, what is it?"

"I'm going to have to leave soon."

At hearing that, I really want to smack him once for stating the obvious. As if it hadn't upset me enough the first time I heard that.

"...I wish I realized it sooner. Eru being an angel. Tadase too. I wonder if he remembers what happened now."

"O-Oh yea, he couldn't remember..." My voice trailed off.

"He couldn't remenber because I still 'existed' in a way. So...maybe if I left, he would remenber again?" He said as he leaned against a tree. "I...must've caused him a lot of grief."

"...No! I don't think so!" Ikuto looked at me at my sudden statement. "I-I mean...from what Chihana showed me, it...it seemed like he depended on you a lot. And he really cared about you...A-Although I can understand now...why you dislike him. Because of that..."

"He depended on me? ...Oh, right, I guess you can say I forgot he did." He muttered. "He...was a kind person in the end. I was hard on him. ...Oh, that's right!" He said as if he had remenbered something. "That time, I was talking with Utau."

"Oh...you mean at the guest room. I remember, I heard that you...ah...liked...me..." My voice trailed off. It was too awkward.

"Er...Yes...Yes...I...uh...did..." He muttered, seemingly to feel ackward as well. "Ahem...Well, what I meant was what Utau and I was discussing before that. The person we were talking about...would be Tadase's dad. His real dad, that is."

"You mean the one that..."

"Yes. The one that killed me." There was bitterness in the air coming form both of us, directed towards that man. "...Well, he was locked up, thankfully, for child abuse. Clearly, he's going to be upset once he gets out. He does have quite a temper and he is the leader of a gang."

"...Yes, I kind of know all that from Chihana showing me everything." I muttered, feeling somewhat impatient.

"Well...I don't know when he'll be released. Utau lost that piece of paper." He said with some disappointment in his voice. "And...I'm worried. That if he is released, he'll go after Tadase for being the reason for his sentence. And...because you're around Tadase quite a bit..."

He didn't need to finish that sentence for me to understand. Anyone near him might be in danger.

"...And I won't be around to protect you. That's what I regret the most." He said softly. Not being able to protect the one I care about the most."

"Well, y-you can...um...watch over me from heaven?" I said hopefully.

"For Pete's sake, do you think I'll gain wings or something? I'm just going to be a normal spirit up in heaven. Not everyone that turns into an angel becomes an agent of God!"

"I get it Ikuto! Don't act so exasperated because of a joke I made."

"..." He let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit touchy." He muttered. "...It feels like someone learning that they'll only live for a certain amount of years. But...Its not a certain amount of years but by the end of the day. At least it isn't painful like cancer."

"...That's not an analogy, Ikuto. That's what's actually happening." I stated.

"You're being rather blunt today."

"You're not the only one on edge."

We were silent for a moment. You'd think we'd try to spend as much time together as possible, but it just didn't seem to happen. Our minds were only pesimestic right now.

"Ikuto...we won't ever get a happy ending, would we?" I asked, softly, in a low tone, afraid of saying it in a loud voice.

"Don't say that...I'm sure we'll be happy too."

"No. We won't. This isn't a fairytale. As much magic is involved." My own words, I didn't want to believe them. "...I wonder if everyone else's love stories are like this."

"...I don't know. Why don't you ask them. Not me. I've only been in love once and its already my last time." Ikuto said, looking upwards now.

"..." Another awkward silence. Why is it that everything ends up being awkward? It didn't exactly sit well with me that I was his one and only love. Not that I'm not happy about it. It just...made me feel kind of bad and a little self conscious. "...I've decided Ikuto."

"What?" He said, curious now as he turned to look at me.

"...I won't. I won't ever, ever, ever fall in love again after you're gone! You'll be my one and only love!" I was aware of the fact that my face felt warm and that I was probably beet red by now.

Ikuto looked suprise for a moment, before walking over to me and petting me on the head with an amused smile. "...Thank you, Amu. You don't know how happy that makes me. Because you're the one person I love as well."

My face turned another shade of red and I remained silent, too happy to make a word out.

"You...You're really cute like that you know." He said with a short chuckle.

"Hey, I--"

I couldn't say anything.

No.

Not a single word.

I never thought it'd be like this.

Soft and warm.

The feel of tears.

Or maybe that was just the circumstances.

That was my first kiss.

Pulling away, Ikuto looked at me with a smirk. "Seems like that manga that you have in your room didn't teach me nothing, huh? ...Amu?!" He said in shock. "Why are you crying?!"

"H-Huh?! I'm crying?!" I quickly raised my hands to my eyes, trying to rub them away, checking if they really were there. "Um...I...I don't really know." I muttered, looking at my teared stained hands and sleeves. "I-I mean, I don't feel sad at all. I feel really happy. B-But yet I'm crying...I-I really don't know why...!"

"Ah...T-That doesn't really make me feel better. Making a girl cry that is." He mumbled the last part, but I heard it anyways.

"Jerk. This isn't the first time you've made me cry." And he wasn't quite that sorry back then.

"...It isn't?" He asked with an innocent look that didn't quite fit him.

"....You jerk." I repeated.

"Hey!" Ikuto seemed ready to defend himself when another voice drifted into our coversation.

"U-Um! I'm sorry about interupting!!" Eru was still flying, hovering above us. "Amu! I need to talk to you really quickly! Can you come with me?!"

I quickly wiped the remainder of my tears before looking up at her. I had a feeling that my eyes were swollen anyways, though. "Why can't we just talk here?"

"I...Um...It's orders! I apologize, Ikuto!" And before either of us could say a word, I was lifted off the ground and into the air.

"Hey! Wait! Don't I get a say in this?!" I complained as we were flown off to somewhere far from Ikuto.

"Unfortunately, even if you did, it wouldn't have mattered."

In other words, no. I didn't. I looked down at the ground below us. It'll be lonely, without Ikuto around anymore.

Finally, we stopped at the roof of a building. "...Is it really necessary for us to come all the way up to a rooftop?" I ask with a pretty visible pout on my face.

"Just a place so Ikuto can't hear."

"Ikuto is miles away."

"Exactly." She said and I let out an annoyed sigh. "Anyways, this is regarding Ikuto... He's going to disappear quicker."

"WHAT?!" I yelled at her. I couldn't believe this. And she took me miles away from Ikuto to tell me this?! I would much rather be with Ikuto right now! I must've looked like I was going to strangle her because Eru decided to take a few steps back for safty measures.

"W-Wait! I-I have to tell you something else..."

I stared at Eru. I couldn't believe what I just heard. I felt weak in the knees and immediatly fell to the ground, or cieling in this case. We were on a roof. "T-That's...I can't believe that?!" I said in a slightly desperate tone of voice.

"I'm sorry...Its rather complicated, the way the system works."

"Bring me back to Ikuto!" I said, gripping on her arm. "I need to see him then! ...If everyone is going to forget and pretend he won't exist, I need to see him one more time!" I was afraid. Afraid that I would forget too. No matter what, that was the one thing I didn't want. No matter what.

"You'll remenber him. But no one else will." Eru said softly. There was an apologetic side to what she had just said as well. "I'll take you back. But please. Don't mention a word of what I've told you to him."

She seemed determined to get a positive answer before she took me back to him. And it wasn't as if I could say no. I didn't know this part of town very well. I nodded.

"Ok, let's go then."

By the time we got back, Ikuto was still leaning on the tree. He seemed to be starring at his hands. "Ikuto--"

"Amu." He cut me off and held up his hands. My eyes widened at what I saw. "I'm disappearing." And it was true. His fingertips were see through and it seemed to be spreading. Quickly.

"E-Eru! This...!"

Eru shook her head slowly before taking off. She seemed unable to bear this any longer.

At this point, I was close to breaking down in tears again. Huh. I didn't think there would come a day where I'd cry more times than I did when I was an infant looking about for milk.

"...Um..."At hearing Ikuto's voice, I looked up at him. I've never seen him with such an expression. He looked shy. Bashful. Uncertain, mostly. But any of those emotions looked somewhat foreign on him. "A-Amu, remenber? Before. You said it wouldn't be ok if I only promised when I'll be back..."

"...Because you didn't know when." I said with a nod. It wasn't as if I would ever forget something as important as time spent with Ikuto.

"Well, I still don't know when." He admitted with a sheepish glance to the side. "But...I'm 100% certain that I'll come back."

"...That's the same thing as a promise. What good is that?" I snapped back.

"Because, I won't break it if there's something important for me in the end too, right?" He said with a smile. He seemed to reach into his pocket and took out a small box. "...For you."

"...?" I stared at the box in confusion. I could only imagine what might be inside. Despite myself, I felt really curious to what it might be so I opened it. "...?!??! A-A-A-A RING?!?!" I said in surprise. "B-B-B-B-But I'm too young to get married!"

Ikuto looked amused at my behavior, to my annoyance. "Relax! I'm not asking to marry you! Not right now anyways!" He said, taking the ring and box back. "I'm going to ask when I come back! This ring wasn't easy to find, no way am I going to let you loose it! Its made by that Easter Company's famous jewelry maker, Lulu!"

"...Eh?! How do you know all these people?!" I said in shock. "...Hey, wait a minute, you said that ring was for me?!"

"Oh, I did say that, didn't I?" For a moment, I really thought I had him there. "But I didn't say when!"

"What?!"

"You heard me! Wait until I come back, alright?" He said with a smirk.

And then the smile falter. "...Because I'll be gone within mere seconds." He said softly.

"Huh? What do you mean...? You're still right here in front of..." That's when I noticed that Ikuto's legs were already gone. "...Ah..." I said in a soft, heartbroken voice.

"Goodbye Amu!" He said with a weak smile and before I could say or react, he gave me one last kiss and disappeared.

-Narrator's POV-

Amu's parents didn't know what to do when Amu had returned home with tear filled eyes. They haven't seen their daughter cry in years. They especially didn't know what to say when she kept repeating the name 'Ikuto'.

To Amu's horror, none of them, not even Ami knew who 'Ikuto', their cat, was. Then she remenbered what Eru had told her. No one would remenber. After she recalled that, she ran into the kitchen, looking around for Ikuto's belongings. All gone. Even his cat bowls that used to hold water and his cat food were no where to be found.

"Even...Even if I knew it was like this..." Amu mumbled when she was in her room. "I never thought...that it'd hurt so much..." She had known that this would happen, the lonniless, but she never thought it'd be that bad. Never did she think that Ikuto became this important to her. Not until he was gone. And the only thing that played in her head were the memories with Ikuto before she cried herself to sleep.

"...Moving?" Amu repeated, unable to say anything else.

"Yes, Amu, your father got a rather good job offer. But we have to move to England. So we'll be moving next month."

"B-But you said, before, that you'll only move me elsewhere at the end of the year!"

"...Well." Her mother seemed to let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, sometimes old routines have to change. Please understand that."

"I understand..." Amu said and waited until she left before she let her face twist into a painful expression. "...So they'll take away the place with all my memories of Ikuto too, huh?"

Despite that, all the boxes were packed by the end of the month and all good byes were said.

It was only at the airport as she boarded the plane that through all the glass windows within the building that she saw something familiar. A flash of blue. Just for a second and then it was gone.

Amu stared in surprise for a moment, before faintly smiling as she turned to continue to board the plane.

Goodbye, Ikuto.

Ok, I think I might've need a beta reader for this chapter... D8 I did not have spellcheck...

And before anyone throws tomatos at me for having such a sad ending, please read the epilogue first. If you're still unsatisfied...then you can throw tomatos at me o_o;;