*A/N: Nya! Just had to say that. I've gotten into that bad habit 'cause of Yoru. Anywho, I'm finally done with Part Two of this two-part New Year's Story! Sorry it took so long, but I hope all the Amuto fluff in this part will make up for it. ^_^ I don't own Shugo Chara! Nevertheless, enjoy!*
Part Two: The First New Couple of the New Year
Amu looked at the digital clock on the nightstand by her bed. It was 3:00 a.m. She'd been writing and rewriting nonstop for the past nine hours, ever since she'd had dinner—she thought about skipping meals, but wisely figured out that she wouldn't be able to work on an empty stomach, after much tummy grumbling as she attempted to continue writing without eating, of course. Earlier in the day—or rather, yesterday morning—Amu had spent a large chunk of time composing a piece for the boy she loved, as a part of her plan for her "amazing confession" that was to take place in one day's time. All that was left was to practice for tomorrow's events.
After going through numerous sheets of paper, Amu had finally come up with a piece that suited her taste, and she hoped it would suit Ikuto's taste as well. I've only heard him play classical music though, and he loves his violin a lot, so it's my best guess. He's also an amazing violinist… Hmm…Amu was getting sucked into her thoughts about Ikuto again, and she lazed about in her dreamland for a few hours, until she started becoming sleepy. With a yawn, she managed to snap herself out of those thoughts and come back to reality, slapping both her hands to her face for added effect. Oh my goodness, not again… I've really got to get a better grip on reality.With that thought, Amu gave another, longer yawn and decided that it would be best to go to sleep, not noticing that she had just set a new record for the lateness of her bedtime.
Seeing as Amu had finished most of her work for her confession, she didn't feel the need to set an alarm to wake up. She would simply practice whenever she ended up waking up. And so, she shut her eyes, letting sleep set in. Her dreams mostly consisted of Ikuto and the sad song that he played seemingly so long ago (Tsukiyo no Violinist). A tear slid down her cheek as she rolled over in her sleep, feeling the pain and sadness that Ikuto conveyed through his violin's melodious sounds. Unfortunately, her bed was not that big, and she ended up rolling right off the edge.
Startled, Amu awoke to the sight of her bed frame. Her head throbbed, as she had bumped it on the nightstand by her bed. By chance, Amu managed to catch the clock she had knocked over, and she nearly screamed at the sight of the time. What the…? How on earth can it be 9:00 p.m. already! she practically yelled in her mind. Amu started to freak out and nearly began to pull out her hair again—literally—but remembering that she would need to be ready to confess to Ikuto in just over twelve hours, she let go of her hair with a huge sigh. She would just have to get ready now. Well, three hours should be sufficient. Then she would sleep.
Over at the Narita International Airport, Ikuto had just stepped off the plane. He stole a glance at his watch: 9:05 p.m. Where was his family that was supposed to come and pick him up? Mother and Utau are running late, as usual, huh… he thought to himself. Ikuto had his black violin case slung across one shoulder and a carry-on suitcase strapped to the other. He had, in the year that had gone by, grown another two inches, but his haircut looked the same as always; he made sure he went to the barber once a year, at least, and he had gone to get a haircut just three days before. Blowing his bangs out of his eyes, Ikuto pulled out his cell phone and dialed his home number. His mother, Souko, picked up the phone.
"Hello? Mother? You haven't even left the house yet?" Ikuto grumbled, tired from his flight.
"Ikuto! Your flight is here already? Oh, I thought you would be arriving tomorrow…" Souko said calmly.
Mother… forgetful as always. You didn't even remember that your son had called you less than twelve hours ago to tell you that he'd be home by tonight. Ikuto shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Well, Mother, if you don't mind, could you please come and pick me up? I'd be happy if you did," Ikuto replied, now in better spirits. He cared too much about his family members to stay mad at them for long.
"Oh, of course. I'll leave right away, Ikuto. No need to worry," Ikuto's mother exclaimed.
"Alright. Bye then. See you in a bit," said Ikuto.
"Mhm, see you soon," Souko said, then ended the call.
Twenty minutes or so later, Souko and Utau drove up in a silver car, stopping at the designated pick-up zone. Ikuto perked up when he spotted them and swiftly opened the trunk, placed his suitcase inside it, and got in the backseat, putting his violin case on his lap.
"Ikuto!" Utau squealed happily from the front seat. "It's so good to see you! You should call home more often."
"Hey, Utau. It's nice to see you, too. Well, it's not like I don't call at all... You're looking well, though," said the older brother to his little sister, smiling a bit because he was truthfully glad to be home, or at least, on his way home.
"Yeah, but still. Well, I have Kukai now, so it's not lonely anymore. Hmph," Utau pouted childishly, glad to be able to act this way again around her kind big brother. Suddenly, though, her eyes lit up, as she remembered something interesting. "Hey Ikuto, I heard something very interesting the other day." She grinned at the thought.
"Yeah? What is it?" Ikuto replied indifferently.
"Hm, well, it seems that a certain big brother of mine has been calling a certain friend of mine every single day, to proclaim his love for her," said Utau, raising both her eyebrows teasingly.
At this statement, Ikuto coughed slightly and looked away, the scenery outside his window suddenly very eye-catching. "And what of it?" He tried and failed to sound casual.
Utau smiled, thinking of Amu's plan to confess tomorrow. "Oh, nothing. Well, I just wanted to tell you that I'll be meeting up with that friend tomorrow morning at ten or so, and I want you to come along. Does that sound okay to you?"
Ikuto cleared his throat, trying to cover up his excitement at the thought of seeing the girl he loved in less than twenty-four hours. "Yeah, sure. I don't see why not. I was going to go find Amu anyways…"
"Great. We can leave together to go to her house," Utau said, covering up her own excitement. Well, won't tomorrow be a fun day. I hope Amu's ready to go. She made a mental note to call Amu in order to tell her about tomorrow's meeting.
By this time, the Tsukiyomis had reached their residence, and Ikuto leapt out of the car, wishing that he could go pay Amu a surprise visit. Well, I'll see her tomorrow, I guess. And it's kind of late. I should get to bed so that we can have fun tomorrow. And with that thought, Ikuto headed inside with his luggage, following his mother and sister, and got ready to sleep.
The next morning…
Amu awoke to the sound of the doorbell coming from downstairs. Her mother's voice soon followed. "Amu! Ikuto and Utau are here! Are you ready to go yet?" Amu's mother called up the stairs. "It's already 10:00."
Once this statement registered in Amu's mind, she bolted out of bed. What? Why are they here? It's ten? Wait, I thought I set an alarm… Amu slapped her palm to her forehead as she realized that she had forgotten to set her alarm clock. But wait, Utau never told me that she and Ikuto were coming over… She made a face as she sighed and changed hurriedly. "Coming, guys! Just give me another two minutes!" Amu yelled. She ran down the stairs once she was changed, only to have Utau burst into laughter once she made her appearance. Amu nervously asked, "What? What's so funny?"
Utau's sides shook as she tried to control her laughter. Once her breathing had slowed down, Utau pointed at Amu's hair and said, "You should go take a look in the mirror, Amu. That's some flattering bed-head you have right there." She didn't mean to be rude, but then again, that was how a lot of her remarks sounded.
Horrified, Amu snuck a glance at her reflection in the mirror hanging near the doorway. "Ah! What is this! Argh!" Amu shouted, frustrated. She had forgotten to comb her hair in her rush to get ready, and so she frantically ran her fingers through her hair, trying to flatten the bunches of pink hair that were sticking up in all sorts of odd directions. "I'll be right back," she muttered to no one in particular. Amu ran up the stairs and combed her hair quickly, subsequently placing her usual red "X" hair clips in their rightful places. "Now I'm ready!" Amu shouted as she leapt down the stairs, taking them three at a time.
"Much better," commented Utau. "Running late, I assume?"
"Yeah… Wait! Why are you even here right now? I had no idea you were coming over. Utau," Amu said sternly, ready to hear an explanation.
Utau put a hand to her chin as she thought. "Didn't I call you last night to tell you about it?"
"What? You most certainly did not, Utau. I haven't talked to you since I saw you at the convenience store the other day." Amu raised an eyebrow at her friend and tapped her foot on the floor impatiently.
"Uh… I guess I forgot, then," Utau replied, laughing it off. Hmm, I really must have forgotten… I remember telling myself to remember to call Amu… Whoops, she thought as she scratched her head sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Amu."
Amu heaved a big sigh in response. Then the boy who had been ignored all this time spoke up. "Amu, it's been a while," Ikuto said casually.
"Yeah… Wait, Ikuto?" She jumped slightly at the sight of him. "Since when were you here?" asked Amu, thoroughly surprised. She hadn't noticed him at all, it seemed, even though her mother had told her that Utau and Ikuto were both at the door.
Ikuto pulled her out the front door, shutting the door behind her. "I've been here the whole time. Silly girl." He ruffled her hair, messing it up again. "You've grown up a little bit while I was gone, hm?" Ikuto questioned as he stepped back to take the sight of her in. He was trying not to give her a huge hug right then and there, since Utau was paying close attention to his every move. As soon as they could be alone together, he would have to make up for all that time he spent without taking in her scent. One year was a long time to go without snuggling with his favorite person, especially for a cat like Ikuto.
"Um… Not really," Amu said nervously, blushing as she realized that the boy she was going to confess to today was standing right in front of her, looking her up and down. "Er… Can we go now?" She wasn't quite sure what to say, since it had been so long, and Ikuto seemed to have grown up a bit, too. Secretly, though, Amu wished she could hug Ikuto as well. She had missed him terribly over the past year, and she wanted confirmation that the Ikuto standing before her was not just an illusion.
"Sure, I don't see why not," he said, staring back into her eyes.
Amu looked away, feeling shy, and walked over to Utau, dragging her along. "Let's get going then," Utau said as Amu pulled her arm. The three of them made their way to the train station, and Utau told Amu, "I decided that we should go to the site of the old amusement park today. But I want to go on a date with Kukai, so I'll wait here for him. You guys go on ahead and play by yourselves. So 'we' means you two, actually. Go along now." Utau gave Ikuto and Amu slightly forceful pushes from behind and warned Ikuto that he better take good care of Amu. She cocked an eyebrow at them both and grinned happily. Good luck, Amu. Take care of my big brother for me, will you? Utau conveyed that message to Amu with her eyes.
Amu was just about to hop right off the train to follow Utau, since she didn't want to be left alone with Ikuto when she was feeling so jumpy, but she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder to see Ikuto, who simply smiled and pulled her back into the train. "Come on, Amu. It'll be fun. We went there by ourselves last time, too. And I want to see what they did with the place, after tearing down the old amusement park..." Ikuto trailed off, reminiscing.
Noticing the look in his eyes, Amu smiled and put a gentle, reassuring hand on his arm. "Don't worry, Ikuto. What they did to the place isn't too bad, really. I mean, sure, they took down the rides..." She frowned slightly, thinking of the teacups and the rest of the rides that she and Ikuto had played on a little over a year ago that had been removed. "But, other than that, it's still a nice place to visit every now and then."
"What'd they do with it?" Ikuto asked, furrowing his brows. He seemed rather worried, but Amu thought he looked like a big, cuddly cat that she really wanted to pet.
"You'll see once we get there," Amu said, pulling the blue-haired cat off the train with her when they reached their stop. They reached the place in a few minutes, and Amu gestured to the area. "Ta-da! Here lies ye old amusement park, arr." Her pirate accent matched the new pirate-themed restaurant and its large garden. Ikuto's eyes widened at the sight of the ultimate cat playground; the many rows of trees were perfect for climbing up and around.
"So… Let's have our special New Year's date here, Amu. What do you say?" He turned to Amu with an eager look on his face.
"D-d-date? Who said anything about this being a date?" Amu's face flushed at the thought. She'd never been on a date before, unless she counted the last time she and Ikuto had gone to the amusement park together a "date." The word was foreign to her ears, and Ikuto knew it.
"Is there a problem? We're here by ourselves, spending time together because we want to, and we love each other. Am I right?"
"I… I never said that I love you, though," Amu murmured, staring at her feet.
She looks so cute. I really want to give her a big hug, thought Ikuto, and he did just that. Before he could think twice about it, Ikuto had his arms wrapped around Amu's shoulders, and he rested the side of his head on the top of hers. She almost squirmed at the sudden touch and felt two familiar, warm hands on her right arm, as Ikuto had hugged her from her left side. Amu turned left 90 degrees and timidly placed her hands on his waist.
"I-Ikuto? What are you doing?" she asked, her words muffled by his shirt.
"Taking in your scent. I couldn't do that with Utau around, right? And it's been so long…" Ikuto pulled Amu closer to himself and gently rubbed his head on hers like the big cat he was. "Besides, you're hugging me, too," he said, grinning victoriously and looking her in the eye.
"I, I, I…" Amu became conscious of what she was doing and immediately let go. "I am doing no such thing!" She pouted and looked away.
"Alright, alright. Whatever you say. Anyways, we should go play now, if we want it to still be 2011 when we do so," Ikuto replied, smiling again. Nothing and no one else could make him smile as much as Amu could, other than his violin; they were both very important to him. He was so happy about being able to spend New Year's with the girl he loved that he couldn't seem to stop smiling. Shaking his head, Ikuto snapped out of his thoughts and suggested to Amu that they play hide-and-seek in the garden, seeing as it was full of good places to hide… and climb. "Come on, you can go be 'it' first."
"What? I have to find you somewhere in all those trees and bushes? This garden is gigantic, Ikuto!" she yelled incredulously. How am I going to do this? I know for a fact that he's great at climbing trees, even if he doesn't have Yoru with him anymore. He's too much like a cat to begin with, thought Amu. She sighed and instead said, "Never mind. Let's get this game started, if I'm ever going to find you today…"
Ikuto patted her head and said, "I know you can catch me. Besides, if you don't find me, you'll have to do me a favor." Straightening some of Amu's hair that wouldn't stay down, he bent down to her eye level so that he could see her expression clearly.
Thoroughly embarrassed, Amu ignored the heat that went to her cheeks as she let her competitive spirit show. "Fine. But there's no way you're winning this, Ikuto! If I do find you, then you have to listen to something I want to tell you and do something I want you to do. And it's nothing strange, I promise." She said this as she glanced at the violin case that he had on his back and smiled; it was a good thing that Ikuto didn't seem to go anywhere without his precious violin, but she knew that she first needed to win to set her plan into motion. She went over what she had practiced last night in her mind once more, thinking, The plan to c-… con-… conf… confffff-… confetti! Never mind, just call it the "C" plan.
"Deal. Let's seal it with a kiss," Ikuto said teasingly. And immediately after those words left his mouth, he planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Flustered, of course, Amu opened and closed her mouth, failing to emit any intelligible sounds. He chuckled, straightened up, and asked, "What? Were you expecting something else?"
"Of course not!" Amu turned her head away, looking defiant. "We don't have all day. I'm going to start counting now. You have forty seconds to find a good place to hide around here, so that should be plenty of time. Hmph." Since she immediately began counting, Ikuto decided it'd be best to leave the area near the girl quickly and quietly. He ran as swiftly and stealthily as a cat to a tree that wasn't too close to Amu, but at the same time wasn't too close to the obvious areas around the edges of the garden. Just as Amu reached thirty-five seconds, Ikuto swung up the branches and landed gracefully in one of the highest boughs of the evergreen tree. "Thirty-nine, forty! Ready or not, here I come!" He could hear her voice coming from somewhere off in the distance. Well, even if she does manage to find me, it won't be for a while, anyways… thought Ikuto, and he leaned back, one hand behind his head, onto the trunk of the tree. His violin case sat across his outstretched legs, and he placed his other hand over it to keep it from falling.
Far below Ikuto's hiding spot and way off to his left, Amu stood, turning her head from side to side, surveying her surroundings. Where should I start first? There're so many trees... And how am I going to climb them…? Amu realized she didn't know how she was going to find the boy with cat-like reflexes if he could climb all the way up these tall trees and she couldn't. But I can't fail today. It's going to be a new year, and I promised myself that I would confess. Today. Her courage had faded since she made her resolution two days ago, but now it came back in full force. And so the game began.
Amu ran around frantically, checking off each bush she had looked in by placing a marker indicating that she had been there before. After she had made sure none of the bushes were hiding Ikuto, she moved on to the trees. The sun had already passed directly over them, meaning that noon must have already passed.
Over on Ikuto's side, Ikuto had been waiting patiently for Amu to find him for the first few hours. However, being somewhat reclined in his position, Ikuto found it very difficult to resist taking a nap. Soon after, he had fallen sound asleep, his violin still in his arms and cat-like satisfaction on his face.
Amu attempted to find Ikuto's presence in the trees by tossing pinecones up to the places she couldn't reach, hoping to have one of them make contact with the person she was looking for. After some time and energy spent on her seemingly futile efforts, Amu was about to give up when she heard a hiss, followed by the thud of a pinecone landing right by her feet. She suspected that Ikuto must be in that tree, though she couldn't see up into the boughs of the tree anyways. Amu stood there thinking for quite some time, until she ultimately decided that she would have to climb the tree to reach Ikuto, or at least, try to climb it.
Taking three steps back, Amu studied the tree and decided to go with a "run-and-jump" approach. Before her confidence disappeared completely, she had lunged at the tree and wrapped her arms and legs around it, now around three feet above the ground. However, much to Ikuto's misfortune, the pine tree shook with the force Amu had applied to it, and the big cat was knocked off his perch. Ikuto's eyelids flew open in an instant; his quick reflexes allowed him to keep his violin safe in his arms as he made a graceful landing on his feet. "Aha! Ikuto! So you were in that tree, after all!" cried Amu, turning her head to face him after letting go of the tree trunk.
"So you managed to find me, I see," Ikuto said, rubbing his eyes. "I guess that means you win. But that certainly took a while…" Ikuto looked at the sun's position and noticed that it was quite far to the west. "Well, it looks like we should go eat now… I mean, we haven't eaten lunch, and I don't think you had the chance to eat breakfast. You must be hungry by now."
As if on cue, Amu's stomach rumbled. Amu cursed at her stomach in her head. She blushed as she agreed with Ikuto and suggested, "Let's go eat at that pirate restaurant over there. Since it's right here and all… I've heard that the food there is delicious. Or at least fun to eat. I mean, a pirate theme? It's like your 'Seven Seas Treasure' transformation, huh? I think it was made for you."
"Sure, why not." And with that, Ikuto and Amu walked over to the restaurant, which they found out was called "Pirates and Princesses." Wow, no naming sense at all, huh, Ikuto and Amu both thought to themselves. Quite literal, if one were to ask either of the two. The outside of the restaurant was in the shape of a pirate ship, while the inside of the restaurant followed a strict pirate and princess theme. All of the waiters and waitresses had to wear pirate costumes, consisting of a triangular black pirate hat, a dark-colored cape, brown leggings, and black boots. There was a pirate and princess costume in the back of the restaurant placed on top of the display case they usually occupied. They were suspiciously laid out, though Amu and Ikuto did not seem to notice.
(Utau was, at this time, standing outside the restaurant with Kukai, as they were both in on the set-up for Amu's confession. At least, the restaurant part.)
"Table for two, please," Ikuto coolly said. The hostess received the call from Utau, signaling that the two special guests they were waiting for had arrived.
"Right this way," she said, smiling. "We have a reservation for you two, already. You two are Mr. Tsukiyomi and Ms. Hinamori, I presume?"
"Uh, yes, but how do you know our names?" Amu raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to make of the situation.
"As I said before, a certain individual who wishes to remain anonymous has made a reservation for the two of you. I was told that it was a special occasion. And here are your outfits for today," the hostess said as she gestured to the dark blue pirate costume and the white princess dress.
"Outfits? Why do we need outfits? We're just here to eat, not perform." Amu was getting more suspicious by the second.
The hostess simply replied, "It was at the request of the person who made your reservation. She wanted the two of you to do her a favor and dress up."
She, hm? Must be Utau, Amu and Ikuto both thought. That meddling friend/sister. "Come on, Amu. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try them on," Ikuto said, after giving it a little thought.
Amu sighed. She figured that the outfits would be alright, if they sat a little bit out of the way, where they wouldn't be seen. "Fine, I'll go change," Amu reluctantly said, taking the dress and heels from the hostess. Unfortunately for Amu, though, the table she and Ikuto were led to after they had emerged from the bathroom was on an elevated platform in the center of the restaurant. Eyes widening at the sight of it, Amu felt tempted to run straight out of the restaurant. What the… Oh, Utau is going to be in so much trouble the next time I see her… thought Amu, who nearly smacked herself on the forehead in frustration.
"It's alright, Amu. We don't know these people, anyways, so this'll be between you and I. Besides, it'll make a memorable first date." Ikuto smiled gently as he patted Amu's shoulder comfortingly. "We'll be out of here soon anyways." The hostess took a quick picture of them in their costumes before hurrying off to manage the front desk.
"Commemorative photograph," she called out as she walked off, waving the camera in her hand. "Your friend will pass the picture on to you guys later on."
Amu grumbled, "We better be out of here soon. This place is getting worse and worse by the minute."
"Look at the bright side. You look beautiful in that princess dress." Ikuto smiled reassuringly, though he was actually somewhat nervous himself.
"T-thanks. You look great, too. It's almost like the time we defeated Easter…" Amu's lips curled up in a smile as she thought back on that wonderful day. She had gotten to play the role of the princess after rescuing Ikuto and embracing Ikuto's pain, while Ikuto had transformed into her princely pirate and protected her in return.
Ikuto's voice brought her back to reality, as he suggested they sit down. "We're already eye-catching enough as is."
The two of them took their seats on the platform, trying to ignore the stares upon them from around the room. Ikuto called the waiter over after he and Amu had both decided on their orders. "I'll have the house special," Amu told the waiter.
"Same goes for me," Ikuto said in turn.
"Okay. Two house specials, coming right up," the waiter confirmed and then walked off briskly.
"So, how have things been while I've been in Europe?" Ikuto asked.
"Oh, the usual. You know, school, visiting the Guardians, and all that. There're two new Guardians that we've helped Yaya and Kairi train, so the Joker spot is empty. Tsukasa told me that that's because there's no need for a Joker at this point, since I helped everyone resolve the issue with Easter… But I still think it'd be interesting to meet someone else like me."
"No, I don't think there would be anyone else like you, Amu. People like you come along only once in a lifetime, so I'd be stupid to let you go like that. You know, the thing I was looking forward to the most when I got home was seeing you," Ikuto stated matter-of-factly. "I love you, Amu. And I told you I'd make you fall in love with me, so I'm here to see if I can make that promise come true." He smiled at his last statement and reached across the table to place his hand on Amu's.
Amu saw the honesty in Ikuto's words, as his emotions were clearly shown on his face. She looked down at his hand on hers and then back up into his eyes, a small smile on her face. Tempted to abandon her plans and just confess right there, Amu had to remind herself that it would be unfair to Ikuto if she confessed in such a plain manner. Instead, she took a hold of his hand and placed it on her cheek. "Remember that I have something I want to say to you later, after dinner. You agreed to listen to one thing I wanted you to do, too," she said softly.
Ikuto's cheeks turned a little pink, for Amu had never done something like that before. "Yeah, I remember. I always keep my promises," he said, putting his hand down and taking her hand in his.
The waiter cleared his throat abruptly, interrupting their moment. He balanced a tray that held two plates heaped with pasta, clams, crab, and seaweed, a combination of the various edible things in the sea and noodles. "Two house specials, correct? Oh, and just to let you know, the person who made your reservation has already ordered your dessert," he said with a wink.
Ikuto and Amu simultaneously raised their eyebrows, more suspicious than ever about what Utau was trying to pull. They ate their food rather quickly, but both of them agreed that the food was quite tasty. "We should come here again some time." Ikuto casually remarked that Amu would be going on future dates with him and smiled. Amu didn't seem to notice the implication and simply nodded her head, agreeing.
The waiter came by to collect their plates and returned within a couple minutes. "Here is your dessert. I hope you enjoy," he said and left just as quickly.
The couple stared down at their plate, surprised to see that the dessert was an ordinary-looking milk pudding with caramel glaze and thin chocolate shavings, though it was unusually large (it took up nearly the whole glass dish, which was around a foot in diameter). The pudding was beautifully decorated with all sorts of fruits, including some thin slices of orange and strawberry, a few grapes, some blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries, and a fresh sprig of mint. What was unusual about the pudding was the custom torched caramel message on the flat surface of the top of the pudding. For there in the center of the pudding was a message from Utau to her dear brother and friend:
Happy First Date, Ikuto and Amu.
I know it's the first of many.
Make the most of your time together!
And don't forget to thank yours truly.
Utau.
The waiter had also left a separate card by the plate, also signed by Utau, making it not-so-anonymous after all. Amu pulled the card out of the envelope and showed it to Ikuto. It read:
"P. S.: Take care of Ikuto for me, 'kay, Amu? You guys be happy now. But don't rush things. (You better not be telling me that you're engaged tomorrow.)
And to my big brother: Thanks, Ikuto, for everything you've done. I'll always love you lots! As a sister, though.
I hope you guys enjoy your first-date-present from me. And Ikuto, there's definitely more to come for you. But I'll leave that to Amu to finish. Call me when the date's over, alright? I've got some news for you, Ikuto.
Lots of love from your little sister and friend,
Utau"
Ikuto gave Amu a questioning look and asked, "What does Utau mean by 'more to come'?"
"Uh… It's got something to do with the stuff for after dinner… But that's all I can tell you, or else it won't be a surprise," she replied, averting Ikuto's gaze. "You'll find out soon enough, so, for now, let's eat!" Amu said hurriedly, avoiding the subject.
Ikuto simply raised an eyebrow and agreed. "Okay, if that's fine with you. But we'll have to split the pudding."
Indeed, there was only one plate and two spoons, meaning that Ikuto and Amu were supposed to share the pudding, a fact that Amu had not noticed until Ikuto pointed it out. "W-wait. Uh… Here, you take that half, and I'll take this half."
"But I want to try some of your half," Ikuto whined, pouting childishly. "Please, Amu?" Ikuto gave his best begging look, which Amu had to admit was really hard to refuse.
"Fine. Just… whatever." Sighing heavily, Amu resigned herself to Ikuto's request. She spooned up a chunk of pudding and got ready to eat it when Ikuto's face appeared in front of her. He had eaten her spoonful of pudding and was smiling across the table at her.
"Thanks, Amu. Your half is delicious," Ikuto remarked happily.
Surprised, Amu froze for a moment. When she regained her senses, though, she yelled, "I-I-Ikuto! What are you doing!" Amu snatched her spoon back from Ikuto indignantly. "I didn't say you could eat it off of my spoon!"
"But the pudding on your spoon looked the tastiest…" Ikuto gave his best regretful face and looked down at the table.
Argh, I can never stay mad at Ikuto. This is so unfair. He looks too much like a cute kitty that I can't scold him for anything, thought Amu. "Alright, I forgive you, but we're trading spoons." Ikuto gave his spoon to Amu and took Amu's spoon back. The two finished the plate of pudding, changed out of their costumes, left a tip (since Utau had already arranged to pay for their meal), and went outside. Amu told Ikuto as she grabbed his hand, "There's some place I want to go, and we'll keep that hide-and-seek winner's promise there, okay?"
Ikuto nodded in response and smiled, since Amu had taken his hand of her own accord. She led him to the area near the park where he had played his violin before, the time Amu asked him why Ikuto wasn't playing closer to the rest of the street performers where he could be easily heard. A feeling of nostalgia swept over the couple as they stood at the bottom of the steps looking up, still holding hands. Amu gestured to the gazebo, and she and Ikuto walked over to the front of it. "Ikuto, since you have your violin, I wanted you to play this piece while I sing. Remember that time I asked you if you would play for me? I have a little something for you that I'd like you to play so that I can accompany you," Amu said, looking up from her shoes to stare at Ikuto square in the eyes. "Please."
"As you wish," Ikuto agreed in a princely manner, and he gave a little bow. He lifted his violin case off of his shoulders and set it on the ground, carefully unlatching and unzipping the violin case. Gingerly lifting the shiny wooden instrument out of its usual spot, Ikuto attached the shoulder rest and placed it on his shoulder, left hand positioned on the neck of the violin, bow at the ready in his right hand. "So what was it that you wanted me to play?" Ikuto asked, only to have Amu pull out some sheet music from her little side bag.
"This… It's a special song… I wrote it for this occasion, for you, so I hope you listen well to what I'm going to say in my song," Amu replied shyly, holding out the papers.
Ikuto stared at the papers in Amu's outstretched hand in amazement. "You wrote this piece yourself?" he questioned, obviously surprised.
"Yeah, so I hope you like it," Amu said. "Do you have a music stand with you? I guess I could hold it, if you don't…"
"If you could, that'd be great. I usually play from memory, so I don't regularly carry a stand," he explained, scanning the music quickly in preparation. "We can start any time you're ready."
"O-okay." Amu took a deep, calming breath. "I'm ready," she said firmly. She was going to go through with this for sure. The sky was already dark, and the stars were shining brightly. Only the streetlight and the moonlight helped Ikuto figure out the notes on the page with their brightness. Ikuto played the first verse, beautifully, as always, even though he was sight-reading the music for the first time.
Amu sang in time to the melody flowing off of Ikuto's violin strings, harmonizing with his playing (This is the poem in the poetry collection I'm still adding to, for those of you who've read it and recognize it):
I took another step towards the door,
Afraid to see what lay in store
For me and my future classmates who sat just beyond it.
It was hard to smile
As I nervously stared, all the while
Trying to come across as a friendly sort of person.
All I wanted was to make a friend,
A smile to whom I would gladly send
Once I could get my face muscles to loosen up.
But no one could see past my seemingly cold front
And dared to give the friendship ball a bunt
As I made my way to my desk quietly.
Rumors flew among my classmates
That officially sealed off the wrought iron gates
Of possible friendship at my new school.
I was untouchable, far too cool
For anyone else in the school,
And I made my way home every day with a sigh.
My parents didn't understand me,
And even I began to wonder where my true self would be
As I stood outside, looking at the night sky.
Not until the day I wished I could crawl into a hole
Did I find something much better than a mole,
Or rather, someone who would eventually change my life.
[At this, Amu glanced pointedly at Ikuto, making sure that he was paying attention, and smiled slightly.]
That magical someone was you,
Cat-like, mysterious, and blue,
Who managed to pull my true self out in an instant.
At first I couldn't decide whether or not you were trustworthy,
Because you told me that you were an enemy,
But I realized, by then, that I already had faith in you.
It wasn't just your beautiful and slightly sad eyes
That drew me in, as I could sense the ties
That had begun to form between us since the moment we met.
[Ikuto poured his heart into his playing, liking where the song was going.]
There was no one else in whom I could confide
And walk happily with, side by side,
Because you held a special magic of your own.
I thought, at first, we were merely strangers
Until we came to face all of those dangers
Together, something I never dreamed of happening before I met you.
[He smiled at Amu, who smiled back and continued singing.]
You protected me from harm,
Willing to let yourself be hurt by putting out a protective arm,
And you fooled me into thinking badly of you until I understood the pain you had incurred.
[She placed a hand on his shoulder, careful to not stop Ikuto from playing.]
The day I hugged you and embraced your suffering,
I showed you what I was really feeling
Deep down inside, the emotions locked within my heart.
You, the rightful owner of the Dumpty Key,
Found what I had been hiding inside of me
And unlocked both the Humpty Lock and the closed doors to my heart.
Why did my heartbeat speed up around you,
Why did my cheeks flush red just thinking about you,
Where would I find the answer to all of my questions?
I finally learned the secret behind that mystery,
Just as I had come to learn your history,
And I decided to pour my heart out to you at last.
You told me before that you love me,
That you would love me for eternity,
And I'm here to say that I love you back.
Amu held the last note for a few seconds while Ikuto kept the sound going and used plenty of vibrato. Ikuto was looking at Amu and smiling tenderly at her when the song finished. "Is that what you wanted to tell me, Amu?" He put his violin back in its case and turned to Amu.
"Yeah… What I've been trying to say the whole time is that I love you, Ikuto. I love you so much that I don't know what to do any more…" Amu trailed off, staring up at Ikuto, trying to figure out what he was thinking.
"I love you, too, Amu. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, as many times as you want, as many times as it'll take for you to believe me." Ikuto's eyes said everything else that he couldn't convey into words.
Amu half whispered, "I believe you, Ikuto. I really do."
At that moment, the clock struck midnight, and Ikuto smiled down at the girl he loved. "Happy New Year, Amu. Would it be okay if I referred to you as my girlfriend from now on?" Ikuto grinned at Amu's shocked expression and leaned down, making himself level with her face. His lips closed in on Amu's, and the new boyfriend and girlfriend shut their eyes, both relishing their first kisses. After a few seconds, the two leaned back and simply looked at each other.
"Happy New Year, Ikuto. And if you get to call me your girlfriend, then it's only fair that I get to call you my boyfriend," Amu said, grinning in spite of her faint blush, since she noticed that Ikuto, too, was blushing. "I love you." She felt like she could say it as many times as she wanted to, after the night's events.
"I love you, too, Amu. But if you keep saying that, I might just have to kiss you again," the usually cool and collected Ikuto mumbled, blushing one of his rare blushes.
"Maybe another time, Ikuto. I… I'm still recovering from my first one," Amu replied, hands on her cheeks in an attempt to calm down. "B-besides, you have to call Utau, remember? She has something important to tell you."
Ikuto reluctantly agreed, but took a hold of Amu's hand with one of his before pulling out his cell phone. He smiled at his girlfriend before speaking into the phone. "Hello? Utau? Yeah, you said you had something to tell me in your message at the restaurant, right? … Wait, what? Really? Since when? … Alright, I'm taking Amu with me, then. See you really soon. Bye," Ikuto said as he hung up.
"What is it?" Amu asked, wondering why Ikuto was so surprised. "Is something wrong? Where are we going?"
"One question at a time, Amu," Ikuto answered, smiling. "It looks like my father's been in Japan since last year, when he came back for Nikaidou and Sanjou's wedding. Looks like I'm going to win that bet, then, because I've found my father first." He tossed a rare wink at Amu, who lit up at the news of his father.
"That's great, Ikuto! You've finally found your father!" she exclaimed, jumping and giving him a hug. "But I've got to say, it was a close one. I won the bet, after all." Amu returned Ikuto's wink with one of her own.
"What do you mean?" Ikuto looked at her curiously.
"I mean that Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia all returned to the Eggs' Cradle a couple of days ago. They said goodbye while I was busy figuring out what to do for this confession, since I discovered that my true self lies with you…" Amu gave him a bittersweet smile, sad that her guardian characters were gone, but happy that she finally expressed her feelings to Ikuto.
Ikuto said nothing, but gave Amu a comforting, warm hug, as he was finally allowed to embrace her whenever he wanted to. "It'll be alright. I'm here for you now. Besides, they're not gone. They're all in your heart, always," Ikuto murmured by her ear. Reluctantly releasing her from his arms, Ikuto beamed at her and said, "Come on. I'm sure that meeting my family will cheer you up some. And I've got to go see my father, but I want you to be there with me."
Amu grinned back at Ikuto and wiggled her hand into his large one, giving it a light squeeze. "Then let's get going. I'm sure Utau will want to know about what happened."
And so Amu and Ikuto walked hand in hand all the way to Ikuto's house, ready to meet the rest of the Tsukiyomis on the first day of the new year, as the first couple to be born in 2012.
*A/N: That was long, I know! But it was so much fun to write. So so so much fun! ^_^ :) :) :) I was smiling for most of this, haha. I hope you loved reading it just as much, but regardless of whether or not you did, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Do let me know if it was too wordy or something, please, so that I can write better stuff in the future. Thanks! :) And I hope you guys had awesome New Year's-es, too.*