I am on a roll!! :D Yea!! I updated "With You", "Crossing Paths", and another one-shot in…two-three weeks? Yea! :3 But I should seriously finish my reading homework first XD
Thank you to these reviewers:
Amuto-4eva, Soccerluver04, Himeka Tsukiyomi, oxCuteKataraox, Kelii-chan, sylvanicara, sakuita, xhappily-randomx, ShoujoAnimeFanatic13, Foxgrl18, Aznprid3x3, rebellious-and-ditzy-bookworm, Star Serenade, sweettara10, appupuppu, babo123, +Silver rose+, fellowfan miki+yoru
Not as many as last chapter but I'm happy :D
AND CHAPTER 42 WAS THE FREAKIN BEST!!!! Except for the last part T.T NO!! Peach-pit! WHY?! Ikuto better end up with Amu or I'm gonna sue! But if Amu can't be with Ikuto, I'd rather have Amu end up with nobody then her with Tadase.
Did you guys see the cover for the second CD collection of Shugo Chara? Ikuto's shirt is open (KYAAAA!!!); Amu, Utau, Nagihiko, and I guess Yua (from episodes 85 and 86) have revealing clothing; Yaya, Rima, and Tadase are like waitresses/waiter ^^ I WANT IT! They say Ikuto's gonna sing in there :D But the voice actor did another song for another series. It's called "Mission Complete." It's pretty good ^^
Should I put some stories on hiatus so I can focus on one story and complete that and then do another one and complete that and etc.?
Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara in any way.
X-x-Flashback of Chapter 4-x-X
A screeching noise broke through the chatter. Everyone had horrified expressions on their faces. I turned to my right and a swiveling car was heading towards the crowd. Scratch that, its target is me!
I couldn't move. My feet were glued to the ground. My whole body went numb. Is this what people felt upon seeing a car—or anything—plunging right at them?
It was too late now. The car was approaching me at top speed and I couldn't do anything about it.
A few screams filled the air.
I didn't blink. I couldn't. The car must've been 3 yards from me now. This is it.
I then felt a force push me to my left. I hit my head on something and it was throbbing. But the most surprising thing was that I wasn't a flattened pancake. I was alive. Another thing was that I was on top of something soft. I closed my eyes at some point of time so I opened them again.
Violet irises bore into my amber ones.
Tsukiyomi Ikuto just saved my life.
"Ikuto…"
X-x-End of Flashback-x-X
Crazy Happenings
Normal POV
"Souko, I'm home!"
"Welcome back, Rima-chan. How was your day with Amu-chan?"
"Great. And I managed to take pictures of Amu in the clothes I designed."
"Really? Let me see, dear."
"Here."
It took Rima less than a minute to reach her house from Amu's house. The speed and agility comes in handy sometimes.
Rima tossed the camera to her foster mother and she caught it in a flash. Souko examined the many photos in the camera.
"Rima-chan, you're adorable!"
Nagihiko materialized right beside Souko. "Let me see." Souko giggled and handed it to him. "Rima-chan, you are cute." Nagihiko hugged Rima and rumpled her hair.
"Mou, yamete, Nagihiko. My hair is getting messed up!"
Nagihiko grinned. He handed the camera back to Souko.
"Is this Amu-chan?" Rima nodded. "Kawaii!" Souko exclaimed. "You found a cute friend, Rima-chan."
"Kawaii? What did you two do at her house?" a masculine voice asked nonchalantly. The camera was whipped out of Souko's hand and into a blue-haired boy's hands. "Hmm? Dressing up, Rima? Aren't you a bit old for that?" he questioned and yes, there was a double meaning to that.
"Shut it. You're never too old, Ikuto. And I need these photos for the company. I think I may ask them for Amu to be my personal model."
"I think that'd be great, Rima-chan."
"Me too, Souko. Now, Ikuto, hand it over."
"No," he stubbornly refused. And he disappeared along with the camera.
"I can give you a copy of all those pictures of Amu if you would model my clothes!" she unnecessarily shouted. Rima's secretary met Ikuto once when he gave Rima some papers she left at home one night and she immediately fell in love with him. Well, his well shaped body, that is. He'd be perfect for Rima's clothing. Nagihiko agreed but the company thought that Ikuto might attract more fans and attention. Ikuto was steadfast in his decision and that was no.
"Fine," Ikuto muttered from upstairs in his room. Rima smirked in victory while Nagihiko and Souko sweatdropped.
"Ne, Rima-chan, does Ikuto-kun like Amu-chan?"
"Um, maybe. He's just drawn to her. But I think he's head over heels for Amu."
Something then zoomed down the staircase and straight towards Rima. Rima caught it swiftly with a blur of her hand and held the object. It was the camera and a sticky note was stuck to it and it read:
I'm not in love with her, shorty.
"Yea, you just say that but admit it. You do like her. And damn it, Ikuto, stop calling me short!" Rima needlessly yelled again. She didn't get an answer. "And you'll get your pictures soon," she added. "But remember that you have to model for my clothes later! The photo shoot will most likely be in a few days."
Ikuto made a grunting noise and silence followed.
Rima grinned in triumph. "I love doing this."
'Curse, Rima. I'm going to get back at her one day,' Ikuto thought as he drove the car that held his other four siblings. Rima has convinced—more like threatened—Ikuto to come to her company and tell the great—horrible in Ikuto's case—news to her fellow co-workers.
He parked his car and opened the door. A snowball fight was going on at the moment and Ikuto stared at it with a plain face.
"That looks like fun!"
"Why don't you join, Souma-kun?" Souma. The last name of Kukai before it changed to Tsukiyomi.
"Nah. It's alright, Fujisaki." Nagihiko's last name before it was changed to Tsukiyomi. "I prefer this…" With lightning speed, he picked up a pile of snow and threw it at Ikuto's direction. Ikuto dodged it with ease and the snowball made contact with a sign, bending it back a little from the force.
Ikuto smirked.
"Tsukiyomi, stop reading my mind!"
"It's not my fault. I can't help it. And all I heard in your mind was, 'Target is distracted right now. Must land a snowball on his head!'"
"Tch, nothing gets past you, eh?"
Ikuto grinned. "Nope."
They all laughed but Rima stopped short.
"Rima-chan, what's wrong?" Nagihiko asked worriedly.
Ikuto gasped as he read Rima's mind.
"Oh shit!" Ikuto whispered loudly.
"Spit it out, Tsukiyomi! Mashiro, what the hell is going to happen?" Everyone knew something was wrong. They just didn't know what Rima saw in her vision.
"Amu, she…!"
The five heard an earsplitting screech from tires.
"Damn it all to hell!" Ikuto yelled furiously. He whirled his head around and found Amu across the parking lot.
"Ikuto!" Rima yelled but it was too late. Ikuto had already raced towards Amu.
"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Utau questioned with disbelief.
So here's how it looks like. The crowd is off the left of the parking lot and Amu is basically almost right smack in the center. Ikuto parked his car to the right of the parking lot and he was about ten to fifteen yards away. The car was spinning around from the top left and advancing towards the center, which is where Amu is standing.
Ikuto rushed to Amu in a blink of an eye and pushed her away from danger. Ikuto hugged Amu to his chest and the two landed on the ground with Ikuto to the cement and Amu on top of him. But before getting into this position, Amu bumped her head against the ground.
'How in the world am I going to explain this to Amu?'
Amu's POV
"Ikuto…"
I was shocked beyond words. How did he get over here so fast? Well, I didn't exactly know where he was but I know he wasn't near me. At least five yards away from me. I didn't see him up until now.
My head was spinning. It was either from the pain or the confusion. One, how did he save me when he was somewhere far away? Two, why did he save me? Three, how did he save us both in less than a second? That is not possible. And four, why do I feel so safe and warm in his arms?
I looked up and saw that the van was still moving. In our direction.
Ikuto—I think after saying it once, it's stuck in my brain—noticed in an instant and rolled us over and over at a high speed. When we were well out of the hazard zone, he stopped with him slightly on top of me. I blushed at our closeness. I looked to the side and saw that the van had stopped in front of the Tsukiyomis.
Then the screams commenced.
"Are you ok?!" "Call the ambulance and get a teacher!" "Who's in the car?? Somebody go check!" "What the hell is going on?!" "Oh my gosh, it's Yamamoto Yoru from my English class!" "Someone get him out!!" "Hinamori-san, Tsukiyomi-san, are both of you alright??"
But I heard one voice that stood out in the midst of the chaos.
"Amu? Are you ok?" Ikuto's face couldn't be more than a mere inch away from my face! I turned my head away and felt the throbbing pain in my head. I rubbed the back of it and groaned.
"Ow."
He lightly chuckled. "That's what I thought."
"What the—how the heck did you get over here so fast?"
"Amu, what are you talking about? I was standing right next to you."
"No, you weren't. You were standing with Rima and everyone else." I looked towards the Tsukiyomis and found many people in front of the car and getting Yoru out. The family seemed fine with no scratches whatsoever. But how is that possible? The car was still at top speed when it was racing past me.
"Amu, you hit your head too hard. You might have forgotten. I was—" He was such a good liar. Any person would have believed him but I'm not just any person.
"Stop lying!" I snapped. "I know what I saw and I'm not going to believe you."
He sighed, frustrated. "Can't you just forget about this?"
"No."
"Please, Amu," he pleaded.
I was about to say something when the paramedics came. I obstinately refused my stretcher but stupid Ikuto had to say I hit my head and might have damaged my skull. So that's why I'm on a stretcher in the ambulance while Ikuto is sitting casually on the chair in front of me in the ambulance. I growled silently. This is so unfair!
Here I am, lying on the hospital bed with Yoru harassing me with apologies next to me on his own bed.
"Amu, I'm really sorry, nya! I'll make it up to you!"
"Yoru, it's fine. You don't have to say sorry. I know you mean it. Just calm down and relax." But that didn't stop him. He went on and on that I tuned out of his cries.
"Is she asleep?"
My eyes popped open at the sound of Ikuto's voice. He came and sat on the edge of my bed, facing Yoru who was on my left.
"Ikuto, I'm really sorry nya."
"That's alright. Nobody was severely injured—well, besides you of course—so all is well."
"What happened to the rest of your family, Ikuto?"
"Hmm? So you decide to call me by my first name?" He smirked.
I blushed. "You call me Amu so I have the right to right?"
He laughed quietly. "My family's fine. Why wouldn't they be?"
I was about to answer him when the doctor came in with looks that beat the most handsome movie star. He resembled Ikuto a lot in looks but the doctor kept his hair neat.
"Hinamori Amu-san?"
"Hai."
"The x-rays we took of your head seem fine." Earlier, I took x-rays to check my skull and I was right. My head was perfectly fine. The doctor walked towards me and gently placed his fingers on my head. I winced at his touch. His fingers were so cold.
"Does it still hurt?"
"No."
"If it begins to throb, take pain killers. If it gets worse, come to me and I'll give you a subscription for medicine to heal it."
"Thank you, doctor…"
"Tsukiyomi Aruto. Just call me Aruto."
"Arigatou, Aruto-san. Do I need anything else?"
"Nope. You are free to go. But I must say, you were very lucky."
"I guess. Lucky Ikuto happened to be standing right next to me or I wouldn't have survived."
He cleared his throat. "Why, yes." He turned to Yoru. "Now it's a different story for you, I'm afraid…"
I stood up and whispered to Ikuto, "Can we talk?"
He nodded and he led me to a hallway of the hospital where nobody was passing through. He turned around.
"What do you want to talk about?"
I stepped back at his hostility. But then I regained my stance and tried to make myself taller.
"I better be lying for a good reason."
"Amu—"
"Don't 'Amu' me. I saw what happened."
"Fine, tell me what happened."
I took a deep breath and told my story. "I was standing away from the snowball fight when the car was spinning at me. I know you were far away from me because I don't remember seeing you anywhere near me. The next thing I know, I'm pushed to the side and I was on top of you. I looked to my right and saw that the car stopped right in front of the rest of your family. Your family was unharmed and I don't know why the heck that is. Though I am glad they weren't harmed. When I was moved in the ambulance, I took a peripheral glance and I saw a dent in the side of the car where it was facing your family." Now that I say it out loud, the story sounds absurd. No one was going to believe me.
His eyes widened. For a moment, I thought my story was true. But then he said incredulously, "You think I pushed you away when I was at least 5 yards away from you and that one of my family members made a dent in the car?"
I stiffly nodded.
"No one is going to believe that."
"I know."
"Then why?"
I took a step towards him. "Because I hate lying. I don't lie without a good reason."
"Can't you just thank me and forget about this?"
"Thank you," I said, without a hint of appreciation.
"You're welcome," he answered in the same tone. And he walked away.
Before he disappeared from my sight, I said, "I'm not going to forget about this."
Tsumugu was worried sick. And he, of course, passed the big news to my mother. I had to say "I'm fine" at least thirty times before she believed me.
When I told the people at my school that Ikuto pushed me out of the way, everybody said that they didn't see Ikuto beside me. So ha! I wasn't hallucinating. But I knew my classmates weren't going to believe my story.
I asked Rima why there was a dent in the car and she simply said that it bumped into another car before stopping in front of them. I didn't believe that.
When I arrived in homeroom, I found Ikuto sitting in his chair right beside me.
"Hi, Ikuto."
He gave a curt nod and that was the end of any verbal contact between us.
Daichi was pleased at this. He thought we might have become closer since Ikuto was my hero but it had the opposite effect.
Saturday came and it was the day of the trip with Daichi and everyone else. During the week, we decided on a meeting place and that would be at Daichi's parents' store. They sell mostly equipment for sports and camping. Maybe I could get a job here…
We were split into two groups since there were two cars. I was with Daichi, Ran, Su, Saaya, and two other girls whose names I have forgotten. They follow Saaya a lot though. The other group was Yoru (he still has bandages covering some parts of his face and arms but he miraculously avoided any broken bones), Miki, Dia, Kairi, and two other girls that also follow Saaya. That makes 13 people.
We arrived at the beach and the sight was breathtaking. The sun (yes, it was sunny as Daichi had said) was shining down on the blue-green water, making it glisten. The sand went through my toes as I walked towards the water and there was also a cliff nearby.
I plopped down on the towel under an umbrella Saaya had brought.
"Amu-chan, aren't you going to swim?" I looked up to see Daichi in his green swimming trunks. I peered at the water and found the girls having bathing suits on. Saaya had on the most revealing one. I just wore white shorts and a pink tank top and I brought a sweatshirt in case I got cold.
"Nah, I didn't bring a swimsuit and it's not really my thing."
"But you can't just sit here. Isn't it boring?"
I shook my head. "No, not at all."
"How about this. We can have a game of beach ball later." I'm not that bad at this sport, actually. If I be extra careful, I might not hit anybody.
"Ok. Hey, I'm planning to walk around the beach. I saw a forest nearby and I thought I might look at the scenery a little."
"Ok. Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, it's ok. I'm sure it'll be more fun for you if you swim."
"Alright, Amu-chan. If anything happens, scream and we'll come for you."
"Thanks, Daichi."
I stood up and dusted some sand from my clothes. I began to circle the beach and then I wind up in the forest. The trees were truly beautiful here. Some of the ground was still wet from yesterday's rain. I heard the birds chirping and the woodpeckers. I closed my eyes and began singing to myself since no one was near me.
We were both young when I first saw you
I close my eyes and the flashback starts
I'm standing there
On the balcony in summer air
See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns
See you make your way through the crowd
And say hello
Little did I know
My voice turned louder as the song progressed. I walked trees and began to spin around like a little girl.
That you were Romeo
You were throwing pebbles
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
And I was crying on the staircase
Begging you please don't go and I said
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes
I love this song.
I got tired of waiting
Wondering if you were ever coming around
My faith in you is fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town and I said
Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone
I keep waiting for you but you never come
Is this in my head?
I don't know what to think
He knelts to the ground
And pulled out a ring
And said, marry me Juliet
You'll never have to be alone
I love you and that's all I really know
I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress
It's a love story baby just say yes
Oh, oh, oh, oh
'Cause we were both young when I first saw you
I'll never get tired of hearing this song. I wished my fairytale would happen that way…
"That was beautiful."
I took an intake of breath and spun around. It appears I wasn't alone. There were two people standing five yards away from me. A boy with shining blonde hair and a girl with auburn hair in pigtails.
"Wow! I wish I could sing like you!" The girl practically hopped to me and started bouncing up and down in front of me, holding both of my hands in her two hands.
"Ne, ne, what's your name? Do you live around here? Did you take singing lessons? Are you planning on being an artist?" So many questions. This girl's energy beats Daichi's and all my other friends combined.
"Yuiki-san, it's best if you calm down. I think you're scaring her."
She stopped jumping and gave me an apologetic smile. "Heh heh, gomen."
"It's ok. I'm Hinamori Amu. And yea, I live in the next town over. And no, I just sing for fun."
"You're a natural, Amu-chi!" Amu…chi? "I'm Yuiki Yaya! But call me Yaya!"
"I'm Hotori Tadase."
Hotori…isn't that my dad's friend's last name?
"Ne, Amu-chi, where is all your other friends?"
"Um, in the water swimming."
"Can we join??" she gave me her sparkly puppy eyes.
"U-Um, sure."
"Yay!" She jumped up and down in excitement.
Oh, boy. I met two new people today. One of them is hyper to the max and she's pretty cute. The other is a prince-like boy who is very polite.
I wonder what my friends will say when they see these two.
Japanese Translations:
Mou – it's a way of saying "hey," in an annoying/frustrating tone but it could be used with other tone of voices
Yamete – stop it
Ne – means "hey" when you are trying to get their attention of something
Hai – yes
Gomen - sorry
Song used:
Love Story – Taylor Swift (I do not own the song in any way)
*dies* I've been having stomach cramps for the past week and it hurts like hell. But I forced myself to finish this chapter and I rushed the ending -.-
I updated my profile and I have some statuses of the stories so far so if you're wondering what I'm working on at the moment of how many chapters in the story, check there. Though the number of chapters in a story is tentative because I don't plan out my stories xP I'm unorganized. I should be working on "Save Me" next.
And please read "Masquerade Ball". It's a one-shot I made and I worked really hard on it but I didn't receive as many reviews as my other one-shots. I would really appreciate if you read the one-shot and give me some feedback.
Please R&R!! And you'll get faster updates for this story and my other stories ^^ Remember, reviews fuel an author's energy.