Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! If you don't celebrate that, I hope you are/did enjoy your break!

Thank you to these reviewers:

xTsukiyo No Marionette, ShugoCharaLuvr, Innocence and Instinct, NellyLuna252, Argentum Famulus, xxxUtauloverxxx, Kallen11, LouKeiYee, madeline. the .geek.28, Catherineza, lilpopsplash, xheyxhaleyx, JayMar, mountaingirl47, amuto106, Amulet Rafia, xxSunSerenityxx, xxShakespeareSecretsxx, amutoforever21, Saris Yui, Neko-chan3, a personse sel, Guest, ChikoThePigDemon, SakiYamada, HaibaraAiFan

Thanks a bunch for all the reviews!

To ChikoThePigDemon (and the people who have been mad at my lack of updates):

I have a life. FanFiction isn't at the top of my priorities. I'm in the busiest year of high school and doing well in school is way more important to me than FanFiction. I write these stories for fun. I don't want it to become a chore. Lately, I've been bombarded with piles of homework, tests, standardized tests, extracurricular activities, etc. I haven't even had time to sleep much. This was the first weekend that I actually had time to sit down and write the next chapter to this story. I know I haven't updated in over a year. And I'm really sorry. But I just don't have the time. So please don't send me angry messages, demanding me to update. I will when I can. So I hope you will still continue to support me and I will try to do my best to update.

Here's the next chapter! It's going to be a long one.

X-x-X

Your Hand in Mine

"Would you like some company tonight?"

And that's how I ended up in my bed, cuddling with Tsukiyomi Ikuto. I shouldn't be surprised, really; despite Ikuto knowing the consequences of he lost control, he continued to make physical contact with me. Not that I mind.

He was playing with a wet strand of my pink hair when I asked, "So why did you randomly decide to visit me?"

"Because I missed you."

I blushed and mumbled, "We saw each other a few hours ago."

"I bet you were dying to see me too."

I scoffed at his accusation. I turned in his arms so that I was facing away from him.

"Amu, the moment you leave my arms, I begin to miss you terribly."

His sweet declaration caused blood to rush up to my face.

"Me, too," I whispered. "I miss you a lot when you're not by my side." It made me realize how dependent I have become on Ikuto. Now that we were a couple, I'm so used to having him by my side. In my mind, wherever I was, he was always there with me. And when he wasn't there, my chest would tighten to the point that it becomes hard to breathe.

"I will never leave your side."

His words brought warmth to my heart. My heartbeat drummed against my chest; I swear, Ikuto will be the death of me one day.

I shuffled around so that I was facing him again. His violet eyes seemed to pierce my very soul as I slightly cowered under his intense gaze. All I could mutter was, "Good."

Cautiously, Ikuto leaned in towards my lips. My eyelids fluttered closed. A second later, our lips met in a chaste kiss. His fingers brushed through my damp tresses as I melted in his warm embrace. He broke away to let me breathe for a bit before locking lips with mine once again. He repositioned us so that my back was on the bed and he was on top of me. One of his hands found my left hand and he proceeded to intertwine them together. I squeezed his hand as our kiss became more passionate by the second.

Just when I thought I was in complete heaven, Ikuto abruptly pulled back with a slightly panicked face. I gave him a questioning look.

"What is it?"

"Your dad's coming up to check up on you."

My jaw dropped. "Crap!"

No sooner after that, he disappeared after loudly whispering, "Pretend to sleep!"

I did the best I could. I pulled the covers up and remained on my back. I breathed deeply, hoping it would convince Tsumugu.

Two seconds later, the door opened. Light streaked into the room and I pretended to be fast asleep. I hope my act was persuasive enough. After I heard the door creak shut, light laughter filled the room.

"That was so fake."

I whipped my head around, trying to locate Ikuto but he was nowhere in sight. "Where are you?"

I then felt hot breath fan my ear. "Right behind you."

I gasped and sharply turned around and sure enough, he was lying beside me. I glared at him. "Will you stop randomly appearing out of nowhere?"

He shook his head. "It's rather enjoyable to watch your reactions."

"Meanie," I mumbled.

He chuckled beside my ear. "You are absolutely adorable."

I smiled. I loved the sound of his laugh.

We stayed like that, conversing quietly in the dark. We had started with light topics before we gradually reached untouched subjects that were better left unspoken in Ikuto's opinion, I bet.

"You say you have the power to read people's minds… Do any of your other siblings have that power?"

"In fact, they do. Rima can see the future."

"Whoa, seriously?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

He suddenly kissed me, knocking the wind out of me. He gently released my lips, leaving me incredibly flustered. "Wh-what was that for?"

"You were too loud. Your father may wake up."

"Highly doubt it. He sleeps like a log," I said, giggling. "But you could have done it another way."

"I bet you liked it," he teased, brushing his hand through my pink tresses.

I scoffed, another blush coloring my cheeks. But nevertheless, I wrapped my arms around him and buried my head against his chest as I sighed contently. "Anyways, you were saying about Rima before I was interrupted?"

He smirked but didn't comment on how I was "interrupted." "As I was saying, Rima can see the future. However, that only applies when the person she sees makes the decision for the event to occur."

"You lost me."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Let's see. Say, for example, you were going to go with me to the beach."

"Can we go there again, by the way?" I asked, referring to the beach we went last time on our…"date." My cheeks reddened. We weren't officially an item but still…

"We'll go whenever you want." He smiled. "But as I was saying, say you wanted to go to the beach. But right before you go, you abruptly decide to go shopping with your friends. Rima couldn't have predicted that until you yourself decided to go shopping."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Well, it's inconvenient sometimes. Like that night when we were at the beach, she didn't know I was going to bite you until the moment I saw your blood. But it was already too late then." His fingers made their way over to my neck, leaving a feather-like touch upon the two red marks on my neck.

"Ikuto," I chided, "it's no use saying that now. I don't regret anything that's happened." I kissed his cheek. "I hope you're still not beating yourself over that."

"Not that much." He gave me a crooked smile before kissing me fully on the lips. He really needed to stop doing that or I'm going to die from a heart attack. "Nagihiko also has a power."

"Really?" Not only were the Tsukiyomis all gorgeous, they all had special powers as well. Do all vampires have special abilities?

He nodded. "He can control emotions. Not just one person, but a whole room filled with people."

"Wow, that's amazing. What about Kukai and Utau?"

"They don't have particular qualities but Kukai does have super-strength and Utau…well, she can stun enemies with her beauty alone." He snickered quietly.

I smiled but it didn't reach my eyes. "And she can stun people with her piercing glares."

Ikuto lifted my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. "Amu, it's not like that."

"Then why?" I couldn't even begin to fathom why Utau disliked me so much. Though I could kind of understand if it was because I, a human, suddenly came into her family's life and messed everything up.

"Because you're a human."

I was right. But the truth still stung. "I knew it."

"Not in the sense you're thinking of."

"You said you can't read my thoughts." I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Amu, you're practically an open book. You probably think she hates you because you, a human, just suddenly popped up in our lives, right?"

I bit my lip but didn't say anything.

He sighed. "That's not true. What I meant by "human," I meant she's jealous because you're a human."

"Well, that just cleared everything up," I sarcastically muttered. "Makes perfect sense."

"She wants to be a human."

That cut me short. "What? I—"

"You don't know this but she was turned into a vampire because she was on the verge of death. She didn't wish to be a vampire."

"What happened?" I hadn't noticed before but our voices were barely audible at this point.

"She was mugged and raped by a group of bastards." His eyes flashed red for less than a second; maybe I was just imagining it. "Aruto found her in the alley and saved her life by turning her into a vampire. She has gotten over her sadness already because she met Kukai but the one thing she wants is something she can't have."

"And what is that?"

"Her own family. She wants a child." He rubbed my cheek with his thumb slowly. "And that's where she starts beginning to hate you. You can be a human and yet you desire to be a vampire."

"I never said I did," I quietly murmured. Truth is, it wasn't like I never thought about it. I did contemplate about being a vampire. And true to Utau's claim, I did consider being a vampire. If that was what allowed me to stay with Ikuto forever, then I would do it.

"She believes that's the path you choose, which brings me to my next point. Amu, as long as I live, I will not let you become a vampire."

My mouth hung open as I struggled for words. Didn't he understand that if I became a vampire, we could be together for eternity? Was he pushing me away? I sat up and not a second later, Ikuto followed suit. "Why not?"

"Because I don't want you to throw your life away for me."

"I'm not throwing my life away, as you'd like to put it. I can stay by your side if I become a vampire, right?"

His eyes darkened before he gripped my shoulders. "Amu, listen to me. It's not worth it. Do you want to spend the rest of your life being a bloodsucker?"

I winced at his choice of words. "I won't be a "bloodsucker," Ikuto. I won't be sucking blood from humans. I'll be drinking animal blood, just like the rest of you guys. I don't understand why you're so against it. Do—do you not want me by your side?" Without realizing it, my voice had cracked as I fought back my tears. I shouldn't be crying; I hated how weak I was.

"Amu, no, that's not why. Please don't cry." Ikuto hoisted me up and into his lap so that my legs were curled around his waist. He kissed away the tears that were threatening to spill from my eyes. "Amu, listen to me. Don't ever think that I wouldn't want you by my side. Even if you didn't want me by your side, I probably would've done something to change your mind. I just want you to live your life before you rush into rash decisions. I don't want you to feel any regret. I just want what's best for you because…I love you."

That was the first time he said that to me. I couldn't believe how good he was to me when I was just selfishly thinking about what I wanted. My heart had beaten faster and it was probably going to explode from my chest. My stomach churned at his sweet voice. Words couldn't describe how this man made me feel. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him fully on the lips. If it weren't for his quick reflexes, we would've fallen to the floor due to my overenthusiastic hug.

When we parted for air a few minutes later, I sniffled and said, "I love you too."

Ikuto laughed and kissed me on the nose. "Amu, stop being so cute." He captured my lips in a sweet kiss, pushing me down onto the bed. His lips traveled to my neck as he gave me light kisses up and down my neck. Just to make me squirm, he purposely licked the length of my neck and blew on it. I wriggled under him as he chuckled.

"Do you like that?" he said, with a teasing glint in his amethyst eyes.

I growled. "You're so mean."

He smiled before settling himself beside me. "You should sleep now. It's getting late."

I glanced towards the clock to discover that it was nearing two in the morning. I nodded in agreement before wrapping my arms around him once again as I cuddled him. I loved these kinds of moments; holding him close made me feel secure.

"Good night, Amu." He kissed my forehead.

I searched for one of his hands. When I found it, my own hand grasped his as I brought it between us. His hand was large and icy while mine was tiny and warm. However, these two opposites fit so perfectly together. I will never get tired of holding hands with him.

I smiled before drifting off into dreamland.

X-x-X

Ikuto had invited me to spend the following Saturday with his entire family. Apparently we were going to play baseball. When he told me this, I gave him a skeptic look. He knew pretty well how much I sucked at sports. If I'm up to bad, I would probably swing the bat, miss the ball, and hit the nearest person next to me in the face with my bat. Of course, Ikuto chuckled and said that would never happen because vampires have fast reflexes.

Sometimes that guy annoyed me to no end.

When I arrived at the Tsukiyomi household that day with Ikuto, I peered up at the sky and frowned when I saw dark gray clouds looming in. A low rumbled sounded in the distance. It would suck if we had to cancel our plans because of the bad weather.

As if sensing my thoughts, Ikuto nudged me, and said, "Don't worry about it. We knew it was going to rain."

"Then why…?"

He smirked. "You'll see."

I didn't like the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

When the whole family gathered outside, I went to greet them. Seeing them all made me really happy. When my eyes landed on the relentless glare on Utau's face, my smile faltered.

Meekly, I stuttered, "H-Hi, Utau."

She didn't say anything as she coolly brushed her shoulder against mine as she stalked off towards the woods. Kukai followed after her, yelling at her to wait.

I sighed. Ikuto was at my side the next second, giving my arm a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't pay any mind to that, Amu. Shall we get going?"

I nodded numbly. I was about to head for the car when I saw Ikuto crouch down beside me with his back facing me. My eyebrow rose. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to be travelling on foot."

My stomach sank. "Oh god. Ikuto, you know I can't handle you running at lightning speed well. I'm going to throw up."

"I would never let that happen," he assured, throwing me a smug grin in my direction.

"If I do, you're a dead man," I grumbled. I walked towards him and settled myself on his back.

He hoisted himself up and yelled over his shoulder, "Hold on tight, love."

Before I could even blush, he was already bounding towards the trees at an unbelievable speed. I screamed in surprise. However, I noticed he went at a slower pace than the first time I rode on his back. It was as if I was on a moving car and not a jet. I screamed again; not in fear, but in delight as I gazed at my surroundings. We flew past the trees as Ikuto skillfully maneuvered his way around the forest.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and sighed happily. "I don't mind this speed."

"Shall we stop here and walk the rest of the way?"

We skidded to a smooth stop as I jumped off his back. I turned to face him. "Why'd we stop? Isn't it right there—"

He silenced me with a melting kiss. His hands locked with mine as I felt myself being pushed back against a tree. Not that I minded. He made me feel too damn good to care. I opened my mouth and shyly traced his tongue with my own. He growled against my lips in approval as his body was practically glued to mine.

All of a sudden, I felt myself being pulled away from the tree and against Ikuto's chest as he brought us several feet away from the tree. I looked up, dizzy from the unexpected action. Before I could retort, Ikuto growled murderously in front of me. I heard his brother before I saw him. I craned my neck back and saw Kukai booming with laughter.

"You're just too quick, aren't you, Tsukiyomi?"

"And you're just too much of an idiot, aren't you? Your thoughts were practically screaming at me before you even came within ten yards of us."

I giggled. "Hi, Kukai."

"Yo, Hinamori." He grinned at me. "I don't care if you guys are sucking each other's faces off but the rest of us are kinda waiting up ahead." He was by my side within a second and I yelped. Ikuto wrapped his arm possessively around me before snarling in displeasure. Kukai put his hands up. "Whoa, no need to bare your fangs at me, lover-boy. I'm just gonna borrow Hinamori for a bit since you're obviously not gonna budge anytime soon."

I laughed. I tried to break free from Ikuto's grasp but the stubborn man wouldn't budge. I pouted and gave him a quick peck on the lips. His hold slightly loosened from surprise as I waltzed out of his arms.

Ikuto frowned. He mumbled, "So evil."

I grinned. "At least I have one advantage over you." I was glad he couldn't read my mind; gives me the element of surprise. To Kukai, I said, "So, what did you need?"

"We're just gonna go back to the rest of the family. If Ikuto brought you, you never would've made it. So I came to help." He winked at me. "Time for Kukai's Super Mad Dash! For humans, at least."

Oh god, I didn't like the sound of that. He grabbed my hand. "Wait, wha—AH!" I let out a scream as he dashed away, forcing me to race after him if I didn't want my arm to separate from my body.

I noticed Ikuto running alongside us and I gave him a pleading look. "Ikuto, help!"

He smirked and neared me. For a second, I thought he was going to rescue me from Kukai but I was so wrong. He whispered in my ear, "Sorry, love, I'm just getting payback from before." And he was gone, gliding his way ahead of us.

I growled as I attempted to keep up with Kukai. "Tsukiyomi Ikuto, you're the worst!"

I swore I heard him laugh up ahead. I growled. I made an effort to run even faster. "Let's go, Kukai!"

"That's the spirit, Hinamori!" We ran even faster and I didn't know how I did it but I was able to keep up with Kukai.

When we arrived at the open field, Kukai hastily stopped beside his family. I shrieked when he suddenly let go of me.

"Gah! Kukai!" And I knocked into one of his family members. Both of us plummeted to the ground with me on top of the unfortunate soul. Well, crap. However, it was deadly silent. Wondering why, I cracked an eye open and my stomach dropped. And that was when I knew why it was eerily quiet.

I had crashed into Utau.

Oh god, please tell me this wasn't happening to me.

I bit my lip in apprehension. Oh god oh god oh god.

What astonished me and probably everyone else there was Utau's reaction.

She had laughed. Not just a giggle but full-on laughter.

I would have laughed with her but I was too shocked to. What had come over her? I thought she hated my guts.

"You should've seen your face, stupid," she said, after her laughter ceased. She took a deep breath and stood up. When I didn't move from the ground, she gave me a condescending glare from above. "Are you just going to sit there all day?"

I squeaked and immediately shot up from my previous position. "S-Sorry!"

She gave me a look before sighing. "Let's just start playing."

"Yes, ma'am!" I watched her walk away towards the center of the wide open meadow. Frowning, I turned around to meet the eyes of the rest of the Tsukiyomi family.

"What?" – was my dumb response to their inquiring stares.

"Utau-chan's opinion of you must have changed, Amu-chan." Nagihiko patted my shoulder and I eerily felt serene once he touched me. Must have been his power that Ikuto was talking about earlier this week. He left with Kukai, who had ruffled my hair before bounding towards Utau.

Rima came up to me and simply smiled. "Things will get better between you two."

"You really think so?"

"I know so." She gave me a wink. "Ikuto told you, right?"

I let out a laugh and nodded. She went after her boyfriend before telling me to enjoy the game. As I expected, I won't be playing, which didn't make me upset because I was absolutely horrendous at sports.

Souko and Aruto followed suit but not before throwing me their dazzling smiles. I subconsciously blushed and sent them a smile of my own.

Cool arms embraced me as I was pushed against a chiseled chest. I sighed in happiness as I threw my head back to look up at Ikuto.

"Hi."

He kissed my forehead. "Hey."

"Did you see what just happened? I can't believe it."

"I told you she didn't hate you." He smirked down at me.

I stuck my tongue out at him. Soon after I did that, I felt something drip onto my face. Confused, I glimpsed at the darkening sky. Another drop soon followed and another.

"Ah, it's starting to rain," Ikuto remarked. "Great timing."

"Are you being sarcastic?" How can they play if it was going to rain? As soon as I thought that, the rain picked up and it began pouring. Thunder boomed in the distance.

"Like I said, you'll see why a thunderstorm is necessary." Our hands intertwined as he pulled us towards the rest of the family. "Souko brought an umbrella and a raincoat though so you won't get wet."

"Please don't tell me you think I'll get hurt by a little rain," I teased.

"I just don't want you to catch a cold." He kissed me on the lips. Rain rushed down our bodies but I could care less. I moaned into his mouth, his body flush against mine. He pulled us apart before he continued to lead me to the field. "I would hate to see you sick."

Blood rushed up to my cheeks. "Y-Yeah. Right."

Souko decided to sit down on a tiny hill on the ends of the field where we could watch them play. She did offer me the raincoat but I declined. I didn't mind getting a little wet. Though I did accept the umbrella.

As they got into their positions, I noticed Kukai was up to bat and Ikuto was the pitcher. Aruto was the catcher and Rima, Utau, and Nagihiko were spread around the baseball field. None of them were wearing any gloves or any other baseball gear.

Thunder cackled nearer and I shivered.

"Amu-chan, are you cold?"

I shook my head. "Do you guys always play baseball?"

"Only when the weather is bad." Again with the weather. "I'm usually the umpire since Kukai and Rima end up arguing if it was out or not."

"I'm still amazed at how you guys can play when there's a storm going on."

"Oh, it's not that hard. Oh, it's starting!"

My eyes gazed at Ikuto. In one fluid motion, he threw his arm back and chucked the ball straight towards Kukai. I couldn't even see the ball until it was in Aruto's hand.

"Strike one," I heard Souko mumble.

"What the—I didn't even see that happen!"

Souko let out her tinkling laugh. "That's to be expected. We're faster than humans so the game will be faster-paced than usual, of course. You'll get used to it.

Doubt it.

Ikuto was rubbing his foot against the dirt and peered up at Kukai through his bangs. It must have been a mocking expression for Kukai huffed and readied himself with a new burning passion coursing through his body. Ikuto's arm went back and out went the ball. An incredibly loud crack resounded. I jumped and glanced up at the sky.

"Was that thunder just now?"

"Nope, that was Kukai hitting the ball with his bat."

My jaw dropped.

I watched him dash around the bases with lightning speed. And mind you, the bases were spread out far and wide. When he was nearing second base, Utau quickly raced towards it. I heard another loud bang and tried to observe the results of this play.

"Out!" came Souko's firm call.

Utau had the ball in her hands and Kukai was at her feet. I wasn't sure what had transpired but this whole thing was still exciting and new to me.

It was Ikuto's turn now. I watched him step up to home plate with the bat in his hand. Kukai was pitching.

I heard Souko chuckling. "What is it?"

"Ikuto never gets a strike because he can read his siblings' minds. It always gets Kukai so worked up."

I laughed and turned my attention back to the game. I cheered, "Go Ikuto!" It wasn't loud but I knew he heard me for her turned in my direction to give me a smile. I waved and grinned.

Next second later, I heard another deafening crack as Ikuto's ball was sent soaring through the sky. I could now see why a thunderstorm was necessary; their version of baseball was loud. The sound of thunder disguised the thunderous hits they made every couple minutes.

Ikuto came up to third base before stopping. I cheered and watched as Utau made her way to home plate with a bat in her hand. She gracefully twirled it around her fingers as if it were a pen. Nagihiko was the pitcher this time. She flipped her hair back and sent him a confident smirk.

Nagihiko hurled the boy towards the blonde. She swung and the ball made contact with the bat as it was shot up and away.

"Utau-chan gets really into it. She's really competitive," Souko whispered towards me.

I smiled and nodded. "I can see that."

I noticed Rima practically gliding her way across the meadow to catch the ball. She caught it and was about to throw it to Kukai when she suddenly stopped mid-throw. The ball in her hand dropped from her grasp. Within a second, Nagihiko was beside her and Ikuto was beside me.

"What's going on?" My voice shook. I had a sinking feeling that something dreadful was about to occur.

"Just don't leave my side, Amu. It's going to be okay." His arm latched around me as I was pulled against him, the umbrella forgotten by my feet.

"Tell me what's happening," I pleaded.

A couple seconds later, the rest of the Tsukiyomi family had materialized around me and Rima was grasping my hand.

"Amu, a group of vampires nearby are coming for us."

I was so confused. "What do you mean by 'coming for us?'"

"It's not uncommon to see vampires roaming around here and there," Aruto explained. "However, we didn't expect a confrontation with them."

"They were initially heading towards the north before they simply heard us playing ball and wanted to see what we were doing."

"They're just coming to greet us? That's it?"

Rima nodded but her worried expression didn't leave her face. "They're just curious. But we can't let them know you're here. Amu, you have to remember that not all vampires are like us. These vampires don't feed on animal blood."

I felt my blood run cold as realization dawned on me. Here I was, a human, in the middle of nowhere.

"Is there any time to take Amu-chan away?" Nagihiko asked.

Rima shook her head. "They're coming in approximately three minutes."

"For now, we have to mask Amu-chan's scent." Souko appeared in front of me and began putting my hood up. She arranged my hair so that it was hidden by my hood. She hugged me and rubbed my back soothingly. "My scent will temporarily be on you, Amu-chan."

"Won't be effective enough. I can smell her from here," Kukai commented lowly.

"One minute," Rima warned.

"Let's just resume playing. We can't afford them to be suspicious of our actions."

All of them, including Souko, spread around the field but Ikuto remained by my side. It didn't escape my notice that he had remained silent throughout the previous conversation.

"Ikuto?" I murmured.

Unexpectedly, he swooped down to lock his lips with my own in a desperate kiss. I caressed his damp locks before cradling his face in my two hands.

"Ikuto, it's going to be fine. Like Rima said, they're just curious. They're probably going to leave right after." He didn't speak and I frowned. I whispered, "Ikuto, please say something."

"I'm not going to let them hurt you, Amu."

"Ikuto, it'll be fine." I brushed his cheek with my hands. His hands grasped my frail hands in his. He kissed them hard before giving me a bone-crushing hug.

"Don't leave my side for a second."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I assured.

I caught Rima's stare from behind Ikuto and I knew our time was up. I turned around and firmly stood my ground. The rest of the Tsukiyomis huddled around Ikuto and me as we awaited the unexpected guests.

"They're here," Ikuto whispered by my ear.

I could just barely make out three figures in the distance. As they came closer, I noticed the group consisted of two males and a female. They stopped about ten yards from us, allowing me to finally observe their outer appearances.

The male in the front was most likely in his mid-thirties. His brown hair was gelled back so his gray eyes could easily be seen. The male to his left was probably in his early twenties. His blonde hair was wildly blowing with the wind but his piercing blue eyes couldn't be avoided. I felt extremely uncomfortable under his watchful gaze. The female had short reddish hair with white ribbons tying up the two buns on the sides of her head. Her brown eyes glinted playfully as she threw a grin our way. She couldn't have been more than sixteen years old.

"Well, this is certainly new," Aruto remarked, starting off a light conversation. "We don't see many others like us in the area."

The male in the front chuckled. "We were just passing by until we heard many noisy sounds. We were just wondering what the commotion was."

"Ah, we were playing baseball. My name is Aruto, by the way, and this is my family." He gestured towards all of us and I couldn't help but feel elated when I was included in "his family."

"My name is Kazuomi. This here is Hikaru and the girl to my right is Rikka."

"How do you do?" Rikka greeted, giving us a wave.

Hikaru didn't make a move to introduce himself. Since he first arrived, his gaze hadn't left me and I was beginning to become unnerved. Ikuto must have noticed for he stepped possessively closer to me.

"Would you like to play with us?" Aruto offered.

Oh god, please say no.

To my relief, Kazuomi shook his head. "Thank you for offering but we best be on our way. Maybe we'll see each other again some other time."

"Maybe." Aruto nodded his way. "Be safe on your journey."

Kazuomi nodded and turned on his heel. Rikka waved goodbye before following the leader of the group. Hikaru, the blond man, slightly turned but his persistent gaze still didn't leave me. He didn't look like he wanted to eat me though; he looked confused. Though my interpretations of expressions aren't particularly good. For all I knew, he might be thinking of sucking the life out of me.

When he finally turned around, I breathed a sigh of relief. Ikuto didn't hesitate to turn around so that we would be further away from them.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, blowing my hood off my head. My hair was whipped around my head as I attempted to tame it.

Ikuto was in front of me the next split second and Hikaru was suddenly five feet away from Ikuto and me. I could practically see his fangs. What had happened?

"Hah, I knew she was a human. She didn't strike me as a vampire."

Oh no.

"A human?" Kazuomi and Rikka were beside Hikaru the next instant. Kazuomi continued, "Why is there a human with you? Your next meal, perhaps?"

I felt my blood turn icy cold.

Ikuto snarled at the man.

Kazuomi put his hands up. "I did not mean any offense."

"This girl is with us. She's a part of the family," Aruto slowly explained.

"A human girl with a vampire family? Hah!" Rikka cackled. "That's a good one!"

I shivered.

"Whether you choose to believe it or not, I do not care. However, I do care if you even think about harming her. We won't hesitate to fight you," Aruto ominously cautioned.

"Don't worry, the girl will be yours. However," Kazuomi looked towards his buddy Hikaru and shrugged his shoulders, "Hikaru may not leave her alone though."

Ikuto hugged me tightly to him and I winced at how firmly his hand was squeezing my shoulder. A bruise or two were bound to appear the next day.

"I would really appreciate it if you three would leave. I'm not too keen on the idea of fighting you when we've just met," Aruto said.

Kazuomi nodded. He roughly grabbed Hikaru's arm. "Come, Hikaru. Ignore the girl."

Before he tore his gaze away from me, he snickered and promised, "I'm coming after you."

And then they were gone.

Ikuto had already picked me up bridal-styled before I even had time to form another coherent thought. Before he could flee the scene, Rima grabbed onto his shoulder.

"Ikuto, wait."

"How can I?" he roared. His tone made me jump. "Rima, I'm sure you can understand what that man's thinking."

"Still, you have to remain calm—"

"How can I remain calm?! When that man caught Amu's scent, he had decided to have her, no matter what. Rima, he was formulating all these crazy plans on how to capture Amu. He's psychotic!"

Almost instantaneously, I felt the atmosphere lighten up. Must be Nagihiko.

"Ikuto, please remain calm." Souko's voice entered the conversation as she patted his shoulder. "We'll figure a way. Don't worry."

"How? This is all my fault. I shouldn't have brought her here. She would still be safe at her house—"

"There's no use saying that now, Ikuto," I say in a calm voice, despite the nervous wreck I was inside. My hand touched his cheek. "I'm still here, aren't I?"

He took a deep breath but didn't say anything.

"For now, we'll meet back up at our house. Then, we'll devise a plan."

Souko brushed my soaked bangs out of my face as she kissed my forehead before she was gone with the rest of the Tsukiyomis. I was still in Ikuto's arms as the rain continued to pound down on us, drenching us from head to toe. I quietly asked Ikuto to put me down, which he obediently complied. His bangs covered his eyes so I brushed them back.

"Ikuto." I looked up at him and couldn't look away from his pained expression. It broke my heart to see him like this. "Ikuto, it's not your fault at all." I leaned up to press a smoldering kiss against his lips. He hugged me tighter than before, if that was possible, as our kiss deepened. He was kissing me as if this was the last kiss we were going to have. When we parted for air, he buried his head in my neck.

"Amu, I'm just scared of losing you."

My heart hurt. "Ikuto, I'm right here."

He glanced up at me and promised me this. "I will never let him take you away from me."

Our fingers entwined together in a tight lock. Ikuto kissed me once again in a frantic manner. I was desperate too; I knew this fairytale of mine would eventually face a monstrous obstacle. However, my certainty of a happy ending was beginning to crumble as the hungry gaze of Hikaru entered my mind.

X-x-X

Holy crap, that was long. Hope you enjoyed it!

Yes, Kazuomi's younger in this fanfic. It's weird seeing a vampire looking old with all those wrinkles, haha.

Another cliffhanger. Woot! ;D As you can tell, the story's ending soon. Maybe two or three chapters left?

Sorry if it seemed rushed and descriptions were lacking… I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. I just couldn't stop typing as I thought of more ideas. It was great. (:

Oh and I just saw Les Miserables. It was absolutely amazing. Go see it if you haven't!

Please review! (: and Happy New Year!