Hey guys, it's Anya! Long time no see, eh? I know I haven't really posted anything in awhile, and that this is also a very short chapter, but I'm trying my very damned best. I've also started a website for those of you guys looking for updates (and some extras as well) on my fanfiction. I'm not making the site because I think I'm so awesome I need my own site, but I'm getting reviews and private messages on how I need to hurry up and update and how everyone wants a new chapter, etc. etc. So check it out my site for summaries, breakdowns, extras, and updates on both my fanfiction and my original fiction.

Chapter Eighteen

"Yo." The single syllable rolled smoothly off his tongue as I stared up into his stolid gaze.

My heartbeat quickened and I could feel myself getting a little light headed as the blood from my face drained itself. What was wrong with me? Was it just the heat or was I going mad? Whatever it was, it made me feel as though my presence was absent.

"What's wrong?" Though normally this question would be filled with concern for the other person, his voice remained apathetic as he spoke. He stated, "You look pale."

I couldn't speak. My head was spinning and a ball was sitting at the top of my throat. At the moment, I was no longer human. I had no legs, no arms, no body; I was something else. My mind was hovering by itself; no physical features bound me to this world. I was free to leave.

"Oi!" His voice called to me. His voice was muffled by the nonexistent cotton balls that were stuffed into my ears. I could have sworn he said something else, but alas my cotton ball ears could not pick it up. My body swayed around as my vision slowly pixilated to a black nothingness.

"Ikuto…" I mumbled his name –barely able to hear my own voice— as I felt my spirit crash downwards.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~

Ikuto grumbled as he walked down the darkened street. Normally on a summer night like this he would be freezing, however he had a furnace on his back. He looked back at the panting girl who had passed out only ten minutes before; he had barely been able to catch her before she had been able to crash to the ground. He guessed he heat had gotten to her head. There were a lot of people in the concert hall and many of them were moving around.

As he reached a street corner he felt a light shining right above him. He looked over to the street sign, only to realize that he had no idea where he was going. Completely speechless, he tried to remember where Amu lived. Sure, he had been there before, but finding her house previously was only by chance. All he had to do was run around the part of town closest to her school –he learned what school she went to by observing her uniform— and easily enough he could hear her and her father shouting at the top of their lungs. This time, however, it would not be so easy.

You cause me so much trouble! He cursed her inside of his head. Of course, this time it wasn't completely her fault. He was the one who decided to hang around and say hello. He was also the one who ran around town the last time she was in trouble. In actuality, he could have just left her alone. In fact, he could do it at that very moment if he wished. However, it honestly wasn't her fault.

Realizing that he had only one thing to do, he began walking down the street again. Careful not to wake up Amu, he slightly adjusted her so that she wouldn't fall off of his back. She shuffled a little, and his heart almost skipped a beat as he began to believe that he had disturbed her sleep. If she were to wake up, then he definitely had some abusive behavior coming his way.

"Papa?" A small mumble came from Amu.

Ikuto turned his head to look back at the feverish girl. He replied confusedly, "What?"

"Papa, where are we going?" Amu mumbled again.

Is she delusional? Ikuto wondered in his head. Was she hallucinating because of her fever? He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Should he play along? Or should he try to bring her back to reality? He was so unsure of what to do, but Amu was probably expecting an answer.

"Home." Ikuto replied bluntly, although he had no idea how to get to her house.

"Are Ami and Mama okay?" Amu inquired.

His eyebrows furrowed together. She had never really said anything about having a mother, and who was Ami? Not knowing the answer to her question, he simply replied with the blatant truth, "I don't know."

She groaned in reply; Ikuto guessed that he gave her the wrong answer as she slightly adjusted herself on his back. In a whiney tone she complained, "I haven't seen Mama all day! I want my little sister and Mama now!"

Now it was Ikuto's turn to groan in reply. This was frustrating him. How was he supposed to know about anything about her family? He had never even laid eyes on her mother or father or little sister before! Heck, he didn't even know that she had a little sister!

"Oi, I can't help it." He snapped back, a little ticked off. He was starting to lose his cool, something that Tsukiyomi Ikuto never did.

It was silent for a few moments, however Amu broke the silence. "Papa?"

"Yes?" He grimaced as he continued to walk down the dark streets of the city.

The next words were something that hit Tsukiyomi Ikuto right in the heart. Although the words were not directed straight to him, he still felt so moved by this single statement. Somehow his heart was searching for some secret meaning in the words that he heard as she spoke them. The fragile heart that appeared so strong was pounding once he heard those few words.

"I love you."

Tsukiyomi Ikuto has a fragile heart? Is there something more that Ikuto is looking for in Amu, or is he merely caught up in the moment? Find out in the next chapter of Washed Away with the Rain! Until next time!

Please Review!
(I'm aiming for 100 reviews!)
(Chapter Nineteen is closer than you think ;D)