Summary:
The end of the week arrives and Amu hears the most beautiful, but saddest music she's ever heard. While trying to decipher why Ikuto acted the way he had, Amu visits a noodle or ramen shop for the first time. But… Ikuto's injured? Amuto. R&R.
Author's Note:
Okay, I'm sorry for the SERIOUSLY long delay but I had been seriously busy. I finally got a chapter of this done because I had been getting anxious about what I wanted to happen. In this chappie, you guys get to meet three other familiar characters. Others are to come, but not yet; their time is not yet. This chapter is seriously FILLED with Amuto stuff, all over the place. If you guys don't die of fluff, something is wrong with you guys. xD But yeah, Dia felt something was wrong and now… it's everywhere. I wonder if you guys can figure out where this plot is going?
Total Word of Chapter Count: 6207
Misc. crap extras: 249
Disclaimer:
Shugo Chara and all related characters and elements are the property, copyright and trademark of Peach Pit and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fan fiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fan fiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes.
Chapter 3: Dangerous Noodle Soup
Amu blinked as Ikuto's eyes moved to watch her. For once, he didn't have a smirk nor did he have a joke on his lips.
Was he really serious?
"K-Kiss…?" she stuttered, recovering from her shock. She didn't know what to expect… this wasn't a side of Ikuto that she knew how to counter.
Slowly, he moved toward her and sat down before her. "Amu, would you?"
She looked around… trying to avoid the question… trying to avoid answering. She was afraid that if she answered, something horrible was going to happen… or something along those lines.
"Amu…"
His fingers curled under her chin, making her look his way. She was suddenly aware that those sapphire orbs that had always been watching other things and was filled with jokes, was no longer so. It was… suffocating. There were so many emotions inside of those eyes that Amu wanted to reach out and soothe them, to calm the storm that was inside. What was going through his mind now that caused such an expression?
"Ikuto… is something wrong?"
He surprised her by suddenly pulling her close to him, to his chest. She sat there and looked up, trying to get an answer from him. She was startled, however, when he rested his head on her shoulder. He murmured in the quietest voice she's ever heard him use, "Let me stay like this for awhile… just for a little bit."
She didn't reply, suddenly uncertain of her understanding of Ikuto. It's true; it had only been a month since she's met him, but already, she realized that if he were to leave, it'd be… shallow and missing something.
She didn't know how long they sat like that for, nor did she know what sort of thoughts ran through his mind… all she knew was that he needed her, even if it was just a moment.
When she shivered, Ikuto sat back upright and held her in his arms, warming her up instantly. "I-Ikuto!"
His face was buried in her shoulder, and she could feel his breath. It was hot and it made something heat up inside of her. "You smell nice…" he murmured, his voice muffled by the cloth of her sleeping wear. He sounded sincere and wondered again, what was going through his mind. When he finally lifted himself away from her, he whispered, "I think I should let you go to sleep now."
Her face questioned what he meant by the question posed earlier and he only chuckled. "No… I won't touch you like that… I won't do anything that you won't like." Instead, he kissed her forehead and rested his forehead against her own, "It's time for bed, my hime…"
He picked her up gently and lay her down on her bed and pulled up the blankets. It was chilly after no one had slept inside it, but he wrapped her up in the blanket anyway. She watched him cautiously and kept wondering why it felt like something was going to happen, why it felt like Ikuto might disappear.
The next day, Amu woke up with slightly groggy feeling. She woke up mainly because the home that she lived in was far too quiet and had not at all heard the sounds of her younger sibling running through the halls with the maids running on after her. There was no screaming of glee or even the sound of her sister's voice when she found or heard the new songs of her favorite singer. Even the sound of her parents or the servants weren't heard in the home as Amu sat up and stretched. Everything was quiet except for what sounded like music that seemed to echo throughout the home when she realized that the strange sound she was hearing was actually music.
Amu has never heard this kind of music before. She knew it was string, certainly, but she didn't know what the music belonged to. Was it being played on their record player? It was probably being played by someone, but the only person she knew who was home… Ah, it was Sunday. It was the day of the week where father leaves the home with everyone to have a day off and to talk to the farmers living on the land of the Hinamori's.
She brushed her hair in front of her vanity and got herself ready for the day. She decided to follow the sound of the music and ended up walking along the "patio" that circled along the outside edge of the home. She walked along it until she came across the garden and she saw the familiar figure sitting there, playing the instrument. She thought it had been beautiful, but on closer inspection, she realized that the music she was listening to was actually a very sad song. It was so heartbreaking that she wondered what could possibly be on his mind.
Abruptly, he stopped playing the instrument to do what sounded like tuning. "It's nice of you to just spy on me, Amu-sama."
She will NOT get ruffled up this early in the day by his antics. She sat down next to him in a huff and said stiffly, "No, I was not, and surely, you heard me coming anyway."
Ikuto didn't say anything for awhile as he continued to play the erhu.
"Is that the payment you asked of my father? The erhu?" Amu asked as she watched him play. He was playing a song that wasn't quite as sad as earlier.
Without turning to face her, he replied, "Yes, it is." He got up to move inside and came back like he always did and sat down in the room that was opened out into the garden. He sat down before a table on the tatami mat to drink some more of his tea. Amu came over and joined him as she took a sip as well from the already prepared tea cup.
"Why did father act the way he did when you asked for the instrument?" she asked after she had finished an entire cup.
Ikuto looked up from the tuning to continue playing and looked like he pondered over the answer before he replied, "I don't think that's a question that I ought to answer without your father's permission."
His eyes seemed to reflect something very important that made Amu suspect that something older than her probably had happened around the instrument, but what could it be? Amu began to think toward the beginning of their meeting. Why hadn't Ikuto told them his surname or who was the master that he served? Where and how did he get all of those scars? Where did he learn such swordsmanship? And where did he find the time to learn to also play the erhu? And most importantly, why did it sound so saddening heartbreaking?
She watched as he continued to play. It was so peaceful now, and she wondered why she felt like something bad was going to happen sooner or later. It was as if she knew that this little moment of peace was not going to last forever. Then again, their peace together was disrupted when Tadase had visited. What was their knowledge of each other? How did they meet? Why do they know each other? Why was there so much tension between the two?
She couldn't help but remember what she had seen of Ikuto last night and suddenly realized how far away he felt. He was right across the table from her, and yet, he felt like he was getting further and further away ever since Tadase's visit. But they had shared such an intimate moment the night before… why did it seem like he was stepping away further from her?
Amu snapped out of her reverie when she noticed that Ikuto had stopped playing as he put the musical instrument away into its case. She noticed there was a rag nearby and automatically thought that the rag was for cleaning the erhu or polishing it.
"Why are you putting it away so soon?" Amu asked, surprised. Listening to the instrument had soothed her and comforted her, knowing that it was Ikuto's playing. Then again, being in his presence was always comforting in a sense that he was there to protect her; thus, she always felt safe just being near him.
"I've been playing all afternoon and you had only just gotten up," Ikuto smirked. "You slept in like there was no tomorrow when I tried to wake you up. Even Ran-san and Dia-san tried but their efforts fell in vain as you only continued on to sleep."
Amu fell for it as she chirped, "I was having a really good dream!" She tried defending herself but her answer only made Ikuto smirk wider and she couldn't help but wonder that she had fallen for it.
"Right and that constitutes that you can sleep like a rock," Ikuto murmured as he put away the erhu case next to the rest of his belongings. "I don't think anyone can sleep like the way you can."
She glowered in pink of embarrassment and anger. "S-SHUT UP!" she exclaimed.
Before he could reply to her poor retort, he heard something similar to a grumble and realized that it came from the both of them. "Ah, how unladylike."
"Well, that was very ungentlemanly," Amu shot back. Two can play that game, she thought.
He only merely shrugged and said, "Well, Suu-san is off today so we're off to fend for ourselves but I'm going to be under the impression that you can't cook for yourself?"
She didn't bother as she sat upright and stood up. Glowering at Ikuto, she snapped, "Suu has always cooked for me so of course I can't cook for myself."
Ikuto raised an eye-brow before he crossed his arms across his chest, causing the swords at his hip to move slightly in the movement. "A very good point, for she is the family cook."
"Duh," Amu said matter-of-factly. She rolled her eyes. Why has it been that ever since he was appointed her bodyguard, he had to find every opportunity to mock her?
Ikuto adjusted himself as he stood upright. "Well, do you want to go out to eat or suffer your own horrible home cooking?" He smirked.
She flushed and snapped, "I'll change," and then stormed out of the room.
He only chuckled before he heard her steps disappear before sighing deeply. He ran his fingers through his midnight blue hair and finally let his guard go for a moment as he murmured, "Why is it that the only thing I do to her is tease her endlessly?" He walked over to the water fountain nearby and ran his fingers underneath before then running through his hair. He looked sexier with the water dripping from his hair so he decided he ought to change into plainer clothes so that he could blend in properly with the people outside of this home. They were going to walk around after all, seeing as most of the servants were out for their day off.
He stopped to look at a mirror and noticed the reflection reflected the erhu case and a flicker of anger and uncertainty crossed his face. He sighed. He started to head down the halls toward Amu's room and found the doors to her room closed. He slid one door open and the sight that he saw sent him almost losing control of himself.
She was half dressed with the kimono hanging around her hips, leaving her entire backside revealed to him. She held out the kimono before she was to lift it up over her shoulders. Her long hair covered the front of her torso which reflected in the mirror in front of her and the light from the sunlight reflected just perfectly on her to show the flawless, creamy skin that she had.
Ikuto's blood warmed and it took so much restraint that he swears that he was going to kill himself because of it. The image of her face at the dinner table when he teased the strawberry made him remember the thoughts he wanted to do to her…
… to dirty her up… and to make her his.
Amu had been stuck in a dilemma so she did not hear the door open. She had been trying to figure out if they were going to go by carriage or travel by foot. Her father had told her that he often did that so that he got a sense of being like the others of the commoners. He said he didn't mind but she also had to agree. If she takes the carriage, it would draw too much attention.
She sighed. Without the help of Dia or Ran, she realized she didn't know what clothes she could pick that would help her blend in with the commoners.
"You ought to pick something far more plainly than the one you're wearing if we're going out to the public."
His velvety voice… so close to her that sent a very pleasurable shiver up spine before it was sent to her navel. His hot breath licked her ear that sent such delicious sensations that she held her hands close to her chest, using the kimono to cover herself up. Her face was bright red with embarrassment and… something else…
His fingers and long arms reached around her to her front to pick out a rather plain kimono of dark red and white. His body was so close that she could feel his body heat radiating off of him and onto her back.
"Amu…" he murmured into her ear.
His hands had set down the kimono to pull her close to him, to his chest specifically. His hands were on her slim wrist and she felt the heat of his hands and body radiate onto her own now chilled body. She kept her hands to her chest, to cover up what should only her future husband should see.
His lips brushed against her ear and then down the back of her neck to her upper back. Where his lips touched, it had left a trail of fire and heat on her body. His strong body and strong embrace made her feel so protected, so much safer than she ever thought before was possible.
Suddenly, he turned her around and she was face to face with the man that she didn't know was wildly attracted to. His eyes were half-lidded and underneath them were storm clouds instead of the usual calculating and cool sapphire eyes. His lips drew closer to hers; she closed her eyes half way as well, waiting for something to happen. It was as if time had stopped as she waited for the extraordinary…
And then…
He bit her ear.
"KYAAA!" she exclaimed, as she instinctively head-butted him.
"H-H-HOW DARE YOU!" she sputtered, trying to recover and slow down her racing, pounding heart.
"You so are not cute," he muttered as he rubbed where her head had collided with his own.
"LEAVE THE ROOM, NOW!" Her eyes glared at him and before she could say anything else, he left without a word.
She collapsed and tried to calm her breathing. Wait a minute, when was she holding her breathe? As she dressed into the clothes that Ikuto had suggested, she could still feel his lips on her back… his breath on her ear and… the feeling of his hands on her wrist. Her whole body was hot that she felt like she needed to find some water to go cool off. Her face, when she glanced into the mirror, had a pink flush on her face. She covered her pink cheeks, as if trying to deny to herself that she was not physically attracted to Ikuto… Her body shivered and told her otherwise. Still deeply in denial of her wild attraction to Ikuto, she slammed the door open to find Ikuto sitting on the porch. She could not figure out what was going through his mind, but she realized with a cold shiver that Ikuto's eyes were no longer warm or soft, but instead were back to the same eyes she had always seen on him.
"All right, Amu, time to head out," he said as he got up and began to head to the side-gate.
She realized with worry and concern that Ikuto was hiding something… something very important that everyone in her family did not know except for her father. Who are Ikuto's family? Where are they? Who was his master? What does the erhu have to do with no one else being able to hear it and her being the exception?
She agreed that since he was going to become her bodyguard, that would mean he would have to guard her almost every waking moment and that they could not be separated, least something may happen. So it would have been more or less useless to prevent her from even going near Ikuto when he was playing the erhu… but why even bother getting it for him?
Her mind was sent reeling with questions and she sighed, exasperated, and decided to drop the questions for now. Hopefully, she'll figure it out all later… or at least… come to understand it…
As they left through the side-gate, Amu realized that it was the first time she came out plainly dressed as she did. Ikuto still looked very handsome and almost… icy cool in looks as he glanced around, to make sure nothing was in the way or nearby that is dangerous to Amu. His hands were resting inside the sleeves of his kimono and he followed closely behind Amu.
Amu's eyes sparkled as her eyes wandered the stalls full of fruits, vegetables, candy, and toys along with other miscellaneous objects. She kept glancing back and forth between each object and she couldn't help but want to buy them, and then play with them out of curiosity. But then, before she could ask Ikuto about buying her something, she smelled something she hasn't smelled before. The smell was so tantalizing, she wondered why Suu-chan never made this kind of food before.
"No, no," Ikuto said as he steered Amu away from the place that she was about to walk into.
"EH? Why not?" Amu groaned, the alluring smell so tempting she wanted to disobey Ikuto and walk right in again.
"Because…" Ikuto pulled her away from the noodle shop and began walking. Until they were further away enough, he explained, "It's because that noodle shop isn't really good in their foods; it's not that good."
"And you would know this how?" Amu stomped her foot, angry that she had been pulled away from the food that she had so desperately wanted.
He chuckled before giving his smirk that caused Amu to feel the prickles of annoyance rise up.
"Just because I do and since I'm your bodyguard, you ought to listen to me, right?" His raised eye-brow wanted to make her be defiant and turn around right then, but she knew that would be the stupidest mistake… mainly because Ikuto held all the money that she needed.
Quietly, she followed after Ikuto in defiant silence. Finally, the smell of similar noodles wafted through the air and then, overwhelmingly drawn by the smell, she walked toward it. When Ikuto didn't stop her, she walked into the noodle shop.
Surprisingly, inside the noodle shop was very bustling with people and there were very many excited customers. Despite the cramped quarters, many people somehow managed to squeeze in and enjoy their noodles… that smelled so good to Amu, she was almost drooling. The tables and chairs were made of some durable wood, but it looked as if it had seen some or actually, a lot of abuse but it still somehow maintained good condition. It was of light wood that matched the white walls that showed many sings of black scuff marks. Higher up on the walls were all kinds of signs that said the prices for all kinds of noodles.
Before she could look at everything some more, Ikuto pulled her to an open bar area and she noticed that they were the furthest away from the door but probably in the most secluded area. A guy that was roughly her age came up to her with a huge grin and said, "What's the order for today?"
Ikuto looked at Amu and asked, "Do you like spicy or no?"
Amu quickly shook her head as Ikuto turned back to the male as he said, "Two originals."
Amu turned to the waiter and noticed with surprise that he had sparkling green eyes that seemed to glimmer with mischief… but it wasn't the kind that Ikuto had. His grin was crooked and his spiked up brown hair gave her the impression that he was one who played the local sports around the area.
"Got it," he replied as he took out two tea cups and poured them with what appears to be cool water. "Nii-san! Two originals!"
The man that the younger had shouted to turned to him and nodded before quickly beginning to pour it into bowls. She noticed just then that two other males were working around the tables. Then, just as quickly as the boy appeared, he disappeared for a moment before reappearing with two bowls of steaming hot noodles that smelled so deliciously, she had to consciously be aware not to drool.
"Here's your original noodles," he said as he set down the bowls. "Careful; they're hot," he warned.
Ikuto handed Amu chopsticks and Amu quickly took them apart before she dug in. Careful of the hot noodles, she slurped up every single drop until she was completely satisfied. Of course, she had drunken all of her water with refills.
"Yum!" she exclaimed, wiping her mouth clean. She was amazed at herself for not making a mess of herself on her kimono and she found herself surprised when she saw Ikuto looking at her, chuckling with amusement. Annoyed; "What?" she snapped.
"You eat so funny when you're almost starving," he said.
Before she could retort, Ikuto got up, as if almost alarmed and said to Amu in a soft voice, "Stay here." He quickly gave the money for the noodles to Amu before leaving the noodle shop. Confused, she couldn't call out to him.
"You're a new face in here."
Startled, she turned to face the young waiter who sat down next to her. Apparently, in the midst of her eating, most of the customers had left. It seems that the lunch rush hour had finished. "What?"
"You're new; I've never seen you before," he said, turning his head slightly. "And you're my age… don't you go to my school?"
"Ah, no…" Amu realized where this was going. Being as it was her first time out of her home in such a long while, she didn't want to throw him off and feel in anyway lower than whom she was.
"Ah, you're Amu-sama, aren't you?" he said, as if he had just realized it.
Unable to answer, he continued, "You are! No one here as the same pink hair as you do." He grinned. "I'm Kukai of the Souma family. We run several noodle shops. For now, my older brothers are just helping out for today since this shop is the original."
He stuck out his hand, different from what she was expecting. When she shook it, she was surprised at the vigor he had in it. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the hime of our district! I didn't think I was… I mean… I saw our Lord and all…"
"Um… it's a pleasure to meet you; I'll definitely have to come back," Amu smiled, surprised and relieved at the relaxed atmosphere that Kukai gave off that made her feel less worried.
"Of course," he grinned wider. "And next time, you won't have to pay because you're now my friend got it?" He slapped her heartily on the back, surprising her as she began coughing. "Speaking of pay, you'd have to pay this time though since I didn't know…"
"Understandable." She handed him the money that Ikuto had handed to her earlier.
"Was that your bodyguard earlier, by the way? The guy who left?"
Amu nodded and suddenly felt uneasy. Where had he gone?
"Well, you ought to come back Amu-chan; it's been a real pleasure meeting you!" he said just as Ikuto walked back in.
The expression in his eyes made her realize that her time here was now limited. "I gotta go, thanks for the noodles and I'll come back soon," she said as she got up and walked toward Ikuto.
When they got outside, she felt extremely nervous then. It was worse out here than it was inside the noodle shop.
"The noodle shop owners here know how to handle ruffians, so if you ever need to find somewhere to escape and you're near here, you can run to here," Ikuto quickly whispered into her ear. She recognized this street and noticed that it wasn't too far from home… well, the side-gate. She'll have to remember this.
His arm protectively covered Amu and they began to walk quickly away from her home. Frightened, she pulled herself away from Ikuto's hold and before Ikuto could pull her back, he disappeared into the huge crowd that had suddenly formed around her. Realizing that what she had just done was the stupidest mistake she's ever done in her life, she felt sick. To be separated from the only man who could protect her, she was left alone in a huge crowd of people. The urge to call out Ikuto's name was unbearable, but she decided to run… to run away from the crowd. The uneasiness did not leave her as she ran and ran until she could no longer run.
She fell and then grasped that she was not in an area she knew. It was so strange and alien, that she didn't know what to do.
"Ikuto!" she finally managed to shout out. She looked around for him, looking for anything that might be recognizable as a person she knew. She stood up and tried calling out his name louder. Not knowing what it might do, she called out another name that might help, "Tadase-sama!"
Something came from behind her and she turned around to find that males were approaching her. They stank of alcohol and mildly wondered why they drank so early in the day. She began to step backwards, horribly terrified. She stepped back until her back hit the wall and felt powerless as to what was coming next. It dawned on her that the place she had ran to was dark and dank and in between and behind several buildings.
"Hey, look… it's a girlie," one man said in a slurred voice. But just listening to his voice, she shivered in fear because she knew what he wanted.
"She looks mighty delicious," another said. One flicked out a knife and the other started laughing. The others were saying something in such a slurred voice, she couldn't comprehend.
They came close enough that she could smell their strong smells of wine and alcohol that she coughed. "Aw… you're choking her," their third friend said. "Let's see what you look like underneath that, hm?"
He began slicing away are her kimono that she couldn't even scream. They ripped away at her kimono until she herself heard painful grunts as bodies hit the floor. She opened her eyes, noticing that she had closed her eyes.
"Y-You know… it would have helped if you had screamed," he panted.
"IKUTO!" Amu exclaimed of relief. But she watched in horror as the males who were attacking her withdrew their blades that shined menacingly in the angle of the light.
She watched as he withdrew one blade. He chuckled, "One is enough to handle these idiots."
"Are you mocking us?" they shouted in fury. It appears that, these are easy to get infuriate when drunk, Amu thought mildly.
He smirked, "Of course."
They lunged and Ikuto blocked with swiftness, that she did not see the blade when it moved. She cried out when the blades collided with his. He pushed them away with the force of his katana and whispered to Amu under his breath, "When I say run, run."
"Yes…" she answered meekly. Ikuto then moved forward to push the men back with the force of his parry as each of them tried to attack him. Each of Ikuto's thrusts after that met skin, drawing blood… more and more until they started to become desperate.
He parried them off and then shouted at Amu, "RUN!"
She ran as her life depended on it and then moments later, she heard his footsteps behind her. He scooped her up into his arms and then carried her down the street, into the alleys and around corners to evade and lose their pursuers. When they finally lost them, Ikuto set her down.
She held her clothes together and felt the heavy breathe of Ikuto on her neck. She turned to face and realized that he was pale. She looked down and saw blood was bleeding through his kimono. When had he been stabbed there? Was it when he was defending her? How? Surely they hadn't gone past Ikuto's sword?
"You look so pitiful in that state," he managed to say.
"H-How could you say such a thing when you're in such a state!" she exclaimed with alarm as he began to rest heavily on her. She couldn't take it and leaned him against the wall. "Ikuto… You're hurt…"
"T-This is nothing…" he huffed. He was sweating an awful lot.
"S-Someone help!" she shouted. "Please! Anyone!"
She was crying, trying to keep Ikuto conscious. "D-Don't worry, Amu; I won't die… not yet."
"What's going on?" she heard a young girl's exclamation and turned to find a girl with orange hair with ribbons in it came running toward her.
"He-He's hurt…" Amu cried.
"Hold on, I'll be right back." She took off and ran into the nearest building, where a male with green hair and glasses came running out. He carried himself similarly to Ikuto.
"I'll carry him inside, and you, help her," he said toward the girl.
When they got inside, the girl had run off to get spare clothes and Amu sat beside Ikuto as the male worked on Ikuto. It was all her fault that it became like this… because she had been stupid to let go of Ikuto.
"It's fine, it's not serious," the male said as he worked, cleaning up his wounds and then finally managing to wrap bandages around his torso. She'd only seen blood, but no wounds. How big was the wound? Where was it located?
The girl returned with spare clothes and managed to coax her from the room for a bath. She felt so dirty that she happily obliged for the bath.
When Amu finished, she had found that she had fallen asleep while waiting for Ikuto to awaken from his sleep. She looked around and noticed she was alone. She never got the names of the two people that had helped her. She knelt over at Ikuto's side and brushed his hair aside from his face.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered."It was my fault."
"It's fine… I'm not gonna die, all right?" he murmured as Amu looked up to find his hand stroking her cheek. "So stop crying. Crying doesn't suit you." His thumb brushed away any tears that she was shedding. He pushed himself up to sitting, grunting a little.
"D-Don't get up!" Amu tried to push him down, scared that his wounds will reopen.
"Don't worry so much," he said as he sat up. She realized he was bare in the chest, covered only in bandages. It seemed that he had more injuries that she had seen earlier. This time, both of his hands held her face. "I'm fine, aren't I? Don't worry… after all, I've promised to protect you, haven't I?"
Amu could only nod, relieved that Ikuto was all right after all. Before she could say anything more, knocks were heard on the door and she pulled herself away from Ikuto.
"Come in," Ikuto said in a clear voice. He pulled on what appears to be a clean kimono top as the female with orange hair and ribbons and the male with green hair came in.
"We'd thought we'd introduce ourselves," the green-black haired male said. Amu recognized his hairstyle as the kind of ronin in training. The girl was of similar style but more like she was dressed in the sense of formality of… an inn keeper? But she couldn't recognize exactly which inn…
"I'm Kairi of the Sanjo Clan," the green-black haired male introduced. "I'm working in an apprenticeship as a guard for the Hinamori Clan."
"And I'm Yaya of the Yuiki Family and my family runs the Guardian Inn," she introduced. Ah! That was it! The Guardian Inn! That was where all of Father's important friends stay at when we have no more room in our home, Amu thought.
"Then this ought to surprise you," Amu began. "I'm Amu of the Hina-"
"We already know," Kairi interrupted.
Confused, she looked at Ikuto before looking back at them. "Your father has already gone through here on his weekly checks and I realized that you, again, were not with your family. I was under the impression that you were going to go out at a different time with your bodyguard, am I correct?"
Ikuto placed his hand on the hilt of one of his blades. "Ikuto…" Amu was uncertain.
But what surprised the pair was when Yaya smacked Kairi upside his head, causing them to flinch as Kairi fell forward in surprise. "Wh-What did you do that for?" Kairi exclaimed in alarm.
"Because you were being stupid," Yaya huffed. "I already know of your history with your sister and all, but you can't do that again when you're making friends; even if it had originally involved Amu-chi."
Unable to say anything, Yaya continued, "Excuse him for his behavior, he's been… on the edge lately with the bandit attacks and all." Amu couldn't help but see that Yaya was perhaps a bit baby-like and child-like in behavior.
"Ah," Kairi fixed his glasses. "I've already sent word to your father that you'll be staying at the inn for the night, and that's where you are now so you ought to be able to get enough rest tonight."
"Dinner will be served in a little bit," Yaya explained before getting up. "It was great meeting you, Amu-chi." Yaya grinned as Kairi got up as well.
"A pleasure as well," Kairi said almost in a formal-like manner before leaving. However, he popped his head back as he looked over at Ikuto, "And your name is…? We seemed to have missed it."
"Just call me Ikuto," he replied. Kairi and Yaya looked at each other before shrugging and closing the door shut.
"AH!"
Amu had been pulled into Ikuto's arms and against his chest. His hand touched on area of her abdomen while the other curled around her waist. She shuddered when his lips brushed against her ear and her neck. "Amu…" he murmured in such a voice, it sent lovely shivers down her spine. Then he just embraced her. He inhaled her scent, moving her long hair out of the way. She felt like Ikuto was almost purring.
"Ikuto…?"
"Hmm?" he replied.
"What's wrong?" she asked as alarm ripped through her once relaxed body that had melted in Ikuto's arms.
"I think something much worse is going to start happening soon." It wasn't a question, but a statement. "I might not be able to see you for awhile."
She turned around sharply to look at him. "You're lying!"
He smiled ruefully before he began to spoke up again. "I'm not, Amu… Something much worse is going to happen to this area and your friends and yourself might have to team up to help fend it off."
"What's going on?"
His finger stroked her face. "It's not that easy to explain… Perhaps it would be better if you heard it from your Tadase."
Sharp pain ricocheted through her chest. "But I want to hear it from you…"
"Perhaps, but… I cannot." His lips brushed over to her neck, his other hand holding the back of her neck. "But for now, let me just be with you." His other arm pulled her close to him. Instantly, Amu remembered that other night, when he looked so lonely that she wanted to hold him so close so that he wouldn't… disappear.
She held him close, as if something made her realize that what Ikuto was saying was true; that she might not see him again for a long while. But perhaps he was just lying…
She felt his lips move and she wondered what he said. "Ikuto?"
He moved himself away to look at her. "Amu, what are your feelings for me?"
"EH?"
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