-,- When I do the enter sign once, it doesn't look like there's enough of a space, but if I do it twice, it looks too big? So for now, ignore this chapter. It's not complete and I'm deleting in a second.

OMGTHANKSFORTHEREVIEWS8D They literally made my whole night. 8D! Thank you so much. C: So I know I said that this chapter would have more Amuto.. but actually, I lied. D: I re-wrote my rough drafts and the chapter after the next WILL have some, fo'sho ;D I don't wanna just rush the plot and put random "OH ILU AMU-CHAN KISS/LEMONSLMEONS" in the story. -_- This is probably my longest chapter, and it took up all the time of both my study halls. xD But it also plays a big role in the story. C:

Also, I forgot to put this on my other chapters, but I don't own Shugo Chara or any of the characters used in it. I also don't own any song lyrics that I put in my stories.

The heat was overwhelming.

Then again, five kids cramped inside a janitor's closet wasn't exactly the most comforting place to be. Aside from the old mop smells and the growing temperature, there was still so much tension in the small room that had been built up in the past 15 minutes.

Another minute passed, and Nagihiko gave an OK sign to everyone else, and they all prepared to face what would be outside. Some people in the small group of friends were a little too eager to leave, while others wouldn't have minded to stay in there for the rest of their life, hiding themselves in shame.

15 minutes earlier.

Everyone had successfully managed to make it inside their little hideout. They were sure to be careful to not let anyone catch on to their idea; No one could afford to worry about anyone else right now. Once they were inside, Nagihiko and Kuukai carefully set Utau down, being extra careful to not move her too much. Nagihiko looked at Kuukai and asked, "Do you have anything I can use to keep pressure on her?" Kuukai nodded, and ripped off a portion of his school shirt and handed it to him. Nagihiko bent down and began his attempt to slow down, and hopefully stop, her bleeding.

Rima and Amu didn't know what to do or how to act at the moment, so the two of them just leaned cooly against the door, watching the boys carefully in case they had to step in. Rima, honestly, felt like she didn't deserve to be in this type of situation. She had no clue how to take care of someone hurt, so she secretly prayed that they would ask Amu for help.

That's exactly what Amu wanted, too.

Amu's thoughts differed from Rima's completely. She kept retracing the events that led to this and to her, it was all really adding up to be her fault. She was more than ready to jump in and help someone, other then just be a useless bystander.

Just like me.

Rima, tired from standing up, eventually sank down to the floor in a small fetal position, one very similar to her defensive-ball she would crawl into when she needed to. She narrowed her eyes at the two boys, and mumbled, "How stupid."

Kuukai turned her way, and with the glare he gave her, he looked like he was ready to give Little Miss "Chibi Queen" something to crawl in a ball about.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, desperately trying to hide the frustration in his voice and keep his cool. He was completely unaware that he was facing nearly the same situation that Amu had faced merely 3 days ago.

She looked away from Kuukai, and turned her attention towards Nagihiko. "You're not putting enough pressure on her wound. If you want her to live, then try harder." she said bluntly. Even with that, people like Amu, and Nagihiko too, could tell that was a cover-up for what was really on her mind.

Nagi decided to play along with this. He chuckled nervously at her comment, then said, "I-I'm doing my best, Rima-chan. But if you don't like how it is, why don't you give it a try?" he offered, hiding his smirk behind a grand smile.

Kuukai, however, took this to heart, and rudely pushed Nagi aside. "I'll do it. I was an idiot to rely on someone as weak as a dancer to keep this up."

Dead air was his only reply.

Nagihiko, embarrassed at his comment, looked away from everyone else and took a step or two back. This made Rima, already impatient and angry from being stuck in here with everyone, even more pissed. "Don't insult him like that! He did more than you at least." Rima shouted, blushing madly at the fact she was defending her rival. She ignored that though, what Kuukai said was beyond rude and he needed to be told that.

Kuukai scowled under his breath, then muttered, "Useless bitch."

Rima's eyes widened, at his comment, but she was the queen, and wouldn't back down against a few words. "Say that to my face."

His glare hardened as he stood up, doing the one thing no one expected.

Her golden eyes were stunned.

Tears were begging to fall down.

Her hand twitched slightly; she wanted to comfort this horrible, horrible burning feeling that not even her parents had managed to give her.

For the first time in her life, someone dared to slap Rima Mashiro.

Time seemed frozen for a second or two. The noise outside even seemed to cease down into nothing at that very moment. The silence was so loud, that you could probably hear each others heartbeat if you tried to listen.

After what seemed like an eternity, Amu broke the everlasting silence and said, "Don't hit her! She didn't do anything wrong!" Amu exclaimed, more than pissed off at his attitude towards her two best friends.

"Shut up," he began. "Before you're next."

Amu rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms, becoming "Cool & Spicy" within a second. "Oh you will? Tell me, what exactly did I do?" she asked him.

That was the final line.

He had already lost his best friend this week, and now he's close to losing the one girl he had managed to develop feelings for. Yet here in front of him stood the center of it all, the flower of hell.

"This is ALL your fault! None of this would've happened had it not been for you!"

Amu stepped back a bit at his outburst, "Wha-" she began, but Kuukai had no intentions of letting her off this easy. He needed to let all this out someway or another.

"If Tadase had never come over, this wouldn't have ever happened! Do you have a faithful and caring boyfriend? I don't think so! So no one would've started a whole shooting over losing you, now would they? Without a shooting, there was no way Utau would've been shot, and we wouldn't be standing in an old, cramped up janitor's closet hiding from one of our old friends who's out there killing people, now would we? Tadase died because of YOU, Saaya mean to shoot YOU, not Utau. It should've been you, each time it was supposed to be you.. I wish.." his voice was hoarse from all of his shouting, and it was already on the verge of breaking, but he knew he had to say this, or he may never get another chance to let his feelings out.

"I wish we could back to a week ago, before Tadase had died and Saaya lost her mind, but that time around.. I wish no one here even knew you. If Tadase never knew you he wouldn't have went to your house, and he wouldn't have died. It'd be better if you had been forgotten."

Kuukai covered his eyes, and face in general, from everyone else. He felt more than ashamed for his outburst. He knew all too well that halfway through the argument, he had gone way too far, but he couldn't help himself. He knew deep in his heart Amu never intended for all of this, that she was just an innocent girl caught up in all this mess. He didn't even want to see all the hurt her put in his dear friends eyes.

Amu, however, had absolutely no sign of pain in her eyes. It just looked like she was ready to lash out on him.

HOW DARE HE! She thought. How dare he claim that his is all my fault! It's not like I let Tadase come over and study because I knew he would be killed, right? Did anyone here even manage Saaya had what it takes to shoot someone? I don't think so! And that big "I wish we never met you" shit? What the hell! He'd really throw away each and every one of the memories we all had together JUST so things can go back to the way they are? This is too far.

She took a step forward, ready to lash out each and every thought on her so-called friend, until a voice stopped her.

"Shut up, you're all so loud."

The teens turned their heads to face Utau, who had finally came too. She had that same stubborn look on her face, and looked pretty upset that she had been woken up.

Amu's vicious scowl disappeared at the site of her now well friend. "Utau.. you're ok!" she exclaimed, letting out such a brilliant smile at her friend.

Utau sighed, and began to sit up, only to have her shot arm give on her. Thankfully, Kuukai was able to grab her before she hit the cold floor.

"Don't strain yourself.." Nagi said quietly, wondering if she had just heard the commotion going on between the group. Utau simply nodded, then said, "What a little backstabber, I'll find her soon enough and make her regret shooting me." Utau grumbled. Amu smiled gently and let out a slight giggle. Same old Utau, eh? She was happy that was ok. She was actually happy.

For now.

"Next time you see her, I want you to break her."

"Explain."

"They say that victims of rape are scared of their own shadow, let alone able to defend themselves against the rest of the world."

The teen nodded, and walked away, apologizing constantly under his breath to no one.

He was unaware that another voice let in their own fair share of "Gomenasai" with his as well.

No one really had much to say after Utau had recovered. Everyone was pretty much lost in their own thoughts at the time. After a few more minutes of silence, Nagihiko chimed in and said, "Let's go to my house."

Everyone looked up at him questionably.

"It's not very far from the school, and plus I think we all need an update on what's been happening and how the police are handling it, don't you think?" He let out an accomplished smile.

Rima looked away, her face slightly turning pink as she said, "Well, why not. It's not like we can hideout in a closet for the rest of our lives, now can we?" she told him stubbornly. He ignored her icy glare and nodded happily, making the girl even more aggravated.

Amu nodded at this idea, she just wanted to be somewhere where she wasn't so close to Kuukai at the moment.

Utau was up for the idea in a second, stating how if she's ever gonna feel better she needs somewhere better to rest then in a musty room with cold floors.

Kuukai agreed as well, but in truth was very hesitant at this. He was on the very edge of hating himself. He'd much rather stay in here to hide away his shame and humility. He didn't want to show the world how cruel he truly could be. Part of him did want to leave though, with everyone up and talking now, the room temperature was rising unbearably high for him, and anyone else in there.

With that, everyone agreed to hang out in Nagi's house for the time being. He told them that everything probably ended a while ago, and that they needed to wait for a good distraction to try to make it out without the cops noticing them. No one was sure how this would work, but it was worth the risk.

After about a minute, the noise outside began to dissolve into little to nothing. When Nagi was sure that he couldn't even hear a single footstep, he gave an OK sign to everyone. He opened the door, revealing the the group what no one expected to see.

Then again, in this world, no one knew what to expect anymore.

Nagihiko's POV:

I knew it. I just knew it would be me who had to resolve all the conflicts.

Not like I mind or anything, I just want to keep everyone together. For the time being, we're all we have left.

I know my friends though. Each one of them, in some way or another is a fighter.

We may be young, but we have heart; Born in this world as it all falls apart.

The song I used in the last sentence was "Young" by Hollywood Undead c: God I love that song.

A LITTLE NOTE ABOUT THAT WHOLE "RAPE VICTIM SCENE."

Don't worry, I don't plan to put in an entire scene/chapter about that, because honestly, I'm not one to joke about that kind of stuff. You'll see how it fills into the story, you'll see ;3

Again, thanks everyone for all your support on this! Since tomorrow's my birthday, I might not get around to updating since I'm going shopping + to a Halloween party later that night, but if I can't tomorrow then expect it on Friday for sure. :D

Please R&R!