This side story takes place on a small village on the countryside and features a four-year-old Amu and seven-year-old Ikuto. Oh yeah I changed some ages, like Ami's age differs a lot from Amu but here it doesn't.

Enjoy!

"Side story: Crossed paths."

"When two fated souls meet there is no turning back. The bond betweend the two of them is forever."

A bunch of people were gathering to celebrate the birth of the newest member of the Hinamori family, a cute new-born with pink chicks; Ami.

"Mama…"

Little Amu was pulling her mother's skirt. Her mother kindly smiled at Amu and kneeled before her.

"What is it honey?" she asked.

"Amu wants to see the baby too."

Her mother chuckled softly.

"Ok" She grabbed Amu by the waist and lifted her so that she could see her new sister. Amu's eyes shined."So? Isn't she cute?"

"Yes, very, very cute!" then Amu lowered her head and blushed a little "But…Amu is cute too."

"Hm…" her mother looked serious" I don't know about that." Amu's eyes went wide-open; she was so worried that tears began to show on the corner of her eyes. Amu saw her mother smirk. "Ju~st kidding" and she showed her tongue. Amu grabbed on her mother tightly and pouted. "ohohhh… Amu-chan. You're sulking. Heh, no good."

"Mama… you're mean."

"Ohhh?I am? Hmm… Well then, mean mothers don't give candies to their over spoiled child's do they? And here I was thinking about getting you a nice big candy."

"Mama's good!"

Her mother laughed and then pat her head.

Almost a year passed and one day…

"I HATE YOU!" Amu was crying and she was furious at her parents, she dashed downstairs and rushed outside the front door.

"Amu!" her mother was sick so she couldn't run to catch Amu. "Amu NO!"

Despite her mother's desperate cries and screams Amu didn't stop running toward the unknown. She ran until she couldn't breathe properly from being too tired and when Amu looked around…

"Huh?...Where…am I?"

For how long was she running? Amu was lost; she had never been on that place before. She was standing on a dirt track and she could see from above, a river. She didn't recognize a single person.

After a while, Amu decided to stay where she was, waiting for someone to pick her up and take her home. She sat on the grass field staring at the river with tears on her eyes and she waited there. Hours passed but nobody came to get her. She started to cry again. Soon she heard this strange sound: «grrrrrr».

"What is that?" She wondered and realized it was a stray dog. Her eyes went wide open. That dog was huge and he looked mad. She stood and started to step back as the hound started to get closer to her. She looked at his evil eyes and noticed he was starting to get ready to jump, and when he did so, Amu closed her eyes and screamed, she remained still for a while but did not feel any pain. Amu opened her eyes and saw a bow, a bit taller than her, with a scarf and blue hair and she noticed he was carrying some sort of box on his back.

The strange boy was fighting the dog with a stick.

"Shoo… don't … bad dog BAD! Go away!" he said. After a while the dog ran away. The boy turned to Amu, he had beautiful blue eyes, and asked:

"Hey kid, are you okay?" Amu was still very scared and busted into tears. "H-hey, what's the matter? Hum… shh... shh, don't cry… ugh…" The boy blushed and opened the box he was carrying and inside was a small violin. He played for Amu.

Amu calmed down and listened to the wonderful melody he was playing. When he stopped playing he sighed and looked at Amu.

"Calmed down?" Amu nodded "Good. Bye then."

The boy packed his violin again and started to walk away. Amu got up and followed the strange boy with blue hair. When he realized this he turned and said coldly:

"Don't follow me." But Amu didn't care. He noticed and this time when he turned he grabbed her head and glared at her saying: "Go home brat."

"But…" Amu looked around. "I don't know where home is."

"I couldn't care less." He shrugged "Just don't follow me."

Tears started to show on the corner of her eyes. He slapped his forehead and whispered with a sigh: «I'm going to regret this.»

The boy knealed before her and then asked:

"Hey kid. What's your name?"

Amu sniffed and answered in a whisper: "Amu. Hinamori Amu."

"Hinamori…HInamori…" he muttered. "Ah yes. I think I know where it is…" then he glanced at Amu "…how come you're so far away from home?"

"Well…" Amu blushed while remembering what had happened.

"It's ok." The boy said sighting "You don't have to tell me, I was just curious how you managed to get this far from home."

"Running of course." Amu was serious and looked at him with «are you dumb or what?» written all over her face. It was true, but the boy burst into laugh in no time. Amu blushed and asked embarrassed. "What? It's true."

"Hah... sure it…pfft…though, that's not exactly what I meant by…" he looked at Amu, the boy had a feeling that she was very proud of her so honest response. "Oh well, never mind." He sighed and stroked her hair. "Let's go. It'll get dark soon and I too need to get home."

Amu looked at him and blinked a few times, then her eyes went wide open like she had figured something and she said with pity:

"Are you lost too?" the boy looked at her astonished and laughed. But seeing her concerned look he smiled and said:

"Only kids like you get lost. Baaka."

Amu pouted and then she objected:

"I'm not a kid… I'm four years old AND a half, hmpf."

"Pfft… saying that only makes you a bigger kid…and a bigger idiot too."

"Hmpf. You're mean. I bet my left shoe on how you don't get any presents from Santa."

"San-? …Why would I want you're left shoe?" he was on a stage of major confusion.

"You're just changing the subject." Amu continued "You don't get presents from Santa…" she was almost singing.

"I wasn't changing the subject."

"You were!"

"Was not!"

"You were!"

"Wa-" The boy took a deep breath and then started to talk again. " Let's just with the stupid arguing. It's boring."

"Then I win." She giggled with satisfaction. The boy rolled his eyes and then said:

"Whatever…" then he muttered "how bothersome." And he stared the floor

Amu was humming the melody the boy played for her. That made him glance at her and then he realized: Amu was now trying to stay balanced on a thin stone wall. They were on a bridge and the fall was pretty high, so he screamed worried:

"Hey! Get down from there."

Amu looked at him shocked and a gust of wind made her lost her balance and the foot slipped. Amu looked down and she was falling so she screamed terrified. The boy grabbed her arm and pulled her to his side. The impact made them fell on the floor- Amu on the top of him. She couldn't breathe properly, nor could the boy.

"What are you doing?! BAAKA!" the boy screamed at her.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry…" Amu replied sobbing.

The boy sighed and then hugged her and said: "Ok… it's ok now."

There weren't many people on the bridge, but the few that passed through stared at them some curious, others glaring at them because they were on a hurry (probably).

After a while the boy let go of Amu and they both got up and started to walk again, only this time the boy was holding her small hand. Amu was still sobbing and when she wiped the last remaining tears she said:

"I ran away from mommy." The boy looked at her. "That's why Amu got lost."

The boy didn't know exactly what to say about that but he gave it a try and asked her:

"So… why did you had a fight with your mother?"

"Because mommy and dada only care about baby Ami." She answered looking sad.

"Baby Ami? Could it be you're little sister?" Amu nodded. "Oh. Well…I'm sure that's not true." Amu looked to the boy trying to understand what he said. Noticing this, he continued: "Hum… I mean, I'm sure they must be worried-sick by now. They must be looking for you everywhere. I guess they didn't give you the same attention as they used to because… well… a baby is very tiring to raise you know? They cry constantly and very loudly, and they need to be feed all the time. They need their diapers changed too you know?" he looked at Amu and saw her curious expression staring at him. Then she looked at the floor.

"Oh, I see." The boy sighed in relief "Then… babies are bad!" his relief had disappeared. He only made things worse, though, he had to admit he didn't quite understand it himself and even thought about the possibility of babies being bad, but that thought vanished right away.

"Tha—that's not what I meant. What I'm trying to tell you is... well I don't actually understand it myself, but it seems that babies need parents assistance more than we do. That doesn't mean they stopped giving you so much attention on purpose."

"Assis…tence?" Amu repeated in a whisper. "Then, father and mother like me even thought they have a new baby?"

"Yes, of course they do. So… you understand now, right?"

"Yes. Babies are good, but they are bad. And mommy and dada love me even thought it might not seem and Amu must accept that she isn't spoiled like before. Right?"

The boy looked confused and he tried to understand what she said, soon he gave up and said:

"Right."

They had been walking for a long while now, and the sunset was beginning.

"How do you know so much about this stuff?" Amu asked curious.

"I have a sister too."

"You do? What's her name?"

"Utau." The boy replied.

Then Amu remembered something.

"What is your name?" She asked. The boy looked at her and then answered:

"Ikuto." Amu chukled."What?" Ikuto asked.

"You have a cute name Ikuto." Amu smiled cutely at him and he blushed. Ikuto turned his face to the opposite side.

A while after Amu sneezed. Ikuto looked at her and though: oh damn… don't get sick. Then he pulled the scarf of his neck and gave it to Amu slightly blushing.

"What's this for?" She asked.

"For you to play with… It's for you to use it idiot. It's getting cold."

Amu blushed a little and thanked him. Amu was about to start huming the melody Ikuto played for her and then she remembered that she still didn't know one thing.

"Nee… Ikuto."

"Hm?"

"If you are not lost, then what are you doing here with me, alone?"

Ikuto didn't face her and it took him a while to answer.

"I was looking for someone."

Amu felt slight felling of pain coming together with those words which made her grab onto him tightly. He looked at her and smiled kindly, but somehow it was very painful to see that smile illuminated only by the sunset lights.

"I'm sorry." Amu said in a whisper that only Ikuto could hear.

He chuckled "For what?"

"I don't know. I just am."

"Hmpf, thanks."

"How do you know where my house is?" she asked.

"Because I've been searching for this someone in a while now, and I've been in the street where your house is many times."

"Hm… I wonder if I have been in the street where your house is."

"Haha… yeah I wonder."

"You know Ikuto… you must be very kind." She blushed.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Because the melody you played in your violin was really beautiful, filled with hope and love and other emotions."

He chuckled and patted her head. "Hey, do you recognize this place?"

Amu looked around and then said with a wide smile and her eyes wide open

"It's home! It's home! I'm home!"

Amu let go of Ikuto's hand and rushed to her house. She knocked on the door and both her mother and father appeared in no time. They had their eyes red like they had been crying for hours.

"Amu!" they said together.

" Oh dear.. we were so scared, if anything had happened to you…"
"I'm sorry…"

"It's ok, you're okay now… thank God!"

They hugged her tightly and then looked up and saw Ikuto.

Ikuto bowed and said very politely: "Good evening." Amu's mother knealed before him and asked grabbing his arms:

"Did you bring her?"

"Yes ma'am." He said blushing. Amu's mom hugged him and said: «thank you» countless times. Her father also thanked him.

"What's your name young man?" her father asked while shaking his hand.

"Tsukiyomi Ikuto sir."

"Well… Ikuto, I'm sure I'll never forget you and what you've done, returning our child back to us. Thank you."

"I was just passing thru. It was a coincidence." Ikuto said.

"There is no such thing as coincidences my son." He said kindly.

"Who knows, maybe it was a fated encounter." Amu's mother smiled.

They thanked him a few times more and when Ikuto was about to leave Amu pulled his arm and muttered: "Don't go. Play to me again."

"I'm sorry, but I must go now. Maybe someday soon I'll play for you again, okay?"

Amu nodded Ikuto kissed her forehead and then Hinamori saw him leave.

Inside the house Amu apologized and told her parents that Ikuto had explained how hard it was to raise a baby and that she now knows that they love her despite having a new baby.

"Mama…" Amu pulled her mother's skirt. "You know, Ikuto plays the violin. He played to me. And because of that melody I will never forget him."

"That's good. We won't either."

"Oh Amu… that scarf…" her father noticed the scarf Ikuto had lent to her.

"It's Ikuto's… How can I give it back to him?" Amu asked worried.

"Well… if it really was a fated encounter then maybe someday, you'll give it back to him."

"I will mamma." Amu hugged the scarf and blushed. Ikuto…my heart's pounding, my first love…

That night Ikuto too realized he didn't got his scarf back. Thinking about that little girl and the smile she had showed him made him slightly blush. He went to his father library and leaned his head on the window. Noticing the beautiful starry sky, Ikuto decided to play the melody he played for Amu. When he finished playing he sat near the window.

"Hinamori Amu." Ikuto whispered for himself then he chuckled. "Fated encounter huh? I wonder…Well, someday I'll definitely get that scarf back. Amu…" he blushed. "You just wait, someday we'll meet again." He smiled under the moonlight and fell asleep.

Years passed and one day…

"What a boring day… nothing interesting to do~" Ikuto said while walking a street near a Theme park. He was about to turn on a corner when..

"?!"

What the…? He thought, and when he looked up he noticed someone with pink hair was on the top of him.

"Ouch...huh? No pain?" it was a girls voice.

He wasn't on a very good mood so he said coldly:

"You might not feel pain but I do." The girl lifted her head and her face was scarce centimeters away from his. She looked shocked.

"What are you staring at? Hurry up and get off me you perverted woman."

"Whaa? Perverted?" she now looked mad but it changed quickly when she noticed their position "Uwaa."

The girl screamed and she looked quite freaked out. Ikuto realized that and since he was in no good mood he figured that teasing her might cheer him up a bit.

"What? Am I that beautiful that you can't even hold your chin?"

She looked mad again so yes... it did cheer him up.

"Tsk yeah you sure are beautiful, just like a pigs butt… you dork."

She looked like she had remembered something.. she stood and started to run.

"Ok, that was rude…" I kuto said. "Oh well."

He started to walk away took but then he stepped something. Ikuto looked down and picked it up.

"A wallet." He said. "Whose?..." he opened it and saw na I.D. card with the photo of the girl that fell on the top of him." Hinamori Amu…" he read. "Hah…no kidding. Looks like it really was fate. I want my scarf back."

Hahaha I think it was a nice side story no? Oh well a bit stupid I know… but I like it.

Please Review\Comment! And let me know what your thoughts on my story are. Thank you! Bye!