Chapter 3
Naruto was having lunch on the roof of his school with, Ikuto and Utau. After they were done eating, Ikuto laid his head in Naruto's lap while Utau laid her head on Naruto's shoulder.
"Your Chara Nari was so hot, Naruto-kun." Ikuto purrs.
"I'm jealous. I want to see your Chara Nari, Naruto-sama." Utau whines with a cute pout. Naruto was petting Ikuto's head. He turned his head and kissed her. Utau melts into the kiss.
"Don't worry, Angel, you will get to see my Chara Nari." Naruto says reassuringly. Utau nods and puts her head back on his shoulder. Ikuto looks up at Naruto.
"Are you sure it is okay to leave the Humpty Lock with your sister?" Ikuto asks.
"Yes, we can Chara Nari with your Dumpty Key, so leaving the Humpty Lock with, Amu, is fine." Naruto says.
"If that's what you want." Utau says. Ikuto nods agreeing. The bell rings, lunch time was over. They get up and go back to class.
-After School-
Naruto was on his way home when his cell phone rang.
"Hello?" Naruto answers.
"Naruto-nii, I need help." Amu says on the other end.
"Yes, what do you need help with, Amu?" Naruto asks.
"Nadeshiko-san, says that Tadase-kun's birthday is soon, and she wants to make fruit tarts. I don't know what to do? I need your help, Naruto-nii." Amu explains panicking a little bit. Naruto sighs and shakes his head fondly.
"All right, Amu, I'm on my way." Naruto says.
"Thank you so much, Naruto-nii!" Amu says with relief.
"No problem." Naruto responds. They then say their goodbyes as Naruto heads towards Amu's school.
-At Amu's School-
Amu and Nadeshiko were waiting outside for Naruto. Naruto sees them and walks up to them.
"Hey, Amu. Good to see you again, Nadeshiko-chan. I am here to help." Naruto says with a smile.
"Nice to see you too, Naruto-san." Nadeshiko greets with a cute smile. They then head into the school, heading for the Home Economics Classroom.
"Should we really be in here?" Amu asks in a cute red plaid apron.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm a Guardian!" Nadeshiko says with a wink. She was wearing a white frilly apron.
"Such an abuse of power…" Amu mutters. Naruto agreed with her.
'They are giving these children too much power. Oh, well, not my problem.' Naruto thinks. He was wearing an orange apron.
"Come, let's begin. The menu will be comprised of fruit tarts!" Nadeshiko announces cheerfully. Naruto and Amu knew this already but…
"Why?" Amu asks.
"Because, Hotori-kun loves fruit tarts." Nadeshiko explains.
"Makes sense." Naruto says while preparing the ingredients.
"The Prince does? If that's case…" Amu says flustered. Naruto sighs and shakes his head. He did not care much for the Kiddy King, but he would be nice since this is for his birthday.
"Also, it would be best if you didn't call him "Prince" when he's around." Nadeshiko says but not explaining why. Amu was confused while Naruto figures that must be his Chara Change trigger.
'To not be able to control you're Chara Change, tch, still a child.' Naruto thinks with a scoff.
"While you girls work on the fruit tart. I will be making some fruit pies." Naruto announces.
"Oh, what will you be making, Naruto-san?" Nadeshiko asks curiously.
"I will be making a blueberry pie, an apple pie, a lemon filling pie, and a cherry pie." Naruto explains wanting to make his lovers and Amu's favorites.
"Wow, so many, and they sound delicious." Nadeshiko says in awe.
"Yeah, they sound good, Naruto-nii." Amu says. They all got to work on their own projects.
-An Hour or so Later-
Naruto, who was really good at cooking and baking, was finished with his pies. He was now helping Amu and Nadeshiko finish their fruit tart.
"Oh, I forgot the fruit decorations for the fruit tart. I will be right back." Nadeshiko explains as she leaves the room. Amu was having fun. She could not believe she made a friend, and she had her niisan here with her too. She is so happy. Her Charas could feel and see how happy she was; so, they were happy too. Naruto was happy and proud of how Amu was coming out of her shell some.
"I am not sure I can do this by myself." Amu says nervous that she will screw up.
"You can! To be able to do it alone, Amu: Chara Chan-," The voice was cut off by a clap. Naruto and Amu turned and saw the sexy cat boy, from before. (Amu still has not been introduced to him). He was sitting on the window, having come through the window.
"Time out." The boy, Ikuto, if Amu remembers right, says.
"You're… from before… Niisan's freaky kitty cosplay boy!" Amu yells. Naruto, his Charas, and Ikuto and his Chara all sweat drop. They looked at Amu like she was crazy.
'Did she forget that was his Chara Change, and that his Chara is a Cat Chara?' Naruto thinks.
"Cosplay…" Ikuto says confused.
"Don't come any closer, werido!" Amu yells waving her arms about.
"That will be kind of hard for him to do, Amu." Naruto comments.
"Huh? Why, Naruto-nii?" Amu asks confused.
"Because, Ikuto-kun here is my lover, Amu." Naruto explains pulling Ikuto close to his side.
"L-Lover?!" Amu yells in surprise while blushing.
"Yep." Naruto states while petting Ikuto's head. Ikuto did not care, he was getting his head petted.
"Nice to meet you, Ikuto-san." Amu says bowing.
"You don't have to be so formal. You can call me, Ikuto-kun." Ikuto says in a lazy voice.
"Ah, okay, Ikuto-kun then." Amu says. Ikuto nods satisfied. Naruto was happy that his lover and little sister were getting along. The door then slammed open.
"Get away from her, Thief Cat!" Nadeshiko orders pointing at Ikuto. "We knew you would show up."
The three of them, and their Charas, turned to look at Nadeshiko. Amu was shocked. She did not know why Nadeshiko was upset about Ikuto for.
"Temari, Chara Change!" Nadeshiko orders.
"Yes, Madam." Temari says as she takes out a branch of Cherry Blossoms and waves it. "Chin, Ton, Shan, Chara Change." Temari chants as Cherry Blossoms appeared in Nadeshiko's hair, and then Nadeshiko goes crazy. She starts swinging the Naginata, which was summoned in her hand, around. It looked to Naruto and Amu that she was trying to kill Ikuto.
"Nadeshiko-san has that kind of personality?!" Amu yells in shock. Naruto looks annoyed and thoughtful for a minute. Ikuto Chara Changes and just dodges Nadeshiko's swings. While no one was paying attention, Naruto Chara Changes with Kyubi; and, saves Amu's fruit tart, and his pies.
"What do we do?! What do we do?!" Ran and Miki yell panicking.
"Don't panic, don't panic." Amu's Egg says then it hatches to reveal a cute Chara, which looked like a homemaker.
"Leave this to, Su!" The Chara, Su, says with a wink. She then flies over to Amu.
"Here I go, Amu-chan. Flaky, and fluffy is the answers! Chips, Syrup, Whip!" Su chants. Amu's X hairclip changes to a green clover. A huge bowl and whisk appear in front of Amu. Against her will, she started whisking like crazy. Making this huge river of cream. Naruto, Ikuto, and Nadeshiko with their Charas, jumped out of the way. Amu and her Charas were not as lucky. They got swept up in the river of cream. After the river died down, Amu looked up and saw Naruto, and everyone else were alright.
"So, the third Egg wasn't the Embryo either." Ikuto whispers with a sigh to Naruto. Naruto nods already knowing it would not be.
"Amu-chan, there's a big problem!" Ran yells. All of them look over at Ran, and saw what appeared to be the fruit tart broken on the floor.
"The tart was…" Ran trails off. Naruto looks at Amu and sees her trying to hold back tears.
"This is terrible." Nadeshiko says.
"After we finally finished it…" Miki laments.
"I-It was bound to happen. From the very start, making snacks wasn't in my character. This is better than making something bad. So, you see, everything is fine." Amu explains as a few tears escape. Naruto sighs and walks up to and kneels down.
"Baka, don't say that making snacks is not in your character when, Su just hatched proving you wrong. Here this is yours." Naruto says patting Amu's head then handing her, her fruit tart, that was in a box.
"This is my fruit tart… but how?" Amu asks in shock looking between the box and the broken pieces on the floor.
"I put them somewhere safe, because of all of the commotion going on. I could not let all of your hard work go to waste." Naruto explains with a warm smile.
"Yeah, we protected it for you." Dark says with an impish smile. His twin, Krad nodded.
"We'll help clean up." Dante offers. Vergil just sighs in annoyance. Kyubi just stayed by Yoru's side making the Cat Chara blush.
"Thank you, Niisan." Amu says in gratitude while wiping the tears out of her eyes. Everyone then started to clean up the mess they made. They then said their goodbyes to Nadeshiko and Temari. Naruto, Amu, and Ikuto were walking to the sibling's house.
"I am sorry about the way, Nadeshiko-san treated you, Ikuto-kun." Amu says apologizing to Ikuto.
"It's fine." Ikuto says not caring what the Guardians thought of him. They only person's opinion he cares about is Naruto's.
"Ah, I see." Amu says. They enter the house. Naruto goes to his parents asking if Ikuto could stay the night. They say yes. Ikuto heads to Naruto's room while Naruto goes to Amu's room.
"The tart looks good!" Miki says.
"Now for the wrapping, desu." Su says as she looks at all of the wrapping utensils.
"What color ribbon should I use? I'll attach a card with a message, too. Thinking about these things seems to be out of my character." Amu says.
"Baka, it is in your character. You need to get out of that mind set. Trust in your Charas." Naruto says while smacking her on the back of her head.
"Yes, I understand. I will try harder." Amu says.
"That's all I ask." Naruto says patting her head.
"If that's the case, into a cute and sincere girl: Chara Change!" Ran says before Amu could stop her. Amu then write a letter to Kiddy King.
The Card
To My Dear Prince,
I made this fruit tart especially for you.
Please think of me when you eat it.
The truth is; I'm shy.
From Your Admirer, Amu Hinamori: I'll be waiting for your text message.
End of Card
"There's the card." Miki says as Dante and Vergil put the card in the box.
"And here's the wrapping." Ran says as Dark and Krad wrap it.
"Now to tie the ribbon, desu!" Su says as she ties a green ribbon around the box with Kyubi's help.
"All done." Everyone says cheerfully. Then Amu realizes what she wrote and made another with a different, less embarrassing card; and, with a red ribbon.
"Jeez, there's no way I can give him something so embarrassing." Amu mutters.
"But, the green one is so much cuter, desu." Su complains softly.
"Don't worry, just give it to him without Amu knowing." Naruto whispers to Su.
"Yes, I will do that, desu." Su says cheering up. Naruto looks at his Charas grinning mischievously. They grinned back.
"Well, I am going to see what my kitty is doing. I am sure he is lonely in my room alone. Make sure to get some sleep, Amu." Naruto says as he leaves Amu's room.
-Naruto's Room-
Naruto walks into his room and sees a naked Ikuto in his bed. Naruto shuts the door and locks it.
"Awe, does my kitty need some attention?" Naruto asks with a purr in his voice. Naruto also starts taking off his clothes.
"Yes, Naruto-koi, I am feeling neglected." Ikuto purrs running his hand down his body slowly. Hoping to seduce Naruto.
"Oh, I see. Well, I need to fix that don't I." Naruto says as he walks to the bed, naked and ready to please his kitty.
-The Next Day-
Ikuto left feeling satisfied, he also was walking with a limp. Amu then begged Naruto to come with her to Tadase's house for his birthday party. Naruto agreed with a sigh.
'Oh, well, I have to give him this cherry pie I made anyway.' Naruto thinks as they meet up with Nadeshiko.
"Hi, Amu-chan, Naruto-san!" Nadeshiko greets.
"Hi, Nadeshiko-chan." Naruto greets back while Amu just nods her head. Their Charas greet each other also. They start making their way to Tadase's house. Nadeshiko rang the bell while Amu looked around, amazed by how big Tadase's house is. Tadase answers the door.
"Hi, Fujisaki-san and Hinamori-sans. Welcome to my house. Thank you for coming." Tadase says as he leads them to the garden. They saw the other Guardians were already there.
"You can put the gifts on the table." Tadase says as he points to the table in his room which was just in front of the garden. They did as they were told then came to sit on the porch in front of his room.
"I'm delighted that you two came. Do you still not wish to join the Guardians? With you on our side, our side would be strengthened. I'm sure we could find the Embryo together. We need your strength." Tadase says passionately. Naruto just shakes his head, and let's Amu make her own choice.
"Tadase-kun, you have a dream you want fulfilled, too?" Amu asks.
"Yes. You have three Guardian Charas. Your older brother has five. Normally, people have one or two at most, and you both can do Chara Nari. If you join us, we will become a mighty stronghold. I know Naruto-san cannot join since he goes to a different school; but, we would love to have you join us." Tadase explains.
'I guess I really like, Tadase-kun. I wonder if I can help realize his dream.' Amu thinks looking dreamily at Tadase.
"Prince." Amu says out load on accident.
"Prince? Did you just call me "Prince?" Don't call me a simple Prince!" Tadase yells a golden crown appearing on his head.
'I knew this would happen.' Naruto thinks while Amu was just in shock at the Chara Change.
"It's been a while since we've seen our lord." Kukai comments.
"What is this?!" Amu ask hysterically.
"Well, I did warn you earlier not to call him "Prince." Nadeshiko says.
"Warn me? When?!" Amu questions.
"Yesterday, Amu, remember?" Naruto says but Amu was not listening.
"When Tadase gets like this, he's unstoppable! It's exciting!" Yaya says with a smile.
"Exciting," you say?!" Amu yells.
"Listen, my subjects! Don't address me with such a petty title as "Prince!" It's King!" Tadase orders.
"D-Don't tell me, Tadase-kun's dream is…" Amu trials off.
"Of course, it's world domination!" Tadase says clarifying Amu's fear.
"That's evil, Tadase-kun." Amu says despairingly.
"I thought that was supposed to be your stick, Verge?" Dante asks teasingly. Vergil just scoffs.
"Don't worry, Amu-chan. He will change back soon." Nadeshiko says trying to cheer up Amu.
"Don't tell me you guys are actually encouraging his greed?!" Amu asks in outrage.
"Of course! That's why we're looking for the Embryo!" Yaya answers.
"W-Why?" Amu asks.
"Because it's fun." All three of them answered together.
"That's too shallow for the Guardians." Amu says her impression of the Guardians changing forever. Naruto could careless as long as they did not hurt his sister or loved ones, then they would have no problems.
'Not like I would let them have the Embryo anyway.' Naruto thinks to himself. Tadase's Chara Change finally came undone. Tadase went to an emo corner.
"When I do a Chara Change, I become like that. You're disgusted right, Hinamori-sans?" Tadase asks both Naruto and Amu in despair.
"N-Not really, Prin- rather Tadase-kun" Amu says reassuringly.
"I could care less." Naruto says.
"Actually, I'm not cut out lead as the King's Chair." Tadase says.
"Right, right. He's actually a shy little boy." Yaya explains.
"People say he looks frightened in front of audiences." Nadeshiko explains further.
"That's true. That's why I wished for it, to be stronger, different would-be self." Tadase says. Amu then remembers when she wished for her would-be selves.
'It was the same for the, Prince?' Amu thinks in shock.
'You will come to find out that many people wish for their would-be selves. Some answer, and some don't.' Naruto thinks.
"Then a Guardian Egg was born." Tadase continues.
"And I became Tadase's would-be self. That is what a Guardian Chara is, after all." Kiseki states proudly.
"Don't tell me, all of you, too?" Amu asks. Everyone just smiles and nods.
"Don't keep acting depressed. Cheer up, gutless King!" Kukai says draping himself on Tadase's back. Naruto bursts out laughing at that nickname. Making Kukai grin even more.
"That's right, Tadase." Kiseki says.
"Not you too, Kiseki." Tadase complains.
'I am not the only one. Desiring a would-be self when I was down and in need… We're all the same.' Amu thinks happily. Amu had a really great time with the Guardians.
-At Naruto's and Amu's House-
"Ever since you guys have come into my life, it has been one big thing after another. But, I don't think I particularly dislike it." Amu says with a smile. Naruto smiles too.
"I'm proud of you, Imoto." Naruto says as he goes to his room. Leaving Amu there smiling.
-The Next Day-
Naruto was having lunch on the roof of his school, like always, when his cell phone rings. Ikuto and Utau look over at Naruto, or in Ikuto's case, up at him.
"Hello?" Naruto answers.
"The Guardians made me a Guardian in front of the whole school at the student assembly meeting! Without my permission! They made me the "Joker" Chair. Whatever that means?!" Amu yells on the other end. Naruto pulls the phone away from his ear, because of Amu's volume.
"Congratulations, Imoto. I will be rooting for you. Do your best." Naruto says.
"Niisan! Don't encourage them!" Amu protests. Naruto just laughs as they hang up.
'I wonder what adventures await us.' Naruto thinks while petting Ikuto's head, in his lap. Utau's head was laying on his shoulder.