Chapter 14

Ikuto leaned against the door frame and simply smirked at her. "Cute PJ's. Can I come in?" He asked, gesturing behind her.

Amu blushed and gazed down at her gray t-shirt and pink bottoms with ducks on them. "Y-yeah, of course." She replied before letting him inside and closing the door behind him.

Ikuto took slow, long strides further into the house and checked out his surroundings. Everything seemed so different now that he had his memory back. And knowing Amu, this was definitely not the kind of wall color she would want. "So, I was just sitting in my apartment when I realized that I know barely anything about you! Care to answer a few questions?" He asked innocently after Amu sat back down on the couch. He remained standing.

She shook her head. "Not at all." Of course she found it weird how someone would drive all that way just to ask a couple questions, but she got the feeling now wasn't the best time to point something like that out.

He smiled. A little too innocently. "Good. First question: How old are you?" 22 he answered in his head.

"Twenty-two."

"Interesting. Now, what's your favorite color?" Pink.

Amu sent him an odd look but answered anyway. "Pink."

He nodded. So far she was passing, which meant he definitely did regain his memory. "Okay, what's your favorite fruit?" Strawberries, though, technically they aren't a fruit.

"Strawberries."

The young adult hummed, nodding to her response. "Pretty good answers so far." He commented, glancing her way. "Now, earlier you told me that your first date with Yoru's father was at an amusement park, correct?"

Palms beginning to sweat nervously, Amu nodded slowly, wondering what all these questions were building up to.

"And he was the only person you've dated?"

She nodded again silently.

Ikuto stopped pacing and stood in front of Amu, his fake smile slowly fading. "Well, that's all just great. Now, here's what I came here to ask: Who's the father of your son, Yoru?" He asked, dangerously low, watching her facial expression change.

Amu opened her mouth to reply but closed it again. He was on to something, she knew it. But, she didn't want to lie anymore. She couldn't keep hiding the truth from him. Before she could answer, he continued.

"Oh, wait! I already know the answer to that!" Ikuto exclaimed with a forced laugh. "It's me!"

Those two words made the pinkette's heart nearly stop beating as she forgot how to breath. "...Wh-what are you-"

"Oh, Amu, enough." He groaned while shaking his head. "I remember everything. And the answers you provided just now, make my assumptions about Yoru being my son correct. First of all: I took you to the amusement park on our first date. Secondly: I'm the only person you've dated. And also, Yoru looks identical to me! I noticed it instantly, but refused to look too much into it since I apparently hadn't met you before! Which I believed, thanks to you and your spectacular lying skills."

Seeing him like this made Amu's heart shatter. She knew he was in pain and she yearned to let him know the truth. To tell him that as much as she wanted him to be apart of Yoru's life, it could never have happened. "Ikuto, it's not what you think-"

"'Not what I think'?" Ikuto repeated with a scoff. "I think I've missed out on my son's life! Sure, most people wouldn't see what the big deal is, since he's only four and he's got many more years to come. But I missed out on all the important things! Like his first words, when he was just learning to walk, the pregnancy, his first birthday, his first day of school- everything! I'm not even recognizable as a relative to him. To him, I...I'm just a stranger." He shook his head, cold eyes boring holes through Amu's skull.

"And it's because of you. Because you were put under too much pressure when I was the one who had the brain tumor. I had to go through it alone while you ran off with your precious Tadase to live a wonderful life out here without even stopping to have a second thought about me. And I bet you knew, even before you left, that you were pregnant, yet you refused to tell me because that would create a reason for you to stick around."

Ikuto sunk down into an armchair and held his head in his hands, taking deep breaths to calm him down. It wasn't like him to explode in anger, but when years of missing memories suddenly came flooding back, it was hard to keep anything bottled up inside.

At this point, Amu couldn't make eye contact with him. What he was saying was so.. true. So true that it hurt. It pained her to know that she could've stood her ground and stayed in Tokyo to support Ikuto through everything. That way he could've been around in the earlier stages of Yoru's life.

"I want Yoru."

Amu's head snapped up, her wide eyes instantly looking at Ikuto. "What?"

Ikuto closed his eyes and sighed. "I want custody over Yoru."

Knock knock

Custody? Amu didn't want to imagine what it would be like without her son around. Even if it was just for a couple of days a week. Knowing how Ikuto was, Amu had a good feeling he was talking about full custody, not shared. She couldn't let him take her son away from him.

It took a moment, but Amu finally stood up and opened the door, letting Yoru fly inside, immediately rambling on about his visit to Miki's house.

"... but then we had to hide under the sink before her brother could find us, or we- Uncle Ikuto!" He exclaimed with a grin, running over to give Ikuto the biggest hug he could muster. "I missed you so much."

Ikuto smiled softly at the boy. "I missed you too." Now as he looked at him, Ikuto couldn't help but feel like this was a completely different boy than the last time they were together. This was his son, not just some random person's kid.

"What are you doing here?" Yoru asked curiously, his large eyes gazing up at his dad.

Amu and Ikuto sent glances in each other's direction. It'd be hard to suddenly drop the bomb on Yoru, telling him that Ikuto was his dad. The young boy probably wouldn't understand right away, or be confused as to why nobody had mentioned it earlier.

"Well..." Ikuto began slowly, kneeling in front of Yoru. "I've actually come here to ask you something." He stated. Yoru nodded, impatiently urging him to continue.

This sparked Amu's attention, instantly thinking of all the possible questions that could be asked.

"Do you want to come live with me in Tokyo?"

The pinkette's breaths became shallow as her eyes widened. He couldn't be taken away from her. She needed her son to be in her life, in her house, and not in a different city.

Yoru automatically looked over at his mom, then frowned as he turned back to Ikuto. "Can mommy come with us?"

Truth be told, Amu hated that idea even more, and she could tell Ikuto felt the same way as he glanced over at her and scratched his neck.

"Uh..."

"Please!" Yoru begged, clutching onto Ikuto's hand. "I can't go anywhere without mom! Please, please, please can she come too?"

The older blue-haired male was silent as he and his son had a staring contest. Letting Amu move in too would mean having to be around her 24/7. But if she didn't go then there was no way Yoru would want to leave Seiyo.

Ikuto exhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. "Alright, she can come too." He replied reluctantly.

Amu just knew she didn't get a say in this. She couldn't bring herself to say no, just because she knew that now wasn't the time to be selfish. Slowly, she nodded. "Okay... sure, I will."

Almost as soon as she agreed to the unbelievable plan, she regretted it. It was hard enough being in the same room as him, but living with Ikuto? That was a whole new story. Especially since Kazuomi would soon find out about it. But that was at the bottom of the pinkette's concerns. She found it hard to believe that she would be moved back to the big city in a number of days and have to share an apartment with a man that hated her.

Amu rolled her eyes. She could hardly wait.

I'm so excited! I finally, and I mean FINALLY got my time table for school! Whoot! I'm gonna be taking on two language classes and English honors! Ooh I wonder if we'll be writing short stories again! I love it when we do! So, here's a question for you, what are you looking forward to most about school? I'd have to say my German teacher. Oh gosh, he's the funniest guy around.