Hey guys! Sorry this took a while for me to update. I've been busy doing nothing. Yeah... I know. First day of school tomorrow! So I might not update in a while, judging by the amount of homework I get this week. Next chapter will have some improvement in Ikuto and Amu's relationship!

Chapter 15

The way Utau went on and on about some hot guy at work made Kukai want to slice his ears off. He was beginning to regret the day Utau got a new job, especially since this Tamaki guy worked there too.

The brunette had been Utau's slave for so long, he had lost track. And now he wanted freedom more than ever.

He sat on the couch – rather, a pile of clothes on the couch – beside Utau, and continued painting her toenails a vibrant purple that matched her eyes. He was beginning to wonder if she'd notice if he started painting her leg instead. That was unlikely since she was still sharing news that Kukai could care less about.

"...not to mention the way his hair swoops in front of his eyes while he's talking to you." Utau sighed dreamily while placing her hands on her chest, batting her eyelashes.

Kukai tried not to gag as he cleared his throat. Standing up from the couch, he wandered into the kitchen to grab something to eat from the fridge. Wrinkling his nose up in disgust, his emerald eyes scanned the shelves of old milk, empty egg cartons and vegetables. He decided on a piece of celery and sat back down.

"Are you sure you want to be a waitress?" Kukai asked in hopes of changing the subject. "I mean... you could be in fashion designing or... or anything you want! You can do so much better than serving people their food and taking orders!"

Utau took this into thought as she gazed up at the ceiling. "'Fashion Designer'?" She repeated, placing her finger on her chin. "I've never thought of that. Oh! I do have a few sketches!" She announced, throwing herself off the couch and into her room.

She came back within a number of seconds with a sketchbook in hand. "Check this out." She said while whipping it open and placing it on Kukai's lap. Her finger was eagerly tapping on a picture of a wedding dress.

Kukai's eyes slowly widened in amazement at the sight of the image. It was clear that she had been working on the design for quite some time.. maybe even a few years. It had so much detail to it. He could definitely see that being a hit in all bridal shops.

"That's... unbelievable, Utau." He commented, still transfixed with the picture to notice Utau's eyes widen as her face colored.

"Y-you said my name." She pointed out. "You never say my name."

Kukai honestly didn't see what the big deal was as he looked over at her, resisting the urge to shrug. "Yeah.. I guess I did." He said uncomfortably, still not knowing what the significance was of such a little thing.

Utau, however, was about to have a panic attack. To members of the female species, if a boy who was important to them said their name, it'd feel like they were racing up a rainbow, landing on cloud nine. Not that males would ever understand this, though.

"Have you ever considered going to a fashion school-type-thing?" Kukai questioned while scanning the few pages that had sketches engraved on them.

The blond instantly shook her head, laughing as she picked the book back up and put it in her room. "It's just a … hobby, I guess you could say. If anything, I'd want to be a singer." She replied, resting on the couch once again, propping her legs up on Kukai's lap so he could finish painting her nails.

Kukai nodded, understanding what she meant. "I think you'd be able to do whatever you set your mind to." He said honestly, looking back over at her.

After a brief minute that felt like an eternity to her, Utau broke the eye-contact before she could blush again. "Oh, that reminds me! Tamaki said that there was this bar he knew of that allows anyone to sing or tell jokes at!" She exclaimed happily. "I know I'd be able to trust his word." She then giggled again at the thought of him. "He's just so... amaz-"

"I have to go." Kukai's teeth clenched together in irritation as he set the nail polish down, jumping off of the sofa towards the door.

"Hey, hey!" The blond called out, "You're my slave until I dismiss you."

Grip tightening around the doorknob, the brunette whipped around to glare at Utau. "No, I'm tired of being your slave just because I beat you at poker 'cause you suck at it. Get over yourself. Don't expect me to always be there to do everything you're too lazy to do! Yeah, I know this is surprising coming from me, but I'm not the happy-go-lucky person that has no depth, even though I appear to be. I'm a person too, who has feelings. I'm tired of you never respecting me and I'm also tired of hearing about your precious Tamaki. If he's as amazing as he sounds, go push him around." He then threw open the door and disappeared out of sight, leaving a speechless blond behind.

"...Ku-Kukai..." She spoke softly as her hand reached out to grab nothing. That was the first time she had ever seen him without a smile on his face.

oOo

Amu found herself sitting in the middle of the zoo on an uncomfortable wooden bench next to Kazuomi. Yoru had gone to the washroom with Ikuto just minutes earlier, leaving the two alone in an awkward silence.

When Yoru first found out about Ikuto being his father, he was at first confused, and asked why no one had told him before. Other then that, he had reacted pretty well and was instantly excited to learn that he had a dad after all. Kazuomi, on the other hand, was not happy. He had said that when he first met Yoru in Seiyo, he refused to even think of the possibility of him being his step-grandson.

Clearly he wasn't all that fond of the new discovery.

It was hard to believe something could get any more awkward than that moment-of-truth hour. But, that thought was corrected when Amu found herself at the zoo on that bench. No one spoke a word. No one wanted to.

It being his first time to the big city and since he would now be living there, Yoru wanted to visit all the fun places. He had finally decided on going to the zoo to see all the animals he had only seen in pictures. Being the kind-hearted boy he was, Yoru instantly invited his grandpa to come along to share the exciting experience. Kazuomi couldn't exactly refuse the invitation.

"Mom, mom!" Yoru called, letting go of Ikuto's hand and bouncing over to Amu after returning from the washroom. "We passed the giraffes!" He squealed in excitement.

"No way!" Amu exclaimed, getting an energetic nod out of Yoru before she found herself being pulled off of the bench. Her son clutched her hand and reached out for Ikuto's too, smiling bashfully to himself at the realization that he had two parents like everyone else.

The small boy pulled the two over to the turtle cage, where he let go of their hands and tugged at Kazuomi's shirt, trying to get his attention. "Look, grandpa! Look at that one!" He pointed to one that was stuck on it's back, incapable of getting back up. "That's you." He giggled.

Kazuomi sent him a look. "Watch it."

Yoru nodded in response, baring a proud smile. "His shell is his tough exterior, but inside he's a softy!"

The grandpa rose an eyebrow at the younger boy. "How are you so smart?" His eyes then flickered in Ikuto's direction. "Well, I know who you inherited that from." He said quietly to himself.

Spotting the lions, Yoru took off in an instant, yanking Kazuomi along with him, leaving Amu, once again, alone with someone who hated her guts.

It was bad enough living with the guy, but being forced to spend the day out with Ikuto was something Amu would rather not do. She felt trapped. She couldn't go home, because that would mean losing Yoru. Who was she kidding? The place she now called 'home' was Ikuto's apartment. She couldn't even leave the house without Ikuto assuming she was running away.

Tokyo wasn't a place that held good memories, that was for sure. Amu just wanted to return to Seiyo. She had been in Tokyo for about a week now and that was plenty of time for her. Not to mention she wanted to have her own bed back. Yeah, she shared one with Ikuto. The awkwardness level had lowered somewhat since the first night, but it was still uncomfortable having to share the same bed as him.

But, she was doing it for Yoru. She wanted him to have a loving family, because he deserved to have one. Meaning Amu had to swallow her pride and pretend that things were fine between her and Ikuto, even if it was the opposite.

She awkwardly gazed down at the jacket she was holding in her hand, belonging to Yoru. Just when she was about to make up an excuse to leave, Ikuto spoke.

"We should start looking for schools for him." He stated while watching his son carefully.

This caught Amu's attention. She looked over at the male beside her, bewildered. "Wh-what?"

She was almost positive she saw him roll his eyes. "He needs to go back to school, right? It's already September, so school would've started by now. Plus it'd be a way of keeping you two here, so you won't run away again." He glanced over at her when he said the last part, making Amu instantly look away.

She wanted him to know why she left. The truth. But at the same time, she didn't want to blame it all on Kazuomi, even if it meant Ikuto having the wrong impression on her. She tried to convince herself that she didn't care.

But at the same time, she knew differently. Her heart ached to have the relationship they once had.

So I've decided to ask another question 'cause I love learning more about you guys! Haha

Q: What movie would you say is a classic for you? (One that you could watch over and over and it's still amazing)

My answer would be You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. It's such an awesome movie, words can't describe. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it entirely! I was even watching it while typing this chapter, in all honesty. Haha _ Yeeeaaah I'm cool like that.