Disclaimer: Neither the Shugo Chara! anime or manga belongs to me.
A/N: Long time no update! :D I'm terribly sorry about that, I was planning to updated yesterday (*brag brag* my birthday was yesterday [9/25] :3) but I didn't have enough time to - again, sorry. But this chapter is extra long so I hope this makes up for it :D
Shout out to Hinamori Amu! HAPPY - early - BIRTHDAY! (Her birthday is on 9/27. I typed this on 9/26)
Just to notify you, the next chapter will be the last! Yes yes I know, let's hold in the tears. ANYWAYS, I hope you enjoy ~
Chapter 18 Amu POV
'Look look!' I said happily. Behind Kukai, I could see the amusement park. We were finally here, The Yuuenchi. Why was I so excited? I don't know, maybe I was just glad that we could go have fun instead of being all awkward on the bus.
As soon as the doors opened, I ran out of the bus. Kukai just walked slowly and calmly out. Compared to him, I looked like some rabid animal. I looked up at the sky and stretched. The sun was shining, a few clouds in the sky, and a few birds flying - perfect weather for a date.
'Come on Amu,' Kukai said a few feet in front of me, 'if you linger around like that, we'll never get to go on all the rides.'.
I ran up to him and took his hand while he dragged me to the ticket station. Now that I think about it, I'm glad we came here so early. It was better to come to the park early and not have to wait in line than to come here during noon and have to wait in line for hours. The line for the ticket booth was fairly long, but it only took about 5 minutes to get a ticket.
'2 tickets please.' Kukai said. I looked up at the sign above the booth and checked for the ticket prices.
One kid ticket (3-9 years old) is $35 and an adult ticket (10+ years old) is $40. $80 for the both of us? Dang. Tickets, why you so expensive?
I looked over at Kukai and saw that he kept a straight face. Where did he get this money from? I decided not to worry about it too much and stared down at my feet.
'Lets go!' Kukai said while grinning. He took my hand and started dragging me away again. As I left the ticket booth, I saw the cashier lady wink and smile at me. I felt the heat rise up to my face as I continued walking. A few people in the line smiled as well when they saw me blush. I guess they like a good love story, go figure.
As soon as you enter the park, you can see all the rides and stores. In the middle of the entire park, there is a ginormous dragon. Mouth open, whiskers out, and in a fighting pose. Visitors would often take pictures in front of the dragon. To the right were all the thrill rides - The Whirlpool, Possessed, and Snake. To the left were some other rides - like Ring Around, Tornado, and Hammer. (Weird names I know. I don't know how came up with the ride's names, but whoever did - excellent job.)
'Where to first?' I asked, still looking at all the rides.
'Hmm.. where do you want to go?' he asked me, still holding my hand.
'Um, how about Hammer?' I said randomly. Truth is, I randomly picked the ride closest to the entrance.
'Okay! To Hammer we go!' Kukai said happily. Still not letting go of my hand, he dragged me down the steps. I really hope he lets go - I'm pretty sure my hands were all sweaty now.
We only had to walk a few minutes before we got the ride. As we walked up to the giant hammer-like ride, I looked up and saw a few people sitting in their seats jumping up and down nervously. Well of course they would be nervous, I would be too if I was up there. I've went on this ride before, but every time I do, it feels like I was just thrown, shook, and blasted in every direction by a gigantic monster.
The red lights went off and the person who was running the ride started pressing buttons in the control room. He put on his loud speaker and said, 'Please put all your belongings in the cubby hole on your left if you have not done so. Please keep all hands and feet in the ride and make sure your belt is securely fastened. The ride will now begin.'
There were a few whistles and hoots from the guys in the front of the ride and then they were off. First, the cart when straight, then up a hill, back down and made 3 loops. Around and around they went. Up, down, sideways, around, and back. Everyone was screaming, hair flying, arms up in the air. When the cart finally came back, everyone looked dazed.
'WHOO!' yelled the guys in the front, 'BEST. RIDE. EVER!'. They got out of the carts and started walking towards the cubby holes that held their belongings. One guy in the group fell and facepalmed the floor while the others laughed. I let out a giggle or two before I got in the cart.
The announcer said his usual chorus after rapidly pressing buttons. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. To my right, Kukai was smiling while staring at me. His smile widened when I blushed. Kukai took my hand and squeezed it. '3..2..' He started to say.
'1.' I said when the cart started moving.
'Enjoy the ride!' the announcer said over the loud speaker.
We were sitting on one of the tables in the Cafeteria. It was a huge place, at least 50 tables and 20 different food choices. By now it was already afternoon and we had already gone on all the rides (Don't even ask for the details...)
I was munching on a ham & cheese sandwich when Kukai said, 'Can I have a bite?' with a smirk on his face.
'Yeah sure.' I replied while chewing. I put out my hand that was holding the sandwich and waited for him to take a bite. Kukai blushed as he took a small bite at the corner. 'Oh come on, take a bigger bite.'. I shoved the sandwich in his mouth and made him chew.
While chewing, he was half blushing and half pouting like a little kid. I tried to stop myself from giggling, but pretty soon I was at my limits. I burst out laughing as he wiped his ketchup-stained mouth.
'W-what?' he asked while blushing madly.
'N-n..' I said while laughing, 'nothing!'. I don't know why, but being with Kukai made me happy, calm, and relaxed. I felt like I could be myself and maybe even act a little spoiled.
'Hmph.' He replied while looking away - still pouting and blushing. Awh, so kawaii.
'Did you hear about the festival?' I heard a girl passing by say.
'Yeah, I think it starts in about 15 minutes!' her friend replied.
'Then let's go! I don't want to miss it!' the girl said. They both went out the door.
I looked over at Kukai and saw him smiling. 'So, want to go to the festival?' he asked.
'Ladies and gentlemen! We have a winnnnnnnnnnnneeerrrr!' the guy yelled while ringing a bell. 'What would you like?'
'Umm...,' I said with my pointer finger on my chin, 'can I have that bear?'
'Of course, anything for the lady.' the guy replied. He cut the rope that was hanging the panda bear and gave it to me.
It was about 8:15PM now. We had looked through the stands and decided to try out 'BOOM!'. (Yet another cheesy name.) You had to throw the baseball and try to hit all the bottles that were stacked pyramid style. Somehow, Kukai had thrown the ball and knocked down all the bottles even though the two grown men next to us couldn't. Now that I think about it, it makes sense since Kukai is an athlete and all.
'One more thing,' the guy said to us, 'here's a ticket, you can put in the box over there and enter a drawing. Whoever's name is on this ticket will be the king or queen of the festival!'. He gave us a ticket and pointed to the box up at the Central Stage.
At the Yuuenchi, there was a place called Central Stage. The workers would preform everyday and whoever wanted to see could sit on the benches.
I looked to where he was pointing and sure enough, there was 2 gigantic box on the side of the stage. One read 'Queen' in pink, and the other 'King', but in blue. The manager for the stand gave a pen to me.
'Who's name should I write?' I asked while looking over at Kukai. The whole time we were at the festival, he was smiling. Just like me.
'Yours of course.' he said.
'Okay,' I replied. I wrote down my name on the ticket and returned the pen to the guy. 'where to next?'.
'Well, there's an ice-cream stand over there..' Kukai said while pointing to a stand nearby.
My face lit up as he said that. (I. Love. Ice-cream.) 'Come on then!' I said while smiling. I took his hand and started walking to the stand.
To my disappointment, the line was rather...long.
'Do you still want to wait?' Kukai asked when he saw the line.
'I don't want to waste time, but I want ice-cream.' I said while pouting.
'Then you better get in the back of line!' he replied. Kukai led me over to the back of the line and just stood there. Waiting.
I felt kind of guilty. We could've been doing something else - like playing at more game stands or going on the ferris wheel. Instead, I'm making Kukai wait here, just for a measly ice-cream cone.
'S-sorry..' I said while looking down at my feet.
'No no, it's okay. I want an ice-cream cone too!' he said while laughing. I laughed with him. 'But this line is rather long..'. Kukai went on his tippy-toes and tried to count how many people were in front of us.
I went on my tippy-toes as well, but being as short as I am, I couldn't even see pass the person in front of me. I felt something in my hand. Something ..paper-like. I looked down at my free hand (aka the hand that wasn't holding the ginormous panda bear.) and sure enough, there was a piece of folded paper in my palm.
I looked around to see if I could see the person who put in my hand. No one suspicious looking. I looked up at Kukai and saw that he was still trying to count how many people were in line. I folded the paper in my hand.
Meet me at 8:30PM behind the stage. Make sure to come alone. Don't tell Kukai about this.
What..? Who sent me this? How did this person know that I was with Kukai? Why would they send me this note?
I quickly refolded the piece of paper and stuffed it in my pocket before Kukai could see. As if on cue, Kukai stopped counting and looked at me.
'38 people!' he said, 'Who knew there would be so many ice-cream lovers?'.
I nodded while hugging my new bear. 'Hey,' I said, 'do you know what time it is?'.
'Hm, let me see.' Kukai took out his phone and checked for the time. '8:25. Why? Do you need to be home by a certain time?'.
'No no, I was just asking.' I said. That means I need to meet up with the person who gave me the paper in 5 minutes. I'm feeling uneasy about this...what if it's some old creepy guy? What if it's a kidnapper? Man, I'm paranoid.
But I need to find out who this mysterious person is...
'Hey, can you please hold this for a moment?' I said while handing Kukai the bear, 'I need to go to the restroom.'. I felt bad that I was lying to Kukai, but what else could I do?
'Sure. I'll be waiting!' Kukai said, still smiling. I nodded and started heading for the stage.
Who was this person anyway? Why did he/she have to send me a note? What is going on?
It was hard to get to the stage with millions of people crowding around you. Lot's of tall people. Why did I have to be so dang short?
Soon enough, I got the back of the stage and looked around for the person.
'H-hello?' I said.
'So you actually came,' I heard a figure say. It was definitely a guy. Tall, a little bit on the skinny side, back facing me. 'You know Amu, you should't ditch your date for a meeting with a stranger. Actually, I guess I don't count as I stranger do I?'.
The man turned around, showing me his face.
'I-Ikuto?!' I said.
A/N: You like it? :3 I hope so! I know - you probably all hate me because this is a cliffy, but I can't help it! I love suspense and stuff like that.
Just to put it out there, this series is about to end - thank you very much to all my fans who followed, favorited, reviewed - but, you can still keep in touch with me! You can email me at hinamohinahina (at yahoo)! We could have a little talk (I don't know, maybe become friends? :3), work on a new story together, or you could give me some ideas and I could try to make a story out of it! Who knows, I'm just putting this out there. So guest viewers, if you want to email me or something - you are most welcome!