Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara

-Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait and thanks to everyone for all the reviews : )

-This chapter has Ikuto in it now too

-It centers more on the other characters first then goes over to Amu and Ikuto later on

-Thanks for listening to all that, now on with the story!

Ikuto and Amu Encounter Each Other

It was horrible. The pain, the tears, all of it. Amu was lying on her bed and Dia was once again there watching after her. This time though, it wasn't just Dia. Everyone had wanted to watch over Amu. All of them had decided to stay in her room, which was the biggest one so they had no problem fitting. Amu laid down on the bed and she hasn't spoken a word since last night. She was currently asleep and the others all finished work early so that they'll be able to watch after her.

"Poor Amu-chan…." Whispered Ran "She's been so quiet and she hasn't eaten anything yet…."

"Leave her be for now Ran, we'll get her to eat later when she wakes up." Said Nagihiko, but in reality Nagihiko knew that Amu wasn't in a good state.

"Nagi, what are we supposed to do? What happened last night, don't you think it was crossing the line?" asked Dia, all of them knew it was more than just crossing the line.

"Yes I know, but interfering would have…" before Nagihiko could have finished, Rima was able to cut him off already.

"I know! Everyone knows! If we interfere Amu will just get hurt even more! But we have to stop using that as some excuse to just sit here and do nothing, because if we keep staying like this it's bound to get worse at some point!" Rima was loosing it, she was on the verge of tears again. She could no longer handle the fact that her closest friend was getting hurt and all she's done was sit on the sidelines.

"Rima-chan…" started Dia "Please be clam, Amu-chan isn't going to like seeing you like this when she wakes up."

"And you think I like seeing her like this when I'm awake?" asked Rima and now tears were falling from her eyes.

"Listen to her, she's right. You're not the only one who suffers from seeing her this way, but you have to understand." Said Nagihiko

"Even if we do want to get her out of here, how? We've got no authority over these guys." Said Miki, she was trying to stay calm.

"And then what? We just sit here and watch her get hurt every time?" asked Rima

"I don't think that's it~desu. We just have to think things through first." Said Su

"Rima-chan you have to clam down. Did you ever think that if we make a wrong move it would also end up hurting Amu-chan?" asked Dia

"…" Rima stayed silent for a moment and she could no longer fight it. She made a break for it and bolted out of the room.

"Rima-chan…" muttered Ran as she watched their friend leave the room.

"I'll go ahead and try to talk to her about it, we should all understand how she feels. Amu-chan was the first friend she's ever had." Said Nagihiko "I feel just about the same way too. Amu-chan and I have been together as friends for such a long time now. Just sitting here and thinking about the fact that I couldn't do anything for her makes e feel like some kind of friend…."

"Nagi….we feel that way too. We want to help Amu-chan too but…" started Ran

"Yes I know, thinking things through. We need to think before we act, or else we'd be putting Amu-chan back in the same situation one and the same." Said Nagihiko

"You should go after Rima-chan, she might be lonely on her own." Advised Dia once no one was talking again.

"Of course, that would be best for now. Please watch after Amu-chan here, I'll be back, and with Rima-chan with me if possible." Said Nagihiko

The others nodded in reply as Nagihiko soon left the room. As Nagihiko left, all the others were consumed by one thought, all that's happened last night came flooding back into their heads and as much as they didn't like it, they couldn't help but remember. They looked over at Amu's sleeping figure and remembered the most horrible night of their lives….

Flashback….Last Night…

Amu and the others were inside their rooms when the bell of the mansion suddenly rang. They all got up when they heard the sound and headed for the door. Dia walked ahead to open the door while Amu and the others stayed a bit further.

"She must be back." Hissed Rima

"Rima she didn't do anything to me okay? Please don't be so angry…" said Amu

"That doesn't mean she won't do anything to you Amu, she's unpredictable at times remember? And I don't mean that in a good way." Said Rima icily

Amu sighed and waited for Dia to come back, she just didn't know how right Rima was at the time, but she was about to find out. Soon enough, Dia came back, and lest to say, she wasn't happy.
"Dia? Daijobu? What's wrong?" asked Amu as she looked at her friend's face

"Amu-chan you have to go, stay away from Saaya." Said Dia urgently

"Nani? Why? What happened, is she mad?" asked Amu

"Hai, she's angry and she's angry at you." Said Dia and Amu's eyes soon turned into wide shock and Rima's too.

"You have got to be kidding me! Angry at Amu again? What about this time?" asked Rima angrily

"I don't know, she didn't say. But she was looking for you Amu-chan and her voice was so cold and harsh. She's going to head for your room soon." Said Dia and she was beginning to panic

"Dia matte, I'm sure there has to be some kind of misunderstanding. Why would she suddenly be angry at me?" asked Amu

"Who knows, but right now don't bother finding out Amu, she's after you and that's that. This could turn out bad. Let's head for the room and tell the others and let's make it quick too." Said Rima

"She's right. You have to hurry Amu-chan or she'll get there before you do, she's furious." Said Dia

Amu simply nodded and she and Rima made a run for it back to the room where all the others were. Nagihiko was the first one who noticed that something seemed to be off and he knew that it was not going to be a good thing.

"Amu-chan what's the matter?" asked Nagihiko as he got up from his earlier sitting position.

"She's back. She's mad again, and it looks like she's about to take it out on Amu." Said Rima who answered quickly

"Nani?!? She's mad again?" asked Ran frantically "Where's Dia?"

"She was the one who told us Saaya was angry and it looked to me like she was dead serious." Said Rima

"Ah, and what reason does she have to be angry this time?" asked Nagihiko as he was trying to stay calm

"No clue, but it's not good." Said Rima

"What did I do this time?" asked Amu

"I'm sure you didn't do anything Amu-chan, she just wants to take it out on you like always." Said Miki sternly

"We have to stop her~desu. Amu-chan can't get hurt, she isn't even fully healed from the last one yet." Said Su

"But how…" before Ran could ask another question Saaya had burst into the room with Dia right behind her. Dia looked over at them with fear in her eyes and Nagihiko knew what was coming.

"Saaya-san…you've returned." Said Nagihiko

"Don't you dare give me that tone!" she shrieked at them

Nagihiko winced and so did some of the others. "Is something the matter?" asked Nagihiko again. He was trying to ignore everything right now.

"Don't you dare ask me what's wrong! You know exactly what's wrong!" boomed Saaya "How dare you keep it from me!"

"What did we keep from you?" asked Rima and it came out a bit colder and harsher than she would have intended to

"Do you know what happened to me today? I went to town to see if my prince was there and I find out from a friend that he's been here! How do you think that occurred to me?" she shrieked at them

All of them stood there frozen shocked. How could she have found out? That was the only thing that they thought of. They would have never guessed that Saaya would find out about the visit and now they knew why she was angry.

"But Saaya-san…we were just…" as Nagihiko was about to defend themselves he was rudely cut off.

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses! Amu you will hear from my mother immediately!" said Saaya as she pulled Amu by the hand and was leading her away.

"Wait!" called Ran and this made Saaya stop "Please, don't hurt Amu-chan anymore, she didn't do anything wrong!"

"That's right~desu, we were all responsible for keeping it from you." Said Su

"Saaya-san please, we deserve the punishment, Amu-chan has had enough. She's already been hurt and her wounds have not yet been fully healed, so please…" Dia was practically begging for Saaya to let Amu go

"You must take so much pity on her then, but that isn't going to change my mind. After we took care of her and fed her! She would dare to keep things from me!" countered Saaya

"You never took care of her." Muttered Rima

They all continued to stare at Saaya and anger started to boil inside all of them, even with Nagihiko. Amu on the other hand just stood frozen in her place, she didn't know whether she should be angry about what Saaya had said, or be scared at what was coming. Before anything else could happen, another person entered the scene.

"Saaya what are you yelling abut for goodness's sakes!" that voice belonged to Lady Yamabuki and she was also getting furious "I could hear you all the way from my room, now what is going on!"

"Mother! This, this filthy girl, she kept things from us!" yelled Saaya furiously

This seemed to catch Lady Yamabukis interest so she asked "Kept things? Amu? Like what?"

"The prince and the princess were both here yesterday! They never told us didn't they? They lied! I had to find that out the hard way!" said Saaya

Lady Yamabuki looked over at Dia and asked "Is this true? Were they here yesterday?"

"Well….yes…" muttered Dia silently, she knew she couldn't lie

"And why did you keep it from us? Did you think we wouldn't find out? Well? Did you?!?" asked Lady Yamabuki

"Yamabuki-sama we didn't mean to…." Dia wasn't able to finish her sentence because…

SLAP!

She got a slap in the face. Dia looked wide-eyed and so did all the others. "I told you not to do anything that would earn you such punishments didn't I?" asked Lady Yamabuki

She soon turned to Amu and spoke "You are coming with me, and the rest of you will stay here is that clear?" she asked the others

Nagihiko couldn't take keeping silent so he spoke up "Please Yamabuki-sama if there's anyone here who needs the punishment it should be me. Please don't hurt Amu-chan anymore!"

"Silence! I do not want to hear any more of your complains. I don't care if you think she doesn't deserve it, my house my rules!" and with that Lady Yamabuki, Saaya and Amu went out the door. Amu was practically dragged out.

All of them were silent and soon Dia dropped on her knees and tears were falling from her eyes. The others were about to cry too. "Dia-chan, it's not your fault." Comforted Nagihiko

"That's right, none of us knew they would find out." Said Miki, but she too was on the verge of tears

"We shouldn't have kept it from them." Said Ran "But we didn't think they'd find out either."

"Gossip spreads like wildfire around town. We should have known it would have ended up like this." Said Rima

All of them were silent….not knowing what happened to Amu, and it was far worse than they have ever imagined…

Amu walked, or was most likely dragged into the room. As she got in, it only took mere minutes before her skin made contact with the whip. She squinted because this time the pain did twice the damage, because the whip not only made new wounds but also hit her old ones.

"This is how you repay your stay here? How dare you!" exclaimed Lady Yamabuki angrily

Amu didn't know what happened but her stubborn yet strong side caught up so she spoke "You never even took care of me!"

"You wretched child! I should have thrown you out when I had the chance!" said Lady Yamabuki angrily

"Why do you hate me so much anyway? What did I ever do to you?" asked Amu and now she couldn't stop her tears, she didn't know if it was because of the pain she was having or just the fact that she felt weak and helpless but it didn't matter much right now.

Lady Yamabuki answered "Why? You're of no use to me! Ever since your father died you were never worth it. Saaya is my only priority in this house and you kept getting in the way!"

"That was never my fault!" retorted Amu, she didn't know what kept her talking but she just couldn't easily stop.

"Be quiet!" with that said, another hit had approached her.

The hits continued, and the pain got much worse. Soon, Saaya also entered the room and she had a pair of scissors with her. Amu looked at Saaya shocked, she didn't know why Saaya was here or what the scissors were for, but she knew it wasn't good.

"Mother, I'd like to have a little talk with Amu if you please…" hissed Saaya as she looked over at Amu's direction.

"Hmp, call me soon Saaya." Lady Yamabuki soon went out the door leaving Saaya and Amu alone in the room.

"Well would you look at that Amu, we're all alone now." Said Saaya. She got closer to Amu and this time she spoke colder "You filthy, useless commoner!" then she slapped her cross the face.

Amu stepped back, but as Saaya got closer to land another hit, Amu had reached the limit of the room and was leaning on the wall. "You ruin everything for me! You, you're nobody!" after saying this Saaya took out the scissors and had attempted to cut Amu's hair.

She failed, but Amu paid the price. Saaya was only able to trim out o very small portion of her hair. Amu turned around before the scissors were able to make any contact with her hair, but as she turned, they instead made contact with skin. Amu used her hand to cover her face after she turned her head.

The scissors made contact with her soft skin and it was sharper than she thought. The scratch went straight from her hand and almost reaching to her shoulder. Saaya was waiting for Amu to scream but none came. Once Saaya glanced over at Amu she saw that Amu wasn't screaming, but tears were falling from her eyes, but she refused to scream.

Saaya saw the blood emerging from Amu's cut arm and she was disgusted by it. "Get out. Out of this room now, I don't even want to look at you."

Amu simply complied, she gave Saaya a glance, more of a glare no less, but she still walked away. Once out of the room, Amu headed to her room. She soon saw her friends there, all looking at her wide eyed. Before any of them could talk, Amu felt weak and numb, and that's when it took over. He body could no longer take it…and she fainted….that marked the end of the night as Amu had remembered….

End of Flashback….

Rima was thinking of the same incident as well as all the others. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing. It was horrible, Amu looked disastrous, and she couldn't take it. Once Amu had fainted they did everything they could to stop all the wounds from bleeding. And then they rested her on her bed to sleep. Once Amu had woken up, she didn't utter a word and she didn't even eat, and it pained them all to see that.

"Rima-chan, how are you doing?" Rima turned around and saw Nagihiko there

"What's it to you?" she asked him while turning away

"Listen Rima-chan, everyone is worried about you and they're also worried with Amu-chan." Started Nagihiko "I…I myself am worried about her."

Rima stared at him for a while as he continued "Ne Rima-chan, do you remember when you used to fight with me to see who Amu-chan's best friend was?" he asked and Rima just nodded still not getting where this was going.

"Well, you know, you've been a very good friend to Amu-chan. Maybe even better than I ever was." Said Nagihiko

Rima's eyes widened and she was shocked. Nagihiko had met Amu way before she did…so why was he admitting this to her now? "What are you talking about? You've been with her since your diaper days."

"True, but that was when I was Nedeshiko. Not as Nagihiko. I was a girl back then, when I could still act like a girl and express my feelings as one. I'm a guy now, I can't cry a lot as to show how I feel and I can't relate to any more of Amu-chan's girl problems like I used to." Said Nagihiko

"But you were Amu's best friend before I came along." Said Rima "I became like a third wheel between you two."

"Wrong. Ever since I revealed that I was a guy, Amu-chan had no one else to share her problems to directly when I wasn't around." Said Nagihiko "I was very thankful when you and Amu-chan got closer."

"Nagi…" whispered Rima

"Rima-chan, you're a true friend to Amu and I like that about you. And you worry me." Said Nagihiko "So please cheer up, for all of us?"

Rima blushed deep crimson and then she spoke "Alright, I'm sorry….I was just…"

"Yes, you were worried and I don't hold you responsible for that, you need not worry." Said Nagihiko with a smile "Now come on Rima-chan, I'm sure Amu-chan will be looking for us once she's wide awake."

Nagihiko offered a hand and Rima took it willingly. She walked with Nagihiko back inside and spoke "Arigatou Nagi…." She told him

Nagihiko simply smiled back and replied "Anytime." And with that, they hurried back to Amu's room to wait for her to wake.

Meanwhile with Utau...

Utau was worried sick, she knew something bad had already happened. She was panicking inside her room, which was very much unlike her. She rarely panics, but what if something serious happened to Amu?

A knock on the door snapped her out of it for a few seconds and she spoke "C-come in."

Ikuto walked inside and he sat down at the nearest chair "Okay Utau, what's up with you?" he asked

"What are you talking about? Nothing's wrong with me." Said Utau. She hid her panic in her calm and normal voice.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow and asked "Sure, nothing's wrong. You're completely fine, that's why you're locked in here." Said Ikuto

"I always lock myself in my room and don't lecture me about it because you do just the same." Said Utau

"Yeah, but why are you down all of a sudden? I heard from Nikaidou-san that something was bothering you and you were acting strange since you got back from your trip yesterday." Said Ikuto knowingly

"Darn it Nikaidou-san, why did you have to tell Ikuto? He could have just told Yoru about it." Thought Utau, then she looked at Ikuto and spoke "Well, he's mistaken because nothing's bothering me."

"It sure doesn't seem that way." Said Ikuto

"Can we just drop this topic right now?" asked Utau

"Nope, not until you tell me what's wrong." Said Ikuto

"I…it has nothing to do with you." Said Utau

"So you admit that something's wrong then?" asked Ikuto, Utau suddenly regretted the fact she said that.

"Ikuto please, just drop it." Said Utau

"Fine, but you'll have to say something eventually." Said Ikuto as he didn't want to pursue the topic if Utau didn't feel like talking about it. "Anyway, I better go." Said Ikuto getting up from his seat.

"What? Where are you going?" asked Utau a bit confused

"To my place of peace. You knew where it is." Said Ikuto as he gave her a slight smile

Utau knew that place, she often goes there with him when they were both free but only when Ikuto was around. He found that place deep within a forest nearby and he often goes there alone whenever he's free.

"That must mean that you're free today?" she asked "No duties."

"Nope, none. Which I am thankful for. I need a break too you know." Said Ikuto "You've been having a lot lately."

"Hmp, that's not my fault now is it. I'm just free most of the time, much more than you are." Said Utau

"Alright, no need to rub it in." replied Ikuto "Well I'm off, tell Yoru where I am when he looks for me okay."

"Will do, take care and be back before mother and father notice." Said Utau

"I will, have they ever caught me sneak out to begin with?" asked Ikuto with a sly smile

Utau rolled her eyes and spoke "No they haven't but one can't be too sure can they?" Ikuto had never been caught sneaking out no matter how often he does it. He moves so quickly no one even notices him being gone. He was like….a cat as Utau would put it.

"See you around Utau." Waved Ikuto as he walked out the door.

"Alright, don't stay out too late kay'?" asked Utau

"I won't." replied Ikuto before he completely walked away

Utau sighed once Ikuto was gone. She continued to think back to the things she thought of before Ikuto came in. "I wonder…what Amu's doing now…?"

With Amu….

Amu woke up with her whole body in pain. She tried her best to sit up and then stand. Her efforts seemed to pay off, but it hurt. Once she was completely up she looked around and noticed that her room was empty.

Amu saw a note beside her bed, and she took it and opened it. It was filled with notes from her friends:

"Amu-chan we'll be out for now, Yamabuki-sama wanted us somewhere again : ( We're sorry…" -Ran-

"Amu the witch needed us, might be some excuse so we couldn't take care of you. I'm sorry Amu, she is so going to get this." -Rima-

"Amu-chan please do take care, we're sorry to leave you. If only they'd let us stay….I'm terribly sorry…" -Nagi-

"Amu-chan, please take care and be careful and do get hurt. We're worried for you. We'll be there with you again." -Dia-

"Amu-chan, this repetition might be getting annoying to you and we apologize, but please do stay safe." -Miki-

"Amu-chan be safe okay and wait for us because we'll be back for you soon. We're sorry we have to leave but well…Saaya and Yamabuki-sama…I'm sorry~desu." -Su-

Amu placed the note down and she continued to scan the room. She didn't blame her friends for going into their duties or whatever it was that Saaya wanted them to do. Amu sighed, she got up her feet, in a painful manner, and walked out of her room.

She was already oblivious to some of the things she was doing, for once she did something different. Amu took a coat, one she rarely wears and then she draped it over her and covered almost the whole part of her body except her face. This way, her wounds were no longer visible.

Once she was all set, Amu set out for the mansion door. "I'll be back…but I need some air…" she thought. She was walking carefully and slowly so that she won't feel much of the pain. Once she was out of the mansion, she just continued to walk where her feet would take her, as long as it was far away from the mansion.

Now, she had no idea where she was going. She soon found herself in a forest-like area that she didn't even know existed. She looked around her and a wide variety of trees around her. Soon she heard something that drew her in. A sound, but no normal sound. It was a sweet, soft melody, she couldn't tell what it was exactly, but it drew her in.

Amu followed the sound, she listened closely and soon found that she was getting closer to it. She soon saw a bright light emerging from the center of the forest-like place she was in. She drew herself closer to the light and when she got there she gasped. There she saw at the center was breathtaking. Flowers were everywhere and it was way different from all the other areas around. There were small wooden chairs and tables there too. It was well arranged and not something that could occur by accident.

As she looked around, the one thing that shocked her the most stood right in front of her. She found the origin of the sound. There she saw him, with his eyes closed as he was playing a soft melody on his violin, Tsukiyomi Ikuto. "The prince is here?"

Ikuto looked up to see his companion, he raised a eyebrow when he couldn't recognize the person because of the coat, but he soon noticed Amu, because her pink hair was sticking out and her honey eyes shone by the bright light.

"Amu?" asked Ikuto confused at first "What are you doing here?"

Amu stood still and was speechless for a moment, but then she eventually snapped out of it and spoke "N-nothing, I-I was walking and I ended up here…" she paused for a second before looking at him and continued "I'm sorry to have disturbed you…you…you play beautifully by the way."

"Oh?" This time Ikuto was smirking again, he placed the violin back inside the case and came closer to Amu

"You aren't going to play anymore?" asked Amu, she wanted to hear him play again

"Nope, I don't usually play for people to hear." He told her, his smirk still in place "Now, how did you get here again?"

"I told you I was walking and got here by accident." Replied Amu and she was starting to back away, she forgot all about her wounds, and as she was walking backward, she tripped.

Amu suddenly became stiff, she was expecting the impact of the ground, but she didn't. Instead, she felt warm arms clutching onto her protectively. She opened her eyes to see Ikuto there looking at her worriedly.

"Could you be any clumsier?" he joked and laughed a bit, then he stopped. Ikuto expression was soon replaced by shock.

Amu stared at him for a while and asked "Ikuto? What's wrong?" she mentally hit herself after realizing that she's called him by his first name again.

"What…happened to you?" he asked her seriously

"Wha?" Amu looked over at herself and saw that the coat that was draped over her had fallen off, which made all her wounds clearly visible.

"Amu answer my question! What happened to you?" Ikuto asked again

"I…I got into an…accident." She lied

"I'm no longer buying that. No mere accident could do this much damage. Now tell me the truth, what happened." He asked her and he was getting impatient with her alibis

"I…I…" before Amu could answer, the pain struck her again. It stung and it was as if all the pain of last night was coming back. She started breathing heavily and her body was getting weaker.

"Amu! Oi Amu!" called Ikuto

Amu's hearing and sight was starting to get blurred and she was losing consciousness and she knew it "No, not here. Not in front of him." She thought. But it was inevitable, no matter how hard she tried to stay awake, her body just couldn't handle it.

"Amu…Amu!...Amu…!!!" His voice calling her name was the last thing she heard. That's when her vision faded…and everything went black…

Authors Note: This is it, sorry for the wait everyone. I hope you liked it and please Review right afterwards. : )