Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Shugo Chara

-I'd like to apologize for updating a little late, I had exams last week and couldn't touch the computer : (

-Thank you to everyone who reviewed, thank you all so much, you've all brought such happy smiles to my face. : D

-Now about the chapter, it may be a bit Kutau centric but there will be more Amuto in the next chap.

-Please Review and tell me what you think of this chap.

-That's all thanks again everyone and now: On with the story!

Kukai and Utau: How's Amu?

Everything in the room was still, silence loomed inside the room. Tadase looked over at Ikuto and Amu, from one to the other. Utau stared at her brother and breathed heavily. Ikuto stood there still in shock, and Amu? Well, she was in too much shock, but that never stopped her from breaking the awkward silence between them all.

"Ikuto….please…understand…" she started

"Understand?!?" asked Ikuto as he snapped out from his shocked state "You hid this from me, something so vital and important, I could have helped you Amu." He told her, his tone was both one who was betrayed and sad, whilst the other was of shock and anger.

"Ikuto stop, she had her reasons, this is why I didn't want to tell you till we were alone." Said Utau as she got in the middle

Tadase stared at them all shocked and he asked "What's going on...? Utau-chan? Ikuto-nii?"

It was as if he never even spoke because Ikuto seemed to continue "How could you expect me to calm down. And how long did you even know about this?" asked Ikuto looking at Utau

"That was none of your concern at first. Ikuto just stop it." Argued Utau and she was getting angry too

As the two of them continued, Amu felt really bad about what was happening. Other than that though, a thought suddenly occurred to her after hearing what Utau had said "Did she know from the beginning about me?" she asked herself. If Utau was about to tell Ikuto about it eventually, who told her about it to begin with?

Soon the silence broke Amu's thoughts. She looked over at Ikuto and Utau who seemed to have stopped their little argument. Ikuto was avoiding eye contact with her and for some reason she didn't like it this way. Utau continued to look at Ikuto and she was a bit pissed off.

"Enough, I need time to think." Ikuto suddenly spoke "I'm leaving."

As Ikuto was walking out the door, Utau called him back "You can't tell anyone about this." She told him

"Oh I won't. I don't think I could even if I tried." He replied, his voice was still on edge

"Ikuto…" Amu muttered. She felt bad for this, but for some reason it also confused her as to why she even cared about how Ikuto felt in the first place.

Ikuto didn't take long to walk out of the room and disappear from them. Tadase took this opportunity to speak. "Goemen, were you hiding this from Ikuto-niisan?" he asked

"I was planning to tell him…guess you beat me to it Tadase." Said Utau in a soft voice, then she turned to look at Amu "Anyway, I'm sorry you had to see us that way Amu, it's not nice."

"No, it's okay. This was practically my fault anyways, I should have told him something." Said Amu

"It's not your fault that you were keeping yourself away from trouble." Replied Utau "He should have known better."

"I really am sorry." Said Tadase as he looked down "Demo, it was just that seeing Hinamori-san again surprised me. I never expected her to be here at all."

"Neither did we, at least we thought she was gone." Said Utau, she was calmer now

"Yes, rumor spread that you had run away." Said Tadase looking straight at Amu "Worse case was they even said you were…dead."

Amu twitched at the last term. She didn't like those rumors, and she never will. She thought for a while and was about to say something when suddenly Utau spoke "You might wonder how I knew, is that right?"

Amu nodded "Yes, I was shocked when you said you were going to tell him eventually."

"Someone told me, but I did overhear their conversation at first. I was planning to see him today actually. I've made plans last night to go earlier this afternoon." She stopped for a second and looked over at Tadase "Then I heard that you were coming and shared the news to Ikuto. I thought you'd be coming a little later than I would have anticipated. So, I guess I'll have to go tomorrow since it's starting to get late."

"Him?" questioned Amu, she thought of the him that Utau spoke of, it didn't make sense to her who it could have been

"Don't worry Amu, I'll take things slowly. We'll talk tomorrow after I get back okay? I have to settle things with Ikuto first for now. Is that alright with you?" asked Utau, she felt rather guilty for setting her aside for a while.

"Yes it's fine, I don't really mind that much about it. I hope Ikuto isn't mad at me though. I didn't mean to keep it from him." Said Amu

"He has no right to be mad, and I doubt that he'll get mad at you. He can't even seem to glare at you or show any sign of anger in the simplest form around you. I'll talk to him." Said Utau assuring her that everything was fine.

Amu smiled at Utau as hard as she could try to give one off. Utau returned it as well. "Tadase." Started Utau again "We should give time for Amu to rest for now. You can talk to her again tomorrow okay?" she suggested

Tadase nodded "Yes of course, you must rest now Hinamori-san." He gave her a smile and she just smiled back

"Thank you." Replied Amu

"Well, you have a good night's rest Amu. I'll be here to talk to you tomorrow okay?" after Utau spoke, she and Tadase both headed for the door.

Amu watched as the two figures went out the door. Soon she saw them close the door behind her and Utau giving her one final smile before she left. After that, she was completely alone. Amu never liked the idea of being alone, but she didn't complain. She was used to it, seeing as how she was treated as an outsider inside her own house before he friends came around. It made her wonder how things would work out between her and Ikuto, hopefully better than what happened today.

For some reason she missed having him around for now. She never knew she'd miss him, a pervert, as she'd like to put it. But seeing the betrayal flash inside her head again it made her feel even more guilty. She wanted to apologize and for some reason she wanted to help him feel better and explain, why? , she didn't know. But one thing was for sure, there was a part of her that wanted to.

While Amu was already preparing to sleep, Utau on the other hand had other options. As soon as she was left alone and Tadase had decided to go to Kairi for a talk she headed straight for Ikuto's room. She knew that Yoru might be there but she didn't mind, she actually liked the thought of having him there, it could help prevent their talk from turning into a shout-out.

Utau soon arrived at her brother's room and knocked. She heard the door open and as she expected it was Yoru. "Utau, whatcha doing here~nya?" he asked her

"I needed to talk to Ikuto." Replied Utau "Mind if I come inside for a while?" she asked

"Nope, go ahead. Something's been bothering him since he got here~nya." Said Yoru and Utau just nodded and went inside

Once Utau was in she saw Ikuto lying on his bed, while staring at the ceiling. She soon spoke, because he didn't seem to realize she was there. "Does the ceiling entertain you Ikuto?" she asked sarcastically

Ikuto shot up and gave her a glare and asked "What do you want now Utau?"

"Nothing, I was just hoping to talk to you." Said Utau calmly, she didn't want to start a fight this early, they just started

"What's there to talk about? I already know what's going on." Said Ikuto

"Do you really? That doesn't seem to be the case. It looks like you're just jumping to conclusions, which by the way is not like you." Said Utau "So that means you just have a deeper reason for your actions."

"What other reason do you want me to have Utau? The fact that you hid this from me…" before Ikuto could answer Utau cu him short

"I hid it from you? I was about to tell you. Do you want to know what I think, I think that you're upset not because you didn't know, but because you felt that Amu didn't tell you. That's what upset you." Said Utau

"What do you mean by that~nya?" asked Yoru confused

"Would it really have bothered you if Amu had been the one to tell you? If she had been the one to open up to you and you didn't have to find out because of Tadase? I don't think so." Said Utau "You want her to open up Ikuto, you said you knew there was a problem. I'm pretty sure that you knew Amu was hiding something. It would have been better for you if she told you, not me."

"Your point?" asked Ikuto giving her a questioning look

"My point? You don't have to get mad over something that happened by accident. You don't have to shove that huge pride of yours and suddenly get mad at Amu to…." This time Utau was the one cut off

"Angry at Amu?" asked Ikuto this time he sat down and spoke clearly, all the anger gone, only surprise could be heard "What gave you the idea I was mad at her?"
"I told her you weren't mad at her, but she sure did think that." Said Utau looking at her brother seriously "She was worried that you got mad because she was the one who didn't tell you anything."

"…" Ikuto stayed silent for a while and then he spoke "She should know that I won't get mad at her for something like that."

"But she doesn't and you just did something irrational all of a sudden, it's not a surprise that you gave her a wrong impression of things." Said Utau

"It's not like I wanted things to turn out that way…." Muttered Ikuto

"Look, all I'm saying is if you want to get a piece of the truth, talk to her. She's the one who thinks you're mad at her not me." Said Utau "Besides, I think you owe her an apology."

"I know, look I knew you were hiding something and I knew she was too. But I never would have thought that Amu, this Amu…was a…Hinamori." Said Ikuto

"That surprised me as much as you did." Said Utau truthfully "And trust me when I say she's had it rough. Her friends made that quite clear to me."

"Amu's a Hinamori? Really~nya?" asked Yoru and his voice was surprised too

"Yes, just talk to her Ikuto. It would make her feel better. And if I were you I'd do it quickly, Tadase's still here remember?" said Utau, her voice was teasing now

"Utau cut it out already." Said Ikuto in an annoyed voice

"Anyway, I need to rest. I'm leaving tomorrow by the way. Tell mother if you can for me. I don't want to go through all the trouble." Said Utau as she started to walk out the door.

As Utau walked out the door and closed it once she was out, Ikuto gave out a huge sigh. Yoru looked over at his friend and asked "Ne Ikuto, what's bothering you~nya?" asked Yoru

"Nothing, I upset Amu and now I have to do something about it." Said Ikuto

"That's not so bad~nya. You just have to talk to her." Said Yoru
"That's easier said than done." Said Ikuto

Ikuto laid down on his bed again and then he sighed once more. He felt bad about it and he wanted to apologize, not the other way around. Amu was making him dizzy now, she just kept popping into his head. And when he remembered her relationship with Tadase an how close they were, it didn't make things better. What was his next move now?

The Following Day…

The next morning Utau woke up early and headed out as soon as she could. She asked a coach to take her to the town and there she went. She waited patiently for them to arrive at their destination. Once she was alerted that they have arrived, she paid the coach the suitable amount of money and she went to find her next stop.

Utau wanted to avoid attention, so she was wearing a coat that covered most of the features that made her identifiable. She walked along the busy and crowded streets of Corinth and soon she spotted a restaurant, one that she was looking for. To Urtau's disappointment, the CLOSED sign was placed outside.

"Where could they have been?" Utau asked herself, she couldn't look for them all over town, that would take her all day and chances are she still wouldn't be able to find them.

"Utau?" A voice interrupted her thoughts, she was outside the shop now and once she turned around, she saw just the person she was looking for.

"Hey you okay?" The voice belonged to none other than Kukai

"Kukai! There you are, and I thought I had to go through the whole town just to look for you!" Utau didn't really know what's gotten into her, because before she knew it she was hugging him.

Kukai stood there, frozen in shock and he didn't know how to react to this. "Um….Utau….you know you're um…"

Utau opened her eyes and saw what she was doing. She immediately pushed herself back and spoke "Gomen…I-I d-didn't mean to do something so suddenly…." Her face was beat red now.

"Y-yeah it's cool…" replied Kikau who was also blushing from the contact. "So…um, what brings you here today?" he asked her

"Right, about that….Um I needed to talk to you about something important." Said Utau and by now her voice was dead serious

"Okay, we can go inside if you want." Suggested Kukai "I have a feeling this is a private thing right?" Utau simply nodded at his question

Kukai and Utau walked inside the closed shop. Kukai pulled out some chairs so that they could sit facing each other. Utau was silent for a moment and then she asked "By the way, where were you?"

"Huh?" asked Kukai

"I meant, why is your shop closed? What's the occasion?" asked Utau

"Oh that, well… this is something I wanted to talk about with you too." Said Kukai "You can say I have a little hunch, but I have to make sure of it."

"And what's this hunch all about?" asked Utau

"It's about Hinamori." Stated Kukai

Utau froze at this statement, not because of shock though she knew this was coming sooner or later, just not so soon. "I see, I kind of knew it had something to do with her."

Kukai looked at her confused and spoke "You know what happened to her?"

"No, not in detail anyway. But I do have a little guess of my own of what happened." Said Utau "Were you looking for her?" she asked

"Yeah, we've been searching for days now. Daichi's out with Temari-oneesan and Rhythm-san now. If I didn't know better I'd say you know where she is." Said Kukai with a knowing tone, this is what he's been assuming this whole time

"Hmmm….never knew you were this sharp Kukai. To answer your question though, yes I do know where she is." Said Utau

"Do you mind telling me?" asked Kukai "I'm not going to force it out of you if you don't want to."

"No, you have every right to know." Said Utau "Simply put, Ikuto found her wandering around in the nearby forest. She fainted and now she's currently under our care."

"Under your care? So, she's in the palace?!?" asked Kukai a bit surprised

"Yes she is. Ikuto wouldn't take her back, he's being a bit too protective. If it were me the though, I have to admit he has a point. I wouldn't let her go back either, not after that." Said Utau seriously

"Yeah well, no one likes that place now anyway." Said Kukai then he thought of something and asked "Hey can I ask you something?"

"Yes?" asked Utau

"Well, does he know? Does your brother know that…well you know about Hinamori." Asked Kukai

"Yes, I'd admit that I was about to tell him, I won't hide that. Amu's already said some things and Ikuto was already getting somewhere, my brother isn't slow. Unfortunately….." as Utau spoke Kukai suddenly cut in

"Things didn't go the way you wanted it to?" asked Kukai, and he knew he was right.

"Not necessarily, I knew he was bound to find out, I just didn't expect it to be…like that." Said Utau

"Why how'd it happen?" Kukai asked her

"You see, Tadase came for a sudden visit." Started Utau "I remembered what you told me about him knowing Amu."

"Yeah they've met already, but that was a long time ago." Said Kukai

"Apparently it wasn't long enough to make Tadase forget her." Said Utau and then she sighed "I was talking to Amu at that time inside her room. Ikuto went to see Tadase and then well….Tadase suddenly went inside the room."

"Let me guess, he saw her and called her Hinamori-san didn't he?" asked Kukai

"Yes, exactly that. Wait, how did you know?" asked Utau a bit shocked that Kukai was predicting everything before she could even finish talking

Kukai chuckled a bit and answered "Tadase's no royal, but he's still one of the noble and rich families around. He was brought up that way you know. Respectful, manners and all the rules. He never called her Amu, he never called me Kukai either. It was always Hinamori-san or Souma-kun. Not a surprise that he had something to do with your brother finding out."

"I see….so you knew about this? I mean, you knew I had something to do with where Amu was now?" asked Utau as she remembered Kukai's hunch

"No, you could say it was just a lucky guess. But I thought about it and it just drifted to you." Said Kukai

"Oh…." Was all Utau could utter

"Anyway what happened after your brother found out." Asked Kukai a bit curious now

"Nothing," replied Utau

"Nothing?" repeated Kukai with a questioning look

"He didn't do anything, he was shocked and he walked away." Said Utau with a sigh "I talked to him last night and I think it went rather well, but I have no idea on what he plans to do now."

"Was he upset?" asked Kukai

"Yes, I think so." Replied Utau

"Hmm? Why is that, I wonder…." Kukai asked softly

"Ikuto likes her." Said Utau plainly "At least I think so."

"Oh? Well if that's true, no surprise there." Said Kukai with a chuckle "But that's a bit complicated…don't you think so?"

"Yeah it is, after all we're different….." replied Utau sadly

Kukai stared at her for a moment and he felt himself sadden at the though. Different, was that the right word for them? "I'd prefer to call you guys special than different." Said Kukai

"Not in my book, if this is what it's like to be special I'd rather be normal." Said Utau sadly "What I'd give for that…."

"Heh, you never know right?" said Kukai trying to cheer her up "I don't and wont treat you any different okay so cheer up."

"Hn, thanks Kukai." Replied Utau with a smile. She didn't notice that her hands were placed on top of the table where her and Kukai were talking. Her hands were balled up into fists.

Kukai placed one of his hands gently on hers, temporarily forgetting what he was doing. Utau looked up at him and they just looked at each other intensely. For a few minutes nothing more was heard until…..

"Kukai! I'm back." Daichi came running into the restaurant "Hey we didn't…." he stopped when he saw Kukai and Utau with his hand on top of hers. "Oops….um did I interrupt something?"

"Darn it Daichi!" thought Kukai, he looked at his brother a bit annoyed but he didn't show it that much. "No it's nothing." Replied Kukai

"Oh…okay." Said Daichi "Um….I'll be I my room when you need me, see you guys later." But before Daichi left, he flashed Kukai a grin and he got a glare in return.

After Daichi was gone, Utau noticed his hand was still on hers and spoke "Kukai, y-you can let go now, I'm fine really."

"Huh? Oh sorry." Kukai blushed but he hid it and he gently slid his hand away from hers. "Um…so anything else we need to talk about?" he asked suddenly changing the topic

"Well, nope, none for now. Will you tell them though?" asked Utau

"Tell them?" asked Kukai

"You know, about Amu being with us?" asked Utau again

"Well, do you want me too? What do you think would be best?" asked Kukai "I do want your opinion, she's in your house you know."

"Anything is fine by me. She's your friend, you have more authority over her than I do." Said Utau with a smile
"I think I might tell them if it's okay with you. They're going to have to learn to trust you to take care of her." Said Kukai with a slight laugh

"You sound like you already trust me." Utau told him

"I do, I know you'll take care of her, but she'll be missed around here." Said Kukai his expression saddened for a second then he smiled softly "She's got some ability you know, to brighten things up for everyone around her. That's why, I know that you'll take care of her, you're friends right?" asked Kukai

"Of course." Replied Utau with a smile "But, will it be okay with you if we keep her for a while?"

"Sure, I don't think it would be a brilliant idea to just bring her back after what happened. I wouldn't want that to happen again." Said Kukai, the last part came out dark and cold as he remembered the memory

"It seems like there's more that I don't know about isn't there?" asked Utau

"Don't worry about it." Replied Kukai as he gave her a reassuring smile "She'll fill you in on things when she's ready."

"Thank you." Replied Utau

Utau and Kukai soon started to talk about other random things. Utau spent the day to get to know Kukai as he got to know her. Things turned out better than both of them expected. They got closer even if it was just a small part that was added the fact that there still was, made it memorable. Soon it started getting late and Utau had to go home.

"Kukai thanks for the great time and everything." Said Utau

"Hehe does that mean you'll come see it more often?" teased Kukai "You can't seem to keep away from here. Is it because of me?"

"Don't get a big head." Said Utau

Kukai just laughed and spoke "Kidding. I had a great time too, I'm honored to have kept you company."

"Oh don't even go there. Didn't I tell you not to treat me like royalty?" asked Utau with a deep sigh

"I'm not, I'm just saying that I was honored." Said Kukai

"Hmp, anyway I have to get going. My parents will be looking for me. Plus, I have to check on Ikuto." Said Utau as she remembered her brother and what had happened

"Right, speaking of your brother…can you pass a message to him from me?" asked Kukai with a smirk

"Sure, what is it?" asked Utau, she became confused by his sudden request

"Tell him this: 'If you ever hurt Hinamori we are going to hunt you down, prince or not, and we'll make sure to do something you'd wish you never even stepped foot in this town.' That's it." As Kukai said this, he said it with a smile, but his tone was quite deadly it made Utau shudder.

"Oh, okay…I'll be sure to pass that on…." Said Utau

"Thanks, have a safe trip home." Said Kukai, his face now with a genuine smile

"Thank you, you be safe too okay. I'll come back when I have more news on Amu." Said Utau "We'll try to help her in any way we can."

"That would be highly appreciated. I'll pass you some news here too when I get some." Said Kukai

"Thanks, I should get going…." Said Utau silently

"Yeah, you better get going before they go looking for you." As Kukai said his last words, Utau soon left. Her last actions were waving goodbye to him and giving him a smile. Kukai smiled back, he now knew that Amu was safe and he had the royals to thank for that at most. He just wondered what Amu could have been doing now….

Meanwhile….

Amu and Tadase were talking, they've been talking since Utau had left. Tadase visited her in her room and made her feel happy. Everything was all so nice, having Tadase there, someone t accompany her, it could have been perfect…but…there was one big problem.

Ever since Tadase spent the entire day, well almost the entire day with Amu, she was happy, but it felt so different. Tadase was so nice, respectful, and there were times Amu felt like she was in some sort of tale when she was with him, it felt like everything was…choreographed in one way or the other.

It wasn't like she want enjoying his company, it was just different from the past few days, that's because Tadase was Tadase, "Because he isn't Ikuto…." That thought had passed her mind and she tried to shake it off, but she couldn't help but remember him. Even if she didn't want to there was a part of her that did. And as much as she hated to admit it, she's gotten so used to having Ikuto tease her so much, it became different when she was with someone else and the fact that he was ignoring her didn't make it better.

"Hinamori-san….something wrong?" asked Tadase as he got a bit closer to her

"Eh?" Amu blushed at the closeness but she soon replied "No nothing's wrong, I'm fine Tadase-kun…"

"Hai..um…I have to go check on something, do you mind being alone for a while? I'm sure Utau-chan will arrive soon." Said Tadase

"No I'll be fine on my own." Said Amu "I'm sorry for keeping you."

"It was my choice." Said Tadase with a smile "I better go…"

"Bye…" as Amu said this, she watched him leave the room and she was once again alone….

Tadase walked out the room and sighed. He knew from the start that something was bothering her and he just kept quiet about it. As he was walking down the halls, he met Ikuto along the way.

"Ikuto-nii, I haven't seen you all day." Said Tadase

"Sorry about that Tadase, I was…busy." Ikuto replied then he asked "How is she? Is she feeling any better?"

"Yes, she's much livelier now. Although…." Said Tadase

"Although?" asked Ikuto

"Something seems to be bothering her and I think you should go talk to her about it." Suggested Tadase

"Oh…" replied Ikuto plainly

"I do think what happened bothered her. I doubt she wanted you to find out that way. Please talk to her." Said Tadase

Ikuto suddenly smiled and he went over and ruffled Tadase's hair "You haven't changed a bit. Don't worry I was planning to talk to her anyway. But thanks for the advice."

Tadase smiled back and replied "Well you better get going Ikuto-nii."

"See you around Tadase." And with that Ikuto left and headed for Amu's room.

Amu was alone in her room. She laid down on her bed and tried to sleep, but for some reason sleep just wouldn't overtake her. A knock was heard on the door a little later. She got up from bed into a sitting position and called "Come in"

Amu expected it to be Utau, but to her surprise it wasn't. Instead standing at the door was Ikuto, the person she wanted to at least talk to for once ever since he started ignoring her. "Ikuto…" she mumbled, but he heard.

"Amu….I need to talk to you…." Said Ikuto

What was he going to say? Was he mad? Did he want to tell her that she should leave? Amu looked at him and replied "Okay, we can talk…." There was no escaping this now, and she'll just have to accept it…

Authors Note: That's it , I hope you guys liked it. Please Review and tell me what you think : D Thanks Everyone : D