Chapter One
"I don't care what you think.
I'm going through with it."
"No, Amu, please…!"
My mom pleaded.
No one understands! Not my parents, not my friends, not even AMI! Don't they know how important this is for me? I love him, and no one can change that! I mean, well, there's only one person who understands and supports this, and that's Utau. She's so nice to me now; we're best friends.
Flashback:
"Mom, I'm going to do it." I told her, my back straight and eyes in hers. I was finally a bit taller than her, me being eighteen now, and out of school.
"I don't think you should! This is a huge decision!" She said.
"I don't care what you think. I'm going through with it."
"No, Amu, please…!" My mom pleaded.
I refused to do anything but go through with it.
:End of Flashback
I got mad at that thought again. Whenever I think about it, it makes me mad! Grr…
"Why are you growling…?" Someone asked, and I heard humor in his tone.
I blinked, looked up, and saw the twenty-two year old man standing in front of me. "Ikuto-kun!" I said happily and hugged him.
He laughed, and kissed my head. "You're still like the twelve-year-old I met." He said. "You even still add '-kun' to my name to get me to kiss you!"
I looked up with kitty eyes-we decided to call it that since Ikuto's a cat- and asked, "Does it work…?"
He laughed, then scooped down and kissed me. "All the time."
He put his arm around me, and we walked down the street. Then I said, "Um, Ikuto?" I asked.
"Yes?" He questioned, but his head wasn't turned towards me.
"M-my parents don't approve of us, you know…" I told him.
"Why not? You're eighteen now." He said. "You have to make your own decisions."
"I know, that's what I try to tell them. But they hate it. They don't want me to." I stared at my hand.
Flashback:
"Where are we going, Ikuto-kun?" I asked. We were in his car, driving to a place… he wasn't telling me where. The windows were covered with black so I couldn't see outside. And I couldn't see him because he put a wall type thing between the driver's seat and the back seats.
"You'll see when we get there." He said. "For now, just read a book, or play a game on the DS." He had put tons of activities for me to do so I wouldn't get bored.
I grabbed a pen and a pad of paper, and wrote:
Ikuto-kun:
I'm sad your not telling me where we're going. Pretty please tell me? I love you.
-Amu
I poked it under the paper, and I heard him chuckle and grab it. I heard a piece of paper open, and there was a three-second silence, and he said, "No, Amu, I'm not telling you."
I grumbled, and then got another piece of paper, wrote, "Ikuto-kuuuuuun! Pleeeeeeease!" Kissed it, smearing my lip stick on it a bit, and folded it up.
I heard another chuckle and the paper opened. "No, Amu! It's a surprise. And calm down. You're acting like Yaya." I heard him kiss the paper, then he handed it back to me.
The funny thing was, I was acting like Yaya. I didn't even know it. "Hm." I hummed. I decided to humor him. I threw my arms in the air, making fists, and whined. "Amu wants chocolate! Amu wants chocolate!" He laughed.
I laughed, too, then decided I'd act like me again.
We finally got to where we were going, and he let me out of the car, holding out a hand. I took it and smoothed my red and black Lolita-type dress Ikuto picked out for me.
We were at… a club. "A club?" I questioned.
"Yes. A club." He said, smirking.
I looked at him suspiciously. "What's going on?" I asked.
"Just going to a club…" He said, still smirking.
We walked in front of the whole line, and were about to walk in, but the guard stopped us. "Name." He said.
"Ikuto Tsukiyomi." He told him, and he let him in.
"How'd you get in?" I questioned.
"My dad's popular around this part; once I saw him here. He left before I got to him, though." He told me, leading me through crowds of people.
"You want any, like, soda or anything?" He yelled over the loud boom, boom of the bass, and the large amount of talking people.
"Sure." I yelled.
"What kind?"
"Surprise me."
He went over to the bar, and asked for a drink. I couldn't tell what he asked for though, his lips weren't facing me.
His lips…me.
His lips are mine.
I was thinking of all our kisses. Everyone. And I remembered everyone. Especially our first kiss.
He put his finger to my lips and shushed me, looking each direction. Then he stared deep into my eyes, leaned closer, and…
Kissed me. "Thank you. Let's go. Hurry."
He walked over to me, and asked, "What were you thinking about?" He smirked, and handed me a Coke.
I looked into his eyes. Could I lie to him? Eh, why should I? We've been together for six years, not including the two months my mom made us break up.
"Our first kiss." I told him.
He smiled lightly. "I remember that, too." Then he leaned in to kiss me again.
About two hours went by, and Ikuto looked at his watch. "Six o'clock. In two minutes, it will be exactly six years from when you saved me." He said.
I smiled. Then he took my hand, and looked at his watch again. "Six-o-one."
We got up to the stage, and someone handed him a microphone after saying, "May I have your attention, please?" And everyone looked. I was confused.
:End of Flashback
And there it was.
Flashback:
"Six-o-two. Amu, six years since you saved me. Our six-year anniversary." Then he got on one knee, and my stomach got butterflies. Then more when he pulled out a ring case. And my head started swimming-in a good way. "Hinimori, Amu." He said, a smile on his face, looking like it would never be washed off. I smiled the same smile, too. "Will you marry me?"
My hand flew over my mouth. Tears puddled up in my eyes. I heard people chant, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Over and over again. Then someone shouted, "JUST SAY YES, GOD DAMMIT!"
Then I yelled, "YES!" And hugged him. He stood up, and I whispered again, "Yes, yes, yes!"
Then the microphone guy came up to me, and said, "Let's make it a little clearer, shall we?"
He held the microphone up to me, and I said, "Tsukiyomi, Ikuto, YES! I want to become Amu Tsukiyomi!"
Everyone cheered. Then they started chanting, "KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!"
My head was already ahead of them, but I couldn't stop staring into his eyes. Then I plunged in and kissed him, and he lifted me up. "I love you." He said, and placed the ring on my finger. He carried me, bridal-style, off the stage.
Everyone cheered again.
:End of flash back
The ring.
"Amu?" I heard Ikuto ask. It just occurred to me that we had been walking for two minutes, while he was talking, and I hadn't heard a single word.
"Uh…" I blinked. "Yeah?"
"What were you thinking about, just now?" He smirked his famous smirk.
I smiled a huge smile, showing my teeth. "When you purposed." I told him. Every time I think that, I get so damn happy!
His smirk turned onto a smile.
We kissed, not the first, not the last.
Chapter Two
We fumbled with the words,
starting where we weren't supposed to,
stopping when there were two beats left to sing,
singing the right words but at wrong times,
getting verses mixed up.
And we laughed the whole time.
"Ikuto! Hey, hey, Ikuto!" I called.
"Yes?" He asked.
"What about… baby blue and baby pink?" I said, in a little-girl voice.
"Mm?" He walked over, and he saw the magazine I was holding, full of wedding cakes. "Mm." He said.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" I asked.
"I said 'Mm.'. And 'Mm' means, 'That looks good.'"
I giggled. "Oh! So, Utau and I are going to go dress shopping tomorrow, so, you better… you know, do that stuff you do." I said.
It was his turn to laugh. "Okay, I will."
We were on one of our walks that we do randomly, just to be together. It was peaceful and quiet in the park, it was almost just the two of us. I took out my Zune and plugged one ear bud in my ear, and then reached up to Ikuto's (still being way taller than me) and put the other in his ear.
We listened to a couple songs, until we got to one we loved to sing along to. Except, we didn't know all the words.
We fumbled with the words, starting where we weren't supposed to, stopping when there were two beats left to sing, singing the right words but at wrong times, getting verses mixed up. And we laughed the whole time.
He leaned down and kissed me head. "I love you." He said.
"I love you, too." I told him.
Then someone ran up to us. On a morning jog, I guess, but they were carrying a camera. "Good morning! I was wondering if you guys would like to do photo shoots! I have a photography class in college, and you guys look really cute together!" She mused.
I looked at Ikuto. He was staring off into a distance, probably not thinking. So I looked back, and said, "Sure!"
I kissed him to get him out of his daze, and I saw a flash. He blinked, then asked, "Wha-?"
I explained to him what just happened while he was off thinking. "Oh, alright." He said, and so we followed the girl to a bridge with a creek under it. It was one of those curved bridges, and it had flowers around it, with green grass, and a Sakura tree right next to it. It was beautiful.
He stood on the bridge, and he kissed my cheek while I was looking at the beautiful scenery. Snap! The camera took another picture.
Then I turned, and his lips were brushing against my cheek… until they reached my lips, and I wrapped my arms around him. Snap!
Then he picked me up bridal-style, and I pointed at something in the distance. Snap!
I turned my head and nuzzled it into his neck after he put me down, looking like I was embarrassed, and he rested his head on mine, and stroked my hair. Snap!
He got behind me, then put one hand on either side of me, then tilted my head up to look at him. Snap! Something he did when I was twelve. Then he leaned down and kissed me Snap! Something he didn't do when I was twelve.
"Thank you! These are great! I have to go now, but I'll give these photos to you if you meet me here Tuesday at eleven!" She said excitedly.
"Okay, great! Thanks!" I said, and she was off.
Regular P.O.V.
"Did you get the pictures?" Someone asked.
"Yes." The girl said.
"Give them to me." The dark voice ordered.
"But master, I don't think I can do this to them… they look so happy!" The girl said, looking at her now developed pictures in her hand.
"Give them to me! I don't care what you think!" The dark voice-even darker now- yelled with a sharp edge that went through the girl's heart. She loved this man… but she doesn't know whether to be on his side… or her best friend's side.
Amu's P.O.V.
I got in bed, yawning, and wrapped my arms around Ikuto's warm body. "Good night, Ikuto-kun, I love you!" I said.
"I love you too. Good night." He said, and the light went off.
I fell asleep, his heart, like always, a lullaby.Chapter Three
"Amu,
This wasn't supposed to be!"
"What's not supposed to be?"
I woke with a surprise… I heard my door knock, and Tadase's voice…
I went over and opened the hotel door. I'm staying at a hotel because I don't want to be around with my parents.
"Amu," Tadase started after I opened the door and he barged in, not even saying 'Hi! How's life?' "This wasn't supposed to be!"
"What's not supposed to be?" I asked, confused.
"You and Ikuto…!" His face wasn't boyish anymore- more like a man. But… he still had boyish eyes, the eyes I love.
"Of course it's meant to be! Tadase, leave! I have to go shopping for my wedding dress." I said, and pushed him out the door.
"No, Amu, do-" and the door was closed. I heard footsteps… good.
I made my own footsteps over to the phone and dialed Utau's number.
"Hello?" Utau asked. She didn't know the number because I was at a hotel.
"Hey, ready to go?" I asked.
I could almost hear her smile a huge, enormous smile. "It's shoppin' time."
At the store, I told the lady helping us I wanted a… 'spunky' dress. But still pretty elegant and beautiful. I saw five dresses that I fell in love with. Dress one and three didn't look right on me, though.
"Try this one," Ms. Hatake said as she handed me dress four. I put it on. It was layered, had a pink rose at the shoulder, and I thought, 'colored roses…'
I turned and asked, "Do you have any with, like, roses along the waist?"
She thought for a second, and said, "Yeah, I think we do. White?"
"Um, yeah… and I was wondering if I could, like, in any way… color the roses?" I asked.
"Um, yeah, maybe…" She mused. "Yeah, that would be a possibility."
"Because Ikuto and I have this thing… He always brings me colored roses. Red, pink, white, lavender, coral, and blue." I told her.
"Aw, that's cute." She said. "When did you guys start that?"
"When he was sixteen…" I started, "…and when I was twelve."
Her eyes got wide, but she tried not to show it. She coughed. "Um, okay, well… that's cute." She said.
She left to go find the dress. Utau was there. I had barely noticed her. "Do you think that would be a good idea?" I asked.
"Yeah!" She said. "It would be great… He'd love it…!"
I smiled. Ms. Hatake showed me a dress. I changed, and came out. It was perfect and spunky, too.
The roses were lined up, going around my middle, from hip to hip. From there up to under my breasts was lace-not see-through. Then it had a square-neck, see-through straps. Under the roses, it was nice; the silk slid and looked like a river the way it was flowing… except white. It was layered with lace, and the very spunky think about it… there was a split. It came up about eight inches above my knee, and under the split all the way down was see-through lace. The dress had a tiny train; not too big, not to small.
"Oh, my gosh…" Utau said, "that totally fits you… like, totally."
"Um, Utau… you're acting like a… girly-girl." I commented.
"Because that's the most awesome dress and that's the one that fits you best!" She said excitedly. I laughed a little bit.
Ms. Hatake smiled. "So what's your fiancé's name?" She asked.
"Ikuto Tsukiyomi." I told her.
"Ah. So, do you think he'll like it?" She asked.
I smiled… huge. "A lot." I said.
Utau then said, "I know my brother! He'll love that dress… probably hold on to it more than Amu!"
I hit her-not hard, but enough to get my point through-jokingly. "Utau!" I said with a gasp and a smile.
She laughed. "Okay, maybe that's not true… It'll be laying on the floor."
I blushed… a lot. Another smack to her head ought to do it… so I did.
"Ah, Amu! Stop hitting me!" She complained. "I mean, you know it is!"
Ms. Hatake laughed along with Utau. I didn't. I was blushing… a lot.
"Aright, the next time you come in, it should be fitted and colored." She said. "Can you write down the colors?"
She handed me a pad and pen and I wrote the colors. "Alright, thank you." She said.
I smiled. "Yep." I got dressed into my normal clothes, and we left.
I got back to the hotel. I walked into the room and saw Ikuto sitting on the bed, watching T.V. I turned to him with a genuine smile on my face.
"What?" He asked.
"I just got the perfect dress." I said, still smiling, and sitting next to him, curling up into a ball by his side. He moved his arm from the top of the pillows to my back.
"And what does it look like?" He asked.
"I can't tell you!" I said, and slapped his abs like I slapped Utau's head.
He laughed. "Fine… I'll wait until our wedding."
Something sank in just then. "Ikuto…" I said. "We're getting married…" I felt giddy. "Married! Together… forever." I said.
He laughed, too. I could tell he was also giddy. "And we can start a family…" He said.
I blushed, but I kept going. "And never have the fear… of breaking up again." I said, applying to when my mom made us break up. Other than that, we'd been inseparable.
"Even if we weren't getting married, I'd still spend the rest of my life with you. I'd never break up with you." He told me.
I smiled up at him. "Me, either… wait… me, too. Ah, heck with it. Me either, too." I said, combining them.
He laughed… pretty hard. I just smiled, happy I made him laugh without him teasing me.
"Utau said something today…" I said, blushing again.
"What did she say?" He asked.
"E-eto… Sh-she said… you'd hang on to the dress more than me."
He chuckled. "Are you worried that-"
"I'm not done. Then I smacked her… playfully. Then she said, these exact words, 'Okay, maybe that's not true… It'll be laying on the floor.'" I told him. I don't know why I did. And I blushed harder than I did then.
He was silent for a second. I looked up at his face- deep in thought. Without a perverted smile. Then said, "I never thought about that… Amu, with me…"
I blushed and whipped out of his grasp. He laughed. "But don't you… you know… want to make love?" He asked, serious now.
"Wh-what?" I asked.
"Amu, we're getting married… you don't want to? I mean, I'll wait when you're ready, but…"
I paused for a second. …I didn't want to tell him that I wanted to… because it was embarrassing… me, only being eighteen and all.
"E-Eto…" I stuttered again.
"Amu, honey…" he said. That was the first time he actually called me, 'honey', wasn't it?
"I-I… I'm ready… when we're married… I have a question to ask you." I said.
"Alright, ask it."
"Are you a virgin?"
He smiled- not like he was going to laugh, but like he got my question. It was a soft smile- from the mouth to the eyes. Nice and warm. "Yes, Strawberry, I am."
I smiled.
He tried to hide a laugh. "What?" I asked, now blushing… I thought he understood what I said!
"Sorry, I'm laughing at my own stupidity. I was about to ask you the same thing… but we got together when you were twelve… and been together ever since. Well, unless you cheated on me." He said.
I smiled, and said, "No, I did not cheat on you. There would be no way in Hell I would cheat on you. I would rather… Tadase die then cheat on you."
"Wow, big words…"
"But I meant every last drop."
He smiled.
Knock, knock, knock!
I walked over to the door. And there were two people I wouldn't expect in a million years…
They stood tall, one looked familiar in a way I could point out. One looked familiar… in a way I can't point out.Chapter Four
But then I heard,
"Dad!?"
"Hello, Amu." Dad said, smiling.
"Uh, hi…" I said, looking at the other man. He looked… like someone I knew…
"Hello, Amu, I've heard a lot about you through your father… in the ten small minutes I've known him. Would you mind if we came in and took a seat to explain why we're here?" The man asked.
"Um, yeah…" I said. "Come in."
I stepped to the side, and I asked, "So who are-"
But then I heard, "Dad!"
That was Ikuto's father… Mr. Tsukiyomi…
Ikuto's father… came all this way… to talk…
"Hello, Ikuto," he said, "we both came to talk to you guys."
"U-um," Ikuto said, "Sure." He sat me down. Like, pulled me… it kind of hurt.
"Hey!" I said, "Ow!"
"Sorry." He said, and kissed my head. "So, what were you going to say…?"
"Ikuto, Amu…" Dad started, "I… I guess, me and, Amu, your mom… we, um… we agree."
I jumped out of Ikuto's grasp-he was hold onto my waist- and hugged him in a big bear hug. He laughed and returned it.
"And, Ikuto, I came for the wedding… I didn't want to miss my own son's, my first born's, wedding." He said.
Ikuto smiled. Then his dad got up, and hugged him. Ikuto looked surprised, but hugged back.
I was so happy… but I know there were still my friends… well, not Tadase. Psh. Screw him. He doesn't get a say. But Yaya, Rima, Kukai, and Nagihiko should say it's okay with them… I mean, I do want them to come…
I went over and grabbed the phone, and said, "Excuse me…"
I dialed Yaya's number. She was seventeen now… but still acted the same. I walked over to the bathroom, and closed the door behind me. "Yaya?" I asked.
"Yes?" She was obviously hyper. "Who's this!"
"Um, It's Amu. Hi."
"Amu! Hi!" She extended the 'u' in my name.
Remember when I said my friends didn't approve? Well, I didn't exactly tell them… I was too scared, but I knew they wouldn't. So here I go. I'm taking a chance…
"What would you say if I was getting married in less than a month?" I asked.
I could hear something drop in the background, which meant her mouth was wide open and her lollypop fell out. "T-to who?" She almost yelled.
"Um, Ikuto." I told her.
"Wo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ow….." she said. "I'll be there!" Again, hyper.
I smiled, said, "Okay… don't call and tell anyone, though! Leave that to me." I said.
I heard her smile… kinda. Well, you can tell with Yaya… "Okay! Bye-bye, Amu-chan!" When she said bye, it was like a chant, like Ran, Miki, and Su used to do to me… 'Go, go, Amu-chan! Yay, yay, Amu-chan!' I heard. It wasn't in my brain…
It was in my heart.
I smiled, knowing they were just put away; not actually gone. I had realized this a while ago.
Then I dialed Rima's number. I told her the same thing.
Her reaction: "When, where?"
I laughed. I think she could tell something was up, and she wasn't surprised. "Less then a month, near Seiyo Academy."
"Good. I have to go…" I heard her yell in the background, "Nagi! Sit down! I'll be right there!" Then I heard, click.
So I called Nagihiko. "Hello?" I heard.
I told him like I told everyone else.
"Ooooooo! Nice going, Hinamori-san!" He said. "Sorry I have to go… Rima…" click.
I smiled.
Last… but not least… Kukai. But maybe he already knows because of Utau… I called him anyway.
"Ello?" Utau answered.
"Um, where's Kukai?" I asked.
"Amu? What are you doing calling Kukai? I'm telling Ikuto…!"
"No! I was going to tell him about me and Ikuto." I told her.
"Oh, yeah, he knows. I told him. Sorry."
"It's okay, you saved me lots of trouble." I said. Click.
Then one thing dawned on me… how did Tadase know?
The next day, I heard, thump… thump… "OW!" I woke up.
"What?" I asked.
"Ah, nothing… just hit my head…" Ikuto told me, out of bed, walking to the half-kitchen.
"How?" I asked.
"Um, I don't know…" He said. "I think I was half asleep…"
He only had his boxers on. I blushed.
He turned to me and smiled. "Whatchya think?" He asked, doing a modeling pose.
Then I laughed. "Shmexy~!" I said.
He did a couple more poses then laughed. He said, "I'm going to get some coffee." He walked to the kitchen and closed the bedroom door.
I laid back down and closed my eyes. It was eight. I didn't want to wake up at eight. I wanted to wake up at one. Or twelve. So my eyes were closed for about thirty minutes, trying to get back to sleep, when I heard the door open. But didn't open them.
Then… "A-A-A-A-A-A-AMU-U-U-U-U-U-U!"
I screamed and jumped, and I saw it was Ikuto, his face hovering over me. His knees were where mine were, holding him up, along with his hands, over me.
I blushed. "I-Ikuto!" I yelled.
His tucked his lips into his teeth, and the bottom of his eyes were coming up, almost meeting his upper lids.
Then he pecked me on my lips. Then he started tickling me.
"Ah! Ikuto!" I laughed, "Stop! STO-O-O-OP!"
He laughed, then stopped.
"You had too much coffee." I commented, still laughing from the after-tickle you got for about ten seconds. He dropped so he was laying down next to me and laughed.
"Yeah." He said. "And I guess it kind of just sank in that my dad, that I have wanted to search for, for about seven years, came to visit me… and is coming to our wedding. It's a dream come true!"
"Don't wake up." I said.
"I won't even think about it." He told me back, then kissed my forehead.
Chapter Five
"If you fight him,
I'm not going to marry you!"
He paused.
A couple hours later, we went out to the mall, just to window shop. We were both bored, and so that's a good way to pass time. Everything about the wedding was ready; I just had to go to my dress fitting, then it would be three days until the wedding.
We heard the rain patter on the roof of the mall. It was about three o'clock. We went into a store, and someone greeted us. "Hello! Please feel free to look at our merchandise!"
I waved uncomfortably as Ikuto just smiled and led me along, putting his hand on the small of my back. We walked along the store, looking at every other thing.
"Hey, Amu, try this on." Ikuto said, passing me a dress.
"Eh? Why?" I said, staring at the short, strapless dress.
"Because, three reasons." He said, walking over to me. "One: You just shaved your legs this morning." I blushed, and he walked behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Two, you're smoking hot…" I felt hot… on my face. "And, three… you're so freaking cute I can't stand it!" He kissed the top of my head.
I laughed, then went into the changing room. He followed. He stayed out of the changing room while I put on the pink and red dress. It came up about eight inches above my knee. I came out of the dressing room wrapping a sweater around me, and pulled him in by his shirt collar.
"What?" He asked, smiling. But instead, I shut the door and kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Woa. What's this all of a sudden?" He pulled away, and a smirk was on his face.
"I love you." I said, my eyes closed, and stole another kiss.
"Hold on." He said, "Can I see that dress?"
I don't know why, but something came over me when I had that dress on. "Yep," I said, smiling flirtatiously. I removed the long sweater, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head, they were so wide. The dress showed my legs, and it made my breasts look bigger.
"Wow." He said. Then he leaned in for another kiss. Then another. And soon, we were making out in a store changing room. "I," He started after a kiss, "Am definitely buying you that dress."
I smiled. "Good."
We walked out of the store after buying the dress. He handed me the bag. "Huh?" I asked.
"Go change into this." He told me, a playful smile on his lips.
"O-okay…" I said, blushing. I went to the bathroom and changed into the dress.
I came out, and he kissed me again. Something about this dress… made everything magical.
We walked around the mall, the rain still pounding on the roof.
"Ikuto-kun… that person's staring at me." I told him. There was a young man, about twenty-five, staring at me.
Ikuto glared at him, then reached down and kissed me again. I looked up, and the twenty-five-year-old glared at him.
He came over and said, "Want to take this outside?"
Ikuto asked, "There's nothing to take outside."
"The way you're glaring at me? Um, yeah." The guy said.
"So this is about glaring?" Ikuto asked, pulling me to his side by my shoulder.
"And," The guy got a smirk. "I want that pretty girlfriend of yours."
"First of all, I'm not his girlfriend-"
"Good!"
"I'm his fiancé. And second of all, there is no way in hell I would love anybody but him. So keep dreaming." I said.
He was taken aback. "Well," He said, "I still want that fight." A smirk pulled at his lips.
"Okay, let's go." Ikuto says.
"Ikuto-kun…" I said, and pulled him to me. "Ditch this loser. He's nothing but a low life."
"Amu, don't worry, I'm not going to let him hit me once." He started to walk away, and then I said,
"If you fight him, I'm not going to marry you!"
He paused. And in three seconds he turned around and said, "I won't fight; I'll just dodge."
"Ikuto!" I said as he turned away from me again. I took off the ring- so beautiful with a pink diamond next to a blue sapphire, then tiny diamonds trailing away from those. "Turn around right now, or else I'm leaving without the ring!" I was crying. I didn't notice until I heard my voice shake.
He turned around and took the ring; I thought this meant, 'Okay.'. But he said, "Why does this mean so deeply to you?" as he slipped it back on my finger. His eyes were teary and held hurt.
"Because I don't believe in fighting for anything-unless it's life-or-death." I told him.
He stared deep into my eyes, both our eyes holding hurt. And then he put his hand at the small of my back and headed me to the other exit, leaving the other guy alone and waiting for us.
I heard the guy yell as he saw us leaving, "Just think about what you're doing to Tadase by marrying that jerk!"
I stopped walking, my hurt growing more.
"Come on." Ikuto whispered in my ear. He nibbled it. "Let's get out of here."
"Hold on a second…" I said, "stay here." I walked over to the guy and his buddies that I hadn't noticed earlier. They all made a 'oo' sound and chuckled dark chuckles, and I guess they wanted me to come back. I didn't have a sweater on; it was with Ikuto. So was my purse and clothes in the bag; I was still wearing the dress, with the red on top, slowly fading to a pink at the bottom.
"You came back for me, didn't you, princess?" He asked. He wanted me to slap him, and if I did, he'd feel like he won.
"I just want to make something clear." I said. "I couldn't care less what Tadase's feeling about this; he needs to let me go, get over me, and realize it's never going to happen! And, I couldn't care less what the hell you have to do with him. So leave me and Ikuto alone or else I swear I will kick your asses myself. And it will be so hard, you'll go crying to your mommies, with a pacifier in your mouth. So shut up and get the hell out of here!"
By now a crowd had formed around us, understanding every word I had said.
But then bad news came- the security. Someone must have thought it was not a verbal fight.
"Hey!" The security man said, "What are you two doing!"
"Sorry, sir," I said, "He was giving me trouble, and I had to tell him something important. There was no action going on. Just talking."
He stared at me for a second, looking me up and down. Thank God I had the dress on. "Alright, go ahead and leave." he said, the rain getting heavier on the roof.
"Thanks." I said, and went back to Ikuto, who just stood in shock at the whole thing.
"Um." He mumbled out.
I kissed him. "C'mon. Let's get out of here."
We walked out to the parking lot.
The streetlight shined, giving the road a glowing look, because of the light bouncing off the rain. Ikuto put my sweater on me, but I took it off, and led him under the streetlight. A smile played on his lips.
"Want to dance?" He asked, the raindrops bouncing next to us off the gleaming black pavement.
I smiled. "Of course."
He put his hands around my waist, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, having to go up on my tip-toes a little bit. We swayed back and forth with no music, just the gentle rhythm of the raindrops pounding like bouncy needles around us.
The rain fell on his face and slipped off, and how the light was gleaming above him, it was a perfect sight. He was so handsome. He gave me the same stare I gave him as we rocked back and forth. And we kept our eyes locked when he dipped me, the rain trickling down my neck.
I laughed, and stared into his beautiful midnight eyes. He leaned down and kissed me, in the rain, in the middle of the parking lot, under a streetlight. Rain trickled down both our cheeks, got stuck in our eyelashes like a fly in a spider web, and both our hair-blue and pink-drenched with rain water, dripping, adding to the rain.
We stopped kissing, and I swear that was the best kiss I've ever had. This dress was truly magical- it made things happen.
We laughed out loud, just staring at each other, both of our eyes gleaming. He picked me up bridal-style, like always, and he walked the ten feet to his car. He put me in his car, then got on his side. And we drove off, after the best kiss in my life, after the best moment in my life- so far.Chapter Six
We backed up so much,
I bumped into the bed.
Then, guess what he did?
He pounced.
He pounced on me.
We fell onto the bed.
I was nervous. How was this going to work out? Was it going to look like I wanted it to? Anxious, I sat and waited for them to get my dress. I tapped my fingers, then switched to my feet, then back to my fingers again.
Utau looked at me. "Calm down. Gosh, Amu, you're acting like we're in a hospital and your dad's in there."
"Well, what if they got the colors wrong? What if… what if they got the measurements wrong?" I complained.
"Don't worry, nothing's going to go wrong!" Utau reassured.
"Amu Hinamori?" I heard my name called. Utau and I stood up, and we walked into the fitting room.
I put on the dress without looking in the mirror, and when I came out, I saw Utau's face, and the nervousness swooped away. I turned to face the mirror, and I swear I got a tiny bit of tears in my eyes. It was beautiful. The roses were colored perfectly.
"I'll say it again…" Utau was about to say what she said last time, but I said,
"No!"
She laughed, and said, "Fine, fine. But it's true."
When we got back to the hotel, Ikuto was gone, doing groom stuff. Or cat stuff. You never really know with Ikuto.
"Okay, where do I put it?" I asked.
"In that closet. He doesn't look there, does he?" Utau said.
"Um, only every day. He keeps his stuff in there." I told her.
"Oh. Gr. Um… oh, go down and ask if the people working here can keep it with them." She said.
"Alright." I said, and walked with the dress to the elevator. Utau had to stay in the room to plan something, so I was alone.
I got to the lobby, and went to the front desk. "Hi," I said, "Um, I'm getting married… and I don't have anywhere to put my dress. I was wondering if I could keep it down here? Because my fiancé will see it if I keep it in my room."
"Oh, sure, sure!" She said cheerfully. She took my dress and put it in a supply closet. "When you need it, come down here and talk to me. I'll be here every day for a week."
"Oh, great! Because my wedding's in two days." I said, and smiled.
"Well congratulations!" she smiled.
I smiled, said thanks, and went back up to my room. Utau was sitting, waiting for me with her legs crossed.
"Um… what?" I asked her, standing there awkwardly.
"Oh, nothing." She said plainly. "Just… aren't you going to have a bachelorette party?"
"Um… I don't know… I'm only eighteen. And Ikuto's my first and only boyfriend." I told her. "And I don't know how the heck those things work. I've seen them on T.V., but… you know."
She hummed. "Me either. Oh well. We could just go out and… celebrate. You know, go to a restaurant, just go out…"
"Hmm…" I hummed, thinking. "Okay, a restaurant, and just a night out on the town. No drinking, of course, I'm under aged." I laughed a little bit.
Utau smiled, and asked, "Are you truly happy with Ikuto…?" Then her face went straight, and she looked me dead in the eye.
I was a little taken aback. I sat next to her, and said, very quietly, "Yes… yes, I am… why?"
She hesitated, and said, "It's just… You've only had Ikuto as a boyfriend, never anyone else. So what if you meet someone else during the marriage? You'll go off with that man, and leave Ikuto heartbroken."
I got defensive. "Well I would never do that! And I was his only girlfriend. He hadn't had one before me. So what if he leaves me?"
She was quiet. I don't think she thought of that.
Outraged, I walked out the room's door. I paused in the hallway, thought, came back in, and said, "This is my room. So you can go out."
She got up silently, and when she got next to me, she said, "Amu, I didn't mean to hurt you, or offend you. I swear, I don't want him or you hurt, I was just thinking…"
I just stared at her until she was done talking.
"You can leave now." I told her.
With her head down, she stepped out of my room. "Amu, I'm not doubting the marriage. It's just that I don't want you or him to get hurt. I'm scared, especially because of the age difference and how young you are." She had sad eyes.
I stood there, then relaxed a little. I pulled her into a hug as a tear was about to fall onto her cheek. "Utau, I'm a big girl. I can fight for myself. If I wasn't confident I could do this, I wouldn't."
We released the hug, and she took a deep breath, said, "I know. I should go. Kukai is waiting for me." She left slowly, the steps taking two seconds each.
I heard, "Hi, Ikuto." on the way, and then a pause. I looked down, and saw Ikuto hugging Utau.
He said, "Haven't talked to you in a while, sis."
She smiled, and said, "Yea."
I watched the siblings, then I watched as he walked up to me. "Hey, Amu!" He greeted.
"Hi." I hugged him.
"You okay…?" He asked, hugging me tighter.
"Yeah, just Utau said something…" I told him. "And I'm not telling you what."
"Okay, okay… fine." He said, and we went inside.
"So," he said, "I looked at houses today. There's this really nice one. My dad said he'll pay for the first three months, then we're on our own."
"Cool! But… are you going to show me the house anytime soon…?"
"Nope. I want it to be a surprise. It's a really great house, and I know that I can afford it." Ikuto told me. He walked over to me slowly.
"What are you doing…?" I asked.
"Stalking my prey… hush…"
We backed up so much, I bumped into the bed. Then, guess what he did?
He pounced.
He pounced on me. We fell onto the bed.
He kissed me passionately, and then said, "I love you so much…"
"I love you, too." I said, and kissed him again.
"Hey," he started, breaking the kiss, then looked at me. "Let's go out to eat. You and me. There's this place I want to take you."
"Alright," I said. "Um, what should I wear…?"
He looked at me, then stood up and reached out his hand. I took it and he stood me up. "Oh! How about that dress I bought for you?"
I blushed, the memory flooding my brain of that perfect kiss…
He saw this and smirked. "Amu-chan," he said, "if you do… I'll make sure the same thing happens again. Well, the kiss anyway."
I blushed. "I-Ikuto!" I yelled.
He laughed.
I turned my back, crossing my arms. "Meanie!" I pouted.
Ikuto laughed again, and grabbed my into a hug from behind, his arms wrapping around my waist, and his hands came together on my stomach. "Ah, that felt nice, to tease you again. I don't do it as much as I did then. Of course, if I do now, it's all true."
I blushed again. "A-anyway, when are we leaving?"
"As soon as you get that dress on. And, we aren't going to a restaurant…" and that was the last thing he said as he walked out of the room. He ignored my inquiries about where it was.
So I just walked over to my closet, grabbed the dress, and put it on. I put on some high-heels, and walked out.
He looked at me, his thumb and curled pointer finger on his chin. Then he took my hand, and led me into the bathroom. "Sit still and close your eyes." He said.
'Oh, no…' I thought, knowing what he was going to do.
I felt something on my eye lid, then the other one. Then I felt something on my lips-no, not his-and then he told me, "Open."
So I did, and I looked in the mirror, dreadful.
But… it was actually very… good. He did a good job, and I asked, "How'd you learn to put make-up on like this?"
"Watching you." He said, and came behind me.
I had a dark purple on my lid, then above that was some light purple, and they were blended together where they met. He had put liquid eye liner on my top lid, then just enough pencil eye liner on my bottom. He put mascara on my top and bottom, and there were no clumps. And the lipstick was a light pink, that looked natural, but not too natural.
"Wow." I said. Then I thought about it. "You know, I'm not that good. You're way better than me."
"Then I'll put it on you every day." He said, and kissed the top of my head. I smiled. "Let's go," he said, grabbing his violin. I looked at him curiously, but he just led me out the door, smiling.
When we got out of the hotel, we walked, slowly. It was a warm night out, so I didn't need a jacket. Ikuto put his arm around my shoulder, anyway, and we walked like that, silent, to this mysterious destination.
When we got there, my eyes widened. I couldn't believe it. Was this really happening?
Chapter Seven
I looked at him suspiciously,
and he smirked.
"Trust me," he said.
So I did.
It was so easy, when you love someone,
to trust them even when all they say are those
two
simple
words
Here we are, at the place where the feelings began. We were standing before the place that was supposed to be wrecked years ago. But here it was, still alive.
"I-Ikuto-kun, h-how is it still here?" I asked, bewildered.
"I bought it, right when they were about to tear it down." He said, squeezing my hand.
I hugged him. "It's not torn down…" a tear slipped from my eye, and it stained his shirt, the tiniest bit.
We walked into the old amusement park that held so many memories.
"Here, sit." he instructed, gesturing to a bench.
I did as he said, and he ran off for two minutes, then came back. He took my hand, and we walked to the teacups. I laughed as he led my in one. It was too small for even me now, let alone him. Then I saw the contents that were on the table that you turned. It was a beautifully set appetizer. Colored roses were in the center-this time only one of each-and it was as I looked at all the teacups that I noticed dinner on one, dessert on another, then one that had his violin on it.
I looked at him suspiciously, and he smirked. "Trust me," he said.
So I did. It was so easy, when you love someone, to trust them even when all they say are those two simple words.
He turned on the teacups, and they started to move.
He got in the teacup that had his violin on it, then stood on the table. He started playing, and then smirked at me. "Eat," he said, his smirk turning to a smile.
I ate the appetizer to the sound of his beautiful song, closing my eyes and swaying. Then I stopped, and asked, "So when are you joining me?"
"During the main course."
"Well, that's now."
"Alright then." He hopped out of the teacup, but not before getting out a CD player and turning it on to violin music.
Ikuto sat, and grabbed-not even one arm's length away on one of the other teacups-the dinners.
He put one on my side, and one on his.
"Mange, Fraise!" he said, smiling.
"And what would that mean?" I asked, returning the smile.
"'Eat up, Strawberry!' in French," he told me, a bragging look on his face.
I laughed.
"Do you know what, 'Je t'aime' means?" Ikuto asked me.
"No. What does it mean?"
"'I love you'." he told me, this gentle look in his eyes.
I smiled. "Je t'aime aussi," I said, smiling.
"Oh? You know what that means?" he asked.
"Yes. I love you also," I said.
He laughed. "Since when do you speak French?"
"I don't. I only know 'also' and 'love'."
"Then what are they?"
"Aussi is also, and love is amour."
He smiled. "Je ne peux pas attendre jusqu'à ce que nous nous marier."
"What does that mean?"
"I can not wait until we get married," he told me, then took a bite of his dinner. I did the same, smiling.
I couldn't wait either.
Me: THE END!
Ikuto: WHAT? That was TOO short!
Amu: …O.o
Me: LOL! Just kidding, I know. I just wanted to scare you people. ON WITH THE STORY!
We finished eating, and he held out his hand for mine. "Now, for my favorite ride," he said.
He lead me to his favorite ride, and put me on a horse. This time, when he climbed behind me, I didn't protest. We laughed and smiled, riding on that horse.
We started walking home after that. We held hands, looking up at the sky, sparkling with crystal-like stars.
We got into the hotel, and when we got to my room, he kissed me. And again. And then we started making out. He pushed me against the wall, leaning down just a bit to kiss me. He picked me up and wrapped my legs around him so I would be his height. Like that, he carried me to the bed and laid me down, and he laid on top of me, his arms keeping him up, just enough.
(A/N: I want a buttered Ego waffle. And this will not be a lemon. Like I said, NO LEMONS!)
I pulled away.
"What, Strawberry?" he asked, his long eyelashes dazing me.
"I-I…," I stuttered. I what? I don't know why I pulled away. I only pulled away because I thought this might lead in that direction. "I don't want to go too far…," I said, blushing a little bit.
He fell down on his side next to me, and whispered, "Alright, I'll stop if you want me to." And the best part was that he wasn't mad, or anything. He was just respecting me.
"But, God, I love you," I said, cupping his cheek with my hand. "I love you so freaking much."
He smiled and chuckled a little bit. "Want to watch some T.V.?" he asked.
"Sure," I said, smiling.
I mean, most men would lay off, but be mad. But Ikuto wasn't. Not at all. I mean, I guess it's because we're getting married, but even if we were just going out, he'd stop. Like he said, he wouldn't do anything that I really didn't like. That I wasn't comfortable with.
He turned on the television and I sat on my knees. His head laid on my lap, using it as a pillow. I ran my fingers through his hair. Just like that night, after he was beaten up pretty bad… but this time, he didn't tell me to 'not touch him in "pervy" places'.
So we sat, just sitting and watching T.V.
But then the doorbell rang. I got up, and walked over. I opened the door, and saw Yaya, tears in her eyes, photos in her hands. She was bruised in some places, and cut in others. Her cheeks were wet, her hair messed up.
And I was confused when she cried out, "I'm so sorry, Amu-chan!"
Chapter Eight
"What are you doing?"
I asked.
"Making sure you'rereal,"
he said,
"You are."
"What, Yaya? What are you sorry about?" I asked calmly, leading her in, and sat her on the couch.
I shoved the pictures into my hands. "These are the pictures I took of you guys in the park… it was me in a disguise… Tadase made me do it! He wanted to see how happy you were… and he decided it wasn't happy enough… so he's trying to get you two apart… and when I heard his next plan, I told him I wouldn't go through with it! That I couldn't do this to my best friend! So he… he beat me!" She started crying again.
I was surprised as I sat next to her, hugging her. "Sh… it's all right. I don't blame you for going on his side. His evil for beating you," I consoled. Ikuto came out then, after hearing our conversation. He sat next to me. Then I couldn't resist asking, "…What is his next plan?"
Yaya didn't want to answer. She just looked down.
"Yaya," I scolded, "you have to tell me, so I can prevent anything from happening."
She looked at me, then looked back down. She grabbed a tissue, wiped her face, and said, "To get Ikuto to fall in love with another girl. Or at least make you think that. And then he'd console you when you were heartbroken."
Ikuto said, "Well, that wouldn't work."
"Just remember that I said that he'd make her think that," Yaya said.
"Well, now he won't," I said, thinking.
"But he'll still try," Yaya said, then blew her nose.
I got up, remembering her scratches, and walked over to the bathroom to get supplies to help her clean up. She couldn't go home like this. Her parents would think she was irresponsible, and not a good figure to be around her younger brother.
I know how that is.
I cleaned her up the best I could. She hugged me, and said, "Thank you Amu-chan. And I'm so sorry! I,… I can't help but love Tadase…"
I laughed without humor. "Yeah, I was there once."
I glanced at Ikuto. He looked jealous. I smiled at him, and he fake smiled back.
We broke the hug, and she smiled like she was ashamed of herself. I wasn't used to this side of Yaya. Only the cheery, happy side, or the whiney, baby side.
I suggested, "We could call the police an-"
"No!" Yaya yelled. Then she looked shocked at herself. "Um, no," she corrected. "I don't want him to go to jail. I mean, It's not like he does this all the time. His 'aggressive king' side came out. And when he stopped and actually realized what he was doing, he stopped, and I ran away," she explained.
I thought about this. "But, still, Yaya! He can't do this to you…"
Yaya then put on her cheery smile. "It's okay, Amu-chan! I'm a big girl now! I can take care of myself, and my brother!" Her face dropped then, just a little bit, to a not-so-big smile, but still a smile. "Thanks for not getting mad, and listening, and… well, taking care of me. I have to go now. My brother needs me." And she was gone.
I glanced at Ikuto.
He smiled, and said, "Everything's going to be fine."
I wanted to believe him.
We went to bed, and I laid there, thinking things over. What next? Was Tadase going to try to kill one of us!
When I woke up, I was met by Ikuto's face. He was, again, lying on top of me. He was really like a cat! He would wake you up, just by staring at you.
"Ah!" I screamed.
I smile broke across his face. "Matin, Fraise," he said in French. What is it with him and French?
"And that would mean…?" I asked.
"Morning, Strawberry." He kissed me.
I pushed my head up, deepening the kiss. We broke and I smiled. "How do you say, 'kitty' in French?"
"Minou. Why?"
"Matin, Minou," I said, winking and sticking out my tongue.
He laughed. Then, he laid his head on my chest, the rest of his body laying diagonally across the rest of the bed.
He sat there for a while, then a smile sluggishly made it's way across his face.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Making sure you're real," he said, "You are."
I smiled at him. He was still a little childish.
But, of course, I was, too.
We were going to get married tomorrow. Tomorrow! So, I'm going to go out tonight and go celebrate. Nothing, you know… yeah, but we're going out to eat, and Utau planned a surprise.
"So," Rima asked, "where are we eating?"
"Um," I thought, "how about the Cheesecake Factory?"
"Yaya likes cheesecake!" Yaya yelled. I laughed.
"They have good food. But, I would suggest something lighter. Remember, you have a surprise coming up," Utau said, "…And I wouldn't want the food coming up while you're doing it."
I thought. What was I going to do?
Rima giggled. "She still doesn't know?"
Utau smiled just a tiny bit. "No. And neither does Yaya… she'll tell."
Yaya pouted. "Will not!"
I laughed. "Alright, fine, but where do we eat?"
Utau looked at her watch. "Oh! We should probably eat after, anyway!" she exclaimed and dragged me to her car. We all sat, and Utau drove, until we got to a place I was unfamiliar with.
There was a huge field, and there was a cement lane. There were a couple… planes. Uh-oh. What is she making me do…?
"Hello," I woman greeted us, "So, who's Amu Hinamori?"
"I-I am…," I muttered, tossing nervous glance at Utau, who just nodded. Rima whispered in Yaya's ear. Yaya's face was… priceless. It was an excited face mixed with only about one percent worried-looking.
The woman lead me away, and Utau, Rima, and Yaya were walking away in the opposite direction.
"Um, what am I doing?" I asked the woman. She had hair that went to her shoulders and flipped out a bit at the end.
"You're going to jump out of a plane."
I panicked. Would Utau want me to jump out of a plane? Wait… is it because of that conversation we had earlier in the week? Oh, no… what if she paired up with Tadase, and they were going to try to kill me? Utau wouldn't do that, right? And Tadase wouldn't want to kill me… would he? No, of course not… but, why jump out of a plane? And why am I following this woman if I knew what was coming?
She laughed. "Don't worry, You're going tandem. You'll fall for a full minute, then he'll release the parachute."
Oh my gosh. I'm going sky-diving.
"We'll be waiting for you down here, Amu!" Utau shouted.
I waved, with no smile on my face.
I just jumped out of a plane. I just jumped out of a fricken' plane! But wait… I'm falling. Oh my gosh, I'm flying! I,… I can't even describe this feeling! It's so great! I let a scream of enjoyment escape my lips. I just jumped out of a plane, but I was flying!
He pulled the parachute. I floated down, and we landed on our butts.
Utau ran over to me. "Oh my gosh!" I yelled, "I love you so much!" I hugged her in a tight squeeze.
She laughed. Yaya and Rima looked jealous, so I laughed, and hugged them, too.
I jumped out of a plane the night before my wedding.
And I survived to go to the ceremony tomorrow, to be united with the man of my dreams forever.Chapter Nine
"I do."
Very soon, I was walking down the aisle. I don't know how it happened, it just came like a snap, a blink, and I was there. I had gone home and slept like a baby. Utau took care of my hair, makeup, nails, and dress-which took the whole day-and she told me just to sit and relax. And sometimes sit up straight. "You're not going to a funeral! You're getting married! So don't slouch like your sad! Especially since you're getting married to my brother!" she had said, straightening her shoulders, making sure I did the same. I was picturing her like a teacher with a high, tight bun and a yard stick, slapping it against her hand. That thought made me laughed, and she paused from doing my hair to give me a look.
But now I'm here, getting married, age eighteen. I have to remind myself of everything. My name is Amu Hinamori (not for long), I'm eighteen years old, I have pink hair, golden eyes, and I live in Seiyo. I'm getting married to Ikuto Tsukiyomi, age twenty-two, no need to describe him because he's standing at the end of the isle-so handsome, in a tux (that's loose, but it's okay, because that's how I like it), and his eyes sparkling, mouth slightly open. He lives in Seiyo, and after this, we're going on a honeymoon, then to our fabulous house-that I haven't seen yet-to live a very happy life.
As I was walking down the isle, I glanced at Rima with Nagihiko, Utau standing in the line, Kukai behind Ikuto, Yaya, front row, next to Rima. I also glanced at my dad, his palm possibly sweatier than mine, next to me, holding my hand, ready to give me away to the man I love. The man I will spend eternity with. The man that is all mine. This all happened in three seconds, and in another five, I thought of all the times with Ikuto-from the moment I met him, to when we got together, to the last time I saw him. And after I glanced at all them, I looked ahead. I looked ahead to Ikuto. My Ikuto.
And the last words I heard were formed on his mouth: "You look so beautiful, and you're right, I love that dress."
I smiled, and the priest started saying things I couldn't quite process as I looked at Ikuto. As I thought about how happy we were going to be. And as a strange person crossed my mind… Tadase.
I was thinking about Tadase at my wedding. It was funny, how he wasn't even here, and he's still ruining it. I want to stay his friend; I really, really do. But he grew apart from me since that speech. But he's still in love with me. My only guess is that he has problems moving on. Like, for example, with Ikuto and Bess.
But then it was time for the 'I do's. Ikuto looked in my eyes, looking in my soul, and said the perfect words. "I do."
Then it was my turn. I was so happy, the words barley came.
"I do," I said, trying not to cry.
"You may kiss the bride."
Ikuto's hand ran to my neck, his lips rushing to mine. Even though it's not raining, It's still the best kiss I've ever had. We walked down the isle with each other, and it was time for the after party.
At the after party, I saw a flash of blonde hair racing towards us in through the crowd of people. 'Oh, no…,' I thought. I leaned over and whispered in Ikuto's ear, "Be prepared for Tadase."
He nodded, and forced a smile when he saw him. "Hello, Tadase," Ikuto said.
Tadase tossed him a glare, then turned to look at me. "You'll regret getting married to that sleaze-bag! I guarantee it! Both of you!" I had never seen him in so much rage. He was so out of character. He walked away, that rage still existing, and leaving me confused.
"Hey, Ikuto, how long do you think it'll take for him to 'get back at us'?" I joked, a smile across my lips.
He laughed. "As long as it takes for you to loose weight."
My mouth dropped. "Ikuto!" I yelled, and everyone stopped and looked. I blushed while he burst out laughing. At the sound of his laughter, everyone seemed to smile and join in.
He finished while people were talking about that incident. "I'm kidding. You're perfect."
My blush deepened.
Time flew, and all the while I was thinking about how I was finally married to the man of my dreams. And now, we only have one last stop.
The honeymoon.Chapter Ten
I couldn't even guess how long
we stood there like that,
only looking into each other's eyes,
taking in that we were now married.
I don't remember getting there. All I know is that we're here. We're in the USA. Believe it or not… Seattle. We both really wanted to go to Seattle, and Ikuto's dad is a very well-known person there, so he got the plane tickets and hotel almost free!
We walked into the hotel honeymoon suite, and I swear my jaw dropped. Ikuto's eyes almost popped out of his head. It was so huge and romantic! There was a huge living room, and right smack-dab in the middle was a big, red, luxury bathtub… for two. I blushed when I saw that. There were white and pink drapes on the windows. The bedroom had wide double-doors that were red-tinted glass, and in the middle of them were two pink hearts on each. They were open so you could see the bed with the red, see-through drapes. It had white sheets, and rose petals spread around on it. And Ikuto must have requested the rose petals… because they were colored our colors.
Ikuto leaned down and whispered in my ear, "So, Amu…Tsukiyomi," I got shivers. "where would you like to start?"
I could tell there was a smirk on his face. I blushed. Then, he picked me up, led me to the bedroom, and laid me on the bed. He hovered over me and kissed me gently, making me shiver. I looked over at the clock for a split second and I think it was about seven their time. But time didn't matter. Especially when Ikuto's cool hands were starting to unzip and take off my dress… Not at all.
~x.o.x~
I woke up the next day cuddled up next to Ikuto's bare chest. One of his hands were on my back, and then other was behind his head. He was looking up at the ceiling. I kissed his chest, since it was the only part of him that I could get to without moving.
"Good morning, Ikuto-kun," I said, smiling.
He looked down at me, and smiled a gentle smile. "Morning, Strawberry," he replied. It was silent for a little while, then he said, "You know, last night was amazing… and you're so beautiful…,"
I blushed. "Y-yeah… a-and thank you…," I stuttered, not knowing what to say.
He held me tighter and kissed my head. "I love you."
"I love you, too," I said, and I knew it was true, and I knew that I would love him forever. I don't know how I knew, but I just did.
Ikuto got up and pulled on a pair of boxers… I looked away. It was still a little… weird for me. But Ikuto seemed so used to this. He turned to me and said, "I'm going to take a bath… want to join?" with a smirk on his face.
"U-um… sure…," I said hesitantly.
His smirk dropped and he was serious now. "Don't worry… I'm nervous, too," he said.
"B-but you seem so… confident," I said.
He smiled, "Only to hide the nerves. You know me."
I smiled, too. "Okay, I'll join you."
He left the room and closed the door, and a little while later I heard the water start to run.
I got out of bed and put on the robe that was the hotel's. It was a short, red, silk robe. I stepped out of the room, and saw Ikuto sitting in the bathtub, his head back, his eyes closed. He must have heard my footsteps because he looked up at me and smiled. I got really nervous. I know he saw me last night, but… it's nerve-wracking. After years of being together and not seeing each other in this way, it makes me really nervous.
I untied the robe and let it fall to the floor. Ikuto was staring into my eyes… my eyes, when I was naked. Somehow, it felt like he was respecting me. Respecting all woman. But I was the one who got to have him. Yes, he had many faults, but it's nothing compared to how polite, charming, loving he is. I stepped into the bathtub, and sat down, uncomfortably and nervously. I fidgeted with my hands… and Ikuto just stared at me (my face).
"Wh-what do you want?" I asked rather harshly… my outer character was coming out because I was nervous.
"I just can't believe that we're married now. That we're going to spend the rest of our lives together," he responded, as if my outer character wasn't even showing. As if I didn't just spit at him… verbally.
I blushed… it was like I was twelve again. You know, we both hadn't changed much. Maybe it was because we were with each other. Maybe we would have changed if we were without each other. I wonder what we would have been like. But I chased that thought away from me, knowing we would be totally different, because we grew and, even though you can't tell, matured. Well, I did. I'm not quite sure about Ikuto…
Ikuto. …Ikuto… I was married to Ikuto… I'm freaking married to Ikuto! My name isn't Amu Hinamori anymore… It's Amu Tsukiyomi. …Wow, I love how that sounds. Amu Tsukiyomi… I smiled without realizing, and Ikuto asked me what I was thinking about.
"Um, well… I'm thinking about how great it is to be your…wife. And have your name. …Amu Tsukiyomi," I said aloud for the first time.
He smiled and sat up in the tub so he could embrace me. His lips were against my ear, and he whispered, so quietly that I got goose bumps, "I love you, Amu Tsukiyomi, and I will for the rest of my life."
Let's just say that after that, we 'got to know each other better'. …For the second time.
-X-
"Mrs. Tsukiyomi… do you want to order room service for something to eat?" Ikuto asked, hugging my from behind, his arms wrapped around just under my chest, and his chin resting on my shoulder. I only had my robe on.
I yelped at first, but then laughed and said, "Sure," while putting my hand to the back of his head, tangling my fingers through his beautiful hair. He turned his head, and I did, too, and we stared into each other eyes for the longest time. I couldn't even guess how long we stood there like that, only looking into each other's eyes, taking in that we were now married.
"Ikuto," I whispered, "I love you."
He smiled. "I know… I love you to."
And then he kissed me, while we were in that position, just standing there, in the middle of the room.
When we broke, he hugged me tighter for a second, and then walked over to the phone so he could call room service.
I suddenly got worried. I knew how people got…different as they grew older. Less romantic. I worry that that might be us some day. I don't want to do that! I want to stay like we are! I could barley breath… but thank goodness for my outer character. Thank goodness that I didn't show it. I wasn't worried that we'd get a divorce or anything, just that we'd lose how romantic we are.
"Pancakes are on their way, along with other food…," Ikuto said as he smiled and sat down next to me. Then he wrapped his arm around me, and pulled me back. Now we were both laying on the bed, next to each other. We laid there like that for a while, then we heard a knock on the door.
"I'll be right back," Ikuto said, getting up so he could answer.
I didn't hear anything until I heard the door open, and Ikuto asked, "What…?"
I got up and walked hurriedly out of the bedroom, and saw who was at the door.
It wasn't room service.Chapter Eleven
"Why'd you smile?" I asked Ikuto.
"Because that was the first time I heard someone call
you Mrs. Tsukiyomi," he said.
"MyMrs. Tsukiyomi."
I stared agape at who was standing at the door. Why would we expect them? Who were the two men standing at the door?
"Ikuto Tsukiyomi," a tall man in black addressed him.
"What?" Ikuto asked.
"We're from Easter. You ran away about six years ago. We came to come get you to take you back to Easter. You are now the leader of Easter, since your stepfather had recently passed."
Ikuto closed the door in his face.
"Y…Your step dad d-died?" I asked, startled.
"Yes. But I hated him. I didn't care. But Amu, these guys are coming here on our honeymoon. Why now? Why didn't they come seek me out for their evil plan after you helped me escape?" he asked in a yelled-whisper type of voice.
"Calm down, Ikuto. Move aside; go to the bedroom. I'll talk with them. Relax. I'll take care of it," I said, moving him aside. He did as he was told, but not without a short argument.
I opened the door. "Hello," I said.
"O-oh, hello," one man said, confused. "We didn't know anyone else was here."
"Well, Ikuto and I are actually on honeymoon. So if you could leave and come back, say… two weeks, that would be perfect. We'll discuss it then," I said. I felt self-conscious that I was only in the short, silk robe. But whatever. I needed to take care of this.
"Sorry, Mrs. Tsukiyomi-" I got chills when he addressed me as that "-but Ikuto has to come with us now. We're on a tight schedule. If we don't get him now, then nothing will get done," the other said.
"But he doesn't even want to be the leader. Sorry, I won't let you in. And if you don't leave, I'm afraid I'll have to call security," I threatened. But it was in a pleasant tone. I was trying to be the opposite of my outside character. I wanted to be polite and calm. I didn't want to be cold, or else this wouldn't go smoothly.
"We're sorry, but he has to be. It's in this contract," the other said, taking something out. He handed it me, and I read it. I spotted two things.
After the pass of his father, Ikuto Tsukiyomi will become leader of Easter.
When Ikuto Tsukiyomi signs this, this contract will be legal until the year 2009.
"I'm sorry, guys, but this says the pass of his father. Not his stepfather," Amu said.
"We still have to take him back. We were ordered. If we must, we will take him by force."
"But, guys, you can't use this contract anymore, anyway. This says it expires 2009. It's twenty-ten. It's not up to date!" I said. "If you really want him, wait until after the honeymoon, make a new contract, and yada, yada, yada. But until then, bye. We're going to continue our honeymoon," I said, and shut the door in their faces.
"Ikuto, they're gone," I called.
"Why were they here?" he asked. "I mean, I know why, but… why now? Why on our honeymoon? Why right after we got married?"
"I don't know, Ikuto-kun, but I'll tell you one thing: they're gone, and we can continue our honeymoon in peace. We could go down to a coffee shop, or we could go to the EMP, or the Space Needle. Or Pike Place Market! I've heard they cell some awesome stuff there. Oh, and there's this restaurant that I've heard is very good; a couple, actually. One's in the Space Needle, one is on the thirty-first floor of a building, and it's called Daniel's, and another is near the baseball stadium-it's a hotel restaurant. I think it's called Tommy's or something." He eased up once I mentioned that we could continue our honeymoon in peace. He was open to any idea, I could tell, but there was a look on his face…
"Underground Seattle," he said.
"Uh… okay, but why?"
"I've heard there's a lot of ghosts down there," he said. "It's a great place for a honeymoon."
"What? You idiot, how is that romantic?" I yelled childishly.
He chuckled. "Because we'll be with each other," he said.
I stopped, and smiled softly. I can't believe this is what I had with me for the rest of my life. I love it, and I can't believe that it's all mine. "Okay, Underground Seattle it is," I said. "Get dressed!"
He smiled, and we both went to get dressed. I was still a little shy, but I figured, what the heck? He's my husband. So we got dressed, and we left, with him holding the door for me.
We got to the place where we start the Underground Seattle tour, and I got a little nervous. I think Ikuto could sense that because he brought me closer to him, and whispered, "I've got you."
Flash! I saw a camera go off. And I swear they pointed it at us. Then the person who took the picture walked towards us. "Hello, I'm Nathan Peirce! I couldn't help but see what an adorable couple you are! Would you consider being models for a couple magazines?" he asked us.
"Um," I said. I knew a little English; we practiced some before we came.
"Uh, I don't know, we'll have to think about it," Ikuto said, and it was very clear English, but with a slight accent.
"Well here's my card," he said. "Don't be afraid to call!"
"Well, we're from Japan, so I don't think we'll be able to," I said to him.
"Well it'll only be a couple photo shoots! One here, one there… not much. We can fit them in before you go back home, then I can send you some magazines they'll be in, and all the pictures. It'll be great for the house, no?" he said.
"Well…," I looked up at Ikuto. I was pulled against his hest, so I had to extend my neck and when I did look up, I saw his chin.
He looked down at me, then smirked.
"Wh-what?" I asked in Japanese.
"You have a bat in the cave," he said, also in Japanese.
"What?" I asked, panicked, and took out a Kleenex.
The photographer laughed, even though I know he didn't know what we were saying. "So cute, so cute! So, what do you say?"
We looked at each other again, then Ikuto answered, "Sure, why not?"
"Great, great! Just call me when you can, and I'll schedule you in," he said. Someone-It looked like his wife-called him over, so he left after we told him our names with a final goodbye.
Underground Seattle was entertaining. There were a couple so-called 'ghosts'. A woman showed us a picture she took of one on her cell phone. (A/N: This actually happened when I went!) It was really fascinating. I learned that toilets were before called 'Crappers', because the guy's last name who invented them was Crapper. I hope this was before the word crap was invented. If it wasn't, I bet he got teased.
We went out to lunch, then went back to the hotel.
"Hello, is this Nathan Peirce?" Ikuto asked into the receiver. "Hi, it's Ikuto Tsukiyomi." Silence. "Yes, the couple from Underground Seattle." Pause. "Uh, yeah, we were wondering when we could… oh, really? Alright then, I guess we'll see you then." There was a pause, then he smiled and said, "She's great." Then they said goodbye and hung up.
"Why'd you smile?" I asked Ikuto.
"Because that was the first time I heard someone call you Mrs. Tsukiyomi," he said. "My Mrs. Tsukiyomi."
I smiled.
"So," he said, "What next?"Chapter Twelve
"My name is Amu Hina-…
I mean, Amu Tsukiyomi.
And this is my
boy-…husband, Ikuto Tsukiyomi,"
"So," he said, "what's next?"
I thought for a while. "Well, we could go to the EMP," I said, thinking.
He thought for a while. "What's that?" He asked.
"Experience Music Project," I said. "And it also has one of the two sci-fi museums in the world."
"But… what's Experience Music Project?" he asked.
I sighed. "It's a place where you can look at instruments and outfits worn by famous musicians. There are also photographs of them, and there's the history of music. But the fun part is that there are sound-proof rooms with instruments in them where you can play them for ten minutes. Like, there's a guitar room, a drum room, a vocal room, and a lot more. And there's this tornado-shaped sculpture with a whole bunch of instruments in it, making the shape. Mostly guitars."
"So a fun museum."
"Yes, I guess you could call it that."
"That's all you had to say."
I got an annoyed look on my face, and he laughed. "Let's go," he said. He took my hand and we headed out.
When we walked into the room with the big tornado-sculpture, Ikuto's jaw dropped. Well, so did mine. I hadn't seen in it person, only in pictures. It was so big. It went from the floor of the first floor to the roof of the second floor. It was covered with instruments, like guitars. I saw a violin in there, too, and a keyboard.
After gaping at the amazing sculpture, I looked up at him and asked, "Want to go to the vocal room?"
He smiled and nodded in response.
It was a Monday, at two-thirty, so not many people were here. That made it easy for us to get into the vocal room. I heard that when it was packed, it would take you thirty minutes to get one (there were only two with doors, and one without). Each turn is ten minutes.
I looked around, trying to find where the rooms were. I saw two girls, both looking about fourteen. "Excuse me," I asked them, trying to get a hold of English, "do you know where the vocal rooms are?"
One girl with blonde hair replied, "Yeah, we're headed that way. Just follow us," in a cheerful manner.
The other with short black hair smiled.
As we were walking to the stairs, I decided to make a conversation. "How many times have you been here?"
The girl who talked earlier replied, "I think this is about my fifth time being here."
The girl who smiled said in a slight English accent, "This is my first time. I lived here for two years and I haven't visited."
"She kind of freaked out when I told her there was a whole bunch of stuff about the Beatles," the other said.
"So you're a fan?" Ikuto asked as we started walking up the stairs.
"Of course I'm a fan of the Beatles! Are you crazy? They're amazing!"
I smiled. "Oh, um, sorry for being so rude, my name is Amu Hina-… I mean, Amu Tsukiyomi. And this is my boy-…husband, Ikuto Tsukiyomi," I said. I hadn't said that before. It felt nice.
The one with blonde hair smiled. "I'm Grace," she replied.
The other responded with, "I'm Emily. But call me Remy."
"Well hello, Grace and Remy," I said.
Ikuto smiled. "Hello, you two. So, aren't you supposed to be in school?"
Grace took out her cell phone and checked the time. "Well technically, not anymore. My school gets out at one fifty-five. But I missed it, yes, because Remy lives in Virginia, and she decided to visit Washington again. And so I took her here, because she's never been here. So screw school when it comes to friends you haven't seen in a year."
Ikuto chuckled, and I smiled.
"Here we are," Grace said, pointing to the vocals that were downstairs. It had a sound-proof door on it. "We'll take the one upstairs… unless they fixed it within the couple months I haven't been here, one button it broken."
"Oh," I replied, "Thank you."
After a while of singing and looking at the exhibits, we decided to head out. We visited the Space Needle, ate at the restaurant, then went back to the hotel.
Ikuto smiled at me. "Want to go do that photo shoot thing?"
I just stared at him. "Huh?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.
He suddenly hugged me. "You are just so cute!" he said.
I blushed, and he laughed. "You know, we don't have to go right now. We could do something else…," he said.
I blushed more. My face was as red as a cherry. Ikuto kissed me, and we walked into the bedroom.
The next day, we walked into the building where the photo shoot would take place. A receptionist asked kindly, "Hello, and what are you here for?"
"Um," I said.
Ikuto spoke up for me. "We're here to see Nathan Peirce."
"Alright, I'll call him in. And what are your names?" she asked.
"Ikuto and Amu Tsukiyomi."
"Okay, thank you. You can have a seat right there while I call him up." Ikuto and I sat down on the chairs. They were pretty comfortable, I must say.
As we were waiting for Mr. Peirce, I looked around the room. There were pictures of people dressed in fancy clothing, some in casual but stylish, and some… well, not much at all. Others were family photos, with very good-looking people. Some were posing with their pets, too. And then there were some advertisements, too, which is probably what he did for most of his money. But I wondered why he wanted us. We didn't come to him, he came to us. And if it was an ad he would have told us.
Nathan Peirce walked in the room then. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Tsukiyomi!" she said enthusiastically. "Ready to start your photo shoot? If you could just head through these doors…"
"Wait, first," I said, grabbing onto Ikuto's sleeve like I was five, "what's this for? Is it an add or something?"
Nathan Peirce smiled, and was about to tell us when my phone rang. I looked at the caller I.D., and it said 'Ikuto'.
I looked at it, confused. "Ikuto, do you have your phone on you?" I asked in Japanese.
Ikuto looked confused and also spoke in out native tongue. "No, I left it at the hotel. Why?"
I showed him my phone, and he picked it up. "Hello?" he asked.
Nathan Peirce just stood there like an idiot, wondering what we were saying.
Ikuto looked at the phone once again, then closed it. "He hung up."
I was even more confused. "That was weird."
I'm sorry it's so short, and I'm sorry I haven't been updating. But seriously, school sucks. And seriously, writer's block sucks. And I know that a lot of you are mad. As am I, at myself. It's just that I don't, like... I don't know, I just don't feel like there's much more for me to write. I mean, I know what I want to happen, but if I type that right away it will be, y'know, rushed.
By the way, I'm going to make a third one of these stories. Still deciding on the name, but it has to have, "Colored Roses" in it. If it doesn't, then well, it'll suck.
I don't feel like doing a chat right now because my cheery mood is not at it's best right now, because I haven't updated this in so long, and because I'm hungry as heck, and it's 8:34 a.m. and I woke up at 7:40 because I can't sleep in anymore because of, again, that stupid school that sucks.
GAH I always have math homework and I ALWAYS have English because I have to read a freaking classic every month. (I've only actually FINISHED a book once, don't tell anybody!) That's another reason of not updating.
Also, something important happened that stalled me from writing, but I can't remember what. I even remember thinking that I wanted to type, but since I was in the situation I was in, I couldn't. Huh.
Anyway, I'm sure you're tired of reading my excuses. And I apologize for both the late update and the bad mood. And please don't give me any crap. I already know I haven't updated in a while, and I already know that I should update more, so I don't need to be told that. (I typed "her" instead of "that", which was weird...)
Anyway, I'll just get Ikuto to do the thing he always does.
Ikuto: -clears throat- Hit. It. Hard.