Sorry, sorry. I haven't been updating much (due to personal reasons). But here it is, hope you enjoy.

(Important message at the bottom)

Chapter Sixteen

"Well,

I have good news

and bad news."

It was ten o'clock in the morning when I heard my phone ring. I got out of bed, covering myself with a sheet, and walked over to where my cell phone was. I looked at the caller I.D. It said restricted. I didn't answer it, fearing it would be those men. I looked around the room for Ikuto, but I didn't see him anywhere. I put on a robe and walked to the bathroom, only to find nothing.

I walked downstairs, looking around. "Ikuto?" I called. I didn't get a reply. I walked into the kitchen, which was the only part of the house I couldn't see from the stairs, and didn't see him. But I did notice a note on the refrigerator. I picked it up and read it. It read, 'Going to the store to get some milk. We're out. Sorry for leaving you alone, Strawberry. I love you.'

I smiled. At least he left a note. I sighed and looked around, wondering what I should do until he got back. I didn't know this house very well yet, and even though no one probably know of it but us and Ikuto's father, I was scared someone would find us. Not just anyone, of course, but the men.

I walked back upstairs to our room, and looked at my phone. It said I had one missed call (obviously), and a voicemail. Nervous, I called my voicemail to listen to it.

"One new voicemail. From Restricted Number. To listen to this message, press one. To delete it, press two. To call Restricted Number back, press three. To save message, press four," said the robotic female voice.

I pressed one, waiting impatiently for the message.

"Hello, Mrs. Tsukiyomi. We didn't see you or your husband at the airport yesterday. We need to know where you are, and fast, or else something will happen. If you're still in Seattle we'll have to fly over there, which will take time. Please give us the information on where you're staying. Thank you, goodbye."

I was panicked, wondering what to do, as I listened to the robotic female voice. Maybe I was hoping she would have some answers. Of course she wouldn't she's just a programmed machine.

"Amu! Amu! You have to do what you think is right!" I heard a voice in my head say. It wasn't my voice, but it was very familiar. I couldn't quite place it.

"You could trick them," another voice said. I could feel both voices coming from my heart. "You could say you're in Seattle, so they would have to fly there. It'll take up time, and they'll be trying to be looking for you far away from where you are."

"But Amu," a third voice said, "what if they figure that out, desu? Then they'll look somewhere else! Just tidy up the mess, desu! Tell them you're back in Japan, but don't tell them where!"

Where had I heard these three voices before? I knew I've heard them. They were so familiar. I knew I was close to them, but how? Were they voices of friends I once had?

And then it hit me. Ran, Miki, and Su! They were still alive, in me, talking to me! I got excited. "Ran! Miki! Su! Can you hear me?" I asked out loud.

"Of course we can hear you!" Ran said. "We're inside you, Amu! We can hear every thought you have!"

"That's a bit creepy," I said, thinking it over. My eyes grew wide. "E-everything!" I asked.

"Yup," I heard Miki say.

"S-s-s-s-s-s-so… l-last night, you…"

"Oh, we tune out for that stuff!" Su said. "Don't worry, desu!"

I let out a sigh. "Well… what should I do?" I asked.

"Do my idea," Miki said, "and trick them."

I sighed. "But Su has a point. What if they figure it out?"

"They're too stupid to figure it out," Miki mumbled. I laughed a bit.

"I guess I can do that… I should consult Ikuto, though." Just then, I heard the door open.

"Amu!" I heard. Speak of the devil. I ran downstairs, excited and nervous. Excited he was back after leaving me in a big scary house, and nervous about what he was going to say.

"Ikuto! How dare you leave me alone in this house! It's so big, I could have got lost! Or someone could have found me! Or… or… I could have gotten bored!" I scolded.

He smirked. "So much like young Amu," he said. "Did something happen?"

I looked down and fidgeted my fingers. "Well, yeah, kind of," I told him.

His face got a bit concerned. "Huh?" he asked.

"Well, I have good news and bad news," I told him.

"What's the good news?" he asked, setting his groceries on the table and walking me over to the couch.

We sat down. "I can talk to Ran, Miki, and Su! They're inside me, and I can hear their voices!"

Ikuto smiled. "Well… I can relate. I still here Yoru inside me, too," he said.

I smiled too, but then my face dropped. "But the bad news. I got a call, asking where we were from the men that were trying to take you. Miki suggested that I trick them, and say we're still in Seattle. But Su suggested that I should tell them we're back in Japan, but not tell them where. So what should I do?"

"Hmm," he hummed as he mulled it over. "Tell them we're in Seattle. Even if they find out that we're not, they won't know where Japan we are."

I nodded. I picked up my cell phone, and called them back.

"Hello?" I heard.

"Hello, this is Amu Tsukiyomi. I'm calling to tell you we're still in Seattle. We've decided that running won't do anything and we should just cooperate," I told him.

"Thank you, Mrs. Tsukiyomi," he said. I could tell he was smiling. "We'll go to Seattle and pick you up right away."

"Thank you," I said and hung up. I let out a breath. "Well, now what?" I asked.

Ikuto smiled. "Hmmm… you could get dressed and we could go out."

"Where?" I asked. "Isn't it dangerous?"

"Dangerous? Well, I guess it is. But I'll protect you," he picked me up. "My Princess."

I hope you liked it. Sorry it's short, but I wrote it all in about half an hour (with breaks). I wanted to update this as soon as possible.

I just wanted to say that even though I don't update very fast, and the time is just getting longer and longer between each update, I won't stop this story.

I won't update very much, either, because I'm focused on more... serious writing, instead of fanfiction.

If you're interested in reading some of those stories, I have a fictionpress, under the same username. You can look me up there. I don't have much on there yet, but I'll get there.

Also, I have a YouTube account with the same user name. It's to let my readers know when I'll be updating stories, how far I am, and sneak peaks of chapters and new stories.

It'll cover both fanfiction and fictionpress, so if you like my stuff check it out.

Thank you for reading, it means a lot.

~TWaP