AN: Sorry for such a late update! I wrote like the middle of this chapter like 3/4 times cuz I kept on forgetting to save, and accidentally going to a new page this one time... So, I was like "I give up!" But then I got a review saying how I didn't update in a long time, and that made me feel really guilty, so here I am again! It wasn't that long was it? Gomen, I also had a lot of schoolwork (got a midterm coming up) but that's just a sorry excuse for my laziness. xD Anyway, enjoy!

Recap:

I paused, waiting to see if my words sunk in. Also adds some nice suspense, don't you think?

"I love-"

"BANG!"

But before I could finish my sentence, I felt an enormous pain in my back, as I fell to the ground. I heard my name being called, as I was drifting into unconsciousness, but couldn't see who was calling my name. However, I knew I had to finish my statement, even if it killed me.

"... I-Ikuto."

And after using my last reservoir of strength, I gave in to the darkness that soon consumed me.

~Love~

Nothing, nothing, nothing,

can tear us apart

Even in death, you'll always be

the one I love for eternity

Tadase

"AMU!" Ikuto and I screamed simultaneously.

She was about to tell us which one of us she loved, but then I heard something that sounded like a gunshot, and then she began to fall to the ground until she was caught just in time by Ikuto. He held her in his arms, shouting her name as tears threatened to overflow, but he kept his composure.

"...I-Ikuto."

What? She loves Ikuto? I fell to the ground with the palms of my hands flat on the ground, as well as my knees, crestfallen, angry, hopeless, and other indescribable feelings ran through my head. I thought she loved me! She must be lying! Yes, that's it! She only said it 'cause Ikuto was the one who was holding her.

But now's not the time for this. Amu was just shot by a gun! I need to call the paramedics.

"Amu, hang in there! Please, don't leave me again!" Ikuto shouted in despair, and this time, the tears did come out. Even though it wasn't much, just a few streaks down his face, it meant a lot. I never thought I would see the day that my former enemy, Tsukiyomi Ikuto, would cry.

I pulled out my phone, while still on the ground, and began to dial 911.

"Huh! She deserves that! After all the pain I had to go through, that IS NOTHING!"

I looked up from the ground, my fists clenched, as I found a fuming Saaya standing above us, with a gun still raised. She was dressed in the orange jumpsuit that prisoners would wear.

Damn. I didn't dial all the numbers yet. Now Saaya could see me, and then shoot me.

"Saaya? What did you just do?!"

"What did I just do?! I killed the one who is in love with my Ikuto, and the one that actually stole you away!" Saaya shouted at me, pointing the gun at me. I pressed call discreetly so they would hear what was going on. I then put my hands up calmly.

"Saaya, put the gun down."

"NO! You deserve this too! You turned me in to the police!"

Now that got Ikuto's attention. He stood up, wiped the back of his hand across his eyes, and looked at us.

"What did she do that made you turn her in to the police? Isn't she your accomplice?" Ikuto glared.

"You told him?!"

"No! He knew a long time ago that I was stealing all his girlfriends! He just didn't know it was with you." Now that I think about it, what I did to Ikuto was terrible. I looked away in guilt and shame.

"And I turned you in because I found out you were stealing clothes from the mall. And because I think this has gotten too far. I was going to turn myself in too." I laughed uneasily.

"Why would you turn yourself in?"

"Because he killed my parents!"

There was an awkward silence in the air as Ikuto learned of the crime I committed.

"Why would you do that?! And here I thought you actually changed!" Ikuto gave me such a cold glare, I stepped back a little, in shock. He began to walk away, back to Amu.

"It was when I was eight. I didn't know what I was doing or who they really were at the time." I whispered, my bangs covering my eyes.

Ikuto turned back, and looked at me, waiting for me to continue.

"I was walking to the bank one day, because my dad asked me to meet him there. Well, I walked inside, and found my father just finishing his deposit, so once he finished we started to head home. We were halfway to the door, when suddenly a group of robbers entered the bank holding guns and demanding that everyone get down on the floor and not to move." I took a deep breath. I haven't told anyone about this.

"Well, Saaya's parents were on the floor next to me. Of course, I didn't know who they were at the time. Well, I discreetly pulled out my phone, and called the police. He didn't notice me talking quietly on the phone, surprisingly." I chuckled softly to myself.

"Anyway, after I got off the phone, I put it back into my pocket. But my hand slipped, and the phone clattered to the floor."

Flashback (gotta love those flashbacks xD)

"Crap." I whispered to myself as I tried to hide the phone.

The tall, burly man, towered over to me, a cigarette sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

"N-nothing!" I said, a little too quickly. I moved my body over my phone, but it was no use. He shoved me away, making me fall a few feet away from my father, landing with a thud on the polished marble floors.

"Ahhh? A cell phone?" He picked it up, with the hand that wasn't holding a gun, and began to check the calls I made.

"Yo, Kaoru, Taka. This kid just recently called the police. We better get outta here." He took his cigarette out of his mouth and spit on the ground.

"What?! Who did it?!"

The man pointed his forefinger at me, and all eyes were on me now.

Most of the looks turned my way were ones of relief and gratefulness, while others showed horror, dread, and hatred.

The man I believe to be Taka, towered over to me, and grabbed me by the front of my shirt, lifting me up, my feet dangling in the air.

"You're gonna wish, you never done that." He growled, venomously.

"Let go of me!" I struggled in his grasp.

"Oh? You want me to let go of you huh?" He snickered, then threw me across the room. I landed on the marble floors with a loud thud, since my head hit the nearby counter top. My head felt a little weird, so I put my hand up, only to bring it to my face and see that it was covered in my blood. The room suddenly blurred, as I saw two of the burglar come at me again.

"I'm so sorry, little boy."

"Tadase-kun!" My father yelled, but it seemed like it was a mile away.

"Oh, this your kid?" He said, pointing a finger at me. He then rolled up his sleeves, as if preparing for work. Then, he reached his hand into his right hand pocket, and pulled out a knife.

"Well, let me discipline him for you!" I closed my eyes, and braced for the blow.

There was a slashing sound, and the sound of metal piercing skin. But not my skin. I opened my eyes in confusion to see a man over me, blocking the blow. His arms held Taka's arms but the arm that's above my head had a deep cut on it. The blood immediately began to ooze out of the wound, and I felt a drop land on my cheek.

"Are you okay?" He asked me, as he struggled with Taka.

They began to wrestle each other, the knife dropping to the ground harmlessly. They rolled around and around, each one of them trying to get the advantage of the other. Seems like after I was saved, the rest of the people in the bank began to take action. There were some people cheering their comrades on as they faced the burglars in a fight. Some were still as far away as possible from the thieves, obviously because of their fear of being killed.

Suddenly, sirens were loud and clear in the air. Everyone stopped abruptly, a range of emotions from fear to relief on the people's faces.

"Cm'on! We gotta get outta here!" The robbers took advantage of the situation by grabbing their bags of money, and hightailing away for the back door.

"You're not going anywhere!" The previous man that saved me, tackled Taka to the floor, ceasing his escape to freedom.

"You!"

"Taka! We don't have time for this! Stop all this silliness and finish him already!"

"Fine! I didn't want to do this but... you asked for it." Taka kicked him off of himself, launching my savior several feet away. In his daze, Taka pointed his pistol at him.

"This is the end."

"NO!"

*BANG!*

Everyone opened their eyes, to find a woman lying on to of the man who saved me, covered in blood.

"Misa!" He shouted.

The robbers began to run again, only to be stopped by the police who finally entered the bank.

"Nobody move!" They shouted. They ran into the room, carrying their rifles and wearing their protective body armor.

Time seemed to have stood still for a whole five seconds. Then everything went crazy and chaotic.

"Officer! Save that lady! She's been shot!"

"They've kept us hostage here!"

"Shut up or I'll shoot you too!" Taka shouted.

"Help us! My little girl is scared!"

While everyone was screaming and shouting their problems and worries, the robbers made plans of their own.

"You know what, we're never going to get out of here at this rate."

"Well, take a hostage and just start running."

"Good idea."

Taka grabbed a random lady, and put her in a hostage position. (AN: I don't know how to describe it. It's kinda like what you see in movies xD)

"Nobody move! If you make any attempt to stop us I'll kill her!"

They started moving towards the door, the police shouting their pleas to let her go, as well as her family and friends. All three of the thieves got to the door and it seemed as if they were going to release her. But, then Taka pointed his gun at me.

"You stupid kid! You caused all of this! Go rot in hell!"

"NO! Tadase-kun!"

*BANG!*

And again, after not feeling any pain, I opened my eyes, only to find the one who saved me earlier, taking the bullet for me. My eyes widened in horror as he fell backwards, and landed heavily on the ground.

"Mister!" I ran to his side.

"Yamabuki... Takada... My name is... Yamabuki... Takada..." He coughed out. The bullet hit him in the chest, maybe even his heart.

"Why... why did you save me?" I got out, choking back tears.

"Whether you believe it or not... you saved everyone here. I admired your bravery. It helped me understand things better than before."

The police shot down the robbers since they have caused so much damage, but I didn't care about that right now.

"You... shouldn't have done that." I said, tears streaming down my face.

"Hey... men don't cry. Now, follow your own path. And can I ask you a favor?"

I just nodded wordlessly, trying to hold in my tears.

"Take care of my daughter, Yamabuki Saaya for me, will you?"

"Okay."

"Arigato." He gave me a faint smile, then closed his eyes, and stopped breathing.

End Flashback

Ikuto

I stared at Tadase the entire time he was telling his story. Never knew he went through so much.

"Heh. I'm one messed up person huh? Got two people killed when I was just eight. How many people, now that I'm twenty-one?." He laughed harshly.

"No more, since I'll finish you off myself!" Saaya yelled, pointing the gun at him.

"Just live with it!" I shouted, trying to put some sanity into those thick skulls of theirs.

"If you're a real man, you'll stand strong for your loved ones and live with the sins you committed. What else can you do?" I stated.

"Shut up! If you've committed a crime, you get retribution for it! And no one is going to get in my way!" Saaya pointed the gun at me, and pulled the trigger.

*BANG*!

Did you change?

Did my words make any impact on you at all?

Probably not,

but at the price of providing you with advice

I lose my life

AN: I'm so mean aren't I? Ending it there xD I was thinking about continuing, but I had to update, and I find it funny making suspense. Anyway, Read and Review please! If I'm not updating fast enough, tell me ^^ See you next time~