013. Hugs and Kisses
The Story of Ikuto and Amu
Amu had a feeling that it would be a good day when she woke up that morning.
The moment her alarm clock rang - at exactly 7 o'clock - she pressed the off button and swung out of bed, stretching her arms up. She hummed a little tune while she did her usual morning routine; wash face, eat breakfast, shower, yadda, yadda, yadda.
"Bye Amu-chan! Have a fun day at the festival~" her mom called out as she walked out the door. Amu walked the streets and up the hill to the academy, where the school festival awaited her. The sun was just coming out, and the morning air was refreshing.
Just like everyone else, Amu was excited for the festival, but since she didn't have to work her shift until the evening, she took her sweet, sweet time going to the festival. After all, she knew that only Kukai was available to meet up at the start of the day - all her other friends had to go to their work shift early.
Amu had texted all her friends if they wanted to meet up the morning of the festival. All of them except Rima and Kukai had replied back saying that they couldn't, they had to be at the festival early to set up because they had to work. She had expected this, but was awfully glad when Kukai said that he could meet up; he claimed that "he was an excellent student at the school, so the school decided to give Kukai a break this year".
Rima, on the other hand, didn't text her back. This left Amu worrying about Rima; was she alright? Did something happen? Amu had asked around, but nobody knew where Rima was working in the festival.
When Amu reached the festival entrance, she spotted a messy batch of brown hair showing from the side.
Kukai!
She ran over to where he was, and was greeted by his usual, happy, smile. "Hey Hinamori! You're late," he laughed.
Amu just smiled back and said, "Hi Kukai. Thanks for meeting me here." Kukai nodded and shrugged. "Well, that's what friends are for, right? But where's everybody else?"
"They had to go to their shift early," she frowned. "Figures."
"Well, I guess we better explore the festival, eh? Okay, Hinamori, see you later!" Kukai turned and started walking away.
"W-wait! Kukai!" He turned his head. "Everyone texted me saying they couldn't meet up with us this morning because of work, but Rima never texted back! She said she had to work at a booth, but nothing more than that! When you're going around the festival, can you please look for her?"
Kukai just kept walking while waving his hand in the air. "Sure, Hinamori!"
"Later!"
Amu had started her day off by walking past the numerous food booths. She had seen some of the interesting ones, such as the English dessert booth, and was making mental plans to stop by later to bring some home. She had also passed by the ramen booth briefly, where she glimpsed Kukai wolfing down a huge ramen bowl.
She looked inside each booth she passed by, but she didn't see Rima at all. She waved to Nagihiko, who was working in the classical Japanese booth, and to Yaya, who was just starting her shift at the candy booth. Once, she saw a tall girl with blonde hair who was wearing a heck of a lot of red who was running behind some of the booths. She thought it was Rima for a second, but it came to her senses that Rima wasn't as tall as the passing-by stranger.
Now she was just aimlessly wandering around an almost deserted area of the festival. There were a few booths here, but they were small and uninteresting. She stopped walking when she spotted a big tree in the middle of the area. Deciding to take a break, she sat down and leaned against its trunk. When she placed her hand down by on the right side of her lap, she felt something blocking her way. When she looked down, she saw an empty water bottle.
When did that get there?
Amu picked it up and noticed a small, rolled up piece of paper inside it. Curious, she opened the bottle and shook the piece of paper out. There was a simple message written on it that said:
Look up.
Her head bolted up and she saw something that she was definitely not expecting. And so, she screamed. "EEEHHH?"
.
"EEEHHH?" A short distance away, two certain underclassmen heard Amu's scream. But, thinking it was just another excited festival-goer, they ignored it and carried on.
.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?" Amu yelled, her eyes wide and her arms flailing around frantically. The said person smirked in a hentai/cat like manner, and jumped down to the ground.
"You mean up in the tree?" he asked, still smirking. "Why, I was waiting for you."
"Oh, well it would be expected...but let me rephrase that last sentence. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"Aww, you didn't miss me at all, Amu?" Ikuto's teasing hadn't changed at all, and he casually swung his arm over her shoulder.
"P-P-PERVERT! Get your hands off me!" Amu struggled to be free from his grasp, but Ikuto just gripped onto her and was determined not to let her go.
"Nope, no can do, Amu~chan. Not unless you go around the festival with me~" Ikuto cooed into Amu's ear, making her face become redder than it already was. If that was possible.
"F-fine," she attempted to scoff in her "Cool & Spicy" manner, "but you're paying for whatever we spend."
"So, where shall we go first?" Ikuto asked, looking to the left and right.
Amu, head down and face red, replied, "Somewhere with as little people as possible."
"Aw, why? I would have thought you would want to 'socialize'," he teased.
"No, it's just that..." she trailed off. "Can you not put your arm around me with all these people around?"
Suddenly aware of the whispers around them ("Eh, it's Hinamori-san. Is that her boyfriend?" "Wah~ he's so hot." "He looks older. Hinamori-san is so cool!"), Ikuto smirked and kissed her cheek.
Amu's face became a hundred times redder, and he whispered, "Oh, so you're embarrassed. Why are you embarrassed that I'm you're boyfriend, hm?"
"You're not my boyfriend!" she whispered back fiercely as they walked passed even more impressed people.
"Aw, don't deny it. You know you love me."
In an attempt to stop talking to him - much to Ikuto's annoyance - she turned to the nearest food booth and pointed. "Let's eat in there, Ikuto."
Ikuto eyed the booth curiously and bluntly asked, "Tacos?"
"..." Amu dragged him away.
"So, where do you want to go?" Ikuto asked Amu.
Amu muttered, "Magic show," and looked away quickly.
"Magic show? Okay," Ikuto told her, smiling.
"Really? You're not going to laugh, or tease me, or anything?" she questioned, surprised.
"Nope, because I already did. And I know you'd blow your top off if I teased you again," he explained. "Hm...now that I think of it," Ikuto thought for a moment, "maybe I wouldn't mind that."
"IKUTO!"
And so, they went to the auditorium, where it was conveniently time for the first magic show of the day. Both Amu and Ikuto had a good time watching; the magician - and his student assistant - demonstrated many fascinating tricks.
There were many of the classic old tricks, but you had a hard time telling if it was fake or not. The magician didn't bring any of his things, instead using things from the audience or buying them from the booths outside the auditorium. He impressed them all by pulling a rabbit from a person's baseball cap; putting a scared boy in a cardboard box he cut in half, he sawed a the boy's body and put it back together.
Amu's eyes sparkled every time he performed a trick, smiling with each new thing she saw. Even Ikuto was impressed; I mean, have you ever seen someone make a toaster explode just by snapping their fingers?
When the exited the auditorium, Amu heard someone's stomach rumble. "Ikuto? Are you hungry?" she asked in a teasing way, happy that it was the other way around.
"Yeah..." Ikuto mumbled. "Amu, feed me."
"Ew, no way! Feed yourself, you hentai neko."
Ikuto turned his head and spotted something. "Hey Amu, Amu."
He was replied with an annoyed "What?" from Amu, and he continued on. "Let's have taiyaki."
"Eh? They have a taiyaki cart here?" she looked around and her eyes sparkled. "Okay! Let's eat there," she exclaimed happily as she dragged Ikuto, who was smiling to himself, to the booth.
They walked to the student running the cart and ordered. "Two orders of chocolate taiyaki please."
"Ah- Hi-Hinamori-san," the student exclaimed, surprised, "and boyfriend! C-coming right up!"
He left an annoyed looking Amu and a smirking Ikuto alone to get their order. "Why do they always think you're my boyfriend? Jeez," Amu snapped in her "Cool and Spicy" voice, aware of the surrounding people staring at them.
"And this is why you're the best girlfriend ever," Ikuto remarked as the student gave them their taiyaki.
"I said- ugh, come on, let's go." She walked away, Ikuto following her as he nibbled his chocolate taiyaki.
As they walked on, the sky grew darker, signaling it was almost the end of the day. "Oh, it's almost time for my shift. Are you still staying Ikuto, or what?"
"I'm staying, so bring me to your shift and show me off to all your friends, okay?" he smirked.
"No." Amu led him to the middle of the festival, where they were just getting the huge bonfire ready. Some people were putting the marshmallows on sticks, some were trying to start up a fire with a minute, little pack of matches, and others were clearing the area to put seats and benches.
Amu helped them get ready, going from one area to another whenever people asked for her help. Ikuto hovered beside her, helping also, while behind him, girls drooled at him and giggled amongst themselves excitedly.
Finally, they somehow successfully lit up the bonfire, signaling everyone to come over. It was almost the end of the festival, and everyone came by to enjoy their last few moments.
"Phew, looks like we're done. Good thing I didn't have to work much," Amu laughed. It was getting crowded by the fire, so they decided to go back to the tree from earlier. But they didn't mind, for they didn't care much about the bonfire anyway.
"It was fun today, wasn't it?" Ikuto asked as they sat down.
Amu paused for a minute before smiling. "Yeah, it was." She looked over at Ikuto, who stared back at her.
"Well, it's time for me to go now," Ikuto stood up, "I'll be heading back to Europe, Amu. I still haven't found my dad yet, but I think I'm close."
"You're...leaving?" she replied in a sad tone, a frown on her face.
Ikuto nodded mutely. "I came because it has been a while, and I wanted to see you again."
Amu kept silent, willing him to continue. "You've grown since we last saw each other, and I was happy to see you again. Until next time. Remember, I'll still be waiting for the day you fall in love with me." He took one last look at her, memorizing her every detail, and started walking away.
She watched as he turned his back and walked away slowly, almost as if he were unwilling to leave. Her heart thumping fast, she was driven by an uncontrollable urge to:
Hug him.
Ikuto froze where he was, feeling her arms around his chest, tightly squeezing him. He turned and saw Amu, her face flushed from practically running at him and hugging him. "Amu..." he whispered softly.
"Ikuto...you'll come back, right? I don't want you to leave, but I know you have to." she murmured and looked up at his face, their eyes connecting and never breaking apart.
"I will Amu, I promise," Ikuto said sincerely. Both their hearts were thumping fast, like there was no end. "See you soon."
He was about to turn when Amu stood up straight, gathered all her courage, leaned forward, and kissed his cheek.
Ikuto stood there, frozen in shock. Did Amu just kiss his cheek? Eyes wide, he saw Amu stumble backward, face beet red. And he smiled a big smile. Amu smiled back widely and said, "I'll see you soon too, Ikuto."
They both went their separate ways, Ikuto grinning like there was tomorrow and Amu spazzing and freaking out about what she just did. But they would always remember that day, the day with their wonderful memory, the day of the Festival.
Hm...I don't think this is that great. -_- Again, it's my first time writing this couple, and it was hard for me to try and get both Ikuto and Amu in-character.
The story probably doesn't make much sense either; I had a hard time thinking of some "adventure" for them to go through during the festival.
Well, it's longer than the last one-shot! ^^ Victory!
And there are so many guest appearances in this one (well, mentions, at least).
Ahahaha, oh well, at least I finished it. I should finish the last one-shot for this (Rimahiko! :D) in about a month hopefully, so stay tuned for that!