A/N: YAY! Next chapter is out! Read and review after enjoying! Disclaimer: I do NOT own any part of Shugo Chara!

Chapter 8: Answer, part 2

Amu's POV

"Yaaaaawn!~" I stretched as morning came and I peeked out of the blanket. Ikuto was next to me with his arms wrapped around me. He's pretty warm so I could sleep comfortably. But if he's not certain then I can't do anything about that. I carefully jumped over Ikuto to escape the bed and headed downstairs in my pajamas.

"Morning Amu! Did you sleep well?" my mom greeted me with a cheerful smile and placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me as I sat down.

"Thanks Okaa-san and yeah. I slept just fine." I commented and quickly dug into my food while it was still steaming. "Ikuto is still sleeping and I need to go to school so I'm just going to leave him be."

"Ok, that's fine. And have a good day Amu!" my mom cheered me on and I smiled and handed her my dishes.

"Arigato!" I said and ran back up the stairs to get ready. I quickly pulled on my school uniform in my room since Ikuto had turned over so he's facing the wall and still sleeping heavily. I pulled the blanket over him and grabbed my bag. "I'll see you later Ikuto." I whispered and left a note on my desk. I clipped my new necklace and bracelet that I had bought last night around my neck and wrist and headed out. "Ittekimasu!" I hollered to the house and ran off. Instead of heading straight to the same spot to wait for Tadase, I went straight to the school.

"Amu! Ohayo!" Rima called from the school gates as she waited for me.

"Ohayo Rima!" I greeted my petite blonde friend and soon got attacked by yet another blonde.

"Amu! How's Nii-san been?" Utau glomped me from behind and asked about her brother.

"He's fine. He happens to like my mom's cooking so it's all peaceful." We walked through the halls normally and Utau nodded.

"That's nice to know. So, I'll see you at lunch Amu." Utau waved and separated to her own classroom after exchanging glares with Rima.

"Tch, why do you talk to HER and not ME, Amu!?" Rima whined and tugged on my shirt.

"Hehe, calm down Rima! It's ok! I'm here with you during the entire class period after all." I said desperately, trying to calm her.

"..." Rima went silent and dragged me to our seats in the classroom. I sweatdropped and waved to Nagi who was sitting a few seats away.

"I pity you, Amu. But morning!" he mouthed to me and winked. I sighed and faced forward, waiting for the bell to ring.

"Everyone, get in your seats." the teacher walked in and started taking attendance.

"Hinamori Amu?"

"Here."

"Mashiro Rima?"

"Present."

"Fujisaki Nagihiko?"

"Here."

"Hotori Tadase?"

"..."

"Hotori-san?"

"..."

"Is Hotori Tadase-san here?"

"..."

"Okay then..." The teacher marked him as absent and went on calling the other students. Rima, Nagi and I exchanged looks all wondering the same thing. Even though I currently hated his guts, I wondered where he was since Tadase is almost never absent.

~*Timeskip to lunchtime*~

I met with Utau, Kukai, Rima, Nagi, Kairi and Yaya up on the rooftop at lunchtime and Tadase never showed up. Good, it's more peaceful now.

"Amu-chi! Yaya wants candy!" Yaya attacked me and started begging for me to give her candy.

"Haha, calm down Yaya-chan. Here. Hey Kairi, Kukai." I threw some candy for Yaya to chase and left her to her thing while I greeted the others.

"Wassup Hinamori!?" Kukai and I high-fived happily.

"Hello Hinamori-san." Kairi pushed his glasses up and sweatdropped at the sight of Yaya chasing after candy.

"Amu!" Utau called.

"Amu." Rima said at the same time. The two glared at each other and each one latched onto my arms.

"Ugh...Kukai! Nagi! Some help here?!" I called the two guys and attempted to drag the two girls away with me.

"On it Hinamori." Kukai tugged at his girlfriend who reluctantly let go at the same time Nagi pried his own girl of off my other arm.

"Ugh, Thanks guys." It's twinkle twinkle up in the sky. Like O-S-C-A-R. Ni-ga gidaryeo- "Hello?" I picked up my phone quickly and flipped it open. (A/N: The lyrics are from Girl's Generation-Oscar. I do not own.)

"AMU!" Ikuto sounded frantic on the other side of the line. "Come home immediately! Something bad happened! But bring Kukai and Nagi. Don't bring the girls." he rushed me and my face paled. I chara changed.

"Kukai, Nagi come with me. Kairi, Yaya, Rima, Utau, stay at school and don't try anything Utau." I ordered my friends with a stoic face that obviously meant I was serious. Kukai and Nagi also chara changed and leaped off with me after giving their girls a quick hug and kiss.

"We'll be back." Kukai reassured them all and the bell rang to signal the end of lunch.

"Come back safely! Amu! Nagi!" Rima screamed after us.

"So would you like to explain Amu?" Nagi asked me. Nagi was just sprinting with me and Kukai was on his board.

"Ikuto just told me to come home and bring you guys. I'm guessing it's because something happened that's bad enough to make me go berserk and Ikuto is going to need your help to hold me down." I reasoned quickly and soon we stopped in front of my house. Ikuto was standing at the door with a grim look on his face.

"Amu...please try to keep your calm about this. I already called the police." Ikuto said and I stepped towards him.

"What happened?" I tried to do as he said and stay calm, but I had to struggle to keep a stoic face. I was frightened. I didn't want to believe that whatever had happened had happened.

"..." Ikuto placed a firm hand on my shoulder and slowly opened the door to my house. The first thing I noticed was a rusty smell. The smell of blood.

"Oh god...please god no." I whispered and Ikuto's grip on my shoulders tightened.

"Kukai. Nagi. Hold her." Ikuto told the two guys that had accompanied me and he opened the door wider. I paled and undid my chara change really quick for a moment.

"Sorry Amu. I was out at the mall to buy something and...it happened while I was gone." Ikuto murmured and the scene that met my eyes was horrifying. Three corpses. Two grown and one little one.

"No...Okaa-san...Otoo-san...Ami. This didn't happen." I closed my eyes and opened them again, but the scene before me never changed. I screamed and darted into the house. But Kukai's grip on my waist kept me rooted to my place and Nagi had restrained my arms and legs. "IIE! (A/N: No!) This is a dream. Don't I have enough misery in my life!?" I screamed and broke though Kukai's and Nagi's vice grips. I rushed to Ami who was on the ground in a small fetal position. She had a hole through the side of her head and in her chest. Blood pouring from both wounds. "AMI!" I screamed again and cradled the little girl close to me. I rushed to my parents who were in similar states like Ami, but more wounds. Blood pooled around me and soaked my shoes, socks, and the bottom of my skirt. My legs were wet and scarlet red. My eyes widened at the disbelief of what had just happened to my family and I bent over their dead, lifeless bodies, sobbing my heart out.

"Amu, please stay strong. I know this is hard to take in, but we'll find the culprit." Ikuto came up behind me and reached to touch my shoulder, but I swatted his hand away.

"No! Don't touch me! My family did NOT just die after I found out my boyfriend was cheating on me! That's too coincidental to happen in just three days!" I screamed out in denial and shot a glare at the catboy. Ikuto flinched a little under my cold stare, but soon sighed and embraced me from behind. I tried to pry his arms off me, but his grip only tightened. Tears fell down my cheeks and onto his wrist. Kukai and Nagi watched from afar, ready to take action if needed, but also stunned by the current scene before them. Who wouldn't be horrified to see their friend's entire family shot to death and that same friend is now kneeling in a pool of blood of an older guy, fit to be her boyfriend, hugging her and attempting to console her?

This did not just happen to me. I HAVE to be the most miserable and unlucky person in the entire world to have this misfortune fall on me. Okaa-san, Otoo-san, Ami...I WILL avenge you!

No One's POV

"Amu-chan..." Nagi murmured under his breath.

"Hinamori..." Kukai could just barely take action and the two closed the door on the scene at the sound of a car approaching.

"Souma!" Utau called through an open window and stopped her violet Audi in front of her best friend's house. Rima rushed out the side and stopped in front of her own boyfriend.

"Nagi...what happened to Amu?" She commanded him to answer, but the looks on both of their faces were grim enough to make the girls pale. "No...Amu..." Rima was horrified and rushed to open the door, but Nagi stopped her.

"Don't...Mashiro-san." Nagi said sternly and steered the petite blonde girl away from the house.

"What? No, let me have a look." Utau tried to push her way past Kukai, but he wouldn't let her get anywhere as close as Rima had. "Souma." the two stared each other down, but Kukai didn't even flinch.

"Like Nagi said...don't. It would be better for us to leave right away. Ikuto is with her and he can handle it. Go home." Kukai hissed fiercely. Utau was a little taken aback by her boyfriend's ferocity, but soon snapped back her composure.

"Don't tell me what to do Souma and I WILL get in there to help Amu." Utau hissed back with just as much ferocity as Kukai had spoken to her, but the latter didn't buy it. Kukai quickly knocked the blonde out with a swift chop to her neck. She dropped, limp, and Kukai caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Sorry Utau. But now's not the time." Kukai muttered and dragged his girlfriend back to the car. Rima, who had watched the whole thing, turned to Nagi to confirm the seriousness of the whole situation as a result of Kukai's strange behavior. Nagi nodded and Rima fell to her knees.

"No...Poor Amu. Please help her Ikuto." Rima prayed and Nagi picked her up. Rima was still in shock as he dragged her to the car the same Kukai did with Utau.

"Rima...what about Kairi and Yaya? What did they do?" Nagi asked the little, frightened girl.

"Kairi was firm on following Amu's instructions and Yaya wanted to stay with him. When school ended, Kairi and Yaya had stayed together while Utau and I rushed here...C-Can't you at least tell me what happened?" Rima looked to him with scared eyes and gulped. Nagi sighed and looked away.

"Amu's family was shot to death." Nagi whispered with a heavy tone. Rima's eyes widened and Utau's hand twitched at the news, but the latter blonde stayed unconscious.

Kukai buckled Utau in the shotgun seat, and Nagi sat with Rima in the back, with her in his lap. Nagi wrapped his arms around Rima who clung to him desperately as Kukai started up the car and drove the group away from Amu's house.

Inside, Amu is still kneeling on the floor, in the middle of a pool of blood, and Ikuto is crouched behind her, arms wrapped around her crying figure and murmuring quiet words to her. Will Amu be ok? No one knows, but if she is left alone, nobody can tell what she'll do next.

A knock came on the door and Ikuto slowly stood up with Amu as she laid Ami down on the ground gently. Ikuto left Amu by herself for a few moments to open the door. "Hello? Please open the door, we got a call from this house of a murder and reports from the neighbors of hearing gunshots. May we please come inside to take a look at the scene?" Three police officers were outside and Ikuto nodded.

"Sure come on in. The eldest daughter of this household is currently sobbing over her loss though, so please move carefully." he informed them and led them to where the three corpses lay with Amu. Except, he did not expect Amu to be in the kitchen holding a knife to her neck. His eyes widened and he quickly rushed to her side. "Amu! What're you doing?!" The older boy snatched the knife away from the girl and put it away.

"Ikuto..." Amu looked to him with dead eyes. "I have no reason to live...My ex was cheating on me with a senpai, my family is dead, and I have no one left...My life is useless, I'm useless." she dropped to the ground lifelessly and I could only catch her.

"Don't say that Amu. You're not useless, don't throw every piece of hope you have." Ikuto murmured in an attempt to save her from completely dying mentally and emotionally.

"Hope? What is hope? I have none." Amu spoke hysterically and burst into tears.

"You have me Amu! Do I mean nothing?" Ikuto held her tightly and also shed a few tears for her sake, but also from the hurt of that statement.

"I'm grateful you have always been there for me Ikuto and I have a shoulder to cry on, but I don't know how long you'll last. I'm already close to breaking and you won't be able to handle it. You don't have your own emotions in check so how can you deal with mine?!" Amu screamed and pushed him away.

"I'm sorry Amu, but please bear with me for now. I just need a little more time." he pleaded the hysterical girl, but failed miserably.

"No Ikuto. You're out of time. Leave me alone!" Amu shrieked and ran out of the house, chara changing on the way. She sprinted as far as she could with no particular destination in mind.

"Damnit! Damn my life to hell!" Ikuto cursed and chased after her, also chara changing. But an alley cat couldn't possibly compete with a fox, so he could only just barely keep sight of her. "Amu! Wait!" She looked behind herself and stopped abruptly. He caught up to her in no time, but the two were in an alleyway. Ikuto panted, trying to catch his breath as he stood in front of her.

"Why do you bother chasing after me Ikuto? You want to break my heart too? I think I've had enough heartbreaks. Just leave me alone!" Amu retorted and got ready to run away, but he stopped her in her tracks.

"Please just listen to me Amu. You're not useless, and I'm not here to hurt you more." Ikuto pleaded and stood up tall. He could see the tears just ready to pool out of Amu's eyes and the sight hurt him. "I know that seeing Tadase cheat on you is painful just that in itself and it made it worse with the..." Ikuto paused after realizing what he was about to say.

"Just say it. My life can't possibly get any worse than it is now." Amu sighed.

"...the death of your family." Ikuto continued and Amu flinched at the word 'death.' "I have an answer for you now Amu. I do love you and I won't let you get hurt anymore, physically or emotionally. I'll protect you from now on, so please just trust me. I'll stay by your side and we'll get through your problems together. Will you accept me?" Ikuto declared with pleading eyes and put his hands on her shoulders. She was shocked to hear him sound so passionate, but she couldn't tell if he was really serious. Amu bit her lip. Ikuto could see the doubt in her eyes.

"Are you sure? Can you really promise me this commitment Ikuto? I'll ask you the question I asked you before, do you love me enough to take a bullet for me?" Amu cried as Ikuto considered her request and she pushed him away. "I knew it. You can't keep your promise. There's no one on Earth who would take a bullet for someone else." Amu grew hysterical and was going to go on her way again, when Ikuto grabbed her elbow.

"Amu wait. I can, and I will make this commitment to you. I told you before that I would take a bullet for you and I'm not going to take those words back. I love you Amu and I won't let you get hurt again." Ikuto pleaded and pulled her into a hug. "Please believe me Amu. Give me a chance."

Amu hesitated, but reluctantly wrapped her arms around Ikuto's waist. She murmured softly, "Say them again. Say those words again. I want to hear it."

"I love you, Amu. I'll stay by your side and won't let anything hurt you again." Ikuto promised and felt Amu bury her face into his chest. Ikuto nuzzled his head into her hair and the two stood hugging in the alleyway.

"Thank you, Ikuto. But my parents are still dead, this fact doesn't change. And I'm over Tadase. To be honest, I'm actually kind of glad that he cheated on me." Amu stated and pulled away from the hug. Ikuto looked at her with a questioning gaze. "If the baka blonde kiddy king hadn't cheated on me, I wouldn't be happily hugging you and declaring you as my boyfriend now Ikuto!" Ikuto chuckled and held her hand.

"Glad you think so. Now ready to go back? We need to find the culprit who killed your family." Ikuto smiled, but Amu had frozen. "Amu? What's wrong?"

"Umm, sorry Ikuto, but can you let go of my hand?I still don't fully trust you. However, I am giving you a chance and you're going to be my boyfriend for now." Amu clarified and wiggled her hand out of his grip. Ikuto's smirk faltered, but he quickly recovered and nodded.

"Sure Amu. But I do truly love you."

"I know, but for now let's go kill the faggot who killed my family." Amu hissed angrily and a fire lit in her eyes. Her ears and tail bristled as she darted out of alleyway and back home.

"Ugh, not again! Amu!" Ikuto groaned in desperation and tried to stop the girl, since he still ached from chasing her into the alleyway. "Slow down would you! With your new chara, you're even faster than me!" Ikuto whined and amu slowed to his pace.

"Oh really?" Amu smirked and got in close to Ikuto. "Ten I can finally beat you in something, Ikuto-koi! 3" Amu slurred her whisper and sprinted off.

"Gah! Amu!" Ikuto was surprised by the "-koi" she had added onto his name before snapping back to notice she had literally left him eating her dust. Ikuto grit his teeth with frustration. Damn it! This girl...I love her, but what's with her competitive spirit all of a sudden?! Ikuto panted as he struggled to catch up and reserved to leaping off rooftops on all fours to keep up.

A/N: Okay! My finals ended and here's the promised chapter! Hope this chapter is good. Review and thanks for anyone who reviewed, for example: shout out to Mauveamigirl for her incredibly motivating review! Yes it was enough motivation! Haha! Out!~