* This story was inspired by previous works that I've read in the past. Key authors being Holly Black and Melissa Marr. I take no credit for their work. Furthermore, I don't carry the rights for this anime. Some of the characters will act OOC; all of these characters are of age. Constructive criticism is very welcome. Enjoy.
Chapter 7: Amu's POV:
They stood together in silence. Ikuto stared at her curiously, and Amu stared back, squinting.
"Well?" Ikuto said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Are we going to walk, or are you going to just stand there, staring at me?"
Amu would have blushed, but other things were on her mind. Conniving things. "I agreed to go on a walk. And you said you'd show me your Glamoury if I did. You didn't specify when you'd show me your Glamoury, and I didn't specify when I'd go on a walk with you. So, as soon as you show me your Glamoury, we will walk soon after."
Ikuto's eyes widen, and he looked taken aback for a moment. Then he smirked. "You're catching on quite quickly."
Amu smiled proudly. "Research works wonders."
He nodded, still smirking. "Faeries cannot tell a lie. So you must listen carefully to-"
"What you actually say." Amu finished. She'd read the same line in an article.
"Indeed."
"You're also an amazing distractor. But I have to say that I'm getting a little annoyed by it." Amu hinted.
Ikuto shifted his weight to one side, and raked his hand through his hair. "Hmph. So I guess you outsmarted me... I'll show you now."
Amu did a victory dance, and stopped as soon as Ikuto rose an eyebrow and added, "but... I have to tell you that it's really nothing special about it. I hate it, honestly."
Amu groaned. "Ikuto, show me!"
"Fine!" He snapped, blinking in astonishment. Probably because of his tone. Amu snickered.
The moonlight really did compliment his skin. Making it both luminous and tanned; yet somehow milky as well. Amu stared in awe when he glanced at her, a blush staining his cheeks.
Woah.
"Well, don't just stare at me, you voyeur." He snapped again, looking away from her in frustration.
"I'M NOT A VOYEUR!" She shrieked.
"THEN STOP STARING AT ME!"
She glared at him for a moment, but found it ineffective, since he was looking away. "Whatever." She slapped a hand over her eyes, and tapped her foot impatiently.
After a moment, the air around her felt warm and almost tangible. A surprisingly seductive breeze ran over her skin, and she shuddered slightly, hating herself afterward. 'He's dangerous.' She scolded herself. 'Not only can you not touch him without dying, you can't even risk having a crush!'
"What's your favorite color?" A soft, almost inaudible voice spoke suddenly. Hesitantly, as if reading her mind.
Amu frowned and pulled her hand away from her eyes, looking over at him. She swooned.
"O-Oh my..." Amu managed around the lump in her throat. So much for not having a crush.
"What?" Ikuto stared at her in confusion. He looked strangely uncomfortable with his Glamoury.
'Human' Ikuto was sexy. Not as sexy as invisible, Faery Ikuto; but sexy in the human way. 'Human' Ikuto wore a grey zip-up jacket, and a thin, black shirt underneath. The jacket wasn't zipped up all of the way, and part of it hung loosely off his shoulder fashionably. He wore black skinny jeans and amazing black and white shoes that she couldn't name by brand.
No matter how sexy he looked, the expression on his face told her that he wanted out of it as soon as possible.
"Amu?" He interrupted her assessment. "Your favorite color?" He shifted, and send a glare that would kill pigeons in mid-flight at his shoes.
Maybe that's what he didn't like.
Amu felt her cheeks go red. "Pink."
Ikuto's POV:
"Ready to go for that walk?" Amu suggested, looking flustered.
His thoughts were in mayhem. She kept glancing at him in a way that made him strangely self-conscious. He looked down at his apparel. Isn't this what all the other teenage males he'd seen, wore? Maybe he should shed from his Glamoury. The shoes really irritated him as much as these unnecessarily tight jeans.
He could never be a modern teenager. The thought kind of depressed him.
"Alright. Let us walk." He said after a while, looking straight into the honey-like orbs Amu possessed for eyes.
Ikuto played with the zipper on his jacket, trying to keep his balance in his shoes. "Amu, I really can't see how you mortals can walk in these damned things."
"It keeps our feet from getting cut and cold, and stuff." Amu tried to explain.
Ikuto shook his head in disgust. They reached the end of the park, and Ikuto stared at the paved sidewalk in disdain, still thinking about shoes.
"You're holding yourself back from the beauty of feeling the Earth under your feet. The grass and the softened dirt. I step on sharp things all of the time, but that doesn't mean I'll willingly start wearing these suffocating shoes. That's the beauty of going barefoot. Surprises. It's exhilarating."
He was working himself up in to an excited state, and tried to clamp down onto his passions before he went too far. Humans just wouldn't understand. How could he expect them to? How could he expect Amu to? Since Day One, her generation wore shoes. Her generation grew more biased every day. He grew to understand that people would think less of you if you went in public with no shoes on. He'd even walked by a couple signs saying: 'No Shoes, No Service'
He gave up on trying to get used to his shoes, and he kicked them off. Amu watched him in awe, and he tried not to snap at her again. "I'm sorry... Maybe I'm being a bit overdramatic, but I'm truly not comfortable with it." He bent to pick up the shoes before staring at them and shaking his head. He started walking again.
Someone else can have those things.
Amu nodded. "I understand."
What was she thinking? He stared at her, trying to pry himself in his mind. Sadly, he was no mind reader. But he did sense that she was just as overwhelmed as he. Her feelings were in a jumble.
"Hey, are you hungry?" She asked suddenly.
Ikuto stared down at her, and tilted his head.
"W-Wait," her cheeks turned pink. A beautiful color. "Can you eat human food?"
He shrugged. "I can eat it, yes. Only when I'm using my Glamoury, because it keeps up the game of playing 'human'. In Faerie form, it just turned to ash in my mouth."
"Yuck." Amu wrinkled her nose cutely.
He grinned. "Yup. But my food isn't really that different from yours. In fact," he looked at her seriously. "Never accept food from a Faerie. Not even me." He didn't give her time to reply, he just carried on to say, "Let's go to an Ice Cream Parlor."
Amu looked to be gathering her bearing. She met his gaze and gave him and nod. "There's one a few blocks from here."
They walked for awhile, and Ikuto felt much better with his shoes off. The jeans still irritated him, but he knew the human boundary to undressing in public. Humans found it to be very inappropriate.
A nightly security guard sat outside of the Parlor, and watched as Amu and him walked up to the door. "Excuse me, Sir." The guard said, standing up.
Ikuto turned to stare at him, confused, "I'm sorry?"
Amu held the door open, and turned around to stare, also confused.
"You can't walk in there with no shoes." The guard simplified, pointing at his feet.
Ikuto looked down, and frowned. Certainly his feet weren't utterly disgusting, or anything. He looked back up. "We were just planning to run in and come back o-"
"Sir, You're going to have to sit outside."
Ikuto looked down at Amu with a shrug. "You go on ahead. I'll be out here."
Instead, Amu looked angry. It shocked Ikuto to feel the anger that boiled within her. He stared at her wide eyed.
"No, that's alright." She replied bitingly. "I have ice cream at home." She let go of the door and it swung shut with a clang.
"A-Amu..." Ikuto stammered, shifting uncomfortably.
Then she did the unthinkable. She bent and practically tore her shoes from her feet, peeling off her socks, and throwing them at the security guards' feet. "Thank you." She turned to Ikuto, and offered him a small smile before walking off, Ikuto trailing behind her.
"Amu, your shoes..." He looked back at the stunned security guard, and caught up with her. "Your feet are going to get cold."
She shrugged and looked at him apologetically. "Ikuto, I honestly don't have ice cream at home. I'm sorry."
Ikuto looked at her incredulously. Ice cream? Really? That was what she was thinking about? "T-That's okay..." He murmured, still stunned.
Amu laughed, and stared at him. "I wanted to stick up for you... That rule is stupid."
Ikuto, shrugged, and smirked. "You didn't have to throw socks at him, though."
Amu grinned. "Yeah, well, I really didn't want those, anyway."
Her gaze travelled and locked onto his hand, and he felt the urge to twitch his fingers, or move his hand under her intense stare. He glamoured a glove onto his hand and held it out to her. She smiled, as if that was exactly what she wanted him to do. She grabbed his hand without a second's thought, and they continued to walk. He felt the warmth of her hand through his glove and he smiled softly. This human was truly shedding him of all of his defenses.
What would it feel like to touch her without killing her?
Q: PLEASE remember to R&R!