CHAPTER 20:

My heart slammed to my chest, an uncertain emotion washing over me. Everything suddenly went slow-mo. I stared into his eyes. He stared back into mine. My breathing suddenly felt more forced, as if I was drowning underwater.

"A-Amu..." the boy in front of me stammered.

I never heard him stammer before.

"Get off me..." I heard myself say, "...please,"

His dark blue eyes widened a fraction before answering. "Of course," he whispered and abruptly stood up.

He offered his hand to me. I stared at him blankly and then got up myself. My chest still wasn't behaving like it was supposed to. It was like my bra suddenly shrunk a size...or two.

"What are you doing here, Ikuto?" I asked, my voice slightly trembling.

Ikuto slowly closed his eyes and then, opened them again, his expression hurt, defeated, sad. I shifted from foot to foot, unsure of what to do and what to say. My head hurt, my chest constricted.

Ami just got a death threat and here I was...standing in front of a boy silently. I should be going to her right now. I should check if she's alright. Surely, I knew that I had no time for this.

But then, Ikuto suddenly crossed the room, grabbing my waist with one hand, cradling the back of my neck with the other. And our lips met.

"What the hell?" I spat and shoved him away from me.

Ikuto took a step back. His face had a confused wrinkle forming on his forehead.

"Amu...I–"

I held one hand up, afraid of what he might say. "Ami got a death threat. Did you know about this?" I suddenly blurted out.

His incredulous look gave me the answer.

Without a word, I pushed past him and out of our room, the letter still miraculously in my hand (although crumpled). My sneakers made no sound at all as I ran through the corridor. Then, I felt someone grab my wrist.

I whipped my head around. "Now's not the time, Ikuto," I said.

"Listen-"

He was cut short by a terrified scream of a girl we both pretty much knew well.

"That's-"

"Your sister," Ikuto finished for me.

We both ran, definitely sure she was just at the back of the building. The back door burst open and we ran outside, searching for Ami. The sky was pitch black but white fluffy snow lightly rained on us

Another scream pierced through the night. It suddenly occurred to me that it was already evening. Since when did the sun go down? A chill ran up my spine as we rounded the corner. I tried to recall who would probably be with Ami at this time of night.

The quads could probably be with her if only Dia hadn't given them concert tickets of some boy band.

But...Utau was surely with Ami right now.

I shivered twice.

Would she betray me?

Betray her own brother?

Could she do that?

No.

I shook my head no. She couldn't possibly do that. Blood is thicker than water. Sibling before self. I had to believe that. I had to. Otherwise, I'd have nothing to hold onto anymore.

We rounded the huge, snow-covered, oak tree. Ami screamed again, louder this time. We were closer. I felt it. Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I ran faster, completely ignoring the snow and weight of my now-drenched combat boots.

Ikuto stopped in front of me, making me almost smack into his back.

I side-stepped around him and looked in front of us.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood without preamble whatsoever.

We were surrounded by men wearing traditional black shinobi shizoko (ninja outfit). Their faces where covered with masks, their eyes glued to us. The ninjas had their hands on their swordhandles, ready to attack. There were probably twenty of them, probably more.

One of them approached us, his hand still cautiously placed on the hilt of the sword. "Are you Hinamori Amu?" he asked me.

"Who's asking?" arrogance bubbled up in my throat.

Then, everything happened so fast. The building next to us exploded. The ninjas scattered around. Ikuto dragged me down and covered my head. Students were screaming. Suddenly, the entire school was in chaos.

I glanced up to see what was happening. The ground shook. Another building across us exploded, sending chunks of debris falling down the ground.

Distantly, I saw my sister's chestnut hair. She was being dragged away by the ninjas. I escaped Ikuto's arms, stood up and ran to her direction. I distantly heard Ikuto yell my name but I didn't look back. Ami tried to fight off the ninjas but she was no match to them.

They were aiming for the back gate, probably where their escape car would rendezvous with them.

I sprinted faster, desperately trying to catch up with the ninjas. Debris fell down on my left and I dodged it. Suddenly, the place was snowing with ash. Fire was everywhere, students and teachers alike were in panic.

As expected, a black tinted car stopped outside the back gate. The other ninjas were gone. Only two were around. Next to the car were three men wearing dark business suits. Although I doubt if it was business they used it for. Ami was being pulled out of the gate. I ran faster. Faster than I knew I could. I saw her mouth form my name. Her little fists smacked one of the ninjas but it was no use.

"Ami!" I called but she didn't hear me.

I kept running. Only a few meters away.

I saw someone hit her head with the hilt of a sword. My sister's head dropped unconscious. A new wave of emotion rushed through me. I screamed with rage as I saw her being lowered inside the car.

Only ten feet.

I willed myself to run faster as I saw the car door being closed. The engine started and they drove away, taking my only sister with them.

"Ami!"

I ran.

"Ami!"

I got out of the gate.

The car was still in sight, I desperately ran after them. My adrenaline was starting to run low but I ran, anyway.

"Ami!"

My thighs burned. My feet ached.

"Ami!"

They took a left. So I did, too.

I suddenly heard a gunshot. A window was open in the tinted car. A man was half-body through the window and was pointing a gun at me.

Bang!

I saw the blood before I felt the impact. My leg bled as I ran after my sister's captors.

Bang!

The man missed.

Bang!

I fell on the ground.

I woke up feeling the warm hands that taking mine. The bright light blinded me temporarily so I had to shield my eyes from it. I was disoriented. I tried to remember what happened but a sudden wave of pain coursed through my body when I tried to lift my torso.

Completely not immune to the pain, I decided it would be better if I stayed down for a bit. I stared at the plain white ceiling and a sudden wave of déja vu passed me. My thoughts went back to the reason why I was here but, it just bounced out of my mind. I couldn't remember a thing.

"Amu-chan?" a voice called me.

That was when I saw three identical faces staring back at me. Worry was etched into their faces, their eyes were red-rimmed as if they just cried.

"What happened?" I asked. My throat felt like there was sandpaper in it.

Suu discreetly blew her nose and wiped her eyes. "Oh, it was horrible, Amu-chan~desu!" she gasped and then weeped again.

"Somebody attacked the campus," Ran explained, even her always animated-self seemed off-key today.

Miki stared at me head on. "There were bombs everywhere. And then buildings two and four suddenly collapsed,"

I tried to pull myself up again but a sudden jolt of pain shot through my abdomen and my thigh. Something in me felt like it was bleeding, so I didn't push myself to stand up.

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

"About a day and a half," Miki answered.

My eyes scanned the room, looking for a certain midnight-haired boy. He was nowhere to be found. I felt my eyes sting. And my nose started to feel a little itchy.

The memories from that night came rushing back to me.

The death threat.

Ikuto.

The ninjas.

...Ami.