Before I could finally get somewhat over all the drama in my life, it was time for us to depart Japan. I actually wasn't expecting this day to come so fast – it always seemed like it would be 'in two days'. Never more and never less.

As I handed my suitcase into the check-in area, Utau and Ami talked my ear off.

"Please write your name and information on the tags," smiled the receptionist.

"So listen here Amu, when you get there in France, make sure you call us. I don't care where you are, when you're off that plane, you'd better call us."

"Yes Utau," I sighed.

"And Amu, can you get me some pretty clothes? I don't know exactly what, but something cute. Oh and some food-

"I'm not exactly on vacation, you know?"

I tied the tags to my suitcase, and then walked back to where Rima and Nagi had saved spots for us. Kain and I had arrived at almost the same time, so he was already sitting there reading a magazine. As I was about to take a seat, I saw Ikuto and Kukai walk in.

When Ikuto turned to look at me, I quickly turned my head away and picked up a magazine; my heart was thumping like I had just run a mile. And it just so happened that this magazine was about the top tourist spots in France. Some of these locations were places that I had wanted to check out with Ikuto; like the Eiffel Tower. I had been really excited for that one.

Too soon for comfort, the two of them walked over and began chatting us up. Kukai and Utau were in their own little world in a couple seconds. Rima and Nagi were talking excitedly about their own future trip to France; while Ami and Noelle bothered Kain with questions they knew I wouldn't answer about negotiation cases. Yaya had dragged Kairi over to check one of the sweet's shops. So that just left Ikuto and me.

He took a seat next to me, and for the next few minutes – which felt like hours – we sat silently. I played with the hem of my shirt and tried to occupy myself by looking at other travelers. So many different languages and cultures all summed up in an airport located in Japan.

Ikuto cleared his throat.

"So we're finally going to France."

I half-heartedly smiled.

"Yeah."

Silence loomed over us again, and as much as I wanted to ignore him, I couldn't. Not because I still had some partial feelings for him, which I did, but because I didn't want to appear weak.

"You don't seem nervous at all…have you been out of Japan before?"

That was the hardest thing I've ever had to say. There was so much tension right now it felt as though it would eat me alive.

"Yeah. I've actually used to live in France."

"Really?"

And thank God, before he could open his mouth to continue the conversation, our flight number was called.

"Attention travelers, Flight 1411 is now boarding. Attention all travelers, Flight 1411 is boarding."

I jumped off the waiting chairs and began to say my goodbyes.

"Bye Utau, I'm going to miss you," I said giving her a large hug.

"You act like you're never going to see me again."

"It's just going to take a while."

"Don't forget about me, okay Amu," smiled Rima embracing me.

"How could I, I'm sending you like a hundred photos and trinkets."

"I'm going to miss you."

"Me too."

I gave Nagi a hug and then ran to the sweet's shop to bid farewell to Yaya and Kairi. When I got back, I saw Utau and Kukai having some sort of an argument.

"Why are you going with them?"

"I – um

"Utau, he's part of the team, you know," said Kain indifferently.

"He's going…to France?"

I could tell from her voice, she was hurt.

"Utau, listen, I didn't want to-

She turned around and gave him a large hug surprising him and the rest of us. Tears brimmed her eyes.

"You'd better come back in one piece or else!"

Kukai kissed her head.

"Wouldn't dream of anything else."

Sighing, I turned to Ami and Noelle.

"Bye Kiddos. Take care of yourselves."

"I will."

When Noelle didn't answer, I crouched down so I was eye level with her.

"What's wrong sweetie pie?"

"D-don't go," she mumbled holding onto a small piece of fabric from my jeans.

"I have to Noelle, so I can go and arrest Kyou."

Her eyes widened with fright.

"No!" she screamed, "He's bad!"

I opened my mouth, but couldn't find the words to say when tears started to sliver down her cheek.

"Noelle, I-

"I'm going to take good care of her okay?" smiled Ikuto bending over me to ruffle her hair.

She looked up at him and just stared, while I was frozen, not removing my hand from hers. A small but wavering small appeared on her face.

"Okay."

We both lingered there for a moment before I enveloped Ami and Noelle in a bear hug. After that, the four of us left for the gate. I took of my sneakers, belt, and cell phone and placed them on the conveyor belt where they would be checked. Then I placed my duffel bag on the belt, and passed through the metal detector.

Ikuto, Kukai, and Kain passed through, and just as I was about to leave, the police man that had been checking over things grabbed my arm viciously.

"Hey! Let go of me!" I shouted causing Ikuto and the rest of them to turn around.

"What do you think this was doing in your bag?" he asked pulling out my gun.

"What do you mean 'What was it doing in my bag'? I'm a cop!"

"I don't see any sort of identification. So why don't you come down with me and we can sort this mess out," he said, immediately putting cuffs on me.

"Hey, hey, hey!" shouted Kukai running back towards me. "She is a cop."

"Thank you. I've already told him that," I snapped.

"Until I see some sort of identification, she's coming with me."

"Where the hell is your I.D. Amu?" asked Kukai.

"In my duffel bag."

Kukai looked at the police who merely shrugged at him. He zipped my bag open and searched through the contents.

"Amu, where is it?" he asked as though we had all the time in the world.

"In a small navy bag. It has my I.D. and Tsukasa's letter."

With no difficulty, he found it and showed it to the cop; along with the letter. The cop creased his eyebrows as he read the letter and checked my card. With a small noise, he un-cuffed me.

"Sorry miss, but you should've shown me your I.D. card first."

"I would've if you hadn't been in such a hurry to cuff me!"

"You know, airport security is pretty tight, we can't afford to be lax."

"Yes, I know," I sighed putting on my shoes and belongings.

When I was far enough from him, I cursed.

"Damn cop embarrassing the shit out of me in public!"

"Why don't you carry you're I.D. with you?" asked Kain.

"I didn't think I was going to get caught. Plus, you guys didn't get caught."

At the same time, the three of them lifted their shirt and there in the fine print were their cards.

"Whatever."

They all chuckled and we made our way to the gate. Thankfully, the whole incident with the cop had saved us some from waiting another half hour in the gate. The passengers were already boarding the plane.

In the front stood a lady who collected our tickets. We got into a line: Ikuto, Kukai, Kain and then me.

"Seat 54 A."

"Seat 55 B."

"Seat 65 A."

"Seat 64 B."

As we walked in, Kukai frowned at how we had been arranged.

"They should've at least put us all together."

Shrugging, I walked in and took my seat next to Kain. The best part of the whole thing was I was seated next to the window.

"Oh this is good," exclaimed Kukai taking his seat, "You guys are right behind us."

The seats weren't as comfortable as I thought they would be but I had luckily worn comfortable jeans and a loose pink long-sleeve with pinkish stripes going through it.

After a couple minutes of waiting the plane started to move. It glided down the shiny asphalt, picking up speed inch by inch. And before long we had soared into the sky; I looked down the window, the airport wasn't as big as it was before.

I settled back into my seat comfortable and did a quick check through over my bag. Among a few spare clothes and other accessories, I had brought my jewelry box – the one with the broken necklace and the file from before.

Looking up for a moment, I caught the sight of Ikuto's hair in front of me. Sighing, I gently opened the box and fingered the necklace. When my thoughts started to veer towards him and the breakup, I snapped the box shut and stashed my bag away. I wasn't letting him ruin my time at France.

Absently I turned around and noticed Kain staring at me intently.

"What?"

"You're not wearing the necklace he gave you?"

"I hardly ever wear it," I lied.

"Ever since I've met you, you've had it slung around you're neck. Spill it."

Damn he's sharp. Not to mention the fact he didn't even know Renji yet he was acting just like him

"It has nothing to do with you," I snapped.

He shrugged, "It doesn't, but I'd still want to know, because somehow I know this is going to get in the way of the case."

My attention un-consciously drifted from Kain to Ikuto. Catching on already, Kain smirked.

"Hey Ikuto."

I froze and gave Kain a slanted look. Ikuto turned around and looked at me before turning his attention to Kain. I wasn't planning on turning around, but my body did so anyways. I heard a sigh come from Ikuto's mouth and felt my shoulders slump.

"Yeah."

"Amu wants to know what time we'll get there."

"Around 9 p.m."

"Thanks."

He lowered his voice, "So I'm guessing either you guys had a fight or broke up."

I sent him a small annoyed smile.

"And how'd you get to this conclusion Sherlock?"

"Well in the airport you two didn't greet each other at all, though it was just a minor incident. Second, when you were caught by the police, it was Kukai who came running after you, not Ikuto. Though he was angry and his hands were in balled fists…but that's a different story. Finally, when he turned around to talk, you turned around."

"Observant, aren't you?"

"It's my job."

"Uh-huh."

For the next few hours, I busied myself by talking to Kain, looking out the window and eating. And the food wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'd ordered a plate of sushi along with a tall can of Arizona Raspberry Ice Tea. Then just as the sky was turning dark, the flight attendants pulled out several small screens and put on a movie.

After about an hour, I felt my eye lids get heavy. The movie wasn't boring in the least; it was actually at the suspense of it. I leaned back and got into a comfortable position before I fell asleep.

Later

Ikuto POV

"Hey wake up! Amu!" hissed Kain.

"5 more minutes," she moaned.

"5 more minutes and the plane will leave for Japan."

"10 more minutes then…"

"A-

"Here, I'll wake her up and in the meantime you guys should go get the luggage."

"Fine by me," shrugged Kain before leaving.

Kukai frowned and gave me a worried look.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

He walked off leaving me alone with Amu. She looked such a little kid when she was sleeping. Her face so serene and calm. Feeling a heavy feeling in my heart, I sighed then shook off the feeling. I stepped forward and slung her over my back then repositioned so it looked like I was giving her a piggyback ride.

I grabbed her duffel bag and headed out of the plane. As I was walking, I felt her stir a bit, but when I looked at her, she was asleep. Probably dreaming.

"Where am I?"

"The airport," I whispered softly.

She didn't answer or move leading me to believe she was contented with the answer I gave her. A few of the travelers had turned around and were staring at Amu and I. I could even hear them going 'Oh how cute' and 'What a nice boyfriend'.

"Who are you?"

"A friend."

"I have a gun you know."

I burst out chuckling. She was classic.

"Don't worry, I'm not bad."

But it seemed she had already forgotten about that.

"Do you know Ikuto?"

I looked back again to see if she was awake or not, but she wasn't. Her breathing was still slow and even and her eyes still shut.

"Yeah."

"Tell him I'm sorry."

"…uh…okay…"

When I saw Kukai and Kain, I hurried towards them.

"Don't tell him… but I miss him…"

I froze, what was I supposed to say to that? Did she really think I was mad at her? How would she feel if she knew that she was telling her deepest thoughts to me, not this so called 'friend'?

"You gave her a piggyback ride?" chuckled Kain.

"She wouldn't get up. Did you get our luggage?"

"Yeah."

Amu POV

I tossed and turned to find a comfortable position. I even tried to lying upside down to no prevail. As tired as I was, I somehow found enough strength to push myself off the bed and wandered to my bathroom. Instead of ending up in my bathroom, I crashed right into a wall.

"Oww…what the hell?"

I looked up and noticed that where my bathroom was supposed to be was a large cream colored wall with a painting of a beach. I wasn't in my room at all; I looked around. There was a large canopy bed right in the middle of the room. Large windows that reached from the floor to the wall were placed to the side along with a couple dressers placed here and there. Walking to the window, I pushed away the white curtains and unlocked the latch of the window.

When I stepped outside a sweet smell of bread immediately came along with a cool breeze. Below me were people walking on the sidewalk and others taking a taxi. In the distance, I could see the Eiffel Tower as clears as day. And that's when it hit me – we're not in Japan anymore.

Feeling a surge of excitement and adrenaline, I rushed out of my room. Running through the hall, I raced down the staircase then skidded across the tile floor. The smell of bread was stronger than ever.

"Whoa there, you hungry tiger?" smiled Kain.

"Kind of. I just didn't realize we were in France."

"I don't think there's anything planned for today, so I guess it'd be okay to scope out the area. But for now, I suggest getting breakfast."

"Agreed."

When I had noticed that the smell of bread had become stronger, I had been right, the kitchen was just a couple feet away. At the dining area Kukai and Ikuto were seated. Kukai was busy eating something that looked like a thin pancake and Ikuto was practically sleeping at the table.

"Good Morning Amu."

"Good Morning."

I pointed to Ikuto and mouthed 'What happened?' to Kukai. He looked from Ikuto to me and then smirked. 'Later' he mouthed. Shrugging, I took a seat at the table with Kain right next to me.

"What's that?" I asked Kukai.

I had taken a closer look at his 'thin pancake'. It was folded and in the middle was something that looked like light chocolate along with fresh strawberries on top.

"It's a crepe with an espresso filling."

"What is a crepe?"

"Basically a thin pancake," he smiled, "Do you want one?"

"Yeah."

Kukai offered me a plate with different flavors of crepes. I grabbed one with a reddish filling and chocolate drizzle on the top. I sliced some strawberries on top and took a small bite. It had a raspberry filling that contrasted well against the slightly bitter chocolate on top. As for the bread itself, it was soft and melted in your mouth.

After a couple more crepes, croissants and waffles, I pushed away from the table and stretched.

"Ah, that was delicious. Who's the cook or chef?"

"Dunno."

"I'll be back."

"Amu, I don't think that's such a good idea," warned Kukai.

"Sure it is."

Ikuto POV

Turning around, Kukai kicked the leg of my chair.

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty."

"…"

"Come on, or your prince will have to give you the awakening kiss."

"Screw you."

Yawning, I lifted my head up. And before I could say anything to Kukai a shrill errupted from the kitchen.

"Que pensez-vous que vous faites ici!"

"That means 'Thank you' in French right?" asked Kukai.

"No...it means 'What do you think you're doing here?'".

"I see."

"Why?"

"Because Amu went to see the cook or chef."

Before any of us could react, Amu was dragged out by an older woman. She actually looked kind of like Amu, but instead of pink locks and golden eyes, she had dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Her arm was slung over Amu's shoulder.

"Is she yours?"

"Yeah."

"I've been cooking since I was 15, and never in my 35 years of being a chef has anyone just waltzed into my kitchen like she just did."

"Well I-

"And never in my 35 years of being a chef has anyone thanked me for the food I've put in front of them."

She released her hold of Amu and caught my eye.

"She's a special girl."

"I know," I replied turning to see Amu currently laughing at Kukai's face.

I know.

A/N

Hi everyone! From the part where Ikuto gets up from the table, I've had to rewrite everything after that like 4 times because Microsoft Word was being a nuisance. Anyways, I've made this chapter longer than I had originally planned out to. I had been meaning to stop it after they got the luggage, but because of the recent late updates, I've decided to extend it. Oh...YAY for Spring Break! And because I have an entire week off, I'll see if I can put 2 maybe 3 additional chapters up. I think that's all the news I have... Oh well :)

Love,

Neko~Meme