The bell rung for the last time today as all the kids were still talking, ignoring the bell. I waited in the class room for everyone to leave. I was not going to linger in the hallways with all those idiots. Ikuto was next to me, waiting to leave as well. I didn't know where Rima was at but she could take care of herself. I was drawing for the 'project' as Rima calls it. I was drawing everyone on a separate sheet of paper. Maybe I should ask everyone what their dreams are. I knew Rima's even though she would probably never admit it. I also knew Ikuto's but I was just going to interpret it to a cat just to mess with him. What was the other's though. Kukai was good at sports, so maybe 'Star'? Nagi is a dancer… Maybe create two for him? One for girl dancing and one for boy dancing? Yaya… she's a tough one… Her and Kairi… Should Hotori be in it? I'll admit, if my life hadn't happen the way it did, I'd probably fall for his 'Princely' charm. His attitude, when no one was looking though, was more kingly. More demanding. Hmmm… How was I going to do this? I grabbed out my note book that I wrote every Idea I had for this in. I started brain storming some plot ideas.

"What language is that?"

I jumped out of my seat and landed in the floor. I heard Ikuto snicker from his seat. I sent him a glare before glaring at the idiot that talked right next to my ear. Rima stood tall with a smirk on her face. I saw her and Ikuto high five. I growled at them. That was their joke for the day?

"Seriously though, what language is that? It's not Japanese." Rima asked seriously this time.

"Yaya wants to see!" Yaya yelled as she jumped over the desk and grabbed my book. "This is Vietnamese! Yaya didn't know that Amu-chii knew Vietnamese! Yaya was born in Vietnam!" Yaya was rambling in glee now. Great, now I got to find a new language to learn. Kairi put a hand on Yaya's shoulder, which apparently was magic because she calmed down almost immediately. I grabbed my book from Yaya.

"Why do you know Vietnamese?" Kairi asked. I just grumbled under my breath as I grabbed all my stuff.

"Personal reason." I said as I stormed out of the room. I could hear them following behind me but I didn't acknowledge them. There was already very few Vietnamese in Japan. What was even lesser in Japan? Thailand? This just sucks. Maybe I should pick up a middle eastern language, like Egyptian. Maybe even African, if I could even find a book or something on the language.

"Amu, calm down. We didn't know it was that personal." Rima scolded but I just ignored her. That's a lot of journals I'll have to rewrite. If Yaya can read them, the same accident could happen again. I felt a hand on my shoulder but I didn't acknowledge it. I didn't shove it away either. I knew the hand too well. It was Ikuto. I didn't care what he thought of how I was reacting but I wasn't going to be rude about it and push him away. I promised I wasn't going to leave him. If I push him away because of this, it might make him think that I would leave him. I didn't want to lose him, especially over something like this. I just needed room to think.

"Hey, you with the pink hair!"

Someone called. I didn't know this voice. I looked up to see a man in a trench coat, carrying a case and a camera, running this way. I stopped at the bottom of the front steps of the school. I noticed in the corner of my eye, Kukai and Utau coming over towards us. I even noticed Hotori looking mildly interested in the dude in the trench coat. I looked back at Rima. When she looked at me, I looked quickly at Hotori before looking back at her. She looked at Hotori and noticed the same thing I did. Ikuto looked at Hotori too before focusing back on the dude running towards us. I followed his example. His breaths were labored when he came over towards us. I noticed Nagi had come over to us as well but decided to ignore it for now.

"You..." he took another deep breath before fixing his posture. "You're Hinamori Amu?" He asked. I nodded my head once. "You lived in Kyoto during the year of 2006 right?" I narrowed my eyes at him. I should've known that that was what all this was about.

"Why should I tell you?" I asked snidely. He grinned up at me.

"I'm a very popular internet reporter. I'm on a quest to find the last unknown victim of Hotori Mizuki, and all my research points to you Miss Hinamori." He declared. The school grounds became silent. Hotori only looked more interested. From the lack of reaction from the students, it looked like they already made the connections between the two. Everyone was staring at me though. "Are you the last victim of the kidnapper/rapist?"

"No, you had made a mistake." I tried to say as confidently as possible. I didn't sound as strong as I wanted to but I had inwardly pat myself on the back for not breaking eye contact in the lie nor having my PTSD show through.

"But you are the only person of correct age that lived in the area of which she was kidnapped and went missing the same time she was held captive. Resources even told me that the last victim had pink hair just like the first victim." He told. Everyone's eyes were widening. I took a deep breath through my nose so no one noticed what I was doing. 'Ikuto and Rima are right behind me along with the rest of our gang. Forget that Hotori is watching us with amusement.' I thought, trying to calm down my nerves. I willed my legs to stop shaking. 'How did they find out I had pink hair?!' I inwardly shook that thought away as I glared at the man in front of me. "

"Like I said, you got the wrong person." My voice was almost cracking. "Why are you looking for her anyways? I'm sure she'd rather be left alone."

"Because, Miss Hinamori," He said in a tone that he had already made up in his mind that I truly was the last mysterious victim. "How are we as the people suppose to learn how to protect ourselves if we do not have the full truth? Besides, If I play my cards right, I can find out how she survived and who truly captured Hotori." Cards huh… Maybe I could use that in my story. I'll take note of that later.

"So you're just in it for the fame. You don't care who's life you ruin as long as you get top story." I explained. His eyes widened when I said this. I apparently hit the nail on the head. "How reassuring." I remarked sarcastically. He glared at me but somehow managed to keep a smile on his face. I took one last deep breath. "And I suggest you stop looking for the last victim." This time I sounded more confident. Everyone's eyes widen.

"Why should I? The public has the right to know!" He shouted. I felt a vein pop on my head.

"Then you are just as much of a monster as Hotori Mizuki!" I shouted over everyone. "I'm pretty sure that victim just wants to live a normal life! And here you are trying to not only, strip her away from that but also create a constant reminder of what he did to her! If everyone knew who she was, imagine how much pity would give her for the rest of her life! She wouldn't be able to go out on social outings, heck, she wouldn't be able to get a job without someone reminding her of what he did to her! How can you be so full of yourself that you're basically trying to ruin their entire life!" My face was stinging but I was able to hide the watery eyes. I took a few steps towards him. His glare just hardened at me. I snorted at him. "You really are a monster just like him." I spat. I walked by him, making sure to hit him with my shoulder, and walked away. I needed to get out of here.

"She is so cool~!" One of the students coo-ed. Great here it comes… "She stood up for a completely stranger~!"

"Cool 'n spicy~!" Everyone coo-ed. I could still feel eyes on me. I'm pretty sure it was Ikuto and the rest of them. I didn't care though. I needed some time to think. I felt the need to hide for weeks. I don't understand. I was reassured by many high government officials that there wouldn't be a leak about anything that dealt with me. If someone there saw me talking to them, it wouldn't have mattered. The stupid black dye was still very strong in my hair. This doesn't make any sense. I didn't even go back to school till my hair was pink again and that wasn't until Ami was born. Yeah, sure, the other kids started calling me a slut or a whore but that was because they thought my parents had sold me off to some dude with a lot of money. I stormed down the streets. People were making sure to stay out of my way and I was silently thankful for it. I wonder how many people he had to talk to back at my old school for him to get that much information on me? I came up to the park. Since the day has basically ended for work and school people, the park was fuller than it usually was. I didn't mind it right now though, they weren't packed together and I knew a spot that no one went to.

"Amu-chan! Wait!"

I heard Nagi behind me. I just sped up a bit. The older people were shaking their heads towards me. They probably figured we were a couple or whatever but I just went on.

"Amu-chan!"

Nagi grabbed my arm from behind and turned me around. Ikuto wasn't with him. My chest was getting tight. I glared at Nagi; hopefully it'll distract me from the tightness in my chest.

"He was right, wasn't he." He stated while trying to catch his breath. I growled at him. Did he not understand anything I just screamed earlier? "Dear God… So all the times we…" I was pretty sure he was recalling the times everyone called me slut. "I am so sorry…" He was staring at me with pity. I ripped my arm out of his grasp.

"That look, is exactly why I don't tell people anything." I growled before turning and walking away. I walked right into the wooded area of the park. I could still hear his foot steps behind me.

"Is that why you didn't make fun of me like everyone else? Is that why you treated me like a normal kid?" He was behind me. His voice sounded desperate.

"Leave me alone." I growled as I sped up.

"Friends don't leave friends alone." He stated strongly. It was enough to make me freeze on spot.

"They also don't take pity in the other's misfortune." I grumbled before walking again.

"And that was my mistake! Let me try to fix my mistake, Amu-chan!" Nagi begged. My steps were more hesitant now. "I know Ikuto-san is helping you heal as you are helping him heal. I just want to try and help." My face was stinging again.

"Why? So you can feel better about yourself? Knowing that someone had a harsher life than you did? Want to rub it in my face?" I was facing him now. I was pretty sure that I was crying. The shock look on his face was enough to prove it. His face turned to sadness again. "Because that's all that face does! Stop looking at me like that!" I fell to my knees. I was used to having people see me cry. It was basically all anyone has seen me do since Hotori Mizuki kidnapped me.

"I can't." What? I looked up at him. There was sadness in his eyes still but this time, it was different somehow. "I've always seen you as a sister, now I'm sure that Kukai and Kairi sees you that way too. Brothers are suppose to protect their sisters. They're suppose to help them feel safe. It's makes us feel bad that we were already too late for that." He pause for a minute and all I could do was stare at him. "What we can do now, is help you move on." He said in a girl's voice this time. I couldn't help but to chuckle a bit when he did that. "I'm also sure that sisters feel as if they should protect each other. Rima is already overly protective of you. So is Utau and Yaya. I got them all bet though." He was still talking in a girl's voice. "I'm your brother," He said in a guy's voice. "And your sister." He was back to a girl's voice. I laughed a little louder this time. He was smiling now. He petted the top of my head like Kukai liked to do. I pouted at this.

"I'm not a cat. Stop touching my head." I grumbled. Nagi just laughed a bit.

"There is one person I can't bet though." I looked at him with a raised brow. "Ikuto… He's so much different when he's around you." He stated. I rolled my eyes at him.

"How would you know? He rarely leaves my side." I pouted. I really didn't want to have this discussion. Nagi smirked at me. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You miss him already, huh?" He teased. I froze a minute. I could feel my face warming up.

"Y-yo-you me-mean h-how y-you mi-miss Ri-rima?" I tried to tease back. Great, now I'm mess. Nagi seemed to have freeze on spot anyways. He was starting to blush too. I bet you if people saw us, they would misinterpret this. Nagi face seemed to have shifted.

"Hmmmhn! I have completely fallen for her." Nadesko popped through. My eyes widen. He just admitted it. Nagi was back and he started to laugh. "Now I see why Ikuto picks on you so much!" I glared at him before hitting in on the arm. He was laughing even harder while holding the spot where I just hit him. He's just as bad as Ami. I smirked at him.

"So you are going to tell her soon, right?" I asked. He froze again.

"I-i-I don't think I sh-should." Nagi was the one embarrassed this time. He started scratching the back of his head nervously. "I don't think she's into me that way. I snorted at that.

"If Ikuto acts differently when I'm not around, like you said, then Rima is exactly the same way." I told him. His eyes were wide again. I stood up this time. I looked down at him. "Let's head back to the others before they decide to freak out." I felt a pressure on my back before I started falling forward.

"There's my little sister!" Kukai shouted right next to my ear as he hugged me front behind. My body tensed up when his voice reached my ears.

"Kukai! Let go of Amu!" I heard Utau yell. I felt Kukai let go of me as he yelped in my ear. Rima was soon standing in front of me. She raised a brow at me.

"He shouted right next to my ear." I mumbled. She nodded her head in understanding. She turned and glared at Nagi.

"Why didn't you tell us that you found Amu!?" Rima was really overly protective of me. I understood why though. Nagi freezes up this time. I couldn't help but to smirk.

"Because Nadesko was having girl problems." I teased. His face turned red as he grip his pants tightly.

"Who is Nadesko? How does Amu-chii know Nadesko?" Yaya asked. Nagi's face shifted. My smirk widened.

"It's what I call Nagi when he—" Nagi quickly reached over and covered my mouth with his hand. I raised a brow at him. Ikuto looked some what irritated. He was glaring at Nagi's hand. I'll have to ask Ikuto about that later. Nagi was looking at me nervously. I just glared at him. I spat in his hands, literally. You know, like that spit large enough you can see it when you're passing it on the side walk. Disgusting I know, but it works. Nagi retreated his hand while making a face.

"You just spat in my hand!" He was absolutely disgusted.

"Nadesko is Nagi's girl side." I commented. Kukai was the only one that was laughing, the others looked at me like I was crazy. Ikuto looked like he was thinking. Weird cat. Nagi glared at me before smirking slightly. I raised a brow at him again.

"Amu was actually the one having girl troubles and just didn't want to admit it." He said in his girl's voice. I glared at him. Kukai, Utau, and Yaya was laughing at us, which only caused my glare to intensify. Rima and Ikuto was smirking at us, which diffidently didn't help. Kairi was looked amused. A creepy shiver went down my spine. I was immediately on the defensive. Rima, Ikuto, and Nagi noticed this immediately.

"We're being watched." I mumbled under my breath.

"Hinamori-chan!"

Oh, great. It's Seiyu's personal creeper. It's sad when I an deal with the pervert better. Everyone else stopped talking and looked behind me. What the heck did this Hotori want.

"Hinamori-chan, are you alright? I saw how you stormed out after that freak interrogated you." He tried to sound annoyed but I could easily hear the amusement in his tone. I rolled my eyes before turning around.

"I was annoyed but seeing as though you came to remind me, I'm mad." I sassed. I know, not the coolest thing to say but it just fell out of my mouth. I saw Rima shaking her head next to me. Hotori noticed this as well. I felt someone standing right behind me. "Thanks for the reminder." I commented sarcastically. Hotori was glaring somewhere behind me. I guessing it was Ikuto, who was more than likely standing behind me. In a way, I guess you can say I feel more empowered. I really don't know what to call it, but whatever the heck it's called, I was thankful for it.

"Well, I will be checking up on you for the next few days. Some people start acknowledging events like this, even days later." Hotori stated. I glared at him.

"She has friends to back her up." Kairi stated.

"She barely even knows you, what the heck should you be the one checking up on her?" Utau sassed. What can't the earth swallow me up whole? I hate it when people talk about me and act like I'm not standing right there.

"We'll see about that." He growled before turning and walking away. He acts like a power hungry prince who acts like a king.