…

DATE: MONDAY MAY 13, 2014

TIME: 300

LOCATION: ABANDONED WAREHOUSE

TARGET: TACHIBANA KAYATO

Kayato snarled at his underlings, slapping his gun into his palm repeatedly as he eyed the shriveling cowards in front of him.

"So," he began. "Another failed mission…what do you have to say to that, huh?"

One of the idiotic newbies opened their mouth to reply but he barely had a chance to form a single word before he was shot in the head. The others around him did not flinch but each one of them had several beads of sweat rolling down their faces.

Kayato's eyes flashed dangerously. "Anyone want to finish the sentence for him?" He smirked when nobody answered. It quickly disappeared to be replaced by his disgusted frown. "All I asked was for you to infiltrate a dumb little company and find out how to destroy them. Instead, more than half of my men were killed on the spot by a single person. How pathetic does that make me look?"

His second-in-command cleared his throat, stepping forward.

"With all due respect, sir, you did ask something impossible for these new recruits."

"No exceptions," barked Kayato. "Anyone can take down that hotshot corporation and I'm going to prove it, with or without these useless meat puppets!"

"Is that so?"

Kayato and his men looked up at the large, broken window above them. Nearly everybody paled; they recognized that figure.

"Y-You!" Kayato sputtered fearfully, stepping back.

The figure smirked.

"So you think you can take down my corporation, huh? That's pretty bold, Kayato. I didn't think you had the balls to do it." The figure gracefully jumped down and approached the trembling man until their faces were just inches apart. "But, you know, having you stand there while I talk is getting pretty boring. After all, you made me come down here so early in the morning when I could be sleeping…"

Kayato choked on his words as the person in front of him smirked. A chill went down his spine as the knowledge of him not surviving sunk in.

"So let's get right down to it, huh, Kayato?"

A few minutes later, the figure let out a disappointed noise as they stepped over all of the lifeless bodies sprawled out on the ground.

"I was hoping they would put up more of a fight. Makes my job more interesting."

…

DATE: MONDAY MAY 13, 2014

TIME: 800

LOCATION: SEIYO HIGH SCHOOL

Ikuto was woken from his lovely catnap upon having someone drop a large stack of papers on top of his desk. He opened one eye and, as if he was surprised, smirked at Amu. He had beaten her to the classroom, but he had been following her since she left her house.

"Morning, Amu," greeted the teenage assassin. He was rewarded with a bright blush from his target. Although he usually remained neutral during his missions, he couldn't help but think she looked pretty cute like that.

"S-Stop saying my name like that," hissed the pinkette, embarrassed. Jeez, this guy was pretty good-looking and all, but so were a bunch of other guys in the school and none of them had ever made her this flustered. He was seriously messing up her reputation of being a cold, heartless bitch. She never cared much for it, but still…

Ikuto opened both his eyes and saw his target deep in thought. He looked down at the stack of papers that had been the reason his much needed catnap was interrupted-he had had an all nighter and was exhausted-and raised an eyebrow.

"'A List of Rules for a Guest in the Hinamori Household by Hinamori Amu'?" He read, lifting the ridiculous list up. It was a lot heavier than it looked. "What is this?"

Amu was snapped back into reality by his voice. Damn him and his intoxicating voice. Wait, what? The pinkette shoved that random, forbidden thought away and turned her attention back to him.

"It's exactly what it says it is," she replied, crossing her arms. "I am not letting you into my house without setting some ground rules. That's the first part; the library ran out of ink-and paper-so I have to wait until lunch to print the other four sections."

Ikuto looked amused. "What exactly did I do to make you this paranoid? We just met yesterday." More importantly, how did she have time to make all of this? It was handwritten and then scanned onto the computer, he could see, and then she printed it out too? This girl put a lot of work into something so useless…

Amu raised an eyebrow. "That's exactly my point. I don't know you. You're a total stranger and you're going to live in my house for the next month. I have no idea how you're going to behave so I have to make sure you don't do anything weird, especially to me."

Ikuto began flipping through the list. "Dinner at six in the dining room only; no friends over at all; no wandering around the house without an escort; I can't leave my room after eight pm? What are you, a hostess or my parole officer?"

"For a delinquent, I'm both," replied Amu. "A weird, perverted delinquent."

The seventeen-year-old assassin smirked. "What makes you think I'm a pervert? I haven't done anything to you yet."

"The fact that you said the word 'yet' is proof enough," retorted the pinkette, crossing her arms.

"Himamori-san, please stop flirting with the new student and sit down," said Nikaidou as he entered the classroom, only to trip over his shoelaces and crash to the ground rather ungracefully. "Owie…"

Amu spun around, her face red, as she protested, "I am not flirting with him!" After a pause, she added, this time with exasperation, "And it's Hinamori!"

Seeing that she was ignored by her teacher, the pinkette huffed and fell back in her seat with a frustrated expression. She rubbed her temples, shaking her head as she ignored Saaya's death glare. It was way too early in the morning to deal with Ikuto and the auburn-haired annoyance.

"Eh, you're not?" Nikaidou asked, confused. "Then what were you doing together so close?"

"W-W-W-What does it matter to you?! You're a teacher!"

The ginger haired man shrugged. "I like being involved in my students' lives."

"That's a little too personal!"

"Hinamori-san, please calm down; you're disrupting the class."

"M-Me?!" Amu sputtered, only to freeze. "Did you just use my real name?"

"Did I?" Nikaidou feigned an innocent smile at her. "I always use your proper name, don't I?" He ignored her scoff as he gathered his papers. "Before class starts, I'd like to remind you that today is Day One of your little partner switcheroo. One month from today, you will switch again."

"How could I possibly forget?" Saaya exclaimed. She placed her hand over her forehead and threw her head back dramatically. "It's the day where our precious Tsukiyomi-kun is forced to be in the same building as that Hinamori Amu!"

"We're in the same building now, Yamabuki-san," pointed out Amu, rolling her eyes as she rested her chin on her palm.

Saaya sighed heavily and began speaking slower as if she were speaking to a child. "That is clearly different. This is school, not your little dragon liar, Hinamori-san. I certainly wouldn't want to be trapped with such a hideous beast and those stolen jewels of yours."

Amu narrowed her eyes and slowly turned around to face the auburn-haired girl.

"Are you implying something?" She asked acidly.

Saaya smirked. "Not at all, Hinamori-san…all I'm saying is that it's rather odd that your buffoon of a father can manage such a company so successfully. It almost seems like he has some…outside help, don't you think?"

"It almost seems like your cheap hair dye is finally affecting your brain, don't you think?" Amu snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Nikaidou cleared his throat, eyeing the girls nervously. They were both out of their seats, glaring at each other, while their classmates looked ready to flee the room. Ikuto was watching the interaction with slight fascination. It seemed that Saaya had touched a sensitive subject; he made a mental note to look into that.

"A-Alright, ladies, that's enough," said Nikaidou, standing between the two girls as they slowly sat back down without breaking eye contact. "Yamabuki-san, I understand that you are still upset with the partner arrangements but please refrain from showing such hostility towards Himamori-san."

"Whatever," muttered the heiress, sinking into her seat as she crossed her arms.

"Alright, now let's begin our lesson."

"Wait a minute," interrupted Saaya as she shot up, causing her classmates to groan. She ignored them, of course. "How come Hinamori-san doesn't get scolded? She was just as much as involved in that as I was!"

"Today, we will be translating our English passages out loud," continued Nikaidou cheerfully, as if the spoiled girl hadn't spoken. "Everybody please open your books to page 87. Ah, Nana-san, why don't you begin reading the first passage?"

Saaya grumbled and sank back into her seat.

The rest of class went on peacefully and soon enough, the day ended.

"Okay, everyone," began Nikaidou. "I know that this project was very sudden but please try to get along. This is a good opportunity for you to understand your classmates better and even if you already know each other, you can always find room to learn new things about the other. Also, you can return to your own home but only if, for example, you need to pick up something or if it's an emergency. Please remember that you also need to write a summary and final essay about how this project affected you after the two months. We will also be having a psychologist coming in to help you understand each other better and improve your relationship throughout the project. That's all for now; remember to have fun and keep an open mind!"

The bell rang and his students rushed to get their things together.

Amu sighed as she stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she glanced over at her partner.

"Please tell me you read the rules," she said as he gathered his things.

"I could, but then I would be lying," replied Ikuto, smirking at her exasperated expression as he also stood up. "Amu, don't put me down so easily. I am quite capable of behaving myself."

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe," muttered Amu, turning and striding out of the room. He wasn't that far behind. "I don't live that far; we can get there in about fifteen minutes."

"By car?" Ikuto asked.

Amu glanced over her shoulder. "Why would we travel by car? It's not bad to stretch your legs now and then, you know." She frowned. "Don't tell me you're one of those brats who always rely on others to do everything for them?"

"Of course not," snorted Ikuto. "The old man makes me do everything myself."

"Well, good," replied the pinkette, looking surprisingly pleased by his answer.

By this time, the hallway had gotten crowded and since she wasn't looking forward, somebody crashed into her. She stumbled back and, unable to keep her balance, she prepared herself to hit the ground.

However, Ikuto was still behind her. He grabbed her by her waist and steadied her even as the other person crashed to the ground.

"Easy there, klutz," remarked the assassin, smirking at her.

Amu blushed and slapped his hands away. "Shut up." She turned to the person who had bumped into her. "I wasn't paying attention, sorry. Are you alright?"

The person looked up, ready to fight, when he realized who he had run into. His eyes lit up as he got back on his feet. "N-No, it was my fault, Hinamori-senpai! Please forgive me!"

Amu blinked. "Fine then." She picked up her things. "Come on, Tsukiyomi."

Ikuto, having noticed the younger boy's transformation, raised an eyebrow.

"Does that happen often?" He asked curiously.

"More than you can imagine," replied Amu, sighing as they exited the school building and stood outside the large iron gates. "I mean, how many times has a girl gone from a total bitch to a flirtatious sweetheart in front of you?"

"Hm," he said in response. "What are we doing, standing here?"

"Amu-chan!"

"I'm waiting for them," replied Amu, turning to the direction the voice came from. Ikuto looked up and saw a blur of colors before someone pretty much tackled his pink-haired target.

"Hi, Amu-chan," exclaimed a young girl with light brown hair, hugging the older girl tightly.

"Hi, Yaya," greeted Amu, smiling. She looked up at the others. "Hey, guys." The pinkette turned to her partner. "Tsukiyomi, these are my friends. Guys, this is my partner for a school project."

"Tsukiyomi Ikuto," said the assassin, nodding at the group as if it was the first time he had seen them. Like stated before, Ikuto had done his research on his target. Granted, he hadn't done extensive research on her friends but he didn't think it was necessary.

The young girl who had tackled the pinkette finally pulled away and beamed up at the blue-haired teenager. "I'm Yuiki Yaya; nice to meet you, Ikuto-chi!"

A small blonde looked at him coldly. "Mashiro Rima." She was eyeing him suspiciously and turned to Amu. "Be careful of this guy; something's not right about him."

"Rima, you're suspicious of anyone near Amu," replied a long-haired boy, chuckling as she glared at him. "My name is Fujisaki Nagihiko; pleased to meet your acquaintance, Tsukiyomi-san."

"I'm Sanjo Kairi," introduced a green-haired boy as he pushed up his glasses. "You may know my brother-in-law, Nikaidou Yuu."

"That guy is married?" Ikuto couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

"We had the same reaction," laughed a young man with bright green eyes. "Hey, the name's Souma Kukai. Nice to meet you, dude."

Ikuto nodded in response and turned to the final member of the group, someone he hadn't bothered to research. A smirk crossed his lips.

"Ah, Tadase," he greeted. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Hotori Tadase glared at him. "Tsukiyomi Ikuto."

Amu's eyes widened. "Eh, Tadase, you know him?"

"Unfortunately," replied the blond. "Amu-chan, may I speak with you?" Before she could answer, he grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the group, ignoring her protests.

"I apologize; he's normally not like that," said Nagi, smiling at the blue-haired boy apologetically.

"Don't apologize for others, cross-dresser," muttered Rima.

"It's fine," replied Ikuto, shrugging. He ignored the blonde's comment, though it did made him slightly curious from the way Nagi blushed.

"How do you and Tadase know each other?" Yaya asked curiously.

"Our parents were friends," said Ikuto honestly. His birth parents had been close friends with Tadase's before they had died. "He just never really liked me because I always beat him at games when we were kids. I didn't realize he would such a grudge."

"That's not why I don't like you," growled Tadase as he returned to the group. Amu was rubbing her arm, shooting daggers at the blonde as she muttered under her breath.

"Honestly, Tadase, don't grab a girl so roughly," remarked Ikuto, observing the red marks on the pinkette's skin from when Tadase had dug his fingernails in. "Do you need me to kiss it all better, Amu?"

She flushed and smacked his arm. "Don't be an idiot, you pervert." Amu turned to her friends. "I'm sorry but I can't hang out with you guys today. I have to do this project with Tsukiyomi."

"No problem," assured Kukai. "What's the project?"

"We have to stay at each other's houses for a month," replied Ikuto before his partner could get a word in. She glared at him.

"WHAT?" Tadase exploded. "Amu-chan! He's bad luck!"

"It's not like I have a choice, Tadase," snapped Amu. "And why do you care anyways?"

Tadase turned pink and muttered something under his breath as he stormed off. Their friends exchanged shocked looks.

"Well, it doesn't bother us," assured Kairi. "Especially since it's school-related, we can't do anything anyways."

"Thank you, Kairi," replied Amu appreciatively. "So I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Kay-kay," exclaimed Yaya, waving. "Bye-bye, Amu-chan! It was nice meeting you, Ikuto-chi!"

Amu smiled at them before she began walking in the opposite direction, Ikuto following her.

"Interesting bunch," he remarked. "They go to a different school?"

"Yeah, the one across town," replied Amu. "So how do you and Tadase know each other?"

"Childhood friends," replied Ikuto simply.

"Hm," was all the pinkette said as she led him down the road to her house. Ikuto noticed that they were out of the neighborhood and there were only trailer houses surrounding them. They approached the forest in a matter of minutes and he looked at her skeptically.

"Well?" Amu remarked, pushing a tree branch aside as she stepped into the forest. "What are you waiting for?" She disappeared behind the thick trees.

Ikuto stared at her for a few seconds before he shrugged and followed her. It wasn't as if she was going to kill him in there. And even if she tried, he could easily take her down.

The young assassin quickly caught up to her and they walked through the forest for a few minutes before they came across a giant steel fence. It wasn't electrical, from what he could see, but it did tower over them. He could easily get over it, but what about her?

Amu threw her bag over it and grabbed onto the fence. She climbed to the top and then jumped down onto the bright green grass on the other side. She didn't quite land on her feet, but it was rather impressive for someone who didn't have much experience. Then again, if this was how she got home every day like this, she was probably used to doing it.

"Well, come on," said Amu, crossing her arms as she stared at him through the fence. "I don't like you very much, but I figure that even you can jump over a fence, right?"

Ikuto shook his head and smirked at her. "Of course I can," he replied, leaping over the fence and landing next to her gracefully. Instead of looking impressed, like he imagined, she rolled her eyes and picked up her bag.

"Let's go before my dad freaks out and thinks you're murdering me or something," she said. "Worse case scenario, he thinks you had your way with me and now we're going to Vegas to get married."

"You mean we're not?" Ikuto joked and she glared at him. "Does your dad really think like that? I mean, come on, Amu, what am I walking into over there?" He had researched her and her family obviously, but they were just general facts.

Amu sighed and stopped, turning to face him. "I guess I should tell you that much at least, right? My dad, Tsumugu, is very eccentric and protective. For example, he refers to me and my sister as his 'little sparrows' and thinks we should be little girls forever. Although he knows you're coming, he's very wary of guys so he'll probably freak out and hide in the bathroom when he sees you."

"Seriously?" Ikuto interrupted, looking skeptical. "This is the guy who's the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world?"

The pinkette rolled her eyes. "I know; he's like a man-child sometimes, but you'll get used to him. My mom, Midori, is much calmer and a lot more sensible than he is. In all reality, she'd be better suited to be a normal housewife or something. Don't get me wrong; she's wary of you coming over too, but she'll be more normal about it."

Amu began walking again. "And then there's my younger sister, Ami. She's fourteen and kind of a diva. She's sweet and all but she really loves being in the spotlight. She's not worried about you coming over at all. In fact, she'll probably make as many sexual innuendos as humanely possible."

They approached a large, beautiful garden and Ikuto could see a humongous house on the horizon.

"Is…is all of this property yours?" He asked, surprised.

Amu nodded. "Yeah; my family owns at least 200 acres just in Japan." She said this rather nonchalantly, having never really thought about her family's wealth.

Ikuto whistled. "That's pretty impressive." No wonder the old man had been worried about this company. Money was power and the Hinamori family certainly had it.

"I guess," replied Amu. "I never really thought about it."

They approached the house after a bit and Amu dug around her bag for her key. After she found it, she held her hand on the doorknob and gave him a warning look.

"Remember, best behavior," she reminded him.

Ikuto rolled his eyes. "I took those stupid lessons, same as every kid at that damn school, Amu; I can behave myself."

Amu smiled. "Good. Now prepare yourself." She opened the door and grabbed his hand as she led him inside. "I'm home!"

The Hinamori household was enormous and the depth of their wealth was very obvious from all the expensive decorations, but it had a certain feeling to it that made it seem more like an average home. Ikuto imagined that if his parents were still alive, they would probably have a house like this one.

"Amu-chan," greeted a bubbly maid with magenta-colored hair. "How was your day?"

"Fine, thanks, Ran," replied Amu, smiling. "Are my parents home?"

"They're in the study," said Ran. "Is this the boy you were telling me about?"

"Yeah, this is Tsukiyomi Ikuto," said Amu, gesturing to the assassin. "Tsukiyomi, this is my friend and maid, Amulet Ran."

The young woman, who looked only a few years older than them, beamed and shook the teenage boy's hand. Ikuto noted how Amu had identified the woman as a friend first.

"It's nice to meet you," she exclaimed. "Is that your bag? Here, I'll take it to your room so Amu-chan can introduce you to her parents. Oh, and Amu-chan, Su made cookies if you want any."

"Alright, thanks," replied Amu as the woman hurried away. "That was Ran; she and her sisters have been working for my family since their parents died in a fire many years ago." She turned and began walking down one of the many hallways. "Come on; better to get it over with."

Ikuto stuck his hands in his pockets and followed her. Even though he had gotten used to being a semi-obedient, emotionless assassin, he couldn't help the bead of sweat that rolled down the back of his neck. He had been on plenty of missions, but he never had to get this involved and he certainly never had to meet a girl's parents. Well, not under these circumstances at least.

Amu suddenly stopped in front of a set of French doors and she turned to him. Her eyes widened slightly upon seeing his facial expression and a small smirk crossed her lips.

"So, Tsukiyomi, you ready to meet my parents?"

…

I don't own Shugo Chara.

Okay, so yeah…it's a slow progress, but the action will start soon! Well, not too soon since it's still the very beginning but you know what I mean…

Anyways…thanks for all the reviews! I actually have little to say right now, surprisingly, so…I know, that's a BIG shock for anyone who knows me…

Oh! And before you ask or complain, Tadase will NOT be the main antagonist in this story! Yeah, he came off sort of bratty and rude but we all saw how badly he acted towards Ikuto before the truth came out. So Tadase isn't the bad guy for once in my story. He's more of a side character/love rival, I guess…

Anyhow…don't hesitate to tell me your thoughts or if you found any mistakes!