…
"You okay there, Hinamori?" Kukai asked his pink-haired classmate, who was all but dead as she lay on her desk. "Is this because of what happened yesterday? I mean, I already apologized for not telling you."
"It's not that," murmured Amu as she slowly raised her head and looked up at the previous Jack with tired eyes. "I stayed up all night trying to answer all of Ami's questions about guardian characters and my experiences with them since their birth."
"Let me guess," began Kukai, smiling. "She wanted to know everything possible."
"Pretty much," replied the pinkette, groaning as Rima joined them. The blonde raised an eyebrow.
"You should have just kicked her out," said the current Queen. "I see no point in trying to answer all of your sister's questions in one night."
"My sister is stubborn," remarked Amu, rubbing her eyes. "I can't complain about her stubbornness because she always tells me that I'm even more stubborn than she is. But anyways, where's Ikuto? We need to work on that stupid project."
"Already on first name basis?" Kukai feigned hurt. "I thought what we had was special, Hinamori. Don't you feel the same, Rima?"
"I don't want to be on first name basis," stated Rima bluntly. "So no, Souma, I do not feel the same."
"So cold," murmured Kukai while Amu finally smiled. "But anyways, Hinamori, sorry but I have no idea where Tsukiyomi is. I know you haven't been here long, but surely you can see that he doesn't normally show up on time-if at all. He comes and goes as he pleases."
"Like a stray cat," quipped Rima, unable to help herself. Amu snorted, covering her mouth to muffle her giggles, while Kukai made a choking noise.
"Yes, I suppose that's true," the pinkette managed to get out, still trying to prevent an uncontrollable burst of laughing from occurring. Finally, she did calm down enough to say, "But anyways, we do need to do this assignment for the concert-festival, whatever-even if he's not here. So, Mashiro-san, did you have time to talk with Tsukasa about the whole theme issue?"
"What issue?" Kukai blurted before the blonde could answer. She gave him a withering look; she hated being cut off and she had always made that very clear during Guardian meetings, especially when Kukai was still the Jack. "Sorry…"
"It's something we discussed earlier during our meeting, you know, which you never showed up for," replied Rima frostily, making the former Jack cringe. "Tsukasa came up with this year's theme and we found it initially difficult to work with."
"Ah," said Kukai, understanding why the girls' would have had issues. Knowing the founding chairman, he probably came up with something related to their guardian characters or something as equally personal and embarrassing. "So you fixed it then?"
"Obviously," stated Rima, looking slightly offended. Kukai put up his hands in defense, ready to hear whatever biting remark she had, but she chose to ignore him. "The new theme is relationships-whether it be between lovers, family, friends etc. We can work with that, right?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Obviously the new theme will be a slight setback since everybody has to readjust their designs and decorations to fit the new requirements; but as disorganized and mindless as this class is, surely we can manage to succeed by the deadline."
Amu, who had been greatly amused by her classmates' little show, was now wearing a slight smirk. "Mashiro-san, it sounds as if you have quite some experience putting these kinds of messes together as a leader."
Rima glared at her, ready to make a snarky remark, but Kukai simply had to add, "Yeah, Mashiro, it sounds like Tadase is rubbing off on you."
Rima turned her ire onto him, but he merely grinned cheekily. She huffed and crossed her arms. "This is why I don't help people."
"I thought you just didn't like getting involved," said Amu, still smirking at the blonde as she ripped out a piece of notebook paper. "Alright, so relationships…we can work with that. We need a form of entertainment that correctly expresses different forms of relationships."
The three classmates sat in silence, brainstorming, until Kukai snapped his fingers.
"I know," he exclaimed, looking smug. "I happen to know that Tsukiyomi plays the violin. Hinamori, you're a singer, right? You two can do a duet to express the lovers' relationship!"
Amu turned bright red. "W-What? Why does it have to be us? W-Why does it need to be a song? S-Surely there are other ways…to express something as…intimate as true love, ways that don't involve getting on stage and such…"
Rima and Kukai exchanged looks. Both were slightly amused but also caught off guard by the girl's behavior. So far, they had only seen her cool and collected, and they had also seen her temper flare a few times. They were aware she had a façade that she wore, just like them, but the mask never really slipped off completely. Now it had and the two other bearers could see that Amu really was still a child-a flustered, inexperienced child with stage fright.
"Hinamori, have you ever actually performed in front of a crowd?" Kukai asked curiously.
The still flustered girl struggled to answer. "I-I mean, just once in kindergarten with my friend, Yua, but…I mean…that wasn't a huge crowd, just in front of five other kids and our parents…t-this is something huge! A-And, I-I don't think I'd be all that good at singing a love song since…" Her cheeks colored even more. "Well…since…"
"You've never been in love," finished Rima, her own mask dropping enough to show the sheer shock on her face. Sure she was a coldhearted person on the outside, but even she had experienced love and dating. Well, she wouldn't count her little vacation romance in America as real love but there was no doubt that the boy she had met at the ballet was something special.
Amu, embarrassed, remained silent.
"Never?" Kukai was in disbelief. "B-But you're gorgeous, stunning! You have guys falling at your feet!"
"Exactly!" Amu exclaimed loudly before she glanced around the classroom, aware of everyone bustling around. Luckily no one paid them attention but she still lowered her voice just in case. "Look, it's no secret that I push people away with the whole Cool 'n Spicy routine. Mashiro does it with her Queen of Hearts façade." Rima tried to glare at her, but she was still too stunned. "This whole thing…it's been going on for years, since early middle school. It's one of the main reasons why I even gave birth to my characters…and why I have four instead of the usual one or two."
"Right here, you know," murmured Ran, pouting from the windowsill where she and the other Charas had been sitting in silence. Miki elbowed her while Su shushed her. Dia merely shook her head.
Kukai imagined how that must have been; to have a habit of a pushing people away and to only have your would-be selves as company for years. He felt pity creep up but he quickly pushed it away; he didn't know Amu very well but he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't appreciate being looked down upon like a kicked puppy.
"It was hard enough to make friends, let alone boyfriends," the pinkette murmured, her cheeks finally cooling down and returning to their natural pale shade. Mostly…her cheeks were pink in embarrassment for even revealing that much to people that she barely knew.
Kukai patted her hand, making her look up. "I'm not volunteering to be your boyfriend, no offense, but I can definitely be your friend. I get that maybe you'll be skeptical, but isn't it worth the risk in the long run?"
Rima-cold, heartless Rima-smiled as well. It wasn't a large smile and it wasn't exactly a warm smile, but it wasn't small or cold either. "I don't exactly like you, but I don't exactly hate you either Hinamori." Amu's story resembled her own far too much for it to be a coincidence. Besides, there was a particular spunk in Amu that entertained the comedy-loving blonde. "So…I won't bitch on you if you don't bitch on me. No promises on that guy though."
She jabbed her thumb in Kukai's direction and, ignoring the boy's feigned look of hurt, Amu chuckled.
"He's free game," she agreed. "But thank you, Mashiro."
"…Rima." The blonde's cheeks were suspiciously pink. "It's only fair, right, Hinamori?"
"Call me Amu…both of you," replied the pinkette, eyes cast downward.
Kukai grinned. "Then feel free to call me Kukai! Whew; looks like we're finally friends, Amu! So you and Ikuto can't use your little catchphrase anymore!"
Amu, stunned, nodded and smiled shyly.
Her mask had loosened since moving to Seiyo but she didn't find it to be unpleasant; besides, it didn't hurt to let a few people in now and then. She liked Kukai and Rima; even Ikuto had grown on her, though she'd never let him know. Speaking of that guy…
"I'm still not sure about that duet though. Why do we need to perform and act as a form of entertainment? Can't we just hire somebody to do that?" The pinkette said almost whiningly.
"We could," agreed Rima, putting that slightly awkward mushiness aside for the moment as her mask slipped back on. "But we have a budget and there is no way we could get a decent performer with it. Not to mention…Tsukasa said that he would only change the theme if we participated in it as well."
"Ugh, what the hell," groaned Amu. "Okay, fine, but what can we do to keep these savages entertained?" She gestured absently at her classmates.
Kukai shrugged. "We could do something cliché like a maid café or a play…or we could put on our own concert and gather everybody in school to see if they would want to participate."
"But we can't do a concert," replied Amu, exasperated. "Mash-Rima and I discussed that yesterday. The music department already has something prepared so it'd be way too much if we did a concert as well. You would know that if…"
"If I had shown up, I know," interrupted Kukai. "I am never hearing the end of that, am I?"
"No," said his two female classmates.
Rima sighed. "Whatever; let's just do the maid café…though we should have a little fun with it." A wicked grin crossed her features. "After all, it's not fair that us girls have to dress up to amuse you boys."
Her eyes met Amu's and the pinkette smirked while Kukai looked between them worriedly.
"What do you mean?" He asked, slightly terrified of the answer. The girls weren't large in size but they were still nevertheless quite intimidating.
Amu and Rima leaned forward toward him, the latter's voice mixed with mirth and mischief as she asked, "So, Kukai, my dear friend and former Guardian, how do you feel about wearing a dress?"
…
Ikuto sighed, resting peacefully on the park bench as he listened to Yoru converse with the neighborhood cats nearby.
He hated going to school after an attack and though she wasn't involved, Utau had skipped as well. She stayed home and worked on her new songs, though she clearly wanted to join him in wherever he had planned on going.
The blue-haired teenager needed time to himself; he had nearly been made the previous day. He had expected Tadase and his little band of Guardians to show up so he could have some fun. He hadn't expected to see his classmates, least of all Amu. She hadn't seemed surprised at all by the X-Eggs, which surprised him.
Perhaps she had experience with them? She was with Rima though, so maybe the blonde had filled her in on something during that meeting he had missed? Oh, well; it didn't really matter. None of them knew about his involvement.
His little catnap was suddenly interrupted by something landing on his stomach, making him let out an involuntarily groan. His eyes snapped open and fell on the irritated, yet beautiful, face of one Hinamori Amu.
"You skipped school," she stated, crossing her arms as he sat up.
"And you came looking for me?" Ikuto remarked. "I'm touched, Amu."
The pinkette rolled her eyes. "Don't be an idiot; I was doing some shopping and saw you, that's all. You missed our meeting at school too. That wouldn't have been so bad if you hadn't missed the meeting yesterday too. We finally figured out what we would do for entertainment, by the way."
"It's a maid café," cut in Ran, squealing. "It'll be so much fun!"
"And the food will be delicious too desu," chimed in Su gleefully, thinking of all the new recipes she could finally try out.
"We have to make all the decorations," added Miki, sketching designs for their café in her book. Yoru tried to peer over her shoulder, having finally noticed the pinkette's entrance, but Miki swatted him away.
"It'll be a delight," exclaimed Dia, beaming. "The maids will put on a performance too!"
"You in a maid outfit does sound delightful," remarked Ikuto, smirking up at the pinkette.
He was confused when she and her Charas snickered. "Yes, about that…look at the outfit Rima and I picked out earlier," she replied.
Ikuto looked down at the object that had been dropped on him and his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as he held it up. It was a maid outfit without doubt but it looked oddly shaped for Amu's figure and even Rima's. The shoulders were too broad and the waist was too large. It almost looked as if it was made for a…
"Oh, hell no," he stated, staring at the outfit and then at Amu in disgust. "What kind of idiot came up with this?"
Amu smirked. "Well, it was Kukai's idea originally…Rima and I merely made a few changes to it. That's your punishment for not showing up to our meetings. I'm sure many people, specifically the girls, will be pleased with our decision. If you think about ditching, I will hunt you down. Don't worry though; I'll make sure Saaya stops by one of your tables."
She winked and laughed. "Have a good evening, Ikuto!" The pinkette wiggled her fingers and turned, leaving him behind with her Charas following her.
Ikuto and Yoru stared after them.
"That girl is pretty scary when she wants to be, nya!"
…
Amu glared at the blank piece of paper in front of her. For the last three hours since she had come home, she had tried to come up with some lyrics for the song but her mind was as blank as a canvas.
"Shouldn't you be working with Utau-chan on that?" Dia asked curiously, resting on her bearer's desk.
"I should, but I can't," replied the pinkette, sighing wearily as she rested her cheek on her palm. "She hates me and doesn't want to work with me at all. I try to talk to her during class and after school but she always goes off in the opposite direction. I don't know what else to do. I've already snapped at her before."
"Well, did she listen then?" Miki questioned. When her bearer nodded, the blue-haired artist raised an eyebrow. "Well, then maybe you should try it again. From the sound of it, Utau-chan is used to be in control and never had anyone stand up to her. If she won't listen to a nice girl, then maybe she'll listen to a Cool n' Spicy one."
Amu pondered over that. "I…I guess, but…"
"No buts," interjected Ran. "You care about this project and you said that Utau-chan cares too; neither of you want to fail but you can't work together. So it's either you be more assertive with her or you fail your class! You need to get your act together!" She got right in front of her bearer's face as she ended her rant.
"I thought Miki was supposed to be the harsh one," murmured Amu, sinking into her seat as she stared at her athletic Chara with slight fear. However, she sighed and nodded. "I guess it wouldn't hurt…"
And so, that was how Amu found herself standing in front of the blonde with a cold look on her face the next day in the hallway.
Utau raised an eyebrow. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Amu regarded her coldly. "Yes, actually, you can. Whatever animosity you have for me is getting in the way of our assignment getting done. We need to finish that song and we need to do it soon. So you can either, A, get that pole out of your ass and help me, or B, you can continue acting like this grade means nothing and fail. It's up to you, Hoshina. I don't have the patience to deal with your immaturity anymore."
She spun on her heel and strode away, hoping that nobody could hear her heart pounding in her chest. It took a lot of energy and courage to stand up to somebody.
Utau blinked, staring after the pinkette in shock. Again and again, Hinamori Amu kept proving her wrong. She stood up to Utau and called out the blonde's bullshit-on more than one occasion too-even when Utau kept brushing her off.
Okay, so maybe Utau could see why her brother would be so interested in this girl. She wasn't stupid; she noticed the way Ikuto acted whenever he was around her and how he would pay extra attention when Amu was brought up in a conversation. It didn't make her happy, but Utau understood why Ikuto would find her fascinating…which is exactly why she didn't trust the pinkette. At all.
The blonde took a deep breath as she opened up her locker. Her guardian characters, El and Il, were sitting on the shelf in their eggs.
"El," began Utau, making her angel character pop out, "I need you to do me a favor. I have a bad feeling about this one girl in my class. I need you to keep an eye on her." She paused and looked at the little blonde Chara skeptically. "You can do that, right?"
Il snorted as her sister gave their bearer a salute.
"You can count on me, Utau-chan," exclaimed El, excited to do something useful for her bearer. "Who is this bad person?"
"Hinamori Amu," spat Utau, digging her fingernails into her steel locker angrily as if the very name made her skin crawl. "She's nothing but bad luck, especially around Ikuto. So find out everything you can about her. If you can't find anything useful, then don't bother coming back, got it?"
She slammed the locker shut, forcing Il to chase after her while El nodded furiously to herself.
The little angel would not let her precious Utau-chan down.
"Hinamori Amu, prepare yourself!"
…
I do not own Shugo Chara!
*pulls out hair*
I'm such a useless piece of garbage, I swear to God. Sorry about not updating sooner, you guys. It was mostly writer's block and pure laziness, to be honest. I didn't even plan on updating today.
HOWEVER, since I have updated my other stories, I thought it was only fair to give you guys a new chapter too. (also my internet was being an asshat and I couldn't waste time on other websites…haha…it's working now but SO SLOW)
And also, I probably won't have much time during the summer for updates. After my birthday this week (hey-o, I turn 16), I'm going to focus on all the summer assignments forced upon me. Well, it's not really a lot of assignments. More, like, read 10 books and then write an essay about it, and then turn in the essay during the first week of school.
It doesn't SOUND bad, but ughh…..
Anyways, sorry if this chapter seemed kind of filler-ish, but you know. It's a slow progress. I don't want to rush anything. Don't worry; if you've figured out my writing style by now, then you should know that I usually have the plot thickened pretty quickly.
So…yeah…*awkwardly shuffles feet*
Um, don't hesitate to tell me what you thought of the chapter and if you have any predictions or advice. Until next time!