Hey hey heyy~! So this might be obvious, but if it isn't...I'm a blerd lmao; been a blerd since day one especially when it comes to Nintendo, K-pop, and anime/manga. This anime was one of the first anime series that I was OBSSESSED with (honorable mention to Tokyo Mew Mew), and the Tsukiyomi siblings-along with their Charas, have always been my babies :')
Shugo Chara! © Peach-Pit
Chara change.
Sing.
Draw out X-Eggs.
Tsukiyomi Utau-better known as Hoshina Utau, knew the drill. Since she was a little girl, she had a passion for singing and had been doing this for quite some time now. Sure, those X-Eggs were the dreams of innocent children, especially her fans, but the Embryo was more important...right?
Truth be told...
The nonstop rehearsals, Chara-Changing with a Chara that wasn't originally hers, using her gift for something hateful, and just the overall inhumane pressure were starting to catch up to the idol, to the point where it was manifesting physically.
She, for the most part, managed to shove down her negative feelings that morning, but that didn't mean they stayed down completely. It also didn't help that she had an ungodly pain in her head, to the point where she hardly slept; even during her recording, her head felt as if someone was repeatedly punching it. As she currently walked back to her apartment, she could hear her manager's words, Yukari Sanjou's, throughout her head.
"What's going on with you today? You're barely trying!"
"Hmph, I bet that Hinamori girl wouldn't let me down."
"I see...so Ikuto-kun doesn't matter, is that right?"
That last one made her stomach turn a bit, hitting her even more so after her transformation with X-Dia, who hadn't said a thing throughout their walk. She stopped in her tracks and placed a hand on her midsection. Her head ached like crazy and she fought with everything in her to not have a breakdown...
Not 'til she got home at least.
The girl and Chara silently continued their walk. After what felt like an eternity, she arrived at her apartment; to her annoyance-and slight fear, the door had been cracked open. Fearing it was one of the producers or Sanjou-san, she pulled herself together as best as she could before entering her home.
Instead, an all-too-familiar tall, blue-haired, indigo-eyed guy was sitting on the brown sofa...
Her big brother...her heart and soul, as well as Yoru, his cat Chara.
The sound of the door caught the older boy's attention, causing him to glance up and lock eyes with his little sister.
"Yo."
Normally she would've tried to tackle him and smother him with kisses. Today, a halfhearted smile was all that he got as she flopped onto the space next to him.
"What, no smothering attempts today?" Ikuto teased, flashing his signature smirk.
This time, she slowly shook her head and slightly hunched over, gripping her head and swallowing hard.
A frown replacing his smirk, Ikuto eyed Utau. Before he could ask her what was wrong, Il, who had stayed back at the apartment, immediately flew over to her guardian.
"Utauuu~!"
Strangely protective, X-Dia flew in front of her.
"Utau doesn't want to be bothered right now," she tried to reason with the devil Chara.
"What do you know? I'm her real Chara!" Il smartly retorted, brushing past X-Dia and to the blonde teen, "it's about time you got back! I've been soooo damn bored in this dingy apartment! Chara transform with me next time-"
"Damare, Il" was all Utau said, taking everyone except X-Dia back.
"...Utau?"
Ikuto was absolutely floored. While Il could be a bit much at times, Utau never talked to her Chara like that.
"Utau..." Ikuto trailed off, not knowing what to say.
The pigtailed idol didn't answer him. Instead, she rose from her couch, her head downwards, and made her way towards the bathroom, the slam of the door making her Charas jump. The four just stared in the direction of the bathroom in silence, wondering what was going on with the blonde idol.
"What's up with Utau-nya?" Yoru asked Ikuto.
"Beats me," Ikuto answered, redirecting his gaze to his lap.
With no warning, the sounds of Utau being sick echoed into the living room, and the already tense atmosphere took a nosedive.
Yoru sweatdropped. "Geez, that's not good-nya."
"Yeah, no duh," Il snapped, though there was some underlying worry.
X-Dia remained silent, but that same look or worry showed up on her face.
Ikuto's wide, indigo eyes were now back at the bathroom door. Her being a little moody was already weird as is, but to find out she was genuinely sick...
Getting his legs to cooperate, he got up and walked into the kitchen. Opening up the fridge, he sighed in relief at the sight of her violet water bottle. As he took it in his hands, he took a good look at the rest of her fridge, taking in how fairly empty it seemed. Did Utau mostly eat out? He didn't remember her being much of a cook, but he remembered she loved ramen. Did she even eat at all living here instead of back home...
Utau's gags brought him back to reality, and he shut the fridge before leaving the kitchen. Water bottle in hand, he softly knocked on the door. "Utau?"
A cough later, her weak voice came through. "I...Ikuto?"
"Can I come in?" he asked, hand now on the door handle.
"H-Hai."
Opening the door, he found his trembling sister kneeling in front of the toilet. Moving a few steps closer to her, he outstretched his arm.
"Here, I brought you some water," Ikuto told her.
She shakily took the bottle and weakly thanked him, rinsing her mouth out and flushing the toilet. Despite her nausea subsiding for a brief moment, the pain was enough to keep her doubled over; a grimace spread across her face as she hugged her stomach with an arm and hung her head with closed eyes, trying to fight off the pain.
Ikuto was going to leave her be when a painful moan slipped out her mouth. He had always been one to keep his emotions concealed, at least when it came to the ones he loved and wanted to protect most; however, seeing his sister in absolute pain made him drop the act, so he knelt down next to her and made circles on her back.
"You're okay, Utau," Ikuto attempted to console her, "just breathe."
She took some deep breaths, and her trembling lowered some. Unfortunately, her nausea resumed; the singer's stomach lurched, and her head was hovering above the toilet once more. All Ikuto could do was massage her back and wonder what the hell had lead up to Utau getting this ill. This...this was not normal.
She had thrown up a few more times before her stomach had felt empty. Ikuto passed her the water bottle once again and she rinsed her mouth.
"You feel like you'll puke again?" Ikuto asked while she flushed the mess away.
Utau took a moment to answer. Though her queasiness had left, the throbbing pain in her head hadn't left.
"My head hurts," she whispered, looking up at him, "can you dim the light?"
Ikuto blinked, but got up and did what she asked. As he looked at the little knob for the light, he frowned at the weird design choice before toying around with the knob and eventually dimming the light some.
"I don't feel like puking anymore, but I feel weak," Utau whispered with her sore throat.
She curled herself into a ball, burying her face in her knees. Returning to her side, Ikuto knelt back down and continued massaging her back; seeing his normally confident, ambitious sister like this...
He sensed the presence of Charas and turned to see the three flying creatures with worried expressions.
"Can you guys get me a cold rag for her?" Ikuto asked the trio.
"Sure thing-nya!" Yoru answered, X-Dia and Il following after him.
A soft smile momentarily appeared on his face, but it just as quickly left hearing Utau whimper.
"Hang in there," he quietly voiced, "they'll be back soon."
Utau didn't give a verbal response. Slowly yet nimbly, she repositioned herself so that she was curled up on the floor, before resting her head in her brother's lap; her face was void of color and looking harder, Ikuto noticed even her previously opened eyes seemed a bit bloodshot. He knew that her manager wasn't exactly the greatest, but could she have said-or even have done something, to Utau?
Before his heart could feel any heavier, their Charas came in with the rag. Ikuto gave the trio a small smile and mouthed "thank you" before gesturing for the trio to leave.
"Hey, they brought the rag," he whispered to his sister.
Carefully, Utau slowly rose from her position with squinted eyes. Ikuto slowly pressed the cloth to Utau's head, and although there was still pounding in her head, the cool sensation was still some sort of relief; she let a small noise of contentment, earning another teensy grin from Ikuto.
"Do you feel good enough to go to your room?" Ikuto asked.
Utau thought about it for a moment, before slowly whispering "yeah". Careful to not upset her stomach again, Ikuto helped Utau off the floor; had she not been feeling like death, she would've been overjoyed. Water bottle in her grasp and rag now around her neck, the two slowly left the bathroom.
In the living room, the Charas were silent. Yoru was confused, X-Dia was worried, though...now that she thought back on it, Utau's inner spirit wasn't as bright as usual. Il, however, felt both worry and guilt. The worry was self-explanatory, but...being Utau's actual Chara, she could sense Utau's feelings...
The sound of footsteps got the attention of the Charas, and the trio looked in the direction of the sound. Yoru, Il, and X-Dia watched as Ikuto helped Utau to her room, massaging her shoulders as they walked.
"Man, Utau's not looking too hot," Il commented, before shooting daggers at X-Dia, "Damn you, this is all your fault! Go back to that Hinamori loser!" She flew to attack the Chara, who simply and silently dodged her attacks.
Yoru just sweatdropped at Il's violence-well, attempted violence. Footsteps got his attention, and he turned to see the worried Ikuto coming their way.
"What's wrong with Utau-nya?" Yoru asked his guardian.
Yoru's question got the attention of the other two, who immediately flew over.
"Utau's not doing too good," he explained to the three with a frown, "whether it's some bug or food poisoning, I'm not too sure."
The Charas went wide-eyed. Utau sick? They-well, Yoru and Il, could not remember the last time either of the Tsukiyomi siblings have ever been sick. Well, at least to Utau's extent.
Remembering Utau's moment earlier, Ikuto looked at Il with soft eyes. "Don't take anything she says personal, Il. She loves you, she's just...not in the right headspace now."
Though the response wasn't verbal, Il just nodded her head.
Back in the bedroom, Utau was still feeling pretty awful. Hellbent on getting comfortable, she changed into some pajamas-an oversized black T-shirt with white butterflies diagonally across in front and black short shorts, followed by drinking a good amount of water before placing the rag on her head and curling up beneath her blanket. The only source of light in her room was the lamp in the far corner of her room, but since it had already been dim to begin with, the light wasn't affecting her all that much. Her whole body felt weak; it didn't help that she transformed with a Chara who wasn't born from her...
A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. Rubbing her head, she opened her mouth to meekly answer.
"Come in."
The door swung open and her big brother approached her, followed by the Charas. Walking around the other side, Ikuto sat down next to Utau.
"Do you feel any better?" he asked, though he could see she was still a bit pale.
Utau frowned. "No, not really."
Worry entered Ikuto and he placed a hand on her face.
"You don't feel super warm," Ikuto noted with a frown, "did you eat something bad earlier?"
"Not that I can remember," Utau miserably answered.
"Is it..." Ikuto trailed off.
Utau's look of misery morphed into a look of confusion. "Is it what?"
"...that time of the month," Ikuto finished.
Her confusion faded back into her regular misery; Shaking her head, she rested her head on his shoulder.
"No, it's never this bad," Utau weakly answered.
Ikuto didn't ask anymore questions, settling for wrapping an arm around her and rubbing her head for comfort. The Charas watched the two siblings; part of them felt pity for not being able to comfort Utau. The other part found the scene adorable. They weren't dumb, they knew despite rejecting Utau's advances, Ikuto still loved and cared about her. Yet, actually seeing him drop his facade to be caring and protective towards her...
Unfortunately, the bittersweet moment was ruined by a loud knock on the door, nearly sending the siblings' souls out of them.
"Who could that be, nya?" Yoru wondered.
"There's a good chance it's one of the production team members," X-Dia suggested, "after all, Utau did leave rather abruptly."
At X-Dia's guess, Utau broke out into a cold sweat; the throbbing in her head picked back up and her body began to tremble. Feeling her shaking, Ikuto wasted no time in pulling away.
"Utau, what's wrong?" Ikuto demanded.
"N...No!"
Now starting to cry, she curled up into a ball. Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she vigorously-well, as close to vigorously as possible, shook her head.
"I don't want to go back, Ikuto...I can't," she whimpered.
Ikuto was taken aback by her sudden emotional state, even moreso when her breathing became labored.
"Utau, listen to me," Ikuto commanded, gripping her shoulders, "you need to relax."
Tears were rolling down her face and those same pains she felt earlier were returning with a vengeance. The knock on the door got louder and more tears streamed down Utau's face.
"Breath, Utau," he coaxed her.
She attempted to take his advice, but the third knock was like lightning to her nerves, sending sparks throughout her body. She lowered her head, and gripped it tighter than when everything was coming up.
"Don't focus on the door, just focus on me," the older teen gently voiced.
To this day, his voice always calmed her down. He'd been her rock since day one, especially when the two were sent to love with the Hotori's. She followed Ikuto's instruction and sure enough, she started to recollect herself.
Despite her breathing returning somewhat back to normal, that subtle ache in her stomach started to return with a vengeance. Despite his seemingly normal face, Ikuto's mind raced.
What the fuck did they do to his baby sister?
"You don't have to go back...just stay here," Ikuto finally found his words.
Just as Utau slowly nodded, a bang on the door made her whimper. Utau's fear now starting to spill over, Ikuto hopped off the bed and went towards the door, leaving the Charas to try and comfort the emotional idol. Unfortunately, Easter's apartment doors didn't have peepholes, so there was no preparation for who was on the other side; opening the door, his eyes went wide.
Hoshina Kazuomi, CEO of Easter...
Their stepfather.
Nothing was said for a moment. The tension thickened between Kazuomi's stern look and Ikuto wide indigo eyes, and the only thing he was thinking about was when he'd leave so he could return to Utau. His own indigo eyes hardened.
"What do you want?" he coldly asked.
Not changing his face, the older man's gravely voice emerged.
"Why did Utau leave in the middle of her recording session?" he asked, ignoring the older teen's attitude, "does she need to be reminded of her purpose?"
"How should I know? I wasn't at her recording," Ikuto smartly replied.
Kazuomi growled. "Well, figure it out. She's supposed to be contributing to finding the Embryo, so get her together and take her back to the studio."
Ikuto lowered his gaze, his furious indigo orbs now hidden behind his hair. Utau could be clingy, overbearing, sometimes even cruel. But even so..
"No."
Kazuomi's eyes widened for a minute, before narrowing once more. "Did you just say 'no'?"
Ikuto bored his eyes into the monster called his stepfather. "You clearly heard me."
No...he must've hit his head. There's no way Ikuto just defied him, Hoshina Kazuomi.
"My words obviously didn't register in that thick skull of yours," the CEO uttered, "tell that entitled little brat-"
"She's not rehearsing anymore, goddammit!" Ikuto cut him off, "she's not doing too good, she needs a break!"
"A break? Ha! She'll get a break when she actually does something right for once in her pathetic life!" Kazuomi sneered.
"She's staying here, and she'll go back when she's ready," Ikuto reiterated through clenched teeth.
Kazuomi glowered for a moment, before smirking. "You do know what this means for you, right?"
Ikuto stiffened. Of course he knew, how the fuck could he not?
He got him, and he knew it. Kazuomi held back a snicker seeing Ikuto so conflicted. Of course Ikuto wouldn't pick the punishment. He might've been a moody smartass but he was no idiot-
"I don't care."
Kazuomi went silent as Ikuto's eyes burned with hatred.
"Do whatever the hell you want to me, but stay far away from Utau," he seethed.
Kazuomi just let out a few chuckles before turning to leave the apartment. Ikuto stood there in anger, but what the man said next made his blood run cold.
"Despite her ungrateful attitude, she's a delicious feast for the eyes; it's a shame she's Souko's daughter."
With that final comment, the monster left the apartment. The moment he stepped out of the doorway, Ikuto slammed the door shut and immediately locked it, letting out a deep sigh.
I should figure out a way to change that lock, Ikuto thought.
The awful sounds of Utau throwing up filled the air once more, and Ikuto returned to his sister's aid. This time, he found her leaning over the edge of the bed, her head hovering over the trash bin she kept under her nightstand; not knowing what else to do, the Charas did their best to keep her pigtails out of the way. Sitting down next to her, he made circles on her back again.
She can't even hold down the water? Shit...
Despite her no longer coughing up bile, Ikuto's worry was through the roof, especially after Kazuomi's comment. Grabbing the water bottle on her nightstand, she rinsed her mouth and took a few deep breaths. While the Charas began to rub her shoulders, Ikuto shot a pitiful glance at her.
"Despite her ungrateful attitude, she's a delicious feast for the eyes; it's a damn shame she's Souko's daughter."
Those words were forever engraved into Ikuto's mind. But...surely, he had to be saying that to get to Ikuto. He wouldn't actually...do anything to Utau...right?
Soft groans pulled him out of his head, and he was sent back to reality.
"...I'll empty that out."
Withstanding the putrid smell, he carried the lavender bin in to the bathroom and dumped the mess into the toilet. Flushing it all down, he ran the hottest of water in the bin and swished it around a few times. As he dried the bin off, he wondered what could be wrong with Utau. She hadn't felt abnormally warm, but she clearly had an incredibly upset stomach...
It had to have been a migraine; there was no way she just randomly got sick, and she definitely wasn't-well, didn't seem to be, under the influence. The more he thought about it, that also explained the pounding in her head and the light sensitivity. From what he remembered, migraines did run on his mother's side, so it wasn't completely unreasonable...
Before he left the bathroom, he opened the mirror door to see if there were any pills she could take. All he saw were toothbrush and toothpaste, so he shut the door back. He figured there may be some in the kitchen that he might've missed, so he walked back out there and checked the tables and top of the microwave.
Still nothing.
Ikuto let out a sigh and figured it'd be best to just ask Utau himself. Returning to the bathroom, he carried the bin back to Utau's room, noticing the Charas were flying out.
"What's going on?" Ikuto asked.
"Utau doesn't want us around" was all Il grumbled before going to the living room.
Ikuto frowned at the devil Chara. He knew deep down she was worried-and most likely hurt, though he knew his sister; she'd apologize to Il and work things out between them. With X-Dia around though, he wasn't sure how forgiving Il would be...
Pushing that aside, he re-entered Utau's room and set the bin back down before looking at his balled up sister.
"Do you have any type of medicine?" Ikuto asked her, "I don't know if that'll help much but...you've never been sick like this."
Utau uncurled herself before carefully turning and opening the drawer to her nightstand, assuming the pills would be in their normal spot. Not seeing the small container, she frowned.
"I...I thought they were here..."
Upon uttering those words, she had a flashback of where she had placed them. Cheeks reddening a bit, she fixed her position and gestured to the dresser next to the bed.
"In the drawer closest to the door, left corner," Utau instructed.
Ikuto was momentarily confused by her bashfulness, until he opened the drawer...
Why she had pills in her underwear drawer, he'd never know. He reached into the left corner and felt a circular container. He picked them up in his hand and inspected the pills. They didn't look abnormal, so he shut her drawer and handed them to her.
"Thank you, nii-chan," Utau voiced, taking two small capsules.
"If you're still sick tomorrow, I'm taking you home and calling the doctor," Ikuto explained, "got it?"
Nodding her head, she rested her head on Ikuto's shoulder; by this point the rag had started to lose its coolness and it laid spread out on the nightstand. Wrapping an arm around her, he massaged her arm to comfort her. The Tsukiyomi siblings sat in silence for some time, both having different thought running through their heads.
"Oi, Utau?"
Utau looked up at her big brother. "Yeah?"
Ikuto went silent for a moment. "What happened at your recording session?"
He felt Utau tense up, and he got ready to tell her she didn't have to talk about it, until he heard her weak voice.
"...Sanjou-san...was being harsher. She kept pushing me and I just..." at that point she broke. "I just couldn't do it!"
Ikuto watched as Utau pulled away and curled herself up into a ball. She took a few shaky breaths before continuing her rant.
"I...I don't like this. I don't like hurting my fans, b-but the sooner we find the Embryo, the sooner I can get it, the sooner we can get outta this damn company, and the sooner all of us can live a normal life!"
Now he understood. Her seemingly random migraine wasn't due to a bug or food poisoning; she was an overworked, stressed, ball of nerves.
The "all of us" also stood out to Ikuto, and he knew all too well she wasn't referring to the Guardians.
Utau...
Ikuto's eyes softened as Utau softly wept. She didn't deserve this. Hell, none of them did, but definitely not Utau...
"Come here."
Utau slowly inched towards her brother and he pulled her into a hug. He rested his head atop the distressed blonde's, feeling her shaking against him. He knew there was nothing he could say to get her to not be in this state, so he just settled for letting her cry. The longer she cried, he felt something stir within him, aside from the empathy...
Guilt.
He was so caught up with Amu, he never really took the time to check in on his sister. Though, in his defense, she wouldn't accept that he loved her as his little sister, and not lover...
But did that mean he had to ignore her signs of reaching her breaking point? What if...what if he hadn't invested so much time in Amu? Would it really have killed him to be by her side? He promised his mother he'd take care of Utau yet...
As he struggled with this internal debate, he realized Utau had since stopped crying and was now dozing off against him. Pulling away, he carefully lied her down. Her eyes' puffiness and tearstained face pulled at him even more, and he softly stroked her face as she lay there unresponsive. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Utau's violet eyes that reminded him of their father cracked open, and she frowned up and him.
"Why are you doing this?" she weakly asked.
Ikuto looked away. "Gomen, I didn't think you'd wake up-"
"No," Utau cut him off, "I mean...why are you being so caring?"
Ikuto blinked; cocking his head slightly, he furrowed his eyebrows at her.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Utau's face fell and she lowered her gaze. "You're not really around...probably because I always bother you, so I just assumed you hated me."
Ikuto froze and his eyes widened some. The two definitely went back and forth, but he could never hate her. The two have been through thick and thin together, and while he never admitted it out loud...
he would've given up on life, had he not had his sister to look out for.
"Utau...I could never hate you," Ikuto began, failing to mask his incredulous tone, "you're my little sister, and I will always love and be there for you."
He hadn't meant to, but his tone slightly stung. Utau casted her gaze downwards, feeling a bit guilty herself.
"I just...thought I was just an annoying, overbearing brat," she further explained, moving her eyes back upwards "I didn't think you'd want to deal with me."
Ikuto scrutinized her for a moment, and Utau locked confused eyes with him. Finally, his signature smirk spread across his face before ruffling her hair. "Mm, you're my annoying, overbearing brat; there's no other annoying, overbearing brat that I'd want to share blood with."
"...Urusai."
Ikuto chuckled at her psuedo-irritation, before giving her a brotherly smile.
"Get some sleep," he told her, "I'll be right here."
Curling back up underneath her comforter, she shut her eyes and tried to sleep through the throbs in her head. Ikuto ran his hand through her bangs as her breathing became softer.
"Feel better, imouto," he softly voiced, planting a soft kiss on her head.
He watched as her cheeks pinkened in happiness. A warmth filled him knowing that while she was still physically ill, she was emotionally satisfied. He suddenly sensed the presence of the Charas and glanced up to see the trio working together to hold a bag. Carefully getting up, he grabbed the bag from them and peered inside.
"We, uh, thought you'd need some sleep clothes-nya," Yoru sheepishly explained, flying into the bag and grabbing something, "and my egg, of course-nya."
Ikuto couldn't help but smile at their thoughtfulness. That is, another thought popped into his head.
"How did you guys sneak back here?" he questioned the trio.
"I know my shortcuts and secret paths-nya!" Yoru boasted, though not too loud.
"Yeah, and we nearly got killed!" Il snapped, also with a fairly low volume.
While the trio left and the two still argued. Ikuto looked into the bag. Carefully, he rolled out of Utau's bed and was surprised that she had not woken up at the sound. He snuck off to the bathroom and quickly changed into the sleepwear, mentally adding another reason he was grateful for Yoru.
Walking back, he realized it was completely silent. He peered into the living room and saw all three eggs on the couch, concluding that the three had also been asleep.
He quietly headed back to Utau's room and carefully made his way back onto the bed and under her cover. Placing an arm around her, he shut his own eyes, not ignting that she snuggled up on him.
Regardless of what happens, your big brother will always look out for you, Utau.
Like I previously stated, the Tsukiyomi siblings will forever have a special place in my heart. I understand why Ikuto doesn't get so close to Utau, but I do wish they had more sibling moments.
Let me know your thoughts and questions-or even CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM you may have, and thank you guys for reading!
spookychibi logging off!