Morg: Heyo! Let's all thank Ensign Meyumi for this awesome title suggestion! I hope you love what it brought to mind!
~Shattered Crystal~
"Don't do this, Amu! You could be great! You could be everything."
Amu shook her head before Tadase finished speaking. She turned away from where he was kneeling before her in an attempt to sway her favor toward him. "I don't want this. I don't want to be everything."
Tadase made a hurt noise in his throat as he shuffled forward on his knees. "You are the most powerful witch of our age. Don't throw your power away for him!"
Turning, Amu looked over her shoulder at where Ikuto was tied to a tree outside her tower. The spell that connected them told her he was roughed up but ultimately unhurt. He was uncomfortable with the spot Tadase put him in, but he was fine. "But you would ask me to use my powers for you."
Tadase's protests died in his throat as Amu turned to face him again. Her golden eyes burned with the amount of power she was gathering within her. "I'm asking you to think about this. You could rule the world."
Am clenched her jaw and her fists before she held her hand out to the side. The crystal ball that helped her focus her power and channel it floated over its pedestal. "I don't want to rule the world."
"Amu! Don't!"
Ignoring his pleading shouts, Amu released her hand and let the crystal ball drop. It shattered against the stone floor of her tower.
Tadase screamed.
Amu ignored him as she tipped her head back and sucked in a deep breath. She let it out slowly as she felt the weight she'd been carrying for years slip off her shoulders.
Sighing in relief, Amu stepped around the shattered crystal. "I don't want anything but a life with him. Don't try to find me."
Tadase tried to gather up some of the smaller pieces of the crystal on the floor. It was no use. Once broken, it could not be remade. Amu had thrown away everything.
Amu smiled as she stepped out of her tower into the sunlight. She tipped her head back to enjoy the warmth for a second before the sound of an indiscrete cough had her opening her eyes again.
"I'm not entirely sure what you're doing," Ikuto drawled from where he was tied to the tree. "But I have the knob of a broken branch digging into my back."
Amu snorted as she stepped over to him. "I think I might like you like this."
"Like what?"
"At my mercy."
Ikuto studied her face for a moment before he smirked. "Maybe we should revisit that somewhere else. Somewhere a little less public."
Amu lifted a brow as she looked around the deserted land that surrounded her tower.
Ikuto matched her expression as he jerked his head toward her tower. "I don't particularly want you to have your way with me while listening to all that sobbing."
Amu's smile faded as she lifted her hand. She clenched her fingers around nothing and pulled her fist back to her side. The ropes holding Ikuto in place snapped. "He'll get over it."
"What did you do?" Ikuto asked as he rubbed at his back. "He sounds really upset."
"I shattered my crystal ball."
Ikuto snapped his head up to look at her. He blinked away his shock and closed his mouth long enough to wet his tongue. "Amu."
"I made my choice, Ikuto."
A slow smile stole over Ikuto's face as he stepped into Amu's space. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "Yeah?"
"Let's go," Amu said with a nod.
"Where?"
Grinning, Amu pushed herself up onto her toes to press a kiss to his lips. She dropped back down before looking off into the distance. "Wherever we want."
"I like the sound of that," Ikuto said with a grin as he let her go only to take her hand. "I'll follow you anywhere."
Without looking back, Amu left the pieces of her old life behind. For the first time in a long while, she felt as though she could breathe again.
