welcome to chapter twelve of my first ever 'Shugo Chara' fanfiction, even if it's technically chapter ten in terms of the storyline of this fanfiction. this headnote, right here, is present for one reason and one reason, only. that reason is to tell you, my readers just how many words this twelfth/tenth chapter has to its literary make-up. this chapter has one-thousand-six-hundred-eighty-six words in its storyline. it's a storyline that doesn't include this explanatory headnote, right here, nor does it include the (mandatory) disclaimer that makes up the following paragraph after this headnote.

disclamation: I don't own 'Shugo Chara' or 'The Ugly Truth' in any way, shape, or form. I am but a humble fanfiction blogger on both FanFiction and Wattpad. I have an account with Wattpad that I keep meaning to edit my own username. the same goes for my usernames on both YouTube and on DeviantArt. why do I keep forgetting to edit my own usernames. anyway, 'Shugo Chara' is owned by the duo of manga artists known in their home country as Peach Pit, AKA Banri Sendo and Shibuko Ebara. Meanwhile, 'The Ugly Truth' was directed in 2009 by Robert Luketic and was written by a trio of writers made up by three women with the names of Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz, and Kirsten M. Smith.

Meanwhile in suburban Tokyo, a bicycle bell rang as the bike to which it was attached rode by someone's house. There was a little girl riding said bicycle. Within the suburban Tokyo home, Ikuto roamed about while being welcomed back by his own black tuxedo cat, Rafe, who meowed at him like the angels were about to take him. Of course, Ikuto knew that Rafe was hungry as hell. He had been at his newest job all day long and had only come home for lunch. Ikuto wondered what his sister and nephew were doing with their time at his house and just when they were both going to get home at all. Naturally, the blunet started out his journey home checking his message box for any of his old babes trying to find him once more. He pressed on his message box and looked at his messages.

First message box recording: Ikuto. Oi, it's Haruhi. I'm having a party on Sunday, and you know what happens when I drink sake.

She just laughed out a few chuckles afterwards. Ikuto remembered Haruhi. She was pretty, but she was a desperate young woman. And Ikuto never did like the desperate type because they were always so stupid, in his personal opinion, anyway. He prayed to every god he knew of that she and her desperation would never find their way back to him. The answering machine went onto the following message. It was once again with a woman, and a French woman from his trip to Paris, at that.

Second message box recording: It's me, Josephine. Bonjour, Ikuto. Why have you never called moi? I miss you. I cannot stop thinking about your huge_

Then, Ikuto heard an eight-year-old little child come into the room.

Eight-year-old little boy: Oi.

It was Takeru Hoshina/Tsukiyomi/Nakamura, Ikuto's little nephew. That was not good. Ikuto knew that Takeru could not speak any French, but he also knew that Josephine did not have the cleanest vocabulary. He also knew that while Takeru would not have understood Josephine's French, the French woman was actually surprisingly fluent in both Japanese and in English. Ikuto had to do something to make sure that Takeru heard none of her words in Japanese. He tried to skip over Josephine's message on his message box.

Takeru Hoshina/Tsukiyomi/Nakamura: Who's that?

The message still kept on going, however, and Takeru was still capable of a curse word getting added to his own vocabulary.

Second message box recording: _ rubbing all over moi_

Being an eight-year-old made the impression of such a thing even worse, since he was still far too impressionable at his age. Ikuto had to do something about what his French ex, Josephine, was saying to him. The box still played the message, no matter what the blunet tried.

Second message box recording (continued): _ dripping wet_

After seeming to have finally erased the message, Ikuto took the opportunity to ask Takeru a salient question.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Oi, pal. How was_

It finally came to Ikuto's attention, however, that he did not completely erase his international ex-girlfriends' inappropriate messages from his voicemail box. So instead, he just chose to unplug his answering machine altogether. He refused to risk his eight-year-old nephew catch wind of his several dirty-talking, foul-mouthed ex-girlfriends. After having unplugged his answering machine, Ikuto finally took the time to ask Takeru his question.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi: How was school, kiddo?

Takeru then started bearing a frown on his face as he thought about how his school day that day had gone.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi (continued): Oi, buddy. What's with the face? Was it something I said?

Takeru Hoshina/Tsukiyomi/Nakamura: I'll tell you about it on the way next door to my house. And please bring Rafe with you. I'm gonna need a calming animal, Ikuto Oji-chan.

With that request from his nephew, Ikuto grabbed Rafe and followed Takeru out the door of his own house and went over with his nephew to his sister, Utau Hoshina/Tsukiyomi's house next door to his.

Takeru Hoshina/Tsukiyomi/Nakamura (continued): well, Ikuto Oji-chan, you totally hosed me.

Of course, Ikuto could easily realize it was his fault that his own nephew was feeling bad at the time just from that statement alone. The blunet in question, however, did not know what he could have done to make his nephew feel like poor Takeru was about to cry.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi: What?!

Takeru clearly heard from that 'what' alone that he needed to explain to his Uncle Ikuto as to why he was upset with him. So, that was just what he did.

Takeru Hoshina/Tsukiyomi/Nakamura: On your show just last week, you said to 'always be mean to pretty girls', 'cuz that way, they'll want you more. Well, I tried it on Kanata Izanagi. She cried, and then I got detention for being mean to her.

With that kind of explanation from his eight-year-old nephew, Ikuto already understood why Takeru had wanted to cry in the first place and just how it was the uncle's fault that the nephew had wanted to cry at all. The stupid blunet had not been very clear to his nephew before then about even watching his show, never mind doing anything he told his male viewers to do with the girls they liked.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Ichi, don't you listen to what I say on my show, especially since you're just a kid. Ni, you're supposed to be like that to girls in their twenties who think they're hot and can get any guy they want, not girls who aren't even ten years old, yet. They have the most fragile egos. They're gonna be heading into their teens less than five years after they turn ten. They'll go through puberty and will have enough problems by then. At their day and age now, they just got into their school lives and don't know how cruel the world really is to their innocence. They don't need a jerk bein' mean to them. Plus, they'll always run to their parents whenever a guy's mean to them, anyway.

Takeru was confused but still had something to say about what his Ikuto Oji-chan had told him then and there.

Takeru Hoshina/Tsukiyomi/Nakamura: Okasan said that when she was my age, she was the prettiest girl in her entire class.

Ikuto knew what his kid sister, Utau, was like at his nephew, Takeru's, age. She had quite the elder-brother complex, and the blunet had quite a problem with his sister not having been wise to inbreeding at the time.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Well, kiddo, you're looking at someone who was there when she was eight, right now, and let me tell you something. She lied to you through her teeth about that.

Of course, Ikuto did not realize at the time that his sister, Utau, had already walked into the room with a small cardboard box in her hands. She was wearing a faux cheetah fur jacket, a bright golden yellow mid drift underneath it, and a pair each of silvery white skinny jean shorts, velvety royal blue fancy pantyhose, and black high-top boot with a faux cheetah fur outline going in every direction except the laces. Each of said shoelaces had a dark charcoal grey pompom at the end of them. Obviously, she had just finished one of her concerts.

Utau Hoshina/Tsukiyomi: Don't listen to your Uncle Ikuto. He was blind from always touching himself inappropriately, even back in middle school.

That was when Utau joined her brother and son on the couch, still holding onto whatever she held in the box she brought home with her. Ikuto just let out a half-hearted chuckle at his kid sister's comment about his behavior as even a pre-teen.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi: That's such a nice thing to say to your son about your own brother.

Utau, of course, had her own response back to her elder brother for his comment to her when she was even bringing him a congratulatory surprise from within the box in her hands as she took a seat in between her Ikuto and Takeru.

Utau Hoshina/Tsukiyomi: Oh, like he hasn't heard worse on your show, guy. I just hope that, for both his and your network's sake, you can finally clean up your vocabulary now that you're on the network show.

It was at that moment that Utau finally revealed what she had in the box. It was a cake with genuine buttercream frosting.

Utau Hoshina/Tsukiyomi: Omedeto!

That was when Rafe finally made his presence in Utau's house all too known, and jumped up onto her lap, meowing. Rafe usually did not get along with Utau. So, it was only natural for the lady in question to be slightly nervous about having the cat that did not seem to like her very much in her house.

Utau Hoshina/Tsukiyomi (continued): Oh, and I see you brought Rafe over with you. Good kitty!

Ikuto grabbed Rafe before he could make a mess out of the cake Utau had brought home with her to congratulate her brother on his success of getting onto a network show.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Gomenasai, Utau, about him jumping onto you, sis, especially since you two don't even get along that well.

Of course, Takeru knew that his uncle would be in trouble for the blunet bringing his cat over to Utau's house. He had to do something to defend his uncle and the cat from his mother, especially since he was the one who had wanted Rafe to come over with his Ikuto Oji-chan.

Takeru Hoshina/Tsukiyomi/Nakamura: Ah, come on, okasan. It's not even Ikuto Oji-chan's fault that Rafe is here, at all. I'm the one who wanted him to come with Ikuto Oji-chan on his way to our house. I just needed a calming animal to pet while I talked to Ikuto Oji-chan about my day so that I wouldn't cry while I remembered it.

Utau did not usually go for the cat who protected her brother, Ikuto, from a surprisingly inbred relationship with his own sister. But she loved her son, Takeru, more because he was the only real man in her life, especially ever since her insanely cruel husband, Shinji Nakamura, had divorced her and took half of everything with him, including her dignity as a singer. She still had concerts here and there, but she was not permitted to perform anywhere near her husband's new neighborhood.

A/N: if you people thought that Ikuto and Utau's stepfather was cruel, you haven't even seen cruel until you've met a guy like Shinji Nakamura. he's as cold-hearted as ice.