Shelly: So, a lot of you voted passion, but no sex.

Ikuto: Booooo

Amu: YAY!

Shelly: Of course, I'm the author and what I say goes. We'll see how this story carries out but I'm certain the next few chapters will be strictly teen rated with quite a bit of passion sprinkled in ;)

And a shout out to blu2012! I love long reviews no matter how much you rant lol. Yours made my day!

Cat Obsessed

Mortified, Amu backed away from Ikuto, shaking. She lifted an arm to her lips, hoping to conceal some of her horror.

What did that crazy chara just do?

"You're welcome," Kat said, floating directly above her head. If Amu wasn't in the middle of inner turmoil right now, she probably would have tied Kat to a rocket and launched her to the moon.

"Hmm," Ikuto replied, his face revealing nothing. He glanced at Amu suggestively and she squirmed under his midnight blue gaze. "Maybe I will stick around." The mischievous grin appeared just before he vanished.

"Amu-chi, what's wrong?" Yaya called from the couch. Both Rima and Yaya were in their pajamas watching a music video on TV. The name Utau Tsukiyomi flashed across the screen and Amu gasped. It was true. They were back.

"Nothing's wrong!" Amu called back, concealing Kat behind her back. "I'm kind of tired." She feigned a yawn. "I'm going to sleep."

"But we made popcorn!" Yaya pouted, holding up the bowl.

"Yaya, there's nothing in there," Rima scolded as the carrot head stared at the empty bowl curiously.

Amu managed to make it into her bedroom before Kat bit her hand. "Ouch!" She shouted, rubbing her finger. "What was that for?"

"I don't like being restrained," Kat snapped, crossing her arms. "Let's get something straight, Emu."

"Amu."

"I'm not like your other charas." She floated closer with each demand. "I'm going to do what I want, when I want and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Amu glared. "Oh yeah?"

She grabbed Kat tightly in her hands, avoiding those sharp fangs, and shoved her back into the character egg. Reaching for her drawer with one hand, Amu pulled out the masking tape.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kat demanded, squished under Amu's backside and her bed. "You can't lock me in here!"

Amu tugged at the tape with her teeth, winding it around the purple colored egg. Then she took Kat and shoved her into the bottom of her underwear drawer, ignoring all the muffled cries.

She couldn't understand it. Why was she suddenly dealing with a teenager? She went through puberty once and thank god that was over. Kat brought her horrifying cool and spicy cover back to the surface.

If this were showcasing what motherhood was going to be like, Amu would probably end up in jail.

By the time the pinkette was dressed and in bed, thankfully without her roommate Rima since Yaya insisted on a sleeping buddy, Kat was quiet.

Too quiet in fact. Amu hadn't heard a peep from the chara since she went into the bathroom. She suddenly wondered if a chara could suffocate.

That was ridiculous, Amu said, tossing in her bed sheets. Kat was probably just trying to freak her out.

But the later it got, the more worried Amu became. Images of Kat gasping for air came to mind. What if she killed her chara? The part of her she wanted to be?

Amu sat up bolt right in bed, turning on her lamp. She made a dash for the dresser, digging under her underwear for the egg.

It was still warm. Was Kat overheating? Choked with paranoia, Amu undid the tape, setting the egg on the dresser.

She was certain Kat was dead when the egg didn't move. Oh, God. Amu killed her character. She killed herself!

Before she could manage to scream, the egg twitched, making a sound between a yawn and meow. "Hey, who turned up the cold?" Kat groaned, peeking out of her shell.

"Kat! You're alive!" Amu cheered, bringing her chara into a death grip.

"Hey! Watch the outfit," Kat grumbled, jumping out of Amu's clutch into the air. "And of course I'm alive! What, did you think I died?"

"W-well you got really quiet and I thought maybe you were suffocating..."

Kat floated in front of Amu, her face void of any emotions, before laughing. "Jeez, you are a goofball. You can't suffocate me." She yawned, crawling back into her egg. "And I was in the middle of my beauty sleep. Just put me back in my bed!"

Huh? Bed? Amu eyed her underwear drawer. Well, whatever floats her boat.

Amu picked up the egg and tucked her back under the mound of panties, before dragging herself back to bed. The mother role had officially been filled.

"Breakfast!" An all too eager Yaya screamed, jumping on Amu's bed. Amu bounced and fell head first onto the wood floor.

"Ouch." She rubbed her head, looking up at the impatient Yaya.

"C'mon, Amu. Breakfast time!" Yaya screeched, running into the kitchen.

Amu sighed, refixing her black and pink bedspread. Rima came into the doorway with dark circle under her eyes and her long, curly hair sticking out in strange places. She squinted and asked, "Can we reconsider inviting Yaya to the apartment?"

"It's too late. I already told her where we keep the spare key."

"Ugh," Rima groaned, putting her head against the doorframe. "And so begins the slow and painful death of my sleep cycle. It was fun while it lasted."

Amu snorted. "Are you saying goodbye to a habit or a lover?"

"Shut up," Rima barked, forcing herself into the kitchen. Amu waited until Rima was completely out the door to dig into her drawer.

Yup, still there. So Kat hadn't been a dream and neither had Ikuto.

Ikuto. Amu blushed, shielding her face with her hands. It was all Kat's fault that she had kissed him! And the neck of all places? Amu wasn't exactly skilled when it came to romance. The closest she got to passion was the eighth grade when Ran changed her character, and she ended up kissing Tadase Hotori on the cheek.

But Kat wasn't anything like Ran. She was straight forward and blunt and, quite frankly, scared the stuffing's out of her. If she made Amu kiss Ikuto on the neck, what else would she make the self-conscious pinkette do?

Amu shook her head, closing the drawer.

What kind of character was this?

Hoping to find some peace of mind in the kitchen, Amu was instead welcomed by a battle field. Rima was at war with Yaya as they wrestled for the whisk. Both girls had aprons on, but that provided little protection from the yellow batter that coated their hair and cheeks.

"Hey! What's going on?" Amu demanded, tearing the girls away from each other.

"I was just trying to make a nice breakfast for Amu-chi," Yaya said with big doe eyes.

"What? Are you kidding?" Rima growled, surrendering the utensil. "She was trying to kill us! Half the bag of sugar went in that bowl!" Rima pointed to the white powder that covered the counter and most of the floor.

Amu sighed, shaking her head. "Calm down, guys. This is easy to fix. All we need is for Su to–" I stopped myself.

Gone. Her charas were gone.

"Hey." Rima grabbed her arm. "It's okay to miss them."

"Yeah, we know how you feel!" Yaya joined, flicking yellow batter from the whisk all over the place. "Sometimes I really miss them floating around, but it's okay because they're right here." Yaya made an x with her thumb on her chest, right over her heart.

"That's right." Rima gave Amu a rare smile. "They're always with us, even if we can't see them."

"I know," Amu said, avoiding the honest eyes of her friends. She couldn't believe she was lying to the two people she trusted most. Ikuto was right. Amu wasn't as innocent as she once was. "So…I'm thinking we should go out for breakfast." She eyed the aftereffects of the food fight, debating if they should even bother to clean it up.

The girls nodded in agreement.

After a large breakfast, which was mainly paid by Amu, Rima left both Yaya and Amu to meet up with her boyfriend. Amu worried the entire time about Kat, wondering what mischief she was getting herself into. One thing was for sure. Amu wasn't going to let Kat fade away like her other charas, no matter how troublesome she was.

"Amu-chi!" Yaya moved across the park, standing by a shady looking van.

"Yaya!" Amu screamed. "Do not get in that man's van!"

"Eh? But he has candy." Yaya held up the sugar coated treats for her friend to see.

"I don't care! Get out of there!" Amu slapped the candy out of Yaya's hand, before grabbing her wrist and dragging the oblivious girl away from the pervert. How on earth was Yaya going to survive now that she was eighteen? She was so naïve, looking through the eyes of a child.

Amu sighed. Maybe Ikuto was wrong, after all. Yaya seemed pretty pure hearted for an adult. Could she be the exception from that rule?

"Amu-chi!"

Her thoughts far from reality, Amu only noticed the x egg when Yaya was violently ripped from her grasp.

"Yaya!" She screamed, turning to the laughing egg. She eyed her surroundings. They were still in the park, but it was completely empty other than that shady looking van. Wait a minute...

"Run!" Yaya screamed, flailing her arms at Amu. She blinked, finally seeing the mass of darkness looming over them. Was Easter back? Were they here?

Yaya grabbed the frozen girl's wrist, practically dragging Amu down the street. They finally turned a corner to catch their breath.

"We have to stop it," Amu said.

"We can't!" Yaya exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Our charas are gone! We don't have any power!" The girl was near tears.

Amu took a deep breath, standing. "I can't just turn my back on that." She gestured toward the egg. "Look, that thing's still out there. I'll distract it and you can make a run-"

"No! I won't leave Amu-chi!" She wrapped her arms around Amu, blinking back tears.

Amu realized without her carefree attitude, Yaya was terrified. She wasn't acting like a child at the moment. She was acting like a woman who desperately wanted to save her friend. Maybe she had gotten it wrong. Perhaps it was impossible for an adult to be innocent.

Amu put her hands on the girl's shoulders, speaking softly. "I need you to go, Yaya. Go and get help with someone who can fight." She stared fiercely into her brown eyes, demanding Yaya listen. The girl wailed, but nodded.

Sobbing the entire way, Yaya made a dash passed the x egg. Amu jumped out, waving her hands in the air. "Hey! Over here!" She screamed, picking up a pebble and tossing it at the egg.

It missed. No surprise there, considering Amu couldn't throw anything without help from Ran. The egg turned, surrounding her with darkness like a net.

Amu glared, holding her stance. She was protecting the town, but who was going to protect her?

The shield around her hissed and warped. "I can sense darkness..." A squeaky voice announced. "Darkness inside your heart."

Amu held her breath, suddenly dizzy.

What?

The shield around her shattered and Amu held up her hands, trying to block the sudden gush of wind that whipped around her. Someone laughed beside her and Amu suddenly feared the situation just got a whole lot worse.

Shelly: I'm sad to say there was very little amutoness in this chapter. T-T I'm sorry, but I'm trying to get the plot to move forward. I promise the amutoness is coming! I just need to keep the plot going before I can dive into that. And I promise you it'll be good.

Ikuto: How good?

Shelly: What? You want a preview or something?

Ikuto: *nods*

Shelly: Come closer.

Ikuto: *Walks closer*

Shelly: I WOULD NEVER SPOIL A SURPRISE TO A PERVERT LIKE YOU!

Ikuto: *Falls over from sheer force of author's voice*

Amu: Um, aren't all the readers perverts? I mean, just look at the summary *Shiver*

Shelly: Haha. Review if you're a pervert! xD

And the picture of Kat is coming soon! I just haven't had the chance to scan it yet. Sorry lol.