…

Hinamori Amu, fourteen years old, sat at her desk as she hummed to herself with her headphones in while her four Charas busied themselves.

Ran had made a small obstacle course out of her person's old toys, claiming she was training. Su was having a tea party with some of Ami's dolls, often leaving to clean up something or check on something she had baked. Miki was sitting on the bed, sketching something as usual. Dia was sitting on the desk with Amu, singing something quietly as she watched the pink haired girl zone out.

Suddenly, their leisure time was cut short by Ami bursting into the bedroom. "Onee-chan, onee-chan," she exclaimed, running over to her sister with a letter in her hands. The older girl slid her headphones off, letting them rest around her neck like Nagi did when he Chara Changed, and stared expectantly at the six year old.

"Yes, Ami?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's up?"

Her younger sister handed her the letter, bouncing on her heels. "Mama said to give that to you! She looked…oh!" It was then that her eyes landed on the four Charas, or rather Ran on the obstacle course. "Shugo Characters!" She launched herself at them, making them scamper off. Dia managed to escape, hovering over her person's shoulder.

"What does it say?" She asked.

Amu's eyes widened, looking stunned. "It says I've been selected to take part in an exchange program with another school for a month."

"That's good…right?" Dia didn't understand what the problem was until she read the letter herself. "Oh…it's a high school? Why would you be selected to become a student at a high school?"

"Who knows what these people think?" Amu muttered, scanning over the rest of the letter's contents. "Here's a list of the other people who have been accepted. Let's see if anybody else we know is here…" She gasped. "Fujisaki Nagihiko, Mashiro Rima, Souma Kukai, and Yuiki Yaya?!" The pink haired girl looked up at her Chara. "Why would we get accepted? Especially since Kukai is in middle school anyways?"

"Look, it says here that they've been looking at students from all over the district and these were the top five that impressed the chairmen," explained Dia, pointing at the section in the letter. "It also says you can deny it if you want, but I suggest that you didn't."

"Huh, why not?" Amu asked.

The wisest of her Charas looked up at her. "It's a special program to help kids develop, especially those who have trouble with interacting with others or have special talents. I guess that last part is for Kukai, who can easily get a sports' scholarship."

"What do you mean 'have trouble' though?" Her person repeated, looking offended. Dia raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Cool n' Spicy," she simply stated, making Amu blush and hush. "You still have a bad habit of snapping on a mask in front of strangers, and don't really talk with people other than the Guardians and the Tsukiyomi siblings. Rima is afraid of letting people in, hiding behind her cold mask when she just wants to make people smile. Nagi is talented in both sports and in dance, but he still has trouble adjusting since everybody still looks at him as Nadeshiko."

Amu nodded at this, feeling slightly guilty since she was one of those said people.

"Yaya's act is cute right now, but she won't ever get far in life if being a baby is all she can do. Going to high school and see how people are might help her see that. And Kukai…like I said, he's probably there for the 'gifted' part. Or he knew that you all were going and signed up."

"Well, gee, that makes me feel better," remarked Amu, sighing. "I guess I'll go then, if only to make you sound a little less like you did as an X-Egg." Her Chara simply smiled brightly as she went downstairs to find her sister chasing Ran and Su around with her parents on the couch. "Mama, I think I'll accept this program."

Her mother clapped her hands, looking pleased. "Oh, that's great! Here, let me sign it for you so you can give it to your teacher tomorrow. Which school are you going to again?"

"Hamaki High School," replied Amu, earning a shocked gasp from her father.

"A high school?" He exclaimed, looking horrified. "No, there are too many boys who will try to take my sparrow from me! I forbid you from going, little sparrow!"

Amu and her mother exchanged looks, the latter saying, "Dear, it's not as if she's going alone; some of her other friends have been accepted as well."

"But there are boys there," argued Tsumugu weakly. "Amu is still too young to have a boyfriend, especially one in high school!"

"You never told him about the stray cat I brought in, did you?" Amu asked from the corner of her mouth, referring to when she had secretly taken care of Ikuto without her parents' knowledge. Midori shook her head slightly, her eyes on her frantic husband.

"No, and be grateful I didn't," she replied quietly before sighing loudly. "Amu will be fine, dear, so don't worry."

Tsumugu saw that it was a losing battle and sighed reluctantly. "Alright, alright," he said grudgingly. "I suppose you can go…but no boys okay?"

All of a sudden, Ami popped out of nowhere with a card. "Mama, look! Haru-kun gave this to me today!"

As expected, her father started wailing while his wife attempted to calm him down while their eldest daughter slipped away before he changed his mind about her going to the high school in two days.

…

"…and finally, let's welcome our five students who have been accepted into the gifted exchange program," wrapped up the student body president, gesturing towards the five Character Bearers (who were all wearing their normal school uniforms). "One is from the local middle school, Souma Kukai."

He grinned, waving to the crowd. "Hey, what's up?" Some of the girls from the lower classes recognized him, calling out their greetings as he sat back down.

"The other four are from the elementary school," continued the prez. "Firstly, this is Fujisaki Nagihiko." The purple haired male stood up, smiling politely as he bowed.

"Thank you for having me," he said charmingly, not that that was intentional.

"Next, we have Mashiro Rima."

The small blonde didn't stand, instead crossing her legs and staring at the crowd with cold eyes. "Hello," was all she said in a bored tone. The crowd exchanged nervous looks, not expecting an elementary student to be so cold and distant; that didn't normally happen until middle school.

"Our third student is Yuiki Yaya…" The president was cut off by the youngest girl jumping up and waving excitedly to the student body.

"Hey, everybody," she exclaimed, bouncing. "Super nice to meet you!" It was such a contrast to the previous student that they didn't know how to react, exchanging bewildered looks as she turned to the president. "Do you have any candy?"

"Uh…ah, no," replied the prez nervously, rubbing the back of his head. Kukai reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece.

"Oy, Yaya," he called and she immediately leaped over to him, happily munching on the sweet.

"And finally, we have Hinamori Amu," said the president, looking lost. The pink haired girl stood with a bored expression (stupid mask, she thought), and placed a hand on her hip.

"Yo," she greeted to the stunned silent crowd. Finally, a few boys in the back stood up.

"It's our Cool n' Spicy idol, Hinamori Amu!" They shouted, looking like some of the older kids who had helped out at the festivals sometimes. That would explain how they recognized the elementary school student.

Amu gave them a blank stare before sitting back down, ignoring Rima's smirk and Kukai's chuckles. "Shut it," she hissed.

"A-Alright, now, let's all treat them like we would treat each other," said the student body president. "You all may go back to class." It didn't take long for the crowd to disperse, and then he turned to the five students. "Here are your schedules; let us know if you have any troubles."

"Whatever," said Rima and Amu together as they stood, Kukai going off to the soccer field for his first class (gym) with the juniors, Yaya running to the freshmen area, while the three remaining students went to the sophomore area despite their first class being mixed.

"Well, this looks like fun," remarked Ran excitedly, looking around as they all made their way to their first class. Nagi was smiling politely at any person they passed by while his two friends pretty much gave them the cold shoulder. "Don't you guys think so?"

"Definitely," agreed Kusukusu, giggling. "Think of all the pranks we can pull, Rima!" Her person barely glanced at her, but there was a glint in her eyes at this.

"Well, the classes won't be that much fun," said Amu, thinking out loud. "They're way more educated than we are so won't their material be extra hard?"

"We'll be given the same assignment as them, but they're optional," explained Nagi, who had been informed by Nikaidou. "We'll also be given work from our school so we don't have to make up for a month when we return. Personally, I think we should focus on the activities and clubs. Sorry Rhythm, but I don't think the sports teams will be for me right now; I might check out the dance team though." Rhythm looked slightly disappointed but simply gave him a thumbs up while Temari smiled brightly.

"You would do something like that," remarked Rima offhandedly as they approached one of the classrooms. "Cross dresser." Rhythm snickered while his sister and Kusukusu giggled, their person laughing nervously.

"Uh, thanks Rima," replied Nagi as he reached for the doorknob. "What are you going to do?"

"Find some new slaves, of course," stated the small blonde as if it was obvious. "You, Amu?"

"Uh, I don't know…oh, we have drama," said Amu, her mask snapping on at once as they entered the classroom.

"Ah, yes, the exchange students," exclaimed the teacher, clapping loudly to get the attention of her sleeping students. "Everybody, please welcome them!" She turned to the three grade schoolers. "Welcome to high school drama; I am your teacher, Momichi Haruhi. You can take your seats…well, wherever you like; we don't have any assigned seats, really."

The three friends exchanged looks before taking the empty seats in the front, Amu sitting in between the two somewhat rivals (not that she was aware).

"Alright…so, this is what we're going to do; we're going to do some improv…does anybody want to volunteer?" Momichi asked, mostly out of obligation since she knew nobody actually liked drama that was in her class. They simply wanted an easy A. To her surprise and delight, Amu sighed as she stood.

"If nobody wants to," she said flatly, moving to where the teacher stood and leaning against the board with crossed arms.

"Thank you, Hinamori-san," replied Momichi, smiling brightly. "Hm, let's see…" She glanced down at her list, where she had the seating arrangement. She didn't like to call out names so instead she numbered the desks and simply called a number when she needed volunteers.

"Whoever is sitting at desk 17, please stand up and join Hinamori-san." Immediately, someone stood up but they were sitting in the back where the lights were not working so those in the front couldn't see their face. The girls sighed, some protesting as the person walked up front. "Okay, Mashiro-san, please pick a situation from this hat."

"Whatever," replied Rima, looking bored as she reached into the hat while the person finally made their way to the front. "Two people who had been lovers but split up, even though they still have feelings for each other." She furrowed her eyebrows, glancing at Nagi who looked amused. "Who writes these things?"

Amu blushed slightly, still uncomfortable about the opposite gender, but looked up at the person and groaned. "Oh, you have got to be kidding."

He smirked, waving slightly. "Yo, Amu."

The pinkette blushed, glaring at him. "Don't say my name like that, Ikuto!" Instantly, she regretted it as everybody (mainly the girls) gasped and began whispering.

"She knows Ikuto-kun?"

"How dare she call him by his name so casually?"

"Who does she think she is?"

Amu groaned slightly at hearing this, wanting to crawl in the corner and die. The blue haired violinist merely grinned, wrapping his arms around her neck from behind as he placed his chin on her head. "I haven't seen you in a while, Amu. Did you miss me?"

The pinkette scoffed, despite her face burning in mortification. "As if I would, you perverted old man!" She ignored the girls' cries of anguish; as always, Ikuto and Amu were in their own little world once the ball got rolling.

"Your red face says differently," remarked Ikuto, smirking at her. The younger girl huffed, crossing her arms.

"You're annoying; go away," she said quietly. "I don't miss you, and I never will."

"Oh, how you wound me Amu-koi," mocked the high schooler, and her face burned.

"H-Hey, don't say my name like that!" She exclaimed. "And what's with the 'koi'? I'm not your girlfriend!"

"Right, there's your crush on the kiddy king," said Ikuto, finally releasing her as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Although that's a crush, so I'm not worried." He looked at her, his eyes twinkling in amusement at her confused expression. "Because I know something as little as a crush is nothing compared to how much you love me."

Amu blushed furiously at this, glaring at him. "Why would I love you, perverted cat ear cosplaying guy?" She hadn't meant to say those words, really.

"Cos…hey, we've been over this," remarked Ikuto, slightly offended that she would still think that. And then he smirked, deciding to get his revenge. "You're one to talk."

"What are you talking about?" The pinkette asked, glaring at him as she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh nothing…but if I'm a cat ear cosplaying guy, I guess you can be called a cheerleader cosplaying girl," said Ikuto quietly, not letting anyone else hear. The younger girl gasped, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"You wouldn't," she said, looking horrified. The blue haired male looked into her eyes, grinning.

"Oh, Amu…you know I would," he replied, and she glared at him.

"I hate you," she snapped, crossing her arms and turning away.

"Love you too," said Ikuto, sounding extremely amused.

"And…SCENE!"

Amu and Ikuto looked up in surprise, evidently forgetting that they were in front of people and were supposed to be acting out a scene.

Momichi wiped away a fake tear. "Oh, that was just marvelous! You two acted as if you were real lovers, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were; you two look so kawaii and just perfect out there!" Amu sputtered for words as she blushed while Ikuto cleared his throat and looked away so that nobody spotted his slightly pink cheeks. "Everybody, let's clap for Hinamori and Tsukiyomi!"

The girls naturally cheered for their blue haired heart throb while Nagi and Rima clapped with amused expressions, smirking at the pink haired girl who gave them a dirty look.

She officially hated high school.

…

"As if my day couldn't get any worse," muttered Amu, sitting with her friends at an empty lunch table. It turned out that Ikuto had the same lunch as them, but never ate in the cafeteria, according to the way the girls were begging for him to sit with them since he had nowhere to sit. And from the way he was smirking and walking over meant bad news for the grade schoolers, specifically the pink haired girl.

"Hi, Ikuto-kun," greeted Yaya, grinning as she ran up and hugged the stunned cat. A moment later, she pulled away and pouted. "Aw, you don't have any candy." She sat back down, looking upset until Nagi handed her his piece of cake. She squealed and thanked him, taking the sweet happily.

The older boy looked amused at her tactics, taking the vacant seat next to Amu who glared at him. "Is something wrong, Amu-koi?"

"Yes…you're here," replied the thirteen year old girl, ignoring how Yoru was provoking her Charas. He simply smirked at her, watching the others.

"You're not bad at soccer," remarked Ikuto offhandedly to the startled sixth grader. "I saw you playing earlier. Not bad; glad you put that Yamabuki Ryu in his place." Kukai blinked once before grinning.

"Thanks," he replied. "Although, had Amu been with Ran, she would have kicked all our butts out there." He glanced slyly at her. "Remember that one time, Amu?"

"Please don't bring it up," was all the pinkette said, intriguing the others' interest except for Nagi who had watched with his Nadeshiko persona. "It was completely embarrassing; also, don't you dare try any of your special training!" She added, seeing the look in his eyes.

"Aw, you ruin all the fun," replied Kukai, still grinning before his stomach growled. "I haven't eaten since breakfast; I'm starving!" He pulled out his bento box and began eating, the others following his lead. Amu glanced at the violinist, who was leaning against his chair with closed eyes.

"Aren't you going to eat?" She asked, not getting a reply. Yoru floated over.

"He never eats at school, nya," he whispered in her ear before snatching Miki's beret and flying off, causing the artistic Chara to yell and chase after him.

The pink haired girl glanced at her bento box and dropped her head in defeat. Not looking at him, she picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and thrust it into his face. The smell of fish made him open one eye and he looked cross eyed at the snack before glancing at the stubborn pinkette, smirking as he took her wrist. She looked up at him in surprise, only to blush when he forced her to feed him. She snatched her hand away.

"Thanks, Amu-koi," said Ikuto, grinning slyly. "Do you plan on feeding me my entire meal?"

"No," snapped Amu, refusing to make eye contact. "Hmp, that's the last time I ever do something nice for you."

"Says the girl who let him stay in her bed for three days," remarked Ran before flying off. Yaya and Kukai spit out their food, choking, as they stared wide eyed at the pair. Nagi rubbed the back of his neck, confused, while Rima froze.

"Thanks a lot Ran," muttered Amu, thinking of how to get back at her Chara. "Um, you see…do you remember when Ikuto had been controlled by Easter? Well, before that, he had gotten really hurt so he stayed with me for a while. He was unconscious and I couldn't move him, so he kind of stayed in my bed…well, he was in my closet for a few minutes when my mom came in once, but yeah…"

"Does Tadase know?" Yaya asked, the gossip queen in her jumping with joy. What a scoop!

Amu looked at the cat-male darkly, who avoided looking at her. "Yes, he came over to my house the day we had a date; I had been caught by my mom and had to explain to her while Ikuto got ready to leave when Tadase walked upstairs. Ikuto made it sound like something else was going on so that Tadase would get hurt and that I would hate him, which was really stupid." The two abnormally haired Character Bearers glared at each other.

"You could have gotten hurt," said Ikuto, annoyed that she still didn't understand.

"I could have, but I didn't," snapped Amu, annoyed that he didn't understand. "Instead you did and I had to fight you against my will." Her eyes softened and looked away from him, crossing her arms as she muttered, "And I really didn't want to fight you at all." Ikuto's own eyes softened and he was about to reply when somebody interrupted them.

"Ikuto-kun, why are you over with the little kids?" A girl whined, giving dirty looks to the said little kids. Kukai and Nagi merely smiled at her while Yaya stuck her lower lip out, Rima calmly eating her lunch.

"Why don't you come and join us over there?" She suggested in a seductive tone. She was really pretty, noted Amu, who felt a little more than uneasy. Why did the thought of Ikuto going with her make the pinkette sick to her stomach?

Ikuto didn't look at the girl, instead reaching over and taking Amu's chopsticks as he ate from her bento box. "I'm eating here, Suki."

The girl, Suki, pouted and batted her eyelashes. "Come on; you'll have tons more fun over there, Ikuto-kun. Don't you want to sit with your friends?"

"I already am," replied the blue haired male, earning shocked looks from the five Guardians. "So go find somebody else to sit with."

Suki glared at the kids, as if global warming was their fault, and grabbed him by the arm with a stubborn expression. "Don't worry about their feelings, Ikuto-kun; they're just a bunch of stupid kids."

"You tell him, Yamabuki-sama," cheered a group of girls, undoubtedly her fan club.

Amu's eyes narrowed, immediately knowing who she was dealing with. If it was a relative of Saaya's, then it was easy. She placed a hand on Ikuto's other arm and pulled him down, staring coolly at the shocked girl.

"He didn't want to go, didn't you hear him? I guess you just don't take rejection very well since you're acting like a desperate bitch; it's actually really pathetic, you know." She didn't bother waiting for a reply from the stunned girl, who was becoming red, as she turned to Nagi. "Can you pass me the salt, Nagi?"

Rima smirked while Yaya and Kukai giggled. Ikuto looked surprised while also amused. Amu was freaking out as a chuckling Nagi handed her the salt; she hadn't meant to call her a bitch, but she just wanted the girl gone!

"You little…" Suki sputtered angrily.

"Just leave, Suki," stated Ikuto coldly, his protective side over Amu coming out. She was too furious to realize how angry he was, but her fan club did so they smartly dragged her away with words of encouragement and flattery.

"Wow, Amu," remarked Kukai after a moment of silence. "That was taking your whole 'Cool n' Spicy' mask to a new level."

"It was cool though," added Yaya.

"I think she needed that reality check," tried Nagihiko, trying to reassure the panicking pinkette. She seemed to calm at this, though it was the next comment that made her nearly have a heart attack.

"You seemed jealous," said Rima calmly, taking a piece of octopus from Nagi's bento box.

"I wasn't jealous," exclaimed Amu, blushing furiously as their Charas returned.

"You seemed like it," said Ran, not helping.

"You were just protective of your friend desu," added Su quickly.

"You were jealous," stated Miki bluntly, making Yoru snicker while Amu glared at her Charas.

"Good to know I can rely on you guys," she said dryly before realizing her fourth Chara hadn't said anything. "What do you think, Dia?"

The ginger haired girl paused in her conversation with Rhythm. "I think you should believe whatever you think is true," she said wisely, very aware of her person's temper (which Miki definitely got, from the way she blew up at Yoru earlier).

"She's like a fortune cookie," giggled Kusukusu, who had been balancing a sushi roll on her head.

"Well, I think you sounded jealous," remarked Ikuto, earning a glare from her.

"Who asked you?" She snapped. "You should be thanking me!"

"That's my line, my princess," replied the violinist, absently thinking of their short time as Seven Seas Treasure and Amulet Fortune. Evidently, she remembered as well as she huffed and crossed her arms.

Amused, Kukai remarked, "You do realize that she'll probably tell this event to her siblings and Saaya will be all over you when we go back to our schools?"

"It's not as if she's a serious threat," responded Rima for her friend. "Amu has to deal with Saaya everyday so what would be the difference?"

"The fact that she knows a super hot and cool high school guy chose to be with me?" The pinkette muttered before realizing what she said, her face draining of all color while her friends stared at her in shock and Ikuto smirked in amusement.

"What was that?" He asked, leaning in closer.

The sixth grader was in another world, however, and didn't respond as her Charas tried to get her back from her empty soul state.

Finally, Miki had had enough and she pulled out a small black book from her bag. She flipped it open, as if searching for a specific page. "From the Black Book of Hinamori Amu, where she writes down all of her adult fantasies…eep!" The artistic Chara was cut off due to Amu snatching her out of the air, stuffing her into her lap with a bright red face.

Yaya didn't understand why Nagi and Kukai were laughing, or why Rima was grinning maliciously, or why Ikuto had a shocked expression on his face. She only knew that this Black Book must have been important.

"I don't get it," she voiced, looking utterly lost. "What are these 'adult fantasies' you're talking about?" This only made her friends laugh harder, Amu blush deeper, and Ikuto smirk even more.

"What have you been doing, perverted kid?" He whispered in the pinkette's ear, earning a slap to the head.

"N-nothing," she sputtered. "El makes me write stuff to satisfy her little romantic soul, okay?"

"For some reason, I can believe Utau being that kind of person," remarked Ikuto, thinking of how completely different she acted around him. It was somewhat entertaining.

"Well, I have it easier than Miki," continued Amu thoughtfully as she finally realized the older male had taken her lunch, snatching her chopsticks back. "El makes her draw out these lovey-dovey scenes."

Her artistic Chara scowled. "She may wear the halo, but El can be just as much trouble as Il when it comes to love." She shook her head. "She even came up with mash-up names for everybody."

"Eh, like what?" Yaya asked curiously.

"Amuto for me and Ikuto," murmured the pinkette, earning a raised eyebrow from the high schooler. "Miru for Miki and Yoru, Kutau for Kukai and Utau, Rimahiko for Nagi and Rima, Kaya for Kairi and Yaya, Raichi for Daichi and Ran, Kukamu for me and Kukai, Amihiko for me and Nagi, Tadamu for me and Tadase, Tadutau for Tadase and Utau, Kukaya for Kukai and Yaya, and several others I'm sure…"

Meanwhile, everybody at the table had begun to blush brightly as they each reacted differently to this revelation.

Yaya drummed her fingers against the tabletop nervously, her face pink as she tried not to think about the green haired samurai that acted cool and collected but was really just as adorable and charming as anyone she had ever met. Not that she would hold it against them, but Yaya hated the fact that Kairi loved Amu and not her.

Kukai was rubbing the back of his neck as he laughed nervously, thinking of how he had gotten over his crush on the Joker only to find himself attracted to the girl he constantly picked ramen eating challenges with. If only she got over that damn brother complex…

Nagi simply blinked, not sure how to react; of course he was attracted to the little blonde Queen but she hated his guts and always thought he would take her precious Amu from her, which he would never do even if he still considered her his best friend.

Rima had kicked the leg of the table by instinct when Amu had mentioned that 'Rimahiko' name, her face impassive despite the fact she felt her face grow hot; she would never admit it, but she really did like the stupid cross dresser even if he lied to the pinkette they constantly fought over. He was one of the few people who saw directly through her, after all.

Amu's face was burning with shame, hating that she had to admit all of that in front of the said people she mentioned. Even the fact that she could remember all of them was humiliating, especially since she knew Ikuto would tease her senseless for it! She knew that in the long run, when it came to guys in her train wreck of a love life, it really came down to him and Tadase…the question was whether or not she could figure out which one she really loved.

Ikuto would never, ever admit it, but he was also blushing. Not to the degree of their bright red faces, but his cheeks were colored. He was a pervert, yeah, but he never imagined himself in a situation where there was…adult fanfiction written about him, or fanart drawn. He didn't mind as much considering it was Amu, the girl who had stolen his heart through her stubborn and yet kind personality that was completely unique to him, but still…

Miki adjusted her beret nervously, not meeting the eye of a certain cat Chara. He noticed her fidgeting and smirked, leaning over and licking her cheek despite his own reddening complexion. She blushed brightly.

Ran wondered if this was how Amu had felt when she had first Chara Changed in front of everybody and embarrassed her. Was this some sort of revenge? Her cheeks flooded with color when Daichi grinned at her, winking.

Pepe, Temari, and Kusukusu exchanged looks as they noticed how Rhythm and Dia were trying to convince everybody that they should be more confident about their feelings.

"Oh, for goodness sake," muttered Temari, floating over and shoving her brother into the diamond Chara. They collided, blushing brightly as they apologized. She looked over to the stunned Guardians and raised an eyebrow. "Do we need to call in El and play some matchmaking games or are you going to snap out of it?"

The mention of the angelic Chara snapped everybody back into reality.

"We could always call Utau herself," added Kusukusu, giggling at all of their suddenly terrified expressions. Even Ikuto looked slightly worried of his sister's appearance.

"Please don't," begged Amu weakly. "Firstly, I'm sure she'd put my head on a silver platter and then go attack that girl from before because she would somehow figure out that somebody had been hitting on her brother."

"She wouldn't kill anyone-well, not you anyways," cut in Ikuto, taking the chopsticks from the pinkette yet again. "She likes you more than she'll ever admit."

"She could have fooled me," muttered Amu, who looked at her empty hands and then at the chopsticks in the high schooler's grasp. She glanced at her bento box and frowned when she that he had eaten more than half of her food. "Jerk; I'm hungry!"

"So am I, but at least I'm pacing myself considering you keep stealing my chopsticks."

"They're my chopsticks! And what do you mean by 'at least I'm pacing myself'?"

"Nothing, nothing; I just don't want to end up fat and jiggly like you, remember?"

"Agh, screw you!"

"Amu, as much as I would love that, I don't think your friends will appreciate such an open display of our love in the middle of the cafeteria."

The frustrated fourteen-year-old threw up her hands, squealing angrily before she grabbed Rima's bento.

"I was eating that," stated the blonde, who looked deeply amused.

"Eat out of Nagi's," was her friend's reply. She was only started to stuff her face when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

Her friends looked at her as she froze and Ikuto smirked at her expression. Finally, she swallowed and scowled at him.

"I don't like you at all."

"I love you too."

…

"You're in my gym class too?" Amu asked, crossing her arms as a scowl formed over her features. Ikuto merely smirked at her before he joined the rest of the seniors.

Unfortunately, she was alone with him; well, mostly. Even though Kukai had gone to gym earlier, he decided he would skip the impossible struggle of high school math and join her. Rima and Nagi had chemistry while Yaya had gone to Home Economics, where she had shouted of joy when handed a baby doll to take care of.

Kukai grinned at the girl he considered a sister, nudging her playfully with his shoulder as he said, "Come on; it won't be too bad. If push comes to shove, you could always Chara Change with Ran."

"What happened to that being unfair?" Amu questioned, remembering how he reacted when she had unwillingly changed during his soccer practice.

The older boy shrugged. "Considering you're in elementary school and these guys are in high school with only three other girls here, I think this evens out."

"Alright, cupcakes," boomed the coach, a heavy man with a bushy beard and even bushier mustache, as he sauntered onto the field. "Today, we'll be playing a manly game of soccer!"

The girls groaned while Kukai's grin broadened even more. Ikuto raised an eyebrow and Ran immediately changed with Amu, much to both her displeasure and relief.

"The teams will have to be a bit different due to these two," continued the coach, gesturing towards the two Guardians. His tone wasn't meant to be rude, but it came out as if they were ruining his day. "I'll count you off so get in line, cupcakes!"

And so, Kukai and Amu ended up being on the same team while Ikuto was on the other.

The game started out typical; everybody assumed that the two grade schoolers wouldn't know what they were doing and would just get in the way, like the girls typically did though some of them did try.

And then Ikuto had gotten the ball and nobody on Team A could get it from him.

That was when Kukai swept in and stole it after a few minutes of struggling, before he swiftly passed it to Amu, who managed to keep it away from the thieving cat as she scored a goal.

There had been a brief moment of stunned silence as everybody stared at them before the game resumed, though this time, Kukai and Amu were the offensive players. It was a close game, but with Kukai and Amu/Ran's efforts combined, they managed to beat the other team. It helped that they were all uncoordinated buffoons, aside from Ikuto, who only won the previous games because of some of the girls' and guys' poor abilities.

Ran finally ended the Chara Change as her bearer and Kukai exchanged high-fives.

The coach, excited by the game's turn of events, allowed them free roam as he went to write down the Guardians' names for when they finally joined the school. Maybe their school would finally win a soccer game with them on the team.

Free roam meant that most of the girls went to go shower and then text on their phones in the locker rooms and gossip with their friends, or read a book, or whatever they did. For the guys, who embraced the manly aroma of sweaty gym socks, it meant that they could goof off.

Some of the guys continued to play with the soccer ball or shove each other around. Amu took a quick shower and then sat on the bleachers, watching Kukai play with them while Ikuto took a nap in the tree a few feet away. He never seemed to sweat so he skipped taking a shower, preferring to wait until he got home.

After several minutes, Amu began to doze off as her Charas napped peacefully on top of her bag.

Suddenly, someone shouted out and her eyes snapped opened just in time to see the black and white ball that ended up hitting her in the face. It stung, and it would probably leave a bruise-which would make her parents, especially her father, freak out-but Amu didn't pay much attention to that as she flew backwards and slammed into the row of bleachers behind her.

Her Charas asked if she was alright, having been awakened by the sudden commotion, while Kukai and Ikuto appeared by her side in a flash. They quickly helped her up, though Kukai allowed the older boy to embrace the pinkette since he understood the protectiveness that Ikuto had for her.

"I'm fine," muttered Amu, rubbing her face and then grimacing as she realized her nose was bleeding. "I'm just a bit dizzy."

"Tsukiyomi, maybe you should take her to the nurse," suggested Kukai worriedly, seeing that she was slipping in and out of consciousness. Due to his history with sports and rubber balls flying at his person, he knew all too well what she must have been experiencing. "I'll let the coach and the others know."

Ikuto nodded before he swept the girl into his arms, bridal-style of course, and began to swiftly move towards the office. Their Charas were quick to follow, all five of them wearing worried expressions.

"Amu, I'm sure there were other ways to get into my arms than getting yourself injured," said Ikuto, rapidly approaching the nurse's office. The pinkette weakly swatted his bicep before she returned to clutching her throbbing nose, the blood dripping onto her clothes.

"Perverted cat," she muttered as she was laid down on a firm mattress.

A woman entered the room at that time and gasped at seeing the young girl in her infirmary. The shock wore off quickly though and she began to tend to her wounds, giving her a box of tissues before applying some ice and ointment to her cheeks, which had grown red from the impact. She also fed the girl some medicine so she wouldn't feel the sting as much.

After assuring her that the redness would wear off shortly, the woman told her to rest for the rest of the day and disappeared into her office. She didn't bother telling Ikuto to go back to class; his reputation was well known by everyone, though she didn't understand why he wanted to stay with the elementary school girl. As far as she knew of, he didn't have a sister in elementary school.

But the woman suddenly understood when she saw him say something before smirking while the poor girl's face turned even redder than it had been before. She smiled and closed the blinds to her office window, reminiscing at her days of youth and young love.

"You really are an airhead," said Ikuto softly, sitting next to her on the bed. She was small enough and the bed was roughly the six of her one at home so he knew they could fit on it. "How did you not see the ball coming?"

"I was half-asleep," murmured Amu as she switched hands, pressing the cold icepack against her swollen face. "My dad is going to throw a fit when he sees me; he didn't even want me to come, afraid I would fall in love with a high school boy here."

Ikuto raised an eyebrow, reaching for a magazine on the dresser and absently flipping through it. "And did you?"

"No," replied Amu, slightly loopy from the medicine. "I'm already in love with somebody."

The older male abruptly stopped looking through the magazine, clutching it tightly as the faces of the male Guardians swept through his mind. "Oh, did you now?"

Could it be that Kukai guy? No, he had been treating Amu delicately and playfully at the same like; very much like Ikuto treated his sister, so he knew there was nothing romantic going on there.

"Yeah."

Maybe it was that long haired one that looked like a girl; Nagihiko, was it? Would Amu really fall for somebody who looked like a cross dresser? No, he could see that the blonde midget had a tight grip on him though she denied it as quickly as humanly possible. Plus, she hadn't been giving off any of the signals to indicate she was interested; not that the pink haired girl knew anything about flirting and sending signals…he hoped.

"Anyone I know?"

It could be that green haired kid that used to work with Yukari. He had confessed to Amu before, didn't he? But wait, that childish girl had turned bright red when their mashed up names had been revealed and hers had been mashed with his. So he was off markets, and Amu would respect that.

Amu giggled. "I would say you did very well." Her tone changed to one of amusement as she sensed his genuine puzzlement.

"Hm."

Wait, he was ruling out the obvious. There was her crush on the kiddy king; was it still a crush? She said she had loved this person, though he doubted she even knew what that meant; did the crush escalate into something more? And he did know the prince very well…it was so obvious.

Ikuto practically crumpled up the magazine, his face emotionless though his eyes were burning with fury. He had lost to the kiddy king, hadn't he?

Meanwhile, Amu had noticed the conflict in his eyes and figured out what he was probably thinking about. Their Charas were floating nearby and they looked amused by Ikuto's behavior as well. If he had been Chara Changed, his ears would have been flattened while his tail swished irritably. He probably would have been hissing angrily too, but he was too cool for that.

A smirk crossed her lips as she realized he wasn't paying any attention to her. She quickly came up with a devious plan and sighed loudly, successfully getting his attention as he jumped slightly. And by slightly, she meant unnoticeable unless one had been paying attention.

"I wish I could say they loved me back, but I don't know," said Amu, making her tone longing and wistful. "They always send me mixed signals and even though it took me a while to figure out my feelings, I finally realized I loved them." She closed her eyes and sighed again, feeling pleased by the jealous frown Ikuto was wearing.

"And?" He pressed, sounding almost angry.

"Well, I guess it just kinda sucks that I'm so in love with the angel when they wear a devil mask."

Three dots appeared over his head and he was clearly stumped and thrown aback by the girl's odd statement. He was rarely confused, but this was certainly an exception.

"An angel wearing a devil mask? What the fu…" He stopped and he furrowed his eyebrows. Not for the first time, as cruel as it sounded, he wished his sister was on the other side of the planet. "You're in love with my sister?" His tone was of disbelief and utter shock.

Amu looked at his stunned expression and then at the five Charas nearby. Su and Yoru were the only ones who looked lost. Ran was stifling her laugh with her pom-poms, Miki was supposedly sketching Ikuto's gobsmacked expression, and Dia was silently giggling.

She looked back at Ikuto and saw him open and close his mouth like a fish out of water. It felt so good to finally be the one on top; she was smirking and he looked so helplessly lost.

Her façade dropped and she burst out laughing so hard, her cheeks hurt even more than they had before. The icepack was thrown off the bed and tears began to form in her eyes as she flailed her arms around.

"You…you should see your face!" Amu shrieked. "Oh…oh my god, Ikuto; and you call me dense? I'm not in love with that Tsukiyomi!" Not how she planned on confessing, but it was such a perfect moment.

Seeing the pinkette's plan dissolve gave permission for the other Charas to join in and roar with laughter as well. Su finally caught onto what had happened and she giggled, shaking her head. Yoru had been shocked by the girl's stunt but then decided that any chick who could pull one over his bearer was pretty cool in his book.

Speaking of books, he reached over and snatched the sketchbook from Miki's hands. She stared at her empty hands for several seconds before glaring at him.

"Hey, give that back!" She demanded.

Yoru grinned at her as he cheekily said, "I will if you give me a kiss, nya." His grin widened when her face turned bright red as she attempted to take the book back, though he kept it out of reach. "Make you decision now, nya!"

Her face turned even redder and he thought for sure that she would curse his name and storm off, but he was caught off guard when she swore and quickly flew over to press her lips against his. The sketchbook dropped and his arms wrapped around her waist instead, both of them forgetting where they were.

Su shrieked, covering her eyes at such an adult kiss, while Ran and Dia cheered. Alright, Ran cheered while Dia smiled and pointedly looked away.

Meanwhile, Amu finally calmed down and Ikuto realized what the hell had been going on. He stared at her for several long moments, deciding not to tease her about her sudden confession; she would just bring up his sudden denseness and make fun of him. Jeez, he had been rubbing off on her…and not the physical kind of rubbing he preferred.

Amu would occasionally giggle as she watched her Charas. She felt uncharacteristically brave and cheeky; perhaps that hit to the face had done her some good?

Ikuto, who wondered if he had been the one hit in the face from his uncharacteristic behavior, slowly asked, "So you're not in love with my sister or that kiddy king?"

The pinkette snorted. "Of course not, you idiot! I don't swing that way and I only liked Tadase's outer character. And anyways, he may have accepted all of me, but I can tell he still loves Amulet Heart." She shook her head, blushing. "He hasn't even seen all of my sides or why I have an outer character…only you."

Ikuto was left speechless by that, simply watching her. Her hair was a bird's nest, her face was red and swollen, there was huge bruise over her nose, and there were blood stains along with food stains covering her uniform. She looked just as beautiful as she always did.

He glanced quickly at his Chara and a smirk crossed his lips as he realized that the cat had disappeared, as well as the blue haired Chara. Ran, Su, and Dia had gone off in the corner, seemingly interested in the painting of a waterfall.

"Well, I suppose I'll just follow Yoru's lead then," he said quietly, confusing the girl until he pressed his lips against her softly.

She gasped and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside her mouth, causing her to moan and wrap her arms around his neck as she returned the kiss. It was sweet and passionate at the same time, though it was rather awkward with her condition. Not that he minded, and she knew it.

It was absolutely blissful.

Until the door suddenly opened, making the eavesdropping Guardians fall through the doorway and tumble to the ground in an awkward heap. That wasn't the issue though, Amu realized as somebody appeared in the doorway with a demonic presence.

"What is going on here?" Utau demanded, stepping over the Guardians and glaring at the newly developed couple. El screeched joyfully, yelling something about the bars of love at their fullest, while Il had a large smirk on her face as she noticed the compromising position.

Amu paled, though she could tell her new boyfriend was unaffected by his sister's appearance.

"Um, Utau, I can explain…!"

Her nervous sputtering was cut off when the blonde's expression suddenly changed and she stomped her foot.

"Dammit, I owe that shrimp twenty yen," she grumbled, reaching into her pocket and handing it to Rima. The shorter blonde looked smug as the others picked themselves off the floor.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow while Amu looked confused for several moments until it dawned on her.

"You were betting on us?! That's…that's…."

"Yeah, yeah," dismissed Utau as she handed the pinkette some yen. "That's for your sister; she said you would be together by the end of the day."

"Ami's three! How could she possibly be betting on this?!"

Rima dusted her clothes off as she collected the other pooling from the rest of the Guardians. "Well, we came across her in the park with your mother when we were talking about the bet. She handed us her ice cream money and said 'Team Amuto, tonight'! I figured she meant you'd get together by the end of the day."

"What the hell is going on?" Amu exclaimed, flailing her arms in the air. "Were my Charas in on this too?"

Nagi smiled apologetically. "Yes," he admitted, making the poor girl fall back against the pillows with a look of disbelief.

Ikuto stretched. "Well, this is nice and all, but we were in the middle of something."

He then leaned over and began kissing Amu again, who resisted for a few moments before she gave in. The others all smiled at the sight, glad that their unresolved sexual tension could finally be dissolved, before they quietly left the room.

Meanwhile, in another room, Nikaidou and Amakawa looked over their papers.

"Was it really necessary to do all of this just to get them together?" The former Easter employee asked. "I mean, how did you even know they would get together?"

Amakawa smiled knowingly. "I have my ways, Yuu. Besides, I did not expect them to become so close until the next phase in my plan."

"Next phase? Good lord, no wonder Himamori-san doesn't trust either of us."

…

I don't own Shugo Chara!

Don't know why I made this; oh, well.

Anyways, yeah…I hope you liked it, and yes, there will be a second part to it.

I know Amu being fourteen is odd since most people are in middle school or even high school by the time they're fourteen, but let's pretend that logic doesn't exist here. I mean, this is an anime/manga about a naturally pink-haired girl giving birth to three-later four-eggs that represent her desire to be something else.

Plus, no guy like Ikuto is that perfect so we know it's not a realistic anime either.

Anyhow…don't hesitate to tell me if you found any mistakes or what you thought of the story! Sorry it's long; the next one will be shorter, though probably only by a little.