Dark Prism

[Amuto] Losing everyone important to her at a young age, Amu is forced into a cruel world of shadows. Many seek to control her, but no one will as long as she still has her small ray of hope in the shape of a few small eggs and a stray cat.

Romance/General ---- Ikuto x Amu (Main)

Rated T

Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara.

It was a bright and sunny day with a few white and grey colored clouds floating around, being shaped by the gentle breeze that passed by. It looked to be a promising day with light rainy showers later in the afternoon.

A man and a woman were holding hands and were in their own little world not caring who saw them.

The woman had brown hair and light brown, golden eyes. The man had light brown hair and soft green eyes. They looked happy as the man spun the woman around, holding her from behind.

The woman whispered something into the man's ears and they both beamed with happiness. They then turned around and held out their hands.

They opened their mouths, in attempt to say something. However, no voices could be heard.

"Mama! Papa?!"

A small girl around 4 or 5 years of age held out her hands to them in a futile attempt to reach them.

Tears began to form in her eyes as she realized she couldn't hear or touch them.

Hands, slightly bigger than her own, grabbed her wrists. Someone clasped her hands together and the girl found herself staring into sad blue eyes. The person shook their head and covered her eyes.

"Get up you wretched, sad excuse of a girl."

Golden orbs opened, trying to focus on the door. The woman who woke her up was just behind it. However, before she managed to fully focus, the woman had already left.

"…" Pushing her pink hair out of her face and the sleepiness out of her eyes, Amu looked around, somewhat dazed

"Hurry up, brat!"

Amu winced at the high pitched shriek. The woman was downstairs and she still sounded like she had just yelled into her ears.

"Yeah, yeah." Amu scratched her head and murmured something under her breath about banshees.

Amu stood up and walked to the bathroom, planning on getting ready for her first day of school.

'I haven't had a dream about mama and papa in quite a while.'

Amu paused and looked in the mirror for a brief second before washing her face and brushing her teeth.

'I wonder why I dreamt of them now.' Wondered Amu as she turned on the water for the bath. As it filled, she slowly added soap bubbles. She watched as the entire tub filled with lavender smelling bubbles.

Amu frowned, trying to rid her mind of thoughts and took off her oversized shirt and shorts that she used as her pajamas. She threw them in a corner where a large laundry basket lay. Making a metal note to wash her clothes when she got home, she stepped into the bathtub and slowly made her way down so that she was sitting in it.

She gathered 2 handfuls of bubbles and stared at their shiny, colorful, reflective surface.

'It'd be nice if I could be more true to myself sometimes. I wish I could somehow… be free from this place.'

Amu looked up at her ceiling.

'If there is some kind of God out there,' Amu put her hands together and prayed, 'please give me the will to continue on and get through with this. Give me the strength, the mind and the heart to go onwards and actually look forward to the future.'

Amu chuckled and shook the entire idea out of her head. She was cursed to live through this life and nothing would change that. She got out her favorite shampoo and began to scrub away at her hair.

30 minutes later

Amu knew perfectly well that she was taking a little longer than usual to get ready, but for once she wanted to enjoy her bubble bath.

After the bath, she had nearly forgotten all about the dream, letting the warm waters wash her worries away.

Donned in a bathrobe, she used a cream colored towel to dry her hair. Walking out of the bathroom, Amu grabbed a hair brush and quickly ran it through her medium length hair. Grabbing a hair band with a red X attached to it, she tied up her hair in a low and loose ponytail. Her bangs framed her face and somehow seemed to bring out her golden eyes all that much more.

Running to her wardrobe, she grabbed her school uniform and stared at it for a few seconds. Her "caretaker" had left it in there since last night. Amu just never really had to time to look at it.

Seiyo Elementary School. She was going to go to Seiyo Elementary and was forced to wear this thing that went against her style. Blanching at the very thought she figured she might as well try it on first.

When she put it on she couldn't help but frown at how plain it was. An idea hit her as she loosened the neck collar, unbuttoning a top button before putting on the red tie. It was a tiny improvement but it was better than nothing.

There was nothing against the rules against adding accessories or changing your uniform a little, so Amu decided to take advantage of it.

She then proceeded onwards by grabbing a large belt, followed by a smaller silver one, then tilted them and made them fairly loose over her shirt and skirt. She didn't bother to tuck in her shirt nor button up the jacket when she put it on. Quickly throwing on white socks, she also threw on leg warmers that matched the school outfit. Putting on her shoes, she looked in the mirror but something seemed to be missing.

Amu looked around the room, trying to think of something when something red caught her eyes. Smirking and adding her final touch, she grabbed a safety pin and her red cloth from one of her other outfits and attached it to her jacket.

Looking at herself once again in the mirror, she nodded in approval.

"Perfect."

Grabbing her side bag, which already had everything that she needed in it, she left her room.

Downstairs, she noticed that her caretaker had left for work. She went to the kitchen to grab something for breakfast and noticed a note attached to the fridge.

Hinamori Amu:

You had better make a good impression in school! You don't know what I went through to even manage to get you into a school with your stupidity! If you fail me, I shall know.

Honestly, a young girl like you could be more appreciative for what time and money I was forced to use on trash like you.

You owe me, girl. Even if it kills you I'll make you return every cent that was used on you, and don't you ever forget that.

The Person You Owe,
Hoshiko Kaede

Amu crumpled up the note and threw it into the trash.

"You'd think she'd at least try to be more original in these hate notes. She's been using the same thing over and over, it's getting a bit annoying." Amu said while glaring a hole into a photo of Ms. Kaede on a nightstand in the living room.

Quickly checking the clock and noticing she only had thirty minutes to get to school, Amu grabbed a plain croissant and a chocolate milk box. She ran out the door, being careful to lock the door before she left.

Her walk to school was pretty uneventful. She had already eaten her croissant and was sipping on her chocolate milk, when she noticed a cat walking in the middle of the street, chasing a piece of paper that was flying around.

Normally, she wouldn't have bothered with a mere cat. But it was… cute. It looked like it wasn't fully grown yet. The kitten was mostly black with white paws and a strange white cross on its forehead.

It had a collar around it's neck, but it looked too big to be the kitten's. It was also black with a silver cross attached to it.

Amu shook her head and tried to focus on the sidewalk. She was about to make a turn when she heard screeching.

She noticed that the kitten was frozen stiff. The paper was in its mouth and now it looked like it didn't know what to do next.

Amu threw down her milk box and cursed, turned around and jumped, grabbing the cat and tumbled into a garden of flowers.

A gruff looking man yelled out profanities and something about "crazy cats" and "parents not taking better care of their children these days."

The kitten was frozen stiff and dropped the paper to the ground.

Amu pet its head and said, "It's ok, you're safe now."

The kitten relaxed and began purring and rubbed its head into Amu's stomach.

Amu smiled, "Hey kitten, I have to get to school, so it'd be best if you returned to your master."

The kitten simply looked up at Amu with big golden eyes, similar to her own eyes.

Amu blinked and raised an eyebrow, "… You want to come with me then?"

The cat beamed with happiness and jumped into Amu's arms. While laughing, Amu stood up, dusting off her uniform and grabbed her book bag.

She looked awkward, holding a kitten in one hand and her book bag in the other, but didn't care too much since the kitten seemed happy.

She was probably a block away from school when the kitten jumped away from her. Amu looked at the cat curiously.

Amu was suddenly covered by a shadow. She looked up and saw a teenage man with cat ears and a tail?!

"Ehh?!" The man looked at Amu and cursed.

"Shit…"

Amu braced herself, unable to get away. She clenched her eyes tightly closed. She felt a body collide with her own right before her back hit the concrete. The last thing she heard was a concerned mew from her kitten friend and the look of concerned blue eyes.

TBC…

Please Review? Thanks!

Despite the summary this isn't going to be a depressing story. Amu is rebellious so despite the hard times she will come out shining.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. - Kayori Natsume