Shugo Chara ~ After Story
Chapter 1

This story is based on Shugo Chara and Shugo Chara "Doki". This story has nothing to do with Shugo Chara Party. The '~ After Story' line came from 'Clannad ~ After Story'. Just thought it might be fun to add.

"I'm off!" Amu grabs her bag, takes a slice of bread and opens the front door. "Jeez, is it already this late?" she asks to herself while looking on her watch. She starts to run. Along the way, Amu sees some students from elementary school. She used to walk there too. But that was three years ago. She's in high school now! Amu really feels older. With a lot of confidence she walks past the students. She wants that the students look at her as if she's a celebrity. And they do look at her! But not in the way Amu wanted to. While questioning herself why the students look so weird at her, she takes a good look at herself. What?! Amu begins to scream. Amu is still wearing her pajamas! Everybody starts to laugh out loud. Amu begins to blush and stumbles. "E-eh… I'm… still in my pajamas… apparently… Jeez, this could only happen to me, ha!" She scratches on her head and turns around and runs towards her house. When she gets home, she changes as fast as possible. She takes another look at her watch. "O, no! The bell will ring in only five minutes. I'll never make it!" she runs towards school once again with maximum speed. When she arrives at school, she sees that three more students run to school as well. She takes a deep breath and runs towards the entrance. She arrives at her classroom one minute after the bell ringed.
"Why are you so late, Hinamori-san?" Yakamo-sensei takes a good look at Amu. Her hair is all messed up and some buttons of her blouse are unbuttoned. "Eh… well, I woke up at ten to eight and I figured out I was still wearing my p-pajamas when I was on my way. So, I had to go back home…" Everyone looks at Amu as if she went crazy. Some girls in the back begin to giggle. Yakamo-sensei closes his eyes as if he's getting irritated by Amu's excuses. "Anyway, Hinamori-san, please take your seat," he says and sends her to her seat. "Yes, sensei," Amu says with her head down. She takes a seat at the window and looks outside. Yakamo-sensei continues his lesson. "So, as I was saying, who knows…?" The voice from Yakamo-sensei begins to buzz in Amu's ears. While looking outside, a little piece of paper flies to Amu's table. She wakes up from her daydream and takes a look around the classroom, but no one seems to respond. She opens up the piece of paper and reads what is written:

Hey, Amu! Want to go shopping tomorrow?

xoxo Rima

Amu looks at Rima, who looks back. Rima winks at her and Amu nods her head. Rima smiles. So, tomorrow shopping with Rima? That's good, because she wanted to buy that pink shirt she saw at that cute shop last week. But she didn't have enough money last week. Amu drowns in her thoughts again.
It's been three years, eh? Since she graduated from elementary school. She thought all her friends would go to other classes or might even move to another town. But Rima stayed in her class. Amu was so happy, because she was afraid of losing everyone and meeting new people. The other guardians Tadase, Nagihiko and Yaya are in other classes. Well, Yaya is still in middle school. Amu is a freshman here on high school. And Kukai is in his second year now. They all eat lunch together, just like in the old days. But not in the Royal Garden, just on the field outside. Rima sometimes makes our bento's. Rima seems very happy these days. The situation with her parents is getting better. She also is dating Nagihiko, but you could see that coming. Nagihiko started dancing again, but not the dancing he did as Nadeshiko. He's doing break-dance now. He doesn't want to be dancing as a girl, because he isn't one! He's a boy, so he should live like a boy. And Tadase, he didn't change too much. He's still that shy boy who wants to protect his world and the people who live in it. Amu and Tadase aren't… going out anymore. Amu has other things to worry about, so it's not really the time for a boyfriend. Tadase thinks so too. He's still a little jealous of what happened three years ago. Amu told him it was nothing, but he wouldn't believe her. Amu wouldn't believe it as well, because she knows it's a lie. It was something. It's the reason why Amu feels so… lonely. But she tries not to think of it too much. "OK, everyone, it's lunchtime. Class rep." Yakamo-sensei wakes Amu from her dreams. A skinny, little boy with glasses stands up. "Stand," he says and the class stands up. "Bow," he continues and the children bow down. Amu takes her bag and takes out her bento. Rima suddenly stands before her. "Shall we go to the field?" she asks. Amu nods.
Amu and Rima walk to their lockers where they put on their shoes. Suddenly Tadase and Nagihiko stand before them. "Hi, Nagihiko," Rima says. "Hi, Rima-chan, Amu-chan. Shall we go outside?" Nagihiko asks. Rima smiles and follows Nagihiko as if she's his dog. Tadase and Amu are left behind. "Let's go then," Tadase says and smiles to Amu. Amu and Tadase follow Nagihiko and Rima to the field. Kukai is already waiting for them. "Guys, over here!" he yells and he waves his hand. Amu waves to Kukai and starts to walk a bit faster. They all sit down in a circle. "Hi, Kukai," Amu says. "Hi, Hinamori! And the rest, of course, ha!" Kukai replies. Everybody smiles to Kukai. He's always the one to cheer up the situation. "So, Mashiro, you got our bento's?" he asks. Rima looks angry at him. "Sorry, Mashiro, I brought my own" Kukai takes a beautiful packed box out of his backpack. He opens it and there are all wonderful meals in it. Rice and pork, beef and vegetables as side dish. "Wow, Kukai, who made this?" Amu is surprised by the amazing bento. "Well… eh…" he stutters. All the guardians look curious at him. "Eh… Utau," he says carefully. Everybody looks at Kukai with big eyes and their mouths wide open. "Does she now also makes your lunch?!" Amu asks. "Yeah, kind of, she insisted to," he lies. "Yeah, right," Nagihiko says. "You and Utau-chan are dating for quite a while now, right?" Tadase asks. Kukai sighs. "Yeah…" and he stares into the distance. Amu starts to giggle. Kukai notices. "What are you laughing about, Hinamori?" "No, nothing. I just had to think about three years ago, when she suddenly kissed…" Amu stops. Her mood suddenly changed. Everyone stares at her. They all know Amu hasn't been very cheerful by mentioning his name. The awkward silence continues. "OK, guys," Kukai says to interrupt the silence. "This is not the time to be all moody! Anyway, about Utau, today she woke me up to be sure I wouldn't be late for school and…" Everybody listens to Kukai's story attentive. Except for Amu. She's still down. Suddenly she knows this isn't the time to be moody, like Kukai said. She shakes her head and starts to listen to Kukai's story.

"Ran, Miki, Dia, wake up!" The three chara's come out of their eggs and they see an angry Suu in front of them. "What's with you, Suu? We're trying to sleep," Ran says while rubbing in her eyes. "You guys slept for so long that we missed Amu today! We didn't even had the chance to go with her to school, you idiots!" Suu is furious. "Jeez, Suu, calm down. The karaoke night yesterday was so fun, we didn't get much sleep. I guess Amu was also late for school by waking up too late," Miki says. "That's right, so let us sleep," Dia says tired. The three chara's go back into their egg. "Jeez! Never mind," Suu says angry and she starts to clean up the room. The minutes fly by. Suddenly Suu gets a feeling. The other chara's seem to feel it too. "This presence…" Suu says. "Is it… really? No way!" Ran says.
Dia flies to the window and looks into the air. The presence fades away slowly. "I guess it was just our imagination," Suu says. "Well, I don't know," Miki says. "It might be… that they really came back this time." "You think so?" Dia asks. "I don't know, but I think it will make sense. It is been three years. Wouldn't it be time for them to come back?" Miki responds. "I guess so," Ran says and they all look out of the window hopefully.

"Bye, guys, I'm going home now!" Amu waves at her friends. While walking to her home, she thinks about her chara's who she hasn't seen all day. Hope they didn't broke down the house. Amu needs to laugh about herself. But then, all four of the charas are flying in her direction. "Amu, Amu!" they scream. "Hey guys, haven't seen you for the whole day. You probably were tired. So, how was your… Ouch!" Ran flies into Amu's forehead. She rubs her head. "What are you doing, idiot?" Amu asks angry. "Sorry, but we sensed an X egg!" Ran responds. "A… X egg? Now? Are you sure?" Amu asks "I know, but we are really sure, Amu. Hurry up!" Dia says and pulls at her shirt.
Amu runs after her chara's. "Maybe it's this way?" Suu asks. "No, I think this way," Miki says self-assured. "Seriously, guys, could you please say where we need to go to?" Amu asks impatient. "This way, I know it!" Dia says and everyone follows her. Dia takes them to the park. "Where is it?" Amu asks. They all look for the egg, but they don't seem to find it. Suddenly, a black egg comes from behind a tree. Miki notices. "There it is." she says. "Yes, it is. Ran, let's do character transformation!" Amu says. "Yes, ma'am," Ran responds excited. A light comes from the Humpty Lock. "My own heart," Amu says. "Unlock!" Amu transforms into Amulet Heart. Amu flies to the X egg, but it flees away. Amu chases it, but doesn't seem to catch up with it. She holds her hand out. "Heart Rod!" A pink rod shows up in Amu's hand. She spins it around. The X egg stops for a moment. "Spiral… Heart!" Amu quotes and she throws the rod in the direction of the X egg. It spins around the egg and pink glitters come of it and turn into a circle that catches the egg so it can't move. "Yes, now I can use Open Heart," Amu says happy and she's ready to cure the X egg.
But something stops her. Some noises come out of the tree. Something sits on the thick tree branch. Is it a cat? Amu walks to the three to check it out. "Cat-san? Are you stuck? Let me help you." Amu definitely sees a tail. "Nyaa~!" something says. "What was…? Is it really a cat?" Amu asks. "Eh… Amu…" Ran says. Miki, Suu and Dia look worried at Amu. "I knew he'd come back," Miki whispers. Amu stretches her arm out to catch the cat. "Here, kitty, you don't have to be scared." Amu totally forgets about the X egg. "Almost there," she says. Suddenly something grabs her hand. Amu screams. That's definitely not a cat! "Help, help! It's a…" Amu closes her eyes out of fear. "Why should I…" something says. Amu's eyes go open. "That voice…" she says frightened. "…Be scared of you, Amu?" The 'thing' releases her hand and jumps out of the tree. Amu takes some steps back. She paralyzed. She can't stand anymore. She slowly sinks to the ground. Tears fill up her eyes. This isn't real. You must be kidding me, Amu thinks and she closes her eyes, hoping that once she opens them, he'll be gone. She slowly opens her eyes. She sees the person stand right in front of her. "Why are you afraid?" He asks. "I'm… I'm… This is not true. You're not here," Amu says, mostly to herself to convince her. A cold hand caresses her cheek. "I'm here, believe it." Suddenly, Amu starts to cry, really bad. The person is kind of surprised. "No, you're not here! Go away! You left me, left us all! So you can't be back all of the sudden!" Amu swings her arms in all directions. Then, he grabs one of her arms and takes her hand. "Amu, listen to me, you can be scared, angry, sad or whatever you are feeling right now. The only thing I know is… that I'm back and I'm not going to be send away so easily." Amu calms down and just sits. Ran turns Amu back to normal, so she has her normal clothes on. Everyone stays silent for a while. Then, the person begins to talk. "Are you… ready to believe that I'm back?" he asks Amu. Amu doesn't say anything. She just nods her head. "Great, because I have a lot to tell you, so get up," he says happily. "So, can we go to your house?" He lifts up Amu. "My house?!" she asks him surprisingly. "Yeah, why not? Your parents already know me, so that won't be a problem, right? I bet they allow me to stay over," he laughs. Amu sighs. "Alright, but just one day." He gets a bright smile on his face. "Let's go, then!" he says and begins to walk. "Eh…" Amu stutters. He looks from behind his shoulder. "What?" Amu begins to blush, but then smiles at him. "Welcome home, Ikuto."

"What? Why not?" Amu's mother has her arms on her hips. She has a strict look on her face. "Ikuto was here before and you said that it would be fine if we told you," Amu complains. "Yes, I know, but…" Amu's mother replies, but Ikuto interrupts her. "I won't cause much trouble and I don't have anywhere to stay. Please ma'am, just for one day?" Amu's mother looks surprised at him. She takes a good look at Ikuto. "You've… grown," she says quietly. There is a short silence. "So, how old are you now, Ikuto-kun? 20, I believe?" Amu's mother asks. "Yes, ma'am," he replies polite. Another silence. Then Amu's mother begins to smile. "Alright, just for one day, OK?" "That just came out of nowhere," Ran sighs. "Desu," Suu says. "Thank you, ma'am," Ikuto says thankful and bows to her. Amu looks at Ikuto and does the same. "Amu, you don't have to bow," Amu's mother laughs. "I just appreciate it," Amu says happy. They both get up. "So, you better make up a bed for Ikuto-kun, right? Or do you want him to sleep on the floor again?" Amu's mother says. "We'll do it right away!" Amu says excited. They both want to go upstairs, but Amu's mother grabs Amu's arm. She pulls her towards her and whispers in Amu's ear: "Don't do weird things with Ikuto-kun, OK?" Amu's eyes get big and her head turns red. "Eh?! What do you mean with 'weird things'? I… I…" Amu begins to stutter. Amu's mother and Ikuto begin to laugh.

Ikuto jumps on the bed. "You still have this girly room?" he asks. "What's wrong with my room?" Amu asks frustrated. "Nothing, I'm just kidding. I like it," he says calm. "Y-you do?" Amu asks shy. Ikuto nods. Hesitatingly, Amu goes sit next to Ikuto. This feels weird, she thinks. There's a awkward feeling in the room. Ikuto cracks his fingers out of boredom. Then, out of nowhere, Yoru shows up. "NYAA!" he screams. Amu jumps up. "You little…" Amu yells. She wants to catch him, but Ikuto grabs Amu's arm. "Sit down," he says calm. Amu listens to him and takes a seat next to him. "So, I guess you have a lot of questions?" he asks curious. Now that he mentions it, I have, Amu thinks. Did he find his father, where is he now, why did Ikuto come back? I think I should start at asking about his father. "Yeah, I have. Did you find your father?" Amu asks careful. Ikuto grins. "I have," he says calm. "Really? Where is he now? Is he in town? I'd like to meet him someday. He's probably just like you and…" Ikuto interrupts Amu. "Hold on, one question at the time," he says playful. Amu breathes slowly. "Right now, he's at my mother's house. He said he wanted to talk with her. He requested me to go find an other place to stay. So, the first one I thought of, was you." Amu's heart stops for a second. "And of course you can meet him someday. I think we might can visit him tomorrow, if you'd like to?" he asks. "Yeah, but I promised Rima to go shopping with her tomorrow," Amu says disappointed. "Oh, well, can't be helped," Ikuto replies disappointed as well.

It's quiet for a while. Amu continues with questioning. "So, how's he like?" "Well, guess you'll find out sooner or later, but I have to say that he's a very kind and honest person. He plays the violin very well, so I can learn a lot from him," Ikuto says happy. Amu stares at him. Ikuto turns his head to Amu. "So, how's your life been? Still hooking up with Tadase?" he laughs. Amu starts to blush. "N-no, we're just friends."

"Who broke up?"

"N-nobody, it just happened."

"He did, didn't he?"

"No."

"Because I did 'that' three years ago, right?"

"N-no."

"Are you sure? Tadase gets jealous very soon."

"I'm sure."

"Did you like it?"

Amu stops breathing. "Like… What?" she asks quietly. "You know what I mean," Ikuto says with a grin on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about," Amu says while looking away. Her face turns red again. "Are you trying to deny it?" Ikuto asks. "Deny what?"

"You are annoying"

"So are you."

"Why are you denying it?"

"For no reason."

"Should I do it again?"

"WHAT?"

"Gotcha! I knew you didn't forget it."

"Would you just shut up?"

"No."

Amu gets frustrated. She jumps on Ikuto and start to punch him everywhere. But Ikuto doesn't seem to have pain. He just begins to laugh out loud. "You haven't changed a bit!" he says happily. Amu stops punching and stares at him. His eyes begin to shine. His breath smells familiar. I just want to lay down on his chest and fall asleep, she thinks. Wait. What? Why am I thinking about that? Amu gets confused. Suddenly, Ikuto presses Amu against his chest. It's like he's reading her mind. Amu starts to blush. They lay there for a while. Then, Ikuto starts to whisper into Amu's ear. "I never stopped thinking about you when I was gone. I mean it," he says a little bit ashamed. Amu's eyes grow. "W-what did you just say?" she asks like she didn't heard him. The both get up. "No, it's nothing," he says and looks away.

Did he… really meant that?

To be continued in chapter 2