"Honestly…" Rima drawled, "You just HAVE to decide, Amu!"

"What happened now?" Amu sighed, taking a sip of her tea and leaning back into her Joker's chair.

"They're not fighting now," Rima puffed, "Only because you told them not to. Well, to be honest, Ikuto refuses to fight because you said no violence. But if Tadagay continues to act stupid, even our music teacher might give in to the temptation to smash his annoying head off."

"Looks like you took a side, huh?" Amu mused.

"Oh hell yeah," Rima snorted, "Nagihiko and I are on team Amuto."

Amu lightly blushed. For some reason, she liked the shipping name of Amuto better than Tadamu (As Tadase had dubbed the both of them when they do get married, making Amu snort in sarcasm).

"Did you force him or did he voluntarily root for Ikuto and me to be together?" Amu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What kind of girlfriend would force her boyfriend to take the same side as her?" Rima asked, mock-horrified.

"You would, Rima," Amu smirked.

"ANYWAYS, Nagihiko voluntarily rooted for Amuto," Rima sighed.

"What would you have done had he preferred Tadamu instead?" Amu asked.

"He isn't that dumb," Rima snorted.

"But if he did," Amu insisted.

"I would yell in his ear for a good hour until common sense knocks on his door," Rima took a bite out of her scone. Rima had to admit, her boyfriend's cooking skills surpassed her own.

"I serve to prove my point that there would be a possible use of coercion in getting him to side with you, Rima. But that's okay, because I love it when you act the way you do," Amu smiled.

"Good. Because then I saved myself another hour of yelling in your ear for common sense," Rima smirked.

"At least I have way more common sense than a lot of girls at our Academy," Amu sighed, watching her four charas play with flowers in the garden.

"That is true," Rima nodded, sipping her tea.

Suddenly the doors slammed open to reveal Ikuto and Tadase arguing and walking in the direction of the two girls. Well, to be exact, Tadase was yelling his head off at Ikuto and Ikuto was trying in vain to save his sensitive cat like ears.

"Can't we ever have ONE peaceful moment in life without a door slamming?" Rima mumbled.

"What do you two want?" Amu asked, crossing her hands, standing up.

"He isn't allowed in here! That thieving cat is abusing his authority as a teacher to break in here!" Tadase whimpered and ran up to hug Amu, who sidestepped his hug, causing him to run into a stone pillar.

"Teacher, would you like to give him detention? He is all yours," Amu glared at Tadase crying like a baby, even way more than Yaya would.

"That sounds tempting, Amu, however I do not wish to have such a nuisance make havoc in my classroom and yell for hours straight," Ikuto sighed, pinching his nose.

"Who says you have to be in the room when he serves the detention?" Amu asked.

"I have to be or else he will break all the instruments in my room," Ikuto sighed, "I left him alone for five minutes in the music room on his first detention with me and he broke a 200-year-old cello."

"That's your mistake for doing so," Amu chided, "You can't leave him in the music room alone with all of the instruments that have so much value. Leave him in Jinno-sensei's room. Tell him he has a set number of days to serve detention for. Jinno sensei holds detention for misbehaving students of other teachers, if you didn't know. If Tadase yells or causes a ruckus, Jinno will merely zap him. And let me tell you that his Alice is powerful."

"That… sounds nice… thank you Amu," Ikuto smirked, "I like that idea."

"It is nice, no?" Amu nodded, "Tadase won't ever bother you again after that."

"Sounds like heaven. I will go tell Jinno right now that he has a month straight to serve for breaking an instrument," Ikuto nodded, kissing Amu's cheek and then grabbing a thrashing Tadase by his collar and dragging him out of the room.

"Did he just kiss you on the cheek?" Rima gaped.

"Yes," Amu nodded, completely dazed.

"Oh my gosh, you are blushing!" Rima squealed.

"I am not!" Amu retorted, putting both hands on her warm cheeks, knowing undoubtedly that Rima was right.

Before the pinkette knew it, the blonde was shoving a mirror in her face, clearly proving her point that Amu's cheeks were dusted with a soft pink.

"I told you I was right," Rima smirked.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Amu rolled her eyes.

"Hey, you need someone to point it out to you, or else you would never admit it yourself," Rima smirked, crossing her arms, enjoying Amu's bashful responses to her comebacks.

"Oh love guru, what do you prescribe for me?" Amu dared to ask.

"I suggest you aid that hormonal-"

"I am NOT hormonal!"

"-heart of yours by confessing to Ikuto," Rima finished her sentence as if Amu never interrupted her.

"I am NOT hormonal," Amu glared, "Not like most boys at our school."

"Are you implying that you are a guy?" Rima asked.

"No," Amu shook her head.

"Well you did hit puberty, so… technically you are a normal, mood swinging, PMS-ing young woman," Rima shrugged.

"Way to make me feel better, Rima, way to go," Amu slapped her forehead.

"If it makes you better, I hit puberty too, so I guess at times I technically DO act like a PMS-ing bitch," Rima shrugged again.

"Thanks?" Amu asked rather than stated.

"Before we sidetrack into puberty and its mysterious ways with girls, go confess to him," Rima urged, "You gotta admit, Ikuto is good looking and other girls will snag him if you do not act quickly."

"Maybe he already has a girlfriend," Amu countered.

"Are you kidding me? His eyes are only on you, Amu!" Rima exhaled, "But he might give up if you keep stalling on your decision between him and the knucklehead."

"That is true…" Amu trailed off.

"So the answer is quite obvious!" Rima exclaimed.

"But what if he was after my Humpty Lock after all?" Amu asked.

"Oh he had been over that," Rima reassured her friend, "He loves you more than simply an artifact."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Amu asked.

"Because while Tadase will ramble on and on about your powers and Amulet Heart and Humpty Lock, Ikuto talks on and on about how much he loves it when you act like your normal awkward girly self," Rima said, "You gotta admit, Ikuto is genuine."

"That is true… now that you say that," Amu trailed off, "I promise to make my decision, soon, okay, Rima?"

"Okay, because I do not know how to deal with that knucklehead any longer," Rima nodded.

-x-

It had been a week since that talk between Amu and Rima in the Royal Garden. Now students at the Academy had been taking sides of: Team Amuto or Team Tadamu.

At the moment, the fanclub for Amuto was bigger.

Amu sighed miserably as she wanted to eat lunch and laugh while talking to her friends at the table for Special Stars, when a thick tension clouded the room.

That only meant one thing: Ikuto and Tadase were in the same room.

"She's going to choose me! I know it!" Tadase yelled.

"What makes you say that?" Ikuto glared.

"I am good looking and my princely nature is attractive and everybody likes me!" Tadase yelled arrogantly.

"Amu isn't some prize, you lovesick puppy," Ikuto glared.

"She is mine for the taking!" Tadase yelled obnoxiously.

"And everybody likes you?" Ikuto mocked, "Are you talking about you and your imaginary make believe universe?"

"She is mine!" Tadase yelled stupidly.

"Only you could convince yourself that," Ikuto tsk'ed, "Amu will choose. She will decide in the end. You don't get to decide for her anyways. Even if you attempt to coerce her into make a decision favorable for you, she has the strength to scar your life forever. Remember that, you fake prince."

With that, Ikuto walked out of the cafeteria, with his lunch in hand. Unlike the other teachers, he didn't like to eat in the cafeteria at the teacher table. He preferred solitary, the rooftops was his safe place from his time of being a student at Gakuen Alice.

Amu rolled her eyes when Tadase turned around and chickened out when he realized the WHOLE cafeteria (including Amu and Rima) had heard.

"I'm done with lunch anyways," Amu tossed her lunch in the trashcan nearby.

"But we were only fifteen minutes into lunch! We still have a half hour left!" Rima protested.

"I am gonna go explore, Rima, don't worry, if I get bored, I will come back and sit next to you again. Or else, wait for me in class, okay?" Amu smiled at Rima.

Rima understood what Amu was talking about. With a knowing look in her eyes, she nodded.

Amu actually wanted to look for Ikuto in reality. She was so sick and tired of hearing Tadase's fake confessions all day long. She was tired of dealing with her fan club. She was tired of dealing with the Tadamu club.

Amu remembered watching where Ikuto went to go eat his lunch. She followed his footsteps and opened a door to reveal a staircase. She climbed the stairs to reveal another door.

Opening the thin door she felt a gush of wind slap her in the face. Amu winced and closed the door.

"Oh so this is where you eat lunch," Amu said.

Ikuto turned around in surprise.

"How did you find this spot?" Ikuto asked.

"You are the only teacher who doesn't eat at the cafeteria," Amu rolled her eyes; "It is pretty easy to find you."

Ikuto blushed and looked forward as he ate his lunch. Then he realized that Amu wasn't eating anything. Looking at her again, he asked, "Where's your lunch?"

"I finished it," Amu sighed.

"Why aren't you hanging out with Rima?" Ikuto asked.

"I decided to follow you, she understood," Amu shrugged.

"I see," Ikuto said, looking forward, "Aren't you supposed to be spending time with that Kiddy King?"

"I like to refer to him as Tadagay," Amu smirked, "Really Ikuto, you know better nicknames than that."

Ikuto smirked right back, mirroring Amu's face, "You are good at this."

"Rima and I came up with it together," Amu sighed happily.

"So?" Ikuto asked, "Aren't you supposed to spend some quality time with him?"

"I could care less," Amu puffed, "He always creeps up on me wherever I go. I actually am glad I could escape him this time."

The two sat, not speaking much until the bell rang. Amu looked at Ikuto, and smiled.

"That's my next class. See you tomorrow," Amu smiled, running off.

"Hey Amu," Ikuto called out.

"Yeah?" Amu asked.

"Come here next time," Ikuto said, getting up and throwing his empty food tray away, "It gets lonely here and it's nice to talk to someone here."

Amu's face was blank until it crept into a smile.

"Sure."

-x-

"Obviously I am the better choice!" Tadase yelled obnoxiously at the Royal Garden a week later. Ikuto had decided to pay a visit.

"Oh yeah, sure," Nagihiko snorted, "I am sure Amu-chan can see through that fake façade of yours."

"Amu isn't that dumb," Rima agreed, sipping her tea and laughing a bit.

"You all are supposed to be on my side!" Tadase glared at the Guardians.

"Just because we are the Guardians doesn't mean we are going to take your side all the time," Kuukai glared at Tadase.

"Amu gets to make the final choice, not you, you stupid goon," Rima glowered at Tadase.

"And after a lot of consideration, I would like you to stay fifty meters away from me," Amu smirked at Tadase.

"But we were meant to be!" Tadase stepped forward and grabbed Amu's forearm.

Amu swung her free hand and slapped Tadase on the face, hard. When Tadase tripped backwards into a fountain.

"You aren't my dad, you are not my mom and you as hell are not me. I get to decide what I do with my life and I do not choose you," Amu shook her head, "I was never going to choose you. You were daydreaming all along."

"You don't get to bother Amu-chi around! Yaya doesn't like it when people boss around other people!" Yaya yelled.

"You really need to stop ordering us around. We aren't your pawns," Kairi pushed his glasses up, "Just because you are the king, doesn't mean you get to treat us like we are trash. If you do not comply with this, we can ask the principle to replace you with either Nagi or Kuukai."

Tadase glared at the rest of the group and knew deep down that they were right. He hated the fact that he wasn't as powerful as he thought he was in the head. The King was just a position. It was nothing of authority, no matter how much he resented that fact, it was the fact.

"I-I can't believe you all!" Tadase yelled when he ran out of there.

The Royal Garden was silent for several moments before Amu spoke up.

"I feel bad," Amu said.

"How could you feel terrible for something you didn't do?" Ikuto asked.

"In those few moments, I felt… really mean. I turned into a bully and when I said those things in his face, watching him crumble into tinier bits as I said more and more mean stuff in his face. I know he was kind of wrapped up in himself thinking he would rule the world with me as his Queen, I know he caused a lot of ruckus by picking fights with you, Ikuto, and I know he acted a bit arrogant by raising his nose high in a regal manner. I know all of these things and he should apologize for that. But we aren't those mean bullies like in the Academy. We are way more than that and I think we should apologize for acting like that," Amu said, looking down.

"I guess, when you put it like that," Rima sighed, "But he should know that you chose Ikuto, right?"

"Actually, I never heard her say it to me," Ikuto smirked.

"Oh my gosh you insatiable man," Amu rolled her eyes facing Ikuto, "I love you, Ikuto. You and you alone, and I choose you over Tadase."

Ikuto smirked, and swooped down to capture Amu's lips with his own.

"Ew! Look away!" Yaya hid her face in Kairi's shoulder.

"What? It's supposed to be romantic, Yaya," Rima said.

"Yaya never kissed anybody!" Yaya wailed.

"Oh really? Well Amu now is a love expert, I guess we can do a thing or two for you two hopeless lovebirds," Rima grinned.

Amu and Rima watched Yaya and Kairi turn beet red and shift uncomfortably in their seats. Looking at each other, they nodded. Being cupid for these two would be a LOT of work.

-Fin-