I'm sorry it's late, I really am. I seriously don't do this on purpose and I don't do it because I don't care. I care deeply about fanfiction. I really do care.

Thanks for over 60 reviews, btw! It tells me someone likes this fic … Thanks to silent readers too! Oh! That reminds me:

I published a few more fics, as you can probably tell. Please consider checking them out! Whoever liked Nostalgia might like Silent. Whoever's into some humor and some Tadase-bashing should check ouft Graffiti. And finally, whoever's into Needing Support or anything with a touch of fantasy and some angst, should read Lunar Embrace. I want to hear your feedback! :]

We're finally at Chapter 10. Thanks for all your, coincidentally, support! It means a lot to me … I decided the OC would come next chapter. I want this story to go a little more gradually. It's gone much too fast :] But don't worry, I think you might like this chapter. For some reason, this chapter feels a little half-hearted.

I don't own Shugo Chara! Oh! Consider rereading the chapters so far, I edited. But it's not an obligation.

Chapter 10

Rima's POV

Silence emanated through the room uncomfortably as I sat in front of the piano, thinking deeply.

I began to tap my pencil on the instrument impatiently, irritated, and quickly stopped myself. My eyebrows pulled together, eyes slightly squinted and mouth pursed, forming a grimace.

"E flat I guess," I mumbled, as I wrote a sixteenth note onto the staff paper.

Another scale pattern here, as well, I thought.

Music filled the room as I played through what I'd unsatisfactorily composed so far.

I sighed, frustrated. Letting my hands rest on the piano bench, I released an intimidating glare on the paper.

What was it about Kirishima-kun's playing that was so significantly different from my own?

I muttered the terms to myself as I trailed my index finger across the sheet of paper absentmindedly.

"Dolce, cantabile … con fuoco, rubato …" I continued on as I remembered the angrier, sadder part of the song. It was the only few lines that made me remotely pleased.

The area that I composed the night my mother died.

I penciled in a few more measures before I glanced at the clock and sighed again.

"Time to endure yet another day of high school." I smiled to myself as I slowly walked out the door. Lately, education had become more enjoyable, because I had befriended Yaya, Kukai, and Tadase again.

And Nagihiko.

He'd done so much for me, despite the lack of things I did for him. It made me burst with joy, though greed was blaringly evident within the thought.

Once on the sidewalk, I looked around enthusiastically for Nagihiko, only to be disappointed to see Death, standing there with a curious expression on his face, his head slightly tilted.

"Why hello, Rima-chan," he began, his head and his hood along with it gracefully inclining downwards in a mock bow.

At the sight of him, I was slightly dazed. But at the sound of his voice, I began to run. I wanted nothing to do with him. Not after all he'd done to me, to Nagihiko, to Mama.

I dashed forward, keeping my eyes closed, and my mind even tighter, until I collided with something hard and rigid, undoubtedly taller than me.

"Sorry, Nagihiko," I began, already knowing it was him seeing as he was the only one who ever walked this path other than me, "I wasn't watch—"

I stopped in mid-breath as I finally looked up to see a feline-like, blue-haired man, whose smirk slowly faded into a frown as he stared above my head.

I turned around, only to see Death just in sight, slowly fading away. How could he see him? It was only Nagihiko and I that had the strange ability to spot Death and communicate with him.

The familiar face looked down and the crooked grin reappeared on his face in a teasing manner.

"Ikuto?"

"W-what are you doing here, I-Ikuto-nii-san?" Tadase asked, confused and apparently shocked. It seemed that he was unable to register the fact that the cat-like man was back. So neither he or anyone else knew Ikuto was coming?

"I found my father," he replied, hands in his pockets, with a tone that suggested the statement the most unimportant thing in the world.

Everyone gasped, shocked.

"Congratulations, Ikuto-nii-san!" the former King's Chair exclaimed as Nagihiko and I nodded in agreement, Kukai gave a thumbs-up, and Yaya squealed happily.

"I came to tell my strawberry," Ikuto began and all five of us stiffened, "but I couldn't find her walking to school. I checked her balcony and no one was inside the room."

Everyone was frozen, except for the only adult in the room, whistling while looking up at the sky.

"U-umm, Iku—"

"She's visiting a relative," I stated immediately, cutting Tadase off mid-sentence.

Five pairs of eyes met mine. One, a startling sapphire blue. Light ruby red. Soft chocolate brown. Bright emerald green.

And directly in front of me, questioning golden melichrous eyes. Nagihiko looked about to interject before I silenced him with a glare.

Ikuto raised his eyebrows ever so slightly before replying with a hint of suspicion, "I'll wait, then."

I smiled and nodded, "That's a good idea."

He walked away slowly, his violin strapped to his back. He turned to look over his shoulder after a few steps and called out in his deep voice, "That's a strange stalker you have there, shrimp. First time I've seen anything like that before." Nagihiko shot me an understanding glance and I nodded subtly. Thankfully, no one gave mind to anything Ikuto said.

We stared as he left; all was silent before he was finally out of sight.

Tadase turned to me, awestruck.

"What are you doing, Mashiro-san?" The others all seemed to have similar questions on their minds. I kept my face expressionless, for it was not so easy to say as they possibly thought it had been.

"You don't remember then?" I asked ruefully. "What happened the last time I found out?" Again, silence ensued, no one daring to speak, in fear of reliving the experience.

"I-I see your point, but how will this help him any?" the blonde persevered.

My mind was blank as I stood there, feeling oddly vulnerable.

Nagihiko's POV

"Well …" I began, "Let's weigh our options. We can allow him be happy for a while, and he can stay a little longer, or we can let him get depressed and he'll leave immediately."

"But the way Nagi says it, the second one obviously sounds better," Yaya whined. I sighed. I knew that already, but what choice did we really have?

"Yaya's right," Kukai said, "If you let him be happy, won't he just get even sadder when he knows we've lied to him?" By the second, I knew Rima was feeling guiltier and guiltier. She slowly lowered her head a contemplative look on her face.

I moved to stand next to her, my hand resting on her shoulder as she looked up, surprised. I looked down and smiled at her, hoping that it would be contagious, and she looked measurably relieved.

"I for one, support Rima-chan's decision. It's happened and it's done with. It's in the past and I, Rima-chan, or any of you can do nothing about it."

"I-I agree," Tadase finally said, making the other two relax a little, "For all we know, Ikuto-nii-san will be grateful. A last gift of happiness."

"Yaya thinks we should have something like a Guardian's Meeting again, to discuss Iku-chi," the redhead cheered, candy in hand.

"I agree," Tadase responded, "Lately there have been more X-eggs." Everyone nodded and the bell rang, signaling the beginning of yet another fruitless day at school.

"Thanks Nagihiko," Rima said softly, smiling. It disturbed me a bit, for a trace of the mask she wore for the past four years was resurfacing.

"Cheer up, Nagi!" Rhythm grinned giving me a thumbs-up as I walked to my first class.

And then the miniature chara smirked devilishly, "You'll always be able to cheer her up, and if you need help," he laughed for a moment, "I'm always here." He began muttering inaudibly, snickering. I blushed, putting my hands behind my head before mumbling , "Yeah right."

"But Rhythm's right," Temari reminded me, "You'll always be there for her."

"Of course."

"Rima-chan!" I called as I spotted the petite blonde at the end of the school day, "How do you think Ikuto saw Death?" Thankfully, unlike always, the cloaked figure did not appear at the sound of his name.

She was quiet for a while, before whispering, "I don't know … when I ran into him … he looked really surprised to see Death." I thought about what she said, walking at the same time, her hand in mine.

"He did say he never saw him before …" I commented, and Rima nodded, "and Tadase, Yaya, and Kukai, or anyone for that matter, can't see Death …" I trailed off, wondering. I attempted to remember the first time I saw Death and failed to register any new theories. We walked towards the Royal Garden which was still intact but abandoned, and inside, we saw Tadase pouring tea.

We settled down and the atmosphere was suddenly serious.

"So … how do you think we should tell Ikuto-nii-san?" the princely blonde asked no in particular.

"I thought you'd say that."

Rima's POV

Nagihiko was the first one to catch on and looked up, to see Ikuto lying casually in a tree, eyes closed and body tense. I narrowed my eyes and began to panic, as did the other former Guardians.

Ikuto jumped down, landing upright like a cat, and stared at us skeptically.

"What happened to Amu?" he asked, all hints of teasing or relaxation gone from his features. When no one answered, I finally spoke up.

"She left. Hokkaido. And by the looks of it, she's not coming back."

The blue-haired man laughed light-heartedly and I smiled bitterly. The sun was setting and the sky was a deep red and purple. It fit with the occasion perfectly, giving off a lonely, melancholic feeling.

"You don't think I can find her?" he questioned shakily, "I found my father in Europe."

I laughed as well, "Did you?" He stiffened and Yaya gasped, "I-Iku-chi didn't find …" She didn't need to finish to tell everyone the truth.

"How did you know?"

I addressed Kukai, looking at him through my peripheral vision without turning from the man in front of me, "Hear anything from Utau, Kukai?" Kukai simply shook his head, dazed.

"That's enough proof for me." And I carried on.

"We haven't been in touch with Amu for the past four years. We don't even know if she's alive. And judging by the people targeting us now, I reckon she isn't." Each teenager stared at me except for Nagihiko, who understood.

"M-Mashiro-san …" Tadase began, going back to the subject, "You've gone too far." But his voice trembled, and I could tell that he'd had these doubts once before.

Ikuto raised both arms and I braced for impact as his gentle hand landed on my head as well as Tadase's.

"You've been through a lot … Thanks," he murmured, walking away. I seemed to weaken at his touch and I fell to the ground, crouched, letting out inaudible sobs. I knew tears were running down Tadase's face. Yaya was sniffling, as was Kukai. And Nagihiko's eyes beside me were wet.

But worst of all, I was forced to acknowledge the fact that a grown man, slowly walking out of our lives as he moved across the floor, was crying.

No sound was heard as he travelled, his footsteps noiseless. Like those of a black cat.

That night, for the last time, beautiful music filled the midnight air. Sad. Melancholic. Nostalgic. Bittersweet. Cheerless. Dejected. Painful.

The melody of a violin.

Is Amu dead? I'm not sure. You can decide. If you really want me to decide, then yes, I think she is. The reasons? It just fits with this sort of thing. Either someone killed her, like the chapter suggests, or she died in a plane crash.

No, I don't like killing off characters. Okay, maybe I do. Hell's Purgatory, a fanfiction I recently published, is all about how the SC! characters die, so please consider checking it out :] Ikuto never found his father … again, I like it better that way. Why? Well, same reasons as Amu. But I'm actually quite confused about both. Why are they dead? Well … why is Rima with Nagihiko? Why is the plot like this? Same reasons. Unless I make a happy-happy sequel to this where Amu comes back (WHICH I DO NOT PLAN ON DOING since I have a grande finale for this fic already planned. I know exactly how it's going to end :]).

I put no A/N's during the chapter, for I thought it would be more emotional that way, as well as because I haven't updated so long … yeah, I don't know why that has to do with it. I'm trying to put in more description, believe me I am, and am only managing to include small snippets rather than having a lot everywhere and it's starting to piss me off a bit. I guess it just doesn't work with this type of fic?

Again, I thank you all for what you've done, and I hope you will forgive me for this crap-ass chapter (sorry for my language) after such a long time. Constructive Criticism welcome!

Review for Ikuto. *sniff*