HI THERE, YOU ALL! I'M BACK WITH MORE SHUGO CHARA FANFICTIONS AFTER THESE COUPLE OF MESSAGES, COMPLIMENTS OF THE CAT BOY! (Amu and Ikuto: 0.o What?) *Skidskidskid*

^_^ You guys remember me mentioning another new story in the making for Shugo Chara at the end of "The Distance Between Us"? Well, this is the prologue for that same story!

By the way, the title of this isn't final, and if it were, it's a bit weak for me. I tend to write the story first, and then I think of the title later.

The basis behind this story comes in time, BUT it is most definitely going to be centered around music. ^_^ And I'm actually a music person, so this shouldn't be too hard.

Last, but certainly not least, this story is going to have three OC characters, two girls and a boy. 0_0 But don't be alarmed. I actually planned these characters out to the best of my ability in order to determine their purposes in this fanfiction-I've had plenty of practice thanks to my own story creations. 0.0 But I need to develop my little boy a bit more first, my girls are ready for the challenge. My main OC you meet here. The other two, you'll have a chance to meet later.

I ONLY own them, and the plot, nothing else.

^_^ I hope you enjoy the prologue.

~Amu's P.O.V~

Six months ago to this day, I never once expected to stand on this empty stage next to him; to think, nothing had ever gone in my favor before I came here.

I know you have your questions: where am I now? What hadn't gone in my favor all of this time? And who exactly was this 'him' I was referring to?

Well, it all began like this…

Six months and twenty four days exactly…

That day was my sixteenth birthday.

"Hinamori, you're on cleaning duty today!"

"A-Ah, okay!"

"And turn off that junk you call music, what in the world would your parents have thought of that?" The door slammed again.

"…It's not junk… It's just J-Pop…" I mumbled under my breath.

My life has never been the easiest in the world, but it surely wasn't much to complain about either. I've spent the last four years of my life living with a distant relative after my parents died in a car accident. Apparently, this woman is also a former drill sergeant, because she has this habit of never calling me or my younger sister Ami by name, and all we do each day is work day in and day out. Half of the time, I don't even get to go outside anymore unless it's to buy food… so it's a wonder to you why I even have CD's for my radio, right? Wrong. I send Ami to get them with about a quarter of my paycheck since I can't leave.

The door bell rang.

"Hinamori, GET THE DOOR!"

"A-Ah, yes!" I scrambled for the door, opening it. "W-Welcome to Sui's Kimono Empor-" I then looked up and noticed a girl wearing a long purple dress, her long violet hair pulled back into a high ponytail. "Nadeshiko!"

She smiled. "Happy birthday, Amu!"

I giggled. "Well, it isn't that happy of a birthday… My cousin has me doing chores all around this place now."

"Aw, I'm sorry…"

"N-No, it's fine, I-I'm used to this!"

"HINAMORI, what's the hold up, I run a busin-" Sui, a woman with short brown hair in a messy bun, came out and noticed Nadeshiko. She immediately froze. "A-Ah, it's Lady Nadeshiko, good morning! My sincerest apologies to you!"

…Oh yeah… Nadeshiko is my best friend, but I always overlook the fact that her family is really wealthy. But I never figured out if that was done purposely.

"No need."

"What are you DOING, Hinamori, you have to serve one of our most valued customers this moment!"

"Oh, it's all right, I'm not here to shop, Miss Sui, I'm just here to talk to Amu."

Nadeshiko replied, now wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

Now, I may be a straight girl, but every time that she does that, it makes me blush. Plain and simple, Nadeshiko is too beautiful. I envied that, secretly…

"Of course, Lady Nadeshiko. Hinamori, be on your way now."

"Oh, yes ma'am, of course."

We went out walking around Osaka's city limits, talking, laughing… nothing was ever dull and hard whenever Nadeshiko was standing by my side. I even went so far as saying to myself that if had been born a boy, she would be my first love.

"Amu, listen… there's something I need to tell you."

"Like what?"

"That I…" Her vision had darted to the right, right past me and over at a stand. "Hey, let's go get some crepes!" Then she practically flew over to the stand, and I immediately ran after her.

"Really, what is it?"

"Strawberry flavored for you, right?"

"Yes, but Nadeshiko, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" She smiled, handing me the crepe. I graciously accepted it, but still my mind burned with curiosity.

"Let's sit by the fountain, Amu."

…She's acting strangely today. It's really starting to concern me. Nonetheless, we did go and sit over by the fountain. It was directly in the middle of the park, and though it was rather large and many people often sat by it, it was currently unoccupied, mainly because it was bath time for the birds. I always liked to sit by the fountain whenever I came outside. You can tell how often that it by now…

"Now may you tell me?"

"…Do you remember my younger twin brother Nagihiko, the one I was telling you about before?"

I had met Nagihiko once before not too long after I had moved to Osaka, but it was because that day he was dressed as Nadeshiko as a part of his training. Shortly afterwards, I met the real Nadeshiko, and then he revealed his gender. He was often traveling overseas, and every time that he came home, I couldn't see him because of work. But he was just a more… aggressive version of Nadeshiko, long hair and all.

"Oh god, tell me YOU'RE not a boy too!" {A/N: I actually made Nagihiko and Nadeshiko twins this time!}

"No, no, I'm not a boy, I promise… But the two of us, we're… we're going to an audition tomorrow morning, and if we pass, we'll… be moving away to Tokyo." I froze.

"…You're… you're going to leave me behind…?" Nadeshiko looked away, her hair sinking over her eyes.

"I don't want to have to leave, I really don't… But getting into a prestigious place like Seiyo University of the Arts is one of my biggest dreams. If I can get into that school and then finish, I could finally become a professional dancer. Nagihiko could too. Amu, I need this opportunity in order to bring blessing to our name."

"…This isn't fair…" Nadeshiko slowly took me by the hand.

"…I know…"

"Nadeshiko…"

"Hm?"

"…If you're going to have to leave soon… can I at least come to the audition too, and see you guys dance one last time?"

"Yeah, of course you can." She half-heartedly smiled. "We can come and pick you up tomorrow."

The next day came much faster than I hoped. And frankly, I wished it hadn't. For what felt like hours, I had clung to my pillow for dear life, just waiting for the end of my friendship with her. The last thing I wanted was to lose my best friend so quickly, even if her dreams would be at stake if I had asked her not to go.

Nadeshiko was my only sense of hope in this dark, cold world.

Where was I supposed to go from this point in time after she was gone? How was I supposed to live my life?

"Amu!" I peered out of my bedroom window. There stood the two violet-haired twins, directly at my door, looking up towards the window.

"I'll be right down!"

By the time I got down the stairs… the evil shop owner Sui had already beaten me to the twins, currently talking to Nagihiko—or apparently snapping off on him, because she had a scorned expression on her face. Nagihiko, in turn, just feigned a smile as usual.

She hated Nagihiko to death—no, really, she wished him dead at a point—and loved Nadeshiko like a gem. That had always made me wonder if she was a lesbian or just a sucker for pretty Fujisaki girls. Then again, Nagihiko had looked exactly the same, just with his hair down and boy clothes.

"Oh, hi Amu!" Nadeshiko beamed. "Are you ready to go?"

"Go?" Sui growled. "Go WHERE?"

"We have an audition today, and invited Amu to come alone." Nagihiko began.

"She has work."

"We would really appreciate it if Amu could come and watch us perform." Nadeshiko gave Sui a sad, but still adorable expression, and then the devil spawn immediately gave in, blushing a bit.

"G-Go, Hinamori, get out…"

"Thank you very much, ma'am!" Then we exited the shop. "…I'm really gonna you coming to bail me out of that prison."

Nadeshiko intertwined her arms with mine, smiling still. "Don't worry about it, it won't be forever. Right, Nagihiko?"

Nagihiko intertwined his arms around my free arm, smirking. "That's right. If we get into Seiyo, we could always take the bullet train back to visit."

"'IF'? You two are Fujisaki children, and you've got dance skills that kill!" I giggled. "You'll do great, trust me!"

"You're probably right… but they wouldn't even care if we were the biological children of God Himself. That's how tough the judges for the school are." Nagihiko got downhearted a bit.

"No worries, Nagi. We're gonna do great!" Nadeshiko replied. "Might be a bit clichéd to say this, but we need to keep our spirits up and we'll win for sure!"

"You're right. We'll be ready. And we've practiced that routine for weeks."

"Aw, man, you guys…" Nadeshiko smiled a bit. "I wish that I could come too. It's gonna be so lonely…"

"Don't worry." Nagihiko ruffled my hair a bit. "There's always opportunity."

I didn't have a clear understanding of what he had meant at the time… but little had I known, Nagihiko's words were no lie.

"Welcome to the fourth annual audition process. In this school, as many of you may know, those auditioning must be ages fifteen to eighteen—high school students. All of you hopefuls are here in hopes of entering Seiyo University of the Arts, and I'd hate to break it to you, but out of you all… only thirty spots are available."

I looked around the room a few times. The building was about the size of a warehouse, and it was practically filled in here. There were about two hundred high school students in the room alone, and only fifteen percent could enter Seiyo with no strings attached. All you had to do was audition, and if accepted into the school, attend one of the programs they offered, and pay the overall tuition that included room, board, and classes. In total, the work in the very end would make up the pay.

"See? It's hard." Nagihiko stated.

"I would like for everyone to sign in and we will call your names in the order given on the list."

"I'll go sign us in, Nagihiko." Nadeshiko stated.

"Then this is all going to be at random?" I asked Nagihiko.

"No. This is the first test. They're just testing our vitality and seriousness." A girl next to me piped up. She brushed one of her emerald locks from over her brown eyes, smirking. "You're obviously an amateur in the arts if you don't even know that."

"I'm not much of a professional in anything except housework…" Sad as it was, it was ridiculously true.

"Oh… Hm, well, maybe when I'm rich and famous, you can be my housemaid. You'd probably look perfect covered in an apron and dirt." Then Nagihiko pushed her away, glaring at the girl. "Well, if it isn't the youngest Fujisaki. I see you kept your hair long after all."

"Not surprised to see you here, Himeko." A devilish smirk overtook the boy's once perfect smile. "Third time's the charm?"

"EXCUSE me, but this is only my second time in this place, and I only lost the first time around because of one person that went ahead of me!"

"Details, excuses." Nagihiko implied.

"I see that you finally decided to show your face in a place like this." The girl smirked. "This could be an interesting game after all."

"This isn't a game!" I exclaimed suddenly.

"Please. This is all trivial child's play in sort of the matter."

"Toboe, Himeko!" The director called out.

"Don't think that this is the end of me. I can and I WILL become Seiyo's top idol." Then Himeko had gone. I looked to Nagihiko.

"Who IS she?"

"Her name's Himeko Toboe. Don't pay her any mind; she's all bark and no bite." {A/N: She's also my first OC introduced into the Shugo Chara world. 0_0 I actually modeled her a bit after GUMI from Vocaloid in terms of hair color, but Himeko has long hair that she always keeps in ponytails or braids.}

"She just seems to be confident to me…" Nadeshiko mumbled. "Maybe all that confidence is just making up for her lack of friends…"

"Nadeshiko, listen to me. Her confidence is WHY she doesn't have friends."

"Fujisaki siblings: Nadeshiko, Nagihiko! We received your early call for the two of you to perform together!" The director on the right side of the room called.

"Wow… That was fast… We were about twenty names down too… They must be being really brutal this time…" Nadeshiko said. Nagihiko took her by the hand and led her off to the room they needed to enter.

"…Good luck…"

A director came out of a room on the opposite side of the room. "Hinamori, Amu, please step forward into this room now!" I froze.

"…What…?"

WHY WAS I ON THE AUDITION LIST AT ALL?

"Last call, Hinamori, Amu!" I jumped to my feet.

"I-I'm so sorry, I'm here!" I bowed, and heard the sound of laughter as I followed the man into the back.

The room behind the door was quite large, the four white walls practically squeezing me in. They reminded me of being in a hospital… just like four years ago… and I hated that more than anything. When we stopped, he opened the door to another room, and there sat a group of four—a panel of judges.

"Good morning, Miss…" The woman, her short brown hair tucked behind her hair, began. It was pretty obvious that she was the head judge; after all, she was in the middle of the panel.

"Oh, Hinamori! Amu Hinamori!" I bowed to them. "Thank you for having me!"

Even if I wasn't SUPPOSED to be here…

"What exactly was your talent, Miss Hinamori?" The woman asked.

I looked to each of the judges and then noticed a young man at the very end of the panel with short navy blue hair and the most incredible blue eyes I've ever seen on a man. He looked like he was about a year or two older than I was.

As if it were THAT noticeable, he could tell I was nervous and mouthed something to me.

"Sing."

Well… I did have a lot of songs memorized… and there were songs mama always used to sing to me before my little sister was born…

"I'd like to sing, please." I glanced at the boy again and noticed a cat-like grin upon his face.

"And your song choice?"

My mama always used to sing a song called Nada Sousou to me. I was born in Okinawa before we moved to Kobe when I was four, and that song was centered on the mixes of soldiers killed in the time of World War II. My grandfather was among those soldiers. It was painful.

"I'd like to sing Nada Sousou-Er, I mean… 'A Stream of Tears', it's called."

"That's a very bold and powerful song choice." The navy-haired boy piped up suddenly. His voice had practically elongated in my ears—he sounded like he had just jumped out of a romance movie, his natural voice sounded just that seductive. The guy needed to become a seiyuu or something! "Are you from Okinawa?" {A/N: ...Well, um, based on a majority of the anime I've seen with him in it, Yuuichi Nakamura has a naturally sexy voice, Amu...}

"I-I was born there and moved to Kobe when I was three."

"Ikuto, please refrain from asking any personal questions to our hopefuls. You are here as a guest judge, nothing more." The head judge stated. He sighed and remained silent. "Now, if you may, Miss Hinamori."

I was mentally a bit shocked, but once I had looked to the boy again. I felt my confidence rise a bit just from looking at him and acted as if I had been singing along with one of my favorite J-Pop CD's. Before I knew it, my notes were stringing together smoothly, maybe almost beautifully. I was even… smiling. It felt… good.

"Excellent, Miss Hinamori, but we would now like to test your range a bit. Do you know any faster songs?"

"I-I did write one myself when I was fourteen…"

"You're a composer?" The boy known as Ikuto piped up again. The woman shot him a glare and he silenced himself.

"I wouldn't call myself a composer."

"Perhaps you could sing it for us." I composed myself and began picturing a rift guitar in my head for the intro, then began rapping the first verse that I recalled. After the verse, I was singing the chorus as if no one were watching. Once I had finished, the woman stood up. "YOU…"

"U-Um, I-I'm-"

"You have a real gift!"

"I-I do?"

"We look forward to seeing you at Seiyo, Miss Hinamori." The woman shook my hand. I couldn't help but smile. I was going to be with my friends.

"Thank you!" Then the young man stood up and made his way over to me. He was wearing a black jacket and dark blue jeans, only adding to his mysterious demeanor.

"You should know, she hasn't said that to many people. You should feel special."

"More like surprised…"

"Still… These opportunities don't come around often. Use it." I blushed; I didn't have any idea what to say about his words. "See you at Seiyo next week… Amu." Then he exited the room, and I only blushed MORE.

He called me by my first name already.

Nadeshiko and Nagihiko met up with me much sooner than I had expected. They were both smiling, which made them look more alike than they always had.

"You look happy."

"WE GOT IN!" They exclaimed in unison. Nadeshiko and I let out shrieks in unison, hugging one another—what, we're typical girls, aren't we?

"…While we're at it, why did you two put ME on the audition list? I was only supposed to come and watch, remember?"

"We thought it would be funny." Nagihiko stated, still smiling. I twitched furiously at the expression.

"That's NOT funny in the least!"

"But it's not all the way in vain, is it? Did you get into Seiyo too?" Nadeshiko asked. I began to smile.

"Yeah… I got it." Then the three of us pulled in for a group hug. "Thank you…"

The week came quickly, and on the day I was scheduled to leave with the Fujisaki twins, I explained to Sui that I was leaving Ami in her care and would return during breaks. She seemed a bit grateful, and Ami was downhearted the entire time. She was only eight years old and would be alone in this shop. I really did feel sorry that I had to leave her… but I needed this freedom—I deserved it.

And even as I entered the station, got off of the bullet train a few hours later and then took a cab… I thought of Seiyo as my future.

^_^ From here on out, the story will be completely in third person and will be issued to you readers in arcs.

So far, I've only written out a majority of the first arc, and it's fairly long for me. I think it's about twenty-five pages front and back so far. *Goes and counts* ... 0_0 Okay, eleven pages of paper, so twenty-two pages front and back for now. I'll aim for at least 25 pages per arc. Not sure how many arcs that there are going to be, but it isn't going to be an extremely long story.

0_0 I don't do well with stories more than 16 chapters for some reason, I just lose interest. I always stop before then. That's why "The Distance Between Us" was so short-short stories are great stories. 0_0 Except for Shugo Chara. 102 was enough for me, anything after that can go and fall to the ground.

Still, I hope you enjoyed the prologue! ) And I can't wait for you guys to meet the guy of the OC world.