CHAPTER 9: THE GIFT

“But you’ve barely spent any time with the boy!” Father protested. I shook my head.

“It’s enough time to know I will never marry him.” I said stubbornly. Koge slipped his hand in mine, reassuring me that he would stay by my side no matter what. Father sighed and touched his forehead.

“Amu,” My mother began gently as she placed a hand on Father’s shoulder. “Can’t you give it more time? Please? We’re begging you…”

“If Amu-nee marries that guy,” Jin said as he walked into the room. He had that stubborn look on his face that Father and Mother almost never saw. Finally going to show your true self in front of Mother and Father, huh? “Then that means he’ll be my brother-in-law, right?” He stood next to me and placed a hand on his hip.

“I don’t like him.” Jin continued flatly. “He’s weird.”

“Jin, that’s not nice to say.” My mother scolded.

“It’s true, though.” He shrugged.

“For once, I agree with Jin.” I said, placing a hand on my hip like my little bro. “I don’t want to marry Ichiro. It’s final.”

“Just give it more time.” My mother pleaded. “The end of this month. Just give it till the end of this month. Please, Amu?” We were still in the first week of this month though…

I thought it over as my parents looked at me with luck.

“…Till the end of this month.” I agreed slowly as my mother breathed out in relief. “This doesn’t mean I’ll change my mind.” I said, crushing their hopes. “My decision is final.” With that, I turned and exited the room with Koge and Jin.

“You won’t marry that guy, will you?” Jin asked me and I grinned at him.

“Course not, you twerp!” I laughed while messing up his hair. His face scrunched up in anger and he stuck his tongue out at me. He walked down another hall as I went into my room and shut the door behind me.

“Can we go out on a date, Amu?” Koge asked me and I raised an eyebrow at him.

“That was…random…” I said, my face flushing. “I haven’t told Ichiro that I’m not going to marry him yet, so technically I’m still engaged…”

“Yeah,” Koge said then suddenly leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine. “But you promised we’d be boyfriend, girlfriend…”

I stepped back and tilted my head at him.

“No I didn’t.” I said and he sighed.

“Yes you did.” He persisted.

“When?”

“When we were younger!”

“I don’t remember.” I huffed. “Either way, I still need to tell Ichiro before...well…yeah… And that won’t be until the end of this month…” Koge’s eyes lit up and he smiled.

“Does this mean you’ll go out on a date with me after you dump Ichiro?!” He asked cheerfully. I blushed.

“C-course not!” I retorted. “I can’t date an invisible person…”

“But I’m not invisible to you.” He pointed as I sighed.

“Just let me…think about it…” I mumbled. He smiled then nodded understandingly.

“Amu!” Tomo called as she knocked on my door. “Miss Yuko is here.”

“What?” I mumbled, confused. I opened the door and she seemed just as puzzled as me. “But I don’t have lessons today, do I?”

“She said she wanted to drop something off for you.” Tomo explained. “The miss is waiting for you in the music room. I don’t think you should keep her waiting. I wonder what it could possibly be…”

I nodded then thanked her. As I made my way down to the music room, I paused just outside of it, hearing voices from inside.

“You’re right.” I heard a soft, calm voice say. Miss Yuko. I thought. After another moment, I heard what sounded like the shuffling of cards followed by Shiro-pon’s low growl. I eventually couldn’t stand being so nosy, so I knocked then opened the door. There, on one of the reading couches, Miss Yuko was sitting next to Ichiro who was touching the back of a Zener card.

“It’s…a star, I believe.” He said uncertainly as he opened his eyes.

Circle. I thought while walking over to them. Miss Yuko flipped over the card to reveal a single circle in the middle of the card.

“Ah…I’m afraid my senses aren’t too sharp.” Ichiro laughed.

“Seven out of ten is actually quite impressive.” Miss Yuko replied while shuffling the deck again. “It proves your ESP is stronger than that of the normal human.”

I cleared my throat and they both looked my way like this was the first time they were noticing me. It probably was.

“Um…what’s going on?” I asked then picked up Shiro-pon who ran my way. He growled at Ichiro and I patted his head comfortingly.

“I heard you’re engaged.” Miss Yuko replied. “I came by to first off, meet your fiancé…”

Ichiro smiled as Koge and Shiro-pon both snarled at him.

“And secondly,” Miss Yuko said as she took out a box with a ribbon on it from her coat pocket. “I wanted to give you a present to congratulate you.”

“Um…well…” I began as she placed the box in my hands and I put Shiro-pon back on the floor. I looked at Ichiro who stared me right in the eyes. “We’re…we’re actually still deciding, um…” I offered the box back to Miss Yuko who only shook her head.

“Keep it anyways.” She said with a smile.

“What’s inside?” Koge asked excitedly and I shot him a look. He put up his hands defensively and I sighed.

“Go ahead and open it.” Miss Yuko said and I looked down at it uncertainly. I pulled on the silky ribbon and the box opened by its self. Inside was a silver necklace lying on velvety padding.

“I…It’s beautiful…!” I gasped while taking out the necklace. There was a single crystal-like stone dangling from it and I gently placed it between my fingers. It was smooth and clear and I could see my reflection on it. Suddenly, it began to glow with a dark teal shade, almost green, and my eyes widened.

“Don’t worry.” Miss Yuko reassured with a laugh. “That necklace is special. Whatever color it glows, shows just how strong your ESP is. Level one is blue, level two is teal, and level three is green. Green, being the strongest.”

“I…it’s incredible!” I breathed, taking in the unbelievable beauty. “Thank you so much, Miss Yuko. I love it.”

“Oh, don’t thank me…” She laughed and I tilted my head at her in confusion. She suddenly turned to Ichiro and smiled. “Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He nodded then grinned at me. “Do you really love it, Amu-chan?”

I blinked in shock as everything sank in then felt my face flush in embarrassment.

“Y-you tricked me!” I cried and he smiled.

“I’m sorry Amu.” Miss Yuko apologized. “Ichiro told me you wouldn’t be honest if he was the one who gave you the necklace. So he asked for me to give it to you.”

“I…” I began, speechless. A mix of emotions swelled up within me and I stared down at the necklace in my hands. “…Thank you.” I said while keeping my eyes off of Ichiro. I took in a deep breath then used the words Mother told me to say whenever someone gave me a gift. “I’m glad…you were thinking about me…”

Koge’s jaw dropped open as Ichiro raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“…You’re welcome.” He said so sincerely I almost thought he was mocking me. When I looked at him though, I knew he really meant it. Suddenly, he got up then took the necklace from me. “Turn around. I’ll put it on you.”

I felt my face turn red then twirled to face the opposite direction. He brushed my hair aside and I felt static run down my spine from his fingers. The room went silent except for the sound of Ichiro fumbling with the necklace, our breathing, and Koge’s low, throaty growls. After a moment, there was a click and I turned back around.

“Hmm…” Ichiro said thoughtfully, examining the necklace around my neck. “It suits you.”

“U-uh…” I stuttered then swallowed. “T-this doesn’t mean that I still don’t think you’re a jerk, or anything. Because I still d-do…!”

He grinned, and for some reason, my stomach did that weird fluttery thing. I gazed into his red eyes and suddenly, we were the only ones in the room.

“………--Don’t you think, Amu?” I heard Miss Yuko say then snapped back to my surroundings.

“H-huh?” I asked and tilted my head at her. “Did you say something?”

“No way!!” Koge yelled furiously. “Seriously, are you blind or something?!”

“I said,” Miss Yuko began, completely ignoring Koge. “You and Ichiro make quite the lovely young couple.”

“Really?” Ichiro asked with a polite smile and I blushed.

“P-please.” I said and closed my eyes, irritated. “Like I said. We’re still deciding where we stand on the whole ‘engaged’ thing. Don’t mistake us as a”—I shuddered—“couple.”

“Exactly!” Koge said and crossed his arms. Shiro-pon sat down purposefully as if to say, “I agree with Amu!”

Miss Yuko laughed then picked up the Zener cards and put them away.

“Anyways,” She began slowly. “I really came here to give you this.” She spread out a deck of cards in her hand facing downwards and smiled.

“This isn’t really how we should be going about this,” She continued. “However, because I’m already late for another appointment, I need to make this fast. These are tarot cards. Go ahead and pick six of them. I’ll tell you a fortune.”

I closed my eyes, running a hand on the back of the cards then quickly picked out six.

She flipped them one by one for me to see.

“First card shows Judgment. Second, The Fool, third, Justice, fourth, The Tower, fifth, The World, and lastly, six, Strength.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, totally confused.

“All in all...” She sighed while looking over at a clock. “The cards are saying to keep going and the odds are in your favor. Financially and” –she glanced at Ichiro—“romantically.” She finished with a wink. I frowned and she giggled.

“It was nice meeting you, Ichiro.” She said while bowing gracefully at him. He bowed back and she left the room, waving once at me.

“…What an odd woman.” Ichiro noted. I nodded in agreement and he smiled. Suddenly, without warning Ichiro crossed the room and sat down on the piano bench. He turned to look back at me then motioned me over with his finger. I hesitantly sat next to him, looking back at Koge who glared at Ichiro.

“Just how well can you play piano?” Ichiro asked, flipping one of the music sheets open.

“Um…I’m okay, I guess…” I said nervously as he shrank the distance between us by scooting over.

“Have you ever done a duet?” He asked, his face only inches from my own. His breath was minty and his red eyes captivated me. For some stupid reason, I blushed then looked away.

“A-a few t-times…” I stuttered nervously.

“Let’s play this piece.” He said, gesturing to the sheet music in front of us. He glanced back at Koge and grinned. “I’m sure Koge would love to hear you play, Amu.” I was brought back to my senses when I heard the snide tone in which he said Koge’s name.

“…Maybe next time.” I said, getting up. I was right about to leave the room with Koge when I stopped and looked back at Ichiro.

“Yes?” He asked with an amused smile.

“Um…” I began then touched the necklace he had given me. Again, it glowed dark teal to green and I was captivated by its beauty. “Thank you again for the necklace…”

“Of course.” He said, the corners of his lips turning upwards. “What kind of fiancé would I be if I don’t even buy my lovely future wife a gift or two?”

I blushed then walked out of the room, hearing Ichiro’s low chuckle.

“I really hate that guy.” Koge muttered darkly. I held the necklace in my hand then sighed. What was Ichiro planning…?

Whoops! XD I accidentally finished writing this chapter, and forgot to upload it! So now, I'm going to upload 2 chapters in one day~ (^-^)/) Anyways, Ichiro got Amu a gift? How sweet! Or is it? Maybe it is! Maybe not. >:D You'll have to keep reading to find out~~ BTW, don't waste any time trying to look up the whole tartot reading thing, unless you want. I spent hours trying to decipher them, and it's still confuzzling. TT-TT

 I cheated a little and used the original art for this. XD But it's cute, don't you think? (^0^)/) ~ <3 Thanks a bunch for reading!!!!!~~~