Below The Surface (A Shugo Chara Fanfic)

Chapter 13

"I u-uh, I-I mean," she stutters. Her aqua eyes are as wide as saucers as he holds her arm. Anger courses through Ikuto's veins, hand in hand with sorrow and self hatred. He looks into her eyes and his breath catches. Her eyes are full of fear. He becomes aware of everything and comes back to his senses. First is that he's hurting her.
He instantly lets go of her arm and steps back. He notices her legs shaking slightly, unsteady. They buckle and she falls to her knees. Her Guardian Chara, Tia, moves off her shoulder and swims to in front of her. Concern is clear on her face as she tries to comfort her.
"Mariana," Ikuto whispers. His legs give out and he falls to his knees in front of her. She flinches at the sudden movement, but doesn't move away. He sits with his hands on the ground in front of him, head bowed in sorrow. Silence overtakes them and Yoru floats to Ikuto's side.
"Nikaidou," says Mariana quietly. He looks up in confusion. Tia looks at her in silent question and Mariana is looking out at the field.
"He tripped and bumped my shoulder," she continues. Ikuto and Yoru just stare at her in silent question as confusion blossoms in their minds. Mariana turns to face him with a gentle expression. He feels his heart beat in his chest as her turquoise hair falls into her eyes. The kindness that shines through her makes him feel as if breathing a single breathe could ruin it.
"In consequence, I landed on my wrist and twisted it," Mariana finishes softly. Her voice is rose petal soft, but holds so much more. He finds himself staring in complete bewilderment, trying to figure out how to describe her voice. Mariana's aqua green eyes meet his and they just look at each other. Her eyes widen a fraction as a blush colors her cheeks. Ikuto can't help but smirk when she looks at her hands.
He takes a moment to study Tia, trying to figure out what her dream is. Obviously it's based around the water, but why would her Guardian Chara be a mermaid? Tia flicks out her tail once before looking at him quizzically. Ikuto smirks at her before standing up.
Mariana looks up at him and he puts one hand in his pocket out of habit. He extends his other hand to Mariana, who looks slightly surprised, but happy. She smiles kindly and takes his hand. Even though her hand is smaller, it fits perfectly with Ikuto's. He pulls her up with a quick, but gentle tug.
He discovers just how light she is as she stands, only to have been pulled a little too far and falling against him. Ikuto and Yoru both widen their eyes in surprise. Ikuto can see Yoru thinking out of the corner of his eye. Mariana opens her eyes and looks to see what she landed against. She looks up into his violet eyes and her cheeks go beet red.
Their hands are still together, Ikuto holding up Mariana's. Her right hand rest just below his collar bone, by the shoulder. Ikuto's left hand is on the side of her shoulder in attempt to steady her. Their faces are only inches apart, bodies flush against one another. Ikuto examines her round eyes, her nose, mouth, just everything about her face. He barely registers that he's moving closer to her, but doesn't know how he can stop himself.
"Ikuto!" yells a voice. He freezes as his mind clears. They both blink a few times, realization crossing their faces. Mariana blushes and worry dances within her eyes as she leans back. Ikuto doesn't let her go, but he does look to the voice. Amu, Tadase, Kairi, Yaya, Rima, Su, and Mikki all show up behind the X-egg. Tadase instantly responds.
"Yaya! Rima! Go! We'll finish with the egg!" he orders. Ikuto mentally smirks at the ruffle covered outfit for Tadase's transformation. Amu is in a transformation with the pink chara, Ran. The cheerleading outfit makes him smirk. Kairi isn't very well known to him, but his transformation as Samurai Soul makes him look like a real opponent.
"Wait! I'll go! Rima can help back here," yells Kairi. Anger burns like fire in his eyes. Slight humor makes its way to Ikuto's eyes, only making Kairi clench his Katanas harder. Tadase hesitates, but agrees none the less. Kairi immediately breaks into a run, Yaya only seconds behind.
Ikuto doesn't move an inch, but awaits the inevitable. Kairi runs fast, one arm back and the other in front. Both ready to defend against him. Ikuto doesn't know what the boy plans, but he knows the swords have no purpose in Kairi's plan. Kairi is mere seconds away from them and Ikuto moves his hands.
His right hand goes to the middle of her back and his left moves to near her hip. Mariana blushes uncomfortably. He loosens his hold on her. If she wants she can run off, but she doesn't. Suddenly, Kairi is there. Ikuto doesn't see what his plan was, because he lifted Mariana bridal style and after hearing the 'pop', jumped into the nearest tree at the last second. Mariana wraps her arms around his neck in surprise.
Ikuto lands gently on a tree limb. He looks down at Mariana to see her eyes are closed. A chuckle makes its way out of his mouth and she opens her eyes. A blush colors her cheeks and he puts her feet down. She carefully lets go and tries to balance on the branch. She takes one step and almost falls.
"Mari-chan!" yells Yaya. Kairi burst forward, ready to catch her, but doesn't get the chance. Ikuto shoots out his hand and grabs her wrist. Steadying her on the tree, she moves over and leans into him. His blue cat ears twitch once in surprise. He can feel her hand grip onto his shirt as she tries to keep from falling. They're approximately 6 or 7 feet high. Not much of a jump for Ikuto, but a long way down for Mariana.
Her hold on his shirt makes her knuckles white, as if she's holding onto her life. Ikuto isn't sure what else to do but puts his arms around her. He looks out at the rest of the Guardians, completely ignoring Kairi and Yaya.
"Heart Spiral Special!" yells Amu. She throws her baton and it encircles the X-egg with a pinkish glow. With a flash the egg is back to normal. It returns to the boy and everyone moves out of view, so they don't need to explain their outfits. He looks around, slightly confused, but gets up and leaves none the less. As soon as he's walked out of view everyone moves from their hiding spots.
"Ikuto! What are you doing with her!?" calls Amu. Ikuto looks down at the pink haired girl, sorrow like a knife in his chest as she glares at him. He moves slightly and Mariana's grip tightens on his shirt. He looks at her and feels reassured. Su floats into view by Amu and he looks at Mariana's cast. Anger flares deep within him. He chuckles deeply.
"Bakas. What kind of friends are you?" he asks in an amused voice. He was anything but amused, except he wouldn't let them know that. Mariana looks up in surprise. He looks her straight in the eyes, trying to hide his feelings, but not very successful.
"Hey! What do you mean by that!?" yells Yaya in her baby like voice.
"We're better friends than you could ever be," says Rima with a hint of anger. Ikuto chuckles and turns to the group with a challenging look. His tail flicks back and forth in annoyance.
"Oh really now? What about her arm then? An injured wrist really is a shame," he says quietly. He looks back at Mariana with a smirk.
"Did you know your 'friends' here could have fixed it the entire time?" he asks questioningly. Her eyes widen a fraction and her grip loosens enough that he holds her right hand. Looking at the cast, he sighs as if remembering a fond memory.
"That 'Remake Honey' of hers can fix a lot," he gestures to Amu and realization flashes through her eyes. She clenches her fists and scowls at him. Su looks between her and Ikuto with a worried expression.
"Ikuto! Stop this foolishness!" yells Tadase. He moves to Amu's side. Ikuto clenches one hand into a fist, his expression blank. Mariana looks between the Guardians and Ikuto in confusion.
"Ikuto... what do you mean? Are you saying that, they can fix my wrist... but won't?" asks Mariana. He looks her in the eyes, and the confusion and hope is enough to make his breath catch in his throat. She turns to the others in confusion.
"He's lying. Right?" she asks. Ikuto looks away, the hurt in her voice like broken glass in his chest. Mariana looks to Kairi.
"Tell me this is a joke, that you wouldn't hide anything like that from me," tears form in her eyes as she tries to meet his eyes desperately.
"Please Kairi..." she whispers, just loud enough for him to hear. Kairi meets her eyes and nearly drops his Katanas. He looks away, confirming what Ikuto said to be true. Guilt radiates off all of them as they wouldn't meet her gaze. Mariana turns to run, but is reminded of where she is when she starts to fall. She cries out and closes her eyes as a single tear squeezes from her eye. It shines like a gem in the sunlight.
"Mariana!" calls Kairi. He shoots forward as Ikuto turns to jump. Kairi catches her first and Ikuto lands one limb down. He somehow caught her bridal style, landing on one knee. Standing up, he puts her feet on the ground. She opens her eyes and looks at Kairi. Upon realization of who it is, she pushes him away.
"Don't touch me," she mutters through tears. Ikuto can only hear her because of his increased sense of hearing. With that she turns around and runs away. Ikuto responds immediately, dropping to the ground to follow her. Amu cuts him off and he freezes in his tracks. She glares at him as Yaya, Rima, and Tadase run after Mariana.
"Don't even bother. You've already done enough Ikuto," she snaps. She lowers her baton and looks him in the eyes. Sorrow, confusion, and hurt creating a pool of emotion in her golden eyes. He stands up straight, casually putting a hand in his pocket with a scowl. Mariana turns a corner and they all disappear from sight.
"How could you do that Ikuto?" Asks Amu. He looks down at her again.
"You hurt her. She didn't deserve to cry... why did you do it?" her voice slowly gets quieter until she's barely whispering. She looks down at the ground sadly.
"What happened to you?" she whispers. He stiffens. She no longer means just Mariana. This is something more. The 'pop' snaps him out of his stupir. Turning around, he walks away without a word. He replays the whole scene through his head and despair makes his shoulders slump.
'What have I done?'
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