Latest revision as of 23:29, 7 January 2016

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase Hotori has had a lot of things on his mind lately, and it's showing. He's, as usual, trying to figure out some things... about x-eggs, about what's going on, about Ikuto, and what he's stealing.

And to that end, Tadase and Amu are having tea in the Royal Garden, Tadase having called Amu up because she'd been the one who's been with him most of the times he's faced down Ikuto - so she's here while he's flipping through books trying to find the artifacts in question.

He looks up. "Thanks for helping me. But you seemed pretty concerned about Ikuto, too." he says. "Maybe if we can figure out the WHAT he's up to, we can figure out the WHY."

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Tea, alone with Tadase? This is only really truly bearable because Su made the tea, and Ran agreed to take Miki off to play, allowing Amu to be certain her more meddlesome charas wouldn't try to force her to say something else embarassing.

Still, she's practically shaking as she sips from the cup. It's not quite visible how nervous she is, but a close friend would figure it out pretty quickly.

Amu watches Tadase out of the corner of her eyes, but otherwise keeps her eyes glued to the table. Why did he invite me here just to look through that stupid book? She takes a sip of her tea. Am I in trouble? Is he mad at me? Does he just want my company?

She lets out a soft sigh, and sets her cup down. Su dutifully refills it almost immediately.

When he finally looks up from the books, Amu nearly leaps out of her chair. She certainly startles at the suddenness of it, and then offers him a briefly twitching smile. Oh, Ikuto. That's it. Of all the topics she does not want to discuss privately with Tadase. "Sure," she agrees, anyways. "But I don't know where to begin."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase looks at her. It's a long look. "Well, I heard you say some things. Like... I heard you say that you don't think he's that bad. But every time I've been with you, he's been... a real jerk." he says. "Even when he's helping, he manages to help like a jerk."

"I've know him since I was little... but do you know him, too? Do you know something about him I don't?" he asks. It's not accusatory, it's almost... pleading. Like Tadase is looking for reasons to trust him.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu stares at Tadase for a moment, then blushes and looks away. Why is she blushing? Is it thoughts of Ikuto? Is it thoughts of Tadase? Even Amu isn't entirely sure. "I guess I don't, really," she tells him honestly.

"But I've seen him be very sweet and kind," Amu explains quietly. "I've seen him actually care that someone is okay, instead of just trying to be a jerk. I know he acts like a jerk, but ... I don't think that's his inner character. I think it's just what he lets everyone see."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase leans back. In thought for a moment. He's actually trying to remember the things Ikuto said, and the things Amu said, while they were dodging explosive pixels and the like. There's a pause while he goes over it. And then...

"Wait... did you say Ikuto brought you a bag of candies? After... your... bath..." Tadase stops right there. He just stops. It's a dead stop, like a train slamming into a brick wall. But he's still looking at Amu for the explanation.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
There it is, the question she was too embarassed to even think he might ask. And just like that, he laid it out in the open. Now, he's staring at her. Great, Amu thinks to herself, as she looks away from him, blushing all the more furiously. "Yeah, well, it's not like I knew he was coming," she mumbles unhappily. Confirmation? Definitely.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase breaks from his train-wreck thought to just cough suddenly. The blushing is more of a confirmation than anything. "And... you... you took the candy. From some catboy who barged in on you after a bath? Then you just read manga with him?" Tadase literally has no idea what he's supposed to do or say here.

There are a lot of feelings welling up in them, and none of them are good ones. He, for a moment, tries to go back to the book, but ends up just closing it with a very loud THUD.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
"I didn't read manga with him!" Amu retorts angrily, turning to glare at Tadase. She crosses her arms defiantly, then says, "I was reading manga when he came in, and he just barged in, and then he offered me really good candy and practically took the book out of my hand and I put a robe on so it's not like I was naked! I threw him out right away, because I thought he was there to steal Su's egg, and why are you looking at me like that?"

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase looks at Amu. There's a strange look of... maybe even honest hurt. "The way you're talking about him now, it doesn't match the way you try to talk to him." he says, honestly almost confused too. "You didn't talk to him like someone you'd thrown out of your room for theft." he adds.

"If you threw him out right away like you said, why do you think he's such a good guy?"

Amu Hinamori has posed:
This conversation has gone all kinds of the wrong way, and Amu has no idea how to fix things. "Just because I think he's a caring, sweet person doesn't mean he's not a pervert!" she tells Tadase, frustratedly. And then she looks away, a little hurt herself, and says, "But it doesn't matter if you don't believe me, I guess. He was there for like five minutes, before I kicked him out, and I was mostly just so dumbfounded that someone would break onto my second floor balcony and in through the door that I just .. didn't know what to do! You have to believe me, Tadase, nothing happened. I didn't ... I was really mad. But just because he made me mad doesn't mean I can't see that he's really a good person."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase has a really hard time pushing everything out of his mind - pushing accusations and yelling and generally doing very undignified things. But, he does manage to do so. And it might take an agonizing few moments for him to speak - but finally he does. "Okay, Amu-chan. I believe you." he says.

"Look..." there's a deep breath again "...I know sometimes he can seem like an allright guy. I grew up with him. I once thought of him as like... a brother." he admits. But he tactfully doesn't say older brother. "But... I've also seen him bring a lot of sorrow." Tadase's thoughts edge to Betty again.

"And..." this pause is AGONIZINGLY long. "...he has a habit of taking things from me. Of hurting people I care about. So that's why I got upset." he admits.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Tadase called her Amu-chan, not Hinamori-san. What's more, He believes me! Amu's eyes light up at those three words, and her posture immediately straightens, just a little bit. She's still blushing, but at least she's not glaring anymore. Slowly, she lowers her hands back to her lap, where she begins wringing them together almost nervously.

Does that mean he cares about me? Amu wonders, as she stares at him. Surely not. No, he couldn't actually care about her. Not like that anyways. Right?

Amu blushes again, then smiles peacefully and looks away. "I didn't know all of that," she says as she allows her mind to wander back to the topic at hand. Almost immediately an uncertainty crosses her features. "I didn't know he was like a brother. I thought ... you just knew him because he was always trying to steal the Humpty Lock."

Amu looks back to Tadase, then shyly lowers her gaze back to the table. "I ... he didn't ..." she trails off, then blushes again. "I care about you, too," she says aloud. Oh God she said it aloud!

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase shakes his head. "We have a lot of history. But when I needed him most..." he doesn't really want to go into it, so he short-cuts it. "He hurt me. He hurt the person I care about the most. And then he ran away. And he's been running away ever since, and hurting people ever since. I want him to be the brother he used to be again... but I don't know if he can anymore. I worry that he's changed forever." he says, honestly.

"That's why hearing that bothered me. Because I care about you too, Amu-chan, and I don't want to see him getting close to you, only to hurt you too. And with the way he's acting, and the way he's been to me in the past, that's a very real concern."

He leans across the little table a bit, and would possibly even take her hand, but she's wringing them in her lap, so he just looks into her eyes. "Please. Be careful. For me, Amu-chan. Don't get involved with Ikuto."

Then, Tadase might torpedo it all in one sentence. "We need the Joker."

Amu Hinamori has posed:
When Tadase needed him most? Amu looks up to Tadase, and clenches her hands together in her lap even more. She meets his eyes readily as he continues to tell the story. What did he do? she wonders to herself as he explains it in only vaguaries.

He cares! Amu's eyes widen just a little at this, and she looks almost like she might explode as he continues to explain how much he cares, and how worried he is for her. ~*Tadase-kun*~ she dwells on his name, as if it were the most perfect name that has ever been uttered.

She almost misses that last little line. Almost.

"Huh?"

When she hears it, it's like a frying-pan to the face. Amu's whole expression sours immediately, and she looks away from him, upset. "Of course. The Joker," she says. "How could I possibly forget?"

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase is actually not so upset or serious he misses the reactions this time - it's hard to miss when he's looking right at her face. And he does something very un-Tadase like, perhaps to those who don't know him well - though it wouldn't be out of place to his longest friends.

"Did I say something wrong, Amu-chan?" he asks quietly. "Do you..." he's grasping for something, though as often, he misses the real point. "Do you not like being the Joker, Amu-chan? I know you had some misgivings... I'm sorry if you feel I'm pressuring you into it."

"...I still want you to be careful around Ikuto, no matter what. Joker or no Joker, that's up to you. But I still do want you to be safe."

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu continues scowling. Yes you said something wrong, you big jerk, she thinks to herself, but of course she doesn't say that. Instead, she turns to glare at him again, then huffs, "I like being the joker just fine." Beat. "I just .. don't think I'm very good at it."

She sighs and hangs her head. "Yeah, I'll be careful, don't worry," she promises quietly.

Why can't I just tell him how I feel? she wonders. He already knows, thanks to Ran. Why is it so hard to tell him I still feel that way?

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase looks intently at her. He is, to some degree, getting a little bit better at this. "You don't seem like you like it." he says, honestly. There's, again, no accusation in his voice, only concern. He's grasping for it, grasping for reason. "Is there something else I said that upset you?" he asks.

Tadase may not have any idea WHAT he did, but he's got that very distinct feeling that he did something wrong, said something wrong. He's spent too much time with Amu to not notice that much, and he wants to get to the bottom of it.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu looks up at Tadase, then frowns faintly and shrugs. She doesn't say anything, though, just studies his face. The shape of his nose, the slope of his forehead, the way some of his hair falls down in front of his eyes. The faint upturn of his mouth, as if he's reassuring her even as he expresses worry. The colour of his eyes--eyes so deep and caring she could get lost in them.

I should say something, Amu thinks to herself, but for a time she remains completely lost in his features.

Finally, she manages to pull herself out of the spiral of uncertainty to lead him with a questioning statement, "A while ago, you said you liked someone ..."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase puts a finger to his lips. It actually takes him a moment. "When did I say that... Ohhhh... Do you mean at the assembly?" he asks, curiously.

Then he laughs a bit, and pulls out a picture. "When I said I had someone... I meant Betty." he says, passing the picture face-down to Amu. "But that's not really what I meant. It's more that... I'm really bad at turning that sort of thing down, and Kiseki's here to help me at what I'm bad at, right?" he asks, embarassedly.

"So I never do that sort of thing. I Chara-change and let Kiseki handle it. And he doesn't lie, but... well, she was a very important girl to me." he adds, honestly.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu blinks in surprise at Tadase's response. It's so unexpected that all lingering confusion just vanishes. She reaches for the picture and picks it up to look, then glances to Tadase, brows furrowed in confusion.

"A dog?" she asks, then tilts her head just faintly. "So when you said you liked someone else, you emant ... your old dog?" She hesitates a moment, then looks back at the picture.

But he was going to turn her down, either way. Amu sets hte picture back down, and her expression falls back to sadness. "I see," she says quietly.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase looks over at her. His voice is quiet again. "Well, that's before I knew you, too. That's before you became the Joker, before we spent all this time together."

"Before you even became Amulet Heart for the first time." he adds. Then, there's a noticable blush that comes over Tadase's face now, and he grows quiet as well.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu's confusion is not lessened by his words. If anything, she is even more confused now than she was when he showed her the picture of his dog.

"Amulet Heart?" she asks him confusedly. What about Amulet Heart has changed things? Or maybe it hasn't; maybe he's only interested in girls who have guardian characters? That doesn't make any sense.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase looks down. "I've never met a girl like Amulet Heart." he says, honestly. "So full of energy and strength. And then Amulet Spade - she's so intelligent and creative. And Amulet Clover - she's cheery and friendly and caring..." he adds. He lists them one after another and he is blushing so much he's redder than the actual color red. He's probably blushing in the infared spectrum.

Conspicuously absent though, is Amu Hinamori - the girl herself.

"I... the more I think about it, the more I think that... " he just trails off. Because he's not sure what to think. So he starts up, and tries again.

"Whenever I watch you transform, whenever I see what any of those girls do, it's just amazing to me. All three of them are so... incredible. And so trying to compare them to anyone else... doesn't work."

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu's eyes widen a little when Tadase speaks of Amulet heart. The sincerity in his tone of voice only draws her attention even more towards his features. The way his eyes scrunch up at the edges with worry. He talks of Amulet Spade, and it's the little smile at the corners of his lips, even as he seems to tremble just a little with nervousness. Even Amulet Clover?! And he's blushing, which is only all the cuter.

Amu waits for there to be more; she waits for him to talk about her. But he never does. The more you think about it ...? she tries to mentally lead him on, but he never explains it. What any of those girls do.

"... oh," Amu says, blushing a little, herself, now, just by relation. "I didn't ... know you felt that way about them," she says, then offers him a faintly nervous smile.

But what is she supposed to even say to that? It's not her he's talking about with those beautiful features. It's not her that has earned his affection. She hesitates a moment longer, then smiles one last time--shakily--before reaching down to pick up her bag. "I should probably get home, I guess," she whispers quietly.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase's not sure how to react here either. He also feels like he said more than he meant to. He bore a lot of his heart to Amu today - which isn't an easy thing for him to do. He's not sure if he said something wrong or not - that shaky smile concerns him. But he's also not in any position to really respond.

Now, instead of the powerful King who protects, for a just a moment, he feels like the vulnerable Prince people accuse him of being sometimes. As Amu goes to get up, he almost feels a bit powerless to respond.

"Thanks for your help." he says, quietly. "Be careful going home." Part of him wants to ask if she'd like to walk home with him, to be safe. But part of him feels like now is a bad time to offer that.