IkutoXReader One person can make a difference

     "I can't believe I've really made it," you cheered quietly to yourself in the back seat of a public bus. Your parent's had agreed to let you attend the Music Festival because you had worked so hard in classes and even practiced even more on your violin than you usually would. Your hand instinctively moved to your violin case and you pulled it closer to yourself, a smile spread across your face. Now you turn your gaze to look out the dirty window of the bus, your ___ colored eyes widened at what you saw. The streets were filled with dashes of every color. There were red, blue, and yellow balloons along with white confetti. Lining the sides of the streets were booths selling snacks such as blue and pink cotton candy, multiple flavored ices, pop corn, and pretzels. Your blood rushed through your veins, only adding to your excitement. A squeal escaped your lips as the bus came to a stop. "Thank you!" you call to the driver as you rushed off of the bus, practically falling down but you managed to catch yourself and your violin. There would so many talented musicians here; you just weren't sure what to do first. "Eh, First I should actually go buy an admission pass and find a pass," you tell yourself and run over to a ticket booth. You grin happily and hand over the price for a three day pass which you quickly pulled over your head and around your neck once it was given over. "Thank you," you said for the millionth time today as you grabbed a map and looked around. Slowly you walked down the crowded side walk with your violin case in hand. To say the least, it was a bit overwhelming, so many people, sounds, and smells. As you continued to walk you noticed some people had cases set out and were playing instruments such as guitars, flutes, ukuleles, and all other kinds of instruments. This was the most musical instruments you've ever seen in one place and it only inspired you more to want to become a better musician. One guy who was playing caught your attention though.

     Gently you pushed through the crowd till you were at the front of the circle that had formed around the boy as he played. This guy seemed to be around your age; he had short blue hair and blue eyes, and was much taller than you. He wore a black uniform along with a black choker with a cross on it. Beside him was a girl who was also tall, with very long blonde hair and purple eyes. Though at first glance they didn't seem to look alike, if you really studied how they looked… you could tell they were siblings. "H-Hoshina Utau?" you sputter, even though it is such a big Music Festival, it was still shocking to see such a popular singer here. Quickly you shook your head to clear the excess thoughts and turned to the guy again. Now he had closed his eyes and adjusted his fingers. Carefully and with grace, he raised his bow once again for another song and lightly stroked the strings with his bow to test it out. A smile spread across his face, making it obvious that he approved of the sound and his blue eyes opened again. His blue eyes met your ___ ones for a moment then he looked away and started playing. For a moment you listened, tilting your head to the right slightly. You wondered why this guy would play such a sad song at such an up lifting and happy event such as the Music Festival. He really seemed interesting… and cute though you wouldn't tell him that. His eyes drifted shut again as he continued to play and you let your own eyes close to that you could focus on the music and try to figure out the meaning behind it. Sadly, you couldn't but you really wished you could. When the song came to an end, he opened his eyes and stopped playing. A round of applause erupted around him and the blue haired boy bowed. "I shall play one more, then I will retire for the day," he told his audience as they tossed money into his violin case. He smiled again and he studied the group. Again he lifted his bow and rested his violin under his chin. He slid the bow across the strings again. "Yuuki no Uta," you say and grin as you recognized the song. The boy must have heard you because he glanced in your direction, his blue eyes meeting your ___ colored ones again. He raised his eye brows and stopped playing. "I won't finish unless you sing it," he said sternly but in an inviting way. The blood rushed to your face, causing your face to go a light shade of pink. He was asking you to sing when there was a very talented singer right beside him? "Um.. uh, I guess that's alright," you said slowly and stepped out of the group of people. Utau stood on his left and you on his right. The boy glanced at you and tapped his foot as a countdown. Tap, Tap, Tap. He drew his bow across the strings and you started playing.

La la la singing a song
Lifting your head and following your head
singing.
I'll never give up
There's nothing I can't do
A song of courage

I won't lose to anyone because I have dreams
Start walking and puff out your chest
Do you believe that the truth is
that only my road is there?

We made a high mountain
So that you can try your best to overcome it
And if you can do that
You'll create a miracle

     While singing, you had just watched the blue haired boy play instead of looking at the crowd. Utau on Ikuto's left was glaring at you from over his shoulder but you didn't notice this. A round of applause broke out again one the two of you finished. The boy bowed and glanced at you. "Bow Princess, you did well," he said and a small smile crossed his face. Slowly you bow and a huge smile crossed your face. The two of you stood up right and everyone that had surrounded the two of you dispersed to go enjoy the rest of the festival. Utau glanced over at you and sighed. "You're pretty good, nowhere near my level of singing, but you are good," she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, looking pissed. Praise coming from a great singer like her, even if it wasn't the nicest praise you heard…. Was an honor and only inspired you more. "Thank you," you reply and watch as Ikuto set the bow back into his violin case and secured it. Next he scooped up the money that was thrown into the case and counted it carefully. He some of the money back inside and held out twenty dollars to you. You flailed your arms about and shake your head. "Oh, no, no, I didn't earn that much. Besides, most of the money was there even before I came, it's yours," you sputter. The boy chuckled and rolled his eyes before taking your hand in his. "Take it, you deserve it. You sang your heart out," he said and pressed the dollar bills into your hand. Utau's purple eyes widened in shock and she uncrossed her arms. "Ikuto! What are you doing?!" she shouted. The blue haired boy, Ikuto ignored Utau and patted your hand. "You did great princess, even after I put you on the spot. Don't spend all that in one place," he said and placed a kiss on your forehead. Utau gasped and sent a death glare over in your direction. "Ikuto, we are going somewhere else… now!" she demanded and set his violin in his case before shutting it. The case was shoved into Ikuto's arms before he was dragged away by the blonde.

     Slowly and reluctantly, you shove the twenty dollars into your pocket and set your own violin case down. You squat down and carefully open the ___ colored case then pulled out your bow and violin. First you plucked he strings and tuned it, once you were satisfied; you placed the instrument under your chin.  'I can't do better than Ikuto did… but I can try' you thought and pondered what song you should play. You took a deep and calming breath, the ease your nerves. This was no time to get nervous, this is what you had come to do. 'Ready… Go' you thought and drew your bow along the strings for a brief moment. You weren't sure what others would think but you began to play Fall Out Boys "Dance Dance" on your violin. Yes, Fall Out Boys weren't exactly popular now but you liked the tune of this song, besides… maybe someone would dance. You concentrated on then music so much that you didn't notice that people had stopped walking and were now looking at you. As you continued to play, a much smaller group than Ikuto's had gathered around. Now you did glance up at your audience and blinked in surprise to see two elementary school kids dancing, one with very light blonde hair and one with bright pink hair. A smile crossed your face as you continued to play.

     Ikuto paused, causing Utau to walk into him. "Why did you stop?" Utau asked in surprise and listened. They hadn't gotten far so they could still hear your violin. "Let's go," Ikuto said and turned around, this time he pulled Utau back in the direction they had come. He looked around, his blue eyes searching for the person who was playing the violin. Finally he spotted you and he slipped into the crowd along with Utau, making sure that he wasn't seen by you. He peered between people as you played and he chuckled when he saw Hinamori Amu and Hotori Tadase dancing together. Unlike Ikuto who was happily listening to you play, Utau was pissed that he had seemed to take an interest in you and was paying you so much attention. She pushed forward through the crowd, shoving people out of the way without saying 'sorry' or 'excuse me'. Once she made it to the front of the crowd, she moved around the dancing kids and yanked the violin out of your hold. "Stop it! Stop this right now!" she shouted and threw the started banging the instrument on the ground. Your heart shuddered. "Utau!" you, Amu, Tadase, and Ikuto shouted out in unison. You take a step forward and the blonde girl pointed the instrument at you threatening. "Stay there," she warned you, her purple eyes hard and icy. She slammed the instrument on the ground, almost breaking the bridge of the violin. Strings snapped. "Stop please!" you shout and tears threatened. Ikuto made his way through the crowd and went to grab Utau. "This is ridiculous Utau, stop it!" he scolded. She slammed the instrument on the ground again, the bridge snapped, your instrument now fully destroyed. Both yours and Ikuto's eyes widened. He hadn't been able to grab her in time. Now he did grab her around the waist with one arm, and grabbed her wrist with his other hand to keep her from throwing the bridge of the violin. Slowly you bent down and picked up a piece of your violin. That violin meant everything to you, you were shattered and not sure if you wanted to yell at Utau, slap her, or just cry. Tears filled your eyes and your heart shuddered. Slowly your eyes closed and you fell back. Tadase and Amu moved forward quickly, catching you and gently lying you down. "Utau…. You idiot.. you know how much my violin means to me, and look at what you've done to hers," Ikuto said quietly into his sisters ear. His blue eyes studied you then his sister before he pulled the bridge of your violin out of her hold. "Get out of here, go home or something," he grumbled and gathered the other pieces of your violin. The people who had been watching you play had gone deathly quiet and slowly started to disperse. "Will she be okay?" Amu asked quietly as she rested a hand against your forehead. She gasped as a X egg came out of your chest and flew off. Tadase stood but Ikuto held a hand out to stop him. "Leave this to me," he said quietly and set the violin pieces down. He ran off before Tadase could argue.

     Ikuto glanced up at the sky as he ran, keeping an eye on your egg. "Ikuto, what are we going to do?! We work for Easter, we aren't supposed to help get rid of X eggs," Yoru shouted as he flew beside his partner. The blue haired boy waved a hand at him dismissively. "Doesn't matter," he said and picked up speed, running and dodging people with the grace of a cat. Yoru frowned but continued to follow Ikuto to a fountain at the center of the Festival. The Egg had stopped here, and thankfully there was no one around at the time. "Hey, stop running away," Ikuto said irritably. The egg turned to face him and shuddered before hiding behind the fountain. Ikuto caught his breath then shoved his hands into his pocket before stepping forward. "Princess, you were playing very well. I was impressed," he said and tried to glance around the fountain without scaring your egg away. Again the egg shuddered. "I know you can play very well and that playing the violin means a lot to you, I can tell by the look on your face while you play. My violin means just as much to me as it means to you, so I can understand how you felt when Utau destroyed your violin. I know someone who is very good with violins, he might be able to fix yours," he suggested and smiled a bit. Your X egg moved from behind the fountain to that Ikuto could see it, this encouraged him more. "I know it's a long shot, Utau did some pretty bad damage to it, but if we are lucky.. maybe we can fix it. If not, I will buy you a violin myself to repay you," he promised, his blue eyes shining with determination. The black X egg went a lighter shade of black, he knew he was close. He held out his hand and instead of giving his small smiles that he usually gave, he gave your egg a full smile. "It's your dream to play the violin, I can help you," he soothed. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when your hearts egg became normal and started to fly back in the direction that you, Amu, and Tadase were. He rushed after your egg.

***

     Amu smiled as your egg returned to your body and she looked over at Tadase. "Ikuto did it," he said slowly in surprise. His brother had actually done something good for someone else.

***

     Yoru laughed as Ikuto fell behind him, running slower than Yoru was flying. "Hurry up Ikuto!" he teased and flew faster. He glanced back at Ikuto who was running and out of breath, losing his usual grace. 'He is physically, mentally, and emotionally, tired' he thought and slowly landed on top of his partners head. "Almost there," Yoru cheered for Ikuto. Finally Ikuto stopped as he reached you and the others. You had sat up by now, you held your knees to your chest and your face was buried in your knees. Ikuto took a few deep breaths before squatting down beside you. "Lets' go, give them space," Amu whispered and grabbed Tadase's hand before pulling him away. Ikuto didn't even glance at them as they walked away. "What's your name?" he asked you and gently rested a hand on your head. At the sound of his voice, you looked up with a bright red face from crying so much. "___.... I'm ___ ___," you tell him quietly and go to wipe your face with the sleeve of your shirt. He stopped you though had pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. You press the handkerchief to you sore face and try to calm yourself down. "Well Princess  ___, you are very talented when it comes to playing the violin. I believe you will be able to go far. Look, nearby there is a violin place I go to often whenever I need mine fixed, they can perform miracles. They might not be able to fix your violin but it is still worth a try, now come on. Tears don't suite you at all," he said. The two of you slowly placed the pieces of your violin into your case along with your bow before shutting it. He held out a hand now and helped you stand. "Come on," he said and guided you through the festival, every once and a while he would point out a talented person or a good place to go to until he reached the store he had been looking for. "Kotone?" he called when in entered the shop with you. A girl with brown eyes and medium length brown hair stepped out from the back of the shop. "Ikuto!" she said cheerfully but her mood seemed to become unhappy when she spotted you. You weren't sure if Ikuto noticed this or not because he hadn't said anything. Gently Ikuto took your case from you and set it down on the counter. "Is your father in? I've got a major crisis that might or might not be able to be fixed," he said and glanced in your direction. Kotone noticed the glance and glared at you before smiling at Ikuto. "I'll go get him, he will be glad you're here, you know you are our best customer," she said and walked into the back. A man came to the front and smiled at Ikuto. "It's been a while, you are usually a frequent customer… and is this your girl friend?" he asked when he noticed you. Your face went a bright shade of red, and you quickly shook your head. Ikuto frowned when you shook your head but didn't say anything. He turned to face the man and gently opened your case. "We had a bit of an incident with her violin and I was wondering if you'd be able to fix it," Ikuto said and grabbed your hand. He pulled you over to the counter and the two of you watched as the man examined the violin. "Bridges on a string instrument such as cello, bass, viola, and violin pop over time, and you can buy new ones to replace it. Replacing a bridge is not as easy as it might appear. I'm glad you brought this to me, I think I may be able to fix it. Here's a tip though, never glue a bridge by a violin and I'll have to give you a couple of tips on how to keep the bridge straight so it doesn't break again," the man said as he examined the bridge and the violin. Then the man tapped the strings on your violin. "These will also have to be replaced," he continued. Ikuto nodded in understanding and squeezed your hand to keep you from freaking out. "Just do whatever you need to, I'll pay for all of it," Ikuto said. Kotone had come out of the back at that time and gasped. "Not his girl friend huh?!?" Kotone grumbled and crossed her arms over his chest. You look up at Ikuto and frown. "You don't have to pay for all of it," you tell him with a frown. He smiled a little and shook his head. "I do, now let's go hang out at the Festival while he fixes your violin," he suggested and pulled you out of the shop, ignoring Kotone completely.

***

     Ikuto took you all over the place, the two of you bought cotton candy, watched many people perform, and rode on many of the rides. There was one last thing Ikuto wanted to do with you though before taking you back to the shop. "You aren't afraid of heights right?" he asked and looked over at you as you happily munched on some pink cotton candy. His blue eyes and your own ___ colored ones met his, you shook your head. Another one of his full natural smiles crossed his face. "Good," he said and pulled you over to the Ferris wheel. Once you climbed in, he sat beside you and pulled the safety bar down so that neither of you would fall. Carefully you lean back in the seat and blush, he was sitting beside you with your legs brushing each other. "Hey Ikuto… why are you doing so much for me today?" you ask him and peer over at him. He was looking out at the festival though and not at you. "Well ____, you are a very skilled violinist, you are a fun person to be around, you smile a lot, and you are beautiful," he said as the ride began. The two of you started to move up as your face became the color of a cherry. You place your hands on your cheeks and study him to make sure he wasn't just messing around with you. He seemed to sense that you were evaluating him and turned his gaze to you instead of out at the festival. You glance up at his blue eyes… he was completely serious. "T-Thank you," you say quietly and look down at your lap. He reached out and placed a finger under your chin before making you look up at him. "May I kiss you?" Ikuto asked and smiled at you. The way he asked the question made it sound like even if you said no, he would kiss you. A nervous laugh escaped your lips which made him laugh also. When the two of you managed to stifle your laughter, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to your lips that seemed to make your worries melt away. You weren't so worried about your violin anymore.

***

     "Ikuto!" Kotone cheered happily when the two of you returned to the store late that same day, it was starting to get dark. He glanced in her direction and nodded his head before pulling you over to the counter. "Your father is still in right?" he asked and when Kotone nodded, he pulled you into the back of the store. The older man stood, leaning over his desk working diligently on your broken violin. "How's it going?" Ikuto asked and you smiled nervously. The man looked up and smiled at the two of you. "I'll get it fixed, don't worry, come back at the end of the week and it will be as good as new," he promised the two of you. Ikuto glanced at Yoru and smiled happily.

***

     Ikuto stopped outside of your house and leaned against the fence. "Did you have fun today?" he asked and his blue eyes glowing with happiness. He had fun today; it was the most fun he had in years. You nod your head and gently tuck some of your ___ colored hair behind your ear. "Yes, thank you so much Ikuto," you reply and fidget. He blinked in surprise when you fidgeted, not sure what you were thinking. Suddenly he was yanked into a hug by you. It took a minute or so but.. he finally returned it with a smile. He rested his head against the top of yours. "Hey…. ___... would you consider being my girl friend? When Kotone's old man asked about you being my girl friend, you shook your head right away. I'm not that… awful right?" he asked and shook a bit in your hold which was very out of his character. Your eyes widened and you looked up at him slowly, a blush crept its way across your face. "You aren't awful at all, you have been so kind to me…. I'd like to be your girl friend Ikuto," you admit and bury your face in his chest to hide your embarrassment. Ikuto's blue eyes widened and tears threatened but he refused to let them fall. Someone other than Utau loved him for who he was and didn't think he was a bad person. "Thank you ___," he whispered and a smile spread across his face.

End.