With the Chara Owners.

Ikuto glared down at the small girl, trying to show much hate as much as he can muster towards her, but, for some reason, did not have the heart to do so. When he set his sight on her again, he suddenly felt every sliver of sadness inside of her and the sudden urge to make her happy, what he saw was someone he wanted to tend to. But he knew if he do this, he'll never forgive himself.

Despite his half-hateful glare, Rima looked away because of his glare and not knowing what to do in this situation. Although she was feeling uncomfortable and shy in this situation, she actually wanted nothing more than to get closer to him and wanted him to continue to play his violin, but she, was filled with apprehension.

This was definitely still too soon for them, both not knowing what to say or do, they can't even look at each other in the eye. They wanted to get away from all of this, yet...

they didn't want to.

With the Charas

Kusukusu turned her head back-and-forth between her owner and Tsukiyomi Ikuto while having a look of confusion. The clown chara may not know much about the enigmatic Tsukiyomi Ikuto, but she definitely knows for a fact that he does not act like this from the stories she was told about him from the other charas who knew him. Her thoughts on him was someone was always calm and quiet, and can be cunning. The Ikuto she sees right now seemed to be full of anxiety.

Meanwhile Yuki was giving a sweat drop at the two. She can understand why Rima would act like this, but with Ikuto?

Kusukusu turned to her little sister, she asked, "What's with him?" She pointed at him

"It seems that he feels uncomfortable being future-mates with Rima just like she is with him." Yuki stated the obvious although she did had a feeling he would be acting like this from what she gathered from their previous encounter. "After all, this must be a whole new experience for him."

Yuki's statement did not snap the two cat-chara owners out of their stupor, although her words did reached to another pair of ears, cat ears to be exact.

"Ehhh!?" Yoru exclaimed in surprise.

Yuki and Kusukusu turned to the dark neko-chara who quickly floated towards to the ex-queen's charas.

"That shrimp and Ikuto are future mates-Nya!?" Yoru yelled with his paws in the air, already catching on to the gravity of the current situation. "AND HE DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO TELL ME-NYA!?"

Yoru felt betrayed, he has been Ikuto's one and only chara for many years, he was the only one who Ikuto can rely on most of the time since his owner evades practically everyone else, but now he hears that Ikuto has a possible life mate and he didn't say a single a word to him!

Yuki glared at him for several reason. One: He called Rima a shrimp, two: his screaming made her ears ring, and three: his last statement gave her a good description of him.

"You're not a very trustworthy cat, are you-Nya?" Yuki asked rhetorically in an accusing tone with her paws crossed. Kusukusu giggled at Yoru when he recoiled from Yuki's words.

He then immediately glared at her. "What's that suppose to mean-Nya?" His face showed intimidation, but Yuki kept a calm expression and turned to her older sister.

"Hey Kusukusu, what do you know about this joker-Nya?" Yuki asked her, completely ignoring the dark neko much to his irritation.

"His name is Yoru, he's Tsukiyomi Ikuto's chara, and he's the one who taught Rima how to ditch school." Kusukusu told her with smile.

Yuki raised an eyebrow at the last part. "Oh really-Nya?" She turned back to Yoru, "Clearly you are not as useless as I thought-Nya."

Yoru's face flushed in anger "What makes you think I'm useless-Nya!?"

Yuki waved a lone paw, "Well, from what I gathered-Nya, your master didn't even acknowledge you a single word about his future mate-Nya." She pointed out, she then shoved her paw in front of his face in a accusing way. "That you means you can't keep a secret-Nya! Which is why your owner doesn't trust you, therefore you are useless to him-Nya!"

Her words were cold as ice.

"Gahhhhh!" Yoru cringed as he felt his heart being pierced by an arrow. What she said was true, he has never kept a secret for long, always being busted by Ikuto or when he can't keep his mouth shout. Adding to his misery is the fact that Ikuto doesn't even trust him that much. A dark cloud formed above his head as he hanged his head in shame.

Kusukusu laughed hysterically at the scene, "Geez sis, I didn't know you can be this cold and mean!"

"Well he did insulted Rima-chan-Nya." She reminded her. Yuki would never let anyone get away with something like that.

Yuki looked down at his slumped form before turning her sight back to the two and noticed that they had yet to make a move. She gave a sigh, clearly they had to do something about this or else this could continue all night.

She turned back to Yoru, "I'm going to be needing your help-Nya." She told him.

Yoru raised his head and glared at her. "But didn't you say I was useless-Nya." He retorted, not wanting to help her in anyway.

"That is not important right now-Nya. What's important right now is for you to help our masters-Nya." Yuki said to him before pointing at Ikuto and Rima. "Do you have any idea how long they've been like this-Nya?"

Yoru was reluctant at first, but looking over to see how unmoving those two are to a point that people can mistaken them as statues, he caved in.

Letting out a sigh, he said, "Fine, what do you want me to do-Nya?"

"Chara change with Tsukiyomi-Kun and I'll do the same with Rima-chan-Nya." She told him.

The dark neko didn't understand her plan at first, but after giving it another thought and understanding what she was planning, Yoru nodded. Although Kusukusu was confused with the idea.

"How's that going to work?"

"If Rima-chan and Tsukiyomi-kun are character changed at the same time, they'll be more connected to the bond between them-Nya." She explained.

Hearing that Yuki had already told her about the bond between mates, Yoru continued for her.

"Yeah, so despite how weak their bond might be, they'll be more relaxed with each other and they might even talk to each other if we do this-Nya."

"Ooooh" Kusukusu bobbed her head in understanding, interested how this will turn out. She focused all of her attention to Rima and Ikuto, not wanting to miss a single second on what's going to happen.

Seeing that her sister has caught up, Yuki turned back to the two, "Alright, lets do this." Yoru nodded

"Chara change-Nya!"

"Nya, Mew, Meow!"

*Back to the Chara Owners*

As on cue, midnight blue and white cat ears with matching cat tails appeared on the respective individuals. Instantly the two finally snapped out of their shock and took notice of their they got fully aware of their change, the apprehension and shyness have subsided. Rima now has the courage to look him in the eye while Ikuto finally stopped glaring at her, no longer having the will to do so. Comforting feelings filled their heart, they feel their body heat up a little as they acknowledge each other's presence.

Rima took the chance, taking a deep breathe, she walked up to him. Her footsteps echoed every time she hit the pavement steps until finally she was in front of him by a few feet away. Now that she did not have any fear inside of her, she bravely spoke.

"That was a beautiful music you were playing." She complimented, acting what happened earlier did not happened. "Can you continue playing, please?" She requested.

Ikuto wanted to get away; he did not anyone in his life, he did not want to risk hurting anyone, but when she requested that, he could not say "no" to her.

"Yes..." He said as he placed his chin back on top of the chin rest. "...my queen."

*Back with the Charas*

When she saw Ikuto was about to play his violin again, Yuki immediately put a paw on Kusukusu's mouth. Surprised by this, she tried to speak, asking why she was doing this to her, but her muffled words were too hard to understand.

"No way I'm letting you ruin this-Nya." Yuki whispered to her, very quietly as she started to guide her out area to a more a secluded place.

Yoru saw this and followed them. "We're just going to leave them alone-Nya?" He asked in murmur.

"The last time they saw each other, it didn't go pretty well because of you-know-what-Nya." Yuki replied. "Let's give them some alone time-Nya. They'll work this out-Nya."

Hearing her reason, Yoru did not argued with her and continued following. They left to another part of the park, but they could still hear the elegant sound echoing through out the park. Despite their leave, the cat ears and tails remained.

Neither of the two did not how long they were doing this. Ikuto continued playing, he wanted to stop soon because he was getting tired, but he wanted Rima to enjoy this a little longer, seeing her smile seems to be the only thing he wants see right now. Rima stood there with her eyes and a small smile on her face, her mind was lost in this sea of music, she actually believed she was already in heaven. Being there and listening this, she couldn't care less if the remaining Guardians saw her with the enemy or if her parents had found out she snuck out.

Sadly, everything must come to an end. Ikuto had finally reached and played the last note. That last note was the last thing that lasted in Rima's mind before she opened her eyes in a flutter.

"How was it, my queen?" Ikuto asked once they made eye contact again.

Rima gave a small smile, but had a slight glare on her face. "I'm no longer in the Queen's chair you know, or did you forget about that?" She asked in a somewhat teasing tone.

Ikuto stayed quiet for a few seconds. He was having a good time with her, but he knew he could not let this continue, he will only end up hurting her.

"What do you know about this?" He asked.

"About what?" Rima asked curiously.

"Us being mates." He verified. "Is there something I should know about."

Rima raised an eyebrow. "You didn't ask your chara?"

"He can't keep a secret even if his life depends on it." He told her with no exaggeration laced in his voice, like it was an actual fact. "I'm pretty sure you don't want your old friends finding about this."

Rima nodded. "No, I don't." She said as turned to the benches down the steps. "You might want to see sit down for this."

After they sat down on a bench, she told him everything she learned so far from Yuki, from the bond between them to how they can feel each other in more ways than one. When she told him about the bond, Ikuto was shocked, but he did a good job at hiding which is something that Rima admired. His poker face is much like hers. She wondered if that is the result of hiding his own pain like she did with hers.

"So if we stay away from each other, then this bond between us will be a thing of the past?" He concluded.

"Yes," Rima confirmed. "That's what Yuki told me so far."

Again, Ikuto was quiet for a moment, deep in thought. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"Alright," He started. "I promise to stay away from you as long you promise you stay away from me."

He may not show it, but saying those words were the hardest thing he could say to someone. However, Rima did not know that.

Surprised and sadness were the words that described how Rima felt. She left like her heart was ripped out of her chess and stepped on with no remorse.

"...No."

Ikuto widened his eyes, "What?"

She repeated, "I said no."

Ikuto was surprised, but soon put on a hardened look. While not sitting up from the bench, he grabbed both of Rima's shoulders and pulled her closed to him. All this happened in seconds, surprising the ex-queen; once realizing what happened, her cheeks blushed bright red.

"What are you-?"

"Listen up." Ikuto commanded harshly, cutting her off and also surprising her. He was not like this this moments ago, but now he is. "What did the kiddy king told you about me?"

"Kiddy King? Who is he talking abo-!?" She was about half way with her questions when she realized he was referring to Tadase.

Searching through her memories, she recalled the warnings she was told by him.

"He told me to stay away from you," She told him. "because you were a thief, because you'll just end up hurting me."

She felt his grip on her shoulder's tightened.

"Exactly," He told her. "That is why you must stay away from me."

Rima gave him a saddened look. Not because he was refusing, but being this close to him, she could actually feel the sadness from his voice. Sadness from abandonment, misunderstood, and the constant pain he had held in.

"You know..." Rima started after being quiet for quite some time. "Yuki told me about a little interesting fact about you."

When he heard that from her, he did not like where this was going although he kept his cool demeanor

"She does not know me." He retorted in desperation. "We barely had a talk the last time we saw each other.

"Yes but she does know you have cat Neko Chara like me," Rima told him, she then gave a somewhat small glare. "I know how it feels, Tsukiyomi-Kun."

His grip on her loosened and let go, he knew there was no way of changing her mind. Seeing the tall teen became quiet, Rima continued to voice her thoughts.

"After our last encounter, I started to wonder about the claims I heard about you are true." She explained. "Hotori-kun said you'll just hurt me if I get near you alone, but you didn't." Referring to the last meeting

"That's because the mating instincts kicked in." He countered.

"If you were planning to hurt me, you would've brought your chara with you in case I fight back, but you did not bring him at all."

Ikuto went back to being quiet after that, he even started to avoid eye contact. Rima placed her right hand on his.

"Look, I'm not looking for a mate anytime soon, but I'm not standing idle by, knowing that you're experiencing the same pain as I had."

Ikuto looked back at her. "What are you trying to saying?"

Rima gave him a look of determination. "I'm saying that you're a kind person who's in pain. I want to help you, no one should be in that kind of pain at all, it's awful. I want you and I to be allies."