Bunnii: Hey guys, sorry for the cliffy. I didn't want to but I wanted to post a new chappie and thought that was a good place to end it. My sister told me to wait a week after I finished to post this to FF. But, I would feel so horrible if I did. I love you guys too much. And I lost the written draft for ANIMA *cries* My beautiful Niva is lost! I'm okay. Well, here's the newest chapter from Tell Me These Words Are A Lie (I guess one day I should tell you guys about the title one day).

Ikuto? Pruu thought nervously. His arms were wrapped around her so tightly and she felt oddly secure now that he was there. His chin was resting on her shoulder as he watched the other men with a warning glance.

The one that called himself Yobuki gave Ikuto an irritated glare. "Who the hell are you?"

Ikuto merely scoffed. "Her boyfriend, obviously. Who are you?"

The other one, Gin, sneered in disbelief. "Psh, I highly doubt you're her boyfriend."

Ikuto sighed with irritation. "I don't have to deal with idiots like you. It's a waste of my time."

Yobuki glared at the ignorant teen. "You wanna start something, punk?"

Fear struck Pruu. Why was Ikuto risking his own safety just over something little like her? She quickly grabbed his arm by the elbow and lightly pulled. "I-Ikuto, we should j-just go." She pulled a little harder. "P-Please, Ikuto."

With a cold look to the two men, he blandly turned to Pruu and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Fine. Let's go, Pruu-chan." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

She looked down at her feet as she walked beside Ikuto. "H-How did you find me, Tsukiyomi-san?" She flushed nervously at the warmth of his hand. "I mean, it's n-not like I'm ungrateful, of course I am… I-It's just….yeah….I don't know…"

Ikuto just kept his grip on her hand as he led her along the street. "I was just walking around town and I saw you so I decided to help. That's all."

"R-Really? But school isn't out yet. Did you d-ditch?"

He smirked at her when she mentioned ditching. "Aren't you ditching? Seems like you're calling the kettle black."

Pruu flushed in reply. It did look like she was ditching! "I-I'm not ditching! I'm just taking a sick day…" She looked away from his face, not being able to stare him in the face.

Airi started pouting angrily at Ikuto. "Where do you think you come in? We were going to Character Change! Don't butt in you stupid cat!"

Shocked, Pruu shushed her chara. "W-What Airi means is that she's very grateful you were there!" She laughed nervously and looked away, embarrassed.

Ikuto just chuckled lightly. "You must like me a lot, Pruu-chaan." He stressed the 'chan' while he smirked lightly.

"Huh? What makes you say that?" She flushed lightly.

He pulled her closer to him with his tongue stuck out. "Because you're still holding my hand."

Her face turned deep red and she jerked her hand away nervously. "I'm sorry!" Her hand was cold now without his holding it.

Much to the surprise of Pruu, Ikuto grabbed her hand again and gave her a smoldering gaze. "Do I offend you by being here?"

Pruu could do nothing but stare into his eyes as her face bled red. "…I…no… It's j-just… I…" A little mouthset appeared with a little 'pop'. "I want you here, Ikuto."

He kept his gaze the same. It engulfed her with its dark color. "And why is that, Pruu?"

She opened her mouth to speak confidently, before another 'pop' diffused the Chara Change and she pulled her hand away again. "It's nothing. Y-You don't have to be here, Tsukiyomi-san. G-Goodbye!" She took off running with her grocery bag.

"Baka baka!" She cursed herself. It wasn't her character to do things like want people around. She was fine with being alone. It was in her character to stay quiet. Her character…

"Airi, why did you do that?" she asked, completely embarrassed.

Airi pouted as she floated alongside Pruu, glad they were slowing down to a walk. "You said you would try to be your would-be self! You didn't try at all! Tell someone what you want for once!"

She looked away from the chara. "I can't. It's not in my character."

"Don't say that!" Airi's shout brought her attention to the little character. "If you say that too much, I'll become an X Egg and disappear! You'll lose all of your dreams and never be the you that you want to be! You can't give up on your dreams, you baka!"

Pruu hung her head low. "You'll disappear?" She didn't want that at all. "I don't want you to disappear…" Tears stung at her eyes at the thought of losing her only friend.

Airi nodded confidently, her black hair swishing with her head movements. "Then let's work on this together for real this time! I want you to be the person you want to be! To have your dream is a precious thing!"

"Precious…dream…." Pruu let her mind wander to her own dream, then shook her head. "I'm not sure I can… Am I strong enough, Airi?"

Airi smiled softly with her orange eyes. "Not yet. But, you can if you start acting like your true character. I'm here because you wished for your true self to have a chance to come out. Don't let the chance go to waste."

Nodding, Pruu turned back down the street and gazed at the small crowd that walked along. "Maybe I should apologize to Tsukiyomi-san for running away… But where would he be? He obviously wouldn't have gone after me since was so rude to him…" She started panicking. "What if he hates me? What if he never wants to talk to me again because he thinks I'm some kind of bipolar freak? Oh, no!" She fidgeted with her hands as she contemplated the other options.

"Only crazy people sit and talk to themselves on a busy street. You're really weird," said a familiar voice. Pruu turned to see the indigo haired cat standing in front of her casually.

"Tsukiyomi-san! I'm so sorry for the way I acted! I really am! I really hope there's some way I can make up for my horrible attitude towards you and how I ran off when you were just trying to help me all along! I'm so very sorry!" She bowed repeatedly in apology.

A hand was placed on her head while she was bowing. Ikuto's.

"Just calm down for one. It's weird that you do that. Two, how about you just walk with me, alright? I'll walk you home." He started walking in front of her.

The blue green haired girl quickly started after him and she help her eyes on the floor. After about two or three minutes of silence, something hit her forehead while she was looking down. She immediately looked up and rubbed her forehead. Ikuto's arm was out and he had made her forehead hit it.

"W-What was that for?" she asked offended.

He just looked at her plainly, although there was something in his eyes. "If you're always looking down, then you can run into things. Look ahead of you and you can see things better."

"Oh, okay…" She struggled against the urge to look down at her feet while she walked. Watching the small crowds of people that passed by her made her very nervous. Instinctively, she turned her gaze back to the little black shoes she wore on her feet. She was still able to maneuver around the people, she just hoped Ikuto wasn't looking.

A sigh was heard from the indigo haired boy as he put an arm around Pruu's shoulders. "Why do you do that?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Do what?" she asked, her eyes still on the floor.

"You never look up. Aren't you confident at all?"

She looked to the side, wanting to avoid his question, but knowing she couldn't. "I'm no, I guess. It's hard to break something you're so used to. And it's even harder to be something you're not sure anyone would like."

Ikuto's eyes held a knowing gaze in them. The feeling of being unsure about the acceptance of others was a feeling he could recall. He watched her face out of the corner of his eye. She looked so unsure of herself. So completely vulnerable. Her vulnerable aura made him remember those other two guys. The ones that wanted to take her out.

He unconsciously grit his teeth. She obviously didn't know how to say no to people like that. She could have just as easily have been whisked away forever. He could obviously tell the things those guys were thinking. Places they could take her. Things they could do to her. All of it made him angry, but he didn't know why. Maybe it was he hated it when the strong picked on the week. Maybe that was just it.

"You need to learn to be more confident," he suddenly said, startling the girl under his arm.

She scoffed at the idea, as if it were impossible. "And how do I do that? It's not like it's a class in school I can sign up for." She enjoyed the feeling of being under his arm though. She felt safe, like when he was holding her hand and when he was holding her in front of those older guys. She wanted to lean into him and stay inside this comfort. As she looked around at the people around her, she started to hear the whispers and glances.

"Who are those two kids? They're such a beautiful pair."

"Are they siblings? Or are they dating?"

"They're so cute. I wonder if that boy is a model though? He's pretty tall and rather good looking."

All the comments and glances made blood rush to her face and look away from the eyes that tried to look through her.

"Are you listening to me?" Ikuto's voice suddenly registered in her mind.

"Huh? I'm sorry, what?"

He chuckled lightly in reply. "I said I'm going to teach you then. I'll teach you how to be more confident." They had started to enter the more rural areas, close to where Pruu lived.

"You are?" Why would he bother himself with something like that? He really was a nice person….

"Yeah. Considering I know about your chara and all. It might help." Why was he volunteering himself for something like this? First, he was wondering where she was, they he was saving her from older guys, now he was volunteering to teach her how to be confident? What was this weird girl doing to him? Maybe it was that hopeful look she gave him. Her blue eyes were sparkling with the thought of being confident and her lips were slightly upturned with a small smile.

She wasn't an extraordinarily beautiful girl, nothing that was exceptionally intriguing about her. Nothing about her really stood out.

Maybe that was what was so interesting. Ikuto discreetly studied her face. Maybe there was something you had to really know her to understand. Maybe there was a secret quality she had that made her different. The prospect of finding this out drew the cat boy in further.

"Thank you, Tsukiyomi-san. I really, really appreciate all you've done for me so far. Thank you so very much. I will do all I can to repay you for all your kindness towards me." She smiled lightly at him still.

"Lesson one, I give you full permission to call me by my first name. I'm going to call you by your first name, and if you don't address me as 'Ikuto' or 'Ikuto-kun' I won't answer you at all. We'll move on after you master that." He didn't like being spoken to so formally. It made him uncomfortable. And the only girl who called him informally was Utau. Maybe things would become interesting with Pruu tagging along.

Pruu looked at him. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Pruu turned to a house he could only guess was hers and looked at him. "Um, would you…like to come in..?" She looked down at her hands as she fidgeted with the grocery bag. "I could make lunch or something to…. Thank you for helping me today…." She flushed at tried to avoid looking at him altogether.

Suddenly, Yoru- who had been silent until that moment- bounced un excitedly.

"We accept, nyah!" He quickly floated over to Pruu and started rubbing his face against her cheek affectionately.

Pruu smiled lightly at the display of affection and looked to Ikuto expectantly.

Why not? He had nothing better to do, after all. He nodded, making her smile more and she pulled out a key and opened the door.

"You can sit on the couch and just make yourself comfortable." She took off her shoes and walked in, Ikuto following suit. He saw her go into what he guessed was the kitchen.

"Are your parents here?"

"No," she replied from the kitchen. "They're at work. What would you like, Tsukiyomi-san?"

No reply.

"Tsukiyomi-san?" She looked out from the kitchen into the living room. He was still there, but he was just sitting on her couch with Yoru and his violin case, not paying attention to her.

"Tsukiyomi-san? Hello? What would you like for lunch?" When there was no reply, she frowned in irritation. Why wasn't he listening to her?

"Pst…." Airi whispered. "First name basis."

Pruu remembered what Ikuto had said only about five minutes ago. "Ikuto-san?"

Still nothing. Pruu flushed at the informality and finally surrendered to defeat. "Um,,, I-Ikuto?" She fought the urge to add 'san' to the end of his name.

It was as if he finally heard her. He turned with the same cocky smirk he always gave her. "Yes, Pruu-chan?"

"W-What would you l-like for lunch..?" she asked with an embarrassed flush. That smirk made her heart pound and her legs feel weak beneath her.

"Anything's fine. I don't really mind much." He just watched her as she returned into the kitchen. He looked around the room and took in the feel of the house.

Super professional and formal. It didn't really look like much of a house. Well furnished and clean, but lacking in any sense of livability. The walls were an off white and there weren't many items of interest. Boring paintings of boring things and nothing consistent. He looked the boring mantle and then his interest was piqued.

He looked back to the kitchen to see Pruu was cooking, not paying attention to him. He got up from the couch and walked over to the fireplace mantle, leaving his violin on the couch. There were only about 3 photos placed on the mantle. The first one of the mantle was a family photograph, Pruu's parents standing elegantly in their best wear while Pruu was in the middle of them, dressed rather elegantly herself. She looked pretty much the same herself, except her hair was longer in the photo- flowing gently past her shoulders (as her hair was currently, just barely past her chin, cropped lightly for texture). She smiled gently into the camera's direction. A perfect picture of the perfect daughter.

The second photo was by far the oldest. It was a wedding photo. Her mother looked years younger than she did in the current photo of her family and she was dressed in a very intricately designed wedding gown, holding a bouquet of flowers and smiling happily next to her husband. There were no photos like this where he lived- granted, he lived alone, but in his old home with his mother, there were no photos of his parents or even his family anywhere that he could remember. He turned his attention then to the third photo, the one that had caught his eye in the first place.

It was of Pruu- who looked to only be a small girl. She was dressed in a dark blue dress, her face round and childish. Her hair was very long, almost to her wait and a ribbon was tied on one side to hold some hair from her face. Her eyes were closed in bliss and she was doing something Ikuto never thought someone like her would be interested in. In her little hand was a microphone and she looked like she was singing into it.

"I-Ikuto? Lunch is….ready…" She notice him staring at the photos on the mantle and blushed in embarrassment.

He looked to her normally, as if it were no big deal. "Your hair used to be longer," he simply stated.

"Y-Yeah…. It got in the way when I got into high school." Surprisingly, her hair style choice had nothing to do with the girls around school. She simply desired a change.

He took one of the sandwiches she was holding on a tray and took a bite. "Your hair looked nice long." He watched Yoru take a fish cracker from the tray and start munching away happily.

Pruu had no response, she just set the tray down on the coffee table quietly. "I-I'm happy with my hair now… It's easy to manage."

"Do you still sing too?" he asked, much to her dismay.

"No. I don't sing anymore. It makes me sick"

That took wrong in Ikuto's mind. She was sickened by singing? Did she not like music, then? It was hard not to like music. Even he had an interest in the topic.

"Why don't you like it?" he asked. She was starting to become an interesting person.

"It's not that I don't like it, I do. I just can't sing anymore. I get sick easy and it's a strain on my throat sometimes. It's not really that big of a thing, really." Why was she opening up to Ikuto so easily? She looked to see if Airi had made her Character Change to be more honest, but the little chara was just floating around, munching on a little cookie. SHE herself was the one being more honest? She flushed with embarrassment.

"But you're singing in the photo and you seem fine" He wanted to know more. She was starting to really intrigue him.

She sighed in reply before she sipped at some tea to clear her throat. "I have a weak body. It just got worse the older I got. I would cough a little if I did things like that when I was younger. Now, I'll cough a lot and possibly pass out. It's not really anything too odd. I'm just a naturally weak person."

"You are an odd person," was Ikuto's response, slightly offending Pruu. "But I guess that's why you interest me."

Pruu flushed at the words that passed his lips and the gaze that he directed at her.

"Just kidding," he said with a chuckle. Pruu flushed at looked at him angrily.

"D-Don't toy with me…." She boldly pushed his chest since she didn't have it in her to hit him like most girls would do in her situation. When he hand moved to return back to her side, it was caught by Ikuto's who held it close to himself still. The blue green haired girl flushed and avoided his eyes. She had never been so close to a boy. She had never had a boy hold onto her arm when she would try to get away from him. They were only a foot or so apart on the couch and the closeness was something Pruu never experienced.

"Stop looking away. It makes you seem uncute." Was the only thing Ikuto said.

"And looking at people would make me seem cuter?" she questioned his logic, still looking away.

His free hand lifted her chin so she would be able to look at his face, and no matter how hard she tried, her eyes could avoid his smooth and pale face. Those deep dark eyes that searched hers for answers she didn't know the questions to.

"Extremely," he replied. His eyes were sultry and darkening as his voice lowered ever so slightly. "So cute I'd have to hide you from everyone and keep you to myself…" His face neared hers and they were inches apart. Pruu could feel his soft breath on her face and felt her own eyes closing on their own….