Bunnii: Oh, my DARLINGS! It's been exhausting! I graduate in roughly 2 weeks! And I will use this small space to thank people.

Thank you to ALL of the people who added this story to either an alert list, favorite, or both! Thank you to the people who have been patient with me.

To Jessluvswriting: Yes, Utau ruined it. She just had to (:

And to LadyAmazon: Thank you very much. You're reviews give me the drive to keep going.

As for the many rest of you that have reviewed: THANK YOU! 10 (because 3 is not enough)

Now to continue on with the drama!

Pruu heard the blaring of her alarm clock again. She honestly didn't want to get up. She turned it off and rolled over onto her other side. She wanted to stay in bed forever and never move.

A soft knock sounded on her door and she made a small sound of acknowledgement. The door opened and her father walked in.

"Your mother has left for work already. Are you going to school?" He always had such a soft voice when he spoke to her. Unlike the booming, confident voice he used at his workplace.

School. Ikuto was at school. Maybe this was why she'd always avoided boys. They'd break her heart and make her want to stay at home and ditch school.

She sighed quietly. Maybe she could just avoid Ikuto and still go to school. Find a new spot to sit quietly and just continue on as if he never existed. That was a good plan.

"I'm going, Papa." Her term when she was trying to show she was fine. "I was just a little sleepy." She sat up in her bed and smiled a little.

Her father managed a smile and sat on the bed next to her. "Do you feel sick, koi fish?" He placed his hand along her forehead and pressed his other hand to his forehead. "You do feel a little warm. What do you want to do?" He was always so gentle around her. He let her do whatever she wanted. Yet always let her have the choice. Her mother would have felt the temperature change and have a fit unless she stayed home.

That was their differences.

Pruu smiled at her father. "I should be fine." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Airi waking up and getting out of her egg. Oh no!

"I'll be fine, Papa!" she said louder than she meant to. "I mean, I don't feel sick. You should go to work. Don't want to be late, right?" Just talking that much made her throat hurt.

He was surprised at how quickly she was reacting and just nodded. Maybe she just had a little bit more energy than normal. Would that be a good thing?

"Alright, if you're sure, koi. Just be careful. Do you want me to drive you?" He was a little worried still.

"No thank you, Papa. I'll walk slow. If you don't go now, you might be late." She watched him leave and sighed, closing her door. She looked back at Airi in confusion. "Papa couldn't see you…." Then she remembered what Yoru said. Adults couldn't see charas. "Thank goodness." She coughed a little into her hand. Her throat was hurting a lot.

"Maybe you should stay home, Pruu-chan." Airi floated over with elegant grace. "I don't think it would be good if we bumped into Ikuto."

Pruu slammed her hand against the desk. "I don't care about Ikuto Tsukiyomi." Her stomach felt hollow and sick. Maybe she just needed some toast.

She went into the kitchen and made some toast, tearing a piece off and giving it to Airi to munch on. She ate her toast slowly and drank a glass of milk. The day was seeming to go by slowly.

"You sure you want to go?" Airi asked, her little bell-like voice chiming.

Pruu ignored her and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She grabbed her bag and left through the back door. She didn't want Ikuto to try and get to her.

Ikuto sat on her front porch like he had done the day before. He wanted to talk to her and explain everything to her. He cursed under his breath. Stupid Utau. Why did she have to have some weird complex involving him? Yoru floated next to him, enjoying the morning sun rays.

"Maybe she went ahead, nyah," Yoru suggested.

Ikuto sighed and looked at her door for a moment longer. He was starting to get irritated with her. She should try and at least listen to him. His violet eyes narrowed and he pouted impatiently.

With cat-like grace, he climbed up to her second story and looked in through her balcony window. There was no one there and the room was neat. Even her bed was made. Ikuto scowled. She had snuck past him.

Sighing, the indigo haired neko sat down and looked at the sky. Stupid girl. His expression changed to flustered and irate. He acted stupidly the day before.

His hand was pressed against her door. He wanted her to open up and talk to him.

"Pruu-chan! Open the door!" He was only speaking loud enough for her to hear him, not enough for anyone else to know.

"No! I don't want to hear it!" She was really being such a stubborn girl. He just needed to be able to explain to her face to face.

"Let me explain about Utau." He knew that was the wrong way to word it when Yoru looked at him warily.

"I don't want to hear it!" He could even hear the jealousy in her voice. Why would she be jealous over someone like Utau?

"And I don't want to hear about Amu either! I don't want to hear about any of those girls! Go away!"

"Amu? What? Wait, Pruu, you don't understand. Let me in and I'll explain everything." he was trying to speak to her softly. To reassure her that he wasn't lying. It wasn't working.

"I don't want an explanation, Ikuto. I want you to go away."

He cursed under his breath. Utau and her big mouth. He was seriously going to get her back. She always had to go and do stupid things.

In a last attempt to get her to open the door, he sighed and muttered something through the door.

"You're the one I like, stupid girl."

He guessed she didn't hear him since she responded with "What?"

It was a stupid thing to say. She was just interesting. She was just some girl he was amusing himself with. He sighed and took his hand off the door.

"Nothing. I'll leave you alone for a while." He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked down the driveway, turning to leave her house, Yoru following after him.

Ikuto's face was irritated and flustered. He needed to get a hold of himself. She was just a girl. He didn't need to go off and say unnecessary things.

Yoru floated with a cat-like grin as they were walking down the street to the school.

"Hehe, Ikuto-kun, you're becoming a softie, aren't you, nyah?" He giggled and started going around in circles. "Ikuto and Pruu-chan, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S- Ack! Nyah!" His singing was interrupted when Ikuto pinched his cheeks and pulled them apart.

"Sowwy, Ikuto," he mumbled through the pain in his cheeks, and rubbed them sorely when Ikuto let him go.

Ikuto kept silent and continued walking to the school. He'd find the little blunette girl if it was the last thing he did. He wouldn't leave things as is.

Pruu sat in her third period class, dreading that lunch was after class. She'd been able to avoid Ikuto all day, she just needed to get through lunch, then she would be completely fine. She looked at the clock anxiously. Maybe she'd go hide in the music room or the literature room. She needed a place to hide until lunch was over.

"Tachibana-san, may I have your attention, please?" the teacher asked.

Pruu flushed. "Yes, sensei."

Some of the kids giggled and she heard the murmurs.

"What a loser."

"Serves her right for how she acted."

"Oh, when she yelled at Hio-chan? Yeah, what a brat."

"She's just jealous."

"Did you see her fake sick when sensei came over to stop them?"

"Yeah! What a freaky girl!"

"Yeah, don't make her angry or she'll get you in trouble too!"

Pruu looked down at her desk, more depressed than before. She was feeling terrible. Standing up for herself resulted in something like this? Tears were stinging her eyes. She hated getting picked on.

"Tell me or something if they pick on you, alright?"

Ikuto's words stung her more than the teasing. She wanted to go and find comfort with him. But, there was Amu and Utau that had probably been in that place too.

"Tachibana-san, would you like to be excused to the nurse's office?" the teacher asked, looking at the girl with her head resting on the table.

"Yes, ma'am," she muttered weakly.

"Well, you're excused."

Pruu gathered her things and left the classroom, trying to ignore the gossip being whispered about her.

I'm a freak, she though. A stupid pathetic freak.

Tears welled in her eyes and she wiped them away.

"Don't listen to them, Pruu-chan," Airi encouraged. "They just don't understand you. One day, they'll realize how mean they were and regret it!" She really wanted to cheer her up and just make her smile a little.

"Thanks, Airi," she muttered. She knew Airi had good intentions, and she really did help her feel a little better. She'd be so alone without Airi.

She entered the nurse's office and eventually just laid on one of the beds and stared at the ceiling, feeling her heart drop when the bell rang. Looked like she didn't have to work hard to avoid Ikuto.

She couched a little into her hand. Her throat was still hurting and she just fatigued.

Maybe she should have just stayed home. She was really starting to feel sick.

So, she spent the entire lunch period bouncing between coughing, staring at the ceiling, and thinking of Ikuto.

When the lunch bell sounded, she just sat up. She wouldn't be able to sleep. Maybe going out to PE would make her feel better since the air outside was better for her. She stood up and left, Airi following after her quickly, also hoping the fresh air would help.

Pruu sat at the PE area, feeling a little better from the fresh air. Her throat was still hurting though and she sill felt fatigued. She would just sit down though, so she should get over it soon.

Surprisingly, Hio and her friends didn't come over to bully her, although they gave her glares and dirty looks. She didn't mind though. The looks didn't bother her much. Only their words did and she couldn't hear them at all.

"How are you feeling, Pruu-chan?" Airi asked, sitting in the lap of her creator.

"Fine," she quietly muttered in reply. It was better for her throat if she didn't speak too loud.

"That's good. Maybe we can go home after school and drink some nice warm tea and take a long nap. That should fix you right up. And when you're better, we can play!" Airi really was like an excitable child.

"Mhm." Pruu closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sun. This was the first amount of peace she'd gotten since the entire thing with Ikuto the day before. It was something she really needed.

The PE bell rang and Pruu smiled to herself a little. She could go home now and her and Airi could relax.

She was walking out of the campus like all the other students. She hadn't seen Ikuto all day and it was pretty stress-free. She walked along the street and just looked around. She still wasn't feeling well and that nap really sounded good to her at the moment. The crowds walking along the street were thick with people with places to go. Some moved past her quickly and others moved slowly alongside her. She had decided to chose a different route to get home, so that she wouldn't bump into Ikuto in any way.

"Maybe we should have taken a different route, Pruu-chan," Airi said, floating above her head as to not get lost.

"Maybe, but we'll be fine." Crowds were not her strong suit. She was actually getting really uncomfortable. Someone accidentally bumped into her, making her nearly run into someone else. She apologized and kept trying to walk. More people would accidentally bump into her and she was basically fighting just to not bump into any one else or stumble and fall.

"Pruu-chan, I want out of this crowd," Airi pleaded, holding onto a lock of Pruu's hair carefully.

"I know," she replied. It was just a little longer until the street that led to her house. "Just bear with me." Because of the closeness of the crowd, she was having a tough time getting her own space and it was starting to stress her out. She was starting to regret choosing a different route just to avoid a boy.

A dizzy spell hit Pruu in the midst of the stress. She took in a sharp breath and started coughing. Her head was hurting with every cough, as was her throat. She covered her mouth and tried to keep her vision steady.

The crowd parted and someone came to her side. "Miss, are you alright?"

Pruu didn't have the air to reply between the coughs as her head started to spin. The familiar feeling of the floor crumbling underneath her manifested, but she never felt the ground. She felt a slight warmth before the cold overtook her. She could have sworn she heard someone calling her name, but she couldn't be sure.

Her hearing came first and she heard a soft steady beep. Then another one. It was a rhythm that sounded very familiar.

Then she could smell something she wasn't too fond of. Some kind of antiseptic and maybe bleach?

Then her mind went back into focus. She knew where she was even before she opened her eyes. She was in a hospital. She opened her eyes and looked around. The walls were white and she could feel the IV in her arm. The sick feeling she remembered was gone and she felt stiff as she turned hr head to see if anyone was in the room. She saw the window that let her see into the hospital hallway. There was a man in a white coat- obviously the doctor- and her parents. She wasn't surprised by that. Her parents would always be there if she got sick. They were often times too caring. But she smiled upon seeing them nonetheless.

They noticed she had come to and hurriedly walked into the room.

"Pruu-chan," her mother addressed her with a worried face, cupping her daughter's face in her hands. "Papa said stay home. Listen to him, you stubborn, silly girl." She kissed Pruu's forehead a few times.

Pruu nodded her head. "Sorry for worrying you." She had no excuse. She smiled innocently, hoping it would help. Her mother looked at her with a look she couldn't place. Like she knew something that she didn't.

"Papa has something to say to you," her mother said. Now, she recognized the look.

She was in trouble.

The doctor excused himself and her father looked at her crossly. "Pruu Tachibana, you have some explaining to do, young lady."

He never called her by her full name unless she was really in trouble. She swallowed the lump in her throat and sighed.

"I know, Papa. I just wanted to go to school, is all. I rested in the nurse's office so I thought I would be okay. I just got swept up by the crowd and I got super dizzy. I'll never ever do it again, I promise." She hoped that would quell his upset disposition.

"I am not talking about you getting sick." Pruu's face dropped. What would get her into trouble then? "Young lady, I am talking about the boy."

"Boy? What boy?"

"The one who's claiming he's you're boyfriend." Her father's face looked like that of any father whose daughter had introduced a boyfriend.

Boyfriend? She looked out the hospital window and saw a indigo haired boy leaning against the wall, looking at the people passing by casually.

"I-Ikuto!" She looked to her parents. "Why is Ikuto here?"

Her father looked crestfallen. It was true. His daughter knew the boy and didn't deny his being her boyfriend.

Her mother was the one to reply in place of her distraught husband. "Honey, he's the one that brought you I. He said he was walking you home and you got sick and fainted. He rode with you in the ambulance and he's the one that called us." She was confused by her strange daughter. How would she not remember being walked home by such a beautiful young man?

Pruu blushed and looked at the sheets of the bed. Even after avoiding him and yelling at him, he had found her and still taken care of her. She'd had been dreadfully awful. Ikuto really did care for her. She looked through the window at him again and this time he saw her. He noticed her was awake and he gave her a small smile. It wasn't sensitive or bitter. It was just a smile. It was almost apologetic. He was sorry? She should be the one that was sorry. She avoided him and he still cared so much. Yoru floated into view and his face brightened up. He waved excitedly and she gave him a small wave back.

Ikuto said something to Yoru, who nodded and waved again before floating away. Ikuto returned his gaze to Pruu and his violet eyes were almost smoldering. He mouthed something but she couldn't read his lips. He stopped leaning against the wall and waved a little before walking away. Was he really just going to leave? Was it because it was what he thought she wanted? No!

She took the IV from her arm and the little heart monitoring device from her body and threw the sheets off herself, startling her parents.

"Pruu Tachibana! Get back to bed now!" Worry laced their words. What was their daughter thinking?

She leapt from the bed and rushed to the door, jerking it open and rushing into the hallway. She hurried down the hallway and after the retreating back of Ikuto.

"Ikuto-kun!" Her eyes were filling with tears, but she wasn't sure if they were sad or not. The linoleum floor was cold against her feet and she was worried about crashing into some poor person.

Ikuto obviously heard her calling him since he turned around. He was surprised though when she crashed into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burring her face in his chest. The material of his uniform absorbed her tears before they could even fall. Ikuto was glad he had the reflexes of a cat since any other person would have fallen over from the force. He looked at her with an amused smile and brought his arms around her also.

"Yes?" he asked calmly.

"Don't go…" she muttered. She looked up at his with watery blue eyes. He chuckled at her childish face and leaned his head down, pressing his forehead to hers.

"Really now?' he asked with an amused smirk. "And why not?"

She sniffled a little and her eyes clenched closed with a blush. "Because…. Because, Ikuto-kun is the one I like best."

He smirked and tucked her head under his chin. "Pruu-chan is the one I like best also." He pulled her away a little bit. "Let's get you back to your bed." He picked her up bridal style and started walking down the hallway.

"Ikuto-kun, stop! This is embarrassing!" He ignored her as he brought her back to her room and set her on the bed.

Her mother and father stared at the boy and their daughter. Her father was the first one to speak.

"Listen here, young man. If you think you can just waltz in and snatch away my daughter, you've got another thing coming to you." He was about to follow it with a threat, but his daughter looked at him pleadingly and Ikuto just looked at him placidly.

He cleared his throat and sighed. "Wh-What I mean to say was…" He bowed his head respectively. "Thank you very much for taking care of my daughter." Her mother bowed her head to with a smile and pulled her husband out of the room with a smile.

Ikuto sat in the chair next to her bed and looked at her. "Ready to hear my explanation?"

She flushed and nodded. "Yes…"

Ikuto took a small breath and began to explain. Utau- the blonde girl- is my sister." He saw the weird look Pruu gave him and continued. "She jumped on me and kissed me. I have no romantic feelings for her whatsoever. As for Amu, she's a grade schooler that I tease. She has charas as well and she is in a group with someone I knew as a child. I have no romantic feelings toward either girls, nor have I ever." He looked at her with pools of violet. "Do you believe me?"

Pruu turned red and turned her face away. "Yes… I do. I'm sorry for being so jealous and stupid…." She kept her eyes away from his direction. She was such an idiot.

Ikuto used one of her hands to force her to look at him and looked at her with those deep pools of color that she could just drown in.

"So, is everything alright with us?" he asked her, though he already knew the answer.

"Y-Yes…." She blushed more when Ikuto gave her a smirk.

"Good." He kissed her forehead and paused. "Now, we just have to figure out how you'll make it up to me."

"Huh?" 'Make it up to him'?

He smirked even more. A befitting look for a cat. "I have just the thing." He pressed a gentle finger to her soft lips. "You have to kiss me."

"Huh?" Her face turned red.

"Yup. Not on the cheek, but on the lips. A full 5 seconds, and no chara changes allowed." He looked to Airi at that one. "After avoiding me all this time and making me worry so much, I deserve that much." He stayed in his leaning position and looked at her. "Go ahead."

Pruu was bright red. His face was close enough that she could kiss him, but it was so embarrassing! She turned red. Was he going to watch her kiss him? "I-I-Ikuto….. Cl-Close your eyes…" Something to make it less embarrassing.

He chuckled and did as he was asked, closing his eyes and waiting patiently. He didn't move an inch and Pruu sucked in a deep breath for courage.

It's now or never! She thought. She leaned forward and closed her eyes tightly. She felt Ikuto's soft lips on hers and she felt her face get super hot. Ikuto responded to the kiss, but he just pressed his lips to hers, not making any attempts for anything else.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four. Pruu's face couldn't get any darker.

Five. She slowly pulled away and her eye lids fluttered open shyly.

"Th-There…. Are you still upset?" She looked at him with her sky blue eyes innocently.

He smirked at her. "Nope. But your dad might be. He saw the whole thing." He chuckled, amused. "Maybe he thinks his daughter's a pervert?" He chuckled and kissed her forehead a little, entertained by her rising temperature.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?" He took her hand and kissed her fingertips. "Bye." He waved and left, a snickering Yoru floating after him.

Pruu's face was tomato red and getting worse. Her father saw…? She looked out the window and saw her father with an unbelievable expression. She waved nervously and quite hesitantly. What had Ikuto gotten her into….?

Bunnii: Hey, sorry it's taken a while. Been busy. And been having my own romantic adventures…. Only, I fail worse than Pruu, Can't even look at my bf and sometimes I get so nervous I can't even look at him . Suckssss. Well, hoped you enjoyed the chapter. If you read my ANIMA Lover one, please vote: Genesis or Zack? I won't continue until I get at least 3-4 votes for one side. Please? I'll love you so much…..