A/N: So, sorry PandaFatty that I didn't put the confessions in the last one! And Mysterious Angel Girl, thanks for loving the darkness! It was fun to write! Anyways, this one starts with a confession, so, hope you like it! We're starting to get somewhere with it…sorry, Ali, that I'm so evil to you! :(

My wonderful editor, who I shall now call Tsuki, since her FF name is so friggin' long, thank you for editing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara.

Ikuto

He'd heard Amu burst into the apartment, his name on her lips. He was about to answer when she'd broken off and he felt her crawl close to him. Right now, her head was on his chest (she'd fallen asleep after a few minutes). Ikuto's arms held her closer to him.

How did you get into Easter? I always thought- His train of thought broke off as Amu stirred next to him. She didn't wake up—just let out a contented sigh. I never wanted you to get caught up in Easter. I would've stayed there forever to keep you out.

One hand was running through her pink hair. Once it had been short-ish, but now it was down to her back. Her eyes fluttered and she mumbled something in her sleep. This time, her eyes did open. "Ah," she muttered. "You idiot."

Ikuto blinked in surprise as she lifted herself up on one elbow. "Why me? Why didn't you just move on? Don't you know that's why I left?" she chastised. He still looked at her blankly, yet amused. She groaned. "You're hopeless. Everyone else moved on! Why didn't you? That's why I did it…" she said in a soft voice.

Understanding dawned on Ikuto as he smirked, pulling Amu back down so their foreheads were touching. She blushed bright red, but, surprisingly, didn't try to pull away. "I thought it'd have gotten through to you by now," he muttered. Amu's golden eyes stared into his sapphire ones. Amu began to roll her eyes. "I love you, more than anything."

Amu

"...more than anything," Ikuto went on. She went slightly rigid, having not heard the confession in years. She looked into his eyes—deadly serious. And, he was waiting for what she'd say next.

A thousand things raced through her mind: Memories of her and Ikuto, Utau's subtle and not-so-subtle hints, Tadase's threat, and her own conflicting emotions. A thousand other things she could say, as well.

"Why," was the first thing she said. Not even giving time to let Ikuto's face harden into the closed-off and sad shell, she continued, "do I love you so much?" Then, she leaned down and kissed him.

Alison

She stayed bright-eyed and alert as Tadase pulled the door shut behind her. She crossed the room and sat in one of the plush chairs, crossing her legs and shooting him a glamorous, interested look. "And what would this proposal be?" she asked silkily.

Tadase sat in the chair across from her and rested his chin on his folded hands. Alison could see the same gleam and madness in his eyes that were, undoubtedly, in hers. "Well," he began in a painstakingly nonchalant and slow voice, "it's something that I think you'd be interested in."

She leaned forward slightly. "I'm listening, darling," she said, giving him a wide, suggestive smile. It grew when he returned the favor. I need Easter. Not just the money or influence…I want the fame. I want to be bigger than Utau. I want to be greater than any American singer.

"You and I, Ms. Shimamura, are the same. All I ever wanted was love, you see? I just wanted one thing—when I changed (for the better, mind you), I still didn't get anywhere. So…maybe I can settle for something that I hadn't expected." Alison listened in rapture, waiting for him to continue. "I'm guessing there's something you want as well? Fame? Fortune?" he leaned forward, red eyes glittering. "What is it you desire?"

Alison found herself leaning forward as well. "Fame. Music," she clipped.

Tadase nodded, content, and grinned wide. "So, marry me," he told her. Alison didn't move a muscle, trying to find the downside.

We are both the same shade of madness and he has what I want…and I think I can give him what he wants, Alison decided.

"You will surpass Hoshina Utau a hundred fold," he promised. Alison stood, went over to him, and planted herself on his lap. Her arms slithered around his neck. "Is that a yes?"

She planted a firm kiss on his lips; quick and to the point. "You have a deal, Mr. Hotori," she told him.

Yoru

He checked through his mail again, making sure there wasn't any for anyone else. Strange that Kairi's was up here...maybe we have a new person? Yoru wondered idly.

"Mr. Nekozawa?" a nervous voice called from the doorway. He looked up to see a healthy-looking blonde woman. Her hair was to her shoulders with little curls on the end. Her eyes were sparkling green and her cheeks were flushed and rosy. She wore a cutesy little green dress with a white apron over it—recently used, by the looks of it.

"Yes? How can I help you…?" he asked. His golden eyes recognized something eerily familiar about her…but he just couldn't place it. Instead he gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk, running a hand through his purple hair.

He sat down across from her as she fiddled with the string on her apron for a moment. "Oh! My name is Su. Shimamura. Shimamura Su!" she blundered. The name niggled at the back of Yoru's mind. "I was, ah, looking for my sister. My friend—Amu—works with you."

He nodded, wondering how she knew that. "Oh, you're always coming to her apartment—and Miki talks about you all the time!" she gushed. Yoru came very close to blushing. "Anyways, I thought she might've wanted to check out the 'all famous Easter'. Have you…seen her around? She's my height, blonde hair, blue eyes?" she offered.

Then it clicked in Yoru's mind. Blue eyes…Shimamura…he connected all the pieces. He'd seen briefs glimpses of the boss and a blonde haired woman walking around. It was also the buzz of the office. Shimamura Alison was her name; supposedly she had been an overly unruly test subject down in the labs. For some reason, Tadase had been enthralled with her and they were touring the building.

She was still chattering on a description, and Yoru had no idea what to say. Instead, he feigned his phone ringing. "If you'll excuse me for a moment," he said, walking out of the room. He flipped open his phone and called the boss—something he almost never did.

"What?" Tadase picked up on the fifth ring. He sounded more irate than usual—never a good sign. "It better be important! I'm in the middle—" he started. Yoru hadn't cut him off. "Anyways, what did you need, Nekozawa?"

The purple-haired man bit back a laugh and told the boss of the woman in his office. There was a low curse and then some grumblings that he couldn't make out. Yoru waited patiently, knowing better than to interrupt Tadase.

"Would you send her up to us?" a woman's sickly sweet voice asked over the phone. "We're in his office," she offered.

Yoru agreed and walked back into his office. "Ms. Shimamura? Your sister is here—she's up with our CEO right now. They wanted me to send you up," he explained.

Flustered, the woman followed him out and up to Tadase's floor. He wondered what the poor girl's sister had turned into. And what they'd do with Su.

Dia

"Hikaru," she acknowledged briskly, brushing past him to where the newbie's office was. I don't like your cryptic games, green hair. But, if it will get me what I want…well, I'm prepared to listen, she thought. Kairi was waiting for her when she came to him, a well-worn file under his arm. He led her to the side room of 9G—Shimamura's room, she knew.

She stood as he sat down and removed a few choice papers from the folder and spread them across the little table. "First, I want you to know what happened. Having only half-knowledge in something as complex and dangerous as this is unstable and could become chaotic," he explained. She didn't say anything, just waiting for him to continue.

"This," he said, pointing to a complex strand of formulas, "and this," he continued, pointing to another, "are the same." She looked closely to find that they were, in fact, the same formulas. "This one was in one of Kazuomi's old, hidden files on Tadase. This one is from this file I found. It was first constructed to be the most potent X Formula—it was and is.

"Kazuomi needed and heir after Ikuto and Utau got out and Hikaru went into the science department. So, he used it on Tadase over a period of a year starting at Nikaidou and Sanjo's wedding. They knew that if they gave it to him all at once, he would lose the mental capacity and humanity he had and go completely sinister and crazy."

But Tadase didn't know that when he gave it to Shimamura…Dia concluded. Kairi nodded, confirming her thoughts.

"Then there's this," he handed her another piece of paper. Dia skimmed through it—from Tadase to Hikaru:

We—as in Alison and I—need you to develop an X Formula that has barely any affect but can affect many people at once. We will be having our wedding very soon and we want it in our beverages. An Easter wedding is not complete without X Formula—on that, we are agreed.

Dia sucked in her breath and narrowed her eyes. My Tadase, she thought possessively. But that's not what I really want. I want the fame and fortune that comes with him, she thought.

"So what do you need me for, genius boy?" she asked in a brusque tone. Kairi didn't even notice the venom in her voice.

He looked at her with those purple eyes. "I need you to help us. We both want the same thing at this point. Get rid of Tadase and Alison. Then, we give you Easter," he proposed. Dia looked at him skeptically.

So what's the catch…? Yet, no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't see a down side. And so, despite both of their better judgments, a deal was struck between the two. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. But what if they're also the friend of my 2nd enemy…? Dia wondered idly as the two shook hands.

A/N: What did you think? Deals being struck, confessions made, all the workings for a great piece of art! Mwahaha, things are finally starting to come together! I love it! I hope you did too! Tell me by…R&R!