I Belong To You: A Kisshu And Ichigo Love Story

Chapter 8: Being A Good Friend

After a long and trying day at school, Ichigo was in no mood to go to work. Walking as slowly as she could in the direction of Café Mew Mew, she wondered what Ryou would say if she just went home and curled up in bed. Lately sleep seemed to be the only thing she wanted, but at night she never got enough of it.

"Maybe Kisshu will be at the Café. I could say hello and ask how things are going on his planet." She had to admit, she was extremely curious about how much Kisshu and his planet had changed. She had yet to have an actual conversation with him. Maybe she could catch him during one of her breaks and ask him about his new, higher position. She also wanted to know how the enemy aliens had found out about the Mew Mews.

"After all, I am the leader of the Tokyo Mew Mews. I should be informed about these kinds of things," she said, trying to exude confidence. As she crossed through the park, she heard a couple of voices talking behind one of the trees. Looking around, she saw – an unpleasant jolt shot through her – Parfait talking with Kisshu. She was standing, in Ichigo's opinion, awfully close to him, and the expression on her beautiful face was clever and conniving, as if she was trying to wheedle something out of him.

She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying. However, her eavesdropping came to an abrupt halt as Kisshu looked up at her. She started, her face going red and both her tail and ears popping out.

"Waaa!" she yelped, trying to hide them both. Turning away from Kisshu in utter humiliation, she hurried away toward the Café. "Hey, neko-chan!" she heard Kisshu call behind her. She didn't stop or look back. But before she could reach the door to the Café, Kisshu materialized in front of her.

"K-Kisshu!" she yelped, still vainly trying to cover her ears.

Kisshu was grinning at her. "Long time no see, Ichigo. I'd been hoping I'd get a chance to talk to you. How's things?"

"Oh, uh, they're great!" Ichigo said brightly. "And what about you? I guess you're pretty famous on your planet now, huh?" She wished she could have said something more clever. Seeing Kisshu grinning at her – just like old times, except without the intention of a fight – made her feel suddenly warm inside. She didn't want to admit it, but it occurred to her a second time just how good looking he was. Had he been this way all along? Had growing up and two years of not seeing him simply enhanced the qualities he'd had already? Had she just never noticed because they'd always been fighting, and because she'd been in love with Aoyama-kun?

Meanwhile, Kisshu was taking in every perfect ounce of Ichigo. She was in her school uniform – a form-fitting, short-skirted affair – and her blush hadn't failed to appear as it usually did when she was embarrassed. Watching her mouth move as she talked, it suddenly occurred to him how much he'd like to kiss her.

"Oh, famous enough to have a nice house and all that," Kisshu said casually. "We're all doing much better ever since we brought the Mew Aqua. Why are you hiding your ears?" he added, grinning wider, "They're very…cute."

"Th-they are?" Ichigo couldn't help but feel pleased by the compliment. She was so used to having to try and cover up for being a 'freak.' No one had ever told her they looked good before.

"Of course. You always look cute. Especially when we were fighting each other, and you were wearing that pink dress and a bow on your tail."

Ichigo stared. "You remember what I was wearing?"

Kisshu laughed. "Neko-chan, I even remember what you used to say when you used your Strawberry Bell."

"You do?"

"Hai."

Ichigo was silent for a moment. Then, she put her hands on her hips and said huffily, "Hmph. Well, for my part, I remember what you said when you gave us another Chimera Animal to deal with."