Love Found Too Late

Summery: It was a great day and Ichigo decided to take a nap at the park. But when a Kirema Anima attacks, what will Kisshu do to save the one he loves? Slightly KxI.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own TMM, m'kay?


Ichigo sat happily on a bench at the park. Masaya had confessed how deeply he loved her today, and Ichigo couldn't be happier. She giggled to herself.

"He's so perfect… I'll never leave his side!" she exclaimed. To make things better, Kisshu was no where to be found the entire day.

"Masaya loves me, I have the day off, and best of all, No Kisshu! What more could a girl ask for?!" the mew mew said joyously. She closed her eyes thoughtfully as she sank down on the bench to a more comfortable position. Today, Ichigo would simply relax. Her sensitive ears picked up what she thought was a sob. After some time though, she relaxed again. Unknown to her, Kisshu wasn't as far from her as she would have hoped. In the tree next to the bench sat Kisshu. His head hung low and he slowly closed his eyes, causing a tear to roll down his cheek. It seemed that no matter what he did, Ichigo would never be his. He started to slightly rock back and forth absentmindedly.

"Why?" he whispered and more tears fell. Suddenly, something caused Kisshu to look up. He gasped as he saw a Kirema Anima. He looked past the large, black rat to catch a glimpse of Taruto as he teleported away.

'Why wouldn't he stay?' Kisshu thought. He followed the rats gaze and fear filled his heart. The Kirema Anima was approaching Ichigo who was fast asleep. Suddenly, the rat launched itself at Ichigo.

"NO!" Kisshu screamed as he jumped into the Kirema Anima's path. Ichigo was startled awake. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the giant rat leap on Kisshu. The force caused the alien to fly into the air and land painfully on the ground behind Ichigo. He moaned as he slowly got up. The Kirema Anima now viewed Kisshu as the enemy and set him as its target. Kisshu barely had time to summon his swords as the rat attacked. He blocked the rat's claws with the swords. Ichigo watched in amazement as they fought, completely lost in thought,

'I was asleep…'

As the rat lunged at Kisshu again, the alien jumped out of the way and slashed at the Kirema Anima's side. This seemed to only further enrage the beast.

'…I could have been killed…'

The rat knocked one of Kisshu's swords from his hand. The alien growled in frustration as he launched the next attack.

'…I was vulnerable…'

The rat saw his attack coming and dodged. It then used its tail as a whip and hit Kisshu in the stomach. The young cyniclon almost doubled over in pain. Seeing this, the rat pounced towards Kisshu.

'…But Kisshu…'

Kisshu looked up to see the rat was in mid air. He had no time to get out of the way so he did the only thing he could think of. He tightly closed his eyes and looked away as he held his sword out in front of him.

'…Kisshu saved me!'

The alien screamed just as the rat made impact with the sword, its own force and gravity impaling it. There was a loud thump as the beast's limp body crumbled on Kisshu. A bright light engulfed the creature and a small explosion occurred as it disappeared into thin air. As the dust cleared, Kisshu lay unmoving on the ground.

"Kisshu!" Ichigo called out in concern she'd never felt for the alien before. She ran to his side and pulled him onto her lap. His eyes were wide and he seemed to be in a state of shock. He was slightly shaking and blood trickled from his mouth and nose. There were several cuts scattered across his body and Ichigo knew there was most likely even more damage than she could see. Kisshu took short, quick breaths of air.

"Kisshu, calm down. You're okay, alright? You're gonna be okay." Ichigo tried to relax the fallen alien. She absently stroked his hair, and he seemed to calm down a bit. Slowly, he became aware of his surroundings again.

"Guess you…don't get…a break from me…for long…eh?" Kisshu struggled to say with a small smirk. Ichigo forced a smile on her face.

'Look at him. He's dieing yet he's still looking out for me.' Ichigo thought to herself, knowing he was trying to show her that everything would be okay.

"I'm gonna…kill Taruto…when I see him." The injured alien added. Ichigo couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Kisshu chasing Taruto around, yelling at him for how stupid he was. Kisshu slightly moved and both he and Ichigo were surprised as it caused him to whimper.

"Shhh. Lie still, Kish." Ichigo commanded. Kisshu looked into Ichigo's eyes. He remembered that look of love and adoration in them when Masaya said how much he loved her. A look, he soon realized, he would never see. Even if he lived through this, Ichigo would never love him. Kisshu began crying, too weak to hold anything back. Ichigo froze in shock at the sight of Kisshu crying.

"I…love…you…so…much!" Kisshu exclaimed as loud as he could.

"Shhh. Don't cry, Kish. Calm down. Just calm down, okay?" Ichigo pleaded, tears now in her eyes as she realized that Kisshu had probably followed her all day.

"Ichigo…" Kisshu whispered in an exhausted tone as his eyes closed half way.

"Kisshu, no! Stay with me! Don't close your eyes!" Ichigo yelled.

"Be…safe…my……kitten." He muttered barely above a whisper as his eyes closed.

"NO! KISSHU!" Ichigo screamed as she held the alien tightly. There was no sign of life from him.

"Kisshu!" Ichigo was startled by the deep voice. She looked over her shoulder to find Pai and Taruto. Taruto stepped forward but stopped dead in his tracks when Pai growled at him threateningly.

"You FOOL!" He screamed at the cyniclon child as he rushed to Kisshu's side. Taruto didn't dare to move. Pai knelt down in front of Ichigo.

"Lay him down." Pai commanded. Ichigo looked up at him. She whispered,

"Pai…"

"NOW!" The eldest cyniclon cut her off. Ichigo slowly, gently laid Kisshu down on the ground. Pai reached out to Kisshu's neck to feel for a pulse. His eyes grew wide and his pupils narrowed in shock.

"No..." he whispered as he pulled his now trembling hand back.

"Pai?" Ichigo asked, now even more afraid than before.

"He…" Pai took a deep breath, "He's dea- He's gone."

"No! NO! HE CAN'T BE! NO!!!" Ichigo screeched, tears now slowly falling. Pai picked up the green haired alien's lifeless body. Ichigo looked into Pai's eyes and was a bit taken aback to find tears.

"All for a human. All for a human." Pai said, spitting out the name of Ichigo's race as if it were a poison. He shook his head as he teleported away with Kisshu's body. Ichigo looked over her shoulder to find that Taruto had already left.

'It was all for you…' a voice in Ichigo's mind said. The cat girl couldn't take it any longer and she finally burst into tears.

'He really did love me. Oh, god. He loved me!!!!' Ichigo thought.

"HE LOVED ME!!!!!!" She screamed out and the tears came out harder. When she closed her eyes she could picture him staring at her with that playful look in his eyes and that cocky smirk on his lips. Then she saw him with tears in his eyes as he told her how much he loved her. All of her memories of the alien hit her at once and she realized that she loved him too. But unfortunately for her, that love was found too late.


fin.

So, thats it. Please don't forget to leave a reveiw!!! Nya!