Ever since she was a little girl, Ichigo had been afraid of the dark.
She couldn't help it, it was so mysterious. Whenever something creaked, her imagination went wild and she was scared stiff that something was coming to get her. In Ichigo's mind, there were monsters under her bed, just waiting for her to jump out whenever she had to get up to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water. So she waited, terrified.
Ichigo was still afraid of the dark even when she became a Mew Mew. But now the creatures in her mind were more realistic. 'More Chimera Animas...' She thought. 'They're going to get me while I'm asleep...' And when she met Kish, her fears multiplied. 'He stole my first kiss, what if he tries to steal my virginity as well?!' So she lie awake, every night, until a fitless sleep consumed her.
Then, one night, she rolled over and looked out of her window, just like every night, to make sure nothing was there. But unlike all of the other nights, there was more then just the tree standing outside her window.
There, the figure of a man stood. But it was not like any other man that you would expect to see on earth, no. This man had long, pointed ears, and long, dark hair. But more importantly, this man had two glowing, golden eyes.
'Kish...' Ichigo thought, scared to the point where she could not move. The girl watched through her eyelids as the alien boy teleported into her room. He began walking towards her, and Ichigo closed her eyes. 'This is it...' She thought. 'I'm gonna get raped... I'm so sorry everyone, but I cant move.' Ichigo tried to keep her breathing pattern normal, awaiting her fate.
Nothing happened. After a couple of minutes, Ichigo summoned all of her courage to open her eyes just a smudge. Kisshu was kneeling by her bed, simply staring at her. Ichigo nearly screamed as she prayed that he would not be able to see that her eyes were open.
She watched him closely. 'I cant believe this!' She thought, disgusted with herself. 'Why cant I just-' She was pulled out of her thoughts when Kish moved forward to kiss her on the forehead. Had it been possible, Ichigo would have frozen up even more. 'What...?'
"Sweet dreams, kitten..." Kisshu muttered, gently bringing up a hand and tracing her cheek. "I hope one day, you'll dream about me..." With that, he left.
Ichigo was still frozen. Confused, she simply sat there, no longer scared. 'What on earth?' She thought. 'Why didn't he attack me when he had the chance? I was completely vulnerable!' So there Ichigo lay, trying to make sense of the green-haired alien's actions. Until a sleep took her, that for once, had no Chimera animas in it.
She dreamt that she was in a field, surrounded by grasses. Ichigo looked up at the night sky, filled with stars. She gasped at the beauty of it all. Turning every which way, she felt very at ease. Sighing, she leaned down against a tree. Ichigo closed her eyes and sighed again. She had never felt so peaceful. After a while, she heard a twig snap behind her. Ichigo turned around slowly, unafraid. Her eyes widened. "It's you..."
She awoke with a jolt. Ichigo sat up groggily, shaking her head. In a flash, she remembered the last bit of the dream. 'Who was that?' She thought. 'I can't remember...' Sighing, Ichigo stood up and got ready for work.
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The next night, Ichigo lie awake, lost in thought. Would Kisshu come again? She shook her head, annoyed. Why did she care? She should have slapped him around a bit and told him to never come into her room again! So why didn't she? The Mew was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps. Ichigo felt a hand touch her shoulder and knew that it was Kish.
"Hello again..." He muttered. "Did you dream about me?" She felt his hand travel up her arm and to her face. Ichigo shivered involuntarily, hoping he wouldn't notice.
He did. Chuckling, he muttered, "Ah, Ichigo..." Rubbing her cheek softly, he continued. "Was that as nice for you as it was for me? If only you could feel that way when you're conscious..." Ichigo shivered again.
Kish simply sat there, staring at her. Tenderly, he traced his fingers across her lips. Ichigo held back a whimper. "I'll be watching you, my precious..." And with that, he left a second time.
Ichigo lie awake for only a couple seconds that time. Questions flitted through her mind continuously, but she couldn't find any answers before she once again fell into a deep sleep.
Ichigo stood up. She was in the field again. Still marveling in it's beauty, she sighed happily. Once again, she heard footsteps behind her. Ichigo pouted. She didn't want to wake up so soon. Turning around, she faced the mystery man.
"Kish?" The green haired alien walked towards her slowly.
"Hey hon..." He said, smirking. Ichigo smiled, uncaring of whether or not he attacked her. This was a dream, wasn't it?
"Where am I?" She asked him. Kisshu's smile faltered for a second.
"We're on... my home planet..." Ichigo looked at him quizzically.
"But... from the pictures Ryou showed us... you're planet is barren and covered in snow, right?" Kisshu nodded.
"Yes. It is. This was before that, the planet I love..." Ichigo looked at his sad expression, she had never seen him like that before.
"Why are you never like this?" Kish's head shot up. "Why are you always happy, whenever I see you?" Kisshu smiled.
"If I'm not there to cheer Pai and Tart up, then what good am I?" Ichigo blinked. "I have to stay with them. Whether I want to or not." Ichigo gazed at him in wonder.
"And why am I here?" Kisshu smiled at her.
"I wish to show you my world. Without the treat of war between our races. Ichigo, please..." She smiled.
"Of course!" Ichigo grabbed his hand and began to run. "Please show me!" She said happily. Kish smiled, though his heart was still dark. Ichigo still believed that it was just a dream. He knew this, because otherwise she wouldn't have trusted him. Still, he smiled at her.
"Come this way..." Kisshu said as he showed Ichigo his planet as it once was.
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On the third night, Ichigo happily fell down onto the bed, and threw the covers over herself. The last night, Kisshu had shown her wonders like she'd never seen. Trees of bright red, and grass that shimmered in the sun. She saw castles floating in the sky, and cities below the water. And the animals... Ichigo smiled as she remembered the flying lizards and tiny elephants.
And the best part was that she remembered everything. Ichigo smiled and rolled over. She remembered everything... She closed her eyes and waited for Kisshu to come again.
Ichigo heard as he walked towards her bed, as he knelt down beside her. "Ichigo, love?" She smiled involuntarily. No one had ever spoken to her with such tenderness. "Sweet heart..." Ichigo wanted to open her eyes, but for some reason, thought that it was better for her to keep them shut.
"Kish..." She mumbled. Kisshu felt the heat rise to his cheeks.
"Ichigo..." He said quietly. Kisshu leaned over her, and Ichigo felt his breath on her lips.
'Kiss me!' She thought, uncaring of the war between the humans and Silicons. She didn't think of any of the Mews, or of Masaya. There was only one thought running through Ichigo's mind. 'Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me!'
Can you imagine her disappointment when Kisshu only kissed her forehead?
Ichigo almost let out a groan. Kisshu pulled back. "Until tomorrow, kitten." He teleported away.
Ichigo lay there, awake, for what seemed like forever. 'This is so unfair...' She thought. 'The ONE time I WANTED him to kiss me...' She sighed and rolled over. Her eyelids drooped as sleep took her.
She stood in the field again, but this time, it was different. The mountains around her were crumbling, and the lake nearby was on fire. People were screaming, and chaos was everywhere. Ichigo covered her ears, closed her eyes, and screamed.
After a while, the rumbling stopped, and Ichigo found the courage to open her eyes.
Ashes were everywhere, falling like snow. The houses had been burned down, and all that was left were hot embers. Ichigo looked around. The trees were gone, and the lake was completely drained. Ichigo felt her eyes water.
"MOM!" Ichigo's head whirled around. A young boy, no older than six, was crawling across the ground. His arms and legs were scratched up, and his dark green hair was dusty with ash. The little boy was turning around frantically, until he spotted a lump in the snow. He let out a cry and ran forward.
"MOM! MOM!" Ichigo felt tears running down her face. "MOM! Wake up!" The little boy's voice cracked. "MOM!"
The world around Ichigo crashed, and she found herself falling. Ichigo clawed at the darkness, trying to find anything to cling to.
Two strong arms surrounded her. Ichigo fell back into them, shivering. Lips caressed her forehead, and she wrapped her arms around the mysterious person.
"Ichigo..." Kisshu muttered. "I'm so sorry you had to see that."
"Kish." Ichigo's tears stained his shirt. "That... that little boy... was you, wasn't it?" Kisshu stayed silent, staring out into space. His face went hard, and his jaw was set. "Kish...?"
"I'm sorry." He said after a while. "I didn't mean to... I..."
Ichigo covered his mouth. "No, it was important." Her tears were still falling. "Your mother..." She covered her face and cried. "I'm so sorry!"
Kish stared at her awkwardly. "It's... not you're burden to bear Ichigo."
Ichigo gave another sniffle. "I didn't mean to get all emotional on you."
Kish shook his head. "Not your fault. That's because you're dreaming. It causes your emotions to become even more pronounced."
Ichigo looked up at Kish. He looked the same way he always did, but something was wrong. She squinted at him, then gasped.
"Kisshu... are you... crying?" She raised a hand to cup his cheek. Kish shivered and grabbed it, holding it in place. Ichigo blushed slightly at the warm expression on his face.
"I love you..." He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. Ichigo couldn't help but have a smile grow on her face.
"Kish..."
Ichigo awoke with a start.
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The next night, Ichigo didn't even bother going to sleep. She simply opened the window and gazed up at the tree.
She didn't have to wait very long. It was a manner of minutes before Kisshu appeared outside. He stared at her in shock, while Ichigo simply waited for him to say something, anything.
Kisshu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh heh... hi..."
Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "'Hi'? That's all you have to say?"
Kish suddenly became serious and frowned. "What else would I have to say? I'm not sorry."
Ichigo shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Kish."
He growled. "Then just what DO you mean?!"
She sighed. "Why did you show me all of that?"
Kisshu angrily turned away so that he did not have to look at her. "Because I wanted to show you MY side of the story, Ichigo. Not what Ryou or anyone else says. I wanted you to believe ME." He turned around and began to teleport away.
Ichigo's eyes widened. "WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE!" She shouted, grabbing onto his leg and pulling him down. They both fell to the ground, with Ichigo on top.
Kisshu smiled. "So Ichigo, maybe you want a little kiss?" Ichigo felt the heat rise to her face.
"Kisshu... you..." She leaned down. "... jerk, I cant believe..." Lower, so that their faces were very close. "... that you would say such a thing..." Ichigo remained motionless.
Kish smirked. "Only the best one-liners for my kitten."
Ichigo couldn't stand it anymore; she kissed him.
Butterflies instantly arose in her stomach. Ichigo wrapped her arms around Kish, who lay rigid with his eyes open. He couldn't believe it. Ichigo noted his shyness and moved her mouth so that she could probe his with her tongue, and slowly slipped it inside.
As soon as Kisshu realized that Ichigo was really kissing him, and that she had no intentions of pulling away, he rolled them both over so that he was on top and returned the kiss with mind-blowing passion. Ichigo gasped in surprise at Kisshu's gentle forcefulness.
Kish's head was reeling. His Ichigo had kissed him this time. His lips were on fire, and his body moving as if it were underwater, with slow and deliberate movements. Kisshu carefully held Ichigo's body and slowly pulled it upright so that she was sitting on his lap. He broke the kiss so that he could rest his head on her shoulder.
"I love you." He said softly. Ichigo felt the fire burning in her chest come back up to her cheeks.
"Kish, I..." She held him close. "I think I love you too..." Kisshu couldn't stop grinning; he was so happy. "Ichigo..." He buried his head in her chest. "My kitten..."
Ichigo smiled. She'd never be afraid of anything anymore. Not with her Midnight Guardian protecting her. Ichigo took Kisshu's head in her hands and kissed him again.