This story is set before they got Zakuro to join their group, but right after they had been given their powers. Ichigo, at this moment, is running around school and freaking out. It's a day after they were infused, and Zakuro is busy working.
Zakuro, a popular idol with a passion for everything, was one of the loneliest people in the world. She had very few true friends, since she was very cold. It wasn't hard to be friendly around people, but she wanted people to understand her as well. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to be close to happening. Zakuro had gone to the park recently, and had met some girls there. But a sudden earthquake made her faint, and she woke up near a refreshment machine. She didn't know how she got there, but she spent the rest of the day signing autographs. She wondered if she would ever meet them again, yet she figured that they weren't very nice. Most people weren't, they were so selfish and all they wanted was to be friends with a popular idol. They never tried to get to know Zakuro, acting like they were so cool.
As Zakuro did her new spring photo shoot, she found her mind was wandering. She felt strangely alert, and she was feeling unusually hungry. Posing in a waving pose, she smiled only on impulse. The camera flashed, and there was a clap. "Wonderful, Zakuro-chan! Of course, you're good at everything." The woman who was taking pictures of Zakuro said, as she walked up to her.
Zakuro turned to face her, chuckling softly as she did. She had heard that compliment before, although she didn't really believe it. "I'm sure it's only because of your excellent skills, Nami-san." She asserted, bowing low to seem thankful.
Rolling her eyes, Nami pushed playfully on Zakuro's arm. "So modest! You're not at all like other idols!" She stated, turning away from Zakuro to check on her camera.
Walking over to a folding chair, Zakuro sat down in it carefully. Taking a drink of her water, she noticed the magazine sitting on a nearby table. It was a fan magazine, full of information all about Zakuro. Letting out a heavy sigh, Zakuro crossed her legs. Most of it was untrue, just made up to make fans happy. Still, it wasn't like it really mattered.
Zakuro took another drink of her water, when someone walked up to her. "Excuse me, Fujiwara-san?" A timid voice whispered from behind her, making Zakuro look up.
The face was familiar, but she couldn't place the name. It was a girl with long black hair and pale skin, and she looked really cute. Smiling pleasantly, Zakuro got up from her chair. "May I help you?" She inquired, throwing her long hair over her shoulder.
The girl swallowed hard, before nodding quickly. Thrusting out a piece of paper, Zakuro saw that she was holding a photo of her. "C-Can I have an autograph, please?" The girl asked, trying not to look into her eyes.
Zakuro's smile flickered, but she managed to not frown. Getting out of her chair, she took a pen out of her pocket. "Sure, who's it for?" She questioned, trying to hide the annoyed tone in her voice.
The girl looked up at her, as if she was shocked she didn't know. After recovering, she cracked a small smile. "I-I'm Mari, one of the back-up dancers for your new concert?" She reminded her, gripping the picture tight.
Taking the picture from Mari, Zakuro signed it with a flourish. She was beginning to hate that photo, she had seen it too many times. Mari stared at Zakuro, as if trying to decide something. When she finished signing, Zakuro handed the photo back to her. "There, please continue to be my fan." She said, mostly out of habit.
Nami ran up to her, with her usual amount of energy. "Zakuro-chan, you can go rest up now! We've got to set up for the next shoot, so you have about an hour!" She told her, leading Zakuro away from Mari. Unseen by Zakuro, Mari crumpled up the photo. Rubbing at her eyes, she ran off into the studio.
Minutes later, Zakuro was laying on the bed in her trailer. She felt so odd recently, as if she was changing. It was getting a lot harder to be around people, and she was finding it hard to stay awake during the early morning shoots. It had all started around the time she met those girls, as if it was all connected to them. Zakuro rolled over, and she shut her eyes. It wasn't as if she didn't like people, it was just...she was sick of fake people. She tried not to pretend herself, and she didn't really. Smile when it was right to smile, even if it wasn't really what she was feeling. She had been trained to smile, like some sort of pet. They had trained her to do a lot of things she was tired of, even speak. Stretching out, Zakuro rubbed at her eyes. It'd be nice if she could just rest and wake up far away from here, she told herself.
There was a loud knock at the door of Zakuro's trailer, making her jump. Pushing herself up from the bed, she ran over to the door. Opening it up, she saw Nami was standing there. "You have to evacuate, there's a strange animal attacking the studio!" She yelled at her, grabbing onto her hand.
Nami started to pull Zakuro away, but a large paw knocked the trailer aside. Zakuro and Nami were thrown a ways, both of them crashing into a wall. Landing on the hard ground, Zakuro saw Nami hit her head hard. Pushing herself up, she reached out to move Nami. Something roared behind Zakuro, making her turn around quickly. A huge cat-like creature was standing there, stepping closer and closer to Zakuro. Grabbing onto Nami's arm, she started to pull her closer to herself. She had no idea what was going on, but she had guessed that an animal hadn't gotten loose from the zoo. Hissing loudly, the creature swiped at the two of them. Zakuro tossed Nami out of the way, instead getting hit by the claws herself. Nami rolled down into a patch of grass, far away from Zakuro. But Zakuro herself was lying on the ground still, aching from every bone. Breathing hoarsely, she pushed herself up onto her elbows. The creature was standing right in front of her, its bright yellow eyes staring down at her. Putting her hand on her stomach, Zakuro could feel the scratch there. Growling again, the creature swatted at Zakuro. Rolling out of the way, she got up to her feet quickly and ran off. The creature chased after her, although it could have easily caught her.
Looking around, Zakuro prayed that there would be a nearby hiding spot. But she didn't see anywhere, and the creature was quickly gaining on her. Tripping over a trash can, Zakuro landed on her stomach. Shouting, she managed to push herself back up. The creature was stalking her, licking its chops and purring. Zakuro tried to get up, but she couldn't manage to stand up. Pushing herself up to her knees, she looked down at her stomach. There was a huge gash, but more interested, there seemed to be two marks just below the wound. Hearing the sound of loud purring, Zakuro looked back up. The creature was standing just above her, and it meowed at her. Zakuro shut her eyes, wincing in pain from the cuts. She couldn't be killed like this, it was insane!
But then, Zakuro began to feel herself rise up, as if she was floating up. Opening her eyes, she saw a wolf standing before her. For a moment, she just stared at it, getting the sudden impulse to reach out her hand. The wolf jumped onto her, but it disappeared as it went into her. Zakuro winced again, as a bright light came out of her stomach. Her clothes and her hair began to change, as if she was transforming into someone else.
Opening up her eyes, Zakuro hoped that it was only a dream. But the creature was still standing above her, as if getting ready to eat her. Grunting with effort, she suddenly kicked the creature in the face. Yowling, the creature back away from her. Zakuro jumped away from the cat, landing on the ground. She looked down at herself, and saw that she had changed. The mark on her stomach was clearly outlined now, and the cut was gone. Whatever was going on, Zakuro was determined to defeat this cat. Looking back at the creature, she started to walk towards it. The creature was getting to jump on her, not afraid to attack. Zakuro thrust her hand out, and she shut her eyes. "Ribbon Zakuros Pure!" She yelled, a cross-like object suddenly appearing in her hand.
A pink light hit the creature, striking it in the face. It yowled loudly, falling down to the ground. Jumping up in the air, Zakuro hit the creature again. It began to shine, slowly shrinking. Something floated away from the creature, disappearing into the sun. A small cat looked up at Zakuro, quickly running. Landing softly on the ground, Zakuro pushed her hair out of her face. She hadn't really expected anything like this, but she felt like she had a lot of power. What was that thing?
Zakuro heard a groan, gasping as she realized how she looked. Turning around, she saw that people were stumbling out from the wreckage of the studio. Before she could even react, she ran over to a nearby storage. Moving inside, she slammed the door behind her. Sinking to her knees, she let out a shaky sigh. She had no idea what to do, she seemed to be stuck like this. If anyone saw her like this, they'd be freaked out. Looking down at her knees, she shut her eyes for some comfort. She wanted to go back to normal, that was all. It'd be fine, if she could just do that. A strange warmth surrounded her and when she opened her eyes, she had gone back to normal. The cut on her stomach was gone, but she was okay otherwise. Yet in her hand, as if it had suddenly materialized, was a small pendant. Looking down at it, she wondered where it had come from. Knowing she was now back to normal, she knew she should go and help people out. Putting the pendant back into her pocket, Zakuro got up from the floor. Opening up the shed door, she saw there were people fixing things already, as if this happened all the time. Walking away from the storage shed, she remembered about Nami. She ran off towards where her trailer had been, not sure what had happened to her after that.
Zakuro saw the destroyed trailer, and saw someone lying near it in the grass. Running over to them, she saw it was Nami. She was fine, except for a big bruise on her forehead. Wiping at her own sweaty forehead, she knelt down by her. Someone walked up to her, bending down to look at Zakuro. "Is she okay, ma'am?" A man asked, holding out a handkerchief.
Zakuro looked up, and she saw a man in a trench-coat with his hair in a long brown ponytail. He didn't look like he knew who he was, instead staring down at the woman on the ground. Nodding, Zakuro pushed herself up to her feet. Turning around, she looked at the crew that was tidying things up. "Hey, could we get some help over here?!" She called to them, waving her arm in the air.
The man continued staring at Zakuro, and he cleared his throat. Glancing at him, Zakuro was being to get annoyed by him. "Did you see what happened?" He inquired, sounding as if he thought she did.
Pausing for a moment, she shook her head. "No, I hid inside the storage shed. It looked like a jaguar had gotten loose or something, but I really don't know." She commented, not wanting to tell anyone about what had happened. The man continued to stare at her for a bit, before turning away and walking off. Zakuro watched him go, wondering who he was. Already, the crew was tending to Nami. Looking back at them, she forgot about the man. She had transformed, and it wasn't that strange. At least she had managed to save Nami.
Farther away, the man in the trench-coat had stopped. He took a strange fluffy thing out of his pocket, and it flew up towards his face. Backing up, the fluffy thing started to beep as he did. It shone a blue light on the ground, a blond-haired boy appeared there. He blinked, before crossing his arms and smiling with amusement. "Is that really your disguise, Keichiro?" He questioned, stifling a chuckle.
The man shrugged, straightening the trench-coat as he did. "I think it looks good on me, honestly." He stated, smirking at himself.
Letting a heavy sigh, the boy stood up straight. "Did you see a girl there?" He wondered, looking quite annoyed.
Nodding, the man looked back towards the studio. "I didn't even need to interfere, she took care of the problem all by herself. She's a lot stronger than Ichigo-chan, I should say." He answered, gripping his hands into fists. "But I don't think we can get her without the other girls, Ryou. She's awful cold, and she had the DNA of the grey wolf in her. " He asserted, looking back towards the blue light.
The boy groaned, and he put his hand on his forehead. "I was hoping she wouldn't activate so soon, we don't have any way to take care of her. So she doesn't get in trouble, Keichiro, you keep an eye on her." He instructed him, the blue light disappearing.
Staring down at the ground, Keichiro seemed to be deep in thought. As the fluffy pink thing landed on his shoulder, his smile faded. "Mm, okay..." He mumbled, not sounding like he really wanted to.
Zakuro had no idea what she had gotten herself into, even after she had fought that thing. But she was sure of one thing: she was changing.