"Wah! Gomene! Watch out! WAH!" Lettuce shrieked as she slipped across the ice into a snow pile. Pudding giggled and clapped.
"Wee! Pudding next! Pudding next!" Pudding crashed into Lettuce. Lettuce got up shakily.
"Ice skating's so hard! I never realized!" The green mew exclaimed as she slowly made her way back onto the ice. "Waahhh!" Instantly she was sliding out of control, and she almost hit Ichigo, who was saved by Masaya in a swift, very princely movement. Ichigo was once again in awe.
"Be careful, Momomiya-chan!" Ichigo's face turned as red as her hair. She nodded in a daze. Masaya set her back down on the ice, but she still clutched to his shirt. When she realized what she was doing, she laughed nervously and let go.
"Damn that Masaya!" Kisshu spat between clenched teeth. He had been hiding in a nearby tree, doing 'research,' but he was pretty sure even Pai could tell he just went out to watch Ichigo. "I want to rip his damn throat out! I want to smash his skull in! I...I...!"
He sighed. Oh, what was the point? Unless he was going to act upon his words, they were meaningless. Just like everything he's done so far. Meaningless. Meaningless without his strawberry kitten.
"Wow, Zakuro-neesama! You're fantastic!" Mint breathed out as she watched Zakuro twirl around gracefully on the ice. She was overjoyed to watch her hero like this. Even when relaxing, she was so elegant. Mint mimicked all of her movements, but Zakuro either didn't notice or didn't care.
"Ahh! Watch out Shirogane-kun!" Lettuce rammed into the blonde teen, sending them both back into the snow.
For doing such good work at the cafè in the Holiday season, Shirogane had brought the mews (and, to his silent distaste, Masaya) to a frozen lake for ice skating over the weekend. They were staying at a nearby cabin.
"Watch it, Lettuce. You're going to hurt yourself," He responded stolidly to her but still her cheeks got flushed with pink.
"H-hai!" She whispered, keeping her eyes on her lime green mittens for the longest moment in her life. He smiled wryly at her.
"Are you ever planning to get off me?" He whispered back. He closed his eyes and came in close to her face. She could hear his breathing. "Your hair smells nice. Like peppermint." That was as much as the shy girl could possibly take without exploding. She attempted to quickly get off him, but ended up kneeing him in the chin. Twice.
"G-gomene, Shirogane-kun!" After stumbling a few feet away from him. He stretched and put his hands behind his head. He winked at her, but he kept a straight face.
"Oi, Mews! Listen up! There's a mew aqua in this area! We have to find it!" He yelled out to the team. Ichigo groaned loudly.
"Are you saying we aren't on a vacation!?" She steamed. "That's so cruel, Ryou-San!" He put a hand to his forehead.
"Stop the screaming, you're giving me a headache. Now, let's break off into teams." Ichigo kept grumbling to herself anyway. "Zakuro and Mint will go East," Mint squealed with joy. "Lettuce and Ichigo will go West," Lettuce nodded determinedly. "And I'll go with Pudding North. We'll meet back here. Got it?"
They all skated to the side to take off their skates. Pudding spoke up. "Pudding knows! We should have a race to see who gets the mew aqua first!"
"...And the winners?" Mint asked expectantly.
"The winners..." She thought for a second. "Get to boss everyone else around for the rest of the day!"
"Deal!" They all yelled then hurried to take off their skates faster.
"Shirogane-San, who should I go with?" Masaya asked, almost hopefully. It was obvious he wanted to go with Ichigo. He skated over to Shirogane.
"No one. We don't need you, you can just stay here," Shirogane growled. Masaya got closer.
"What do you mean? You're going along and you're useless," Masaya snapped back. Usually he was nice enough, but he felt like Shirogane had something against him. He didn't understand why. He didn't like it. It felt like Shirogane was pushing him away from Ichigo.
"Come on, Ryou-niichan! Let's go!" He glared one more time at Masaya before heading over to Pudding. "Hurry hurry! Pudding needs to win!"
"Come on Lettuce! We need to hurry, Pudding is already in the woods!" Ichigo didn't care about bossing people around at first. But she couldn't let Ryou boss them around anymore then he already did!
Then, she thought about the stuff she could make him do if she won...heh heh...let's see who has to do embarrassing things this time! "Aoyama-kun! Come with me and Lettuce!" He nodded gratefully and skated over.
"Come, Mint," Was all Zakuro said as she took off into the forest. Mint ran up behind her joyously. Ichigo, Masaya, and Lettuce headed off in the other direction. It was on now.
Pudding and Shirogane were already deep in the woods. She was having fun, bouncing around. After a couple minutes, she bouncec back into step with Shirogane. "Will you turn into a cat?" Pudding asked, looking up at Shirogane.
"Why?" He didn't even turn to face her. He kept his eyes in front of him, still fuming over Masaya. How dare that brat call him useless! All Masaya could be was a distraction for Ichigo. He was more useless. And besides, Shirogane made them mews. Without him, the earth would have been doomed!
"Because..." She thought for a minute. "It'll help Pudding look for the mew aqua better?"
"How?" It soon became clear to Pudding she couldn't win this arguement. Not like this...
"What if Pudding scared you? Would you transform? Ichigo-neechan gets ears and a tail when she gets scared." She waited a minute, hoping for a response. Then she screamed, "WHAT'S THAT?!"
It snapped Shirogane out of it. "What?" he whipped around to face a disappointed looking Pudding. She was relentless with him. After five repeats of this, he sighed. They needed to find the mew aqua and they wouldn't if she wasn't focused on the mission. "If I transform, will you actually get serious and start looking?"
Her eyes sparkled. "Hai!" He rolled his eyes. He didn't have much choice if he wanted to get the mew aqua.
SHEEN! In a second, Alto was in front of Pudding. She squealed. He sighed.
"Alright, now, let's get back to lookin-" She scooped him up. "Oi! Put me down! We have to get back to search-"
"So kawaii!" She squeezed him hard. "Such a cute kitty!" He forgot Pudding wouldn't be able to understand him while he was a cat. What did I get myself into with this girl?
"Do you sense anything here, Mint?" Zakuro asked, keeping her eyes on this one tree. She could've sworn she saw someone in it...
"Hmm?" Mint asked dreamily. She was just so happy to be spending so much time with Zakuro! And she couldn't wait to win and boss around Ichigo.
"Do you sense the mew aqua here?" Zakuro asked again. Mint shook her head this time. Zakuro sighed. It was going to be a long night. She hoped the other teams were having better luck.
"Let's check over there, Lettuce!" Ichigo said determinedly. Lettuce trailed behind her.
"Don't we have to be emotional for us to react?" She asked meekly. Ichigo had taken full control over the situation. Ichigo puffed her cheeks up as she slowly let out a breath. She knew Lettuce was right.
"We'll figure it out! Oh, what's that? Do you think it's over there?" Ichigo scurried away, with a panting Lettuce trying to keep up
"Oi Strawberry!~" Kisshu whistled gleefully. "You need to keep a closer eye on your boy!"
Ichigo felt the hair on her neck stand up. Oh, this creep. He was so annoying! And...a little scary, truthfully. She turned around to see something that was even more scary.
Kisshu was standing in the air above the treetops, holding Masaya by his shirt collar. His smile was positively demonic as he ran a claw under Masaya's chin. Masaya's eyes were closed.
"My, my, what to do with my new doll," Kisshu cooed. "I want to play. I want to tear him apart. This isn't the doll I wanted." His eyes got stormy. "The only doll I want is my strawberry koneko. What do you say? A trade? One heart," he traced his sharp-edged fingers over Masaya's chest in the shape of a heart. "For another."
Ichigo took in a sharp inhale. She couldn't speak. She was so angry at Kisshu. So scared for Masaya. She couldn't even form words.
"Aoyama-san!" Lettuce cried out. "Let Aoyama-san go!" Kish gave her an indifferent look.
"Get lost, I only want my strawberry. You go play with the other girls, four-eyes." He yawned. This was getting boring. He thought it would be fun, but Ichigo hadn't even moved yet.
"MEW LETTUCE!" She yelled and transformed. Ichigo knew she had to as well. It was the only way to save Aoyama-kun.
"Mew strawberry!" She called out halfheartedly. Her mind was still wrapped around Masaya.
Kisshu licked his lips. Now this was fun, finally. "Come on, strawberry!" The pink mew glared at him.
"Release Aoyama-kun, Kish! Right now!" He frowned. Why wouldn't she ever let him have his way? His eyes got tired and his voice got quiet.
"I will if you'd," He was suddenly right next to Ichigo. She hadn't even seen him move. She tried to face him, but a chill ran over her body, paralyzing her. She closed her eyes, bracing for his attack. He whispered in her ear, "Just give me a chance."
Lettuce caught Masaya in the air. Kisshu had let go of him when he appeared next to Ichigo. Ichigo was so relieved, she started crying. He was okay now. He was going to be okay. Now to deal with Kisshu. She held up her left hand.
"Strawberry be-" She stopped when she realized he was gone. She lowered her hand, and noticed there was something in her right hand. Kisshu must have slipped her something when she was focused on Masaya. She slowly opened her hand. Afraid it would be a bomb or something. But in her hand was a miniature glass heart engraved with a poem;
Oh, My Lovely Strawberry Stole My Heart And Ripped Out My Soul, Holding It Just Out Of My Reach, Shunning Me. Oh, My Lovely Darling, Cold As Snow To Me And Sweet As Spring To Everyone Else, Making a point, Toturing Me. Oh, My Lovely Dear, Never Forget How You Tempt Me, I Can't Hold Back, Love Is Fine, Mocking Me. Oh, Lovely, Lovely, Strawberry.
She felt confused, and pushed it out of her thoughts, but she tucked the heart into her glove. She breathed out, then ran over to Masaya's side. He was still breathing, just unconscious. Lettuce's eyes widened.
"I-Ichigo! You're glowing!" Lettuce was right. Ichigo knew in her heart where to go. Teary eyed, she wandered to the base of a bare bush. A tiny, crystalline shard glowed in correspondence to her. She gently picked it up. It twinkled like a little star in her hand. She smiled softly. "Ichigo..." Lettuce started.
"Let's get back to the others, alright? Its getting late." Ichigo transformed back, slipping th heart into her pocket. Lettuce obeyed silently, and they half dragged half carried Masaya back to the lake. Lettuce stayed silent the whole time.
"Ichigo!" The girls squealed, (excluding Zakuro, who just smiled) and Ryou looked pleased.
"You found it, good job," He mused. Ichigo ran over and picked him up.
"Ryou?" She asked, surprised. "Why are you a cat?"
"Long story," He grumbled, eyeing Pudding. Ichigo smiled evilly.
"Well, anyway, I found it, which means you have to do what I say for the rest of the day!" She spoke triumphantly.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, and if cats had eyebrows, he would've raised his.
"The bet! The deal! The pact! The oath!" She ran out of words to say. "That whoever found the mew aqua could boss around everyone else for the rest of the day!" She yelled furiously. He raised a paw.
"Calm down. Sorry, but I didn't agree to that. Just you mews." Her face fell. Now it was his turn to smile. "You pervert. Just what were you planning on doing with me anyway?" Ichigo's face flushed red.
"N-nothing! N-no! Not like that! Ew! You're the pervert! You jerk! No!" She waved her hands around frantically. Ryou hit the ground with a thud, but it was totally worth watching her reaction.
He was running out of time, so he changed back. Pudding frowned. "Turn back! Now!" He scowled at her.
"No." She pouted. "What happened to him?" Shirogane looked back to where Lettuce was standing, holding the unconscious Aoyama.
"Long story," Ichigo grumbled, picturing Kish's smile. Just thinking about him made her stomach drop. Her mind flew back to the heart in her pocket. What was he thinking? Urgh, he's so bipolar! Murderous one moment, but then kinda romantic the next!
"Let's call it a night already!" Mint moaned. "I need my beauty sleep!" Shirogane smiled, happy to call the attention away from that useless Masaya.
"Good idea. Let's. Besides, Ichigo could use the beauty," He smirked. She fumed, yelling some more. A couple yards away, Lettuce smiled.
"Good," She whispered. "Ichigo isn't all sad anymore."
Later that night, after attempting (and failing) to get the mews to listen to her, Ichigo sat beside the bed she was sharing with Pudding. Pudding was already asleep in her orange cotton footie. Ichigo was in her silky pink pajamas, staring out the window at the stars above. She fingered the heart in her lap absentmindedly.
"Oh Kisshu..." She sighed. What she needed now was some sleep. To dream. To return to the world where all her problems had just drifted away. All of her worries and fears. All her anger and pain.
And most importantly, all her lovers.