Hey again~! DarkLozFanUberest here with another new story~! This time it's a XOver, so…yay!

As for a disclaimer…I guess I have to admit it now! TTATT; I don't own any Canon characters mentioned in this story…BUT! I do own Ume Hatanaka and Kayo Aisu, SO THERE! This chapter is where TMM elements come into play, so Enjoy!


Anime Knows No Bounds

Book I: The Primordial

Chapter II: Of Sapphire Eyes and Flashbacks

By DarkLozFanUberest


Ume woke up suddenly the next morning and looked around wildly for whatever had woken her. She frowned in confusion when she didn't see of hear anything before the noise came again. She groaned irritably, someone was at the door.

Ume quickly got up and tossed of her night clothes, in two minutes flat she had pulled on a long-sleeved white dress shirt, a pair of black slacks and knee-high, white socks, and was opening the door with a frown. She sighed in mock-frustration when she saw who it was.

"What do you want, Kayo?" she demanded with a smirk as the person outside scoffed and pushed past Ume and came inside. Ume's smirk widened, and she reached down to pick up and dump out her, now clean though wet, shoes and bring them inside to dry.

"You get kicked out of school and leave me all alone with those wankers, and you have the nerve to ask me what I want?" Came the humorless reply of the young woman standing in front of Ume as soon as she entered the living room.

Ume gave her a smirk and the other girl growled, her lighter-grey eyes narrowing dangerously. Ume sighed with a pout and glared back at the other girl.

"I was just kidding, Aisu-chan, you really need to learn to take a joke." Ume muttered, going over to check on her other guest.

Kayo sighed from behind her and ran a hand through her smoky-brown, shoulder-length hair.

"Like your one to talk…" Kayo muttered back, smiling lightly, realizing her mistake.

Kayo Aisu had been best friends with Ume Hatanaka since Kayo had started at Ume's elementary school, she had been apprehensive of the other students, being a Japanese American student, and a "Yankee" as the other students had not-so-affectionately referred to her, and had gotten into a fight with another girl her first day at school.

Kayo had been sent to the office, her little purple dress sullied with mud and bits of grass sticking out of her hair, only to see another girl already in there in a similar state, only she had been wearing a miniature white dress shirt and black shorts, and had been covered in various splatters of paint.

The teacher had left them to go get someone to call the girls' parents and Kayo had stood there uncomfortably until the other girl had slumped her head to give her a tilted sideways look over her shoulder, green paint streaked across her cheek like war paint.

"What're you in fer?" A six year-old Ume had asked with half-lidded eyes, a look of bored irritation on her face.

"I…I got inna fight," A five year-old Kayo had nervously admitted, fully expecting the other girl to do something mean like push her or something.

"You? Fightin'? No way, yer lyin'. Youz looks like one a them rich girls, and they never fight anyone! They're too 'fraid a gettin' their dressies dirty er somethin'." Ume had retorted, frowning at Kayo for lying.

"I'm not lying!" Kayo had growled, clenching her hands into fists, "One of tha dumb jerks here pushed me in tha mud and I punched her in tha face and busted her nose."

Ume had given a surprised look, not quite believing her, but when she noticed Kayo's completely serious and extremely angry expression in addition the mud and dirt on her dress, she grinned and stood from the chair she had been sat down in.

"Fine, I believe ya," Ume had said, coming to stand in front of a wary Kayo, she had then grinned wider and placed a hand on Kayo's shoulder, "yer not too bad, ya know, fer a rich kid. What's yer name rich kid?" Ume had more demanded than asked.

Kayo had stared in shock for a moment before slowly grinning as well.

"I'm Kayo Aisu, but everyone her just calls me a dumb yankee…"

"Well they're all stupid heads," Ume had replied with a scoff before grinning again at Kayo, "I think you an' Iz gonna be friends, Kayo. My name's Ume Hatanaka, pleased ta meet ya!"

The two of them had giggled and shook hands, exchanging mud for paint and vice versa before the door opened and Kayo and Ume made their first mutual enemy…the vice principle.

Kayo blinked back to the present, frowning at her flashback before shrugging and looking over at what Ume was doing. Meowing caught her attention, and she quickly glanced down to see the black furry head peek out from the, now open, kennel door, pink eyes looking around curiously.

"You have a cat?" she asked in disbelief, watching as Ume removed the cat from the kennel by the scruff of its neck and carried it to the kitchen.

"No," Ume said in an irritated voice as she put the cat in the sink and knelt down to open a cupboard. She rummaged through it while Kayo eyed the cat, making sure it didn't make a break for the window, regardless its being closed. With a triumphant noise, Ume got out a small box and quickly filled it with a folded newspaper and a bunch of torn up bits of newspaper.

She placed it on the counter next to the sink and then lifted the cat up and into it. It was almost humorous, the blank expression on the cat's face as it looked down at itself sitting in the box and then up at Ume questioningly.

Kayo laughed as Ume face-palmed, slowly dragging her hand down her face causing her lower eyelids to stretch comically before snapping back into place.

"Ya pee in there cat, don't tell me you've never used a litter bow before?" Ume asked and Kayo snickered soundlessly.

"Technically," She started causing Ume to give her a look, which was duly ignored, "it's not a litter box as it has no-" "Shut up."

Kayo just smirked as Ume turned back to the cat and leaned forward so she and the cat were eye-to-eye, her hands keeping her steady from their place against the front of her thighs.

"No listen here cat," she started seriously, staring the confused cat down, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I will not have you soiling my hard-wood floors, ya hear me?"

The cat gave her a slight nod, making Ume's look darken suspiciously.

'Smart cat…it seems to understand human speech and even our mannerisms like nodding…'

She finally shrugged and looked away from the cat, passing the moment off as a mild hallucination due to being woken up so early, when there was another knock on the door.

"Who the hell is that, knocking at this ungodly hour?" Ume demanded as she started off towards the front door.

"It's nearly ten," Kayo called after her softly, and was replied to with a muttering of "whatever," "shut up," and "watch the cat" from Ume.

Kayo rolled her eyes and turned to see the cat still sitting in the box uncomfortably, watching her and seemingly waiting for something.

"What?" Kayo demanded, and then groaned when the cat continued to stare at her expectantly, "Oh for the love of God…" and she turned around, figuring the cat must've been demanding privacy of some sort.

"What?" Ume demanded, flinging the door open and glaring at the person standing on her doorstep.

All she saw was a broad chest and the white shirt covering it. Ume quickly looked up to glare at the taller person's face; her eyes were immediately drawn to the person's crystal blue eyes, bright blonde hair and sanctimonious smirk.

'Oh great.'

"Shirogane Ryou, I should've known. Am I really going to get that restraining order officialized?" Ume sneered, her tone practically dripping venom.

"I'm not here to cause trouble," the blonde replied, drawing out a scoff from the two-tone haired teen, "I was just wondering if you had seen a black cat around." At her suspicious look he added, "Wayward animals always seem to find their way here, so I thought I'd ask before I had to start putting up posters."

Ume stared at him icily for a few moments, mentally goading him into saying something else that would allow her to kick him off her property, but when nothing else was forthcoming, she sighed and stepped out of the doorway to allow him to enter.

"This better not be another one of yer experiments, bakayarou, I haven't the patience to deal with any more of yer weirdness." Ume warned, regretting allowing the blonde into house the moment he stepped foot over the threshold.

"Just show me where she is." And Ume had to restrain herself from smacking that cocky grin right off his face.

'Why that ungrateful…' But she managed, if only just barely.

"Ichigo." Ume was only slightly surprised when the cat started and looked up to stare at the blonde human with obvious relief.

"Nya!" the cat exclaimed and leapt from the box and into the blonde's waiting arms, almost purring but not quite that happy. It seemed to grumble for a moment before glaring up at Ryou in a way that made Ume like the cat all the more; anyone who didn't like Ryou was okay in her book, and anyone who actually did like him go get run over by a train, in her opinion…with the exception of Kayo, that is.

Speaking of which, Ume had to roll her eyes at the lovesick expression on her long-time friend's face.

"Close your mouth, yer droolin'" She smirked when Kayo's cheeks darkened and she was sent a dark look from her brunette friend.

"Urusai baka!" Kayo growled, but Ume just smirked wider, pleased at her friend's reaction.

Ryou looked up from the cat, apparently not having heard them, and gave them a curious look. Noticing him, Ume's smirk changed to a frown and she glared at the blonde irritated.

"Well, you have your cat, now get out before I call the authorities, I don't want you or yer freaky experiments anywhere near me!" She pointed sharply towards the door, and glared at him expectantly.

Ryou just gave her a unconcerned look, and smiled smugly before making his way towards the front door, pausing only to put his shoes back on, he had had the decency to remove them before entering her house, and look up at her briefly.

"I assume you'll be keeping this and that to yourself, right?" he asked, momentarily glancing at Kayo and causing her to blush.

"Just get out." Ume growled and felt somewhat satisfied when he left and she could slam the door behind him.

"He looked at me~" Kayo nearly squealed, a faint blush on her face, "Did you see him? How nice his hair's gotten, and those eyes! Like Sapphires!" Kayo sighed dreamily and Ume face-palmed again.

"Oh shut up Kayo!" She exclaimed, not realizing the sapphire-eyed blonde in question was still outside the door listening to them with a smirk.


A/N: Hope you enjoyed this silly chapter. Questions NEone?

Kuryo: Yea, why the hell does she hate Ryou so much? And what was that about a restraining order?

A/N: Kukuku~ You'll have to wait n' sea!