Ichigo POV

I walked into the changing room to change out of my uniform.

"Man, long day, huh?" I asked as I pulled my shirt over my head.

"Yeah, it's a good thing we have tomorrow off." Lettuce added closing her locker. "Got any plans with Masaya?"

"No," I sighed slipping into my regular clothes. "He's got kendo practice all day tomorrow, so I think I'll just come in anyway."

"Well, at least he's dedicated." She pointed out before leaving.

I closed my locker and picked up my bag. That's when I noticed that there was another locker that I hadn't noticed before. It was a soft lilac color and the nameplate on it was white and covered in dust. I walked over to it and brushed some of the dust off to reveal the name:

Himeka

"Who in the world is Himeka?" I wondered aloud. I just shrugged and walked out of the changing room. "Oh well, it's not like it's anything to worry about."

I quickly ran out of the park and headed home. While I was taking a shortcut through a deserted alleyway, a dog came up to me and jumped up on me, knocking me down. The dog licked my face and I was surrounded by a bright light and when it vanished, I was a cat.

"Again…? Why? WHY?!" I cried as the dog ran off. "Oh well, I guess I'd better find someone to kiss."

"Well, well, it looks like we've found the kissing maniac." Came a cold voice behind me. I slowly turned around to see a group of large, muscular cats behind me. The one with a spike collar stepped forward and said, "Why don't we teach this maniac what happens when you mess with us!"

I cringed back and slowly tried to walk away, but they advanced on me.

"Back off Bruno!" came a girl's voice behind me. "You haven't forgotten about me, have you?"

A cat that looked almost exactly like Alto jumped down in front of me. The only difference was that she was white with a long bushy tail. Her muzzle, the tips of her ears, and her two front paws were a soft lilac and her eyes were aquamarine. She also had a lilac ribbon around her neck.

"W-W-What are you doing here?" Bruno asked taking a step back.

"Is that any way to treat your girlfriend when she just got back from her trip to France?" the white cat said sourly, lashing her tail. "I was expecting a better welcome home than that!"

"Um, well, you see, I was just…" Bruno started. The white cat walked over to him and nuzzled his neck.

"It's okay, I forgive you." She said sweetly with a purr. A blush crept across Bruno's face at his girlfriend's words.

Now's my chance! I started to sneak away when one of Bruno's goons blocked my path. Oh crap... I'm dead!

"Hey, Bruno, why don't you and the boys go back to the loft and I'll meet you there in a minute?" the girl suggested.

"Alright, come on guys, let's go." Bruno said without a moment's thought.

He and the other cats ran around the corner leaving me and the girl cat alone.

"Um…" I began.

The girl looked over her shoulder and gave me a warning look. "Don't ever come through this alley again unless you're asking for a death wish." She said coldly. She looked back in front of her and added, "And I suggest you refrain from kissing animals in the city. If Bruno ever finds you again, I won't be able to stop him."

With that, she ran around the corner. A second later she came back and walked up to me. "I almost forgot." She licked my cheek and ran off again. A minute later, I was a human again.

The Next Day

"Don't ever come through this alley again unless you're asking for a death wish." She said coldly. She looked back in front of her and added, "And I suggest you refrain from kissing animals in the city. If Bruno ever finds you again, I won't be able to stop him."

"What was she talking about?" I asked myself as I cleaned the tables.

"What was who talking about?" Ryou asked walking over to me.

"Nothing you'd understand." I said sourly looking away from him.

He shrugged and walked away. I grabbed the trash bag and waked outside. Keiichiro was talking to Ryou in front of the café while I put the bag in the metal garbage can. There was a soft mew and I looked down to see the café from the other day sitting on the ground beside the garbage can.

"It's you!" I cried pointing at the cat.

"What is it Ichigo?" Ryou asked walking over to me. His eyes widened when he saw the cat and she jumped up as he approached. "Aya? Is that really you?" Ryou asked as the cat walked toward him. The cat mewed again and a smile stretched across Ryou's face. "It is you! Oh my god—Keiichiro, Aya's back!"

"What?" Keiichiro asked walking over as Ryou picked up the cat. He saw the cat and slapped his forehead. "I don't believe it. After all this time… she came back."

"What's going on out here?" Mint asked as she and the others walked outside. She saw Ryou petting Aya and sweat-dropped. "Okay, what's with the cat?"

"Yeah, what's going on Keiichiro?" I asked.

"Well, you see, Aya is what I guess you could say Ryou's best friend." Keiichiro explained.

"That's just sad." I said. "A guy as cute as him and his best friend is a sassy little cat." Everyone, even Aya, looked at me curiously and I quickly covered my mouth when I realized what I said.

"What did you just say?" Ryou asked raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, n-nothing!" I said with a nervous laugh.

"Why don't we all just go back inside?" Keiichiro suggested.

Everyone walked back inside the café and Ryou carried Aya upstairs.

"So what's the story about Ryou and that cat?" I asked.

"Well, I'm afraid you'll have to ask Ryou about that yourself." Keiichiro replied. "He'd kill me if I told you."

"This has really been fun and all, but we're gonna go." Mint said. "I mean, honestly, saying we get the day off and then telling us to come in? Can't we get a day of for once without it being a trick?"

"At least we get paid to work here." Pudding pointed out as they all went into the dressing room.

"Um, Keiichiro…?" I asked. "Can I talk to you for a minute, privately?"

We walked into the back room and closed the door behind us. I sat down across from him and thought about how to ask him what I needed to ask him.

"Um… the other day, I saw another locker in the changing room that I hadn't noticed before." I began. "It's a soft lilac color with a white nameplate. I brushed off the dust and it said 'Himeka' on it. Was she someone who worked here before?"

Ryou POV

I locked my door and set Aya down on the bed.

"So, you came back after all this time." I said sitting down on the bed beside her. "You wanna explain why before or after you've gotten some rest?"

"Cut the crap, Ryou! I'm not back because I want to be." Aya snapped angrily. "I'm back because I started sensing a strange presence that led me back to you."

"Okay, but I thought we agreed that it was too dangerous for you to be here while the aliens are attacking." I said getting up and pulling my shirt off.

"I didn't just come back because of the strange presence…" Aya said sounding worried. "I… had another one of those dreams while I was in France."

I froze, my eyes widening. I tossed my shirt into the laundry basket and sat back down on the bed.

"What did you see?" I asked.

"I'm not really sure." She said closing her eyes. "I don't usually remember them clearly, but this one I do. I saw five girls lying unconscious on the ground in what looked like the middle of a battlefield. It looked like downtown Tokyo was hit by a bomb or something. There was some kind of weird structure floating a couple hundred feet above the girls. And then I saw you lying just a few feet away from the girls and near two unconscious people with big pointed ears."

She opened her eyes and looked up at me worried. I sighed and patted her head. "I'm sorry Aya… but I don't understand that one either." I said.

I stood up and walked over to the window. "What's the point of having this gift if I can't understand any of it?" Aya asked.

"Who knows?" I replied. "Oh, and you know you can go back to normal now that we're alone."

"Alright then, if you insist." I turned around to see Aya transforming back into her human form. Her body glowed while her ears and tail retracted into her body and her paws became hands and feet. Finally, she sat up and her body stopped glowing. "There, how's that?"

"Better," I said, but when she stood up, I noticed that she didn't have any clothes on—except for the ribbon around her neck—and a blush crept across my face. "Um, Himeka… you're, um…"

"Oh! It feels so nice to be back in my human form!" Himeka sighed stretching her arms. She walked forward and wrapped her arms around me. "I missed you so much oniichan!"

"Himeka! You're not wearing any clothes!" I yelled nervously, pushing her away.

"Oops, sorry. I keep forgetting." She said blushing and turning away. "Um, can I borrow one of your shirts oniichan?"

"You mean you came all the way back from France, and you didn't bring any of your clothes back with you?" I asked.

"It's not like I had any clothes with me to begin with." She replied walking over to my closet and pulling on one of my shirts. "Besides, I left most of my stuff here when I left."

She flopped down on the bed and I sat down beside her. She leaned her head down on my shoulder and closed her eyes.

"You know, when I first found out about the dreams, I was scared of them. Seeing things I shouldn't be seeing… but then my fear turned into anger. I started blaming mom and dad for it and began to hate them. But then, everyday when we came home, they'd smile at me and act as if nothing was wrong."

"That's because they didn't want to loose your love." I said. "They love just as much as Keiichiro and I do, so promise me you'll be careful while you're here."

"Alright, I promise." Himeka sighed.