Chapter 1:

"You're dumping me?" Ichigo repeated the guy's statement. The girl was in shock, believing it was a joke. She had made an extra effort to look good for him that morning as well!

Masaya Aoyama nodded sadly. His dark hair fell onto his face, a tuft landing over his eye. She wanted to brush it back, wanted to kiss away this stupid joke. But it wasn't a joke.

Was it always this painful?

"Ichigo, please don't make this any harder." Masaya Aoyama had probably mastered that wounded look by now. Of course, he always had to play the hurt, good guy.

"Don't give me that bull, Aoyama-Kun, I pretty much invented that saying!" She yelled, making a scene in the park. People walking dogs turned to look with a horrified look on their faces. "Tell me why!"

"Ichigo, please calm down. And it's Masaya. First name basis, remember?" He reminded softly.

"It slipped my mind," the redhead's voice turned into a low hiss and Masaya looked genuinely frightened.

"Look, I... We..." the words didn't sound right to him under Ichigo's burning, daggered gaze. "You have to admit, Ichigo, that we have nothing in common. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I find you a little strange. I don't want to hurt your feelings."

There was a hard, painful silence. Ichigo turned her back on him and walked away. Masaya didn't stop her. All the anger had evaporated, leaving behind the shell of a confident girl. She hadn't wanted him to see her tears. Or hear her say, "it's a bit late for that, Aoyama-Kun."

She didn't stop walking until she got to Moe's house. Nor did she stop to brush away the tears. She believed she had loved him, but maybe love was too harsh for a thirteen year old. She had believed that true love had no age.

Maybe she was wrong.

Moe opened the door. "Konbanw- Ichigo?" The blonde friend opened the door, and arms, wide so the crying girl could enter. All of a sudden, the breakup seemed so real and she was glad Moe didn't say anything. Just held her.

Two hot cocoas later, Miwa had arrived with a small overnight bag and automatically went to hug the newly single girl. The gathering turned into a sleepover and by the time the sun had set, they had planned a day of 'man-hunting' and food.

"Best way to get over a breakup," Miwa confirmed after agreeing to meet at lunch time. "I felt like rubbish when Reiku dumped me. Do you remember that last year? Ichigo, you refused to look at another man because you thought it was unfaithful to Masaya."

Ichigo nodded, smiling uncharacteristically shy.

The girls didn't seem to notice. "Oh, little Strawberry, we'll find you another guy in no time!"

Ichigo nodded politely. She hadn't really felt like speaking. The girls hadn't seemed to notice she wasn't very enthusiastic about it. 'I don't want to, though! I love Aoyama-Kun,' her mind shouted at her.

The chatter continued into the night and Ichigo turned her back to try and sleep. But whenever she closed her eyes, too much went on in her head. Memories. Song lyrics that she could relate to. The plans she had for them in the future.

Moe and Miwa thought she was asleep by the time they went to bed. But in reality, Ichigo felt like she was dying from the inside out. Tears streamed from her eyes. She believed she would never love another man.

The present Ichigo sighed at her past self. If only she'd have stuck up for herself. She'd never have met him. Her life wouldn't be so messed up. But it wouldn't have been so good either. The redhead felt conflicted.

XxX

The morning after, Ichigo had turned up in a pair of skinny three-quarter length jeans and a long-ish white top with strawberries on it. She wore little brown boots to complete the outfit. As usual, her hair was in pigtails and she hadn't tried, at all, with her makeup. Bit of mascara, hint of lip balm.

The redhead lowered herself onto a bench, retrieving her phone to pass the time. She was outside quite a busy café which was where they arranged to meet. It was just about lunch time and for once, Ichigo wasn't late.

She was a bit early. Maybe that's why they weren't there yet. The girl waited until ten minutes past the scheduled time. Sighing, Ichigo dragged herself off the bench and text her friends, 'Where r u?' Unfortunately, the cat girl wasn't looking ahead and collided with a tall figure.

Her phone fell from her hand as she herself landed on her behind. "Excuse me, jerk! I was walking there!" She looked up to see a pair of golden eyes staring at her as if she was a piece of candy.

"Actually, you walked into me, kitty," the boy said in a husky voice. He did, however, offer her a hand up, which she didn't take.

"Whatever, you creep. I have my friends to meet." She angrily walked away, ignoring the pain in her bottom. His words had disgusted her. How dare he call her a kitty? What a creep!

Ichigo booked a table for three in a café that looked like a unicorn had puked everywhere. She thought it was cute, but maybe a little OTT. Especially after finding out it was run by two guys.

A waitress in purple glared at her as she demanded her order. She looked like someone famous but she knew it couldn't be her. The model, Zakuro Fujiwara was much more nice than this girl. Ichigo told her that she was waiting for her friends and the waitress turned to go to the next table before she had a chance to finish.

Where were Moe and Miwa? They were half an hour late by this point. Just to make herself look busy, Ichigo once again pulled out her phone. For a nice café, it didn't have a good reception or WiFi.

The redhead played with her hands until, another ten minutes later, the waitress came over. "Order something or get out. We're busy today."

Shocked by her rudeness, she didn't answer for a second. Purpley shoved a menu under her nose and kept an icy glare on her.

"Um, strawberry shortcake and a vanilla tea, please." Ichigo gave the first things off of the menu to the waitress who left after. She wondered how the unsociable girl actually became a waitress in the first place.

Another ten minutes later, her food came, brought by a nicer yet clumsier waitress in green. "Enjoy your food, miss!" Her smile was slightly over the top and she tripped on her way back. Ichigo prefered that one to Purpley though.

The girl gently stirred her tea, not really drinking it. This was supposed to be fun. Supposed to take her mind off of the fact that Aoyama-Kun... Ichigo teared up a bit but pushed them away. 'No, baka strawberry! Get a grip! He's just a guy.'

Ichigo played with her food, trying to keep a smile on her face so nobody would bother her to ask if she was okay. Some alone time was what she really needed.

It seemed like her friends weren't going to turn up. Ichigo finally accepted it when her tea went cold and the cake turned to stone. She pushed everything away from her, feeling sick, and left a ¥100 note on the table. The girl got up and was about to leave when she heard a familiar cocky voice.

"Aww kitty, leaving already?" The boy grinned; his smile could've probably made every girl fall in love. But Ichigo wasn't convinced. Or in the mood.

"Go away...um, whoever you are!" Ichigo blushed a little. She then scolded herself for it. Why was she blushing around the creep?

"Kisshu. Ikisatashi Kisshu." Ichigo paid no attention and tried to walk past. That was when he grabbed her wrist to stop her. She looked at him, seeing a scared little boy in his eyes for a split second. "Please don't leave, um..."

"Momomiya Ichigo," she made sure to soften her tone. All of a sudden, the look in his eyes flickered away and Kisshu smirked.

"Cool name, Koneko-Chan. What happened to meeting your friends?"

"Stop calling me names like that, baka!" She snapped half heartedly to avoid the question. "Look, I really need to go but-"

"What's wrong, kitty cat?" He asked light-heartedly, picking up the fork and jabbing the hard cake. Kisshu waved his hands at the waitresses and every single one of them hissed at him. Ichigo fought back a laugh as he feigned being hurt.

He smiled quite a genuine smile at this. "They love me really."

"No, not really Kish," a waitress in blue pushed her nose higher in the air at him and took a sip of her tea. But Ichigo found it bad, and kind of annoying for the others, that she was sat down and not working.

But Ichigo laughed anyway. "Yeah, real loved."

"Oh but I am, Kitten. See the look of pure joy on their faces right now." He gestured to the four waitresses. Two were glaring, one was busy performing tricks and the last just looked horrified.

Their expressions made Ichigo laugh harder. Especially the look of horror - or surprise - on the green one's face.

The laughter calmed down and took the conversation with it. It was quiet for a little while as Ichigo started to eat her new cake. She felt Kisshu's eyes on her but didn't look up to see.

"Kisshu, why are you staring at me?" She asked politely.

"Because you're pretty," the response seemed rushed. She looked at him finally to see him grinning.

"Pervert!" Ichigo yelled at him which made him laugh.

"Oh, kitten. You are wrong! But I will teach you something good."

Ichigo raised her eyebrow. "Nothing perverted."

His face fell jokingly. "Fiiiiiiiine! Show me what you'd do to one for self defense."

"What? Do you want to get slapped?" Ichigo questioned. She didn't give him a chance to answer before she picked up the rest of her whipped cream pudding and rubbed it in his face. It got in his green hair, tied up in two bunches at either side of his face. "There you go. That's what I'd do."

Ichigo brushed past him as she watched him splutter. She saw all of the café laugh at him and applaud her as she walked away. "Oh, and Kisshu, you can pay for it. Like a gentleman." Ichigo left the café feeling happier than she'd been in a while.

The purple waitress came over with the bill and was biting back a giggle. "Nice girlfriend you got there." She handed him a napkin as he slapped a ¥300 note on the table.

"Shut it, Zakuro. I didn't think she'd be so difficult."

"What, you thought getting a spark like her would be easy? I think you need a lesson on respecting women, Kisshu." The woman walked away, leaving the boy to think.

Neither really understood the true meaning behind what the other was saying.

Hey :) I'm sorry if the currency doesn't make a lot of sense, I don't know how much things cost in Japan. Chapter 2 is still in editing but should be up soon. Please let me know if you like this story by either liking, favoriting or reviewing. Or all three! Oh yeah, I'm not a Masaya basher. He is important to the story but isn't in it a lot. It makes more sense in later chapters. Byeeeee!