Chapter 2: Do I Know You?

One chance is all you need.

- Jesse Owens


Weaving expertly through the crowd, Ichigo passed the flower vendor and grocery store as she hurried out of the park. She mumbled words of anger quietly to herself, mentally cursing her boss as she rushed toward her side job. She knew he would kill her if she was late again.

And then it happened.

It seemed to occur to her in slow motion, at a snail's pace as she zoomed by various faces, that she crashed into him. As quickly as she was moving, Ichigo was thrown backwards. She rubbed her forehead, groaning.

"A-are you okay?" she asked the stranger after recovering with nothing but a slight headache. "I'm sorry... I was moving way too fast and..."

Papers from his satchel flew in various directions in a shower of mail, bills and reports. She noticed that she couldn't see his face, the boy she had crashed into, and hastened to pick up the notes as they fell through the air. "I'm so sorry," she continued to apologize, grabbing a receipt.

Ichigo managed to snatch most of the papers as they floated down towards them, and she was beginning to see the man in front of her. He was pale, she noticed.

Or at least he has pale legs, she amended.

The stranger coughed and held up an ashen hand. "It's okay," he told her, "just watch where you're going next time. You were on the wrong side of the street."

"I--" Ichigo started. The man sounded so familiar, almost like an old friend. No, that wasn't right. She hadn't considered the owner of that voice a friend until much later.

"Don't apologize, I wasn't watching where I was going either." He stood up and offered her a hand to help her up. Ichigo placed her small hand in his and he pulled her up.

"Thanks, I-- Whoa!"

"Is everything alright?"

She gasped.

A curious pair of golden eyes stared out at her. Eyes that she had looked at many times before....

His eyes! I know those eyes....

"Do I know you?" She inquired, still gazing at the amber color.

"No, but I could get to know you," he smirked, externally enjoying her awed expression of him.

That voice... Those eyes...

Ichigo's ring flashed as he let go of her hand. His smirk vanished as soon as he saw it.

My ring, Ichigo managed to think, he knows I'm engaged.

"I know you," she said, desperately. "Aren't you...?"

His eyes narrowed, all politeness before vanishing. "No," he said, curtly, "but I really ought to be going..."

"Wait!" Ichigo cried and grabbed his arm. The stranger turned to face her, obviously noting her deranged manner.

His hair was a shade of forest green, and her eyes widened automatically upon noticing.

"Yes?" The stranger that appeared to be not so much of a stranger after all seemed to be forcing tolerance into his voice.

"I... I know you! Don't you remember me?"

"No, you don't. I don't know you." He yanked his arm away from her, hurrying into the other direction before she could say anymore.

"But," she said to herself as she watched him hurry into the distance, "you look just like him."

It was weird that she was thinking of Kish now so many times today when she hadn't in many years.

Kish... That annoying pest who had always managed to get a kiss out of her almost each time he saw her. The alien who claimed that he loved her, that died for her... That somehow had a person who looked almost just like him on earth.

Maybe his eyes were really a weird shade of brown... Ichigo sighed. And I was so sure it was Kish.

But why would he be here? The last time Ichigo remembered seeing any of the aliens was about seven years ago... With the exception of Tart and Pudding, the Mews and aliens hadn't seen or spoken to each other since their last and final fight. Even then, Tart had recently stopped visiting.

I'm just being stupid, Ichigo thought with a strike of bitterness. Why would Kish even be here?

She noticed something that she hadn't expected. After seven years, she actually missed them. Them: Kish and Pai and Tart. The odd and young trio that was sent out to reclaim the earth and instead came back with Mew Aqua to revive their dying planet.

Gosh, she hadn't seen or heard from them in so long. Ichigo wondered if they were alright, but the aliens had no reason to contact them. And why should they without a reason? Why should they come back to earth? They did not need to see the Mew Mews.

Ichigo briefly wondered if they would even want to.

Tart, she knew, had been sneaking visits to Pudding, but hadn't for a very long time. At times, Ichigo had questioned why he had stopped. It had been so many years now... Why shouldn't he visit again?

Pai... He had seemed to like Lettuce, even if it was only for a second, but he hadn't returned to see her. And why shouldn't he visit now, too?

And Kish... Where could she start on Kish? Did he even still like her? He said he only wanted her to be happy, but how could he be guaranteed that if he didn't come back to see her?

They would need a reason to return back to planet Earth... An important reason. A reason like...

My wedding!

Ichigo laughed quietly to herself. Why shouldn't the aliens be invited to my wedding? Why not? Why couldn't they come to my wedding?

Ichigo's smile faltered once she realized that there was no way she had to contact them. If only...

Ryou! He knew how to contact the aliens! And if he didn't then he would find a way soon, Ichigo stubbornly added as she rejoiced.

Filled with a sudden burst of excitement, Ichigo quickened her pace towards Café Mew Mew. She had never been so happy and eager to go to work since she could remember.

A/N: Hey there! And so, the story is pretty much set into action. Let me know what's going on with you as you read! :) The whole gang's up in the next chapter, so get ready for their reactions to Ichigo's idea!

~ Bunny,

Fireflies Glow