Oh, Sugar Glider

Here is the second chapter. Hope you enjoy it. And, if anyone asks, Kyleara is thirteen.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew, I only own Kyleara. If I did Kisshu would have a beautiful girl hanging on his every word. Someone who actually appreciated him, unlike Ichigo!

The boy was now fast asleep in her arms. Kyleara looked down at him, a small smile on her face and an ache in her chest. The pang was caused by pity swelling in her heart. In one go his whole world and life had been taken from him. It wasn't his fault, you can't choose who you love. Obviously this leader of theirs, Deep Blue, had no concern for feelings. But the pang wasn't just pity and sorrow. It was... Love? Is this what love felt like? She wasn't sure. It was something she had never felt before. But she did feel a warm, happy glow when she looked at his sleeping form. It made her happy to feel something new.

She liked this boy, no matter how odd someone could call him. He did, after all, have emerald green hair, golden, cat-like eyes, claw-like fingernails, two small fangs, pale skin, large, elf-like ears and non-human clothing (currently a black shirt with a high collar, red trimmed neck and sleeves that stopped mid-way down his upper-arms, A tan covering sown over it that went into a V neck and had no sleeves, both short enough that it exposed his mid-riff, his shorts were black and the pant legs were also trimmed in red, stopping just above the knees, and a loincloth held in place by a red band, he had red bandages on his arms and on his legs before going into brown socks with three red bands each, and brown boots. He now also had the red bandana she put around his neck and a white quartz crystal, cut in a fancy chandelier crystal shape, with a tan cord keeping it around his neck).

None the less she had to admit, the boy, no older than fourteen, was cute. After all, she of all people couldn't judge who was normal and who wasn't. She was born with sugar glider ears (furry, dark gray pointed ears on the side of her head with smooth, pink insides) and tail (long, furry and gray tipped with dark gray at the end). Other than that, she looked quite normal. Bright, not fiery, orange hair, stormy, gray-blue eyes, a black opal pearl around her neck that hung on a simple gold chain, a bright orange singlet with a jagged bottom and light gray shorts. She normally wore brown work boots cut ankle-high with yellow socks but she had gone bare-foot tonight on her walk, and it was a blessing. She would need all advantage of her toes to bring the boy to her home.

It was the boy shivering in her arms that brought her back to reality. He snuggled closer to her in his sleep and that reminded her of the cold night air. She was used to sleeping outside, she often did it for fun without a sleeping bag, but even she was feeling the cold. With no jacket she did the next best thing, she pulled the boy closer to her chest and pulled her arms tightly around him. She hoped her body could keep him both warm and alive until she reached her home. She stood up, surprised by how light he was, and set off at a fast pace after noticing that, while it did help, she wasn't enough to keep him alive for long. It was good she knew the forest's hidden routes and short-cuts off by heart; it gave her a huge advantage both now in her rush and when she was deciding where to build her home.

It wasn't long before she reached the base of a very large, and very strong, tree. Her home was a large tree-house, up in the canopy of the tree. This was where her blessing of being barefoot came in. Holding the boy in one arm, she began to climb the planks nailed to the tree trunk that served as her ladder, using her tail and toes to replace the hand that was currently occupied. Up about ten metres was where her floor started. There was a small door in the floor for her to enter through. She opened it, carefully placed her charge inside on the floor, and then climbed through herself. After closing the door back up again, she stood with her charge in her arms.

Her tree house basically had the left half clear and the right half as bedrooms. The bottom right section was her bedroom and bathroom. The top left section was her kitchen, which also had a clothes washer and dryer, and her dining table. The bottom left had a fireplace (which was currently still burning from when she lit it before she left), a rug and a couch. She wasn't afraid of a fire even though her tree-house was made of wood. Before she began building she had soaked and dried every scrap of wood in a flame-proof gel, it also kept away termites. In the middle continued the tree trunk, the roof specially cut around it to make room for the trunk to go through the top and continue growing. And in the top right section was the spare bedroom and bathroom, though she wasn't sure why she built it. Now she was glad she did.

She walked into the room and laid her charge on the bed, pulling up the blankets over him. Making sure he was comfortable, she went out of the room and turned the thermostat up a bit to add some more heat faster. She walked back into the room but stopped at the doorway in a sudden snap of her heart. The boy was thrashing in his sleep, eyes shut tight in pain. Kyleara stood there stunned, unsure what to do about the nightmare that was obviously plaguing him. A small, pitiful, but fully terrified cry from him was all it took for her to snap out of her paralysis. Without a second thought for her self-respect as a girl, she went to him and gently slid him onto her lap, sliding herself under the covers as she went. Keeping one or two of the blankets wrapped around her charge's frame and the others over both of them, she gently hoisted him into the lap as she sat on the mattress. Rocking back and forth and stroking his body while murmuring, she gently comforted him until all that was left of his nightmare were a few trembles.

Starting to unwrap her charge from his binds, she gently rearranged the bed so he could keep warm while she was still able to hold him upright, leaning against the headrest. She kept her charge in her arms and lap, keeping a tight grip on him. For about an hour, while he slept, she did nothing but hold him, play with his bangs and stroke his face. What interested her most about him were his ears. They were unique,

Like mine. She thought with a sigh.

She touched them slightly, but they were more sensitive than she thought. He shuttered, then woke up. He did not open his eyes, he was too exhausted for that, but he was definitely no longer asleep. She wasn't sure he remembered what happened before. But he did need some peace at mind, though, if he was ever going to go back to sleep.

"It's okay. I brought you here. You're safe. I won't hurt you." She gently whispered to him, making her voice sound as calm and caring as she could, pouring all of the protectiveness she felt towards him into her words. She felt him relax, then realised that he had no idea what her name was and her likewise.

"My name is Kyleara." She told him, uncertain whether or not he would respond or even remember it when he woke up later. He was starting to drift off again, she could tell. She was almost sure he wouldn't answer until she heard a faint, pained and tired male voice say,

"...I'm Kisshu..."

Then he fell asleep again, his breath gently tickling her neck. She was starting to drift off herself. She brought him closer to her as her eyes gently drifted shut. Before the darkness took her she had time for just one more thought,

Don't worry Kisshu. I'll help you.

Well this was the second chapter. Isn't Kyleara a responsible girl? She's sweet too. I'll develop her more later on. I want her to be happy and thrill-seeking despite some past problems. We'll go more into those later. Lostsouloftheunderworld, this chapter is for you. You can't imagine how thrilled I was when you said you loved sugar gliders. It was quite the coincidence that I had already decided that my OC would have sugar glider genes. Hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time,

Nightstalkerofshadows.