Zakuro Fujiwara took a deep, calming breath and stepped out onto the catwalk. This was her third show, and despite not showing it, her nerves were still there. She strutted confidently to the end of the catwalk, paused, posed and pouted, before turning dramatically and strutting back to the exit. When she had rounded the corner that hid her from the crowd however, she was attacked from all angles by hair stylists, make-up artists and clothing experts.

Five minutes later she had been thrust into a new, slightly more revealing outfit, had her hair yanked up from being elegantly round her shoulders to being scraped back in a high ponytail on her head, and had had her face jabbed by various brushes that had transformed her from angelic to demonic in seconds. Her head was spinning and there was something in her eye besides the coloured contact lenses that had also been forced upon her, but nevertheless, she strode professionally out onto the catwalk once more…

Mint's POV: I wasn't sure whether I regretted inviting Aoyama-san or not. He hadn't seemed overly excited about coming, but he had accepted anyway, and that was something. I glanced across at him, and he smiled at me, despite the bored expression on his face. No, Aoyama-san may be bored, but he was definitely happy about being here with me, and the fact that he hadn't complained only showed how kind he was. I smiled inwardly; it had been so long since anyone had been kind to me!

The show was over, and now it was time to meet Fujiwara Zakuro herself! I practically bounded up to the backstage doors, dragging Aoyama-kun behind me, and showed my pass to security who escorted me to her dressing room. I was so excited to meet her, but quickly composed myself before entering…

Zakuro's POV: And here we go, another excitable fan I had to pretend to like for an hour. They would probably be rich and spoilt; the price of those VIP tickets was unbelievable! I smiled as they entered, and was pleasantly surprised when the two fans did not leap around and scream at the sight of me. One of them was a short girl with dark hair and eyes, and the other was a tall, dark haired boy, with a nice smile.

I smiled at them curiously, and stepped forwards to greet them, hugging them both warmly as I always did. The boy didn't seem too bothered about meeting me, and I guessed that he was just accompanying the girl, who, on the other hand, almost fainted when I hugged her!

"It's so nice to meet you both!" I chimed routinely, "What should I call you?" I cocked my head to a side, wondering how they would react. As I had expected, it was the girl who replied.

"Fujiwara-san," she gasped, trying to remain calm, "I'm Aizawa Mint, and this is Aoyama Masaya. I just think you're so talented!"

Just as I had thought: she was excited but trying to hide it. However, I liked her; she was different from the others, and I could sense that there was something unique about her. I began showing her around backstage, and introducing my colleagues. Something told me this hour wouldn't drag as much as it usually did…

Meanwhile, Ichigo sat idly in her bedroom, bored out of her skull. Her best friends Moe and Miwa were both busy today, and she had nothing do to. Suddenly, her phone beeped; it was Miwa calling her. She picked it up and grinned at the sound of her friend's bubbly voice down the line.

"Ichigo! Change of plan! We're not going to see my aunt today, sooo since it's such a sunny day, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to check out that cute little café we saw the other day?"

Ichigo practically leapt off her bed and ran out of the house, yelling her answer to Miwa down the phone and shouting a quick farewell to her parents. She shoved the phone in her bag, but then realised as she did she had left her money on the side. Rolling her eyes at her own stupidity, she sprinted home, grabbed her purse, and took off again within seconds.

She was running down the street, her breathing heavy and frantic from all the dashing about, when a giant animal crossed her path, this one just as big as the rat yesterday! Ichigo skidded to a halt just in time, and stopped, panting and horrified.

"Not again kitten!" Came an exasperated voice, "I only saved you yesterday!"
The next thing Ichigo knew, she was being lifted off the ground and carried high into the sky; her head was nestled against the chest of her mysterious saviour. Looking up at his face, Ichigo saw what she had expected to: the green-haired alien that went by the name of Kisshu. Her heart lurched into her stomach, where it exploded like a butterfly-firework display!

She smiled to herself, now she was sure: the mysterious alien was here to protect her after all! Then she remembered how high she was and stopped smiling. Her hands gripped Kisshu's top desperately and she shut her eyes tight.

"What's the matter honey, you afraid of heights?" He smirked down at her. Ichigo only clung on harder, causing Kisshu to roll his eyes. They landed on a roof-top and Kisshu put the shaking girl down gently, then he settled himself down to watch the destruction. When Ichigo finally recovered and stopped clinging to the roof ledge, she looked across at her companion curiously.

"Why do you keep saving me?" She asked, cocking her head on one side.
"Who knows?" Kisshu cryptically replied, "If you don't want saving…?"
She shook her head innocently, making Kisshu smirk again. Then she frowned confusedly.
"Why aren't you going to kill that thing?" She asked, watching in horror as the huge cat-like beast made its way through Tokyo, killing and scaring citizens as it did.

Kisshu's POV: My kitten couldn't be satisfied with me saving her could she? Now she wanted me to 'save' the rest of Tokyo as well? Well I wouldn't do it…

I watched as her eyes glistened over with tears. If I didn't stop this chimera from destroying all of Tokyo, she wouldn't trust me, and my game would be no fun. It wouldn't be interesting if my toy didn't think I was saving her rather than playing with her.

I sighed again. Then I soared off the roof and flew through the air towards the animal. I shot the antidote at it, then collected the chimera spirit and returned to her to let her down. But then I had an evil idea.

"Jump kitten! I'll catch you…" I yelled at her. This would be fun: I wanted to see what she would do.

She stood trembling on the roofs edge before bending her long, thin legs and launching herself from the great height. I swooped up towards her and caught her easily before drifting to the ground. My plan had worked; she was now gazing up at me with admiration in her shiny eyes. I let her down from my arms, noticing that she held on for longer than she needed to, and teleported away to work on the next chimera that would convince her that I was her hero…

? POV: Around now would be the time. It was around now last time anyway, although things might have changed. I watched through the waters. He was with the red-head again; he was always with the red head! Something had to be done about the situation, or it would all just have been a waste of time. Just like last time.

Review. But honestly please! And who do we think the '?' is...?