Me: Ta da! I've finally mustered up a new chapter! I was hoping to make it longer than this, but...it wasn't...;.; I'm sorry! Anyway, I probably would have had it up last night if we hadn't had chicken slaughtering yesterday, so...I couldn't write, but it's up now! ^^

Thanks for Reading:
Mo12341234

Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi owns nothing, only her OC's!

"Pai and Retasu sitting in a tree," Tart sang, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Shut up before I have to kill you." Pai threatened, though part of the song wasn't entirely a lie, he and Retasu were sitting in a tree, though none of the other things were happening. Or so he thought, love did usually come first and they were sitting in a tree. Why, though? He actually wasn't to sure, he had seen her sitting out there, all alone, sitting in the tree with a book, though she didn't really look all that interested in it, so he went out to sit with her. And that was okay. They weren't enemies anymore, and that made it okay. Right? Yes. Okay.

"First comes the drinks, then comes the lovin', then comes a baby in a ba-by carriage!"

"Oh dear…" Retasu mumbled, blushing like mad.

"Tart, where on planet Earth did you hear that version?" Pai asked.

"Kish." Tart said.

Pai sighed, irritated, "If you must sing any version then I much rather it be the one that is more…appropriate for someone your age."

Tart grinned, "Pai and Reta-su sitting in a tree-"

"Silence!" Pai grabbed a twig from the three and threw it down at the boy.

"Ow…" Tart mumbled rubbing where the branch hit his head.

"Tart, are you okay?" Retasu asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tart said. He smirked up at Pai, "Looks like your girlfriend doesn't think you should throw hard stuff at me."

Retasu blushed again and Pai glared at him, "Leave before you get any further injuries."

Tart was gone in the blink of an eye. He knew not to mess around when Pai was pissed, and this was one of those times.

"I am sorry about him," Pai said, "He is young."

Retasu nodded, "Yes, I understand, my brother is around his age."

"You have a brother?" Pai asked.

Retasu nodded, "Hai, his name is Umi. He is a sweet boy, I miss him."

Pai stared at her. He had never thought of the mews having families before, it was just not something that had ever come up. Did the other mews have siblings too? He blinked and noticed Retasu looking back at him curiously.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Nothing." Pai said, looking away.

"Do you have any siblings?" Retasu asked.

"I don't," Pai said, "Tart doesn't either. It is rare on for my people to have more than one child."

"So…Kish and Kuriimu are a special case, then?" Retasu asked.

Pai smirked, "Yeah, they're a special case alright." Retasu giggling.

Inside the house, Kish and Kurumi were arm wrestling, Ichigo, Kuriimu, Mikuru, Kuri, Masaya, and Cherry all watching.

Slam!

"Ow…!"

Kuriimu sat back, crossing his arms over his chest triumphantly, "Tch, see? Beat you."

Kish glanced at him before sliding his hand off the table and rubbing it. "Luck." Kish mumbled. Kurumi rolled his eyes.

"It's okay to admit defeat," Masaya said.

Kish glared at him, "Fine, I challenge you to an arm wrestle; we'll just see how that works out."

Masaya hesitated a bit before accepting the challenge.

Ichigo rolled her eyes, "Guys are so competitive."

"Oh, I just remembered something!" Cherry said, "There are new kittens in the barn, a black one, a white one, and a black and white splotched one."

"Cute." Mikuru said.

"Can we see them?" Ichigo asked.

Cherry shrugged, "Sure, I guess, but they're a bit skittish."

Wham!

"Aaah…"

They looked at the two that were arm wrestling. Kish was grinning, pinning Masaya's hand down to the table

"I win," He said.

"Hey, Kuri, what's the date?" Kurumi asked.

"Ehm…I don't know," She answered.

"Hm…it should be sometime in July, right?" Kurumi asked.

"Yeah, somewhere around there." Kuri said.

"Is the date important?" Ichigo asked.

"Oneechan's birthday is coming up soon." Mikuru said.

"Yup, just one more year until I can get off this farm and join the Air Force." Kurumi said.

"You want to join the Air Force?" Ichigo asked. Kurumi nodded.

"What's the Air Force?" Kish asked.

"A branch of the human military." Ichigo answered.

"Hm…so, didn't someone say something about kittens?" Kish asked.

Cherry nodded, "there's three new ones in the barn."

"Can we see them?" He asked.

"That's what Ichigo just asked!" Mikuru said.

"Go on, go see them." Cherry said.

Kish grabbed Ichigo's hand and stood, "Let's go, Koneko-chan!" He towed her out the door and Masaya jumped up, following with Mikuru and Kuriimu.

"They should be in the cat room!" Cherry called after them.

And there they were, in a small room in the barn that had a sliding door, hiding under several planks of wood that were propped up against the wall. The smallest of them was the white one, the biggest the black and white one, and the one in-between sized one was the black one.

"Aw," Ichigo bent down and pet the black one, which seemed to love it, but the others dashed away. "I wonder where their mother is…"

"Kish bent down behind Ichigo and reached around her, picking the kitten up. "Maybe you should name him." Masaya felt a twinge of jealousy at the sight of Kish directly behind Ichigo, so close and nearly holding her in his arms.

"Oh, er…name him what?" Ichigo asked.

"Anything you want." Mikuru said. "Kuriimu named the new lamb Taisetsu!"

Kish raised an eyebrow, "Kuriimu…named a lamb Taisetsu?" Mikuru nodded, he smirked, "Heh, probably because he was looking at you."

"Why?" Mikuru asked.

"…Never mind." Kish said. He set the kitten on Ichigo's lap, though he was still holding him. Mikuru sat there, now rather confused.

"Mr. Mistoffelees!" Ichigo said.

"What?" Kish asked.

"What's Mr. Mistoffelees?" Masaya asked.

"What I'm going to name him!" Ichigo said.

Kuriimu spotted something on the kitten's eye and wiped it away. "Ew…" He mumbled. The 'stuff' he had wiped away was yellow, and looked much like pus.

"That's not good." Mikuru said.

"Pus on the eyes," Masaya said, "What's it mean? Besides infection of course."

"Is he okay?" Ichigo asked.

"He has…um…" Mikuru looked deep in thought, "I don't remember what it's called, but their usually born with it, you can get rid of the…infection if you catch it soon enough, but if you don't he'll…" She trialed off, biting her lower lip.

"Is there anything we can do for him?" Kish asked.

"We have an antibiotic for cattle." Mikuru said.

"Would that really work?" Ichigo asked.

"An antibiotic for cattle would be to strong for a kitten," Kuriimu said.

Mikuru shook her head, "We've used it on a cat before, and she was fine, you just have to use the right measurements."

"Should we try giving him the antibiotic?" Kish asked, "How do you give it to him anyway?"

"A shot." Mikuru said.

"What're you all lookin' at?" They looked to the doorway and saw Kei standing there, an empty feed bag in hand.

"A kitten!" Mikuru said, "But…he has that infection thing."

"Hm, let me see him." Kei said, holding a hand out.

Kish and Ichigo stood, she turning and placing the kitten in his hand. Kei bought the animal closer to him, examining his eyes and nose and mouth.

"Yup," He said, "he's a sick one all right."

"Maybe we could give him a shot?" Ichigo said, "Mikuru said you had stuff."

Kei shook his head, "There's no way you'll be able to chase this little guy around the barn every day just to give him a shot." Ichigo looked to the floor, sad, they were all saddened for the kitty, Kei looked at them and after a minute, he gave in, "why don't you take him inside? It's been a while since we've had a cat."

"Really?" Mikuru asked, looking up.

Kei sighed and nodded, "Sure, go ahead. We still got all the cat stuff, right?" Mikuru nodded, "alright then, name him and take him in. Oh, but make sure your grandmother is okay with it first."

"Of course!" Mikuru said, standing. They went inside and found Bara, who was sitting at her computer, doing some sort of paperwork.

"Oh," She said, "how cute!"

"Grandpa said we could keep him inside so long as you were okay with it." Mikuru said.

"Oh…well, I suppose, he's a barn cat isn't he?" Bara said.

"Yes." Mikuru said.

"I guess, are going to give him shots? I'm sure he'll need those." Bara said.

"We've already got it figured out!" Ichigo said.

Bara smiled, "So, have you named him yet?"

"Mr. Mistoffelees!" Kish said.

Bara let out a soft laugh, "Alright, go give him a shot and get him set up. Kuri or Cherry should know where the antibiotics are."

---

That night, once everyone had gotten into bed, they had the kitten in a large cat crate, so he couldn't use the bathroom in the bedroom and would have to use the litter box they gave him. He also had a two bowls in there, for cat food and water, though they didn't have any food for him yet. And needless to say, he wasn't too thrilled about getting his shot, which was supposed to be a once-a-day thing until his infections cleared up.

When Ichigo woke up that morning, it was just barely sunrise, only a few overcast streams of light shone into the room and…there was a black fur ball curled up in the crook of her neck. She reached up and felt Mistofelees, sleeping quite peacefully and content there, but when she looked up and froze, startled.

"Kish? What are doing in here?" She whispered.

Kish smiled sheepishly, "Couldn't sleep, I've only been in here for about fifteen minutes."

Ichigo stared at him, "Fifteen minutes…of just staring at me?" Kish nodded.

"Like I said, I couldn't sleep," He said, "And…looking at you, all sleeping and cute and kitten-like, it's relaxing."

Ichigo blushed, "Still, this isn't my room, you can't just come in here whenever you want to."

Kish laid down, his face only mere inches away from Ichigo's face, and smirked, "Is that to say I can in your room?"

"No." Ichigo said flatly. She sighed, "How'd Mistoffelees get out anyway?"

Kish shrugged, "Don't know, he was out by the time I got in here, but you looked so cute together that I just couldn't move him."

Ichigo smiled down at the little kitten, but looked up when she felt Kish brush a lock of hair out of her face. He was smiling, but looked kind of…sad, or hurt maybe.

"Ichigo," He said, "you know, we haven't been on a date since Masaya arrived." Ichigo looked away, "I think we should go on one, since you're giving me a chance, and you…still are, right?"

Ichigo bit her lower lip and averted his gaze, "Ichigo," Kish said, "look at me." Slowly, she looked up at him. Before she could say anything, he moved in and kissed her, though it was a little weird since it was upside down. Ichigo was the one to pull away after a minute. "Ichigo," Kish mumbled, "don't…"

"Don't what?" Ichigo asked.

"Don't choose him over me," Kish said, "not again."

"Er…Kish, I-"

"Please." He interrupted. "There's nothing between you two anymore, I can see it, don't hang on to him."

"I…I don't know," Ichigo said.

"Please."

Ichigo stayed silent for a long while, thinking it over, of all that could happen with whichever choice she chose. She took in a breath, finally deciding, "Okay."

Kish smiled, "Is that a yes?"

Ichigo hesitated before smiling back, "Yes."

"That makes you mine, Kitty," Kish said.

"Kish, that's going a little fast isn't it?" Ichigo said.

"No." Kish said and kissed her again, longer this time, only breaking away because he knew she needed air. "You are my kitty now, and no one else's."

Ichigo stifled a giggle, "Maybe we should just get up now, I'm to awake to go back to sleep."

Kish grinned, "Me too, let's go for a walk!"

"At five in the morning?" Ichigo asked.

"Sure, why not?" Kish said.

Ichigo sighed and shook her head, "Alright, let me get dressed first."

Ichigo dressed in a pair of cut-off shorts and a faded pink t-shirt, putting Mistoffelees back in his crate that he had somehow managed to escape without opening the door or creating a hole somewhere, before she left the room, being careful and quiet not to wake the other two sleeping girls. When she saw Kish sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, he was wearing a hooded camouflage t-shirt and dark colored jeans that had rips over each knee.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yip." Ichigo answered.

They left quietly, deciding that going down the gulf would be the best place for a walk. As they began their walk, standing close to each other, Kish reached over and slid his hand into hers, entwining their fingers together. To his surprise, she gripped his hand back, and when he looked over at her, she was blushing slightly. He smirked a little; he always loved making her blush.

Suddenly, though, Ichigo stopped, letting out a small gasp. "Aoyoma-san?"

Kish looked up and saw him, Masaya, walking back towards the house from having gone on his own walk.

"Momomiya-san," Masaya said, looking surprised, and even more so that Kish was holding Ichigo's hand and she wasn't pulling away. "What are…?"

"We were just going on a walk," Ichigo answered, stepping closer to Kish so he wouldn't see them hand-in-hand.

"What are doing here?" Kish asked, trading Ichigo's hand from slipping his arm around her waist. Ichigo blushed a hotter pink.

"I couldn't sleep." Masaya answered

"Well, that makes three of us." Ichigo laughed nervously.

"Er, why does he have…his arm around you?" Masaya asked.

"Because she's mine," Kish answered.

"Kish…" Ichigo mumbled.

"You said it yourself," Kish said, tightening his hold on her.

"What?" Masaya asked. He felt an angry jealousy rising up in him from the very pit of his stomach, though it didn't feel the same as it used to it, it felt more…sickening, like he'd eaten something that didn't quite agree with him.

"You heard it," Kish said, "she's not yours anymore, she chose me!"

"No." Masaya said.

"Masaya, I'm sorry," Ichigo said, "I am but…we've already tried to find what was there before, but it gone now. Please, you have to understand."

"No." Masaya said again, louder this time.

Kish wrapped his other arm around Ichigo, not liking the blank look on Masaya's face. Something was up wit him. "Ichigo, stay with me." He whispered into her ear.

Ichigo was a little confused, did he think she was going to leave? She looked back to Masaya and saw him staring at the ground. "M-Masaya, are you okay?"

Masaya gasped, as if coming out of some sort of trance, "Huh?" He looked up at them. "Oh, uh…Momomiya-san, if you…if you truly are happy with him, then I…I wish you both well."

Ichigo smiled weakly, "Thank you."

Without another word, Masaya walked back to the house, passing them. Kish pulled Ichigo closer when he passed, pressing her against himself as close as he could without hurting her, causing her to blush as deep a red as anyone could blush. Once Masaya was gone, he spoke.

"Something isn't right with him." He said.

"Well yeah," Ichigo said, "He said he was still in love with me and he just let me go like…like it was no big deal."

"True, which he's an idiot for," Kish said, "not that I mind it, but I would have kept fighting for you, but that's not all that's wrong with him."

"What else could it be?" Ichigo asked, starting to relax in his arms.

"I don't know," Kish answered, "but something's going to happen soon." Ichigo looked at him, confused, before backing out of his arms and taking hold of one, continuing their morning walk.

"What could be happening soon?" Ichigo wondered as they walked, "what's Kish talking about?" She sighed, Kish was definitely an odd one, but did he really think he could predict the future? They walked all the way down to the horse stalls, though only one horse was awake and wandering around the pasture, it was a young, pure white one, the other two horses were asleep. They sat down in the grass for a break before they headed back.

"Hey, Ichigo?" Kish said, "You're not going to regret anything, are you?"

Ichigo was surprised by the sudden question, "Um…well, I think it's kind of impossible to go your whole life without a single regret, I mean, there are things your regret, right?"

"Well yeah," Kish said, "like I regret letting Masaya get to you before I did," Ichigo rolled her eyes, "but I meant you not going to regret anything that's happened here."

"Here? You mean like, letting Masaya go for you?" Ichigo said, Kish nodded, "Well, I honestly can't say, I'm not a future predictor, unlike you seem to you are."

Kish raised an eyebrow, "I think I'm a future predictor?"

"You did say that something big was going to happen soon." Ichigo reminded him.

"No, that's just a feeling I have," Kish said, "my race, sometimes we can just sense things that are going to happen, and depending on what or who it is we try to do something about it if we think there's something that should be done."

"Is there anything that should be done about whatever's coming up?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know," Kish said, "But whatever it is, I know it's something I want to protect you from."

Ichigo looked up at him and saw him staring at the white horse. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what, and before she could say anything at all they heard the sound of the quad coming down the gulf, soon seeing driving down towards them, Kuri driving with Minto behind her. They parked near the horse stalls.

"Hey!" Kuri said, hopping off, "I was wondering where you two ran off too! Masaya came back looking kind of sick like; did you two happen to pass him?"

"We did," Ichigo answered, "he didn't look to good them either."

"Hm…" Kuri looked up thoughtfully.

"If you guys are starting your morning chores, I guess I should go help Mikuru." Ichigo said.

Kuri waved her hand, "Oh, no need really, Kuriimu's helping."

Kish smirked, "I'm not surprised."

Minto walked up to them, standing next to Kuri, "I can ride a horse, if you'd like to see."

Ichigo smiled, "Sure."

Me: And that was it. I know not all that much happened, but Kish and Ichigo are finally together, er, more together than they used to be at least. And what's up with Masaya? What's Kish sensing? Does anyone get where Mr. Mistoffelees is from?! That's actually pretty much how my sister got her cat, he was a little brown barn cat that was all snuggles and fur.

Kish: Yes! Ichigo is mine!

Me: Yay! *claps* Okay, thanks for reading, please leave a review! They make me feel all warm inside^^