Prettyinpinkgal: After what seems like years, I update! (people gasp in shock) I'm sorry, guys. I'm really REALLY sorry! I've been busy, and plus I'm working on this real story, and stuff, so yeah. But, I'm really glad all of you liked it so far! I am really surprised I have 32 reviews... Anyway, here's the thank yous, and then the story! By the way, I've made a story called the Bishounen of eBay, based on these authors notes. It's the tale of how I've gained possesion of Ryou and Kish, so if you guys want to read it, I'll be very thankful :D

Thanks to:

mrs.edwardelric4ever: Thanks for reading! I can't tell you who Ichigo ends up with, but Kish says that he is happy you love him :)

bakaSchalanekochan: Amen to that! I swear, Masaya is like a robot! I mean, there's kind guys like Yuki from Fruits Basket, but he gets mad and stuff. Masaya, he's all, "Oh, that's alright Ichigo." "I don't care you're half cat, Ichigo." "It's okay you're twelve hours late, Ichigo." I mean, at least he's forgiving and all, but show a little emotion, Masaya! Geez! (pants) Anyway...yeah...I very much hate his guts...

Haruka-Kishu: Thanks! I'm sorry this update wasn't very soon...-.-"

mewblackberry24: Thank you:)

Destiny mewmew: Thanks, Destiny:D My book isn't being published yet...when did I mention my book again? I forget XP But anyway, my dad says it'll be published if and when it reaches one hundred computer pages...so far I only have fourty, so yeah -.- But I'm putting the first chapter of my story on here as a bonus, kind of as an apology for taking so long to update. Oh, and I'll keep your idea in mind about the torture ideas!

SakuraxGaara Forever: I'll keep your review in mind, but I can't tell you anything, since that'll spoil the ending!

Karin-Kazune-Forever: Thanks for your review! Were you saying oh my gosh because it was good or bad? lol Seriously, thank you for reading!

Limpylou: Here's "more"! Hope you like it :D

iluvboys: Yeah, it's not. -.- But, I'm glad thought it was ok!

Nina-san: Here's your update:)

akki818: Sure:D

Lorelyne: Lol! Can't tell you yet, sorry! And I'm sorry that your begging for this story's couple ended up in you dying...(solomn look) ...Thanks again for your review :D

ichigo chan: Thank you:D

Disclaimer: I accidentally sent Ryou and Kish into comas from shocking them too much, so I'm afraid I'll have to do the disclaimer today...Anyway, I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. Only Ryou and Kish and the bonus chapter at the end of this chapter for my real story, "The Portal in My Closet," so you can't steal it, but I know you guys wouldn't since you all are cool like that :)

NEW FEELINGS

CHAPTER FOUR: AFTERMATH

Ichigo got a week off so she could attend her boyfriend's funeral and have some time to herself. For the first few days, she acted okay. Her smiles, although forced, seemed real enough. But at night, her parents could hear her sobbing in her room, crying for Masaya's death.

Then, everything changed. At the funeral, Ichigo had felt reality's painful sting, and realized he was never coming back. I want to see him... she thought, as tears rolled down her trembling cheeks while she stared at the coffin being lowered into the dirt.

She hated Kish. Ichigo hated him so much she would throw a party if he never showed his face again. How could he kill the boy she loved?

It's not his fault, said a sudden thought in the girl's mind. Why didn't you just break it off with Masaya and tell Kish you liked him? Even though you don't love that alien, it would have saved Masaya's life. The thought danced around in Ichigo Momomiya's mind.

It was...my fault? It was... I could have saved Masaya! I knew something bad was going to happen to him, but did I worry about it? No! I just let him DIE! The depressed cat-girl started losing it, tears both of anguish and anger being shot onto the ground below.

After the funeral, Ichigo's hatred towards herself grew (A/N I just realized, this is sounding a bit like my other fanfic "Just a Dream"). Her anger was directed at anyone around her.

"Ichigo, you've been so brave about Masaya's death. Do you want to talk about it, since you're going back to work tomorrow?" Mrs. Momomiya asked kindly as her husband and daughter sat on the couch.

"Brave, huh? No, I don't want to talk about it," Ichigo said rudely. Her parents were taken aback. Their sweet daughter had turned into an ill-tempered girl. Sure, Ichigo had been angry, but never pure anger like this.

"Honey, we just want to help you," Mr. Momomiya said.

"And I just want you to leave me alone!" Ichigo shouted, rising from her seat and stomping into her room. She didn't mean to hurt her parents; she just didn't know what to do with herself. All her built up anger was being released, unfortunately onto the people she loved.

Ichigo looked at her pillow sitting on her bed. She had cried into it many times, hoping that her parents wouldn't hear her sorrowful cries. Instead of sobbing into it, she pulled it closer to her as she sat on the bed and began hitting it. With each blow, a little anger was released. However, her conscience wouldn't allow her to forget the reason why she was hating herself so much.

"It's all my fault!" she whispered fiercely as she punched the pillow more. "I should have known he'd get hurt because of me! So why? Why didn't I do anything to help him? To save him? Why am I SO USELESS? WHY DIDN'T I DIE INSTEAD?" Tears, which were constant visitors to Ichigo's face, began pouring out once again.

The next day, Ichigo went back to work. "Hey," she said as she entered, on time for once.

The Mews stared at her. "Hi, Ichigo," Mint said cautiously as her leader walked in. "Um, I'm sorry about..."

"I don't want to talk about it, if that's alright with you," Ichigo said, sounding uncaring and as if she were dead, surprising the others. Keiichiro came down, and Ichigo had the same attitude as well when he brought up her dead boyfriend. Ryou watched this from the steps, figuring he'd wait a bit to talk to her.

During the next couple of hours, Ichigo acted almost like Zakuro. She terrified the customers, and not one complained about the food or the time she took to serve it. They were so scared, they even gave her a better tip than usual.

Ichigo walked into the kitchen, ready to clean the dishes. "Ichigo." A voice startled the girl. She turned and saw her boss, Ryou Shirogane.

He continued. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Ichigo gave a glare at him. "I don't want to talk about anything." Before she could react, he grabbed her wrist and started pulling her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. When she realized what he was doing, she began to protest, but they were already at his room. He pushed her inside, since she wouldn't go in willingly, and closed the door behind him.

"Ichigo, I want to know what's going on with you. I know you lost Masaya, but..."

"Don't act like you understand me, or like we're best friends!" she shouted.

Ryou frowned. He reached out to her, but she slapped his hand away. "I don't want to see you upset like this anymore. I want to see your smile. Your true smile, not a forced one. Because, without the real you, it's like someone turned off the sun," he said. Ryou blushed a bit as he said this.

Ichigo stared at her calm, cool, and collected boss. He was worried about her. That's what he was saying. He acknowledged the real her, and really valued her. "It's my fault, you know," she whispered, surprised at her own voice.

Ryou looked back at her. "What are you..."

He was cut off when Ichigo said. "It's my fault. I knew that Kish would probably do something drastic to get between me and Masaya, but I let it happen anyway! How could I be so stupid? I HATE myself!" Sobbing, Ichigo collapsed onto the floor. She hated being seen like this. She didn't want Ryou to know what was going on in her head, but, at the same time, she was relieved someone knew.

Ichigo felt warm, comforting arms wrapped around her. She realized Ryou was hugging her. Ryou! The anti-social guy who always declines when she begs for a raise! She thought about what Lettuce had said before, about him liking her. Was it true? She didn't know the answer, but she did feel a little better when he held her tight. Hesitantly, she began hugging him back. She began clutching his shirt as she cried.

After a while, her tears subsided. Ichigo felt a little better, and she and Ryou stood up. She blushed when she saw the giant tearstain on his shirt. "Sorry," she said.

To her surprise, he smiled a little. "No problem." His face turned serious with concern. "Look, Ichigo, nothing that happened with Aoyama was your fault," he stated, placing his hands on her shoulders. "If you knew Kish would actually kill him, you would have never let him get away with it. And Ichigo, don't make the rest of Tokyo Mew Mew worry by hiding your tears and trying to act brave. Trust me, it's better for everyone if you cry openly."

Ichigo smirked slightly. "This is coming from you, Ryou. You never cry in front of other people!"

He shrugged. "I guess I haven't had anything drastic enough to happen to me to make me cry. The last time I did cry was when my parents died." Ichigo flinched.

Dang it, she thought. I made him talk about his parents!

As if reading her mind, he said, "It's okay. I'm over them being gone. Actually, I thought it was my fault for their deaths. I thought, 'If I had been there...' and 'If only I had rushed in to help them...'. But in reality, there was nothing that could have been done. What happened, happened. But then I came to terms with what happened, and I realized my parents are watching over me, kinda." He looked at Ichigo. "So, Masaya definitely is, too."

Ichigo felt tears well up again, this time of happiness. She pushed them down, and gave him a real, genuine smile. "Thank you!" She didn't notice Ryou's blush that was lingering on his face.

She began walking for the door, then turned and smiled again. "I'll listen to your advice about crying in front of other people. If I show my feelings, maybe the pain will go away, right?"

"Mm," Ryou said nodding. "Now, get back to work, or I'll dock your pay," he said, a slight teasing smile on his face.

Ichigo stuck her tongue out, then said, "Thanks again, Ryou." With that, she ran down the steps. Ryou went over and closed the door. With a bright light, he transformed into Kish.

He frowned. "Sorry, Kitten, but it was the only way that you might love me as much as I love you."

Prettyinpinkgal: Well! What did you all think? But wait! There's more! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...the first chapter of my real story! Yay! Okay, so, here's a short synopsis on my story, "The Portal in My Closet."

It's the story of fifteen-year-old Elise who moves to a different town, who is suffering from creepy dreams. She falls through a portal in her closet, and encounters descendants of fairies living in the center of the galaxy! She's told she's the Chosen One, the only person in the universe with enough power to destroy an evil king destroying galaxy centers in order to take over the universe.

Okay! And now for the bonus chap! Hope you enjoy! Oh, and the entire story isn't this short. The chapters get longer and longer over time, so yeah. So, anyway, here it is!

The Portal in My Closet

Chapter One

I stood in front of the building before me. I was fairly certain I'd never be able to call it "home". My home was back at West Fallsington, not here in this foreign place. The people here weren't very friendly either; they seemed to avoid my family and I as much as possible. How rude is that?

"Come in, dear! It's a strange place, but it's pretty cute. I can't imagine how it could be vacant for so long." I reluctantly walked in at the urge of my mother, and realized it was sort of nice, but I had a bad feeling of this place. Just because it's a little quaint doesn't mean that I'm head over heels in love with it.

My mother smiled at me. "Don't worry, dear, I'm sure we'll do just fine here."

I got a little frustrated. "Don't you wonder why everyone is so mean to us? How could you not wonder why this place has been empty for the last decade? To me, that's pretty suspicious!"

Mom lightly grabbed my shoulder. I looked away. "Honey, this is the only place that had a home at an affordable price. And you know finances aren't working too well right now."

"Then we shouldn't have moved!"

"Stop acting so grown up, because you're not!" My mom had tears in her eyes and I instantly felt regret. I guess the unfriendly neighbors were bugging her, too. Mom looked at the ground, and then back at me, showing me that she was tough too, and she wasn't going to cry again. "I'm so sorry. I'm just tired. I need a break. Please, help me out here, honey."

I wanted to fight more, but I couldn't do that to her. "Okay, Mom."

Mom smiled at me, a silent "thank you" from her to me, and said as she turned to leave, "Why don't you go check out your new room? Everything's unpacked."

"Yeah, whatever," I mumbled under my breath. I trudged up the stairs, hearing the steps creak under my feet. I walked down the hallway and into my new room. My stuff from home was here, but the room still made it feel unwelcoming.

I plopped onto my bed, and pulled my pillow over my face. It still smelled like home.

I quickly shot up, feeling something weird go through my body. I shuddered. I felt like I had to go somewhere, but I wasn't sure where. I stood up and walked around the room, searching for where the feeling felt strongest. It came from the closet. I slowly walked towards it, and flung it open. The feeling was stronger still, but I saw nothing. What the heck? I thought. I pushed back some clothes, and my eyes widened in amazement and fear as I fell back on my bed.

Inside the closet, was a black portal, with a soft wind blowing from it. "How could this be! What is that thing!" I asked myself frantically, as if another side of me could answer. "Should I go in, or stay here?" Of course, the darkness in the portal wasn't very welcoming, but I felt like I had to go through it. But what would happen to me?

I thought for a moment, and decided to avoid it. That portal would be too much of a risk. It would have to wait for someone who was braver and stupider than me to come along. Right now, I was hungry and ready for some dinner.

Prettyinpinkgal: Okay, so that's the first chapter! I won't be posting the rest of the chapters I have, so if it gets published, I'll let you guys know :) Please review!