Author's Note: Ahh… 11 o'clock, Sunday night. Right on schedule. I don't have to be awake in class tomorrow anyway. Why they don't just give is the day off, considering Tuesday's free, is beyond me.

Other characters, eh? Mou… I despise using other people's characters, and Sheebs, you know that! Super Lucky Tiki Charm, you don't so you're forgiven :P More characters is gonna drive me nuts… yea, I'd guess I'd better . Besides, I can always use this as an excuse to kill Aoyama…. grin… nah, I'll save that for another fic.

Now, lesse. Should I write this chapter, or read King Lear for AP Lit. Fic… King Lear…fic…King Lear… Let's all guess what's gonna happen, boys and girls. How I pass classes, I don't know.

BlackWingedGabriel: You little mind reader, you… ;P

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If only I owned TMM, really. Ichigo would bazooka Aoyama's head into oblivion, and we could all be happy, happy people. Except for Toni, who seems to have something of a grudge against Ichigo now…:P Ah well .

For once in her life, Ichigo mentally thanked her parents for leaving an unbelievably long list of housework. As she vacuumed, swept, scrubbed, and dusted, her mind relaxed, slowly letting go of stressful thoughts concerning the last twelve hours. She even managed to loosen up enough to smile, humming as she worked.

Her lightened mood didn't last long, however. She just looked up at the clock, noting that it was 11:41 and deciding that she'd wait until twelve to change Kisshu's bandages, when she was interrupted by the doorbell.

Please don't let it be anyone important… no Mew Mews, please…no Shirogane… please, please, please, no—

That last thought shattered as soon as she peeped through the eye hole and found her gaze met by Masaya's face.

She gasped, face reddening in an instant, hands flying habitually to her mouth in a gesture of girlish horror. Masaya was standing outside her door. Aoyama Masaya. During the winter holidays. When her parents weren't home. She. Was. Going. To. Die.

Then this train of thought was crushed just as quickly. Masaya was outside. Kisshu was upstairs. Kisshu + Masaya equals…

Ichigo squeaked in rising panic. As if to mock her, the doorbell rang again.

Should I open it? I can't just leave him standing there! Wait... I could pretend I'm not home! Yeah, that's good! But that's Aoyama-kun. During vacation

A frustrated squeal tore the silence as she frantically bit her lip, eyes fixed so intensely on the door, that it seemed she was wishing a determined stare would fix her problem. No such luck; ever persistent, the boy rang a third time.

Kisshu's probably still asleep, right? So if I let him in, and just keep him downstairs, then it should be—

A smile lit her face as she opened the door, dilemma supposedly solved, her world back in balance. Her heart leaped as Masaya returned her smile, gentle brown eyes meeting hers as he politely greeted her.

"Ohayou, Momomiya-san."

Ichigo's heart fluttered at the sound of her name; it always did when she heard that smooth voice, saw that perfect smile, and gazed into those orbs of infinite kindness and caring.

"Oh… ohayou, Aoyanma-kun. How— how are you?" She was too flustered to even curse her stammering. It was odd, she may have thought had she been calm enough; their relationship had grown so much in the past few weeks, what with their various confessions. Why was she so nervous?

The boy noticed the very thing. His face softening a touch, he answered, "Fine. Are you all right? Is something—?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Ichigo blurted out a mite too quickly. She caught herself after this, forcing herself to calm down before looking into his eyes, willing normalcy into the situation. "I'm fine. Come in!" She led him to the sofa, sitting down, motioning for him to do so. As he did, she relaxed.

Everything's fine, see? Now we'll just talk and everything will be completely normal.

As far as she knew, this was exactly what happened. The two conversed and laughed and enjoyed each other's company. Time passed; fifteen minutes, half an hour, an hour. For the first time since meeting Kisshu last night, Ichigo found herself tranquil. When she thanked Masaya for coming, she heard a tone of distinct contentment in her voice. Her smile was easy, free from tension, as she walked him to the door.

"Momomiya-san."

"Hai?" He stopped just before leaving, turning around to face her in the open doorway. Reaching into his pocket, he held a small white box wrapped in pale pink ribbon before her, placing it into her hands.

"I hadn't gotten you a present yet." Such a simple statement, but what a reaction it provoked within her! That familiar blush spread across her cheeks; her smile turned small, bashful. Taking the gift, carefully untying the ribbon, she opened the box, a small gasp meeting the sight of a pair of earrings, beautiful blue teardrops, a perfect complement to the "Tears of Christmas" amulet she had given him.

"Arigatou," she whispered, suddenly overcome with a streak of… there was no word for how she felt, not really. She could only smile at him and repeat her thank you. The moment lasted for a few more seconds, though Ichigo happily felt it as an eternity, before Aoyama gently embraced her and left. She shut the door behind him, sighing happily, turning around to rest against the door, exquisite earrings resting in her tender grasp.

The next minutes would have been perfect; she would have basked in the romantic glory of the last hour or so had it not been for one minor detail. As she turned, a flash of movement occurred in the corner of her eye. A tiny flash, that was all. It was so small that it could have been easily disregarded as silly imagination, had Ichigo not been so painfully certain of what had just happened.

Laying the precious earrings on the table, she rain up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time, anger slowly twisting her features until she reached her room. She fairly flung the door open with a livid snarl of "How dare you?"

If possible, Kisshu was as angry as she; the vicious expression on his face suggested that his feelings were even more violent.

"So you're still with him, huh? You haven't figured it out yet, how pitiful he is, how—"

"Shut up! Shut up you… you useless pervert! How dare you say anything like that about Aoyama-kun?"

Kisshu made to reply, but Ichigo's voice, shrill and rising in volume with each breath, ruthlessly cut him off.

"He's so sweet, and kind, and wonderful, how can you—"

"I'm a hundred times what he'll ever—"

It would have been quite accurate to say that at this point Ichigo had lost control of her actions. What she viewed as the sheer audacity of Kisshu watching her during a private, tender moment with Masaya and then going so far as to insult whom she considered to be the absolute focus of her teenage existence sent her over the edge; she flew right over and into the canyon of rage below. This was probably why she screamed what she screamed at Kisshu.

"You'll never be anything next to him! Ever! You're horrible, and I'd never, ever go with you, even if he vanished from this Earth!"

At another time, Kisshu may have reacted to her words with a vicious rush of fury; he may have made it his mission then to find Masaya and rip his throat out in front of Ichigo's horrified eyes. At another time, he might have reacted with all the wrath his temper could unleash.

This time, to Ichigo's utter surprise, the alien fell silent. Instead of shining with that wild anger, his eyes dulled. His entire body seemed to sag; even his long ears seemed to droop. The change was so instantaneous and so unexpected, that Ichigo's anger evaporated in milliseconds. It was too late, however. It seemed that something in Kisshu's mind had undergone a fateful snap.

"All right, Ichigo," he murmured in a voice reminiscent of the night before, that voice of vulnerability that had shaken the girl to her core. "I… I understand." What happened next caused her heart to leap in that sudden jolt of fear.

The alien boy looked up at her, a sad smile complementing the dull eyes. "I should go now, shouldn't I?"

He did not wait for an answer, and the girl, in a state of confused shock, offered none. She watched, mouth open yet mute, as the air around the alien wavered, and he disappeared from her room.

Gone. He was gone. What…how…? Ichigo stared at the space he had been occupying just a few moments before.

It never occurred to her to be happy or that her problems of the past day or so were solved. The thought that no Kisshu meant less worry never came to her; all she could think of was that the space he had just stood in was empty.

The minutes ticked by, and still she didn't, couldn't, move. Gone… gone… where did he go…how would he… what was he…? Questions flooded her numb mind as her gaze slowly moved to the window as her lips formed his name, "Kisshu…"

Now a sudden swift mental slap hit her hard, pulling a gasp from her paralyzed throat. He had just left, left to go goodness knew where. Left into the snow. Left without companions to help him. Left… because of her.

She was suddenly very aware of Kisshu's own frightening mortality.

What have I done?

Author's Note: Ok. I blame that overly-emotional fiasco on watching episode 45. Damn Aoyama and his evil… Hmph. 1:14. Not bad. I'm going to bed :P Read and review if you can, please.