X.X.X.X.X.X

Kisshu and his friends followed the girl through the forest, following the twists and turns she made through the thick forest. She limped out after a while of walking and sat on a log. She set the hawk on her leg and began talking to it; a different language none of the five knew. The girl then placed something from a jar onto the bird, then throws the bird in the air. It takes off, the burn on its shoulder gone.

X.X.X.X.X.X.

Ichigo limped out of the forest, and sat on the log she placed there as a resting spot.

You okay, Ichigo? Minto asked. Ichigo nodded.

"I'm fine, Minto." She said in their language. "But I need you to do something. Fly to our house, get Retasu, tell her what happened, and come back with her as a human, okay? Zakuro-san and Purin should be back with all our things in a while."

Alright, but there's a problem of—

"Here, I'll rub this on it and the burn will go away." Ichigo took a bottle out of her pocket and rubbed some of the contents on Minto's wing.

I'll be back in five minutes.

Minto flew away.

X.X.X.X.X.X.

Chapter Three: The Shy

Retasu was outside again, tending to the garden. The carrots were almost ready to be picked, and the onions were already hanging up in a cabinet. She kept looking around, like something was going to happen. She had heard that loud bang, and passed it as a mishap in the town; but she was still on edge. She was worried about her friends. What if they had been hurt, and she wouldn't know? There were many 'what ifs' in her mind, but that one stuck out the most for some odd reason.

Retasu, Retasu!

"Ano! Minto?" Retasu looked around in the skies. "What's wrong?"

The hawk-friend landed on Retasu's shoulder.

You have to come, quick! Ichigo got shot!

"WHAT?" Retasu screamed. "Explain later, transform now and come help me get her back!"

That's what—

Minto stopped for a second so she could transform.

"—I was told to do." She finished in her human form. "Come on! I know where she is!"

Retasu and Minto ran as fast as they could. Sweat began pouring down Retasu with all the excess exercise she'd been getting.

After what seemed like hours, they got to Ichigo. The poor girl was as pale as ever, and clutching her arm, which was now drenched in blood.

"Ah! Retasu…." Ichigo said pitifully. "Help me."

"Don't talk, Ichigo. You need your strength." Retasu ordered. She took Ichigo's unharmed arm and wrapped it around Retasu's shoulder. "Uh… we need to grab a hold of your other arm,"

"Go on," Ichigo said. "I'll survive."

Minto closed her eyes and grabbed a hold of the wounded arm. She hung it over her shoulder, hearing Ichigo hiss. Minto flinched.

"I'm… fine. Let's go." Ichigo said to her friends. They began walking with her, supporting her towards their home.

"Ichigo-san," Retasu whispered. "It would be easier to do this if you were a cat,"

"Those people are following us, so I won't." Ichigo said. Retasu looked back and saw five people watching them, trying to conceal themselves.

One of them was the handsomest person she'd ever seen. He was looking right at her, too. She gave him a cute smile and kept walking back to the house.

X.X.X.X.X.X.

Ryou had lost interest in this whole "Watch them until they get home" thing, until the girl's friends came. The one with blue hair looked alright, but the green-haired one was absolutely beautiful!

He kept watch of her the whole time, hoping she would catch his eye. He was disappointed when the girl began walking the other direction. He was seconds away from turning to the other direction when the girl whirled around and looked at him. She smiled quickly and then kept walking away.

X.X.X.X.X.X.

"Ichigo-onee-chan no da! Are you alright na no da?" Purin burst through the front door of the house, letting her ears and tail pop out like everyone else had, and startling Retasu a bit. The poor girl was fixing to take the bullet out of Ichigo's arm, and was so nervous she could have fainted away.

Ichigo was sitting on the wooden table, forcing herself not to cry and not to touch the arm. A chair was seated in front of her, where Retasu would be sitting to take out the bullet.

"We have everything." Zakuro said, taking the burlap sack she was holding and placing it in a cabinet. "It's a little less than last year, so we'll have to cut back on eating a little bit.

"How's the arm?" Zakuro went on.

"She's in agony, but she won't let us see it," Minto sneered. "She's trying to stay strong for us."

"I was just about to take the bullet out when Purin burst through the door," Retasu explained, sitting in the chair with a pair of tweezers and a bunch of cloths.

"Now," She started towards Ichigo. "I won't lie to my friend: This might hurt. A lot. I'm very sorry."

"It's alright," Ichigo insisted. "Just get it out of my arm, please."

Retasu squinted her eyes like she wanted to close them, but had to keep them open. Then she plunged the tweezers into Ichigo's arm. Ichigo hissed and jammed her eyes shut, but didn't jerk the arm away.

"It's alright, just a little longer," Minto reassured Ichigo. "Purin, you don't have to look, you know."

"I'm not no da!" Minto looked at her small yellow-clothed friend. Her hands were clamped over her eyes and her monkey ears were flat on her head, and she was plastered onto Zakuro's leg.

"Come on Ichigo, just a little bit more," Retasu said, not a little more confortable with getting the bullet out. She had clamped the tweezers onto the bullet and began to pull out.

Apparently, it hurt more trying to take the bullet out. Ichigo screeched a panther's scream, mouth opened wide and teeth showing.

"It's out! It's out," Retasu screamed over the screech. She placed the blood-red bullet on the table, and wrapped the cloths around Ichigo's arm, tying them into a non-movable knot.

"Ah!" Ichigo whimpered. "Th-thanks, a lot."

"It was nothing." Minto said, crossing her arms and smiling. "I'm just glad my wing was fixed." Minto flexed her fixed wing and rubbed it where the burn had been.

"Can Purin open her eyes, no da?" Purin asked, peeking through the slits in her hands.

"Yes, it's out of my arm now." Ichigo said. Her eyes widened a bit and her cat ears stood up. After a minute of listening, they flew back under Ichigo's head.

"Someone's coming." She warned. Everyone instantly put their ears, wings and tails down.

Then someone knocked on the door. Retasu slowly got up and walked towards the door.

"Who's there?" She asked, looking out the window placed conveniently next the door. It was the man she saw a few hours ago.

"My name is Shirogane Ryou." The slightly cold voice rang in Retasu's ears. She reached for the door handle and slowly opened the door.

The tall man had blonde hair and blue eyes. Retasu could only look at him; look into his eyes and wonder why they looked cold.

"I believe that miss over there knows me," Ryou pointed at Ichigo. She stayed absolutely still.

"Uh, yes! I saw you when I picked Ichigo-san up!" Retasu said. Ryou put his hand down and bowed slightly.

"I just wanted to apologize for my friend Kisshu back there," Ryou said, talking more to Retasu than apologizing to Ichigo. The cat-girl smirked.

"Is he the Fool?" She sneered, jumping off the table and landing on her feet.

"Hey! Uh, well, yeah, I guess…" Ryou raised an eyebrow. "We got home two hours ago and you're the only thing he's had on his mind for the whole time."

"Yeah, the feeling in mutual," Ichigo grasped her arm above the wound.

"Anyway!" Ryou continued, seeming like he was in a hurry. "You sound a little like I've over-stepped my authority. So please allow me to make it up to you in some way."

Retasu crossed her arms and looked away from Ryou. He was falling for Ichigo! Why did that always happen to her? He had looked at her with those cold blue eyes. They only softened a little when they were looking at Retasu. She was jealous, and she knew it.

Ichigo saw her friend look disappointed and got an idea.

"You want… to make up for me getting shot by your brother?" She clarified.

"Well, he's not really my brother, we're like best friends that live with each other. But yes, I'd do something for you." Ryou explained.

"Picnic." Ichigo sat in a chair and crossed her legs.

"Excuse me?" Everyone else in the house asked, including Zakuro. They all had a puzzled look on their faces.

"There are five of you, correct?" Ichigo asked. Ryou nodded. "There are five of us. I'm not proposing dating, but if you'd like the make it up, make us feel a little relaxed after getting the wretched thing out of my arm. This would also give me a chance to set things straight with the Fool.

"The others in your house shouldn't have a problem with that, would they? A picnic lunch with five ladies?" Ichigo asked.

"I think it's a good idea," Minto piped in. "We're all pretty tense."

"I—I have no problem with… with this…." Retasu murmured.

"Good! Retasu can walk Ryou home and set up a time!" Ichigo gave her fish-friend a big grin as Retasu's face burned red.

"That's a good idea," Ryou said. "Go get some good shoes on, and I'll wait outside."

Ryou shut the door behind him and stood next to the window.

"Ichigo-san! What are you doing?" Retasu pleaded.

"Oh, come on! I saw how you were looking at him! You're the reason I thought of the picnic! I would have had him build a tree-house or something if I hadn't seen you look so disappointed. This way you can talk to him on the way to his house." Ichigo explained.

"That's what I thought you were doing no da!" Purin jumped up and down.

"But the last time Purin-san brought someone over in the last town, they saw—well. I just thought you wouldn't allow us to do anything close to other people again." Retasu seemed a little scared.

"Please! I'm not gonna play the wicked step-mother! I'm the third-oldest here! I have no clue how I became the leader, but I'm not going to strip away every right you have and oppress you. Go! Have fun." Ichigo hugged Retasu.

"Well, that's a relief." Zakuro joked, "I was hoping you wouldn't be the oppressing type." Everyone smiled.

"Thank you so much Ichigo-san!" Retasu hugged back. Then she grabbed some shoes and ran out the door.

THE END!

The next chapter is coming soon! Everyone, take a stab at what it'll be called! n.n review please!