Not enough

Dear readers,

Thank you very much for stopping by and reading this story. I would like to hereby thank everybody for your comments, reviews, kudos and follows! They do make me so happy, have I mentioned it before? Another thing that does make me happy are Anime cons, apparently. This week I attended my very first Anime event and, boy, that was so much fun! I have no idea why I have never gone before, stupid, stupid me! The whole atmosphere is just soooo gooood, oh my god! What have I been doing with my life haha?

As for this fic, with more than half way in now, we are going to slowly proceed towards the end of this arc. What is gonna happen? Is Yuri's absence gonna change anything between Kisshu and Ichigo? Or was Mint's plan a complete flop from the very beginning? And is Elton really like Kisshu? Read and find out!

Also, since I did not want to upload a chapter which is more than twelve thousand words long, I decided to split it in half, at last. Do not kill me. I apologize in advance!

As far as the playlist for this segment is concerned, it consists of the two following songs:

Neffex – 'Tell Me That I Can't'

Totally Spies OST - 'Techno Party'

Lulyy Elizabeth Vaca – Thank you for your comment! Subo un capitulo nuevo cada jueves? I am sooo sorry, I don't speak Spanish. You can try Swedish, German or Korean with me, but when it comes to Romance languages, I am totally lost T_T. I wanna start learning though!

DrDark7 – Thank you for your comment! Oh yes, you are so right! We are gaining momentum now. Slowly and surely approaching the beginning of the next arc. How is that gonna look? Stay tuned and find out!

NeKoGirl – Thank you for you comment! I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter so much. I know, I know. Smiling Pai is a sight, is it not? And, yes. Elton is so far very ambivalent at this point, but that shall change soon. He does have a knack for riling people up around him, that's for sure!

MarikoXoD - Thank you for your comment. I am super happy that you still enjoy reading my story so much! And I totally love how your comment rhymes haha. I will try my best not to disappoint you!

Kishlover985 – Thank you for your comment! No need to apologize, really! I am so happy that you are letting me know how you feel about each chapter. It is always so nice to hear other people's opinion! And, yup. You are 100% right, the last chapter was meant to slow things down a little; the following ones are gonna be far more intense and action-packed! And Elton is a very interesting OC to write. If you like him, you will enjoy this update a lot, indeed.

As always, please enjoy and review!

I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

The ringing sound of metal clanging against metal reverberated in the background, as the two passionate Cyniclon males continued to hurl various attacks at each other at a maddening speed.

Kisshu immensely appreciated such a distraction; training and sparring usually alleviated most of his boredom. However, today he needed the physical exhaustion more than ever. The reasoning behind his action was pretty simple, really. If he was drained, his mind would not have the energy to wander in the dark caverns of his subconsciousness and generate mental images that were bound to cause trouble. There were merely a few more days to hold it together around her and Kisshu was willing to do just about anything to keep Ichigo out of his head, if only for a moment.

"Oi," the feel of a cool unforgiving metal blade against his throat brought him temporarily out of his reverie.

"What's up? You seem miles away," Elton quirked his lips in a lopsided grin as he quickly pulled back before he charged anew, his sai successfully blocked barely a second away from Kisshu's face.

"More like tired. These party hours are getting to me. I guess I am too old for that shit," Kisshu chuckled, once he let go of Elton's hand and regained his fighting stance.

"You? Never! That would mean I am getting old as well and I will never admit that, at least not willingly," Elton retorted, throwing another kick at Kisshu and, this time, he did not miss.

The blue haired alien's triumph was purely short lived though, especially when Kisshu managed to yank his arm around Elton's ankle and throw him up in the air only to appear above him in the next instant and send him flying into the ground below them.

"Suit yourself," he smirked, while he watched Elton scramble back onto his feet and dust his shorts off with the back of his hands, the mischievous glint still burning in his gaze.

"You're on."

They kept sparring for a little longer until they eventually decided to call it a day and removed themselves from the training fields to rest for a while on the nearby benches. With towels around their necks, and shirts soaked in perspiration, both of the guys sat next to each other with a comfortable air around them and waited until water materialized in their respective sweaty hands.

"I had a funny evening with that blue Mew Mew last night," Elton said once he finished his drink in one big gulp and threw the plastic bottle into the nearest bin.

At this, Kisshu paused momentarily before he twisted the bottle cap of his water and took a long sip, his features schooled into feigned disinterest.

"You did? I heard she's kind of a prude, consider me impressed," he muttered distractedly, observing two other Cyniclon boys fighting on the opposite side of the field.

"Hm, yea. We did not do much, not gonna lie. But it made me realize that humans are really interesting. And not as easy as Cyniclon girls. I wanna have a crack at that Mew Ichigo next. Wanna join me? We could have a three-way. Just like in the good old times, eh? I won't tattle on you to my cousin."

"Yeah, right," Kisshu scoffed, not even deigning him a glance.

"Come on, Kish. You seem so tense. Maybe you just need to let out some steam," Elton wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Wanna do some crazy stuff tonight? Yuri won't be there to monitor you and Gato has lots of other stuff to deal with so we can go wild. Besides, there's this couple of girls who are dying to spend a night with his majesty, what do you say? You can't leave them high and dry, especially when they are so willing."

Kisshu only stared. He never fully comprehended the dynamics Elton had with Yuri, nor with any other member of his military unit and definitely not his girlfriends, or whatever Elton happened to call them. To Kisshu, it sometimes almost seemed like his best friend gained physical pleasure from toying with people and their minds. But sex did that job for him too, apparently. Notwithstanding, Kisshu would be a hypocrite if he claimed that he was any different. It was particularly all these secrets he and Elton shared, the knowing smirks and complete disregard for everything and everyone over which they instantaneously bonded during their time at the military academy. Furthermore, in contrast to his brothers, Elton was not as strict as Pai and, being older than Taruto, he could easily understand the physical needs and urges, to which Kisshu himself was not unresistant. Whether it was the clubs or late impromptu gatherings, with Elton, a good time had been always had. And, despite his flamboyant persona, Elton had never rat him out to Yuri regarding anything that had happened behind these closed doors during many dark sleepless nights. Again, he had not covered for him either. But he never failed to inform him when his cousin was away, be it for a summit like now, or family business, or whenever some extra good-looking girls were in town ready to be claimed. Concupiscent and accommodating.

Nonetheless, today was different.

Today, Kisshu did not feel like participating in any of that. In fact, he was perfectly satisfied with the prospect of going to bed early tonight just like yesterday, alone and without anyone else's hands entangled in his body. And it was not that hard to figure out why. The strong inkling to avoid any socializing stemmed from a very similar notion that his need for exhaustion originated from; which is why Kisshu wanted to talk himself out of attending any of these parties, all the more knowing that Ichigo would be there too. Elton's previous jab did nothing but aggravate his mental disposition and the idea of facing the pink Mew face to face did not rest well with his psyche. Sadly, Kisshu could not count on alcohol to save him with this one, as intoxication was completely out of question; even if he wanted to, he could not drink much because then he would truly have some serious trouble controlling himself around her; but there was no way he could be anywhere in her vicinity completely sober either. It was a very stressful situation which Kisshu did not enjoy in the least. Being alone in his room would have been much more favorable at this point but he was aware that Elton would see through him and his emotions instantly should he have declined his offer or stood him up two days in a row; not to mention that his friend was right. He really needed a stress release. With Yuri away, it almost sounded as a too perfect of an opportunity to be missed.

"They'd better be hot, I don't fuck ugly bitches," Kisshu said at last, his lips turning upwards.

Hearing this, Elton's smirk widened and his eyes glowed.

"You bet."


Ichigo had gathered the impression that she must have been living in some sort of warped frenzy, for every day felt exactly the same.

Partially, she blamed her 'situational' depression that tended to blend everything and everyone into a murky puddle of dark gloomy memories but, as time went on, it dawned on her that it was mostly the lifestyle on Cyclonia that had somehow managed to blur all nights in a whirlwind of crazy parties, alcohol and loud music, all of which effectively disrupted the seam between the present and the past beyond any point of recognition.

Ichigo first thought that somebody had been playing an illusion on her; a sick trick aiming to lure her in, letting her forget everything until she finally succumbed to madness, or hell.

'Too late, I'm already there,' she mentally grimaced, taking another swig of her glass in a vain attempt to block the confusing realities around her; an attempt that was valiant but largely ineffective.

Rest and minimum work during the day; wild celebrations and debauchery through the night. Such were the standards of life on this peculiar planet. And, from the looks of it, it was not going to change any time soon; or, at least, not until the Cyniclon festivities were officially over. It was like a music festival, a rave, if you will, whose unstoppable pace crushed anyone and anything that stood in a heavy clash with the majority; the only means of survival being to go with the flow.

For Ichigo, this meant pure torture; throughout the day she had been secretly cursing herself not to think about Kisshu only to be presented in the evening with the very living vision of him and curse some more. She could not decide which was worse; yet, seeing him in his full womanizing mode by night definitely made Ichigo disgusted.

She wanted to gag.

At his completely inappropriate behavior, but mostly at herself because she could not stop. She must have been some kind of masochist, since any normal person would have already given up and moved on. But no, not her. For a split of a second, Ichigo once again felt like locking herself in her room but her experience had proved that that did not seem to do her any good, as her mind would once again revolve around him anyway. So what was the difference, really? Sitting alone on her bed or sitting alone on a bar stool in a club with rave techno music on, while drinking alcohol along the circle of her closest friends? Ichigo chose the latter. And, despite the fact that she would rather spend her night in complete solitude, she did try to socialize, in her own way; that is, with a drink firmly grasped in her palm and alcohol burning down her throat.

Maybe it was just her vibe.

Because Cyniclon guys had come by and by and one by one had Ichigo turned them down, once she got a hold of another glass that they had so conveniently provided. They were sweet, plying her with drinks in a subsequent motion, but otherwise totally invisible to Ichigo's eye. It was purely mechanic. A relationship of mutual benefit. A glass for a smile; and a goodbye once the glass was finished.

Why no one else mattered?

How could she make someone else, anyone else matter? Why did it bother her so much that Kisshu was the only person who did not come anywhere near her, not even to say a brief hi? She knew he was there somewhere and, boy, did it bother her. His whole existence bothered her; to the extent that even if he was not around, she was always searching the crowd for him, to find his emerald green hair and feel immediately relieved when her eyes landed on his form only to be angered a second later when she saw his arm around some other girl's shoulder or waist.

Every time she spot him surrounded by a flock of pretty giggling females, holding his drink in one hand, while touching their bodies with the other, Ichigo's heart immediately plummeted.

Before envy took the better part of her.

She wondered how Yuri could be so cool about that, since Ichigo was seething with fury and she was not even dating him. Everything felt so bad. Everything hurt. It freaking hurt like a dagger being thrust into her body over and over again. And she would probably burst into tears right away, weren't for the fact that she was not only jealous but also so unspeakably angry at the crippling sense of unfairness and injustice of the world.

He made her positively livid; just by being and breathing.

Sometimes Ichigo mentally pictured coming over to him and strangling him in front of his fan club, or borrowing Pai's fans briefly in the hope of electrifying him. Her imagination knew no end of how to punish him and make him feel bad. As bad as he had made her.

Of course, she ended up doing nothing; nothing but staring at him, with murderous intent in her eyes, wishing all sorts of pain and death on him, ready to smack the living hell out of him, should the occasion required it; for what he was doing, for how he was like; completely ignorant, self-centered, arrogant and amoral; and also incredibly sexy.

There it was again. The familiar pang of heart-ache at every vision of him, overpowering hurt mixed with intense longing. And, she hated herself for feeling that; that regardless of everything he had said and done to her, she still could not hate him enough to stop not wanting him. When, in all actuality, all she wanted was to be with him; she wanted to be one of the girls in the crowd that got his attention; correction, she wanted to be the only girl in the crowd who would have his sole attention on her. Always. And forever. Just like it used to be. But that was impossible. Even if she beat all these girls currently around him, there was still his fiancé. And, although Ichigo knew next to nothing about Cyniclon beauty standards, she would have to be blind not to see that Yuri was obviously a total knock out, with or without her royal title under her belt.

Undecided about what she should do, Ichigo sighed and gulped down another shot, fully invested in the helplessness of her dire situation.


Time flew by effortlessly, as one drink was downed after another, the din of voices successfully drowning in alcohol along with her sorrow.

In truth, Ichigo had lost count of how many shots she had had, had it not been for the empty glasses that still sat on the mahogany counter tops, glaring at her, reminding her that she was still sober enough to see them all and count them too.

'Blast those drinks,' she inwardly groaned, wishing the Cyniclon alcohol was far stronger.

Slouching at the far away bar, alone and well hidden from any prying eyes, suited Ichigo's primary objective of solitude perfectly. Or that is at least what she had thought. Again, it would not be the first time when she had been wrong; a fact which was immediately brought to her attention, once she saw a figure slump onto the chair right next to hers.

Ichigo initially assumed that it was Zakuro, for the posture of the person was uncharacteristically graceful and almost suave. But she remembered that the girls had taken off a long time ago, choosing the center of the dancefloor, as opposed to crouching in the dark corner with their semi-depressed and semi-drunk leader. There was no way that the eldest Mew would return to check on her alone, which led Ichigo to believe that whoever was sitting next to her now was not a Mew. Was it another potential admirer then? A Cyniclon, maybe? By the strong presence of their aura, it was highly possible. But Ichigo could not be sure, not anymore, since she had been already hit on even by something that strangely resembled green slime earlier that night.

Green, hm? Could it be?

She caught her breath and lifted her eyes slowly to sneak a glance at the intruder only to see Elton's lighthearted smile.

"Is the kitty lonely?" he asked and Ichigo sighed in disappointment.

She had a feeling that he would make an appearance. The only thing Ichigo begrudgingly regretted was the fact that he had not brought Kisshu with him in tow. From her peripheral vision, Ichigo could tell that his intense eyes were watching her, but she did not let that throw her off guard; perhaps the Cyniclon alcohol finally had some effect on her at last? Or perhaps it was just her sadness talking.

"Lonely and alone are two entirely different things," Ichigo replied, staring firmly ahead of herself.

"Touché. But a little company never killed anybody. You want one more?" he gestured for the empty glasses in front of her and once Ichigo briefly nodded, a drink appeared in his hand before it was swiftly handed to her.

"Strawberry daiquiri?" Ichigo raised a quizzical eye brow at him.

"I figured you would like it," he grinned and the earrings in his ears moved and twinkled when he tilted his head slightly to the right.

Ichigo made a face but accepted the glass either way. As she began sucking on her straw, she momentarily wondered how Mint could have resisted Elton's advances last night when he was so damn good-looking. But Mint did not seem to have a thing for crazy guys with mischievous glint in their gaze and devious intentions. That was strictly Ichigo's playing field.

Still, sitting so close to him, the Mew Mew could not deny that Elton was hot, almost insanely hot with the way how he oozed sex appeal in all directions, that Ichigo started losing herself in his magnetizing orbs the longer he had been staring at her. With his body turned to hers, his chin propped in one of his palm leisurely, scanning her, flirting with her with that provocative smirk on his lips, all the while emitting that inane charisma Ichigo recognized the first time her eyes had rested on him during the welcoming ceremony, she felt somewhat nervous, in spite of the alcohol she had had already in her system.

When Elton's elbow touched hers, be it by chance or intentionally, she quickly moved away, too perplexed by the sudden contact. In a reaction to that, Elton's eyes had taken that dangerous glow which he had always adopted when he was around her, but, to her own surprise, he only smirked but said nothing. Happy at the lack of interaction, Ichigo focused on her cocktail instead, using the umbrella stick to play with the ice cubes beneath the colorful surface before she reached out and popped one of the cubes directly in her mouth, savoring the cool instantaneous sensation it produced on her tongue. Not once did Elton tear his eyes away from her. In fact, he stared at the melted water that hung from her bottom lip almost hungrily and scarcely did Ichigo notice how quickly he trailed the tip of his index finger over her face, wiping the excessive liquid from her lip, before she could verbalize any sort of protest.

"You have very pretty lips, Ichigo. And eyes."

His smirk widened, as he graced her with an appreciative look ripe with implication and Ichigo felt her heart doing laps in her chest, with his finger never leaving her soft skin.

There was no way he was doing this for the first time. He was so smooth, too smooth and definitely aware of what a profound effect he had on people around him. Ichigo wished she had been more inebriated, because, though significantly flustered, she could still not entirely shake off the depressing shadow that was looming above her like a dark cloud, even with someone as handsome as Elton next to her. Not to mention that it was obvious that both her and Elton were looking for two entirely different things. Ichigo wanted her fairytale ending, or at least a boyfriend, not a one night stand, which is all Elton craved if his shimmering eyes could serve as any indication. Trying to retain some self-control, Ichigo pulled back and posed a serious question instead.

"Wow. Is that how Cyniclon guys do it? Last night you were with Mint, tonight you are trying to get me?" her voice sounded nothing short of skeptical.

"I don't know what you might have heard but nothing happened between me and your friend. We were simply chatting and enjoying each other's company," Elton winked at her playfully, raising his palms in defense, but something about the way he had said it did not sit well with Ichigo.

"How many girls have you had, Elton?"

His lips curled up.

"A real gentleman never tells."

"So a lot," Ichigo exhaled, taking another sip of her beverage.

He grinned but did not affirm nor deny her declaration. His hand moved back up in the air, as he lightly touched her chin with his fingers in a very similar fashion to how Kisshu had always done it.

"Why are you so uptight, Ichigo? That is not the impression I got of you from these tapes I have seen. Does your blonde friend keep you on such a tight leash around here that you cannot let your hair down not even for one night? Or, perhaps, is it that you revel in the role of being Kish's sad discarded pet that you deny anyone else's advances on you?"

The hair on the back of her neck stiffened at his words.

'He is baiting you, Ichigo, do not let him,' her inner logic screamed at her with alarm and Ichigo was about to open her mouth and let lose such a colorful stream of language but abruptly clammed up, while another thought interrupted her train of thinking.

She was not having a good time here, that was for sure. And the last thing she wanted was to let Elton know how much his comment about Kisshu had truly affected her. Besides, even if he was goading her, was there anything to get upset about, really? Was Elton not telling the truth? And was not the whole intention of tonight to drink herself silly and forget about everything, should she finally decide to call it quits with Kisshu once and for all? What was stopping her then? Why could she just not let go and immerse herself in one night full of pleasure with a hot guy that was available, not to mention into her? Was she really going to make a move on someone who is engaged and had repeatedly informed her that he was no longer interested? There must have been something seriously wrong with Ichigo, if she was not able to come up with a single answer to any of her own questions.

As Ichigo failed to respond in any articulate way, Elton shrugged and knocked back the remaining half of his whiskey in one fluid motion. He reached for another glass but Ichigo snatched it away from him and with her eyes locked on his, she swallowed the drink in one go. Elton's lips curved into a small accomplished smile before he snapped his fingers and six more glasses of shots appeared in front of them.

"To new experiences," Elton raised his glass to a toast.

And, this time, Ichigo did not hesitate.

By her third drink, it was safe to say that a warm buzz was spreading through her stomach and throat, while a light feeling bubbled up inside her. Her tongue got untangled at last and she was happy to engage herself in a lively conversation, fully rejoicing in the attention pulled on her. Elton could see how dazed her eyes became, clouded by the excessive amount of liquid courage she had built, as her fully flushed cheeks shone in the dim light. And, judging by the way her body visibly relaxed, it did not take long until he made a move on her. As expected, he was not met with much resistance on her part, all of her previous defenses effectively gone.

His eyes were swirling with lust, so palpable that she could almost taste it on her own tongue. She felt her insides twitch at the sexual tension that directly poured out of him and he must have sensed it too because he inched even closer to invade her personal space and, leaning in, enough to let her feel his hot breath on her neck, his voice dropped down to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Forget Kish, Ichigo. He has his hands full," Elton breathed out, "and focus on me," he murmured in a low voice and a light shudder ran down her spine at the sudden proximity between them.

Ichigo's thoughts seemed fuzzy and her sentences began to sound slurred, when she felt his mouth move down to lightly nuzzle her neck. His lips were soft and hot and wet on her skin and he knew how to use them. The longer he continued, the more her body started melting into his touch, as an uncomfortably warm feeling began tingling in her stomach. She kept her legs crossed in order to eliminate the strong elation that was slowly overcoming her. The room was suddenly spinning, when she felt his hand right above her knee, sliding dangerously close to the hem of her dress, as he moved even nearer to her face in the next second. She tried to pull away but her attempt was thwarted by his one hand beside her neck, keeping her still.

"Do you feel as good as you look?" he purred, while his fingers drummed on her inner thigh, and Ichigo had to bite her tongue at the uneasiness of the sensation he was producing on her body.

It was not that it was unpleasant; actually, Ichigo was positive that the little jolts of energy that were shooting down her toes definitely qualified as pleasant. Yet, her mind, for some strange reason, could not erase the encroaching feeling that something was amiss.

Why did it feel so foreign? Why did it feel so different?

"Let me taste you. I wanna taste you, kitten," Elton's voice drew her attention back onto him, his eyes trained on hers and it was that use of Kisshu's pet name that finally broke Ichigo out of her spell and made her realize what the real issue had been all along.

And that no matter how much she had drunk, she still could not forget, at least not permanently.

For a fraction of a second, Ichigo almost wanted to bang her head against the counter, even though strangling Kisshu still seemed as a better alternative for the time being. She hated him for so many different things, truly; but she did not know that cock blocking also made it on to the list. God, how she wanted to punch something, anything, as the bitter realization ultimately came to her. How did he manage to infiltrate her mind so effectively? How was it possible that even now, in her tipsy state and with someone else's hands literally all over her body, she could still not think about anything else but him? It was pathetic. Instead of concentrating on the superhot guy in front of her, she was still enamored with the green haired idiot that was god knows where partaking in activities Ichigo did not even dare to think about. She mentally contemplated whether Elton would get a reaction out of her, if he took her to his room and stripped entirely naked; and how long would it take for Kisshu's grinning image to again conjure up in her head and destroy everything. Ichigo fisted her hands in balls, when the unanticipated wave of anger roared through her.

She was in that deep. And she completely loathed that fact.

If there was no Kisshu, if she had never met Kisshu, she knew that she would let Elton kiss her straight away. Elton was hot. Incredibly hot. Maybe even hotter than Kisshu. But that was the problem, perhaps. He was too much like Kisshu. The flirting, the grabby hands, the smirks, Ichigo could see and pinpoint it all with highest accuracy, which in itself seemed ridiculous to her, if not altogether crazy. Why was she then opposing Elton so much when he and Kisshu were so similar?

Easy, he is not Kisshu, duh!

Ichigo could not help but agree with her inner thoughts. Even though Elton reminded her of Kisshu in so many ways and on so many levels, he was not him. And Ichigo could not go for the cheap imitation now that she already knew what it felt like to be with the original.

When she saw Elton drew closer, his lips almost brushing against hers, Ichigo quickly made up her mind and, at the last moment, eased away from him.

"N-no," she reached before herself and raised her palms up so that he could not get any closer.

Her lip slightly quivered, the aftermath of the alcohol still tickling in her throat, but she cast her shyness away and tried to form a decent apology.

"T-thank you for your offer. I t-think you are very handsome, Elton and I am sure there are tons of girls in this room who would literally die for you to kiss them but I am sadly not one of them. I-I'm sorry. Pl-please excuse me."

Elton's features momentarily froze and Ichigo could tell that he had not seen that kind of reaction coming, for he stared at her in mute awe as though she suddenly grew another head.

She slowly pushed herself off of her stool with the intention of leaving and, possibly finding Kisshu somewhere along the way, but Elton's voice made her stop cold.

"He is not here anymore, Ichigo."

She whirled around, mouth falling open, to face Elton's surprisingly serious expression, as he took in her shocked face. He seemed deep in thought now, all his flirtatious mood replaced for a blank one, eyes completely unreadable and emotionless.

"What?" she looked at him sharply and he smiled a small dark smile to himself.

"Kisshu. He is otherwise occupied at the moment. You won't find him here," he answered, keeping form, and Ichigo looked at him, really looked at him, and realized there was something off about him that her inebriated mind had failed to register before.

As she searched in his eyes, feeling slightly apprehensive, a weird feeling crept down her spine when the humor in his gaze all of a sudden resurfaced; only this time there was something frightening, unhinged even, about the way he stared at her; something that unnerved her and screamed loud and clear that he was a liar; a scheming, plotting dangerous liar and that whatever was presently occupying his thoughts sent cold chill down Ichigo's body like liquid ice.

For the first time that night it occurred to her that apart from making idle conversation, Elton might have been asking deliberate, systematic questions, slipping in hints here and there, while carefully watching and cataloging her impromptu answers. He never once broke from his well-acted exterior, the alcohol seemingly not affecting his behavior in the slightest, which only solidified Ichigo's belief that there could be far more to their innocent little encounter than meets the eye.

"I don't care where Kisshu is or what he does. Besides, why should I believe you, anyway? It might be just your hurt ego talking for all I know!" Ichigo crossed her hands over her pert breasts and glared at him, trying to battle her rising fear with anger.

He thought for a long moment before the corners of his mouth lifted upwards and his skin stretched tightly once he grinned big and broad.

"You don't have to believe me, kitten. But you can see for yourself. You know where his room is, right?" a knowing look passed over him, once he stood up and straightened his clothes in one smooth movement.

Ichigo looked on, transfixed, motionless, as Elton walked past her, sending her an eerie sideways grin when their gazes locked in a dead stare.

"Enjoy the show," he wagged his hand in a parody of a wave.

And with that he was gone, leaving only an air of menacing energy pulsing behind him.

Ichigo felt goosebumps pop out on her skin, as a new wave of panic gripped her. Her head reeled with claustrophobic ideas, while the room began to feel more and more suffocating with each of the following seconds. She looked around herself. Frantically; desperate to find him; to locate him; to check whether what Elton had said was really true. And no matter how hard she tried, Kisshu was nowhere in sight. The rational part of her brain reasoned that it was none of her business what Kisshu did in his spare time; and that she should just forget it and forget him for that matter too. Except that she couldn't. She did not know if it was Elton's words exactly but something within her gave in at that moment and she felt her feet surge forward; adrenaline and jealousy spurring her on, urging her to continue.

She did not need any visible trace of Kisshu; she knew precisely where she had to go to find him. Mint busted her ass for that information so there was no way in hell that Ichigo would not use it now. She tried to let go and persuade herself that this was a lost fight and that she should simply stop in her tracks and turn around; but she didn't. With the way things had been between Kisshu and her, Ichigo refused to believe this was all there was to it. Catching fleeting glances of each other, pretending that they were not in the same room together, evading each other, ignoring each other's presence. After the past couple of days and what had transpired between them, for Ichigo, this was simply not enough.

If he was not willing do anything about that, then she would.

She ran her hand down into her dress pocket and gave that little crumpled piece of paper Mint had given her a little squeeze.

Maybe it was the rave music that was blasting within the corridors that supplied Ichigo with such confidence to openly pursue him or she had finally acquired the necessary amount of alcohol, or retained the remnants of it, in her veins. Her footing felt somewhat lighter than usual, as she continued through the narrow halls, but then she realized she had been drinking. But hardly to a sufficient degree to make her pause; because even in her current state, she was still not drunk enough to forget the pain and sorrow what being without Kisshu instilled in her. The crushing agony that had haunted her like an ominous shadow, leaving her dull and hollow whenever he was absent from her life. She wanted to quench the feeling that infused her with this utmost desperation. That is why she did not let her legs stop, not for a dear life would she stop.

Not until she could feel that soft feeling of lightheaded happiness again.

Not until she saw his face up close and not from the distance.

Not until his lips locked on hers in perfect synchronization.

And not until they could talk.

Things through.

Again.

One more time.

In a calm manner.

Or in utter frenzy.

Whichever he preferred.

As long as he talked.

With her.

One last time.

And told her.

That he loved her.

Just as much as.

she loved him.

And kissed her.

Just so that she could kiss him.

Back.

Realizing all her feelings, Ichigo sped up.