xuri: Heyyyyy. Yeah, chapter seven was not up in time. In fact, the only reason it's up at all is because someone reviewed. Yay. So, new rule, new rule! I need at least one review after I make each chapter for the next chapter to go up. Otherwise, it could be a week between each chapter. Or more. Do you want to wait twenty more weeks? I hope not. :3 Anyways, when I ask for a review, I don't need a novel quality analysis. Just some acknowledgement so I know someone's reading. Whether it's "can't wait for next chapter!" or "I didn't like this chapter much, but the other ones are great", I don't care. Critique is as loved and appreciated by me as compliments, so fire away. If you want to leave longer comments, by all means, do. If you want to type five words ("my house is moldy cheese") that have no relation whatsoever, be my guest. Just something. Pweez? x3

SamKo: This chapter is dedicated to you. xD Whee, thank you, I like Yumi a lot too. I've had a lot of fun tweaking at her personality to make it funner this time around. And so sorry about the length! I take full responsibility for any trouble and/or scolding that takes place because of the time consuming reading. As long as you don't sue. Suing is not nice. xD

I don't totally own Kikyo, either. But I own her 'Mew Kitsune' name, just as I own 'Mew Powder' and 'Mew Framboise'. Yeah. Just in case you cared.

--

Blend (chapter seven)

..One Way Decision..

Three down. One to go.

That's what was in the heads of all four girls at this moment. Of course, they didn't know they were all thinking it, but they were. Down in the basement, making their ways solemnly up the stairs, not saying a word, not even making eye contact. They were all a bit shaken, a bit stirred and unsure; but one of them was a notch above the rest on the anxiety meter.

Ryou had called them together earlier, the day after Kikyo had became part of the group. Yumi, Ichigo, Kona and Kikyo had joined him and Keiichiro down in the basement, where he was hunched over a computer, typing furiously with the brown haired man at his side. Ichigo, as usual, was quick to demand what was going on, while Kona kept reminding her calmly to 'keep your voice down, Ichigo'. Yumi was busy challenging Kikyo to a race, even though she declined over and over again, so they were all surprised at what happened next.

Ryou congratulated them.

At the time, Ichigo looked almost as if she had seen a ghost, and then, as a reflex, became suspicious. The other girls were simply curious as to what they'd accomplished. "You found Kikyo," He explained, nodding towards the Orange-cafe-uniform clad girl, "without my help. I knew you'd find her eventually, but not that quickly. I'm impressed." Ichigo and Kona sweatdropped, covering Yumi's mouth as inconspiciously as possible. Neither wanted to admit that Kikyo, just like the others, had stumbled on her powers by complete chance. Praise from Ryou was rare and appreciated. Yumi flailed for a bit before her interest caught on something else.

"And, as you know, there's one left to find," He said simply, once again bringing up the projection of the 4 animals and their human counterparts. All of them had photos matched up with them... except one. "As you know-"

"Yeah, yeah, we all know Shirogane!" Ichigo whined in annoyance, folding her arms over her chest, "'Find the last Mew! Work faster!' We heard you like, the first 10 times. It's like you think we're stupid or something."

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. Kikyo just had her hand to her forehead, a look on her face that said 'why does he even bother dealing with her?'. Finally, Ryou cleared his throat, pushing the chair back and standing back up to his feet.

"As I was saying," He raised an eyebrow at the pouting Ichigo, "I was unable to locate any of you three." Ryou motioned to Kona, Yumi and Kikyo, "However, by reviewing the leftover information that was stored on the Blend Program Disc, I was able to pick up some data on the fourth one... And I know who she is."

"What?" The girls all cried at once, leaning forward in surprise. He just shrugged, glancing dismissively off to the side. "How did you...when...?" Kona managed to sputter, while keeping Yumi under caps from going completely news-happy.

"Keiichiro and I managed to create a tracking mechanism, similar to the one we used to find and inject the original Tokyo Mew Mew members," He nodded to Ichigo, "It took a while to boot up, but we picked up digital readings that match those of the Fourth Member. The scarce information that was gathered at first, anyways,"

"Who is it? What's her name?" Ichigo demanded loudly, pushed past the other three girls so she was right up in his face. Appearing slightly alarmed, Ryou glanced down at her, and then ran a hand patiently through his mussed blonde hair.

"She's a student at your school, Ichigo," Ryou said. As if that wasn't enough to startle the girl. As if it weren't enough to make the hairs on her neck stand on end. As if it, alone, didn't leave her wondering and confused, feeling like she'd been chasing a ghost that had only been a veil of dust in the first place.

"Her name is Hataru Roxi."

And so, there they were now, making their way up the stairs again to get back to work. Ichigo's eyes were glazed over. Kona looked at her worriedly, often trying to get her to talk. And she did, occasionally, but only with 'yes', 'I'm fine', and 'I'll get right on it'. Her voice sounded weak, like she had recieved some massive blow.

Roxi. That was her Roxi. One of her best friends. As she wandered into the kitchen, Ichigo set her head against the wall. Trying to think. To remember if she'd ever seen any signs. No marks, no strange behaviour, no sudden alien assasination attempts to the girl... nothing. Or maybe there were, and Ichigo simply hadn't been paying attention. That made her feel even worse. What kind of friend am I...?

Nonetheless, Yumi was overjoyed by this news. "Roxi's a Mew! Roxi's a Mew!" She chanted ecstaticly, practically cartwheeling in the back room.

Ichigo didn't want to be the bad friend. She and Roxi had known eachother for almost 2 years... didn't that mean she knew her own friend well enough to notice if she suddenly had been injected as a mew? Not only that, but the prospect of her being as reluctant as Kikyo... well, it nearly broke her heart. Forcing strangers into a fate was hard enough. But forcing a friend was almost traitorous, and she was most afraid that this would jeopordize their friendship, let alone Roxi's very life.

Sighing, she got back up and dusted off her uniform before walking back out into the cafe, where Kona was trying to calm an over excited Yumi down. As soon as Ichigo came into earshot, Kona froze and tried even harder to make the girl shut up.

"Araaaa, I'm so happy!" The short girl cried, switching from foot to foot, "Roxi's a Mew Mew! She'll fight with us! It'll be sooo awesome!"

"Ah, Yumi..." Kona said cautiously, and they both watched nervously as a drone-like Ichigo walked by. In truth, the strawberry-head didn't even notice; she was so deep in thought, so distracted by herself that things like Yumi cheering didn't even reach her head. Keeping on a one-track mind, Ichigo picked up an order of Blueberry Cheesecake and sent it to the appropriate table...twice.

"Ichigo-san..." Keiichiro started as she came in a third time, requesting a cheesecake for table 4. Sweatdropping, he tried explaining it to her, but the blank-faced girl just repeated the request quietly, glancing off to the side absently. "Ah, are you...?"

"Strawberry, get back to work," Ryou growled as he entered the kitchen to wash some dishes. Keiichiro had requested the extra help. When she didn't respond, the blonde cocked and eyebrow and turned towards her suspiciously. "What's bothering you? You look really distracted."

"Huh?" Blinking, Ichigo suddenly looked up, this seeming to snap her out of the depressed trance she'd set herself in. Then, processing all the words he had said, the girl shook her head. "N-no, I'm fine... I think... but..."

Taking a step over, Ryou flicked her in the forehead with a finger. In response, Ichigo just blinked, not even flinching. Ryou narrowed his eyes and frowned. "What is wrong with you today?" He muttered to himself, and then shrugged, turning his back to her as he made his way over to the sink grudgingly. Sighing, Ichigo turned back to look up to the tall brunette chef.

"Uhm, Akasaka-san, I need a Blueberry Cheesecake for table---"

"Go. Out. Side." Turning around again, Ryou stared hard at Ichigo, who was cut off during her order. Blinking slowly, as if just waking up, she tilted her head.

"Shirogane...?"

"I think you need some fresh air right now, Ichigo. Ask anyone else and they'll tell you the same," Ryou said simply and nodded, standing there unmoving until she agreed to go. Staring at him for a long time with wide eyes, Ichigo finally got it, and nodded, putting a hand to her head.

"Yeah... I guess I really do need some air... I'll be out for a second," She murmured, and turned around to head out the kitchen door. Sighing, Ryou turned to go back to work.

Strange girl...

Walking past the other three girls, who had their hands full serving customers (it was a peak hour, apparently), Ichigo pushed the door open and stepped outside.

Even just being surrounded by the cool, nighttime air seemed to calm her. Breathing in deeply, she closed her eyes, just trying to calm her frenzied thoughts for starters. The only sounds greeting her ears were the rustle of leaves, soft footsteps, the occasional whirr of a passing car. Running a hand through her hair, she sighed and stepped off the porch, making her way out onto the sidewalk lining past the Cafe.

It probably looked odd, seeing a teenager in a bright red Cafe uniform, wandering along the street. She didn't really care right now, though. Ichigo had a lot on her mind, and she didn't need to worry about stranger's opinions... at least for the moment.

After a few minutes of aimless walking, she found a random bench and plopped down on it, exhausted. As much as she was so accustomed to this hectic life, it still took a lot out of her. And it's not like one of her best friends had ever gotten involved like this. Putting her hand to her forehead, she sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. Stop worrying... you can't do anything about it now... just... take your time, try to figure out a way to...

"Beautiful night, hm?" Someone beside her voiced. Ichigo wasn't even startled. She was too tired for that.

"Yeah..." She mumbled to herself, opening her eyes briefly to stare at the ground, "It's kind of... quiet..."

"Ah, you don't like the quiet, I suppose," They said calmly, and then added, "Understandable... Ichigo-neko."

It took a minute. Ichigo jolted upright, her neck snapping around to see the blue haired girl, clad in a sweater and baggy pants, sitting calmly next to her with a smirk on her face. Her amber eyes widened in horror.

"You-!" She hissed, and then jumped up to her feet defensively, opening her mouth to shout out a chain of words.

Ari stopped her. "Re-laaax," She held up a hand calmly, grinning, still sitting casually on the bench. The girl patted the space beside her. "I'm not in a mood for fighting today. Sit, sit, Ichigo. Let's chat for a while," Ichigo glared protectively, refusing to budge. Raising an eyebrow, Ari's gold-specked eyes flickered to the side. "Do you really think I'm dumb enough to spring on you when there's this many people around?"

Ichigo paused. Then, she glanced over her shoulder. Individuals and groups were passing by, as well as a handful of traffic every few seconds. She swallowed. No, Ari wouldn't be that foolish... And neither would Ichigo. To simply transform in public, share her secret, further mutilate her already destroyed image... Deciding she had had enough fresh air, the redhead turned wordlessly back to the cafe.

"Leaving so soon?" She ignored the muse sounding behind her. "Ah, why don't you sit down and chat? I'm just dying to catch up with you, neko. Besides..." Ichigo shuddered, almost sure she could feel Ari smirking behind her, "If I happened to feel like starting a fight right here, I could. We have other ways of hiding, you understand. You, on the other hand..."

Ichigo froze in her footsteps. Bluffing. Ari must be bluffing. She wouldn't dare attack her in the public, infront of all these people... would she? Blinking, Ichigo glanced back over her shoulder. The pale girl was still motioning for her to sit, like a friend might do, but had a cruel smile, and a 'try-me' look glinting in her eyes. Swallowing, the redhead helplessly trudged back over to the bench, stiffling sitting beside the alien. Ari chuckled softly, satisfied and triumphant.

"What do you want?" Ichigo growled, keeping an eye on all the people passing by.

"Geez, can't a girl talk to her friend without wanting something?" She playfully patted Ichigo on the back. Ichigo winced. She's enjoying tormenting me, isn't she...

"We're. Not. Friends."

"Well that's a disappointment," Ari frowned, but then shrugged it off and folded her hands casually behind her head, leaning back against the bench, "Oh, well. I just thought I'd give you some fair warning, Ichigo-neko."

Fair warning. For what?... Ichigo was silent, but her eyes glanced over at Ari curiously. She couldn't help but feel nervous about this. Fair warning. Fair warning...?

Giving a sinister smile, Ari shifted in her seat, setting her hands gently back to her sides. Her gaze was fixed on all the passerbys, almost hungrily, as the suspense continued to build in Ichigo's mind. Then, with a content sigh, the once-alien girl stood to her feet, burying a hand in her pocket. "Your little friend, neko... She's one of you, isn't she? I just thought I'd let you know that Hanajima and I know." With a grin, she cast Ichigo one last glance. "And we could use a few more allies. Poor little blind Hataru girl... It must be a confusing time, finding you have powers. Just imagine what a few lies could do to a vulnerable mind..." With a soft laugh, Ari faded into the crowd, leaving Ichigo stunned on the bench.

Roxi... Slowly coming out of her stun, Ichigo realized the danger Roxi, and even the rest of them, could be in now. Jumping up to her feet, the girl dashed towards the cafe, shoving past crowds, running as if some monster were chasing her. Only one thought played through her mind, like a broken record - Roxi, Roxi... I can't let them get to you, Roxi!

--

When a breathless Ichigo burst through the doors, Kona immediately took her away from the customers and into the kitchen. Unable to get anything out of the panting girl, she immediately went to Ryou and Keiichiro, who were unable to coax an explanation from Ichigo, either. Finally, the panicked girl managed to request that she go home early. Even though there was still two hours left of her shift, Ryou could see how distressed the girl was. Deciding she had been acting strangely all day anyways, the boy allowed her to take the rest of the night off.

Ichigo wasted no time. Instantly, she'd ran all the way home, where her mother and father were just finishing dinner. She half heartedly greeted them before snatching the phone and racing to her room, where she dialed Roxi's number without a second to spare. The answering machine picked up. Trying several more times in a frenzy, Ichigo continued to get the same thing, and eventually gave up, flopping down onto her bed. But not before setting her alarm.

The next morning, she was up extra early, and skipped breakfast entirely, much to the dismay and confusion of her mother. Since no bus came by so early, she had to run all the way to school, in nearly all dark. By the time she arrived, out of energy, the sun was just barely rising, and there was no one else around. Thus, she settled on camping out, and raided her lunch for anything that would suffice for a morning snack. After an hour or so, people began arriving - Ichigo darted around, searching both for Ari and for Roxi. The alien couldn't do anything if Ichigo found her first, right...? She'd been wanting to brainstorm a way to break it to her gently, in some way that wouldn't shock the girl. But there was no longer time for that. It was a matter of good and evil, so to speak.

Now she stood there, on the sidewalk, looking left and right, uncomfortably adjusting her shoe. Ichigo had grabbed an old pair by accident on the way out, and they didn't fit well at all. But she had things other than a pair of small shoes to worry about right now.

And so, she waited. As patiently as one could, when anxious to tell a best friend she had crazy-animal-DNA-powers. People began flooding down the walkway, disappearing into their normal groups, but Ichigo could see no sign of Ari. Or Roxi, for that matter. And she was growing more and more nervous by the second.

Suppose... what if Ari found Roxi already? The thought terrified her. Baka! Why couldn't she have just gone straight to Roxi's house? She'd though that school would be a prime target place for Ari, but she could be wrong. What with the alien able to disguise herself as a human, there seemed no limit to other possibilities. In an attempt to stay calm, she began pacing, back and forth, back and forth, trying to console herself out loud. Of course, this repelled all the other people - it made Ichigo look like a raving psychopath. Oh well. She'd already decided Roxi was her priority, anyways.

Pausing, Ichigo then saw a familiar figure coming up the walkway. Cherri. She had her glance directed at another group, who she was ready to call for when Ichigo nearly tackled her to the ground.

"W-wah!" Cherri stuttered, nearly falling over. With wide eyes, she regained her balance and stared at Ichigo. "Neh, Ichigo, what's up with you today?"

"Ch...Cherri," She panted, as if flagging down her friend took a lot of effort. The red-haired cat girl stood up straight, looking over the newcomer's shoulder. "Ano, where's Roxi? It's really important!"

"Roxi...?" She said spacily. Ichigo panicked. If Cherri didn't know where Roxi was -- and Roxi was never sick -- that couldn't mean that she'd been---!

Right away, Cherri perked up, holding a finger upright in thought, "Oh, she's on vacation, with Miwa in Hawaii. Didn't she tell you she was going on holiday?"

Ichigo's jaw nearly dropped. Her heart was still buzzing in a frenzy, but now she felt completely clueless... and embarassed. Nice going... She smiled sheepishly, a sweatdrop running down the side of her head.

Cherri blinked, "Are you... okay?" then shrugged, "Ahh, you're upset, I know. I mean, Miwa and I hang out sometimes. Why couldn't she invite me for once?... Geez, Roxi, getting all the fun..."

"Er," Suddenly realizing the amount of people staring at her and whispering about the 'pacing and muttering psychopath', Ichigo switched back to reality-mode, "Yeah, the nerve. Well, it was great talkin' to ya Cherri, but I've gotta get to class, ahahaha!" She giggled nervously and then zoomed off in the other direction, leaving Cherri a bit bewildered before heading off to join her usual group.

Ari wasn't at school. Then again, ever since the 'Day of Accusation', she hadn't been at all - and neither had Hanajima, aka Mrs. Kazuhawa. But somehow, for once, having the alien in sight seemed much safer, just so she could make sure everything was under caps. But it was okay now, right? No sense getting more worried when Roxi was all safe and sound, in Hawaii...

Hold it. Her eyes fluttered open, and she lifted her head from the english textbook she'd been snoozing on. Still oblivious to the professor's lecture going on all around her. ...When is Roxi coming back?... Maybe it's tonight... Maybe Ari knows... maybe she's already there - Arrrgh! Stress boiling over, Ichigo buried her face in the text pages, trying to calm herself down. She couldn't deal with this now.

So, she breezed through the day, which mostly consisted of unnecessary stress and no work done, and walked to the cafe straight after school, her spirits fairly damp from the recent occurance. Ichigo had pretty much worked her stress-level to overdrive, and was now suffering from a depressed melt down. As she stepped into the cafe, she was hardly surprised to see it was so crowded - these hours were peak for Cafe Mew Mew. It was apparently a nice break right after work and school, to come and have cake and smoothies with friends at a Cafe where nothing bad could ever happen.

The moment she stepped inside, Ichigo saw Yumi running around, chattering happily about Roxi and how much fun it would be to have her on the 'team' (Kikyo told her to use the word if she was going to talk around the customers). Kona and Kikyo looked completely exhausted, having obviously given up on quietting her down long ago, but snapped back to attention when Ichigo appeared inside. Dropping the broom where she stood, Kona dashed over to the short prancing girl and covered her mouth, dragging the struggling mass into the kitchen away from the stressed cat girl.

Ryou was the first to actually acknowledge her presence with words. "Feeling better?" He said simply, tilting his head to the side.

Ichigo stuck a hand through her hair, closing her eyes and nodding. No, no she wasn't. But what could Ryou and the others do? Opening an eye, she glanced over at the kitchen. "Sorry," She murmured to Ryou and stepped past him, stepping carefully over to the employee-only room filled with cooking utensils and recipes.

"Ara? But why? You and Kikyo said I could talk all I wanted --"

"Neh, Yumi! But that was when Ichigo wasn't here! Now-" Cutting herself off, Kona and Yumi turned to see the redhead standing idly in the doorway. Looking suddenly ashamed, the pink-and-black uniformed girl opened her mouth to apologize, but Ichigo interupted.

"It's alright," She said softly, managing a small smile, "Could I just.. talk to Yumi for a second?"

Kona looked suddenly concerned about the loud-and-exuberant Yumi's health, and bit her lip, getting ideas of certain beatings involving brooms and pans. However, she nodded, glancing at the shorter girl before slipping out the kitchen door. Yumi was oblivious to these worries, though, and hopped right over to Ichigo with a smile.

"What's up?" She chirped.

"Ah," Ichigo shrugged, having to lean down a bit to speak with little Yumi so close up, "Yumi... you know Roxi's on vacation, right?"

"Mm, yeah," Yumi nodded sadly, sighing overdramatically, "Lucky duck. Hawaii's so nice..."

"Do you..." She cleared her throat, "Would you happen to know when she's coming back?"

"Ohh?" Looking thoughtful at this, Yumi tapped her finger to her chin, staring oddly at the ceiling. Then, snapping her fingers, her eyes lit up instantly. "Oh, right! She said she was coming back... that would be tommorow!"

"What time?"

"Ara... Midnight." Yumi grinned. Ichigo slouched.

Groaning softly to herself - fully anticipating she would be the one waiting there for her tommorow night - Ichigo nodded, trying to look grateful. "Thanks, Yumi," She said weakly, and turned to get her uniform and change into it. Might as well tire herself out, while she was at it.

Ichigo would be needing a looong sleep to prepare for Roxi's arrival.

--

Today was the day.

In fact, Ichigo was well prepared. After a very neglectful sleep the night before, she decided to fake sick. And, wow, she was actually really good at it. Both her parents deemed she was unfit to go to school that day, so the girl got to spend the entire 7 hours mulling and catching up on some shut eye. She was never much of a night person, especially when it came to tough life-changing missions that involved psychotic aliens. The least she could do was stay up during the whole thing... if anything happened. Ichigo hoped it wouldn't.

But she was almost certain things would have to go wrong, one way or another.

Right after her shift at the cafe - which ended at about 7:00 (not including the extra 15 minutes they had to spend cleaning up) - Ichigo dressed warmly and comfortably, packing a mini-care-kit for herself. She was treating an airport stakeout more like a camping trip; toothbrush, some snacks, a bottle of water, even hairspray in case she ran into a certain Aoyama-kun after suffering late-night hair. By 8:30, she was out the door, full of a delicious supper, and ready to catch a bus to the airport.

Coming early was just part of her being organized, but Ichigo never realized just how boring an airport was when you weren't about to go anywhere. This time of night, this season, it was practically empty. A few outlets in the food court were open, but most were closed since there was no one around anyways. Ichigo had half expected to be fighting her way through crowds and sitting on the floor while waiting for Roxi to arrive. She couldn't decide whether this was better or worse.

After she'd spent a few minutes exploring her surroundings and locating Roxi's flight number, Ichigo unloaded her things and sat down in a chair. For a while, she just quietly sat there. Then, deciding that made time go by too slowly, the girl started rummaging through her backpack. The one thing she didn't pack, Ichigo thought to herself as she tossed a tube of toothpaste aside, was a watch. She had no idea whether an hour had just passed by, or 32 seconds. There wasn't a clock anywhere nearby, either. She considered sleeping, but then what if she missed Roxi's arrival? It'd be hard for Roxi to miss the one person sitting in the middle of a sea of chairs, but still. She'd feel sick to her stomach if her friend was once more out of her protective grasp.

Resolving she could at least read the Science textbook she'd lugged around, Ichigo opened it, and nearly closed it again right away because it was so extremely boring. However, as pointless and slow as it was, it was pretty much a teensy step up from sitting in a chair doing nothing. Plus, this might be an opportunity to save her lower grades from dropping any more. As she read, Ichigo snacked on various things, always keeping an eye out and an ear open for flight announcements. Nothing. It looked like she'd be here straight until midnight, after all.

The hours passed. A few times, Ichigo got up to wander around, view the souveneir shops, and even bought herself a cute panda plushie. This took up very little time, and when midnight finally did come around, she was about ready to curl up for a cat nap. However, she didn't get the chance, because right then the intercom clicked on.

"Flight 354 Honolulu to Tokyo arriving." The attendant repeated it one more time before clicking off. Ichigo jolted up in her seat and rubbed her eyes, beginning to quickly re-pack her things. The girl's mind was racing. What would she say to Roxi? Would she start off with a greeting? Or jump right into it? How would she explain? Blatantly say, 'You've got animal powers'? Or improvise some heartfelt, teary speech so she wouldn't feel abandoned? She was so stressed about it that the redhead began to pace, back and forth, nearly crashing into chairs several times, until passengers started coming into the Flight 354 lobby area.

Trying to smother her panic, Ichigo swallowed and went back to her chair, standing on her tip toes as she searched for Roxi. Not there. Her heart caught in her throat - maybe she had the wrong flight number? Immediately, she began putting together a last minute plan for taking the transit back to Roxi's house, and making some excuse up along the way. The passengers cleared the area immediately, going straight downstairs to retrieve their luggage. She was just about to run off when Ichigo saw one last person step out of the walkway.

"Ichigo-chan?" Roxi blinked, looking as if she'd just woken up. Yawning lazily, she tilted her head, strands of brown hair falling lightly over her tanned face. "What are you...?"

"Roxi," Ichigo breathed, stunned. Immediately, she rushed over, words falling out of her mouth, one after another. "Roxi! How was your trip? Do you feel strange? Did anyone bother you? Where's Miwa? Do you want me to get your luggage? Did you--"

"Miwa?" Roxi obviously chose to answer only one of Ichigo's trailing questions, "She's staying for another day. My parents wanted me to come back in time for exam prep... Neh, really, why are you here?"

Ichigo was about to spout some more senseless talk, when the question reminded her why she really was here. For a second, she'd forgotten, and just known something was wrong. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, trying to clearly remember what solutions she'd come up with for this scenario in her head, over and over again. Not too elaborate, not too simple... somewhere in between...

"Roxi, I..." Trailing off, she found it suddenly hard to form the words. She wanted so badly to protect her from all of this. "You... see, there's something about me... you don't-"

"Know?"

Everything froze, right there. The word completed a sentance that made Ichigo feel horrible, sick, like she really was a horrible and untrustworthy friend. Maybe it would have been even harder to explain it to her, to continue this trapped conversation, maybe it would have even torn the cat girl to pieces emotionally. But this was a different situation. Roxi hadn't spoken a word.

No, she was staring at the source of the voice, oddly, without fear. Ichigo stood frigid, and turned, even though she knew who it was before she saw the blue hair and golden eyes.

Ari had found them.

---

Next Chapter:

Ichigo has a duty - to protect her friend. Now that Ari's there, with just as much influence because of a cat-girl's bad timing, it's going to be even more difficult to explain things. Nevermind a fight to prevent a friend from becoming an enemy. Now Ichigo has to decide what she's protecting Roxi from - Ari, or the truth?