Konban wa Minna-San! As per the original story, O/C Akasaka Ami is going to make an appearance as their travel guide through the woods. R/R please!

Chapter 2: Weird Dreams in the Wake of Heartache

I glanced over at my alarm clock: three-thirty in the morning. Grumbling, I threw myself out of bed and plopped down at the dressing table across the room. Stuck in the mirrors frame was that little photo from the kiosk at the exhibit we'd been to on our first date; I quickly pulled it down and slammed it on the table, harder than was really necessary. The smile that used to make me feel all warm and happy was now making me angry and heartbroken. How; how could Aoyama-kun do this to me…? After everything we'd been through and everything we risked. I really thought, really believed, he loved me. The slight warmth fled when the image of that scene in the park replayed sharply in my mind.

Sleep seemed highly unlikely, but frustration finally led to flopping on the bed and burying my face deep into the plush pillow there. It was in the shape of a strawberry, a Christmas present from Akasaka-sama and Shirogane. That was enough, at least in that moment, to cheer me up a little: as frustrating as things got, as rotten as Shirogane could be to me sometimes, the little extended family I'd found with them, Retasu, Mint, Purin and Zakuro meant everything to me.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard it: a little bitty, grey cat with a green bandana tied around its neck was pawing at my bedroom window.

"What are you doing here," I hissed as Alto jumped from the window to my bed. Even though I'd seen it a thousand times before, watching the little grey cat turn back into Shirogane was always really cool to see: a small glimmer of light growing brighter and larger until it dispersed and the tall, blonde annoyance in my life stood in his place.

"How are you Strawberry?"

I looked at the floor.
"Fine."

"Liar."

Shirogane stood and walked over the bed. He knelt in front of me.

"Ichigo, I was worried about you," he admitted after a pause. I saw him blush a little. He reached up and touched my face gently, carefully pulling it towards him. Was he going to kiss me…?

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

I shot upright in my bed: my alarm clock… it had been a dream! My heart was still racing. What had that been about! I rolled out of bed and went to the mirror to put my hair up. It was getting late and I had a lot of packing to do. I tore through my clothing drawers, searching for old clothes and a bathing suit to wear. I finally came across a really old pair of jeans and some t-shirts buried near the bottom of the last drawer. These would have to do. I threw everything into a large hiking backpack that had belonged to Dad.

"Morning, Mom and Dad." They were both sitting down to breakfast when I came out of my room. I propped the bag up by the door and joined them. Dad was sitting with his arms crossed… He was in one of his moods again. I looked over at my mother who smiled pleasantly and offered me some food.

"Don't mind him," she said, "he's just having separation anxiety over you leaving."

"I just don't like the idea of my little girl being off in the woods for a month Sakura…" he muttered.

"It's just me and my friends Dad. What's the big deal?"

"Two of your friends happen to be older MALES." I decided it was time to bite my tongue.

"Now dear, I've met both of those gentlemen and they're very nice, respectable young men." Mom winked at me. It was nice to always have her on my side.

"Have you had a chance to say good-bye to Aoyama yet?"

I looked down at my food and nodded weakly: "yeah, he said good-bye to me last night at the park."

"That's good! I'm sure he'll be upset that you won't be around for a couple of weeks, just like I'm sure you'll be missing him. You know…"

I stopped listening about this point; Mom had really gotten on this kick lately of pointing out how she and Dad meet when they were are age and that they've been nearly inseparable since and blah blah blah... I resolved to tell her what had happened when I returned from this little adventure we were all being dragged on. Right now, I wasn't really in the mood to deal with a lot of motherly sympathy.

The rest of breakfast was pretty uneventful. Just as we went to clear off the table, there was a knock on the door. Mom excused me to go answer it.

"Shirogane," I said in surprise. My heart thumped as my dream came to mind… I could see him going to kiss me… I blushed and quickly regained my composure. "What are you doing at my house?" Shirogane shrugged, saying he just wanted to see how I was doing after last night. I looked down at the floor and bit my lip. "Fine," I lied. Mom stuck her head around the corner and told me to go ahead and go with him. It was almost eight as it was. Shirogane grabbed my bag and tossed it over his shoulder.

"Let's go, Strawberry."

We walked together to the café in silence. I guess neither one of us really knew what to say anyway.

"Thank you for last night Shirogane," I finally said in an effort to break the silence.

"It wasn't anything," he replied simply without so much as glancing at me. It was frustrating. Maybe last night's kindness had just been a fluke. "Besides, you don't look all that great when you've been crying." I glared at him. It had definitely been a fluke!

"Hey, Ichigo," he said after a while. "You should cheer up. This trip is going to be really fun… it'll be nice for all of us to hang out without the pressure of needing to save the world and all."

I looked up at him as we walked out of the corner of my eye. What was he really trying to say to me? I shook my head in frustration: what was I thinking anyway! I was still having Aoyama-kun related heartache issues and here I was drooling over my boss; what the heck was wrong with me? I suddenly became aware of fingers rubbing my cat ears:

"Is something on your mind, Ichigo?" My whole body turned red with embarrassment. I laughed nervously and said that it was nothing. We continued on our way.

8:30 AM, Café Mew Mew

The bus was already there and being loaded when we arrived. I tried to avoid eye contact with Mint- that all-knowing smile on her face came from assumptions about Shirogane and me arriving together that morning. It was weird, standing there and looking at the closed café where we'd spent so much time over the last year. Of course, we'd be back in a few weeks and things would be back to normal: Mint sitting and sipping tea instead of working, Retasu breaking every plate she touches, Purin performing ever dangerous stunts around a klutzy Retasu, Zakuro's cold indifference to the customers, Akasaka-sama's delicious baking and, of course, Shirogane picking on me non-stop. The only change would be my boyfriend no longer visiting me almost every afternoon. That realization was cold, and stung a little. I paused before boarding the bus and sitting near the back:

"Good bye, Aoyama-kun…"

It didn't take too long to get my mind off of things. An hour on a bus with four other wired girls and two guys in desperate need of a vacation lead to some wacky things: Purin couldn't resist doing her tricks and stunts on the bus, much to Retasu's dismay. She kept trying to stop her, but Purin is like a charging bull once she gets started! Mint popped up from the seat behind me and got real close to my ear:

"So, you walked to the bus today with Shirogane-san?" I turned around quickly and told her to shush. Retasu and Purin stopped bickering and crowded over to where I was sitting. I looked over at Shirogane in desperation, but all he did was turn red and start talking to Akasaka-sama about some genetic gibberish.

"Yeah, Ichigo, tell us what was up with that?" Zakuro smiled at me with that wise-beyond-her-years look that she always had. I sank lower into my seat.

"He was just looking out for me," I finally said, hoping to kill their curiosity. "Aoyama and I sorta broke up."

"We know actually," said Mint sitting back. I stare at her blankly.

"Shirogane-san told us earlier," added Purin. I turned to glare at Shirogane.

"You jerk! That wasn't your news to share." He wouldn't look me in the eye, which only fuelled my anger.

"Hey, I just didn't want it to come up in conversation and hurt you." I saw him glare briefly at Mint for spilling the beans.

"Ichigo," I looked to Akasaka-sama who was smiling gently at me, "you must believe me when I say Ryou only had your best interest at heart when he told us. Don't be mad at him." I sighed and agreed to calm down. It's not like I didn't want my friends to know or anything, I just wanted to be the one to tell them- when I was ready.

"You're really over sensitive some times," Shirogane muttered. That was it. THWACK. I hit him over the head with my purse. The whole bus erupted in laughter.

"You deserved that one Ryou. You shouldn't have teased her when she was upset like that," commented Akasaka-sama as Shirogane rubbed the welt on his head. He muttered something about just teasing and changed the subject.

10:30 AM, Start of Hiking Trail

"A mountain," squealed a terrified Retasu. She was looking at the massive structure in the not-so-far distance:

"Yes, there's nothing like a continuous uphill climb to strengthen leg muscles and to build endurance." Shirogane was unloading things. I stepped off the bus and shielded my eyes from the bright sun. There were barely any clouds at all and the sound of rushing water could be heard nearby. A soft breeze was almost whistling through the trees and any and all stressful thoughts and emotions just seemed to float away with it; it was amazing.

"Okay kiddies, let's get going!" I jumped at the sound of the new voice. There was a tall woman with long auburn hair and thin, red rimmed glasses standing beside Akasaka-sama. She was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt and her hair was pulled back in a tight braid. She held a bamboo walking stick in her hand.

"Allow me to introduce my cousin, Ami. She's a botanist taking some time off from work and has offered to lead us on our expedition. She's got an extensive history with this sort of thing." Ami smiled pleasantly at us.

"It's certainly a pleasure to meet all of you," she began. "Keiichiro has told me much about you all. Please, let's all be seated. I want to go over some basic things with you:" we sat in a circle on the grass. "These next couple of weeks will be hiking. In addition to your sleeping bags and clothing, you will also be carrying some of the supplies: food, cooking equipment, the tarps for sleeping under, and other items that we will divide up in a moment." Ami must have talked to us for about a half an hour regarding what we were all in charge of and some vital safety tips.

"Last, but not least, we will operate on a buddy system. Keiichiro and I have selected the teams: Purin and Retasu, Zakuro and Mint, Keiichiro and myself, and Ryou and Ichigo."

"Nani yo!" Shirogane and I both shouted at the same time.

"Keiichiro, why did you pair me with Ichigo?"

"You're no prize either," I snapped at him.

"You two could stand to get along a little better," Akasaka-sama replied simple. I put my face in my hands and groaned. "In addition to looking out for your buddy," he continued, addressing everyone, "you will each take a turn leading the expedition with your buddy. You will share the map and compass for the day and determine how often and where we break." I allowed myself to fall back on the grass and closed my eyes. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad…

"Don't be so lazy, Ichigo, we're getting our stuff together." I gritted my teeth. Maybe it would be that bad…