Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew. That belongs to Mia Ikumi.

A/N: I have been awful to ya'll. It's a wonder if anyone will still even remember this story. WHat happened was I became more interested in reading fanfiction than writing it and I slacked. BUT NOT NOW. I will finish ALL of my stories, and that is a promise.
My writing style has changed a bit, but I tried to keep it as true to the original way as possible.
Anyway, we've almost hit 100 reviews. Yay! 100th reviewer gets a chapter dedication!
And we've gotten over 2500 hits! I'd like to thank everyone of my reviewers and readers, you people are all so kind!
Now what ya'll've been patiently waiting for...

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VALEDICTION
Why

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Keiichiro
"Hey there, Ryou."

"Hey, Keiichiro."

I smile a bit of a melancholy smile as he enters the room. He sighs, leaning against the wall. He's actually quite easy to read.

"Haven't told her yet, have you?"

He passes me a glance as if I'm stating the obvious then sighs once again. "I don't know what to say, Keiichiro." I smile sympathetically as he continues, "What would you say? How am I supposed to tell her that she is the creature that killed that woman and attacked me? I don't want to have to do that." He looks to me almost pleading.

"Truthfully, Ryou, I have no idea the best way to handle the situation. I do know, however, that you need to be the one to tell her." He sends me a quick glare then stalks off to the room Ichigo is presiding in. (Or at least it would seem he was heading in that direction.) "What may come," he speaks with a nonchalant wave of his hand, his confident mask over his features.

"What may come," I repeat softly, pondering what may actually come of this situation, and then resuming the task of washing the dishes.


Ichigo
I stretch out on the bed, waiting for Shirogane to come back.

No, Ichigo. It's RYOU now.

I smile slightly, not knowing what to think of him being so nice. Now that I think about it, though, Shiro-Ryou has been sweet to be a number of times before. To ruin it all, however, he then promptly resumes his arrogant attitude that I hate so much.

Or at least you THINK you hate it.

I huff at that thought and punch my head for good measure. Of course I hate how Shi-RYOU treats me. Like I'm just some object he can do whatever he pleases with. Pfft.

The door creaks open and I rush to sit upright on the bed. Speaking of that jerk-

"Hey, Ichigo."

-here he is.

"S…Ryou. Uh, hey." I notice he has a bit of a troubled feel around him…I wonder what's wrong…

I'm about to speak when he does for me. "Ichigo…you deserve answers." I visibly stiffen and become more alert. Is he going to tell me exactly what I'm doing here now? What happened between reading that letter and arriving here?

"Ichigo, do you know about the…" he pauses, as if searching for a word, "The…being that attacked that American woman?"

I freeze. My hands start to shake, and I hang my head down. Yes, I know…myself. "…Yes."

He places his hand on mine to cease the shaking, a gesture that unwillingly sends a shiver down my spine.

"Ichigo…I think that being is…you."

I stop shaking then lift my teary gaze to meet his.

"I know."

He looks shocked for a moment, then attempts to regain his composure. "I…How?"

I maintain eye contact. "The night before I had a strange dream. And that morning when I woke up…there was blood on my hands." He looks at me with pity in his ice blue eyes.

I start loosing it.

"It's my fault, Ryou! I KILLED HER! I'M A MURDERER!" My shoulders shake with my sobbing. "Ichigo!" He steadies my shoulders with his hands.

"Ichigo, it's not your fault. It's not you who killed that woman. It was that…thing. Not you."

Something in his voice…it's as if he's trying to convince himself, too. "Thanks, Ryou. I'm…I'm just glad it hasn't happened again." Ryou looks down on me with a solemn face.

No…

"Ryou…" My eyes start to tear up again. "I didn't, did I?" He avoids my gaze.

"…You did."

No. No, no, no, no. NO!

"Ryou," I ask, my voice shaking, "…Who was it?"

He looks reluctant to answer. "Why won't you answer me?" He pauses.

"…Me. You attacked me."


Ryou
I'm really not good with things like this.

As I tell Ichigo who she attacked, she snaps. She pushes me away from her and scoots back to the headboard of the bed. "WHY DO YOU COME NEAR ME THEN! WHY DON'T YOU JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME! WHY, RYOU!"

"Ichigo," I say as calmly as I can, "That wasn't you. You didn't attack me. You have no fault in this.

"BUT I DO, RYOU! IT WAS MY BODY THAT ATTACKED YOU, REGARDLESS OF WHAT WAS CONTROLING IT!" She screams at the top of her lungs. I can imagine what Keiichiro is thinking right now; I know he can hear what's going on. "Ichigo, you can just talk. You don't need to scream. It's okay." The panic doesn't leave her eyes and she still breathes heavily, but she has still calmed down a bit.

She talks with a bit of a hysterical tone to her voice. "Why? Why…you? Why did I have to attack you?" At first I think she's lost her sanity, but my mind recalls…

More tears fall, but still I can't speak. She releases her hold on my shoulders, then slams me into the wall. "Why? Why...YOU? You're disgusting!" She slashes her claws across my face. The creature then pauses for a minute, with a look of...fear? Finally she seems to pull herself together again.

I crawl a bit closer to the broken girl. I reach out to calm her, but she pushes my hand away in an uncharacteristically calm manner.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Unknowingly, my hand travels to my wounded arm which is covered by my sleeve. I ponder the best answer.

"Nah. I'm fine Ichigo." I mentally scoff. I'm far from fine…

She smiles briefly, but it soon fades. "…What did I do?" she asks what I've been dreading.

I pause. "We can talk about that later, Ichigo. You probably need some rest." I turn to leave, but just before I shut the door behind me, she speaks.

"Ryou…one more answer?" I nod. "…Why? Why is this happening to me?"

"Later, Ichigo. Just rest now."


Letter

Minto,

Though I fail to see what happened at the airport to be any of your business, I'll tell you anyway since you believe it to be somehow 'vital to Ichigo's health.'
I ignored her.
Not completely, Minto, don't freak out. I let her lean on my shoulder, let her near me. I simply didn't give a farewell.
If you want to know why, Ichigo knows.
She's a sweet girl, and I didn't want to upset her. I just couldn't keep the façade anymore.

Sincerely,
Aoyama Masaya


Ryou
I sit in my room, thinking. Just thinking. Some of the things Ichigo said today reminded me of exactly what that…thing said to me. I guess I should try to analyze it. I might be able to find a way to help Ichigo…

"Perhaps he is not the one for you..."

"You're a bit like me..."

"Why do you hate me! You love me, don't you? Why do you hate me!"

"Why? Why...YOU? You're disgusting!"

"I know what I'll do. I'll just kill you."

Why is everything so confusing?


Okay, Ya'll I know it's all still confusing...BUT YOU WILL UNDERSTAND IN TIME. Promise.
By the way, thanks for reading this. It means a lot!