(A.N./

Here is chapter 12

Probably second to last

At least…I think so.

Second to last chapter, people! For this chapter, I'm going to try something a little different. I haven't had much experience in writing in 1st person, and I'd like to practice a little more. The scene presented was a perfect opportunity to work with Pudding's POV!

As a side note, Pudding sometimes does not use proper grammar, and her words might seem a bit jumbled up. This is all part of her childish way of thinking, and is written like that completely out of correct characterization.

Please tell me how I did in a review, and tell me if I kept her in character. Thanks, and here's your chapter!)

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(Pudding's POV)

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that my head hurt really bad. I groaned,

"Why does my head feel weird, na do da…?" I rubbed my eyes and moved my nose around. At least my face was still moving! I could tell I was still transformed 'cause I could feel my monkey ears move when I wiggled them.

Everything was kinda blurry when I looked around, but I blinked a couple times and I could see way better. Then I saw that Taru-taru was sitting right in front of me! He wasn't really looking at me though, more like hiding his face. He looked so cute like that, and I really wanted to give him a big hug!

"Taru-taru!" I said, "What's wrong?"

He didn't really say anything; he just kind of shifted around a bit. I frowned,

"Taru-Taru, you can be a big meanie sometimes, na do da, but could you at least say something please, na do da?" Would you believe he still wasn't talking to me? He was being so rude! You should at least tell someone you don't want to talk if you don't want to talk. Especially if that someone just woke up from being passed out or something! I was getting kinda mad, so I said louder,

"Hey, wake up, na do da! I want to talk, Taru-taru, na do da!"

Finally, he responded! He uncurled from his little ball and said,

"You tired?" Happy to get a response, I nodded really fast,

"Yup, na do da!" I frowned when I thought about them attacking the mansion, though. I asked, "When are you guys leaving, na do da? I wanna get to bed, na do da."

Taru-taru seemed to get kinda mad at that, but then his face went back to the tired one. He said quietly,

"About ten minutes, I think. At least, I think Minto's parents are coming around then…I'll talk to Pai about it…" I turned my head to the side,

"He's the big, purple, scary one, right, na do da?" Taru-taru seemed to loosen up a bit at that and even laughed a little! I giggled too, but he straightened up fast and got up. I frowned. He seemed to be going back into super-defensive mode now. That's what he does when he wants to look cool or strong. He does that a lot…

"I'm going now!" he announced, and looked back down on me with angry-looking eyes. Yup, he was definitely in super-defense mode. He said, "Don't get any ideas, okay? Pretend I was never here."

I felt a little sad at that, but I didn't show it. If I looked sad, then Taru-taru would just catch the sadness from me. Sadness in contagious like that. Instead, I smiled as bright as I could and asked, standing up,

"Taru-taru, could I have a hug before you leave, na do da?" He seemed a little scared and kind of embarrassed when I said that. A cute little red blush crept up his face, too! I was so happy! He mumbled,

"N-no way, small fry." I took a few steps closer,

"Aw, come on, please, na do da?!" He shook his head really fast, making his brown pigtails wiggle back and forth. He was just too cute for me not to hug! So, with that, I performed my Super-Secret Fong Family Tackle-Hug on him, landing a perfect target! He struggled in my grip, but he was so warm and soft! He gave me the warm fuzzies all over! After a few seconds I let go of him and said,

"Thank you, na do da! That was a nice hug, na do da!" The little red blush had spread all over his face. He looked totally embarrassed! He grumbled,

"I didn't say you could have a hug, freak…" Right after that, he teleported away. I smiled to myself and skipped out of the room humming. That was really fun!

When I got out into the big, long hall, I saw Minto-oneechan talking to Lettuce-oneechan. They seemed to be arguing about something or another. I listened in and heard Minto-oneechan,

"I swear, I wasn't seeing things! I really saw him dive right into the water!" Then I heard Lettuce-oneechan,

"Sorry, Minto, but maybe you just didn't get enough sleep…" I narrowed my eyes and jumped out from the doorway I was hiding in, yelling,

"Saw WHO go into the water, na do da?!" Minto-oneechan must've jumped a foot up in the air she went so far! She turned around real slowly and said,

"Why do you need to know, Pudding?!" Lettuce smiled and ran over to me though, and gave me a hug.

"I'm so glad you're here, Pudding-chan!" I smiled nicely. I always like hugs from my friends. I gave her a big hug back and said,

"I'm glad, too, na do da, but I don't really know what happened, na do da!" Lettuce asked,

"Do you know where Ichigo-san is?" I shook my head,

"Nope, na do da." Lettuce-oneechan looked really worried. She said,

"Well, the last time I heard, you two were both in the big master bedroom when you both disappeared." Minto called across the hall,

"Zakuro-oneesama, Pudding-chan's come back!" A few seconds later, Zakuro-oneechan and Blue Knight-san came tearing down the hall. Like the rest of the Mews, Zakuro-onceechan looked happy to see me, and so did Blue Knight-san. Zakuro-oneechan said,

"Now that a lot of us are together again, we should look for Ichigo," she turned to me, "Do you remember anything about you and Ichigo disappearing?" I thought really hard about that, but I couldn't remember anything from when I was turning off the faucets in the master bedroom to when Taru-Taru woke me up.

"Well, na do da," I said, "I can't really remember much, just that when I woke up, I was in the laundry room, and Taru-Taru was sitting next to me, na do da!" My friends' faces all turned to confused ones when I said that. Lettuce-oneechan asked,

"Taruto? What did he say?"

"Not much, na do da," I said. I thought a little more and then remembered the thing about ten minutes, "Oh, yeah! He said that Minto's parents are coming in about ten minutes, na do da!"

"WHAT?!" everyone yelled. No one seemed happy with what I said. I nodded,

"Yeah, that's what he said, na do da! He said that they're leaving when Minto's parents get back, na do da!"

Minto-oneechan began pacing back and forth across the big hallway. She looked really nervous. Lettuce-oneechan wrung her fingers together like she does when she's scared. I could tell she was thinking really hard, too, because her eyebrows had a bunch of wrinkles between them. Zakuro and the Blue Knight both looked really serious too. The Blue Knight was the first one to break the silence, though.

"We had better start looking for Ichigo. If Taruto is right, and the aliens are gone, then finding Ichigo is our number one priority. The water downstairs is already drained, thanks to Zakuro, but I doubt she's there…"

All of a sudden, Lettuce-oneechan brightened up.

"I think we have a clue!" she said excitedly. I jumped up and down,

"Really, na do da?!" Lettuce nodded,

"Yes!" she said, "Minto said that she saw Kisshu dive into the water right over there…" she pointed to a spot towards the back of us, "…and you came from that same area. Taruto was also there, like you said. Ichigo disappeared with you when you were gone from the bedroom. I'd bet that the four of you were in the same room when something happened, and Kisshu and Ichigo are both gone together!" Zakuro nodded thoughtfully,

"That makes sense. From what I observed back in the alien dimension, Kisshu was critically injured and had to be taken off somewhere else, though. Why would he come back…?"

I shrugged, "I dunno, na do da. Kisshu-san seems to have some kind of obsession around Ichigo-oneechan, na do da…" It was true, really. He seemed to chase her everywhere and try to talk to her during fights, even though he was supposed to be focusing on getting rid of her. A little smile curled up my face when I thought of something. I burst out,

"Kisshu-san's love for Ichigo-oneechan is forbidden love, na do da!" Everyone around me seemed to wince, and Lettuce-oneechan had this funny little blush crawling up her face. I, however, was quite excited. It was like a cool TV drama being played out! I could see it now: "A story of affection, sadness, and forbidden love! Princess Ichigo is-"

"U-um, Pudding-chan…I don't think that's quite it…"

Lettuce-oneechan interrupted my thoughts.

Blue Knight-san seemed to be getting kind of mad, and he took a step forward, cutting in,

"I will go look for Ichigo. You Mews can finish up with the faucet work downstairs, then de-transform immediately back into your pajamas. I should have Ichigo back by then so you can deliver your story. Got it?"

We all nodded. I was the first one downstairs, bounding down before anyone else and charging towards the nearest restroom.

"Last one there is a rotten egg, na do da!" I yelled to my friends behind me. We had to hurry if we were going to fix the plumbing on time!

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(End Pudding's POV)

The Blue Knight traveled down the expansive hallway, throwing open all the doors as he went past. At each one he opened the door, scanned it briefly, and closed the door. This tiring process went on for about eight more doors until he threw one open…

There, inside, on the bed, was a sleeping Ichigo and Kisshu, both quite still. Kisshu's arm was draped lazily around Ichigo's waist, with Ichigo facing the door.

The Blue Knight took a deep breath and crept in quietly. He came over to Ichigo and tapped her on the forehead. She shifted in her sleep. He tried tapping her again on her nose, and, this time, she stirred, opening her eyes with a soft groan. The Blue Knight looked her in the eye and put a finger to his mouth, signaling to keep quiet. Ichigo, feeling Kisshu behind her, nodded solemnly and shot her eyes quickly from the Blue Knight, to Kisshu, and back to the Blue Knight. He nodded and reached over to Kisshu's arm that was resting on Ichigo.

Slowly, carefully, he lifted it up and motioned to Ichigo. She got up quickly and slid next to the Blue Knight, hiding behind him, just in case Kisshu was not the type to be woken up after sleeping.

But Kisshu kept on sleeping, and the Blue Knight set his arm next to him gently. He motioned for Ichigo to follow him, and they both snuck out the door without a second glance.

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief once outside.

"Are you feeling alright?" the Blue Knight asked. Ichigo nodded,

"I'm feeling a little better after getting some sleep, but I still feel cold and kind of clammy." The Blue Knight shook his head,

"It's my fault. I should have been there to protect you."

"You know," Ichigo said quietly, "I'm very thankful for you saving me, Blue Knight. But I think that I can save myself sometimes, too, even though I seem to need saving a lot." She smiled warmly at him, stifling a giggle, and he smiled back.

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"Stations, everyone!" Zakuro ordered. The four Mews before her were de-transformed and in their pajamas, at the ready on top of the staircase. The aliens were nowhere in sight. The plumbing was fixed to an extent that there would be no suspicions from picky plumbers. And Minto's parents were approaching fast.

Zakuro gave one last wave goodbye before she, with the Blue Knight, flew up towards the smashed window that the Blue Knight had come through and was gone. Pudding blinked,

"How are we gonna explain the broken window, na do da?"

"Flying tree limb from the storm, maybe…" Retasu suggested. Minto nodded,

"That sounds good, I guess."

They waited in silence, listening to the sound of heavy rain from outside. Suddenly, they heard the noise of a car on the pavement driveway. Everyone shifted positions nervously.

"Get ready…" Minto muttered.

A few seconds later, Minto's mother burst through the door, followed by a few chaperones, Minto's father, and Minto's brother. She called,

"Minto, are you alright?!" Minto came rushing down the stairs,

"Mom, it was so scary! The power went out and the house flooded from the downstairs basement!" Her mother embraced her and rubbed the back of her head soothingly,

"Shh, it's okay, we're here now…"

The rest of the Mews looked at each other and smiled, knowing Minto's acting was doing the trick. Her mom was buying it.

Her mother looked up suddenly, though, and she froze dead. Her eyes widened, and she stuttered,

"D-d-dear, w-who's that?!" Minto turned her head and gasped when she saw that Kisshu was stumbling down the staircase, followed by an angry-looking Pai and a melancholy Taruto.

The whole room seemed to stop in time, as one party stared at the other in silence. The aliens stood in the same gawking position as the humans in the room, not daring to move. They had the likeness of deer in front of headlights. Tension hung thick in the air as Minto slowly turned her head to her mom…

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(A.N./ By the way, I put a poll up on my profile asking how I can improve in my writing. Please vote, because I really would like to know what my weak spots are!

Thank you, and Happy Holidays!)