Author's Note: Argh. I keep ending up with two seperate scenarios per chapter. It happened in the last chapter and I ended up making the ceiling cave in instead of bringing the "evil" aliens back in. Here I run into the same problem, but to be honest, I need a bit of a break to remember where this story was going before it gets any more "dramatic" (ie. reread what I wrote), so I changed this from what I originally had jotted down. Personally, I'm surprised nobody went out on a limb trying to figure out who/what Max was, but, well, you get the answer either way. As to whether he's bad or not, I think you can start to refine what you think. Thanks for so many reviews so quickly, too. I was surprised to wake up to about four comments when I posted this thing at midnight. Wow. It makes me feel special. :D

TOMORROW'S SOLACE

--- Ch. 10; Act 01 - How to fix what has become broken. (version. Max)

What could I do but trail after him? With my own head reeling, I could only imagine what our teenage "leader" was going through at the moment. First there was the shock from the resonance. I had yet to discover what had caused such an explosive reaction between the Mew Ore and Ryou. Secondly, Ichigo's life had been in danger. The triangle was obvious to any bystander. Not only was she in love with her boyfriend and he with her, but it seemed that the alien Kisshu was drawn to her as well. And of course, there was Ryou. As cryptic as he tried to be, his affection for (often masked by annoyance and authority over) her was plain to see. Third, well, I imagined having an encounter with the police right after nearly getting buried alive was not going to help.

"Ryou!" I called after him. His steps were brisk and certain; I found it hard to keep up with him.

He kept moving, not acknowledging that he had heard me in the least. He probably wanted to be alone or else he would have simply requested that the aliens teleport us back to camp. But he hadn't. It seemed as if he was running away, if anything.

I sighed in exasperation, "Ryou! I know you can hear me! You could at least let me know that you're okay."

"I want to be alone," he muttered by way of explanation. I didn't doubt his words, but I doubted that leaving him to his own devices was best.

"Are you sure you wouldn't feel better if you talked about it?" I asked.

"Why would I talk to you about anything?"

"True, I'm not Keiichiro or Ichigo-chan, but at least you could get it off your chest."

"No," he said with finality.

I was getting nowhere. It might very well be useless. "May I at least ask you if Keiichiro is the only reason you rescued me?"

"Isn't that what I said?" he grumbled.

"Well, yes, yes you did," nervously I scratched the back of my head. Ryou looked momentarily over his shoulder to glare at me, silently telling me to get lost.

"Nevertheless, thank you for saving me. I'm glad you're okay."

The teenager muttered something incomprehensible in response.

"I do hope that was a 'you're welcome'. I believe it's customary to respond with one when-"

"It wasn't," he interrupted before hurrying off. I decided it was best to leave him. He wouldn't be stopped so easily.

"So, Max-san, how was Shirogane-san doing?" Retasu asked. She had cooked up some green tea for everyone which was actually quite delicious.

Sighing, I accepted a cup from her, "Not too well, I'd say. But he wanted to be alone and it didn't look like anyone could stop him."

"That's pretty normal for Shirogane. People will often go off by themselves to reflect on the past," Zakuro offered, seated comfortably on a mat that she had laid out over a large flat rock.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ichigo admitted, "Shirogane's secretive no matter what. It's not often that he comes straight out and says something personal."

"If it's about what happened, I'm sure he doesn't want to say anything about it at all," Aoyama-kun added, "Being an orphan is a painful experience."

"But he's not really completely an orphan - he has Akasaka-san, doesn't he?" Ichigo questioned, "I can't imagine what it'd be like not having Mom and Dad around, but at least he has Akasaka-san to turn to, and he has us."

"I think that's beside the point, Ichigo," Minto said, tracing the handle of her cup with her finger, "My parents are alive and well, yet I never see them, much. Even Seiji is away most of the time. I'm not above admitting that it gets lonely."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ichigo said.

"Are you sure Ryou-kun was trying to ressurect his parents using the Mew Ore? What if it was something else entirely?" I asked.

"What else would he try to use it for? Even we know that the Chimera Animas killed his parents years ago," Kisshu piped up from his side of the campfire, his yellow eyes glowing eerily in the dim light, "That was back before we knew how to control them... Even though we use Chimera Animas, they're not like us or like humans. They don't always obey our commands. They run only on the basic instincts to eat, drink, and eliminate whatever stands in the way of their survival. They'll attack even when there's no reason to."

Pai, who had been watching in silence, contributed, "Yes. I doubt the boy was foolish enough to ask for something completely beyond reasonable capabilities. Considering the Mew Aqua was able to revive the citizens of Tokyo, he probably assumed that something more powerful could revive the dead from some years ago. He's rash in certain situations, but not idiotic by any means."

"I wish we could do something for him," Retasu admitted, staring into her cup sympathetically.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed frowning.

I opened my mouth to speak, "But what could that something be, Retasu-chan? Obviously some solutions are beyond our grasp. Others might backfire."

"You know, Max-san, I was thinking that maybe if you cut your hair out of your face, it'd make it easier for Shirogane-san to trust you," Retasu suggested weakly.

"Minto stared at her, "What good would that do? Not that I'm opposed to the idea."

"Well..." Retasu tried to explain, motioning lightly with her hand as she spoke, "My father always said that you know you can trust someone by looking at their eyes. When we can't clearly see someone's face, our natural instinct is to be wary of them."

"You trust Max?" Zakuro questioned. With this the entire group's eyes fell on me. I could tell each of them was evaluating his or her own stances on the matter.

"Well, I think Max-san is a good person at heart," she answered finally, her cheeks reddening, "Otherwise, why would he be so worried about Shirogane-san?"

"Hmm..." Ichigo frowned, "Why do you worry about Shirogane, Max?"

"Is it wrong of me to worry about him? He seems to have a lot of... problems," I could have kicked myself for my bad wording.

"Back home people change their hair color or style as a sign of loyalty. Ask this guy to cut his hair as a sign that he's not going to betray you," Kisshu suggested boredly.

"If nothing else, you'll know the face of your enemy," Pai stated.

"He never said he wouldn't betray us! ...or that he was our enemy, for that matter." Ichigo reminded everyone.

"I can hear everything you're saying," I managed with a sweatdrop.

Honestly, I had figured that I wasn't their "enemy" by any means, yet our goals could end up clashing in the future, and I was not about to give up on account of them telling me it was "wrong" or "bad". Some things had to be done.

"So... what do you think?" Ichigo asked, "Will you cut your hair?"

"I'm not entirely partial to the idea," I admitted.

"I suppose we're best off taking him as a hostage," Zakuro deduced, stiffening.

"I do believe that's a bit much, Miss Zakuro," I replied.

"If nothing else, I'm tired of him constantly dodging the subject. I propose that we simply cut it ourselves," Minto proposed. I saw Ichigo make a face at that.

"I will answer when I'm good and ready," I assured Minto with a smile.

"Yes, when we are old and gray," she retorted, taking another sip of tea and signaling that she was finished with this discussion.

"Please, Max-san? I know it seems trivial, but it might set everyone at ease if we could see your face," Retasu leaned forward slightly as she spoke.

"I'd rather not," it was the truth. It was something I was not ready to do. Not by a long shot. I sighed to myself. Could they not just drop the topic altogether?

Ichigo popped up infront of me and the mischievous sheen in her eyes reminded me miraculously of my own-

"Just sit back and relax okay? I'm sure it'd make Shirogane happy since he's been wanting you to shave for ages. He's really particular about things like that, you know?" She laughed nervously, obviously only wishing to satisfy her own curiousity.

"Somehow I doubt it would make the boy happy, but if all of you are going to continue to insist..."

Ichigo's brows knit together in confusion, "Well, I mean, it might not make him jump for joy or anything, but it'd make you seem more like a member of the group than, well, a bum."

"Ichigo," Aoyama-kun uttered in disbelieve. The catgirl frowned at him. She thought it true, and she was probably right.

"Okay, okay. I get it. But am I even that? A part of the group?"

"Akasaka-san trusts you... and you saved Shirogane... and... well, you haven't done anything bad yet..." she admitted.

"He denied that we had arrived," Pai added, "For whatever reason he was keeping this information classified."

"He helped clean up a stack of plates I dropped two weeks ago," Retasu added meekly.

Minto shook her head, not believing any of this, "In his defense, he makes better tea than Akasaka-san."

"I'm still keeping my eyes on you," Zakuro informed me, "I'm sure Shirogane will do the same, but, I'd be more inclined to trust you if you answered to a few of our requests."

Kisshu merely stretched.

"Very well," I conceded, "Let's get this over with."

It was too late to undo now. Ichigo dug a pair of scissors from her bag and pleaded with Aoyama-kun for a razor.

"Um, I'm afraid I'm not very good at styling, but is there a particular type of haircut you would like, Max-san?"

"I thought we were just going to shave it all off, nya..." Ichigo blinked, handing her green-haired friend the items. If I hadn't know that Retasu was quite successful with sewing and making dolls, I might have been a bit worried.

"Ichigo..." Aoyama-kun sighed again.

Still, in the back of my mind there was an inkling - a feeling - that I would come to regret my decision of taking off the mask.

--- Ch. 10; Act 02 - Revelation. (version. Ryou)

I was sitting out there by myself for two hours solid. Was I asking for too much? Maybe I wasn't pure enough? It didn't compute. Aoyama had transformed with little effort after merely touching the Mew Ore. Were his feelings somehow different from my own? Or was it because he had been the Blue Knight? Did I need to sacrifice two corpses in exchange for restoring a pair of spirits? Maybe it was just impossible. Maybe it had been too long and maybe they were happy the way they were. Can spirits even think in the first place?

It was then that I noticed the night air had gotten chilly. It was best if I headed back to the others and contacted Keiichiro with the news that we had found the Mew Ore. He'd also probably ask questions about what had happened.

The camp wasn't incredibly difficult to find again. The others had stacked the fire higher so that it'd be easier to see from a distance. When I could start to distinguish which shadows belonged to who, I noticed that Aoyama was walking towards me.

"Shirogane-san, something's wrong," he said quietly.

Having had enough time to recompose myself for the time being, I crossed my arms infront of me and looked down my nose at him, "What happened?"

"We tried contacting Akasaka-san and the others back in Tokyo. All we got was static. Kisshu and Pai left to go see what was going on. They haven't come back yet," he explained gravely.

"I see. How long ago was this?" I kept walking past him and he followed, Masha resting in his arms, apparently in hibernation mode.

"It was about forty five minutes ago."

I breathed through my teeth in annoyance, "That's a fairly long time. Something might be amiss."

"That's what I think too. They asked me and Max to stay here with Ichigo and the others until you came back, but, I'm worried that the other aliens might have attacked the cafe and overpowered them."

"You haven't heard anything?"

"Nothing," said Aoyama.

"Shirogane-san! Thank goodness! Uh, would you like some tea? I saved some for you. Um... it might make you feel better..." Retasu offered nervously, relief flickering across her face. I felt bad for having her worry.

"That would be nice," I answered. She hurried off to get it.

"Hrm. It doesn't feel right. Especially given the aliens haven't attacked here. The only opposition we've had was the rangers and police..."

"Do you think Max-san told them we were coming here?" Aoyama asked me.

I thought for a moment, then shook my head, "No. He demanded that I not report our actions to them... he wouldn't have done it. It must have been someone else."

"A spy?" he suggested.

"Max is spy enough. Unless someone's spying on him, I don't think so."

"Maybe the government and the other aliens are working together?" he sounded skeptical. So was I.

"It's too early to tell. I'm more worried about things at the cafe. Keiichiro should have been able to contact us, and the aliens can teleport. If they could have, they would have reported back by now..."

"What can we do? I can't teleport us and there's no town in sight, let alone an airport," Aoyama reminded me.

"I have a cellphone," Zakuro spoke up, approaching us.

"I'd rather not resort to waiting hours for an airplane to come get us. By then it could be too late," I murmured.

"You're right, but what other choice do we have?" she inquired.

"There isn't much choice at all," I grumbled.

Minto shook her head, "Even my family's private jet service would take several more hours to get here. I guess it can't be helped unless we intend to wait."

"Shirogane-san, your tea?" Retasu offered.

"Thanks..." I responded tiredly, taking it gratefully.

"But we can't just sit around and wait for some airplane," Ichigo argued, "What about Berii and Purin and the others?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Well, no..." she admitted.

Retasu folded her hands loosely over her chest, "Maybe the aliens will come back soon. If they need help, then surely they'll find a way to reach us, right?"

"I hope so," Zakuro replied/

"There's got to be something we can do..." I murmured, searching for some sort of an answer.

Ichigo nodded emphatically, "Shirogane's right! We can't just-!"

Max took that moment to deliver his two cents to the group. I hadn't noticed him earlier. I could only imagine he was off plotting things or else using nature's restroom, "If we could return to Tokyo now, it'd be the same thing as freely handing over the Mew Ore. We should wait until Kisshu and Pai come back at the very least. If we're too hasty in our decision-making, we might be overwhelmed."

This comment made something in me snap and I whirled on him angrily, "What kind of a coward are you? Our options are limited right now, but suppose something happens to the others while we're hanging out in Latin America enjoying the scenery?! Stop acting like you know everything!"

The voice had been Max's voice. I was sure of it. But Max was nowhere to be seen.

The man who had spoken met my gaze squarely. He looked tired and restless. Despite his words having come across in a calm and practiced manner, he looked completely unsettled by his decision to speak at all.

I stared for a few moments before my thoughts decided to catch up with my eyes.

He sighed with an effort, "I tried... I was trying to find a way to tell you, but, you didn't give me much of a chance."

I took a step backwards as he simply stood where he was.

No. This couldn't be happening. I stared dumbly at his face as all the pieces I had been mulling over for the past few months began falling into place.

This was why he had blackmailed Ichigo into taking him to see me.
This was why he had tried so hard to get me to like him.
This was why he pretended to be so concerned.
This was why he had refused to give up even when I didn't want his company.
This was why he wouldn't show his face or talk about himself.

This was why the Mew Ore had gone out of control. It simply couldn't grant my wish.

Then I remembered all the things I'd said. How many times had I shown him even the slightest smile or the smallest bit of hospitality since he had arrived?

My mind was becoming more and more jumbled. But more importantly than the how or why, I was thinking of the how long it had been. Didn't he hate me? He had to be truly disappointed in his discovery.

What was I, anyway?

Some punk who was posing as his--

And even more than that: was it possible that he really was someone who couldn't be trusted? I wanted to trust him. I couldn't.

I tried to shut this all out. I shook my head with force and backed away.

I felt trapped.
I felt like I was being betrayed.
I felt like I was being tested and I had failed. FAILED.

"Akasaka-kun and I... We wanted to tell you, but I knew it'd be a difficult thing for you to accept. Take your time. You don't have to accept any of this ri--"

I shook my head. My eyes were stinging with what had to be tears. I was ashamed to be crying at a time like this

Max (could I even call him that anymore!?) held a helpless look on his face. It was killing me.

"Ryou, I'm so sorry..." He was trying to be as careful as possible, I knew that. He offered a smile even, though his eyes seemed very sad.

"No!" I shouted. Retasu jumped with surprise and Ichigo's eyes widened with fright. I was sure even Zakuro had cringed, but I was paying no attention at all to my audience.

"You liar!" I hissed, tears running down my face, "Why didn't you say something?! You liar! YOU LIAR!! YOU LIAR!!"

He made no move to deny this. He just watched me through those same eyes, clearly visible now that his brown hair was cropped short and his beard reduced to nothing.

The world was falling apart. I was staring at someone I both hated and loved. How could that be? I was being offered one of the very things I had wanted. Something I'd wanted forever. But I couldn't accept it. Not now. I couldn't keep living in the past. This whole time it had all been a lie. There was never a Max Brancroft. It was just a lie. He was a liar. And I had fell for it.

I turned and ran off. My pounding head drowned out every noise. My body seemed to fall away from me as I shrank down, morphing into a cat. The perfect tool for my escape from the man who had started everything.

--- Ch. 10; Act 03 - The person he reminds you of. (version. Max)

"M-max, aren't you going to go after him?" Ichigo spoke up cautiously.

"Ah... besides that, what just happened here, Max?" the blue Mew Mew added, casting a sidelong look in my direction. She seemed concerned, a rare emotion for the petite Minto.

Retasu, shaken by Ryou's outburst, kneeled carefully to pick up the dropped teacup.

I watched the place where Ryou had been moments before. I should have expected a reaction such as this, but how in the world was one supposed to reveal the information Ryou needed to know? This was a bad time, I knew. He was already stressed. Now he might even be in a serious state of shock, all because I had caved in. On the flip side, at least now he knew why his wish hadn't been granted. That is, if Zakuro and the others were correct about that in the first place. I wasn't in a position to ask him. It was a pathetic bit of optimism that didn't even begin to make up for what I had just done to him.

I rubbed my forehead, letting out another weary breath that I had been holding in, "You don't need to call me by that name anymore."

"Eh?"

I glanced away from the group of confused faces, "'Max' and 'Bancroft' came from the names of childhood friends of mine. You can call me 'Professor' or whatever else you like..."

"Wait, what? You're a teacher?" Ichigo's eyes were literally huge brown question marks.

"I'm afraid I'm not following you," Minto admitted.

Zakuro and Retasu stood by silently.

"So 'Max Bancroft' is an alias," Aoyama-kun realized aloud, watching me with eyes that were calm and did not judge.

"You could say that, I suppose."

They say the characters in my name mean "self victory", yet all I was feeling at the moment was a hopeless sense of defeat. It looked like the success of my "plan" was all up to him now.

The girls looked like they were about to hammer me with questions, but I raised a shaky hand to stop them.

"More specifically, my real name is Jishou Shirogane. The truth is that... I'm Ryou's father."

Author's Note: I left it at a cliffy because the two friends I asked said to. I was going to be nice and explain the HOW and WHY, but that'll be the next chapter, I guess. Along with a little Rychigo fluff. Now be honest - how many of you saw that one coming? From now on titles will be marked with his "real" name.