demonluver: Sheesh, I haven't updated in ages! If you're still interested in the story even after my one-year hiatus, reviews would be much appreciated. Internet cookie for everyone!

After the rather embarrassing incident with he-who-must-not-be-named, Megumi came into Ichigo's room, telling her that she had something special planned for the night. Ichigo perked up, willing to do anything in order to forget her little... fiasco.

That being said, Ichigo was excited at the prospect of doing something entertaining and followed Megumi into a dimly lit room. It was decorated in a similar way to a nightclub, with a bunch of doors that led to separate rooms. In those rooms Ichigo could see a bunch of separate TVs that appeared to be hooked into a sort of game system. Ichigo's curiosity grew as she looked at the people already seated on a couch in the center of the room.

To Ichigo's surprise, the rest of her friends were there, as well as the aliens. She gave a slight growl as she glared at Kish, who smirked and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "What are we doing here?" Ichigo asked Megumi, pointedly ignoring Kish.

Megumi smiled at them all. "It's Friday, karaoke night." She grinned. "And since it's such a small circle of friends, we get to use a random ballot system."

Mint scoffed. "Who came up with that plan?"

Tart and Pudding looked at each other and smirked. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Did you rig it?"

Pudding smirked. "You bet." Tart grinned.

Megumi brought out a box of names. "I've got everybody's name here on a slip of paper." She held it out. "It's girl's choice, why don't you start, Ichigo-chan?"

Ichigo groaned inwardly. She loved karaoke, she really did. But she couldn't stay on key for the life of her. Anytime she tried to sing (outside of the shower) she got laughed at. Ichigo sniffed slightly as she grabbed a random slip of paper out of the box.

She glanced down and read it. "No." Ichigo said, crumpling up the paper. "I refuse."

Megumi laughed and grabbed the paper. Reading it, she laughed even harder. "KISSHU! Get in there!"

Ichigo glared at everyone in the room. "I am not going to be left alone in the same room with that guy!"

Pai, who had been quietly seated during the entire ruckus, suddenly stood up and growled menacingly. "And I sure as hell am not going to be left in the same dimension as him when he starts sulking because of you... again!" He pushed Ichigo into the room, and subsequently, into Kish's open arms.

Everyone stared at Pai in shock. "Um... Megumi-san?" Lettuce asked timidly. "Do you know what just happened?"

Megumi sighed. "It's because he didn't get to eat your cream puffs. I think he's still on a short fuse about that. And there's a chance that I may have hit him too hard with that skillet..."

Lettuce rubbed her forehead, beginning to feel as if she were the only person in the room who was legitimately sane. Megumi held another fixed box of names out to the green haired girl. "Your turn!" She said cheerily. Lettuce sighed, picking the name out of the box and reading it, a blush rising to her cheeks.

Ichigo shrieked as she was thrown into the room, preparing herself for impact. Kish grabbed her and held her in place, chuckling slightly.

"Looks like you're stuck with me..." He muttered softly, taking in a deep breath and smelling her hair.

Ichigo struggled against his grip. "Let go of me!" She squirmed out of his arms. Reluctantly, Kish let her go. Ichigo began pounding at the door, which was locked and held tight with alien magic. She began yelling outraged obscenities at the people on the other side, while Kish picked up a list of songs and flipped through it. Kish then glanced over to a mini-fridge, where he found an assortment of human drinks. Opening it and taking one out, he sniffed it cautiously before chugging it down completely.

Kish's eye began to twitch. Then his body began shaking. Then he let out a yell and grabbed Ichigo around the waist, kissing her full on the mouth. Ichigo was too shocked to take any form of action, such as slapping him, before he pulled away and began to look at the book full of karaoke songs.

"Oh my God, I think I'll sing this one- or maybe I'll do this one- I love this song- Ooh, why don't I sing this one?"

Ichigo continued watching in complete and utter shock before Kish grabbed the microphone and began singing some odd rap song into it. Ichigo looked at what Kish had been drinking. "Chocolate milk? Really? That's what you aliens get high off of?"

Meanwhile, Kisshu's song had gotten to the chorus. Without warning, the song changed from a stereotypical rap song to what sounded suspiciously like an 80s love ballad sung by Michael Bolton… about Jack Sparrow.

"This is the tale of Captain Jack Sparrow,

A pirate so brave on the seven seas!" Kish sang happily.

"What…?" Ichigo muttered in disbelief.

"A mystical quest to the isle of Tortuga

A raven-like sway on the ocean free!"

Ichigo sighed and turned off the karaoke machine. "Kish, there's gotta be something to counteract the chocolate milk…" She muttered, rubbing her temples.

Kish giggled happily. "Don't worry Ichi-chan! It only lasts for five minutes…" Kish's face slowly lost its color as it changed from a look of happiness to that of horror.

"Damn, what have I done…?" Kish asked, putting his face in his hands. "Now you'll probably never take me seriously again…"

Ichigo sighed, realizing that the after effect of five minutes of intense hyperactivity would end with five more minutes of angsty out of character behavior. She put her arm around Kish's shoulder.

"Hey, I take you seriously." She said, trying to cheer him up. Kisshu looked up and frowned.

"That's not true! You think I'm a joke! You hate me…" His ears drooped in sadness, and Ichigo couldn't hold back the fact that the sight was a rather cute one.

Ichigo tilted his chin up. "No, I don't hate you." She muttered, running her fingers through his hair.

Kish sighed at the feeling, and then shook it off. "Yes you do! Otherwise, would you call me a pervert and yell at me?"

Ichigo sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry I call you a pervert and yell at you."

Kish's ears perked up. "All those times you've yelled at me?" He asked hopefully.

Ichigo gave a thin smile. "Yes, all those times I've yelled at you."

Kisshu sat straight up so that their faces were two inches apart. "So you really do care about me!" He said, returning to his normal self.

Ichigo scoffed. "No way, I just said that because you were so sad. It was creeping me out."

Kish grinned. "Admit it, you love me." He winked at Ichigo, who turned away and gave a slight scream.

"I can't believe you! You cocky bastard!

Pai stood, staring at Lettuce in horror. It turned out that the soda in their room had been spiked with... something. And that something appeared to mimic the effects of alcohol.

Now, just to be clear, Pai had never in his life admitted to being afraid of anything. He withstood training sessions, the toughest of battles, and the most unfair of fights. But nothing could have prepared him to face a drunken Lettuce. And as luck would have it, it turns out that Lettuce was highly susceptible to the effects of this drug.

Also, she was a mean drunk.

"You... you..." Lettuce's face scrunched up, almost as if she was about to cry. "You fucking asshole!" She screamed, throwing a pillow at him.

Pai ducked. "Look," He tried to reason, "all I said was that you may want to lie down..." He dodged yet another pillow as Lettuce let out a cry of rage.

"You're calling me weak, aren't you?" She screamed, aiming to punch him square in the face. Pai caught her wrist and grabbed her other hand, attempting to pin her down. "I'll bet that's what all you aliens say behind my back! That I'm the weak one, the sensitive one! Well I'll tell you buddy, you can stick that sensitive stuff up your -" At this point the writer decided that she would not tarnish the audience's innocence any further by writing what Lettuce said to Pai. She will, however, tell you that the tips of his ears turned a delightful shade of pink.

Pai's forehead wrinkled as he tried to focus. 'This situation isn't as impossible as it seems, just remove yourself from the situation. Think of something nice. Megumi, Kisshu when his mouth is shut, fighting simulations, cream puffs, Lettuce with cream puffs, Lettuce covered with cream puffs- no! Think of something else. The complete and total annialation of the Earth. Wait, Lettuce wouldn't approve of that, would she?'

Pai sighed. "Lettuce, if I have in any way offended you, then I am deeply sorry. I hold nothing but the highest respect for you-" He was cut off when Lettuce let out a deep wail and broke down crying. Anyone acquainted with Pai knew that despite his vast amount of knowledge, he knew next to nothing about dealing with women, particularly the drunk and crying variety.

"Thank...you!" Lettuce blubbered out between sobs. "I can't believe... hic! That you're so... nice to me..." She broke down crying again. "Why can't I find a sweet and loving guy like you ta... ta go out with an'... an' date! An' I wanna do... adult stuff, ya know? Like... like kissin', 'cept with no clothes on, right?"

Pai ran the options through his head. Taking her up on the offer was out of the question. Simply waiting until the effects of the unknown drug wore off would probably ruin his entire vacation. Calling for help would make him appear weak, and the thought of knocking her out was very obviously not the best course of action.

That left him with only two options: sing a romantic love ballad to her, or ask her out on a date. Or he could do both, the very thought of doing so sent a flare of excitement through him.

'You'd think training would have prepared me for something like this. But no, we had to learn about Atomic bombs...'

Ichigo sighed happily and leaned back into the couch, content with herself. Kish simply stared at her, pouting.

"Ya know, koneko, after that completely romantic song I sang to you, I'm almost offended that "Fuck You!" was your next choice..." Kisshu grumbled. Ichigo let out a laugh yet otherwise remained silent. Kish fumed on the corner of the couch.

"Fine, Ichigo, if that's the way you wanna be..." He grabbed his microphone. "Hmm... Sexyback seems to describe me perfectly, Strawberry, how about I sing that?" Ichigo simply rolled her eyes in response. "Hmph. Alright, fine. Let's see..."

"You know," Ichigo spoke up, "you could just try asking." She turned away from Kish, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

Kish turned at her in surprise. "Asking what?" Ichigo firmly kept her eyes planted on the leather in front of her face.

With butterflies stirring up in her stomach, Ichigo turned to look at him. "You know, asking me out?"

Kish quirked an inquisitive eyebrow at the embarrassed girl in front of him. "Haven't I?"

"Well yes, but-" Ichigo turned to look at him. Big mistake, considering that he had taken the chance to close the distance between them. Their noses almost touched, and Ichigo felt the blush that had been receding from her cheeks come back full force. She let out a slight squeak and slid away from him to the edge of the couch. That move only caused Kish to lean closer into her.

When it became apparent that he would not speak until she finished her sentence, Ichigo continued in a shaky voice. "I... You've never sounded serious, anytime you've done it." She finished in a rush, staring at his chest to avoid looking into his eyes.

Kish stared at her intently, intrigued at her question. To him, it sounded very much like she was interested. Even if the interest was somewhat nervous, even a little bit terrified. What, was she scared of him? Granted, he had done some things in the past that may have earned him a smack in the head or an "asshole!" but it was not as if he ever actually planned on killing her... except that one time when they met at the zoo... oh yeah, and that time on the roof of the building... Kisshu stopped his train of thought there lest he accidentally remember just why Ichigo had hated him so much.

Kish stood up, so quickly that Ichigo gave a jolt of surprise. As she watched him, she realized that he was making a move for the microphone. Of all the- After what she just said, he still wanted to play with that stupid machine? Fuming, Ichigo lay back, determined not to speak to him. 'Asshole...' She thought angrily.

Unaware of Ichigo's inner turmoil, Kish was flipping through the song choices, as if searching for one in particular. "Sixpence None the Richer... Sixwire... Six AM... Skee-Lo?... Skeeter Davis... Skid Row... Ah-ha! Skillet." Ichigo quirked an eyebrow. She did not take Kisshu as a fan of Christian Rock, which was pretty much all she knew about the band in question. Kish, however, seemed to know exactly what he was looking for.

He turned to her, grinning cheekily. "This is a song for a very special lady." Ichigo blushed, her resolve to stay angry at him weakening.

"I see you standing here,

But you're so far away..."

'Stay mad at him, stay mad at him...' Ichigo thought desperately. She could not say that Kish had a great voice, or even a good one. It was okay at best. But Ichigo still couldn't blush at his song choice. 'I could be yours alone?' What was he thinking? Was he trying to make her weak in the knees? Despite herself, Ichigo was relieved that she was sitting down.

Pai rushed to the machine, flipping through song choices. To be honest, he knew nothing about earth music, save for his one weakness- one that Kish and Tart would learn over his dead body. That weakness was Broadway musicals. Pai could hear Kish mocking him in the back of his mind, but he felt that it would be worth letting his secret out to make Lettuce feel better.

'Wicked'... no, that wouldn't be right, neither would 'Into the Woods'... 'Book of Mormon'? Out of the question. 'Sweeney Todd'... That would just scare her. 'Zombie Prom' - Dear lord, no. 'The Last 5 Years'! That was promising.

Pai scrolled through the songs, muttering to himself before choosing one. Lettuce peered at him over the rim of her glasses, but otherwise remained silent, having no idea what 'The Last 5 Years' was anyway.

Pai gulped before choosing a song entitled 'Shiksa Goddess'. Turning back at the expectant Lettuce, his face turned a deep red before singing.

"I'm breaking my mother's heart,

The longer I stand looking at you..."

Lettuce blinked through her not-quite-as-drunk-as-she-was-five-minutes-ago-but-still-kind-of-hammered stupor. She had not expected this, and the more she heard of the song, the more she blushed, particularly every time Pai mentioned that he was 'waiting for someone' like her.

Although, the line 'If you like to drink blood, I think it's cute' elicited a laugh from her.

"I say, "Hey hey hey hey!

I've been waiting for someone

I've been praying for someone

I think that I could be in love with someone like you."

Pai finished with a blush. He couldn't really consider that singing, more like speaking in tune, but it still evoked an emotional response from Lettuce, or at least, he hoped that was why her face was bright pink.

Lettuce stood up and took a tentative step forward. Pai mirrored her, so that they were both standing only a foot away from each other. Lettuce then decided that anything she did at this moment, she could blame on whatever was in her drink. Closing the distance between them, she stood up on the tips of her toes and gave Pai a shy kiss.

Pai instantly stiffened under the feel of her lips brushing against his. He could feel the innocence radiating off of her, the simple desire. Her virgin lips felt warm against his cold mouth, and Pai wondered if her entire body was as warm. Hesitantly, he closed his eyes and pressed closer, savoring the velvet feel of her lips. He flicked his tongue against them, eliciting a gasp from Lettuce.

That was about as much as he could take. Pulling back, Pai opened his eyes to see Lettuce, eyes still closed, and face flush with anticipation. It took a majority of his willpower to keep him from pushing her onto the couch and taking things a little further. Clenching his fists, Pai attempted to clear his mind.

Meanwhile, Lettuce was in a dream-like daze. Slowly opening her eyes, she was shocked to find Pai standing in front of her with a very tense expression on his face. A wave of guilt, embarrassment, and shame washed over her as she instantly regretted her actions.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Pai's head shot up. "I shouldn't have done that; I know you don't like me. Well, you may like me- I mean, you don't seem to hate me- but you don't like me like that! I am so sorry, Pai-" Her lips were suddenly silenced by Pai's as he kissed her again. This time, however, was not pure and innocent. It was filled with desire, and dark secrets of carnal delights. Pai grabbed the back of her head and pressed her body lush against his, and Lettuce let out a squeak of surprise.

Pai's tongue darted in between the temporary part in her lips, and it explored her mouth. Hungrily, longingly, it explored her mouth. Lettuce felt herself becoming weak as she slumped against him, moaning through the kiss.

Pai's resolve snapped. He pulled back from the kiss and pressed Lettuce against the wall. Growling, his mouth moved to her neck, nipping on the base before running his mouth along the curve of her shoulder. Lettuce let out another moan and grabbed fistfuls of his hair. The temporary pain caused Pai to wake up from his lust-driven stupor.

Pulling back quickly, he moved to create as much distance as he could between them. Lettuce looked him over curiously, almost all traces of the drug gone. "Do you regret that?" She asked him sadly, staring at her feet.

"I am experienced in controlling my emotions around others, Lettuce." Pai muttered, "However, with you it has become... increasingly difficult. I do not wish to scare you away, and-" Pai was cut off by Lettuce pulling the collar of his shirt down to meet her lips. Running her fingers through his hair, she kissed him repeatedly, clutching his face in her hands.

Pulling back, she looked at him through half-lidded eyes. "I'm not afraid." She whispered shyly. "I've always admired you, and I think it may be an after-effect of the drink, but I'm going to be completely honest when I say that I love your kisses and that I think I might even be falling in love with-" Her sentence, however, was silenced by yet another kiss, one which didn't end for quite some time. Not that Lettuce was complaining, of course.

"I'm stretching but you're just out of reach

I'm ready when you're ready for me..."

Ichigo held her knees up against her chest, staring at Kish as the last note of the song ended. Gulping, she deliberately avoided looking into his eyes. "Wow, that was... surprisingly sweet, I-" She looked down at the floor. "I don't know what to say."

Kish stared at the embarrassed girl, an unreadable expression on his face. "Then don't say anything." He countered. "I just want to know... was that honest enough for you?"

Ichigo's head shot up to look at him. "What?"

Kish sighed. "The song. I was asking you out, or whatever you humans call it. I'm officially courting you now." He twirled the microphone in his hand. "Unless, of course, you'd prefer to go back to that Masaya guy."

Masaya. Ichigo's heard dropped. She had forgotten all about him.

But then again, what kind of crush did she have if she forgot all about Masaya in the face of an incredibly attractive (albeit frustrating) alien?

Ichigo took in a deep, shuddering breath. "I'm not really all that interested in Masaya anymore." She muttered, turning to look at Kish. She saw a flash of emotion in his golden eyes which she recognized as excitement. Ichigo felt a new desire well up within her. The desire to be coy.

"Of course," Ichigo stood up and began sauntering over to Kisshu, "that doesn't mean that I'm simply going to jump into another man's arms." She stood in front of him, holding back a grin in exchange for a forced look of innocence. "I'll have to be asked out on a proper date before I can even consider that." She looked directly at Kish's bewildered face. "He'd have to be brave, of course, strong, noble, heroic," She paused, thinking, "Handsome in a tux..." Kish stared at Ichigo as if she had gone insane.

"Although only that would be boring." Ichigo decided, still inwardly grinning over her trick. "He'd tease me, mess with my emotions, scare me, excite me, love me..."

Kish quirked an eyebrow. "Seems like you're interested in some pretty messed up people, Ichigo..."

Ichigo sighed. "Well, having a prince in shining armor would be dull, wouldn't it? Of course..." She lowered her eyelids and gazed at Kish in a look she hoped was suggestive. "He'd have to be a good kisser as well..."

Kisshu's ears perked up as he realized just what she was implying. Grinning, he regained his composure and winked at her. "Well, koneko-chan, that's wonderful, that you're finally starting to realize that you're too good for that creep." Ichigo blushed. "But I have to wonder, are you taking any applicants for your new 'boyfriend' position?"

She refused to meet his gaze, worried that her resolve might break. "Well..." She muttered, "I haven't had anyone interested in me yet. Naturally, they would have to prove to me just how good of a kisser they really are, and-" Kisshu's lips cut off whatever she was going to say next.

Ichigo's eyes widened as she resisted the familiar urge to push him away. Instead, she hesitantly wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes, pressing up against him.

Kish, on the other hand, was rather surprised when a slap did not come. Not one to leave an opportunity unexplored, he nibbled down on Ichigo's bottom lip, her gasp of surprise gaining him full access to her mouth, not that she was complaining.

Gasping at the sensation of Kish's mouth hungrily ravaging hers, Ichigo pulled away, blushing furiously. It took a few seconds of silence before Kish spoke up.

"So do I get the job?" He smirked as her eyes widened. In truth, Ichigo had forgotten about the little joke she made; the kiss had just felt so good.

Turning to look up at him, Ichigo mumbled, "You've got yourself a date." before grabbing his head and pulling him in for another kiss.

Pudding and Tart felt proud of themselves as they sat alone on the edge of a co-ed hot spring, each in their swim suits. Pudding turned to her friend and smiled.

"I think we did good!" She exclaimed happily.

Tart smirked. "At least the guys'll be happier when we go home." This comment caused Pudding to frown. "Oh damn, what now?"

Pudding turned away. "It's just, you've never been so nice to me before..." She muttered, splashing her feet in the water. "I guess I don't want it to end."

Tart sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. As much as he knew he shouldn't care about her feelings, he couldn't help but do so. And it annoyed him to no end. Still, he became... bothered when Pudding wasn't smiled. Which is mainly what caused him to say this:

"Ya know... when we go back to Tokyo... I wouldn't... really mind if we... went to get ice cream together sometime..." Tart muttered, looking away from the blonde girl.

Pudding perked up right away. "Do you mean it?" She squealed.

Tart still refused to look at her. "Of course I mean it!" He shouted, his face flushing a bright pink.

Pudding couldn't contain her excitement anymore; she pounced on him. Doing so caused them both to fall into the water, with Pudding laughing and Tart giving a shout of surprise.

Sputtering, and crushed by Pudding sprawling on top of him, Tart mustered a glare. "What the hells did you do that for, you stupid girl-!" He was cut off when Pudding mashed her lips against his. His eyes widened in shock, and he remained frozen even as she pulled away.

Pudding smiled at him. "Taruto and Pudding are going to be friends for ever, na no da!" She shouted gleefully as she hugged him tightly around the middle.

And just for once, Tart couldn't find anything to complain about.

Fin~