Description: Ichigo stays on Earth and is suspicious of how little alien contact she has had. She finally has Taruto check on Pai for her, and it sparks his curiosity. Kish finally decides to make his move, and it's a truly desperate one.

Rating: T

MewMid: Yep… Months pass by and I'm still alive. Police academy is tough, I have little spare time… But I still love writing! I'm gonna go through and start updating! Slowly but surely! Enjoy!

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It had been a week and a half. Over a week since she had come back to Earth, and she hadn't seen any aliens around the cafe. School was about to start up again after winter break, the snow as beginning to melt too. It was the end of the day at the Cafe, the girls were cleaning tables and getting the cafe ready for the following morning.

Mint and Zakuro had already taken off, both of them had to leave early for more important matters. The only sound in the dim light was the jolly humming from the chef in the kitchen.

The lead mew swept the main room, Lettuce was in the back helping with dishes, and Purin was bouncing around cleaning tables. Ichigo was deep in thought, she had finally let go of some of the anger she had towards Kish. It wasn't worth holding onto, he was just lashing out at her because he was hurt. But it doesn't mean she would forgive him for what had happened between the two of them. Thoughts of Kish brought on the thought of her few days with Pai, and how he had opened up to her slightly. She hadn't seen him since he had dropped her off, and she couldn't help but wonder how he was doing. He had just dropped everything to take care of her, and now she hasn't even seen him.

A creak from the entrance doors made her glance over, and a small spiky haired alien strolled on in. A small hand flattened one of his pig tails as he waved with the other hand,

"Sup hags!"

Purin immediately threw the cleaning towel aside and darted over to the petite alien, throwing her arms around him and nuzzling into his neck and side of his face. Ichigo allowed a genuine smile to appear on her face, the monkey mew really did love Tart. The two of them were a great pair, and it was easy to see they were perfect for one another. Seeing them together made her think back to Kish and Pai. The green haired alien had so desperately wanted to be hers, he was overwhelmingly in love with her, and it was almost suffocating. It was tedious to quell his pushy desires and make him understand she couldn't just change the way she felt- can't force love. A chill ran up her spine when she thought back to Pai and the story he had told her about his former lover.

Brown eyes fell back to the floor she was sweeping and she continued working, thinking about how hurt Pai must have been. She then tried to imagine what it would be like to be in a relationship with someone like Pai. He was so distant and it was like pulling teeth to get him to open up, but he would probably be a loyal person. He seemed genuine and like he would look at relationships logically, he would be fair to his girlfriend. He simply needed someone to be as dedicated as he was to a relationship- because clearly commitment wasn't the problem for him.

A shrill giggle from Purin made Ichigo perk up and glance back to the young duo to her right. Purin squeezed the young alien and thanked him profusely,

"Oooh Thank you Taru-Taru! We can grab my things and I'll be ready, just five minutes I promise na no da!"

The red head stared at the two of them as the blonde turned to speak to her,

"Guess who gets to go stay on the alien ship in space Na no da!"

The young girl was so thrilled to get to stay on the aliens ship, Ichigo chuckled,

"You really are excited huh?"

Purin squealed and took off running for the locker room to grab her things. Tart forced a sigh like he was frustrated, still trying to pretend he wasn't as crazy about Purin as she was about him. Without thinking, Ichigo sparked conversation with the young alien,

"How are Pai and Kish doing?"

Tart seemed suspicious of her question, like she was trapping him. He thought for a moment and looked away from her,

"They're fine I guess…Why?"

"I was just asking. I hope they're doing all right. I know Pai stays up there alone, I hope he is doing well. I actually enjoyed getting to know him a bit."

The red head had a warm smile on her face, with an expression like she was reminiscing about the conversation with Pai. Tart glanced back and read her expression, it piqued his curiosity. But before he could open his mouth to respond, Purin came flying down the stairs, giggling like a child and ran over to him, hollering about how she was ready to go. Tart took one last glance at Ichigo as she waved goodbye to them and returned to her work, and he then teleported them to the ship.

…

Lanky fingers clicked across the dimly lit keyboard, dark eyes scanned the rapidly changing computer screen. Tiny footsteps slowly approached him from behind, he didn't even turn to look.

"Tch! You are a hermit I swear."

The scoff came from Tart as he walked up beside the eldest alien, he got no response. Pai continued typing in silence as the young alien stood beside him, moving around like he couldn't get comfortable.

"You know, Ichigo asked about you while I was on Earth…"

Still nothing. Pai didn't react at all to his statement, a huff escaped the younger alien's mouth. He was hoping to elicit some type of response,

"Uh, hello? A girl is asking about you… I think it's weird."

Pai exhaled slowly, finally considering what Tart was saying.

"You want me to ask what she said then?"

"Well you could say something, I don't know why she'd even ask about you. You took care of her once, big deal."

Deep grey eyes glanced over to the brown haired alien,

"I'll bite. What did she say?"

A cocky smirk became plastered on Tart's small features,

"She just said she was hoping you were doing okay and that she really liked getting to know you… She wants to see you. Dumb hag doesn't know how big of a pain in the ass you are. Ha!"

Pai didn't respond, he slowly looked back to the computer screen, unintentionally allowing his words to sink in. With a turn on his heel, the obnoxious alien made his exit. With a deep breath, the tall alien continued typing, he couldn't help but wonder why she would wonder about his well being. On top of that, she wanted to see him again, for what- he wasn't sure. Their conversation came back to mind, how he had opened up to her, and how she genuinely wanted to know about his past. How long had it been since he opened up to someone? He couldn't remember. Feelings weren't something he was fond of, they just caused anguish and tore family and friends apart.

…

The roar of rain fell outside, it was deafening as it slammed down on the rooftop.

"What a way to spend a weekend…"

Ichigo grumbled as she pulled the blanket over her waist, gazing out the window. A girl sitting to her side looked in the same direction,

"It's kind of peaceful though… but some sunshine would be nice."

Ichigo silently nodded back to the aquatic mew, her friend was a very positive person. As Lettuce turned to speak again, a rapid knock at the front door interrupted them both. The girls' heads whipped in the direction of the front door, Lettuce immediately muted the movie on the TV as the cat girl popped up and trotted over to the door. After peeking through the peep hole and seeing nothing, Ichigo opened the door and the wind immediately blew some rain back onto her. She raised a hand to protect her face as she looked around, seeing no one.

Her eyes fell to the doorstep, and she saw a sad looking bouquet of white lilies drowning on the front doormat. Quickly she leaned down and yanked them up, and retreated to the the foyer, closing the door quickly behind her. Ichigo's eyes were locked on the wet bouquet as she wiped her cheek with the shoulder of her shirt. The green haired mew delicately made her way into the foyer and almost gasped at the sight,

"Who are they from?"

The red head fumbled to find words, and she twisted the bouquet around, water droplets fell off to the floor as she did so. Then she noticed the small tag on the bottom, a soggy note was attached to it. She yanked off the little note and read it aloud,

"I just want to talk… Wednesday after you work? Please."

For a moment she felt a warm excitement rise up in her, then a chill took away the excitement,

"It's Kish."

Lettuce blinked silently, watching her friend struggle with the thought of talking to the lusty alien. It was quiet for a moment, Ichigo was clearly letting the information sink in- staring at the note quietly.

The flowers then fell to the floor, and Ichigo stepped over them without a word. Lettuce covered her mouth in surprise and glanced back and forth between her friend and the grounded bouquet. The cat girl strode back into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, pulling the blanket up over her again,

"Lets keep watching the movie."

The hesitant friend picked up the flowers and then followed her into the living room, looking at Ichigo pleadingly.

"Kish brought you these?"

"Guess so."

"Are you going to talk to him?"

The question seemed to irritate Ichigo, and she shot a frustrated look at her friend as she responded,

"After what he did? I'm over it. I'm not mad, I just feel sorry for him."

Lettuce walked over and sat down beside her friend, still holding the flowers,

"But he clearly wants to make amends…"

The red head huffed and shifted around on the sofa, shaking her head,

"I don't care what he wants. He is just going to beg me to be his, and I'll say no, and he'll get mad and hurt and threaten me with something. I'm so tired of it."

"Maybe-" Lettuce stared down at the flowers, thinking of how romantic it was that he would make such a grand gesture to her friend, "-He just wants to make up for it. You should at least talk to him."

There was silence between them, and Lettuce felt a twinge of jealousy enter her heart. It immediately made her feel guilty. She shouldn't feel this way, this was her friend, she shouldn't be envious that so many men pursued her. Ryou had always had a thing for Ichigo, Keiichiro flirted with her from time to time, Kish was madly in love with her, an Masaya had been a great boyfriend to her.. and she was mad that a guy sent her flowers to make up for his mistakes. It made her stomach turn, but she also felt guilt for even feeling negatively about her friend. Ichigo deserved the attention.

…

The rain had finally subsided, and the cafe was slow. There were only two tables to be served, Zakuro and Purin weren't there today, and it was still just painfully slow for the three remaining girls. And although the rain had subsided, the threat of ominous weather rumbled outside.

Mint scoffed as she was forced to get up to greet the next guest coming in the door. The person was alone, and had a dark hood over his head, it made a chill run up her spine. The bird mew felt a relief when the hood came off and realized it was just Kish,

"What the hell are you doing walking in all dark and scary? Jeez."

The alien kept the hood up just up over his ears, he looked pitiful. He had rings under his eyes and had a look of dejection,

"Can Ichigo come outside for a bit? I wanted to talk to her."

Mint tilted her head, giving him a snarky look. She turned back over her shoulder and made eye contact with a less than impressed leader. The redhead handed her table off to Lettuce and made her way through the sparsely populated cafe to the front doors. She brushed passed Kish without even looking at him, and walked out front. The alien gave the blue haired girl a nod to thank her and turned and followed suit.

Once outside, Kish immediately felt like he was under interrogation. The girl had her arms folded across her chest and was glaring at him,

"Well? What do you have to say? The flowers were cutesy but that's not going to make me just forget everything that happened."

He looked bashful and ashamed, he struggled to keep eye contact with her,

"I know that Ichigo… I really am sorry for everything. But I'm not here to beg forgiveness, that's up to you to give me. I-"

He hesitated, looking back down at the ground, he was looking for the right words in the cobblestones. The girl impatiently stared holes though him. Kish took a breath and looked back up to her,

"I want us to start over."

The words took a moment to sink in, her gaze became somewhat blank. There was a suffocating silence between them, it made the alien's stomach twist into a hard knot. He felt hot, like he was standing too close to the sun, he was getting burned from the inside out.

Her words were more hushed, her firmness subsided slightly,

"Start over how?"

"I just want us to start over with a friendship. I'm going to do my best to back away some, and I just want to maybe spent some time with you as friends."

This was the most mature she had ever seen him. It was shocking, but also a wonderful change of pace. She slowly nodded,

"I.. think that could work. Starting over would do us some good."

His face lit up slightly from the dismal expression he wore, the corners of his mouth lifted to a tiny smile. She could tell it was bitter sweet for him. He still wanted her, but he was trying so hard to let it go. Ichigo swallowed and put her hands in her pockets, keeping her eyes locked on his face.

"I still don't trust you though."

"I know. I'm going to work on that."

…

MewMid: Hope this was decent for an update, I try and write when I'm not at the academy- hope all you readers are well!

R and R! :)