The past three day had all gone relatively the same. Ichigo woke up late all three times and was in a terrible rush. She was in so much of a rush each time that all she did was make him tuck the blanket over his head while she changed - She did not even make him get out of bed or go into the closet. He could have woken her up in time but he enjoyed this too much. Seeing her flustered that way was so cute. Watching her run around the room madly tossing things here and there was far too entertaining to put a stop to it. At least she looked alive in the mornings. After she was at school it was different.

The highlights of every day were at night. She did not protest about him staying as long as he was careful. He could tease her during the day but she would forget about it as long as he stopped a bit before bed time. He behaved himself like a gentlemen, most of the time. Could he help it if he had to tease her on occasion? She made it so easy to do! Besides, she acted happier if he toyed with her and teased her. The key was to watch his step and be sure not to press her too far. He had been taking the road of caution and had not so much as tried to kiss her. While she slept, he behaved. It was not his fault if he saw a few things now and then. Only once had he peeked a little, just a little, at her chest. She never knew he did it or he would be dead. The truth was he would not have regretted it even if she did kill him. It was worth it, he would have died happy.

He was being careful about everything he did here. Kisshu followed her to school each day, sneaking out of her room with care. He was careful not to be seen, watching quietly from a distance as Ichigo was at school. He watched her in class, watched her in the halls, at lunch, everywhere. She did not seem to notice the set of golden eyes watching her, thankfully. He was not particularly sure how she would react if she knew he was not obediently staying in her room the way she told him to. He made sure he beat her home each time and acted as if he had been sleeping in her bed all day.

Kisshu's worry about bringing her back was correct in the end. Once she returned to school his hard work had all been undone. Her smile faded and she stopped laughing again. Their time at the beach had not been in vain completely. The light she gained back in her eye was there but it was dim. He did his best to make her smile but it felt like he was fighting a doomed battle. The pain was back in her eyes the way it had been before he took her away. She had not cried in front of him again but she did not have to see the tears to know they were there. His perfect little Ichigo. . . Why did she have to suffer? If she would only let him take her away from here he could surely heal her heart and give her good dreams.

Ichigo's head was resting on his arm. Her eyes were open but she was not looking at anything, just staring into space. The quarter moon shown a bit of light into the room. She was absentmindedly rubbing the sleeve of his new shirt between her fingers. She surprised him today be purchasing a new set of clothes for him and a set of night clothes too. He wondered at the time why he beat her home by so much. When she came back he really had fallen asleep waiting for her.

"Hey, Kisshu, wanna go somewhere? We could sneak out and do something fun in town." Her brown eyes met his.

"Don't you have school in the morning?" Kisshu cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, but so what. If I can't sleep anyway, why don't we just go do something instead of being bored."

Kisshu smiled, "I'm never bored when I'm with you, Ichigo."

She rubbed her lips together to keep from smiling. "Fine, you're not bored but I am. Let's go."

He put a hand over his heart dramatically, "So cold, Koneko-chan!"

Ichigo sprang over the top of him and took her stance. She took his hand and guided him off the bed. She acted like she was leading a child. He lunged at her and caught her in his arms. She flashed him a sly smile, tweaked his nose, then spun out of his arms. He might have made a counter but she playfully grabbed his wrists and held them behind his back. He could have jerked free but he let her hold him.

"Now, get dressed before it tie you up and leave you here." Ichigo gave him a little shove toward the other side of the room.

Kisshu resisted the urge to comment on her threat knowing it was the better part of wisdom to keep some jokes to himself.

"I will stay over here while you change. I won't look, I promise. The only one who needs to worry about a lecher watching them change is me." Ichigo muttered.

"It's ok, honey, you can watch. I don't mind at all." Kisshu chuckled and stripped off his night shirt. His ear burned a ached suddenly as Ichigo clamped it between her finger and pulled down. "Ow! Ichigo! Ow, not the ear, not the ear!"

Ichigo's eyes flared, "Lucky! With these long pointy ears of yours they are so easy to find!" She twisted it a little, "Now, tell me again what you think you are doing?"
His head moved with the angle of her hold on his ear. "Ow! Ok! You are right! It was a bad joke!" His shoulders arched as he tried again to adjust his body angle to ease the pain, "I'll be good now, I'll be good!"

Ichigo's chest tightened and a lump formed in her throat as her eyes fell on the scar on his chest. That scar. . . Kisshu got that from. . . from. . . He got it because of her. Wasn't Kisshu always hurt because of her? Wasn't everyone typically hurt because of her? That scar was an unfortunate reminder of things she did not want to think about. Already she felt guilty for hurting his ear. She released her harsh grip on his ear and ran her index finger along the tip of his ear. Her fingers gently massaged it where she had been twisting it. His shoulders relaxed instantly and his eyes closed. It seemed he had a weakness for getting his ears rubbed the same as she did. She really wanted to hug him and tell him she was sorry but he did not have a shirt on anymore, so she would not do that. Kisshu would surely get the wrong idea about a hug at this time, besides, he might not want to think about that day either.

"Now, get dressed and be good." Ichigo turned her back to wait for him to change. While he was changing she rummaged through a drawer until she saw blue. There it was! She jerked it out and turned around. She was momentarily stunned by his appearance. At the time she was only guessing his size but she actually got it exactly right. The green shirt fit his superbly well built frame and accentuated his eyes and hair. The jeans could not have fit better or complimented his lower body better. She was better at picking clothes than she thought. It did seem strange to see him dressed normally, very strange, but adorable.

Kisshu squirmed a bit. "How does it look? Humans wear such strange feeling things."

"You look good, really good. I'm not used to seeing you that way but it's nice." Ichigo flopped the blue beany on his head and hooked it over his ears. "Hmm. . ." She tilted her head.

Now his head just looked miss shaped but did nothing to hide his ears. She thought this would work much better than that. His ears were just too big to hide. Too bad they could not be a little smaller. She stared at his head. Maybe they could tape them down? No, that would not work. Ichigo tried to think of anything else they could use to cover his head but was coming up blank. Maybe she could not take him out after all. When people were not around it did not matter but it would matter in town.

Kisshu pulled the hat off. "Ichigo, there is no way that would hide anything." He smiled. "But I already have a way to hide my ears. I figured it out before I came back to earth." The air rippled as Kisshu took something into his hand that looked a bit like the souls he used to make the Chimer Anima. Whatever it was, it had been turned into a pendant for a chain necklace. Kisshu slipped the chain over his head and let the pendant hang. She stared at it and wondered what it was but even more. . .

"Kisshu. . . You didn't do something bad again, did you? That isn't a soul, is it?"

He shook his head, "No, it's just something I cooked up after a bit of research." He winked, "Bet you didn't think I did research! But this is a bit like your little gold pendant. I can use it to alter my appearance."

The blue and green stone glowed and Kisshu's ears began to shirk and round. Ichigo blinked as his large pointed ears turned into normal ears. All she could do was stare at him. He looked incredibly different, like a different person, like a human. With one minor change he actually looked normal. He blinked and his eyes were green. Her mouth dropped open, too shocked to comment. It was not that he looked bad, just different. She did not hate it she just could not wrap her mind around it.

Kisshu chuckled, "You guys are not the only ones who can change your looks! Taruto and I can do it too! Don't worry though, it's just an illusion, it's not real. I still have my natural good looks!"

"You are brilliant! I am impressed!" Ichigo moved for the window. "Then we don't have any more problems to worry about, so let's go!"

They escaped silently from the house and raced down the street. Ichigo had to remind him three times to walk rather than glide. He might look normal, as strange as that was, but he was still an alien. If he was going to keep from being discovered he at least needed to remember to always walk. Normal humans did not fly, float, or port. Things like that had to be hidden. It was the same as her problems with finding ways to keep from being seen when she transformed. She could never allow people in her own area to see her transform. It was not quite so bad if she was seen where no one knew her, but it was too dangerous when she might be discovered. Her parents could never find out! She did not even want to think about what would happen if they did. Life would really become complex if they knew about their daughter.

Kisshu walked quietly by her side as they made their way down the street. There were still a few people walking in and out of the shops. There were more than enough people around to notice if he were not walking. She would be sure to keep an eye on his feet. She just hoped she did not forget considering she was just as used to seeing him glide as he was to flying.

"Not being able to do anything but walk is really bothersome. How do humans deal with it?" Kisshu made a face.

"You get used to it. . . it's not hard when it is all you are used to."

"I guess. . ." He nodded.

That face, it was sad. She upset him, maybe hurt his feelings. Maybe she hurt his feelings without knowing. He was always acting crazy so it was hard to tell when he was serious or what might hurt him. Maybe his ear was still hurting too. She should have been more careful. With all the things he kept doing to make her smile she did not want to see him sad. It seemed like she had always been making him sad since the beginning. It was her turn to try to make him smile, she owed him at least that. She was not sure what to do to make him smile though. What would make him feel better?

Ichigo linked her arm with his and threaded her fingers with his. He tried to hide it but she saw the momentary flush in his cheeks. He hesitated before closing his fingers over hers. He was embarrassed? The guy how stole her first kiss the first day he met her was shy about holding her hand? After all the things he was always trying to pull, her holding his hand made him blush? Before she realized it she was giggling.

"What?" He eyed her.

She shook her head. "Nothing. . . you're just. . . cute. Confusing, but cute."

The rose color was back in his cheeks. "I. . . Well, you're cuter, Koneko-chan."

If he was not feeling better yet he would be when they went to the ice cream shop she planned to show him. She forced him to walk faster, pulling him along by the hand. She hurried him inside and dragged him to the counter. It took him forever to decide what flavor he wanted to eat. He reminded her of a child deciding on which flavor rather than someone who was a bit older than she was. After the choice had finally been made the man behind the counter served them the treat. The ice cream was already a little melted by the time they got outside and found a place to sit. It was a good thing she decided on bowls and not cones. She took a few bites of her ice cream before setting it down.

"Just so you know, this is a one time thing, so enjoy it." Ichigo made a face at him as she took his bowl from him. She spooned a bit out and stuck the spoon in his mouth. As embarrassing as this was it did seem to make him happy. He had a huge grin on his face, a victory smile. She made sure she put a large amount into each spoon full so it would not take her as long to do it. She just hopped no one saw her doing this - Talk about humiliation. She was not watching carefully and must have been tipping the bowl too much because she felt cold liquid ooze onto her hand. She set the bowl down and was about to go get a napkin.

"Oh, it dripped onto your hand." Before she knew what he was doing he took hold of her hand and ran his tongue over the spilled ice cream.

Ichigo stared in stunned submission as he licked away the sticky substance. She was surprised by the little flutter her heart made. For some reason her brain told her hand to move but nothing happened. All she could do was stare in shock. Realization hit her that she had also forgotten to breathe. Finally he stopped and looked up at her, but he did not let go of her hand.

Ichigo tried to seem unfazed, "Ok, I pampered you enough for one night. You can feed yourself now."

He smiled wickedly and leaned slightly closer, "I could stand a bit more pampering tonight."

Her heart fluttered again as he slipped his mouth over one of her fingers, sucking the remaining ice cream off before removing his lips. She could feel the heat in her cheeks as he eyed her playfully and ran his tongue delicately over another finger. Kisshu moved away only to lean over her, face mere inches from hers.
"Koneko-chan, you have a little on your face too." His mouth opened, ready to lick the potentially imaginary ice cream away.

"Try it and you die!" Ichigo said evenly.

He pulled back again and grinned nervously, "You said that so simply and seriously it is scary."

She picked up her own bowl again and started eating. He eyed her carefully but was still grinning as he eight the rest of his ice cream. They finished the rest in silence. To be a gentlemen, he took the bowls and went off in search of a garbage can. . . He had come so far from destroyer of the earth. Ichigo waited quietly until she noticed a couple of guys coming her way. The second she saw them her inner alarm bells began to alert her of pending trouble. There was something odd about them that set her on edge.

"Look at her!" A tall boy slid close to her.

"Yeah, she's a little fox! Red hair and all, just my type." A second moved in on her other side.

Ichigo tensed. They had to be at least college age and they looked like football players. Her stomach was already beginning to knot. Her eyes darted around but did not see her companion, but that was a good thing for now. She knew how he reacted when he got jealous in the past, so she hoped to end this before he was back. She started walking in hopes that they would go away. They maneuvered their way along, following, but not coming alongside her. They kept talking about her as if she could not hear them. They made a few comments even Kisshu would never have dreamed of. A big part of her wanted to transform and teach them a lesson but she just walked faster instead. The two matched her pace again, still not coming all the way, just staying even with her.
Kisshu moved in next to her. She could see his jaw tighten and his fingers balled into tight fists. She slipped her arm through his partly to show they were together and partly in hopes of holding him back. That look was one she had seen before, fury building slowly with only a matter of time before he exploded. He swept them with a look that would have killed if looks were capable of doing that.

"That must be her boyfriend." One of them mocked.

"He is a bit on the small, geeky side. We could do a lot better with her, I bet."

Kisshu's eyes darkened, face like a storm. Ichigo's stomach gained a few more knots. Those guys had no idea who they were teasing and calling a geek. They were looking at their size and bulk and decided they were on the winning end, but they had no idea. He was physically strong, but he had powers too. Had they known he nearly destroyed Tokyo they might have been a bit more careful. She just hoped he could control his temper long enough to get away from here. Her grip on his arm tightened as a warning.

"Please, ignore them, alright?" She whispered.

One of them got closer. "Why should he ignore us, foxy? Afraid if he tries anything he will die?"

"Yeah," the other joined in. "She must be worried about the little guy getting hurt."

"No, I just don't want him to get your filthy blood all over himself." She hissed, "He has a rather bad temper, I'm afraid." She already knew she should not have said it, that was stupid - True, but stupid.

They cackled like hyenas, "Really?"

"Does that mean if we decide to take you away and make you our girl for the night he would get upset? Should we be afraid? What is he going to do?"
Kisshu whirled around, "Don't talk to her, you son of a-"

She jerked him back around and started dragging him away as fast as she could. "Please, let's just go! They're nothing for you to worry about! Forget it!"

He let out a feral growl and stopped resisting her attempts to make him go faster. The two boys followed them halfheartedly for a while but not very far. Ichigo was relieved when they finally dropped out of sight. All the time she was just waiting for him to produce his swords and start slicing them to pieces. She was more relieved about getting Kisshu away without him killing one of them than anything. He still looked like a wanna-be death reaper though. Fury was still very much present on his face. She appreciated his desire to defend her and was glad he was there but she really did not want him to go after anyone.

"Kisshu?" She prompted gently.

She flinched when he did not respond. He was still lost in anger. She could feel how stiff his arms were and how rigid his whole body was. Before she went any further she needed to calm him down somehow. She turned him toward a tree and pushed him onto the ground. He did not look at her, just glared into space. She really did not want to see him like this. He needed to calm down before he blew up at a random person.

"I am really glad you did not kill them. . ." She dropped down next to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

No response.

Oh boy, this was bad. She remembered his notorious temper. Granted, she was glad he was sitting quietly versus demolishing the area, but she would have preferred he calmed down all the way. She could still feel and nearly see the rage radiating from him. As angry as he was she was sure he must have heard a bit of what they had been saying. He teased her but he would never have said things like that to her. It must have gotten under his skin to hear strangers saying things like that.

She grabbed his chin and turned his face to look at her. His now golden eyes stared back at her, the rage behind them a bit frightening. He had dropped the illusion and was back to normal.

"Why wouldn't you let me handle them?" He growled.

Ichigo pulled back a little, intimidated. "Because! You and I have powers they don't. People with power can't use it to hurt others just because they want to. It is not right to attack things that don't have a chance of defending themselves."

His eyes narrowed, "Why would you want to show them mercy? They were nothing but trash!"

She was beginning to feel a bit frightened. "It's not that I wanted to. . . It's not like I did not think of ripping their tongues out!" She shook her head. "But I can't do that, and neither can you."

Kisshu stared at her for a few minutes. He finally pulled away from her and leaned back against the tree. He was looking a little better but he was still so angry it mad her feel on edge. When his fiery eyes met hers it had sent cold chills up her spine. He could be frightening. Ichigo impulsively laid over, nearly sitting in his lap, resting her head against his chest. His arms moved slowly around her and he pulled his knees up to hold her up. She leaned her head back on his arm to look into his face. He met her gaze and stared deep into her eyes for some time. She watched him slowly melting until he was back to normal. His strong arms lifted her and pulled her the rest of the way into his lap. She did not resist - Unsure now what to do. She was the one who put herself here without a thought of what she would do later.

For lack of knowing what to say, her unspoken thoughts began to spill out. "Kisshu, do you remember when Taruto and Pai trapped me in that dream world thing with that Chimara Anima?"

"Of course. Why?" He eyed her, wondering what she was getting at.

"You were the one who saved me. You brought me back, woke me up, and made it so the others did not die with me. You stopped Pai from killing me. Pai said at the time; 'His strong feelings woke up Mew Ichigo.'"

He blinked at her, confused.

"Even that day, even when you said you would kill me if I did not go with you. . . even then I did not really understand you."

He stared at her with an expression she could not read.

"Why did you help me then? Why would you want to help me when I-"

His finger covered her lips, "You talk too much sometimes, Ichigo."

Kisshu's eyes locked with hers and drilled deep. She held her breath as his fingertips traced delicately along her jaw and then down the side of her neck. His eyes wandered from her eyes, to her lips, and then wandered even farther. Her heart was beginning to beat faster. Logic told her to run but this was already somehow more complex than logic. His fingers traveled lightly toward the back of her neck. Chills ran through her body. He slid his hand back, fingers splayed and weaving through her hair, and cupped the back of her head. Kisshu pulled her up, his warm breath whispering over her lips. He was giving her a moment to say no, like he had before. Her heart raced and warmth crept into her cheeks again. She tried to deny it and ignore it but she suddenly longed for his kiss.
Before she thought what she was doing she had wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him the rest of the way into the kiss. The sweet sensation of his soft lips made her world spin. Her heart was beating so fast she could hardly breathe. His lips moved over hers with the gentleness of a tender husband. He tilted her head with his fingers. She shivered again as she felt him grazing sharp but gentle and careful teeth over her cat ear. They were out. Her eyelids fluttered closed, brow furrowed. She felt him slowly working his way down her ear and then his lips found the skin of her throat. Her entire body trembled and she tilted her head even more for him. His lips caressed her skin. . . soft soft and warm. The daze her mind was in terrified her suddenly.

"K. . . Wait, Kisshu, please. I-I. . ." She stuttered, "This. . . I can't, I. . ."

"Okay. . ." He breathed into her ear. "I know."

"I'm sorry. . . I-I'm. . . Kisshu-"

He silenced her with a long, but tender kiss. After he finally broke it he grinned mischievously, lifting her into the air. The air rippled around them and she closed her eyes. Her stomach swirled and her head spun until he set her down on her bed. She hugged her pillow, grateful the ride was over. Kisshu settled in next to her, still grinning. His fingers worked through her hair for a minute. Her eyes fell away from his as her cheeks flushed. What happened already seemed so unreal but her lips still tingled from the encounter.

The two of them threw on their night clothes and dropped back into bed. They were both tired now, about to fall asleep no matter what. After they dropped onto the bed he pulled her close and whispered a goodnight to her. Her eyes were heavy and she could tell his were too. They each fell asleep moments after. Morning would be coming much too soon for two rebels who stayed up too late.

AN: The plot begins, just a hint of what is to come! Hope you enjoyed it!