Kisshu massaged his temples, tired eyes throbbing, and a yawn tugging at his jaw. It had been a long night of searching. He learned nothing at all from listening to the parents. For whatever reason they did not seem to realize Ichigo was gone. That could mean they knew where she was, which would give credence to what the hospital said about her being transferred. He could not think of any other reason that they would not be worried over her absence. Sakura spoke of her twice but it sounded almost as if she thought Ichigo was simply in her room. Their behavior did strike him as odd. When they took Ichigo to the hospital they had been so insistent and worried over her, so why were they so calm now. Something about them seemed amiss but he had no idea what it might be. Their behavior made him feel all the more worried for some reason.

The sun was peeking over the hills to welcome a new day – Of course he was not ready for it since he had not even had a night. He had visited a few other hospitals but they had no record of Ichigo being sent there at all. They had suggested she might have been sent to a private clinic but they were of no more help than that. If it was a private clinic of some kind he would have no way to find her at all. Without the ability to talk to her parents directly he had little recourse. The only thing he could do was search – He searched the way he had before, looking at all the usual places she went to.

He wished desperately now that he stayed closer. It was only the day before, he resolved to never leave her side, so why had he been so foolish? If only he had been closer he would have known what happened. Perhaps he should have just taken her away when they suggested a hospital but he did not think at the time it would be a bad thing. His fruitless searching had only convinced him that something was wrong. When it came to her he always had the ability to feel when she needed him, somehow. He felt it so strongly now it was killing him.

His eyes clamped shut as the word tumbled out in a scream, "Ichigo!"

He could feel it, he knew she was in trouble. Images of that dream had been flashing through his mind all night as he looked for her. Each place he searched without finding her felt like a punch to the gut. He could not stand this fear that steadily rose inside him. Never, he never wanted to see what happened in that dream come true in reality. Whatever it took he absolutely had to find her and bring her back. When he found her this time he would never take her safety for granted again. No matter where she was going he would be close at her side from now on.

Duke smiled to himself as he sat in his darkened, windowless room. The large throne like chair fit his body perfectly. A lone candle flame danced in place on the stand next to the bed. He liked to sit in here in the dark, he could focus better this way. Watching his dolls without interruption was best this way too. That boy really was in love with her. Being away from her made him suffer terribly, especially since he knew the circumstances indicated the girl was in peril. His emotions of fear, dread, and terror were wonderful. He sighed and crossed his arms behind his head. All the pieces were fitting together just as he intended. It would not be long at all before they belonged to him as his cute little puppets. He did need to stir things up a bit more though, it was getting boring. Later today he would play with them both again. Of course, before he did that he would need. . .

Royal Highness stepped into the room and Duke watched him come; the expression on his face was as readable as a book. After all this time he could always tell what each of those children were really thinking no matter how they tried to hide it. Of the four, Royal Highness and Happy child might have been his favorites – They were so skilled and perfect. The boy had the face of a skillfully crafted doll; all of them did though, in their own ways. Each of them made him think of a doll, but each were crafted by different makers. These four were his best dolls, they were his special collection. Once he added Ichigo and Kisshu to the collection he would have the most perfect set of all.

Though he had a feeling he would add more dolls to his collection after this plan was finished. He never grew tired of manipulating those strings of his marionettes, their feelings, thoughts, ideas, and futures belonged to him when the last strings were pulled tight. Still, the dolls he had now and the two he was about to add would always be his favorites no matter how many he added later. Admittedly he was enjoying the capturing of those two the most of all his dolls; it would be so fun when he drain their spirits from them.

"What is it, Akizuki? Something is troubling you, is it?" Duke purred.

The eighteen year old floated gracefully into a chair, dark clothes mingling with the black upholstery of the seat, "Yes, there is, Duke. I have a great many questions. . ."

"Really?" Duke leaned forward, "What questions might those be?"

"One is that I don't understand why you are helping that girl awaken her powers. Is she not still our enemy? Why would you help her fully realize her powers?"

"That is quite simple, Akizuki, I need her to be powerful. If she does not become as powerful as she is capable of she will be of no use to my plans. I absolutely must have her powers, so I must assist her in awakening them."

"You don't need her, you know. We are more than powerful enough to do anything you need us to. Whatever it is you require we can accomplish it." Royal Highness' voice was even and calm but his eyes betrayed him.

Duke smiled knowingly, "Calm yourself, there is no need to fear for your positions. I have absolute faith in each of you and in your abilities."

Blue eyes pierced the boy until his gray eyes fell to the floor. Royal Highness always seemed haughty, confident, arrogant, and even conceited – The trouble was it was nothing more than a front to hide his fears. The cool, distant, phlegmatic exterior was nothing more than shadows and mirrors. Inside the teen was insecure, anxious, and self-doubting. Rejected by both family and society he no longer could believe in his own worth. Royal Highness and Happy Child were quite alike in that regard. His insecurity was truly his greatest enemy and weakness but he tried desperately to hide it. He clung to anything that made him feel of worth and was constantly terrified of the loss of those things. Like all the Crusader's he felt lost and alone in the world he was born to and was more hurt by its rejection of him over things he could not control than words could say. Duke knew all too well how the boy really felt and thought; all those fears served him quite well since they made him easy to manipulate, poor child.

"Then why do you need her?" Royal Highness persisted.

"Simple! You see, I dare not use any of you for this aspect of my plan because you are all far too precious to me, it is too risky to use you. What that girl must do for me is quite dangerous. I must have her do it because she is expendable. If she perishes in the execution of her duties for me it is no great loss."

Brows furrowed above gray eyes, "What about that alien?"

"In his case the job he will do for me can truly only be done by him. The necessity in my obtaining his compliance is quite crucial because of who he is and what he is capable of. I must have the alien because he is the crux of my plan."

"In that case, what can I do to help you obtain him, Duke?"

"For one thing, we must use the girl to ensure his compliance. As long as we have her he will do as we say." Duke smiled and tilted his head, "Speaking of the girl though, you find her attractive, do you not?"

A rare bit of color rose in the teen's cheeks, "I-I suppose in some manner I have occasionally found certain aspects of her appealing, but – "

"Wonderful!" Duke chuckled, "Then I insist that you have a little bit of fun with her. You can do anything you wish with her, play with her to your hearts delight."

The redness deepened in Akizuki's cheeks, "I don't think I understand."

"I want you to have fun with her, since you like her. . . but I need you to do so for more than simple pleasure. I do not simply want you to frighten her, I want you to terrify her! I hope you can be especially cruel to her. I need her to be more frightened of us than anything else. We will become the proverbial monster under her bed, and to do that we must act like monsters, exploiting her fears."

Royal Highness tilted his head, "What exactly do you want me to do to her?"

A devilish smile made its way onto Duke's face. "You can be imaginative . . . but I have a few suggestions you could use."

He opened the door to the ship and swiftly entered. It was dark inside as the door shut. The lights were not yet on but at least there was a soft glow of phosphorescent light along both sides of the hall floors. It was not enough to see with but it was enough that they could always find their way around. The darkness was a bit of a comfort to him since he had begun to develop a headache. The bright sun was not helping his tired eyes at all. The only bad thing about this was that the longer he was in this marvelous darkness the more he was tempted to go to his room and do a glorious thing called "sleep."

He stretched; arms high over his head, back arched, and toes curled. Sleep would be nice but not just yet. Gliding down one hallway he headed for Taruto's room. The last time they spoke he said the Mew Mew's already knew he was here. Just as the bedroom door swished open he heard a noise farther down the hallway. With another yawn Kisshu headed in the direction Taruto must have been. As he drew closer he saw a light on in their food area, what humans referred to as a kitchen or cafeteria. He saw the young boy fishing around for food.

Kisshu glided in next Taruto, "Yo, Taruto!"

Taruto turned in surprise but quickly smiled, "Hey, Kisshu! What's up?"

At least the kid's attitude was better today than before, "I had a question for you."

"Oh yeah?" Taruto raked his eyes over him, "You ok? You look a little. . ."

"Never mind how I look!" Kisshu shook his head, "I wanna know if you've seen Ichigo? Do you know if Pudding or the others know where she is?"
Taruto looked at him, "You mean you don't know where she is? You are the one who's been with her."

"I know, but her parents took her to a hospital and I haven't seen her since. Her parents eventually came home but Ichigo was not with them."

"Hmmm. . . that's weird. Her parents did not mention why she was not with them?"

"No, and I could not exactly ask them."

"Maybe the doctors just wanted to keep her over night or something."

"Maybe. . ." Kisshu frowned and decided not to tell him how long he had been working on the hospital angle, "But I have a bad feeling about all this."

Taruto crossed his legs as he hovered in the air, "What kind of feeling?"

"I'm not totally sure, it just feels like there is something wrong. I'm really worried. Something about all this just feels off. Weird stuff has been going on."

Taruto shrugged, "There may be nothing to worry about though. Still, I'll find out from the Mew Mews if they know anything." He eyed him, "But while I do that maybe you should go lie down for a while. I can wake you up when I get back."

Kisshu nodded reluctantly, "Ok, I guess."

When he made no move to go Taruto grabbed him by the arm and dragged him all the way to his room. Once the door was open Kisshu was shoved into his room and instructed harshly to stay there. The door swished shut as Taruto left. For some reason he suddenly felt more like the kid in this situation than he did the adult. He was even letting himself be pushed around and told what to do, which was not his usual way. It must be true, he had to be more tired than he thought. By the way to squirt was acting he must have looked worse than he even felt.

The fact was that he was out of options anyway. There were no other places he could look and nothing else he knew to do. Taruto was the best chance he had of finding anything out at all. If the Mew Mews started looking for Ichigo at least they could ask her parents directly without trying to gather information from tidbits of conversation they had. All the things he knew to do were failing right now. He had run out of ideas totally. He hated feeling so helpless and knowing there was nothing else he could do.

Kisshu sighed in frustration and dropped onto the bed as his mind wandered over the past several hours. There had to be something he was missing in all of this. Somewhere, he was overlooking some explanation or some clue.

Ichigo was surprised when she awakened that she was in her Mew form. She did not even remember transforming. Now that she was in it she would not be so helpless though, she hopped. The chains were still there as always. The ones on her ankles were draped over the metal railing of the bed and bolted to the floor. That would not have been an issue if she could have reached down far enough to get to the floor. Unfortunately her wrists were shackled over her head. They were securely hooked around the bedpost, and possibly the wall too. She worked to squeeze her hand out of the shackle but it was incredibly hard and she was not gaining much ground at all. So far she was mainly just hurting her hand.

"So, you're awake! That's good." A sickly smooth voice greeted her cat ears.

Ichigo tensed, eyes darting to meet him as he came in.

Royal Highness hovered next to the bed, eyes menacing, "It saves me the trouble of waking you."

She cringed when he kicked the end of the bed sending it sliding fast over the stone floor. The shackles dug into her ankles as she fell partially off the bed; the chain on her left ankle tethered to the floor but the chain on right caught on the bed and drug her with it. Ichigo tried to shake the right chain free but was not finding it an easy task. Her wrists ached as she was forced to pull down on them as she struggled with the chains. She was suspended uncomfortably between the floor and the bed.

"Duke is right, you are an interesting girl. There is a lot about you we still don't know."

Ichigo tried to ignore him as she wrestled with the chains.

"Do you remember how you got that bite mark on your shoulder, Mew Strawberry?"

She paused to level him with a cold but confused stare.

"Did you know that I was the one controlling those three guys?" A stony smirk crossed his lips as he looked at her. "Duke ordered it, of course, but I was the one controlling them. Did you enjoy that little game?"

"That was you? You are lower and more despicable than I thought! I didn't know you guys were behind that too!" She hissed at him angrily, tail lashing, "You really are the worst! You are the lowest bunch I've ever known! You guys are just sick, especially you!"

He smiled as he jerked the bed back into place, dragging her leg hard over the floor. She struggled not to be dragged under the bed as it moved. His long, bony fingers dug into her thigh and arm as he roughly put her back onto the bed. When he reached over her head she felt the chains tighten as he took away the slack. She tried to pull the slack back but he fastened them in place somehow. He stared down at her, gray eyes as cold as winter, and pulled a long black cloth from his pocket. He descended on her binding it around her mouth.

"I wouldn't want you to scream in my ear." He chuckled, "Now that you will stay relatively quiet I can have a bit of fun with you."

She screamed and growled at him but it was so muffled by the gag that it hardly did any good.

His eyes wandered over her, "I shall indeed have to enjoy myself."

Ichigo cringed as his fingers glided up her leg. Though she tried to kick at him it did no good at all. Pain vibrated up her leg as her thrashing did nothing more than to cause her foot to connect hard with the metal bedpost. He was clearly amused by her injury as well as her vain attempts to get at him.

She gasped, heart pounding wildly as he sailed over her and straddled her. The first thought she had aside from fear was how heavy he was. She tried to jostle him off but he sat solidly and chuckled at her efforts. His eyes had turned predatory in nature like a beast. Instantly she stopped wriggling as she noticed him eyeing the movement and her chest.

Nothing could have prepared her for the horror she felt as his fingers traced the fuzzy line of her pink Mew top. Never had she felt more keenly how little there was to this dress. He jerked her arm away from her face and twisted her head to the side. When he leaned forward his cool breath stroked her neck and sent tentacles of terror racing around her heart. He nipped at her neck with sharp teeth.

"I will show you what a real bite is like." He tilted his head; she felt his mouth open and then felt the prick of his canine teeth sinking into her neck.

Despite her determination to be brave a whimper escaped her as he took a gulp of her blood. She could feel his lips and teeth and tongue as he drank. Terror choked her as she felt him sucking away her blood. The room was already beginning to spin but she could not tell if it was from blood loss or fear. Pain shot up her neck as she felt him roll his fangs down to deepen the bite and increase the flow of blood. She dared not move or struggle for fear it would make it worse.

After what seemed like hours she finally felt his fangs slide out but his lips lingered. His tongue flicked at the wounds, moist lips moving against her skin. She cringed as the tip of his tongue sunk as far as it could into the holes he left. This too seemed like it would never end. She just wanted him off her! She wanted out of this place! She wanted Kisshu! If only he could come save her again. He had no way of knowing where she was, she knew that, but it did not stop the hope she held onto. If wishes really came true he would storm through that door right now and toss him aside. If only he could really come! Royal Highness drew back into a sitting position but did not move off her.

He licked the blood from his lips lustfully, "You tasted better than I was hoping for."

He cupped her face with one hand as he stared down at her. She dared not even begin to think what might be on his mind now. The way he looked at her, she hated it, hated it! This made her feel even more powerless. Why was there nothing she could do? He moved in again, face brushing against the other side of her face, lips touching the old bite mark. Was he going to bite her again on that side too?

Ichigo twisted her head to try to block him. She hoped he could not feel how badly she was trembling. With everything in her she was trying not to show him how afraid she was or how detestable she found his touch, but it was so hard to hide it. Her body gave away her fear all too well. His fingers hooked the gag and pulled it down. She closed her lips tightly as he pressed his mouth to hers. She could feel his wet kiss molesting her lips and it made her shudder in revulsion. His hands began to explore her.

"No, please!" She was silenced with his lips pressed hard over hers.

His fingers dug into her jaw – He gripped it so tightly she could not move it. Unwillingly, her mouth was opened enough that he could slip his tongue inside. She whined and whimpered in protest. This was not happening! She could not bring herself to think of what he was going to do to her. Even though he was not doing it directly, last time she was in a situation like this she had only been saved by Kisshu's return. There was nothing to stop him this time, nothing at all. Her body trembled beneath him as his mouth battered hers. His kiss was hard and strong. All she could do was whimper, tears running down her face.

Large hands found her chest and began to fondle her roughly. His mouth retreated to her neck again. She began to sob as his lips wandered over her collarbone. This was more than she could endure. She did not want this! She did not want it to be like this, didn't want her first time to be like this. She hated this feeling! Kisshu! The tears rolled down her cheeks. His head rested on her chest and his hands fell away. The sobs kept coming as she waited for his next move but he lay against her motionless.

"Cut it out already! I'm starting to feel bad about this." He sat up and climbed off her, "Jeez. You win, I'll stop."

He slunk to the door like a defeated child. It was almost as if he failed to carry out a mission of some kind. She watched him leave and was not sure if she could really believe it. He might have been playing tricks on her. Maybe he was just going to let her think it was over but he really intended to come back. If only she knew for sure!

Kisshu's eyes opened sharply. Had he been asleep? He must have been but he did not really remember falling asleep at all. It was not the shocking though considering how tired he really was. What was the sound just now that roused him from his sleep? Was Taruto back? He rubbed his eyes and popped his neck. Whatever position he had been sleeping in was clearly not a good one judging by the way his body felt. His right arm was totally numb so he must have been laying on it the whole time.

A low, almost inaudible laugh made him jump up. That was it! That was the reason he woke up! He froze as his eyes scanned the dark room. No one was in here besides him. What was going on? He moved to the door and into the hall. Someone had to be in here somewhere! He did not imagine that laugh! He heard it again but could not tell where it was coming from. It was almost like it was inside his head. The laugh was a bit like a child's but it was so strange. It was not Taruto's voice at all, in fact he did not think he knew that voice at all. "Watch out!" It whispered. His eyes wildly dashed around but there was nothing here. The ship was empty, he could tell. What was going on?

"Didn't I tell you that you did not have enough strength to protect her?" He knew that voice!

Kisshu whirled but saw no one. The voice echoed in his head again. He cradled his head in his hands as the man's voice rattle his mind. What was this? Was he still dreaming? Did he just think he was awake?

A cold hand touched his shoulder and he swung for it, but again, there was nothing.

"I told you!" The man cackled, "You will never be able to keep her from me!"

"Who are you?" Kisshu howled.

"I'm the man who is going to kill the girl you love, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!"

Kisshu dashed through the halls in search of the voice but each room was empty, "Where are you?"

"Right here!"

He whirled and saw the masked face from his dream. The man was so close they were a mere breath apart. He reeled backward but not in time; something hard crashed against the side of his head. The world began to spin and he slowly sank to the floor. The luminous panels in the hallway began to dim as he watch the man move around him. His mind was so jumbled he could not even begin to think.

"Guess who wins, again? The looser gets to suffer a little game at my house. Pathetic, I was hoping for a little more fight from you."

Kisshu struggled to stand but his stomach threatened to revolt. A quick movement caught his attention but his reflexes were slow. His neck ached as a second blow cracked against throat. Darkness was instant.