Good Girls Went to Heaven

Dear readers,

Thank you for stopping by and reading this story. I would like to hereby thank you all for your comments, reviews, follows and kudos. It's always so nice to hear your feedback, not to mention insightful! (*´∀`*) I am likewise terribly sorry for the delay with this chapter, but this week has been super crazy! (T_T)

Last time on Libidinous, things started to get really heated! (/ω/) If you liked that, get ready, as we are only going to build on that drama henceforth! Also, a lot of you mentioned Ryou's nearly inhuman treatment towards Ichigo in this fic. As opposed to the TRTP, wherein they form almost a sibling bond of sorts, Ryou's relationship with the red-head is far more strained here. In Libidinous, Ryou is kind of a jerk, for most parts, especially at this point of the story. Nevertheless, if you wanna see some cute Ichigo/Ryou moments, feel free to refer to my previous work, in which the blonde plays quite the opposite role and portrays the caring, supportive friend that Ichigo needs more than ever.

The songs I used for this part were:

U2 'Vertigo'

Evanescence 'Bring Me to Life'

P.S. Remember how I said that I will try and keep it around 4000 words per chapter? Yea, right....

DrDark7 - Thank you for your comment! I am glad to see that you liked the last chapter. There is certainly more breaking yet to be done, but it is interesting to note the development of the characters and the subtle changes in their behavior. Let's see how much longer Ichigo is going to put up a good fight, shall we?

Arkel_angel - Thank you for your comment! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the last update so much. And, I will have you know that your words describing Ichigo as a voyer left me literally in tears hahaha. That notion of the ball and the cat was really interesting too. I never thought about it in that way before! Now, to answer your question, I would say that Ichigo is not jinxed, nor in heat, however convenient this might be in terms of explaining her 'condition.' Rather, I'd argue that she is attracted to the alien on the most primitive subconscious level at this point. Have you ever heard of these stories that claim that under certain extreme circumstances, you can start feeling equally extreme things that can change your perspective entirely? Think of the scene when Ichigo was caught during sex by Kisshu, for instance. I hardly doubt that the idea of sex or even Kisshu being sexually active, or sexually desirable, would ever cross her mind amid their regular Mew/Cyniclon fights; but that random moment and Ichigo's sheer embarrassment, adrenaline, or the overall horror of the situation if you will, created a new dimension to their relationship which has not been there before. All of these newly-found emotions that she is suddenly feeling are solely a byproduct of this new layer of intimacy they share, as she is seeing him through a completely different lens now. In short, it is all about forming opportunities and creating new scenarios, in my opinion. Kinda like that Hitch movie with Will Smith. But, if you want more eloquent answer and enjoy literature/psychology, you can, of course, check out the effect of S. Freud's 'Uncanny' and/or W. Wordsworth's 'Sublime.'

Lulyy Elizabeth Vaca - Thank you for your comment! I am really excited to see that you liked the last update. Writing Kishigo moments is always so much fun! If you liked their last scene, you will like the ones that are bound to follow too. As for your questions, you came up with some really good hypotheses! I don't want to spoil, but let's just say that Kisshu will be in Ichigo's life from now on far more than the Mew Mew would want him to be!

ErinNevermore - Thank you for your comment! I am so happy to hear that you liked the last chapter so much. And, mind you, we only barely started! There is far more to come. Stay tuned!

AnimeRoxx – Thank you for your comment! I am excited to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter so much. Kisshu and Ichigo definitely have a great chemistry, would you not agree? And, yup. Ryou is on a roll yet again and his harsh behavior solves absolutely nothing, quite on the contrary. You totally nailed it, by the way. Ichigo would without doubt respond far better to support than open bashing! But Ryou's too much of a critic that he cannot really see that. I think that, in real life, he could be a Virgo, since people born in this sign are usually extremely critical towards themselves, as well as the others.

Kishlover985 - Thank you for your comment! I am so happy that you liked the last update. Kishigo forever, right? And, it also makes me super excited to hear that you like Ryou in this story, since, so far, he does not have that many fans haha. Will that change in the future? Only time will tell!

As always, please enjoy and review!

I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

In the end, Ichigo did follow Ryou's advice from the previous day and fucked her boyfriend to her heart's content; although it had to be said that she had spent the whole time mentally cursing her boss throughout the entire duration of the sexual act.

What had made her change her mind so drastically, you might ask?

Well, surely, it was not that she was particularly horny for Masaya or anything even remotely close to that. Yet, when the dark-haired boy had showed up in front of her main door, Ichigo knew she had to do it. Not for her own sake, not for Ryou's sake. Not even for the other Mew's sake, but simply because it was necessary. And because she was still frustrated. Frustrated with the blonde, frustrated with Kisshu and, in general, frustrated with the unfairness of her own life. Plus, having a sexual intercourse with Masaya had its undeniable benefits. It had always provided her with the time to think, as there was not much else to do but to go up and down on him, emitting a fake moan here and there, while her imagination was set free to wander and her muscles began to loosen up bit by bit.

A small part of Ichigo was still consumed with self-doubt that she might have overdone it yesterday and ended up being a little too mean to her boss. Notwithstanding, the moment Ryou's brittle words reverberated within her mind, she wiped that traitorous thought off right away. Had it not been for Keiichiro and his cake, she might have even quitted altogether in fact. But the brown-haired male had simply a knack for showing up in the nick of time to save the day. And, with his sweet treats that were literally to die for and his understanding words that did not betray the social intelligence of an orange, he had swayed her yet again.

"You have to forgive, Ryou. He is not very gifted when it comes to communication skills. Sometimes, he may come off as rather harsh, but he means well," Keiichiro gave her a polite smile.

"Only sometimes?" Ichigo muttered sarcastically, earning a little chuckle from him.

"More often than not," the brunette conceded before the beeping sound of the oven instantly reminded him of his duties and he slipped with an apology back inside the kitchen through the swinging doors.

"I wonder why that is," Ichigo mumbled to herself, forking another spoonful in her mouth.

By the time she had finished her cake, nevertheless, she had to admit that a surge of relief eventually ran through her body, making her wind down at last. She was not sure if it was Keiichiro's kindness or the soft glaze of his cupcakes that had done the trick, probably the combination thereof, but her anger had slowly dissolved, as her chest gradually filled with a warm feeling of happiness and security. And that was a good thing, indeed. Considering their upcoming objective, Ichigo could not let herself become vulnerable again. Not now, when it was so vital to set one's eyes on the prize and find the Mew Aqua to save their planet no matter what.

The fact that almost all the males in her life had turned jerks rendered largely inconsequential; she had to work with what she had, and once the opportunity of an outlet had thus presented itself to her, Ichigo did not hesitate for a second. Not when she could at least let out some steam. And, the absence of any real thrill meant too that the Mew Mew did not have to fret about covering her cat appendages that spontaneously decided to pop up out of nowhere. For all of these reasons, Ichigo had accepted Masaya with almost open arms, when she had found him standing at her doorstep earlier.

The truth was that she needed him.

Because with the Mew Aqua in the picture, there was a pretty good chance that the aliens would make an appearance too. And with the emotional distress Ichigo had been in for the last couple of days, she was not willing to take any chances, nor to play it by ear. She had even tried to emulate the scene from that faithful afternoon; had made Masaya do it with her on the very same chair again but, strangely enough, nothing remarkable had happened. Apart from it turning rather grotesque, if anything. Was it because there was nobody to crash their intimate session this time? Or was the spell broken and they simply reverted back to their completely dull, languid sex? Not that she would ever admit that out loud and to Masaya of all people. But it had confused Ichigo to a significant extent, making her once again mentally deliberate whether her orgasm had ever actually taken place. Wasn't it all just another whimsical figment of her imagination, or inner projection of her darkest desires? Wasn't her brain just playing with her? Showing her something that was evidently so easy to attain for most, but completely unattainable for Ichigo? Maybe it was truly all just wishful thinking. Except for-

No, it wasn't. It definitely wasn't.

Kisshu himself had seen it and taunted her for it mercilessly with no hesitation in his voice, which had made it all the more real in Ichigo's mind.

Besides, no amount of sensory illusion could produce such an effect on a human. There was no way. Even if the Japanese technology had been advancing rapidly, Ichigo offhandedly rejected the idea that it was that far. These raw, incredibly strong feelings that had been rippling through her body, basking it in the sweet aftermath of blissful sex, were hardly digitally induced. No computer could create such intense emotions that had vastly surpassed the expectations and longing she had been harboring for so long.

And the more Ichigo had ruminated on it all, the more she was sure she would give anything in the world for reliving these feelings and experiences of such utter bliss once more.

There was only one downside to this plan which unequivocally derived from the simple fact that Masaya was not exactly a sex God that could fulfill her bawdy desires up to her standards. Yet, the sex with him sufficed for today. It was not like she came or anything like that, but it at least helped her significantly with mitigating her arousal to a minimum level, which had come extremely handy, supposing they had another fight against the Cyniclons ahead of them. And, even though she hadn't been hit exactly by a passionate wave of her orgasm, Ichigo did feel somewhat better after they had finished their love making; it seeped away some of her nervousness that had been tightening her muscles into tension, leaving her mind much more relaxed and her body less taut.

There was no way in hell that the stupid alien would throw her off guard today. With her sex quota filled and most of her reserves depleted, Ichigo was more than ready to concentrate and kick some serious Cyniclon ass.

And, Ryou would not be able to say shit to her this time either, or so Ichigo thought.

"Are you sure this is the right way? We've been walking in circles for a while now!"

Ichigo fanned herself with her free hand before she paused and whirled around to address Mint's biting remark. Of course, the blue lorikeet Mew had to be the first one who had to complain after half an hour in or so. That was nothing new. What seemed, however, rather surprising was that Ichigo did not blame Mint in the slightest; even more so, when she herself heaved another exhausted sigh, her features twisted with both annoyance, as well as exasperation with their current mission. It was so hard to move and not to lose focus. But the instructions they had received were unambiguously pointing to this place. All they had to do was to be a little more patient.

Despite the fact that they were presently trekking down in what seemed to be a cavern, which, according to all Ichigo's biology lessons, should have not been anything but damp and cold due to all the natural phenomena, the Mew Mew leader found herself losing her breath in the face of a strange imposing heat, as more and more sweat began to break on her forehead. It was hot and musky underground and one look at her teammates' tired faces had cemented Ichigo's belief that they should find the Mew Aqua quick, unless they wanted to pass out from the scorching warmth or the lack of oxygen, respectively. The cave, presumably made of rocks that had over the course of time melded together, had been sloping slowly downwards. With each of their following movements, it was far harder to make out their surroundings by means of the outside light. It felt extremely constricting, to say in the very least. And, the further the Mews had entered the relative gloom of the cavern, the more fatigue had been getting to them, making their heads dizzy and their eye lids heavy with weariness.

Ichigo could sense the tension in her team, but there was no point in turning back now.

"Yes. Let's keep walking. I'm certain that we're close," she smiled tightly and resumed with an extra bounce in her step.

She had to be the role model for her team.

What kind of a leader would she be if she had bailed just because of some strange heatwave? A bad one, indeed. And, if that was the case, then she would have to admit to Ryou that he had been right about her incompetence all along; which was something Ichigo was far from doing, favoring to exchange occasional death glares with her boss instead.

"Ichigo is right. We can't stop now," Zakuro's voice sounded firm and resolute.

The eldest Mew immediately moved to her leader's side and, from her peripheral, she could see Mint quickly following right behind.

Ichigo shot Zakuro a grateful look. It was during times like these that she fully realized how much she appreciated the purple-haired model as her teammate. Zakuro's inane level-headedness and endurance had always made Ichigo think that she would be a far better leader than herself. And she knew that Ryou thought it too.

After what felt like a long time but was probably only several minutes, Tokyo Mew Mew pushed past another dimly-lit tunnel and took a slight turn left, until their eyes landed on a vast crater suddenly spreading in front of them, leading to a rounded cavern that constituted a dead end.

There was no mistaking it; they were on the right track.

Ichigo took in a shallow breath and sped up. Stepping inside, she instantaneously noticed how different the walls of this cave were. The place was almost obscenely bright. Every nook and cranny was now illuminated to their eyes, forming a stark contrast to all the previous caverns they had seen. It sounded somewhat impossible to Ichigo that the same cave which had been too dark to walk in only a couple of minutes ago was now brighter than day light itself, but she did not let it faze her, even if it had made her feel somewhat queasy for reasons she could not exactly place. She trailed her eyes on the various luminescent crystals of different colors which were lined up against each of the walls, casting hues of glittering lights on their way, as the Mews continued to trudge forward in awe. The air too seemed to have acquired a cooler edge to it, which, to everyone's happiness, resulted in regaining most of the team's former strength.

"Look, there's Mew Aqua, na no da!" Pudding exclaimed, while her index finger frantically pointed out to the clear blue light that was floating at the end of the cave directly above them.

Ichigo looked up and no sooner had she spotted the Mew Aqua than the air around it shivered and three shadowy figures materialized in front of her eyes in the next instant.

"Hello, ladies. Mind if we join?" Kisshu mocked as he looked on in amusement, his gaze playful yet calculating.

Next to him, hovered Pai whose face remained, by contrast, as stoic as ever, whereas Taruto's, whose slender form lingered above his head, reflected a deep-rooted mischief with the intention to hurt.

"Not you again!" Mint lamented, as she clasped her bow in her hand tighter.

"That's right! Thanks for leading us to the Mew Aqua, by the way," Taruto cackled and promptly retrieved his click clacks to charge a wave of electricity at the Mews on the ground, sending the whole place instantly into frenzy.

A thunderous crack echoed across the cavern, causing it to begin to tremble and fill with a thin stream of dust and smoke from the debris, as numerous screams sounded from all different directions.

"What a bunch of losers," the youngest Cyniclon let out, but soon jolted out from his lazy posture when Zakuro's spear caught his ankle and yanked him down.

"What were you saying?" Ichigo appeared from behind the smoke and rammed her knee so hard into Taruto's stomach that it made him double over in pain.

"You, bitch," he wheezed, clutching at his sides, as he soared back in the air, out of their reach.

"Get back here, na no da!" Pudding shouted, hurling herself at the younger alien and effectively tackling him back on the ground, where they continued wrestling with their fists.

In the next second, however, Pai emerged right behind them and, be it not for Lettuce's brisk reaction, Pudding would have been toast.

"Thank you, na no da," the monkey Mew cried out, her eyes still wide with alarm.

"You're welcome, Pudding," Lettuce smiled, before her lips morphed back into a thin line at the sight of the purple-haired alien still hovering above them with his fan at a ready. It was safe to say that she did not like that sight.

Ichigo watched the battle around her with uncertain heart.

They were not losing, but it wasn't like they were winning either.

The wise thing to do was to collect the Mew Aqua and retreat, but judging by the aliens' relentless attacks, Ichigo knew that she would have to keep her wits about it, if she wanted to lead her team to the victory and avoid any casualties.

And, from the looks of it, the best option so far seemed to be to pursue the Mew Aqua alone; with the aliens fully occupied with the other Mews, she had a free way to go and do what was needed.

Ichigo was just about to make a run for it, but a cold, strong hand above her elbow stopped her mid-way.

"And where do you think you're going?" a silky voice pried, successfully thwarting her attempts.

Far too impatient, Ichigo whipped around to hit him with her other hand, however, Kisshu dodged it easily and only added pressure on her arm, twisting it in a painful angle. She tried to kick him, but he merely kicked her back. Hard. Making her crash onto the ground with a loud thud, as her stomach churned in agony.

"Stop fighting, Ichigo. It is pointless," she heard his footsteps next to her head when he drew closer and knelt down to her eye level, "Tokyo Mew Mew is doomed, did I not tell you that already, kitten?" he leaned in and Ichigo fought every fiber in her body not to throw up at the bile that had started to rise in her throat.

The cold floor was sending a chilling sensation down her spine, while the searing pain gnawed at her stomach, but then there was something else that was bothering Ichigo; something that had been pushing her into a weird sense of mental trepidation; something that only became overt once his face moved perilously close to hers.

"That is what you said last time and then disappeared like a coward," she spat back at him, hoping that the sudden acidic feeling in her mouth would burn on the pale flesh of his face.

At this, the corners of his mouth curled up and his eyes gleamed with a vivid sense of excitement.

"I do not particularly remember that part of the story, but I do recall we have had a certain conversation which, I believe, we have not quite finished," he cupped her chin in between his fingers and tilted it upwards so that his eyes stared directly into hers.

"Shut it, creep," Ichigo smacked his hand off and shoved him away, not paying any attention to the rapid beating of her heart, nor the way how his words tugged at her memory.

She was more grateful than ever for her decision to have done it with Masaya earlier that day. Never more grateful in her entire life, actually.

"Ku Rai Sen!"

Pai's booming voice snapped her out of it.

Only barely did Ichigo sense Kisshu briskly teleporting away in the face of his comrade's lethal attack. And the moment the zaps of electricity from Pai's fan reached the ground beneath her feet, another rumbling sound thundered across the cave, causing it to subsequently shake from within. Ichigo looked ahead and gasped, when she could see the tiny little cracks that began to appear within its surface.

This place was going to collapse soon.

At first, she wanted to deny the roaring sounds blasting all around her. Nonetheless, the second her body only narrowly missed a chunk of rock that had landed on the ground with an ear-shattering sound where she had been standing merely moments ago, Ichigo had decided. And, somehow, that choice had spurred her on with a surge of newly-found adrenaline.

It was now or never.

Chest pounding, Ichigo sprang onto her feet and, summoning all of her cat reflexes, she jumped as high as she could, with her hand extended towards where the Mew Aqua was.

"Oh no, you don't," she felt her fingers lightly brush against the blue crystal before something hard slammed into her back sending her flying against the opposite wall abruptly, while the ceiling of the cavern started to quake with uncontrollable fervor.

Ichigo cracked one of her eye lids open just in time to see how the ground underneath her tore apart and the majority of its previous surface fell down, creating a cliff of sorts within its vast opening, and, what more, devouring the glinting light of the Mew Aqua crystal that was falling through its open mouth in the process.

"NOOOOOOO!"

It was almost as if she had acted on an autopilot. Whether due to the fact that she subconsciously wanted to prove Ryou wrong or she was insane, she could not fathom. But before anyone could say a word, Ichigo screamed and, without thinking, threw herself in the direction of the Mew Aqua, never once considering how in the world she was going to get out again.

"ICHIGOOOOOOOOO!"

Her hearing picked up on the mind-numbing screams of her fellow Mew Mews, their voices raw with terror, but she only registered what was truly happening when the notion that she was falling down through a seemingly bottomless crater had clicked in her mind, along with the thought that there was nothing to hold herself onto, and definitely no one to save her.

'Well, it's a little too late for any regrets now,' Ichigo mentally groaned, as she looked about her.

She saw how the cave rapidly continued to collapse, releasing stones and rocks, both big and small, all around her and then, quite suddenly, she felt a sudden surge of pain when something struck her on her head. The Mew Mew gritted her teeth, but kept her eyes open, wondering what was about to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything. Only the flickering glow of the blue crystal could be recognized in the distance by Ichigo's feeble, squinting gaze. But although she could still clearly see it, she could, by no means, reach it. Factually, she could not move at all, since her fall and gravity had restricted pretty much most of her physical movements.

Ichigo gulped.

She might have been impulsive, but she was not delusional.

As the ensuing rumbles gradually faded into the background noise, and merely the squishing sound of air flowing around her body was accompanying her as of now, the imminent, unavoidable truth of her fall was revealed to her fully.

There was no stopping it; at least, not until she would ultimately hit the rock bottom.

And that realization deeply disturbed her.

Ichigo knew that her logic often rendered far from sound. But the further down she had been falling, the more idiotic her former reasoning seemed to have been in retrospect, even to her own mind.

She cussed and, this time, she was rather glad that there was no one listening to her.

How dumb was she anyway? Thinking that her Iriomote cat genes would save her appeared like nothing but an exaggerated phantasy at the present moment. Could she depend on her DNA when she spontaneously decided to jump from the top of her high school? Yes. From a cliff into a seemingly bottomless cavern, though? Not so much.

"You're gonna die, kitten, if you keep falling like that."

Her eyes flew wide open and snapped to the left where the familiar voice was coming from, only to find herself instantly staring straight into Kisshu's amused stare.

He was there in the air, gliding beside her, completely nonchalant, with the wind whipping around his pale face, telling her facts she had already known.

Had he been there the whole time? Or did he just teleport now?

Did it even matter?

Ichigo took a moment to marvel at the way how his emerald hair swept across his forehead, his smile never faltering, before her expression soured and soon morphed into an annoyed frown.

She hated him so much. That almost palpable arrogance and sense of superiority that emitted through every single pore of his skin; the evil spark in his gaze that often seemed to provoke her; how much he enjoyed tormenting her, toying with her, laughing straight into her face.

If these were really supposed to be her very last moments of her life, she definitely did not want the infuriating alien to take any part of them, or have him anywhere around her for that matter!

"No I won't, you jerk! And get away from me!" she yelled, facing away from him with a loud huff.

He gave out a chuckle and continued to float silently right next to her.

Down, down, down.

Ichigo had no idea how long she had been in this air-like state of a limbo. But the longer she had been falling, the broader the dark crevice of the deep cavern appeared to be.

What the hell? Was this really going to be one of these never-ending falls?

"250 feet before the impact," Kisshu informed her casually, as if it was the most obvious thing to do.

Ichigo shot him a slightly panicky look before her brows furrowed together in confusion.

She knew that, unlike him, she could not teleport away. Or, rather, that her cat DNA would not let her survive this one. She was finished. But that did not seem to be the main concern that was prickling at her mind now, making her eye twitch in irritation.

What was his deal? Like why was he here anyway? Did he want to personally see her demise? To check whether she was really as good as dead? How she would get squished and splattered against the solid ground, once she had finally hit the bottom? How the blood would burst out of her body from all various directions and her bones would snap and shatter?

What a sick bastard!

Her former anger returned in spades, as her sincere hatred for his persona came back tenfold. She hated his guts, so much that she would not put it past her to choke him to death if her life relied on it. But just as this thought crossed her mind, an unexpected idea struck her that she had not been aware of before.

There was a way out.

There was still a way out.

How much could it be 100 feet, 80 feet now?

She stole another glance at the annoying Cyniclon and, from the corner of her eye, she could see how he remained smiling at her gleefully, his eyes entirely transfixed on her face.

And that settled it.

Before he could protest or react in any sort of manner, Ichigo grudgingly grabbed onto his shoulders and enveloped herself around him in the air, making sure she was holding him tight enough so that he could not drop her. If she was to die here, she would at least make sure to take him down with her. That way, she knew she could face Ryou's judgement in the afterlife with no regrets. And, if Kisshu did not want to die with her, he had better figure out how to save them. Both.

"Help me out here, you jerk," Ichigo hissed through between her gritted teeth before she sent him one last glare and consequently buried her face in the crook of his neck.

A part of her blushed furiously at her antics when she felt how close her body pressed into his, feeling every single muscle of his hard chest against her; the half of her mind that had wanted nothing more than to push him away and have nothing to do with him; but this part was ultimately silenced by its more reasonable counterpart which strictly dictated that there was no way in hell that she was letting go, if she wanted to survive this, that is. And it was the latter part, of course, that had won her inner argument. Abandoning all her jumbled thoughts, Ichigo grasped at Kisshu's shoulders as tight as she could, hanging on him as if her own dear life depended on it, which it actually did.

And, then, there came the long-awaited loud crash that she knew was about to happen eventually, making everything around her go dark and blank shortly afterwards.

The strange thing was that she didn't feel it.

She didn't feel anything, actually. Was she dead? Or was this the rigor mortis that she so often read about in her school books? The still numbness of her limbs that irrevocably followed the aftermath of one's end?

Ichigo gingerly opened her eyes, still not quite decided on the state of her current situation, and immediately noted the blue light that was gleaming all around her, instantly filling her vision.

She always thought that heaven was fraught with beams of blue and soft pink, idly playing in the background of the world framed with sparkling golden gates, angel wings, golden halos and fluffy clouds. But she could be wrong; this was, after all, her first time dying. There was no former experience to this. She just hoped she was not in hell.

Cause good girls went to heaven and Ichigo was a good girl.

But when she took a closer look of her surroundings, Ichigo noticed that she was not in heaven, nor in hell. In fact, she was still engulfed by the damp darkness of the cold cavern, and underneath her was Kisshu, levitating just at what seemed to be 12 inches max above the ground, encircled by what Ichigo only assumed to be some kind of a round alien diagram, which illuminated signs of runic alphabet she could not read. She stared in consternation at the brilliant radiance around her before her focus shifted back onto the alien. He looked different in this light again and Ichigo was almost tempted to use the word handsome, but maybe it was just the throbbing pain that continued to mess up with her head.

With a snap of his fingers, Kisshu eventually let go and Ichigo had to stifle a yelp of surprise, as she landed against his warm body which was still heavily intertwined with hers on the solid ground. From her position, she could see how the blinding diagram with runic signs disappeared from the cave the moment their torsos hit the flat surface, and the only thing that was presently penetrating the ubiquitous darkness around them was the feeble blue beam that kept on gleaming precariously not too far from Ichigo's side.

'The Mew Aqua!' the Mew Mew's eyes widened in realization.

She had no idea how he did that but, somehow, he had managed to save both of their lives.

But no sooner could she start celebrating than she felt her consciousness momentarily drifting from her, slipping away through between her fingers, as she tried to assort the images that kept flitting to her mind in a chaotic manner. The space all around her seemed to ring with deafening silence, in the wake of her fall. And, for several tense seconds, Ichigo could not move a muscle. Had he hurt her somehow? Or was it the hit she had gotten during the fall? How could she be really positive that she was not dead after all?

"Have I-Have I just died?" she asked in a rather dazed drawl.

"No, not yet," he smiled.

Slowly, Ichigo's vision cleared, as the terrible headache began to ebb away and she was soon able to connect the voice with the face. It was that same haunting voice from before. And, even with her mind a bit fuzzy, she could still hear him taunting her, insulting her, praising her skills merely when it was convenient for him.

'I guess I should consider myself lucky,' she thought to herself, while her gaze travelled down his arms aimlessly.

It was so weird. Her on top of him, straddling him, with his hands on her thighs and her body still pressed against his, not fully believing that she was still there, breathing heavily.

"Changing your mind now, are we? Not so opposed to physical contact anymore, mm?"

Ichigo's head whipped up to meet his full-blown smirk, hazel instantly clashing with molten gold.

She was really alive.

And not only that; apart from her seemingly slight migraine, her body did not rock or shake with any sort of pain from the incident whatsoever. What was happening? And, more importantly, why was Kisshu still so close to her?

Ichigo blinked at him for a few more moments before a fierce scowl broke out on her face.

"Don't flatter yourself. As if any girl would wanna be anywhere close to you! You disgust me!" she threw back, sneering at the alien underneath her scornfully.

Kisshu let out a soft laugh.

"You might be surprised, but back home I'm pretty popular with the ladies," he gave her one of his classic grins and Ichigo wanted nothing more than to batter him.

"But you're stuck here on Earth now. And guess what, there's none of them here. Literally zero!" she openly snorted.

"You never know, Ichigo. Maybe there is one, she just hasn't realized it yet," Kisshu responded coyly.

Ichigo clenched her fists.

"As if," she hissed, her voice dripping with both disbelief as well as anger, as she jumped away from him immediately, when the full implication of his words caught up with her.

"It's ok, kitten. All you have to do is ask. I would like to do things with you too," Kisshu laughed again when he saw her bashful reaction, a sly grin already playing across his features. A new sparkle lit up in his eyes then that had not been there before, while he was eyeing her intently, and Ichigo could not ignore the distinct way how her belly suddenly yowled at the lust-filled aura that began pouring off of him in waves. The tension between them grew thick once more, as he let his intense gaze briefly scan her curvaceous figure, lingering over places that had made her want to hit him, before the scorching heat that burned in his orbs shortly returned up to meet her eyes.

When he spoke next, his words resembled nothing but a low, sultry murmur.

"Would love that, actually," he chuckled darkly, darting his tongue out to moisten his lips in a rather suggestive way.

And, hearing that, Ichigo froze, unable to form any kind of a witty comeback.

Her mind went blank, as a moment of stillness passed between them, letting the flashes of the longest afternoon rose unbidden to her eyes. It was as though he had shocked her into silence, while the air around them became statically charged and dizzying enough to induce the ghastly effect of a vertigo against which was no solid defense.

Ichigo opened her mouth only to close it again with a snap, completely speechless. An icy chill of dread crawled up her spine shortly after that, creating goosebumps on her lower back, and the Mew Mew could not help but shudder at the foreign feeling that suddenly started coursing through her veins. She felt how more blood came rushing into her brain, making her fingers tremble with a strange sense of uneasiness while her gaze filled with unprecedented fear.

There was something about the way how he was staring at her, as though he had wanted to eat her, to devour her that had made her insides internally twitch. Something that had generated all of these weird sensations in the pit of her stomach yet again, as if there was some peculiar kind of strong magnetism that was calling her, pulling her towards him, willing her to come closer. Something that told her that she should be simultaneously allured, as well as terrified.

Ichigo had to avert her eyes to regain her breathing.

If someone was to ask her what exactly had been going through her head, the Mew Mew wouldn't know how to even begin to describe what she was feeling at the current moment. Excitement? Blended in a mixture of dread and anticipation, maybe? Disgust? Panic? All of those words seemed only peripheral in their meaning to her, merely solidifying Ichigo's conviction that whatever was presently rippling through her body could not be answered with a single-word response. She could not label it. No. But she could make a comparison to it; it was the same kind of feeling she had had when he had attacked her in that dark alleyway yesterday; or when he had caught her with Masaya during sex not too long before that; the same kind of feeling under whose mysterious spell she found herself falling, oddly enough, even now.

Ichigo gritted her teeth, fuming at her own stupidity at how much his provocative mannerism was affecting her, and it was that anger that had finally enabled her to push her temporary confusion to the back of her mind and break loose.

What was he thinking?! That she would get on her knees and thank him that he was willing to fuck her? Was he really propositioning himself to her? And in such a brazen, unabashed manner? Who did he think he was?! And who did he think that she was?! Some cheap girl who would let the first guy who had asked her to do her to comply with his wishes? And she had a boyfriend too, thank you; even if he was not exactly thrilling when it came to sex.

"Are you deaf!?" she fisted her hands in balls by her side, before jabbing an accusative finger towards him, when the bitter thought invaded her mind, "I told you I want nothing to do with you! Get your ears checked, or I'll get them fixed for you!"

"Mm, I'd like to see you try," Kisshu let out another chuckle and picked himself up from the ground in a slow, smooth arc of movement.

He would probably say something else but, one by one, the Mews started to appear next to Ichigo and, soon enough, Pai and Taruto emerged beside the alien as well, one at each of his side.

The moment was broken, the intensity suddenly dispelled.

Not fond of wasting any more time, Pai quickly vanished out of sight only to reemerge directly next to where the Mew Aqua was still located on the ground the second after. With baiting breath, the purple-haired alien bent down beside the glowing crystal and reached out for the beaming mass of blue. Nonetheless, the second his fingers grew closer to the outer edge, its light died out, leaving nothing else but an ordinary rock behind.

He inspected the object for a few additional seconds and then threw it aside, exhaling sharply.

"It seems that this fight was pointless from the very beginning," Pai noted with a small frown, his eyes perusing the area briefly before settling on Ichigo's panic-stricken face. He arched a questioning eye brow at her, keeping his hard gaze fixed on her features for a little too long for her liking, until he ultimately glanced away and disappeared through the portal without saying anything else.

Seeing that, Taruto folded his arms across his chest and stuck his tongue out.

"Till next time, losers!" he sniggered, as his fine contours began to slowly distort around him as well.

Ichigo then looked to her left, the last place where she had spotted Kisshu before they had been interrupted by the arrival of their respective teams. When she found his eyes, she almost gasped at the intense way how he had been already staring at her back, that obnoxious smirk still present on his lips.

"So long, kitten," he shot her an enigmatic smile and, in the next instant, he teleported away.

Always the hyper-active one, Pudding reacted first, pumping a fist above her head once all of the Cyniclons were out of sight.

"Yay, be gone, be gone, heathens, na no da!" the monkey Mew made a cross sign with her hands, trying to exorcise whatever demons she thought kept floating around, while Ichigo heaved out a sigh, happy that it was finally over.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" Lettuce's anxious eyes instantly swept across her leader's body with far more concern than they should.

"Yea. Don't worry. All good here. I just can't believe that it was a false alert, though. Ryou's gonna throw a fit, I'm sure," Ichigo allowed herself another frustrated exhale, as a slight dread at the reaction of her boss washed over her, causing her to momentarily shudder.

"It's ok. We did what we were asked to do. It is not our mistake that this mission was a flop. The important thing is that everyone's ok. It looked pretty nasty with the way how you fell from the cliff and all, Ichigo," Mint commented, sending the cat girl a look of relief, which was rather uncharacteristic for someone as normally disinterested as Mint.

"Yes, sorry about that," Ichigo laughed awkwardly, massaging the back of her neck, before a sudden thought popped in her mind, "How did you guys even get in here?"

Pudding grinned good and broad.

"There was a passage down the hill, na no da."

"A passage?" Ichigo echoed.

"Apparently, this place was formerly used for coal mining. So once we realized this, we went immediately down after you," Zakuro supplied, making Ichigo's head nod fast in realization, when all the details fell back in place, and her mind started to review everything that had happened.

She wondered how Ryou would take the news that she had once again led her team to failure and came out of the battle largely empty-handed.

The other thing that persisted on her mind was the inexplicably creepy feeling that had still prickled on her skin; the feeling that had become only accentuated when her thoughts conjured up the distinct image of a pair of golden shimmering eyes.

She unconsciously shivered some more.

"Let's head back home," Ichigo commanded in an even-keeled tone, forcing herself to remain calm, "There's no point in staying here any longer."

The Mew Mew leader turned around sharply and began moving, but her agitation merely grew once she started mentally envisioning Ryou's grimace during their next debriefing, as well as Kisshu's firm grasp on her lithe, feminine body.

Truthfully, she had hard time deciding which unnerved her more.