Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Author's Note: I appreciative to all of you who have reviewed. This story wouldn't be worth writing if it weren't for those words of encouragement. Thank you.

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He looked so out of place lying there.

Amongst the various shades of pinks and assorted stuffed animals, the green of his hair combined with his pale complexion just didn't quite fit.

Despite the fact that she and her group had a comatose, highly hazardous alien under their voluntary responsibility, the teamwork it took to get him where he was now and the pure secrecy of it was rather thrilling and hopefully something they could all laugh about later.

Cramming Kish's dead weight into Keichiro's navy blue Suzuki was an accomplishment alone, but the getting him out of the car and into her house was when the real chaos began. It didn't help matters when Ichigo found her purse empty of her house key. Thank goodness her mother wanted large windows.

Not for the first time that evening, Ichigo rubbed her eyes with the pads of her fingers, as if willing away the strain. Just thinking about the events leading to this disastrous conclusion was enough to give her a headache.

She could not believe she had agreed to let Kish sleep there. Relaying the scene over and over in her mind, she tried to figure out exactly when her sanity had abandoned her and if it was back yet.

She had suggested the couch in the living room, but upon much rearranging of limbs and throw pillows did they realize that it was not long enough to compensate for Kish's surprisingly tall figure. It was difficult to estimate the height of a person who was constantly floating around. Mint suggested "one of the guest rooms" (Ichigo supposed the pompously rich assumed every household could afford to have several empty rooms), Retasu had asked if the couch folded out into a bed (the foreign concept soon explained to Mint), and Pudding finally brought the whole obstacle to the final solution: her bed. All the while Kish had been progressively sliding off of the inadequate sofa and landed with a resounding bang to the floor, the coffee table looking moderately innocent considering it had just harmed an already thoroughly harmed Kish. She wondered if the goose egg on his head would ever recede.

Ichigo was exhausted. Beyond exhausted. She felt as if gelatin had replaced her bones and concrete had replaced everything else as she walked over to the other side of her bed. She sat as far away as humanly possible from the other occupant, and thought of what she had to do.

She came up with a fuzzy blankness as all her busy thoughts of the day seemed to attack her at once. Frustrated at herself, she saved the thinking for another time and turned to look at the sleeping form next to her. He had shifted slightly, startling her. And now, as if he knew she was there to listen, he began to mutter in his sleep. Ichigo leaned in closer, intent.

"…go," She made out. Go? Go where?

"No, not…" he was wincing, as if in pain. A cold sweat had broken on his brow. Ichigo did not dare move, not knowing if she should wake him up or not. She really wished the other Mews were with her. The cryptic feel of his words, the panic on his face and an overwhelming feeling that something was not right loomed over her. She felt as if she had just watched a particularly scary movie and was left alone in the dark. And then the most bizarre thing happened.

The power went off.

She could not help herself. Ichigo screamed. It was not until she realize that another voice had joined her did she stop.

Kish was shaking her, the lights were back on. Once she was silent, the shaking stopped, but Kish still held each of her arms. She was looking into golden eyes and all at once she was okay.

"Sh, it's okay Kitten," He hushed. The gentle tone of his words and the reassurance in his eyes alarmed her, but not as much as the odd sensation embracing her heart. It was almost painful. Hurriedly, she scurried off the bed, standing to face him only because she did not want her back to him. She felt rather silly, however, when her legs collapsed beneath her. Her arms folded on the bed as they supported her now kneeling position, the dizzy spell still whirling around her head.

"You okay?" She saw his hand reach for her, saw it pause inches from her, and then drop away. She ignored her disappointment.

"I'm fine. It's been a long night." And all at once the images of Kish's blood, the weight of his unconscious body as he fell, the jagged wound on his back…all of it came back to her and she found her head was clear when she looked up at him.

"What happened to you?" She was concerned, though she heard her inquiry come out as a demand.

"What--?" he glanced away, brow furrowed in thought.

"You came to the café," Ichigo urged, "You were bleeding, you passed out. What happened?"

For a moment Ichigo wondered if he had heard her.

"You…" He paused, "You took care of me." The intensity of his gaze and the awe of his voice left her feeling rather hot and bothered.

"W-Well, ya! What else did you expect me to do? Couldn't just let you die there… jeez,"

"You saved my life,"

That statement left Ichigo feeling very uncomfortable. Sure, she supposed she did save his life, but when he put it like that it made her feel like an imposter. She was not a noble person.

"It…it was nothing," She squeaked, embarrassed, "really." And she made the mistake of looking into his eyes, finding that she could not pull herself away.

"It was everything,"

For a second time that night, something foreign and yet inherently familiar tugged at her heart.

"…really," Kish added, grinning. Ichigo caught the mimic, but did not smile. She was still wondering at the strange way her heart was acting. Kish yawned loudly, breaking her out of her reverie. He tried to stretch, but stopped quickly with a grimace.

"Well, if you're not planning on screaming anymore, I think I'll go back to sleep…" he began to snuggle down into the covers gingerly, as to not disturb the bandages. With a shock, Ichigo noticed his bare chest, finding it difficult to not stare. Kish saw her reaction and smirked. "Where are you sleeping tonight, Kitten?"

"Here,"

The response had shocked both of them.

"I need to make sure you don't steal anything," she explained quickly, realized how bad that sounded, and added, "or if you are in pain or something…" decided that was too much and finished with, "I don't want a dead alien in my bed, okay?!" Truth of the matter was, she was terrified. She felt like a five year old scared of closet monsters.

Kish got the weirdest look on his face, as if he was torn between questioning her sanity and teasing her relentlessly. She was relieved when he simply shrugged and pulled the covers over himself.

She changed quickly into the most modest, unflattering pajamas she owned and brushed her teeth in the adjacent bathroom. When she came back he was apparently sleeping, facing away from her side. She crawled to the very edge, not bothering to get under the covers, and turned a contemplative gaze on the lump she knew to be Kish and decided that this was by far the most outlandish thing she had done in her life. With that last thought she turned away and fell fast asleep, curled into a tight ball.

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To be continued…