Butterflies

Ichigo's cat genes were not one of her favorite things, especially considering her new affection for chasing butterflies. The first time it happened, she nearly fell out a school window trying to catch it. Of course, when she asked Ryou how to control her cat genes, the jerk was too busy laughing at her butterfly mishaps to care. Therefore, she never got an answer, and STILL didn't know how to control her butterfly-chasing urges.

This brings us to the present time, and Ichigo's issues. She had seen another butterfly on her way to work, and promptly started chasing it. Little did she know, she had an audience.

Naturally, it was Kisshu, and he was watching in puzzled amusement as Ichigo chased a small butterfly around. I wonder why she's doing that… he thought. He kept watching as Ichigo tried to catch the butterfly. Suddenly the butterfly headed in his direction, and he floated down to the ground as Ichigo came after it. To his surprise, the butterfly landed on his shoulder, but he was even more shocked when Ichigo pounced on him. The butterfly flew away as Ichigo and Kisshu fell to the ground. Kisshu looked up at Ichigo, who was on top of him, looking puzzled. "Kisshu?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Kisshu asked.

"Why am I on top of you?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.

"You were chasing that butterfly, and it landed on me," Kisshu said. "And you pounced on me. Why were you chasing a butterfly?"

"Stupid cat genes," Ichigo grumbled. "I get distracted by moving things like butterflies, and then I start chasing them."

Kisshu burst out laughing as Ichigo's cell phone rang. Sighing, Ichigo picked up, and heard, "WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Chasing butterflies," Ichigo said grouchily.

"Why do I hear laughing in the background?" Ryou asked suspiciously.

"The latest butterfly landed on Kisshu, and I pounced on him, and now he's laughing at me," Ichigo said grouchily. "And it's all YOUR FAULT!"

Ryou just started laughing, and Ichigo said, "I'm hanging up now, and I'm NOT coming in today."

"Why?" Ryou asked, still snickering.

"Because you'll spend the entire day laughing at me," Ichigo said. "See you tomorrow, when you've calmed down." She hung up, and looked at Kisshu, who was still laughing. "Are you finished?" she asked.

Before Kisshu could respond, they heard teleportation, and Pai appeared, then asked, "Mew Ichigo, what did you do to Kisshu?"

"I told him the reason I pounced on him was that I was chasing the butterfly that landed on him," Ichigo said gloomily. "And apparently my habit of chasing butterflies was highly amusing."

To her surprise, Pai snickered. She was even more surprised when Kisshu grabbed her and teleported to her room. "Care to explain this, Kisshu?" Ichigo asked.

"Pai's laugh is cursed!" Kisshu said. "Anyone who hears it gets doomed!"

"What gave you that idea?" Ichigo asked.

"Because my friend made Pai laugh, and two hours later, he was dead!" Kisshu said, still panicked.

"So since I made Pai laugh, I'm going to die?" Ichigo asked. "Somehow I doubt that…."

"I don't want you to die…." Kisshu wailed, obviously not listening.

"Kisshu, I'm not going to die anytime soon," Ichigo sighed. "Will you quit freaking out?"

Kisshu didn't seem to hear her, and she sighed, then grabbed him by the ear, and said, "Are you listening?"

"Yes…." Kisshu said.

"I'm not going to die," Ichigo said. "Just because your friend died does not mean it was Pai's laughter that killed him. The only reason I would die is if Pai killed me- which still isn't going to happen, so QUIT FREAKING OUT!"

"Can you let go of my ear now?" Kisshu asked. "I'm calm."

Ichigo let him go, and he sighed, rubbing his ear. "That hurt…" he moaned.

"Sorry, but you weren't listening," Ichigo said. "And it's payback for laughing at my butterfly problems."

"Aw, come on, that was funny!" Kisshu said.

"Mmph," Ichigo said. "I bet you wouldn't think it was funny if that happened to YOU."

Kisshu just snickered, but then got worried when Ichigo gave him an evil grin. Then she picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. Kisshu watched warily as she said, "Hi Ryou. Do you have any more cat DNA? Kisshu wants to be half-cat too."

"NO I DON'T!" Kisshu shouted.

Ichigo ignored him and said, "Great, see you soon!" Then she hung up, and dialed another number, holding the phone away from her ear as Pai shouted, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?"

"I want you to put a teleport canceler on your ship, so Kisshu can't get back in," Ichigo said, grabbing Kisshu by the collar as he tried to get away.

"Why?" Pai asked warily.

"He's trying to escape, and besides, he spent the last fifteen minutes panicking about your laugh being cursed," Ichigo said. "Do you WANT Taruto to find out?"

"Point taken, I'll go do that," Pai said, and hung up.

Ichigo smirked at Kisshu, who asked, "You're trying to ruin my life, aren't you?"

"No, of course not," Ichigo said. "I just want to see you chasing butterflies."

Kisshu groaned as the doorbell rang, and Ichigo dragged him off to get it. Ryou was standing outside, smirking, and Ichigo said, "That better not be poison."

"It's not, I had more Iriomote Wildcat DNA," Ryou said. "This should be more fun than poisoning him….."

"Let go of me!" Kisshu shouted.

"No way," Ichigo said. "Do I have to knock you out? I think you'd look cute with cat ears."

Kisshu drooped, resigned to his fate. "Are you going to stick needles in me?" he asked.

"What do you think?" Ryou asked evilly.

Kisshu groaned as Ryou said, "Ichigo, make him hold still."

Ichigo held Kisshu in place as Ryou stuck a syringe into his arm, and pushed all the liquid inside into his bloodstream. Then he took the needle out and put a bandage on Kisshu's arm. "All set," he said with an evil grin. "Have fun, cat boy!" Then he left, laughing maniacally.

Kisshu glared at Ichigo, who was snickering. "Look on the bright side; now we're a perfect couple," she said.

"You want to be together AFTER you gave me cat DNA!?" Kisshu asked incredulously.

"I wanted to be together before, but I didn't want Ryou to know, because I didn't want him to blow his top," Ichigo said. "His hair appears to be radioactive; I didn't want to see his head explode."

Kisshu burst out laughing. "Blondie's hair is radioactive?" he gasped.

"Most likely," Ichigo said. Kisshu just kept laughing. Ichigo started giggling, but after a few minutes, she noticed Kisshu was laughing too hard to breathe. "Kisshu, you need to calm down or you'll pass out," she said.

Kisshu tried to take a deep breath, and failed. After a few more tries, he managed it, and Ichigo noticed he looked tired. "Do you want to go to sleep for a while?" she asked.

"Kind of…." Kisshu said. He sounded sleepy, and Ichigo took his hand, then pulled him up to her room.

"Take your boots off," she told him. He sleepily sat down on the bed and took his boots off, then climbed under the covers and laid back. He watched sleepily as Ichigo climbed onto the bed next to him and smoothed his hair back. He fell asleep pretty quickly after that.

Ichigo continued stroking Kisshu's hair, noticing that he had started purring. He nuzzled her hand in his sleep, and she barely held back a squeal of delight.

Four hours later, Ichigo had stopped stroking Kisshu's hair, but he was still purring, curled up against her. Suddenly she noticed he was stirring, and asked softly, "Kisshu?"

"Nyaa…" Kisshu said, opening his eyes. "Koneko-chan?"

"I'm here," Ichigo said. "The injection worked, by the way. You've been purring for four hours."

"Wait, I've been asleep for four hours?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah, why?" Ichigo said.

"Because it's almost dinnertime, and if I don't get back to the ship, Pai will blow up the kitchen," Kisshu said. "Do you want to come over for dinner?"

"Sure, but you should check to see if Pai turned off the teleport canceller," Ichigo said.

Kisshu concentrated, then said, "Yep, he did. Should we go?"

"Sure, let's put shoes on first," Ichigo said. She got a pair of flats, and put them on as Kisshu put his boots on. He took her hand and teleported to a kitchen. Pai was in there, and Kisshu immediately ran over and dragged him away from the stove. Then he dragged Pai to the door, threw him out, and said, "And stay out!"

"Where were you?" Pai asked.

"Being tortured by Ichigo and Blondie," Kisshu grumbled.

"Come on, it's not that bad," Ichigo said. "All we did was give you cat DNA. And you asked for it anyways. That's what you get for laughing at my cat problems."

"Blondie actually did this without poisoning him?" Pai asked skeptically.

"He thinks my cat antics are funny; he probably agreed to do it so he could laugh at Kisshu too," Ichigo said.

"Did it work?" Pai asked.

"Kisshu was purring for four hours, so I'd say yes," Ichigo said.

"What else will he be able to do?" Pai asked.

"Well, I assume he'll be able to chase butterflies, get the cat ears and tail in Cyniclon form, turn into a kitten, and he'll get claws," Ichigo said. "But he'll also be obsessed with fish and more tired than he used to be, and he'll probably get fascinated by things like ribbons and balls. And, of course, butterflies."

"Obsessed with fish?" Pai asked.

"Yeah, I can't cook fish anymore; I tend to try to eat it the minute I smell it," Ichigo said. "And I can't go to the aquarium, because it looks like a feast to me. So Kisshu probably won't be able to cook fish."

"And I'm going to be more tired?" Kisshu asked grouchily.

"Yep," Ichigo said. "No more lying awake trying to get to sleep."

"That'll be good for you, Kisshu," Pai commented.

"You're on her side now?" Kisshu asked grouchily.

"No, but you never get enough sleep," Pai said. "It'll be good for you."

"At least you don't have school," Ichigo said. "Waking up early is impossible for me."

"Pai, PLEASE tell me there's some way of reversing this," Kisshu said desperately.

"Not without killing you," Pai said. "Are you making dinner now?"

"Make Taruto do it; I'm not in the mood," Kisshu said grouchily. "Besides, it's about time he did something to help out."

Pai sighed and teleported off. Kisshu grabbed Ichigo's hand and teleported to his room. Once there, he let go of her, and threw himself face-down on the bed. "Kisshu, are you okay?" Ichigo asked.

"NO, I'm not," Kisshu snapped. "I don't WANT cat DNA. Don't you think that was overkill? All I did was laugh at you."

"I don't like being laughed at for something I can't control," Ichigo said. "Maybe giving you cat DNA was overkill, but at least now I have someone who can relate to what I'm going through. It's hard not having anyone to talk to about having a tail, or chasing butterflies. And I think cat ears would look adorable on you."

"I'm a warrior," Kisshu grumbled. "We don't DO adorable."

Ichigo started giggling, and Kisshu growled. "What is so funny?" he asked grouchily.

"You!" Ichigo said. "You're so CUTE!"

"I hate cute…." Kisshu grumbled.

"You've called me cute in the past; does that mean you hate me?" Ichigo asked.

"Mmph," Kisshu said.

"That doesn't answer my question," Ichigo said dryly.

"No, I don't hate you," Kisshu said. "I just wish you had chosen a different form of revenge- or no revenge at all."

"Would a kiss make it better?" Ichigo asked.

"Why are you suddenly being nice?" Kisshu asked suspiciously. "I thought you were head over heels in love with Treehugger."

"You thought wrong; he's about as boring as watching paint dry," Ichigo said dryly. "So I dumped him, and that made my school friends happy, because they don't like him much."

"Are they going to like me?" Kisshu asked.

"Yep," Ichigo said. "You're sweet."

Kisshu groaned, and Ichigo asked, "What's wrong now?"

"I don't LIKE being sweet and cute," Kisshu said grouchily. "I think I need a new image."

"I don't go for the 'bad boy' type, so that might not be such a great idea," Ichigo commented. "You want to be together, right?"

"Yes…." Kisshu said.

"Then keep the sweet image, and we'll be good," Ichigo said. "You don't want Moe and Miwa on your case, believe me."

"Mmph," Kisshu said. "Do I get a kiss?"

Ichigo giggled and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him as she did so. Kisshu kissed back passionately, and they kept at it till they ran out of air. When they broke it off, Ichigo said, "You're pretty cuddly, too."

"I'M NOT A TEDDY BEAR!" Kisshu shouted. His ears and tail came out, and Ichigo sighed, then said, "I didn't say you were a teddy bear, I said you were cuddly."

Kisshu was looking at his new tail, and he said grouchily, "I hate this thing."

"Your tail?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes," Kisshu replied. "It's weird."

Ichigo studied him, and then said, "I was right, you look really cute with cat ears. Not that your regular ears aren't cute…"

"I still hate cute," Kisshu said. "Except for you."

"What do you like, then?" Ichigo asked.

"I'd rather be hot than cute," Kisshu said.

"Actually, you're both," Ichigo said. Kisshu perked up a bit. His cat ears and tail disappeared, and he looked startled. "They go away when you calm down," Ichigo explained.

"Oh…." Kisshu said.

They heard a loud alarm, and Kisshu sighed. Then he took Ichigo's hand and teleported to the kitchen. They found Pai and Taruto trying to put out a fire on the stove, and Kisshu groaned. Pai and Taruto flinched as he asked wearily, "What did you two do this time?"

"We were trying to fry fish, but it kind of caught on fire," Pai said, having succeeded in putting the fire out.

"Taruto, what did I tell you about letting Pai help you?" Kisshu asked.

"That he has no common sense and should be kept out of the kitchen at all costs," Taruto said sulkily.

"And I suppose there's a reason you let him in?" Kisshu asked wearily.

"He mind-controlled me!" Taruto said indignantly.

"I DID NOT!" Pai shouted. "You said you needed help breading the fish, so I did that, and then YOU set it on fire!"

"Both of you, out," Kisshu said. "And you don't get dessert tonight."

"So what's for dinner?" Pai asked.

"At this point, ramen again," Kisshu sighed. "Ichigo and I will make it, and you two will wait in your rooms till it's done."

Pai and Taruto sighed, then teleported out. Ichigo looked at Kisshu, who said, "That's the last time I let either of them in here. I should have known making Taruto cook was a bad idea."

"Are you good at cooking?" Ichigo asked.

"Pai claims I'm better than Cupcake Man," Kisshu said. "But tonight let's just have ramen; that fish is probably toxic by now."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "Do you want me to make it?"

"Can you?" Kisshu asked.

"Sure, where is it?" Ichigo asked.

"I'll show you," Kisshu said, and showed her where everything was. Ichigo started boiling water as Kisshu sat down at the table, and poured a bunch of ramen into the water when it boiled. Finally it was done, and Ichigo poured it into four bowls. Pai and Taruto teleported in as Ichigo brought the ramen to the table, which was already set. "How do you do that?" Pai asked, watching Ichigo balance all four bowls.

"I'm a waitress; it would be pretty sad if I couldn't," Ichigo said. She set the bowls down, then sat down and started eating.

The Cyniclons followed suit, but after a minute Pai said, "For heaven's sake, stop eating like a pig, Taruto."

Taruto sighed and started eating more slowly; he had been shoveling food into his mouth so fast it looked like he would choke.

"Why do you eat like that, Taruto?" Ichigo asked.

"I was hungry," Taruto said sulkily.

"I wonder what Aunt Yuki's going to say when she finds out you've forgotten all your table manners…." Kisshu said thoughtfully.

"I don't know, but it's not going to be as bad as when she finds out you've got a tail," Taruto said, snickering.

"If you don't want to get clawed, I'd suggest spending the night at Pudding's," Kisshu said. "Ichigo said I have claws now."

"You can make them come out by imagining claws coming out of your fingers," Ichigo commented.

Kisshu concentrated, and claws shot out of his fingertips. "Cool!" he said.

"See? Being half-cat has its advantages," Ichigo said.

"Now I can claw Blondie!" Kisshu said happily.

Ichigo giggled. "Let's do that after dinner," she said.

"Good plan, Taruto's on dishes," Kisshu said. "And that does include the burned fish, Taruto."

Taruto grumbled something inaudible as he finished his ramen. The others were finished too, and Kisshu said, "Koneko-chan, let's go claw Blondie!"

"I think I'll just watch; he'll dock my paycheck if I claw him," Ichigo said. "This should be fun, though."

Kisshu smirked and teleported her to Café Mew Mew. They found the main room empty, and Ichigo sighed, then said, "They're probably in the basement again."

"Does that mean I have to wait upstairs?" Kisshu asked.

"Probably better," Ichigo said. "I'll go get Ryou." She walked downstairs, and knocked on the door to the lab. To her surprise, Ryou opened it and asked wearily, "Why did you bring Kisshu here, Ichigo?"

"He wanted to say thanks for the cat genes," Ichigo said.

"Are you up to something?" Ryou asked suspiciously.

"You're paranoid," Ichigo said. "Come on, it'll be good to get out of the basement, right? You're turning into a mole."

"Oh, fine," Ryou said grouchily, and headed upstairs, followed by Ichigo. They found the main room empty, and Ryou asked suspiciously, "Where is he?"

"Kisshu?" Ichigo called out.

"Where does this go?" Kisshu called back from the kitchen. Ichigo went into the kitchen, followed by Ryou, and saw Kisshu holding a large cookbook.

"I thought Keiichiro lost that," Ryou commented.

"No, I borrowed it," Kisshu said. "Where does it go?"

"Beats me," Ryou said. "Ichigo, go get Keiichiro."

"Okay!" Ichigo said cheerfully, and skipped off.

"Why is she so happy?" Ryou asked.

"She's been teasing me all day, that's why," Kisshu said. "And now that I have a tail, she's over the moon. You both can be pretty evil."

"Says the guy trying to take over the world and eliminate the human race," Ryou said disgruntledly.

"All I have to do is kill Ichigo's ex, and that would end the fighting- provided you give us the Mew Aqua," Kisshu said. "If we heal our planet, there's no need for fighting. The only reason we're still fighting is because Ichigo's ex is still alive, therefore Deep Blue is still alive."

"I knew there was something funny about that kid," Ryou said. "Do Pai and Taruto also want a truce?"

"Yup," Kisshu said. "We'll probably get exiled, but at least then I can stay with Ichigo."

"What about Pai and Taruto?" Ryou asked.

"Taruto can move in with Pudding, and Pai can have your spare room," Kisshu said. "Hey, why isn't Ichigo back yet?"

"Now I am," Ichigo said, walking in with Keiichiro.

"I can take the book," Keiichiro said. Kisshu handed it over, and Keiichiro put it on a shelf.

"So what were you two talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Forming a truce," Ryou said.

"About time," Ichigo and Keiichiro said together.

"What did you decide?" Keiichiro asked.

"I think if we get rid of my leader and you guys give us all your Mew Aqua, we could save our planet, and then there'd be no reason to fight anymore," Kisshu said.

"And how exactly are you getting rid of your leader?" Keiichiro asked.

"His human host is Treehugger; I just kill him and problem solved," Kisshu said.

"Alright, but try not to kill anyone else," Ichigo said.

"I know," Kisshu said, and teleported out.

Ichigo concentrated, and called, Pai, Taruto, come to the Café, we're talking about a truce!

Fine…. Pai said grouchily, and cut the connection.

"Pai and Taruto should be here soon," Ichigo told Ryou and Keiichiro.

"You can use telepathy?" Ryou asked.

"Yup," Ichigo said. "Why don't you call up the others?"

"Mint and Zakuro are busy," Keiichiro commented.

"Fine, just call Lettuce," Ichigo said. "Or I can." She took her cell phone out and dialed Lettuce's number.

"Ichigo? What's up?" Lettuce asked.

"You're needed at the Café," Ichigo said. "We've got a surprise for you."

"I'll be there soon," Lettuce said, and hung up.

Ichigo heard teleportation in the main room, and went out to find Pai and Taruto waiting. "I burned Pai's latest love poem," Taruto said. "That's why he's grouchy."

"And you did this why?" Keiichiro asked.

"It was sickening," Taruto said disgustedly. "Pai's attempts at poetry suck. And he wants to give all his sappy poems to Lettuce, so Kisshu and I take turns burning them before he can make Lettuce sick."

Pai grumbled something inaudible, then asked grouchily, "Where's Kisshu?"

"Off killing Aoyama," Ichigo said- just as Kisshu teleported back in grinning ear to ear. "I take it he's dead?" Ichigo asked.

"I demolished him," Kisshu said happily. "And I think the cat genes made my reflexes better, too."

"That's what happened to me," Ichigo said, as Lettuce came in the front doors.

"What's going on?" Lettuce asked.

"We're forming a truce," Ichigo said. "Blondie FINALLY agreed."

"Good, that means we don't need to lock him up," Lettuce said. "Are we going with the Mew Aqua plan?"

"Yup," Ichigo said. "We give the Cyniclons all our Mew Aqua, they stop attacking, and Kisshu comes to live with me!"

"Sounds great," Lettuce said. "Pai, will you visit?"

"We're probably going to get exiled," Pai said. "So I'll probably be living here."

"Yay!" Lettuce said. "So I take it Ryou's giving you the spare room?"

"Yes…." Ryou sighed. "But I refuse to let Taruto stay here."

"I already live with Pudding," Taruto said. "Pudding has candy!"

"I'll be checking up on you two regularly," Pai said dryly. He looked at Ryou, and asked, "Can I have the Mew Aqua? I think I'll go back alone, and then come back."

"I'll go get it," Keiichiro said. He left, and Ichigo smiled. "That worked out well," she said happily.

"I'll say," Lettuce said. "And now that Ryou's given up on hating Cyniclons, I can say it out loud!"

"Say what out loud?" Ryou asked, puzzled.

"Pai and I are officially dating!" Lettuce said happily.

"Great!" Ichigo said. "Kisshu, can we be officially dating too?"

"Sure Koneko-chan," Kisshu said happily. "And to think that all this started with you wanting revenge for me laughing at you."

"Revenge?" Lettuce asked.

"Kisshu was laughing at my butterfly problem, so I called Ryou and told him to inject Kisshu with cat DNA," Ichigo said. "It was fun."

"I hate my tail," Kisshu grumbled. "And Ichigo thinks I'm 'cuddly'."

"Cuddly?" Ryou snickered. "Well, at least she hasn't come up with anything worse, right?"

"She also thinks I'm adorable and sweet," Kisshu grumbled. "The ONLY good thing she had to say was that I was hot."

"Consider yourself lucky, she seems to think my hair is radioactive," Ryou said. "And she goes around telling people."

Kisshu snickered. "It does look pretty neon, I could see it being hazardous," he said.

Keiichiro came back around then, and handed a box to Pai, who looked inside and said, "That's more than I thought, thank you. I'll go back."

"Alright, good luck," Keiichiro said.

"And don't get killed," Kisshu added.

Pai just nodded and teleported out. Ryou looked at Keiichiro and asked, "Keiichiro, is my hair radioactive?"

"Yes," Keiichiro said. "Why do you think I told you not to dye it? It could cause a chemical reaction, and that would most likely make your head explode. Don't worry; when you start going gray, the radioactivity will go away."

Kisshu, Ichigo, and Taruto had fallen over laughing, and Lettuce was giggling too. Ryou was steaming, and he yelled, "QUIT LAUGHING!"

Lettuce was the only one who attempted to calm down; Kisshu, Ichigo, and Taruto weren't listening. Finally Lettuce managed to calm down, and said, "That was FUNNY!"

"That doesn't begin to describe it," Kisshu gasped. He and Ichigo were starting to calm down, and he sat up, having been rolling around on the floor laughing. Ichigo stopped laughing and got up a minute later, then asked, "Kisshu, can we go home?"

"Sure Koneko-chan," Kisshu said. "Ja ne to everyone else!" He took Ichigo's hand and teleported.

They landed in her room, and flopped down on the bed. "Bedtime?" Kisshu asked, as Ichigo yawned.

"Bedtime," Ichigo affirmed, taking her shoes off. She didn't bother with pajamas; she simply climbed under the covers as Kisshu took his boots off, and fell asleep, not noticing Kisshu had climbed in with her.

Kisshu sighed happily as Ichigo snuggled against him, and put his arms around her, then fell fast asleep as well.

Okay, there's my extremely long one-shot, and I'll try to have something else out soon. Sorry I haven't posted recently.