A/N: Waaah! Thanks so much for all the reviews. And so sorry for the new chapter being this late! TT I've had this HUGE writer's block for a couple of months, and it still is there. And I've been really, really, really busy with a lot of stuff.

…And this chapter most likely sucks. ;;;;

…And sorry about not replying to the reviews. ;;; I'm just too tired right now.

Again, the DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. (Except Shuya.)

On with the story:

Strawberry Dessert

A Bad Day

"Hey, Ryu, look! My shoe locker is full of love-letters!" Ichigo squeaked, just to tease the guy.

He snorted, clearly in a sour mood.

"And look, this one even has a love poem in it… Aw, how sweet."

Ryu glared at the piece of paper in Ichigo's hands.

It was one week after the magazine with the pictures had been published.

He didn't like it at all, but still he secretly carried those certain pages with him in his pocket, everywhere he went.

"Look, look! This one's from a guy… hmm… let's see... another poem."

Ryu wanted to burn them all. Burn them and dance in circles around the ashes. Resisting the urge to violently take the pieces of paper from the "boy", he turned around to walk away, but ended up staring his eyes out instead. The nearest four trash cans were all full of heart marked papers and cards in different colours, some with perfume, and some with the word "love" written all over them in bright pink letters.

Ryu stared at them, not believing his eyes.

"All that for just one magazine…" he muttered, as a head ache slowly was building up in his front.

"Huh? You say anything?"

"Nothing." Above everything else, Ryu now wanted to turn the pink haired person's attention off all letters. And the excuse he made to himself was that it wasn't good too feed anyone's ego that much. Somehow he had figured out how his thoughts went, and now also a way to prevent them from getting through. He needed excuses, and he felt pathetic for it. Because he refused to accept the fact that he perhaps liked Ichigo more than he thought. He was curious, that was all.

"Come on, let's go to class. We're getting late."

There it was again. That cold feeling that never failed to make her scared, even though there wasn't even anything abnormal.

Maybe she was just suffering from paranoia?

No, that wasn't it… Somehow she had gotten familiar with it during the last three weeks. And she hadn't forgotten the incident with Masaya either. She knew it had something to do with him.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she pushed the door to the classroom open and entered, soon followed by Ryu.

Judging from the fact that the teacher was already there, Ichigo knew they were late, just like Ryu had said. But strangely enough, it wasn't the teacher they had had before that was there, it was Daisuku, and even stranger was the fact that he did not scold them. He just turned to them with a serious look in his eyes.

"…Ah. Momomiya-san, Shirogane-san… Good that you came. Please sit down."

Immediately, they both understood that something was wrong, but took their seats without any questions.

Masaya was wearing an eerie smile.

The teacher slowly started speaking again. "…As I was saying, from now on I will be your teacher. Tachikawa-sensei won't be coming anymore. He…"

Ichigo hesitantly raised her hand, ignoring her bench neighbour's ice eyes.

"Yes, Momomiya-san?"

"…What happened to him?"

"…He's dead."

"Dead…!"

"Yes…"

A silent murmur coursed through the class.

"But he wasn't sick." It was Shuya, the self-declared president of her fanclub who raised his voice first.

"…No. A student found him lying on the ground with a broken neck, lungs punctured one three places and almost every bone in his body crushed. …It's really hard to say this, but… he committed suicide. He jumped from the roof."

"Sensei! How can we know he wasn't pushed?"

Daisuku slowly shook his head. "There was no evidence of struggle, and no witnesses. He even left a note in his room; however it was in such a condition that made it impossible to read most of the words. And from what I know – and I was his close friend – he did not have any enemies that would want him dead."

Ichigo listened carefully; taking note of everything that was said. Somehow, she had an itching feeling that what the teacher said wasn't the whole truth. Perhaps, he did not know it himself, but there were some pieces that didn't fit. For an example, the note – if Tachikawa really left a note, he would want someone to read it, and therefore lay it in a place where it wouldn't get damaged.

Something was wrong…

"Ne, sensei!" shouted Shuya suddenly, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Let's not talk about depressing stuff like this anymore!" He practically bounced in his seat. "Let's do something fun instead! Like a game or switching seats!"

Temporarily, she forgot all about the "suicide", and had to fight to hold back a laugh, when she saw the corner of the older man's mouth and his eyebrow twitch uncontrollably.

"Oh?" the teacher let out, throwing a half assed glare at the students.

For once, time flew quickly, as Shuya bounced around suggesting things that made Daisuku's face turn into grimaces Ichigo hadn't even known existed, while Kish and Ryo fought about the silliest things.

She didn't even notice how a certain dark-haired boy's face was twisted in a look of rage and displeasure. He didn't like this one bit.

His prey ignored him.

It was the end of her school day. Finally.

She had waited for it so many hours now. After that first class, everything else had seemed to go so slow.

But something was terribly wrong.

"Iiiiichigo-kuuun! A moment, pleeease?"

She groaned, and turned back to the classroom, where her teacher in Arts and Photography currently was standing, waving frantically with her hands.

"What is it?"

"Zakuro-sama called to say that you have a job offer, and she wants you to drop by sometime this afternoon." The woman looked at her throw a pair of big glasses.

Ichigo gulped. "Okay…" Job offer? Yeah, sure, but she was supposed to act like a guy! As long as she didn't need to get help from other people while dressing, that would be okay, but… still. Besides, she wouldn't me able to concentrate as long as the death case had been solved.

Maybe it was pure impulse, maybe it wasn't, but Ichigo had a sudden urge to know more about it… So she asked.

"Ne, sensei. Do you know anything about Tachikawa-sensei's death?"

"Eh? Ichigo-kun? … I do, but that's -"

"That's what? Listen, I know how the school wants to always produce new idols, but I can't work with Zakuro-san if I don't get this off my mind."

"Really? That would be terrible!"

Oh? Seemed like she hit a spot there.

"And you see, I really, really wanted this job… so…"

"Ah, of course! I'll do what I can!"

"Thank you!" Ichigo flashed her a bright smile.

"Hmm…I'm not too sure myself, but it seems like the only words on the note he left were 'I won't be a coward anymore. I'll face it', or something like that. "

"Ah, thank you…" He said he was a coward and that he'd face something? It still didn't fit. Did it mean that the teacher was going to face death? From what Ichigo knew, he never had a death wish, but it seemed he was afraid of something, or rather someone, in the class.

Then it clicked.

Masaya.

"Oh, it was nothing!" her Arts teacher chirped.

Suddenly it felt like the world was spinning around her. She was not only scared anymore – she was furious!

No matter what, she'd get that bastard, even if she died!

"Ah, Momomiya-san. Good that you came." Zakuro looked up from her paper works when the pink-haired teen entered. "Sit down." She made a gesture towards a rickety-looking wooden stool. Ichigo eyed it sceptically before doing so.

"Again, good that you came. Let's get straight to business."

Ichigo nodded.

"First of all, I know that you aren't a boy."

"Eh!" It came as a cold shower. After all that work…!

"For safety reasons, we're video-taping all the changing rooms. But rest assured, I was the only one who saw your tape, and it's gone now, even though we girls usually enjoy watching the tapes together." Here she blushed a little, but kept the professional air around her. "What they don't know won't hurt them", said she airily. Ichigo would have been highly amused if she only wasn't so shocked.

"…Then… are you going to tell others…?" she asked weakly.

"No. I don't know why you're dressing up as a guy, but I understand there's a reason behind it…" Zakuro told her with an almost soft voice. It was as if she let go of her cold business image for a few seconds.

"Thank you…"

"No problem. …About the job offer I sent you a message about. Shall I tell you more about it?"

"…Yes, please do so…" Ichigo nodded slowly, a bit hesitant.

"Okay. First of all, our agency is working with all kinds of things, involving models, but I guess you already knew that. Well, basically we received an offer yesterday about a new brand, selling mainly gothic Lolita and Dandy clothes, but also some other things, like hair accessories, jewellery and make-up. The model for the gothic Dandy is already fixed, but we need a female model too. That would be you."

"Me…? But-"

"Ara?" Zakuro looked amused. "Didn't you know that there are many cross-dressers in the model world? You of all should know."

"Err…"

"What I'm saying is that there's no need at all to worry about your class-mates. All they'll do is joke a bit more about you being a girl. They won't find out. So… will you accept?"

"How much is the pay?"

"For the basic job, you get 300 dollars. Then you'll get more depending on how much the brand is selling. Sounds like a fair deal?"

"Yeah. I'll do it."

"That's a relief. I couldn't think of anyone else. And your appearance is perfect for this. I'll introduce you to my colleagues tomorrow, okay?"

"Eh, yeah… Am I supposed to come as soon as school ends?"

"…Something like that."

"I'll be there."

Zakuro smiled wolfishly.

"By the way, it seems you totally outclassed my make-up artist."

Ichigo blushed. "Err… I don't… That is… I didn't mean to offend Miss Hippo- I mean…! Oh my God! I'm only making it sound worse, don't I?"

The dark-haired woman stared at her with an unreadable face, almost making Ichigo bang her head against Zakuro's desk in embarrassment. This was so not her! How could this person make her act so… clumsy?

"Miss… Hippo?"

If it was possible, Ichigo's face reddened even more. "Y-you see… she had this particularly big n-nose", she stuttered.

Zakuro cracked up. She laughed hysterically, banging her fists into the poor desk she was sitting at.

Some time later, when she finally calmed down, wiping away a few merry tears from the corner of her eyes, she said: "Sorry about that.. It's just that now that I think about it, she really resembles a hippo. It's a miracle anyone hasn't noticed before. Anyway, about that; don't worry. She's actually just a trainee. Had dreams of being a model, but she didn't want to change herself and she liked her appearances because they were just who she was. So she started working with make-up instead. You have no clue how excited she was after the shoot. She practically bounced up and down and made me promise you'd come here again even if you in some mystic way didn't get any job offers."

"… Eh?"

"Basically, she's in love with you already", stated Zakuro dryly. "But I must admit you made a pro job with your whole appearance. May I ask where you learned doing that?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I used to hang out with a lot of 'thugs' before I came here. Some years ago when I joined my first gang, the leader happened to be a pro performer and ballerina that took out her frustrations by hanging with the 'wrong people'. She taught me all she knew about make-up – you know all the stuff about how it could make you seem like an entirely new person, what suited different people and so on. She didn't exactly want to be recognized. But then she broke her leg and we never heard anything from her again."

"I see. You were a thug."

Ichigo started stammering again, trying to defend herself, but the older woman interrupted her.

"Hey, don't worry. It was just a joke." She smiled. "Besides I like you too much to throw you out because of something like that."

Suddenly it wasn't so bad to have someone to be clumsy around.

"But if you ever tell anyone you saw me laughing like that, I'll rip your guts out with my nails. Wouldn't want my image to be ruined now, would I."

To that, the teenager could only laugh. "It's a promise."

Zakuro smirked. "Okay, you're free to go."

It was evening.

On her way back, Ichigo had felt as light as air, happier than she had been in a long time. All matters concerning Masaya, weird behaviours and Tachikawa-sensei had been completely wiped off her mind. She felt a bit giddy, and completely content. Maybe, if all went well, she'd be able to quit this school, start ignoring her mother and get a decent place to work at.

Yes, she was happy.

So why did this have to happen?

Why was her room completely destroyed? Things were scattered all over the floor, furniture was seemingly thrown around, and nothing was where it should be. Even her bags from home had been turned upside down.

Staring at the wall in her room, where the wallpaper was ripped and dirty, she thought it had probably been too good to be true. In bleeding red letter, a message was written there.

"Do not forget.

You are my toy."

She was scared. She knew who had written it. But above all, she was angry.

That Masaya was a cruel, sadistic bastard. He played with people's minds, clawed them like a cat claws a mouse before eating it, playing with them for hours, days, weeks and even months. And then he killed them, to put even more people into suffering. Oh, she had seen that. She knew that look once she saw it. Because she herself had a bit of a sadistic streak in her, though not even close to Masaya's. And those icy eyes of his glinted with amusement every time someone got hurt.

Behind her, the door creaked. She whirled around, fists in the air, prepared for anything. Her eyes flashed furiously with hate. If it was anyone she didn't like now, then heaven help them. Even though it perhaps wasn't the smartest idea to pummel the first person that went through that door, she desperately needed to vent her frustration.

"Whoa, hey…!"

Almost disappointed, Ichigo lowered her hands. It was only Kish.

"You scared me, Ichigo-chan. No need to be so jumpy and- Hey! What the hell happened in here!"

Ichigo growled. "I don't really know, but I have a clue."

"… Then let's go and report it to the principal."

"Are you stupid? He'll probably think I'm doing it myself because of all the times I broke the door and window by throwing you and that other idiot out!" Kish gulped at her outburst.

"But what if it happens again?"

"If it happens again, I'll personally kill that bastard!"

"That bastard…?"

She quieted down as soon as she realized her slip.

"What would you do if I told you it was… Aoyama Masaya… that did all of this?" She was biting her lip.

Strangely enough, Kish didn't seem to think she was crazy when she asked this. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but for a small moment, a look of recognition flew over his features.

"I'll kill him!" he growled.

"The hell you will!"

"What the…? After all of this!"

"I'm just saying you're not going to be the one to kill him! I will."

"No, you won't! You just stay away from him!"

"No way. No way in hell! I'm going to do this myself!"

"Damn it, Ichigo! Don't you get it! He's dangerous!"

"So am I", said Ichigo coldly.

Kish flinched. "…Look, I'm sorry. But you don't know the guy…"

"I know enough."

"…Again, sorry… But I don't think you really understand, even though you probably know his personality and all that. I won' let you near him if I can help it…" he murmured.

"I don't think you know me enough to say something like that."

"Sorry… I just know that most people shouldn't ever have to come near him. I just don't want to see you hurt."

She sighed. "Yeah, yeah… Whatever. I don't promise anything though. Now, please scram. I need to sleep."

"You're not sleeping in here!" Kish half-shouted, utterly terrified.

"Oh, really?" she replied sarcastically. "Then where do you suggest I sleep, Einstein?"

"Not here! It's completely thrashed, and who knows what might happen if Aoyama decides to drop by!"

"Then where?"

"Um… You could sleep in my room. My roommate is away for about two weeks, visiting his grandmother." A faint blush coloured his cheeks.

"Dear God, that sounds even worse, you know." Ichigo glared at him.

"I didn't mean it like that, honestly!" He put his hands in the air, as if to defend himself. "I may be a sick perv, but I wouldn't ever use the opportunities I'd get just because of us two sleeping in the same room. Look, as long as we stay in that room I won't even try to touch you. Sounds fair?"

Ichigo nodded wearily. Kish could be really stubborn at times. And right now she was in no mood to deal with it. She was too mad, too tired and too hungry for that.

"I guess so."

"Yay!"

Ichigo frowned. She was getting a head ache.

"Let's go already. I really need some sleep."

At the rooftop of the grey school building that was Shibata High, a dark haired boy was scowling. He was clearly not pleased with turn of events. His prey still ignored him most of the time, and she was very hateful towards him. That she hated him pleased him much, but was she still scared of him? Yes, a little bit, but most of it had turned into fury as soon as that teacher died.

For some reason, ever since her first day he had been entranced with her, as she had an aura he could easily sense everywhere – not to mention that she had guts. It interested him how she hadn't gotten caught being a girl yet. But what intrigued him the most was the fact that he couldn't read her mind, not see her thoughts, her past or what she was feeling. With others it was so easy to just rip everything apart, then sew the pieces together again in the way he wanted them.

Well, there was another thing too. She was pretty. Prettier than most people he had seen, and even beautiful. Exotic. This made the hunt even more exciting.

But for now, none of it mattered. Why? Because he couldn't sense her anymore, that was why. She had entered her room, perfectly happy – which annoyed the hell out of him – and then it turned to white hot rage. And after that… Her presence simply vanished.

How?

Just how?

Masaya knew she had no knowledge of the powers he used, nor did she seem to have any of her own, which meant someone else was wetting their nose. And he hadn't noted any odd auras in the school. So either it had to be a master, someone he was too familiar with to notice, or an outsider.

He raked one hand through his hair, letting the wind blow his body cold. Silently, he levitated a notebook to his hands.

He'd have to write this down.

A five year old Ichigo frowned. She couldn't reach the jam on the shelf, because it was too high up. Even with a kitchen-chair to stand on, she was way too short.

But this was the perfect chance, since neither one o her parents were home. She was all alone, had been for a while now, and she really wanted to eat something sweet. She would not give up. But it was impossible, no matter how she tried.

Then, suddenly the jar seemed to fly towards her, and she caught it with a happy giggle. She was just about to open the lid, when it turned to some kind of black sand, and ran out through the spaces between her fingers.

Ichigo grew older, as the dark sand danced around her, forming a long corridor with dark grey walls and black doors. She realized she probably was a few weeks older than in reality, having a few new scars, but not feeling much different from before.

At the end of the corridor, there was a mirror, a mirror seemingly made in some kind of liquid that had the colour of lightening – electric blue. Its frame was made in steel, sculptured to look like thunderstorms and plants of the earth. In the corner of it sat a woman, who was playing on a flute, which sprouted small twigs and leaves and was connected to one of the lightening bolts.

It fascinated Ichigo, and she moved closer to it. Perhaps it was her imagination, but as she came closer, a faint humming was heard from the mirror, and the air got easier to breath.

But then she turned around. At the other end, where she had been before, was Masaya.

He didn't seem pleased. Slowly, he raised his hand, beckoning for her to come closer. But she didn't, and the dark haired boy scowled darkly, the air around him crackling with dark energy. He was just about to strike, when…

"Ichigo! Ichigo, wake up dammit! You're only dreaming!" she heard a vague voice say.

It was cold, like she was swimming in an iced sea. She whimpered silently, refusing to open her eyes. What had happened? She wanted to know more, wanted to know what was in that mirror, why Aoyama Masaya was there - and all in all what was happening.

Then there was a warm hand on her forehead, contrasting sharply with her cold skin.

"Ichigo", the voice demanded, clearer this time. "Open your eyes."

"I don't want to…" she whispered, annoyed.

Suddenly, she was swatted on the top of her head, and her eyes flew open in an angry glare.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?"

Kish looked worried for a moment, but then smirked victoriously. Somehow, though, the look of worry still lingered there, somewhere.

"You were having a nightmare", he stated.

"Oh."

"Aoyama was in it, wasn't he?"

Ichigo nodded slowly, scowling.

"And you do understand that he is trying to manipulate you, don't you?"

Again, she nodded.

"And that you probably should do everything exactly opposite of how he wants it?"

"…Yeah."

"And that he will get really pissed?"

She rolled her eyes.

"And that you're really sexy and that you want me in your pants right now?"

She glared her best death glare. "Harr harr. Nice try."

Kish shrugged. "Had to."

"Too bad you swore not to lay a finger on me while we're in this room, then." Ichigo smirked evilly. "You know, I could figure out so many ways to torture you in right now."

"…And?"

"And you can't do a thing about it."

"I never said anything about the outside though." He licked is dry lips. "I might just as well pounce on you as soon as you take a step out of here."

"Bugger." She pouted.

Suddenly he grew serious again. "But really. Stay away from him as much as you can. I'll ask Daisuku-sensei to switch our seats tomorrow."

"… Okay. …Look, I'll stay away as much as I can, but as much as I'd like to get some sleep right now, I'm really sweaty, and in bad need of a shower."

The green-haired boy chuckled, although he knew this was just an attempt to avoid talking about this particular topic.

"Right, go and wet yourself-"

"Do you have to say it like that?"

"And make sure you're clean enough for your liking, princess."

"Idiot."

"Go shower."

"If you say so."

Halfway through the door, she turned around slightly, just enough to show the boy a bit of her face. It was dark, so all that could be seen was a faint glimmer of her ruby eyes, and her mouth curving into a small smile.

"Thanks", she murmured softly.

And then she left.

Ryu could not believe his eyes. What was that pink-haired boy doing in Kish's room of all places? Kish's! And on top of it, he didn't even seem nearly as hostile towards him as before. From what he read in his expression, it seemed like he even liked him!

Horrifying flashes of imagination with Ichigo's smooth skin and that bastard Kish's smirking face passed though his mind, and made him feel sick. What if? No.

That boy had the right to do absolutely anything, and Ryu wasn't in the rightful position to tell him otherwise. If he was happy with some green-haired monkey, Ryu wouldn't lift a finger to separate them, because Ichigo deserved to be happy.

As soon as he thought that – once again with a mental picture he didn't want to see – the jealousy kicked in. He tried to squash it like an annoying bug, but the more he tried, the more it grew. He desperately needed a distraction.

And he got one, though not quite what he had in mind.

Ichigo.

Ichigo, newly emerged from the bathroom – why'd he need the bathroom in the middle of the night anyway? – Small droplets glistening in his now scarlet hair.

Again, that little 'what if?' came creeping into his thoughts.

Why would he need a shower after coming out of Kish's room? The only time that had happened before was… And he nearly gasped as he remembered. That was when Kish had a lover there.

Before he knew what he was doing, he stomped up to his current love interest, cornered him and put one hand on both sides of his pretty little head.

"What?" he heard Ichigo's almost feminine voice ask irritated.

"What exactly are you doing in that prick's room?" He couldn't keep himself from growling.

"That's none of your business."

"Tell me!"

"Nothing, actually, if you really must know."

Now he was being glared at. Great.

"Nothing? You say you did nothing in there!"

"Yes. What the hell is up with you anyway?"

"Nothing. Just nothing", he spat bitterly. At least the boy could be honest with him. But no, that wouldn't do. He couldn't be trusted with such things.

"I repeat: What the hell is up with you? What crawled up your arse and died? Nothing, my arse!" Ichigo hissed angrily.

"That's my line!"

"Wha-!"

"At least you can tell me when you've got a boyfriend!"

"Oh. So basically, you're just jealous."

"So what if I am? At least you could have -"

"Now, listen here! There's noth-"

"You could at least have told me you two were fucking!"

Ichigo growled furiously. "Now, like I said, listen -"

"But you know what? I just don't care anymore!" He grabbed a firm hold of the smaller boy's wrists, slamming them against the wall, wincing inwardly as he saw how easily they bruised. But the feeling of rage was far more dominant.

"Ryu!"

"I was going to let you have your happiness, but you wouldn't even tell me what was going on!"

"That's not-"

Suddenly he was just so tired of holding himself back. "Just shut up."

And then his dry lips crushed into Ichigo's softer pair.

It felt like heaven.

The pink-haired boy opened them just one tiny bit in surprise, but it was enough. Ryu slid his tongue in, exploring that wonderful mouth.

Softness.

Warmness.

Wetness.

It tasted faintly like strawberry-flavoured toothpaste, not the most erotic taste, mind you, but it tasted so much like Ichigo, exciting him to no end.

Still, there was one problem.

Ichigo was not kissing him fact, but was instead struggling to get free.

A/N: Yeah, I know. I suck. It probably would be wise not to expect a new chapter for a very long time… TT;;; I have a lot of stuff going on, like entrance exams, handling life, and my doctor says I shouldn't overexert myself.

Anyways, next chapter:

How will Ichigo react to Ryu's kiss?

Kish starts falling for her seriously.

Masaya being a prick as usual.

And… An unexpected meeting.

…

…

…Reviews make me happy. :D