Preview: Trailing Tears II: Rain Music

Can you feel the love that's in the air?

Can you see the love that's everywhere?

Now I know why my heart is blue,

I'd feel fine fine fine for you

--Feel Fine

Ichigo lay curled up in bed on a peaceful morning. Nothing had happened . . . yet. She opened her eyes slightly to make sure no one was there and looked at her clock, mentally chiding herself for turning the alarm on. Rain began to gently tap the window pane as Ichigo closed her hazel eyes and rolled over while pulling the covers up over her head. Her bed felt more like a nest than a bed. The bed's spaciousness had slowly been eaten up by pillows and blankets of varying sizes until there was only a small space in the center for Ichigo herself. And it was a highly comfortable center, surrounded by pillows and covered in blankets. Of course, Ryou had contributed to "the nest." His pillow was the one that Ichigo hugged close to her chest as she slept and dreamt. It was the one she held now. It was unimginably soft, but firm so it wouldn't be smothered. It was red and carried Ryou's scent. Ichigo found it highly calming at night when she was going to sleep.

There was a tapping on the door and Ichigo burrowed deeper into her pillows, trying to ignore the sound. If you ignore something long enough, it goes away. Or at least, that was how she figured it. The knocking persisted and Ichigo clutched Ryou's pillow tighter and pulled the covers higher over her head. She still felt a dull ache in her heart for Kish. When he'd left earth, it'd seemed like part of her heart had been ripped away, but Ryou was quickly filling up the void and soon Ichigo figured she wouldn't remember Kish at all. Not that she needed to with him being gone and all. The droplets hit the window harder and faster, loudly tapping on the glass. The tapping turned into knocking and Ichigo contrived that she would say deathly still when the person came in and hope they thought she was part of the nest on her bed. The door opened and Ichigo's heart pounded as footsteps were muffled across the floor from her door to her bed.

The footsteps stopped by the bedside her bed. She knew the stepper was trying to decipher whether or not she was actually in her bed. She felt fingers poke the covers and find out she was there. It was Ryou. She was sure of it. Why was he here so early? Ichigo evened out her breathing as best she could when she felt fingers wrapping around the edge of the covers and pulling them back over her head. She felt his hands brush hair away from her face and was inwardly touched. She felt a chill of excitement go up her spine as she felt his breath on her face. She fought to keep her expression stoic, to keep up the illusion that she was asleep. Ichigo felt her heart melt as lips gently pressed against her lips. She felt the rush of air as he lifted his head back. Ichigo waited a few seconds then let out a small moan as she slowly lifted her arms and arched her back in a cat stretch. Ichigo rubbed her eyes before opening them.

Ichigo's heart did a little flippy thing as she launched herself at Ryou, giving him a great big hug. The image froze and turned blue and staticy. It shrank until it was only a projected image coming from a small black box. A dark figure approached it. "This is the one?" He asked. Keeping to the shadows, another figure replied, "Yes, that is their leader, the strongest of the five. You must take her down before the others." "She doesn't look very formidable," The first commented. "Looks can be very decieving," the second replied. The first ran a black gloved hand through the image, touching Ichigo's form.