I base my fics on the manga, which is a whole lot different (not necessarily better) than the anime.

Warning: Tokyo Mew Mew is not for the weak hearted… especially for those of you that have a fear of vibrant colors, sparkles, and ridiculous amounts of kawaii-ness.

…..

Ichigo checked her outfit for a third time, turning from side to side in front of her long mirror. She wondered if she was over dressed, or if she should switch her burgundy jacket for the brown suede one; she also wondered why she cared so much. 'I'm only doing this to make Kish mad enough to talk to me again,' she reminded herself mentally. Glancing at the clock, she frowned at her indecisiveness. With an exasperated sigh, she threw open her closet doors and grabbed her other jacket, and, since she was there, exchanged her cute mini for a pair of dark blue jeans. She was just going through the pile of shoes on her floor again when the doorbell rang. She heard her mother's excited blabbering before her name made its way to her room.

"Ichigo! Someone's here for you!" Her mother practically sang. Cursing, Ichigo grabbed a pair of boots, shoved them on her feet and hurled herself down the stairs. It wasn't until she was at the bottom, right besides Masaya, that she realized she forgot something.

"Ichigo, you look gr—" Masaya began chivalrously.

"Crap!" Ichigo yelped and ran up the stairs again. When she made it back to her room, she rummaged around her messy dresser, knocking things over all the while until finally grasping what she desired. With a triumphant "Ha!" she took the hair ribbons and hurriedly tied her red hair up in characteristic pigtails, looking in the mirror as she did so. The window on the opposite wall reflected a dark night, the moon's pale light casting distinct shadows along the ground.

Ichigo finished the final tie and turned around to check if each pigtail was even, and then she saw it; a looming figure outside her window, shrouded in the darkest shadows of night. Another thing: her room was on the second floor, and all of the tall trees were on the other side of the house. Ichigo covered the short distance between her and the window in a cat like leap and fumbled with the window's locks, keeping an eye on the mysterious shadow all the while. Its outline didn't waver in the slightest, as if the silhouette was a cardboard cut out. The night air entered her room in an unexpected rush of wind, and Ichigo was forced to close her eyes against it before it stopped a short time later. When she opened her eyes again, the figure was gone and she was left torn in several different directions. She fell on her knees to the floor, for her legs were too weak to hold her, and stared at that empty space that had once held a shape defiant to the laws of gravity. Was she really going insane? Glimpsing haunting images of a man that was supposedly dead?

"Kish?" she said mournfully, and the name brought forth a series of headaches so fierce and unexpected that Ichigo only had time to bite out a quiet cry. She pressed both her hands on either side of her aching head and closed her eyes, willing the pain to subside. To her relief, it melted away to a dull throbbing as abruptly as it had started.

"Ichigo?" Her mother was concerned now.

"Coming," Ichigo called back cheerfully, the pain in her head completely gone. She looked around where she was currently kneeled in front of her open window, confused. She stood up and closed it with a slam. 'Odd,' She thought, 'I could've sworn I had shut that…'

Her mother called for her from the bottom of the stairs, worry apparent in her voice. Ichigo ran down the stairs again. She nodded to Masaya with a smile, ignoring his questioning gaze, and said goodbye to her parents. With a flourish the two of them stepped out into the crisp night air and made their way to Masaya's car. Ichigo didn't know diddily squat about cars, but she could tell that his was small, green and--knowing Masaya, probably gas efficient. He made his way ahead of her and opened the door to the passenger's side.

"My lady," He said in a thick, corny accent, trying to hide his grin.

"Why, thank you, kind sir," Ichigo played along with a smile of her own and sat herself down. He shut the door and jogged (yes, jogged) around to the driver's seat. They both stole a glance at each other at the same time while putting on their seat belts, then, both quickly looked away before glancing again to see the other's reaction. This continued until they both tried to stifle their giggles simultaneously, and finally let lose with their pent up laughter. Ichigo's breath caught, and she snorted really loud, resulting in another barrage of laughs.

The rest of the night was relatively the same, filled with laughter and smooth conversations. Masaya took her to a movie and a quaint café hidden down an alley afterwards. The movie was a suspense/thriller about a good cop going bad and then back to good to solve a family murder case. To her surprise, Ichigo actually enjoyed it, much to the relief of Masaya. Everything was going perfect, the time flying by in the midst of their fun. It wasn't until the very end of their date when time seemed to go by in slow motion.

Masaya parked parallel in front of her house; the car's low rumbling louder then ever in the uncomfortable silence that now sat between them. Ichigo was about to say something, anything, to break it, but Masaya was already on her side of the car, pulling open the door for her. Well, being the spaz she was, Ichigo attempted to climb out with the seat belt still wrapped securely around her waist. With a huff, Ichigo unbuckled the contraption and practically fell out of the car in her rush to get out of it. Stifling a laugh, Masaya offered a hand and they both made their way up to her front porch. Ichigo played doom's day music in her head, trying not to notice how warm Masaya's hand was.

'I wasn't planning for this,' Ichigo thought in a panic, thinking of the classic "kiss on the front stoop" cliché shown in all the most romantic mangas. 'I don't like Masaya like that--I mean, I did but that was a long time ago, but he's so boring, and his hand is so big and warm… No! Kish, think of Kish,' A pain zapped at Ichigo's brain, making her wince. 'The hell?' She thought, and tried to think of her alien friend. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't picture his face, and now she and Masaya had come to a stop and he was going on about what a great time he had. Ichigo couldn't remember if she said anything back. She did have a good time and had more fun than she had counted on. But she couldn't focus on anything else now, for a warm hand was under her chin, gently tilting her head up, and those soft brown eyes were so close, and his breath tickled her cheek, and all Ichigo could do was close her eyes and accept the timid kiss that now met her lips.

…..

The blare of an alarm tore through the silent room, invoking a groan from the pile of blankets on the bed. Ichigo's arm swung over the covers like an elephant's trunk and landed on the snooze button. She rose out of the bed with a glower on her face that would make even the most rotten zombie plead mercy. Following the burnt smell of homemade coffee, she dragged her feet down the stairs to face the day.

"Good morning, Sweetie!" The sing song voice of her mother greeted her. Ichigo tried to smile and respond with a "Good morning, mother," but all that she could manage was a grunt as she plopped herself at the table.

"Are you going jogging again today? Usually you're up before the sun,"

"Huh?" Ichigo inquired, accepting the cup of coffee handed to her gratefully. The hot liquid coated her mouth and warmed her belly. She felt like she could breath again.

"Jogging," her mother repeated, "I asked if you were going to go today," Her mother was at the stove now, cooking up breakfast.

Ichigo thought about the question. She remembered the horrendous work out schedule she had set up for herself ever since she left the hospital, but her inspiration for such a routine was a mystery to her now. She was already fit and didn't need extra training, so why would she force herself to do it in the first place? Walking to and from school, taking the neighbor's dog out, jogging on the weekends… all of it had a purpose, but for the life of her Ichigo couldn't think of it.

"Honey, you don't look so well," Her mother said, feeling her forehead, "Maybe you should sleep in. It is the weekend, after all," Ichigo nodded and went back to her room in a daze. She closed the door behind her and rested against the wood, staring at the new oriental carpet her parents had gotten her when she came back from the hospital. Her mind felt foggy as she tried to remember the significance of that area of her floor. 'Blood…lot's of blood,'

A sharp needle of pain jabbed inside her head, shocking Ichigo and causing her knees to collapse to the floor. She grasped her head and sucked in a sharp breath. The pain receded, like a wave on the sand, and with it her train of thought. Ichigo opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times, clearing the blur from her eyes.

"Why am I crying?" She asked aloud, looking at her wet fingertips. She let out a small laugh of hysteria as more tears dropped from her eyes. She took the front of her shirt and wiped her eyes, but the tears still ran down her cheeks at an alarming rate. "What's going on?" She whispered, worried. She hugged her knees to her chest and buried her head, her pajama pants soaking up the tears. Her pathetic state confused her, and with her confusion came an unexplainable ache in her heart. All Ichigo could do was submit to her tears and cry for someone only her heart could remember.

…..

TBC