"Momomiya Ichigo, I sentence you to permanent exile from the manor!"
"But, Father! Please, be merciful! If I hadn't done what I had, the woman would have DIED! I couldn't have that, not after what happened to Agatha." Bowing her head in shame and sorrow, a single tear flowing freely from the corner of her watery chocolate eyes, she knew that her fate was inevitable.
"Step forward now, and return your name. You are no longer worthy of it, not after the retched crime you committed!"
"But, Father! Please, I beg of you-" she was immediately silenced by the man's booming, low voice as he roared.
"You are no longer of the Momomiya line! Return your name and take up your burden! We cannot afford to have such a black sheep within our family. What you did was a disgrace to us all!"
"The man I killed, Giorgio Von Ceres, was the very man who did that retched thing to Agatha! It was only fair that I kill him for it, for taking Agatha from us." Raising her formerly bowed head; her fiery eyes met her father's fierce, cold ones.
"That does not matter now! He had already been punished for his crime seven years before now! You, on the other hand, tracked him down and murdered him in cold blood, all because of your selfish, disgusting feelings! Agatha is dead, Ichigo, end of story!" as his fist met with the desk, his eyes narrowed dangerously, the entire room became silent, down to even the very last seagull outside the large, floor length window.
"The only thing that was done about his crime was you giving him four years in prison and community service! After that, he went out and spent YOUR money on booze and cheap whores! No one ever saw those women again, father! What I did was for the good of us ALL! I am not selfish in the least, and have used my OWN power to achieve a suitable justice for that man!" seething angrily, her own eyes matching her father's, she stood to her feet, from where she'd knelt before his throne, her fists balled at her sides, her teeth clenched tightly.
"Be GONE from this kingdom now! You do not belong here, and, as long as I live, you will never return here!" rendering his final decision, her ex-father then bluntly dismissed her, allowing the guards to carry her away to the outer gates, where she would fend for herself, no provisions to speak of.
"You may just eat those words of yours, old man! You'll come to see that what I did was help! Have you totally forgotten your eldest daughter! The one whom you loved and cherished?! How could you simply sit by and give such a blunt verdict to him then?" her anger then turned back into sorrow as the sight of the man she once knew as her father faded from her blurred sight.
"Father, will you not listen then?"
…
"Ichigo… Ichigo, wake up." That voice, sweet, calm. It was somehow familiar to me as I lay sprawled across the grass, protected by the shade of the weeping willow above me.
As my eyes peeked open, my left, soon followed by my right, I realized just whose voice was soothing me so.
"Stranger." I regarded the figure bluntly as I sat up, wobbly at first, due to lack of energy and of food, but soon shook it off, meeting the man's concerned, golden eyes as they examined me.
"You really shouldn't be so cold to the one who just saved your life, you know." His concern quickly turning into amusement, he'd had the nerve to reach out and run a single hand across my face, across my cheek, lifting my chin to his eye level.
"Do you want to, possibly, lose that hand, stranger? Because, believe me, that can be quickly arranged." I growled dangerously, narrowing my eyes as I scooted back, attempting to stand.
However, that was more easily said than done. For, as I went to stand, I quickly found myself being pulled back down by the strange man, falling even closer to him than what I'd originally woken up to.
"My, you're pretty stubborn, you know." Now I was annoyed. As I sat there, glaring at him, I took note of how nonchalantly he held my wrist, that cocky smirk always in place across his smug little face.
It was the kind of look that really annoyed me, to the point where I wanted to kick him. Though, I postponed that thought for later, too hungry to do much.
"So what if I am? What do you care anyways, mister?" tugging my hand free of his grasp, I crossed my legs before me, straight out, one ankle over the other, my hands supporting me as I leaned.
"It wasn't meant as a disgrace, Kitty. Actually, it's really cute, the way you're so willful and stubborn." There it went, that one tiny vein at the side of my head, throbbing uncontrollably as he stared at me, his eyes dancing in amusement.
"Kitty…? I don't mean to be rude, mister, but it really does sound like you're trying to pick a fight with me. Do you want to die?" judging by the calm expression on his features, it was apparent that he wasn't taking me seriously.
"You act like a cat is all. What, with your protective attitude, so cold to everyone else… Tell me, are you traveling alone, Kitty?" thankfully I'd been prepared for what came next, and it gave me some kind of odd satisfaction as I watched him fall to the ground, the imprint of my fist on his cheek.
"My name's Ichigo, so call my 'Kitty' one more time and you'll find yourself in an even worse position than this." Judging by the shock that was apparent within his shining gold eyes, it was pretty easy to tell I'd caught him off guard.
"Oh, ok, Neko, I understand!" I suppose it was by God's good grace that he'd been sitting down when he had, for my boot had just gone and left its mark on the other side of his face.
"I'm outa here. I don't need such an annoyance so early on." It was good that my endurance was strong, allowing me to escape without murder as I turned and left the idiot, who was still seated on the grass.
"Wait!" he called out suddenly, causing me to stop, yet not turn and face him.
So, as I fought to suppress the ever growing vein on my forehead, I managed to grit my teeth and glare at him from the corner of my eye.
"What?" I knew my words were pure dry ice, as I had meant it to be as we locked gazes.
"Well, now that I know YOUR name, I wanted to tell you mine!" grinning brightly, from ear to ear, he folded his legs beneath him, his eyes dancing eagerly.
"Sorry, but I don't necessarily NEED to know your name, so I just won't ask."
"That's why I'm TELLING you my name, Neko!"
"Let me rephrase that then, I didn't ASK for your name, so please don't GIVE me your name! Ok?" I was fairly certain I'd made it quite clear for him. However, that didn't seem to be the case as he continued on talking anyways, his cocky tone indicating he was either desperate for attention, or was just too dense to realize I'd just given him two souvenirs of our meeting.
"Well, if you're who I THINK you are, then yeah, you might need to know who I am."
Now I was angry. So, spinning swiftly around, I glared fully down upon him, willing that cocky little grin off of his lips.
Though, even THAT did nothing to remove it.
"What do you know about my life, mister?!"
"Well, for one, you're a former Momomiya, right? Second, you took out the killer of your sister. That same man killed many of my country's women, prostitutes and non-prostitutes alike."
"So, what's it to you who I am? Are you going to laugh at me too then, mister? Go ahead; I've taken worse from the old man in town." I growled, my fists clenched tightly at my sides.
"No, actually, it's the exact opposite. You see, while your family may think quite low of you, my country has viewed you as a hero, working for a greater good, for peace. If you're willing, I can take you in, in return for your service as a personal guard." I watched angrily as he shrugged lightly, leaning back, supporting his weight as I'd done moments ago.
"Bye." With that, I turned and proceeded to walk. I was almost gone when I'd decided to turn around, in order to confirm the sound of footsteps behind me.
However, no one was there, all was silent. Though, as I glanced from side to side, I had a sneaking suspicion that something was breathing on my neck.
I was ready as I turned, my fist raised and my eyes narrowed.
Don't you just hate it when they expect your next move and intercept it, turning it against you?
Yeah, that's exactly what happened at this point in time.
"Such a feisty little Neko, with a lot of spunk too!" he'd caught my wrist before I had the chance to make contact with his cheek. He'd proceeded to pull it backwards, behind him, thus pulling my INTO him.
So, there I lay, all of my weight against his firm chest as his one hand held my wrist, the other firmly in place around my waist.
"Let go…" I muttered, my face buried in his chest, his chin resting comfortably atop my head.
"And, if I choose not to, Neko?" from where I leaned, I could just FEEL the energy of his cocky little smirk as it proceeded to spread further across his face.
"Fine then, mister, WHAT's your name? Tell me and get it over with so that I can get out of here and away from you." I groaned wearily, fighting desperately against the comfortable feel of his chest under my hands and face. It'd been days since I'd truly felt warm, let alone had any real human interaction while I'd been traveling through the mountainous terrain, away from my former home.
"Kish, Takashiro Kisshu. You can just call me Kish though, Neko-Chan! And, in return, I'll call you 'Kitty'!" too bad I was so worn out, or else I'd seriously go all out in tearing him to shreds.
"Now that you've so eagerly told me your name, can I leave now?"
"No offense, Kitty, but you just don't look like you'd survive much longer around here alone. I know! Come with me, and I'll give you a nice, warm meal!" about to protest the offer, I went to pull away from his grasp, only to jump slightly when he began to calmly caress my head, pulling it down to rest upon his broad, reliable shoulder.
"Kish, I really just need to get out of here is all, really! I'm in no sort of position to repay your hospitality."
"Yes you can, Neko! Once you're up to par and settled in, you can be my personal guard! The way you kick and punch, anyone would think twice before approaching me!"
"Before I agree to anything, may I ask, WHY do you not want to be approached?"
"Well, you see, there are these insistent town girls that won't leave me be, so I just figured you could help me!"
"Sorry, no can do. You're on your own there, bud. I'm just going to take my chances out here instead. Heck, I might even make it to the next town by tomorrow afternoon!" finally pushing away from him, I proceeded to walk on, unwilling to look back at him as I went.
"Ok then, I'll come with you!"