Hehe, I decided to do a one-shot for Kish's Kitty's Competition, never entered one before but im sure I can pull off something decent. I just wrote a chapter for Neko Anima too -.- so my head hurts from the strain of writing something decent. However I will say this idea I think roots from some things I watched, Mr. and Mrs. Smith might be one of them.
Summery: What would you do if you found out your boss was put up on a hit list that requested your expertise specifically. Well, Ichigo's about to find out how much she doesn't know about her blond boss Ryou Shirogane and what he doesn't know about her.
I disclaim the Tokyo Mew Mew characters, the OCs and the plot is mine.
Rated T For Mild Violence and excessive swearing.
Also I'd like to thank Sakuuya for the wonderful beta job!
Enjoy and tell me what you think!
They all deserve to die.
Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett, tell you why.
Because in all of the whole human race
Mrs Lovett, there are two kinds of men and only two
There's the one staying put
And the one with his foot in the other one's face
Look at me, Mrs Lovett, look at you.
No we all deserve to die!
Even you Mrs. Lovett...even I!
Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief
For the rest of us death will be a relief
We all deserve to die!
Sung by Sweeney Todd - "Epiphany" - Movie Sound Track- Stephen Stondheim
A/N: Note this does not quite apply to the story I just like how it sounds
I might make a sister shot to this that would ensue an alternate ending
シャイニングブラックブレード (Translation: Shining Black Blades)
CRASH!
The ear shattering sound of glass breaking filled the room and the next few rooms over. "I have to WHAT!?" screeched a petite long hairs red head with dyed black tips. She stared at a computer screen incredulously chocolate almond shaped eyes wide with shock. She gaped at the person on the web video.
She completely ignored the expensive porcelain vase she had just sent flying against the wall. Continuing to stare at the person on the screen like he was insane. "What's the matter, Ichigo? Do you know this person, by chance?" the man asked. He had short red hair and brown eyes with a goatee for a mustache. She rubbed her temples feeling a migraine coming on, her friend was a technical genius but really, he had terrible memory.
"He's from my mew days you baka! Mou, Rai. I told you this a million times! And guess what! He's the one I am trying to avoid the most!"
"Yea and...?" Her left eye brow twitched in agitation. Sometimes Rai made her look like the genius, and to be honest it was quite frustrating.
"So let me make sure I heard you right: I have to kill Ryou Shirogane? Have you gone daft!? That bastard's the very reason I have such unnatural reflexes! He's also the reason I have these" she hissed much like a cat while pointing at the furry, black ears at the top of her head, which were currently twitching like mad as they always did when she's angry. Her long elegant black cat tail was whipping back and forth quickly. "Let me remind you I haven't had human hearing since I was 15 because of him!"
He shrugged "Then you should thank him before you kill him." She glared at Rai with a menacing expression which made him sweat. "I'll fax you the coordinates and some other info on the objective." Before she could say anything, he hung up and the small window disappeared.
A forlorn expression overtook her face and she muttered to herself much like a person in an asylum.
"I have to kill Ryou fucking Shirogane, this day just can't get any worse." Suddenly thunder and rain started outside. She slammed her fist on the desk which cracked under the pressure. "God, kill me now" she muttered.
She never really believed in jinxes, but at the rate this day was going she might be under one. Just then the power went out and her computer began running on emergency power. She threw her hands up in exasperation. "You gotta be shitting me!" as she did this, the printer, which doubled as her fax machine printed out her 'target info'.
She snatched the sheets of the print tray and looked at them.
Name: Ryou Shirogane
Race: Hybrid (Iriomote Wildcat/Human)
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Birth Date: Unknown
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Aquamarine Blue
Animal Appendages: Dark grey cat ears, light grey tail with a kink at the end, which is tipped dark grey.
The rest was a description on his appearance as a human and some other none essential information, but that was not what caught her eye. It was the additional info that had her, once again, gaping in shock.
Additional Info:
Code Name: Lucky Tail
Assassination Rank: Ex-assassination heir
Info: Not much is known about Shirogane, only that he was once supposed to take over as leader of the Guild of Assassins, but refused to do a mission and abruptly disappeared. That was about 4 years ago. He was named Lucky Tail because on several occasions his tail would snatch a projectile right out of the air no matter the speed. Supposedly a genius with an IQ over 180, Shirogane is one of the original animal hybrids, and the creator of the hybrid technology.
Weapon: Unknown
Her hands were shaking and she looked like she was about to cry. Not quite understanding why she sat down on her soft couch, still holding the papers.
She really had to do this didn't she? She never wanted to kill Ryou.
Anyone but Ryou.
She always felt a strange attraction to him, ever since she was a mew. Of course she ignored it as she was dating Masaya. She felt a tinge of sadness when she thought of him. He had died in a car accident in London after she went back to assist the mews with the Crusaders.
But his death just meant that they were never meant to be. Of course his death was also the reason she had been avoiding Ryou, because of that undeniable want, no, need to be his. She didn't understand it at all.
Her entire being; body, mind, and soul craves for what is considered her forbidden fruit. Forbidden because with the way he treated her when she was younger made it clear did not return the feeling.
She hadn't seen him since she was 15, 5 years ago. He had a break through with an advanced formula of the Iriomote Wildcat DNA. He had tested it on himself and said it was a successful experiment. He offered to give her the formula which she had accepted to help the other mews by being better in battle. However it had a side-effect neither had foreseen. Their ears and tails had become permanent a week after the formula had taken affect.
Not only that, but their senses were elevated to an inhuman level; only touch remained unchanged. So she could see night as clear as day now. She disappeared fast after that, because that was also about the time Masaya died. He had been her shield for her craving and now that he was gone she had no shield. So she had run away. It was only 2 years later, about a year after Ryou's betrayal to the Guild, apparently, when she had become a full fledged assassin.
So Ryou had chosen the path of the Assassin before she had? Not only that, but he was supposed to be Assassin Lord, leader of the Guild. But why did he refuse the mission? What could it be that would make him refuse such a high position? He was also an original hybrid, the first in fact. The Assassins guild has been trying to get a hold of it for about 3 years now. It made people into super humans.
So maybe that's why Ryou wasn't easy to find? He was hiding the technology that could make the Assassin's Guild too hard to control. "The government was barely able to control them as it was." she murmured aloud to herself.
She tossed the info into the trash. The large glass door that led to her porch had water running down it like a waterfall. The rain was heavy and the thunder was loud, vibrating through the dark and cold house like a drum.
She left the room never once noticing the being in the darkest corner of the room. Only glowing blue eyes were visible like a pair of cat eyes.
The shadow smirked and blinked when she left. "Somebody is upset" he muttered very quietly, knowing Ichigo's hearing. He winced when he looked at his bleeding hand, he had been very close when that damn vase shattered.
He had to resist a hiss of annoyance at Ichigo's reckless behavior but the smirk came back; she was reckless because of him. He stepped out in front the glass door just as lightning flashed and his blond hair was illuminated for a moment.
He combed a tan hand through his hair in frustration. This was going to be harder than he thought. The kill order was a major set back, that was for damn sure. Now he'd have to disarm her and hold her down when he talk to her.
That brought a smile to his lips. He'd get to be near his Strawberry then. But he had read through info and new this would not be easy. Then again, anything involving that beautiful black neko was always a pain in the ass.
Of course he loved a good challenge. She always made his day before she left, unintentionally giving him a challenge, a challenge to tease the sweet strawberry.
Her reasons for leaving...he understood them...he felt the craving too. Sometimes when she was around he just had this almost uncontrollable urge to just slam her up against a wall and kiss her senseless. Of course he understood it better though.
The craving had been thoroughly explained to him one day by an old she-cat. She had said that one day if he met someone and just want to love them till they die, then they are your Soulmate.
Those bonds were rare in this day an' age though, cats were really starting to become reliant on humans and losing what separates them from humans, strong instincts. The bond was strictly instinct, hence why it was so hard to suppress.
The strange thing about this bond though was that it seems to make you know the other being like you know yourself in the bond and the reasons for some of their actions. He didn't really understand that part himself but he knew that it had something to do with know why she left.
That's what brought him to his next conclusion, the Assassin's Guild spy network was getting pretty sad. He wasn't hiding the Hybrid Technology, no he was hiding the only advanced formula, the Iriomote Wildcat formula, the most powerful formula he had ever made.
He made it only for Ichigo and himself. It was selfish, he knew that, but nobody but the two of them should ever use it. It was something only they had in common and he intended to keep it that way.
He also made sure to destroy any attempts at making the special DNA formula. He knew they'd never make it without the full understanding of hybrids but it was best to just destroy the attempts before someone made a freak monster.
He didn't know why he just watched her again like he had at the cafe. (She had never found out about that had she?) But it brought him some peace of mind for some reason.
But today he wasn't here to observe; he was here to talk. He glanced at his reflection in the glass door for a moment it was slightly distorted from the rain washing down on the window.
Blond hair, aquamarine eyes, tan skin. He was muscular of course not, though overly so. He wore a black leather body suit, a grey cloak, and a silver collar around his neck.
His hands were completely bare save for the cat claws he had later on acquired soon after Ichigo left. These weren't ordinary though, they could grow and shorten at will.
He turned away and crept towards the door, trying to sense Ichigo out to make sure it wasn't he who got ambushed. An idea struck him and he smirked, he was going to have some fun with this trick.
He went into the kitchen knowing Ichigo would hear the running water from the sink when he filled a glass. He did so, then walked out to the front room where there was a coffee table and a sofa. he sat at the couch and took a sip of water.
Ichigo was looking at him from around the corner of the hall; he could feel it. With that, Ryou Shirogane waited for her to become distracted, like he predicted she would be.
Was she really seeing who she thought she was seeing? It had to be the sleep deprivation, there was no way he would turn up right after she got the kill order. She turned away to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
Then when she turned back he was gone. So she was hallucinating, but to double-check she looked around the room.
"So... whats up?" came an amused, deep voice from behind her.
A sensation went through her spine and her instinctive alarm went off. She whipped around her black blade in hand only to have her weapon deflected by another black blade. Sparks flew and it lit both their faces up for a moment. Amused glowing blue eyes stared down at her.
"You certainly know how to welcome old friends" he said in his rich, deep-symphony of a voice. "I wonder what happened to the guys who dated you? Did you lop their heads off?" He wore an amused smirk now; he was over powering her and pushing her weapon down.
Her other hand shot up with her other black poniard dagger. He swiftly had a hold of her wrist and squeezed hard to make her drop the dagger. She winced momentarily and the dagger dropped out of her despondent hand.
While this was happening he had overpowered her right hand and her dagger was thrown away across the room stabbing into the wall. He dropped the dagger and grabbed a hold of her free wrist and pulled her hands behind her back.
"Calm down, Strawberry. I'm not here to fight." While saying this, he noticed her tail trying to get to one of the two daggers next to them. His tail quickly wrapped around hers, effectively stopping the movement.
He used his foot to kick both daggers away. Then he pulled her towards him. He let go of her wrists and she found herself slammed into his very solid chest. She was in shock for a moment to realize he was hugging her and her hands were free to do as she wished.
His right hand was holding her upper back while, his left was holding the small of her back. The shock going through her system was electrifying. She could hear his heartbeat in a steady rhythm as her head was turned to the side on his chest.
Her left ear twitched as his warm breath cascaded lightly over it. Without thinking she returned the hug, though she shuddered, trying to keep her breathing steady.
So caught up in the moment she didn't notice that he had disarmed her of all her obvious weapons. She too disarmed him though, both so caught up in the moment to notice the others actions.
They let go at the same time holding the others weapons. Both were smirking. One was malicious, the other mischievous.
"How cute, we both work the same way." he said looking down at her, though there was a very faint near-imperceptible pink tinge on his cheeks. Ichigo shook her head.
"Not quite, I'm not called Mistress of Blades for nothing." with that sh opened her jaws very wide much like a cat when yawning stuck her hand down her throat and started pulling out another black poniard. But that was not the end of it, no there were two more in her throat.She momentarily choked as she pulled them out. Saliva dripped off the blades.
Ryou looked disgusted but fascinated. "I think I might be sick, how do you do that?" he asked curiously. She giggled a little her tail calmly swishing side to side.
"I took several years of sword swallowing. Last time I took those out of my throat was about 8 months ago, I had them crafted so the acid in my stomach couldn't deteriorate them, that's not all though." Under her black armor on the bottom of her forearm slipped out a fourth dagger.
Ryou was about to speak but she held her hand up to wait. She bent backwards a little and out of her inner thighs came two shorts swords, and 4 stiletto daggers from both sides of her calves in her shoes were letter openers and a jack knife that was a part of her shoe. "Ok, I'm done." There was a pile of weapons around her now and Ryou was openly gaping, but slowly a smirk came to his face and he chuckled.
"You most definitely deserve the title of Mistress of Blades, but I have you outclassed when it comes to poisons" She raised an elegant eyebrow.
"Really now, and may I ask then why your name is Lucky Tail?" Ryou's ear twitched.
"That was my old name when I first became an assassin. The spy network is failing pretty badly. My new name is Overlord Viper, a little too much of a name in my opinion." with that he took his black cloak off which revealed many different poisons. "I use snake venom in my poisons to make them more potent, because I know what neutralizes them into antidotes and what makes them stronger."
"Ahh yes, rub your IQ in my face why don'chya?" his smirk widened.
"I'm not trying to." His expression became serious. "Strawberry, I came here to warn you and explain something to you. I already know the order to kill me was issued. Don't follow it. They are trying to get a hold of the Iriomote Formula. They sent you after me because they know our history. They want to test you, see if you can really follow any order and kill no matter the target."
"And how do you know this?" she asked quietly eyes closed, tail swishing in agitation. She was not quite sure what to believe.
"Because...they did the same thing to me four years ago." Her eyes shot open.
"Who...?" she trailed off, and he knew she meant who did he have to kill.
"Ichigo Momomiya." Her eyes widened and she frowned.
"As you can see, since I am an outcast and you're still alive, I did not take the order. Strawberry, the guild has become corrupt."
"What about Rai...?" Ryou smiled then, knowing she would like the answer.
"Your pal Rai, he doesn't work for the guild. He works for me, as an under cover agent, to watch over you, and make sure the guild stays under control."
"Watch over me...? What the hell are you up to, Ryou?" she asked, her expression perplexed.
"As I said, the guild is corrupt. I'm going to tear it down and rebuild it. One of the oldest codes of the guild was to never forsake loved ones or friends. That code dates back over 5000 years. The guild hasn't been following it, and I intend to fix that. Rai had informed me of the kill order a few days ago. That is why I am here."
"Oh...listen, Ryou, I'm sorry I didn't say good bye I--" But Ryou held his hand up for silence.
"I know your reasons, don't worry about it. Besides it wouldn't make any difference." He took a few steps forward, leaned down and breathed in her ear. "The craving pulls me to you whether you like it or not." The way he spoke sent shudders of pleasure down her spine.
"H--how do you know about that?" she stuttered. Another small smile graced his lips.
"It's not actually called a craving, its called a Soul Bond. It's purely instinctual and its such a strong bond that I know exactly what makes you tick, what makes you happy, or fills you with pleasure. The Soul Bond is a pull to your soul mate it comes with our enhanced instincts. I am sorry for teasing you so much but I was in denial for awhile...And it was actually kinda cute watching you get angry. When I wasn't in denile, I knew I couldn't take you away from your boyfriend." He closed his eyes to hide the pain that was doubtlessly showing in them.
"Soul Bond...? But what does it make you want to do...?" she was cautious, being wise to not make him aggressive in one of his weak moments.
"I don't think I want to describe it; rather I think I will show you." with that Ichigo found herself sandwiched between the wall and Ryou's very hard chest. Soft lips descended quickly upon her own. It felt like volts of lightning were running rampant in her body.
He was already prying her mouth apart when she realized that she was being kissed. She was really out if it, wasn't she? But it didn't matter because soon she was in pure pleasure and bliss. She gave up with little struggle and Ryou's tongue explored every part of her mouth.
It was about two and half minutes later Ryou released her both of them gasping for air. Ryou stepped back giving her more room to breath and smirked down at her. "That was a craving I have been wanting to settle for years, to kiss you senseless. I seem to have succeeded, my oishii(tasty) Strawberry."
She glared at him and muttered "Vanilla-tasting bastard." he chuckled in response. He knelt down to her level since he was about a foot taller.
"So, Strawberry, will you help me destroy the guild and rebuild it? Or do I have to completely disorient you with another kiss?"
"W--what?" she spluttered. Suddenly she was purring as he scratched her ears.
"You're really easy to calm down now you know that?"
"S--shut up...rrrrghrrrr...'S not my f--fault you can...rrrrghrrrr...h--hit the r--right spots...rrrrrghrrrrr" Was the stuttered answer between the purrs. He shrugged before replying.
"It comes with being the protector of the bond. I protect you and you keep me sane." She weakly pulled his hands away from her ears.
"We have a deal, but you aren't disappearing on me." she growled out in warning. He smiled and gave her a light kiss on the lips.
"I have no intention to, now, I believe you are sleep-deprived if the bags under your eyes are any indication, time for you to go to sleep." before he picked her up bridal style and carried her off to her bed.
Ichigo was almost asleep but she went into the bathroom and changed into her night gown. Ryou was already in his black silk pajama bottoms when she came out. She fell upon the bed and felt Ryou covering her up.
He then lay down next to her, pulled her towards him and whispered in her ear.
"Good night my baka Strawberry"
"Not a baka" came the age old sleepy reply. Moments later she was in her first deep slumber in a long time, safe in Ryou's arms.
He nuzzled her hair in a catmoment before falling asleep, a content smile on his face.
Woot! Not a lot of violence but I did try on the romantic action. This could be like a prequel to another story or something.
Once again I thank Sakuuya