Me: I wasn't sure about putting this up at first, but I told a friend I would, so here it is. My third story^^ I know, another KxI, but I have a very strong attachment to the pairing...that and I have a slight obsession with carnvals, which is where this idea sprouted from. I hope you like it! There'll probably be a few OC's, but they won't be a big part of the story, just there so it won't be like, a midget sized carnival.
The chapters just from Kish's POV to Ichigo's, but it'll tell you who's POV it is at the top of the chapter.
Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew.
Kish's POV
I sat in the rocking chair near my mom's bed. It was getting worse, the pneumonia was starting to take over, she couldn't even get out of bed. She was dying and I knew it, but I didn't want to admit it.
"Kish…" She said, her voice raspy and quiet, "Come here."
I got up, slowly and hesitantly, and walked over to her, "What is it? Can I get you something? Water?"
She patted the bed, "Sit…sit here." I sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Now Kish, I know we've never had much, but you'll be fine." Mom said.
"What are you talking about? Why are you talking like you're going to die?" I said.
"You and I…both know that I-" She cut off, coughing.
"Don't say it." I said, "Mom, don't talk like that."
"Kish…take care of her…" Huh?
"What- Who? Take care of who?" I asked. She sank into the bed deeper, her eyes closing, her breath wheezing and becoming shallow.
"I…chi…go…" And then she was gone.
"Mom? Mom!" I grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently. She couldn't be gone, she was my mom! She was all I had! "Mom, wake up! Who's Ichigo? Mom!"
But it was useless, she was gone. My eyes started to tear up. I hated crying, but right now I didn't care, I bent over and cried into the side of Mom's neck. What was I supposed to do without her?
One week later…
What happened?
Where am I?
"Mom…" I mumbled into a soft pillow and then heard a giggle. It's a cute giggle, but where did it come from? And why did I say "mom"? I had blocked out the memories of when she died, it hurt to much to think about it, so I could barely remember it now. Where was I? The last thing I remember was being in some park and….and then what happened? There was this guy, a tall guy with purple hair, he looked grumpy but I don't remember why he was there. Something about Tokyo and meow or something.
"Is he okay?"
"What's his name, na no da?"
"Where'd it come from?" Someone pokes my shoulder roughly.
"He is not an it, Tart."
"Ugh…" I try to say something but I'm to dehydrated and my throat is so dry it hurts. Is that why I passed out in the park? Wait…I did pass out, right? Or did tall, dark, and purple do something to me? I am now very suspicious of him, though I have no idea who he is.
"He's waking up, na no da!"
"Alright, alright, all of you out now." I hear a sweet sounding voice say and then feet, several feet, moving around. A door closes and then someone sits on the edge of the bed next to me. The blanket over me is so warm and soft, I burrow into the sheets. They smell like strawberries. This has got to be the best place I've ever slept in. Much better than the homeless shelters, I don't even care where I am anymore. Someone brushes my hair out of my face.
"Hey, wake up, you need to drink something, okay?" Drink something? Yes! I manage to slowly flip myself over on my back, though the person -who I'm assuming is a girl- helped, I'm pretty weak from the dehydration. I don't want to open my eyes so I don't, I just lay there. Wasn't there something about a drink? Almost like she read my mind, a cool glass is put to my lips and a hand slips behind my head, tilting it up so I can drink properly without spilling it or gagging. As soon as the water reaches my mouth, I drink it, taking it greedily. God, I'm so thirsty. I sit up a little, using my elbow for support and take the glass from the girl, drinking the water until the glass is empty.
"You were pretty thirsty, huh?"
I open my eyes slowly, lazily, and see…wow, she's…beautiful. She has short, pink hair up in pigtails and big, babyish pink eyes that are framed by the longest eyelashes I've ever seen. She's wearing a tight, black t-shirt that has a pink outlining of a carousel on it and one of those tutu-like miniskirts, it's black with a pink bow on the front.
She smiles at me and I wipe my mouth on the sleeve of my shirt, staring at her like an idiot. I nod slowly to answer her question.
She takes the glass from me and puts it on the bedside table. "I figured. You're lucky Pai found you, you know, who knows what could have happened if he hadn't."
"Who's Pai?" My throat is still a little dry, so my voice comes out sounding raspy. I sit up and clear my throat.
"He's the head of the roustabouts." She answers. So he didn't do something to me. Good, I'd have a thing or two to say if he had knocked me out or drugged me.
"Oh…" I'm still confused, though. Rousta-what's? "Where am I?"
"Your with the Tokyo Mew Mew carnival," She answers.
The…carnival? I look around the room. It's pretty small, the walls are natural wood and covered in old, vintage carnival posters. The Bearded Lady, The Devil's Daggers, The Mystifying Magician, The Crazy Contortionist, and a bunch more. The bed I'm on is against the wall farthest from the door and just big enough to fit one person, next to it is a bureau, made of dark wood, and there's layers of black lace hanging as a curtain to hide the bed and bureau from the rest of the room, I can't see past it but I think there's boxes or something behind it.
"So…a carnival, huh?" I ask.
"Yup, and I'm the magician," The girl said, "Well, that and the contortionist. My name's Ichigo."
I look at her. Why is that name so familiar? Whatever, I doubt it really matters, "You do both?" I ask.
"Both!" She confirms, with a smile, kind of like she's a little proud of herself, but it's cute. I don't blame her, I mean, I would be too if I could do magic tricks and contortion. All I know how to do is a few card tricks, but that'd be amateur stuff for her.
"What's your name?" Ichigo asks.
"Uh, Kish," I answer.
She studies me for a moment, "Are you a runaway?"
"No." I answer.
She suddenly seems weary of me, "Criminal?"
"No." I answer. What would I have done?
"Then what?" She asks.
"I just…" I look at her. She's clean and neatly dressed, it makes me feel filthy and like I should be dressed better. I haven't even been able to take a decent shower in days. "I don't have any parents, I've been living on the streets and I guess I just…hadn't gotten anything to drink in a while."
"Where are you from?" She asks.
"Meguro?" I say like it should've been obvious. We are in Meguro…right?
"Wow, you've traveled pretty far, huh?" Ichigo says.
I furrow my brow, confused, "Where are we?"
"Shibuya, in the same park you passed out in." Ichigo says. "You didn't know you crossed the Meguro city boarder?"
I shake my head and run my hands through my hair, "No. I had just been going wherever, I wasn't paying much attention to where."
She cocks her head to the side cutely, "When did your parents um…pass on?"
"My dad died in a war when I was to young to know him," I answer, "And my mom…it was a week ago, of pneumonia."
She gives me a sympathetic look, "I'm so sorry to hear that." She reaches over and fixes my hair a little, "You look like you haven't had a bath in days, though."
I run my hands over my hair, ducking my head, and I guess she takes it as a sign to back off. I don't want her to touch me when my hair is all messy and I probably have dirt all over me. At least I don't smell, I think. It makes me feel kind of…low, I guess, with her all pretty and clean and I'm all covered in dirt with dirty clothes. I feel like a hobo, especially when I remember I have a hole in the sleeve of my shirt, and the shirt itself is at least two sizes to big.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed, "Thanks for taking care of me and all, but you probably want me gone now, huh?" I try to stand but at the same time Ichigo tries to say something and the door opens, so I flop back down onto the bed. It's a woman, with long purple hair and purple eyes, she's wearing a black dress that has long sleeves, they flare out wide at the bottom, and it has a hood, it's really deep and long, ending at a point. It hangs down her back and off her shoulders.
"Zakuro!" Ichigo says, "This is-"
"Kish, the boy Pai found." Zakuro says, staring at me in a knowing sort of way. I guess word gets around quick here. "I am Zakuro Fujiwara, the Tokyo Mew Mew's fortune teller."
"She's a really good one, too!" Ichigo says.
Zakuro mumbles something under her breath but all I can make out is "image" and "his".
I raise an eyebrow at her, "Excuse me?" I glance at Ichigo, she looks confused but doesn't say anything.
"Kish, I would like to read your cards." Zakuro says. I look at Ichigo with a raised eyebrow.
"To make sure you won't be any trouble." Ichigo answers with a shrug.
"Oh, uh…sorry, I don't have any cards." I say. I don't remember what happened to the deck I had, and what does she mean by "read" them?
Ichigo rolls her eyes and Zakuro pulls a deck of tarot cards out of seemingly nowhere. Oh, that's what.
"Let me rephrase myself." Zakuro says, "I would like to give you a card reading."
"What, like…see my future?" I chuckle. Is she joking? "But that's all crap, right? It doesn't actually work."
She looks up at me, her eyes boring into mine. Creepy. "It is not "crap", Kisshu Matsuue," How did she…? "What I see, hear, and feel is all very real."
Ichigo bends over a little and whispers to me, "I think you made her mad."
"Now, as I said, I would like to read your cards." Zakuro says.
I nod slowly, "Okay." She's a scary person.
She walks up to me, though it looks more like she's gliding, and holds the tarot cards out to me, "Shuffle."
Me: I'm not to sure about how this first chapter came out, but I think it's okay. You won't get to find out most of the characters' roles in the carnival until about...the next chapter. And there is a reason as to why Kish's mom knew about Ichigo, and why Zakuro knew exactly who Kish was, but none of it will be discovered until later. There might be other parings, I'm not sure yet, probably PaixRetasu, obviously TartxPurin, and I kind of want to put RyouxMinto, but...no one really seems to like that pairing...
Kish: She's leaving it up to the readers.
Me: Yup! So Read and Review please!!
