Author's note: Hey. Well, like I said in the summary, this one-shot is in response to Forever Mesmerised's challenge to write something to do with Ryou/Ichigo. I hope you enjoy it!
Momomiya Ichigo, sixteen-year-old high school student, stared at the scenery in front of her in shock, puzzlement and awe; just where the hell was she? And how the hell did she get here? Wherever it was, it was far from normal. Hell, it was beautiful, yes... beyond beautiful... but everything around her just looked so... unnatural. She wondered if this was what it was like to be on that hallucinogen stuff. What was it called? SDL? No, that wasn't it. LDS? No. LSD? Yeah, that was the one.
Everything around her... the sky, the grass, the flowers, the trees, the apples on the trees, the waterfall, the river that the waterfall cascaded into... was rainbow-coloured. She wondered if, maybe, she was going insane... or if someone had slipped her some drugs, while she hadn't been looking... or maybe if she'd somehow entered a parallel universe of some sort.
There was also the fact that the area around her was completely deserted, leaving her all alone in a strange multi-coloured world. Just where the hell was everybody? She strained her memory to try and remember how she might have ended up here, but she only drew a blank. She couldn't remember a thing from before being here, which rather worried her.
"Where am I?" she asked out loud.
"Nya!" a voice answered.
She jumped in fright and quickly spun around to see who on Earth had said that. What she saw blinking innocently up at her was a black cat... with a bell and ribbon on its tail...
"Oh, my God! What the-?" She pointed at the cat. "You're... me! In cat form!"
The cat tilted its head at her. "(Yes, I am)," it replied in a string of 'nya' sounds.
Ichigo violently shook her head, even more confused than before and suddenly starting to believe the drug theory. "Who are you? And where the heck am I?"
The cat blinked. "(As you just said, I am you... or, rather, your subconscious)."
Ichigo settled down and stared curiously at the cat. "My cat form is my subconscious?"
The cat nodded. "(That's right. Most humans don't have a physical subconscious, but you're special... being a Mew Mew and all)."
This perked Ichigo's interest. "You mean the others each have a subconscious too?"
The cat waved its tail back and forth. "(Oh, yes. Minto's is a bird, Retasu's is a porpoise, Purin-chan's is a monkey and Zakuro-san's is a wolf)."
"Wow." Ichigo paused. "So... what do I call you? Do you have a name?"
"(No, not really... but you can call me Koneko, if you like)."
"Okay, Koneko-chan..." Ichigo winced slightly at the familiar nickname, which had been invented for her some years ago by Kisshu, but chose not to argue against it. "So... what did you mean when you said you're my subconscious? Do you mean to say I'm in my own head?" The idea sounded ludicrous to her, but she was a transforming cat-girl who fired blasts of energy from a fluffy heart, so anything was possible, really.
"(Indeed you are, Ichigo-chan)." It looked around the area. "(This whole area is a realm hidden deep within your mind)."
Ichigo was stupefied. "Really? Then how did I get here?"
Koneko smiled sadly. "(There is only one way for a person to be able to enter the realm of their subconscious... and that is through unconsciousness)."
Ichigo thought about that for a moment. "So, I'm asleep?"
"(No... you fell into a coma)."
Ichigo's heart skipped a beat in horror and she stared at Koneko with wide eyes. "C-Coma?" Koneko nodded. "But... no... I can't be... Wha-? How? When?"
"(You were fighting as a Mew Mew, remember? Someone had gotten possessed by one of those aliens that drain you of your life force and you were fighting to save her." This sounded awfully familiar, now that Ichigo thought about it. "But you hadn't counted on the fact that those aliens could transform their host. She transformed into a giant demonic creature and knocked you into a wall)." Koneko paused. "(You hit the wall head-first at a great speed)."
Ichigo blinked, feeling gobsmacked, but suddenly remembering these events. "Oh yeah... I remember now..."
"Ichigo-san?" a distant voice called out.
Ichigo snapped to attention and looked frantically around her. "Huh?"
"Ichigo-san... I'm not sure if you can hear me, but..."
Ichigo looked up at the sky, desperate to find whoever it was that was speaking, and was startled to find that one of the clouds had shaped itself into Retasu's smiling face.
"Please wake up, Ichigo-onee-chan!" another voice called out. "I'll... I'll even start saying 'na no da' again! For old time's sake!"
One of the clouds next to the Retasu cloud suddenly shaped itself into Purin's beaming face.
Ichigo gasped, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"(Ah)," Koneko said, prompting her to look back down at the cat, "(what you are looking at is the Sky of Friendship. The sky, being a constant and ever-present force, symbolises the strength of friendship and how it can sometimes shape people's entire worlds)."
"Wow..."
"Come on, Ichigo, you need to wake up," another voice said.
Ichigo looked back up at the sky and saw that a cloud next to the Purin cloud had shaped itself into Minto's smirking face.
"She's right," another voice added, "we're a team, after all. We can't do this without all of us here."
A cloud next to the Minto cloud shaped itself into Zakuro's expressionless face.
Ichigo felt herself getting tearful at the wonderful sounds of their voices, but shook her head, wishing to block them out and not feel any more longing to be back in the real world with them; it was far too painful. Their voices promptly disappeared, but their faces on the clouds remained.
She sniffled and sat down on the grass, wondering what the heck to do next.
Ichigo didn't have any idea how much time had passed, but she had a feeling that it had been quite a while. She and Koneko had been making conversation to pass the time, but, since she'd eventually decided that she'd had enough of that, she'd taken to staring at her reflection in the river, which was what she doing now.
Honestly, she had no idea how her reflection was able to be so clear on rainbow-coloured water, but she figured there was no point fighting it; this was her mind, after all. Dipping her finger into the river, she watched as the colours rippled outwards, distorting her reflection's face. For a moment, she merely watched it before the surface was crystal clear again, flowing gently down to who knew where. She was just about to repeat the process when she heard another voice.
"Oh, Ichigo!" There was a sudden sobbing noise.
"Hmm?" Ichigo looked up at the sky again, but noticed that nothing was different up there. This puzzled her slightly.
"Ichigo!" another voice called out frantically. "Sweetheart! My baby!"
Ichigo cocked her head to the side. "Who was that?" she asked.
Koneko jumped onto her lap. "(Look to the Tree of Family and see for yourself)." It pointed a black paw behind her.
Turning around in her kneeling position on the grass, Ichigo saw a tree not too far away. Her eyes widened when she saw that two of the apples on the tree had shaped themselves into the smiling faces of her parents, Sakura and Shintaro.
"Mom... Dad..." She felt herself tearing up again, so she shook her head to rid herself of the voices and the pain.
"(The tree symbolises how grounded a person is to their family and how grounded they are to them. Wherever the person goes, whatever they do, the roots of their family are forever embedded in the ground)."
Ichigo stared at the apples on the tree for a moment, then painfully turned away, missing the real world more than she could put into words.
A while later, Ichigo was pulling up multi-coloured grass out of a mixture of sheer boredom and irritation; when the hell could she get out of this place? She wanted to go back home, damn it!
"Ichigo?" a voice asked quietly.
Ichigo looked up, suddenly annoyed at whoever it was. "Ugh, not another one!" She pulled her knees up to her chest and cuddled them like a giant teddy bear. "I can't deal with this many people coming to see me... I can't talk to them, damn it! I just have to sit here and endure it while they... while they..." Tears sprang to her eyes again. "While they talk to my unconscious body on a hospital bed."
"I wanted to say I'm sorry."
"Hmm?" She glanced up at the sky, curious about what this person was saying.
"It... I shouldn't have..." The voice paused. "I knew the situation was dangerous, but I sent you out anyway... I'm sorry." It paused again. "I... don't think I could forgive myself if anything happened to you..."
Ichigo felt her heart ache; whoever this person was, she remembered that she felt a lot of affection for him. So much so that she felt desperate to reach out to him and let him know that she was alright. Tears ran down her face.
She didn't block out this person's voice, for some reason eager to hear him continue talking, but he didn't say another word. Instead, another person interrupted.
"Ichigo?" it asked. "I called Aoyama-kun and told him about what happened. He'll be here as soon as he can... okay?"
Ichigo watched as a cloud next to the Zakuro cloud shaped itself into Keiichirou's smiling face.
"Ichigo!" another voice chimed. "Get better soon!"
A cloud next to the Keiichirou cloud shaped itself into Masha's cute little face.
"(Ichigo-chan)?" Koneko asked. Ichigo looked down at the black cat. "(Have you looked behind you)?"
"Huh?"
She turned her body around and the first thing she saw, with some astonishment, were the reflections of two male faces on the surface of the river; one was Ryou and the other was Masaya.
Koneko walked within her line of vision. "(This is the River of Love. The river, being beautiful and fast-flowing, symbolises the beauty and passion of love)."
Ichigo blinked and stared down at the two faces. "You mean... I love these two guys?"
"(Of course you do... although you're having trouble admitting it about one of them. Touch them and see)."
"Um... okay." She reached over and dipped her finger into Masaya's face and, suddenly, a scene flashed into her mind.
"Please don't go, Masaya-kun!" Ichigo cried, tears running down her face. "Is it me? It's me, isn't it? Don't go! I can be better! I promise!"
Masaya smiled sadly. "Ichigo-chan," he replied, taking her face in his hands, "it isn't you. I love you and I love our relationship. I would never want to break up with you."
"Then don't leave! Stay here!"
"Believe me, I want to, but..."
"But what?"
Masaya sighed. "Well, you know how much my parents want me to go to this specific school. They say I'll waste my potential if I go anywhere else."
Ichigo shook her head. "No! There's plenty of good schools in Japan! Why go to America?"
"I'm sorry, Ichigo-chan." He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips before pulling away. "I love you. Remember that."
"But-!"
"And..." He bowed his head sadly. "Since long-distance relationships don't tend to work... I wouldn't hate you if you found someone else while I was gone."
"Don't say that, Masaya-kun! You're the only guy for me! The only one!"
He gave another sad smile. "Thank you, Ichigo-chan. I feel the same way about you."
Ichigo felt herself sobbing as the memory faded away; now she remembered. Her boyfriend, the wonderful and perfect Aoyama Masaya, had left for America a couple of years ago, to attend a private high school over there. God, she'd hated his parents for that.
After calming herself down and rubbing away the tears, she reached down and dipped her finger into Ryou's face, desperately hoping that nothing tragic had happened with him too; she didn't fancy sobbing a second time in one day... if it even was the same day in this place.
Ichigo broke apart from her kiss with Ryou, feeling lighter than air and happier than she'd remembered feeling in a long time.
"Enjoy that, Ichigo?" Ryou asked with a smirk.
She playfully tapped him on the forehead with the palm of her hand and giggled. "Dummy," she replied.
He chuckled and flicked her nose. "Who's a dummy?"
She stuck her tongue out at him. God, she loved how playful the environment was around Ryou. She remembered a time long since past when the air was always awkward between them, especially when he'd kiss her without warning... but, now, even though they were still boss and employee, their relationship had very much changed.
She still wasn't quite sure what it was that she felt around him, but she knew that it was pretty strong. Whenever he talked to another girl, even Retasu or Zakuro, she'd feel overprotective and jealous... yet, at the same time, ready to hand him over in resignation if he decided to leave her for either of them. She did care about his happiness, after all.
It had all started a couple of years ago, after Masaya had left for America; she'd been feeling depressed and Ryou had been there for her. Everyone else had been too, but he'd been especially nice... treating her to presents and trips out to restaurants and theme parks. Over time, she'd felt herself growing more and more attached to him, first seeing him as a big brother, then as a... well... she wasn't quite sure. She didn't know if she was willing to even imagine the possibility of him as a love interest.
Everything had suddenly gotten a lot more complicated one day, when he'd kissed her. She'd been rather flustered... and would have turned into a cat, had it not been for the intense training that she'd undertaken a while previously to keep the reaction under control. Asking for a reason why he'd done it, she'd suspected a stupid and cocky response... but all he'd said to her was, "Because I wanted to."
Since then, the two of them had kissed a lot more times and Ichigo loved it. She loved being with a guy who appreciated everything she was and desired her as much as he did. Not only that, but he really cared about her and had been there for her every step of the way. It had taken her a while to figure out that teasing her was just his way of telling her how much he liked her, but, now, she couldn't get enough of it.
Ichigo was staring off into space, rather overwhelmed by the vast amount of emotions that she'd just had poured into her. Tears were clinging to the corners of her eyes, her heart was hammering against her ribcage and a large blush had appeared on her cheeks.
"(Do you see now)?" Koneko asked. "(You love both of these boys with all of your heart and soul, but you have been denying the love you felt for the blonde boy... Ryou... Alto... your boss)."
"... Ryou-kun..." She held a hand to her heart, feeling it pounding against her palm, and felt shocked beyond belief. "I... I love him... I love him..."
Koneko nodded. "(Yes, you do)."
Ichigo felt awful; she finally realised that she'd fallen in love with Ryou... but what about Masaya? They'd never officially broken up, even though he'd said that it was okay for her to find another guy. She hadn't actually meant to take him up on that! Ryou was just supposed to be a pick-me-up... sort of like a substitute boyfriend while he real boyfriend was away! Tears ran down her face as she cried out her sorrow.
"Masaya-kun... I'm so sorry..." She paused to take a deep breath. "I'm so sorryyyyy!"
"(Ichigo-chan)..."
Ichigo continued to sob. "I love you, Masaya-kun... I really do... but... but..." She choked for a moment, unable to believe what she was about to say. "I'm... in love with Ryou-kun!" She sniffled. "I love you, Ryou-kun!"
Ichigo's eyelids suddenly fluttered open and she wondered where the hell she was. The first thing she noticed was how dry her throat was and how damn tired she was. Where was she? What had happened? She couldn't remember a thing.
"Ichigo?" a voice said, sounding anxious. It was then that the face of a boy with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes appeared above her. "Ichigo!"
She blinked a couple of times, trying to rid her eyes of the gunk that was trying to keep them closed, but she soon recognised the boy and smiled. "Hey, Ryou-kun..." she replied in a wheezy voice before coughing.
"Hold on, I'll get you some water!" His face disappeared and, for a few minutes, she drowsily began to wonder if he'd left her. However, his face soon appeared again and he pressed a glass of water to her mouth. "Here. Drink slowly, okay?"
"Mmm." That was all she could give as a reply, far too thirsty to bother with anything else.
As he gave her the water in sips, she gratefully gulped it down and, once she was finished, he put the glass to one side and lightly smirked at her.
"It just won't do to be sleeping on the job, Ichigo."
"Ha-ha..."
His smirk settled into a warm smile. "Glad to see you're awake. We were kinda worried we'd lost you there for a while."
She chuckled. "Nah... not getting rid of me that easily..."
"Good to hear."
Ichigo paused, debating the issue on her mind. She then gently shook her head to clear all negative thoughts and decided to throw caution to the wind. "Hey, Ryou-kun?"
"Yeah?"
"Whatever you feel towards me... however this turns out... I just want you to know-"
He placed two fingers over her mouth, smirking lightly. "You really shouldn't talk when you've just come out of a coma. Save your strength, Ichigo."
She scowled half-heartedly at him, too tired to do otherwise, then licked his fingers. He pulled them back, looking mildly disgusted. She had to smirk at that.
"Look, I need to say this. Whatever happens after I speak these words... whatever you may feel towards me... it's okay with me. I just want you to know that I love you."
He stared at her, his eyes widening in what was clearly disbelief. Ichigo felt a slight pang of disappointment, but also a strange sense of relief that she'd told him. Whatever happened now was entirely up to him... and she'd be okay with whatever he decided.
She was pleasantly surprised when he smiled a genuine smile at her, then leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. Feeling immensely happy, she tried to return the kiss as best she could. He pulled away far too soon for her liking.
He chuckled, his face red, which she found incredibly amusing. "I... I love you too." He paused. "Wow. I never thought I'd ever say something so sappy."
She laughed, feeling happier and more light-hearted than she'd ever felt in her life; wow. Ryou loved her back and had said something uncharacteristically mushy to her. Life was good.
It was a while of chatting, kissing and chatting some more later when Ichigo and her new official boyfriend got some unexpected company.
"Ichigo-chan?" a voice called out.
She turned to face the doorway and saw Masaya standing there. For a moment, he looked worried, but that soon dissolved into pure happiness before he trotted over to her bedside.
"Masaya-kun..." Ichigo said, feeling a mixture of happiness and guilt upon seeing him.
"You're okay! That's great!" He beamed at her. "Akasaka-san called me this morning. It's taken me forever to get here."
"Thank you for coming, Masaya-kun."
"My parents didn't want me to, but, this time, they couldn't convince me otherwise." Ichigo stared down at her blanket, unable to look him in the eyes. "I'm so sorry that I left you when I did... really I am... but they wanted to move and I had no choice but to go with them... This time, though, I was allowed to come back here, since it's only for a visit."
"Masaya-kun?" She looked up at him, sorrow etched into her heart. "Thank you for coming... really... it means a lot to me..." She paused, feeling awkward. "But, now that you're here, there's something you should know..."
He gave her a sad smile. "You found someone else after all, didn't you?" She nodded silently. He sighed. "I had a feeling this would happen. It's not that I thought you were unfaithful or anything... I just understand how you must have been feeling, since I've been away for so long."
"We can still be friends, right?"
He nodded, his smile brightening slightly. "Of course." He paused. "So, who's the lucky guy?"
Ichigo blushed, unsure what he'd think of her new boyfriend. "Um..." She couldn't resist a sidelong glance at Ryou, who was sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Ah." Masaya chuckled. "You're her boss at Cafe Mew Mew, right? I always had a strange suspicion that you liked Ichigo-chan."
Ryou's face reddened very slightly, but he kept a stoic expression on his face. "Yeah, well..." he replied, but chose not to continue.
"Anyway..." This caught Ichigo's attention, so she focused back on Masaya. "Since you've told me this, I guess I should tell you about Kollman Hannah... or Hannah Kollman, since they put the given name first over there."
"Who's she?" Ichigo asked.
"A girl in my school back in New York. I really like her and she seems to like me." He smiled bashfully. "I wanted to see what your situation back here was before I did anything."
Ichigo giggled. "Do you want to start something with her?"
Masaya blushed. "That would be nice."
"Well, then, go ahead! Knock 'em dead, Masaya-kun!"
She chuckled and the two boys in the room chuckled with her. Masaya then sat down in the nearby chair while Ryou linked his hand with hers. Ichigo beamed; yep, life really was good.
The End