Chapter 4- Karaoke Night, Not A Delight
Herooo!! Here's the 4th installment of Kissed by an Angel or Two! It is one of the longer chapters in this story!!
Disclaimer: I do not own TMM, Kinomi, or any of the songs mentioned in this particular chapter.
I awoke abruptly the next morning. I don't know why, it was probably my panther instincts. I looked over my shoulder to see what time it was.
6:30 in the morning which meant I had 30 minutes to get to work. Brilliant. I looked back over to see if the gray cat was still here. He wasn't. Shoot, he was cute! Oh well…
I vaulted off my bed and threw on an elbow-length black shirt and an overall-dress. "Happy Birthday, Bleuberri," purred Mica and Obsidian in unison. I smiled back at them as I tugged on my boots and grabbed my portable cd player.
"Bye, guys!" I said over my shoulder as I sprinted out to the main hallway. I reached into my pocket and took out my single silver key to my house. I hadn't been paying attention to where I was going and ran strait into Ryou.
"What are you doing here?" I said as I untangled myself from a large fern beside my door.
"I was just passing by," said Ryou, who was stuffing a paper into his back pocket. He was in a black tank-thing with the two buckle arm band thing around his upper arms and long jean pants with the slit down the sides and buckle things at the top. He looks… good. "And I was wondering if you would like to walk to the café with me," He continued after handing me my key, which I had dropped.
"Why?"
"If you want to walk by yourself, fine then," scoffed Ryou, shrugging.
"Fine." I said, turning and locking my door. I turned to observe him as he sized me up. Probably to see if I was much in a fight. I don't know why he would bother walking with me anyway. I stuffed my hand in my pockets and plodded down the sidewalk. Ryou jogged up to my side and kept my pace.
After I got tired of just silence and flipped on my cd player to a random song. It was the Metallica version of 'Carol of the Bells'. Ryou looked at me sideways and asked "You like Metallica?"
"Yeah. Do you?"
"Yeah."
"What's your favorite of theirs?"
"Carol of the Bells, hence what I'm playing."
"Me too."
We were almost to the café, in the front lawn of it to be exact. Ryou and I sped up a bit as we neared it, but we amazingly kept one another's pace. Ryou's aura brightened a bit when he realized I was keeping up with him. Eh? His aura had been a bit of a darkish blue and now it was like… sky blue. Interesting… and he had a grayish ring on the outer rings of blue, like the mews. I had figured out why they had that extra ring on the outside of their auras, because they had the extra genes in their spirit. (Everybody gets something from a happening that adds to their aura rings) Why dose Ryou have the extra ring… he's not a mew… or is he? That's a disturbing thought.
I noticed his wrist for the first time. The left wrist had a bracelet on it. It was a black leather band with an engraved charm on it. Before I could contemplate that factor, I had a rare dizzy spell. I stumbled and tripped on a pebble (YES, a pebble!!).
"You're…," said Ryou, as I had fallen into his arms, "lighter than you look," he continued as I looked up at him and blushed.
I withdrew from Ryou and stumbled a bit again, everything swimming in front of my eyes. "Aww… is my kitten feeling sick?" said a familiar voice behind me, "I can help there." And then I was lifted off my feet, flying through the air, in Kish's arms.
He landed on the roof of the café, me still in his arms. "Hey, kitten," Kish practically purred in my ear.
I wriggled out of his arms and turned to face him. He was smirking. And he had me in a vice grip. My heart rate rose sharply. Then he kissed me. You read it! He. Kissed. Me. I pulled back and Kish laughed softly. "You look surprised." He said, fingering his lips, "You must have liked it."
My face must have looked confused. "Liked my kiss, that is." He continued, stroking my cheek with a long finger. You try to kill me, and then you kiss me? I looked over my shoulder at Ryou. His face was frozen, but his aura was now red with hatred. Why is he looking at Kish like that? He only kissed me. Holy crow! He kissed me! There was a thunderous THUD and Ryou was buffeted by a wind. It was a small group of mammoth sized birds. "Oh, I almost forgot," said Kish with a small laugh, "I brought some friends, my kitten. Go, Carma Aviari!"
The bird things, as one, dive-bombed toward Ryou. "NOOOOO!" I screeched and, without thinking, flew off the roof. I turned a flip shouting "Mew Mew Bleuberri! Metamorphosis!"
A flash of icy light and I landed on my feet as a mew. "Bleuberri Vochal!" I shouted and the rod-thing appeared in my right hand. "Bleuberri Vochal Shield!"
A dome of icy light with a black laced pattern appeared over Ryou and I. Ryou had been knocked to the ground in the wind torment. "Are you ok?"
"Well… I've been knocked to the ground and almost knocked unconscious. Yeah, I'm great, Bleuberri." He said sarcastically. What's with the sarcasm?
"Stay down." I said as I pointed the Vochal skyward.
"Couldn't think of anything else to do," said Ryou. (He'd had the wind knocked out of him too)
"Ah, shut up. Bleuberri Vochal Sonicboom!" I shouted.
Waves burst from the weapon and combined with the shield to create a super-powerful attack. The Carma Aviari all vanished, leaving behind a flock of frightened looking sparrows and jelly squids. The blue puffball came out of an open window and ate up the jelly squids again. "You surprise me, my Kitten," said Kish, landing beside me.
I turned and found him literally inches from me. I felt myself blush as he looked me strait on the eyes. He hooked a finger under my chin and lifted my face slightly up towards his again. I could see it in his eyes again; he was going to kiss me. "We'll see each other soon, my Kitten." He said softly, his pepperminty breath flowing across my face. I felt a soul in anger and withdrew in time as Ryou, of all people, flung a well-aimed punch to Kish's head. Kish flew through the air and hit the café wall, hard. "Ryou!" I said as I ran to Kish.
"I'm ok. See you later," said Kish, getting up with my help and teleporting away.
"Why'd you do that you jack?" I said, rounding on Ryou as he walked to me.
"I care for you." He said over his shoulder.
"Nu-uh! You're not getting off that easily! Why'd you really punch him?"
"He's one of the aliens attacking the Earth. Besides, I care for the mews and I didn't want you to get in any more danger." He said, wrenching his wrist out of my grip and going into the café.
"I can take care of myself, Ryou!" I shouted after him as he disappeared into the kitchen. You jerk! You stopped Kish from kissing me! Wait! Why did I want Kish to kiss me anyway? I changed in to my frilly black dress, grabbed a broom and started sweeping the dusty floor, pondering that thought. Kinomi arrived with Mint a little while later. "Hey Bleuberri!" greeted Kinomi cheerily.
"Hey! Good morning, Mint!" I practically sang.
"Are you feeling ok?" asked Mint, looking at me strangely.
"Yeah! I'm feeling great!"
"Here, I'll help you with that," said Kinomi, grabbing another broom.
Zakuro arrived with Lettuce and Pudding a while later. Ichigo arrived about seven minutes before we opened the café. Kinomi and I had finished sweeping and were lounging. "You're almost late, Ichigo onee-chan!" Pudding said with a smile as she changed with a wide yawn.
"What's up, Bleuberri?" said Kinomi as I stared out the window, leaning on my broom with a glazed look in my eyes. I licked my lips and, discovering a pepperminty taste, blushed and giggled.
"Bleuberri?" said Kinomi again.
"Eh? What?!" I said, looking around, ears and cheeks red.
"What's up?" repeated Kinomi.
"What do you mean?"
"You're all of a sudden happy and hyper and you're blushing and giggling like a love-struck student girl. Did you meet someone?"
"SHE'S IN LOVE!" shouted Pudding.
"Shut up Pudding!" I said, putting my hand over her mouth. Too late. Everyone in the café was looking in my direction, even Keiirchiro had looked up. Ryou looked interested, or rather his aura had turned a purplish-blue color with his grey ring around it. He went quickly into the kitchen and, no doubt, to his room.
"OooooooooO," said Mint lowly as she, Lettuce, and Kinomi clustered around Pudding and me.
"W-who is it, B-bleub-berri-san?" asked Lettuce.
"I'll let you all figure that out for yourselves."
"Did he kiss you, because I just saw you lick your lips, onee-sama," said Pudding.
"Yep." I said, making sure Ryou wasn't listening. He was mad enough at witnessing it. I didn't want him to feel worse, hearing me saying it proudly.
"Let's get hoppin' I said, putting up the OPEN sign.
"Bleuberri, would you come here, please?" said Keiirchiro from the lab's doorway. He was holding a small sign. "Would you please pin this up for me?"
"Sure, Keiirchiro-san."
I grabbed the sign and hopped onto the overhang (over the doorway) and taped it on the thing. The overhang is only 10 ft. off the ground and had plenty of hand holds, so it was a pretty easy. I was also near Ryou's bedroom window, so I couldn't resist tapping on the glass. He turned and didn't see me because I had vaulted off and landed on the ground right after. I sprinted into the café and ran into a tall boy and landed on the ground.
He turned and I got to look at him fully. He was kinda cute with dark hair and light brown eyes. He was in a kendo uniform and looked fresh from practice. Instead of making me all hot and blushy, he made me feel cold and pale. "Sorry," I said in a flat voice as I got to my feet, ignoring his hand. I'm not gonna touch this guy's hand after the way he made me feel. Sure, he had a kind sunshine yellow aura to him, but the innermost rings were black.
"It's ok, it's really my fault," he said kindly with a smile.
"MASAYA!" shrieked a delighted Ichigo, hugging him from behind him.
While this Masaya guy was distracted, I ran to the kitchen, breathing quickly. I haven't felt like that in forever. Not sense… NO, I'm not going to think about that day. "Bleuberri? What's wrong?" asked Lettuce as she walked in.
"Ahm… Lettuce, who's that Masaya dude?" I asked.
"Oh. Masaya is Ichigo's boyfriend. He used to be part alien."
"Eh?"
"H-he used to be part alien, until he killed that part of himself along w-with Ichigo's help and releasing mew aqua."
"Who all did it heal?"
"Every one… me, Pudding, Kish"
"WHAT?!"
"He killed Kish after he tried to protect Ichigo."
"Thanks Lettuce, for the overview."
"Y-you're w-w-welcome."
No wonder Masaya made me feel cold. He killed Kisshu-kun. WHOA! Where did that come from?! I'm losing my wits!! "Bleuberri?" said Lettuce, waving a hand in front of my eyes.
"WHOA! What?"
The morning rush went by quickly and the lunch break came quickly. I entered the room last to see Mint, Lettuce, Kinomi and Pudding sitting together and Zakuro and Ichigo sitting alone. Ryou was near the grouping and typing on a laptop. "Bleuberri onee-sama! We know who you love!" yelled Pudding, not caring to lower her voice.
Ryou looked around curiously when Pudding then shouted "You Love RYOU!"
I blushed a very deep scarlet and took a seat beside Kinomi. I glanced at him and then looked at the others. "Wrong, Pudding."
"Rats!"
"Pai?" suggested Mint.
"Who?"
"The tall cute alien boy with purple hair," informed Lettuce, of all people. Everyone looked at her in surprise.
"Keiirchiro?" suggested Kinomi
"Nope. Mint likes him, so he's off limits."
"I do not!" cried Mint, blushing deeper than I had.
"Back to work, everyone!" said Ichigo from the door.
"Can you keep a secret?" I asked Kinomi as everyone flowed out to the main part of the café. Ryou lingered behind but moved on when I gave him the 'get out of here before I kill you' look.
"I like Kish."
Kinomi's face turned stony then she put on an obvious fake smile. "Good for you." She said as her aura turned brownish with disgust and her red ring turned a shade darker. She quickly walked out of the room, past Ryou who was in the doorway. I pranced past him and looked over my shoulder at him and winked. Might as well mess with him. He flushed pink and walked into the lab. I laughed and welcomed some girls to the café.
The rest of the day zinged past. The café closed at 8:30 and we all ran home to change. I plundered down the boulevard and into my house. I dove into my closet, already knowing what to wear. I tugged out a bell-sleeved (long sleeved) black shirt with a v-neck on the front and a sequined pattern on the back. The pattern was a pair of panther eyes. I also tugged out a dark denim jean miniskirt and striped dark blue and black leggings. And, of course, I kept on my chunky boots. I also added my favorite necklace: a leather choker with a silver bell and charms on it. I hastily brushed my hair and checked what time it was. 8:47. Wow, that was quick. I gazed into the large mirror absent mindly thinking.
Why did I wink at Ryou? I don't really know… And why did his aura turn so red when Kish kissed me? Maybe he likes me… NO, that's illogical. He's only known me for two days. Maybe it's love at first sight. No, no one loves me, not even my own sister. That's not true. Kish must have had love at first sight for you because he kissed me… I licked my lips again, turned bright red and my ears and tail popped out. "Nice, Bleuberri," purred Mica, walking in from the main house.
I jumped at her voice and my ears and tail popped out of sight. I glanced at the clock and bolted out the door. 8:55. I arrived at the café in record time and walked inside to darkness. "Hello?" I called out into the café.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" sang a chorus of five girl voices. I jumped really badly and my ears and tail popped. The lights clicked on and I could see a bit better. The café looked… different. There were black and blue streamers strung all around and a mini stage was up off to the side. A line of comfortable-looking chairs was lined up in front of the stage and a table just behind the line of chairs was decorated in black.
Everyone looked spectacular! Lettuce was in a long flowy spring green dress. Pudding was in an embroidered top and bottoms. Mint was in a puffy-sleeved short dress that was light sky blue. Ichigo was in a fluffy black dress. Kinomi was in a beautiful sequined red dress that was bell-sleeved (kind of like my top) that was short. Zakuro was in a long tightish dark purple dress that came to her ankles. Keiirchiro was in his usual attire. Ryou was in what he was in to begin with. The Masaya guy was in a button-up shirt and long black pants. My heart turned to ice when I saw him and the smile slid off my face. "Lighten up, Bleuberri-san!" said Kinomi, steering me to the table.
"Here, open mine!" she sang after she plomped me into the chair at the table and handing me a small box. It was a panther statuette on a key chain.
"Thanks, Kinomi-san"
"Here's mine!" sang Pudding slapping a envelope into my hands. I reached down into my right boot and brought out my letter opener (don't ask why I keep a letter opener in my boot) and slitted it open. It was a badly drawn on card and a gift card to Barnes and Noble.
"Thanks, Pudding."
"Here," said Mint, handing me a small box. It was a silver and opal necklace.
"Oooooo…Shiny!" said Pudding, eyes on the shining pedant that was swinging as I held it up. The opals were black opals.
Zakuro dropped a card on the table in front of me. It was a very elaborate card. "Here ya go!" said Ichigo, dropping a small package in front of me. "This is from all of us!"
It was a cd of my favorite songs with a card inside the case that was everyone's signatures. "The party décor and stage set up is from Ryou and me," said Keiirchiro from behind Mint, smiling.
"But mainly from Ryou," whispered Pudding in my ear, making me blush as I looked at the blonde that was standing a bit farther away from the grouping. I smiled at him a bit and watched as the girls formed a line on the stage. The lights dimmed and a spotlight popped on them. Kinomi stood in the center, in front of the microphone. They all started singing Happy Birthday, everyone besides Zakuro anyway. Kinomi finished off the song on a high long note and they took a seat on the chairs.
"Ok, let's get started on tonight's entertainment," Kinomi said, "First is Lettuce with 'Breakaway'."
Lettuce? Singing? Okey dokey then… She got up to the stage and sang the song very good, even if she stuttered a little. She finished the song and said, "Kinomi is next with 'Miracle' by Cascada."
Kinomi pranced up to the stage and sang the song beautifully. She sounded better than the actual person that sang the original song. "Whoo! Go Kinomi-san!" I said, clapping hard with everyone else.
"Thanks! Next is Ichigo with Ultimate," she said after winking cheekily and racing down to the chairs and letting Pudding give her a high-five.
"You're next, Bleuberri-chan," said Ryou in my ear as Ichigo finished the song, ran down the stage steps and kissing Masaya on the cheek.
"Huh?" I said as he steered me to the stage. I got pushed up to the stage and gripping the microphone like it was a life line. The tune started and I relaxed. It's one of my old favorite songs. ((/watch?vdaonr6P46mY&featurerelated I love this song. Ignore the video and pay attention to the song!!)) I kept my eyes locked on Kinomi as I sang it, considering we both like something and the song was appropriate.
I sang the song and after a minute or so, I unglued my eyes from Kinomi and they meandered around the group. I finished the song and smiled as everyone besides Zakuro clapped. Even Ryou clapped a little. "Lovely, my Kitten," said an all too familiar voice above me.
I looked up to see no one other than Kish floating above me. His arms were crossed and a smile was on his lips. There was a series of pops and a legion of super-sized ants appeared and stampeded toward the girls, knocking them over. Kish landed beside me and grabbed me around the waist. "I told you we'd see each other soon," Kish practically purred in my ear.
"Let me go!" I shouted, struggling, trying to get away from him.
He laughed softly and teleported, with me still in his arms. The final glimpse of everyone else was: the girls were fighting the ant things, Keiirchiro was fighting sorta, and Ryou was running to the stage, his aura was green-yellow with alarm. "Bleuberri-chan!" he shouted, trying to grasp my hand that I was holding out to him. Then there was blackness.