So, I've had a seriously rough day and am now sort of depressed. Reviews make me happy. So please review.
This one is a cute kinda-filler, with a cliffie at the end for good measure. *evil grin* Yes, me and my cliffies...
Chapter Four:
Kish moaned softly, his brain telling him to open his eyes and his body not wanting to comply. It was just so nice and comfy and warm…
He felt a warm hand gently brush his hair, then the hand go over his ear. He sighed happily, smiling like an idiot as he enjoyed the soft caress of the unknown hand.
He heard a kind laugh coming from beside him.
"You like that, huh? Does it feel good?"
"Mmm hmm," Kish mumbled, nodding his head slightly, but found that hard to do for some reason. His brow furrowed. There was something against his face, something soft. A pillow? Was he lying on his side?
Kish opened his eyes and saw someone kneeling beside him. Even though she was sideways in Kish's view, he saw that she was very pretty, with red hair that went past her shoulders and kind, twinkling maroon eyes and a sweet smile. Surely, no human or Cyniclon could ever look this beautiful. No, she had to be something else. An angel perhaps?
"So, I guess I'm dead, huh?" He muttered. The angel's brow furrowed. Stars, she even looked gorgeous as she frowned.
"No, Kish, you're not dead," She said. Even her voice was beautiful.
"But I've got to be," Kish insisted. "'Cause you're an angel, right? No one else could be this pretty without being an angel."
The angel laughed a melodious laugh and leaned down and kissed Kish's cheek.
"Still dreaming, huh?" She said, lying down beside him on the floor, their noses touching. She ran her fingers through his hair again, her eyes twinkling. "No, I'm not an angel. Just a Koneko-Chan."
Kish felt his eyes go wide.
"ICHIGO?!" He exclaimed. Ichigo laughed.
"Yes, Kisshu, you adorable baka, it's me," She said.
"I, um, uh, I guess I…" Kish stuttered as he turned red. Ichigo just kissed his cheek again and wrapped her arms around him. She just held him to her for a moment before Kish realized that she was crying into his shoulder.
"Why the tears, kitten?' Kish asked, rubbing her back.
"Because I'm so happy you're awake," She said. "You've been out for three days now."
"Three days?!" Kish repeated, trying to bolt upright and regretting it once the room began to spin before he even got to fully sit up. Ichigo caught him and steadied him.
"Calm down, we don't need you having a relapse," Ichigo said as she got him to lay on his side again, covering him with the blanket.
"What happened? What's going on?" Kish blinked and looked around the room. "And where are we?"
"Really, Kisshu, I did not think you were gone from home that long that you cannot even recognize your own bedroom."
Ichigo moved so that Kish could see Risa enter the room, a basket of linens on one hip and Asagao on the other, the little girl playing with her mother's curls and babbling away in baby talk. Kish looked around him and realized that he was in his own home, in the room he shared with Pie and Tart, and laying on his own sleep-mat. He smiled. He had been from home far too long…
"Hello, Risa Oba-San," Kish said, grinning up at her.
"How are you boys feeling?" Risa asked as she placed the basket on the floor, getting a better hold on Asagao.
Kish's brow furrowed but then turned his head to see that Pie was sitting up on his own sleep-mat, his back against the wall, Lettuce sitting beside him, her hand in his. Both were still silently sniggering over Ichigo's mistaken identity for an angel. Kish turned red upon this realization.
"I am feeling much better," Pie told his mother, who smiled and nodded before turning to Kish for his answer.
"I'm confused," Kish answered honestly. "What's going on? Why are we on Cynnth?"
Ichigo and Lettuce told the entire story to Kish, who nodded.
"Okay, I think I'm caught up," Kish said, rolling over onto his back to get comfortable.
And instantly regretted it.
With a yelp of pain, Kish quickly rolled over onto his stomach, his lower back sending waves of agony throughout his entire body.
"Ow," He muttered into his pillow, his eyes watering as Ichigo gently rubbed the back of his neck.
Risa set Asagao onto the floor and the little girl instantly started crawling over to Pie and Lettuce. Risa came over and knelt down beside Kish, gently placing her fingers on the center of Kish's discomfort and he hissed.
"I apologize, Kisshu, I thought that the pain reducers were still working and did not think to warn you," Risa said, tenderly rubbing her adopted son's back, just above where the bandages that encircled his waist were. "Rirī, Sobo-Rishi and I had to make an incision on your back where Mylo's knife had been, as there was no scar tissue for the medication to be applied to. It had to be done so that we could get to where the poison had built up."
"Thanks a lot," Kish grumbled.
"I am sorry, baby," Risa crooned sympathetically as she kissed Kish's head, her eyes full of sadness and guilt for what she had to do. "But at least this pain means that you are alive."
Kish felt guilty and smiled apologetically up at his adopted mother.
"Gomen-nasai, Risa Oba-San," He said. "I didn't mean it like that."
"I know you did not," Risa said with a small smile. She patted Kish's leg then stood up. "Do not worry, your wound will heal quickly, I promise."
"Risa Oba-San, how is Pudding?" Lettuce asked as Asagao, who was 'standing' on Pie's lap, reached up and gave a hard tug on her brother's pigtail in an attempt to keep her balance, causing Pie to wince. Asagao laughed at the face Pie made at having his hair pulled and continued to jerk on the pigtail.
"Still sleeping," Risa said, quickly coming over to rescue Pie's hair from Asagao's fingers. "Her body is much smaller than Pie's or Kisshu's is, so it shall take longer for her body to metabolize the herbs she has been given. I estimate that in the next hour or so, she will awaken."
"Tart will happy to hear that," Rin said as she, Rirī, Mint, Zakuro, Keiichiro and Ryou walked into the room, Rozū floating in behind them.
"Yes, he will," Risa said with a smile as Asagao began to fuss on her hip and grabbed at the front of her dress. Risa chuckled and tickled Asagao under her chin, which temporarily stopped her crying. "Asagao is reminding me that it is time for her lunch. I will be back soon, after she has had her fill. Pie, Kisshu, when I return, I will have some potions for you to drink."
They said their good-byes as Risa and Asagao left the room just as Rin, Rirī, Rōzu, Zakuro, Mint, Ryou and Keiichiro entered.
"Kish, Pie, guess what!" Rōzu said as she folded her legs to float in midair.
"What, Rosie?" Kish asked as he got comfortable, lying half on his side, half on the good part of his back, glad that Risa, Rirī and Sobo-Rishi didn't feel like they needed to redo the large asterisk-shaped mark that Mylo had oh-so-lovingly carved into him a few months prior.
"Chai-Sofu is the leader of the rebels!" Rōzu exclaimed with a grin.
"He is? That is wonderful news," Pie said.
"Yeah, but we've got a few problems," Rin said as she sat at her twin's feet, smoothening the blankets.
"What's wrong?" Kish asked.
"Mylo's here, too, and most of his fighters," Ryou said. "And he's got something big planned."
"He hasn't shown himself to anyone other than Topaz, and the staff at her house," Ichigo said grimly.
Kish and Pie frowned.
"That is not a good sign," Pie said grimly. "Is there any indication of what he could be after here?"
"It couldn't be us he's after, could it?" Lettuce asked worriedly.
"No, he got here long before we could," Keiichiro said.
"I'm more worried about this 'ultimate weapon' he's boasting about that we have apparently had all along," Zakuro said. "What are we missing?"
"We can worry about it later," Rirī said. "Right now, we all need to rest and recover.
"Rirī is correct."
They turned to see Curry enter the room, carrying a tray with two steaming bowls.
"You should all relax while you can. A war like this saps your strength. While the enemy rests, so should you," Curry said as he placed one bowl of broth beside Pie and the other bowl beside Kish, accompanied by spoons and glasses of water.
Curry explained that Risa had said that the medicines would work better on a full stomach, but they still couldn't have anything too heavy yet and that the broth would be light enough for their stomachs until they were stronger. Neither boy cared and was just glad to have some food, as they were both starving, and quickly started to eat.
"Slow down, or you're going to be sick regardless of how heavy or not the food is," Ichigo chastised Kish, who slowed down.
"Sorry, Koneko-Chan," Kish said sheepishly. Ichigo chuckled and ruffled his hair.
The others filled Kish and Pie in on everything they had missed while they were sleeping.
"Oh, by the way, Vanilla and Yuzu say 'hi'," Rin said. "They want to know if they can visit sometime."
"Vanilla is a definite yes, Yuzu…" Pie said. He sighed. "Yuzu is Yuzu."
"What's Yuzu's deal?" Mint asked. "I mean, is he always that, uh…"
"Weird? Yeah," Rin said. She chuckled and shook her head. "Yuzu doesn't have a filter on his mouth. It comes into his head and next thing we know it's out of his mouth."
"He also does not think before he acts," Pie said. "This often gets him in trouble. Especially around girls. More than once have I had to stop the fights he starts by impulsively kissing girls who happen to have jealous and extremely protective boyfriends."
Rin laughed.
"Yeah, well you know full well who he's trying to make jealous," She said.
"Yes, but if the behavior keeps up, Vanilla will never give him a second look," Pie said.
"So, Yuzu likes Vanilla?" Ichigo said.
"'Likes' is an understatement," Rirī said with a laugh.
"Does she return the feelings?" Zakuro asked.
"If she does, she hasn't told me," Rin said. "All I know is that when we were nine, Yuzu kissed Vanilla after beating her in a training session." She grinned. "He walked away with a broken nose."
They all laughed as they heard the door open again.
"Look who finally decided to wake up and grace us with her beautiful smile," Tart said as he entered, carrying Pudding bridal style, her arms around her neck. Pudding giggled and nestled her head under Tart's chin.
"Hey, Pudding," Keiichiro said. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better, na no da!" Pudding said as Tart sat down, still holding her close. They were glad to see that the anxiety that Tart had been carrying around for days was gone now that Pudding was awake and on her way to recovering.
They got Pudding up to speed. The blond monkey girl thought for a second, then said,
"Well, why can't we just teleport to where Mylo and Topaz are and arrest them, a sneak attack, na no da? We have enough soldiers that he couldn't fight, na no da."
"Unfortunately, Mylo does have a much a larger force here on Cynnth than he does on Earth," Rirī said. "And, besides, the only way a sneak attack like that could work would be if we knew exactly where he was at that moment, and many had been there before."
"Why would people have had to be there before?" Ichigo asked, her brow furrowed.
"Cyniclons can only teleport to places that they have been to before," Pie explained.
The humans at once thought this made sense and nodded. Except…
"Hey, wait a second," Mint said quickly. "That can't be."
"What do you mean?" Tart asked, his brow furrowed
"I mean that, as of six months ago, Rin, Rirī and Rōzu had never been anywhere near Earth's atmosphere, and yet Rin was able to teleport right into Café Mew Mew," Mint said. "How does that work?"
The humans all turned to stare at Rin for the answer.
Rin and Pie glanced at each other. Pie shrugged and Rin grinned before beginning to speak,
"You must understand, Cyniclon twins are very different from human twins," Rin said. "Twins—whether they be identical or fraternal—are all born with a bond with each other. This bond is a mental link, so that they can talk through thoughts. As mental strength and genius is the power Pie and I share, we are able to communicate more effectively, and are able to send mental images to the other. However, the twins in our mother's lineage are known for other powers as well."
"Like using the fans?" Lettuce asked.
"That is one," Pie said. "But there are two others that we have. One is that—in addition to the mental bond—we also have a physical one, that allows us to know when the other is in pain or in danger."
"And the other is that we are able to 'track' each other," Rin said. "We can teleport to where the other is if we need to help in a battle, even if one has never been there before."
"That is the coolest thing Pudding has ever heard of, na no da!" Pudding said, grinning.
"This also explains so much," Ichigo said as Risa entered the room, carrying a tray of various glasses and bottles.
After giving Pie, Kish and Pudding the medicines they needed, Risa strictly ordered for them to rest. It wasn't hard for them to give in, as they all looked very tired. Tart tucked Pudding back into her bed downstairs while Kish and Pie stayed up in their bedroom, all sound asleep within minutes.
The humans helped the Ikisatashis around the house with the cooking, cleaning and taking care of Asagao. Which, for the girls, mostly meant dressing up the baby like a doll and proclaiming her to be adorable. Asagao was perfectly happy to have all the attention she received and basked in the coos and squeals.
"She's just so cute!" Mint squealed with delight as Rin put Asagao's indigo hair up into two pigtails like the ones Tart used to wear, which was apparently one of the usual hair styles for boys and girls under twelve years old as Rin explained. The humans were all eager to learn about Cyniclon culture and the Ikisatashis were always ready to give a lesson.
"A lot of girls have their hair braided, though," Rirī explained. "Or they'll leave it down. Depending on the length of their hair, boys will either have it in the pigtails or have in a single ponytail."
"What do you do if a boy has really short hair?" Zakuro asked. "Like how boys on Earth wear their hair?"
"Unlike on Earth, we do not cut a child's hair until they reach eleven or twelve years of age, when they begin to choose what style they wish to wear their hair in," Risa explained as she entered Asagao's nursery. "Depending on the density of their hair, some boys have it shorter than others, but others have it longer. As it grows longer, the style the hair is worn in can change if they want to do so."
"Pie never liked that we couldn't cut his hair," Rin said with a laugh. "It used to be just as curly as mine and was shoulder-length until he cut it. We got mistaken for each other all the time, and he really hated that."
"That's why he practically cut it all off when he turned twelve," Rōzu said, grinning as well. "Mama cried for a week."
"Because even if he did not like the curls, I did," Risa said, smiling slightly as she folded a blanket. She chuckled. "We were all expecting the curls to tame down after being cut."
"And it did," Rin said, snickering. "For about ten minutes."
"So, you pick a hairstyle at the age of twelve and that's it, you're stuck with it forever?" Ichigo asked.
"Essentially, yes," Risa said. "But obviously the style you have it at twelve may not be what you want later. Usually, by sixteen is when one will have officially chosen their style. We are rather proud, we Cyniclons, you must understand. The more unique we wear our hair, the prouder we are that we were able to create something so matchless."
They turned as they heard someone rapping a knuckle on the doorframe. They saw Curry standing there, looking serious.
"Rōzu, you have been summoned," He said, staring into his daughter's bronze eyes from where she floated in the air. Rōzu had been floating everywhere since she arrived home, glad that she didn't have to look over her shoulder for unsuspecting humans before doing so.
"Summoned? By who?" Rōzu asked as she uncrossed her legs, floating over in front of her father.
"Chai-Sensei," Curry said. "He did not say why he summoned you, just that he wanted to see you as soon as possible."
Rōzu nodded and ran to her room to put on more acceptable clothes for going to see her Sofu. She pulled on her hooded cloak and left with her father, waving good-bye behind her to her mother, sisters, brothers and friends, though it was hard to make out each other's faces in the thick snow.
Rōzu was greeted at the entrance and was escorted through the halls, Curry having to stay behind. Rōzu was surprised when she was brought to the 'room' where the War Council met.
"I thought I was just here to see Chai-Sofu," She said to her guard.
"No, the whole Council wants to see you," Her escort said, ringing the bell.
Rōzu bit her lip, but entered the room. She was greeted by dozens of eyes, but the only smiling face she saw was Chai's.
"Ah, my rose petal," Chai said. "Come here, Magomusume."
Rōzu trembled slightly as she made her way to the end of the room, feeling herself being watched. She hugged Chai, still feeling the eyes boring into her back. She looked up at Chai, who smiled down at her.
"Why am I here, Sofu?" Rōzu asked.
"I shall explain in a moment," Chai said, gently stroking her cheek. "But for now, will you do me a favor and take out your braids?"
Confused, Rōzu undid the clasps at the end of her braids, unraveling them with her fingers. She shook out her indigo curls that fell around her back, going to just past her ribs. She heard some short gasps go up throughout the room.
"She does look like her," One man whispered.
"Who?" Rōzu asked, her brow furrowed.
"Sit down, Rōzu," Chai said, and Rōzu took a seat beside her pseudo-grandfather. She was presented a cup of tea, and she thanked the woman who put it into her hands. She took a sip to steady herself, trying to relax, but it was hard to do with people still staring at her.
She brushed a curl out of her face as a sketch was placed before her. It was of a girl, her age with dark red curls and orange eyes. Rōzu's brow furrowed as she studied the girl's face. They could have been sisters, no twins.
"Chai-Sofu, who is this girl?" Rōzu asked, looking up.
"This is a from the Southern side of the planet named Ginger," Chai said. "She was to be enrolled at the military academy, but she became 'sick' before she could enter. The truth is, her parents do not want her to be taught there while Mylo is in control. However, she is still on the list to come to the school."
"I don't understand, why did you bring me here to tell me this?" Rōzu asked.
Chai paused.
"Rōzu, how would you like to work as a spy inside the military academy?"