elavyeth: Sorry about the delay. Hope you enjoy this one. :)
Do NOT own TMM.
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She stood up slowly and stared at Kishu from above, smiling with a weird kind of compassion. Then she came closer to him and he could smell in her the same scent he smelled in the flowers.
She kneeled and put her mouth next to his ear to speak in a whisper… "Good choice."
Kishu saw her green eyes and felt as if he'd lost a battle.
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Part one – Girl in Overall (cont)
Kishu opened his eyelids heavily. He was dozed and his body was incredibly relaxed. With his eyes half-closed, he turned his head to the right. No sign of the girl… Yet it had been no dream. There he was in the cottage… with the same curtains, objects and cushions… and the same flowers on the small round table.
But through the windows he could see the stars. Night had fallen already… He had no track of time anymore. 'If I keep erasing like this I'm gonna be stuck in here forever... Time to wake up, idiot.' Yet he still couldn't move. Not enough to stand on his own, at least. With huge effort, Kishu sat on the bed. He noticed he had new bandages on his chest and his other injuries were… almost healed? That was odd.
There was a candid light in the cottage, which came from seven candles scattered around. The night sounds were refreshing. There was a cricket symphony outside and although he didn't know what it was, he listened delighted.
"Where did the human go?" Kishu grumbled. "She's probably afraid I'll stab her when I see her." He looked around once more, this time with increased interest. He realised something else on the table besides the flowers. Plates and glasses… Suddenly his stomach growled loudly. Food… That was the basic need at the moment, aside from running away. And there it was, a table set for two. But there was nothing to eat.
"Great… She treats my wounds but doesn't feed me. Clever girl she is." But there was some other smell in the air besides the flowers this time. Seamed like food being cooked… Hence the table for two? Anyway, he was so hungry he couldn't think. He was about to risk getting out of bed, when the door was opened.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?" The girl scolded.
Kishu froze and didn't know how to react. He was surprised he didn't hear her come in and had no time to get prepared. Besides he wasn't too sure about her intentions, although she didn't seam like she was out to kill him. She had a tray with lots of stuff that looked edible… That completely locked his attention.
"Is that… food?" Kishu asked hopeful.
The girl giggled. "You could say that, yes. Don't tell me you're hungry?" And she walked to the table, putting the treats on it. Then she looked at Kishu waiting for an obvious answer.
It looked like she was having fun at his expense. Kishu frowned. "Is it hard to notice? Or are you that dumb?"
She put on a fake disappointed face and looked sadly at the food. "So you don't want to eat? And to think I prepared this meal with great care... I hate to waste food, but maybe the wolves will eat the rest…" She picked up the tray again and headed to the door.
Kishu was dumbstruck. He couldn't believe it, she WAS playing with him!
"Hey! Where are you going with that?! Come back, I'm starving!" He shouted in a rather funny despair.
The girl stopped and turned back smiling. "Glad to hear it!"
Kishu's blood was boiling. 'The damn woman made me beg...'
She walked up to him. Kishu leaned away from her, but she was faster than him. Before he knew, she sat beside him and put her hand on his forehead. It was incredibly warm and soft.
"What are you doing?" He asked suspicious.
After a few seconds she pulled it away. "You still have fever but it has come down a bit, so I think you'll be able to sit at the table and eat today." She said, smiling. "Now if you could just put your arm around my shoulders, I'll help you. Oh stop being an ass…" Kishu had summoned one sword was pointing it at her menacingly.
"Don't touch me, weakling." He threatened, grinding his teeth.
The girl sighed, completely serene. "You know, you are not going far with that toy. Besides, if I wanted to hurt you I would have done so in the past five days."
Kishu looked confused. "Five days? I've been out for five days?" He stared at her in disbelief. All she did was stare back. Again he felt helpless against those eyes.
He made his sword disappear and put his arm around her shoulders. He almost jumped when he touched her. There was warmth in her body like a heat radiation… It felt weird. Then he felt her arm around his waist and her other hand on his chest. Uncomfortable, Kishu blushed immediately. "I'm only letting you do this because I desperately need to eat something." He said, looking away.
"Fair enough." The girl smirked. Then she held him even tighter. "Here we go. Grab onto me so you don't fall on your butt."
With small steps, she helped Kishu get to the table and sit down on one of the cushions. Once he was comfortable, she picked up a candle and placed it in the middle of the table.
Kishu was observing her every move. She was going to take the flower vase off the table, but he stopped her. "Leave them. They smell good…" He asked, embarrassed with his sudden reaction. It was visible that she was very pleased with his request. "Why are you smiling? Did I say something funny?"
She sat down and started putting food on his plate. "No, I just really like these. Glad they don't disturb you."
Kishu looked at them puzzled. "What are they?"
"Lilies. My favourites."
Kishu repeated the word in his head, so he wouldn't forget. Then he started eating. Oohhh it tasted so good… He was so hungry he could eat everything he saw.
They ate in silence. Well… there wasn't much silence with Kishu's frenetic munching. After the girl filled his plate a second time, he cleaned his mouth and looked at her. She didn't look like a threat at all. Like he concluded earlier, she was shorter than him and very elegant too. Her face had very defined but soft lines of a certain kind of innocence and her eyelashes were imense. Her hair was loose behind her back and bended when touching the ground. It was really long and golden brown and a fringe touched her tanned skin. That was why the green of her eyes popped out like that. And then she wore this white and thin dress.
She noticed his gaze. "Need anything?" She asked with a hint of bother in her voice.
Kishu snapped out of it and started eating again. When he finished his second plate, he scratched his chest and looked out the window. "Where am I? Is this planet Earth?"
She smiled. "A small part of it."
He looked back at her. "What is this small part? And where?"
The girl put down the fork and knife with a weird expression on her face. "This is my island. It doesn't matter where it is."
Kishu was a little surprised at her reaction. Then he realised something. "I don't know your name, human. Tell me your name." He ordered.
The girl looked defiantly at him. "Only if you tell me yours first."
He huffed. "Why?"
"You crashed against my planet, burned the trees in my island, slept on my bed and ate my food. I think I have that right." She said amused, counting her fingers.
Kishu looked away annoyed. "You rescued me because you wanted to."
She looked serious. "Would you prefer I'd left you there to die?"
'No way…' Thought Kishu. Even if she was a human, he couldn't help feeling relieved by her miraculous presence at that moment… He might be stubborn, but never ungrateful.
"Kishu." He said, avoiding her eyes and swallowing his pride. "That's my name."
She didn't reply right away. Instead she picked a white lily from the vase and carefully put it behind her ear.
"My name is Sayuri. It means small lily."
Kishu widened his eyes. She did smell like those flowers. There wasn't a more befitting name. He looked at her… this time with gratitude. "Thank you… Sayuri."
She picked another flower and gave it to him. "You're welcome, Kishu!" She said playfully.
Part two – Flickering Candle
After he closed the café, Akasaka returned to the basement. When he arrived, Shirogane was packing up the laptop and grabbing the car keys.
"Ryou… You know we need Ichigo-san to look for the mew aqua."
Shirogane sighed and sat down. "Yes, I know. But how do you ask her to use her sadness to help us? I mean, you saw how she left the café. If I'd say something like that it would be an insult."
Akasaka leaned against the wall and stared at the floor. "The girls say that things between her and Ayoama-san are not good. That's why she's been so gloomy. Sounds wrong to ask her such a thing."
"Still we need her. She's been the most reliable mew aqua detector in the past, even if it's not ethic to say so." Shirogane got up and put on his coat. Then he grabbed the computer and headed to the door. "Let's call the Mew Mews, we have to do this with or without her."
Both left the room and went outside the café. Zakuro, Minto, Retasu and Purin were already waiting in the back yard.
"Ready, people? Come with me, my car is over there." Shirogane said.
"Your car? I thought the mew aqua appeared in this park…" Zakuro asked.
While walking out the park, Shirogane explained. "It did appear here, but strangely enough it's been moving around."
"What do you mean with 'moving'?"
"It has been unstable… appearing and disappearing as it pleases and changing place. It was quite tricky to locate it last night… And it's still moving, but it seams like it has settled in a small park some twenty miles from here." Shirogane said, almost breathless.
When they got into the car, Zakuro gave Shirogane a worried look. "Why do you think this is happening?"
He scratched his head clueless. "I have no idea, but I think we shouldn't just let it pass."
Without any more questions, he started the engine and off they went.
After a ten minute journey, they stopped at a very green park. Not many people were there, just some couples and old folks.
They parked the car and got out. Akasaka turned on the computer and started tracing the signal. "I got it. It's quite strong… Follow me." And he entered the park, followed by the others. Purin was delighted with how many big trees grew there. The floor was gravel, and by squinting she could see a fountain a bit ahead. With no warning, she ran towards is. "Water na no da!! He he he he!"
"Oy, Purin! Wait a moment! Gaahh… That girl..." Shirogane complained.
When Purin finally reached the fountain she took off her shoes and jumped right in, throwing water everywhere. It wasn't until after she made a mess that she realised someone was sitting on the stone edge. A woman was now completely wet because of Purin's splashing, but she didn't seam to be upset. Instead she was observing Purin amused.
Purin blushed and stepped out of the fountain. "I'm sorry, one-chan! I didn't see you, na no da…"
The woman smiled at her. She was wearing a simple white summer dress and leather sandals. Her long hair was waving in the wind. Purin couldn't see her face very well because she was standing against the sunlight.
"Purin! Stay right there!" Minto yelled. They were getting closer and Akasaka spotted the mew aqua. They ran to her and Shirogane saw the woman. He exchanged a look with his buddy. "We have to ask her to leave under some pretext…"
Akasaka nodded. "Leave it to me."
He put down the computer and turned to her. "Erm… Madam, would you mind leaving for now? We need to run a test on the fountain's water quality… I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you." He said, with his usual amiable smile. She looked up and Akasaka froze for a moment. The greenest eyes he had ever seen… Also the coldest.
She simply stood up to leave. Purin waved her goodbye and she waved back with surprise. And then she left without saying a word, calmly walking towards the trees.
They all started looking into the water hastily. After a few minutes of failed attempts, they sat down to think. "We really need Ichigo here…" Shirogane sighed.
"Let me check one more time." Akasaka placed the computer on his lap. His face when blank when he looked at the screen. "It's… moving…"
Shirogane jumped. "What? Let me see." There it was… the little blue spot moving. "What the heck…? It's going away!"
All their heads turned in that direction and saw the woman walking… There was no one else around and the mew aqua started moving as soon as she went away. Could it be… that she had it?
"Wait! Lady, wait a minute!" Shirogane gave the idea no second thought and started running.
The others stared at him confused and had no time to react. Instead they just watched him speeding up after her.
But when he thought he was getting closer, the improbable happens. She disappears… just like that – poof. Shirogane stopped to catch his breath and rubbed his eyes. "Where… did she go?" He circled and looked in every direction. There was nothing but trees… Shills went down his spine.
He turned around and called. "Keiichiro! What does the computer say?"
Akasaka was staring faceless at the screen. "Nothing… It just vanished… Like a flickering candle."
