Chapter 7-Technicalities and Hospital Visits (On Monday)
"Masha's got to be around here somewhere," Ichigo muttered to herself as she scoured the games floor (4th floor) for any sign of Masha. She had searched over the weekend and had managed to complete the search of the 5th, 6th and 7th floors. It had turned up nothing of use.
Kish silently stepped into the boys' games room where Ichigo was searching underneath the pool table.
"There is so much crap under this table," Ichigo muttered.
"Nope I don't think that he's here."
"Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!" Ichigo jumped as she screamed, bumping her head on the table.
"What is it? Saw a spider?"
"Kish!!! Don't do that!!!! You scared me."
"It's rude to raid your host's mansion behind their back."
"Well, it's rude to kidnap someone and not give them back."
"If, you'd ask…"
Ichigo sighed, "What do you want Kish?"
"I want you to go eat…you haven't eaten since yesterday."
"Why do you care?"
"Because, I don't want anymore dead bodies lying around my house."
"Anymore?"
"Oh, don't you know? Well, your fur ball is in need of serious medical—technical attention."
Ichigo's eyes widened. "M-Masha's…dead?"
"You could say that…but technically speaking, he's a robot. Robots don't die. They…get ruined or break."
"I'm not eating until I get him back."
"You are going to eat first. Then I will consider giving him back to you."
"NO! Give him to methen I eat."
Kish looked amused, "I take it that you don't want that fur ball back? I could keep it you know, it would serve as a souvenir of pathetic earthling technology."
"Ok, ok, I get it. I have to eat first."
"Good."
"But, I'm lost. Lead me to the kitchen." When Kish didn't respond, she added: "Onegai?"
Suddenly, Kish smirked. "Come." Leading the way, he said, "I'm a little hungry too, work some magic and make me something for breakfast, too."
"Ok, but you have to answer a question."
"Bargaining are we?"
Ichigo grinned, "You could say that…but technically speaking, it's a deal; breakfast in exchange for Masha and some answers."
Kish smirked, "Starting to talk like me, eh?"
Ichigo shrugged, "I saw no other way, if you can't beat them, join them."
"What's you question, neko?"
"My question is: what happened on Friday? Why did you get all mad when I didn't listen to you, or when I "ordered" you around?"
"Oh, I wasn't in the mood to have a pillow fight.
"Oh…that explains everything."
"Were you worried about me?"
"…"
Kish burst out laughing.
"What?" Ichigo demanded, pouting.
"You humans…you're too much!!"
"What's so funny?"
"You worry about your enemy?"
"…so?"
"It just strikes me as a little weird. Well, actually extremely weird."
'Phew, he was just in a bad mood. I was worried it would happen a lot. But it's just when he's annoyed,' Ichigo thought relieved. "What do you want to eat?"
Kish had stopped laughing but his golden eyes still held several hints of laughter and playfulness. "Whatever you can dish out. I don't really care."
Ichigo was so hungry that she didn't' bother wasting time on making something fancy to eat. "Ok, let's eat cereal then."
"Whatever you say, just as long as you don't worry about my well being," Kish mocked innocently.
"Hey! Shut up!!" Ichigo decided not to tell him that the real reason she was worried was because she didn't want it happening again. Ichigo set out the cereal and began eating. She was soon joined by an equally hungry cyniclon.
After the meal, Ichigo washed the dishes and picked up the cereal and milk. "Now Kish," she said while returning the cereal to the cupboard and the milk to the fridge. She closed the fridge door and turned around to find an empty kitchen. "Man!! He ran off!!!" Ichigo grumbled as she went to the front foyer and found a grand staircase—but no Kish. "Kish!!!"
Kish leapt from the second floor railing, directly above Ichigo. He landed so close to her that his foot was in between both of hers.
Surprised, Ichigo lost her balance, her arms reached up instinctively, to try to grab onto something. She caught hold of Kish who quickly leaned down and wrapped his arms around her to support her weight.
'Déjà vu,' Ichigo thought.
His face a mere inch from her own, he spoke, "You called?"
Staring up into deep, majestic golden orbs, Ichigo's cheeks burned furiously.
Still leant down, Kish thought, 'If I still liked her as much as I used to before she killed Tarto and Pai, I would kiss her right now.' "Neko," Kish smirked when she tensed, he whispered, "May I be of service?"
"I…" his deep golden depths were pulling her in. She relaxed her body and allowed herself to be drawn in.
Her eyes closed, she was so close to him now that, she could practically feel the static between their skin. It seemed to burn her lips.
'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!?!!?!'
Her eyes snapped open.
'What?
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SAVING MASHA NOT KISSING KISH!!!!
We're not kissing!!!!!
YET!! You're lips were going to connect any second now.'
She saw Kish's eyes right in front of her face, looking at her with curiosity filling his gaze. She moved her eyes down a bit and saw that their lips were so close together that if either were to speak, their lips would meet. His mouth was ever so slightly open that Ichigo bet that even a spoon, with its thin tip would have difficulty getting in.
Ichigo dropped back.
'Good, now ask for Masha.
I'm working on it but my mouth won't move.
Oh, so it could move on account of Kish, but not Masha?
Shut up!
Why?
So that I can ask for Masha.
Are you sure you're up to it or is Kish too tempting for you?'
Staring at the smooth skin of his lips, she stuttered, "M-M-Ma…sha."
"Masha? Come," he gracefully stood her up again and let go of her. Thinking of what had just happened; Kish said no more than what he could.
'Why does she choose now? Now—after she kills my companions and now that I am angry with her?? Why not when everyone was alive and I was still obsessed with her? Why NOW???' These were the thoughts that had stopped Kish from kissing Ichigo back. Making up his mind, he decided that he would try to win her over. What better situation than with her, alone in a huge mansion? 'Next time she comes close enough, I will kiss her. No holding back. I will do whatever I think I need to, to win her over. She will be mine. After the way she murdered Tarto and Pai, that is the only way that I will be able to fully forgive her. She will be mine.' Kish repeated his silent vow to himself. Ichigo would learn to love him the way he had loved her. They would be together.
"I have another question…" came a low voice.
Kish smiled inwardly, 'Back to her regular annoying nature I see.' "Go on Ichi-chan."
"Umm…I was wondering…if…"
"If…?"
Gathering her courage, Ichigo finished the question, "if Kish was you're real name. I mean Kish—yeah, but is it a short form of something else?"
"It's a short form of Kisshu."
"I love the sound of it!! Why did you shorten it?"
"Training, they wanted short easy-to-remember names. For example: Kisshu changed into Kish. Pai…well stayed Pai, and Tarto changed into Tart."
"Wow! What kind of training?"
"All sorts." Kish walked into his room and made his way over to the closet labeled "For Him." He opened the door and gazed up. There were three rows of shelves spaced out, one above the other.
'I didn't bother looking up there on the top two shelves, they looked empty.' Ichigo thought, realizing her mistake.
"On the top shelf Kitty-Cat. Can you do it yourself? Or do you require further assistance?" Kish purred mockingly.
Ichigo attempted jumping to try to reach it. She grabbed the first shelf and tried to lift herself up. She got her chin to rest on the shelf, then attempted to lift up her leg. She swung her leg up, but it missed the shelf and Ichigo lost her grip. She fell sideways towards the ground. "KISSHHH!!!!!!"
Kish stepped up and caught her easily in his arms. He hugged her tightly and leaned down to whisper, "Your safe now my little neko.
Ichigo felt the blood rushing up to colour her face and attempted to get out of his firm grasp. "Let go of me!"
"Make me," Kish replied playfully.
Ichigo wrapped both her arms around Kish's neck and pulled his face down toward hers. "You let go of me this instant, or else…" she hissed.
Kish smirked, "Or else what?" he spoke softly because of their closeness.
Ichigo narrowed her eyes as she searched her brain for an answer. "Or I'll scream," was the answer that came through Ichigo's lips.
Kish's smirk grew, "Did you already forget? There's no one else in this house," His face came closer to that of the enraged Mew's.
Ichigo blinked. "Oh yeah…but that doesn't stop me." Ichigo used her hand to bring Kish's head even farther down so that his face was buried in her chest. His elongated ear was right next to her mouth.
Taking in Ichigo's scent from her chest, Kish said, "This is a nice change of—" Kish's words were cut off by a loud scream right next to his ear. His hands immediately flew out from around Ichigo to cover his ears.
Ichigo felt the alien yank his arms away from around her to protect himself from her piercing scream. Her job done, Ichigo stopped screaming and thought about the pressure that just a moment ago was being applied to her chest by his face. 'That must have been his dream come true, instead of having to force himself onto me; I force his face into my breasts…at least I got him off me.'
Rubbing his ears, Kish frowned at her then unexpectedly he grinned, "I guess that was the 'or else' part."
"Can you go get Masha for me now?"
Kish jumped up and landed in a crouching position on the top shelf. He picked up a dysfunctional Masha and leapt back down. "Is this what you've been looking for?"
Ichigo gasped in shock. "What did you do to him?" Masha's regular pink colour had drained away when he (a/n for lack of a better word) broke. A once bright, lively Masha now resembled a dusty grey, disfigured pillow.
"Well, he couldn't handle life without you." Kish sneered, then he looked at Ichigo as she sniffed. "Crying again? If it means so much to you, I could fix it." Kish offered
Ichigo looked up hopefully and placed Masha into Kish's outstretched hand. "Arigato Kisshu-kun," she wiped away her tears.
Kish raised one eyebrow in silent question and brought down his tools from the second shelf. He exited the closet and set his items down against the side of his monstrous bed, then he returned to face Ichigo. "In payment, you owe me a kiss," Kish smirked at her taken aback expression and stuck his cheek out to her.
Ichigo hesitated. "What if I don't?"
"Then Masha doesn't get fixed."
Ichigo sighed. She put her hand around his chin to his other cheek to bring his face closer to hers, then she leaned in and planted her lips on his cheek. She marvelled in the smoothness and warmth of his face. After a while, she pulled herself away from his alluring skin.
Kish looked back at her smiling. "I was expecting a quick peck, but that was much more satisfying." Before she knew what he was doing, he had kissed her on the same spot on her cheek for the same amount of time.
Too stunned to pull away, Ichigo let him kiss her cheek. For what seemed like an eternity, Ichigo felt smooth lips connected to her cheek, painting it a deep crimson.
Before retreating, Kish whispered in her ear, "I thought you should know how it felt."
When Ichigo looked up, he was working away at Masha. Ichigo saw him start to open up her mechanical friend and went into the closet labeled "For Her." She browsed through the hundreds of outfits with only her troubled thoughts to accompany her.
'He kissed me…
You liked it!
Did not!!
Who are you trying to convince?
Humph…it was only on the cheek…
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
A little bit of both…
HAH!! See, I knew it! You liked it!
Well, I've never been kissed before by any boy other than my dad. So…I think I have the right to decide whether I liked it or not.'
Before these thoughts could assault Ichigo again, she shoved them into a back corner of her mind. 'These clothes are so pretty!'
Ichigo ended up walked out of the closet ten minutes later wearing a short crimson skirt, a matching tank-top and a fur-collared, fur cuffed mesh robe on top.
When she stepped out and walked over to where Kish was working on Masha, she saw that he was closing Masha up. When Masha was completely shut, grey turned to pink and when Masha saw Ichigo, he barrelled into her, happy to see her again.
"Masha miss Ichigo! Masha miss Ichigo!!"
"I missed you too."
Kish stood and cleared his throat; Ichigo looked up, tears of happiness gracing her cheeks. Ichigo charged at Kish with her arms spread. Her arms wrapped around his figure; the impact of her body against his knocking him backwards onto the bed. This didn't affect Ichigo as she buried her face into his chest and cried, "Thank you Kisshu-kun!! I'll never forget this!!!!"
"Zaku-chan, I'll be right back," Keiichiro said as he left to go to the bathroom.
"Ok, Keii-kun," deciding she wanted to surprise him, Zakuro got up. She had been practicing walking with Keiichiro, slowly but surely her steps had gotten steadier. Yesterday, she had been able to walk by herself, though her bandages had gotten soaked with blood, she was still proud of herself. Her wounds had gotten much better then Friday, but they still bled. Zakuro walked to her closet and decided to wear a baggy top to cover up her wounds. She took out her favourite pair of blue jeans and carefully pulled them on. She also found a plain red t-shirt that went half-way to her knees. 'This will do,' she thought as she changed her shirt. She stood in front of her full length mirror and thought, 'Wow, I look good for an injured person not wearing any makeup.'
She heard the toilet flush, the tap running and the door open.
"Zakuro?"
"How do I look?" Zakuro asked, stepping into view.
"Amazing."
Zakuro grinned, "Thanks, I know. Keii, you're ready right?"
"Hai."
"Ok, let's go to the hospital and pay Purin a visit."
"Sure. You want to take Retasu and Ryou?"
"Of course, but what about Minto and Masaya?"
"Well, Minto called earlier and told me her situation. Masaya doesn't know about the Mew Mews, their injuries or Kish. Minto said that she wants to keep it that way. She told Masaya that she got her cuts from cats and that Purin broke her leg at the park."
"I see. But I thought that Ichigo liked Masaya."
"Yeah…but it turns out that Masaya liked Minto, not Ichigo."
"That'll break her heart."
"Well, I'm afraid that's life."
"…I'll call Retasu."
"Ok, I'll whip up a quick lunch."
"Arigato," Zakuro went over to the phone and dialed Retasu's number.
Drriiinnnnnnnnnngg! Drriiinnn—
"Hello?" spoke a masculine voice.
"Ryou?" Zakuro asked.
"Hai," he replied.
"Hi, it's Zakuro."
"Oh, hi Zakuro. Is it important? Retasu and I were just going to get up and get ready to go to visit Purin in the hospital."
"What a coincidence. So were me and Keii."
"Oh, ok."
"I called to ask if you two wanted to join us."
"That'd be great! How long are you giving us to get ready?"
"Half an hour."
"We'll be ready. So it that all?"
"Hai."
"'K, tell Keiichiro that I said hi"
"Ok, bye, you two better be ready when we get there."
"We will, bye."
Zakuro put down the phone and walked into the kitchen. "Ryou said hi and we're going to pick them up in half an hour."
"Oh, well hi to him too, by then we'll be done our lunch."
Zakuro smiled lightly and began eating the meal set in front of her.
"Retasu! We have half an hour to get ready. I recommend that you get up."
"Morning already?" Retasu asked as she got up and stretched.
"Hai, wow you're really healing well."
Retasu smiled at Ryou, "Thanks to your help. Who called?"
"Zakuro."
"What did she say?"
"She said that we have half an hour to get ready. She and Keiichiro are going to pick us up and we're going to go to visit Purin together."
"Oh, gomen, I never knew that." Retasu said, getting up and making her way to the bathroom.
"Don't worry about it. Here I'll make us sandwiches. You get ready. Call if you need anything."
"Ok."
In twenty minutes, sandwiches were made and Retasu stepped out of the washroom wearing baggy army print jeans and a long grey t-shirt.
"You look good," Ryou commented when Retasu stepped into the kitchen.
Smiling, she thanked him and sat down across from him at the table. He had already finished eating his sandwiches.
Just as she took a bite, the doorbell rang.
Before Retasu could get up, Ryou was already heading toward the doorway.
Retasu smiled to herself and continued eating.
"RETASU!!" Zakuro called.
"HI ZAKURO," Retasu called back, getting a sandwich bag to put her sandwiches in.
"HURRY UP!!"
"COMING!!" Retasu hurriedly took the sandwiches (in the bag) and went to the door, where she put on her shoes and telling a ready Ryou to hold her sandwiches, she slipped into her jacket. "Let's go," she said taking her lunch back from Ryou.
"Alright," Ryou said as he closed and locked the door behind everyone.
Minto sighed and glanced at the clock; 3:06. She couldn't go visit Purin because her Grandma wouldn't allow her to. Masaya was going for her. But he couldn't go with the other Mews still there. He would see their bandages and ask what happened. Then he would come to her and ask why she hadn't told him. She couldn't have that happening. She had already called Purin and told her about Masaya, the "cats," the "park" and about the fact that he knew nothing of the Mews and how they really got their wounds.
Retasu had promised to call when they got back.
'Come on! It takes half an hour to get there, if you don't call soon, visiting hours will be over by the time Masaya gets there!!'
As if on cue:
Drriiinnnnnnnnnngg! Drriiinnn—
Minto grabbed the phone and began speaking, "About time you called!!"
"Sorry Minto. We lost track of time."
Minto sighed, "I could never stay mad at you. Ok, thanks for calling."
"No problem."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Minto put down the phone thinking, 'Thank god they called.' "Masaya, I've got it! Get her yellow lilies."
"Ok."
"Hurry now before visiting hours are over."
"'K, bye hun."
"Bye."
A knock on her door woke her up. "Come in," she called.
"Hi Purin. How are you feeling?" Masaya asked.
She had bandages wrapped around her head from its impact with the ground and a band-aid on her cheek. The cast on her leg had scratch marks on it; her skin was pale and her hair was limp.
Catching Masaya eyeing her cast, she explained, "It is awfully itchy in there. And I'm fine other than the fact that I have a busted leg and scratched cheek. Not to mention that my head is killing me."
Minto had called her and explained about Masaya and the "park incident."
"Here, these are flowers from Minto. She told me to give them to you."
Minto had also told her about the "cat episode." "Tell her I love them! They're beautiful!!" Purin took the flowers from Masaya's outstretched hand and added them to a vase with flowers from the others on the bedside table. "How is Minto?"
"Well, she's very worried about you, and about…Ichigo…" Masaya's voice trailed off thinking about the bright girl that had a crush on him.
"Iie, I mean her injuries. From the cats…?"
"Oh, they're healing nicely, now that she doesn't cry that much."
"What about the other—," Purin stopped herself, remembering that Minto had also told her that Masaya knew nothing of the Mew Mews and their injuries. Purin knew that Minto intended to keep it that way, at least for now.
"The other…? What is it? Is something troubling you?"
"The other…kid? The boy who pushed me?" I fell unconscious through all the pain and…" Purin did a fake shudder. "I don't know if he made it. Did he fall? Is he okay?"
"I'm sorry Purin. I don't know. Minto told me that everyone crowded around you and nobody paid any attention to the boy."
"Oh…" Purin felt strange lying to Masaya, but she knew she couldn't tell him the truth.
A nurse poked her head in and said, "Sir, visiting hours are over, could you please finish up?"
"Yeah, sure. Just one more minute please."
"Ok sir," said the nurse, stepping out of the room.
"Just one more thing Minto wanted me to tell you. She wanted me to tell you that we all love you."
Tears formed in Purin's eyes, not just because of what he's said, but also because of the fact that every single one of her friends had visited except for Minto who was not allowed to go due to injuries and the one friend who couldn't come, even if she wanted to; Ichigo. "Arigato Masaya-san and…bye."
Masaya smiled sadly, "Bye and get well soon," with that, he left.
End Chapter
well therez the next chapter
plzz review
thxx
g2g
hope u enjoyed the chapter
tell me what u think of my extended vacation--even tho im very sorry about it...
lolz
ill think twice then abbout takin a long break
thxxx
bye
xoxoxoxo
-lil angel
