Hiiiii! I'm back with my randomness!! Kinomi's schedule is a little hetic today, so just to tell you: it's wake up, do homework, get lectured by mom, go to karate, and kill time at park with Pudding. Things may happen a little fast in this chapter. Sorry, still getting used to typing on this stupid new laptop...
Also, on this Love Test (please take it. it's not as acurate as before but still acurate), the answers the questions in 1-2-4-5, and the answers 1-4-5-2. there is a reason for this. Remember that and you will not get confused! Much...this is a confusing chapter... (sweatdrop)
Really Long Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew, DDR or any of it's songs, or Rachel Ray. Toffee (mentioned very briefly) is owned by MewToffee (I hope that's your mew), Tasumi and Masami are owned by Chiharu-chan, Bleuberri and Kwin and Nisiki are owned by MewBleuberri (now IzumiNeko, or something like that), and Honey is owned by Michikoneko. And, uh, sorry if I missed anyone!
Claimer: I own Aiko-sama, Kinomi, Ichirou, Joey, and the little voice in Kinomi's head.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
The next Saturday morning after the blind date party found my lying on my stomach atop a blanket on the grass, tiny computer headphones over my ears, the laptop Joey and Ichirou and me share playing a DVD of the Japanese dub of Aladdin but I wasn't really paying attention, reading the latest issue of Okashi Baby magazine (I know the title sounds goofy, but it's got love tests, updates in the manga and anime world, the current events of the area, cosplaying tips, and the other kinda stuff I like. Usually it's also got an article on Tokyo Mew Mew, which makes me laugh every time I read it). I idly flipped a page of the magazine as Genie's singing filled my ears and blocked out the normal sounds of wining kids, shrill songbirds, and gasps of amazement at Pudding's antics that usually accompanied the park. Specifically, the park from under my favorite sakura tree in the middle of the park. My hand and the cuts across my face still smarted from the mishap in karate where I had misjudged a punch and ended up bashing my fist through a window of inch-thick glass, the bruise on my head was still sore from where I walked into that telephone pole after the party, and my brain was still half-dead from the million-hour lecture of the importance of getting good grades from Mom after I brought home a 'C 'on yesterday's math test. So, the only tonic was to accompany Pudding to the park, and kill time until the girls and I went to the arcade by watching Disney.
I guess I should tell you this now: I'm a big Disney fan. Not any of that new stuff (High School Musical still gives me nightmares), but the old cartoons. Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty. I don't like Cinderella much, but I love Anastasia, Mulan, and Aladdin insanely, and anything with Mickey or Goofy was automatically good. And, of course, Pirates of the Carrabin still remains tops in my collection. Even though it's new and not a cartoon. I often like to grab one of the movies and watch it in both English and Japanese just for the pleasure of seeing what changed during the dub.
Sometimes it pays to be bilingual, even if that pay is only the ability to watch a cartoon in two different languages and understand it without the use of annoying subtitles…
But, back to the present.
The page I had just flipped to reveal a brightly decorated splash of colors and micro-pictures. The title at the top read Real Love Relationship Test! This Trip To the Beach Will Reveal Your Love Pattern! My eyes flicked to the writer's name:
Renokashi Aiko.
I grinned. Aiko-sama finally got a roll in a magazine.
I pulled out a pen and started to read the test questions as Aladdin met Jasmine for the first time. First question:
You go to the beach with your friends. What's the color of your bathing suit?
1. Pink
2. Light Blue
3. White
4. Black
5. Red
I circled Red without hesitation and moved on:
The weather is awesome! What do you want to do?
1. Watermelon Splitting
2. Beach Volleyball
3. Swimming
4. Sunbathing (napping)
Ah, watermelon splitting. The fantastic and utterly pointless beach tradition of trying to split a watermelon with a stick while blindfolded. The best beach game. Honestly, what's better than a totally edible pinata? And once the watermelon were split, the subgames of seed-spitting, watermelon-eating contests followed, and after that came a major sugar rush. So I circled Watermelon Splitting and moved on to question 3.
Or, I would have, if not for the fact that it was the same 'Barley Tea' question that Aiko had asked all of us at the street fair. I tried not to smile as I went on to question 4:
Coincidentally, five boys you know are having shaved ice at a rest area. Now name the boy whose personality would match the following flavors of the syrup.
1. Strawberry
2. Melon
3. Lemon
4. Blue Hawaiian
5. Green Tea
After a little thought, I marked down Ichirou for Strawberry (although Masaya might have been more fitting…), Kaito for Lemon, Ryou for Blue Hawaiian, Joey for Green Tea, and (blush) Kish for Melon.
The last question read:
You go out with the boys. You all decide to play in the sand, but what are you going to do?!
1. Build a sand castle
2. Build a mound
3. Bury someone
4. Get yourself buried
This was a no-brainer. Definitely bury someone.
I felt a tiny prickle at the back of my neck, the kind that alerts you to some stalker watching you. But this felt good, accompanied by a happy tingle in my stomach. I glanced around, saw no one, shrugged, and flipped to next page for the results. They were:
Question One Results: Your Aggression level and Confession Style
1.Pink- 100 percent Aggressive- Persistent even when he's got a girlfriend, you'd try to attract him with your femininity!
2. Light Blue- 40 percent Aggressive- Shrewd, you'd ask him out, but wait for him to confess his love.
3.White- 20 percent Aggressive- Even if it's just a crush, your relatively happy watching from afar.
4.Black- 60 percent Aggressive- Preferring to write a love letter, you're practical at approaching him after gathering information.
5.Red- If he's not involved in a relationship, you'd call and confess your love to him!
I had chosen red. Weird thing is, that's how I've pretty much been almost all my life. I was about to check the results of the second question, when Pudding plopped herself down beside me. "Watcha doin' na no da?"
"Taking a love test and watching Aladdin" I answered as I handed her a second set of headphones. The little monkey girl pointed at Abu and Jasmine. "They're my favorite na no da"
Jasmine was my favorite, too, but before I could agree, Pudding pointed to my magazine. "Can Pudding take the test after you na no da?"
"Sure" I said, making a mental reminder to erase Kish's name from the shaved ice question.
But Pudding had broke my train of thought when she spoke, so when I resumed my answer-checking, I restarted on question four's results, which confused me for a second.
Question Four Results: What he means to you.
1. Strawberry-A Friend-For its pleasant taste that everyone likes, strawberry symbolizes friendship.
2. Melon- A Lover- Its tongue-changing feature—his ability to change your outlook—indicates a symbol of love.
3. Lemon- Someone Who Loves You- Sweet and stimulating, lemon flavor indicates you're his love interest.
4. Blue Hawaii- Someone You'd Kiss- It's mature taste represents a boy who excites you.
5. Green Tea- Someone You Respect- Someone you respect. Its soothing affect shows an individual who'd accept you.
Let's see… I had chosen Ichirou for strawberry. And it was totally, completely true.
I had put Kaito for lemon. Nothing new there…
Ryou had been down for blue Hawaii. Uhm……… Let's move on and not discuss that shall we? (nervous laughter and sweatdrop)
As for green tea, Joey suited that answer perfectly.
And Kish had been for melon…
"Why are you blushing, Kinomi-oneechan na no da?"
"I'm not blushing!"
"Yes you are na no da!"
"Er……"
But Pudding had already lost interest. She tugged lightly at a strand of my hair. "Can Pudding braid your hair na no da?
"Of course" I dug through my bag for a pack of rubber bands. I grabbed them and handed them to Pudding, who immediately ripped them open, spilling the little black rings of rubber across the blanket.
Question Five Results: Someone you'd fall in love with at first sight.
1. Build a sand castle- He's full of confidence. An older, reliable person.
2. Build a mound- He has excellent reflexes. An athlete of your age.
3. Bury someone- Someone entertaining and the same age as you.
4. Get yourself buried- A cute younger boy who'd depend on you.
I had chosen to bury someone. And, freakily, the description fits Kish perfectly…
Um, ok, moving on back to question 2 before I start blushing…
Question Two Results: Your Thrilling Chance of Getting Kissed.
Watermelon Splitting- 80 percent Aggressive- You're a real thrill seeker. Are you close to kissing?!
Beach Volleyball- 60 percent Aggressive- An indirect kiss is a possibility for someone seeking a little thrill like you.
Swimming- 40 percent Aggressive- Preferring less excitement, you're uncomfortable with kissing, but you can hold hands.
Sunbathing- 20 percent Aggressive- Lacking in thrills, you won't be kissing for quite a while.
Kiss….. I though as I closed the magazine and layed my head down on my arms. I didn't even try to stop the thought. What would it be like to kiss Kish…?
And, with soothing thoughts of Kish kisses in my mind, and Pudding's tiny, nimble fingers working through my hair, I fell asleep.
And dreamed.
It was just some weird wonderland of chocolate milkshakes and marshmallows falling from the sky. Please don't ask, I have reeeeeeeaaaaaaaly freaky dreams.
And they just got even freakier.
Suddenly the random (but enjoyable)sights and sounds of my dream were cut off as if by a switch. "Hey, what gives?" I yelled into the darkness. "What the smoof is going on?!"
Nothing.
Complete, total silence and blackness.
And then the visions started again.
Not really visions, exactly, cause a vision is just that. A vision. Sight only.
No, this used every one of my senses. Everything was just fuzzy blobs, hazy, like I was crying uber-hard. There was a cold, triumphant question of "Well?" that must have been asked by Chi, then Pie, sounding hollow and empty, saying something I couldn't understand. Chi again "Then my work here is done". And then a sharp, agonizing pain centered in my chest. Tears stinging at my eyes, I clutched at my heart, which hurt more than I thought possible. I was suffocating, thorny vines twisting around my wrists and ankles and neck, the stench of freshly spilled blood all around me.
You know what rescued me from my nightmare?
A voice.
Kish's voice.
Singing.
You heard me, Kish was singing!
And he was good.
And then there was my voice sing along with him…
I opened my eyes to see, not Kish, but Aladdin and Jasmine flying around on a magic carpet and singing 'A Whole New World'.
Jasmine sounded like me…
And ALADDIN sounded like KISH.
I mean EXACTLY LIKE KISH.
FREAKY!!
"What's wrong, Kinomi-oneechan na no da?"
"N-Nothing!" I sat up. I felt my neck, finding it raw and tender, like I was really suffocated. My chest felt like it was on fire.
What the heck was going on?
"Hey Pudding" I panted. I had to calm down. It was just a dream. Just a dream… "Have you had any weird dreams lately?"
"Well, Pudding had one last night about a giant house made of chocolate with—"
"No, I mean, like, scary weird."
Pudding paused. She had just been securing a bad around the now completed braid. Or rather, bundle of braids. She had braided my hair into nine braids, which she braided into three braids, which she braided into one braid. The overall effect was slightly dizzifying.
"Yes" Pudding said after a few seconds. "You're crying and there's someone lying in front of you and not moving and Tar-Tar's crying and there's lots of blood and--" Pudding squeezed me tight, hoping it would give her comfort. "It's so scary na no da!"
I hugged her back. And thought. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Pudding didn't want to worry you na no da" I shushed Pudding gently "Please tell me about these dreams. They might mean something.
And they probably did. Her dreamed sounded a bit too much like mine to be a coincidence. Were we dreaming the same thing?
If so, why?
I never got time to think it over, because I heard a small chuckle above me. I glanced up and, once again, saw Tart and his knife. Pudding lunged at him, hoping for a hug, but he was too high up.
"What do you want?" I growled.
"Oh, just brought a friend" Tart said as he pulled a parasite alien out of nowhere. He tossed it, and the jellyfish-like thing landed in the nearby pond. Pudding as I ran over to the pond, and, glancing into it, found it was packed with fish.
"This parasite is ultra-powerful" Tart stuck his tongue out at us. "See if you can find it before it takes effect…. Foxy!"
"Ok, that does it!" I knew that Tart was just trying to bug me. But calling me by the name only Kish calls me by…
That just crosses the line.
"Mew Kinomi Metamorphosis!"
"Mew Pudding Metemorphosis!"
Pudding and I transformed into mew form, but while I dropped t my knees and started scanning the water, Pudding smiled up at Tart. "Pudding is glad she was able to see you today Tar-Tar na no da"
Tart blushed. "Wh-wh-what?!" Tart blinked and shook his head, apparently trying to get himself to focus. "H-hey, why aren't you scared?"
"Why should Pudding be scared na no da?"
I looked up at the two with mild curiosity. Tart looked a little ticked off. "You know, I should just kill you right now! Then I wouldn't have to deal with you!"
Pudding stared at him. "You can't kill Pudding na no da" She said seriously.
"Oh yah?!"
Pudding took a step towards Tart. I had never seen her like this before. "You can't kill Pudding because you don't want to na no da" I could see a light red blush rise in Tart's face as Pudding spoke. "You don't want to hurt Pudding na no da"
"Bu-..wha… Yes I want to kill you! You're annoying and you're creepy!"
"If you wanted to kill Pudding…" Pudding said slowly. There was a light blush in her face too. "Why didn't you yesterday?"
Tart's face turned redder than yesterday. I could almost hear his thoughts, something along the lines of, Dang, she knows?! "Shut up! Just shut up!" Tart yelled as he waved one hand in the direction of the pond. Instantly a GIGANTIC, sharp-toothed, spiny fish leapt out of the water. And those spines looked poisonous…
"Ribbon Kinomi Blaze!"
"Pudding Ring Inferno"
Both attacks struck at once. When the smoke cleared….
The monster had been defeated.
In 5 seconds.
Guess it wasn't that strong after all…
Tart was standing at the bank of the pond (on the ground for once), staring at the spot it was just a moment ago, his masterpiece had leapt into the air to kill us. I swear, his eye was twitching!
Pudding and I changed back into regular form, and Pudding walked over to Tart. I watched, curious to see what the monkey-girl would do…
"What do you want?!" Tart snapped at her. Pudding took one step closer. Tart took a step back. "So you defeated my parasite. So what? I'll kill you some other time"
"You won't kill Pudding na no da"
"You said that already! Why aren't you scared?! I have a knife right here, I can kill you right now!"
"But you won't na no da" Pudding said with confidence. She had been walked closer to him this entire time, and now she was only about half a foot away. "Pudding isn't scared because she trusts you. And you won't kill Pudding because you don't want to na no da" Pudding blushed, and her monkey ears and tail unfurled. I stared at her. She had never acted like this before… "And you….can't kill Pudding because….." Pudding paused, blushed deeper, then leaned in closer. Tart leaned back. But Pudding took a step inward and brushed her lips onto his.
Yah. She kissed him.
Let me just say that again:
SHE KISSED HIM.
PUDDING KISSED TART.
It took me a second to pick my jaw off the ground and register this. Pudding's eyes were closed, and her tail and ears were out, and her cheeks were red. Tart's cheeks were red too, but his eyes were open, and he looked to have been Superglued to the ground. Wanting to get away, but finding that his feet wouldn't move. But even as I watched, I saw his eyes slide closed, and leaned into her slightly.
Strange as this was, it was one of the most kawaii things I have ever seen. I'm guessing this was what they called 'sweet, young love' .
These guys were made for each other. You could just see it in this singular moment when their lips met.
But then tart seemed to regain control of his senses, and pushed Pudding away. "Wha-wha-wha-whaaaaat the heh-heh-heeeeeck….?!" He stuttered as his face got so red, it looked more like a tomato than Tart.
"Tar-tar your getting flustered na no da!!" Pudding squealed as she jumped up and down with excitement. I was sort of glad the normal, uber-hyper was back. The serious version was a little strange.
Tart took a few steps back. Pudding cocked her head to one side, like she was confused as to why Tart was acting so embarrassed (even though her cheeks were still pink and her ears and tail were still out). I figured it was time to intervene before Tart actually turned into a tomato. "Pudding, we gotta go meet the girls at the arcade now, 'k?"
"Okie-dokie!" Pudding jogged over to me, and we started walking off. I was surprised she came so fast. She glanced over her shoulder at still-frozen tomato-Tart and waved cheerily to him "Bye-bye Tar-Tar na no da!"
Tart mumbled something and teleported away.
We walked for a second or so, Pudding smiling broadly.
"So….how was that?" I couldn't help smiling as I said this. For some strange reason, just watching them had left me with a little bubble of happiness inside.
"How was what na no da?" She asked slyly.
I gave her a long look that said 'you know what I mean'.
Pudding gave a tiny giggle, then jumped up with uncontainable excitement as she said "Pudding liked it na no da!!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
I paused, panting. I was tired, thirsty, and very slightly dizzy. Dance Dance Revolution for a full hour will do that to me.
I had spent the past hour practically glued to the dance pad. Pudding had also taken a liking to it and so had, surprisingly, Mint. Not the fast songs, but the lower, but harder, ones like un deux touis. Most people don't know that the slow songs are actually harder…
So, as you probably guessed, the girls and I had been at the arcade for the past hour. Mint and Pudding played a bit with me, but mostly Mint stuck to winning tickets with Ichigo (and managing some candy and one stuffed animal each with all the tickets they collected), while Pudding took a great liking to a fireman game in the corner. Lettuce turned out to have a knack for Skeeball. Zakuro now revealed to us a particular talent that she had neglected to mention before: the prizegrabber. She won almost EVERY TIME. Lots of the younger kids started to ask her to wn things for them. Eventually it got to a point where they just handed her a token, pointed to what they wanted, and she's got it for them in five seconds flat.
Me? DDR.
"Any more?" I yelled to the arcade. This was my way of getting more competitors. For a second, no one stepped up. I had already pretty much killed off most of the competition. Then a familiar face decided to come strolling over.
"Hi Masami-san!" I waved enthusiastically. I was on a bit of a sugar rush…
Masami shrugged as way of greeting, something to show that she had recognized me from last Saturday. I noticed that it wasn't really her coming over, it was a girl with aqua hair that was more or less dragging her over. "Kinomi-chan, this is my friend Tasumi." Masami said to spare us the effort of an introduction.
"Hi!" Tasumi said cheerfully. She had on an ultra-short sky blue miniskirt, a silver tank top, and tennis shoes, her long hair pinned out of her face with a silver hair clip adored with a tiny butterfly.
A Lolita. Definitely a Lolita.
"Hello. Care to face me?" I said as means of DDR invitation, slipping another token into the slot. Tasumi nodded and stepped onto the second dance board. "What song?" she asked.
I shrugged "Your choice."
Tasumi nodded and flicked almost immediately to an American song called Dance Dance by someone named Fall Out Boys.
Never heard of them….i
"What difficulty?" She asked again.
"Your choice" I repeated. Already I could see a little line of new competitors, AKA fresh meat, forming beside the DDR machine.
She selected Easy. We simultaneously pressed start and the song began. Guitar-y, with a good guy singer but slightly corny words.
And then it sped up suddenly.
Tasumi was keeping up effortlessly, but I found myself falling behind.
Sheesh, what was up with me?! 'm the DDR champ of this arcade, yet this newbie was beating me on easy?!
Although as the song went on, I realized she wasn't a newbie at this. She must practice three times a week, just like me. She was newer than me, yah, but I could tell I had found a very competent competitor.
The song ended shortly after, like all DDR songs do. Yah, her score was higher than mine. I tuned and shook her hand. "Good game, Tasumi-san" I said, handing her a few tokens. Hey, I had plenty to spare, and she deserved it. "But your restricting yourself with easy. Try Standerd, 'k?"
"Ok!" She said cheerfully. We exchanged cell phone numbers (so we could call each other up for more dance contests in the future), and I turned to the line of people."Ok, who's next?"
A girl with orangey-brown hair and navy eyes stepped out. "Me" she said in a slight English accent. "I'm, uh, Brown Honey"
I chuckled.
"What?"
"Nothing…" I said in Japanese, then switched to English. "Honey Brown, huh? I'm Kinomi Konichiwu. Song and difficulty?"
She blinked. "You speak English?" She asked.
"Yep. Song?"
She stepped onto the dance pad and ran through the songs in a cursory sort of way.
"Ever played before?"
"No…." She paused at one song. "They actually have this?!"
I looked at the song she had stopped on. "A techno version of it, yes. Very good choice. Difficulty?"
"Easy, I guess"
I pressed both start buttons, and the familiar beat started off. Honey was pretty good, for someone who's never played. And she seemed to have fun. When we finished, I gave her some tokens and turned back to the crowd. "Next!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
I won't rehash all the details, but in just two hours, I had challenged practically everyone in this joint, including Pudding (her fav song is Candy), Mint (she beat me at all the slow songs), Masami (Beethoven's Fifth techno on Easy, she wasn't half bad), Tasumi (about 80 more times), Honey (28 more times. Exactly), Aiko (she likes Candy as well. And then she met Keiichiro (who Ryou had sent to check up on us) and the two ended up getting some pizza together…), someone named Bleuberri (SHE WAS GOOD AS HECK), Kaito-kun (he can play Dragon Blade on Expert), some tall dude named Nisiki (also good. He seemed to know that Bleuberri girl…), someone named Toffee, and this kinda hyper short girl who called herself Wind Crystal (is that even a real name?).
Anywhoo, none of this amounted to what had just happened.
Let's just say…….
I PLAYED HONEY PUNCH ON EXPERT ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND GOT 100 PERCENT!!
DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE!!
Although, based on my recent nightmares, that might not be so good.
So now I stood at the sink in the bathroom, splashing water on my hot face, trying to calm down. Then I turned off the faucet, dried my face with a paper towel, and looked at myself in the mirror. The harsh lights cast yellowy shadows on my face, turning my ruddy completion sickly and emphasizing the dark rings under my eyes and the messyness of my hair. I sighed, dug through my pocket, and pulled out some of my Junior Mint chapstick (very good stuff). I applied some to my lips, then ran my fingers through my hair like a comb. Inwardly, I was proud of myself. I played Honey Punch, and I hadn't thought of Kish all day!
And then, of course, I immediately began thinking of him.
I sighed and leaned forward so my forehead rested on the cool glass of the mirror. Sheesh, I'm such an idiot…
But, then again, I'm even more of an idiot for not being true to myself on this.
Ok, I thought as I took a deep breath. No more lying to myself.
I loved Kish to the point that it was almost like obsession, and nothing was ever gonna change that.
If anyone had a problem with that, I didn't care. Even if it was wrong and illegal, even though he was my enemy, even though he loves Ichigo and not me, I don't care. I love who I love, and it won't do any good to tell myself otherwise.
Nice way of putting that, Kinomi.
I blinked. There was that voice inside my head again. But why was the voice calling me by my name? Wasn't it me as well?
I tried an experiment: Thank you. It feels good to love him
Well it did! Really!
Yah, I know. The voice said back. That's why I fought so hard to get you to buy that extra duruma. I was hoping it'd make you stop lying to yourself about this.
This was weird to the nth degree. What the heck was going on?!
Who are you? I thought slowly.
A low laugh. And then Not you, if that's what you're wondering…
Before I could ask anymore, Pudding burst in. "Kinomi-oneechan, we're gonna buy some milkshakes now na no da!!"
"Ok!" I ran out after her, following her to the concession stand. Lettuce held her new ticket-won Wii in her arms, watching most of the others fight over who was gonna pay as the cashier watched with mild curiosity.
"I'll pay!" I said cheerfully when I got within speaking range. I was in a good enough mood to do almost anything. The others nodded, and we approached the guy at the register. He was tall and rather cute, with blue eyes and patchy red hair that looked to be the result of a bad dye job.
"Hello. What would you like?" He asked a voice that suggested he was bored out of his mind even after the intressting little show we had just put on for him.
Everyone placed their orders, and the guy went in the back to get the food. Our orders (all in large cups):
Zakuro- One vanilla
Ichigo- One strawberry
Mint- One chocolate
Lettuce- One vanilla
Pudding-Two chocolate
Me- Two chocolate (although I really wanted three)
A few minutes later the dude came back out, balancing all eight milkshakes in his arms like Rachel Ray. He had a cute, cocky smile playing around his mouth now, though I'm not sure why. "Here ya go" He said as he set them on the counter. I handed him the money, and we each took what we ordered and trouped out the back door into the small park out back. It was the kind of place stupid-in-love couples and parents with little kids go. Springy, almost fake looking green grass, flowers everywhere, playground equipment that no one was using, seeing as the place was empty. We parked ourselves under a plum blossom tree and sat in a circle as usual. I raised my glass high. "To DDR!" I toasted without knoing why I was toasting.
"To DDR!" everyone chorused, following my example, clinking their cups with mine and taking a sip out of them. Ok, Zakuro didn't really even drink it she just sort of brought it near her mouth and then lowered it again.
"Tastes funny" Ichigo declared after a few more slurps at the straw. Lettuce nodded. "What do you think, Kinomi?" Ichigo stared at me. "Kinomi?"
I didn't answer. I was locked in a fierce who-can-drink-a-full-cup-of-this-fastest contest with Pudding, both of us practically inhaling the sweet chocolaty goodness. So what if it had a bittery, sour-ish taste over it? It was still a chocolate milkshake.
I finished mine about five seconds before Pudding and cheered. "All Right! I win!" I gave Pudding a high five. She giggled and hugged me. I felt good. Happy from the DDR and Puddings hug and refreshed from the milkshake and energized from the love for Kish I concealed in my heart, known only to that little voice in my head.
Then seconds later dying of thirst.
I untied Pudding's arms from around me and grabbed for the next cup. Beside me, Lettuce was taking a few tentative sips of hers, and Ichigo was slurping her strawberry one up as well. Zakuro and Mint were the only ones not drinking. Or, rather, Zakuro wasn't drinking and Mint was copying her as usual.
I downed my other milkshake quickly. Pudding groaned from nearby. "Pudding doesn't feel so good na no da…" She was bent over, clutching her head. "Brainfreeze?" I asked sympathetically. Pudding shrugged. "Want the rest na no da?" She asked as she offered me the rest of her almost-full second milkshake. I was about to decline, but then that overwhelming thirst kicked in again. What was with me?! I snatched it out of her hand and slurped it up. Then I grabbed Zakuro's milkshake and drank that one down too. I was beginning to scare myself a little. The more I drank, the stronger the burning in my throat got. When I finished Zakuro's I grabbed Mint's. Halfway through Mint's I stopped. My head felt light, the sky swirling around me. My throat burned like I had just swallowed hot sand, and my insides felt like someone had stuck a hot poker between my ribs. I slumped forward, clutching my stomach, the milkshake falling to spill its contents beside me. "W-What's going on!?" Letttuce asked in a panicky kind of voice. She and Ichigo looked pale, hands pressed lightly over aching stomachs. I heard a soft moan nearby and swiveled my head to see Pudding lying on the grass, chest visibly rising and falling in her efforts to breathe, empty cup held uselessly in one hand, a trickle of blood running from the corner of her mouth. I tried to crawl over to her, but the second I tried to move a intense bolt of flames shot through my insides. I fell forward, coughing. Red splattered on the grass in front of me.
I was coughing up blood!
I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. My vision was clouding up, spinning around. I coughed again, and more blood dripped out of my mouth. What had happened?!
"You drank four of those?" Came a voice above me. "That's kinda….stupid….."
With difficulty I looked up to see the concession stand guy floating a high above us.
Yah.
Floating.
Little fangs, big ears, floating.
He was an alien.
His hair was still red, but a more even, clear shade now. His clothing consisted of a sort of thick-strapped tank top that was about as high-cut as Kish's shirt and pants that ended just a bit over the knee, all in shades of pale lilac-purple. Nothing else. If I wasn't about to die at the moment, I'd think he was cute.
There were a few ripples in the air nearby, and a kid's voice called "Sorry to break up your fun, but we…." Tart's voice trailed off as he stared down at us. At Pudding. "What the heck….?!"
I'm guessing Tart, Pie, and Kish had shown up to try to kill us, but that new guy beat them to it.
I watched as Pie and Tart stared down at us, frozen, but Kish stared at the new guy, his eyes wide. He mouthed something I couldn't hear, and blinked hard, like he thought he was seeing things. Red hair guy looked just as confused. He floated a little nearer Kish, and I realized something.
They looked alike.
VERY alike.
New guy was only about an inch taller than Kish. Though their hair and eyes were different colors, their faces and general body type were the same.
The new alien gave a sort of half smile and said awkwardly "Hi, little brother"
LITTLE BROTHER?!
This was all happening just a liiitle to fast for my slow-functioning brain to comprehend. Red-hair guy, Kwin or whatever, was Kish's BROTHER?!
Can't my life be simple for just two seconds?
"Well, uh…" Kwin scratched the back of his head, looking for something to say. "The sky's really blue here on this planet, isn't it?" (random….)
"Kwin…" Kish didn't seem to hear him. He was staring down at us, his expression changing to match Tart's and Pie's. "Kwin…wha'd you do….?"
Kwin shrugged. "Just following orders"
"Orders from who?!"
A slight pause. And then Kwin answered "Kinu"
"WHAT?!"
But Kwin was already gone.
"Kish!" Tart called. I looked over to him to see him lying beside Pudding, holding her head up slightly. Her breathing was weaker. "Hey, Kish! Little help?"
I didn't see what happened next. There was another jolt of pain in my chest and I fell onto the grass. My vision was an odd mix of blurry, runny colors seen through half-closed eyes. The voices of people around me came in and out of focus like someone was playing with the volume control.
"—going on? Why—"
"—poison found on our planet. Highly toxic—"
"—creates overwhelming thirst for more—"
"—may have a little antidote but—"
"—Mew Aqua! We need—"
I forced my eyes open, and found their gaze directed at the fuzzy shapes of Ichigo and Kish. Ichigo was bent forward, panting, Kish kneeling in front of her. "Here, Koneko-chan, drink this, you'll—"
"I'm fine, Kish!" I saw Ichigo push him away. I tried to force my vision clearer so I could better. "You only have a little bit, right?"
Kish hesitated before answering. "Yes"
"Then give it to Kinomi or Pudding or something! They're, like, dying over there!"
Slowly, Kish looked from Ichigo over to me, his face a mask of perfect blank surprise. I'm not sure if he had seen me before or not.
Then his expression morphed to one of panic. "FOXY!!"
I saw him lunge for me, his urgent face swallowed up by the mist in my brain. My last though before the curtain of black velvet dropped down on me was I've been passing out quite a lot lately, haven't I?
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
I told you it was confusing! In case you got lost, Kwin is Kish's brother (thought to be dead), but he's working with Kinu. Kwin disguised himself as the cashier at the conssesscion stand and poisoned the Mew's milkshakes with an extreamly toxic poison that, when drunk, results in an unquenchible thirst for more of it, untill you drink enough to kill you. The more you drink, the stronger the thirst.
Simple, right? (cheesy smile)
So, r&r as usual, an I shall update ASAP!!
