Catnapped!
Chapter Seven: Oops!
August 26th, 2004
Kish cringed as Ichigo bounded up to the darkly tanned boy and immediately engaged in conversation with him. Her face brightened with excitement as Masaya complimented her on her appearance, and reminded them of their date tomorrow. She said she remembered and began to ask him various questions of what was to take place.
Kish, however, was just standing there, feeling slightly out of place and imagining a giant, heavy mallet hitting Masaya on the head.
Repeatedly.
"And who's this? A cousin?" Masaya turned to the alien and smiled brightly. Kish was pulled from his evil daydream as the young man questioned him. He looked over Masaya carefully, as if sizing him up for a fight, then scowled slightly.
"This is Kish, Aoyama-kun!" Ichigo jumped in, suddenly noticing the dangerous look on the alien's face. She had seen that look many times before, and it was the calm before the storm. "He's our exchange student from Norway." She smiled broadly, as if trying to cover a lie with teeth.
Masaya bowed in respect, smiling politely. "It's nice to meet you, Kish-kun. I hope you're finding Japan enjoyable."
"Hmph," Kish turned away, his lips fading into a thin, white line. Masaya looked from Ichigo to Kish in slight confusion.
"You'll have to forgive Kish!" Ichigo said, suddenly flailing for words at explaining Kish's contempt for Aoyama-kun. "His Japanese isn't very good…"
"Oh… I can help him with it if he wants," Masaya said helpfully, smiling from Ichigo to the green-haired alien. "I can learn basic Scandinavian real quick." Kish blew a gasket at that moment. This perfect, smiling, idiotic twerp was getting on his NERVES.
"I can speak Japanese just fine!" he yelled suddenly, jumping forward and waving a fist in the tanned boy's face as a sign of challenge. Little did he notice that the courtyard around him had gone eerily silent. "And I don't need you trying to help me, you perfect-dolt! And further more-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence, because at that exact moment a crowd of very angry Masaya fan girls could take no more insults and came after him, shouting obscenities and waving book bags as weapons.
Kish felt like a deer caught in a car's headlights, and did the only thing that seemed rational at the moment:
He grabbed Ichigo and ran.
He didn't care where he was running to, he just ran. As long as he got away from the hoard of girls looking to kill! He jumped over some bushes and bolted down the road, desperately wishing he could attack them with something. But doing that would evoke rage from Ichigo, and that was far worse than a mob of angry fan girls.
After several minutes of running in a zigzag fashion (to confuse the predator), Kish ducked behind some more bushes and flattened his self against the ground. He lay there in silence watching through the lower branches as running feet slipped past the two of them. He sighed in relief as he watched the last stragglers pass; they were finally safe.
Wait…
Where was Ichigo?
"Get off, Kish!"
Kish looked below him, and there, pinned to the ground was Ichigo under his arms and legs, squirming for release. He stared at her for a few moments before allowing a large grin to spread across his face. He couldn't help himself, the situation was too perfect. Ichigo was lying helplessly beneath him, and Kish did not have so much self-control that he could just get off the pretty girl and apologize. So, instead he lowered his head a few centimeters, and captured her lips in a kiss.
You can take the alien out of evil, but you can't take the evil out of the alien.
Ichigo was about to give him a hefty smack over the head, when she noticed something very strange: her lips tingled, and her chest had suddenly tightened painfully, but enjoyably. It was kind of like the pleasant feeling she got from Masaya or Ryou… only far stronger. It was the feeling of sunshine, daises, and fuzzy pink things; it was nice.
Ichigo, however, became suddenly frightened by the abnormal emotion that ran through her. Her eyes bolted open and she looked up at Kish in slight shock, then pulled away from the alien and forced an angry glare. Secretly, however, she was trying to stop the rapid beating of her heart. What was this change within her? And why did it originate from Kish?
"THERE HE IS!"
Ichigo didn't have any more time to dabble on the subject. Her eyes went wide instantly when she heard the familiar voice of the Masaya fan-girls coming toward their hiding place. She squirmed out from underneath Kish, then forced him to the ground as she stood up in a flash. Ichigo turned and faced the mob with a smiling face and a slightly hesitant tone.
"Sorry girls, it's just me! I dropped my homework." Ichigo held up a piece of paper and smiled sheepishly.
The angry peasants put down their pitchforks and looked slightly distraught at loosing their hunt.
"Oh… did you see a green-haired boy go this way?" One of the older girls asked. Ichigo shook her head in response and shrugged sympathetically.
"Nope. It was just me…" She pointed down the road a slight ways. "But you might wanna try a few streets over."
"YAAAAAAA!!!" With that light of hope, the mob cried their battle cry, raised their pitchforks, and then went off Kish-Hunting. The green-haired, Norwegian boy had Masaya-related crimes to pay! No one insulted their Masa-chan and got away with it… no one!!!
Ichigo made sure they were all gone before allowing Kish to stand. She shook her head and stared at him, infuriated with the fact that he had ruined her morning… and her conversation with Masaya.
"I hope you realized you caused all that?" Ichigo stated, frustrated at Kish's behavior. "It was your fault."
"How?" Kish asked angrily, dusting himself off and checking to make sure nothing was broken or bruised. He glanced carefully at his redheaded companion, examining her for any possible injuries.
"You insulted Aoyama-kun," Ichigo said sharply, wagging a finger at him and snapping his gaze from her left ankle, it was looking a little red. "Never insult Aoyama-kun, he has a crowd of fan-girls wherever he goes."
Kish snorted slightly and scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Though he seems to take a fancy in you." He looked strangely at her for a moment, as if questioning her. "Are you his girlfriend?"
Ichigo's cheeks brightened instantly. Of course she wasn't his girlfriend! Masaya was far too perfect for her. He was kind, and charming, and handsome… she was just Ichigo. What chance could she ever have with him? "No, I'm not dating him…" She stated rather sadly.
Kish made a sound of disbelief. "Well, if you're not dating him now, you will be by tomorrow…" He finished checking himself and his companion, then started to head back to school. If they didn't hurry, they were going to be late to class.
"What do you mean by that?" Ichigo cried, racing after the alien.
"I mean," Kish snapped angrily, turning to look at the superhero tenaciously, "that any guy who has that much access to girls, and favors one of them, certainly has plans for the 'special girl'. Has he asked other girls out on dates before?"
"Well… no…" Ichigo stated carefully, trying to mentally connect the dots.
"Need I say more?" He stepped into the nearly empty courtyard, the last stragglers were rushing to class as he and Ichigo were. "Either he wants to date you, or he's gay and looking for a shopping buddy."
"Aoyama-kun is not gay!" Ichigo cried in defense of the handsome sun-baby.
Kish laughed arrogantly. "Oh? He's just in-touch with his feminine side?"
Ichigo lost her patience in that exact moment. She turned to the alien in a snap and grabbed his ear sharply, pulling his face close to her own. "You don't even know him!" She cried, staring forcefully into his amazing gold eyes. She was feeling her train of thought drift away, as she gazed into his golden globes. 'Must keep focused…' she chanted to herself, lest she be drawn into their powerful glow, 'Must keep focused…'
Kish glared at the redhead, feeling very self-conscious as she yelled at him. Since when did she know what he was thinking, or his reasons behind his actions? "I don't need to know him, Ichigo," He snapped, roughly pulling her hand from his ear, "He's attracted to you and that makes him competition. Or should I explain myself further?"
Ichigo's cheeks flared again as she looked at Kish, and his words sunk in. She absolutely hated it when he said things like that, because then the whole world just melted away. Her face flushed, her heart beat faster, and her lips suddenly ached for pressure… it was really the most undesirable feeling. Ichigo then did the only thing that seemed even reasonably sensible in such a situation: she turned and walked away; leaving Kish in the dust and feeling greatly disheartened.
The green-haired alien stood there and watched her walk away, feeling one of Cupid's poison arrows strike his heart. He always told Ichigo how he felt, what he was thinking, or even physically expressed his feelings for her. He understood that sometimes it really irritated her, but at least he was letting her know how he felt. But instead of Ichigo giving him the time of day, she just hit him, yelled at him, or even worse… walked away without a word. It felt like Ichigo didn't even bother to pay attention to him.
Slowly and painfully, Kish followed the redhead into the school, determined to get through the day. Even if it meant dealing with a terrible heartache.
Ichigo took him to the main office, just as the tardy bell rang. She sighed deeply and requested a pass as she left Kish to wait for the principal. Kish watched in horror as she started for the door, pass in hand.
"You're leaving me?" he cried, jumping up and running to her. The secretary looked up from her desk and raised an eyebrow, then returned to work.
Ichigo was taken aback bye the need in Kish's voice. He had only once sounded as helpless as he did now, and that was a day or so ago when they were trapped in the ship together; that had been a much dire situation than being alone in the school office. Just the same, she really hated to hear him whimper like a hurt puppy, it struck several of her tender heartstrings.
"I have to go, Kish… I'm not allowed to stay here with you. I have to get to class, or I'll be in trouble." She looked carefully at him before taking his hand, it was warm and soft and made her face feel hot. Holding his hand gave her a very strange sensation that started at her stomach and ran up and down her spine. It made her feel warm and content, as if she had just drank several glasses of very expensive wine. The strangest thing was, that Ichigo seemed to have experienced this sensation before…
"You'll be fine… just… try to be nice. Please?" Ichigo said, trying to ignore the strange feeling. She squeezed his hand tighter and smiled supportively.
"Um, okay… but, Ichigo-" Kish began to whisper to her, but was quickly stopped by the superhero cutting his sentence.
"I'll see you at lunch then? I'm in room 1-C." She smiled politely at the receptionist, who was giving her a very funny look, then bowed and started opening the door. She had to get out of this office, especially since it had Kish within its walls. "I'll talk to you later."
"Ichigo, wait!" Kish cried before she exited the room. His hand latched onto her shoulder quickly, hoping to stop her. He knew her record of fleeing him very well, and didn't want her to take a chance in her current condition.
"What?" She asked irritably, feeling very angry that he was keeping her from class. "I'm gonna get in trouble if you don't let me go."
"You're gonna get caught," His voice lowered to a harsh whisper and his eyes darted upward. "if you don't loose those ears…"
"Huh?" Her hands shot to the top of her head, feeling soft cat ears growing where her pigtails started. "Oh no!" She cried and ran from the room, leaving Kish to smile slightly. She was going to get caught one day if she wasn't careful…. Ichigo had a long record of not being very careful.
"Kish?"
Kish jumped and turned to fund a short, round man with no hair and glasses circling his eyes. The alien eyed the stranger suspiciously, as if silently accusing him of something… anything. After a moment Kish allowed himself to bow politely and respectably to the older man. "Hai."
"Mmm… hm…" The man said, looking down at his sheet and frowning slightly. "Follow me, we have a lot of paper-work to fill out…"
'Oh Boy…' Kish though desperately, as he followed the rotund man into another office. 'What have I gotten myself into?'
- - -
Ichigo felt her blood boil as she stared at the back of the head in front of her. Life just couldn't go as she planned, could it? Something (be it fate, Ryou, or Kish) was always screwing her over. Was she just cursed really bad Karma or something? What god did she manage to piss off today? No, it wasn't bad enough that Kish now lived on her planet, in her city, in her house, and attended her school… no, that wasn't enough for whatever misdeed Ichigo may have caused. Kish had to be in her class… and sitting smack-dab in front of her, no less.
Ichigo had never wanted to hit anything more than she did right then. She wanted to smack the back of his head so hard that he would end up in another universe, and be out of her hair forever.
'I'm cursed!' Ichigo cried helplessly as her face fell forward and smacked the top of her desk. 'I am forever cursed. I know I promised Kish that I would keep him safe but… Gods! Does that mean I have to spend every single waking minute with him?'
"Psst!"
Ichigo's head snapped up, then sulkily turned around to glare into a pair of bright green eyes, framed by long black pigtails. "What, Misao?" She snarled, baring her teeth in a very demonic way. She wanted to sulk in peace, if it was all the same to the world and the pretty brunette behind her.
"That new exchange student, Kish… he's staying with you, right?" Misao asked, completely unfazed by the redhead's response.
"It's association by guilt…" Ichigo drawled forcefully, eyes narrowing into slits as her head swiveled around to look at the back of the unsuspecting Kish. "So, yes he is staying with me… unfortunately."
"How can you say that?" Miwa whispered in surprise, as she hopped into the conversation between Ichigo and Misao. "Kish is the most adorable boy in school! And the second cutest! He's giving Masaya a run for his money!"
The redhead blinked in shock for a moment, staring at Miwa as if she had called herself queen of everything. "What are you on? Have you ever spent time with him?"
"Well, it's true!" Moe said suddenly from Ichigo's right side. "He's already really popular, and I hear they're gonna start a Kish fan-club!" She whispered. Her eyes darted back to the stone-solid form of the alien, his eyes were focused on the chalk board where the teacher stood. Moe's face melted into an expression of love-sickness. "I am so signing up for that club!"
"But you hate clubs, Moe!" Ichigo whispered back, her whole mind in shock. "You hate organized… anything."
"Well, not enough to deny me some of that… mm-mm good." Moe winked playfully in an expression that was completely unlike her.
'What has happened to my friends!?' Ichigo asked herself futilely, as her eyes darted around the room. She was suddenly noticing that every other girl's eyes were glued to the lithe, handsome form of Kish. Ichigo, however, could only glare daggers at the alien in front of her. 'Are they all on drugs!? Honestly! It's just Kish!' She crossed her arms over her chest indignantly and pouted. There was absolutely nothing spectacular about him… well, save for the fact that he was an alien, and he had the most beautiful golden eyes that Ichigo had ever seen… but other than that, he was so boring!
"Baka…" Ichigo muttered under her breath.
"Hm?" Kish turned to carry on a conversation with the pretty girl who insulted him, but a pencil suddenly rolled past his feet. Without giving a single thought about it, he stooped down and picked it up, turning back to give it to the open palm in front of him. The alien smiled politely at the green-eyed brunette, who the palm was attached to. "Is this yours?" He asked softly, holding up the discarded pencil.
She batted her eyes innocently as she gently took the writing utensil from Kish's hand. "Oh, how clumsy of me!" Misao whispered in a totally fake innocent tone. "Thank you so much for returning it to me…" She batted her eyes again.
Kish just stared, open-mouthed, at her. This girl couldn't think she actually looked cute, could she? She really just looked like she had something in her eyes and was trying to blink it out… or she had uncontrollable muscle spasms in her eyelids.
"Ah… sure… you're welcome." He smiled a little oddly at the girl before turning around to face the teacher again. But he wasn't left alone for long; in another few seconds about forty more pencils all came flying down the aisle next to Kish.
"What the…?" The teacher turned around and glared at the class. She made a noise of disapproval and shook her head. "Is there something wrong with your pencils, Ichigo?"
The redhead gave a start. She looked around at the snickering faces around her and growled. Why was she getting punished for their stupidity? "But… sensei, those aren't mine-" She didn't have a chance to finish, her teacher walked over to the redhead and glared.
"I don't think it's fair for you to be interrupting our class time, especially when our new exchange student has so much to catch up on!" She was starting to swell up like a very agitated bull.
"I…" Ichigo stuttered.
"-don't think about the consequences, do you? You've been a thorn in my side ever since you started class here. Always running away and making up excuses, never doing your classroom jobs… you are just the worst student I've ever had!"
The redhead could only stare, dumfounded at her teacher's words. Was that what all adults thought about her? That she was just some sort of problem that couldn't be fixed? Was she just a thorn in someone's side? Ichigo felt tears begin to well up in her eyes and she let her face fall out of sight. She never really thought about herself that way… it was sad, and depressing, but maybe it was true?
The alien craned his neck to glance around his teacher. Uh-oh… he knew that look. He'd been the cause of that look so many times before, however, now all he wanted to do was to stop her expression from turning into liquid. He promised he'd keep Ichigo safe, and that meant insolent teachers as well as Pai.
"Sensei," Kish said firmly as he shot up from his desk. "It was my fault. I provoked the other girls. I should be punished."
The teacher looked at Kish in a shocked manner. In fact, all the students looked at Kish in a shocked manner. Everyone knew it wasn't his fault, but he was still taking the blame to save Ichigo's face.
'What a guy!' all the girls swooned collectively as they smiled at him.
"Fine!" The teacher suddenly snarled, eyes narrowing at the alien. "Go stand in the hall until lunch period." She pointed to the door sharply.
Kish bowed politely to her before walking out of class, holding his head proudly. He refused to let someone as domineering as her to get the best of him.
"Momomiya-san, you follow him as well!"
Ichigo stood up dumbly, nodded, then followed Kish into the hall as if in a trance. Why had Kish stood up for her? Even the teacher knew it wasn't his fault, but he still claimed the blame. She walked out into the hall and saw Kish leaning against the window frame, looking out the window calmly.
"Kish?" Ichigo asked softly.
Kish turned to look at Ichigo with a mildly surprised expression. "Oh. What are you doing out here?"
"I got punished too…" She stood next to him, feeling very uncomfortable. She wasn't quite sure what to say next, or even if she should speak.
"I don't like the teacher." Kish said suddenly, not even turning away from the window. "She had no right to say those things to you, Ichigo…" He finally turned to look at her. "You're a wonderful person, and a great friend to boot. Anybody who insults you like she just did, deserves to be publicly humiliated."
The girl's face flared as red as her hair and she turned away slightly. "Thank you, Kish… for standing up for me and everything."
"You saved my life earlier this morning, Ichigo… I felt it was the least I could do." He smiled playfully at her, and felt the awkwardness ease at the show of his teeth.
"Thanks…"
Suddenly the door slid open, and out stepped Misao. "YAA-HOOOH!" She cried happily, skipping up to where Kish stood and latching on to his arm.
Ichigo felt a pang of jealously snap through her body instantly. Since when did that skinny little brunette get permission to touch Kish anyway? She had no right to be friendly with him, non at all! The redhead glared suddenly at the raven-haired intruder.
"What are you doing here anyway, Misao?" Ichigo snapped, slightly irritated.
"I didn't want Kish to be all alone out here… so, I got my self in trouble too!" She pulled Kish closer to herself and smiled up at him.
"Um-" Kish was about to say something, but Ichigo cut him off.
"He wasn't alone! He was with me, duh!" She rolled her eyes sarcastically at the brunette.
"Like I'd ever leave Kishy-wishy alone with the likes of you!" Misao snarled back at the redhead.
"Well, if he was alone with you I'd think he'd get fleas!" Ichigo yelled in response, pointing a finger at her.
"Um-" Kish tried to speak again; that was completely futile.
"He's going to be mine, Ichigo!"
"No he won't!"
"Baka!"
"Incompetent fool."
"Slut!"
"Whore!"
"Shut up!" Kish said suddenly, glaring at the two girls. He turned to Misao first, fully ready to berate her. "Misao-san, I'm not a piece of meat that should be drooled over, and let go… if I don't get circulation to my arm soon, it's gonna fall off." He pried the brunette from his body, who pouted more from the loss of contact, than from Kish's cruel words. The alien turned back to Ichigo and raised an eyebrow.
"Look, Ichigo… I'm really glad you want to stick up for me… but…." He pointed to the door, where the teacher stood, absolutely fuming at her three students. "We're all in trouble again anyway…"
"Oops…"
Sorry it took me SO LONG to get out. I hope the length of this chapter makes up for it though! Anyway, tell me if you loved it, tell me is you hated it, tell me to go kick myself… it's all good.
PS: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew, if I did 4kids entertainment would not get dubbing rights, it would not be called Hollywood Mew Mew, and Kish… well he'd be MINE!
