7) ...
Dedicated to Kish's Kittie
"This is hopeless," Ichigo whined. Her feet dragged along the concrete and her shoulders sagged. They'd walked around Tokyo's business district for nearly two hours, and so far, nothing out of the ordinary had cropped up.
"For once, Ichigo, I agree with you. I say we go back to the café," Minto replied, resting against a brick wall, still warm with the dying rays of the setting sun.
Ichigo gave a melodramatic groan, collapsing onto a bench that happened to be very conveniently placed behind her. "I give up. We're not going to find the new Mews like this."
Minto preened her pristine nails. "Well, there's no use sitting around all day. Get up, Ichigo."
When she failed to respond, Minto stalked over to the bench, grabbed the red-head's shoulders and hauled her to her feet. Ichigo protested in exhaustion. Annoyed, Minto slapped her face sharply.
"Ow! What was that for?" Ichigo gasped, hand pressing against red cheek, eyes wide with shock. Minto sent her a cool stare.
"Snap out of it. We'll never get home if we don't start walking now," she said haughtily. Ichigo sighed with heavy reluctance.
"There's a good Ichigo," Minto cooed, mock praising. "Now let's go before it gets dark."
Ichigo rolled her eyes and followed the blue-haired girl up the street. She didn't know why she was being so difficult; maybe because she'd been on her feet non-stop for days. What she really wanted (and needed) was a nice, long break.
"There they are!" Purin cried happily, as Ichigo and Minto walked in at last.
"How did your search go?" Zakuro asked immediately. She was leaning against the cupboard door, dressed in a zebra print singlet and a pair of white jeans.
"It didn't," Ichigo admitted, sinking down on a pouf. She let her hands flop lazily over her knees.
"We didn't find anything," Minto elaborated, taking a thick velvet black coat off its hook beside the door.
"Neither did we," Retasu replied glumly. "We looked in all the main department stores and malls, but we didn't see anything out of the ordinary."
"Guys, I don't think this is going to work. We're not going to find the Mews by walking around Tokyo for hours. There has to be an easier way," Ichigo said with finality.
"Like what, na no da?" Purin asked, cocking her head to one side. She jumped up on a thin stool, balancing on one foot, a selection of Zakuro's makeup stacked high in either hand. No matter what she was doing, the monkey-Mew managed to relate everything to a circus.
"I don't know," Ichigo admitted. "But wandering around this massive city is just a waste of our time."
"I agree. We should narrow our search," Zakuro said. They were silent, contemplating their predicament.
"So. How'd it go?" a calm voice interrupted. Shirogane stood in the doorway. Ichigo's heart fluttered. She couldn't believe she was pleased to see him. The faintest of blushes dusted her cheeks; she swallowed nervously.
Minto raised one eyebrow, eyes shrewd.
"We have to come up with a better way to find these other girls, Shirogane," Zakuro explained firmly. "This isn't going to work."
"Why not?" Shirogane demanded, crossing his arms unhappily.
"Shirogane-san, it's going to take weeks to search Tokyo once, let alone multiple times," Retasu pleaded. He looked around at them all, his clear blue eyes narrowed. They lingered on Ichigo's tired face. At length, he sighed.
"Very well, then." Shirogane glanced at Retasu, who blushed and let her gaze drop. "I guess we'll have to reconsider our strategies. But for the rest of this week, I want you to continue your search of Tokyo every afternoon. We can't afford to sit back and do nothing."
"Yes, sir," Purin, Zakuro, and Retasu chanted obediently. He left without another word.
Minto sighed. "Well, I am absolutely exhausted. This is such hard work, what with the café and all. I think I'll have my limousine pick me up from out the front today, rather than walk home," she said delicately. Ichigo couldn't help but fume.
"Minto, how can you say that? You can't seriously think the café tires you out," she replied. "You rarely do anything. Wait, you never do anything!"
"Oh don't even start, Momomiya. Just because I'm not the one obsessed with–"
"That's not true, and you know it!" Ichigo snapped, cutting her off. Minto raised one eyebrow with a smirk.
"How could you have known what I was about to say? Unless you knew exactly what I meant, in which case it would have to be true," she pointed out slyly. Ichigo flushed hotly.
"For your information, princess, I miss Masaya every single living moment of my day!" she snapped shrilly, tears springing into her eyes. "How dare you question my devotion to him!"
"Does anyone know what they're talking about?" Retasu asked meekly. She stood with Purin and Zakuro on the sidelines, watching the argument with wide eyes.
"No idea, na no da!" Purin chirruped happily. Zakuro said nothing.
"I thought I told you today–" Minto began, but Ichigo cut across her.
"Stop it! Stop it, Minto! I don't want to hear it! You're not making things any better! So just stop!"
Without another word, she bolted from the room, not wanting to face any of them, especially Minto, another second.
BAM!
She reeled from the sudden impact with something solid, and hit the floor with a thud, as did the sturdy something she'd hit. Several crashes followed.
"Argh…" Shirogane groaned lowly.
"Ow… my head…" Ichigo moaned, pressing tentative fingers against the sore spot, one eye shut in pain. Her skull seared where it must have smacked against Ryou's chin.
"You have the thickest head," he muttered. "I swear it could break through brick walls."
"Thanks," Ichigo replied sarcastically. She sat up against the wall. "What smashed?"
"The china plates that held the cakes I was bringing you guys," he replied. Ichigo looked around. There was cake all over the floor. She sighed, dropping her hand from her head.
"I'll clean it up," she said dejectedly.
"No," Shirogane replied suddenly, and she glanced at him in confusion.
"Why not?" she demanded, thrown out. Ryou looked away, his expression unreadable.
"I'll get one of the other girls to clean it up," he muttered, looking strangely flustered. Glancing uncomfortably at her - if she didn't know him better she'd even say he looked almost shy - he opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as the heads of Retasu, Purin and Minto popped around the door.
"What happened here?" Minto asked, looking smug. Ichigo gritted her teeth, flushing angrily, and refused to reply.
"Are you guys okay?" Retasu asked, an expression worry fixed upon her face.
"Yes, Midorikawa, we're fine," Shirogane sighed. "Get the mop and broom for me, would you? I'd like one of you to clean up this mess."
"I'll do it," Retasu offered immediately, disappearing up the hallway without another word.
"We're going to go home now, Shirogane-san," Minto said matter-of-factly.
"Okay then. See you tomorrow," Ryou replied. Zakuro, Purin and Minto carefully picked their way around the huge cake mess on the floor and walked away up the hall, casting curious glances over their shoulders. Ichigo heard the door close behind them.
Shirogane heaved a heavy sigh, then slowly stood up, careful to avoid the splatters of delicious creation around him. Ichigo tenderly felt her head once more. A hard lump had formed, and would probably bruise. It was painful to touch. Just great, she thought dully.
"How's your head?" Shirogane asked, dragging her out of her thoughts.
She laughed titteringly, waving one hand. "It's fine! Seriously. Clumsy me, right?" He sent her a look that told her to shut up. She'd been the receiver of it many times.
"Give me your hand," he demanded in a no-nonsense voice. Ichigo obeyed meekly, offering him one. He hauled her to her feet.
"God you're heavy. How does that work?" he muttered, letting go of her fingers.
Ichigo frowned. "What do you mean? I'm not that heavy! Maybe you're just weak."
"No, Momomiya - trust me, you're heavy. Not that you look it," Shirogane replied, walking away down the hall, leaving her standing, dumbfounded, surrounded by cake.
"Was that a… compliment?" Ichigo asked herself in a hushed voice.
He turned around, shooting her a suspicious look. "Are you talking to yourself?"
"No!" she squeaked, embarrassed, and laughed nervously. "Just... er... It was such a shame, you know? Such a waste of perfectly good cake!"
He stared at her flatly for a long moment. "Well? Are you coming, or what?"
She started and quickly followed him. "Where are we going?"
He rolled his eyes. "Just come."
"Has anyone else noticed how weird Ichigo's been acting lately?" Minto asked. She stood at the front gate outside Café Mew Mew with Zakuro and Purin, waiting for her limousine to arrive. Night was falling quickly around them; several stars minked merrily from the velvet sky above. The front door shut quietly behind them, and Retasu joined them with a shy smile, having cleaned up the cake fiasco.
"She seems fine to me, na no da!" Purin replied happily.
Minto raised one eyebrow. "Are you kidding? She's been totally whacko since the whole Masaya thing."
"Are you talking about Ichigo?" Retasu asked, blue eyes soft. "She'sbeen through a lot. She has to be broken-hearted from losing Aoyama, and now she has to help us find more Mews because her pendant was stolen." She pulled her cardigan tighter around her and shivered. "Poor thing."
"I wouldn't be so sure she's heartbroken," Minto said, a sneer in her voice. They all looked to her, surprised - except for Zakuro, who was starting wistfully up at the twinkling stars.
"What do you mean, Minto-onee-chan?" Purin asked curiously, eyes wide.
"Oh, come on, you guys seriously haven't noticed how flirty she's been?" Minto replied, a smirk twisting the corners of her lips. Retasu and Purin looked at each other, confused.
"What are you talking about? Poor Ichigo's been distant for days," Retasu said, somewhat disapprovingly.
"No-she-has-not!" Minto retorted, hands on hips. "She's been flirting every chance she can get!"
"With who?" Retasu demanded, shocked that Minto was being so uncompassionate towards their friend. For the first time in the history of the Mew Project, Retasu and Minto were arguing. They glared at each other.
"Shirogane-san!" Minto shot back, with a small, cruel smirk of satisfaction, knowing she was cutting deep. Retasu gasped, looking shocked and somewhat hurt.
"Th-that's not true, Minto. Take that back! Ichigo would never do something like that," she whispered, wringing her hands, the colour draining from her face.
"Are you sure?" Minto returned. Retasu's eyes shone with unshed tears. Unsettling doubt wavered in her stomach. She felt sick.
"Enough," Zakuro's sharp voice threw them both into silence. They looked over at her. A stern expression was fixed upon her famously gorgeous features.
"Ichigo is so confused right now. She can't possibly be flirting deliberately – not that she's been flirting at all," she continued, her tone no-nonsense. "Let her be for a while. Give her time to become used to life without Masaya. Right now, she's in a world she wouldn't have expected to be in her wildest dreams. I think she's leaning on Shirogane because there's no one else who can help her." She shot Minto a disappointed look. "Come on, guys. Everyone knows Shirogane likes Ichigo. Don't mistake his flirting for her flirting."
With that, she turned her gaze back to the heavens. Minto and Retasu looked at each other, equally stunned. None of the Mews had ever admitted, even to each other, that Shirogane had a crush on Ichigo. It just wasn't something any of them discussed, even though they all knew (even Retasu, who was in denial) that it was true.
"So… your limousine should be here soon, right?" Retasu hastily changed the subject, breaking the awkward silence.
"Yes… any minute now…" Minto replied lightly. They looked away, in separate directions. Gloom settled over Retasu.
Shirogane-san doesn't really like Ichigo… like that… does he? she asked herself desperately, eyebrows wavering. I couldn't bear that… after all the drama with Ichigo and Aoyama… he couldn't really ignore the fact that she loves him… could he?
She self-consciously tightened her grip around herself, hugging her body for warmth. It sure was a cold night. Her breath was rising in in steamy clouds. Headlights suddenly appeared and a white limousine came around the corner, pulling up outside the café.
"Well, that would be mine," Minto said, by way of announcing her departure. "I guess I'll see you all tomorrow, then."
"Goodnight, Minto," Retasu politely bid the bird-Mew farewell.
"Bye, Minto-onee-chan!" Purin cried, waving merrily. As the white limousine pulled away from the kerb and disappeared up the street, each of the three remaining Mews said their goodbyes and headed for home, suddenly finding themselves without reason to linger outside the café any longer.
"Shirogane, I don't see the point in coming to the kitchen…" Ichigo trailed off, surveying the clean room with a skeptical eye. Ryou didn't reply.
"Just sit still for a minute," he said, his voice muffled as he rummaged around in the freezer. Ichigo sighed, swinging her legs absent-mindedly. Shirogane had picked her up - to her dismay and violent protest - and sat her on the bench before going straight to the refrigerator. He now returned with an ice pack.
"What's that for?" Ichigo asked, eyeing it suspiciously.
He gave a short, bark-like laugh. "What do you think it's for? Your head, baka." He began to wrap it in a tea towel.
"Oh," Ichigo said, humiliated by her own stupidity. "Of course. Duh! Silly me!"
Shirogane looked at her with clear blue eyes, reaching up to gently press the ice pack against her head.
"Ow!" Ichigo yelped at the unexpected flash of pain.
"Sorry, but it was obviously going to hurt, Strawberry. You should watch where you're going next time," Ryou said calmly, prepared for the explosion.
"I should watch where I'm going? What about you? You should warn people when you're coming!" Ichigo shot back.
"Well, I wasn't exactly expecting you to come bursting out like a cat with its tail on fire, now, was I?" Shirogane pointed out, but all of a sudden, she couldn't hear anything he was saying; his face was astonishingly close to hers. She went quiet as the stunning reality of this hit her with full force. She could feel his breath on her cheek. She stared, utterly lost for words. His wrist brushed her eyebrow lightly as he held the ice pack in place. And yet, he seemed not to notice.
Just keep your cool. Don't say anything out of the ordinary. Hold your tongue. Don't think about the fact that you're about two inches away from Ichigo… Keep your distance… even though kissing her would be a matter of a split second movement… Ryou begged himself silently. He distracted himself with a thought that had been plaguing his mind since earlier.
"So what happened before? Why'd you come barrelling out like that?" he asked casually. He watched her chocolate eyes cloud.
"Oh… um… I just had an argument with Minto, really," Ichigo replied with a shrug.
"Are you guys okay?" Ryou asked before he could stop himself. Ichigo looked up in astonishment, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. Something was definitely up. Since when did he care about the interrelationships of his employees?
"Okay, Shirogane, fess up," Ichigo said, folding her arms stubbornly over her chest. He hastily moved away, warning bells ringing in his head. This is not good… she can't know how I feel about her… get out of there, Shirogane! he scolded himself, putting the ice pack down on the bench. Ichigo's face was resolute, waiting.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" she demanded. "Do you want something, or… something?"
"… I don't want anything from you," Shirogane replied in a low voice, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably and avoiding her eyes. "I… You've been through a lot this week, and… Well, you need a rest. You deserve a rest." He was trying to change the subject, and it wasn't working; he could tell by the way her eyes slitted for a split second.
"Where's this coming from? You never used to care. Actually, you used to go out of your way to make my life difficult," she retorted, arms still firmly crossed.
"No, Ichigo, that's not–"
"I just don't get you. If you don't want anything from me, what's the deal?" Ichigo demanded, her gaze unyielding. He dropped his eyes and busied himself with putting away the ice pack. What could he possibly tell her?
The truth? a sly voice suggested in the back of his mind, and for one crazy moment, Shirogane very nearly did just that. Heaven knows it'd take this suffocating weight off my chest. But he caught himself, tossing a calculating glance in her direction. Under her intense, confused gaze, Ryou realised there was no way he could tell her. It would only make her life worse.
"Maybe it's time to go home," he said quietly, carefully detached. "It's getting late."
"Yeah, it is," Ichigo replied angrily, in a sharp voice that made him wonder if there an undercurrent meaning lying beneath it. Like she might be referring to something else entirely. He threw her a confused glance, but he didn't have time to interrogate her. Ichigo slipped off the bench and stomped off, her footsteps thundering away to the change room.
In the kitchen, Ryou slammed a fist down hard on the bench top. Why did he have to act like such a jerk? Why couldn't he just tell her the truth? Why was it inevitable that he was just going to wreck her life with it, if he did? Why did he even have to like her in the first place? And, for the love of god, where in God's name was Carmen Sandiego? He laughed without humour, running a frustrated hand through his blonde hair.
Distance yourself from her, Shirogane. There's no use even trying to be close to her. She doesn't want you - she wants him. She will always want him. All you're doing is making it hard for everyone.
He sighed, leaning back against the fridge, eyes sombre. A thought flittered across his mind. Everything would be so much easier if you liked Midorikawa…
He pushed off and strode purposefully into the hall. With any luck, she might not have left yet. At least he could apologise, or something. Maybe promise her that things wouldn't be weird anymore - that things would go back to normal. Yeah, right. Good luck convincing her when you don't even believe it yourself.
Ichigo was pulling the door to the café shut behind her when suddenly it became unwilling to close. She turned in confusion to find Shirogane's hand resting against it. He hesitated for a moment, blue eyes oddly bright.
"Do you want me to walk you home?" he asked tersely.
Ichigo ripped her gaze away, glowering at the hedge. "No, thanks," she said shortly. "I'm fine."
Without a backward glance, she turned and walked down into the street. With a heavy sigh, Ryou reluctantly shut the door and turned back to face the empty café, defeat washing through his heart.
"Well, well, well. It looks like our little kitten is all alone. On a dark, cold, positively gloomy night like this? What a foolish girl she is," Kisshu mused in delight, watching the form of the red-haired Mew walk along a silent street on a monitor in their whirring technology room. Pai and Taruto appeared beside him.
"I thought the leader of the Mew Mews was an intelligent girl," Pai muttered darkly, his eyes fixed on the large screen, on which it was showing a drizzling rain had just begun.
"You know…" Taruto paused. "That's really dangerous!"
"Oh, well done! You clever boy. I'm impressed you worked it out," Kisshu said sarcastically. He dropped the facade. "Yes, it's dangerous! Which is perfect – well, for us, at least. Girls like Ichigo shouldn't walk the streets alone at night. It makes it only too easy to attack. And we wouldn't want that to happen, now, would we?"
He turned to face his comrades, his golden eyes gleaming mischievously. "Finally, the perfect chance to test our latest creation."
"Ooh, that Shirogane! He's so frustrating!" Ichigo growled to herself. She glared up at the drizzling rain. As if reacting, the heavens opened up and it began pouring.
"I hate the way karma works!" Ichigo grumbled, running down the street, avoiding puddles. Within two minutes she was drenched to the bone.
She was exactly half way home. It was about fifteen minutes away; a couple of streets, or so. Ichigo slowed to a walk and stood under a bus shelter to wait out the rain for a moment and get her breath back. She watched the road in dismay. It was the heaviest downpour she'd seen in months. And it didn't look like it was going to ease up, either. She groaned aloud.
"Terrible weather, isn't it?" a voice asked conversationally from behind. Startled, Ichigo whipped around. Kisshu was standing next to her, an amused glint in his golden eyes.
"Oh, no!" she gasped in horror. Without thinking, she bolted out into the rain, instinctively turning back and heading for the safety of the café. She no longer noticed the rain lashing across her numb cheeks. Fear had replaced any other emotion. If the aliens caught her, she would be in real trouble. Without her pendant she had no way to defend herself against them.
Not too far from the café, Ichigo began to run out of breath. A stitch had formed and was jabbing stubbornly in her ribcage. Her breath was coming in short, shuddery rasps. She stopped, out of breath and dizzy from running, one hand pressed against the wall to support her. She doubled over, gasping for air.
As if on cue, Kisshu appeared in the street before her.
"Did you really think you could escape, kitty?" he asked, rolling his eyes, as though the idea was ridiculous. Ichigo glared at him, cheeks flushed against her pale face.
"Leave… me… alone…" she struggled to growl. He merely smiled charmingly and walked calmly towards her. She straightened, determined not to appear weak in front of him. Despite the freezing weather, she was sweating. Kisshu stopped before her.
"Now, now, sweetheart," he purred. "This will all be very simple if you don't resist."
To her dismay, Ichigo felt rather than saw Pai and Taruto teleport behind her. She was surrounded. I can't give up! They won't take me quietly! she thought fiercely, sprinting forward and shoving Kisshu with all her strength. He stumbled, surprised, and she sprinted for her life up the sidewalk.
Pai and Taruto watched her with wide eyes.
"You weren't expecting that, were you Kisshu?" Pai asked, somewhat impressed.
"She definitely doesn't give up without a fight, does she?" Kisshu replied as he recovered, admiring her spirit. There was a long silence as they all watched her figure getting smaller and smaller in the distance.
"So… you're gonna go get her… right?" Taruto asked, looking up at Kisshu. With a start, Kisshu gave a sharp, angry cry, disappearing into thin air.
Ichigo ran for all her life was worth. She could see the café up ahead.
Only a few hundred meters… closer… closer… She skidded around the corner of the hedge and was about to run up the path to the door when Kisshu appeared in front of her, rage twisting his elvish features.
"How dare you!" he yelled. "You had to make this difficult, didn't you?"
"No… leave me alone!" Ichigo shouted, ice-cold dread spiking through her. Kisshu disappeared again, and she felt a pair of arms fasten securely around her waist, cold and hard as steel.
"No – no!" she screamed helplessly, struggling in vain. "Shirogane!" To her horror, Kisshu's grip tightened around her, crushing her arms painfully, and she found it more and more difficult to fight. In a matter of seconds, she could hardly move.
"You can't win, Ichigo. Without your little pendant, you're useless," Kisshu hissed venomously in her ear. The door to the café was wrenched open and Ryou looked out, alarm all over his face. Ichigo's heart leaped hopefully. His eyes widened in shock at the scene below him; of the drenched girl trapped in the sinister alien's arms.
"Kisshu!" Ryou threatened, voice deadly serious. "Let her go."
Kisshu smiled devilishly.
"Too late, lover boy," he growled, disappearing on the spot and taking the soaking red-haired cat girl with him. Shirogane's heart fell as quickly as a ton of lead dropped from the top of a tower. He almost heard it slam into the ground at his feet.
"Ichigo!" he yelled in fury, the reality of her kidnapping crashing down on him with full force. He roared in frustration, slamming his fists against the door so hard he tore the skin from his knuckles. "No!"
Keiichiro was beside him in a second. "Ryou, what's wrong?"
"They've taken Ichigo," Shirogane managed to choke out, turning devastated eyes to search his friend's horrified face. "She's gone."
To be continued...
