Yo!!! I'm trying to update as soon as I can…
Thanks for butterflyangellover14, KyoxSakiFan, 'unknown', and Smoochynose, who reviewed. Here's chapter 10, as I promised:
Last Chapter:
He leant forward, backing the cat girl towards the door.
Ichigo's eyes widened as he got closer, and closer…
Chapter 10: Fate & Destiny
Ichigo watched Ryou's face leaning in, his blond hair hanging slightly to the side, his sapphire eyes staring straight into her mocha ones.
One of his hands was on the wall, and everything seemed to be in slow motion as Ichigo saw the hot blond lean closer.
She closed her eyes and waited.
And waited.
"Baka, why did you close your eyes?" Ichigo opened them again.
His face was startlingly close, and his finger was on her little button nose. "You've got dirt on your nose, Strawberry."
'Strawberry' did indeed turn strawberry scarlet. Her cat ears and tail came out. "You, you…!!" She stuttered.
"I what?" Ryou asked amusedly.
"Argh! Nevermind!" She glared at her smirking boss. She whipped around, opened her door, and went in. She wheeled around again.
"Erm, thanks for the ride." She mumbled incoherently. She closed the door, harder than she intended, then put a hand at her thumping heart.
Why is my heart beating so quickly? He was just showing me I had dirt on my nose. Why did you close your eyes, Baka?! What did you expect?! She fumed with herself.
Yet, her face remained scarlet, her heart still racing. So what if he was so close?! It wasn't like he was going to kiss you or anything. Not that he should, or would. Arrrgh!! What am I thinking!! I have Masaya!! She tromped back to her room.
Flinging her bag onto her desk, she lay down onto her soft bed. "Nya- nya!" She stretched.
"Masha! Masha!! Ichigo sleep, masha!" Masha said in its cheerful voice.
Ichigo smiled at her little friend. "Yes, Masha, I'll sleep. Even though first I have to change." I'll just close my eyes for a moment.
Tired from the day, she curled up on her bed and fell asleep almost immediately, without intending to.
"NYA!!!!" Ichigo screamed into her pillow. She bolted upright on her bed, panting.
"Can't, can't, be. Im-impossi-ble." She gasped.
Shaking her head, she tried to recollect the fading images of her dream…
She had remembered where she had heard the words before. Her sub-consciousness must have been trying to tell her.
Flash.
She watched as Ryou's face leaned closer and closer, his sapphire eyes startlingly close. Now that she 'revisited' the scene, she noted a hint of mischievousness playing in his eyes. Yet, there was a strange degree of longing there, and a struggle too…
Flash.
They were racing along the roads on his car.
"Do I need a reason?" Ryou asked her in return.
"Well, no. But, I wanted to know—"
"No reason." Ryou said curtly.
She kept her silence. Things were getting weird.
Don't Shirogane and I always fight? Why is he so nice to me all of a sudden? His lack of sleep must be making him go crazy. This is just… totally not like him… Totally different from usual… Those words suddenly sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite remember where she had heard them from.
Flash.
"What were you all talking about in that room? I have to know what is going on!" Ryou persisted, as aggravated as her.
"Why do you need to know? This is none of your business!" She glared at him. "Don't spy on other people's business!"
Strange, she reflected, this is not like Shirogane… he's acting so… abnormally… he must have not slept enough.
Flash.
"Remember what I said." She said curtly, indicating about the 'cautious' thing.
Flash.
"How could there be an imposer amongst us? But, how big is the us? Like, would the imposer be in our immediate circle, or maybe it would be amongst our family and friends? We have to be especially cautious, seeing if they appear... different from usual, or something like that." Zakuro said.
Different from normal.
Imposer.
Flash.
No, no, it can't be.
"It's impossible." She said out loud, as if it would be more real. It didn't seem to work. The idea stuck in her head, not easily pushed away.
It can't be… Shirogane can't be the imposer!! He's, he's Shirogane! He's our creator! He can't be a traitor!
Yet, she thought, being imposed upon didn't necessarily mean he was a traitor. After all, he may just have been kidnapped and then hidden away, while a fake Shirogane Ryou took the real one's place.
She shuddered at the thought of the real Ryou being tied in some place.
Well, she tried to think more logically. How can I be sure that the Ryou I saw just now was a doppelganger? He may have just been acting weird…
A big part of her did not want to believe that Ryou was 'fake'. She would not accept it. How could she?
Ichigo hugged the pillow tight, burying her face in the soft material.
What can I do? She thought as she lay back down on her bed, staring at the ceiling as sleep consumed her once more.
XOXOXOXOXOX Next Day XOXOXOXOXOX
"Nya-mm." Ichigo murmured as she flipped herself over on her bed. "Nya, nya, Mmmm…" She twitched, probably dreaming of fish.
"Ichigo!! Ichigo!!! Late!! Late!!" Masha cried.
"Mm… wasama'er? Ssshhh… 'm sleepin'. " She mumbled, half asleep.
"Ichigo!! Ichigo!!! Late, school!! Late!!" The fluffy pink ball flew around agitatedly.
"Wha?? Hm?!" Ichigo finally opened her heavily lidded eyes. They flew upon her bedside clock.
"NNNNNYNYYYYAAAA!!!!!!!" She screamed, practically shaking the whole house.
"WHAT WENT WRONG WITH THE CLOCK!?! NYA!! NYA!!!"
She rushed around, instantly awake, shoving on her clothes and hastily tying her hair.
"Nya, nya, nya, nya, nya…" She said under her breath.
"MOM!!! I'm going to school!!!" She screamed as she slammed her bedroom door and rushed to the front door with an astonishing speed.
"Can't believe this, can't believe this, can't believe this, can't believe this!!! AHHH!!!"
She practically zoomed out onto the road, running in the anime fashion where their legs became a whirlwind- like wheel.
Eeeeeeekkkkk. She stopped suddenly, letting out a sound that was similar to the squealing of brakes.
"Shirogane?" She said in surprise.
The blond looked up. "Hello, baka." He said, uncharacteristically cheerful.
Ichigo eyed him suspiciously, thinking about the dream she had. Could her theory be right?
"M-morning." She said. "I'm sorry, I'm LATE FOR SCHOOL!!" Her astonishment had made her forget about school, and she recalled that with a jolt of nasty surprise.
"Gotta GO—"
"Why don't I send you?" Ryou offered. Ichigo looked at him, weighing the odds. There's no harm in accepting, she thought. At least I won't be late. Hopefully.
She bit her lip, and nodded. "Get in." He told her. He started the engine, and they sped off.
"Shirogane, why were you, erm, at my door?" Ichigo asked timidly.
Ryou cocked his head to one side, studying her face intently, searching for something intensely, filled with complicated emotions—
"Baka. You forgot? Remember my jacket?" Ryou's face snapped back to playfulness.
Ichigo blushed. Right. She had forgotten. It was in her room. She was jolted a sudden realization. She had gone to sleep with his jacket wrapped around her. Her tail and ears, which had been threatening to reveal themselves, popped out.
Ryou grinned. "I guess not."
Ichigo looked away. Yet, I'm sure there's another reason for him coming… what does he want from me?
Her thoughts were jumbled as she felt a touch on her hand. Her hand twitched without meaning to, and she turned to see the cause.
Ryou was holding it. Her ears popped out again, after finally managing to hide them with great effort. She froze, and wondered what he was going to do with it.
"Strawberry, can you be a little smarter and move your hand away? I need to change gear." Even though his words were harsh, his hand was gentle as he laid it back on her lap, resuming his driving.
Ichigo mumbled something like 'sorry', and tried to keep her heart from jumping so erratically.
"Don't be late." Ryou stopped the car. They were already at the school. "Remember, no work today. But you should come anyways. We need to have a meeting."
Ichigo nodded, and got out of the car, taking a glance at the clock. She smiled. "See ya then."
Ryou smiled too, with a twinkle of mischievousness in his beautiful blue eyes. "Okay. Try not to be late again." He drove away, laughing. Ichigo fumed, but felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
Why does he have to be so freaking cute? She thought as she ran to her locker and then her class, oblivious to what may happen next…
Whoa! Another car ride!! This is crazy… is my sub-consciousness trying to tell me I wanna ride in a car?!
Lol… when I updated chapter nine I was still so 'in the mood' that I immediately wrote out chapter 10… sigh… must be going crazy… But this chapter was… not so good… sigh…
Anywayz… that was a bonus to my readers. If there are any. Hopefully next chapter will be up just as fast.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!