Chapter 9 - The Galaxy in the Marble
Revised on 1/4/12.
I could feel panic rising as the pain wouldn't subside. "Shh…" Although Pai's face was blank, his wildly fearful eyes betrayed his emotion. "It's going to be alright." He whispered, although his wavering voice left me in doubt. I sobbed, covering my throbbing eye. "Retasu, you have to let me see it." He said as he grabbed my wrist, trying to pry my hand from my face.
"No, don't look!" I cried as blood poured from my injured eye. Through my left eye, I saw him scowl before he forcefully pulled my hand away. He grimaced slightly, cradling my face in his hands. I sobbed as another wave of pain washed over me.
"You need to calm down Retasu." He said softly as I clenched my right eye as tightly closed as I could. I couldn't really see through all the blood anyway. "You need to tell me, Retasu…" He whispered as I fearfully gazed into his eyes. "Where is the 'Mew Aqua'?"
Earlier that day…
Somehow, I found myself searching underground for 'Mew Aqua'. Ichigo's complaints echoed loudly off the walls as we made our way through the tunnel. The mews were walking in single file line with me at the end, behind Zakuro. Purin seemed to make the best of it, skipping her way along at the head of the group. Masha clearly had been programmed so that he wouldn't accidentally detect the 'Mew Aqua' that hung around my neck, because we had not had any false alarms. Keiichirou had told us that he had detected a 'Mew Aqua' nearby, so we were sent through the waterway in search of it.
I cautiously touched the earring that I was wearing; making sure that it was still there. It was a gift from Pai, and I treasured it. Admittedly, it was also made for locating the 'Mew Aqua', but that didn't matter to me. I still saw it as a present.
I remember sitting in the alien's dimension on a fallen pillar, waiting for Pai to return. I stared up at the dome ceiling, the gems on it forming a design which I recognized instantly- Earth. I knew that the aliens left Earth due to horrible conditions; the videos that Akasaka-san and Shirogane-san had found showed me that much. I observed that out of all the aliens that I had seen, Pai seemed to be the most begrudging of humans.
After I sat thinking about time spent trying to get Pai to open up, I heard the dimension shift, and the space in front of me shifted from a nauseating green to a dank grey-blue. "Find me the Mew Aqua" A strained voice hissed to Pai, who kneeled before a silhouetted figure.
"Yes, Deep Blue-sama." My lover responded, his head bowed in humility. I frowned at this. Submission did not suit him. With that, the dimension shifted back to that ever flowing green, and light rained down upon Pai's back. He stood up, his front still turned away from mine. He seemed to be staring for a while, lost in thought, before he turned to me, eyeing me curiously, as if he had forgotten that I had been waiting for him.
"What…" I began, trying to find the words. "What did Deep Blue-sama say?" I asked as Pai began to walk towards me.
"You heard the basic gist of it." He said calmly as he sat down. He continued to stare vacantly, his mind occupied. Not wanting to disturb him, I sat silently, examining the dome ceiling once more. After a few moments, I realized that he was emitting a harsh sounding string of unfamiliar syllables. I looked at him in confusion for a few moments, realizing that he seemed to be speaking in his native tongue. He continued to speak to himself for a while until he abruptly turned to me, his violet eyes glowing.
I realized that he was talking to me now, although I couldn't understand a thing that he was saying. "Um… Pai-san…?" I said, furrowing my brow in confusion. He stopped as I spoke, his face blank. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're saying." He frowned, letting out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"My apologies, Retasu," He said, brushing my hair behind my ear as he looked at me. "I was just a little upset." He said as he slowly leaned over and planted a small kiss on my cheek. Although I was very confused, I did appreciate the small gesture of affection.
"It's alright…" I said, blushing. "I understand."
"Retasu, would you mind doing me a favor?"
I stared into his eyes, and shook my head slightly.
"What do you need me to do?" I asked, excited at the thought of being able to help Pai. Slowly, he brought his hands up to my ears, gently removing my earrings. After he deposited my earrings into my open palm, he produced another set of earrings from his sleeve.
"Um… Pai-san?" I began, now even more puzzled.
"Shh…" He whispered as he slid the first earring gently into my right ear. His rough, male hands felt unusually gentle on the soft skin of my ear lobes. I stared into his eyes, almost falling into a trance as his fingers trailed along the skin of my neck to get to my other ear. Once the other earring was in, his gaze returned to mine, his eyes serious.
"Help us get the 'Mew Aqua'."
Staring ahead, I snapped back into reality when a drop of water splashed onto my nose.
"I am so sick of this stupid tunnel!" Ichigo growled in frustration as she kicked a rock angrily. "I'm so sick of Shirogane telling us to go on these wild goose chases!" Minto shook her head slightly, rubbing the back of her neck.
"You are so uncivilized, Ichigo-san." She said snootily, tipping her head so that her nose was in the air. Ichigo turned around to scowl at her, causing all of the other mews to stop in their tracks.
"You know what, Minto?" She growled, putting her hands on her hips.
"No, I don't know. Would you care to enlighten me, Ichigo?" Minto hissed as she crossed her arms.
Retasu… can you hear me?
I froze, and then looked around. Nothing.
This is Pai. I am communicating with you through your thoughts. As I can also hear your thoughts, this will be how we shall communicate.
Quickly getting over the initial shock of having another voice in my head, I nodded, forgetting that Pai couldn't see me. I knew that it wasn't the time to ask how we could possibly be communicating telepathically.
"I am so sick of the way you talk down to me all the time!" Ichigo said angrily, waving her arms about.
I understand, Pai-san. I thought as I watched the scene before me. So far, Zakuro and Pudding were staying uninvolved, and simply observing the scene before them.
Retasu, listen to me. I heard Pai say. The 'Mew Aqua' is nearby.
My eyes widened with surprise.
Are you sure? I asked.
Yes. You should take the next possible opportunity to look around for stray objects that look out of place. He said.
I will. I said as I turned my attention back to the other mews. I noticed that this outburst of anger between Ichigo and Minto was ending, due to Zakuro interfering.
"This argument must come to a close for the time being." Zakuro said calmly as she placed herself between the two arguing Mews, "Unless, of course, you want the aliens to find the Mew Aqua and use it to wreak havoc upon the Earth." Minto and Ichigo looked at their feet, their expressions sullen. Suddenly, Pudding jumped up, a big smile stretching out her lips.
"We just have to be the super heroes that we are, and get the Mew Aqua and use it to save the day, na no da!" She said cheerily, as Minto and Ichigo smiled at her, their mood lightened by the monkey-girl's bright outlook.
"Alright, let's keep looking." Ichigo said, pumping her fists. The other mews nodded and began walking. I smiled slightly, a brilliant idea creeping into my mind. Groaning slightly, I crouched, holding my stomach, feigning pain. The other mews turned around, walking towards me.
"Are you okay, Retasu?" Ichigo asked, concerned. I looked up at her, furrowing my brow, forcing a small, weak smile onto me face.
"I'm fine, Ichigo-san." I blushed slightly, bonking my head with my free hand. "Its… well… you know… girl stuff." I said as Ichigo also blushed, her face relaxing into a smile. She crouched down too, shifting her lips close to my ear.
"Do you need any pads or anything?" She whispered, pulling away. I shook my head.
"I'm fine, thank you." I said, brushing my hair behind my ear. "If you guys wouldn't mind going ahead without me, I'll catch up to you soon." Ichigo smiled and nodded, standing up and walking over to the rest of the mews. After explaining the situation, Minto made a snarky comment, and the group continued though the tunnel.
Once I could no longer hear them, I looked around, searching.
What sort of object might it be? I thought as I picked up an old key.
I'll let you know when you have it. He said as I set the key back down, looking around. I was grateful that Pai had avoided talking about my excuse for separating from the Mews. After going through several odd objects, I finally picked up a small marble, holding it gingerly in my hand. As soon as the small marble was in my hand, I felt shivers run down my spine. I stared at it, feeling immediately drawn to it. It was a cat's eye marble, and in the rest of the space, I could see what looked like a galaxy.
That's the 'Mew Aqua'. Pai hissed, his voice tense. I didn't need him to tell me. I already could tell. I felt my throat tighten as I kept staring at it. I felt as if I were being sucked into it as I looked deeper and deeper into it...
Retasu! Pai's voice snapped me back to the mission at hand. I will meet you at your house as soon as you get there. You must return home as soon as possible. His voice sounded urgent, chillier than usual.
I understand. I thought as I pulled out my cell phone, calling Ichigo.
"Hello?" Ichigo's voice made me a little sad as I thought about how I was truly betraying them all. "Retasu? Are you okay?"
"I'm not really feeling so well… is it alright if I head home?" I asked, hoping that Ichigo would remain as trusting as she usually was.
"Of course! I'll come back to take you home." She said, and I quickly interjected.
"No, you need to get the Mew Aqua. I'll be fine, so please don't trouble yourself." I said. There was a minute of silence before Ichigo agreed, and then ended the call with a 'bye, I hope you feel better soon'.
Putting my cell phone away, I retraced my steps, clenching the marble tightly in my pocketed hand. When I finally reached the ladder that I had used to enter the tunnel, I climbed up, emerging in a park, not far from Café Mew Mew. As my made my way through the empty park, I pulled out the marble to stare at it. I found it so captivating, the way that the colors swirled around the solid black center.
As I saw it, I thought about how beautiful it would look if it were Pai's eye. After all, his species does have catlike eyes. Sometimes, I wished that I was one of Pai's kind. I would be so much less weak, I could fly, teleport… I looked up at the stop light sadly.
If I were of Pai's kind, I thought. Maybe it would be alright if we were together.
I put the marble back into my pocket as the light changed. I continued my walk in silence. I finally made it to the train station, and once I had boarded my train, I pulled out the marble once again, felling as if I were being pulled into the black center. All I could think about was Pai- although that wasn't exactly unusual. There were so many things that he hadn't told me about, so many things that I wanted to ask him. I wanted to know him better, but I felt as if there was a barrier between us.
I had been focusing so much on the marble, and on my thoughts that I almost missed my stop. I quickly exited the train before it departed again, leaving me at my station. I walked up the stairs to the street, the marble once again in my pocket. I walked a few blocks until I finally reached my street, at which point I removed the marble from my pocket once again. I just couldn't stop staring at it. Why…? Why had I been so stupid?
I barely noticed as I subconsciously walked the familiar route to my home. Before I knew it, I was standing in my garden, almost to my front door. I pulled out my keys from my bag, unlocking my front door. The house was quiet as I walked in. I knew that Pai must be upstairs, waiting silently for me. Closing the door behind me, I stood silently in the entryway, staring into the darkness of the living room. I didn't want to see Pai immediately; I was scared, as usual. As much as I loved him, I still found him frightening, and I knew that I probably always would. Reaching into my pocket, I once again pulled out the marble to stare at it. This time, I noticed that it seemed blurry to me. Squinting my eyes, I realized that my vision wasn't getting any better, and I took off my glasses to take a better look at it.
I was surprised to find that the marble looked so much clearer with my glasses off. Suddenly happier, I brought the marble closer to my eye, staring at it. That's when it happened. There was a brilliant flash of light, and then a sharp pain in my eye, as if something were forcing its way in. Dropping my glasses, I screamed, clutching at my eye. I could feel fear setting in as I felt blood gushing through my fingers. Pulling my hands away, I stared at the coat of blood on them, my whole body shaking. I fell to my knees, sobbing.
I could barely see Pai when he came into view, but I felt his hands on my arms, clutching me. I could feel panic rising as the pain wouldn't subside. "Shh…" Although Pai's face was blank, his wildly fearful eyes betrayed his emotion. "It's going to be alright." He whispered, although his wavering voice left me in doubt. I sobbed, covering my throbbing eye. "Retasu, you have to let me see it." He said as he grabbed my wrist, trying to pry my hand from my face.
"No, don't look!" I cried as blood poured from my injured eye. Through my left eye, I saw him scowl before he forcefully pulled my hand away. He grimaced slightly, cradling my face in his hands. I sobbed as another wave of pain washed over me.
"You need to calm down Retasu." He said softly as I clenched my right eye as tightly closed as I could. I couldn't really see through all the blood anyway. "You need to tell me, Retasu…" He whispered as I fearfully gazed into his eyes. "Where is the 'Mew Aqua'?" My eye widened. Where is the 'Mew Aqua'? I desperately looked around me, searching for the marble. Slowly the realization dawned on me, and I let out a sob as I covered my eye again. I saw Pai's eyes widen in horror as he too realized what had happened. "Oh no." Pulling my hand away again – more gently this time – he told me to open my eye, which I did with much trouble. His expression hardened as he examined my eye.
"I'm so sorry, Retasu."