Always Doesn't Last Long
By: Sailorjj07
10. The Traitor Appears
A/n: I've updated! YAY! Since I was told that Chocolate is a lil mary-sueish, I'm gonna work on developing her character a bit. Ichigo is still the leader and the new girl CAN'T be stronger than her, that's not right. So I'm gonna work hard to make her true character show.
Disclaimer: I do not own! And I don't own the song, "Polovtsian Dances And Chorus" either.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Actions
(Me!)
"Oh my gosh, I'm so tired!" Mint cried, stretching out on the couch in the lab. She gave a loud yawn and covered her mouth with a blush spreading across her cheeks. Keiichiro just smiled, and turned back to the computer screen.
"Well, you should go home and get some rest. Would you like me to walk with you?"
"Oh Kei, I can't take you away from surveillance like that! You have to watch the city."
Keiichiro stood up from his chair and walked over to Mint, holding his hand out, to help her stand up, "No, it's okay. It'll be alright for a few minutes. Plus I have to test something out any way, and you're the only one that can help me." Keiichiro smiled wider and Mint blush even brighter, after taking Keiichiro's hand and standing up. She nodded slightly, and led the way up the stairs.
"Wasn't today your very first time flying?" Mint asked, walking out of the cafe's front door. Keiichiro nodded and walked beside her, a warm smile still on his face.
"Yes, it was...And I have to say...It was quite enjoyable."
"But Kei, you barely know how! We have to show you the right way!" Mint grinned and in an instant turned into Mew Mint.
"The right way?"
"Yes, there IS a right way to fly, you know." Mint said, in a know it all voice. She grinned even wider and waited for Keiichiro to change as well. Tonight he would learn how to really fly.
With Ichigo
"Ryou, what are we going to do about Lettuce? We can't just wait for her to show up, but if we go searching for her, it's bound to make EVERYTHING worse." Ichigo heaved a sigh and leaned against Ryou, grasping his hand in her own.
"You're right. But I know that if we go searching for her, we might find something that we can't handle...And I'd rather us wait on her to show up before we did anything. We don't know how strong she's gotten and we have no clue how long she's been around Deep Blue, if he's even awake yet."
"...Deep Blue..." Ichigo glanced at their joint hands and then closed her eyes. The memory of Deep Blue hurt her and it reminded her of her failed relationship with Masaya.
"Ichigo, if you don't want to fight him, then you don't...You do know that right?"
"Ryou, I can't not fight him! I can't leave you guys like that! I can't leave you like that! I have to be there! I need to be there..."
Ryou wrapped his arms around Ichigo, pulling her to him, "I understand that. I'm just making sure you know. The last thing I want is for you to be hurt, but if that's how you feel...I won't get in your way, ok? Just make sure you come out alive...You are my number one weapon after all." At the end of his sentence Ryou gave Ichigo a smirk, ducking when she swung at him.
"Ughh! Stop calling me that!"
"Nope. And be quiet," Ryou smirked wider and rolled over, pushing Ichigo with her back to her bed, "Or your mom and dad will hear us."
"Ummmm...uhhhh...R-right...", Ichigo blushed brightly from Ryou's position over her and then pouted when he smirked even more at her blush.
"Ichigo, you're so cute."
"Thanks..."
"You're very welcome. Can I have a kiss as thanks?"
Ichigo laughed, and lifted her head up slightly, "Ryou, you're so silly."
"Mmmmmmmmmm, but it gets me what I want...So I guess being 'silly' is okay." Ryou leaned down and kissed Ichigo fiercely, sending her heart racing madly. She wrapped her arms around his neck after several minutes of kissing him, and pulled his face closer to hers. Ryou only kissed her with more intensity and Ichigo's face ran hot with the fire. She still got warm from his kisses and when his hand slid to cup her cheek gently, she blushed brightly.
With Chocolate
"Kish, I'm still mad at you. Don't come in here." Chocolate heard his footsteps and smelt his scent before he was all the way up the stairs and in front of her door. She could also smell the cookies that he had with him, but that didn't matter too much to her. She was still a lil ticked at Kish,
"Chocolate! You've been mad at me all day! Don't be mad at me..." Kish sighed and walked in her room anyway, ignoring her demand. He couldn't believe that she had actually been mad at him all day! Was it really that serious? Kish set the plate of cookies on her dresser and walked over with two in hand. He ate the one in his left and waved the other one in the air.
"Is that from my mom?"
"Yep. Do you want it?"
"No."
"Why not? Your mom said you would."
"I'm not hungry."
"You're lying, Chocolate." Kish walked over with the other cookie, and sat on Chocolate's bed with her. Chocolate immediately moved over, trying to put space between them.
"You know, I did tell you to not come in here."
"So? I brought you something from your mom. I think that's good enough reason." Kish laid out on Chocolate's bed and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She wore a slight annoyed look on her face, and Kish thought it was the cutest thing in the world. He smirked at her before holding the cookie again.
"You're getting crumbs on my bed."
"I am? Well then I guess you need to eat this cookie, huh?"
"Give it here."
"Come get it."
"What? No. Give it here."
"No, come get it." Kish grinned mischievously at the girl beside him, and grinned wider when she looked frustrated with him.
"Kish..."
"Fox, come here and get it, if you want it."
Sighing, Chocolate moved closer to Kish and reached for the cookie...Only to have Kish snatch it out of her reach and move it closer to him. Giving a slight growl of frustration, Chocolate then proceeded to tackle Kish and get her cookie, making them both fall over on her bed. Kish laughed as Chocolate ate the cookie right in front of him, smirking in triumph while she ate it.
"Ha! Serves you right, Kish."
"Fox, you're so cruel..." Kish said, rolling his eyes and reaching out. He wrapped his arms around the girl above him and then smiled.
"What?"
"You have something...on your face...Right there." Kish pointed at the area at the side of her mouth and Chocolate wiped at it, trying to see it.
"Did I get it?"
"Nope. You still didn't get it. Come here, I'll get it for you." Chocolate leaned her face down closer to Kish's and smiled gently as Kish kissed the side of her mouth. He then moved to kiss her gently on the lips, licking her bottom lip that tasted like the cookie she had just eaten.
"Kish..."
"Fox, stop being mad at me."
"Why?"
"Because...I don't like you being mad at me."
"Really?"
"Yes...So stop." Kish kissed her again on her mouth, more firmly this time, before moving to kiss first her cheek, then trailing her jaw line to her neck. Chocolate closed her eyes as liquid fire rushed through her body and could barely get an answer out.
"I-I'm sorry..."
Kish halted in his assault for mere seconds, just enough time to smirk, before he went back to kissing her neck.
"For being mad.."
"It's okay, Fox."
"Is it?"
"Yeah. Now shut up...You're not paying enough attention to me." Kish ran his tongue along a single spot on her neck before softly biting Chocolate. Chocolate blinked in surprise, as a bright blush ran rampant across her cheeks. No one had ever done that before...
The Next Morning
Ichigo woke up to find Ryou in human form beside her. Her eyes grew very wide and she threw the covers off of her, then sighed in relief to find all of her clothes in their rightful spot, with the exception of Ryou's hand on herbare stomach. She smiled and played in his blonde hair while he slept, wondering why he chose to stay this time. He was usually awake and gone by this time, but for some reason he stayed. Shrugging Ichigo moved his hand so that his arm was around her, and laid her head on his chest. She listened to his heart beat and smiled wider, blushing slightly, as she remembered how his heart had sounded when he had been kissing her. The two paces were extremely different and it made her slightly proud that she had that kind of affect on someone.
"Hmmmm...Ichigo?"
Ichigo blinked and almost jumped when she heard Ryou's husky voice break the silence in the room. His other arm came around her and Ryou hugged Ichigo to him tightly, half-awake.
"Good morning, sleepyhead."
"You were actually up before me? What's this world coming to?" Ryou smiled gently and Ichigo couldn't help but laugh at the way he looked.
"Ryou, hush. It's Sunday, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember...Let's go do something today." Ryou said, laying his chin on top of Ichigo's head. Ichigo nodded and breathed in his scent, memorizing it for a time when he wouldn't be by her side, though that time probably wasn't very likely.
"Hm? Like what?"
"Whatever you want."
"Really? Because I want to do lots of things!"
"Then let's do some of them and then next Sunday, we can do some more."
"Really?"
"Yeah..." Ryou's eyes closed and he gave a loud sigh, that gentle smile still on his face.
"When do you want to go?"
"Around 12...we can go have lunch and then do what you want."
"Ryou...It's 10:30." Ryou's eyes opened quickly and went straight to Ichigo's clock, confirming that it indeed was ten thirty in the morning. He sat up, still holding Ichigo, and ran a hand through his hair.
"You love making things difficult for me, huh?"
"Of course. I am your number one weapon, after all." Ichigo smiled and moved away from Ryou, "Now go, or you're going to be late and I don't like that."
"Like you're ever on time."
"I will be today."
"Then come to the cafe at 12."
"Ok." Ichigo smiled widely as Ryou changed himself into Alto and practically ran out of her window as soon as she had opened it.
At 1 o'clock in the Afternoon
"Wow, that was such a good restaurant, Ryou!" Ichigo said, grinning widely and patting her stomach. Ryou laughed at the girl holding his hand, and followed her down the sidewalk. Ichigo resisted the urge to skip, knowing that Ryou wouldn't stand for that, so she walked with him instead.
"What do you want to go do next?", Ryou asked, ready for anything. Ichigo could have said she wanted to go bungee jumping and he would have it arranged for her, because today was her day to spend time with him and do what she wanted. It didn't matter as long as he got to spend time with her.
"I want to...Go ice-skating!" Ichigo cried, as if the idea was perfect for the situation. Ryou sweat-dropped, thinking she was going to ask from something that would actually be hard for him to accomplish.
"Then ice-skating we'll go." Ryou smiled and opened his cell phone, releasing Ichigo's hand and walking ahead of her. After talking on the phone for five minutes, he hung up, a triumphant smile on his face. He grabbed Ichigo's hand and lead her in the proper direction, until a limo pulled up beside them.
"Umm, Ryou?"
"Get in." Ryou opened the door for Ichigo and she got in as she was told, surprised at the white stretch limo Ryou had gotten for her. He smirked and closed the door behind himself, watching as Ichigo babbled on and on about how nice the limo was. After about ten minutes of riding, the two came to a halt in front of what looked like an ordinary building. No other cars were parked in the lot, and Ryou grinned, getting out of the car, and helping Ichigo out. She looked around with a confused look on her face, before Ryou grabbed her hand, and led her into the white building. He walked though the glass doors and led her down a dark hallway, until they reached the end, where a lot of lights were on. As soon as Ichigo hit the open area, her eyes grew wide in awe, because directly in front of her was a very large ice skating rink, with the ice newly laid. She walked forward, and then stopped when she realized...She had nothing to skate on the ice with.
"Ryou?"
"That's not all, Ichigo, come here." Ryou said, from his spot at a row of bleachers to the left of where Ichigo had been standing. She ran over to find two wrapped, rectangle boxes sitting on the bleacher next to him.
"What's this?"
"Here. Open it." Ryou handed her the two wrapped boxes and watched as she removed the pink wrapping paper of one box, smirking as she gasped.
"IT'S SOO CUTE! Is this for me?" Inside of the first box was a light pink coat, with fur along the top of the hood. Ichigo ran her finger along the coat, feeling its smooth, soft material. She immediately put it on and felt the warmth of the coat, loving it for the color, the feel, and it's length, since the bottom of the coat hit the top of her legs. She put her hand in the pockets and found a pair of pink gloves as well.
"That's still not it. Look in the other box." Ryou had already put on his cream colored coat, the same as Ichigo's only different and made to fit him. He was sliding his fingers in the gloves as he waited on her to open the other box.
"OHMYGOSH! Ryou, you're the best!" Ichigo grinned with happiness as she held the pair of brand new pink ice skates that matched her new coat. She held them up in the air and hugged Ryou before exclaiming again about how wonderful they were.
"Now Ichigo, with brand new ice skates, you have to break them in, so you have to be extra careful, okay? Here these will help you out too." Ichigo nodded as Ryou gave her a pair of thick socks, so as to keep her from getting blisters. He smiled and showed her his cream skates, before walking closer to the ice. He then took off his shoes and put his skates on, removing the guards on the blades. He made sure they were sharpened like he had asked, and then took to the ice, looking up at Ichigo as he glided backwards across the ice.
"Ryou, I have to tell you, I'm not very good."
"Then we'll help you get better!" With a smile, Ryou moved gracefully toward Ichigo and stopped in front of her with bow, holding his hand out to help her. Ichigo was shaky at first, but as Ryou skated with her and time passed, she got a little better at it. Finally, Ryou let her go, and watched her glide across the ice on her own. She smiled widely and cheered.
"LOOK! RYOU, I CAN DO IT! YAY!" Ryou laughed at her, but inside his heart was about to burst with the love he felt for Ichigo. He knew they wouldn't and couldn't do this all the time, and that's what made it all the more special. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a remote and slowly and quietly music began to play. He turned up the volume and a song, known as the "Polovtsian Dances And Chorus" played for Ryou. He nodded his head in time to the music, and began to skate in earnest, glad that he had gone to lessons. Ichigo watched in fascination as her boyfriend moved and danced along with the song, watching his closed eyes and the expression on his face. Feeling inspired herself, Ichigo skated towards him and followed his movements, copying him almost exactly. When he jumped in the air to do a spin, however, Ichigo simply watched, wishing that she could do something like that. Soon the song was over and Ryou, breathing faster than before opened his eyes, smiling at Ichigo as he reached his hands out to her. Ichigo skated to him, blushing with happiness as his arms came around her.
"Ryou, that was-!"
"Wonderful, I know." Ichigo turned in shock as a voice echoed around the rink. She turned her head and Ryou immediately pushed her behind him, looking around the room warily. Clapping was heard and Ichigo frowned, wondering where she had heard the voice from.
"Who's out there!" Ryou yelled, his eyes narrowing, as he took his gloves off and slipped them in his pocket. Soon his ears were poking out and his hair was slowly starting to change color and grow, right in front of Ichigo's eyes. She held off on saying the words that would change her into a Mew, wondering who it was.
"Ryou, you couldn't have forgotten me. I loved you! For two long years, I adored you! How can you forget me that quick?" A girl stepped forward and the light reflected off of something as the stepped closer and closer to the rink...
Ichigo's eyes widened as she realized WHAT the light was reflecting off of. They were glasses! "Lettuce! Why are you doing this?"
Lettuce stepped into the light, her arms crossed over her chest and a frown on her face, "You ask me that while you stand hugged up with the one I LOVED! How can you do that, Ichigo? You go through guys like a glass of water! Well guess what? It's freezing over for you right now! Mew Mew Lettuce Metamorphosis!"
"No, Lettuce, we don't want to fight you?"
"You don't want to fight me? You've been fighting me since the day I became a mew! You didn't want to leave me to myself, you wanted to 'help' me! Well look what your help did! LOOK!" Lettuce held out her arm and Ichigo winced at the pulsing blue gem that was embedded in her arm. Blue veins were winding up her entire arm and slowly making a path on her neck. Tears were streaming down Lettuce's face, and she glared at the two in front of her.
"W-What is that?"
"This will make me one of them. My body will go through another changed, and I'll have alien DNA in me...Then Deep Blue will love me, and accept me. He will treat me better than ANYONE else!" Lettuce lowered her arm, only to raise it again.
"Lettuce, don't-!"
"Shut up! Lettuce Rush!" Lettuce's main attack came charging at Ryou and Ichigo, and Ichigo found herself not able to move at all. Lucky for her, Ryou was ready and jumped out of the way, landing on the ice hard enough to crack it in certain spots.
"Ichigo, you're going to have to change..." Ryou whispered to her over his shoulder. Ichigo shook her head, closing her eyes against the obvious. Lettuce was her enemy now; not her friend. She couldn't help her anymore...she was beyond it.
"Ryou, I...I don't want to fight her..."
"Do you really have a choice?" Ryou turned, hugging Ichigo to him, "I know you don't want to, but you-! AHHHH!"
"You told us to never turn our back on the enemy, why would you knowingly do it?" Lettuce asked, smirking at the blue needles protruding from Ryou's back. He growled and yanked them out, turning around to glare at Lettuce.
"Lettuce! You've gone too far! Mew Mew Strawberry Metamorphosis!" Ichigo yelled, tossing her gloves on the ice behind her. She felt her ears and tail come out, though her coat was over her usual Mew uniform. Frowning, she skated forward, at an amazing speed and jumped in the air when she got close enough to Lettuce. Blue needles came flying at her and as a memory flashed in her mind, Ichigo spun, landing on the ice gracefully and then skating forward towards Lettuce again.
"Ha! You think you can beat me?"
"Together we can!" Ryou yelled, coming up behind Lettuce. He reached out to grab her...but she vanished from his grasp, "Damn!"
"We'll finish this later!" Came Lettuce's voice, though she wasn't near the two any longer. They heard the sound of rushing air, and Lettuce was gone from the Earth. Ichigo stared at the spot where she had been and fell to her knees on the ice, bursting into horrible, uncontrollable sobs. Ryou skated over to her as quickly as he could, getting on his knees and hugging her to him.
"I had to fight her...Ryou, we just fought one of our good friends..."
"I know, I know..."
"I can't believe we fought her..." Ichigo began to cry harder, and Ryou just held her, cursing the new aliens and Lettuce for making his only love cry like this.
End Chapter 10