Chapter 10
Kira pressed her lips gently against Kish's and let goodness and love flow into him. She could barely bring herself to do it, but the Guardian's Kiss never failed. She drew herself away from Kish and looked into his eyes. "You will never forget me, Kisshu of the cyniclons. You will never forget me or my kiss," Kira said softly. Then she turned and dove into the ocean. Berry shouted, "Andean Cat Deep Sea Transformation!" She rose up and her legs were bound by silver sparkles. They spread and vanished leaving her with a silver mermaid's tail with spiraling white designs. "Humboldt Penguin Deep Sea Transformation!" Ringo shouted as she dove in. Her legs were pound by a deep scarlet tail decorated with intricate red designs.
Kish looked down into the water after them. It seemed that all the hate had left him. All the hard feelings and sadness were gone. Taruto spoke up after a second. "Well, are we going to go after them?" He asked. Kish continued staring at the water and felt a deep sense of longing not for Kira, but for Ichigo. Ichigo the Koneko-chan girl of the village. "Yes," He replied slowly and turned toward his two comrades. "We are going after them," Kish said firmly and smiled mischievously at them. Taruto and Pai looked at each other and back at Kish. "What are we waiting for?" Taruto asked. The three northerners dove into the sea to try and catch up with everyone else.
Kira amazingly swam faster than both Ringo and Berry. The trio sped down the path Ichigo had gone. Kira's uncanny sense of where her charge had gone guided her down to the depths of the ocean. Soon the trio saw a pinprick of light. "What's that up ahead?" Ringo asked. "It's the portal to the monster's kingdom," Kira replied. "Don't talk, it's using up our energy," Berry chided the two. The trio lapsed into silence. Kira pushed herself harder and harder, going faster and faster. She left a large column of solid bubbles in her wake and the water turned to pockets of air as her blazing wings cut through it.
"Kira! Why are you going so fast?!" Ringo shouted. Kira didn't waste her energy trying to reply, she only sped up and hoped that the girls could match her pace. If not, they'd have one heck of a time with the cyniclons. The pinprick of light turned into a small ball of light. Kira pushed herself harder. The water around her wings first glowed blue, then green. It turned to a burning red then an avid orange. A paper thin shield of fire formed in front of her, pushing the water away before she touched it. Kira was a blur of red and orange as she approached the portal and vanished into it.
Ichigo had been given a choice of large rooms to decorate, of fabrics for the bride's and bridesmaid's dresses, and of many other things. "I never knew planning a wedding could be this hard," she sighed, thinking of when she had played at giving a wedding when she was five. It had seemed so easy then. Just put on a fancy dress and find someone to marry. Most of the time she'd married Kira and Keiichiero had been the one to pronounce them man and wife. Ichigo smiled at the memory.
Ichigo looked down at the fabrics she'd chosen. The wedding would be themed emerald green, as was Retasu's color, but mostly white because Ichigo thought that a good wedding always had a fair amount of white in it. All the bridesmaids' dresses were in varying shades of blue-green with sparkling white jewels and small hair accessories made of pearls and emeralds and jade.
Ichigo clapped her hands twice. "These need to be made into dresses. This one is for Retasu, this one is for me, and these are for the bridesmaids. The other two are for the men. There will be six of them correct? Make them in the fashions I've circled here," Ichigo announced to the invisible servants, pointing to some circled designs in a thick book. Invisible hands whisked the cloth and the book away and Ichigo watched the door silently open and close. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this," she murmured to herself. Ichigo felt like she was talking to air and maybe going somewhat insane.
A paper floated in and landed next to her. It was an invitation to dinner. Ichigo heard her stomach growl and said, "All right. Lead the way." Invisible hands picked her up and sped her to a pair of small ornate doors. They opened the doors and Ichigo gasped in wonder, although not really surprised. She looked around and saw Retasu at one end. Her heart lifted with joy and relief at seeing her porpoise friend. "Retasu-chan!" she shouted.
Minto started banging on the glass above Ichigo's room with her high heeled shoes. "Come on guys, help me get in there," She said. Purin and Zakuro did their best to break the glass by jumping on it and pounding on it with more shoes. Small scratches appeared in the glass, but nothing substantial happened. "This glass is tons harder to break from the outside," Minto commented as disappointment started to settle in.
"Hey! I have an idea, na no da!" Purin exclaimed. Minto and Zakuro looked over at their yellow friend. "What is it?" Zakuro asked. "Well, spit it out," Minto commanded. "What if Minto-san was on top of Zakuro-san and I was on top of Minto-san and I jumped down on the glass and Minto-san jumped down after me? That's sure to break it, na no da," Purin explained. Minto and Zakuro thought it over for a moment.
"Well, I suppose it's worth a try, if Zakuro-onee-sama doesn't mind holding us up, of course," Minto slowly replied and looked over at Zakuro. Zakuro nodded. "I believe that we have a very good chance of getting in there," She replied. Minto bent over and told Purin to get on her shoulders, which the little monkey-girl obligingly did. Minto straightened as much as she could and walked over to where Zakuro was perched at the edge of the glass. Zakuro bent over and grunted as she struggled with the combined weight of Purin and Minto. "I don't think my back is ever going to be the same," Zakuro commented. "Well, here goes," Minto said. Purin stood up, causing the small tower of girls to waver. She jumped off and put all her weight into the crash. Spider web like cracks spread along the glass and the part where Purin was sunk a little. "Purin, move!" Minto shouted. Purin rolled out of the way as Minto leaped off Zakuro's shoulders and down onto the glass.
The thick barrier gave way and shattered. Minto and Purin fell to the floor in a heap. Minto quickly ducked her head, shielding it from the falling shards of glass. She pulled Purin down, saving her friend as well. The shards struck the floor around them and created small scratches on their arms and hands. Minto stood once she was sure the time had passed. She found she could only stand halfway up because some shards of glass were pinning her dress to the ground. Minto pulled the dress up. Glass shards splayed in different directions and the bottom of the dress ripped. Purin sprang right back up, dragging the glass shards with her. Zakuro leaped gracefully down and landed on the floor in front of them.
"Ichigo went through this wall," Purin pointed to the wall behind them. Zakuro ran her hands along the wall. "It's solid. Nothing could've gotten through here," She commented, lightly hitting the wall with her fist for good measure. "But we saw Ichigo vanish. This wall can't be real," Minto firmly said and pushed on it. Her hand vanished and so did half her arm! Minto followed her limbs through and poked her head back into the room. "Come on guys, I think if you stop believing that the wall is real that it disappears," She exclaimed. Purin had a determined look on her face and ran headlong into the wall. She ran right through and Minto was pulled back with a small cry. Zakuro shrugged and headed in after them.
Retasu looked with awe at all the courses which were served. "Now don't stuff yourself. I've planned a special dessert," The invisible host said. Retasu nodded. After a moment she noticed that the invisible man wasn't eating as she was. "Are you not hungry?" She asked. "It is pleasure enough for me to watch you eat," He replied. Retasu blushed and looked down, not quite sure how to reply to the unexpected compliment. Dinner was silent, except for a few instruments played expertly by invisible hands.
"Retasu, would you marry me if I asked you?" The man asked. Retasu paused. "How can I marry someone I cannot see?" She asked. The man sighed so heavily and unhappily that Retasu felt her heart twist and she felt as though she should've said yes. But to say that would be to condemn herself. It would be to restrict herself from ever being with Ryou. Retasu suddenly felt her appetite leave her. "I don't think I ca eat anything else," She commented, pushing her plate back. "I'm sorry, I've upset you. But won't you stay for a while longer?" The invisible man asked. Retasu nodded and looked down at her hands.
She looked up when she heard her name. "Ichigo?" She asked and jumped up. Retasu ran to meet her dear friend. The two embraced in a large girl hug. Ichigo was the one to break the hug. She pulled back and looked Retasu up and down. "Look at you! You look like you're dressed for a ball!" Ichigo exclaimed. "You look gorgeous too, Ichigo. Are you here to eat with us?" Retasu asked. "Us? Who else is here?" Ichigo asked looking at the table. "Oh, it's the invisible host," Retasu replied. Ichigo nodded, suddenly somewhat serious at the thought of Retasu marrying . . . him. "Ichigo, is something wrong?" Retasu asked. Ichigo shook her head and started walking toward where Retasu had been sitting. "No, everything's all right for the most part," Ichigo replied. "Have you eaten yet?" Retasu asked. "Well that's why I'm here," Ichigo replied.
After finishing the last course Ichigo and Retasu sat back contentedly. Ichigo made a purring sound in her throat. "Well, Ladies. The feast is over. Retasu I will accompany you back to your room," The invisible man announced. Ichigo and Retasu jumped. They'd totally forgotten about him. "You may go back to your rooms or join Retasu later," The invisible man said to Ichigo. Ichigo nodded and sat back in the chair, perfectly willing to sit there for a while longer.
Retasu felt an invisible hand on her arm and was touched by the warmth. He was a living real person, not a ghost or some sort of magical voice in the air. "See you later Ichigo," Retasu said by way of parting as the invisible man escorted her out of the room. "I didn't know Ichigo Koneko-chan was here," Retasu commented to the invisible man after they were out of the dining room. "You didn't ask," He replied. Retasu nodded. "So I didn't. But I'll inquire after the others. Minto, Purin, and Zakuro. They came with me too," Retasu said. "Yes, those three are here also," The invisible man replied. Retasu's heart leaped. "Can I see them too?" She asked. The invisible man paused. "Not tonight," He finally said and started walking again.
The pair reached Retasu's rooms. The invisible man pushed her door open. Retasu walked in and was instantly reminded of the demented teddy bear the invisible man had given her. The Masaya-bear. Retasu's stomach dropped and she instantly felt sorry for the invisible man. What had happened to make him do this sort of thing? "This is your true love is it not?" The invisible man asked. Retasu looked over at where she thought his head would be. "I would kill him to gain your love. I would do anything to win you over. But I know that he is special to you, so I gave him back," The invisible man said slowly, choosing his words. "B-but he's," Retasu started to tell him that Masaya wasn't her true love and that Ryou was. "No, don't speak. Say good-bye to him. I will marry you tomorrow evening," The invisible man said with conviction.
"No!" Retasu shouted. The room was deathly still and Retasu instantly put a hand to her mouth as though to pull the word back. Masaya's eyes opened and he moaned. "Yes you will Retasu. Don't worry, your love will stay safe. We can keep him throughout our marriage," The invisible man said. And the door closed with a click. And Retasu sat down, tears glistening in her eyes. Who was this man that he would marry her against her will?