9: Eleven O'clock Visitors
Ryou rolled over in his bed, burying his head under the pillow. Someone kept knocking on the café's door and it was really getting annoying.
"Hey, someone lemme in!" a familiar voice called. "It's cold out here!"
"It's eleven o'clock at night… what could she possibly want now?" Ryou groaned, glancing at the clock.
"Whatever it is, we shouldn't keep her waiting," Keiichiro said, appearing in his doorway.
"I swear, if it's something stupid and pointless, I'm going to kill her," the blond mumbled, forcing himself out of bed.
"are you even up? I've been out here knocking for, like, half an hour already!" Nova's voice grew clearer as the two descended the stairs.
"would you keep it down? It's the middle of the night!" Ryou snapped quietly, flinging open the door.
"No its not! It's only 'leven. The middle of the night is midnight, that's why it's called… midnight!" Nova grinned, teetering back and forth on her heels and looking up at the upper levels of the café.
"Oh my god," Ryou hissed. She looked down and a huge grin broke out on her face.
"Ryou!" she screeched, throwing herself at him. "I'm so happy to see you! I haven't seen you in hours! I've missed you so much! Did you miss me?"
"What is wrong with you?" he demanded, pushing her to the ground.
"Everything okay?" Keiichiro inquired.
"Ugh, you reek of booze!" Ryou said, backing away a few steps. "Are you drunk?"
"Nope," Nova shook her head and held up a mostly empty bottle of liquor. "I'm completely hammered!"
"keep it down!" the blond hissed as the American giggled.
"I'll go make some coffee," Keiichiro grinned, walking towards the kitchen.
"Yeah, coffee! That stuff is the bomb! It tastes like swill but I love it!" Nova cried, throwing her arms in the air. "Hurray!"
"Oh my… just, come inside before someone calls the cops on you," Ryou hissed, holding the door open wide for Nova, who crawled in on her hands and knees.
"Did you grow? You're like, super tall now," she giggled, looking up at Ryou. He held out his hand. "what?"
"the bottle, hand it over," he demanded. She handed him the bottle.
"Yay, Ryou's gonna be my drinking buddy!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands and following the blond into the kitchen.
"As if, you lush," he snorted, pouring what was left in the bottle down the drain in the sink.
"Why are you doing that? I would've finished it!" she whined.
"I'm not going to let you drink an entire bottle of booze!" Ryou hissed, throwing the empty bottle in the garbage.
"Yeah, well, I had two before that one so I'm good for… the next three minutes," she giggled.
"you drank three bottles of alcohol?" Ryou barked.
"yes sirree bob, I most surely did," she replied. "why, did you want me to bring you some?" she asked innocently.
"Maybe next time," he grimaced.
"Whatever you say, hot stuff," she patted his shoulder and hopped on the counter. "you know what you should do?"
"Dare I ask what?" he groaned.
"you should be a model," she said firmly, slamming her fist on the counter.
"a model. Really?" Ryou asked. Nova nodded.
"Yeah, a playboy model, only… for girls. I mean, I dunno, guys might be into you too, I'm just saying. Are you bi, by any chance?" she babbled.
"I wish you were a fox right now," he mumbled.
"Ryou, how can you say such a thing? Take me out to dinner first," Nova giggled, blushing.
"As if you aren't enough of a pain when you're sober," he sighed, shaking his head. Keiichiro tried to hide his laughter, but didn't succeed very well. "if you think this is so funny, you deal with her! I'm going back to bed. And you!" he snapped, turning to Nova. "Keep it down or I'll lock you in the freezer for a year!"
"Yessir, righty-oh captain, aye-aye sir, understood!" she chirped, saluting him.
"Obviously not," Ryou sniffed, storming away.
"Here you go," Keiichiro said, handing a mug of steaming coffee to Nova. She took it and took a large gulp, almost instantly spitting it back out.
"Gross!" she coughed. "it's so yucky tasting!"
"I didn't add any sugar or cream because I didn't know how you take it," he smiled.
"Oh, no, this is fine!" she said, quickly drinking what was still in the cup and making a face afterwards.
"Feel better?" he asked taking the cup from her and setting them in the sink. A loud thump sound caught his attention. "nova?" he asked, rushing over to the teenager sprawled across the counter.
"I'm so sleepy…" she giggled weakly. "I've… I've always been able to… to hold my alcohol, but I pass out if I don't get more within… ten minutes…" she rambled as Keiichiro helped her sit up.
"I'm putting you to bed," he replied, picking her up bridal style. "Hang on, okay?"
"Yessir!" she chirped, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You said that you've always been able to hold your alcohol. Have you drank before?" he inquired.
"I was in a gang. Of course I drank before! I got totally wasted my thirteenth birthday," she chuckled. "hey Keiichiro?" she asked softly.
"Yes, Nova?" he answered
"Has anyone ever told you that you're pretty?" she asked.
"No, no one has told me that I'm pretty," he chuckled.
"I think so. I think you're very pretty," she mumbled, resting her head against his neck.
"I think you're pretty drunk," he said, glad the lights were very dim because he was blushing a bit from her complement. "You can sleep in my bed."
"Stay with me," she muttered. "at least until I fall asleep…"
"Okay," he smiled.
"I'm sorry," she apologized as Keiichiro set her down on the bed.
"for what?" he asked.
"For not handling the girl's death better. I could've… bought a box of chocolate, watched depressing movies, and cried into a fluffy pillow. What did I do instead? I got wasted and just barged in here uninvited, bothering you with my not being able to deal with death good… stuff," she sighed shakily.
"It's alright. It's not your fault," he said softly, smoothing her hair out of her face.
"Keiichiro?" she started, rolling on her side so she could look at him. "Can I say something?"
"if you ask me you've been saying quite a bit all evening, but go ahead," he chuckled.
"I love you," she sighed. "you're always so kind and understanding and a good cook. I really like that. I love you."
"that's probably the alcohol talking," he chuckled nervously.
"Maybe so, but it doesn't change my feelings," Nova said gruffly. "I don't care if you feel the same way or not… well, actually I do, but that's kinda beside the point. I feel a bit better now that I've told you. Maybe I won't be so distant when I talk to you now."
"how much you want to bet that you'll remember none of this when you wake up tomorrow?" he asked gently, crouching down and resting his arms on the edge of the bed. She grabbed his hand and turned her grey eyes up to his face, watching to see what he would do.
"I bet my life that I will," she grinned.
"then you're a dead man, making a gamble like that. Go to sleep, I'll see you in the morning," he smiled down at her, patting her head. A second glance revealed that she had fallen asleep, his hand grasped weakly in hers.
Before he could second think himself, he decided to act. Captured by the tenderness of the moment like a fish in a net, he leaned his head closer and brushed his lips against hers. The taste of alcohol was sharp and a bit sweet, laced with the bitterness of coffee and something else. He felt her grip on his hand tighten slightly.
"if it's any consolation, I think I might feel the same," he murmured softly as he pulled away.
"Ichigo. Ichigo!" someone called quietly, tossing rocks at the bedroom window. Ichigo sighed heavily and went to see who was visiting her at eleven at night. She opened the window and a rcok hit her forehead.
"Dustin, what are you doing?" she hissed.
"sorry, my bad," he apologized, tossing a handful of small rocks and pebbles over his shoulder. "I came to check up on you. Your light's been on way after you normally turn it off and go to sleep so I wanted to make sure you didn't commit suicide or something."
"does it look like I committed suicide?" she hissed, throwing the rock that hit her back down at him.
"Not yet. Let me in, I don't want you alone after what happened," he called. Ichigo rolled her eyes but went downstairs and opened the door.
"You're joking, right?" she asked as he practically pushed his way inside.
"Nope, I've visited everyone except you and Berry. Mint, Lettuce, Pudding, Zakuro, all of them," he chattered. "and before you start the finger-pointing and name calling, I just hung out with them, ate a bunch of junk food and cried with them. No 'favors'."
"Keiichiro and Ryou?" she asked, stifling a yawn.
"nah, they called me to tell me that Nova is staying over at the café tonight because she got drunk and passed out so I think they'll be okay," he grinned.
"She's drunk?" Ichigo asked.
"well, she was. Keiichiro called a few minutes ago saying that Nova had wound up there 'completely hammered' and that she's asleep now. She's gonna have one major hangover tomorrow," he chuckled.
"Why would she get hammered?" she inquired.
"uh, hello? Were you not there with us this afternoon?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her face. "She doesn't deal with death very well. I mean, you wouldn't if you had seen your best friend tortured and killed before your very eyes, right?"
"She watched her friend die?" she asked softly as they went to Ichigo's room. "How awful."
"you ask a lot of questions," he chuckled, sitting on her bed.
Ichigo opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of herself and closed it.
"She hates talking about it more than she hates ruining a photograph when it's still developing, which is a lot, so I'll tell you, but only because you're my friend and teammate… and because the risk of you dying is far greater because of our jobs as Mew Mews," he grinned.
"Is that okay? I mean, she won't have you murdered and thrown in Tokyo Bay?" she asked. Dustin snickered and motioned for her to sit down.
"She was twelve turning thirteen when it happened. Her friend's name was Ringo, having been named after that guy from the Beatles. Ringo Andersen… god, she was gorgeous. She had big, bright blue eyes and long black hair that was so soft and silky to the touch it felt like you were caressing a cloud," he gushed. "They were practically Siamese twins; they did so much stuff together. They were in the same class at school, they spent the night at each other's houses at almost every opportunity, etcetera. But… Ringo had a secret. Her older brothers had basically sold her into their gang to pay off a debt they owed to the boss and she was the gang's slave for oh so many things. She had suckered Nova into joining to ease her suffering. Nova had to start at the very bottom of the group ad work her way up to the top, where Ringo was. Ringo was the boss's… girlfriend isn't the right term… I guess she was like a concubine or a sex slave, there when he needed her, you know?"
"Why was she killed?" Ichigo asked softly.
"Well, one day, it had been revealed that Ringo was pregnant, carrying someone's child. Naturally the boss assumed it was his. He was seventeen and had gotten girls pregnant before, so it was no big deal to him. Nova just had to step forward and say that the child wasn't his. The boss asked whose it was but Ringo refused to give an answer because she knew that he would beat up the child's father or worse. The boss pulled Nova aside and thanked her for catching onto his slave's infidelity. As punishment for fooling around, Ringo was beaten. The gang members attacked her like a crazed lion attacks a gazelle or something: ruthlessly and hungrily. Nova wanted to help her… save her… but she knew the consequences if she did: she would die as well. She had a front row seat to the murder of her best friend and she couldn't do a thing about it," he said, drawing his knees up to his face and hiding it.
"Dustin, are you okay?" Ichigo asked gently.
"would you be okay if you found out that your girlfriend and child had been beaten to death?" he retorted quietly, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"oh Dustin, I'm so sorry!" she said quickly. "I-I'm so sorry…"
"It's fine. There was nothing I could do anyways," he replied dejectedly, rubbing at his face with the back of his hands. Anyways, Nova couldn't believe that Ringo had died, so she found her dad's stash of booze and got wasted. She overdid it though, and got alcohol poisoning. Her life has been relatively harsh, so she doesn't like to talk about it much. I guess that's what I'm for," he chuckled dryly. "I'm the narrator."
"It's not like that. It's not like that, Dustin. You're not just a narrator; you're a very vital character. We wouldn't be able to fight this war without you," she whispered, hugging him as he cried silently. "both you and Nova are needed. Don't waste your time crying about something that can't be undone."
"But it was something I could've prevented," he mumbled. "Ichigo, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
"Huh? Well, I'm not really sure," she said awkwardly. That was an abrupt change of subject.
"Let me guess," he sniffled. "you're gonna grow up and marry Masaya."
"W-well, something like that, maybe…" she blushed. What would she do when she got out of school? Go to college? But she didn't really have any skills besides saving the world and cooking…
"you could go t a culinary school," he suggested, wiping his eyes. "nova told me about your amazing rice balls."
"What about you? What do you want to do with your life?" she asked, shifting the subject off her shoulders.
"Oh geez, I wanna be a writer, a doctor, an astronomer, a scientist, a father, an uncle, a grandpa, a bus driver, one of those people who push those big mop things at the movie theaters," he rambled. "but mainly a writer. I'm writing a story about a guy who pushed the mop things at the movies who secretly is a doctor trying to save an alien's life and the alien is living with his family."
"That sounds… interesting," Ichigo grinned wryly. "Maybe you can let me read it sometime."
"Maybe," he grinned, ruffling her hair. "I'm gonna go now; you seem to be doing better."
"You sure? You can stay the night if you want to," she offered. She didn't want the American to leave just yet… not quite yet.
"Nah, I gotta smooth things over with Nova's parents. They're really touchy about the thing she had with alcohol. I mean, if your thirteen year old stumbled into your house well after midnight more drunk than a sailor on shore, wouldn't you have a bit of a meltdown? That and I have to convince them that nothing's happening over there, if you get my drift," he grinned again. He made to jump out the window, swinging it open and dangling one leg outside.
"Dustin wait!" she cried, grabbing his arm before he could jump.
"yeah?" he asked, looking at her curiously. Ichigo blushed.
"Um… it's awfully high. You'll get hurt if you jump from up here. Take the stairs like a normal person," she babbled, hiding her eyes beneath her red bangs.
"in case you didn't get the memo, I stopped being normal about a week and a half ago," he chuckled. "And coming from you, that's verging on an insult, Kitty."
"Pardon me for being nice," she huffed, turning away and letting go of his limb. She felt fingers, warm and a bit rough, slide under her chin and turn her head.
"Pardon me for trying to be funny," he retorted before kissing her gently and swiftly. "I'll see you later. Remember that if you think this is bad, there's always someone who has experienced worse."
With that he jumped out the window, landed neatly on the grass and walked towards the fence. Ichigo rushed to the window to watch, though she wasn't sure why. She gazed at his retreating figure, outlined by the large half moon hanging over head. He turned once, glancing over his shoulder, and lifted his hand in a half-wave. Ichigo waved back as he leapt over the fence and began climbing the vines outside an open window. Her fingers found her lips as she blushed faintly. What was that kiss about? It was not just a consoling action, she was sure of that. She could taste something hidden under compassion. What ws it? Curiosity? No, it was too strong to be a fleeting thing like that? Friendship? But that just seemed ridiculous, kissing a friend without demanding or at least expecting more.
Was it love? That seemed… possible. But she had Masaya! She couldn't fall for Dustin! Well… she could, but not without either getting in trouble or feeling awful about it… or both. Relationships could get so complicated and given the circumstances a love triangle was the last thing anyone needed.
Still, she couldn't stop herself from smiling when she fell asleep after the very long day.
A/N: Review, please and thank you.