OMG!! I haven't updated in SO LONG!! (bows) SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY!! T.T And thank you to all those lovely people that did review! School has been evil beyond belief (honors math in particular). But, then again, it's been good, incase any of you actually care. xD If not, skip the next para and read the story. I made friends, settled in, got a new laptop, and was voted Most Artistic in the entire grade. heehee.
kk! NOW! on with chapters 19 and 20!
19
The two groups faced each other.
On one end of the clearing there stood the Mews, Keiichiro, Ryo and Masaya; on the other end stood Ichigo, Kisshu, Tart and Pai. Ichigo held her shoes and socks in her hand, and she was dressed in her now-clean jeans and T-shirt.
Kisshu, Ichigo and Ryo stepped away from the groups, walking toward the center. Kisshu held Ichigo by the arm, and Ryo held the Mew Aqua.
They stopped a distance away from each other, tension thick in the air. Ryo set the orb of Mew Aqua on the ground, rolling it towards the alien and Ichigo. Kisshu let go of Ichigo's arm with a final squeeze, and she walked towards Ryo with her eyes closed.
Kisshu picked up the Mew Aqua and with a nod from Pai, the three aliens teleported, leaving their enemies alone in the clearing. Immediately, all of the Mews pounced on Ichigo.
"Ichigo-san!"
"Ichigo!"
"Ichigo."
"Ichigo, na no da!"
Ichigo stood there and hugged them for what seemed like an eternity, and then she pulled away, walking over to Keiichiro and Ryo with her eyes still closed. She hugged them in turn, and Ichigo felt the slight heat that came off of Ryo's face when she hugged him. Next, with a weight in her heart, she walked over to Masaya.
The boy embraced her and Ichigo stiffened for a moment, and then hugged him back. She turned her head and kissed him on the lips for a few seconds, and when she pulled away, she kept her eyes closed and thought for a moment.
When she finally spoke, it was with a voice tinged with sadness.
"I…I don't love you, anymore, Aoyama-kun. Well, I still do, but it's more of a sibling love, I guess. Can…we just be friends?"
There was a stunned silence that hung thick in the air for a few seconds around the two teens, until Masaya spoke.
"But…why?"
"There's…someone else. I hope you can forgive me."
The boy blinked, and then sighed as he accepted what she wanted. "Alright…but, Ichigo…who—"
"I'm not going to say who it is, so don't ask."
"…O-okay. I'll…see you in school, then…ah, Momomiya-san."
She turned back to the main group as she heard Masaya turn and walk away.
Retasu walked forward. "Ichigo, why…"
"I don't want to talk about it, okay guys? Just…leave it."
Suddenly, all the Mews were hugging her again, and Ryo said, "Did the aliens treat you civilly?"
Ichigo nearly laughed at the simplicity of the question, and the deepness with which it would have to be answered.
"They…um…yeah, they did."
He grunted, showing his acceptance of the answer. As her friends pulled away, however, she cleared her throat.
"They…well, Pai created a machine that shed high pitched noise waves, and they knocked me out with it; that's how they kidnapped me. Unfortunately, it um…exploded and it got out of control, and Kisshu stopped it by breaking it in half. He actually lost a finger because of it, and he stopped the noise, but I…"
Ryo drew in a quick breath, and she felt the vibrations threading through the ground quicken as his heart rate increased. "What happened to you? Why are your eyes still closed?"
She laughed. "It doesn't matter if they're open or not; I can see you anyways. Your vibrations give me a basic outline of your body."
"My…vibrations?"
"I can feel your heartbeat through the ground and the vibrations bounce off of me and back to you," she explained, wiggling her toes, "and if I concentrate, I can feel and hear the air move when you do."
Zakuro put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "What happened, Ichigo?"
The cat girl sighed. "Um…the machine's sound waves…altered my brain."
Ryo stepped forward quickly and put his hands on either side of her face.
"Ichigo," he said, his voice urgent, "open your eyes!"
She complied, and he reeled back when his sky blue-eyes met with her white ones. "I'm kind of…blind," she said bluntly.
Ryo gasped, and she stepped forward, reaching up a hand and touching his face, her dry fingers meeting wet cheeks. "Don't cry, Shirogane-san."
"I'm sorry," he said.
She laughed suddenly. "I forgave the aliens, Shirogane-san; what makes you think that I won't forgive you, too?"
He relaxed, his worries that she would forever blame him melting away. "Thank you, strawberry."
A thought hit her suddenly. "Do my parents know?"
"No, they don't know about you being a Mew Mew; we told them you had gone on vacation with the other girls. You're lucky it was a school break last week and this week."
She giggled. "Yeah, I am. Although, I'm going to have to find some way to explain the blindness thingy..."
Keiichiro nodded. "Yes, but for now, let's go back to the Café and eat lunch. Sound good?"
His suggestion was met with a chorus of 'yes's' and the group set off down the path.
20
"Ichigo, wake up! It's time for school!"
The cat girl rolled over, only succeeding to further entangle herself in her the sheets of her bed. "Nyang…"
Her mother marched up the stairs and into her daughter's room, tearing open the closet and extracting Ichigo's school uniform. She shook her daughter's shoulder and thrust the clothes at her.
"Ichigo, get up! You only have half an hour!"
Ichigo sat bolt upright, grabbing the clothes with a cry of, "Nya! I'm so late!"
Her mother laughed and exited he room, walking down the stairs slowly.
I know she hit her head over the vacation and she can't see, now, she thought, but everything seems so normal…
Ichigo came pounding down the stairs a few minutes later, her hair down and bouncing against her shoulders.
Sakura blinked. "Don't you usually put your hair up?"
Ichigo continued to shovel her breakfast into her mouth. "I couldn't find the ribbons, so I couldn't put it up. I'm just gonna leave it down today."
Well, almost normal…
Ichigo grabbed her bag and rushed out the door, crashing into someone and falling on her back.
"Yeesh, koneko-chan. You okay?"
As a hand helped her up, she stuttered, "K-Kish! What are you doing here? What if you get seen?"
"Oh, hello, son. Who are you?"
Ichigo froze as she heard her mom's voice.
She nearly passed out when Kisshu answered.
"Oh, hi! You must be Ichigo's mom. Nice to finally meet you, Momomiya-san."
Ichigo grabbed Kisshu by the arm and pulled him away as he waved. "Please tell me you're in human disguise?"
Kisshu tapped the necklace, making a slight dinging noise. "Yep. And, by the way, I went on Pai's computer and tapped into the school network, and you have a new person in your class. All of your classes, actually."
"What?"
Kisshu laughed. "Hey, go easy on me; I'm the new kid!"
Ichigo pouted, although the happiness in her eyes was undeniable. "Oh, you cunning devil!"
"And, as of now, we're walking to school every day together."
She giggled, and then pulled away, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him along the sidewalk. "School! We're going to be so late!"
"Ichigo! Ichigo stop!"
"What? Why? We only have a few minutes!"
Kisshu sighed and dug his heels into the concrete, stopping her in her tracks. He spun her into him, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Koneko-chan, you know, there's this nifty little thing called teleportation."
She blushed. "Oh."
He concentrated and lifted the pendant away from his skin, and the two were swept away on a wave of nothingness. When they materialized and the sounds of school life surrounded them, Ichigo turned to Kisshu with a frown on her face. "Kish, how do you know where my school is?"
He gave her a quick peck on the lips, causing her to smile. He grinned. "One, call me Chris. Chris Shternah. Two, how do you think I know where your school is?"
Ichigo's eyes widened and she gasped. "You stalker!"
He grabbed her again and ran his fingers through her hair. "I like your hair down, it looks nice."
Her face turned a shade similar to the color of a tomato and she hastily backed away, avoiding passerby and heading toward the school building. "Come on, Chris; it's time for school!"
Kisshu smiled and followed her pathway through the crowd. He loved Ichigo when she was flustered.
Kish...how all of us wish you were real...maybe you are out there somewhere, reading this fanfiction and laughing your head off...?
Hey, a person can dream, right?
I will update sooner, I PROMISE, and I have no review number requirement. My gift to you guys. xD btw, since I missed it, MERRY CHRISTMAHAUNAQUANZA AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! oh, and as of today, BARROK OBAMA IS THE 44 PRESIDENT OF THE US!!
May we wish him luck...44 is the unluckiest number in all of chinese culture...