Off The Deep End Chapter 20- Learning to Heal
Thank you to everyone for all of your support and especially to kisshuismylife for being amazing and letting me talk to her.. Basically I've been watching Nicholas Sparks movies to make me feel better. Maybe that's why this chapter is so sappy….
Ichigo's leg was healing quickly but Kisshu feared her spirit wasn't faring as well. It had been two weeks since her kidnapping and she still flinched when anyone raised their hand or moved too quickly.
It broke Kish's heart.
A teleportation shield had been placed around the café so you could teleport from inside the café but not from outside and Ichigo's parents had been told that she was on a long vacation with Zakuro. She still slept in Kish's room and, despite her protests, Kish slept on the floor near the bed so he was there if she needed anything. Everyone did everything for her, from brushing her teeth to carrying her up and down the stairs.
Ichigo hated it. She wanted to be allowed to take care of herself and she wanted to go home. Every time she looked down at her leg, she remembered Amon's fist smashing into it, igniting her with pain. His face, twisted with a sardonic smile, haunted her dreams, causing her to thrash and cry out in her sleep. Whenever this happened, Kish got off the floor and into the bed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her still. She was never awake for any of it, but a sudden peace would come over her as soon as he touched her and Amon's face would disappear. As the Cyniclon held her shivering body, he wondered what exactly had happened to her and reminded himself that the next time he saw Amon, he would beat him to a pulp. Then she would quiet down and settle into a more peaceful sleep and Kish would slip out of the bed and back down to the floor. As he saw this vulnerable side of her, a side she tried to keep hidden from everyone else, Kish felt his heart swell with feelings for her, feelings he knew she would never return.
But maybe Kish was wrong, for even as he tried to quell his feelings, Ichigo wondered what exactly her own heart was feeling. She too saw a side of her roommate she hadn't thought existed. He was so gentle when he scooped her out of the bed, cradling her carefully against his chest. He would smile down at her while teleporting her downstairs and find a seat in the sunlight, knowing she loved the warmth on her skin. The fact that he knew so much about her without her ever telling him boggled her mind and made her heart skip. She began to be entranced by his golden eyes, a miracle in itself considering a few months ago she had hated him passionately. He was still Kisshu, sarcastic and carefree, but he had shown that he had a wonderfully compassionate side and Ichigo was beginning to feel things she didn't think she would ever be able to feel for anyone but Masaya.
Ichigo laid in bed and refused to eat the soup Lettuce was attempting to spoon feed her. Even though she knew the green Mew was only trying to help, she was getting annoyed.
"Lettuce my hands and arms still work perfectly fine, just let me do it myself!" she finally snapped. Kisshu, who was leaning his back against the bed near Ichigo's feet, snickered. He was glad to see that she was finally getting some of her independence back, some of her old spirit showing herself. Lettuce sighed and set the bowl down on the nightstand.
"Ichigo you've barely eaten anything for the past two weeks. I know you're upset and scared but that doesn't mean I'm just going to stand by and let you starve yourself." She growled, becoming uncharacteristically angry for the fish Mew. Ichigo's eyes widened and then she started to laugh. Though Lettuce was annoyed, she was also relieved. It was the first time she had heard the red head's laugh since the kidnapping. Kish was laughing as well, his heart lightened by hearing her laugh again.
"Lettuce I've been eating plenty." Ichigo finally got out between gasping for air and bursting out laughing again. Lettuce's eyes narrowed.
"Don't lie to me Ichigo. Every plate we send up here comes back down almost untouched. Someone would have to be bringing you….. Kisshu!" She finally realized what was going on and turned her glare on the alien. He smirked at her and shrugged his shoulders.
"Hey, she told you she didn't like the stuff you guys were giving her." He said and Lettuce continued to glare.
"She needs to be eating good food not the junk food I'm sure you've been bringing her. What exactly has she been eating?" Her eyes widened in anger and disbelief as the green haired Cyniclon produced a bag full of food wrappers. Many were from Chick-fil-a, McDonald's and Burger King. She shook her head in annoyance and stomped over to the door.
"You are impossible Ikisatashi. She's not going to get better by eating that junk." She groaned before slamming the door and storming downstairs to tell the others. Kisshu grinned at Ichigo who was still trying to stifle giggles.
"It's good to hear your laugh again." He smiled and Ichigo beamed up at him.
"Thanks for not treating me like an invalid. I think the combination of homesickness and being babied by everyone is really what's getting me down." She explained, knowing that it was a little more than that. Yes, she was still scared that Amon was going to come back and take her. She had never met anyone so sick and twisted as to torture another person. But she also knew that it was something she had to get over. It's not like she didn't think he was evil in the first place. Her team and the aliens (and the whole world for that matter) needed her to get better so that she could protect it. What happened to her shouldn't happen to anyone, but this was war. She had to be strong.
"Would you like to go downstairs now? I'm sure the others would like to give us a piece of their minds about our little private dinners." He chuckled, knowing Pie would probably side with his precious Lettuce. Over the weeks, the two had been basically glued to each other, going out almost every night and constantly texting or calling. They didn't even talk about interesting stuff, just books they had read and research they had done.
"I think a little fight is exactly what I need to cheer me up." He scooped up the red head and teleported, happy to see his Koneko-chan was starting to act like her old self again.
Ichigo was back.
*Scene Divider*
When Kish and Ichigo reached the kitchen, everyone was already standing around. Lettuce, Pie and Mint looked annoyed, while Pudding, Tart and Ryou looked like they had been laughing. Zakuro looked bored and well Keiichiro always looked happy. The other aliens were all on patrol duty, making sure the invaders weren't causing any trouble.
"Do you know how worried we were about you?" Mint yelled as soon as they appeared. Ichigo was taken aback by her anger.
"You do care about me!" Ichigo giggled, holding out her hands for a hug. Mint sighed and awkwardly hugged the girl.
"You had us worried sick." The bird Mew growled in her ear. Lettuce nodded in agreement.
"Ichigo we really thought we had lost you, that you had given up. The first few days you wouldn't talk and the next few after that the only person you talked to was Kisshu." Ichigo didn't remember much from that, just the pain of her healing leg and Pie coming in every day to try and heal it more. She had slept through most of it anyway. After she had finally been able to stay awake, she had been too embarrassed to talk to anyone about it. She was their leader and yet, she had let herself be beaten and tortured. She was supposed to be strong and fearless and yet she had laid there and let him hurt her without even trying to do anything.
"I'm sorry." She finally whispered, her cheerful mood gone and tears coming to her eyes. She tried to stop them, having not let herself cry since she had gotten back, but they spilled over and onto her cheeks. "I was just so embarrassed. They all looked at her in stunned silence, not understanding why in the world she would be ashamed of what had happened. Before anyone could say anything, Kisshu teleported back upstairs. He sat on the bed, cradling Ichigo against him.
"Ichigo, why are you embarrassed?" He asked quietly, letting the Mew sniffle a while before she answered.
"Because I'm supposed to be the leader, I'm supposed to take care of them. How can I take care of them when I can't even take care of myself?" Her watery maroon eyes flickered up to meet his golden ones. He felt her body shake as she cried, and he held her like he did when she had the nightmares.
"You were injured badly, there's no way you would have even been able to fight, even if he hadn't taken your pendant. Which, by the way, Pie recovered from their tech room." He produced the round gold stone. She held it in her hands feeling its power, her power, flow through it. "Plus Kitten, being a leader isn't about being fearless and indestructible. It's about bringing people together who will fight for what they believe in and having the courage to face your fears, especially when you're indestructible." He gently wiped tears from her cheeks, the soft skin blushing red under his hand. "And we did fight for what we believe in. We fought for you." He smiled down at her.
"But why should the rebels risk themselves for me?" Ichigo asked, not understanding what he was getting at.
"Because you saved us all once and we believe you will save us all again. They have chosen you as their leader Ichigo, we all have. They want you to lead them against the invaders, to save their world once again." Ichigo's head was spinning and it wasn't from the teleportation.
She couldn't understand why they would choose her. She was the leader of the Mews yes, but that didn't mean she was any better than any of them. There were so many others who would be better leaders.
"I know you think you're not good enough Ichigo, but that's one of the reasons why you are. You're not arrogant but you are confident. You are impulsive but you also think things through. No matter what you think, you inspire these people and they would follow you anywhere. And that, Ichigo, is what makes a leader a leader. Never forget that." Kish brushed her hair back out of her face so that he could look down into her eyes. During his speech, they had regained the spark they had held before her kidnapping. Her face glowed with a renewed strength and confidence, and as she pulled back from Kish, she realized something else.
"I can't do this alone." She stated and Kish looked at her incredulously.
"You don't think I was just going to up and leave you did I? I've put too much work into you to just let you go." He joked and Ichigo smiled. She realized that she was still cuddled against him and something about the embrace seemed familiar.
"It was you." She gasped, her mind whirling with thoughts and emotions. Kisshu looked confused and stared at her, waiting for her to explain.
"You're the one who chases the nightmares away. I remember now. I had woken up screaming one night and you were in my bed with me. When I saw you there, I automatically knew everything was going to be alright. I thought it was just a dream and barely remembered it the next morning." She bit her lip, hoping it hadn't really been a dream. Kish blushed and nodded, wondering if she was angry about it.
"I'm sorry I know I shouldn't have gotten in bed with you but you were screaming and crying and I…" The look on Ichigo's face stopped him though. It was a look she had given Masaya many times but a look Kish had never thought would be directed towards himself.
Ichigo didn't understand what she was feeling. She had felt like this before with Masaya, but this time the feeling was stronger. She stared into Kisshu's eyes, noticing for the first time how very human they looked. He had been there for her when she needed him. He had seen her when she was an absolute mess and still managed to care for her. She had repeatedly rejected him and yet, here he was, hugging her to himself and soothing away her fears. She knew then that she did have strong feelings for the alien and she wanted to know what his lips felt like.
Kisshu leaned towards her, hesitating to search her face for confirmation. He obviously found it. Their lips were about to meet when the air shimmered near them.
"Hey! You're not supposed to be doing anything to stressful." Tart snickered.
Umm that chapter was very random. Sorry about that. But at least we almost got a Kishigo kiss… sort of…. Please review/follow/favorite and let me know what you think.
P.s. I started a new (unrelated) story called Shadow Kiss. Please let me know what you think about it!