Me: Sorry it took so long to write this, I wasn't quite sure what to do with it, hehe! Anyway, I really hope I did okay...
Thanks for Reading:
Zira the insane one -how odd that you review just as I'm updating, it's kind of funny!-
Mo12341234
TheChangingPersonUnderUrBed
Midnight Tornado
Mewkoko
Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew, only her OC's.
Ichigo grabbed Kish's arm, "What's happening to Masaya?"
Kish looked back at her, seeing her pretty face filled with concern and worry and probably a little fear. "I don't know." He told her, and he really didn't.
Everyone kept their eyes on Masaya, wondering what was happening to him. Masaya himself now understood what Kurumi had been talking about; his not being able to transform into the Blue Knight wasn't because of him, it was because of him, it was something inside him that he couldn't control, not in a sense that it was his fault because of that, but it was still because of him. Sure, maybe explaining it would be a bit confusing but all in all it made sense.
"Both of you get back," Zakuro ordered to Ryou and Keiichiro, they hesitated for a moment but went over to where Kurumi was standing.
Masaya started to glow a bright white, the light becoming bigger and bigger with each passing moment, so bright that everyone had to close their eyes and raise their arms to guard their eyes. Masaya blonde hair turned a slick black and came out of it's ponytail, his skin became as white as snow, his nails growing, and his blue coat buttoning down the rest of the way. The light faded and he slowly, and slightly shakily, stood up.
Ichigo tightened her grip on Kish's arm, what was happening? What happened to Masaya? As if he had heard her thinking about him, Masaya turned and looked at her. She gasped and Kish shifted his weight to his other foot, forcing his attention to switch to him. Masaya-or whoever he had turned into-looked up to the skies. Everyone looked up to see a blue, diamond shaped structure in the sky, a yellow ring of blocks circling around it.
"The palace." Kish, Pai, Tart, Kuriimu, and Sherbet all said in their minds. They knew what it was, they had enjoyed the fascinating stories when they were young children of Deep Blue's palace from back when they lived on earth all those many years ago, it was the mystical place where their ruler, savior, protector resided, his royal castle, where no one else was aloud to roam unless absolutely necessary. But of course, like all childhood tales, it was jut that; a tale. In truth, it was where Deep Blue planned his plans of demolition against not only the human race but also against the aliens, thus explaining why no one was ever aloud to see him unless it was just that urgent.
"Masaya…is Deep Blue." Kish said, looking back down at him.
"No!" He heard Ichigo gasp behind him, and it made a faint twinge of jealously shoot through him that she was so worried about him.
"We have to fight him," Pai stated, "No matter what happens, or who he is, we have to fight him." Though he was looking towards the structure in the sky, his words were mainly directed to Ichigo, and everyone knew it.
Why was he just standing there? But apparently he had heard, as he summoned a sword identical to that of the Blue Knight's. He held it out in front of himself, ready for anything.
Minto summoned her bow silently and raised it, standing behind Deep Blue, preparing her bow and-
Shink!
Fast than the mews could see, Deep Blue had spun around, deflecting the arrow and sending it into a tree. Minto gasped, lowering her bow.
Deep Blue looked up, towards the structure and teleported just as something large rammed into the ground where he once stood. It was a Chimera Anima, followed by several of them. Five giant bears, and one unique one that had a mermaid fine, almost human body, fiery hair, clawed nails, and could scream like no banshee ever even knew how.
Ryou stared at it in horror. That was the very Chimera Anima that had killed his parents.
"Ichigo!" Kish yelled when she jumped onto a tree branch, then to a high one, and high and high, until she took as long and big a leap as she could, aiming for the blue structure in the sky.
She landed just on the edge of the steps leading into the palace, almost falling off but leaping forward and landing on her knees and hands. She looked up and then stood, staring down the long hall the ended with darkness, she couldn't see how long it was. The flooring was a burgundy red rug, the high walls a dark wood engraved with gold swirls. Slowly, she started down the long hallway, not knowing where she was going, just letting her instincts guide her, her pink eyes scanning over everything, not letting a single detail of the place escape her. The hall held nothing in it save for the stone pillars that held the ceiling up every so feet.
Kish leapt onto the same tree branch that Ichigo had, but leapt back off, lunging himself at a Chimera bear with his Dragon Swords. He knew he had to get to Ichigo before she got herself hurt, there was no way she could beat Deep Blue alone, he knew this for a fact, but he was a little preoccupied at the moment. Couldn't the mews handle the Animas alone, though? There was six of them without Ichigo, he should be able to handle these things on their own. Minto, Kuri, and Zakuro were up against the biggest, weird looking Chimera Anima, Purin, Tart, Kuriimu, and Mikuru were fighting two of the bears, Kuri, Pai, and Retasu fighting two others, and Sherbet fighting one, the one Kish was also fighting.
Kish sent a ball of energy at the Anima, just as Sherbet rammed into it's face with one of his tonfa. Kish landed on the grass next to him, "You can help the others alone, right?"
Sherbet looked up at him, fear evident in his eyes, but he said, "Yeah."
"Good." Kish said and took off towards the sky, flying up to the diamond structure and inside.
Ichigo found her way to a long staircase once she had finally reached the end of the hall. She took one step and felt something weird, like something was calling her, then another, the feeling grew, and it kept growing until she reached the top of the stairs. There, standing at the other end of the huge, spacious room, was Deep Blue.
She silently gasped inwardly, staring at him with wide eyes. She had to fight him but…he was Masaya, how should she? Her ex-boyfriend he may be, but still her friend. She gulped down her hesitance and fear and said; "Masaya."
He turned and looked at her, his icy stare bearing into her like pins to a voodoo doll. He did not speak, he did not move, he did not do anything.
Ichigo took a step forward, he kept staring, she took another step, then a few more, faster, until she was in the center of the room.
"Masaya," She said again.
Finally, Deep Blue spoke, his voice even more icy and cold than his eyes, steady and smooth, "Masaya no longer lives."
"That can't be true!" Ichigo shouted in protest, her voice ringing through the room, though no echo was heard.
"It is." Deep Blue said, "I have taken over him, he was but a puppet under my instructions."
"He's still there!" Ichigo insisted.
Deep Blue raised his sword, "He is not." A blue ball of electricity formed at the end of his sword and shot at Ichigo, but she held up her Strawberry Bell and formed a shield of pink light, deflecting the blow to crash into the wall.
"I know Aoyoma is still in there!" Ichigo screamed, lowering her weapon.
In the hall, Kish heard her scream and just barely made out what she said, but he knew it was about Masaya. He sped up, flying as fast as he could towards the end of the hall. He had to make sure she stayed safe.
"He is gone, human," Deep Blue said, "Are you truly so stupid as to think otherwise than what I tell you? This is exactly why every last one of you need to perish."
"Masaya can't be gone," Ichigo persisted, "I know he's still there, I can see it in your eyes!"
"My eyes?" Deep Blue said, "And just what do you see in my eyes?"
"They're cold, uncaring," Ichigo said, "But there's also the tiniest glint of compassion in them, and that…that's how I know he's still there."
Deep Blue closed his eyes and looked away, "You are incorrect human."
"You look away because you know it's true!" Ichigo exclaimed.
Deep Blue look back at her quickly, sending another ball of electricity as her. She dodged out of the way.
"You know it's true!" Ichigo repeated.
"Shut up." Deep Blue said.
Kish paused a moment, hearing something crash and a wall crumble, his eyes widening in fear. He sped ahead again, concerned only with getting to Ichigo and keeping her safe. How long was this hall? It seemed like it went on forever.
Deep Blue sent yet another energy ball at Ichigo, but she couldn't dodge it this time, it hit her and sent her flying into the wall, creating a huge, gaping hole where he backside rammed into it and crumbled to the floor. She was bruised badly and probably had a few cuts and crapes, some probably bleeding, all over her body. She looked up at him, having no idea of she could do.
Kish finally reached the long staircase. He couldn't teleport in the palace, it was impossible for anyone but Deep Blue to do so within it. He raced up the stairs, tripping once he was going so fast, and entered the room just in time to see Ichigo get flown into a wall. No one had noticed him yet, though.
Deep Blue turned around, facing the giant glass window behind him. What exactly was he doing? It was like he was waiting for something to happen.
Ichigo looked to the doorway and saw Kish, she was about to say something but he put a finger to his lips, telling her to keep quiet. The longer Deep Blue didn't know he was there the longer he had to plan a surprise attack on him. Kish looked around the room, there was nothing in there, it was just a large room with windows going along all the walls, high up and letting in large amounts of sunlight.
Ichigo shakily stood up, both her and Kish didn't know what to do. How were they supposed to fight Deep Blue? Could they just keep insisting that Aoyoma Masaya was still there and hope for him to change back? But then, that wouldn't kill Deep Blue, which was what they needed to happen to keep Earth and all of it's humans and animals alive and safe. Kish lifted into the air and as silently and slowly as he could he inched his way over to Ichigo.
"We have to attack." He whispered into her cat ear. She gasped.
Deep Blue's ear twitched, hearing her, and he turned around to see both of them. "Hm, how sweet," He said coldly, "the first traitor and our enemy's leader, so close together, so intimate…so caring of each other."
Kish planted his feet on the ground and stepped in front of Ichigo, squaring his shoulders and glaring at Deep Blue, "I won't let you hurt her."
"And what if I kill you?" Deep Blue asked, "Then what will you do?"
"Then I'll have died trying." Kish said. Fear shot through Ichigo that Kish could so easily accept death like that, and all just for her. Did he really love her thatmuch?
Deep Blue smirked, but it seemed…unreal, almost, like his face was only a plastic mask, being molded into shape, never cooling enough to harden and stay in one position until it was so old it rotted away into nothingness.
"Is that a challenge?" Deep Blue asked.
Kish didn't answer for a moment, thinking it over, turning it around and around in his head, looking over every possible outcome, trying to figure out if he was really strong enough to beat Deep Blue. His chances of winning weren't to great, but if it was for Ichigo's protection, "Yes."
"Very well," Deep Blue said, "I give you sixty seconds time with the girl."
Kish nodded and turned to Ichigo. As soon as he did, she rammed herself into him, wrapping her arms around his torso in a tight hug, burying her face in his chest, and he could feel her shivering and shaking, sobs getting caught in her throat, and her ragged breath against his skin, warm and shaky, breathing in and out through her mouth. He hugged her back as tight as he could without hurting her.
"Don't, Kish, don't do this," She mumbled into his chest.
He stroked her hair, "Kitten, I wouldn't forgive myself if I let something happen to you, I have to do this."
Ichigo shook her head, ever the stubborn one, "No, you don't, we can fight him together, both of us."
"No, Ichigo," Kish said firmly. He pulled away only a little bit so he could brush the hair out of her face and give her a reassuring smile, "Besides, the deal has already been made, me against him, no one else involved."
"Kish…" Ichigo said, her voice barely over a whisper, and buried her face in his chest again. She remembered back to everything they'd been through in the past two weeks, first the dance at the fair, then their first date, all the times they spent the night together, after all of it, she finally realized something. "I love you." She knew it now for sure now, after all the times he'd said it to her, and kissed her, and after everything he'd told her, she finally returned his love for her. No more questions to ask herself if it was real, no matters with age or anything else, all that mattered was the she loved him, and he loved her.
Kish froze, her words sinking in, before he broke into a huge smile and kissed her as passionately and lovingly as he could, his arms snaked around her waist, and hers slipping around his neck. "I love you too, Koneko-chan." He said breathily once he pulled away.
Deep Blue watched them in disgust, wondering how in Kami's name the boy could possibly have any affectionate feelings towards a human. It was beyond him, and he was sick of watching it, let alone having it take place in his presence, "Your time is up!" He called over to them.
Reluctantly, Kish pulled away from Ichigo, "I guess this is it, Kitten." He said, a slight sad smirk on his lips.
Ichigo nodded, also sad, and Kish turned to walk up to Deep Blue. "You better come out of this in once piece, or I'll dig you up from your grave and kill you myself, ya' hear!" She called as he walked away. Kish couldn't help but smirk at that. A sob chocked in Ichigo's throat, she felt like an army wife watching the recruiter take her husband away, only she had to stand there and watch his war take place right in front of her. She bit down on her lower lip, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to spill over.
Kish summoned his Dragon Swords and flew at Deep Blue, just as he flew at him with his own sword.
On the ground below, after the five Chimera bears had been beaten, five more showed up and it was like an endless cycle. The mews and aliens were fighting them as best as they could without getting themselves to worn out, switching every so often on who was fighting the bigger, odd looking Chimera Anima.
Pai was keeping a close eye on Retasu, especially the deep cuts she had across her collar bone and knees. They were bleeding pretty bad, but she pretended not to notice them, only wincing when she landed back on the ground from jumping and when she thought no one was looking at her. She was definitely tougher than he had originally given her credit for.
Tart, Purin, and Sherbet were putting up a good fight with two of the bears, but Purin had a lot of little scratches on her legs and arms, Tart had a cut across his stomach and several bruises, and Sherbet had a black eye, several little scratches on his lower legs and hands, and a cut on his left cheek. Tart was a little surprised to see how seriously Purin was taking the fight, frowning in concentration, rather than hopping around playfully like she usually did. She ran in a circle around the bear and then leapt from the ground, pressing her feet into the truck of a tree, high up, and springing off aiming for the Anima, shouting, "RIBBON…PUDDING RING INFERNO!"
Minto, Zakuro, and Kuri were currently the ones fighting the big Chimera Anima, and even with three on the job and switching with the others occasionally, it still wasn't getting beat. They were cut, scratched, banged, and bruised and bloody, and getting nowhere. Sure, they had done some damage on the thing, but nothing enough to defeat it, and it was starting to get pretty frustrating.
Kuri ran around it, yelling, "RIBBON…CHESTNUT CRUSH!" And threw her weapon as the attack went off, near exploding when it hit the Anima but forming back in her hands after the attack was done. It screamed it's earsplitting screech and charged for Minto.
Minto raised her bow, "RIBBON…MINT ECHO!" She shot the Anima right in the eye with an arrow.
"RIBBON…ZAKURO PURE!" Zakuro's light whip wrapped around it's tail and with a sharp jerk she dragged into the ground. It wriggled and writhed before shooting up into the sky, snapping Zakuro's whip off of it's tail and throwing her back into a tree.
"Oneesama!" Minto exclaimed, watching as her back slammed against the rough bark and she fell to the ground on her hands and knees.
Kuri and Minto had to jump around of the way of the Anima's long tail before it crashed into the ground, an attempt to crush them.
Mikuru and Kuriimu were doing no better than the others, both just as banged up and bruised and bloodied, and starting to get pretty tired. Mikuru had claw marks across her back where a bear had taken a swipe at her, the gray ribbon on her back had a tear in it, and her white mew outfit was covered in dirt. Kuriimu had a huge tear in his shirt, across his stomach, that was crusted around the edges of the ripped cloth with drying blood, a gash on his stomach, and his hair had been pulled out of it's ponytail, now flying freely around his face.
He glanced at Mikuru and saw her on the ground, sitting between her legs with her hands pressed to her knees for support, panting with her eyes squeezed closed. With a final blow, the bear was destroyed and landed on the ground in front of her, gently grabbing her arms.
"Mikuru, are you okay?" He asked hurriedly, ignoring the stinging from the gash on his stomach and glancing at the bleeding wounds on the girl's back.
She looked up at him, seeing the fear and concern in his eyes and hearing it in his voice. They knew it just as well as everyone else, those fighting and those watching, that this was it, this was going to be the final battle that decided who won, Deep Blue or Tokyo Mew Mew, the war that would decide weather all were doomed to the death or if there was hope for both races to live in peace. Mikuru also knew that she had to tell him, let him know before it was to late and she would have to hold it in for the rest of her life, however short of long it may be.
"If you live to be one hundred then I want to live to be ninety-nine so I won't ever have to live a single day without you!" Mikuru exclaimed, hot tears gathering in her eyes but never falling.
Kuriimu look surprised at first but them hugged her, burying his face in her white hair, feeling her little lamb ear flicker against his forehead and her tiny horn getting caught in his hair.
"I love you," He said.
Mikuru hugged him back as tight as she could, "I love you too."
She gasped when he gripped her tighter and jumped out of the way of one of the bear Chimeras, landing on a tree branch.
"Mews!" Minto shouted, "I have an idea!"
"What is it, na no da?!" Purin asked, diving out of a tree just as a Chimera bear tried to swipe her.
"We'll round up the Animas and then attack from all sides!" Minto explained as she flew into the air and shot an arrow at the Chimera Anima, "RIBBON…MINT ECHO!"
"Come on, move it!" She shouted down to the others.
At once, they began to run around the Chimera Animas, dodging attacks when they needed to, and rounding them up all into one place, squished up against each other.
The mews each held up their weapons.
"RIBBON…MINT ECHO!"
"RIBBON…LETTUCE RUSH!"
"RIBBON…PUDDING RING INFERNO!"
"RIBBON…ZAKURO PURE!"
"RIBBON…MILK LULLABY!"
"RIBBON…CHESTNUT CRUSH!"
Each mew concentrated hard on only gathering their power, making it as strong as they could, and attacking the several Chimera Animas. A bright, multicolored bright light flashed, forcing the aliens, Ryou, Keiichiro, and Kurumi, to cover their eyes from it.
It faded just as quickly as it had come, and when they could look again, the girls were on the ground, more bruised and banged up than before, lying in a circle.
"Mikuru! Kuri!" Kurumi ran over to his little sisters and kneeled next to them, unsure of what to do.
Everyone ran to the mews, Ryou and Keiichiro knelt down next to Minto and Zakuro, Pai next to Retasu, Tart and Sherbet next to Purin, and Kuriimu next to Mikuru. Purin's eyes were half closed but she still smiled up at Tart.
Kish and Deep Blue were in a sword lock, Kish had his Dragon Swords crossed, pressed against Deep Blue's sword. He was putting up a fare fight, Deep Blue had to admit, but he still didn't think he was any match for him, he was so much stronger and bigger than Kish, and he knew he knew it.
"Tell me," Deep Blue said, keeping his eyes locked with Kish's, "why do you fight when you know you have no chance of winning?"
"For her," Kish growled between gritted teeth, glaring into Deep Blue's cold eyes. "Now, you tell me something; why did you stop caring? Why did you stop giving orders and stop everything?"
Deep Blue smirked, "I suppose I might as well tell you; I figured it out, I figured it all out. It was only a matter of time before my awakening, and the fighting wasn't helping anything, especially with you gone and the mews constantly winning, it was pointless to have my best warriors on the field, almost killing themselves over pathetic, human females. Honestly, what is it that they do to you to make you want betray your own people?"
"You wouldn't understand," Kish said and smirked himself, "You're to heartless."
"Really, what is it all about?" Deep Blue asked, "I bet I know; she's just some toy for your perverted-"
Before he could finish, Kish jerked his hands to the side, forcing Deep Blue to lower his sword, and punched him right in the jaw. He grabbed him by the collar of his blue coat and hissed, "Don't you dare ever talk about Ichigo like that everagain."
Deep Blue only smirked at him and began to slowly raise his sword.
"Kish!" Ichigo screamed to warn him.
Kish looked over but Deep Blue had already raised his sword high and was just about to bring it down and slice him right through his midsection. Kish screwed his eyes shut, ready for the blow…but it never came, he heard the sound of metal slicing flesh, before clanking to the ground, and the thud of a body also falling to the floor, but it hadn't happened to him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw Ichigo on her hands and knees, on the ground, her Strawberry Bell gripped tightly in her hands as she sat there panting, and Deep Blue's sword now across the room. She had cuts on her elbows but the slicing Kish had heard was when the sword flew past Deep Blue, slicing his shoulder in the process where a new and bloodied tear was in his cloak, the body falling to the floor must have been Ichigo when she knocked the sword out of Deep Blue's hand and then dropped to the floor.
"Ichigo…" Kish said. He dropped Deep Blue, causing him to fall to the ground, and hugged Ichigo. "You could've gotten yourself killed, are you crazy?"
Deep Blue stood, gritting his teeth in stinging pain, "Ichigo." He hissed. Kish and Ichigo looked over at him. "Ichigo," He grunted, Kish tightened his grip on Ichigo, "The mew aqua…it's inside me."
They were both surprised at what he'd said and wondered if it was really still Deep Blue. He stared intently at Ichigo, "Ichigo…I can only hold out for so long, but you have to listen to me." He said gruffly.
"M-Masaya?" Ichigo said, her voice airy from surprise.
"Mew Aqua is inside me," Deep Blue -or rather, Masaya- said, "I'll try…to pull myself out, and you have to do the rest."
Ichigo shook her head, her eyes wide, "No, no Masaya, I can't do that- you can't ask me to do that-"
"You have to." Masaya cut her off. "Ichigo…it's up to you…to save Earth."
"M-Masaya…" Ichigo's eyes began to tear up.
He smiled weakly, though it looked happy, "I love you, never forget that, even if you love someone else."
Ichigo nodded slowly and hesitantly, but stayed silent. She screwed her eyes shut, her small fists raised to over her mouth, when Masaya jerked backwards, Deep Blue taking control of his body once again. The switching had obviously taken some out of Deep Blue.
Kish put his hands on Ichigo's hips from behind and gripped her firmly, "Kitten," He whispered into her black cat ear.
"I can't do this, Kish," She whispered back, "I-I can't…"
"You have to, Ichigo," Kish whispered, "You have to be strong, for everyone. For Minto, and Retasu, little Purin-chan, Zakuro, Mikuru, Kuri, for every living creature on earth."
"But…I'm not strong enough to-"
"You can do this Ichigo," Kish cut her off, "If anything, do it for me, Ichigo," He wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a gentle squeeze. "You love this planet the way it is, with everyone you love on it, I won't be able to stand seeing you give it up just because he's the one you have to fight."
On the ground below, the mews weakly began to move their arms, reaching for each others hands.
"What are they doing?" Kuriimu asked, looking up at Ryou, Mikuru partly lying on his lap.
"I…don't know." Ryou said. He looked confused at why the mews were reaching to take each others' hands.
Pai had moved Retasu's head to lie in his lap, "They are…joining their powers, I think." He said.
And they were, lying on the ground, beaten and bloodied, they grabbed each others hands and mustered up whatever power they had left. Blue, green, yellow, purple, white, and brown. The beams of light shot into the sky and into the palace.
Ichigo glowed a hot pink, the variously colored lights streaming into her, mixing with her own power, making her stronger, much stronger. Something told Kish to let go of Ichigo, to back away from her, but he didn't. He ignored the little voice in the back of his head, wanting to stay with her and protect her more than listen to his subconscious. He loved her to much to care about anything else.
"RIBBON…" Despite her protests, her Irimote Wildcat genes forced up a will to fight for the earth. So, with tears streaming from her eyes, she attacked. "STRAWBERRY SURPRISE!"
Kish took a single small step back, the power emanating from the Strawberry Bell nearly knocking both him and Ichigo off their feet. He tightened his arms around her waist, holding her as tight as he could, a slight twinge of fear that it would be the last time. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason he felt as though Deep Blue wouldn't be the only one not coming out of this.
Masaya struggled inside Deep Blue, fighting his way out with the Mew Aqua. He managed to work his own spirit out and hold Deep Blue still. He grabbed his hands and raised the sword, knowing the only way he was going to be able to get the Mew Aqua out. As soon as Ichigo's attack hit, he rammed the sword into his chest, Deep Blue letting out a pain filled scream.
At once, everything just stopped. Ichigo's attack stopped, all power seemingly just drained from her, Deep Blue stopped jerking around, and the mews on the ground below them relaxed, all energy gone, it was as thought Time had stopped, pausing all clocks and making the earth stop just to drag out the moment. It would make one wonder, did Time like watching people cry, and suffer, and watch their pain? If so, then Time was very twisted and sick, the kind of being no one hoped to ever meet, and yet all knew very well who he was, is, and always would be. Time was everywhere, there was no escaping him, and yet he was still no friend to most. He paused the earth to make Ichigo stand there, Kish holding her tightly from behind, and having to see Masaya's spirit smile at her before fading away.
And then, just like that, Time started again. Ichigo dropped her Strawberry Bell, wrenched herself from Kish's grip, only faintly hearing him scream her name as he tried to grab her, and ran for Masaya, screaming. "AOYOMA-KUN!" She couldn't let him die, especially not if it was on her hands. True it was that she didn't love him the way she had once thought she did, but that didn't mean she stopped caring.
A bright white light shone, engulfing her and Masaya, and forcing all else around to shield their eyes from it. Ichigo found herself in front of Masaya, and he was oddly dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, what he'd been wearing before it all started. She reached and gripped the front of his shirt, squeezing her eyes closed. She had no idea what she was doing, she was just going with whatever her instincts told her to. Her eyes keeping closed tight, and her grip on his shirt tighter, she curled into herself and transferred her life into him.
The next thing Masaya knew, he was on the ground with Ichigo, still in her mew form, lying next to him. Kish was standing at the other end of the room, his eyes wide with horror and his mouth hanging open slightly. It was that that made Masaya nervous as he sat up, but Ichigo kept still. Kish ran over, his teleporting ability forgotten in his racing mind, and slid onto his knees next to Ichigo. He lifted her up gently in his arms and cradled her upper body like one would when holding a newborn child.
"No. No, no, no, no…" He murmured over and over again, tears forming in his eyes. Masaya sat on the other side of Ichigo's body lying in Kish's arms, just staring at her, unsure of what to do next. There seemed to be a lot of unsure-ness going on that day.
Rainbow bubbles floated down from the sky, having been released from Deep Blue by Masaya when he stabbed himself with the sword. It healed everything it touched, everything but one certain person.
The mews slowly stood up, the boys helping them, and looked up towards the palace. Everyone's bruises and cuts and scrapes were healed, every ache and pain gone.
Mikuru held her hands up in front of her as though to catch the gently falling bubbles, "What is it?" She asked, sounding in awe.
"Mew Aqua." Minto answered, staring up at the bubbles.
Purin broke into a bright, beaming smile, "We did it, na no da!" Retasu clapped her hands together, also joyful.
Zakuro was the only one that didn't seem to be celebrating the win. Pai looked over at her, "Are you not happy to have saved earth?"
"I am," Zakuro said, "But something isn't right."
Minto looked over at her, "What is it, Zakuro-oneesama?"
"Come, we have to go up there." Zakuro said. Without another word, she jumped onto a tree branch, jumping onto a higher one next and then another, until she was high enough to reach the palace. Minto flew up behind her, Purin hopping on the tree branches next, then Kuri. Pai lifted Retasu up bridal style, her cheeks turning red, and flew up, Kuriimu doing the same with Mikuru, Tart and Sherbet flying up with them. Keiichiro, Ryou, and Kurumi having to wait on the ground.
Everyone raced down the hall of the palace, the feeling that something was wrong continuously growing stronger as they reached the end that would lead them to where Kish, Ichigo, and Masaya would be. When they got there, though, they stopped, seeing Kish cradling Ichigo in his arms, crying over her body, Masaya on Ichigo's other side, just staring at her with depressed, blank look on his face.
"Ichigo-oneechan!" Purin screamed and tried to run to her, but Tart appeared in front of her and held his arms tightly around her as she jerked around, trying to break away from him, large tears falling from her yellow eyes. After only a minute of struggling, she settled down and cried into Tart's shoulder. He sighed and stroked her hair, a fatal attempt to comfort her.
Retasu closed her eyes and looked away, Pai gently putting his hands on her shoulders and letting her cry into his chest, also closing his eyes. Minto closed her own eyes and rested her forehead on Zakuro's shoulder, forcing down the tears that threatened to pour down her cheeks. Mikuru whimpered before starting to cry, her hands balled into small fists and covering her mouth, and slowly sinking to her knees. Kuriimu wasn't sure weather to go to his brother, or the girl he loved, so he just stayed where he was, frozen like a statue.
Zakuro sighed and also closed her eyes, speaking quietly, "The way to know if your mission in life is complete, is weather you are still amongst the living or in your grave."
"No," Kish said, "No, no, that- that can't be…she can't- without her…I have no reason to live, so why am I still alive, huh? Tell me that and then I'll believe it. But she can't- she can't be…" He kissed her, as disgusting as it may have sounded to kiss a corpse, he didn't care. He felt like they were Romeo and Juliet, from that human play Pai had told him about, though he couldn't remember who did what or why, but he did remember one of them kissing the other because they couldn't live without them. He slowly pulled away, though kept his forehead resting against hers. If what Zakuro said was true, then what was there left for him to do? How long would it be until he could die too and see her again, because without her, he felt as though he was dead already.
He jolted to alertness when he felt her squirm in his arms. Was it his imagination, or did it really happen? She squirmed again and he knew it had to have been real, even the mews were looking at her now, eyes wide with anticipation. She lifted from Kish's arms a small ways and glowed pale pink, she saw her cat genes form and then run away to somewhere unknown, after that she fell back onto Kish, now in her human form. The others mews also glowed their own colors and looked down at themselves with curiosity. With a small, almost inaudible intake of breath, Ichigo's eyes opened by the tiniest crack, her chest moved up and down slowly in a rhythmic motion, her eyes just barely open but still peering up at Kish with curiosity and question, wondering what was going on, and knowing she was safe with him.
"Kish…" She mumbled.
Kish smiled and buried his face in the crook of her neck, "Yeah, I'm here." A few spare tears fell from his eyes and tickled Ichigo's neck, she could feel them fall onto her skin and then roll, dripping to the floor. She reached her arms around him and gave him a gentle squeeze, having a pretty good guess of what happened.
Tart looked very confused as Purin started crying all over again, only she was smiling and laughing this time. She clung to his neck and cried happily. Confused, Tart hugged her back. Zakuro let out a sigh of relief and Minto squeezed her arm excitedly. Retasu nearly fainted and now leaning against Pai's chest, a smile on her face. Everyone was smiling with relief and joy now. Kuriimu kneeled down next to Mikuru and leaned on him, feeling exhausted but very happy that her leader was okay.
The palace shook, nearly knocking everyone off balance.
"We have to get out of here," Masaya said urgently, "Without Deep Blue, this place will be destroyed."
Kish stood, keeping his arms around Ichigo as she stood with him, "Alright, Pai, Tart, Sherbet, Kuriimu, let's go."
Kuriimu stood with Mikuru and made her stand next to Kuri, Kish doing the same with Ichigo. The aliens held their hands up to snap their fingers and sent a teleportation portal around all the humans, sending them down to the ground where Ryou, Keiichiro, and Kurumi were.
The mews and Masaya were now on the standing on the ground, staring up at the palace, wondering why the aliens were still inside and what they were doing.
"Ichigo, mew mews!" Ryou ran over to them, Keiichiro and Kurumi following him.
"Why are they still in there?!" Ichigo spun around on her heel and faced Ryou, a worried look plastered on her face.
"How should I know?!" Ryou shot back.
They watched as the palace dissolved, like a sugar cube in water, a giant, black, rusted thing was in the sky some ways above it.
"Is that…their ship?" Kuri asked.
"I don't think so," Keiichiro said, "They said they had been banned from their ship, remember?"
"Okay, then what is that?" Kuri asked.
"I am not sure." Keiichiro said.
Everyone ran to the edge of the trees as the ship landed. A ramp slid down in sections before a round door swung open and five figures walked out.
"Kish!" Ichigo ran up to him and met him halfway up the ramp, colliding into him with a hug. He gripped her back just as tight, if not tighter. He had his reason for living back, his kitten.
"Koneko-chan," Kish said.
"Tar-Tar! Sherby-kun!" Purin bounced her way over to both of them and threw her arms around both of their necks in a double bear hug.
"Mikuru!" Kuriimu said as she ran over to him and they gave each other a big hug.
"Pai-san…" Retasu stood there, her eyes once again filling with tears. She thought something had happened to them.
"Retasu-chan…" He walked over to her and they just stood there, gazing into each others eyes. The others looked away, somehow finding the staring more intimate than all the hugs.
"Where'd you guys get the ship?" Ichigo asked once she'd pulled away from Kish.
Kish kept his arms around Ichigo's waist, "I'm not sure, it was just…there, so we used it to destroy the palace before it destroyed the farm, we don't know where it came from."
"I think I may be able to answer that." A new voice said. Another form stepped out of the ship. He was a taller, older man with forest green hair, dark brown eyes, and long, pointed alien ears.
"U-Uncle Jiro?" Kish said.
Jiro smiled at him, "Nice to see you too, Kish, seems like you're pretty happy here." The man eyed his nephew holding the cat girl. Kish blushed slightly and looked down at Ichigo with a smile.
"Yeah." He said.
"If you were on the pod, then it is my guess that you were the one who sent it." Pai said, a hint of a question in his voice.
"I am," Jiro said, "I did not understand why my nephews had both been banished, but then, with a little research, I figure it out. Well, one of the reasons anyway." Ichigo blushed and rested her head on Kish's shoulder. "So, tracking where you five were and seeing what you were doing, I decided to come and help. Your mother is very worried, you know."
"I'm sure." Kuriimu said with a small sigh.
"I have a question." Mikuru said quietly.
"What is it?" Kuriimu asked.
"If we stay one earth, where you go?" Mikuru asked.
The aliens all glanced at each other. Where would they go? Could they even go anywhere? They couldn't, really, since the planet they were on now was really the only habitable one for the rest of the galaxy besides earth. Any other one either had some water-like substance that couldn't be used, leading them to death by dehydration, sour ground that you wouldn't be able to plant even the most weather-resistant crops on, or something else that would lead them all to their death.
"I'm…not sure," Kuriimu said.
"Well, if you want," Ryou said, "What Mew Aqua wasn't used on earth collected itself, you could use it to fix up your planet."
"That would be wonderful," Jiro said, "Are you certain you don't mind?"
"Trust us, you could use it so much more than we could," Keiichiro said.
Jiro smiled, "Thank you, you are all very kind."
Ichigo turned her head to bury her face in Kish's chest, "I'm just glad you're all okay."
"Lets get back to the house," Kurumi said, "Cherry promised some pink lemonade for when we got back in."
Later that night, just before the sun was completely gone, a bus arrived at the end of the driveway.
Kurumi put his hand on Masaya's head and roughed his hair, "It's been nice knowing you, I guess, but I don't think I'll miss you."
"Uh, yeah, thanks…I guess." Masaya said. He turned to Kish and held out his hand.
"You win." Kish looked surprised, "I will let Ichigo go, I won't try to win her over, you can have her, but on one condition."
"What?" Kish asked warily, eyeing his outstretched hand and then looking back up at him.
"Take care of her," Masaya said, "make sure she stays safe from all harm, and never, ever let her go."
Kish took Masaya's hand with a slap!, "You can count on it." They shook and the Masaya turned to his awaiting buss.
"Goodbye, Momomiya-san," He said over his shoulder, "Maybe we will see each other again someday, but until then, I hope you lead a happy life."
Ichigo eyes began to well with tears. She reached up and untied the red ribbon from around her neck, the little bell making a soft tinkling sound as she did and walked up to him, holding it out for him, "I hope you will be happy also, and I'd like for you to take this back."
Masaya turned to take it, looking surprised, "But, Momomiya-san, I thought you liked this?"
"I do," Ichigo said, "But I want you to give it to the one that's meant for you."
Masaya smiled a sad smile, "Thank you." With that he stepped onto the buss 's step and disappeared inside, only reappearing in a window seat.
"Goodbye, na no da!" Purin exclaimed, waving.
"Goodbye!" Retasu said, also waving.
"Later, City Boy!" Kurumi said, lazily saluting him. Masaya waved out the window and the buss drove off.
"You know what?" Kish said, "I will most definitely not miss him." Ichigo couldn't help giggling.
Kuriimu slid his hand into Mikuru's, "Do you always have to ruin the mood?"
"Ah, shut it!" Kish said, slipping an arm around Ichigo's waist. They all began to walk back to the house.
"So, when are you guys going back to the city?" Cherry asked.
"Not sure," Ichigo said, "but I do know that I will definitely miss this place."
"I think we will as well." Pai said.
Me: How was it? I hope it came out okay, I had a bit of a hard time with this chaper...how was Jiro popping in like that? I hope no one is confused about anything, if so just ask^^ Oh, and if anyone would like to see Mikuru, I drew a chibi picture of her a while ago and posted it up on my DeviantArt account, there's a link on my page if anyone would like to see her.
Kish: ;.; Ichigo...is okay...
Me: Yup! I thought Mikuru and Kuriimu's little thing was cute. Anyway, Read and Review please! The next chapter should be the last or second to last, I'm not sure yet.