A.N. It's been a while again (please forgive me), but here it is: the final chapter!
Well, at least the final chapter for those who are not fond of a little bit of Masaya-bashing and I suppose a little OOCness. Not that this whole story wasn't a bit OOC, but that's what fanfiction requires sometimes to make a story work. XD Let's just say that I (thanks to one of my best friends) have a, in my opinion, funny epilogue in mind, but apart from that, the story is done.
Anyway, enjoy the 25th and 'final' chapter!
Snap!
The sound bounced around in Ichigo's head, like an echo, growing softer with each bounce. Finally it sunk in. Free, she was free. Free to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. And it had only taken seven words. A small smile still lit up her face and her eyes seemed to really come alive as she waited for the world to react. No matter in which way, she would take it.
Surprisingly, it stayed awfully quiet. Ichigo had no idea what Kisshu's reaction was, since he was out of her view, up in the tree. Aoyama however stood right in front of her, his eyes popping out of their sockets, attempting to grasp what she just told him. They were over and he couldn't believe it. Minutes passed like this and Ichigo wondered why Kisshu still hadn't said a thing.
As realisation hit him, Aoyama's face started morphing from shocked to furious. It was unlike any face Ichigo had ever seen him make and she couldn't repress the urge to take a step back. He frightened her now. What was he going to do? And what was she going to do? Up until that moment, Ichigo hadn't thought about that little detail yet.
"So… So you're saying you're leaving me for that guy? THAT ALIEN?" Aoyama yelled at last, while trembling from head to toe and looking a bit red in the face. Ichigo opened her mouth to speak, but he imminently stepped forward, causing her to take a step back instead.
"I just don't get it, Ichigo!" He continued angrily. "How can you do this to me after all I've been through for you? After all we've done together? How are you going to explain this to your parents? How do you suppose you could make a relationship with HIM, a perverted jerk, work? TELL ME, ICHIGO! HOW?" He practically roared.
Ichigo had shrunken back while he screamed, but she straightened up with determination when she answered him. "I… I don't know yet. But I will find a way. As long as we love each other, it'll be fine."
This only infuriated Aoyama more though. "Wake up, Ichigo! This is not a fairytale! Princesses don't end up with ogres!"
"Luckily for us, I am not an ogre." Apparently Kisshu decided it was time for him to join the conversation. That didn't help Aoyama's mood in any way. "SHUT UP! You sure have a lot of nerve to barge in here and ruin everything I worked for! If you ever truly loved Ichigo, you wouldn't have come back and destroyed the happy life we had!"
Aoyama had already said enough to totally piss Kisshu off. Kisshu drew his weapons and hissed: "How dare you question my love for Ichigo and blame me for the fact that you just haven't proven yourself worthy enough! Happy life? Don't make me laugh! You ruined your own chances the moment you tried to forbid her to befriend me. You should know better than trying to lock cats up! If YOU truly love Ichigo, you turn around and walk away, NOW!"
The threat proved itself not clear enough, for Aoyama merely calmly replied: "Why don't you try and make me, alien?" Kisshu gripped his weapons, lifting them to the level of Aoyama's throat. "With pleasure." he said through clenched teeth, his words dripping with malice. Blue light surrounded Aoyama for a moment and when it died out, Blue Knight stood in his place, his sword already drawn and aimed to kill.
This obviously was the moment for Ichigo to cut in. Sadly, dear Ichigo is as reckless as a cat sometimes and decided that it was wise to step between two guys with weapons and so much killing intent that it was nearly tangible. Fortunately for her, both guys happened to be head over heels in love with her.
"Stop it! I don't want you to fight! Not again…!" Tears formed in her eyes and she held back a sob. "Please…" She made eye contact with both of the guys. "No more…" The reactions differed considerably. Whereas Kisshu lowered his weapons and looked sad, whether it was because of her tears or because she intervened with his battle with his archenemy, she wasn't sure, but either way he reacted more towards her expectations than Blue Knight.
The Knight didn't move a muscle, his eyes remained cold as ice and his sword now aimed at Ichigo's face. Especially the last part shocked Ichigo. He wouldn't attack her, right? She was in for an even bigger surprise when he spoke up though. "Ichigo, you have three seconds to step aside. If you do not, you will be as much my enemy as him and I will treat you accordingly." She stared at him with the horror evident on her face.
"One…"
"What? Aoyama-san, please! You always take the pacifistic road, you know that there is no need for violence, don't you?" Ichigo exclaimed, staring in his cold eyes pleadingly. But the blue eyes stayed hardened. Was it really no use? Kisshu seemingly thought so, because he begged her to move aside. "Ichigo, you don't have to get involved into this any further! Let me fix this! Please, Ichigo!"
"Two…"
He stretched the word, making it more threatening than it already was. "Aoyama-san, stop, please! I don't want it to end like this! Put the sword down! We can talk about it, so please…!"
Aoyama opened his mouth and slightly bent his arm, while Kisshu grabbed Ichigo's arm and his weapons evaporated. "Ichigo..!"
"Three."
The word had barely crossed his lips when Blue Knight swung his sword horizontally. At the same time, Kisshu pulled Ichigo back. So instead of losing her head, Ichigo only got a cut in her right cheek. While Blue Knight retreated slightly, Ichigo slowly raised her hand and touched her damaged cheek. The blood trickled down her face and onto her hand. When she pulled her hand away, extended it a bit and looked at it, she noticed that it was much blood. The cut had been quite deep.
While Ichigo still was immobilized by disbelief, Kisshu moved at a speed lightening would be envious of. Kisshu lifted Ichigo up in his arms, bridal style, made her sit down under the cherry tree and dashed towards the Blue Knight, drawing his Sai's again as he went.
"How dare you!" he roared as they clashed with the Knight's sword. The Blue Knight didn't answer him, he only stared.
'I'm going to commit an actual murder tonight!' Kisshu thought fiercely. Ticked off was an understatement compared to how he felt. And he would verbally and physically show that fucker exactly how he felt!
"How dare you…!" Clash. "…raise…!" Clang! "… your…!" Cling! "… damn sword at…!" Clang! "…HER!" Kisshu finally got him! He managed to land a good hit in the right side of the Blue Knight, who flinched and backed away to take a look at the damage he had taken. Kisshu was ruthless though and continued to come at him, not giving him time to patch him self up.
It looked very good for Kisshu. He only had a few scratches on him, while the Blue Knight struggled to block incoming attacks. Nevertheless, the Knight still hadn't lost his confidence yet. And this was what vexed Kisshu a little. So he was determined to drive the Blue Knight to the edge.
Kisshu charged at him once more, this time faster and with more power than he had done so far, forcing his opponent against a tree, his Sai's ready to slit his throat. "What's your trump card, tree hugger? What else have you got? You'd better use it now, or it'll be the end of you!" Despite the pain he was without a doubt in, the Blue Knight smirked. For probably the first time in his life, he smirked. A worrisome achievement, Kisshu vaguely noted.
"As you wish, idiot." The Blue Knight spoke, with a voice which didn't quite sound like him. His voice seemed mixed with something else. Something familiar. An instant later an energy burst erupted from the Knight and Kisshu was blown a few metres backwards. Although he landed on his feet, Kisshu felt like he fell over.
The Blue Knight looked mostly the same, but his hair had become darker. Almost black, just like…
"Deep Blue…" Kisshu whispered.
"Very good, yet not entirely correct." Deep Blue Knight said, still smirking. "But…-" "How? Understandable question, which I will gladly answer before I kill you. First of all, Deep Blue is, as we all know, dead. So don't worry, he has not been revived or anything of that kind." Kisshu stared at him, confused by what he just said. 'How can that guy be Deep Blue when Deep Blue is dead?'
"Although he is dead, somehow his power remained in this body and only recently I learned how to summon it. You could say that it is an upgrade of my Blue Knight form. It enhances my speed, strength, stamina and agility. Also, it enables me to use some of Deep Blue's abilities, like this one."
A white orb formed on his pointing finger as he pointed it at Kisshu. Kisshu's eyes widened as he recognised the ability.
As a thin, long lightening bolt shot from Deep Blue Knight's, aka damn powerful bastard -Kisshu's personal nickname for him since that exact moment-, finger, Kisshu jumped in the air and successfully dodged it. Only to have another shot at him. Which he again dodged. They went on like this a couple of times more. Kisshu tried to find a hole in the bastard's defence, but found none.
It seemed the tables had turned, because even though he hadn't landed a hit yet, Deep Blue Knight obviously had the upper hand now. And after a few minutes of fruitless searching on Kisshu's part and firing attacks on the Knight's part, Kisshu unavoidably got a little too tired. He was hit straight in his stomach, while being ten feet in the air.
He managed to land without breaking his bones, which was an achievement on it's own, since it looked more like a crash than a landing. He lay there on his stomach, in the wet grass and he realised that he couldn't do it. He couldn't win. He was about to fail Ichigo once again. 'No!'
He clenched his fists and got up on his hands and knees, trembling as hell, but getting up nonetheless! He wouldn't go down the same road again! He was not going to die for her this time! He would bloody damn live for her! He wouldn't leave her again! No way in Hell!
Trying to get on his feet again, Kisshu heard the bastard's mocking voice: "You really have a death-wish, don't you? If that's what you want, I'll be glad to grant your wish."
He heard the Knight come closer and he could tell from the light above him that the guy was going to blow him up, like Deep Blue nearly blew up Ichigo. Only this time, he would succeed.
'No! No, he won't! Get up and fight! C'mon, wimp, get up!' Kisshu mentally urged himself. However he still couldn't get up. He had to, but he couldn't. He had to, so he would. But he couldn't, so how would he? 'Come on! Get up!' He tried again. The light brightened and grew. He was too late. Was he really going to die like this?
Slap!
The light died out quickly. Apparently he was not going to die just yet.
"Unforgivable!" Ah, that one sweet word he heard so often was for once not directed to him
It all passed her by. The fight. The shouting. All she knew was that Kisshu, her Kish, was winning. Then one moment later he was on the ground. Why was he on the ground? Why did Aoyama's voice sound so… Wrong…? Kill… He was going to kill Kish? No. She couldn't let it happen. She couldn't let him die. She couldn't let him die for her. He did that once. Not again. She had to move and prevent that bastard from killing her Kish.
Before she knew it she was on her feet. She saw Kisshu struggling to stand up, his head bowed, panting because of the effort. Only now that she was right in front of him, Aoyama noticed her. There was something off about his appearance, but she paid no attention to that. Without thinking, she raised her hand and….
Slap!
Her flat hand collided with his right cheek with that satisfying sound. Maybe it was the familiar situation, maybe she knew nothing better to say or maybe it was her subconscious way of secretly giving him the middle finger, whatever the reason, she cried out: "Unforgivable!"
It was now Aoyama's turn to be very, very shocked. Stunned as he was, he stood there, his mouth a little open, not even bothering to raise his hand and touch his cheek. But he had already lost her attention. She turned her head and looked behind her. Kish was still panting, but looked strangely happy. He wasn't smiling, he just had that sparkle in his eyes that yelled 'amusement!'.
"Kish! Get up and do something!" She shouted. Her words were harsh, but her voice betrayed her relief. Kish's smile only broadened. "Feisty as always… Well, forgive me, my fair lady, for almost dying." He deliberately emphasized the word 'dying', causing Ichigo to blush like mad. "Y-you sh-should know be-etter than d-d-dying on m-me!" He nodded, said "I know.." and looked at her in a way she hadn't seen him looking at her before. Lovingly. Right then it all fitted. She knew what they were fighting for.
The moment got ruined by a hand which wrapped itself around her throat. He eyes widened in surprise and Kish's narrowed, the fury igniting in them, ready to fire. As he leapt forward, with his weapons appearing in his hands again, she had the itching feeling that everything was about to blow.
One moment. One moment with her alone. One moment his concentration slipped from his opponent to the beautiful girl in front of him. The girl it was all about. But the bastard took advantage of it, pulling him back into their fight instantly. Kisshu was not about to let him harm her again. One cut in the cheek was as far as he would let him get.
Kisshu attempted to cut the hand on Ichigo's throat off, but the Knight leaped backwards. While his enemy was still in the middle of his leap, Kisshu teleported behind him, forcing him to lose his grip on Ichigo. She used the opportunity to bite in his hand, causing him to growl in pain and cradle his wounded hand with the other. This was a stupid mistake, since he dropped his own sword.
Moving as fast as he could Kisshu threw one of his own Sai's at Ichigo who was jumping backwards, away from the fight. As she caught his, he caught the Deep Blue Knight's sword, letting his other Sai evaporate, so he held onto the Knight's sword with both hands. They were still off the ground when Kisshu drove the sword with all his might straight in the Deep Blue Knight's left shoulder.
Because of the speed and power in Kisshu's attacks, they kept on flying in an horizontal line until they finally hit an object: The cherry tree in the middle of the clearing. Stepping away from his opponent, Kisshu beheld a gruesome sight. The Knight hung against the grand cherry tree, pinned to the spot by his own sword. His feet dangled a feet or so above the ground and the blood was everywhere.
Slowly but surely, his dark hair turned light again. He had used so much energy and was so severely wounded that he could no longer gain access to Deep Blue's power. He panted and coughed, attempted to pull the sword out, but it was no use. Looking at the pathetic creature that once was his enemy, Kisshu summoned his single Sai.
"It's time to end this…" he declared, pointing his Sai at the Knight's heart. He was about to bring it down when he felt a careful, soft hand on his shoulder. "Don't, Kish." Ichigo whispered, her voice giving away nothing but care. "I don't want you to become a murderer…"
He wanted to run the guy through. Hell yes, it would make his bloody day perfect. Just the thought of running him through and stab him some more after his death was very appealing. So should he obey Ichigo's wish or regardless of her opinion kill the asshole? He preferred the later, but he already knew he would go for the former anyway. He put his weapon down, snarled at the tree hugger a last time and walked away.
He waited at the edge of the clearing for Ichigo, who had a quick last word with her ex-boyfriend. Well, she mostly did the talking, for he didn't exactly have the energy for more than some short sentences, coughing , panting and bleeding.
Eventually, she coldly turned around and walked towards Kisshu with big steps. However, she didn't stop until their noses were hardly a few centimetres apart. Almost, just almost, Kisshu wondered if she was boldly going to kiss him. She didn't though. Instead, she cried a few tears and hugged him. Much like when they had befriended, Kisshu felt intoxicated by her smell. Notwithstanding the control he lost by doing so, he breathed her in.
Her scent made his nostrils tingle. Her breath in made the hair in his neck stand up straight. Her touch made him feel like his skin was on fire. Her content sigh was like a symphony. Yes, this girl was enough to make him go completely nuts. And he didn't give a rat's ass, as long as she wouldn't leave.
It took a few minutes standing with her in his arms, but in the end Kisshu couldn't help himself anymore. He loosened his grip on her, which automatically resulted in her moving away, albeit a bit reluctantly. Her eyes became sausages when he carefully cupped her face and pulled her close. She stiffened, until she looked him in the eye and he gave her a reassuring look. She relaxed again and closed her eyes. That was all the permission Kisshu needed.
Closing the small gap between them, he kissed her on her strawberry lips.
Finally, after dreaming for two years, his dream became reality. Now he knew why he had come down to Earth.
A.N. Well... That was it. I hope you like it and I lived up to your expectations a bit. And if I didn't I hope you don't mind too much... ^^;
Review please! It might help me, if I decide to write another story.
See ya!