(Sorry, I can't make little double lines so…disclaimer in earlier chapters!!!)
Very long chapter alert! Don't start reading this if you have an important date! Sorry. It took about a week to write this one chapter. I also packed it with emotion…maybe a bit too much emotion, but…This chapter is probably PG-13, instead of PG, for a few graphic images, although no one really gets hurt… The Antennima Bird in this chapter is my name for the bird anima Kish rode on in volume 6. I don't know if it has a name. There's some more Kishigo, some Flan-Pie and even a little Tart-Pudding (Tarudding).
Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews!!! I feel so loved! Everyone who reviewed gets a nice, big slice of jello pie! (handing out pieces). Please return the favor.
Cooking Spray- I feel so honored that you want to do fanart of my character! Actually, I've already drawn a sketch of Mew Peach, but it's on lined paper, and…I'm not that good of an artist. I'd be happy to let you draw her, as long as you follow her design in the sketch. I'd have to e-mail it to you…
And back to the story…
Chapter 6: Problem Times Three
The stillness rose, and echoed off the domed ceiling, bouncing back and spilling itself back down upon the world. All he could hear was his own breathing, so he tried to hold it back. No one had invited him to a slumber party…and where were the sleeping bags? The room that had held so much noise and activity just a moment before was now dead silent. It was the crash after the sugar high. No…it was more like a train wreck. The sun slid through the glass exterior, peeking down and shining onto the mass. He heard his breathing again, longing for some noise…any kind of catalyst to break the silence.
"W…Wake up." That didn't seem to break it, so he tried some other noise.
"It's time to get up!" When that didn't do the trick, he began to grow frustrated.
"Okay, stop fooling around, you have to get up now!!!" Still, he didn't get any results, so he slowly got to his feet, not even being able to feel the ground beneath them.
With one step, he came to the familiar arm with the dark red glove at the wrist. "Get up!!!" His foot slammed into that arm. Even the dreadful smacking noise didn't seem to break the silence. The arm lifted, and the body attached began to flip over. The limp, pink…thing that was now before him flopped to one side. And there it stayed.
Slowly, he dropped to the ground again. Why? Why had this happened? Was this the…consequences? Was this the price he must pay? That he was the only one left? Stranded in a silent world with only these things…these things that once were people.
"No." Now he knew it was no use to try to break the silence, but he had to make some kind of waves in this frozen world. "Nooooo!"
SLAM! Now there was nothing but greenish, fluffy fuzz around him. It confused him for a little while, and he had to think hard and figure out where he was.
"Tart!"
His head wrenched out of this world at the sound of his name to see some familiar long pants above his head.
Pie kneeled down near his red head and held out a hand. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I heard you fall."
"Huh?" Tart slowly replied. He figured out how to move his body again, and glanced back at the platform behind him. The covers lay in a tangled, boggling heap of pattern spilling off the bed. "I…fell out of bed?" He got up again and looked around, holding his head in confusion and coming back to the real world. "I…think I had a nightmare."
Pie got back up again. "Well, once you feel better, come out into the kitchen. I'm cooking breakfast today."
As he exited the room, Tart continued to stare at the wall. What was that? He wondered. He'd never had a nightmare like that before. A roomful of dead people…and Ichigo… Just then, he bolted out into the kitchen.
Pie was standing in front of a strange stove, with the jets poking out from the wall, holding a goopy grain-like substance in a pan. He glanced over as Tart came rushing in. "Gee," he said. "Didn't expect you out here so soon. I'm just starting on yours."
"Have you seen Ichigo?" Tart suddenly asked.
This question surprised Pie and he just stared for a while. "Oh!" he at last answered. "Yeah, she came in here yesterday and talked to Kish for a little while."
Tart sighed with relief. For a while he thought that a dream like that meant Ichigo had died. It wouldn't have mattered as much on Earth, but if she died here, he would be responsible…and Pudding would probably hate him for the rest of his life. "Okay, thanks," Tart replied. "I'll be back out in a minute. I've got to put my hair up."
Pie was even more confused, so he just shrugged and returned to mixing the strange materials in the pan.
A few minutes later, he and Tart walked into the doorway of what was now Kish's room, holding plates with what appeared to be pancakes on them.
"Uh, Kish?" Pie at last spoke. He thought it was no use asking, but he figured why not ask anyway? There could be, by some miracle, a chance that his attitude would change. "Did you want breakfast? I made something new today."
"Eah," Tart mumbled through a mouthful of food. "What are dese tings?"
"They're called 'pancakes'," Pie explained. "Flan gave me the recipe from Earth last night. Of course, I had to improvise a little, since we don't have batter…"
"Huh?" Tart asked, looking up. "Why would we need one of those guys with the long club things?"
"No! Not batter! Batter! As in the stuff you put in pancakes."
Tart's eyes grew wide. "I'm eating a batter?!"
"Just forget it," Pie said, giving up.
Kish smiled, almost laughing. "Pie, he said, starting to answer him. "The question isn't 'do I want some pancakes?' it's 'how many pancakes do I want?"
Pie was surprised again. "You actually want some?"
"Yeah, of course," Kish replied. "I think I'll have two, and get another one later if I want it."
Pie went into the kitchen, since he hadn't brought my others with him. For the rest of the morning, the three of them stayed in the room, talking and eating.
After two pancakes, Kish had had enough though. His mouth felt all gritty after eating them, and that was when he realized that Pie had used some Mercurian sand in the place of batter. "Thanks, those were some great sandcakes!" he teased. "You couldn't have found something else besides sand? I'm so sick of eating sand! I end up eating sand even when I don't want to eat sand."
Pie sighed. Kish was back to normal again, and he felt sure that Ichigo had something to do with it.
---
Ichigo's bright pink eyes slowly opened. She gazed at her surroundings, her eyes still a bit blurry. She was surprised to find a pinkish sheen clouding everything in a different hue. Huh? She wondered. Where am I? She pushed her hair away from her face, finally getting a good look at the new environment. She was sitting in the fancy, multicolored and patterned sheets of the canopy bed, the curtains drawn. That's right…the memory was starting to come back to her. Ichigo remembered now…going to Mercury, finding out that the king was her father, Kish being deathly ill…it couldn't be true, could it? She had felt sure that that had all been a dream…she couldn't actually be on the planet Mercury. No human in the world had ever landed on Mercury.
She pulled the curtain back and stepped out of bed, gazing at her bedroom. It wasn't her bedroom. She sighed. No. It had all really happened, hadn't it? She had never woken up in a dream before. She suddenly longed for her normal life, back on Earth, among the people she knew and loved. What had possessed her to enter this world, anyway? Then- it struck her, she still had to pretend to be the princess, or else her new friend Flan would end up dead. This was the only thought that pushed her forward and convinced her to get up and get dressed in her dress, veil, and high heels.
After an unusual and tense breakfast in the long dining hall, Ichigo desperately escaped to the upper floor and the apartments. She had to find someone else she could relate to. She was hurrying down the hall towards Flan's apartment. She had to see Pudding again and get among some of her own kind again. The way things were going now, Ichigo felt stupid for not having big ears, and then she felt stupid for feeling that she should have big ears.
As soon as she entered the hallway, she froze. On the other side of the hall, just ahead of her, were Pie and Kish. Kish was holding tight to Pie's arm to steady himself. "Yeah…" he was saying. "I haven't seen him in a while. He's probably mad at me for abandoning him…poor thing."
Ichigo had no idea what he was talking about, so she stayed a little bit behind, listening.
"I was going to ask for a trip to the room anyway…" Kish continued. He coughed a bit and tightened his grip on Pie.
Pie stopped for a moment and said something back to him, but his voice was too low for Ichigo to hear. Then, the two of them disappeared down a corridor to the right.
Okay, that was kind of weird, Ichigo thought. What in the world were they talking about? 'I haven't seen him in a while', 'I was going to ask for a trip to the room anyway'. Ichigo shrugged. It wasn't her concern, so why worry about it? She stepped up and knocked on the door to Flan's apartment. "Hey, Flan? Pudding? It's Ichigo!"
After a few minutes of fumbling from inside, Flan yanked the door open. "Yeah? It's kind of early, Ichigo."
"Early? It's almost noon!"
"That's early," Flan objected.
Ichigo peeked around the inside of Flan's apartment. Feathers were flung all around the parlor, and Ichigo knew that Pudding had had another pillow fight last night. That was probably why Flan was so tired. The blond bundle of energy was nowhere to be seen, probably worn out. "Sleepover?" Ichigo guessed. "Aw, why didn't you invite me?"
Flan smiled. "Why didn't you warn me?"
"So where is she?" Ichigo asked, glancing around. "Sleeping?"
"Nope," Flan replied. "Across the hall."
"Across the hall?" Ichigo glanced over her shoulder, and instantly received an affirming sign.
Tart burst out of Pie's apartment, pushing Pudding out ahead of him. He thrust his arm out, pointing at nothing in particular. "Fine. That's fine if you don't believe me, just get out of my hou…uh, my temporary residence!"
"I told her not to go," Flan said, stepping up beside Ichigo. "But she just insisted on going to say good morning…"
Ichigo frowned and stormed up to the doorway. She'd straighten that little brat out if it were the last thing she did. "Tart!" she yelled.
He turned his head, and the moment his large eyes set on Ichigo, his angry expression disappeared. "Oh, Ichigo! You're really okay. You see, I had this nightmare last night, and you were dead, so I was afraid…"
"Doesn't surprise me," Ichigo replied, glaring hard at him. "Seeing as you tried to kill me thrice! Maybe you actually succeeded that time. You also tried to kill Lettuce, and Ryou, oh and about 50 thousand other people…happy now?"
Ichigo braced herself for a long argument, but soon found that her preparations weren't necessary. Tart just stared at her for a long moment, eyes a bit wider. "Y-You're right," he at last spoke. "Um…good-bye, Pudding." He retreated back into the apartment, closing the door behind him.
Pudding and Ichigo stared at each other for a moment. Then Pudding got up and scampered back to Flan's apartment as Ichigo stayed in exactly the same spot, staring in puzzlement at the closed door.
---
Their numbers had dwindled ever since the trip to Earth, especially the blob parasites, a.k.a. "Sparkies" that had fallen prey to a little pink robot named Masha. Despite this devastation, the creation room still brimmed with life.
Pie held out a hand as the small, non-toxic prototype of the dust waiburn approached. It wrapped its little tail around his finger and sat in his hand for a moment, flexing its wings.
"Oh, that's cute," Kish spoke up in a sarcastic tone. "Now can you stop playing with your little toys and cut to the chase? I don't have all day, you know."
"Oh, sorry," Pie replied. He patted the mini-waiburn on the head and sent it flying again. Then, he looked up to see a pair of long, feathery wings gliding above them.
Kish snapped his fingers and called, "Anty!" with all the wind he could force from his lungs. The large bird creature glanced down and fluttered to the floor, right in front of him. This was one of Pie's more recent creations, that Kish had formed a particularly strong bond with- the Antennima Bird. The Antennima Bird had six eyes- three on each side, and two long antennae, used to hang onto went riding atop its back. Pie had created this bird in order to patrol the skies, but Kish had been very eager to use it in a kidnapping plot. After that experience, Kish thought the Antennima might be upset that he abandoned it to go after Ichigo, but the bird showed no signs of uneasiness.
Slowly, he reached out and ran his hand over its feathery head. The Antennima Bird reached out with its beak and nuzzled his hand. He moved a bit closer and petted it again. "Yeah, you remember me, don't you, Anty? We had some fun times flying around in here, didn't we?"
Kish was so wrapped up in greeting his favorite anima, he didn't notice that Pie had slipped away, and he was standing on his own. He noticed a weird flash out of the corner of his eye and turned to find Pie holding a miniature camera-like device. "Did…you just take a picture of me???"
"Yeah," Pie calmly replied. "I wanted a picture of you with the Antennima. You don't mind me taking pictures, do you?"
Kish was a little disappointed. He didn't like Pie reminding him of his mortality with these pictures, but it was only to create mementos, so he and Tart would have things to always remember him by. "No, it's okay," Kish at last decided. He turned and tried to smile as Pie snapped a second one. Then he turned and stroked the soft feathers of the Antennima Bird again. The bird blinked its three eyes on the left side of its head, in unison.
Yeah,Kish thought, this is probably the last time I'll ever see him…or this room for that matter. A terrible chilling feeling passed through his body. No, he told himself, don't think like that. It was too late. The Antennima Bird, sensing his fear, reached forward, pulling Kish close with its wings.
Pie snapped another picture of the "hug", but this time Kish didn't even notice. He was wrapped in the feathers, listening to the bird's heartbeat, trying to blot out all thoughts…all memories. The familiar feelings healed his soul. And there they stayed for the next couple of minutes, until Pie had to fetch him from the bird's grasp because he was going to be late for his appointment.
---
Ichigo wandered down the many floors of the Mercuritopolis palace, bored with the royal section of the building, and with Flan, Pudding, and Tart in the apartment hallway. She tapped around the many other floors, peeking into offices and services wherever she went. Then, just as she was wandering around a higher floor, close to the top of the palace, she stopped as she noticed two pairs of ribbons swish by in the hallway in front of her. It was probably just a pair of workers on a break at that moment, but something inside of her drove her forward, to follow those two Mercurians.
She quickly scurried, on tiptoe, as not to make any noise, into the hall, and when she looked down towards the end, she knew she had to have some sort of special sense. Pie and Kish were walking, slowly towards a door at the end of the hall. Pie reached out and yanked the glass door open while still continuing to support Kish with his other arm. The two of them then disappeared into the room, and all remained quiet for a moment.
Ichigo stared at the door, remembering her little meeting with Kish yesterday, and that he was dying. Suddenly, Pie's words flitted through her mind. "You've got pod treatment tomorrow." Is that what they were here for? Ichigo stepped up next to the room and studied a palace map on the wall outside. The glowing "You are Here" dot was situated right on top of the section labeled "Mercuritopolis Palace included Hospital." Without another thought in her head, Ichigo entered the hospital.
A receptionist behind a circular counter glanced up at her as she passed by. The nervous Mercurians in the waiting room stared at her, and then began whispering. "Is that the princess that they just found?" "What's she doing here?" "Maybe she wants to promote herself." "She's got some nerve, coming in here!"
Ichigo quickly searched the premises for any sign of Kish or Pie, trying her best to ignore all of the rude comments the Mercurians threw at her. "I can't believe the princess is here!" "I don't know about you, but I find this rather insulting." "She doesn't know a thing about what it feels like to be one of us."
"Your Majesty," a voice came from around the corner.
Ichigo looked around, frantically. She thought she had heard a voice like that before. At last, she glanced down to find Pie at her feet. "Aaah!" she cried, a bit surprised. "H-How'd you know I was here?" Pie looked up at her. "Why, I heard them whispering about you as I was returning from the west hallway."
"Huh?" Ichigo said, even more confused. "How could you hear them whispering from all the way on the other side of the room?"
At last, Pie stood up again, staring at her, speaking slow and hard. "Um…hello? My name is Pie. I live on Mercury…"
At first, Ichigo wondered why he was stating the obvious like that, and then it struck her, and she couldn't believe she had forgotten. "Oh. Ears. Sorry."
Pie looked to relax a little more. "That's good, I thought for a moment that you were going blind." He walked away and took a seat on one of the pedestals protruding from the ground of the waiting room.
Ichigo followed him, sitting on a pedestal next to him. "So, Kish came for his pod treatment, right?"
Pie nodded. "He's in there now." He closed his eyes. "I have to think of a remedy…" he muttered, not really meaning for Ichigo to hear it, perhaps underestimating the human hearing range.
"A remedy? Oh, you're trying to find a cure for his illness, aren't you?"
Pie glanced over, taking a deep breath. "Your Highness…may I request that you remain quiet and not disturb me? I need to think."
"Okay," Ichigo quickly replied. If it had been one of the others, he would've probably yelled. "Hey shut up! I need to hear myself think!" She had been quite surprised with that little figuring out experience, and now she was getting a little sick of all the 'Your Highnesses' and 'Your Majesties'. Suddenly, she just wanted to be treated like the normal 12-year-old girl that she was.
As Pie leaned his head against the back wall, thinking deeply on scientific concepts, Ichigo got up off her pedestal and quickly scurried down the west hallway. She didn't really know why she was doing this…but she suddenly longed to see Kish again. As she passed by the many rooms in this hallway, she glanced in to see if it was Kish.
She was getting closer to the end of the hallway, when she finally found a room where a long platform, resembling a tanning bed, suspended by a pillar of cables and covered by a glass dome sat in the center. She tried to see who was in the device, but it was too far away to make out.
At last, after finding that the door was locked and spending a few minutes staring in the room, Ichigo decided to head back to the waiting room. When she returned, she found Pie slumped against the wall, fast asleep. She sighed and gently sat back down on the pillar. For the next few minutes, Ichigo sat staring at the wall in total silence and avoiding the stares of the everyday hospital visitors.
At last, a squeaking noise echoed from around the corner. Ichigo glanced up to see an assistant wheeling Kish in a hospital wheelchair up to their section of the waiting room. He was slumped over, but when he noticed Ichigo sitting on the pillar in front of him, blushed and sat up very straight. "I-Ichigo?! I didn't know you'd be here."
Ichigo smiled. "Well, I saw you guys walking by and decided to follow you. You just had your pod treatment, right? I was trying to find which room was yours, but I couldn't tell, it was so far away…"
Now, Kish blushed an even deeper shade of red. "Well…you see…the doors are locked when you go in for pod treatment for…privacy purposes."
Ichigo then noticed that he wasn't wearing his normal shorts and loose half-shirt, but a Mercurian brownish speckled hospital gown. It was a good thing that she hadn't been able to get in his room. His dark green hair was also loose instead of pulled through bands, and she was surprised with how much of a difference this minor detail made.
He smiled and glanced past her. "He fell asleep again, huh?"
That was when Ichigo remembered Pie, snoozing next to her. "Pie! Wake up!" she called. He didn't budge. "Hey, Pie!!!' There was still no response.
"Whack him," Kish told her. "Right on the arm. That always gets him up. I'd do it, but I can't reach."
Ichigo was a little apprehensive, but she reached over and hit Pie on the upper arm.
His eyes opened. "Huh?" Then he immediately got back up onto the pillar. "Oh, Kish? You're ready to go?" Ichigo was a little startled that he could wake up and know what was going on so fast, but maybe that was just another Mercurian enhancement.
Kish nodded and got up out of his wheelchair. A few other Mercurians that hadn't seen him come in, stared with wide eyes thinking he had just recovered from paralysis.
Ichigo jumped up to grab a hold of him, but he held up a hand. "Don't worry, I just got out of pod treatment. I'm fine now."
Ichigo blinked. "You're…cured?!" She admitted that he did look healthier than when she had just seen him in the hall.
"No, no," Kish had to tell her, although he wished he could yell out, "Yes! I'm cured! It's a miracle!" "The pods are meant to be healing stations, but they can't do anything about diseases. It just makes me stronger for a while…until the illness takes over again."
Ichigo continued staring in disbelief. The Mercurians had all this advanced technological knowledge, but they still couldn't find a cure for Shadow Plague?
Pie got up again and he and Kish began to head for the door. Just as they were about to leave, Kish suddenly turned around. "Oh, Ichigo! Thanks for coming."
"Oh, it's no problem. Hanging around the royal house is boring anyway."
"The royal house? What were you doing around there?"
"Didn't you hear?" Pie said, stepping up beside him. "She's really the long-lost princess of Mercury."
Kish's eyes widened a little. "Wow…I didn't really think…" He smiled and bowed a little. "Well, I'll see you later, my princess."
Ichigo blushed. Masaya used to call her "my princess", although it didn't matter as much with Kish because she really was pretending to be the Mercurian princess. Still…the way he said it suddenly reminded her of Masaya. At first she thought that he had some nerve playing with her emotions like that…but then she thought of how lucky she was to have someone around that loved her again. Ichigo forced those thoughts from her mind. "B-bye, Kish," she finally managed to spit out.
Kish just stared for a few minutes before turning and following Pie out of the double glass doors.
Ichigo stood there for a little while, trying to sort out her emotions before heading back down to her royal chambers for lunch.
---
It was morning again, although the blackness in the room was suggestive of the nighttime. It was really almost noon. Pudding stood over the bed in concern. She had forced Flan to let her go over to Pie's apartment and say good-morning to Tart, but when she'd gotten there he was still fast asleep. Pie had told her that he didn't want to wake him up since he hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night. Pudding frowned as she watched him thrashing in his sleep. Poor Tart, he's probably having a bad dream again. She wished there were some way to help, but there was nothing she could do. She wasn't in that world he was in right now…
---
"NO!" he screamed. "STOP IT!" But it wouldn't listen. His hand just seemed to have a mind of its own and wouldn't listen to what his mind was telling it. Then, there it was- a flash of those big, innocent, amber eyes…and it zoomed in.
"STOOPPPPPP!" he yelled with all his might. It was no use. Then, there it was- a flash of red…and he tumbled to the soft dirt ground.
Slowly, he glanced up to find something in front of him…another one of those things. It was mostly yellow, peach-colored parts stained with red. He crept a bit closer, and slowly placed his hand on the top part, running his other hand through the soft strands.
"Puh…Pudding." The scene was growing blurry. Now, the other hand was waking up and taking over. It crept over the dirt floor until it at last touched something wet and cold. Trembling, the hand returned and he held the object close to his chest.
"Pudding…I'm coming, Pudding!"
"Tart!!!" her voice suddenly shot through the air. "Tart, stop that! Wake up! Tart!!!"
The dark, cold cell vanished, replaced by the vague sensation of fabric around his stomach.
---
Tart slowly began to see a small white hook that they used to hold the covers to the platform materialize in his trembling hand. At last, he allowed it to relax, the hook dropping from it and clanking against the hard bottom of the platform.
As he glanced past it, he saw Pudding's large face, eyebrows creased in concern. Her bright amber eyes blinked at him. Slowly, a smile spread across Tart's face. "P-Pudding! You're alive!" Suddenly, he reached over, pulling her into a hug.
Pudding blushed a little, but felt very relieved. She put her arms around him in return. "Well, that's a much better greeting than 'get out of my temporary residence."
Slowly, Tart was coming to his senses again. He released Pudding. "Yeah…for that matter…what are you doing in my…um, in Pie's room???"
"I came to say good morning," Pudding replied, sitting back on the platform. "But you were sleeping, so I just decided to wait here until you woke up."
Tart looked away, disgusted. "Uh, well you've said your greetings, so you can leave now."
Pudding put her hands on her tips. "I just saved your life, you know. You could try being a little more grateful."
"What?" Tart asked, glaring back at her. "Since when did you save my life?"
"Just now," Pudding informed him. "You were about to kill yourself with that hook and I stopped you."
Suddenly, Tart froze remembering that dream he had just had. Pudding had been dead…he had killed her. It wasn't so far-fetched…he'd tried before. Yeah, she annoyed him most of the time, probably because she was a girl, but when he thought about her, there was a certain twinge in his heart…that he couldn't bear to see her dead.
Pudding noticed his distressed expression and slowly leaned over again, hugging him again. "Are you okay?" she asked. "I'm only worried…"
"I don't know," Tart replied, pushing her off. "Maybe there's something wrong with me. I don't feel right."
Pudding opened her mouth to say something else, but Tart flopped back onto the platform. "Could you leave me alone just for now? I need some time to myself."
Pudding frowned and slipped off the platform, exiting the room, still in concern. On her way out of the apartment, she had to tell Pie about what had just happened and that Tart had tried to commit suicide. Of course, that sent him running into the room to make sure he was okay, and he never really did get his time to himself. Pudding was glad for that. She was afraid of what Tart would do if he had too much time to himself.
---
Later that day, Ichigo was once again bored to tears with her royal life. So somehow, whenever she got bored, her feet wandered up to the apartment level. She didn't really know what she was there for, but she just had to get away, and this was where she came whenever she needed to get away.
As Ichigo glanced around the hallway, she thought of going to visit Pudding and Flan. Maybe they could all have a party together. Then she remembered what had happened the day before. Perhaps she should go check on Kish. It had been a day since he had that pod treatment. The more Ichigo thought, the more she was convinced that she needed to visit Kish. It made him feel better when she came to visit, and right now he needed all the cheering up he could get.
She hurried up to the right side of the hallway, knocking on the door labeled, "Xenimis, Pie." A few minutes later, after a terrible bumping and stumbling noise from within, the door creaked open. Ichigo glanced around, looking for Pie, but looked down and noticed Tart's large yellow eyes staring at her instead. "What the…?" she said. "Why'd you open the door? Where's…?"
"Pie's at the lab," Tart replied, his voice a dull monotone. "You're here to see Kish, right?"
Ichigo blushed. "What would make you think that?"
"He won't stop talking about you," Tart told her. "Ichigo this, Ichigo that. Guess he still thinks he has a chance with you…we're all going insane…" He stepped back from the doorway. "Well, uh, come in, I guess…"
Ichigo glanced down at him before making her way over to Kish's platform. There was just something different about him. What had made him suddenly so…normal? Then, she found herself thinking the exact same thing as she looked at Kish, his smiling yellow eyes following her every step.
"Ichigo!" he called from his platform. As she drew closer, he spoke in a softer voice. "You don't mind if I just call you Ichigo, right?"
"Actually, I want you to just call me Ichigo," Ichigo told him. "I'm sick and tired of all this 'Your Majesty' stuff. I'm just a normal girl!"
Kish stared at her for a long moment. "You know…" he began to say. "Even when I first saw you, I thought you looked a little like the Princess. Then I thought, no way, the Princess of Mercury can't be here on Earth. So I guess I was wrong again."
"Kish…" Ichigo started. It almost hurt her to have to disappoint him like this, but she had to tell him before he took this any further. "You know, I might not really be the princess. The king just said I looked like the princess and…"
"It's okay," Kish interrupted. "Even if you're really not the Princess of Mercury, you'll always be my princess."
Fire erupted on Ichigo's cheeks. Why does he have to do that? She wondered. Why does he have to say little things like that? …like Masaya used to say. Darn it, why does he have to make me feel so…happy?
Kish noticed her pink cheeks, but looked past her for a moment, and up at the mural near the top of the wall. "Ichigo…" he said, his voice a bit whispery and distant. Then he quickly glanced away, looking down at the speckled pattern of the sheets. "I still feel bad about what happened," he admitted.
Ichigo kneeled next to the platform to reach his level. "You don't have to. It's already been done- in the past now. There's nothing you can do about it."
Kish sighed. "It had been so long…a whole year. I was beginning to forget."
"Forget what?" Ichigo leaned a bit closer to the platform, leaning her elbows on the edge.
Then Kish glanced over again, looking straight into her eyes, that same pleasant smile adorning his face. "I was starting to forget how much I really loved you."
Ichigo stared, feeling that same strange fluttering in her chest again, but trying to ignore it. Why was he suddenly so different? She wondered. "You know what I find amazing?" she spoke up. Other times like this were running through her head, and there were two that she could think of. "That you can act like a crazed madman one minute, and then be so gentle and sweet the next."
Kish took a deep breath, preparing for what he was about to say. "Well, I was…influenced as a child, so I guess I sort of hid behind that. Like Tart hides behind his own standards of how he should act, and Pie hides behind his statistics and his ranking… I guess we've all been told how to act by other people, and buried our true selves under these examples." Then he lied back on the platform again, putting his arms behind his head, as always. "Being sick has given me way too much time to think."
Ichigo smiled and pulled herself up onto the platform beside him. "No, I think it makes a lot of sense."
Kish stared up at her from his pillow in contentment. "You know, before you came, I often thought about just giving up. What was the use of living any more? I knew I was going to die, why not just die now and get it over with? I had no reason to live any longer…" The smile spread onto his face again. "But now…I have something to live for."
Ichigo couldn't help it anymore. Her heart was racing. Slowly, she leaned forward…closer. Then, finally, she planted a little peck on Kish's cheek.
He stared in utter perplexity. "I'm sorry, I might have been hallucinating, but…did you just…"
Ichigo smiled. "…Kiss you?"
Kish snuggled back down into the covers, about to burst with happiness. "…My life is now complete."
Ichigo tried to calm her burning cheeks as she slowly crept from the room. As soon as she closed the door behind her, her mind started in. Well, he needed it; he needs all the support he can get, since he's sick. I'm the only one that kept him from just letting himself die, so I need to act like I like him so he'll stay motivated. But as she was descending the stairs heading back to her chambers, she then wondered, why am I making all these excuses for myself?
---
He strode down the hall, clutching a heavy binder to his chest. Why wasn't this working? They had a team of twenty brilliant scientists all working out the same problem, but not one had yet found the answer. Pie stared down at his binder. He would figure this out. It was his mission, his purpose in life. For Kish's sake, he would find the cure, even if he had to work for a week straight with no rest.
Unfortunately, Pie's face was contorted into that determined, almost angry scowl when he bumped into Flan, coming from the opposite direction. "Oh, Flan!" Instantly, he tried to cover up the face, pretending to be searching his binder for some important paper. "I forgot. You're working too, aren't you?"
Flan didn't even reply, at least not in words. She marched up and pushed the binder down, gazing up at him with a smile. "Don't hide your face like that," she said. "What? Were you not expecting to see anyone on your way to work?"
Pie stared, a bit startled.
"Yeah, I know," Flan replied, staring into his eyes. "You probably feel an obligation to find the cure and heal your friend, right?"
Pie almost trembled. How did she always know what he was thinking? It was kind of creepy. Yes, he had known her longer than he had known anyone else, but he didn't think that she knew him that well.
"I've learned that about you, Pie," Flan continued. "You'd do anything to help the ones that are important to you. It's very noble of you." She stared at him for a long while, her light pink eyes wide. Her stomach fluttered with a million butterflies, while his did flip-flops. Flan wondered why she was so nervous, she'd known him for many years…she'd also liked him for many years, although she had kept in denial to herself. This time…she had to tell him everything. She opened her mouth, to try to find some way to put what she was feeling into words, but Pie spoke first.
"Well, Flan…" he started to say, staring at her, and she knew this was something he was finding hard to say. "…You're very important to me too."
Suddenly, on a weird impulse, Flan rose up and gave him a kiss, right on the lips. She felt a little scared, not knowing how he would react to this, but when they pulled away, she saw that he was smiling. Her spirit soared.
"Oh, Pie!" she cried, throwing her arms around him and making him drop his binder.
He reached out and placed a hand on top of her head, feeling her soft pinkish hair. "I guess for a long time I've liked you, but I just didn't think you liked me anymore. It had been a year or two…"
Flan smiled, her cheeks flushed in happiness. "I didn't think you'd ever like me, especially when you asked me to give that present to Lettuce…"
"Lettuce is a wonderful girl…" Pie started to say, "…But she's much too young for me anyway. She'd never be able to compare with you, since I know you so well." He sighed. "I guess I was a bit…jealous. Kish and Tart both had Mew Mews on Earth that cared for them…" He hugged Flan a little closer. "And now I've got one too."
Flan giggled.
They stayed there for a couple of minutes, snuggling, until Pie noticed a clock on the wall and said, "Um, we're going to be late for work."
Flan at last pulled away. "Alright, then let's just not stand here."
So, Pie picked up his binder on the floor, and the two of them walked off down the hall. They both reached over, and grasped hands, until they reached the end of the hallway, and were forced to separate.
---
There she was again, stumbling down the halls of the upper apartments of Mercuritopolis. She had turned around and decided not to go back to the royal quarters just yet. For a little while, Ichigo thought she should just ask Flan if she'd let her sleep in her apartment, but the king might get suspicious.
As she slipped down the darkened corridor, she realized that this was s different part than where she usually wandered. Perhaps she should head back. Just then, a tall figure slammed into her from out of nowhere. "Aaah!" she cried. The figure glanced down at her and she saw the pigtail swinging. Oh, phew, she thought, it's only Pie.
"Excuse me, Your Highness," he replied, quickly brushing past her and hurrying down the hall.
Ichigo glanced back after him. Gee, she thought, why's he in such a rush? When she began to walk back down the hall, she glanced down and noticed a piece of brown speckled paper sitting on the carpeted floor. Oh, he must've dropped that from that binder he was carrying; I should probably go give it back to him… She bent down and snatched it from its place next to the wall. She began to walk in the direction she had just seen him go, but suddenly she couldn't take it anymore. She was a curious kitty. She flipped the paper over.
There were all kinds of scribbles, blobs, and long equations, but she managed to find the written notes among the illegible hieroglyphics. "Originates on surface when two perform reproductive method," she read to herself. "Ugh. Um…let's see, Phase one: bug begins to attack muscle and blood cells, weakening its victim. May also affect brain cells in acute cases." Ichigo frowned. "I wonder if this is…ahem, phase two: bug strain follows itself through the body, spreading over whatever it touches. This explains the term "shadow". This may result in many different symptoms, but never two at once…" Ichigo looked up from the paper. "It is! These are notes on the Shadow Plague. Pie's trying to find a cure for it…" She looked down and continued, "Phase three: bug reaches the brain. Sends mutant code, screws around with systems and eventually shuts down all systems." Ichigo remained terribly silent for a while. "I wonder how close to phase three he's at…"
---
Needless to say, Ichigo was still very worried about Kish, so the next day, right after breakfast, she trekked back to that old familiar floor. Pie opened the door, a bit surprised to see her here so early in the morning. Flan and Pudding were apparently still sleeping.
Ichigo rushed into the room to check on Kish. He was also surprised to see her in the morning, but extremely grateful. They sat and talked for while. This time, Kish invited Pie to come and join the circle, and he told him that Tart could come too. Pie replied that Tart was still was sleeping again, and Ichigo was slightly grateful.
---
What had happened? Pudding stood on the sidewalk below, gazing up. She rubbed a red, sore line around her neck.
There was nothing but a gray, concrete wall on the opposite side. Metal bars protruded from the bridge wall. Then suddenly, the world plunged into darkness. There was no floor, no ceiling…nothing but negative space.
A force yanked him upwards as he fell, jerking his body to a stop. Something squeezed around his wrists…tighter…and tighter. A burning sensation seared his skin, and he longed to just slip out from under and get away from it, but when he tried, his hands almost ripped off.
Something was happening, but he couldn't tell what. In the giant black void, a shape was forming. It was long…and pointed.
"What's going on?!" he yelled, if anyone was there to hear him. "Let me go!" There was no answer, and the triangle finished morphing and shaping, and it wasn't a triangle at all, but something with a handle…so sharp it glittered, even in this sunless black universe.
His heart began beating faster. "What is going on?" he called again, but still got no answer. "Who…?" The burning of the ropes around his wrists was almost forgotten as his mind raced, panicking. Was that what it…looked like?
The big, sharp object reeled backwards, tipping back…winding up. His body began to shake. "No! Stop!" He struggled in the ropes. Now it didn't matter if he had to cut his hands off…he had to escape somehow!
Just then, there was a flash of light. There was something behind that curtain of darkness, and when he saw it, his blood ran cold. "…Me?!"
Then, the sharp object suddenly released itself, like an arrow from a bowstring. A horrifying scream erupted from his mouth just before the object plunged into his torso, tearing through his insides… He felt the warmth of his own fresh blood as it spattered over his face and legs… and then everything went blank again.
---
Ichigo giggled. She couldn't believe that she was actually having fun with aliens that had once been her sworn enemies. Kish had been telling her all about funny things that had happened to him in the past, like when he had mistook a telephone pole for a tree, and told them that the forests were now "logs of wood tied together", and when he'd lost a bet with Tart and had been forced to dress like a woman for a day. Ichigo was telling them funny things too, and even Pie was looking away, trying not to laugh.
"So, what about you, Pie? You got anything to tell us from before I knew you?" Kish asked, glancing over.
Pie thought for a while. He was about to say something, but suddenly an earsplitting, high-pitched scream shot through the quiet parlor. "That would be my cue," Pie said. He jumped up and ran to his bedroom.
It was Tart, of course, the covers pulled over his whole body and trembling in fear.
"Tart…Tart wake up…" Pie leaned over him, concerned.
At last, Tart slowly reached up and pulled the covers away from his face. He blinked. "P-Pie?" You're dead too?"
"Dead?" Pie asked. "I'm not dead, and you're not either."
Tart was still panicking, remembering what had happened all over again. "But…but I…I killed me. I was killed…by me."
Pie reached down and pulled Tart closer, trying to comfort him. "Now don't tell me you tried to commit suicide again."
"No." Tart shook his head. "I saw…myself. And then I…" His body was shaking again and Pie noticed him touching his chest and stomach area, nervously. At last, he sighed, resting his head against Pie, and trying to calm down. These nightmares had to have some meaning to them, and as Tart ran them over in his head, he began to remember. "It was me," he whispered.
"What?" Pie asked, looking down at him.
"Nothing," Tart replied. Another one of those sick feelings was beginning in his heart, like he had felt yesterday, but now he knew that he couldn't just keep ignoring it. "I…I need to go see Pudding," he spoke again, pulling away from Pie.
"Well, it's right down the hall, she's staying in Flan's apartment…that's kind of unusual for you though…"
Tart just ignored him, slipped off the bed, and made his way out towards Flan's apartment, not even bothering to put his hair up. Pie stared in confusion for a few seconds before returning to the parlor.
---
A few days passed after that strange incident. Tart refused to go to sleep, but eventually ended up passing out from staying up so long.
Between the problems with Tart and Kish, Pie had become a basket case, and he visited Flan's apartment every chance he got to get away from it all.
Once when they were snuggling on the couch, Pudding happened to walk in, and yelled, "Hey! I thought you liked Lettuce!!!"
Pie felt like a cheater, even though he had never really liked Lettuce. Flan felt caught in the middle, and Pie ended up leaving for the rest of the day.
Then, one morning, Ichigo entered his apartment, a smile on her face. "Good morning, Kish!" When she got no response, she opened her eyes and looked around. The platform where he used to sleep was empty, Pie now sitting on it, fiddling with a wooden counter and jotting down notes. "Um…Kish?!" she glanced around the room, searching for anything that resembled Kish, but the only thing that came close was a fraying emerald-green tapestry. Her heart began pounding in panic. No, it couldn't be true… "Pie!" Ichigo yelled, losing her patience. "Where's Kish?!?! He…He's not…"
Pie at last looked up from his calculations and sighed deeply. "Unfortunately, they admitted him to the hospital yesterday night. I had to bring him…he couldn't breathe."
"Oh no!" Ichigo cried. "He hasn't reached phase three yet, has he?"
Pie stared at her, wondering how she knew about the phases of Shadow Plague. "Um…well, no. I think he's just reached phase two." He took a deep breath. "But that's still too late…" He turned his head back down to the calculations. "Right now Kish had a .05% chance of living. And the chances of me being able to find the cure…10%." He frowned, concentrating on the sheet in front of him. "Not bad odds, really, 1 out of 10…" He looked up again and noticed Ichigo staring at him. "Oh, I'm sorry Your Highness. Please excuse my rambling."
Ichigo shook her head. "No, it's alright." Slowly, after all the experiences she had been having lately, she began to notice something. Pie had a personality. It peeked out every now and then when he let his guard down. Ichigo remembered what Kish had said about Tart hiding behind his own standards and Pie hiding behind his statistics. "You know, you don't have to call me, 'Your Highness' and all that," she spoke up again. "Kish and Tart don't. I may be considered to be the princess of Mercury now, but I'm still Ichigo." She smiled, but Pie gave her kind of a confused look, though it was very subtle.
"But it's required," he insisted. "It's unlawful not to pay your superiors the proper respect…"
"Just act normal!" Ichigo cried. "I know you are normal. I know you're not just a walking, worshipping calculator."
Now Pie's confused look became a little more defined.
"Uh…well, sorry, now I'm rambling," Ichigo said. "I'll see you later." She closed the door behind her as she left.
Pie softly chuckled to himself once he was sure Ichigo was gone. "A worshipping calculator. Wish I had one of those."
---
It was dark, only the soft glow of a nightlight penetrating the blackness. Kish gazed up at the tall tree mural beside his bed, illuminated by the nightlight. In that position, it almost looked like it was on fire.
That feeling started inside him again, as he listened to the deafening drone of the machines next to his bed. It began in the pit of his stomach and traveled through the rest of his body. That awful, dreading coldness that had become so familiar to him. Why was he so afraid of dying? He had died before…but it wasn't truly death. There was still a chance of the Mews back on Earth finding a Mew Aqua and transporting it…or of one of the scientists finding the cure for Shadow Plague. Yes, he had to remain optimistic. It was the only was he could bear this experience. That, and Ichigo.
Ichigo…his heart longed for her…just to see her again. That was all he needed, all he wanted. The panic came again, grabbing his body, holding him down. Now, the need became more desperate. He had to see Ichigo…now! It didn't matter what happened to him on the way, he just needed to see her…before he never would again.
Slowly, Kish slid his legs out of bed, and sat up. Thankfully, he'd gained the ability to breathe again, although he'd been throwing up periodically throughout the day. Since he had seemed a little better, the assistants had taken the needles out of him, and he was thankful for that.
Slowly, and carefully, Kish slipped out of bed, rising up on his wobbly legs. He took a few steps forward, and then the room seemed to lurch forward. Kish reached out for balance and managed to save himself from a painful tumble on his face. A few more steps…and a few more. He was almost to the door now…just a little bit further… His trembling hand slowly reached out, and at last grasped the door handle, flinging the door open.
Kish's spirit rose as he gazed at the darkened hall. He was going to make it…all he needed to do was reach the elevator. The royal chambers weren't that far away… He stepped across the threshold, his bare feet touching the cool, hard stone of the hospital hall. Then, carefully, he made his way across the hall, holding tight to the wall, so whenever he felt wobbly, he would lean against it for support. I can't turn back now, Kish told himself. I have to see Ichigo! Just once more… At last, after much effort and painstakingly slow movements, Kish finally reached the entrance to the hospital.
He turned the handle of the glass door and stumbled into the hallway. It was very dark, but he could still see the glowing numbers on the elevator in front of him. Slowly, he managed to pull himself up and crawl-walk into the elevator. After all this exertion, Kish was starting to feel tired and ill again, but he blocked the feelings out, thinking only about Ichigo. His pain didn't matter, as long as he got to see Ichigo. A few agonizing minutes later, the elevator rumbled to a stop.
Kish shakily got back to his legs. He was somewhere on the royal floor now, although he didn't know where. He stepped out of the elevator, his legs shaking dangerously from the bottom of his hospital gown. Kish forced his eyes forward and spied a door in front of him with a window perched above it. Perhaps, by some miracle…it was her door. This was it…it had to be…he was almost there, he was sure of it. And once he got there…everything would be right again. Then, just as he approached the window, Kish's toothpick legs collapsed. "Aaaugh!" he yelled as he went crashing to the cold, hard floor.
"Kish!" Pie suddenly appeared, as if by magic, running down the hall towards him. He kneeled on the ground to help him.
"Huh?" Ichigo immerged from her room, wearing a frilly nightgown. "What was that noise? It was like someone screaming…" Then she looked down and nearly screamed herself. "Oh my God! Kish!!!"
Pie placed his arms under Kish's and slowly hoisted him up.
Kish's yellow eyes opened and he gazed at Ichigo in wonder and pleasure. "I…chigo…" he said, with a smile. "So I was right. This is your room, huh?" Then, his head slumped to the side, too weak to hold itself up any longer.
"K-Kish…" Ichigo stuttered, her face contorted in concern. "You came all the way down here just to see me? And in your condition?" Kish was unable to answer, although he heard her plain and clear.
"I have to get him back to the hospital," Pie spoke up, seriously.
"I'll come with you," Ichigo hastily decided.
"No," Pie coldly replied. "He needs his rest. You can see him in the morning."
Kish was just faintly aware of what was going on around him. Morning… He'd been so lost in his own emotions, he hadn't realized that there even would be a morning. He felt the slight rumbling again as Pie helped him up the elevator, and then as it stopped and he felt the cold floor slipping under him again. At last, they were back at the hospital.
Kish had expected a big lecture including "what were you doing out of bed?!" and "you could've gotten seriously hurt!", but Pie said nothing as he gently placed him back into his bed. He closed his eyes and felt the warm arms around his body. It struck him seriously for the first time. You've always been here for me, he thought, you've always helped me up, whenever I needed a hand. Just who are you, really? Who is this warm, gentle figure, silently watching over me…? It had only been a little more than a year. At last, as Kish tried to figure this all out in his burning head, he fell into the blackness of the dream world.
---
Morning. It had come after all. Kish thought about all that had happened as he ignored the busybody assistant, scurrying around and inserting the needles again. Then, after she was gone, he lied, staring at the ceiling for an hour or two, grateful for the morning, just to see the bright lights again, and to hear the hustle and bustle of the people in the waiting room.
Just then, a noise, like the song of a bird, flitted to his ear. "Kish…"
He glanced over to see Ichigo, Pie, Tart, Flan, and Pudding all standing in the doorway. "Wow," Kish commented, "The gang's all here. What's the special occasion?"
"Nothing," Ichigo replied, with a smile. "I wanted to come visit, and then Pie said he wanted to come too because he was worried. Flan offered to go with him, and then Tart said he hadn't seen you in a while and was worried too, and of course, Pudding came with him… We had two package deals."
There was a moment of silence before they all rushed up to his bedside.
Tart flung his arms around him again. "Kish, I'm sorry," he said. "I know I've been kind of…ignoring you lately. I didn't really mean to. Are you okay?"
"Are you okay?" Kish asked, changing the subject. "I heard that you were having terrible nightmares and you tried to kill yourself. Yeah, you've got dark spots under your eyes too…"
"I'm fine," Tart told him. "Don't worry about me." He hated to think about those dreams, and what he thought they were…
At last, he released him, and Pudding stepped up next. "Hiya, Kish!" she called, cheerfully. "Ichigo was really freaking out about you last night when she came to see us. She thought since she hadn't been to see you, you were lonely and sad…"
Ichigo sighed. Pudding really didn't know how to keep a secret, did she?
Pudding smiled and continued. "…so I made something for you!" she began searching through a handbag she'd made with extra materials. Flan had made her a little cream-colored Mercurian outfit, complete with ribbons and a veil. She had a brown apron and brown slip-on shoes. The handbag had been made out of the extra brown fabric.
Kish was confused and looked to Tart to find some answers. Tart just rolled his eyes, which to Kish was sign language for 'just go with it.'
"Aha!" Pudding cried, producing a small bottle from the bag. She handed it to Kish. "This is called a 'Pick-up Potion', so whenever you feel sad or afraid, you can just take some of this and instantly feel better! The recipe's been passed down in the Fong family for ages!"
Kish glanced down at the bottle of mysteriously prune-colored liquid and noticed a note tied around its nozzle. In Tart's sloppy handwriting, it read: "bunch of frods." Kish held in his laughter and managed to get out, "Uh…thanks." He shoved the bottle under the bed.
Then, Pie and Flan stepped up as Pudding curtsied and Tart dragged her back.
"Hello, Kish," Flan said, her voice a little hard. "I know we weren't very…friendly at all. I just felt an obligation…"
"Well, I see you didn't forget, so I guess it's made up for," Kish replied. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed her leaning against Pie, and Pie putting an arm around her. "Ah, see I knew it." Kish grinned at Pie. "I knew you had to be in love with someone."
Pie blushed a little bit, and Flan giggled, nudging him. "Well," he said, getting back to his serious self. "Of course, I've been doing research with the others, and I have some uh…reassuring news."
Ichigo gave him a questioning stare. It couldn't be that he'd found the cure because it would be a bit more jubilant.
"Well, at least it's reassuring for you, Kish, but not for anyone else." Pie now had everyone's attention, staring at him in wonder. "…in our research, we generally found that in about two years' time…the top layer will collapse inward…and this whole city will be crushed."
Tart stared at him, eyes wide. "So…that means…we only have two more years to live?"
Pie looked away, riddled with anxiety. "Unfortunately, yes. I've…known about this for a while now. Flan finally convinced me that I needed to inform the rest of you."
Ichigo stared in disbelief. They were all doomed…Pie, Tart, Flan, and all the other citizens of Mercury. Kish was just getting it over with a bit earlier. They were all going to die within two years…and there was nothing she could do about it.
"No!" Pudding cried. She yanked Tart into a hug again. "They're not going to die! We'll take all of them back to Earth with us!"
"Don't be silly, Pudding," Ichigo cried. "Where would we put one million Mercurians? The world is already overpopulated as it is!"
Flan's eyes went wide. "Pyridis," she said.
"What?" Pie asked, looking over at her.
"Oh yeah, that's right!" Tart cried, suddenly jumping up. (Pudding nearly fell over backwards.) "They found Pyridis!"
Pie's eyes bugged out. "What?!?! They found Pyridis?!" He looked over. "Flan, why didn't you tell me???"
"I kind of forgot," Flan replied. "With all that's been going on lately…"
"What's Pyridis?" Ichigo asked.
"It's the ancient city where our kind used to live," Kish spoke up, for the first time in a while. "Before it was destroyed 3 million years ago."
Flan nodded. "They found the ruins. Ryou showed me the TV special about it."
Pie shook himself. "I'm sorry, Kish, but I have to go make the announcement. I'll see you later." Slowly, the others left after him, Flan, and then Tart with Pudding.
That left only Ichigo, standing beside Kish's bed. She pulled up a chair and sat beside him. "Last night…" she began. "I was so worried. I felt guilty for not coming to see you right away."
"It's all right," Kish replied. "I don't think I was thinking straight. It's just the nights…I start thinking when the lights go out." He chuckled a bit. "Guess I need to stop thinking."
A few minutes passed in complete silence. Then Ichigo noticed Kish leaning his head forward, and she read the signs. She lowered her head, and he reached up to plant a kiss on her cheek.
Ichigo giggled. "There, now you're getting back to your old self. When I kissed you that other time, I expected you to be all over me. I was saying to myself "who is this guy and what has he done with Kish?"
Kish laughed. "Well, for a while I just…didn't feel like it anymore. Probably because of what happened."
He reached out, and Ichigo walked into his arms. And then, time seemed to freeze. Ichigo didn't know why, but she felt so comfortable now, in his arms. It was so similar to all the other times, but…something just felt different and felt right. Ichigo reached forward and ran her fingers through Kish's hair. It was still loose, since he hadn't bothered to put the bands back in after pod treatment.
"You know, Kish…" she slowly said. "You're different now. Having this illness is terrible, but somehow it's…changed you."
"We're all changing," Kish mumbled. His eyes were closed as he leaned against Ichigo in total bliss.
A few minutes later, Ichigo glanced over at the clock on the table beside the bed. "Um…Kish?" she said at last. "You can let go now."
He made no motion to release her.
"You can let go now!" Ichigo repeated, a bit louder.
"No…" Kish mumbled to himself. "I won't let go…never let go."
"Kish!" Ichigo cried. "The king's going to be mad at me for being away for too long!"
At last, that seemed to pop him out of his love trance. "Oh! Sorry," he replied, dropping down again and taking his arms from around Ichigo's body.
Ichigo smiled. "I'll see you again, I promise," she said, before heading out the door of his hospital room. As Ichigo walked down the inner halls, she started thinking. She wanted to go back to Earth and help find another Mew Aqua and save them all…but it was too late now. She had to stay here. She had to be here for Kish. And part of her wished they could all come live here, on Mercury, where she was princess, and live a happy life together…
---
As Ichigo made her way down through the halls towards her chambers, she once again passed that familiar hall where Flan and Pie resided. It seemed to be deserted. She stepped up to Pie's door and knocked. No one answered. Even after she knocked three more times, no one came to the door. Finally, Ichigo reached down and tried the doorknob. The door creaked open.
"Hmm, that's weird," she said to herself. The apartment was deserted. Maybe they were all out spreading the news about Pyridis. Well… Ichigo thought, her curious cat genes taking over. While they're away, why don't I do a little investigating…
She crept into the further parts of the room. In all the times she had been in this apartment to visit Kish, she'd never seen anything past the parlor. At last, she caught a glimpse of an odd kitchen in the distance. Then, she entered a bedroom on the side. The bed was another one of those platforms, of course. A few cabinets stood against the wall, along with a chair on one side and a desk next to it. Several brown papers lay scattered on the bed.
Ichigo moved closer to the bed and picked them up, viewing their contents. The scrawlings were illegible and somewhat resembled pictures and numerals of chicken scratch. Stick figures were everywhere; she couldn't escape them…they were closing in on her. She threw the paper in the wastebasket and continued her search.
Now she crossed to the other side of the platform bed. She opened the doors of one of the cabinets. The hard stone-like doors slipped away from her hands. There was something in there… Something she probably shouldn't see. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of white light. Ichigo saw mist all around her, hanging in a cloud around her head. What the heck? She wondered. What is this mist? Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared.
Ichigo blinked. "Now what was that all about?" she wondered aloud. Just then, a noise from the front of the apartment reached her ears. It was the clicking of the door! Ichigo glanced around. She had to get out of here- quick! She glanced around. Where could she go? There were no windows to climb out of…
Tart and Pie's voices drifted from the parlor, soft because they were far away, and Ichigo couldn't make out what they were saying. She moved a little further away towards the door. Perhaps she could slip into the kitchen, and then run for the door if they went into the bedroom…
Just then, she heard a noise that made her stop in her tracks. It was Pie's voice, and he was getting closer because she could hear every word of what he said. "Alright, I'm going to reclaim my bedroom now. You can stay in the parlor."
Ichigo's heart leaped. He was coming into the room! Quickly, she dove behind one of the cabinets that was sticking out more than the rest, as the door began to open.
Pie entered, glancing around a bit and then closing the door behind him.
Oh no! Ichigo thought, now I'm trapped! She figured that after a few minutes, she could sneak out of the room and Pie would never notice.
Then she watched, silently from her hiding place as the oldest Mercurian representatives lied on his bed. He curled his body into a defensive position. Defense…he was always protecting himself, hiding his soul behind a wall of numbers and graphs. The way he always stood there, arms crossed, reflected his intentions of protection. Ichigo remembered her conversation with him when Kish was admitted. He wasn't just a mindless research robot, or a worshipping calculator. Strangely enough, images of Pie hugging, comforting his teammates popped up in Ichigo's mind. She could remember a few instances like this, although not these particular images. Pie was always there for Kish and Tart whenever they had problems…but slowly, she began to realize…what about him? Where could Pie turn to when he needed a hand?
Ichigo ducked a bit behind the cabinet as he removed his sleeves cuffs, and then his upper shirt, and lied back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Ichigo tried to suppress her gasp. Twisting, deep-set scars marred his body, forearms, and torso, and judging from the way he always wore long pants, his legs too. The worst ripped across his chest, a deep gully of a scar.
Ichigo frowned. Pie… she thought, I get it now. You've been hurt so much in the past, you're protecting yourself to prevent further injury. She sighed. My goodness, what could have possibly hurt you this much?
As that thought lingered in her mind, that mysterious cloud of mist wrapped around her head again. No! Ichigo thought. Not now! He'll see me!!! However, she really had nothing to worry about. Now she could see nothing but that strange mist as she disappeared from the world of Mercury…and into a very different one.
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Post-note: As far as I know, Pie has never been officially shown without a shirt and arm cuffs, except for in the picture at the end of volume six, where they're all shown as mer-people, but I don't count that.