Strawberries, anyone?
Kish stared idiotically at Lettuce, who continued to weep. Mint lay a few feet away, unconscious. Pudding, who was still in her work clothes, was sobbing wholeheartedly over her pet monkey, while Tart attempted to comfort her with a trick.
Not working.
Zakuro stood at the edge of the ring of destruction. Her face, for the first time since becoming a mew, was filled with emotion.
"Zakuro!" Pie whispered, and flew to her, his face devoid of its normally calm expression. She fell to her knees as his arm moved swiftly to catch her. He eased her gently to a sitting position, and began speaking swiftly and softly to her. She answered with short, choked replies.
Kish glanced to his right. Masaya was sitting alone on one of the few booth seats that were left mostly whole, and staring painfully into the still-bright sunset. Probably hoping he'll go blind, Kish thought.
Suddenly overwhelmed, he crumpled the note, threw it, and dropped a rock on it. He held the bell and ribbon close to his face again, but this time he smelled more than just strawberries. He smelled cat, and also a boy's cologne. Masaya.
Then Kish had a thought. He floated over to Masaya.
"Um…. I know…." Kish began shakily. "Ichigo picked you, champ, and you were the one she wanted, and so…. well, well here." Kish held out his closed fist, the ribbon hung loosely from his hand. Masaya caught the bell as it fell from the alien's unwilling fingers. "I'm willing to bet she'd want you to have it right now."
Masaya smiled gratefully, and then glanced over at poor Ryou, who was nervously patting Lettuce's head as she sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. Keichiro had revived Mint, who had begun to sob the second she had awoken.
Kish flew over above the pile of rubble so that everyone could see and hear him.
"Hey, everybody!" he yelled over the girls' sobbing. "Strawberries, anyone? Let's go get Ichigo back!"
Ichigo looked at her devastated companions. Sobbing and mourning. Through the one-way camera/mike she saw and heard it all. Ryou patting Lettuce's head, Pie rushing toward Zakuro, Kish talking to Masaya. All of it. She wanted call to them, to tell them it'd be okay, to give them encouragement, but she was trapped.
The cold, blue, cell door swung open unceremoniously, and in stepped the bad guy. This person had trapped her, had destroyed the café, and had made her friends miserable. She pushed against the wall with her feet, using the chains on her wrists for balance. She cried indistinguishable curses through the material that bound her mouth shut.
"Now, now," came the cold voice of the Ren-hailan. "No need to make a fuss, just because you didn't like the show. Was it really that bad? I'm sorry. I had hoped you would like it." Tofu untied the cloth from her face.
"You foul, wicked, cruel, evil, loathsome piece of slime! I'm going to destroy you!" She began gathering all of her energy to her palms, but felt it all drain back. She needed her hands free to launch attack on him, which, obviously, they weren't. Tofu just smiled and exited the cell, chuckling like someone who had just thought of a very good joke and was about to tell it to his friends.
Ichigo slid down the wall and leaned her head against the cool metal. This would take some planning. She fell asleep, still trying to come up with a plan. As she began to dream, her collar pendant began to let off a small, pink glow……..
End Chapter 4
Rein: Psst. Want a sneak peek? –winks- Here ya go!
The blue in Mint's collar suddenly glowed brighter. She stopped at the door on the left.
"Ichigo?" she whispered through the tiny window.
"Mint!" came Ichigo's hoarse voice from the other side.
Rein: Look, Kish-kish, I finished chapter four!
Kish: Why is the goody two-shoes in this?
Rein: Because Ichigo loves Masaya, not you. –pouts- And besides, I made you look good. See? –points to part with Kish and Masaya-
Kish: ……. Whatever. Just get Aoyama out of there so Ichigo can fall in love with me.
Rein: Brat.
Kish: ……. Incompetent moron.
Rein: -punches- You meanie! Why don't you go make somebody else cry! Now I'm gonna make Ichigo fall in love with Ryou, and have you die at the hands of the Raw-fish-man.
Kish: You can't do that! This is my story!
Rein: Yes I can! I'm the writer!
