AN: YES! FINALLY! MY FAVORITE CHAPPY IS UP! I loved writing this chapter mainly because of all of the extremely sweet moments, (The Fluffa, I did tweak the RPG order, though) and because of all the humor. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! Keep them rolling in!
Chapter Five: Forbidden Love
"What do you mean, Akiyo-san?" Ichigo asked her kindly, hoping she wasn't too touchy on the subject, "Please… talk to me."
"H-hai…" Akiyo replied quietly, and took a deep breath before explaining the story.
: Flashback :
"Kisshu-dono, why must you leave me?" Akiyo said to the boy sadly, her hand rested tenderly on his chest.
Both of them were standing on a hill they liked to called Angel's Peak; watching the sun drop beautifully onto the horizon. They had first met here, and were friends from the very first breath they took; ten months ago today. It was getting darker by the second, and the headlights behind them from Kisshu's car were lingering; waiting. But she didn't want the moment to end; she needed him with her as long as possible. She loved him.
Everything about Kisshu amazed her. The way he looked at her with his deep golden eyes with happiness and love, his short emerald hair, and most importantly… his smile. The smile he had around her was dark and yet cheerful; always made her wonder what was exactly on his mind. He was tall, but just a few inches above her; and he too had the fare and white colored skin she had always admired. The thing she loved about him most, beside his smile, was that he was normal. He never changed around her. He was always Kisshu around her; no one else. Just him.
"Sumimasen, Akiyo-san," he said to her sadly; the saddest expression on his face, " I do not want to leave you here. You are my best friend, ne?"
She distanced her eyes to the lake in front of Angel's Peak; the sunset reflecting on it's calm; shining waters. She didn't look at him; she couldn't bear seeing him sad; it hurt her. She tried getting the sadness out of his eyes as she rested her head on his shoulder. She was surprised by his reaction; an arm wrapped around her.
"You're the only friend I have…" She said to him as tears came to her eyes, " I don't want to loose you…"
" I have to go back to Japan, Akiyo-san… you must understand," he said kindly to her; trying not to pain her more, "I with I could take you there… its such a beautiful place."
" I'll visit you, Kisshu. I promise," she said to him dreamily, "I wont let you leave me for long."
" Good… I don't know what I would do if I lost you." He replied.
The words made her cry with happiness; but she didn't want to show it, so she changed the subject.
"So, what business do you have there without me?" she mused.
He shifted his position a little uncomfortably, " Well.. uhm… there's this girl… she's just so beautiful and smart. I love every expression she makes… happiness… pain… sadness… she's just too wonderful. I'd do anything for her."
Then he realized the words that came out of his mouth; and immediately wanted to take them back. He, too, loved Akiyo, and he knew that those words would hurt her. He never wanted to tell her exactly how he felt, because he knew that this day would come, and if they had gotten closer, it would be much harder for him to walk away from her. He noticed she was quiet; and that's never been a good thing for her.
" So desu ka…" she said, stepping back away from him; though she dreamed of being closer.
"Sumimasen, Akiyo." He said quickly; he didn't have the nerve to tell her how much he loved her now; it would murder the trust.
" Don't apologize…" She said to him, "It's not like we had anything together anyway…"
He looked at her oddly, and touched her face with his fingertips, " I did apologize, and I wont take it back."
She took his hand off of her face and held it, "So… this is goodbye?"
He nodded slowly, "Sayonara…"
" Sayona-"
The moment struck her; she felt it: the flare. She kept her eyes closed even after it, though she smiled in disbelief.
He kissed her.
"-ra" she finished after a while, and when she opened her eyes…
He was gone.
: Flashback over :
"…And that's… what happened." Akiyo explained.
Everyone around was speechless.
"Kawaii, ne!" Purin said loudly.
Minto giggled, " Wow… so lucky…"
Retasu sighed, "Such a sad ending…"
Zakuro actually smiled…
… and Ichigo sat starry-eyed.
"Hello!" Shirogane yelled, "We're missing the point here! We're talking about our arch enemy; not a soap opera!"
Ichigo sighed, "Hai, Shirogane…"
" So, does that sound anything like your Kisshu?" Akiyo asked sadly, "Anything at all?"
" You say that your Kisshu was normal, right? Human?" she said oddly.
Akiyo nodded.
" If we're talking about the same Kisshu," Ichigo said, "There's no way its him."
"Why not?" Akiyo asked kindly.
" Well… he doesn't really look human." Ichigo explained.
" His ears are as big as your feet!" Purin yelled, " They're huge and pointy!"
" My feet are pointy?" Akiyo asked.
"No... Where'd you get that idea?" Purin asked.
Akiyo sighed, rubbing her forehead while the others giggled.
" And, another thing…" Ichigo said, "If your Kisshu is the Kisshu that's been in Japan…" she said nervously, "Then I'm that girl he was talking about."
Akiyo looked at her; her eyes unloving, "So the Kisshu here loves you, and my Kisshu might be that person."
" Nya?" she said nervously, "H-hai…"
" Someone's gonna blow a fuse…" Minto whispered.
" So desu ka." She said coldly, " I don't care about who Kisshu loves, and who he doesn't. All I care about is where he is, and where Masaya-onii-san is. So, until I find both of them… we'll settle both of those problems later." She finished.
" Alright…" Ichigo replied, "But tell me more. There is more to the story, ne? Explain everything. How long ago that was, when you got here and why."
Akiyo was still glaring, " I moved here about two weeks after Kisshu left. And in three weeks, my entire life was at end. My little brother, Keitano-san, was kidnapped and killed three days before Kisshu left, and my parents were miraculously thrown off of a cliff in their car on my birthday while trying to pick me up from Angel's Peak four nights after my one and only friend left me. I was stuck there for about a week alone; wondering why I was here and Kisshu and my family wasn't, and then Masaya-onii-san called me up and told me I could live with him; and now I'm here finding out I have from superpower to turn into a fluffy-fire-fox!" she yelled, and then took a few deep breaths afterwards, leaving everyone in shock, "Sumimasen… I didn't.. mean to yell… I just can't deal with all of this at once. Its too much…"
" I think you guys need to go and get some rest," Shirogane said after the long moment of silence, "Minto, Retasu, Purin, and Zakuro… go home. I'll deal with these two now."
They nodded, and in moments they, too, were gone.
" Listen, Akiyo-san," Ryou said, patting her on the back kindly, "I know this passed month has been really hard for you, but it'll all clear up soon. Everything happens for a reason, ne? You'll go through training, and fit in with the Mews. You'll find Aoyama-san and your Kisshu. I promise you."
" How can I trust your word?" she asked him sadly.
" If you don't trust his word," Ichigo said, "Then trust mine."
She nodded, "I believe you then, Shirogane."
He smiled and then turned to Ichigo, "Now, you can leave."
"And what about Akiyo-san?" Ichigo said, "No way I'm letting you keep her in your room!"
Akiyo looked at Ichigo oddly, "Why? Is he a stalker or something?"
" You could say that…" Ichigo said.
Akiyo smiled and ran up the stairs, "All I have to do is lock the door!"
" Akiyo-san! Don't lock that door!" Ryou said, and then got his own door slammed in his face, "You don't know what type of information is behind those doors!"
She pushed herself on the door and locked it, "Goodnight, Shirogane." She said to him kindly.
He sighed, " Sweet Dreams." He said with sarcasm.
She smiled and listened to his footsteps leave the doorway, and pulled down the covers to his bed, laying down in them slowly, "Wow… his room is so empty…" she thought aloud.
She looked around the room and saw nothing but a window, and a desk with a computer on top of it, along with a small chair in front of it; near the window. It was completely bare. No colors. No posters. No wallpaper. No nothing.
"Man," She said, "Shirogane-san needs a serious personality change." She then got up out of bed, curiosity running throughout her veins.
"You don't know what type of information is behind those doors!"
" I wonder…" she said, walking over to the computer.
She sat down in the small chair, rolling around the room while the computer was booting up. Finally, she saw that the computer was loaded, and she was face to face with probably the most powerful desktop on the face of the planet… and yet… she looked closer. You would have thought that a boy genius like Dr. Ryou Shirogane would have a normal background on his computer… but there it was.
A picture of Ichigo.
She smiled and immediately got the hint; and began to search his files onto the computer. Inside there were four folders under "My Documents". And they were: Research for Project Mew, Café Layout plans, The Mew Files, and… Ichigo.
She couldn't help but laugh; boy she was sneaky.
She opened it and there was only one file labeled: My Neko. It was a normal word document, so she was expecting some type of obsessive love poems, or plans to make her his… but it was nothing but a picture and three sentences. The title of it was, "The Perfect Gift." She scrolled down and saw the gift, giggling in sheer bliss of the breathtaking item. Below it was the sentences, "230. Deadline: 71805."
Clearly, it was some type of code.
She smiled, though, for she was clever. She thought, obviously, that the first three numbers- sentence actually- was the price. And the second sentence was clearly a date. July 18th of this year.
She smiled.
It was tomorrow.
Akiyo opened her eyes the next morning, and she smiled. She sat up, planning to go tell Shirogane that she knew, and found herself looking at an unlocked door. On the door was a small note, "Hope you slept well. R."
She smiled, "You have no idea…" she said to herself, the image of Ichigo's gift in her mind.
She ran downstairs to go and thank Ryou for the note, and for braking into his own room (proving he truly was a stalker after all). There she came face to face with Keiichiro, from which she smiled and looked at him politely.
" I see that you got Shirogane-san's note," He said to her kindly, "If your looking for him, he's already gone. He went to go see Ichigo. Wake her up, or something…"
" So desu ka…" she said smiling, and mentally she knew EXACTLY what he was doing.
" Wait awhile for him to come back. Plus, I need your measurements for your café uniform," he said softly, "Come down to the lab and I'll measure you."
" 'Kay." She said, and then walked down with him to the lab, blushing.
(Ryou's POV)
There I was, standing like a complete idiot in her lawn. I didn't know what to do, but I had a slight idea how I was supposed to give her this. I figured I would get Masha to wake her up, ring the doorbell, leave it and the note on the doorstep, and dart away. Hopefully it would work…
"Masha, I need another favor. But it's secret." He whispered.
"Secret favor, tweet!" the little robot said kindly, "Masha will do."
" I need you to go and wake Ichigo. But don't tell her I sent you, alright? Just tell her… that she was needed in the café a few hours ago," Ryou said, feeling his heart beat in his throat, " Hurry."
" Masha will do!" he said, and then hurried up to Ichigo's open window, where Ryou heard him follow the orders.
"Masha, nya!" he heard Ichigo say, "What is it?"
" You need to be at café! Late Ichigo!" Masha tweeted.
Ryou smiled, and walked coolly up to the front door, where he set the note and the small gift. The rang the doorbell, and darted away behind the wall, where he would watch her reaction.
(Normal POV)
"What? Two hours?" she yelled, and darted down the stairs.
Ding dong.
"Nani?" Ichigo said to herself oddly, and walked slowly down to the door where she saw no one standing there.
She looked around and found a small note on the welcome mat, followed by a small, white box covered with a pink ribbon. She bent down and picked both of them up, reading the note first: I'm Sorry. RS. She looked at the note as if it were in a foreign language, and then turned her gaze to the small white box. She untied the pink ribbon and then took it off slowly, and then she took off the lid to the box.
A gasp escaped from her lungs.
There, inside the small box, was a diamond necklace. It was as if it were a chocker, though the part around her neck was made completely out of diamonds. In the center was the head of a neko, a rare and shining sapphire. The neko was winking its topaz eyes, the collar around its neck said, "Mai Neko".
"Sh-Shirogane…" she said in awe, taking off Masaya's necklace, and then put it on.
" Ryou like Ichigo! Ryou like Ichigo!" Masha taunted, and secretly watched his owner dart off to the café.
" You… don't think he does… do you?" Ichigo said aloud.
"Do you?"
Ichigo walked into the café, fingering at the gift around her neck. She then saw that Akiyo was in the main café room, waiting patiently on the couch. She smiled at her and walked over to Ichigo, where she struck up a conversation.
"So, what brings you here?" Akiyo asked dumbly -not noticing the necklace, "I mean… to the café."
"I wanted to see Shirogane-sama…" she said, "I want to talk to him."
Akiyo looked at her with a smile, "Reaaally?" she said in a taunting voice.
Ichigo raised a confused eyebrow, "Really." She said in a deadpan voice.
" Oh, well, he went downstairs because Keiichiro called him so they could "discuss" something…" she said oddly, "I've been waiting here for a few minutes."
"Gir…ls…" Keiichiro said oddly, almost completely out of breath from running up the stairs, "I… got… news…" he said between breaths.
" Take a breather!" Akiyo said.
" No… time…." He said, resting his hands on his knees, "… Aoyama… san…. In… park!" he mumbled out.
"WHAT?" Ichigo and Akiyo screamed, and then began to ran out the door.
AN: Don't you just love my cliff hangers -? Anyway, R&R! oh, and another wonderful chapter is coming up next- my second favorite: Return of the Emerald Prince. Have fun waiting P!