Wow, chapter 4, I really have a lot of spare time. I am not making Mint the bad guy, and for those of you who guessed the character, you were right. I actually think Mint/Masaya is a cute couple.
I do not own TMM.
Ichigo turned around in shock wondering who the intruder was. But a sign of relief crossed her face once she saw it was only Ryou. "Ryou...what are you sorry for, you didn't do anything," she said, trying to hide her sadness.
"It's ok if you want to cry Ichigo. I'm the only one here and I won't tell anyone," replied Ryou in a soft tone. She then got closer to him and started crying again. "Ryou...the pain...it won't go away," she said through her tears. Ryou pulled her closer and stroked her hair. "It won't go away right away Ichigo; it will take some time," said Ryou while comforting her. Ichigo looked up at him and got lost in his eyes again.
She realized she was staring at him like that and she turned away and become interested in her feet. "And what you said before, I did do something to you...when we were bickering on the...the...what's it called?" said Ryou confused. Ichigo let out a little giggle and said "It's called a Ferris wheel...and I'm sorry for calling you a smart-ass, a jerk, a bastard, and a jackass." Ryou chuckled and shook his head. "Ichigo... What if...what if you liked someone, and they hardly knew you...and they just went through something hard...and well..."
"Are you saying you like me?" asked Ichigo. She had to admit she had grown quite fond of Ryou and liked his company, especially right now. "No...I...I mean I like you as a friend, but...never mind," said Ryou.
"The ball is still going on, you want to go back down...Ichigo?" asked Ryou. But Ichigo had fallen asleep. She was so cute like that he thought. So warm...he bent his head down to kiss her... but then remembered what she had just gone through...and if she woke up at that instant...well, who knows what could happen. So he carried her to her bed, pulled back the covers, put her down, put the covers over her, and said "Good night Ichigo...sweet dreams."
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"What! Another ball already?" said Ichigo confused.
"Yes, I know Ichigo. It was supposed to be a celebration ball but now we'll just have to turn it into a regular ball to find you a husband. I know its really sudden Ichigo, but you need to get married when you are sixteen," explained Zakuro carefully.
"Mother, can't it wait!" She said.
"I'm sorry Ichigo, but this is the way it must be," explained Zakuro. She knew that she might get an earful of this and an argument wouldn't change things but would certainly make them worse. Ichigo sighed a sigh of defeat. She wasn't up for an argument either. "Alright, fine," she said as she left her mother to find Ryou waiting outside the door for her.
"So what did she want?" he asked, trying to sound like he was interested.
"Oh, just another ball, nothing new," said Ichigo like it was no big deal. Ryou just kept his mouth shut and decided to change the subject. "So what is there to do today?" he asked.
"I don't know...do you want to go see a movie or something?" asked Ichigo.
"A movie?" asked Ryou. "What's that?" Ichigo froze when she heard those words. She immediately wanted to start laughing her head off, but that would be rude. Who was the guy; he didn't know what an amusement park, a movie, khaki shorts, or an arcade was. "It's a moving picture on a big screen," she explained. "You want to go see a movie or what?" she asked.
"Alright, sound like fun," said Ryou with excitement. He had learned so much on the surface.
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"Wow, that was unusually boring," said Ichigo. "Looks like Ryou thought it was pretty lame too," she thought. "So do you like it?" she asked.
"Not really, I thought a movie would be more exciting...No, I can't say that; it could get ugly again," thought Ryou. "It was pretty good," he said.
"He's lying, I just know it, just go along with it; don't want it to get ugly again," thought Ichigo. "Yeah, it was ok I guess," she replied back. "Great," thought Ichigo. "Now there is nothing to do."
"Wanna go to the beach?" asked Ryou. It was the only place he really knew. "Oh sure, sounds fun," said Ichigo with a big smile on her face.
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"Isn't this the rock where we met?" asked Ichigo. Ryou was a little to deep in thought to hear her. "I wonder how dad's doing, and the kingdom. I miss that place already. But……maybe I like it here on land better…."
"HELLO? Earth to Ryou!" she shouted, waving her hand in front of his face.
"OH! Sorry! I didn't hear you."
"What were you thinking about? Must've been something important if you couldn't hear me," she said. "Like a wife or girlfriend….."
"Just about my dad. To tell you the truth, he wasn't so happy about me saving you. He said I should've just let your drown. But I'm glad I didn't listen to him."
"Sounds like your dad is pretty rough on you."
"Sometimes he just ticks me off, you know? I mean, he doesn't respect my decisions at all! And he's always too busy. I haven't spent quality time with him in ages. And when we did spend time together, we always started an argument! He's just so stubborn and hard-headed; he doesn't think I can live my life by myself!"
"Well…..hey, what were you doing in the ocean the day you saved me anyway? I mean, I didn't see a boat near-by, and you said Shinara was far away….."
"Our boat! It sunk because my dad got upset and we started a fight and we made a whole in the bottom. My dad probably swam to shore when I went to save you the second time…."
"Nuh uh! You only saved me once!"
"Well, my dad kind of slapped me when I was holding you. I dropped you and…."
"You're a butterfingers."
"Well I couldn't help it! And I have better coordination than you, seeing as I whipped your ass in that dancing game."
"Whatever!" They were silent for a little while until Ichigo glanced at Ryou for a quick second to see what he was doing. His blonde hair flowed in the wind and he looked even more gorgeous with that sunset behind him. "Ryou…." She whispered as her face got closer to his. Their lips were inches apart until they realized what was happening, pulling away from each other before anything even happened.
"Come on; we better head back," Ryou said, getting up. He offered his hand to Ichigo who took it and held it all the way back to the castle.
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"Wow...Ichigo...you look...beautiful..." said Ryou when he saw Ichigo come out of her room for the ball that next evening. "Thanks," she said in reply, looking downward. He offered his arm to walk her down the stairs, and when asked to dance, accepted.
While dancing, she noticed him pulling her closer. Her heart was pounding and a sad look was on her face. Ryou noticed this and loosened his grip. "Are you still upset about Masaya?"
"Yeah, kind of... it's just been really hard on me. I can't get it out of my mind."
"If you ever need someone to talk to about it, or about anything else, I'll be there." Ichigo smiled. "Ryou, you're such a..." she stopped. Something was coming. The ceiling then busted open, almost crushing people. Ichigo and Ryou parted as they tried to avoid the chunk that almost fell on them. Then, a second burst happened; right over Ichigo. Ryou saw it coming and ran toward her, knocking her out of the way, but in the process, trapping his foot under the large piece of ceiling.
"No, it...it can't be...," thought Ichigo in fear. As the dust cleared, Zakuro saw who the perpetrator was. "You...I thought I told you never to return to this kindgdom 6 years ago for trying to force yourself on my daughter. Leave at once!" No one else could see through the dust except Zakuro, and the voice replied back, "Yes, you did, but now, I'm back for revenge."
As the dust cleared, Ichigo knew who it was; it was Kish, Prince of Middle Centarium. Kish disappeared and reappeared next to Ichigo. "I'm back for what I was here for six years ago," he said, taking Ichigo by her chin. "You look prettier now than you did before sweetie," said Kish in a playful yet serious tone.
"Leave her alone!" shouted Ryou, a scowl on his face.
Kish walked over to Ryou and bent down to his position on the ground. "Well look here, another one of Ichigo's boyfriends. Shame on you for cheating, you know it's bad. And it doesn't matter if you like Ichigo anyway," he said, grabbing her by the waist and putting her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Ichigo immediately starting hitting and kicking and struggling, but it wouldn't stop Kish. "Well good-bye Zakuro, next time you see me, we'll be related," Kish said flying upward and he disappeared.
Some servants came to free Ryou's foot, and once free, Ryou tried running but collapsed. He got back up and moved in a fast-walk outside. Once outside, he couldn't see anything of the strange person or Ichigo. "Damnit!" he cursed. "I have to go after her!"
"It's not going to be any use; no one has a clue of where Kish has been living for six years," said a voice behind him. Ryou turned around and saw Zakuro walking toward him. She looked down and said "You're foot?" Ryou's face was twisted with pain, but he still tried to smile. "Its ok, I'm fine...who was that?" asked Ryou.
"That was Kish, he's was Ichigo's friend when she was younger...but then...he tried to..."
Flashback
A 10-year-old Ichigo was walking down the hall. She had to decide who she wanted to marry; Kish or Masaya. She was wondering why she had to be worrying about that now; she was only 10 for crying out loud. But some stupid law said she had to choose her husband before the age of 11, and she would be wed when she was 16.
After walking to her mother's room, she knocked on the door and heard a voice that told her to come in. Once Zakuro saw her, a smile reached her face. By the look on Ichigo's face, she had decided. "Mother...I like Kish and all...but...I...I choose Masaya," she finally managed to get out. Unknown to Ichigo, Kish was standing outside the door, listening, and he wasn't too happy about this.
End Flashback
"He tried to force himself onto Ichigo...and we were lucky to have Mint deliver towels to Ichigo's room, otherwise, it would have been too late. Mint was a servant back then, but she became my personal advisor once this happened because I thought it was the best way to repay her," she said, tears now streaking down her face. "And now this time, it will happen, because there is nothing I can do."
Ryou was now more determined than ever to get Ichigo back. "Don't worry Zakuro' I will make sure that Ichigo comes back. I'm going to go get her," he replied. He needed to get to work right away and limped off.
The next day...
He woke up pretty late, being up all night. He still hadn't figured out how to get Ichigo back, but he would do all her could and maybe even more if he could manage. People were cleaning up and repairing the ceiling from last nights incident. RYou decided to go down and investigate: maybe Kish left something behind that would get him even a little closer. But he found nothing. The only odd thing he noticed was that when helping clean up, the members of the band were acting pretty strange.
Another day passed and still nothing. So he decided to find a little bit more about Kish. After asking a couple people, he came up with jack squat. Maybe there was something he was forgetting. "That's right! Under the sea, we learned that humans have the same internet access as we do," thought Ryou. Maybe that would help him. After sneaking past some people, he got to the site that had information on everyone supposedly living or who had lived on Earth. After searching Kish, only one came up. He looked at the profile. Not much was said, but it did say...
Kish: Male
Race: Alien
Parents: Unknown, supposedly deceased
Sibling: five; three sisters; two brothers
Sisters: names unknown
Brothers: Pai, Tart
Heritage: Born of a human mother and an alien father, he is 1/3 in his family consisting of his siblings that are aliens. His sisters, whose names are unknown, were two half-alien, half human and his other sister was a pure human. His brothers, Pai and Tart are supposedly still living, and are aliens.
That was it. He decided to try clicking on Tart and Pai's profile. There profiles were most like Kish, and all three had a picture. The two pictures looked familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He exited and went to dinner, spending the rest of his time thinking in his room.
When going down to dinner, the private band was there are well, including Tasuke, Akito, and Lettuce. Akito and Tasuke looked awfully familiar, and a couple times they shot glares at Ryou. Ryou's memory started putting the pieces together, and it wasn't long before he remembered where he had seen them before.
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"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Tasuke, walking into the deserted room.
"I'm sure of it, that's where Mint told us to go," replied Akito. Just then the door shut mysteriously. They turned around and tried to open it, but it was locked. "So, you know the whereabouts of the Princess and Kish, don't you?" a voices said from the darkness.
"We have absolutely no idea what you are talking about," Akito said coldly.
"Yeah, I mean, why would we know where our brother…"
"Oh, so you're Kish's brother, eh? Funny, because the internet tells me that Kish only had two brothers and their names were Pai……and Tart."
"Did I say brothers……..i mean, we have no clue where that bother is.. Kish is such a bother for stealing the Princess, and….."
"Face it Tasuke, I found you both out. Six years ago, when your brother disappeared, you went into hiding. And then three years later, you returned, hiding your real identities. But Zakuro caught you, and you asked her if you could stay in this castle under the alias Tasuke and Akito. Your real names are Pai and Tart and you are the two living brothers of Kish!"
Pai just chuckled. "Very good. Yes, my name is Pai and I have been living under the alias Akito for three years. So tell me, who are you?" Ryou, stepped into a bit of light; enough for the two to see who he really was. "It's that blonde guy who's been hanging out with the Princess!" Tart shouted.
"I bet you two know where your brother, Kish is, huh?" said Ryou, his anger rising.
"Maybe we do, and maybe we don't," said Tart, sticking his tongue out.
"Tell me where Kish is and maybe I won't have to hurt you both!" Ryou said.
"Why would we tell you anyway? We have a right to remain silent, so we don't have to tell you anything," Tart shot back. Pai just stood there, watching his brother and this stranger fight. He knew what Kish was doing was wrong, and he had to put a stop to it. Besides if anyone found out the secret he was keeping, he would most likely be thrown out of the catle.
"He's...he's in our human mother's old mansion. It is deserted so only Kish lives there," said Pai, admitting defeat. Tart was shocked. "Why did you tell him you...you traitor!" he yelled.
"Look, if Zakuro found out we knew, she would kick us out of here, including Lettuce. She loves it here...and it would be our fault to get her thrown out with us," Pai said. Tart smirked and replied "You're in love with the girl, aren't you?" Pai didn't show any change of mood, and while walking away replied "Maybe I am, and maybe I'm not."
The paragraph/summary of the next chapter.
"So Ichigo, this leads to my one proposal; marry me or else, I'll kill your precious mother."
Ichigo was speechless, and she had no other choice. "A...alright...I'll marry you," she choked out. "Ichigo our wedding is tomorrow at midnight," said Kish with a smile and he left Ichigo who cried herself to sleep.
Yes, the next chapter is a little short. Well, hope you enjoyed read and review, over and out. -Nibzo
