Chapter Nine

A Shred of Light

As they were making their way up the path to the café, Ryou spotted them and they looked so forlorn and weary that he didn't even have the heart to tease Ichigo like he usually did. Pudding and Lettuce were both in tears and Mint winced every time she took a step. Zakuro still had not regained consciousness, and Ichigo looked lost.

"I…I…I didn't know what to do…." She said helplessly, looking into Ryou's azure eyes.

"Shhh." He said, wiping away the tears that had gathered on her eyelashes. "You did the right thing. You looked after the other girls and got them out of there before the situation got any worse."

"But….but….Zakuro…." Ichigo said, but Ryou hushed her.

"She'll be fine." He said. "Keiichiro can look at her and she'll be good as new in no time. I don't know if she'll be able to do any of her work soon, but she will eventually."

"What can I do to help?" Ichigo asked.

"Go see Masaya," Ryou said. Even though the words tore him up inside, he saw a look of happiness dawning on Ichigo's face. "Masaya needs you the most right now. Leave everything else to me and Keiichiro. Oh by the way." He said, removing a small glass vial from the pocket of his white pants. "Slip this liquid into the first thing Masaya has to drink. It's .25 Mew Aqua Keiichiro found left over from before, and a mixture that I concocted that should stop his DNA from scrambling."

"Oh, Ryou!" Ichigo yelled, amazed that through this hardship he was still able to bring some light to the situation. She swung her arms around his neck and hugged him hard. Aware that everyone else's eyes were on him (Except Zakuro's, as she was still unconscious), he patted her shoulder awkwardly and gave her the clear liquid when she released him. "Good luck Ichigo." He said as she ran out the door, "And goodbye." He said under his breath.

If I could write you a song/ with all the right words/ well then would these black clouds begin to burn up the moment you heard/ If I could make you a map/ would you find your way home/you know you can't keep me alive and leave me alone/ tell me I'm yours, tell me your mine/ tell me I'm anything but fine/ tell me a story, tell me the time/ tell me a lie

"What was that all about?" Mint asked, smiling smugly through her pain.

"I just gave Ichigo something to help her." Ryou said quietly and turned to face Keiichiro. "Put Zakuro in the room downstairs and monitor her closely. Her Mew DNA should heal her quickly but keep me informed. Mint, you should go with them hand have your ankle looked at." He said. "Ill be up in my room." And with that, he ascended the stairs and closed the door to his room.

Sitting at his computer, he looked at the footage Masha had instantly sent to him when the demon appeared and tried to figure out the answer to Mew Anzu's riddle. He didn't hear Suika knock a few minutes later, or when she entered. He whirled around when she tapped him on the shoulder and looked amused when he saw who it was." Does anyone in your family ever knock?" He asked, remembering the time when Ichigo entered his room unannounced.

" I did knock." She said simply. "That was a sweet thing you did." Suika continued in a low voice. "I haven't known you a long time," she admitted, "but I saw in your eyes how much you loved my cousin. I'm guessing you didn't like Masaya that much either, so that makes what you did doubly sweet." She concluded, looking into his eyes.

"Ichigo deserves someone safe like him." Ryou admitted, not believing the words even as he spoke them. "It's what's best for her."

Suika let the subject go and looked past Ryou to the computer screen. He followed her gaze and looked back at her.

"How does all this stuff work?" She asked.

He smiled and explained to her in detail which programs did what on his computer and how the components worked together. She sat there patiently listening to what he said, and when she had a basic understanding, she began to suggest answers to the problem that Ryou was trying to solve.

"Do you really want to try to help?" Ryou asked her.

"Well there's not much else I can do, now is there? Not with Ichigo visiting Masaya and two of the Mews out of commission." She said seriously.

Ryou thought about it for a while. He usually worked alone, but he was smart enough not to refuse help if it was offered. "Fine." He nodded and began to reveal his theories to her.

A couple of hours later, Keiichiro knocked at the door and entered. "Zakuro has stabilized and should be up within the hour." He said. "And Mint has made a full recovery as well once her Mew genes kicked in."

"Thanks Keiichiro." Ryou said, giving his friend a grateful smile. Keiichiro smiled back and let himself out of the room .