Chapter Thirteen

Peace and Distress

A horrendous screech filled the air and nearly deafened Alto. The monster that gripped him was dissolving into miniscule particles as the water overtook them. Alto soon found himself free from the grasp of it as the arm that held him captive disintegrated. Being swept downstream, it was all he could do not to drown. Finally, he spied a ledge and held on to it for dear life. After what seemed like ages, the pressure of the water decreased, and he could barely summon enough strength to climb onto the level rooftop of the building. Once safe, he made the excruciating transformation back to Ryou, and ran down the access stairway on the roof. Only one thought was rushing through his head on the way down, I have to make sure the girls are okay. He didn't know what he would do with himself if one of them had died…if…if Suika had died.

As he ran down the street, he noticed bits and pieces of debris that had been caught in the current. Each piece was big enough and sharp enough to cut a person in half, especially if that person was unconscious. When he approached the last spot where he had left the girls, he saw that it was complete washed away. Here and there he noticed a bright piece of fabric which he recognized as the colors from their battle suits. There was nothing else. Nothing. Ryou began searching frantically for any sign of them-a weapon, a shoeprint…a…a body…but it was all in vain. They're gone he realized, they're all gone. With this thought, he collapsed to his knees and sat there stunned. First his parents were taken from him and now this. He couldn't even cry out his pain-he was in too much shock. After a few seconds, however, it was as if a dam had burst. All his emotions that he had been holding in came streaming out and coursed down his cheeks. For a full five minutes he sat there crying as if his heart had been ripped from his body. Only when his cries of anguish had subsided to shaky sobs did he hear a shuffling sound behind him. He figured it was Keiichiro and Lettuce returning to see the aftermath of the tidal wave and he knew he should compose himself to look decent-but right now, he didn't care how he looked.

"Aww, poor Ryou, are you sad we saved the world? Cause I'd be happy to reverse the effects if that's what you really want." A familiar sarcastic voice said behind him.

What! Ryou thought as he spun around to see Mint emerging from a nearby doorway. She was followed by Zakuro, Pudding, and finally Ichigo and Suika. "What the hell!" He yelled.

All the girls were smiling and looked almost fully recovered. There was still a burn mark here and there and their suits were torn a bit, but they definitely looked 100 better then they had when he left them.

"What's going on here!" He yelled. "Why aren't you all dead!"

"Sorry to disappoint you Ryou," Ichigo said, matching Mint's sarcasm, "But thanks to Suika, we're all feeling fine, thank you."

"You did this?" Ryou asked in awe, turning to Ichigo's cousin. "How?"

The girl smiled shakily. "It was my recorder." She explained, holding up her weapon. "I gathered all the girls into that building over there when I saw the wall of water rushing towards us. When we were all inside, I made sure the door was locked and that no water could get in. Then I found that it was too quiet and it was kind of eerie. So I began to play my recorder, thinking it would make the place a bit cheerier-not that the girls were awake to appreciate it." She said, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, it was a different tune than what had come out of my recorder before, but it was so beautiful that I didn't want to stop playing it. That's when I noticed the girls were starting to stir and their wounds were beginning to heal. I was almost done healing them when we heard you out here." She finished looking deep into his eyes.

Before she knew what was happening and before anyone could react, Ryou had closed the distance between them and had pressed his mouth hard against Suika's. A flash of surprise went through her open eyes, but then she shrugged it off and began to kiss him back. Over Suika's shoulder, Ryou caught a glimpse of the girl's reactions as well as well as Lettuce's and Keiichiro's who had just shown up. They all hand their mouths hanging open, and Ichigo looked like she wasn't pleased with the situation, but she wasn't going to stop it. Ryou caught her rolling her eyes and looking like she was only letting him do this as a favor to her cousin.

"Aww, too bad." Pudding said, hugging Zakuro around the waist. "It looks like he doesn't love Ichigo anymore."

"What!" Ichigo screamed. "What did you say?" She asked Pudding.

"Oh come on Ichigo, you were the only one who didn't know." Mint said, and Keiichiro smirked at her frankness.

"Yeah, well, I only love Masaya." She said, getting huffy.

"That's okay," Ryou whispered, "I only love Suika now." By the way he said it, Suika knew it was true and that she felt the same way.