Fire and Ice
I know I said that I wanted so many reviews asking for this fic before I posted it, but since I am going on vacation for a week and won't be able to write my other fiction; I am posting this fic as a gesture of apology to my loyal reviewers...(I was only one vote away anyhow...) Here is Kachie's long going, still unfinished birthday present!
Disclaimer: This goes for the entire fic...I don't own anything except for the idea, and my two original characters: Hekele and Kachie...
"Shirogane-san! Why do I have to work today? You gave Lettuce, Pudding, and Zakuro the day off!" Ichigo yelled. Ryou just rolled his eyes at her.
"Baka strawberry...you have Mint to help you, it's no big deal...plus, we don't have that many customers today," he reasoned, retreating to the kitchen to check on Keichiro. Ichigo growled.
"We don't have many customers because it's SUNDAY! And Mint doesn't do anything while she's here anyway and you know it!" she yelled, frustrated with the blond boy. Mint, who was having her third cup of afternoon tea, smiled coyly and closed her eyes.
"Ichigo-san, your tables are complaining again...why don't you quit yelling and wait on them? Oh, and I took my afternoon tea late...could you cover for me for a few more minutes?" she asked, though Ichigo knew that she didn't have much of a choice.
This was going to be a long day...and Ichigo's shift had barely begun.
Ryou sighed as he whirled around in his chair for what seemed like the thousandth time. Masaya had come to walk Ichigo home again, just as he had done for the past two weeks, and Ryou was mildly annoyed. He was more than aware of Masaya's feelings for her, and knew that he was in no position to try to steal her heart from him, but that didn't stop Ryou Shirogane's heart from breaking every time he saw the boy with the baka strawberry.
"But I can't have her...she's already made that apparent...so why can't I just get over it?" he asked himself.
"Trying to make yourself dizzy Shirogane-san? You look like you're trying to set some kind of record..." Keichiro said as he descended the stairs to their base of operations underneath the café. Ryou sighed.
"Something like that I suppose..." he said. Keichiro sat on the table next to him and eyed him carefully.
"Are you feeling all right Shirogane-san? It's been a while since I've seen you so pre-occupied..." he questioned.
Ryou nodded, "Yeah...I'm fine...I think I'm going to go through my dad's journal...something to do..." Keichiro rolled his eyes.
"Haven't you been through that thing a hundred times already?" he asked. Ryou shook his head as he rolled over to a book shelf and grabbed the dusty object.
"I've spent these past few years looking in his scientific notes and memoirs so that we could finish and perfect the Mew Project...I haven't been into his journal once..." he said, standing up and walking up the stairs that Keichiro had taken. He then made his way up another set of stairs to his living quarters. Keichiro sighed when he heard Ryou closed the basement door.
"He's been thinking of Ichigo-san again...he thinks that I don't know how much he cares about her...but I do...I only hope that he can accept the fact that she's taken...and then move on. But I do understand the dilemma of a first love...it'll take him time..." he mused to himself. After a moment he shook his head, muttering to himself.
"I need to get back onto the dating scene..."
Ryou flipped through the pages of his father's journals sadly. He could still remember the fire at the mansion that had consumed everything he had cared about, including his parents. Keichiro had driven him home from school, and they could see the pillar of smoke almost a mile away.
He was sixteen now, and Keichiro in his mid-twenties. It must have been odd having your personal assistant, and greatest confidant, so close in age to your own son. Keichiro had only been about eighteen while he worked for Ryou's father...
Ryou turned the page again; he was enjoying the memories that the little book was providing him. Summers at the beach, bed-time stories when he was really young...it was all in there. Ryou sighed. He wanted more than anything to get those memories back again.
He flipped a good section of the book and found a date that interested him. It was a week before the fire, and his father's writing seemed a bit jagged, and hurried.
"...Everything that lives in legends has lived on Earth...though they may have disappeared for a time...they shall return. The phoenix and dragon are the ones that seem to captivate my interest the most, for some reason. Perhaps it is because there are supposed sightings of them...even in our disbelieving time.
Just a good seven years or so ago, there was a massive explosion in the north which nothing could have survived, and yet in the middle of all the destruction, there was an infant girl, crawling out of the ashes. This happened at a school after hours, so only a janitor and a teacher were there...along with a teenage girl. All were killed. The baby was never claimed, and none in the building had had a young child, let alone an infant. When the infant's DNA was tested as a last resort to find her family, it was found that she held the EXACT same DNA as the teenage girl in the explosion.
There is only one phoenix in existence...it has no mate. When it dies, there is said to be a massive explosion, from which it is reborn anew. After careful back-round checking, it was found that the teenage girl had been losing a battle with leukemia, and had gone to the school to gather homework due to the fact that the next day she would be going to a hospital in Kyoto for treatment. Her 'parents' say that she had been at death's door many a time in her struggle, and it would not have surprised them if she had in fact keeled over and died on her trip to the school. But she had wanted to prove that she could do it... It is for this reason that I suspect her to be the phoenix...
The dragon...is a beautiful creature. Aside from the phoenix, I am certain that it has no equal. In China, it is said that dragons are gods that have come to Earth...such as Chac...a reining dragon in northern China. It is also said that these dragons have the ability to turn into humans, for disguise purposes. I would not doubt this ability in such a magical creature, and perhaps this power also explains my theory of the girl/infant being the phoenix.
Just this past year, there was said to be a girl in China...about Ryou's age, who was picked on at boarding school. Finally, it is said that the girl got fed up with everything and screamed. The air around her turned bitterly cold and everything within a ten foot radius of the girl was frozen solid. After the alleged incident, the girl was never seen again. Her parents had come to take her home the next day...but when I dug deeper into the story, I found that her parents had both been dead for a good year or so.
I often wonder what became of those two girls, and I think that I'll go back and try to dig up some more information. I ought to be able to get into the government files by hacking...there should be information there..."
Ryou sat there, astounded. He had never suspected his father of believing in such things. And yet, he could see the probability of such things being true with that information. After all, though the Mew Project was solely based on science, magic was evident in everything he saw them do. It was as if they just needed a little push...
Ryou read the next entry. It went on to explain how there were government files on the girls confirming his theories. Apparently, the government had heard the tale of the girl in China and had sent some agents to claim her. And the infant had already been with them for seven yearsThere were files on them pages long, and they were continuously poked and prodded and even more data was added every day. Though Ryou's father was a scientist himself, he was enraged that they were doing this to mere children. It went on to read that Ryou's father wanted to rescue them, and perhaps if they wanted, include them in the Mew Project...when they were much older. It went on to explain in an almost affectionate manner how he had spoken to Ryou's mother about his findings and how she hadn't even thought before saying that she'd love to take the girls in when he rescued them.
The next entry had Ryou's head spinning. His father had gone on a recon mission to check out the base in which the girls were held. He had made it inside and after altering the cameras he had actually been able to see the girls. No one else was in the room, so he had come out of hiding and approached them. They were in these pod-like tubes with liquid in it... This was where they were kept...for about twenty hours for each day. He had introduced himself to the girls, who were awake and quite confused at the unusual face, and had let them in on his secret to free them. Ryou's father then spent a good two or three lines describing how happy they seemed, and how, despite the fact that they were wearing breathing masks, he could still see them smiling. Ryou's father also described how difficult it was to leave them there, and how he had somehow become attached to them in such a brief few moments.
Ryou flipped the page, wanting to get to the next entry, but found it, and the rest of the journal blank. He went back to the last entry to check the date.
It was the day before the fire...
"Keichiro! Wake UP! Keichiro! I know you can hear me! Open the damn door!" Ryou shouted as he banged on Keichiro's bedroom door. After a minute or so, a very groggy Keichiro opened the door.
"Shirogane-san...it is three o'clock in the morning...what are you doing awake and pounding on my door?" he asked. Ryou pushed past him and handed him the journal.
"Read the last three entries...don't look at me like that, just do it!" he snapped when Keichiro gave him an annoyed frown.
Keichiro decided to humor him and began reading. Ryou smirked in satisfaction as Keichiro's eyes slowly widened at the information that he was absorbing. When he got to the end, he was about to turn the page when Ryou stopped him.
"The next day was the fire...he never saved them..." he said. Keichiro looked at the journal dumbly, which Ryou found mildly amusing since Keichiro was the brightest person he knew.
"He never told me about any of this...he did seem distracted those last few days...now I know why..." he said slowly, trying to make sense of it.
Ryou sighed, "He probably didn't want you to get in trouble if he got caught..." he paused before speaking further, "They're still there Keichiro...being treated like science experiments...animals in cages...no one deserves that..."
Keichiro sighed, "You don't have to butter me up with the sappy talk, we're gonna save them. We'll get the Mew Mews to help...they won't object to being woken up at this hour for something so important..."
Ryou would have hugged Keichiro if he hadn't had his reputation to protect, "No...but their parents aren't just going to let them out of the house at this hour to go to work..."
Keichiro gave Ryou one of his rare, rather frightening, evil grins, "Leave that to me..."
"Oh my god! I can't believe there's been a break in! I hope Shirogane-san and Keichiro-san are all right! What if one of them's hurt? What if they got shot! Omigod! They're gonna die!" Ichigo panicked as she ran down the street towards the park. Lettuce had met up with her about a block back and was trying to clam her down.
"Ichigo, if they were going to die, then they wouldn't have been the ones to call. Keichiro-san sounded to be all right on the phone...perhaps they just want some help cleaning the place up or something...?" she tried. Ichigo was only mildly calmed
Pudding ran up after spotting the two, trying to catch up, "Wait for Pudding na no da! Pudding is worried too na no da!" Ichigo and Lettuce slowed their pace a bit so the young girl could catch up to them. She took a deep breath and then began talking again as they ran.
"Pudding almost wasn't able to get out of the shelter na no da...But since Pudding's bosses had a break in, they had to let Pudding go to help na no da!" she said.
They rounded a corner in the park and found themselves face to face with the café. They stopped running when they got to the entrance.
"Wait a minute...where's the broken door...or window...and the lights are all off...except the basement ones...RYOU SHIROGANE! THAT WAS A HORRIBLE TRICK AND I'M GONNA KICK YOUR BUTT FOR IT!" Ichigo yelled as she stomped into the café, followed by her two companions. This was a Mew Mew thing...she knew it now...and she was pissed.
"Ichigo-san...I'm sure they had a good reason for waking us up..." Lettuce tried. Ichigo glared straight ahead as she made her way down the stairs.
"Yes, I agree that they probably had a good reason for waking us up...but for scaring the living day lights out of us!" she yelled that last part, knowing the boys below would hear her.
"Shut up baka strawberry...we've got work to do..."
Ryou took a deep breath as they reached the base. The group, now joined by Mint and Zakuro, crouched in the bushes, awaiting instructions. Ichigo, sensing Ryou's apprehension, touched his shoulder in comfort.
"We won't get caught Shirogane-san...I'm sure of it...and if they try to stop us from freeing them, we'll kick their butts and get out anyway...ok?" she said. Ryou gave her a slight nod and turned to the rest of the group.
"We'll need to split up...though I really don't think it's the safest thing. We'll need a couple of people to get in and take out the guards...silently...and then let the rest of us in. From there, we can probably stick together until we find them...so, who's going in first?" he asked. The group looked around for a moment before anyone spoke.
"I guess I'll go, but I'll need at least one person to go with me," Zakuro said nonchalantly.
Ichigo sighed slightly, "I'll go too then...wish us luck!" After a second of scanning the area, they leapt from the bushes and disappeared into the shadows.
The group in the bushes waited for a moment before heading out themselves. They too stuck to the shadows as they made their way to the entrance of the base.
After waiting for five minutes, the doors opened silently, revealing at least ten guards, completely knocked out. Zakuro and Ichigo just shrugged at the questioning stares of their comrades and turned to the door.
"Coming?"
Once inside the base, they kept as quiet as they could, and went in at least one circle before they could figure out where they were in relation to the girls. After a few more minutes, they found themselves outside the door.
Zakuro took a key card she had taken from one of the guards and swiped it through the slot. The door opened, and thankfully, no one was in the room. The group piled in and Keichiro went to work on the camera. Ryou and the Mews looked around and found the pod-like tubes. No one could deny that the creatures inside them were beautiful.
One girl had black hair with silver streaks coming out everywhere. Her eyes opened to reveal brown orbs with silver speckles. They widened in surprise at the people in the room. She didn't recognize them, and she was frightened by the fact. She wore only a light blue cami and shorts set. Her arms were suspended above her, holding her in place.
The other girl had blond hair with red flames that went about mid-way to her shoulders. She wore an outfit exactly like the other girl, but her's was a red color. She opened her eyes as well, revealing sapphire blue eyes with red speckles mixed in. She too appeared apprehensive and frightened.
Ryou was the first to speak and, knowing their fear, tried his best to smile in a comforting manner, "Uhh...hello. I'm Ryou Shirogane...the guy by the camera is Keichiro, and these fine animal-like ladies are the Mew Mews...we're here to get you two out..." At the mention of his last name, Shirogane, the two girls' expressions seemed to calm some. They remembered that name...
"All done, we are now invisible to anyone looking at the security video..." Keichiro said as he too approached the two tanks. Ryou gave him a slight nod and proceeded to the master computer.
"Don't worry...we'll have you two out in a few minutes..." he paused, looking at all the buttons. He didn't have a clue as to where to start. He heard a noise coming from one of the tanks and saw that one of the girls, the blond one, was trying to attract his attention. She nodded to a section of the computer and he quickly went to it. There were two sets of controls, and they were identical.
"One for each of you?" Keichiro asked, understanding as he too made his way over to the computer. Both girls nodded at him in unison. Ryou pointed to a button, and looked at them. They shook their heads. Now having means of communication, he proceeded to do the same for the other buttons until they nodded instead. He and Keichiro pushed the identical buttons on either side of the computer, draining the fluid from the tanks. The girls now hung there limply. They nodded again and Ryou began motioning to buttons once more. After a moment, they nodded when he motioned to a small green button. He and Keichiro pressed them and the tanks rose into the air on a cable, but the girls still hung in place. Ryou looked up at them quizzically.
"Now...how do we get you down?" he asked. Ichigo and Lettuce walked over to the computer and ushered the boys towards the tanks.
"We'll push the buttons, you two get ready to catch them if they fall..." Lettuce said, taking charge for the first time. Ichigo gave her an approving nod as they stood before the master computer, ready to push away.
Ryou and Keichiro got into position beneath the girls and Ichigo began motioning to buttons. Within a few seconds, the girls nodded once more and they simultaneous pressed the buttons. The metal bindings that held them in place opened and the two dropped.
Keichiro grunted slightly as the raven and silver haired girl he assumed to be the dragon dropped into his arms. She wasn't heavy, but he wasn't quite ready and he had nearly fallen over. He gently sat her on the ground and removed the air mask, only to find it attached to a tube that went down her throat and into her lungs. He had her lay down and, as gently as he could, removed the tube from her throat.
"Oh dear...that can't be pleasant...are you all right?" Lettuce asked her from behind Keichiro. When he finished removing the tube, she only nodded shyly and sat up.
Ryou had caught the other girl without much more grace. He too stumbled back a bit when she landed in his arms. Noticing what Keichiro was doing, he laid her down gently and tilted her head up to make it easier to carefully remove the tube from her throat. When he was finished, he sat her up carefully and looked her over.
"You ok?" he asked. She nodded slowly, a bit in shock that she was this close to freedom. She tried to stand up but her legs wouldn't support her for long and she fell. Ryou caught her before she hit the ground and picked her up bridal-style.
"Her legs aren't used to being used...I don't think hers will be much better, we've gotta carry them out..." he said, motioning to the girl next to Keichiro. Mint and Zakuro walked up, along with Ichigo and Pudding, whom was being quiet for once. Everyone was grateful.
"Mint and I will go ahead and scout the area." Zakuro said. Mint nodded.
Pudding sighed, "Pudding guesses that she and Ichigo-san and Lettuce-san will stay with Shirogane-san and Keichiro-san na no da. That way we can protect them na no da..." Ryou nodded to the plan and looked at the girl in his arms.
"Now for the hard part..."
Surprisingly, they made it out without much trouble. Zakuro and Mint did a good job of knocking out the guards before they could call for back-up. And after a few heart-stopping occasions when they were almost caught roaming in the halls, they were homeward bound.
When they reached the café, Ryou and Keichiro lead the Mew Mews up the stairs to their living room, where they set down the two girls. Everyone took a seat and sighed in relief. They had done it...and hadn't been caught.
"That...Ryou...could have landed us in prison for life...at least..." Keichiro said slowly. He was too tired and annoyed to be his usual, respectful, self. Ryou noticed this and grinned.
"Why Keichiro...I seem to recall you telling me that I didn't need to butter you up with a sappy story in order to get your help in this...and you were the one who suggested asking the girls for help...and you were the one who came up with that story about the break-in to get them out of the house without their parents suspecting anything..." he said smoothly. Ichigo jumped up and pointed at Keichiro.
"THAT WAS YOU! YOU'RE AS BAD AS HE IS!" she yelled, pointing between both him and Ryou. Oddly enough, this caused both of them to smirk.
Knowing that this was an argument waiting to happen, Pudding decided to start asking her own questions, "What are your names na no da?" The two girls looked at her oddly, and the dragon spoke.
"...My name is Kachie...and thank you for saving us..." she said quietly. Her voice was smooth and cold, but it held an innocence not many at her age possessed. It had a slight accent to it as well, and was quite beautiful.
Everyone looked expectantly at the other girl, whom only looked at the ground, as if in shame. "I...do not have a name...I have no memories of my last life...so I do not know my past name either..." she said sadly. The syllables rolled off her tongue in as silky a way as Kachie's, but held immense warmth instead of the cold. It too held a child's innocence, and though it possessed no accent, it held a calming power, and its own beauty.
Pudding frowned, "No name na no da? Then we will have to give you a name na no da!" The girl looked at Pudding oddly for a moment, but then Ichigo jumped in.
"Oh yeah! We haven't been properly introduced! I'm Ichigo, the blond munchkin is Pudding, the girl with the blackish blue hair is Mint, the girl with the green hair and glasses is Lettuce, and the diva with long purple hair is Zakuro!" she piped triumphantly. The girls all nodded to their two new friends, before the dilemma at hand re-appeared.
"So...what would you like to be named?" Lettuce asked the girl kindly. The girl thought for a moment, and gave a slight shrug.
"I don't know...what would be a good name?" she asked. Pudding jumped into action once more.
"How about we make it a game na no da?" she exclaimed happily. The girl gave her an apprehensive look, but Pudding was already in full swing.
"You can be the judge na no da! That way, you get the name that you like na no da!" she said, earning a slight smile from the girl.
"Ok..." she said slowly. Pudding grinned.
"What about Sylia na no da?"
Mint also decided to join in, "Or...perhaps Angelina?"
"What about Mika?" Lettuce suggested. The girl seemed to contemplate that one for a moment before another of the Mews spoke up.
"How does Michelle sound?" Ichigo asked.
"Hmmm, you look like a Jennifer to me..." Zakuro said thoughtfully. The girl also seemed to contemplate this name for a moment.
Keichiro joined in the fun as well, "How about Melody?"
Ryou frowned at the names. None of them really seemed to fit her, in his opinion. Knowing it was his turn to suggest something, he thought about it. Normally, he wouldn't take part in these games, but this particular game had a purpose, and it would be rather rude not to participate.
He wanted to come up with something original, like Kachie for instance. All the other names he had heard seemed a bit too...ordinary..especially given what extraordinary creatures they were attempting to name. Kachie's name was as unique as she was, and the other girl deserved something just as different. After another moment in thought, a name hit him.
"Hekele," he said simply. Everyone looked at him for a moment, trying to understand why he thought that name was better than theirs.
Ryou sighed, and elaborated, "Hekele means heather in the native Hawaiian language, and as you know, heather is a flower. Hekele, though it is Hawaiian, seems to have a Japanese ring to it. It's different, yes, but then again, so is the person we're trying to name..."
The girl sat there and listened to what he had to say, though she didn't need to; she had been attached to the name before he had given his explanation, "He-ke-le..." She tried out the name on her own tongue and smiled. She really liked that name, and, from taking one look at Kachie nodding her head to herself, the girl could tell that she liked it too.
"I...like that name..." the girl said, more to herself than to anyone else. Ichigo smiled.
"Well, I guess that settles it then! Your name's Hekele!" she said. Hekele smiled as well and nodded.
Keichiro looked at the clock and groaned, "Guys...it's seven o'clock...can we go to sleep now?" Ryou scowled at the clock in hatred before shaking his head.
"We have to open the café in five hours...that leaves four to sleep and one to get ready..." he said. Pudding yawned and curled up on the couch between Hekele and Kachie.
"Pudding doesn't care, Pudding is going to sleep na no da..." she said as she closed her eyes. Hekele and Kachie smiled at her for a moment before closing their eyes and leaning back on the couch themselves.
"Sleep...sounds rather welcoming right now..." Hekele said. Kachie nodded.
"Very welcoming..." The rest of the group watched them for a few moments before simultaneously dozing off themselves. It had been a long night.
Hekele opened her eyes slowly, only to shut them again to block out the brightness. She yawned and stretched out her arms, and then stopped. She shot up and looked around frantically, trying to figure out where she was. Then she saw Kachie sleeping on the other end of the couch and sighed. Now she remembered. She and Kachie were freed early that morning, and had been taken to the living quarters of one of their rescuers.
"Ryou Shirogane, perhaps he is related to Shirogane-sama...who said he'd free us years ago...I wonder why he never came back for us..." she mused sadly. Then she heard foot-steps and snapped her head towards the doorway out of instinct. One of the girls from earlier, Lettuce, came into view, and Hekele's tension eased.
Lettuce smiled at her gently before walking up to her and handing her a small pile of clothes, "Here...We weren't sure of your sizes...so we all chipped in some of our clothes from home until we can take you two shopping...I can't imagine you'd want to be walking around in that..." she said, motioning to Hekele's cami and cotton shorts. Hekele blushed slightly and shook her head.
Lettuce sighed and sat down, "So...are you ok? I know this has to be odd for you...you've never been outside the base, have you?" Hekele shook her head.
"No...I haven't...not since I was 'born.' And even though I know everything that someone my age is supposed to know, I feel...lost..." she said. Lettuce nodded.
"They taught you? Not that I thought you were stupid or anything, but I didn't expect them to give you an education..." she said, trying not to be offensive. Hekele smiled.
"It's all right, I get it. They taught us so that if and when they had us under their control, we would be able to blend in perfectly. I don't know what they wanted to use us for, per say, but whatever it was...it felt..."
"...sinister?" Lettuce finished for her. Hekele nodded.
"They never told us...but part of us just...knew that it was bad..." she said. Lettuce gave her a half hug and stood back up.
"Well, you're with us now...and if the Mew Mews can't protect you two, then Shirogane-san and Keichiro-san will..." she said, "Now get dressed and come downstairs; we'll get you something to eat...and bring Kachie too..." she said, smiling one last time before disappearing out the doorway and into the hall that led to the stairs.
Hekele sighed and moved over to Kachie, "Wake up sleepy head...time to live..."
Ichigo looked up when she heard someone descending the stairs and smiled when she saw Hekele and Kachie. They looked around apprehensively; there were tons of people around, and they only knew a few of the faces.
Seeing their conflict, Ichigo hurried up taking her table's order and rushed over to them, "Hey you two! Good to see you up and about! Here, I'll take you guys into the kitchen with Keichiro-san. He'll make you something to eat!" She grabbed their arms and practically dragged them into the kitchen. They saw Pudding roll by on a huge ball while balancing plates on thin sticks and serving them to the customers, Lettuce was attempting not to break plates, Zakuro was trying her best to annoy the customers, and Mint was sitting at a table drinking tea, completely ignoring everyone.
Once they were actually in the kitchen, they saw Keichiro, working over a hot stove with at least six different orders. Ichigo blinked a few times and sighed.
"Poor guy...looks like you've gotten back-washed again..." she said, setting her order down next to him. He gave her a look.
"Mint isn't working, Zakuro is giving out the wrong orders, and the customers are being an even bigger pain than usual today..." he grumbled. Ichigo nearly fell over laughing.
"So this is what you're really thinking when you smile and charm all the angry customers and cook all day...and here I thought you really meant all that corny stuff..." she joked. Keichiro allowed himself to laugh as well.
"Yeah...I'm normal when you get past the overly cheerful exterior...but don't tell anyone..." he joked back. He handed two trays from the microwave to Hekele and Kachie.
"Here, I kept these warm for you...eat up, it's good." he said, smiling.
Ichigo grinned, "Go ahead, try it. If he made it, it's worth eating...oh crap...my table is complaining again...stay here with him, I'll be back!" She took off rapidly to the table whose order she had just taken; they were complaining about not being served yet...stupid snobs...
Hekele took a bite of the concoction before her and smiled; it was good, "Keichiro-san...what is this? It tastes really good!" Keichiro looked back from the stove and smiled.
"It's just eggs and bacon...you two never had breakfast so I made some up for you...I kept it warm, but it really tastes better fresh off the stove...haven't you had any before?" he asked. Kachie, who had also began to eat the food, shook her head, swallowed, and then spoke.
"Nope...they didn't technically feed us; they gave us our required nutrients through IVs throughout the day," she said, taking another bite and enjoying it throughly. Hekele nodded at the answer her friend gave and took another bite.
Keichiro looked at the two in complete and utter shock at what Kachie had said. They've never actually eaten? I'm glad we rescued them when we did...the more I here about how they were treated the more I want to vomit...
Hekele watched Keichiro's reaction and cringed; apparently he didn't like what they had said much, but she knew that he wasn't upset with either of them. Hekele took another bite of her food and watched her friend. Kachie seemed to be enjoying the food more than her, and she wondered why. After a few more moments in silence, Kachie gave her the answer to her unasked question.
"I missed using my mouth for more than breathing and bad-mouthing..." she said candidly.
Keichiro burst out laughing at this, not expecting her to say something like that. Hekele giggled a bit as well, understanding her friend's situation. Kachie had a life before the government took her, and though Hekele had one as well...it was very short lived...six months to be exact...hardly long enough to get attached to everyday things like Kachie had.
"I'm sure you did...glad you like the food..." Keichiro said, putting three banana-splits, two chocolate hot- fudge sundaes, and a strawberry short-cake on a tray. Hekele giggled again at the look of complete anguish on his face.
"Who on earth could eat so many sweets?" he asked. Kachie shrugged.
"Other than me...no idea..." she said.
Ichigo stomped into the room, growling, "Stupid vultures! Oh! You've got the order done, thanks Keichiro! Maybe they'll stop biting me now..." She grabbed the tray and carried it back out the door, leaving Keichiro stunned.
"But there are only two people at that table! They can't possibly-" Keichiro was cut off by the sound of yelling.
"We didn't order all this junk! We ordered a brownie sundae, a slice of cherry cheesecake, and two sodas!" came a snobby voice. Keichiro sighed. He knew Ichigo was being toyed with again...why was it always her? He pitied the girl...mostly because it meant more work for him...
Hekele and Kachie looked at one another and sighed. They had over heard the girls order while they came down the stairs; Ichigo didn't mess it up.
"Keichiro-san...Ichigo-san didn't get their order wrong...we over heard them making it...and that's what they ordered..." Hekele said. Kachie nodded knowingly. Keichiro sighed once more.
"Yeah, yeah...I know...customers always do that...but only to her it seems..." he said slowly. Kachie shook her head.
"That's not nice...how come?" she asked. Keichiro shrugged.
"I haven't the slightest clue..."
It was then that a very disgruntled Ichigo re-entered the kitchen. "Keichiro-san..." she whined, putting the new order on the counter. He only nodded and got to work on it...it wouldn't take but a few minutes...
"Ichigo-san...we know you didn't mess the order up...they were just being really mean..." Kachie said. Ichigo smiled at her gratefully.
"Thanks...now, if you could tell that to my evil boss when he finds out that I allegedly 'screwed up' again, I would be most grateful..." she said, setting her head down on the table. Hekele's eyebrows furrowed.
"Who is Ichigo-san's boss?" she asked. Ichigo laughed.
"Shirogane-san, he and Keichiro-san are my bosses...but Keichiro-san is much nicer..." she said. Hekele was confused.
"But we thought that Shirogane-san was a good person..." she said. Kachie shook her head.
"She means that he can be mean...he is a good person, or else he wouldn't have helped to rescue us..." she said. Hekele nodded in understanding.
"His father was nice too...why didn't he ever come back for us?" she asked. Keichiro and Ichigo looked at one another thoughtfully, not knowing what to tell the two girls. Finally Keichiro spoke, just as he placed Ichigo's new orders on the tray and removed the old ones.
"...There was a fire at their home the next day...everything was destroyed..." he said, hoping that they would understand. They did.
"Oh..." was all that the two could manage. They had both entertained themselves with the idea off and on that he had been a figment of their imaginations, or another scientist who was supposed to get into their heads and study what they would have done in that situation, or even that he hadn't been able to get back in...they had never once thought that he had died...probably because they didn't want him to have done so...
Ichigo sighed and took the new order out of the kitchen, not knowing what else to do. Hekele and Kachie just sat there in mild shock and Keichiro felt bad. They had truly looked up to him...
He checked his counter and found no more orders, so he sat down between them and gave them both small hugs, before placing a hot-fudge sundae in front of each of them.
"Here...you ate your brunch, now eat your dessert...there's no reason to waste perfectly fine food..." he said, pulling the strawberry short-cake in front of himself and digging in. Hekele smiled softly and tasted the food, curious about its taste. Her eyes widened thoughtfully as she tasted the hot chocolate on her tongue.
"Keichiro-san! This is amazing! I like it even better than the eggs and bacon!" she exclaimed, all but diving into the food. Kachie couldn't help but double over laughing; even she knew about ice-cream...and hot fudge sundaes.
"Hekele-chan...you make me laugh, I can't fathom anyone not knowing the wondrous taste of ice cream!" she said matter-o-factly. Keichiro was stifling chuckles of his own, not wanting to be rude, as he took another bite of the short-cake. He could get used to this company, no one was fighting with customers, no one was getting orders wrong, no one was arguing amongst them selves, no one was annoying Ryou, (which was bad for everyone's health,) and best of all, he wasn't behind a hot stove...
Pudding bounced, (literally,) into the room with three pieces of paper in her hand, "Here Keichiro-san; Pudding has lots of orders for you to fill na no da! The customers really like your food na no da!" And with that, she bounced back out of the room.
Keichiro sighed. Another day in Paradise... "Oh well...here, finish off these banana-splits while your at it...I'm not going to get the chance..." He sighed once more, stood up, and got to work.
Ryou walked up the stairs to the kitchen in a bored manner. It hadn't been a very active day...for him anyway. He heard Ichigo complaining about the customers and Mint earlier, but that was just about an everyday thing. He opened the door to the kitchen and found Hekele and Kachie sitting at a table, downing some banana-splits while Keichiro toiled over the stove. He stopped for a moment while he took in the sight.
Kachie was wearing what he would assume to be one of Mint's outfits, as it was a dark blue pants suit, and it was made of silk; under it Kachie wore a white shirt, also silk. Ryou shook his head, Mint didn't own anything that wasn't fancy. Not that it didn't look well on Kachie, in fact it probably looked better on her than it would on Mint, but the fact that it was probably the least expensive item in her closet made him want to smirk.
Hekele looked to be wearing something from Zakuro's wardrobe. She wore a pair of crimson cargo pants and a white mini-tee with an equally crimson heart on it that went up to just above her belly. It was much more practical than Kachie's outfit, but it looked just as nice in its own way. Zakuro had always seemed more practical than Mint, and it showed in their contributions. She had probably worn this outfit a good two or three times while trying to blend in to a crowd and not look conspicuous, then people probably figured out that they were still designer articles and that the girl wearing them was her after all. Then the outfit probably got lost in some ginormas walk-in closet and never saw light of day again until that morning...
Ryou smiled to himself at how the two seemed to relish every bite of those desserts. "Well, you two are finally up...and raiding the kitchen I see..." he joked. Then a rather frazzled Keichiro turned around and placed three orders onto some trays and all but collapsed on the table after Pudding came bouncing in to get them.
"Um...are you ok Keichiro?" Ryou asked. Keichiro scowled.
"Why is it that you seem to never do work? Only down in that basement do you appear to even have a purpose...why is that?" he asked. Ryou took a step back.
"Uhh...because scanning for Chamera Anima is more important than running a cover-up café?" he tried, getting ready to retreat if need be. Keichiro sighed and motioned for him to sit down in the spare seat at the table. He cautiously obeyed.
Keichiro whipped the third banana-split in front of him and thrust him a spoon, "Eat it; if I'm going to make it than I'll be darned if anyone wastes it." Ryou looked at the spoon as if it were a foreign object before digging in. He hadn't expected a near mutiny to his ingenious plan to get out of work...
Hekele looked up at him and smiled as he took a bite of the dessert in front of him. "I never thought that actually eating would be such a big deal for me...but since I've never done it before, its kind of...fun almost..." she said thoughtfully. Ryou raised a brow and looked at Keichiro, whom didn't seem fazed and only beamed at the girl.
"I take it there's a story behind that remark," he said. Keichiro nodded, but Hekele elaborated.
"While we were at the base, we weren't technically fed; instead, like Kachie-chan told Keichiro-san earlier, we were given our daily required nutrients through an IV. I don't think I've ever seen a fork and spoon in my entire life until today...but they aren't too hard to figure out..." she said honestly. Ryou looked at her in shock; he hadn't expected that.
"So, you've never had actual food before?" he asked. Hekele shook her head.
"Nope, I was raised in the base, so I haven't; Kachie came when she was only about seven, so she has," she said. Ryou sat there, mulling it all over in disbelief, not understanding th reason for feeding them through an IV instead of their own mouths. Keichiro cleared his throat, gaining the trio's attention, and spoke.
"Well, I'd say that since we got you out of that base, are working on little or no sleep, and it's pay day, why don't we take you girls out to eat tonight after the café closes down, and then you'll eat stuff that puts my concoctions to shame..." he announced. Ryou's face lit up slightly at the idea; he was sick of everyday food, and this would be a good opportunity to get the girls some other clothes as well. But the café was closing late that evening...
Keichiro caught the thoughtful look on his face and smiled, "Leave everything to me..."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry to report that there has been a failure with the main stove, we are going to have to close early for this evening. I promise that we will be open with no further troubles tomorrow on time...thank you for your cooperation," Keichiro said in a solemn tone.
Ryou had to fight the laughter begging to spill from his lips; this was the second time in the same day that Keichiro had pulled a fast one to make things easier. It was so out of character for his friend that it was all the more hilarious.
Lettuce was the first of the girls to approach him after ushering the customers out, "Has there been a Chamera Anima sighting?" Ryou took a deep breath before speaking.
"Why don't you ask the master of ceremonies over there...he's the one with the bright ideas..." he said, trying not to show his amusement. He had a reputation for being an ass to keep up, and he'd be damned if he let go of his indifferent mask over something like this...but it was tempting...
Lettuce understood the lack of urgency and sighed, "I see, well, if there isn't anything too important, then after we clean up we can head home right?"
Ryou smirked as the rest of the girls walked over, each having heard the conversation, "Oh, but there is something important for you to do...if you don't have plans that is..."
Ichigo glared at him, she knew that he knew that none of them had plans, he let them out of work four hours early for Christ's sake! "Ok, since that was a dumb question, then what do you have in mind?" she asked. The rest of the girls nodded in mild confusion, all happy to be out of work either way.
"You'll be taking Kachie and Hekele shopping, they need more than a small pile of clothes to wear...and then we're all going out to eat...at a nice restaurant. That means nice clothes for all of you...get them back here in three hours and then go home to change...we'll pick each of you up in a limo later..." he said. Keichiro looked at him dumbly at the mention of a limo and Ryou smirked. If Keichiro was going to be so uncharacteristically helpful and generous, then he might as well reap the benefits.
Keichiro saw Ryou's mischievous smirk and understood. Ok then Ryou...if you intend to take advantage of my good mood...then I'll have to take advantage of your playful one...let the games begin my young friend...