Fire and Ice: Chapter 4
The past three days had been rather interesting. Keichiro and Kachie had been working together in the kitchen from breakfast until dinner time, only exiting for brief periods of time to get extra dishes, cooking supplies and ingredients, and dish soap. Whenever anyone appeared in the kitchen, the two could be seen talking and laughing with one another about almost anything; and the group found their fast friendship rather amusing...but no one had yet come to the same romantic conclusion that Mint had. She had been keeping watch over them secretly, while everyone else had yet to take their eyes off the other budding couple: Ryou and Hekele.
These two seemed to be moving a bit more slowly. They were hardly ever seen during the day; from as soon as after breakfast until dinner time, the two were in the basement, doing god knows what. However, whenever Keichiro or any of the girls checked in on the two, they always witnessed the same sight: Ryou toiling over a computer, and Hekele sitting in the other rolling chair staring at the computer screen from a distance and looking completely bored. This always annoyed whomever was spying, as it was very ordinary and not gossip-worthy. Once, the two had been seen talking to one another while Ryou was downloading results from who knows what, and they had been sitting next to one another, but that had to have been the most scandalous thing that the two had ever been caught doing...talking...and to say the least, Ichigo was getting very frustrated.
"Those two are so aggravating! They should have been showing more couple signs by now! I mean, they were moving so well the first two days!" she bellowed to the group as they closed up for the night on that Friday. Mint laughed at her.
"I warned you that it would take longer than a week! Cough up that twenty Ichigo!" she said superiorly. Ichigo wiggled her index finger from side to side, as if to say, 'no, no.'
"I have until Monday night at around 11:00pm, that was about the time that I made the prediction!" she said defensively. Mint looked around at the other girls, then at Ichigo, and grinned.
"Here, I'll give you until Tuesday at midnight for them to get together. As soon as the clock strikes twelve, I get that twenty of yours...deal?" she asked, sticking out her hand. Ichigo paused, knowing that if she refused, that she would be admitting defeat, but if she accepted, that she would be most likely dooming herself to lose her hard earned money.
Her dignity won.
"Fine, I accept!" Ichigo shook Mint's hand firmly as she said this, binding their agreement in front of all the Mew Mews. She knew she was doomed.
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Hekele wheeled around the basement floor without purpose, and Ryou sighed. He hadn't exactly been very conversational, but he had also been busy. He was quite surprised to find Hekele follow him downstairs every day and stay with him the entire time he was there. He also found it rather amusing, but he wouldn't admit that; he also wouldn't admit that he liked the company.
But Ryou was a curious one, "Why is it that you come down here Hekele? I mean, not to be rude or anything, but you just sit over there most of the time...is there a reason you follow me down here everyday?"
Hekele froze at his tone, was he annoyed with her? She didn't think that she had done anything wrong...but maybe being in the area while he worked distracted him? She sighed, she supposed that she was a bother, she never did try to help out around the place like Kachie had, but then, what could she do? Kachie just seemed to fit right in place in the kitchen...but Hekele hadn't found a little nook like that anywhere...no haven as of yet, so she had taken to following Ryou downstairs in a vain attempt at company, since everyone else was too busy working hard in the café...
She opened her mouth to speak, "I..." she paused, not knowing what to say; that she was lonely and selfish without her best friend around all the time to talk to? "...Never mind Shirogane-san...never mind..." She murmured that she was going upstairs for a snack, and disappeared, not looking up from the floor.
Ryou watched her go, pondering her reaction to his words, and merely shrugged. She must have been bored down here...or maybe she thinks it's better than the bickering atmosphere of the cafe...I know I do... he thought to himself. He stretched once more and went back to work on the computer; he still had to try to design decent weapons for the two to use...and to put in the latest calculations into the formula for the reversed power pendants. It was difficult and tiring work...but it had to get done...
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Ichigo watched as Hekele opened the door to the basement and walked into the kitchen. The rest of the girls noticed too, and were a bit alarmed at her downcast expression. Kachie was the first to speak.
"Hekele-chan...are you all right? You seem down..." she asked. Hekele put on a smile and shook her head.
"No...I'm just tired, so I thought I'd take a nap...I'll see you two at dinner...and have a good, work-free weekend you five..." she said as she made her way out the door.
Everyone exchanged odd looks when she closed the door behind her. What was wrong with her? She seemed...sad...and Hekele hadn't seemed sad once since the little power incident after the group's big dinner and walk in the park on Monday night...
"Kachie-chan? Do you have any idea what's troubling her? She seems rather upset about something...and Hekele doesn't strike me as a sad person..." Keichiro said as he looked up at her from his stack of dishes. She stopped scrubbing hers and sighed, shaking her head.
"Not a clue...she was fine when she went down there this morning...and I haven't seen her since...I wonder what upset her..." she said from her sink. Ichigo's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Shirogane-san's the only person she's had human contact with all day...I think we need to pay him a visit down in that little hole of his..." she growled, all thoughts of the bet between Mint and herself forgotten. The rest of the Mews nodded to one another in agreement, and rushed downstairs to see what Shirogane-san had done; leaving Kachie and Keichiro to finish the dishes and the rest of the closing.
Keichiro sighed, "It was too much to ask for, to get done with everything before seven, wasn't it?" Kachie looked at the digital clock on the stove, which read 6:45pm.
"I guess so...dinner's going to be late tonight...I hope they don't anger Shirogane-san too much with their prying..." she said. Keichiro nodded.
"Knowing him, we'd all be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow just to open the cafe...even though we're supposed to be closed..."
Kachie rolled her eyes, "He better not...or I'll freeze his butt to that computer chair of his...and no, Keichiro-kun, I'm not joking..."
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"Hekele looks really down Shirogane-san...what did you do?" Ichigo asked for the tenth time. Ryou growled at her and answered, for the tenth time:
"I don't know! Jeez! All she told me was that she was going up there for a snack you baka strawberry!" Ichigo was about to yell at him again when Zakuro stopped her.
"Shirogane-san...she never grabbed a snack; she told us that she had been tired and was going to take a nap...but she did seem rather upset..." she said calmly. Ryou paused, long enough to calm down and listen to Zakuro. After she spoke, he only shrugged.
"Maybe she just was bored down here...and instead of getting a snack, she went to take a nap...no big deal," he said nonchalantly.
Seeing that they weren't getting anywhere with him, Mint sighed, "Fine, Shirogane-san, we'll leave you alone...but watch out for her over the weekend or we'll kick your butt..." she said. Pudding stuck her tongue out at him.
"Yeah na no da! And we'll do it Mew Mew style na no da!" she said as she bounced out of the basement.
Lettuce gave Ryou a sympathetic smile, "I'm sure that if you said something that ended up hurting her feelings, that it was by mistake, so I won't lecture you about anything...just...could you try to cheer her up a bit? It would make everybody feel better knowing that she was ok..."
Ryou gave her a tired, but honest smile, "I'll see what I can do...I think I know what happened, but I didn't want everyone to jump down my throat about it...so, keep that little tid-bit to yourself ok?" Lettuce smiled once more.
"Of course...and good luck."
Ryou looked at her as she left, and smiled a bit more, "Thanks for not attacking me Lettuce..." She stopped and turned around, still beaming.
"Thank me by cheering Hekele-san up..."
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"Hekele-chan? Are you in there?" Kachie asked as she knocked on Hekele's bedroom door. She heard movement within, and waited patiently to be let inside. When Hekele did open the door, she appeared no different than she had down in the kitchen.
"Yes, Kachie-chan? Is dinner ready or something?" she asked, moving to let her friend inside. Kachie shook her head and looked at Hekele's temporary bed; it didn't look like it had been used since she made it that morning.
"Are you feeling all right? You seemed a bit upset earlier...did Shirogane-san say something mean?" she questioned lightly. Hekele smiled and shook her head.
"No, no, of course not! I just felt tired and came up for a nap...I was going to grab a snack, but changed my mind," she said, attempting to seem bright. Kachie narrowed her eyes in suspicion, much like Ichigo had earlier.
"But your bed doesn't look like you've napped in it..." she said accusingly. Hekele only shrugged.
"I slept on top...it's too warm to sleep under the covers in the afternoon, also, I figured that it would be a short nap, so I didn't feel like bothering..." she answered, trying to make Kachie to believe her. Not being able to argue with her friend's story, Kachie growled and rolled her eyes.
"Fine...Dinner'll be ready soon...we're having chicken...see ya down there..." she said apathetically. She walked out the door, gave Hekele a polite nod, and shut it. Hekele sighed.
It really isn't a big deal...I just annoyed Shirogane-san a bit while he was working and felt bad about it...I hope they didn't get on his case too much about it...
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Dinner was quiet. No one was really speaking to one another at all, except for Keichiro and Kachie, who kept trying to start conversations to make things more comfortable. It didn't really work too well though.
"Shirogane-san, what have you been up to down there? You seem to have locked yourself up more than usual..." Keichiro tried.
"..." was his only reply.
Keichiro sweat-dropped and turned to Hekele, "Hekele-san? Umm...I was thinking that tomorrow we could all go and pick out some more suitable bedroom furniture for Kachie-chan and yourself...how's that sound to you?"
"..." again, was his only reply.
Kachie shook her head as he shrugged in her direction, "Hekele, please pass me the garlic noodles..." Hekele's hand appeared in front of her with the bowl of noodles, but the girl said nothing. Kachie sighed.
This is going to be difficult...
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Ryou wandered up the stairs towards the livingroom; for some reason, television seemed like a good idea for once. He would have spoken to Hekele at dinner, but didn't really want to do it in front of Kachie and Keichiro, who were getting rather buddy-buddy lately. He still didn't know why they had become such good friends...and it wasn't like they would ever start dating or anything...
Ryou sat down on the couch and flipped through the channels. He would probably talk to Hekele the next day, after she had some time to herself, (Ryou had learned that when dealing with the female race, it was always better to give them time to get over whatever was troubling them a bit before approaching them about it.) He would probably suggest splitting up so that they could get done sooner, and then volunteer to team up with Hekele, while Keichiro went with Kachie...
Yeah...that sounds like a decent idea...hope it works...
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Kachie and Keichiro were cleaning up what was left of the mess from fixing dinner in the kitchen. Both were relatively quiet, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence like there had been at dinner; this silence was calming and content. But, like any other silence the two were involved in, it didn't last for long...
"So, Keichiro-kun, where are we going tomorrow to look at bedroom stuff?" Kachie asked. Keichiro looked up at her and shrugged as he mopped the floor; one of the girls had spilled something earlier and he hadn't seen it while closing up the shop.
"Oh...there are a few places that we could take you two...whichever one we feel like probably...you ok over there?" he questioned, seeing Kachie scrubbing the pot they had used to make the garlic noodles as though she were trying to scrape it down to the handle.
Kachie growled at the pan, "There is sauce stuck to this thing...and it won't come off! I let it soak in water first and everything!"
Keichiro laughed a bit before grabbing the dish soap and squirting a healthy amount into the pot, "Try that...the soap isn't as diluted...it might help..."
Kachie looked at him quizzically, but obeyed. Sure enough, the pot scrubbed clean, "That was so not fair...stupid pot..." Keichiro laughed at her antics once more and shook his head.
After a few more minutes of cleaning Kachie put her hands on her hips and started looking around the kitchen for something. Keichiro watched her curiously as she dug around for something that which he knew not of. Finally, she pulled out from a long forgotten, and rather dusty, drawer, an equally dusty radio.
She looked at Keichiro hopefully, "Can we listen to music while we clean?" Keichiro looked at her for a moment before completely losing his composure and laughing at her once more. Seeing her hurt expression, he was quick to explain his reaction.
"I'm sorry, Kachie-chan...you just randomly dropped what you were doing and went on a mad hunt for something, which rather confused me, and then came out of the dustiest cabinet we have with a radio, which is almost as filthy as you are right now..." he said, motioning to her dust covered hair and shirt, "Of course we can listen to music...it would probably make things go by faster anyway..." he consented. Kachie beamed at him and plugged in the radio. After searching for a decent station, (or music that she recognized from television,) for a few minutes, she finally found something and turned it up...
Keichiro watched as Kachie began dancing around the room and back towards her sink to finish what little was left of the dishes. He smiled to himself when she began humming the current tune that was blaring through the room. He had to admit, he liked her voice very much, and it seemed to harmonize well with the singer's.
Kachie looked up and caught Keichiro staring at her; she blushed and looked away. "I'm not that good am I?" she asked, though good-naturedly. Keichiro shook his head.
"You aren't bad at all! I was just thinking that your voice harmonized well with the singer's actually. You're too self-conscious..." he said, smiling at her as he did so. Kachie blushed once more, but smiled too.
"Well, would you rather have me be boastful and conceited?" she asked as she went back to her dishes. Keichiro chuckled as he finished mopping up the spill.
"Of course not Kachie-chan...I like you just the way you are, besides, I wouldn't want you to lower yourself to those standards...those are the standards of our customers..." he joked lightly. Kachie giggled and finished with the last of her dishes. She emptied the sink and walked over to where Keichiro was putting away the mop while she dried off her hands.
"So..." she said as she tossed the towel back in the sink as though she were a basketball player, "now what are we going to do? We've got nothing to do for the rest of the night, and other than furniture shopping tomorrow, we've got nothing to do all weekend...how are we going to pass the time? I mean...Hekele and Ryou don't seem to have made up from whatever disagreement they had...so...they won't be much fun..."
Keichiro ushered her out of the kitchen and offered his arm in a joking manner, "I'm not sure...maybe we can mend their broken friendship with a few hot-fudge sundaes...after we take a long deserved break from the kitchen..."
Kachie giggled lightly once more and lightly pushed his arm away playfully, "A master plan if I ever heard one...I'm going to go upstairs, take a three hour nap, and then sleep for the rest of the night after that..."
Keichiro chuckled once more, "I don't think so...If I have to possibly put up with those two giving each other the silent treatment, then so do you..." Kachie gave him a sad whimper, but he just shook his head.
"Nope...I'm not falling for it...you get to stay up and suffer with me..." he said as they made their way up the stairs. Kachie pouted a bit but said nothing.
When the two reached the entrance to the livingroom, they poked their heads inside to see if it was safe. Seeing no one, they happily walked in and crashed on the furniture; Keichiro in a Lazy Boy and Kachie on the couch. Keichiro flipped on the television and started channel surfing, much like Ryou had done earlier. After going through half the channels, he tossed the remote to Kachie, who, within seconds, had found Cartoon Network, on which was Adult Swim.
Keichiro groaned, "Don't tell me you're an anime freak..." Kachie grinned as Inuyasha, a show she had seen the two previous nights and rather enjoyed, came on.
"Ok...I won't tell you then..." she said slyly. Keichiro rolled his eyes and refrained from chucking a pillow at her, though he found it rather tempting when one of the characters groped another of them. When one of the female characters said the word 'sit,' causing another, rather arrogant, character with dog ears to fall flat on his face, Keichiro stole the remote from Kachie and flipped the channel.
"Hey...I was watching that..." she complained. When Keichiro only gave her one of his very rare smirks, she glared at him. She then proceeded to quietly get up off of the couch and sneak around behind Keichiro's back while he wasn't paying attention.
As soon as he realized that she wasn't there, he began looking around curiously, making Kachie giggle. As soon as he turned around, having located the source of the noise, she jumped on him, knocking him onto the floor. She rolled off of him within less than a second, snatched the remote from his hand, and flipped the channel back to Inuyasha.
Rather stunned and confused by her actions, Keichiro reached over for the remote to try to take it from her. Seeing his movement, Kachie jumped up and backed up a bit, grinning at him in a teasing manner. Keichiro just looked at her skeptically.
"Why did you do that?" he asked, curious as to why he had been thrown from his chair.
Kachie only smiled at him, "'Cuz you stole the remote and changed the channel...you got what you deserved Keichiro-kun..." Keichiro blinked a few times, still a bit dazed, and resigned to shaking his head at her.
"Less than a week here and you've already become addicted to television..." he muttered. Kachie grinned and sat on the couch, quite pleased with herself. She watched the cartoon almost religiously, while Keichiro had to admit, once he was used to it, the show wasn't too bad...
When it was over with, Kachie dutifully tossed Keichiro the remote, having seen the show she wanted to see. Keichiro flipped through the channels and finally settled for a movie: X-Men.
Kachie watched it with interest; all those people had powers like Hekele, the Mews, and herself. She thought it was cool that they got to save the world, and idly remembered that the Mews did that all the time.
What troubled her, however, was how much everyone hated these people...just because they were different. Most of them had done nothing wrong...they were just...despised because they had something other people didn't. Would other people feel the same way if she and Hekele were discovered? Kachie looked at Keichiro, who was watching the movie. Did he and Ryou feel that way at all? Was it bad to be different?
Keichiro noticed how quiet Kachie was being, and looked over at her curiously, not wanting to get caught off guard again. What he saw was a sad expression on a very thought filled face. He stood up and sat next to her on the couch.
"Is there something troubling you Kachie-chan?" he asked. He caught Kachie's light blush and smiled a bit.
"It's nothing really...I mean...it's just a part of the movie that made me think...that's all..." she consented. Keichiro looked at the television for a moment before catching onto what she was saying.
"...You're worried that Hekele-san and yourself won't fit in if you're discovered...that you'll be shunned...is that it?" he asked gently. Kachie gave a small sigh, and nodded.
"Yea...I mean, even though this is just a movie...it's very possible...isn't it?" she asked, though it came out as more of a statement. Keichiro sighed, and nodded.
"...Yes...it is actually what would most likely happen...that's why the Mew Mews keep their identities secret...most people are so closed-minded that they can't see outside of the normal without despising it..." he said. Kachie's eyes watered with a few tears.
"You and Shirogane-san don't feel that way right? I mean...the Mews are one thing...but Hekele-chan and I aren't even human..." she said, letting one or two of the tears fall.
Strangely disturbed by her tears, Keichiro pulled her into a friendly hug, "No...of course we don't feel that way...we knew exactly who you were when we went to save you from the base...we didn't care...and the two of you are as human as the next person...all right? Don't let this possibility get to you." Kachie nodded into Keichiro's shoulder and he released her so that he could get a good look at her face. Kachie offered him a small smile.
"Thanks Keichiro-kun...that helps a lot..." she said. Keichiro smiled at her warmly and leaned back on the couch, facing the television.
"That's good...we don't need any unnecessary rifts between us like Hekele-san and Shirogane-san do..." he said. Kachie giggled a bit and shook her head. She curled up on her end of the couch and laid her head on the armrest. Within fifteen minutes, she was sound asleep.
Half an hour later, when the movie was finished, Keichiro looked over at Kachie to tell her to go to bed, (since Ryou and Hekele had obviously gone to bed long before hand and Keichiro wanted to turn in himself,) when he noticed that she had fallen asleep. He smiled to himself as he looked her over; she really looked peaceful while she slept, and calm. He sighed to himself, stood up, and stretched. He looked at her one more time and thought for a moment before acting.
He went into her bedroom and pulled back the covers to the foot of her bed, and then returned for her; he didn't want to deal with trying to get her under the covers while she was already in his arms, it just wasn't practical. He picked her up gently, supporting her head with his shoulder and carefully carried her into her room. He placed her on her bed as softly as he could, not wanting to wake her, and lightly tucked her in.
He looked at her for a moment longer before heading towards the door, "Goodnight Kachie-chan; sweet dreams..."
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Ryou sat at the computer and typed away, rather annoyed. After everyone had eaten breakfast, Hekele hadn't followed him downstairs like she usually did. He was sulking slightly, but he refused to say anything to betray this.
So...it is what I said that bothered her...I was just curious, she didn't have to get all bent out of shape about it...It wasn't suppose to make her mad... Ryou thought to himself as he continued working. She had barely even said good-morning to him, but she was all cheery around Keichiro and Kachie. Somehow, for some unknown reason, this bothered Ryou a bit.
"Shirogane-san?" Keichiro said, poking his head into the room. Ryou wheeled around to look at him.
"What's up?" he asked. Keichiro gave him a look.
"We're getting ready to leave to go pick out furniture for their rooms...you didn't forget did you?" he questioned. Ryou shook his head to clear it a bit.
"Sorry, no, I didn't forget, I just wasn't thinking about it...I'll be up in a minute..." he said. Keichiro nodded in confirmation and headed back upstairs.
Ryou sighed to himself as he began shutting down the computers, "Let's hope she's not still mad at me..."
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"So, what interests you?" Kachie was too busy blinking at all the different furniture in the giant showroom to actually hear Keichiro's question. She just kept looking around as though she were intimidated by all the stuff, completely spaced out. Keichiro realized this and laughed at her, jabbing her in the ribs lightly.
"There's a lot of furniture to chose from isn't there? Why don't we walk around a bit; maybe you'll find something sooner than if you just stand here..." he said lightly, motioning towards a decently sized cluster of bedroom displays.
Ryou watched the two with mild amusement, noticing rather quickly how relaxed and outgoing Keichiro seemed while around Kachie, and how intrusive she appeared around him most of the time. He idly wondered if perhaps Kachie had a small crush on Keichiro, but brushed the thought away. Kachie, though very mature and sweet, also had a rather childish side to her, and this was probably just one of those moments...
Ryou then glanced at Hekele; it was now or never, "Hekele, would you like to go over here instead? We'll cover more of the store if we split up, and we can meet up with them later on..." He said it as carelessly as he could...there was no use in letting everyone else know why he wanted to split up...
Hekele smiled, "Sure! And if we find something that Kachie-chan would like, we can let those two know when we meet up with them!" Ryou paused for a moment. He had assumed that Hekele would have been a bit harder to persuade, but she didn't appear angry with him in the least...
"Umm...ok. Keichiro, we'll meet up with you two later..." he said, turning to face the man, but when he looked, he noticed that both Keichiro and Kachie had already gone on ahead. Shrugging, he motioned for Hekele to turn left in that aisle and the two proceeded on their own expedition.
Ryou, after about fifteen minutes of checking out displays, decided to speak, "So...are you still mad at me?" Hekele paused, and looked at him oddly.
"Why would I be mad at you Shirogane-san? You didn't do anything wrong..." she said, genuinely confused. Ryou mimicked her look, though not purposely.
"Well, you've practically been ignoring me and avoiding me since last night, so I assumed that you were angry with me over something, though what I have no clue..." he said, lying partially. Hekele seemed to ponder this, and offered a small smile.
"I'm sorry...I thought you wanted me to..." she said honestly. Ryou looked at her skeptically.
"Why would I want that? It wasn't that it bothered me or anything, but you suddenly ignoring me for no apparent reason was a bit irksome..." he stated, still trying to save face. Hekele merely shrugged at him.
"Well, the way you sounded when you asked me why I always hung around in the basement with you...made it appear as though you really didn't want me there, so I left, and tried to give you space...I assume I can be rather annoying, seeing as I don't help out in the café like everyone else and just sit there doing nothing all day..." she offered truthfully. Ryou stopped walking and stared at her.
"You honestly think that I find you annoying? Hekele, if I found you annoying, I'd make sure your life was little less than an aggravating hell, even ask Ichigo, I find her VERY annoying most of the time...and I also didn't mean for you to take my question that way; I was genuinely curious as to why you followed me downstairs everyday and remained there, despite how bored I could tell you were," he replied, this time being completely true to his thoughts.
Hekele blushed a bit, "So...you don't find it annoying that instead of helping out I just sit on my bottom all day and stare at a computer screen trying to make sense of whatever's on it?"
Ryou shook his head a bit, "Only that you didn't answer my question yesterday..."
Hekele sighed, and blushed a bit more, "Well...I suppose it's partially because I enjoy your presence...you're always calm and collected, and have put up with me since you saved us..."
"Put up with you? Don't make me laugh...there's nothing to put up with. You're a rather thoughtful girl, and your reaction to what you thought I meant proves it. And trust me, when you get to know me, I can guarantee that my presence will be anything but enjoyable...So, what's the other part of this reason of yours?" he asked, lightly nudging her with his elbow to lighten her up a bit.
Hekele smiled a bit at his antics, but it quickly faded, "I...don't really fit in anywhere. Kachie-chan and the kitchen seem to go hand-in-hand, and I don't want to try to fit in there too; it wouldn't be her place anymore...and she seems to work very well with Keichiro-san as well; you know what they say, 'three's a crowd...' As for being a waitress; I'm not too comfortable around people yet...well, ones I don't know anyway..." She looked at the ground as if in shame as she spoke.
Ryou looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out the best thing to say, and how to say it, "Well, until you think you've found out where you fit in...you're welcome to be bored in the basement with me while I work on the computers..."
Hekele looked up at him then, "Really? You don't mind?"
Ryou shook his head nonchalantly, "Nah...if you want, I could show you how they work too, then maybe you could help me instead of sitting there and doing nothing."
Hekele smiled suddenly, realizing that Ryou was giving her somewhere to belong, and hugged him, "Thank you Shirogane-san! That sounds perfect!"
Ryou stood there awkwardly, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks; he hadn't expected her to get so happy about it...or hug him, "Umm...no problem...I guess...hey, let's look at some furniture now." He patted her on the back a few times, and was a bit relieved when she released him. Hekele smiled at him once more and nodded, but paused when she saw his face.
"Shirogane-san? Are you feeling all right? Your face is turning a bit red..." she said. Ryou blushed a bit more at her question, and looked away so that she couldn't see it.
"I'm fine; let's just get this thing over with..." he retorted, wanting to get off of the current subject. Hekele only shrugged and started walking around once more, looking for a furniture set that she liked. Ryou sighed, a bit thankful that she had dropped her comment. He became lost in his own thoughts as he watched her take a closer look at one of the displays.
What the hell was that all about? Since when to I blush? It was just a hug from an overly excited pipsqueak... He watched as she sat on one of the beds and looked around at the furniture curiously, as though not sure what to think. All right, a rather cute pipsqueak, but still, just a pipsqueak...
Ryou was snapped from his thoughts when Hekele looked directly at him and smiled, "I like this one Shirogane-san! What do you think?" Ryou looked over the set critically; it was made entirely of cherry wood. The bed was a canopy bed, and there was a dresser and a vanity set to match, along with a very nice looking desk and chair. Unbeknownst to Hekele, cherry wood didn't come cheap. Ryou looked at the price and nearly grinned; it was on clearance to make room for more stuff. Clearance is good.
Ryou offered Hekele a pleasant smile, "Whatever you say Tweedy Bird..."
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Keichiro watched as Kachie plopped onto yet another bed, and had to stop himself from laughing when, instead of bouncing back up a bit, her body just stayed there and made a little noise that sounded suspiciously like, 'ouch.'
Kachie got off the bed and scowled at it, "That bed is way too hard...no bounce at all..." Keichiro chuckled a bit then and walked up to her, shaking his head a bit.
"You remind me a bit of Goldilocks...picky, picky, picky..." he said. Kachie pouted a bit and then wandered to the next display that captured her fancy. To most men, or people for that matter, Kachie's antics would be considered annoying: she would hop on a bed, and either sink so far into it that she could hardly get out, or it be as though she had landed on a brick; then she would go to the next display she liked and did the same thing; and then she repeated the process all over again. Keichiro, however, found her innocence quite endearing. He enjoyed it immensely to be honest; her free spirit and untamed nature made her quite fun to be with.
He watched as she made a face and struggled to get off of the bed; it was apparently too 'squishy' for her taste. She then proceeded to climb onto yet another bed, and froze instantly. Keichiro rolled his eyes, trying once more to contain his amusement.
"What's wrong with this one?" he asked jokingly. Kachie's only response was flopping back onto the bed so that she was laying on it fully. After a moment of this, she scanned the rest of the display, (an armoire and a desk,) critically before speaking.
"...This is just right..." she said as she closed her eyes happily. Keichiro smiled at her satisfied expression and sat on the bed next to her.
"You like this one?" he asked. She grinned as she opened her eyes.
"Yup! This one feels perfect! And I like the rest of the furniture too!" she replied. Keichiro smiled warmly at her once more before getting off the bed. He extended his hand to help her up as he spoke.
"Well then, let's go talk to someone about purchasing this for you; up, up now..." he said. Kachie took his hand and he pulled her up off the bed and onto her feet, causing her to giggle and blush slightly. Keichiro only smiled a content smile at her reaction and led her to the nearest salesperson to do business.
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Ryou and Hekele peered at Keichiro and Kachie from behind a large bookshelf curiously. They had just made the arrangements with a salesperson of their own for Hekele's bedroom set and had set off to find their friends. When they found them, they were in a rather...cute situation. Kachie was lying on one of the beds and Keichiro was sitting next to her and smiling as the two spoke briefly. He then had stood up and helped her off the bed as well. Both Hekele and Ryou noticed Keichiro's smile widen when Kachie blushed a bit and giggled at him. Both of them were all smiles as they looked around for a salesperson to talk to...
Hekele looked at Ryou quizzically, "Is it just me, or does it appear that Kachie and Keichiro are...'crushing' on one another a bit?" Ryou looked at her oddly for a moment before shaking his head.
"Don't use the terminology that the Mews use...it's a bit annoying...and yes...it looks that way to me too...hmmm..." he replied thoughtfully, an almost sinister idea beginning to form in his mind.
Hekele looked at him suspiciously, "Shirogane-san, what does that look mean? You are giving off a rather disagreeable vibe with that expression of yours..." Ryou only smirked.
"...I think the Mews have gotten to me...seriously gotten to me...but why don't we play cupid and get those two together...it'll at least pass the time..." he said. Hekele looked him over more critically.
"And what would that do for you? You don't seem the type to do something like this unless it would benefit you..." she questioned. Ryou only shrugged.
"If we don't do it, the Mews will figure it out, and I feel like beating them to the punch and making them look bad by getting the two together first..." he said callously. Hekele only rolled her eyes.
"You are rather odd Shirogane-san...utterly brilliant, but odd..." she stated firmly. Ryou gave her a sugary smile.
"And the same is true of you Tweedy Bird...except the 'utterly brilliant' part..."
"Stop calling me that!"
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Keichiro laughed as a sulking Hekele told him of Ryou's new nickname for her. Kachie was in the storeroom getting some stuff to make dinner, and Hekele had decided to visit the two in the kitchen when she began her little tirade over the nickname. It took Keichiro a minute before he was able to explain to the annoyed girl that Tweedy was a famous cartoon bird who was very smart, both innocent and mischievous, and a bit wacky. Hekele still seemed a bit sour even after he told her that Tweedy always triumphed over the cat that always tried to eat him.
"Hekele-san, Shirogane-san only gives nicknames to those that mean a lot to him; he calls Ichigo-san 'baka-strawberry' all the time, you know that. Though the name may seem offensive, do you see any of the girls besides yourselves with a nickname?" he offered. Hekele looked a bit stumped.
"Well...no...I don't...but still...he's the one who picked out my name, shouldn't he above anyone else use it?" she asked. Keichiro only smiled as he sat at the table and faced her.
"Yes...he gave you your name...but that name is what everyone calls you; a nickname, such as 'Tweedy Bird' is a name that he knows that only he would end up calling you...something just between the two of you. That's what most nicknames are...some are used by other friends and sometimes even family...but most nicknames are names that only one person calls you," he explained. Hekele paused a moment as she took in the information. After a moment of contemplating, she decided that it made some sense...sort of...but why did Ryou want to give her a nickname?
Hekele then cocked her head to the side a bit in wonder, "Well, since he gave me a nickname, does that mean that I have to give him one too?" Now, Keichiro could have been nice; he could have been a perfect angel like he usually was and explain to Hekele that nicknames weren't always a personal thing like he had apparently implied that they were, and that they were usually a casual and spur of the moment sort of thing. Keichiro, however, felt like playing cupid himself...and he also felt like having something to tell the Mews about on Monday when they came back to work...
"Well...you don't have to give him a nickname, but usually, friends will in this situation. It shows that you feel the same level of friendship..." he said, as seriously as he could. Hekele caught something off in his tone, however, and glowered at him.
"Why is it that I get the distinct feeling that you are pulling my leg Keichiro-san?" she questioned. Keichiro sweat-dropped and hung his head.
"What gave me away?" he asked, looking back up at her. Hekele smiled at him then.
"Your tone of voice mostly..." then she offered him a small glare, "Were you making fun of me?"
Keichiro shook his head and spoke honestly, "No, I wasn't...I just wanted to annoy Shirogane-san a bit...and I think a nickname would get to him..." Keichiro sighed to himself; so much for playing cupid. She'd figured him out...
Hekele, however, grinned once more, "I'm feeling adventurous; what nickname should I give him? This little plan of yours actually sounds fun..." Keichiro nearly had to do a double take at Hekele's mischievous grin.
When these two finally get together...Ryou's going to have his hands full with her...I can tell already...
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Ryou was typing away at the computer when he heard the door open. The light and barely audible steps made it clear to him who had entered the room without him even having to turn around. He kept on typing, trying to figure out the formula for the reverse power pendants, which were proving a bit more complicated than he had anticipated.
"What's up Tweedy Bird? Is dinner done up there yet?" he asked, still looking at the computer screen. Hekele only smirked at him a bit from behind.
"Nope, they're still working on it, Sylvester..." she said nonchalantly, mimicking Ryou almost perfectly.
Ryou almost cringed at the name she had given him, "Keichiro...I swear...I'm gonna kill him...let me guess...he told you who Sylvester was?" Hekele shook his head.
"Nope, he told me that calling you by a nickname would probably annoy you, and he apparently felt like annoying you, so he told me to call you that...then he told me that Sylvester was the cat that always chases Tweedy around and gets his butt kicked..." she reported in an almost militant manner. Ryou shook his head in disbelief.
"I think he's acting loony...and that's really saying something for Keichiro...he never used to act so...oddly..." he said. Hekele sat in the chair next to his and faced him.
"Maybe Kachie-chan got to him..." she said matter-o-factly. Ryou rolled his eyes, but nodded nevertheless.
"Probably...so, about how much longer until dinner is ready?" he asked. Hekele shrugged.
"Keichiro-san said that it would probably be another fifteen minutes," she said, now also staring at the computer screen. Ryou looked at her now and grinned.
"Perfect...you know, you make a pretty good double-agent Tweedy Bird..." he said. Hekele smiled proudly.
"So...when are we going to put the plan into action?" she asked him. Ryou grinned.
"I'll go upstairs now, you remember the number right?" he asked as he made his way to the door. Hekele nodded.
"Yup! Just don't blow it with bad acting Sylvester."
Ryou stopped at the door and looked back at her, "How long are you going to call me that?" Hekele only smiled at him.
"Until I think of something better..." she said playfully. Ryou rolled his eyes.
"Think fast Tweedy Bird," he said, throwing her his cell phone. Hekele caught it with ease and smirked triumphantly, sticking her tongue out at Ryou childishly. Ryou only smirked at her and made his way upstairs.
Showtime...
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"Well, well, well, if it isn't Sylvester..." Keichiro said as Ryou made his way into the kitchen. Ryou glared at him as Kachie began snickering from the stove.
"I will get even with you...make no mistake Keichiro..." he said in a deadly serious tone. Keichiro only chuckled and sat down at the table.
"Is that the only reason you've torn yourself from the basement? To threaten me?" he asked, completely unfazed by the threat. Ryou was about to say something else when the phone rang.
Ryou, being the closest, picked it up, careful to hide his smirk from Keichiro, "Hello?"
"Told you I remembered the number Sylvester..." Hekele said quietly on the other end of the phone.
Ryou had to refrain from making some sort of snide remark, "Yes, this is Ryou Shirogane speaking..."
"Try sounding a bit more annoyed and a bit less hostile..."
"What do you mean there was a problem with the paper work?" he asked, watching Keichiro and Kachie out of the corner of his eye.
"Mmmm, a bit better, but you still sound like you want to kick my butt from here to Kyoto and back..." Hekele taunted.
"Fine, I'll be there in a few minutes to clear it up...this better not mean it'll take longer to deliver the stuff..." he said, attempting to take Hekele's taunting without losing his cool.
"Perfect, I'll be up there in a minute...Phase one complete..." the phoenix said as she hung up the phone. Ryou had the distinct impulse to whack her in the back of the head when she appeared, but opted to go through with the plan instead and hung up the phone.
"What was that all about Shirogane-san?" Kachie asked. Ryou used his annoyance to his advantage.
"There's a problem with the paperwork or something like that with the stupid furniture. I think they wrote down the credit card info wrong...idiots..." he groused. Keichiro sighed.
"And you're going over there to clear it up?" he asked. Ryou nodded.
"But you'll miss dinner...it's almost ready too..." Kachie complained. Ryou shrugged.
"Might as well do it now and hope they can still deliver it tonight," he said. Kachie and Keichiro sighed in unison, which would have been humorous at any other moment probably. It was then that Hekele chose to come upstairs.
"Can I come too Sylvester?" she asked candidly. Ryou glowered at the use of the nickname but nodded.
"If you promise not to call me Sylvester for the rest of the night...then sure, what the hell, you can come..." he said. Kachie pouted and Keichiro rolled his eyes.
"Just hurry back..." he said as both Ryou and Hekele headed for the door.
Once the two were gone, Keichiro looked back at Kachie and sighed, "You know, thirty minutes wouldn't have killed them..." Kachie smiled a bit as she poured some of the beef stew from the giant pot on the stove into a bowl. She then placed it on the table and proceeded to do the same with another bowl.
"Well, there's more for us either way, right Keichiro-kun?" she said, trying to make light of their friends' absence from the dinner table. Keichiro chuckled and nodded in approval.
"I say we eat it all and tell them touch luck; how does that sound to you?" he asked. Kachie nodded as she set the other bowl down and sat at the table.
"That sounds perfect; at least they'll learn not to skip dinner..." she said. The two began eating, and after a moment or so, idly picked up conversation.
"Next time we'll add more bouillon to it to make the broth a bit thicker, ok Kachie-chan, it'll add a bit more flavor to it as well..."
"This isn't too bad though, I mean, as far as thickness goes; it could have come out worse you know..." she replied. Keichiro nodded a bit.
"True, but I think that it'd still be better if it were thicker..." he said. Kachie merely shrugged and took another bite.
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Two sets of blue eyes were peering through the window at Keichiro and Kachie as they continued to eat and quietly converse over simple things without much interest. After about five minutes, Ryou rolled his eyes and ducked his head down; when he was not immediately joined by Hekele, he lightly tugged her down onto her butt as well. He couldn't help the perturbed look that crossed his face at their friends.
Hekele cocked her head to the side a bit, gathering her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, "What's wrong Shirogane-san? Why the look?"
Ryou just shook his head, "Those two are mind boggling; one minute they look like they're about to kiss and the next they act like regular friends that are annoyed with someone..."
Hekele suppressed a giggle, but smiled at Ryou, "Shirogane-san, it'll take them time. We've only just noticed they way they look at one another, but I'm sure they haven't even thought about it yet; they are still working in the mind-set that they are friends, and must acknowledge that they feel otherwise before they can move to the step to forming a different relationship..."
Ryou looked at her oddly for a moment before shaking his head; he motioned for her to follow him and the two silently crept away from the windows. When they were far enough away, they stood up and dusted themselves off. Ryou checked his pocket to make sure he had his wallet, and started walking down the driveway. Hekele looked at him curiously before running to catch up with him.
"Where are you going Shirogane-san? We aren't going to spy?" she asked. Ryou shook his head and lightly grabbed her wrist.
"I happen to know that there is a carnival in town, and we are going to go and check it out. I figure that we can get away with being gone for an hour, and that's plenty of time to get on a few rides..."
Hekele froze in her place, causing Ryou to stumble ahead of her as he still had her wrist, "Rides? What are rides Shirogane-san? And why does the mention of rides coming from you scare me?"
Ryou stared at her blankly for a moment before speaking, "You're just full of it aren't you Tweedy Bird? Less than one week out in the world and you've already got tons of it..."
Hekele graced him with a very confused look, "Full of what, Shirogane-san?"
Ryou grinned at her as he gently began pulling her once more towards the carnival, "Women's intuition; it's the way you just know things, like that I had an ulterior motive for using your stats, how you seem to know what it takes for a relationship to form and the feelings involved despite the fact that you've never been in one, and how you seem to know when I'm dabbling in mischief..."
Hekele smiled a bit, "Like now?" Ryou rolled his eyes.
"Rides aren't a bad thing...they can just be scary sometimes...if you're scared of heights and things like that anyway; once you get used to them, they're actually pretty fun," he defended himself. Hekele giggled and shook her head.
"I wonder what makes me more uneasy; you trying to defend yourself or your idea of fun..." she joked. Ryou jabbed her in the ribs lightly with his elbow.
"What's wrong with me having fun?"
Hekele just shrugged, but still held a defiant smirk on her face, "I get the feeling that you having fun is a danger to my well-being...is that my women's intuition again?"
Ryou gave chase to the girl as she broke away from him in a sprint. Hekele yelped as she realized that she was being chased and ran faster. This made Ryou pick up speed as well, knowing that the girl would get herself lost if she ran off too far. Also, he was having fun; who knew that Ryou would consider chasing a child-like girl around town blindly, fun?
It took him about two blocks of hard running, but Ryou finally caught up to her. It took him about thirty seconds more before he could actually catch her. When he finally got his arms around her waist to stop her, an odd feeling came over him. It's much like what the Coyote would feel if he ever caught the Roadrunner...what next? After all that time of running, scheming, plans gone wrong, more running, and more scheming; one forgets the original purpose of all of the above, and once they reach their unattainable goal, they have no clue what to do now that they have gotten past it.
Ryou snapped out of his thoughts for a moment and tried to catch his breath, "Maybe I should call you Roadrunner instead of Tweedy Bird..." Hekele let out an exasperated laugh as she too tried to catch her breath.
"Nah...the Coyote never catches the Roadrunner...and you caught me...so I don't think that'd work out too well..." she said between breaths. Ryou chuckled a bit himself.
"Ah, so you've seen that cartoon have you?" he reasoned. Hekele nodded a bit, she had seen the cartoon that morning actually.
After a few more deep breaths, Ryou idly realized that he still had a hold of her and awkwardly let her go. The two of them stood there for a moment, trying to catch their breath, before Ryou grabbed her wrist delicately once more and lightly pulled her along the path towards the carnival.
He couldn't help but smile a little as Hekele graced him with a curious look. "Would you consider that," he began, looking at her with a barely noticeable twinkle in his eyes, "a danger to your well-being?"
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Kisshu watched the pair from above with a devilish smirk on his face. One of the new girls and one of the Mews' friends were going to a carnival all alone were they? This was an interesting development.
"I wonder how much havocwe can wreak with their little informant and his new girlfriend out and away from their computers? Pai? Taruto? What do you think?" he asked. Behind him, a slightly taller alien with short purple hair appeared, and next to him, a very short and much younger alien with short brown hair appeared as well.
"Sounds like fun to me Kisshu! Let's get moving!" Taruto, the smaller one, said mischievously. Kisshu turned to the taller, quieter one.
"Pai?" he asked. Pai gave a slight smirk.
"Let's choose our candidate for the Chimera Anima...and as the humans say, 'get this show on the road.'"