Fire and Ice: Chapter 7
Hey guys! Hekele's back! Mwuahahahahahahahaha!
Ok, I know that was dumb...but who really cares? I am totally high on coffee right now...do forgive me...please...
Hey...have you guys ever noticed the distinct lack of reviewers in the Tokyo Mew Mew stories? I swear! Hardly anyone seems to review over here...back in the Inuyasha area, ppl review all the time...but here it's rare! I think I'm gonna have to start something by reviewing to every TMM story I read...it's official...now, ladies and possible gentlemen, join my movement! Review once in a while! Lift a depressed author's spirit! Not just me...but other ppl too! You have no idea what it's like to go from tons of reviews in one forum to almost none in comparison in another one. I mean...it's kind of depressing to think that people don't care about your story enough to even give you a tip on how to improve it...You don't have to express your undying love for my story, or your undying hate, (please god not that last one,) but give me tips and ideas to make it better, or describe what you do like about it already...ok? Just try the idea on for size?
Disclaimer: I own no anime...yet...
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"So, you mind telling us what the deal is, goodie-goodies?" The group sitting in wait in the forest looked to their left and saw the aliens. Kisshu, the speaker, was sitting in a tree branch with, surprisingly, a look of concern on his usually teasing face. Pai was standing at the base of the tree with his arms crossed, staring at them suspiciously. Taruto stood near him with a look of annoyance on his features. He and Pai obviously still thought something was amiss, but at least Kisshu seemed to believe that their intentions weren't trickery.
"Something came up, and if you help us, we're willing to give you a piece of our Mew Aqua," Ryou said steadily, watching their movements. This captured the aliens attention.
"Part of your Mew Aqua? Are you trying to get us to go on a suicide mission or something?" Kisshu asked, hopping down from the tree. Ryou shook his head.
"Haven't you guys ever wondered where we found Hekele and Kachie? The phoenix and dragon? Well, the bastards we saved them from are looking for them now, and with the Mews always popping up to save the city from you guys, we have quite a bit of attention on us right now..."
Pai interjected, "You plan on bribing us to abandon our mission?" His voice held defiance, and anger. The Mews tensed; they needed to be prepared.
"No..." Ryou grounded out, "this would be a temporary truce. We plan on getting out of the city for around the month to lie low, and we can't have you attacking while we're gone now can we? So, we offer you part of the Mew Aqua, give you the location of our hideout so you can keep tabs on us, and you refrain from attacking anything while we're gone."
"I'm not sure we can make that sacrifice for just part of the Mew Aqua..." Pai said diplomatically.
"Please..." Everyone turned to Ichigo. "Look, this was my idea. I figured that since you guys want to restore this planet and seem to hate us humans because we're ruining it, you'd help us protect these two..." she said, motioning to a quiet Kachie and Hekele.
"Why would we want to protect your friends?" Taruto asked apathetically. Pudding glared at him.
"You wanted to take them from us for a reason na no da! If the bad guys get their hands on these two, you won't ever be able to get them na no da!" she retorted. Taruto stuck his tongue out at her.
"Look...you have no idea what these two have been through...they can't go back to that military base, living in test tubes, eating through IVs, getting tested constantly, and having no contact with the outside world...they've been held there since they were young...Kachie since she was seven and Hekele since she was a few months old. You can't possibly allow that to happen to them again can you? That's why we're leaving for a while, and why we want to call this temporary truce..." Lettuce pleaded. Pai looked her up and down critically, still not sure whether or not to believe them.
"We came here unarmed, we're willing to give up part of our Mew Aqua, and we're willing to tell you where we'll be. Doesn't that show that we're hanging ourselves out on the line here? We can't possibly double cross you without putting ourselves in an unimaginable situation. We are as much on the line as these two are; if the military finds Project Mew, they won't be the only ones in test tubes. We all need your help...we wouldn't have called for your help unless we knew we absolutely needed it...and we do...So, can't we cooperate? For now?" Zakuro asked, hopping down from her own perch in a tree and holding out her hand to Pai. Kisshu watched his comrade with interest; the likelihood of Pai agreeing to this idea was one in a million...
Pai stared long and hard at Zakuro, and then at the rest of the group. After a moment his eyes fell on Lettuce, and he reflected on her words and revelations. He was a bit surprised when she gave him a slightly encouraging smile, as if willing him to believe their story. Somehow, after that, he trusted them a bit more...
"...Where will you be hiding yourselves? We'll be popping in from time to time to protect our interests, and need to know where to find you so we can save ourselves the trouble of tracking you down the long way..." he said passively. Everyone's eyes lit up...except for Mint, who had just come to the realization that the aliens would be randomly appearing at her summer home at most likely the worst possible times. She only sighed in resignation as Pai and Zakuro shook hands, and as Ryou and Keichiro shook his and Kisshu's hands as well, as if to seal the deal.
Ryou sighed to himself, both with relief and worry. He took the Mew Aqua and stared at it for a second before getting ready to separate it into a decently sized chunk for the aliens; he couldn't let them feel gypped...that'd be too dangerous...
"Hold it human." Ryou looked up at Pai, who was shaking his head.
"We'll hold you to your word, and as proof of our loyalty to this agreement, keep the payment until after this is over with. It's our contribution so to speak..." he explained. Ryou gave him a sly look.
"I see even aliens know how to wheel and deal..." Pai smirked.
"You're more alien than we'll ever be..."
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"Why didn't I think this through before I offered my summer house?" Mint groaned as she sat in the van that Keichiro had rented. Ichigo smiled.
"Because you were caught up in the cause...why? Are you having second thoughts?" she asked slyly. Mint rolled her eyes.
"I didn't think the aliens would be popping in every now and then...which, knowing them...especially Kisshu...will be at the worst possible times...like..." she trailed off, leaving it up to Ichigo's imagination.
"...When we're dressing...showering...not paying attention...perfect...I think I see your point of view..." the strawberry realized, rolling her eyes. Hekele and Kachie shuddered as they piled in next to her.
"I sincerely hope you're mistaken...or else those aliens might have a few fires lit under their asses from time to time..." Hekele muttered. Ichigo tried not to laugh, but failed to stifle a giggle. Kachie smirked.
"And I'll just have to be nice and put out those fires with some good old-fashioned ice...nice big chunks of ice that will take hours to melt..." she added in. This time, even Mint laughed a bit.
"And what is so funny? Do you realize how crowded this van is going to be in ten seconds!" Ryou asked, irritated. As if on cue, Pudding shoved him into the van so that she could go sit in the last back seat. Ryou grumbled and Hekele, feeling pity, moved over to give him room. He shot her a thankful look and got into to seat quickly not wanting the approaching Lettuce and Zakuro to shove him further.
"Let's get a move on! The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get there and be able to get some sleep!" Keichiro barked lightly as he got into the driver's seat. Zakuro, being quicker than Lettuce, managed to get the much less crowded front seat. Poor Lettuce was stuck between Pudding and Kachie, whom had immediately decided to play a game of I-Spy for the duration of the trip...
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"Ok! My turn again! I spy something..."
"Loud."
"Tireless."
"Pure evil."
"That likes ice."
"Is more blond than Tweety Bird..."
"Hey!"
"And is very annoying..."
"Is it purple na no da?" Pudding asked, ignoring everyone else...just as she and Kachie had been doing for the past hour. Everyone, including Keichiro, sighed collectively and went back to what they had been doing, which in Keichiro's case, was driving on the actual road and not nearly colliding with stray signs on the highway. Ichigo and Mint were collaborating on a scheme to get Pudding and Kachie to stop playing I-Spy, which was proving fruitless; Zakuro, (who in her infinite boredom had switched seats with poor Lettuce at the last rest stop in an attempt to help her retain some semblance of sanity,) was attempting to read a book about controlling temper that she had picked up before the trip; Lettuce herself was enjoying the extra leg room up front while reading Macbeth for the third time that month; and Hekele and Ryou played 'War' with Ryou's deck of cards. In short, everyone was doing something to attempt to drown out Kachie and Pudding.
Not that it worked mind you, but it was a noble battle into the depths of insanity.
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It was late when the group ended up at Mint's summer home. Everyone was drop dead tired as they trudged up the stairs to the front door and went inside. The beautiful architecture did nothing for them in their sleepy stupor as they all made their way to whichever bedrooms they found first, and crashed for the night. They didn't even bother to retrieve their luggage from the van before entering dreamland.
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The aliens watched the Mews and their comrades all evening and into the night from the safety of 'Serenity,' and couldn't help but be a bit amused with the occurrences that took place. Kisshu had been especially interested when the girls had worried over when the aliens would pop up, but Pai and Taruto managed to beat the evil plan forming in his head right out before he even finished forming it. Little did they realize, he had not totally forgotten the idea.
It was when the Mews had all fallen asleep that the aliens switched their monitors back to Tokyo. They were rather interested in if the Mews were correct in that the military would be searching for the phoenix and dragon there, or even still, if they were being completely honest.
After about an hour's worth of scanning, the aliens picked up a large convoy heading into the city's outskirts under the cover of an unnatural darkness. The street lights in the area had all gone out, forcing the aliens to intensify their infra-red images. The convoy was massive, and it stopped and set up in a large building.
Pai frowned, "If that isn't them, then I'll let Kisshu have command for a week...and since that simply isn't going to happen-"
"Hey! What're you-"
"Ha, ha! Pai got you aga-"
"Shut up Taruto! I'm gonna-"
"-then I'm positive it's the so-called military that the Mews referred to...Kisshu, Taruto, Let's discover for ourselves the nature of this anomaly..."
"Uh...Pai?"
Pai groaned at the two, who were staring at him with looks of complete and utter confusion, "Let's spy on them..."
"Gotcha..."
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The three aliens teleported to the roof of the building, making sure to keep low and out of sight. They shuffled over to a window silently and peered inside. There were humans in uniform everywhere. Many had weapons, but there were a large number in white coats that did not. From previous encounters, the aliens deduced that these people must be the scientists.
"Well I'll be damned...those goodie goodies were right after all..." Kisshu whispered as he stared at everything with sharp eyes, memorizing it. Pai was doing the same, while something else caught Taruto's attention.
"Pai, you're the scientist, what do you think those are for?" he asked, pointing to a group of very large glass containers. Pai's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Those would be the testing tubes Taruto...and there are seven of them..." he stressed. Kisshu's eyes narrowed as well as he came to the same realization as Pai.
"These little sneaks thought ahead...they don't know if their two escapees are here...but they know the Mews are supposed to be...so whether or not they get what they came for, they'll get something to show their boss to keep him happy...low-life scums..." he muttered, disgusted. Pai nodded.
"For once, Kisshu, I completely agree."
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"Ok, is everybody awake now na no da? I want to go to the beach na no da!" Pudding screeched happily. Kachie had managed to curl up next to Keichiro on Mint's couch, while the rest of the gang had sat either in one of the Lazy-boys or had plopped on the ground. None of them were as awake as Pudding, but then again, were they ever?
"Pudding...let us sleep! It's six in the morning! We didn't even get to sleep until eleven last night! And that was after a long day's work too!" Ichigo complained, laying back down on the carpet. Ryou, still tired, made no rude remark as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Pudding received similar responses from the rest of the gang and pouted.
"But I couldn't sleep anymore na no da! I desperately needed your attention so I woke you up na no da!"
Mint sighed, "We noticed...now leave us alone for a few more hours..."
Pudding pouted further and Ichigo groaned, "Just two more hours Pudding? At least we're all in one room this time...let us sleep..."
"Awe...is my little kitten still tired?" Ichigo shot straight up at that moment, causing Kisshu, who had appeared behind her, to laugh.
"Bad time kitten?" he asked. Ichigo groaned and plopped back down, not wanting to deal with him at that moment.
"A very bad time Kisshu...do you aliens ever sleep? I swear, you pop up at all hours!" she complained, rolling onto her face and yawning. Kisshu stared at her, surprised by her outburst and lack of a physical attack, before floating into a sitting position a few feet away from her.
"Well, we do need a little less sleep, but I can guarantee that I'm as tired as you are kitten; we were up all night watching the city for signs of your 'friends'."
Ryou opened his eyes then, "Find anything?" Kisshu nodded.
"Yep, they rolled in late last night, long after you all fell asleep. They killed the street lights for their entrance and everything...had a pretty big entourage too..."
Ichigo rolled over then, facing him, "It sounds like they've got a whole bunch of them there...they'll be finished searching the city in no time..." The rest of the Mews were looking at him then, waiting to hear more, and had Kisshu not been in an abnormally serious mood, he'd have enjoyed the added, non-hostile, attention.
"Afraid not kitten. These guys are in it for the long run..." he said regretfully. Keichiro looked at him sternly as he sat up straighter.
"What do you mean Kisshu? What did you three find out?" he asked. Kisshu hesitated, and bit his lip. It was not a sign the Mews were looking for.
"...You need to know that they've set up HQ in the city, and the search there will be the toughest, but they are all over the country; we picked them up on radar. My guess is, if they can't find what they're looking for within their search radius, they'll expand. You seem to be secure for now though...they haven't come close to this place yet...there's a safety zone of about forty miles minimum in any given direction from here.." he began. The group sensed there was more, however, and listed further in silence. Kisshu nibbled on his bottom lip for a second before continuing.
"They're gearing up for more than just these two," he said, motioning to Hekele and Kachie, "they've got enough equipment for all of you...testing tubes and all. They came to Tokyo knowing that you were there, and they intended from the start to go after you as well...you're in more trouble than you bargained for."
No one said a word. Everyone stared at the ground in silence, thinking things over. Kisshu decided quickly that the silence was unnerving, but he knew he should stay at least until Pai and Taruto arrived; the two were looking into getting images for the group at the moment. He snuck a look at Ichigo, and his ears drooped a bit involuntarily at her look of deep concern.
"Have no fear kitten; we're looking out for you. Nothing bad'll happen to you goodie goodies until the truce is over and done with," he said, jokingly. Mint looked at him critically.
"Why are you three sticking your necks out there for us? All we asked for was for you not to terrorize the city while we were away; we never asked for this..." she questioned. Kisshu shrugged, and was about to answer, when Pai did it for him.
"Because we've developed a distinct dislike for these idiots that transcends our hatred for you by tenfold; that's why," he said from Kisshu's side. Taruto appeared next to him. Both were holding files full of data that they had gathered.
"I'm beginning to not regret acting on Ichigo's idea..." Ryou muttered as Pai handed a folder to him.
"In there you'll find a list of all the cities they've assembled in; the first twenty are active, while the rest are waiting for orders from fully swept cities before beginning their own search..." he said. Taruto took the opportunity to hand Keichiro the other folder.
"And this one has all the data we could gather last night on the Tokyo base. Complete with full color images, as well as a few infra-red..." he explained. Keichiro nodded and thanked him.
"We owe you so much right now...you've gone above and beyond our agreement...thank you..." he said, on behalf of everyone. Ryou tried not to roll his eyes at how corny it sounded, and nearly smirked when Kisshu did instead.
"Oh please...we're just trying to protect our interests here...like monkey-girl said yesterday; we can't get our hands on those two if these bimbos get them first. Take a look at their security...or what we've scouted out of it at least...it'd be impossible for us to teleport in undetected..." It was Keichiro's turn to roll his eyes.
"Well, I'm going to make breakfast for everyone...you three are welcome to join us if you like..." he offered, standing up and stretching a bit. Kachie followed suit.
"I'll help!" she said, trying to sound more awake than she was. Keichiro waited up for her and the two went off to the kitchen together.
Pai raised an eyebrow, "Does she always follow him like a missing canine?" Mint rolled her eyes this time.
"Lost dog; the term is, 'lost dog,' and yes, she does," she said, shaking her head at the alien. The two glared at each other for a moment before Pudding interrupted.
"Tar-Tar, wanna play cards na no da?" Pudding asked innocently. Taruto growled at her dangerously.
"For the thousandth time! Do not call me Tar-Tar!"
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Pai stared at the television and then looked at Lettuce, "I don't get it."
Lettuce watched the Coyote fly off a cliff and hold up a bunch of signs as he fell...and once he hit the ground, he left a Coyote shaped crater in the dirt, from which he emerged with a cast on his arm out of nowhere.
"What are you talking about? It's funny!" she said. Pai watched as the same Coyote used a rocket and set of hand crafted wings to fly after the Roadrunner, only to have the rocket stop functioning conveniently hundreds of feet above the ground. The Coyote stopped in mid air, waved, and plummeted to his doom, from which he emerged once more, with only a black eye and a cast on his leg.
"...That would never happen..." he said. Lettuce shook her head and snuggled into her corner of the couch.
"That's why it's called a cartoon Pai, it's not supposed to be realistic...it's supposed to be humorous...Oh look! Tweety Bird's on! Hekele!" she called over her shoulder. Hekele came running into the room out of nowhere and plopped on the couch next to Lettuce. Pai stared at them for a moment before Ryou appeared around the corner with a confused look on his face.
"What's going on? I thought we were playing cards." Hekele looked up at him apologetically.
"Sorry...but my show's on! See!" she pointed teasingly at the television. Ryou watched as Tweety Bird utilized the dog to chase off Sylvester...and maul him.
"Ha ha...very funny..." he muttered. Hekele pouted and grabbed his wrist, pulling him down next to her to watch the cartoon.
"You need to have more fun Sylvester...now...watch my cartoon counterpart get the better of you yet again!" she said in an evil tone. Obviously, breakfast and coffee had woken her up.
Pai stared at the two for a moment from his suddenly cramped end of the couch and shook his head, "Cartoon counterpart?" Hekele looked over at him and nodded.
"Uh-huh! He calls me Tweety Bird as a nickname because I'm the phoenix, so to irritate him, I call him Sylvester...that's the cat's name..." she explained as Sylvester got mauled by the dog once more after trying to use dynamite to blow his tail off.
"I see..." was all Pai said as he watched Ryou slap his head in annoyance. Lettuce laughed again and leaned her head on the couch's arm rest contently, happy for the peaceful time with the aliens. She wouldn't mention it to anyone else, but she had a feeling that their temporary truce was going to become permanent. She wasn't bothered by the idea one bit either.
"Hey...how about, in a couple of hours, Ichigo and I take Hekele and Kachie to get swim suits? Then we can all go to the beach! Or, if the aliens feel like sticking around, Mint's indoor pool! It'd be fun..." she suggested. Ryou looked to be thinking over the idea, and nodded.
"What do you think Tweety Bird?" he asked, looking over at her. Hekele's eyes lit up.
"That sounds great!" she said excitedly. She jumped up to go and tell Kachie about the idea, only to be pulled back onto the couch by Ryou.
Ryou grinned when she gave him a confused look, "Nope...you ditched me to watch cartoons, so now watch your precious cartoons..." Hekele stared at him for a moment, before glaring a bit, knowing that he was messing with her head again.
"You're mean..." she muttered. Ryou smirked.
"You started it..." he replied as he turned away from her to watch the television. Hekele sighed, knowing she was defeated, and turned to face the television. It was then that she realized that Ryou's arm was still around her from when he pulled her back onto the couch. Smiling a bit, she leaned lightly on his shoulder, only to feel him give her a small squeeze in return.
Pai watched the exchange with a bemused expression and quirked an eyebrow at Lettuce, who smiled and winked at him. He sighed and returned his gaze to the television, only to find a rabbit hop into a hole in the ground and come out of a tree, disguise himself as a woman, and seduce the hunter who was chasing him, only to end up tricking him into thinking that he had won an contest, shove him onto a train, which ended up at the North Pole, even though there are no locomotive routes leading into the Arctic.
"I still don't get it."
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"I refuse to leave this room! This is practically underwear!" Kachie complained from her dressing room. Ichigo and Lettuce laughed.
"It's ok! And I thought you were trying on a one piece Kachie, those aren't that bad..." Lettuce reasoned. Kachie could be heard grumbling.
"I refuse to leave this room with this scandalous thing on."
"Kachie-chan! Hurry up! I want a chance to try on my suit!" Hekele called to her.
"Bite me!"
"No, I'll burn you! Now hurry it up!"
"Oh yeah? I'll ice you and your fire!"
"Would you two stop drawing attention to yourselves? We're trying to keep you hidden not found...got it?" Ichigo warned. Hekele narrowed her eyes at the door.
"Kachie-chan..."
"No!"
Ichigo sighed and looked at Lettuce, "Well, this has certainly been fun..." Lettuce smiled.
"I guess Kachie's more modest than we thought, oh well...you'd think it would be the other way around, since Hekele has never been swimming before..."
Hekele turned around. "Oh, we've both been swimming before, it was part of our exercises, and one or two of the tests. That's why our legs were able to adapt after a day or so walking with normal gravity instead of floating in liquid," she explained. Lettuce rolled her eyes.
"Well, at least you had that going for you..." she muttered. Hekele, however, hadn't heard her, and was instead attempting to get Kachie to show off her swim suit.
Lettuce thought for a moment before looking at the red head next to her, "Ichigo? Isn't it weird to have the aliens around so much? And for us to be on good terms with them?" Ichigo nodded.
"Definitely...those guys seem pretty normal after a while...despite how pale they are, their floating abilities, inability to have the oxygen choked out of them, and big pointy ears..." she consented. Lettuce smiled.
"What did Kisshu do?" she asked. Ichigo rolled her eyes.
"While you and Pai were watching cartoons, he was attempting to sweep me off my feet and scare the living day lights out of me...while I was still in my night gown!" she growled, "Then the stupid pervert tried to steal a kiss...again..."
Lettuce shook her head, "At least he doesn't grope you and ask you to bear his child."
Ichigo burst into laughter at that, "You watch Inuyasha? Wow...I didn't have you pegged as a fan..."
Lettuce rolled her eyes, "Kachie got me to watch it once...and now I'm hooked...I swear...she and Hekele are more human than we are!" Ichigo nodded.
"Sad isn't it?"
"Very..."
"We heard that!" both girls cried from the changing room area. Ichigo rolled her eyes.
"Kachie! Get out of there so we can see you and so Hekele can try hers on! You're as bad as a two-year-old!" That remark did it. Kachie emerged from the dressing room with her suit on. It was a cute royal blue one piece with a black ribbon tied just below her chest. It looked good on her.
"See? You look great! That suit works for you! Now go change back so that Hekele can try hers on," Ichigo praised. Lettuce nodded in agreement. Kachie blushed a bit and was about to return to the dressing room when Hekele burst in and locked the door behind her. Kachie stood there, shocked.
"Hekele-chan...this isn't funny Hekele-chan! Let me back in there so I can change back into my clothes..."
"Nope! You wouldn't get out, so I'm getting my revenge..."
Kachie was about to argue further, when a couple of guys walked past the group in the aisle. They took one look at Kachie in her suit and whistled, making her blush a whole new shade of crimson.
"Hekele-chan! Get out of there...Now!"
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"BUNZAI! Pudding screamed as she jumped into Mint's pool. Mint sat herself onto her pool chair and floated out to the center of the pool, being mindful of Zakuro diving from the diving board. Ichigo stood at the edge of the water defiantly, not wanting to get herself wet, but knowing that it was going to happen anyway. As if on cue, Kisshu appeared behind her and lifted her into the air by grabbing onto her waist.
""Kyyaahh! Kisshu! Put me down! Let go of me you perverted alien!" she screeched. Kisshu smirked as he whispered in her ear.
"Have it your way kitten..." Ichigo only had time to widen her eyes in realization before Kisshu promptly let go of her. However, Ichigo was quicker than he had anticipated, and she grabbed onto his ankle on the way down, not giving him enough time to adjust to the sudden weight and causing him to fall into the pool with her. When the two resurfaced, they were met by everyone's laughter. Ichigo turned beat red and hit Kisshu roughly on the head before swimming over to the edge of the pool, muttering about how stupid green-haired aliens needed to develop a maturity level. Kisshu only smirked at her.
"Nice one kitten...you caught me off guard...but it won't happen next time..." he purred. Ichigo flashed him a glare.
"Next time? Kisshu, if there's a next time, I'll have Hekele evaporate the water out from under you...I'll be fine; cats land on their feet...but you won't be so lucky..." she promised darkly. Kisshu pouted, but decided to leave her alone for a while.
Pudding and Taruto were having a race across the pool. Taruto was suspected of cheating during their first one, so Pudding made it a point of making him promise not to use his powers during the second. Lettuce and Pai had yet to go into the water, both more content with watching their comrades from the sidelines. Lettuce struck up a conversation about the differences between the aliens' technology and the technology on Earth, and Pai readily compared them with her. Intelligent conversation seemed to bring Pai into the group more, and Lettuce was happy to hear him say more than a sentence or two at a time. Hekele and Ryou were challenging Kachie and Keichiro to a game of chicken...in which due to Keichiro's height, they ended up losing and getting dunked...multiple times...
It wasn't long before Kisshu decided to strike again...by doing a cannon ball off of Mint's diving board and getting water everywhere...including on Pai and Lettuce. Lettuce, annoyed, took off her glasses and attempted to clean them as Pai glared daggers at his comrade.
"Kisshu...you will regret that...I guarantee it..." he muttered. Kisshu grinned at him.
"Whatever you say Pai...like you could do anything to me anyways..." he retorted boldly. Pai only raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that he could easily convince Ichigo and Taruto to torment Kisshu for him. Hell, after thinking about it, he knew that he could most likely get all of the humans in on it if he tried...
Pai smirked to himself, "We'll see about that..."
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It was interesting for the aliens to watch everyone about an hour after they all got out of the pool. Everyone, Kisshu and Taruto included, were quite tired. Lettuce had explained to an inquisitive Pai that it had to do with the chemicals that kept the pool clean. About an hour and a half after the group got out of the pool, they all ended up falling asleep.
Pai wasted no time in waking Ichigo up to begin his master plan. And after she had glared daggers at him for interrupting her cat-nap, he explained to both her and Lettuce his plan for tormenting Kisshu. Ichigo grinned evilly.
"My boyfriend would absolutely hate me for this...but if it's to get even with Kisshu...I'm in...what're we talking about...a few days...maybe a week of good acting?" she asked. Pai nodded and Ichigo smirked.
"How about Lettuce and I start us off with a more immediate prank? It'll take a day or so for me to smoothly, and more importantly, believably, blend into the role you need me to...and I'm sure some immediate vengeance would be nice..." she suggested. Pai's eyes shimmered a bit with mischief, something never seen before.
"What exactly do you have in mind?"
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It took an hour of very careful work, but Ichigo and Lettuce's little 'project' was a success. As they stepped back to admire their handiwork, Pai appeared from the kitchen juggling three small bowls of ice cream; Ichigo had told him where to find the cold treat. He looked at his second-in-command with a satisfying smile as he handed each of the girls their bowls vanilla of ice cream. The three of them sat on the couch with content expressions playing about their faces.
"You know Lettuce, I honestly didn't think you'd agree with my idea, much less actually help me..." Ichigo mused. Lettuce took a bite of her ice cream and grinned at her friend.
"There is much about me that you don't know Ichigo...one of them happens to be the fact that I too am an immature teenage girl when I feel the need to be..." she retorted. Ichigo nodded approvingly at her friend and sighed as she turned to look at Kisshu.
"Pai?" she asked. The alien looked up.
"Hm?"
Ichigo smiled broadly, "I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship..."
Pai smirked at her, and then joined her in gazing at Kisshu, "Indeed it may very well be..." Lettuce chuckled a bit and raised her bowl in the air.
"Cheers!" she said. Ichigo smiled gamely and Pai grinned a bit.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers..."
Little did our dear sleeping Kisshu realize that his world and the worlds of his comrades were fast going to become first a wondrous Heaven, a living Hell, and then a rather iffy in-between realm where the line between newly-formed friendships and past loyalties is drawn, tested, and broken; a realm where anything goes...including unexpected emotions towards 'sworn enemies'...
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Me- Ta da! It's a bit shorter than my usual ones, but it's still fourteen whole pages long...and I only took about a week to write it all! Aren't you so proud of me!
Kachie- Wow...now I have something to look forward to when I get home!
Me- Yeah...Kachie's in Florida until after Thanksgiving...watch out for that tropical storm will ya bud? I'd be devastated if anything happened to you or your aunt...
Kachie- Don't worry about me...worry about updating your Inuyasha chapter quickly so that you can get back to this story!
Me- Lol...ok, since you asked me to! Oh, and to all of my reviewers, and Kachie, Happy Thanksgiving! May all of you get as doped up on tryptophane as me this Thursday! Oh, and if it snows on that day...Blame my friend Jessica...it's her birthday...
Kachie- Yep...it has snowed, for the past NINE years, on November 24th where we live...ever since she moved here...Hekele hates it...
Me- Oh well...I'll live..Happy Birthday Jessica! Hope you have a great Thanksgiving/B-day! You rock!
Kachie- Ok, now that we're done being sentimental...REVIEW!