Fire and Ice: Chapter 9
Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated...after Christmas Eve, (one Inuyasha chapter and two prize one-shots after the last chapter of this story,) I got pretty lazy, and didn't even think about my stories until I started this chapter up on the 2nd of Jan. I also learned that my grandmother was in the hospital with a malignant brain tumor a day or so before Christmas. I've sort of been unable to write much since then. Then when I started to feel human again, finals were upon me and I had to study. Then, while suffering from test anxiety on Thursday, (day one of finals,) I learned that my grandmother had passed away...so...I'm in pretty rotten shape right now. I know this chapter is really short, but I feel the need to work on something different for a while, and you people don't deserve to be on the hook for as long as you were, let alone any longer. So, I know this isn't the most savvy chappie, and that not much happens, but I hope it'll work for now...
Here's the chappie... Ta-frickin'-da... I was listening to 'Scars' by Papa Roach when I wrote most of the end, so...be prepared for threads of friendship to begin to be slightly exposed as something more...and for those threads to fray a bit...
Disclaimer- If I owned TMM, I probably would have a Ryou cabana boy to go with my Sesshoumaru cabana boy, (which I would only have if I owned Inuyasha of course...)
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Ryou held Hekele's wrist tightly as he dragged her down the street towards the town. He hadn't said a word to her since they had left Mint's summer home; Ryou was too annoyed to speak. He couldn't believe that she held so little faith in the group's ability to keep Kachie and herself safe.
How can she think so negatively of this? She sounded almost as though she were counting the days until she was stuck in a test tube being prodded with needles and tubes again...like she had already given up...
"Ryou? Ryou, please say something...where are we going?" Hekele asked quietly, unnerved by his silence. Ryou sighed and stopped walking, but didn't release her wrist. For a moment he didn't say anything, but then he turned to her and looked at her with solemn eyes.
"You don't really think they'll get you, do you Tweety Bird?" he asked, knowing the answer already. Hekele sighed and lowered her gaze.
"They have more power than us...they have more technology than us, more of what they need to find us than what we have to stay safely hidden...They will find us eventually Ryou..." she said somberly. Ryou, having heard this, only offered her a stern look before continuing to pull her towards the town.
"...If you truly feel that way, then I'm gonna have to get you more attached to freedom..." he said monotonously. Hekele offered him a confused expression.
"...Why? I already love it more than anything Ryou, I don't think I could possibly get more attached to it," she stated. Ryou shook his head lightly and, as they entered town, pulled her down a random street towards some unknown destination. He didn't say anything for a moment as they continued onward.
Finally, as they approached an outdoor mall, Ryou did speak, "Of course you could love it more, if you're so willing to be taken you obviously don't care..."
Hekele halted suddenly, not allowing him to drag her further, "I am, by no means, willing to go back to that hell-hole, Ryou; do not ever presume otherwise." Her tone was dead-pan, and almost threatening, but Ryou's was downright icy when he responded to her.
"If you're willing to give up hope without fighting for your freedom, then you obviously don't want to be free, understand Hekele? If you give up this easily, after all we've done and promised to do, then you may as well walk into their open, rubber gloved, doctor masked, lab coat clad arms! Get it! We aren't about to let that happen to either you or Kachie, so you had better shape up and start thinking about what you really want out of life, because some of the most important things in history happened despite impossible odds like these."
Hekele's eyes shifted fearfully at his elevated tone. Her heart was beating anxiously, not knowing what to do or say. His words had made sense, she supposed, but he had frightened her. She finally looked away from him, not being able to do anything else. Sensing her hesitation and anxious state, his eyes softened remorsefully and he lightened his hold on her wrist. He pulled her into a small hug, wanting to soothe the feathers he had stupidly ruffled.
"...I'm sorry Tweety Bird...I didn't mean to scare you like that...but...you've gotta understand...we all care about you two, and when you talk like that doesn't mean anything in the end, it's like telling us that you don't care. I know it's dumb...but if you don't trust us to keep you safe, if you don't fight for it, then why mourn losing it?" He rocked her from side-to-side as he said it, as if willing her to understand what he wished to convey. After a moment or so of this, Hekele's tense figure gave way as she wrapped her arms around Ryou's middle and started to cry into his chest.
"I...I don't want..."
"Sshhh...I know Tweety Bird...I know...I'm just being my stupid self like usual...I know you don't really want them to get you...I know that you're afraid...I'm sorry for being such an ass about it..." He gave her a tentative kiss on the forehead before laying his head on hers and rubbing her back to hopefully calm her.
It took a good three or four minutes, but as soon as Ryou was convinced that she was better, he carefully, gently, took her hand in his and led her towards the mall.
"Come on Tweety Bird...this place is bound to have a food court...let's get some dinner before we head back..." he suggested quietly. Hekele silently blushed a bit at their clasped hands but nodded slowly.
"...That sounds nice...arigato Ryou..."
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Zakuro shook her head, "You have got to be kidding me. Shirogane-san and Keichiro will, in no way, like this idea..."
Pai shrugged, "It's not like we have a choice here. If the nodes remain in them, then Hekele's fear will be realized sooner than even she imagined. Taking them to Serenity where we can scan and most likely safely remove the nodes is the best option we have...it's the only one really..."
Lettuce bit her lip, "That being said...Keichiro-san and Shirogane-san will NOT like it one bit...but Pai is right..." Mint stared at her in disbelief.
"Whose side are you on anyway, Lettuce! You think we should just trust them to take Hekele and Kachie to their ship, alone, and then safely return them when their finished playing the good citizens?" she shouted. Lettuce cowered a bit, but held a defiant stance. She was about to respond to Mint's argument, when an equally upset, and steadily turning red, Pai beat her to it.
"Don't be absurd! We'd take at least a few of you with us to ensure that your precious friends would be returned to you in one piece. We had an agreement, and we intend to stick to it. We are allies until this whole fiasco is over with...at least..." he muttered that last part, but Lettuce could make out what he said. She stared at him oddly, her previous conversation with Ichigo coming to mind. Kisshu too seemed to have heard, because he slouched a bit and gave a seemingly sad shake of his head.
Ichigo's eyes shifted from Kisshu to Pai, waiting for one of them to say something. Kisshu kept quiet, though Ichigo knew he was running through what he had said to her that afternoon in his mind. Ichigo took a deep breath as Mint began to argue once more with Lettuce and Pai. Taruto had elected to vanish and figure out where Pudding had suddenly disappeared to. The girl was nowhere to be seen, but it seemed that only he seemed to notice.
"Pai, you're looney if you think that we're about to let you take us to that ship of yours! You'd probably just lock us up in there!"
"Mint! He, Kisshu, and Taruto have been helping us! In case you haven't noticed, Kisshu came down here to warn us about what he found out! Why would he warn us if they were out to get us!" Lettuce shouted back in the aliens' defense. Mint was about to reel on her when Zakuro stepped in between them and glared at Mint.
"Mint, stop acting like a child with a temper tantrum! I happen to trust the aliens; they haven't steered us wrong yet, and I doubt they will even consider it until this agreement is over with. If they were as conniving and dishonest as you seem to believe, then they would make their move after getting their piece of the Mew Aqua from us. Also, in case you've forgotten, Pai refused up-front payment of the piece to ensure that they could be trusted. Stop jumping to conclusions without thinking things through. I may not be the most trusting individual in the group, but at least I think." Mint winced and her eyes visibly clouded over, almost as if she were going to cry. Zakuro was her idol and role model, so for her to scold Mint to the point she did had a strong effect on the girl. Mint instantly shut her lip, but spun on her heel and stomped towards her room in a huff. Zakuro watched her go with steadily softening eyes. When Mint was finally heard slamming her door, she spoke once more.
"She's a good girl...but she's gotta learn that the world isn't black and white...and that jumping to conclusions and sticking to them while ignoring evidence suggesting otherwise isn't only dumb, but completely ignorant. Grey is a shade too..." she said wisely. Pai, in his anger, still looked a bit red, but said nothing to argue her point.
"...Thank you, Zakuro, for defending our integrity, and you as well Lettuce. At least there are a few who actually trust us..." he said under his breath. Lettuce smiled at him weakly and touched his shoulder in support. Zakuro gave a curt nod.
"Well, you've been a big help so far, and we've got no real reason to doubt that you'll keep your word in the future. I'm an honest person, I'll admit that much. It's what'll happen after this deal is up that concerns me..." She stood up from her seat and walked towards the diningroom, where she could access the patio outside and sit in peace. Feeling everyone's curious eyes on her, she turned back to them when she reached the door.
"Friends make lousy enemies..."
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"Pudding? Where are you kid?" Taruto called mildly. After not receiving an answer, he rolled his eyes.
"Come on shorty...this is immature..." He heard a childish snort and turned his head towards a tree. Seeing Pudding's foot peeking from below some leaves, he transported into the tree next to her.
Pudding rolled her eyes, "You'd know all about immaturity, wouldn't you Tar-Tar na no da?"
Taruto glared but, seeing the upset expression on her face, let it go, "What's eating you? You're supposed to be the energetic super-freak of the group, not the gloomy one. It's kind of weird..."
Pudding sighed, "When we go home...will we really have to hate each other again na no da?"
Taruto blinked, not understanding the question, "What'd ya mean, 'will we have to hate each other again?' That's a dumb question..." Pudding shook her head.
"When we go home, the deal is up, and as soon as the deal is up, won't we have to fight each other again na no da?" she asked, wording her question differently. Taruto pondered this for a moment.
"I guess so...for a while at least. I don't really think I could fight you now that we've become friends...no matter how annoying you are...eventually, we'd stop."
Pudding smiled softly and held out her pinky to him, "Promise we'll stay friends na no da?" Taruto, surprisingly, didn't hesitate. He entwined her pinky in his and shook it.
"Promise! Now get outta this tree before I push you!"
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Keichiro walked idly through the gardens with Kachie by his side, in awe of all the plants and flowers they were seeing. Kachie herself seemed entranced with a blue flower that almost looked like it had a bursting firework of littler blue flowers coming out of it...
Mint had mentioned the gardens when he asked about restaurants earlier. Interested, he asked Kachie if she would like to go and walk around there after dinner, and she had readily agreed. Now, as it was dark outside, the plants were illuminated with strings of lights on the edges of the stone path they were slowly walking on. The flowers were surprisingly easy to see, and it made for quite a peaceful and romantic walk.
"Keichiro-kun...this place is beautiful...Mint wasn't kidding..." Kachie said as she tore herself away from the blue flower. Keichiro nodded.
"Everything's so exotic...trust Mint to know about something like that..." he said knowingly. Kachie grinned a bit and offered an agreeing nod.
"She does have an eye for things above the norm...but that's a good thing...if she didn't, we wouldn't have had that wonderful dinner..." she said.
Keichiro nodded as he lightly clasped his hand in hers and the two continued on, "It was very good...but not as nice over all as this..."
The two entered in a comfortable silence as they walked through the gardens slowly, looking at every illuminated plant and flower that they could find. Keichiro lightly joked about starting a garden...and then told her how he killed a petunia plant within two days of purchasing it. After telling him to stick with his day job, Kachie told him how, when she was young, before she was taken to the base, she had this plant that her mother had given her.
"I vowed to take good care of it. So, naturally, it died the next day," After Keichiro muffled a laugh, she continued, "...and I was heartbroken...so my mother told me that the plant was 'sleeping,' and that it would wake up the next morning...and sure enough, there was a healthy plant, in the same pot mind you, when I woke up and checked on it. The next morning...it was 'sleeping' again..."
Keichiro smirked and shook his head, "And how long did this keep up?"
Kachie blushed, "I was able to keep my plant 'alive' for about a month...and then eventually my mother told me that our cat had killed it when it didn't 'wake up' when it was supposed to...I was so mad at that cat...anyway...she must have bought me like...thirty or thirty-one plants..."
Keichiro allowed himself to laugh completely at this, "May I present, Kachie, the bringer of the black thumb..." Kachie hit him in the arm with her elbow, but smiled.
"So...what're we going to do when we get back? After we thank Mint for the info of course?" she asked. Keichiro shrugged.
"Probably be conned into making their dinner..." he replied, only half joking. Kachie smiled.
"Probably..."
It took about an hour more, but when they finally reached the end of the vast gardens, both were a bit sad. Keichiro promised that they'd go at least once more before they left the area, in the daytime, so that's they would be able to take some pictures. Kachie agreed instantly.
When they were nearly home, Keichiro stopped suddenly and pulled Kachie into a hug. Surprised, Kachie wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him back.
"What's wrong?" she asked him. Keichiro, still holding her, smiled down at her.
"Nothing really...just my inability to express how much I care for you while within a fifty foot radius of our friends...don't ask why, I have no idea...all I know is, I need enough hugs to sustain me until our next date, because knowing me, I'll be too much of a cold fish to get one between now and then..." he admitted, laughing at himself. Kachie giggled a bit and gave him a squeeze.
"That's sweet...have all the hugs you want!" she replied, trying to draw attention away from her rising blush. Keichiro saw it however, and smiled. After thinking it over for a moment, he leaned down and lightly pecked her on the lips.
Seeing Kachie blush even further, Keichiro's smile broadened slightly, "That'll help to..."
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Hekele and Ryou enjoyed their tacos in silence. Ryou didn't feel like causing Hekele to cry again, and Hekele didn't feel like getting Ryou in a bad mood a second time that night. It was, however, a comfortable silence, broken only as the two threw away their taco wrappers and started walking away from the restaurant patio.
"I didn't expect you to be a taco person Tweety Bird; that makes seafood, chicken, casserole, ice cream concoctions, pizza, and now we're working our way to Mexican food...is there anything you won't try?" Ryou asked teasingly. Hekele blushed a bit and shrugged.
"Who knows...anything is better than nothing, so I guess I'll try it no matter what it is..." she admitted. Ryou nodded at her response knowingly and fell into stride beside her as they walked.
"So, now what?" he asked. Hekele looked up at him, confused.
"What do you mean? We're not going back?" she asked. It was Ryou's turn to shrug.
"Not unless you want to; I think the group can last a while longer without listening to our bickering for entertainment..." he joked lightly. Hekele smiled and nodded.
"Can we go by the beach again? I really liked it there..." she asked. Ryou nodded and grabbed her hand, leading her in the direction of the beach.
"I hate to say it, but I think it's strange that you like the water so much. You are a giant flaming bird after all..." Hekele tilted her head thoughtfully.
"...Maybe there's more to being a phoenix than simply destruction..." she said softly. Ryou elbowed her disapprovingly.
"Of course there is...nothing good comes from destruction, and destruction can't heal. You, however, are both. You're good through and through...and you can heal others as well as yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if you had other unknown abilities as well...Kachie too..." he said. Hekele nodded in acceptance of his reply and smiled as they came upon the beach.
The ocean air filled her lungs and Hekele took deep, comforting breaths. Ryou watched her with a small smile, happy that she seemed content. He enjoyed the peacefulness as well; the calming that seemed to automatically come with spending time with Hekele. The two walked slowly across the beach, still hand-in-hand. They were about a quarter of a mile away from Mint's summer house when they got the shock of their lives.
A pissed off alien popping up in front of them without a second's worth of notice, grabbing them, and transporting back to the house in a huff was not exactly their ideal way to end their evening.
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"You two stupid goodie goodies are gonna make me turn grey, and I don't even like you!" Kisshu exclaimed in an annoyed tone as he dropped the two blonds unceremoniously on the couch, crushing Kachie and Keichiro, who had only just sat down themselves.
After getting shoved off rather violently and quickly, the two sat up and stared at Kisshu angrily. "What, exactly, was with you giving us heart attacks for no apparent reason?" Ryou asked, quite perturbed. Hekele shared his sentiment.
"Yes, Kisshu, what exactly was the big idea?" she questioned. Kisshu rolled his eyes and pointed at the rest of the group, save Mint, who couldn't help but stare at the two humorously.
"They made me go find you two love birds because we've got a problem on our hands. A big one," he complained. Ryou cocked an eyebrow.
"What's the problem?" he asked. Pai answered.
"The military is surrounding our forty mile safety zone. They are mobilizing most of their other bases and coming here, and the ones here are slowly becoming active."
The color drained from both Ryou's and Hekele's faces. "...They know we're here? How..." Pai cut Hekele off.
"They know that you are within a forty mile radius of this pinpointed spot. They cannot track you specifically anywhere within it. This leads us to believe that you and Kachie both have tracking nodes planted somewhere on you, and that they are damaged beyond comprehension."
Kisshu cut in there, "We want to take you two up to Serenity to scan you for and possibly remove the nodes. Until we know where they are, there's nothing that can be done. Once the nodes are out, we can place them somewhere away from here to throw the guys off your trail, and you'll be far better off than you are now."
Ryou and Keichiro looked at one another questioningly, (this was the first that Keichiro and Kachie had heard as well,) and uncertainly. "...We have to give it a shot I suppose...it's not like we can just walk into a hospital and ask for a scan and removal without giving a reason..." Keichiro said slowly, still thinking. Ryou nodded to himself, his eyes shifting to a nervous looking Hekele.
"Since we've obviously got no choice...I guess we'll have to. But under one condition-"
"Yeah, yeah, we know, you and Keichiro have to come too. And you may as well bring a Mew or two while you're at it; since I know you'll ask that one next..." Kisshu said in a bored tone. Ryou narrowed his eyes a little at the rude alien but said nothing else. Instead, he looked at Hekele and Kachie.
"Well? What do you two think? It's ultimately your decision..." he questioned lightly, noting how nervous both of them seemed. He would have raised an eyebrow at how Keichiro's arm had found it's way around Kachie's waist comfortingly when no one was looking, but instead decided to keep his tormenting to a minimum until everyone settled down.
Kachie looked over at Hekele and then up at Keichiro before she said anything, "Well, if it'll help, then we may as well. It's only a matter of time until they find us the way things are going now...but if we can remove the nodes and take them somewhere else, then we've got more than a fair shot..."
Hekele nodded, taking a moment longer to speak, "We may have our differences, but there's no reason not to trust you...You've done nothing but aid us, despite the animosity at first. I say we go and get these things out of us..." Then, after a pause, she added, "Why is it, that when this is all over, that I can't feel it ever returning? The animosity I mean..."
Ichigo looked at her oddly, and Pudding smiled. Pai seemed to be deep in thought, seriously thinking about the topic for the first time. He looked over at Lettuce, who was smiling almost as brightly as Pudding, and his eyes softened. No, he, like Taruto, couldn't imagine the hate returning either.
Kisshu, however, couldn't keep silent, "Whether it returns or not, we'll have to fight eventually. We have a mission, you have a mission, and we both need to accomplish it at all costs. Not even friendship could change that. Loyalty to our causes is how we function."
Ichigo narrowed her eyes at him a bit, hurt. "Loyalty to a cause and loyalty to those you care about are on two completely different planes. And who's to say there can't be a compromise between the two anyway? Humans aren't so evil, and aliens obviously aren't either. If you were here with us in the beginning, you have a right to be here with us now."
Kisshu growled a bit, "Humans wouldn't accept our kind any more than they accept their own differences. Rules and laws are nothing. It's either us or you."
"If you resign to giving up then how can you expect any better? If you're a quitter then you don't care. I know aliens aren't so perfect that they don't have wars with one another over stupid things, I know you're all as human as us on the inside, and part of being human is having faults! You are obnoxious to the point it should be a crime, Taruto can be the same way and he has no respect for those older than him, Pai is too silent and calculating, he needs to live a little more. And you know what? I talk too much without thinking first, I barge into things without thinking, hell, let's go as far as to say that I don't think period! Mint is too close minded and distrusting, Zakuro is too aloof and void, Lettuce is clumsy and quiet, Pudding is too energetic and brash, Ryou's a jerk, Keichiro's too nice for his own good, Hekele's way too mousy and insecure, and Kachie's accepting, trusting, and patient to a fault. Do you get it? We all have faults! Every single one of us! And you know what? I'm pretty sure aliens can be as evil as humans, so even if we had problems merging them together, it'd work itself out in the end. It may take a while, but it would happen. YOU, Kisshu, need to look at the big picture instead of two days from now." Everyone was silent as Ichigo took a huge breath. She had obviously had quite a bit on her mind, and ironically, everyone shared her point of view.
Kisshu glared daggers back at Ichigo. "It. Wouldn't. Work. We'll keep on fighting, the stronger will win, the weaker will lose, and-"
"And either way, you'll be sorry Kisshu, yeah, I remember what you told me. That doesn't mean you're right," Ichigo finished. She turned away from him and walked away, not saying another word.
No one said another word for minutes. The silence was quite possibly thicker than Kisshu's skull. Eventually, Ryou spoke, "Kisshu, you've got one hurt, pissed, and most likely correct kitty on your hands. You're making it up to her and dealing with it, not us."
Pai only glared at his comrade before he too spoke, "Lettuce, would you accompany us to Serenity? To pacify Mint, a Mew should go." Lettuce blushed at the invitation and agreed to come. Nodding in a satisfied fashion, Pai addressed the others.
"Let's get going then, better get this over with sooner than later. Kisshu, you're not to return until you make things right with Ichigo." When Kisshu was about to protest, Pai glared at him, "She's right you know, you'd never fight her; you care for her too much, but since you're too stupid to look for a way around it, you try to make her hate you so it'll be easier. I'm not an idiot you know. And even if it's a long shot, working against odds for peace is better than giving up and preparing for war."
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Ichigo sat in 'her' room sadly. She looked over at a picture of Masaya that she had brought with her from home, and sighed. Why didn't she feel that warmth she always felt when she thought of him? Why was Kisshu's stupidity hurting her so much? Why did it make her heart ache to think that he may be right?
There was a time, less than a week before, when the mere thought of Kisshu made Ichigo seethe with anger, but now it was different. Now...when she thought about Kisshu...her heart hurt. Like she actually cared for him.
And not just as a friend either...because my heart wouldn't ache like this if he were just my friend... she thought solemnly. She looked at Masaya's picture one more time and then turned it down. She knew what had happened. She knew why she didn't feel the warmth she was so accustomed to.
She had fallen in love with someone new, someone who would probably hurt her in the end, someone who flirted like hell but didn't really want her love...
She had fallen for Kisshu.
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Me- There, I have updated. Friday, January, 20, 2006. Now, my goal is to get you another update by February 20th, one month from today. Wish me luck!
P.S. I would really appreciate reviews on this one. Especially my whole thing with Kisshu and Ichigo being a pair. Is that ok? (Not that I'll change it.) Did I do all right?