Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews . I am so pleasantly surprised at all the Aoyama-hate floating around out there. It's so wonderful to find kindred spirits; fine people to make an army of when the day to kill Masaya finally comes… :P
Sorry for the cliffhanger! That wasn't meant to be there; the convo between Ichigo and Taruto just kinda got out of control, and I didn't feel like shoving too much into one chapter. I like keeping my chappies short and rather… thematic, in a sense. Thus, I couldn't add a whole different scene to it. Breaks my balance :P Besides, I had to go to sleep. Had a physics test today….which I didn't know about until teacher told us to take out our pencils…I guess that doesn't count then, eh?
Toni: Hehe. Yup, it was a happy birthday to you. And don't worry; you know I feel the Ichigo-hate, but remember, we all have to think of Kish. If we kill Ichigo, what would he do? If only he would somehow accept Lettuce, goddess that she is…
BlackWingedGabriel: I dunno… we're gonna have to work out some sort of a deal here… you thinking of de-earing him? I think he's rather fond of his ears… There has to be some compromise we can negotiate here. And yes, evil cliffie. Sorry 'bout that .
KishISmyOBSESSION: Plushie, thou sayeth? Sylvia wanteth a plushie… Sylvia wanteth it quite badly… pokes Toni Does Flushing have those?
Mimiru-sama: Your passionate abhorrence of Aoyama makes my heart sing with joy I'm assuming that by the whole sleeping thing, you mean when she turns kitty by accident? If that's not in, then I'm missing something big (I don't read manga, only watch anime).
Everyone else whom I cannot list because it's 11:00 and I need to start now in order to keep my tradition: Thanks for the reviews . Some of you guys are asking for more characters; I'm slow with fics (Toni and Sheebs know that). I like drawing things out for my own odd sense of realism, so be patient xP. I may add more, I may not. Depends on how things go. I'll see how I feel in a few chapters.
That out of the way, let's move on, shall we?
Disclaimer: Don't own it, never have, never will. The proof is in episode 45; if I owned TMM, Aoyama's head would have exploded and we could all live happily ever after. Except for Toni, who wants Ichigo's head to explode, and that can't happen because Kisshu would be sad, and then all the rabid Kish fangirls (myself included) would have to go on a renewed rampage. So… erm… yea. Onward we go.
Ichigo's breath rasped in her throat as she ran; a single thought reverberated through her mind:
Gotta find him, now. Now, now, now…
It was lucky that she had lived here for so long; the way to the park was instinctive to her. Had it been a thinking matter, she wouldn't have been able to focus. Thankfully, her legs knew precisely where she needed to go, and within the next few minutes she arrived at the park gates, wheezing, out of breath, but still firmly grounded in her mission. After only a few seconds pause to ease her breathing, she took a good look around.
This entrance (for the park fence had many gates) opened upon the park's bare field. During warmers months, children would play soccer here, or tag. Often, there would be kids flying kites or playing with their dogs. Today, as the snowfall intensified, the place was silent. More importantly, Ichigo thought, it showed no sign of Kisshu.
She ran forward, across the field, through the trees, constantly looking about her, constantly listening for Masha's customary announcement. After a few minutes of this, she reached the pond Taruto had mentioned, a duck pond of medium size that was barely visible under a growing layer of snow on its frozen surface.
Frigid despair gripped her; perhaps, because of Taruto's mentioning the pond specifically, she had been sure that Kisshu would be here. No such luck.
The wind blew with sudden ferocity, as if reminding her how precious little time she had. What had he been wearing? A night shirt and pants? There was no chance he could survive, not in the already weak state he was in. The thought brought fresh tears to her eyes, and they stung in the cutting gale.
"Kisshu!" her voice rose above the steady whistling of the wind, a desperate plea that echoed, then fell silent. She screamed it again. "Kisshu!"
No answer. Terror gripping her, she realized that even if he heard her, he may not have been able to answer.
"Masha!" The robot faced her with a questioning look on its furry little face. "Can you scan for aliens within this park? Can you—?"
It cut her off with its cheerful voice. "Masha can, Masha can!"
A stark contrast to the robot's bright attitude, tense silence robbed Ichigo of her voice as she waited, nails digging into her palms, for its answer. After what seemed a torturous eternity, Masha reported.
"Alien! Alien! There's an alien ahead!"
"Where?"
"There." The little machine floated in the direction of the playground. Ichigo followed without hesitation.
"Kisshu! Kisshu…"
She stopped in mid-run only because the relief felt as if it had forcibly stopped her heart. It lasted for only a fraction of a second; the sheer sight of him willed her forward with a ragged cry of his name.
He had sheltered himself under the playground slide; it was no where near the best place to be, and Ichigo recognized it immediately. He had either been so torn by her behavior that he hadn't been thinking clearly, or his physical state made it impossible for him to move about for too long. It had probably been a merciless combination of both.
At the sound of his name, he looked up slowly, his eyes taking a while to focus on her before he murmured her name. "Ichigo…"
She uttered a soft sob, part frustrated guilt, and part blessed relief at the fact that he had recognized her. A smile began to form, full of her absolute gladness, as she took her first steps towards him. Suddenly, again, she froze.
His eyes, though dull and slightly unfocused, were laced with a fair amount of uncertainty, of doubt, even… she bit her lip… anger. It was all barely visible, but it was there. It shone through even more, and she let out a soft gasp, as he began to lift his hands. Unsteady on his feet, shivering violently in the relentless snowfall, barely lucid, he watched her with an ever-growing wariness in his golden eyes.
He's trying to… Ichigo brought her hands to her mouth, absolutely frozen. Not because she was afraid; she knew he could do nothing to her the way he was. It was because he was trying, in his condition, to summon the weapons he normally used. It dawned on her with stomach-turning abruptness that she had hurt him enough to cause him to reject her advances.
The snow continued to fall with a mocking tranquility. All she was aware of was the sound of his breath, shallow, weak, raspy, but determined as he kept his unsteady stare on her. All she knew was that vicious guilt; as she watched him bring his trembling arms up, something within snapped, and she suddenly regained her movement.
"I'm sorry."
He paused, hands nearly in the summoning position, eyes struggling to remain open as he maintained his gaze.
"I'm so sorry, Kisshu."
Her eyes met his, shining with warmth, with a need for forgiveness that she would have never thought she could feel towards him.
A heart beat later, she was catching him as he fell forward, the strength fueled by his anger disappearing.
Oh…Oh my God…
She was wholly shocked by the deathly iciness of his skin; a human would surely have died by now.
The first thing she did was, laying him against her and balancing carefully, to take off her jacket and drape it over his shoulders. Wrapping her arms around him, she stood tentatively, unsure of whether he would follow or not. Warm relief flooded her as he rose with her, shakily, but able to stand as long as he leaned against her.
"Come on," she murmured, leading him forward slowly, one arm perpetually around him in a vain attempt to share some of her warmth.
With what seemed like painful slowness to her, they exited the park and made their way back.
As they did, and as she became more and more aware of the feel of his body against hers, those habitual thoughts, forever obsessed with Aoyama, attempted to make themselves heard. This time, however, Ichigo didn't blush. She didn't even blink.
She was aware, as they reached the front door and she pulled the key out of her pocket, that something had just changed. It had begun when she had first seen him last night, had first been entrusted with his care, and it had grown quietly, secretly, while she tended to him. It had faltered when Aoyama came, almost died during that awful confrontation that had led to this, but now… now, she could feel it again. It had reclaimed its power with that fateful mental snap as Kisshu had attempted to drive her away, and now it pulsed steadily beneath her psyche.
As she opened the door and led the alien in, she realized that it was something she couldn't ignore, something she'd have to face, and soon. Yet even as she thought these thoughts, she pushed them back. As Kisshu trembled against her, she focused on the more immediate; unconsciously drawing the boy closer to her, she quietly led him upstairs, her resolve strengthened.
Author's Note: Ok… 12:50 AM! Yay! Read and review please, I'm going to bed. Ooh.. thunderstorm's started…