AN: Wow. Three weeks. How that sucks :P But this time, there is an excuse: Full Moon wo Sagashite! Yes, I was watching that anime for about a week. Oh, and my brother has been using the comp A LOT lately. Like, too much :P. Yea… well, hopefully the next one will come quicker. This is also a sort-long one! Yay! At least you guys aren't getting a pitiful chappie after all that wait.
Now, review replies. I'm gonna make these quick, because first, I wanna go to sleep (it's 1:37 AM over here, people. Good thing I have a two hour delay for school tomorrow cuz of the snowstorm we just had) and second, I think you all just want to read the story. So, here we go:
AKC: Nya, I just love you! I hope you enjoy this chappie. Oh, and go write more. PEOPLE, GO READ HER STORY, BABYSITTER. DO IT. NOW. UNDER ANIMEKITTYCAFE. :P
Yuko: Yes, they are cute, aren't they? I just love 'em! Yea… I'm generally setting up for a sequel. Huzzah.
TigerLilly101: I know. I want an uber smexy alien, too. We all do, deep down. And yea, stories that rush are annoying :P. I try to slow mine down as much as I can. Prolly too much, but ah well.
Jenvaati: Heh. Fruit… yea, I'm somehow gonna wrap the series up in a sequel sometime in the future. Yay me.
BlackWingedGabriel: Are we getting smutty thoughts….? I wasn't aiming for anything questionable, honest. Hmph :P. And a romantic one-eighty just means a complete switch... you know? Like, going on-eighty degrees in a circle, to the other side…
SLTC: Nah, now I'm the slowest. PEOPLE, GO READ THIS ONE'S FICTION, TOO.
Heth: One day, I dream of finding a collection of K/I drabbles featuring numerous close moments. Cuz I'm growing to be fluffy like that. And yea, I agree with the relationship thing. I've always seen a relationship between Kisshu and Ichigo as being more… on equal terms, you know? I mean, Aoyama's always plainly dominant, not because he's forceful, but because Ichigo turns to mush around him :P. With Kisshu… well, Kisshu strikes me as dominant, but Ichigo also seems more able to handle his version of dominance (somewhat forceful, often resorting to teasing and the like), so they have more of a playful, equal relationship in my mind. Eheh. Yea :P.
Dust-in: Oh, there will be P/L fluff in the sequel, which I hope to eventually do. Oh, heck yes.
Didgi-girl: I love attracting the non-fans :P.
LaDy-IzA: Nya… write it anyways. I wanna read more K/I fics :P
Sakura Kamiya101: Heh. You're welcome. Now, go update your story. I command thee :P.
Chikuku x Ana-ki: Heh. It was long, wasn't it? This one's almost as long :P
Everyone else whom I'm too tired/lazy/nya to answer: Thanks for your reviews! They really do mean so much. Over 180… I'm impressed with your diligence :P.
And now…
Disclaimer: Okay, if I owned TMM (I feel like a political candidate right now :P) I would make sure Aoyama had his brain eaten by a giant anteater name Scruffles. Then, Kisshu would get Ichigo, lovely sappy music would play, and the world would be a better place.
Finally, enjoy!
It was about eight o'clock when Ichigo carefully twisted her doorknob open and peeked into the room, as quiet as she could have possibly been.
She had been relaxing downstairs, watching some television, tidying up a bit, while Kisshu took his nap. The nap had just reached three hours in length, and Ichigo had finally resolved to wake her alien charge up for the promised food. Nevertheless, silence had become such a habit after the past few days and nights, that she opened the door without the minutest squeak of the hinges, and tiptoed in, in case he was still asleep.
He was, and a hand immediately flew to her mouth to suppress a giggle at the sight of him.
She had thought him cute when tired.
Now, asleep and actually looking relatively healthy, he was (and she did feel slightly sheepish admitting to this after so steadfastly clinging to the opposite for so long) plainly adorable. Curled up on his side, one arm hanging limply off the bed, Kisshu slept on, snoring very softly, strands of his long, unbound hair half-covering his face, some rhythmically moving back and forth with his breath.
Unable to stop herself, Ichigo kneeled down beside him.
The last time she had had the chance to examine him this closely, he had been consumed by fever and illness, and watching him had brought awful pangs of fear to her heart.
Not so this time.
This time, he really did look relaxed, peaceful, content in his slumber.
She could take full delight in it, without either revulsion or illness to ruin everything.
Ichigo did just that.
A smile playing about her lips, she reached out to gently push the hair back off of his cheek, blushing as her fingertips just barely brushed his pale skin. Before, his skin had been dangerously flushed, covered with a thin sheen of fever-sweat. His face had been drawn in fear and pain, his hair sweat and tangled. She had felt so indescribably awful…
And before that, before this had all happened, Ichigo had never bothered to form an opinion on how the alien boy looked. She had never bothered to study him that thoroughly. Even the day of their meeting, she had been less concerned with his (then) odd appearance and more concerned with his unexpected kiss. From there, she had taken little notice of what was so wonderfully obvious now.
He was so many things: beautiful, strange, handsome, elegant, impish… and cute.
Oh, yes.
Relaxed, asleep, all the sarcasm, the wit, the passion, the anger, the seriousness, all that she had ever seen in his face was gone, leaving only a visage that was so soft and innocent that she could hardly believe it was still Kisshu.
But it was… it was, and that only added onto her wonder, her quiet awe at this turn of events as she allowed her smile to grow, running her fingers through his hair, slowly, carefully, before running a fingertip over one of his ears.
Even his ears captivated her as she watched him. Why in the world hadn't she ever noticed how fascinating they were, how delicately pointed, how undeniably alien, yet still somehow endearing?
Why in the world hadn't she noticed it before?
Well, she had before, but he had been so ill then, that the effect involved more worry than the soft joy she felt now.
Why hadn't she noticed it before that?
Ne, Kisshu, have you always…
Had he always been this way? Had he always had this tender skin, these beautifully strange ears, these soft, long eyelashes, these pale lips? Had this face, this countenance, this picture of innocence with an alluring hint of devilish passion running underneath its serene surface always been here?
Had he always been this way, even when her heart had belonged solely to Aoyama? How interesting, that that stray thought didn't cause a pause in her actions, when once, it would have broken her down into terrible frustration. All it did was soften her expression with a tinge of solemnity, no more.
Finally, she allowed her hand to rest, slightly cupped, against his cheek from temple to chin, her thumb just barely stroking his cheekbone.
He was solid.
He was there: solid, real, warm, breathing.
Breathing. For a few seconds, she just listened to him breathe, so clear and strong now, as his warmth registered against her palm.
It was so…
Had he always been this way? Or had he changed?
She knew she had.
Perhaps, both of them had.
So wrapped up had she become in these thoughts, that her thumb had stopped its stroking motions. She hadn't noticed, but her attention was quickly called to it.
"Ne… Ichigo… couldja keep doin' that…?"
The cat-girl blinked. She realized that at some point during her musings, a pair of golden eyes had opened and was currently staring with her in mild amusement as her face reddened.
"Kisshu!" Her tone swiftly turned from surprised to accusing. "How long have you been awake?" She snatched her hand back, looking comically miffed as the alien yawned, lips drawing back slightly to reveal his gleaming fangs, before performing as leisurely a stretch as he could muster with a half-healed wound on his chest.
As Ichigo blushed scarlet, fully aware of how caught she was, he eyed her with a serenity that only served to make her flustered state more amusing.
"Only from when you put your hand on my face." He gave her a grin.
"You…!" she rapidly recovered and responded by poking him sharply in the forehead, earning only a snicker that coaxed a half-hearted pout from her. She wrinkled her nose in disdain. He could be so infuriating.
"So… did you want something, or did you wake me up just to tou—"
Hell yes. Infuriating. Infuriating enough to earn another poke.
Of course, that did nothing to change what had just happened, what she had just felt, and in a few moments, she had a wry grin on her face, fighting back a giggle that threatened to ruin her annoyed image.
Kisshu only smirked at her as he sat up, shifting just a bit closer.
Such a moment was too much for him to pass up, after all.
…at least, it would have been, had his stomach not noisily reminded the two of its rather empty state. The boy froze, blinked, and blushed slightly when Ichigo let a giggle slip. Now reminded of the purpose of food, still snickering good-naturedly, the girl stood and motioned for her charge to do the same.
"There's some food downstairs." For a moment, familiar concern entered her gaze. "You okay to get up?"
Kisshu grinned at her. "Never felt better."
It was true. That last nap had granted him a great deal of strength, and sure enough, he stood without problem. Even so, Ichigo seemed to have too many frightening memories of his recent condition to let just that overpower her new-found mothering instinct. She quickly whipped out the thermometer, sticking it in his mouth and combating his look of indignation with a stern glare.
A rapid beeping announced completion, and the girl grabbed the instrument, studied it for a few tense moments, and rather alarmed Kisshu with a sudden, gigantic grin.
"Perfect!"
Blinking somewhat… bewilderedly at Ichigo's incredibly sunny expression, Kisshu recovered enough to ask, "Then we can go ea—"
Unfortunately, though his fever had long broken, that pesky cough proved to be more resilient, and Ichigo's face fell as the boy fell into a short coughing fit.
Okay… perhaps his condition wasn't perfect.
He really shouldn't go downstairs like this…
Suddenly, she brightened, rushed over to her closet and, after a few moments of rummaging through it, pulled out her find. Kisshu, taking a few deep breaths after the spell, looked up first curiously, then with an expression of incredulous horror.
"Hell no."
Ichigo pouted, thrusting the thing into his hands.
"You're not totally fine yet! If you go downstairs like this, you'll get chilled, get sick all over again, and then we'll be right back where we started. You want that?" she huffed, hands firmly on her hips.
"No…"
"Then put it on."
"But Ichigo… don't you have another—"
"If you don't put it on, I'll never let you kiss me again!"
"…you know, it's not like you usually let me kiss y—"
"Put it on. Now."
Meeting her gaze, Kisshu didn't know whether to inwardly rejoice at her concern, or to be frightened by her commanding death glare. Either way, he obeyed.
The pair made their way down the hallway, Ichigo smiling contentedly, Kisshu sullenly subdued, rather thankful that they were the only people in the house.
He was warmly bundled up in what must have been Ichigo's fluffiest, pinkest bathrobe. At that moment, the tips of his ears rather matched that bathrobe in color. Ichigo was having quite a time trying to keep from outright laughing at him.
"You can sit there," she said, suppressing a giggle and pointing at a seat at her kitchen table. He obliged, giving up his scowl in favor of a look of curiosity as she opened the refrigerator, stared at its contents for a few seconds, then grabbed a container, popped the lid, and set it in the microwave.
"What does that thing do?" Kisshu questioned, craning his neck to get a better look at the rotating dish in the microwave.
"That'll heat it up," Ichigo replied distractedly, focus on the microwave's contents (ever since getting cat genes, she had developed a strange affinity for watching the microwave tray rotate; today was no exception). "Don't you have something like that on your planet?"
During the next few seconds, she busied herself with taking the leftovers out of the machine, hurriedly placing the container on the counter to avoid getting burned. It took a while for her to realize that the boy hadn't answered.
"Kisshu?"
Turning around, she fell silent, facial muscles immediately slackening into a somber expression at the sight of the boy's suddenly darkened countenance, a murky despair reflected in his eyes.
At first, she couldn't really understand what she had done wrong, but as she thought about it, she remembered the images she had seen of the boy's homeworld, and how frigid, unforgiving a place it had looked. It suddenly occurred to her that her question, or even her simple mention of his home, had, for whatever reason, swiftly reminded him of his original objectives.
From what I saw… they probably don't have enough food there… or… or anything, really… and if they do…
She remembered seeing all of those people huddled together in those barren crevices, waiting in line for food, holding their children…
That thought brought a powerful wave of guilt and nausea crashing over her, and she swallowed inaudibly, frantically trying to call her voice back as she sat down across from Kisshu.
"I'm sorry."
He looked up, surprise showing through the sadness, as Ichigo struggled to meet his gaze and keep her eyes from filling with tears.
"I didn't mean to…" It was a bit too much for her, and she dropped her gaze to the table.
"It's not your fault."
The girl looked up, plainly shocked, into Kisshu's eyes. A slight, sad smile had appeared on his face.
"It's… it's no one's really, ne?"
She blinked, somehow… amazed that he was right. Right now, that conclusion seemed so painfully obvious.
No… I guess not…
But it didn't seem fair. Ichigo didn't know why it hadn't occurred to her before, but now, hearing that almost dejected tone in his voice, it didn't seem right.
It seemed absolutely disgusting that his kind had to live like that, and that he and his friends had to come here, come here and make so many enemies, just to try to help in the only way they could…
"Kisshu?"
Their eyes met, and he fell silent at the compassion in her gaze and the almost apologetic smile on her lips.
"Tell me about it."
"…what?"
She spoke louder.
"Tell me."
"A-about… about what?" He looked rather shocked, confused, even, at her request, even as her smile grew.
"I don't know. Anything. Just… about you. About your life… your people… there's so much that I… that we…"
Even though she trailed off, losing some of her nerve as he continued to stare at her, he understood the girl perfectly.
The request just surprised him. Perhaps it was because it had suddenly brought back a very strong memory of Deep Blue outlining the dangers of humans way back when the mission had started. Perhaps it involved the ever-present wonder at the transformation of their relationship over the last few days.
The sheer sincerity in her eyes, combined with those other two reasons, was probably the real cause.
It passed, though, and a minute later, before he even realized he had begun, the boy was telling her things he had never dreamed of mentioning to a human. He described their world, its dreariness, its awful climate, the murderous snow beasts that lived upon it, original inhabitants of the place and a constant threat due to their predatory ways. He softly went on about how his kind lived, how there wasn't enough food, no matter how hard everyone tried their best in working the soil for all its nutrients, how morbidly awful it was to awaken every morning to darkness and cold and eternal snow, knowing that that was all one could look forward to.
Ichigo had been having a hard enough time keeping tears at bay when the one-sided conversation involved relatively impersonal descriptions. Then they boy moved on to details regarding his own life.
He was so absorbed in speaking that he did not notice Ichigo's eyes tear when he spoke of his family, how his father had died while he was only a small boy, how his mother had struggled to provide enough food and shelter for him and two of his cousins, little girls orphaned at birth, how she had worked herself into illness trying to give her small family the strength it needed to just barely survive. He didn't notice her tears spill over as he recounted his own motives, his dire need to help his mother, his adopted sisters, his friends, their families, everyone.
Only after relating his training, how hard he had worked, pushed himself, to qualify for the mission that had been so depended upon, did he look up and freeze at the sight of her tears.
Ichigo didn't even try to stop them. She couldn't.
The notion that this boy had given his life to training, masking his own pain and terror and sadness with sarcastic humor and arrogance and this carefree air, all while desperately working himself to reach the simple goal of giving those for whom he cared a better life…
"I-Ichigo, I—"
And now he was trying to keep her from crying. He was smiling at her, a silly sort of grin that she realized he must have practiced millions of times to make convincing, to make sure that he could fit the role of able rescuer.
"Don't cry… I just said a bit too much…"
And she had… she had fought him. She had become the reason that he was failing. Failing those two little girls waiting for their protective big brother to come home, failing his mother, who had begged him not to leave, told him that she couldn't bear the thought of him risking his life in such a way…
"No more."
Kisshu almost jumped at Ichigo's voice; the sternness of it, the force in its tone, was almost alarming.
"What?"
"No more." She shook her head, gazing up at him with glistening eyes.
She couldn't do it anymore. Even if the other Mews insisted, even if the Earth fell apart, even if in the end, she discovered she had to go back to Aoyama, she couldn't do it. Never again.
"I can't fight you any more, Kisshu. No matter what they say…I won't. I… I refuse to. I just can't!"
He was taken aback, needless to say. For a few moments, he just stared at her as she stared back, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks as all he had just told her played through her head again and again.
Silence reigned for a good minute until Kisshu smiled.
It was such a soft, gentle, utterly sincere smile, that Ichigo stopped crying, actually amazed for a moment, that such a smile could reside on this alien's face.
"You really mean that, Ichigo?"
The way he said her name almost made her sob, but she just nodded.
"Yes."
His eyes were so indescribably beautiful as the gazed at her right then, filled with an almost bashful gratitude and a true determination that could have made her gasp had she not been so frozen in her wonder.
"Then I promise to do everything in my power to never have to hurt you again."
As her blood pounded in her ears, her face slowly growing hot and scarlet, her fists, clenched tightly at her sides while she had spoken, gently relaxing, she wished she could take a step back, just for a minute.
She wanted to dwell on that last sentence.
Never hurt me again… never again…
Ichigo had to drop her gaze; keeping her eyes on the alien was only making that overwhelming emotion in her chest grow, and she didn't know if she could control herself while letting that happen.
Kisshu said nothing, only allowing his smile to grow slightly as Ichigo's words fully sank in. How long had it been since he had begun yearning to hear those words? It seemed like an eternity ago.
A long, harsh, cruel eternity.
That eternity was so worth it now.
The girl would have cried more, perhaps not been able to stop as the exact meaning of those words, their consequences, their effects on the near future, sank in, but she was brought back to control by the beeping of the microwave. Oddly enough, as soon as that machine beeped, bringing her thoughts back to present reality, everything was all right.
What he said made perfect sense, even more than perfect sense.
It made her smile.
"Still hungry?" she asked quietly.
Even though the query had absolutely nothing to do with the meaningful promise Kisshu had just made, he knew that it was an answer. The gentle, almost timid tone she spoke in said "thank you." That was it.
A return smile.
He accepted it.
"Yeah."
"Hey! This stuff is really good!"
"Well, Lettuce made i— hey! Don't eat it so fast! You're going to make yourself sick!"
"But I'm hungry!"
"You have to at least chew it!"
Lettuce blinked in mild confusion at this odd snippet of conversation she managed to catch as she locked the door and hung up her coat. Curiosity momentarily winning over the sober feelings lingering after her meeting with Pai, she quietly moved to the doorway that led to the kitchen.
She blinked again. Slowly.
And expression of amused puzzlement quickly took up residence within her features.
Ichigo stood next to the kitchen table, hands firmly on her hips, glaring down at her charge as he gave her a look of sullen obedience and sulkily chewed his mouthful of vegetables before swallowing and, with a glance of playful defiance, shoveling in another forkful.
He looked a world better than when the porpoise-girl had last seen him. His face had nearly regained its color (of course, it was normally pale, so one couldn't really judge by that), and his skin didn't carry that sickly sheen of fever-sweat the girl had grown used to seeing in the past couple of days. His renewed appetite was only another indicator of his returning health, and Lettuce couldn't help hiding a gentle smile at another of Ichigo's loud, exasperated admonishments that the boy pointedly ignored.
She also couldn't stifle a giggle at the fact that he was wearing what appeared to be one of Ichigo's bathrobes.
That soft noise alerted the two to her presence, and as soon as they looked up at her, she quickly stammered an apology for what she automatically considered her intrusion.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn—"
"Lettuce! You're back!"
I guess with Ichigo, there's no need to apologize…
A smile relaxed her face.
"Hai." She looked over at Kisshu, who was watching her with a look she deemed oddly expectant. For a second, her smile wavered.
His eyes… for a moment, they looked so piercing… what was he…?
The next second saw him giving her a cheerful "Yo!" before returning to the delicate art of stabbing vegetables with his fork (apparently, his wound had healed enough to allow fork usage, even though chopsticks were still a bit too precise). Lettuce allowed her smile to return before lifting up her hand in a sort of half-wave.
"You've been gone a while! We were wondering when you'd get back."
Lettuce turned back to the smiling Ichigo, and suddenly realized where the conversation was heading: towards her meeting.
She didn't want to go there. Not yet.
Laughing a tad more nervously than she would have liked to, she replied, "Ah, well, y-you know…"
Nope. Ichigo did not look at all satisfied by that. Lettuce had to cut in quickly as the other girl opened her mouth.
"Kisshu-san is doing better, then?"
This question immediately diverted Ichigo's attention (for once, Lettuce was thankful for her relatively short attention span), and her smile grew even wider.
Before she could answer, however, the alien himself left his near-empty plate in favor of grinning at the porpoise-girl.
"'Course I'm better. How could I not be, with Ichigo-chan taking care of me?"
Neither girl missed the underlying gratitude in his voice.
Lettuce inwardly smiled, glancing over at her friend, whose face had quickly taken on the color of the fruit she was named for as she quickly took interest in her hands, a small, barely noticeable smile alighting on her lips. A few moments of warm silence passed before Kisshu decided it prudent to completely fulfill his habitual role.
"You know… her soft touch caressing my chest, her warm, gentle lips against my forehead, her hands moving d—"
Lettuce blushed at what would have probably been a fine list of….questionable imagery had Ichigo not yelped in sudden embarrassment, rushing over to the boy and grabbing one long ear between thumb and forefinger in an attempt to quiet him. It worked, though of course, he didn't look particularly overjoyed as she gave him a firm tug.
"Hey, I didn't say an—"
"I just gave him a bath, dried his hair, and woke him up after a nap! That's all, I swear!"
At first, Kisshu looked miffed at having his amusement cut short, but the shock that invaded Lettuce's features after hearing that little confession quickly brought his smirk back.
Ichigo finally realized how… interesting that first one sounded and frantically backpedaled.
"I-I mean…I…nyaaa… You. Be. Quiet!"
"Ow!"
Kisshu's snickers were swiftly replaced by a whine of pain as Ichigo pinched harder. The girl gave her bemused companion an embarrassed smile, giggling nervously.
Suddenly, Lettuce smiled back.
She saw the ease, the tranquility that had quickly grown in her absence.
Of course, hardly anyone would call the pink-haired cat-girl growling at her alien charge while he responded with combined whining and smirking the embodiment of tranquility, but Lettuce saw it for what it was.
The girl knew that all of that only showed how comfortable together those two had grown since that last confrontation and its resulting ordeal.
Even as Ichigo childishly pouted at the boy, Lettuce could see the genuine amusement dancing in her eyes.
Even as Kisshu flashed his defiant, fanged grin at her in constant challenge, Lettuce could see the joy in his.
For a moment, she was frozen in the strange wonder of it. In the next, she felt her hand gently rise to lie against her heart as a sincere smile lit her face.
Heck, they even seemed closer now then before. Somehow… had something…?
Those two…
It was unbelievable, but there it was, right in front of her.
It confused her, even disturbed her, but it also gave her the warmest feeling she had had in a long time.
But…
Pai's tone, his hard gaze, his stubborn loyalty to his cause… it all came back to her in one awful tsunami that swiftly robbed Lettuce of her delight. Her face fell, and even though Ichigo's focus was on Kisshu, the girl still managed to see that radical change in expression. It didn't suggest to her that anything was wrong; she was still too absorbed in her banter to think anything like that.
It did, however, bring her attention back to Lettuce and, consequently, back to thoughts of her recent absence. That was really all it took.
"Ne, Lettuce, you still haven't told me how it went!"
One panicky glance told her that there would be no avoiding it this time. That girl was so innocently eager in her curiosity, that any attempts to get out of an explanation would surely be met with more probing questions.
Not that it would matter. She'd have to tell her everything anyway.
And even if she didn't, it would all have to conclude somehow.
As she swallowed nervously, Lettuce tried to convince herself that it was for the best.
Perhaps that would have been easier if it hadn't been painfully obvious that the impending conversation carried the possibility of ruining this new harmony between the two.
Maybe it would have been easier.
As it was, Lettuce had to take a deep, calming breath before trusting her voice with words again.
"I-Ichigo-san… may I… could you come… to the other room…?"
It was a credit to Ichigo's habitually clueless nature that she did not recognize what was bothering her friend right away. Then again, she may have realized it, yet determinedly ignored it in an attempt to hang onto…well, just about everything that had just happened.
Either way, she wore a puzzled expression on her face as she nodded and followed Lettuce out of the room.
The porpoise-girl glanced back only once, just to check Kisshu's reaction, and saw one thing immediately.
He was not ignorant, and he was not fooling himself.
That piercing look shone in the gold of his irises, and one moment of locking gazes with him made Lettuce shudder slightly.
He knew.
He knew exactly what had happened.
As Lettuce turned away with nervous anticipation etched into her soft features, Kisshu's gaze hardened, and he allowed himself to lean against the table with a barely audible grunt of grudging understanding. It was obvious to him that the girl had gone to see Pai. Why she had, he didn't know, and he didn't really care. All he could see was that whatever the older alien had done or said, it had agitated Lettuce greatly, and that meant it couldn't be good news for any of them.
Pai… you bastard…
Of course Pai would have to ruin something. That seemed to be the older alien's damned job lately.
After all, it was because of him that Kisshu had nearly lost his life…
"Dammit," he whispered softly through gritted teeth. No doubt… no doubt it had to do with Deep Blue.
With Deep Blue, the mission, the battles…
Only Pai could stand by those principles so stubbornly after all of this.
Only he could…
And now, when everything was going so well. Now, right after he had just gotten to Ichigo, just made her see…
Kisshu let out an angry sigh, resolving to calm himself and await the girls' return.
In the meanwhile, he concentrated on hearing their conversation.
Granted, it wasn't the most gentlemanly thing to do, but those long ears weren't just for show, and he needed something other than his sudden surge of anger to focus on. The last thing he needed was to lose his temper now.
Thus, he settled into their conversation.
In the living room, Lettuce was trying not to squirm too much under Ichigo's gaze. The problem was, by now, the cat girl had figured out that the outcome of Lettuce's meeting was far from anything they could have hoped for, and her expression turned from curious to anxious.
"Lettuce…"
The porpoise-girl wrung her hands silently, staring at the ground before finally answering Ichigo in a soft, trembling tone.
"I'm sorry, Ichigo-san. I-I should have told you as soon as I came in, but I—"
"No, Lettuce."
The interruption was immediate, and it was obvious that Ichigo had known what her friend had been trying to do, how she had been reluctant to break it all…
Such a thing could only inspire gratitude. The cat-girl tried to give her friend a warm smile. In her anxiety, however, Lettuce missed that completely, and went on in frantic apology.
"I-I just… Ichigo-san… I didn't want to stop… to…t-to break the…"
"No."
This time, the negative was so firm, there was no missing it, and Lettuce froze, gaze on the other girl.
"We would… we'd have to face it eventually."
The conviction, the determination, the grudging, yet sincere acceptance in Ichigo's voice drove the tremor from Lettuce's, and she continued with new resolve.
"Y-you're right," the words came out soft at first, but as the girl met her friend's eyes, they grew stronger. "Absolutely right."
Ichigo's smile came easier now. She remembered, very clearly, Kisshu's exact words to her, and she knew that there was no way out of it now. Not after she had heard him say that. Not after she had listened to him speak of his world.
If there were going to be obstacles in the road ahead, they needed to be acknowledged. The girl nodded at Lettuce for her to continue.
It was as she went through his refusal to listen to her that Ichigo gave a soft, strangled sort of gasp, and Lettuce realized that the girl had her fists clenched, a wry sort of smile on her face.
"He… he realized it, then?"
For a moment, Lettuce couldn't grasp Ichigo's meaning, but a few seconds later, she found herself nodding slowly. Ichigo looked up at her, and Lettuce could see that the girl was already thinking about what would have to happen next.
"Ichigo…"
"It can't stay forever, can it? Pai knows it, we know it… there's no way. I mean, my parents are coming back in a few days. There's no way he can stay any longer, even if… even if we didn't have to…" Her voice faded as she took to mimicking Lettuce's actions of a few moments ago, hands twisting together in quiet distress. She wished… after just a little while ago, she wished she could have more time to revel in this new closeness before having to face the rest of it.
Even though she knew it was time to decide how to act, where to go, what to say and think and do, she felt it was too soon.
Of course, how could she not? Who wouldn't want to remain in those moments of new love, discovery, surprising tenderness? Who wouldn't wish to keep afloat in this sea of warmth?
She couldn't, though. With Kisshu recovering, she would have to come to terms with his new role, with her new role. They couldn't keep fighting, not after all of this. She had already gone over that with herself, and with him.
How?
How as she supposed to tell Ryou? With him, it wasn't even about the future of the battles, or their mission.
He'd lose his mind as soon as he learned what the girl had been doing for the last few days. As soon as "my house" and "Kisshu" crossed her lips, it would be the end. Ichigo hadn't the slightest inkling as to what to do about Ryou.
Ryou, and the rest of the Mew Mews…
Minto, Zakuro… their reactions could only mimic Shirogane's.
Dammit.
It was too much to bear, and yet it still wasn't everything.
There was still Aoyama.
There was still that awful decision waiting to be made. Hell, between the wonder of seeing Kisshu in this new light and this new return to what it meant for the Mews, she had forgotten about her choice. She had forgotten that she'd have to make it, and now it looked as if she'd have to make it soon.
Gods, she'd give anything for a few more weeks, months, years, of this last day of nearly carefree existence. Anything.
But she couldn't have that. It was impossible, and the more she realized that, the more it sank in, the weaker her control over her tears became. Thankfully, Lettuce was able to call her attention away from misery before they overflowed.
"Ichigo-san, I think we should tell him."
"T-tell him?"
Lettuce nodded, continuing slowly, quickly seeing how upset the cat-girl was becoming.
"Kisshu-san. I think… maybe we should discuss this with him."
For a moment, Ichigo wanted to say no.
She thought the same way Lettuce had when she had entered the house and found them in the kitchen; she did not want to ruin it. She did not want to go into that room and tell this boy, this boy whom she had grown to love after his feelings had been fully revealed to her, that this had to end, and that she did not know what the future would bring, or if they even had a future.
What would he say when she told him his companion was standing in their way now? How would he react to that? What if they were made to fight? How could that sort of thing continue between them?
And how would he react if, in the end, she chose Aoyama?
He had said that he would be accepting, and maybe he would be. Maybe he really would be.
That didn't mean that she was eager to see the disappointment that she knew would cross his face as soon as the decision was made.
And there were so many other details to consider…
Even so, Ichigo nodded.
Even with all of these terrible thoughts plaguing her, she knew that Lettuce was right. The boy needed to know. They all had to work together now, no matter what the outcome would be.
At least, they had to work together to break the news to everyone else.
After that… Ichigo didn't want to dwell on it now.
"Hai… Lettuce. You're right." She bit the inside of her cheek for a moment, trying to gather her courage before turning around and walking back into the kitchen, a silent, somber Lettuce closely following.
She found it hard to say it, to tell him what Lettuce had just told her.
No running. You have to face this. You have to see him and talk to him, and…
"K-Kisshu, we—"
She would have struggled on, body unbearably stiff, eyes again faintly misted over with tears of sheer frustration, hands trembling weakly at her sides, had he not given her so keen and knowing a look. His wordless gaze extinguished her words, and she fell into a surprised silence as he began to speak.
"I heard, Ichigo."
The girl, momentarily taken aback, opened her mouth but failed to speak.
"You can yell at me for it later," he continued, a faint smile suddenly creeping into his features and disappearing just as quickly.
Ichigo didn't yell. In her shock, she could hardly understand what he was saying.
"You… you heard…?"
A nod.
"Yeah."
For a moment, silence reigned supreme. None of the three seemed to want to start the difficult conversation.
Finally, Kisshu opened his mouth to speak. However, Ichigo, in a burst of sudden courage and urgency mixed with her innate impulsiveness, cut him off before he could utter a syllable.
"I don't want it to change anything. What… what we talked about before…" here, Lettuce looked at her friend curiously, "it can't change, no matter what they say… Pai… or Ryou…"
Or Aoyama.
Even if I…even if Aoyama…everyone… this world… I can't…just…
As she trailed off, panting softly, the boy stared at her, eyes slightly widened in mild shock at her outburst. For a few seconds, Ichigo's breathing was the only sound filling the room.
Kisshu smiled.
It was a small smile; a wide grin would have been totally inappropriate, even for him, in this sort of situation, but even small, it helped bring a breath of relief to the girl.
"Of course, Ichigo."
Hearing her name spoken in that sincere, gentle tone made her heart flutter in spite of the conversation's focus.
Lettuce had no idea as to what they were talking about, but she could readily guess at it. Her thoughts centered around one basic idea: they had decided not to throw this new friendship (perhaps actual romance, if… well, that would be saved for later, Lettuce reminded herself) away, regardless of the rest of the world. She wished she could remain on those thoughts a little while long, concentrating on the sweet warmth they brought her, but she knew they had to push on. The girl broke the silence
She did it in the kindest, most apologetic tone the human voice could reasonably create.
"Ano…ano…perhaps we s-should…"
She's right…
Ichigo looked up, a faint smile lighting up her face as she met Kisshu's gaze, this time without that painful emotional tension. He looked back at her, and an unspoken agreement passed between them:
Everything will be all right.
Breaking the silence yet again, Kisshu returned his focus to the dilemma at hand.
"So… you guys have any ideas?"
Both alien and cat-girl were surprised when Lettuce began.
Then again, she, being as concerned about reaching a truce as she was, had probably spent quite a bit of her spare time pondering matters such as these. Nevertheless, both blinked as the girl spoke, nervously toying with her fingers, but in a voice that had the same clear confidence present in Ichigo's declaration.
"I think we should tell the others. We can't keep th—" here she faltered, looking first at Ichigo, then at Kisshu, as if reminding herself of the exact magnitude of what had been hidden. Swallowing, gently biting her bottom lip, she finished.
"We can't keep this a secret anymore."
At first, Ichigo wanted to release all of the anger, frustration, chilling fear she had felt in the past few days.
For a second, she wanted to launch into one of her famous rants, wanted to claim that no one had been keeping anything a secret, that this wasn't her fault, that there was no need to do anything…
But that was all stupid, and even though she wished it could be solved that simply, she knew better.
Yes, even the occasionally ditzy, impulsive, rash Momomiya Ichigo knew better.
She nodded somberly.
"Blondie isn't going to like this."
The girl, both girls, abruptly set their gazes on Kisshu, who looked back with a look of mixed amusement and severity on his pale face. As Ichigo's mind frantically tried to work the concept of We have to tell Ryou soon, Lettuce pressed on in a soft, nearly pleading voice.
"I-I'm sure, given time, that he'll accept it. He is not unreasonable. Shirogane-san—"
"—hates me, and my people."
"He doesn't… he just…"
Suddenly, Ichigo had a flashback of what Keiichiro had told her, not so long ago, about Ryou's childhood, his hardships, his inner mission…
She remembered exactly what a Chimera Anima had done to him…
"It's not his fault, Kisshu."
The boy looked up at her, attention quickly diverted from the porpoise-girl, who gave Ichigo just as astonished a stare. He blinked at her, at the hard, yet oddly compassionate, glint in her eyes, before his frown softened only a touch, and he nodded.
He did it grudgingly; Ryou, being the founder of the Mew Project, was hardly one of Kisshu's favorite people, but the boy did remember one time, just one, where for a moment, the alien and the human seemed to have seen eye to eye…
Kisshu grunted softly to show Ichigo he understood. Then, he allowed a cynical half-grin to twist his lips.
"What's your excuse for Pai?"
Pai-san…
Lettuce found herself wringing her hands again at the mention of the older alien's name. It only brought back those feeling of despair, those discouraging images of only an hour or so ago. The stiff sound of his voice as he bid her a curt farewell rang in her mind, and she nearly flinched as Kisshu snorted, an exasperated response to Ichigo's blank, almost guilty stare.
It's not his fault, either…it's not…
All she could remember was the begging, pleading light in his eyes when he had asked her to take him to Kisshu, the relieved gratitude after he had given the girls the medicine they had needed, the way he had bowed to her, so skilled at hiding his concern, yet so obviously feeling it…
She remembered how he had turned from concerned friend to rigid, determined warrior as soon as he remembered his mission.
Remembered his people…
God, it's still all the same…
Shaking her head gently, Lettuce answered Kisshu with a gentle smile to counter his pessimism.
"The same."
Kisshu found himself staring smiling at the porpoise-girl.
The same.
Not his fault.
Smart one…
She couldn't know that she was echoing the basic feelings surrounding the conversation Ichigo and Kisshu had just had. Just repeating those concepts brought new hope to him.
They were true, those words.
True.
Simple.
So simple that… couldn't they be it?
Damn. He didn't know. He wanted to know.
Now that he had his precious Ichigo's support, was it possible that there was a way to win this?
All he knew was that now, with her, he felt closer to relief.
So much closer, infinitely closer, than he had felt when Deep Blue made his promises.
Those promises had echoed with an emptiness that had put Kisshu on guard the second the mission had begun. That wariness had always remained, pushed aside, ignored, as the mission, those memories, that great responsibility, reminded him of his duties.
It had resurfaced, and kept resurfacing, as he kept seeing this girl.
And soon he found that, while Deep Blue strengthened his wariness, Ichigo calmed him, satisfied him, somehow. The only problem had been the constant rejection.
Now, that rejection was gone. Now, she looked at him without the anger in her eyes.
And now, he was absolutely certain that the right path lay behind those shining eyes, lay with that girl and her dear companions.
"It won't be easy." A sigh, not of melancholy, but of firm, graceful acceptance.
"No, but…"
Those eyes…
"When do we start?"
"As soon as you're totally better."
"I am totally be—"
It would have sounded much more convincing if dear Mr. Cough hadn't decided right then to send his greetings.
"If you want to go outside now, you're going out wearing the puffiest jacket I have, just for Shirogane! You got that?"
Ichigo glared with renewed severity.
Kisshu pouted.
Lettuce giggled.
Well, perhaps they still had until Ichigo's parents returned.
At least that cough was good for something.
He was… concerned.
Not afraid, of course, because there was no real reason for true fear.
Not yet.
It was only concern, because things were not going quick as planned. Everything had slowed. Something was… amiss.
He had ignored the first disturbance; the green-haired rebellious nature had taken hold of him, and the resulting failure had been unfortunate. Still, getting rid of that boy should have been the solution to the problem.
Why, then, had the two remaining faithfuls not brought him results?
At first, he had thought the cause to be emotional; the three had, after all, grown rather close.
But it shouldn't have lasted this long. The green-haired should have died, and the other two should have moved on. They should have at least taken their duty to their home as a greater priority over mourning.
The fact that hardly any work had been done, no progress achieved…
He had expected the eldest to, at the very least, devise another strategy, but there had been nothing. Nothing but a pitiful attack with substandard beasts.
That was probably when suspicions began to populate His mind.
After a few days of these suspicions, He came to a conclusion.
In order to test it, he needed the eldest. Of course, the eldest came when called. He was a good boy, a good puppet.
"Yes, Deep Blue-sama?"
He heard it only because He was listening for it with all his power.
There it was: a minute tinge of anxiety, wariness, uncertainty, in that bass voice.
"What is your current progress?"
This time, there was a vague, hardly-existent stutter. Again, He heard it only because he had suspected it.
The boy never got far with his report. The echoing voice stopped him.
"I know what is happening."
His suspicions were now confirmed. That traitor was alive. He was alive, and with the enemy. With the humans.
How He could tell this, even He himself could not fully say. Granted, he had known that medication had been taken from the alternate dimension the day before, but had had not thought much of such a trivial detail. Only when the suspicions arose did he make use of that knowledge.
Even so, it had proven correct. Now, He could see the answer in the boy's violet eyes.
"Have you forgotten the purpose of this mission?"
"No, Deep Blue-sama! I—"
He had to scare him now. It was the only way. This one had to remain loyal. The traitor was gone, the youngest questionable, but this one was till vulnerable. This one had to remain.
If he did not, then the plan would be ruined. He would never have His world again, and He needed His world. He needed what was rightfully His.
Thus, He began to work His words upon the elder.
"I will forgive all, even him, if you bring him back. This contact with the humans must stop immediately if you are to save your people. I will forgive you and him, if you right this immediately. Is this understood?"
There was a much more noticeable tremor in the boy's voice, probably because of the mention of his kind.
"Hai."
"Then you are excused."
The boy vanished. Before he did, He noticed that look of firm determination replace the anxiety in his eyes.
Foolish boy.
So easy to manipulate because of those worthless feelings.
So simple.
How lucky.
Now, all He would have to do was wait. Soon, it would all fall back into place.
This world will be mine…
AN: Mmmm.. sorta-cliffie. Hehe. My first try at DB. Joyous. Ah well, hope you guys enjoyed. I won't even say anything about how long the next chappie will have, for fear of jinxing the time again :P. Read, review, and good night!