xuri: xD Yay! Have I mentioned this is my most favourite chapter? This is the pile-of-oneshots chapter that I've mentioned several times before, and I love it. ;3 A lot of the times, I set up characters in potential relationships and love interests without even realizing it... when I did, it was almost time for the finale, and I had no time to flesh the love-ness out! So out came this chapter. It's beautiful. Really. And a great change of mood before disaster, if ya know what I mean. The intense (xD) 3-chapter finale will follow!
Also, pictures ARE up on my profile. -.- It just took a long time to update, for some reason... So check them out, pretty please? They're not super-great, but I worked really hard on them, so I would realllly appreciate some feedback, any feedback, anything at all. Thanksmuch!
SamKo: Yes, yes, a healthy dose of drama is always a good thing. ;3 Aw, thanks! This technically takes place after a la mode, since if you'll remember, I kind of mentioned Berii and Tasuku in the beginning... but I guess I could just as easily have made it a continuation of the anime instead of the manga. That way I wouldn't have to explain how Ichigo got back from England. ;3 xD Heee, if I could draw, I would soooo totally do that. That would take care of the extensive word-count problem, wouldn't it? xD
toothpick99: Thanks for reviewing! D And, I've mentioned before, the alien(s) may or may not make an appearence in the three-chapter finale. ;3 We'll just have to see!
--
Blend (chapter twenty-three)
..love chain reaction..
"Hana-san..."
Both were silent. Completely, utterly, silent. All they could do was watch, as if through a glass wall. They could only watch as Ari screamed with rage, racing around in the darkness, blinded, driven by fury.
"We're leaving you here," Hanajima had said.
"They're gone... they're...gone..!" Ari cried again and again, shaking in absolute anger. Marzipan stood by Hanajima's side.
"We'll be back when you're calm, Ari-san," She said solemnly, staring as the golden-eyed girl shook and yelled, a total new side consuming her, head to toe... "...Bye bye."
"What?"
Hanajima replied softly, glancing to the side. They were in the apartment, their apartment, though watching the other realm as if watching a television program. It was all they could do.
"It's been five hours, Hana-san. She's been like this for five hours."
The brown haired alien nodded solemnly, closing her eyes. "Ari is angry. Truly angry," she said, and opened her eyes again to see the blue haired girl in question screaming silently, "And this... this is what happens. This is what she becomes. Blind, unfeeling. She's a danger to us and to innocent bystanders if we let her roam free. So..."
And then, they were quiet again. Watching. Marzipan had never seen Ari in such a state of pure frightening rage - everytime she stopped moving long enough to see her eyes, they were pinpoint, flaming gold, her pupils dilated and her eyes wide with absolute fury. Never had she seen such a terror inducing expression.
After a moment of silence, Hanajima turned away and headed for the door. Marzipan turned after her in confusion.
"Where are you going?"
"Out. To do whatever," she said almost hoarsely, glancing over her shoulder, "You too, Marzipan. It's not a good idea to stay here. She'll be like this for a while..."
--
"Will you hold still?"
"I don't see why this is necessary," Brooke said lowly, jerking her arm away again. Growling, Ryou reached back over and pulled her hand back.
"Have you looked at yourself?" Keeping a firm grip on her wrist, he worked on that arm for the fifth time, trying to re-bandage it. "All that exertion tore open most of your wounds. It's going to be a while now before they heal."
"It is not my fault."
"I warned you."
"Bickering like newlyweds, I see," Kikyo appeared in the doorway, rubbing her head like she had a migraine, "Though, I thought that was Ichigo's job. A nice change from earthquakes, though,"
Sighing in exasperation, Ryou gave up and let Brooke take care of herself, as she was not being receptive enough for him to do any good. "Hm. Where is Strawberry, anyway?"
"Last I checked," she tapped her finger against her chin, "she went out with her Masaya. They scheduled a date or something this morning, so, that's the deal."
"Baka," shaking his head, Ryou gathered up the medical supplies, heading over to put them away, "She should have stayed here, too. You've all got a lot of healing to do, and running around all day isn't going to help..."
"Ano... she said she'd be back by 3," Roxi pointed out, but Ryou was already gone.
"Stupid boy," Brooke grumbled under her breath, trying to tie up a bandage with one hand. Kona was watching from the side, and she crawled over.
"Here, let me help--"
"Get away from me." Brooke snatched her hand away, glaring heavily at Kona. The girl blinked in confusion. Then, shrugging, she slowly backed away as the winged girl went ahead to continue struggling with her self-bandaging.
"Ara! Some-one's in a baaad mood," Yumi chanted from where she sat, fiddling with a deck of cards at on of the tables with a catty grin on her face.
"Yumi-chan!"
"Sowwy," Sticking her tongue out at Roxi, she sighed and leaned back in her chair, fanning her face relaxingly with the pile of laminated paper, "Hmm, it is kinda stuffy in here. Nice n' warm, though."
"Just be glad we get some time to relax," Kona pointed out, taking an elastic from her pocket and tying it into a ponytail before looking around. Aside from them, the cafe was empty. Ryou had offered to close it. No, not offered, Kona reminded herself with a sweatdrop - more like "I'm closing the cafe, you're staying in the cafe, and we'll all take some time off, don't anything in the cafe that will strain you, and that's that. Got it?"
Though, she supposed it was a nice thing to do. She'd thank him, later.
Maybe...Will he smile...?
A light blush crept across her face and she bit down on her lip before hurrying over to one of the heart-shaped windows to peer outside. It was a nice day, though, she knew well enough from her stroll this morning that it was one of those sunny-looking days that actually had a vicious wind chill. She sighed.
"Ichigo... hope she's okay," Kona murmured, resting her chin on her arms as she stared out through the glass, not noticing Brooke passing behind her into the kitchen door.
--
"Haah, this is delicious!"
Ichigo practically squealed as she took another bite of her Strawberry Tallcake. From across the table, Masaya watched her with a smile, nibbling on his own chocolate-chip cookie as she enjoyed her decadent dessert.
"MmmMmmMm!" Taking another forkful, Ichigo smiled so widely it looked like she might burst. Upon swallowing, she let out a refreshed 'aaaah'. "This cafe's so cute and delicious! I think Akasaka-san's cakes are still better, but..." Unable to resist, she popped another bite into her mouth and instantly beamed, "This stuff is sooooo good!"
"I'm glad you like it," Masaya replied with a nod, and reached over to brush some icing she'd gotten on her cheek. Ichigo blushed furiously, but smiled, tilting her head innocently. "I heard of this place a while ago, one of my friends said it was really good. I would have thought you'd rather be going to Cafe Mew Mew, but..."
Nodding, Ichigo reluctantly set her fork down, twirling her red hair around her finger, "Yeah, it's really hectic there right now. Shirogane's letting everyone stay to heal up and stuff... He didn't put it very kindly, but I know he was trying to be nice. I had to sneak out, though, 'cause he probably wouldn't enjoy the idea of me running around with my lovely-boyfriend," she grinned happily.
Masaya smiled softly in return, and his dark eyes drifted down to her arm. "Ichigo... Are you really alright? You look pretty bruised up,"
"Oh! I'm totally fine, really. It's pretty much healed. He's just really insistent that we keep everything clean and stuff. The alien attacks have been pretty frequent lately, so..."
"He doesn't want you more injured than you have to be," setting his plate aside, he rested his arms on the tables, smiling a smile that made Ichigo melt, "Shirogane-san is just worried about you. I can relate."
"Y-yeah," blushing terribly again, she couldn't help but smile as she fidgetted a bit in her seat. It faltered, however. Just for a moment, hardly noticeable at all. Only, Masaya saw - he knew her face and her expressions so well, that he could tell in an instant when something was wrong. Her eyes seemed to cloud over in a blink, and her face even seemed a tinge pale, and the way her smile quickly twitched back into place gave him the impression there was a facade.
"Ichigo..." His eyebrows creasing into a worried frown, he lowered his voice, "... is... something the matter?"
"What?" She blinked in alarm, "No, no, of course not! I really do love it here, Masaya, so don't worry, please! And my injuries aren't that bad, I'm just so happy to be here with you ----"
"But, there's something else, isn't there?" He folded his hands before his chin, "You look... disturbed, Ichigo."
Gulping, Ichigo bit her lip and stared down at her lap. She was quiet for quite some time. "I... I really appreciate Masaya, I really do... just..." she began quietly, closing her eyes for a second before looking back up at him in desperation, "Just... I have this bad feeling. Like something's wrong, something's dark, and it's... It's coming..." Looking off to the side, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. It's probably nothing. I probably just had too much cake..."
The dark haired boy shook his head and stood up. Ichigo looked up at him in surprise. "No. I know you, Ichigo, and I know you need to trust your instincts. If something bad is going to happen... you need to be there with them, don't you?" He smiled softly.
"M-Masaya..." Ichigo stared wide eyed at him, almost in protest.
"It's alright," he softly shook his head, holding his hand out to offer her help up, "I got my date with you, Ichigo, and I'm happy. When I have time, and you have time, and the aliens are gone... We'll have all the time in the world."
After a moment, a smile appeared on her face, and she stepped forward to pull him close into a tight hug, "Thank you, Masaya. I promise, when we have all the time in the world... I'll give you all my time in the world."
--
"Ryou."
Ryou jumped at hearing his name, nearly flinging a bowl full of dough all over the room. Spinning around, he calmed down, exhaling when he saw who was at the door. "Geez, Brooke. I don't think you realize how creepy you are when no one can see your face..."
The girl lowered her face slightly, and was silent as the blonde wiped up whatever mess of pastry ingredients he made. Putting the bowl away, he glanced over at her, pausing with a frown. "...So? What do you want?"
And she didn't say a thing. No surprise, really. After having her live in the basement of Cafe Mew Mew for a few weeks now, Ryou found the girl to be no fun for conversation, activity, or even just someone to say 'hi' to when things got slow. He'd given up and left her to herself, and she seemed to like it best that way. He didn't understand why she'd come up here, when she scarcely even got up off the little bed she'd set up. Either it was a really good reason, or she was finally ready to be cracked. Force some life and friendliness into her.
The latter was highly unlikely. Oh, well.
Sighing in frusteration, he walked over, rubbing the flour off his wrists, "Look, if you don't have anything to do, why don't you help the girls? I know socializing is the last thing on earth you want to do, but they're bound to get restless if they stay cooped up much longer. The last thing I need is a bunch of annoyi--"
He was cut off as she stepped forward promptly, reaching over and running her fingers through his blonde hair, slowly, gently. Blinking, Ryou raised a quizzical eyebrow at the girl, who in turn only stared seriously and blankly back at him.
"There was flour," she said weakly, taking another step forward, "in your hair."
Giving a little look that was like 'O-kay then', he looked ready to walk away. Only, Brooke seemed perfectly content with her hand where it was, brushing against his forehead and cheek, as she leaned forward to 'inspect' him for more dirt.
"A little too close, don't you think?" He said harshly, making her stop. She'd gotten to the point where her nose was nearly brushing up against his. However, she did not move, only stared him straight in the eye without emotion. Just to vex him, he was sure.
"What? Does it bother you?" She asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow. She was enjoying this, wasn't she? It wasn't a taunt, just a mockery. He tried to think what he'd done to make her angry with him. Perhaps it was because he'd slammed one of the doors upstairs one, and one day afterwards she complained to him about having echoes in her head and not being able to sleep? That hadn't been his fault. Did she really think he knew shutting a door would effect her for the entire day?
Ryou reached his hand over and placed it firmly on her shoulder, intending to shove her away so he could get back to work. Instead, he head a gargled 'Reh..!' from the doorway. They both turned in that direction at about the same time.
"Ah! I'm sorry," Kona stared, wide eyed, in something of a daze. Ryou frowned. What was wrong with her? It was only as she saw how her gaze was cast towards the ground awkwardly, like she'd seen something she wasn't supposed to, that he realized how strange it must have looked from the outside. He and Brooke had been close, but undoubtedly not for the reasons Kona had concluded. "S-sorry. It's hard to knock when there's no door, but... nevermind, it wasn't important."
Calmly, or at least with a calm outer expression, Kona turned and stalked back out the door without another word. Sighing and groaning at the same time, Ryou slipped away from Brooke and immediately walked after Kona. Brooke's foot moved, though he didn't see. It moved towards the door, and then stopped, as she stared at him with icy cold eyes.
Or, more accurately, icy cold eyes that seemed to melt and reveal some kind of sadness laced with warmth beneath.
--
"Oi. Oi, Kona."
"Hm?" Still expressionless, the black haired girl pushed the door open and went outside without acknowledging his presence beyond that. Ryou let out a grunt of frustration and went out the door after her, to see she was already sitting on the porch, hands folded neatly in her lap, as she stared out at the yard spacily.
Shoving a hand through his blond hair, Ryou stepped forward and sat down beside her, clapping his hands lightly against the cement of the porch. Silence. Though, when Kona actually spoke, he was surprised to hear it wasn't shaky or tear ridden - simply relaxed, calm, a simple request.
"Please don't bother yourself. I know you have work to do. I promise, I won't be out here long. I'd just like some fresh air."
"So, you're going to pretend you're not upset?" He sounded irritated. When she didn't respond, he gritted his teeth and leaned over, speaking more loudly, "If you're not gonna try and deny it, at least look at me. I can tell these things." She did nothing. He frowned. "Look at me." When she didn't respond again, he simply reached out, grabbed her by the chin and forced her head to tilt and look up at him. She winced, slightly, but her expression didn't change.
He'd seen plenty of girls cry over something as stupid as this, so that was sort of what he expected. Instead, he saw a perfectly blank, straight-lined face, with emotionless eyes staring back at him. He shuddered slightly, letting go.
"Oi, Kona, don't do that. You look like Brooke,"
"You shouldn't say things like that about her," Only, now her voice was quiet as she stared down at the cement, clutching her knees tightly to her chest, "I didn't think... I didn't think Ichigo was right. I thought she was just jealous, just trying to make a fuss. But I guess I shouldn't think that everything she says is a result of fury. She's a sensible girl, Ryou. I know you think, or at least act like you do, differently, but... she's a sensible girl."
"What Ichigo said?" Ryou looked confused. Greatly. It took him a second to realize and piece it together with the situation, "Oh, that. Kona, look, I know this sounds like an overdone excuse, but it's not what you think. Besides, whether Ichigo's sensible or not, you should know things like that are just her way of annoying me. Getting back at me for teasing her, and it's alright. Really, you shouldn't take everything, anything really, that she says seriously. Most of it's just angry gibberish."
She didn't seem any less unhappy, any less stressed out. If her blank features were any indication of that at all.
"It may not have been anything to you, but --"
"What?"
"...I saw Brooke, and she --"
"You're spewing nonsense, Kona," he scoffed, looking offended, "Brooke was just trying to get back at me, too. You know, she's just like Ichigo, just with less emotion and she can do such things without getting flustered. Do you really think she'd lean in and kiss me out of nowhere? Seriously?" Hearing the 'situation' so bluntly put, Kona seemed to flinch visibly, "Well? Does that sound like Brooke at all?"
"...No," Kona admitted, and turned to look at Ryou. He blinked. There was something in the depths of her own blue eyes that startled him - very full, very different than before. "But you can't possibly understand the emotions of others, Ryou. Emotions can make anyone do strange things, things they wouldn't normally do..."
Ryou paused, and then rolled his eyes, "Ugh, you sound like Strawberry when she's trying to be all sentimental. But whatever, just know my side of the story is how it stands," Nodding in confirmation to this, he hesitated, before turning back to her quizically, "Why did it bother you so much, anyways? You seemed kinda freaked out..."
Her face burned. Instantly, that was what happened - her eyes widened, and her face went red. Most of her calm expression remained, and she didn't stutter anything or attempt to explain, only stood up slowly and calmly, trying to keep her face hidden as Ryou looked at her in puzzlement.
"Hm, it doesn't matter. I'm... going back in now. Yumi's probably wrecked something," her voice didn't falter or crack, even once. She was a perfect picture of relaxation. On the outside, at least. Her insides were a complete mess, on the other hand.
Without waiting for confirmation or argument, she turned and went inside, just as she said she would. Ryou glanced after her in a bit of confusion, but simply shook his head and muttered something along the lines of 'psh, girls'. He was ready to get up when he saw something familiar before him. He blinked.
"Oh, it's you."
--
"Yo, Brooke,"
Only seconds after Ryou had left, Brooke heard Shinta's voice behind her. Glancing over her shoulder uncaringly, she saw the boy standing there, looking a bit surprised to see her. Closing her eyes, she turned away, ready to leave.
"Geez, at least say 'hi'," He smiled even so, "Have you seen Ryou?"
"He left," Brooke replied bluntly, and turned to glare at him, "Are you obsessed? All you're ever looking for is Ryou, Ryou, Ryou. Do something else with your time."
He looked surprised at her words. "'Obsessed'? I was just going to ask him something for Keiichiro. You came here looking for him, too, didn't you? So you shouldn't talk,"
She said nothing. Shinta wasn't surprised - she seemed to be quiet a lot, though he could almost hear insults screaming in her mind. Obviously, she'd grown tired with him, and turned again, only he stepped up and suddenly touched his hand to her wing.
Brooke halted in her step, her shoulders tense. Clearly, she did not like anyone touching her wing like he was. It reminded her that it was there. It reminded her that she was different, not of the normal. She was Unusual. And she did not like to realize that feeling more than she had to.
But before she could even raise her voice to him, hit his hand out of the way, he voiced his concern first. "It's injured. Why hasn't it been bandaged?"
Brooke turned to face him coldly, but he would not remove his hand from the single black wing. This kept him uncomfortably close to her. "It is not human. It cannot be treated like a human can be."
"But it hurts, doesn't it?" his voice was low, almost soothing, his blue eyes lingering on the feathered form.
"It does not matter. I can bear it. It will heal in time, as all things do."
"I see," but he did not remove his hand, like Brooke thought he would. It was suddenly becoming strangely awkward. It was hypocritical, when she'd mocked Ryou for critisizing the same way, but she did not like being so close. It was bothersome. It made her heart beat too fast.
"It really is amazing," That was it. She was leaving. If he started going on about things like that, she had no reason to stick around. "I know you see it as a burden, a curse, Brooke, but... it's remarkable. It's as if you're an angel, a real angel, weighed down by earth's gravity alone."
Brooke felt sick. She pushed his hand away coldly, but the feeling would not leave. "It is not remarkable," her voice dripped with acid, "It is disgusting. It is unnatural. It should not exist. And I am not of white feathers, not an angel. These feathers are black for a reason, because of me. Because, I am nothing better than a demon, Shinta. Demons do not deserve admiration, friendships, or life. I should not be here."
There. She felt even more sick, more dizzy, seeing him staring at her in such a hurt way, like he was saddened by the way she spoke. It wouldn't go away. It troubled her, and she decided the only solution was to leave, be out of sight from him. He was making her feel nauseous, like she wanted to curl up beneath a warm blanket and never come out again. Yes. It was his fault. She did not want to be near him...
But he started for the door, first, his footsteps slow but firm. She watched him, calculating. When he reached the doorway, his hand pressed against the frame, Shinta paused and glanced over his shoulder to look at her.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Brooke," he said softly, his blue eyes seeming to bore into her soul, "But you are not a demon. No matter what you say, in my eyes, your black wing is pure white. It may be an experiment, it may fade away, but you will be no less of the angel you are now."
He left. Brooke stood there for a long, long time, before she clenched her jaw and turned to leave. It wasn't gone. She felt like she was going to throw up.
--
"Ah,"
Marzipan slowly dragged her feet to a stop as she saw the boy sitting on the steps, looking surprised. Well, why wouldn't he? He hadn't looked pleased when the two of them last parted, after she'd gotten a chance to sample his wonderful brownies. She hadn't been here for a few days. She just didn't have the time, when it came down to it. But when Hanajima had said they could leave, go out and do something normal - she immediately wanted to see Shirogane Ryou again.
His first thought was - run. It was that creepy, dessert-demanding, pale, purple-haired girl that had come to the cafe a few days ago. He'd hoped he'd scared her away with his not-too-decent cooking. He'd hoped that had been the last time he ever, ever had to deal with her. But no. She was back. So, run.
"Hello,"
Crap. Too late.
"Errr," Ryou glanced up at her, keeping his eye from twitching. He managed a very fake, very forced and very nervous smile. "...hi."
Marzipan looked delighted. Fake or not - he'd smiled. She would take what she could get. Clasping her hands together, she tilted her head, dark strands of violet hair falling delicately over her face. "It's a lovely day, wouldn't you agree?"
"The Cafe's closed," he said bluntly. Ryou would not encourage conversation with this girl. He would not be forced to cook, chat, or spend any more time with her than he needed to, "So, that means I can't cook you anything, either. I'm here, but I'm not working. So I can't. It's Cafe policy. Can't break the policy." He sincerely hoped Keiichiro could at least pretend there was a policy. He didn't doubt that she'd march right in and ask, and then confront Ryou for lying and give him a big hug, demanding she be given pastries cooked by his hand. He winced. Please, Keiichiro, for the love of god! Be the liar for once!
"Oh, that's alright," she was cheerful. Ryou was creeped out by that simple fact, although, with the Cafe closed, he hoped she would leave. Come back another day when he could prepare himself with an alibi and a good hiding place in the basement.
Instead, Ryou watched as she smoothly stepped over, and plopped down to sit beside him.
Great. Just. Great.
He groaned aloud without realizing it. She didn't seem to mind.
The girl - he didn't even know her name yet - was wearing a long, black, frilly dress. It was lined with deep purple lace, matching that of her hair which waved freely down her back and framed her pale face delicately. A pair of light, metallic-looking black earrings dangled from her ears, mirroring the colour of her eyes. And her lips were less pale than they had been before - not covered in makeup, but not a ghastly white. Maybe it was the sun?
"Silence is fine. As long as I get to spend time with you," she seemed to sigh almost dreamily.
Ryou's eye twitched. Breaking point, breached. He was not going to pretend to be polite as this strange girl fawned over him for absolutely no reason.
"Why do you keep coming here?" He snapped. She looked back calmly, "Why do you keep talking to me? Why do you keep asking me to cook? I can't cook. I'm a horrible cook. So, explain why you're acting all stalker-ish around me, or come back when the Cafe's open."
Ugh. She smiled.
"Onii-chan told me about you."
"Eh?" Ryou's mouth twitched. Who? "Your... brother?"
She nodded, folded her hands neatly in her lap. "He didn't know you, formally. But he knew you. When I found out about you, that you were one of the workers at the infamous Mew Mew - " he assumed she meant the Cafe - "I had to meet you. So I did. And you're absolutely perfect."
Ryou did not look any less confused. Onii-chan? As in 'older brother'? Who did he know, but not know? Shinta, maybe? But Shinta didn't look at all like this girl. Besides, he'd never mentioned a younger sister, let alone a sister of any kind. Wasn't he supposed to be an orphan?
"H-hold on," his look of irritation was replaced by puzzlement, "'Perfect'? I've only met you once. And I burnt those brownies," On purpose, he wanted to say, even though it really had been an accident. She was acting all creepy-goth-stalker, and he was beginning to feel uneasy. "How can that be perfect?"
"Flawed perfection, then," she said softly, and turned to look at him with dark black eyes. They held gazes for several moments in silence, Ryou doing so only because she might try to tackle him down if he so much as took her eyes off her for a second. Then, when a bird fluttered with a papery 'whisha-whish' overhead, it seemed to break, and a tiny smile crept onto her lips. He saw some kind of sadness flicker in the clouded, emotionless eyes.
"I won't be able to see you anymore, I don't think," she said quietly, looking away, still smiling in spite of herself, "I don't think it matters to you. But she's gotten very, very angry, and nothing good can result from that. So, I wanted to say good-bye. Before I have to leave forever."
Still not following. Ryou stared at her quizically, even though he should have been relieved she said she had to leave, and spoke 'good bye' as if it were the truest sense of the word. Instead, questions buzzed up in his ever-active mind. "'She'? Who is 'she'?" And why was she such a threat when angry? An abusive mother or relative? A murderer? A stalker? The latter seemed strange - stalker stalking stalker - but he suddenly felt curious. Even worried.
Who was this girl?
Standing up silently, her dress brushed against the cement with a quiet sliding motion, and as she stepped away from the porch, she turned to look at Ryou with sad eyes and a smile. "Bye bye, Shirogane Ryou."
That didn't answer the question.
But before he could ask again, she was down the steps and out at the gate.
He did not notice that the air began to shake.
--
Kona stumbled inside, her hand pressed against her forehead, her eyes closed and eyebrows drawn up in sadness. Her cheeks still hinted at having been red as she wandered inside, trying to make her heart stop pounding in her chest. Otherwise, Yumi and Roxi and all the others would hear it beating so loudly, and they'd flock around her and accuse, accuse, accuse. Her face had had enough cherry-complexion for one day.
"Uwah!" She bumped into somebody. Pulling her hand from her face and making it seem like she'd scratched her face by accident to make it red, she rubbed her cheek and opened her eyes, ready to deal with a question-bombardment a la Yumi.
"Sorry. You alright?" Shinta asked, looking a bit stunned. Kona blinked, and quickly pulled her hand away from her face, seeing the boy standing there, blinking curiously. She flushed red.
"Oh, gah, I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry!" She tugged on her skirt uncomfortably. Embarassing much?
"Yeah, I kinda got that vibe from you," he chuckled and smiled, "What's up, Kona? You look kinda distressed..."
"I'm... I'm fine," she insisted, though her words faltered. Of course she wasn't fine. She'd nearly gone and confessed her feelings to Ryou, who was probably still in love with Ichigo, and saw her as nothing more than some annoying, blabber-mouthed little girl. She could have passed out from the mortification. Or something close to it.
"You sure?" Shinta didn't look like he believed her, not one bit. But he smiled and nodded, in any case. "Well, then, where's Ryou?"
"What? Why!" Oh god, oh god, did he know? Was she so readable? She felt her face flush pink and squeaked, pretending she saw something interesting on the floor that needed to be swept up. Only, she realized she wasn't holding a broom. Her arms dropped limp at her side. Now I know how Ichigo feels when she's caught space-headed...
Shinta laughed. "Did you just have coffee or something? Sorry, didn't realize I was prying. Keiichiro just wanted me to ask him something, so I need to find him. Or is he too busy right now?"
"N-no!" Ditz-queen. "He's... just out.. on the porch, uhm, I think," her voice quieted down, and just speaking about him made her face go red. Since she didn't want Shinta to get suspicious and tell Ryou about her 'odd behaviour', she quickly stalked past him, hanging her head, "Bye," she said shortly.
Only, she wasn't watching where she was going. Again. Her foot caught on the leg of a chair and she tripped, unable to catch her balance as the thing tumbled down with her. "Gah!"
Before she could throw her arms out to lighten impact, though, she felt a pair of arms catch her first, halting the falling process smoothly and abruptly. When she realized her body had not come into contact with floor, her eyes opened. Blinking, she looked up at Shinta.
"Whoah, careful now," he chided softly, shifting to help her upright again, "I don't think you're fine at all. Think you should lie down."
"I...sorry," she stuttered, feeling suddenly warm. She was up straight again, but Shinta hadn't removed his hands from her shoulders. She wanted to leave, she wanted to go away so he didn't have to see her being such a ditz. But her brain felt frozen. Her body refused to moved.
And her heart was pounding a million miles a minute.
How does that work? I don't... it's not Ryou... I don't ---!
"Kona..." he muttered in concern, tilting his head to get a better look at her face, trying to determine what was wrong. She swallowed and looked up at him. They held gazes for several moments, blue and blue, in perfect silence, until a muffled 'Where were you, Strawberry?' could be heard through the door.
"Uhm, Ichigo's back," she breathed awkwardly, finally managing to pull away from his hold to look out the window. Sure enough, a cheery Ichigo came walking down the path. Only, when Ryou called out to her, her cheeriness faded to a look of contempt and annoyance.
"Why do you sound so annoyed? I left my lovely-wonderful date with Masaya because I was worried about you and the others!"
"You weren't supposed to leave in the first place. And why were you worried? You're the one who wandered around unsafely!"
"Unsafely? Pssh! And I was worried because --"
"Ara, are they arguing again?" Yumi, who had evidently been taking a nap, poked her head out the door, Roxi standing right beside her.
"Looks like it," Roxi rubbed her eyes and yawned, opening the door to step out on the porch and watch. Brooke and Kikyo silently followed the commotion, and Kona couldn't help but peek out the door too. She had to look away from Shinta, after all, so he wouldn't see how terribly she was blushing.
"That's a stupid reason," Ryou scoffed, standing up and folding her arms haughtily over his chest, "Everything's fine here! What, do you doubt my skills as a responsible person? Like you'd do any better,"
"You're so mean! And we've all had bad feelings about this, right Brooke?"
Everyone turned to look at Brooke, who said nothing. She wasn't about to get pulled into this stupid argument.
"Don't you pull your little friends into this. The point is, everything's fine here, and you should obey the rules in the first place!"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that."
Brooke's eyes widened. Ichigo stiffened. Yumi squeaked, Roxi nearly stumbled over, Kikyo gaped, Shinta ran up, and Ryou suddenly looked a bit pale.
Ari stood there. Only feet away from Ichigo. She was alone, unarmed - for now - but there was something very, very dangerous about her. Her golden eyes were stricken wide, and her lips twisted into a cruel grin, baring her sharp teeth. Her skin looked unhealthily pale, and the air itself seemed to entwine itself around her, concentrated with power, so her hair seemed to float and flit about. The expression on her face was maniacal, unrelenting...murderous... "Nothing seems 'fine' here at all.
"In fact, I think everything's about to go very, very wrong."
--
Next Chapter:
Rage is a flame more dangerous than most. In invoking it, pain will be brought on, time and time again. Between a sudden betrayal, a fire, and an unexpected appearence, will the girls be able to stand up to their final test? Or will they fall at the hands of the enemy?