A big thank you to all the people who dropped comments on chapter one! I'm so pleased to see that there are still fans out here enjoying TMM. I hope you continue to enjoy this story!
No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true. – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Chapter Two
It was another hour before Aoyama finally left for the night. Ichigo saw him off at the door as usual before returning to her room, just like every night, to flop despondently onto her mattress. Kish waited a few minutes to make sure her mom wasn't going to come in before taking a deep breath and teleporting into her room.
Kish had never been in Ichigo's room before. It was surprisingly sparsely decorated and contained an unexpected deficit of pink. Rather, the color scheme favored whites and yellows. Ichigo remained face down on her bed. Kish had entered silently and the girl remained none the wiser to her uninvited guest.
He took a moment to look around the space. There was a straw summer hat hung decoratively on the wall near the door and a desk where study materials sat in neat stacks. On the wall beside the desk, an assortment of photos were arranged on a tack board. He recognized most of the faces as those of her friends. There was the green girl and the blue girl and the yellow monkey girl and the purple stoic girl… and in every picture, Ichigo sat or stood in their midst, beaming at the camera as though nothing in the world could possibly be amiss. Still other photos contained her and Aoyama. Kish scowled at these and promptly cast his gaze past them. He didn't care to see the clown any more than was strictly necessary.
Growing bored of the décor, Kish began to turn his body back to the bed to finally reveal himself to Ichigo when his eye caught a picture that didn't quite fit with the others, probably because this one wasn't a photo. Rather, it was a drawing in colored pencil depicting three figures that Kish knew well. Lines of color curved and intersected to recreate the likenesses of Pie and Tart and himself as they'd looked one year ago. The hand that drew them clearly belonged to no artist, but the pictures were close enough to be easily recognizable. Pie's hair was a jagged mop of purple and his face was set into a lopsided scowl. Tart was a cheerful blob of brown and red and his ears were nearly twice the size of his head. The figure in the middle, the one meant to be him, was slightly more true to the original. Yellow eyes looked back at him from a sharp, smirking face. Picture-Kish's fangs were bared and his old brown and black outfit fluttered in an invisible wind.
Kish's right hand rose to rub at the worn red sarashi that bound his forearms—the only part of his previous garb that remained. It was nice to have finer clothes now, but he'd never forget his humbler days. The sarashi reminded him of everything he'd endured to make it to where he was now.
Kish nearly jumped when he heard a sharp gasp behind him. It seemed he'd dallied too long. Oops.
"Who…! Who are you?" Ichigo's nervous voice demanded from the bed.
Kish took another deep breath and allowed a small smile to curve the corners of his lips. He lifted his hands beside his head unthreateningly and slowly turned around to face her. At first, Ichigo's expression lacked recognition. Kish watched calmly as her eyes raked over him, no doubt taking in his long ears and oddly colored eyes. He saw with perfect clarity the moment when she realized just who was in her room with her.
"Kish?" she breathed, her large eyes widening impossibly. She looked like she was seeing a ghost. Possibly, he realized now, because the last time she'd seen him he'd been dead.
His smile widened just a little. "You drew a picture of me," he commented mildly so as not to frighten her further. He gestured back at the drawing on the wall.
Ichigo shook her head dumbly and those impossibly large, strawberry chocolate eyes swept over him from head to toe. He watched them linger on his changed wardrobe—first, the point where his dark pants were tucked neatly into his boots, then the wide collar of his long tunic and finally the shaggy, too-long hair that inched down his neck. He wondered what was going through her head as her eyes rose to meet his again.
"You… you came back," she stated in awe, ignoring his comment. "The others said you were saved in the end, but you'd already left by the time I woke up. I didn't…" She swallowed thickly. "I didn't think you would come back."
Kish laughed humorlessly at that. "Probably not the most pleasant surprise, huh?"
She shook her head again, managing only to gape at him wordlessly for another long moment before finally saying, "Sorry, I'm not sure quite what to think. I mean, you just appeared suddenly in my room and I thought you were gone forever and… jeez, you're not here to attack me, are you? Because I honestly don't know why else you would be here but… look, I'm just really not in the mood to fight right now and—"
Kish held up a hand to stop her before her rambling could derail any further. "I'm not here to attack you," he assured her quickly—to which she let out a relieved sigh. He almost expected her to accuse him of lying and go on the defensive. Any other time she would've. But he imagined she really didn't know how to react to him after what he'd done the last time they saw each other.
Ichigo made no accusations, but she did look skeptical. "Then what are you here for?" she questioned.
Kish's mouth widened into his old playful smirk and he batted his eyelashes at her. He opened his mouth to give her one of his usual snarky answers but she stopped him with a hand in his face. "Never mind. Whatever you're going to say, I probably don't want to hear it." She removed her hand and lifted it to her forehead to rub her temples. "Listen, Kish, whatever it is you're up to, I really don't have time for it right now. There's only one more month until entrance exams for high schools start and I really need to focus on studying." She placed her hands on his shoulders and turned him around. To his bemusement, she promptly began steering him toward the window. "So if it's all the same to you, I'd really rather get back to that now."
Kish allowed himself to be pushed only for a moment before he planted his heels against the wooden floorboards, halting their progress. He turned his head to look back at her over his shoulder. "Wait, Kitty-cat," he protested. "Don't be so hasty. Hear me out, at least."
Ichigo stopped pushing—likely more due to the fact that she wasn't strong enough to physically move him when he was resisting than his appeal—and cocked an impatient eyebrow at him. Kish was surprised that she obliged so easily. Normally she'd put up a fight and stubbornly refuse to give him the time of day. Kish didn't hesitate to take advantage of her cooperativeness and got straight to the point before she could change her mind. "I'm here because I want to help you."
Ichigo looked taken aback by this. "You? Want to help me?"
Kish didn't think he'd ever heard a question sound more dubious. Okay, I earned that, he admitted in his head. "That's right," he confirmed. "You want to pass the test to go to that fancy school with your boyfriend, right?"
Ichigo's cheeks flared red. "How—?"
Kish didn't let her finish. "You'll have a much better shot if you let me help you prepare. I know I'm not your favorite person and a lot of things about humans still confuse me, but I'm educated. I can answer your questions and explain stuff that you don't understand. Whaddya say, Kitten?"
Ichigo shook her head. She looked baffled. Kish knew his offer looked like it was coming out of left field. Well, it was, he admitted, but he hoped she was considering it all the same.
It was several moments before she answered, but finally she opened her mouth and simply asked, "Why? Why would you want to help me go to school with Masaya-kun? Don't you hate him?"
Kish hesitated a moment and then made a show of shrugging that he hoped didn't come off as being forced. Putting on his best devil-may-care air, he said, "This has nothing to do with that flapjack. I just find it personally insulting that the person who kicked my butt over and over is running the risk of being defeated by something as dumb as a test."
Ichigo regarded him with a look that fell halfway between exasperation and amusement for a few beats and then her mouth curved into a smile that made Kish's heart flutter. It was a smile of relief and gratitude; an expression he'd seen her wear often but that had never been directed at him before. He decided in that moment that he liked it much more than her scowls. "You promise this isn't part of some new ploy to take our planet?" she asked with a hint of wariness.
Kish nodded and held a hand up to his heart. "That's all in the past," he assured her. "I come in peace, I swear."
Ichigo regarded him critically for another moment before her shoulders sagged and she nodded. "If you really mean that, then I guess having you help me couldn't hurt…" She still seemed hesitant but Kish imagined his offer was too good to refuse for someone in her position. Before he could say anything, however, her eyes narrowed and she added, "But if you try anything, you better be sure that I'll kick your butt all the way back to your planet, got it?"
Kish felt his eyes crinkle at the corners and he laughed out loud. It felt good to laugh honestly, for once. It felt like too long since he'd had a reason to. "Sure thing, Kitty-cat. You have my word that I'll do my best to contain my evil impulses."
Ichigo nodded seriously and held out a hand to him. Kish took it with a pointy-toothed grin. Her hand was warm and soft and matched his own every bit as well as he'd imagined it would. They shook once and nodded at each other.
One month. They had a lot of work to do.
o0o
Kish continued to come back every day. He and Ichigo fell into an easy pattern of sneaking study sessions after Ichigo's part time work at the café and then again after her sessions with Aoyama on the days that he came by. It was actually far more comfortable than either of them had expected it would be, given their history. Kish decided it was much nicer being in Ichigo's warm room with her rather than outside in the cold winter air. He did his best to instruct her on the subjects he had knowledge of and Ichigo seemed genuinely grateful for his help. In return, she would sometimes teach him things about human history and culture. Kish still thought humans were mostly foolish, but he enjoyed learning about their legacy on his people's home planet.
To Kish's relief, Ichigo tolerated his presence quite well. He'd thought it would be more difficult to earn her trust after he'd spent so long being her enemy, but it seemed she was more worried about passing her test than she was about being alone in her room with an alien who had tried to kill her on multiple occasions. Kish wondered if he should be offended by this. Really, though, he was just happy that he was getting an opportunity to spend time with her that didn't involve either of them getting beat up. It was quite refreshing, he thought, and as the days passed, it became easier for Kish to fool himself into thinking they might actually have a shot at becoming friends.
Frequently, as they worked, Kish would catch Ichigo looking at him with a frown on her face. He wondered if she was working out how she should feel about his re-entrance into her life. It was an uncharacteristically thoughtful look that highlighted how much she'd matured in the past year. The Ichigo of the past wouldn't have worn such an expression. She would've just blabbed out whatever was on her mind. She also probably wouldn't have accepted his offer of help. Kish, too, probably wouldn't have been able to stop himself from tormenting her just to see her reactions. They'd both changed.
The hardest part of their study sessions was dodging Ichigo's mom. She would often come to check on her daughter and Kish always had to keep an ear out for the creak of the stairs so he could hide before she accidentally stumbled upon him. Once, he was almost too late and he was only just able to teleport outside before Ichigo's door opened and Sakura popped her head in to look around Ichigo's room questioningly. "Ichigo? I thought I heard you talking to someone. Is Masaya-kun still here?"
Ichigo had quickly denied talking to anyone and claimed she was just thinking out loud. Her mother didn't look quite convinced, but since there was clearly nobody else in the room with her daughter, she let it go easily enough. Still, Kish was sure to observe a greater level of caution from that point on, as his existence would be a very difficult thing to explain.
"If only you didn't look so incriminatingly non-human," Ichigo lamented after he was forced to dodge her mom for the umpteenth time. "This would be so much easier if I could just pretend you were a study buddy from school."
Kish blinked as the answer to their woes blindsided him with its obviousness. Why hadn't he thought of that? The solution was so simple. "Ichigo," he spoke suddenly, "Do you think you could get your hands on a boy's school uniform?"
Ichigo's eyebrows shot up. "A boy's uniform? Wait, you're not actually thinking of trying to pass as my classmate, are you? I hate to be the one to break this to you, but not many human boys have green hair and yellow eyes. Not to mention those weird elf ears." She tugged at the tips of her own ears demonstratively.
Kish didn't know what an elf was but he ignored this. "Hair and eye color are easy things to change," he pointed out. "And I might not be very good at it, but I know a little vanishing magic. I can probably make my ears resemble a human's if I work at it."
Ichigo seemed intrigued by this but she still wasn't convinced. "Okay, but I can't just go to my teacher and say, 'I want a boy's uniform'. Do you have any idea how expensive uniforms are? And they don't arrange them for people just because they ask."
Kish raised an eyebrow at her. "They don't keep extras around? That seems a little ill-prepared, don't you think?"
Ichigo seemed to ponder this for a moment. Then she said, "Well, maybe they do… I can't say I really know much about that…" She stopped suddenly and her face lit up. "Wait! The entrance hall! They always keep a set on display there. I totally forgot because I pass the case so much that I don't notice it anymore." Her face fell then. "Ah, but I can't just steal one. I mean, I'm not a thief, for goodness sake. And the case is locked, anyway."
Kish's eyes lit up at this. "A locked case, eh?" He grinned. "Sounds like a piece of cake."
Ichigo's eyes widened at his insinuation. "Wait, Kish—"
Kish was gone before she could finish.
About five minutes later he reappeared in her room with the display uniform bundled under his arm. "I'm back, honey," he declared as he tossed the uniform onto her bed.
Ichigo looked horrified. "Kish!" she borderline screeched. "You can't just steal something like that! Oh my god, what's going to happen when the school finds out it's gone?"
Kish just shrugged. "Well, it's not like I left any evidence to tie the theft back to a student. The case is even still locked."
"Yes, but… but…" Ichigo seemed at a loss for words. She floundered for a moment and then finally said, "That just makes it even more suspicious, doesn't it?"
Kish plopped down on the bed next to the uniform and made a show of holding his hands up helplessly. "I know. Weird, right? There's just no telling what'll get abducted by aliens these days."
Ichigo threw him an incredulous look that lasted all of three seconds and then she surprised him by raising a hand to her mouth and giggling. Kish couldn't help the light blush that heated his cheeks. He'd never made her laugh before.
"Alright, alright," she gave in. "I guess there was no helping it. It's for the sake of my studies, after all. Just go and try it on. It would be lame if you went through the trouble of stealing it just to find out it doesn't fit." She walked to the door and gestured for him to follow. "Come on, I'll take you to the bathroom."
Kish nodded and sprang up from the bed. He scooped the uniform up and followed her.
o0o
Kish had never worn human clothes before, but they weren't difficult to figure out. He removed his own clothes and folded them neatly before slipping into the dark slacks. They were a little loose in the waist but the fit was close enough to not be a problem. He delicately unwound the red sarashi from around his forearms and set them atop his clothes and then pulled the white button-down shirt over his arms one at a time. Buttons were uncommon in the dress of his people but not unheard of, so he didn't struggle with the shirt. He tucked the ends into his pants like he'd seen other earthlings do and finally he tugged on the jacket. It too was a little on the large side, but Kish didn't think it was too noticeable.
When he was done, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the familiar shape and color. I look like the brat, he noted with distaste. He supposed the clothes were alright design-wise. He didn't think the uniform was particularly attractive or ugly—it just was. The design was slim and suited his figure despite being a size off. Kish's only real complaint, besides looking like the one person he probably disliked most in the known universe, was that it was awfully plain. He'd never liked uniforms. They lacked personality. He preferred his own clothes.
Leaning over the bathroom sink, he stared hard at his ears and tried to recall his magic lessons. He wished now that he'd listened to Pie about being more attentive in class. It took several tries, but he eventually managed to make his ears appear passably human. Satisfied, he grabbed his clothes and, foregoing the door, teleported back into Ichigo's room.
Ichigo looked up from her Japanese Literature textbook at his arrival and to his satisfaction she actually looked impressed as her eyes swept over him.
"Like what you see?" he asked, posing for her goofily.
Ichigo ignored his teasing and instead got to her feet and stepped closer to inspect him with interest. "Wow, I didn't think it was possible but you actually look human," she remarked, her voice full of wonder. Her eyes flicked back up to his face. "I mean, your eyes and hair are still totally wrong, but other than that, I don't think anyone would be able to tell that you're not from this planet."
Kish grinned devilishly, flashing his canines. "Then what's stopping us? Let's get married right now."
Ichigo's reaction was prompt, as expected. She made a disgusted expression and shoved his face away from her roughly. "Ugh, dream on." She stuck her tongue out like he'd presented her with a scoop of pink bubblegum ice cream in a bowl of pizza sauce. Kish was only slightly offended.
When she'd recovered, she turned back around and said, "Anyway, we'll do something about your hair and eyes tomorrow. Right now I think it would be best for me to hit the hay." She grabbed his shoulders and started shoving him toward the window. She seemed to enjoy doing that, he'd noticed. "Try to keep that uniform intact, okay?" she instructed as she unlatched the lock and slid the window open.
Kish rolled his eyes. "What do you think I'm gonna do? Get in a fight with the neighbor's cat?"
Ichigo just gave him a shove and said, "Honestly? I wouldn't put it past you." Then she shut the window behind him and drew the curtains before he could say anything to defend himself.
Outside, Kish crossed his arms and huffed at her closed curtains. "At least don't make it sound like I would lose," he told her window irately.
He hovered for a moment in the dark night, letting the chilly winter air playfully rustle through his hair and new cotton uniform, before turning in the direction his ship was parked—out in the wilderness where it was unlikely for a hapless hiker to accidentally stumble upon it. He thought of the ship's cold, utilitarian cockpit and spartan accommodations and his mouth tugged downward into a frown. "I should probably see about finding somewhere more livable to stay for a while," he told the stars as his body shivered in the crisp wind.
Perhaps that house Pie had found for them last year was still available. He made a mental note to check on it tomorrow while Ichigo was at school, then zoomed away over the treetops back to his ship for the night.
