The seagull chimera circled overhead, casting a long, dark shadow over the park near Café Mew Mew. Ichigo ran around the perimeter of the park, using one hand to block the sun from her eyes as she squinted up at the grey, feathered monster. She saw the beast crane its neck back to fire another blob of acid from its long, gangly throat. It was flying just over her head.
"Run!" Ichigo yelled to the park visitors huddled under a cluster of trees just ahead. The people took off further into the trees just as the chimera's green-tinted acid connected with the ground in a sickening splat. Ichigo recoiled, dodging a stray glob flying over her shoulder from the impact.
She leapt onto a park bench, then jumped into the boughs of an old cherry tree just above it. From this higher vantage point, she could see the chimera had a bald patch on its feathered back as it circled around the opposite edge of the park. A green, pulsing mass protruded from its skin. Ichigo recognized immediately that she needed to hit the creature on its back, where the skin exposed what looked like a discolored organ.
Ichigo wondered to herself how she would be able to hit the chimera's back while it flew. Her bright pink eyes followed the form of the chimera as it began to fly back in her direction. On a whim, Ichigo crouched and jumped up out of the tree as high as she could. She held out her strawberry bell, aiming straight for the head of the chimera.
"Ribbon Strawberry Check!"
A blast of pinkish-white light erupted from her weapon. The chimera easily dodged the blast of energy, careening to the left. It shrieked at Ichigo and dove straight towards her. Ichigo could hardly focus as the shrill cry of the monster rattled around in her head. She landed back in the boughs of the tree and ducked. The chimera's beak snapped just above her head as it flew past.
Ichigo's ears were still ringing. She stuck her head above the pink blossoms of the tree and saw that the chimera was turning around to fly back towards her. Think fast, Ichigo, she told herself. The chimera dove towards her at a breakneck speed.
Ichigo sprung up again, jumping as high as her legs would allow just before the chimera reached her. She somersaulted in the air and dove down. The wind rushed past her as she reached out her hand to grasp the feathers of the bird creature. The feathers tore out of the creature's skin as she snatched hold of them. Ichigo felt herself falling off of its greasy, grey back as she scrambled to grab hold of something. She reached out and caught one of the chimera's rubbery back legs as she fell off the back of the beast.
The chimera's reaction was immediate. It let out another shriek, and Ichigo felt like she would throw up from the sound rattling through her head. She used her other hand to grip on to the thick, rubbery leg of the creature; the chimera began to rapidly swing its leg to and fro in an attempt to shake her off.
Ichigo's hair whipped around her face, her arms wrapped around the chimera's leg with an iron grip. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. She recognized a pattern to the movement of the chimera's leg as it swung forward, backward, then forward again in swift kicks. Thinking fast, she felt the leg swing back, then leapt from the leg of the chimera as it swung forward. She catapulted forward and caught the neck of the chimera in her arms.
The creature swung its neck left and right, a strangled cry barely escaping from its throat. Ichigo threw her body weight towards her left and managed to swing one leg over the neck of the chimera. She yanked herself up on the beast with force, struggling to stay on as the bird creature bucked and swung its neck. Ichigo fisted two massive handfuls of feathers on its neck. She caught a glimpse of the ground below and swallowed her nerves, feeling like she might be sick.
The chimera, feeling the weight of Ichigo on its back, began to dive. Ichigo shrieked as she saw the ground approaching quickly. At the last second, the chimera pulled up and began to take off further up into the air again. Ichigo felt her ears pop as they climbed higher and higher in the air. She cringed to think that if the chimera threw her off now, she wouldn't survive the fall.
Ichigo screamed as the bird whipped to the left suddenly. She clenched its feathers even tighter and felt some of them pluck from its skin. Then, the chimera quickly turned in the other direction; Ichigo wrapped her arms around the neck of the creature as it did a barrel roll in mid-air. She landed on the back of the bird again with her arms still clenched tightly around its neck and sweat dripping from her nose. Her heart felt like it was in her throat.
The bird dove down again, plummeting towards the ground with a frightening speed. Ichigo recognized the same city park below her as they careened towards the clearing where she had first jumped on the back of the beast.
Through her blurry, windswept vision, Ichigo made out a splotch of yellow just coming through the trees. It was Pudding, in her mew uniform. And the chimera was heading right towards her.
"Look out!" Ichigo screamed. She watched Pudding dive out of the way as the chimera snapped at the young mew with its sharp, gnarled beak. The chimera took to the sky again; Ichigo chanced a glance behind her to see Zakuro emerging from the trees just behind Pudding.
Ichigo felt a jolt of relief and hope run through her at seeing her teammates, even just for a brief moment. She felt a renewed energy pulsing in her veins. A brief flash of blue caught her eye off to her left. She looked over and saw Mint flying in parallel with the chimera.
"Ichigo, hang in there!" Mint called to her. Her bow was drawn. She flew as fast as she could to stay level with the bird creature. Ichigo swallowed her fear and gripped tighter to the chimera's feathers. Then, Ichigo saw another figure rising through the wispy cloud cover. It was Pie, flying closer to the chimera alongside Mint.
"Mew Ichigo!" he called. "Grab on, quick!"
Pie reached out his hand to Ichigo. Quickly, trustingly, she reached out and grabbed his outstretched hand. He gripped her wrist in his palm. In the next second, Ichigo felt herself being lifted off of the bird chimera. She shrieked as she was left dangling in the air, suspended by Pie's iron grip. Ichigo looked up at Pie with fear; his face was calm, concentrating on lowering her to the ground.
"Hang on," he said reassuringly as the ground grew closer. Ichigo chanced a glance below her. The grassy surface of the park grew nearer every passing second. She could still hear her heartbeat in her ears.
"Ok, I can jump!" she announced, glancing back up at Pie. He looked down at her and nodded, then released her hand from his grip. Ichigo easily dropped the remaining 4 meters to the ground, landing in a crouch. She whirled around and watched Pie take off into the sky once more.
"Ichigo, are you okay?" Pudding cried, dashing over to Ichigo. The blonde mew tackled Ichigo in an embrace as Ichigo caught her breath.
"I'm fine," Ichigo said while catching her breath. She watched the chimera soar overhead. "I'm glad you all came as fast as you did."
"This chimera is strong," came Zakuro's voice. She approached Ichigo and Pudding, her weapon drawn at her side. "They seem to be getting more powerful."
Ichigo furrowed her brow, concerned. "All I know about this one," she said, "is that it spits some sort of acid. It's green and spreads fast on the ground. It bites, too – try to stay away from its beak."
"Rodger!" Pudding said, saluting. "We'll take care of it no problem!"
"The key players in this battle are Mint, Pie and Tart," said Zakuro, glancing up in the air again. "Mint is the only one of us who can fly. We're all depending on her."
Ichigo clenched her jaw, glancing up at the sky again at the three figures. She furrowed her brow as she thought through their strategy to defeat the monster. "Wait, where is Quiche?"
"Ichigo!" came Lettuce's voice from behind her. Berry tagged along with Lettuce as the two girls ran up to the group. "We saw you flying on top of the chimera! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Ichigo said, glancing between Lettuce and Berry. Adrenaline surged through her veins as she thought quickly about how she would lead her team. "We were just talking about this chimera – it's strong, and Mint is the only one of us mews who can fly. Where is Quiche? We need all of the boys here to help since they can all fly."
Lettuce and Berry exchanged a concerned look before turning back to Ichigo. Ichigo frowned, waiting impatiently for a response. She had a feeling what the answer would be, but she was annoyed with the fact that one of the strongest teammates in their partnership was missing, regardless of his personal feelings.
"Ichigo, it's … things were really bad just now," Lettuce said finally. She was picking her words carefully, taking care to glance up at the sky to watch the battle in the pauses. "He is borderline hysterical. We all agreed he had to stay behind."
Ichigo masked her complicated feelings with a scowl. She knocked her jaw back and forth. "Wait, you kept him behind? As in, he was going to help but you told him not to?"
"Ichigo, we couldn't just let him show up here ten minutes after he pretty much destroyed the café kitchen!" Berry interjected. She grimaced, glancing between Ichigo and the rest of the mews. "Shirogane and Keiichiro are keeping him at the café until he calms down."
Ichigo breathed a deep breath and looked up at the sky to mask the swirling conflict of emotion bubbling to the surface of her mind. "Okay, well in that case, we'll do our best with what we have!" she announced confidently. Taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and glanced around at the other mews. They looked skeptical, concerned. Ichigo tried not to let her façade falter. She wondered to herself how much they all knew – or what they suspected.
Not waiting for an answer, Ichigo began formulating a plan. "Berry, you and I need to split up on opposite ends of the park," she directed. "Either one of us needs to be prepared to separate the parasite from the chimera if it ends up close to us in a weakened state. Zakuro, we need your Zakuro Spear to get the chimera to stay near to the ground. Pudding, same goes for you. If either of you can trap the chimera close to the ground, Berry and I have a better shot at finishing it off for good."
The mews nodded. "Sounds good!" agreed Berry.
"Makes sense," Zakuro agreed.
"Wait, where should I go?" Lettuce asked, glancing between Ichigo and Berry.
"Stay close to me," Ichigo replied. "Pudding can come with us. Zakuro, you stay close to Berry and try to catch the chimera in your whip if it dives towards the ground near you."
Zakuro nodded. She began to walk backwards, motioning to Berry to follow her. Berry and Zakuro took off to the other end of the clearing in the park. Ichigo glanced skyward again, watching Tart, Pie and Mint circle the chimera overhead. She felt helpless in that moment, craning her neck and wishing the best for their teammates in the air.
"I wish we could do more than wait," Ichigo said, clenching her gloved fists.
Lettuce glanced over at her. "Don't worry, Ichigo — Pie and Tart know chimeras. They will know what to do."
Ichigo remembered seeing the green spot on the back of the chimera. She gasped, turning to Pudding and Lettuce, "Wait, I know the weak spot on the chimera! It has an exposed spot on its back that's bright green."
"That sounds really obvious!" Pudding remarked. "If you can't miss it, then Mint, Pie and Taru-Taru will find it no problem!"
Ichigo nodded, "You're right," she agreed.
"Ichigo!" came a voice from the trees behind the girls. Ichigo whirled around and saw Masaya running towards them. Her focus drifted from the battle, her heart softening as she turned to face her now-fiancé.
"Aoyama!" Ichigo exclaimed. "What are you doing? It's dangerous for you to be so close to us!"
Masaya leaned on his knees to catch his breath. He wiped the sweat off his brow and met Ichigo's concerned look with his own. "I had to make sure you were alright. I was so scared watching that monster throw you around like that."
Ichigo swallowed hard and nodded. "I'm okay!" she reassured Masaya with a wary smile. "I know the chimera's weakness – it's an exposed spot on its back. We'll have it back to normal in no time."
Masaya nodded, a bead of sweat trailing down the tan skin of his boyish face. He reached out to take one of Ichigo's gloved hands in his own. "Just promise you'll be safe, now that your team is here?"
Ichigo nodded reassuringly, squeezing Masaya's hand with her own. "Of course," she murmured. The fear hadn't left Masaya's eyes – he looked on at her, unnerved.
"Ichigo!" Lettuce shrieked from behind her. "Look out!"
Ichigo hardly had time to turn her head before she saw the glob of green acid hurtling towards her. She stumbled backwards, instinctually reaching out for Masaya. Time seemed to move in slow motion as she felt one of his arms wrap around her shoulders protectively. In the next instant, the air around her erupted in a flash of blue.
Ichigo gasped. The acid attack collided with something that looked like a glass pane, streaked with bright blue. Its round surface rose up over Ichigo's head, repelling the acid right before her eyes. The surface of the shield was beautifully strange, like the glass of an aquarium. Ichigo's eyes were wide as she saw Masaya's hand outstretched in front of her. His palm had a bizarre blue glow dancing between his fingers, swirling like the smoke of a candle just blown out.
Ichigo whirled around to face Masaya. She felt her jaw fall open further as she took in his appearance. He had transformed again – his raven-black hair reached to his knees. A long blue robe graced his shoulders, its rich fabric dancing in the wind as the impact of the attack caused a breeze to pass over them. He appeared to be in shock, his face frozen in surprise. His eyes seemed to stare right through Ichigo.
"A-Aoyama?" she gasped, searching his expression for a sign of consciousness. Masaya snapped out of his daze in the next instant. His rich brown eyes fell on Ichigo immediately, the warmth returning to his gaze.
"Ichigo," he breathed. He rushed to her, dropping the shield from around their bodies and wrapping Ichigo in his arms. Ichigo buried her face in the crook of his neck. She wrapped her arms around him, but was surprised to feel the fabric under her hands shift and change as he gripped her tighter to him.
"Aoyama, the transformation! It's reversing already," Ichigo exclaimed, stepping back from Masaya. His hair was back to be just shorter than his shoulders as she watched it seemingly grow in reverse. His clothing seemed to move on its own, colors fading and fabric shrinking until his appearance was back to normal. Masaya looked down at his clothes and ran a hand through his hair.
"I – it's still there. This power," he murmured. He looked down at his hands. Ichigo clenched her jaw as she heard the chimera shriek in the distance. The battle wasn't over yet.
"Ichigo, are you both okay?" Lettuce cried out, coming over to where Ichigo stood by Masaya. Lettuce's worried green eyes darted between her and Masaya. "That was incredible, what Aoyama just did."
"I – yes, we're fine," Ichigo said warily, placing a hand around Masaya. "Aoyama's power is weak, but it seems he can still use some of it."
Lettuce nodded thoughtfully. "I'm so glad you're okay," she sighed.
Ichigo nodded. She turned to Masaya. "Aoyama, you need to get to cover. It's not safe for you to be close to the mews. The chimera is aiming right for us."
Masaya, still in a slight daze, clenched his jaw. "I won't let you be in danger like that again," he said, placing both hands on her shoulders protectively. "Please promise me you won't be hurt."
Ichigo stared into his deep brown eyes with resolve. There was something strange, fearful in his gaze as he gripped her shoulders. It made Ichigo anxious, though she nodded reassuringly all the same.
"I'll be just fine!" she said confidently. Ichigo broke from Masaya's grip and took two steps back. She forced herself to smile as she summoned her strawberry bell once again. "You can count on it."
Masaya didn't look convinced. He tightened his jaw and clenched his fists as he watched Ichigo turn to go back to the battle. Ichigo could sense the fear clouding the air around her fiancé. She returned to where Pudding stood watching the sky.
Masaya didn't want her to battle anymore. She could sense it. Ichigo couldn't help but feel in awe of the return of his power. But something seemed strange about the way he looked at her after she left his side. She shook it out of her head as her eyes turned skyward.
"It's coming back around!" Pudding yelled, pointing. The girls all took a step back, readying their weapons. The chimera turned its beady red eyes in their direction. It let out another angry shriek.
"Pudding, try to use your Pudding Ring Inferno when it gets closer!" Ichigo instructed Pudding. "Aim for the wings!"
"You got it, big sis!" Pudding yelled. She twirled her rings in her palms and crouched at the ready. The chimera dove towards them at a frighteningly fast speed. Pudding sprung up from the ground, jumping high in the air with a twirl to meet the chimera as she called out her attack.
"Ribbon Pudding Ring INFERNO!"
A yellow mass erupted from her rings and flew towards the chimera's left wing. It caught on to the wing with a slap. The gelatinous substance clung to the beast with tenacity and threw it into a tailspin. The chimera let out a gargled cry as it struggled to gain altitude again. It tipped left and right, thrashing wildly to get rid of the sticky golden jelly.
"It worked!" Lettuce exclaimed in excitement. Ichigo clenched her fists and watched the chimera carefully. A flash of blue caught her eye – Mint was aiming her bow at the chimera's back. Ichigo saw her fire a pinkish attack right at the green spot Ichigo had noticed earlier. The attack struck with an explosion of pink light. The monster cried out in another gargled shriek, falling to the ground with a crash.
"Berry!" Ichigo shrieked across the park, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Go! Now!"
Berry wasted no time dashing up to the chimera, waving her attack over the weakened monster with ease. "Ribbon Loveberry Check!"
A white, soft light fell over the body of the chimera as the final separation of the parasite began to shrink its large form. The light grew smaller and smaller until only an old seagull remained. The bird picked itself up and shook out its feathers, losing a few in the process.
Ichigo looked back at Lettuce and Pudding with a grin on her face. "We did it!" she exclaimed to her teammates. Lettuce and Berry smiled in return, running up to Ichigo and tackling her in a group hug.
"All thanks to you, Pudding!" Lettuce exclaimed.
"Aw shucks, it's no biggie!" Pudding giggled. "Though that was pretty cool, huh? Mew Pudding is the hero today!"
Ichigo laughed, squeezing Pudding's shoulders a little tighter. She lifted her eyes just in time to see Masaya striding towards the group, smiling. His usual warmth had returned to his expression. Ichigo's heart felt full and warm as she smiled back at him. She broke from the embrace of her friends and dashed over to her fiancé.
"Aoyama!" she cried out in joy, throwing her arms around his shoulders. He enveloped her in a tight, comforting hug. "We did it!" she said into his shirt.
"You did it," Masaya murmured. "I'm so glad you're safe."
Ichigo broke from his embrace, beaming up at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but Pudding beat her to the punch.
"Aoyama, what was with your crazy powers back there? It was so cool!"
Masaya laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "I guess I've still got some of the Blue Knight left in me, huh?"
Ichigo noticed how Masaya avoided mentioning Deep Blue when speaking about his powers. In reality, his transformation and use of his power was much more reminiscent of the ancient power of Deep Blue than it was of the Blue Knight. Ichigo had noticed the subtle differences, and she was sure that Masaya had too. But Masaya diverted the topic, continuing in a lighthearted tone as he spoke to Pudding. "You girls were fantastic. It was a great idea to use your attack to slow down the chimera."
"The Pudding Ring Inferno can't be stopped!" Pudding exclaimed in a voice mimicking a TV announcer, holding a fake microphone up to her chin. "The hero of the day is none other than Mew Pudding!"
Ichigo giggled as she glanced between Masaya and Pudding. Her fiancé laughed alongside her as Pudding continued her narration of the battle in dramatic fashion. But Ichigo could see something dull in his eyes – some sort of worry still lurking in his expression. Masaya looked up at her for a moment, still grinning from laughing along with the mews. Ichigo smiled at him, cocking her head to one side. He smiled back, but the smile fell short of its usual warmth.
Ichigo reached out a gloved hand and wrapped it around Masaya's waist reassuringly. He placed a hand around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. They had won this battle, but something was still concerning Masaya. Ichigo sighed as she instinctively glanced down at her left hand. The ring was gone, but that always happened when she transformed into Mew Ichigo. Her clothing and jewelry always returned when she transformed back to normal.
Ichigo closed her eyes and allowed herself to power down from her transformation, warm light covering her body as she felt the wildcat genes receding back into her chest. When she opened her eyes again, Lettuce and Pudding were following her lead, powering down into their normal selves.
Ichigo looked down at her left hand again. The ring was back, sparkling in the late afternoon sun with all of the brilliance she had remembered. When she looked up from her ring, Masaya was watching her quietly.
"It disappears when you're Mew Ichigo, doesn't it?" Masaya remarked, nodding to the ring. Ichigo held her hand out in front of her as they both observed its sparkle.
"Yeah, all of my normal clothing and jewelry go away when I transform," Ichigo said quietly. She turned her hand side to side, causing the gem to glint even more brilliantly. Masaya reached out and took her hand in his. He gave it a squeeze. Ichigo lifted her eyes to him curiously.
Something strange passed across his expression in that moment – something worried, something dark. Ichigo's smile fell slightly as she regarded the intensity in Masaya's eyes. He looked scared, almost terrified. He forced his lips into a smile and kissed the top of Ichigo's hand. "You worry me too much, Ichigo," he said softly. "You're my cat. I need you to be safe."
Ichigo breathed deeply, feeling conflicted about how to respond to Masaya. He had been through so much in only a matter of days. It was more than Ichigo could believe, more than she would ever expect from someone in her life. She had put him through everything under the sun. She felt a fresh swath of guilt swirling in her stomach as she opened and closed her mouth.
"I – I will," she murmured. She smiled up into his warm, chocolate brown eyes. Masaya nodded, a small smile returning to his face. The fear in his eyes seemed to pass. A familiarity returned to his expression, a comfort that Ichigo knew well.
"Now, weren't we supposed to be on an ice cream date?" he asked playfully. Ichigo, relieved that Masaya's mood was back to normal again, giggled.
"First the surprise proposal, then a chimera attack...!" she laughed.
"Well, let's get going then!" Masaya said, grinning. "Before anything else keeps us from our date." He took Ichigo's hand in his.
In that moment, the world felt balanced once again in Ichigo's mind. She sighed and allowed herself to steep in the comforting air around her and Masaya. In that moment, she felt happy and carefree – even if it was just for that instant. In that moment, she could forget.
"What do you want me to do, just forget?!"
Quiche's voice ripped through the echoey walls of the café basement in a thunderous roar. Ryou had him pinned by his shoulder against one of the concrete walls. Quiche clenched his fists until he felt like his nails would break skin. He felt unhinged, his mind raging uncontrolled as he pictured all of the ways he wanted to hurt something. Ryou grit his teeth, fixing Quiche with a furious stare.
"Quiche, listen to me! Nothing you do now is going to help," he said. Quiche felt a fresh pang of anger rip up his throat. He bore his teeth as Ryou continued. "Destroying my dishes certainly didn't help. And hurting Aoyama won't help either."
"He's better off dead and we both know it!" Quiche barked.
Ryou narrowed his eyes. "Aoyama is a teammate, not a threat," he said through clenched teeth.
"As long as Aoyama is alive, Deep Blue's power lives on," Quiche spat, glaring into Ryou's piercing blue eyes. "He is dangerous. I'm not stupid, Shirogane, and neither are you!"
"I know enough to tell you that's not entirely true," Ryou growled. His grip tightened on Quiche's shirt. "Your suspicions are no excuse when I know your issue with Aoyama is personal."
Quiche clenched his teeth, feeling his anger bubbling over like boiling water. He summoned his silver dagger at his side, feeling the cool sensation of the thin metal weapon against the hot sweat of his palm. He saw Ryou glance down briefly at the blade before returning to meet his eyes once more. A brief flash of fear passed across Ryou's features. Good, Quiche thought as he twirled the blade in his hand.
"Care to explain what you mean by that? 'Personal'?" Quiche growled, raising one eyebrow in a challenge. Ryou released his shoulder from the wall and took a step back. Quiche's arm felt sore, like it would bruise. He rolled it back to stretch the muscle. It began to throb as he got feeling back in his arm.
"Put your weapon away, Quiche," Ryou instructed calmly, firmly. "You don't want to hurt me."
Quiche felt like he was being talked down to, like a child. He continued to twirl the dagger between his fingers, taking comfort in the familiar weight of the blade dancing in his grasp. "Don't be so sure of yourself," he muttered. "You've dressed all of the wolves in sheep's clothing, and now you're surprised when we bite back."
Quiche watched Ryou's expression carefully. The blond crossed his arms, but looked far from relaxed. Quiche reveled in the feeling of power, control. He clicked his tongue and cocked his head to one side. "Now tell me, how is my problem with Aoyama … personal?"
"It's personal in the same way that you're not going to hurt me," Ryou muttered, "because she wouldn't forgive you for it."
Quiche clenched his jaw, scowling. He could picture it in his mind so easily — a visit to the local hospital, the café closed for a few days. Angry, watery brown eyes and the faint aroma of strawberry lip gloss mixed with salt.
Quiche waved his hand. The dagger disappeared in the air above his palm.
Ryou visibly relaxed. Quiche bared his teeth, annoyed. "Don't look so smug, blondie," he hissed.
"Not smug, just happy you'll at least listen to reason," Ryou muttered. He ran one hand through his hair. Sweat glistened on his forehead. "I'm grateful for everything you've done the past ten days. But I need you to keep your shit together or you're off the team."
Quiche narrowed his eyes. "Fine, kick me off the team. I might as well go home. It's not like I have anything left here anyway."
Ryou seemed surprised at his answer. He raised his eyebrows briefly, pausing to consider his words. Quiche lifted his arms to stretch them behind his head. He felt a slick liquid slide down one of his fingers – blood, likely from breaking the glass in the kitchen. He brought the hand to his face and observed the cut through narrowed eyes.
"Pie and Tart need you here for the mission," Ryou said firmly. "Leaving now would be cowardly."
Quiche licked the blood from his finger. The taste of iron and salt swept over his tastebuds. Ryou continued to glare at him with a mix of disgust and annoyance. Quiche chose his words carefully. "You don't want me here."
"'Want' and 'need' are two very different things," Ryou muttered. "I want you to get the hell out of my café, seeing as you just threatened me with a knife. But I'm sorry to say I need you to help us get the chimeras under control."
Quiche frowned, placing his hands on his hips. "Mm, that's too bad, then. I'm sure Pie and Tart will be able to make do without me." He turned and took two steps towards the staircase to leave.
"Quiche, don't," Ryou said firmly. "You need to stay here until you've calmed down." Quiche turned to look back at Ryou, lifting off the ground slightly to float just above the concrete floor. Ryou was talking down to him again. Condescending prick. Quiche swallowed his anger and stiffened his jaw. He raised his chin slightly.
"I don't answer to you anymore, Shirogane," Quiche hissed. "Consider me off the team. It doesn't matter anyway – the mews should be already at the battle by now."
Quiche paused as he felt an icy cold, throbbing sensation beginning to buzz behind his eyes. It flared like a fire, rushing across his head before disappearing entirely in a sudden snap. The familiar sensation sent a chill down Quiche's spine, a deep-seated fear that came from years of training. Years of terror.
"Interesting," Quiche murmured, staring blankly at the wall behind Ryou, "there's been a flare-up of Deep Blue's power. Just now."
"What?" Ryou barked, stiffening. "How do you know?"
Quiche's gaze snapped to Ryou again. "We can sense it. His power," he said.
Masaya had transformed again – why? Quiche locked his jaw and tried to subdue the panic bubbling in his stomach. Masaya had only been able to transform when Ichigo was in extreme distress. What had happened over the past few minutes? Quiche felt the anger pulsing once more in his chest – this time, anger with himself. Anger that he wasn't there at the battle, and anger that he was still in the café basement, arguing with Ryou.
Quiche knocked his jaw back and forth. He scowled at the thought of Masaya's power becoming more active. The flickering light of a candle about to go out, brought to light by a gentle breath on the flame. "A few broken dishes are the least of your worries, Ryou Shirogane," he said finally. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
The corner of Ryou's mouth twitched. Quiche turned to leave again, starting up the stairs to the basement. He was nearly to the top of the steps when he heard Ryou's voice calling after him.
"Do you love her?"
Quiche stopped in his tracks. All at once, a familiar warm sensation danced across his skin as visions of perfect curves in a silky dress flooded his mind. He was touching the warm skin of her waist; a voice like a melody, laughing like he had always dreamed of. That night, everything had felt too good to be true. In that green dress, she had almost felt like his.
Quiche ducked his head lower to glare at Ryou.
"Go to hell."
Quiche stomped up the last few stairs of the café as Ryou yelled after him: "I'll see you there."