I had the song "Human" by Christina Perri stuck in my head the whole time I was writing this chapter, which is ironic because its subject is the opposite of this story :P
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DrDark7 and James Birdsong, thank you so much for your reviews, favorites and follows. You really inspire me to continue writing!
"You ready?" Kisshu asked as he and Ichigo stood on the edge of the cliff.
"No." Ichigo replied back instantly.
"Good," Kisshu said, before leaping off the cliff with Ichigo. This was faster than he'd wanted, learning to fly took time, but there was no time to waste. Hopefully, with this method, he could shock her into flying. It wouldn't be easy… but who said it couldn't be fun?
Kisshu zoomed low, parallel to the water in the sparkling ocean, with Ichigo in his arms. He took a breath and then was soaring upwards. Ichigo made a slight, surprised sound, her arms tightening around his neck. Kisshu chuckled.
"You think you can do this on your own?" He asked.
"No." Ichigo said, appearing to be unable to say anything else.
"Well then I hope you don't have a fear of heights," Kisshu responded, the only warning before shooting upwards as fast as he could go. Ichigo would kill him for this later, and he would probably deserve it, but he turned up-side down anyway. Ichigo held onto him for dear life.
"Had enough yet?" Kisshu asked her teasingly.
"Yes! Wait… no!" But it was too late. Kisshu dropped her.
Ichigo flailed about in the air, falling as she did so.
"Fly! Ichigo! The air isn't your enemy!" He called, but the only sound was Ichigo cursing him as she fell into the waves.
She reappeared moments later, her fury not marring the perfect features of her face. Kisshu laughed.
"Get me out of here!" Ichigo yelled, sputtering in the water.
"I'm afraid you'll have to catch me first!" Kisshu called, flying low to the surface. If he could incite her, get her to use her anger to boost her powers, that could be the starting point.
A half-concentrated, half-frustrated look appeared on Ichigo's face. That was the only warning Kisshu had before a wind almost knocked him down into the waves. It seemed that all the air headed towards Ichigo as she solidified it into a platform. He watched as she, shakily at first, began to rise out of the water - straight towards him.
"You are in for it now, Kisshu!" Ichigo said, before zooming towards him at impossible speeds. She rammed into him, making him lose his balance and control. He fell down, shocked, into the waves. He hadn't expected this to happen so soon. He had thought he would get a few more hours of Ichigo cursing him from the water.
Now, it appeared that it was the opposite. He was the one sputtering in the waves while Ichigo giggling from above. He splashed water at her, before reaching up and grabbing her by the wrist. He used her surprise to pull her into the ocean with him.
Ichigo resurfaced, grinning wide.
"Race?" she challenged.
"To where?" Kisshu responded.
"Anywhere. Go!" Ichigo shot out of the water with Kisshu hot on her heels. She did a loop, sprinkling drops of water off her pale body. She was fast, but she didn't know the tricks yet. Kisshu streamlined his body, making himself as small as possible to increase speed. Even so, he was only barely matching Ichigo's pace. Ichigo didn't even seem to be tiring, her peals of laughter barely audible over the sound of wind rushing past his ears.
They came to a stop, both thoroughly soaked and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. He was surprised to find that they were holding hands.
"Ichigo I-" Kisshu was interrupted by an interupting cough on his left. He turned to see an unimpressed Pai.
"If you two were finished with the eye-sex, there are some… things we should discuss," Pai said mirthlessly, giving a direct look to Kisshu, who had stopped laughing.
Ichigo did the floating equivalent of a step away from him, now able to hold herself up. He missed her warmth immediately. He was friendly enough with Pai and Taruto, but Ichigo brought something to his life that had been missing for too long.
Pai didn't wait for them to muster up a stuttered retort, instead turning his back with a snort and glided back to land. That was the thing about Pai, he was always so precise, both in flying and life. He never drifted, never fell. No, he glided and he flew. He had so much control over whatever he was doing.
Kisshu and Ichigo had no choice other than to follow after him, as much as he wished that he could spend a few more minutes with the sparkling waves and the sparkling smile that only appeared whenever Ichigo was truly happy.
"I trust that she knows how to fly and teleport perfectly?" Pai said, addressing Kisshu without looking up.
"Yes," Ichigo said, at the same time as Kisshu burst out "What? No!"
"I am here, you know. Show a little respect." Ichigo told Pai indignantly.
"Of course," Pai stared witheringly at Ichigo, making her regret not leaving the talking to Kisshu. "Can you teleport, or not?" He said, fixing her with his harsh, cold glare.
Ichigo had tried to teleport before, back when she was strapped to the table after Pai…
No. Don't think about that. Control your anger. Use it, she told herself.
The last time she'd tried, she'd gone exactly where she had wanted. She glimpsed Kisshu's anxious face in the corner of her eye. It almost annoyed her, but then she realized: It wasn't that Kisshu didn't think she could do it, he was just too worried about what might happen to her if she didn't succeed. He was just being caring. The thought made her smile, and she channeled that energy into the swirl of power forcing it's way though her veins. She embraced it.
The last time Ichigo had teleported, she'd been panicked, and she had rushed the whole procedure. Now that she was welcoming the power, it was different. It was… exhilarating. She could get addicted to it, if she lost herself in that energy. She forged a link between where she was and the other side of the room. No… further. She could see the whole dimension, mapped out before her. Just lines and shades, bendable. She created the bond between herself and the next room, then added to it, with every ounce of power she could draw from her endless supply. It was a gateway, and she passed through it, marveling at its intricacies and detail.
Ichigo opened her eyes, the room was pretty much the same (all the rooms here were) but Pai and Kisshu were gone. She heard a thud in the previous room.
She went to the door, and saw Kisshu and Pai, flat on their backs. It looked as if something had knocked them down.
"Ichigo?" Kisshu said dizzily, sitting up. "That was… a shock."
"Indeed." Pai agreed stonily. "You appear to have electrocuted everything within a 3-mile radius."
"Oh," Ichigo was suddenly embarrassed. Then she remembered-
"What the HELL was that?" Screeched a child with angry eyes and hair stood up on end. He paused when he saw Ichigo. "Hag," Taruto acknowledged.
"Brat." She replied. Taruto turned, dismissing her.
"Now who just electrified me and made me fall from 20 feet?" Taruto demanded. Kisshu simply gestured to Ichigo while Pai calmly wrote on his clipboard.
"Interesting… can stop other aliens… from using their powers." Pai mumbled to himself. Taruto ignored him and turned to Ichigo with none of the scorn from before.
"You can electrify things?" He said, awe filling his eyes.
"Uh, yes?" This was a new side of Taruto. Ichigo had never seen him without brat-mode on 100%.
"Show me! Do what you did again!" Kisshu opened his mouth to protest, despite having stayed silent for most of this conversation. But Ichigo was too eager to feel the power rushing through her, to bend and forge and break the dimensions again. She closed her eyes and felt the magic rise up in her chest almost instantly, begging to be released. She was about to teleport herself across the room when a thought struck her. Why should the link be tied to her? She had only been setting Point B on the map, Point A being set to herself by default. But if she moved it…
Success! Taruto was now standing across the room and in his place a confused Kisshu. She hadn't dared to move Pai, who had given up on speaking his observations out loud and was frantically scribbling in his clipboard.
Unfortunately, it appeared that one could not use that much power without side-affects. Ichigo felt her legs go weak as a heaviness setting over her mind, clouding her thoughts and blurring her mind. She thought she saw a flash of green hair before comforting arms lifted her and carried her to sleep.
Ichigo woke in a bed far more comfortable than usual. She looked up and saw Kisshu.
"Kisshu?" She said.
No response. He was asleep. Apparently even aliens took naps sometimes, which was hard to imagine considering all the work they made the Mews do at all hours. Thinking of the Mews dulled her shining memory of the day. What would they think of her now? Flying and teleporting and being totally comfortable even when asleep and helpless in the same room as an alien. These queasy thoughts entered her head and nestled in her stomach.
Ichigo decided not to wake Kisshu. She didn't want to talk to him.
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