Ugh, I've been so sidetracked recently! Good Lord, almost two months… how many readers have I lost? Well, I have my next belt test today, so I figured I needed to get the guilt off my chest and update. Hoo-boy. I accept any and all… gifts… of rotten oranges.
Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew, as it belongs to Mia Ikumi and Reiko Yoshida. I don't deserve to own it either, I'm too lazy!
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Masaya thrashed around seeking escape from the net. The boy's black hair stuck to his face, slick with sweat from the exertion of struggling so futilely, twisted with mild nausea. Apparently, he had seen the tortured Pudding, and knew it was his turn next…
Pai untangled the net from around the boy and cuffed his head hard enough to stun him. The famed and feared Blue Knight certainly didn't have much to speak of in strength and endurance in his human form—at least, not compared to the superior bodies of Pai's people. The eldest alien moved to pick him up, and then paused. Something told him not to torture this boy—he didn't understand the feeling. Torture was never a particularly pleasant activity, but the purple haired alien was not opposed to is when it came to mere humans.
Pai frowned and pulled a scanner out of his pocket. There was something odd about this boy…
The human was emitting an inhuman energy. Power radiated from his being, a power similar to yet different from the power of the Blue Knight. This boy seemed to possess the exact same power as their savior, Deep Blue…
The alien blinked. Was that possible? He had always ignored Kish's suggestions that they could save their planet with just the power of the Blue Knight, but what if Kish had been correct? This boy's power signature, the same as their messiah… Was their any way that this human could in reality be Deep Blue?
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There was chaos in Café Mew Mew. Kish's heart raced: could his enemies have found out about his escape already? The teenager crouched in the bushes, listening intently for any clues about what was going on.
"But they said he just disappeared! He was attacked and then he was gone!"
Kish gasped. Ichigo—she was upset. But whom were they talking about? It couldn't be him; he hadn't been attacked…
"But how could Aoyama-san disappear in the middle of kendo without anyone seeing who did it?" Lettuce's voice was soft and questioning. "That dojo is usually packed."
"I don't know!" Ichigo screamed, her voice scratchy and tearful. "Someone threw a net at him or something, and then he was gone! They… they… I can't believe this! Why Aoyama-kun?"
Kish cursed under his breath. Tart. It had to have been Tart. What was the idiot doing? This was the Blue Knight! Kish had warned him about how much power the boy held—why on earth would his friend disregard that? Why did they need Aoyama, unless they had decided that they would have a better chance of getting him back with two hostages?
The alien sighed and lay flat on his back, breathing deeply and silently, letting the pain of his scrapes and burns ease. Surely Tart and Pai could handle the power of the Blue Knight for less than a day. He'd be back in time to yell at both of them and get the Blue Knight off of their ship and back to Earth, where he could hardly damage the planet any more than the rest of his species already had. Kish made a mental note to keep a watch on Ichigo and keep her out of danger for the day: they did not need to invite the chance for the Blue Knight to transform. If his theory was correct, the Blue Knight could only transform to save Ichigo.
What a sweet, unselfish love. It made Kish feel sick and jealous. All he could do was attack Ichigo and hope that someday she got the hint that he could kill her any time, and only held back because he loved her.
"Everyone!" Shirogane's voice was loud, and harsh to Kish's ears, a note of urgency in his tone. "Forget about Aoyama, this is more important. Kish is gone!"
There was a collective gasp, over which Ichigo's shrill voice could be heard. "More important? Aoyama-kun matters a lot more than Kish! We need to find Aoyama-kun! He could be—"
Shirogane began to talk quickly over his hysterical employee's rant. "We don't know what he's up to, but if we lose him, we lose our only bargaining chip. I need you to look for him and bring him back." Kish could hear the annoyance in the blonde's voice, and imagined that he was glaring at Ichigo. "From your description of Aoyama's disappearance, it seems pretty likely that it's connected to Kish."
Ichigo's understanding gasp reached Kish's ears. "All right! Everyone, let's go!"
The collective cries of transformation were coupled with bursts of colored light that reached Kish's eyes even through the window above the bushes. The alien blinked several times to regain his eyesight, and then realized that if he could see the flashes from the window, anyone looking out the window could see him. The emerald alien mentally slapped himself and scooted backwards and out of sight, wincing and biting his lip to keep from shrieking as the pebbles on the ground dug into the burns and cuts on his palms.
The door slammed open and the teenager saw flashes of bright color go racing by at super-human speed. Kish released a small sigh of release, relieved that no one had thought to check around the café for him. That had been his biggest fear…
"Are you sure that was wise, Ryou?" Akasaka's voice was questioning. "We can track him down any time, after all. It wouldn't be so hard."
Shirogane's voice was less harsh and commanding as he spoke in reply to his best friend. "I know, Keiichiro, but if we didn't give Ichigo some semblance of hope for finding Aoyama, she'd turn hysterical. At least this way she can feel useful, and maybe we'll get a bonus and find Kish."
"That wasn't Kish who kidnapped him," Akasaka replied, soft accusation in his voice. "If they do find him, he's going to take a lot of abuse from Ichigo for something he didn't do."
Shirogane snorted. "I know, it was the short one—he's the one with the ropes. Still innocent people get hurt all the time in wars. My parents took the hit for the people who really hurt the environment, you know? I can't say I care if he gets hurt if it keeps Ichigo in a condition to fight."
"Do you think things are going to get worse?"
Shirogane's voice sounded farther away, as though he had begun to walk away from Kish's hiding spot. "Don't you think so? You've never gotten that feeling about Aoyama?" The fifteen-year-old sounded a lot older than he really was. "I can't trust him in the alien's hands. There's just something off about him."
"You aren't just jealous?" Akasaka asked gently.
"No." The blonde's answer sounded a little too firm to be convincing. "I am not jealous. I have no reason to be. Think closely about that kid, and then tell me if you really trust him."
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Okay, I'm off to update my other fan fictions now… maybe then I'll come back to this one. Wow, depressing music actually helps me write! I had a much easier time with this chapter than I thought I would.
FINALLY it begins to get to the main plot. This is the part I was looking forward to writing! …Of course, it also means I need to dredge up some fresh ideas, because I quit pre-writing around this time last year and only have a few more chapters planned out—after that it's up in the air.
