The Truth is Hard to Handle

Chappie Five

The Past is Calling . . .

Hey my people! How is you today? Sorry. . . I'm in a totally weird mood today. I think I even got the second sugar high I've ever had! The first time I had a sugar high, I ate 4 packs of Sour Skittles and then I was shaking soooo bad and I was soooooo hyper! Well, here's your new chappie!!!

Ichigo walked home as fast as she possibly could, worried that Kish or Masaya would go looking for her. Not only was that bothering her, but it was freezing cold outside, and her lightweight denim jacket did not help to heat her up.

She was oh-so thankful to hear her cell phone ring, hoping it was Ryou offering her that ride home again. However, when she checked her caller ID, it read "Unknown Name, Unknown Number."

Hm, she thought, he must've star-69'd it, thinking I wouldn't pick up otherwise.

"Hello?" she smiled.

"Hey kitty. How are you? You still wearing that bell?" a voice asked. Ichigo was genuinely confused, her smiled diminished. Who was it? His voice sounded so familiar, but yet. . .

"Who is this?" she asked, but as soon as the words escaped her lips, she realized exactly who it was. "Masaya? OK, this is waaaaaay too creepy. I'm hanging up."

"No, wait!" he said. She did. "I wanna be with you. I miss you. When can I see you? Please don't tell me you're with your jerk boss still."

"Well, I am."

"If you don't want to hurt his feelings by ending it, I have my ways…"

"No," she said.

"Well, OK. But I need to see you. When's good for you?" Masaya asked.

"Never," she replied, then hung up. She clicked the phone to vibrate, then shoved it in her pocket.

It buzzed. She ignored it. He hung up.

It buzzed again. Once again, she just let it ring until it stopped.

The third time it buzzed, she snatched it from her pocket and snapped, "Stop calling me!"

"Whoa, Ichigo, this is the first time I've called!" Ryou answered.

Awkward Silence.

"So, uh, what's up?" Ichigo finally asked.

"I called you to apologize. I bet you've had a lot on your mind since, well, everything, but I was just pissed that you were acknowledging him and, you know, thinking about going to see him, and I just got jealous and crazy and I'm sorry. Did I forget anything?

"Yes."

"What?"

She paused, relieved that he called, "Please come pick me up and take me home."

"OK, see you in a bit."

"'Kay."

"Bye," he said.

"Bye," she hung up, found the closest bench and sat on it.

Finally, she saw headlights approach and jumped up excitedly. But as she saw a red Corvette convertible approach, she cowered back to the bench. That definitely wasn't Ryou's car. The car stopped in front of her and the passenger side door opened. "Moneymaker" blasted from the speakers. ((that song is so fricken annoying!)) A tall cloaked man emerged from the open door. He walked over to her and said, "Hey, Ichigo."

She gave no notice of him, just kept looking up the road toward the Café.

"OK, so I'll just talk, so you don't have to," he said.

"Could you go away please? My boyfriend will be here any minute," Ichigo replied.

"Oh, so you do know I'm here," he smiled.

"Hey," she snapped, "I totally and completely appreciate all you did for me, dying and all, but I cried for you once, I really don't want to cry over you again." She paused for breath, " We're over! I didn't want to have to use those words, but I'm with Ryou and I love him!!!!"

Masaya put his hood down to reveal his head. He was just as cute as ever, except there was a large scar extending from his left eyebrow down his cheek to his chin bone. Ichigo gasped. Pain was reflected in his eyes as he said sorrowfully, "Kish didn't kill me with mercy." Tears seemed to be collecting in the corners of his eyes.

Another pair of headlights appeared and Ichigo saw Ryou's car appear. Tears dripping down her pale face, she ran to the car and sat shotgun. Then she slammed the door the hardest she'd ever slammed a door in her life.

"What's wrong?" Ryou asked.

Ichigo sniffled and shook her head. She watched the dark figure which was Masaya disapper into the red Corvette.

"Who was that?" Ryou asked, straightening out Ichigo's hair for her.

"Masaya."

Ryou's eyes flared, reavealing his anger. He went to open the door and sock Masaya one in the face, but Ichigo stopped him. "Please," she said, "Just take me home." Her eyes fell from the road to the car's clock. It read 11 PM. "I didn't realize how long I'd been walking," she said.

They drove the rest of the way to Ichigo's house in silence. When they finally reached her house, she grabbed her purse and backpack (she's been at school all day!) and opened the door.

She turned to see Ryou waiting for her to get out, so he could start the car up again and leave. "Aren't you coming?" she asked him.

"Ichigo…" he started.

"Please?"

Ryou sighed, "Fine." He grabbed his keys and got out the door too.

"Thank you!" Ichigo said perkily.

"You owe me big," Ryou replied.

"Yes I do!" she smiled back. She offered up her hand and he took it. Smiling, the two of them walked into the empty house.

"Jeez, how do you keep your house?" Ryou asked.

"My parents paid it off long ago," Ichigo answered.

"What about water and electricity, though?"

Ichigo shrugged, "Most of my money from the café goes toward paying for it."

"Most?"

"I save back some money each week. You pay me 10 dollars an hour, so if I work three hours a day, I'll earn 30 dollars a day and 150 dollars a week. But if I save 2 dollars an hour, I'll get 6 dollars a day and thirty a week," she said, "Good logic, huh?"

"What's it for?" Ryou was curious.

"Food. I usually eat breakfast at the café, and I qualify for getting free lunches at school because of my predicament. But if I want something, you know, new shoes, clothes, makeup, I'll save up and get it," Ichigo said, dropping her purse and backpack in the closet.

"Quite a system you have worked out," Ryou laughed.

Ichigo laughed, too, "Yes it is!"

"But what about your cell phone and home phone?" Ryou asked.

"That's the hardest part. I have family in America who send my 25 dollars a month. They help a lot. They've offered to come to Japan and help me out, even asked me to go stay with them, but this is my home," Ichigo replied.

"Fair enough," Ryou replied, "So, I should be going."

"No, don't go!" Ichiog cried, "Stay, please! You owe me!"

He turned, laughing, "No, you owe me!" he shook his head, "But OK."

"Thank you," she said, hugging him, "I need to shower. Long day, you know?"

"Yeah, sure." He watched as she left.

The phone rang. He was reluctant to anser it; it was her phone after all! But after five rings, he figured she was already in the shower and picked up the receiver, "Hello?"

"Hey, is Ichigo there?" a man's voice said.

Ryou was puzzled. Was Ichigo with another man? Deciding that conclusion was just about as nuts as it gets, he asked, "Who is this?"

The man didn't answer for a while, but finally he replied, "Why?"

Was the man stalling for time? He couldn't think of a better reason, so he said, "Look, I know it's Masaya, Kish, Pai, or Tart. So, either you tell me who you are or I hand up and block your number." He heard noise on the other end, like someone giving the phone to someone else. Then he heard a girl's voice.

"Ryou? It's Mint. Why are you in Ichigo's house?" Mint asked.

"Uh," he said. Should he lie? "She wanted me here," he answered, deciding the truth was better than any lie he could ever come up with.

"Oh, well, I need to talk to Ichigo," Mint replied.

"She's in the shower," Ryou told her, "but I'll have her call you when she gets out . . ."

"Uh, no!" Mint said, "I'll . . . call tomorrow. By the way, I won't be at work tomorrow." There was more noise on the other end of the phone, then Mint hung up.

Ryou was totally and completely confused. Why didn't Mint tell him why she called?

Ichigo walked down the stairs at that moment and Ryou forgot how confused he was. "Mint called you," he told her, "She said she'd call back tomorrow."

"OK," Ichigo smiled.

……………………………………………

"So, is she coming?" Kish asked.

Masaya sighed, "No, I don't think so." He rolled his eyes. "She's in love with Ryou. Nuff said." He looked down in disappointment

"Huh," Kish said.

Masaya looked up to meet Kish's eyes, "Hey, you don't suppose you could just kill him off for me?"

"WHAT!" Kish hollered, "And further distance you from Ichigo? No way!"

Masaya sighed again, this time not out of disappointment but out of frustration. "So, what do we do?" he snapped at Kish. Kish also sighed and glanced over to a corner on his left, where a body laid. As the body shifted, waking up, you could see it was a girl, perhaps fourteen or so, with blue hair that matched her blue jeans.

It was Mint.

Kish laughed, "We'll keep her here. She'll call Ichigo tomorrow and tell her where she is. Ichigo will come, and we'll have her. It's easy as cake."

Masaya's face hardened. "No one will get hurt, will they?"

Kish laughed. Then he sneered back to Masaya, "Physically? No. Emotionally? Yes."

I woke up at six-thirty AM today!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! I'm mad!!!!!! OK, well, read and review. PLZ, PLZ, PLZ review cuz I like knowing what y'all think of my stories!!!!