The Truth is Hard to Handle

Chapter 12

Safety

Ryou jumped out of his car. The other Mew Mews had to take the bus since Zakuro was the only one old enough to drive and her car was at the dealer for its 6-month service. His car was tiny. It seated two people, but he had put crap in the passengers' seat, so no one could sit there. Kish had left by himself, but he probably got lost. So, Ryou was on his own.

He looked at the window of Ichigo's bedroom and saw the light on. He ran to the door and opened it, surprised to find it unlocked. He ran up to Ichigo's bedroom, pausing before opening it. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the unknown. He opened the door quickly.

Ichigo was lying unconscious on her bed. No one else was in the room. Ryou knelt beside her and felt her wrist to be sure her heart was beating. It was. Then he checked her out for other damage.

She was naked, first of all, not a good sign. She was bruised everywhere, and her head was gashed badly. Her lip was bleeding and there were several bite marks on her.

Ryou stood, angry. Why had he done this? This was going too far. He bent to lift Ichigo, but was attacked from behind before he could touch her.

Masaya had Ryou down on the floor in an instant. Ryou saw the closet door open and figured Masaya had been waiting for the right time to attack him. Masaya was on top of Ryou (no dirty comment intended:D) and was punching him.

Ryou tossed Masaya off him and punched back, but Masaya pushed Ryou back on his back and held his hands at Ryou's throat, choking him. Ryou sucked in air as best as he could, but little air reached his lungs. He felt lightheaded and faint. Like he would die.

The door opened again, but Ryou's vision was so blurred that he couldn't make out the shape. It looked like a girl. That meant it was Mint, Zakuro, Pudding, Lettuce, Kish or Keiichiro. That narrows it down.

The figure ran at Masaya, shoving him off Ryou. Ryou knelt, sucking in air. Once he was better he looked up.

It was Kish.

Out of the six people that could've come, Ryou wasn't sure whether this was good or bad. Kish certainly was strong. He loved Ichigo a lot. He probably would be helpful to saving Ichigo this time.

Kish was kicking Masaya. Masaya was in a defensive position, trying to stay away from Kish's wrath. Kish's hands were glowing green, just like they had when he hurt the Mew Mews awhile ago. He punched Masaya one last time, and Masaya fell to the floor.

Kish lifted Masaya and carried him out the door. "I'm shoving him in your trunk," Kish told Ryou. Ryou nodded. Before leaving, Kish said, "Tell her I'm glad she's OK, would ya?"

Ryou nodded again. He knelt beside Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes fluttered open and for a moment, all she saw was Ryou. She sat and hugged him, completely unaware to the fact that she was still naked. He pushed her off, turning away from her. "Ryou…" she started to say, then she realized why she was pushed off. She clothed herself and turned back to him. There were tears in her eyes.

"Ryou," she said again. She fell into his arms. She was trying to keep her composure, but she was still crying quietly.

"Did he?" Ryou asked the words. He feared for the answer.

Ichigo pulled off of him and looked him in the eyes, "No. But…please don't get mad, OK?"

Ryou nodded, worry building.

"Let me finish before you say anything," Ichigo began, "We got here, and he locked the door and the window. He had me gagged, blinded and tied at the wrists and feet, but once we got into here, he untied me and let me see and talk. He started kissing me, and at first, I was only kissing him because I was scared for what he'd do to me if I didn't, but then I started kissing him back. Like, for real." She paused, but only to sniffle and let tears fall. "We kissed for a while, and he asked me how I felt about it. I said it felt good. It did. But not like you, good. Just familiar. Safe. I know him so well. Then I told him we couldn't do that. I told him I loved you. Then he started kissing me again and…" She paused to sniffle again. "He took off my shirt, then my jeans, so I was only in my bra and underwear. We kissed awhile longer, but then I pushed him off of me and told him again that we couldn't. I couldn't. I told him he ruined it for us. While I cried, he took off his shirt and jeans, so he was in his boxers. Then he kissed me all other, but I kicked him off and crawled under the covers. I told him again that I could never love him again. And he got mad. He began to hit me, then he took of my bra and underwear and tried to rape me. He was touching me all over, but not the same as before. He was hurting me with his fingernails, scratching me. I kicked his nuts and ran for my cell phone and texted to you, but he came at me again. This time he was just focused on hurting me, not raping me. He punched and kicked and bit me, and then hit my head on the wall and…darkness." She took a deep breath. "That's all."

Ryou took a deep breath also. Finally, he was ready to talk. "I don't want to fight with you," he stated, "But why did you have to kiss him?"

"All those feelings," Ichigo cried, "Fear, anxiety, worry, love, safety, familiarity. They all were piling up inside my head. I was worried for your life and mine. I…didn't know what I was doing. Or why. It meant nothing. I don't want to fight with you either. But I needed to be honest with you."

Ryou sighed. "I'm glad for that," he said.

"It's you, Ryou," Ichigo said, "I hope you know that."

Ryou smiled and said, "C'mere." He pulled her into a hug. "I love you," he said quietly.

She stopped crying at that instant. She cuddled her head into Ryou's chest and held him close. Ryou had his head buried into her red hair.

After what seemed like forever, Ichigo unburied her head from Ryou, and Ryou took his head off Ichigo's. Ichigo laced her fingers into Ryou's and led him to her bed. They sat and began to kiss. Ichigo slid her tongue into Ryou's mouth as they made out.

Ryou seemed to want to. He was holding her, kissing her, loving her. She loved him, but wasn't ready. Giving a little moan, she turned away, fighting back tears. The flashbacks, oh, the flashbacks! She began to cry into her pillow. Ryou didn't understand completely, but stroked her hair and shoulder, saying over and over, "It's OK. You're safe."

But safety was only part of it. After Ichigo had composed herself enough to sit up and speak to Ryou in an adult tone, "Ryou, I can't! I just can't! Not now, at least."

"It's the Masaya thing. I understand…" Ryou said gently.

"No, it's just…I don't know. It's not how I pictured it," Ichigo said.

Ryou was about to say "pictured what?" but he knew what she was speaking of. So, instead he said, "So, how did you picture it?"

Ichigo sighed, "I don't know. I pictured myself older. More matured. With a guy I'd been dating forever. And not in my bedroom. NOT in my bedroom."

"We don't have to," Ryou stated, "I mean, yeah, I want to, but if you're not ready, we don't have to now. I know in my heart we're meant for each other, Ichigo Momomiya. So, if not when you're fifteen, then later along the road."

Ichigo smiled and snuggled closer to her beloved Ryou. She trusted him completely. She knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her.

It was then that she realized how late it was and how much had happened in that day. She also realized how exhausted she was, and quietly fell into sleep on Ryou's bare chest.