I'm going to try my best to make this a longer chapter. Let's see how it goes. Thanks everyone for reviewing. Suggestions, etc... are always appreciated. I have the basic structure for the rest of the story, I just need help getting there and stringing all the parts together. Please enjoy. I've been waiting a long time to get here.
Chapter Seven - Face to Face
"One message received. Accesssing. Beep! Mr. Shirogane, this is President Sasaki of Tokyo University. I'd like to meet with you at your next convenient time to discuss hiring you as a professor here. Please call me back as soon as you can at..."
-
Adjusting my tie (which was the only tie I owned - red), I stepped gracefully into the lecture hall, immediately attracting weird looks from several hundred students. Before them was their teacher, a boy the same age they were, so naturally it would raise a few eyebrows. I wasn't nervous, in fact, I felt incredibly calm and composed. If I could instruct Tokyo Mew Mew, lecturing a Biology class should be a piece of cake. I tossed my things haphazardly on a desk and swung myself up onto it, crossing my legs formally and adjusting the clip-on microphone I had been given. This resulted in a few giggles from the back row.
"I'm Shirogane Ryou. You will address me as 'Professor Shirogane'. I'm going to be your Biology teacher for this semester. There is no syllabus... but there are rules, which should be obvious to you if you have made it this far in your education. I will not accept late work, and I don't have office hours. You can raise your hand during class or come to me right afterwards and I'll help you in whatever way I can. I'll also leave you with my e-mail address which is platinumblonde19, at cmm.jp."
There were a few groans, but mostly silence.
"My biggest pet peeve is sleepers in class, and so, if I catch you doing such, I'll be sure to embarass you. As for my experience... I'm a private scientist. I graduated six years ago. My field of interest are Biology, Computer Technology, and some Chemistry. And yes, I'm 19. Are there any questions thus far?" I surveyed the room. Nothing. "It doesn't have to be a serious question until the lesson has actually begun."
"Are you single?" a girl finally asked smartly.
"Yes, though I'm not looking," I answered matter-of-factly.
"What kind of Biology?"
"Mostly that focusing on DNA. Others?"
"What does 'DNA' stand for, genius?"
"That's Professor Shirogane to you, pal. And that seems like as good a place as any to start, ne?" I reached for my tablet computer and loaded the air projector program which would display everything on my screen to the large projector in the front of the room.
"Deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA... which is the coding for all living things. Each being has its own individual set of DNA..."
I continued enthusiastically for the next hour, welcoming questions and comments. Turning my eyes up towards the students at every pause, I never caught a single one snoozing which surprised and encouraged me. I let them go fifteen minutes early.
"Remember to look over chapter one. I might quiz you next time to see if you were paying attention," I suggested, "Dismissed." The students rose loudly and filed out of the room. I gathered my things and exited the building.
"So, how did it go?" a voice asked.
I took a few more steps to see Lettuce standing at the base of the steps, "I think it went alright."
"That's good." I hurried down the steps to where she was.
"The dress code is a bit annoying, but the class participated and there were no sleepers."
Lettuce laughed, "Why would they sleep? I'm sure you make a great teacher."
"I dunno about that."
Lettuce smiled brightly, "Are you going back to the cafe?"
I gave a nod. "Yeah."
That evening I sat infront of my window, staring out over the Tokyo landscape as stars appeared like lit candles in the quickly darkening sky. Further into the city, it was difficult to distinguish the artificial lights from those of celestial origin, but from this distance, it was easy to do so. I searched out the constellations I knew, using Orion's belt as a sort of compass. A compass...?
-
"Great, now we're lost!" I remarked.
"We aren't lost, Shirogane, and it's your own fault for not showing me how to use this compass!" Ichigo accused.
"It's your fault for lying about knowing how to use it," I insisted.
Mint let out an annoyed sigh, "Cut it out you two. Really! I'm sure Zakuro-oneesama and the others will come looking for us pretty soon."
"I hope it's soon... I don't think I can take too much more of him."
"Well isn't that nice?" I growled.
"It was nice! I could have called you names but I didn't!" she shot back smartly.
"My, my, you two argue like a married couple..." Mint commented tiredly, fixing one of the buns on top of her head that had come loose.
"M-m-mint! How can you say such a horrible horrible thing!" Ichigo sputtered. I made no comment. It was better not to encourage Mint.
"Oh-ho? Well, you two are a bit more interesting to watch than you and Masaya. Although, I am starting to get a headache..." she admitted.
"How could you say that! Masaya and I are destined to be together. If you have a problem watching us then you should just butt out!"
"Calm down before you blow a fuse, Ichigo," I suggested.
"Hush you!" she snapped.
"My, what a temper we have. And you say I was wrong to call you vulgar?" Mint cocked an eyebrow at the red-head.
"Geeeeeeeeez!" she screamed in frustration.
"I think that's enough, Mint..."
"Yes, I suppose you're right, Ryou."
Ichigo started whining then, "You two planned this..."
"I did nothing of the sort!" Mint stated firmly.
"It's wrong to falsely accuse people, Strawberry."
Ichigo groaned and stormed off through the trees.
"Hey, wait a second!" I called after her, hurrying to catch up.
"No! I'm going to prove to you that I can use thi-waaa!" Ichigo yelped.
"What is it?" I asked breathlessly as I caught up to her.
"S-s-s-s-s-s-spider! B-b-big spider!" she squeaked, pointing a shaky finger at a large arachnid that hung from an invisible web a few feet infront of her.
"Whoa, that is one big, hairy, and completely harmless spider!" I commented with a laugh.
"It's gonna bite me and I'm gonna die!" she wailed.
"No it isn't."
"It's ugly and creepy and poiso- did you say...?"
"It's not poisonous."
"Are you sure, Shirogane? It's too scary to not be..."
"Well, it probably thinks you're scary too, but you aren't poisonous. I'm very sure," I teased.
"Why you!" she sighed, "No, forget it. I'm not arguing with you again."
I petted her head, "Well, that's good. Now give me that compass so we can get back to camp."
"No!" she snapped instinctively, clutching the device tightly.
"Na, quit being so stubborn."
"Quit being so rude."
"Do you want help or not?"
"I didn't ask for any!"
"Oneesama!"
"What?" Ichigo and I turned to see the others watching us a ways off.
"Ridiculous, really. Ryou and Ichigo were fighting this whole time. It's their fault we got lost," Mint commented. We shot back a protest, but it was pointless.
"Why didn't you just swing through the trees, na no da? It's easy to travel that way!" Pudding announced with a grin.
"Are you alright, Ichigo-san? Shirogane-san?" Lettuce asked, her face knit with worry.
"Thanks Lettuce, but I'm fine," Ichigo tried to smile at the girl with the glasses.
"Same here," I replied simply.
"Now, why don't we get back?" Keiichiro suggested kindly, trying his best to smooth everything over, "There are three large bags of marshmallows back there and I can hear our campfire calling them."
"Yummy! Roasted marshmallows na no da!" Pudding cheered, "But can you really hear the fire from this distance na no da?"
"It's just an expression, Pudding..." Lettuce giggled.
"Don't be silly," Mint said indignantly, "Marshmallows' flavor is nothing compared to s'mores. And luckily for all of you, I brought graham crackers with me from home."
"That's great Mint-san, I packed some chocolate as well," Keiichiro smiled at her, then turned to me and gave me a 'be nice' look.
I shrugged, "Well, now that that's settled, we'd better get moving."
"Agreed," Zakuro said calmly.
I made my way forward to speak with Keiichiro when a hand tapped my shoulder lightly. I glanced backwards to see Ichigo. She didn't look as frustrated as she had before. "What do you want?"
"Um..." she hesitated, fumbling around for the compass, "Here..."
"Yeah, thanks..." I muttered, taking it from her and shoving it down in a coat pocket.
"It was really dumb of us to fight over getting lost, huh?" she asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.
"I agree. But I wasn't arguing. I was telling."
"See? There you go again!" she complained, making me laugh.
"Sorry about that. Anyway, I'm not arguing again until all of that chocolate is gone."
Ichigo watched me dumbly, then giggled, "Is that so? Well, unfortunately for you, you won't be getting any."
"Say what!" I narrowed my eyes at her.
"You heard me!" she teased, glaring back, "You don't deserve any!"
"I don't? Why's that?" I inquired.
"Because you're a meanie! And because I'm going to get back first!" she stuck her tounge out at me and broke off into a dash, followed by the other girls.
"Hey!" I protested, "Don't get lost again, or I won't bother trying to find you!"
"I'm not stupid enough to get lost all over again, Shirogane!"
Bee-bee-bee-beep! Bee-bee-bee-beep! Beeeeep! Beeeep!
-
I was ripped rudely away memory lane by the digital melody that blared from my cellphone. I reached over to pick it up, bringing it up to my ear.
"Moshi moshi..." I greeted quietly.
"Konbanwa, Ryou," the familiar voice replied pleasantly, "How are you doing?"
"Keiichiro!" I marvelled, "So you actually stopped your research long enough to call me."
He chuckled at my joke, "Seems you're doing well..."
"I didn't say I was... but, I'm alright," I answered in a less excited tone.
"Gomen, I would have called sooner but..." my friend's voice had taken on a grave tone. Was something wrong? A knot came to my throat. It was never good when Keiichiro spoke in that voice. He was terrible at hiding things. He was good at changing the subject, yes, but you could always tell when he was.
I swallowed hard, slumping down a bit on the windowsill, "What's wrong? You might as well tell me."
"Nothing's wrong yet, but..." there was a long silence on the other end of the phone, "We've found some remains at the site that appear to link back to the aliens. I can't confirm this yet, but we're looking further into it. I'll send you visuals when we're sure."
"I see... are you sure there isn't anything else?" I pried further. There was another long pause.
"Have you been feeling alright?"
"Yeah, I feel fine." Was Keiichiro asking me if I had experienced side effects recently? It sounded like it. I hadn't had an attack in a while.
"Well, I really should be going," he added appologetically.
"Oh, hold on one sec," I said forcefully, "I've been talking to some of the girls lately. Lettuce and Pudding, anyway... And, do you have any idea where-"
"That's wonderful! I hope to see you all soon, but I must go now. Ja ne, Ryou. Take care of yourself." Keiichiro ended the call.
"But..." I mumbled, clicking off the phone, "I was going to ask you..." It was useless. I'd find Ichigo myself. Somehow. For being so far away, I sure did think about her enough. Must be the unrequited love thing. Ryou! What the heck was I saying? What the heck... was I denying? What was the point in attempting to deny it again when I knew it was the truth? I slumped further down to sit with my back against the wall.
"I do... I do love her..." I voiced aloud. Everything about her. From that silly grin to the way she gave her 200. I had never told her. I had never told anyone. And yet, even Keiichiro and Lettuce had figured it out, and Pudding had come close to. For that matter, I was convinced Zakuro had known all along. The only person that didn't know was Ichigo herself. I knew she loved Masaya with everything she had. But... more for me than for her... I had to get this off my chest. I know that she'll never return my feelings, but this is the only way that I'll ever be able to let go and move on. That must be why I'd never allowed the Mew Project to end. And so, by admitting my feelings, I'll finally be able to fly out of this cage...
As I sat there in the dust, a pounding slowly crept into my head, gathering force quickly. I gritted my teeth and rubbed my temple, hoping that this would only be a minor attack, but it wasn't. Pressure filled my head, and my attempts to quiet it were useless. There was nothing I could do except wait it out and hope that my head didn't decide to explode. I dropped over onto the floor, bringing my legs up towards my middle, still holding my head. Why wouldn't it just stop? That's when I realized... The cat genes inside me were progressing again. The pain finally started to subside. I rubbed the sweat from my brow and stared up at the tiled ceiling. Just another reason why I had to let go.
-
I paced briskly across the floor of the lecture hall, "So, who can tell me the four letters I asked you to remember?"
A freshman raised her hand cautiously, "A, G, C, T?"
"Right!" I nodded, "And who recalls what these four letters stand for?"
Another hand. "Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Thymine."
"Yes. Do you remember which pairs with which?"
"A with T, and G with C."
"Uh-huh, and the shape?"
"A double-helix. It looks kinda like stairs."
"Now we'll get into the stuff that's actually challenging," I announced smugly. "You'll have a lab Monday. We're going to extract DNA from plant and animal cells. I'll instruct you on how to do this in lab, but it'd be beneficial for you to print the lab out ahead of time. I'll e-mail this to you all over the weekend."
"What kind of animal...?" someone asked.
"Eh? Why, store-bought chicken livers ofcourse. Why don't we have a picnic afterwards?"
The class giggled at that. The girl who had asked blushed slightly but laughed as well.
"Seems we have a sleeper..." I poked a boy on the head with my pen, "Up all night were we?"
"Uhn..." he groaned.
"I suppose I should congratulate you for managing to snooze during all of that, but now it's time to pay attention. You can dream about your girlfriend later."
"Okay, I'll do that. Thanks, man. Er... Professor Shirogane-man," he corrected sleepily. Predictably, there were snickers from around the room, but the boy didn't seem phased by this at all. He covered a yawn and returned to an upright position in his chair.
The period droned on. I detailed chromosomes, and how they paired together, how it was actually the male's genes that determined whether a child would be male or female, and how come different species could not interbreed. We finished on time. After dismissing them, I walked back to the front to gather my things.
"Professor Shirogane?" inquired a student who had stayed behind.
"Yes?" I asked curiously.
"Well, the science club is having a party this evening. Teachers are invited too, and I thought you might be interested since you're new to Tokyo University and all. I know a few Chemistry teachers who will definately be there, and a bunch of us are coming. You could probably get into some interesting discussions, and if not, there'll be refreshments, music, and dancing."
I hoisted my suitcase off the table, thinking about what he had just said. "Alright. I'll try my best to be there."
"Alright. See ya."
-
I arrived at the party around 8:15. It was being held in a reasonably sized building. I noticed I wasn't wearing anything particularly fancy - a blue jean jacket, a black turtleneck, and jeans - but then, none of the other boys were either. The girls, on the otherhand, were mostly wearing tight skirts with their faces painted up. I have never understood why girls wear make-up, especially girls who are already attractive without it. What's the point, then?
I wasn't much for social gatherings like this. Ballroom dancing was one thing, but the more modern term for "dance" was not something to really appealed to me. Between that, and the fact that there wasn't a single familiar face in the crowd, I felt out of place. I scolded myself for not having asked Lettuce to come with me. Atleast then I'd have someone to talk to and wouldn't feel so seperated. I paced around the perimeter of the room, watching people chattering with one another, munching on refreshments, and dancing in a rather suggestive way. They all seemed to belong somehow, but I was an outsider.
"Hey, isn't that...?"
"Yeah, that's Aoyama Masaya... my boyfriend..." explained a nervous voice. You'd expect it to be muted out but the multitude of people speaking, but it came to my ear as clear as a bell.
My eyes surveyed the room, desperately seeking the source of the conversation I had heard. I finally found them. A group of girls clustered in a corner, giggling in a lighthearted way.
"You're so lucky. Your boyfriend's really cute, you know. He looks like a smarty too."
"He is... we just got back from England a few weeks ago. He was part of the team studying red data animals," explained a girl who was being blocked out completely by her friends.
"Red data animals, aren't those endangered species or something? Hey! I remember, weren't those supergirls supposed to be fused with them... the Mew Mews, right?"
"Uh...yeah! That's right!" the second voice replied nervously.
"I wonder what ever happened to them..."
"Haha, so do I..." the voice came again, sounding even more nervous than before. "Anyway, I'm gonna go get something to drink, okay?"
'I have to find out if it's really her...' I decided. I wove my way carefully through the sea of people towards the refreshments table. As the crowd finally started to dwindle, I could make out the girl who had been obscured before. She was wearing a short red dress, her hair curled neatly around her face. We reached our destination at the same time. Realizing someone was between her and the punch bowl, she lifted her face.
"Excuse m!" her amber eyes flashed in surprise and she took a startled step backwards.
"What are you doing here!" she demanded, bristling after she had recovered.
I shook my head, replying in my almost-forgotten sarcastic tone, "It's nice to see you again, too. Momomiya Ichigo."
A/N: I usually don't listen to music, or have anything particular song in my head when I write. I tried listening to music during part of this chapter. I really love "Caged Bird" from D.N. Angel, though. That song really moves me. I also like the songs from Full Metal Panic. Some other songs I listened to included "Come" from InuYasha Maybe I'll try a song fic some day. I should really do one to "This Love" by Maroon 5. Heh. It's become one of my trademark songs, and I really like Maroon 5's music. Anyways, I'm rambling now. I'd like to start on another fanfic, so if you have any suggestions for that... I plan to do one based on the "Kokoro-verse" and another that kind of flip-flops the Alto effect and makes it seem like a fairytale.
Stay tuned to Chapter Eight, "Friction". We're on an uphill climb now. Woohoo! And it's official, there are 15 chapters here. :nod nod: