Chapter Thirteen - Chosen One
I finally managed to creep out of that cage unnoticed. Halfway down the hall, Keiichiro found me, turned me around and practically shoved me towards Ichigo's room.
"Keiichiro... I don't... I was already in there."
"What?" he let me go then, "But they didn't allow visitors until..."
"I know... I convinced one of the nurses to let me in last night..." I explained quietly.
"Well, you still need to tell Ichigo-san exactly what's ahead of us, ne?" Keiichiro gave me a look and then entered Ichigo's room himself. Sighing, I followed suit.
"Akasaka-san, Shirogane..." she said pleasantly, "You really didn't have to come here so early... I'm sure you have class and research and... stuff..."
"No, no, it's fine Ichigo-san," Keiichiro assured her, smiling, "I just wanted to check up on you, and Ryou here has some things he'd like to discuss with you."
"What?" I shot him a look but he ignored me.
"If you need anything, I'll be in the waiting room. It's nice to see your bright face this morning, Ichigo-san. I'm glad you're safe."
"Thanks, Akasaka-san..."
I was leaning back against the wall with my arms behind my head when he gave my shoulder a nudge and exited the room.
"This is sort of convenient, because I had something I needed to talk to you about as well," Ichigo stated from across the room.
"Well, I'm glad you're okay... I guess... Oh! And Lettuce-"
"Lettuce was praying for my recovery right?" she asked.
"Yeah." My heart had suddenly leapt up into my throat. Did she know that I was actually the one who had said all that last night?
"Oh. I was just guessing, you see, I had another dream last night..."
"And...?"
"And someone told me that. In the dream. I guess it was Masaya because he was here just a while ago."
"I see..."
"See? I told you my dream meant something!" she added in a scolding manner, "And you didn't believe me!" She winced a bit as her flailing motions reminded her of her burns.
"I didn't say it meant nothing. Besides, this had absolutely nothing to do with that guy," I pointed out smartly.
Ichigo growled at me, "Whatever. You could atleast have a little sympathy for a sick person!"
I cocked an eyebrow at her, "You're not really sick, but you will be if you let yourself get all worked up like that. You should be resting. Anyway, I'm not here to argue with you."
"Well that's good," she said with a nod, "Could you stand over here? You're too far away for me to feel like I'm actually talking to you, and the nurses might overhear."
Obediently, I closed the distance between us and stood near the top of her bed.
"Anyway, I talked to Masaya about my dream, too, and about everything that's happened, and he won't let me fight. He says he doesn't want to see Mew Ichigo get hurt since the Blue Knight can no longer appear to save her," she explained.
The truth was, I could see where the guy was coming from, being worried about his girlfriend and all. But, on the otherhand, without Ichigo, I was a sitting duck.
"I guess he's worried about you," I deducted.
Ichigo studied her hands, "Yeah, but... I just don't know anymore. I know I said I was going to fight and everything, I mean, I will still fight and all, but then-"
"You look pale, you should get some more rest," I suggested for the second time, straying from the topic at hand.
"But I..." she said louder, catching onto what I was doing.
"I really don't know why you were at the cafe to begin with," I was talking to myself moreso than Ichigo. She was just a spectator.
"I don't remember why I went there... I guess it was out of habit. Didn't you have something to talk to me about? Akasaka-san said you did."
I shook my head, pulling back a curtain to let some sunlight into the room, "No. It can wait. It's not important."
"It sounded like it was important from the way he said it..." she insisted, "It's about the mission isn't it? What do you want me to do? Did you come across some new information? Did something happen?"
"I just want you to get better, so get some sleep," I muttered.
Ichigo fumed, "All I've been doing all night is sleeping! Tell me what you were going to tell me, and just forget what I said."
I shook my head, "Nah, but Keiichiro did find this guy..."
"Masha!" the pink fluffball announced as it popped up between us.
"Masha! You're okay! I was worried I had lost you for good yesterday." The little robot snuggled against her cheek as she pet it, making an airy chirping noise.
"Geez, just tell me what's on your mind!" she insisted, "I'm not going to sleep until you do!"
I shook my head and glared at her, "Boy, you sure are stubborn."
"I have every reason to be. You're too secretive."
"It was just about the mission like you said," I replied.
The catgirl pouted, not buying it for a moment, "Come on! I already know you were going to say something about that. I refuse to believe that's all it was or else you would have told me in that boring leader tone of yours."
I cut another glare in her direction which she returned. Heaving a sigh, I walked back towards her. Ichigo looked rather pleased that she had won.
"Just get better, dummy. ...Oh yeah, there's something I've been meaning to give you for a long time now..."
"Really? What is it?" she asked in a confused and somewhat curious voice. She straightened slightly, waiting for me to hand her something. R2000 floated off a little ways, watching.
I bent my legs at the knees so I was at eyelevel with her. She merely blinked at me. Leaning in, I reached out an arm to tilt Ichigo's chin up gently, and allowed my lips to come to rest on hers. It was different when we were cats; that sensation was completely different and held little substance. Maybe somehow she'd understand; every feeling I had for her was in that kiss. But she was so dense sometimes that I doubted she'd ever figure that out or care. After a few seconds I broke away. Ichigo's eyes were wide and my display of affection had brought about a blush in her cheeks.
"Sleep well. I have class," I said quietly, leaving the room for good this time as a speechless Ichigo stared after me, wondering what I had just done.
I made my way quickly down the hall, dropping off at the cafeteria for some chocolate milk and a pair of blueberry muffins. Bad idea, because as soon as I stepped through the doorway I was confronted by an eager crowd.
"So, Ryou, how'd it go?" Mint questioned, her eyes focused on my face to make sure I spoke only the truth.
"How did Ichigo-san take it when you told her your feelings?" came Lettuce cautiously.
"You didn't blow it did you?" Zakuro.
Pudding watched silently. I was pretty sure she didn't know anything. If she did, well, I didn't want to be around.
I fidgetted under the gaze of the former Mew Mews. Why were they so nosey? "I didn't really tell her..."
"WHAT!" I was practically blown away by the mere volume of their disbelief.
"Ohmigosh! Pudding gets it now, na no da! Shirogane onii-chan is in love with Ichigo onee-chan! Na no da! How romantic! ...WHAT? Why didn't you tell her na no da? Are you being shy na no da? Want me to tell her na no da? I'll be happy to!" Pudding leapt to her feet and started off.
"NO!" we yelled in unison, moving to knock the monkey-girl to the ground, but she bounded away.
"Na no da, I won't tell... but..." she stalked up to me, "I have a super cool love potion that's been in the family for generations, na no da! Spray some of this when you and Ichigo onee-chan are alone and she'll fall head-over-heels for you, na no da!" She offered me a bottle of some sort of sweet-smelling perfume that looked like soapy water with red food coloring.
The very idea of Ichigo clinging blindly and fangirlishly to my arm wasn't very appealing. "No thanks... not unless you want to tell me every single ingredient in that potion."
"But I can't do that na no da! It's a secret!" she protested loudly.
"Then I won't be using it," I answered, "I'll do this my way. And if nothing changes, then nothing changes."
"Aww, but then Shirogane onii-chan will be lonely, na no da..." Pudding whimpered, putting the liquid away.
"Iie, don't worry about that, Ryou," Lettuce spoke up encouragingly, "We really shouldn't be prying into your life, but, you don't have to worry about being lonely, Ryou. We're your friends, right? We'll always be here for you."
My... friends? "Lettuce..."
Zakuro slowly nodded in agreement, "Even though we may be seperated by many miles or years, we're still Tokyo Mew Mew, and we're a team."
"I suppose so..." Mint admitted, brushing a few loose strands behind her ear.
Pudding jumped into my arms, almost knocking me over, "Friends na no da!" She then hugged me tightly and I could barely breathe.
"Minna..." I glanced around at the faces of these girls that I had come to know personally. They weren't merely employees or even alien-fighting superheroines. They were... my friends. People that were very dear to me. Keiichiro watched from a few yards away, smiling broadly at me.
I set Pudding down, "...arigatou... minna..."
"If there's anything we can do, please tell us..." Zakuro added.
"I appreciate it, but there's really nothing you can do. This is more than anything my battle. Your prayers will be enough."
Lettuce gave a smile and the others nodded in understanding.
"If that's the case, Ryou, you'd better not fail," Zakuro cautioned me, resting a hand on my shoulder.
"I won't."
...
A few days later and Ichigo was still confined to the hospital room. I hadn't visited since the other day, but I figured I'd better or else it'd seem like I was avoiding her on purpose. In the meantime, I had been staying with Keiichiro in his apartment. There were two seperate bedrooms so it worked out pretty conveniently. This way I could get up early without waking Keiichiro. Which meant I could take an extra long shower. And in return, he didn't have to put up with me mumbling in my sleep. I had spent that morning in front of the stove, pacing back and forth across the kitchen between fixing a sandwich for myself and checking on the timer.
"Hey..." I announced a few hours later as I stepped into the still-too-plain and very familiar room.
Ichigo glanced up at my entry, then looked away quickly, "Yeah, hi..." I saw then what she was doing. Examining her burns.
"Does it hurt?"
"Yeah, but the doctor says it's better that it hurts. He said it'd be worse if it didn't..." she explained carefully.
"Uh-huh, third-degree burns don't hurt because they damage the nerves so you can't feel it. They also take longer to heal than first and second degree burns."
"I know that," she muttered.
"I brought you something edible that isn't hospital food..." I continued in monotone.
"Masaya brought me lunch..." she explained, motioning to an empty bag that had been jammed down in the trashcan.
"Nevermind then." Ofcourse.
Thinking better of it, she added hastily, "Then again, that was a few hours ago and I'm hungry again! What is it?"
I offered her the box with a smirk. She snatched it from me quickly.
"Is it cake? Is it cookies? It's... onigiri..." her face fell, "You brought me riceballs?"
"Yup," I said with another smirk.
She glared up at me, "What a cheap meal!"
"Yup," I repeated.
She took one out carefully, "What did you put in it? I know Keiichiro didn't make this because he would have decorated it somehow."
I sighed, "It's not poisoned or genetically enhanced. It's decent.I tried one myself to make sure, and if you don't want them, I'll take them back and leave."
Ichigo shook her head, "No, anything's better than hospital food! Even your cooking!" With that she brought the riceball slowly to her mouth and tasted it. I watched boredly, waiting for my results.
"Hey, this is actually pretty good..." she admitted, grabbing another.
"I told you it was edible."
"Yeah, but I had no idea it'd actually be any good," Ichigo explained with a smile. She turned mischievously to R2000, "Want one?"
"Thanks for the deja vu," I grumbled.
Ichigo laughed, "You don't have to leave in a hurry unless you want to, though."
Blinking, I seated myself on the corner of the bed, "Okay..."
Ichigo munched on another onigiri cheerfully. It was kind of cute watching her.
"Do you know when you're coming home yet?" I questioned, trying to start the conversation back up.
She paused momentarily as she gave a nod, "They said maybe as soon as Saturday."
"That's great."
"I wish I could leave now but I don't think I'd make it to the door without my legs giving out. But it's okay, I guess."
"I'm sorry..."
"Why?" she asked, "It isn't your fault."
"Indirectly it is..."
"No!" she shouted, startling me, "It isn't your fault that the Chimera exists, or that it survived, or that it attacked, or that I didn't get out of the cafe in time. If anything, it's my fault for being stupid."
"You're not stupid," I corrected.
"You're always saying I'm stupid!" she reminded me.
"Yeah, but you're not..."
"I think I am."
"I don't," I insisted.
Ichigo blinked at me before finishing the onigiri she had started, "If you say so. ... now I have a question."
"What is it?" I asked.
Ichigo tunneled back under the covers, motioned for R2000, and stroked him behind the ears, "Well I have to do this project for school. We have to go around and ask a bunch of people what they think of a word we chose from a list. Sort of like a huge dictionary entry, I guess. It's kind of silly, but we need 10 people that aren't in the class and I'm short by a few."
"I'm only one person, Ichigo," I sighed.
"I know that, Shirogane," she snapped, "But you're good with words and stuff, and I can't exactly walk around town asking random people."
"Not particularly, but I guess I'll give it a shot. What's the word?"
"The word is love."
"Oh how cute..." I muttered.
"It was the only one left that was familiar. All the others were these huge words I had never seen before," she defended.
I sighed again, "Well..."
Ichigo grabbed a pen and paper, "Yeah, go on."
I groaned, rubbing the side of my head. Love was not one of those subjects that I liked talking about, but I still felt like I owed her, and I hated being in debt.
"Talking about love in general, I think it's a form of blindness," I muttered.
"What?" she shrieked, giving me a disgusted look, "What in the world, Shirogane!"
"Let me explain before you deafen me."
"Whatever, finish, I need this info..." she grumbled.
I added thoughtfully, "Love's when, either purposely or accidentally, you allow yourself to overlook the shortcomings and faults in another. Sometimes, that other person is all you see, it blurs your vision. I guess it's kind of like a drug. On the otherhand, in a way, it's admirable that people can do that. That two people can stay together for a long time, even if they have differences and fight-"
"Can you summarize this, please? You're going to ramble, I know it..." she whined.
I sighed, chuckling a bit, "Love can blind people. In definition, it's when two people decide they'll stick it out together, no matter what. Or... when someone is devoted to another, whether those feelings are returned or not; selflessly."
"Okay, that works I guess. Thanks."
"Yeah sure."
She glanced around the room nervosuly, "And thanks for the onigiri... I suppose..."
"Mm-hmm." Rising, I stalked towards the door.
I could feel her eyes watching my back, "Um, bye-bye..."
I turned my head, blinking at her, "Yeah, bye. I'll see you Saturday."
"Saturday?" she questioned.
"You're full of energy already, I'm sure the doctor will let you go on Saturday. They can't have genki, energetic girls like you making a lot of noise and keeping the rest of the hospital awake," I teased.
Ichigo stuck her tongue out at me stubbornly, "Yeah, right."
...
And so Saturday came. Indeed Ichigo was allowed to come home, and she had actually healed pretty miraculously. The doctors didn't know what to make of it, but I was fairly sure that it was the atleast partial fault of the Iriomote Wildcat DNA. It was late afternoon, and an absolutely gorgeous day considering that it was still winter and spring was a thing that the barren trees could only gossip about. I had positioned myself infront of the television and was watching the news boredly. Keiichiro cleaned up dishes in the kitchen. I had actually grown quite restless about the entire task ahead of me, and became even moreso as the familiar figure flashed across the screen.
"This is the monster that threatens Tokyo. So far, no deaths have been reported, but she has already caused damage to several pieces of property including the famous Mew Mew Cafe and the public library. Government officials say that-" the newslady droned on.
I bolted up from my spot on the floor, "I'm going. I can't take this anymore."
Keiichiro's eyes narrowed, "You can't complete this mission on your own, Ryou."
"I know," I murmured.
"Then what are you going to do?"
I turned to him, frowning, "She's in the tower area. I'll go run some tests... maybe I overlooked something." With that I rushed for the staircase.
"Ryou! I know what you're trying to do. You can't fool me. You're going to try to fight alone, aren't you?" Keiichiro hissed, "I can't let you do that!"
"Quit trying to play the part of my father!" I snapped. Keiichiro jerked backwards as if he had been physically slapped, and I soon regretted my outburst.
"I've put it off this long, I can't just stand by anymore..."
"Atleast talk to Ichigo..." he advised quietly.
"No!"
"Then let me go with you."
I huffed in annoyance, not responding, and instead went to fetch my things. Thus a few moments later, Keiichiro and I found ourselves at the base of Tokyo Tower. Ofcourse, someone had called the girls as well, so our party had grown by six members, including Aoyama Masaya.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" he asked Keiichiro solemnly. His famous smile was nowhere to be seen. Ichigo fidgetted beside him.
"Thanks for your concern, Aoyama-kun, but Ryou and I will be able to handle the research from here," my guardian explained.
"Yeah, I'm all done here," I announced, putting a few instruments back into a suitcase I had dragged along, "There haven't been any increases in temperature or humidity, smog, or any other environmental factors recently. "Her power obviously deals with fire, but so far, only the cafe and the library have been targetted. I won't know more until I test the conditions at the top of the tower."
"And how are you going to get close enough to her to inject the solution?" Zakuro asked.
Good question. "I'll figure something out."
"I don't doubt that you will, but it'll be difficult to do alone," the model stated.
"Are you sure we can't atleast cause a distraction, Ryou?" questioned Lettuce nervously. I could see that Ichigo was fidgetting even more.
I shook my head quickly, "No. It'd be dangerous; you're normal again after all."
"Pudding wants to fight na no da. Shirogane onee-chan could really use a pudding ring right now no da."
Our adversary had appeared on the horizon. It didn't take long before her shadow became a detailed image. I didn't remember her moving so fast.
"This is it..." I muttered, my jaw tightening. In the time I had peeled my eyes away from the group, Ichigo and Masaya had wandered off a ways and were talking quietly.
I could feel adrenaline building up inside me, getting ready for a very risky experiment. A few beads of sweat had collected on my brow. I may try to seem invincible, but the truth is... I'm not.
"Please be careful," Lettuce said softly, touching my arm.
I gave a small smile, "I'll try." She nodded silently.
"Good luck, then I guess, Ryou," Mint spoke up.
"Thanks..."
"Same here," Zakuro agreed.
"Good luck na no da!" Pudding exclaimed.
"Ryou, please don't get yourself killed," that was Keiichiro.
"I'll be fine," I stated in an assuring tone, although I wasn't at all sure. I had to be ready for the worst. I headed towards the elevator car with the suitcase in hand. It contained what I hoped would be everything that I needed. The little group clustered closer to elevator, but none of them tried to follow me. They probably knew I'd stop the car and kick them out if they did. Atleast this way everyone I cared about would be safe.
Masaya had returned. He looked at me, his expression unreadable, "I hope that you are sucessful, Shirogane-san."
"Thank you," I murmured with a nod. Ichigo still stood a ways off, silent and still as a statue. Her head was lowered and I couldn't see her face.
He's washing his face to start his day / He's lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely / Nothing in the mirror ever shows him what's within / Now he's checking out the faces on the back of the milk / He's sour under all this pressure He thinks the missing person looks an awful lot like him.
"Well then," I said quietly, feeling awkward, "I'll be off... and I'll see you guys later..."
I paused, "And just so you know... in case something happens... I love you all... and... I mean that. You're important to me. It's almost like we're our own little family sometimes."
I could see Mint's lower lip trembling slightly. Lettuce also looked moved. The monkey-girl's face was plastered with a humongous smile.
"Thanks for everything."
"Enough with the drama. Don't say it like you won't be coming back to us, Ryou," Zakuro half-growled.
"Right..."
And he starts his engine / But he knows he's missing gears.
I stepped back into the compartment and pressed down firmly on the botton that would take me all the way to the top of the monument without stopping. I tried not to look at my friends anymore. The doors sang a protest and slowly began to close. My field of vision grew smaller and smaller, and more verticle.
"Wait!" Someone shouted. The doors were ripped apart, and clasped together again as the figure fell into me.
Incomplete / Where will you find yourself/ Incomplete / Where will you find yourself/ 'Cause you're the missing person now / Step outside your doubts and let yourself be found.
"What?" I shouted, flushing. "What are you doing?"
The body was trembling. I couldn't tell if she was crying or laughing or preparing to attack me. The two red pigtails swung away from her face as she raised her head to glare up at me. She had been crying.
"Ichigo?" What in the world was she thinking? I was about to shout out a protest, but the car had lurched to life and began rising into the air.
"I hate you!" Ichigo screamed, beating on my chest with both fists, "I hate you! I hate you!" When I didn't fight back, she fell silent, balled fists resting against me as tears streamed down her face.
"Ichigo, what do you think you're doing?"
Hearing her name for a second time, the girl started shaking again in anger. I really couldn't understand what she was doing. It seemed like something had snapped.
"I... hate... you..." her voice came out as a squeak as her arms drifted down and slowly wrapped around my waste, tightening until she pulled me close in what some people would consider a hug.
Ichigo was still sniffling as my hands travelled around her shoulders and I held her back.
"You remember what you said before? About love blinding people?" her voice quivered.
"Yeah, I remember..."
"I think my vision is starting to clear up, maybe a little."
"Is that so?" I asked rhetorically.
"I wasn't dreaming before... you're the one who stayed all night when I was in the hospital. And the shadow that was standing in front of me... it was you all this time."
"You figured it out."
"Yeah, but it took me a while, huh?" she admitted.
The skyline outside the elevator windows was turning a bright crimson and the light of the sun seemed to dim and wither away.
"Have you made your decision, Ichigo? It's not too late to change your mind. I can take us back down."
Ichigo shook her head and looked me straight in the eyes, hers still glistening with tears, "I'm going to finish this with you. It's too late to change my mind now."
"Okay..."
Ichigo flicked my nose, making me let go, and smiled up at me, "Just like the first time, ne? But, before I forget, I wanted to tell you, that I never hated you... I'm sorry."
I gave a slight smile before patting her head and answering, "It's okay. Let's finish this, Ichigo."
Notes: Song is by Switchfoot, called "Incomplete". Plumie found and I stole it. x.x
A/N: Chapter Fourteen, "Believe". And we hit the climax. I can't believe it's almost over. Wah. Oh well, I can always write more fanfiction, ne?