Chapter 2: Whole New Planet?

It was hard for Ichigo to awaken, like swimming upwards from the bottom of a deep, dark lake. Her mouth was dry and her head felt like it had been rammed into a wall countless times. Trying to groan at the discomfort in her body, she was dismayed to discover that it only came out as a half croak. Peeling open her eyes was the worst; it felt like someone had scrubbed her inner lids with sandpaper, but despite the feeling, the girl knew she had to discover where she was. Her memory was fuzzy from the previous night and provided little help. All she could remember was being at home, thinking about Masaya...when there had been a huge light and overwhelming sound...

Sitting up suddenly, and instantly regretting the decision when nausea filled her abdomen, Ichigo managed to open her eyes, blinking for a few moments until she could adjust to the sight in front of her. The scene that greeted her awakening was not a familiar one, which only proceeded to fill Ichigo with dread.

She was in a large circular room, lying in a big canopy bed. She didn't recognize where she was, but could say for certainty that she was not at home. But that still begged the question...where indeed was she, then?

A window, set into the wall soon drew her attention and Ichigo looked to it next for answers. However, the sight only made things stranger.

The scenery outside was completely different than anything even remotely imaginable on earth. There was a large field of grass, dropping off after a little ways, and it was a dark green, almost black color. The sky above was a light purple with a haze of pink tinting the landscape. Small wispy clouds in strange shapes spiraled in front of four suns which hung in the sky, all different sizes.

It felt like she was in a dream. If it wasn't a dream, then perhaps she'd hit her head too hard when she'd tripped or something. Still, the only way to make sure was to go outside and check, right?

She swung her legs over the side of the huge bed and quickly stood, only to find herself very dizzy. Before she could collapse, or even inhale a breath, a voice rang out in the room.

"I would sit back down if I were you."

Ichigo turned around to see Kish sitting on the bed, a smirking smile set in his features. The scary thing was, she knew he hadn't been there just moments before. Her surprised expression turned to a glaring one, full of seething anger as her memories finally surfaced. She remembered the ship, Kish appearing, and then blowing some powder in her face...

After that it was all a blank, but the young girl had to assume Kish had kidnapped her to some strange place. But...where?

"I wish you would sit down, Ichigo," Kish stated calmly as he patted the bed with a gentle hand. "You're as white as a sheet and I don't want you to go collapsing on me."

As much as she wanted to let loose a snapping retort, the spinning of her head made her think he was right as she sank back down on the bed, but as far away from the boy as she could. Her glare persisted, but Kish didn't seem bothered, his smile askew in his strange way as he leaned back on his hands, watching her.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing today. The sleeping powder I used on you will make you weak for a bit after use. I didn't mean to make you so...well, I didn't mean to make you feel so bad. But, it was the only way I could think to get you here!"

Ichigo glared at him until she managed to unclench her tense jaw, ignoring the ache there. Questions bubbled within her like simmering boiling water, and try as she might to choke them down, they began to spew out with anger tinting every word.

"Where in the world am I? How and why am I here, where ever here is? Why did you take me?"

Kish stood up with slow deliberate steps, walking over to her and sat down beside her, ignoring her movements away from him. His eyes gazed into hers as he tried to answer delicately.

"You're not...you're not on your world anymore; you're on mine. This is the planet of Teneshu, where I live. I brought you here from Earth, on my spaceship to my galaxy, because...Well, I came to the decision that I can't live without you. And so...You can stay here, with me; Forever."

He made it sound like the were discussing the most blase topic ever! Her anger only bubbled up further, causing her cheeks to turn a dark red. Ichigo couldn't believe him or any of this. Angry moisture gather in her eyes as she tore her gaze away from his and glared at the floor harsh enough that she might burn a hole through it.

In concern with her sudden movement and tears, Kish laid a pale hand over hers and asked in a small tone, "Ichigo, are you alright? What's wrong?"

His concern drove her to beyond reason. How...how dare he act like that!? He had no right to be concerned about her well being, not after kidnapping her and taking her away from not only her home, but her whole planet!

Angry brown eyes locked onto his confused amber ones and Ichigo shook with anger as her words came out clipped."'What's wrong' you ask. What's wrong? Well, what the heck do you think is wrong, Kish!? First of all, what happened with you leaving me and Masaya alone? We were finally happy together, and trying to lead a normal life, before you pulled this ridiculous stunt! Second of all, you kidnapped me and whisked me of to your planet, your galaxy, and took me away from my home. Did you think that I was going to be all fine and dandy with that, being dragged away from all I knew and loved because of your selfishness? Third and final, I will never love you, so if you thought that bringing me here would change that, you're a foolish idiot and...and I hate you!"

Kish looked hurt, stung by her words, but she didn't care. Lashing out at him was only logical. It was his fault she was in this mess right now. Before she could ball her fists and convince herself to punch him, Ichigo stood up and stumbled out of the doorway. She knew she needed some time alone, to clear her head, and find a way to get back to earth. But, her main objective was to get as far away from Kish as she possibly could. Running as best as she could down a long hallway, she heard Kish calling her back with concerned tones, but she ignored him and kept running.

A door rose up to meet her and she shoved her body through it, only to blink back the brightness that invaded her eyes. The building she had just exited loomed up behind her, but she ignored it and kept running on shaky legs, trying to put as much distance as she could between her and it. Hearing the door slam open behind her, Ichigo closed her eyes and kept her head down, pushing her tired body as hard as she could as Kish cried out to her.

"Ichigo, watch out!"

What was he talking about? It was only then that the girl felt the sloping of the landscape under her unsteady feet. It was gradual at first, but in mere seconds, steeped and caused her legs to crumple beneath her. Eyes shot open as her body rolled down the hill, head over feet as she tried to stop herself. Ichigo dug hands into the surprisingly hard dirt, but only received bloodied hands and strained arms.

In her attempts to slow her descent, Ichigo caught glimpses of her destination, but all she could tell was that there was the end of the hill and it seemed to drop straight off into a narrow ditch. Her only hope was that it was shallow, but she seriously doubted it.

This...this is it. Where months of battles, and middle school failed, I'm going to die here on this alien planet. I didn't even get to see Masaya off to his plane; I didn't get to say goodbye to him, or Mint, Lettuce, Pudding or Zakuro; Nothing...and no one will know what happened to me...No! I refuse to just give up!

A new resolve set in as she tried to stop herself again, this time using hands and feet. However, her right foot got caught in a small hole and Ichigo heard a loud crack before she felt the sharp, shooting pain in her ankle. It throbbed as she continued her efforts, springing tears to her eyes.

All too soon, she realized that she was dangerously close to the bottom of the hill, and the top of the ditch. Ichigo took in a breath as she felt herself roll off the edge of the hill and closed her eyes as she saw the unmistakeable darkness of the deep bottom of the ditch. Her last thought before she began to fall was, Please...someone, help!

The wind whipped by her face as darkness blotted out the red color of her closed lids. However, Ichigo had expected to hit something soon, but to her great surprise and astonishment, she didn't. In fact, she felt as if she were standing still. It was only then that Ichigo felt the strong arms that held her and were lifting her gently.

Convinced that she wasn't about to plunge to her death, Ichigo opened up her eyes cautiously and soon realized that she was suspended in mid-air above the ditch. Looking up with curiosity, Ichigo found that the hands belonged to, not Kish as she had expected, but a handsome young man. He had dark brown hair that fell onto his slim shoulders, and pointed ears that poked out. His pale skin was smooth, and angled features gave his face a familiar tone, though Ichigo couldn't remember ever meeting this man before.

However, what caught Ichigo's attention the most was not the familiarity, but this man's eyes. They were like a crystal, such a clear and beautiful blue. She opened her mouth to thank him, but no words came out.

I wonder...who he is? Obviously he's an alien, but why did he save me? Don't most aliens hate humans? Well, aside from that green haired pervert...

The anger at Kish brought her back to her senses and Ichigo finally managed to find her voice, gazing up at the man.

"Thank you very much for saving me. If...if you don't mind me asking...Just who are you?"

He smiled at her, causing her heart to jump in an unnatural way as he replied by saying, "You're welcome, miss. My name is Kyo."