Betraying My People Chapter 8:
Shock
That night, Kisshu, Pai and Taruto teleported with Ichigo to Café Mew Mew. They had brought Masha, and told him to stay quiet unless the Mews were coming. They snuck up to the Café, and looked in the window. It looked like the other Mews were having a meeting. Ryou was there too, as was Keiichiro. The window was slightly open, so Ichigo and the Cyniclons could hear what was being said.
"You're sure that's what Ichigo said?" Keiichiro asked.
"Hai," Mint said. "She claims that Ryou killed her parents and tried to brainwash her, and that she woke up in the basement of Café Mew Mew after she had been knocked out."
"Ryou, did you do anything to Ichigo after she quit?" Keiichiro said. "I was out shopping that night, so I wouldn't know."
"You seriously believe I would kill Ichigo's parents?" Ryou asked.
"You seemed pretty upset after Ichigo left," Mint said. "And she says the aliens didn't do it."
"I told you, they brainwashed her," Ryou said.
"Then why did she remember Mint and Lettuce?" the purple-haired girl asked. "Surely if they were the ones who brainwashed her, they would have taken all her memories, not just some."
"Maybe their machine doesn't work very well," Ryou said.
"Zakuro has a point, though," Keiichiro said. "If the machine didn't work the first time, wouldn't they have done something about that?"
"How should I know?" Ryou said exasperatedly. "I'm not the one who tried to brainwash her!"
"Pudding thinks Ryou is lying, na no da," the little blonde girl said. "If you didn't try to brainwash her, than what is that machine doing in the basement, na no da?"
"What machine?" Ryou asked.
"The one that looks like a hat, na no da," Pudding said.
"I have no clue what you're talking about, Pudding," Ryou said. "Shouldn't we go back to the original topic of this meeting?"
"We should not," Zakuro said. "We can worry about that after we find out the truth. I agree with Pudding, you're hiding something, Ryou."
"Pudding, where is the machine?" Lettuce asked.
"I'll go get it, na no da!" Pudding said. She hopped up and ran off. A few minutes later she came back with a machine that looked like a metal hat with wires coming out of it. "See, na no da?" she said.
The others looked suspiciously at Ryou. "Why do you have that if you didn't try to brainwash Ichigo?" Zakuro asked.
"I don't know why that was in the basement," Ryou said. "I bet the aliens left it there to make it look like I'm the bad guy."
Ichigo and the Cyniclons ducked down below the window. "He's going to tell them lies until they actually believe him," Ichigo whispered. "I think we should just go in and kill him."
"Might be a good plan," Kisshu whispered. "We should tell the Mews that we didn't kill your parents, though. Zakuro seems to be able to see who's telling the truth and who's lying. If we convince her, the others might be convinced too."
"Let's go, then," Pai whispered. Kisshu took Ichigo's hand, and they all teleported into the Café.
The Mews, Ryou and Keiichiro looked up, shocked. "What are you doing here?" Ryou snarled.
"I'm here to avenge my parents," Ichigo said. "No matter how many lies you tell, you are still the one who killed them."
"NO, I'm not," Ryou said. "The aliens did it."
"You're still lying about that?" Kisshu asked. "I would never hurt Ichigo in that way, and Pai and Taruto came after YOU killed them."
"We wouldn't kill Ichigo's parents either," Taruto said. "We were taught that the enemy's family had nothing to do with the battle we fought. Besides, Ichigo joined us."
"She only joined you because you brainwashed her," Ryou said.
"Why don't you just tell the truth, Ryou?" Ichigo asked. "You're going to die tonight anyways, so why not tell everyone what you did?"
"Because I didn't do anything!" Ryou shouted.
"I know a way to find out the truth," Pai said. Before anyone could reply, Pai teleported directly in front of Ryou, and put one finger on his forehead, using the other hand to hold him down. Suddenly, an image, like a hologram, appeared above Ryou's head.
The others watched in silence as the image progressed. Ryou entered Ichigo's house, and pressed a cloth over Ichigo's face. She fell to the ground as Ryou took out a knife. Ichigo's parents came into the living room, and Ryou lunged at them. He stabbed Shintaro first, then as Shintaro collapsed, he stabbed Sakura. He left the room as she collapsed as well. Then he went to the front door, picked up the still-unconscious Ichigo, and went to a car.
Suddenly the image flickered. "Pai, stop!" Kisshu said. "You'll drain yourself!"
Pai took his finger away, then pushed Ryou and teleported back to Kisshu, Ichigo and Taruto. "That is what happened the night Ichigo joined Kisshu," Pai said.
Ichigo was standing still, shocked. She had known from the start that Ryou was the one who murdered her parents, but seeing it like that shook her.
She wasn't the only one. Keiichiro looked even more shocked than Ichigo. Pudding was actually crying, Mint looked furious, Lettuce looked scared, and even Zakuro was looking shocked.
Taruto and Kisshu weren't much better. Taruto was shaking and Kisshu looked horrified. Pai looked shaken as well.
Zakuro was the first to snap out of it, and she knelt next to Pudding, then hugged her. Pudding buried her face in Zakuro's shoulder, her shoulders shaking. "What if he goes after my siblings too?" Pudding asked in a whisper.
Ichigo snapped out of her shock at that and said, "He won't. Because I'm going to kill him, here and now." She turned to the other Mews, and said, "Leave. Take Pudding home, and I'll handle this."
"Hai," Zakuro said. She picked up Pudding, and the other girls followed her out the door. Ichigo waited until they were gone, then said, "Keiichiro, if you want to leave, go ahead."
"I'm going upstairs," Keiichiro said. "Ryou, I hope you know that none of us will ever forgive you for this, and that you actually deserve whatever Ichigo does to you." He left, and Ichigo shouted, "Strawberry Blade!" Her sword appeared in her hand, and she lunged forward, stabbing Ryou through the heart as she yelled, "Ribon… Strawberry Flash!"
Ryou had time for one last scream before the pink flames consumed his body. A pile of ash fell to the ground; the only thing left of him.
Ichigo sighed and turned back to the Cyniclons, letting her sword disappear.
"Are you okay?" Kisshu asked her.
"I don't think I'll ever be okay," Ichigo said. "But at least we're all safe from that bastard."
"Good," Pai said. "But what do we do now? I'm not sure that it's really worth fighting anymore."
"But what about our people?" Taruto asked.
"What about Mew Aqua?" Kisshu suggested.
"What's that?" Ichigo asked.
"It's water in its purest form, with the ability to heal anything," Pai said. "Kisshu, you've got a point. If we found enough Mew Aqua, we could use it on our planet. Now we have to convince Deep Blue."
"Do you think we should check on the other Mews, and let them know Ryou's dead?" Taruto asked. "That Pudding girl seemed pretty scared."
"Might be a good idea," Ichigo said. "Should we tell them about your idea, Pai?"
"Let's wait a bit," Pai said. "We should talk to Deep Blue first."
"Okay," the others said.
"Do we know where Pudding lives?" Kisshu asked.
"No," Ichigo said. "I could ask Keiichiro."
"Let's all go," Pai said.
Ichigo led the way upstairs, and knocked on a door. "Yes?" she heard.
"Keiichiro, I killed Ryou," Ichigo said. "We wanted to let the others know it's safe, so can you tell us where she lives?"
"I'll go with you," Keiichiro said, opening the door. "I'm sorry I didn't keep a closer eye on Ryou, Ichigo."
Ichigo sighed. "It's not your fault," she said.
Keiichiro sighed too, and said, "I still feel responsible. I took care of Ryou after his parents were killed by a Chimera Anima, and if I had done a better job, maybe this wouldn't have happened."
"Like I said, don't blame yourself," Ichigo said. "Some people just don't turn out well, even with the best of people raising them."
"What will you do now that Ryou's dead?" Keiichiro asked. "I'm willing to take you in, but that might not be what you want."
"It isn't," Ichigo said. "I like living with the Cyniclons, and I've realized something recently. I don't think I could live without having Kisshu around."
"This from the girl who said, "That jerk stole my first kiss!"?" Kisshu asked with a grin.
"Something like that," Ichigo said. "You've been wonderful to me, and I realized that I really love you, Kisshu."
Kisshu grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist, then kissed her. Ichigo kissed back, winding her arms around his neck.
Finally they broke apart, and Ichigo said, "That was much better than the first time."
"Aren't we supposed to be going to Pudding's?" Taruto asked.
"Yeah, we just got a bit carried away," Kisshu said. "You're a good kisser, Koneko-chan."
"So are you," Ichigo said, blushing. "Should we get going?"
"Yeah, I'll take you there," Keiichiro said. He looked at the Cyniclons, and said, "Maybe we should go in my car. I think you'll attract attention if we walk."
"What's a car?" Taruto asked.
"I'll show you," Keiichiro said with a smile. He led the way outside, and to a car parked behind the Café.
Taruto looked at it, and said, "This looks heavy. Does it move?"
"It has an engine, so yes, it moves," Keiichiro said. "Get in, I'll show you."
They all piled into the car, Pai in the front seat. Keiichiro started it up, and Taruto and Kisshu jumped a bit. They got even more nervous when the car started moving. "It's not going to kill you," Ichigo told them. Pai wasn't showing any emotion, so she figured he wasn't too nervous. She was proven correct when he said, "You didn't get nervous when the spaceship took off, did you?"
"No, but that was flying," Kisshu said. "Less chance of hitting something."
"Except asteroids," Pai said. "Relax, you'll be fine. We're teleporting home anyways."
Five minutes later, Keiichiro announced, "We're here!"
They all got out, and went up to Pudding's door. It was answered by Zakuro, who said, "What's up?"
"Ryou is dead," Ichigo said. "We thought we'd come let you know, since everyone was so upset. How's Pudding?"
"She and her siblings are currently attached to Lettuce," Zakuro said. "Maybe you should come in."
Ichigo, Keiichiro, and the Cyniclons followed Zakuro in. Before they went in, Zakuro said, "Don't mention parents to Pudding, she's still pretty shook up, and she told me her mom's dead, and her dad is currently abroad. Don't say anything about parents, okay?"
"Okay," Ichigo said. Zakuro nodded and led them to the living room.
Lettuce and Mint were sitting on the sofa. Pudding, four little boys, and a little girl were clinging to them. Zakuro went in first and said, "Pudding, we've got guests."
Pudding looked over and said, "Hi…"
"Are you okay, Pudding?" Ichigo asked.
"Pudding got scared…" Pudding said. "Pudding didn't know Ryou was evil."
"Ryou's gone now, so you don't have to be scared," Ichigo said.
Pudding looked at Ichigo. Then she slowly let go of Lettuce's arm, and slid off the sofa, then walked to Ichigo. "Why don't you live with humans?" she asked.
"Because I have no family, and I love Kisshu," Ichigo said.
"Even though he has elf ears?" Pudding asked.
"PUDDING!" Lettuce said, horrified. "Be polite!"
Kisshu looked confused. "What's an elf?" he asked.
"A little mythical creature with pointy ears, but they're supposed to be really small," Ichigo said. She turned back to Pudding, and said, "I'd love Kisshu whether he had pointy ears or not, but I think they're kawaii."
"You do?" Kisshu asked.
"Yep," Ichigo said.
Pudding looked at Ichigo, then said, "Pudding wants to play with Kisshu-oniichan's ears, na no da!"
Kisshu promptly tried to hide behind Ichigo. Ichigo sighed and said, "No playing with other people's ears. It's not polite."
Pudding drooped. Zakuro noticed and said, "Pudding, shouldn't you be putting your siblings to bed? It's getting late."
"Okay!" Pudding said, going back to being cheerful. "Hanacha, Chancha, Lucha, Honcha, Heicha, bedtime!"
The four little boys and the little girl hopped off Lettuce and Mint's laps, and ran off to get ready for bed. Pudding looked around, and said, "Thanks for helping me, minna."
"You're welcome, Pudding-chan," Zakuro said. "Do you want one or more of us here tonight?"
"Can you stay?" Pudding asked.
"Of course," Zakuro said.
"Thanks," Pudding said. "Ichigo-oneechan, it was nice to see you."
"Thanks Pudding-chan," Ichigo said. Then she turned to Kisshu, and said, "Should we get going?"
"Yeah, we should get some sleep," Kisshu said. He took her hand, and she waved to the others. Then they teleported out.
When they got back to the ship, Ichigo asked, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"
"Sure, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said. "You don't want to be alone, right?"
"Yeah," Ichigo said. "I miss my parents, and tonight really didn't help. At least I killed Ryou."
"Yeah," Kisshu said. "Now we're all safe from him. Let's get ready for bed."
"K…" Ichigo said tiredly.
They both got ready, and then curled up together on Kisshu's bed.
I hope you all like my longer-than-usual chapter. I might not be posting till tomorrow, but we'll see. Review!