Cyniclonia Part 3:
Planning
Kisshu, Ichigo, and Lettuce looked up as Pai teleported in, and Lettuce asked, "How'd it go?"
"They won't tell, but apparently they're going to think up some kind of punishment for me," Pai said. "I didn't really expect anything less."
"Well, at least they won't tell," Kisshu said.
"Yeah, I got lucky," Pai said.
They heard a knock on the door, and Ichigo called, "Come in!"
The door opened, and a woman dressed in a maid's uniform came in, bowed, and then said, "Master Kisshu, Miss Ichigo, there's a messenger here to speak with you. I had him wait in the front hall, since Mistress Yuki and Master Hayako are currently using the usual room."
"We'll be right there, thank you Mizumi," Kisshu said. He got up, and Ichigo did the same as he took her hand. Then Kisshu teleported them both to the front hall.
A man was waiting for them, and he looked up as they landed, then bowed. "Ikisatashi Kisshu, Mew Ichigo, you both have been called to the Council room to discuss the fate of Nanami Koshou," he said.
"Alright," Kisshu said. "I suppose we need to put on something more presentable?"
"Preferably, yes," the man said.
"Tell the Council we will be there within the hour," Kisshu said. The man bowed and teleported out. Kisshu sighed and looked at Ichigo. "Let's go tell Pai and Lettuce, and then get changed," he said.
"Okay," Ichigo said. Kisshu took her hand and teleported back to her room. Pai and Lettuce were still in there, and looked up. "What's the news?" Pai asked.
"We've been called to meet with the Council about Koshou," Kisshu replied. "Ichigo and I have to get changed."
"Alright, Lettuce and I will go back to her room," Pai said.
"Have fun," Kisshu said, smirking. Pai glowered at him and teleported off with Lettuce. Kisshu sighed and asked Ichigo, "Will you be okay finding something?"
"Yes, I brought my dress clothes too," Ichigo said.
"Okay, I'm going to go get changed then," Kisshu said. "I'll be back soon."
"'Kay," Ichigo said. Kisshu teleported out, and Ichigo went to her closet. She took out a dove gray pencil skirt and a white button-down blouse, and changed quickly, then went to the bathroom to look at her hair. Finding that it looked fine, she went back to the closet and pulled out a pair of white flats, then put them on. Soon after, she heard a knock on the door, and opened it.
Kisshu was standing outside, wearing a dark green button-down shirt and black slacks, along with black shoes. His hair was still in a ponytail, and he said, "You look nice. Are you ready?"
"Do I need to bring anything with me?" Ichigo asked.
"Nope," Kisshu said. "Let's go." Ichigo took the hand he held out, and he teleported her to the front of a large building. There were two guards at the door, and they opened the doors with no questions; apparently they had been expecting Ichigo and Kisshu.
A middle-aged woman was waiting in what looked like a lobby, and she said, "Good, you're here. Follow me, the Council is waiting. And Kisshu, behave yourself."
"I know, Kia," Kisshu said wearily. "I have no intention of getting on Koni-sama's bad side. The last time was bad enough."
"What happened?" Ichigo asked.
"He told Koni-sama he'd rather die than succeed Hideki-sama, and if Hideki-sama hadn't intervened, Kisshu probably would have been executed," Kia said dryly. "Like father, like son, apparently."
"Yikes," Ichigo said as they reached set of ornately decorated wooden doors.
Kia knocked on the doors, and they heard a man's voice call, "Who is it?"
"Kia, I brought Ikisatashi Kisshu and Mew Ichigo," Kia replied.
"Come in, then," the man called, and the doors swung open. Kisshu walked in, Ichigo following. Kia didn't go in with them, and the doors shut after them. Kisshu walked to the center of the room, and went down on one knee, Ichigo copying him. "Rise," the man said, and Kisshu and Ichigo obeyed, looking at the man who had been speaking. He was an elderly man with sharp blue eyes. "I assume you know the reason we've called you here?" he asked.
"To speak about the fate of Nanami Koshou, Koni-sama," Kisshu said.
"Correct," Koni-sama said. "She refused to give a reason for why she kidnapped Mew Ichigo, so we hoped you could shed some light on her behavior."
"She's jealous that I chose Ichigo over her, because she's been deluding herself into thinking she's going to marry me someday," Kisshu said disgustedly. "And she was less than thrilled when I informed her that Ichigo and I are engaged, and told her to get lost and leave me alone. She NEVER leaves me alone."
"And I assume there's a reason you beat her up?" Koni-sama asked.
"She had it coming, and I figured I'd make it clear once and for all that I hate her guts and would happily kill her if it wasn't against the law," Kisshu said.
Koni-sama sighed and asked, "And the claw marks on her face?"
"I did that," Ichigo said. "She attempted to attach some kind of mechanical device to my forehead, so I slashed her face before she managed that. And then I crushed the device. I'm not sure what it was, though."
Koni-sama looked thoughtful, and said, "One of the devices in the Mental Science lab was stolen a few nights ago; I believe they were attempting to create something that would shut down an animal's brain and other systems painlessly, so people's pets don't have to go through any pain when they're nearing the end of their lives. It looks like we should add 'attempted murder' and theft to the list of Koshou's crimes. Is there anything else either of you think we should know?"
"Not to my knowledge; Ichigo?" Kisshu asked.
"I can't think of anything either," Ichigo said.
"Very well, you both may go, and we will inform you of Koshou's fate when it is decided," Koni-sama said.
Kisshu and Ichigo both bowed, and left through the doors. Kia was waiting outside, and asked, "How'd it go?"
"I didn't get in trouble," Kisshu said. "They're still deciding what to do about Koshou, though."
"Alright," Kia said. "I take it you're going home?"
"Yep," Kisshu said. He took Ichigo's hand and teleported.
They landed in his room, and Kisshu said, "I guess we can change back to our normal clothes."
"Okay," Ichigo said. She left, and went to her room, then changed back into her t-shirt and jeans, and put on a pair of flip-flops. She heard a knock on the door, and then Kisshu came in. "We've been asked to join Lettuce and Pai in a meeting with Aunt Yuki and Uncle Hayako," he said. "I imagine it's about Pai's punishment."
"Let's go," Ichigo said.
Kisshu teleported her to the family room, and they found the others already there. "Good, you're here," Hayako said. "Have a seat."
Kisshu and Ichigo sat down on the loveseat, and waited as Yuki sighed. "We unfortunately couldn't think of anything that wouldn't affect Lettuce as well," she said. "So based on the nature of your crime, we decided that we would not allow you to get Lettuce pregnant for at least a year after your marriage."
Pai sighed, and said, "I understand, and I accept this punishment. It's better than getting the death penalty for what I did."
Yuki and Hayako nodded, and Yuki looked at Lettuce. "Lettuce, I'm sorry this will affect you too," she said. "But I think this is the best course of action."
"I don't mind; I'm not sure I'm ready for children just yet," Lettuce said.
"Good," Yuki said. "With that said, have you four decided whose wedding will be first?"
"I think it should be Lettuce and Pai," Ichigo said. "They're older, after all. Kisshu, what do you think?"
"I don't mind," Kisshu said. "Lettuce, Pai, would you two like to go first?"
"That would be nice," Pai said. "Lettuce?"
"I like that idea," Lettuce said. "Let's start planning, then."
"What are we doing about wedding dresses?" Ichigo asked. "I didn't bring anything suitable for that."
Yuki smiled and said, "We have a custom here; the bride will wear the same gown her mother wore. Dresses are passed down from generation to generation. If something happens to the dress, however, which does happen occasionally, the bride will wear her mother-in-law's dress. That happens more frequently than you'd think, since a lot of dresses were destroyed by the rockslides that use to happen around here. Lettuce, did your mother save her wedding dress?"
"I'm not sure," Lettuce asked. "Let me call her."
"I'll go get your cell phone," Pai offered. He teleported out, returning a few minutes later with Lettuce's cell phone. She scrolled through her contacts as she said, "It's amazing that we get service here." She finally found her home number, and hit Send. The others watched as she waited, and finally she said, "Hi Mom, it's Lettuce. Yes, things are going fine here, but I have a question. Do you still have the dress you wore when you married Dad? Pai's mother Yuki says it's customary here to wear your mother's former wedding dress."
The others watched as Lettuce's face fell a bit, but then she said, "That's okay, Yuki said wearing her dress would be fine too. I forgot about that. I'll let you know when we're coming to get you, okay? Thanks Mom, I love you too. Bye!" She hung up after getting a response, and said, "I guess not. Mom apparently rented her dress; her family wasn't able to afford to buy a dress for her, and as I recall, my grandmother was NOT a good seamstress."
"I wonder if my mom did that," Ichigo said. "I guess I'd better find out."
"I'll get your cell phone," Kisshu said, and teleported off. He returned with the cell phone, and handed it to Ichigo. She smiled at him and dialed her home number.
The others watched as she got a response, and said, "Hi Mom, it's Ichigo. Sorry I didn't call earlier, I forgot. I was wondering, do you still have the dress you wore to your wedding? Yuki says it's customary for the bride to wear her mother's wedding dress. You don't? Oh that's right, you and Dad basically had to elope when your overprotective father decided there was no way in hell he was going to let his baby girl marry 'that lowlife punk'."
The others snickered as Ichigo said, "That's okay, I'm sure I'll work something out. We're having Lettuce and Pai's wedding first, so it's probably going to be a while. Yep, I'll let you know. Love you Mom, say hi to Dad. Yeah, tell him Kisshu's treating me like a princess. Bye!" She hung up, and sighed. "I forgot she and Dad barely HAD a wedding," she said. "Grandpa took a while to get over the fact that his daughter eloped with a guy he didn't like very much- at least until it turned out that they were exactly alike when it came to childcare. Overprotective nutcases who demanded kendo matches of the boys who wanted to date their daughters. It's a wonder I ever got asked out after Aoyama; I'm sure he told everyone that my dad challenged him to a kendo match. Of course, Dad went nuts and made Aoyama keep going till I showed up and offered to fight him myself. Kisshu's lucky he didn't have to go through that."
"I was SO hoping Tree-Freak would lose," Kisshu grumbled. "But what do we do now?"
"I saved Anzu's dress after her death," Yuki said softly. "Even though I knew she was gone, I helped her with that dress when we found out it didn't fit right. I'm glad I kept it; it looks like Ichigo is a similar size."
Kisshu sighed sadly. "I miss Mom and Dad…." he said sadly.
Ichigo hugged him, and he hugged back. When he was a little calmer, he asked, "Can I see Mom's dress?"
"When it's on Ichigo, yes," Yuki said. "That's the custom."
Kisshu started sulking, and Ichigo ruffled his hair. "You'll live," she said. "So should we start planning Lettuce and Pai's wedding?"
"Sure, we can all help out," Yuki said. "Let's get planning!"
I am SO sorry I didn't do this sooner. The next chapter will be Lettuce and Pai's wedding, but that might not be tonight, since I have other things to do. Review please, and I hope this was worth the wait.