Kisshu dabbed at her face with the cool cloth. Thank goodness, her fever was nearly gone now. She coughed a lot during the night, terrible, frame shaking coughing. There were times he was afraid she would cough up her lungs. For two hours now though, the fits of coughing had stopped. Her color had improved and her breathing was back to normal. It calmed him to see her looking so much better. He could not help but smile and muse at the simple fact that he found her beautiful even like this.
He sighed as his mind began to wonder. There were so many things pressing for his attention. Part of him wondered if he could ever protect her if he did not uncover the answers to all the riddles. Could there be a key to the things happening now in the secrets she was keeping from him? There were so many things he knew nothing about after having been gone. He had so many questions he could not answer at the present. All those unanswered questions were clearly nagging at him since he was having nightmares now. He wished she would just be open with him and tell him things.
Ichigo's eyes opened slowly and her big, round eyes traveled to his face. She smiled sleepily at him and ran her hand up his arm. It was so good to begin to see real responses from her again. At this rate she might recover soon.
"Good morning, honey!" He grinned the way he always did.
"Good morning." Ichigo started to stretch but halted with a wince of pain.
"What hurts most?" He swiped at her face with the cloth again.
"You should ask what doesn't hurt." She grinned.
"Do your lips hurt?" He let the sly smile play at his mouth.
She giggled, "What if I say they don't?"
"Then I would have to kiss them."
"Oh?" She tilted her chin up, "I couldn't lie, so I have to tell you they don't hurt in the slightest."
Kisshu swiftly, but carefully moved in. All night he had been wanting a kiss; not a kiss he could give her while she slept, but a kiss she could return. His fingers slid over her face and into her hair, one of the only safe places to touch her now. Nothing in the world could have felt more wonderful that this after a night of worry. Her little frame had life again. Each breath she took felt strong as his hand wandered over her stomach. The breaths she took were not shaky like they had been. She slid her good arm around him. The kiss began to deepen as chills from her touch ran over his skin. He wanted this; wanted her touch, her solid breathing, and sweet kiss because they meant she was alive. Better still, this meant that she was with him. She was his and no one else's. Never, he never got over the feeling of her tender mouth against his own. This kiss was addictive and he was an addict.
"Hey, careful, you're going to make me have a fever again at this rate. Nya!" Ichigo pushed him away slowly.
He pretended not to notice the appearance of her ears, "I don't think they call it a fever when it comes from situations like these, Koneko-chan."
Ichigo's cheeks flushed, "Whatever! Nya!" She jumped to her feet but instantly sank back onto the bed.
"What's wrong?"
Her hand went to her forehead, "My head is throbbing. . ." The cat ears vanished.
"Here, let me." He knelt in front of her, fingers instantly working over her forehead. Her eyes slowly closed as he used a combination of his fingertips and knuckles to carefully work the area. Already, she was beginning to relax. His skilled fingers worked over all the typical trouble spots on her head and face. The pain was at least partly caused by tension. She was nearly purring as he worked. The noises she was making were very cute. It took a moment to push aside a sudden fantasy that would have gotten him slapped, but he kept rubbing without a pause. He was good at doing things like this. For some unknown reason he had a natural skill at giving massages. Many years ago he used to do things like this for his mother. The sudden thought of his mother made Kisshu pull his hands away and stand.
Ichigo's smile eased the sudden turmoil in his heart. "Wow, you're amazing!" Her lips touched his fingers, "I have no idea how you did it, but the headache is totally gone. You're magic!"
He could not resist a smile, "Thanks, I'm always more magical when it comes to you though."
"Oh, really?" She grinned, "I guess I could go along with that."
His heart thumped a bit louder as she rose, slipped her arms around his neck and placed an incredibly sweet kiss to his lips.
"Thank you, Kisshu."
"For what?" His mind was a little hazy suddenly.
"For taking care of me! Silly!" She slipped away again and took a few things from the closet.
He watched her a minute, "What exactly are you doing?"
"I'm about to make you cover your head while I get dressed."
"Why are you getting dressed?" His eyes narrowed, "Where do you plan on going when you're still sick?"
"Relax, with your care I'm fully recovered!"
"I don't think that's the best idea. You need to stay in bed."
"Please, Kisshu, I really want to go see my friends." She had a faraway look in her eyes, "I really have not seen them in a while and I found myself regretting that a while ago. Would you hate it too much if I went there to see them at the café?"
Kisshu hesitated but found himself relenting already, "No, that is fine, if you really feel up to it."
She nodded, "Yes, I feel much better. We don't need to stay long, you don't even need to come in. I just want to see them."
The turtleneck sweater she picked out hid not only the wound on her arm but the collar marks on her neck and the human teeth marks on her shoulder. She opted for a skirt that grazed her ankles today so she could be sure nothing of those wounds showed. With all the bandages on her she was starting to feel like parts of her had turned into a mummy. Things would be fine soon since the wounds would not last forever. She would not be wearing shorts for a while though, obviously.
A near squeal brought her out of her momentary thoughts, "Ichigo-san!" Lettuce very nearly tackled her.
"Hi, Lettuce-chan!" It took all she had not to either wince or fall over.
Mint used her best tone of annoyance, "Look who finally decided to visit us!" Still, she hurried over just as quickly as Lettuce.
Ichigo let them hug her and made attempts to hug them back despite the pain. It really was good to see them. After her brush with death she just wanted to see them again. She had forgotten how much she really missed them. Having them around made her feel like this was the first place she should have come a long time ago. These girls were her friends, they really were. Even though she really had treated them poorly by pushing them away they still loved her.
Kisshu sat quietly in the cover of the trees. There was no way he could go in with her even if he changed his appearance. If she came in with a strange guy they would be bound to ask a lot of questions. At the present time, that would be bad. It was safe to let her go in there alone. That was the Mew Mews headquarters.
"Kisshu, what are you doing here?" Taruto glided next to him.
"Yo, Taruto!" Kisshu grinned, "I'm just waiting for Ichigo."
"Is that so?" Taruto sounded aloof. "You've been spending a lot of time with her."
"Yeah, I suppose I have."
"I haven't seen you in a while. I noticed you have not even been coming back to the ship at night." He eyed him out of the corner of his eye, "You. . . spend the nights at her house?"
A glow of embarrassment moved into Kisshu's cheeks, "Hey, it's not like that! I have been staying with her, yeah, but we haven't done anything bad! She's been sick so I stay with her to watch out for her!"
"What's wrong with her?" Taruto persisted in the same nearly accusatory voice.
What could he say? "What? I'm supposed to be an expert on humans now? How should I know?"
"You're not an expert in anything." Taruto stated nonchalantly.
"You did not have to agree that way!" Kisshu narrowed his eyes.
"What? It's the truth. You're really dense!"
"What's the supposed to mean?"
Taruto turned his eyes to stare at him, "It means you're not being the smartest guy right now."
"What's your problem suddenly? I told you we didn't do anything bad! What's with the attitude, grouchy little squirt!"
"I'm grouchy because of you! You're being an idiot and not using your brains! You're letting yourself play the fool."
In an uncharacteristic show of affection, Zakuro hugged her. It was really touching to have someone like Zakuro show affection toward her – It would have seemed a lot nicer had she not been in typical form. She managed not only to hit the wound on her arm, but the bite mark on her shoulder, and even the bruise on her back. Zakuro had the most uncanny way of finding your weaknesses be they physical or emotional. If Pudding came in now it would be the end of her, Pudding would kill her. As the three girls dragged her to a nearby table she did her best not to allow her limp to show. There were not many customers but what few there were had just become invisible to the waitresses now that Ichigo had come back.
"We have missed you, Ichigo-san!" Lettuce smiled, "How have you been doing?"
"I've been doing fine." Ichigo grinned at them, "I've just been busy with the usual things, nothing new."
"You could have stopped by any time and visited," Mint sighed in an exasperated tone.
"I know! I would have but I was afraid Shirogane would put me to work!" She giggled longer than was necessary.
She was beginning to feel sick. Her body was not ready for this much activity after all. It did not take much to notice that her vision was starting to blur. The familiar faces were starting to be difficult to make out. Her stomach churned wildly. If she did not get to her bed soon she would either faint or be sick, and that would be a rather huge tip to them that something was wrong.
The ever perceptive Zakuro leveled her with her violet eyes, "Are you alright? You don't look well."
"She's right, Ichigo-san." Lettuce narrowed her green eyes in concern, "You look a bit pale."
Icigho waved her one good arm at them, "I'm fine! I'm really happy to see you all again! I really have missed you a lot!" She swept them with her eyes, "I know I should have come by a lot sooner!"
"Ichigo, are you sure you're not having trouble? You do look stressed." Mint eyed her.
"I'm just fine, nothing to worry about!"
No matter what she said it would not change the fact that she was feeling worse by the second. Unless she wanted them to notice she would have to leave quickly. They already thought something was wrong. She just wanted to see them but it was not going well. Explaining everything was not on her list of plans. She did not want them to know anything about any of this. If they found out they would insist on helping and she did not want that. She was the target, not them. As it was, she could not even protect herself let alone them. This was the best she could do to protect them.
Ichigo pretended to check her watch, "Oh, I have got to go! My parents have me doing a bunch of things today, so I only had a few minutes to stay. I had to come see how you all were though." She stood and headed for the doors before they could stop her. She needed to get to her bed right now. This had been a bad idea after all. No matter how much she wanted to see them she was not up to this yet. Her sight was starting to swirl as her body worked to make it for the door. It took all her energy to walk in a straight line. She had to make it!
"Ichigo!" Ryuu boomed as he emerged from the kitchen.
Ichigo froze, smile still in place, but body frozen in terror, "Hi!" She waved vigorously as she moved for the door, "I am so, so sorry, but I have to run! I'll come back later, I promise!" Not him, it would be impossible to fool him. The second he got a closer look he would know. She picked up her pace as best as her shaky legs could and rushed out the doors. They could not see her like this.
"What do you mean by that?" Kisshu glared.
"Just what I said, you're being stupid!"
"Hey!" Kisshu rose to his full height, "I'm still bigger than you, you know! I can still whip you!"
Taruto shook his head, "I'm not trying to start a fight with you! I'm just worried about you, stupid!"
"Why are you worried about me?"
"You've spent all this time with her now, but has she told you anything about the time we were gone?" Taruto locked eyes with him.
Kisshu flinched inwardly, "Sure she has, some! What of it?"
"Did she tell you why the Blue Knight has not been around?"
A loud sound drew his attention toward the café. Ichigo stumbled out, the doors swishing shut behind her. The look of her worried him instantly, even before he saw the expression on her face. Even from a distance he could clearly see she was not well at all. What Taruto was trying to tell him was lost to him as he rushed to her side and gathered her shaky body into his arms. He got to her just in time. She went limp in his grasp.
"Please, hide me! I don't want them to see me like this!" Ichigo's head rolled to the side, "I don't want them to know."
Kisshu drew back into the trees just in time to avoid being spotted as the group poured out of the café. They seemed shocked at her overly fast disappearance but also saddened. He cringed at the look on even the rich Aizawa girl's face. That was one thing humans as well as aliens shared, bonds of friendship. They truly did care about her. He was almost tempted to go against her wishes and reveal her, but he would not do it. Those were her friends, not his, not really. Part of him still viewed them as enemies, especially that guy. Considering what Shirogane lost because of aliens Kisshu could not believe he would forgive them so easily. There were some things that could not be forgiven that easily, which he understood. If she intended to keep this from them there was nothing he could do. It was somewhat comforting that she was not telling them anything. At least he was not the only one she kept secrets from.
Taruto glided beside them soundlessly. He eyed Ichigo but said nothing. It was a little surprising that he chose not to give them away. The moment Pudding appeared at the door the young alien stiffened but remained silent. Pudding ask what was happening, clearly confused by the group all rushing away. She must not have realized Ichigo had been there. Amazingly Taruto did not even reveal them when he saw the hurt look on the monkey girl's face. It was a bit sad to see the group that way. They were her comrades so of course they cared about her and wanted to see her. A few minutes later the group finally returned to the café.
"I told you that you should not be going out in this condition!" Kisshu hissed.
She nodded feebly, "I know, you were right. I thought I would be fine, but I was wrong." Her head rested against his chest, "I'm sorry."
He could tell she had already slipped away, her body limp in his arms and breathing deeper. "Thanks for staying quite." Kisshu smirked, "But I guess you could not give us away without giving yourself away."
"I didn't need to worry about giving myself away. Lettuce, Mint and Zakuro already caught me with Pudding yesterday." He scowled, almost annoyed, "I kept quiet because it's what you wanted. I haven't given you away and I won't."
Kisshu looked down, "Thanks."
Taruto touched her forehead with the back of his hand, "She really is not doing well, is she. . ."
Kisshu huffed, "Didn't I tell you that before!"
"Why doesn't she want anyone to know?"
"She doesn't want them to worry, I suppose." Kisshu shrugged, "How would I know why she does anything?"
"What are you planning to do with her, Kisshu? Wouldn't it be better if she had a human doctor to take care of her?"
Kisshu sighed, "Maybe, but she would not agree to it."
"You're ok with that? You think she will get better like this?"
"I'm doing the best that I can, Taruto!" Kisshu gritted his teeth.
"I know, but will that be enough?"
"I don't know. . . She will be fine."
"If you say so," Taruto paused to look at her, "but you better get her home to rest."
The windows were partially open so the cool air drifted in lazily and lapped at the thick curtains. The candles on the table flickered back and forth with the movement of the wind. He could feel the chill of the floor through his shoes. In the winter, this room was always the coldest place in the house. It did not bother him though. The cold was fine. This room was the best place to be in the summer as well because it was cool.
"So, what are you planning to do now?" A male voice echoed over the stone walls in the large room.
Dark hair swished over the material of his shirt as he turned his head, "I'll be taking another step. She is doing better than I anticipated, so I can move ahead."
"What are you going to do?"
"Don't worry about that, I will take care of it."
That girl was recovering rather well. It was a bit foolish to be running around so soon but it did not matter. Considering the cold water that shocked her system and the amount of blood she likely lost, she was doing splendidly. Her resilience was pleasing indeed. He knew he picked the perfect doll before but now he was more sure of it. This meant he could begin to toy with her again. How wonderful! The plan worked best if he could make his next move with her right now. Even if she had been doing poorly he would have taken this step anyway. A plan was always about timing.
Ichigo insisted he drop her off at the door. She wanted to walk inside to allow her parents to see her. She said it would be good if they knew she had at least been going out more. It was supposed to boost their confidence in her or something. For some reason she also wanted to see them and spend time with them. She intended to eat something to get her strength up a little before she returned to bed. Having her eat something sounded logical to him at the very least. It was odd how she suddenly wanted to see everyone today. She acted as if it was urgent that she see everyone she knew. It confused him a bit.
Kisshu listened for her when he entered her room. Until she was finished he would wait here. Taruto's words played back in his head. Part of him regretted not asking him to finish telling him about the Blue Knight, but another part of him was relieved they were interrupted. Some part of him was afraid to hear anything about that guy. Ichigo's relationship with that person had been the bane of his existence for so long. Nothing in him wanted to hear about that person. If that guy was going to return, he did not want to know. The way Taruto talked he was terrified he would tell him that guy was going to come back. Maybe he was about to tell him Aoyama was coming back so Ichigo would probably run back into that guys arms. Maybe he was trying to say that no matter how much time they had spent together, she would still go back to that guy. If that was what he was going to say he did not want to hear it.
She asked him a little while ago why he came back and why he helped her. Even now she did not understand. She knew he cared but she still did not know how much or how deeply. She never understood no matter how many times he tried to tell her. She never knew how much it hurt every time she pulled away, refused to look his way, and would not let him in. Last year was the same, she never understood how much it hurt when she went to that guy's side – She did not understand how deeply it cut when she said she would never love him, said she loved that Aoyama instead, and that it would never be. Ichigo never knew how much it wounded him to have her love another, knowing his feelings were one-sided.
Yes, that's right, only Ichigo. Only Ichigo was like a piercing thorn to him. . . A continuing pain in his chest that he could never seem to be free from. That is what he had thought so many times in the past. Once he even told someone that very feeling. When it came to Ichigo he was not rational, not at all. When he came to see her again for the first time he had come thinking he might be able to get over her – He thought if he could see her once more and give her a proper farewell, he could forget her. Now that he had seen her again and spent time with her this way he knew how wrong he had been.
Never, he would never get over her. His love for Ichigo was much too strong to ever be free from even if he wanted to stop it. There would never come a time when he would not love her. Maybe she could not see it, could not see the hold she had over him. It was like there were great chains binding him to her - Chains he could never break. Ichigo placed chains on him the day they met and time had only strengthened their power over him. She bewitched him, binding, and enslaving him. He would always belong to her, her loyal subject. He would always love her even if she never could return his affection. She was the princess to his kingdom and he was her, oh so willing, servant for life. That was the reason he came back. That was the reason he had to find out what stole the light from her eyes, and why he would do anything to protect her. Never again did he want to see her harmed. Never again did he want to see any kind of pain in her eyes.
There was a way to protect her and he would find it. That guy would have nothing to do with keeping her safe this time. Ichigo would understand how much he loved her this time even if it killed him and he would be the one to protect her.
"Ichigo, are you alright?" Sakura's voice reached his ears. "You are limping, I can tell."
Kisshu glided to the door and cracked it open, knowing it was safe to do so since they were downstairs.
"No, it's nothing!" Ichigo giggled nervously.
This could be bad. Kisshu ventured a bit farther out and onto the stair so he could see. Her father grabbed her arms and her mother caught her skirt. Ichigo tried to squirm away but did not manage to before her mother saw the bandages. Her mother started to undo the bandages but stopped when Ichigo yelled in pain.
"What happened to your leg?" Her father demanded.
"I. . . well, that is. . . my shoe was untied." Ichigo was obviously wracking her brain for a believable answer to give.
"You got that because you tied your shoe?" Shintaro eyed her.
"Yes! You see, I was visiting the aquarium when I noticed my shoe was untied. The only place to sit was on the wall since I did not want to sit on the floor."
Kisshu wanted to swoop in to assist her but knew he would be far more a hindrance than a help. Knowing her parents would eventually look at the wound and see what it was he had a hunch he already knew the lie she was spinning for them. She was going to use her clumsy reputation to her advantage. It was a smart move and they just might believe her.
"I was not even paying attention to where I was sitting." She continued, "And I ended up falling into the tank."
Shintaro stared at her, "You cut your leg on the tank? What tank was it?"
"No, it wasn't the tank that cut me, it was what was inside the tank."
"What was in the tank?" Her father's voice was starting to spike.
"It was a shark tank. . ." Ichigo said hesitantly.
"A shark tank!" Sakura shrieked, "Are you alright?"
"They were only little sharks, mom! It's just a little bite."
"A little bite!" They chorused.
"Did this happen this morning? Did they take you to a doctor?" Her mother was starting to talk fast.
"It happened last night, but they bandaged it for me. Everything is fine."
"Last night!" The two chorused again.
"You are going to the doctor this instant! Who knows what you might have gotten from a shark bite!" Her father bellowed, "I can't believe you did not tell us!"
"I don't need a doctor! I'm not going!" Ichigo hissed.
"Did I say you had a choice?" Her father scooped her up. Ichigo protested as she was dragged to the door. Her mother got keys and opened the door. Despite her kicking and thrashing the three of them were gone in a matter of minutes.
This was an unexpected turn. He knew she should not have gone down there. She really needed to listen to him more often, or he needed to stop listening to her. He wondered what she was going to do when the doctor found all her other injuries. The human bite mark on her shoulder was not likely to be passed off as a shark. Kisshu massaged his temples. That girl got herself into more trouble than ten girls. Now he would have to try to follow her without anyone seeing him. This was going to be a real pain. Still, maybe this was the best thing. Taruto was right, she needed a hospital. He would have to let her suffer through it.
After fighting with her parents for so long she was exhausted. It had not taken long for her tiredness to render her meek and easy to drag around. She had not listened to the multiple lectures her parents gave her on the drive, or in the waiting room. There were times it was better to ignore them and stay quiet. She could simply strangle both of them even though she knew they were just worried.
An intimidating nurse had lead them around and ordered them to do this and that. For some reason the nurse insisted her parents do more paperwork of some kind while Ichigo went ahead and met the doctor. That sounded fine to her. If the crazy nurse kept them long enough they might be too late to see anything.
She walked slowly into the room. It was hard to walk because she felt so weak, and the pain in her leg did not make it any easier. Her body was beginning to feel like lead. Before she fell down she needed to find a chair. As she moved through the door her first action was to climb onto the padded examination chair before she even took the time to look around the room. She saw a man she safely assumed was the doctor. His back was too her, but the long white coat gave his occupation away. Long dark hair sleeked down the back of the coat held perfectly centered by a hair tie. Her head was starting to ache again. She wished Kisshu were here to rub her head like he did before. He had the most wonderful touch to her soar head.
"Hello, Miss Momoiya." His low, smooth voice was almost comforting, but he still had his back to her.
Papers rustled as he continued to flip through a manila file she imagined was hers. Blond hair caught her eye as the door slowly closed. She turned her eyes to look at the owner of that hair and felt a pulse of shock; she had seen that face somewhere before. Where had she seen that boy? His thin but round face and large eyes seemed so familiar. Something deep inside her began to feel strange and her stomach swirled. He flicked a strand of short blond hair out of his eyes as he stared at her. The sound of the doctor's footsteps caught her ear and twanged a note of recognition in her mind. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt a large hand fall on her shoulder. She only turned her head in time to see a needle sink into her upper arm.
She jumped away, cat like reflexes kicking in at the terrible realization of danger. The tall, slim figure moved toward her, doctor's mask covering most of his face. Her head spun and heart pounded as her eyes switched the colors he wore from white to black. This was the same man she had seen in her dream! But that was hardly possible! A dream was a dream, so how could this be? Something had to be wrong. Her already weak legs threatened to fail at supporting her so she pressed her back against the cold wall.
"I see. . . there is a bit of recognition in your eyes." He tilted his head, "Have you figured it out?"
Ichigo scooped a reflex hammer of the counter next to her, "Who are you?" Why couldn't there have been a scouple?
"Does that mean you haven't figured it out?" He slipped the stethoscope from around his neck and tapped the earpiece to his chin, "Not that it matters, you won't be on your feet much longer anyway."
She swung the little rubber hammer at him, "What do you want? Where is the real doctor?"
"He is a real doctor!" The boy interjected, but did not move away from the door.
"I suppose you did not think I would have a profession, did you?" The man crooned, "But I do, of course."
"He has been a doctor for a long time. Everyone considers him an expert in several fields. He is a medical and chemical genious." The boy's bored voice perked a little and a smile spread onto his face.
Her eyes widened - now she recognized that boy!
The man chuckled, "Yes, it comes in handy at times like these. If I say I want a certain patient, you for example, they are more than happy to comply. I can get away with a great many things! I can even handle forcing your parents to leave the hospital."
Her parents? What had he done with her parents? Ichigo struggled against the growing, suffocating fog in her mind. If she could get away from them she could get to safety. No window, so the door was the only way out. The only chance she had was to run and run fast. She went for the door but her body teetered and began to fall in the wrong direction. The hammer slipped from her fingers and clanged against the floor. Why? Why was her body failing her when she needed it most? Her hair slid into her eyes as she fell. Strong arms circled her shoulders as she crashed against him. Her stomach twisted as a new recognition jabbed at her mind - She knew these arms as well.
"No, no!" She whimpered.
"Oh yes, yes!" The boy grinned, "You figured it out too late. Slow!"
The low, sickly smooth voice cooed into her ear, "Don't bother fighting, it only makes it harder on you. Be a good girl for me right now, alright?"