So It's You

Ichigo could feel pressure on her wrists when she tried to move her arms. mind beginning to come out of whatever darkness it had been in. Oh no, not again! Her eyes flew open to assess her situation, heart rate peeking. No blind fold this time but the room was dark so it was hard to see very much, or at all. She shivered as a cold breeze touched her and she began to notice the freezing sensation on her skin, like having ice pressed there too long. Her back was tingling from the contact of something far below her temperature. It took her only a moment to understand that she was bound to a stone wall, chains draped all over her to keep her upright. The cold metal and cold stone made her body feel frozen even through her clothes. Was this an old dungeon? It would make sense. She was having a hard time remembering what happened, so her only option was guessing.

The shackles dug into her wrists once again as she struggled against all the bindings, though using her legs to hold her up was helpful. There were chains around her waist, neck, arms, and ankles. It felt like her body was frozen to the wall. Her head throbbed as she thrashed wildly and tried to slip her hands out of the shackles. If she could manage to free her hands she might be able to get the other chains off. Some people made a living off of being escape artists. If people could do this for money, surely she could do it to save her own life.

Her body tensed automatically, head snapping to the side as light suddenly streamed into the room from a doorway. The door swung lazily, the rhythmic thumping of the tall figure's boots echoed over the walls as he entered the room. If it was even possible, her heart beat a bit faster as she watched with wide eyes. The eerie familiarity of his posture and stride terrified her. This was the man from her dream! She shivered at the realization, dread rushing through her. "Who are you?"

A light near the door flicked on as if triggered by motion. It was not bright but it was enough to let her see him clearly. Long black hair swayed as he walked, moving like a prince passing his underlings. Most of his hair was swept back into a neat ponytail but some hung free to frame the sculpted features of his face. His menacing smile chilled her to the bone in a different way that the temperature ever could. He was handsome enough to be a model, trim, perfect features, but he had a frighteningly malign look to his blue eyes. Everything about him screamed foul, malicious, criminal, malevolent, and absolutely terrifying. She could almost see the evil aura around him as he came closer.

"I'm sorry, you're right, I have been rude not to introduce myself until now." He tipped his head her way, voice surprisingly normal sounding considering the situation, "My name is Duke, leader of the Saint Rose Crusaders." His outfit was different from her dream, outrageous, with hints of vintage inspiration, much more like his people dressed. He did not dress quite as wildly as Happy Child or Royal Highness, but close enough. The odd clothing nearly took away from the edge of his intimidation, but not quite.

"The Leader of Saint Rose Crusaders?" Ichigo echoed in surprise, not fully sure she heard him correctly.

Duke toned down the intensity of his expression as he looked at her, "Welcome to my home."

"Why am I here?" Ichigo cut in before he could continue the fake pleasantry.

"You are direct, aren't you?" His eyes narrowed slightly, "I brought you here to have a chat."

"I don't care what you have to say!" She glared, wishing she had at least one hand free to claw at him.

"You might not feel that way once you have listened to me a bit." He looked thoughtful for a moment, somehow down-playing the situation, "Little kitty, that is something along the lines of what he calls you, right?"

She stiffened, not really wanting to know, but forced to ask, "What?"

"I forget what he says now, that boy, the alien. He's quite attached to you, he even stays with you all night to comfort you."

"What do you want?" Ichigo repeated a variant of the question she had been asking this man for much too long already.

"You and my people have had a few run-ins. I have gotten to see your power, Mew Strawberry." His brow furrowed, crinkling that smooth skin, "But you have yet to fully utilize your potential, even now."

"What would you know about any of it? It's not like we've ever met in person until now!" She spat, allowing anger to replace fear for the moment.

"I know more than you might think... I know more about you than anyone."

"Don't flatter yourself!" She hissed.

"Little cat, you're not so different from my people. You feel alone and isolated, even from your own kind. You want someone to understand you for who you are. . . The trouble is, they never will. You have too many secrets you keep. You could tell people about your secrets but you are too afraid to." He eyed her as if every word should be connection dots in her mind, "Besides, you already know that some of your secrets would cause you to be ostracized the very same way the Crusaders were."

Ichigo stared at him, nearly too shaken to speak, "What makes you think you know anything about me?"

"That's simple! I do because I've seen it." He swiped a few stray dark hairs back into place, "One of my skills is getting into people's minds, literally. I can go inside the mind of anyone I desire, to find out anything I wish about them. I can't change their thinking or anything of that nature, but I can investigate them, find their weaknesses, enter their thoughts, show them visions, those kinds of things."

This time she had no response at all to give.

"I already studied you; your fears, your thoughts, your feelings. You are a complex girl but I figured you out. You fear a lot of things now that you lost that boy, but there is now something you fear more than your own death."

"Is that so?" Ichigo hissed, trying hard to gain back her tongue.

"It is. You're afraid of having history repeat itself with the new boy in your life." Duke chuckled sadistically, "The fact is, I can make all your fears reality. The Mews have yet to have a glimpse of our true power! I can destroy not only that boy, but your friends and family!"

Her heart twisted in her chest, afraid he was not bluffing but hoping he was, "You seem full of yourself! Don't think so highly of yourself! My friends are stronger than you give them credit for!"

"Oh, you don't believe me?" He retrieved something from behind his back.

Ichigo gasped her words more than spoke them, "Kisshu's sword! How did you get that?"

"I just borrowed it because I knew you would not believe me otherwise. I will even let you give it back to him if you like." He cackled, as if it was a grand joke, "He doesn't realize it is missing."

Fine, he had her attention! "What do you want?"

His cold eyes studied her carefully, "Well, little cat, I want to use you, use your body."

The color drained for her face, "You what? You mean you're a hentai!"

He bellowed with a seemingly genuine laugh, eyes clamping closed for a minute, "You misunderstand my meaning! I don't want to use your body in that way. I mean I intend to make you a tool. I want to use your power." Duke sighed rather dramatically, as if truly regretting his skills were not as vast as he would have liked, "I'm not foolish enough to think I can turn you to my side with pretty words, I have to use other methods."

"You have my attention!" Ichigo hissed, eyes narrowing to hide her swelling fear, "So just tell me what you want!"

He moved in without warning, so close she could feel his warmth, and traced her jaw line with his index finger, "Though, being perverted with you would not be unpleasant. . ."

The chains rattled wildly as she struggled to pull free, "Don't you dare!"

"Dare? Should you try to order someone else around when you're chained like this?" His teeth grazed her neck, splayed fingers sliding up her side.

She shuddered in terror, sickened by how close he was, "Please! I meant, please. . . don't?"

"Good girl! You get wiser every time we see each other." He let out a rumbling chuckle into her ear, "Don't worry, I'm only teasing! You're too young for my taste. Sine you're sixteen that means I'm ten years older than you." Duke flicked her nose as if he were scolding a dog, "You're still just jailbait. If it was the wolf girl it might be a different story, but you're the Mew I need right now."

"What do you need me for? You still haven't told me!" She turned her head away to keep from looking at him in such a close proximity.

"I told you, I need you to be my obedient doll for a while. When I give you an order, you must obey. I will open up your powers and use them." He raised Kisshu's dagger up for her to see, "You do care about this boy, correct?"

She did not answer.

"Lying would be no use, dear, even if you said no. I know your feelings as well as you do, maybe better." He had taken a small step back, but it was not enough.

"What do you care what I feel? None of this has anything to do with him!"

"You are wrong about that." His expression turned menacing, even predatory, "If you do not obey I will torture you physically and then I will torture you by killing the ones you love, starting with him. Even the boy you love is as easy to get to as this sword of his. If I can get to this, do you really think I could not get to him?"

"Just leave him alone! Leave everyone alone!" It might have been more convincing as a demand had her voice not quivered.

He pressed the flat of the sword to her cheek, "You can only keep them safe by being good. I can be convinced to leave them alone, but my cooperation and mercy must be purchased." Duke let the sword drop away to his side, "I'm not a bad guy to work for, really! I took in those children, let them know they were worth something, and gave them a purpose. . . Did I not? Because I know the inner cries of their hearts as well as yours, I understand you the best."

"Don't talk as if you're some kind of humanitarian after you just threatened to kill people!" Ichigo growled, trying to pull away from the blade.

"You're not an easy subject to convince, are you?" He dropped the blade away and spun on his heels to face away from her, "Does that mean you agree to comply or not?"

Ichigo said nothing, unsure what she could say. There was no way she could agree to help someone like this, not ever! Still, under these conditions, how exactly could she refuse? She could never help him but she could not refuse. He was right, he did have her. It was not being his prisoner that worried her, though it did not please her, but it was his other threats that terrified her. Something in her told her he would not hesitate to do exactly what he said. He intended to take over the world after all, so a plan like that must have calculated in some deaths. He really did not seem like the type to worry over killing a few people, the Crusaders tried to kill them enough times. They had tried to kill a lot of people many times. His lack of concern for human life was why she could not help him, but that was why she had to help him. What could she do? What choices were open to her?

"Not sure?" He sighed, stepping away from her fully, "Then I will be forced to be a bit more cruel to you in order to show you the seriousness of my words."

He pushed a button on the wall and requested the others join him. Ichigo's heart pounded in her chest as she processed the potentials. What was he going to do to her? She tried to look unmoved but the fear made it hard to look brave. Happy Child entered first, blond hair sparkling in the light of the flickering flame from candlestick in his hand. Royal highness entered next, he looked even more like a vampire in this light and setting. He was not wearing the typical hat so his dark brown hair glistened in the mysterious light of the candle as well. Blue Bayou and Sweet Juliet were close at his heels. They must have been somewhere near, maybe waiting for that call since they arrived so promptly. The four gathered around her like robots waiting for orders. Ichigo struggled to free herself, panic beginning to take over reason. She was totally out numbered.

Sweet Juliet looked emotionless as she approached her and pulled her long skirt up to reveal the bandages. Ichigo tried to kick at her but found it utterly impossible with the shackles on her ankles. The bandages Kisshu wrapped around her were still in place but it was not hard to see the wounds were bleeding again. Juliet's light hazel eyes did not move to meet Ichigo's as she dropped the skirt again.

Duke shook his head, a mocking sense of worry on his face, "As I thought, all this struggling you have been doing reopened those wounds." He motioned to them with one finger, "Take her down and bring her to the room. Utamaro can get my things."

Duke strolled out of the room like a king going ahead of his subjects. Her mind was already calling up questions such as: 'what room' or 'what things' but she dared not voice them. Blue Bayou moved toward her first, gray eyes fixed on her, dark blond hair swaying back as he lunged into the wall. Ichigo stared wide-eyed at the wall, not quite sure she had seen what she thought. He went right through it! She knew he was inhumanly strong but she had no idea he could do things like that. Had that really happened or was this all stress? For a blissful moment, she allowed the thought of this being a dream to grace her.

Happy Child turned and left the room as he was ordered to get Duke's "things." The pitiful girl let out a squeak as strong arms like iron wrapped around her shoulders and waist from behind. She twisted away in alarm and caught a glimpse of Blue Bayou. The touch of his skin was as cold against her as the stone wall. He really was in the wall! This had to be a dream but she had a sick feeling it was not! Once he had her the others began stripping the chains away. Ichigo wriggled and kicked at them as soon as the shackles on her ankles were pulled from the wall. Blue Bayou reached a hand up, icy fingers curled around her neck and twisted her head to the side. Pain shot through her spine as he twisted her head unnaturally until she thought her neck would snap. Two vertebra in her neck popped as they were twisted out of alignment. She stilled instantly in hopes of appeasing him in some way.

"Do not fight or I'll hurt you." He jumped out of the wall with her still securely in his arms.

Message received! Fighting was not recommended. The three of them dragged her out of the room and down a hallway with little trouble. It took her eyes a few minutes to adjust to the brighter light. The chains on the shackles scraped over the floor as they dragged her with them. She barely had to walk at all the way they were pulling her, practically carrying her. Realizing the futility of fighting them she meekly went along. Blue Bayou's hand was still firmly clamped down on her neck like the mouth of a dog. At the present she did not have much energy to fight them with anyway. Her body was nowhere near fully recovered. The chill in the air made it hard to fight off the shivers her body wanted to give in to. The only sense of comfort their firm grips were was the little bit of warmth their touch provided.

She was jerked down another hallway and hauled into a new but unwelcome room. She tensed as she looked over her new surroundings with no great pleasure. It looked like a hospital but even more like a room for experiments you might expect to find in the home of a mad scientist. Duke and Happy Child were standing next to a metal table awaiting her arrival. Things were about to go very badly for her, clearly! At the sight of the table she began to resist; it earned her almost no ground at all but a great deal more pain from her captors. They tossed her around like a rag doll. The room was all a blur as they lifted her and jarred her around wildly. She could not accurately fight against them since she could not even figure out her placement in the world; up, or down, she had no idea. Before she knew what was happening cold metal seared into her back again. She could not move fast enough to keep the chains out of their many hands and in seconds she was bound down to the table. Once she was secured everyone but Duke stepped back.

"Very good! Thank you everyone." Duke smiled like he was praising a pet and took the large case from Happy Child.

Duke ruffled the boy's hair and then opened the bag. There was little range of motion available but she could hear the sound of metal clanking against metal; it was like tools clanking in a tool chest. They all stood back, hovering close to the table, staring down at her like spectators before a game. She felt like she was suddenly playing a role in a horror movie and had been cast as the victim. Why did she have the feeling she had become the cult sacrifice? Ichigo gulped back the rising panic laced terror hooking into her spine. Duke set out a strange, long needle and some other strange looking metal instrument on a nearby table. He set the candlestick in front of him next to the other things. Kisshu's sword was retrieved from somewhere in his coat again. Her heart fluttered with fear as he held the blade over the flame, moving it back and forth.

He lifted his blue eyes and looked at his people, "You four will likely need to hold her still for me, the chains won't be enough."

Kisshu hovered in the leaves of the tall tree. He cupped his fingers in a circle as he watched the car slip away down the road. Why had her parents left without her? They seemed quite distraught but they only muttered unintelligibly to each other as they slipped inside the car. They had been in that human hospital all night. Once in a while he caught sight of them but Ichigo was already with a doctor – She must still be with a doctor. Even so, it did not make a lot of sense that her parents left without her. How serious was Ichigo's condition? If it was serious, why did they leave her alone?

He kicked at a branch. Enough with this hiding outside business, it was time to go in. Frustrated fists grasped the pendant to hide the momentary glow as he altered the appearance of his hair, eyes, and ears. Until tonight he had never attempted to enter a hospital for the humans but he was finished with the waiting game. He jumped out of the tree and casually strolled onto the sidewalk to mix in with the humans who were coming and going from the large sliding glass doors.

The doors swished as they slid open, air rushing around them as he entered. Kisshu held his chin up to avoid looking nervous. He allowed the worry to show in his eyes, knowing such signs were alright in a place like this. All he had to avoid was looking nervous because he was out of place. That would come off to them as threatening because they would not understand his reasons. He had to remember that he looked as human as any of them so he would get past them if he remained calm. Before making a move he watched what the other humans did for a few minutes. It appeared that everyone had to check in. If they were looking for someone they inquired at the glassed in desk. There were a group of nurses behind the desks as well as scurrying around in the halls. He listened carefully to the language and phrases the humans used to look for their sick loved ones.

He lingered in the waiting area a few more minutes before he walked to the desk, "Hello!"

A nurse looked up at him, "May I help you?"

"I am looking for my sister, Ichigo Momoiya. Can you tell me where or how she is?"

The nurse eyed him and then clicked a few keys on the computer, "Sorry, there is no such patient staying here."

Kisshu gulped, "What? There must be! My parents brought her here several hours ago! I know they did!"

A few more clicks of the keys, "She was here, but she was discharged and went home."

Kisshu gaped at her, "There must be a mistake! She is not at home! Why do you think I'm here?"

She sighed, "I'm sorry, but that is the record I have for her. You should try calling your parents."

"Look, I already did, and I know your record is wrong. Could you check again? I don't have to see her I just need to know how she is."

The clicking resumed but she shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't have anything to help you. There is a chance she was transferred to a different hospital, but it is not in the record."

Kisshu spun on his heels. What was going on? Ichigo was here, he knew she was! She could have been moved in an ambulance though and he would not have seen. Maybe she had been transferred and that is why they left alone. He would have to go back to the house to search for them. After this much time there was no way to track the car. Something strange was in the air, he felt it. He had the worst feeling something was amiss but he could not put a finger on what it was. Something in him was sending pulsing signals of alert. The moment that woman said Ichigo was not here tingles of foreboding ran from his toes to the top of his head. Where was she? What strange things were going on? He did not like this, not one bit! He should have stayed closer, he would have known what was happening if he had come in sooner.

"Where are you now, Ichigo?" Kisshu breathed as he left the hospital.

He would return after he searched the city. Before he left he would be sure to check her house to see if the hospital was somehow correct or if her parents said where she was. It was always possible she ran away. Maybe her sickness caused some kind of delirium in her. Whatever it was that happened, he would find her no matter what. She only went to the hospital! People were not supposed to go missing from the hospital!

Her body was trembling uncontrollably. Between what he referred to as "cauterizing" the wounds with Kisshu's flame heated sword and then stitching them closed it had been an ordeal. He said he was a doctor so of course he had to give her stitches. She knew what he was really doing – This was all in order to "convince" her to go along with whatever crazy scheme he had. At least Sweet Juliet pulled Ichigo's clothing back into proper placement after Duke finished – It added insult to injury having her skirt pulled far enough up that all of them could see her underwear. It felt like he was objectifying her yet again, treating her like a toy. Blue Bayou and the others had held her still while Duke worked. Her wrists and arms ached nearly as much as the wounds did from her struggles against shackles and the unforgiving holds they all had on her. Even Happy Child turned out to be a lot stronger than he looked. She had struggled even though she knew she could not free herself; she could not help struggling because the pain made it impossible to hold still.

"There, now you won't bleed to death on us." Duke gazed into her glazed eyes.

Ichigo was too weakened to respond in any form, too exhausted to lift her head.

The chains slid free and he leaned over her, "You won't be fighting anymore, will you?"

With what little strength she had in her she glared up at him – He knew she was drained enough that she could not fight and therefore she was not a threat.

"All of that out of the way though," He produced a syringe, "it is time we started awakening your power, Mew Ichigo."

"W-what are you doing?" She whimpered.

"It's alright! This should not be too bad. I don't anticipate it being painful for you, you only need to relax for me."

Ichigo could not even manage to pull away as the needle moved toward her neck. She winced as it slowly sunk in, sliding like butter through her skin and sharply making its way through the muscles until she felt it thunk against her vertebra. He cautioned her again to remain still when she sucked in a hard breath. She could feel the liquid flow hot through her veins like liquid fire. She felt it mix with her blood and flow rapidly through the areas surrounding her neck and shoulders. Her fingers wrapped impulsively into his sleeve as she felt it travel to her brain. She cried out and rolled, still clutching his sleeve.

"Easy, don't fight it. Relax, Mew Ichigo, and it will go easier for you." Duke murmured into her ear.

Relax, what did he mean relax? Did he have liquid fire running through his body and brain? See how well he relaxed with an injection like this! He was just like a doctor, always say it would be "just a pinch" or nonsense like that. She shrieked, back arched, eyes close tightly as the terrible burning spread over her brain. She saw sudden flashes of light but then it finally turned to a solid, blinding glow. The table was gone, she did not feel it anymore. She did not know what was happening; she only knew she wished she were dead. The only thing she could feel was the terrible pain wracking her body.

Her body was glowing now as the five of them watched her. The reaction was a bit more than he expected, but not a negative aspect yet – He expected this to be much calmer and simpler than this. She screamed and squirmed as her body hovered in the air. Her Mew Mew form appeared and her tail lashed wildly. Tears streamed out of the corners of her eyes. It was fascinating to watch this marvelous turn of events. He knew what was creating this dramatic and violent reaction inside her and it pleased him to know that he was right. The four youths seemed almost fearful as they watched but none of them spoke. They trusted him enough to believe he knew what he was doing. The girls suffering seemed interminable, but still they watched silently. Their loyalty was unwavering no matter what he did.

The light began to fade signaling the end to her reaction. Duke quickly stepped forward, carefully softening her descent by dropping with her. He rested her still form on his knee and cradled her carefully. Her eyes were closed, nearly as if in death. She was still breathing though so it was fine. Her Mew transformation had not dissipated yet though the way he expected it to. To ensure she could not fight when she revived he would have to be sure to chain her well. He would put her on a bed this time though, rather than putting her body through the stressful position the wall would induce.

"Duke, what do we do with her now?" Royal highness moved a bit closer, cold eyes fixed on her.

He stood, little girl resting against him, "She will need a lot of rest at the present so we will keep her in one of the rooms. She has to be chained securely of course, but she must be allowed to rest. I can't have her dying on us yet."

The four of them followed as Duke left the room. They switched off the lights and the door bolted closed with a thunk. Unless invited to enter, no one but Duke went in that room. Unfortunately for her, they guessed that girl would be visiting it again soon enough though. Her time with them would not be any more pleasant than when she was attacked in the outside world. Of course, in here, he had unlimited access to her.

AN: Ok, so I did use the A la Mode villains. Remember, I told you guys all the characters I used belonged to TMM. Admitedly, since there was SO little to really go on, I kinda made them into what I think they should have been. I did not care for A la Mode, I only read it in hopes that the bad guys would be developed. I was waiting for that because they had SO much promise! I thought they were utterly under done... so, I fixed it. If you liked them as they were... I'm sorry ahead of time.

Changes: 1. Duke is evil like he should be (I practically made him my own... I drew from what he was in the manga but did not stay on script) 2. I gave Blue Bayou another ability... considering they developed him not at alllllll 3. I showed Happy Child's emo, very strange self that the manga alluded to, the side other than the smiley one.

You will see more later, I made a bunch.
Hope you all don't hate me over this chapter...