Love Is a Cute Emotion
Dear readers,
Thank you very much for stopping by and reading this story. I would like to hereby thank you all for your amazing comments, reviews, follows and kudos! c(o)/ 3
At long last, here is the second part of this arc's finale! Wohooo! Is it the end, though? ABSOLUTELY NOT! We still have 5+ chapters to go, so stay tuned for more! As for me, life has been slightly hectic as of lately, but that does not mean that this story is dead, or that we are about to end here. Hell no! There's so much more that needs to be unraveled. And it will, you bet!
The music I used for this part is Kodak's 'Hope You Know' and My Chemical Romance's 'The Foundations of Decay.'
DrDark7 - Thank you for your comment! That is a really interesting observation to make. With the way how I have the story so far planned, there are no winners, nor losers, indeed!
Lucero Perez - Thank you for your comment! There is a lot of drama in this chapter, that is for sure! After all, this is not an ordinary romance, quite the opposite. Besides, we still have some more chapters to go, so things might turn out differently in the very end.
ColorfulFishes - Thank you for your comment! I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying this story so much. This is not the end, mind you. We still have a lot to unpack!
Lulyy Elizabeth Vaca - Thank you for your comment! I am glad that you liked the previous update and I can only hope that you will enjoy reading this one as well! Let me know your thoughts!
OfDragonsandRoses - Thank you for your comment! I am so happy to hear that you enjoy reading this story so much! This chapter was a really long one, hence the split. Let me know what you think!
AnimeRoxx - Thank you for your comment! I am so excited to hear how you feel about this update. Things are not always what they seem and this story does not have exactly neatly delineated heroes and/or villains, as the line between these two categories is often rather blurred.
snobbism - Thank you for your comments! I am elated to hear that this story got you so hooked! We still have some 5+ chapters to go, so be ready to read some more!
Kishlover985 - Thank you for your comment! I am sorry for taking so long with these past few updates. I will try to better myself! Sometimes, it's hard, though, when life gets busy I hope this update will make your day!
As always, please enjoy and review!
I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew
"Shit."
Ryou sank back into his chair, his hand gripping his blonde hair in an erratic fashion.
His breathing was as unsteady as his heartbeat, while his blue gaze, desperate and frantic, strayed momentarily from the sizzling monitor to quickly assess the damage of the unknown impact that the Café Mew Mew had suffered not a mere minute ago.
What once looked as an organized work station, always clinically non-personal and highly clean, now resembled nothing but a heap of disarrayed pieces of furniture, debris and loose cables hanging from every direction among it all. The fluorescent light which had usually glowed high above Ryou's head currently lay shattered on the floor, setting everything within its vicinity ablaze with its hungry scarlet flames of fire. The computers, or what was left of them, all destroyed and dead.
Ryou clenched his fists, incapable of stopping the tremble of his fingers any longer, as his mind began to feel raw and hazy with the decadent images surrounding them.
"Ryou!"
Keiichiro's voice registered in the latter's brain only vaguely, as if he had heard him speaking but from a distance.
A voice completely detached from his owner's body.
"Ryou," Keiichiro tried again, more urgently this time, placing his hands on the younger male's shoulder and shaking him out of his temporary stupor with a little more success.
"We have to leave. Now," the brunette said, with as much calmness in his tone as he could have mastered.
Hearing this, Ryou's eyes went wide for a second, while he stared at his companion, a mixture of disbelief and confusion playing across his face. It took a few additional moments until comprehension ultimately dawned upon him and his features screwed into a painful grimace.
"But," Ryou choked out, his voice uncharacteristically hoarse and unsure, "This was my father's project… I can't leave now," he replied, with his gaze fastened on Keiichiro's worrisome expression, "His legacy…," the blonde trailed off, as his eyes, void and disoriented, continued to search in his best friend's brown gaze.
"I know," Keiichiro smiled at him reassuringly, "But your father wouldn't want you to die here, Ryou. I am sure of that. Now, please. We have to leave," the older male reasoned and tugged at the blonde's arm some more, finally forcing him to stand up from his chair.
Still in deep shock, Ryou stumbled forward, but quickly steadied himself by leaning against Keiichiro's shoulder with a pounding heart.
He looked around himself once more, noting the ubiquitous cracks of electricity from the cables in between the vivid flames that were gradually consuming everything he had worked so hard for with each passing minute. This whole place was without doubt going to collapse soon; or explode, Ryou could no longer decide which would come first. But, somehow, for the first time in his life, him not knowing did not bother him. How exactly this place was going to disappear was irrelevant, after all.
The issue was not how but why?
Was he not prepared enough? Did he not invest enough of his resources in the security measures? Could he have done something differently? Was this what was supposed to happen from the very start? How the Mew Project would end regardless of his valiant effort? A dream forever lost at the clutches of death and fire?
"It's ok. I will get you out of here, don't worry," Keiichiro's soothing words rang in Ryou's ears, as he felt the grip on his arm tightened, following the brunette's lead almost on autopilot.
In a way, nothing had changed ever since that fatal incident, at least in Ryou's opinion. It was, in fact, almost entirely the same situation like many years ago. Only this time, his parents did not die. How could they? They were already dead alright. The sole thing dying now was the project per se. The legacy; the burden Ryou had decided to carry with himself; the reason why he had kept on living.
And if the Mew project no longer existed, was there any reason for him to stay alive?
Caught up in his own head, Ryou watched, with somewhat absentminded fascination, how the flames around them spread dangerously all over the place, limiting their means of escape quite significantly.
"This way," Keiichiro shouted, while he yanked at Ryou's arm again, causing the blonde to turn in the opposite direction that led towards the main entrance through the kitchen door.
And then, quite unexpectedly, another huge impact had hit the Café, making the ground under their feet move and shift again and forcing both Ryou and Keiichiro to fall down flat-face.
"What the hell was that?" Ryou murmured, as he strived to regain his breathing on the floor.
Yet, somehow, in his mind, the blonde was waware that it was merely a rhetorical question, since he knew precisely what was happening. He just was not ready to admit it to himself yet. The invasion; something which Ryou had never truly expected to encounter until earlier today, was close. He could feel it in the air, as he wiped the blood from his cheek, smearing the red liquid all over his left hand in the process.
"Ryou, are you alright?" Keiichiro leapt back on his feet first, helping the latter back up as well.
"Yea," Ryou nodded weakly, while he continued to stare at the giant hole in the ceiling which no longer obscured the view of the open sky in awe.
"Good. We have to-"
Before Keiichiro could finish his sentence, though, a blinding blue strap of light appearing seemingly out of nowhere flashed in front of Ryou's eyes, completely filling his sight, as another powerful earthquake had struck the ground beneath their feet with an ear-shattering sound.
Ryou's pupils went wide at the sudden loud crash, which involved all blood, heartfelt screaming, as well as a burning sensation somewhere on the top of his head, inadvertently blurring everything in his mind.
It all happened so fast.
Ryou was about to fall forward, he was fairly certain of it. Disoriented and consumed by various feelings, of which the tantalizing pain in his nape was the most prominent one, he was going to fall and hit the marble floor in the next second. Yet, a strong push into his ribs had changed the direction of his landing and, with a bit of force, sent him flying. Away. The sensation of flying through the air and consequently crashing down, hard, on the muddy grass, short of breath, and with a throbbing pain in both his head and stomach; Ryou could not remember much, but he could distinctly remember that.
Along with the wave of shock and niggling suspicion that something was gravely wrong the moment he looked skyward and spotted the hundreds of extraterrestrial metal spaceships emerging in his line of vision from every possible direction.
And still, that was not the real reason why his throat had gone dry so suddenly.
He realized that something wasn't right when he rolled over and gawked, thoroughly paralyzed, at what was left of the once magnificent sight ahead of him. The sight which no longer held his headquarters - his home - Café Mew Mew in it. No.
There was presently only debris slowly devoured by fiery, omnipotent flames. Nothing else; a state of utter and complete dilapidation.
And, still, regardless of any of that, Ryou could tell, with almost astonishing alacrity even, that among all the chaos and confusion, there was a human hand conspicuously protruding out of what once had been the main entrance.
A hand that had saved him far too many times to remember, and whose warmth he was, apparently, never to feel again.
The blonde sucked in a breath.
"Keiichiro…"
With his fair matted hair sticking to his face, Ryou ripped his moist-eyed gaze away and lowered his head, unable to contain the hot tears anymore.
Cling. Clang. Cling. Cling. Whoosh.
There were, of course, many instances in Ichigo's life when she had felt like a total coward.
When she hadn't told Masaya how she had really felt about their poor sex life.
When she had continuously lied about her affair with Kisshu to everyone.
When she had pretended to be a normal hormonal teenager, when, in reality, she was anything but.
Or when she had cheated on her English test, fully conscious that there was no way she would pass otherwise.
Was it, then, the prickling feeling of cowardice why she had set her mind to fight no matter what till the very end? To atone for her previous lies and sins? Or was it just her guilty conscience that had spurred her on? And, if she had wised up earlier and confronted her issues head on for a change, could things have ended up differently? Or would it all turn out all the same?
These and many more prodding questions had kept on bugging Ichigo's mind relentlessly, as she continued to hurl one attack at the alien opposite to her after another.
With not much success, she might add.
Why did things have to be like this?
Was it really her karma? Her punishment? And what would be left of her once this all was over? And of Earth? Of her friends? Moe and Miwa? And her family, for that matter? Was there even a valid reason to keep on fighting, really? When everything was pretty much over and the path of her life decided either way?
"You're getting slow. Are you tired already?" a taunting voice came somewhere from behind her, along with a tell-tale sound of his imminent teleportation.
Noting the Cheshire grin slowly stretching on his lips, Ichigo gritted her teeth.
Yes. There was a god-damn good enough reason to fight this fight, as petty as it might have rendered to be.
To wipe that mocking, smug grin off of his stupid alien face.
And for that sole reason, Ichigo was ready to fight until her very last breath.
"Fuck you!" she turned around briskly and, upon clenching her fingers around her Strawberry Bell tightly, she slammed it as hard as she could straight into Kisshu's nose.
Of course, she was going to snap at the slightest provocation. Of course. That was a given now.
But, based on his outward reaction and the painful hiss that had followed her attack a second later, she knew that it was worth it. And that her aim was not as skewed as her moral barometer seemed to be. Not yet, at least.
"Whoa, you still have a lot of fire in you," Kisshu smirked evilly, as he spat some blood on the ground before fastening his hypnotizing golden gaze back onto her, "I like that."
Ichigo swallowed thickly, noting the change in his tone, as well as the small trickle of blood that was still coming down his nose. It wasn't until she met his eyes, however, that her skin had started to crawl all anew. The manner with which his golden irises bore holes into her body had reminded her instantly why she had ever decided to cave in to her desire and allow him to-
No.
She could not think along those lines. And definitely not now, after everything he had done.
Why did it seem so easy, then, to forget about everything and make the very same mistakes all over again?
"Don't lose focus, kitten. We're not quite finished here yet," Kisshu let out a snicker, as he reemerged in front of her and, gripping her firmly by her shoulders, he sent her flying against the thick trunk of the nearby tree with one deft kick in her core.
"F-fuck," Ichigo heaved, striving to catch her breath after the heavy impact.
She felt her consciousness momentarily dipping in and out, while her vision became blurry. The sharp gravel and little splinters which were pressing into the soft skin of her back served as the only indicators that she was still there, somewhat alive.
'There surely will be marks tomorrow,' Ichigo thought distractedly before another thought, far more distressing, had crossed her mind, causing her to immediately sober up, 'Will there even be tomorrow to begin with?'
Propping herself on her elbows, Ichigo peered at Kisshu from her awkwardly sprawled position on the ground. Panting heavily and with her legs wide apart, she watched, with a slight start, as he quickly reappeared directly on top of her, his eyes ablaze and his sai prodding at the delicate tissue of her neck.
"Blue panties today? What is it? A laundry day?" the alien pulled a disgusted face, which riled up Ichigo instantly.
Forgetting her pain, she swatted his sai away with her Strawberry Bell and aimed to kick him in his stomach, but Kisshu figured as much and jumped back in the nick of time.
"You pervert! Don't look in between my legs!" Ichigo yelled, a mixture of anger and embarrassment mingling in her voice.
He flung her a dark look, his golden shimmering eyes crinkling into slits, as he narrowed them at her and Ichigo couldn't tear her gaze away, completely hypnotized.
"Then don't spread them so willingly for me," the alien countered frostily and something in that statement had sent an instant cooling chill down Ichigo's spine, as well as an almost physical jolt of electricity.
The time around them seemed to have come to a peculiar, grounding halt, while they stared each other down, unable to break the eye contact. Something strange had passed between them then and, for a moment, it appeared as if there was no death threating fight anymore, or to begin with, and that they simply ended up somewhere at someplace in each other's company for no apparent reason whatsoever. It felt as though, all of a sudden, the raw need of fighting had unanimously drained out of their system, while only confusion and something deep and explicable prevailed.
A still, frozen image; delicate and ephemeral.
The only thing that Ichigo was presently hearing was the sound of her own uneven breathing, as his gaze briefly slid towards her front and further down her body, making her mind hazy and her cheeks hot, before it returned upwards to meet her uncertain eyes. With her heart hammering unsteadily and her palms sweaty with perspiration, Ichigo wondered how it was even possible that, of all things, she was currently thinking about how nicely the emerald green of his hair accentuated the ivory in his pale skin. And then, as clear as day, she knew that she did not want to fight him; not anymore. Quite the opposite. She wanted him all over herself, touching her, kissing her, sucking, biting and groping like he always did.
That was what Ichigo wanted the most and, as a leader of the Tokyo Mew Mew, she felt deeply ashamed for her inner desires more than ever.
Not even Ryou's reproachful words could break the spell.
It was too late for that.
She knew she could never hurt Kisshu. There was no way she could truly mortally wound someone who could make her feel so good about herself. And her face must have somehow relayed this fact to the alien because he let his sais disappear and, in a split of a second, approached her, slipping his shirt over his head in the process.
He kissed her roughly and pulled her panties down immediately, without as much as a word.
"K-kisshu," Ichigo breathed out at his out of character impatience, but he used that chance to delve his tongue in her mouth, instantly deepening the kiss they had shared.
With a loud rip, he tore the rest of her attire in half, leaving her naked body fully exposed to his hungry eyes.
"Sit on my face," he rasped, as he lay down and pulled her hips on him.
She followed his hands full of skill and expertise and soon found herself moaning unabashedly at his administrations, inwardly begging for more. As though he could read her mind, she felt him quickly slip from underneath her and position himself directly at her entrance before he entered her in one swift motion. The all too familiar glitch of sensations that had struck her core not a second later was a little too good to be true. And, despite her morals, loyalties and rising mania that her psyche was still currently experiencing, her body was already humming along with his lead just fine, without any apparent support from her brain whatsoever.
Ichigo gasped when he suddenly pulled out and stuck it in her ass instead.
"Thought I will make it special for you today, with us taking over your planet and all."
"K-kisshu-," he left a trail of wet kisses down her throat, while his right hand found its way to her breast, squeezing it lightly.
"Breathe, Ichigo. I need you relaxed. You're gonna like it, trust me. I can already tell."
"N-no! And you're too big for this!" she protested vehemently, earning a light chuckle.
"Thanks, but that's not true. Give it a second, it'll feel great soon. Besides, your body let me in with literally no restraint. That itself is a proof that you want it. Maybe your mind's opposing the idea, Ichigo, but your body is not. Now, spread your legs, kitten, and let the rest on me. Was there any time that I did not deliver, hm?"
Well, that was a fair point on his behalf, which was extremely difficult to argue against; still, this whole thing was entirely questionable, all the more when Ichigo had never done it before. But, again, she had never had better sex with anyone but her mortal enemy. So after some more careful deliberation on her part, she did as he had asked for and, soon enough, she felt him start slowly rocking back and forth, causing her to instantly regret her decision.
Ichigo had tried her hardest to ignore the pain that had jolted through her body whenever he moved inside her. She liked the way how his hand lingered on the small of her back, keeping her in place, yes. Because it felt reassuring. Just the idea that he was there with her, for her, just as his mere voice was incredibly calming to her senses. But the growing pain that was coursing through her muscles with every single one of his movements was not at all pleasant. It was downright uncomfortable, actually.
Quite suddenly, he bent over and kissed her cheek.
"If you don't begin to like it in the next two minutes, I will stop. Do we have a deal?"
She nodded meekly at him and he grinned, easing himself back into the upright position.
"So the tree hugger never fucked you in the ass, I take it?" Ichigo blushed at such a brazen comment, completely taken aback by his nonchalance and lack of propriety.
"Excuse me?!" she exclaimed rather loudly, but then knowing it was only Kisshu that was asking her, she let it go and decided to answer him sincerely.
"Hm-hm no, you see. Masaya was really not very..."
"Creative?" Kisshu supplied, his grin slightly widening.
"Adventurous and open to experiments, thank you," Ichigo remarked dryly, rolling her eyes, even though he could not see it as she was facing away from him.
"Why am I not surprised," the alien let out a soft laugh, whether in regards to her poor choice of a boyfriend or her evident irritation, Ichigo could not tell.
But somewhere along the bickering conversation that the two of them had shared and during which Ichigo felt the powerful urge to kick him growing harder and harder, she began, oddly enough, to relax.
It was so weird.
This was probably the first time they had actually ever talked during sex, which was weird in itself, but then talking about her ex-boyfriend with non-existent sex skills, and, simultaneously, a new possible enemy considering the latest events and surprising revelations, when she had Kisshu still inside her was beyond the point of bizarre, as well as ridiculous.
Nevertheless, there was also something very soothing about the whole exchange. She was so perplexed by how gentle and patient he was with her, as opposed to all the other times when he had screwed her senseless without any second thought.
It must have been around the time when they talked about the familiar, along with the rubbing of his hand on her neck and upper back that her muscles had eventually completely relaxed and enabled him to hit the spot she had no idea existed.
"Why am I not surprised that, all things considered, you do not have the slightest decency not to ask such intimate quest—ah-"
She gave out a whimper and he, sensing it, hit it again and again, until she started moaning in pleasure.
Ichigo glanced back at him over her shoulder, and, sure enough, Kisshu was wearing the smuggest grin. In the next second, she felt his hot breath tickling her neck, as he leaned down and playfully bit her in her ear.
"You should like it, it's a combo of your two personal favorites, from behind and semi-fast, semi-slow," he winked at her devilishly and Ichigo cursed at him under her breath, as another loud moan slipped from her lips.
How could he remember that? And why did it surprise her so much that he actually paid attention to what she was saying? Why Masaya had no basic idea what she enjoyed the most and Kisshu could list everything from the top of his head? It was so bewildering, the notion that he knew so much about her and how exactly her own body worked, almost as if he could see deep inside her and knew precisely how she was built from within.
She shuddered when she felt his hand unexpectedly move down from her chest and slither between her thighs, making sure that she could acquire all the pleasure she could get out of him. Too lost, Ichigo could not contain herself any longer. There was literally nothing he could do to her that she would hate. It seemed like he knew every inch of her body better than she did as well as how to trigger all the inner sensations within mere seconds. Once he sensed that she was relaxed enough, he sped up until he was back to roughly fucking her again.
"Do you like it?" he asked even though the answer to his question was somewhat unambiguous at this point, since Ichigo was already crying out his name out loud.
"Mm, y-yes. Like t-that."
"Buckle your hips against me then, show me how much you like it."
Like it? No, she loved it. She loved him. And everything he had done to her.
What was this peculiar emotion that had been burning somewhere deep inside her chest again?
Of course, she could be dumb and pretend that it was anger, or a spurt of momentary passion, which was currently intoxicating each and every cell of her system. But Ichigo was far more mature to recognize a flaw when she had one; and her major flaw was pretty telling. It was love. Her desperate love for him, which manifested itself in every single of her moans and whimpers for him.
There was no need to lie to herself anymore; however painful it was to admit that, it was the truth.
She loved him with everything there was to her. Even if he wanted to destroy the planet Earth, even if he was willing to hurt everyone she had ever considered dear to her, with every neuron in her body, Ichigo couldn't help it but hopelessly love him.
It sounded pretty crazy, especially in terms of the fact that not too long ago, they both had tried to kill each other yet again.
But now, everything was forgotten and only pleasure and strong feelings mattered.
In a hindsight, Ichigo had no idea how she had gotten from hating him to desperately loving him, but such was the case. And she never wanted this moment to stop, too worried what would happen once they were finished. This was their little world, secluded and away from any prying eyes. It was a safe environment wherein she could completely trust him and wherein they could pretend that they were not after each other's necks, but rather indulged in each other's company.
"God, you're. So wet. It's unreal," Kisshu let out dreamily, totally invested in the task at hand.
"K-kisshu, don't s-stop!" she moaned.
"Was not. Intending to," he assured her darkly between his ragged breaths and her knees buckled at such an outright declaration.
They fell down on the ground, but did not slow their movements in the least bit, quite on the contrary. Ichigo reveled in the way how his body pressed into hers, the feeling of having him on top of her; being so close to him; indulging in him through every of her senses, all the while moving with him and feeling the fingers on his other hand tightening around her wrist with each of his following thrusts.
"Mmhm, l-like that. Just l-like that!"
She had a feeling he had to know.
She was so fucking transparent, it was beyond embarrassing. But why had he never said anything? Why had he never broached the topic, if he knew that she had been harboring those strong feelings for him? These feelings that oscillated on far deeper and solid basis than mere lust, or temporary infatuation. She wanted him. She wanted all of him. And not in the same way she had wanted him that one evening in that dark alley when he had fucked her brains out for the first time.
No.
That was not enough.
Naked and perspiring under his touch, Ichigo knew, then and there, that he was giving her what she had once asked for, but not what she presently desired. Not anymore. Now, she was reaching for something deeper, past-skin level. More meaningful. Something resting on the very core of Kisshu's existence.
Because she wanted his body, his brain, but, most importantly, Ichigo wanted his heart.
Why was she clinging so desperately to the idea that maybe if she confessed to him, he would confess his love for her as well? They were not meant to have a happy ending. No. From the very afternoon when their worlds collided, there could not be a happy ending. They were doomed from the very beginning. And, yet, she wanted to believe the opposite; to keep this moment forever, even if it meant destroying her own spirit along the way.
In all sincerity, Ichigo could not quite tell even now what exactly had actually possessed her to let him fuck her whenever he pleased. She was being a fool; a sex-deprived monster that needed mending alright. But, above all else, she needed love. His love. And no matter how hard Ichigo had tried to suppress these forbidden feelings; to let them reside in the deepest chambers of her wailing heart, fearful what he might respond, if he knew, she couldn't bear the aching anymore. These three words, which were capable of carving deep wounds like no other, and promises Ichigo was sure neither of them was able to keep were haunting her senses. Everything seemed so pointless without him in her life. She was alive because of him; she was everything she had ever dreamed of only thanks to him; he was the hope that kept her going during her darkest hours, bringing her a world where she had never been before. He was her savior who had restored the last of her sanity to her insane mind; a ghost of the things she had always wanted and could never truly have; the ideal of a man she loved but could never reach; a pretty dream that was bound to become a living nightmare.
Ichigo was fully conscious of the fact that whatever semblance of logic she might have still retained dictated to keep these emotions strictly at bay; or to, at least, strive and desperately conceal them inside her, now and forever. Quite possibly, this could be her last chance to harden up, one last time, and even try and slit his throat, because that was what she was expected to do. To slit his throat, instead of falling in love with the enemy. She should never dare to say these words out loud and to him, of all people; and definitely not during the Cyniclon world domination of all times, when all she was supposed to feel was hatred and contempt for the nation that had officially set their eyes on destroying humanity. She should not feel it, not towards him, not one bit.
But she did.
She felt it, she felt everything, loud and clear, in spite of what she was meant to be feeling. And regardless of their respective roles with him being a ruthless soldier, entrusted with a mission to destroy, and her a guardian whose goal was to save and protect, at that moment, when she was nearing her climax, with his mouth on her neck, his fingers curling deep inside her, his whole body and thought process preoccupied only with her, concentrating solely on her pleasure, praising her for any outward reaction she had let out, it seemed perfectly reasonable to Ichigo to tell him how she felt about it all. How she felt about him. Since not telling him anything at all out of fear somehow felt far worse than losing Earth to Cyniclons thousand times in a row. She so desperately wanted to tell him how much she had loved him at long last; but, more than anything else in the world, she wanted to hear him say it back.
"K-kisshu-"
Summoning all of her courage, Ichigo squeezed her eyes shut and just before she sensed her first powerful surge of orgasm hitting her, she finally let those three forbidden words escape her mouth.
"I love you."
It was a soft murmur, almost inaudible to human ear. She honestly doubted he could even hear her, not to mention recognize her slurred speech amid all the heat and frenzy that had built up between them, but she was proud that she had said this one completely insignificant sentence out loud at last.
And, then, pleasure took over and she could not remember much more from the following sixty seconds afterward, except for the various bodily sensations which were violently shaking her core.
Collapsing on the grass, all Ichigo could hear was the ever present sound of her loud pants filling her ears, while the sheer contours of the world around her gradually reemerged, causing the momentary spell of the moment to slowly fade away. Her senses soon snapped back to normal, as the white light previously dotting her vision fully disappeared. But despite the significant rise of her hormonal levels, Ichigo could not help but sense that something was horribly wrong. This feeling only intensified right after she had let out a content sigh and turned around to finally face him.
And that was when the reality check had hit her with full force.
His eyes were listless, averted to the ground in shame, as he hurriedly put on clothes which was haphazardly scattered around them.
"K-kisshu?" she asked unevenly.
"Please don't say to me stuff like that," he cut her off briskly in a voice quite different from his usual cocky one.
Ichigo immediately bristled at his tone, so calm and detached, almost deceptively so, realizing straight away that not only had he heard her, but also that her confession had not quite had the desired effect on him, as she had expected.
'Thank you, I love you too, Ichigo.'
Evidently, she was getting none of that.
Ichigo propped herself on the heels of her palms, still very much naked to his sight.
"Wh-why is that?" she peered at him anxiously from the ground, noting, with somewhat mild admiration, how the rays of the setting sun filtering through the remaining treetops played over the even planes of his angular face.
Kisshu stared at her blankly, completely motionless, and it took a while until his eyes once again hardened and he eventually replied.
"Because love is a cute emotion, kitten. That sort of emotion I am not able to experience due to my line of work and especially not with you."
A deafening silence followed his cold response, making all of Ichigo's collective hair stand on an end, when she recoiled as if struck, her own breath petering out on her. In the distance, she could discern a cricket start to chirp, as she continued to stare at him, transfixed with shock for a minute or two, while her heart beat rang loudly in her ears. Her eyes, suddenly alert and frantic, darted between his, mentally deciphering the message and its various implications. However, the second his harsh words fully registered in her brain, something deeply-seated had painfully constricted in Ichigo's lungs and caused her heart to shatter into a million pieces all at once. And, all of a sudden, an unexpected sense of nausea enveloped her thoroughly, making it rather hard to avoid puking.
In truth, Ichigo expected a lot from him. Mockery, laughter, perhaps even teasing, but not this sheer denial. The immediate rejection without batting as much as an eyelash; and the offbeat coldness with which she had just been confronted had left a sickening taste in her mouth. A taste she pointedly hated, since it had made her feel used and snubbed. Why? How could he? Was all this about lying and pretending to him? Did he need to distract her only to get information about Tokyo Mew Mew's weaknesses? Was Ryou right about everything? Was it all only fake from the very beginning? Was it his job?! Did he truly have no pleasure in it whatsoever?
Because it was one thing to use her for her body to gain personal sexual gratification, but quite another if he merely did it all to follow his orders and have his ends meet.
Ichigo swallowed the burning lump in her throat, feeling the shiver chase up her back. With her heart slamming a mile a minute inside her chest, she glowered at him heatedly and it was only a matter of few additional second until her emotions completely consumed her and her rage took precedence over anything else.
"S-so, this was- this was really a JOB to you?!" Ichigo spat back, venom practically dripping in her voice, as she started to feel every part of her chip and break inside.
"Pretty much," Kisshu smirked, taking in her growing outrage, his sense of humor seemingly back, "But I would lie if I said that I did not enjoy it," he chuckled and Ichigo wanted to skin him alive.
"You son of a bitch," she tried to slap him, but Kisshu's hand caught her wrist before she could even strike.
"Ichigo, we are enemies. No matter how you look at this, it would never work. So save yourself the trouble of thinking it would."
"B-but…b-but," she felt her eyes watering, her voice cracking a little.
Why was she so desperate for him all of a sudden? Was it because the whole world was turning into a sea of chaos because of her selfish desires? Because he was showing her such a cold shoulder instantly after such an intense and intimate flare-up of passion? Was she angry because she had caved in and let him sex her up instead of listening to the rational part of her brain which had been always screaming at her that this would happen in the end? Or was it simply because he had once more fucked her senseless and she could not imagine him not doing it with her ever again?
"Now, let's not be dramatic, shall we? We just toyed with each other a little, eased each other's boredom a bit. And it fit my plan perfectly, eh?" he grinned widely at her totally flustered expression, which soon twisted into a deep, furious scowl.
"You used me. To steal Earth from us. You FUCKING used me, you jerk!" she screamed in words barely repressing her hysteria.
"Perhaps," Kisshu snickered in the same conversational tone as before, barren of any hint of guilt or shame at his actions, as he took her chin in between his fingers and tilted it upwards, the distinct upward slant to corners of his mouth, "But you're a big girl. You'll get over it."
This time, Ichigo lashed out quick enough so that her hand successfully collided with his face and she ended up slapping him. Hard.
Kisshu stumbled back, holding his cheek in genuine shock, his own incredulity coupled with anger presently burning in his eyes. It was merely with forced calmness that he spoke next.
"I used you for intel and you used me for my body. It was consentual, Ichigo. I never forced you into anything and I never promised you the happy ending or romance that you are trying to conjure up now. It was a relationship of mutual benefit that we had. And, as any other business relation, it has to come to an end. The end is now," he replied icily.
"You sick bastard! I HATE YOU," she tried to attack him again, yet Kisshu had already finished putting back on all of his remaining clothes and floated high in the air, safely out of her reach.
She watched him, squinting, with angry tears rolling down her cheeks, as he levitated above her some six feet from the ground, the evening sunlight bringing out the molten gold in his eyes.
"I will not kill you, Ichigo. But I will not stop anybody else who potentially would. If you are lucky, you will end up like Pai's test subject for scientific experiments."
"Why don't you come down here and say it to my face, you fucking coward!" Ichigo yelled some more, her voice rising to a high-strained pitch.
Leaning his chin against his hand, Kisshu sighed in mock sadness until his signature grin, good and broad, resurfaced on his pursed lips, "God, you're so pretty when you cry. What a shame."
He gave her one last appreciative look and then, without another word, vanished through the ripple in the air.
Clutching at her sides, Ichigo's knees finally gave out, sending her straight down to the ground as a consequence. Her hands immediately flew to her face, covering her eyes with her shuddering fingers. For a long moment, it made no sense. Nothing made sense to her anymore. But when she looked up, alarmed by the strange unexpected sound from somewhere around her, and her vision became instantly filled with a plethora of alien spaceships shining brightly above the sky horizon, the quiver in her lips ultimately ceased, while everything in her mind fell back in place.
As in some kind of strange, otherworldly trance, Ichigo observed, with baited breath, how the unfamiliar metal objects glided and glistened against the crimson setting sun in front of her, before she opened her mouth wide apart and, unable to control the rising bile of emotions in her throat anymore, immediately threw up.