Come

Psalm 22: Enormous Damage

Ikuto:

Supposedly there was a TV show back one hundred years ago.

Actually, there were a lot of them like this. Ones that show the nice guy confessing in a hilarious way, and everything was okay. She would say yes or no. Yes meant he got a girlfriend. No meant he would cry and eventually move on.

The nice guy didn't believe that he didn't deserve the girl. The nice guy didn't hurt the girl.

This is real life. I don't deserve Elsa; she deserves someone better.

And because of me, she got hurt.

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It had happened maybe a few days after we arrived from the competition. I walked downstairs to hear Elsa saying, "Ikuto, you are the handsomest man in the country!"

My heart swelled. She thought of me like that?

"Ikuto, you have a beautiful voice!"

My heart thumped. I am probably foolish for getting excited, but why was Elsa saying all this? She didn't even see that I was downstairs.

"Ikuto, when you 'rescued' Elsa, it felt like I was watching a fairy tale and the knight truly loved the princess! Aww, how sweet!"

I rushed into the room she was in. Huh?

The room was filled with magic letters. Elsa was holding one, and she looked up at me. "Oh hi Ikuto. Ever since you performed that day, you've had a lot of fans."

"You have a lot of fans too Elsa." Vlad held up one and started to read it. "'Your voice is like an angel! Marry me!' Well, looks like I've got to find a bat and start protecting my sister."

My heart fell. Of course she didn't think of me like that. It would never be like that.

To distract myself, I started to read some of the letters. It was something I used to do: being in my own world, avoiding everyone else so that I won't get hurt.

"Ikuto?"

I looked up. Everyone else was gone, and Elsa was the only one in the room. It was somehow much darker.

I smirked, hiding back my feelings. "What, you couldn't leave me alone? Better yet, you're a stalker who's been looking at me for the past couple of hours."

She rolled her eyes. "Mrs. Luther says it's time for lunch. Oh, you better stop reading; it's dark and probably going to rain soon."

I looked away from her. She was staring to smell good...I mean, it's not good; she's not a female cat, and it's not spring yet.

"Ikuto?" She asked again, confusion in her voice.

(A/N Ikuto is going to attack Elsa. If you can't brave that sort of stuff, skip to the next *****)

My body moved on its own. I grabbed her shoulders and slammed her against the wall.

I nestled my head in her neck. Her smell.... like the ocean.... or maybe flowers. Either way, it was hypnotizing. I moved my hands down her squirming body and kissed her neck, hoping to get more of that taste.

All I could see was a blur. All I could smell was her. All I could hear was a bell.

********

I stopped. What was I doing? That bell was the one on my neck. The bell that she gave me as a present. Because she trusted me.

And I broke that trust.

I pulled away from her, putting my hands over my ears.... but my human ears were gone. No, no, no. My cat ears were there.

I checked. I had a tail. This was the first time I lost control of my cat form. And it wasn't even near spring.

What I was carelessly going to do to Elsa, I could've physically hurt her. I probably mentally hurt her. I'm forever going to be an animal, aren't I? I couldn't do human things, like keep my father's promise or hold myself back because I loved Elsa.

"Ikuto, you're in love with me?"

I turned to Elsa. Her eyed were wide, a hand over her mouth. No no no no no! I forgot she could read minds. She heard my thoughts, and she probably saw what I was subconsciously thinking.

What I could've done to her if I didn't stop.

It probably would hurt her more, but add me being a coward, I opened the window and jumped through it. I ran through town as it started to pour.

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Elsa

I'm sorry Ikuto. You weren't acting like your normal self, so I, for the first on anybody, forcefully read your mind.

I heard everything from the time you starting talking about how I smelled good. The first time, at least, cause you said it twice.

"Elsa! I heard some noise! What-" Reiji came into the room, then sees the window open. "Why'd you leave the window open when it's raining? And where's Ikuto? I thought he was here."

"Ikuto.... he left out the window. He attacked me, starting to say that I smelled nice. Then, he stopped himself, saying that he couldn't believe what he was doing. Then he said something about being in live with me, and that's when he jumped out the window."

He paused, strangely. "Huh, never knew that he was in love with you."

I know, it was a really big surprise. But-"

Reiji grabbed me by the shoulders and made me look straight into his eyes. "Elsa, I love you, and I'd never harm you."

Wait, what?

--------- author --------

This chapter was a little hard to write, mostly because I hate writing this kind of stuff as much as you guys hate reading it.

Anyway, not a big author's note. The big one is the next chapter, since I'll have a lot to say on it. So, bye!