I Belong To You: A Kisshu And Ichigo Love Story

Chapter 9: Is That A... Poem?

If Kisshu hadn't glanced out the window of his room at that exact moment, he wouldn't have seen Ichigo sprint into the woods as if there were an army of Chimera Animals after her. But when he saw her, he sprang up out of his chair. He knew instinctively that something was wrong. Her broom lay abandoned on the walk.

Quickly, he teleported out of his room, emerging outside on the sidewalk next to the broom. He floated after Ichigo, who had run out of sight. Kisshu strained his ears - to his horror, he picked up on what sounded like crying. He sped up. The next thing he knew, he had caught up with her. As he had the night before in her room, he felt his throat catch when he saw her.

She was bent over, hugging herself, her body shaking. Sobbing and hiccupping, she was trying to stifle herself, and at the same time, letting out wails of grief. Every anguished wail pulled Kisshu closer to the point of crushing her into his arms. He floated closer to her.

"Ichigo?"

Ichigo seemed to jump about a foot in the air with fright. "Oh! K-Kisshu!" she stammered. Her face was streaked with tears. Kisshu felt his heart wrench at the sight. He started to reach out for her.

"Neko-chan, what happened?"

To his surprise, Ichigo practically catapulted herself away from him. "No!" she yelped. "No, no, it's okay! I'm okay, we're just friends, okay?"

"Huh?"

"Friends!" she babbled, trying vainly to wipe away the tears that continued to pour out of her eyes. She gave a hiccup. "We're friends, hopefully good ones! It's okay, I have to go!"

"Wait, Ichigo-"

"No!" Ichigo's voice went up a little at the end, as if she was close to panicking. "No, just go Kisshu, just leave me alone!"

"But I'm confused." Suddenly, a light went off in his head. His face contorted into a predatory look. "Was it Parfait? Did she say something to you?" he demanded.

"No, no, no!" Ichigo said, waving her hands in protest. "Please, I just need to go, please don't follow me." Turning away, Ichigo sprinted farther into the trees, leaving Kisshu standing alone in the woods.

Kisshu could almost feel the fire in his veins. Whatever Ichigo said, he was positive Parfait was responsible. He'd only seen Ichigo this upset once, and that was at the time Aoyama died. Only a reminder of him could set her off this badly. As much as he wanted to pursue her and cradle her in his arms and comfort her, he was afraid that Ichigo didn't want him around. Not when she was upset and thinking about Aoyama.

As it was, Kisshu was ready to kill Parfait. With a look of murder in his eyes, he rose up quickly into the air, scanning the area to see if she was lurking outside.

"No one...no one...hurts Ichigo!" he snarled, making a dive for the Café. With a ripple of air, he teleported inside, hell-bent on finding Parfait.

"Ichigo! What's wrong?" Lettuce looked shocked to see a nearly hysterical Ichigo on her doorstep.

Ichigo gulped. "C-can I come in?"

"Of course!" Lettuce quickly ushered her inside. "Come sit on the couch. I'll get you the box of tissues and make us some tea."

"Th-thanks," Ichigo said, trying to get control of her breathing. With all the parental nurturing of a mother, Lettuce handed Ichigo the box of tissues and draped a blanket over her shoulders. Then she hurried to warm up water for the tea in the kitchen.

By the time Lettuce had returned, Ichigo had calmed down a bit. She was still sniveling, but at least she could breath normally now. "Now," Lettuce said, setting their two cups on coasters and pushing Ichigo's gently toward her, "tell me what happened. Was is something to do with Kisshu?"