I Belong To You: A Kisshu And Ichigo Love Story

Chapter 24: The One She Loved

"Soon...might it be time for me to dream as well?"

- Pai-san, Tokyo Mew Mew, Episode 51

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Kisshu's body contorted in the air - the red, circular glow lit his features. The entire cave stood dead with shock. Even the Animals seemed too frightened by the transformation to move. They could sense something was coming - something greater, more powerful, than any they'd seen yet. Pai let out a low groan of despair.

Ichigo cried out in shock. "Tart! What's happening?"

Tart was trembling at her feet, his yellow eyes huge. "No, no, no...K-Kish!" he wailed. "Ichigo, he turned himself into a Chimera Animal!"

Ichigo felt the air leave her lungs. Had she heard correctly? Had Tart just said that Kisshu was becoming...one of his own creations?

"No - it can't be," she gasped, choking on the words. "Wh-why would he do that?"

"It's the only way to beat the Chimera Animals," Tart cried. "But he might not be able to go back!" His voice rose into a howl of pain, and he screamed, "H-he might be stuck that way forever!"

"No way!" Ichigo cried. She gazed up at the red light in horror. No! No, this couldn't be happening again! It was so awful, how familiar the situation was...

Two years ago, Aoyama-kun had changed into a monster right before her eyes. With a surge of blue light, he had morphed into Deep Blue, a creature powerful enough and evil enough to destroy the entire planet. Deep Blue hadn't cared about the humans at all, only about satisfying his own greed. What's more, he hadn't intended on saving the alien's planet at all.

Was Kisshu about to suffer the same fate by his own hand? Had he just turned himself into a monster?

"Ichigo!" Tart's voice jolted her. "Something's happening to him, look!"

Ichigo's throat clenched. She could see what he meant. Something was happening to Kisshu. His body...it was changing. A thrill of horror shot through her body.

He was growing taller - by at least six inches, she estimated. His shoulders were becoming more broad; the muscles in his chest and shoulders bulged, shredding his shirt so that it hung in rags on his body. He was screaming. His hands were clenched into tight fists, but then he let them go because his already lengthy nails were stretching into long, white claws that curved sickeningly into sharp points. His legs grew longer, so that the hems of his shorts ripped and frayed. And his skin...his hair...Ichigo covered her mouth to keep from gasping.

His greenish-hair, which he usually kept shoulder length, was thickening into a massive, black, inky mane that fell down to his muscular waist. Long black stripes began to cross over his skin, like tattoos, sprinkled with small black spots that gave him the look of a wild jungle cat. His pointy teeth elongated into sharper, more lethal fangs. His eyes glowed like golden beacons, and his slit-like pupils rolled madly in his head as he continued to shriek with pain. On the ground, where he'd dropped them with a clatter, his two Dragon Swords shuddered in the reddish light. They, like his teeth, began to grow longer, so that their center prongs stretched to that of a full-length samauri sword.

Abruptly, his voice deepened to a strange, guttural roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of the wall. It was like standing next to a lion. Cowering in fear, Ichigo sank to her knees and instinctively shadowed Tart with her body. The creature that had been Kisshu was writhing in the red sphere with such ferocity that she was terrified the real Kisshu inside didn't even exist anymore.

Ichigo's knees were shaking. She glanced over at the others. The Animals were beginning to sense the threat, and they were looking at each other with a sort of speechless collaboration. It seemed they were going to try and attack him as a group, and hopefully bring him down with their numbers. The Animals who had been attacking the Mews and the aliens turned away, leaving their quarry to stare dumbly up above.