Kisshu's Return part 24

"Ma…sa…ya..?" Ichigo choked out. What was this? Kisshu… He couldn't be serious. Masaya…? No…

As the raindrops fell and hit the ground one by one, Masaya's trembling worsened. He was very much on the edge. But why? He didn't really kill them, did he? So why would he..? It made no sense at all! It wasn't true! It couldn't be! Why would he kill two of his own race? Two humans.

Kisshu wasn't in the least impressed by Masaya's display of… despair? He stared at the black-haired boy as said boy continued to mumble intelligible words, while clearly losing the ability to stand. As Kisshu watched the boy, he didn't smirk nor glare. He was just coldly staring him down, like he was watching a horrible actor in an even more terrible play.

Ichigo was still trying to get a grasp of the insanity she was suddenly pulled into, when Kisshu finally spoke again.

"Man up, would you? Instead of whining like a beaten dog, tell me why. Because I really don't quite get it."

Even though she really wanted to hug him, her anger got the best of her and Ichigo stepped in front of Masaya, her arms stretched in a protective manner, while she yelled at Kisshu: "You accuse him of something without even having a motive?! How dare you!"

For a moment Kisshu looked like she slapped him in the face, but that expression was quickly whipped off his face as Masaya lay his hand on Ichigo's shoulder (apparently he had regained control over himself).

"Don't worry, Ichigo, I'll handle him this time." Masaya whispered, smiling down on her in the kind way he always did. She had to stop him. That was all that she could think off, until a moment later, when she realised that that kind smile, which used to warm her heart instantly, didn't even seem to reach her anymore.

And in that moment, just that moment, she wondered if she should let him go. Just let him go. Kisshu had already proven himself a much better fighter than Masaya now and if they would seriously fight, Masaya would mercilessly go down. Wasn't that what she secretly wanted? Didn't she just wish him out of her life, so she could be free again? So she could finally tell Kisshu… Kish… what she felt?

The thought was brief though. They shouldn't fight. It would only result in both getting hurt and she didn't want to live with the guilt that she let it happen.
So she grabbed Masaya's hand, looking at him with a pleading look in her eyes, begging him not to go. "Don't, Masaya. Don't fight. I don't want you to fight."

The sky rumbled again and finally it got through to Ichigo that she was absolutely soaked. As was Masaya. She didn't dare to look at Kisshu though. Masaya had yet to reply, but Kisshu beat him to it and with an impeccable timing he asked: "Can you look her in the eye and tell her that you didn't kill them?"

His timing was impeccable, because just as he said that, she was staring Masaya right in the eye. And hell, did he look taken aback by that question! She wondered what that meant… It didn't mean that he… Right? She decided to just ask him. As she maintained eye contact, she gave him a questioning look and plainly asked:

"Well?"

He flinched visibly and looked at her in a lost way, like he had no idea as to where he had to go. Not a clue. And then he looked away. He looked away.

"I… can't…" he replied.

Now it was Ichigo's turn to feel like she'd been slapped in the face. He couldn't, that made it inevitably clear, right? He… He…

Ichigo's legs gave out and she dropped on her knees. Both guys made a move to come to her aid, but as they both glared each other, they both stopped in their tracks, knowing that they would be attacked by the other if they even thought about getting closer.

Meanwhile Ichigo was trying to process it. Masaya had killed. Twice. And he blamed Kish… But, how? How could he do it? He couldn't, right? Not Masaya. Not his own people. It had to be a lie. It was a dream. A nightmare. No! That she felt so cold and soaked was proof enough that she was awake! It was real and it was true! But… But…

"Why?!" Ichigo cried out, dying for a proper explanation.

Masaya looked at her helplessly, as if he could make her understand telepathically. If that was really what he was attempting, then he sure as hell was failing horribly.
He gulped when she glared at him. Ichigo was quite sure that the times that she had directed her glare to him could be counted on one hand, so it really ought to make him understand how dangerously close she was to going berserk.

He gulped once again and stared his feet when he finally gave in. "..Alright. I killed them. But Ichigo…" Now he looked at her and the despair in his eyes was enough to make her glare evaporate. "… I did it all for you…"

"Cut the crap, tree hugger. Just spit out already." Kisshu apparently decided to remind them both of his presence. To Ichigo this was very distracting, but Masaya looked perfectly pissed off. Nevertheless, he ignored Kisshu and, while not daring to get closer to Ichigo, he threw her one of his blankets at her. In the corner of her eye, she saw Kisshu twitch, probably not trusting whatever object Masaya threw at her, even if it was a blanket. Ichigo had to bite her bottom lip to prevent a small smile from appearing.

Masaya gestured to the ground, as if he was inviting her to eat all the grass she could eat. Luckily, he added: "Sit down, this might take a while to explain properly." He stressed the word 'properly', meanwhile staring at Kisshu with a murderous glare, which could've been lethal, were it not for the fact that Kisshu was returning it with one of his own.

With the hope of not entirely ruining the blanket, Ichigo spread it out under the cherry tree and sat down. Masaya sat down a metre away from her, but the cherry tree being huge as it was, it still provided him with some shelter.

Kisshu made himself comfortable in the cherry tree, seating himself on one of the branches which conveniently put him between Masaya and Ichigo. In other words, if something were to occur, all he had to do was drop himself, to put himself right in the middle.

Masaya took a deep breath and then started to speak.

"It already started some weeks before HE" Masaya shot Kisshu a glare. "returned to Earth. You see, I was becoming more and more aware of the fact that our relationship" Now he nodded to Ichigo with obvious sadness clouding his eyes. "was falling to ruin. To top it off, someone started stalking me." He stared at his feet awkwardly, swallowed once, looked up again and answered the unasked question hanging in the air.

"My stalker was… Fuyou Yukka."

Ichigo gasped in surprise and looked at the guys in front/above her. Masaya had only eye for her and was caringly watching her face, to ascertain that no emotion would escape him. Kisshu, on the other hand, was glaring a hole in Masaya's head, while his eyes lit up. Things were falling into place in his head, that much Ichigo understood.

Masaya continued. "She blackmailed me. Threatened to hurt you, Ichigo. I had no choice! I had to dump you and date her or she would've done everything in her power to hurt both of us! Maybe even kill us!"

Kisshu chuckled softly, doing a poor job at trying to cover it up by clasping his hand in front of his mouth. Most likely he didn't really care if they saw and heard him or not. But what was so funny?!

Masaya didn't bother to conceal his annoyance. "Shut up! You wouldn't have done anything different!" Then Kisshu chuckled even harder, now openly mocking Masaya by wagging his finger at him.
"That's where your wrong, Romeo. I would've scared the chick off the moment she started threatening Ichigo." Ichigo looked up at him in awe, somewhat flattered that he would go such lengths for her.

To emphasis his point, Kisshu tilted his head, put his finger on his chin and stared up, as if he was casually contemplating something, while he muttered: "Yes, a little wound or two. Perhaps an arm or a leg, to make the point inescapably clear…-"

"Can I go on now?" An agitated Masaya called. "Why yes, of course you can, silly guy. Don't let the big, bad alien get in your way." Yes, Kisshu was enjoyed himself to the fullest. It was all over his smug face.
After another malicious glare, Masaya turned to Ichigo and once again resumed his story. "Erm, well… I know I should've told you then, but I feared she would still go after you if I did, so I didn't. That evening I felt it. HIS presence." Masaya made a gesture at Kisshu, not sparing him a glance this time.

"And I knew I had made a great mistake. I knew he would take advantage of the situation. But what could I do? It took me three days. Three agonizing days of watching you while you felt awful, knowing I should've been by your side, working our relationship out-"

"Blurgh. Skip the lovey-dovey shit and get to the point already!" Kisshu hang upside down in the tree, making overdramatic puking sounds. 'Such a child sometimes.' Ichigo inwardly smiled.

Meanwhile, Masaya, uncharacteristically rolled his eyes and just went on without saying a word about Kisshu's behaviour. (Ichigo could practically hear his thoughts: 'He's just trying to piss me off, he's just trying to piss me off, he's just trying t- Hell, he's pissing me off!') "Anyway, the fourth day I had enough. I broke up with Fuyou-san first thing in the morning and asked you to meet me in the park. At that point, I planned on telling you, but we were… Interrupted."

As he glared at Kisshu, the other grinned back at him. "Yup, that was me! … Don't look at me like that, tree hugger, I don't regret a thing!"
Ichigo thought it best to intervene then, as she was sure that if she didn't, Masaya would attempt to rip Kisshu's head off.

"Anyway, Aoyama-kun, go on." Not the best thing she could've said.

"Ouch! Back to last name-basis, buddy! Going around killing people didn't really score you many points, huh?" Masaya closed his eyes a second, to get a grip on his anger, and faked ignorance.

"Point is that I didn't tell you. The argument we had after that didn't really help at all either. I just didn't want it. I really didn't want you to 'befriend' the likes of him.-" It was time for Ichigo to get a little irritated by the immature way Masaya referred to Kisshu. But only a little.

"What do you mean 'the likes of him'? Is it because he is an alien?! Because that's just discrimination! I really believed you to be above-" Masaya had the nerve to interrupt her. "It's not because he's an alien, Ichigo! It's because his crush on you is way too big to actually make me believe that all he wants to be is 'buddies'!-" Kisshu didn't take that so well. "A CRUSH?!" Masaya simply ignored him though.

"- Just the way he looks at you all the time is enough to verify that!" What Ichigo replied to that didn't only surprise the others, but herself too. "So what?! I don't mind at all!"
For a moment it seemed like they had fallen in a vacuum. Even the surroundings didn't make a sound. Until Ichigo had enough of the awkward silence and the incredulous stares she received from both the guys.

Apart from absolutely shocked, Kisshu looked incredibly happy too, she noted, before she cleared her throat and said with a tiny voice: "So, what did you do after I left that day?"

Masaya awoke from his daze and continued his story once again, visibly praying that he would not be interrupted again.

"Well, I felt that the alien was around the entire time, so I followed you in my Blue Knight form, in case he tried something he should not be trying. I noticed he didn't follow though so I lingered between you two. Suddenly he was moving in all directions though and as I thought he was up to something, I chased after him. That's when I heard you yell. You yelled out HIS name…"

Masaya looked very hurt when he paused. Also, his eyes held something accusing, like he seriously blamed her for not calling out for him. Kisshu seemed to make a sport out of it to make as many comments as possible, for he took the chance to get Masaya on the edge again. "Yes she did, didn't she? She called for me, but really, let's be honest: Who wouldn't?"

As Masaya turned his gaze to the ground, Ichigo gave Kisshu a warning look, which he answered with a silent 'Yes, ma'am!' and a comical salute. For the first time, Ichigo allowed herself to smile at him and for a small moment he returned it with one of his own. A real actual smile, not a smirk.
Masaya however thought it a good moment to raise his head again apparently, so they both put their straight faces back on.

In a whisper, Masaya resumed where he left off. "You called out for HIM… And before I knew it he was right there by your side. I was at a loss. I felt angry with you for relying on an alien, whatever the reason, but I hated him for being where I was supposed to be. When you two left the scene, I immediately went there to take a look. I was not able to face you yet, I was too frustrated.

And what I found there was a drunk, bleeding man. He was heavily wounded, but he still could be saved, if I had called an ambulance right away. I didn't though, since it was painfully clear to me, why he was in that state. And just that once, I completely lost it. My anger towards you, my hate towards that alien and my hate towards the drunkard himself… I let it all out on him, knowing that no one would ever find out."

Ichigo sat there, wide eyed, hardly fathoming  what he just told her. Tears were running down his face now, but she knew it could as well be an act. After all, he had lied to her the entire time. Even though they weren't at that part of the story yet, she already guessed that he had planned Fuyou-san's death and faked his complete episode of being heartbroken by it.

She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but he wordlessly shut her up, shaking his head. Even Kisshu didn't seem to have a proper joke to lighten the facts up. This information had hit him hard too… Too hard for him to speak. "So…" Or not. "You didn't plan that part out against me? Well, THAT I didn't expect. I figured you used your brains and killed him with a finishing blow, just so that I would surely be accused of murder by Ichigo. Manipulation of the facts in order to make her come to hate me."

"It was only later that I realised that that was indeed how it would seem to Ichigo. But at that moment… I kept cutting the man over and over like a madman, just releasing all the frustration and stress I had held onto up until then. I tore him up like an animal, even when he was already dead I continued. Once I regained my senses, it got through to me what I had done and my shame and guilt gnawed on me. Then it became clear to me that HE would be blamed for what I had done. So I got away from the crime scene as fast as possible, leaving it to others to find the corpse."

Slowly but surely, Ichigo began to lose her empathy. And while Kisshu was obviously aware of that, considering the cautious glances he cast in her direction every few seconds, Masaya looked as unaware as humanly possibly. Not only had he crudely finished off a human, he also let Kisshu take the blame for it. As his monologue went on and on, the word 'unforgivable' started jumping into her mind more and more often.

"It turned out that it wasn't quite enough to get you to abandon him, which I figured out by eavesdropping in my Blue Knight form. Ichigo, again I really need you to understand that it was all for the sake of us. I'm very sorry. When I sensed him very close to you I couldn't-"

Ichigo jumped up, her empathy completely evaporated in thin air and for the first time in her life she truly hated him. Tears formed in her eyes and she would swear that she saw red for a second. Not in her entire life had she felt like this, not even towards Deep Blue or Kisshu. Or Shirogane.
He broke up with her over something they could've worked out together, then got back together, like it was nothing, murdered and even eavesdropped on her! This guy surely didn't see who had in front of him.

"You unbelievable jerk! After all the trust I put in you, after all the time that I didn't poke my nose in any of the suspicious things you did, you don't even trust me a little bit and disrespect my privacy! You sure as hell got a lot of nerve to pull that trick on me, mister!-"

"Ichigo, calm down! You don't know what you're saying. I never did anything suspicious and if I did it was noth-" Masaya desperately shouted, hoping she would sit down again. He only added gasoline to the flame though. She had been locked up for too long, only to find out that her golden cage was nothing but a poorly crafted wooden one with golden paint. Peeved as she was, she wouldn't go easy on him now.

"-So now you're also implying I'm out of my mind for yelling at you?! Well, I'm not about to stop! Do you have any idea of how proud and insolent you sound, expecting everyone to bow for you as you go, writing every person who goes against you off as crazy? You-" Just when Masaya started dreading she would never stop, Kisshu appeared behind Ichigo.

Wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close, he whispered in her ear: "That's enough, Ichigo. Let him speak, because his story's not over yet." Unwillingly, she felt a strange sense of calmness take her over. Her tensed body loosened up and she took a deep breath. That's what she shouldn't have done. The moment she breathed in his voice, his warmth and his scent truly got through to her and she had to repress the urge to return his hug. Luckily for her, he let go of her a second later, teleporting back to his spot.

A little bit disappointed, Ichigo sunk back on the blanket and listened as Masaya spoke up again. "Anyway, just outside your bedroom I thought up a plan to get rid of both Fuyou and him." This time, he only tilted his head in Kisshu's direction for a moment. Very creative, he was. "I knew there existed a pitch which had thee perfect frequency to break glass and possibly other things. Once that popped in my head, the rest was simple.

I invited both you and Fuyou-san to that exhibition, because that was a place full of glass and other things that the frequency would end up breaking. I downloaded a clip of the sound with the length of one minute. I too, beforehand figured out where the weak spots of the building were.

Besides that, there were quite some things I had to do while we were there. I had to distract you, so I could go on my 'date' with Fuyou-san, I had too lead her to a weak spot, I had to make sure she stayed there, while I went to the control room to play the sound on all the speakers and last but not least, I had to make sure you weren't in the dangerous area."

Looking down in what Ichigo hoped to be shame and despair, Masaya stated: "As we all know, it worked flawlessly. It was really fortunate that he" He tilted his head towards Kisshu again. "decided to show up. After that, all that I had left to do was act and eventually we would go back to how we used to be…"

Silence filled the air they breathed again. Ichigo now saw the weak straws of wood that was her cage and decided she wanted to break out. And so she would.

"Aoyama-kun." She said, raising her own head to look in his brown eyes, the eyes of a boy she had begun to detest. Those eyes stared back at her questioningly. "I'm afraid we will never go back to how it used to be. And it's not because of what you just told me."

Masaya looked like she had caught fire. And all she could do was smile. One by one, she was breaking the straws around her, her exit forming in front of her eyes. She could already taste the freedom on her lips.

"Aoyama-kun, we're over." Snap. "Not because you lied to me." Snap. "Not because you killed." Snap. "Not because you didn't trust me." Snap. "But because I've fallen in love with Kisshu."

Snap!