I Belong To You: A Kisshu And Ichigo Love Story

Chapter 20: A Softness, A Tenderness

"Taru-Taru is Pudding's very very best friend!"

- Pudding, Chapter Fourteen

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As soon as Ichigo felt the wind on her skin, she opened her eyes. She let out a gasp, and instinctively dug her fingers into Parfait's clothes. The smell of salt hit her nose.

They were floating just inches above the turbulent, churning seawater of a vast ocean that stretched so far in either direction, Ichigo couldn't see an inch of land in sight. Surely they were right in the middle. Why had Parfait taken her here?

In an instant, Parfait wrapped her arms even tighter around Ichigo, and suddenly wheeled around into a sharp dive toward the water. Ichigo just barely thought to resist screaming and instead take in a gulp of air, realizing in a split second that Parfait was going to drag her down into the water. Sure enough, with something that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a scream, Parfait and Ichigo crashed through the water's surface, and Ichigo was dragged helplessly down into the depths.

She struggled fiercely against Parfait's iron grip, but she was running out of air quickly and it was making her weaker by the second. A few bubbles escaped from her nostrils, and her heartbeat began to race as she began to panic. If she didn't find some way to free herself, she was going to drown. And the water was becoming so cold...Ichigo suddenly had a flash of remembrance of one day at the beach, when Lettuce had dived into the water, despite her inability to swim, to rescue a couple kids. She had been effected by Mew Aqua and somehow, her DNA had given her a tail and the ability to speak and breathe underwater. Lettuce had exploded from the water, shining with the blue brilliance of a goddess...the same glow that Ichigo had emitted when she'd regained her Mew Form.

Unfortunately, Ichigo's Mew Form didn't help her underwater. She was starting to feel dizzy, and her chest was burning from the lack of oxygen. She beat her fists uselessly against Parfait, hating how slow they moved in the water. Meanwhile, the water had become so cold that goose bumps had risen up on her skin. Through Ichigo's struggling, Parfait didn't once lose her speed or loosen her grip on Ichigo.

Ichigo felt a fire racing inside her. She couldn't last much longer. She was sure she was going to open her mouth any second and suck in a mouthful of water. That would surely hurt even more. Not to mention she would die...but wasn't she going to die anyway?

By now they were so far down in the water that it was pitch black. Parfait didn't seem the least bit afraid of coming across any vicious sea creatures. Ichigo felt her balance shift, and wondered if perhaps they had changed direction. Then she knew it didn't matter...her head was about to explode with the pressure, her skin had turned to ice, and her chest was searing in excruciating pain. She turned her mind at last to Kisshu, resigned to the fact that in mere moments, her mouth would open and she would breathe in the water and drown. Kisshu...she focused on his face, his eyes, the sleepy, awed smile he'd given her when he'd reached up to touch her face and call her beautiful...

Ichigo suddenly felt a change in their buoyancy. As if the pressure had changed. As if -

With a splash, both of them broke through the water's surface. They were floating in a space that was blacker than any night Ichigo had ever experienced. The air was extremely cold - the water even colder. But Ichigo didn't care - the wonderful, life-giving air was pouring into her lungs. She couldn't seem to get enough of it - her chest felt constricted. Then she realized it was because Parfait was still gripping her tight.

Not for long, though - with a squeal, Ichigo was pitched forward toward blackness. Instinctively, her feet shot out in front of her, and she was saved from scraping herself too badly on the rocks. It was a rather smooth surface, but it would've hurt if Ichigo hadn't been able to catch herself. Crouching low, Ichigo tried in vain to look around. As a cat, she probably would've been able to see just fine, but at the moment her more human eyes were failing her.