Yami

Darkness. Everything was black, and Kisshu was lost in the darkness. There wasn't much that Kisshu feared, but being alone in complete darkness was terrifying to him. He had tried to find a way out, but had no luck. Calling out didn't help either; no one was around. It was only him. Kisshu finally curled up into a ball, and slept.

Ichigo was worried sick. Kisshu was living with her since her parents had moved out, and about two days ago, he had fallen unconscious for some reason. He wasn't waking up, and Pai couldn't figure out what had caused this or how to fix it. All he knew was that Kisshu was unconscious, but didn't seem to be in a coma. Kisshu didn't have a fever; there was absolutely no explanation for this.

"Please, wake up Kish," Ichigo said aloud. Pai had suggested talking to Kisshu, since the telepathy connection was broken as well. "Kish, why won't you wake up?" Ichigo asked softly. "What happened to you?"

She couldn't think of anything she had done that would have caused this; they hadn't had any fights since Kisshu came back to Earth. And Pai and Taruto hadn't done anything either. Nothing anyone did could wake Kisshu up. Pai was staying with them, since after the first day Ichigo had decided that killing herself was better than seeing Kisshu die, which was pretty much what she had thought would happen. The only signs that Kisshu was alive were his heartbeat and his breathing.

Pai had put a spell on Ichigo to keep her away from knives and anything else sharp and pointy, so she couldn't do anything to herself. She knew it was for the best, but it was still irritating.

Suddenly Ichigo couldn't take it anymore, and she started crying. She was sitting on the bed, looking down at Kisshu, and as she cried, the tears fell on Kisshu. Two of them fell on his forehead, and soaked into his skin, but Ichigo was crying too hard to notice.

Kisshu was still curled up, still sleeping. He was woken pretty quickly, however, when the darkness around him shivered. Now what? he wondered.

He heard a sound, and followed it. As he started to get closer, he realized it sounded like raindrops on water. Underneath the sound was another, softer sound.

That sounds like sobbing; is someone else here too? Kisshu wondered. He followed the sound, until he reached what looked like a pool of black water. As he reached it, a drop of water fell from above, and splashed into the pool. Kisshu looked up, and saw a spark of light.

How do I get up there? he wondered. That's the first light I've seen; maybe that's the way out. A thought occurred to him, and he thought, I haven't thought about Ichigo in here at all. I wonder if she's okay. Maybe the reason I can't get back to her is that I've only been thinking about how scared I am. I wonder if she knows I'm trapped here. She must be really worried; I've been gone for who knows how long. I really want to see her again….

As he thought that, the spark of light grew brighter, until the light enveloped him. He closed his eyes, thinking only about Ichigo, not himself.

When he opened his eyes again, everything around him was pink. He realized he was lying in Ichigo's bed, covered with the blankets. Was that just a dream? Or did that really happen? he wondered.

Suddenly something wet hit his cheek, and he turned his head. Ichigo was sitting next to him, crying. Moving had brought on a wave of dizziness, and it was a minute or two before Kisshu could say softly, "Ichigo?"

Ichigo's head shot up. "Kish?" she asked. "You're awake?"

"Yeah… what happened?" Kisshu asked.

"I'm not sure; two days ago, you collapsed, and you've been unconscious since then," Ichigo said. "We couldn't figure out why you were unconscious, or how to wake you up. You didn't have a fever, and Pai said you weren't in a coma. I've been worried sick; and Pai put a spell on me to keep me away from sharp things."

"You tried to kill yourself again?" Kisshu asked, horrified.

"Yeah… but Pai obviously noticed my mood, because I hadn't even gotten to the kitchen before he froze me," Ichigo said.

"I'm really sorry for worrying you, Ichigo," Kisshu said.

"It's not your fault," Ichigo said.

"I think it is," Kisshu said. "While I was unconscious, I was in this really dark place, and I couldn't get out until I realized I was only thinking about myself. When I started thinking about you, and how much I care about you and want to see you, I was able to get out of the darkness. I think it's because I've been so preoccupied with my problems lately that I wasn't thinking about you. I think the darkness was to teach me that you're more important to me than my worries and fears."

"I did notice that you were pretty preoccupied about something lately," Ichigo said. "I didn't want to mention it, though."

"It's the anniversary of my parents' deaths next Wednesday," Kisshu said softly. "I was thinking about that."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't really know," Kisshu said. "I'm guessing the darkness was to remind me that I'm not the only one with problems, and that you're the most important thing to me."

Ichigo gently put her hand on his cheek and said, "I'm glad you're back. Are you feeling okay?"

Kisshu tried to sit up, but got dizzy just moving. "I get dizzy moving," he said.

"I'll call Pai," Ichigo said. She concentrated briefly, and then said, "He's coming."

Pai teleported in a minute later, and came over. "Kisshu, you had us really worried," he said as he put a hand on Kisshu's forehead.

Kisshu felt the dizziness go away as he said, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Pai said. "What matters is that you're okay." He took his hand away and said, "You need to rest for a while, but you should be fine by tomorrow night. Try to go back to sleep, it'll help the healing stick."

"Okay, thanks," Kisshu said.

"Can you take this spell off me?" Ichigo asked.

Pai sighed and snapped his fingers. "There you go, but try anything else, and you get that spell for life," he said.

"I understand," Ichigo said. "I'll stay with Kish, so you can tell Taruto that he's cooking again."

"I don't mind if you go cook," Kisshu said sleepily.

"If you're sure," Ichigo said. "Try to get some rest, I'll bring you something when I'm done."

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said sleepily.

Ichigo smoothed his hair back, then left with Pai as Kisshu fell back to sleep.

Very weird and short, but I just thought this up, so I hope you like it!