Chibi
Ichigo was walking home after telling Ryou she was through with him, when she heard a voice call her name. She looked around, and was shocked to see Pai behind her. "What is it?" she sighed.
"Um…. I have a favor to ask," Pai said uncomfortably.
Ichigo was shocked; since when did PAI ask her for favors? "What's the favor?" she asked warily.
"Come with me and I'll show you," Pai sighed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." He held out a hand.
"Uh… okay," Ichigo said. She took Pai's hand, and he teleported her to a large green room. He let go of her hand, and said, "I need your help taking care of Kisshu."
"Is he sick?" Ichigo asked.
"No, but Taruto tried to poison him, and took the wrong chemical," Pai said. "The chemical he used isn't harmful, but the effects of it turned Kisshu into a two-year-old."
Ichigo's jaw dropped. Pai sighed and continued, "I'm trying to work out an antidote, but right now I need someone to take care of Kisshu, and asking Taruto would be a nightmare. I left him with Taruto while I went to get you, but I shouldn't leave them alone for too long. Can you take care of Kisshu for me?"
Ichigo thought, then said, "Fine. My parents are gone again anyways, and I quit the Mews."
"Thank you," Pai said with relief. "This is his room, but I think he's in Taruto's room. I'll go get him."
"K," Ichigo said. Pai teleported out, and Ichigo looked around the room. There was a sofa against the far wall, and above it was a bulletin board covered in pictures of her, in Mew and human forms.
Pai came back, and Ichigo looked at him. He was holding Kisshu, who, in Ichigo's opinion, was totally kawaii. He still had the same golden eyes, but his green hair was shorter. His ears were much smaller too, and he looked a bit nervous.
Pai sighed and said, "Kisshu, this is Ichigo. She's going to be taking care of you while I figure out how to get you back to normal."
"Why can't Mommy take care of me?" Kisshu asked.
"Aunt Anzu is gone, Kisshu," Pai said.
Ichigo facepalmed as Kisshu's eyes filled with tears. "Pai, next time he asks a question like that, say she's busy or something, don't tell him she's gone," she said. "And why do you call your mom 'Aunt Anzu'?"
"Kisshu's my adoptive brother; my parents took him in after the rockslide killed his parents," Pai said. "We were already best friends, and my mom didn't know she was expecting another kid at the time."
"Oh…." Ichigo said. "Is there anything I need to know about taking care of him?"
"Unlike human toddlers, Cyniclons understand more about the world around them," Pai said. "So if you talk about something a human child wouldn't understand, like death, chances are he'll understand it. Two more things you need to know is that for some reason, tickling will cause Kisshu to stop breathing, so don't tickle him. And a good trick for calming him down is rubbing his ears."
"Okay," Ichigo said. Pai handed Kisshu to her, and she took him. He was sniffling a bit, and wrapped his arms around her neck, snuggling against her.
Ichigo looked down at him, and he asked, "Can you be my mommy?"
"Sure," Ichigo said.
"Ichigo, do you know how to use telepathy?" Pai asked.
"Yes," Ichigo said. "Lettuce, Pudding, and I talk that way a lot."
"Then I'll leave you two alone," Pai said. "Call me if something happens."
"Alright, good luck finding something to change Kisshu back," Ichigo said.
"Thanks," Pai said, and teleported out.
Ichigo looked down at Kisshu, who looked back solemnly. "What's wrong?" she asked him.
"I'm hungry," Kisshu said.
"What do you like to eat?" Ichigo asked.
"Anything is good," Kisshu said.
"Okay, let's go find the kitchen," Ichigo said. She left the room, and went down the hall, looking in different rooms. Finally she came to a door that had a sign on it. The sign said, "Pai, KEEP OUT!"
"I wonder why Pai isn't supposed to go in here," Ichigo said.
"It might be the kitchen," Kisshu said. "Pai-oniichan made the kitchen explode, and now Aunt Yuki won't let him in."
"How did Pai make the kitchen explode?" Ichigo asked.
"I don't know, all I know is that Aunt Yuki grounded him for a month," Kisshu said. "I didn't get to play with him for a whole month!"
"Did you have anyone else to play with?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah, but Kanna could only come over sometimes," Kisshu said. "She had to take care of her baby sister 'cause her mom was too sick."
"Oh…" Ichigo said. "Do you want to go see what there is to eat?"
"Yeah!" Kisshu said excitedly. Ichigo smiled and went through the door. Sure enough, it was a very large kitchen, and Ichigo put Kisshu down on a chair, then started looking around. She spotted a bowl of fruit, and asked, "Kisshu, would you like an apple?"
"What's that?" Kisshu asked.
"It's a type of fruit," Ichigo said.
"What's fruit?" Kisshu asked. "Does it taste good?"
"I think it does, it's usually pretty sweet," Ichigo said.
"Okay," Kisshu said. "Can I have an apple?"
"Sure, I'll cut it up for you," Ichigo said. She got a large red apple, and found a knife, then sliced it up. Then she looked around till she found plates, and put the apple slices on a small plate. She took the plate over to Kisshu, and said, "Here you go. Would you like something else, like toast or something?"
"Toast is nice," Kisshu said.
"What would you like on it?" Ichigo asked.
"Do we have butter?" Kisshu asked. "I've never tried it."
"I'll check," Ichigo said. She went to the fridge, and started looking around. She found butter, and asked, "Do you want jam too?"
"What's jam?" Kisshu asked.
"Cooked fruit with sugar, it's really good," Ichigo said. "It looks like you've got raspberry and apricot."
"Are those fruits?" Kisshu asked.
"Yup," Ichigo said. "How about raspberry?"
"K," Kisshu said. "What are you having?"
"The same, I'm not big on apricot jam," Ichigo said.
"K," Kisshu said. "Hey, what was that noise?"
Ichigo listened, and heard voices in the main room of the ship. "It sounds like we've got company," Ichigo said.
"Can we go see who it is?" Kisshu asked.
"Okay, but we have to be careful, I don't know if they're here to hurt us or not," Ichigo said. She gently picked Kisshu up, and walked out of the kitchen.
She headed to the main room, and came up behind Zakuro, Mint, and Ryou. "Care to explain what you're doing here?" Ichigo asked. The three spun as Ichigo said, "I thought I made it clear I was no longer a part of your team."
"You quit so you could join the aliens?" Ryou asked, outraged.
"Well, they're a lot nicer than YOU, but no, that's not why I'm here," Ichigo said. "Pai needed a babysitter, and since I quit your stupid Café, and Aoyama broke up with me, I figured I'd do it. My parents are gone again anyways."
"Babysitting?" Mint asked.
"Taruto turned Kisshu into a two-year-old," Ichigo said. "And if you lay a finger on him, you're going DOWN, got it?"
"I've got your pendant, so no, we're not," Ryou said.
"What makes you think I need that thing to transform?" Ichigo asked. "You just THINK I need it."
"Prove it," Ryou snarled.
Ichigo gently set Kisshu down, and said, "Stay put." Then she shouted her transformation. Soon she was fully transformed, and looked at Ryou, who appeared stunned. "Didn't think I could do it?" she asked, smirking.
"What… How…" Ryou trailed off, and Kisshu giggled. Ryou turned red and glared at him. Kisshu immediately ran behind Ichigo, and Ichigo glared at Ryou.
"You're a monster," Ichigo told Ryou. "And I HATE monsters."
"I'm NOT a monster!" Ryou said angrily.
"You're scaring little kids; and I know you're thinking about killing him, so that makes you a monster," Ichigo said. "What's next? Kicking harmless little kittens?"
Zakuro looked at Ryou and asked, "Are you really going to kill a two-year-old?"
"I'll settle for holding him hostage," Ryou said, glaring at Kisshu.
"Yup, he's a monster," Mint said. "Ichigo, you were right. We'll take Ryou back, and contact your school friends. NO ONE would hold a two-year-old hostage- unless they're a complete monster."
"Why are you contacting Ichigo's school friends?" Ryou asked warily.
"They want you dead, and I gave them my dad's flamethrower, so they'll be able to incinerate whatever's left after they're done beating you to death," Ichigo said. "This will make them so happy."
"Good," Zakuro said. She grabbed Ryou and nodded to Mint, who opened up another portal. Zakuro dragged Ryou into it, followed by Mint.
Once they were gone, Ichigo detransformed, and looked down at Kisshu. He was clinging to her leg, and she picked him up. "Are you still hungry?" she asked.
"Now I'm sleepy…." Kisshu said.
"Alright, let's go back to your room," Ichigo said. She carried Kisshu back to his room, and set him down on the bed. "Is it okay if I sleep with you?" Ichigo asked.
"K…." Kisshu said sleepily.
Ichigo took off her shoes, and climbed onto the bed, then tucked Kisshu in and slid under the blankets, lying back as he snuggled up to her. She gently put her arm over him as he fell asleep. Soon she was sleeping too.
The next morning: Ichigo was woken up by banging on the door, and she sighed, then called, "Come in!"
Pai came in as Ichigo sat up, and said, "I think I figured out how to get Kisshu back to normal."
"Good," Ichigo said. She looked down at Kisshu, who was curled up next to her, and said, "Is this something that can wait till he's awake?"
"I have it with me; it's an injection," Pai said. "It's better if he's asleep."
"K," Ichigo said. Pai came over and gently picked up Kisshu's arm, then put the needle into a vein and pushed the antidote he had made into Kisshu's bloodstream. He carefully took the needle out when all the antidote was gone, and put a bandage over the prick in Kisshu's arm.
As Ichigo and Pai watched, Kisshu began to glow a soft green, and then he started to grow. A few minutes later, Kisshu was back to being fourteen, but he was still sleeping. Pai came over and put a hand on his chest, then tapped his forehead.
Kisshu stirred, then opened his eyes. He looked confused, and asked, "Pai? And Ichigo? What are you doing here?"
"You don't remember?" Pai asked. "Taruto somehow managed to turn you into a two-year-old, and I just figured out how to turn you back."
"But why is Ichigo here?" Kisshu asked.
"I asked her to babysit you while I tried to figure out how to counteract whatever Taruto did to you," Pai said.
Kisshu turned so red it probably wasn't healthy, and teleported under the bed. "Come on, it's not that bad," Pai said. "Ichigo thought you were cute."
"Actually, I was thinking BEYOND cute," Ichigo said. "Are you coming out?"
"No," Kisshu said gloomily.
"It's Taruto's fault this happened," Ichigo said. "It's not your fault Taruto turned you into a two-year-old."
"Can I go doom him?" Kisshu asked.
"If it will get you out from under your bed….." Pai sighed.
Kisshu teleported on top of the bed, then got up, and teleported out. Pai sighed again and said, "I'm going back to my lab…. Taruto can't get me in there."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Ichigo said. "I think he knows the code, because he was telling Pudding how to get in, and I overheard him saying that the code for your lab's door was 'Peaches'."
"I'M GONNA KILL THAT RUNT!" Pai shouted, and teleported out. Ichigo sighed and got up, then started making Kisshu's bed.
Just as she was finishing, Kisshu teleported back in and asked, "What's up with Pai? I had to put him in a forcefield because he got his fans out when he saw Taruto. I chained Taruto to a wall."
"Pai's mad because Taruto told Pudding how to get into his lab," Ichigo said.
"Taruto did WHAT!?" Kisshu shrieked. "Jeez, if I wasn't worried about getting the death penalty, Taruto would be dead right now."
"Death penalty?" Ichigo asked.
"That's the punishment on my planet for killing children," Kisshu explained. "Killing anyone is bad, but killing children is one of the worst crimes you can commit, if not the worst. My people don't reproduce as often as humans, so children are precious, especially since not all of them survive their first five years due to the conditions on Cyniclonia."
"That sounds BAD," Ichigo said.
"That doesn't even begin to describe my planet," Kisshu said. "That's why we want Earth; it's not dying. Polluted, yes. Dying, no."
"If we give you all the Mew Aqua, could you heal your planet?" Ichigo asked. "Moe and Miwa were supposed to kill Blondie."
"You have enough?" Kisshu asked.
"I think so, we'd have to check, but if not, we could cooperate to collect the rest," Ichigo said.
"That sounds great, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.
"Good," Ichigo said, and kissed him.
I'd been working on this for a while, so I hope you like it. I'll try to work on Lost and Found next. Review!