Not Good

Kisshu and Ichigo were fighting again, but they were also having a telepathic conversation.

Seriously, when are you going to kill Blondie? Kisshu asked.

Kish, you know I can't do it without a reason, Ichigo replied. And if I send Moe and Miwa, not only will he go down, so will anyone else who gets in their way! I'd rather not see the Café decimated, thanks.

It's too cutesy anyways, remodeling will do it good, Kisshu said.

Ichigo couldn't help it; she burst out laughing.

Koneko-chan, Blondie's going to get suspicious, Kisshu said.

Who's fault is that? Ichigo asked, attempting to calm down, and finally managing it. Unfortunately her teammates had already noticed, and as Lettuce, Pudding, and Mint finished off the Chimera Anima, Zakuro came over and asked coldly, "Kisshu, what did you do to Ichigo?"

"I didn't do anything!" Kisshu said defensively.

"Then why was she laughing?" Zakuro asked.

"He was telling me the Café needs remodeling because it's too pink, and that made me laugh," Ichigo said a bit too quickly.

Zakuro seemed to notice, because she said, "Ichigo's not acting normal. I know you did something to her." She took out her light whip, and Kisshu floated back a bit. Ichigo tried to stop Zakuro, but she was too fast, and Kisshu got slammed into a tree, which knocked him out.

Ichigo snapped at that, and called, "Lettuce! Pudding! Today's the day, let's get a move on!"

"Hai!" the two girls said. Pudding took a coil of rope out of thin air, and Ichigo knocked Zakuro out while Lettuce knocked Mint out. Ichigo ran over to Kisshu as Lettuce and Pudding tied Zakuro and Mint together.

Kneeling next to him, Ichigo asked, "Kisshu? Kisshu, can you hear me?"

Kisshu didn't even stir, and Ichigo put a hand on his forehead- then yanked it off, her eyes widening as she screamed telepathically, PAI!

What happened? Pai sighed.

Zakuro slammed Kisshu into a tree with her whip, and now he's burning up, Ichigo said. Can you come get us? I told Lettuce and Pudding to go with the plan today. They're tying up Mint and Zakuro.

I'm on my way, Pai said. Ichigo cut the connection and looked over at Lettuce, who nodded. Mint and Zakuro were tied up. "Pai's on his way," Ichigo said. She took out her cell phone, but stopped when Pai appeared.

Pai put his hand on Kisshu's forehead, and said, "This is really bad. Ichigo, grab on. You can call Moe when we get to the ship."

Ichigo put her cell phone back in her pocket and grabbed Pai's shoulder as he picked up Kisshu, then teleported them to Kisshu's room on the ship. Pai put Kisshu down on the bed, and said, "I might need some of your power; it feels like Kisshu's system is going into shock."

"Understood, should I wait to call Moe and Miwa?" Ichigo asked.

"No, do it now," Pai said.

Ichigo immediately got out her cell phone, and dialed Miwa's number. As soon as she got a response, she said, "Miwa, today's the day. Go to Café Mew Mew; Lettuce and Pudding should have everything ready. I'm at the ship; Kisshu's in pretty bad shape."

"I'll get Moe, thanks for letting me know," Miwa said, and hung up.

Ichigo put her cell phone back in her pocket after turning it off, and said, "Okay, we're set. Let me know if you need my power."

"Hai," Pai said. He put a hand on Kisshu's chest, and started healing him. About ten minutes later, he said, "Ichigo, I need help."

Ichigo immediately came over and took Pai's outstretched hand, pouring her power into him. Ten minutes later, Pai said, "It's not doing anything!"

"Should I get Taruto, or go with the other idea?" Ichigo asked.

"Get Taruto; the other thing isn't a good idea," Pai said. Ichigo nodded and screamed, TARUTO! Come to Kisshu's room, we need more power!

On it, Taruto said, and a minute later, he appeared and took Ichigo's outstretched hand, giving her his power. She gave it to Pai, who looked worried. "It's not helping, and his system is shutting down," Pai whispered.

"I'm not sure the amount of power I have left is enough to use that technique successfully," Ichigo said.

"Taruto and I can give you the power, but are you sure?" Pai asked.

"I'm positive," Ichigo said firmly.

Pai sighed, and said, "Taruto, give Ichigo as much power as you can without draining yourself."

Taruto nodded, and as Pai started pouring his power into Ichigo, Taruto did the same. Ichigo started to feel stronger, and a minute later, she said, "I think that's good, you can stop now."

Pai and Taruto let go of her hands, and backed up as she went to Kisshu and put a hand over his heart. She began to glow brightly, and then the glow flashed. Pai and Taruto shielded their eyes, but they still heard Ichigo fall.

Finally the flash faded, and Pai and Taruto looked up. Ichigo was lying on the floor, and Pai sighed, then went to Kisshu and put a hand on his chest. "He should be fine when he wakes up," Pai said. "Of course, he's going to be very unhappy with us, but we'll live- I think."

Taruto sighed. "Can I go say goodbye to Pudding before Kisshu kills me?" he asked.

"Kisshu's not going to kill you, he'll more likely kill me," Pai sighed. Then he noticed Kisshu was stirring, and asked, "Kisshu?"

Kisshu opened his eyes and asked, "Pai? What happened? Where's Ichigo?"

"Zakuro slammed you into a tree, and it nearly caused your body to entirely shut down for some reason," Pai said.

"You look exhausted," Kisshu commented. "Is Ichigo here?"

"Um…." Pai said. "I don't think you're going to like this, but I wasn't able to heal you, and your body nearly shut down even after Ichigo and Taruto gave me power. Ichigo... um…." He paused, and Kisshu caught on.

"She used that technique on me?" he whispered, horrified. Pai nodded.

"She insisted that Taruto and I give her our power to use that technique, and we did," Pai said. "I asked her if she was sure, and she said, "I'm positive." You know there's no way we could have stopped her."

"Where is she?" Kisshu asked, his voice shaking.

Pai picked Ichigo up off the floor, and set her down on the bed. Kisshu looked at her, and started crying. He picked Ichigo up and hugged her, sobbing.

Suddenly Kisshu heard a soft whisper, and looked at Ichigo. "Ichigo?" he asked.

To his shock, she opened her eyes, and whispered, "Kish, you're suffocating me."

Kisshu let go of her- slightly- and asked, "You're alive?"

"I think Pai and Taruto gave me enough power to both heal you and keep me alive," Ichigo whispered. "I can't move though."

Pai came over, and put a hand on her chest, then sighed. "That's because you don't have the energy to do so," he said. "You're not paralyzed, luckily, but I think it's going to be a while before you're able to move again. And we can't teleport you in that condition."

"Can I stay here?" Ichigo whispered.

"Yes, but it's not like you've got much of a choice," Pai said. "I'll go let the others know. Kisshu, you and Ichigo should rest; you both need it."

Kisshu sighed and gently tucked Ichigo in next to him as Pai and Taruto teleported out. He laid back and looked at Ichigo. She was already half-asleep, and he pulled the blankets up, then went to sleep himself.

The next morning Kisshu woke up to find Ichigo still asleep. He started stroking her hair, and she started purring softly, leaning into his hand.

Ichigo didn't wake up till nearly one, by which point Kisshu was pretty worried. When he saw her eyes open, he asked, "Koneko-chan?"

Ichigo turned her head. "Hi Kish," she whispered.

"How are you feeling?" Kisshu asked.

"I'm still feeling really weak," Ichigo whispered. "And I think talking above a whisper is going to tire me out."

Kisshu was worried, but before he could say anything, someone knocked on the door. "Come in!" he called.

Pai opened the door, and asked, "How's Ichigo?"

"Too weak to speak above a whisper," Kisshu said. "Is there anything you can do?"

"No, but you two have a visitor," Pai said.

"Visitor?" Kisshu asked.

Pai nodded, and turned, then said, "You can come in now."

Kisshu and Ichigo were shocked when Zakuro came in. Kisshu tensed a bit, and Zakuro noticed. "I'm not here to hurt you," she said. "I wanted to apologize for hurting you, Kisshu. Pai says Ryou did something to me, but I shouldn't have attacked you like that."

Kisshu was startled by this, but still a bit wary. "That's not the only reason you came, though," he said. "What's the other reason?"

Zakuro looked startled, and said, "You're pretty perceptive."

"It's freaky," Pai said from behind her. "It's like he knows what people are thinking before they do!"

"I wouldn't be talking about freaky, Pai," Kisshu said. "Your obsession with stuffed animals and plushies is completely out of control."

"Plushies?" Ichigo whispered.

"Yeah, Pai's got a collection of stuffed animals and plushies," Kisshu said. "I think he's up to about five hundred."

Ichigo started laughing, but then started coughing. Pai immediately came over as she passed out, and put a hand on her chest. Ichigo's breathing evened out, and she relaxed. Pai sighed and said, "Kisshu, try not to make her laugh or get her worked up; it's not good for her. The second reason Zakuro came was to give Ichigo some of her power to help her recover; maybe now's a good time."

Zakuro nodded, and gently took Ichigo's left hand in her own, then closed her eyes, concentrating.

Ten minutes later, Zakuro let go of Ichigo's hand, and stumbled. Pai caught her, and put a hand on her chest. "I think that was a bit much," he said.

"I guess you're right, but did it help?" Zakuro asked.

Pai helped Zakuro sit on the edge of Kisshu's bed, and put a hand on Ichigo's chest. "She'll be able to sit up when she wakes up, but she won't be able to walk till next week," he said. "Still, sitting up is a definite improvement over being unable to move."

Kisshu had been looking worried, but now he perked up a bit. Pai noticed and said, "You should still try to keep her from laughing too much or getting worked up, Kisshu."

Kisshu sighed as Pai said, "Come outside, we need to fill you in on what's going on."

Kisshu got off the bed, and followed Pai and Zakuro out of the room. "So how's the truce going?" Kisshu asked.

"Ichigo's school friends killed Ryou and Aoyama," Zakuro said. "NOT a pretty sight, but they're both dead. The truce is basically finalized; Pai is taking the Mew Aqua back to your planet after Ichigo's better, and then he's coming back, and you three will either be living on Earth or on the ship. I think Taruto is moving in with Pudding, and Pai will be moving in with Keiichiro. I'm pretty sure Ichigo wants you to move in with her; but you'd have to ask."

"I didn't get to kill Blondie OR Treehugger!?" Kisshu asked.

"I don't think even you could beat Moe and Miwa," Pai said dryly. "They were dead set on killing those two, and they came to the café looking like hungry wolves after Ichigo told them the news. Scary."

Kisshu looked sulky, and asked sulkily, "Is that it?"

"Pretty much, we just wait for Ichigo to recover," Pai said. "I'll take Zakuro back, you should go back to Ichigo."

Kisshu sighed and went back to his room as Pai teleported out with Zakuro. Ichigo was still sleeping, and Kisshu was kind of tired, so he took his shirt off and climbed in with her.

The next morning, he woke up to find Ichigo sitting up, playing with his hair. "Are you feeling better?" he asked her.

"Sort of, but I can't walk," Ichigo said. "It's nice that I can move again, though. You looked kind of unhappy when I woke up; is something wrong?"

"Moe and Miwa killed Treehugger AND Blondie and didn't save any for me!" Kisshu said sulkily.

Ichigo giggled. "You're totally cute when you sulk," she said. "And Moe and Miwa would have beat you up if you got in their way. Would a kiss make you feel better?"

Kisshu perked up, and Ichigo giggled and kissed him.

I don't exactly know where I came up with this, but please review. I think I have another idea for Escape, but I'm not totally sure yet. Please review!