Mew Onigiri
Ichigo struggled in the rope that bound her to Mint and Lettuce. She hated having her powers restrained, especially now, when the aliens had stolen her powers and her image. "Ichigo," Mint's hushed voice scolded, "squirming won't make whatever's going to happen any easier."
Mint was right. As Ichigo calmed down and made her face seem neutral when it screamed defiance, the phony Ichigo, Mint, and Zakuro entered the room.
"Ichi-oneechan" cam Pudding's quiet whisper "I'm scared. What will Pai Zakuro-sama do to us? Why won't Taru Taru Ichi-chan stop him?" Ichigo flinched at her words; every one of them was true. (Maybe all except the Taru Taru part.) She was scared, and above all, she was dying to know what the aliens were going to do.
She closed her eyes, thinking. A sharp voice cut through the silence. It said, "Now will you cooperate, or will you made this easier?"
Ichigo stopped thinking. She raised her foot, and to the best of her ability tried to kick at her offender. The fake Zakuro (aka Pai) only laughed. "Pity," his soothing voice purred, "Had you behaved, we would have made this lots easier, but since not… Let the fun begin." He cackled as he pressed the little heart-shaped button in the device in his hand, and Ichigo felt her eyes slip closed.
.:SWIRLY:.
Kyo was shouting at Yuki for no apparent reason. Yuki thought that it was because he made Kyo carry the leeks that he had just bought at the grocery store. It might be that. Anyway, he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a kind of rustling noise emanating from the bushes lining the path.
A girl with her long red hair tied back in yellow ribbons pushed aside a bit of bushes. She looked extremely exhausted. This was proved when she fell forward, fast asleep, into Kyo's open hands. Yuki sniggered. Kyo was carrying the girl with his arms stretched away from his body. "You sure you can carry her?" he asked.
"Shut up," came the reply. He turned, ignoring Yuki as he walked down to the Sohma estate, namely Shigure's house. He laid her down on a bed-mat, and pulled a blanket over her. He kneeled down next to her bed, and yelled to Yuki (who was just somewhere in the house) to go fetch Tohru. He heard a muffled reply, "Do it yourself, you stupid cat!"
"Stupid rat," he muttered. He got up and walked upstairs to Tohru's room. "Come downstairs," he said calmly, "and please hurry and bring something, I dunno, try a bandage?"
He turned and left the room. Tohru scanned the room, looking for her first-aid kit. What could Kyo possibly need it for? Did he or Yuki get hurt? She had a feeling that it was more than that. She picked up her kit and trotted downstairs, clutching the side rail.
She was right. It was more than that. Apparently the boys had brought home a girl! She kneeled on the floor, scanning the girl's body for any cuts. Tohru found a small line or two snaking down each of her hands. Where was she from? She wondered as she poured some liquid on a cotton ball and stroked her hands, How did she get there?