Neko Chapter 7:
Sick
Ichigo found Kisshu sitting on the bed, staring at a picture in his hands. Ichigo came and sat down next to him, and he jumped a bit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Ichigo said. "Who's the picture of?"
Kisshu sighed. "My parents and me as a baby," he said softly. He showed her the picture, and she said, "They look nice. Are they the reason for your two favorite colors?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Kisshu asked.
"Your mom's hair is green, and your dad's hair is black," Ichigo said.
"Yeah…" Kisshu said. He sighed again, and said, "They died in a rockslide when I was six. It was really hard for me, even though about half the people I knew had lost one or both of their parents, and I helped them get through it. I went into depression and wouldn't come out of my room after that. I had the nicest parents out of all my friends, and it was the hardest thing in the world knowing that I'd never see my mom smile or my dad laugh again. A lot of kids' dads' hit them to make lectures stick, but mine never did. And to this day, I've only met one person with the same personality as my mom. My mom was the kindest, most understanding person you'd ever meet. Your mom is exactly like her. I wish they could have met, I think they'd be good friends."
"Wow…" Ichigo said softly.
Kisshu smiled sadly. "I'm glad your mom adopted me," he said. "I wanted to be with you, but having her is great too. I never thought I'd meet anyone like my mom again."
"I'm glad you're happy here," Ichigo said. "Living with humans must not be easy."
"You and Sakura make it easy," Kisshu said with a grin. "Your dad, on the other hand…."
Ichigo laughed. "Yeah, he's a handful, as my mom says," she said. She noticed Kisshu's smile fading, and said, "What's wrong?"
"My stomach's not feeling good again," Kisshu said. "But I barely ate anything today."
"Did you bring the buckets in here?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah, I put one on either side of the bed," Kisshu said. He leaned over his side and picked up a bucket as he felt his stomach lurch. He just had time to put it on his lap before throwing up. Ichigo started rubbing his back gently as he coughed stuff up. When he was finished, he sighed. "I don't feel good….." he said.
"I'm not feeling that great either," Ichigo said. "I'm getting a headache." She felt her stomach lurch, and quickly picked up the bucket on her side of the bed, throwing up into it. She felt Kisshu rubbing her back as she coughed stuff up. When she finished, she put the bucket down, and turned to Kisshu, who was shivering. "I thought it was almost summer, why is it so cold in here?" he asked.
Ichigo felt his forehead, and said, "It's not cold, you've got a fever, and that's causing you to feel cold. Maybe it'll help if you get under the covers."
Kisshu did so, and laid back. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Ichigo called, "Come in!"
Sakura opened the door, and said, "Your dad told me you two are sick with that stomach bug."
"Yeah, and Kish's got a fever," Ichigo said. "He might have it worse; I just have a headache and my stomach feels awful."
Sakura came over and put her hand on Kisshu's forehead, and her eyes widened. "You're burning up," she said. "Can you take our medicine?"
"Yeah, but it's not going to help if I can't keep it down," Kisshu said.
"You're probably right," Sakura said worriedly. "I'm getting a cool cloth, try to get some rest. You too, Ichigo."
"K," Ichigo said, climbing under the covers with Kisshu. Sakura left and came back with a cold cloth, which she put over Kisshu's forehead.
"That's cold," he said.
"I know, but it should help keep your fever down," Sakura said. "Do you want me to find more blankets?"
"Yes please…" Kisshu said sleepily.
Sakura left again and came back with a stack of blankets, which she spread over both of them. Then she felt Ichigo's forehead. "Well, at least you don't have a fever," she said. "How's your stomach?"
"Not good, I think I'm going to-" Ichigo broke off as she grabbed the bucket and threw up again. She laid back when she was done, and said, "I'm tired…."
"Go to sleep," Sakura said. "Kisshu, how's your stomach?"
"I think it's a little better," Kisshu said. "I'm tired too, though."
"Okay," Sakura said. "You two get some sleep."
Ichigo and Kisshu settled back and were asleep pretty quickly.
Ichigo woke up a while later feeling sick again. She noticed Kisshu was still asleep, and felt bad that she was probably going to wake him up. She felt her stomach lurch, and grabbed the bucket right before she got sick again. She heard a soft groan behind her, and figured Kisshu was waking up. I feel bad about waking him up, but there's not a lot I can do about it, Ichigo thought as she coughed up more stuff. When she finished, she laid back and turned her head, seeing that Kisshu was half-awake. "Sorry I woke you," she said softly.
"I know you can't help it," Kisshu said sleepily. "I wonder why my stomach feels fine, but yours is really upset?"
"Some illnesses affect different people different ways," Ichigo said. "Maybe you got the fever part, and I got the stomach part."
"Well, maybe if my stomach feels fine, I can take medicine," Kisshu said. "I'll ask next time Sakura comes in. Right now I just want to go back to sleep."
"K," Ichigo said. "I'll try to be quieter next time."
"Don't worry about it," Kisshu said as he fell back to sleep. Ichigo eventually did the same.
Unfortunately, about three hours later, Ichigo started feeling sick again. And she quickly realized it was impossible to throw up quietly. When she thought she was finished, she put the bucket down, but had to grab it fast as she felt sick again. This is awful, she thought. At this rate, neither of us will get much sleep. She sighed when she was done, but when she turned back, she saw that Kisshu was still asleep. He slept through that? she wondered. She put a hand on his forehead, and immediately yanked it off. Even through the cloth Sakura had put on his forehead, Ichigo could feel that his skin was extremely hot.
Luckily for her, Sakura had decided to check on them, and Ichigo sighed when she saw her. "Mom, Kish's fever is worse," she said. "Last time he woke up, he said his stomach felt fine. I think he needs medicine."
Sakura came over and felt Kisshu's forehead. Her eyes widened. "This is bad," she said. "The fever medicine I have might not work on this. And we can't take him to the hospital, they'll tell the police."
"Go call Keiichiro, and tell him to contact Pai," Ichigo said. "Maybe he'll have something."
"On it," Sakura said, and ran out.
Ichigo heard her talking, and five minutes later, she came back. "We're in luck, Keiichiro and Pai were talking about something when I called," she said. "Pai's on his way."
"Good," Ichigo said.
About a minute later, Pai teleported into the room, and immediately put a hand on Kisshu's forehead. "You were right, he's in bad shape," Pai said. "I can heal him, but I might not have enough energy to heal you too, Ichigo."
"That's fine," Ichigo said. "I can go back to my room, so he won't get worse."
"Can you stay till he's awake at least?" Pai asked. "He tends to get a bit clingy if he's feeling sick."
"Okay, but my stomach still doesn't feel good, so I hope if I throw up again, it doesn't distract you," Ichigo said.
"I'll manage," Pai said, and put his other hand on Kisshu's chest. Both his hands began to glow, and Ichigo watched as Kisshu's breathing, which had been harsh, started to even out. It took more time for the color in his cheeks to go away, but eventually, the color left his face, and Pai took his hands away. "Ichigo, I have enough energy left to heal you as well, but I won't be able to teleport after," Pai said. "Can I stay here?"
"Sure," Ichigo said. "Do you want this room, or is my room okay? We only have three bedrooms."
"I don't even mind the couch, but I don't think it's good to move Kisshu," Pai said.
"Take my room," Ichigo said. "I don't mind."
"If you're sure," Pai said. "Lie back down, I'll heal you."
Ichigo obeyed, and Pai put a hand on her stomach and one over her heart. His hands began to glow, and Ichigo started to feel better. By the time Pai took his hands away, Ichigo realized she felt fine. "Thanks, Pai," Ichigo said after he took his hands away. "You should go rest, I'll tell my parents that you're spending the night in my room. Just close the door, or you might get my dad in there yelling at you if my mom can't stop him."
"Got it," Pai said, and left, followed by Ichigo. Pai went to her room while Ichigo went downstairs. Her parents were in the living room, and they looked up, startled. "Are you feeling better?" Shintaro asked.
"Yep, Pai healed me too, but I came to tell you that he can't teleport back, so he's spending the night in my room," Ichigo said.
"Okay," Sakura said. "Is Kisshu better?"
"I think he'll be fine when he wakes up," Ichigo said. "I'm going back to him; see you in the morning."
"K," her parents said. Ichigo waved and went back upstairs, then went back to Kisshu's room and carefully climbed in with him. She pulled the blankets up, and went to sleep herself.
The next morning, she woke up to find that Kisshu had, for some odd reason, turned back into a kitten. He was sitting next to her, looking frustrated. "Kish, what happened?" Ichigo asked.
"I tried to kiss you while you were sleeping, and then I turned into a kitten again," Kisshu said. "And now the only thing I can think about is fish for some reason. Can you turn me back?"
Ichigo giggled and kissed Kisshu on the nose, turning him back. "Are you feeling better?" she asked.
"I feel fine," Kisshu said. "What about you?"
"Fine, Pai healed both of us," Ichigo said. "You had a really bad fever yesterday, so I told Mom to call Keiichiro so he could contact Pai. Luckily Pai was talking with Keiichiro about something, so he got here fast. I wonder if he's up yet; I told him he could sleep over because he used up a lot of energy healing us."
"That was nice of you," Kisshu commented. "Is he downstairs?"
"No, my parents decided to watch TV all night, so I gave him my room, and came back in here to sleep with you," Ichigo said. "I like sleeping with you."
Kisshu smiled. "I like sleeping with you too," he said. "It's comfy."
Ichigo giggled, and Kisshu blushed. Ichigo noticed, and said, "That is so CUTE!"
"What is?" Kisshu asked.
"You blushing," Ichigo said. She sighed, and said, "I wish you didn't have to use those pills, I think your ears are adorable."
"Y-you do?" Kisshu asked.
Ichigo smiled happily. "Yep!" she said. "Come on, let's get some breakfast." She got up and pulled Kisshu up as well. They walked downstairs holding hands, headed for the kitchen.
Horrendous chapter ending. Please review anyways.
