Depression Chapter 10:
Sad News
Kisshu slept through the rest of the day, and woke up around dinnertime. Sakura had made miso soup, and Ichigo helped Kisshu drink some.
To their surprise, Shintaro still wasn't home. Finally, around 8 that night, Sakura called his friend Micheru, which was where Shintaro went when he wanted to get away. Micheru hadn't seen him, though. Sakura thanked him, and hung up. She turned to Ichigo and Pai, who were watching her. "I'm getting worried," she admitted. "Normally he would come back after he cooled down."
"Have you tried the hospital?" Pai asked. "If something happened, they might be involved."
"Normally they'd call here," Sakura said.
"If Shintaro was unconscious, they may not know how to contact you," Pai said.
Ichigo looked scared. "I'll go call," Sakura said. She took the phone to another room, leaving Ichigo and Pai alone.
Ichigo was scared, and Pai picked up on that. "Ichigo, try to stay calm," he said. "If not for your own sake, then at least for Kisshu's. He'll panic if you do, and if he does, that could cause his condition to take a turn for the worse. And I'm sure if something happened, it's not too serious. For all we know, he went to a different friend's house, and that's why Micheru hasn't seen him."
Before Ichigo could reply, Sakura came back in, looking grim. "What happened, Mom?" Ichigo asked.
"You were right, Pai," Sakura said. "He's in the hospital, and they don't exactly know what happened, because he's still unconscious. Ichigo, I feel like we should go. Can you leave Kisshu with Pai for a while?"
Ichigo was torn. On the one hand, Kisshu could get worse without her around; on the other, her dad was in the hospital, and she had a feeling it was her fault. She looked at Pai, who seemed to guess what she was thinking. "Go, Ichigo," Pai said. "If worse comes to worst, I'll put Kisshu to sleep. I'll keep him calm, so go ahead."
"Thanks, Pai," Ichigo said, and went to get her shoes. Sakura met her at the door, and they got in the car. Then Sakura drove to the hospital.
When they got to the front desk, the receptionist said, "Are you Momomiya Sakura?"
"Hai," Sakura said. "This is my daughter Ichigo. Can we see Shintaro?"
"He's in the ER, but you can go to the waiting room," the receptionist said. "It's down the hall."
"Thank you," Sakura said, and led Ichigo down the hall. They entered the waiting room, which was deserted, and sat down together.
"This is my fault, isn't it?" Ichigo asked sadly.
"No, sweetie, it's not," Sakura said firmly. "Your dad can make his own choices, and it's not your fault he's refusing to understand you. You didn't force him to take a walk, that was his choice. And we don't know exactly what happened anyways, so until we do, don't think things like that."
Suddenly the door opened, and a woman came out. "Are you Momomiya Sakura and Momomiya Ichigo?" she asked.
"Yes," Sakura said.
The woman sighed, and said, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn't look like Mr. Momomiya has a lot of time left. He had a lot of internal bleeding to begin with; we're guessing he was hit by a car or something. Do you want to see him?"
"Hai," Sakura said shakily. She took Ichigo's hand, and walked into the room. Shintaro was lying on the bed in the middle of the room, his breathing shallow. Sakura and Ichigo walked over, sitting in the chairs next to the bed. To their surprise, Shintaro opened his eyes and said weakly, "I'm sorry, Ichigo. I should have listened to you and your mother sooner. Maybe then I wouldn't have to leave you so soon."
Ichigo was crying as she said, "I'm sorry too, Daddy. I love you…" she was now crying so hard she couldn't speak.
"I love you too, sweetheart," Shintaro said. "Sakura… take care of her, and yourself. I love you…" Then he closed his eyes, and a minute later, he was gone.
Ichigo and her mother were sobbing now. The woman from before came back in, and said, "He's gone, then?"
Sakura took a deep breath, and said, "Yes…"
"I am so sorry we couldn't save him," the woman said. "Do you need a ride home, or do you want to stay here?"
"Ichigo?" Sakura asked.
"I think I'll go home," Ichigo said shakily. "What about you?"
"I kind of want to stay here," Sakura said. "Can you call Pai to come get you?"
"Is that a good idea?" Ichigo asked.
"Right now, it's all we've got," Sakura said.
"Alright," Ichigo said, and got out her cell phone. She dialed Pai's number, and when he picked up, said, "Pai, you can teleport to where I am, right?"
"Yep, I'll be there soon," Pai said. He hung up, and five minutes later, teleported into the room. "It was too late?" he asked gently.
"Well, he woke up long enough to say goodbye," Sakura said sadly. "I'm staying here tonight, please take care of Ichigo for me."
"Of course," Pai said. Then he took Ichigo's hand, and teleported.
They landed in the living room, and Ichigo looked startled, because Taruto and Keiichiro were there too. Noticing she looked startled, Keiichiro said, "We're here to help. Pai called and told me that your father died, and then told me to get Taruto and come here, the main reason being so I can cook for you guys for a while. We and the other Mews are going to get you and your mother through this, Ichigo."
"Thanks…" Ichigo said sadly. "How's Kisshu?"
"He's sleeping," Pai said. "I put him to sleep before I left to get you. He should be good for another two hours, so we can let him be."
"Okay," Ichigo said. "Mom's still at the hospital."
"Pai mentioned she'd be staying the night," Keiichiro said. "Do you want something to eat?"
"Not really," Ichigo said sadly. "I think I'll just go to bed…"
"That might be a good idea, maybe snuggling with Kisshu will help," Pai said. "Go to bed, we'll be here. Keiichiro's going to do a little cooking and leave, but he'll be back tomorrow."
"Thanks…" Ichigo said, and headed upstairs. Kisshu was asleep, so she was quiet getting her stuff together. She got her pajamas on in the bathroom, and then went back to her room. Kisshu was starting to wake up, and when he saw her, he whispered, "What happened, Ichigo?"
"My dad died an hour ago," Ichigo said sadly. "I'm just coming to snuggle with you, is that okay?"
"Of course," Kisshu whispered. Ichigo climbed under the covers and snuggled up to Kisshu, who put an arm over her. She did the same, and they both fell asleep.
Ichigo woke up with her arms locked around Kisshu the next morning. She was feeling sadder than ever, and decided to just lie there until she felt like getting up.
This turned out to be around noon, and she sighed, then noticed Kisshu was waking up too. "Kisshu?" she asked softly.
"Are you any better?" Kisshu asked. This time he didn't whisper.
"Not really, but it seems like you're starting to get better," Ichigo said. "You can talk above a whisper now."
"Yeah," Kisshu said. "I'm sorry about your dad, Ichigo."
"Thanks, Kishy," Ichigo said- and then covered her mouth with a squeak, her cheeks turning red.
Kisshu looked at her, a bit startled, then smoothed her hair and said, "I like my nickname, Koneko-chan."
"Th-thanks…" Ichigo said. "You don't mind?"
"I like that you gave me a nickname," Kisshu said.
Ichigo smiled slightly. Then she took her arms away from Kisshu, and said, "I guess I'll get up, my mom should be back soon."
"Okay," Kisshu said. "I don't think I can sit up yet, though."
"That's okay, if Mom wants to talk to you, she can come here," Ichigo said. She got out of bed, and gathered up some clothes. She took a quick shower, put her clothes on and did her hair, and went back to Kisshu. "I'm going downstairs," she told him. "I'll be back soon, k?"
"K…" Kisshu said. Ichigo smiled at him and went downstairs. Sakura was in the living room, with Pai and Taruto. They looked up as Ichigo came in. "Are you feeling any better?" Pai asked.
"Snuggling with Kisshu helped a little," Ichigo said. Turning to Sakura, she said, "Mom, how are you doing?"
"I guess I'll live," Sakura said sadly. "Oh, and Pai, Kisshu and Taruto will be living here from now on. Pai's idea."
"That's good, it'd be pretty lonely otherwise," Ichigo said sadly. "At least we'll have company."
"Yeah…" Sakura said sadly.
The doorbell rang, and Pai said, "I've got a pretty good idea of who's at the door, I'll get it." He got up and went to the door, coming back a minute later with Keiichiro.
"You're Keiichiro, right?" Sakura asked.
"Hai, Pai neglected to mention that he enlisted my help too?" Keiichiro said. "I'm truly sorry for your loss, Mrs. Momomiya."
"Thanks," Sakura said softly. "So what did Pai need your help with?"
"He suggested that I do the cooking for a while, so you can be with Ichigo more," Keiichiro said. "And since Pai can't cook, he suggested that I come and help out while you're getting through this hard time."
Sakura looked startled. "You don't mind?" she asked.
"No, and according to Taruto, letting Pai in your kitchen is a recipe for total catastrophe," Keiichiro said. "I'm happy to do the cooking for a while. Since Café Mew Mew closed, I've been looking for an outlet anyways. I love cooking and baking."
"Thank you," Sakura said. "I'd probably burn everything anyways…"
While Keiichiro was talking with Sakura, Pai said to Ichigo, "How's Kisshu this morning?"
"He can talk above a whisper, but he still can't sit up," Ichigo said. "I think it'll be a while before he's back on his feet."
"That's to be expected, he did stop breathing for nearly four minutes," Pai said. "Why don't you go back to him, I'll bring you guys breakfast when it's ready."
"Thanks Pai," Ichigo said, and headed back to Kisshu.
I think that's the saddest thing I ever wrote. If I made you cry, I hope you won't flame me for it. Plz review, and tell me what you think.