Sick Day Chapter 25:

This is a Problem….

Ichigo and Kisshu managed to sleep through the rest of the night without nightmares. Sakura gently woke both of them up the next morning for school, then went to get Pai. Ichigo and Kisshu were both still pretty scared, and didn't want to leave each other. It took a lot of coaxing on Sakura's part to get them to take showers separately, and she spent the time each was in the shower calming the other one down.

Pai had left for the Café, and wasn't back yet. Moe and Miwa were due any minute, however.

As it turned out, Moe, Miwa, and Pai all came in at the same time. Pai looked grim, and Sakura said, "What happened?"

"My machine is gone," Pai said. "And I found Keiichiro unconscious, and Ryou gone. I'm guessing that Ryou is behind the nightmares, and that he took my machine. I guess he's still mad about the other day- that, and Keiichiro told me he has a crush on Ichigo."

Normally, Ichigo would have been appalled by this, but currently she was focused on the nightmare problem. "If you don't have the machine, does that mean we'll keep having the nightmares?" she asked Pai shakily.

"Since they were implanted into your minds- most likely, unless I can figure out something else," Pai said grimly.

Ichigo and Kisshu were shaking, and Moe finally said, "Um… what's going on?"

"Kisshu and Ichigo both had similar nightmares last night," Sakura said. "Kisshu dreamed that Ichigo got killed by a Chimera Anima, and something had frozen him so he couldn't help. Ichigo dreamed that she was being held back while Kisshu got ripped to pieces. I had them sleep with me after that, but they're still pretty scared. I guess it seemed really real."

Moe and Miwa looked at Ichigo and Kisshu, who were shaking, and sat down next to them. "We won't let anything happen to either of you," Miwa said. "You know we'll protect both of you with our lives."

"Thanks…" Ichigo said shakily.

Kisshu didn't respond; he was staring into space, and Pai came over, then snapped his fingers in Kisshu's face. "ICHIGO!" Kisshu screamed, startling them all. Ichigo started shaking again, and Pai shook Kisshu, then tapped his forehead. Kisshu's eyes went back to normal, and he looked at Ichigo uncertainly. She buried her face in his chest, hugging him. He hugged back as if his life depended on holding her.

The others were getting worried. "Pai, is there anything you can do without the machine?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not sure," Pai said softly. "The machine I had would pull the nightmares out of their minds and destroy the energy from them. Technically I could pull the nightmares out with my powers, but I wouldn't be able to destroy the energy, and the nightmare energy would attach itself to someone else."

"Is there something that would be able to destroy the energy if you got it out?" Miwa asked.

Pai thought, then said, "I think Kisshu's Dragon Swords could do it, but pulling the nightmares out is going to leave him too weak to summon them. That's part of the problem with pulling stuff out of someone's mind; it leaves them in pretty bad shape for a while."

"Could one of our weapons work?" Moe asked.

"I think your sword could work," Pai said. "If you slash the energy when I get it out, it should disappear."

"Alright, then let's do that," Moe said. She took out her pendant, transformed, and summoned her sword. "I'm ready," she said.

Pai nodded, and put a hand on Kisshu's forehead, and the other hand on Ichigo's forehead. He began to glow, and the glow spread over Kisshu and Ichigo. Then it started to pulse, and turned from blue to red. Pai made a pulling motion with both hands, and two balls of black energy came out of Ichigo and Kisshu's foreheads. "Moe, destroy them!" Pai said.

Moe slashed the balls with her sword, and they disappeared. Pai closed his eyes, and then said, "That did it. The energy is gone. Good work, Moe."

"Thanks," Moe said. "Will they be okay?"

Pai looked at Ichigo and Kisshu, who were both looking tired. "How are you two feeling?" he asked.

"I'm exhausted, but I don't feel as scared," Ichigo said.

"Same here," Kisshu said. "Can we go back to bed?"

"That's a good idea," Pai said. "Can you stand?"

Kisshu tried, but didn't even get upright before falling. Pai caught him, and said, "I guess not. You're both going to have to take it easy for a while." He picked Kisshu up, and said, "Sakura, these two are going to need to rest for a while. They won't have the nightmares anymore, but neither of them are in any condition to be up for very long, and if Kisshu can't stand, I think Ichigo's probably going to have trouble too."

"Alright," Sakura said. "I'll be homeschooling Moe and Miwa, but I'll be here."

"Okay, but I have school, so you'll need to check on them a lot," Pai said. "Especially if they get fevers."

"I understand, I'll keep an eye on them," Sakura said.

Pai nodded, and said, "I'll take them upstairs, you can start school." He teleported upstairs with Kisshu, and tucked him in. Then he went and got Ichigo, and tucked her in next to Kisshu. The two were asleep almost immediately. Pai gently felt both their foreheads, and satisfied that they didn't have fevers, went back downstairs.

Ichigo woke up a while later, because her head really hurt. The pain kept getting worse, and she noticed Kisshu was waking up. "My head hurts…" he said weakly.

"Mine too," Ichigo said. "And I can't concentrate enough to call Pai."

"Me neither," Kisshu said. "I guess we have to wait."

Sakura came in a while later, and noticed that they were awake. "How are you two doing?" she asked.

"We've got really bad headaches," Ichigo said. "Can you ask Pai to come help?"

"Pai's sleeping," Sakura said. "He said he used up too much energy getting rid of the nightmares. Do you want some headache medicine?"

"Anything that will help," Ichigo said.

Sakura went and got some medicine, and gave them both two pills. Then she got two cool cloths, and put them on Ichigo and Kisshu's foreheads. "Try to rest, I'll be back later," she said.

"K…" Kisshu said. He and Ichigo fell asleep soon after.

Two days later: Ichigo and Kisshu were able to sit up now, but neither of them could walk. Luckily, the nightmares were gone, but the weakness they had to deal with was irritating. However, things were about to get worse.

Late the next night, Kisshu woke up, hearing something moving in the room. Knowing it couldn't be Ichigo, he turned on the light next to the bed, and sat up. Before he could do more, someone pressed a cloth over his face, and he felt himself start to lose consciousness. The last thing he heard was Ryou saying, "Say goodbye to your girlfriend, freak." Then Kisshu blacked out.

With Ichigo and Ryou: Ichigo woke up in Ryou's room at the Café. She sat up, and muttered, "What am I doing here?"

"You're going to become mine," a voice snarled, and Ichigo looked at the door. Ryou was standing there with an evil grin on his face.

Ichigo was scared, but tried to hide it as she said, "I'll never be yours. I only love Kisshu, and there's no way I'll go out with the jerk that sent those nightmares."

Ryou's smile faded, and Ichigo got more nervous. She knew she didn't have the strength to run; she still couldn't stand. As Ryou started to advance on her, Ichigo thought, This is bad. Somebody help! Little did she know, her plea was about to be heard.

With Moe: Moe woke up knowing that something was wrong. She closed her eyes, concentrating, and felt Ichigo's terror coming from the direction of Café Mew Mew. Without a second thought, she grabbed her pendant, and leaped out her window, transforming as she fell.

With Miwa: Miwa felt Ichigo in terror, and she woke up instantly, grabbed her pendant, and snuck out the back door. Her parents were out at a dinner party. She went behind a tree, transformed, and ran to the feeling of Ichigo's terror.

With Kisshu: Kisshu woke up to find Sakura and Pai standing over him. "What happened to Ichigo?" Sakura asked.

"Ryou kidnapped her after knocking me out," Kisshu said grimly. "And I still can't walk."

Sakura looked scared. "Pai, do you know where Ryou took her?" she asked.

Pai concentrated and said, "Café Mew Mew. But something's heading towards the Café. Two somethings, and whatever they are, they've got a lot of power."

Kisshu looked like he was thinking, then said, "Probably Moe and Miwa. Pai, I need to be there."

"Understood," Pai said, and took Kisshu's hand, pouring all his power into Kisshu and healing the weakness. Kisshu stood up and teleported out as Pai staggered.

With Moe and Miwa: The girls had met up halfway, and were running full speed to the Café. Suddenly teleportation sounded nearby, and Kisshu appeared. He started flying next to them. "I thought it might be you Pai sensed heading to the Café," Kisshu said. "I don't have enough power to teleport both of you, but I can get Ichigo out of there."

"Got it," Moe said, and she and Miwa continued running, Kisshu right behind them. Finally they reached the Café, and Moe and Miwa broke down the door. Followed by Kisshu, they ran up the stairs without hesitating, and listened. Suddenly they heard Ichigo scream, "NO!" Moe's fox ears twitched, and she ran to a door, then kicked it down. Miwa and Kisshu walked in after her- and stopped dead.

Ryou had Ichigo pinned down on his bed, and she was struggling to get free. She wasn't having much luck, either; she was still too weak to fight. Ryou whipped around when he heard the door break down, and looked shocked. Moe didn't give him a chance to speak, she stalked over, grabbed his wrists, and yanked him off of Ichigo, sending him flying across the room. "Kisshu, get Ichigo out of here," she ordered. "You probably don't want to watch this."

Kisshu sighed. "You're probably right," he said. He went over to the bed and picked up Ichigo, who wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shirt as she began to cry. Kisshu held her tightly, and teleported back to their room.

Sakura and Pai were still there, and they looked up as Kisshu teleported in with Ichigo. "Ichigo! Are you okay?" Sakura asked, worried.

"Ryou was trying to rape her," Kisshu said. "I was right, the power Pai sensed on its way to Café Mew Mew was Moe and Miwa. I left them to deal with Ryou, they told me I didn't want to watch."

"That's probably for the best," Pai said.

"Ryou was trying to rape you, Ichigo?" Sakura asked, horrified.

"Yes," Ichigo said, her voice muffled by Kisshu's shirt. She was still crying and scared.

Kisshu sat down on the bed, Ichigo on his lap. Sakura sat down next to them, and started stroking Ichigo's hair. "It's okay now," she told her daughter softly. "Moe and Miwa will handle it."

With Moe and Miwa: As soon as Kisshu teleported out, Moe and Miwa stalked over to a somewhat dazed Ryou, and said, "You tried to rape Ichigo. You are going to pay with your life."

"But first we're going to beat you up," Miwa added. With that she and Moe slammed their fists into Ryou's face, breaking his nose.

By the time Moe and Miwa were done beating him up, Ryou had two broken arms, a broken nose, a broken leg, and numerous cuts and bruises. Satisfied with their work, Moe and Miwa looked at Ryou, and Miwa said, "Any last words?"

Ryou remained silent, so Moe took out her sword, and stabbed Ryou through the heart, then slit his throat to make sure. The girls looked at each other. "I wonder where Keiichiro is?" Miwa said.

"Let's look, he might have been tied up by Ryou," Moe said. She and Miwa went next door, and listened. Miwa knocked, and they heard something that sounded like, "Let me out!" It was muffled, but Miwa still tried the door. Discovering it was locked, she simply kicked it down, and went in with Moe. Keiichiro was tied up on the bed, a cloth over his mouth. Miwa ran over and took the cloth off, then started untying him. When she was done, Keiichiro said, "Thanks Miwa. Ryou wanted me out of the way for something, but I don't know what he was planning, aside from the nightmares."

"He just tried to rape Ichigo," Miwa said. "He kidnapped her and knocked Kisshu out, and then he tried to rape her."

Keiichiro looked horrified. "Is Ichigo okay?" he asked.

"Not sure, we told Kisshu to get her out before we got started on Ryou," Moe said. "We're going to go check on her now that we've freed you."

"Um… is Ryou dead?" Keiichiro asked.

"Hai," Miwa said. "That's why we sent Kisshu back; we didn't want him or Ichigo to get traumatized."

Keiichiro sighed. "I take it you beat him to a pulp before killing him?" he asked.

"Yep," Miwa said. "Are you calling the police?"

"No, he'd be going to jail anyways," Keiichiro said. "And I don't want you to get arrested, since you've been so helpful. Go check on Ichigo, and tell her I'm sorry I couldn't keep Ryou under control."

"On our way," Moe said, and followed by Miwa, left, detransforming on the way.

Well, I lied again; Ryou's dead. Again. Please don't flame me, but review.