Kitten Love Chapter 29:
Awakening
A week had passed since Kisshu had been hit by the Crimson Warrior's dart, and he was still sleeping. The only thing that proved he was still alive was his breathing. Ichigo only left his room at mealtimes, because she had to stop Pai from going in the kitchen. The rest of the time she spent in Kisshu's room, mainly reading. She did sleep with him at night, but it didn't seem to make a difference; he hadn't even stirred.
Pai spent all of his time trying to figure out how to wake Kisshu up, but hadn't come up with anything yet. While he tried to figure this out, he told Ichigo to try talking to Kisshu, which was currently what she was doing.
"It's been a week," she said softly. "I know you're right here, but I miss you, Kishy. I hope Pai finds some way of waking you up soon. Keiichiro called and said there's been a few attacks, but he sent the other Mews, and they took care of it. I guess now we know what Mint meant when she said the Crimson Warrior was going to keep you out of commission. It's hard for all of us; you've been asleep for a week, and Pai can't figure out how to wake you up. I managed to keep him out of the kitchen, though. You and Taruto were right, he's a complete disaster. I can't understand why he keeps trying…"
Ichigo trailed off, sighing. Suddenly the smoke alarm went off, and Ichigo's cat ears popped out as she jumped up. Then she ran out, not noticing that Kisshu's cat ears had popped out as well.
Ichigo ran to the kitchen as the smoke alarm kept blaring. Just as she reached the kitchen, it finally went off. She entered the kitchen, and sure enough, Pai was in there, his hands over his ears. Ichigo went over and looked at the now somewhat melted pot, then glared at Pai. "Seriously, did you have to?" Ichigo asked irritably. "I hope you realize that YOU will be cleaning that up. And how many times am I going to have to tell you to stay out of the kitchen!?"
Pai sighed, and picked up the half-melted pot by the handle. "I just wanted some oatmeal…" he said.
"Then why didn't you ask me to come make it?" Ichigo asked. "I keep telling you the same thing over and over. How come you never listen?"
"I listen, I just forget sometimes…" Pai said uncomfortably.
"Obviously," Ichigo sighed. "I'm going back to Kisshu, and if I find out you didn't clean this up by dinnertime, you're in for it."
"Fine…" Pai sighed, and put the pot in the garbage, then got out a sponge as Ichigo walked out.
She went back to Kisshu's room, and went over to the bed. As she came closer, to her shock, Kisshu opened his eyes. "Koneko-chan, why am I here?" he asked, his voice scratchy from lack of use. "The Crimson Warrior shot that dart at me, and then I don't remember anything."
"The dart turned you into a kitten, but we couldn't wake you up," Ichigo said. "Moe, Miwa and I brought you back to our house, and I called Pai to turn you back. He turned you back, but said you were too weak to wake up for some reason. You've been sleeping for a week now."
"I've been asleep for a week!?" Kisshu asked incredulously.
"Yeah, we've all been pretty worried," Ichigo said. "Pai took both of us to the ship so you'd be safe while you were unable to fight. Mom and Dad went on a trip and told the school that we had to go take care of a sick friend, and didn't know when we'd be back. How are you feeling?"
"I think I'm too weak to sit up still," Kisshu said. "And my stomach's not feeling that great right now."
"Is there a bucket around here?" Ichigo asked.
"There's one in the closet next door," Kisshu said.
"Okay," Ichigo said, and ran to the closet. She looked in, found the bucket, and ran back. She went to the bed, and helped Kisshu sit up, then put the bucket in his lap. To both of their surprise, though he was looking pretty green, he didn't throw up right away. "My stomach feels awful, but for some reason I can't seem to throw up," Kisshu said. "It's not that I want to, but I think it'll help me feel better."
"Try to relax your muscles, maybe that'll help," Ichigo said.
Kisshu tried that, but at first it didn't seem to help. He looked at Ichigo, but before he could say anything, he started feeling worse. About a minute later, he threw up into the bucket on his lap. About five minutes later, Kisshu thought he was done, but suddenly coughed. He felt his stomach lurch again, and turned back to the bucket. Then he started throwing up again.
Ichigo was holding Kisshu in a sitting position, and was getting worried. Kisshu was still throwing up, and it had been about ten minutes. It had looked like he was done five minutes ago, but then he had thrown up again, and was still throwing up. You'd think he'd have nothing left by now, Ichigo thought worriedly. Suddenly it looked like Kisshu was stopping, but then he made a noise in his throat, and threw up again.
Luckily for both of them, Pai had finished cleaning and decided to check on them. He looked shocked when he came in, and Ichigo said, "Kisshu woke up, but it looks like he can't stop throwing up for some reason. Every time it looks like he's stopping, he throws up again. And he can't sit up on his own."
Pai came over and said, "Let me see." He put a hand on Kisshu's chest, and said, "It's nothing too serious, so I can fix it. Keep holding him, Ichigo."
Ichigo obeyed as Pai put his other hand on Kisshu's stomach, and his hands began to glow. Kisshu had been coughing up more stuff, but as Pai's hands began to glow, he slowly stopped. A while later, the glow faded, and Pai took his hands away. "How's your stomach feeling now?" he asked Kisshu.
"It feels a lot better, thanks Pai," Kisshu said. "I still feel really weak, though."
"That's going to take a while longer to heal," Pai said. "And unfortunately, you can't eat till tomorrow morning at the earliest. I'm going to have to check on you before you can eat anything. It could upset your stomach again if you eat too soon."
"I'm not really hungry anyways," Kisshu said.
"That's for the best," Pai said. "I don't think I can heal the weakness, so you're going to have to tough it out. It's pretty severe this time; when you first got hit with that dart, you were too weak to wake up. Ichigo told you you've been asleep for a week, right?"
"Yeah," Kisshu said. "How are things going?"
"There have been a few attacks, but the other Mews handled them," Pai said. "Keiichiro's been keeping in touch. I should actually go tell him you woke up. Ichigo can keep you company, right?"
"Yep," Ichigo said. "What time is it, anyways?"
"About 11 at night," Pai said. "I think you should get some sleep."
"K," Ichigo said. She helped Kisshu lie back down, then said, "I've been sleeping with you, is that okay?"
"Yeah, I'm kind of tired again," Kisshu said. "Kind of hard to believe."
"You're still too weak to stay up for very long," Pai said. "I know you slept for a week, but you'll still need rest to get your strength back. So that means no late nights, and no pushing yourself. And yes, pushing yourself involves trying to get up. I know Ichigo's capable of stopping you from pushing yourself, but I'll still be in and out."
Kisshu sighed, and Ichigo ruffled his hair gently. "I'll be here," she said softly. "I'll take care of you."
"Thanks…" Kisshu said.
Ichigo noticed he was sounding a bit tired, and said, "Scoot over, I think we both could use some rest."
Kisshu obeyed, and Ichigo climbed in with him as Pai teleported out.
The next morning, Kisshu woke up before Ichigo. He still felt too weak to sit up, so he turned his head to look at Ichigo. He noticed her arms were around his waist, and he started stroking her hair, smiling when she purred. Then he noticed she was starting to wake up, and asked softly, "Koneko-chan?"
Ichigo sleepily opened her eyes. "Morning Kishy," she said. "How are you feeling?"
"Still too weak to sit up," Kisshu admitted. "I'm kind of hungry; can you ask Pai if it's okay for me to eat?"
"Sure," Ichigo said- just as the smoke alarm caused their cat features to come out. "Pai is now doomed," Ichigo said, and ran out, leaving Kisshu to wonder exactly what she meant by that.
Ichigo ran to the kitchen, and found Pai there again, trying to disable the smoke alarm. He cringed when he heard her footsteps, and asked, "I'm doomed, aren't I?"
"Yes," Ichigo said. "WHY don't you ever listen!? That's the second time in two days! At this rate, Kisshu won't get the rest he needs to recover. What did you burn this time, by the way?"
"Another pot…" Pai said sheepishly.
Ichigo facepalmed. "Go clean it up, and then you can come see if Kisshu's well enough to eat," she said. "I'll be in his room."
Pai sighed and got the sponge as Ichigo walked back to Kisshu's room. Kisshu looked up as Ichigo came in, but before he could say anything, she asked, "Do you have any paper in here?"
"Top drawer of my desk, why?" Kisshu asked.
"I need to make a sign," Ichigo said, and went over to the desk. She took out a sheet of paper, then grabbed a pen, and neatly wrote, 'Ichigo's Kitchen. Pai, KEEP OUT!'
That done, she turned back to Kisshu and asked, "Do you have anything I could use to hang this up?"
"I've got duct tape and thumb tacks," Kisshu said. "Both are in the drawer to your left."
"Thanks, I think I'll use duct tape," Ichigo said. She took the duct tape out of the drawer, and took her sign to the kitchen, passing Pai on the way. She gave him an evil grin, and he gulped, then teleported. She continued on, snickering, and when she reached the kitchen, she took some of the duct tape and taped the sign to the door. Then she headed back to Kisshu's room.
When she reached the door, she heard Kisshu say, "How should I know? She just said she was making a sign! Why can't you ask her yourself?"
"She gave me this evil grin when I looked at her!" Pai moaned.
"Oh, get a life, Pai," Kisshu said. "She was probably still upset about the smoke alarm. You really should listen when Koneko-chan tells you to stay out of the kitchen. Besides, unlike someone ELSE I know, her laughter isn't cursed."
"MY LAUGHTER IS NOT CURSED, YOU LITTLE GREEN DEMON!" Pai shouted.
Kisshu groaned, and Ichigo went in, worried. Luckily he was just groaning about the fact that he had a tail again. "'Little green demon', huh Pai?" Ichigo asked. "I didn't know you were into namecalling."
"Did you curse me?" Pai asked nervously.
"Of course not," Ichigo said. "I just put a sign on the kitchen door, that's all. It's a nice sign, you should go look at it."
"What does it say?" Pai asked warily.
"Oh, you'll see," Ichigo said with an angelic smile that strangely scared Pai so much he teleported.
"Jeez," Kisshu said. "The last time I saw Pai that scared was when you called your dad that time he smirked at us."
Ichigo giggled. "He's funny, and I can't wait to hear what he has to say about my sign," she said- just as they heard Pai shout, "ICHIGO!"
"What'd the sign say?" Kisshu asked.
"It said, 'Ichigo's Kitchen. Pai, KEEP OUT!'" Ichigo said, giggling.
Kisshu started laughing as he said, "That's great!"
Pai teleported back in, bright red, and yelled, "WHY CAN'T I GET IT OFF!?"
"I used duct tape," Ichigo said. "Besides, I'm hoping that'll remind you to NOT go in my kitchen. You keep setting off the smoke alarm, and yesterday you MELTED a pot. You're a disaster, Pai."
Pai was steaming, and it didn't help when Kisshu asked, "Pai, how'd you melt a pot? You must have left the stove on High for an hour to do that."
"That pot was flimsy anyways…" Pai muttered sullenly.
"Actually, that pot was a steel saucepot which shouldn't have melted no matter what," Ichigo said. "I don't know how you manage this stuff. Did you get angry and take out your fan or something?"
"Uh…" Pai said.
Kisshu burst out laughing.
"The stove wasn't heating up!" Pai said defensively.
"Haven't you ever heard of being patient?" Ichigo asked, giggling. "Jeez, for someone who's supposed to be a genius, it doesn't seem like you have any common sense. You don't shoot lightning at a pot. I'm surprised you didn't get electrocuted. And to think you were only trying to cook oatmeal."
"Pai doesn't have any common sense," Kisshu said, still laughing. "And I think he's set some records for stupidity in the kitchen. You don't bring chemicals into the kitchen, especially when you're trying to cook pasta."
"You poisoned something?" Ichigo asked. "Jeez, you're worse than I thought."
"I didn't mean to," Pai said grouchily.
"I don't think I've ever thrown up as much as I did that night," Kisshu said. "And I only had one bite. Taruto gulped half of his, and if Pai hadn't had the energy to heal him, he'd probably be dead. That was AWFUL. Even yesterday wasn't as bad as that."
"Wow…" Ichigo said. "Did Pai heal you too?"
"No, he was a bit busy throwing up," Kisshu said. "So I was throwing up all night, and the next day I had a really bad fever, and since Pai had also eaten some, and healed Taruto, he couldn't heal me, and I spent a week recovering. I beat Pai up after I got better."
"Good for you," Ichigo said. "Do you want something to eat still?"
"What can I have?" Kisshu asked.
"Something light," Pai said.
"Is ramen okay?" Kisshu asked.
"Yeah, sure," Pai said.
"I'll go make that," Ichigo said. "Pai, you will be staying here or going back to your lab. If you come near my kitchen, you will get blasted."
"With what?" Pai asked.
"My Strawberry Surprise attack," Ichigo said. "I have my pendant in my pocket, so watch out."
"I'll stay here," Pai said gloomily.
"Good puppy," Ichigo said, and patted Pai on the head. He growled at her as she skipped out, and Kisshu burst out laughing.
Ichigo went to the kitchen, and took out some ramen. After making it, she poured it into a bowl and took it back to Kisshu's room, where she found Kisshu still laughing and Pai grumbling under his breath about 'puppies eat kittens, doesn't she know that?'
"Puppies don't eat kittens, where'd you get that idea?" Ichigo asked.
"Um… research?" Pai said.
"Yeah right," Ichigo snickered. "You just made that up. Hey, if Kisshu is black as a cat, I wonder if you would be a purple puppy?"
"Grr…" Pai said, then looked thoughtful. "I wonder why Kisshu isn't green as a cat? Maybe I'll go look that up…." He wandered out of the room, and Ichigo sighed.
"Koneko-chan, did you make ramen?" Kisshu asked hopefully.
"Yep," Ichigo said. "Are you still unable to sit up?"
"I think so, sorry," Kisshu said.
"It's fine, I'll help you," Ichigo said. She put the ramen on his bedside table, and helped him sit up, rearranging the pillows to better support him. "Open up," she told Kisshu.
He obeyed, and she started feeding him the ramen. She set the bowl aside when he was done and said, "Try to get some more rest, it's the only way you'll get better."
Kisshu sighed, but settled back down as Ichigo rearranged the pillows again. He was asleep pretty quickly, and Ichigo started stroking his hair. He began purring, and she smiled.
About three hours later, Ichigo had stopped stroking Kisshu's hair, and was just sitting there, when something howled. She jerked upright, as Kisshu's eyes shot open. "What the hell was that?" he asked.
"I have no clue, but I'm going to transform," Ichigo said.
She didn't get that far.
Nice cliffie, right? I'm going to try to get another chapter out tonight. Can you guess what was howling? Review and tell me!
