Namida Chapter 36:

Evil Cousins

Kisshu and the others filled plates with food, and Kisshu and Ichigo went off to sit by themselves. Moe and Miwa joined them a few minutes later, and Kisshu asked, "So what's up with your cousins being evil, Koneko-chan?"

"I honestly don't know why they hate me," Ichigo said. "At the last family reunion, Nami tried to beat me up, but Dad threw her into a wall and then beat up his younger brother again. Uncle Tano spent about an hour lecturing Nami about 'proper behavior' and then grounded her for about a year. Strangely enough, Uncle Tano really looked up to Dad, which is why he gets mad at his kids when they do stuff to me. He didn't want Dad to think badly of him, so he blames his kids for the beatings he gets at family reunions. I honestly don't understand how his kids turned out so evil; he's a really great guy, and so is his wife, Aunt Umi."

"Is he your dad's only sibling?" Kisshu asked.

"No, Dad had two older sisters- both of whom had children who also hate me," Ichigo said. "All except for Aunt Ame's son Chika. He has a crush on me, and he's the most annoying person you'll probably ever meet. I hate him too. And Dad kept threatening to feed him to the sharks in Tokyo Bay. Too bad that never actually happened…."

"How many cousins do you have?" Kisshu asked.

"Eleven," Ichigo sighed. "Each one more evil and annoying than the last."

"Yikes," Kisshu said. "I didn't have any cousins. Maybe I should be glad…."

"My cousins aren't like that; maybe it's just Ichigo's bad family luck," Miwa said.

"Thanks, Miwa," Ichigo said sourly.

"Sorry," Miwa said sheepishly.

Pai came over a minute later, and said, "Ichigo, your cousins are evil."

"Tell me something I don't know," Ichigo sighed. "What did they do now?"

"They're talking about you behind your back, and Lettuce told them to shut up," Pai said.

"Let me guess, they still think I'm a spoiled crybaby," Ichigo sighed.

"Um… now they're saying you're a whore…" Pai said.

"They need a lesson," Kisshu said. "Moe, Miwa, let's go. Pai, where are they?"

"Against the back wall," Pai said. "I'll stay with Ichigo."

"Ichigo's going to prove to her evil cousins that she's not a crybaby," Ichigo said. "Let's go. Pai, are you coming?"

"Yup," Pai said.

Ichigo led the way to the back wall and her cousins, who were plotting something. They snickered when they saw her. "Okay, so what are you going to do to me now?" Ichigo asked.

"We're going to beat you up because your dad's no longer able to protect you," a girl with black hair said.

Ichigo- and her friends- snapped. "Nami, you just volunteered to get taken down first," Ichigo snarled. She launched herself at Nami, followed by Kisshu, Moe, Miwa, and Pai, who stopped the others from interfering.

Ichigo had Nami pinned down, and was beating her to a pulp. "Don't. Ever. Badmouth. My. Father. AGAIN!" Ichigo shouted. She got off Nami, and picked her up by the collar, then flung her into a nearby wall, successfully knocking her out.

By this point the adults had noticed the fight, and were starting to break it up. Sakura, Kidoru, and Megumi came over, and Sakura asked wearily, "Why did you do that?"

"They were calling me a whore, so I decided to honor Dad's memory by beating them up in his place," Ichigo said. She looked over at a man near the punch bowl, and said, "Don't worry, I won't beat you up this time, Uncle Tano."

"I think I should stop bringing your cousins to these things, it's apparently hazardous to their health," Tano said.

Nami was waking up, and Tano noticed when she said, "Dad, aren't you going to do anything?"

"You're grounded for a year again," Tano said. "Honestly, this is a funeral, not a place for fighting. Don't you have any respect for your uncle?"

"After he threw me into the wall? Not much," Nami said.

"Go wait in the car," Tano said. "And don't come back in. Just because you're my oldest daughter doesn't give you the right to badmouth my brother. And from here on out, you and your siblings don't get to come to these events. You can stay home with a baby-sitter. We will be having a LONG talk when we get home. OUT!"

Nami slouched out, but not before her mother called, "And straighten your shoulders!"

Tano walked over to the rest of his children, and said, "You're all grounded for six months, and NO, I'm not going to ask Ichigo's friends to apologize. You deserved it for badmouthing Shintaro and Ichigo."

The youngest of the kids mumbled something, and Tano said, "Care to repeat that?"

The kid looked nervous, and Kisshu sighed, then said, "He said, "Dad, why do you even care about that whore?" Can I strangle him?"

"That's my job," Tano said. "The rest of you will now be joining your sister in the car- GOT IT!?"

"Got it," the kids said gloomily, and headed out.

"I don't know where we went wrong…" Tano moaned.

"When you had the little monsters," Kisshu said bluntly.

"Kisshu…." Yuki said warningly.

"What? Some people turn out bad with the best of parents," Kisshu said. "Remember Kino?"

Yuki sighed. "Yes…." she said resignedly.

"Who's Kino?" Kidoru asked.

"My sister's late son," Yuki said. "He was a little older than Pai when he was killed. He was bad news from the start, even in his first years of school. My sister and her husband tried everything they could think of to improve his behavior, but nothing worked." She took a deep breath, then continued, "Shortly after his twentieth birthday, a little girl in town hit him for shoving her brother out of his way. Later that night, he went to her family's home, tied up her parents, and forced them to watch him kill their daughter."

"Oh my god…" Sakura said softly.

"My sister found out what he had done the minute he got home," Yuki continued. "She tied him up, called the authorities, and while they were waiting, told Kino he was going to receive the death penalty- even if she had to do it herself. Luckily for her, the courts found an executioner to do it, but my sister and her husband left town and never came back. They didn't even go to say goodbye, that's how upset and ashamed they were. I never heard from my sister again."

"Aunt Ami- that's my mom's sister- was the nicest person you'd ever meet, except for Sakura and Kisshu's real mother," Pai said softly. "Her husband was also a very easy-going, kind-hearted man. We all miss them- except Taruto, who never knew them. He was two years old when this happened. I was eleven, and Kisshu was seven. That's why Kisshu remembers that, and he's correct in saying that some people are bad from the start, no matter what their parents are like. But as I'm sure you know, having children doesn't necessarily mean they turn out the way you want them to."

"Do you have kids?" Tano asked.

"No, my mother simply told me that five million times," Pai said dryly. "I think I'll wait until Lettuce and I are married to think about having kids."

"Lettuce, make sure to teach your kids to keep their father out of the kitchen," Kisshu said, snickering.

Lettuce turned so red it probably wasn't healthy, and Pai glared at Kisshu. He started to say something, but Ichigo said, "Say the T word and you're doomed, got that?"

Pai's mouth snapped shut, and he sighed. "Fine, I'll doom Kisshu later," he sighed.

"Doom Kisshu- and we doom YOU," Moe said.

"Okay, that's enough doom," Sakura said. "I think the reception's breaking up, so should we head home?"

"I think that's a good plan," Ichigo said. "Come on, Kisshu, let's say goodbye and head out." She went to hug her grandparents as Kisshu grumbled something about 'cars are going to be the death of me'.

Pai sighed and said, "You'll have Ichigo, and you managed on the way over."

"Fine…" Kisshu said reluctantly. He followed Ichigo, and got hugged by both her grandparents. Ichigo was talking to Tano, but she broke it off and hugged him goodbye, then went to Kisshu. He was done hugging Megumi and Kidoru, and Sakura came up to them with Pai. "K, time to go," she said.

Kisshu sighed and followed them out to the car. He flinched as he got in, and Ichigo said, "Kisshu, just relax."

"I can't! It's a tiny space that moves!" Kisshu said.

Ichigo sighed and slid into the middle seat, clicking in before saying, "Just lean on me, it'll help, k?"

Kisshu sighed, and leaned his head on Ichigo's shoulder, jumping slightly as Sakura started the car. Ichigo started stroking his hair gently, feeling him relax slightly. By the time they were down the street, Kisshu was sound asleep.

I know it's short and fillerish, but I hope you'll still review, and if you've got ideas, let me know!