Chapter 12
Pai's Tale
"Where to begin?" Pai sighed, running his hand through his unkempt hair.
"How about when you left earth with the Mew Aqua?" Ichigo suggested, "We gave it to you to help your dying planet, but apparently that didn't happen."
"Right." Pai nodded, "Ok, well we left to return to our planet after the unfortunate battle between us and the rise and fall of Deep Blue."
"Most of our trip home was focused on drafting what we would say to our leaders." Kish supplied, apparently not going to allow Pai to tell the whole story, "We failed on many accounts. We hadn't secured earth for our people, nor had we been able to bring Deep Blue back. The only token we had for any form of success was the Mew Aqua, but none of us knew how it worked."
"Wait, leaders?" Ichigo interrupted, "I thought Deep Blue was your leader."
"We have an interesting government system compared to what you're accustomed to. For the most part, we have a Council of Elders who guide and make the decisions for us during calmer times. We have a shoarloa who acts as the check and balancer to this system, and ultimately calls the shots. Then, we have the royal family. Deep Blue was a part of this family, and in times of danger or need, the royal family takes charge, otherwise they just act as a figurehead. Again, it is the shoarloa who determines when their intervention and guidance is needed."
"So how exactly did Deep Blue wind up on Earth in…M…Masaya?" Ichigo asked haltingly. She practically had to fight the lump in her throat to get his name out.
"Papa whose 'Saya?" Kou asked, tugging on Pai's shirt.
"A very brave warrior." Pai answered.
Ichigo schooled her face in attempt to not let her mouth hang open. She'd never heard Pai praise anyone, much less someone from Earth. Ok, he praised Lettuce here and there, but that was because they all thought he had a small crush on her.
"That's a story for another time." Kish stated dismissively.
Ichigo frowned at him but Pai nodded in agreement.
"Any way, we were trying to figure out how the Mew Aqua worked. We tried finding some sort of opening, blasting it with magic, allowing magic to flow through it, but nothing seemed to work."
"Tart was the one who figured it out." Kish continued, cutting Pai off in the process, "The kid always loved puzzles."
"Dadda where's Tartuo?" Kou suddenly asked, effectively bringing the entire story to a halt. Kish turned away biting his lip. Ichigo reached out and squeezed his hand as she felt on the verge of tears. Pai merely stared blankly down at his son, mouth gaping like a fish out of water. Arnes sighed.
"He's gone baby." She told him softly.
Kou blinked at her with wide, uncomprehending eyes, "Where he go?"
"To become a jeaurkoaun." Arnes explained, "So that he can watch over and protect us all."
"Arnes." Pai said quietly, "Perhaps we should put the children to bed. They don't need to hear this."
"I'm not tired!" Kou protested.
"Even brave warriors need their sleep." Kish spoke up, though his voice was strained.
"But—!"
"Come Kou." Arnes said softly, interrupting his protests, "Daddy needs to talk to Uncle Kish and Ichigo alone."
Pouting slightly, Kou climbed out of Pai's lap, and went over to Arnes as she stood, shifting Annon in her arms.
"I'll be back as soon as they're sleeping." Arnes promised, before leading Kou out of the room.
Pai groaned, scratching the back of his neck.
Kish shifted uncomfortably before sitting down on the bed next to Ichigo.
"So Tart figured out how to use the Mew Aqua. He was just messing around with it when suddenly it burst open. It was like looking at a hologram, but at the same time it wasn't. An entire galaxy was revealed, just floating around the area of the ship, shimmering almost like water, but as thin and light as air. The strangest part was that it seemed to know what we needed long before we even knew what we were looking for."
Ichigo furrowed her brow in confusion.
"I understand your confusion. We didn't know what to make of it either." Pai continued, "Here we were, trying to figure out this magical artifact to fix our dying planet, but it wasn't even giving us any clues how to work it. Instead, it continuously zoomed onto a planet. This planet.
"Well, the whole trip we couldn't make heads or tails of it. We spent months puzzling over what it could mean, but we couldn't figure it out. We returned to our planet, still unsure about what to say as the day we'd left earth, no closer to even being able to explain the strange workings of the Mew Aqua—."
"You're repeating yourself." Kish pointed out with a huff.
"Sorry." Pai apologized.
"What happened when you got back?" Ichigo asked.
"Chaos." Pai and Kish said simultaneously.
"It was all such a mess." Pai continued alone, "We got back, and the torrential weather caused us to have an extremely rocky landing."
"We only managed not to crash because Tart was able to summon a large number of vines to cushion our landing." Kish added.
"Yeah, we landed quite a ways from the landing dock. Instead of trying to brave the weather we teleported back to base with the Mew Aqua. Despite all of us wanting to rest, we immediately went to Keenah, a member of the Council of Elders, and a close friend of our father's.
"He was overjoyed to see us back. He invited us into his home, which for all the waulrinswi at the time was a simple, one-roomed abode carved into the rock walls with a fire at its center."
"I thought the waulrinswi were far more advanced than us lowly humans." Ichigo interrupted, recalling the books Kish had read her about the history of the waulrinswi.
"Were. All that's left to attest for our once great nation is what's been destroyed on the ships." Kish replied, "We've basically restarted from scratch, except for small objects such as the translators we're currently using."
"Any way, Keenah invited us in, and he and his wife served us the first warm meal we'd had in years. We mostly ate in silence around the fire, just eating and enjoying each other's company. When we'd finished, Keenah asked us to tell him about our adventures on Earth. Kish went first since he'd been there the longest, but all he could talk about was…" Pai suddenly trailed off, looking past Ichigo at Kish. Ichigo glanced at Kish out of the corner of her eye, but his expression was unreadable.
"…Japan." Pai said hastily.
Ichigo rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what Pai was going to say. While Kish had been alone on Earth, his focus had not been on his mission, and it most certainly hadn't been on Japan. No, the object of his attention had been solely tormenting her and Masaya, sometimes even the other Mews.
"Right." Ichigo said sarcastically, sending Kish a look, which told him that she knew exactly what Pai was going to say.
Pai's lips twitched upward as Kish's face colored up.
"After talking about the pleasantries of our trip, we finally got to the matter at heart, our mission. Keenah took our failure well. He didn't scold us, or get angry when he learned that we had failed to secure Earth. He was visibly saddened when we told him about Deep Blue's demise though."
"I got scolded." Kish reminded Pai.
"You raised your blade against your king." Pai pointed out.
"In the name of love." Kish argued.
Ichigo groaned loudly at this, "Can we get back to the story?" She pleaded.
"Yeah. We told Keenah about the battle with Deep Blue, how the Mew Aqua suddenly appeared and how its power was able to give the Mews the upper hand and defeat Deep Blue, and then, how you gave it to us."
"I think Tart was asleep by that point." Kish said fondly.
"He was, I remember Jaiz had tucked him in with a blanket. We had to wake him up to talk about the Mew Aqua. He was still the only one that could work it. Again, Tart was able to bring forth the projection of the galaxy and show Keenah everything we'd been able to see. I'd been hoping he could shed some light on this mystery, but he was just as stumped as we were. We spent hours bouncing around ideas. Did it mean the cure for our planet could be found on another? Was there another magical artifact that needed to be coupled with the Mew Aqua in order for it to work? We just didn't know. Finally, Keenah insisted that we get our rest.
"The next morning he sent word to the rest of the Council of Elders that we had returned and that consultation was needed immediately. We met with the entire council of twelve in our ghmooa hoarr."
Ichigo tapped the translator in her ear. Had it suddenly stopped working?
"Is something wrong?" Kish questioned.
"I think it just stopped working." Ichigo answered, "I'm not understanding your words."
"Not all of our words have a direct translation." Kish pointed out, "What was the most recent thing you understood?"
"Pai said something about meeting with the twelve elders, but I didn't catch where."
"The ghmooa hoarr?"
"Yeah, that's not coming out Japanese. What is that?"
"Basically just a large meeting hall of sorts. We used it for court, village meetings, etc." Kish explained, "The translator's not shorting out. There's just no direct translation. We're still speaking our language, even now."
"Ichigo nodded, "Sorry Pai, continue."
"We met with the council. We were immediately asked to go over every detail of our mission. They were not very happy to say the least. They were especially displeased with Kish, something about spending too much time frolicking with earthlings than focusing on his mission, and that we lost Earth and Deep Blue because of it."
"I was punished with two years of community service." Kish scowled.
"It could've been worse." Pai replied, "You were lucky you weren't sentenced to death for treason." While meant to sound reprimanding, his tone came out more hollow than anything else.
"Community service might as well be a death sentence." Kish argued before clarifying for Ichigo, "Community service means you have to do the jobs only the stupidly brave sign up for. Amongst the waulrinswi, this is the Scouting Platoon. Their job is to scout uncharted territory and report back to the higher ups what has been found. That's how I wound up being apart of the scouting mission when we first came here."
"Any way," Pai cut in, "The council then asked Tart to show them the Mew Aqua. He brought out the artifact and opened it, showing the council everything that had been baffling us. They spent a while debating about it before deciding that it would be best to consult the shoarloa."
"Wise one." Kish translated when the word was lost on Ichigo, "We always have one who is born as soon as the last one dies. They're gifted with wisdom and knowledge that exceeds the rest of us."
"The shoarloa at the time was Jaeshah. She was a very old and shriveled looking woman with hair as white as snow. She only had one arm; the other never developed.
"Jaeshah came into the ghmooa hoarr and studied the image as well. At times she would raise her hand and run it through the image, and it would shimmer and flow as if it were a stream, bringing her to this planet. After studying the image for over an hour, she told us that the Mew Aqua was indeed working, just not in the way we expected. She told us that the Mew Aqua was giving us the answer to our problem. What had happened to our once serene planet could not be undone. It was no longer able to sustain our people. Instead, the Mew Aqua was providing us with a map, through the galaxy and to a new place to call home. She told the Council of Elders that the best choice of action would be to use the resources and talents we had to get the dormant ships up and running. It would be a long journey, but the Mew Aqua was taking us home.
"All of the best engineers were assigned to the ships, and they worked day and night. More importantly, our morale seemed to have increased tenfold."
"There was actually laughter, music, and dancing." Kish recalled.
"And we were hailed as heroes." Pai commented.
"Kou was born around that time and Tart got his first kiss. He was disappointed because it wasn't Pudding though."
Ichigo smiled, almost able to imagine those happy times for the waulrinswi.
"Those were wonderful days." Pai sighed. Kish nodded in agreement.
"What happened next?" Ichigo inquired.
The first ships that were fixed up were the scouting ships." Kish continued, "Scientists, explorers, and those with community service were the first to leave. About a hundred others and me left first. Our mission was to scout out the planet and report back to the community every little detail we gathered.
"It took a few months to get there, and as you saw, we recorded what we saw of the flirau and fauenau, the oxygen content of the air, quality of the soil, etc. As you can probably deduce, the planet, at the time, was deemed safe."
"By the time we heard back from the Scouting Platoon, the rest of the ships had been rebuilt and were fully functioning. It took less than a day to get the entire population on board; then the ships took off. We left behind that dying planet, but something else was lost that day."
"And this begins the part I don't know." Kish guessed.
Pai nodded, "While you were you were on Sorqoseum Promas a massacre took place on the ships."
"A massacre?" Ichigo repeated.
"Yeah, the first one actually happened during the take off, but it was ruled by aueshirosous as accidental."
"Aueshirosous?" Ichigo repeated when the translator did not provide her with a direct translation.
"I believe on your planet they're called policemen?" Pai answered.
"Oh ok."
"Aueshirosous ruled the death as accidental." Pai continued.
"What actually happened?" Kish interrupted.
"I'm getting there. Kish, do you remember Dorro?"
"Tart's friend? The stringy kid with blue hair?"
"Yeah."
"What about him?"
"His father was the one who reengineered the ships."
"Ok."
"He was the one who died. As far as I understand, he was helping his father make sure everything was running smoothly during take off when somehow an escape hatch broke and he was pulled out into space."
Ichigo cringed. She'd heard stories of astronauts who had been stuck in space. About how cold and dark it was, but they at least had the benefit of a space suit and oxygen for protection. This boy had nothing. She couldn't even begin to fathom what he went through. Had it been painful? Slow and agonizing? Or was it quick and relatively painless? She honestly knew nothing about space despite being one of the few people on Earth to ever actually meet an alien.
"Did he suffer?" Kish asked for her.
"Probably not. He had no protective suit on. If anything he probably froze instantly and exploded."
"That sounds awful!" Ichigo interjected.
"It is, but it was quick and painless." Pai reassured her.
"How would you know that?" Ichigo challenged.
"One, we weren't close enough to a heat source, so his body fluids would've frozen almost immediately, then the change in pressure would cause everything to expand, causing possible—."
Ichigo clamped her hands over her ears.
"I don't want to hear it!"
"You asked." Kish pointed out.
"It's too awful to think about!"
Kish rolled his eyes and gestured for Pai to continue.
"Dorro's father was in hysterics when he died." Pai continued, "He told anyone who would listen that his son knew these planes like the back of his hand. There was no way he would suddenly just disappear out an escape hatch, not to mention everything on the planes had been triple checked by him personally. None of the escape hatches were broken. Well, a week later, he turned up dead. His body was found hanging from one of the rafters, but the cause of death had been Asralais."
Ichigo sent him a questioning look.
"It's a really deadly poison that rips through the nervous system within less than a minute, causing excruciating pain at the same time as instilling blinding fear. It's—,"
"—A really awful, horrible way to die." Arnes finished, striding back into the room.
"Kids?" Pai asked.
"Both sound asleep." Arnes assured him, sitting back down, "Kou was really scared. He told me he could hear the entire battle with the Waesf Aleur from here."
"You reassured him that it's dead and can't hurt him?" Kish asked.
"Of course I did, but we've been living under the threat of these creatures for almost a year now. He's a bright kid, but his brain runs a mile a minute. I had to give him Nairhd just for him to fall asleep."
"Sleeping agent." Kish told Ichigo.
"I'm sorry, I interrupted your story." Arnes said.
"You didn't." Pai replied.
"After that there was a string of murders, all of whom were from the Council of Elders. Seven of them were killed with Asralais. I believe whoever the culprit was spiked their evening supper with it. Others had a more gruesome fate. Draker's body was found stuffed unceremoniously in a vent, his throat slashed from ear to ear. Fro'us was drowned in his private bath. Id'trilli was shoved through a generator fan, her body was unrecognizable, and Idaizin suddenly disappeared. Her body is probably somewhere at large in outer space."
"And no one had any suspects by this point?" Kish asked in disbelief.
"Oh no, they had two suspects." Pai said darkly, "Me and Tart."
"How on Earth did they come to that conclusion?" Ichigo asked at the same time Kish asked, "What evidence did they have for that?"
"The council members who had died from Asralais were all murdered during sleeping hours and their doors were locked from the inside."
"That still doesn't—," Kish began.
"—Let me finish." Pai replied, holding up a hand, "The two of us were the main suspects because apparently we had the most reason to want them dead due to what they'd done to us."
"What did they do to you and Tart?" Ichigo asked. She'd only heard about Kish's punishment.
"I was stripped of my honors as a war general, and my pay was cut significantly. Tart was also sentenced to one year of community service but was decreed to young to go with the Scouting Platoon. Therefore, he was tasked with odd jobs around the community and forbidden from using any of his powers during that time."
"That doesn't sound to bad…" Ichigo commented.
"You don't know our culture." Pai sighed but didn't elaborate, "They suspected Tart because of his ability to summon and control plants at will. What easier way to get through a locked door than to manipulate Phiosin through the cracks of the door and slip it into their mouths as they slept?"
"Phiosin?" Ichigo questioned.
"It's the plant Asralais is made from." Arnes explained.
"They suspected me." Pai continued, "Because Tart and I are brothers. Hell, you were even accused Kish." Kish raised a brow quizzically, "One accusation stated that you sent the two of us detailed instructions on how to carry out each and every murder."
"Right, cause that makes total sense with me on an entirely different planet." Kish replied flatly.
Pai nodded in agreement.
"With the death of all the Council of Elders, the ships erupted in anarchy. The noble families were warring amongst themselves to gain power. It wasn't uncommon to hear that several bodies had been found. When brute strength didn't seem to be working in their favor, they tried appealing to the quaking masses. They promised to have Tart and I executed for our crimes, some going as far to say that they would have us suffer beyond what the Elders had suffered. Unfortunately the masses bought it. Tart and I couldn't go on with our daily lives with out being spat at, kicked, or even beaten for the sick pleasure of others. Eventually the few friends we had refused to let us be alone, and even talked some guards into protecting us. Then, Genri came along. I don't know how he did it, but he was able to calm the masses with his presence, and he even reached out to Tart and I, declaring that we were now under the Adatiane Family's protection. He told the masses they could not accuse us with out providing evidence.
"I don't know how else to put it Kish. He saved us. He brought the outbreak of anarchy under control, and for the bravery and leadership she showed, the shoarloa announced him the new king of the waulrinswi, though he hasn't had his official coronation yet."
"No wonder he's more of a pompous ass." Kish muttered under his breath.
Pai pretended he didn't hear him, "He was the first king to be appointed outside of the Deep Blue Family line in centuries."
"So if he was so good to you, why do you fear him now?" Ichigo inquired.
"Because as soon as we touched down, he started conversing more and more with Sensana." Pai said, his face contorting into a scowl, "That vile woman hung around him day and night whispering poison into his ears; showing him images in the water that only she could see. They could've sent anyone to retrieve you Mews, but oh no, it had to be Tart, Kish, and me.
"After days of living like nomads in fear of the Waesf Aleurs, they called me into Genri's quarters where he and Sensana told me to get a ship prepared and to head back to Earth. They told me my mission was to apprehend the Mews and to bring you back at whatever cost, for it was of great importance to our people. I told them I didn't understand and Sensana beckoned me closer to a pool of water that was at the back of the room. She told me, " While I may be blind my eyes allow me to see a great deal more than you. The spirits have been speaking to me. They speak of an enemy our nation cannot hope to defeat. Our only chance is to flee, but they will not allow such actions. We still need help from an old enemy. We need the Mews." When I asked them what a silly group of teenage Earthlings could do…no offense," Ichigo ignored the jab at her and her friends, "they told me that Sensana had had a vision. In that vision she saw five pure orbs of light, yellow, green, purple, blue, and pink in color. Those lights were hovering over a white slab of marble beneath the moonlight. Snow began to fall and suddenly those orbs began to bleed. She said that the vision meant that we needed to use the Mews as blood sacrifices."
"And you agreed." Ichigo finished for him icily. She knew it. She knew he never gave a damn about any of them.
'No I did not." Pai replied just as coldly, "I told them out right that I would never hurt you girls again, under any circumstances. But then…" Pai trailed off, his mouth suddenly dry. He took Arnes' hand in his, squeezing it tightly as if contact with her could make the story easier. He looked as if he was suffering from a monstrous burden, "Then they threatened my family. As I was about to leave Genri called after me in a sickeningly smug voice. He said, "Your wife, Arnes, right? She's with child?" That caused me to pause, and then he said, "It would be a shame if something went wrong." I was livid." Pai seethed, "I couldn't believe he was actually threatening my family…I…I, without a second thought I attacked him, but he had the tables turned in an instant with me against the floor and a knife at my throat. He said that I owed him my worthless life and that if I didn't do as instructed I wouldn't have a family to return home to at the end of the day."
"So you agreed to save Arnes and the kids." Kish summed up.
"Yes Kish, but when he said family he meant you and Tart as well. Tart was defenseless without being able to use his powers, and at the time you were in a coma in the healing ward after your group had been attacked, so yes, I begrudgingly agreed. When he no longer had me at knifepoint I asked him and Sensana why. Why us when there were surely others who could do the task. Sensana told me out of courtesy. It was the Mews who had defeated Deep Blue and given us the Mew Aqua. You Mews are actually greatly respected for the bravery and altruism you showed against the ruler of our nation. Our customs demand that we respect that. Therefore, they wanted you to be in the company of familiar faces. She said that though they regretted what was going to happen, they wanted each of you to feel safe. That's why I was told not to tell any of you what was really going on, including my own brothers. That's why I put together that story to tell all of you, and because they were keeping my precious family as collateral, that's why I played the role of cooaraur rlossoghom…" Pai sighed, raking his fingers through his hair as he looked at each and every one of them, "And I am so sorry. I know my apology doesn't fix anything, but the regret has eaten away at me every day."
Ichigo looked him up and down once more. She took in the sunken eyes, his almost skeletal form, the scar running the length of his face, and his unkempt hair. She didn't want to, but because of her stupid compassionate heart, she felt bad for him. For him, her former enemy, for the one whose one decision caused Berry and Tart's death? Because of his decision, the rest of them soon might follow. She may never get to see her family or friends ever again, yet her heart still reached out for him. She wanted nothing more than to be able to wrap her arms around him and give him a reassuring hug as Arnes was currently doing, but she fought that impulse.
"What happened when we ruined your plans?" She asked instead, fighting to keep her tone flat.
Pai pulled himself out of Arnes' embrace, but entwined his fingers in hers.
"I was beyond terrified when you made your escape. Initially it was for all of you. I couldn't understand what you could possibly be thinking. None of you knew how to fly. Then I thought you had all decided to commit suicide, and my concern immediately jumped to Arnes, Kou, and Annon. What would Genri do to my family if I didn't return with all of you? So, abandoning the ship entirely I teleported out to where you were at. I was momentarily shocked that Tart and Kish were aiding in your escape, but I quickly shook off my shock. It was easy to catch Mint and Pudding first… I didn't know she could transform like that."
"Neither did we." Ichigo replied.
"I easily caught up with them and managed to knock the two of them out, then I somehow managed to catch up to Tart, Zakuro, and Lettuce. Lettuce… she looked so terrified… her eyes were so wide… and she was screaming. I struck her first just because I couldn't bear to hear her so scared. Tart tried to teleport away, but I, I was reacting purely on instinct…I kicked him in the gut, my own brother, I kicked him so he couldn't get away from me…"
Kish frowned but said nothing.
"I caused him to drop Zakuro. She's one hell of a fighter. While free falling she managed to transform and lashed out at me with her whip. That's how I got this." Pai gestured to the scar that spanned the length of his face, "I let go of the others that I was holding to take her on. I figured I could manipulate the wind to cushion the fall when we got closer to the ground. We were still so high up. She fought me for a while, but her movements were hesitant. She was worried about hitting the others. I used that to my advantage and took her out before Tart flew back in to attack me. We grabbled in the air for a while, but eventually I was able to best him too. I beat them with enough time to cushion the fall as the ground approached. As I was looking over their still forms I realized that you, Ichigo, and Berry were missing. I frantically looked for you in the sky, but I knew it was too late. You had already teleported the two of them to somewhere I wouldn't be able to find you. You knew the planet better than I did after all.
"At that point, I'm ashamed to say, I completely lost it. Every horrible situation I could possibly imagine ran through my head. What if Genri already knew I had failed and already slaughtered all of those dear to me? What if his form of punishment would be to make me watch as he tortured then killed them? I'd never even had a chance to hold Annon…
"Well, my powers went out of control. I rendered the entire field we had landed in into a sea of flames, except for the little bubble in which we landed. I don't even remember what happened from there. The next thing I remember was being encircled by a barren wasteland with the four Mews and my own brother out cold around me. They didn't seem like they'd be waking any time soon, so I gathered them all together the best I could and teleported to the village. I was desperate to make sure you and the kids were all right." Pai continued, speaking mostly to Arnes, "I dumped the Mews and Tart on Genri's door step before teleporting to you. I shouldn't have left Tart. I should've brought him with, but as you saw, I wasn't in my right mind at the time…"
"It's completely understandable." Arnes assured him.
"Eventually I had to appear before Genri and Sensana again." Pai sighed, "After holding Annon, and Kou, and spending a brief wonderful moment with my family, I returned to the Lord's palace. The Mews and Tart had already been apprehended… I was ushered into a room he had fashioned into a throne room, complete with a mighty throne." Pai said with disgust, "I waited until his Lordship could grace me with his presence. When he entered, he sat at the throne, and Sensana stood dutifully at his side as armed guards flanked the entire room. He told me that he was not pleased with me, that I was ordered to bring him all the Mews and asked where you were. When I could not give him an answer he grew angry. He asked me to explain, so I told him everything, about the flight in, your escape, and how I managed to get all but two of you. Sensana interrupted then. They didn't know about Berry, but apparently she didn't matter. Her vision had only seen—."
"The original five." Ichigo growled venomously.
Pai nodded.
"So was your honor taken because of this failure?" Kish asked.
Pai reached up absently to brush his fingers through the uneven patch of grey hair.
"Yes." He finally answered.
"His honor?" Ichigo repeated.
"The way we wear our hair is a symbol of honor." Kish explained, "For a warrior it's a mark that they can lead their people and shoulder a heavy burden. Each specific hairstyle is done in a way that marks that waulrinswi's accomplishments. For Pai, it was being the youngest war general appointed to the Maulosoau in centuries."
"King Deep Blue's royal guards." Arnes translated for Ichigo.
"But once that's been cut away, there's nothing." Pai said bitterly, talking over Arnes.
"There's one more thing you haven't told us." Kish commented.
Pai cast him a confused look.
"Why was Tart executed? It can't only be due to aiding the Mews."
"He betrayed the waulrinswi." Pai tried to explain.
"No, it's more than that." Kish pressed, "We haven't had an execution like that since the end of the Desc Arar when Shalylo used dark magic to commit mass genocide of the Pherphlu race and the various other heinous crimes he committed."
No one was bothering to translate for Ichigo now. Her eyes flicked between them. They all looked uneasy. Whatever Kish was talking about must've been terrible.
"Genri said that Tart's crimes were on the same level." Pai replied, "Well, Sensana convinced him, that what Tart did was treason. Because of him our entire race could be wiped out."
"No, it still doesn't make sense." Kish argued.
"He also used his powers when he was forbidden."
"No." Kish repeated, getting up and pacing, "There was more than that… I can feel it."
Pai looked at Kish in bewilderment.
"What do you mean you can feel it?" Arnes asked confused.
"Genri's a shesc err, but he's not stupid. He doesn't do anything without reason."
"Without reason? Kish, what more reason did he need? All he needed to say was that Tart had condemned our people to a fate worse than death. He didn't need more of an excuse than that." Pai said.
Kish looked as if he wanted to argue, but seemed to think better of it. He continued pacing, however, his mouth set in a frown. His eyes narrowed in concentration.
Ichigo studied him confused. There was something more he was hiding. Why couldn't he ever be straight with them?
"What are you hiding Kish?" She suddenly demanded.
Pai and Arnes looked up at her in surprise. Kish suddenly froze, his large golden eyes meeting hers.
"What?" He breathed.
"What are you hiding?" Ichigo repeated.
"Nothing." Kish said. It was almost convincing, but Ichigo picked up on how his pitch had suddenly risen. She glared at him, but he refused to answer, only meeting her gaze with a falsely innocent expression.
Groans began to resound from the doors surrounding the medical ward.
"They're coming to." Kish said, glancing around, "You and Arnes should probably head to bed." He told Pai.
"What are you going to do?" Pai asked, looking back and forth between Kish and the doors warily.
"I'm staying with Ichigo." Kish replied.
"Oh no you don't. I don't trust you." Arnes frowned.
"It's fine." Ichigo spoke up.
"Ichigo," Arnes began.
"It's fine." Ichigo cute her off, "Kish and I have been in the same hideout for weeks. If he didn't try anything then he's not going to try anything now."
Kish beamed at her.
"Are you sure?" Arnes asked.
Ichigo nodded.
Arnes chewed on her lip looking as if leaving Kish alone with Ichigo was the last thing she wanted to do.
"Arnes it's fine. Kish has harassed her, but he'd never actually harm her in any way." Pai assured her.
"Alright…" Arnes relented, "but if he tries anything just yell. We're right upstairs."
"Thank you." Ichigo replied.
Pai stood up and helped Arnes to her feet.
"We'll see you in the morning… I hope." Pai said rather solemnly.
"Genri won't be taking us anywhere." Kish assured him.
"You don't know him like I do." Pai grumbled, and with that, he left the room with Arnes after the two of them had bid them goodnight.
"So, since you don't seem to mind me in the room with you, how about…" Kish began playfully, climbing back into Ichigo's bed. Ichigo elbowed him hard in the chest, causing him to lose balance and fall over the edge of the bed.
"Ouch! What the hell?" Kish exclaimed.
"Get your own bed." Ichigo replied painfully, clutching her ribs. The movement had been a bad idea, even if it was well deserved.
"Oh come on. You didn't seem to mind all those nights we cuddled together on the couch." Kish pouted.
"You're hiding something." Ichigo stated, ignoring his previous statement.
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Ichigo drop it!" He suddenly yelled angrily.
Ichigo's eyes widened. The two of them stared at each other for a moment.
The doors slammed open, and guards rushed into the room. All of them looked the same. They wore a full-faced helmet with the only openings being for the eyes, plain grey pants as well as matching boots. They would've been topless if it weren't for some kind of plated tunic they wore over their shoulders with some sort of emblem emblazed on the front and shoulders. Each of them held a round shield and wicked looking spears that glinted in the flickering light.
"What?" Kish snapped at them.
The guards ignored Kish as they advanced on the two of them.
Ichigo felt uncomfortable. It felt as if she was being scrutinized by hundreds of eyes, searching her for something.
"She's still here?" One of the guards, a burly waulrinswi near the front asked.
"What does it look like genius?" Kish responded sarcastically.
"We didn't know. For some reason we all woke up on the ground." He responded.
"It's not my fault you're incompetent."
Ichigo snorted, causing the guard to look at her. She quickly schooled her expression so that she was glaring coldly at him.
"We came in when we heard yelling." The guard continued.
"Ok." Kish replied, crossing his arms. He stood defiantly before them, reminding Ichigo of an arrogant teenager challenging their parents silently to a battle of wits.
The guard's eyes narrowed beneath his helmet.
"We'll be staying in the room then. I suggest you head to bed." He told Kish.
"Make yourselves comfortable." Kish nearly growled.
The guard searched them both with his eyes again, as if expecting one of them to suddenly explain what was going on, but when both remained silent, he merely ordered the rest of the guards to line the expanse of the room and to make sure that neither of the original two occupants left.
Kish rolled his eyes when things had settled down a little.
"I'm not letting you off the hook Kish." Ichigo whispered, hoping they wouldn't be overheard, but it was probably a pointless endeavor. The waulrinswi had much better hearing than humans.
"Ichigo, I honestly don't want to talk about it." Kish replied, again sitting down on her bed, though he eyed the guards cautiously.
"He's done something to you hasn't he?" Ichigo pressed, "Something other than hurting your brothers."
Kish refused to even acknowledge her with an answer.
"Why are you keeping secrets?" Ichigo hissed.
"Because it's my business." Kish retorted, "Now get some sleep. You need the rest and we have a storm brewing ahead."
Ichigo opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it. What right did she have to pry into Kish's business any way? Frowning, she nestled back against the bed of moss, pulling the blankets a little higher.
"I thought I told you to get your own bed." She hissed when Kish settled down next to her, wrapping an arm around her middle.
"I don't trust these guys." Kish replied.
"Well then sit at the foot of the bed like a good guard dog." Ichigo retorted.
Kish merely chuckled but stayed right where he was, eyes constantly scanning the room around them.
Ichigo huffed in annoyance before closing her eyes, but her brain wasn't about to let her rest. Behind her closed lids were images of fires burning, Kish pulling Tart's charred body from the fray, Berry, wide-eyed looking down at her chest where it was caked in crimson blood…
Ichigo gasped, opening her eyes immediately, tears suddenly welled up and leaked from the corners of her eyes. How was she supposed to sleep with their deaths so fresh in her memory?
With a muffled sob, she rolled over so that her face was pressed firmly against Kish's chest.
He stilled for a moment in surprise.
"Kitty Cat?"
Ichigo didn't respond as she continued to cry quietly, pain wracking her body with each sob.
Kish's long fingers brushed through her hair as he wrapped his other arm around her so that he was cradling her to him.
"There's no shame in crying Ichigo, it's ok." He whispered to her as he held her.
Ichigo only sobbed harder, a hand coming up to grip his shirt.
"I'm sorry." He whispered over and over to her until exhaustion finally took its toll, carrying her into a fretful slumber.
A/N: I'm alive! I am so sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I hope it was worth the wait!