Hurt Chapter 5:
Taruto's Decision
Ichigo's POV
Ichigo's heart sank as the doorbell rang again. Nevertheless, she ran to the peephole and looked out. She was shocked to see, of all people, Taruto was standing at her door. Deciding to see what he wanted, Ichigo opened the door.
Taruto's POV
Taruto was actually really embarrassed. Here he was, after deserting Pai for kicking Kisshu out, ringing the doorbell of the old hag's house. Then the door opened, and reminding himself to call Ichigo by her name, Taruto looked up to see Ichigo looking at him with her hands on her hips. Taruto gulped, and said, "Uh… hi Ichigo."
Ichigo's POV
Ichigo was shocked to see Taruto at her door, but also suspicious. From what Kisshu had said, Pai and Taruto had abandoned him, and he couldn't go back. What if Taruto was here to harm Kisshu, under Deep Blue's orders? And he wasn't calling her a hag. She decided not to let her guard down. Then she asked, "Taruto, why are you here?"
Taruto's POV
Taruto gulped and said, "I was worried about Kisshu." He wondered why Ichigo then got a look of shock on her face. His question was answered soon after, as Ichigo said, "I thought you and Pai abandoned him. Why do you care?"
Taruto then said, "I kind of left Pai a little while ago, because he was the one who wouldn't listen when I said we should help Kisshu, not leave him to die. Pai is obviously being brainwashed by our leader, but there's not much I can do about that, so I decided to find Kisshu on my own and help him. I looked all over Tokyo, but then remembered how much faith he always seemed to have in you, so I came here. Can I come in?"
Ichigo's POV
Ichigo was still a bit suspicious, but said, "As long as you're not here to harm Kisshu, then you can come in."
Taruto looked offended, and said, "I would never hurt Kisshu!" Ichigo relaxed a bit, but then heard Kisshu coughing again, and ran up the stairs. Taruto closed the door and flew after her. When Ichigo reached her room, she saw that like before, Kisshu couldn't sit up. She helped him, and as the coughing subsided, she said, "You've got a visitor, Kisshu."
Kisshu's POV
As he had said to Ichigo, Kisshu was feeling awful. He knew he was sick, and the cough really hurt his chest wound. After this last coughing fit, Kisshu was barely conscious, but became wary nonetheless when Ichigo told him he had a visitor. Then he saw Ichigo nod to someone behind her, and he was astonished to see Taruto standing there, looking scared. Kisshu turned to Ichigo, and she said, "Taruto says he left Pai after you got kicked out."
"Is this true, Taruto?" Kisshu asked.
"Yeah, I was worried about you, and Pai is turning into some kind of mindless drone, so I decided to leave before I became a mindless drone too," Taruto said. "I also stole some of our medical supplies before leaving."
"How did you manage to sneak out?" Kisshu asked.
"I waited till Pai was asleep, then used sleeping powder on him, and snuck out with some medical supplies before he could wake up," Taruto said.
"Thanks, runt," Kisshu said, smirking. His smirk faded, however, as he realized he was extremely cold. The other two got worried looks on their faces as his body began to shake from the cold.
Ichigo's POV
Ichigo became extremely worried when Kisshu started shaking in her arms. She saw that Taruto was worried too, but pushed that aside as she asked, "Kisshu! What's wrong?"
Through chattering teeth, Kisshu said, "I'm cold." Then he passed out again. Ichigo's eyes widened and she felt his forehead. It was even hotter than before, and she knew that his fever had gone up. Turning to Taruto, she asked urgently, "Do you have any fever medication?"
To her great relief, Taruto rummaged in the bag next to him and pulled out a small green bottle. "This is fever medication, but it can't be taken on an empty stomach," Taruto said.
Ichigo nodded and said, "I'll go make some soup; you stay here and watch Kisshu." Taruto nodded, and Ichigo ran to the kitchen and began to boil water. She then took a package of ramen out of the cabinet, and as soon as the water came to a boil, poured it in. As soon as it was done, she poured the ramen into a large bowl, grabbed some chopsticks, and went back to her room.
Next installment coming later!