P-sama: Hey hey! Getting used to my new Pen name?
Kisshu couldn't breathe.
The beast shifted her weight, scooting up so she was even closer to his face.
"Wha-wh-wh-wh-wha…" he stuttered helplessly as she grinned once again.
"Kisshu, I want you to listen carefully." She said, her voice eerie but gentle.
"NO! he screamed.
Light flooded his face as he sat up with a jolt.
Popsicle was gone. None of it had happened. He was still in the same clothes AND the light was still on, so he figured after checking up on Taruto, he had wandered into his room and dozed off. It was the only possible explanation.
Popsicle couldn't talk. It was all a dream.
But if that was the case, then the smile was real.
Kisshu shivered. No matter WHAT Tart thought, no matter how much he loved her, Popsicle was evil. He was sure of that.
...
Pai's eyes cracked open, sleep coating the edges. He looked at the clock next to him. It read 6:37.
He moaned, sitting up and stretching his muscles. He had only slept a few hours, but that was enough for him.
He looked at himself in the mirror placed across the room. The bags under his eyes had reduced, and his hair was strewn across his face. He untangled the ribbon that held it up and shook it out, staring at the tired person that was his reflection.
Like Kisshu, he'd come here with high hopes, though didn't show them quite as much. Now he was a mess. Pai had never been one to express his feelings, but he was genuinely worried about Taruto. He actually MISSED the surly little brat that he had used to be.
Not because he was bratty, but because he was THERE. Now it seemed as if something had stolen all the heart out of Taruto, and his vacant look explained it all.
Pai opened the door to Kisshu's room slowly; knowing that tired teenagers were NOT to be messed with. Kish was flipped over on his side, covers to the floor. He had a worried look on his face.
Pai closed the door, moving on to the next room.
There, he saw Tart, snuggled up peacefully, and Popsicle was watching over her master as she sat at the foot of the bed.
She stared at Pai, eyes big and round. Like most earth rodents, Pai had found, their eyeballs were all pupil, no white to be seen.
She gave him a nod, meaning that it was safe to pass. Unlike with Kisshu, Popsicle and Pai respected each other. Pai would feed Popsicle when Tart forgot, and Popsicle would leave Pai in peace instead of biting at him.
Tart rolled over. Ears like lightning, he could hear Pai come in. He sat up sleepily, And Popsicle hopped into his arms.
"G'morning…." He said, yawning. Something was different though. Tart didn't look…right.
"Taruto…." Pai said "Are you—do you feel all right?"
"I guesso…" he mumbled.
"Hmm.." Pai bent over, taking a closer look at the child. Then he noticed the problem.
His eyes were grey.
Once bright gold, they had faded into a lighter yellow lately, and now had lost their color completely.
Popsicle, on the other hand, looked healthier then she ever had. When Tart had first found her on the side of the road, she had been a mange-covered who-knows-what. Now, she was beginning to look more like a purple rabbit with antennae and a long tail.
But something was different. The rips and disease that covered her ears were gone.
It had not been that way yesterday.
P-sama: Bum Bum.