Please Protect Her:

Part 2

Kisshu was starting to wake up, and he felt really disoriented. Then he heard Taruto ask, "Kisshu?" He opened his eyes, and turned his head, realizing he was lying in a bed in the medical ward. Taruto was sitting next to him, looking worried. "Kisshu, how are you feeling?" Taruto asked. "You've been out for four hours."

"What happened?" Kisshu asked. "I feel really weak."

"After you passed out, Keiichiro killed the Blue Knight, and that snapped the brainwash on the rest of us," Taruto said. "Pai went to the dimension you created, and brought you back here."

"Is everyone okay?" Kisshu asked.

"Aside from you, everyone's fine," Taruto said. "Keiichiro gave us enough Mew Aqua to heal the planet, and went back to Earth."

"That's great," Kisshu said. "What about Ichigo? Is she okay?"

"Yup, and your parents adopted her, so she, Aunt Anzu, and Tsukiko are all in your room," Taruto said. "Pai and Uncle Higashi are flying the ship; I think we've got another five hours before we get to Cyniclonia."

"Ichigo's going to be living with me?" Kisshu asked hopefully.

"Looks like it," Taruto said. "I haven't seen Uncle Higashi, but Aunt Anzu really seems to like her- and so does Tsukiko. Mom's going to be jealous…."

"Yeah… she really wanted a daughter," Kisshu said. "And now her best friend has two daughters."

"Maybe Mom will get pregnant again," Taruto said. "Then I won't have to hear more stuff about how I was supposed to be a girl."

"I hope so," Kisshu said. He sounded tired, and Taruto noticed. "You should get more sleep, Kisshu," he said. "You need it to recover."

"You sound like Pai…." Kisshu said sleepily. Soon he was asleep again.

With Anzu, Ichigo, and Tsukiko: Ichigo had fallen asleep on Anzu's shoulder, and Anzu started stroking her hair. She was startled when Ichigo started purring, but kept stroking her hair. Soon Ichigo's purring had put her and Tsukiko to sleep as well.

About five hours later: Pai and Higashi landed the ship, and went to get the others. Higashi went to get Anzu, Ichigo, and Tsukiko, and found them all asleep. He gently tapped Anzu's forehead, then Ichigo's. They both woke up, and Anzu asked, "We're home?"

"Yep, and we've been called to meet with Hideki-sama," Higashi said.

"What about Kisshu?" Anzu asked.

"Pai's going to explain the situation, and Taruto's staying with him," Higashi said. "He needs his rest."

"Alright," Anzu said. "Ichigo, just copy what we do, and you'll be fine, okay?"

"Okay," Ichigo said. Higashi took her hand and teleported, followed by Anzu with Tsukiko.

They landed in a large circular room that was clearly underground. It was filled with Cyniclons, mainly middle-aged to elderly ones, and Higashi and Anzu went down on one knee, Ichigo copying them. A man about Higashi and Anzu's age stood, and said, "Please rise."

They obeyed, and the man asked, "How did it go on Earth?"

"It could have gone better, but at least we obtained the means to save this planet," Higashi said.

"And Deep Blue?" the man asked.

"He brainwashed everyone except Kisshu, Mew Ichigo, and her leader's assistant," Higashi said. "He also captured us in order to secure Kisshu's obedience, but it didn't work the way he thought it would. Kisshu went to kill him, and got injured, but luckily for all of us, Mew Ichigo somehow knew that Kisshu had been injured, and sent her leader's assistant to help. Keiichiro apparently can use a sword, and knew Deep Blue's weakness. He killed him, and found a large amount of Mew Aqua in the remains, which he gave to us in order to heal our planet."

"I was under the impression that humans don't have the same ability to sense people in danger that we do," the man said.

"Ichigo, is that true?" Higashi asked.

"Yes, the only reason I figured out Kisshu was in danger was that Tsukiko was crying non-stop, and she wouldn't calm down," Ichigo said. "Keiichiro suggested that Kisshu was in danger and Tsukiko could sense it, and he insisted on going to help. Apparently he knew that Deep Blue's weakness was his sword. If he took the sword away, Deep Blue would be powerless. Also, he was fighting the Blue Knight, who was a part of Deep Blue. Deep Blue hadn't fully awakened yet, so he was probably easier to defeat- especially after finding out a human knew his weakness."

"May I ask why you came back with Higashi and Anzu, Mew Ichigo?" the man asked.

"My real parents were… less than caring, and when Aunt Anzu offered to adopt me, I jumped at the chance to have a real family," Ichigo said. "Also, Kisshu and I love each other."

"Then you must be pretty special; Kisshu hates girls," the man said. "I'm Hideki-sama, by the way."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Ichigo said.

Hideki-sama smiled, and looked at Higashi. "Did you say something about having the means to save the planet?" he asked.

"Yes, we have Mew Aqua on the ship," Higashi said. "I can go get it, if you'd like."

"Please do," Hideki-sama said. "I would like to ask Mew Ichigo a few questions."

Higashi bowed and teleported out as Hideki-sama looked at Ichigo. "Mew Ichigo, why did you agree to form a truce?" he asked.

"I had been planning on it for a while," Ichigo replied. "My friend Mew Lettuce thought all along that the fighting was wrong, and she convinced me, but we didn't really act on it, because the guy who created us was an evil jerk with a vendetta against your race. I agreed to form a truce because I knew that the longer the fighting went on, the less chance your people would have of survival. The fighting was going nowhere, and I had figured out that I was in love with Kisshu, so forming a truce seemed like the best way to go."

"Do you think your creator will become a problem?" Hideki-sama asked.

"No, I don't think he could get here to cause problems," Ichigo said. "But he has no fighting abilities, so it probably wouldn't be too hard to defeat or kill him if something did happen."

Catching Ichigo off-guard a bit, Hideki-sama asked, "Is Mew Ichigo your real name?"

"No, my real name is Momomiya Ichigo, but I generally just go by Ichigo," Ichigo said. "Mew Ichigo is something I made up so I wouldn't get found out. I'm fairly certain if the Mews' true identities were found out, we'd get dissected. We're all half-human, half-animal; we'd probably get dissected to find out exactly how Ryou created us."

"Half-animal?" Hideki-sama asked.

"Yes, I'm half-cat," Ichigo said. "I'm not in Mew form right now, that's why I don't have cat ears and a tail."

"I see," Hideki-sama said, as they heard teleportation.

Higashi appeared with the ball of Mew Aqua, followed by Pai. They both bowed as they landed, and Hideki-sama asked, "You have that much?"

"Hai," Pai said. "Should we go outside? That's the best place to use it."

"Alright," Hideki-sama said. Pai teleported, followed by Pai, Anzu with Tsukiko, and Higashi with Ichigo.

They landed in a barren wasteland, and Ichigo shivered; it was cold. Pai put the Mew Aqua on the ground, and asked, "Ichigo, will you help me make it more powerful?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. She came over and put a hand on the Mew Aqua. She and Pai poured their powers into the Mew Aqua, and pushed it into the ground. The ground almost immediately started to glow, and the glow rapidly spread out as far as the eye could see, until everything was glowing. Ichigo started to feel warmer, and then the glow flashed. Everyone shaded their eyes, and when the flash faded, they looked up.

They were standing in the middle of a grassy field that went on for miles, split in two by a river. Behind them was a large, thick forest, and overhead, two suns shone down warmly.

The group was speechless until a small butterfly landed on Tsukiko, and she giggled. "This is amazing," Hideki-sama said. "Thank you all."

"We were more than happy to help," Pai said. "What's next?"

"I will inform everyone, and the Council will decide," Hideki-sama said. "For now, you all can go home."

The others bowed, and teleported off. Higashi, Anzu, Ichigo, and Tsukiko all landed in what looked like a living room. "This is our house," Anzu explained. "I'm going to put Tsukiko in her bed; Higashi, will you show Ichigo around?"

"Of course," Higashi said. "I assume she's sleeping in Kisshu's room?"

"Yes," Anzu said. She walked off, and Higashi asked, "Ichigo, should I show you where you'll be sleeping?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. Higashi led her to a small room with a bed, a desk, and a dresser. There was a floor lamp in the corner, and Higashi said, "We might have to get a second bed when Kisshu's recovered, but for now you can have his bed."

"Thanks, Uncle Higashi," Ichigo said. "I don't mind sharing a bed with Kisshu if you can't find a second bed."

"We'll see how responsible you and Kisshu are," Higashi said. "Although I'd be more worried about him than you."

Ichigo giggled. Higashi smiled, but then asked, "Ichigo, what were your parents like?"

"Up till I turned eleven, they were the world's nicest parents," Ichigo said sadly. "My dad was overprotective to the point of insane, but other than that he was great, and my mom was a lot like Aunt Anzu; sweet and caring. After I got over the health issues I had, though, both my parents started being less caring. I was eleven when they left me home alone for the first time. It was just over a weekend, but I realized by the first night that I really didn't like being alone like that. I tried to tell them that, but they just brushed it off. The next time they went away, they didn't say goodbye. I just got a note from them saying they were gone for a week. And by the time I met Kisshu, they were almost never home."

"That's awful," Higashi said. "But what did you mean by 'health issues'?"

"I was born a month early," Ichigo said. "And for the first nine years of my life, people had to be careful with me, because I was really fragile, both physically and emotionally. My school friends, Moe and Miwa, started protecting me after my parents told them I was fragile. By the time we reached middle school, they had a reputation for being merciless fighters, and for protecting me to the extreme. They taught themselves how to fight, and they've never been defeated. The police force calls them 'weapons of mass destruction', after they beat Miwa's cousin nearly to death. And they beat up his police officer uncle when he tried to stop them. Poor guy; he spent a month in the hospital, but his son didn't get out of the hospital for three months. I'll have to remember to visit; I wouldn't put it past them to somehow learn how to teleport and then get here."

"Wow…" Higashi said. "Do you still have health problems, though?"

"Not anymore, I grew out of them," Ichigo said. "I occasionally get sick, like everyone else, but I don't have anything else."

"Good," Higashi said, as Anzu came in.

"I put Tsukiko down for her nap," Anzu said. "Ichigo, would you like to meet my friend Yuki? She and her husband Hayako are Pai and Taruto's parents."

"I'd like that," Ichigo said. "Does she have any other kids?"

"No, unfortunately," Anzu said. "It's too bad, she really wanted Taruto to be a girl."

"Maybe she'll get pregnant again," Higashi said. "I'll stay with Tsukiko; say hi for me."

"We will," Anzu said. She took Ichigo's hand and teleported to a door in what looked like a tunnel. Ichigo had realized already that everyone lived underground, and she looked around as Anzu knocked on the door.

The door was opened by a woman who looked almost exactly like Taruto, and she smiled when she saw Anzu. "Anzu, you're back!" she said happily. "Who's this?"

"This is Ichigo, she's Kisshu's girlfriend," Anzu said. "We adopted her."

"It's nice to meet you, Ichigo," Yuki said. "Where are you from?"

"Tokyo," Ichigo said.

"The city Kisshu was attacking?" Yuki asked, startled.

"We've got a lot to talk about; can we come in?" Anzu asked.

"Yes, sorry about that," Yuki said, letting them in. She closed the door behind them, and asked, "So what's the story?"

"Ichigo is actually one of the girls who was attacking Kisshu, Pai, and Taruto, but apparently she and Kisshu fell in love, and she and her leader's assistant gave us the means to save the planet," Anzu said. "I adopted Ichigo because her real parents abandoned her, and Tsukiko and Kisshu love her. Tsukiko can even say Ichigo's name now!"

"Oh, that's wonderful," Yuki said. "I've got news as well."

"What is it?" Anzu asked curiously. "You seem very cheerful."

"I'm pregnant, I just found out the day after you left," Yuki said happily. "And you know what they say, third time's the charm."

"That's great!" Anzu said. "So what's your due date?"

"June 2nd," Yuki said. "Hayako said we should name her Mikan- provided it's a girl. If it's another boy, we'll name him Kinomi."

"I like the name Mikan," Ichigo said. "I hope you have a girl; then Tsukiko will have a little playmate."

"That's a great idea," Yuki said. "I just hope this one isn't like Taruto; he bit people as soon as he got fangs."

"I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?" Taruto asked as he walked in the door.

"Well, it did hurt," Yuki said. "But it's more likely you'll hear about it from Kisshu than from me. How is Kisshu, by the way?"

"Not good, and Pai sent me to get all three of you," Taruto said. "He said he'd explain. We need to go."

Anzu nodded and took Ichigo's hand, then teleported to the medical ward of the ship, followed by Yuki and Taruto. "What's wrong?" Anzu asked Pai worriedly.

"Something's draining Kisshu's remaining energy, but I can't figure out what," Pai said. "And at this rate, the energy loss will kill him."

Yuki went over and put one hand on Kisshu's forehead, and the other on his chest. "You need more training, apparently," she told Pai. "The reason he's getting weaker is because he has a fever. Stay quiet."

The others obeyed as Yuki's hands began to glow. Kisshu's somewhat labored breathing returned to normal, and Yuki sighed after another fifteen minutes. "Pai, help me bring his energy levels up," she said. Pai went over and put his hand over hers, and they both began to glow.

Fifteen minutes later, they both took their hands away, and Yuki tapped Kisshu's forehead. He opened his eyes, and asked, "Aunt Yuki?"

"I'm here, how are you feeling?" Yuki asked.

"I'm feeling better," Kisshu said. "Before it felt like I could barely move."

"Can you sit up?" Yuki asked.

Kisshu sat up with no trouble, and said, "I feel fine, can I get up?"

Yuki put a hand on his chest, and said, "Yes, but no flying or teleporting till tomorrow, got it?"

"Got it," Kisshu said. He got out of bed, and looked startled to see Ichigo. "Koneko-chan?" he asked.

"Yeah?" Ichigo asked.

"Are you staying?" Kisshu asked.

"Of course," Ichigo said. "Is that okay?"

"That's great," Kisshu said happily. "We get to spend our lives together, and you get a real family."

"Yep," Ichigo said happily.

"And you'll have a new cousin soon," Yuki said.

"Aunt Yuki, you're pregnant?" Kisshu asked.

"Yup," Yuki said cheerfully.

"This one better not bite me, or you'll have to find another babysitter," Kisshu said warningly. "I don't like babysitting anyways."

"Why didn't Pai help?" Ichigo asked.

"He gave Taruto the evil eye, Taruto started wailing, and I couldn't get him to calm down until Pai went away," Kisshu said gloomily. "He'd better hope that doesn't happen when he and Lettuce get married."

"Pai, you've got an Earth girlfriend?" Yuki asked. "That's so sweet!"

Pai looked uncomfortable, and said, "Lettuce and I aren't exactly together…."

"Oh come on, you didn't confess before leaving?" Kisshu asked.

"Uh…." Pai said. "Taruto didn't either!"

"That's because I confessed about two weeks ago," Taruto said, smirking. "As soon as we get things in order here, you should go back and confess."

"Mmph," Pai said.

"While you work this out, I'm taking my kids home," Anzu said. "We have to find clothing for Ichigo."

"Let me know if you need help," Yuki said.

"Thanks, I will," Anzu said. She took Kisshu and Ichigo by the hands, and teleported back to their home.

A bit shorter, and I know I said I couldn't get this out for a while, but I just couldn't resist. I hope you all like this!