Betraying My People Chapter 21:

Kitten Kisshu

Uncle Aran led Ichigo to the room she had been in last time, after Kisshu's teleporting mistake. "You and Kisshu are sharing," he said. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, I've been sharing with him for months," Ichigo said. She set Kisshu down on the futon, and watched as he curled up into a little ball. "He's just like a real kitten," she commented softly.

"We had a pet once," Uncle Aran said. "It was a clarut, similar to a cat. I think we still have his bed and litterbox, should I get them?"

"Good idea," Ichigo said. "I'll stay with Kisshu, if that's okay."

"Sure," Uncle Aran said. He teleported out, and Ichigo sat down on the futon, then began petting Kisshu. He purred and stretched in his sleep. Uncle Aran teleported back in with the bed and litterbox, and said, "I wonder if he could eat clarut food?"

"I don't know," Ichigo said. "We could try it, do you have some?"

"No, but our friends might," Uncle Aran said. "I'll have Hamaya ask around. Why don't you set up the litterbox and bed?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. She started doing that as Uncle Aran teleported out. When she was done, she went back to petting Kisshu. A while later, he started to wake up, and said, "Nya?"

"Hi Kisshu," Ichigo said. "I set up the things Uncle Aran gave me for you, they're over there." She pointed to the corner of the room nearest the futon. Kisshu looked at them, then looked back at her. "Nyaaa…." he said.

"You can still sleep with me if you want," Ichigo said. Kisshu mewed sadly.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"Myuuuuuuuuu!" Kisshu wailed. Ichigo started scratching his ears, trying to make him feel better. He jumped onto her lap and settled down. She picked him up, cradling him in her arms. "I guess it's not easy being a kitten, huh?" she asked him. Kisshu mewed sadly. "I'm sure Pai will figure something out," she reassured him.

Uncle Aran came in and said, "I heard a yowl, is everything okay?"

"Kisshu misses being a Cyniclon," Ichigo said. Kisshu sighed.

Uncle Aran sighed. "There's not much I can do about that," he said. "I found a few toys, though, so you can use them." He handed Ichigo a ball and something that looked like a duster, as well as a bowl. "Hamaya should be back soon with food," he said. Kisshu's ears pricked up at the word 'food'. "Nya?" he asked.

"I hope it's something you can eat," Ichigo said. "Uncle Aran said they'd be getting clarut food."

"Myu," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smiled and picked up the duster toy, putting Kisshu down. She shook the hanging part around, and Kisshu batted at it half-heartedly. "You're pretty depressed, huh?" Ichigo asked.

Kisshu sighed again. Aunt Hamaya came in and said, "I got a bag of clarut food, should we see if Kisshu can eat it?"

"Sure, maybe food will cheer him up," Ichigo said. "He's pretty depressed about being a kitten."

Aunt Hamaya sighed, and filled the bowl with food. Kisshu went over and poked it with a paw. "Kisshu, you're supposed to eat the food, not play with it," Aunt Hamaya said.

Kisshu looked at the food sadly. "Aren't you hungry?" Ichigo asked. Kisshu shook his head.

"Maybe I should go see if Pai's found anything," Uncle Aran said. "You two stay here and try to cheer Kisshu up."

Aunt Hamaya sat down on the floor with Ichigo as Uncle Aran teleported out. Kisshu looked at her listlessly. Then he curled up on Ichigo's lap again. "I hope he's not sick or something," Aunt Hamaya said. "The Kisshu I know is always hungry."

"I don't think he is, but I can check," Ichigo said. She put a finger on Kisshu's chest, and closed her eyes. Finally she said, "He's not sick as far as I can tell. I think he's just depressed. And that's just as bad."

Aunt Hamaya reached out and started petting Kisshu. He didn't seem to notice. Pai and Uncle Aran teleported back in, and Pai said, "How's Kisshu?"

"He's really depressed," Ichigo said. "He won't even eat, and he's definitely not interested in playing. I'm worried about him. Have you found anything?"

"No," Pai said. "Maybe I can sense why Kisshu's so depressed; this doesn't seem like him." He came over and sat down, then put a finger on Kisshu's forehead and closed his eyes. Finally he said, "I think he's worried."

"About what?" Ichigo asked.

"Two things," Pai said. "One, he's afraid that he won't get to go back to normal, but two, he's afraid you'll stop loving him if he remains a cat."

Ichigo looked down at the kitten in her lap. "Kisshu, how could you think that?" she asked. "I'll never stop loving you, no matter what you are. I love you, and it doesn't matter to me whether you're a cat or a Cyniclon, you're still you."

Kisshu just sighed. Ichigo looked at Pai, worried. "I think we need to do something soon, or he'll just wither away," she said.

"You're right, I've never seen him this depressed," Pai said. "But I don't know what to do."

"Maybe a kiss will make him feel better," Ichigo said. "That usually works." She picked up Kisshu and kissed him on the nose. About a minute later, she broke it off and put him back on her lap. He curled back up, but suddenly began to glow. As the others watched, he started to go back to his normal form.

Finally Kisshu was back to being a Cyniclon, but he was sound asleep. Ichigo gently put a hand on his forehead, and said, "No fever, I guess we just wait for him to wake up."

"Okay, let's put him to bed," Pai said. He picked up Kisshu and tucked him into the futon bed. "Ichigo, you'd better stay," Pai said.

"I will," Ichigo said. Pai nodded and left, followed by Aunt Hamaya and Uncle Aran.

About an hour later, Kisshu started to wake up. "Kisshu, are you feeling okay?" Ichigo asked softly.

Kisshu looked at her, and asked, "Ichigo? Do you still love me?"

"Of course!" Ichigo said, somewhat hurt. "What would make you doubt that?"

"I'm a cat," Kisshu said gloomily.

"And I'm half cat, so that makes us perfect for each other," Ichigo said firmly. "Besides, didn't you notice that you're back to normal?"

"I am?" Kisshu asked, sitting up and looking at himself. "I guess you're right," he said.

"Kisshu, do you know why you're so depressed?" Ichigo asked.

"No," Kisshu said. "Are you sure you still love me?"

"Kisshu, I'll always love you," Ichigo said. "That's one thing you don't have to worry about."

"Okay," Kisshu said. He still sounded sad.

"Kisshu, I'm thinking I should have Pai look at you," Ichigo said. "This doesn't seem normal. I've never seen you this depressed."

"I don't want you to leave…" Kisshu said.

"I'm not going anywhere without you, I just think we should go talk to Pai," Ichigo said.

"I guess…" Kisshu said. He got up, and Ichigo took his hand. "Let's go ask Aunt Hamaya where he is," she said, pulling him out the door.

They found Aunt Hamaya in the main room, and Ichigo said, "Can you tell us where Pai is?"

"Still at the ship, why?" Aunt Hamaya asked.

"Kisshu's still really depressed, and I was hoping Pai could help us figure out why," Ichigo said. "He was able to sense why Kisshu was depressed earlier."

"I think I can handle that," Aunt Hamaya said. "Pai got that power from me. Kisshu, come over here."

Kisshu walked over to her, and she put a hand on his forehead, then closed her eyes. Finally she said, "Something about being a cat for that long seems to have messed up his emotions."

"Is there a way to fix that?" Ichigo asked.

"Focus on healing his mind, and see if that helps," Aunt Hamaya said. "That's all I can come up with."

Ichigo nodded, and said, "Kisshu, let's go back to our room." Kisshu followed her back to their room, and watched as she transformed. "Okay, I need you to lie down," she told Kisshu.

Kisshu did as she asked. Ichigo knelt next to him, and put a hand on his forehead. Then she closed her eyes, and began to glow. Kisshu fell back to sleep, and Ichigo sighed. Then she focused on healing his mind. Finally, a few minutes later, she took her hand away, and the light show faded. As soon as the lights faded completely, Ichigo put her hand back on Kisshu's forehead, and tried to sense if the problem was gone. His mind seemed fine, so she decided to let him sleep off the healing.

About half an hour later, Kisshu woke up and noticed Ichigo sitting next to him. "Koneko-chan? What happened?" he asked.

"How are you feeling?" Ichigo asked. "You were pretty depressed earlier."

"I feel fine," Kisshu said. "Hey, how did I get back to normal? I thought I turned into a kitten."

"You did, but I kissed you and it turned you back," Ichigo said. "But when you woke up after that, you were really depressed and kept asking me if I still loved you. Were you worried that I wouldn't love you if you were a cat?"

"I think so," Kisshu said. "I guess I should have known you better. Sorry, Koneko-chan."

"It's fine," Ichigo said. "I guess we're both part cat now. I wonder how that happened?"

"Too much kissing?" Kisshu suggested.

"You think we kissed too much? I thought you thought we didn't kiss enough," Ichigo said.

Kisshu laughed. Ichigo sighed. "I'm glad you're not depressed anymore," she said. "That was kind of scary. I've never seen you that sad about anything."

"Wow," Kisshu said.

Okay, horrendous chapter ending, but I'm tired, so that's it for tonight. Review Plz!