Betraying My People Chapter 27:

Back to Cyniclonia

Ichigo and Kisshu went back to their room after getting on the ship, leaving Pai and Taruto to fly it. They sat down on the bed, and Kisshu sighed.

"Something wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"That was pretty embarrassing," Kisshu said.

"Yeah, but at least Lettuce wasn't unhappy with us," Ichigo said. "Considering the fact I actually licked her, I'm glad she only giggled a little."

"I hope that serum works," Kisshu said. "I NEVER want to turn into a kitten again."

"I was starting to get the sense right before we got back to normal that I was meant to be a kitten," Ichigo said. "Did you feel that?"

"Now that you mention it, yes," Kisshu said. "I guess that was a sign that Keiichiro and Pai were almost too late to turn us back."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see what happens," Ichigo said. "I wonder how long it takes for the serum to take effect?"

"I have no clue, why?" Kisshu asked.

"Because if we kiss before it takes effect, we'll be back to square one," Ichigo said. "I think we should wait on kissing for a while."

Kisshu sighed. "Oh well," he said. "I still don't understand why we turned into kittens when we weren't kissing."

"Yeah, same here," Ichigo said. "But if the serum works, we won't have to worry about it anymore."

"I hope so," Kisshu said. He rubbed his neck, then flinched.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"I think I've got a bruise from you pushing me," Kisshu said. "Why were you so insistent on me liking Zakuro, anyways?"

"Because she's a good person, and it's hurtful to people when you run away from them," Ichigo said. "You do realize she wouldn't hurt you, right?"

"I can't help being nervous around wolves," Kisshu said. "They're scary."

"Zakuro's only half wolf, though," Ichigo said. "The other half is human."

"She acts like Pai, and combine that with the wolf, makes her scary," Kisshu grumbled.

"You're afraid of Pai?" Ichigo asked.

"You don't think he's creepy?" Kisshu asked.

"Not particularly," Ichigo said. "Besides, if he was actually creepy, Lettuce wouldn't have fallen in love with him."

"Lettuce is in love with Pai? Seriously!?" Kisshu asked.

"You honestly didn't notice?" Ichigo asked.

Kisshu looked sheepish as he said, "Um… not really."

Ichigo sighed. "You can be so clueless sometimes."

"Hey!" Kisshu said indignantly. Then he smirked, but Ichigo didn't notice- at least until he started tickling her.

She shrieked, and Kisshu just smirked. Ichigo took the challenge and started tickling him back. By this point she knew exactly where he was most ticklish, and exploited that. Soon they were both laughing too hard to speak, and finally Kisshu gasped out, "I give. You win again, Koneko-chan."

"YES!" Ichigo said. "You haven't beaten me once, have you?"

"No…" Kisshu said. "But I'll manage it someday."

Ichigo giggled, and got off him. Kisshu took the opportunity to jump on her and pin her to the floor. Unfortunately, he was a little too rough, and Ichigo's head hit the floor, knocking her out. Kisshu immediately got off her and put her on the bed, then put a hand on her forehead. Then he sighed. She wasn't hurt, just unconscious. Kisshu looked at her, realizing it was his fault, and started crying.

Ichigo woke up about an hour later, and looked around. She didn't see Kisshu, and got worried. She sat up, and was about to get up to go looking for him, when she noticed he was lying on the floor, his face tearstained. Panic shot through her, and she immediately ran to him and started shaking him. "Kisshu! Kisshu! Wake up!" Ichigo screamed.

Kisshu started to stir, and Ichigo stopped shaking him. "Kisshu?" she asked.

Kisshu opened his eyes, and sat up. He was shocked when Ichigo threw herself at him, sobbing. "Ichigo, what's wrong?" he asked, hugging her.

"What's wrong!?" Ichigo sobbed. "I found you lying on the floor after you accidentally knocked me out, and knowing how obsessed you are, I thought you had killed yourself or something!"

"I kind of fell asleep crying…." Kisshu said. "Are you okay?"

"You scared me!" Ichigo cried.

"I'm sorry, Koneko-chan, I got tired out crying and I was sitting on the floor, so I guess I fell asleep on the floor too," Kisshu said. "Really, I'm fine."

Ichigo took her face away from his shoulder and looked at him. "Really?" she whispered.

Kisshu smiled. "Really," he said. "I'm sorry I scared you."

Ichigo hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder again. Kisshu gently picked her up and put her on the bed, sitting down next to her. "Next time you're tired, try to sleep somewhere other than the floor," Ichigo whispered. "When I saw your face was tearstained, I really panicked."

"I promise, I won't sleep on the floor anymore," Kisshu said. "I'm really sorry I scared you."

Ichigo just hugged him tighter. "Now I'm tired," she said. "Can you sleep with me?"

"Sure," Kisshu said. He pulled a blanket over both of them, and Ichigo snuggled into his chest, falling asleep almost immediately. Kisshu started stroking her hair, and she leaned into his hand. Soon after, Kisshu fell asleep as well.

Five hours later, Pai came in and woke them up. "We're here," he told them when he saw that they were awake. "Are you two feeling okay?"

"We're fine," Ichigo said.

"Then why did I hear screaming in here earlier?" Pai asked. "If I wasn't flying the ship, I would have come in here, but I didn't want to crash or go off course."

"I accidentally knocked Ichigo out while we were playing, and then fell asleep crying," Kisshu said sheepishly. "And then she found me sleeping on the floor and panicked."

"You should know better than to sleep on the floor," Pai said sternly. "At least that explains why your hair is standing up on one side."

Kisshu immediately felt his hair- and then noticed Pai was snickering. "Um… Pai, are you feeling okay?" Kisshu asked.

"Yes, why?" Pai asked.

Kisshu turned to Ichigo. "This is serious, if he's laughing, it means he's either come down with a serious illness, or he's finally gone off the deep end."

Pai glared at Kisshu as Ichigo said, "Any suggestions?"

"Yeah, there's a straightjacket in the control room," Kisshu said.

Ichigo burst out laughing, as Pai shouted, "I do NOT need to be in a straightjacket, you little green demon!"

Kisshu burst out laughing as Ichigo nearly fell off the bed. "Jeez Pai, I haven't heard that one since I told Aunt Hamaya that you were the one who destroyed the coffee table," Kisshu said, still laughing. "You must be regressing."

"I AM NOT!" Pai shouted. "Asparagus head."

Kisshu turned red and shouted, "Eggplant brain!"

Now it was Pai's turn to turn red, and he shouted, "Obnoxious grass kid!"

Kisshu teleported, and before Pai could move, Kisshu was tying him up with some rope that he had in his room. Once Pai was unable to move (and steaming), Kisshu said, "Never call me 'obnoxious grass kid' again, you hear me?"

"Whatever," Pai said. Kisshu turned red again and smacked him, then walked over to Ichigo, grabbed her hand, and teleported home.

They landed in the main room, where Aunt Hamaya, Uncle Aran, and Taruto were waiting. Kisshu set Ichigo down, and stormed off. A minute later, they heard a door slam, and Aunt Hamaya asked, "What happened?"

"Pai called Kisshu an 'obnoxious grass kid', and Kisshu blew up," Ichigo said. "What was that about?"

Uncle Aran sighed. "Many kids were jealous of Kisshu when he was younger, since he was the top of every fighting class there was," he said. "A lot of people called Kisshu that name, and he hated it, especially since he didn't understand why the others didn't like him. And since green is an unusual hair color even among our people, names like that often popped up. Kisshu got teased a lot when he was little, and I think that left a mark. Pai really should know better than to bring that up. I'd better go have a talk with him. Where is he?"

"Probably still in Kisshu's room on the ship," Ichigo said. "Kisshu tied him up and smacked him. I've never seen Kisshu like that."

Uncle Aran sighed. "I'll go talk to Pai, you and Hamaya go to Kisshu," he said. "I don't think Kisshu really needs to be punished, but you should try to cheer him up. Pai, on the other hand, is going to get it." He teleported out.

Aunt Hamaya sighed, and said to Ichigo, "Let's go to Kisshu, he's probably in his room."

Ichigo nodded and followed Aunt Hamaya to Kisshu's room. Aunt Hamaya knocked, and they heard Kisshu say, "No one's in here. Go away."

"It sounds like someone's in there," Aunt Hamaya said. "Unless the walls have learned to talk."

"No, but the door is locked, so even if there was someone in here, you can't get in," Kisshu said.

Aunt Hamaya tried the doorknob, and sure enough, it was locked. She sighed and said, "Open the door, Kisshu. You're not in trouble, we just want to talk."

"If 'we' is you and Pai, tell him to go away," Kisshu said. "I hate Pai."

"'We' is me and Ichigo," Aunt Hamaya said. "Now open the door."

There was a click, and the door opened a crack. Aunt Hamaya pushed it open, and she and Ichigo went in. Kisshu was lying face-down on the bed, his head buried in the pillows. Ichigo went and sat next to him, and Aunt Hamaya sat down next to her as she started stroking Kisshu's hair. "Uncle Aran went to talk to Pai," Ichigo said.

"I hate Pai," Kisshu said. "Everyone thinks my hair is weird, and he's no exception."

"I don't think your hair is weird, I think it's beautiful," Ichigo said.

Kisshu turned his head and looked at her. "You do?" he asked.

Ichigo smiled. "Yep."

Kisshu sighed, and sat up. "I still hate Pai," he said.

Aunt Hamaya sighed. "You two need to learn to get along," she said.

"I'd get along with him just fine if he didn't call me names," Kisshu grumbled.

"He doesn't usually do that, does he?" Ichigo asked.

"Not recently," Kisshu admitted. "But he KNOWS I hate comments related to my hair, and that it hurts my feelings, which means he did it on purpose."

"How did this get started, anyways?" Aunt Hamaya asked.

"Pai was laughing at me and I told him he needed a straightjacket, then told Ichigo to go get one from the control room, and he started calling me names," Kisshu said.

"And why exactly would you tell him he needed a straightjacket?" Aunt Hamaya asked.

"He was laughing, so I assumed he'd gone off the deep end," Kisshu said. "Don't insane people usually have straightjackets?"

"Only if they're in potential danger of harming themselves or others," Aunt Hamaya said. "And I don't think Pai laughing is a good enough reason to put him in a straightjacket."

Kisshu sighed. "Are you going to make me apologize?" he asked.

"Not this time, but in future, remember that just because Pai's laughing, doesn't mean he's gone off the deep end," Aunt Hamaya said. "He has a right to laugh too."

"I never said he didn't, but it's still creepy," Kisshu said.

Aunt Hamaya sighed, but didn't say anything more, since Uncle Aran came through the door then and said, "Kisshu, I had a talk with Pai, and he has something to say to you. I also untied him. I'm impressed, those knots were well done."

Aunt Hamaya facepalmed as Kisshu smirked and said, "Thanks, I've been practicing."

Uncle Aran smiled slightly and turned back to the doorway, then said, "Pai, you can come in now."

Pai walked into the room and looked at Kisshu, who was glaring at him. "Kisshu, I'm sorry I called you those names," Pai said. "I should have remembered that no matter what, I shouldn't say things like that."

"Fine, just don't do it again," Kisshu said.

Pai nodded, and left, followed by Uncle Aran. Aunt Hamaya sighed and said, "Ichigo, would you like to help me with dinner?"

"Sure, Aunt Hamaya," Ichigo said. She and Aunt Hamaya got up, and Ichigo turned to Kisshu. "See you at dinner, Kisshu," Ichigo said.

Kisshu nodded, so Ichigo followed Aunt Hamaya to the kitchen.

Filler. I know. I just couldn't think what to do next. PM me or review with ideas plz!