Betraying My People Chapter 29:
Back to Earth
Kisshu helped Ichigo carry the kittens to their room, and then teleported out. Ichigo got up and closed the door so the kittens couldn't get out. When she turned around, all the kittens were curled up on the bed, sleeping. Ichigo smiled and sat down in the desk chair. This shouldn't be too hard if they just want to sleep, she thought.
However, an hour later the kittens were getting hyper. All except for Siria-sama, who was calmly sitting on the bed.
Taruto, on the other hand, turned out to be the most hyper of all the kittens. "Jeez, for something so tiny, you're a real energy ball," Ichigo told Taruto, who was attempting to pounce on Aunt Hamaya's tail- and failing every time. Finally Aunt Hamaya got tired of Taruto trying to attack her tail, and lifted a paw, showing off sharp claws. Taruto backed up, and his ears drooped. Aunt Hamaya and Uncle Aran curled up for another nap, leaving Taruto bored.
Ichigo noticed he was looking at the blankets, and worried he'd start sharpening his claws, she untied one of her hair ribbons, dangling it in front of Taruto, whose eyes went wide. He immediately started batting at the ribbon, and when Ichigo raised it a little higher, he jumped, and bit it. Ichigo raised it a little higher, but since Taruto was such a tiny kitten, he got lifted up by the ribbon. Ichigo noticed and gently set him back down, then picked him up and put him on her lap. Then she got an idea, and as he settled down, she took her hair ribbon and tied it in a bow around Taruto's neck. "There you go," Ichigo said. "Pudding will think you're adorable."
"Myu?" Taruto asked. Suddenly Ichigo realized she could understand him. "Well, Pudding's normally at the Café," she said. "You like her, don't you?"
"Are you going to tell Kisshu?" Taruto asked.
"No, he already knows, it's pretty obvious," Ichigo said.
"Is it really that obvious?" Taruto asked.
"Yep," Ichigo said. "You should be honest with your feelings, it'll be good for you and Pudding."
"Does Pudding really like me?" Taruto asked.
"I'd say so," Ichigo replied.
Taruto sighed and settled down on Ichigo's lap for a catnap. Ichigo smiled and started petting him. He started purring, and fell asleep. Soon all the kittens were sound asleep, and Ichigo was getting tired. She gently moved Taruto next to her pillow, and laid back. Soon she was asleep too.
Five hours later, Ichigo was woken by Kisshu shaking her. "Koneko-chan, we're here," he said when she was awake. "Will you carry some kittens?"
"Sure," Ichigo said. "I'll carry Taruto and Siria-sama." She picked up a sleepy Taruto first, and Kisshu started snickering. "What?" Ichigo asked.
"You gave him a little bow," Kisshu snickered. "Pudding's going to love that."
"That was the idea," Ichigo said. "Besides, I think Taruto looks totally kawaii with the little bow."
"You're probably right, but this ought to be fun, I hope Pudding's actually there," Kisshu said. "I have to admit I'm not a good judge of cuteness- except for you."
"Thanks," Ichigo said, blushing. "Let's get the kittens to Keiichiro."
Kisshu nodded, and picked up Aunt Hamaya and Uncle Aran. Pai came in a minute later and took Ichigo's shoulder, then teleported to the basement of Café Mew Mew.
Keiichiro and all the Mews were waiting for them, and Keiichiro said, "Welcome back. I have the machine ready, who's going first?"
Before anyone could respond, Pudding said, "Can Pudding see what Taru-Taru looks like?"
"Sure," Ichigo said. She handed over the tiny brown kitten with the ribbon, saying, "Don't squeeze him, kittens that age are very delicate."
Pudding gently took Taruto from Ichigo, and said, "Aww, he's got a little ribbon around his neck! Kawaii!"
"I thought you'd like that," Ichigo said. "I think Siria-sama should go first, since Taruto's getting fussed over and she is our leader."
"Sure," Keiichiro said. Ichigo put the white cat on the pedestal, and Keiichiro pressed a button. A light shone down on Siria-sama, and she reverted to her normal form, then floated down. "Thank you for returning me to my normal form," she said to Keiichiro.
"You're welcome," Keiichiro said with a bow. "Should we do the others?"
"Hai," Kisshu said. He put Aunt Hamaya and Uncle Aran on the pedestal together, and soon they were back to normal too. They also thanked Keiichiro, and then Ichigo said, "Okay Pudding-chan, it's time to turn Taruto back."
"Aww…." Pudding said. Nevertheless, she put Taruto on the pedestal, and Keiichiro pressed the button again. Soon after, Taruto floated down and said, "Thanks, Keiichiro."
"Sure," Keiichiro said. "But I think we need to get to the bottom of who's doing this, or you'll be making a lot of trips to Earth."
"You're correct," Siria-sama said. "But I didn't see anything; I was knocked out from behind."
"We didn't see anything either," Aunt Hamaya said. "Taruto, did you see anything?"
"No, someone grabbed me, but I couldn't see them," Taruto said. "Is it possible the kidnapper has the power to turn invisible?"
"That's not a very common power," Siria-sama said. "I didn't think anyone even had that power anymore, and even when it was possible, only one family had that power in their bloodline."
"Can we question the people from this family?" Pai asked.
"We may not need to," Siria-sama said. "To my knowledge, there is only one surviving member of that family. If we find Suzumiya Sanosuke, we may well find our culprit."
"Should we go back then?" Kisshu asked.
"We still haven't figured out one thing," Pai said. "Who does this person want? If they kidnapped my family, they must want both control of the Council and either me, Kisshu or Ichigo. To my knowledge, Suzumiya Sanosuke doesn't know any of us personally. What reason would he have to attempt to kill or harm one of us?"
"You have a point there," Siria-sama said. "But if it wasn't him, then who was it?"
"I'm not sure," Pai admitted. "I also don't know who would have a grudge against one of us. I'm fairly certain this person is not after Ichigo, because she's not as well known as Kisshu or I."
"You're probably right," Siria-sama said. "No one would have a reason to resent Ichigo. I'd say it's more likely that they want Kisshu or you, Pai."
"Did any of you know that Sanosuke has a girlfriend?" Kisshu asked suddenly.
"No, why?" Pai asked.
"His girlfriend has a son from before her husband died, and he's my age," Kisshu said. "And he hates me because I kicked his ass in every practice match we ever had. What if Sanosuke somehow infused this guy with his DNA, to give him the power of invisibility?"
"What's his name?" Siria-sama asked.
"Youshin Mizuki," Kisshu said. "His mother is Youshin Anko."
"Mizuki… wasn't he the one always in trouble at school for beating people up?" Pai asked.
"Yep, that's him," Kisshu said. "He also thought he was better than everyone else. If he's the culprit, I imagine he's just gotten worse as the years went on."
"But why would he kidnap Siria-sama?" Taruto asked.
"If Sanosuke injected him with his DNA, it's possible that Sanosuke is the one who wants to be in control of the Council, and Mizuki is just going along with it to get revenge on Kisshu," Pai said.
"We should get back," Ichigo said. "If he gets to the rest of the Council, we're done for."
"You're right," Siria-sama said. "We need to get back and make sure that doesn't happen."
"Do you need help?" Lettuce asked.
Siria-sama looked thoughtful. "We need to protect not only the Council, but the Ikisatashi family," she said. "Can you come?"
"Hai," Lettuce said. She looked at the others. Zakuro and Mint nodded, Kasumi smiled, and Pudding said, "YAY! Let's go help, na no da!"
"Do you need to ask your parents first?" Aunt Hamaya asked.
"I'll take care of that," Keiichiro said. "You all should go deal with this. Pai, I want you to keep these girls safe."
"Hai," Pai replied, bowing. "I give you my word."
Keiichiro nodded, and Siria-sama said, "Let's go then."
All the Cyniclons grabbed a Mew, and teleported to the ship. They landed in the main room, and Pai said, "Dad, can you copilot?"
"Hai," Uncle Aran said. He and Pai teleported off.
Kisshu smirked and said, "Taruto, have fun with the others, I'm taking Ichigo to our room."
"Don't go too far, got it?" Aunt Hamaya said.
"Hai, hai," Kisshu said. Then he grabbed Ichigo's hand and teleported to their room.
Okay, I know it's a bad chapter ending, but I'm posting again, so stay tuned and REVIEW!