Brought Together Chapter 2:

Kidnapped!

Pai and Taruto went to Earth to find Ichigo. They had decided to get her alone, without alerting her friends to their presence. To that end, they didn't send out any Chimeras, and teleported to the tree outside Ichigo's bedroom window, waiting for her to come home.

As it turned out, they didn't have to wait long. Ichigo entered her room about ten minutes after Pai and Taruto got there. As soon as she closed the door, Pai and Taruto teleported behind her. Before she could say anything, Pai knocked her out, and teleported off to the base with Taruto and Ichigo in tow.

When they got there, Pai set Ichigo down, and said, "Taruto, I want you to guard her. I'm going to go check on Kisshu."

"Fine…" Taruto said.

With Pai: Pai entered Kisshu's room, and walked over to the bed. He immediately noticed that the situation was worse. Kisshu was still unconscious, but now his cheeks were flushed with fever, and he seemed to be having trouble breathing. Pai went and got a washcloth, soaked it in ice water, wrung it out, then came back and put it on Kisshu's forehead. Pai was a bit nervous about leaving, but he knew Ichigo would be awake soon, and had to get back to Taruto.

With Taruto and Ichigo: Taruto was watching Ichigo, and suddenly she began to stir. Then she opened her eyes, and saw Taruto. She sat up, and glared at him. "What am I doing here?" she asked angrily.

Taruto was a bit uncomfortable, but said, "Um… Pai wanted you, so we brought you here."

"Why does Pai want me?" Ichigo asked, now sounding confused. "I thought he'd rather have Lettuce."

To her surprise, Taruto actually started giggling. He stopped quickly, however, as Pai came into the room. Ichigo stood up as he came closer. She noticed something odd. Pai looked really worried, and didn't have his usual monotone as he said, "Mew Ichigo, we brought you here to ask you some questions- about your battle with Kisshu today."

"Why me?" Ichigo asked. "Any one of the Mews could have told you what happened, and besides, didn't Kisshu tell you what happened?"

To Ichigo's surprise, Pai started looking even more worried than before. "Did something happen between the two of you today?" Pai asked.

"Um… I rejected him again, but that's not really new, is it?" Ichigo asked.

Pai's eyes widened, and he said urgently, "Tell me what you said to him."

Ichigo thought, then said, "I… told him to 'go die and get the hell out of my life'…"

Then Pai did something that surprised Ichigo- again. Pai actually hit himself in the forehead, then started doing it repeatedly.

"Um… Pai, are you okay?" Taruto asked. Ichigo was actually wondering the same thing. Why was Pai acting like this? Did something happen?

Finally Ichigo asked, "Um… did something happen? Because you're both acting differently than usual, and I haven't seen Kisshu at all since you brought me here."

Pai stopped hitting himself, and stared at her. Taruto did the same. Ichigo got uncomfortable, and said, "Why are you staring at me?"

"I guess it's time we told you, now that you've realized something's up," Pai said. "After his battle with you today, and obviously after you said what you said to him, Kisshu came back here, and before either of us could ask him how it went, he collapsed. The last thing he said was your name. We didn't know what could have happened to cause this kind of collapse, but now that you've told us what happened between you, I think I've got an answer."

"What is it?" Taruto asked.

Still talking directly to Ichigo, Pai said, "Kisshu truly cares about you, more than we've ever seen him care about anyone or anything- aside from his sister, who died about a year before Kisshu was sent to Earth. Kisshu was already pretty torn up about that, and when he found you, he kept talking about how it would be nice if you felt the same way he does. He's seen what you're like with everyone except him- caring and compassionate. He wants you to be like that with him, too, because he truly loves everything about you. You have no idea what it's like when he comes back after another rejection from you, and I don't even like to remember the look in his eyes."

Pai paused, and then said somewhat reluctantly, "I believe that what you said today is what caused Kisshu to collapse. He's been able to laugh off your rejections before, and go back to his normal self in a few days, but this might have been the last straw in a long line of hurtful rejections. I was hoping he would wake up by the time we got back with you, but I was wrong; the situation has, in fact gotten worse. Last time I checked on him, he had a fever and was having trouble breathing. I'm not sure what to do, since I don't exactly know what's wrong with him." Pai lowered his head.

Ichigo was shocked; she had thought Kisshu was only toying with her to get control of the Earth. Before she could stop herself, she said, "I didn't know Kisshu loved me; I thought I was just a toy to him. He's always saying that to me."

"That's just because he doesn't really know how to express his feelings anymore," Pai said. "He used to be very expressive and open, but he's changed since Ichigo's death."

"Wait, Ichigo?" Ichigo said.

"His twin sister, who died of a disease about a year and a half ago. That's another reason he feels so strongly about you, you have the same name as his sister," Pai said.

"I didn't know all that," Ichigo said. She was feeling bad; she had no idea what Kisshu had been through, though she knew the Cyniclon's planet was bad. Suddenly it looked like she was thinking hard about something.

Pai noticed this, and fell silent. Finally Ichigo came out of thought, and said, "Do… you want me to help Kisshu?"

Taruto's jaw dropped, and Pai looked shocked. "This isn't about pity, though, is it?" Pai asked.

Ichigo sighed. "No, it's because I want to. On top of feeling bad about what I did, Aoyama dumped me for being a Mew Mew today. If what you told me about Kisshu loving me is true, and he's still willing, I'm willing to give him a chance. Though I'm not sure what you think of that."

"Well, that's another thing," Pai admitted. "Deep Blue- our leader- abandoned us, for failing so often. We were about to ask you Mews if there was a way to cooperate before Deep Blue awakens when all this with Kisshu happened."

"If Deep Blue abandoned you, does that mean there will be others who come to take over?" Ichigo asked.

"Possibly, but there aren't that many warriors on our planet, so maybe, maybe not," Pai said. "We would be willing to come up with a truce, however. Deep Blue may not actually want what's best for my home. Besides, there is one way to destroy him."

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

"Kill his human host," Pai said. "To actually take on a solid form, Deep Blue will have to join with the human he chose for his host."

"Oh… do you know who it is?" Ichigo asked.

"Not yet, but I'm working on finding out," Pai said.

Ichigo thought, then seemed to come to a decision. "If you will let me, I'll take care of Kisshu while you find Deep Blue's human host," she said decisively.

This time, both Taruto and Pai's jaws dropped.

Back to cliffies, I know. Next chapter coming soon! REVIEW!