Brought Together Chapter 5:

Cold

Ichigo woke up the next morning to find Kisshu coughing again. She climbed out of her sleeping bag and went over to him. When she saw that he couldn't sit up, she pulled him up, holding him until the coughing subsided.

"Koneko-chan, why are you helping me?" Kisshu asked after he got his breath back.

Startled, Ichigo replied, "Because this is all my fault."

"Do you like me?" Kisshu asked.

Ichigo turned bright red and mumbled, "I'm not sure…"

Kisshu smirked, and said, "You sure about that answer? Cause you look like a strawberry right now."

Embarrassed, Ichigo tried to change the subject. "Are you feeling better, Kisshu?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Kisshu replied, the smirk fading. "I still feel really weak, and that cough doesn't feel good."

Ichigo put a hand on Kisshu's forehead, and sighed. "You also still have a fever, though it's a little better than last night," she said.

"I'm kind of cold," Kisshu said.

"I'll go see if Pai has extra blankets," Ichigo said. "Try to go back to sleep, k?"

Kisshu nodded, and Ichigo helped him lie back down. Then she left the room.

Ichigo realized that she should have asked Kisshu where Pai might be, but luckily for her, Pai was just coming out of a room nearby when she thought this.

"What's up, Ichigo?" he asked when he saw her.

"Kisshu says he's cold, and I was wondering if you had extra blankets around here somewhere," Ichigo explained.

"Yeah, sure," Pai said. "How's Kisshu doing, besides being cold?"

"He says he still feels really weak, and he's got a cough. His fever went down a little, but not much," Ichigo said.

"Sounds like he might have a bad cold," Pai said. "I'll get those blankets and some more of the fever medication. Come with me."

Ichigo nodded, and followed Pai down the hall. He stopped and opened the door of what looked like a storage room. "Wait here," he told Ichigo. Ichigo nodded, and Pai went in. He returned a minute later with a stack of blankets. Then he said, "Okay, now we need the medicine. The medical ward is down here."

Ichigo followed him to another room, and went in. It looked like a normal hospital room, and Pai went over to a shelf, and started looking at bottles. Finally he took one down, and said, "This is the one we need. I think I'll carry it, can you carry the blankets?"

"Sure," Ichigo said, and took the stack of blankets from Pai. Then they went back to Kisshu's room.

When they went in, however, what they saw worried them. Kisshu obviously had a fever, but it looked like he was having trouble breathing again. As they watched, he started coughing, but didn't wake up.

When the coughing fit stopped, Kisshu was still asleep, but his breathing was labored. "This doesn't look too good," Ichigo said. "Is there any way to help him breathe easier?"

"I can try something," Pai said. He went over and put a hand on Kisshu's chest. His hand started to glow, but nothing happened. "This isn't good," he said finally. "My powers seem to have no effect on him lately."

Kisshu was still having trouble breathing, and Ichigo was getting worried. What if he dies? It'll be all my fault. I wish there was something I could do…. Suddenly she had an idea.

"Pai, do you have the power to heal? Is that what you're trying to do?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, why?" Pai asked.

"Is it possible to inject me with that power?" Ichigo asked. "If we worked together, maybe it would work better."

Pai looked a bit uncertain, and said, "If I inject you with my DNA, you might gain other abilities besides the power to heal."

"If it's to keep Kisshu from dying, I'm willing to risk it," Ichigo said.

Pai sighed, but said, "Okay then. Let's go to my lab. I'll get Taruto to watch Kisshu for now."

Ichigo nodded and followed Pai out. She followed him to a room with a sign on it that said, 'Taruto's Room. Keep Out.' Pai banged on the door and shouted, "TARUTO! GET OUT OF BED!" They heard a 'thud', and soon after Taruto came out and said grumpily, "What is it now, Pai?"

"I need you to go watch Kisshu," Pai said. "If he gets worse, come tell me. I'll be in my lab with Ichigo."

"Doing what? I thought you liked Lettuce," Taruto said slyly.

Pai turned dark red, and said in a dangerously quiet voice, "I am not Kisshu. Ichigo came up with a plan that involves me injecting her with my DNA, to help Kisshu recover. THAT'S why we're going to be in my lab. Now go watch Kisshu!"

Taruto snickered and teleported off. Pai glared after him, then said to Ichigo, "Let's go."

Ichigo followed him to his lab, where he closed the door, and said, "Okay, I'm going to go mix some of my DNA with some other things, and then I'll inject you with it. No touching things in here, it'll only take me a few minutes."

"Okay," Ichigo said. She watched as Pai took a vial out of a cabinet. Then he took some of his own blood, and mixed it with the liquid in the vial. Finally he poured the mixture into a small canister with a needle attached. Then he said, "Okay, come sit in this chair, and I'll inject you with this."

Ichigo nervously came over and sat down. "Just close your eyes," Pai said, noticing her nervousness. Ichigo nodded, and closed her eyes. Pai stuck the needle in her arm, and pushed all the serum into her vein.

To Ichigo's surprise, it didn't hurt much. Finally she heard Pai say, "Okay, I'm done. Hold this against your arm for a minute while I get a bandage." Ichigo opened her eyes, and took the bandage from Pai, pressing it against her arm until Pai came back, and wrapped a bandage around her arm. "You're all set," Pai said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm a little dizzy, but other than that I'm fine," Ichigo said. "Should we go check on Kisshu?"

"Okay," Pai said. Ichigo got out of the chair, and walked a little unsteadily to the door.

"Which way?" Ichigo asked.

"I'll show you," Pai said, and led her back to Kisshu's room. They noticed he was still having trouble breathing.

Taruto looked up as they came in, and said, "Kisshu's not any better. How'd it go?"

"Well, I injected her with no problem," Pai said. "Let's see how well it worked. Ichigo, come over here. I'll show you what to do."

Ichigo came over and stood next to Pai. "Okay, put your hand on his chest," Pai instructed. Ichigo obeyed. "Close your eyes, and try to feel the problem," Pai said.

Ichigo closed her eyes and concentrated. "It feels like something's clogging his lungs," she finally said.

"Okay, then imagine the thing that's clogging his lungs fading away," Pai instructed.

Ichigo concentrated, and pictured the stuff clogging Kisshu's lungs fading away. When she sensed it was all gone, she opened her eyes, and looked at Kisshu. His breathing had returned to normal!

"Wow…" Taruto said.

"That worked better than I thought it would," Pai said. "Ichigo, you might be more powerful than me."

"Well, I'm just glad it worked," Ichigo said. They all turned back to Kisshu. He was starting to wake up.

I think Kisshu's going to get better next chapter. Ichigo is now part Cyniclon! I wonder how the other Mews will react… Plz Review!