Brought Together Chapter 28:

New Friends

The next week was pretty uneventful for Ichigo and Kisshu. However, Ichigo was becoming friends with Hana, who had started to come over a lot. The girls really liked each other, and they had fun together. Hana didn't have a lot of free time, since her job was, along with a few other girls, to watch the Cyniclon children, like her sister Emi. Hana came over when she could, though, so the two girls got to spend at least some time together.

Ichigo and her parents were learning a lot about the world they lived in. Shintaro had begun work on the buildings the Cyniclons needed, and it turned out he was really good at it. He explained that his father had been a carpenter, and he had learned some carpentry when his father was still alive.

Sakura was fitting in well too. She was an amazing cook, and her recipes were a big hit with the Cyniclons. The other Cyniclon women in the kitchen were very happy with her, especially since she had brought most of the food they were eating. She got along with everyone there, and was really enjoying herself.

Ichigo and Kisshu were still spending a lot of time together, since they hadn't been called up for any missions yet. They practiced fighting skills together and with the other members of the expeditionary force, who had mostly gotten over their shock about Ichigo beating Kisshu.

One day, Hana brought Emi over to the house Ichigo's family shared with Kisshu, Pai, Taruto, Yuki, and Hayao. This was so that Hana could explain that Ichigo was not the Ichigo Emi used to know.

This did not go as planned. Ichigo opened the door in response to Hana's knock, and was promptly tackled to the ground by a little girl about the height of Ichigo's knee. Hana came in next, and picked up the little girl, saying, "Emi, what did I tell you about tackling people?"

"No tackling…" Emi said sadly. "But Ichigo doesn't mind!"

"My cousins used to do that to me," Ichigo said. "I actually am kind of used to it."

"You're not helping," Hana said. "Emi, what do you say when you tackle someone?"

"Sorry," Emi said.

"That's okay, Emi," Ichigo said.

"Ichigo, when did you get cousins?" Emi asked.

Before Ichigo could reply, Hana said, "Emi, this is a different Ichigo. This isn't Kisshu's sister."

"Since when?" Emi asked. "You said Ichigo had to go away, and now she's come back!"

"Go away?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.

Hana sighed, then said to Emi, "Go find Kisshu, I have to talk to Ichigo, okay?"

"YAY!" Emi said, and ran off.

"What was that about?" Ichigo asked when Emi was out of sight.

Hana replied, "Emi was only three when Ichigo died. She didn't understand the concept of death, so when Ichigo died, and she didn't understand where Ichigo was, I said that Ichigo had to go away, and wasn't coming back. Unfortunately, she still doesn't understand the concept of death, even though I've explained it many times. She believes that Ichigo has come back, and I'm not sure she'll ever really realize that you're a different Ichigo."

"Um… I'm not sure what you think of this, but what if I pretended to be Ichigo?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Hana said a bit sadly. "Emi will have to learn that you're not really Kisshu's sister, and it's not going to help if you pretend to be Ichigo. It's a nice idea, but Emi should be learning reality, not pretend."

"You're probably right," Ichigo said.

Suddenly, from upstairs, the girls heard Kisshu shout, "Hana! Get this maniac off me!"

Ichigo and Hana looked at each other, and ran for the stairs. When they reached the room Kisshu was sharing with Ichigo, they saw Kisshu on the floor, with Emi clinging to him.

"Emi! What did I tell you?" Hana said.

"To go find Kisshu while you talked to Ichigo!" Emi said happily.

"NO! I told you to stop tackling people!" Hana said sternly.

"Hana, WHY did you tell her to find ME!?" Kisshu asked. "Emi, stop that!" Emi was starting to tickle him.

"Emi, come over here, and leave Kisshu alone for a while," Ichigo said.

"Okay!" Emi said, and promptly ran over to Ichigo and held her arms up. Ichigo was a bit confused at first, but then realized that Emi wanted to be picked up, so she picked her up. Emi happily wrapped her arms around Ichigo's neck, and said, "Love you, Ichi!"

"Love you back, Emi!" Ichigo said. Then she noticed Kisshu's jaw was on the floor, and Hana had one hand over her face. "What did I do?" Ichigo asked.

"I think I'll let Kisshu explain this one," Hana said. "Emi, it's time to go home!"

"I don't want to," Emi said. "I want to stay with Ichi!"

"Do you want lunch?" Hana asked.

"Yeah!" Emi said excitedly.

"Well, lunch is at home, so let's go," Hana said. Ichigo, getting the message, put Emi down, and said, "See you later, Emi!"

"See you later!" Emi said happily, and skipped off. Hana waved and followed.

Ichigo turned to Kisshu, and said, "So, what was that about? You acted kind of strange when I said, "Love you back, Emi!"

Kisshu sat down on the bed and sighed. "You might want to sit down too, this is a bit complicated," he said. Ichigo sat down next to him, and waited.

Kisshu sighed again, then said, "What you said to Emi is exactly what Ichigo used to say to her. Every time Emi would say, "Love you, Ichi!" Ichigo would say, "Love you back, Emi!" Hana and I were actually a bit shocked to hear that from you, since you're not my sister, and you never knew her."

Kisshu paused, then continued, "I'm sure Hana has told you that Emi doesn't understand the concept of death, and that she believes that Ichigo will come back someday. To Emi, you're the Ichigo she knew a little over a year ago, and after today, I don't think we'll ever be able to change her mind. That could be a problem, since you don't know the things my sister did to calm Emi, or play with her, or say to her."

"I'm sorry," Ichigo said. "I didn't know that, I was just trying to be nice to Emi. She's really sweet."

"She is, isn't she?" Kisshu said with a smile. "Despite the fact that she tackles basically everyone she meets, she's a really sweet kid with a big heart." Suddenly his smile faded, and he looked worried.

"Kisshu, what's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"I just remembered that Emi had a habit of following Ichigo everywhere she could," Kisshu said. "If we start going on missions soon, what if she tries to follow you?"

Ichigo started to look worried too. "That would be really bad," she said. "Let's hope that Hana keeps an eye on her. We might want to inform Hana anytime we have a mission, so that she knows to keep a close eye on Emi."

"That sounds like a good idea," Kisshu said. "I hope it'll be enough."

Can you guess what I'm thinking? Review and tell me!