Brought Together Chapter 32:

Recovering

A week later, Ichigo, Pai and the others were still taking shifts watching Kisshu. His fever was finally gone, but he was still extremely weak. Ichigo and Pai warned the others not to upset Kisshu in any way, since getting worked up would be bad for him in his current condition.

Over the past week, several Cyniclons had come over. Hana came several times, bringing food that her mother had made to help Kisshu get better. Emi came with Hana sometimes, and was always happy to see Ichigo. Kuro-sama had been over a few times as well, and Pai was keeping him updated on Kisshu's condition. Several members of the expeditionary force had come to tell Kisshu that they hoped he would feel better soon. Choji was the most frequent visitor, and he also brought news that there had been no new missions since Kisshu had been injured.

By the end of the second week after Kisshu had been injured, everyone was getting very worried. Kisshu was still unable to sit up. It seemed that his weakness simply wasn't going away for some reason.

Currently, it was Taruto's shift, and the others were gathered in the main room, discussing what to do. Ichigo suddenly had an idea. "Pai, are there other healers besides you and me?" she asked.

"Hai," Pai said. "Yume, Hana's mother, is one, and so is Mika, her best friend. Why?"

"If we got more help, maybe we would be able to heal Kisshu's weakness," Ichigo said. "I don't think that he's going to get better on his own."

"That's an idea," Pai said. "Let's go find them. You find Yume, I'll go to Mika."

"Hai," Ichigo said, and teleported off. She found Yume at the kitchens, working on a new recipe that Sakura had taught her.

"Hi Ichigo, is something wrong?" Yume asked.

"Yes," Ichigo replied. "Kisshu's not getting any better, and we need you and Mika to come help."

"I'm coming," Yume said. She called out, "I need someone to take over here!"

A Cyniclon woman came up to them and said, "I can do it."

"Thanks, Umie," Yume said. "Ichigo, let's go." Ichigo nodded, and the two of them teleported back to Ichigo's home.

Pai and Mika were already there, and when they saw Ichigo and Yume, Pai said, "Okay, let's go upstairs. Taruto already left."

Ichigo, Yume, and Mika followed Pai up to Kisshu's room. Kisshu was asleep again. "What is your plan, Pai?" Mika asked.

"We'll combine our powers and heal Kisshu's weakness," Pai said. "All of you link hands, and we'll combine our powers."

Ichigo took Yume's hand, and Pai's. Pai took Mika's hand and Ichigo's, and Mika took Pai's hand and Yume's. They formed a circle around Kisshu, and closed their eyes. Their hands began to glow light blue, and the glow spread over Kisshu's body. The glow got brighter, then suddenly flashed. Then it began to fade slowly. When it was completely gone, Ichigo, Pai, Yume and Mika opened their eyes and dropped each other's hands. Then they looked at Kisshu. He was starting to wake up.

Kisshu opened his eyes, and seemed to be surprised. "Kisshu, how are you feeling?" Ichigo asked.

"I feel fine," Kisshu said. He sat up with no problem. "What happened?"

"Ichigo suggested combining our powers with those of Mika and Yume's," Pai explained. "It seems it worked, too."

"Wow, thanks minna," Kisshu said. "I feel a lot better."

"I'm glad," Yume said. "That took a lot of power."

"I'm really tired," Mika said. "I'm not sure I have the energy to teleport back home."

"I'll do it," Yume said. She turned to Ichigo and Pai and said, "I'll take Mika home. See you later!" She teleported out with Mika.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Kisshu," Ichigo said. "Do you think you can stand up yet?"

"I think so," Kisshu said. He pushed back the blankets, and put his feet on the floor. Then he stood up. Ichigo saw that he was still a little shaky, and said, "Don't push yourself yet, okay?"

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Can we get something to eat? I'm really hungry."

"Sure," Pai said. "Let's go downstairs. You should take it slow, though."

"Fine…." Kisshu sighed. The three of them walked slowly down the stairs. Kisshu was still a little unsteady, so Ichigo kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't fall. Finally they reached the main room, and the others looked up.

"Kisshu! You're awake!" Yuki said. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better," Kisshu said. "I don't think I'm back to full strength yet, though."

"That's to be expected," Pai said. "You should take it easy for a while. That means no flying or teleporting yet. Like Ichigo said, don't push yourself."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Is there anything to eat around here?"

"Sure," Yuki said. "I've got some fried rice. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, I liked it the first time you made it," Kisshu said. Yuki smiled and went to get the fried rice.

She came back a few minutes later, and gave a large plate of fried rice to Kisshu, who immediately started eating.

About ten minutes later, Kisshu was finished with the rice. Pai stood up and said, "I'm going to inform Kuro-sama that Kisshu's almost recovered. See you all later." He teleported off.

"What should we do now?" Ichigo asked.

"Can we go somewhere?" Kisshu asked.

"Until you can teleport, you're staying here," Ichigo said. "I don't want to take unnecessary chances."

Kisshu sighed. Suddenly Pai teleported back in, and said, "Okay, Kuro-sama said that he'd tell the expeditionary force that you two will be back soon. Ichigo, he wants you to start training again, since Kisshu's well enough that someone doesn't have to watch him."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "Who does he want me to train with?"

"He said that Takoi could use some help with his sword work," Pai said. "Takoi is waiting in the training room."

"Okay, I'll head over there," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, you stay here, I'll be back in a while."

Kisshu sighed, but said, "Fine…."

Ichigo nodded, and teleported to the training room on Pai's ship. To her surprise, not only Takoi, but Choji, Takashi and Shiro were there. "I thought I was only training with Takoi," Ichigo said.

"You are, but I'm here in case anything happens, like one of you getting injured by accident, and Takashi and Shiro wanted to watch," Choji said. "Oh, and I brought the sword you usually practice with, I figured you wouldn't be using your own weapon."

"Thanks, Choji," Ichigo said. "You're right, I never use my own weapon in these practice matches, since if it touched my opponent's blade, it could temporarily paralyze them."

Choji handed her the practice sword, and she said, "Okay, Takoi, are you ready?"

Takoi nodded. He seemed a bit nervous. Ichigo noticed, and smiled. "Takoi, if you're nervous, it's going to affect how well you do," she said. "Don't worry, I would never hurt you. This is practice, nothing more."

Takoi took a deep breath, and said, "Okay." He raised his sword and stood ready. Ichigo nodded slightly, and flew forward. Takoi met her head on, and she brought her blade up, blocking his strike easily. Suddenly Takoi teleported, and Ichigo immediately sensed him behind her. She flew up, then as Takoi followed, she turned quickly in midair, startling Takoi. He froze.

Ichigo noticed he was frozen, and said, "Takoi, don't freeze! Even if you're startled, you have to keep fighting, and keep your guard up. That's how Kisshu got injured, he froze. I'm sure you don't want to get that badly injured in a fight."

"Wait, why would Kisshu freeze?" Choji asked.

Without taking her eyes away from Takoi, Ichigo said, "That thing we defeated started talking, and he was so shocked he froze. I might have done the same, but Emi was clinging to me, and I really couldn't move anyways."

"It talked?" Takoi asked. He shifted his gaze momentarily, and Ichigo saw this as a chance. She teleported right in front of him. Takoi shot back, surprised.

"Don't take your eyes off your opponent," Ichigo said sternly. "Didn't you notice that even while I was talking to Choji, I never once took my eyes off of you?"

"Um…" Takoi said.

Ichigo sighed. "Never mind. Let's continue. Now, I want you to come at me as if you're about to kill me, and put some force behind your attack."

Takoi nodded, and flew at Ichigo, sword outstretched. Ichigo flew to his left, and saw him try to turn. He turned too slowly, and Ichigo lunged forward, making it look like she was going to attack with her sword alone. Takoi brought his blade up, but was startled when Ichigo suddenly turned and brought her foot up, kicking the sword out of his hand and catching it as it flew through the air. Now she held two blades. "Remember, not everyone you fight will have a sword, and even those who do may not always use it," Ichigo told Takoi. "It's more important to watch the muscles in my body than it is to watch my face. If you had watched my waist, you might have seen that the muscles there were tense, and that should have alerted you to the fact that I was about to kick you."

"Sorry," Takoi said. Ichigo nodded, and handed him his blade.

"Okay, I want you to attack me again, but this time, I'm not going to attack. I want to show you how to dodge," Ichigo said. "It should also help your reaction time, which, when you're not startled, is rather slow. Now, I'll back up, and I want you to attack me."

Ichigo backed up as Takoi nodded. Then Takoi flew at her, sword in a postion to stab her. As he got close, Ichigo flew straight up, and Takoi passed under her. "Takoi, you were supposed to pull up," Ichigo said. "Next time, try to pull up and then come up behind me. Let's try that move again."

Takoi flew at her again, and Ichigo flew straight up. This time, Takoi pulled up and came up behind her, ready to strike. Ichigo teleported behind him just before his blade could touch her. "That was much better," Ichigo said.

Takoi smiled, pleased. Suddenly Ichigo sensed something coming toward them, and flew back, just as an arrow flew into the spot that she had been floating in. She looked down. Choji and Shiro were both unconscious, and Takashi was aiming his weapon, a bow and arrows, at her. "What are you doing?" Takoi asked.

"I'm sick of having a woman tell me what to do," Takashi snarled.

"Takoi, get out of here and tell Kuro-sama that we have a problem here," Ichigo said.

"But what about you?" Takoi asked.

"I'll be fine, now go!" Ichigo shouted. She dropped her practice sword, and shouted, "Inazuma no Yaiba!" just as Takoi teleported out. Her sword appeared in her hand, and she sliced an arrow in half as Takashi fired again.

Takashi snarled and fitted another arrow to the string. Just before he loosed, Ichigo teleported behind him. As he turned, she quickly floated up and kicked his weapon out of his hand. Takashi then teleported over to her practice sword, and picked it up, then flew at her. Ichigo stood her ground, and right before he tried to stab her, she teleported behind him. He turned, and their blades clashed. Ichigo sent a spark into the blade of the practice sword, just enough to heat it up and burn Takashi's hand. Takashi cried out and dropped it, just as Kuro-sama teleported in with Takoi.

"Takashi, what do you think you're doing?" Kuro-sama asked angrily. "You should know better than to attack a superior."

"I'm sick of taking orders from a woman," Takashi said. "Kisshu only chose her to be his second in command because she's his girlfriend."

"Kisshu chose Ichigo for her fighting skills, not for his love for her," Kuro-sama said sternly. "You have seen how good she is; isn't it natural to choose the strongest of the force for the second in command?"

"Not if it's a woman," Takashi said.

"Well, it doesn't matter what you think now, since I've called a meeting with the elders," Kuro-sama said. "They will decide your fate now." He turned to Ichigo and Takoi. "You two, take Choji and Shiro to the infirmary, and tell the staff there to take care of them. Don't tell them that Takashi is a traitor. Ichigo, you should go home after, and explain what has taken place today. Oh, and make sure to tell Kisshu that I will handle Takashi's punishment. Otherwise he'll go berserk."

"Hai, Kuro-sama," Ichigo said. "Takoi, take Shiro, I'll take Choji."

Takoi nodded, and they teleported the two unconscious Cyniclons to the infirmary. The Cyniclon woman there said, "What happened?"

"We are ordered not to go into detail, but Kuro-sama would like you to take care of these two," Ichigo said.

"Of course," the Cyniclon woman said. "Please put them in the beds over there." Ichigo and Takoi obeyed.

Ichigo turned to Takoi. "Takoi, would you mind staying with them to explain what happened?" she asked.

"Not at all," Takoi said. "Are you okay?"

Ichigo smiled. "I'm fine, he didn't even manage to scratch me," she said. "I have to go home now, but thank you for all you've done today."

"No problem, Ichigo," Takoi said. "See you later!"

"Bye," Ichigo said. Then she teleported home.

Well, things are getting interesting again.