Brought Together Chapter 34:
Waiting and Worry
Two days later, Kisshu was back to full strength, much to everyone's relief. Luckily, Takashi hadn't been seen in that time, so Kisshu didn't get attacked while he couldn't fight. Kisshu started training as soon as he was fully recovered, and by the third day since Takashi's escape, he was back up to speed. Ichigo and the rest of the force were relieved by this, since Kisshu was their leader.
Choji, who had been put in to temporarily replace both Kisshu and Ichigo, had kept his word and made sure all the members of the force knew that Kisshu and Ichigo weren't gone permanently. Ichigo thanked him, and Kisshu told him he did a great job, which pleased him.
Right now, the force was meeting with the Elder Council, to discuss what to do when they caught Takashi.
"I don't think killing him is a good idea," Kuro-sama admitted. "It would be better if we could capture him, and find a way to control him until we can send him to another planet."
"I disagree," Akiko-sama said. "If he attacks the force, he will need to be dealt with. You can't ask the members of the force not to fight back; he'll see that as a weakness and take advantage of it."
"May I speak?" Takoi said suddenly.
"Go ahead," Kuro-sama said.
"I agree with Akiko-sama," Takoi said. "I know Takashi well, he's my cousin. I admit that I did not see this kind of betrayal coming, but Akiko-sama is right, he will see any sign of hesitation as weakness, and exploit it. I regret to say this, but killing him may be the best option we have. Even if we sent him to a different planet, it could cause trouble. Not all planets are uninhabited. If he found allies, we would be in greater danger than if we simply killed him."
"What would his parents think of this, though?" Kuro-sama asked.
"His parents came to me the day after he attacked Ichigo, and told me he had been acting strangely lately," Takoi said. "They didn't seem too surprised to hear he had attacked Ichigo, though they apologized for his behavior."
"I wonder why they didn't come to us," said Chiro-san, a member of the Council. "Maybe we should question them as well."
"That's not a bad idea," Kuro-sama admitted. "Takoi, would you mind going to them and asking them to come here?"
"Not at all, I will go now," Takoi said. He bowed and teleported off.
Soon after, he returned with a middle aged couple, who bowed when the saw the Elders. "Good, you're here," Kuro-sama said. "We have some questions for you- about your son, Takashi."
"We know that he attacked Ichigo," the male Cyniclon said. "Is that what this is about?"
"Takoi told us you said Takashi had been acting strange of late," Akiko-sama said. "Can you tell us more about that?"
"Hai," the female Cyniclon said. "Takashi took to locking himself in his room for several hours at a time about two months ago. We asked him what he was doing, and he said, "Research." He refused to say any more than that."
"The day before he attacked Ichigo, he spent all day in his room, and the next morning he put a lock on his room before going to the training where he attacked Ichigo," the male Cyniclon said. "We don't know why, but we can't figure out how to unlock his room."
"Is there a reason you didn't come to us on this matter?" Kuro-sama asked. "This may have been avoided if you had."
"I realize we made a mistake in that respect," the male Cyniclon said. "It's just that Takashi has never been the hotheaded type, so we assumed that his 'research', if that's what it was, was something he was either shy about or wasn't sure about."
"We may need to find a way into his room," Kuro-sama said thoughtfully. "There's good chance that his 'research' could be dangerous to us all."
"We will help in any way we can, to make up for the sins our son has committed," the female said.
"May I speak?" Kisshu asked.
"Yes, go ahead," Kuro-sama said.
"I think that if the 'research' Takashi was doing could be dangerous, the expeditionary force should check it out," Kisshu said. "We don't need more injuries."
"Very well," Kuro-sama said. "Mikan, Dimaru, is there somewhere you could stay until Takashi's room has been investigated?"
"Hai," Mikan, the female, said. "We could ask Umie and Shigeru if they could take us in."
"It shouldn't take too long," Kuro-sama said. "Please go ask Umie if it is alright with her and Shigeru."
"Hai," Dimaru said. He nodded to Mikan, and they teleported out.
"I wonder what Takashi was trying to do in his room," Kuro-sama said thoughtfully. "He never seemed the type to be a scientist, he was always more interested in fighting."
"What if he was trying to create a new type of Chimera Anima?" Ichigo asked. "One that had a specific ability?"
The others looked worried. "If that were the case, he might have to be killed, that's against our laws," Akiko-sama said.
"More so than attacking a superior?" Ichigo asked.
"Sometimes I forget you weren't born here," Kuro-sama said ruefully. "Yes, creating a new type of Chimera Anima unauthorized by the Elder Council is a far more serious offense than attacking a superior. Attacking a superior is bad, but creating something as dangerous as a Chimera Anima without proper authorization is grounds for execution, because if such a creation got loose, it could become a real threat to all our people, not just to one specific Cyniclon."
"I see," Ichigo said.
Well, this is worrisome. Takashi might have made some type of new Chimera Anima. Review please!
