Ichigo's Illness Chapter 12:

Nightmares

The next morning, Ichigo woke up and was somewhat surprised, because Kisshu hadn't screamed at all. Maybe the nightmares are starting to go away, she thought. She walked over to the bed, and put a gentle hand on Kisshu's forehead. Then she sighed. He still had a fever.

Ichigo pulled a chair next to the bed again, and waited for Kisshu to wake up. This time, however, she didn't have to wait long. Suddenly, Kisshu's eyes snapped open, and he sat bolt upright. He didn't seem to see Ichigo, until she said, "Kisshu, what did I tell you about sitting up?"

Then he seemed to notice her, but he looked scared. Ichigo was worried, but said, "Kisshu, did you have another nightmare?"

"Ichigo? You're alive?" Kisshu asked. Suddenly he groaned and clutched his head. Then he turned over in bed and threw up into the bucket.

Ichigo rubbed his back until he stopped, but got worried when Kisshu turned back to her. Kisshu was whiter than paper. He looked scared, so Ichigo said, "I'm fine, Kisshu. But you're not. You really shouldn't sit up until you're better."

"Sorry," Kisshu said weakly. "I had the dream again. But this time, it started where it left off last time, and I saw more."

"What did you see?" Ichigo asked.

"You started to attack me, and I kept dodging your attacks. Suddenly you went back to normal, and looked confused. You asked me what was going on, and I said I didn't know. Then I looked around, and the surroundings changed from some empty space to a forest. The Blue Knight and Ryou came out of the trees, both holding swords. Ryou then said, "You both are going to die, now that the Blue Knight is under my control." Then he and the Blue Knight both attacked us, and that's about when I woke up," Kisshu said.

"I'm thinking Pai should hear this too," Ichigo said. "Are you okay on your own until I bring him back, or should I just call him?"

"I think I'll be fine," Kisshu said.

"Okay," Ichigo said. She was worried, but she still went to find Pai. She knocked on the door of his lab, and he came out.

"Ichigo, did something happen? You look worried," Pai said.

"Kisshu had another nightmare, and he saw more," Ichigo said. "I think you should come hear what he saw."

"Okay, let's go," Pai said. "Can Kisshu sit up yet?"

"Not without throwing up from the dizziness," Ichigo said. "I told him not to sit up anymore yesterday, but he was scared this morning when he woke up, so he sat up anyways, and then he threw up again."

"I hope you didn't have to clean up," Pai said.

"No, he made it to the bucket," Ichigo said. "He's still got a fever, though, and when he was done throwing up, he was white as a sheet. I'm getting really worried about him."

"Sounds like I was right, and the nightmares might be affecting his health," Pai said grimly.

They reached Kisshu's room and went in. Kisshu was still awake, but he was also still white as a sheet. "Hey Pai," Kisshu said.

"Kisshu, tell me what you saw," Pai said.

Kisshu sighed, but told Pai what he had told Ichigo. After he finished, Pai actually looked scared. "If this were to come true, that would be bad," he said finally. "Ryou in charge of the Blue Knight would spell disaster for all of us. However, I don't think either you or Ichigo will die. I think that that part of the dream is just from your own fears about any battle that involves Ichigo, Kisshu."

"I certainly hope so," Kisshu said. "But why do you think Ryou would be able to command the Blue Knight?"

"I'm not sure," Pai admitted. "It's possible that Deep Blue could control both of them, though. If Ryou's bent on revenge on the Mews as well as us, Deep Blue could easily take control of him."

"But I thought that he could only take over the treehugger," Kisshu said.

"Deep Blue can basically take over anyone, but Aoyama is the only one who can give him real power," Pai said.

"Great…" Kisshu said, then suddenly started coughing.

Pai and Ichigo exchanged worried glances. Kisshu was still very pale, and the cough looked like it hurt him. Finally Kisshu stopped coughing, and Pai said, "Kisshu, I'm going to use my powers to see what's wrong."

"Okay," Kisshu said.

Pai came over and put a hand on Kisshu's chest. His hand began to glow. Finally he said, "This isn't too good."

"Wh-what's wrong?" Ichigo asked, scared.

Pai took his hand off Kisshu's chest, and said, "The nightmares are making Kisshu sick. On top of that, his concussion isn't fully healed, and that's what's causing the dizziness. I can take care of the concussion now, but the nightmares are a whole different issue."

"Can you take care of the concussion, then?" Ichigo asked. "The less Kisshu has to deal with, the better."

"Hai," Pai said. "Kisshu, I need to put you to sleep, okay?" Kisshu nodded, and Pai put a hand on his forehead. Soon Kisshu was fast asleep, and Pai put his other hand on Kisshu's chest. Both his hands began to glow. Finally Pai took his hands away and took a deep breath. "Okay, that should do it," he told Ichigo. "He needs to sleep off the healing, so I suggest you come do something else for a while. You haven't eaten in a while anyways, have you?"

"I guess not," Ichigo said. "I completely forgot. I was too worried about Kisshu."

"Let's go to the kitchen, and you can get something," Pai said. "I'd get you something, but Taruto's here right now, and he panics every time I say I'm going to cook something."

"Thanks for the offer, Pai," Ichigo said with a smile. "At least with all the time my parents spend away from home, I'm pretty good in the kitchen."

"Why do your parents leave you alone so much?" Pai asked.

"I'm guessing it's so I can learn to fend for myself," Ichigo said. "They didn't do it at all when I was younger. I was born too early, and when I was a baby, my parents had to be really careful, because I wasn't very strong. I got stronger as I got older, but my dad just doesn't see that. My mom does, and she's got my dad wrapped around her little finger, which is the only reason he goes out with her so much. As time's gone on, though, he's really gotten into all the cruises and trips Mom plans, and they leave me alone a lot. But always with a note that says, "No boys.""

"So you don't mind being alone?" Pai asked.

"I do sometimes, but it's not that bad," Ichigo said. "I can eat what I like, and I don't have my dad breathing down my neck about boys. I don't like the long list of chores, but that's life."

They had reached the kitchen, and Ichigo said, "Do you have cheese?"

"Sure, we've got cheddar, Swiss, and some weird thing Taruto found called 'Parmesan'," Pai said. "But the parmesan is powder, so we're not sure if it's really cheese."

"Oh, that just means that the cheese has been grated up," Ichigo said. "It's good cheese, but I think I'd rather have cheddar. Do you have mayonnaise and bread?"

"Yeah," Pai said. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, that's about it for grilled cheese," Ichigo said.

"'Grilled' cheese?" Pai asked.

"You basically make a cheese sandwich and then toast the whole thing in a pan," Ichigo said. "It's really good, do you want one too?"

"Sure, if you don't mind," Pai said. "How about making one for Kisshu too?"

"Good plan," Ichigo said. "What about Taruto?"

"He's on Earth again," Pai said. "He's really attached to Pudding."

"Good," Ichigo said. "Pudding's always wanted Taruto to return her feelings, and she got her wish."

"I'm glad," Pai said. "I wish I could spend more time with Lettuce though."

"I'm glad you have feelings for her," Ichigo said. "Lettuce was the only one who tried to convince Ryou that you couldn't possibly be all bad, you know. She really loves you. She had a crush on Ryou at first, but as I'm sure you heard her say, that dried up after Ryou kept saying how awful you were."

"Wow, I didn't know she was trying to convince everyone that we weren't all bad," Pai said. "That's impressive."

"Kisshu thought you'd say that," Ichigo said. "He was impressed too."

"I was surprised at how defensive she got when Ryou pulled a knife on you," Pai said.

"I think we were all pretty shocked by that," Ichigo said. "I've never seen Lettuce really get mad at anyone, much less attack them with a sword."

By this point, Ichigo was finished making the grilled cheese, so she said, "Okay, the grilled cheese is ready, so let's eat. I made one for Kisshu too."

"Okay, great," Pai said. "Thanks, Ichigo."

"Sure," Ichigo said. She sat down at the kitchen table after handing Pai his sandwich, and started eating hers. She was done well before Pai, and she said, "Wow, I didn't realize how hungry I was."

"Well, it's been about a day and a half since we came here, and you haven't eaten since," Pai said. "You must have been really worried, to not notice that you were hungry during that whole time."

"I was," Ichigo said, her smile fading. "I don't want anything else to happen to Kisshu, but it looks like the nightmares have a mind of their own."

"We should go see how he's doing," Pai said. "I'll get the sandwich." He picked up the plate with Kisshu's sandwich, and followed Ichigo back to Kisshu's room, where Kisshu was starting to wake up. When he saw them, he said, "I'm not dizzy anymore." Some color had come back to his face.

"That's good to hear," Pai said. "Can you sit up? Ichigo made you a sandwich."

"I'll try," Kisshu said. He slowly pushed himself up, and soon he was sitting up. "Well, this is good, I don't feel dizzy when I sit up," he said. "Ichigo, you made me a sandwich?"

"Yeah, I made grilled cheese," Ichigo said. "Do you want it?"

"Sure, thanks!" Kisshu said. Ichigo handed him the plate, and he took it, then ate the sandwich in four bites.

"Kisshu, are you sure you should eat that fast?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm HUNGRY," Kisshu said.

Ichigo sighed. "Let's just hope eating that fast doesn't make you sick later," she said. "How are you feeling? You said you're not dizzy anymore, right?"

"I'm not dizzy, but I still don't feel that great," Kisshu admitted. "Do I still have a fever?"

Ichigo put a hand on his forehead and said, "Yeah, you do. Maybe you should take more of the medicine."

"Good idea," Pai said, as Kisshu groaned.

"I hate that stuff," Kisshu said.

"I know, but if you want to get better, you have to take it," Ichigo said as Pai teleported out to find the medicine. She sat down on the bed next to Kisshu, and put her arms around him. He rested his head on her shoulders, and sighed.

"I wish I could get better," Kisshu said. "I don't like staying in bed all day."

"We have to find some way to get rid of the nightmares first," Ichigo said. "Even if you do get out of bed, last time you went into a trance and had the nightmare again. Then we had to put you back to bed."

"I know," Kisshu said. "I wish the nightmares would go away, and then maybe I'd get better. You said the nightmares are what's making me sick, right?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "At least you don't have a concussion anymore."

"Yeah," Kisshu said. "Hey, Pai's not back yet. I wonder what happened?"

"He probably just got sidetracked," Ichigo said. "Either that or he wanted to give us some time alone."

"I guess…" Kisshu said.

Suddenly Pai teleported back in and said "Okay, I got the medicine, and I came up with an idea about the nightmares." He poured some medicine onto a spoon, and held it out to Kisshu, who swallowed it.

"So what's your idea, Pai?" Ichigo asked.

"I was thinking that Deep Blue might be the cause of these nightmares," Pai said.

"But if these nightmares are premonitions, why would Deep Blue send them?" Kisshu asked. "He wouldn't really gain anything from giving me warning of what could happen."

"But the nightmares are making you sick," Pai said. "If you're sick, you can't fight, and I'm sure Deep Blue knows that. You're the strongest out of all of us, and he knows that too. If he wants to defeat us, he knows that he needs you out of the way."

"So what should we do?" Kisshu asked. "Is there any way to make the nightmares stop?"

"I'd have to run a few tests on you, but maybe," Pai said. "Can you stand? We need to go to the lab."

"I'll try," Kisshu said. He put his feet on the floor, and slowly stood up. He was pretty shaky, and Ichigo came over to steady him.

"I'll help you walk, Kisshu," Ichigo said.

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.

Pai started to walk out, and Ichigo followed, supporting Kisshu. She had to go slow, but Kisshu was able to stay upright, at least. Finally they reached the lab. Pai was already there, setting stuff up. He looked up as they came in, and said, "Okay, the equipment I need is ready. Kisshu, come sit down over here."

Ichigo helped Kisshu to the chair Pai had pointed out. Kisshu sat down, and Pai said, "Okay, I need to put you to sleep again, so just relax."

Kisshu looked a bit nervous, but calmed down when Ichigo took his hand and said, "I'll be right here, Kisshu."

Pai then put his hand on Kisshu's forehead, and soon Kisshu was asleep. Pai then took a wire out of the machine next to the chair, and attached it to Kisshu's forehead. Then he went back to the machine and began typing. Suddenly the machine beeped, and Pai looked closely at something Ichigo couldn't see. His eyes widened, and he whispered, "That's what's going on…"

"What is it, Pai?" Ichigo asked.

What is it? Review and find out!