Ichigo's Illness Chapter 22:
Aftermath
Ichigo and Kisshu slept together that night, and got up the next morning ready to go. Kisshu was feeling better, so after they both cleaned up and had breakfast, they went back to Earth, since Kisshu could teleport again. Pai was doing research on whether Deep Blue could be a problem, and Taruto was with Pudding.
Kisshu took Ichigo to her house first, since she needed to drop off her stuff that she had brought to the Cyniclon's ship. They went to her room first, and dropped the stuff off. Then they were going to go downstairs, when they heard shouting. They both crept to the door and started listening. Ichigo's parents were fighting about something.
"You agreed to it, and you should stick to your word!" Sakura said.
"That was a temporary lapse of sanity!" Shintaro shouted back.
"She's not two years old anymore! She's old enough to know right from wrong, and she would never get that carried away!" Sakura shouted in exasperation. Ichigo and Kisshu looked at each other.
"How do we know that? She's obviously head over heels for him, and lovesick people make mistakes!" Shintaro shouted.
"Ichigo's grown up, and you still treat her like a two year old!" Sakura said. "Did you ever consider how that might feel? She's thirteen, not a baby. And treating her like a baby will never get you respect from her. She's not going to stop loving you if you treat her age appropriately, in fact it will make her happier. She hates it when you treat her like she can't make her own decisions!"
"How do you know that?" Shintaro shouted.
"Because she talks to me! I figured that at least one of us should treat her right, and when I saw it wouldn't be YOU, I took on the role of the one she can go to if she needs to talk!" Sakura shouted, obviously losing patience.
Apparently Shintaro saw he was losing, because he changed the subject. "I still don't think it's a good idea for him to live with her," he said.
Ichigo looked over at Kisshu. He looked sad. "Your dad really doesn't trust me, does he?" Kisshu whispered.
"I think he'll get over it," Ichigo whispered back. From downstairs, they heard, "What was that?" and running footsteps. Ichigo and Kisshu were sitting on the stairs, and when Sakura came around the corner, she saw them.
"How much did you hear?" she asked, noticing that they both looked depressed.
"We came in at about you saying that Dad agreed to it," Ichigo said, as Shintaro came around the corner too.
Sakura turned and glared at Shintaro. Before she could scold him, though, Kisshu said sadly, "I'll just leave now. I understand you don't really want me around." Then he teleported.
Ichigo looked at where he had been sitting, and screamed, "HOW COULD YOU, DAD? NOW HE'LL NEVER COME BACK, AND IT'LL BE ALL YOUR FAULT!" She burst into tears and ran to her room as Sakura slapped Shintaro and said, "Now look what you've done!"
Ichigo, meanwhile, was lying facedown on her bed, sobbing. Someone knocked on the door, and she screamed, "GO AWAY! You don't care about me, I know that now. I'm never going to talk to you again!"
"Sweetie, I'm not your father, and I just want to talk," Sakura said through the door. When she didn't get a response, she opened the door. She walked in and closed the door, then sat down next to Ichigo.
"Why did Dad have to do that?" Ichigo asked, her voice muffled by the blankets. "I'll probably never see Kisshu again. Why doesn't Dad understand that I love him? It's not just a silly childhood crush."
"I know," Sakura said. "Your dad doesn't see that, because he still believes you're his little girl, and doesn't even want to admit that you've grown up. Unfortunately, that put you and him at odds, and I don't really know how to fix this."
"Dad doesn't care enough about me to realize that I've grown up," Ichigo said. "If he really cared, he wouldn't have chased the only guy I've ever really loved away."
"On the contrary, your father cares too much, and that's just as bad," Sakura said. "He's too overprotective, and now it's hurt you and Kisshu. I promise, though, I'll do everything I can to work this out."
"And Dad?" Ichigo asked.
"He'll be fine after a while," Sakura said. "I had a talk with him. He looked pretty scared, so I'm hoping he'll come to his senses sooner rather than later. I'm thinking we should find Kisshu, though. I don't want him to get too depressed."
"You're right," Ichigo said, sitting up and drying her face off. "Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome, sweetie," Sakura said.
They both got up, and walked out of Ichigo's room. Downstairs, they ignored a sulking Shintaro, and got their shoes, then went out the door.
"Where do you think we should look?" Sakura asked.
"If he's still on Earth, Inohara Park," Ichigo said. "If not, we go to Café Mew Mew and have Keiichiro look him up on the monitor."
Sakura nodded, and they went to Inohara Park.
Twenty minutes later, they still hadn't found him, and were getting worried. Finally Ichigo said, "We're going to Café Mew Mew to talk to Keiichiro."
Sakura followed her to the Café, and they walked in. Ichigo led the way to the kitchen, but Keiichiro wasn't there. "Let's try the basement," she said.
They went to the basement, and found Keiichiro and Zakuro there. Both looked up, and Keiichiro said, "Ichigo? And Mrs. Momomiya? Is something wrong?"
"Yes," Sakura said. "Shintaro really hurt Kisshu's feelings, and he teleported. We were wondering if you knew how to find him."
"I'll check the monitor," Keiichiro said. "If he's anywhere in Tokyo, the computer will find him." He turned to the computer and started typing. Ichigo and Sakura came over and watched. Finally the screen flashed the words, 'No Results'. "Maybe he went back to the ship," Keiichiro said.
"I'll call Pai," Ichigo said. "Maybe he knows something. Kisshu used to have a cell phone, but it broke while he and Taruto were fighting." She took out her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts, then pressed Send when she reached Pai's number.
Pai picked up after a few rings and said, "What's up, Ichigo?"
"Where's Kisshu? Do you know?" Ichigo asked.
"He's in his room," Pai said. "He looked pretty depressed, but he didn't say anything to me. What happened?"
"My dad happened," Ichigo said bitterly. "Can you come get me? My mom and I need to talk to Kisshu."
"On my way," Pai said, and hung up.
Pai teleported into the basement a few minutes later, and said, "Are you both ready?"
"Yeah," Ichigo said.
Pai took Ichigo and Sakura each by the hand, and teleported to the main room of the ship. "Kisshu's room is down here," he said, and led them to a door. He knocked, and they heard Kisshu's muffled voice say, "What?"
"You've got visitors, Kisshu," Pai called.
"Tell them to go away," Kisshu said.
"It's Ichigo and her mother," Pai called.
There was no response, but the door opened a crack. Pai pushed it open, and they went in. Kisshu was lying facedown on the bed, his head buried in the pillows.
"Kisshu, are you okay?" Ichigo asked.
"Your dad hates me," Kisshu said without looking up.
"But I don't hate you, and neither does Mom," Ichigo said. "Are you going to get this depressed because one person dislikes you?"
"Yes, because I might have to live with him at some point," Kisshu said.
"By which point my mom will have won him over, and he'll act like you're part of the family," Ichigo said.
"Not happening," Kisshu said.
Ichigo sighed, but Sakura went and sat down next to Kisshu, then said firmly, "Kisshu, look at me."
To Ichigo and Pai's surprise, Kisshu obeyed. Sakura continued, "If Shintaro doesn't treat you right, I'll handle it. I just finished talking some sense into him, and if and when you come to live with us, I'll make sure he behaves. I'll work on him, so don't get so depressed. Shintaro just needs softening up."
Kisshu sat up, and Sakura hugged him. "I know you'll be fine," she told Kisshu. "You're strong, like Ichigo."
Kisshu buried his face in her shoulder, unable to speak. Sakura winked at Ichigo over his head.
"Kisshu, I think you'll be fine as long as Mrs. Momomiya is around," Pai said. He turned to Sakura and said, "Kisshu, Taruto and I are orphans. It would be good for Kisshu to have someone caring like you in his life besides Ichigo."
"Judging by how close he and Ichigo are, I'll probably be his mother in law soon anyways," Sakura said with a smile. "And you can all call me Sakura."
Kisshu had managed to collect himself, and he said, "Thanks, Sakura."
"You're welcome, Kisshu," Sakura said. "I'm going to go soften Shintaro up some more. Ichigo, would you like to stay here?"
"Yes, but what about school?" Ichigo asked.
"I'll tell them you're sick," Sakura said. "Kisshu needs you more than the school does anyways."
"Thanks, Mom," Ichigo said.
Sakura smiled and let Kisshu go, then hugged Ichigo. "I'll see you both soon," she said. "Pai, can you take me back?"
"Hai," Pai said. He took her shoulder and teleported, leaving Kisshu and Ichigo alone.
Somewhat sad, somewhat cute. Review Plz!
