Ichigo's Illness Chapter 37:

This Is Taking Too Long!

Ichigo and Kisshu woke up around the same time later that day. "I think the medicine's taking effect," Ichigo said. "My stomach finally settled down."

"Mine didn't," Kisshu said gloomily. "I hope it starts soon. I think I'm gonna-" He turned over, and grabbed the bucket. To Ichigo's surprise, he sat up with no trouble before throwing up into the bucket.

When he finished, Ichigo said, "Kisshu, you're sitting up."

Kisshu looked at her, startled. "Wow, I didn't even notice," he said. "I feel stronger. What about you?"

"I still can't sit up," Ichigo said. "I wonder if the medicine takes effect differently on different people. It would explain why my stomach is fine, but I can't sit up, while you can sit up, but you still feel sick."

"Wow," Kisshu said. "Maybe you're right. I wish it had worked the same for both of us, though. Even if I'm feeling stronger, it's going to be distracting in a fight if my stomach is this upset."

"Yeah, and it doesn't do me much good if I can barely move," Ichigo said. "Maybe this medicine still has some bugs to be worked out."

"Maybe," Kisshu said. "I hope my stomach goes back to normal soon, though. I'd like to be able to fight without throwing up."

"I'd like to be able to fight, period," Ichigo said. "I guess it'll take a while, though."

"And according to Keiichiro, the attack will come tomorrow," Kisshu said. He threw up again before continuing, "That's a while that we don't have. It's too bad we can't speed up the way the medicine works."

"Yeah," Ichigo said.

Sakura came in about then and said, "How are you two feeling?"

"My stomach feels fine, but I still can't sit up," Ichigo said.

"And I feel a lot stronger, but my stomach is still really upset," Kisshu said. "It's like Ichigo and I are opposites."

"That's odd, Keiichiro said the medicine worked the same on humans and Cyniclons," Sakura said.

"Weird," Ichigo said, as Kisshu swallowed hard, then threw up.

"Should I call him?" Sakura asked.

"Might be a good idea, it's not going to help if Kisshu and I can't fight," Ichigo said. Sakura nodded and left.

A while later, she came back and said, "The others are all fine, according to Keiichiro. Something's causing the medicine to work slower in you than in the others."

"Probably whoever sent this," Kisshu said. "If I get better, and I get my hands on that person, their life will be over."

"At this rate, we might have to sit out the fighting," Ichigo said worriedly. "That won't be good."

"The attack's tomorrow," Sakura said. "Keiichiro said he thinks the others can handle it. You two need to focus on getting better. I know it's hard, but pushing yourself in the condition you're in isn't good for you."

Ichigo and Kisshu sighed.

Meanwhile, with Keiichiro and the others:Keiichiro looked at the group assembled before him and sighed. "I just got a call from Ichigo's mother," he told them. "It's looking like we'll have to handle this without them. Ichigo's too weak to sit up, and according to Mrs. Momomiya, Kisshu's been throwing up so much that it would probably get him killed in battle. He can move, but not fight in that condition."

"What are we going to do?" Mint asked. "They're our leaders!"

"We can handle this," Keiichiro said firmly. "I'm putting Pai in charge, and I'm positive he'll do a good job. And I'll be here to pass on any new information."

"Do you know who's behind this?" Zakuro asked.

"All I know is that it's other Cyniclons," Keiichiro said. "I don't know who's leading them."

"I guess we'll have to go with that," Zakuro said. "Do you know where they are?"

"They'll reach the outskirts of Tokyo tomorrow morning," Keiichiro said. "I suggest you all sleep over here, so we can be up and ready tomorrow. My assumption is that they'll attack Café Mew Mew first, since that's where we are. But I don't know that for sure, so I'll keep tracking them."

"Good," Zakuro said. She turned to the other Mews and said, "Go call your parents and tell them we're having a sleepover at Café Mew Mew."

"Hai!" the others said, and took out their cell phones. Soon after, they were all set. Keiichiro went back to the basement with Pai to check the computers again.

Back with Kisshu and Ichigo: Ichigo sighed. She still was too weak to sit up, and was getting bored. Kisshu could get up now, but he still spent most of his time with her. Currently, however, he was in the bathroom again. He was still throwing up a lot, and it really bugged him. Despite the fact Ichigo's stomach was fine, she didn't eat much, since the smell tended to cause Kisshu to throw up. There was still a bucket in the room, since Kisshu didn't like having to run to the bathroom every time he felt sick.

Sakura was having a hard time trying to keep Yuka away from Kisshu, but she was managing. None of them wanted Yuka to get sick, and so far it was working.

Kisshu came back into the room while Ichigo was thinking. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked her.

"I still feel really weak," Ichigo said. "What about you? You were in there a while."

"My stomach was pretty upset," Kisshu replied. "I hope the both of us get better soon." He came over and sat down cross-legged on the bed next to Ichigo.

"The attack's tomorrow," Ichigo said. "I hope they'll be okay without us."

"I heard Pai's in charge now, I think they'll be fine," Kisshu said. "It's too bad we can't be there, but after being sick so long, we're probably both out of shape anyways."

"You might be right," Ichigo said. "I just wish this weakness would go away. I'm getting tired of lying in bed all day."

"Yeah, it's hard," Kisshu said. Suddenly he clutched his stomach. "Where's the bucket?" he asked.

"It should be next to you," Ichigo said.

Kisshu looked, and said, "Uh-oh. It's not there." He was looking desperate.

Ichigo looked on her side of the bed, and noticed it was there. She quickly grabbed it and handed it to Kisshu. He grabbed it and threw up. "That was too close…" he said when he was finished.

"Sorry," Ichigo said. "I wonder why the bucket was on my side?"

"There's supposed to be two in here, but Sakura insisted on cleaning them," Kisshu said. "I'm just glad she left one in here; I still can't teleport without feeling sick."

"We need to find some way of getting better," Ichigo said. "You're going to lose too much weight if this keeps up."

"It would be nice to be able to eat again," Kisshu said. "I think you're right, but what can we do? You're still too weak to heal, and I can't heal. And we can't ask Lettuce, she's going to need her strength for the attack."

Ichigo sighed. "I guess we'll have to wait it out," she said. "There aren't any other healers in our group, and stomach medicine doesn't help. Maybe if the invaders get beaten, we'll get better."

"I hope so, because if not, I don't know what we'll do," Kisshu said. "I heard that throwing up too much can cause your body to break down after a while."

Ichigo looked scared. Kisshu noticed, and said, "It wouldn't happen for a long time, so I wouldn't worry too much. And I think that usually applies to people with eating disorders, because they force themselves to throw up."

"I hope that doesn't happen," Ichigo said. "I can see that you're losing weight already. You've been throwing up a lot lately."

"Tell me about it," Kisshu said disgustedly. "And my stomach never feels good anymore. It's awful."

"At least you can move around," Ichigo said. "I can't. And I'm not eating much either."

"Why? You can eat," Kisshu said.

"It makes you sick," Ichigo said. "I don't want to make you sicker, so unless you're not around, I don't eat."

"I'm sorry," Kisshu said.

"It's not your fault," Ichigo said, surprised. "I know you can't help being sick."

"I guess," Kisshu said. "If I ever find out who made us this sick, I'm going to kill that person. Provided I stop throwing up at some point, that is."

Ichigo was about to reply, when Sakura came in and said, "It's getting late, I think you two should sleep. Keiichiro said he'd keep me posted on the attack."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "I just wish Kisshu and I could be there to help."

"I know," Sakura said. "But it's more important for you to focus on getting better."

Ichigo sighed, but didn't say any more. Sakura smiled at them and left.

"I guess we'd better get some sleep," Kisshu said. He put the bucket on the floor close to the bed, and laid back. Ichigo settled down too, and they fell asleep.

Later that night, Ichigo was woken by Kisshu, who was pretty sick again. She started rubbing his back, and waited for him to stop heaving. This time sounded pretty bad; Kisshu sounded awful. Just as he started to turn back, Ichigo heard him gulp, and then he turned back over. She continued rubbing his back soothingly as he threw up. Finally he stopped, and said, "Sorry for waking you up."

"It's fine," Ichigo said. "But that didn't sound good. How are you feeling?"

"Awful," Kisshu admitted. "I'm tired, too. Let's try to get more sleep." He laid back, and Ichigo did the same.

Kisshu woke up twice more, both times sounding awful as he threw up. He finally got to sleep around 2 AM, and managed to get through until about 7:30 before having to throw up again. Ichigo kept trying to comfort him.

When they both woke up for real, at about 9, Ichigo realized she felt stronger. She decided to try sitting up; even though she knew she couldn't walk yet, it would be nice to do something other than lie there. She tried, and had almost no problem sitting up.

Kisshu was waking up, and saw that Ichigo could sit up. "Feeling better, Koneko-chan?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think I can walk yet," Ichigo said. "At least I can sit up."

"That's great!" Kisshu said. "I guess you'll be back to full strength soon."

"How are you feeling? You weren't sounding too good last night," Ichigo said in concern.

"I think I'm feeling a little better," Kisshu said. "My stomach still doesn't feel that great, but it's not nearly as bad as last night."

"Maybe you're getting better," Ichigo suggested.

"Maybe," Kisshu said. "That bucket's full, I'm going to go empty it."

"Okay," Ichigo said. Kisshu got out of bed and picked up the bucket, then left.

Sakura came in while Kisshu was in the bathroom, and said, "You can sit up? That's great!"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "I don't think I can walk yet though."

"Well, I'm sure it'll happen soon," Sakura said. "How's Kisshu?"

"He said he was feeling a little better, but that's not saying much compared to last night," Ichigo said. "He got sick four times, and it really didn't sound good."

"Poor guy," Sakura said. "Stomach bugs are never fun. I'll go check on him." She turned, and almost ran into Kisshu, who said, "I'm fine, you don't need to check on me. But thanks."

"Okay," Sakura said. "You both take it easy. I'm going to go play with Yuka."

"K," Kisshu said. He walked back to Ichigo, and put the bucket on the floor, then sat down next to her. "Today's the attack," he said. "I hope they'll be okay."

Will they be okay? Review, and find out. I decided to use an idea from my good friend I'm a Nerd and Proud, so you'll see it next chapter, which will focus on the others. Review!