Escape Part 3: Pai and Taruto

Kisshu woke up again around 6 that evening, and Ichigo noticed. "Kisshu, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Not much better," Kisshu said. "I still feel really shaky. And sitting up is still kind of hard."

"Maybe it's better that you don't, then," Ichigo said. "It's about dinnertime; do you want anything?"

"Do you have any cereal?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah, what kind do you like?" Ichigo asked.

"Frosted Mini Wheats," Kisshu said.

"We've got plenty of that," Ichigo said. "No milk yet, though, right?"

"I don't put milk on cereal anyways," Kisshu said. "Do you have any juice?"

"I think we've got cranberry," Ichigo said. "Do you want that?"

"Sure," Kisshu said. "Do you mind?"

"Nope," Ichigo said. "I'll go get that."

Before she could leave, though, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Ichigo called.

Sakura came in, and asked, "Do you two want dinner?"

"What did you make? Kisshu can't eat anything too heavy," Ichigo said.

"I made Greek salad," Sakura said.

Ichigo and Kisshu got identical looks of disgust, and Sakura sighed. "Okay, never mind," she said.

"I think I'll join Kisshu in having cereal," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, do you like fruit?"

"I love apples," Kisshu said. "But I'll eat most fruits. Just not bananas; they make me really sick."

"We've got some apples," Sakura said. "Ichigo, why don't you come cut some up and get cereal."

"K," Ichigo said. "Oh, Kisshu likes it when I sleep with him, can you keep Dad out of here? I don't want him to scare Kisshu."

"Alright," Sakura said. "Let's go get apples and cereal, and then you can come back."

"K," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, I'll be back, k?"

"K," Kisshu said.

Ichigo went downstairs with her mother, and Shintaro looked up. "Ichigo and Kisshu are both salad haters," Sakura told him. "Ichigo's getting some cereal and apples together."

"Another one?" Shintaro sighed.

"Kisshu likes fruit, so that'll just have to do," Sakura said. She and Ichigo went into the kitchen, and Ichigo got some cereal while Sakura cut up two apples.

Ichigo took the two bowls upstairs after they were done, and found Kisshu sitting up. "I just have to get some cranberry juice," Ichigo told him.

"K," Kisshu said.

Ichigo went back downstairs and was just getting the juice out when she heard teleportation upstairs. She quickly set the juice down and ran upstairs, skidding to a stop in front of her door, and going in. To her shock, Pai and Taruto were in her room, and she asked, "What are you two doing here?"

"We got exiled," Pai said glumly. "Our leader found out that Kisshu was lying about brainwashing us, and exiled us. Taruto's too young to be in jail, and I was appointed his caretaker, so we came to Earth."

"Is Kisshu in danger again?" Ichigo asked.

"No, Yahiko-sama said something about twins killing people, gave us a ship, and told us never to come back," Pai said. "Oh well, at least we'll get to be with Kisshu."

"We have a spare bedroom," Ichigo said. "I guess you and Taruto could share it. We just have to ask my parents."

Pai sighed. Kisshu looked at him, and asked, "Pai, do you know anything about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Ichigo thinks I have it."

Pai put a hand on Kisshu's forehead for a few minutes, then said, "She's right; you've got a pretty severe case of it. It's not going to be easy to get through, either; I can't heal mental problems. What symptoms do you have so far?"

"Depression and nightmares, and attacking people who touch me in my sleep," Kisshu said gloomily.

"I take it that's why Ichigo has bruises on her wrist?" Pai asked.

"Yeah…." Kisshu said sadly.

"How are you feeling otherwise?" Pai asked.

"I feel really shaky, and sitting up still isn't easy," Kisshu said. "Koneko-chan said I was unconscious for three days after I teleported here."

"Lie back down," Pai said. Kisshu obeyed, and Pai put a hand on his chest. His hand began to glow, and Kisshu relaxed, falling asleep. Ten minutes later, Pai took his hand away and said softly, "He'll be feeling stronger when he wakes up, but he'll still need some rest to recover. He's also malnourished, we should try to get him to eat all the food groups."

"He said he can't eat anything too heavy," Ichigo commented.

"He's right," Pai said. "It'll be at least another three days before he can eat more solid food. Did he mention how long he'd been without food?"

"Two weeks," Ichigo said. "While he's sleeping, should we go explain this to my parents?"

"Okay," Pai said. "We should contact that blonde guy too."

Ichigo nodded, and said, "Come downstairs, my parents are having dinner."

Pai and Taruto followed her downstairs, and to the dining room. "Ichigo, we have more guests?" Sakura asked.

"This is Pai and his younger brother Taruto, Kisshu's adoptive brothers," Ichigo said. "They got exiled."

"I suppose that means they need the guest room?" Sakura asked.

"If you don't mind," Pai said.

"I don't mind," Sakura said. "I guess we'll put a futon on the floor till we can get a second bed."

"Thank you," Pai said. He nudged Taruto, who said, "Yeah, thanks, um…"

"I'm Sakura, and this is Shintaro," Sakura said. She looked at Shintaro, who had a suspicious look on his face.

"If Pai and Taruto are taking the guest room, where is Kisshu sleeping?" he asked warily.

"He's sleeping with Ichigo, because it helps him," Sakura said. "And no complaints, or I'll lock you in the garage, got it?"

"First you take away the bananas, and now Ichigo's sleeping with Kisshu?" Shintaro asked grouchily.

"Taking away the bananas is a good thing, your obsession was completely out of control," Ichigo said. "And Kisshu and I won't do anything besides sleep. So no shouting at him; he'll get scared."

"Ichigo's right, he's got a pretty severe case of PTSD," Pai said. "You weren't going to sign him up for school, were you?"

"No, I was going to homeschool him," Sakura said. "Ichigo already said that it's a bad idea, and I agree; it'll make him nervous."

"I can help with the homeschooling, if you want," Pai said. "I'm good with math and science."

"I'm not, that would be great," Sakura said. "Taruto, am I signing you up for school?"

"Can I go to school with Pudding?" Taruto asked. "Then she can show me how things work."

"Sure, what school does she go to?" Sakura asked.

"Hanabiru Elementary," Ichigo said. "Maybe you should homeschool Taruto until she starts next year; it's already almost summer vacation."

"Good point," Sakura said. "Alright, I'll homeschool Taruto as well."

"It's better if I'm here too; Kisshu's probably going to be sensitive to loud noises," Pai said. "I can keep him calm while Ichigo's not around."

"No you can't," Taruto said. "Sakura's got a better chance of that; you get irritated and say the T word, and then Kisshu teleports under someone's bed. You've got NO common sense, Pai."

"What's the T word?" Ichigo asked.

"Tickle," Taruto said. "Tickling Kisshu will cause him to stop breathing; he's terrified of being tickled. Every time someone says the T word, we end up spending hours coaxing him out from under his bed. Or at least, I do. Pai gets fed up and storms out."

"Mmph," Pai said. "Are we calling that blonde guy soon?"

Ichigo sighed and got her cell phone, then dialed the Café's number. Two rings later, she heard, "What happened?"

"Pai and Taruto got exiled, and they're going to be living here now," Ichigo said. "My mom already said yes."

"I thought you only had one spare bedroom," Ryou said.

"Pai and Taruto will be sharing, while I get to sleep with Kisshu!" Ichigo said happily.

"Is he any better?" Ryou asked.

"Pai says he needs to rest more, and he's got a pretty severe case of PTSD," Ichigo said.

"So you won't be working for a while?" Ryou sighed.

"No, I should stay here at least until Kisshu's back on his feet," Ichigo said. "My mom is supposed to make up something for the school."

Ryou sighed. "Fine… but you are coming back, right?"

"I'm not sure," Ichigo said. "Frankly, I think spending time with Kisshu and my family is more important right now. And my parents finally quit the vacations. I'm still deciding whether or not to keep working there, so I'll let you know when I've made a decision."

"You'd better," Ryou grumbled. "I'd like to talk to Pai, can you put him on?"

"Hang on," Ichigo said. She turned to Pai and said, "Ryou wants to talk to you."

"Alright," Pai said. Ichigo handed him the phone, then went back to the kitchen, and got some cranberry juice for Kisshu.

Going back to her room, she saw that Kisshu was stirring, and asked softly, "Kisshu?"

Kisshu opened his eyes and looked at her, then sat up. "I feel stronger," Kisshu said. "I'm not sure I can walk yet, though."

"Pai said you'll still need some rest," Ichigo said. "He also said you're malnourished, and that you won't be able to eat heavy food for at least another three days."

Kisshu sighed, and asked, "Did you bring the cereal?"

"Yep," Ichigo said. "Are you able to eat by yourself?"

"I think so," Kisshu said.

Ichigo handed him a bowl of cereal with apple slices, and a spoon, then said, "I'll put the cranberry juice on the night table, k? I'm going to eat at my desk."

"K, thanks," Kisshu said. He picked up the spoon and started eating as Ichigo sat down with her own bowl.

Pai came in as they were finishing, and said, "Here's your cell phone, Ichigo."

"Thanks," Ichigo said, taking in and putting it on her desk. "What did Ryou say?"

"I think he was just making sure it's safe to have us here," Pai said. "I guess I can't really blame him."

"Oh well," Ichigo said. "Um, no offense, but are you able to do something about your ears? I don't want you guys to end up in jail because you got recognized."

"I invented a pill that will change our ears for ten hours," Pai said. "I told Ryou that as well, and that I may need to make more at some point. He agreed to me using his lab when that happens."

"Good," Ichigo said.

"He mentioned something about your school friends," Pai said. "Can you tell me more about that?"

"According to the two who came here, Moe and Miwa are part of a legend that says the most powerful warriors your people will ever see would be a pair of twin girls," Ichigo said. "Moe and Miwa are half-human, half-Cyniclon fraternal twins. They don't know who their father is, though, and he's the Cyniclon. Their mom is human."

"Can they use their powers at all?" Pai asked.

"They can use telepathy and other peoples' weapons," Ichigo said. "They can't use any other powers, to my knowledge."

"We need to train them soon," Pai said. "If their powers were to go out of control, I shudder to think what would happen. And powers going out of control can be triggered by anger or other emotions."

"Who's training them?" Ichigo asked.

Pai sighed. "Normally I'd say Kisshu, but after what he's been through, I think I'd better train them," he said. "From what I can sense, it's going to be a long time before Kisshu can even be around kitchen knives, much less his swords."

Ichigo looked worriedly at Kisshu, who sighed and said, "Pai's right, sharp objects are scary to me now. I used to like sword fighting, and fighting in general; now I just see it as a way to hurt people. I think if I hadn't escaped from jail, I would have gone insane. It was beyond horrible, having no freedom and being tortured and beat up on a daily basis. Even if my body recovers, I don't know if my spirit ever will. Your rejections were nothing compared to what I got every day for the past two years."

Ichigo was on the verge of tears, and Pai noticed. "Ichigo and I need to have a chat," he told Kisshu, then took Ichigo's shoulder and teleported.

To Ichigo's surprise, they landed under the sakura tree in Inohara Park. Pai sat down, and motioned for Ichigo to do the same. Ichigo did so, and Pai said, "I know it's really hard to hear how much pain Kisshu's been in, and even more so for you, since you were the cause of it on Earth. I also know that you have a lot of trouble hiding your emotions. While I'm not asking you to become like me, I want you to try really hard to stay strong around Kisshu, Ichigo. Right now what he needs is different from two years ago, when all he thought he needed was for you to love him the way he loves you. What he needs right now is for you to stay strong even when he can't. It's going to take a lot of patience and care to get Kisshu back to even semi-normal, and I think it's going to test your love for him, but I think you're the only one who can help him now. Taruto and I will help too, but you really need to stay with him as much as you possibly can."

"I will," Ichigo said. "I really think it's time I stopped working at Café Mew Mew. Kisshu needs me more than Ryou does; Ryou will just have to deal. And school is six hours five days a week, so can you help him during that time?"

"Of course," Pai said. "So you're going to tell Ryou you're quitting?"

"Yes," Ichigo said. "Should we get back?"

"Hai," Pai said, and teleported her back to her room.

Kisshu was still awake, but he looked tired out. "What were you chatting about?" he asked.

"I just wanted to talk to Ichigo about caring for you," Pai said. "I figured you'd find it boring, so I just took her somewhere else."

"Oh…." Kisshu said. "Koneko-chan, can we sleep together again?"

"Sure, let me just get pajamas on," Ichigo said. She got her pajamas and went to the bathroom. After she changed, she went back to her room and saw that Pai was gone. She closed the door, and came over to the bed. She climbed in with Kisshu, feeling him snuggle against her as she turned the light out. Soon she was asleep too.

Ichigo was woken up much later by Kisshu whimpering again. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was roughly the same time as last night. I wonder why he has this nightmare at the same time every night? she thought. Sighing, she said softly, "Kisshu, wake up." She turned on the light, and Kisshu's eyes snapped open. "Kisshu, it's okay, you're safe here," Ichigo said softly.

"Koneko-chan?" Kisshu asked.

"I'm here," Ichigo said, gently putting her hand on his cheek.

Kisshu sighed. "I want these nightmares to go away…" he said.

Ichigo gently smoothed his hair back as she said, "I'm not sure I can make them go away, but I'll help you get through this, no matter what, k?"

"Thanks…." Kisshu said.

"Do you want me to stroke your hair till you fall asleep again?" Ichigo asked. "That usually helps, right?"

"Yeah… it feels nice," Kisshu said. Ichigo started stroking his hair gently, and he relaxed. Five minutes later he was sleeping again, and Ichigo turned the light out, then went back to sleep herself.

The next morning they both woke up at about 10, and Ichigo sat up, then looked at Kisshu, who also sat up. "How are you feeling today?" Ichigo asked.

"Better," Kisshu said. "Can I get up for a while?"

"Let's ask Pai, k?" Ichigo said. "I don't want you to push yourself."

Kisshu sighed, just as Pai came in and said, "How are you two today?"

"I feel better, can I get up for a while?" Kisshu asked.

Pai came over and put a hand on his chest, then said, "You can, but not for too long. You're still not strong enough to fly or teleport, and staying on your feet for too long isn't going to be good for you."

"Can I go downstairs? I've never seen the rest of Ichigo's house," Kisshu said.

"See if you can walk first," Pai said.

Kisshu pushed the blankets back as Ichigo got up, and put his feet on the floor, then stood up. "My legs are really stiff," he said.

"You've been in bed for about a week, that's not surprising," Ichigo said. "Do you need help walking?"

Kisshu tried taking a step, and Ichigo noticed he was a bit unsteady. She gently took his arm, and said, "Lean on me, I'll help you."

Kisshu let Ichigo help him take a few more steps, but they stopped when Pai said, "No stairs, you're still not strong enough."

Kisshu sighed. "I'm bored with staying in the same room all day…." he said.

"Fine… I'll teleport you," Pai said. He took Kisshu's shoulder and teleported, leaving Ichigo to go down the stairs.

When she got to the kitchen, she noticed that Sakura had made blueberry muffins. Pai was helping Kisshu sit down at the table, and Sakura was taking the muffins out of the pan. "Ichigo, will you get plates?" Sakura asked.

"Sure," Ichigo said. "Is Dad gone?"

"Yep," Sakura said. "I made sure he didn't disturb you two this morning."

"Thanks," Ichigo said, getting out four plates. "Hey, where's Taruto?"

"Probably still sleeping," Pai sighed.

"It's Sunday, that's fine," Sakura said. "My younger brother slept till noon on Sundays."

"That's late," Kisshu said. "Koneko-chan, do you sleep late?"

"Yeah, I need at least ten hours," Ichigo said. "Cat thing."

"I usually need seven hours," Kisshu said. "Of course, lately I've been sleeping for a lot longer…."

"You need it, so don't worry about it," Pai said. He sat down at the table as Ichigo handed the plates to Sakura, who put a muffin on each.

Kisshu took a bite of his muffin, and his eyes lit up. "These are GREAT!" he said, sounding happier.

"Good," Sakura said. "Try not to eat too fast, k?"

Kisshu sighed and took another bite. By the time he was done, he looked happier than he had since he had come to Earth.

"Maybe I should make these more often," Sakura said. "They seem to cheer you up, Kisshu."

"Yup," Kisshu said happily.

Another chapter…. Review plz!