Escape Part 10:
Talking
Kimi and Takashi landed with the girls in the main room, and found everyone waiting for them. "Welcome," Keiichiro said. He started to say something else, but was cut off when Pai asked, "Kisshu, are you okay?"
The others looked at Kisshu, who seemed to be staring at Takashi. Worried, Ichigo went to him, and gently put a hand on his cheek. "Kish, what's wrong?" she asked softly, feeling him flinch at her touch. He backed up, looking panicked, then leaped into the air and teleported.
"Can someone explain what just happened?" Taruto asked.
Takashi sighed and said, "I think he's scared of me. The first year after Deep Blue's defeat, I was working at the prison, as a guard. I was assigned to the building Kisshu was in, along with a bunch of other guys. A lot of guards enjoyed tormenting and beating Kisshu up, because they saw him as easy game without his powers. If he had been allowed to fight back, they'd be dead, but he wasn't. I didn't do it as much as some guys, but I admit that I also tormented Kisshu. I did it to fit in, but I'm not proud of what I did. After a few months I stopped, because I felt bad for Kisshu, but I guess I still left an impression."
"Why did you come here, Takashi?" Pai snarled.
"I came to help Kimi and the rest of you," Takashi said. "And I came hoping to make amends for what I did to Kisshu. I understand if you don't want me around, but those were my reasons. That, and Kimi and I are bonded."
"Kimi-oneechan doesn't look very happy, na no da," Pudding commented.
This observation was proven correct as Kimi whacked Takashi over the head and screamed, "YOU WERE TORMENTING KISSHU TOO!? DON'T YOU HAVE ANY MORALS!? IF YOU'RE MY SOULMATE, I WISH WE COULD BREAK THE BOND!"
This produced a gasp from Pai and Taruto as Kimi whacked Takashi again and teleported out. "Wow…" Taruto said. "I've never heard a girl say THAT to her soulmate."
Ichigo sighed. "Pai, where's Kish?" she asked.
Pai concentrated, then said, "He's under your bed again, and your mom is in there trying to get him out, from the looks of it."
"Can you teleport me?" Ichigo asked.
"I need to talk with Takashi, but Taruto can teleport you," Pai said.
Taruto nodded and took Ichigo's shoulder, then teleported to her room. Sakura was sitting on the floor, and looked up, startled. "Oh, hi Ichigo, hi Taruto," she said. "Kisshu's refusing to come out, and I have something in the oven. Can you two handle this?"
"Ichigo can, I have to get back," Taruto said.
"Okay," Ichigo said. She sat on the floor, then laid down on her stomach as Sakura and Taruto left. She looked under the bed, and saw Kisshu looking out at her. "Kimi was screaming at Takashi," she said, keeping her voice soft. "She said she wished she could break the bond."
Kisshu's expression changed from scared to shocked. "I've never heard a girl say that," he said.
"Takashi said he came to apologize to you," Ichigo said. "He's not here to hurt you, so can you come out now?"
"Is he going home after he apologizes?" Kisshu asked.
"He said he also came to help, but that he understands if we don't want him around," Ichigo said.
"I don't want ANYONE I knew in prison around," Kisshu said.
"He doesn't seem like a bad guy to me," Ichigo said. "We spent the trip home teaching him human card games- and laughing at him for showing us his cards."
"He didn't attack you for laughing at him?" Kisshu asked.
"No," Ichigo said. "I know you're having a hard time with this, and I'm not going to argue if you're dead set on not having Takashi around. But I think you should at least let him apologize before telling him to get off the planet."
Kisshu sighed, and climbed out from under the bed, then sat down on it. "I don't want to forgive anyone…." he said.
"No one is asking you to forgive Takashi," Ichigo said. "If it was me, I wouldn't be very likely to forgive him either."
Kisshu was about to respond when they heard teleportation, and he tensed up. Takashi appeared, and Kisshu flinched. Ichigo sighed, but before she could ask Takashi what he was doing in her room, he went down on one knee and bowed his head. "I came to apologize, Kisshu-san," he said without looking up. "I recognize that my actions towards you while you were in prison were unacceptable, and that even though I was trying to fit in, I never should have hurt you. I'm sure it was hard enough losing your freedom at a young age without the guards beating you up on a daily basis."
"Why did they do that?" Kisshu asked.
"The guards in the building you were in were told by the Council that you had killed Deep Blue, and the majority of them are jerks who thought that Deep Blue was going to save us all," Takashi said. "They didn't see that our planet is much better than Earth now, so we don't need help from anyone."
"And you?" Kisshu asked.
"I'm just an idiot," Takashi said. "And I probably deserve the fact that my soulmate now hates me. Not to mention Moe and Miwa made it very clear that if I lay a finger on you, I'll be reduced to a pile of blood and body parts."
"You'd better watch out; they didn't get to do that to Ryou, so they're probably looking for someone else," Ichigo said.
Kisshu sighed. "Do you intend to help us defeat Deep Blue?" he asked Takashi.
"That's the main reason I came to Earth," Takashi said. "I'm willing to go back to Cyniclonia, but I know Kimi wants to stay."
"You want to gain back her trust?" Kisshu asked.
Takashi looked at him, startled. "Yes, but how did you guess that?" he asked.
"It's my talent; I'm very perceptive," Kisshu said. "Pai tells me it's creepy. I know what people are thinking almost before they do."
"That sounds useful," Takashi said.
Kisshu sighed. "Fine, you can stay and try to gain Kimi's trust back, but don't expect me to forgive you," he said.
"I understand, Kisshu-san," Takashi said, and teleported out.
Ichigo looked at Kisshu, and put a hand on his shoulder. Then she got worried, because Kisshu was shaking. "Kish, are you okay?" she asked. "You're shaking."
She was startled when Kisshu grabbed her, burying his face in her shoulder as he hugged her. She hugged back tightly, feeling tears soaking into her shirt. "Can you tell me what's wrong?" Ichigo asked gently.
Kisshu mumbled something that sounded like, "Memories…."
"Memories?" Ichigo asked. "Was Takashi being here too much for you?"
Kisshu nodded into her shoulder. Suddenly teleportation sounded again, and Kisshu flinched. Pai appeared, and asked, "What happened?"
Kisshu didn't respond, and Ichigo said, "I think Takashi being here brought back bad memories for Kish."
Pai looked worried, and said, "That's not good. We discovered Deep Blue has a few followers this time, and we need all the help we can get. I have a feeling these followers aren't going to betray him the way we did."
"What should we do?" Ichigo asked.
"The only thing we can do is to keep Takashi away from Kisshu," Pai said.
"That's not going to be easy if we're fighting," Ichigo commented.
Pai sighed. "I know, but we're just going to have to do our best," he said. "As far as Keiichiro and I can tell, Deep Blue brought ten people with him. Until we know who they are, we need everyone here. I know we outnumber them, but without knowing their strengths, we need all the help we can get."
Ichigo sighed and looked back at Kisshu. "Kish, can you handle this?" she asked softly. "We need you both to fight off Deep Blue and whoever he's got with him."
"I can handle it if I don't have to see him while we're not fighting," Kisshu said.
"That's fine," Pai said. "I'll go let him and the others know. You stay here and calm down, k?"
"K," Kisshu said. Pai teleported out, and Kisshu sighed. "Koneko-chan, can I go to sleep for a while?" he asked.
"Are you feeling okay?" Ichigo asked worriedly.
"I'm just kind of tired," Kisshu said.
"Okay," Ichigo said. "Do you want me to stay?"
"Can you play with my hair?" Kisshu asked.
Ichigo climbed onto the bed next to him as he laid back, and said, "Sure." She started stroking his hair, and he fell asleep.
An hour later, Ichigo was worried. Kisshu hadn't even stirred, and he looked unhappy. She gently shook him, saying, "Kish, time to wake up." He didn't stir, and she shook him a little harder.
To her surprise, Kisshu's eyes snapped open in a panic, but before Ichigo could say anything, Kisshu shoved her, hard. Startled, she fell off the bed, and her head hit her night table, knocking her out.
When she woke up, the first thing she saw was Kisshu's face. He was kneeling next to her, looking scared. "Kish?" she asked.
"What happened?" Kisshu asked. "I woke up feeling scared, and saw you lying on the floor. And I couldn't wake you up."
Ichigo was puzzled by this, and asked, "You weren't awake when you shoved me?"
"I shoved you?" Kisshu asked.
"I tried to wake you up, but you panicked and shoved me off the bed," Ichigo said. "I think I hit my head on the night table; that's why I was unconscious."
Kisshu looked horrified. "I hurt you?" he whispered.
Before Ichigo could respond, Kisshu collapsed. Ichigo immediately sat up and put a hand on his forehead, but Kisshu didn't have a fever. She gently put a hand on his cheek, asking, "Kish, are you okay?"
Kisshu stirred, and opened his eyes. "Are you feeling okay?" Ichigo asked.
"I hurt you…." Kisshu said.
"As long as you didn't mean it, it's fine," Ichigo said softly. "I'm fine, you don't have to worry. Are you alright?"
"I feel so dizzy…." Kisshu said. "My stomach's not feeling great either."
"Do you want me to help you get to the bathroom, or should I just bring a bucket in here?" Ichigo asked.
"I don't think I can make it as far as the bathroom," Kisshu said. He swallowed hard. Ichigo got up and ran to the hall closet, grabbed a bucket, and ran back. She saw that Kisshu was trying to sit up without success, and knelt next to him, then pulled him into a sitting position and handed him the bucket.
Kisshu took the bucket as he felt his stomach start churning. He felt stuff coming up, and opened his mouth as everything in his stomach came out of his throat. Vaguely he felt Ichigo rubbing his back as everything came up.
Ichigo was worried, and decided to call Pai. Telepathically, she called, Pai!
Ichigo, you and Kisshu have to be careful! Pai said. Someone captured all of us with sleeping gas, and I think you two are the only ones left. Moe and Miwa aren't here, but I'm not sure if they escaped.
I'll contact them, Ichigo said. I think Kisshu's sick; he says he's dizzy, and now he's throwing up.
That's BAD, Pai said. If Moe and Miwa have been captured, that means you'll be fighting alone; they got Keiichiro too.
I'll contact them and get back to you, Ichigo said. She cut the connection, noticing Kisshu had stopped throwing up. "Kish, are you feeling any better?" she asked.
"I'm not dizzy anymore," Kisshu said. "Maybe I just ate something bad?"
Ichigo put a hand on his forehead, then said, "I guess you're right. That's good, because Pai just informed me someone captured everyone. The only ones he's not sure about are Moe and Miwa. I have to contact them; stay quiet."
Kisshu nodded, and Ichigo called telepathically, Moe! Miwa! Can you hear me?
Ichigo? she heard.
Yeah, are you okay? Ichigo asked.
We're fine, but the others got captured, Miwa said. Can Moe and I try teleporting to your house?
Good plan, Ichigo said. I have to tell Pai you two are safe; come as soon as you can.
On it, Miwa said, and cut the connection.
Ichigo called telepathically, Pai!
Are Moe and Miwa safe? Pai asked.
Yes, they're coming over to my place, Ichigo said. And Kisshu says he feels better, so I guess it was just something he ate.
That's good, Pai said. Try not to get captured.
We'll do our best, Ichigo said, and cut the connection.
Interesting. Only four fighters left, with a serious hostage situation. Review to find out what happens!