Please Protect Her

Part 3

When Anzu, Kisshu and Ichigo landed in the living room, Higashi came in, carrying Tsukiko. Tsukiko didn't seem very happy, and Higashi said, "Anzu, I think it's dinnertime for Tsukiko."

"Alright, thanks," Anzu said. She took Tsukiko, and went to the kitchen to feed her.

Higashi looked at Kisshu, and asked, "Kisshu, you're feeling better?"

"Yeah, Aunt Yuki and Pai healed me," Kisshu said. "I don't get to fly or teleport till tomorrow, though."

"Oh well," Higashi said. "It's almost five anyways; tomorrow will be here sooner than you think. You should still go to bed early, though."

"Alright," Kisshu said. "Do you know what we're having for dinner?"

"Pai stopped by with a bunch of human food, but I don't know what it is," Higashi said. "You might be cooking tonight."

"That's fine," Kisshu said. "It'll be nice not to have to chase Pai out of the kitchen for once."

"I take it he got bad habits without Yuki around to watch him?" Anzu asked, coming back with Tsukiko.

"Yeah, he kept going in the kitchen, and set off the smoke alarm fifty-five times," Kisshu said. "He also put sink cleanser into my tomato soup. That was awful…."

"Why did he do that?" Ichigo asked.

"He claimed he thought it was salt," Kisshu said gloomily. "We all spent all night throwing up. Even telling him we'd murder him if he went into the kitchen again didn't work."

"Yikes…." Ichigo said. "Does Pai have any common sense?"

"No," Kisshu said bluntly. "None at all."

"Kisshu, do you mind making dinner?" Anzu asked. "I want to take Ichigo to the Haryu's place; Mikoto's daughter might have some clothes from when she was Ichigo's age."

"Don't let Kino anywhere near Ichigo," Kisshu said.

Anzu just sighed, and took Ichigo's hand, then teleported to another door. She knocked, and the door was opened a few minutes later by a woman a bit older than Anzu. "Anzu, it's good to see you," she said. "Who's this?"

"This is my adoptive daughter, Ichigo," Anzu said. "Ichigo, this is Mikoto, she's a friend of mine."

"It's nice to meet you," Ichigo said.

"You too Ichigo," Mikoto said. "So what brings you two here?"

"Ichigo needs clothing; all she has is human clothing," Anzu said. "I was hoping Aoika had some from when she was Ichigo's age."

"She might," Mikoto said. "Come in."

Anzu and Ichigo followed her in, and to another door. Mikoto knocked, and called, "Aoika?"

The door was opened by a teenage girl who looked to be about eighteen. She had black hair in a braid over her shoulder, and she was wearing what Anzu and Mikoto wore; a long-sleeved calf-length dress with a high collar, and white leggings underneath. Her dress was red. "What's up, Mom?" she asked.

"Do you have any clothes that would fit Ichigo here?" Mikoto asked. "She's about two sizes smaller than you."

"They might be at the back of my closet, but I'm guessing so," Aoika said. "Ichigo, what happened to your ears?"

"I'm a human; Aunt Anzu and Uncle Higashi adopted me because Kisshu and I are together, and my own parents couldn't be bothered to take care of me," Ichigo said.

"Well, you're lucky; everyone knows Anzu is the sweetest person on the planet," Aoika said. "Come on, let's find you some clothes while Mom and Anzu catch up. They haven't seen each other since Anzu had Tsukiko, am I right?"

"That's right," Anzu said. "Ichigo, you'll be okay, right?"

"I'll be fine," Ichigo said. Aoika smiled happily and took Ichigo's hand, then pulled her into her room and closed the door. "This is going to be fun!" she said happily. "I always wanted a little sister to play dress-up with. Instead I got a bratty little brother…."

"Kisshu told Aunt Anzu to keep Kino away from me; is that your brother?" Ichigo asked as Aoika started digging around in her closet.

"Unfortunately, yes," Aoika sighed. "He hates Kisshu because Kisshu beat him at basically everything in school. He also used to bully Kisshu, until the teachers told him he'd never get into the military if he was a bully. He still didn't get into the military in the end, but at least he stopped bullying Kisshu." She pulled something out of her closet, and held it up. It was a pink dress similar to the one she was wearing, but with white bands around the cuffs and collar. "Is this okay?" she asked.

"It's really pretty," Ichigo said. "And pink is my favorite color!"

Aoika smiled. "Good," she said. "Let's find some leggings. Do you like other colors? I think that's the only pink dress I have; my favorites are red and blue."

"I like blue, green and yellow," Ichigo said.

"Okay," Aoika said. "Here's a pair of leggings; why don't you try these on to see if they fit?"

"Thanks," Ichigo said, taking the leggings. She took off her shoes, skirt and shirt, and pulled the leggings on, then pulled the dress over her head. It was loose, and very soft and comfortable. She straightened it out as Aoika pulled out four more dresses and five more pairs of leggings.

"You look great!" Aoika said happily. "I found two blue dresses, and one green and one pale yellow." She showed Ichigo, and Ichigo smiled. "Thanks, Aoika," she said. "These are really nice."

"I think I've got a pair of boots that might fit you too; let me look," Aoika said. "No offense, but those shoes are kind of strange. What are the strings for?"

"To keep them on," Ichigo said.

Aoika pulled a pair of black boots out of the closet, and said, "Try these on." Ichigo sat down and pulled the boots on, then stood up. "Wow, they're a perfect fit," she said. "They're really comfy, too."

"Good," Aoika said. "Now we're going to do your hair!"

"Why?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.

"Well, for one thing, one of the ribbons is half untied, but I've got an idea," Aoika said. "Come sit down, I'll brush your hair."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "Just so you know, people brushing my hair makes me purr, so don't get startled if I purr."

"Aww… that's so cute!" Aoika said. "Do all humans purr?"

"No, but I'm half cat, so getting petted or brushed makes me purr," Ichigo said. She sat down with Aoika, who took her ribbons out, and started brushing Ichigo's hair. After a few strokes, Ichigo did start purring.

"Have you ever thought about growing your hair longer?" Aoika asked.

"Yeah, but no matter how much I try, it never gets any longer than this," Ichigo said. "It's frustrating."

"Hmm…." Aoika said. "My mom's family has a little trick we use to get our hair longer faster; but I've never tried using it on anyone who's not a Cyniclon." She ran her fingers through Ichigo's hair, then said, "I think it'll work on you; your hair doesn't feel any different from a Cyniclon's. Do you want me to try?"

"You don't mind?" Ichigo asked.

"Nope, and then I'll have more to work with," Aoika said. "I don't know about humans, but among Cyniclon girls, long hair is prized. Also, around here, the only girls with that hairstyle aren't any older than five."

"I guess I've got a lot to learn," Ichigo said.

"You'll learn fast, I'm sure," Aoika said. "Is it okay if I use my long-hair trick?"

"Sure, that's fine," Ichigo said. She felt Aoika start running her fingers through her hair, and then Aoika started singing in a language Ichigo didn't understand. Ichigo suddenly realized Aoika was running her fingers through longer hair, and realized that her hair had grown already.

A few minutes later, Aoika said, "There we go. Your hair's about half-way down your back now."

"Wow…." Ichigo said. "That's cool, thank you!"

"Sure," Aoika said. "I like using that trick. It's also good for pranking Kino; he hates long hair. Now let's see…. I think it would be fun to braid your hair and braid ribbons into it, is that okay?"

"That sounds pretty!" Ichigo said.

"Alright," Aoika said. She picked up one of Ichigo's ribbons, looked at it critically, and said, "Your ribbons are a bit too short; can I use some of mine?"

"Sure," Ichigo said.

"Is green okay?" Aoika asked. "I think red won't show up."

"Green sounds nice," Ichigo replied. Aoika got up and took two green ribbons off her dresser, then came back and sat down behind Ichigo, and started braiding her hair with one of the green ribbons. When she finished, she tied the braid off with the other green ribbon, and said, "All set. Go look in the mirror!"

Ichigo got up and looked in the mirror on Aoika's dresser, then said, "Wow… This is amazing. Thanks, Aoika!"

Aoika smiled. "I'm glad you like it," she said. "Come on, get the other clothes and let's go show Mom and Anzu."

Ichigo gathered up the other clothes and her sneakers, and followed Aoika to the kitchen. Anzu and Mikoto looked up, and Anzu smiled. "I see it went well," she said. "Ichigo, you look great!"

"All thanks to Aoika," Ichigo said.

Anzu smiled and said, "Thanks, Aoika."

"Sure," Aoika said. "Let me know if you need anything else; this was fun!"

"I can tell, you used the long-hair trick on her," Mikoto said. "Anzu got a call saying dinner's ready at her house, so she and Ichigo have to go now."

"Okay," Aoika said. "Ichigo, it was nice to meet you; you should come over again soon."

"I'll try," Ichigo said. "I had fun too."

Aoika smiled happily, and Anzu got up, then took Ichigo's hand and teleported to their kitchen. Kisshu and Higashi looked up, and Kisshu's jaw dropped. "Wow…." he said after a minute. "Koneko-chan, you're gorgeous."

Ichigo blushed, and said, "Thanks Kisshu."

Higashi smiled and said, "You do look nice, Ichigo."

"Thanks!" Ichigo said happily. "Where should I put my new clothes?"

"You can put them on the bed in Kisshu's and your room for now," Anzu said. "We can figure out what's next after dinner."

"Okay," Ichigo said. She went and put her new clothes on the bed, and then came back to sit at the table with Kisshu, Anzu, and Higashi. Anzu handed her a plate of what looked like macaroni and cheese, and she took it. "Thanks," she said.

"Sure," Anzu said. "Kisshu, what is this?"

"It's called mac and cheese; it's pasta with cheese sauce," Kisshu said. "Taruto really likes it."

Higashi tried some, and said, "This is really good, you're good at cooking."

"Thanks Dad," Kisshu said. He dug into his plate; Ichigo and Anzu were already eating.

Eventually they finished dinner, and Higashi said, "Kisshu, you should get to bed; it's already eight."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "I am kind of tired."

"Ichigo, do you want to stay up, or go to bed?" Anzu asked.

"I'll go to bed; I'm kind of tired too," Ichigo said.

"Did we forget to ask for nightclothes?" Anzu asked worriedly.

"It's fine, I brought my own pajamas just in case," Ichigo said. "I also brought all the underthings I own."

"Good," Anzu said. "Well, you two can go get ready for bed, then."

"Okay," Kisshu said. He and Ichigo got up, and went to their room. "Koneko-chan, do you want me to show you where the bathroom is, so you can change?" Kisshu asked.

"You're not going to be perverted and tell me we should change together?" Ichigo asked dryly.

"With my parents around? Of course not," Kisshu said.

Ichigo giggled and opened her suitcase, then took out her pajamas and looked at Kisshu. He smiled and led her to the bathroom, then left. Ichigo changed and went back to their room, carrying her new clothes and boots.

Kisshu looked up as she came in and asked, "You're not taking your hair ribbon out?"

"Oh…." Ichigo said. She undid the ribbon securing her braid, but left the braid as it was. Noticing Kisshu looking at her, she said, "I'll leave the braid in; my hair will get tangled up otherwise."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Let's get in bed."

Ichigo got into bed with him, and as they were settling down, Anzu came in and said, "Good night, you two."

"Night Mom," Kisshu said sleepily.

"Good night Aunt Anzu," Ichigo said.

Anzu smiled and turned out the light on her way out, as Ichigo and Kisshu fell asleep curled up.

So it took a long time, but I finally got this finished. This is NOT the end of this story, I've got more ideas. Please review!