FusionFall Adventures

6 - Kitsu

The receptionist seemed to be quite fatigued, dark spots appearing under her eyes and her pupils wandering here and there. Kitsu blinked, then tapped the wooden desk she sat at a few times, causing the woman to jump in surprise.

"Oh-" she piped up, her southern accent thick. "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for the room that the Powerpuff Girl, Blossom, has been staying in with the offworlder that fell from the sky," Kitsu replied, nodding for emphasis shortly after.

The receptionist looked at her clipboard for a moment, tracing it with her finger before speaking up. "3-F. She's been in there an awfully long time,"

Kitsu was tempted to make fun of her accent, but that'd make him seem like an asshole. He couldn't do anything like that. He held back his urge to joke and smiled towards the receptionist. "Thank you," he replied, heading down the halls and up some sets of stairs. Room 3-F was only a couple of floors up, which wasn't really much considering how large the hospital was. Once he reached room 3-F, he knocked twice. 

"Blossom, you decent?" 

"Haha, very funny." a girl retorted from the other side of the door. The sarcasm in her voice was evident. Kitsu heard footsteps grow closer before the click of a door being opened echoed through the halls and the door swung open. He was greeted by stern-looking pink eyes and bright orange hair tied into a long ponytail with a large, pink, ribbon. Her outfit was similar to Buttercup's, with the signature black stripe across her torso. However, the base was pink, not green like Buttercup's was. 

"I heard you were beating yourself up over something, Blossom," Kitsu stated, getting straight to the point and walking in. He sat down on a free chair, then reclined, shrugging his shoulders. "Go ahead and vent."

Blossom frowned, then took her seat right next to the bed again, staring at the unconscious male that Kitsu gave a single look over. 

So this was the guy who survived a fall from the stratosphere, huh? He didn't look like much to Kitsu, but looks could be deceiving, especially with offworlders. "It's not your fault, by the way..."

"It certainly feels that way," Blossom replied, drumming her fingers on the nightstand to her right. "I was a second, a literal second, too late. If I'd been faster, I would have caught him and he'd be fine. If this wasn't an offworlder, or someone considerably powerful like he is, then he'd be dead, and nobody would be to blame other than me. Fortunately for him, the minor bruises, burns, and cuts he sustained healed within the first hour of him being here."

"Wait, seriously?" Kitsu asked, absolutely amazed. "This guy fell out of the sky and only got away with some cuts and bruises? The hell are his parents feeding him? He must either be really strong or just super lucky. Maybe Ben could introduce the guy to Earth."

Blossom shook her head. "Ben's busy with Max and Numbuh One in Townsville Park. They're studying something for the Plumbers."

Kitsu cursed under his breath. "If this guy's really strong enough to survive a fall from that high, why's he still asleep?"

"One of the nurses, an empath, was able to look into his motions a bit. It's not really good news... A telepath's on the way to say why specifically he's been like this, but there seems to be a lot of trauma. Abandonment, anxiety, loss, failure- Nothing good seems to be driving him."

That led to Kitsu's frown. "If he's alien, maybe he's a refugee type like some of the offworlders that had their worlds destroyed by Fuse. It freaking sucks that the guy set his gaze on our world next... But fortunately for us, Earth doesn't lose."

Blossom pursed her lips momentarily, then sighed. "I still should've been able to catch him."

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "I know! Once he's awake, I'll treat him to a picnic and apologize. I understand it's not enough for my own inability to save him in his time of need, but I at least want to let him know that I'm sorry. Forgiveness is the next best step..."

Kitsu rolled his eyes and grinned. "Well, well, chivalrous knight. I came here ready to tease you for Buttercup and here you are making me proud. Don't tell her I didn't yell at you, I probably won't ever hear the end of that."

Unfortunately for him, Blossom seemed to be in her own little world, pulling out a notebook and pen from God knows where and jotting things down while thinking aloud about what to bring to a picnic near the park in Pokey Oaks.

"Jeesh... You should at least get to know the guy before tying the knot. Either way, can I be the ring bearer?" Kitsu teased, sticking his tongue out at her.

Blossom tossed a dry towel at his face. "Go wet that in the sink for me. I need hot water. I'll change this towel on his forehead before leaving to find picnic necessities."

Kitsu obeyed, reluctantly at that. There was no stopping her once her mind was set on something, especially if she felt personally responsible for someone. Blossom was just that type of girl, and he knew that through both his girlfriend Buttercup and firsthand experience as the 'brother-in-law' as Bubbles liked to call him. "Sure, sure- Although I'll need to figure out where my squad should meet up, and I'll probably need to pick out colors," he stated. "I've been promoted to squad leader recently, so a lot of stuff comes with that. Some squads like Delta and Echo have uniforms, and the original ones do now as well. I'd rather not draw attention towards us, but I still want my squad to be well known enough for folks to actually wanna join..."

"That's quite ambitious," Blossom replied after finishing her list. It seemed that she caught the last thing he said, much to the scythe wielder's dismay.

"I won't lie though," Kitsu started as he finished running the towel under the sink and wrung it out a few times. "I'm kinda scared. I'm about to be responsible for not only my life but the lives of others who are working directly with me. I'm ready, but I'm getting the jitters..."

Blossom took the towel from Kitsu and changed the one on the sleeping offworlder's forehead. "You'll be fine," she began. "You managed to tame the rowdiest sister of mine and make her head over heels in love with you. You survive her outbursts, and you got the Professor's approval since he's pretty much our father. My point is that you'll be able to handle this no matter what. You're a natural leader, you don't crumble under pressure, and you persevere. You'll know what choices you need to make and you'll be the best leader you can be for both you and for your squad."

She stopped and offered a small nod as she headed towards the door, list in hand and her hair swaying behind her. "Think on that for a while and build yourself up again like you always do. Congratulations, by the way. I'm really proud of you, Kitsu."

Kitsu smiled in her direction and decided to pull up a chair near the window, sighing and leaning against the wall while glancing out into the town of Sector V. "Thanks, Blossom. You really know what to say to cheer a guy up."

Blossom let out a pleased hum, then headed out of the room, her footsteps vanishing down the hall.

Kitsu sat there in silence for about half an hour, contemplating Blossom's words and building himself up slowly. He sent out a few messages to two of his squadmates, Sapphire and Raitoningu, after finalizing their meeting area. Sapphire would have to be flown in from Tech Square, but he assumed that she was already on the way. It wouldn't hurt to be too careful, however.

"Oh well... Time to figure out some more pick-up lines to my 'How To Get a Girlfriend' book. One day, it'll be world-famous, haha!"

Kitsu pulled out a notebook of his own and moved towards the small dresser near the bedside to find a pen. However, he felt like something was off. He slowly narrowed his eyes towards the bed and realized that the supposedly comatose male was nowhere in sight.

"I thought she'd never leave," a masculine voice said from behind him. "Sorry, I'm not one to hit those who are charitable towards me. But you..."

A powerful blow to the head sent Kitsu flying through the bed, nearly shattering the floor beneath him as he slammed into the wall and coughed. His head was spinning, and his vision was blurry. He was going to faint, and he knew it. This guy caught him off guard and knew exactly where to strike someone to get them to pass out. It was happening, and there was nothing Kitsu could do to stop it!

"I won't kill you," the male spoke again. "I won't hurt you anymore... But don't come after me, otherwise, I won't be able to promise your safety."

The window exploded, and the last thing Kitsu saw before fainting was the spiky-haired male flying off into the town with a grey box in tow.

"Aw, shit... Blossom's gonna kill me," Kitsu muttered before his world grew dark.