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Chapter Text

Chapter One:

Sixteen year old Ichigo Momomiya smiled as she looked around the park. Was it only three years ago that on this spot she had met Pudding Fong and witnessed the girl’s first Metamorphosis into Mew Pudding? Was it only two years since she and the other Mews had defeated Deep Blue? Was it only two years since she had last seen the aliens they had fought constantly yet ended up befriending?

Ichigo sighed as she thought of Kish, Pie and Tart. After fighting them every day, not seeing them had taken some getting used to and she honestly missed them. But she was content knowing that they had gone home to their planet with a way to save it. Six months after the aliens departure, the Mews had received word from the trio saying that their planet had been restored, giving them not only clean water and food but a chance to live above-ground and in the sunlight. The pride and happiness that was radiating off the written words left them all with smiles that lasted for weeks.

“You’re in deep thought today.”

Ichigo smiled at her friend and fellow Mew Mew, Lettuce Midorikawa, who walked beside her.

“Reminiscing, really,” She said. “Hard to believe that it was only two years ago we were fighting to save the earth from aliens whom are now friends and allies. Now, all I have to worry about is passing biology.”

Lettuce looked down at her feet for a minute.

“Do you miss it?” She asked. “Because some days I do. I miss the confidence I had as Mew Lettuce, fighting in battle.”

“Your confidence has shot up since then and is quite evident now,” Ichigo assured her friend. “Yes, many days I miss fighting. I guess I’ve started hating the dull, repetitive day without any monsters or alien stalkers.”

“I wish that Pie, Kish and Tart would have kept in touch. I really want to know how the rehabilitation of their planet is going.” Lettuce said wistfully. Ichigo agreed. After that first transmission a year and a half ago, they had lost touch with the aliens. Pudding in particular was upset over that, as she missed her friend and crush, Tart.

And, even recently, Ichigo had started missing her green-haired shadow. Many times did she hear his sarcastic voice in her head, particularly around the time she and Masaya had mutually decided to break up. Both Ichigo and Masaya had come to realize that they wanted different things from a relationship and the two held a friendship that was almost brother-sister like. Ichigo was very happy to see Masaya dating a shy girl from their school who shared his passion for animals and the environment. She and Ichigo were now close friends.

“Yeah,” Ichigo said, smiling slightly at the thought of the alien. “Funny thing is, I think I’m actually missing Kish’s tendency to show up at random.”

Both teenagers jumped as a tall boy with ruffled dark green hair and gold eyes appeared before them.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Lettuce said with a shy yet happy laugh as she realized it was Kish. He looked the same, yet different. He was taller, his hair a bit longer, his muscles and facial features more defined, more mature. But, there was something off…

Ichigo frowned. Something was wrong. Kish hadn’t greeted her with his trademark smirk or one of his annoying/cutesy pet names for her. His skin was paler than normal, his eyes were glazed and unfocused and his legs were shaking.

“Kish?” She said, taking a step forward.

“Ichigo,” Kish whispered. His eyes closed and he fell forward. Ichigo was barely able to keep him from hitting the ground. She gasped as she saw his back.

The shirt was torn and an asterisk-shaped mark ran the length and width of the alien teen’s back. Blood ran down his skin from the wounds and a dagger was pushed half-way through him. Ichigo carefully pulled the dagger out. It bore a strange symbol on its ivory-like handle and the silver blade was coated with Kish’s blood.

“It didn’t-” Lettuce asked as she took some of Kish’s weight off of Ichigo while she briefly studied the wound.

“Didn’t hit any organs, I don’t think,” She said. “It looks like it just went through the muscle.” Ichigo looked up at her friend. “We have to take him to the Café. Ryou and Keiichiro will know how to heal him.”

Lettuce nodded. The two humans girls carefully made their way back through the park sharing the weight of the wounded alien. Fortunately, Lettuce had driven them to the park, as they were planning on making a leisurely circuit in the park to chat following their morning of shopping.

Ichigo sat in the backseat with Kish, who was sprawled out on the seat, his head in Ichigo’s lap. She stroked his hair and held his hand, asking him to squeeze if he could hear her. She grinned as she felt pressure on her fingers.

Kish moaned softly and tried to curl up into a ball, but hissed as his wounds proved to make that an uncomfortable position. He shifted painfully for a few seconds, adjusting his arm so that it was around Ichigo’s waist. He squeezed her lightly.

“Koneko-chan,” He whispered, burying his face into her skirt, a content smile on his face. “I’ve missed you, kitten.”

Ichigo smiled softly. She gently moved his bangs off his forehead.

“Kish, who did this to you?” She asked. “What happened?”

“Betrayed,” Kish groaned as he squeezed his eyes shut. He whimpered as the car went over a pothole. Lettuce looked into the mirror briefly, her eyes apologizing for something she could not control or stop. She kept muttering apologies.

“Kish, Kish!” Ichigo squeezed his hand again. Kish’s eyes cracked open. “Who betrayed you?”

Kish closed his eyes again.

“Find Pie and Tart… They know… They’ll-” Kish whispered. He took a deep, raspy breath. “They’ll tell you. They’ll tell you…”

Ichigo did not try to get any more information out of him. He had no more energy and they had arrived. Keiichiro Akasaka, who had stepped outside to take out the trash, took one look at Kish and his face paled.

“We need to get him inside quick,” He said. He called for Ryou Shirogane, who came to the door as Lettuce carefully helped shift Kish up onto Keiichiro’s back. Ichigo’s hand was still in Kish’s as she ran to keep up with the long haired man.

“What happened?” Ryou asked Ichigo as he held the door open.

“He said he was betrayed, but he didn’t say by who,” Ichigo said, stroking Kish’s fingers as he groaned softly.

“Hey guys, look what Pudding can-!” Pudding yelled as she entered the kitchen, balancing two trays on her hands while standing on a ball. Her face dropped and her eyes widened as she saw Kish. “Is he okay? Where’s Taru-Taru and Pie?” She asked, worry in her voice.

“I don’t know, but Kish says that they know who did this to him,” Ichigo said as she walked up the stairs towards the upper rooms, where a sickroom was set up.

“Pudding, get the last customers out then close up the café,” Ryou said, looking over his shoulder to the young thirteen year old standing at the bottom of the stairs. “We’ll be down in a bit to talk.”

“Pudding can do that, na no da!” Pudding said as she ran out of the kitchen to find the other girls.

Ichigo crouched down beside Kish, trying to comfort him as Keiichiro, Lettuce and Ryou tended to his wounds while he lay on his stomach on the bed. Her heart broke every time he whimpered in pain. She saw that he was biting his lip, trying to prevent himself from crying out loud. She looked up at Ryou, who knew instantly what she wanted him to do. He disappeared for a second and returned with a syringe. Ryou nodded at Ichigo, who whispered to Kish.

“Kish, you’re going to feel a pinch on your arm. It will make you sleep deeply so you don’t feel any pain. Just squeeze my hand and everything will be alright,” Ichigo promised.

Kish kept a tight hold on the cat-girl’s hand as Ryou carefully cleaned his arm and administered the shot. Ichigo felt herself breathing easier as his grip on her hand loosened and he slept pain-free.

“Ryou and I will finish up here,” Keiichiro said, smiling comfortingly up at Ichigo. “You girls go on downstairs. We’ll join you in a minute.”

The two teenagers nodded and headed downstairs. They were greeted in the kitchen by Pudding, Mint Aizawa and Zakuro Fujiwara, all dressed in their café uniforms.

“Is Kisshu going to be okay?” Mint asked, looking up from the nail she was filing. Ichigo looked over at Lettuce, who was washing Kish’s blood off her fingers at the sink. Ichigo had been so wrapped up in keeping Kish out of pain that she didn’t know what those tending him were discussing.

“He lost a great deal of blood, but Keiichiro is confident that he will recover,” Lettuce said, grimly looking up from the suds. “His organs are intact and the rest are just muscle wounds.”

“Still, he needs a transfusion,” Ryou said as he and Keiichiro came down the stairs. He leaned against the wall. “Problem is, we don’t think we can give him human blood. His body might not react well to it, or it could poison him all together.”

“He told me that Pie and Tart would know who hurt him,” Ichigo said, folding her arms. “They will probably also know how to treat him.”

“So I guess we need to find them,” Zakuro said.

Suddenly, two beings materialized into the kitchen. One was tall with dark purple hair and the other just a bit shorter than the other with auburn hair, but both were grim faced with worried eyes. The group recognized them instantly.

Pie and Tart.

“Hey, that didn’t take long at all, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed proudly.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two:

“Where is he?” Tart demanded, searching the faces of the humans. His eyes rested on Pudding. The blonde girl stepped forward and put her hand on Tart’s shoulder and gave him a smile.

“Kisshu-Chan is upstairs, sleeping, na no da.” Pudding said and both Tart and Pie relaxed some.

“He said that he was betrayed, and that you would know who betrayed him,” Ichigo said. She took out the dagger that had been in Kish’s back. “I think this belongs to whoever attacked him.”

Both Pie and Tart blanched at the weapon, stained with Kish’s blood. Pie’s face became an emotionless mask again after tearing his eyes away from the blade.

“We will tell you who that cursed blade in your hand belongs to, but we need to see Kisshu first,” Pie said. Ryou nodded and headed back towards the stairs. The small group went up the stairs. Pie and Tart were content seeing Kish fast asleep and his wounds bandaged. Ryou explained that they had stitched the deepest wound to prevent it from opening and that Kish had experienced major blood loss.

Pie carefully placed his hand on Kish’s back, over his heart. His fingers glowed for a second and he removed his hand. Kish took a deep, ragged breath but then his breathing regulated.

“I have given him some of my energy, so that his body can replenish itself,” Pie explained to the watching humans. “I fear that it might not be enough though. Once his body has recovered from the shock of blood loss, we will take him back to our ship so that his recovery can be completed.” His lips pressed together into a thin line. “Now I suppose you would like to know the story that results lie here.”

They went back down into the main part of the Café. Keiichiro brought out a tray of tea and sweets. Pie gratefully accepted a cup of tea while Tart munched on a cookie distractedly, gazing at the staircase. Pie took a long sip of his tea before setting the china cup back down on its saucer, his finger still in the cup’s handle. Taking a deep breath, Pie began to speak.

“The best way for this tragic tale to be told is to begin with the story of mine and Tart’s mother, Risa, and Kisshu’s mother, Lila.

“Our mother met Lila when they were children. They became fast friends and their friendship was what helped them survive into adulthood. They trained together to become Healers. They were widely renowned as midwives, and the mothers and infants they tended to had a lower mortality rate because of the fact that they worked together, unlike many other Healers. When I was around three years old, Lila met and married Kish’s father, Alec, a military official and widower with a five year old son named Mylo. Alec’s first marriage had been arranged and his first wife had died of a sudden illness when Mylo was four years old. Unlike his first marriage, Alec married Lila out of love. Six months into her marriage, Lila discovered that she was pregnant with Kisshu. However, her pregnancy was a difficult one. She grew weaker and weaker as the months wore on, but she fought to survive for her son’s sake. Our mother tended to Lila while she gave birth and was able to give Lila what she wanted: to see her son. She had hoped that Lila would recover.” Pie paused and closed his eyes. “But, she did not. By the following morning, Lila was dead.

“Alec was heartbroken, but did his best to raise both his sons. He had a particular bond with Kisshu and the two were rarely apart. Even at a young age, Mylo realized that Kisshu was born out of love, and that he was not. He was jealous of Kish and took his anger out on him and was occasionally physically abusive towards him. Kisshu, for some reason I have yet to discover, admired his older brother and accepted the the abuse. When Kisshu was five years old, Alec died on a mission for Deep Blue. Our parents adopted Kisshu while Mylo was taken in by his mother’s family, who encouraged his anger towards his younger brother. A few months after his father’s death, Kisshu, Tart and I were accepted into military service training.”

“Things only got worse for Kish after that,” Tart said, brushing crumbs off his shirt and onto the floor. Mint flinched slightly, offended. The only thing she had done that morning was sweep, and she was proud of how clean it was until the thirteen year old alien ruined it. “Kish was awesome at everything, which in most cases is a good thing. In his case, it was what caused a lot of his problems.

“Mylo was his commanding officer and was cruel to him. Kish got the worst jobs, the most whippings and many meals taken away for nothing. Eventually, he started fighting back verbally, never physically. He refused to lay a hand on Mylo. Mylo knew this and used it against him. One day, Mylo and some of his goons ganged up on him,” Tart glared at the ground as his fists clenched. “Two of them held him down so that he couldn’t teleport away while Mylo and the others beat him. He still has the scars, on his arms, from Mylo’s knife. He hides them underneath the red cloths he wears on his arms.” The anger in Tart’s voice subsided and was replaced with grief. Pudding reached across the table and took his hand comfortingly. “Kish wasn’t the same after that attack. You all saw what he was like, two years ago. Only recently has the Kish we knew then returned.”

Tart glanced up quickly before looking back down, but Ichigo swore that he looked at her. Like she was what brought him back. But that was impossible, she told herself.

“At the time, we thought the Earth Mission would be perfect for Kisshu,” Pie said, taking over for his younger brother, who was gazing towards the staircase again. “It would be a chance for him to get away from Mylo. We had no doubts that he would be successful. However, when Deep Blue thought that Kish needed help, he assigned Mylo to go. With only quick intervention from some who knew Kisshu and Mylo’s history was that prevented.”

The Mew Mew’s shuddered, imagining what their battles would be like against brothers who hated each other.

“Two years ago, when we returned to our planet Cynnth, we were met with mixed results,” Pie said, continuing. “On one hand, many were very happy that we had found a way to restore our home. On the other hand, many were furious because, not only did we seemingly fail, but because we allowed Deep Blue to be killed. Mylo was one of latter. In the first week of our return, Mylo came to Kisshu in order to yell at him and called him both a coward and a traitor. We did not see him again until about two months ago. He came to Kisshu to apologize for his behavior and asked for Kisshu’s forgiveness and friendship. Kisshu readily gave both. Last night, Kisshu went to eat at Mylo’s residence. There was no one else there and we believe that it was then and there that Kisshu received his wounds. Literally stabbed in the back by his brother. Thankfully, he was able to use some of his energy to teleport away, or I fear he would be dead now.”

“Wait, last night?” Ichigo asked, her eyes wide and her ears popping out. How long had Kish been bleeding out before he came to her and Lettuce?

“Time on Cynnth is different than time here on earth,” Pie said. “It’s a few hours after midnight there, but early afternoon here.”

Ichigo calmed down at this and her ears receded.

“The scars on Kisshu-San’s arms,” Lettuce said softly, her eyes full of tears. “What shape are they?”

“Like this,” Tart drew an asterisk in the air with his finger. “On our planet, that is the symbol of power. Why?”

“Kish’s wounds were in a similar shape,” Ryou said, staring at his shoes. He was being quieter than Ichigo thought he would be in this situation.

“That does not surprise me,” Pie said, pressing his lips into a hard line. “Mylo would not have been able to resist making one last show of whom he believed was the more powerful of the two.”

“Why did Mylo choose now to attack Kisshu-Chan, na no da?” Pudding asked, her blond eyebrows becoming lost under her bangs.

“There has been discussion of electing Kish as our leader, because he was in charge of our mission here,” Tart said. “Kish always laughed it off and made a joke of it. Truth was, he would never let himself get tied down into politics. He doesn’t want that much authority over the people. Says that it just makes it look like he was trying to save Cynnth in order to gain power.”

“Mylo, on the other hand, has taken this gossip seriously,” Pie said. “Mylo’s self-righteous pride would never allow Kisshu to become more powerful than he.”

Ichigo felt guilt swell in her heart. Kish had experienced horrible things from one who should have loved him. How despite the abuse he still loved, had loved her, and still fought for his people, including the one who had dealt the blows. She regretted every harsh word and blow she dealt him.

“So, what happens now?” Mint asked, pushing aside her teacup.

“It is only a matter of time until Mylo learns where Kisshu teleported to and will come here,” Pie paused. “He will try to complete what he started.”

“You mean-” Ichigo said, her blood running cold.

“He is coming to kill Kisshu,” Pie said, scowling at the ground.

Chapter Text

Chapter Three:

Ryou and Keiichiro offered the aliens the upstairs spare rooms of the Café, which Pie and Tart accepted immediately. They wanted to stay as close to Kish as possible and since it was looking like Kish would be staying at Café Mew Mew for a little while, they were too. The alien brothers and Pudding went back to their ship to pack a few things like clothes and Pie’s research notes he wished to share with Ryou and Keiichiro. Ryou also ordered the Mew Mews to stay at the Café, wanting them all together when and if Mylo attacked. Fortunately for Pudding, her father was home so that she wasn’t worrying over her younger siblings.

While waiting for the aliens to return, Ichigo sat upstairs beside Kish on guard duty, her power pedant clutched in her hand. On the table beside her was a jug of water, a glass, a bottle of painkillers, her cellphone and some foods that would be easy on Kish’s stomach if he woke up hungry. Needless to say, she was prepared.

Ichigo also took this time as an opportunity to do some schoolwork and read the last of her novel assigned as part of her summer homework. She had been reading for about an hour when she heard the springs of the mattress squeak softly and the sound of fabric against fabric. Ichigo marked her page and looked over to see Kish’s golden eyes crack open.

“Morning sunshine,” Ichigo said cheerfully.

“It’s morning?” Kish croaked, blinking a few times.

“Well, no, actually it’s almost sunset. Pudding once told me that anytime you wake up is morning.” Ichigo explained. It was actually late afternoon and the sun was starting to lower.

“Sounds like something monkey-girl would say,” Kish said, propping himself up on his elbows slightly. “What are you doing here?”

Pie had requested that he and Tart be the one to tell Kish that Mylo was searching for him. Ichigo was very grateful that she didn’t have that task.

“Someone needed to keep an eye on you. We weren’t sure you were going to make it for a while.” It was a half the truth and Kish seemed to buy it.

“Nice to know you care, Kitty-Cat,” Kish said, lying flat again, laying his chin on his folded arms, smirking at her.

Ichigo smiled and rolled her eyes.

“So, how are you feeling?” She asked.

“Hungry,” Kish said. He looked at the array of food on the tray. “What’cha got for me, Kitten?”

“Crackers, soup, ramen, ice-pops, gelatin…” Ichigo said, looking over her list. Kish groaned.

“No fruit?” He asked, sticking out his lower lip in a pout as he looked up at Ichigo.

“No. Ryou said that with the painkiller he gave you, the acids in the fruit would be too hard on your stomach and you’d be sick.” Ichigo said, touching his nose lightly in response to his pout. “But I’ll tell you what. I’ll compromise. You can have a fruit flavored ice-pop,” Ichigo said.

Kish liked that idea and Ichigo left the room, keeping the door open. Ichigo dashed down the stairs, threw open the fridge, grabbed the ice pop and ran back up the stairs. She smiled as she heard Kish snore. Giggling, she poked him on the shoulder. Kish’s eyes snapped open mid-snore and he lifted his head.

“Huh? Wha-?” Kish looked around blearily, glaring at a laughing Ichigo when he saw her. “Not funny, Koneko-Chan.” He grumbled, his cheeks reddening.

“On the contraire, your expression is priceless,” Ichigo said. Kish left out a ‘humph’ of frustration and embarrassment, the tips of his ears going red. Ichigo smiled and waved the ice-pop. “Do you still want this?” She asked.

Kish nodded. Ichigo opened the frozen treat while Kish carefully got into a seating position, leaning against the big propped up pillows. Ichigo handed him the popsicle and he happily sucked on it. He looked up at her a few seconds later.

“So, did you find Pie and Tart?” He asked tentatively.

“They found us, actually, and explained everything,” Ichigo said. “They were very worried for you. They checked in on you and stayed for a while. Ryou has offered to let you three stay here for a while, so Pie and Tart went to go pack a few things. They should be back soon.”

Kish nodded.

“So, how have you been, Kitten? Romeo treating you alright?” Kish asked.

“Romeo? Oh, Masaya,” Ichigo said. “He and I broke up a while ago. It was a mutual decision. We’re still friends though, and he’s dating a pretty awesome girl now who is perfect for him.”

“Can’t be,” Kish said, shaking his head briefly. “You just said he’s not dating you.”

Ichigo blushed and they both sat in silence. Kish nervously chomping on his ice-pop, the tips of his ears red.

“So, um, do I get to meet the new beau?” Kish asked after clearing his throat.

“There is no new guy,” Ichigo said, shifting in her seat.

“Oh, well that’s okay,” Kish said, mentally rejoicing though he made his face as emotionless as Pie’s. He might have a chance…

“What about you?” Ichigo asked before she could stop herself. “Do you have a cute little Cyniclon girlfriend going crazy with worry for you at this moment?”

“Nope. I’m up for grabs,” Kish said with his trademark smirk. But then his voice became irritable and the smirk was replaced by another scowl. “Wish I wasn’t. It’d make every eligible girl between the ages of thirteen and thirty stop hounding me every time I stepped out of my house.”

Ichigo grinned at the mental image of Kish being chased by fan girls.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kish spoke up.

“So, why didn’t you respond to my messages?” He asked. Ichigo’s brow furrowed.

“What messages?” She asked. Kish frowned.

“You, you didn’t get them?” He asked. Ichigo shook her head. “That’s strange.”

“None of the other girls have received messages, because Tart already asked Pudding and she says she hasn’t received anything. We’ve only received the one you, Pie and Tart sent a year and a half ago and we sent a response. Did you get it?” Ichigo asked. Kish shook his head again.

“I don’t think this is an accident,” Kish said, his lips pursed together in thought. “Someone must not want use contacting each other.”

“I wonder why,” Ichigo said. Could Mylo have something to do with this, she wondered.

Kish shrugged and ate the last of the ice-pop.

“So, what happens now?” Kish asked.

“Now, you get better,” Ichigo responded, taking the wrapper from Kish and tossing it into the waste basket. “After that, I don’t know. Ryou and Pie are still discussing that. Do you want something else to eat?”

“I’ll take some of those crackers, please,” Kish said. Ichigo blinked in surprise. She had never heard Kish use manners. Tart was right. This was not the Kish she had known two years ago.

Kish murmured his thanks through a mouthful of crackers. While he munched away, Ichigo couldn’t help but stare at the cloths wrapped around Kish’s arms, where she now knew horrible scars lay underneath and grateful they had felt no need to remove them to treat his injuries. With a sickening jolt, Ichigo realized that Kish’s back would soon match his arms.

Kish looked at her out of the corner of his cat-like eyes and frowned.

“Everything alright, Koneko-Chan?” Kish asked. With his free hand, he rubbed the arm of the hand holding his crackers.

“Just, uh, thinking,” Ichigo said, blushing as she looked down at her lap.

“Pie and Tart told you why I wear these,” Kish said, not accusingly. Ichigo nodded. “I figured they would,” Kish mumbled.

Kish leaned back against his pillows and stared at the ceiling.

“You know, I took the mission to capture Earth as a last ditch chance. To make something of myself, to give my people the lives they deserve,” He paused. “And give my brother a reason to be proud of me.”

“He’s not your brother,” Ichigo said, anger rising up in her as she jumped to her feet, her fists clenched. She didn’t even notice that her ears popped out and that the fur on her tail was standing on end. “A brother wouldn’t do this. Wouldn’t hurt the ones they are supposed to love.”

“I thought so too,” The sixteen year old Cyniclon said sadly. “I envied Pie and Tart. They don’t always get along, but they still look out for and love each other. That’s why Pie was so upset at Tart during the final battle. He wanted to protect him the only way he knew how and Tart refused to let him. Pie felt betrayed because Tart was willing to fight him over Deep Blue. As we were traveling back home, they both apologized to each other and it was the end of the fight, and hasn’t been mentioned since. They are brothers, not only in blood. That was what I wanted. What I thought he had finally seen and wanted, too.”

Ichigo sat down beside him on the bed and hugged him. She gently kissed his forehead.

“Mylo doesn’t know what he’s missing,” She whispered.

Kish looked into her eyes and tried to smile. Slowly, their face inched closer to each other, their eyes shutting carefully, their lips about to meet…

When the door slammed open.

Chapter Text

Chapter Four:

Ichigo jumped to her feet, scrambling to find her power pedant. As soon as it was in her hand, she saw that it was all for naught as Tart quite literally flew in.

“Kish, you’re awake!” Tart said, hugging his adopted brother carefully.

“Yay! Kisshu-Chan is awake, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed as she ran in after her friend.

“Gomen-nasai,” Lettuce said bashfully from the doorway, Pie standing behind her. “I heard your voices and made an observation to Pie with these two nearby.”

“That’s alright,” Kish said, ruffling Tart’s hair roughly, ticked off that his private moment with Ichigo. “You didn’t know these two would come barreling in here.”

The two thirteen year olds looked unabashed.

Kish looked up at Pie.

“Thanks for the energy boost, I needed it,” He said, giving the older Cyniclon a fanged grin.

“Not a problem,” Pie said, a corner of his mouth lifting. Though he was glad to see his friend awake, Pie was not going to show it like his brother and the monkey Mew. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore, tired, it hurts if I move too fast. I felt a little dizzy when I first woke up, but the room stopped spinning once I ate something,” Kish said.

“Anything else?” Pie asked. “We are worried that you might still be experiencing symptoms from blood loss that need to be addressed.”

“I feel lightheaded, but that’s about it,” Kish admitted.

Ichigo placed a hand against Kish’s forehead.

“Well, I don’t think you’re running a fever,” She said. “If nothing else it’s the opposite. Your skin is cool.”

Pie grabbed Kish’s wrist and held it for a few seconds, holding up his other hand to the others to indicate to be quiet.

“And your pulse is fast but weak,” He said grimly as he let go of Kish’s wrist. “You need at least one transfusion, if not more. I am going to hook you up to both a pint of blood and a saline drip to keep you hydrated.”

Kish nodded and ten minutes later was hooked up to both drips. He didn’t like the needles that came with them, but decided to suck it up. He wasn’t in the mood to fight with his brothers or Ichigo, and knew he would have lost that fight anyway. Besides, it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be because Ichigo had sat beside him, holding his hand. Ichigo was now fussing over him, tucking his blankets around him and fluffing his pillows, giving him water when he was thirsty. He wasn’t complaining.

However, Ichigo soon left. She needed to go home and grab some items before coming back to the Café. Apparently, Ichigo and the other Mews would be staying at the Café for a while, though Kish did not know why. Ichigo brushed it off by saying her boss was just being overbearing, but Kish felt that wasn’t the real reason, but did not ask any more questions.

A few minutes after Ichigo left, Pie and Tart came in to check up on Kish. They seemed a little on edge, but Kish chocked it up to worry. He listened as Tart talked about his day with Pudding, the monkey Mew. Since Tart had gone through puberty in the past year, girls were suddenly very exciting to him and not as gross as they had been when he first met the energetic Mew Mew.

“They will be announcing their engagement any day now,” Pie said dryly as Tart compared Pudding’s laugh to tinkling bells. Tart scowled at his brother while Kish had a coughing fit from laughing so hard.

“And what about you and fish girl, huh? I saw you cozying up to her at dinner,” Tart accused as Pie gave Kish a glass of water. Kish spat out his water at Pie’s expression and began laughing again.

“Her name is Lettuce,” Pie said, having regained his composure as Kish began coughing again. “We are friends. She is just someone to have a nice long intelligent conversation with, unlike you two.”

“Ah, don’t pretend you don’t love us, Pie,” Kish said in a raspy voice as he stopped coughing.

“You, yes. Tart… to use a human expression ‘the jury is still out on that’,” Pie said, glaring at his younger brother, who grinned mischievously.

“So, other than everything cute Pudding has done, what have I missed?” Kish asked, grinning as Tart turned scarlet.

Pie shifted uneasily in his chair, and Kish’s ears raised slightly in worry. That imperturbable Pie was on edge concerned him deeply.

“You have not missed anything important,” Pie said, staring at his boots. “We suspect Mylo knows that you have left Cynnth, but he has yet to discover where you went. Hopefully, you will be fully recovered before he discovers our location.”

“And then what? We leave?” Kish asked, pursing his lips together. “Mylo knows that the only contacts we have on Earth are the Mew Mews. He will suspect that they are hiding me and I wouldn’t put it past him to kill them.”

“Ryou and I have already discussed this possibility,” Pie said. “And the Mews know this as well. They are prepared to fight and defend themselves as necessary.”

Kish nodded, thinking of Ichigo in her Mew uniform stained with blood and her body covered in wounds, yet fighting despite it. He swallowed. He had almost lost her before and didn’t want to again, especially not because of his insane brother’s delusions.

“Ichigo told me that they received none of our messages,” Kish said. “Kind of weird, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, it is,” Tart said. “What’s more, we’ve already tried to send a message back home to Mama and Papa, but it wouldn’t go through.”

“Something is jamming our frequency to and from Cynnth,” Pie said. “Keiichiro has his computers and that little robot of Mew Ichigo’s searching for some reason behind this.”

“But why?” Kish asked.

Suddenly, Tart’s eyes widened and he looked up at his brothers.

“Guys, you don’t think someone from Cynnth is planning an invasion, do you?” Tart asked.

Kish and Pie both paled. Though Cynnth had very few allies, it did have frequency connections to other planets. Occasionally, one of the richer planets would decide to make Cynnth one of their charity cases and send food and clothing, never enough to go around. However, it was a distinct military tactic with the Cyniclons that they cut off all connection with Cynnth and the planet they were about to go to war with.

“But Earth and Cynnth are at peace,” Pie said. “Who would want to-?”

“Pie, do you even need to ask?” Kish said, taking his head in his hands. “Mylo is going to war with Earth.”

Meanwhile, light years away, a tall Cyniclon alien smiled at the bridge of his ship, his fangs glistening in the dim light. He had waist length stark white hair and black eyes accented by thin square glasses. He turned around to face his men, a small army of fifteen. Though there was only a few of them, he had no doubt that his men would succeed.

“Gentlemen!” He said loudly as he began to walk up and down the row of soldiers. “Tonight marks the night of a new era for Cynnth! Tonight, be begin the most important mission our people will ever have. Yes, it has been tried before, but it has never been successful.”

He paused for dramatic effect.

“Tonight we will enter Earth’s atmosphere. Tonight, we will begin making battle plans. Tonight we will start examining our opponents weaknesses.”

His smile grew bigger, wider, eviler…

“Tonight, we begin our invasion of Earth!”

His men cheered loudly.

Mylo basked in the cheers, in the excitement.

Starting tonight, Earth was his.

Chapter Text

Chapter Five:

It was a quiet day at Café Mew Mew. They had decided to close up temporarily, the excuse being that the Café needed some repairs. However, those who worked there were still inside and were bored out of their minds.

Lettuce, who was a notorious nervous cleaner, had cleaned every single surface of the Café, all of its rooms and the basement lab before noon.

“Pudding is afraid to take a step and ruin Lettuce Onee-Chan’s hard work, na no da,” Pudding said as she came down the stairs, nearly blinded by the shininess of everything. Tart teleported next to her and let her climb on his back. Pudding laughed as she and Tart flew around the room while Lettuce, Mint and Zakuro—all dressed in their work uniforms—looked on from the table they were sitting at, drinking tea.

Lettuce turned to Ichigo and Pie as they came down the stairs.

“How is Kisshu-San this morning?” She asked.

“Much better,” Ichigo said smiling and Pie allowed himself a small, rare smile.

“His wounds are not infected, and he walked around some,” Pie said. “He has eaten quite a bit. He even says he is bored.”

Kish hadn’t really said that. However, Pie had had enough of Tart and Pudding’s ‘fun’ together and decided that since Kish was feeling stronger, it was his turn to deal with the insanity.

Just as he had suspected, Pudding’s face lit up.

“Pudding knows how to un-bore Kisshu-Chan, na no da!” She exclaimed and dashed up the stairs, Tart teleporting after her.

“Thank you,” Ryou said, coming up the stairs, taking his earphones out. “They were going to break something up here.”

“My pleasure,” Pie said, sitting down with the other Mews. They sat around chatting for a few minutes when they heard a knock at the front door.

“I’ll get it,” Lettuce said, standing up and adjusting the apron of her uniform. “It’s probably the delivery man with those cake pans Keiichiro ordered last week. They always come to the main door.”

She went to the door, putting a smile on her face. She opened the door some, then instantly slammed it shut with a squeak, pressing her back against the door, her eyes wide with horror.

“Lettuce?” Ichigo said, standing up, her brow furrowing.

Suddenly, they heard yells from outside.

“Darn it Krod, you don’t knock on the door like their expecting you! You’ve got to break it down and show those little human freaks who’s the boss!”

“Mylo!” Pie whispered as the alien continued to lecture ‘Krod’.

“Quick, teleport!” Zakuro whispered. Pie shook his head.

“If it comes down to a fight I will not be capable of getting here quick enough!” Pie said, ducking underneath the table. Everyone was suddenly very grateful that they had ordered the wrong size tablecloth so that the cloth touched the floor and the company’s ‘no-refund’ policy left them with no other choice but to use them.

“Ryou, get Pudding down here and keep Tart upstairs!” Ichigo hissed. Ryou nodded and quickly ran up the stairs.

“Lettuce, open the door,” Ichigo said.

“Ichigo, have you lost your mind?” Mint hissed.

“Just play cute, sweet and innocent and we might get through this.” Ichigo said.

“We’re doomed.” Zakuro said dully.

Lettuce shakily opened the door again just as a tall Cyniclon focused his power into his palm.

“Welcome to Café Mew Mew!” Ichigo said, pushing Lettuce to the side. She had put on her most winning smile and perky attitude.

“Mew Mew, you say?” The tall Cyniclon whom Ichigo took to be Mylo said, glaring down at her. Mylo had long loose white hair and cold dark eyes, made only darker by his pale skin. He wore an all-black uniform consisting of long pants, boots, sleeveless shirt, black cloths that wrapped around his arms and went up to his elbows, and a black high-collared cloak.

“Yes, very cutesy isn’t it?” Ichigo said, giggling. “Table for how many?” She looked behind Mylo and counted.

“Table for five, come this way,” She said, as Mint grabbed the menus.

“We do not intend to eat here, insolent human!” Mylo said, his face reddening with anger. “Are you the Mew Mews who prevented the Cyniclons from their rightful claim of Earth?”

Ichigo and Mint giggled in a very girly manner again.

“Oh, no. We just named the Café after them for all their services!” Mint said. She laid down the menus at a table. “Especially Mew Mint. She is the coolest, prettiest, most powerful of the-”

Mint was cut off by Pudding suddenly cartwheeling in front of her.

“Would you like Pudding to tell you our specials, na no da?” Pudding asked, landing on her toes and gazing up at Mylo, batting her eyelashes, while Zakuro came out wearing her dazzling million-dollar smile and carrying a tray of sweets.

“No, I want you to tell me the truth!” Mylo yelled, enraged.

“You want to know the truth!” Lettuce yelled suddenly, her lips in a scowl and her eyes hard.

Everyone turned to stare at her with wide eyes. Mylo flashed his fangs in a self-satisfied smirk. He was going to get his answers after all…

From underneath his table, Pie felt all the blood drain from his face. What was Lettuce doing? Would she really betray them that quickly?

They stood in silence for a good sixty seconds. Then Lettuce suddenly smiled and cocked her head to the side.

“We are having a two for one special on cheesecake! We have a wide variety of flavors including blueberry, strawberry, chocolate and cherry!” She said cheerfully.

“I’ll take two of the blueberry!” One Cyniclon yelled, raising a hand.

“Shut up Krod!” Mylo yelled over his shoulder. Krod lowered his hand and looked at his feet.

The Mews nearly passed out with relief. From underneath his table, Pie covered his mouth to prevent himself from laughing.

That’s my girl, He thought proudly, then wondered where that thought had come from.

“Idiots,” Mylo hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why am I always surrounded by idiots?”

And with that, he turned on his heel and teleported out of the Café. His men teleported after him, and only Krod remained.

“Can I get those cheesecakes to go?” He asked. Suddenly, one of his comrades came back and grabbed his arm, teleporting off again.

“So…” Ichigo said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that encompassed the room. “That was interesting.”

“I’ll say,” Zakuro said. She turned to Lettuce. “What the heck was that about? You nearly gave us all heart attacks!”

“I honestly have no idea,” Lettuce admitted, blushing shyly. “It kind of just came to me on the spot.”

“That was brilliant,” Pie complimented as he came out from under the table, accepting Ichigo’s hand to help him to his feet.

“Yes, Lettuce Onee-Chan is a very good actress, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed, hugging Lettuce.

“What the heck just happened?”

They all turned to see Kish coming down the stairs, one hand clutching the handrail and the other keeping the blanket wrapped around his shoulders closed.

“Long story,” Ichigo said, going to the alien’s side. “What are you doing up?”

“Yeah, wasn’t Taru-Taru supposed to keep you upstairs, na no da?” Pudding asked.

“Yeah, it’s kind of hard to keep a person in one place when they can teleport!” Tart yelled from somewhere upstairs. “And… now I’m lost.”

“So, did he give you any hints as to what he wants?” Kish asked as he limped over to a nearby table with Ichigo’s arm around his waist.

“No, he just was exhibiting his winning personality,” Zakuro said sardonically.

“Yeah, you three combined when you were attacking Earth weren’t as much of a jerk as he is now,” Mint said, picking up the menus again.

“Is… that a compliment?” Pie asked, looking at the other Mews.

“From Mint it is.” Lettuce said with a small smile.

“This place is bigger than it looks!” Tart’s voice called down, but no one cared.

“If nothing else, we now have an advantage,” Keiichiro said, coming up from the basement. “We know they are here. And by stepping into the Café I got readings on how powerful they are and the technology they’ve brought.”

“Guys, seriously, I’m lost!” Tart called down again.

“So, what are we up against?” Ryou asked.

“Masha has reported back to me. Apparently, he has detected a rather large ship hovering over earth’s atmosphere.” Keiichiro said.

“NASA must be having a field day with that,” Mint groaned.

“I think I’m in a closet. Holy cow is this snow? Am I in-? Nope, just mothballs. Never mind!” Tart’s voice echoed down.

“He does know he can teleport down here, right?” Lettuce asked, her brow furrowing.

“Yeah, he’ll remember that little fact in a few minutes, till then he’s out from underfoot,” Kish said. “So, anyways. Back to my baka half-brother. I don’t think that those who came with him are it. Knowing him, he has brought with him many of his ‘friends’. In other words, any half-witted fool who believed Mylo is strong, smart and powerful.”

“Sounds like we’re going to have our work cut out for us in taking him down a notch,” Mint said, pouring herself a cup of tea.

“We can practice on you, Mint!” Ichigo said sarcastically.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mint demanded, her eyes going hard.

“Oh I don’t know,” Ichigo said, tapping her chin then mimicked Mint’s voice. ‘We just named the Café after the Mew Mews, especially Mew Mint. She’s the coolest, prettiest, most self-centered—’ ”

Zakuro grabbed Mint’s wrist as she prepared to throw a scone at Ichigo. The wolf Mew glared at both girls.

“Knock it off, you two,” She said.

Mint and Ichigo both looked down at their feet. Both Pie and Kish made a mental note: Ichigo may be the leader, but don’t mess with Zakuro.

Tart suddenly appeared in the seat next to Pudding, his eyes in slits.

“I just realized something,” Tart said.

“That no one was going to come up to find you, even if you did find Narnia in the upstairs closet?” Ichigo said.

“Other than that,” Tart said. “Mylo has another reason for coming to earth.”

“Why does Taru-Taru think that, na no da?” Pudding asked.

“Because, even Mylo is smart enough to realize that if Kish came to Earth, he’d be left with only two options. The first is that Kish would return to Cynnth, where Mylo could continue to rise to power and then kill Kish when he returned. The second is that Kish would stay here on Earth, and again Mylo could assume power easier back on Cynnth. So, why is he here?” Tart asked.

“I guess we’ll soon find out,” Kish said after a long moment of silence.

Chapter Text

Chapter Six:

Later that evening, since Kish was feeling better, Pie decided that his adopted brother was ready to have his healing process completed on their ship. The three aliens were being joined by Lettuce, Pudding and Ichigo. They thought it would be best in case Mylo decided to attack while Kish was incapable of fighting back.

“That looks complicated,” Lettuce said, looking at the computer platform Pie was standing at, setting it up for Kish’s healing session.

“It is,” Pie said, his fingers dancing across the board as he spoke. “The patient has to be constantly monitored. The computer will not provide any alerts if the patient’s condition deteriorates or if the patient wakes up. In situations where the patient is unconscious during the time of admission, the patient can wake up and become disoriented, which is very dangerous and occasionally violent for military veterans.”

“Can you show me what everything does?” Lettuce asked shyly. The corner of Pie’s mouth lifted and he nodded.

Meanwhile, in the next room, Ichigo was carefully unwrapping the bandages from Kish’s torso.

“How do you feel?” Ichigo asked.

“Alright,” Kish said, taking the bands out of his emerald hair and running his fingers through it, grimacing at how dirty it was. “Physically, I’m in very little pain. However, I am frustrated trying to figure Mylo out and those medpods always make me stressed out.”

“Why?” Ichigo asked as she carefully inspected the stitches.

“They always make me claustrophobic. And you’re either fast asleep or somewhere between consciousness and sleep. The latter in particular is very frightening, as you can hear every word and sound around you but can’t quite respond. Not to mention that you’re lying there exposed and at your weakest.” Kish said, staring at the wall. Ichigo looked up at him.

“It sounds like you’ve been through this a lot,” Ichigo said, brushing away a loose strand of her strawberry hair.

“This will be my sixth time,” Kish admitted. “The first time I was scared out of my wits. I was four and had broken my arm. My dad sat with me the entire time and I kept hearing his voice and gradually became less afraid because I knew he was there. The times that followed that it was Pie or Tart or Risa Oba-San beside me.”

Kish stopped talking and looked at his armbands.

“When I was ten, after the attack, I was afraid and paranoid of everything coming at me, even if it was trying to help me. I didn’t learn till later that I had unconsciously pitched quite a fit in the medpod. I thrashed and screamed and cried and banged on the glass and had to be taken out before I was completely recovered. Though my injuries had been healed, the scars couldn’t be fixed.” Kish stroked the cloth on his left arm.

“I, I guess I have to take these off now,” He whispered.

Ichigo took his hand.

“Kish, I’m so sorry,” She whispered. “No one should have to go through that, especially at that young of an age.”

Kish smiled softly at her.

“Thank you,” He said. Ichigo wrapped her arms around him in a hug and they sat there together for a few minutes.

“Ichigo,” Kish whispered. “I’m- I want you to see what only a few have seen. I want you to see the scars.”

Ichigo froze. Before she could stammer out a response, Kish was already unwinding the long red cloth that she had always seen on his arms. The cloth dropped off of his left arm and he moved on to his right. Ichigo watched intently, noticing that Kish’s skin was paler where the cloths had been. For a second, she wondered why he was showing her this. Then it hit her.

He was showing her that he trusted her completely.

He was literally unraveling a deep and dark place of his soul, a place that was full of hurt, and laying it bare before her. A part of him that only his closest friends—so close they were brothers—had seen.

Finally, the second cloth dropped. Kish took a deep breath and stuck his arms straight out. Then, slowly, he turned them over. There, on the underside of his arms, were identical marks. The scars were jagged and a reddish-purplish but white in some places, where the knife hadn’t cut as deep.

Shakily, Ichigo raised her hand. She looked up at Kish, who nodded. Trembling slightly, Ichigo gently touched the scars with her fingers. They were cool and hard, but smooth. They looked painful. Ichigo felt anger bubbling up inside her. She was going to kill Mylo for what he has done to Kish.

“Kish,” She whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “Oh, Kish.”

Kish remained silent and was staring at her intently. He was very surprised when Ichigo threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Kish blinked and patted her on the back.

“It’s okay,” He said, not quite sure what he was reassuring her about.

“No it’s not,” Ichigo said. “He hurt you. He hurt you, and he hurt you again. Why did you give him a second chance, Kish?”

Kish grabbed her shoulders so that he could look into her eyes.

“I gave him a second chance,” He said in a husky whisper. “Because when I came here, I did not expect for my whole life to be turned around because of a pink haired cat girl. I never expected that I would fall in love with her, and that I would fall so hard that the damage Mylo had done came apart. That she and her little cat ears would heal my heart, would let me love and forgive and know that people can change. You changed me, Ichigo. And I never looked back once. I love you, Koneko-Chan. I have since the day I set eyes on you, and known it since the day I stole that kiss from you.”

“My first kiss,” Ichigo said with a choked laugh. “Then, I thought my world had fallen apart. Now, I see it was just beginning. I know I’ve always loved you, but my head has only recently caught up with my heart. I love you, Kish.”

Kish wrapped his arms around Ichigo again, holding her to him. They sat there in silence, basking in each other’s company, for a long time. Finally, Ichigo shifted out from Kish’s grasp. He gave her a hurt look and she smiled at him.

“We can cuddle some more later. Right now, I want to get you fully and completely healthy.” She said.

Kish gave her his trademark smirk.

“Alright, I’m coming,” Kish said. “Let me finish getting undressed and I’ll be there in a minute.”

Ichigo nodded and kissed his cheek, causing him to turn the same color as her hair.

Ichigo felt her face go into the widest grin, one she had not had in a long time.

Two hours later, Ichigo was still smiling as she sat beside the medpod holding a sleeping Kish, playing card games with Tart and Pudding.

“Pudding will raise two candy bars, na no da,” Pudding said.

“Pudding, you can’t do that!” Ichigo said.

“And why can’t she, na no da?” Pudding demanded.

“We’re playing Go Fish!” Ichigo reminded her.

“Oh yeah,” Pudding said thoughtfully. She snatched her candy bars back. “Well, more candy for later, na no da!”

Ichigo rolled her eyes. She looked over at Pie and Lettuce, who were huddled around the control panel.

“How much longer till we can wake Kish up?” She asked.

“About thirty minutes,” Pie said. “The readouts tell me that his wounds are completely healed with no scar damage remaining. The extra time is just so that the medpod can focus on anything trivial out of place, like bruises or scratches, so that he’ll be restored one hundred percent.”

Ichigo nodded and turned back to her cards. She turned sharply at hearing a ‘thump’ right behind her head.

“Kish?” Tart said, climbing to his feet. He quickly stepped over to the medpod and blanched as Kish’s fist collided with the side of the pod again. The teenager’s face was contorted with pain and his muscles had tensed. “Pie, something’s wrong!”

“He is dreaming,” Pie said, looking back and forth between Kish and the readouts. “A nightmare by the looks of it.”

“Do we need to wake him up?” Lettuce asked.

Just then, the unconscious Kish threw back his head and let out a bloodcurdling scream and began to thrash about.

“Pie, override the lock!” Tart yelled. Pie did so, his eyes wide. The cover of the pod slid open and Tart grabbed Kish’s shoulders to pin him down.

“Bring a blanket, he’s freezing!” Tart yelled again and the Mews raced around the room to find a blanket. Finally, Pudding found one and rushed over to the aliens side. Pie quickly wrapped it around the still thrashing Kish and he and Tart carefully picked him up.

“No!” Kish yelled, trying to fight the two aliens holding him tightly. “NO! ICHIGO!”

Ichigo was instantly beside them.

“Let me,” She said. “Let me hold him.”

She didn’t wait for a response. She carefully slipped her arms into the mix and wrapped them around Kish.

“Kish, it’s okay, I’m here,” Ichigo said soothingly. Kish’s gold eyes snapped open, but they were glassy, unfocused. He was still dreaming.

“Ichigo?” Kish whispered.

“I’m right here,” Ichigo said. Pie and Tart carefully shifted Kish so that he sat cradled against Ichigo. Kish grabbed her shirt and buried his face in her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” She whispered soothingly, stroking his hair. “It was just a bad dream. That’s all.”

“All too real,” Kish mumbled and Ichigo felt wet droplets soak through her shirt. “I lost you again. You died and nothing could save you.”

“You’re not going to lose me,” Ichigo promised. “I’m not going to let that happen. And I know you’re definitely not going to let that happen.”

She sat there holding Kish until his breathing slowed and he was asleep again.

“What the heck was that?” Tart asked, looking at his brother.

“I am not sure,” Pie said in a shaky voice, standing up from where he was crouched on the ground. “I know it is possible to dream and to have nightmares while in a medpod, but I have never heard of one so violent. I fear that if we had not gotten him out in time, he would have broken the glass.”

“You don’t think it could have been one of those prophetic dreams?” Lettuce asked softly. “Like what Masaya had in those months leading up to the final battle?”

Ichigo frowned in memory. That dream had come true when Kish died in the battle, before the Mew Aqua restored his life. Ichigo had held Kish as he died, sobbing. Was Kish now having a dream of the reverse?

“For now I do not think we have anything to worry about,” Pie said. He carefully extracted Kish from Ichigo’s arms and carried the younger man like he had no weight at all. “Fretting over what could be is never good before a battle.”

“Pie Onii-Chan is right, na no da,” Pudding said, trying to adopt a positive attitude. “Besides, there are many other things that bring on bad dreams, na no da.”

Still, no one could rid their minds of Kish’s eerie dream and his cries for Ichigo—who in his mind was dead—still rang in their ears.

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven:

Kish woke up to the scent of strawberries and something comfortable under his back and something warm and soft covering his body. He blinked slowly and looked around. The first thing he realized was that he was in his room on the ship he and his brothers used as their headquarters, on his bed, laying under his quilt. The second thing he realized was that Ichigo was lying beside him, fast asleep, curled up like a cat against his side. Kish smiled and gently stroked her soft hair.

Ichigo… She told him that she loved him only… how long ago was it? How long had he been sleeping in his bed?

Kish carefully extracted himself from Ichigo’s embrace, sat up and stretched. He felt no pain in his back. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he reached his arm around to feel his back. He was relieved to feel no scars.

He carefully got out of bed and pulled out fresh clothes. He ducked into the bathroom and quickly got a shower, deep in thought.

I remember I dreamt something while I was asleep, something about Ichigo. But what was it? He wondered as he wrapped the cloths around his forearms again. No matter how hard he wracked his memory, he could not remember what the dream had been about or if it was good or bad.

Kish quickly got dressed in his usual attire and started to towel dry his hair as he left the bathroom. As he stepped out, Ichigo’s eyes opened.

“Morning, Kish,” Ichigo said, as she stretched like a cat.

“Morning, Kitten,” Kish said, ruffling his hair with the towel.

“How do you feel?” Ichigo asked as she climbed out of bed.

“Ready to face whatever Mylo has in store for us,” Kish said, combing his hair with his fingers.

Ichigo grinned at him and started pulling her hair back into her usual pigtails.

Kish watched her for a moment as he put the bands in his hair so that parts of it hung in front of his ears.

“You know, I had a dream about you,” Kish said suddenly. Ichigo pulled her ribbon too hard and it snapped. She turned to him, her face slightly white and her eyes wide.

“R-really?” She said, holding the pieces of broken ribbons in her hands.

“Yeah,” Kish said distractedly, not looking at her. “But I don’t remember what happened in it.”

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, but Kish didn’t notice. After finishing tying his hair, Kish looked at Ichigo, who was trying to figure out what to do with only one ribbon.

“I like your hair down like this,” Kish said, running his fingers over the strawberry locks. “It’s an elegant and beautiful look.”

“Thanks,” Ichigo smiled, stuffing the ribbon in her pocket. She walked around the room while Kish messily made the bed, wondering what else she didn’t know about him. She picked up a wooden whistle-like instrument lying on a shelf.

“Do you play?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Kish said, looking up with a grin as he saw what she held. “My dad taught me when I was about four. He had always loved playing music and I loved hearing it so one day I asked him if he could teach me.” Kish smiled in memory. “Here, will you hand it to me?” Kish asked. Ichigo did so and Kish began to play.

The tune was upbeat and cheerful, and Ichigo enjoyed listening to the music as well as watching Kish’s face. This was something he clearly enjoyed and was devoted to. At the end of the song, Ichigo clapped and Kish bowed, grinning.

“That song is one I never get tired of playing,” Kish said, carefully putting the instrument away again before going to sit on the bed. “It was one of the first my dad taught me. It was my mother’s favorite as well as mine. Playing it makes me feel closer to them.”

“You miss them,” Ichigo said, sitting down beside him.

“A lot,” Kish admitted. “But I think they’re happy, wherever they are, because now they are together.”

“That’s a nice way of looking at it,” Ichigo said, taking his hand. Kish smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

“Hungry, Kitten?” He asked, standing up.

“I could use some breakfast,” Ichigo said in response, allowing Kish to help her to her feet.

The two left Kish’s room and walked down the hallway towards the kitchen. They arrived to a disaster area. The once meticulous counters were covered in sugar, chocolate, flour and dirty dishes. Pudding and Tart looked up from where they sat chatting on the counter.

“What happened in here?” Kish asked Tart, surveying the kitchen.

“Pudding and Taru-Taru made candy, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed, holding up a plate to show the two.

“That’s great,” Kish said. He then raised an eyebrow at Tart. “So, you’re still alive. I take it that means Pie hasn’t seen this mess yet.” At Ichigo’s confused look, he embellished. “Pie’s a bit of a neat freak. He’d go berserk if he saw the kitchen like this.”

“Lettuce is a bit of the same way,” Ichigo said, smiling. “Unfortunately, many of the messes that are made at the Café are hers and it makes her apologize more than normal.”

“I can get this cleaned up before Pie sees,” Tart said with a wave of his hand. “Don’t worry.”

“Where are Pie and Lettuce?” Ichigo asked.

“In Pie’s study,” Tart said, hopping down and beginning to clean up. “They’ve been in there for hours, discussing dead people’s poetry and scientific opinions and Einstein’s Theory of Something-or-other.”

“Lettuce Onee-Chan and Pie Onii-Chan are perfect for each other, na no da,” Pudding said as she picked up a wet cloth. “Pudding wonders if they know that, na no da.”

“Probably not,” Kish said, putting away the ingredient canisters. “Pie’s too shy around girls, so shy you wouldn’t think he has four sisters.”

“You have four sisters?” Ichigo said, looking back and forth between Kish and Tart.

“Yep,” Tart said. “There’s Rindou, who’s Pie’s twin, Pie being older by five minutes. They look a lot alike but are total opposites. While Pie is dark and serious, Rin is always laughing and smiling. Well, usually. Unless she’s mad. In which case avoid her at all costs. But otherwise she’s pretty nice. She’s really smart and a really good artist. She’s working for the government cataloging and sketching all the types of plants that are growing.”

“Then there is Rirī, who is older than me by six months,” Kish said. “Risa Oba-San is training her to become a Healer. She reminds me a lot of you, Kitten, because she loves to wear pink.”

“Rōzu is three years younger than me,” Tart said. “She adores Kish because he taught her how to fight. She never seems to run out of energy.”

“Then Asagao is the baby, born five and a half months ago,” Kish said. “She’s the cutest little kid ever.”

“Pudding wants to meet Taru-Taru’s sisters, na no da!” Pudding said with a large grin on her face.

“Maybe after this Mylo fiasco is over, we can to Cynnth,” Ichigo suggested, looking at Kish and Tart, who looked excited at the idea. “We’ve been eager to go ever since we got your message saying the Mew Aqua worked.”

“We’d love for you girls to come see Cynnth,” Tart said. “Especially now that it’s no longer a barren wasteland.”

“What’s it like there?” Ichigo asked, resting her elbows on the counter.

“It’s so beautiful,” Kish said, starring off into space, a wide grin on his face. “There are trees—so many trees!—and they are all growing at different rates. There are so many different fruit trees that give off the best tasting fruit ever, even better than what’s here on earth in my opinion. There’s rivers with clear, fresh cold water that you can drink straight out of and people can drink without fear of of disease. And children can run and play without worrying about getting hurt or sick.”

“Vegetables and grains are growing like mad, because the soil is so fertile now,” Tart said as he floated up in the air to clean off a cabinet that was splattered with chocolate. “No one is going hungry now because even if someone can’t buy food, they can plant it and eat what they get from their gardens. Farming is now a job in high demand. Papa’s running a small farm at the moment, where he grows enough to feed not only us but is able to sell some at market. Mama even has a small side garden where she grows her healing herbs.”

“And the flowers,” Kish said, closing his eyes briefly. “They are so pretty. The girls were excited to find their namesake flowers and we planted some near the house. We planted Morning Glory seeds the day Asagao was born, and they’ve been growing as fast as she is.”

Ichigo and Pudding found themselves smiling as wide as Kish and Tart. Not only were the mental images beautiful, they could hear the joy in the alien teens’ voices and could see how much they loved their planet.

Pudding asked to know more about Cynnth and Tart was telling her all about the town where they lived while they cleaned up the kitchen. Kish and Ichigo sat down to breakfast and were soon joined by Pie and Lettuce, who came into the room laughing about something. Kish’s eyebrows raised at the sound of Pie’s laughter and whispered to Ichigo,

“I can count on one hand the times I have heard Pie laugh,” He said, his breath tickling her ear. “Your friend Lettuce must be something special to make him laugh like that.”

Ichigo grinned and whispered back,

“Pie must be as well, I’ve never seen Lettuce’s face this lit up,” She said.

Ichigo and Kish had just finished eating when her phone rang. Ichigo dug into her pocket and pulled out the pink cellphone.

“It’s Mint,” She said as she answered it. “Hey, Mint. What’s up?”

“When are you guys coming back?” Mint demanded, ignoring Ichigo’s question.

“Uh, soon, I guess. We haven’t really had a chance to make plans, we’re just finishing eating breakfast now so-”

“So get down here now!” Mint yelled into the phone. Ichigo moved the phone away from her ear so as to not be deafened. “Mylo’s attacking and we need back up!”

“We’ll be right there!” Ichigo said, hanging up. She looked around the suddenly quiet kitchen.

“Ready for a fight?” Ichigo asked as she got to her feet.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight:

The three aliens teleported into downtown Tokyo with the three human girls, who quickly transformed into their Mew forms in big balls of light.

“So, where do you think they are?” Tart asked as he pulled out his click-clack toy weapon.

Just then, a large group of screaming people ran past them.

“I think if we go the opposite way, we’ll find them,” Kish said sarcastically, pointing in the opposite direction.

“You think?” Ichigo replied just as sardonically as she prepared to run.

The group began to run down the street. They were greeted by Mint and Zakuro’s war cries and, not one, but two Chimera Animals. Fighting beside them were five Cyniclon aliens and Mylo floated up high in the air above them, smirking, his arms folded as he watched the battle.

“What we miss?” Ichigo asked Zakuro, who gave her a glare. “Yeah, I got it,” Ichigo said. She brought her Strawberry Bell into her hand. “Ready, girls?”

“Ribbon Mint Echo!”

“Ribbon Lettuce Rush!”

“Ribbon Pudding Inferno!”

“Ribbon Zakuro Pure!”

“Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!”

The girls breathed a sigh of relief as one animal came crashing down.

“One down, one to go!” Ichigo yell in triumph.

Meanwhile, Pie and Kish fought their fellow Cyniclons standing back to back. Mylo had already made it perfectly clear that he would stab them in the back and they weren’t going to give him the chance. Tart had used his power over plants to hold back the other Chimera Animal with tree branches wrapping around it’s arm. Mint kept an eye out for anyone who would try to harm Tart while he was doing so and shot down quite a few weapons and attacks. Seeing that neither Tart or Mint could keep up that strategy for very long, the other Mews quickly finished that that Chimera Animal off as well and proceeded to fight the aliens.

“Kish, watch out!” Lettuce suddenly called out. Kish turned and was suddenly grabbed and pulled into the air by Mylo.

“So, we meet again, little brother,” Mylo said with a smirk as he sank his long fingernails into the flesh of Kish’s neck while the younger alien tried to struggle free. “You’re looking well.”

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Kish growled, trying to sink his own claws into Mylo’s arms.

Mylo smiled at the attempt like Kish was a kitten trying to hunt a hawk. He looked over Kish’s shoulder and shouted,

“Enough!”

Mylo’s warriors stopped fighting and, smiling victoriously, teleported away. The Mews, Pie and Tart were left standing on the ground. Pie and Tart launched themselves into the air to rescue Kish, but were only two feet in the air when they came crashing down. Pie cursed in his native tongue as he climbed back to his feet, his knuckles going white around his fans.

“He has put a force field around us so that we cannot move or teleport,” He explained. They soon realized that they were trapped in a six foot bubble, and nothing could break it.

“What do you want, Mylo?” Kish demanded, glaring at the white haired Cyniclon. “If you’re here to kill me, just do it already!”

Mylo chuckled.

“Aw, it’s all about you, isn’t it?” Mylo said in a mock baby voice as he shook Kish slightly. “As tempting as it would be to kill you here and now, I see no fun in that.”

“If you’re not here to kill me, then why are you here?” Kish demanded.

Mylo’s smirk grew into an evil grin.

“You see, baby brother, before you returned to Cynnth from your failure of a mission to earth, I was well on my way to getting the power I so greatly deserved. Then you and your little friends came back with the ‘Mew Aqua’ and became the ‘saviors of our people’. This was only a minor setback, you see. It has only made me realize that there are more important things than just ruling Cynnth,” Mylo said with a sickly sweet, patronizing tone, like he was trying to explain something to a stubborn two year old.

“Like what?” Kish spat, his gold eyes going into slits.

“Like succeeding in what you failed to do,” Mylo said. He began laughing a cruel, heartless laugh. “I’m not only going to rule over all of Cynnth, but also all of Earth!”

And with that, he let go of Kish. Kish had fallen ten feet before he could focus enough to stop his fall and float in midair. The second Kish had been let go, Mylo’s force field dissipated. Laughing, Mylo started to fly away.

“Oi! Mylo!” Ichigo screamed. Mylo turned to her with a curious gaze. “I believe this belongs to you!”

Suddenly a flash of silver flew through the air with a deadly accuracy.

Mylo smirked as he caught the handle of his knife right before the blade could embed itself in his chest.

“I think you are my favorite, you feisty little kitten,” He said. Mylo laughed as Ichigo hissed and spat like a cat. With the sound of his laughter echoing through the empty streets, he disappeared.

“That could have gone so much better,” Mint said, brushing off her skirt.

“Got that right,” Zakuro said, scowling at where Mylo had been a moment before.

“So, what do we do now?” Tart asked.

“Let’s head back to the Café,” Lettuce suggested. “Not only can we regain our energy, but Ryou and Keiichiro may have some ideas of what to do next.”

“I sure hope so,” Kish said as he swiped his hand over the bleeding marks on his neck.

“Are you alright?” Ichigo asked Kish, who scowled at the red droplets on his hand.

“I’ll live,” Kish said, brushing his hand off on his pants. “Let’s go.”

“Mylo has too large of an army,” Pie said as he sat with his legs folded in midair, sipping tea. “And we are too small of a taskforce. We will need help if we want to defeat him.”

“Does Ichigo Onee-Chan’s ex-boyfriend still turn into the Blue Knight, na no da?” Pudding asked through a mouthful of cookie.

“If he does, I don’t know about it,” Ichigo said, staring at the floor with her arms crossed, deep in thought.

“What about Berry?” Zakuro asked, looking at Ryou. He shook his head.

“Her Mew Mark faded a long time ago,” Ryou said sadly. “Even so, I don’t know how much help she could be. What we need is someone is already familiar with the Cyniclon fighting style.”

“Do you think we could find anyone we could trust on Cynnth to fight for us?” Lettuce asked, looking at Pie.

“We do not even know what the circumstances on Cynnth are right now. And even so, very few would be willing to fight Mylo. He has struck fear into the hearts of many.” Pie said.

“We need a miracle,” Mint groaned.

Suddenly, the air in the middle of the café rippled and everyone leapt to their feet, eyes wide. Three Cyniclon girls fell out of the air and landed on the ground with grunts.

“Rin, could you get us to land on something softer next time?” Said a girl with her auburn hair coming loose of a hairstyle similar to Mint’s. She wore long white pants, a white shirt that cut off at her midriff with a short-sleeved pink jacket over the shirt and white boots with pink laces. She also wore white fingerless gloves that went up to her elbows with a pink ribbon around her wrist. She was glaring at the oldest girl with violet cat-like eyes.

“Yeah, can you aim for grass or something next time?” The youngest girl said. She had dark purple hair in pigtail braids and wore a red skirt with blue leggings, a white top with red roses painted on it and red ankle-high boots. Despite the supposed anger at her sister, her golden brown eyes sparkled. The humans suddenly realized that the youngest girl’s eyes were identical to Tart’s.

“You try teleporting to an unknown location light-years away next time. At least I got us here in one piece,” The oldest girl responded from where she lay sprawled out on her belly. She had loose waist-length purple curls with flowers pinned in it just above her ears. She wore a dark purple top, ruffled black skirt with white tights underneath and purple knee-high boots.

“Barely,” The middle girl scoffed.

The oldest girl ignored her. She gazed up with violet eyes and grinned at Pie.

“’Sup, Pie-Chan?” She said casually.

Chapter Text

Chapter Nine:

“Rin? Rirī? Rōzu?” Tart said in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, just crashing through,” The youngest girl—Rōzu, Ichigo realized—said. She looked around the room and her eyes widened as they landed on Kish. She jumped to her feet, getting cries of pain and anger from her sisters as she accidentally stepped on them, and threw her arms around Kish. “Kish-Chan! You’re alive!”

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Kish said, grinning as he stroked the girl’s hair.

“We were worried when Pie said you disappeared and were hurt,” Rirī said, accepting Tart’s hand as she climbed to her feet, giving her brother a side-hug once she was righted. “Mama was frantic.” Rirī said as she then hugged Kish, though with less vigor than her younger sister. Rirī smiled as she let go of Kish. “I can tell you are better, your aura is bright again.”

“Why are you not with Mama, Papa and Asagao?” Pie asked, his brow furrowing as his twin brushed off her skirt.

“Mama and Papa sent us here,” Rin said. Her smile dropped and her eyes went as serious as her brother’s. “Pie-Chan, we need to talk. Things are bad, really bad, on Cynnth.”

“We will talk,” Pie promised, laying his hand on his sister’s shoulder. Rin gave him a small smile in response. Pie then introduced his sisters to everyone in the room and vice versa.

“So you’re the famous Mew Mews we’ve heard so much about,” Rōzu said with a grin. “The only people in the entire universe who can lick our brothers in a fight and they be stupid enough to go back for more.”

Tart gave his younger sister a smack on the back of the head, and she returned it with a pinch on the arm. They glared at each other for a second before glancing away.

“What our dear little sister is trying to say is that we’re really happy to meet you, though wish it was on better circumstances,” Rin said. She tugged on one of her curls and played with it while she spoke. “Since you have no doubt been informed of the Mylo situation, and probably have already faced him by now in battle, you should know that he’s the reason we are here.”

“What do you mean?” Tart asked, his brow furrowing.

“Bad things have been happening on Cynnth in the short time you guys have been gone,” Rirī said. Her eyes were full of sadness. “Mylo’s men took over. The government is under his control. Everyone who was supporting the restoration through Mew Aqua has been fired, even Rin.”

“That’s terrible!” Lettuce exclaimed.

“It gets worse,” Rin said with a sigh. “I was the first to be fired. The rest were fired so that it didn’t look like targeting. Which it was. The entire family has been targeted. I lost my job, Rōzu was kicked out of school for nothing, Papa’s grain fields were scorched by Mylo’s soldiers-”

“Is Papa alright?” Pie asked, cutting her off.

“He has a few burns from trying to put out the flames before they got too close to the house, but is otherwise unharmed,” Rin said, giving her worried brothers a comforting smile. “Mama has tended to him, so he will be fine. He’s frustrated over the crops.”

“I don’t blame him,” Tart said with a scowl. “It was so close to harvest.”

Rin nodded sadly.

“And yet it still gets worse,” Rōzu said. “Some of the plants are dying, and a river is polluted with toxins. Mylo made some grand speech about how it was determined that it was the Mew Aqua’s fault and has declared you three traitors for bringing it to Cynnth. If you’re seen on Cynnth, you’ll be arrested and executed. He also made it perfectly clear in that speech of his that he was going to find you and kill you, and capture earth in the process.”

“Does anyone still have faith in the Mew Aqua?” Kish asked. Rōzu shrugged.

“If they do, they’re smart enough not to say so,” She said. “Mylo has threatened imprisonment for whoever still believes in the Mew Aqua or is against the seizure of earth.”

“So, basically, what you’re saying is that if we fail,” Ichigo said with a frown. “That Kish, Pie and Tart will be executed, and the rest of us would be put in Cyniclon jail for protecting earth and supporting Mew Aqua?”

“You’ve hit it right on the head,” Rin said.

“Yeah, can’t get much worse than that,” Kish said with a scowl.

“Oh, it does,” Rin said mock cheerfully. “Guess who is Mylo’s second-in-command, and who is currently running Cynnth in his absence?”

The three alien boys paled.

“No, not her, please not her,” Tart groaned.

“I’m afraid it is,” Rirī said with a sigh.

“I’m almost scared to ask, but who is her?” Mint asked, looking concerned.

“Mylo’s cousin on his mother’s side, Topaz Yuuka,” Kish said with a grimace. “In short, she is like Mew Ichigo’s evil, Cyniclon twin. All pink, all sparkles and all of Mylo’s insanity. She’ll give you a sweet, innocent smile as she runs you through with sword. She and Mylo thought they were born to rule everyone and made sure anyone they met knew it. She is bona fide crazy. A little on the ditzy side, yeah, but still crazy.”

“And she’s got a thing for Pie,” Tart added in a murmur. Lettuce sat up straighter at that. She felt something gnaw at her, something she had never felt before and wasn’t quite sure what it was.

Pie glared at his younger brother.

“You swore you would never mention that,” Pie growled.

Tart grinned sheepishly.

“Topaz has a harmless crush,” Rin said, rolling her eyes. “But I do not see her playing a major role in Mylo’s campaign for capturing earth. Here on Earth, at least.”

“Speaking of here and there, you still haven’t told us why you’re here.” Kish said, turning to Rin.

“Mama and Papa sent us,” Rin said, smiling again. “They knew you would be here, and that Mylo wouldn’t be too far behind. That’s why we’re here. To help you fight.”

“Mint Onee-Chan, Pudding believes we found that miracle you requested, na no da,” Pudding said with a grin.

“You are not equipped with the same training we have,” Pie said to his sisters. There was just a hint in his monotone that said that he didn’t want his sisters there. He welcomed the help, true, but would prefer them to not be in harm’s way. “Nor do you have any weapons.”

“Not true and you know it,” Rin said, flicking his pigtail with her finger playfully. She held out her hands palms-up and what looked like two traditional folded fans materialized into her hands. “I have the other half of the heirloom fans.” Rin said, raising her eyebrows mischievously.

She unfolded the fans, revealing them to have the look and texture of paper, with purple-blue flowers painted onto them. Ichigo’s curious cat nature kicked in and she reached out her hand to touch it, stopping herself to look up at Rin for permission. The older girl smiled and nodded. Ichigo carefully touched the fans and was surprised to find that they were cold and hard.

“Tessen fans,” Ichigo whispered in amazement, her eyes widening as she saw the glint of metal at the top.

“The blades and fan are made out of steel that never stains, never rusts, and gleam no matter what is on the blades,” She explained to the watching humans, who all stood in awe. “Mine belonged to our maternal grandmother. Pie’s belonged to her brother, our great uncle and our grandmother’s twin. They were given to us on our tenth birthday and we were both trained in how to use them. If either one of us—or one of our children—has a set of fraternal twins, they will be passed down to them, as per family tradition.”

Rirī then too materialized her weapon, a bow similar to Mint’s though Rirī’s was white and had a quiver full of arrows to accompany it.

“The arrows were made so that they always return to me, even if they are lodged in something or someone. The arrows won’t kill, but they will maim or seriously injure,” Rirī explained. She grinned. “Don’t worry about me hitting you. I’m a very good aim.”

Rōzu took her turn. She grinned and yelled, “Rose Thorns!” In her hands were sai swords similar to Kish’s, but the tsuka of her swords were dark red wrapped with white and had a rose emblem engraved at the moto. “I use swords just like Kish-Chan!”

“Forget it, Rōzu,” Pie said as soon as he saw the swords. “You are not fighting.”

“Yes I am!” Rōzu insisted, putting her hands on her hips, the sword tips pointing away from her body. “I’m the same age Pudding was when she became a Mew Mew, and she beat all three of you and your Chimera Animals on a daily basis!”

“She’s got a point there,” Kish murmured.

“See!” Rōzu said, grinning.

“This is why you are her favorite,” Pie said with a scowl aimed at Kish, who brushed it off. Pie looked at Rōzu. “Fine. But if you are told to leave a fight or to not come at all and you disobey, I will have you back on Cynnth faster than you can say ‘It is not fair.’”

“Deal,” Rōzu said with a short nod.

“Well, that settles it,” Ichigo said, looking at each of the alien girls’ weapons. “Welcome to the team.”

Rin, Rirī and Rōzu beamed.

“Now that we have the numbers, we have new problems,” Ryou said. “The new school term starts Monday.”

“With all that’s been going on these past few days, I forgot about school,” Lettuce said. “But why is that a problem?”

“You’ll all be spread out across the city,” Keiichiro said. “Mint and Lettuce at their school, Pudding at her school, and Ichigo at her school. If Mylo finds out where any of you are, he might strike.”

“Well, we can’t drop out of school,” Mint said with a frown.

“Yeah, my parents would kill me before Mylo’s cronies got a chance to,” Ichigo added.

“Which is why we are lucky that your school and Pudding’s school are co-ed,” Keiichiro said to Ichigo, his brown eyes gleaming.

When everyone stared at him in confusion, Rin spoke up,

“What you’re saying is,” She said, her indigo twinkling. “Is that it’d be best if there was two or more teammates in the same location.”

“Exactly,” Keiichiro said, smiling at Rin. “Lettuce and Mint will already be together, and with Berry as well in case her Mew powers come back like Ichigo’s did. Then Ichigo, Kish and Rirī can go to the same school and have classes together because of their closeness in age. Then Pudding and Tart do the same.”

“What about me?” Rōzu asked.

“You’ll stay at the Café with the rest of us,” Keiichiro said. “You’d have to go to a separate school altogether and will be safer here.” At seeing the young girl’s pout, he knelt down beside her and whispered into her ear. “And you’ll be the official taste-tester for all the sweets we sell.”

Rōzu’s large ears perked up at that and she grinned with a vigorous nod. Inwardly, her siblings groaned. The last thing anyone needed was Rōzu on a sugar high. The girl had enough energy to rival Pudding.

“Well, if you’re going to play human for a while, you might as well look the part,” Mint said as she stood up. “And I’ve got a credit card I haven’t used in thirty-six hours and it’s been driving me insane. Let’s go.”

Two hours later, the aliens were admiring their purchases proudly. Rin had chosen several skirts in dark purples and blues with several matching blouses, a few dresses and shoes, predominately ballet flats. Rirī had picked out some short skirts with leggings, jeans and tops. She had fallen instantly in love with several pairs of shoes of all sorts and came home with the most pairs. Rōzu loved her brand-new clothes, particularly the jeans and t-shirts. She had scrunched up her nose at the few dresses and skirts she had been persuaded to get, and her favorite purchase was a pair of black sneakers with red flowers and white laces.

Rin was also enticed with the idea of nail polish and bought a few bottles to paint her long claw-like fingernails. She and her sisters had been stopped several times on their outing to ask if their nails were real, which confused the girls, not knowing that fake fingernails existed.

Kish found blue jeans, t-shirts and long-sleeved shirts to wear underneath them, and skateboard shoes. Tart found jean capris, t-shirts and sneakers. Pie, with Lettuce’s suggestions and guidance, had decided to opt for a gothic look after realizing that it might be just the only Earth style that really suited him. And so he got black jeans with lots of pockets and a few silver chains hanging off of it, lots of black and dark-colored t-shirts, a black jacket, and black boots.

After a lengthy argument, the group came to the conclusion that the alien males would be allowed to keep their hair the way it was. Tart’s saving grace on that matter was that his hair was long enough that he had stopped wearing it in the double pigtail style and had it swept back into a ponytail.

As they had come to the agreement that the Café would also serve as part of the aliens cover, they were also presented with their very own Café Mew Mew uniforms. The girls had uniforms similar to the Mew Mews. Rin’s was indigo, Rirī’s was pink, and Rōzu’s was dark red. The boys wore nearly matching uniforms consisting of black slacks, black shoes, a white long-sleeved dress shirt, a black vest and a tie. Each tie was a different color: Kish’s was emerald green, Tart’s was red and Pie’s was a dark purple.

“What about uniforms for school?” Kish asked Ichigo, remembering that Ichigo’s school required a specific outfit.

“After you pass the entrance exam, you’ll be given three sets of the same uniform,” Ichigo said as she folded a pair of Rōzu’s new jeans. She saw Kish and Rirī’s ears droop some and look at each other in a panicked way. “Don’t worry, the entrance exam isn’t too hard. It just tests how much math you know and how well you read.” Both aliens relaxed somewhat.

“Do we wear uniforms or have entrance exams?” Tart asked Pudding.

“No to both!” Pudding exclaimed from where she sat on the floor with Rōzu. “Compulsory education is awesome, na no da!”

“You guys look very human,” Ryou said from where he leaned against the Café wall, looking around at the room coated with clothes and shoeboxes. “There’s just one little thing that’s hindering the look.”

“Oh?” Rirī said. Her ears and those of her siblings went back with confusion to accompany the befuddled looks. “What is it?”

“Here’s a hint,” Ryou said. He put his wrists on the sides of his head beside his ears and made his fingers point straight away from his head. For extra emphasis he wiggled his fingers.

“Ah,” Ichigo said, comprehending Ryou’s message. “The ears.”

“They aren’t quite human, are they?” Kish said, running his fingers over one of his ears. “How are we going to explain this?”

“I’ve got that covered,” Keiichiro said as he emerged from the basement. “Just say that you are immigrants from the island country of Boola Boola.”

“Won’t people figure out that Boola Boola isn’t, you know, real?” Zakuro asked.

“Anyone suspicious will do what anyone with a computer does and run an internet search. I’ve already made up some fake websites talking about Boola Boola,” Keiichiro said.

“You did all that in the two hours we were out shopping?” Tart asked, amazed.

“No. Ryou and I have been working on this for the past few days, just in case you all would be staying longer than we originally thought,” Keiichiro said.

“That’s cool,” Rin said with a grin. “So, you guys seriously have an entire lab in the basement?”

“Yes,” Keiichiro said proudly. “You can come see it whenever you want.” He told Rin.

“If I can help you with anything, I’ll be happy to do so,” Rin said, a grin on her face.

Ryou ordered pizza and the team sat around eating a late supper. The aliens were amazed with the pizza, but were hesitant to try it. But after taking the first initial bite, they fell in love with the food. They sat around long after the pizza was gone, laughing and chatting and exchanging stories.

Over the course of the evening, Ichigo realized something. They had all come from different backgrounds and places. Had different lives and talents and trials. Different tastes, loves and triumphs. And yet they all sat around the table like they had known each other their entire lives, knowing they all had the same goal: protect my home from Mylo.

Ichigo felt Kish take her hand underneath the table and squeeze it. They smiled at each other.

They were all the same at heart.

Chapter Text

Chapter Ten:

Ichigo lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She couldn’t sleep, though she knew she needed it. Not only was she going with Kish and Rirī to the meeting Ryou had arranged that afternoon with the headmaster of her school early the following morning, but she didn’t want to be worn out whenever Mylo decided to strike.

But Ichigo couldn’t stop thinking about Kish. She wasn’t sure of anything concerning her feelings for him. She loved him… but she also had loved Masaya. She still did, in a way. He was one of her closest friends, who she could talk about certain things more freely than she could with Moe or Miwa, or her mother, or even the other Mews. But the type of relationship that she thought she needed with him wasn’t what either of them needed at all, as nice as it was while it lasted.

I don’t know what I want. I never have. Ichigo realized grimly.

Maybe she and Masaya had rushed into things. Maybe she was afraid of making the same mistake twice. She wasn’t regretting her decision to tell Kish she loved him. But she wanted things to work out between them, though she didn’t know how to make it work.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a tapping on her window. Ichigo got up and ran to the window, and smiled as she saw Kish sitting in the tree, dressed in pajama shorts and t-shirt, his customary red cloths around his forearms.

“Hi,” Ichigo said as she opened the window.

“Hey,” Kish responded with a grin.

“What are you doing in my tree?” Ichigo asked.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Kish said with a shrug. “Thought I’d come check on you. Can I come in?”

“Sure,” Ichigo said. She moved so Kish could crawl in through her window.

“Something on your mind?” Ichigo asked from where she sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest.

“Lots of things,” Kish admitted, sitting Indian-style across from her. He avoided her gaze for a second. “I’m scared.”

“Of what?” Ichigo asked, tilting her head.

“Not of what, for who,” Kish said. “For Pie and Tart, for Rin, Rirī and Rōzu, for the other Mews, for you, for everybody really.”

“Why?” Ichigo asked.

“I don’t think Mylo would hesitate to kill any one of of us,” Kish said with a sigh. “I feel like there were so many ways to prevent this, but no one saw them or took advantage of them. Or what was the right thing to do. I don’t even know, looking back on it all. I just know that so many innocents are at risk because of his selfishness.”

“Everything will be alright in the end,” Ichigo said with a small smile, reaching over to rub Kish’s shoulder. “We’re a team, remember? We’re not going to go down without a fight.”

Kish smiled, his white teeth gleaming in the dark.

“No, no we’re not,” He said.

“So, can you tell me more about your sisters?” Ichigo asked, hoping to get Kish’s mind off of Mylo. Kish apparently liked this subject more and shifted into a more comfortable position.

“First thing is a warning. Rōzu has a wild streak and a tendency to run her mouth, both of which you will see plenty of. But most of the time she is able to sense when she needs to calm down. The kid can fight, though, and she has a lot of energy to do so. I know right now she’s crushed because she got kicked out of school, though she’ll act tough and not show it. She had plans on going on to the Military Academy like the rest of us did. She was going to take the aptitude test next month. Because of the expulsion, she no longer qualifies to take the test.”

“Poor kid,” Ichigo said. “Is it a family tradition to go into the military?”

“Sort of,” Kish said. “My father was a higher-up in the military, and Curry Oji-San had a decent position that paid enough to make sure we got some food and clothes, and we kids all passed the test to get into the Academy. Pie, Tart and I are the only ones still connected with the military. Curry Oji-San retired when we brought back the Mew Aqua, said he was tired of fighting and just wanted to take it easy and spend more time with his family. Henceforth Asagao.” Kish said with a chuckle.

Ichigo smiled as well.

“So, when did you start at the Military Academy?” Ichigo asked.

“Usually, kids are accepted into the Academy at the age of ten. Occasionally, you’d get a kid younger than ten to start, like Pie, Rin, Tart and I, though we were only there for part of the day until we turned ten. Pie and Rin were accepted at eight and a half because their IQs were off the charts. I was accepted at six for my ability to create stronger Chimera Animals and innate fighting ability. And Tart was accepted at three for his control over plants, which is extremely rare amongst the Cyniclons. But it was kind of expected because that’s what Curry Oji-San’s power is, too, and kids most of the time inherit their parents’ powers. Tart and Curry Oji-San are the only two living people with that power now. But what’s even rarer is for a child’s talents to be as developed as Tart’s were at an age younger than five, which is when powers start to develop. Tart’s the youngest to ever be accepted into the Academy.

“This worked out for the us in the end so that we were together and could look out for each other,” Kish further explained. “The boys go to the Academy for combat training or to aide in research. Pie was one of the few to go for both. Girls receive some warfare training, but only few decide to take on advanced training. After their initial training, girls can either stay to study different subjects in addition to a few training courses or go home to their families and learn a trade. Rin went for botany while Rirī decided to go home to train with her mother to become a Healer. Rōzu wants to achieve what no woman has before and become a high ranking military officer, general preferably. Those who do continue often pull out later because they’re pregnant, since the conditions of the planet meant we needed to get married and have families at a younger age than here on Earth. That’s really the only reason why it hasn’t happened yet.”

“Big goals for a little girl,” Ichigo commented.

“Rōzu’s a ‘go big or go home’ outlook kind of person,” Kish said with a grin. “And she doesn’t let anything get in her way. She’s very competitive and loves to win. One thing’s for sure, none of Mylo’s men are going to know what hit them. Rirī, on the other hand, is a lot like Pie. Mature and responsible. She’s got a maternal instinct and a tender heart, though she can be cynical at times. She took care of Tart a lot when he was little, even though she’s only older by three years, and they are very close.”

“Rirī said something earlier tonight, about your aura being bright again. What did she man by that?” Ichigo asked.

“Rirī’s born with an ability to ‘read’ auras. When she touches someone, she can ‘see’ their true colors and that helps her diagnose a patient. It’s seen a predominate trait in Healers and helps the senior healers know who to train. Risa Oba-San has the ability, and so did my mother. Rirī has a keen eye and notices details no one else would. She’s also a very good hand-to-hand fighter. Weaponless is her preferred fighting style, so arrows work for her because it’s not true weapon versus weapon fighting. She was offered advanced training at the Academy, but she obviously declined. Pie nags her about it occasionally, saying that she let her gift go to waste. She always responds by saying that she was simply strengthening another talent. She likes what she does and doesn’t regret her decisions.”

“Sounds like Rirī’s a lover, not a fighter,” Ichigo commented.

“That about sums it up,” Kish said with a grin. “But she can be really fierce in a fight, too.”

“What about Rin? What’s her deal?” Ichigo asked.

“What do you mean?” Kish asked, his brow furrowing.

“Rin just seems… so different from the rest of you, in words I can’t really describe,” Ichigo said, wishing she had a better way of convening what she meant.

“Ah, I know what you mean,” Kish gave her a smile, one fang brushing his lip. “Rin’s a wild-child. Always has been. She and Pie are like black and white. Where Pie is rational and thinks everything through before he starts it, Rin is impulsive and rarely thinks before she acts. Rin’s very much a girly-girl as well. It was her way of escaping the horrible life we once lived. I’ve only rarely seen her wear pants instead of a skirt, and that was only because it was her dress uniform at the Academy. My dad once described Rin as a person who could only see the bright colors in a world of black and gray. I think that’s why she loves creating art.” Kish looked at his feet, a soft smile on his lips. “I owe a lot to Rin, but she refuses to see it.”

“What did she do?” Ichigo asked.

Kish looked up at Ichigo, gazing at her sadly.

“She got me out of my depression after Mylo’s attack,” He explained. “But she will always blame herself for what happened that night.

“Mylo had been trying to court her since they were children. She always turned-down his advances, but he was persistent. He wanted—and still wants—her that desperately. As they grew older, Mylo became even more serious about catching her. One day he went too far, and slapped Rōzu. She was six at the time and trying to find Rin and ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Looking back on it, I’m fairly sure it was on accident, but Rin snapped and, well, basically kicked Mylo’s sorry rump from one side of Cynnth to the other. Mylo was the laughing stock of the Academy and everyone saw that Rin was victorious in that war.”

Kish lowered his gaze again.

“He made her another offer, though, showering her with flattery, telling her that he knew that she was the one because it was only she who could beat him in a fight. Rin denied him. Though these exchanges were usually done with very few people around, Mylo made this offer in front of the entire school, hoping to redeem himself in the eyes of everyone when she accepted his offer. His further humiliation made him furious and informed Rin that she was going to pay for all the times that she rejected him. Rin, knowing she could out-match Mylo, told him that she wasn’t scared of anything he could do. That very night, Mylo attacked me.”

Ichigo felt tears well up in her eyes and reached over and hugged Kish. He smiled slightly at Ichigo’s embrace.

“Thanks,” He whispered, patting Ichigo’s shoulder. He took a deep breath and spoke again, Ichigo’s head pressed against his chest. “A few days later, I had locked myself in my room, spoke to no one and refused to eat. All I could do was sit there and stare at the scars. I didn’t want anyone to see them because of how hideous they are and I didn’t want stares or pity. I thought it was all my fault, that maybe I had screwed something up and was now paying for it, like Mylo told me as he-” Kish cut himself off and shook his head.

“Anyways, Rin finally managed to get inside my room and began to apologize. I refused to accept her apologies because she had nothing to apologize for and I told her that. I think we yelled at each other, each blaming ourselves for Mylo’s actions, for about ten minutes before we both broke down into tears. Pie found us a few minutes later. I remember that he took us both in his arms and held us until neither of us had any tears left in us. He then told each of us firmly that neither one of us was to blame. That neither of us deserved to be held responsible for what Mylo had done. Nevertheless, it took a while for the message to sink in.

“The next morning, Rin came back to my room and wrapped these cloths around my scars. ‘No one has to know what lies underneath,’ she said. ‘Now all people will see is you.’ And she was right. Since then, I’ve realized that I wasn’t at fault and that Mylo has some issues. I wrongly thought that his issues could be fixed, but he proved me wrong there. Rin still blames herself, though, but she won’t admit it.”

Ichigo sat in stunned silence and merely hugged Kish tighter.

Kish frowned at Ichigo’s quietness.

“Koneko-Chan?” He whispered. “Are you alright?”

“No, I’m not,” Ichigo said into his chest. “I want to sit here and hold you and never let go.” She felt hot tears roll down her nose. “I don’t want you to fight Mylo. He’s done enough damage to you already and you don’t deserve anymore.”

“But like you said,” Kish said, rubbing Ichigo’s back. “Everything’s going to be alright.” Kish kissed Ichigo’s head. “And I’m not going to let Mylo get the better of me this time. Not when I have a very good reason to win.”

“Which is what?” Ichigo asked with a sniff.

“I’ll give you some hints,” Kish said with a grin. “She’s got red hair, cat ears, a tender heart and is currently hugging me.”

“I need some more hints,” Ichigo teased as she looked up at Kish.

“She’s about to receive a kiss from me,” Kish said. He tenderly kissed Ichigo’s nose and she smiled. They sat together for a few more minutes with their arms around each other. Kish finally made a move to get up.

“I guess I better go,” Kish said. “Goodnight, kitten.”

“Wait,” Ichigo said as Kish called up a teleportation portal. Kish turned to her with an eyebrow raised. “Will you, will you sleep with me tonight?” Ichigo asked.

When Kish grinned, Ichigo blushed and quickly added, “You know, just under the covers and wearing our pajamas. Nothing like that.”

Kish closed the portal and stepped back over towards Ichigo’s bed.

“I’d be delighted to,” He said.

The two curled up under Ichigo’s pink sheets, their arms around each other again. Within minutes, they were both peacefully asleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eleven:

Ichigo woke up with Kish’s arms around her. He was sound asleep, his head on her shoulder. She smiled at him. He was so cute when he was asleep…

Though, really, she mused with a smile as she reached up to stroke Kish’s hair. When isn’t Kish cute?

Ichigo felt way to comfortable to get up. She figured she’d at least check the time, because she didn’t want her parents to walk in on the two. That would lead to awkward questions and a lot of yelling. Ichigo grabbed the alarm clock and studied it. Suddenly her eyes widened.

“Kish, Kish wake up!” She said urgently, shaking Kish. The alien teen murmured in his sleep and cracked open his eyes.

“What is it, kitten?” Kish said with a yawn.

“We’re going to be late for the meeting with the headmaster! We have to be there in thirty minutes!” Ichigo exclaimed. Kish’s eyes widened and he extracted himself from Ichigo’s side.

“I’ve got to go make sure Rirī’s awake, and get dressed,” He said frantically. He kissed Ichigo’s cheek. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes with Rirī.”

“I’ll be ready,” Ichigo promised.

“Yeah right,” Kish said, smirking, knowing Ichigo’s tendency to be late. Before Ichigo could retort, Kish teleported away. Ichigo scowled but climbed out of bed.

Twenty minutes later, Ichigo was showered, dressed, had breakfast and was ready to go when she heard a knock at the front door. Kish and Rirī stood there, looking as human as possible. Ichigo noticed that Rirī was having some trouble staying on the ground.

“Ready?” Kish said.

“Yeah,” Ichigo said. She looked over her shoulder and called out, “Mom, I’m going out! I’ll be back before dinner!”

“Let’s go,” Rirī said as Ichigo closed the door. The trio joined hands and teleported into an alley a block away from the high school. They ran down the street and to the school, just barely making it on time.

An hour later, Ichigo was sitting on the bench outside the school office, waiting for Kish and Rirī to finish their entrance exams. The meeting with the headmaster had been long and awkward in some places. The headmaster had trouble believing that Boola Boola actually existed and had been very surprised with the results of his not-so-discreet internet search. It had also been a moment of collective held breath when Kish asked that—provided he passed the exam—that he be allowed to wear a long-sleeved shirt underneath his uniform shirt. This had forced Kish to explain the abuse he had suffered, though he did it cautiously and without giving too many details. A sigh of relief escaped the trio when the headmaster gave his permission.

Now all he and Rirī had to do was pass the test…

“Ichigo?”

Ichigo looked up to see Masaya walking down the hall.

“Hello, Masaya,” Ichigo said with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

“Kendo club meeting,” Masaya explained, sitting down beside her. “You?”

“Waiting for some friends who are taking the entrance exam,” Ichigo said.

Masaya looked around before dropping his voice to a whisper.

“Homare and I saw you on the news last night,” Masaya said. “What happened? It looked like some of the aliens were fighting each other.”

“It’s a long story,” Ichigo said.

“And the friends you’re waiting on…?” Masaya asked, his voice trailing off.

“Are Kish and his adopted sister, Rirī,” Ichigo said. “We’re going to the Café after this. If you want to know what’s going on, you can come with us.”

“I’ll be there,” Masaya said with a nod.

“Good,” Ichigo said. “Now, on a somewhat related note and because I promised Pudding I’d ask you this the next time I saw you… have you been feeling any god-like, paranormal, Blue-Knight-Slash-Deep-Blue urges lately?”

“You’d be the first to know if I did,” Masaya said.

“I had a feeling you would say that,” Ichigo said with a sigh.

They sat in silence for a moment before Masaya spoke again.

“So, what’s up with you and Kish?”

“What do you mean?” Ichigo asked, her face starting to match her hair.

“It’s okay, Ichigo,” Masaya said, smiling at her. “I know you still have feelings for Kish. I knew it long before we broke up.”

“I don’t know exactly where we are,” Ichigo said with a sigh. “I mean, I like him, he likes me, we kiss each other but we haven’t really kissed, we’re holding hands, cuddling, said ‘I love you’. But I don’t know if that makes us officially dating or what.”

“Ichigo,” Masaya said. “You don’t have to be officially anything to be in love.”

“I know,” Ichigo said, staring at her feet. “I guess, I guess I feel like I messed everything up last time. Because I refused to see the side of him he was desperately trying to show me. I don’t want to do it again.”

“From the looks of it, things are different now than before,” Masaya said. He smiled. “You’re not fighting each other, for instance.”

“That does help a lot,” Ichigo said with a chuckle. “It’s strange, though. I spent all that time thinking Kish was this horrible monster. Now I’ve come to realize that none of it was truly him. Yes, he wanted to capture Earth, but that was so that he could save his people. But that wasn’t why he was the way he was. He’s completely changed now. He’s still the same old Kish, with that same old infuriating smirk of his, but he’s also changed. A good change, but I think it’s still something to get used to.”

“Sounds like he’s making an effort, to try and show you that he loves you,” Masaya said.

“It goes beyond ‘making an effort’,” Ichigo said. “But that’s part of the long story.”

She turned her head away from Masaya as she heard the office door open. Kish and Rirī stepped out, big grins on their faces.

“We’re in!” They said simultaneously.

Ichigo grinned and she jumped up and hugged the two aliens, congratulating them.

Half an hour later, Kish and Rirī were still smiling as they walked down the sidewalk with Ichigo and Masaya, clutching bags that held their new uniforms, class schedule and student handbook. Kish and Rirī wanted to know everything about their new school and how everything worked, and Ichigo and Masaya were happy to tell them. Ichigo grinned as Kish and Rirī’s eyes lit up with child-like delight as sports teams, clubs and classes were described.

They were a block away from the Café when it happened. Rirī and Ichigo had been laughing at something Masaya said when they noticed Kish had stopped walking. They turned around to see Kish standing five feet away. He was very still and staring into space, his gold eyes glassy.

“Kish?” Ichigo said, walking back over to him. Her words were not acknowledged. “Kish, are you alright?” Ichigo asked, putting her hand on Kish’s shoulder.

Suddenly, Kish’s eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground, shaking uncontrollably. Ichigo was barely able to catch him before his head hit the sidewalk. Rirī was beside them instantly and tried to determine what was wrong. Masaya yelled that he would get help from the Café and took off running.

“What’s happening?” Ichigo asked Rirī as they tried to hold Kish still, who struggled to be free from their arms.

“I don’t know,” Rirī said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. We need to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.”

They were both relieved when Pie and Rin—both dressed in their Café uniforms— appeared beside them. The twins knelt down and helped the two girls hold Kish. Ryou, Keiichiro and Masaya arrived only a minute later, panting. Keiichiro and Masaya helped keep Kish still while Ryou prepared a syringe.

“A muscle relaxant,” He explained to Ichigo, who stared at the needle. “Just like what we gave him the other day.”

Pie held Kish’s arm out straight so that Ryou could give him the medication. To their relief, he stopped twitching within seconds.

Rin sat back on her heels, taking deep breaths as she looked back and forth between Ichigo, Rirī and Masaya.

“What happened?” She asked.

“He was fine, perfectly fine,” Rirī mumbled.

“We were walking,” Ichigo said. “Then he stopped walking. It took us a few seconds to notice. He was staring at nothing and he didn’t respond when we spoke to him. Then he just collapsed.”

“Did he hit his head when he fell?” Pie asked as he carefully picked Kish up.

“No, Ichigo caught him in time,” Masaya said as he climbed to his feet. “It was so weird the way it just started out of the blue.”

Ichigo looked at Pie, who scowled.

“Just like the nightmare,” Ichigo said.

“What nightmare?” Rin asked, looking back and forth between Pie and Ichigo. Ryou, Keiichiro and Rirī also looked up curiously at the two.

“This is not a coincidence,” Pie agreed, ignoring his sister’s question. “I will take him back to our ship. Hopefully the medpod will be able to give us a diagnosis.”

And, with that, Pie teleported away with Kish.

“We’d better go with,” Rin said to Rirī, who nodded. “We’ll be back soon with news.” Rin promised, and she and her sister disappeared.

The four humans solemnly made their way back to the Café. Once inside, Ichigo walked past her teammates, all who had wide eyes and pale faces. They obviously had been told what had happened and wanted to know what was going on. Ichigo ignored them as she sat down and grabbed a pastry from a plate. She looked up at Masaya.

“So, are you ready to hear the whole story?” She asked.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twelve:

Kish did not want to open his eyes. He was far too comfortable and still tired. And it was so quiet, so serene…

“What do you mean the scans found nothing?”

Tart’s voice. What was he yelling about this time?

“Just what Pie said, Taru.” Rin. Oddly, she sounded very annoyed. That wasn’t like her. “Nothing.”

“It’s just so weird that it started up like that so suddenly.” The voice of an angel. Or, at least something close to an angel. Ichigo.

“Like the nightmare,” Lettuce.

Kish frowned. What nightmare? What happened? And where was he?

Kish opened his eyes and regretted it. The room was brightly lit with mid-afternoon sun. He saw that he was lying on his bed in the upstairs room of Café Mew Mew that he was sharing with Pie and Tart.

He blinked a few times and looked around the room. Ichigo was sitting at his feet. Pudding, Rōzu and Tart sat on the floor against the wall. Rin, Zakuro and Mint sat on Pie’s bed while Rirī and Lettuce sat on Tart’s. Pie was leaning against the wall, with Ryou leaning against the wall opposite. Keiichiro sat at the desk chair, fiddling with some device.

“What happened?” Kish asked, carefully sitting up.

“Kish, you’re awake!” Rōzu exclaimed, leaping to her feet.

“Yeah, kinda figured that,” Kish said, holding his head in his hands and massaging his temples with his fingers. “So what hit me? Was there a fight or something because I can’t remember.”

He looked up to see everyone staring at him with wide eyes.

“Kish, what is the last thing you remember?” Pie asked.

Kish thought for a second.

“We passed the entrance exams. Then we were walking back to the Café. After that, everything’s blank. Why? What happened?” Kish asked.

“Well, to be honest, we don’t know,” Ichigo said. “You just stopped walking and your eyes sort of glazed over. We called your name, but you didn’t seem to hear us. Then your eyes rolled back and you fell to the ground.”

Kish blinked in surprise, trying hard to remember this.

“So, I just passed out?” He asked, his brow furrowed.

“No, you started shaking and thrashing, almost like a seizure,” Rirī said. “Ryou knocked you out with some medicine, then Pie, Rin and I took you to the ship.”

“We tried to use the medpod to diagnose you, but the scans turned up with nothing,” Rin added with a grim expression.

Kish’s brow furrowed.

“This is so weird. I don’t even remember anything like that,” He said. “How long have I been out?”

“Over twenty-four hours,” Pie said. At Kish’s wide-eyes, he added, “Even after the anesthetic wore off, you continued to sleep and we let you because we knew that whatever had happened had taken a toll on your physical strength. Sleep was the best way for you to recover.”

Kish nodded vaguely.

“I have one more question,” Kish said, looking around the room, his gaze lingering on Ichigo. “What nightmare?”

“Yeah, that’s one we want to know, too,” Rin said, staring at her twin, who merely stared back.

“It’s nothing-” Ichigo started to say, shrinking under Kish’s gaze.

“It’s obviously something,” Kish argued.

“Kisshu, when you were in the medpod, you started thrashing,” Pie said. “Tart and I pulled you out and tried to wake you, but that did nothing. At one point, you opened your eyes but it was obvious that you were still asleep. You saw Ichigo and became confused, and told her you had seen her dead in your dream.”

“So I was right, I did have a dream about you,” Kish said, turning back to Ichigo. “But I couldn’t remember… Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We didn’t want to worry you,” Ichigo said, tracing a pattern on the bedspread with her finger. “We just put it aside as a bad dream. But with the seizure, we’ve been thinking about how the two incidents are similar in that they came suddenly and without warning.”

“Not to mention within a short time-span,” Pie added.

“So, what happens now?” Kish asked, leaning his elbows on his knees.

“I do not know,” Pie admitted. “For the time being, as long as you feel strong enough and no other incidents occur, I say that you go about normally. There is nothing that says you should be able to otherwise.”

Kish nodded.

“And with that, I’m going to get something to eat, I’m starving,” Kish said, getting out of bed, only somewhat surprised to see that he was wearing the clothes he had the day before.

The caravan moved downstairs and ate an early dinner together.

“So, what did tree-hugger say when you told him what was going on?” Kish asked Ichigo as he finished eating his noodles.

“Not much,” Ichigo said. “Masaya was shocked, of course. He wants to be able to help, but since he’s not able to transform into the Blue Knight anymore, he can’t fight. He’s trying to come up with ways to help us out on the technical end, along with Ryou and Keiichiro.”

“I think he could help us analyze Chimera Animals,” Zakuro said as she adjusted her chopsticks. “He has experience with them, and he knows practically everything about every animal in the world. That means he will know their weaknesses and know how to fight them.”

“That could work,” Keiichiro said as he put aside his bowl. “Masha has an optical transmitter and we can design a way to talk back and forth.”

“Like walkie-talkies, na no da?” Pudding asked.

“Probably something less bulky,” Ryou said, pushing away from the table. “Maybe we can find something to fit into the ear. Hey, before I forget, Keiichiro and I have something for you guys,” Ryou said suddenly as he looked at the aliens, digging his hand into his pocket.

Ryou tossed a small object to Kish, who aptly caught it. In his hand was a polished, emerald green, oval stone with a cat’s paw-print engraved into it.

“What is it?” Kish asked as his siblings each stared at a similar object in their hands.

Pie’s stone was a pale amethyst color with a pi symbol on it, Rin’s was purple with a bellflower, Rirī’s was pink with a lily, Tart’s was garnet with a leaf and Rōzu’s was bright red with a rose.

“They’re similar to the Mews’ power pendants,” Keiichiro said. “It’s set so that when it’s activated, you will transform into different clothes for battle.”

“Can we try it?” Rōzu asked excitedly. Keiichiro nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Rōzu felt the power of the stone and let it lead her.

“Battle-Form Rose…. Metamorpho-sis!”

Rōzu took the stone and kissed it before cupping the stone in both hands as she held it over her heart.

Suddenly, she was surrounded by a ball of red light. Within seconds, she emerged, dressed in a black leotard with a red diamond pattern, red arm warmers that also acted as fingerless gloves, white leggings that stopped at her knees, a flat red tutu with black glitter and black ballet flats with red ribbons going up her calves. Her hair was tied into pigtail braids high on her head with little stone roses tied at the ends. Clutched in her hands were her Rose Thorn swords.

“That was so cool!” She exclaimed, admiring her new outfit.

Her siblings decided to try their stones out too.

Pie went first.

“Battle-Form Pie,” He said in his deep voice, his face blank and his eyes hard as he crossed his arms over his chest like he did when he was charging his fans, his stone clutched in his right hand. “Transformation!”

Within seconds, Pie was dressed in the same military uniform the Mews first saw him in. Though he kept his face unreadable, he mentally gave a sigh of relief to be in normal clothes again.

Rin shook out her curls quickly before she said, “Battle-Form Rindou… Metamorpho-sis!”

She placed her stone at the nape of her neck and began twirling in a ball of dark purple-blue light. She emerged dressed in a light violet top with poufy sleeves that had tight dark violet lace around the wrists, above the elbows and under her ribs where the shirt cut off. She wore black leggings underneath an embroidered purple and silver skirt that was split at sides allowing her free movement with purple-black strips of fabric tucked into the waistband so that they hung off of her waist, though hers were shorter than the ones her brothers wore. She wore purple slippers that hugged her small feet and her hair was tied up in a ponytail with large white flowers pinned into her hair and two stray curls framing her face. She held one of her fans up to hide part of her face in a flirtatious manner while the other fan stayed at her side, closed but clutched in her hand.

Rirī tossed her stone up in the air lightly and caught it.

“Battle-Form Lily… Metamorpho-sis!” She said as she kissed her stone. The hand that clutched the stone went back in a manner similar to drawing a bowstring with the other arm was held straight out. She emerged from the pink-white light dressed in a dark pink sleeveless shirt that hugged her frame and tight white sleeve-like garments covered the entirety of her arms, stopping just at the shoulders. She also wore white pants with pink tendrils of fabric tucked into the back of the waistband, and were short like her sister’s. She wore pink boots with white straps and her hair pinned up in her usual style, but with pink ribbons hanging out of the buns. Hanging on her pink cloth belt was a white leather quiver with her white-fletched arrows inside. In her hand was her small bow.

Kish clutched his hand around his stone and closed his eyes before sharply opening them again.

“Battle-Form Kisshu,” He said as he brought his fist above his head and, like so many times before, cried out, “Fusion!”

Kish emerged from the ball of green light wearing his trademark outfit and clutching his Dragon Swords. With a smirk, he brushed off a piece of non-existent lint from his shirt.

Tart grinned at Pudding briefly before clasping his hands together, his stone in between his palms.

“Battle-Form Taruto…” He said. “Revolution!”

Tart was surrounded by a ball of red light and emerged wearing his characteristic outfit, his click-clack toy weapon spinning lazily around his finger as he grinned coyly.

“You all look great!” Ichigo said with a grin. “I think we’re ready for whenever Mylo decides to attack.”

Right on cue, Masha flew in, screeching,

“Chimera Animal! Chimera Animal!”

“Sounds like our cue to activate our own power pedants, ladies,” Mint said as she pulled out her stone.

“Mew Mew Zakuro!” Zakuro said, giving a rare smile as the Mews fell back into their routine, bringing the stone down to her naval.

“Mew Mew Pudding!” Pudding yelled, bringing the stone up to her forehead.

“Mew Mew Lettuce!” Lettuce said, feeling more confidence than she had in years as she brought it to her chest.

“Mew Mew Mint!” Mint added, clutching her pendant, bringing it to the spot on her back between her the two halves of her Mew Mark.

“Mew Mew Strawberry!” Ichigo said before all five girls yelled,

“Metamorpho-sis!”

Within seconds, the Mews were ready to fight as well.

Masha led the team to the park where Kish had appeared before Ichigo and Lettuce a few days earlier.

“What is it about this park that it’s always getting attacked?” Ichigo asked as she did a backflip to avoid the swipe of the Chimera Animal.

“We were here quite a lot, weren’t we?” Zakuro said as she dodged a Cyniclon spear.

“It was a good location,” Tart explained as he charged his weapon. “In the middle of the city, plenty of people, a nice variety of animals….”

“We’ve had some pretty good times here,” Lettuce said. “Pudding first transformed here-”

“Kisshu Onii-Chan told Pudding he was an angel that would give Pudding cat ears.” Pudding said with a laugh. “Pudding didn’t believe him, na no da.”

“Yeah, you told me an angel didn’t have an evil face,” Kish said, smirking with memory.

“I hate to rain on your parade down memory lane, but can we please finish up here?” Mint called as she loosed another arrow. She smiled as it hit her target and the Chimera Animal howled in pain.

“Mint’s right, let’s finish this,” Rirī said as she released her own arrow at the monster. The Mews turned their attention to the beast and struck it down.

“Nice job!” Rin called out with a grin.

“Ah, Rinny, so nice to see you again, my precious flower.”

Rin turned sharply to see Mylo, sitting on a tree branch looking very relaxed, his elbow resting on his leg and his chin resting on his hand.

“I’m not your flower, Mylo,” Rin sneered. “Why are you still here? We’ve finished off your creature and your men have already left.”

Mylo smirked as he teleported away to the other side of the clearing where they had been fighting.

“So you’ve come to fight me, I see,” Mylo said. He smirked again. “Came all the way just for little ol’ me.”

“I didn’t come here for you,” Rin snapped, gripping her fans tighter. “I came to stop you.”

“Oh, you don’t have to pretend,” Mylo said, appearing before her, caressing her cheek. Rin flinched. “I know you’re really here for me. Ditch these losers and join me. You will become the most powerful woman in the universe standing by my side.”

Mylo suddenly jerked away from Rin, holding the side of his face. Tart spun his click-clack toy weapon around his finger, charging it, preparing to strike again.

“Do not touch her!” Tart growled.

Mylo sneered as he leapt into the air, a blister forming on his face from Tart’s attack.

“What do you say, Rinny?” He asked, turning to Rin, a pleasant and winning smile on his face.

“I’d tell you what I really want to say, but there are impressionable children present,” Rin snapped, ignoring Rōzu’s outburst of rage at the comment. “I’d rather die before I stand at your side!”

Mylo’s smile dropped into a scowl. He narrowed his eyes.

“So be it,” He spat. “Do not worry, I will give you another chance when you finally see the light.” He surveyed the team, studying them briefly. “I see your numbers are greater than the last time we met. This can only mean one thing, a challenge. A challenge I’m willing to accept. You think you are ready to play this trivial, pointless game on a higher level?”

Mylo smirked.

“Fine.” He said, reaching inside his cloak for something.

“Then game on!” He said as he hurtled his knife through the air with deadly accuracy…

…right at Tart.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirteen:

“Taru-Taru!” Pudding yelled as she dived at him.

Pudding was just in time to save Tart’s life as she pinned him to the ground. However, a deep, scarlet wound appeared on Pudding’s arm where the blade had brushed her skin.

Before anyone could react, Mylo and his knife were gone.

“Pudding, are you alright?” Tart asked as he saw the blood running down Pudding’s arm. Pudding smiled as she clutched her arm with her hand to stanch the bleeding.

“Pudding will be fine, na no da,” Pudding said with her usual cheerfulness, completely unfazed that she and Tart had both just narrowly escaped a brush with death.

“Thanks for getting me out of the way,” Tart said as Rirī quickly inspected the wound.

“Pudding wasn’t going to just let Meany Mylo kill her boyfriend, na no da,” Pudding declared defiantly.

“Yeah, but I would have gladly have taken the knife so that my girlfriend didn’t get hurt,” Tart responded, scooping up Pudding into his arms. The alien boy paused for a second, and his ears went back in confusion. “Hey, when did we become boyfriend-girlfriend?” He asked.

“Just now, silly Taru-Taru,” Pudding said, kissing Tart’s cheek with a bright smile. The onlookers laughed at the exchange and Tart’s red face.

“Let’s head back to the Café and get you patched up, Pudding,” Rirī said. She grabbed Mint’s hand as Rin grabbed Zakuro’s hand, Kish grabbed Ichigo’s hand, and Pie took Lettuce’s hand. Lettuce’s face soon matched Tart’s.

Within seconds they were back at the Café.

“Looks like someone is going to be on cash register duty for a while,” Ryou said as he looked over Rirī’s shoulder as she worked on cleaning Pudding’s wound. Though it still hurt, the pain was lessened for Pudding through Tart, who held her on his lap and fed her pieces of soft candy.

“What do you think Mylo meant by ‘the game is about to be played at a higher level’?” Zakuro asked.

“Who knows with that psychopath?” Rin said with a scowl as she folded her arms. “What I do know is that there will not be any ‘easy’ battles.”

“What’s the deal between you two, Rin?” Mint asked. “He seemed to really want you on his side.”

Kish and Ichigo shared a knowing look. Ichigo bit her lip and Kish shrugged. He nodded his head towards Rin, his eyes saying ‘If she wants them to know, she’ll tell them. If she doesn’t, she’ll just say so.’

Rin’s scowl deepened as she spoke again, not able to look at anyone.

“He’s been pursuing me since we were kids. I’m a prize to be won to him, what you humans call a ‘trophy wife’. He’s been trying to court me for years, and I have denied every advance he has put before me. He excels at emotional manipulation and hates that I am largely unaffected by his so called ‘charms’. I’ve seen women who are wrapped around his finger and he knows it. He uses them to gain whatever he wants: power, money, food, promotions, information, social connections. I am the only thing that he wants but has never been able to win. He can’t wrap his head around the fact that I refuse to give into him and that I never will. He keeps trying to break me, thinking I finally will submit to him.” She ducked her eyes so that no one could see the pain that lay hidden in the violet irises. “And he’s come pretty close to succeeding a few times. Too close.”

Rin stood up suddenly.

“I, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m going to bed,” Rin said and she teleported away.

“I don’t get it,” Lettuce said a few seconds after Rin’s disappearance. “If I were her, I would want to stay as far away from him as possible. So why did she come here to fight him?”

“Because she knows she has to fight him here in order to keep her freedom,” Pie said in a low voice, staring off into space. “If Mylo were to defeat us and succeed in conquering both Earth and Cynnth, he would have enough power to force her to marry him. Rin is fighting for herself just as much as she is fighting for her home.”

“Poor Rin-Chan,” Pudding murmured just before silence swallowed them. “Pudding knows personally that no one deserves a forced marriage.”

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Scene Divider)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

By the next day, Rin was out of her funk. She spent a lot of that day and the following day in the kitchen with Keiichiro, helping him bake and decorate treats. She also helped design a cake for a big event the Café was asked to cater for the following day.

Keiichiro quickly learned that Rin was talented with all mediums of art and, though she had never done it before, was quite talented at cake decorating.

“How about this?” Keiichiro suggested the next morning as the wait staff of Café Mew Mew and Ryou admired his and Rin’s work before they sent the cake out. “You work as a waitress when we’re busy and don’t have any big orders, but otherwise you help me back here with baking and decorating. By working together, we can take on more clients at a time.”

Ryou’s pocketbook especially liked this idea, having added six more payrolls to dole out.

“Augh, Pudding is tired, na no da,” Pudding said as she plopped down on the floor beside Tart that evening. They had just closed the Café doors and were cleaning up from the long day. Pudding rested her head on Tart’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “Pudding needs a nap, na no da.” She said with a yawn.

“Your body is using up a lot of energy to heal the torn muscle,” Rirī said as she cleaned off a table. “So naturally-”

But the rest of Rirī’s explanation was lost on Pudding, who was sound asleep with her head in Tart’s lap.

“Should I get up?” Tart asked, stroking Pudding’s blond hair.

“Nah, she looks comfy,” Ichigo said with a smile. “She told me she hasn’t been sleeping well the last two days because her arm prevented her from being comfortable. Just let her be.”

The rest of the Café Mew Mew staffed cleaned up the dining room quietly. They worked in silence for about half an hour when Tart’s brow furrowed.

“Pudding?” He said softly. The young girl’s face was contorted with pain and her eyes were squeezed shut.

Pudding started shaking and thrashing. Tart laid her flat as he called over for help. The young teen let out several heart-wrenching screams and tears slid down her face through her closed eyelids. No one could calm her, though they tried everything: talking to her, holding her, slapping her cheeks just hard enough to wake her. She just kept screaming the word “No!” over and over.

Suddenly, her brown eyes snapped open, glazed and unfocused at first. Her eyes blindly swept across the crowd above her: her fellow Mews, her bosses, her boyfriend and his family. She blinked then focused on Ichigo, Mint, Zakuro and Lettuce again, though her eyes were still foggy. Ichigo felt Pudding take her hand and gently squeeze it.

“Onee-Chan,” She whispered. “Onee-Chan are still alive. Still safe.”

Her eyes closed again and she buried her face against Tart’s leg as a collective shiver went up through the room.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fourteen:

“You see them? The kids with the big ears?”

“Yeah, who are they?”

“The guy is so hot.”

“The girl is really pretty, too.”

“Why are they with Momomiya-San?”

“Friends of hers, maybe?”

“Maybe she and the guy are dating. Maybe he transferred here to be closer to his love!”

“Dang, she works fast!”

“Then what’s the deal with the other girl?”

Kish and Rirī smiled coyly at the whispers surrounding them while Ichigo scowled.

“Not even in the door for ten minutes and people are already gossiping,” She murmured. Like the aliens, she had sensitive hearing thanks to her inner cat, so she could hear what these kids were saying. She also the pleasure of knowing that these girls would be mortified to learn that Kish heard every word they said about him.

“So much for blending in,” Rirī said with a chuckle.

“You’re the new kids who are secretly aliens. We never thought you would just ‘blend in’,” Ichigo said. With a teasing smile, she added, “Not with those monstrosities on the side of your heads.”

“C’mon, you like them, admit it,” Kish said, wrapping an arm around Ichigo’s waist and squeezing her to his side, brushing his ear by her cheek and wiggling it in order to tickle her. “Chicks always dig the ears.”

Ichigo blushed but smiled as Rirī laughed.

“Yes, it’s the ears,” Ichigo said dryly. “I’m dating you for solely for the ears. They are your only good feature.”

“Ouch, kitten, you sure know how to deflate a guy’s ego,” Kish said as he ears drooped slightly.

“Deflating your ego happens to be what I’m best at,” Ichigo responded. Rirī laughed again.

“You two are so cute,” Rirī said. “What stopped you from getting together sooner?”

“Oh, pride and the fact that he was trying to capture my homeworld on a regular basis,” Ichigo said.

“But mostly pride,” Kish said with a fanged grin as they walked into their classroom.

The three of them found seats in the middle row of the class and sat down. The teacher did roll call and paused at ‘Ikisatashi, Kisshu’ and ‘Ikisatashi, Rirī’.

“Ah, our new additions,” The teacher said. He studied the two, who sat on either side of Ichigo. “Pardon my asking, but are you twins?”

“No,” Rirī said. “I’m older by six months.”

“And I’m adopted,” Kish added.

Ichigo felt a poke on the back of her shoulder. She turned around to see her friends Moe and Miwa staring at her.

“Do you know them?” Miwa mouthed, nodding towards Rirī and Kish.

“Yeah, long story,” Ichigo mouthed back. “We’ll talk later.”

At lunch, Moe and Miwa were introduced to Kish and Rirī, whom Ichigo presented as the children of Ryou’s friend and explained that the two and their siblings would be staying with Ryou for a while. Ichigo’s friends accepted the story without suspicion. They chatted until Moe and Miwa’s boyfriends called them over to sit with them.

“Hey, did you get around to asking Pudding about the dream she had the other night?” Rirī asked as she took a final bite out of her rice ball.

“Yeah, I asked her before we opened yesterday,” Ichigo said as she took a sip of juice.

“Did she remember anything?” Kish asked.

“She didn’t even remember she fell asleep with her head on Tart’s lap,” Ichigo said. She brushed off crumbs off her skirt. “She seemed a little bit freaked out about what she said.”

“Don’t blame her,” Kish said. He crumpled up his sandwich wrapper. “Poor kid.”

“Yeah,” Ichigo said. “I’m glad she has Tart with her. For such a friendly person, Pudding has a hard time making friends at school. They all think she is strange.”

“She is strange,” Rirī said as she stood up. “But a good strange.”

The three went back to their classes. During the last period, Ichigo’s cellphone buzzed, announcing a new text message from Lettuce. She discreetly opened her cellphone and her eyes widened. She quickly wrote down identical messages and passed them to Kish and Rirī.

The alien teens’ eyes widened when they saw Ichigo’s shaky handwriting.

Lettuce just texted me. Pudding’s in the hospital.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Scene Divider)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

The three high school students dashed into the entrance of the ER, relieved to see Ryou, Keiichiro, Rin, Pie and Rōzu in the waiting room.

“Is Pudding okay? What happened?” Ichigo asked, looking between her friends.

“She had a seizure at school,” Keiichiro said. “The paramedics were called. Her father is on his way, but he was two hours away from the city when we called him about an hour ago. Tart, Mint, Lettuce and Zakuro are with her right now, trying to keep her calm.”

“What about her siblings? Don’t they need to be picked up from school?” Kish asked.

“They go straight to daycare after school,” Ryou said. “Pudding’s told us that much. Ichigo, you probably need to go back there. The seizure stopped when the paramedics arrived but she’s awake and panicking about something. We need to keep her calm and I don’t know how much success has been had with that task.”

Ichigo nodded and followed Keiichiro’s directions down the hall. She knocked on the door and heard Mint’s voice beckon her in. Ichigo soon saw what Ryou had meant.

“Ichigo Onee-Chan!” Pudding exclaimed from where she lay on the bed, struggling against Zakuro and Tart’s grasps. “Make them let Pudding go!”

“Pudding, you need to calm down,” Ichigo said, stroking Pudding’s blond hair.

“Pudding can’t calm down!” Pudding said, tears forming in her eyes.

“Pudding, please tell us why!” Tart begged. “You’ve been trying to escape since you got in here. What’s wrong?”

Pudding’s eyes squeezed shut and she screamed,

“I can’t afford this! We have no insurance! Daddy and I can’t make enough to pay for this and feed everyone!” Pudding had tears running down her face. Tart and the girls all hugged her.

Zakuro took Pudding’s chin in her hand and looked into the younger girl’s tear-filled eyes.

“Pudding, do not worry about the money. All you need to do is relax. That will make it easier for your body to recover and for the doctors,” Pudding opened her mouth but Zakuro spoke before the younger girl could. “Pudding, I’m asking you to do this not only for yourself, but for your siblings, your father, and for your team, your extended family. We love you and we’re not going to let you or anyone else starve because you’re in the hospital. You understand me?”

Pudding nodded. Zakuro smiled and kissed the top of Pudding’s head.

“Good, now lay back and rest. I’m going to go see when the doctor is going to come in. I’ll be back in a few,” Zakuro promised.

The three remaining Mews and Tart were able to keep Pudding calm, who had finally given into her body’s desire for sleep. She dozed off with Tart lying beside her, his arms wrapped around her protectively.

A few minutes after they were sure Pudding was sound asleep, they heard a knock on the door. Lettuce opened it to admit Keiichiro, Pie, Rin, Rirī, Kish and Rōzu.

“How is she doing?” Rin asked.

“She’s worn out,” Mint said as she gently stroked Pudding’s hair. She shook her head. “She was worried about how much being here was going to cost.”

“Pudding has more maturity than she is given credit for,” Ichigo said. She glanced back and forth between Pie and Keiichiro. “I know you are both thinking what I am thinking.” She said.

“That it is not just a coincidence that two members of our team have suffered nightmares foretelling death and not remembering doing so, with violent seizures following shortly after, all within a week,” Pie said, his face unreadable. “There is something wrong and our technology was unable to determine what. Hopefully your human medical equipment will be able to shed some light on this situation.”

“I sure hope it does,” Lettuce agreed. “Where are Ryou and Zakuro?”

“Zakuro wanted to talk with Ryou in private, but she wouldn’t say about what,” Keiichiro said. “She told us to come back to visit before the doctors came.”

The doctor entered a few minutes later. He looked at Pudding’s chart then looked around the room.

“Please do not take offense, but who are all of you?” He asked.

“Pudding’s honorary family,” Lettuce said with a shy smile. “We all work together at a café. We’re kind of a tight-knit bunch.”

The doctor asked if they knew of a pre-existing condition or symptoms Pudding may have had. The Mews answered to the best of their ability, Keiichiro occasionally adding in a comment. Tart answered any questions regarding what had happened leading up to the seizure, having been with her the entire day.

After making some notes, the doctor closed Pudding’s chart.

“In a few minutes, we’ll take her down to radiology and take a few scans,” He said. Noticing that Tart had yet to move from beside Pudding, he added, “If anyone wishes to come along as well, they may.”

Zakuro and Ryou entered just as the doctor left.

“Sorry that took so long,” Zakuro apologized. “Was that the doctor?”

“Yeah,” Rirī said. “He wanted to see if we could give any hints as to what’s wrong with Pudding.”

“They said they were going to take her back for some scans in a few minutes,” Keiichiro added.

Zakuro nodded.

Ichigo sat and stared at the door, her head tilting from side to side.

“What’s got your tail on high alert?” Mint asked. Ichigo turned suddenly to see her tail twitching behind her. Ichigo took a deep breath and her tail receded.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” She said. Ichigo took out her phone and looked at Masha hanging from it. “Masha, do your sensors pick up anything?”

“No Chimera Animals. No other Cyniclons,” Masha chirped.

“Still, something doesn’t feel right,” Ichigo murmured, slipping the phone back into her bag.

“Are your kitty senses tingling?” Ryou asked sardonically. Ichigo stuck her tongue out at him.

“Hey, I haven’t said anything about your tail hanging out of your trousers,” Ichigo snapped.

Ryou instinctively turned to see if she was right before remembering that his cat tail and ears didn’t pop out on occasion like Ichigo’s.

“Very funny,” Ryou said, his cheeks turning red. Ichigo smiled proudly for a second, but dropped the smile.

“Like I said, something feels off. It’s almost a danger sense.” Ichigo said.

A nurse knocked on the door and Keiichiro let her in. She explained that she was going to take Pudding down to get the scans now.

Ichigo locked eyes with Kish, who was sitting in a chair across from her. He understood perfectly what her eyes were saying. With a sigh, he climbed to his feet. Tart looked at the two in confusion.

“What?” Kish said, ruffling Tart’s auburn hair as he walked past the young teen. “We want to come too. What’s the big deal?”

Tart looked at the two suspiciously, but said nothing. Instead, he walked beside Pudding, holding her hand while Kish and Ichigo walked a few steps behind.

“Do you feel it?” Kish said in a low voice to Ichigo.

“Like we’re being followed?” Ichigo responded.

“Exactly,” Kish said. His mouth twisted into a grim line as he looked around the halls, filled with hospital personnel and patients. “If we’re going to be attacked, he or she knows we can’t transform, not with all these people around.”

“Try and catch us powerless, at our weakest,” Ichigo added, scowling as well.

They continued to walk in silence, listening carefully and keeping their eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. They were taken to a hallway lined with doors and chairs. The nurse wheeled the still asleep Pudding into one room and asked that the other three stay outside. The three were left alone in the empty hallway.

Tart flung himself into one of the plastic chairs and his brow furrowed when he saw that Ichigo and Kish were still standing.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Nothing, yet,” Ichigo murmured.

She took a step down the hall…

And stopped suddenly as a ninja-like figure in all black came up from behind her and grabbed her.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifteen:

Ichigo screamed and Kish and Tart instantly reacted.

“Let her go!” Kish growled, lunging for the ninja. His actions were met with a kick to the stomach and being flung across the hall, his head hitting the white concrete wall with a distinct crack.

“Kish!” Tart exclaimed at seeing his fallen brother. His bronze eyes narrowed. “You’re gonna pay for that!” He informed the ninja with a feral snarl.

The ninja threw Ichigo into the row of chairs, and she knew there would be bruises in the morning. Tart and the ninja fought hand-to-hand, dodging and blocking the other’s blow. Tart quickly and tactically led the ninja down the hall, far away from Pudding.

Ichigo, having regained her composure, leapt with cat-like agility onto the ninja’s back. Somehow, she was not surprised to find that their attacker had Cyniclon-trademark ears and used that to her advantage.

“You knocked out my boyfriend, you baka alien creep!” Ichigo screamed, twisting the ninja’s ears with hard jerks and yanks.

The ninja threw her off so that she practically flew down the hall and she rolled on the floor before landing on her feet. The ninja gave Tart one last punch to the middle of his sternum and teleported away.

Ichigo climbed to her feet and rushed back to the alien boys.

“You alright, runt?” Ichigo asked, helping Tart stand up. The teenager clutched his chest with his hand but managed to scowl at Ichigo despite the pain.

“In case you haven’t noticed, old hag, I’ve got four inches on you now,” Tart growled as he leaned against the wall. Ichigo smiled, knowing then that Tart would be alright.

“Anything broken?” Ichigo asked, looking over her shoulder as she went over to Kish.

“Don’t think so,” Tart said, rubbing his chest, the pain already fading. “I think Kish got the worst of the attacks.”

Ichigo knelt down beside the unconscious alien and shook his shoulder.

“Kish, Kish wake up!” She said, shaking him some more.

“Koneko-Chan?” Kish whispered, opening his eyes. He smirked. “So I’m your boyfriend now, huh?”

Ichigo blushed but smiled.

“Of course that’s the first thing you ask me after a ninja attack,” She said. She and Tart helped a dizzy Kish to his feet and each draped one of his arms over their shoulders to give him support.

“I’m trying to decide which was more painful,” Kish said. “The kick to the gut, or the head against concrete.”

“Well, at least we know you’re hard headed,” Ichigo said teasingly.

“We already knew that,” Tart said dryly. “But I think everyone will be happy to know that that wall isn’t going to fall down any time soon.”

The trio chuckled and made their way back down the hall. They found out that in the midst of their battle, Pudding had been taken back to her room. Groaning slightly, they made the trek back to Pudding’s room.

Ryou gave them a strange look as they entered the room.

“What happened to you all?” He asked.

“Kick to the solar plexus and head hit against concrete,” Kish said as he sat down.

“Multiple bruises and hit my head hard on the floor, which has resulted in a forming migraine,” Ichigo said as she collapsed beside Kish.

“Fist directly to the sternum along with a few bruises,” Tart said as he sat down beside the now-awake Pudding, who looked very concerned for Tart.

“I think what he meant to say was, what happened that you got beat up like this?” Rirī said as she put aside her textbook.

“Oh, you know, normal stuff,” Kish said, leaning back in his chair, his eyes closed. “Ichigo is now my girlfriend. Tart’s proven he’s not a runt. We encountered a ninja. Found a wall that’s not going to get knocked down anytime soon…”

“Wait, what was that last part?” Rin said, her eyes narrowing.

“There’s a wall that we’ve proven isn’t-” Tart started.

“No, before that,” Rin said, rolling her eyes at her younger brother. “You encountered a what?”

“A ninja,” Ichigo said with a scowl. “A Cyniclon ninja.”

“A ninja?” Pie repeated, blinking once in surprise.

“You doubt us when we say there was a ninja?” Kish asked, not looking up.

“I am not denying your credibility,” Pie assured him. “I am more stunned than dubious. May I ask how you know he was a Cyniclon?”

“Because Ichigo jumped on his back, grabbed his ears which happen to look exactly like mine and yours, Pie, and called him a, and I quote, ‘baka alien creep’. Then he teleported away after giving me a fist sized bruise on my chest.” Tart said.

Zakuro looked at Ichigo.

“You need to learn better insults,” She said dryly.

“I know,” Ichigo said with a groan.

“How did the evil ninja beat you up when you were transformed, na no da?” Pudding asked as she sat up and folded her legs Indian style.

“We couldn’t transform,” Kish said. “We were in too public a place. If we were caught transforming, we were done for.”

“That’s not good,” Rōzu said with a frown. “Do you think Mylo sent him after you guys?”

“Only logical explanation,” Keiichiro said, frowning. “But how did Mylo know to send him here? And why today?”

These questions lingered because not a second later, Pudding’s father rushed into the room, thoroughly relieved to see his daughter awake.

With the arrival of Mr. Fong, the group that was occupying the small space of Pudding’s treatment room left to go to the waiting room. While they waited, they ate dinner and the teens worked on their homework. After finishing their work, Mint, Lettuce and Rirī went to pick up the rest of the Fong children and take them home, Mr. Fong having called the daycare to inform the workers of who would be coming and explaining the situation. When Pudding was finally ready to be discharged late that evening, Rōzu was sound asleep with her head on Pie’s lap. While the rest of the group stayed in order to see Pudding off, Pie and Rin decided to take the sleeping Rōzu back to the café.

To Mr. Fong’s annoyance, the doctors were at a loss for what had happened. Pudding was told to take a week off from school and ordered to stay in bed for a majority of that time, so that she could be easily monitored. Ryou and Keiichiro, seeing Mr. Fong’s dilemma about the need to care for Pudding and the need to work in order to feed his children, made the offer for Mr. Fong to bring Pudding by Café Mew Mew every morning before he went to work so that they could keep an eye on her and then he could pick her up when he got back from work. Mr. Fong was extremely grateful for their kindness and thanked them repeatedly.

Pudding was surprised when Ryou slipped an envelope into her hands while Mr. Fong signed the papers the doctors handed him.

“What’s this, na no da?” Pudding asked the young blond man.

“Your paycheck,” Ryou said simply.

“But payday isn’t until the end of the month,” Pudding said, confused. “Why give Pudding her paycheck now, na no da?”

“I’m the boss,” Ryou said with a shrug. “I can give out paychecks whenever I want.”

Pudding eyed him suspiciously. She opened the envelope and her eyes widened at the slip of paper. Ryou had paid her more than he usually did by a large sum.

“Ryou-Chan!” She exclaimed. “You’ve paid Pudding too much!”

But he didn’t even hear her. When she looked up, he was gone. Pudding sat in shock, holding her paycheck tightly in her hands, not sure what to think.

Pudding sat in a wheelchair beside her father as he went up to the counter to handle payment for her treatments, still in shock over Ryou’s gift, but came out of her reverie enough to hear the conversation going on beside her.

“I don’t understand, what do you mean it’s already been paid for?” Mr. Fong said, confused. “We don’t have insurance, so I know that didn’t cover it.”

“We were instructed shortly after your daughter was admitted to send all bills to one person,” The receptionist said. “She was very serious about the whole thing, too. She said she wanted to cover the entire treatment costs.”

Mr. Fong stood in shock for a moment.

“Can you tell me her name? I must thank her for her generosity,” Mr. Fong said.

“A Miss…” The receptionist flipped through some papers. “Fujiwara Zakuro.”

Pudding sat up straight, her eyes wide as she looked across the room to stare at the young woman in question, currently talking with Keiichiro about something.

Pudding climbed to her feet shakily and Mr. Fong caught the movement out of the corner of his eye.

“Pudding?” He said, turning to face his daughter, who was already half-way across the room.

Pudding stood a few feet away from Zakuro, tears filling her eyes. Zakuro saw her and turned to her. The model cocked an eyebrow at the teen curiously. Despite knowing she had just been ordered not to do so, Pudding ran and threw her arms around Zakuro.

“Thank you, Zakuro Onee-Chan. Thank you so much,” Pudding whispered, letting the tears spill. “Pudding doesn’t know how to thank you.”

Zakuro smiled and returned the hug.

“You just did, Imouto,” She said, stroking Pudding’s soft hair. “You just did.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Sixteen:

“That’s it,” Ichigo said as Rirī put a splint on her sprained wrist while Zakuro brought her a bag of ice for her bruises. “We’ve got to learn how to fight hand-to-hand.”

“Ichigo’s right,” Mint said as she stared at the holes in her tights and the bandages on her knees. “This ninja has gone after us far too many times in the past week.”

In addition to showing up at the hospital, the ninja had showed up in the library to attack Lettuce, the middle of Tart’s lunch break at school, gone after Kish when he took the trash out at the Café, attacked Pie and Rin on their way back from making a cake delivery, surprised Zakuro in her dressing room before a fashion show and had now fought Mint and Ichigo as they walked back from the grocery store together.

Lettuce’s glasses were broken and she bruises all over from where books had fallen on her when she was thrown against a shelf.

Tart now sported a black-eye and a bruised ego; the latter was healed by Pudding, though, who fussed over him and showered him with kisses.

Kish had a nasty scrape on his cheekbone and had torn sleeves on his work shirt.

Pie and Rin had managed to escape with very little physical harm, but both came back exhausted and barely able to walk in a straight line.

Zakuro had a few scrapes from shards of glass where her mirror had broken but was otherwise unperturbed. Her manager, on the other hand, about had a fit.

Ichigo sprained her wrist when she tried to catch herself from falling and was coated with bruises and Mint’s knees and hands were bloody and scrapped from where she landed on the warm concrete.

“I’m noticing a pattern,” Zakuro said. “The ninja is showing up in very public places, with a lot of people around.”

“Meaning that we can’t transform to protect ourselves,” Lettuce said, rubbing her eyes slightly. She was trying to adjust to her contact lenses, which she rarely wore but had no other choice but to wear until her new glasses came in.

“Like Ichigo Onee-Chan said,” Pudding commented from her chair. “We need to learn to fight hand-to-hand, na no da.”

“Can we move the tables in the dining room around to use the space as training ground?” Rin asked Ryou.

“Don’t see why not,” Ryou said. “We’ll get some mats, too, so that no one gets hurt if they get knocked over.”

The next morning, hours before the Café opened, the staff were inside, pushing the tables out of the way and stacking the chairs to clear the floor. Dark blue mats were laid out on the floor.

Pie and Rirī held a demonstration match. The others watched in awe as the brother and sister danced around each other, dodging and blocking, a triumphant gleam in their eye when they managed to land a blow on the other. Finally, after several minutes of this, Pie called time. Pie and Rirī bowed to each other and stepped off the mats.

“That was amazing!” Ichigo exclaimed.

“Watching you two fight is something I will never get tired of watching,” Kish added as he tossed Pie a water bottle. The older teen gulped down the water gratefully and wiped his mouth with the back of his hands.

“Rirī is a wonderful opponent,” Pie said. He turned to his younger sister. “I have always thought that you should have accepted the advanced training.”

Rirī shrugged as she wiped off her brow with a small towel.

“I love that fighting style, but I love what I do even more,” She explained. She smiled and looked around at the group. “So. Who wants to go first?”

Mint and Zakuro volunteered, though they both looked very nervous. Rirī explained and demonstrated the basic moves to Mint while Pie did the same with Zakuro across the room.

“Usually, when this training begins, you are taught to not put any force behind the attack, unless it is a match or actual fight,” Rirī explained as she adjusted Mint’s form. “However, I want you to put some strength and power into this moves so that we can see where you need improvement and where your strengths lie in addition to practicing to fight a real opponent.”

Within a few minutes, Mint and Rirī were sparring.

“Hey, I’m getting pretty good at this!” Mint exclaimed with a grin as she blocked one of Rirī’s blows.

Rirī grinned and quickly lowered her body and swung herself around, kicking Mint’s legs out from under her. Mint fell with a surprised shriek.

“Good work, Mint,” Rirī said as she helped Mint up. “I’ve definitely seen improvement. You’ve got amazing stamina, too.”

“Thanks,” Mint said, pleased with herself, as she took a water bottle off of the table.

Zakuro, too, looked content with how her training went as she and Pie bowed to each other.

“Lettuce-san?” Pie said, offering his hand out for the green-haired girl. Shakily, Lettuce accepted his hand. He brought her out into the middle of the mats. Lettuce knew all eyes were currently on her, Rirī having decided that she needed a break before continuing to teach. In truth, she just wanted to see what was going to happen between the two.

Pie gently coached Lettuce into a defensive form, her cheeks turning scarlet whenever he moved her arm.

“From this position, you can easily move into the attack,” Pie said with a demonstration, punching an imaginary opponent with his fist. He then moved to stand in front of Lettuce. “Now you try against me.”

Shaking with fear, nervousness, and embarrassment, Lettuce did as she was instructed with her eyes closed, wincing the entire time. She slowly and hesitantly brought her fist up…

…and instantly receded the second her knuckles brushed Pie’s cheek.

Pie scowled.

“Lettuce-San, you have to put power behind the attack. By doing so now, you will not hesitate to injure your opponent when the need arises.” Pie said patiently.

“But I don’t want to hurt you or anything!” Lettuce said, worriedly.

“I have been training both my body and my mind for years to be able to take any blow dealt to me,” Pie assured her, laying his hand on her shoulder causing Lettuce to turn red as a tomato. “And if I do get hurt during this training exercise, I can guarantee you it will neither be the first nor last time it will happen.” Pie got into the same defensive stance he showed Lettuce only minutes before. “Now, do as I instructed and hit me with every ounce of strength you have in you.”

“H-hai,” Lettuce whimpered.

Pie watched as the green haired Mew got into the same stance he was in, then quickly go into the attack. He saw her fist coming towards her and though he knew he needed to relax his body in order to roll off the blow, he truly was not expecting it to be much…

The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back, dazed, and staring up at the clouds painted onto the ceiling of the Café, stars and black spots dancing before his eyes. Or, at least his right eye, as he felt his left eye slowly swell shut.

He turned his head slightly and scowled to see his brothers both on the floor, laughing their heads off. Tart rolled around on the floor, clutching his belly while Kish lay on his stomach, pounding the floor with his fist. His sisters were just as unsympathetic, their arms wrapped around their middles, laughing. Past them, he saw Ryou, clutching the doorframe as he too doubled over from laughing so hard. The Mews weren’t much better off, either. At least Mint, Zakuro and Ichigo were trying to hide it. Pudding, however, was cheering.

What hit me? He wondered briefly. He sat up carefully, blinking a few times to steady himself, a dull headache starting to form.

He saw Lettuce, who stood there, absolutely shocked. Her face had drained of all color and she had both her hands clamped over her mouth.

“Gomen-nasai, Pie-San,” Lettuce said over and over from behind her hands.

Keiichiro, at least, took pity on Pie and helped him up and handed him a bag of ice, which Pie instantly put over his eye, relieved to feel some of the pain melt away with it.

“You throw quite a punch,” Pie said awkwardly to Lettuce, who looked simply mortified.

“Gomen-nasai,” She whispered with a bow. “I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”

“At least we know Lettuce will be okay if the ninja comes after her again,” Rin said with a laugh.

“Nice hit, Lettuce Onee-Chan!” Pudding cheered. Pie chose to ignore her, as well as his brothers whom he knew would never, ever let him live this down.

“I think we’re done for the day,” Keiichiro said quickly as he took a look around the room.

“I agree,” Pie said. And with that, he went off to nurse his black eye and shame alone.

With Pie out of the room, Lettuce now started apologizing to Pie’s siblings.

“Don’t,” Rin said, waving off Lettuce’s apology. “He needed the blow to his ego. Besides, now he’ll lay off Rirī for a while since he knows full well that he would be fine had he not let his guard down.”

“He also knows that Rirī would never expect an easy hit,” Kish added as he helped Ichigo pick up the mats.

“Where did you get all that strength, anyway?” Mint asked.

Lettuce smiled shyly.

“Who would have thought that all those years of being bullied into carrying other people’s heavy bags would lead to a decent amount of upper-body strength?” Lettuce said.

“Oh, Lettuce-Chan,” Ichigo said, shaking her head.

“I know,” Lettuce said, ducking her head.

They proceeded with business as usual, though the work day was nonetheless interesting.

Pie was immensely popular with the teenage girls who entered the Café because of his appearance and silent, stoic attitude and was often flirted with. Now, every single female who entered the Café’s door was fussing over his eye.

“What happened?” One girl asked with a gasp.

“Small accident before work,” Pie simply stated. “I walked into something that was harder than I expected it to be.”

“You poor baby,” The girl’s friend crooned as she stroked Pie’s cheek as he refilled her drink.

By mid-afternoon, Pie was used to the fussing from the female customers. While he did not encourage the behavior, he tolerated it. If for no other reason than these girls left bigger tips.

Lettuce, however, had been watching this happen repeatedly throughout the day and had worked herself into a jealous rage. Before too long, her eyes all but literally matched her hair.

An hour before closing, after watching yet another pretty girl dote on the alien, Lettuce stormed off towards the kitchen, sloshing dirty water from cleaning tables everywhere as she went.

“I gave him the black eye, it should be me fussing over him,” She growled to herself as she passed Kish and Ichigo.

Ichigo and Kish looked at each other knowingly.

“Hundred yen says the next girl who touches Pie’s face, she transforms and Ribbon Lettuce Rushes her out the door.” Kish said with a grin.

“Nah, she’d do something more subtle. Pretend to trip and drop food all over the girl. She’s clumsy and, well, Lettuce. Everyone will believe it’s an accident.” Ichigo countered.

Neither got to see what would happen next because the lights flickered and went off. Keiichiro came out of the kitchen, announcing that there had been an electrical problem and apologized, because they were going to have to close early for the day.

Once the last customers were out, Rirī turned the lights back on.

“Mylo?” She asked. Keiichiro nodded grimly.

The team nodded in response and grabbed their pendants. Within minutes, they had arrived at the battle-zone, transformed and ready for action.

“Ten minutes, not bad,” Mylo said from where he floated in the air, tucking away a large old-fashioned silver pocket-watch into his cloak. “Glad you could come out to play.” Mylo raised an eyebrow when he saw Pie.

“What happened to you, Ikisatashi?” Mylo asked. “Fly into something hard?”

“Something along those lines,” Pie said dryly.

Mylo shrugged.

“You never were the best at flying, so I don’t know why I’m surprised,” Mylo said as he examined his claws with little interest.

Pie felt his face heat up at Mylo’s comment, though had to admit that he was more angry because Mylo was right.

Mylo suddenly looked up and grinned.

“I’m bored of this conversation,” He said, holding up his hands. His palms glowed as he formed a jelly-fish like parasite in his hands. “Let’s liven up this little pow-wow. By the way, Mew Ichigo, I have someone I want you to meet. I think you’ll get along purr-fectly.”

Suddenly, a small red kitten was under Mylo’s control. And seemed to have a thing for dangly objects…

“Put Pudding down you naughty kitty, na no da!” Pudding screamed as she was suspended in midair by her tail in the cat’s now giant paw. Kish flew up to try and free her while the others distracted the cat and tried to destroy the parasite inside it.

Kish tried stabbing the cat’s paw with his swords so that it would drop the Mew. However, the cat moved and he missed. Pudding yelped in pain.

“Watch the tail, na no da!” She yelled up at Kish.

“Sorry!” Kish responded as he took aim again. This time, he hit in the right place and Pudding was released with a howl. Tart flew up and caught Pudding while Kish dodged the swipe from the paw he just stabbed.

“Thank you for catching Pudding, Taru-Taru, na no da!” Pudding said, kissing his cheek.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tart said, blushing. “Let’s just go fight this oversized feline. And I’m not talking about Ichigo.”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY, MIDGET?” Ichigo hollered indignantly, her fur on end, her pink eyes hard as she turned to glare at Tart.

“Nothing!” Tart said quickly after catching a glimpse of Ichigo’s Strawberry Bell, which he knew from previous experience could be aimed at very sensitive parts of a teenage boy’s anatomy. And hurt more than one would believe.

“You’re still going to pay for it later!” Ichigo shouted. Tart gulped and rejoined the fight.

The monster was almost finished off when suddenly Rōzu screamed. The ninja had returned and was holding the young girl tightly so she couldn’t teleport.

Rirī dropped her bow and leapt towards the two, giving the ninja a sharp kick to the shins. The ninja let go of Rōzu, who quickly teleported beside Pie and Rin. The twins raised their weapons to join Rirī as she faced off with the ninja, but the young teen shouted at them,

“Finish off the Chimera Animal! I’ve got him!” She said. Reluctantly, her brother and sister turned back to the fight.

Rirī and the ninja stared at each other for a long time, each daring the other to make the first move. Finally, the ninja attacked and Rirī blocked it with her arm before initiating her attack, which was in turn blocked.

They continued in this pattern for a while, for they were so evenly matched.

Rirī finally landed a blow on the ninja’s shoulder in the right place so that his arm was immobilized.

The ninja drew back, glaring at Rirī with hard sapphire blue eyes.

Wait, I know those eyes, Rirī thought suddenly with horror.

She flew through the air and yanked off the ninja’s mask, revealing the face of a handsome sixteen year old Cyniclon boy with strawberry blond hair that hung around his shoulders and a plait at the side of his face. A very familiar face for Rirī.

Rirī’s eyes filled with tears.

“Zen?” She whispered.

The boy—Zen—flinched at her voice and leapt into the air, teleporting away.

Rirī stood there in stunned silence, hearing her friends and siblings call her.

“Rirī?” Tart said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Tears spilling from her eyes, Rirī brushed her younger brother away and ran away, snatching up her bow as she went. As she reached the end of the block, she teleported away, ignoring Rin’s shouts.

“What was that about?” Mint asked.

All the Cyniclons except for Rōzu shrugged. The youngest Ikisatashi, however, looked grim.

“I know who the ninja is, and now so does Rirī,” The little girl said sadly. “When he grabbed me, his sleeve went back some. There was a blue dragon tattoo on his arm.”

“So?” Ichigo asked. Kish turned to her, his face reflecting his shock.

“There is only one person we know who could fight like that, make Rirī react like she did and have a blue dragon tattoo on his forearm.”

“Who?” Lettuce asked.

“Zen Tatsuya,” Pie said solemnly. “Rirī’s best friend.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Seventeen:

Rirī was depressed over her encounter with her best friend. Or, at least, who she thought had been her friend. She was zombie-like at school and at work, both places she loved and thrived in. She even ran away during a battle.

After the said battle was over, her teammates stood outside the door of the room she shared with her sisters.

“Rirī, please open up,” Rin begged. “We’ve got to talk about this.”

“What’s to talk about?” Rirī snapped.

“Look, we understand that this upsets you-” Mint started, but Rirī cut her off.

“I’m not upset!” She yelled.

“You ran away from a fight and are now locked in your room. I may not be an expert on girls, but I know enough to know when one is upset,” Kish said.

Rirī threw open the door. Her indigo eyes were red, indicating that she had been crying, and she had already changed into her pajamas.

“So I’m upset,” Rirī snapped, her arms folded over her chest. “Doesn’t mean there’s anything to talk about.”

“You left your team without warning when they needed you,” Pie said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I believe that warrants as something to talk about.”

“Look, I’m sorry,” Rirī said, crossing the room to sit on her bed. “I just, I didn’t want to face him again.”

“Understandable,” Ichigo said as she sat beside Rirī. “But we’re going to need more reasons as to why.”

“He’s fighting us!” Rirī said bitterly, staring at the floor, hugging her pillow to her chest. “Not just that, fighting for Mylo and what he represents. They are both openly trying to kill our family and unjustly rule earth and Cynnth!” Rirī was now crying and, before burying her face in her pillow, exclaimed: “And I think I’m in love with Zen!”

While this took the Mews by surprise, the other Ikisatashi siblings looked unimpressed.

“Sweetheart,” Rin said, rubbing Rirī’s back as she sobbed. “I hate to tell you this, but that’s old news. We’ve known for a long time that you love Zen.”

“And that Zen loves you,” Rōzu added.

Rirī looked up at shock at her sisters, tears staining her cheeks.

“What do you mean he loves me?” She demanded.

“It was blatantly obvious that Zen was—and possibly still is—in love with you,” Pie said. “Everyone knew. Everyone, except you.”

“Everything he did and said told us all we needed to know,” Rin continued. “However, he couldn’t get that message across to the one person it was all meant for. You.”

Rirī gaped for a moment before forcing out, “Why didn’t he just tell me that he loved me?”

“Because every time he tried, you put him in the ‘friend-zone’,” Kish said.

Everyone stared at him. The humans stared in shock that Kish knew the term, four-fifths of the aliens in confusion, and Tart in agreement with Kish’s statement.

“What?” Kish asked, looking at the befuddled and amazed looks he was surrounded by. “I did learn things from my extra six months on earth.”

“But not Rock, Paper, Scissors?” Pie demanded, narrowing his eyes.

“Let it go, Pie!” Kish snapped, glaring in return.

The girls all exchanged looks of confusion.

“Story for another time,” Tart said. He then turned to Rirī and explained the term. Rirī nodded with understanding.

“Oh! I get it now!” She said. Her brow furrowed again. “But why didn’t he say something?”

Tart put his hands on her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye.

“Let me tell you this from my personal experience,” Tart said. “No guy ever wants to be in the friend-zone, because they cannot get out on their own. Usually when a guy is in the friend-zone, it means is that the woman he loves doesn’t see that they can be more than friends. Sometimes they never do. But one lucky one might be able to escape the friend-zone and enter the more-than-friends-zone. He is one of the few that ever see the light of day again. It is a wonderful feeling.” He shook Rirī slightly. “Do yourself and Zen a favor and get him out of the friend-zone!”

Rirī nodded, though she looked somewhere between befuddled and amused.

“What meanie put Taru-Taru in the friend-zone, na no da?” Pudding demanded, putting her hands on her hips. “Pudding will go and-”

“Pudding,” Lettuce said, tugging on the younger girl’s shirt. “I think you’re the, uh, meanie.”

Pudding looked perplexed for a moment as the room filled with awkward silence. Then Pudding looked at Tart.

“Did Pudding put Taru-Taru in the friend-zone, na no da?” She asked, her voice somewhat sad.

Biting his lip, Tart gave a slow nod. Pudding flung herself onto Tart.

“Pudding is so sorry, Taru-Taru, na no da! Can Taru-Taru forgive Pudding, na no da?” Pudding asked, tears in her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I forgive you,” Tart said, patting Pudding’s back as he rolled his eyes.

“Thank you, Taru-Taru, na no da!” Pudding said and kissed Tart’s cheek.

“So you’re going to talk to him?” Ichigo asked Rirī softly while the others were being amused by Pudding telling Tart all that she was going to do to make it up to him in between kisses.

“Yes,” Rirī said. “And maybe he has some reason to fight with Mylo. Maybe I can change that.”

“If that is the case, then I wish you luck,” Ichigo said.

Rirī smiled in gratitude.

Little did she know, she was going to need much more than luck.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Scene Divider)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Over the next two weeks, Zen did not show up at any of their battles. Nonetheless, Rirī anxiously searched for him with her sharp eyes every time Mylo decided to pick a fight.

“Mylo never has the same soldiers fighting us, it’s a different group each time,” Ichigo reminded Rirī when she was depressed after another fight without Zen’s appearance. “He’ll come eventually.”

Rirī simply smiled and nodded.

The following morning, Lettuce came barreling into the Café, where everyone else was already getting ready to open for the day.

“Lettuce?” Mint asked as Lettuce struggled to regain her breath. “Something wrong?”

Lettuce didn’t answer but started running again, this time with the rest of the team following her. She dashed into the kitchen, turned on the small television set and flipped it onto the news channel. A pretty lady sat at a desk, talking about something. What caught the team’s immediate attention was that behind her was a screen playing a familiar scene with very familiar people.

“Hey! That’s us!” Rōzu exclaimed. “That was just last night, too!”

“Yes, Takumi, it’s been the talk of the nation,” The reporter was saying. “Just two years ago, Tokyo Mew Mew, our city’s beloved crime fighters, were fighting creatures created by individuals believed to be aliens. When the aliens left, it all seemed to be a done deal. Now these very same aliens are back, and it seems that they have put aside their differences with the Mew Mews and teamed up to fight side-by-side against this new army that appear to be of their own species. Nevertheless, the Tokyo Defenders-”

“Tokyo Defenders,” Ichigo said, trying out the name with a smile. “I like it.”

“Shh!” Zakuro hushed.

“-but what is the reason behind this new army? No one is quite sure yet, but when when we find out you will be the first to know.” The reporter finished.

The newly dubbed Tokyo Defenders stood in silence.

“You know,” Ryou said, breaking the silence. “We really should have done something to hide the ears.”

“Can’t do a thing about that now,” Kish said, wondering just how many teachers and students at school saw this clip. “Besides, no one found out about the Mews back then.”

“And, in retrospect, Lettuce and Ichigo were the only ones who really looked different from their normal, human forms,” Mint said. “Still, no one found out.”

“Masaya Onii-Chan did, na no da!” Pudding argued.

“Only because he was close enough to me to piece it together,” Ichigo said. “For now, we just have to keep our fingers crossed.”

They went back to work, business as usual.

“Hey, Kish, can I ask you something?” Tart asked as he and Kish worked on cleaning a table.

“You just did,” Kish pointed out. Tart gave him a glare. Kish sighed. “Ask away.”

“Okay, so, I’m going to ask Pudding to go on a date with me, do you have any suggestions on where to take her?” Tart asked.

“Whoa, you haven’t taken Pudding on a date yet? But you two have been a couple for three weeks now.” Kish said.

“She kind of decided that, and I’ve been wanting to take her out, but she’s been sick, there was that ninja, Mylo’s been a jerk, Ryou makes us work crazy hours, and we’ve both had a lot of homework, so I really haven’t had the time or chance to ask her. Just tell me where you take Ichigo when you two go out and I’ll stop bugging you,” Tart said.

Kish looked up with confusion.

“Ichigo and I haven’t been going out on dates,” Kish said.

“Wait, you haven’t?” Tart said, his brow furrowing. “But you two are always hanging out together, and usually in the evening, so we all kind of figured…”

Kish thought about Tart’s statement. It was true, he and Ichigo were spending a lot of time together. After their shifts at the Café, they would do their homework together sprawled out on the area rug in Kish’s room then he would walk her home. Occasionally, they would go for a walk in the park, or get ice-cream or something. But Kish had not actually asked Ichigo out on a date.

I’m going to have to fix that, Kish thought determinedly and told Tart so. Tart grinned and turned to Pie, who had just emerged from the kitchen.

“Pay up,” Tart said, holding out his hand. “I told you I could do it.”

Grudgingly, Pie shifted the tray to one hand and stuck the other hand in his pocket before handing Tart a few yen coins.

“You and Pudding enjoy my hard-earned tips on your date tonight,” Pie said irritably.

“Thanks,” Tart said, transferring the money to his pocket with a smirk.

Kish stared open-mouthed at the exchange.

“You two were betting to see if I would ask Ichigo out,” Kish realized and glared at the two. Pie shrugged as he readjusted his grip on the tray.

“You can thank us later,” Pie said as he walked away. Tart bounded after Pie, leaving Kish standing alone.

Kish shook his head with a grin. He couldn’t have asked for better brothers.

Now all he had to do was figure out how he was going to ask Ichigo out…

Chapter Text

Chapter Eighteen:

Kish was acting strange. Had been all day, Ichigo realized as she walked to the Café after school. He was behaving in an un-Kish-like manner and Ichigo couldn’t figure out why. He didn’t even walk her to work from school, and Rirī declined her offer to come with her. The wide, cheeky grin Rirī had given her all day hadn’t helped at all. Ichigo knew from experience that when a Ikisatashi grinned like that, there was mischief in the air.

Ichigo was lost in thought when suddenly Masha chirped, “Alien alert! Alien alert!”

Ichigo turned around, panicking. Was one of Mylo’s soldiers coming to attack her? Or, worse, Mylo himself?

She was relieved to not see anyone directly behind her.

“I don’t see anyone,” Ichigo said. “Are you sure, Masha?”

“He’s not wrong.”

Ichigo turned as she heard the familiar voice coming from above her. To her surprise, she saw that Kish was sitting at the top of the same clock tower he had been hiding in the day they first met.

With a grin, Kish flew down at break-neck speed, stopping in front of her, planting his lips on Ichigo’s cheek.

“Kish? What-?” Ichigo started to ask, but Kish cut her off.

“My name is Kisshu,” Kish said with the same smirk he gave her that day three years ago when they first met, when Kish stole that first kiss. “And I’d like to take you out on a date this Friday night.”

Ichigo smiled.

“I’d be honored,” Ichigo said, taking Kish’s hand. She kissed his cheek. “How about picking me up around six on Friday sound?”

“It’s a date,” Kish said, squeezing her hand. “Now we better hurry and get to work. We don’t need to give Ryou an excuse to cut our pay.”

Ichigo chuckled, knowing Kish was right.

“So where are you and Kish Onii-Chan going on your date?” Rōzu asked from the sink that evening, where she and Pudding were washing dishes.

“I don’t know yet,” Ichigo admitted. “Kish said it was going to be a surprise. Problem with that is, I don’t know to be dressed up or go casual.”

“You’ll just have to toe that fine line between the two,” Zakuro said as she put plates away. “It’s a fun yet challenging task.”

“More like daunting,” Ichigo groaned. The girls chatted for a few minutes when they heard Kish’s voice in a conversation with Pie and Tart.

“You’ve got to make a decision, Tart,” Kish said as the trio entered the kitchen, each holding a basin of dirty water and cloths.

“A decision about what?” Rin asked curiously.

“It’s nothing,” Tart insisted.

“Is this about the offer to play for the school’s soccer team, na no da?” Pudding asked Tart, who nodded.

“You got asked to play for the middle school soccer team?” Lettuce asked in surprise.

“I’ve been asked to try out at the very least,” Tart said with a shrug. “Really, it’s not a big deal.”

“Wait, have you even played soccer before?” Mint asked, her brow furrowing.

“We have a game similar to soccer on Cynnth,” Pie explained. “We played it often at the Military Academy. The rules were the same as the Earth game, but we were not allowed to use our powers. That was to help us learn to not only control them, but to know when they are necessary to be used or not.”

“Tart is our best player,” Kish said, slinging an arm around his younger brother, who shook him off.

“I wasn’t the best,” Tart grumbled.

“You were today, na no da!” Pudding said with a smile as she leapt onto Tart’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Taru-Taru scored many goals for his and Pudding’s team in gym class today, na no da! Taru-Taru is amazing, na no da!” Pudding said proudly.

Tart blushed.

“Thing is, I would love to say yes,” Tart said, patting Pudding’s hand. “But not with everything else going on. Work, battles, homework...”

“Aren’t the practices held afterschool?” Zakuro asked.

“Yeah, three days a week after school and on Saturday mornings. All practices would be two hours long,” Tart said.

“That’s not too bad,” Ichigo said. “Plus, Ryou made sure that our hours are flexible enough so that we can do other things at school and stuff. Like Mint’s dancing, Lettuce’s book club, Zakuro’s modeling and so on.”

Tart’s eyes narrowed briefly as he considered the options.

“Alright,” He said at last. “I’ll go tell the captain tomorrow that I’ll try-out.”

“Yay!” Pudding cheered, squeezing Tart again. “And Pudding will be there to cheer Taru-Taru on, na no da!”

Tart grinned sheepishly.

After they finished cleaning, Kish brought out a soccer ball and suggested having a friendly match outside. They played four-on-four. Kish, Ichigo, Rōzu and Ryou were a team and Tart, Pie, Lettuce and Rirī were the other team. Mint, Zakuro, Pudding, and Rin sat on the sidelines, cheering them on while Keiichiro worked on a project inside. Lettuce proved to be just as clumsy on the soccer field as she was in the Café, but Tart was so good that it didn’t matter. And they all had fun, so that was the important part.

Pudding smiled as Tart put the ball past Ryou into the ‘goal’. She watched as Tart high-fived Rirī and went back to their side of the ‘field’.

“Mint Onee-Chan, Rin Onee-Chan and Zakuro Onee-Chan, can you help Pudding with something, na no da?” Pudding asked softly.

“Sure, kid. What’s up?” Rin asked.

“Pudding wants to go clothes shopping, na no da,” Pudding said. She looked down at her clothes, which was a traditional Chinese outfit. “Pudding has enough money to pay for the clothes, but she needs Onee-Chan to come with her to tell her if the clothes are cute enough, na no da.”

“Cute enough?” Mint repeated, her eyebrow raised. “Pudding, you’re always cute.”

Pudding shifted uneasily.

“But that’s little-girl cute. Pudding wants to be big-girl cute, na no da,” She looked sadly at Tart, who was dribbling the ball past Kish. “Be Taru-Taru’s girlfriend cute, na no da.”

“Pudding, did something happen at school today?” Zakuro asked almost knowingly. Pudding nodded.

“Some girls were mean to Pudding, na no da,” Pudding admitted. “Said that Pudding dressed like she was five years old, na no da. Not cute enough to date Taru-Taru, na no da.”

“Sounds like there’s some jealousy going on there,” Mint said. She nudged Pudding’s arm with her elbow with a grin. “You caught a cutie, one many other girls would like to have as their own boyfriend. They’re just mad you got him before they even saw him.”

Pudding grinned.

“Pudding doesn’t blame them for being upset, then, na no da,” Pudding said as she focused her eyes on Tart while she spoke. “Pudding sees these girls, trying to get Taru-Taru’s attention, na no da. But he looks past them and sees only Pudding, na no da. Pudding knows she’s not popular at school. Pudding is the weird one who works after school and does circus tricks, na no da. Pudding wants to show them that she is good enough to date Taru-Taru, na no da.”

“Pudding, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you so serious about anything,” Zakuro said shocked. Pudding smiled.

“That’s because Pudding is serious, na no da,” Pudding said. “Very, very serious, na no da.”

“You know, Tart doesn’t care what those girls say,” Rin said, laying her hand on Pudding’s shoulder. “He loves you for you, Pudding. You don’t have to prove anything.”

“And Pudding knows that, na no da,” Pudding said. “All Pudding wants to do is change her clothes, na no da. She’s a big girl now, and needs a big-girl look, na no da. Pudding’s been wanting to do this for a while now, even before Taru-Taru became her boyfriend, but she never had time, na no da.”

“Well, then, we’ll make time,” Mint said. “You deserve some girl time at the mall. We can go after work tomorrow. Maybe Rirī, Rōzu, Ichigo and Lettuce would like to come as well.”

Pudding nodded as she smiled brightly and resumed watching the soccer game, glad that fate had blessed her with these wonderful pseudo-sisters.

The girls all went out shopping the next evening—except for Rōzu, who practically begged to stay with her brothers. She was determined to not do anything girly, and clothes shopping was very high on her list of ‘girly’ actions.

Pudding felt comfortable in her new clothes, and compared the feeling to a snake shedding its skin. She was leaving behind the little girl part of her life and truly becoming a teenager.

The following morning, she dressed for school in blue jeans and a white long sleeved shirt with a grinning baby monkey that held a banana. Over her shirt she wore a white-and-yellow-striped hooded jacket and she wore yellow and white sneakers. She also had brand-new golden studs in her ears, having gathered enough courage to ask her father if she could pierce her ears. She had let her hair out of the small braids so that it flowed down her back. She did, however, put two short pigtails on the sides of her head, just above her ears, while the rest of her hair hung around her shoulders. Tart had smiled when he saw the pigtails and Pudding beamed as she said,

“Pudding thinks Taru-Taru knows what inspired her new hairstyle, na no da.”

“Yep, that I do,” Tart said, running a finger over one gently. “You look amazing, you know.”

“Thank you, na no da,” Pudding said, pride welling up inside of her.

That feeling of pride continued to glow in her the following morning when she walked into school clutching Tart’s hand. All eyes were on her, getting stares of awe and hatred. Pudding smiled at them all.

Pudding wondered if she had made the right decision, but realized that it was a good choice and that she felt better about herself after doing so.

I am Pudding Fong, She thought as she walked down the hall. I am a Mew Mew. I am a big sister and a little sister. I am a dutiful daughter. I am Tart’s girlfriend. And no matter what I wear, do or say, I will always be all of those things.

She met Tart’s eyes and he grinned at her and squeezed her hand.

And, if Pudding had any doubt after that, it was washed away knowing that Tart thought that she was beautiful no matter what she wore or how she did her hair.

No other girl could claim that.

Chapter Text

Chapter Nineteen:

On Friday evening, a few minutes before six o’clock, Kish shifted from foot to foot nervously as he stood on the front stoop of Ichigo’s house, having rang the doorbell a few seconds earlier.

“I’m coming!” He heard Mrs. Momomiya’s voice from inside the house. She opened the door and smiled pleasantly at Kish, whom she—along with her husband—had met previously.

“Hello, Ikisatashi-Kun,” Mrs. Momomiya said cheerfully. “Ichigo-Chan will be ready in just a moment. Please, come inside.”

“Thank you, Momomiya-San,” Kish said as he entered the house. Mrs. Momomiya escorted him to the living room and encouraged him to sit down. Kish did so nervously, looking around the room.

He turned back to look at the staircase and ended up face to face with Mr. Momomiya. Kish jumped in surprise and leaned back some. Mr. Momomiya leaned in closer.

“So. You’re taking my baby girl out on a date tonight.” Mr. Momomiya said, glaring down Kish.

“Yes, sir,” Kish said, using what he was taught at the military academy about keeping fear out of your expression and voice. He had never been so grateful for those lessons.

“And may I ask where you will be taking her?” Mr. Momomiya demanded.

Kish smiled pleasantly.

“Dinner downtown, and then possibly a walk in a nearby park,” Kish said. “I would say more, but I was hoping to surprise Ichigo with our destination, and I don’t want her to overhear.”

“I want her to come back here in the perfect state in which she leaves, is that clear, bud?” Mr. Momomiya said, poking Kish in the chest.

Kish nodded.

“As crystal,” Kish said. He stood up and bowed to Mr. Momomiya, which took the older man by surprise. “I promise, I will take care of your daughter with every ounce of strength I possess. Ichigo is the most important person in my life, and I know she and Momomiya-San are the most important people in your life. I will keep her safe, no matter what the price. Even if that price is my life. Her life, safety and well-being are much more precious to me than anything else in this universe. I will not let you down, sir.”

Mr. Momomiya stood in shock and stared at Kish for a long time. The seriousness in Kish’s expression had completely thrown him off. What he didn’t know was that Kish was making this promise to go past the dating side of his romantic relationship with Ichigo. He was promising Mr. Momomiya that he would keep her safe in battle, and would not let Mylo hurt his kitten.

Just then, the two men heard Ichigo coming down the stairs. Kish felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw her.

Ichigo’s hair was curled and hung around her shoulders and she wore a dark pink knee-length dress with a brown collar, pink high-heels, a gold chain necklace with a small strawberry-shaped pendant and bangles.

“Ichigo, you look… wow,” Kish whispered. Ichigo smiled as she took the last step down the stairs.

“Thanks,” Ichigo said, wrapping her arms around Kish. “You look pretty ‘wow’ yourself.” She turned to her dad and said, “We’ll be back by ten.”

“You know what,” Mr. Momomiya said, looking at Kish. “I’ll expect you by eleven.”

“An hour past my curfew?” Ichigo asked, stunned. Kish nodded his thanks and Mr. Momomiya gave a quick nod in response.

“Yes, now go before I change my mind,” Mr. Momomiya said, trying to sound mean but failed to.

Ichigo gave her dad a confused look.

“Okay. Bye, Daddy,” Ichigo said. As they were walking to the door, Ichigo whispered to her mother. “I think Dad’s running a fever. He sounds delirious.”

Mrs. Momomiya nodded in agreement while Kish struggled hard to not grin.

“So, where are you taking me on this mystery date?” Ichigo asked as they turned a secluded street for Kish to teleport them to their destination.

“You’ll see,” Kish said with a grin. “Close your eyes.”

Ichigo did so and felt Kish take her hands. She felt the now-familiar tug of teleporting with Kish, but she kept her eyes shut.

“Okay, you can look now,” Kish said.

Ichigo opened her eyes and whispered, “Wow.”

They were at the top of Tokyo Tower, where a picnic blanket had been spread out as well as some covered trays that she recognized from the Café and some tea-light candles.

“Kish, this is amazing,” Ichigo said, smiling as she turned to the alien teen, who smiled proudly.

“I thought you would like it,” Kish said, leading Ichigo to the blanket. “I’ve been wanting to take you back here for a while. I used to come here and do a lot of thinking before that last battle. Mostly a lot of thinking about you. Those thoughts always made the view better.”

Ichigo blushed slightly as she and Kish sat down. Kish took the handles of two dish covers in his hands and took them off, doing the same with a few more.

“Dinner is served, Koneko-Chan,” Kish said.

They chatted while they ate, sharing stories from their childhoods and even more recent tales. When they were done eating, Ichigo shifted over to sit closer to Kish, leaning against him, his arm around her. They sat in silence for a while, basking in each other’s company, watching the night life of Tokyo below them like they were the king and queen of the city.

Ichigo shivered as a gust of wind blew.

“Cold?” Kish asked, looking down at Ichigo.

“A little bit,” Ichigo admitted.

“We are high up and summer’s over, so I’m not surprised.” Kish said as he shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around Ichigo.

“Oh yeah, tomorrow is the equinox,” Ichigo said, snuggling up against Kish. “Summer sure flew by.” They sat in silence for a while longer, then Ichigo asked, “What’s autumn like on Cynnth?”

“It’s wonderful. That first fall was an experience I’ll never forget. So much food had been grown by then, and everyone celebrated the first harvest with a world-wide feast. I don’t think anyone went hungry that day, nor was particularly hungry a week later,” Kish chuckled. “And very few were sober the following morning.

“The leaves turn wonderful colors, though at first many were worried that something was wrong with the trees. No one was happy to learn that this meant that winter was coming, and it was pretty tense that first winter. Fortunately, the highest snowfall measure was eight inches, and that was closer towards the planets poles, and many saw that the snow was an alright thing after a while. Especially after they learned that you could ball it up to throw at people for fun.”

“Didn’t it always snow on Cynnth before the Mew Aqua?” Ichigo asked.

“Yeah. There were this horrible blizzards nearly year round. No one ventured outside because the snow was so deadly. It was very easy to get sick, despite that our bodies are able to keep in heat better than most humans.” Kish said.

“That explains a lot,” Ichigo said. “We spent most of that winter before the last battle listening to Pudding wonder how Tart wasn’t freezing in his outfit.”

Kish smiled.

“Funny, Tart was wondering how Pudding stayed warm in her Mew outfit.” Kish said. “I think that was the month Pie put in earplugs. We just thought he was being normal Pie in not responding and remaining emotionless. We didn’t even figure out that he had done for quite a few weeks.”

Ichigo laughed.

Kish’s smile grew as he listened to Ichigo’s laughter. She noticed that he was watching her.

“What?” She asked. “Have I got something on my face?”

“No, it’s just that,” Kish started to say, his cheeks tinted red. “You look so beautiful when you laugh. Not that you’re not gorgeous when you’re not laughing, but it’s just that I can’t take my eyes off you.”

“That’s good,” Ichigo said, smiling shyly. “Because I can’t take my eyes off you either.”

They both leaned in, very carefully, their eyes fluttering shut, their lips about to touch…

“Chimera animal! Chimera animal!”

The two jumped back as Masha flew in between the two.

“As always, perfect timing, Masha,” Ichigo said sarcastically.

“Masha helpful! Masha helpful!” Masha chirped proudly.

“Where’s the Chimera Animal?” Kish asked, sweeping up the remains of their picnic with a wave of his hand.

Masha gave them coordinates and Ichigo called Lettuce while Kish called Pie.

“Thanks, Lettuce,” Ichigo said after a moment of talking. “See you soon.” She looked at Kish. “Lettuce will get Zakuro, Mint and Pudding. Have you gotten hold of Pie?”

“Straight to voicemail,” Kish said, frowning at his closed phone. “He’s probably in his lab and doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

Suddenly, the phone in Kish’s hand went off.

“Moshi-Moshi,” Kish said, answering the phone. Ichigo heard Pie’s voice on the other end.

“Gomen-nasai, Kish. Rirī and I were sparring and I could not hear the phone. Is something wrong?”

“Yeah, Mylo’s decided to cut mine and Ichigo’s date short,” Kish said with a scowl. He gave Pie the coordinates. “We’ll meet you there with the other Mews.”

“We will be there shortly,” Pie said and he hung up.

Ichigo and Kish grabbed their pendants and transformed. Ichigo’s tail twitched, her bell jingling, as she looked at her phone.

“It’s already quarter till eleven,” She said. “I’ll call my parents and tell them there was a work emergency.”

Kish nodded and scanned the city below with his eyes while Ichigo made the call home. His golden eyes widened at the spot.

“Ichigo,” He said as Ichigo hung up her phone. “I see Mylo. Looks like he’s got some big monsters this time.”

Ichigo scowled as she saw where Kish was pointing at.

“Let’s go ruin his fun, shall we?” Ichigo said, taking Kish’s hand. Together, they jumped off the ledge of Tokyo Tower into a teleportation portal Kish had opened.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty:

Mylo was having fun watching the puny humans run for their lives from his monsters.

My finest yet, he thought with a proud smirk.

Suddenly, one of the monsters was hit with a pink ball of light. Mylo turned sharply to see the cat Mew and his half-brother standing ten feet away, weapons drawn and ready.

“Oh, it’s you,” Mylo said with disgust. “Where’s the rest of your posse?”

“Getting ready to take our revenge,” Rirī said, her eyes hard as she notched one of her arrows, pulling the string back towards her cheek as Kish and Ichigo ran to join their teammates.

“Oh, and what noble reason to call for vengeance is it tonight?” Mylo asked mockingly. “I don’t recall kicking any puppies on the way here.”

“You ruined Ichigo Onee-Chan and Kishu Onii-Chan’s first date, you big meanie!” Pudding said with a scowl as she twirled one of her Pudding Rings around her finger while the other was clutched tightly in her fist.

“And that is just unforgiveable,” Zakuro said, snapping her whip so that it coiled around her feet, ready to be used.

“Romance killer!” Rōzu yelled with a snarl, gripping her Rose Thorns tightly. Rin and Lettuce nodded, holding their own weapons in a menacing way, their eyes hard.

“For ruining Ichigo and Kish’s perfect evening, you will pay!” Mint said as she called her bow to her hand.

“There is a chance they are angry enough that we could win the entire war today,” Pie observed in a undertone.

“Yeah,” Tart agreed.

“We have awesome friends,” Ichigo said with a grin to Kish, who nodded in agreement.

“ ‘Perfect evening’, huh?” Mylo said, preparing more parasites. “Then how about I give the little lovebirds something to make it even more enjoyable?”

He threw the parasites out at random. The results were instantaneous. Squirrels, rats and raccoons became Chimera Animals and joined in with the first three.

It was a struggle to fight so many Chimera Animals, but they were finally able to slay two.

“Two down, five to go!” Zakuro said as she unleashed her whip again furiously.

When a nearby clock chimed eleven forty-five, they had gotten three more monsters down and were starting to get worn out.

“We can’t keep this up!” Rin yelled over the din as she deflected one of the squirrel’s acorn missiles. “We’ve got to finish this soon!”

“What do you think we’re trying to do?” Tart yelled back.

“Tired are we?” Mylo taunted, forming another parasite in one palm as he materialized a potted plant out of thin air. “How about you take a breather?”

He fused the parasite and the plant. The plant was a huge Venus fly trap and had dozens of vines coming out of its stem.

“Hey!” Mint yelled in shock as she was swept off her feet by the plant and dangled above the ground, the vine wrapped around her torso and pinning her arms to her sides. “I can’t get out!”

“Hang on Mint!” Rōzu yelled and she flew up to try and free Mint, but with a shriek she was captured by the plant as well, her swords hitting the ground with a clatter.

Ichigo had just managed to slay one of the two remaining Chimera Animals when she was dragged into the air with a screech. Tart, Pie and Kish had finished off the other Chimera Animal when Tart and Kish were yanked by the plant as well with yells of shock. Despite Tart’s best efforts, he couldn’t control the plant with his powers which made him even more frustrated as he struggled to get free. Zakuro, Rirī, Pudding and Lettuce were trapped as well by the plant, all fighting to get free.

“Let’s try to slice this thing in half! You take the right side, I’ll take the left!” Rin yelled at Pie, who nodded.

Pie flew around the side of the plant, slicing as he went, and was surprised to not meet Rin in the middle. He continued flying at full speed when he heard his sister’s scream. He didn’t even get a chance to look for her when he was thrown into the side of a nearby building by a wildly swinging vine while the plant ‘roared’ with pain from the wounds Pie had inflicted.

Pie shakily got to his feet, a dull pain forming in the back of his head and felt his own warm, sticky blood drip down the back of his neck. He looked around and saw that Rin was trapped, too, and that Mylo had flown up beside her, cupping her cheek as he tried to sweet talk her. Rage building up inside of him, Pie flew to his twin’s side, determined to do everything he could to protect her from Mylo.

Mylo turned just in time to smirk at Pie before teleporting away. Pie still had enough momentum that he couldn’t stop right away and turned to search for Mylo when he felt cold metal press up against his neck and his arms pinned behind his back.

“Well, in most games, the last one standing wins,” Mylo said into Pie’s ear, pressing the flat of his dagger harder against Pie’s throat, making his breath catch. “But in this case, you’ve lost. Because now I’m going to kill you.”

“No!” Rin yelled, thrashing against her bonds.

“No?” Mylo asked, looking up at Rin with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged and removed the dagger, but kept Pie’s arms restrained. “Well, then, if that’s what you want, Rinny.”

Rin stopped moving long enough to stare at Mylo in disbelief. Mylo smirked again.

“Doesn’t mean he’s not leaving today unscathed,” Mylo said and he threw Pie down to the ground. Pie caught himself before he hit the concrete, floating in the air for a few seconds before he ended up hitting the ground as something hot collided with his back and he felt himself de-transform.

His limbs shaking, Pie struggled to get to his feet, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t fly or teleport either. Whatever was in Mylo’s blast had weakened him enough to take his powers away as well as most of the strength in his muscles.

“Sadly, it’s only temporary,” Mylo said, noticing Pie’s struggles. He kicked Pie in the ribs to roll him over onto his back, using his own powers to hold Pie down so that he couldn’t protect himself. Mylo knelt beside Pie and spoke again, studying his knife blade. “Shame.”

Then Mylo suddenly jerked his arm and dug the knife into Pie’s leg, just above the knee.

Pie threw his head back, his clenched fists resulting in his claw-like fingernails digging into his palms and biting his lip to prevent from crying out in pain so hard that his lips bled from where his fangs cut into the flesh.

The Tokyo Defenders could only watch in horror as deep scarlet blood came out of the wound, knowing they could do nothing to stop Mylo from further hurting Pie.

As if reading their minds, Mylo gave a vindictive grin and twisted the blade with a sharp yank and that time Pie let out a howl of pain. Rōzu closed her eyes, turned her head away and sobbed, wishing she could cover her ears to block out her brother’s cries of agony. Tart swore a blue streak while furiously Kish and Rirī tried to teleport. Mint turned her head away, feeling ill at the sight of all the blood, and the other Mews struggled to be free. Rin was too stunned to do anything.

“Pie!” Lettuce screamed as she thrashed, right as the clock struck midnight.

Suddenly, a cold burst of wind blew over them all and the moon was shrouded by dark clouds. The Chimera Animal released its captives and withered into nothingness.

“What’s going on?” Tart said as everything around them went silent. The words had barely left Tart’s mouth when his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground, de-transformed.

“Taru-Taru!” Pudding cried. She took a step towards him, but she fell to the ground as well, shifting out of her Mew Pudding form.

Rin, Rirī and Lettuce were halfway to where an unconscious Pie lay when they too fell to the ground.

Ichigo and Kish watched in horror as one by one their teammates fell unconscious against the ground. Mylo took one look around, grabbed his knife and teleported away without a word.

“Kish…” Ichigo whispered, taking his hand. “I don’t like this.”

“Me either,” Kish whispered back.

Suddenly, a portal filled with orange-yellow light appeared before them. Out of the portal stepped a beautiful woman with stereotypical Cyniclon ears.

She had straight black hair that was longer than Rin’s, with cool brown eyes and lightly tanned skin. She wore a floor-length dress that looked like it was sewn from leafs and was many shades of browns, oranges, reds and yellows. She wore soft brown boots on her feet and a cloak made out of golden leaf-like fabric. She wore a necklace with golden apples charms that were adorned with sapphires, opals, topazes and zircons. The wind blew again and the scent of apples and cinnamon greeted Kish and Ichigo’s noses.

“Greetings, Ikisatashi Kisshu. Greetings, Momomiya Ichigo,” The lady said pleasantly. She dropped into a curtsey. “I am Autumn.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-One:

“Who are you?” Kish demanded, pushing Ichigo behind him, his lip curling as he called his swords to his hands.

The woman merely smiled and stepped forward, leaving a trail of leaves in her wake.

“Like I said, I am Autumn,” The woman said. “Today is the Autumnal Equinox, the day I walk the Earth. In a few hours, you will see my work as twelve hours—perfect down to the last second—of sunlight graces the Earth. Until then, I have come to see you.”

“What exactly are you? You look like a Cyniclon,” Ichigo commented as she poked her head out from behind Kish.

“I do, don’t I?” Autumn mused, fingering her ears. “Well, there is a reason for that, one that you will learn in time. For I am neither Cyniclon nor human nor any other race. When the time is right, my servant shall explain it all to you.”

“What if we want to know now? Can’t you tell us?” Kish demanded.

Autumn merely smiled again.

“Oh, Kisshu, don’t you trust me?” She asked, batting her long black lashes.

“You just knocked out our friends, so no I don’t trust you!” Kish raged, his cheeks red with anger.

Autumn’s smile grew bigger, but also a bit sadder.

“Good,” She whispered. She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and her eyes became serious.

“I have come to deliver a message for you two,” She said. “Your enemy is growing stronger. You saw evidence of that tonight.” She swept her arm out to where Pie lay, still bleeding. “Mylo is arrogant, which he believes is bravery. He showed that so-called bravery tonight by wounding your friend.”

Ichigo stepped out from behind Kish cautiously and ran over to Pie while Kish kept his swords aimed on the woman.

“Is he alright?” Kish asked, keeping his gaze on this strange woman.

“The wound is very deep, and he’s lost a lot of blood, but the bleeding has slowed,” Ichigo said, standing up again. “If he wasn’t unconscious, he’d be in a lot of pain.”

“And it is for that reason that I have guaranteed that he will sleep longer than the rest of your companions,” Autumn said. “He fought bravely tonight and his wounds come from bad circumstances and a wicked mind. He will recover with time. He needs to, in order to take up his duty.”

“His duty?” Kish repeated. “What duty?”

Autumn’s eyes twinkled again.

“You’ll see,” She said with a superiority. Autumn went to stand beside Ichigo and knelt down next to Pie. She bent low to whisper into his ear, “Sometimes, to find the right answer, you must make a wish upon a star.”

She stood up again, smiling down at Pie’s sleeping face. She looked at Kish and Ichigo in turn.

“You will not see me again,” She said. “But you must look for my sisters. They will guide you to the strategy to defeat Mylo. By the next Autumnal Equinox, you will either be victorious, or suffering from Mylo’s rule. I pray for your sakes that it is the former.”

She bowed to the two teenagers.

“Good-bye, my little warriors,” She said. “I wish you luck, a bountiful harvest, and light in the darkness that feels as if it has come too early.”

Autumn turned and proceeded to walk down the road, leaving a rainbow of autumnal leaves in her wake.

A gust of wind with swirling leaves blew and she was gone.

“Okay, so that was freaky,” Ichigo said. She knelt back down beside Pie and put a hand on his forehead. “He’s freezing and he’s bleeding steadily again. We need to move him, fast.”

Kish nodded and appeared beside her. He unwrapped one of his arms and tied the cloth tightly above Pie’s wound.

“That will stop the blood-flow, for now at least,” Kish said as he de-transformed and Ichigo did likewise. “Can you tell how hard he hit his head?”

“That wound has stopped bleeding, from the looks of it,” Ichigo said, carefully turning Pie’s head. “It looks like it’s just broken skin, his skull isn’t fractured and it isn’t too deep.”

“Our bones are thicker than humans, and skulls are the thickest,” Kish explained. “It would take something very big and very heavy dropping onto him to break his skull. Doesn’t mean he won’t have a headache when he wakes up later, though.”

“Good to know,” Ichigo said with a nod.

They heard a moan from across the way and turned to see Rin push herself up off the ground.

Kish ran over to Rin, who shakily got into a seating position.

“Rin, are you alright?” Kish asked as he knelt down beside her.

“How’s Pie?” Rin asked, completely blowing off Kish’s question.

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” Kish admitted. “Listen, Ichigo and I will take Pie to the ship and put him in the medpod. Can you get everyone else up and back to the Café? There’s a chance Mylo might return, and I don’t want you here if he does.”

Rin nodded and climbed to her feet and proceeded to go over to Mint, who was stirring.

Kish ran over to Ichigo and the two carefully lifted Pie so that his arms were draped around their shoulders, staggering slightly under the weight of the taller alien.

“Ready?” Kish asked, taking Ichigo’s free hand. Ichigo nodded and they teleported away.

They both gasped as they looked around the living area of the ship.

It was completely trashed. Furniture turned over and smashed, appliances and other tech devices in pieces, and there were several holes in the walls.

Kish and Ichigo lowered Pie to the ground after Kish swept away debris with his hand.

“Stay here,” Kish said, his eyes hard. “I’m going to check the infirmary.”

Ichigo waited in silence, sitting beside Pie. Kish’s improvised tourniquet seemed to be doing its job, to Ichigo’s relief, but Pie still wasn’t looking good.

Kish stormed back out a few minutes later, fuming.

“Kish, what’s wrong?” Ichigo asked.

“Everything’s gone,” Kish spat angrily. “The medpod glass is broken, the controls shattered, the transfusions were spilled all over the floor and what little medicines we had are crushed.”

“What do we do?” Ichigo asked as Kish knelt down beside Pie.

“We do the next best thing,” Kish said, indicating to Ichigo to prepare and lift Pie again. “We go to Rirī.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Kish, Ichigo and the unconscious Pie appeared in the dining room of Café Mew Mew, where their teammates had gathered.

“What’s going on?” Rin demanded as she jumped to her feet. “You said you would take him to the medpod.”

“The ship is trashed, Rin,” Kish said, gladly accepting Ryou and Keiichiro’s help in supporting Pie. “The medpod is beyond repair.”

Something in Rirī had snapped into Healer-mode in that moment.

“Zakuro, go upstairs into the linen closet and bring down sheets and as many towels as you can carry,” She ordered, authority in her voice. Zakuro nodded and dashed up the stairs “Rōzu, do you know where I keep my box of herbs and mortar and pestle?” Rōzu nodded. “Go get them.” Rōzu nodded again and teleported. Rirī turned to Ryou. “I need whatever surgical supplies you may have.” Ryou nodded and carefully gave his share of Pie’s weight to Keiichiro and Kish before thundering up the stairs after Zakuro.

Rirī turned to the other Mews.

“Are you alright at the sight of blood?” She demanded. All but Mint nodded, who was looking green at the thought.

Zakuro, Ryou and Rōzu teleported down the stairs a second later. Rirī took one of the sheets from Zakuro and went into the kitchen.

“I need a completely flat surface to work, and this is going to go easier if I can stand,” She explained, starting to clear off the long island counter. Ichigo, Lettuce, Mint, Tart and Pudding jumped to her aid.

The girls helped Rirī spread out the sheet on the counter while Tart helped Rōzu find a place for the box of herbs, and Rirī gestured to the boys to put Pie on the table. Rin took one of the towels and, with Lettuce’s help, put it under Pie’s head.

Rirī then went to the sink and scrubbed her hands, barking orders over her shoulder. She ordered Keiichiro to turn on the water boiler they used for tea, and he did so. While he waited for it to heat, he put the surgical instruments in a bowl to pour the water over. Rirī also ordered Tart to set out certain amounts of herbs, which he laid out on an opposite counter.

Once Rirī’s hands were clean, she went over to examine the wound. She swore under her breath, a hard look in her eye.

“Is Pie-Chan going to be alright?” Rōzu asked softly from where she stood holding Pie’s hand.

“Go to bed, Rōzu,” Rirī said in a deadly low whisper. Rōzu scowled.

“No!” She said. “I want to stay and help Pie Onii-Chan get better!”

“Now, Rōzu!” Rirī yelled.

“But-” Rōzu argued.

Rirī turned to her sharply and snapped at her in the Cyniclon language. Rōzu’s eyes widened and she shrank back.

“Mint, why don’t you go help Rōzu get ready for bed?” Zakuro suggested, noticing the grim looks the other Ikisatashi siblings had on their faces. Mint nodded quickly, her face still green, and pulled a stunned Rōzu out of the room.

“That bad, huh?” Tart whispered shakily, studying Rirī.

“What color do you see?” Kish asked.

“I’ve got to make the wound bigger,” The girl said with a scowl, ignoring Kish’s question. “I need to see if the bone is cracked, and if so if there is any part of the knife left in. After I check that, I will repair the muscle and close the wound.” She looked around the room. “I’m going to need help from every one of you.”

Everyone nodded, ready to for their tasks.

“Rin, I need you to transfer some of your energy into Pie. Kish and Tart, I need you to do the same with me.” Rirī said. She turned back to Rin to give further instruction. Rin had tears running down her face and she was breathing heavily. “I need you to be calm for this. It needs to be slow and steady. If the energy comes too fast and too much at one time, it could send him into shock. I’ll tell you when to start.”

Rin nodded and placed her hands over Pie’s heart. Keiichiro came up behind her and rubbed her shoulders, whispering into her ear. Almost instantly, the tears stopped flowing and her breathing more natural.

“Sure, you can do that,” Rirī said as she looked at Keiichiro. She turned to Ichigo and Zakuro. “There is a book of recipes in the bottom drawer of the box. Tart, quickly tell them what’s what. I need you to mix the following.” She gave a list, which Ichigo wrote down on one of the notepads they used to take orders. While they did this, Tart took another pad of paper and quickly wrote down the names of each ingredient and laid them out on the counter. When they came over, he gave them a brief once-over of the array of plants. After asking if they had any questions, to which the answer was no, Tart went back over to Rirī’s side. Ichigo and Zakuro instantly set to work.

“Lettuce,” Rirī said. Lettuce instantly stood up straighter. “While I’m hoping Pie won’t wake up while I’m working, if he does, I need you to keep him calm and relaxed. Also, I need you to monitor his pulse and temperature. If either continue to go down, let me know.”

Lettuce nodded as she ran her thumb over Pie’s hand, which she kept held in hers.

Rirī turned to Pudding and Ryou.

“I need you to help me with the actual surgery,” She said. They both nodded and quickly went to wash their own hands.

Kish, under Rirī’s instruction, carefully set up the remaining towels around where Rirī was going to work.

Once that was finished, Kish and Tart stood on either side of Rirī, with one hand on her back and the other on her shoulder. Their palms glowed as they began to give Rirī some of their energy.

Once Pudding and Ryou were where she told them to be, Rirī took a deep breath and began to work.

They all did their jobs in silence, Rirī occasionally asking for a tool or for assistance from Pudding or Ryou. Rirī was pleased to discover that the bone was intact and proceeded the rest of the repairs. Fortunately for Rirī, it was a fairly straightforward surgery. Unfortunately, it was also time consuming, but she didn’t mind that part.

Pie woke up briefly once, murmured something unintelligible and went back to sleep with Lettuce gently running her fingers through his hair as she whispered calming words to him.

Every time Rirī glanced up at Pudding standing across from her, she saw that the girl was watching Rirī’s hands with an expression of awe. She also noticed that Pudding seemed to know what she was doing when Rirī needed a second pair of hands, which she did not expect out of the acrobat.

“Have you done this before?” Rirī asked Pudding briefly.

“No, nothing like this, na no da,” Pudding admitted. “But Pudding wants to be a doctor one day, na no da. She studies hard, because she knows she will need scholarships to go to medical school, na no da.”

“Honorable goals,” Rirī said with a nod. With a sigh, her shoulders relaxed. She glanced at the wall clock. It was nearly four o’clock in the morning, and she was finally done. She indicated to her brothers that they could stop transferring energy into her. “Pudding, would you help me close the wound?”

Pudding nodded eagerly, but was surprised when Rirī began giving her instructions on how to put in the stitches. She was pleased when Rirī looked over her work a few minutes later and nodded.

“Good work,” Rirī said before going to untie the fabric tourniquet. Pudding beamed.

Rirī walked down to stand beside Lettuce. She carefully turned Pie’s head and examined the wound there.

“Good, that doesn’t need stitches,” She said, and then she quickly checked where Mylo had kicked Pie’s chest. There was a bruise along his ribcage, but there were no broken bones, swelling or anything else that would be a cause for concern. With a nod, Rirī walked over to see that Ichigo and Zakuro had finished the poultices she requested. “All that’s left is to use these and bandage the wound.”

Fifteen minutes later, that had been finished to Rirī’s relief. She was exhausted, though she knew that if weren’t for her brothers she wouldn’t be on her feet.

“Now what?” Ichigo asked, sleepy but still ready to do whatever she was told. Rirī gave a tired smile.

“Now we all go to bed.” She said.

Kish and Ryou shouldered Pie and teleported upstairs, the rest following by way of the stairs. Mint quietly entered the hallway.

“How’d it go?” She asked.

“So far so good,” Rirī said. “Fingers crossed it stays that way.”

Mint nodded.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t much help,” She said, staring at her feet in shame.

“You kept Rōzu out of the way, and that in of itself is a big help,” Rirī said, giving Mint a hug. “I did not know how things were going to end up four hours ago and I did not need her nearby if worst came to worst.”

There was something in her tone that begged to leave the conversation at that and they continued on their way.

Rin knocked on the door of the room her brothers shared and Ryou opened it, revealing that they already had Pie lying in his own bed, Ryou had placed an IV drip in Pie’s arm and Kish was in the process of elevating Pie’s leg with pillows. Rirī sat down beside the bed and leaned her head against the mattress.

“I’m going to sleep here,” She said softly, her eyes fluttering shut. “So that I’ll be close enough if something is wrong.” Within seconds, she was sound asleep.

Rin smiled at her sleeping siblings and stroked Rirī’s hair.

“You did well, Imouto,” She whispered. She looked up her brother and squeezed his foot through the blankets. “You’re in good hands, Onii-Chan. But you already knew that.”

Rin stepped out of the room to get Rirī’s pillow and quilt and, with Kish’s help, moved Rirī into a more comfortable position on the floor.

Lettuce, Ichigo and Pudding called home, explaining that they were just going to stay at the Café for the rest of the night, too exhausted to leave.

“So the problem at work is fixed?” Mrs. Momomiya asked her daughter through a yawn. Ichigo smiled slightly as she looked at Pie and Rirī.

“Yeah, we think so,” Ichigo responded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Ichigo closed her phone and sat down on Kish’s bed, Kish already fast asleep. Ichigo kicked off her shoes and laid down beside him, snuggling into his warmth.

Pudding and Tart were lying in a tangle of arms and legs, both also sound asleep on Tart’s bed, Tart snoring slightly. Lettuce and Mint slept in the girls’ room with Rōzu while Ryou and Keiichiro offered their beds to Zakuro and Rin.

They all slept soundly well into the following morning.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Three:

“He should be awake by now, shouldn’t he?” Lettuce asked as she brought up food for Rirī, who sat on the floor with her brothers, Rin, Pudding and Ichigo, playing a card game.

“That he is still sleeping means that he is resting and healing,” Rirī said, laying down her cards, smiling as her playmates frowned, having just lost to her. “He’ll probably wake up hungry in a while, though, which would be a good thing. Hungry means that his healing energy is in need of replenishing.”

“You’re always worrying about Pie-Chan,” Rin said, studying her younger sister before saying, not harshly, “This isn’t the first time.”

“Nor will it be the last, knowing Pie,” Rirī said with a scoff. “All he ever thinks about is training and research. He would starve to death if no one stuffed food down his throat, or of sleep deprivation if no one made him go to bed.”

Tart scoffed.

“I’ve had the ‘honor’ of taking on both those tasks, and more,” He said. “And you’re right. He’ll do whatever it is you ask him, albeit reluctantly and with an lengthy argument.”

“Usually involving a lot of big words in hope that you’ll give up,” Kish added with a knowing smirk. “You need to know when to pick your battles.”

“Somehow, I’m not surprised,” Lettuce said with a smile. Rirī smiled too, but only slightly and she looked like she had something else on her mind.

“You alright?” Rin asked, looking at Rirī with concern.
“I’m fine,” Rirī said, smiling. “Still tired, though, from last night. I’ve never had to perform surgery straight after a battle before. Or, at least, a battle I participated in.”

“You never did tell us what color his aura was last night,” Kish said, shuffling the cards.

Rirī frowned.

“It was dark,” She said. “Not completely black, but it was dark.” She looked over her shoulder at her sleeping brother and smiled again. “The darkness is lightening, though.”

“How bad?” Lettuce whispered. “How bad could it have been? If he got worse while you were working last night?”

Rirī sighed, looking down at the floor.

“I was afraid that in order to save his life, I’d have to-” She shook her head painfully. A shiver ran up through the room as they understood what Rirī meant, and now understood why she wanted Rōzu out of the room so badly the night before.

Rin placed her hand on Rirī’s shoulder.

“You wouldn’t have been able to do it,” She said. “At least, not without having a guilty conscience.”

Rirī scowled.

“I would have forced myself to, if it needed to be done,” She said. “But you’re right. It would have been hard. Especially to do that to my own brother.”

“What would you have done?”

They all turned to see Rōzu floating at the door, her head tilted in curiosity.

“None of your concern,” Rirī said, not sharply. Rōzu looked doubtful but decided not to press. She floated easily across the room.

“What happened last night?” Rōzu asked, floating a few inches in the air with her legs folded in a sitting position. “When we all passed out?”

“Wish I knew,” Rin said. She noticed that Kish and Ichigo exchanged a look. Rin’s brow furrowed. “What? Do you two know what-” She cut herself off and her eyes went wide. “You two didn’t pass out?”

“No, Kish and I were still conscious,” Ichigo said, picking up her newly dealt cards. “And we want everyone to hear about what happened, all at the same time.”

“Did you fight Mylo, na no da?” Pudding asked, her brow furrowed.

“No, he skipped out, the coward,” Kish said with a scowl. “Granted, he probably would have gotten knocked out too.”

“Then what-” Tart started to ask, but he was cut off by a soft moan. They all turned sharply, pleased to discover that Pie was on the verge of awakening.

“Pie Onii-Chan!” Rōzu whispered with a grin, a gleam in her eye as she spread her arms out slightly.

“Rōzu, I need you to not instantly hug him,” Rirī said quickly, realizing what her sister was planning on doing. “This is Pie, remember? He needs his space when he wakes up.”

Rōzu nodded and took a step back, knowing full well that her oldest brother was not a morning person.

Pie groaned again as he opened his eyes blearily.

“What hit me?” He mumbled in a raspy voice, blinking a few times.

“In a word, Mylo,” Rirī said from where she sat beside her brother. She moved her finger in front of Pie’s face and told him to follow it with his eyes and he did as he was asked. Rirī stopped after a moment with a nod. “Good, you don’t have a concussion.”

“Then why does my head hurt?” Pie groaned, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand.

“Because you did hit your head a few times and because you lost a lot of blood,” Rirī explained. “Do you have any other pain?”

“Leg feels like it is on fire,” Pie said, closing his eyes again.

“I can give you something for the pain,” Rirī said, standing up. She looked up at her siblings and friends. “Can you keep him awake long enough for me to get the medicine ready?”

“Yeah, we can do that,” Rin said, coming to sit at her twin’s feet. Rirī nodded and left the room.

“How long have I been out?” Pie asked, trying to shake off his drowsiness. Rōzu came up lay beside him, her arms wrapped around him tightly.

“A good while,” Kish said. “Over twelve hours.”

Pie nodded wearily.

“Everything is a blank from after the time Mylo stabbed me,” He said. “What happened? How did you get free from the plant?”

“It was really weird, na no da,” Pudding said and she began to gesture wildly. “There was this creepy wind and the plant-monster dropped us, then went POOF! Completely gone! Then—with the exception of Kish-Chan and Ichigo Onee-Chan—we all passed out, na no da.”

“Odd,” Pie murmured, absent-mindedly stroking Rōzu’s hair. His brow furrowed. “Why not Ichigo and Kish?” He wondered out loud.

“It’s a long story,” Ichigo said. “Mint and Zakuro should be back soon, and then we can tell everyone at once what happened.”

Pie nodded again, his eyes drifting shut again.

“We have other things we need to talk about, too,” Kish said, in an attempt to keep Pie awake. “The ship is completely totaled. Mylo must have done it, or at least his goons. That’s why you’re not in the medpod at the moment, because it’s totally destroyed.”

Suddenly, all tiredness left Pie’s face and his eyes snapped wide open. He quickly sat up, dislodging a very surprised Rōzu. Pie swayed a little bit, dizzy from the head-rush.

“Pie? What’s wrong?” Lettuce asked, her brow furrowing.

“This is not good, this is not good,” He whispered over and over, throwing off the blankets.

“Hey, Rirī says you can’t walk for at least a week!” Tart said, pushing on his brother’s shoulders in an attempt to force him to lie down again, but Pie kept struggling.

“Pie, it’s alright,” Kish said, joining Tart’s efforts. “We removed everything of importance from the ship. It’s all here, remember? Because we weren’t sure if Mylo could break-in or not.”

“Not everything,” Pie whispered. He closed his eyes tightly and to their shock he teleported.

“Pie!” Rin cried, reaching for him and was too late.

They jumped as they heard a thump! from across the room. Pie lay collapsed on the floor in front of the open door, trying and failing to push himself up off the ground, his arm bleeding from where the IV needle had ripped out when he teleported. He tried to get onto his knees, but hissed as the movement sent jolts of pain from his healing wound throughout his body. Giving up, he laid down flat on the floor and attempted to teleport again, but to his frustration couldn’t do so. Rirī stood in the doorway in a mix of shock and anger.

“Baka!” She growled, kneeling down beside Pie. “You are going to rip out the sutures! And you’ve lost too much blood to be trying to teleport, though I am glad to see that whatever Mylo hit you with last night has worn off.”

“What’s going on?” Ryou asked as he, Keiichiro, Mint and Zakuro came up the stairs.

“We heard a thud coming from up here,” Keiichiro said. “Everyone alright?”

“My brother’s an idiot, but there’s no cure for that,” Rirī said as Ryou and Kish helped pick Pie up off the ground.

“Pie, if you’re trying to get to the ship, it’s okay, we can work on fixing it up later,” Kish reassured, laying Pie down on the bed carefully.

Pie shook his head adamantly.

“No, I need to get there now,” He muttered.

“He’s delirious,” Rin whispered in concern.

Lettuce, however, heard something else in Pie’s voice, something she had never heard from him before, but she recognized it instantly.

Fear.

“Pie?” She whispered, kneeling down beside the older teen. “What is on the ship that you haven’t moved here? And why is it important?”

“My lab,” Pie moaned, his palms pressed against his forehead. “And knowing Mylo, he did not trash it. At least, not immediately.”

“Why not?” Ichigo asked, her blood suddenly running cold.

“He would have taken my experiments, my data,” Pie explained grimly. “Mylo will now be able to turn humans into Chimera Animals.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Four:

“Please tell me you’re just making this stuff up because you are delirious with pain,” Kish said, his tone and eyes pleading. One look at Pie’s face told him everything he needed to know.

“Why were you experimenting with that?” Tart demanded.

“I just wanted to see if it was possible,” Pie muttered, carefully sitting up. “I never was able to test it, but I know Mylo will take care of that for me.”

“Again, why?” Rin demanded.

“I got the idea from Kish,” Pie admitted. “He was fusing human souls with the parasites, and I wondered if it would be possible to just use the entire body, regardless of the purity of the soul. So I created a whole new breed of parasites. Or, attempted to, at least. It has been something I worked off and on with for the past few years with little triumph. However, I believe Mylo will attempt to use it if he learns of what it can do, regardless of my success or lack thereof.”

“So, you need to get to your lab in order to-” Zakuro started.

“See if any of my research remains,” Pie finished. “If there is, I may be able to discern the weakness of the parasite.”

“Pie,” Ichigo said urgently. “At this point, if Mylo did use this parasite, if we did have to fight possessed humans, if we used all our powers to defeat it, would the human still be alive at the end of the battle?”

“I do not know,” Pie said. “To be blunt, this was to be only a side-project that would be worked on in free time. And as I recently acquired some unoccupied time, I decided to revisit the project with the intent of using the desired end result as a ‘last resort’ strategy option.”

Ryou’s face suddenly turned red with anger as he comprehended what Pie was implying before anyone else could.

“You would use genetic manipulation to force the girls to fight?” He growled, furious. The Mews turned to face Pie with horror on their faces while Keiichiro and the other Cyniclons stared in shock.

Pie simply stared at Ryou, his face as emotionless as ever.

“Remind me again, what are the precise details of the Mew Project and how the Mew Mews came to be?” Pie said evenly.

Ryou’s face quickly paled in color and he ducked his head.

“Touché,” He whispered. Pie nodded in acceptance.

“As I said, I would have only presented it as an option if all else failed, though I truly do not believe it would have been used as I am as against it as you are,” Pie said. He frowned. “It is often the strategy you are loathe to use that in the end wins the war. And I never would have forced parasites on the girls or any other human without their permission and a way to guarantee their survival, with a way to remove the parasite in the end without violent means. Mylo, however, will not extend the same courtesy.”

“We need to find out what Mylo does and does not know, and the sooner the better,” Kish said. He turned to Pie. “And we need to know everything from your notes.”

Pie nodded again.

“All my research notes are on the ship, or, more likely at this point in time, most of them,” Pie said.

They all turned to Rirī, who sighed.

“I guess we’re all going to the ship,” She said, though she didn’t look happy about it.

Five minutes later, the group had arrived at the alien’s robbed ship.

Kish, Pie and Tart looked around sadly at the mess. This ship was their home-away-from-home. To see it in utter chaos was disheartening. They took a few minutes to shift through the rubble, but eventually gave up.

“I’m going to do a more complete inventory on the infirmary,” Tart said, heading off down a hall with Pudding and Zakuro in tow. “Maybe something survived we will need later.”

“I’ll go see if there’s any chance that we can still fly the ship,” Rin said and she, Rōzu, and Keiichiro went down another hall.

Those remaining went down another hall leading towards Pie’s study and adjoining lab. They walked in silence. As Pie was still unable to fly, he was limping down the hall with support from Kish and Ryou. They found that the study was possibly the least trashed room of the ship. Books were stacked haphazardly into piles on the floor and the desk tipped over, the drawers pulled out and their contents littering the floor. The furniture, however, was still intact.

“They were searching for the entrance to the lab. They were being careful, because they didn’t know if destroying something could prevent them from finding it,” Lettuce realized, picking books off the floor and stacking them back onto a shelf. On the back panel of the shelf was a red button, which Pie instructed Lettuce to press. As she did so, a panel in the wall slid opened to reveal a formerly spotless large stone room, also known as Pie’s lab.

“Without a doubt, they came here in search of this,” Pie said as he gazed around what remained of his lab. Test tubes and equipment were smashed, the glass littering the floor. Pieces of parchment were everywhere and there were strange smells from where certain chemicals had mixed.

Kish and Ryou helped Pie sit down in a chair that somehow survived the brutal massacre and began shifting through debris.

Kish, Rirī, Ichigo, Mint, Lettuce and Ryou shifted through the mess and brought a lot of objects and papers to Pie, who laid them out on a table and sorted through them, forming two piles. In the end, there was a lot of not helpful items and very few useful objects, primarily a few research notes.

“It is enough to start rebuilding my data, and eventually recreate the parasite,” Pie said after two hours as he held the papers in his hands.

Rirī, who was sweeping up broken glass shards, suddenly had her ears jerk up as she heard her brother’s words.

“You are not going to start on that neither today nor tomorrow nor the day after,” She said, her dark eyes hard.

“When did you become my mother, Rirī-Chan?” Pie asked, using the honorific in a condescending way.

Rirī’s face reddened with anger. The others in the room wisely took a few steps back with wide eyes, wishing desperately to stay out of this argument.

“I may not be your mother, but you and I both know that if Mama-San were here, you wouldn’t have thought twice about going against that order,” Rirī said with a snarl. “And as the one who spent over three hours last night making sure you didn’t bleed to death, I am forbidding you from working on any sort of project you may have until your leg is healed.”

“I do not see how the two are connected, or why it is important,” Pie said, his monotonic voice suddenly having a sharp edge as he glared at his sister.

Rirī was now shaking with rage, but she bit back the bitter words that had come to her mind.

“What does it matter anyways?” She snapped. “You never listen and just do whatever you want.”

And with that, Rirī threw down the broom she had been using and floated out of the room, brushing past Rōzu, whose face and hands were coated in a layer of black grease.

“What’s up with her?” Rōzu asked, jerking a thumb over her shoulder.

“We had a disagreement,” Pie explained. “Dare I ask why you are so filthy?”

Rōzu giggled.

“You should see Rin and Keiichiro,” She said. “They look like they swam in this stuff. Rin thinks the damage to the engine can be fixed and we’ll only need a few parts, some that Rin and Keiichiro think can be interchangeable with human technology parts.”

“That’s good news at least,” Kish said.

“Wish we had good news,” Zakuro said as she, Tart and Pudding came in behind Rōzu, followed by Rin and Keiichiro, who were covered head to toe in grease.

“Basically, Rirī’s box of herbs is all we have in the way of Cyniclon medicine,” Tart said. “There is no way to fix the medpod, and everything else that could be of use is gone.”

“At least we can take Earth medicines if it comes down to it,” Rin said.

“Then, I believe we are done here for the time being,” Pie said, gathering up his papers.

“Then let’s head back to the Café,” Lettuce suggested. She turned to Kish and Ichigo. “And we want to hear about what happened last night.”

The two teens nodded grimly.

An hour later, the story had been told and everyone had eaten dinner. Ichigo and Kish both set down their chopsticks and waited to be bombarded with questions.

“She looked like a Cyniclon?” Ryou said first.

“But said she wasn’t ‘Cyniclon, nor human nor any other race’,” Kish said, quoting the strange woman.

“Why did she knock us out?” Tart asked, pushing around the leftover rice and vegetables in his bowl. “Did she not want us to hear what she had to say?”

“Maybe it was just easier to pick two of us and pass along the message,” Rirī suggested, tapping her nails against the table in thought. “Safer for her, too, because we would have been ready to go on the attack.”

“At least she seems to be on our side,” Kish said. “She sounded less than impressed with Mylo. Said he’s arrogant, and mistakes it for bravery.”

“Arrogance is often misconceived as bravery,” Keiichiro said. “It’s a hard lesson to learn, usually with drastic results.”

“At least we know now that a year from now, this will all be over,” Lettuce said.

“Yeah, but who leaves that last battle victorious?” Rin asked with a scowl.

“She also said that it was a good thing we didn’t trust her,” Ichigo said. “So, then, shouldn’t we be cautious about everything she said?”

“Some of the things she said were pretty weird,” Kish said. “Like ‘Sometimes to find the right answer-’ ”

“-‘You have to wish on a star’,” Pie murmured, jerking his head up from staring at his cup of tea.

Kish blinked.

“Yeah, that’s what she said,” Kish said, surprised.

“I thought I had dreamt that,” Pie said, his brow furrowing.

“It sounds crazy enough to be only in a dream,” Mint said.

“What does it mean, though?” Rin asked.

“And what question do we have that needs to be answered?” Zakuro asked.

“Maybe the question we have to ask is how to defeat Mylo!” Rōzu said, grinning. She ran to the window. “Look! The sun’s setting!”

“A perfect twelve hours of sunlight, down to the last second,” Ichigo said, watching as the blood-red sun sank beyond the horizon. “The Autumnal Equinox is coming to a close.”

“But look!” Rōzu said, pointing at the sky. “There’s the first star in the sky! We have to make a wish on it to get our question answered.”

Rōzu took a deep breath and folded her hands together.

“I wish I may, I wish I might, on the first star I see tonight,” Rōzu whispered, then closed her eyes. “We need to know how to defeat Mylo. Please give us the answer. Please, please, please.”

She cracked open an eye and looked over her shoulder.

“It’s only going to work if you guys do it too,” She said.

Pudding jumped up and ran over to take Rōzu’s hand and closed her eyes as well. Tart reluctantly joined them.

The others shared glances. Finally, Zakuro sighed.

“Hey, you only live once, right? Why not make wishes on stars?” She said.

“Can’t really argue with that logic,” Ryou said.

They all closed their eyes and whispered the word ‘please’ over and over for about ten minutes.

Finally, Rōzu opened an eye.

“Anyone got any sudden epic battle strategies?” She asked.

“Nope,” Mint said.

“Nada,” Keiichiro added.

“Negative,” Pie said.

“It was worth a shot, I guess,” She said with a sigh.

“It wasn’t a bad idea,” Rin said. “And it’s a start.”

“This is going to be one tough riddle to solve,” Ryou said.

“It’s a riddle we don’t have to solve tonight,” Rirī said, standing up. “We’ve had a long past twenty-four hours. It’s time we all got a good night’s sleep.”

Everyone was too tired to argue.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Five:

“I thought Rirī said that you were forbidden to work while you healed.” Lettuce said as she folded her arms and glared at Pie.

Pie looked up sheepishly from where he sat propped up against pillows surrounded by notes and holding his portable computer device.

“She did say that. And as I am well aware that I will get an earful from her, may I ask that she does not learn of this?” Pie said, quickly saving his work before continuing. Though he tried to hid it, Lettuce saw that Pie was still exhausted, despite how much he had slept in the past day and a half.

“I’ll tell you what,” Lettuce said, scooping up the notes lying on the bedspread and placing them neatly on the desk. “I won’t tell Rirī… if you stop working and take a nap.”

“Sleep is not going to defeat Mylo,” Pie argued, scowling at his screen, trying desperately to not look at Lettuce. “Especially seeing that it is my fault for giving Mylo new tactics.”

“That’s not true, and you know it. And you spending all your time with this isn’t going to to defeat him, either.” Lettuce said, her eyes suddenly hard as she glared at Pie, feeling frustration rising in her. She knew that he was just being stubborn at this point, and suddenly understood that this was the same frustration Rirī had felt the night before. However, unlike Rirī, Lettuce refused to let him win this argument.

“Yes, but sleep is still counterproductive,” Pie said, glaring back at Lettuce.

“No, it isn’t. Your body is sucking up energy in trying to heal your leg,” Lettuce argued back. She started to tug Pie’s device from him, but he tugged back. “And the faster you heal, the faster you can fight again.”

“Yes, but this is how I am being useful while indisposed,” Pie argued.

“I swear on my Lettucetanets that I will bring Rōzu up here and have her look at you with those big eyes of hers that I know you cannot say no to and have her guilt you into going to sleep,” Lettuce growled as she continued to pull the computer device towards her.

“While I do not doubt you, it is not in my nature to go down without a fight,” Pie said. He tugged the device back so hard that Lettuce lost her balance mid-retort and she fell forward…

…and their lips met.

Though both were surprised, each was very happy with the pleasant feeling of the kiss. Their eyes slowly closed and Pie’s hand wrapped around Lettuce’s back, stroking the thin braids lying there, Lettuce’s arms around his shoulders.

The impromptu kiss lasted about half a minute when Lettuce suddenly jumped back, her face red.

“I-I’m sorry,” She stuttered, bowing.

“The fault is mine, I made you lose balance,” Pie said, his own face red. They were silent for a minute before Pie spoke again, “If nothing else, it was very… nice.”

“Yeah, yeah it was,” Lettuce said, suddenly finding herself unable to meet Pie’s eyes.

The tension in the room was thick and the silence was awkward.

“Do you, you know, um, uh, want to-” Lettuce started, then cut herself off and her cheeks went scarlet again.

“Do it again?” Pie finished, his own voice shaky. “Yes, I think I do.”

Lettuce unsteadily stepped forward and sat beside Pie, who move carefully to an upright position. They leaned in close and their eyes closed as their lips met again.

The second kiss was full of more passion than the second, anticipation having been built. It reminded Lettuce vaguely of the first time she transformed for battle with the other Mews, having had transformed before but it not having been as exciting because she thought she was a freak. Then she knew what was coming and she realized how wonderful it was. And this kiss was the most wonderful thing either teen had felt in a long time.

Finally, the kiss had to end, and both came up breathless and in a daze. But both had happy-go-lucky grins on their faces.

“That was… wow,” Pie whispered.

“Beyond words,” Lettuce whispered. She took Pie’s hand. “I’ve liked you for a long time now, Pie-Kun, and I just didn’t know how to tell you.” She smiled. “Irony that a moment of clumsiness is what leads to me finally telling you.”

“I, I have liked you as well,” Pie said, the tips of his ears going red with the confession. “Lettuce-San, would you like to go on a—oh, what is that word humans use? oh yes—a date with me sometime?”

“Yes, I would like that,” Lettuce said smiling while mentally multiple chibi Mew Lettuces danced around singing ‘A date with Pie-Kun, my first ever date will be with Pie-Kun! And Pie-Kun just gave me my first kiss too!’

The clock chiming downstairs broke her out of her mental celebration. Lettuce smiled again as she stood up.

“We can make plans later,” She said. “We open in half an hour and it’s my day to mop before customers arrive. And you need to rest.”

“I will do so,” Pie promised while a little voice in his head said ‘And with many pleasant dreams of kissing Lettuce-San’.

“Arigatō,” Lettuce said. She tenderly kissed Pie’s forehead and covered him with the blanket. “I’ll see you later.” She said.

Pie smiled as Lettuce closed the door and fell asleep with the smile on his face.

Lettuce stood outside with her back to the door. She smiled as she touched her lips with her fingertips. She had kissed Pie not once, but twice, and they were going on a date. There was nothing that was going to dampen her mood.

“Who is she and what happened to Lettuce?” Rin asked as she leaned over the cash-register counter, watching as the green haired Mew danced around the café as she mopped the floor.

“It’s a guy,” Mint said over her cup of tea. “She always gets like this when she’s crushing on a guy.”

“What are you talking about?” Lettuce asked, stopping mid-stride to look at her teammate, trying to mask her horror. She didn’t want her teammates to know just yet that she and Pie were planning on going out together. Her fellow Mews were the sisters she never had, but they loved to pry into her practically non-existent social life. “There is no guy.”

“You always get that look when there’s a guy,” Zakuro argued.

“What look?” Lettuce demanded.

“Your eyes go big and heart-shaped and they have stars in them, and you have this big smile on your face, and no plates get broken when you’re crushing on a boy, na no da,” Pudding said. Lettuce frowned.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Lettuce said hastily, staring at the floor as she moved her mop back and forth. “I’ve never been like that.”

“Yeah, you have,” The four other Mews chorused.

“There was that college dude who you saw at the library, then he went off and married that librarian,” Ichigo said.

“Then there was that lead singer of that boy-band that was popular last year,” Zakuro added.

“That famous soccer player who you cried for a week over after learning he was married,” Mint said, ticking the list off on her fingers.

“And then there was-” Pudding started before Lettuce cut her off.

“Okay, okay, maybe I did have a few crushes before. But there is no guy this time,” Lettuce said nervously as she began moving the mop faster, trying to hide her red cheeks. “I’m just… happy today.”

“It’s so got to be a guy. She never admits it is until we drag the confession out of her, and then she tries so hard to deny it,” Mint said, tapping her chin as she studied Lettuce. She narrowed her dark eyes. “And I will not rest until I figure out who it is.”

Ichigo and Kish looked at each other and began laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Tart asked as he looked up from the table he was wiping.

“It’s just so obvious,” Kish said as he floated up to dust off a lamp.

“What is?” Rōzu demanded as she looked up from the silverware she was lying out.

“Who Lettuce is crushing on,” Ichigo said. She grinned wickedly. “Lettuce likes Pie!”

“Wh-what!” Lettuce said, dropping her mop, her face red. “No, no that’s not-”

“Makes sense, doesn’t it?” Zakuro said, grinning. “You two are always sneaking glances at each other.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty clear Pie likes you, too,” Rin added with a smile. “He only truly smiles around you.”

Lettuce continued to go red as Pudding and Rōzu danced around, singing,

“Lettuce likes Pie, and Pie likes Lettuce!”

“We’re just friends!” Lettuce exclaimed, her face scarlet.

“ ‘Just friends’ my fuzzy tail,” Ichigo said, still grinning. “Seriously, I’m just wondering why Mint had to ask.”

“No, I knew,” Mint said with a grin. “I was just going to see if she’d ‘fess up.”

Suddenly, Pudding gasped and jumped onto Lettuce, pinning her to the ground.

“Pudding just realized something! Lettuce Onee-Chan doesn’t just like Pie-Chan, or she’d be acting like this weeks ago! Lettuce Onee-Chan and Pie-Chan have kissed, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed.

“What?!” Lettuce exclaimed, her eyes widening. “How do you know?”

“So, it’s true?” Rirī asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No!” Lettuce exclaimed, her cheeks reddening.

“Your lips say no, but your cheeks say ‘yes I did and it was awesome’!” Mint said, grinning.

“Okay, yeah, we kissed,” Lettuce said softly, not able to meet anyone’s eyes. A collective and girly squeal of delight went up amongst the females in the room (save Zakuro, who merely smiled proudly) as they pulled Pudding off of Lettuce and gave her a big group hug.

“We do get to tease Pie about this, right?” Tart asked Kish.

“It concerns me that you even had to ask, Otouto” Kish said with a smirk. Tart smirked as well, thinking of all the payback he was about to get for Pie’s taunts about him and Pudding.

“Shh!” Lettuce begged as she heard the squeals and giggles come out of the mouths of her friends. “Pie might hear you!”

“Pie sleeps like the dead,” Rin said with a wave of her hand. “The only way we could wake him up now is if we banged a gong next to his head, which I don’t recommend because Kish and Tart have already tried that before.”

“We’ve got the scars to prove it, too!” Tart added.

“Oh my gosh, and that was your first kiss, too, wasn’t it!” Ichigo realized, causing Lettuce to further blush as she nodded sheepishly.

“I’m noticing a pattern here,” Mint said, grinning. “Kish stole Ichigo’s first kiss—” At this Kish smiled proudly. “—Pudding gave hers freely to Tart, and now Pie and Lettuce.” She looked at the five Cyniclons. “You don’t happen to have cousins or something for me and Zakuro, do you?”

The alien siblings laughed.

“We have three,” Rōzu said. “But the oldest is only five!”

“Oh, then, never mind,” Mint said with a faint blush tickling over her cheeks.

“Maybe history will repeat, and some of Mylo’s soldiers will fall in love with you and Zakuro,” Ichigo said, wrapping an arm around Mint. “And they’ll fight with us in the end.” Mint smiled vaguely the thought.

“As lovely as that sounds,” Zakuro said, resuming her cleaning. “I currently have a boyfriend.”

Everyone stopped to stare at the model.

“What?” Pudding asked, her eyes wide. “When did that happen, na no da?”

“Do we get to meet him?” Ichigo asked, excited.

“What’s his name?” Rin pressed.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Mint asked as she clung to Zakuro’s arm.

Lettuce breathed a sigh of relief that attention was off at her. She swore she saw Zakuro wink at her as she made her way into the kitchen, being followed by the other girls. That wink made Lettuce wonder vaguely if this boyfriend, perhaps, was made-up in an attempt to give her some peace.

While the other girls pestered Zakuro, Rirī slipped out of the kitchen and up the stairs, deciding to check on Pie before work started. She was happy to find him fast asleep.

She bent down and picked up a few papers Lettuce had missed and scowled, glancing over her shoulder at her brother.

“For once, can you please focus on healing and not over-doing it?” She asked out loud. She put the papers on the desk. “You’ve always been like this. You never take a moment to rest. There’s always something you’re working on or something you absolutely have to do. It’s ridiculous.”

Rirī sighed and shook her head.

“Don’t know why I’m bothering to tell you that,” She said, walking towards the bed. “You can’t hear me now. Then again, I’m for once not interrupted in my ranting.”

She decided that since she had a free moment, she would see how the wound was healing. She found that, while it was getting better, it would still be a while before she could take out the sutures.

She had just finished re-bandaging the wound when suddenly she saw Pie’s muscles tense up.

“Pie? You awake?” Rirī asked, turning to her brother. She was very surprised to see that he was still asleep, but his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth in a grimace.

A nightmare? Rirī wondered. She went over and shook Pie’s shoulder.

“Pie, wake up,” She said, her voice somewhere between gentle and forceful. But it did no good and, to her horror, Pie started shaking and swinging his limbs uncontrollably.

“Rin, Kish, Tart, get up here now!” Rirī yelled as she instantly went to grab Pie’s leg, worried that his unconscious motions would tear the healing muscle.

Her siblings appeared instantly and their eyes widened as they saw Pie.

“What happened?” Kish demanded as he, Rin and Tart rushed to Rirī’s aide.

“I don’t know,” Rirī said. “He was sleeping peacefully, then this started.”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Pie kept muttering. His tone kept shifting back and forth between horror and grief.

Suddenly, the writhing stopped and Pie’s eyes snapped open. His dark violet irises were foggy as he looked around somewhat blindly at his siblings. His eyes rested on Kish.

“Kish?” He whispered in shock, his eyes wide.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Kish responded, giving a small smile of relief. Around him, Rin, Tart and Rirī all relaxed.

“You are alive,” Pie whispered in a breath.

“Last time I checked I was,” Kish said. Pie shook his head.

“This cannot be,” Pie whispered. “I just saw you… you and Ichigo fell from the air… you were dead before you hit the ground… you were both dead.”

Kish blinked in shock. He gave an attempt of a reassuring smile and said,

“I’m not dead,” Kish said. “And Ichigo’s still alive. She’s downstairs, with Rōzu and the other Mews. We’re okay.”

“But you were dead,” Pie argued as his eyes closed again. “You were both dead.”

Kish sat down on the floor for a minute, taking a deep breath. He looked up at his siblings, their faces reflecting the horror that he felt.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Six:

“Three nightmares, all foretelling of deaths,” Ryou said after Rirī, Rin, Kish and Tart had explained why they had come downstairs with pale faces. Ryou then turned slowly to Ichigo. “And all involving your death.”

“It’s not like death is particularly avoidable,” Ichigo said from where she leaned over the counter. “I’m going to die eventually. I mean, yeah, I’d prefer it to be after having lived a long life, but I’ll accept going out on the battlefield.” She gave a small but sad smile. “It’s not like I haven’t before, right?”

Pudding threw her arms around Ichigo.

“Pudding doesn’t want to see Ichigo Onee-Chan dead again,” Pudding said. Ichigo stroked Pudding’s hair lovingly.

“Don’t worry, Pudding,” Ichigo said. “For now, I’m fine. Besides, there’s no actual proof I’m going to die anytime soon.”

“Still,” Kish said with a grimace. “Maybe, for a little while at least, you should-”

“Don’t even say it, Kish,” Ichigo interrupted with a warning tone. “I’m going to fight, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. And don’t forget, your ‘death’ was just predicted as well. And you and I both know there is nothing going to stop you from charging head-first into battle.”

Kish scowled, but nodded.

“You’re right,” He said.

“I know I am,” Ichigo responded with a self-satisfied grin.

Suddenly, they heard the bell above the front door jingle from the front of the Café.

“Hello? Anyone home?”

Rirī cursed under her breath, recognizing the voice. Everyone turned to her in surprise, not because she swore, but because she hadn’t spoken since she came back down stairs with Kish, Rin and Tart.

“Homare,” Rirī said with a scowl as she got to her feet. “I completely forgot. She and I were supposed to work on our science project today. And I can’t send her away, it’s due tomorrow and I had to cancel the last few times we were supposed to get together because Mylo decided to pick a fight.”

She left the kitchen, followed by her friends. Rirī smiled at the girl standing in the foyer of the Café carrying a load of books.

Homare Otsu was a pretty, petite girl of sixteen. She had long, glossy black hair pinned back in a bun with a few locks hanging loose, warm brown eyes framed behind small square black and yellow glasses and a gentle smile. She wore a long pale yellow skirt, black shoes and a long-sleeved white shirt.

“Masaya says hi,” Homare said, beaming as she said her boyfriend’s name.

“Tell him we say hi back,” Ichigo said, smiling at her friend.

“Will do. Ready to work on our project, Rirī?” Homare asked. Rirī nodded.

“Come on upstairs,” Rirī said, leading Homare into the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder. “I’ll be back down later.”

The others nodded and wished them luck on the project.

“Alright, people, we’ve got work to do,” Rin said, clapping her hands.

“Bring on the customers,” Kish said, putting out the ‘Open’ sign. Within minutes, the customers poured in.

A few hours later, Ichigo was sitting in the kitchen with Rin as the alien girl made a cake. The lunch crowd had died away and they were just waiting for the late afternoon/early evening when couples usually came in.

Rirī and Homare came down the stairs just then.

“Got your project finished?” Rin asked as she filled up a bag of icing.

“Yep,” Homare said. “And we think it’s high-mark worthy.”

“That’s good,” Rin said. She looked up from her cake for a second. “Rirī, have you checked on Pie lately?”

“Yeah, he’s still asleep,” Rirī said. “We should wake him in a bit, since it’s past noon and he hasn’t eaten since breakfast.”

“Is Pie-San sick?” Homare asked with concern.

“Pie had a, uh, accident the other night,” Ichigo said, choosing her wording carefully without revealing too much.

“Oh dear, what happened?” Homare asked as she and Rirī sat at the counter with Ichigo.

“Fell and got a deep gash in his leg,” Rirī said, her tone normal as she lied. “Had to get stitches. He’s on bed-rest, but to be honest I don’t know how long that will last, he’s a terrible patient.”

“My mom’s a nurse, and she says most men are,” Homare said with a chuckle. She turned to Ichigo with a twinkle in her eye. “Speaking of men, how did your date with Kishu-Kun go the other night?”

“I think that’s the question we all want an answer to,” Mint said as she came into the kitchen with Lettuce, Pudding and Zakuro. Mint poked Ichigo’s sides with her fingers and Ichigo yelped. Mint grinned at Ichigo’s glare aimed at her. “Start spilling, Ichigo.”

“Where’d he take you?” Zakuro asked.

“Did you and Kisshu-Chan kiss, na no da?” Pudding asked, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

“He took me on a picnic at a place where we have some, uh, interesting memories,” Ichigo said, smiling slightly. “We ate, we talked, we watched the sunset. And we were about to kiss, and then my cellphone started ringing.”

“Ugh, that stinks!” Homare said with a frown. “It better not have been a telemarketer.”

“Unfortunately, this was an important call,” Ichigo said sadly and her teammates scowled, knowing that she meant that Mylo’s attack had ruined the moment. “Our date had to be cut short after that.”

“Bad luck,” Zakuro said, shaking her head.

“Tell me about it,” Ichigo said, laying her forehead on the countertop.

“Has he tried to kiss you since?” Lettuce asked. Ichigo shook her head sadly.

“Knowing Kish, he’s just waiting for the right romantic moment to come up to kiss you,” Rin said with a grin.

Ichigo chuckled.

“Oh, yeah, ‘cause our first kiss was so magical and romantic,” Ichigo said sarcastically.

“It was for me,” Kish said, coming up to wrap his arms around Ichigo, Masaya following him into the room with a grin aimed at Homare. Ichigo grinned up at Kish.

“That’s because you were still my crazy stalker at that point,” Ichigo said teasingly.

“Crazy stalker?” Homare asked as Masaya gave her a side-hug.

“Long story,” Ichigo said with a wave of her hand.

Homare nodded. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she smiled.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Homare said. “Why don’t you two go on a double-date with me and Masaya?”

“I don’t know,” Ichigo said, biting her lip.

“Oh, come on, it’d be fun. Please?” Homare said, looking at both Masaya and Kish, her eyes pleading.

Kish grinned and squeezed Ichigo’s waist.

“I’m fine with it,” He said.

“Yes, but what if work comes up?” Ichigo asked pointedly and Kish’s grin dropped into a scowl as he thought of that circumstance arising.

“We could handle it for an afternoon,” Rin said.

“Even with Pie out of commission?” Kish asked.

“Yeah, it should be fine,” Zakuro said.

“What happened to Pie?” Massaya asked, his brow furrowed.

“Long story short, Pie’s got a deep gash in his leg and the stitches can’t come out for a while,” Rirī said. “He can’t walk, or at least he’s not supposed to, so he can’t work.”

Massaya caught the double meaning of the word ‘work’ and nodded.

“That’s too bad,” He said. He turned to Homare. “Maybe at a different time-”

“No, everything will be fine,” Mint said. “Wednesdays are usually very light, so you can go after school then.”

Kish and Ichigo exchanged a look.

“Are you sure?” Kish asked, biting his lip.

“Don’t worry, if something goes wrong and we need help, we’ll call you,” Lettuce said.

After a moment of thought, Ichigo said,

“Alright, then.”

“Yay!” Homare said, throwing her arms around Ichigo. “This is going to be so much fun!”

“Sure will be interesting,” Kish murmured.

The next few days passed along semi-normally. To no one’s surprise, Pie did not remember anything about the nightmare foretelling of Kish and Ichigo’s deaths.

“It’s kind of weird,” Zakuro commented. “Those seem like the kind of dreams you remember vividly, the ones that make you afraid to go to sleep again.”

Everyone agreed with Zakuro, and remained puzzled as to what the dreams could mean.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Rirī came into the kitchen with a tray laden with dirty dishes. Pie sat at the counter dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with bare feet, his injured leg propped up on another stool, and he was talking with Rin.

“You are supposed to be resting,” Rirī said as she put down the dishes.

“I needed a change of scenery and someone to talk to other than myself,” Pie said, trying to hide the pieces of paper he had been showing Rin.

“Uh huh,” Rirī said, seeing the movement out of the corner of her eye. She narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Pie. “Did you teleport down here?”

“No,” Pie said. He gestured to the crutches beside him. “I came down here on these.”

“I was there,” Rin added quickly before Rirī could speak. “Don’t worry.”

Rirī nodded briefly, satisfied somewhat. She took out her notepad and began to fill the order there.

“Rin, we’re out of the strawberry cheesecake,” Rirī said, putting the last slice on a plate.

“There’s another in the fridge,” Rin said, not looking up from her frosting.

“I’ll get it out,” Rirī said, turning around to do so. She stopped when she saw her brother’s face. “Pie? You alright?” Rirī asked, her brow furrowed. Rin looked up from her decorating.

Pie’s eyes were glazed, his face blank. He seemed to be staring at nothing. Rin walked around the counter to her twin’s side.

“Pie?” She said, laying her hand on his shoulder.

The two girls watched in horror as their brother’s eyes rolled back and he toppled onto the floor, shivering and writhing.

“Pie!” Rirī exclaimed, instantly at his side, trying to hold him still.

She vaguely heard Rin scream for help and saw that Kish, Tart and Keiichiro were at her side, helping her. Lettuce and Rin kneelt down on the ground, as well, both trying to wake Pie. She also heard the other Mews try to calm and restrain Rōzu.

“Ryou!” Keiichiro said urgently.

“I know, I know!” Ryou said, his voice sounding angry as he prepared a syringe. “Get his arm straight.”

Keiichiro and Kish struggled to do so, Pie’s arm attempting to jerk out of their grasps.

Ryou finally was able to get the needle with the sedative into Pie’s arm and they all relaxed as Pie became still again. Rōzu stopped fighting the other Mews and went limp in Zakuro and Ichigo’s arms, tears silently running down her face.

Rirī sat back on her heels, her entire body shaking from the ordeal.

“Unexpected, without warning,” She said. “Just like with Kish and Pudding.”

“And no idea what’s causing it,” Ryou said grimly.

They all stood in silence, a feeling of defeat running through them all.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

Kish and Ichigo exchanged a look as they stood over Rirī, who had her head against her desk, sound asleep.

“She’s going to miss lunch,” Kish observed, his arms folded over his chest.

“Not if we wake her,” Ichigo said. She raised an eyebrow at Kish. “She seriously slept on the floor in your room last night?”

“Yeah,” Kish said. “She was so paranoid over what happened yesterday with Pie. Tart and I both offered her our beds, but she refused. I think she woke herself up every ten minutes to check on Pie.”

“Fifteen minutes, thank you,” Rirī murmured sleepily.

“Sorry, fifteen,” Kish amended with a roll of his eyes as Rirī lifted her head. Her eyes were red and puffy from lack of sleep and she was continuously yawning.

“I’m actually surprised you didn’t play hooky today,” Ichigo said as Rirī got to her feet. “Aren’t you worried that Pie will ignore your orders to rest while you’re at school?”

“Oh, no, I’ve got someone on it,” Rirī said, stretching. Then she spontaneously giggled. Kish and Ichigo decided not to ask.

Back at the Café, Pie was very annoyed with the ten year old girl sitting on his torso.

“Rōzu,” He said, trying to sound patient and failing. “Is there a reason why you have decided to sit on me?”

“I promised Rirī that I would make sure you stayed in bed,” Rōzu said cheerfully. “She even said I could sit on you if that’s what I had to do.”

“Remind me to thank her later,” Pie said dryly. Rōzu just beamed.

“Okay,” Kish said, giving Rirī a wary look. “We’ll go with that.”

“Think you can survive the rest of the school day?” Ichigo asked.

“I’ve got no other choice, do I?” Rirī asked with a yawn.

The rest of the day did not go well for Rirī. She dozed off twice and got yelled at by the teacher, failed a pop quiz which resulted in extra homework for her, and she tripped as she was running down stairs for her last class and ended up being late because she had to go to the nurses’ office because she hit her head and now had a coin-sized lump on the side of her head.

Thanks to this bump and the headache it left, Rirī couldn’t teleport to the Café after school, nor could have Kish take her there because he and Ichigo had already left with Homare and Masaya for their double-date.

Her day only got worse from there, as a group of customers she served were rude and complained loudly about her. The only bright spot was that Rōzu reported proudly that she had managed to keep Pie confined to his bed all day, and didn’t even care that he was glaring at both of them as Rōzu told her this.

Rirī was relieved when Keiichiro sent all the customers away early and locked the door… then realized what that meant.

“Mylo,” She growled. Keiichiro nodded.

“Afraid so,” He said. “Good luck.”

The girls and Tart transformed and teleported to the park, where the attack was taking place.

“Are those bears?” Mint asked in disbelief.

“I think that one is a Komodo Dragon,” Tart said, pointing.

“Where did he get these?” Rin demanded, incredulous.

“You like?”

They turned, expecting to see Mylo but instead there was Zen, dressed in his all black uniform.

“I spent all morning finding them,” Zen said with a smirk.

“I’ve got him,” Rirī said. “You take care of the Chimera Animals.”

The others nodded and set to work.

Meanwhile, across the city, Ichigo, Kish, Masaya and Homare were walking down the street on their way to the cinema.

“We could see that new vampire romance movie,” Homare said.

“No!” Kish and Masaya said instantly, their eyes wide with horror. Homare and Ichigo laughed at their reactions.

“Well, I know there’s a romantic comedy out,” Ichigo said. “Then there’s also a new version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that’s supposed to be really good.”

“And we just finished reading that in class,” Masaya said. He grinned. “Now maybe we can understand it!”

The others laughed just as Ichigo’s cellphone rang.

“Who is it?” Kish asked as Ichigo looked at the screen of the phone.

“Mint,” Ichigo said, her brow furrowing. She opened the phone and pressed it to her ear. “Moshi-Moshi?”

“Ichigo! Kish! Help!” Mint’s voice screamed. Ichigo moved the phone away from her ear to get away from Mint’s high-pitched voice.

“Mint? What’s wrong?” Ichigo asked, worried. “If Pudding broke a water pipe again, you guys are-”

“There’s bears, Onee-Chan! Bears, na no da!” She heard Pudding yell. She heard someone yelp.

“Ichigo, Kish, please come help us!” Rōzu begged through the phone. Ichigo heard the sounds of Tart’s weapon hit something that howled with pain.

“Are we on speakerphone?” Ichigo demanded.

“Yeah, but that’s not the point! We need help!” Zakuro yelled, her voice faint. Ichigo heard the distinct sound of Zakuro’s whip snapping.

“You said you could handle anything that came up!” Ichigo complained.

“We were wrong, Ichigo!” Rin said, and Ichigo heard panic in the older girl’s voice. “We were very, very wrong!”

Ichigo shook her head and glanced at Kish, who sighed but nodded, having heard every word of the conversation.

“Kish and I will be there in a few minutes.” She said grudgingly. Mint quickly told her where they were and hung up.

Kish and Ichigo looked at Masaya and Homare sheepishly.

“Sorry we have to bail,” Ichigo said. “But this is an emergency.”

“We understand,” Homare said with a smile. “I hope everything goes well!”

“Thanks, so do we,” Kish said, taking Ichigo’s hand. Together, they ran down the street. As soon as they were away from other people, they teleported into the park.

Ichigo screamed as they ducked quickly to avoid… a lizard tail?

“That is one huge lizard,” Kish said with a whistle.

“It’s a Komodo Dragon, now hurry up and transform!” Lettuce yelled as she battled one of the bear Chimera Animals. Kish and Ichigo nodded.

“Mew Mew Strawberry… Metamorpho-sis!”

“Battle Form Kisshu… Fusion!”

Ichigo grabbed her Strawberry Bell and Kish his Dragon Swords.

“Hey, where’s Rirī?” Kish asked as he charged into battle.

“Over in the trees somewhere, hashing it out with Zen,” Rin said as she threw her fan like a Frisbee, the fan cutting through the Komodo Dragon Chimera Animal’s tough skin.

I am so not having a good day, Rirī thought bitterly as she dodged Zen’s arm.

“Will you just stop for a minute, you baka!” Rirī demanded. “I want to talk to you!”

“About what?” Zen demanded. “What could you possibly have to say to me? And why would I listen to you anyways?”

“You’d listen to me because I’m your best friend,” Rirī said. “Or, at least, I thought I was. Why did you side with Mylo?”

“Look, Rirī, I know you hero-worship your brothers, but can’t you see that they are traitors? They have deliberately hurt Cynnth.” Zen snapped.

“That’s Mylo’s doing,” Rirī snapped. “And my brothers aren’t traitors.”

“They stood back and watched Master Deep Blue-Sama be killed!” Zen yelled with a punch. This punch didn’t miss it’s mark and Rirī felt the breath knocked out of her as Zen’s fist collided with her sternum.

His signature move, Rirī thought, rubbing her chest from where she sat on the ground. Why didn’t I think of that when there was that first attack at the hospital?

Zen stared down at Rirī from where she half-sat on the ground. They were both breathing heavily, and Rirī watched as Zen closed his eyes briefly.

“Look, Rirī, there’s still time to leave, to come join us,” He said, opening his eyes again. “Mylo’s right about this. Has been all along. It’s time for the Cyniclons to take up our rightful power and rule over the humans. I’ll make sure you’re safe. You won’t go to prison. We’ll say your brothers made you do fight Mylo, that it wasn’t your choice. Just come on.”

He held out his hand and smiled at her.

The same smile that had always been there for her. The one she had fallen in love with. Was still in love with.

But she couldn’t go with him. She would not go with him.

Rirī smacked his hand away. Zen stared at his hand in shock, then raised his gaze to Rirī.

“I will stand beside my brothers until the end,” Rirī said, climbing to her feet. She lifted her chin proudly. “No matter what. I would rather go to prison than betray my family. And I refuse to be used as a pawn in Mylo’s twisted game.” She took a deep breath and saw that his eyes were full of pain. She whispered, “I’m sorry, Zen.”

“Yeah, so am I,” Zen said, his face going hard again. “I was merely trying to protect you Rirī. Show you that I care about you. That I love you. But you would never have seen it anyways. So why do I even bother?”

And with that, Zen flew away, leaving Rirī standing in the forest, alone, tears running down her cheeks.

“I love you, too, Zen,” Rirī whispered. “I love you too.”

******************************************************************************

“It’s a good thing Animal Control got there just in time,” Mint said as they walked back to the Café.

“Yeah,” Rōzu said as she walked along a stone wall with her arms out for balance. “Those bears had the same look on their face that Pie does when we go into his lab and start touching things without permission.”

“I thought they reminded me of someone,” Tart said. He looked over his shoulder at Kish and Ichigo and smiled awkwardly at them. “Sorry we had to cut your date off.”

“And, uh, sorry we forgot to warn you that the Komodo Dragon one actually breathed fire,” Lettuce said sheepishly.

Kish and Ichigo’s eyes narrowed at that one. Their faces were black with soot and the tips of their hair was singed, Kish’s still smoking slightly.

“Just remember this day the next time any of you go out on a date and have to get called into work,” Ichigo growled.

Rin looked over at Rirī, who was silent as she walked.

“You okay?” She asked her sister. The auburn haired girl looked up and she shook her head.

“I don’t think I’ll be okay until this war is over,” Rirī said softly.

Rin nodded and looked ahead, listening vaguely to the argument that had broken out as Mint, Pudding and Lettuce tried to assure Ichigo that her burnt hair didn’t look too awful.

“You’re not alone with that mindset,” Rin said. She suddenly took Rirī’s hand. “You’re never alone.”

Rirī smiled and squeezed Rin’s hand. No, she was not alone.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Lettuce yawned, covering her mouth with her hand sleepily.

“Ryou,” Ichigo whined, rubbing an eye with her fist. “It’s Sunday. We wanna sleep in. Why did’ja make us get up at while it’s still dark out?”

Lettuce took a look around the room. No one else looked happy to have been woken up this early either. Rōzu was sitting beside Pie, her head on his shoulder, asleep. Mint and Rirī both wore their hair down, having not had a chance to put it up in their usual buns. Pudding’s hair stuck out in all directions. Tart and Kish were dressed half in street clothes, half in their pajamas. Ichigo still wore her slippers. Lettuce’s glasses were perched haphazardly on her nose and her blouse was buttoned sloppily. Rin and Zakuro, of course, looked as perfect as usual, though their eyes said that they were still longing for their beds.

“Sorry, guys,” Keiichiro said, giving his own yawn. “But the computers woke us up. Apparently, Mylo’s decided to take an early start to capturing earth.”

“Great,” Kish said through a yawn. “Just give us the bleeping coordinates, we’ll go beat him, then sleep until Monday.”

“It’s not going to be that easy, I’m afraid,” Ryou said. He and Pie looked to be the only ones wide awake, or at least faking it. Ryou gestured to the large screen behind him. It was a map of Tokyo, and various places had blinking red dots. “Mylo is striking in various places. You’re going to have to split up in order to defeat all the Chimera Animals, which might take longer than usual.

“Kish and Ichigo, you’ll be going east, towards the docks.”

The two nodded, instantly alert.

“Pudding and Tart, you’ll be going to the northern part of the city, towards the zoo.”

The two teens nodded with grins.

“Mint and Zakuro, you’ll be going south, near the quarry.”

The two girls nodded.

“Rin and Rōzu, west, towards the park near the fire station.”

Rin nodded and Rōzu lifted her head sleepily and murmured, “Wha…?”

“And Lettuce and Rirī will go to the heart of the city.”

Lettuce and Rirī nodded.

“Where am I going?” Pie asked, confused.

“Back to bed,” Rirī said, slightly harshly. She glared when Pie opened his mouth to retort. “Forget it. Your stitches aren’t coming out for at least another week, and, as mean as this sounds, I will be in absolutely no mood to redo them if they get ripped out. Therefore, you are staying here.”

Pie scowled, but said nothing.

“Well, that being settled, let’s hit it,” Rin said, taking out her stone.

“Battle-Form Rindou!”

“Battle-Form Lily!”

“Battle-Form Kisshu!”

“Battle-Form Taruto!”

“Battle-Form Rose!”

“Mew Mew Zakuro!”

“Mew Mew Pudding!”

“Mew Mew Lettuce!”

“Mew Mew Mint!”

“Mew Mew Strawberry!”

The girls cries of ‘Metamorpho-sis’ mixed in fluidly with Kish’s ‘Fusion!’ and Tart’s ‘Revolution!’.

“Alright, let’s go do this,” Tart said, stretching out his fingers, making his knuckles crack.

“Yeah, the sooner we beat those monsters, the sooner we get pancakes, na no da!” Pudding cheered as she pulled out her Pudding Rings.

“Pudding, nothing was said about pancakes,” Lettuce said, confused.

“That’s why Pudding’s saying something about it now, na no da!” Pudding said with a grin. She grabbed Tart’s hand and they teleported away. Kish did the same with Ichigo, Rirī with Lettuce and Rin with a half-awake Rōzu.

“Hey, wait!” Mint cried as they disappeared. She sighed and looked up at Zakuro.

“Looks like we’re walking,” Zakuro said, frowning slightly and her eyes narrowed.

“Have fun!” Keiichiro said cheerfully as the two girls ran out of the Café.

“What do we do now?” Pie asked, using his crutches to get to his feet.

“Apparently make pancake batter,” Ryou said with a shrug.

Pie raised an eyebrow.

“I think I will go back to bed now.” He said.

Tart and Pudding arrived to madness. The zoo animals were running free and many had been turned into Chimera Animals and were fighting each other. At the head of all the chaos was a Cyniclon boy around Tart and Pudding’s age with vivid red hair that stood on end and eyes of a similar color, cackling as he watched the fight.

“Chile,” Tart said in a growl. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Does Taru-Taru know him?” Pudding asked curiously. The alien—Chile—laughed, having heard her question, and, by default, Pudding’s nickname for Tart.

“Taru-Taru?” He said in a mock-baby voice. “A stupid nickname for a stupid plant boy.”

“We were in the same class at the Academy,” Tart explained shortly to Pudding, before turning with hard eyes to the other boy. “For your information, that is the nickname my girlfriend has given me. Girlfriends give their boyfriends nicknames. But you wouldn’t know that because the only girl that will ever love you is your mother!”

Chile’s smile fell into a scowl.

“Watch what you say about mothers, Ikisatashi!” Chile snapped. “My brothers are on the Rebel Annihilation Squad on Cynnth, and your mom’s status as loyal or traitor is still being processed!”

“Speaking of Cynnth, how has it been there recently?” Tart asked innocently, unfazed by Chile’s words. “Since we haven’t seen you around before, I can only assume your mom’s only just let you come. How many tantrums did you have to throw to get here?”

Chile’s face now matched his hair.

“That’s it!” Chile screamed. “Chimera Animals, attack!”

Tart grinned at Pudding.

“Let’s earn our pancakes,” He said. Pudding grinned and leapt into the air.

Mint and Zakuro landed on the ground and took off in a run, trying to dodge the boulders being thrown at them by two identical Cyniclon males with dark gray hair and eyes.

“Look, I’m going to get two birds with one stone!” One cried to his brother, throwing a large boulder at the two Mew Mews.

Zakuro turned sharply and flicked her whip, crushing the projectile into rubble.

“One bird, one wolf and a bunch of pebbles,” Zakuro said with a smirk towards the two aliens.

Mint burst another rock with her arrows.

“What’s the deal?” Mint asked.

“They weren’t actually doing anything before we arrived,” Rin said, doing a mid-air flip, throwing one of her fans.

“Yeah, like they were waiting for us,” Rōzu said, flinging off one of the frog Chimera Animals that jumped at her.

“This makes no sense,” Ichigo said, her tail twitching as she looked around at the empty shipping yard. “There was definitely Chimera Animal activity going on here.”

“Underground, maybe?” Kish suggested.

“It could be that,” Zen said, suddenly appearing in midair. “Or it was just enough to lure you into our trap.”

“What trap?” Pudding demanded to Chile.

“Mylo’s grand and perfect plan,” One of the gray haired aliens shouted at Mint and Zakuro with pride in his voice.

“And what would that be?” Rin asked, having rounded on the sky-blue haired alien who had arrived mid fight.

“Wait!” Zen said, his eyes wide as he saw Kish and Ichigo. “It wasn’t supposed to be you two here! You’re supposed to be downtown!”

Kish and Ichigo took one look at each other and felt their faces pale. What troubles were Rirī and Lettuce facing?

While all this was happening, Rirī and Lettuce were looking around the deserted streets.

“This is creepy,” Rirī said. She pulled out an arrow and put it to her bowstring. “I don’t like this.”

“Yeah, I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Lettuce said as they walked along, her tanets out.

Rirī’s ears suddenly twitched.

“Did you hear that?” She asked, turning around, lifting her bow slightly.

“Hear what?” Lettuce asked.

Rirī took a few steps away from Lettuce.

“It’s was almost like footsteps,” She said. “I wonder where it-” Rirī cut off what she was about to say with a scream. Suddenly, she was pinned to the wall of a building, her bow lying several feet away.

“Rirī!” Lettuce screamed, running to her friend’s side.

“I can’t teleport!” Rirī said, panicked, struggling against the invisible bonds keeping her to the wall. Suddenly, her eyes widened. “Lettuce, run!”

Lettuce turned and gasped to see Mylo standing in the pre-dawn light, a long sword in hand.

“Fish girl and medicine woman,” Mylo said with a smirk. “Not who I was expecting, but you will do.”

Lettuce took a step backwards, her wide eyes on Mylo.

“Where are you going, fishy?” Mylo crooned softly. “Don’t you want to know what my so-called evil plan is?”

Lettuce took a few more steps backward, but Mylo kept approaching.

“Well, today was to be Mew Ichigo’s death day.” Mylo said smirking. “I was going to bind Kisshu to the wall like your little friend is now and make him watch as I killed his beloved Koneko-Chan.”

Lettuce felt her face pale.

Ichigo…

Lettuce scowled, her eyes hard, bringing her tanets up.

“I will not let you kill Mew Ichigo!” She said, her voice firm.

“Oh, I have given up on that idea,” Mylo said with a chuckle. “Because I am now going to kill you.”

Lettuce felt her eyes go wide.

“Ribbon Lettuce Rush!” She screamed, but Mylo easily dodged her attacks, still moving closer.

Lettuce took off running. She knew that her tanets and hand-to-hand skills would be useless against Mylo’s sword.

To her horror, Mylo teleported in front of her. He blasted her with one of his parasite projectiles, sending her flying across the road.

She tried to get up, but Mylo put his boot down on her sternum, the toe of his boot right over her Mew Mark, his sword-tip pressed to her throat. Lettuce tried hard not to sob.

“Sayōnara, Mew Lettuce,” Mylo said, his smile cruel as he raised his sword.

Lettuce shut her eyes and turned her face away, not able to look. To her surprise, the blow didn’t come.

She opened an eye and looked up at Mylo, who looked confused at something that was past her head. She opened both eyes and looked around.

From behind her head, she heard footsteps. She craned her neck back so that she could see.

“Who are you?” Mylo demanded, moving off of Lettuce, who scrambled away. Once she was a safe distance from Mylo, she studied the approaching person.

He was tall, pale, with Cyniclon ears and cat-like pupils, and extremely handsome. He had long white hair tied back into a ponytail and he wore a gentle smile on his face as he approached, his pearl-like eyes on Lettuce only. He wore an all-white uniform with long linen pants, a linen shirt, a cloak with a high collar, boots, gloves and a belt, where a scabbard hung.

He approached Lettuce and knelt down beside her.

“Are you alright, my angel?” He asked in a deep but silky voice, cupping Lettuce’s cheek. His eyes were full of concern. “He did not harm you, did he?”

Lettuce shook her head vaguely.

“Wh-who are you?” She asked, trembling slightly. The man smiled again, and helped her to her feet before gently placing his pale lips against her forehead. Lettuce felt herself go scarlet at his kiss and began breathing deeply.

The man then stood up, the newly risen sun behind him. He bowed before Lettuce, his right hand over his heart.

“I,” He said in his deep, melodious voice. “Am the White Knight. And I am here to protect you, Mew Lettuce.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

“T-to protect me?” Lettuce squeaked. “Why me?”

The White Knight opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Mylo, who was furious.

“Look, Knight-in-shining-armor, what do you want?” Mylo demanded.

“I have already said,” The White Knight said, turning calmly to face Mylo. “To do what I was born to do: protect Mew Lettuce with my life. As you have tried to harm her, it is my duty to defeat you in a duel.”

Mylo snarled.

“Bring it,” He snapped.

“Gladly,” The White Knight said, drawing his gleaming white sword with a black hilt. It reminded Lettuce of the sword blades from the European Middle Ages that she had seen in books and museums. However, none of those swords gleamed in the dawn sunlight like this one did. The sword blade was covered in delicate and intricate swirl patterns engraved into the metal.

The White Knight glanced over his shoulder to ensure Lettuce’s safety, and turned back to effortlessly blocked Mylo’s swing.

They battled in the deserted streets, the sun rising higher and higher over the horizon as they did so. While Mylo was distracted, Lettuce ran over to Rirī.

“I still can’t get free, but the hold is weakening,” Rirī said. “Mylo is controlling it, but is losing his concentration as he fights that guy.”

“The White Knight,” Lettuce supplied.

“Yeah, him,” Rirī said, watching the duel. “Why is he here?”

“He says it’s to protect me,” Lettuce said, watching the White Knight slash at Mylo. Scarlet blood appeared on Mylo’s forearm and the Cyniclon gave a howl of fury and pain. The White Knight merely smiled with content.

“The White Knight is the better swordsman,” Rirī commented as she dropped to the ground, Mylo’s powers no longer restraining her as he turned all of his attention to defeating the strange knight. “Where did he learn all that?”

“More importantly, where did he come from?” Lettuce asked in a whisper.

Suddenly, Kish and Ichigo appeared, followed by Pudding and Tart and Rin and Rōzu. Mint and Zakuro came running up the street, out of breath.

“What’s going on?” Kish asked, his brow furrowed.

“Who’s the guy in white?” Zakuro asked, her hands on her knees as she tried to get rid of the stitch in her side.

“The White Knight,” Rirī said simply. “Lettuce’s self-proclaimed protector.”

The others looked back and forth between Lettuce and the White Knight.

“Cute, chivalrous, and giving Mylo a run for his money,” Mint said after a moment. “Lettuce, he’s a keeper.”

“But I don’t know who he is!” Lettuce said in a moan.

Zen and some of the other soldiers showed up. They were shocked to see their leader dueling the strange gentleman.

The White Knight smiled coyly as he turned sharply, letting Mylo fall to the ground, his sword flying.

With a growl, Mylo rolled over. To his surprise, the White Knight put the tip of his sword against Mylo’s leg, just above his right knee.

“I will give you a verbal warning. If you do not heed my words of caution, I will give you another, far less gentle warning,” The White Knight said calmly, the smile gone from his face, replaced by a mask of seriousness. “You will not harm Mew Lettuce, nor any of the other Tokyo Defenders. If you do so, I will be obliged to kill you. I will say this once, and only once: leave Earth. Do not return to Cynnth. You have no right to rule over the people of those planets. Leave now, and I will guarantee that you live a long, happy life.”

“What happiness can you provide? And what is a long life worth if I cannot have what I want?” Mylo demanded. “A life where I have no power?”

The White Knight’s scowl deepened.

“I am sorry to see that you have not heeded my spoken warning,” He said. “I will now be forced to do what I am loathe to do.”

With that, he drove his sword into Mylo’s leg. Not deep enough to go down to the bone, but enough to cause pain and injure the muscle. Mylo howled with pain and Zen leapt to his side, while the others watched in horror.

The White Knight just as swiftly withdrew his sword. Scarlet blood dripped off it onto the street, but otherwise did not stain the blade.

“Why did he do that?” Rōzu asked, peeking through Rin’s fingers, though her sister tried to cover her eyes when she saw what the White Knight was preparing to do.

The White Knight stepped back and let Zen help Mylo to his feet, the latter swearing at the White Knight.

“Consider my warning,” The White Knight said calmly.

Mylo snarled as he opened up a teleportation portal.

“Kill the Tokyo Defenders and the White Knight!” He ordered before he disappeared.

“Yes, sir,” Zen said with a firm nod. His palms glowed and parasites formed in his hands.

“Uh oh,” Ichigo said, calling up her Strawberry Bell. “Looks like we’ve got company.”

And she was right. A Chimera Animal filled the street and roared.

As the Tokyo Defenders jumped into action, the White Knight held Lettuce back.

“Why did you do that to Mylo?” Lettuce demanded before the White Knight could speak.

“He needed to be warned,” The White Knight said. “And also, it is righteous vengeance. He harmed my servant. I merely returned the blow.”

“Are you talking about Pie?” Lettuce asked, confused as she realized that the White Knight wounded Mylo is the same place where Mylo had stabbed Pie. “Since when is Pie your servant?”

“He is not aware of it. Yet. But he does act on it when the need arises.” The White Knight said.

“What need?” Lettuce asked.

“The need to protect you when I am unable to intervene,” The White Knight explained. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. “I would appreciate it if you did not mention this to the others, Pie in particular. I know you love him, and I know you wish to keep him safe, and I ask only this one thing of you. I promise, no harm will come to Pie, but for now it would be for the best if he did not know of this conversation.”

Lettuce gaped for a second, trying to wrap her head around all that he said. Suddenly, the White Knight grabbed her around the waist and leapt into the air with her to avoid the strike of the Chimera Animal. They were suddenly safely on the balcony of a hotel. Lettuce found herself pressed up against the White Knight. Her face red, she looked up at him.

“Who are you?” She asked softly. “And why are you here?”

“I am the White Knight,” The White Knight said, smiling softly at her. “And I am here to protect you, Mew Lettuce.”

“But why?” Lettuce stammered out.

The White Knight smiled and gently kissed her forehead.

“Do not trouble yourself with that for now,” He whispered. “Just know that when all seems lost, I will be there to protect you.”

He turned his head and listened.

“Ribbon Zakuro Pure!”

“Ribbon Mint Echo!”

“Ribbon Pudding Inferno!”

“I believe they will be needing your assistance,” The White Knight mused. He wrapped his arm around Lettuce again and brought her back to the ground. He gave her an encouraging smile and nod. Lettuce tried to smile back, and brought out her tanets.

“Ribbon Lettuce Rush!” She yelled, aiming at the Chimera Animal.

“Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!” Ichigo yelled, finishing off the creature.

Nothing was left of the monster. Mylo’s soldiers disappeared in huffs.

“Don’t think you’re so lucky,” Zen growled before disappearing. “You will not survive your next encounter.”

The Tokyo Defenders stood in silence.

“Well, that was fun,” Kish said sarcastically.

“Hey, where’s Mr. White Knight dude, na no da?” Pudding asked, looking around.

They saw the White Knight walking away from them, his body like a shadow puppet against the early morning sun.

“Hey, wait!” Lettuce cried, running after him. “I haven’t thanked you yet!”

“There is no need to thank me,” The White Knight said, looking over his shoulder. “This is my duty, and I am happy it is so. Until next time, Mew Lettuce.”

And with that, he continued to walk away.

Within seconds, he was gone.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty:

“Alright, so, seriously, who was that guy?” Mint asked, staring at where the White Knight had disappeared. “ ‘Cause he was really hot.”

“Yeah, no arguments there,” Ichigo said. She brushed back some of her hair and looked at Lettuce. “You all right?”

“I think I will be,” Lettuce said softly. “I… He just feels so familiar…”

“It’s Pie-Chan, na no da,” Pudding whispered.

“What?” Her teammates chorused, looking at Pudding, who was grinning from ear to ear.

“The White Knight is Pie-Chan, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed, her eyes twinkling. “It has to be! He was the only one not at the battle today, and he saved Lettuce Onee-Chan because he loves her! It all fits together, na no da!”

“Pudding, that’s what you said the last time some hot guy with a fancy sword and long hair came around to protect a Mew Mew,” Zakuro said dispassionately. “And you were wrong. Very, very wrong.”

“Pudding didn’t have enough evidence the last time, but this time Pudding knows it to be the absolute truth, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed, clutching a fist in the air and staring at it. She suddenly grabbed Lettuce’s hand. “Come on! We’ve got to catch up to him, na no da!”

“Pudding!” Lettuce yelped, being dragged along by the young teen. “Stop it!”

“Yeah!” Rōzu yelled, flying up beside Pudding. “There’s an easier way!”

Rōzu grabbed Pudding and Lettuce’s joined hands and teleported away.

Rin sighed and shook her head as the teleport portal closed as the toe of Lettuce’s boot passed through.

“I believe it would be in our best interest to follow,” She said.

The remaining Tokyo Defenders teleported back to the Café, where Pudding and Rōzu were telling to a stunned Ryou and Keiichiro what had happened with a lot of hand gestures, charade motions and jumping up and down. Lettuce was sitting at one of the tables, quiet and staring at her hands in thought, the White Knight’s words spinning in her head.

“So, it sounds like we missed an interesting day,” Ryou said while he and Keiichiro were given a blow-by-blow account of the duel of the White Knight and Mylo.

“Yep,” Zakuro said, de-transforming.

“And that is why we need to talk to Pie-Chan, na no da!” Pudding finished, smacking her fist into her open palm as if that sealed the deal.

“Hold your horses, Pudding,” Keiichiro said with a chuckle. “Pie’s been here the whole time. He couldn’t have been the White Knight.”

“Were you with him the whole time?” Rōzu demanded, floating up so that she was looking the chef in the eye.

“Well, no, not exactly,” Keiichiro said. “But we were just upstairs. He is sound asleep.”

“Pie can teleport!” Rōzu argued. “He can go wherever he wants as quickly as he wants and return just as quickly!”

“He tried to teleport this morning and only got to the top of the stairs. He was aiming for the kitchen,” Tart pointed out.

“Luring us into a false sense of security, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed, suddenly wearing a brown trench-coat and matching hat and had a pipe that blew out bubbles.

“Where did you-? How did you-?” Rin started, staring at the girl in shock.

“Don’t ask, it’s just better if you don’t ask,” Ichigo said.

“Hmm, asleep you say,” Pudding said around the pipe. She blew out a few bubbles before saying, “He is faking! Trying to hide the evidence, na no da!”

“Oh, yes, he’s had just enough time to stash the sword under his pillow, hide the uniform in a dark corner of the closet and cut and dye his hair that grew in an unnatural amount of time,” Kish said sarcastically.

“My dear Kisshu-Chan, don’t be ridiculous,” Pudding said, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose. “It’s a wig, na no da! Now come, Dr. Watson-Chan, na no da!” Pudding said, putting a bowler hat and glasses on Rōzu. The two ran up the stairs.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Ryou said. Reluctantly, they followed the two girls up the stairs.

“See! See!” Pudding said, bouncing on her toes outside the door to the boys’ bedroom. “He is clearly faking being asleep, na no da!”

“Pie does not fake being asleep,” Kish said with a snort. “I’ve lived with him long enough to know that he does not ‘fake’ anything. And sleeping is high on his list of things he does not mess around with.”

“Yeah,” Rirī added. “When he wants to sleep, there is no argument and absolutely no way to wake him up.”

“Whether he is asleep or not is not the main issue!” Rōzu exclaimed, adjusting her bowler hat. “Now, we’re going to get a confession out of him if it’s the last thing we do!”

“Wake him up, and it will be,” Rin warned.

“Is Pie going to kill them?” Mint asked, an eyebrow raised.

The Cyniclons shrugged.

“Looks like we’re about to find out,” Ichigo said.

“I got this,” Rōzu said to Pudding, who went and stood in the corner, furiously blowing bubbles on her pipe.

Rōzu then went over beside her brother and floated a few inches in the air. She grabbed his ear, took a deep breath, leaned down and…

“OI! WAKE UP!” Rōzu yelled into her brother’s ear.

Pie jerked upright into a sitting position, instinctively bringing his arm out to strike Rōzu at the same time. Rōzu, however, was safe a few feet above him.

Pie blinked a few times, in a bit of shock, and with his ears ringing. He looked up and glared at Rōzu.

“What,” He demanded harshly. “Is wrong with you?”

“Well, Papa thinks one of you dropped me on my head when I was a baby and won’t ’fess up. And Mama thinks it’s just a phase and I’ll grow out of it. And don’t get me started on what my teachers think.” Rōzu said as she dropped to the ground, landing agilely on her feet.

Pie let out a low growl as he pushed aside the blankets and swung his legs around to the side of the bed.

“I meant, why did you feel the need to scream into my ear and wake me up?” Pie said, his eyes narrowed. “And, what are you wearing?”

“We’ll ask the questions, na no da!” Pudding declared, marching across the room. “Now, Mr. White Knight, please tell the jury how you committed the crime, na no da?”

“White what?” Pie asked, his voice blank of emotion. “And what crime are you referring to?”

“Well, okay, it wasn’t a crime. The White Knight saved Lettuce Onee-Chan from being killed…” Pudding admitted, biting her lip.

“What?” Pie asked, only his eyes showing his shock.

“Oh, like you don’t know, na no da!” Pudding said, poking Pie in the chest with her finger.

“I really do not have any idea of what you are talking about, Pudding,” Pie said, ire in his voice as he pushed aside her hand. “Now who or what is a White Knight?”

Pudding’s shoulders slumped.

“You’re not him,” She said in a sad voice. Tears came to her eyes. She sniffed. “Why must Pudding make super-amazing cases only for them to be wrong, na no da?” She wailed and ran away from the room crying.

“Well,” Zakuro said as she watched Pudding run down the hall. “Here we go again.”

“I’m glad she’s not looking forward to a career in the crime solving industry,” Ichigo said. She sighed. “I’ll go talk to her. You guys fill Pie in on what happened.”

Ten minutes later, Pie had been informed of the details of the morning’s battle and Ichigo had returned with a consoled Pudding, who was sniffling slightly.

“From what I gather, the White Knight is similar in both goals and fighting styles to the Blue Knight,” Pie said.

“Kind of weird and scary thinking about it like that,” Lettuce whispered from where she sat, curled up with Pie’s arm around her. “Knowing what the Blue Knight’s true identity was.”

“Are you talking about his identity as in who transformed into him, or who he really truly was?” Keiichiro asked.

“Both,” Lettuce said, the White Knight’s words coming back to her.

“He harmed my servant.”

Lettuce unconsciously snuggled in closer to Pie, wrapping her arms around him almost protectively. She wasn’t quite sure yet if it was a good thing or not that Pie was the White Knight’s ‘servant’. She also debated on whether she should mention it or not.

“Wait, who’s the Blue Knight?” Rin asked suddenly, breaking Lettuce’s train of thought.

“It was Masaya who transformed into him,” Ichigo said. “He always did so to protect me when I was unable to fight for myself, or having trouble in a fight.”

“Turns out, he was really the host of Deep Blue,” Kish said. The Ikisatashi sisters’ eyes widened.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Rirī said. “I sit beside Master Deep Blue-Sama in history class and I’m just know learning of this?”

“Deep Blue wasn’t the wonderful savior we thought he would be. He didn’t care about who or what stood in his way. Not even his loyal soldiers.” Tart informed her.

“We were not loyal in the end,” Pie pointed out in a low voice.

“Only once we saw how truly corrupt he was, saw that he would kill us and not even blink,” Kish said with a scowl. “Irony how, in a way, Masaya was the savior we expected Deep Blue to be.”

“What do you mean?” Rōzu asked, her eyes as wide as saucers.

“Masaya killed Deep Blue,” Tart said. “That last battle… it wasn’t pretty.”

“We are all alive by some amazing twist of fate,” Zakuro said. Her eyes were suddenly hard. “One I do not think we can live through again.”

“Do you think the White Knight could be Deep Blue in disguise?” Ichigo asked.

“I sure hope not,” Mint said with disgust. “I don’t want to get near that freak ever again.”

“Ichigo Onee-Chan has a point, na no da,” Pudding said. “There was no body of Deep Blue, he just disappeared. He might not even be dead after all, na no da.”

“The last thing we need is for Mylo and Deep Blue to get together,” Ryou said grimly.

“Agreed,” Kish said with a firm nod.

“Deep Blue may have taken on another human host,” Keiichiro said. “If the White Knight appears again, we can follow him and see who he truly is.”

“Until then, what should we do?” Lettuce asked.

“Business as usual, I guess,” Ryou said. “Keep fighting until we learn something new, or come up with a lead. For now, let’s go eat some pancakes.”

The Tokyo Defenders all nodded eagerly, Pudding in particular.

“Pudding really thought it would be Pie-Chan, na no da,” Pudding mumbled an hour later as she helped the other girls, Kish and Tart set up the Café for the day. They all had full bellies and were cleaned up from the morning’s battle and ready to take on the day’s customers.

“Or could it still be him?” Ichigo asked. “I mean, Masaya didn’t remember being the Blue Knight at all for a long time. Could it be the same with Pie?”

“Maybe,” Mint said. “We spent so much time thinking it was really Ryou when we didn’t even think it could be Masaya.”

Pudding scowled and put her hands on her hips.

“The Blue Knight was tall, blond-haired and blue-eyed. Ryou perfectly fit the description and Masaya didn’t! Therefore, Pudding wasn’t wrong to assume it was Ryou Onii-Chan! Na. No. Da!” The young teen said indignantly.

“You’re right, Pudding, you weren’t wrong to think of Ryou at first,” Lettuce said. “I just wonder… if not Pie, than who would want to protect me so badly?”

“No one comes to mind?” Kish asked. Lettuce shook her head.

“No,” Lettuce said as they heard a knock on the Café door. Mint opened the door.

“Sorry, but we don’t open for another hour,” Mint said.

“I’m just looking for someone,” A male voice responded. “A Midorikawa Lettuce-San.”

Lettuce quickly turned her head. Standing at the door was a tall teenage boy with shaggy black hair with the ends dyed bright red and light brown eyes. He smiled when he saw Lettuce.

“Nakamura-San?” Lettuce whispered in shock.

“Midori-Chan!” The boy responded. He walked in and hugged Lettuce, picking her up of the ground. “Long time no see, huh?”

“Yeah,” Lettuce said. She looked over the boy’s shoulder at Kish. “And Kisshu-Kun? I was just proven wrong.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-One:

“I’ve missed you so much, Lettuce-Chan,” The boy said, smiling at Lettuce.

“I’ve missed you, too, Hiroki,” Lettuce said, returning the smile. She took a deep breath. “Everyone, this is Nakamura Hiroki.” She then proceeded to introduce everyone else in the room, who nodded pleasantly at Hiroki. “He and I were next door neighbors and best friends when we were kids. His family moved away when we were twelve.”

“Yeah, but now we’re back! Just got in this morning, actually,” Hiroki said, throwing an arm around Lettuce. “We’ve even moved back into the same apartment! We’re neighbors again!”

“Oh, I had heard that someone was moving in, but I didn’t know it was you,” Lettuce said.

“Yeah. Everything can go back to the way it was now,” Hiroki said, laying his hands on Lettuce’s shoulders, his eyes bright. “We can even go to school together like when we were little!”

“Um, that’s not going to work,” Lettuce said, blushing. “I kind of go to an all-girl’s school.”

Hiroki smile dropped, at least for a moment.

“Well, that’s okay. My dad was trying to get me to go to an all-boys school anyways. For some reason he thinks that too much time around pretty girls is bad for my grades.” Hiroki said with a shrug, then winked at Lettuce.

“You were always so easily distracted, Hiroki-Chan,” Lettuce said with a chuckle.

“Wouldn’t have made it past fourth grade if you hadn’t been there,” Hiroki said, grinning at Lettuce.

“Oh, it wasn’t just because of me,” Lettuce said, blushing.

“Don’t be modest,” Hiroki chided gently. “Hey, let’s go out on Friday night, go to one of our old haunts.”

“Oh, um,” Lettuce said, proceeding to turn scarlet. “I’m sorry, Hiroki-Chan, but I already have plans.”

Hiroki looked thoroughly disappointed.

“Oh,” He said. He brightened up slightly. “Think I can tag along? Or is it something too girly?”

“Well, uh, actually, it’s a, um,” Lettuce said, her voice getting softer and her face getting redder, then she managed to squeak out, “Date.”

Hiroki blinked in shock.

“Oh.” He said again. He and Lettuce stared at each other awkwardly. Lettuce’s teammates looked up nervously from their cleaning, waiting to see what happened.

Hiroki smiled again, though this one looked forced.

“So, uh, who’s the lucky guy?” Hiroki asked, trying to sound innocently curious though Lettuce knew he was faking it.

“That would be me.”

Lettuce and Hiroki both turned to see Pie emerge from the kitchen, his hair damp from his shower and only half-dressed for work, his tie in one hand, shirt un-tucked and his vest hanging open. Lettuce noticed he was putting all his weight on his left leg and was limping slightly as he walked. She was about to reprimand for not using the crutches, but then she realized that he left them for a reason: to appear intimidating.

Pie and Hiroki stared at each other for a long time, Lettuce between them. The two boys were the exact same height, and therefore could glare directly into the other’s eyes. Rin, Keiichiro and Ryou peeked out the kitchen window, watching intently, while the other Tokyo Defenders inched along the wall, trying desperately to not be seen and sneak into the kitchen.

“And who exactly are you?” Hiroki asked with a obviously forced pleasantness.

“I could ask the same of you,” Pie said coldly, his cat-like indigo eyes in slits. Perhaps it was jealousy, but he suddenly felt both protective and possessive of Lettuce.

“Pie, this is Nakamura Hiroki,” Lettuce said in an attempt to bridge the gap between them. “We were friends and neighbors when we were kids and he has recently moved back into town. Hiroki, this is my-”

She cut herself off briefly, unsure of what to say. She and Pie hadn’t even gone out on a date yet, so she couldn’t call him her boyfriend. But she couldn’t say he was just a friend or coworker either, they were much more than that. Even teammate didn’t sound right.

“My Pie.” She finished lamely, feeling her cheeks heat.

From their hiding spot in the kitchen, the other Tokyo Defenders, Ryou and Keiichiro face-palmed.

“Pie,” Hiroki said. He smirked slightly. “So, uh, is that your actual name or what?”

“Yes. Yes it is,” Pie responded, having heard the question enough times to just answer it and brush it off.

“Ah,” Hiroki said.

Before the silence could get even more awkward, Lettuce said,

“Uh, Hiroki, we have to open soon and we still have a lot of stuff to do,” She said, taking Hiroki’s arm and leading him to the door, Pie following closely. “I’ll see you when I get home tonight after work.”

Hiroki grinned at her and kissed her cheek.

“I’ll be waiting,” He said, touching Lettuce’s nose lightly. Her face was stained red, though Hiroki seemed to take no notice.

Waving as he went, Hiroki walked out of the café, whistling to himself as he went.

Lettuce closed the door and banged her forehead against it, closing her eyes.

Oh, Hiroki, She thought. Do you ever think before you speak?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard from behind her.

“When did I become yours?” Pie asked, his voice void of emotion as he now floated in the air some to take pressure off his leg. “Or are there still papers that need to be signed?”

Lettuce turned, her face red.

“I don’t know why I said that, I mean you’re obviously still your own person and I don’t own you or anything and-” Lettuce babbled, but she cut herself off when she saw Pie’s indigo eyes twinkle. Lettuce closed her mouth, bowed her head and then said in a low voice, “And you were teasing me, weren’t you?”

“Of course,” Pie said, gently kissing the top of her head, wrapping his arms around Lettuce. He also whispered into her ear, “And I do not mind being referred to as ‘yours’.” which caused Lettuce to turn scarlet again.

“Well gang, it looks like we have another mystery on our hands, na no da,” Pudding said from where she stood in the kitchen, her hands on her hips.

“When did we go from the early nineteen hundreds to the sixties?” Ichigo asked, but Pudding didn’t seem to hear her.

“Mysterious White Knight appears this morning, just in time to rescue Lettuce Onee-Chan from certain death and promises to protect her. Also this morning, Nakamura Hiroki arrives in the city after being away for four years, also seems to have a crush on Lettuce Onee-Chan. Coincidence? Pudding thinks not, na no da!” Pudding said, pounding her fist against the palm of her other hand, a gleam in her eye.

“You are not going to rest until you know who it is, are you?” Zakuro asked dryly.

“Neither rain nor snow nor Mylo taking over the world will stop Pudding from discovering who the White Knight is, na no da!” Pudding declared, striking a dramatic pose.

“Whatever,” Ryou said. “As long as you don’t actually let Mylo take over the world.”

“Got it!” Pudding said with a grin and she dashed out of the room.

The others glared at Ryou, who shrugged.

“What?” He said. “There are some boundaries we need to keep up.”

They heard another knock at the front door.

“We’re not open yet!” Ichigo hollered.

“Ichigo? It’s me,” They heard Masaya’s voice, muffled slightly by the door, call back.

“Masaya?” Ichigo said with confusion, going to answer the door. “You do know it’s Sunday, right?”

“Very aware of that,” Masaya said, entering the Café carrying lots of notebooks, books, and folders, Post-It notes sticking out of various places and his backpack looked packed to the brim. “But I couldn’t wait to tell you this!”

“Tell us what?” Mint asked.

“I know how I can help!” Masaya said with a grin.

“This couldn’t have waited till Monday because…?” Zakuro asked with a yawn.

“We were up earlier than any of us would have liked, and it’s starting to reflect.” Keiichiro explained at Masaya’s confused and slightly hurt look. “Now, tell us how you can help, Masaya.”

Masaya nodded. He turned briefly to Ichigo.

“Do you remember the project we worked on while we were studying in England?” He asked.

Ichigo nodded.

“Yeah, we were working on a way to study and monitor wild animals, without having to invade their habitats,” She said. “Why?”

“Well, I was thinking about what you said had happened the other night, and then it occurred to me, what if someone was seriously hurt or even dying?” Masaya said. “How would the others know to send back-up, or to get that person out of the battlefield? Then, it hit me.”

Masaya laid out several diagrams on the café tables. There was a blueprint of a round device on top.

“This is enlarged to show the design and work out the schematics,” Masaya said as they all studied the blueprints. “The real thing would have a diameter of a centimeter.”

“What does it do?” Mint asked.

“And how does it work?” Pie asked as he began picking through Masaya’s notes.

“Basically, this is just placed under the skin and, when activated, it gives off the vital signs of the body it is connected to. Heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature can all be easily monitored,” Masaya said as he opened his laptop. The background of the screen was blue, and there was a picture of a tiger next to three bars that grew and shrank as the seconds passed, each with a different symbol beside it.

“This is a four year old male tiger in India.” Masaya explained. “By using the information from this chip and similar ones in other young tigers in the same area, scientists can observe how the environment is affecting the tiger population, see what the average vital stats are for a healthy tiger, and even know if there is a problem with poaching in the area.”

“And you want to put those things inside of us?” Lettuce asked, her brow furrowed.

Masaya nodded.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Ryou said. “Keiichiro and I can only do so much from here. If there is something that could alert us when you are in a lot of trouble, we can come, even if it’s just to take someone out of the fight.”

“I agree with Ryou,” Zakuro said. “We’ve had too many close calls over the years. This will not only prevent casualties, but it will get anyone who is wounded out of the way of further harm.”

“The only thing is,” Masaya said sheepishly. “Is that the prototypes were specially designed for specific animals. We chose the tiger because we had access to one via the local zoo. I would need to conduct some studies to collect statistical information in order for the data to register to a human or Cyniclon’s vital stats. Not to mention it would take some time to make them after all the information I need is gathered. And I’d really prefer to get that information from those who this device would go to benefit.”

“In other words, you want us to be your new lab experiments?” Mint said.

“Well, not all of you,” Masaya said. “I was thinking two representatives of each race. The oldest and the youngest of the Mew Mews, and the oldest and the youngest of the Cyniclons.”

“That would be Zakuro and Pudding, and Pie and Rōzu,” Ichigo said. She turned to the two Mews in question.

Zakuro shrugged.

“Sounds good to me,” She said.

“Pudding is ready to be of help to Masaya Onii-Chan, na no da!” Pudding said eagerly.

The humans turned to the Cyniclon siblings, who exchanged glances.

Rin studied Masaya for a minute, cautiously walking around him with narrowed eyes, and then suddenly started speaking in Cyniclon with her siblings.

[This is Master Deep Blue-Sama?] She asked her brothers. She raised an eyebrow. [I always perceived him to be… taller.]

[He, at one point, was,] Pie said blandly in Cyniclon.

[He is quite handsome,] Rōzu said in her native tongue. She smirked and giggled. [That fact makes me wonder why Ichigo left him for Kisshu.]

[Be silent,] Kish said, whacking the little girl over the head, ignoring Tart, Rin and Rirī’s laughter.

Masaya stood there awkwardly, smiling nervously, understanding nothing of what they had just said and yet had a feeling they were talking about him. The rest had only understood two words: “Ichigo” and “Kisshu” and wondered why they were spoken in the same sentence followed by laughter and Kish looking grumpy.

[Still,] Rin said, resuming her circling around Masaya, her eyes not leaving the boy. [Can he be trusted?]

[The humans certainly trust him,] Pie said.

[There is nothing of Deep Blue left in him,] Kish said. [He has a good heart and is loyal. I do not believe there is any reason he would harm us.]

[Yes, especially with the knowledge that Ichigo would indeed kill him if something were to go wrong,] Tart said.

Kish turned to Pie and Rōzu.

[If you wish to do this, we will support you. If you do not wish to do so, that is fine as well. It is your decision alone.] He said.

[I will help Masaya,] Rōzu said.

I will, as well,] Pie said. [I see nothing wrong with his plan, and any information he will glean will be beneficial not only to our health and safety, but also to defeating Mylo.]

Kish took a deep breath.

[It is decided, then,] He said. [But perhaps we should have Rirī assist him. She knows best how our bodies work and how they differ from humans, even though there are only slight differences. But she still is the one who knows best what is safe for us and what is not.]

[I agree,] Pie said, then turned to Rirī. [Are you agreeable with that, younger sister?]

[I am in agreement, brother,] Rirī said with a crisp nod.

The others nodded and Kish turned to Masaya.

“We have agreed to let you continue with this plan,” Kish said, easily sliding back into Japanese. “But Rirī will assist you, as she knows best how what our bodies can and cannot take as well as giving you guidelines for what are considered normal vital stats for our race.”

“Arigato,” Masaya said, bowing. He turned to Rirī and smiled. “I am grateful for your assistance with this project.”

“It will be my pleasure,” Rirī said with a nod.

They turned as they heard the clock chime and heard a multitude of voices outside the door.

“We’ll work on this later,” Rirī said. “It’s opening time.”

With nods, Ichigo and Lettuce helped Masaya pack up his things while Mint opened the door.

“From a battle alongside a mysterious fighter, to making suspicions about who he was, to making plans for battle safety, to serving tea and cake,” Ichigo murmured to herself as she took a look around the room ten minutes later as it buzzed with noise. “Yep. Just another normal day.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Two:

“Really, Rirī, you have to do that here?” Ichigo asked, folding her arms with a scowl.

Rirī glanced up briefly from her work.

“It’s easier for me to work standing up,” She explained, gently pulling loose a thread.

“I know that, but really, in the kitchen?” Ichigo asked.

Rirī looked up at Ichigo in mid-reach for her scissors. She was currently standing at the island counter in the Café’s kitchen, Pie sitting atop of it with his leg stretched out, and was in the process of removing the stitches Pudding had put in two weeks before.

“What?” Rirī said defensively. “I’ve set up a sterile environment.”

“I can hear the health inspector laughing now,” Ichigo said, rolling her eyes.

“Why do you think I’m doing this now?” Rirī asked, snipping one of the threads.

Ichigo rolled her eyes, but leaned her elbows against the counter anyways, watching Rirī as she gently tugged out the threads. Ichigo had come by early before school to help Kish, Tart, Ryou, Rin and Keiichiro load up some cakes for a wedding that morning across town and was now waiting for Kish to return.

“So, Pie,” Ichigo said, looking up at the indigo haired alien. “Tonight’s your first date with Lettuce.”

“Hai,” Pie said. He scowled. “Provided her father actually lets me leave the apartment with her.”

“I take it Mr. Midorikawa is being very protective of Lettuce?” Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Quite,” Pie said with a nod. “He wishes to ‘interview’ me when I arrive at her apartment tonight.”

“Well, at least he’s not like my dad,” Ichigo said with a smile. “You know, when Masaya and I were dating, my dad actually challenged him to a kendo duel, and said that if Masaya didn’t win, he couldn’t date me.”

“I know,” Pie said. The corner of his mouth tugged. “Kish, Tart and I watched. We ate popcorn and placed bets. We were disappointed when you intervened.”

Ichigo’s smile dropped at hearing this and she scowled.

“Let me guess, that was Kisshu’s idea,” She said in a low growl.

“Affirmative,” Pie said, carefully bending his leg to test the muscle as Rirī undid the last of the stitches. “I especially was disappointed, as I was about to win unlimited control over the television remote for a month.”

“You guys had a television?” Ichigo asked, anger replaced by curiosity.

“We had no idea what cable was, but we got it anyways, thinking it was some sort of important necessity for living on earth,” Pie said. “Thinking back on it, I pity the technicians who came to set it up for us. They were so confused.”

Ichigo just chuckled at the thought.

Pie shook his head and climbed off the counter, gingerly putting weight on his still-healing leg.

“Everything feel alright?” Rirī asked as she watched him take a few paces up and down the kitchen.

“Other than sore from the muscles healing and unused for two weeks, there is no discomfort,” Pie said.

“Good,” Rirī said, turning to pack up her things. “Still, I want you to take it easy. You can fight, but I just want you to be careful and know your limits.”

Pie nodded.

“I will do so,” He said.

Kish appeared a few moments later, ready to go to school. He, Ichigo and Rirī teleported off, leaving Pie to get back to his research.

“I’d so love to be a fly on the wall on their date tonight,” Ichigo said with a sigh as the three walked through the school’s front gates.

“I know,” Rirī said with a sigh. “They’re so cute together and they really like each other, and I just hope it all goes well.”

Later that afternoon, Pie stood and watched his sisters go through his third of the closet and his dresser drawers.

“No,” Rin said, tossing a shirt over her head into the ever increasing pile of turned-down options.

“But… I like this one,” Pie said, picking it up. It was a black t-shirt with the logo of a band he had taken a liking to. He had actually planned on wearing it that evening.

“You are not wearing a t-shirt to meet the father of the girl you would like to court,” Rirī said, glancing over her shoulder. “Really, I thought Mama raised you with sense.”

“She did. Just not fashion sense,” Rōzu said, pulling out a plain pair of black jeans. “These will do nicely.”

“I said I liked it, I did not say I was planning to wear it tonight.” Pie said.

Kish and Tart watched with amusement as their sisters kept making Pie change his clothes, having an equal amount of long and short debates about each outfit, to Pie’s annoyance.

Meanwhile, across town, Lettuce sat on her bed and watched as her fellow Mew Mews went through her closet.

“Ooh, these are so cute!” Ichigo said, pulling out a pair of Lettuce’s shoes that had a bit of a platform. “You should wear these tonight.”

“How about this dress, na no da?” Pudding asked, pulling out a white-green dress.

“It’s not always a good idea to wear white or near-white on a date, especially when you don’t know where you’re going to eat,” Zakuro said as she went through Lettuce’s jewelry box. “Because white stains so easily and is very noticeable.”

“I’ve always liked this on you,” Mint said, pulling out a floor-length black skirt.

“And this matches perfectly,” Ichigo said, pulling out a long-sleeved dark blue top.

Lettuce soon became a life-size fashion doll for her friends, being dressed up and then having another new outfit on in less than five minutes. She had tried on the first outfit with the black skirt and blue top three times before the girls declared it to be ‘the one’, to Lettuce’s relief. Her relief was cut short, though, as they began arguing over hair, make-up and jewelry.

In less than an hour, Lettuce’s long hair flowed around her, and she wore silver hoop earrings. The make-up she rarely touched had been used almost to excess, in Lettuce’s opinion. But she didn’t care. She looked beautiful and couldn’t wait for Pie to arrive.

“Lettuce Onee-Chan looks so pretty!” Pudding said in an awe-filled voice, running her fingers over Lettuce’s hair.

“You’re going to knock Pie dead when he sees you,” Ichigo said, doing a finishing touch on Lettuce’s lipstick.

Lettuce beamed.

“Thanks, girls,” She said, smiling at each of her teammates.

“Not a problem,” Zakuro said, allowing a rare grin.

“We just hope you have fun tonight,” Mint said, gently giving Lettuce a hug.

“Kish says that Pie’s coming in a few minutes,” Ichigo said, looking at the new text message on her phone. “So he and Tart will come and grab us right-”

“-Now,” Kish said, wrapping his arms around Ichigo’s waist and kissing her cheek. Ichigo rolled her eyes and put her hands over Kish’s, moving them.

“Nice to see you too,” She said, grinning as she watched Kish’s ears droop and his smile disappear as she walked away from him. Ichigo picked up her purse and grabbed Mint’s hand while Tart grabbed Pudding and Zakuro.

“See ya!” Tart said, waving the hand with Zakuro’s wrist in it.

“Have fun, Lettuce Onee-Chan!” Pudding said as the trio disappeared, followed by Kish, Ichigo and Mint, leaving Lettuce standing in her room, alone.

Lettuce smiled and picked up her book, waiting impatiently for the doorbell to ring.

Pie bit his lip nervously as he teleported in front of the apartment door. He quickly read the nameplate over the number, and nodded to himself as he read ‘Midorikawa’.

He took a deep breath and looked over his clothes one last time. He wore black jeans and a dark blue collared shirt with a black jacket over top and his black boots (which his sisters grudgingly let him wear).

He shifted the bouquet of roses and jasmine flowers he had brought for Lettuce—Ichigo having told him in confidence that they were her favorites—into his left hand and proceeded to knock on the door.

The door was opened by a boy of the age of twelve with dark green hair and round glasses. The boy took one look up at Pie, who recognized Lettuce’s blue eyes behind the glasses and concluded that this was her brother, whom he had heard about but hadn’t yet met. To Pie’s confusion, the boy started to close the door, saying,

“Sorry, sir, you have the wrong apartment.” And the door clicked shut.

Pie looked at the door, confused for a second, then knocked again.

“No, I’m not helping you find the right one!” The boy said, opening the door again.

“My name is Ikisatashi Pie. I am looking for Midorikawa Lettuce-San,” Pie said. The boy stared up at him with confusion.

“You’re here,” The boy said. “For my sister?”

“Yes,” Pie said.

The boy stared at him for a second, before turning to look over his shoulder.

“Onee-San! There’s a guy that says he is looking for you! You want me to call the cops?”

“Uri, what are you talking about?” Pie heard Lettuce say as she walked through the living room. Pie felt his breath catch as he saw her. She was always beautiful in his eyes, but right now she was dazzling gorgeous as she smiled at him as she brushed away a loose lock of her hair off her shoulder.

“Wait, why are you all dressed up?” The boy—Uri—asked his sister, confused.

“I’m going out tonight,” Lettuce said with a sigh. “And you would know that if you actually listened to the conversations at the dinner table. Now, please let Pie in.”

Uri, blushing slightly, moved aside so Pie could enter the apartment.

“Sorry,” He said apologetically to Pie. “I’m just not used to having guys at the door looking for Onee-San.”

Lettuce turned scarlet and shooed her brother away. Uri walked over to sit on the couch, but sat so that he was looking over the back of the piece of furniture, keeping his gaze on Pie.

“Sorry about that,” Lettuce apologized to Pie.

“Quite alright,” Pie responded. He held up the flowers he had brought. “These are for you.”

“Thank you,” Lettuce said, smiling as she took the flowers. “They’re beautiful.”

Just then, Mrs. Midorikawa stepped out of her study and smiled to see her daughter and her date.

“Konbanwa,” Mrs. Midorikawa said cheerfully.

“Konbanwa,” Pie said, bowing.

“I am Midorikawa Yomogi,” Mrs. Midorikawa said, returning the bow.

“Ikisatashi Pie,” Pie said. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Midorikawa-San.”

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Ikisatashi-San,” Mrs. Midorikawa said with a wide smile. “Lettuce has told us so much about you, all good things I promise you.”

Lettuce turned scarlet, and before her mother could say anymore, said,

“Mom, will you help me find a vase for these?” Lettuce said, showing her mother her flowers.

“Of course, dear,” Mrs. Midorikawa said. “I believe there’s a perfect one in the kitchen…”

Mrs. Midorikawa and Lettuce disappeared down the short hall leading to the kitchen. Pie was about to follow them when suddenly a man shorter than Pie by more than half a foot with brown hair and rectangular glasses stepped in front of Pie, glowering at him.

“Um,” Pie said, taking a step back to look at the man. “Konbanwa.”

“So,” The man said. “You’re the one who wants to date my daughter.”

“Yes, sir, Midorikawa-San,” Pie said, bowing respectfully to Mr. Midorikawa.

“I don’t want any of that ‘yes, sir’ and respect,” Mr. Midorikawa said in a growl. “I know it’s an act.”

“Why would I act, sir?” Pie asked, his voice bland.

“I was a teenage boy once, I know how your mind works,” Mr. Midorikawa said.

A part of Pie’s mind found that ironic. When one thought about it, it was because the Academy was interested in how his and Rin’s genius brains worked was how he eventually met Lettuce.

“If you are concerned about Lettuce’s welfare this evening, I can assure you that I will let no harm come to her,” Pie said. “She will be fine. I shall treat her with all the respect she deserves.”

Mr. Midorikawa scoffed. Pie turned away from Mr. Midorikawa to study a painting on the wall.

“I will be the first to admit, I am not the best person,” Pie said. “I have wronged many people in the past, have said words I regret and proceeded with actions I wish I could undo. I am embarrassed to say that Lettuce has seen this side of me. I will also admit that I did not like her at first, and for the longest time refused to even consider the possibility of courting her. But despite it, she was always ready to bring peace into our feud. Lettuce did something to me, something I could not explain. But I knew I wanted to be a better person because of it. I can only hope that this change makes me worthy enough for her heart.”

Mr. Midorikawa stared at Pie, trying to decide what to say.

“Then I trust you with my daughter’s hand and heart. But have her home by ten o’clock,” Mr. Midorikawa said at last. “Not a minute later, or you’re a dead man. Understand?”

“Perfectly,” Pie said with a nod. “And I cannot thank you enough for the trust you have bestowed upon me.”

“Just don’t make me regret it,” Mr. Midorikawa said, trying to sound gruff.

“I will do my best,” Pie said with a nod.

Lettuce leaned against the wall behind the doorway to the kitchen, smiling as she listened to Pie’s words. She recalled the smile he had given her during that last battle, right before he sacrificed himself to save them all. She had often wondered what the thoughts were behind that smile, but now she knew: it was her.

“I think that boy just might be in love with you,” Mrs. Midorikawa whispered in her daughter’s ear. Lettuce turned scarlet.

“Mama!” She hissed. Mrs. Midorikawa just smiled.

“Go have fun,” Mrs. Midorikawa said, shooing her daughter into the other room.

“Ready to go?” Lettuce asked Pie with a shy smile.

“I believe so,” Pie said, taking Lettuce’s hand. After saying their good-byes, they left the apartment.

After dinner at a ramen house, Pie and Lettuce walked along the city streets, holding hands and chatting. Lettuce grinned when she saw a small shop in between a bakery and a pharmacy. The sign read ‘Titles and Tea Leaves’.

“Do you want to go in?” Pie asked Lettuce, who nodded.

They stepped inside and were greeted by the smell of tea and new books. They perused the aisles for a few minutes, often stopping to pick one up and see what it was about.

While Lettuce read the summary of a book on the ‘New Arrivals’ shelf, Pie looked over the shelf next to it that said ‘Best Sellers’. His brow furrowed as he saw a book that had a title in English and in Japanese. He plucked the book off the shelf and studied the cover. He saw predominately there was a full moon with a person riding a broomstick silhouetted against it, a white owl, a dragon, and a castle.

“Oh, Harry Potter,” Lettuce said, as she looked at the book in Pie’s hand. She smiled. “I love that series. Have you heard of it before?”

“Yes,” Pie said. “Kish, Tart and I saw the first two movies with Japanese subtitles during our last stay, but were unable to find the later movies with subtitles. I did not know that those films were based off the books, and have yet to read them.”

“Well, then, let’s fix that,” Lettuce said with a smile. Pie smiled back at her. Five minutes later, they were curled up on one of the shops couches, each with a cup of tea in hand. Lettuce opened the book and turned to the first page.

“Chapter One, The Boy Who Lived,” She read. “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal thank you very much…”

They took turns reading chapters to each other. They had reached the end of the fourth chapter (The Keeper of the Keys) when the owner of the shop told them that they were closing up for the night. Lettuce nodded and put the book back on its shelf.

“I have a copy at home that we can read out of,” Lettuce told Pie, who nodded with a smile, already looking forward to more opportunities to sit alone with Lettuce, reading about Harry’s new world and adventures at Hogwarts.

As they walked down the hall towards Lettuce’s apartment, Lettuce said,

“I had a really nice time tonight,” She said, smiling up at Pie, who returned the smile.

“I did as well,” He said as they stopped in front of the door. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and Pie reached out to gently stroke Lettuce’s hair. She turned a faint red at the touch. And then they slowly leaned in for a kiss.

They didn’t know how long they stood there, kissing, but suddenly the front door was opened. Pie and Lettuce leapt back from each other as they heard a wolf-whistle, and turned to glare at Uri, who was grinning. Standing behind him was an irritated looking Hiroki.

“So, looks like you two had fun,” Hiroki said.

“Yes, we did,” Lettuce said, smoothing out her shirt. “Wait, what are you doing here, Hiroki?”

“I came over to play video games with Uri,” Hiroki said, holding up a box that held a video game disk. He gave Lettuce a smirk. “I was heading home when we got an eyeful.”

Pie and Lettuce both turned scarlet.

“Good night, Hiroki,” Lettuce said, her eyes narrowed. Hiroki grinned and brushed past the two, purposefully bumping his shoulder against Pie’s as he went. He waved as he entered his own apartment.

Lettuce shook her head and turned back to Pie.

“Sorry about that,” She said.

“It could not be helped,” Pie said with a shrug.

“So, are you two going to make-out all night or what?” Uri asked. “ ‘Cause, it’s 9:59, and I think Dad was serious about the whole ‘Not a minute later or you’re a dead man’ thing.”

“I do not doubt your father,” Pie said. He kissed Lettuce’s forehead. “I shall see you tomorrow.”

Lettuce stood on her toes to kiss Pie’s cheek.

“I’ll see you then,” She said, smiling at him. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Pie responded. He waited for the door to close before he started walking down the hallway. He didn’t get far when he heard a door open from behind him. His ears twitched and he turned around to see Hiroki.

“Can I help you?” Pie asked.

“You don’t deserve her,” Hiroki said, his arms folded and his eyes hard. “I don’t know why you’re even trying. You’re not worthy enough for her.”

Pie chuckled darkly as he began walking towards the staircase again.

“That, Nakamura, is the one thing you and I can agree on,” He said. “I do not deserve her.” He looked over his shoulder and gave an uncharacteristic smirk. “But she wanted to go out with me anyways, did she not?”

Before Hiroki could respond, Pie was in the stairwell and had teleported away.

He arrived in the dark halls of Café Mew Mew. He went into his room… to find Rin and Rōzu on his bed, with Rirī on Kish’s bed, Tart in his own bed and Kish on the floor. They were all asleep, except for Rin, whose eyes opened as Pie opened the door

“Dare I ask?” Pie asked, shrugging out of his jacket.

“Fell asleep waiting up for you,” Rin said, shifting slightly so she could pick Rōzu up and climb off the bed. “So, how was your date?”

Pie smiled as he put his boots and jacket in the closet.

“We had a nice time,” Pie said as he walked over to pick Rirī up.

“Must have been,” Rin said, grinning as they walked out of the room, going to put their sleeping sisters in their own beds. “Because Lettuce is one of the few people I’ve seen that can make you smile like that.”

Pie just kept smiling.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Three:

It was a cold early October day and the Café was packed. Everyone was rushing around, trying to fill orders as fast as they could, even Mint.

Ichigo looked up from her hostess’ stand and smiled.

“Masaya! Homare!” She said, happy to see her friends. “Table for two?”

“Three, actually,” Homare said with a smile. “My brother will be joining us, but is running late.”

Ichigo nodded.

“Well, follow me and someone will be with you as soon as possible,” Ichigo said.

“Take your time,” Masaya said. “It looks like you’re very busy today.”

“We are,” Ichigo said with a groan. “And to make everything worse, Pudding and Kish haven’t been feeling too well these last few days. Ryou and Keiichiro won’t let them anywhere near food or customers, so they’re holed up in the back. They were working on inventory, but neither of them can do it consistently, both because they find it boring and because they are sick.”

“I thought Ikisatashi-Kun looked a little green this morning at school,” Homare said with a frown as she took her seat. “I hope they get better soon.”

“So do we,” Ichigo said as she laid out the menus. She grinned again. “I’ve got to get back to my station. Someone will be here to take your order soon.”

Ichigo went back to her podium and found Lettuce there, waiting to take her shift at the hostess station. A patron asked Ichigo about the status of their food and Ichigo went back into the kitchen to see.

She was barely in the kitchen when she was bombarded by a wide-eyed Mint.

“Ichigo! Who’s that boy sitting with Masaya and Homare?” Mint asked, grabbing Ichigo’s shoulders.

Ichigo looked out the small window and smiled as she saw a tall boy with jet-black hair, soft brown eyes and lightly tanned skin who was laughing at something one of his companions said.

“Oh, that’s Otsu Shinji, Homare’s older brother. He’s in third year at our school and is captain of the soccer team.” Ichigo said. “Why?”

“I’m… just curious,” Mint squeaked, her cheeks turning red.

Ichigo grinned.

“No way,” Ichigo said. “You think he’s cute, don’t you?”

“Can’t deny that he is so handsome,” Mint moaned. She grabbed Ichigo’s shoulders again and shook her slightly. “How do I get him to notice me?”

Ichigo looked at the schedule on the wall.

“Well, it looks like they are in your serving area for today,” Ichigo said. “Why don’t you go up and subtly flirt with him?”

“Subtle, right,” Mint said, taking a deep breath. She yanked out her pen and pad of paper. “Wish me luck!”

Ichigo peered out the window, standing on her toes, watching as Mint went up to the table with all the dancer’s grace she possessed and flashed a beautiful smile at Shinji.

“What are you doing?” Rōzu asked, floating up to look out the window as well.

“Watching Mint,” Ichigo said, smiling as she saw Shinji return Mint’s smile.

“Is she flirting with that guy?” Zakuro asked as she joined the other two girls.

“What guy?” Tart asked as he entered the room with an empty tray.

“The guy at the table with Masaya and Homare,” Rirī said as she finished filling up her tray. “She practically passed out when she first saw him. Got that star-struck look in her eye, too.”

“Yep, she’s crushing hard,” Rin said as she quickly decorated a treat on a plate before putting the finished treat on Rirī’s tray.

Mint entered the room a moment later, a large smile on her face.

“How did it go?” Lettuce asked.

“Pretty well, I think. Masaya and Homare introduced me to him, so he at least knows my name now,” Mint said. She handed Rin the order and sat down. “He’s so sweet, so dreamy.”

“So ask him out,” Rin said, quickly dishing out more orders.

“I can’t ask him out!” Mint said, shocked. “Girls just… don’t do that. The guy has to ask the girl out. Especially when that guy is a year and a half older than the girl.”

“Try to have a conversation with him, and become friends,” Ichigo suggested. “He seems to like you too, judging by that smile he was flashing at you.”

“Okay, I can do that,” Mint said. She grabbed a tray full of drinks. “Let me go bring these out.”

The wait-staff got back to work and quickly served the other customers. Rin filled Kish and Pudding in on what was going on when they emerged from the copious pantry.

A few minutes later, having served their customers and taken orders, the group was hounded up in the kitchen, waiting for Rin and Keiichiro to finish making the sweets. Mint gladly took a tray full of sweets out for the table that her crush sat at.

Her teammates slipped out of the door of the kitchen, wanting to see how this next exchange went.

Mint held herself up proudly and elegantly as she waltzed across the room, briefly looking down at the tray to confirm that the order was correct. Unfortunately, she looked down the same moment Shinji stood up and began walking away from the table, looking over his shoulder briefly to say something to his sister.

The two collided.

The Tokyo Defenders cringed as the desserts on the plates flew up into the air and landed on both Mint and Shinji, the former currently laying on top of the latter. Everything in the room stopped and everyone stared at the two.

Mint’s cheeks burned scarlet and she kept opening and closing her mouth like a fish, unable to get any words out.

“Gomen-nasai,” Mint forced out in a whisper, her voice shaky. Shinji smiled up at her apologetically.

“It’s my fault, I’m so sorry,” He said.

Mint was shaking as she carefully crawled off Shinji. She looked down at her filthy uniform, covered with all sorts of deserts and a multitude of stains. She brushed back her bangs to find icing covering her hair as well.

Embarrassed tears came to her eyes and threatened to spill. They nearly did when, to her horror, she saw dark blue feathers littering the ground, and felt something tickle her legs. Fortunately, her tail feathers were just shorter than the skirt of her waitress uniform.

But the feathers were the straw that broke the camel’s back. She felt like she wanted to die right then and there. She tried to stand up, but slipped on a broken dish and started to fall again. Shinji, who had managed to stand up without problems, caught her.

“Are you alright?” Shinji asked, concerned, his arms still around her waist. Mint felt her heart race, praying that he did not move his hand up to find that her wings were folded awkwardly against her back, straining the fabric of her dress. But fear was not the only thing that made her heart race. Even with fruit, whipped topping and cake in his hair and on his face and clothes, Shinji was very handsome.

Mint nodded, not trusting her voice and afraid that if she opened her mouth she was going to break down. This was the most humiliating moment of her entire life. She wished that she could go off into a corner and cry. Or melt into the floor so that someone—most likely Ichigo—could just mop her away along with the rest of the mess.

Gently, Shinji ran a finger over Mint’s cheek, wiping off some of chocolate syrup that covered her fair skin. He stuck his finger in his mouth.

“Very sweet,” He said to her. “Must have something to do with just being in close contact with you.”

Mint stood there shaking. Tears did finally spill from her eyes and she quickly extracted herself from Shinji’s grip and ran away towards the locker room.

Shinji stood there, watching her run. His shoulder’s drooped slightly and his smile dropped into a sad frown.

“So…” Pudding said softly. “Not Mint Onee-Chan’s finest hour.”

“No, no it’s not,” Zakuro agreed with a sigh.

An hour later, all the customers had gone, though Shinji stayed longer in order to apologize for the mess and offered to clean it up.

“It’s alright,” Ichigo said with a compassionate smile as she, Pie and Rirī started to clean the floor, focusing on quickly getting rid of the feathers before awkward questions were raised. “This is what we get paid for. Not the first time this has happened either.”

“Then can you tell Mint that I am sorry?” Shinji asked. “And please don’t let her get into trouble with your boss. It was all my fault, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“Mint will not be in trouble with Ryou,” Pie assured him. “And we will pass along your apology.”

Shinji nodded, but seemed depressed. Reluctantly, he left with his sister and her boyfriend.

Lettuce closed and locked the door after the last customers left.

“Where is Mint?” She asked as she turned around to face her coworkers.

“She’s locked herself in the storage closet and refuses to come out,” Rōzu said. She lowered her voice to whisper. “I think she’s crying.”

“What should we do?” Rirī asked, leaning on her broom.

“I think Mint’s going to be in need of some girl time,” Zakuro said. She looked at Pie, Tart and Kish. “Can you finish cleaning up in here?”

“I think we can handle it,” Tart said with a grin.

“Pudding will help out here as much as she can,” Pudding said with a soft smile. “But Pudding’s not feeling well, na no da.”

“I’ll help too!” Rōzu immediately volunteered. “I don’t want to be around when you start talking about boys.” She said the last word with a look of disgust on her face.

Rin laughed and ruffled her little sister’s hair.

“Don’t worry, the day will come very soon where you don’t find boys to be gross,” Rin assured her.

Rōzu looked out of the corner of her eyes towards her brothers.

“You sure?” She asked in a whisper, looking doubtful.

“I’m sure,” Rin said as she went to join the other girls in the hall.

Ichigo knocked on the door.

“Mint! Come on, Mint, open up! You’ve been in here for over an hour!” She called.

“Leave me alone!” Mint called back with a sob.

“Mint, I’ve brought you some water. You’re going to get dehydrated.” Lettuce said.

“Let me wilt and die, then!” Mint yelled. “I am never ever showing my face again!”

Zakuro gently rapped the door with her knuckle.

“Mint, Imouto, please let us in,” Zakuro said.

“No!” Mint said. “I don’t need others to watch me suffer in my shame!”

Rin sighed.

“Mint,” She said loudly. “I didn’t want to do this, but you leave us no choice.”

Rin opened up a teleportation portal and stepped into it. Within seconds, the door was unlocked and opened from the inside by Rin.

Mint sat on a crate, still dressed in her stained uniform. Make-up ran down her cheeks from where she had been crying and she had taken her dirty hair out of her buns, the pins laying all over the floor, some looking like they had been thrown. Feathers littered the floor, but it seemed Mint’s wings and tail had receded. Her brown eyes were red and swollen from crying and she was alternately hiccupping and sniffling.

“Oh, Mint,” Zakuro said with a sigh as she sat down beside the teen and hugged her. Mint buried her face in Zakuro’s apron, desperately trying to hide her face.

“Here,” Lettuce said, putting the glass of water in Mint’s hand. “Drink this. You’ll feel better.”

Mint took a sip, but otherwise stared at the glass in her hands.

“This is the worst day of my entire life,” She said with a sniffle.

Ichigo sat across from her friend and placed her hand on the dancer’s arm.

“Come on, it wasn’t that bad. It’s like a rite of passage to do something embarrassing in front of your crush, and I should know. I’ve done probably everything embarrassing ever when I was crushing on Masaya.” Ichigo said cheerfully.

“Oh?” Mint asked, rubbing her eye with the back of her hand.

“Where do I begin?” Ichigo said with a chuckle. “Let’s see, on our first date alone, I was late, I said that the weather was nice about ten times in the fifteen minute train ride, I tripped over a rock and he had to catch me, I fell asleep, I still don’t know if I snored or not during that time. And yes, I still blame Ryou for all that.” Ichigo looked Mint in the eye. “And do you know how many times my cat ears and tail popped out around him and I had to run away looking like a complete and utter idiot?”

Mint shook her head.

“Well, neither do I! I lost count after a few weeks because it happened so much,” Ichigo said with a grin. “And he dated me anyways.”

“Great pep talk and all, but may I point out that the two of you broke up?” Mint said with a small smile.

“Yeah, we did,” Ichigo said with a laugh. “Which has just left the window open for me to look foolish in front of other guys.”

“And like Ichigo said, it’s pretty much the norm for something embarrassing to happen in front of cute guys,” Rin said. “We all have our horror stories. When I was fourteen, I got my skirt stuck in a drawer and didn’t realize it because I was talking with one of the cute guys in my class. He was called by some of his friends to join him and he invited me to come. I had only taken one step and my skirt tore. Thankfully, it was low enough on the skirt so that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I still went around for the rest of the day with a huge rip in the front of my skirt.”

“I accidentally caused a small explosion in chemistry class because I was too distracted looking at the guy in front of me,” Rirī admitted, blushing. “Kish doesn’t let me forget about it, either. He dives under furniture every time I’m about to put something over fire.”

Everyone turned expectantly to Lettuce to see if she would say anything.

Lettuce narrowed her eyes and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were all there the day I gave Pie a black eye.” She said dryly.

“And you know that’s how he knew he was in love with you,” Rin said, wrapping her arm around Lettuce.

They all laughed, including Lettuce.

“What about you, Zakuro? Have you ever humiliated yourself in front of a guy before?” Ichigo asked.

“Zakuro Onee-Sama is too cool to do that,” Mint argued.

Zakuro chuckled.

“Actually, I have.” Zakuro admitted. She looked around at each of them, a serious look in her eye. “What I say next does not leave this room.” The girls all nodded. Zakuro took a deep breath before continuing. “So, about a year before I left my town to pursue my modeling career, there was this extremely handsome guy at my school and I admit I was crushing on him. Hard. So, one day I thought I would walk up to him and sit with him at lunch. Well, halfway through the cafeteria I tripped and ended up falling flat on my face in front of my entire class. Everyone laughed, including the guy I was crushing on.” She shook her head with the memory. “But do you know why I am okay with it?”

“Why?” Mint asked.

“Because it showed me that he truly wasn’t the right one for me. And today showed me that Shinji is right for you. He wasn’t angry and was more worried about you than himself. Plus, he offered to clean the mess himself and was worried that you would get in trouble with Ryou for the accident. This guy really seems to like you, and you really like him. It isn’t fair to either of you if you stay locked up in this closet for the rest of your life, now is it?”

“No,” Mint said with a final sniff. She smiled slightly. “Thanks, everyone, for making me feel better.”

“Anytime,” Ichigo said as she and the rest of the girls hugged Mint.

Mint decided to go get a shower and put on a fresh outfit while the rest of the waitresses went to finish cleaning up.

They went out to the dining room to find Pudding asleep with her head on a table and Kish nowhere to be found. Pie was sitting on a chair, his head in his hands, with Tart and Rōzu hovering around him, looking concerned.

“Are you alright?” Lettuce asked her boyfriend, coming up to run her fingers through his hair.

“He got dizzy and Tart made him sit down,” Rōzu explained, looking up at Lettuce. “He says his stomach hurts.”

“I think I have caught whatever it is that Kish and Pudding have,” Pie mumbled. Lettuce frowned and bent down to kiss his cheek.

“You do feel warm,” She said, reaching her hand under Pie’s bangs to feel his forehead. “I think you need to go to bed.” Lettuce helped Pie to his feet. With Pie leaning on Lettuce for support, the two went upstairs.

“Where’s Kish?” Ichigo asked Tart.

Tart shrugged.

“Not sure,” Tart said. “He teleported out of the room with his hand over his mouth and his face looked really green.”

Ichigo scowled.

“That’s not good,” She said. “I’ll go find him. Tart, do you think you can take Pudding home?”

Tart nodded and carefully picked up the sleeping girl before teleporting away.

“Great, now Pudding, Kish and Pie are out of commission,” Rin groaned.

“Just got to hope that Mylo doesn’t decide to go all out crazy for the next week or so,” Zakuro said grimly.

“This is Mylo we’re talking about, right?” Rirī said, her eyebrow raised.

Sometime later, the girls finished cleaning up with help from Mint. The Mews decided to head for home and went out the back door, waving back at the Ikisatashi sisters.

Mint stopped at the bottom stair and Ichigo almost walked into her.

“Mint, what’s wrong?” Ichigo asked, seeing Mint’s wide eyes. Then Ichigo saw it and smiled.

Shinji, now clean and wearing fresh clothes, was standing beside the Café’s fence. In his hand was a bouquet of roses.

“I’m willing to bet he’s waiting for you,” Zakuro whispered into Mint’s ear. “Why don’t you go talk to him?”

Mint nodded slowly and made her way across the grass.

Shinji turned and smiled at her as she approached.

“Konbanwa, Mint,” Shinji said.

“Konbanwa, Shinji,” Mint responded, keeping her clenched hands behind her.

“Uh, these are for you,” Shinji said, holding out the bouquet. “To apologize for earlier.”

“Arigato, they’re beautiful,” Mint said, taking the flowers with a shy smile. “And, it really wasn’t your fault.”

“Still,” Shinji said, absently scratching the back of his neck. He took a deep breath and said, “I’d like to take you for dinner sometime. You’re a sweet girl and I’d like to get to know you better.”

“Are you asking me out?” Mint asked with surprise.

“Yeah,” Shinji said, blushing slightly. “I am.”

Mint smiled sweetly, while in her mind chibi Mew Mints danced around, cheering.

“I’d love to,” Mint said.

They exchanged phone numbers and Mint gave Shinji her address.

“I’ll pick you up Friday at six,” Shinji said.

“Great, I’ll see you then,” Mint said. Shinji waved at her and walked away.

Mint wore a huge grin as she watched him leave. She didn’t even notice that her friends had come up behind her.

Ichigo took one look at Mint’s face and chuckled.

“Chibi Mew Mints?” She asked.

Mint threw her arm around Ichigo’s shoulders, staring off into the sky. She waved her hand through the air as she said,

“Chibi Mew Mints. Everywhere, Chibi Mew Mints,” She said with an almost delirious expression. Suddenly she frowned and looked at her friends.

“Seeing dancing chibis of yourself in battle form after getting asked out by a hot guy is not normal, is it?” Mint asked.

“For us it is,” Lettuce said with a smile.

Mint smiled again, now mentally going through her closet to decide what to wear on Friday night…

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Four:

Mint twirled in her dark blue dress, admiring her reflection in the mirror. Zakuro had convinced her to wear her hair in a single, elegant bun with pins shaped like blue flowers and Mint had to once again believe Zakuro was right about everything.

Her make-up was perfect, her small dancer’s feet in black ballet flats, her black jacket and handbag were waiting on her bed. Everything was perfect for her date with Shinji.

She heard a knock at the door.

“Come in,” She called, her eyes not leaving the mirror.

“So, do I get to meet this guy?”

Mint looked over her shoulder at her brother, Seiji. He had graduated from university the previous spring and was once again living in the Aizawa mansion, working at the Tokyo branch of their father’s company. Since then, Mint’s relationship with her brother had become as strong as it had been when they were children, which both were happy to have back. Unfortunately, Seiji worked long hours and occasionally had to go out of town for a few days, but Mint was grateful for that, as she didn’t want him to get suspicious about her occasional disappearances to become Mew Mint of the Tokyo Defenders.

“If you want to meet him, you can,” Mint said, coming to sit on the bed beside her brother. “You’ll like him.”

“I better, or all your primping is for nothing,” Seiji said, gently touching his sister’s nose. He sighed. “How did you go from caring only about tutus and having tea parties with your dolls to going on dates and being a year away from being finished with senior high?”

“Grew up, I guess,” Mint said with a smile.

“Unfortunately,” Seiji said. He looked his sister in the eye. “Be careful, alright? If you start to get uncomfortable, call me and I will personally come pick you up.”

“Thank you, Onii-Chan, but Shinji’s not like that,” Mint said, giving her brother a hug. “Nothing will go wrong tonight.”

Even as she said it, Mint felt uneasy. Like something would go wrong.

It’s nerves, Mint, She scolded herself. Put on your Mew Mint courage and have a nice night.

Less than ten minutes later, Shinji arrived, a little surprised as Mint had forgotten to tell him she lived in a mansion. Seiji seemed to like Shinji, and learned that they both supported the same J. League team, F. C. Tokyo. They chatted about soccer for a few minutes before Mint’s nanny sent Mint and Shinji out on their date.

“Your brother’s cool,” Shinji said as he started the engine to his car. “You said he works for your dad?”

“Yeah,” Mint said. “Seiji pretty much runs the Tokyo branch because Father is always traveling.”

“Do you see much of him?” Shinji asked.

“About three times a year,” Mint said with a scoff. “I see my mother more, but she’s rarely around the house.”

“That’s rough,” Shinji said sadly.

“It’s not all that bad,” Mint said with a shrug. “It used to be pretty bad when it was just me in the house, and the only places I went to were dance related and I was tutored at home. But since I’ve started working at the Café and going to public school, it’s gotten better.” She smiled vaguely. “It was almost like I was a caged bird, but now I can soar in the sky.”

“So, does that make you a lorikeet?” Shinji asked. Mint looked at him with surprise mixed with shock and confusion. Shinji just grinned at her. “Just the most beautiful bird I could think of.”

Mint smiled again, both at Shinji’s words and the irony behind them.

“Yeah,” She said. “I guess that makes me a lorikeet.”

Everything went smoothly. Don’t know what I was worried about, Mint thought as they left the restaurant. They walked down the street towards a small ice cream parlor for desert.

“Wow, it’s really busy tonight,” Mint said, looking around the shop, but not seeing an empty table.

“We could eat outside,” Shinji suggested. “It hasn’t gotten too cold yet. Plus, it’d be much quieter.”

“Sounds good to me,” Mint said. They ordered their ice cream, and then Mint excused herself to use the restroom.

“You go on outside,” Mint said. “I’ll only be a minute.”

Shinji nodded and took the small ice cream cups outside. To his surprise, there was a white-haired young man with huge ears already sitting with his booted feet up on one of the tables.

“I do not understand this Earth concoction,” The man said, studying his spoon, coated with ice-cream. He stuck it back in his cup and threw it towards Shinji, who jumped out of the way.

“What’s your problem?” Shinji asked, glowering slightly at the man. He didn’t know who this guy was, but he did know he didn’t want Mint anywhere near him.

“I have many ‘problems’,” The man said, lowering his feet from the table and standing up. “And you, human, are only one of them.”

“What are you talking about?” Shinji asked, confused. “I’ve done nothing to you.”

“No, you haven’t done anything to me,” The man said. He suddenly grinned wickedly. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a large cylindrical glass container. Inside was a glowing jellyfish-like creature. “But you’re about to do something for me.”

And with that, he opened the container and the jellyfish jumped out…

And collided with Shinji.

Mint stepped out of the shop a minute later. Her eyes widened as she saw Mylo, floating above the streets in the full light of a lamppost.

“What are you doing here?” Mint demanded. She looked around suddenly, searching for Shinji. To her horror, there was no sign of the boy. “Where’s Shinji?” Mint demanded.

“Lover boy is perfectly fine, Mew Mint,” Mylo said, smirking. “In fact, he’s right here.”

A large Chimera Animal that resembled a large German Shepard standing on its hind legs stepped out of the shadows to stand beside Mylo.

“Shinji!” Mint screamed. She growled at Mylo as she reached in her purse for her pendant. “You are not getting away with this! Mew Mew Mint… Metamorpho-sis!”

Mint brought out her bow, aiming it at Mylo.

“For turning my date into your beastly servant, you will pay!” She yelled, launching the arrow at Mylo, who blocked it with a shield he conjured.

“Pathetic,” Mylo said with a chuckle. “Chimera Animal, enjoy your new chew toy.”

Mint raised her bow, aiming at her date-turned-monster that was charging her, when she suddenly heard Ichigo and Pie’s voices in her head.

If we used all our powers to defeat it, would the human still be alive at the end of the battle?

I do not know.

Mint’s eyes were wide as she lowered her bow, right before she was smacked to the ground, the Chimera Animal standing over her, growling in her face.

“Get off her!”

Mint had never been so glad to hear the sound of Zakuro’s whip, scaring away the Chimera Animal. Mint jumped to her feet and ran to join the others.

“I take it Kish, Pie and Pudding are still stick,” Mint said, observing that those three were missing.

“Oh yeah,” Rōzu said with a scowl. “Where’s Shinji?”

“That is Shinji!” Mint said, pointing at the snarling Chimera Animal.

“Well,” Tart said dryly. “Pie should be happy to know his mad science experiments works.”

“Yeah, but how do we get it to not work?” Lettuce asked.

“Very carefully,” Ichigo said. “Let’s go!”

The Chimera Animal was stronger than they thought it would be, especially as they were trying to avoid inflicting bodily harm.

“So of course, Pie builds a super weapon, it gets stolen, and he’s out with the stomach flu the first time we fight it!” Rirī snarled as she leapt away from a clawed swipe. “Typical.”

“That’s it!” Rin screamed as she picked herself up off the ground. “Someone give me a cellphone, now!”

Ichigo instantly tossed Rin her phone.

Fighting with a fan in one hand and holding the phone in the other, Rin waited impatiently for the other line to be answered. Finally, Rin heard the click of Pie’s phone being picked up.

“What do you want?” Kish’s voice demanded grumpily.

“Kish?” Rin said, confused. “Why are you answering Pie’s phone?”

“ ‘Cause he’s not here.” Kish croaked. “And it woke me up and I couldn’t go back to sleep until I picked it up. Let’s just say that KISS may be Pie’s thing, but it’s not mine. Now, what the heck do you want?”

“Pie!” Rin yelled into the phone.

“You live in a café,” Kish said with a yawn. “We have plenty of it.”

“Not the desert, you baka! My evil genius twin!” Rin snapped. “Where is he?”

“I dunno,” Kish said, rubbing his forehead. Rin was starting to give him a headache. “Why are you looking for him?”

“’Cause we’re fighting those stupid parasites he created!” Rin yelled. “Now, get him on the bleeping phone!”

“Fine, I’m going to find him,” Kish grumbled as he pushed himself off of Pie’s bed, where he had collapsed after making the long and dangerous trek of six feet from his own bed. Rin heard him murmur swear words as the door opened. Suddenly, she heard Kish yelp followed by a thud and a drawn out “Ow”.

“Kish?” Rin said urgently.

“I found your baka twin,” Kish growled. “He’s passed out in the hall.”

“Wake him up!” Rin yelled. This was getting ridiculous, and they were losing the battle.

“No need to yell,” Kish groaned, his headache getting worse. “Oi! Pie! Your extremely loud and angry twin wants to talk to you!”

Pie groaned, but rolled onto his back and held out his hand.

“What do you want?” He demanded, putting the phone to his ear.

“The manners of the men in this family astound me,” Rin said dryly. “Your mad science experiments work. Mint’s date is now a Chimera Animal under Mylo’s control. Please tell me you have a way to fix it? With Shinji still alive?”

“Um, not yet,” Pie said, rubbing his fingers over his face sleepily. “Sorry.”

“Sorry is not helping us here!” Rin snapped. “This is your creepy invention, tell us what to do!”

“Avoid aiming for areas with vital organs,” Pie said through a yawn. “But that is all I can tell you at this time.”

Pie pulled the phone away from his ear as Rin screamed curse words, calling her brother names she would never say if their mother was present.

“The manners of the women in this family astound me,” Pie snapped as Rin’s verbal tantrum ended. “I know as much as you, Rin. I am sorry, but I can tell you nothing.”

“Thanks a lot,” Rin said bitterly, hanging up the phone. “We’re on our own.” She informed the others with a scowl.

Lettuce screamed as Ichigo was suddenly pounced on by the Chimera Animal. The Tokyo Defenders watched in horror and Mylo in glee as the powerful jaws wrapped around the cat-girl’s throat. Ichigo remained perfectly still, staring up at the monster. She felt the sharp teeth, the musty breath and warm, sticky drool against her skin, but he had yet to bite.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rirī notch an arrow, bringing the bowstring to her cheek.

“Don’t harm him,” Ichigo said softly, knowing the alien girl heard. “If you shoot him, he’ll close his mouth.”

Rirī instantly lowered her arrow, meeting her teammates frantic glances. How did they get Ichigo out of this mess?

They all stood with baited breathe, no one speaking, praying an idea would come. Suddenly, Rōzu’s ears twitched and she looked over her shoulder.

“Who’s that?” She asked softly. The Tokyo Defenders and Mylo turned as they too heard the footsteps that had grasped Rōzu’s attention.

In the low light of the moon and streetlamps, they saw a tall young man with hair the color of spring leaves pulled back into three thin, long ponytails sectioned off with colored strips of leather, with multiple beads, feathers and other decorations pinned into his hair. He was fair skinned and had pale green eyes and sharp features, the most prominent being his Cyniclon-like ears. He wore long dark green pants and boots, and a long sleeved light green shirt underneath a dark green sleeveless cloak. On his hips were two brown leather scabbards that held two short swords with jet-black hilts.

The strange man glowered at Mylo.

“Call off the Chimera Animal, Mylo,” The man said, his voice low but firm.

“Why should I listen to you?” Mylo demanded, his face full of fury. The Chimera Animal Shinji had lifted his head away from Ichigo, to her relief, and was staring at the strange man.

The man chuckled darkly, still staring at Mylo.

“I see,” He said. “Then I will have to do this myself.”

They all watched with fascination as the man walked over to the Chimera Animal, who snarled viciously and snapped at him. The man merely raised his palm level with the beast’s chest.

To their surprise, the man’s palm glowed as well as the Chimera Animal’s chest. With a howl, the beast shifted back to Shinji, who fell to the ground unconscious.

The man held the parasite in one hand and held the other out for Ichigo, who accepted it.

“Are you alright, my lady?” He asked as Rirī and Mint went over to check on Shinji.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Ichigo said, climbing to her feet, staring up at the strange man in a mixture of awe and confusion. “Who are you?” She asked.

The man smiled and bowed before saying,

“I am the Green Knight, and I am at your service, Mew Ichigo.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Five:

“The Green Knight?” Ichigo repeated, blinking in confusion.

“Yes, my sweetheart,” The Green Knight said, righting himself. “And my only purpose in life is to protect you.”

“Uh, that’s nice and all,” Ichigo said, giving an awkward smile as she took a half-step back. “But the last time I had a guy who said he was born to protect me, it didn’t go too well.”

The Green Knight chuckled and smiled at Ichigo sweetly.

“You will find this experience to be more pleasant than your previous one,” He said. “Now, I believe I have some business to attend to.”

With that, the Green Knight approached Tart and shifted the parasite into the boy’s hand, which Tart cradled carefully in his hands.

“Your brother would like to take a look at that, I think,” The Green Knight said before turning to face a fuming Mylo.

The Green Knight reached for the hilts of his swords, drawing them. In the low light, they saw that there were designs engraved into each side of the silver blades, and that each was different. On one, there was a flowering tree opposite one with falling leaves. On the other was a tree with bare branches opposite a tree with a full set of leaves.

“This is your second warning, Mylo,” The Green Knight said firmly, his eyes hard. “Leave Earth. Do not return to Cynnth. Go now, and I promise you a long and happy life.”

“And I told your White Knight friend I would do no such thing!” Mylo snapped as he drew his own sword before launching himself at the Green Knight.

The Green Knight merely stepped out of the way, bringing one of his swords up to stab Mylo in the lower back as he passed. He stabbed enough to draw blood, but not enough to bring serious harm.

Mylo hissed as he hit the ground, blood running down his side.

“You have been warned,” The Green Knight said, his voice void of emotion, the blood on his sword dripping to the ground, revealing the blade to be unstained.

Still snarling, Mylo disappeared. The Green Knight nodded and started to walk away into the night. Ichigo ran to catch up to him.

“Why did you do that?” Ichigo asked, her brow furrowed as she grabbed the Green Knight’s shoulder.

“He needed to be warned,” The Green Knight said, turning to Ichigo. “It is also vengeance for the harm he did to my servant.”

“Your servant?” Ichigo repeated. She suddenly remembered the deepest wound that had been on Kish’s back only two months ago. It was in the same place the Green Knight had stabbed Mylo. “How the heck is Kish your servant?” She asked.

The Green Knight cupped Ichigo’s cheek and kissed her forehead.

“Do not worry about Kisshu,” He said in a whisper. “I promise, I will protect him as well. At this time, he does not know what he truly is.”

“And what is he?” Ichigo demanded.

“Your protector when my admittance to this world is limited,” The Green Knight said. “He is this because he loves you. But he cannot know for his own protection.”

The Green Knight looked over Ichigo’s shoulder at her teammates, then started to whisper again.

“Do not mention this discussion to Kisshu or any of your other teammates, with the exception of Mew Lettuce, as she has had a similar conversation with the White Knight about Pie. I believe she is in need of a confidant.”

“What about Pie?” Ichigo asked, her brow furrowed. “What is he to the White Knight?”

“That is for Mew Lettuce to tell you,” The Green Knight said, gently stroking Ichigo’s hair with his hand, pushing it behind her ear. “It is time for me to go. Until next time, my sweetheart. But please know it would be easier on my heart if there wasn’t a ‘next time’.”

The Green Knight gently kissed Ichigo’s forehead, gave her a smile, then turned and walked away, disappearing into the night.

Ichigo reluctantly turned back to her friends. She saw Mint sitting on the ground, her head in her hands, tears silently running down her cheeks.

“Not the way I wanted my first date to end,” Mint murmured, gazing sadly at the still unconscious Shinji.

“He’ll be fine, Mint,” Rirī said, patting Mint’s arm. “And he won’t remember anything.”

“Let’s take him back to the Café,” Rin said. She bent down and pulled Shinji’s car keys out of his jacket pocket and tossed them to Zakuro, who caught them.

“I’ll meet you there,” Zakuro said, de-transforming and walking down the street towards where Shinji’s car was.

Rin scooped Shinji up in her arms as if he was a doll while her siblings each grabbed a remaining Mew and they teleported to the Café.

They arrived in the hallway, nearly stepping on Pie in the process.

“What exactly are you doing sleeping in the hall?” Rin asked as Pie’s eyes blinked open sleepily, Rōzu having stepped on his hand.

“Too sick to teleport, too lazy to walk, and too tired to go any further,” Pie mumbled. He frowned up at his sister and tilted his head slightly. “Why do you have an unconscious teenager?”

“We’ll tell you in the morning,” Rirī said.

“Just go back to sleep,” Lettuce said. She didn’t need to tell him twice as he rolled over on his side and was asleep within seconds.

“I’ll go put this in a safe place in the basement,” Tart said, gesturing to the parasite he was still holding.

“Thanks, Taru,” Rin said. “Can you send Keiichiro and Ryou up?”

“Sure thing,” Tart said as he headed for the stairs.

“So, what are we going to tell Shinji when he wakes up?” Rōzu asked as she followed Rin, Rirī, Mint and Lettuce down the hall.

“Well, I have an idea,” Lettuce said.

Ichigo smiled as Lettuce went on to describe her idea. She looked down at Pie again and shook her head with a slight chuckle. Carefully stepping over the sleeping alien, she went into the boys’ room.

She found Kish, lying on his back in the middle of the floor with his limbs sprawled out, snoring.

Ichigo smiled.

My protector, She thought. She grabbed the blanket and pillow off Kish’s bed and gently tucked the pillow under Kish’s head. His gold eyes blinked open.

“So, how’d it go?” He asked in a raspy voice.

“Well, we won,” Ichigo said, spreading out the blanket over Kish. “We’ll give you more details in the morning.”

“Okay,” Kish said. He looked up Ichigo and frowned slightly. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, Kish, I’m fine,” Ichigo said, kneeling down to kiss Kish’s forehead. “Hey, your fever has gone down.”

“Yay,” Kish cheered weakly.

Ichigo smiled and gently ran her fingers through Kish’s dark hair absent-mindedly, the Green Knight’s words rushing back to her. As she sat there, she wondered if there was even the slightest possibility that Kish was the Green Knight. But he had been so sick for days… Was it even possible?

Kish studied her as her brow furrowed with these thoughts.

“You sure you’re alright, kitten?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ichigo said, giving him a reassuring grin. “Long night, that’s all. Why don’t you get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning?”

“’Kay,” Kish mumbled as his eyes drifted closed. “Good-night, Koneko-Chan. Love you.”

“I love you too, Kish. Good-night,” Ichigo said. Once she was sure he was asleep, she got up and left the room.

As soon as the door closed, she saw that Lettuce was sitting beside Pie, a piece of paper in one hand and running her fingers through Pie’s hair with the other. She also noticed that Lettuce had also found a pillow and blanket for Pie. Lettuce looked up at Ichigo. Her eyes had a haunted look Ichigo had never seen before.

“Come with me,” Lettuce said in a soft whisper, standing up. Ichigo nodded and followed Lettuce outside. Lettuce sat down under the big tree in the back yard of the Café and Ichigo sat beside her.

“What’s that?” Ichigo asked, looking at the paper in her hands.

“A note, from the White Knight,” Lettuce said, her eyes on the parchment in her hand, graced with unfamiliar handwriting and pitch-black ink. “Giving me permission to speak with you.” Lettuce gazed sadly at Ichigo. “What did the Green Knight say to you?”

Ichigo told her and Lettuce nodded.

“That was pretty much what the White Knight told me,” Lettuce said softly.

“About Pie?” Ichigo asked. Lettuce nodded again.

“Ichigo, I’m scared,” Lettuce said with a sniffle. “I don’t like the idea of Pie being the White Knight’s ‘servant’. What if the White Knight does turn out to be evil like the Blue Knight was?”

“I don’t know,” Ichigo said. “Do you think that maybe unlike the Blue Knight, they don’t have a host?”

“Maybe,” Lettuce said, her voice faint as she became lost in her thoughts. Then her brow furrowed. “But, what does that make them?”

“I guess whatever Deep Blue was,” Ichigo said. “Not quite a god, not quite human or Cyniclon.”

“Like Autumn,” Lettuce said. She looked up with wide-eyes, alarmed. “They could be in league together or something!”

“Exactly what concerns me,” Ichigo said with a scowl.

“So, what do we do?” Lettuce asked worriedly.

“For now, keep an eye out for Kish and Pie,” Ichigo said. “If it is their jobs as ‘servants’ to protect us, we can do the same for them.”

Lettuce smiled.

“Then let’s do it,” She said.

The girls then went back inside the Café.

******************************************************************************

“He’s going to hate me,” Mint moaned.

“No he’s not,” Rirī said in a reassuring manner.

“Yes he is!” Mint said. “What guy isn’t going to hate a girl he went out with and ended up getting turned into a monster?”

“Well, as I believe Shinji is the first, we’re about to find out,” Ichigo said, trying to sound optimistic. At Mint’s glare, she changed tactics. “So, before the whole Mylo thing, were you having a nice night?”

“The greatest,” Mint said with a smile. Then she frowned and stared at her feet. “One I was hoping to repeat.”

“Don’t give up hope yet, Imouto,” Zakuro said, rubbing Mint’s shoulder.

Just then Shinji sat straight up, blinking blearily.

“What happened?” He mumbled. “Where am I?” His eyes widened and looked panicked. “Mint?”

“I’m right here,” Mint said, standing up to come sit beside him.

“Are you alright?” Shinji asked. “What happened?”

“The ice cream shop had a gas leak,” Mint said, using the cover story Lettuce had come up with. “A lot of people blacked out. Ichigo, Lettuce and Zakuro were nearby and saw what happened called the authorities. It wasn’t too bad, we just got a little bit of it, just enough to pass out and have headaches when we woke up but nothing serious. After it was cleared by the paramedics, they brought us to the Café.”

“Well, that explains that weird dream I had,” Shinji said.

“Uh, dream?” Rirī said hesitantly.

“I dreamt I turned into a monster, then fought the girls from the Tokyo Defenders, as well as that weird kid with the balls on the string,” Shinji said, and mimicked the motion that Tart used when he was clicking his weapon together in the way he usually did while he was taunting his opponent. Shinji shook his head. “Well, at least I know I’m not going crazy.”

There was a silent sigh of relief that went up through the room.

About a half-hour later, Mint and Shinji were getting out of his car in front of Mint’s house. They had been silent on the ride there, to Mint’s unease.

“I’m really sorry,” Shinji said as they walked up the front stairs towards the house’s main door. “This night didn’t exactly end as I planned.”

“I don’t think anyone could exactly plan this,” Mint said with a nervous laugh.

“Can’t disagree there,” Shinji said, the corner of his mouth lifting. “But, still, I had a really nice time with you tonight.”

“I did too,” Mint said.

“Then, would it be too presumptuous of me ask you for a second date?” Shinji asked. Mint smiled, inwardly rejoicing.

“It wouldn’t be presumptuous at all,” Mint said. “In fact, I would like it a whole lot.”

“Then, Mint?” Shinji said. “Would you like to go on another date with me?”

“Yes, Shinji, I would love to,” Mint said.

Shinji grinned just as the door opened, revealing Seiji.

“Alright, fun time’s over,” He said. Though he had a no-nonsense tone, his teasing smile said otherwise, and he ignored the glare he was getting from Mint. “Say your ‘good nights’ and move on.”

“I do need to head out, or my parents are going to have a fit,” Shinji said. He kissed Mint’s cheek. “Good night, Mint. Is it alright if I call you tomorrow?”

“I’ll be waiting,” Mint said. She stood on her toes and quickly kissed Shinji’s cheek. “Good night. And thanks again for a wonderful evening.”

“I would repeat it anytime,” Shinji said with a grin. “You know, with exceptions to some circumstances.”

Mint thought about the battle, Mylo and the Green Knight’s appearance when it looked like Shinji was about to unknowingly kill Ichigo.

“I couldn’t agree more,” She said.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Six:

“So, not only did we miss the reveal of Pie-Chan’s hybrid parasite, but we also missed the arrival of a new knight, na no da?” Pudding said. It had been two days since Mylo’s attack, and Pie, Kish and Pudding were completely healthy again.

“Yep,” Rin said, staring at the parasite in the glass container sitting on the countertop. It was the same size and shape as any other parasite, but it was a pale blue in color. It bobbed up and down in the container, not caring that over a dozen pairs of eyes were staring at it.

“Okay, this thing seriously looks like one of the ghosts from that Pac-Man game,” Ichigo said. “And it’s creepy.”

“That was part of the point,” Pie said. His dark eyebrows furrowed as he looked up from the glass. “You said the Green Knight extracted it without even touching the Chimera Animal?”

“Yeah,” Zakuro said. “His palm glowed, and so did the Chimera Animal’s chest, and next thing we knew he had the parasite in hand and Shinji was on the ground unconscious.”

“Is that something, um, normal?” Lettuce asked. “Being able to remove parasites from what you’ve fused them with?”

“On small ones, yeah,” Kish said. “When Cyniclon children are small and their powers are developing, one of the first skills they are taught are how to use the parasites we create to make Chimera Animals. Usually, the first ones are small enough that a teacher or an older student could remove the parasite at the end of the lesson.”

“But if you’re like Kish, you make a Chimera Animal that nearly eats your classmates on your very first try,” Rirī said with a smirk.

“Let it go, Rirī!” Kish growled. “I was five, I didn’t do it on purpose, and Pie and Rin got it to drop you before it could kill you!”

“Uh, everybody did go home alive that day, right?” Ichigo asked, her brow furrowed.

“Yeah, but we got a new teacher the next day,” Rin said. “Our old one went on a ‘mental health’ holiday.”

“Never did see her again,” Pie said distractedly.

“A lot of our teachers took those trips,” Tart said. “Just ours. None of the other teachers.”

“Don’t know why,” Rirī said innocently.

“Sounds like you all were the bane of existence for teachers,” Zakuro commented.

“That term may have been used once or twice,” Rin admitted. “Let’s just say, no one was too particularly sad to see the bulk of us head to the Academy early and leave it at that.”

“So, do you think you can learn anything from what we have here?” Ryou asked Pie. Pie nodded.

“I believe so,” He said. “But even if I do dissect this parasite, I fear it may not be enough to learn how to defeat it once it is inside a human host.”

“Whatever we can learn from this is more than what we had before,” Keiichiro said. “And we’ll gladly take it.”

There was a knock at the back door. A look through the glass revealed Masaya, a box in his arms.

“Hi,” He said as Lettuce let him in. His brown eyes instantly found the parasite. “Is that the thing that turned Shinji into a Chimera Animal the other night?”

“The very one,” Ichigo said.

“It’s creepy,” Masaya commentated, setting down his box full of everything he thought he would need for the afternoon of information gleaning for the sensors.

“Thank you for contributing to the general consensus,” Mint said sarcastically, trying to focus on her fashion magazine, though her eyes kept rising to glare at the parasite that had ruined her date.

“Don’t mind her,” Rirī said, getting to her feet. “Don’t know why she’s grumpy, she got a second date out of the experience. Anyways, I wanted to show you something before we got started.”

She teleported, and returned a second later with a microscope and a box of slides.

“We did blood typing in science class this week, and that gave me a perfect excuse to gather samples to show you something you need to know for this project,” Rirī said, opening the box of slides. She pulled out the first one, labeled MH. “This is a blood sample of a healthy sixteen standard year old human female, courtesy of Miwa Honjo.”

“You never did say how you got that one,” Keiichiro said, knowing what all the slides were of and had seen them all.

“Told her I was working on an extra credit project, involving examining different blood types under a microscope,” Rirī said as Masaya studied the slide.

When Masaya was done looking, he lifted his head and Rirī brought out another slide, this one labeled IM.

“This one is healthy sixteen standard years old Mew Mew blood, taken while in human form, courtesy of Ichigo Momomiya,” Rirī said, putting this one under the microscope.

Masaya’s brow furrowed.

“Huh,” He said. “There isn’t much difference from the first slide.”

“Exactly,” Rirī said. “The mutation from the Mew Project is very subtle while the Mew Mews are in human form, but you can still see a drop of blood similar to the animal they are fused with, the faint trace in this case being feline.”

She pulled out another slide, labeled MI.

“This slide, however, shows more cat blood than human blood, as this sample was taken while Ichigo was in her Mew Ichigo form.” Rirī explained as Masaya studied the slide. She reached into the small box and pulled out the last slide labeled RI.

“And this last one,” Rirī said with a grin. “Is of the blood of a healthy sixteen year old Cyniclon female. Or, to be more precise, is of my blood.”

She put the slide under the glass and sat back, waiting for Masaya’s reaction.

Masaya looked up with wide eyes.

“No offense, but what the heck?” He said. “It looks like the Mew Mew sample.”

“Exactly,” Rirī said, wearing a self-satisfied smile as she sat down. “That is because, in a sense, Cyniclons are highly evolved Mew Mews.”

“What do you mean?” Mint asked, shoving her magazine to the side.

“Well, the first thing you must know is that the Cyniclon race originated as humans,” Rirī said.

“Really?” Lettuce said, her brow furrowing. “We thought that the Cyniclons were here before humans.”

“We were here before modern humans, but the Cyniclons and early humans lived during the same time period,” Rirī said. “Recently, a group of Cyniclon historians evaluated that the Cyniclons left Earth just prior to a world-wide catastrophe, which probably saved our race from being completely wiped out.”

“A catastrophe?” Keiichiro repeated. “What kind of catastrophe?”

“A large and violent flood,” Rirī said. “Our historians were surprised to learn that there were a few humans that survived, who later documented the flood. The descendants of those survivors are what our people refer to as ‘modern humans’. Nevertheless, both of our races can be traced back to the first two humans on earth.”

“So, then, are your powers evolved?” Zakuro asked.

“According to legend, the first Cyniclons were a pair of sisters—twins—and their lovers,” Pie said. “The girls’ father did not approve of his daughters’ desired mates, as they were tied to nature and possessed no wealth, nor cared to. They chose to live in the wild, wanting to get away from other humans who mocked them for their love of nature and simply could not understand why they did not care for material possessions. The girls shared the males’ opinions and expressed their interest in joining them. However, when their materialistic father learned of this, he prepared to wed his daughters’ off to men twice their age with a number of wives already in hopes of receiving material wealth.”

“So, of course, the boys helped them escape, ‘kidnapped’ if you will,” Kish said with a grin. “Pursued by the father’s men, they hid in deep in a cave. There, they found a large cavern like no other. In the middle of the room was a large pool of pure, cold water. Surrounding the pool was grass, trees, flowers, rocks. There was even a volcano, but the lava that oozed out did no harm to the grass and there was no smoke. There was also a strong, continuous burst of wind throughout the room.”

“The oldest twin went to the pool and drank from it, while her sister picked flowers and climbed the trees. One man approached the volcano and was surprised to learn that he could walk through the lava with no harm, while his friend allowed the wind to lead him around the cavern,” Rōzu said. “Little did they know, their bodies were changing.”

“A short time later, they found that their teeth were sharper, the canines elongated,” Tart said. “Their sensitivity to light, sound and smells intensified. They found they could fly and teleport. Their limbs and fingers were longer and thinner, and their fingernails longer, sharper and unbreakable. They looked at each other and could see the changes in the shape of their eyes and ears, all not sure what to make of them.”

“Then they saw a bright light and heard a disembodied voice,” Rin said. “They were told that they had been granted physical traits of the animals they loved. And that finding the cavern meant they and their descendants were given a task: guard the elements they had found.”

“And they did so,” Rirī said. “The woman who drank of the water married the man who walked in the lava, and the woman who picked flowers married the man who followed the wind. Together, the two couples went and built a city devoted to protecting the elements and had many children, all given the same task as their parents.”

“That is the coolest story I have ever heard,” Ichigo said, her eyes wide with wonder.

“It was the story we heard the most growing up,” Rin said with a fond smile. “The Healer who had trained our mother would tell it to us when she watched us while Mama-San needed to perform Healers’ duties.”

“Still, it goes beyond just being a story,” Rirī said. “Back then, the Cyniclons and humans had a bitter rivalry, one that our people continued long after the humans forgot about us. But animosity aside, we are very much the same.

“Anatomy wise, humans and Cyniclons are identical and function the same way. There are just a few slight differences between us. Our bones are slightly denser, our skulls in particular. Our bodies cannot tolerate certain herbs, but it is only a small list and consists of nothing common. And if we were to come in contact with one of these herbs, we would have what humans consider to be a minor allergic reaction,” Rirī grinned suddenly, her fangs flashing slightly. “And, like sharks, we have the ability to replace teeth.”

“Seriously?” Zakuro said, her eyes wide. Rirī nodded.

“We don’t lose our teeth as children like humans,” Rirī explained. “However, it is not uncommon to lose a tooth at any point in life, whether it be by decay or through a fight. Regardless, it would take a few weeks, but a new tooth would grow into place.”

“That is so cool,” Ichigo said. “I wish humans could do that.”

“Anything that gets us out of going to the dentist,” Lettuce said with a shudder.

“Alright, can you answer a question I’ve been wondering for a while?” Mint asked.

“Fire away,” Rirī said.

“Are you born with your powers, or do they come in when you’re older?” Mint asked.

“The powers develop as the child gets older,” Rirī said. “It’s like puberty. It comes when it wants in various amounts of strength. The standard age when powers manifest is around five years old. However, also like with puberty, there are late bloomers and early bloomers. Pie, Rin and Tart are all examples of powers developing not at the typical age. Tart is the only known Cyniclon to have powers manifest at the age of three.”

“Pie and I weren’t so lucky,” Rin said. “We were two months shy of turning seven when our powers came in. While we were yelling at each other, nonetheless.”

“Seriously? How did that happen?” Zakuro asked.

“All I remember was that Rin materialized a rock in her hand and threw it at my head,” Pie said.

“And instead of ducking, you teleported and pinned me to the ground. I think we wrestled and tried to hit each other for five minutes before we realized that we had used our powers. Mama couldn’t decide whether to punish us or celebrate,” Rin said, smiling vaguely at the memory. Then she frowned. “Do you remember what the heck we were arguing about anyways?”

“Vividly,” Pie spat. “You told all your friends that I liked Topaz, because you were mad at me for reasons I have yet to discover. That, by the way, is partly the reason why she has been stalking me for the past thirteen years!”

“Ooh,” Rin said, biting her lip with memory. She reached over and wrapped her arms around Pie’s neck. “Sorry ‘bout that, Pie-Chan.”

Pie just rolled his eyes.

Rirī turned to Masaya, who was drinking in the information and had even made a few notes.

“I hope this information can help you in any way,” She said.

“It helps a lot,” Masaya said with a grin. “Now all we need are the statistics.”

Rirī nodded and turned to Zakuro, Pie, Pudding and Rōzu.

“You guys go get changed and meet us downstairs,” She said.

The four nodded and all left the room, Pie and Rōzu heading upstairs while Zakuro and Pudding went to the locker room.

While Pie, Zakuro, and Pudding went to get changed, the others followed Rirī and Masaya down to the basement. Rirī, with some help from Ryou and Keiichiro, had set the large room up for them to conduct their experiments.

Four recliners were set up, with several devices with different colored wires coming out of them nearby, all connected to a computer with four monitors. On the desk was also a microscope, slides and some empty syringes with needles.

“Now this place really looks the part of a mad-science lab,” Ichigo said with a grin.

“Ha-ha,” Ryou said as he helped Rirī turn on equipment.

“It’s not that far off of a statement,” Zakuro said as she came down the stairs dressed in sweatpants and a tank top, followed by Pudding who was wearing shorts and a tank top.

“Yeah, now we’re just missing a creepy little hunch-back assistant named Igor,” Mint said with a smile.

“Everything in here serves a purpose, and at this point I am in no need of a creepy midget aide named Igor,” Rirī said, looking over her shoulder briefly as Pie and Rōzu teleported into the room. Rōzu wore her pajama shorts and a tank top while Pie wore sweatpants and a t-shirt.

“You all ready?” Masaya asked.

The four nodded and ten minutes later, each had had blood drawn and were waiting patiently to be hooked up to a machine.

Masaya, however, had made the mistake of asking Pudding what was new in her life, and so she told him everything that had happened since the last time she had talked to him. Masaya was now staring in disbelief at the heart monitor that he had just hooked the small teenager up to, which was now going haywire as Pudding babbled on excitedly.

“Pudding, we kind of need you to be calm for this,” Masaya said, interrupting Pudding. She looked confused and tilted her head.

“But Pudding is calm, na no da,” She said, then continued on her rant.

Zakuro sighed as Rirī put the last wire in place on her arm.

“Tart, do you mind?” She asked.

“Not at all,” Tart said. He swiftly picked Pudding up mid-sentence and sat in the recliner, Pudding on his lap. She instantly snuggled into him and stopped talking, the lines on the heart monitor rising and falling at a steadier rate than before and her monkey tail and ears came out.

“How does that work?” Masaya asked, stunned. He knew Ichigo’s animal features came out when she was excited or scared, Zakuro’s when she was annoyed, Lettuce’s when she was sad or in water, and Mint’s when she was embarrassed. But up till then, he had never seen Pudding’s animal features appear while she was in human form.

“One of the mysteries of life,” Pie said as Rirī went on to hook him up to his set of monitors. However, because of the collar of his shirt, the wires were not hanging the way either of them liked. Rirī removed the electrodes and was about to start over, but Pie stopped her.

“This is ridiculous,” He said, then took off his shirt.

Rirī simply shrugged and proceeded, satisfied when the wires finally lay right. With a nod, she stepped away and went over to the monitors with Masaya.

Zakuro pulled out a book and began to read, while Pie closed his eyes in hope of getting some more sleep. Kish pulled out a deck of cards and played with Rōzu, Ichigo, Rin and Keiichiro. Pudding and Tart had a whispered conversation, giggling occasionally. Mint flipped through her magazine while Ryou typed away on his laptop. Masaya and Rirī spoke in low voices, making notes and comparing them.

Lettuce sat and tried to read her book, but found that extremely hard to do when she knew that her boyfriend lying half-asleep beside her was currently shirtless. She tried hard to focus on her book, but her mind’s eye kept going back to the glimpses of Pie’s naked torso and telling her it wasn’t enough, her eyes needed to see more. She finally closed her book and stood up, giving into the temptation.

No one will see me looking, She thought. Everyone’s doing their own thing.

And that was why she was standing there, staring at Pie’s bare chest as it rose and fell with steady breaths. She had never seen him completely without a shirt, and liked what she saw. His pale skin was tight over muscles that she knew were there from years of combat training. The only word she could use to describe him was beautiful.

Almost unconsciously, Lettuce stretched out her hand, trailing her fingers over his paneled chest. The muscles were firm and warm under her fingertips.

Pie’s eyes snapped open at the touch, but Lettuce took no notice, running her hand up and down.

A million thoughts and emotions ran through Pie’s mind, one of the most prominent being enjoying the feeling of her soft skin against his and he felt his heart pick up pace slightly.

Unfortunately, Pie misjudged how fast his heart was beating. Rirī jerked her eyes back to the monitor, looking shocked. She instantly turned to look over at her brother. She scowled slightly and turned back to her work. She called over her shoulder,

“Lettuce, I’m afraid I need you to stop touching Pie. You’re throwing off absolutely all of his vital signs.”

Lettuce jerked her arm, clasping her hands behind her back and ducked her head as her face burned scarlet. Pie pressed his palm to his forehead in both embarrassment and anger with Rirī as he heard snickers from throughout the room.

“Sorry Rirī,” Lettuce murmured.

“So, to get rid of the elephant in the room,” Masaya said, trying to hide his grin. “Pudding, Pie, you two have extremely high white blood cell counts.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Tart asked, his brow furrowed as he pulled Pudding closer to him.

“After spending the entire week with the stomach bug and still recovering? No,” Masaya said. “It’s just unusual to see this high of an amount at this stage.”

“It’s not really unusual in Cyniclons,” Rirī said. “So considering the similarities between us and the Mews, I’m not surprised that the samples are similar.”

An hour later, Rirī and Masaya were done. The group went upstairs for an early dinner.

“So, when do you think the chips will be done?” Zakuro asked as she gathered a clump of ramen noodles into her chopsticks.

“It depends,” Masaya said. “I’m waiting for certain parts to arrive. Hopefully a month from now, they’ll be completed.”

“If you need it, don’t be afraid to come use the lab,” Keiichiro said. “And know that Ryou and I can help you if you need it.”

“Same goes for me and Pie,” Rin said, and Pie nodded in agreement.

“I will take you upon those offers,” Masaya said. “The more help I have, the faster these are finished.”

“And the sooner they’re finished, the closer we get to defeating Mylo,” Rōzu said with a grin.

“Thank goodness for that,” Kish said, raising his drink in toast.

“We’re getting closer to the end every day,” Ichigo said. “And I cannot wait for the day to come that this war is over.”

Everyone agreed with silent nods.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

It was a few days before Halloween and the Café Mew Mew crew were getting in the spirit (pun intended) and were planning out costumes and decorating the Café.

“Well, Seiji’s throwing a costume party on the thirty-first, and you’re all invited,” Mint said as she carried down a plastic cauldron full of orange and black garlands as she followed Pie, Kish, Rirī and Rin as they went down the stairs carrying boxes full of more decorations. “Shinji, Masaya and Homare are invited, too.”

“Awesome!” Ichigo said as she came down after Mint, carrying a fake skeleton. “Parties at your house are always fun!”

“Yeah, and the food’s amazing,” Kish said with a grin as he and Rirī put down the box they were carrying onto the floor.

“How would you know?” Rin asked.

“We may have gatecrashed once or twice,” Pie said unemotionally as Tart and Pudding teleported in.

“Did we miss the decorating, na no da?” Pudding asked, looking around.

“No, we just got everything down here,” Rirī said. “How were tryouts?”

“Okay,” Tart said, adjusting the strap of his soccer bag on his shoulder.

“Taru-Taru was amazing, na no da!” Pudding said with a grin. “He was the best player out there, na no da!”

“Not the best, but I made the list for the second night of tryouts,” Tart said. “I’m going to get a quick shower. I’ll be back in ten.”

“We’ll be here,” A skeleton head ‘said’ from where it sat in Kish’s hands.

As Tart disappeared upstairs, Pudding sat on the floor beside Rōzu and pulled out some fake spiders and giggled as they dangled from the strings she held.

“Can I be a witch for Halloween?” Rōzu asked, trying on a witch’s hat that she found. “One without green skin and bad complexion and wears black and red instead of just black?”

“I think we can do that,” Lettuce said. “I saw a costume like that when my mom and I went shopping yesterday.”

“Since the Café’s going to be open on Halloween, do we get to wear costumes?” Kish asked.

“Yep, and we even have a special menu for Halloween with creepy cakes and stuff,” Ichigo said as she started to hang the garlands. “It’s so much fun.”

“That reminds Pudding, is Ryou Onii-Chan in his office, na no da?” Pudding asked

“He and Keiichiro are making a store run,” Mint said. “Why?”

“Pudding had a favor to ask, na no da,” Pudding said, putting up a toy raven up near the cash register. “She needs the day before Halloween off, na no da.”

“Everything okay?” Zakuro asked as she pulled out a plastic pumpkin.

“Pudding promised Daddy that she would clean the house before company came the next day, na no da,” Pudding said.

“Who’s coming?” Rirī asked.

“Daddy’s former student, Yuebin Ron,” Pudding said, her eyes only for her decorations.

The other Mews paused and turned to look at the young teen.

“Pudding?” Lettuce said softly. “Does, uh, does Tart know? About Yuebin?”

Pudding paused as she pinned a paper bat to the wall.

“Yuebin was one of the first things Pudding and Taru-Taru talked about,” She said softly.

“Who’s Yuebin?” Rin asked.

“Pudding’s fiancé,” Pudding said simply.

The Cyniclons simply stared in shock at Pudding, turning to the other Mews, hoping they would deny it. To their horror, the other Mews were grim-faced.

“But you and Tart are-” Rirī started, but Pudding cut her off.

“Yes, we are, but Pudding’s Daddy doesn’t know. Pudding doesn’t love Yuebin. It’s an arranged marriage. The deal was that if Yuebin could beat Pudding in a fight, Yuebin could marry Pudding. And Pudding lost.”

“Wait, is this that tall guy, red hair, amazing fighter?” Kish asked, his eyes suddenly hard. Pudding nodded. Both Kish and Pie scowled.

“You know this guy?” Rōzu asked, shocked.

“We had an encounter two years ago,” Pie said grimly. “That man is at least ten years older than Pudding.”

“Fifteen, actually,” Ichigo said bitterly.

Rin, Rirī and Rōzu’s eyes all went hard and they scowled.

“What’s wrong?” Mint asked.

“We are aware that our cultures are vastly different, but you should know that this would never happen on Cynnth,” Rin said, her voice cool and the Mews noticed how easily she had slid into the same syntax her twin spoke with.

“Who we love and marry is one of the few freedoms our people had during the years before the Mew Aqua,” Kish explained. “We didn’t know when we would die, we didn’t know how to get food to feed our families, we didn’t know when Deep Blue would finally deliver us from our misery. That we could fall in love and marry that person was the one thing we could control.”

“However, there are strict rules regarding marriage,” Rirī said. “Second marriages can only occur if the first spouse has died. A girl is not allowed to be engaged until she reaches womanhood. And if the girl is under the age of twenty, the groom cannot be more than five years older than her and vice versa. A fifteen year age difference between the bride and groom is unheard of, even if both are over the age of twenty.”

“And arranged marriages are only allowed if both the bride and groom agree, both being around sixteen when the final decision is made. And neither can be older than the other by more than three years.” Pie added.

“Taru-Taru told Pudding as much,” Pudding said somberly. Then she smiled softly as she watched her hands tie a black ribbon to one of the columns. “Taru-Taru told Pudding he would do whatever he could to break off Pudding’s engagement, that he wanted a chance to win Pudding’s heart. Pudding didn’t accept right away because she felt like she was betraying Daddy, she wanted to just be really good friends. She told him she would think about it, though. So when Pudding saw Mylo throw that knife at Taru-Taru… she knew he didn’t need a chance to win Pudding’s heart. He already had it.

“Pudding marriage to Yuebin isn’t supposed to happen until after Pudding turns eighteen. Until then, Taru-Taru and Pudding are looking for a way to break off the engagement. But even if we don’t, Pudding knows what choice she will make in the end.”

“You’ll choose Tart. As much as you want to say you’ll be a dutiful daughter and marry someone you don’t love, you’ll choose to be with Tart in the end,” Zakuro said, smiling as she put her hand on Pudding’ shoulder. “That is something we’ve known since pretty much the day you two met.”

“It’s all so romantic,” Rōzu said with a sigh. “Like a fairy tale.”

“It is a fairy tale, na no da,” Pudding said proudly. “It’s Taru-Taru and Pudding’s.”

“It sure is,” Ichigo said, coming over to stroke Pudding’s hair. “And it’s one I can’t wait to know the ending to.”

Pudding just smiled.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Eight:

“Well, aren’t you a cute little kitty?” Kish said, grinning at Ichigo as she emerged from the dressing room dressed in black tights, leotard and shoes, wearing a fake cat tail and ears and her cheeks had eyeliner-drawn whiskers.

“Nya!” Ichigo said with a grin as she made a cat-like batting motion with her fists. “I am the pet cat of a very handsome wizard.”

Kish was dressed in a dark green cloak with plain black clothes underneath (that he ‘borrowed’ from Pie) and had on a crooked wizard’s hat with a wide brim.

“Ah, but how will the other wizards know that you belong to me, my Koneko-Chan?” Kish said, tapping his chin in mock thought. Then he snapped his fingers and reached into his pocket. “I know! With this!”

He pulled out a black ribbon with a small silver heart-shaped charm on it. He tied it around Ichigo’s neck. She ran her fingers over the heart and found that there was something engraved on it.

“What does it say?” Ichigo asked.

Kish grinned mischievously.

“ ‘Ichigo Koneko-Chan. If lost, please return to Kisshu Ikisatashi’,” Kish said. Ichigo smiled and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you, it’s very cute,” Ichigo said.

“You’re welcome, Koneko-Chan,” Kish said. He leaned down towards her as she gently rose on her toes, her insides shaking.

Was this the moment, was she and Kish finally going to have their first kiss as a couple?

“You two have great costumes, na no da!” Pudding said as she suddenly appeared beside them. She wore a long white gown and her hair in two buns on the side of her head, and looked like a blond Princess Leia from Star Wars. She grabbed the hands of her now irritated friends. “Come on, everyone else is in the kitchen in their costumes, na no da!”

Pudding dragged Kish and Ichigo into the kitchen. Everyone was wearing their Halloween costumes. Rōzu sat on the counter, swinging her feet wearing a black witch’s costume that had a red spider-web design on the knee-high skirt, black and red striped tights, black boots with golden buckles, and a witch’s hat with roses pinned to it. Rirī wore light green scrubs as a doctor, while Tart was dressed as a Jedi with a toy lightsaber hooked onto his belt. Zakuro wore a blood red dress and fake fangs as a vampire, while Mint wore the costume of an Egyptian princess. Lettuce seemed nervous in her white tights and green leotard, fake butterfly wings on her back, worried that the costume piece on her back was going to make her clumsier than usual. Rin was dressed in a medieval princess dress with a crown of flowers atop her ringlets, while Keiichiro dressed as a knight.

“Ryou Onii-Chan, Pie Onii-Chan, where are your costumes, na no da?” Pudding demanded.

“I’m wearing mine,” Ryou said, gesturing to the orange t-shirt he wore that read ‘Costume’. “I’ve got an actual costume for the party tonight, though.”

Pudding seemed satisfied with this and turned to Pie, who was dressed in his normal Café attire.

“You need a costume, na no da,” Pudding said.

“Why?” Pie asked.

“Because it’s Halloween, na no da! It’s tradition, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed, tapping her foot as she glared at the older boy.

“Then I am going as a waiter from Café Mew Mew,” Pie said.

Pudding glowered.

“You have to be something you’re not, na no da,” She said.

Pie sighed and went over and picked up a sheet from the basket of laundry Rin had folded that afternoon. He quickly tied one end around his neck like a cape and looked back at Pudding.

“Does this appease you?” He asked.

Pudding shook her head.

“No,” Pudding said. She tapped her chin briefly then her eyes widened. “Pudding knows what Pie Onii-Chan should be, na no da!”

She ran and made a dash to the basement, returning with a lab-coat tossed over her shoulder. She jumped up onto a stool, took off Pie’s tie and vest and threw the coat at him with an order to put it on, which he reluctantly did while she ran to the sink and stuck her hands under the faucet. She jumped up onto the stool again and starting running her wet hands through Pie’s hair, ignoring his outbursts of indignation. She removed her hands and looked satisfied, having made Pie’s hair stuck out in odd ways, more so than usual.

“Ta da! Now what does he look like, na no da?” Pudding asked her friends.

“Well…” Mint said as she studied Pie. Then she smiled and chuckled. “Really, Pudding? A mad scientist?”

“It’s fitting,” Rin said with a laugh.

“I am not sure if this is a compliment or not,” Pie said dryly as Rōzu dragged him to a mirror to show him how he looked in his new costume. But even he could admit that Pudding had made a good choice for his costume.

They went to work as usual, the customers thrilled by their spooky treats and the wait staff’s costumes. Rōzu was instantly a crowd favorite, and many girls squealed with delight, saying ‘She’s so kawaii!’ much to Rōzu’s chagrin.

Midway through the afternoon, Keiichiro poked his head out of the kitchen.

“Pudding, phone’s for you!” He called.

Pudding bounded away into the office, returning a few minutes later.

“Pudding will be a little late to Mint Onee-Chan’s party, na no da,” Pudding explained to her friends. “That was Daddy. He’s going to be late coming home from work and asked if Pudding could take the little ones trick-or-treating. Pudding should be at the party before eight o’clock, though, na no da.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Tart asked.

“No thank you, Taru-Taru,” Pudding said. “Pudding won’t take her brothers and sister too far from the house, and it will only be for an hour, na no da.”

“Just be careful,” Ichigo said. “There’s always a bunch of weirdoes out on Halloween.”

“Pudding knows, na no da,” Pudding said cheerfully. “Pudding will be careful, she promises, na no da.”

Later that evening, the Tokyo Defenders minus Pudding were at Mint’s mansion along with Shinji, Homare and Masaya. Shinji was dressed as a pirate, Homare as a fairy in a yellow dress with matching wings, Masaya was Indiana Jones and Ryou had finally changed into his costume, going as Zorro.

“Uh, do you know how to actually use that thing?” Rin asked as she looked at the whip on Masaya’s belt.

“No, he doesn’t,” Homare said, rolling her eyes. “He’s been trying all day, and he hasn’t been able to get it to work at all.”

“That’s not true,” Masaya said indignantly. “I know exactly what I’m doing! Watch!”

And so, his friends watched as he unfurled the whip, which promptly wrapped hit a waiter carrying a tray of drinks, which promptly fell on a young woman who promptly shrieked. They all cringed and Masaya quickly hid the whip behind his back.

“Way to go, tree hugger,” Kish said sarcastically.

“Give it,” Zakuro said, holding out her hand. “Just give it. You have proven to be unworthy of this weapon.”

Masaya promptly handed the whip over to Zakuro, his head ducked. Zakuro shifted it in her hand, then unfurled it, grabbing a glass off another tray and bringing it back to her hand, not a drop spilled from either her glass or the tray.

“Show-off,” Ryou said, smiling slightly.

Zakuro just shrugged and sipped her drink.

“How did you do that?” Homare asked in awe.

“Zakuro is just cool like that,” Mint said with a grin.

“Hello, Mint.”

Mint cringed as she recognized the voice. She put on a fake smile (one she had spent years perfecting) and turned around.

“Hello, Kanna,” She said to the orange haired girl wearing a beautiful pink princess dress and tiara that those who had met the girl did not doubt that it had real diamonds in it.

“Lovely party,” Kanna said, smirking just as falsely as Mint. “Of course, if it was at my house, it be twice as spectacular.”

“Of course,” Mint said with forced pleasantness. “So, where’s this amazingly handsome boyfriend I’ve been told so much about?”

Apparently, Mint was intending to strike a nerve because her smile became slightly victorious as Kanna’s smile dropped.

“He didn’t meet up to my criteria,” Kanna said haughtily. “Next time I’ll choose better. Now, where’s your beau? The cute soccer player?”

Mint shifted awkwardly, glad that Shinji was currently in deep discussion with Seiji about soccer.

“Well,” She said hesitantly. “We’re dating, but we haven’t made anything official yet, so he’s not really my boyfriend yet.”

“Ah, so in other words he’s still up for grabs?” Kanna said, glancing over to where Mint was looking, smiling as she saw Shinji. “Better hurry up and make it official or someone might steal him right under your little high-class nose.”

Those who hadn’t been previously exposed to Kanna felt a sudden rush of hatred for the girl. So when Kanna turned, about to walk away, and her brow furrowed as she saw Kish, Pie and Tart, the three boys simultaneously came up with the same way to get revenge when she said,

“You three look familiar. Have we met before?”

“Ah, yes, we have,” Kish said, wiggling his fingers in front of Kanna’s face. “In your dreams. I am so glad you said something, or I feared my spell hadn’t worked. However, I am sad to see the side-effect of resembling a toad is indeed a bigger problem than I had first intended, for which I apologize.”

“Do not be foolish, wizard!” Tart snapped. “She is clearly under the influence of my Jedi Mind Trick! It only works on the weak minded, you know. However, I see now that I should have made it stronger so that she would be unable to recognize me. I clearly underestimated her intelligence level.”

“Ignore both of them,” Pie said, shoving away Kish and Tart. “This clearly means that my experiments have worked! Tell me, my dear,” Pie said in his bland voice, taking both of Kanna’s hands in his. “Have you been experiencing lapses in memory, or feeling a sudden urge to eat worms?”

Kanna, now outraged, snatched her hands out of Pie’s grip.

“Why am I not surprised that you invited a bunch of freaks to your party, Mint?” Kanna sneered before she sauntered away.

Mint snickered once Kanna was far enough away.

“Thanks, guys, watching her face was priceless,” She said to the three alien boys.

“Our pleasure,” Pie said, allowing a rare, self-satisfied smirk.

“What’s her deal?” Rirī asked. “Why is she so mean to you?”

“When we were seven, she declared us mortal enemies,” Mint explained. “Since then, she has done her best to be better at me with everything. I get a good grade, she has to get a better one. I wear a pretty dress, she must have a prettier one. I start dating a guy, she must find one that is handsomer and richer than mine. Fortunately, she’s decided to not be better than me at dance. She chose beauty pageants and baton twirling over spending hours every day practicing ballet.”

“So, she’s always been like that?” Homare said.

“Yeah,” Mint said. “And you know what? I’m fine with that, because I know I’m nothing like her. Or, at least, I’m not now. I think I would have been had I not become friends with Ichigo, Lettuce, Pudding and Zakuro. “

“Thank goodness for that,” Ichigo said. “So…” She said a few minutes later when it was just the Mews and older two Cyniclon girls hanging around the refreshments table. “What’s the deal with you and Shinji?”

“There is no ‘deal’,” Mint said hastily, pouring herself some punch. “Why would you think there is?”

“Well, you told Kanna you and Shinji aren’t officially a couple yet,” Lettuce said.

“So?” Mint asked.

“You’ve already been on lots of dates this month, and you two are always texting each other or talking on the phone,” Rirī said. “I may be wrong, again our cultures are vastly different, but doesn’t that make you boyfriend-girlfriend?”

“I don’t know,” Mint said. “I’ve never had this serious of a relationship with a guy before, and I want him to be the one to make the first move.”

“Um, you might want to reconsider that,” Zakuro said, biting her lip.

“Why?” Mint asked, not turning around.

“’Cause Kanna’s over there flirting with Shinji,” Rin said.

Mint turned suddenly and to her horror saw that Kanna was chatting with Shinji, batting her eyelashes and smiling sweetly.

“Oh, no, she didn’t,” Mint said, her brown eyes narrowed. She put down her cup of punch and raised her chin proudly. “If you will excuse me.”

“Well, this should be interesting,” Kish said as he, Rōzu, Pie, Keiichiro and Ryou approached, all watching Mint go put an end to Kanna’s flirting.

“Yep,” Ichigo said. “Where’s Tart?”

“He had a headache and went to find somewhere quiet for a bit,” Keiichiro said.

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Zakuro said. “Kid’s eaten more sugar tonight than he has in the past month while he was getting ready for try-outs. He was bound to get a sugar headache.”

“The try-out results are given out tomorrow at school,” Rin said. “And Tart’s a notorious nervous eater.”

“Pardon my interrupting,” Seiji said, approaching the group. “But, Midorikawa-San? Will you please follow me?”

“Um, sure,” Lettuce said. She looked up at Pie, who nodded slightly and followed her.

Mint’s brother led the two down the hall, wondering where they were going. Finally, Seiji opened a secret door in the wall. Inside the room were many monitors for security cameras and guards inside. Sitting down in two chairs across the room was an unashamed Hiroki… and a horrified and embarrassed Uri.

“Uri!” Lettuce said, staring at her brother in shock. “What are you doing here? And what’s going on?”

“These two were caught trespassing, probably intending to gatecrash,” The head guard said, scowling at the two boys.

“Come on, it was just a bit of Halloween fun,” Hiroki said with a smirk.

“Uri, do Mama and Papa know where you are?” Lettuce asked her brother, who shook his head, shame-faced. She sighed and turned to Seiji.

“I’m not planning on pressing charges,” He said. He wasn’t happy, but he wasn’t angry. “However, I will ask that they leave immediately.”

Lettuce nodded and started thanking him for this, but Seiji brushed it off.

“Don’t worry about it,” Seiji said. “Boys will be boys, and at Halloween especially.”

“Then I will take Uri home now,” Lettuce said. “And I promise, this will never happen again.”

Uri stood up and went to his sister’s side, staring at his shoes.

“I’m very sorry, Aizawa-San,” Uri said, bowing.

“Apology accepted, young man,” Seiji said. Hiroki just shrugged as he pulled himself to his feet.

Less than five minutes later, Lettuce, Uri, Pie and Hiroki were standing out the front gates of the Aizawa mansion.

“Well, I’m off,” Hiroki said. “I’ve got better parties to crash.”

“Hiroki,” Lettuce said, following him as he started to walk away. “I don’t care what you do-”

“You’ll love me anyways?” Hiroki asked with a grin.

“But keep my brother out of your mischief,” Lettuce finished, now annoyed.

“Come on, Uri’s a big boy, he knew what he was getting into,” Hiroki said. “You baby him too much, Midori-Chan.”

“I’m not babying him!” Lettuce snapped. “Yes, he can make his own decisions, but I don’t want you convincing him to make bad ones! If you get arrested, I don’t care. But I don’t want to have to bail Uri out with the police. You were lucky tonight, but your luck won’t last forever!”

“You don’t mean it,” Hiroki said, smirking. “You care. A lot. Because that’s what you do. You worry and fret over everyone and try to keep everyone happy.”

Lettuce frowned.

“You think that I’m the same girl I was when you left four years ago. In many ways I still am. But I’ve also changed. I’m stronger than before. I just wish you could see that,” Lettuce said. With that, she turned on her heel and walked back over to Pie and Uri.

“Are you alright?” Pie asked.

Lettuce sighed.

“I wish I knew,” She said.

Meanwhile, across town, Pudding smiled as her siblings raced over to her, showing her the candy they had just received. Her brothers were dressed as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while Heicha was Rapunzel from the Disney Tangled movie.

“Alright, everyone, it’s time to head home, na no da,” Pudding said. Her siblings groaned.

“Just one more street, Onee-Chan? Please?” One of her brothers begged.

“No, Chancha, na no da,” Pudding said. “Daddy should be home by now, na no da.”

As the siblings walked down the emptying street, Pudding’s blood froze at hearing a chilling voice call from behind her.

“Look, Mylo, it’s Taru-Taru’s precious little girlfriend.”

Pudding gasped and turned over her shoulder. Floating in the air was Mylo, and beside him was Chile, sitting in a cross-legged position on top of a lamppost. Chile’s grin grew with lust as he ran his eerie orange eyes over Pudding’s body, giving Pudding shivers.

“Oh no.” Pudding whispered, her eyes wide as she tried to come up with a plan. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—transform, not in front of her siblings.

“I would just love to kiss those sugary-sweet lips,” Chile said, licking his own lips as he spoke.

Mylo smirked.

“Then let us capture your prize, Chile,” He said, bringing his sword out as Chile brought out his jutte weapon, hitting it lightly against his hand menacingly.

Pudding pushed her siblings behind her, praying for a miracle as the two aliens slowly advanced toward them.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Nine:

“Are lorikeets birds of prey?” Rōzu asked before biting into a cupcake, getting a smear orange frosting on her pale nose.

“No,” Keiichiro said, trying to hand her a napkin, but she ignored it. “Why?”

“ ’Cause Mint looks like she wants to peck Kanna to death and eat her,” Rōzu said, utterly oblivious to the fact that she had icing on her nose.

It was true. Mint was not a happy bird-girl. Though she had quickly reclaimed Shinji’s attention, Kanna kept trying to flirt with him. Shinji, fortunately, saw what she was doing and tried to politely discourage her. Finally, Kanna abandoned her mission. For a while, at least.

Mint and Shinji rejoined their friends. Knowing that Shinji was safe from Kanna’s advances, she went to get herself a drink. She took a sip of the punch, when to her surprise she was rather forcefully bumped into. The red punch looked like blood stains on Mint’s cream costume dress.

“Oops.”

Surprise, surprise, it was Kanna.

“I didn’t see you there at all, I’m so sorry,” Though it sounded sincere, Mint saw a wicked gleam in the other girl’s eye. “You better go get cleaned up. I’ll take care of the mess.”

Mint knew Kanna had something planned, but she was also aware that she looked like a murder victim in a low-budget horror film.
“Go on,” Zakuro said, coming up with Ichigo to help Mint. “We’ve got everything handled down here.”

Mint nodded and ran upstairs to change. She quickly found last year’s dance recital outfit and pulled it on. She quickly pulled her hair into a knot and ran back downstairs. She didn’t relax until she was back at Shinji’s side.

Apparently, Kanna had tried to approach Shinji again, but he had quickly brought Kish, Ichigo, Masaya and Homare over. Kanna was obviously annoyed, but hid it behind her smile. She politely asked to speak with Mint in private, which Mint grudgingly agreed to.

They went to the other side of the room, and Kanna’s smile dropped.

“You need to back off,” She said.

“Excuse me?” Mint said, her voice rising slowly along with her anger.

“Shinji is clearly interested in me,” Kanna said. “Meaning that, once again, I am better than you.”

Mint shook with anger, resisting the urge to slap Kanna.

“He is not interested in you,” Mint said, unaware that her voice had risen to a shout. “So stop flirting with my boyfriend!”

Mint suddenly realized that all eyes were on here, mostly looks of confusion or indifference. But she definitely felt Shinji’s gaze. She met his eyes, but couldn’t read them.

She felt her cheeks heat, knowing full well she lost her temper, and—no, no, no, no!

“Where did these feathers come from?” Kanna asked, distracted by the dark blue feathers that littered the floor at Mint’s feet. Her tail was safe, but her wings…

Keeping her back to the wall, Mint quickly exited the hall and ran to the patio. She leaned against the wall, breathing deeply. Finally, she felt her wings fold and meld with her skin again. She reached back and ran her hand over where the feathered appendages had been, gently stroking the skin where her Mew Mark was.

“That could have gone so much better,” She whispered to herself.

“Mint?”

Mint froze and turned around. Shinji stood there.

“Uh…” Mint said softly, no intelligent words coming to her mouth. “Hey.”

“So…” Shinji said. “This kind of prompts me to ask you what I’ve wanted to all night. Mint?”

“Yes?” She prompted, holding her breath slightly.

“Would you be my girlfriend?” Shinji asked.

Mint smiled and threw herself into Shinji’s arms.

“Yes,” She whispered. Shinji smiled as he leaned down and kissed her, long and slow under the Halloween moon.

Meanwhile, across town, another Mew wasn’t so happy as her comrade.

“Why did you go with him, Uri?” Lettuce asked with a sigh.

Uri shrugged, unable to look at his sister.

“I’m sorry, Onee-San, I don’t know,” Uri said. “Hiroki’s just so cool… and I wanted to be like him and impress him.”

“A role model who leads you down the path of destruction is not a worthy one,” Pie commented, thoughts of Deep Blue coming to his mind.

“Pie is correct,” Lettuce said, knowing the exact thoughts behind Pie’s statement. “You’re lucky you got off with a warning.”

“I know,” Uri said somberly. He was embarrassed, and grateful that his sister was able to get him out of the bad situation, one he hoped to never be in again, and told her so.

“Thank you,” Lettuce said. “And from now on, if Hiroki or anyone tries to convince you to do something that doesn’t sound right to you, don’t do it. No one looks ‘cool’ sitting in a jail cell.”

“I promise,” Uri said. He heard his name being called from across the street and brightened at seeing some of his friends from school. He looked up at Lettuce. “Can I-?”

“Yes, but don’t get into any more trouble tonight, alright?” Lettuce said, ruffling her brother’s hair. “Be home by ten. Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t tell Mama and Papa about this.”

“Thanks, Onee-San! You’re the best!” Uri said. He quickly gave his sister a kiss on the cheek and ran off to join his friends.

Lettuce sighed.

“Are you alright?” Pie asked, taking her hand.

“I’m mad at Hiroki,” She admitted. “But I don’t want to think about it. Let’s just go back to the party.”

Pie nodded and they started to walk down the streets, searching for an alley to teleport from. Suddenly, Pie paused, his ears twitching and his eyes widening.

“What’s wrong?” Lettuce asked.

“Do you have your pendant?” Pie asked, pulling out his stone. Lettuce nodded, and pulled it out on the chain she kept it on so as to not lose it. She showed it to Pie, who nodded as well. “Good. I hear Mylo and Chile’s voices, as well as Pudding’s.”

“Pie, she’s with her brothers and sister,” Lettuce said urgently. “She’s not going to transform in front of them, because she doesn’t want to scare them.”

Pie nodded grimly.

“I was afraid of that,” He said. He pulled her into an alley. Once he was sure that no one else was there and that it was dark enough, he said, “Battle Form Pie, Transformation!”

“Mew Mew Lettuce, Metamorpho-sis!”

Newly transformed, they ran down the streets, arriving just in time to help Pudding. Pie flew forward and managed to block Mylo’s blow with his fans while Pudding and Lettuce ushered the kids out of the way. One look into Pudding’s eyes told Lettuce that she was right: Mew Pudding was not making an appearance tonight. However, that wasn’t going to stop Pudding the Acrobat from being the star of the show.

Pie and Mylo leapt back from each other, Pie teleporting to be beside Lettuce and the Fong children.

“Mew Lettuce, can you protect the children?” Pie asked. Lettuce nodded and Pie and Pudding met each other’s eyes, an unspoken battle plan already formed.

Pie called out his attacks, aiming both at Mylo and Chile, while Pudding did a series of flips and tricks in an attempt to distract them in addition to doing her best to stay out of the way of Pie’s attacks.

Pudding reached in the pockets of her dress, pulling out some bowling pins she used for juggling and used them like swords to ward off Chile while Pie used his fans to fight off Mylo. Unfortunately, Mylo got in a lucky blow, hitting Pie’s arm with the flat of his blade. The combination of the blow and the pain sent the fan that had been in his hand flying, so that it landed next to Pudding. Mylo quickly got in a kick to Pie’s stomach, knocking him to the ground, breathless. Seeing Pie down and without thinking, Pudding grabbed the fan that had landed near her, held the handle in both hands and pointed it at Chile. She took a deep breath then, like she had heard Pie do many times before, yelled,

“Kuu-Rai-Sen, na no da!”

And, to her embarrassment, nothing happened.

Everyone stared at Pudding, who grinned nervously.

“Yeah… Pudding went out on a limb there, na no da,” Pudding said, hiding the fan behind her back. “Pudding doesn’t think the ‘na no da’ helped her at all, na no da.”

Mylo took the opportunity to put the tip of his sword at Pie’s throat while Chile summoned a parasite, walking slowly towards the defenseless girl, who kept stepping backwards.

Chile threw one of the parasites at Pudding’s feet, causing her to fall over with a cry. Before she could get up, Chile was beside her, holding onto her ankle, a wicked grin on his face. Pudding tried to crawl away, but he was so much stronger than her, she couldn’t get away.

“Don’t touch her!” Lettuce screamed. She started to take a step, but Mylo summoned a parasite as well.

“Now, now, Mew Lettuce, we don’t want to leave the kiddies defenseless, now do we?” Mylo taunted. Lettuce froze. She could still use her attack, but Chile could easily use Pudding as a shield. And Mylo had kicked Pie’s other fan just out of reach, but even if he did have it he would face the same problem as Lettuce.

“So, this Earth holiday of Halloween is where humans give each other treats,” Chile said, pulling Pudding to him so that he could pin her down by her arms, his knees pressing her legs together so that she couldn’t move. She shook underneath him, wondering just what he was going to do to her. “I know the custom is to get candy, but I’m not much for tradition.” Chile smirked and licked his lips. “I want pudding. And I get what I want. Now let’s see if your kisses taste as sweet as your name…”

Pudding whimpered and closed her eyes. This couldn’t be happening… She didn’t want to kiss anyone but her Taru-Taru. She was regretting not letting him come with her tonight.

But before Chile could do anything else, an axe blade caught him underneath the chin. Chile’s eyes widened with fear and he looked up.

Holding the axe was a tall man with Cyniclon ears and eyes the color of hot coals. He had straight hair that hung to his waist, with some in a knot at the top of his head. The color of his hair was that of a flame: mostly red and orange, but with blond at the end. He wore a simple blood red fighting uniform underneath a red cloak with a high collar edged with gold and red boots.

“Get off her now, and I might just let you keep your head,” The strange man said in a growl.

Chile quickly did as he was told and leapt away from Pudding and the strange man. The man set the head of his axe on the ground by his feet and held his other hand out for Pudding, who accepted it.

“I hate introductions,” He said as Pudding opened her mouth to speak. “So I’m just going to cut to the chase.” He bowed before Pudding, going down onto one knee. “I’m the Red Knight, and I’m here to rescue you, my princess.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty:

“Here to…” Pudding murmured as the Red Knight got up from his bow.

“Rescue you from this little freak,” The Red Knight said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Chile, now cowering in the corner. “Trust me, I would have done that even if it weren’t my job. No need to taint innocent minds with the memory of kissing this ball of slime. Speaking of unpleasant things, that reminds me, I’m guessing Mylo would be the one holding your friend at sword-point over there, am I right? Well, time for me to get to work then.”

The Red Knight cracked his knuckles and grabbed his axe again before stepping over to Mylo, who instantly brought up his sword to protect himself. This gave Pie and opportunity to snatch up his fan, teleport, grab Pudding, then teleport again to stand beside Lettuce. Pudding’s siblings crawled all over her, making sure she was alright, but the girl was distracted, watching the Red Knight interact with Mylo.

The Red Knight twirled his axe in his hand like a baton, the double blades glimmering in the moonlight.

“Third and final warning, Mylo,” The Red Knight said, suddenly cool and professional, his coal-like eyes narrowed. “Leave Earth. Don’t return to Cynnth. Go to another planet, and I guarantee you will be happy.”

“I know you are merely trying to deceive me, and I will not stand for it!” Mylo roared. “Earth will be MINE!”

The Red Knight looked rather unperturbed by Mylo’s outburst and shrugged.

“Knew you were going to say that, but had to deliver the message anyway,” He grumbled. “Whatever. Suit yourself. I’m tired of talking anyways. I’ve got a score to settle with you.”

“What score?” Mylo hissed.

“You inadvertently harmed my lady, in a rather deliberate attempt to kill my servant,” The Red Knight explained like it was the most simple thing in the world. “However, as her reaction was a spilt-second reaction, I could not appear. But I will take my revenge for it now.”

Mylo made the first lunge, which the Red Knight not only seemed to expect, but adeptly dodged. The three members of the Tokyo Defenders watched, while Pudding’s siblings cheered on the man in red that saved their Onee-Chan.

“Another knight?” Pie murmured to Lettuce as the Red Knight blocked Mylo’s blow.

“I’m think we need to keep tabs on Masaya,” Lettuce said. “You know, in case he happens to become the Blue Knight again. Maybe then we can get all these guys in the same place.” Pie nodded in agreement.

They watched as Mylo and the Red Knight continued to spar. Finally, the Red Knight caught his blade on Mylo’s upper arm. The wound was in the same place and the exact same length and width as the scar on Pudding’s arm.

With a hiss, Mylo disappeared.

The Red Knight gave a half-smile of victory. Then he turned to see Chile was still there.

“The next finger you lay on my princess, I will cut it off,” He said, waving his axe tauntingly. With a yelp and a need of a change of trousers, Chile disappeared.

“Well, I’m done here,” The Red Knight said not a second later. He slung his axe over his shoulder and started to walk away.

“Wait, na no da!” Pudding called. She quickly looked at her siblings. “Stay here, na no da.” Then she ran after the Red Knight.

Pie watched Pudding run off, then looked down at feeling a small hand tug on his trousers. Heicha looked up at him with wide brown eyes.

“Are you an alien?” She asked in a whisper.

“No,” Pie said. Heicha and her brothers looked disappointed. Then, the corner of Pie’s mouth lifted. “I am a wizard.”

“Can we see your magic wand?” Chincha asked, his eyes wide.

Pie pulled out his fans to show them.

“Those don’t look like the wands in the movies,” Lucha said.

“Those are British wands. The Japanese wands are much fancier, more refined,” Pie explained.

“Do you know Harry Potter?” Honcha asked excitedly.

“I met with him last week for a Butterbeer,” Pie said.

“Did you go to Hogwarts?” Hanacha asked.

“I graduated last year from Ravenclaw House,” Pie said.

The five children were now bouncing with excitement.

While Pie continued to answer the children’s questions about Hogwarts and the Wizarding world, Pudding had caught up to her rescuer.

“Mr. Red Knight said Pudding saved his servant,” Pudding said as she trotted alongside the Red Knight. “Pudding got that wound saving Taru-Taru. Is he-?”

“Your protector when I can’t be? Yeah. Don’t mention this to him. He’s not supposed to know yet,” The Red Knight said. He glanced down at Pudding and grinned. “Don’t worry. Taruto will be fine, you just can’t talk about it with him. But you can talk about it with Mew Lettuce and Mew Ichigo. They’ll explain why I said this.”

The Red Knight stopped and so did Pudding. The Red Knight smiled gently down at Pudding. To her surprise, he cupped her chin and bent down to kiss her forehead. His skin and lips were warm against Pudding, and loving and gentle. Only her parents and Tart kissed her like that, but even when it should, it didn’t feel wrong coming from this stranger.

“Until next time, Princess,” The Red Knight said after he stood up again. Then, with a wave, he walked away and disappeared into the night.

“Ichigo Onee-Chan was right,” Pudding murmured to herself. “There are a lot of weirdoes out on Halloween.”

Wondering what Lettuce and Ichigo would tell her, Pudding went back to Pie, Lettuce and her siblings. Lettuce was trying not to laugh as Pie explained to the awed children that we was going to ‘apparate’ them home, but only if they promised to not reveal his identity to the Muggles, which they all did. So, with Heicha on his back, each of the boys clinging to his arms and legs, and Lettuce’s arm wrapped through his with Pudding on to her hand, Pie teleported them to just outside the Fong family’s residence.

Pudding took her siblings in through the front gate, where their father was waiting anxiously. The children proudly showed their father their candy and excitedly told him that they met a wizard, the duel between the two strange men completely forgotten.

Her siblings safe with their father, Pudding ran back out the gate to find Pie and Lettuce already de-transformed and waiting for her.

“Xin-Xin,” She said, hugging both of them. “If you hadn’t been there, Pudding couldn’t have fought and kept the little ones safe.”

“We’re just glad we were in the right place at the right time,” Lettuce said, returning the hug. She studied Pudding. “Are you going to be alright?”

“Pudding is in a bit of shock, but she thinks she’ll be alright,” Pudding said. She held Lettuce’s gaze for a long moment, and Lettuce instantly understood: Pudding wanted to speak with her and Ichigo, preferably in private.

Lettuce nodded and the three teleported back to Mint’s house. They found their friends quickly. Tart ran over to Pudding with a grin, hugging her.

“I was just about to go out and find you,” Tart said. “I was worried something had happened to you.”

“Something did,” Pie said in a low voice. Tart frowned up at his brother.

“What happened?” He asked.

“Ran into Mylo and Chile, na no da,” Pudding said, smiling for Tart. “Pudding just couldn’t transform in front of her sister and brothers, na no da. Luckily, Pie Onii-Chan and Lettuce Onee-Chan were nearby, na no da.”

“Are you okay?” Tart asked, looking Pudding over for injuries with wide bronze eyes.

“Pudding is shaken, but fine, na no da,” Pudding said. She kissed Tart’s cheek. “Thank you, Taru-Taru for worrying for Pudding. That is very sweet of him, na no da.”

“It’s no big deal,” Tart said, blushing.

But it is, Pudding thought.

Pudding excused herself, saying that she needed to lie down for a moment. Tart offered to go with her, but she declined. She felt bad when she saw the hurt in his eyes when she asked Lettuce and Ichigo to go with her.

Pudding will make it up to Taru-Taru, She thought as she climbed the stairs, going into Mint’s bedroom. The three girls requested hot chocolate from one of the maids, who nodded and said that she’d be right back with the desired drink.

Ichigo pulled out a pale green, leaf-shaped piece of paper and showed it to the other girls. It was from the Green Knight, telling her that she was allowed to speak with Pudding and Lettuce. She hastily put it away as the maid reentered the room, carrying a tray of hot drinks.

Lettuce and Pudding then recounted the evening’s events to Ichigo, who scowled as she took a sip of hot chocolate.

“Tart, too?” She said with a sigh.

“Too, na no da?” Pudding asked, her brow furrowed.

“The White Knight referred to Pie as his servant,” Lettuce said softly.

“And the Green Knight said the same about Kish,” Ichigo said. “What’s going on? Why do we need to be protected, and why can’t the boys know about what’s going on?”

“And what does that mean about the Knights, na no da?” Pudding asked. “Who are they?”

“Could they be the same person?” Lettuce asked. “Their faces all resemble the Blue Knight’s.”

“Pudding’s not comfortable with this, na no da,” Pudding said, poking at a marshmallow in her cup.

“Neither are we,” Ichigo said. “Once we find their identities, I think we’ll get more answers.”

“Uh, Pudding?” Lettuce said softly. “Is there any chance, any way that Yuebin could have-?”

Pudding shook her head.

“When Pudding got home from work today, there was a message on the answering machine from Yuebin,” She said. “His flight was cancelled because of the weather.” Pudding was silent for a moment, then she said softly. “Pudding doesn’t want Taru-Taru to be a servant to anyone. He was to Deep Blue, and Deep Blue killed Kish and Pudding knows he would have done the same to Taru-Taru and Pie had he had the chance.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Ichigo said. “If these Knights turn out to be just as evil as Deep Blue was, I don’t want my boyfriend, or yours, anywhere near them.”

“So, then, what can we do?” Lettuce asked in a whisper.

Neither girl had a response.

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Tart looked at Pudding curiously. She seemed perkier than usual this afternoon. She had been quiet when he picked her up for school that morning, but she seemed to have gotten her cheerfulness back by lunch. She had been giving him wide grins all day, and occasionally for no reason would hug him.

She had insisted they walk to the café instead of teleporting, which Tart found suspicious.

“Alright, Pudding, what’s up?” He asked as Pudding squeezed his hand again.

“Pudding doesn’t know what Taru-Taru’s talking about, na no da,” Pudding said, her grin suddenly very monkey-like and mischievous as she dragged him up the front steps of the store.

Still looking at Pudding suspiciously, Tart took out his key and opened the front door. He was surprised to find no one out getting ready for the first customers of the day.

“Where is everyone?” He asked. Pudding’s grin just grew even wider.

“Let’s find them, na no da!” Pudding said, pulling him towards the kitchen.

Pudding pushed Tart through the swinging doors, and he was surprised to find everyone already there, all grinning widely at him (well, except for Pie and Zakuro, but they did seem to look happier than usual).

“Congratulations!” Rin squealed as she and Rirī hugged their brother.

“Knew you could do it,” Kish said proudly as he ruffled Tart’s hair.

“Really, it would be preposterous for it to not have happened,” Pie said in agreement.

Tart looked around in confusion.

“What are you all talking about?” He asked.

Pudding giggled suddenly and put her hands on her hips, playfully glaring at Tart.

“Taru-Taru,” She said. “Did you look at the bulletin board at school today, na no da?”

“Uh, no,” Tart admitted sheepishly. “Should I have?”

“Yes, silly Taru-Taru,” Pudding said with a giggle. “Because you need to know when practices start, na no da.”

“Practices?” Tart repeated, still confused. Then his ears perked up, his eyes widened and he grinned. “You mean, I did make the team?”

“Yes, chibi, you did,” Ichigo said with a laugh as she gave Tart a hug. “And if you don’t believe us, it’s on the school’s website. Now, come on, let’s eat some cake!”

Tart just grinned as Pudding kissed his cheek and the happy group ate cake before they opened the restaurant doors.

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-One:

A few days after the Halloween and Red Knight fiasco, the staff of Café Mew Mew were happy to find that it was to be a slow day at work. There were only a few customers and very little to do, so everyone was going about at a relaxed pace.

Except for a certain green-haired Mew.

Lettuce ran around the Café with her digital camera, trying to find a moment to take a good picture of her teammates.

“What are you doing?” Kish asked as Lettuce took his picture.

“References!” Lettuce only said, then turned the camera to take a picture of Ichigo who was coming out of the kitchen with a tray of hot tea. Ichigo was surprised by the sudden flash of the camera and fell to the floor, Kish barely able to catch the tray before it landed on her.

“What was that for?” Ichigo asked as she rubbed her eyes.

But Lettuce didn’t stay around to answer her question.

“Lettuce!” Pie exclaimed, catching her arm as she tried to dash away after taking his picture. “Why are you trying to blind us all?”

“I’m working on a project, and I need references,” Lettuce explained.

“What kind of project, na no da?” Pudding asked.

“Well, as it turns out, my little cousin loves the Tokyo Defenders and I figured I’d make her some dolls for Christmas,” Lettuce explained. “But I need to start them now in order to have them finished in time for when my family and I go to my grandmother’s house for the holidays.”

“Henceforth the references,” Zakuro observed and Lettuce nodded.

“I’m just glad you’re the one making them,” Mint said as she took a sip of tea. “We know you will get everything right.”

“What do you mean?” Tart asked.

“Well, shortly after you guys left, Tokyo Mew Mew merchandise became very common,” Ichigo explained. “But since no toy designers were able to talk with us and pictures were hard to take of us, and mostly what they were going off of was cellphone photos, dolls were made with some pretty big mistakes.”

“My hair was neon blue,” Lettuce said with a chuckle.

“I got Ichigo’s Strawberry Bell,” Zakuro added.

“I got a monkey tail,” Mint said.

“Pudding had feathers, na no da,” Pudding said with a grin.

“And I got wolf ears,” Ichigo said. “We bought them anyways. Despite the mistakes, they are kinda cute and a nice reminder that we’re role models for little kids.”

“That’s cool,” Rin said. She turned to Lettuce. “Hey, do you think we can see the dolls after you finish them?”

“Sure!” Lettuce said with a smile.

Two weeks later, four-fifths of the Mew Mews stood in the kitchen with the Ikisatashi siblings waiting for the Café doors to open. Ichigo jumped up from her stool when she heard a knock on the back door. She opened it for Lettuce, who carried a large cardboard box in her hands.

“Arigato, Ichigo,” Lettuce said as she sat the box down on an empty space on the counter.

“What does Lettuce Onee-Chan have in the box, na no da?” Pudding asked excitedly.

“I finished making the dolls last night,” Lettuce said. “I brought them here to show you all.”

“Cool!” Rōzu said, jumping up on the counter to pull off the box lid. She stuck her hand in and pulled out a soft doll with bronze button eyes dressed in black, red and white with braided dark purple hair and grinned. “I am so cute in doll form!” She said, gingerly touching the doll’s tutu.

“Lettuce, these are amazing!” Zakuro said with a grin as she looked at the Doll Mew Zakuro in her hands.

“They are so kawaii!” Ichigo said with an excited giggle as she jingled the bell on the Doll Mew Ichigo’s tail.

“How did you get them all done in two weeks?” Tart asked in amazement as he studied his own doll.

“Well, when I get started on a doll, I don’t usually stop till it’s done,” Lettuce admitted. “Plus, I had most of the materials and patterns already.”

“You did an amazing job,” Pie said, kissing Lettuce’s head as he hugged her from behind, causing Lettuce to turn scarlet.

They all reluctantly put the dolls away and had to get back to work, leaving the box lid open.

That evening after work, everyone got one last glimpse of the dolls before Lettuce took them home.

“That’s weird,” Mint said, her brow furrowed as she looked at the face of her doll.

“What’s weird?” Kish asked.

“The buttons for eyes,” Mint said. “They were blue earlier, but now they’re black.”

“Maybe it’s just the lighting,” Ichigo suggested. “After all, it is a dark shade of blue.”

Mint agreed and put the doll back in the box.

“I’ll see you all tomorrow!” Lettuce said as she started down the sidewalk, her box in hand.

When she got home, Lettuce put the box on the chair beside her desk and got ready for bed. She left her room to go brush her teeth, and when she came back, she saw the dolls were out of the box and all lined up on her desk.

“How did-?” Lettuce began to ask, then she sighed. “Uri must have wanted to look at them and forgot to put them back.”

She put the dolls back in their box, pausing slightly with the Kish doll. She frowned.

“Funny,” She said to the doll. “I know I gave you yellow eyes. Why are they black?”

She put the doll back on the desk, but put the others away. After putting the lid back on, she stepped over to her craft box and began looking for the golden yellow buttons she had originally set out for that doll, thinking it would be an easy thing to change before bed.

She turned around, with her needle, thread and buttons in hand and gasped. Sitting beside the Kish doll was the Ichigo doll. To her surprise, the pink button eyes were black. Lettuce put the materials down on the desk and backed away slowly, then turned and ran for the door.

She had decided that tonight would be a good night to sleep on the living room couch.

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“So, the dolls just moved on their own?” Rirī said, her brow furrowed, Lettuce having just explained the reason why she had slept on the couch and looked tired.

“I guess so. They were all back in the box when I went into my room this morning,” Lettuce said. “It was really weird. Whatever was going on, I knew I didn’t want to be asleep in the same room.”

“Don’t blame you,” Zakuro said. Suddenly, Ryou and Keiichiro came barreling into the room, their eyes wide.

“Turn on the news, now,” Ryou said.

Pie grabbed the nearby remote and did so. To the Tokyo Defenders’ shock, they were on the news. And not in a good way. Apparently, a group of people who looked exactly like and fought like the Tokyo Defenders had robbed a bank the night before.

“We didn’t do that!” Rōzu said, her own eyes wide.

“Who are they, na no da?” Pudding asked, shocked.

“And why are they impersonating us?” Mint asked with a frown as an imposter-Mint grinned at a security camera before shooting it out with one of her arrows.

“Is there a way Mylo’s soldiers could have shape-shifted into us?” Ichigo asked the Cyniclons, who all shook their heads.

“No, but nonetheless, this smells like Mylo’s handiwork,” Pie said with a frown.

“Yeah, make us targets so that we can’t stop him,” Kish said with a scowl.

“Hey, wait a second,” Rin said, her brow furrowed in concentration as she snatched the remote from her twin and rewound the footage, pausing at a scene with imposter-Ichigo blowing up a safe.

“What is it?” Keiichiro asked.

“Look at the eyes!” Rin said urgently.

“They’re black,” Tart said, his brow furrowed.

“Not just that,” Rin said. “They look like buttons.”

Everyone quickly saw what Rin meant.

“Wait,” Mint said, her blood running cold. “If those are buttons, that must mean-”

“That Mylo has turned my dolls into some sort of Chimera Animal,” Lettuce finished, her eyes wide with shock.

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They stared at the box full of dolls with caution.

“When could he have gotten ahold of them?” Rōzu asked.

“The box sat here in the kitchen for most of the afternoon yesterday,” Tart said, his arms folded and glaring at the offensive cardboard box.

“Yeah, and the room would be completely empty for up to five minutes occasionally,” Ichigo said. She opened the box and pulled out the Doll Mew Ichigo. The doll seemed to be giving her an evil grin, the black button eyes gleaming. Ichigo laid it on the table. “If there is a parasite in it, can it be removed?”

“Depends on the strength of the parasite,” Kish said. “And since Mylo seems to be able to control these from a distance, I’m going to say it’s very strong.”

“So, that’s a no,” Zakuro said. Suddenly, she snatched the doll off the counter and marched out the back door. Exchanging glances, the rest of her team followed.

They watched as Zakuro placed the doll on the ground, then she turned and stepped a few paces away. She took out a deep breath and pulled out her Mew Pendant.

“Mew Mew Zakuro, Metamorpho-sis!”

Within seconds, Zakuro was transformed, her whip in hand.

She brought back her hand and cried out,

“Ribbon Zakuro Pure!”

The whip curled around the doll, lifting it off the ground, then dropping out of the air. Zakuro repeated this a few more times, then stopped and de-transformed. She walked over and picked the doll up and scowled, showing her teammates that the doll looked the same as it had before.

“My whip leaves second-degree burns on flesh, and either extremely weakens or completely destroys Chimera Animals. Except for the eyes, it looks exactly like it did when it came out of the box when Lettuce brought it in yesterday,” Zakuro said.

“Maybe they can only be destroyed when Mylo shapes them to look like us,” Rirī suggested.

“But how do we know when Mylo’s controlling them, na no da?” Pudding asked.

Suddenly, Zakuro yelped and dropped the doll, clutching her hand in pain.

“What happened?” Ryou asked with concern.

“I think it burned me!” Zakuro said in shock, rubbing her now-red hand. Sure enough, there was a small burn on the palm of her hand the same size and shape of the replica Strawberry Bell.

“Hey, where’d it go?” Tart asked, looking around wildly at the ground.

Suddenly, Rōzu yelped. Embedded in her upper arm was a miniature wooden arrow with white fletches, a scrap of paper wrapped around the shaft. She quickly pulled it out with a slight whimper. While Rirī examined the wound, Pie unwrapped the paper from the arrow.

“What does it say?” Lettuce asked.

“ ‘Catch us if you can,’ ” Pie read, his brow furrowed as he read the miniscule writing.

Suddenly, they all hit the ground, knocked over by a large burst of wind.

“What the heck was that?” Mint yelled, looking around wildly, knowing that gust was not natural.

Then they saw two of the dolls standing beside the bushes, the Doll Pie and the Doll Rin, both clutching their tiny fans and grinning evilly. Successful in knowing they were luring the Tokyo Defenders into following them, they ducked into the bushes.

“Pudding will never be able to watch Toy Story after this, na no da,” Pudding said, grabbing her pendant.

“We’ll worry about the future of movie night later. For now, let’s just worry about the future of Earth,” Ichigo said. “Tokyo Defenders, let’s go!”

In less than a minute, they were transformed and chasing after the possessed dolls. Eventually, though, they lost the trail.

“How are we going to find them now?” Rōzu asked as they stood in the middle of the deserted street, searching for any sign of the haunted toys.

A Ribbon Mint Echo attack landed just before where they were standing. This was soon followed by flaming arrows, and a Ribbon Zakuro Pure attack wrapped around Ichigo’s boot, sending her to the ground and pulling her away from the group.

“Ichigo!” Kish yelled, as he and Pie leapt forward to grab hold of Ichigo’s arms as she screamed. They dug their heels into the ground, but were being dragged along as well. Rōzu ran to hit the whip with her swords, but to her fury, nothing happened to the whip, but finally it receded.

Kish pulled Ichigo into his arms and held her for a moment as she clung to his chest.

“Are you alright?” Kish asked in a low voice, gently rubbing her back.

“I’m okay,” Ichigo whispered. She had scratches all over her legs and she was in a bit of shock, but she hadn’t been burned by the whip at all.

“They’re watching us,” Rin murmured, her indigo eyes gazing around carefully. “Trying to see how we react.”

“Where are they, though?” Lettuce whispered.

They heard a bell tinkling in the distance. They all turned, knowing full well that it was not Ichigo’s bell.

But, in a way, it was.

The silhouette of Mew Ichigo stood in the lamplight. With another tinkle of the bell, the imposter moved with impossible speed and moved by several feet.

It looked exactly like Ichigo, but with glinting black button eyes and an uncharacteristic smirk. The eerie thing was that they closer they got to it, the more they saw that its lips looked like threads. It wasn’t quite flesh and blood, but it wasn’t exactly all felt and stuffing either.

The doll’s grin grew and raised its hand, bringing out the Strawberry Bell. The doll paused and looked down at its stomach, where an arrow was lodged. The doll looked up at Rirī, who still had her bow up, and yanked out the arrow. A bit of stuffing came out of its abdomen, but there was no blood. The doll snapped the arrow with one hand and brought up the Strawberry Bell. Wordlessly, the attack came, hitting Ichigo and Kish with cries of pain.

Before anyone else could respond, they were ambushed.

They were hit left, right and center by various Ribbon Lettuce Rushes, Ribbon Mint Echoes, Ribbon Zakuro Pures, Ribbon Pudding Infernos, and Ribbon Strawberry Surprises. They had to dodge arrows and sword swipes and energy bursts. The only advantage the Tokyo Defenders had in that instance was that they could call out the attack names, and through that know who was on their team, whereas the dolls were mute.

“Alright, that’s it,” Rin growled, coming to stand back-to-back with her twin. “They want to be like us, let’s show them how to do the job properly.”

Pie nodded and the twins took on the dolls they were modeled after. Pie and Rin executed moves and flips and tricks, ones they had been inventing, practicing and perfecting since they were ten years old. They seemed to be holding their own… And then the dolls decided to show off their own skills.

The doll Pie crossed its fans over its chest while the doll Rin spun on its toes, its fans out, creating a whirlwind as it did so. The doll Pie added its own attacks into whirlwind so that lightning crackled from within the tornado. The doll Rin stepped out, threw her fan into the air, did a back flip so that it rested her hands against its ‘twin’s’ shoulders, ever so slightly touching the fan in the air with its toe so that it entered the whirlwind as well, just to be thrown out by the force the tornado created.

Pie instantly grabbed Rin and pulled her to the ground as the fan—blades spinning faster and faster—passed through the air where they had been standing only a second before. The doll Rin caught its fan with an evil grin.

“That is our move,” Rin said, shaking with anger as she stood up. “We spent nearly a year choreographing, practicing and finding ways to not kill ourselves inventing that and they pull it off just like it is the simplest thing in the world! It is not fair!”

“Rin, I agree with you, and I am angry about it to, but for the moment, can we please focus on not dying!” Pie asked, jerking her arm.

“Oh,” Rin said, like the thought had never occurred to her. “Yeah sure, I guess.”

The Rirī doll smirked evilly and brought parasites to its hands. It threw them with perfect aim, hitting each of the Cyniclons.

“You alright?” Ichigo asked as she blocked an arrow with her strawberry bell as the aliens picked themselves off the ground.

“Yeah, but powerless,” Tart growled.

“What do we do now?” Mint asked. “We’re losing here.”

“Mew Pudding has a plan, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed.

“I hope it’s a good one!” Zakuro said.

“It is, na no da,” Pudding said. She cleared her throat. “Ahem.” She paused for only a second, then screamed “RUN, NA NO DA!” and took off running down the street.

“Works for me!” Rōzu said and started running after Pudding.

The rest of the team only had to avoid a Ribbon Lettuce Rush to know that at that point it was truly the best strategy and they followed the two younger girls.

They soon found that they were being chased by the dolls.

“We can lose them in the park!” Ichigo exclaimed, pointing in a certain direction. They quickly turned that way.

They quickly decided to follow a shortcut Ichigo knew, which took them to the wood and rope bridge that went over the large duck pond.

“Hey, I think we lost them!” Rirī said as they reached the middle of the bridge. They took that moment to take a breather, exhausted.

“Uh, guys, we’re not safe yet,” Kish said, his eyes wide.

“Uh oh,” Zakuro said, her eyes wide.

At either side of the bridge was the Rōzu doll and the Kish doll. Both had their sharp swords out.

“This cannot be good,” Pie mumbled. As if on cue, the Rōzu doll cut one of the ropes. The Tokyo Defenders felt the bridge give some, but they quickly grabbed onto the more stable side. The Kish doll quickly cut the rope holding that side up.

The Tokyo defenders fought to keep their balance in the middle. Then, to their horror, both dolls smirked and cut the remaining ropes at the same time.

So, with screams, curses, yelps and cries of surprise, the amazingly talented, brave Tokyo Defenders ended up in the duck pond.

It was not a pleasant experience. The water was cold and filled with algae and feathers, and so they all came up gagging on the horrid water and duck plumage in their hair. They had also disturbed some hibernating animal life.

Mint screamed and splashed furiously as she realized a frog was on her shoulder. This was not a happy frog, either, as it has just been disturbed from its attempt at hibernation, and decided to show its indignation by jumping on all of the Tokyo Defenders, causing more screams from the girls and angry swats from the older two boys. It landed on Tart last, which was probably the frog’s biggest mistake, as the furious boy grabbed it off the top of his head and threw it across the pond. The insulted frog hit the water with a splash; it had never been treated so poorly in all its froggy years.

To add insult to injury for the Tokyo Defenders, they had somehow de-transformed in the process of hitting the water. So, instead of being in their fighting uniforms, they were in their now-drenched Café Mew Mew uniforms.

They climbed out of the water, disgruntled. The boys emptied their shoes of the water while the girls alternately wrung out their layers of skirts and hair.

“So,” Lettuce said with a sigh, sitting down with a shiver on the dry ground as she took off her glasses in an attempt to clean them. “That could have gone better.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-Two:

“So, all in all, not our best day,” Rirī said, brushing out her wet hair from where she sat in the Café dining room.

No one was particularly happy; not only did they have to walk back to the Café soaking wet and in the wind, but when they got back they found Ryou and Keiichiro grim faced. Apparently, before the dolls had left, they had gone down to the basement and pretty much trashed the place, including completely destroying the Chimera Animal Pie was studying and shredded his notes. Pie in particular was not happy about this, as this meant that he once again had to start from scratch.

“You can say that again,” Mint said, flipping over her hair and switching off the hairdryer, passing it to Rin.

“I don’t think she needs to,” Rōzu grumbled. “That whole battle was simply embarrassing.”

“No disagreements there,” Zakuro said as Ryou and Keiichiro bounded up the injuries on Zakuro and Ichigo’s arms. Ichigo hissed with pain.

“Do my Strawberry Surprises really hurt that much?” She asked out loud.

“Yes!” Kish, Pie and Tart said in unison, their faces angry.

“Really?” Lettuce asked, shocked.

The three boys nodded. Tart rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt and pointed at a scar on his upper arm.

“Ribbon Lettuce Rush,” He said simply, then held up his ankle, where there seemed to be a healed burn mark. “Ribbon Zakuro Pure.”

“Ribbon Pudding Inferno,” Pie said, gesturing to an area on his collarbone, then held up his forearm. “Ribbon Strawberry Surprise.”

“Ribbon Mint Echo,” Kish said, lifting up his shirt to point to a place on his side. “Yeah, they really do hurt that much.”

The Five Mew Mews felt guilty. They knew their attacks had been painful when they had been used on the three boys, but had never known just how much it hurt until they experienced the pain themselves. They couldn’t imagine getting hit by those attacks day after day, and yet the boys had persevered on their mission to capture Earth.

“Pudding’s sorry,” Pudding said, hugging Tart around the neck.

“We really are,” Ichigo said, kissing Kish on the cheek and wrapping her arms around his waist.

“We never meant to hurt you,” Lettuce said as she hugged Pie.

“Yeah, we’re sorry,” Mint said and Zakuro nodded in agreement. The brothers’ anger melted away.

“Yeah, well, it’s not like we weren’t asking for it,” Kish said, hugging Ichigo in return. “So, apology accepted.”

“As touching as the moment is, can we please get back to the situation at hand?” Rin asked. She was still ticked off that the fighting style she and her twin had created was stolen by their doubles.

“Yeah, how exactly are we going to defeat, well, us?” Rōzu asked.

“That’s a good question,” Kish said. “They fight exactly like us. How are we going to take them down?”

“It’s not going to be easy. I mean, they’re us. They know what our strong and weak areas are.” Tart said as he continued to dry his hair with a towel.

Ichigo stood up straighter.

“Say that again,” She ordered Tart.

“They know what our strong and weak areas are?” Tart repeated, his towel on his head as his brow furrowed.

Ichigo just grinned widely and mischievously.

“Guys, I think I know how we’re going to defeat those knock-off look-a-likes,” Ichigo said.

“And what’s that?” Mint asked.

“We know ourselves and our own fighting style better than anyone else could, right?” Ichigo said. “And we also know what our weaknesses are. And sure enough, our weaknesses will be the same as theirs.”

“So what you’re saying is-?” Zakuro asked.

“Is that in order to defeat them, we have to find out our own weaknesses and use them against the dolls,” Ichigo said.

“Will that work?” Ryou asked. “I mean, they’re dolls brought to life.”

Ichigo shook her head.

“I think they’re copies of us, inside and out, except in the mind,” Ichigo said. “They know our moves and fighting style, but not our personalities and grip on reality.”

“How do you know?” Rōzu asked.

“Because when I was fending off the doll-Pudding, I saw that she had a scar on her upper arm, just like Pudding’s,” Ichigo said, holding up a single finger and her eyes twinkling. “The regular felt doll doesn’t have that scar.”

“I believe, in the present situation, we can consider that enough evidence to assume Ichigo’s theory is proven correct,” Pie said.

“If for no other reason than we’re desperate?” Rin said, arching an eyebrow.

“That fact does play a contributing factor,” Pie said with a shrug.

“Weaknesses, alright,” Kish said. He looked around the circular room. “Let’s do this.”

“Are we listing only physical weaknesses, or psychological ones as well?” Rirī asked.

“Physical,” Ichigo said. “Since they’re pretty much mindless and being controlled by Mylo, that probably means we can’t manipulate them with our fears and stuff.”

“Pudding knows that her tail is sensitive, na no da,” Pudding spoke up. “She doesn’t like it getting stepped on or pulled, na no da.”

“Same with my tail,” Ichigo said.

“Ditto,” Zakuro added.

“My ribbons don’t like to be pulled,” Lettuce added.

“You pull my feathers, you die,” Mint said.

“So, basically, all your animal features are extremely sensitive,” Rin said.

“Yeah, both a strength and weakness,” Ichigo said. “If we aim for those features, that should take the doll Mews down.

“I guess my arms are my weakness,” Rirī said. “If one of them is broken, I can’t shoot or fight. I think if someone distracts the doll, someone else can cut off one of its arms.”

“My left side is my weakest, it has always been, because it’s not my dominate side. But it’s been so more recently because I still have that scar courtesy of the Blue Knight that will act up occasionally, so that I can’t turn my shoulder certain ways.” Kish said, rubbing the thick, corded scar through his shirt.

“My right ankle has always been weak,” Rin said. “I broke it when I was nine, then again when I was thirteen. If you find a way to get the doll-me to land on her right ankle instead of her left, it may have the same affect her it would on me in that situation.”

“There’s a spot on my collarbone, next to my right shoulder, that if it’s touched my entire arm goes numb,” Rōzu said.

“Mine’s kinda embarrassing,” Tart said, turning red slightly. “I kind of freeze up when I’m, uh, scratched behind the ears…”

“Like this,” Rirī said, reaching across to do the action. Tart’s eyes instantly widened and he got a goofy grin on his face, his entire body going slack at the touch. As soon as Rirī’s hand stopped moving, Tart snapped back, blushing harder at the grins he was getting.

“See, embarrassing,” Tart grumbled, folding his arms.

“Yours isn’t as bad as Pie’s,” Rōzu said with a giggle.

“Oh?” Lettuce said. “What’s Pie’s?”

“Nothing,” Pie said quickly. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s something and you know it,” Kish said with an evil smirk.

“Yeah, all you’ve got to do…” Rōzu said with a grin as she moved slowly towards Pie, who was backing away from her.

“Rōzu, do not even-” Pie started to say, but was cut off when Rin appeared behind him, wrapped her arm around his chest and caught her nails just under his ribs, not enough to hurt him, but enough to hit a particularly sensitive spot.

Suddenly, Pie’s eyes went wide and he crumpled to the ground. To the humans’ shock, Pie was curled up in a ball on the floor, his arms around his stomach, laughing uncontrollably.

“That’s what Pie’s weakness is,” Rōzu said with a smirk.

“Rin, Rōzu,” Pie managed to breathlessly growl in-between laughs as he climbed back to his feet. “If you want to live, I suggest you never, ever, do that again.”

“Aw, where’s the fun in that?” Rin asked, smiling innocently.

“Hey, I just thought of something,” Zakuro said. “Could this be exactly what Mylo wants us to do? Exploit our weaknesses to him?”

“That does sound like something Mylo would do,” Kish said, clicking his nails against a tabletop. “We should find a way to distract him.”

“Yeah, something to completely occupy his attention, na no da,” Pudding said.

Slowly but surely, all eyes turned to Rin.

“Why are you guys looking at me like that?” Rin asked slowly, shifting awkwardly.

“Well, it’s just that, Mylo might forget world domination for an hour if you, you know, flirted with him,” Rirī said.

Rin scowled.

“No way, no how, not in this lifetime!” She snapped, folding her arms defensively.

“Come on, take one for the team!” Ichigo begged. “We’ll owe you big time! And we’ll never, ever ask you do to something like this ever again!”

“I refuse to degrade myself to the level of Mylo’s plaything,” Rin said, raising her chin haughtily.

“I agree,” Keiichiro said suddenly. He didn’t look happy at all with this plan. “Rin should stay away from Mylo.”

“It won’t be for long, and if he tries to pull anything, just beat him up like you always do,” Tart said, ignoring Keiichiro.

“Come on, you know you want to see Mylo’s face when you stop the act,” Zakuro said, not noticing that Rin’s ears had perked up at Mint’s statement. “He’ll never known what hit him.”

“He is well acquainted with my fist by now,” Rin muttered.

“Like Ichigo said, we’ll all owe you,” Mint said. “Like, be your personal slaves for a month owe you.”

Rin’s ears perked up at this, right as Keiichiro said,

“She doesn’t have to-” He started to say, scowling, but Rin cut him off.

“Fine, I’ll do it. You will have half an hour. No more, no less.” She said.

“Then I hope you’re ready, because the dolls of doom are at it again,” Ryou said, looking up from his laptop.

The Tokyo Defenders grabbed their stones and headed out.

“I sure hope this goes better than it did earlier,” Kish said.

“Don’t we all,” Ichigo said.

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-Three:

They arrived in downtown Tokyo, where Mylo was organizing the chaos the dolls were creating.

Rin groaned but got ready to fly up into the air.

“You guys owe me. Remember that,” She said as she took off.

“Go now?” Rōzu asked, bringing out her swords.

“Wait until Mylo’s distracted,” Pie said, putting a restraining hand on her shoulder.

It didn’t take long for Mylo to get distracted.

“Hello, Mylo,” Rin said, batting her long eyelashes flirtatiously.

“Uh, Rinny?” Mylo said, his brow furrowed as Rin floated closer and closer to him. “What, um, uh, are you doing-”

Rin put her finger on his lip.

“My, my, have you always been this handsome?” She crooned, moving her hand to run over Mylo’s arms. That was all she had to do to have Mylo in the palm of her hand.

“Can we go now, na no da?” Pudding asked.

“Now we can go,” Zakuro said.

Zakuro brought back her arm and unfurled her whip, smiling with victory as it wrapped around the Doll Pudding’s tail and the doll leapt a foot in the air in both surprise and pain. The Doll girl held its now-damaged tail close to it, inspecting the singed fur and stuffing coming out of it. Rōzu took the opportunity to teleport behind her and stab the doll in the back, directly where the heart would have been. The Doll’s button eyes seemed to widen as it fell to the ground, unmoving. A parasite came out of the gash Rōzu had made and the life-size doll reverted back into the miniature version.

“Aim for where the heart would be!” Rōzu called. “That’s their weakest point!”

Kish did a flip over the Doll Lettuce’s head, pulling on a ribbon as he did so. The Doll opened its mouth as if to cry out in pain, then stiffened as Kish’s sword landed in its back.

Rirī grinned as she caught the Doll Zakuro in the back with an arrow, watching it topple to the ground.

“And another one bites the dust,” She said proudly, calling her arrow back to her hand.

Pie and the Doll Rirī were sparring hand-to-hand. For the most part, at least. Pie had caught the doll’s shoulder with his attack and the doll’s arm became lifeless, so it was now trying to get revenge. However, Pie still clearly had the upper hand, as he proved when knocked the doll over and then proceeded to shoot it in the chest. Pie was rather pleased with himself as he watched Masha swallowed the parasite.

Ichigo grinned at the Doll Ichigo.

“This,” She said. “Is going to be fun.”

The two tried to blast each other with their own attacks, leaping and flipping and dodging each other. Ichigo felt her boots skid on the pavement, going down on all fours. Across from her, the Doll did the same. They glared at each other for a few moments, then Ichigo screamed,

“Kish, I need the secret weapon!”

Kish quickly helped Mint finish off the Doll Tart and materialized something into his hand.

“Heads up, kitty cat!” Kish yelled, tossing the mysterious secret weapon at Ichigo. She caught it, then rolled it across the ground towards the Doll Ichigo.

The Doll’s eyes widened and it seemed to purr as it leapt after the huge ball of yarn. It laid on its back, playing around with the yarn, chasing it when it got away. Ichigo was tempted to go after the yarn as well, but shook herself and instead went on to hit the doll straight in the back. With a surprised and cat-like yowl, the doll collapsed.

Ichigo smiled coyly and jumped after the ball of yarn with a happy cry of ‘Nya!’ and began to play with it until Mint went and smacked her on the back of the head. Mint held out her hand. Ichigo pouted and handed her the ball of yarn.

“Buzz-kill,” Ichigo muttered, crossing her arms.

After fifteen minutes of fighting, the ground was littered with dolls. The Tokyo Defenders each released a breath.

“Hey, who took down the Doll Rin?” Tart asked.

“I didn’t,” Lettuce said.

“Don’t look at Pudding, na no da,” Pudding said.

“I did not,” Pie said.

“Uh, guys, I’m not seeing the doll at all,” Rōzu said with wide eyes.

Meanwhile, Rin was smiling painfully as Mylo kissed her cheek, running his fingers through her hair and over her face. He looked like a kid on Christmas, she looked like she wanted to die.

Please, please be over soon… Rin thought pleadingly.

Unfortunately, there was one Doll left, and it was very ticked off.

Rin and Mylo were nearly knocked out of the sky by a sudden burst of wind. They both turned, shocked to see the Doll Rin with its fans out, fuming.

“What the heck?” Rin said. The doll lunged at her and tried to strangle her, and the two began to wrestle in mid-air, Rirī, Tart and Rōzu jumping to her aid.

“Mylo, why is it acting like this?” Kish yelled at his half-brother.

“I believe I know,” Pie said grumpily before Mylo could answer. “When Mylo made the dolls come to life, he specifically altered the Doll Rin’s personality so that it would be in love with him, as he wished for the real Rin to do. Now the Doll is jealous because Mylo preferred the attention he was receiving from Rin.”

“Dude, there is something seriously wrong with you,” Ichigo said with disgust to Mylo.

Mylo shrugged.

“At least I get the girl of my dreams,” He said.

The de-mutated doll hit Mylo in the face. Rin growled as she flashed the blades of her fans, just used to take out the imposter.

“Like I’d ever date a looser like you!” Rin screamed. “You’re a freak, Mylo. You’ve tormented me, stalked me, threatened to hurt my friends and family, have actually carried out these threats, and have basically been the bane of my existence since I was eight years old! Why would I ever love you?”

“’Cause nothing gets in the way of true love?” Mylo said with a grin

“Think again, bucko,” Rin said with a glare. She hurled her fan towards Mylo, but he teleported away before it could hit him. With a sigh, Rin caught her fan and drifted down to the ground again.

“Long day,” Mint commented, stretching.

“Oooh, and about to get longer,” Lettuce said, biting her lip.

“What do you mean?” Rirī asked as she waved her hand, sending all the dolls away.

Suddenly, the team was surrounded by flashing cameras and reporters.

“Are you the ones who have been committing crimes all over the city?” One asked.

“No,” Ichigo said, easily taking up role as spokesperson for the team. “Those were imposters, but we’ve put an end to their mischief.

“We’re the Mew Mews,” Ichigo continued. “Mew Zakuro.”

Zakuro nodded.

“Mew Lettuce.”

Lettuce gave a shy smile.

“Mew Mint.”

Mint gave the cameras the peace sign and a grin.

“Mew Pudding.”

Pudding gave a huge grin.

“And Mew Ichigo,” Ichigo said, flashing her little kitty smile.

“And we’re the Warriors,” Kish added, coming up to take Ichigo’s hand. “Warrior Black.”

Pie merely nodded.

“Warrior Rindou.”

Rin tossed back her curls and showed off her fangs.

“Warrior Lily.”

Rirī waved with a lopsided grin.

“Warrior Red.”

Tart grinned from where he floated in the air with legs crossed and his arms tucked behind his head.

“Warrior Rose.”

Rōzu giggled.

“And Warrior Green,” Kish said, giving a mischievous smirk.

“Together, we’re the Tokyo Defenders.” Ichigo said.

“And we’re not going to let you down,” Kish promised. “So, for the fate of both our worlds…”

“We are at your service.” Ichigo finished.

And with that, the Tokyo Defenders disappeared into the night to celebrate their victory.

Or, at least, Rin was. As soon as they were back at the Café, she pointed at Rirī.

“You,” She said. “Will go run me a bath. Lots of bubbles. I have got to get Mylo’s fingerprints off of me. And you,” She said, turning to point at her twin. “Will bring me up something with lots of chocolate and frosting. And you,” She said, pointing at Mint. “Will make me tea. The rest of you are dismissed until I call you.”

With that, she went upstairs.

“You had to tell her we’d be her slaves for a month,” Kish said to Mint.

“It was the only thing that came to mind.” Mint admitted.

“You guys deserve it,” Keiichiro said. “After making her do that.”

“Yeah, probably do,” Zakuro said with a sigh.

Ryou studied Keiichiro out of the corner of his eye. Keiichiro had been antsy and unusually grumpy since the Tokyo Defenders had left to fight. He also didn’t seem to like that Rin was going to flirt with Mylo with the purpose of distracting him. It was almost jealousy.

Could it be…? Ryou wondered. Keiichiro and Rin?

Ryou shrugged. Stranger things had happened. Besides. He wasn’t particularly against it. He frequently quoted Jack Sparrow to Keiichiro, saying, “You need to find yourself a girl, mate.”

Could it be that his best friend finally followed up on that advice?

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-Four:

Rin looked at her twin, currently laying with his head against the table. Rin looked at the box of cold medicine sitting beside him and picked it up. She scowled: her super genius brother, in his cold-dazed stupor, had grabbed the box of medicine that one was supposed to take at night before bed.

“You are pathetic,” Rin stated with a sigh as she set the box down again. Pie raised his head slightly, found it wasn’t worth the effort, and lowered his head again.

Pudding coughed, but tried to hide it. She didn’t do a very good job of pretending she wasn’t sick. Her lack of energy and drooping eyelids screamed that she was tired and didn’t feel good.

Kish sneezed and groaned under his breath, mentally cursing the false advertising on the box of cold medicine that promised that his ailments would be lessened.

All three of them had had colds for nearly a week already, thanks to the dunk in the duck pond, and weren’t showing signs of getting better though they did their best to pretend they were.

Rin, Ichigo, Lettuce, Rirī, Zakuro, Ryou and Tart all looked at each other and nodded.

“Yep,” Ichigo said. “We’re taking them to the doctor.”

There was much protesting, whining, and gnashing of teeth, but somehow everyone got to the urgent care center where Ichigo’s mother worked in one piece. Ichigo went to get in line to register them and glanced over her shoulder. Pudding was sulking with Tart sitting beside her waiting for the moment she tried to escape, Pie sat slumped in his seat with the hood of his jacket over his face and occasionally snoring, while Kish merely looked zoned out. Ichigo sighed and turned back to the front desk; she was pleased to find that it was her mother’s smiling face that greeted her.

“Hi, honey!” Mrs. Momomiya said cheerfully. “What are you doing here?”

“Pudding, Kish and Kish’s brother, Pie, have all been sick for over a week, and the general consensus was to drag them to see a doctor,” Ichigo explained.

“I’ll get them back as soon as I can,” Mrs. Momomiya promised as she gave her daughter the forms to fill out.

“Thanks, mom,” Ichigo said. She left with the forms and gave one to Rin, one to Rirī and one to Zakuro. The forms were quickly finished and turned in. Less than fifteen minutes later, the three sick patients were called back.

“Come on, Pie,” Rin said, gently tugging on her brother’s arm.

“Where are we going?” Pie mumbled.

“I’ll show you,” Rin said, pulling him to his feet. He tottered unsteadily but Rin managed to catch him. She rolled her eyes. “You’re pretty much useless when you’re this sick, you know that, right?”

“I think the medicine he took may have something to do with that,” Lettuce added softly.

After a short glare and a jerk of the head from Zakuro, Pudding climbed to her feet and walked down the hall, shoulders slumped and head bent, like she was going to her execution.

Ichigo chuckled and turned back to her own patient. Kish got to his feet on his own, stuck his hands in his pockets and followed a nurse down the hall along with Ichigo and Ryou.

The nurse showed them to an empty room and told Kish to sit down and get comfortable. He seemed relieved to hear that, as he quickly tore off his shoes and his jacket before climbing into the adjustable bed that slightly resembled an upright dentists’ chair. He was sweating slightly, a bit shaky and was paler than usual.

“One oh two,” The nurse said a minute later as she looked at the digital display of the thermometer. “Well, not a good thing, but it means that what you’re experiencing is normal.”

The nurse left the room after telling them that the doctor would be there in a few minutes. The nurse was barely gone when they heard knocking on the door. It was Rirī.

“Pudding’s trying to make a run for it again,” She said. “Zakuro and Tart are trying to hold her down, but Zakuro sent me for help.”

“I’ll go,” Ryou said, getting to his feet. Then to Kish and Ichigo, he said, “Stay out of trouble.”

“Don’t we usually?” Ichigo asked innocently. Ryou rolled his eyes and followed Rirī.

Kish shifted against the paper covering the bed. His shirt was making him feel too hot against the fever. Knowing that his arms were wrapped, Kish tore off his shirt, tossing it on top of his jacket. Kish sighed as he instantly felt cooler. He adjusted the bed so that he was lying back some and closed his eyes in hope of relaxing.

Ichigo could only stare at her boyfriend’s torso. She knew he had amazing abs, the shirt he wore in battle showed that, but she hadn’t seen the entirety of his chest in a long time. He was very well sculpted, his snow white skin divided into perfect panels of muscle. She saw the thick red scar from Kish’s battle with Deep Blue, as well as a few other small scars. Though one would think it would hinder his appearance, it added to it in Ichigo’s opinion. She ran her eyes over Kish’s torso ravenously. She just wanted to touch his chest so bad…

Like a cat stalking its prey, she slowly and quietly came to Kish’s side. Then, ever so gently, she started mapping out the panes in his chest with her fingertips.

Kish opened an eye and looked at Ichigo. He chuckled.

“Kitty-Cat likes what she sees?” He asked teasingly.

“Oh, Kitty-Cat likes very much,” Ichigo said hungrily.

Kish smirked.

“I aim to please,” He said.

“And you have succeeded,” Ichigo said with a smile. She sat down next to him on the bed, and began running her fingers through Kish’s hair. “And to think I spent all that time missing out on this.”

Kish’s smirk grew.

“What can I say? I’m just that amazing,” He said cockily. Ichigo giggled.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a long time, still smiling. Before Ichigo really knew what she was doing, she was leaning down towards his face.

Their eyes started to close half-way and their lips were mere inches from meeting… Then Kish suddenly turned his head away from Ichigo, coughing.

Ichigo was a little disappointed, as was Kish, who was also a more than a little embarrassed.

“Sorry, Koneko-Chan,” Kish wheezed, his cheeks red. Ichigo smiled and kissed his cheek.

“It’s not your fault you’re sick,” Ichigo said, gently stroking his hair.

“I just really want to kiss you, and every time we get close, something happens to interrupt,” Kish complained, pressing his palms to his face. “Why can’t I just do one thing right?”

Ichigo frowned.

“You are being way too hard on yourself,” She said. “It’s not your fault.”

“Yes it is,” Kish snapped, crossing his arms and pouting like a child, looking away from Ichigo.

“I’m sorry you’re having a bad day,” Ichigo said, gently kissing Kish on the forehead.

Kish just grunted. His day only got worst from there. Kish spent much of the next hour being grumpy as he was poked and prodded by the doctor and nurses. The biggest blow came when he was told he would be getting a shot of antibiotics in addition to the pills he was prescribed.

Kish hated needles. Always had, always would. But nevertheless, he sat emotionlessly as the nurse gently cleaned his arm and administered the shot. Ichigo noticed that Kish seemed to be staring at the middle-aged woman, his eyes pleading for her to go after she had finished. Kish watched her leave, then said softly,

“Ichigo? Can you come sit by me?”

Ichigo went to sit beside him on the exam table. After a few seconds, Kish curled up in a ball beside Ichigo, laying his head on her lap.

“Ow,” He whimpered into Ichigo’s skirt. “That really hurt.”

Ichigo smiled sadly at Kish and rubbed his back comfortingly.

“It’s all over now,” She said.

“I really hate needles,” Kish said pathetically. Then he coughed again before adding, “And I hate being sick.”

“I know you do,” Ichigo said comfortingly.

“Ichi?” Kish said, looking up at Ichigo briefly with tired eyes. “Will you not mention this to my brothers?”

“My lips are sealed,” Ichigo promised. She gently patted his thigh gently. “Come on, let’s get out of here so you can go get some sleep.”

Kish reluctantly did so and found it a struggle to keep his eyes open. He had to keep his arm around Ichigo’s waist in order to maintain his balance. Or, at least, that’s what he claimed. Ichigo, however, knew better.

After arriving back at the Café, Kish went up to his room and collapsed face-first onto his bed. Ichigo sat beside him, rubbing his back.

“Koneko-Chan,” Kish said sleepily as he curled up against Ichigo. “Why do you put up with me?”

“Because I love you,” Ichigo said with a grin. “Why else?”

“Why?” Kish asked as his eyes closed. “Why do you love me?”

“Well, because you’re funny, sweet, loving, protective, and—I say this knowing full well this will only make you even more big headed—extremely hot. Any of those good reasons?” She asked teasingly as she ran her hands through his thick hair. Kish merely nodded.

“Okay,” He said.

“What brought on this question?” Ichigo asked.

“Nothing,” Kish said with a yawn. “Just… nothing.”

Ichigo frowned slightly as Kish fell asleep, wondering what just was on his mind, and why he wouldn’t tell her.

“This cold is seriously messing with your head, isn’t it?” Ichigo said with a sigh. She bent down and gently kissed his warm forehead. “Sleep well, Kish, and I hope you feel better soon.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-Five:

One morning in late November, Rōzu wandered around the basement of Café Mew Mew, bored. The Café wouldn’t open until that afternoon, and the older teens were still at school. Ryou was working on some project at his computer, Pie was working on re-compiling his research notes and Rin and Keiichiro were finishing a wedding cake for that evening.

Rōzu came over to where Pie was working and laid her arms on the table.

“How’s it coming?” She asked.

“Not as well as I had hoped,” Pie said grimly.

“Anything I can do?” Rōzu asked.

“I am afraid you cannot, Rōzu, but I do appreciate the offer,” Pie said, making a note.

Rōzu nodded.

“Can I go play outside?” She asked.

“You may, just stay nearby so that Rin can look out the kitchen’s window and see you,” Pie said.

Rōzu nodded and ran upstairs to find the red glittery jump-rope Ichigo had brought her the other day. She went out the back door, stealing a cupcake on her way.

Rōzu played in the yard by herself, playing with her jump-rope, climbing the trees and practicing her fighting with two sticks she found.

Suddenly, Rōzu’s large ears twitched as she heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes.

Rōzu dropped her sticks and reached inside her pocket for her stone, preparing to turn into Warrior Rose in a seconds notice.

“Hello?” She said cautiously.

She tried to take a step forward, but stopped as strong arms grabbed her and a hand was clamped over her mouth.

“Well, hello there, runt,” A cold, slithery voice said into her ear as she thrashed, her stone falling from her hand. “You’re coming with us.”

Rōzu continued to thrash as she was teleported away with the strange Cyniclon.

Meanwhile, Pie and Ryou emerged from the basement, having deciding to break for lunch.

“There, finally finished,” Rin said, stepping back proudly to admire her work on the cake.

“That’s good,” Ryou said, searching the fridge for food. “Hey, everyone up for having this frozen pizza for lunch?”

“Sounds good to me,” Keiichiro said as he wiped icing off his hands.

“I am fine with it as well,” Pie said. Rin nodded her head too.

“Is Rōzu still outside?” Pie asked as Ryou prepared the oven.

“Yeah, she’s still out there,” Rin said. She looked out the window and frowned. “Funny. She was there just a minute ago. Where did she go?”

“Perhaps she went around the building,” Pie said, grabbing his jacket off the coat rack and slipping on his boots. “I will go check.”

He stepped out into the yard and called for Rōzu. His brow furrowed as he got no response.

“Rōzu?” He called again. “Rōzu, if you are hiding, it is neither funny nor safe.”

Still, no response.

Pie suddenly felt uneasy. He looked around the yard. He saw Rōzu’s jump-rope underneath the tree, but no sign of its owner. Suddenly, the late November sunlight gleamed on a small object in the grass.

Pie ran over and picked up the object. To his horror, he discovered it to be Rōzu’s stone.

She sleeps with this under her pillow. It is always within her reach, Pie thought. She would not leave this purposefully or lose it.

Suddenly, a new thought hit him, one that made his blood freeze.

“No,” He whispered. “Oh, Rōzu, no.”

Mylo had kidnapped Rōzu.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Scene Divider)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Tart and Pudding came bursting in the Café door. Tart looked around at his older siblings, all grim faced.

“Where is she?” Tart demanded.

“If we knew, this wouldn’t be a problem, Taruto,” Kish snapped irritably.

“How did it happen? Do you know?” Lettuce asked as she and Mint followed in after Pudding, having just arrived via Mint’s limo that had picked them up from school after getting Ryou’s phone call.

“She was playing in the yard,” Rin said from the table, her head in her hands. “I was supposed to keep an eye on her. I was right there and I heard nothing. It’s all my fault.”

“It’s not all your fault,” Keiichiro said soothingly, rubbing Rin’s shoulders. “I was there too, remember? I am just enough at blame.”

“As am I, as I gave her permission to go outside,” Pie said as he continued to pace up and down the room. He sighed and looked at the stone in his palm before clenching a fist around it.

“Can’t she just teleport back here?” Ichigo asked worriedly.

“Not if it really was Mylo’s men who got her,” Rirī said sadly. “There are specially designed metal cuffs that go around your wrists that prevent you from using your powers, and there is only one key per pair to get them off. This was used both for punishment and training at the Academy. If Mylo kidnapped her, he would not hesitate to put them on her,” Rirī wringed her fingers together nervously. “Poor baby. She probably has no idea what’s going on, or why she can’t use her powers.”

Meanwhile…

Rōzu glared at the metal bands on her wrists and growled. She half-heartedly banged on the opaque boundaries of her confinement bubble with her fist.

“Stupid Restrictors. Stupid bubble. Stupid Mylo. Stupid Mylo’s soldiers. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.” Rōzu grumbled, a hit for every time she said ‘stupid’.

“Kid, will you please shut up?” One of her many ‘guards’ said, rubbing his forehead with his fingers.

The action reminded Rōzu of Pie with a pang. He would do that when Kish and Tart were arguing over something dumb and trying to drag him into it. He usually gave in after a while, just to make them…

Rōzu smiled wickedly at her ‘guard’, her plan formed in her head.

“No, I will not shut up,” Rōzu said, standing up in her bubble. “In fact, I’m just getting started.” She looked around the room she was confined in. “Your base is stupid, too. So dull, boring, unimaginative. You obviously need a feminine touch around here. And do you ever clean? Hello, your mother doesn’t live here, you know.”

She babbled on in this manner for a while, complaining about everything she saw was wrong in the base. She could also see that her guards were losing their tempers.

“Will you shut up!” The lead guard demanded.

“I’ve already told you I will not! Not until this place is in decent order! I cannot stand to be held captive in a dirty, filthy, smelly room like this!” Rōzu shouted, her hands on her hips.

“Hey, if we clean it up, will you be quiet?” One of the guards asked.

“Hey, this guy’s got some brains! What’s your name, dude?” Rōzu asked with a grin.

“Uh, Krod?” The guy said, confused.

“You aren’t sure what your name is?” Rōzu asked, tilting her head to the side.

“No, my name is Krod, I know that, but why do you ask?” Krod asked.

“I like to know the names of my subordinates,” Rōzu said, rubbing her palms together. “Now get to work! I want this place spotless!”

“Yes ma’am.” The guards grumbled.

“Hey, wait, why are we doing this again?” One asked in a whisper.

“ ‘Cause then she’ll shut up!” His friend hissed at him. They both looked over their shoulders at Rōzu, who was giving orders and directing traffic from her bubble.

“That kid is starting to grate on my nerves,” Another added.

“Less talky more worky, people!” Rōzu said, clapping her hands together. “Come on! Chop chop!”

The Cyniclons grudgingly set to work.

Back at the Café…

“Mylo’s got to have a portal to the dimension where his headquarters is here on Earth,” Kish said, looking at the map of the city spread out on the table. “Question is, where?”

“Maybe here?” Zakuro said, pointing to a spot on the map.

“That’s where Pie, Kish and I had our portal,” Tart said, his brow furrowed.

“Yeah, I know,” Zakuro said. “If Mylo set up there, he has the double advantage of knowing it’s safe because someone else was there before him and knowing that if he’s there, we’re at a disadvantage because we don’t have a resource we previously had.”

“Those are both very good points,” Pie said. “And I believe it sounds like a good place to start.”

“We’ll keep working here,” Keiichiro said. “If anything turns up, we’ll call.”

The Tokyo Defenders nodded, transformed quickly and left.

Less than a minute later, they were at the base.

“We just entered it by jumping in,” Lettuce said. “Do you think that will work again?”

“Mylo could have set up barriers to prevent that,” Kish said. “I know we did after you found us. And we set up other bases, too, just to be on the safe-side.”

“Could we try teleporting in, na no da?” Pudding asked.

“Kish was the one who founded the base, therefore if any of us could get in, it would be him,” Rin said.

Kish nodded and tried to teleport. He couldn’t get past the boundary line.

“Teleportation blockers,” Kish spat. “Great, just great.”

“We’ll break in somehow,” Ichigo reassured him. Suddenly, her phone rang. “It’s Ryou.” She said. She flipped open the phone and put it to her ear. “Moshi-Moshi.” She said.

“Did you get into the base?” Ryou asked.

“No, not yet,” Ichigo said. “We’re working on it, though.”

“Well, we have a new development. Mylo’s attacking. He could be holding Rōzu for ransom.” Ryou said.

“We’re on it,” Ichigo said, hanging up. She looked at her teammates, who had heard the entire conversation. “Let’s go.”

Back with Rōzu…

“So?” One of the Cyniclon guards said, looking hopefully at Rōzu, who examined the room, her finger tapping her chin.

Rōzu sighed.

“It is a marked improvement,” She said at last.

The Cyniclons sighed with relief.

“But…” Rōzu said. She took a deep breath, “That ribbon is off-center, those drapes don’t match, you put the put the roses in the blue vase when I clearly said the white vase and vice-versa with the sunflowers, that light fixture wasn’t dusted at all-”

“It’s a torch! You don’t dust torches!” One argued.

“You might not, but any other civilized being does,” Rōzu argued. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes, you got the-”

“Will you shut up! We did exactly what you told us to do, now quit your whining!” The lead guard yelled.

Rōzu merely smiled at him.

“Darling, that was complaining. This is whining,” She whined. “This bubble is too small, these restrictors are chafing, the food tastes horrible, and I just wanna go home!”

“Okay, okay, how do we make the whining stop?” The leader demanded, covering his sensitive ears.

Rōzu grinned wickedly.

Ten minutes later, Rōzu sat on a stone throne-like chair laden with pillows and was being fed fruit while being fanned.

“This, this is good,” Rōzu said as she munched on a grape. “A little faster Krod.” Krod moved the palm-leaf fan faster and Rōzu smiled. “Yeah, yeah that’s it.” She said, closing her eyes.

Finally, one of the Cyniclons had had enough and decided to take charge.

“That’s it!” He yelled, running up to Rōzu, who merely opened an eye lazily. “Time to get back in the bubble! You’re a spoiled little girl who needs to be put in her place!”

Rōzu chuckled.

“I’m not spoiled,” She said, her wicked grin returning. “If I were spoiled, I would have thrown a temper tantrum by now.”

“A temper-?” The Cyniclon said, his face paling.

“Like this,” Rōzu said, standing up. She suddenly flung herself on the floor, kicking and screaming and crying.

The other guards glared at their comrade, who stood in shock, watching Rōzu pitch her fit.

“Please, please stop!” They begged. But Rōzu kept screaming and kicking and punching.

“Please! We’ll do anything!” They begged.

Rōzu stopped mid-rage. To their horror and relief, her wicked smile had returned.

“Anything?” She said, her bronze eyes twinkling.

The Cyniclon guards gulped. What had they gotten into now?

With the Tokyo Defenders…

“Where’s Rōzu, Mylo?” Rin demanded as she dodged a swipe from the Chimera Animal.

“At my base, where she will remain until I see fit,” Mylo said with a smirk. He gave a seductive smile towards Rin. “Of course, I can always give her back. If you come with me, my love.”

Rin stopped for a second and thought.

“He is lying, Rin!” Pie said, glowering. “He is merely attempting to trick you!”

“Figured that all out on your own, Ikisatashi?” Zen taunted from his place beside Mylo. Chile laughed mockingly.

“You know what, Mylo!” Rin said suddenly, her face red with anger. “I’m done playing games! I want my baby sister back! It’s time for Plan B! Zakuro, Tart, now!”

Zakuro suddenly unfurled her whip, yanking Zen out the air so fast neither he, Mylo or Chile could do anything. Zakuro jerked her arm so that Zen flew into a tangle of vines being controlled by Tart. Before Zen could react, Tart had the vines wrapped around him, rooting him to the spot.

“What the heck!” Zen yelled, outraged as he struggled against the vines.

“Thank you!” Rin said cheerfully to Zakuro and Tart.

“Anytime,” Zakuro said with a nod while Tart just grinned wickedly at Zen.

Rin unfurled her fan, the steel gleaming in the sunlight. She put the blades up near Zen’s neck, but she was turned so that she could glare up at Mylo, who hadn’t moved from his spot.

“Mylo, I want Rōzu back. Now. If that does not happen, I will slice your second-in-command’s throat,” Rin said through her teeth.

Mylo looked uninterested.

“Why should I be concerned?” He demanded.

“Um, hello, still here!” Zen said, now annoyed.

“Look, Mylo, we’ve seen your other soldiers. You and I both know that these vines here are smarter than those guys,” Rin said. “Think about it. I kill Zen, I take away your last chance of actually beating us.”

“Not to mention you will lose your sanity,” Pie added, coming to stand beside his sister. “I have had to put up with my own personal idiots in the form of younger brothers.” He ignored the indignant ‘Hey!’ from Kish and Tart. “But mine are in the mercifully small number of two, henceforth I have yet to go completely insane. How many do you have? Fifteen? Twenty? Thirty? You will be insane by the end of the week.”

Mylo’s eye twitched as he considered this possibility. The deal was sealed when he looked over to see Chile (who had apparently been bored of the conversation) upside down in the air, wrestling with Chinese handcuffs.

“How do you work this stupid human thing!” Chile grumbled, rolling over in the air, trying to yank his fingers out of the woven trap.

“Fine, you want the brat back? You can have her,” Mylo said, trying—and failing—to sound nonchalant. “Zen, teleport Rin and Ikisatashi to our base. We’ll make the exchange there. I’ll meet you there.”

Zen nodded. Tart released Zen from the trap and Rin and Pie each grabbed one of his arms.

“We will meet you at our base,” Pie said with a nod to the others, who responded with nods of their own, and the four Cyniclons disappeared.

Pie and Rin blinked with surprise. The base was coated in red ribbons, glitter, flowers and paper hearts.

“I think Mylo hired the same interior decorator Keiichiro and Ryou did for the café,” Rin said in a whisper to her twin. Pie nodded, dumbfound.

“My headquarters!” Mylo screamed in anguish. “My beautiful headquarters! What happened to it?”

“We leave for two hours,” Zen said, shaking his head. Pie let go of him and shoved him away.

“Mylo, bring us to Rōzu now,” Pie demanded, his eyes hard.

“Pie-pie-pie-pie-pie!”

Pie staggered as something small but heavy collided with his chest, wrapping its arms and legs around him.

Rōzu looked up at her surprised brother and grinned.

“Did’ja miss me?” She asked, kissing Pie’s cheek. She jumped off him and ran over to Rin with a cry of “Rin-rin-rin-rin-rin!” and repeated the process with her sister.

Mylo turned to glare at his men, who emerged from the same hallway as Rōzu.

“Why isn’t she locked up?” He demanded.

“Boss,” One said, his face pale and his eyes wide. “I don’t know what bargain you made with them, but call it off. Please, just let them take this kid. She’s a nightmare!”

Mylo and Zen looked at Rōzu, who had flown up to be on Pie’s back. She blinked innocently.

“You do realize she’s ten and barely four and a half feet tall, right?” Zen said, unimpressed.

“She’s a monster, I swear!” One solider said. “Just keep us away from her!”

Rōzu suddenly took a deep breath and opened her mouth, like she was going to say something. The soldiers cringed and ran away. Mylo watched them, then turned back to look at Chile. The boy was now trying to chew his fingers out of the Chinese handcuffs, but only succeeded in getting his fangs stuck in the material.

Mylo shook his head, and rubbed his forehead.

“Ikisatashi. You were wrong. I wouldn’t have been insane by the end of the week. My mind would have been gone by sundown,” He said. He looked at the three Ikisatashi siblings with despair. “Go, just go.”

They nodded and teleported back to the Café.

Upon being seen, Rōzu was smothered with hugs.

“Are you alright?” Rirī demanded, holding Rōzu’s face in her hands.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Rōzu said cheerfully.

“They didn’t hurt you?” Kish asked, worried.

“Nah. I think I did more damage to them than they could have done to me,” Rōzu explained.

“What do you mean?” Mint asked, confused.

“Well, that’s kind of a long story,” Rōzu said with a smirk. Her eyes widened briefly. “Oh, before I forget,” She said. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a wad of papers that were folded over and tied with a leather strip. She went over to Pie and placed them in his hand. “I believe these belong to you.” She said, beaming.

Pie unfolded the papers and his eyes widened.

“My notes!” He said, stunned. “Rōzu, how did you-?”

She then proceeded to explain what had happened during her ‘capture’. Her siblings and friends were all somewhere between shocked and amused.

“So when they said they’d do anything, I made a few demands,” Rōzu said. “First I ordered them to take me to Mylo’s quarters. The notes weren’t too hard to find, because he had them laying out everywhere and I knew they were Pie’s because I recognized his handwriting. So I gathered them up and then Krod told me that I wasn’t allowed to have them. All I did was start crying and they let me take them. After I had the notes, I demanded they took off the restrictors. I was actually about to teleport back here when I heard Pie’s voice. And so here I am.”

“Rōzu, I know I don’t often say this, but you are the coolest little sister ever,” Tart said, ruffling Rōzu’s hair.

“I know,” Rōzu said with a shrug and a grin.

And that is the tale of Rōzu’s unfortunate kidnapping. And her even more unfortunate kidnappers.

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-Six:

“So, is there a reason Lettuce and Pudding have been giving me weird looks and stalking me every time I walk into the Café?” Masaya asked as he fell into step next to Ichigo. She was making her way to the school’s front gates to wait for Kish and Rirī. Kish had stopped to talk with a teacher about a paper he was working on and Rirī wanted to run to the school’s library quickly.

“They think you’re going to turn back into the Blue Knight at a moment’s notice,” Ichigo explained. “They’ve been a little on edge with all the other Knights running around.”

“Don’t take offense, but I’m actually surprised you have a Knight to protect you,” Masaya said, giving Ichigo a small smile. “I guess I kind of thought I’d be the only one.”

“Don’t take offense, but I’m rather glad you’re not,” Ichigo said, giving him a half-smile in return.

“Does this mean it’s Kish?” Masaya asked. “Kind of a boyfriend-of-a-Mew-becomes-her-protector thing?”

“I don’t know,” Ichigo admitted. “I mean, neither Mint nor Zakuro have had Knights coming to help them yet. Though at this point, despite what she says, I’m starting to doubt that Zakuro actually has a boyfriend. Basically, it’s all complicated, and can we leave it at that?”

“Sure,” Masaya said. They walked in silence for a few moments, then he spoke up again. “I finished the sensors.”

“That’s great news!” Ichigo said happily. Masaya nodded.

“I also added a new feature,” He said. “Do you remember when Rōzu was kidnapped?”

“Vividly,” Ichigo said dryly.

“Okay, stupid question,” Masaya admitted. “Well, I remember how everyone was going crazy because they didn’t know where to look for her. So I added a function that acts like a GPS device, telling whoever is reading the signals where that person is.”

“That is definitely going to come in handy,” Ichigo said. “So, when were you planning on planting them on us?”

“Today, if it’s convenient,” Masaya said. “Rirī and I have already discussed this: she has some herbs that will temporarily knock you out, then she and I will make a small cut on the upper arm and put the tracer in and sew up the incision. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour for each person, and Rirī says that Keiichiro and Pudding may be able to help somewhat.”

“That’s good to hear,” Ichigo said. “And today’s clear delivery wise, so I don’t see why not today.”

“Great,” Masaya said. “And Homare has her study group all this afternoon, so I’m free.”

“Uh, Masaya?” Ichigo said awkwardly, remembering the awkward tension vibes she had picked up during lunch coming from Masaya and Homare. “I know it’s not my place to meddle, but, uh, is everything okay? Between you and Homare?”

Masaya hesitated.

“We’re going through a rough spot,” He admitted. “Frankly, I don’t know what to do. I think she’s mad at me, but won’t tell me why.”

“Do you want me to try and talk to her for you?” Ichigo asked. “She may be able to tell a friend what’s going on easier than a boyfriend.”

Masaya nodded sadly.

“Couldn’t hurt, I guess. I wish she would talk to me,” He said. “I think our relationship was starting to become very serious before this bump.”

“Yeah, Kish has been acting the same way recently,” Ichigo said. “He’s been kind of depressed the last few weeks, but won’t talk with anyone about it. And I think I know what it is.”

“You do?” Masaya said, somewhat shocked.

“Yeah, I think it may have to do with something Rin said to Mylo after a battle a while ago,” Ichigo said.

Before Masaya could further ask any questions, they heard Rirī call their names from behind them.

“Hey… guys…” She panted as she skidded to a stop, her schoolbag in one hand and a bunch of books clutched to her chest with the other.

“Got enough reading material, Rirī?” Masaya asked. Rirī grinned and nodded.

“We just waiting on Kish?” She asked.

“No, here he comes,” Ichigo said, waving Kish over.

“Ready to head out?” Kish asked. The others nodded and they left the school grounds. Once they were far enough away, they teleported to the Café. Masaya tottered dizzyingly as he reclaimed his footing.

“Is it always like that?” He asked, clutching the wall for support.

“Like what?” Kish asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Yeah, it is,” Ichigo answered. “You get used to it after a while.”

Rirī set down her books and looked at the gathered team. She quickly explained that Masaya had finished the sensors and they were ready to be implanted.

“So. Who wants to go first?” Rirī asked cheerfully.

No one answered right away.

“I will,” Pie said, standing up after a moments’ silence.

“I’ll go after Pie,” Rin piped up.

“I’m after Rin,” Zakuro said.

“So, how exactly is this going to work?” Mint asked. “Are you going to knock us out or something?”

“Yes,” Rirī said. “It’s just a mild sedative that will have you out for about an hour. You’ll wake up thirsty, and possibly hungry. Other than that, there are no side-affects. The sedative is made from a mixture of herbs in water. I will dip a cloth in the mixture and you breath it in, simple as that.”

“I also have some good news,” Pie spoke up. “I have found a way to destroy Chimera Animals that are fused with humans, without harming the host.”

“That’s not good news, that’s great news!” Lettuce said with a smile. “How do we do it?”

“Quite similarly to how the Green Knight removed the parasite from Shinji,” Pie said. He then looked at each of his siblings in turn. “Except, it will take all six of us to remove it, as none of us would be strong enough on our own. However, because Kish has the strongest control over parasites and Chimera Animals, he will be used as our center of concentration.”

“So, basically we would just be lending our powers to Kish?” Rōzu asked.

“That is correct,” Pie said.

The other Ikisatashi siblings nodded in understanding. Rin seemed to be contemplating the idea, while Tart, Rirī and Rōzu looked eager to try it out. Kish, however, was frowning slightly and staring at a spot on the floor.

“Hey, you okay?” Ichigo asked Kish as they were waiting their turn to have the sensors implanted.

“Fine, why do you ask?” Kish said a bit sharply.

“You’ve just been so quiet recently,” Ichigo said. “You’ve got me worried.”

“No reason to worry,” Kish said, quickly pulling out his homework so as to dissuade Ichigo from asking any further questions. “Really.”

Ichigo decided to let it go, for now at least.

What is bugging you Kish? She wondered. And why can’t you talk with me about it?

Several hours later, while Pudding and Rirī continued to sleep off what was left of their sedative, the others gathered around the kitchen counter for a late dinner.

“So, when will the sensors be activated?” Ichigo asked.

“By tomorrow morning,” Masaya said. “They just need a few hours to adjust, and then everything’s good to go.”

“You know, you’ll be the best one to know how well these are working and interpret the data,” Ryou said to Masaya, leaning back in his chair.

“It’s very simple,” Masaya said. “It’s not hard to interpret, really.”

“Yeah, but still,” Ryou said. “You’ve always been good at analyzing weaknesses in Chimera Animals. That wasn’t just a Blue Knight trait. Plus it’d be nice to have another driver around her, just in case.”

Masaya blinked in confusion.

“I… don’t get the point you’re trying to get across,” He admitted.

“What Ryou’s dancing around is that we’d appreciate it if you were part of the team again,” Keiichiro said. “Obviously, this time you’ll be on the technological side of the fight than the physical one.”

“Frankly, I wasn’t exactly much help the last time I was part of the team,” Masaya said.

“You were an amazing fighter,” Tart argued. “Even we could admit to that.”

“As the Blue Knight, yes, but we all know how that turned out,” Masaya said.

“Yeah, and I have scars as a memento of that occasion,” Kish said, grinning. A nap and food had made Kish revert back to his happy yet sarcastic self, for which everyone was happy to see.

“What don’t you have scars from?” Ichigo asked suddenly. Kish opened his mouth to speak, then instantly closed it, stumped.

“Don’t know,” He said at last.

“Ignoring the baka squad,” Mint said. “Will you join? The more help we have, the better.”

Masaya thought briefly before nodding.

“Looks like I’m back on the team, then,” He said with a grin.

“Great!” Keiichiro said, standing up and walking out of the room. “Now, where did I put your café uniform…?”

“Wait, did I just get re-hired to work here, too?” Masaya asked, incredulous.

“Don’t take it personally, it’s just part of the cover,” Ichigo said with a chuckle.

Masaya shrugged.

“More importantly, it’s free food and a paycheck,” He said.

“Wait, Masaya will actually get paid?” Zakuro asked, her eyes gleaming with mischief. Ryou shoved her shoulder playfully as everyone else laughed.

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-Seven:

“So they can’t speak? Like at all?” Ichigo said with a cocked eyebrow as she looked at the three sulking, mute fighters. Somehow, Pie, Kish and Pudding had all woken up that morning to find that their throats ached and their voices were gone. Rirī quickly diagnosed them with laryngitis and ordered them not to try to speak.

“Nope,” Rōzu said cheerfully. “Makes it all the more fun to tease them.”

“Leave them alone,” Rin called from across the kitchen, her face coated in different colored icings. “It’s not fun if they’re not able to try to come up with witty comebacks.”

“What are you making?” Rirī asked.

“Very important cake for a very picky, very important client,” Rin said, sticking out the tip of her tongue as she carefully guided the tip of the tube of icing. “It’s for a party for the opening of a new exhibit at the Tokyo Museum of Nature and Science.”

“It looks really good,” Ichigo said, looking at the three-tiered cake sitting on the counter before her. “Your flowers are amazing.”

“I can’t take all the credit there,” Rin said, smiling. “The ones circling the bottom tier are real.”

“Half these flowers aren’t in season!” Rōzu announced proudly. “Not even flower shops have these in stock because they’re hard to grow and keep healthy.”

“None of those flower shops have what I have: a little brother who has control of plants.” Rin said, as she made a dramatic flick of the wrist, the icing falling into the perfect shape.

“You’re welcome,” Tart said with a bow.

Rin took a step back and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. She grinned at her work and gave a content sigh. “There. Done. What do you guys think?”

“It looks amazing!” Rirī said, grinning.

“You’ve outdone yourself, Rin.” Keiichiro complimented.

“I can’t tell which flowers are real and which ones are fake.” Ichigo said, circling the counter hoping to see if she’s able to spot a difference.

Kish, Pudding and Pie all nodded their approval. Rin beamed proudly.

“Good, because the client should be picking it up in the next five minutes,” Rin said. “I’m going to get cleaned up. Guard this cake with your lives!”

“Yes ma’am!” Rirī said with a salute.

Rin quickly got her hands and face clean and straightened her uniform. The client had made it clear that she doubted Rin could match the drawing she was brought, and had smiled knowingly when Rin agreed to do the real flowers along the bottom. Rin had to wonder why this woman didn’t really like her, but had brushed it off so that she could work on her masterpiece.

Rin brushed off her apron again and dashed out of the locker room, just in time to hear the bell above the Café door tinkle.

“Welcome to Café Mew Mew!” Rōzu said cheerfully. “How can I help you?”

A woman in her mid-twenties with a blond bob wearing a business suit and high heels walked further into the shop. She looked down at Rōzu, clearly unimpressed.

“I’m looking for Ikisatashi Rin,” The woman said. “I’m here to pick up a cake.”

“She’s in the kitchen. I’ll take you to her,” Rōzu said politely. “Right this way, ma’am.”

“This is a clean kitchen, correct?” The woman asked Rōzu haughtily. “No bugs or rats?”

“Oh, of course not, ma’am,” Rōzu said, deciding to mess with this mean woman. “The cat takes care of that.”

“Cat?” The woman repeated, her brow furrowed. Rōzu nodded.

“Yep. And at the moment, we have a monkey in the kitchen, too.” Rōzu said nonchalantly.

“A monkey?” The woman said, her eyes wide.

“Yep. And we occasionally have a lorikeet,” Rōzu continued. “And a wolf, and a porpoise. Oh, and how can I forget the aliens? We’ve got tons of those…”

The woman’s eyes narrowed.

“Funny.” She spat.

Rōzu just smirked.

The woman pushed past the double-door entrance to the kitchen. Rin stood beside the cake, grinning. However, the woman only cast her and the cake a brief look, but then brightened as she saw Keiichiro at the other side of the counter, working on a sketch for a cake he was going to make.

“Akasaka-Kun!” The woman exclaimed delightedly. Keiichiro looked up and smiled awkwardly at the woman.

“Yano-San!” Keiichiro said in what the others interpreted as a forced pleasant tone. “What a pleasant surprise!”

“I didn’t know you worked here,” Yano said, hugging the tall man.

“Part owner,” Keiichiro said. “It’s a long story.”

“It must be for a genetic engineering major to become a baker,” Yano said with a cute smile. “Oh, we must catch up some time…”

“Oh, yes,” Keiichiro agreed, though his eyes looked reluctant.

Meanwhile, Rin had her fists clenched and her lips pursed. It was clear Keiichiro knew this woman, and that she was flirting with him.

“Yano-San,” Rin spoke up suddenly. “Is the cake to your liking?”

“Hmm?” Yano turned away briefly from Keiichiro to look at the cake. “Yes, it is fine.”

Fine. It was just ‘fine’. Bet she thought Keiichiro was more than just ‘fine’. Rin felt very tempted to strangle the woman then and there.

“Akasaka-Kun, would you please help me get the cake into the van?” Yano asked Keiichiro sweetly.

“Of course,” Keiichiro said.

Once both were out the door, Rōzu turned to Ryou.

“Who the heck is she?” She asked.

“Ex-flame of Keiichiro’s from when we were at university,” Ryou explained, scowling at the door. “I hated her. A lot.”

“I hate her now,” Rin grumbled.

“Was she before or after the butterfly lady?” Ichigo asked.

“Got broken up with for the butterfly lady,” Ryou said.

“Ouch,” Tart said, wrinkling his nose.

“Funny, that’s what Keiichiro was saying a lot of the days following,” Ryou said. “She was so angry, she broke his arm.”

“It appears she’s not quite over it,” Rirī said. “Or, at least, not over Keiichiro.”

Pudding grabbed a notepad and a pencil and quickly scribbled something down. She handed it to Ichigo, who read,

“Keiichiro Onii-Chan has a lot of weird ex-girlfriends, na no da.”

“So, this is an on-going trend?” Tart asked.

“Yeah, unfortunately,” Ryou said with a sigh.

“It’s so creepy how we keep running into them,” Ichigo commented. She glanced at the clock and her eyes widened. “And we’ve got to go, or we’re going to be late for school!”

“See ya!” Tart said, grabbing Pudding’s hand and teleporting off. Kish and Rirī did the same with Ichigo.

Ryou grabbed the shopping list of all the things they needed that week from the store off the fridge.

“Well, better get this over with,” He said with a sigh. “Rōzu, wanna tag along?”

“Sure,” Rōzu said. She looked at her older brother and sister. “Pie, Rin?”

Pie nodded and grabbed his jacket off the coat rack.

“I’m going to stay here,” Rin said irritably. “I’ve got to start on another cake.”

“Alright, then,” Ryou said. “We’ll be back in about an hour.”

Rin nodded. Once they were gone, she started going through the cabinets and fridge, pulling out ingredients. Angrily, she started throwing them into a large bowl, grumbling to herself.

“Who does she think she is?” Rin growled as she stuffed empty egg shells down the garbage disposal. She had a lovely time mumbling to herself as she ran the disposal, planning out several deaths. This was a favorite stress-relieving pastime she had been doing since she was ten and Mylo was starting to become more forceful in his ‘wooing’ attempts.

“I’m much better than she ever could be.” Rin mumbled to herself as she began to stir the ingredients in the bowl.

“Uh, Rin?”

“What?” Rin demanded sharply, turning to glare at Keiichiro, who had just entered the kitchen.

“Um, you alright?” He asked.

“Do I look alright?” Rin demanded, going back to her cake batter, hitting the goopy mess with the spoon. “No, I’m seriously ticked off!”

“You shouldn’t be,” Keiichiro said soothingly as he came to stand beside her. “That cake was one of the best you’ve ever made and-”

“I’m not mad over her lack of reaction to the cake, I’m mad at you!” Rin spat.

“What did I do?” Keiichiro asked defensively.

“She was practically all over you, and you didn’t try and stop her at all!” Rin screeched.

“What are you, the jealous girlfriend?” Keiichiro snapped, starting to get just as angry as Rin.

Rin stopped dead, her ears began to twitch and her eyes went hard as she glared at Keiichiro.

“Listen here, you-” Rin growled, bringing her hand up to point at Keiichiro.

He quickly closed his eyes to avoid getting chocolate cake batter in his eyes.

Rin’s face flushed with embarrassment. She had forgotten she still had the spoon in her hand. She opened her mouth to apologize, but the words died in her throat.

Keiichiro gave her a short glare as he reached up to wipe the dark brown goop off his face. He studied his fingers, then grinned mischievously. He reached over and wiped his fingers off on Rin’s alabaster cheek. Rin wrinkled her nose and gave a low growl.

“You have no idea what you just started.” She said in a low voice.

“Oh, I am well aware what I have just started.” Keiichiro countered.

They stared at each other for a moment, then Rin scooped cake batter into her hand and promptly dumped it down the front of Keiichiro’s shirt. He retaliated by dropping a handful on the top of her head.

They stared at each other for another moment, then, like they had heard a starting gun go off, started scrambling for the bowl, throwing batter at each other and smearing it all over the other, laughing and yelping as they did so. Before long, they were both completely covered in food. When they ran out of batter, the proceeded to grab flour and eggs off the counter and continued the food fight.

Rin giggled as she emerged from her hiding spot, lunging for the flour canister. However, her foot hit an egg yolk and she slipped, falling forward…

Right on top of Keiichiro, their noses touching.

Rin looked mortified as she quickly lifted her face away from his, but Keiichiro smiled, reaching up to brush Rin’s sticky curls out of her face. He chuckled softly.

“Rin Ikisatashi, I think I am in love with you.” Keiichiro whispered.

Rin smiled, her moment’s embarrassment gone.

“That’s good to hear,” She whispered in return. “Because, Keiichiro Akasaka, I know I am in love with you.”

She leaned her face down to his again, gently kissing him, which he quickly returned. She felt his arms wrap around her waist, pulling her even closer to him, as he felt her sharp fangs carefully graze his tongue while her fingers went through his now-dirty-and-loose hair. She moaned softly as his hands went up and down her back, her own hands under his shirt, exploring his chest.

They didn’t know how long they had been on the floor, kissing, but they jerked their heads away from each other when they heard the door open. Rin looked up while Keiichiro tilted his head backwards, and they both had red faces and shifted awkwardly under the shocked faces of Ryou, Rōzu and Pie.

Pie shook his head, getting himself out of his dumbfound state. He then gave Keiichiro a look that couldn’t have been plainer:

You break her heart, I break your legs.

And, with that, Pie reached for the doorknob and pulled the door closed.

Rin and Keiichiro stayed still and silent until they heard the sound of footsteps die away.

“So…” Rin said. “That was awkward.”

“Yeah,” Keiichiro agreed. They were silent for another moment, then he spoke again. “Shall we continue?”

“Let’s.” Rin said, cradling Keiichiro’s head in her hands, pressing her lips to his again.

An hour later, Rin laid her head against Keiichiro's chest, both lying on the cold tile floor, staring up at the ceiling, wondering just how they got cake batter up there.

Keiichiro groaned lightly.

"We've got to clean all this up, don't we?" He asked.

Rin chuckled.

"Well, we did make the mess," She said. Keiichiro sighed.

"Yeah," He said. Then he grinned. "Suds fight?"

Rin grinned as well.

"Sounds good to me."

By the time the rest of the staff got their, the kitchen was clean, but Rin and Keiichiro were filthy, soaked, and grinning. No one decided to ask questions.

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-Eight:

One morning, before the Café opened, Ichigo shyly approached Pie, Zakuro and Ryou with a white binder with blue snowflakes in her hands.

“Zakuro, Ryou, Pie, how much do you love me?” Ichigo asked, smiling cutely at the three in question. They looked at each other warily.

“I know I’m going to regret asking this, but what do you want, Ichigo?” Ryou asked with a sigh.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Ichigo said, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

“You’re still not having any luck?” Masaya asked as he came out of the locker room. He was dressed in his own Café uniform, which was identical to Kish, Pie and Tart’s, but his had a blue tie.

“No, this stupid task is impossible,” Ichigo growled, glaring at the binder in her hands. “And Moe and Miwa are still on my back about it. If they’re not careful, let’s just say they’re going to get a surprise. A Ribbon Strawberry Surprise.”

“Is there a reason why you want to deck your two best friends since primary school?” Zakuro asked.

“Like I said, it’s kind of a long story,” Ichigo said.

“So let’s take a moment for a flashback!” Kish said, grinning (one fang somehow making itself longer than the other one) as he held one finger in the air, his eyes closed.

“Um, what’s he doing?” Masaya whispered to no one in particular.

“Just go with it,” Rirī said with a sigh.

“Three weeks ago, the lovely Koneko-Chan known widely as Ichigo Momomiya was getting ready to leave the classroom for the lunchroom,” Kish continued. “Suddenly, she was ambushed by Moe Yanagida and Miwa Honjo, and promptly accused of having no time for her best friends, as she spent more time with her new, strikingly handsome boyfriend, Kish Ikisatashi, and working longer hours at Café Mew Mew. Like a large percentage of teenage girls, Miss Yanagida and Miss Honjo excel at emotional manipulation, and there were quite a few tears from the two hurt girls over their lack of sleep-overs and shopping time together.

“So, in order to keep a friendship that has thus far lasted from third grade to second year of high school, the adorable Miss Momomiya promised her BFFs that she would hang out with them more, and suggested that they should do some sort of bonding project together. At seeing a brightly colored poster on the classroom bulletin board advertising a search for students to join the Winter Dance committee, the beautiful Miss Momomiya suggested that they join and work together to help bring the dance together. However, when the girls approached the teacher in hopes of joining the committee, they quickly learned that they were the committee.

“Henceforth, to curb her friends’ anger, the stunningly gorgeous Miss Momomiya has taken on many of the responsibilities of the committee onto herself and is now in charge of: arranging chaperones, selling tickets, and providing refreshments.” Kish concluded with a nod.

“Wow,” Lettuce said softly, blinking. “That was quite a flashback.”

“And it gets more painful every time it comes,” Ichigo said with a sigh.

“Only you could get into a mess like that,” Mint said from her table, where she sipped a cup of morning tea.

“Thanks,” Ichigo spat at Mint, who smirked self-satisfied.

“I’m still not sure how this relates to us and you wanting something,” Ryou said, folding his arms. “Though I have my suspicions.”

“Look, I’ve gone through the entire student directory twice, and I’m still short three non-teacher chaperones for the dance,” Ichigo said. “So, please please please ple-ase help me out here? I’ll never ask another favor from any one of you again!”

“Don’t you have your own parents to rope into this?” Zakuro asked.

“They’re going to a wedding out of town that night,” Ichigo said with a sigh. “Trust me, I tried to recruit them first.”

“Are we even eligible to be chaperones?” Pie asked, a bit skeptical.

“Yes, because you’re all legal adults, and listed as either legal guardians or emergency contacts on our school forms,” Ichigo said.

“Wait, how is that possible?” Masaya asked, his brow furrowed.

“Ryou, Zakuro and myself are listed as contacts on all the girls’ school forms in case there is an emergency and have to pull them out of school,” Keiichiro explained. “It’s had to happen more times than you think.”

“Hey, why aren’t you pestering Rin and Keiichiro about this?” Ryou asked.

“Because she already asked us, and we have already said yes,” Rin said. “We’ve also said that we’ll contribute to the refreshments, too.”

“There’s no real reason to say no, anyways,” Keiichiro reminded.

Pie, Zakuro and Ryou looked at each other again.

“Yeah,” Ryou said.

“Sure,” Pie said.

“Alright,” Zakuro said.

Ichigo squealed with delight and threw her arms around the three. Pie and Ryou winced as their heads collided and Zakuro quickly had to duck her head so as to not have the same thing happen with her.

“Thank you!” Ichigo cried happily. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“You are welcome, now please let go!” Pie said, trying to free himself from the cat girl’s hug.

“And did I mention you guys can bring dates?” Ichigo said excitedly as she backed off. “So Pie can take Lettuce.” She smiled as she noticed both Pie and Lettuce brighten at the thought of that.

Pudding smiled slyly.

“And maybe we can finally meet Zakuro Onee-Chan’s mystery boyfriend, na no da!” Pudding said.

Zakuro bristled at that.

“Sorry, not happening,” She said dryly.

“When are we going to meet him, then?” Mint asked.

“Soon, but not yet,” Zakuro said.

“You can at least tell us his name,” Rin said.

Zakuro just grinned mysteriously and chuckled as she left the room. Once he was sure she was out of earshot, Tart whispered,

“Five hundred yen says he doesn’t exist.”

“He does exist,” Ryou commented.

“You’ve met him, then?” Lettuce asked, surprised.

“Yep,” Ryou said, grinning knowingly. “And so have all of you.”

He then headed for the basement, leaving the others wracking their brains to try and guess who this boyfriend could be.

Suddenly, Mint’s cellphone began to chirp. She pulled out the small blue phone and grinned at the text message that was waiting for her.

“Shinji and Homare are coming up the walkway,” She said. “He says he has something to ask me.”

“Is a certain lorikeet going to get asked to the dance as well?” Rōzu teased. Mint just beamed excitedly.

“I hope so,” She said, tucking her phone back into her apron.

“Wait, Homare’s with him?” Masaya asked, looking frantic. Mint nodded and Masaya quickly ducked underneath a table as the bell above the door tinkled.

“Hi, everyone!” Shinji said brightly as he entered the Café. Homare followed after him. She smiled in greeting at everyone, but for some reason didn’t make eye contact with Ichigo.

“Hey,” Mint said, bounding over to kiss her boyfriend on the cheek. Shinji asked to speak with Mint in private, and they went down the hall hand-in-hand.

“Better have those tickets ready for Shinji to buy,” Rirī said with a chuckle.

Ichigo smiled and pulled two blue tickets out of her apron pocket.

“He already bought them yesterday,” Ichigo said. “But asked me to hold onto them till he had a chance to ask Mint in person.”

“I think they money for them was burning a hole in his pocket,” Homare said. They were silent for a moment, then Homare spoke up again. “Hey, Ichigo, would you have happened to see Masaya today?”

“Uh…” Ichigo said. Behind Homare, Masaya had lifted the tablecloth enough so that she could see him shake his head. “Nope, haven’t seen him since school yesterday.”

“Oh,” Homare said dejectedly. “I’ve been texting him for half an hour and he hasn’t responded yet.” She sounded hurt, but was trying to hide it. Before things could get more awkward, Shinji and Mint reappeared, both grinning broadly and each with a date to the dance.

“You sure you can’t hang out for a bit?” Mint asked Shinji, her arms around his waist. She was so lost staring up into his face, she didn’t even notice her co-workers giving her dark looks and Lettuce subtly pointing to the table Masaya was hidden under.

“Sorry, love,” Shinji said, kissing the top of Mint’s head. “Got conditioning practice this morning. Can I come over to your place tonight?”

“Consider yourself invited to dinner,” Mint said, smiling at the prospect.

“You may want to reconsider that invitation,” Homare said dryly. It was clear on her face she wanted to leave. “He eats like a pig after conditioning practices.”

“That just means there’s not leftovers,” Mint said with a chuckle.

Shinji kissed her again and gave her a quick hug.

“I’ll call you after practice ends,” He promised.

Homare reached for the door, but was cut off by Ichigo grabbing her other hand.

“Hey, since there’s now a bunch of us going to the dance, do you want to get together the night of and do hair and make-up?” Ichigo asked brightly.

“Uh, thanks but no thanks,” Homare said, gently freeing herself from Ichigo’s grasp with an awkward smile.

“Oh,” Ichigo said, blinking briefly. “Well, if you change your mind, the invitation is still open.”

Homare nodded, then quickly left the building, followed by her brother. Before he left, Shinji and Mint exchanged a look. Both scowled and sighed, but said nothing.

Within seconds, the wooden door closed, the tinkling bell echoing throughout the Café.

Once Shinji and Homare were gone, Kish said,

“You can come out now.”

“Ichigo was not a good influence for you,” Mint observed as Masaya climbed out from underneath the table.

“Hey!” Ichigo said defensively. “I don’t always hide under tables!”

“Just when you’re avoiding people,” Lettuce said softly. Ichigo stuck her tongue out at her.

“So, seriously, what was up with that?” Tart asked.

“Yeah, why didn’t Masaya Onii-Chan not want to see Homare Onee-Chan, na no da?” Pudding asked.

“Because I haven’t exactly told Homare I’m working her yet,” Masaya explained sheepishly. “And thought it best if she didn’t find out like this.’

“Understandable,” Zakuro said as she came out of the kitchen. “Was it just me, or did Homare seem to be avoiding Ichigo?”

“She’s been doing that a lot,” Ichigo said sadly. “And I wish I knew why.”

“It’s because she thinks that you are cheating on Kish with Masaya, who in turn is cheating on her with you,” Mint said as she sat down to resume drinking her tea.

The whole room stared at her, stunned.

“How do you know this?” Pie asked, blinking once in shock.

“Because I happen to be dating a guy who is worried that his sister’s heart is going to get broken,” Mint said. “Apparently, Homare mentioned to her mother she was worried she was being cheated on, and that she suspected Ichigo, since she and Masaya used to date and Masaya has been hanging around Café Mew Mew more. Shinji asked me if I knew anything or thought it was possible that Masaya and Ichigo were secretly dating behind Homare’s back. Of course, I told him no to both of these questions and he believes me. However, Homare is still hesitant.”

“Well, why didn’t she just ask me?” Ichigo spluttered.

Mint gave her a look.

“Ichigo, let’s pretend for a moment that for some unexplainable reason, Kish decides to cheat on you-”

“I would never!” Kish exclaimed indignantly.

“-With an ex-girlfriend that he is still good friends with-” Mint tried to continue, but to her annoyance Kish cut her off again.

“I don’t even have an-” Kish started, but Rirī cut him off by sticking a napkin in his mouth.

“Thank you, Rirī. And this ex-girlfriend happens to be one you’re friends with as well,” Mint said. “If you grew suspicious that they were dating behind your back again and you approached this other girl about it, and she said no, would you believe her?”

“Guess not,” Ichigo said with a sigh. “So, the question is, how do we fix it?”

“I don’t think there’s a way to fix it, not without Homare being let in on the Mew Project secret,” Keiichiro said with a frown.

“And I don’t want that,” Masaya said quickly. “I don’t want her put into any danger.”

“Agreed,” Lettuce said. She gave the crestfallen Masaya a smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out.”

“And I think I’ve got an idea,” Mint said, smiling mischievously.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Scene Divider)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

“Mint, this is either your best idea yet, or it’s doomed for disaster,” Zakuro said in a whisper to the girl walking beside her. Mint just smiled.

The two Mews, Lettuce, Ichigo, Rin, Rirī, Moe, Miwa and Homare were walking through the Tokyo shopping district, all on a mission to find the perfect dress.

“This is so exciting!” Lettuce said, grinning. “I’ve never gone shopping for a dance before.”

“Does your school not have dances?” Miwa asked.

“Sadly, the only dance our school holds is for Third Years before graduation,” Mint said. “Lots of girls have boyfriends that go to different schools, and they go to dances there.”

“School dances are probably the coolest thing ever,” Moe said, then added with a sly grin. “Especially when you have a date.”

Suddenly, Ichigo and Miwa started shaking their heads at their friend, who quickly realized her mistake.

“But, I mean, they’re fun regardless of whether you’re with someone or not,” Moe said quickly, smiling awkwardly at Rirī.

“It just so happens that I do actually have a date,” Rirī said defensively.

“As of when?” Rin asked, curious.

“As of afternoon recess today,” Rirī said, holding her chin up proudly.

“With who?” Ichigo asked.

“What’s up with the Spanish Inquisition?” Rirī demanded.

“No one expects it,” Homare said with a shrug. “So, who are you going with?”

“Gonda-Kun,” Rirī said.

“I thought he was dating Kaihiri-San,” Ichigo said, her brow furrowed.

“No, they broke up a nearly a month ago,” Moe said.

“Do you even like Gonda-Kun?” Homare asked.

“Well, he wouldn’t be my first choice of a date, I can’t have him,” Rirī said, not meeting anyone’s gaze. “But it’s better than not going with anyone at all, right? Hey, that’s a cute dress.” She added quickly, hoping to distract her friends with the dress in the shop window.

The distraction worked on Moe, Miwa and Homare, but the other girls knew Rirī better.

“Can’t have Zen,” Rin said in a whisper so soft she knew only her sister could hear it. Rirī’s ear twitched and she gave her sister a glare over her shoulder. Rin smiled sadly, knowing she was right.

By the end of the shopping trip, they viewed the day as a success. Not only did they all have new dresses, but Homare seemed to be on better terms with Ichigo and accepted the invitation to get ready for the dance at Mint’s house with the other girls.

“So, Ichigo, you think you’ll finally get your kiss with Kish at the dance?” Miwa asked as the girls walked into the kitchen of Café Mew Mew, shopping bags in hand.

“I sure hope so, or I think I might go crazy,” Ichigo said, setting her bag on the counter.

“You two still haven’t made out yet?” Mint said, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” Ichigo said irritably. “And what bugs me the most is that he’s kissed me before, and he’s a good kisser, but when he did kiss me, I was too freaked out to do anything but stand there like an idiot! Not to mention annoyed that he just so casually stole my first kiss without even telling me his name first.”

“How the heck did he do that?” Homare asked.

“I was literally walking down the street and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, comes this kid with green hair who runs up, kisses me, tells me his name, says ‘thanks for the kiss’, and runs off,” Ichigo said.

“Ah, come on, kitten, you know you liked it,” Kish said as he entered the kitchen. He came to stand behind Ichigo and wrapped his arms around her neck. “Not everyone gets that interesting of a story of how they first met the love of their life.”

Ichigo grinned wryly and leaned her head back against his chest.

“You’re so full of it,” She said.

“How long have you been standing around eavesdropping?” Zakuro asked Kish, glaring at him slightly.

“Just long enough,” Kish said with a smirk. He reached over to stick his hand in the plastic shopping bag. “So, do I get to see the dress?”

Ichigo popped his hand lightly.

“Nope, not till the night of the dance,” She said.

“Please?” He begged, pouting slightly and giving her puppy dog eyes. Ichigo giggled and kissed his cheek.

“Sorry, not giving in,” She said.

“Had to try,” Kish said with a sigh before grinning mischievously and tickling Ichigo, who retaliated while the other girls laughed.

And so the eager countdown for the dance began.

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-Nine:

The night of the dance had finally arrived. The girls had rushed to Mint’s house after school and spent the entire afternoon giggling and getting ready.

Ichigo smiled as she brushed back a stray curl out of her face. She wore a long red off-the-shoulder dress with sparkly red heels. Her hair was in an elegant bun with a few curls hanging loose.

Mint had her hair hanging loose with a blue stone rose clip pinning some of her hair behind her right ear, her bangs shifted to the left side. She wore a knee-length blue-gray dress with ruffles in the skirt and gray heels.

Lettuce wore a strapless pale green dress with a full skirt and a pair of low heels. She chose to forego her glasses for the evening and wore her hair in an elegant ponytail, held back with a sparkly hair clip.

Rin wore a form-fitting strapless indigo gown with a pair of low heels, and she kept her curls hanging loose.

Zakuro wore a pale-purple halter top dress and white heels, her hair in a messy-yet-elegant bun.

Rirī wore a dark pink gown with flowers embroidered on the skirt and pale-pink flats. She wore her hair down, which was just as long and curly as her older sister’s.

Homare wore a simple black dress that left one shoulder bare and a pair of black heels. She wore her hair down and had some yellow-black feathers clipped in at various places. Like Lettuce, she had decided to abandon her glasses in favor of contact lenses for the evening.

Moe wore a hot pink strapless dress and white heels while Miwa wore a similar dress in dark blue and black heels.

As the girls descended the grand staircase, the girls were pleased with the reactions they got from the guys.

“You look gorgeous,” Kish said as he placed his hands on Ichigo’s hips.

“You clean up nice yourself,” Ichigo said, smiling up at him.

Rin noticed that Rirī’s date had not arrived.

“He’s going to meet me at the dance,” Rirī said when Rin asked her about it. Rin studied her sister, noticed how she avoided Rin’s eyes.

“Rirī?” She whispered.

“He called it off, alright?” Rirī snapped in an equally low voice. “Got back together with his girlfriend. I don’t care, he’s a jerk, and I’m not letting it spoil my fun.”

Rin smiled softly.

“That’s my sister,” She said, hugging Rirī.

“Plus, I already dyed his indoor shoes pink,” Rirī murmured. Rin just laughed, beaming with pride.

The party-goers left for the dance, which was being held in the school gym that Miwa and her recruited helpers had decorated extravagantly.

Shortly after arriving, they spotted Gonda with his former ex-girlfriend.

“I can’t believe him,” Ichigo said with a scowl.

“What a jerk,” Moe added with a sneer, her arms folded.

Rirī, however, just shrugged.

“Like I said, I don’t care,” She said dispassionately. “I don’t like him anyways. Don’t know why I said yes to him in the first place.”

“Does that mean Pie and I can beat him up?” Kish asked, not believing Rirī. He knew her well enough that she went emotionless primarily when she was trying to hide her true feelings.

Rirī shrugged again and walked away. Kish frowned and cracked his knuckles. He was about to take a step over to the human boy, but Pie grabbed his shoulder.

“Rin and I have already seen to revenge,” He murmured.

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what did you two do?” Masaya asked, knowing the twins could be evil and vindictive master-minds.

“You’ll see,” Rin said, the corner of her mouth lifted.

Within seconds, they heard a shriek from Gonda’s date as a large spider crawled through the boy’s hair. Lookers-on laughed as Gonda performed a strange dance in an attempt to dislodge the arachnid.

“Does he have arachnophobia?” Miwa asked, trying to hide her giggles as Gonda ran out of the gymnasium.

“If he doesn’t, he does now,” Ryou said with a smirk.

“No one stands up our baby sister,” Rin said, grinning wickedly.

“How did you do that?” Shinji asked, impressed.

“That,” Pie said, his eyes twinkling. “Is our secret.”

“In other words, they’d tell us, but then they’d have to kill us,” Mint said, laughing.

Rirī rejoined them a few minutes later, grinning broadly. After that, the group had an amazing time dancing to the loud music in groups and laughing together.

However, towards the end of the dance, the lights dimmed and the music was steadily getting softer. Rirī smiled painfully as she watched her friends pair off as the DJ announced a slow dance was coming up.

With no one noticing, Rirī slipped out of the gym and teleported up to the garden rooftop at the top of the main school building. She sighed and leaned her arms against the roof’s wall, staring out over the city, floating slightly so that her toes did not touch the ground. She could still hear the music from the gym playing softly. Her ear twitched as she heard the sound of another teleportation portal opening.

“So, that’s what humans consider ‘fun’?”

Rirī didn’t turn. She knew Zen wouldn’t attack her.

“Looks boring to me,” Zen continued, hovering in the air. “But, if they like it, they should enjoy it while it-”

Zen cut himself off as Rirī looked over her shoulder to look at him sadly.

“You okay?” Zen asked, floating down to be beside Rirī.

“Why does it have to be like this?” Rirī asked softly. “How did we go from best friends to enemies?”

“I don’t know,” Zen admitted. “Wish I did, because I would try to fix it.”

“So would I,” Rirī said. She tilted her head to look at the alien boy beside her. “Why are you here, Zen?”

“Mylo’s brooding,” Zen said with a shrug. “Needed to escape the suffocating darkness that is Mylo sulking. What about you? Why are you up here and not with the rest of your human friends?”

“I’m really the only one here without someone to dance with,” Rirī said sadly. “If you must know, my ‘date’ stood me up. Actually, I think he was using me to get his ex-girlfriend back.”

“I’m sorry,” Zen said truthfully, feeling anger towards this boy. “You don’t deserve that.”

“It’s fine,” Rirī said, brushing it off. There was a short pause. “Zen? Can we not be enemies? Just for now? Until the song ends? Just for one dance?”

Zen smiled and nodded. He offered his hand for Rirī, and with a small smile she accepted it. Zen wrapped his arms around Rirī’s waist, as she put her arms around his neck, her head against his chest.

Rirī relaxed in Zen’s arms, surprising the boy. As the song continued, he too became comfortable holding Rirī to him as they swayed to the music.

“I wish we could stay like this,” Rirī mumbled. “Together. Forever.”

“Together,” Zen agreed as he buried his face in the top of her head, breathing in the flowery scent of her hair. “Forever.”

Inside the gym, Kish and Ichigo were also slowly dancing.

“I love you, Kish,” Ichigo whispered.

“I love you, too, Ichigo,” Kish responded, reaching up to brush away a curl. Ichigo smiled up at him as he ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek. Kish smiled; not a smirk or a grin, but a sweet, gentle smile.

Ichigo tilted her head up as Kish lowered his head down, their eyes fluttering closed.

This is the moment, they thought simultaneously.

Their lips were about to meet…

“Chimera Animal! Chimera Animal!”

Ichigo and Kish jumped away from each other as Masha flew up in between them and Kish leapt onto the little pink robot, tucking him into his jacket to hide the little fuzzy robot from sight and muffle its voice. Some nearby couples broke away to look at the two in confusion.

“Of course,” Kish sneered.

“I’ll get the others,” Ichigo said with a sigh, going to break apart Pie and Lettuce.

“I’ll find Rirī,” Kish said to himself.

Meanwhile, Mint was in bliss, dancing in Shinji’s arms. Nothing could ruin that moment.

Except for Ichigo.

“Sorry, Shinji, need to borrow Mint for a while, it’s a girl thing,” Ichigo said quickly as she grabbed hold of Mint’s arm, pulling her away. Mint tried to resist and dug in her heels, but ended up being dragged across the gym floor. Ichigo didn’t look it, but she was strong.

“I’m sorry!” Mint called back to Shinji. She felt bad when he saw the confusion and disappointment on his face.

“This better be important,” Mint hissed as Ichigo pulled her into the hall. Then Mint groaned. The rest of her disgruntled teammates were there, with the exception of Kish and Rirī.

“Have I mentioned how much I hate Mylo?” Mint asked grumpily as she crossed her arms.

“Join the club,” Rin said as she hung up her cellphone. “Tart, Pudding and Rōzu will meet us there.”

“Great, but aren’t we missing two members?” Ryou asked.

“Kish went to find Rirī, wherever she is,” Zakuro said.

Rirī was still on the rooftop, swaying in Zen’s arms when she heard Kish call her name. Slowly, the two alien teens broke apart.

“I guess Mylo’s not brooding anymore,” Zen said sadly as he looked down at Rirī.

“How quickly we go from each other’s embrace, to each other’s throats,” Rirī said as she pulled out her stone out of a pocket in her dress.

Zen nodded. He kissed Rirī on the cheek.

“Thanks for the dance,” He said, then he leapt into the air, leaving Rirī alone on the roof, clutching her stone.

Rirī bit back tears. She took a deep breath and released it slowly.

“Battle-Form Lily, Metamorphosis,” She whispered, kissing the stone in her palm.

After transforming, Rirī floated into the air and pulled out her bow and an arrow. Soft music was still playing in the gym, though the dance was over for the Tokyo Defenders.

It was time to fight.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifty:

When the Tokyo Defenders, Ryou and Keiichiro arrived at the battlefield, they weren’t surprised to see Pudding and Rōzu fighting a large Chimera Animal, while Tart fended off some of Mylo’s soldiers.

“A giant penguin,” Mint said, a vein pulsing in her forehead as she studied the Chimera Animal that was spitting ice out of its mouth and smelled like fish. “I left my boyfriend in the middle of a slow dance for a freaking penguin Chimera Animal!?!”

“The glamorous life of a Tokyo Defender,” Ichigo said sadly. She had been so looking forward to her first real kiss with Kish.

“Time to get to work,” Lettuce said grimly, stretching out her fingers before bringing out her castanets.

As the Defenders fought, Ryou and Keiichiro did their best to stay out of the way, but keep track of how everything was going.

“Something’s happening with the Mews,” Ryou observed.

“What do you mean?” Keiichiro asked, turning to his friend.

“Look at their eyes,” Ryou said, his lips in a thin line. “Ichigo and Zakuro’s eyes turned yellow. Mint and Lettuce’s eyes went black. And Pudding’s turned brown. They stay those colors for a few seconds, then go back to normal.”

“That’s never happened before,” Keiichiro said, his brow furrowing. “What does it mean?”

“It means we’re not as in-control of the Mew Project as we thought we were,” Ryou said grimly.

Before Keiichiro could respond, they heard a chilling voice from behind them.

“Well, well, well, what have we here?” Mylo said, smirking evilly. “Our scientists. You, you two should be useful.”

Mylo unexpectedly made a lunge for Ryou. Keiichiro rushed to his friend’s aide, but Mylo flung him aside. Mylo suddenly hissed in pain as Zakuro’s whip wrapped around his arm, causing him to release Ryou. Mylo looked up, furious, but then froze. He saw Keiichiro slowly get up from the ground, Rin at his side. Neither knew he was looking at them, nor would have cared.

Mylo painfully watched as Rin helped Keiichiro stand up, her eyes full of concern. He saw how she smiled gently and lovingly at him, how her smile grew wider as he said he was alright. She wrapped her arm around his waist and he wrapped his arm around hers. Mylo felt his fury go beyond its breaking point as Rin kissed the baker’s cheek, and his heart broke at seeing him return the gesture with a kiss on the lips, and noticed that Rin enjoyed it.

Mylo didn’t break, though. He just became stronger, more determined to get what he wanted. His eyes became that of a wild beast’s as he let out a maniacal laugh. It ended tonight. Tonight, Rin was his prize.

Mylo teleported and grabbed Zakuro by the hair from where she was checking on Ryou, who had just been getting to his feet when he received a sharp kick to the chest from Mylo, sending him back down to the ground with an ‘oomph’. Mylo’s evil grin grew wider as he forced Zakuro to her knees on the cold asphalt, still holding her by her lavender locks.

Zakuro froze and her eyes widened as she felt the flat of Mylo’s knife pressed up against her throat. She heard her teammates scream her name almost simultaneously. She felt herself trembling, the fur on her tail on end, her ears flat against her skull; she had never been this scared before.

“Let her go!” Ryou yelled, but before he could take a step forward, Mylo said,

“Take another step and I kill her.”

Ryou froze, foot in mid-air. He met Zakuro’s eyes. She saw in his blue eyes that he was just as scared as she was.

“I will let her go,” Mylo said. “On only one condition. Rin comes with me.”

He turned and smiled at Rin, who swallowed back her tears, already having made her choice.

In the deafening silence that seemed to last an eternity as Rin slipped out of Keiichiro’s arms and took a step forward, a clock tower chimed.

It was midnight.

Mylo’s ear twitched as something cold and wet hit it.

Snow.

And it was only coming down on them.

Suddenly, the ground became a thick layer of pure-white ice as they saw a blinding ball of white light come in the middle of the street. To their surprise, a strict-looking woman with long Cyniclon-esque ears stepped out.

She was tall, with skin that was paler than the Cyniclons, so pale it looked to be pure white. She had hard ice-blue eyes that were lined with black and wore a long-sleeved off-the-shoulder dress that was white and had jagged, uneven pale blue embroidery going up and down the skirt that resembled icicles, wore a thick fur cape, and her high-heeled shoes looked like they were made of glass. Atop her head of long white hair was a crown of holly and branches of pine needles, and she wore a sliver-chain necklace with amethysts, bloodstones, zircons and garnets, a snowflake charm between each stone. Her white lips were pressed together as she glared at Mylo.

“Leave her alone, coward,” She sneered, her voice cold.

Mylo threw Zakuro aside, glaring at the strange woman. Ryou caught Zakuro and held her tightly to him protectively.

“Go,” The odd woman snapped at Mylo. “I am not here for you, though I would give anything to drive an icicle through your chest.”

Mylo, still glaring, teleported away, followed by his soldiers.

“Freeze it,” The woman said bitterly. “I thought I actually would get to do it.”

She turned to the stunned Tokyo Defenders.

“I,” She said. “Am Winter. I believe Autumn told you I was coming.”

“It’s the Winter Solstice,” Lettuce muttered with realization. “At midnight, it became December twenty-first. The Winter Solstice.”

“Well, thank goodness the fish girl can read a calendar,” Winter said sarcastically. “Yes, it is the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. Henceforth, I am here.”

“But, why did you come to see us, na no da?” Pudding asked.

“I need to pass on the next piece of your puzzle,” Winter said. “Where the darkness meets light is where it ends.”

“That,” Mint said dryly. “Made no sense.”

“Then it is a good thing it is not your little bird-brain that is supposed to figure out the riddles,” Winter snapped. She jerked her head towards Pie. “His is.”

Pie nodded, fate accepted.

Winter’s face suddenly softened and her head tilted slightly as she took a step towards Pie. To his surprise, she gently ran her fingers over his cheek. Pie shivered slightly; her fingers were like ice. Winter gazed at him sadly.

“You do not recognize me, do you?” She asked mournfully. Pie shook his head.

“I am sorry, but I do not believe we have met before tonight,” He said truthfully.

Winter smiled sadly as she tilted her head up to brush her snow-white lips against Pie’s cheek.

“Oh, we did. Many millennia ago. A different time. A different life,” She whispered softly as she withdrew from where she stood in front of Pie, leaving him looking very confused. She sighed. “No matter. It does not matter.” She murmured, like she was talking to herself. She shook her head and her face became hard again.

“I came for another reason,” She announced. “Mylo is growing stronger every day, and is finding more ways to capture Earth as his. Do not worry, for you will find ways of using Mylo’s weapon against him. Unfortunately, that is all I can tell you. Also know that after tonight, Mylo will also become more obsessive with his goal of obtaining Rindou.”

Rin shivered at this thought, Keiichiro’s arm wrapping around her waist tighter.

“We won’t let him win,” Kish said, his face hard.

Winter scowled.

“Do not act like that, Kisshu,” She snapped, instantly in Kish’s face. “Do not act like you are better than Mylo is. Because you are not. You are just like him.”

“You’re wrong!” Rōzu yelled, going to Kish’s side, her bronze eyes hard.

“You are quick to his defense, but you did not see him when he and your brothers were capturing Earth,” Winter said coldly as she glared down the young girl. “Perhaps it is that Kisshu is more like his brother than he thinks.”

“Kish Onii-Chan is nothing like Mylo, na no da!” Pudding exclaimed with a frown.

“Oh, but he is, is he not?” Winter said with a sneer as she rounded on Kish again, who was now ashen-faced with wide eyes. “I cannot comprehend why Mew Ichigo gave you a chance, let alone freely says she loves you. You did everything Mylo has done to Rindou during that war, more even. You are just as bad as he is.”

Kish stared at the ice at his feet, breathing deeply with his fists clenched. But he didn’t say anything.

“You do not even choose to defend your actions, or call me a liar,” Winter said bitterly. “Because you know it is true.”

“I do,” Kish said softly.

“No, it’s not true!” Ichigo argued, reaching out to grab Kish’s arm. He move away from her hand and looked up at her with pained amber eyes, his face unreadable.

“It is the truth, Ichigo,” Kish said, trembling. Ichigo could only watch as Kish’s beautiful golden eyes filled with tears. “I tormented you. I stalked you. I threatened to hurt the people you cared for. I followed-through with those threats. I tried to kidnap you many times. I fought you, hurt you. I tried to force you to love me. I don’t know why you love me, Ichigo. I have done nothing to deserve it.”

Kish swallowed hard, his eyes closed, then he leapt into the air, flying off into the distance.

“Kish!” Ichigo called out and tried to jump up to grab his leg, but Pie caught her shoulder, keeping her on the ground. Ichigo turned to look up at the older teen, her pink eyes watery. She saw that while Pie’s face was unreadable, but his eyes looked just as pained as Ichigo’s.

“I believe he would like some time alone.” Pie said softly. Ichigo sighed, but nodded.

Rirī opened her mouth to chastise Winter, but before she could, they saw that the woman was hallway down the street, her shoes leaving imprints in the snow she had brought with her. She looked over her shoulder and gave a cold smile.

“Good-bye,” She said. Then, with a furl of her cape, she disappeared in a blizzard-like wind.

The Tokyo Defenders were left standing in the slush that she left behind, speechless.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifty-One:

Ichigo knocked the snow off her boots as she waited for the back door of the Café to be opened. She stuck her gloved hands in her pockets, shivering in the early-morning mid-December air. Finally, the door was opened by Pie.

Ichigo smiled up at her teammate. He looked tired and his hair was even more unruly than usual. In his hand was a steaming cup of coffee.

“Hey,” She said as she came in and started taking off her winter outerwear, hanging up her jacket and scarf on the coat rack. “You the only one up?”

“No,” Pie said. “Ryou and Keiichiro are in the basement and Rin went to get a shower. Rirī, Rōzu and Tart, however, are still asleep.”

“What about Kish? Did he ever come back last night?” Ichigo asked worriedly.

“He returned early this morning,” Pie said. “He is upstairs at the moment, hiding in his bed, I believe.”

“Are you okay?” Ichigo asked as Pie hid a yawn behind his hand. “You look like you didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Rin, Rirī and Rōzu wanted to know if what Winter and Kish were saying was true,” Pie said, his eyes downcast. Ichigo knew that it had to have been an awkward conversation for all of them. “By the time we had finished our conversation, Kish had returned and locked himself in our bedroom, and refused to let Tart or I enter. Therefore, we slept on the floor in our sisters’ room.”

Ichigo frowned. It wasn’t like Kish to be so reclusive.

“Do you think he’ll talk to me?” She asked.

“It is worth a try,” Pie said. “I wish you luck.”

“Thanks,” Ichigo said. She went up the stairs, past the girls’ room where she could hear Tart still snoring, and approached the door of the room that belonged to the alien brothers. She knocked.

“Kish? I know you’re in there,” She said. “And I know you can hear me. So let me in.”

“Go away.” She heard Kish mumble.

“Not a chance,” Ichigo responded. “I’m going to stand here all day until you let me in.”

“No, you won’t!” Kish argued. “You’ll get distracted by the first shiny object that comes down the hall!”

Ichigo pursed her lips together. He was right and she knew it.

“Let me in now!” Ichigo yelled. “Or, or I’ll go climb the side of the building and come in through the window!”

“That’s stupid,” Kish responded.

“I’ll do it,” Ichigo said threateningly. “And I’ll just have to hope that my cat instincts will kick in fast enough that I land on my feet if I slip!”

There was silence from the other side of the door. Then Ichigo heard the click of the door being unlocked. She smiled proudly as she turned the doorknob and entered.

She saw Kish lying in his bed, wrapped underneath the sheets, only his hair and ears visible. He turned to look at her as she crossed the room, then went back to staring at the wall.

Ichigo sat down beside him and took inventory of the scattered clothes on the floor, indicating to her that he was only half-dressed from the night before, as she saw his shoes, shirt, jacket, belt, one lone sock and one of the strips that he held his hair back with (the other one still tied, she noticed).

“You better make room for me, ‘cause I’m coming under the blankets,” Ichigo said. When Kish didn’t respond, Ichigo put her fingers—still cold from being outside—on the back of his neck. Kish yelped and spazzed, loosening the tightness of his blankets around him. Ichigo slipped under the sheets while Kish rubbed the back of his neck.

“Cold fingers, Koneko-Chan!” Kish complained.

“Sorry,” Ichigo said. “So. You going to talk with me about last night?”

Kish frowned and turned to lay on his side, away from Ichigo. Ichigo frowned and wrapped her arms around Kish’s bare waist.

“Come on, Kish, give me an idea of what’s going on inside that crazy brain of yours,” Ichigo said, nuzzling her face into his back like a cat.

“The fact that my head is crazy and evil is what’s going on inside my brain,” Kish snapped. Then, pathetically, he muttered, “Winter is right. I am just like Mylo.”

“No, you’re not!” Ichigo argued. “You’re much better than Mylo ever could be!”

“And what makes you say that?” Kish asked glumly.

“Unlike Mylo, you have a good heart. You’re always looking out for people,” Ichigo said. “Unlike Mylo, you weren’t trying to capture Earth for your own selfish reasons. You were capturing Earth in hopes that your people would be able to live better lives. And even though you followed Deep Blue’s orders, you questioned the commands and wondered if they should be followed.”

When Kish didn’t speak, Ichigo added,

“And you love.”

“He loves too,” Kish grumbled argumentatively. “Remember? Obsession with Rin? Wants to marry her and have her bear little evil Mylo babies?”

“That’s not love, that’s lust,” Ichigo argued. “And for the longest time, that is what I thought what you felt for me with all the stalking, and the attempted boyfriend murders and kidnappings, and the-”

“And this is supposed to make me feel better about past actions how?” Kish asked dryly.

“The point is, somewhere along the way that lust became love,” Ichigo said. Her now-warm hands began to gently rub and massage Kish’s back and shoulders. She smiled when she felt his tight muscles ease under her fingers. “Do you remember the Dream Chimera Animal Pie and Tart made as revenge for the Blue Knight hurting you?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Kish asked.

“You woke me up so that I could save the other girls,” Ichigo said. “Even though you could barely walk, you came to help me defeat your own brothers. Because you knew it was the right thing to do. Because you didn’t want to see us destroyed by the Chimera Animal. Because you love me.”

Again, Kish didn’t respond. Ichigo sighed and continued to speak,

“Kish, do you know why I’m dating you and Mylo’s still pining for Rin?”

“No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me,” Kish grumbled.

“It’s because you were like Mylo. Yes, probably just like him, though I thank you for never being desperate enough to create a copy of me that was in love with you. But, unlike Mylo, you matured. You realized that trying to force a girl to love you isn’t good for either party. You aren’t afraid to make sacrifices for the ones you love. You realized there were more important things in life. But do you want to know the biggest reason?”

Kish nodded.

“It’s because underneath all that bad Mylo-influence, you stayed true to your heart. You’ve changed in a lot of ways since we fought each other, but in many, many good ways, you are still the same old Kish. And that is why I love you.”

Kish slowly rolled over and smiled at Ichigo.

“Thanks, Koneko-Chan,” He said, wrapping his arms around her. “I love you, too.”

They hugged for a few minutes before, hidden in Ichigo’s hair, Kish got a mischievous smile and began to tickle Ichigo’s sides. Ichigo yelped and began to laugh as Kish mercilessly attacked her stomach with his fingers.

“Payback for the cold fingers,” Kish said with a smirk. Ichigo, grinning, retaliated, moving her fingertips over Kish’s bare torso. Kish was soon laughing just as hard as Ichigo.

As their tickle-fight continued, they became wrapped up in the sheets from rolling around, trying to dodge each other’s fingers. In an attempt to avoid an oncoming attack, Ichigo rolled towards the side of the bed, but fell off, bringing Kish down on top of her.

They laid on the floor, panting, both with flushed cheeks. Kish grinned and brushed some of Ichigo’s hair out of her face.

“Stars, you are beautiful,” He muttered. “How the heck did I get so lucky?”

“I ask myself the same question,” Ichigo said, smiling up at him. She slowly reached up and gently took hold of one of Kish’s ears, tenderly stroking it, then did the same with the other ear. Kish gave a low moan of pleasure, enjoying the sensation. Cyniclon ears were extremely sensitive to both sound and touch. And Ichigo’s fingers were bliss for the long, pointed ears.

Kish laid his head against Ichigo as she continued to rub his ears. He grinned at realizing that Ichigo wasn’t wearing a turtleneck and began to lovingly kiss her neck. Ichigo head arched back and she grabbed hold of Kish’s shoulders as she moaned, feeling Kish’s lips against her skin. She felt her heart start beating faster as she felt Kish’s tongue gently go over her porcelain skin, the fangs tenderly nipping her skin occasionally.

Kish placed kisses all over Ichigo’s neck, going right under her chin. Ichigo and Kish tilted their heads to look at each other. They began to lean in and…

“My eyes! My innocence!”

Kish and Ichigo jumped and started to untangle themselves as they saw Tart, Pudding and Rōzu standing at the open door, Tart covering his eyes dramatically while Rōzu looked disgusted and Pudding looked fierce.

“Ichigo Onee-Chan, Pudding knows you came up here to make Kish Onii-Chan feel better, but there are other ways, na no da!” Pudding said, waving a scolding finger at them. The two teens went scarlet as they stood up.

“We weren’t doing anything!” Kish argued.

“At least, not like that,” Ichigo said, waving her hands wildly.

“What are you two yelling about?” Mint asked as she came up behind them, already dressed for work. She examined her two teammates and grinned wickedly. “Ichigo, is that a love-bite I see?”

Ichigo clamped her hand to her neck, turning redder than her namesake.

“And nice set of scratches there, Kish,” Mint continued nonchalantly. “Playing with wild cats again?”

Kish crossed his arms over his chest to hide the scratches Ichigo’s nails had left on his shoulders with his hands. His face was the darkest any Cyniclon’s had ever been at that moment.

“What is going on up here?” Zakuro asked as she and the rest of the Café Mew Mew employees came up stairs. Tart was still running around the hall, mourning the loss of his so-called ‘innocence’.

Ichigo and Kish wondered if they had just broken a record for being embarrassed.

“Kish and Ichigo were making out!” Rōzu tattled, pointing her fingers at the teens.

“We were not!” Ichigo countered, though her red cheeks were making it hard for everyone to believe that.

“Rather compromising position you’ve been caught in for not making out,” Rirī teased.

“Apparently, we need to keep a closer eye on you two,” Masaya said, his eyes glinting as he joined in the teasing as well.

Kish suddenly yelped with pain as Pie and Rin were suddenly standing on either side of him, each holding firmly onto one of his ears, their faces serious.

“Kisshu,” Pie said in a low growl. “Nothing happened, correct?”

“Really, you two, don’t you trust me?” Kish said as he tried to hold back the tears of pain that were pricking his eyes.

Pie and Rin’s eyes narrowed at the exact same time.

Kish sighed.

“No, nothing happened,” He said, looking thoroughly humiliated.

Rin and Pie both relaxed and let go of Kish’s ears. He whimpered slightly and started rubbing his ears.

Ryou picked up Kish’s jacket off the floor and tossed it at him with a smirk.

“You two better go get ready for your shifts to start,” He said.

“But we still have an hour!” Ichigo argued.

“I know,” Ryou said as he made for the door. Then he looked over his shoulder and said to Ichigo. “That gives you just enough time to find a way to get that hickey covered.”

Ryou laughed and Lettuce yelped as the both ended up ducking to avoid the shoe that Ichigo had launched towards the blond man’s head.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifty-Two:

“Alright, Pudding, I give,” Zakuro said, folding her arms as she looked up at the monkey girl on the ladder. “What are you doing?”

“Hanging mistletoe, na no da!” Pudding said.

“Why?” Pie asked, coming to stand beside Zakuro as he, too, looked up at the blond teen.

Pudding sighed and looked at the two young adults like the answer should have been obvious.

“So Ichigo Onee-Chan and Kish Onii-Chan will finally get their first kiss, na no da!” Pudding said patiently, like someone trying to explain to a five year old that one plus one equals two. Then she started rubbing her hands, her eyes glinting with a wide, mischievous grin on her face. “When they step under the mistletoe, they have to kiss, na no da! They’ll have no other choice!”

“That explains the sudden increase in greenery hanging from the ceiling,” Pie said.

It was true. You couldn’t take a step without being under the mistletoe. Pudding had set up an elaborate string pattern shaped like a spider’s web, the plant hanging from the string at regular intervals. Pie and Zakuro glanced up and quickly shuffled away from each other, both too close for comfort to a piece of the decoration.

“It’s to guarantee Ichigo Onee-Chan and Kish Onii-Chan get their kiss, na no da!” Pudding said proudly.

“I’m not the only one who thinks there are a lot of ways this can go wrong, right?” Zakuro asked dryly.

“You are not.” Pie said, folding his arms over his chest.

“What could possibly-” Pudding started, but then cut herself off.

They watched as, not knowing the peril that loomed overhead, Ichigo and Masaya paused briefly so that Masaya could hand something to Ichigo. Then Ichigo’s eyes happened to glance up and she turned red as she saw the mistletoe. Masaya’s eyes followed her gaze and he, too, turned red as they exchanged an awkward look. Quickly, Masaya kissed Ichigo’s cheek, then both hastily walked away from each other, cheeks still burning. Fortunately for both of them, Kish didn’t seen any of the uncomfortable exchange.

“Oh,” Pudding said, dejected. “That.” She sighed and her shoulders slumped. “Pudding will take it down now.”

“You don’t have to take it all down,” Lettuce said as she came up to stand beside Pie, getting on her toes to kiss him. After her lips left his, Pie looked up to see that he—without realizing—was standing underneath a piece of mistletoe.

“Hey, where’s your uniform?” Rirī asked Lettuce.

“I just came to pick up a cake my mom ordered,” Lettuce said, gesturing to the plastic bag in her hand. “We’re leaving for my grandmother’s in an hour for the holidays.”

“I hope your cousin likes the demonic dolls,” Tart said sarcastically.

“Hey, we properly exorcised the demons out of them,” Zakuro said with a smile. “They’re fine now.”

“Thank goodness, too,” Ichigo said. “So, anyone else have plans for the holidays?” Ichigo asked.

“Same as usual for Pudding, na no da,” Pudding said from her ladder. “Stay up on Christmas Eve to see Santa Claus, na no da!”

“Have you ever seen him before?” Kish asked curiously.

“No, but Pudding will this year, na no da!” Pudding said, grinning mischievously.

“Can I stay up to see Santa Claus, too?” Rōzu asked, looking at Pie and Rin. Ever since Pudding had told her about Santa Claus, the young Cyniclon had become obsessed with him, eagerly counting down the days till her first Christmas.

“You would be asleep by midnight,” Pie commented.

Rōzu scowled at him.

“No, I won’t,” She said defensively.

“Hundred yen says you will,” Pie teased.

“Only a hundred?” Rōzu said challengingly, her hands on her hips. “Sounds like you don’t want to lose much money when you lose that bet, Onii-Chan.”

“Ten hundred, then,” Pie said, the corner of his mouth lifting at Rōzu. “Better?”

“Much,” Rōzu said, grinning.

“Well, I’ve got Christmas Eve plans, too,” Mint said, grinning.

“With Shinji?” Ichigo said, grinning slyly.

“Of course,” Mint said, rocking onto the balls of her feet. “He’s taking me to Odaiba to see the tree. And… more than likely a make-out session.”

The four other Mews groaned.

“What?” Mint asked, offended.

“Mint Onee-Chan, have you forgotten the Curse of the Tree, na no da?” Pudding asked exasperatedly as she jumped down from the ladder.

“Crud,” Mint said with a scowl as she face-palmed. “I did.”

“The… Curse of the Tree?” Rirī asked, raising an eyebrow.

“See, ever since we became Mew Mews, the big Christmas Tree in Odaiba has caused us nothing but trouble,” Lettuce said. “Every year, something happens to us involving that tree.”

“So, it’s the same tree?” Tart asked, confused.

“Different tree each year, same place,” Zakuro said, her eyes narrowed.

“First Christmas as Mew Mews, we learned the hard way that Mew Aqua is,” Ichigo scowled as she put her fingertips together, her eyes narrowed. “Volatile.”

“Understatement,” Pie, Tart, Kish and Masaya said in unison.

“Then the year after that,” Zakuro continued. “There was this guy who had this plan to take over the world… from his mother’s basement. He had this giant robot that was attacking the island on Christmas Eve. We managed to blow it up. However, the blast resulted in us ending up in the tree, tangled up in the lights and tinsel.”

“We got to know the members of the Tokyo Fire Department very well that year, na no da,” Pudding said with a sheepish smile.

“Oh, and to add to that, one of the firefighters who was getting Ichigo down got a call in from the station, asking him what he was doing,” Mint said with a wicked smile. “And what did he say Ichigo?”

“ ‘Oh, nothing, just getting a cat out of a tree’,” Ichigo muttered, not looking at anyone as her cheeks turned red while the others laughed.

“Then last year we were chasing down this thief,” Lettuce said. “Well, he’s running around the tree, and we’re still too far away, so we throw some attacks his way. Except he ducked just as they were about to hit him, so that it hit the tree instead.”

“So, you blew up the tree?” Kish asked.

“No,” Mint said. “It was a bit worse than that.”

“See, the tree fell over,” Ichigo said. “And it took down a power-line with it. And when that power-line went down, it caused a domino effect, taking down all the power-lines in the general area. Long story short, instead of a White Christmas, we had a city-wide blackout.”

“Geez, you girls are cursed,” Tart said.

“Exactly why we have been avoiding Odaiba for the past month,” Lettuce said. They all turned to look at Mint, who tilted her chin up, folding her arms over her chest.

“Well, I’m not cancelling with Shinji!” She said.

“Didn’t think you were going to,” Ichigo said. “Just be careful.”

“Oh come on, what could possibly go wrong?” Mint asked. She paused before groaning. “And… I just jinxed it, didn’t I?”

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“Santa Claus is going to love these,” Keiichiro said, looking at the cookie sheet full of freshly iced sugar cookies. The ‘chefs’ AKA, Rōzu, Pudding, Tart and the five youngest Fong children, beamed.

“’Nee-Chan, can we put our sleeping-mats in front of the fireplace when we get home?” Chincha asked.

“You can move them while Pudding and Daddy cook dinner, na no da,” Pudding said as she put sprinkles on a star cookie.

Rōzu frowned.

“Why do you need to put the sleeping-mats in front of the fireplace?” She asked.

“So that we can see Santa Claus when he comes down the chimney!” Honcha said.

Rōzu’s head tilted.

“Huh?” She said, not having been told this detail about Santa Claus yet.

“Santa Claus comes down the chimney with the presents!” Lucha said.

Rōzu paled.

“Keiichiro Onii-Chan!” She exclaimed, running to her sister’s boyfriend to hold onto his arm with panicked eyes. “We don’t have a chimney or a fireplace! How is Santa Claus supposed to get in?”

“Don’t worry, Rōzu,” Keiichiro said, smiling at her, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Santa Claus always finds a way to get into houses without chimneys. You can wait next to the tree for Santa to arrive.”

Rōzu relaxed at that, hugging Keiichiro.

“Arigato, Onii-Chan!” She said before running back to the cookies.

“Mmm,” Kish said with a grin as he walked into the kitchen. “These smell delicious.”

He reached for one, but only got his hand smacked by Pudding.

“These are for Santa Claus, na no da,” She said. “And last time Pudding checked, Kish Onii-Chan wasn’t Santa, na no da!”

“Though he could pass for an elf,” Ichigo said as she came in through the back door.

Kish stuck his tongue out at her playfully, which she returned.

“Hey, Ichigo,” Zakuro said from where she sat with Heicha on her lap, the little girl decorating a cookie shaped like a snowman. “You bring the reindeer feed?”

“Yep,” Ichigo said, holding up two bags of carrots. “Where’s Ryou, Pie and Rirī?”

“Well, two someones got bored this morning while waiting for the Fongs to come over,” Rin said as she pulled a cookie sheet out of the oven, looking over her shoulder to glare at her siblings. Tart and Rōzu grinned sheepishly. “So, long story short, they’re finding new hiding places for presents.”

“It wasn’t our fault you guys put them in a place where we could easily get into,” Tart said. “Anyone could have innocently gone into the attic and opened that old trunk.”

“And taken the lock off without the key?” Keiichiro teased. Tart and Rōzu just shrugged.

Ichigo chuckled.

“Why do I have the feeling they had a green-haired accomplice?” She asked.

“Hey, don’t look at me,” Kish said defensively as Ichigo wrapped her arms around his waist. He winked at Ichigo. “I’ve worked too hard to get on the Nice List this year. I’m not doing anything to jeopardize that.”

“I know you’ve been good,” She said, touching her nose to his. She grinned as she ran her hands underneath Kish’s sweater, her fingers going over the muscles in his back as she pulled him closer to her. “Very, very good.” She said in a husky whisper.

He grinned and leaned down…

“Hey, not in front of the kids, na no da!” Pudding said suddenly, covering the eyes of her two closest brothers, who both looked very confused at suddenly having their sister’s hand covering their face.

Kish and Ichigo both turned to glare at their friend, who didn’t even look abashed.

Rin, Keiichiro, Zakuro and Tart just laughed.

That evening, after Pudding had took her siblings home, Ryou, Keiichiro, the Ikisatashis, Zakuro and Ichigo hung around the Café, eating the cookies not set aside for Santa and drinking hot chocolate and eggnog.

Around ten o’clock, Rōzu started setting up her campsite beside the tree, with pillows, cozy blankets, a flashlight and a few books. After that was set up, she went to fill up a plate with cookies and carrots and a glass with milk and set both beside the tree. Pleased with herself, Rōzu went to put on her red pajamas, grabbed another mug of hot chocolate, wrapped herself in a blanket and eagerly waited for the arrival of Santa Claus.

About an hour after Rōzu set up her Santa watch site, Ichigo stretched out on the floor beside Kish.

“Nya!” She said with a yawn. “It’s getting late. I’m going to have to head home soon.”

Suddenly, they heard a loud beeping noise coming from downstairs. They paled.

“Really?” Rirī groaned. “Doesn’t Mylo know it’s Christmas Eve?”

“More accurately, does he care?” Zakuro asked with a sigh as she stood up.

“I will go get Lettuce,” Pie said, grabbing his jacket and slipping on his boots before teleporting off.

“But,” Rōzu said, her eyes wide and her lower lip trembling. “What about Santa Claus?”

“He’ll still come,” Ichigo promised. “He knows you’re here, and he’s not going to let anyone on his Nice List go without presents.”

Rōzu still looked upset.

“I’m sure Santa Claus will understand that you’re not here to see him because you’re fighting Mylo,” Rin said, kneeling down to Rōzu’s level with a smile. “And I know he’s very proud to know that you’re making sure Mylo doesn’t take over Earth.”

Rōzu hesitated, but nodded after a moment.

“I’ll go get my stone!” She said, rushing for the stairs.

After she was gone, Keiichiro, Ryou, Ichigo and Zakuro shared a look with a sigh.

“Well, now it’s time for the difficult one,” Zakuro said, pulling out her cellphone and punching Pudding’s number.

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Pie appeared outside Lettuce’s grandmother’s house. He saw that all the lights were off, indicating that everyone was asleep. He floated up to a window and saw Lettuce through the glass, sleeping in a bed with a girl that looked to be her age but had short, dark green hair. He gently rapped his fingernails on the glass, waking up Lettuce.

Lettuce blinked for a moment, then grabbed her glasses and got out of bed. She opened the window.

“Pie?” She said. “Everything alright?”

“Mylo has decided to give us a Christmas present,” Pie explained. Lettuce sighed.

“Let me pull on some clothes,” She said, backing away from the window. “Come in out of the cold.”

“Arigato,” Pie said, entering through the window. After doing so, he leaned down to kiss Lettuce’s cheek, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I have missed you.” He whispered in her ear.

Lettuce gave him a hug in return before standing on her toes to press her lips to his.

“I’ve missed you too,” She whispered. She smiled as they reluctantly let go of each other. “I’ll be right back.”

She grabbed a bundle of clothes and slipped into the adjacent bathroom.

As soon as the door clicked, the other girl in the bed sat up blearily. Upon studying her face, Pie noticed that she had some resemblance to Lettuce and guessed that this was one of her cousins. The girl’s head tilted as she looked around the room sleepily. Then her gaze landed on Pie. She smiled wryly.

“I’m in my nightclothes,” She said.

“Yes, you are,” Pie said with a nod.

“And there’s a hot stranger in my bedroom, my roommate having mysteriously disappeared,” She said, her grin widening.

“It appears so,” Pie said.

“Anything could happen, right?” She said, her dark eyes twinkling with mischief as she pulled back the sheets on the bed invitingly.

Pie just grinned and shook his head.

“No.” He said cheerfully

The girl’s smile fell into a pout just as Lettuce emerged from the bathroom.

“Ah, I see you’ve met Jade,” She observed. “Pie, this is my cousin, Jade. Jade, this is my boyfriend, Pie.”

“Pleasure,” Jade said, getting out of bed. “So, what exactly is tall, dark and mysterious boyfriend doing here?”

“It’s a bit of a long story,” Lettuce said. “Look, I have to go. Cover for me?”

The corner of Jade’s mouth lifted.

“My dear Lettuce-Chan, are you about to do something completely crazy and reckless for the first time in your life?” She asked.

“Something like that,” Lettuce said with a shrug. “We shouldn’t be too long.”

“What exactly are you going to do?” Jade asked.

“You promise not to tell?” Lettuce asked.

Jade held up her pinky, eyes twinkling. Lettuce held up her own with a grin.

“Cut your finger and promise, break it and you’ll have to swallow a thousand needles,” The girls chanted together as they wrapped their pinky’s around each other’s.

“So?” Jade asked.

Lettuce smiled.

“Mew Lettuce and Warrior Black need to go help the rest of their teammates,” She said.

Jade’s eyes widened as she grinned.

“Well, then, get going,” She said. “And you and I are going to have a very long talk when you get back.” Then she glanced over at Pie and pointed at him, glaring menacingly. “No funny stuff around Lettuce-Chan.”

“I would not dream of it,” Pie said, taking Lettuce’s hand.

“Bye, and thanks!” Lettuce said with a wave as they teleported.

Jade shook her head and climbed back into bed, staring up at the ceiling. She chuckled.

Who would have thought?

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Scene Divider)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

“But Onee-Chan!” Pudding moaned over the phone. “Pudding will miss Santa! And she hasn’t been able to see him the past few Christmases, na no da! What if he thinks I don’t believe anymore, huh?”

Zakuro sighed. She was currently in the basement while the others were outside, waiting for her. They had known Pudding was going to protest, and Zakuro had a few cards up her sleeve, one in particular that she didn’t want Rōzu to know about.

“Pudding, let me ask you a question,” She said patiently, deciding it was time to draw the card. “What do you think will be the first thing Mylo does if he captures Earth?”

“Uh, force Rin Onee-Chan to kiss him, na no da?” Pudding asked.

“Okay, second thing,” Zakuro said. When Pudding didn’t respond, she continued. “He is going to take control over every person on this planet. That includes Santa Claus. If Mylo takes over, there are going to be no more Christmas Eves waiting for Santa to come, no presents, no reindeer, no Christmas trees or candy or anything. Now, are you going to fight like a Mew Mew to protect Santa?”

The line was silent.

“Pudding?” Zakuro asked hesitantly.

“Pudding will be ready in five minutes,” Pudding said softly.

“Arigato,” Zakuro said, hanging up the phone. She emerged from the basement and sent Tart to get Pudding.

“So, where’s the Chimera Animal?” Ichigo asked as Ryou pulled out his laptop. He hit a few keys then had a wry grin on his face.

“Where else, Ichigo?” He asked with a humorless chuckle. “Odaiba.”

Meanwhile, Mint was thoroughly enjoying her time with Shinji. That is, she was until a giant, mutated polar bear got in their way.

“What are all these people running from?” Shinji asked as hoards of people ran past them. Then they saw the Chimera Animal.

Mint groaned.

Of course. I just had to go and jinx it!

Shinji grabbed Mint’s hand and started to run with her. Though he kept trying to pull her so that she was running in front of him, she kept deliberately trailing behind, despite that she could easily keep up with the soccer star thanks to years of ballet training and being a Mew Mew. He kept looking back to check on her, which was sweet, Mint had to admit, but it was hindering her from going to fight the creature they were running from.

With a sigh, Mint slipped her hand out of her glove, quickly turning to go against the mob of people, her heart breaking as she heard Shinji scream her name.

Shinji had turned as soon as he felt Mint’s hand come out of her glove. He stopped, panicked, searching frantically.

Finally, he saw two black odangos in the midst of the crowd. He frowned. Why was she going back?

He didn’t think, he just started after her, not apologizing as he ran into people.

Mint ducked into a deserted alleyway and panted for a few seconds. Once her breath was back, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her pendant.

“Mew Mew Mint, Metamorpho-sis!” Mint said as she kissed her pendant. Within seconds, she was in her Mew Mint form.

She grinned as she called her bow to her hand. She was ready to take on anything and everything.

Except…

“Mint?”

Mint’s eyes widened and she slowly turned, shaking. Shinji was staring right at her, his eyes wide and his mouth open slightly.

She swallowed hard, fighting back tears.

Shinji had seen her transform.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifty-Three:

Mint didn’t have time to be horrified. Violent tremors shook the ground as the Chimera stomped and jumped around.

“I’m sorry,” She whispered, then leapt in to air, grateful for her wings.

“Mint, wait!”

She looked over her shoulder to see that Shinji was following her.

“Get to safety!” Mint yelled.

“Mint!” Shinji yelled, not stopping.

Mint was about to tell him to leave again, but before she could, the Chimera Animal roared and lashed out, shaking the ground. Mint felt her eyes wide as she saw Shinji fall but not get up.

“Shinji!” She yelled, flying down to his side. He was knocked out, but otherwise uninjured. She carefully moved him to safety before going to glare up at the beast.

“Oooh, I hope Mylo gets coal for this!” She yelled, pulling out her bow. But before she could loose an arrow, a wooden one hit the beast.

Mint turned and grinned at seeing her teammates.

“Welcome to the Odaiba Christmas Party,” She called. “Though it appears our host, Mylo, has yet to make an entrance.”

“Is that a polar bear?” Rirī asked, incredulous.

“It appears so,” Pie said with a frown.

“This tree,” Ichigo growled, glaring up at the large Christmas tree. “Why is it always this tree?”

“Can we just finish this up before Pudding misses Santa Claus?” Pudding asked, sounding edgy and impatient.

“Let the show begin,” Zakuro said, unfurling her whip.

Unfortunately, no matter what they did, the Chimera wouldn’t fall.

Ichigo jumped a foot in the air when her cell phone began to ring. Smoothing the fur on her ears, she answered the phone.

“Moshi-Moshi?”

“Ichigo?” Masaya said on the other end of the line. “I’m watching the live footage, and you guys aren’t doing too well.”

“Thanks for the newsflash, baka tree-hugger!” Ichigo growled.

Masaya pointedly ignored her.

“Try hitting the paw pads,” He suggested. “And take advantage of the fact that it jumps frequently. Hit the underbelly.”

“Got it, thanks,” Ichigo said as she hung up. She relayed the suggestion to her teammates.

“Rirī, Mint, Lettuce, with me!” Pie called. The three nodded, figuring out what he was planning.

As soon as the beast leapt into the air, Pie, Rirī, Mint and Lettuce hit it with their attacks at the same time. However, there was one thing they weren’t planning on happening.

The beast turned in midair as it writhed with pain, and it was about to fall on the other Tokyo Defenders.

“Ribbon Pudding Shield!” Pudding screamed suddenly, throwing her arms wide.

Instantly, Pudding and teammates were surrounded by flan. The Chimera hit the pudding, bounced off it… and landed on the Christmas tree, sending it to the ground with a crash.

“Seriously?” Mint said with a scowl.

“That tree…” Lettuce said with a sigh as she gazed at the fallen tree.

Meanwhile, those who were inside the flan were a little less concerned about the tree. At that point, they were just glad they could move inside the giant dessert Pudding had conjured.

“Okay,” Zakuro said calmly. “First, didn’t know you could do that.”

“Neither did Pudding, na no da,” Pudding said, looking at her rings in amazement.

“Second, how do we get out of here?” Zakuro asked, poking the side of their ‘shield’. The touch made the entire thing jiggle.

“Pudding doesn’t know that either, na no da,” Pudding said with a sigh.

“Great,” Kish said sarcastically.

“Uh, guys, that thing’s not dead yet!” Rōzu said, pointing to the Chimera Animal.

The beast leapt to its feet and snarled at its assailants, preparing to attack with a vengeance.

However, before it could move, it got plowed over…

By a red sleigh pulled by eight reindeer.

“Uh…” Tart said slowly, blinking a few times. “What just happened?”

“Chimera Animal got run over by a reindeer, trying to destroy Tokyo on Christmas Eve,” Pudding sang. “You can say there’s no such thing as Santa, but as for me and my team, we believe.”

“Pudding, now is not the time for a cover of ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer’.” Ichigo said.

Just then, a rotund man with a long white beard wearing a red coat got out of the sleigh.

“Ho ho ho,” He chuckled as he snapped his fingers, freeing the Tokyo Defenders from their flan shield and banishing the monster.

Pudding instantly ran over and glomped the man.

“Santa Claus!” She exclaimed happily. “Pudding is so happy to see you, na no da!”

“Ho ho ho, and I am happy to see you, too, Pudding,” Santa Claus said, returning the hug.

“Um, not to sound rude or anything, but what are you doing here?” Ichigo asked.

“Well, I had just finished up doing my Asia route, and I saw you all fighting that monster and thought you might like some help.” Santa said as he affectionately patted Pudding’s head, the girl still attached to him.

“Thanks, we definitely needed it,” Kish said.

“Not a problem,” Santa said with a nonchalant wave. “But I also came for another reason. Rōzu?”

Rōzu shyly stepped forward.

“Hai?” She said nervously.

Santa chuckled and patted Rōzu’s head lovingly.

“My, my, you are a sweet one,” He said. “I need to speak with you concerning something you asked for in your letter.”

“I had a feeling it was asking for too much,” Rōzu said with a sad sigh. Santa cupped her cheek.

“It was the best gift I have ever been asked to deliver. Not because of how unique it is, but because the reasons you want it are unselfish. Unfortunately, my magic just cannot make this wish come true. I cannot control when your power will manifest. That is something only you can do.”

“You seriously wrote a letter to the North Pole asking for your power to be revealed?” Tart asked, staring at his sister incredulously.

“Yes, I did,” Rōzu said. “’Cause I thought that maybe if I had my power, I could use it to defeat Mylo.”

“And as much as I would love to help you with that, I just simply can’t do,” Santa said.

Rōzu nodded dejectedly. Santa smiled gently and lifted her chin so that she was looking up at him.

“But I can tell you that your power will make itself known soon, and that it will be a great asset to your side of the war,” Santa told her.

Rōzu brightened.

“Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita,” She said with a bow.

“Dōitashimashite,” Santa said, gently patting Rōzu’s head. The reindeer began to whiney behind them. “I’m afraid it is time for me to move on, I still have three more continents to visit. Now, you should know I left something for you back at Café Mew Mew that will come in handy later on.”

“You’ve got the elves making weapons up at the North Pole, na no da?” Pudding asked, confused.

“Ho ho ho, no, nothing like that, Pudding,” Santa said with a laugh. “This will be helpful in another way.

“And here is where we must part. Merry Christmas, Tokyo Defenders, and good luck!”

They said their good-byes and watched as Santa and his reindeer flew off into the sky.

“Weirdest Christmas ever,” Zakuro said.

“Yeah, and it’s not over yet,” Lettuce said with a smile.

Suddenly, Mint paled.

“Shinji!” She yelled and took off running, her teammates following.

Mint knelt down by the still-unconscious Shinji and took his hand. Rirī knelt down and put her hand on his forehead.

“He’ll be fine,” She said, smiling up at Mint. “He’ll be awake in a few minutes.”

However, this did little to cheer Mint.

“Mint, what happened?” Rin asked. She had never seen Mint in the state she was in.

“He saw me,” She choked out, tears running down her cheeks as she put her head in her hands. “He saw me transform. What am I going to do?”

“Why not tell Shinji Onii-Chan that Mint Onee-Chan is a Mew Mew, na no da?” Pudding suggested, putting a comforting hand on Mint’s shoulder.

Mint’s head snapped up.

“What?” She demanded, her tear-filled eyes wide.

“Pudding was merely making a suggestion,” Zakuro said. “It is your call as to what to do. He’s your boyfriend.”

Mint squeezed her eyes shut.

“NO!” She screamed in frustration. “I won’t tell him!” She ducked her head. “I… I just can’t.”

Ichigo knelt down beside her friend.

“Mint, it’s okay, no one’s going to force you to do anything you don’t want to,” She said.

Mint let out a bitter laugh.

“Oh, so I volunteered to become a half-human, half-bird freak and fight aliens who are bent on taking over Earth? Did I step into that stupid light on purpose? No, Ichigo, I didn’t! But I do want to keep my boyfriend out of this stupid mess. I want to be his normal, fully human girlfriend, one he can go out with and not get knocked out or turned into a mindless evil monster! You just don’t under-”

SMACK!

Everyone jumped in surprise and stared with wide eyes as Mint rubbed her now-red cheek as she fearfully stared at an enraged Ichigo.

“Don’t you dare tell me I don’t understand!” Ichigo growled as she stood up. “You know full well I have been standing in your shoes before. I made my decision then and I still don’t regret it. I told Masaya my secret because he deserved to know the truth. I didn’t do it because I felt like he kept getting into trouble because I was a Mew Mew. I did it because I loved him and felt that if he couldn’t know my secret, then we didn’t need to be together. I told him thinking he would break up with me, and I would be okay with it because he was safe.

“When he told me he already knew, I felt like a weight had been pulled off my shoulders. He didn’t care what I was because he cared for me, and he still does, even if it’s not in the same way it was then. Shinji loves you, he knew it the moment he first saw you. He also trusts you. If you tell him your secret, you’re not just showing him your superhero self. You’re showing him that you love and trust him. And I know that Shinji’s affection for you isn’t going to change in anyway if he knows. It doesn’t have to be tonight, or even in the next week, month or year, but he should know.”

“Is, uh, finding out in my will acceptable?” Mint asked sheepishly. The glare she received from Ichigo told her that answer. Mint sighed, closing her eyes as she thought.

“He’s stirring,” Lettuce said softly, looking at Shinji.

Mint’s eyes snapped open. She had made her decision.

“Ichigo, you wouldn’t still happen to have that long coat, would you?” She asked as she stood up. Ichigo smiled and nodded, de-transforming. She shrugged out of her coat and Mint carefully wrapped it around her Mew uniform. She frowned as her wings made it hard to keep the coat closed, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t be wearing it long.

“Thanks, Ichigo, for everything,” Mint said. She smiled wryly. “Even the slap.”

“Anytime, Mint,” Ichigo said, hugging the girl. “We’ll head back to the Café, give you two some space to talk.”

“One of us will come get you later,” Kish said as he took Ichigo’s hand.

Mint nodded. She watched her friends teleport away just as Shinji’s eyes opened.

“What hit me?” He asked, sitting up, holding his head in his hands.

“A monster called a Chimera Animal, created by an alien named Mylo,” Mint said. Shinji turned to Mint, his eyes wide.

“Mint?” He said, climbing to his feet. “Are you okay? Did that Chimera-thingy get you?” He paused, his brow furrowed. “Wait, how do you know what that thing was?”

“I’m fine,” Mint said. “And as for how I know… well, it’s just easier to show you.”

She took off Ichigo’s coat, letting Shinji see her Mew Mint self. The boy stood there, his eyes wide as they went over the dress, the wings, and the blue hair. Finally, he searched for her warm light brown eyes… only to find them replaced with bright sapphires. That was what shocked him the most, what made him realize it was all real.

“By day, an ordinary dancer named Mint Aizawa,” Mint said softly, lowering her gaze. “By night, an alien-fighting member of the Tokyo Defenders named Mew Mint.”

The silence was deafening. Shinji gaped, fishing for words in his stunned brain. Mint felt tears prick her eyes.

“I understand if you want to break up,” She said sadly, turning away from him. “You deserve a nice, normal girl.”

She started to walk away, but Shinji grabbed her wrist and turned her to face him, pulling her against his chest.

“Mint,” He whispered, resting his chin on the top of her head as he had one arm around her waist, the other gently going over the feathers of her wings. Mint’s wings gave a flutter at the touch. She now understood why Ichigo loved having Kish pet her kitty ears and why Tart stroking Pudding’s tail practically put her to sleep. It just felt so good…

“Tell me.” Shinji said as he held her tighter.

“Tell you what?” Mint asked softly.

“Tell me how I can protect you,” Shinji said.

Mint looked up at Shinji, her eyes still full of tears. She saw his own eyes full of love and fear.

Not fear of her. Fear for her.

“I love you, Mint,” Shinji said, stroking her cheek as a tear ran down it. “I don’t want a ‘nice, normal girl’. I want you.”

“Wings and all?” Mint asked shyly.

“Wings and all,” Shinji said, smiling as he brought his lips down to hers.

They didn’t know how long they stood there, kissing, but then suddenly…

“Hate to ruin the moment, but Ichigo sent me to get you,” Kish said, interrupting the kiss. Shinji jumped but Mint only glared.

“Hey, just because you can’t manage to get inside Ichigo’s mouth doesn’t mean you can ruin our moment,” She snapped.

Kish’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t remind me,” He said bitterly. “But I actually came to get you because Lettuce won’t let us open the present left for us without you. So come on.”

Without giving any other options, Kish grabbed their shoulders and teleported.

Shinji stumbled some as his feet hit the Café floor. He was surprised to see that he was surrounded by the other members of the Tokyo Defenders, though only a few were still in their fighting forms.

“So, wait, you’re all—” He started to say.

“Yep,” Zakuro said.

“So then…” Shinji started again, looking around at the Café walls.

“Café Mew Mew is a front,” Mint explained as she de-transformed. “You’ve seen our serving uniforms. Would you expect the people wearing those uniforms to be alien-fighting superheroes?”

“Guess not,” Shinji admitted, smiling. Mint took his hand and led him over to sit on the floor across from Ichigo, who held a small, flat white box wrapped with a multi-colored ribbon. When Mint studied the ribbon, she noticed that the colors were all those of the Tokyo Defenders.

“It’s addressed to all of us,” Ichigo said, holding up a gift tag that had been attached to the box. “Even you, Shinji.”

“Guess Santa knew you’d be joining the team,” Kish said as he plopped down beside Ichigo.
“Wait, I am?” Shinji asked, confused.

“Not the fighting part, but you’re on the team now that you’re in on the secret,” Ryou said from where he leaned against a wall.

That was when Shinji saw Masaya and locked eyes with him.

“You’re in on this, too?” Shinji asked. Masaya nodded.

“I figured out Ichigo was a Mew Mew when we were dating. And saved her a couple times. And then inadvertently almost destroyed Earth and tried to kill people in cold blood,” He said sheepishly. “It’s a very long story.”

“If it was an anime, it would take, I don’t know, like fifty-two episodes,” Tart said.

“Or twenty-seven chapters of a manga, na no da,” Pudding said.

“So, this means you’re not cheating on my sister,” Shinji asked Masaya for clarification.

“No, never!” Masaya said. He gave a half-smile. “I’m just helping here in any way I can.”

Shinji seemed reassured by this answer and said,

“Good, because I thought I’d eventually have to beat you up.”

“And I would have to let you,” Masaya responded.

“You two done yet? I want to see what we got and figure out how it’s supposed to help us,” Rirī said.

“Yeah, open the box, Ichigo,” Rōzu said, now wrapped up in a blanket and clutching a teddy bear that was dressed in an outfit like her Battle-Form one. Obviously, someone had gotten into the presents.

Ichigo carefully tugged one end of the ribbon and it unwrapped itself from the box in seconds. She lifted the lid and her eyes widened.

“First-Class boarding passes for a four day round-trip to England!” She said, pulling them out of the box to show it to her friends.

“Plane tickets?” Lettuce said, her brow furrowed. “What do we need those for?”

“There’s a note,” Kish said, pulling it out of the bottom of the box. He read,

“Dear Tokyo Defenders, you are probably wondering what the reason behind this gift is. As I told you, it is useful. On March 20th, the Spring Equinox will occur. Unlike Autumn and Winter, Vernal will not appear in Tokyo. Instead, you will need to be at Stonehenge by dawn of the Equinox. There, you will meet Vernal, who will give you the next piece of the riddle. Of course, I encourage you to enjoy the trip and the sights of England. Because, after all, what fun is a life of all work and no play? Wishing you luck and a Merry Christmas, Santa Claus.”

Kish looked up from the letter to look at his comrades.

“Sounds like we’re going to England,” Rin said.

“There’s an extra ticket,” Ichigo said. “There’s sixteen tickets, but fifteen of us, counting non-fighters.”

“P. S.” Kish read, looking back down at the note. “There’s an extra ticket. Just in case.”

“Just in case of what?” Rōzu asked with a yawn.

“We can worry about that later,” Ryou said. “For now, let’s just put the tickets in a safe place.”

“Good idea,” Keiichiro said as Ichigo placed the tickets back in the box and handed it to Ryou. “We have other things to worry about. For starters… Shinji what size pants do you wear?”

The look on the boy’s face was priceless as he finally was able to get out,

“Wait, what?”

The other’s laughed, realizing that it was now Shinji’s fate to work in the Café as well.

Ichigo felt Kish grab her shoulders and twist her to face him. She smiled as she met his twinkling golden eyes

“Merry Christmas, Koneko-Chan,” He whispered.

“Merry Christmas, Kish,” Ichigo whispered back.

They leaned into each other, then suddenly heard a gasp from behind them.

“Pudding just realized that Santa’s been to her house, na no da! Merry Christmas and bye, na no da!” Pudding said quickly and loudly as she used Kish and Ichigo’s shoulders to rest her hands on as she flipped over them, pushing the two away from each other as she rushed out the door at the speed of sound.

Everyone else stared after her.

“Anyone else smell burnt ozone?” Masaya asked, sniffing the air.

“Oh, so that’s what it is,” Mint said.

“That smell does tend to linger around her,” Rirī said.

“I would have teleported her,” Tart said.

“Still would have been too slow for her,” Lettuce said with a chuckle.

“Hey, what time is it?” Rin asked suddenly with a grin.

“Quarter till one, why?” Keiichiro asked. Rin pointed and they all smiled.

Underneath the Christmas tree was Rōzu, curled up under a blanket with her arms wrapped around her new teddy bear, sound asleep.

“Someone owes the kid money,” Ryou said. Pie chuckled.

“It appears I do,” He said.

“Hey, what did she mean when she asked for her power for Christmas?” Ichigo asked.

“Cyniclons have two kinds of power, the ones we all share like flying, teleporting, strength, materializing objects into our hands, that kind of stuff,” Rin said. “But then everyone has an additional one that is unique and personalized for them. Pie and I have mental strength, which includes our genius and able to communicate telepathically with each other.”

“I’ve got control of plants,” Tart said.

“My healing powers,” Rirī said.

“And my control over Chimera Animals,” Kish added.

“Unlike the uniform powers, these powers come in at various ages,” Pie said. “One could be well into adulthood before they discover what their power is. Rōzu is the only one who has not yet discovered her power in our family, excluding Asagao.”

“She probably feels left out,” Lettuce said sympathetically. “Especially being the youngest.”

“She’ll find her power,” Rin said smiling as she stroked her sleeping sister’s hair. She chuckled. “And if it’s taken this long, that means it’s going to be much stronger than any of ours.”

“Uh,” Shinji said nervously. “I’m still a little bit lost on all this.”

“Let’s take a trip to the basement, shall we?” Ryou said as he and Mint guided Shinji to the stairs.

Ichigo chuckled.

“Definitely the best Christmas ever,” She said. “Strange, but still the best.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifty-Four:

“You look so hot in that uniform,” Mint said, a love-struck look in her eye as she studied Shinji in his new Café Mew Mew waiter uniform.

“Thanks,” Shinji said, grinning at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “But I’ll never be able to look as hot as you do.”

Mint beamed.

“Does she realize we’re all wearing the same thing?” Tart asked in a low voice as he gestured to the outfits that he, his brothers and Masaya were wearing, which were identical to Shinji’s with the exception that his tie was a dark yellow.

“Let her have her ogling session,” Rin said in a whisper.

“At least now she has motivation to actually work every day,” Ichigo said in a low voice.

“Thank goodness for that,” Lettuce said and both girls started giggling quietly.

Pudding sighed happily as she swept the floor.

“Pudding can’t believe that this year is finally ending, na no da,” She said. “And that a new one begins tonight.”

“It’s hard to believe that it’s New Year’s Eve again,” Zakuro said. “Is anyone planning on making a New Year’s resolution?”

“What’s that?” Rōzu asked.

“It’s when a person makes a promise to themselves that they will change something about themselves or do something in the new year,” Keiichiro explained.

“They usually last till a week after,” Ryou piped up.

“Well, my resolution is to find my power,” Rōzu said determinedly, hands on her hips as she grinned.

“Pudding’s is to join the cheerleading club in the spring, na no da,” Pudding said.

“Mine is to eat less cake,” Ichigo said.

“Why? You love cake,” Masaya said.

“Yeah, but now that I get teleported to school and work—and on time—I don’t have any chances to make a mad dash and therefore work it off in ways that don’t involve serving customers or defending Earth,” Ichigo said with a shrug.

“You look fine,” Kish said, teleporting behind Ichigo to wrap his arms around her still very skinny waist. “And I love every ounce of you.”

Ichigo smiled as he kissed her cheek.

“Thanks,” She said, putting her hands on his before leaning against him.

“Can our general resolution be to defeat Mylo?” Rin suggested.

“This one we can’t give up two weeks later,” Tart said.

“It’ll be the first resolution I’ve ever managed to keep,” Mint said with a grin.

“Well, my resolution is to figure out who the Knights are,” Lettuce said as she finished cleaning a table.

“It’s kind of strange that we haven’t seen any of them in a while, isn’t it?” Rirī said, her brow furrowed.

“Yeah, I wonder what happened to them,” Ichigo said, her voice curious and distant.

“I’m sure they’re happy wherever it is that Knights go when they’re not in use,” Kish said with a grin.

“Yeah, maybe a beach somewhere,” Shinji suggested. He had spent the past five days getting caught up on Defender Life, as he referred to it as. He also proved to be a very strong tactician, gained from many years serving as captain of the soccer team. Like the others, he would watch the live footage and give suggestions based off what he could see in his Masha’s-eye view.

“That can’t be, na no da,” Pudding said. “They’re all so pale.”

“For some reason, the ears indicate to me that they could live on a beach and still be that pale,” Zakuro said with a small smile.

“That probably is very accurate,” Pie said.

They continued to laugh and chat happily as they set up the Café for that morning. However, for Lettuce, the fun ended shortly after they opened.

“Let-tuce-Cha-an.”

Lettuce cringed inwardly as she looked up from the stack of menus and smiled.

“Ohayo, Hiroki,” She said. “You want me to get you a table?”

“Nah, I just came by to talk to you,” Hiroki said, leaning his arms on the hostess stand.

“Hiroki, I’m working right now, can we talk later?” Lettuce asked, biting her lip.

“It won’t take long,” Hiroki said, grabbing hold of Lettuce’s arms and batting his eyelashes in an attempt of looking cute.

Lettuce sighed but indicated to him to continue. Hiroki grinned.

“So, I was thinking, maybe we could go to the New Year’s Eve festival tonight? Together?” He said, grinning sweetly.

“Sorry, Hiroki, I already made plans to go with my co-workers tonight,” Lettuce said.

Hiroki frowned.

“You never have time for me, your best friend,” He said, clearly trying to guilt Lettuce. He looked more angry than hurt or sad.

“Well, maybe I would have said yes if you had asked me before the day of,” Lettuce said, now getting irritated herself. “And it isn’t my fault I don’t have time to hang out. I’ve got school, and work.”

“And yet you always seem to have time for your boyfriend,” Hiroki growled.

Lettuce’s eyes narrowed.

“Look, if you’re coming here to gripe about how you don’t like my boyfriend, you can just leave,” She snapped. By now the entire Café was staring at the two, customers included.

“Well, I wouldn’t have to always gripe if you would just listen to me!” Hiroki snapped back.

“I have been listening to you. And basically what you’re doing is wasting air,” Lettuce said.

“I’m not!” Hiroki argued bitterly. “I’m just hoping you’ll come to your senses and come back to me. You are mine. After all, I’m the only one that could ever love you.”

Lettuce blanched. Those words stung, and it hurt worse when she saw that Hiroki was being truthful, either not realizing or not caring about the words that had left his mouth. She felt her eyes prick with tears.

“Get out,” She growled as she turned away from him. “Get out now.”

“Not till you come with me!” Hiroki snapped, grabbing Lettuce’s wrist harshly. Suddenly, a pale hand with long, claw-like fingernails was over his wrist and squeezed tightly, causing Hiroki to release his hold.

Hiroki glared up at the person holding his wrist. Pie glared at him, his eyes hard and angry as he said blandly,

“She has asked you to leave. I advise you do so now.”

Hiroki glared at Pie but yanked his arm out of the alien’s grasp and stormed away. Ichigo made sure to slam the door behind him, using a few choice words to describe Hiroki.

Lettuce couldn’t face anyone and was sniffling slightly. She felt someone gently put their hand on her shoulder and she turned around, surprised to see Pie wearing his jacket and holding hers.

“Ryou would like us to pick up some items from the grocery store,” He said. Lettuce nodded and allowed Pie to help her into her coat. He then gently took her hand and they left, Lettuce still silent.

Lettuce kept her eyes downcast, letting Pie lead her through the streets. However, when she did glance up, she was surprised to find that they were nowhere near the usual store they went to get items for the Café. As her brow furrowed with confusion, she felt herself being ushered through a doorway. She blinked as she looked around the crowded coffee shop.

“This isn’t the grocery store,” She said, blinking a few times. “Isn’t Ryou going to be mad if we don’t return with the groceries?”

“Ryou does not even know we left,” Pie said as they got in line. “The last time I saw him, he was heading down to the basement with his headphones in and a mug of coffee in his hand. He shall be down there for a while.”

“So, then, why-?” Lettuce started to ask.

“I thought you should take a nice, long break,” Pie said, running his thumb over her hand, giving her a small smile. “You definitely deserve it.”

Lettuce smiled.

“Thanks,” She said. “Think the Café will still be standing when we get back?”

“How many times has that building been destroyed and miraculously restored before the end of the day?” Pie asked.

“In general, or just when it’s destroyed by you and your siblings?” Lettuce asked teasingly. Pie’s smile grew.

“Touché,” He said as they got up to the counter. They both placed their orders before going to sit on one of the shop’s couches while waiting for the drinks to be mixed.

Lettuce snuggled into Pie, closing her eyes, enjoying the warmth radiating off of him and the feeling of having his arms around her and vice versa.

“Pie, have I mentioned that you are the best boyfriend ever?” Lettuce asked with a contented sigh.

Pie chuckled and ran his fingers over her braids.

“Not recently, but I do enjoy hearing you say that,” He said, kissing the top of her head. “If for no other reason than I know that means I am doing something right if you are happy.”

“Just being around you makes me happy,” Lettuce said. Pie smiled down at her, but then his rare smile became a frown again.

“Lettuce? If you do not mind my prying, may I ask why Nakamura is so…” His voice drifted, searching for the right phrasing.

“Possessive of me?” Lettuce finished. She sighed. “I wish I knew. When we were toddlers, our mothers thought it would be a good idea to have us have play-dates. Let us play by ourselves while they got some time to relax and talk with another grown-up. We were opposites, but best friends despite it. I was shy and quiet, whereas he was outgoing and loud. When we were four, he declared us best friends. However, I soon came to realize that this phrase had a much different meaning to Hiroki than it did to me.

“When we entered kindergarten, I basically shut-down, just so overwhelmed by all the kids and teachers and routines. But Hiroki was always there, protecting me. Overprotecting as the case may be. When other kids tried to play with me, or even talk with me, Hiroki scared them off. He made it clear that I was his. But even then I knew that it wasn’t healthy for either of us. For first grade, they put us in different classes, but it did no good. Hiroki refused to interact with the kids in his class, and I was just too timid to do anything but be by myself, not to mention the kids were too scared of Hiroki to approach me.

“This continued up though elementary school, nothing getting better. I was still Hiroki’s possession, had no friends, very little social skills and just basically no one liked me. The fact that I was very smart didn’t help me either and I got picked on a lot, but Hiroki never came to my rescue. He’d even join in the teasing, always telling me he never meant it and that it was all in good-nature. It didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, but I never told him that. Then, the summer before Junior High, we learned that Hiroki’s father had been given a promotion in his work, and with that a transfer. The night before they moved, Hiroki and I went to the park near our building. To my surprise, he told me he loved me. I opened my mouth to respond, but I found I couldn’t say anything.

“My brain was telling me to say ‘I love you too’, but my body refused to do so. Now I am really grateful that I didn’t, because I wouldn’t have meant it. I could never have meant it. He was my friend, practically my brother. But I didn’t love him in the same way he did. He took my silence as being dumbstruck and just assumed I did return the feelings. He promised he would return for me, but I silently hoped he wouldn’t. The next week, I went to my first day of Junior High, determined to make friends. However, that didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I wouldn’t get the true friends I was searching for until I met Ichigo and Mint.”

Lettuce blinked away tears.

“Just wanted to have friends, to be liked,” She muttered, staring at the black and white tiles of the floor.

Pie pulled her into his lap and held her tight to his chest.

“You are liked,” He whispered into her ear. “You are more than liked. You are loved. You are loved by your parents and brother, you are loved by your teammates, and you are especially loved by me. Never, ever forget that. And if someone does not love you, then they obviously have deep psychological issues that need to be tended to immediately.”

Lettuce smiled and chuckled slightly.

“I love you, too, Pie,” She said. She leaned her forehead against his and they kissed, Pie still holding onto her as she ran her fingers through his hair.

A moment later, Pie felt someone tap his shoulder. A young man’s eyes narrowed at them as they both looked up.

“Oi, lovebirds,” He said. “The barista’s been calling your names for, like, three minutes now. So please do us all a favor and get your coffee and make out somewhere else.”

Lettuce flushed scarlet, but Pie merely glared as he set Lettuce on her feet. He grabbed the coffee cups, paid, then went back to Lettuce, hand her cup to her and taking her free hand. Neither said anything as they walked down the sidewalk, hand-in-hand, Lettuce still embarrassed. Pie glanced over at her and smiled, and Lettuce caught this action out of the corner of her eye.

“What are you smiling about?” She asked curiously.

“Does my smiling bother you?” Pie asked, still smiling.

“No, not at all,” Lettuce said. She smiled as she blushed, unable to meet his eyes for a second. “Actually, I like it when you smile. When you do, there’s too many words to describe what it says to me.”

“Then it is a good thing that just the thought of you is enough to make me smile, is it not?” Pie asked as wrapped his arm around Lettuce’s waist and pulled her to his side, kissing the top of her head. She snuggled up into him as they continued to walk.

On the rooftop of the buildings beside the oblivious two, a pair of cat-like pale purple eyes narrowed before disappearing into the shadows once more.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Scene Divider)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

After closing the store, the staff of Café Mew Mew quickly changed into the traditional kimonos they were wearing to the New Year’s Eve festival downtown.

“Uh, those are the non-lethal fans, right?” Shinji asked hesitantly as he saw Rin bring out a fan. The young alien woman laughed and said,

“Yes, this one’s harmless. Hopefully I won’t need to bring those out tonight,” She said, showing him that—unlike her tessen fans—this fan was entirely made out of wood and painted paper.

“Don’t jinx it, Rin,” Mint said. She shuddered. “I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.”

“Let’s go party, na no da!” Pudding cheered, throwing her arms in the air excitedly.

“Hey, wait, I thought you weren’t planning on celebrating New Year, just Chinese New Year,” Keiichiro said, confused.

“Yeah, but Pudding never misses a chance to party, na no da!” Pudding said with a grin.

“Then let’s hit it,” Kish said with a grin.

Within minutes, they were at the festival. Exchanging grins, the team split off into to opposite directions. They played games and shopped; ate lots of mochi, sushi, soba noodles and fish cakes (the latter of which were particularly loved by Ichigo); listened to poetry and music; and eagerly waited for midnight to come.

An hour before midnight, the Tokyo Defenders (minus Masaya, who was still walking around the festival with Homare) had reunited and were sitting around a table that had been set up, chatting excitedly when they heard screams coming from the crowd.

“What’s going on?” Rōzu asked, her brow furrowed as she stood on the bench to try and see what the disturbance was.

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound good,” Rirī said, biting her lip as she too got to her feet.

Suddenly, twelve large Chimera Animals rose up from the mass of people and stalls: a black rat with long front teeth and fur on end; an ox that stood on its hind legs; a growling tiger with yellow eyes; an albino rabbit with red eyes and claws; a large dragon with glistening green scales and flashing fangs; a huge, hissing black cobra; an angry chestnut horse that stomped it’s spiked hooves; a goat that tried to ram into people; a large monkey swinging around and destroying whatever it could; a crowing rooster that sent everyone nearby to their knees at the sound; a snarling dog with spittle dripping out of its mouth, looking to bite someone; and a large boar with tusks made for impaling.

“Okay, there comes a point where it’s just overkill to have that many Chimeras,” Kish said grumpily.

“And… Mylo has gone far beyond that point,” Zakuro said.

“Nice, aren’t they?”

They turned to glare up at Mylo, sitting casually in a nearby tree.

“I was only going to do one, but frankly, I have no idea how this Chinese Zodiac thingy is supposed to work,” Mylo said, grinning wickedly. “So I thought to myself, ‘Eh, why not just do them all?’ And I did. Aren’t they magnificent? Strongest ever.” He looked around at the scrambling people and his evil grin grew. “Ah, this brings to mind that saying: ‘out with the old and in with the new’. Well, little humans, say sayonara to your old freedom and say konnichiwa to your new ruler.”

“Like we’re going to let that happen!” Ichigo yelled. “Tokyo Defenders, transform!”

“Mew Mew Zakuro.”

“Mew Mew Pudding.”

“Mew Mew Lettuce.”

“Mew Mew Mint.”

“Battle-Form Pie.”

“Battle-Form Rindou.”

“Battle-Form Lily.”

“Battle-Form Taruto.”

“Battle-Form Rose.”

“Mew Mew Strawberry!”

“Battle-Form Kisshu!”

“METAMORPHO-SIS!” “TRANSFORMATION!” “REVOLUTION!” “FUSION!”

Mylo chuckled darkly at the transformed Defenders.

“We end this tonight,” He said. “My Chimeras are too strong for you.”

“We’ll be the judge of that,” Kish said, calling his swords to his hands.

“Yes, I’m sure you will,” Mylo said patronizingly.

The Tokyo Defenders were about to leap into action, when Mylo called out,

“Oh, and by the way, humans make quite interesting Chimeras. It is fun to watch them squirm as they transform.”

They paled and stared at Mylo.

“They’re all humans?” Mint asked, her eyes wide.

“Yep,” Mylo said, grinning wickedly. “Have fun.”

And with that he disappeared.

The Defenders looked at each other, stunned.

“We haven’t even gotten a chance to try our new tactic out on one, now we have to do twelve?” Rin asked in disbelief.

“We’ll distract the others, just tell us which one you’re going to take on first,” Zakuro said.

“And we’ll make sure everyone else gets out before they get hurt,” Ryou said. Keiichiro and Shinji nodded.

“Good luck everyone,” Ichigo said. She cringed as the tiger roared. “We’re going to need it.”

“We’ll take on the dragon first,” Kish said. “That way no fires get started.”

His siblings nodded and they flew over to the large Chimera.

“Pudding’s got the monkey, na no da!” Pudding called as she flipped away, challenging the monkey to attack her and then nimbly getting out of the way.

“Dog,” Zakuro said, getting out her whip before running off.

“Tiger,” Ichigo said before running onto all fours, her tail twitching.

“I’ve got the rooster,” Mint said, pulling out her bow.

“And… I think I’ve got everything else,” Lettuce said, biting her lip as she looked up at the other beasts. She gulped, but continued on.

“I sure hope this works,” Tart muttered as he put his hands on Kish’s shoulders.

“I hope so too,” Pie said, putting his hands in the middle of Kish’s back. Their sisters crowded around, just trying to get their hands in as well.

Kish took a deep breath with his eyes closed, focusing. Then he opened his eyes and raised his hands out in front of him. His palms began to glow faintly, and his siblings’ hands did as well. Kish’s eyes took on the same faint glow, and the Chimera became surrounded by light of the same color. With an enraged howl, the human became separated from the parasite, the latter being swallowed up quickly by Masha. Pie caught the unconscious girl as she fell to the ground and passed her off to Keiichiro, who took her to a place where she would be safe.

“One down, eleven to go,” Kish said, grinning.

“Goat next,” Rin said, and they ran off towards the Chimera that was eating the stalls.

Rōzu closed her eyes as she put her hands on Kish’s back and let herself become focused on their task. She felt her energy go into Kish, but suddenly she heard a roar coming from behind the ram Chimera, cutting off her attention. Her eyes opened and she looked past her siblings and her eyes widened as she saw the boar charging towards them, it’s gleaming tusks aimed for the oblivious Kish’s torso.

“No!” She screamed. She teleported right in front of the beast and stuck out her hands, turning away her face and closing her eyes, thinking she would do nothing more than be a bump in the road for the creature.

But the pain she was expecting never came. Instead, warmth radiated through her body, bursting out through the palms of her hand. When she opened her eyes, she saw that her pale skin was reflecting...

She gasped and her eyes widened as she saw what she doing.

Flames were coming out of her fingertips, scorching the Chimera, causing the parasite to leave the human it was infused with.

Suddenly, the flames stopped, leaving Rōzu staring at her hands in wonder. She grinned, her eyes watering with tears of joy.

She had found her power.

“Rōzu!”

Rōzu grinned up at her siblings, who instantly hugged her.

“Are you alright?” Rirī asked, looking Rōzu over for injuries.

“What were you thinking, jumping in front of the Chimera like that?” Pie demanded, squeezing his sister tightly.

“Never scare us like that again!” Rin scolded, kissing to top of Rōzu’s head.

“That was totally amazing!” Tart said as he gave Rōzu a high-five.

“You’re an Elementalist!” Kish said with a grin. “There hasn’t been a Flame Elementalist in at least a century!”

“Hey, guys, I’m happy Rōzu’s found her power too, because it is totally cool and awesome,” Ichigo called. “But we could use some help over here!”

This was true, as she was currently being held upside down by the tail of the rat Chimera.

“Well, it appears that there is little harm to the humans when they are hit by Rōzu’s flames,” Pie said, quickly examining the human the parasite had infused with. “So, I believe it is safe to say we have found a new weapon to use against them.”

Rōzu grinned and brought her flames to her fingers again, running off to take on the Chimeras.

Mylo tapped his fingers against a metal railing as he looked over at the battle scene from a balcony. He frowned. So the littlest Ikisatashi had found her power? He banged his fist against the rail.

No. He was not going to lose so easily.

His narrowed as he saw the porpoise Mew, fighting off a Chimera by herself. He remembered that she was the special one to Pie.

It’d be a tragedy if she were to get hurt, wouldn’t it?

Mylo smiled and called a Chimera to him, soon hearing a hissing noise from behind him.

“Chimera, attack the green one,” He ordered. The snake hissed again and disappeared.

“Ribbon Lettuce Rush!” Lettuce yelled, aiming at the rabbit Chimera before her. She smiled when she saw Rōzu come up and blast it with her flames.

“Thanks, Rōzu!” She called. Rōzu was still bouncing and grinning, thoroughly overjoyed to be using a new talent she didn’t have before.

Lettuce felt something cool and smooth wrap around her legs, and the next thing she knew, she was being pulled away from the battle. She screamed and heard Mint call out her name. Lettuce thrashed, but it did no good as the snake Chimera wrapped around her, constricting her movements.

“Hello, sashimi.”

Lettuce froze as Mylo floated down in front of her face, cupping her chin.

“What do you want?” Lettuce spat.

“Me?” Mylo asked innocently, pointing to himself. “Well, I only want your death and those of the rest of your pathetic race.” He smiled. “Be proud, Mew Lettuce, for your name will be remembered throughout history. As the first to die under my rule.”

With that, he moved away. The snake moved its large head towards her, hissing and flicking it’s tongue, showing her its poisonous fangs. It moved its body so that the skin of Lettuce’s shoulders and neck were exposed.

Before Lettuce had a chance to scream, the Chimera threw back its head, giving a hissing roar. Lettuce was released from its killer grip, falling to the ground. She looked around to see what was causing the Chimera agony.

Then she saw Pie, standing alone in the middle of the street, his arm outstretched in front of him. Lettuce wasn’t the only one staring at him: so were the rest of their teammates and Mylo. Even the remaining Chimeras stopped.

They watched as Pie’s jaw set and his eyes hardened. But they didn’t just harden.

They paled till they were nothing but pearly orbs.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of white light surrounded Pie. They all shielded their eyes from the light, but also couldn’t help but stare in stunned silence.

Because from out of the light emerged someone they hadn’t seen in a very long time

The White Knight had returned.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifty-Five:

“Pie?” Lettuce whispered, stunned as she blinked up at the White Knight.

Her savior, her protector.

Her lover.

Her Pie.

“FOR THE RECORD, PUDDING TOTALLY CALLED THIS, NA NO DA!” Pudding yelled suddenly, pointing at the White Knight.

Ignoring Pudding, the White Knight twisted his wrist and the parasite left the human, who fell to the ground, unconscious.

“You have made a dangerous move, Mylo,” The White Knight said, cradling the parasite in the palm of his hand. “You should have heeded my warning, and those of my brothers. Do you not know that what you seek will be your undoing? That you have willingly and eagerly sentenced yourself to death?”

Mylo sneered.

“You know nothing!” He snapped.

“I know that there is still time to release yourself from the bonds you have made,” The White Knight said. He sounded like he pitied Mylo. “I urge you to do so, before it costs you your life.”

Mylo summoned his sword.

“Fool! I am immortal! And I shall soon be all-powerful!” He said.

The White Knight threw the parasite in the air, watching Masha consume it. He sighed.

“You have made your choice,” The White Knight said. “And I see you cannot be swayed. I am only sorry that I was unable to help you. I beg you to reconsider. You will have two more chances to change your mind.”

“I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING IKISATASHI!” Mylo roared, charging the White Knight with his sword.

The White Knight merely stepped out of Mylo’s way, drawing his own sword in the process.

“What you seek is something you cannot control,” The White Knight said calmly as he parried Mylo’s blows. “And if it does not kill you, then the obsession will.”

Mylo’s eyes widened.

“How do you know what I seek?” He growled.

“Dude, you’ve made it quite obvious what you’re after,” Ichigo spoke up. “You want Earth.”

Mylo turned to hiss at her.

“You know nothing, fat tabby!” He snarled.

Kish grabbed hold of the hissing Ichigo before she could get in the middle of the duel.

“For some reason, I think Pie’s got this,” Kish whispered.

“Take care of the rest of the Chimeras,” The White Knight commanded. “I will take care of the business presented before me.”

The Defenders nodded and set to work on the remaining four Chimeras. A few seconds later, Masaya skidded to a stop beside Ryou, Keiichiro and Shinji, panting.

“What… I… miss?” He asked breathlessly, his hands on his knees as he looked over at the battle.

“Twelve Chimeras taking on the form of the Chinese Zodiac, Rōzu is now a Cyniclon-flamethrower, and Pie is the White Knight.” Ryou said simply, his arms over his chest. Masaya blinked and looked out at the scene in front of him. He watched Ichigo, Kish, Rirī and Mint take on one Chimera while Rōzu roasted another. And in the midst of all that, there was a heated duel going on between the White Knight and Mylo.

“Okay, I’m caught up now. I think,” He said, his brow furrowed.

“What do you think Mylo meant when he said he was immortal and all-powerful?” Shinji asked.

“Don’t know,” Ryou said frowning. “But we’re definitely going to look into it.”

“Perhaps the White Knight will tell us,” Keiichiro said.

“Wouldn’t he have flat-out said it instead of talking in riddles to Mylo, who seems to already know the answers?” Shinji asked.

No one had a response.

Mylo hit the asphalt, his sword scattering across the ground. He snarled up at the White Knight.

“Go on and kill me! Or are you a coward?” Mylo demanded. “Your pathetic teammates have already destroyed the last of my Chimeras. What’s stopping you?”

“Killing you serves no purpose,” The White Knight said, sheathing his sword. “However, if you dare to cause harm to my lady again, I will have no choice.”

“‘My lady’, ‘my lady, ‘my lady,’” Mylo mocked. “Just call her your girlfriend, for crying out loud. Though why anyone would want to make out with you is beyond me.”

The White Knight’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“I do not understand what you mean,” He said.

Mylo gazed up at the White Knight’s face and started laughing.

“And here I thought you had no sense of humor,” He said, grinning wickedly. But then his grin faded as he saw that the White Knight wasn’t joking.

“You really don’t have a clue who you are, do you?” Mylo asked.

“I know exactly who I am,” The White Knight said evenly. “I am the White Knight, the protector of Mew Lettuce.”

Mylo scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Whatever,” He said. “I’ll make a deal with you, Ikisatashi. You can protect your ‘lady’ all you want, as long as I can take over Earth. Got it?”

“I am afraid I cannot do that either,” The White Knight said. “I will not stand by and let you capture Earth.” He paused. “There is still time. You can still escape the bonds of the deal you have made.”

“NO!” Mylo snapped. He teleported and grabbed his sword, launching back into the duel. “This is the only way I can get what I want!”

“But is it truly what you want, or is it what you are led to believe that you want?” The White Knight asked.

With a howl of rage, Mylo teleported again, this time grabbing Lettuce from behind and flying upwards with her, no matter how hard she thrashed.

“Let me go!” Lettuce yelled, trying to kick Mylo and elbow him in the chest, but it was useless. She felt herself go higher and higher until they were at least five stories high. Then she froze and tried not to move or cause Mylo to release her. She knew that her Mew powers could only do so much to protect her if she fell from this far up.

“Making me give up on Earth is not your purpose, White Knight, you said so yourself!” Mylo yelled as he watched the White Knight frown with annoyance and anger. Mylo grinned. “She is.”

And, with that, he let Lettuce go, falling through the night air.

Lettuce screamed and closed her eyes tightly.

No, it can’t end this way. It can’t, She thought, trying not to cry.

Suddenly, she felt herself slow in momentum and strong, warm arms wrapped around her protectively. She opened her eyes to find herself held bridal style against the White Knight’s chest.

“I have you,” The White Knight whispered, smiling gently at her. Lettuce bit back a gasp; how had she not noticed it before? The White Knight had the exact same smile as Pie, the smile that was reserved for her and only her. The smile she loved to see, the smile that made her feel warm inside and how she knew he loved her. “I will always be there to catch you, my angel.”

Lettuce smiled up at the White Knight—no, up at Pie—and buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. Once the White Knight’s feet touched the ground, he gently placed Lettuce onto her feet, kissing her temple. He then looked around.

“If you’re looking for Mylo, he disappeared the second he dropped Lettuce,” Kish said. The White Knight approached him, glancing over his shoulder to see if Lettuce would follow him, which she didn’t. Then he kept glancing back to make sure she was still there.

“What is it Mylo seeks?” Zakuro asked.

“It is not my place to tell you,” The White Knight said simply.

“What is up with all these people talking in riddles and then saying it’s ‘not their place to explain’?” Mint demanded in frustration.

“I apologize, Mew Mint, but that is how it must be,” The White Knight said. Mint pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. “And now, I must take—”

“Pie.”

The White Knight froze, turning to look at Lettuce, standing a few feet away, staring up into his pearl-like eyes, which he blinked once.

“Why do you call me that?” He asked in confusion.

“Because that is who you are,” Lettuce said softly, taking a few steps forward. “Whether you are aware of it or not.”

“My angel, I do not understand,” The White Knight said as Lettuce came up to stand in front of him, her eyes watering as she smiled.

“You are Pie,” She said, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him down towards her. “And more importantly, you are my Pie.”

She brought her lips to his and her eyes closed. The White Knight at first looked confused, but then closed his eyes as well, returning the kiss, wrapping his arms around Lettuce.

When they finally broke off, Lettuce looked up to see perplexed pearly eyes.

“Lettuce?” The voice was still the White Knight, but yet it wasn’t quite. “What is going on? Where are we? There were Chimeras, and one had you…” His brow furrowed with concern as he saw the tears running down Lettuce’s cheeks. “And why are you crying?”

“I’m crying because I’m happy, Pie,” Lettuce said through her tears. “Because you’re my White Knight. You’ve always been my White Knight.”

Pie blinked and looked down at himself. He was in all white, and had a sword, and his hair was longer and also white. He brought his gloved hand up to his eye level, staring in wonder. Lettuce took him by the arm and led him over a shop window. In the dark glass, Pie saw his reflection and blinked with surprise.

He was, indeed, the White Knight.

“But…” Pie muttered. “What? How?”

Lettuce just smiled and gently cupped his cheek, forcing him to look at her.

“You’re my protector, my Knight,” She said. “I don’t know how or why you are, but what I do know is that I don’t want it any other way.”

Pie smiled.

“Neither do I,” He said, and he kissed her again.

Lettuce felt the scabbard that had brushed against her leg vanish, and in its place felt the leather cording around Pie’s pigtail brush against her cheek, the purple-gray hair at the end tickling her chin. She opened her eyes to see that Pie had become Warrior Black again in place of the White Knight.

They smiled at each other again and leaned in for another kiss….

POUNCE!

Pie and Lettuce were suddenly glomped by Rōzu, who hugged them both tightly.

“That was so cool!” She exclaimed. Rōzu grinned at Lettuce. “Now you and I are going to have to find new New Year’s Resolutions!”

Lettuce laughed.

“Yes, I guess we do, Miss Flamethrower,” She said, gently stroking one of Rōzu’s braids.

Pie and Lettuce were suddenly surrounded by Rin, Rirī, Kish, Tart, Mint, Zakuro, Keiichiro, Masaya, Shinji and Ryou. Ichigo was about to go over when she felt Pudding grab her wrist.

“Ichigo Onee-Chan?” Pudding whispered, looking up at Ichigo. Her eyes were full of confusion, sadness and fear. “What does this mean for Taru-Taru and Kish Onii-Chan? Are they Knights too?”

Ichigo bit her lip and looked over at Kish and Tart, both of whom were playfully messing with Pie’s hair and shoving him while teasing him about something as the young man started to turn red.

“I don’t know,” She murmured.

“The White Knight said Pie-Chan was his servant,” Pudding persisted. “And the Red Knight said the same about Taru-Taru, and the Green Knight about Kish. So, could they be Knights too?”

Ichigo sighed and smiled down at Pudding.

“We’ll keep it as a theory, but I don’t want us to be putting too many eggs into this basket,” She said before walking over to join their teammates.

“Ichigo Onee-Chan, what does this have to do with eggs, na no da?” Pudding called as she ran over as well. Ichigo just laughed.

A few minutes later, they paused as they heard the nearby clock-tower chime and watched as fireworks filled the sky.

Midnight.

“The old year is done and gone,” Rin said, leaning against Keiichiro.

“And the new one has begun,” Lettuce said, Pie’s arm around her.

Kish grabbed Ichigo’s hand, Tart took Pudding’s hand, and Shinji took Mint’s hand. Keiichiro gently turned Rin to face him and Pie did the same with Lettuce.

“Well, it officially stinks to be the third wheel in all of this,” Masaya said in a low voice, standing to the side with Zakuro, Ryou, Rirī and Rōzu.

“Yep,” Rirī said. Then she smiled mischievously and materialized three identical objects in her hand and passed one to Masaya and one to Rōzu. They both grinned as well.

“Happy New Year, Koneko-Chan,” Kish whispered, holding Ichigo to him tightly.

“Happy New Year, Kish,” Ichigo said, smiling up at him.

They leaned in for the kiss, their eyes closing, their eyelashes fluttering and then…

THROOMP!

Kish and Ichigo leapt away from each other, trying desperately to get away from the loud noisemaker that had been in their faces. They both frowned and glared down at Rōzu, who smiled up nervously.

“Heh heh,” She said, sweat-dropping slightly. “Happy New Year?”

“Rōzu…” Kish said dangerously, his eyes narrowed.

“Hai?” Rōzu said innocently.

“Run!” Kish growled.

Rōzu paled and her eyes widened. With an ‘Eeep!’ she took off, Kish and Ichigo chasing her, nearly bowling over Keiichiro and Rin and Mint and Shinji.

“Who gave the kid a noisemaker?” Shinji asked, his brow furrowed. Rirī and Masaya quickly hid theirs behind their backs.

“No clue,” Rirī said innocently.

Rōzu skidded to a stop though and stared up in confusion. Kish and Ichigo nearly ran her over.

“You really shouldn’t have-” Kish said, then he saw what Rōzu was looking at and stared as well.

It was Zakuro and Ryou, their arms around each other, kissing passionately as the clock tower’s tolls continued to echo. They finally broke off and smiled at each other, Ryou gently reaching up to stroke one of Zakuro’s wolf ears and she nuzzled her head against his hand at the touch.

“WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!” Mint exclaimed, eyes wide, scaring the two.

“What?” Zakuro asked, blinking once.

“Are you two dating, na no da?” Pudding asked, her eyes wide.

Ryou and Zakuro smiled shyly and took each other’s hand.

“Yes, we’re dating,” Zakuro said. “We’ve been together for about six months.”

“SIX MONTHS?!?!” Came the stunned and wide-eyed response from everyone.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Mint asked, slightly hurt.

“It was kind of a game,” Ryou admitted sheepishly. “The see-how-long-it-takes-for-the-media-to-learn-Zakuro-Fujiwara-has-a-boyfriend game.”

“We honestly were going to tell you guys,” Zakuro said. “We just weren’t ready to be open with our relationship until we were sure things were going to work out between us.” She smiled as she leaned her head against Ryou’s shoulder. “And I’m really glad it did.”

“We’re just happy that you two are happy,” Keiichiro said, grinning as he gave his best friend a hug as the Mews and Ikisatashi girls smothered Zakuro with hugs.

“Thank you,” Ryou said, finding that he couldn’t stop smiling himself.

Ichigo grinned and took Kish’s hand. He grinned at her as he squeezed her hand.

They didn’t know what this new year would bring, but they knew that they were ready to face it.

Together.

Chapter Text

Epilogue:

Mylo scowled as he looked over the snow-covered city, his arms folded. He could not believe that this city did not belong to him yet, along with the rest of the world.

He heard the sound of a teleportation portal opening from behind him.

“What do you want?” Mylo demanded.

“You called me, remember?” The silky female voice said, the speaker floating up to be directly beside Mylo, who sniffed indignantly.

“Your Earth crusade isn’t going well, I take it?” The woman said. “You should be happy to know that Cynnth is still under your rule. Oh, yes, there are those pitiful rebels who are determined to go out fighting, but what can you do? Our army is strong in numbers, and theirs is diminishing daily.”

“The rebels here simply refuse to die,” Mylo snapped.

The woman laughed in high-pitched girly giggles.

“Let me guess, it is the Ikisatashi siblings being their usual stubborn selves, refusing to see the truth clearly?” The woman said, putting the tip of one of her claws at the corner of her mouth, smiling cutely.

Mylo turned to face the Cyniclon woman. She was around twenty years old, petite with cotton-candy pink hair that flowed down her back and pale purple eyes. She was the definition of perfection and beauty: the cheekbones accented just right, eyebrows thin and arched, her body curved in all the right places and a tiny waist. She wore a short light pink skirt and an off-the-shoulder pink top that exposed her stomach, her small feet encased in high-heeled pink boots that accented how perfect her legs are.

“We grew up around the Ikisatashis, trained with them. It does not surprise me that they are causing you trouble,” The woman continued, studying her long, perfect nails. “Stubbornness is in their blood as well as warrior instinct. They are passionate about everything they do and will die for that cause. Even if it is all a lie. They fight the truth, impossible to be swayed. They are a challenge, and they know it.” She sighed and arched her perfect brow at Mylo. “Perhaps this is why you and I both drawn to them, my cousin. We like the trials they present. But more importantly, we like to win.”

Mylo scowled.

“Topaz, if you are asking me about the agreement we made, there is no need to try and bring the conversation around so that you have an excuse to ask the question. Just say it,” Mylo said, turning away from the woman.

“As you wish,” Topaz said, folding her pale arms over her chest. She looked out at the Tokyo cityscape, lit up by fireworks to welcome in the New Year. “How is Pie?”

“All is well for him,” Mylo said darkly, still brooding over the sudden transformation Pie Ikisatashi had undergone into the White Knight and the solid thrashing he had received because of it, how he had barely saved face by putting Mew Lettuce’s life in danger. “For now, at least.”

“For now, at least?” Topaz repeated with a scowl as she looked over at Mylo. “Remember, you promised me that you would not harm him, that you would keep him perfect for me, that he is to be my spoils of war when this is all said and done.”

“And I have kept that promise,” Mylo said coolly. “To a degree.”

“To a degree?” Topaz demanded, her beautiful face full of fury. “What have you done to him?”

“Nothing that his little brat of a sister couldn’t heal,” Mylo said indifferently. “Though I am sure that the ‘Tokyo Defenders’ will be falling into my trap soon enough.”

“And what, pray tell, will you gain from this scheme?” Topaz demanded irritably.

“What I desire, and you will have what you desire,” Mylo said. “The Ikisatashi twins as our consorts, and Earth under our control.” He turned to her and smirked. “Do not worry, my dear cousin. Pie will be your husband, your reward for your invaluable service to our mission, in no time at all.”

Topaz smiled impishly. Soon, Pie would be her mate, and she would bear his children, and he would stay by her side till the day they died. Her heart pounded at the thought of his arms around her, his low voice whispering in her ear a confession of undying love.

“What is to be my role in this strategy?” Topaz asked, visions of her and her heart’s desire still dancing in her head.

“You will return to Cynnth for the time being,” Mylo said. “I will come when the first stage of my plan has been initiated. At that point, I will reveal all.”

Topaz bowed her head.

“I will do as you command,” She said.

“Good.” Mylo said. “You are dismissed.”

With a nod, Topaz teleported away, leaving Mylo alone once again.

Mylo’s lip curled.

Yes, He thought. The Tokyo Defenders will not stand a chance.