This volume is officially complete! Volume 2 coming as soon as I can be bothered to get off my butt and write it!

Prologue

Fear.

It was always the same emotions in the eyes of the people they'd chosen – loss, confusion, pain. This girl's eyes were the same; the tears making them shine like blue glass. But soon there'd be no more reason to cry.

She struggled in vain against the chains that bound her to the metal table. In the dark of the room, she hadn't yet spotted him, gazing at her, studying her as if she was a work of art he was considering where to place. Yes, she was the one. There was no more doubt.

She saw him now, and tried harder than ever to break free. Poor girl, she had no idea what was going on.

"Don't worry," he said soothingly. "You're not losing anything of value – only your free will."

He reached over and pressed a button on the gun-like thing aiming at her. The girl's scream cut through the dark halls.

Chapter One – The Café is destroyed (nearly) and Kish is over Ichigo (almost)

Kish stood before the blackened remnants of the Café Mew Mew. It was about nine in the morning, and though the incident had occurred several days previously, the air still had had a slight smoky scent to it. He didn't really remember much about the café, aside from the fact it had been excessively pink.

Beside him, Ichigo Momomiya stood in shock.

"How did this happen?" she asked, not really talking to anyone in particular.

"We don't know," Ryou replied. "But I suppose Keiichiro and I are lucky we weren't there at the time."

Half of the café had been burnt to cinders. Nobody knew how or why. Fortunately, part of the half of the building that wasn't destroyed included the Mews' secret base. It wouldn't be much use now though.

As they all stood – Mews, aliens, and others – Kish asked himself for the hundredth time since returning to Earth why he was there. Taruto and Pai had perfectly good reasons for returning. Whether for candy, friendship, or possibly even – love? – Tart had returned to see Pudding. And then there was Pai, who obviously had a thing for Lettuce.

So what was he doing there? What was his reason for coming back? The answer was this: after everything that had happened, he'd actually still thought there was a chance that maybe… Ichigo and Masaya hadn't quite worked out…

Of course, he was wrong. Ichigo and Masaya were still as close and madly in love as when he had left.

"Why is it that every time I see you two lovesick birds, I'm the one who feels nauseous?" he'd asked her only the day before. He was only teasing her, but of course Ichigo, being Ichigo, had to take it the wrong way.

"Are you helping or not?" Ryou asked Ichigo, as he brought a chair from somewhere within the remaining building. "We still need to clear the place out."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Ichigo said in an annoyed tone as she rushed over to the blond sixteen-year-old.

"Be careful," Kish said.

"Huh?" Ichigo said, stopping and turning in surprise.

"Well, think about it. You're the supergirl who saved the planet from a race of freaky aliens. Don't you think it would be just the slightest bit lame if you died by falling through the floor of a –"

"Oh, shut up!" said Ichigo, running off.

As he watched her leave, Kish smirked.

A little way off, Lettuce was dragging a table across the ground. It was kind of awkward, and at one point she slipped on the path and scraped the palm of her hand.

Why do I have to be so clumsy? Lettuce thought, fighting back the tears that were entering her eyes.

"Would you like some help?" a familiar voice asked behind her.

Lettuce turned to see Pai, the tall, purple-haired alien, and quickly got to her feet.

"Oh…" said Lettuce, her face turning red. "Yes… Thank you, Pai-san."

Pai went to grab the other side of the table, but then looked into Lettuce's blushing face and found he was unable to turn away. It was the first time since he'd returned to Earth that they'd been together on their own.

I didn't think it was possible, Pai thought, as he looked into her sea-blue eyes, but she looks even more beautiful than ordinary when she's blushing.

For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other, saying nothing. But then suddenly Pai jerked his head to the side. A look of surprise, with a trace of disappointment, crossed Lettuce's face.

"We're suppose to be moving the table," Pai reminded her.

"Oh…" said Lettuce. "Right…"

I guess I should be doing something to help… Kish thought as he watched Ichigo carrying a box of miscellaneous things she had salvaged from the rubble and ash. Then he saw Masaya take the box from her and immediately put the idea out of his head. There was no way he was working with Masaya. They might not be enemies anymore, but that didn't mean they got along any better.

A twig cracked behind him and Kish spun around. A figure stood between the trees, barely visible in the shadows. But Kish's suspicion quickly turned to shock as the figure stumbled forward, into view.

A girl of about thirteen years stood before him, her shoulder-length brown hair a mess, hunched over as if standing was a task she was struggling to find the strength for. Her eyes were half open and filled with tears that fell down her pale cheeks. Breathing heavily, she opened her mouth as if to speak, but then collapsed on the ground.

A moment later, Ichigo and Masaya rushed forward.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked, her voice full of concern for the mysterious new girl.

Kish didn't know what to say.