Sober Disillusion
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Summary: "I want to thank you, Mew Ichigo. Even though you knew I was dying, you let me become a Mew. These last four months of my life have been the best months of my life."
Rating: T
Genre: Spiritual/Drama/Tragedy
Disclaimer: Tokyo Mew Mew copyright Mia Ikumi
Story plot and Grace Kisekara-Sangeki copyright The All Real Numbers Symbol
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Disillusion: verb. To free from a false perception.
Ichigo was walking down the street on her way to the Café Mew Mew when she heard screams. A moment later, Mini Mew popped up beside her. "Predacyte alert, Ichigo." He chirped.
Ichigo took of running for the park, shouting along the way, "Mew Mew Ichigo, Metamorphosis!"
When she arrived, she found a snake-like Chimera Anima curled around a girl. "Oh boy." She said when she saw it. "Strawberry Bell!" Ichigo summoned her Strawberry Bell, and then her weapon addition, the Mewberry Rod, and attached it to her Strawberry Bell, transforming it into the Rose Bell.
"Rose Bell, full power!" She exclaimed, and then blasted the Chimera Snake.
The snake reverted to normal, and Mini Mew sucked up the Para Para.
"Oh, thank you!" The girl, who had short brown hair and was wearing blue jeans and a cream-colored T-shirt, said as she stood up. "For a moment there, I thought I was dead. Well, that I was going to die quicker than I would otherwise would. Can I have your autograph?"
"Huh?" Ichigo was confused by the sudden change of subject.
The girl held out a pen and small notebook. "You're Mew Ichigo, aren't you? I'd like to have your autograph."
"Okay, but then you have to answer my questions." Ichigo replied.
"Alright." The girl agreed.
Ichigo signed the book, and then handed it back. "Okay, first: What's your name?"
"I'm Grace Kisekara-Sangeki. (1)" The girl replied.
"What did you mean when you said, 'that I would die quicker than I otherwise would.'? Ichigo asked suspiciously.
Grace's expression fell. "For a long time, Ichigo, (is it okay if I call you that? You can just call me Grace.) Anyway, I remember watching the TV reports of who the Mews saved from what and how, and I used to think, 'Man it would be so cool to meet the Mews.' But then my mother died. And in the autopsy, they found that… she had AIDS. So they did a blood test on me and my sister, and found that I had AIDS."
"Oh," Ichigo said softly.
"But anyway," Grace continued in a more cheerful voice, "I decided that while I'm alive I'm going to pursue my dream of getting the Mews' autographs. One down, four to go."
Suddenly, Ichigo had a burst of inspiration. "How would you like to meet the Mew Mews?" She asked.
"Really?" Grace clasped her hands together. "That would be a dream come true!"
There was a flash of light, and Ichigo de-transformed. "Then follow me!"
-
The girls followed several winding roads to the Café. When they entered the building, the rest of the girls were already in their uniforms, getting ready open for the afternoon, all but Mint, who was drinking tea.
"Girls, I have someone I want you to meet." Ichigo said as she pushed open the door. "This is Grace." Ichigo indicated the brown –haired girl behind her.
"Grace, this is Mew Mint, Mew Lettuce, Mew Pudding, and Mew Zakuro." Ichigo pointed out each of the girls in turn.
Mint slammed her teacup down onto its saucer. "Oh sure. Now why did you just blow our secret identities?" She demanded.
"Grace here has always wanted to meet the Mew Mews. So I decided to help her with her dream." Ichigo announced.
"Can I get your autographs?" Grace asked timidly.
Pudding popped up. "Pudding will give you an autograph!" She announced.
"I suppose." Zakuro answered.
"I've never given someone my autograph before." Lettuce said as she walked over to where Pudding and Zakuro were signing Grace's little notebook.
Meanwhile, Ichigo pulled Ryou off to the side. "Can you turn Grace into a Mew Mew?" she asked.
Ryou blinked. "Why would I do that? Don't you think five is enough? Six if you count Ringo." He added.
"You once said something about making miracles happen for other people. Grace is sick…she has AIDS. She loves Tokyo Mew Mew. Maybe you can…I don't know- Make her a Mew!" Ichigo finished.
"Why do we need another Mew?" Mint, who had walked up to them in time to hear the end of Ichigo's announcement, said.
"Well," Wesley, who had been standing nearby and heard the whole conversation, began, "I think it's a good idea, if Grace wants to become a Mew."
Ichigo looked at Mint, who shrugged. "Alright. You're the team leader."
"Then we'll see if Grace wants to be a Mew!" Ichigo declared.
Grace had gotten autographs from the other three Mews. "One to go." She said. She turned around and almost ran straight into Mint and Ichigo.
"Can I your autograph?" Grace asked Mint.
Mint thought it over for a minute, and then took the notebook.
"Grace, how would you like to become a Mew?" Ichigo asked.
Grace clapped her hands together excitedly. "Really? That's every girl's dream!" Then a thought occurred to her. "But can I really become one of you?"
"I don't see any reason why not." Wesley said.
"Well," Grace's voice went quiet. "I kind of have…AIDS. It's not that I don't want to be a Mew; I just don't know if I can. Because I'm going to die."
"Is AIDS catching?" Mint asked.
"Only if you want a blood transfusion from me." Grace replied.
"We're all gonna die eventually." Ryou began. "You're…"
"Just doing it sooner than you." Grace finished the sentence, and then shrugged. "Sorry. I take death and time flippantly. You can mope and moan around until you die, or you can make something of your life."
"And I just accomplished my goal!" She added as she took her notebook back from Mint. Then she turned to Ryou. "I want to be a Mew; but I shouldn't work at your café."
Ryou nodded. "Follow me."
-
The five other Mews waited around the café for Ryou, Wesley, and Grace to be done.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Mint asked Ichigo.
"I want to do one nice thing for a sick girl, and you wonder if I'm doing the right thing." Ichigo huffed. But there was no time to say more, for just then Grace and the others came back into the room.
"It's done." Wesley announced.
"What do you think?" Grace asked. She was now wearing a pair of knee-high boots, similar to Lettuce's, that were red with a gold stripe going up them. Her garter, puffy armbands, and collar were all red edged in gold. Her dress was like Mew Mint's but it was red, and had a wide gold sash running across it, making a large bow in the back. For the final touch, she was wearing gold fingerless gloves, and had opossum ears, and a possum tail under the bow on the back of her dress. Her hair had changed from brown to gold, and her eyes had changed from blue to red.
"We infused her with the DNA of a mountain pygmy possum." Wesley explained.
"Lovely." Ichigo smiled.
"Perfect." Lettuce said.
"It'll do, I suppose." Mint added. Zakuro said nothing.
"Pudding thinks the red is like the red in Ringo's outfit." Pudding spoke up. The red was actually a little darker.
"Plus, look at this!" Using her finger, Grace drew a gold treble clef, which then appeared. "It's my weapon."
"Cool! Now you're a Mew for real!"
-
So Grace joined the Tokyo Mew Mew. When Mew Ringo came for a visit, though, Ichigo asked her to try and heal Grace. Despite Ringo's best efforts, it came to no avail.
"It's okay." Grace told them. "I kind of expected that."
One day, Pudding asked her, "Why is your weapon shaped like that?"
"Like a treble clef?" Grace held up the gold treble clef, complete with a pink heart on it where the first loop crossed.. "Maybe it's because I like to sing, and I love music so much." She turned to Zakuro. "By the way, I think your last CD was great."
Zakuro allowed herself a hint of a smile. "Thanks." Then she turned and walked away.
-
One day, as Ichigo was walking to school, Mini Mew popped up. "Predacyte alert, Ichigo!"
Without any hesitation, Ichigo shouted, "Mew Mew Ichigo, Metamorphosis!"
"In the park!" Mini Mew chirped, and Ichigo took off in that direction.
As she ran, the other Mews showed up and caught up with her.
"So what is it this time?" Grace asked.
"Mini Mew just said the park was being attacked." Ichigo said as the girls burst into the park.
"Well, look at that, Pie. It's the Mew Mews, and their new little friend." Tart said.
"Tart, Pudding will punish you if you are being bad." Pudding shouted at him.
"I'm not being bad. Not yet anyways." Tart said.
"Indeed." Pie added. "We just wanted to give you girls a little gift," He said as a giant grasshopper Chimera Anima popped up.
The girls gasped. "That's not so little." Lettuce said.
"Well, he's you're problem now." Pie told her. "Ta-ta." And with that, the aliens warped away.
"I'll go first." Grace volunteered. She jumped back twice, and then swung her gold treble clef at the monster, sending out a blast of gold rings. "Ribbon…Treble rings!"
"My turn," Mint summoned her Heart Arrow, spun around, and then shot at the monster. "Ribbon…Minto echo!"
"Ribbon…Zakuro Spear!"
"Ribbon…Lettuce Rush!"
"Ribbon…Pudding Inferno!"
The Mewberry rod attached to Ichigo's Strawberry Bell, and she charged up her attack. "Ribbon… Strawberry Suprise!"
The blasts hit the grasshopper, with reverted back to normal.
"Yes!" Grace cheered, then stopped and started to cough.
The other Mews looked at her. "Are you okay?" Ichigo asked.
"Sure," Grace replied. "It's just a cough." She looked around the park. "I wish there had been more than one. I wanna attack something else."
"Man, you're active." Mint muttered.
"I'll have 'til doomsday to sleep in my coffin. I wanna live while I'm still alive." There was a momentary pause, and then Grace added, "Sorry, I'm that doing that flippant-death thing again, aren't I?"
"Yes." Mint snapped. "And frankly, it's disturbing."
"It's like the song says, Mint, 'Someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying.'" Then Grace sighed. "But if it comes to that for you, I hope it's from cancer and not AIDS."
-
When Mint left her house to walk to the Café the next day, Grace was waiting for her.
"Mint, I wanted to apologize, again, for the flippant death thing." Grace said as she followed Mint down the street.
Mint was quiet for a long moment, and then she asked, "Why do you do it then, if you just apologize for it?"
Grace hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Because I'm afraid to die."
Mint gave her a confused look.
"I treat death flippantly because I'm afraid of it. I don't want to die. I'm going to die because my mother couldn't wait to have sex until she got married. I still love her, I mean, she was my mom. But I just don't want to die. Even as I stand here, I'm dying." Grace's voice became morose. "I was ten years old when I learned I had AIDS. I had so many plans; I was going to get the Mew's autographs, I was going to see my favorite band live in concert, I was going to grow up and become a singer. They told me about AIDS, and I thought, 'Maybe if I ignore it, it won't be true. It'll just go away.' So I took the whole thing flippantly. But the truth didn't change." Grace hastily blinked back tears.
"I'm sorry." Mint apologized.
Grace took a deep breath and pulled herself. "It's okay. Can we be friends now?"
So that's what her deal is. The carefree attitude is a mask for the uncertainties underneath. "Sure." Mint smiled.
And from that day forward, they were friends.
-
The Mews and Grace fought the aliens together for four months. But in that time they all started to notice how Grace's cough was getting worse.
Finally one day, went they went to fight the aliens, Grace didn't show up. The Mews returned to the café, where Ryou told them, "Grace is in a hospice."
Lettuce gasped. Ichigo asked, "Then her cough…?"
Ryou nodded and sighed. "She's dying."
Later that week, the Mews, Wesley, Ryou, and Mini Mew went to the hospice. They were met there by Grace's sister. With a desperate attempt to dry her teary eyes, the young woman offered them a weak smile.
"You must be the Tokyo Mew Mew." She smiled sadly again when she saw the look of surprise in their eyes. "Grace told me about you. Don't worry I won't tell. I'm Lana, by the way."
"I don't want to be here." Pudding said quietly.
"Why not?" Zakuro asked.
"I don't like hospitals." Pudding replied. "People go there and they never come home.
"You can see Grace, if you want." Lana told them. "She's in room 304, at the end of the hall. I'll come down in a few minutes," Lana choked on a sob. "As soon as I pull myself together."
The group walked down the sterile, quiet hall. They came to door 304 and Wesley pushed the door open. They entered and saw Grace lying in bed, under the blankets. Next to the bed, a small table held a stereo, a stack of CDs, her Power Pendant, and an MP3 player.
Ichigo tried to be cheerful. "Hi Grace."
"Hi guys." Grace replied. Her voice had grown softer and quieter. "I was hoping you would come. I wanted to thank you, Mew Ichigo. Even though you knew I was dying, you let me become a Mew. I didn't know at the time I only had four months left, but these last four months of my life have been the best months of my life.
And I wanted to thank the rest of you, too. Ryou and Wesley for infusing me with Mew DNA, and the rest of you for accepting me."
Grace's voice grew quieter as she talked. Lana slipped back into the room, and Grace spoke up again. "Before I die, I want to transform into a Mew one more time." She stood up, picked up Power Pendant, and kissed. Summoning the last of her strength, she said, "Mew Mew Grace, Metamorphosis!"
She spun around until all that could be seen was her back. Then red energy swirled up around her feet and on up her legs, forming her boots. Another swirl showed her garter, and then her dress. She spun halfway around, showing her face, as her collar and pendant, armbands, and gloves appeared. She spun around, showing the back of her dress as her gold sash appeared, and her ears and tails popped out. She dropped into her end pose, and then was once again standing in the room.
"And I want to fire my weapon." She announced. She used her index finger to draw a treble clef, which then appeared and became her Grace Treble.
She jumped back, and took aim at the air. "Ribbon… Treble Rings!"
The blast of gold rings flew out of her weapon, and she was once again standing in the room.
Then she dropped back and smiled. "There, I've done everything I wanted to do." She sighed, and then fell back and drew her last breath. Zakuro and Ryou caught her before she hit the floor. They set her back on the bed, and Pudding grabbed a sheet out of the closet and used it to cover Grace. Lana burst into tears.
-
One week later, the group came to the funeral. Grace was buried in her Mew outfit, per her last request.
Later that week, Ichigo walked through the graveyard where Grace was buried. Finally, she found the burial plot. The dirt on top was still fresh. The inscription on the tombstone read:
Grace Kisekara-Sangeki
Beloved sister and friend.
1996-2008
"Mew Mew Grace, Metamorphosis!"
Ichigo knelt and put the flowers she had brought on Grace's grave. "Goodbye, Grace. We'll miss you." Ichigo smiled. "Even Mint said she would."
Ichigo stood up, and turned and walked away. The day was clear. There were a few puffy white clouds floating over head. And as she walked, she could almost swear she heard Grace talking.
"Mew Mew Grace, Metamorphosis!"
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T.A.R.N.S.: Kisekara-Sangeki is supposed to mean something along the lines of miracle from tragedy. I'm not very sure about how this story turned out, but I'll let the readers decide that. Please R&R. Flame if you want to.