Sakura Petals
A Tokyo Mew Mew Fanfic
The wind...it rustled though the trees that warm April morning. Not many people in the neighborhood were up yet; it was still too early for them. If you listened, you could have heard the city going on with its day, but this place still slept, this home of the wealthy and privileged. Behind the towering, spiked gates was a world many could only begin to imagine, but life within this world was much different than the veil it preferred to show to outsiders.
Birds were singing outside, the only ones awake in this world that time passed by. But there was someone else awake to witness this spectacle; the world still muffled by the night that had just passed, filled with the scent of sakura blossoms, the singing of birds, the running of fountains, and the whisper of a breeze in perfectly manicured lawns and round hedges. She looked out of the window, just once, taking a glance at that world of quiet, and then resumed the task at hand.
Aizawa Minto rummaged around her room, searching painfully for the right dance slipper she had apparently misplaced. She distinctly remembered putting them both into the back of her closet, tucked not quite so gently into the tissue-paper filled box. And here was the box with the left slipper inside, but she had no idea what had become of the right. Minto shook her head, wavy hair bouncing around her slender face, as she tried to clear her thoughts of sleep. She wouldn't have been up this early if she hadn't misplaced that slipper last night. If only she had kept better track of them, and hadn't been searching for it up until her bedtime, nine-o- clock sharp. And now today...she had to find it before she was "woken up", or at the very latest, before dance today. But there was only so much time...oh, where could it be?
She walked farther into her closet, past rows upon rows of elegant dresses, proper skirts, and the occasional designer "play" clothing. Minto sighed. So childish, she thought. All of her clothes, lacy and gaudy. Although these were the clothing of a young girl born into a powerful family, she was no longer that younger girl. Instead, she had grown up when no one had been looking, and her body showed that. But instead of modern, stylish clothing like she desired, instead she received only bigger dresses and skirts. Minto glanced down at the stack of idol DVDs she had pushed aside in her frantic search. If only she was as tall and graceful and gorgeous as her onee-sama...if she was a model, or perhaps an actress, she would have clothing like what Zakuro wore...sexy halter tops, the latest trend in blue jeans, sandals. Or, since her parents were obviously rich enough, she could even import the high-fashion clothing from Italy and America that all of the girls in the magazines wore. But Minto knew she was no idol; only a girl with a passion for dance and a secret mission.
The house was beginning to wake up. The sounds of the maids, which had been just quiet background noise up until now, began to grow louder. It would only be a matter of time before the came in to awaken her, only to find her childishly scrounging around her colossal closet, hopelessly searching for a lost dance slipper. Tears sprang to her eyes; she had to find it! She just had to! They were new, a gift from her parents traveling in France. What would they think if her caretakers told them that she had lost it three days after she had just received it in the mail, and the day of a rehearsal at that! If they couldn't trust her with a simple gift like that, how could they possibly trust her with a car, or a boyfriend? Minto clenched her fists in frustration. As a Mew Mew, she had such a great responsibility...how could her teammates even trust her? She heard what they said about her, but it wasn't like she minded. The things they said about her being spoiled and mean could be true at times, and she knew that.
But...it hurt all the same. She couldn't let them see her like this, at any rate. They would laugh; Ichigo for sure.
All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew some sakura petals into her room. The fragrance and the pink color were so beautiful...
What was her window doing open? And had it been like that all night? Minto stood up with a start. She had to remember to tell her maid to shut it before she went to bed every night, so she wouldn't catch a chill. Walking over to shut the window herself, Minto noticed a piece of pink ribbon sticking out from under a pile of neatly pressed blouses. Could it be...? She lifted the shirts and set them off to the side. There, in good condition, albeit slightly crushed, was her right dance slipper. She smiled to herself. To think it had been right here all along!
She set it neatly beside the other in the box, and placed it on the corner of her bed. Glancing down, the bright pink of the intruding sakura petals broke her concentration. Minto bent down to clean them up, but after brushing them away, noticed an unopened package from her parents dated from a few months earlier sitting under the blossoms beneath her window. Strange...she hadn't noticed it. Maybe it was a new leotard; one of the nice professional grade ones. She brushed the petals aside. They could wait, for now at least.
After yanking off the tape, Minto lifted the box open. There was a card on top.
"Dearest Minto-chan: These are the latest style in America. I picked it up at a nearby shopping mall. It's not what our parents would have chosen, but I hope you enjoy it. From, your loving onii-chan."
Beneath several layers of packaging was what Minto had been wanting for so long. A cute tank top, pale blue in color, with a single silver star on the front of it and nothing more. Something better than the childish clothing she had now, but not too mature for her at this point. Minto hugged the shirt to her chest. At last, someone understood her needs!
"Minto-sama? Ah, you're awake! Oh, let me clean up these petals that blew in for you!"
"Oh, that's all right! I'd like to keep them, if you wouldn't mind."
"Eh, all right. Remember you have dance today. I'll have breakfast ready soon." The maid left.
Minto gathered the sakura petals up into her hand and smelled their fresh scent.
"I feel that today will be a good day..."
The wind...it rustled though the trees that warm April morning. Not many people in the neighborhood were up yet; it was still too early for them. If you listened, you could have heard the city going on with its day, but this place still slept, this home of the wealthy and privileged. Behind the towering, spiked gates was a world many could only begin to imagine, but life within this world was much different than the veil it preferred to show to outsiders.
Birds were singing outside, the only ones awake in this world that time passed by. But there was someone else awake to witness this spectacle; the world still muffled by the night that had just passed, filled with the scent of sakura blossoms, the singing of birds, the running of fountains, and the whisper of a breeze in perfectly manicured lawns and round hedges. She looked out of the window, just once, taking a glance at that world of quiet, and then resumed the task at hand.
Aizawa Minto rummaged around her room, searching painfully for the right dance slipper she had apparently misplaced. She distinctly remembered putting them both into the back of her closet, tucked not quite so gently into the tissue-paper filled box. And here was the box with the left slipper inside, but she had no idea what had become of the right. Minto shook her head, wavy hair bouncing around her slender face, as she tried to clear her thoughts of sleep. She wouldn't have been up this early if she hadn't misplaced that slipper last night. If only she had kept better track of them, and hadn't been searching for it up until her bedtime, nine-o- clock sharp. And now today...she had to find it before she was "woken up", or at the very latest, before dance today. But there was only so much time...oh, where could it be?
She walked farther into her closet, past rows upon rows of elegant dresses, proper skirts, and the occasional designer "play" clothing. Minto sighed. So childish, she thought. All of her clothes, lacy and gaudy. Although these were the clothing of a young girl born into a powerful family, she was no longer that younger girl. Instead, she had grown up when no one had been looking, and her body showed that. But instead of modern, stylish clothing like she desired, instead she received only bigger dresses and skirts. Minto glanced down at the stack of idol DVDs she had pushed aside in her frantic search. If only she was as tall and graceful and gorgeous as her onee-sama...if she was a model, or perhaps an actress, she would have clothing like what Zakuro wore...sexy halter tops, the latest trend in blue jeans, sandals. Or, since her parents were obviously rich enough, she could even import the high-fashion clothing from Italy and America that all of the girls in the magazines wore. But Minto knew she was no idol; only a girl with a passion for dance and a secret mission.
The house was beginning to wake up. The sounds of the maids, which had been just quiet background noise up until now, began to grow louder. It would only be a matter of time before the came in to awaken her, only to find her childishly scrounging around her colossal closet, hopelessly searching for a lost dance slipper. Tears sprang to her eyes; she had to find it! She just had to! They were new, a gift from her parents traveling in France. What would they think if her caretakers told them that she had lost it three days after she had just received it in the mail, and the day of a rehearsal at that! If they couldn't trust her with a simple gift like that, how could they possibly trust her with a car, or a boyfriend? Minto clenched her fists in frustration. As a Mew Mew, she had such a great responsibility...how could her teammates even trust her? She heard what they said about her, but it wasn't like she minded. The things they said about her being spoiled and mean could be true at times, and she knew that.
But...it hurt all the same. She couldn't let them see her like this, at any rate. They would laugh; Ichigo for sure.
All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew some sakura petals into her room. The fragrance and the pink color were so beautiful...
What was her window doing open? And had it been like that all night? Minto stood up with a start. She had to remember to tell her maid to shut it before she went to bed every night, so she wouldn't catch a chill. Walking over to shut the window herself, Minto noticed a piece of pink ribbon sticking out from under a pile of neatly pressed blouses. Could it be...? She lifted the shirts and set them off to the side. There, in good condition, albeit slightly crushed, was her right dance slipper. She smiled to herself. To think it had been right here all along!
She set it neatly beside the other in the box, and placed it on the corner of her bed. Glancing down, the bright pink of the intruding sakura petals broke her concentration. Minto bent down to clean them up, but after brushing them away, noticed an unopened package from her parents dated from a few months earlier sitting under the blossoms beneath her window. Strange...she hadn't noticed it. Maybe it was a new leotard; one of the nice professional grade ones. She brushed the petals aside. They could wait, for now at least.
After yanking off the tape, Minto lifted the box open. There was a card on top.
"Dearest Minto-chan: These are the latest style in America. I picked it up at a nearby shopping mall. It's not what our parents would have chosen, but I hope you enjoy it. From, your loving onii-chan."
Beneath several layers of packaging was what Minto had been wanting for so long. A cute tank top, pale blue in color, with a single silver star on the front of it and nothing more. Something better than the childish clothing she had now, but not too mature for her at this point. Minto hugged the shirt to her chest. At last, someone understood her needs!
"Minto-sama? Ah, you're awake! Oh, let me clean up these petals that blew in for you!"
"Oh, that's all right! I'd like to keep them, if you wouldn't mind."
"Eh, all right. Remember you have dance today. I'll have breakfast ready soon." The maid left.
Minto gathered the sakura petals up into her hand and smelled their fresh scent.
"I feel that today will be a good day..."