A/N: Hello again~. This is my entry for Rhia-chan8910's OC contest. To Rhia-chan and all the other entrants: I'm very sorry for being this late. ^^; I lost my inspiration with about a page to go, and then my packed schedule prevented me from finishing until just now. The ending kind of fell apart on this one, but you know. ^^; Usually I don't use OCs in my fics, but upon writing this I've realized TMM OCs are actually really fun to create. :P Good luck to everyone else who entered, and I hope this is at least somewhat entertaining to read.
Crap crap crap crap crap crap CRAP!
Anzu Kohakuhana ran hard. Her blood pounded almost painfully in her ears as her feet slapped against the pavement; sweaty strands of her long hair kept falling into her eyes. She began to move her hand to brush away the curtain of brown that was obscuring her vision, but decided that all of her kinesthetic and cognitive faculties would be best focused on escaping the thing that was rampaging along behind her. Her power pendant was a heavy weight at her chest, slapping against her ribs despite being tucked tightly into a pocket on her jacket.
Gotta transform, gotta transform. Suddenly remembering her duties, she fumbled for the golden brooch, trying to keep her feet beneath her as the ground shook with the crashing steps of the kirema. Anzu was rapidly losing steam; the countless days of sitting inside and gaming for hours on end had taken their toll on her physique. Her potato chip addiction probably didn't do much for her fitness either. Being so gangly and without a single muscle cell to her name didn't lend so much to the superhero image. Gritting her teeth, the sixteen-year-old put on a burst of speed, fingers finally closing around her power pendant.
"Aha!" she cried out breathlessly, whipping the brooch from her pocket, diving out of the path of the kirema and filling her lungs as it thundered past the space she'd just been occupying. "Mew Mew Apricot, metamorpho-sis!" The white light enveloped her and lifted her out of her dive before she hit the ground, saving the skin on her knees and elbows from being torn by the roughness of the street.
Her dress appeared first as her street clothes melted away, the silky, bright orange fabric enfolding her in all its short, poufy-skirted, tight fitting, strapless glory. The soft white fur trim of her orange puffed sleeves and garter met her skin next, her now glowing Mew pendant becoming a warm pressure near her collar bone as it affixed itself to her newly-formed choker. Now the creamy white arm warmers appeared, extending from her wrists to her elbows, followed by her snowy boots.
Anzu squirmed in discomfort as the dark brown fox ears – taking the place of her human ears – pushed their way through her hair, which had turned bright orange and gathered itself into two long, low pigtails. The bat wings were particularly uncomfortable, dark and leathery as they pushed their way into existence, spreading out from between her shoulder blades. She smiled slightly as her fangs slid down past her bottom lip however. She'd come to enjoy that particular sensation – until she felt a sharp pain and tasted blood. Anzu scowled as her feet touched the ground once more, licking the crimson drop testily from the cut on her lip.
She spared a moment while the chimera was trying to correct its overshoot and turn around to glance down at her outfit. Pitifully cutesy. Not that she didn't enjoy a moderate dose of ruffles and bows now and again, but did Shirogane honestly expect her to fight in a dress? At least her footwear gave her some sense of stability; lace-up and reaching to mid-calf, reminiscent of hiking boots - yep, nothing was going to knock her down while she was wearing those.
Except for the kirema, which, choosing that exact moment to galumph its way back onto its collision course with the orange Mew, barreled into her side with breath-stealing force and sent her flying. She landed on her back, sliding down the street for what seemed like ages before skidding to a stop. "Ap- apurikotto suta!" Anzu managed to force her air-bereft lungs to wheeze out the incantation with enough volume to summon her weapon. The bright orange throwing star materialized in the air above her and she grabbed it, getting up painfully in the same moment.
She stumbled to the side as the kirema came charging back, out maneuvering the clumsy, lumbering thing easily despite her disorientation. Upon examining it more closely, it appeared to have once been some sort of dog; a Great Dane, perhaps? It was impossibly tall and mottled gray in colour, with a long neck and even longer claws which prevented it from moving with any semblance of coordination.
Anzu prepared her weapon as the kirema turned yet again, knowing it wouldn't be long before it wised up to her 'dodge-and-run' strategy. "Where are you guys?" she demanded into her pendant as harshly and loudly as her breathlessness would allow. "I can't hold this thing off for long on my own." She paused to leap out of the way of the kirema's tail; the coarse fur of the sickly-looking appendage scratched at her bare legs as it swept violently across the pavement.
"They're on their way, Kohakuhana-san," Keiichiro's voice sounded from the pendant. For some reason his soothing tone did nothing for Anzu's mood.
"How the hell did I get to be in this position anyway?" she shrieked. "I've known about all this insane Mew Mew crap for all of a week!" She whirled as the kirema lunged again, hurling her shuriken at it with a frantic cry, the words 'Ribon Apricot Slash!' coming to her without conscious thought as she had grown accustomed to. Her shot went wide, the throwing star emitting an orange burst of wasted energy before circling around like a boomerang, back into her waiting grasp.
"It's not even like letting the newbie have a go for some experience!" she continued, not bothering to lower her voice when she cursed at the blade of her star slicing into her hand. She cringed as the blood from the wound trickled down her wrist. "No no. More like target practice for the enemy. You all just decided you wanted some more help and had to up and ruin my life for it. And I still suck at this even with all the kiremas I've just happened to come across since you spliced my genes or whatever. I could die you know! And with the time all the rest of them are taking in getting over here, that's looking to be more and more of a possibili-"
"Ribon Pudding Ring Inferno!"
"Ribon Lettuce Rush!"
A beam of yellow light shot over Anzu's head and expanded into a bouncy pudding around the kirema, trapping it where it stood. This was closely followed by a beam of green light which exploded into a spray of water as it hit home, slamming into the kirema with the force of an ocean. The ugly thing staggered back as the pudding disintegrated, dazed and considerably weakened.
"Yeah yeah, we know, 'It's about time we got here.'" Mint – closely followed by Pudding, Lettuce and Zakuro – stepped up beside Anzu, chest heaving from running despite her biting tone. "You know, if you'd been at the café for your shift in time, you wouldn't be in this position," she continued.
"Did you manage to hit it?" Ichigo demanded, springing lightly into position at the head of the now assembled group of Mews.
Anzu shook her head. "I threw at it but missed."
Ichigo looked exasperated as Anzu held her hands out semi-apologetically. Her pink eyes then lit up with an idea; she grasped her pendant to speak into it. "Akasaka-san, does this thingy look like it has a weak spot?"
"The energy readings are fainter around its head, minna-san," Keiichiro replied. "Try to hit it there." The kirema was rallying as this exchange went on; Zakuro and Pudding leapt forward, weapons at the ready, in an attempt to hold it back.
"Ribon Zakuro Pure!" Sprays of gravel skittered past their feet as the kirema pitched forward, unbalanced by Zakuro's whip, which she had managed to wrap around one of its legs.
Lettuce was staring hard at the head of the kirema, trying to line up a clear shot with her castanets. "Its head is too high up," she shouted, turning to Ichigo and trying to make herself heard above the commotion. "Ichigo-san, we won't be able hit it with our attacks, it's moving too much."
"Ribon Strawberry Check!" Ichigo loosed a bolt of pink energy at the kirema with her Strawberry Bell; the beam of light shot toward the monster's head, missing it by a good five feet as the kirema jerked out of its path. Ichigo furrowed her brow in concentration. "Ribon Strawberry Check! Ribon Strawberry Check! Ribon Strawberry CHECK!" Ichigo grew flustered as each shot went wide; the continuous stream of energy she was releasing was clearly draining her. Anzu stood by, watching Ichigo's efforts with a mixture of exasperation and helplessness, feeling very much out of place in the group – tacked on.
"Ichigo-san, stop!" Lettuce cried, finally stepping in and laying a hand on the pink Mew's shoulder, shaking her to make her look away from the kirema.
"You're right, Retasu, I can't hit it!" Ichigo's voice was high and shaky, her eyes wide.
"We have to try something else then," Mint notched an arrow into her bow and aimed, hesitant to fire lest she hit Zakuro or Pudding, who were still struggling at the feet of the kirema to hold it in place. "Retasu, go help them hold it off," she continued, finally letting the arrow loose; it landed with a thud in the kirema's side, causing it to roar in pain and begin to thrash wildly. Anzu stood rooted to the spot as its tail pulled free of the fresh ring Pudding had created, whipping towards the three Mews remaining at the sidelines.
"Move!" Anzu screeched, finally finding her voice and throwing herself to the ground to avoid being hit. She saw Mint come down beside her, but heard a muffled shriek from Ichigo as the tail hit her and threw her to the ground. The orange Mew cringed at the ghastly crunching sound that came from the cat girl as she hit the pavement, turning her head to gaze at the Mew leader in horror.
"Ichigo!" Mint leaped up, loosing another arrow in the kirema's general direction before bounding to the pink Mew's aid. Anzu pulled herself to her knees, swaying there for a moment in shock before rising and following Mint.
"Is she okay?" Anzu asked breathlessly, standing over a kneeling Mint and a prone and apparently unconscious Ichigo while the sounds of Mews struggling behind them kept her aware of how the battle was unfolding.
"It looks some of her ribs are broken – and I think she's fainted." Mint rolled her eyes and sounded exasperated. "I'll have to move her though," she shouted over the din. "But what are you doing here? Go help them!" She half turned around to glare at Anzu, and despite her angry expression it was clear she was anxious for the wellbeing of her friend. "Ryou infused you with the Ryukyu Flying Fox genes for a reason. We need wings!" The bat girl froze, the sounds of battle and the uncomfortable feeling of Mint's glare fading out, a resurgence of blood now pounding in her ears. Wings? As in, flying? "Are you listening? Go! Go now! I'll join you once I've moved this baka somewhere she won't get stepped on. You have to hit it in the head at close range." She waved her hand tensely at Anzu when she failed to move, finally moving to pinch the skin of her leg.
"Ow! Don't pinch me, I'm going!" Anzu whirled around clumsily, trying to make her feet work properly as she raced back to the battle ground. The others seemed to be doing alright in keeping the kirema at bay, but they were weakening. Someone had to hit that kirema's weak spot, and with Ichigo out of the picture, dealing the final blow was going to be a hell of a lot more difficult.
Alright, Anzu thought, steeling herself. You can do this Anzu. How many times have you wished for super powers? This right here is every gamer's dream. You're not scared of a little height, are you? Oh, but she was. Trying to ignore the trembling in her fingers, Anzu unfurled her wings, stretching them. Oh god oh god oh god. She backed up for a running start, trying to recall how exactly she had done this when she'd practiced in the park after dark the other day. It suddenly dawned on her that skimming along two feet above the ground in a secluded park was rather different from taking to the skies in aerial combat. Charging forward to get some air under her wings, Anzu bent her knees and pushed off the ground with as much force as she could muster. With a strangled cry she was airborne.
Feeling as though she was going to throw up Anzu laboured higher into the air – towards the kirema – all the while wishing intensely that she was doing something far less physical. This wasn't nearly as fun as she'd once thought it would be. The awe of suddenly being told she was a superhero had faded, the trembling excitement she'd felt replaced by annoyance at the hectic lifestyle and constant near-death experiences.
When she'd fantasized about having super powers and saving the world, it had never occurred to her that she might have teammates to appease and be personable around. Being a newcomer sucked. And being forced at short notice into a part-time job – at a maid café, no less – had put even more of a damper on the whole thing.
Anzu shrieked in surprise as a sudden gust of wind caught under her left wing, throwing her off balance. "God DAMMIT I hate this!" she screeched, trying to right herself out of her downward spiral before she collided with the ground. The kirema swiped at her as she fell, razor-sharp claws missing her side by millimetres and making her skin prickle.
"Ribon Mint Echo!" A streak of light shot past the orange Mew, burning a white-blue strip across her field of vision. Still struggling to gain height after her fall and trying not to get dizzy at the sight of the ground so far below her – why on Earth was she still going up higher? – Anzu floundered in the air, looking daggers at Mint as the bird girl glided up gracefully beside her.
"What the hell took you so long to get up here?" Anzu demanded, struggling to remain upright and not pass out.
"Ichigo is heavier than she looks," Mint replied dryly, perfectly at ease in the air, familiar with her wings. "Now try and do something useful. We have to hit that thing on the head. Aim between the eyes." Anzu brightened; now this was something she was good at. Years of obsessive video gaming had honed her hand-eye coordination. While this reclusive hobby meant she had little to no social life, she was a dead eye. Anzu considered this a fair trade.
"Apurikotto suta!" she cried, summoning her dropped Apricot Star into her hand once more. "So how're we going to do this?" she asked, glancing over at Mint. The blue Mew looked pensive, studying the kirema animal quietly. "Could you say something please?" Anzu piped in after a few moment. "We have to start moving or… something." Her voice crept up an octave or two. "I'm freaking out here."
Mint pursed her lips, tightening her hold on her bow. "One of us is going to have to attract its attention long enough to give the other a clear shot." Silence reigned between them. Anzu blinked as Mint leveled a steely gaze at her.
"Oh no. No. Are you seriously asking me to be kirema fodder? No! Why can't you do it?" Anzu glared at the blue Mew, wishing she wasn't being regarded quite so coolly. Mint was the last person she wanted to be in this situation with.
"Clearly you present the better target," Mint stated, gesturing at Anzu's bright orange costume.
"Dogs are colourblind."
Mint rolled her eyes. "Alright, so how do you expect to get a clear shot at the thing when you can barely stay airborne?" Anzu glanced down at her flailing limbs and, eyes focusing on the ground below that seemed to pitch and heave, nearly fell over in the air.
"Exactly. Now let's go, we're wasting time." Mint glided away swiftly, notching another arrow as she went. Anzu swallowed the bile that was rising in her throat along with a string of curses and followed suit.
The kirema's head whipped around as they approached, its large, milky eyes focusing on Anzu with startling accuracy, singling her out. "W-what – what do I do?" she shrieked, dodging as it swiped at her and throwing her Apricot Star at it instinctively.
"Distract it!" Mint yelled. "You have to make it hold its head still or I won't be able to line up a clear shot."
"Hurry, na no da!" Pudding's voice drifted up from below, weak with exhaustion and accompanied by grunts of agreement from Lettuce and Zakuro. "We can't hold it still for long!"
"Um." Anzu tried to think; she'd never performed well under pressure. At least I'm in the air, she thought, a single calm notion in the roiling sea of her mind. This was somewhat of an improvement over her first 'fight' with a kirema. Running down the street screaming her head off like she had that time was a tempting course of action.
Snapping out of her musings, Anzu summoned her throwing star back from where it lay on the ground, looking up just in time to see the open jaws of the kirema looming up to close over her head. Diving backward into a freefall on pure instinct, shuddering as the hot breath of the kirema saturated her legs before she descended out of its bone-crunching range.
Anzu squeezed her eyes closed tightly as she tried to right herself, vocal chords straining so hard to scream she couldn't hear more than a high-pitched keening. Sticking out her arms and rolling her to her left, the orange Mew was finally able to pull out of her nosedive. Glancing up to try and relocate the kirema, Anzu's scream died in her throat as she registered that the beast had stopped moving. It appeared to be straining to hear something. It came to life again as she looked on, however and Mint, who had glided in close in an attempt to gain advantage of its sudden immobility had to streak out of the way of its teeth.
"What did you do?" she demanded shrilly, swooping over to where Anzu flapped beleageuredly in mid-air.
"I don't know," she replied, dumbfounded. "I had to dive out of the way to avoid being eaten and then I started screaming…"
"You weren't screaming," Mint replied.
"Yeah I was, didn't you hear that?" Anzu glared at Mint, wondering at her ability to start an argument at the worst times. "My throat still hurts – that's how loud I was –"
"You weren't making a sound," Mint snapped, grabbing Anzu's arm and yanking her out of the way as the kirema lunged at them again. Anzu was about to reply in what probably would have been a decidedly whiny tone when her power pendant gave a crackle of static which cleared into Keiichiro's voice.
"Kohakuhana-san, I believe we have discovered another of your animal abilities."
Anzu blinked. "What?"
"One of your animal abilities," he repeated patiently. "Ichigo-san has cat-like reflexes and agility, Retasu-san can breathe underwater and reach elevated speeds while swimming, Zakuro-san has a heightened sense of hearing and extra strength. Ryou and I believe that in addition to being able to fly, you have the ability to use echolocation."
"How do you know?" Mint asked suddenly, shouting to be heard.
"Our sensors picked up the sound waves," Keiichiro replied. "Kohakuhana-san was able to hear it because of her bat ears."
"But what does that mean?" Anzu shouted, dodging yet another swipe by the kirema. Mint was staring hard at her.
"It means you can incapacitate this dog thing!" Mint notched and loosed another arrow at the kirema to distract it. "Didn't you ever study this in school?"
Anzu was flustered as she aimed another clumsy throw at the kirema with her shuriken. "So what do you want me to do, yell at it?"
"That's exactly what you should do, Kohakuhana-san," Keiichiro's voice sounded from the pendant again, and Anzu found his soothing tone was grating on her nerves.
"A-anou…" Anzu stuttered, suddenly finding her anger and desire to scream at people in general dissipate. "B-but-"
"Just do it!" Mint cried. "Do you want it to be your fault if everyone dies?"
"N-no, but-"
"Then get over yourself and do it!" Anzu froze, nerves fraying as she glanced down to Zakuro, Lettuce and Pudding struggling on the ground, looking like the embodiment of teammates. She looked up at Mint whose blue eyes were blazing and cringed backwards. In a sudden wave of fear and desire to do something useful, Anzu jerked forward in the air, turning towards the kirema and opening her mouth and screaming as loud as she possibly could.
The kirema froze, and then cringed in pain as the high-pitched whine issued from Anzu's mouth. In a flash of blue light Mint had released her arrow; the sleek weapon sliced through the air and landed with a 'thunk' between the kirema's eyes. Anzu blinked as the mutant dissolved in a flash of sparkling light.
Cries of relief floated up from the ground as Masha swooped up out of nowhere and swallowed the parasite that was all that was left of the kirema. While Zakuro relaxed into a more comfortable standing position, Lettuce and Pudding collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Anzu realized with a start that she was now alone in the air; Mint had descended and was making her way over to where Ichigo was lying, propped against the trunk of a tree. Anzu noted with minor relief that the pink-clad catgirl was beginning to regain consciousness.
She began to descend slowly, carefully towards the ground, but lost her concentration before her feet had quite touched down. She landed painfully on the street, gasping as her knees and elbows scraped against the pavement. Looking up, she realized that everyone had now joined Mint at Ichigo's side, anxiously trying to determine whether or not their leader was alright.
Anzu scowled as a hot, unpleasant feeling filled her stomach. Ichigo did nothing, but since she's injured she deserves all the attention. Right. Anzu rose to her feet slowly, rubbing her elbows and feeling very unnecessary and sorry for herself. "I really do hate this," she muttered under her breath.
With a sigh and a final lamentation of the giant waste of time that had turned out to be her Saturday afternoon, Anzu grudgingly headed over to where the other Mews were standing, just to make sure Ichigo really was okay and wishing she didn't feel quite so cheated out of something she shouldn't want in the first place.