Note: As of now, I am using Japanese (or Chinese in Pudding/Bu-Ling's case) only for thier names, except for the Mew Mews after they've transformed. That means:

Licorice - Rikorisu

Lettuce - Retasu

Pudding - Bu-Ling (she's Chinese)

Kishu - Kisshu (I was doing that for the last few chapters of vol. 1 anyway...)

Anyway, enjoy ^^

Chapter 14 - Untitled chapter the first

Rikorisu's mind fluttered back into consciousness. Her eyes snapped open, but shut just as quickly – whether because the little light from the window hurt her eyes, or so to ignore the pile of homework on her desk, she wasn't sure. Groaning quietly, she rolled onto her back.

It had been over a week since Mew Spice and Mew Blackberry had attacked her school, and since then, the Mew Mews had seen no sign of them – but this didn't change the plan to have the cyniclons go to their schools.

"Pai's probably just using it as an excuse to spend more time with Retasu," Kisshu had said a few days before.

Rikorisu groaned again. Today they would put Pai's protection plan into practice. And her side of the operation wasn't too happy about it. Bu-Ling and Taruto, of course, were perfectly fine with being together, and Bu-Ling was beyond exited to introduce "Taru-Taru" to her friends (though she'd been made to promise not to tell them that Taruto was really an alien). And from what Kisshu was saying, it was pretty obvious Retasu and Pai had no problem with this either.

As for Kisshu's role…

Rikorisu had nothing wrong with it, as long as he didn't do anything stupid. She'd actually got along fairly well with Kisshu during the brief intervals they'd interacted. Ichigo and Masaya, however, didn't seem to get along too well with him at all. Ichigo could barely stay in the same room as him for five minutes without starting an argument, and Masaya seemed to prefer pretending he didn't exist at all.

And then there was the dream.

Rikorisu had been having that same dream every night since the incident with Blackberry. She hadn't told anyone about it – for all she knew, it was just a stupid dream. But Terra… Rikorisu didn't know who she was, but she seemed so familiar…

"Rikorisu, there's no point in pretending. I know you are awake." Ryou's voice came from nearby.

Rikorisu's eyes opened again, and she looked up into the face of the blond sixteen-year old.

"Five more minutes, niisan," Rikorisu grumbled, pulling the blanket up over her head. Seconds later, her sheet had been ripped right off her bed. Rikorisu sat up, arms wrapped around her legs, shivering. "Hey, Ryou, you know, you're not really my brother!" Rikorisu huffed. "You have no right to do that to me."

"But as your boss, power-giver, and care-taker, I do," Ryou pointed out. "Now get up and do your homework."

"I thought Masaya, Ichigo, and I were going to the cyniclon's 'secret boss' to 'pick up' Kisshu," Rikorisu asid.

"That's not for another two hours," Ryou informed her, moving towards the door. "Get dressed, and start working." The door swung shut as Ryou left the room. Rikorisu sighed, and did as she was told.

The entrance to the cyniclon's 'dimension' was at the top of a twenty-story building. Rikorisu really wished they'd chosen a more convenient location – at seven o'clock in the morning, the last thing she wanted to do was climb endless flights of stairs. She, Ichigo and Masaya eventually made it to the top, and after entering a secret code, a portal opened up in the wall.

Rikorisu stepped into the cyniclon's dimension, and stopped. "Wow," she whispered. She stood on a floating platform in the middle of what seemed like an endless sky of green. Fragments of brown columns hung in air. This place was weird.

Rikorisu loved it.

"You're finally here," a voice said, and Rikorisu, Ichigo and Masaya turned to see Kisshu. "You took long enough."

The fifteen-year-old alien boy stood before them, the typical teasing grin and intense gaze on his face. Rikorisu had to admit that, in his own creepy way, Kisshu was hot.

And Kisshu knew it.

"Well, maybe you should have put this somewhere more easily accessible," Rikorisu grumbled.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. "It took us fifteen minutes to find the building. And then we had to walk up all the stairs…"

"It was Pai's idea," Kisshu said.

"The stairs too?" Rikorisu asked.

"Think of it as exercise," he smirked. "Super-heroes need to keep in shape."

Ichigo shook her head. "This guy… I'm going to be stuck in school with this guy… What did I do to deserve this?"

"You're extraordinarily lucky," Kisshu assured her.

Rikorisu giggled quietly when Ichigo rolled her eyes.

"Rikorisu doesn't hate me though, do you?" Kisshu, who seemed to have noticed, asked playfully.

"Not yet," Rikorisu replied, with the grin she sometimes felt she had unconsciously adopted from him. It was kind to embarrassing to admit.

"Ichigo- and Rikorisu-oneechan and Masaya- and Kisshu-oniisan!" came Bu-Long's voice as the blond nine-year-old ran into the room followed by a very human and annoyed Taruto.

"Bu-Ling?" Ichigo said with slight surprise. "I didn't know you were already here."

Rikorisu took one look at Taruto and burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Taruto demanded, tugging at his uniform shirt and glaring at her.

"Oh, nothing…" Rikorisu said quickly, fighting back a giggle. "Sorry."

"At least I don't look like you," Taruto said, "Geek."

"… 'Geek' ?" Rikorisu said dangerously. "You obnoxious little brat…"

"Taru-Taru, don't be mean to Rikorisu-oneechan!" Bu-Ling said with a frown, but both Taruto and Rikorisu were too busy glaring at each other to notice.

"What's going on over here?" Kisshu asked, walking over. "Taruto, you look like a body guard."

"I do not!"

"You do too."

"Shut up!" Taruto yelled, which only made Kisshu laugh.

"Kisshu?"

"Huh?" Kisshu turned to see Pai starring at him, a cold, unreadable expression on his pale face.

"Come with me," the older cyniclon said. "I need to talk to you."

Kisshu curiously advanced and followed Pai to the corner of the room.

"What is it?" Kisshu asked in a more serious tone.

"Yesterday, when you were out, we received a message from your sister," Pai stated.

"Maffin? She finally remembers to call, and I am not around?" Kisshu's voice was a mixture of irritation and irony.

"From what she said, it sounds more like you're the one who forgot to contact her," said Pai.

"Oh, right…" Kisshu said awkwardly. "What did she say?"

"She was worried about you." Paid seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

"Worried about me? Why?"

"Why not?" Pai asked.

"… What do you mean?" Kisshu said slowly.

Pai sighed. "You knew very well that Maffin didn't want you to return to Earth."

Kisshu frowned, but said nothing.

"She was afraid it would remind you of the pain you went through," Pai continued.

"Says she. I'm fine," Kisshu said stubbornly.

"I was worried about you, too," Pai said.

Kisshy lifted his head slightly in surprise. Things like this always seemed more serious to him when it came from Pai.

"It changed you, Kisshu. Don't think no one's noticed. We can all see it."

Kisshu remained silent. Pai was right, and he knew it. He was a very different person now than he had been just under two years ago. And the person he had to thank for it officially hated his guts.

Kisshu returned to the others, deep in thought. He barely noticed that Ichigo had now joined in Rikorisu's argument with Taruto, that Bu-Ling and Masaya had given up trying to stop it and reluctantly walked off to find some other emtertainment, or when Rikorisu gave him a concerned glance. In fact, he barely noticed anything for half an hour.