|Tokyo|

Bethany Ashton felt a certain kind of relief being back in Tokyo. She was the type of girl that thrived in big cities, and things didn't get any bigger than this city. She pulled out the parcel of letters from her backpack, tracing a finger over them as she did so.

She didn't need to read them again, but she still couldn't help let her eyes fall on certain words. Aliens. Tokyo Mew Mew. Superpowers. Since her childhood she and Ichigo had been pen pals, but recently the girl had been sending more and more ridiculous letters. These were partly the reason why she had requested her parents to let her go to Japan. The other reason was something she didn't even want to think about.

The cab driver cast a disinterested look on the girl in the back, making sure he was on the right way to the park. It was one of those days when traffic seemed to congest like crazy. At least there weren't any weird attacks going on. Now those were a disaster for public transportation.
His eyes were drawn to the back again when the foreigner smacked the letters against her own face, muttering something in English. Weird-ass foreigners. He doubted that particular shade of red was natural in someone's hair.

Beth pulled forward a bit when the cab pulled to a halt. Handing over the fare – a little over 4000 yen, outrageous! – she got out, hoisting her back pack over one shoulder. According to what Ichigo had told her, the café she was working at should be around here somewhere. Clicking her tongue she started to walk around, trying to see a place that Ichigo had described as 'impossible to miss'.

Now that was odd. Granted, she hadn't been in Japan for over ten years, but she distinctly remembered people not running in a park, screaming. She watched, trying to decide for a moment what to do. Finally she started to walk against the flow of foot traffic, mumbling apologies every once in a while when someone bumped into her. Not that they cared, it seemed like people really just didn't want to be in one particular spot of the park.

'Brimstone.' She said out loud, looking at the scene that suddenly unfolded in front of her eyes. 'Brimstone and sulfur.' She repeated, resisting the urge to pinch herself. Now that just wasn't normal at all. Maybe Ichigo hadn't been fantasizing things when she wrote aliens created super monsters to attack people.

'LET GO OF ME!' a girl screamed. That pitch… that ability to burst any eardrum in a mile radius. If that wasn't Ichigo, Bethany would eat her cd collection. But where was she? She couldn't see the girl anywhere. At least until she looked up to see her friend dangling in the air, held by some green-haired guy.

Beth practically started fuming when she saw that. No one had the right to do that to a friend of hers! Especially not sweet Ichigo, who she regarded as something of a little sister. Ignoring the fact that Ichigo had seemingly dyed her hair pink – they would have a talk about that later – she looked around, trying to find something she could use as a weapon. Thankfully a lot of people having a play day in the park had left their stuff lying around.

|Kisshu|

His day really couldn't have gone any better. Apart from sneaking away from an ever grumpy Pai he also had been able to pay his playthings a visit. And Ichigo was as cute as ever, thinking she might be able to get away from him. He brought his face closer to hers, trying to steal another kiss when-

Blam.

The shock of impact forced him to let go, letting Ichigo to drop to the ground. She was caught by one of her friends, but that wasn't his concern at the moment. Turning around, he was just in time to catch a glimpse of something fluorescent yellow zooming in at his head. He caught it in one hand, inspecting the ball for a second. He'd seen the humans bat these things around earlier.

Looking down he saw a human woman looking up at him, her mouth set in a determined way. Wait a minute, was she the one who had just taken aim at him? He dodged another ball, flying down in front of her.

'What the hell do you think you're doing?' he yelled at her, waving the yellow ball in her face. This should have sent her screaming in the other way, as fast as her legs could carry her.

The tennis racket in his face gave him an entirely different opinion. 'I could ask the same thing of you!' she snarled back at him, raising the racket for another whack. Her voice was husky, and he managed to catch a glimpse of clear grey eyes before she brought the racket down again. 'What the hell did you think you were doing to Ichigo?'

'What I do with my toys is my own business.' Kisshu replied to her, snatching her weapon from her hands. This was unexpected, and highly unpleasant. Perhaps he ought to make her pay, just to make sure she understood her place.

'Step away from Beth!' Ichogo's voice came from behind the arguing pair. Looking behind him he saw they had gathered their entire team to face him. And he didn't have any parasites with him either. He let out a deep sigh, throwing his hands in the air.

'How unfair, all of you ganging up on poor lil' me like that.' Fleeing for the moment was perhaps the best of all tactics. It was rather troublesome : Pai would surely give him a hard time if he found out Kisshu had snuck out to 'play around' as the eldest of the trio liked to call it.

|Beth|

Bethany couldn't believe her eyes when the guy – an alien? – disappeared through some dark hole. Not to mention he actually flew! She pinched herself, making sure that she wasn't dreaming. That was before she was tackled to the ground by an excited Ichigo.

'Ouch!' she said, trying to struggle back up, which was easier said than done with Ichigo straddling her waist.

'You came!' Ichigo cried out, grabbing Beth in a hug. Poor Bethany couldn't believe what was happening, especially when her friend's pink outfit suddenly disappeared in sparkles, making place for a pink maid outfit.

With big eyes Bethany looked up at Ichigo. 'Brimstone.' She said again. 'At least you didn't really dye your hair pink. I didn't think your parents would have been cool with that.'

|Mew Mew Café|

'Mission succeeded, nanoda!' Bu-Ling shouted as they entered the now deserted sweets shop. They were welcomed by two guys, who both seemed to be curious as to what had exactly happened.

'Kisshu was being an ass like usual.' Ichigo said, putting her hands up in the air as if it was a daily occurrence. 'More importantly, Bethany came back! I'm so happy.'

Beth raised a hand in a greeting, before remembering she ought to bow. 'Nice to meet you.' she said out loud. Her brain was still looking to somehow reconcile itself with the fact her childhood friend was now a superhero. 'Oh, thank you.' she said when the tallest of the two men, Keiichiro Akasaka, handed her a plate with cake on it.

'Consider it an apology for finding the café in such a deserted state.' He said, thinking she didn't know about the Mews yet. He guided her to a seat, before ordering the girls to start cleaning up.

Beth brought the fork to her mouth. 'Ah, that's to be expected I guess. Though I've gotta be honest with you all, I never thought Ichigo was telling the truth.' This brought a dangerous look on the face of the blonde guy.

'The truth about what?' he asked, voice low and slightly intimidating. Beth, still having her adrenaline rush, didn't quite catch on to that. Instead she waved her fork in the air as she spoke, punctuating her words.

'Well, about her being a superhero. Mews, I think the word was?' Ryou turned a shade pink, directing his gaze to the blabbing Mew.
'And of course there's the aliens, who attack you all the time.' The pink shade was replaced by a darker hue, hovering on the line of cherry red. His lips started to tremble, as if he was on the verge of speaking.
'Not to mention the Chimaera, who also seem to be causing quite a bit of trouble.' Beth continued, unaware of the damage she was doing to the blondes nerves. 'By the way, this cake is excellent.'

'Ichigo!' Ryou shouted, sending Ichigo in a near stupor. 'What don't you understand about the words 'top-secret', 'don't tell a living soul' and 'should not leave the confines of this room'?'

The young woman laughed nervously, hurrying to Beth's side. She grabbed her friend in a hug, pointing at Beth's face. 'But… Bethany is different! She and I have been friends for so long, we're practically sisters. Not to mention that she knows how to keep her mouth shut, and it wouldn't have been right to keep things secret from her. Let's just say that I respect her a lot and she's known for only a really short while.'

'How long?' the blond asked. When Ichigo blinked in surprise, he repeated his question. 'For how long has she known?' The pink shade was returning to his cheeks, indicating his previous outburst would be due for a sequel pretty soon.

'… since I first transformed?' Ichigo offered, making it sound like a question.

'That's a really long time!' he told the girl, not believing how the leader of the Mews could make such a judgment error. He calmed down when Keiichiro patted him on the back, calming him down.

'I'm certain Ichigo didn't mean anything by it.' He offered as a consolation. 'It's only natural for girls to turn to their friends when they're confronted by changes in their life.'

'And it's not like I believed it from the start.' Beth added, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. Sadly the flare of her red hair did little to help that impression. 'I mean, that's one of the reasons I'm here. I wanted to check up on Ichigo, to see if she should be put in a mental ward or something.'

'Hey!' Ichigo shouted in indignation. Bethany held up her hands in the universal language of 'you should have seen that coming.'

Mint let out a soft giggle, refilling a tea pot. 'At least your friend has some sense. I have to say, that's more than could be expected with your taste.'

'But… we're her friends as well, Mint.' Lettuce reminded her gently. This remark caused Mint to nearly choke in her freshly brewed tea.

Keiichiro coughed once, restoring order to the group. 'Well, that may all be as it is. But we are now confronted with the problem of an outsider knowing about our group. Does anybody have an idea about how we are going to fix this?'

Zakuro smiled at Beth. 'Well, she does have excellent aim. Perhaps that will help in discovering a job for her?'

This sent Bethany into a start. 'Hey, hey, hey. Before we start employing me, might I remind you people that I have other things to do as well? Ichigo isn't the only reason I came to Japan.'

'I'm not? Then what else is there?' Ichigo asked with a pout.

Beth started to count her reasons on her hand. 'Well, first there was checking up on you. Then there's the curry. And I promised my parents I'd get the apartment in order before they fly over as well. I also said I'd try to get a song released before they're here.'

'You're a singer?' Zakuro asked, raising an eyebrow.

The question sent Bethany in a seeming state of despair, leaving Ichigo to answer in her stead. 'Beth's parents are very famous heavy metal performers. She actually wanted to sing in the same band as them but…' Ichigo cast a glance at Beth, attempting to whisper. '… she's really bad at singing heavy metal, so her parents have been encouraging her to attempt some other genre.'

'I can still hear you.' Beth muttered from between her arms.

Ichigo continued. 'Anyway, she promised her parents she'd try something along the lines of a ballad, or maybe some jazz tune. They think her voice is far better suited for that.'

Bethany let out a moan of agony. 'The worst part is, they're right. I can't sing heavy metal to save my own life. Just stings I really want to sing, so now I'm stuck trying to do something more cutesy.' She propped up on one elbow, renewing her attention for the cake. 'And what country is better for that sort of thing than Japan?'

'Well, it explains the leather pants.' Mint said, as if she considered those to be worst crime since fur. Beth sent the girl a scowl. They weren't even tight-fitting!

Keiichiro smiled, though it was clear from that particular way of smiling heavy metal wasn't his cup of tea. 'Well, that may be as it is, but I would still feel a lot better if we were to keep something of an eye on you. I don't think the aliens will appreciate you interfering like that.'

She puffed up her cheeks, not happy with this turn of events. Still, it would mean she would be able to keep an eye on Ichigo. Superpowers or not, it was clear her friend could still use some sort of support. 'Fine.' She consented. 'I'll let you know when I'm available.'

Everybody in the café applauded her decision. Without knowing it, Bethany had made one of the first steps towards a big adventure that day. Not that she knew. For the moment she was far more interested in getting an extra piece of cake.

|Near The Apartment|

She checked her cellphone for messages from her parents. Not seeing any, she concluded that everything was probably alright. She'd give them a call just in case the next day. No matter how tough her parents managed to look on the outside, they had some of the softest hearts a person would ever encounter.

She clicked her tongue again, thinking. Things were pretty troublesome, with Ichigo being a superhero now. She hoped they would still be able to spend time together, apart from at the café. She hoisted her backpack on her shoulders a bit better, suddenly thinking about the first alien she had seen today. Thinking about how hostile he had looked at her, she considered making a baseball bat her first purchase.

She glanced in the alley next to her, just to check if there weren't any creep waiting for an easy prey. Tokyo was a pretty safe city, but one could never be sure. She stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes fell on a tiny figure, lying in a pile of rubble. Not good.

She walked towards the person lying there, breath catching in her throat. Pointy ears, just like that Kisshy, plus an attire that certainly did not give off the air of being native to Japan.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Of course that would be just her luck. Finding a knocked out, murderous alien right near her apartment like that surely didn't spell any good for her. She almost turned around, when she cast another look on the unconscious alien lying there.

He was so tiny. He didn't look any older than Bu-Ling did, at least she guessed it was a he. With his hair up in pigtails like that, for the same thing it could be a girl. She squatted next to the alien, thinking over her option. Of course the smart thing to do would be just ignore them and walk away. Judging from the area around the boy, something had exploded, knocking him out clean. There were quite a few scratches on his cheeks and arms.

She thought about what her parents would say when they found out she had left a child, clearly in need of help, lying in an alleyway like that. But the aliens and Mews were enemies! Couldn't helping one of them be seen as a breach of loyalty.
Beth felt herself be torn between wanting to help Ichigo and staying true to her upbringing. When the night chill sent a shiver up her spine she made a decision. Leaving a kid lying on the street in the night would be horrible, no matter who they were.

She hoisted the kid up in her arms, surprised by the light weight. At least that made things easier. She couldn't walk past the receptionist like this, so she'd have to use the stairs at the back of the building. And her parents had wanted the top apartment as well! That would be a long way up.

She brushed some of the kid's hair away from his face, letting out a deep sigh. She knew she was doing something stupid. No way this wasn't going to back-fire on her. She just hoped the alien wouldn't try to kill her the moment he opened his eyes. From what the Mews had told her that was actually a possibility!

Then again, right now he looked just like any other child would have. Frail and in need of help. Curse her own bleeding heart, if she only learned to be a bit tougher. The only times she was able to put on a big mouth was if others did so first. And kids had always been able to charm her into doing pretty much anything.

'Don't make me regret this, kiddo.' She said out loud, huffing because of the height. This always looked so much easier in movies. And who was she kidding? There was no way she wouldn't regret this.

|Moon's note : due to possible mature content, the age of most characters has been upped by a few years. This means that Bethany and Kisshu are both nineteen, Ichigo is eighteen and the age of other characters relative to that, unless stated otherwise.
Thanks for reading, leave a review if you like (even guests can leave one, no need to be shy) and as always, helpful criticism is most certainly welcome.|