So, this is for Cy's Daddy's Day Dare, and of course in honor of my very own Daddy. So, yeah, I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. This is a prologue, and it were things to have happened this way the Mew Project would've turned out a lot differently.

Two Years Before Ichigo is Found

June 21, 2001

7:00 AM

Ryou's POV

I looked around dazed by the morning life, my eyes landing on the picture of my parents, Keiichiro, and myself as a small boy and frowned, it was always hard to see that picture on holidays. I got in the shower like normal, and pondered what happened, like I usually did. It was sickly ironic that the archeologist's discoveries had led to his demise. Damn Father's Day, forcing these thoughts upon me.

~Flashback in Ryou's POV~

I took off my reading glasses when Keiichiro walked in, smiling as bright as ever, "Hey, Keiichiro," I said and put down my father's research log.

"Working on some homework?" Keiichiro asked, he was still unused to me being above my father's intelligence level with an IQ over 180.

"No, I'm done, just reading over Papa's research log, and I noticed something about this new species, isn't it-"

Keiichiro started laughing, "Why don't you talk to Dr. Shirogane about it at dinner," I sighed, he really wasn't used to me.

"I'm gonna be a scientist just like Papa," I declared, he ruffled my hair and left the room, shaking his head, he thought of me as a child, which I was, but I wasn't used to being treated like one. I knew my father didn't want me to follow in his footsteps, making me all the more eager to prove myself. He also didn't know I read over his research logs, I had found a problem with the "antiquity" of these bones. The ruins were positively ancient, but upon looking at the scans of the bones they were rather modern, merely twelve years dead.

Later that week I went with a university with Keiichiro since Papa had asked me, we were about ten minutes from home and I heard a crackling sound, it was really confusing until I saw the orange blaze and column of smoke. I knew it then, but I didn't wanna believe it. When Keiichiro sped up and I got out, I didn't know what I could do, I just gazed in complete horror.

"Papa," I called, pausing for only a second before calling, "Mama," I ran towards the flames, I had to save them, Papa had always said I could do anything I set my mind to, I had to save them.

"It's too dangerous!" Keiichiro said and grabbed me, holding me back, knowing I would've run right into the fire. I reached forward, and squirmed, trying as hard to get away.

I looked at the open window of the estate, and my eyes got glassy, whether from acknowledgement of what was going on or from the smoke I'll never know, "Papa! Mama!" I cried out again, if they could just hear me and get out.

I tried to break away as much as I could, "Ryou, you mustn't!" Keiichiro was begging me not to take my own life.

"Let go!" I shouted, shoving at his arms, pulling as hard as I could, "Papa and Mama are in there!" I had to get to them, I just had to! "Let me go! I have to help them!" the flame was spreading and I looked in the flames, and I saw one of those creatures! I tried to tell him they weren't just ancient beasts! "LET GO!!!" I knew he wouldn't and he couldn't, I've never know whether to thank him or hurt him for that.

Then Keiichiro saw it, "It's-" he could never finish, in too much horror of the supposedly ancient creature and I glared at it, aiming every ounce of hatred I could at the chimera, and then it had the nerve to disappear! The smoke was starting to get to me and I didn't know what happened next, I could never work it out.

~End Flashback~

I walked into the lab, we had been making real progress lately, "Morning, Keiichiro," I said and he nodded, bent over the computer.

"It's finally done," he told me, I turned to look at the final product, my father's life work finally done, even if it was after his life was over, "Now we only have to use it on the girls," his voice was void of emotion, I knew he had been up all night.

"Is it really safe?" I asked, the last thing I wanted to do was end some poor girls' life.

"How can you say that after all the tests?" Keiichiro seemed to be outraged, we had gone through all this hard work and I doubted it now that we were finally done. Then he relaxed, "You are the one who knows best how perfect our research is," he said, I was glad we were equals finally.

I picked up the infuser, it was time for the last test to really be sure things were safe, I pointed it to my neck, I would gladly take the risk of turning into an animal or dying, as long as some other person didn't have to. "Ryou! What are you trying to…" he started to ask me, getting up with worry etched all over his face.

"Keiichiro, I entrust the rest of the research to you," I told him seriously. "This is the last experiment," my finger moved to the trigger, it was time to make sure this was safe once and for all, he made a move to grab the infuser but I pulled the trigger and he looked at me with sheer despair. My vision clouded and I dropped to the ground, the gun alongside me. I screamed as I felt myself being torn apart and ripped and shrunk and then everything stopped, and I went numb. I opened my eyes, and someone I knew very well helped me to my feet. I knew then that I was dead.

So there was the prologue, which was of course about Ryou, but the next chapters will be all about his Dad, I swear!