Don't worry, it's not weird or stuff like that! Now, do you remember when Ryou said that if Ichigo got excited or aroused, her ears and tail would pop out? They do a lot, if you can remember that too. I was wondering if the same applied to the other girls, and if it did, what would it be like? So, that's what this is! Please enjoy!
This story takes place right before the giant moth\butterfly thing attacked the Tokyo Tower, right before Mint is going to a big event for Zakuro.
One lonely night, Mint was inside her mansion. Her servants were all asleep, by all rights, she should've been too. However, as Mint sat at her bedroom's desk, she was flipping her through one of her favorite magazines, Star Idol. She was wearing her pajamas, and didn't look like she had gotten enough sleep lately. As Mint turned another page, she yawned daintily. "It looks like Onesama didn't make it into this week's Star magazine..." She muttered to herself, putting the well-worn magazine down. "You'd think those commoners would better understand her beauty, honestly." She commented, getting up from her desk chair. Mint walked over to her plushy bed, stretching out her pale arms. "I wish I didn't have to work tomorrow, not with Onesama's fan event coming up. Of course Pudding and Lettuce would get sick, anybody would if they spent all day being so clumsy. Well, maybe I can stay clean if I convince Ichigo to do all the work." She said, pulling her blankets back. When Mint clapped her hands, the lights turned off. Mint snuggled down into her blankets, and she groaned. "Gosh, I'm tired..." She mumbled, falling into a deep sleep.
The next day, at the cafe, Ichigo was running herself ragged. Zakuro was busy getting ready for her concert, Lettuce and Pudding were out with a cold, and Mint was nowhere to be seen! As Ichigo ran around, Keichiro and Ryou watched from the kitchen. Ryou wasn't going to socialize with people, and Keichiro had to cook. When Ichigo ran into the kitchen, Mint strode into the cafe. She looked clean and prim, as usual. However, she stopped the second she saw all the customers waiting to be serving. She knew she was late, but didn't seem to care. After all, ballet dancing couldn't take a backseat to anything. Mint walked towards the kitchen, with her usual energy and poise. "I'm here, Shirogane-san! Don't worry about clumsy Ichigo anymore!" She called to him, ducking back as the kitchen door swung at her.
Ichigo ran past her, carrying a tray full of desserts. She looked tired, and she glared at Mint as she ran past. "Thanks a lot, Mint! I've had to work all by myself for so long, I never even got a break!" She shouted at her, quickly putting a cake on a table.
Mint chuckled haughtily, and she shut the kitchen door. "All that exercise is good for you, I'm sure." She asserted, walking into the changing room. Mint changed slowly, being lost in her thoughts about Zakuro. She only hurried up when she heard a loud crash, which she assumed to be Ichigo falling. Gladly, it was just Ichigo throwing a tray at the wall.
Ichigo and Mint worked all the way through to the lunch rush, not finding it easy to manage with only two mew mews. Still, they managed. During a slow period, Mint was working at a table. Ichigo was serving customers, being her usual hyper self. Mint looked at her, wondering where she got her endless energy. "I'd like a strawberry parfait, please." Said the customer Mint was talking to, making Mint switch back to the customer.
Mint curtsied, and she ran off into the kitchen. Ryou was sitting on the counter, eating a sandwich. Keichiro was making a cake, stirring the batter quickly. Mint walked up to him, grabbing the bowl of strawberries to decorate the parfait. "I wonder if I could trick Ichigo into believing it's 1:00 so I could have my tea break?" She wondered, taking a bite of one of the strawberries.
Ryou scoffed, and he leaned back on the shelves. "If she didn't believe you, wouldn't you still take it?" He questioned, knowing exactly what Mint would do.
Mint paused for a moment, and she put a strawberry on the whipped cream. "Good point." She commented, slicing up another strawberry.
Keichiro looked at her, and he smiled cheerfully. "I think Ichigo works too hard, honestly. It's a good thing she has so much energy, or our cover might be blown." He asserted, pulling the bowl of strawberries away from Mint.
Mint shrugged, and she took a tray out from the cabinets. "She works hard so I don't have to, that's all I know." She joked, picking up the parfait carefully.
Ryou, obviously bored, jumped down from the counter. He tossed a strawberry onto the cake, which landed in the middle of the icing. "She's a lot more emotional than I figured though, her powers are always fluctuating. Her ears and tails are going to keep popping out if she can't control them, and it's a lot of trouble for us to keep an eye on her." He whined, stirring the cake icing slowly.
Mint picked up the tray with the parfait on it, and she walked over to the kitchen door. "Poor Ichigo, stuck with that problem. It isn't easy, I imagine." She stated, walking out of the kitchen quickly.
Keichiro stared at the kitchen door as it swung shut, and he looked at Ryou, who was tasting the icing. "...Have you figured out whether the power fluctuation affects the others?" He inquired, taking the icing bowl from Ryou.
Ryou looked at him, and he smirked slightly. "Eh, I prefer to wait and see. After all, it's not like a little more experimenting will hurt them." He told him, taking a strawberry out of the bowl.
Keichiro sighed, and he looked down at the cake. The icing was messed up, with a big strawberry in the middle. It would have to be redone, again. "I guess not, but you might've been trusted to warn them." He mumbled, scraping the icing off with a knife.
That night, as Mint and Ichigo were getting ready to leave, Mint was deep in thought about Zakuro's concert. "Mm, I can't wait for Onesama's event. Even if she doesn't sing, her dancing is enough!" She exclaimed, pulling her gloves on.
Ichigo glared at her, pouting her bottom lip out. "You could have tried to scrape together one more ticket, you know? I wanted to go see Zakuro dance too, Mint." She commented, kicking at the ground.
Mint scoffed, and she looked at Ichigo with disdain. "Please, you wouldn't bring me along on one of your charming little dates, would you? This is a moment for me and Onesama, Ichigo." She asserted, smiling smugly.
Ichigo growled, and she crossed her arms. "It's a concert, she won't able to see you." She told her, trying to deflate her spirit.
Mint nodded, and she turned to face Ichigo. "And I'm sure that Aoyama-kun can't see you either at his kendo practices, but you still go." She stated, taking her purse out from under her arm.
Ichigo blushed, and she hissed at Mint. Her cat ears popped out, making Mint chuckle. "We're connected, he knows I'm there!" She shouted at her, her cat ears disappearing.
Mint chuckled lightly, and she patted Ichigo on the shoulder. "And it is the same with me and Onesama, Ichigo. Now, I have to go or I'll be late." She said, walking away from the cafe.
Ichigo groaned, and she walked the opposite way from the cafe. Up above the cafe, Kish was floating and watching them. He smirked, and opened a portal. "Hmm, a concert for Zakuro? I'd hate to have that interrupted." He commented, flying into the portal.
Mint got there early to Zakuro's concert, being too excited to wait any longer. Her heart was beating fast, she loved hearing Zakuro talk. Of course, she was an professional idol. She was perfect, too. Zakuro was amazing, compared to Ichigo and the rest. As Mint sat in her seat in the front row, watching Zakuro dance and talk, she wished that Zakuro would see her. When Zakuro jumped in the air, Mint's heart leaped. As Zakuro landed, she spun around quickly. Mint gripped her knees, she was feeling so happy. Zakuro winked at the crowd as the song ended, making Mint blush. The crowd and Mint got up and started clapping loudly, everyone cheering and exclaiming. Mint, so excited and happy, was surprised to hear a thumping noise behind her. When she looked around, she saw little blue wings. Mint gasped, and she stopped clapping. "What the?!" She exclaimed, making everyone look at her. Luckily, Mint had hidden under the chair before that. Her little wings were stirring up dust, making Mint cough. Mint felt her eyes tear up, but she told herself it was the dust. Why did she have feathers? It didn't make any sense!Up on stage, Zakuro was bowing and accepting flowers. She smiled, and waved to her crowd. "I just want to thank you all for coming to see me, and I'm glad I didn't disappoint you this time." She joked, making everyone laugh. Zakuro chuckled, and she shrugged. "I'll be signing autographs later, so be sure to come and get one!" She told them, as she walked off stage.
As the crowd dispersed, Mint crawled out from under her chair. She was covered in dust, but her wings had gone back in. She coughed, and rubbed at her eyes. "Onesama, I can't face you like this..." She whispered, running away from the stage.
Mint hid outside the theater, wishing that she could bring herself to go inside to see Zakuro. However, she was dirty and Zakuro would be ashamed to see her like this. Mint sighed, and she walked away from the theater. "Why am I the one who's so weird? I was trying hard enough to accept the fact I'm a protector of justice, but this is too much." She mumbled, looking behind herself. "At least they're gone now, but so is Onesama..." She whispered to herself, getting kicking at the ground.
An odd green light began glowing behind Mint, and large plants began to grow on the path. A soft wind blew on Mint's face, making her shiver. "My, my, a lonely little bird away from her nest." Said Kish, from behind Mint.
Mint turned around, and she gasped. Kish was floating above her, holding a pamphlet for Zakuro's concert. Mint growled, and she stepped forward. "You! You better not be planning to ruin Onesama's concert!" She yelled at him, pointing at him.
Kish tore up the poster, and he smirked at her. "If I am, what are you going to do about it?" He questioned her, floating down closer to her.
Mint scoffed, and she took her pendant out from her purse. "There may only be me here, but I'll try to give you a full serving!" She told him, kissing the pendant gently. As she transformed, Kish stared at her unimpressed. As Mint finished, she flew up to face Kish. "Only gluttons would ask for more when they've already got a plateful, you pig. Even by myself, I'll stuff you!" She yelled at him, taking at her bow.
Kish smirked at her, and he shook his head. "Ha, sure you will." He muttered, snapping his fingers. As he did, dark smoke floated out from the plants on the path. A hard wind began blowing at Mint, coming from nowhere.
Mint groaned, and she stepped forward. She had to stay up, but it was increasingly hard. "Ugh... Min Tone Arrow!" She exclaimed, drawing her bow out. She launched an glowing pink arrow at Kish, but he easily dodged it. Mint winced, and she fell to the ground. "No...I can't stay up...any longer." She mumbled, her eyes beginning to shut.
Kish laughed loudly, and he pulled a dagger out from his pocket. "Heh, that's an attack? I should probably tell you, I prefer pheasant." He told Mint, diving at her.
Mint grunted, and she rolled out of the way of his attack. She couldn't let Kish win, Zakuro wouldn't. Mint flew up high above Kish, where none of the wind was blowing. Mint took the bow out again, and she aimed it at Kish. "You shouldn't play with your food, it'll only spoil." She warned him, smiling slightly. "Ribbon Mint Echo!" She shouted, a large pink arrow hitting Kish in the chest.
He was knocked down to the ground, his plants on the path withering. "Ugh, you should just give up. Why would you want to look freakish anyway?" He asked her, pushed himself up.
Mint growled, and she pulled her bow out again. "I'm not a freak, I'm a protector of humanity!" She asserted, launching another attack at him. Kish disappeared before it hit him, the attack evaporating as it hit the ground. "Hmm, if you're looking for a snack, you came to the wrong girl." She said, flying down to the ground. She took a deep breath, and she looked down at her dusty dress. She was a protector of humanity, she had been meant to be like this. She wasn't a freak, she was herself.
There were footsteps behind Mint, but she wasn't paying attention. "Mint!" Called Ichigo, running up the path.
Mint gasped, and she turned around quickly. Ichigo and Zakuro were running after her, having transformed into their other forms. Mint smiled, and she ran towards them. "Ichigo, Onesama!" She cheered, running up to them.
Zakuro stopped, and she walked around Mint. "Did you get hurt? We were trying to get here sooner, but got attacked." She explained, spinning her weapon around in her hand.
Ichigo panted, and she almost fell down to her knees. "Kish released a bunch of chimera birds during the autograph signing, but we couldn't find him anywhere!" She exclaimed, taking a deep breath.
Mint scoffed, and she put her hands on her hips. "I fought him off, it was no big deal. Underneath all that talk, he's just a weak customer." She stated, smiling proudly.
Ichigo giggled, and she hugged Mint tight. "Thanks a bunch, Mint!" She told her, rubbing her head.
When Zakuro and Ichigo transformed back to normal, Zakuro took a picture out of her pocket. She wrote on it with a pen she had behind her ears, and she walked up to Mint. "Here, you can have this. I was going to give it to Lettuce or Pudding as a get-well present, but you deserve it more." She told her, handing the picture to Mint.
Mint looked at the picture, which was of Zakuro smiling. Mint smiled, and she looked up at her. "This is wonderful! Thank you, Onesama!" She said, hugging Zakuro.
Zakuro chuckled, and she patted Mint on the head. "Good girl..." She mumbled, squeezing Mint tight. She paused, and stopped hugging Mint. "Wait, what's this?" She questioned, backing away from Mint.
Mint blushed, as her wings had come back out. She tried to cover them, but her arms weren't reaching behind her back. "Wings?" She wondered, poking the small feathers.
Mint grunted, and she flapped her wings at Ichigo. "Leave me alone, Ichigo!" She yelled at her, backing away from her.
Ichigo played with the wings, which seemed to be fluttering around her fingers. "They're so cute!" She exclaimed, her cat ears coming out.
Zakuro tilted her head, and she crossed her arms. "I guess Mint's just like Ichigo." She commented, rubbing her hand on the wings.
Mint gasped, and she turned to face Zakuro. "Onesama!" She whined, her little wings fluttering quickly.
I don't own the characters, I just made this story!