Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Part one: "Could You Really Help Me?"
I stared out the window, my face reflected in the glass by the moon's eerie glow. I looked out to, or rather past, the sky, hopeful that someday they would come for me. It'd been five years since that day. Five years since my twelve-year old self quit the Mew Mews, smiling as normality once again made it's place in her life. With no powers and no means of contacting anyone who did, it seemed like a fantasy. But I knew too well that appearances could be deceiving. Who would have thought Aoyama to be the Blue Knight? Or Kisshu my valiant hero? I never forgot the moment, when Deep Blue attacked and the idiot Cyniclon defended me at his own expense, and the disconcerting relief I felt when he was revived. After that, he just kissed me and left. I couldn't handle it- I was only twelve years old, a naive human child with a longing for all that was normal. If I could do it all over, I would be his, and all the fighting would never have happened.
Nowadays, my life was a bore. I rose, stretched on an ugly blue sailor uniform, and grabbed some toast. Then, I walked 10 miles out of my way to feed homeless cats.
Yes, homeless cats. Even after relinquishing the feline powers, I found that I could still communicate with them. Once they realized I spoke their language, they knew who to beg. What I would do for one day without a litter of them clawing at the doorsteps. On many occasions my father would call private detectives (and even the police a time or two) to find out why.
After an hour of speaking with my furry friends (who better to keep secrets), I would head on over to the local school, Fiji High. At age seventeen, I was finally in my Junior year. I still didn't know what I wanted to be once I graduated. Sometimes I wondered if I was even meant for this world. I regretted my decision to quit the Mew Mews, severing all ties to my former life. After the incident, the cafe disappeared, and my old teammates seemed to have vanished with it. When I asked their relatives, they simply shook their heads and said they ran away. I didn't know why they would, though. Was my knowing their secret that dangerous? Was I that dangerous? It was all obviously Ryou's doing. He was always so… My face flushed red in anger.
And what of the aliens? Did they restore their new planet, Cyniclon, with the Mew Aqua? Were they safe? Did they ever reminisce on those days, as I did now? Did… Did Kisshu ever think of me? The last thought came with a surprise. I knew I liked Kisshu, even though it's been so many years, but I didn't think I was head over heels for him. It's just complicated.
These thoughts haunted my fragile mind every passing day. I wanted to find them. I wanted to find the Mews. I wanted to find the aliens.
"I want my old life back!" I screamed as I kicked the dirt. People stared, but I didn't mind. I'd been the center of attention before. It's nothing new.
After sitting in a classroom for eight hours, I walked the same path home. I completed all of my assignments, I ate dinner, I showered, and then my cat detectives reported back any information they found concerning Ryou, Cyniclons, or otherwise involving the Mews. I scanned through every lead, investigated several wild goose chases, and then returned to sleep. This cycle had ran for three years (it wasn't until I turned fifteen that I realized what I had). And it may continue eternally. Or it may end very soon. But, it will most likely continue eternally.
"Today, class, we have a new student. Everyone, please welcome Dren Ikisatashi." (AN: In this fanfic she doesn't know his last name. She also doesn't know his dubbed name. Kisshu is in disguise.)
In walked a handsome male with long, shaggy, black hair and entrancing golden eyes. He looked familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint where I remembered him from.
"Dren, you will sit next to Ichigo. Ichigo, please raise your hand so that the transfer will know where he should be. We hope you will like it here at Fiji High. You behave yourself, now." The teacher strolled over to the front of the classroom to resume teaching.
Dren, as the teacher had introduced him, was very attractive indeed. Not that Kisshu had lost any appeal, but he was very worthy of a former Mew's attention. And that was saying a lot, considering I had saved the world once or twice. I caught myself staring at him, and quickly switched my attention back to the lesson: Calculus. I heard a shifting of papers to my right and looked over find a note neatly scrawled onto a small tear of folded paper. Dren gave a slight nod of his head, signaling for me to read it. I unfolded the note to read: What does your schedule say?
I tore off some of my own paper: Why do you want to know?
He handed me a schedule and mouthed: What classes do we have together?
I shook my head, looking over it, and grabbed my pen. Well, we both have Calculus, Chemistry, and English together. Then theres lunch and Acting III. Other than that, nothing. Unless you happen to volunteer at the local tree-hugging club? I joked. Dren raised an eyebrow to this. Oh, well, see you th-
"Note-passing on your first day here, Mr. Ikisatashi? This is rather unbecoming of you. You, too, Momomiya. You will both serve after school detention tomorrow. I sighed. She could've done worse. Mrs. Honda isn't exactly known for her kindness. Then again, neither is she known for her supervision of detention. She usually just left the student(s) in the classroom and returned thirty minutes later to make them leave her room. I looked at Dren. He was smiling.
Well, that's weird. I thought.
As soon the last bell rang, and I was dismissed from History, I climbed the stairs to room 329, where I would spend my detention in the Calculus room. Peeking inside, I caught a glimpse of Dren already there, grinning at me. I glared. How dare he beat me here!
"Why, you…" I felt a storm surging around my head, and Dren's face paled. "I can't believe you!" I sat in the seat to the left of him, practicing the arrangement from class as was expected by our teachers. "And what was with that grin on your face? Huh?"
"Oh, nothing." He smirked. "It's just that your skirt does nothing to hide your underwear."
"P-pervert!" A loud slap was followed by several loud echoes throughout the third floor. I returned to my notebook on leads. Normally I would eliminate what I knew to be false hunts at home, but with detention, I was short on time.
"Anyway," Dren's face regained it's natural color, "What's that you're jotting down?"
"Nothing," I moved to put the notebook away; he was faster.
"GIVE. ME. MY. NOTEBOOK!" I fought him for it. He kept it just out of arm's reach.
"Let's see here. Mew Mew Cafe… Blah blah blah… Ryou… Blah Blah Blah… Aliens… What the hell is this?!" He raised his brow to me. I blushed.
"I already told you- it's nothing! Just some leads," I mumbled the last part to myself. He didn't buy it. I quit.
"Fine. Five years ago, my friend went missing," I caught my breath. "Those are all the leads I have found as of now."
"You've been looking for him all this time? Call it a hunch, but that's not something most people would do. And what about this 'Aliens' BS?" He cornered me.
"I'm rather desperate to find him… He… was my boyfriend!" I insisted, hoping he would accept my answer. "Yeah! W-We had been together since we were little, so of course I would look for him," I clenched my teeth. Maybe it was just me, but I could have sworn that, for a moment, Dren became downcast. Disappointed, even.
"Is that so…" His eyes darkened, before meeting mine. My frame stilled. "Very well then. I will assist you in finding your… boyfriend."
"Really?" Came out my parted lips with a squeak. Maybe I did have a chance. Even a snowball's chance in hell was brighter than mine alone. "Will you really help me?"
Dren grinned. "For a price. At the end of this journey, be it two years or ten, I will expect a favor. It doesn't matter at the moment what favor, so long as I have your word that you will grant me one of my choosing after it is all said and done."
I held out my hand to shake his. "It's a deal."